Monumentally Afflicted

Kenton and I got out to Palmer Park for a short lunchtime ride. Nothing overly technical, but much better than another 45 minutes on the trainer! I love riding in Palmer Park. Having grown up primarily on the East Coast, it still amazes me that there are parks like Palmer Park right in the middle of the city. As we headed out for the ride today, you could feel a storm coming in. The winds picked up and graupel started to fall. By the time we got back to the truck, the snow was coming down pretty heavily. Neat! We desperately need the precipitation, but at this point I think I'd prefer rain.

Bleh, sick of the freakin' trainer!  Another 45 minutes in front of the TV last night.  Put in some high intensity intervals.  The weather is conspiring against enjoyable training.  We're supposed to get some more snow this afternoon and evening.  In an effort to keep things fun, I'm gonna hit Palmer Park after my chiropractor appointment this morning.  I love Palmer Park, it has great riding and is right in the middle of town. I moved here in 94 and I didn't know where in the city to live.  Tirpak suggested that I check out the Palmer Park area.  His comment was something like, "It's like a little Grand Canyon in the middle of town."  I ended up moving into an apartment right next to the Palmer Park.  I spent a lotta time exploring the park's more obscure areas and my technical skills skyrocketed.  Between pushing my limits and being a new wheelbuilder, I taco'd a lotta wheels back then! 

Well, two days after about a foot of snow, the conditions are expected to be variable. I figured about the only responsible outside ride would be up and down Mt Herman, stick to the road the whole way. Conditions were icy when I started around 9:15, but it was super muddy on the way downhill an hour later. I encountered partially eaten deer legs in two separate spots. The coyotes and/or mountain lions must be getting their fill! I put in a fairly hard effort today and felt pretty decent. Speed was a bit slow, due to conditions, but I got a good workout. Hopefully, it'll be nicer next weekend and I can get in an extra long ride.

Spent 5 hours this morning doing belt testing for Ryu Te. Not especially tiring, but a bit taxing on my knees and ankles. I'm slowly learning and progressing. I think I'm 6th Kyu now, which is Purple belt maybe? Hit the trainer tonight and got in about 35 minutes of quality riding. Warmed up and did about 8 intervals with rests in between, then did a short warm down. Full stretching and some core exercises. I imagine it'll be a total mud disaster outside tomorrow, due to ~12" of snowmelt today and tomorrow. It'll probably be another day on the trainer or maybe a sloppy ride up and down Mt Herman Rd.

I used to get excited about a good blizzard for the skiing. Frankly, with a minimum of 2 hours in the car to get to a ski area, I'm over that. Now that I'm properly equipped, a good blizzard gets me all hyped up for some riding! We have an excellent spring snow storm hitting the region right now. I got outta work early to avoid getting either stuck at work or on the highway for way too long. Got home, slapped some brake levers and random grips on my snow bike and hit the trail. Snow biking is one of the few times I enjoy riding with my dogs, Marley and Tess. They can keep up or go faster than me, and I don't have to worry about them bugging anyone, because no one else is on the trail. The dogs absolutely love going for rides, especially in the snow! Marley (the Golden) gets the ice-ball thing going on her feet, which slows her down, but Tess is pretty much a non-stop nutcase out there. Good times. This is supposed to be a big storm, with up to 2 feet of snow. When ...

Let's see...it has been a couple days.  Did some riding on the trainer Tuesday night, just before midnight.  Time went by pretty quickly listening to some Jack Johnson.  Knees are feeling good. Got out into the Preserve yesterday for some good singletrack riding.  Nice to have such good trails so close to the house.   Per Jon, sounds like the bears are out in force on the trails, esp DLS.  If I'm lucky, I might see one hightailing it away from me, the only way I've ever seen them on the trails. We're supposed to get pounded by a snow storm.  12-24" and it is already starting to come down in Monument.  I went to grab the snow bike from the garage this morning, but realized I had taken the brake levers for my Monocog 29er build.  Aargh!  Not that I'd really need brakes in 24" of' snow... Oh yeah, elbows are a bit achey...gotta keep a watchful eye on that...

Well, I figure endurance racing is really about pain tolerance and suffering. So, in that vain, I did a little more bushwacking and exploring today. I probably only got about 5 miles of riding in, but the suffering quotient was high. I also learned today that Google Earth 5.0 has GPS import capability for free now. Sweet! Seeing your routes on Google Earth puts them into an entirely different perspective, especially when trying to hook up various tracks. Yesterday, it was 70 degrees, today it was snowing a bit. Typically variable Colorado weather for March, but I still find the drastic changes pretty cool. Trying my hardest to fight off the cold that is running through our house. Lots of coughing, congestion, etc. I really don't want to get sick right now. I can already tell that I have a bit of what the kids have, but I hope I don't cough up a lung, like they've been doing the past few days. Nasty!