The rumor started getting around yesterday that the powers that be might let all the worker bees head off for their Thanksgiving a bit early. Nothing real solid, but hope was all the motivation I needed to be prepared. So last night I loaded up my bike bag with all my gear and pulled Betty up from the basement bullpen.
It didn't take long after getting to work to get the official word, noon would be the end of the work day for us. Score. I had an inside lead on a group ride on a new trail between Golden and Idaho Springs above Clear Creek Canyon. A 12 mile loop with a hearty 2000 or so feet of elevation gain sounded right up my alley. Today would be my first chance to "measure up" to the pain that John "The Punisher" Perry would undoubtedly dish out in abundance. I've been steadfastly training for 4 or 5 weeks, but that is but a drop in the bucket compared to The Punisher's base training.
Under blue skies and 70 degree temps, a group of 4 of us met up in Golden to pound out some miles of singletrack. The normal routine of everyone jockeying for being the slow guy played out as normal with all of us telling the rest that they were without a doubt faster than we were.
Unload and hit the trail, and just as fast as that happened the race was on. The Punisher pushed the pace and quickly he and I were off the front. Since it was a downhill it wasn't that shocking that I was up front, but the ride quickly turned to a climb and it was time to see how things were going to go. This was my 5th straight day to ride, and 3rd "hard" day in that span. The Punisher doesn't care, and neither do the climbs. Much to my surprise, I'm middle-ringing it up the climb behind the Punisher and hanging tough.
The trail is fast and flowy with nothing really technical, but its fun and you can't argue with being out on such a great day. The downhills went quick and the climbs came suddenly, but as the miles clicked off I still had The Punisher in my sights. I'm sure he had a lot left in the tank, and I surely didn't, but it was encouraging nonetheless.
The Punisher and I had separated ourselves off the front, and the battle was just between us. About 1/2 way through the 12 mile route, I had to abandon my hopes of not needing the granny gear, and dropped into the 22 tooth for some recovery as I chase down The Punisher. The bad news is that my heart rate is sky high, but the good news is that I am recovering while spinning away but I'm keeping in contact with him.
As the ride pushed through the final stages, The Punisher put some time into me but nothing nearly as significant as our previous rides. Huh....Training does work. Its a good feeling to know I'm progressing with my fitness, but its a long winter and I've got a lot of work to do.
2 comments:
Nice pictures :) I've it up the Cone a few times lately. Do you clean the steps? Still don't *quite* have it with 2:1 on the SS but close.
Didn't quite clean the steps. Made the bottom section and did the two switchbacks but couldn't quite get over the last couple of steps at the top.
Maybe next time...
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