There's only one road here for serious riding: Hwy 145. The closest town to the south is Rico which makes for a nice 50 mile ride round trip. In my attempt to cram some training in for a race next weekend, I chose this route since the trails were still muddy from yesterday's rain. There was a good chance of rain today, but getting wet is just a risk you have to take. There's no predicting mountain weather.
The ride there was great! I rode an easy pace 10 miles up to Lizard Head Pass at 10,222ft and 15 miles down the other side. Coming back was another story. The road wasn't steep, but 5 miles into the return trip it started raining with no sign of letting up. Thankfully, there was no lightning, but it did hail for about 10 minutes. I usually don't mind riding in the rain; however, rain above 10k ft is freakin' cold. It finally backed off at the top of the pass. As I started descending soaked roads at 30mph, my tires managed sling up enough water to completely soak my underside.
As I was making this initial descent, I encountered two oncoming cars. The second driver decided that he was in too much of a hurry to wait 10 seconds for me to get by so he could pass the other car. So there I was freezing cold, doing 30mph on wet roads with a car coming straight at me. I got onto what little shoulder there was and flipped off the driver as he passed. Should've thrown a water bottle at him. It completely baffles me how normal people completely change behind the wheel. Some people have no respect for human life. They'll slow down for a deer, but not a cyclist. That's ridiculous.
The rest of the ride was fairly miserable. In fact, that might be the coldest I've ever been, definitely in the top 5. It's difficult to ride a bike when your on the verge of hypothermia. Stopping would be even worse, though. My muscles and tendons in my legs were tight. My gloves were soaked and my hands weren't getting good circulation. I had to hit the shifters with my palms because my fingers weren't strong enough. It took about 10 minutes in a hot shower before my fingers would extend all the way.
I love road riding, but I've only got one road to ride. I'm starting to think that drivers are too stupid for me to put my life in their hands. It's really only about 10% of drivers that worry me, but that's enough. I may try to employ more defensive cycling techniques, but I'm doubtful.
7.29.2014
7.18.2014
Debunking Myths
I've heard some pretty wild claims lately, giving me the feeling that a lot of Westerners will believe any health related thing anybody tells them. Yesterday, I saw a pamphlet for magnet therapy as an alternative to prescription drugs. Really? Magnet therapy? Also, my coworker's girlfriend bought a bracelet to help with digestive issues. Of course it came with herbal tea - like the weight loss pills that recommend diet and exercise. I've also heard that meat is bad for you, drinking warm water is better than cold water, milk is bad for you, and running is bad for you.
I'm not even going to waste my time arguing for meat. It's good. If our ancestors didn't eat it, we wouldn't be here. As for warm water vs. cold water, it's one I've heard before. The argument here is that your body can only absorb warm water, and you have to "work" to warm up that cold water. Now, I don't like ice cold water when I'm really thirsty just because I can't drink it fast, but I certainly prefer cool water to warm water. I can see how warm water may hydrate you slightly faster, but in terms of staying cool, cold water wins hands down. Your body doesn't use energy to heat the water, your stomach is already hot. Don't believe me? Read more here.
Another claim I've heard is that milk is not a good source of protein. The argument was that the protein is from another animal, and therefore, useless to humans. Unless you're a cannibal all meat is protein from another animal. We use it just fine. There was another argument against the calcium. I don't know enough about that to argue well, but I drink lots of milk and have pretty strong finger nails and bones as far as I can tell. My favorite milk myth is that it's bad to drink milk before you go work outside in the heat. In high school I drank milk everyday at lunch, then marched outside in band for an hour and a half. Never got sick. Why? Your internal temperature stays the same regardless of outside temperature, or at least it should.
I've also heard that running is bad for your joints. It's certainly a higher impact activity than cycling or swimming, but even in the peak of my running days, I was getting beat by 80 year olds in a 10k. Their joints seemed just fine. Again, if our ancestors never ran, we wouldn't be here. In any case it's better than sitting on the couch.
I'm really getting tired of hearing these things, and now that I've done a little research, maybe I can set some people straight. Most people around here are pretty fit, but it seems that some health nuts are always looking for the new thing. Personally, I think life is too short to eat healthy all the time.
I'm not even going to waste my time arguing for meat. It's good. If our ancestors didn't eat it, we wouldn't be here. As for warm water vs. cold water, it's one I've heard before. The argument here is that your body can only absorb warm water, and you have to "work" to warm up that cold water. Now, I don't like ice cold water when I'm really thirsty just because I can't drink it fast, but I certainly prefer cool water to warm water. I can see how warm water may hydrate you slightly faster, but in terms of staying cool, cold water wins hands down. Your body doesn't use energy to heat the water, your stomach is already hot. Don't believe me? Read more here.
Another claim I've heard is that milk is not a good source of protein. The argument was that the protein is from another animal, and therefore, useless to humans. Unless you're a cannibal all meat is protein from another animal. We use it just fine. There was another argument against the calcium. I don't know enough about that to argue well, but I drink lots of milk and have pretty strong finger nails and bones as far as I can tell. My favorite milk myth is that it's bad to drink milk before you go work outside in the heat. In high school I drank milk everyday at lunch, then marched outside in band for an hour and a half. Never got sick. Why? Your internal temperature stays the same regardless of outside temperature, or at least it should.
I've also heard that running is bad for your joints. It's certainly a higher impact activity than cycling or swimming, but even in the peak of my running days, I was getting beat by 80 year olds in a 10k. Their joints seemed just fine. Again, if our ancestors never ran, we wouldn't be here. In any case it's better than sitting on the couch.
I'm really getting tired of hearing these things, and now that I've done a little research, maybe I can set some people straight. Most people around here are pretty fit, but it seems that some health nuts are always looking for the new thing. Personally, I think life is too short to eat healthy all the time.
7.05.2014
A Quest for Fireworks!
My journey began about 30 minutes before sundown. Having already ridden to and from work and an hour with Lucy, my legs felt shot on the first climb. They warmed up soon enough though. Originally I had planned on going into town to catch the fireworks show, but that trip was too long and too crowded, considering I had work at 7am the next morning. Instead, I thought the top of the gondola would provide a good view, but one look at the line confirmed that it was way too long. Luckily, I was prepared with my trail lights. Finding the Village Trail in the fading light proved a little difficult having only ridden it once in the opposite direction. After a couple of detours and over 700ft of climbing, I finally reached the top with only a minute to spare.
The show was great considering they had three years worth of fireworks stockpiled due to dry conditions previous years. The views of Telluride and Mountain Village at night were equally spectacular. There probably aren't too many places that you can view a fireworks show from above. About two minutes in, people started leaving to avoid the long line at the end. I had no issue staying the entire time, however. The ride down was awesome! I only out-ran my lights a couple times. The pain started again when I hit my neighborhood. The roads in my neighborhood were not meant to be biked, and although they've gotten easier, I doubt they will ever be easy. I got to bed a little late, but it was worth it!
The show was great considering they had three years worth of fireworks stockpiled due to dry conditions previous years. The views of Telluride and Mountain Village at night were equally spectacular. There probably aren't too many places that you can view a fireworks show from above. About two minutes in, people started leaving to avoid the long line at the end. I had no issue staying the entire time, however. The ride down was awesome! I only out-ran my lights a couple times. The pain started again when I hit my neighborhood. The roads in my neighborhood were not meant to be biked, and although they've gotten easier, I doubt they will ever be easy. I got to bed a little late, but it was worth it!
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