Wrapping Up. Taking Stock

A week from tomorrow I fly to Banff.  I've only had a few pangs of nervousness but I'm sure the worst will be getting on that plane without the other Sheila.  I'm trying not to have expectations, but instead to be open to the flow of the divide.
Yeah, whatever.  This is just weird.  We've become like an old married couple always knowing what to expect from the other and providing each other encouragement all along the way.  SheilaT tackled the divide alone in 2014 when I came home.  She did great.  I'm going to channel that.

Down to business.  Training has really sucked the past month.  Weather in Texas has been terrible and quite frankly, I'm sick of training.  I'd love to take my Willits to the desert and shred some dry trail.  I've entertained myself by tackling some local hills on the loaded bike just to see if I could and by cruising around downtown Austin.  In 2011 and 2014 we were still in drought so there were plenty of opportunities to take the loaded bike on trails to see how it handled.  I've done some gravel but everything is so wet this year.  I'll just work it out as I go.

I'm still waiting on a couple of items to come in.  Wool socks and glove liners mainly.  The coolest addition to the kit is a pair of custom poogies SheilaT made to protect my hands on the hoods.  Descending Galton Pass in the wee hours was so horrible for both of us in 2014.  Thank goodness for the plastic bags we had and were able to use as wind breaks.

So just over a week to go and I'm still in a shoe quandary.  Manufactures mostly make shoes for men or women with larger feet.  My heels are narrow and I just can't find anything that fits properly that will work for this application.  My backup plan is to use my 2013 Pearl Izume Enduro III - no longer made.  I have 4 pairs of shoes that I have tried that did not work.  My latest test in the morning will be to add heel pads to the best fitting of the lot (held in by moleskin) and see if they are comfortable enough.  Contact points - hands, butt, feet.  Have to be perfect.

I have managed to work in some rides and have tried to have some fun while I get this all together.  Finishing and printing my cues and putting the .gpx onto my Etrex are my last really big things.

Sultry climb up Scenic Dr. over Lake Austin @ race weight

Lovely time with paddling friends getting ready for Texas Water Safari

The Sheilas.  And yes.  We. Are. Awesome!

And lastly.  The Fargo used to be in that spot.  Work your magic Bicycle Sport Shop.

To The Nitty Gritty

Now the middle of May and some things could be farther along - like my weekly mileage.  If it's not one thing it's another.
And my cues.  My cues could be way farther along.  I have a full set of edited cues from 2011, edited to use again in 2014.  I "assumed" I could start with those and just add all map addenda since that time.  Never assume.  The first thing I noticed was addenda dates that were June 2014.  Definitely added after SheilaT and I had put the finishing touches on ours.  Good think there was nothing major as SheilaT completed the route fine.  I've decided a start from scratch method is best.  2015 Addenda have been downloaded.  Such a long process but helps for route review.

And gear.  I am actually surprised that my entire rig is not totally dialed in at this point.  Last month's GG showed me the cockpit needed adjustment so I put on a higher stem with much improvement.  I've been using a loner Fizik Vesta successfully so one is on order.  I'm not loving my Salsa Ti seatpost.  It seems to ratchet back too easily and I'm not strong enough to adjust it with the mini muli-tool I'll be carrying.  Well a shout out to #Erickson who did a fine job of refurbishing my 2011 Sweetpost.  She is lovely and ready to go.  Still working on shoes.  Sure wish manufacturers would make narrow shoes for women and not just smaller mens designs.  



 What would a blog post be without photos.

Sun up on pedestrian bridge over Town Lake

 

Professor Al and Teach Sheila To Not Be Stranded - Part 1

Sleeping out for an early roll to see my friends finish the Texas Water Safari Prelim.  Ride - Martindale, Texas to Victoria, Texas

Below Mansfield Dam on a "Dam Loop"

Fly to Banff in 23 days.  #TourDivide2016

Gran Gravel 500

One does not typically plan to quit a race (DNF) - do they?

The Gran Gravel 500 is a new 500 mile unsupported gravel event cooked up by Billy Rice to help raise cancer treatment funds for the St. Joseph Hospital in Bryan Texas.  The ultra started at 5am 04/22 and if racers finished in time, they could then join in a multi-distance ride on 04/24.

A 500 mile unsupported event in April was perfect timing to shake down my Tour Divide rig and expose (the many) gaps in my preparation.  SheilaT and I had somewhat opposing goals.  For SheilaT, strictly a race.  For me an epic training ride.  For both of us, to do the best we could, complete the entire 500 mile distance, and if possible, finish by 5:00 pm on Sunday 04/24.

I just want to summary the highlights and takeaways - not do an extended race report.

Day 1 - College Station to somewhere in the Davy Crockett NF
Chilly start with temp in the high 50s.   No jacket - too much trouble to have to stow early after warming up.  Tyvek and arm warmers were fine.
Double paceline with escort first 20 miles then let the pack off to set our own pace.
The sunrise was a "this is why I ride moment".  Fog close to the ground adding a beautiful contrast to the surrounding purple sun-kissed hills and trees.  I took one shot of the moon setting.  I hope SheilaT got some of the sunrise/fog.

Super pleased with 181 miles the 1st day.  Goal was 200 but by midnight knew we needed sleep.   Riding conditions were amazingly good given the epic flooding earlier in the week in nearby Houston.  Sand roads that would have been deep and troublesome if dry, were fast rolling hard pack. One road still had standing water "lakes" but were rideable.  Climbs were mostly long and rolling.  I'm guessing 25% pavement (1 mandatory pavement re-route to avoid unridable mud road).

Sleep location was just off the road in the woods.  We passed up an actual NF campsite just outside Groveton but deemed it way too early to stop.   I used an SOL bivy with assorted clothes as my sleep kit.  Was warm enough.  Bivy is open at the head.  A mesh would have been good  - keep mosquitoes out.
--Dog barking in the distance the whole time were were down.  A bird.  A really loud, repetitive bird.  I would have shot said bird.  Pack of coyotes - crazy close by.   Maybe managed an hour of good sleep.  Should have gotten up and left.  Ever hopeful?

Day 2
Rolled out in the dark.  After a bit I remarked that the road surfaces had really changed.   I don't think I would have made that 200 mark without it having been a 24hr push.  The roads turned softer and very rutted from runoff really slowing progress especially in the dark.
Sun-up brought dryer roads but very different terrain.  Gone were yesterday's fast rollers.  Today was steep climb repetition.  Tired from no sleep and maybe affected by the humid heat, it took us 10 hours to do 77 miles to Palestine - a very different pace than the day before.

Once in Palestine, I decided to stop.  My saddle was trying to kill me.  I'd been having trouble with it; know I need to change it; super tired of buying one to try and it not working.  I've got a pile of saddles that suck.

Billy Rice came out and got me - a logistical saver.  SheilaT carried on and is making her way in drizzle to Trinity as of this writing.  She will finish.  She's like that.

By the numbers:
I rode 258 miles in about 36 hours.
The route has 18k feet of total climbing.  In the 1st 1/2 is 11k.  Elevation stacked on the front end.
Chased by dogs - at least a dozen
Rabbit chases - 2
Frog -1

I have a couple of special powers.  A car will always come by if I pee.  Case in point - a spectacular pee fail early on Friday on a dirt road that I'll bet sees 1 car a week.
I find toys on the road.  Most famous is Sharetha Barton.  I should blog how I got her.  Saturday we were riding the shoulder of a paved road and I saw a dirty, face down I don't even know what.  I u-turned and grabbed him.  He is Flat Stanley.  I like the port/starboard wristband thing he's got.
Not an hour later on some back forest road, an orange pterodactyl.  I gave him to SheilaT cuz he matches her new Niner.

 




Gear wrap-up:
Could not be happier with Klite.  Need cache battery to buffer phone charging at low speed.
Saddle history: Terry Butterfly for 2011 TD.  Paddled 2012, 2013.  Got new Butterfly for 2014 TD.  Mfg had changed something and at moderate distance, the center sags.  Thought it was defective and got another, same thing.  Tried Selle Italia Lady with same style - had same problem.  Terry Liberator Race - don't remember the issue but did not work.  Got a Bontrager lady something off ebay.  Nice shape but hard as a rock.  Specialized Lithia - comp model and super heavy so did not consider it a contender.  May go back to it.  Have been loaned a fizik Vesta to try.
Alpkit gas tank came in.  It looks great.  Can't wait to rig the charging wires in a more practical way.

Now, a nap.

Training and Not. Up and Down

My very very worst thing is consistency.  It's cold outside.  It's wet outside.  I had a hard day at work.  I love my big chair at home...  My inner battle is constant.  I will watch what I eat today.  I will do the scheduled workout today...   If you are reading this hoping to find a magic pill for having a perfectly executed plan, wrong place.  I have great weeks and less than weeks.  Some weeks I eat lean proteins and salads and others it's guac and martinis.

Carry on.

It is now April.  This is what Tuesdays after work in April look like.  I pack 9 pounds of water and sand on the bike in addition to usual gear and my drinking water.  Mesa is a popular hill to repeat and I'm a bit envious of the roadies on 17 lb carbon sticks as they lap me on the circuit.  But really, they have no idea.
 

SheilaT and I have been focusing on the Gran Gravel 500.  The plan of course is to slowly ramp up mileage and weight (the bike's not mine).  March looked pretty good with goals met at higher levels than the same time in 2011 or 2014 TD prep.  

April, well....my consistency monster has been in town.  And then there was this day.  A really bad day.  The 2nd weekend I had a 100 planned on Saturday and a 50 for Sunday.   Saturday was sluggish from the roll out.  

Commence self talk.  You can do this!  You have to do this!  Just keep going, you'll feel better soon! That point where you are as far as you can get on the loop from home and totally bonk and you are keenly aware no one is home to come get you...  Carry on.  Oh, and there was intense lightning just before it started to rain.  There is only one way to get there from here.  

Once home I had to work the experience into the context of the bigger picture.  There will be days like that on the divide.  There will be only one thing to do and there really is only one way to get "there" from where I am at the time.   This is the philosophical me.  What is the lesson or what was the good that I got out of the experience?  Training is not just throwing down the miles.  

Then there is the Project Manager me.  My next thoughts are risk mitigation.  Why was I so sluggish?  Why did I bonk so badly?  I'll never really know.  I did take a hard look at nutrition the day before and even more important were recovery actions I'd done (or not) after a hard effort at Castell the weekend before.  No massage or foam roller time.  Tons of car time that week + desk time.  Toxic legs?  Who knows.  But the risk of the event repeating itself is mitigated by paying more attention to post workout self care and over all nutrition.  

Gear

New PZ shoes were too wide.  Mfgs really need to make narrower choices for women. 

Replaced 2010 Oakleys.  Had to get same model off ebay - I could not find a frame that accommodates my narrow pupil distance (read skinny head).  They should arrive this week. 

Alpkit finally got production of large size gas tank bags with a power cable port.  On order and should arrive any day. 

Saddle - see next blog post ;-/

March Madness

Miles and miles and of course, more gear.

With the countdown now in single digit weeks, the cycle (see what I did there) of do what I can during the week and pack the miles on the weekend is firmly established.  Last night was the Fargo with my normal stuff + 8.5 lbs of sand forcing Mesa, my favorite local hill, into submission.

I did take some time to paddle.  Jeff's 4-man race boat needed a fill in and it just sounded like too much fun to pass up.  30 miles on a healthy San Marcos river.  A fabulous day.   I regret that I did not make it a priority to keep paddling while training for TD.  So little time.

I'm not sure if it helps or hurts, but Billy Rice roped a bunch of us into this crazy event at the end of April - 500 miles of banjos and pit bulls though the forests of east Texas (CHI St. Joseph Health Gran Fondo/ Grangravel 500).  It spurred me into a flurry of bike rigging activity such as putting on the SON hub and Klite, aero bars, and deciding where food can go with the smaller Fargo frame bag.
SheilaT and I took a long weekend for a scouting mission out east.  Fun, beautiful and scary.  No, huge man at the Point Blank Exxon, I don't want to come with you to see your puppy.  And Oy, the dogs out there.  Pepper spray is so going in the kit.  Maybe bear spray!

We road about 100 miles of the route and camped.  Riding into the night was great testing for the Klite.  It was fantastic.  I do see now why racers carry a cache battery.  I plugged the iPhone into the Sinewave USB charger so it would stay charged during the day.  Because there is "relatively" little elevation, the phone charged well.  Coming into towns when our pace would slow is when I noticed the vibration coming from the phone as it lost and regained the charge.  About 4mph seems to be it.  Above that, all good.  I will get a battery to buffer the charge interruptions that certainly will happen on the divide climbs.    

The coolest "training" was my brother coming in from Boston to do the Castell Grind gravel event with me (near Llano, Texas).  So so much fun!  The cyclists pretty much rent the town, ride gravel on gorgeous flower-lined hill country roads, then party all night.  With a training ride on my schedule again the next day - for me it was party lite but super fun none the less.  

Gear progress:

Saddles - sticking with the WTB Volt for now.  

Shoes - found a new Pearl Izumi shoe with a BOA closure, carbon infused shank and running sole. Sould arrive soon.  

Bags - my Revelate Feed Bag from 2011 is starting to look rough.  Purchased a new one and also a    larger front storage pocket.  This should help offset not having as much space in the frame bag. 

Helmet - if I don't cut my hair, I'm going to need a new one.  The one I bought for 2014 is not very    ponytail friendly.  Hmmmm

Gloves - really a bit too late, but need to settle on a glove set up.  I want to make some sort of pogie for the bars too.  Blocking the wind seems to be a bigger deal than actually staying dry. 

9 weekends left......

February Roundup

Where is the time going?  I can't believe it is March already.

Gear Gear Gear
My new wheel has been built.  A Stans Arch sporting a SON dynamo hub.  I've not set it up yet but am super excited.  The hub will power a sweet KLite and a Sinewave USB charger to keep my ipod and phone going. I've read I'll need a cache battery to prevent the phone from re-booting at slow speeds but I'll test it first.

No picture but I replaced the Fargo SRAM 28-42 crankset with a NextSL 24-38.  Wow.  My 54 year old legs have never been happier!  Not to mention the 1/2lb of weight loss on the bike.  Current dry weight is 23.5 but the light system will erase all that.

And sometimes a girl wants a good brewed cup of coffee.  I already have a GSI Ti mug and tiny portable stove but drinking coffee and needing to boil water for dinner sent me and SheilaT back to the internet.  This set is not for racing but will be fun on camping overnights.
It is  a nested set of GSI bowls and a collapsing coffee cone.  The Thermarest was my addition so the cone would have something to sit on.

Training to Race.  Racing to Train
February was packed.  Iceman gravel near Waco (might have been January actually), social rides in Mason and Castell, Holy Roller and 1/2 in Smithville and of course Desert Fest out in Big Bend that included the IMBA Epic trail in Big Bend Ranch State Park

.

Just 5 weeks till the Castell Grind.  So excited my brother who is new to cycling will be coming in from Boston to ride.
http://www.castellgrind.com/ 

And OY - only 7 weeks to the CHI St Joseph Health Gran Fondo. This bad boy is 500 miles meeting up with a 100 mile community ride to raise funds for College Station area cancer treatment.  I'll be training out there next weekend and hope to get some good pics.
http://stjofo.convio.net/site/TR?fr_id=1040&pg=entry

And....14 weeks to the big dance.
I put my name on the list last week.  The 117th entry (if Rob is a real person).  117 added together is 9.  9 is 1/2 18 or חי.  It's a numbers thing.  Miles of the Tour Divide are 2745 which is 18.  See.  I have a theme.  To Life!  

TD2011 in Strava

Just want to see how this works. #tourdivide

Scott Morris at Trackleaders was kind enough to send me my 2011 Spot track as a .gpx file.  There must be something in the download that loses the data points but it is still cool to look at.  The original track is still available for view at Trackleaders.com in the portfolio section.  I downloaded the file into Strava to see the elevation profile chart as I was not able to figure out how to see that in Basecamp.

https://www.strava.com/activities/483657711 

http://trackleaders.com/tourdivide11i.php?name=Sheila_Reiter