Training Log Archive: Bash

Long, spectacular drive through the mountains to Denver, then home today. We had a great time in Moab with Harps, Mrs. Harps, Shortstack, Kona and Trek. Thanks for planning so many fun expeditions, Harps!



We stayed in a beautiful condo about 6K south of town; I'd stay there again.



We had some delicious meals, especially Mexican - and the coffee in town was surprisingly good.



We missed a few restaurants...



Excellent trip. 'Bent was pleased with his birthday present!

P.S. Photos have been added below for yesterday's farewell run.

Easy farewell trail run/hike in Mill Creek Canyon with Harps, 'Bent, Kona and Trek. This was just a few blocks behind our condo.



We checked out some petroglyphs. Such a shame to see graffiti there.



The dogs had a fantastic time, especially during the creek crossings.





We liked the creek crossings too!



Great way to kick off a long day of driving.











After that, we all jumped in the pool and swam about 5 strokes (not logged!)

Back to Porcupine Rim with four Ontario guys that Harps knows.



We started at Upper Porcupine Singletrack (UPS) again. Conditions were already much drier than last Saturday with no snow anywhere on the trail. After chasing speedy Harps and 'Bent around all week, it was a treat to ride in the midpack today. We rode faster when we rode and rested more during breaks when we got the group back together.



After yesterday's crash, I wasn't riding with as much confidence at first. But it soon became clear that riding tentatively was more likely to lead to falls than riding confidently so I eventually got my nerve back.



After all the abuse earlier in the week, 'Bent stayed farther back from the cliff edge this time - and got off his bike!



The same cannot be said of all the other riders in our group. As a reminder, here is what the cliff along Porcupine Rim looks like.



And here is one of our guys (who shall remain nameless!) moving out to sit on a little piece of rock jutting out from the main precipice. I had to look away.



After spending many hours in my company, Harps has become a natural in front of the camera. Here's his GQ shot.



For the 3rd day in a row, we ran into UltraChar and Chris out for a long trail run.



Ben got a serious gash from his chain ring. Luckily, Dr. 'Bent was there to patch him up since there was no choice but to ride to the finish. Later he got 15 stitches.





After placing a piece of sanitary napkin over the wound and wrapping the leg in gauze, the final layer was an arm warmer, which worked really well to hold everything together for another hour of technical riding above the Colorado River (shown below). The doc at the hospital was impressed.



Another fun day! Porcupine Rim seemed a little easier and shorter than the last time we rode it so I guess we're learning as we go.

(Elapsed time 4 hrs)

'Bent and I did the Slickrock Trail again because it's so much fun! The second time around felt easier since we knew what to expect.

Even so, I managed to have my nastiest fall of the trip. The front wheel hit a small ledge at an off-angle, wrenched to the right and threw me forward in Superman position onto the rock. I hit the ground with left knee, ribs and elbow, and smashed into the upturned handlebar end with the inside of my right thigh. Within a few minutes, there was lots of blood and road rash on my elbow, a weird goose egg on my kneecap, a growing bruise on my thigh (now huge and acutely painful) and pain in my lower ribs when I bent forward on the bike. For the rest of the ride, I kept checking my abdomen for signs of internal bleeding - but enjoyed myself in spite of it! (Typical adventure racer.) The bumps and bruises were bad but they were the only real damage. I should be OK to ride Porcupine Rim again tomorrow.

I've already posted pics of Slickrock but it's such a photogenic place that I can't resist posting a few more from today's ride.

Intrigued by JayXC's adventure race maps, 'Bent and I headed east of Moab into the La Sal mountain range. The road climbed above the town quickly, providing terrific views and taking us through several climate and vegetation zones in a very short time.



We had planned to go farther but were curious when we saw how well maintained Geyser Pass road was. If it was open all the way to the pass, that would be interesting.



The snow plow stopped a few kilometers later at a winter parking area for skiers, snowshoers and snowmobilers. We decided to hike up to Geyser Pass, elevation 10,600'. The parking lot was at 9,600' so the air was thin.



The unplowed road was the main trail. We met one skier coming down, otherwise we had the place to ourselves.



The snow was deeper if we stepped off the road.



'Bent wore capris and arm warmers on his legs. When I suggested that we wear pants or tights, apparently he didn't think I meant full length!



Geyser Pass was just below treeline so we hiked a few minutes more into Moonlight Meadows to get better views.



We had to get back for lunch and an afternoon bike ride so we ran most of the way down in much softer snow. In less than an hour, we were back in the heat. An interesting change of scenery although we didn't get to see what JayXC did in the adventure race!

(Garmin time reduced due to photos and chatting with the skier. Out and back distances are different because we returned to the car briefly.)

The run (mostly) downhill (mostly).

Harps had heard that Sovereign Singletrack was different from most Moab trails - "more like Colorado riding". We weren't sure what that meant but wanted to give it a try. The trail guide recommended riding in a north-to-south direction and suggested that if riders really *had* to do a loop, they could take Salt Wash Singletrack going north - but the loop wasn't particularly recommended.

Salt Wash turned out to be a mix of deep sand, loose rock and ledges - more uphill than downhill. I've become pretty confident about dropping off decent-sized ledges this week but I'm still not good at stepping up onto them. All three of us felt incompetent on this section of trail but Harps kicked our butt. In this pic, he's starting a typical climb on a sandy trail.



With extra time on his hands, Harps became a keen photographer - thank you!





The downhills weren't always easier than the uphills. This pic shows a good one but sometimes there were loose boulders in loose sand as we descended on trails with steep drop-offs beside us.



In this pic, I'm in the background coming down the hill in last place. As usual. :(



It was beautiful desert scenery and good training, even though I got off my bike a lot!







Once we started the return trip on Sovereign, things got much better. It was loads of fun - lots of slick rock, not so much sand, a couple of crazy hills but we were riding most of the time. I can see why the loop isn't recommended but it was worth doing in order to enjoy Sovereign!

UltraChar (Charlotte Vasarhelyi) and Chris are also in Moab this week. They ran in the 24 Hours of Moab trail race on the weekend, and Charlotte was the overall winner after completing over 90 miles in under 24 hours! Since they are both sufficiently tired, 'Bent and I figured it was safe to join them for a trail run in the Devil's Garden in Arches National Park.





Chris and Char are newlyweds - just got married last fall.



This was a relaxed run with lots of conversation and photo stops and occasional tourist avoidance maneuvers. Lots of running in sand, across open rock and around wild-looking formations.



'Bent and Char discussed leg strength training for trail running.



One section was a little sketchy so I suspect we may have deviated onto a side trail. A couple of times, I wondered if my sandy shoes would have enough traction to hold me on a steep rock face that I had to descend. (This wasn't one of them.)



When Trail Runner Magazine writes about the slowest runner in history to attempt UTMB, this is the photo I'll be handing out to the press.



Beautiful!

The Slickrock Trail is one of the most famous bike rides in the world. We were excited to do it but after hearing the stories, I had visions of tipping over backwards on a steep uphill. (Neither of us fell - phew - but there certainly was some hike-a-biking.)



The location just outside of Moab is spectacular.



The trail is mostly rock with terrific traction and a little sand in some of the low areas. Riders follow white paint marks.





This shows the terrain. Note 'Bent at the bottom of the picture.



A few days ago, other people pointed out something we hadn't thought about; 'Bent is almost certainly the first recumbent cyclist to ride Porcupine Rim, Mag 7 and Slickrock. Members of the recumbent biking community are excited about it, and the local bike shop thinks it's cool too. So we thought we should document this ride better than usual with GoPro and still cameras.



'Bent's bike performed well. In fact, because he has a granny gear (which my rental bike doesn't), he was better equipped for the big climbs.



Note the shocked-looking people who were walking their bikes up the hill as 'Bent rode by.



There is always a lot of interest when we meet other mountain bikers but today was extra wild. One British fellow expressed his "congratulations on behalf of the entire British Isles" and even took it for a test ride!



Here's 'Bent's magazine shot. :)



Although I missed having a granny gear, I got into a better flow as the ride went on and completed a few climbs that would have defeated me earlier. Terrific fun - we will have to come back later in the week.

After two tough days of biking (our first technical rides of the season - yikes), 'Bent and I played tourist and went to Dead Horse Point State Park southwest of Moab. To get there, we drove Hwy 313 past the start of Mag 7. Today we had more time to enjoy the amazing scenery along the way.





The view from Dead Horse Point Overlook has the feel of the Grand Canyon on a much smaller scale.



The park's name comes from a sad story (perhaps apocryphal) about cowboys who used to herd wild mustangs onto this point of land surrounded by 2,000' cliffs.



At its narrowest section, the point is only 20 m wide. The cowboys would block it off with deadwood to form a natural corral, then select the horses they wanted to keep. On one occasion, the men did not let the other horses out and they starved to death. :(



'Bent and I did a trail run from the overlook back to the Visitor's Centre, first following the west rim, then the east. The trail was marked with small rock cairns - sometimes hard to spot since the whole area is littered with small rocks anyway.





Nice views along the way.



After all the comments about his overly relaxed attitude toward cliffs, 'Bent tried the much safer Upward Dog yoga pose today.



The blue ponds are potash solar evaporation ponds - funny that an industrial pond can look almost pretty!



This was a fun easy run - more about photography than running. Nice break!





(Garmin adjustment - turned it off/on backwards in one section)