Training Log Archive: Bash

Hilly Mother's Day hike at Glen Haffy with 'Bent and the pooches. 'Bent had a Zoom call with his Mom beforehand. I went through a box of memories my Mom packed up for me when she moved to the retirement home.

Beautiful spring morning and a fantastic ride around Albion Hills with 'Bent. It's been a very popular place for mountain bikers for many years so we expected it would be a zoo on a pandemic Saturday morning. Surprisingly, it was fairly quiet. We passed one group of bikers and another group passed us, and there were a few hikers on the double track - but it was no worse than Palgrave Forest on a weekday afternoon. Maybe people have decided they don't want to pay to get into Albion Hills? Also, it's a larger trail network. Anyway, we had a great time! The trails are in mint condition although there has been a lot of erosion in the past few years so there are some challenging, rooty climbs that weren't always so challenging. Fun!





Swans.

Testing my heel on the (somewhat) more even surface of our gravel road and hoping it's not inflamed tomorrow. It was dusty out there when cars went by - not the greatest for breathing, if you're into that sort of thing.

UTMB announced major changes today. They're partnering with Ironman to make UTMB a World Championship.

Instead of awarding ITRA points to finishers of certified races, there will be 30+ World Series races associated with UTMB, some of which are designated as World Series Majors. Top finishers of these races get automatic entry to one of the UTMB races.

Regular people like me would have to finish at least one of the World Series races, although there's a lot more to it. At the moment, they haven't announced any World Series races in North America, and they could choose races that are already difficult to get into, like Western States or Hardrock. There is a mysterious "Loyalty Program" that might bypass some of the requirements but they haven't announced how it will work.

I doubt I ever would have had the chance to do UTMB and CCC under these new rules so I'm grateful that I got to go, but I'm sorry for friends who were still waiting for their chance. Upon their 3rd application, they would have been guaranteed entry under the old system.

Fun ride around Palgrave East on a sunny spring afternoon.

Finished with 'Bent's Covid Crusher trail on our back hill.

Rowing, weights and TRX before Taco Tuesday.