Erratic Steering

Today I went on another awesome lunch ride in the Timp Foothills with some guys from work and some other friends. We took advantage of the beautiful fall weather while it lasts (no arm or leg warmers needed).

By the way, I wore my new Twin Six jersey for the first time. Now I have exactly 2 jerseys that fit me and exactly 2 that don't. I need (want?) more cycling clothes, but after buying the Superfly last month, I better lay low for another month. Besides, the cycling season is all but over, so maybe I'll save it for a trainer (buying a trainer is so depressing) or maybe some snowshoes.

Back to the lunch ride. We climbed up the normal route past the water towers, up Betty and then East on "Kenny's Belt Route" (I think this is the name), which starts out fairly mellow and then there's some fairly steep climbing. My heart rate over the first 4 minutes on the Belt Route tells the story: 122 (right after taking a breather at the trail fork), 128, 133, 137, 141, 146, 149, 152, 158 (okay, starting to feel it), 159, 161, 161, 162, 166, 169, 170 (can someone put me out of my misery?), 169, 168, 167, 168, 167 (trying to recover by pedaling slower to ease the pain), 168, 169 (grade picks up again), 167, 166, 165 (the worst is over as the trail starts to flatten out).

During the period when my heart was at 165+ (and probably for a while after that), the two guys behind me were probably wondering if I'd ever ridden a mountain bike before as I was weaving all over the trail. I'm hoping that as my riding skills improve, I won't be spending so much wasted energy trying to keep my bike straight on the trail.

Jacob's Ladder

Saturday was my 2nd time riding / exploring the Corner Canyon trails in Draper. I drove 5 minutes from my house to the top of Suncrest, parked and hopped on the still muddy jeep road that runs into Suncrest Dr. near Eagle Crest Drive. The road was deeply rutted thanks to the off road vehicles that ignored the posted no motorized vehicle signs.

I made my way to the bottom of Jacob's Ladder via Brock's, the upper part of Canyon Hollow and then down the dirt road. I started climbing Jacob's Ladder and hadn't gone 100 yards through the scrub oak when a guy who yielded to me muttered something as I passed by. I thought he said, "one-way dude" but wasn't sure. The next biker I saw descending was a lady and I asked her if it was a one way trail and she said "not that I know." So I kept climbing. It wasn't long and the trail became pretty steep as it headed straight up the spine of the sharp ridge. I struggled to keep my balance on the steep grade as I grinded it out in my granny gear and ending up bailing several times. It was definitely a challenge, but I really enjoyed it. The steep upper part of the trail is a mix of banked bobsled-like chutes and unique rocky limestone outcrops.

I made it to the top and could see that everyone else climbed from the other side of the mountain on this double track.



As I caught my breath at the top, I met a few really nice guys (Brandon, Erik and Mike) and they explained that most people do Jacob's Ladder as a downhill ride (of course). They invited me to join them on the descent.

These guys had high-end full suspension bikes that you could tell they'd ridden hard and often. I let them lead out. I enjoyed the ride down, except that I found I'm pretty timid on the hairpin switchbacks. I'll have to practice. After Jacob's Ladder, we rode down Ghost Falls and some other trails that I'm not sure of the name. I finished the ride by climbing up Clark's and then back to my car.

New Drug and I'm Hooked

A few weeks ago I purchased this beauty:


It's a 2009 Gary Fisher Superfly 29er. I've been having so much fun with it, that I've been riding both in the early morning before work and at lunch time. It doesn't help that 5 minutes from my work are some awesome trails in the foothills of Mt. Timpanogos.

Here's a map of the trails I've been riding (thanks KanyonKris for making this map, it's very helpful):


Today being Friday, 67 degrees (is it really November??) and the bossman out of the office, I took a little bit of a longer lunch ride*. I climbed up the gravel jeep road past the water tanks, then hopped onto the single track trail Betty straight up to the Altar, a place where the trails intersect near a cairn. I've noticed my climbing skills are getting better (still pretty weak) but at least I wasn't bailing on every steep section of the trail. Just before the Altar, there's a very steep and rocky section that I hiked. It looks like there's short bypass trail that you can take to avoid that section. I'll have to try that next time (I hate hike a biking).

*Technically I think you're only supposed to take 1 hour for lunch. Usually lunch rides end up being more like an 1 1/2 hours. Today it was 2 hours. Bossman: In case you read this, I did stay late to make up for it.

After Altar, I then headed west on Lament, which is a nice trail through some meadows. There are 3 or 4 steep spots on this section. I did better than last time but still had to hike twice. I'm finding that balance, momentum, steering and keeping your center of gravity in the right spot are keys to climbing.

After Lament, I descended on Crank, then connected over to Blackbird and then back to the water tank road.

There are so many things I love about riding the mountain bike. For one, it reminds me of my childhood days riding dirt bikes on the farm. I've also enjoyed the new challenge of learning to climb on the mountain bike. Not only does it require excellent fitness (just like on a road bike), but it also requires some technical skills, of which I have very little at this point. Plus, there are so many awesome trails to ride and explore in the beautiful mountains close to my home. I've only scratched the surface, so I think I'm going to be doing this for a very long time.

American Fork Canyon - Doesn't get much better

One of the best things about where I live is being 20 minutes from the mouth of American Fork Canyon. It's my favorite place to ride. I'm saddened though that with fall and winter approaching, the days are numbered before I'll have to ride elsewhere.

So until the snow falls, I'm determined to ride it as much as possible. This past week, I climbed the canyon twice, once in the early morning and once in the evening. Hopefully I don't bore with the details. If you've ever ridden this ride, hopefully my write up will inspire you to "hit it" hard a few more times up the canyon over the next few weeks.

Evening Climb

I started up the canyon after work. It was a beautiful night with the sunset lighting up the mountainside with a soft golden glow. The wind was hardly a breeze, which I especially noticed on the approach to the canyon, since this portion usually presents a stiff 20 mph headwind.

My legs felt pretty good, so I pushed the pace in hopes of making it to the top in record time. By the time I reached Pine Hollow, it was starting to get dark quickly. However, because I was gaining altitude, I'd go in and out of the low light. Out when on a switchback heading south and then into the light again as I changed directions to the north. I thought of turning around so that I wouldn't be descending in the dark, but I quickly dismissed that idea and continued.

On the last switchback before mile marker 18, I passed a guy walking on the road alone in his street clothes. He definitely didn't look like the outdoors man type. More like the serial killer type. I said hello as I passed him while thinking how strange that was to encounter him there.

Anyhow, I made it to the top in a personal best time (I won't mention my time as it's nothing to brag about). Nothing like that feeling of accomplishment and progress.

Here's the sunset from the summit:


I quickly put on my jacket, leg warmers and beanie hat and started the descent. By then it was completely dark. I thought it was odd how I didn't see the same "serial killer" guy on the descent. Maybe he was just camping off the side of the road near the summit?

I have pretty decent LED bike lights*, but my batteries were low from the previous day's ride, so it didn't take long for my headlight to drop from high beam to low beam and there's a big difference between high and low on my head light.

*I'll do a separate post on my tail light. It basically makes me look like an ambulance (seriously-that awesome).

I was surprised at the number of cars coming down the canyon at night. The descent took forever, but I made it safely to the mouth of the canyon and then back home.

Lesson learned: Make sure your light batteries are fully charged if you're going to descend AF canyon (or any other canyon) at night. I actually really enjoy riding in the dark when I have a bright light, but it's next to miserable with a dim light.

Morning Climb

On Saturday morning I was at the mouth of the canyon at around 6:15 AM. Still dark as the sunrise wasn't until around 7:15 AM.

The ride was pretty cold. I didn't wear a jacket but had my leg and arm warmers.

Nothing too eventful on the way up, except that I passed Chad Lewis (former BYU and Eagles tight end) on his mountain bike. A little bit about Chad Lewis. Chad Lewis is one of the coolest guys ever. I don't know him personally (he doesn't know my name and wouldn't recognize me), but he and I attended BYU at the same time and I used to run into him frequently in the training room and weight room when I was on the track team (yeah, hard to believe I know but it's true). He was always so friendly to me and I've only heard good things about him ever since. He's one of those guys that consistently exceeded expectations. He began as a walk-on at BYU and ended up as a 3-time pro bowl receiver in the NFL. What a stud. What an inspiration for hacker cyclists like me who are trying to get fast and exceed expectations. So, I felt inspired when I buzzed by him. I think I kicked it up a notch too once I was far enough away for him to not hear my heavy breathing.

The descent was cold. I had my wind jacket, full finger gloves, beanie, leg warmers and toe warmers and I was freezing. Next time I'll wear my warm jacket.

Here's a picture I took on the way down the canyon:


I ended up flatting about a mile before the mouth of the canyon. Thanks to the 1/2 dozen people that either pulled off the side of the road or stopped riding to ask whether I needed help.

So, there you go. American Fork Canyon. Pretty awesome place to ride.

Drafting

Ever felt the urge to draft behind a semi while driving on the freeway?

Well, several weeks ago after I'd just finished a bike race and had been riding in a pack all day, I was zooming along on the freeway in my commuter car, an awesome Hyundai Accent GL, and I just couldn't resist drafting behind this semi.

My Hyundai has been the best commuter car I've ever owned. It's cheap (I paid like $5K for it 5 years ago), it gets good gas mileage, a tire cost less than a bike tire at like $40 at Walmart, it's never been in the shop for any repairs and I can fit my bike in the back when I lay the seat down. My only complaint on the car is that it's really gutless and starts shaking at 75 mph. So, I typically hang out in the far right lane going 60-65 mph. But every so often when I'm running late and need to go faster, I'll just latch on to a speeding semi and draft.

"Dirty" Potato Chips

I'm not a big consumer of potato chips (sorry Dad*), but the other night at work I needed something to eat from the vending machine and ended up eating not one, but two bags of these. Since then, I've been back to the machine twice for more**. The cracked pepper and sea salt are a great combination. You've gotta try these, but be sure it's on a day when you ride hard....

*My Dad farms spuds

**Since they installed the debit card option on our vending machines, I've been a frequent customer, since I hardly ever carry cash/change.

Upgrades and Late for work

Yesterday morning I was hoping to leave early while it was still dark for a 2 hour ride up the canyon and back, but just as I was about to hop on my bike, one of my friendly neighbors popped into my garage and started asking about cycling and my bike lights (I had to chuckle when he asked whether my lights were battery operated or "powered by the bike"). He's a good guy and is considering buying a road bike, so I offered up some suggestions. Normally when someone who is starting out asks whether to buy a carbon frame or an aluminum frame, I'll tell them to just buy a quality aluminum bike that's not going to break the bank and explain that if they end up really enjoying cycling, they can always upgrade a year or two later once they get some experience and know what they really want.

I agree with Eddy Merckx who said "Don't buy upgrades; ride up grades." which to me means if you want to be a good cyclist, get out and ride (preferably up mountains) and don't worry so much about your bike. The gains you'll achieve from increasing your level of fitness will far outweigh any gains from an upgraded bike.** Caveat: Of course, if you're a competitive cyclist, then you'd definitely be at a disadvantage if you didn't ride a quality racing bike, but for most people who are buying a bike for the first time, you don't need carbon this and carbon that unless you have money to spend. That being said, I'm the first to admit that I'm very anxious to upgrade my bike.

**To back this up, note the first time I road up the South side of Suncrest when I weighed 30-40 lbs. heavier than my current weight, I did the climb about 15 minutes slower than my current PR using the same bike.

Anyhow, with this particular neighbor, whom I knew to be a successful businessman with extra cash to spend, I didn't hesitate and explained that he should go for the carbon bike. I mean, if you have the money, you might as well, right? It'll be interesting to see how long it will take before I see him cruising around the neighborhood on his new carbon bike.

The rest of the story...

I had a great ride up AF Canyon to the top of the Alpine Loop. It's my favorite ride around here. I saw more cyclists than cars on the climb. The leaves are starting to change colors and the air was noticeably cooler at the higher elevations making the descent a bit chilly. I think next time I'll take my full finger gloves and my beanie cap to supplement my windbreaker and arm warmers on the descent.

By the time I buzzed down the canyon and made it back home, I was already late for work. I rolled into the office at 10 AM. I have no regrets though of being late. It was well worth it. Plus, here at my work people are pretty cool about having a good work life balance as long as you get your work done.