T-Minus 60 Days

The 2011 24 Hours of Old Pueblo is only 60 days away and therefore Sunday, Dec 19th was one of those key training days that are “non-negotiable”. In other words, no matter what the weather does, I will ride. The last couple of years of focused training for endurance races have taught me that quality six hour rides at key times in the schedule are probably the most important thing I do training-wise. Sunday was one of those planned “quality” days.


As I watched the forecast leading up the weekend I knew that Sunday was going to be a test of my cycling resolve. Snow was in the forecast for Sat night through Sun and the little voice in the back of my head that says “let’s go skiing” was now yelling at me…so I ignored it and intentionally did not check the snow totals Sun morning while drinking my coffee. Mother Nature followed through and dumped fresh snow on the Tetons all day on Sunday but threw a nasty little curveball at me along the way. At hour 4.5 of 6, she decided to really test me and raised the temp to 35F. The big beautiful dry flakes that had been falling all day quickly turned to a slushy rain/snow mix and began to thoroughly soak me. Perfect. (Insert sarcasm here) I am becoming wise to Mother Nature’s tricks these days and had grabbed my Montbell rain shell on my way out the door and tucked it away in my frame bag just in case. Ha! Needless to say, it saved my ass.

Random Notes from the Ride
- 62 miles on snow-covered back roads in 6:03:00
- 1 bottle of Carbo Rocket 333
- Osprey Bladder filled with Kiwi Lime Carbo Rocket
- 800 calories of EFS Gel
- 1 of the Best Cookies in the Galaxy
- Handful of dark chocolate covered almonds
- A random mix of Metal, Hip-Hop, Techno, Grunge, and a dash of James Brown
- Zero moose sightings