Messy Verde 2013

Another year and another single speed solo effort completed at the 12 hours of Messy Verde. 7 laps, 116 miles, 9251 feet of climbing with just under 11 hours of moving time. Sweet!

The race started off with the typical Le mans run to the bikes with lap 1 being slow in the ant line of riders clogged up on the single track.. After lap 2 and 3 it starts to spread out. I did have some dumb ass plow his shoulder into me while passing me. He was super aggro and I gave him a nice lecture on sportsmanship, etc while riding his wheel. Riders like him shouldn't be out racing with this type of aggressive actions.

I was riding great going into lap 6. I headed out for lap 6 and when I realized I forgot my water bottle  I turned around and went back to my pit to get one. Damn, rookie mistake. This cost me about a mile and a few extra minutes. Well, things got worse from there. Within the first mile I stated feeling nauseous and realized I drank too much liquids between laps when I pitted and needed to purge. Purge I did and I felt funky for awhile after that taking at least half the lap to get my head straight. I felt better but than at mile 7 into lap 6 I had some intense cramps hit me. I had to stop and massage my thighs and take some salt tablets. I finally made it through the lap which took me nearly 2 hours. I had lost a lot of time and knew my goal of 8 laps was not within reach. I came into my pit feeling much better and went out for lap 7 with no issues. I felt great. But  no lap 8 this year. I ended up 11th out of 40 plus single speeders. The train wreck of lap 6 cost me a few spots for sure.

Out on lap one. 

In the pain cave!

Big Miles Weekend

I started my my new position with San Miguel County last week and lucked out receiving a four day weekend. Bike packing time. I was looking for big miles and opted to ride to Fruita and back. I wanted a straight forward route and took all roads with lots of asphalt. I chose the El Mariachi SS with a 32x18. It was spinny at times but with the full load of gear it seemed alright. 

I started in Telluride on Friday morning with Laura dropping me off on her way to work. I pedaled straight through to Fruita with some nasty winds out of the North. I arrived in Fruita just before nightfall with 136 miles for the day. I was spent. I grabbed some food and hit the sack. 

Saturday morning I awoke and headed over to the Fruita Fat Tire fest pancake breakfast. My goal for the day was open ended and pedaled out of Fruita at 10am. I pedaled to Montrose where I arrived about 3.30pm with TR meeting me on his bike by Delta. I decided to stay that night in Montrose so TR and I headed over to the brewery. Later on we BBQ'd at his house with some beers and friends. It was a good time and my legs were happy to stop with 75 miles in for the day.

Sunday morning TR and I rolled out of Montrose a bit after 7am heading to Ridgway. The winds kicked up early and the ride wasn't so pleasant into Ridgway. My left ankle area was hurting from the previous weekends injury in Moab as well. TR stopped in Ridgway to meet family for some hilljack truck fest. I continued on to Dallas Divide riding with a old salty roadie named Gino who has lived in the Telluride area for over 40 years. We chatted all the way up to the top where he dropped me with his geared road bike. 

I just kept pedaling along bumming some water from a friend near Sawpit and rode up through Ilium valley onto Lizard Head pass which was all climbing. Laura had rode up to the pass to meet me and we pedaled back down to Rico stopping at the bar for some much needed food and beer. 300 miles with 15k of climbing for the weekend. 

It was a fun weekend without too much discomfort. Big miles carrying a bunch of gear and suffering on the single speed on the road. I'm getting ready for the Colorado Trail Race and I will be doing big rides with lots of brutal climbing and hike-a-bikes involved. 

Log Hill looking toward the Sneffels.

Lunch time in Montrose with a spicy tuna bowl I packed with me from Telluride.

Leaving Fruita on Saturday morning where I spotted Rick Watts from Vegas.

TR's house where we washed my clothing after two days of pedaling.

At 2 Rascals Brewery in Montrose Saturday afternoon.

Testing TR's bottle opener on his Toyota.

Back in Rico Sunday afternoon......300 miles and 15k climbing. 

WRIAD 2013

White Rim in a Day....always a big ride when you ride the regular 100 miles either direction. I had a great idea to ride the White Rim starting from our camp at Willow Springs Road ten miles North of Moab and to ride out to the route via Potash Road  into the rim route at the bottom of Schafer Road. Sure we would miss the fun downhill descent on Schafer but after riding the route a handful of times lets do something different. Oh, and do it on the fat bikes again! The other guys; Paul Adams, Dan Holmes and Pete Eschallier bought into it...kind of. LOL!!!

Rolling out in the early dawn along the Colorado River.

Paul, Pete and Dan.

FITFP (feet in the fucking pedals) 6am. We rolled out of camp and headed out to the highway riding a few miles before hitting the bike path that runs parallel to highway 191. The temperature was about 40 degrees making it a cool descent down the bike path but not unbearable. At mile ten we turned right on highway 279 that leads out to Wall Street (climbing area), Poison Spider Jeep route, Portal exit from atop the rim and to Potash road that leas us straight into the White Rim. The road follows the Colorado River making for some sweet scenery riding out to Potash Road. We really didn't take many pictures on this trip. It was hands on the grips and stops were for eating and drinking. I did understate the miles that would carry us to the White Rim. I was thinking around 30ish miles and we were at mile 39.5 with 3 hours pedalling time when we arrived at the tie in. We rolled left and we were on our way with winds already in our face. We should have pedaled it counter clockwise with the winds we faced later on. Hindsight is 20-20.


At mile 48 the winds were really whipping in our face and I was unsure with the longer miles added to the route and with the fierce winds battering us that we would have enough water. I was carrying nearly 170 ounces which would typically get me through a hot long day but the winds dry you out quickly. The temperature had also rose to the mid 70's. And pedalling a nearly 50 pound bike doesn't help at all.

A few miles later we ran into a group from the front range that was doing a multi day ride and Pete didn't hesitate to ask for water. The group filled a couple bottles for us. Thanks!

Me topping out at Murphy's Hogback at mile 80.

We made it to Murphy's Hogback for a lunch stop around 2pm dropping down out of the wind to eat. This was mile 80 and I wasn't feeling so hot at this point with my body feeling a bit weak. I had just fought a bout of food poisoning on Wednesday night and bounced back quickly to ride the route. I'm not sure if that was smart or not. We ate and jumped back on the pony's heading to our next climb which was Hardscrabble. With the gearing of a 22x36 and 4 inch tires the first big climb of the day on the Hogback was rideable. We headed off to Potato Bottom, 20 miles away from Murphy's Hogback which is typically a silt garden. It wasn't any different on this day and Pete took a digger in the Potato Silt. He was on my wheel tight on his 3 inch tire steed Krampus and couldn't see the line and ate it. He looked like Casper the ghost. We made quick work of the climb on Hardscrabble descending to ride along the Green River which leads us to Mineral Bottom and the way out. Yaah!!

Pete eating dust on Potato Bottom.

The next big climb was Mineral Bottom and a long 13 miles to highway 313. I was not looking forward to this long meat grinder. As we made our way up Mineral Bottom the winds were shooting down off of the cliff walls. Once we topped out it was game on to the highway and to camp which at this point was 20 some miles away still. It was around 6pm now and I knew we would be back by dark. We all had some type of lights so the darkness wasn't a worry. the wind was now to our back for the grind to 313. Thank you!

It was every man for themselves it seemed at this point and Pete was up front putting down the pace on the Krampus. The 30.5 inch Knard tires ate up the route and with his 1x11 gearing it was working out well. Us other three were on Salsa Mukluk's with 4 inch Nate tires. They roll fast but not as fast as a 3 inch Knard tire.

Once we arrived at highway 313 it was a horse race to highway 191 and to the gas station to get ice cream before they closed. I was time trialling down the highway with Dan right behind me. Pete had stopped at the end of the Mineral Bottom road at 313 to eat and wait for Paul who had imploded and was limping up the road.

Dan and I were eating our Fat Boy's when Pete and Paul rolled up. They went inside to do the same and Dan and I rolled to the highway and back to camp arriving back at 7.45pm. We had been gone nearly 14 hours. What a day! 141 miles with 10k of climbing.

Eat, beer and bed.

Phils World Is Open

Stinking Springs

Phil's World is opened up for the season. I rode it on Thursday with Paul Adams on the fatties. Only a few small sections of mud on the race loop with the back side of Ledges needing some more time to dry out.

Sedona out...Moab In.

With the weather looking adverse for the Sedona Big Friggin Loop (which was cancelled) I decided to head over to Moab. TR was supposed to go but bailed on his birthday weekend and opted to stay home. Oh well, he missed out. I rode the fat bike from town on Friday and rode some of the Brand Trails and over to Klonzo Trails via Sovereign ATV track and back the same way. The new Klonzo trails were finished in December and are a fun singletrack combo of trails past the Sovereign TH on Willow Springs Road. I encountered a few rain drizzles but nothing major to ruin the days ride.

I rode the Mag 7 loop on Saturday with a guy from Anchorage Alaska that I had met at the Moab Brewery on Friday night. He was a pretty darn good rider, riding an Ibis Mojo full squish and full carbon. With the weather looking iffy we headed out on the trails with the day bringing only a few snow flurries. We racked up 35.5 miles riding all of 7UP, Bull Run, Great Escape, Little Canyon, Arths, Getaway and back 7UP to the cars. 4 hours moving time. 

On Sunday I rode the Brand trails running into Dave Brudette from Chama. We had a good ride and we parted ways hoping to meet up next week in Moab where he is staying for a few weeks.

Down by the river.

Canyonlands Campground. 

The Salsa Selma. She had a great day.

Sovereign ATV track. 

North 40 Trail in the Brand Trail system.

Mag 7.

Klonzo Trails.

Campground was a ghost town.

Ryan pumping up his tire. Slow leak that held the duration of the ride on Saturday.

The mighty Colorado River.

Gemini Arch in the background.

March Moab Mag 7 Ride

With the weather looking prime Paul and I shot over to Moab on Sunday to ride the Mag 7 trails.On the drive over the weather was looking cloudy and rain like. That changed once we put rubber on 7UP trail. The clouds burned off and it was feeling like 70 degrees within a few miles.The trail conditions on 7UP weren't perfect.....loamy, loamy and more loamy. It took some real effort to climb the ten miles to Bull Run trail. There was snow and ice in spots up high but once we were a couple miles down Bull Run the trails were perfect....slick rock and sweet dirt single track. We ran into a shuttle group with a guide from Magpie Adventures that used to live in Ophir. We chatted and talked bikes for a bit. These guys could ride and Paul and I put the hammer down to show them some love and how we do it on hardtail singles. I think they got it. LOL.

We split form the full squish riders and made a left turn onto Arth's from Great Escape to start the climb back to Getaway. The legs were feeling the hard effort from the previous days ride in Mesa Verde Nat Park on the Mean Dean road bike. Once we on onto Getaway the trail was pretTy good until we climbed higher up and hit more snow and mud. The trial was soft and made the grunt work on the singles even harder. After Getaway there is a mile plus on a connector 4x4 road that was in horrible shape. Snow, mud, rocks and more climbing. This brought us back to 7UP where we would back track to the TH on HWY 313. More loamy soft trail conditions and my legs woke up and I felt super........I put down the hammer to see if Paul was going to answer my pace. Nope....not at all. He was feeling the pain and I was smiling ear to ear. He just wanted to be done with it. 

The ride stats were 36 miles with 3k plus of climbing in 4 hours 15 minutes of moving time. It was my first ride on my 29er Salsa single speed and it felt good. Going to Sedona for a 50 miler this next weekend. It should be a great time.

Mag 7 trail head.

Paul posing.

Me trying to figure out my new phone to take a picture.

My Salsa Selma. La Sals in the background.

Did you ever notice the slower riders get their pictures taken. LOL.

I WILL BEAT MY ASS TODAY TO KICK YOURS TOMORROW.

Road Riding

I have really been behind on posting on my blog. There ins't a lot going on besides riding and working. The first 'ride' of the year will be in Sedona on March 9th with a Fat Bike Challenge in Telluride coming up on February 23rd.

I did manage a few road rides in the past two weeks. Shawn Gregory and I rode up into Mesa Verde Park which is a great ride in the winter with very little vehicle traffic. The ride is 45 miles with 4300 feet of climbing. We rode it under 3 hours from the bottom parking lot, It's worth the ride to get out there and do it. One of the premier road rides in the four corners.

I also have gotten back on the single speed cross bike for some good cross training. It's a bit light on the gearing but overall OK with a 42x18. I rode the triangle in the Cortez area which goes from Cortez to Mancos, over toward Summit Lake and to Dolores, back to Cortez. It's right at 45 miles depending where you park in town.

This week I rode the single speed cross from Rico to Cortez to pick up the Jeep which had been in the body shop. I backed into a tree and smashed the rear gate and window out in my neighborhood one dark night. At the same time they repainted the hood which and been peeling for quite some time. Looking sharp.

Also last week on my days off while in Cortex I went and got some new ink done. I've been wanting another tattoo and had one picked out for some time. With the wife's approval I pulled the trigger and inked up a forearm with a simple acronym. IWBMATTKYT. Check it out.