Ride the Rockies 2014: Day Zero is Here!

It's June 7. Day Zero. Time to pack up and head to Boulder for the start of Ride the Rockies 2014!

I like it when the start (and finish) are somewhere along the Front Range. It makes the logistics of the ride a lot easier. Last year involved a 6+ hour drive to Telluride, Colorado (getting to Telluride is not easy but worth every minute of the ride). This year Woody and Mrs. Woody are picking me up in Castle Rock as they head North from Colorado Springs (45 minutes south of here) and transporting me about an hour to Boulder -- a much easier journey.

Leslie and me at the street party at the start of Ride the Rockies 2013 in Telluride.

This Ride the Rockies may be the easiest logistically of the eight I have done (over the past 10 years). My first RTR in 2005 involved flying from Kansas City and driving 4+ hours to Grand Junction. Others have included long bus rides to start on the Western Slope. RTR14 starts and ends within an hour of my home. I could easily ride to start!

Team DFL friends Kris and Dave on the long bus ride from DIA to Cortez on Ride the Rockies 2006. 

I'm also packing a lot lighter this year with no tent, sleeping bag, pillow or towel. That's right, for the first time I caved in and booked hotel rooms along the route. In the past I have camped most nights on the ride, occasionally booking a room in the middle of the week for a nice respite from the routine of setting up and tearing down camp every day. But this year I decided to give myself a 50th birthday present and go for the comforts of a soft bed and hot shower every night. Given the ridiculous amount of climbing we will be doing every day I think it will be well-earned!

Camping on RTR is a great way to experience Ride the Rockies on days like this. But it also has it's drawbacks: weathering a storm in a tent and setting up/tearing down camp every day certainly adds a little adventure to the ride!

One of the reasons I have preferred to camp is avoiding depending on buses to transport you around town to your hotel, then to the beer garden, then back to your hotel at night (if you don't miss the last bus!). It's a lot of waiting and sitting and I like to keep moving.

In talking it over with Woody last night we decided to go pack Team Bar2Bar "old school" style. Given no need for all the accessories of camping we can pack a bag small enough to carry on our bike (after picking it up from the late truck*) so we can ride to our hotel and around town, if necessary. No buses, no lines, just more miles in the saddle :)

My friend Woody is the son-in-law of Team Bar2Bar's founder and keeps many of the old traditions alive. 

So here's my packing list:

• flip flops
• 2 pairs of shorts
• 6 shirts (2Ts, 1 short sleeve button down, and 1 long sleeve)
• swim suit (for the hot springs in Steamboat!)
• 2 pairs of cycling shorts
• 3 jerseys (TEAM BEEF, just plain BEEF, and Pink Floyd Wish You Were Here**)
• helmet
• cycling shoes/socks/gloves
• toiletries

Well, I'd better get packing. Looking forward to seeing old friends and meeting new ones at the start party in Central Park in downtown Boulder. But I'm thinking I might take it a little easy at this year's start party. Day 1 is an 88-mile ride to Winter Park with 8,800 feet of elevation gain! According to the article in yesterday's Denver Post, it will be "one of the toughest day's in tour history." Yikes.



Ride on!

Daren

*Ride the Rockies transports one bag from stop to stop on three 18-wheelers: the early truck, middle truck and late truck (for late risers like me!).

**My girls gave my this jersey for Father's Day at the start of Ride the Rockies in 2005. I have worn it on every ride.

One Week to Train for Ride the Rockies 2014; What Should You Do?

Its hard to believe that the start of Ride the Rockies 2014 is one week from today. Anybody else starting to panic? I'll admit I'm intimidated by the route this year. The whole 28,265 ft. of elevation gain in six days of riding kind of freaks me out. I hope my training has been sufficient to prevent excessive suffering!

The total elevation gain of Ride the Rockies 2014 is equal to riding from sea level to the summit of K2, the world's second tallest mountain, or double the elevation of Pikes Peak!

I've ridden almost 1,600 miles towards my goal of 2,000 since January 1. I'm not going to reach my goal but that's OK. At this point it's not all about miles. Even if you are feeling like you have under-trained up to this point, there is only so much you can do in the final week.

In fact, now is not the time to try and pile on the miles. I'm believer in tapering the week before a big event like Ride the Rockies. Similar to my Two Week 10K Training Program, I ramp up the miles the week before then taper the week leading up to the start. Tapering helps your body "rest up" before the big ride. But tapering doesn't necessarily mean you should take it easy. Most experts recommend decreasing mileage but maintaining intensity in the final week. Studies have shown that this helps increase performance by reducing body fatigue while maintaining fitness levels.

My plan is to do my last long mileage day on Wednesday, riding 50 miles round trip to my office at my normal pace. Riding to and from work is really two separate rides. In the morning I go all out, riding as hard as I can, racing against my own personal times. I cruise along the Cherry Creek Trail at 20+mph usually benefiting from a tailwind and -1 to -2% grade. At night it's more of a grind it out ride. I'm tired from the day and anxious to get home but usually face a headwind blowing from the south and a net elevation gain.

On Friday I'm planning a short and fast ride, possibly riding to work but not home. Then on Saturday I'm going to do a quick 10 mile/30 minute spin on the trainer to get the blood flowing and work out some lactic acid (at least that's Bigwood Nate's theory). I never know for sure what works and what doesn't :)

What is your training plan this week?

Safe travels to everyone coming in for the RTR14. See you in Boulder!

Ride on!

Daren

Reaching the Summit: My Thoughts on Going "Over-the-Hill"

Reaching the summit of Trail Ridge Road at 12,183 feet above sea level
on Ride the Rockies in 2012 was one of the best feelings in my life!

One of things I love about long distance cycling is think time. Riding for hours on end my mind often wanders. Sometimes I think about work, sometimes about life, and sometimes I just can’t take my mind off that nasty hill looming at the end of my ride (even though I’d rather not)! Lately I’ve been reflecting on what it will feel like to turn 50. And now I know. How? Today is my 50th birthday!

Turning 50 is kind of a big deal.  I am going to make the most of it. We have a big family gathering at the Y.O. Ranch Steakhouse in Dallas’ West End tonight (my daughter is playing in the Women’s DII Club Rugby Nationals this weekend as a member of the Kansas Jayhawks Women’s Rugby Football Club – ROCK CHALK!). In addition to a great steak and German Sweet Chocolate pie (my birthday favorite), I expect to get lots of birthday cards with the words “over-the-hill” printed on them.

I’ve been thinking about those three words on the long bike rides lately. Am I over-the-hill? What does that even mean?
 

At the summit of Mt. Evans. 14,220 feet
above sea level. The highest paved road
in North America!

On the one hand, over-the-hill can mean “past one’s prime” (thanks, Merriam-Webster, I think you are past your prime!) or even better, “past the peak of one's youthful vigor and freshness” (compliments of The Free Dictionary). Peak of freshness? Seriously?! Have I passed my “use by” date? Do I smell bad? Is there mold growing on me?

Heck, according to the Urban Dictionary, I’ve been stale for 10 years already. They (whoever “they” are) describe over-the-hill as: “Meaning that you are 40yrs old, therfore [sic] you have reached the climax of your life time and your [sic] beggining [sic] to go "over the hill."

Kids today. What the hell do they know? They can’t even spell “therefore” and “beginning” and don’t know the difference between “your” and “you’re.” Besides, isn’t 50 the new 40? I think Urban Dictionary needs to update their definition. But where were we? Oh yeah…

Every definition I found when I searched Google for “over-the-hill” was negative. Those birthday cards will probably be black, signifying the death of my youthful vigor and freshness. What message are we sending with all this negativity? At age 50 I feel better than I did at age 30. And there is no question that I am in better shape. I am more physically active, eat better, and have more energy than I did 20 years ago.


At age 30 (left) I weighed 270 lbs. By age 40 (right) I was a much leaner, healthier 215 lbs, which I have maintained eating beef almost daily in the past 10 years!

In cycling terms, over-the-hill is a good thing! It means you have reached the summit. The long uphill grind is over. It’s time to celebrate before you go screaming down the other side at full speed towards the finish line. As we often say at the summit of a day’s ride on Ride the Rockies, “It’s all downhill from here.” And that’s a good thing!

The finish line  in Breckenridge in 2005,
my first Ride the Rockies.

That’s the way I’m going to look at 50. I worked hard to get here. It has been slow and painful and sometimes difficult just to breathe. But it has been worth it. Reaching the summit feels good. I’m going to take time to celebrate then get back in the saddle, hold tight to the handlebars and fly down the other side whooping and hollering all the way to the finish line!

But I also realize that it’s never really “all downhill from here.” There will be more hills to climb. The aches and pains from the hard climb will begin to set in. I just hope that by the time I reach the finish line I’m ready for the ride to be over (I always am). There is no better feeling than crossing the finish line and the sense of accomplishment that comes with having given it your all and reaching your goal.

There will be six mountain passes and 2 mountains on Ride the Rockies 2014. That’s eight summits to celebrate. I look forward to every one of them. With each summit I will remind myself that the whole reason for the climb is to experience the thrill of the descent!


Rabbit Ears Pass, along the Continental Divide, is the second SHORTEST pass we will cross on Ride the Rockies this year! We crossed this pass on my second RTR in 2006.

So how do I feel turning 50? Frankly, I’m relieved that I made it to the summit. It’s good to be here and I’m looking forward to the rest of the ride. I don’t want it to be over yet, for sure, but on this ride the finish line isn’t on the map. You never really know when it will appear. My plan is to keep peddling until it does and rest when I get there. :)

Ride on!

Daren