- Most of us on the Peak
The GT is over so it’s time to start riding the bike again on a regular basis. Until April 29, 2008, I hadn’t kept a regular training log since the fall of 2000. Prior to that, I have something written, training or otherwise, from just about every day since the late ’80’s (I did record a five week period in July and August of 2007 as I prepared for Leadville and racing against Floyd). But now I have full year to look back on and compare to as I work to prepare for some racing in 2009.
Like last year, I’ll be racing the Sea Otter Classic (as in next weekend, yikes!) and like last year, I’ll line up just to be pummeled into submission by, among others, guys who were in diapers when I first raced at the Sea Otter nearly 20 years ago. Then, it’s putting on The Original Growler in late May, a challenging mountain bike race here in Gunnison that benefits our trail advocacy organization, Gunnison Trails. It’s a ton of work but I get a ton of miles in, too, granted, they are start and stop miles with a backpack filled with stakes, course markers, cordless drill, stable gun, Dr. Pepper, etc. Later in July I’ll pack up the family and head for Europe and the TransAlp, which starts in Germany and then crosses the Alps from north to south by way of Austria and Italy. Eight days with my Team Topeak Ergon Partner from Austria, Alban Lakata, whom I have not met but am told is a good guy and a hammer (and not yet 30!). With multiple 10,000+ vertical days, If I can survive TransAlp, I should either be good to go for Leadville or shelled.
Where last summer I was able to train exclusively for Leadville, this summer I will train for the TransAlp and then, when I get back, circle the wagons, see how I feel and try to figure out how best to be ready for my 7th try at the Cloud City 100. I’ll have a short three weeks to come up with something.
Back to the task at hand, I notice that last year at this time I was riding about 8 hours per week in early April but we also were still getting after it on skis, too, both at the area and in the backcountry. I haven’t skied since the GT but I keep thinking I’ll get out and bag a peak or perhaps make an attempt on the rare and elusive ascent/descent of the Storm Ridge/El Mano de Chente system in the West Elk Mountains. Last week I played a bunch of hockey early in the week - we lost in the rec league championships to Fast Eddy’s Barber Shop; got a good 6 hours in on the bike and then closed down Crested Butte ski area for the season with the family.
That was a fun ski day the highlights of which included me being a jerk as I was on a mission to drag Susan and the boys up to the top of Mt. Crested Butte (the Peak), a tough little boot pack and then a steep ski down on variable snow conditions. It’s sort of a rite of passage to get to the peak on closing day and I was hell bent on making it happen earlier than later as the weather wasn’t perfect. That, and anytime kids are involved, if something doesn’t happen straightaway, the likelihood of it happening at all diminishes with each passing minute. In this situation, there were other families involved that didn’t necessarily embrace my agenda and well, you know, the whole group dynamics thing. It was made clear to me that my disdain with the direction of our ski day was about as well hidden as Cutler’s desire to continue to play football for the Denver Broncos.
Long story short, the DeMattei/Wieins clan finally did gain the summit…us and about 100 other locals who also dig being on top on the last day. The summit area is about the size of a small bedroom and there must have been 50 people packed onto it. About 50 vertical feet lower is another flatish area on the ridge and another group was here, Susan, myself and the twins included, and we never actually summited. But our oldest at age 10, Cooper, apparently felt the need to get on the very top. He had to of pushed his way into the mass of humanity on the summit and may have never gained an outside edge to check out the view between the bodies crammed onto that tiny spot with ample exposure on all sides. When he came down I asked him how it was and he replied, “Lots of smoke, beer and f-bombs up there, Dad.” The day turned out great and I even apologized to those who I had been short with, including my lovely wife, Susan. And with that, CB is closed for the season, a week earlier than last year.
Back to training, then, I have had pretty decent riding these past few day, mainly on the road and in that 2-3 hour range, although I haven’t quite crossed the 3 hour mark yet, perhaps today. The weather has been nice but is now back to crap as I’m watching it snow as I’m typing this so maybe not. For the rest of April I’ll try to be close to what I did last year, slowly ramping up the weekly hours and intensity as the month progresses. Here’s a brief summary of my training from last April:
Week 1 Apr 1-6 8 hours on the bike; one 6 hour backcountry ski.
Week 2 Apr 7-13 8 hours on the bike; 3 times alpine skiing at CB.
Week 3 Apr 14-20 13 hours on the bike including the Sea Otter race.
Week 4 Apr 21-27 12 hours on the bike in Germany with my teammate Jeff Kerkove.
Week 5 Apr 28-May 4 2 hours on the bike. Lots of travel and trail design work (AKA hiking around in the jungle with a machete) at Las Rosadas.
Primarily, these hours on the bike were what I call JR or Just Ride. The intensity of JR depends on how I feel. Sometimes JR is easy and sometimes I’ll hammer some but it’s never timed or measured or anything digital. This period was a mix of road and mountain and a good bit of something I call “knobs on the road,” which is just that, riding my mountain bike on the road. I do try to get the vertical in as I can and had many days of 1500 to 2000 feet of climbing. A standout ride was in the Black Forest with Jeff where we rode for about 5 hours and climbed over 5000 vert. Also, I threw in a set of 20-40’s and a set of Phosphate Sprints during week 3, a prelude of things to come.
Whup, sun’s out. Time to try to bust out a few more hours on the bike.
Go outside and do something fun!
Designing Trails in Mexico May 2008
