Ride the Rockies 2012 Training -- One Month Down, Two to Go

My first month of training for Ride the Rockies 2012 has had its ups and downs, literally and figuratively. Great weather has allowed me to get out and ride 220 miles along the Front Range of the Rockies. Unfortunately, two weeks of business travel cut significantly into my riding time and I am 140 miles behind schedule to hit my goal to ride 1,500 miles before June 9.

Finding riding time is always a challenge in training for Ride the Rockies, but I think logging time in the saddle is the most important thing you can do to prepare. I spent 20.89 hours either on my Cyclops Fluid2 Indoor Trainer or on the road in March. Not too bad but I need to kick it up a notch in April. Hopefully the weather will cooperate.

Travel will continue to be an issue in the next two months. Since I can't take my bike with me wherever I go I run when I am on the road. I put in 26 miles in four hours of running in March. While there is nothing like riding to get in riding shape, I think mixing in a few runs here and there is good for overall physical conditioning and helps avoid repetitive motion injuries.

For some reason the elevation gain shown on MapMyRide is always off,
but the elevation profile tells the story!

I am fortunate to live where I can head out my front door and get in some climbing work. My riding buddy Troy and I set out yesterday morning to go for a climb, and climb we did! We headed west on State Hwy 67 from Sedalia, Colorado, to Rampart Range Road, a nice Category 2 climb gaining 1,256 ft. in 4.7 miles (average grade of 4.8%). From rollercoastered over to Sprucewood through beautiful Pike National Forest before turning around and heading back. It total we gained 4,635 ft. in 46 miles.



Big t and Big D at the Sprucewood Inn.

An average day on Ride the Rockies 2012 will cover 74 miles with 4,156 ft. of vertical gain! So if you are training for Ride the Rockies and don't live in Colorado, I highly enourage you to find the steepest hills in your neighborhood and spend some time climbing. You'll be glad you did come June.

Ride on!

Daren