Weekend Close

by Robbie

Friday (Ward-Old Stage):
Wilton, Matt Hayes and I rode up to Ward at a good pace. It was the most ascending I have done this summer and I'd say it went pretty well. I was able to keep pace without any significant problems. Actually... scratch that. I did have significant problems: Last weekend I took my second road crash ever at a crit in Longmont and in doing so I destroyed my favorite bib. What I am now left with is two chamois', one is a bib and the other is bibless. I have been trading off my two bibs for the past year and have not worn the shorts. But for this ride I had to wear my shorts because my remaining bib was not so clean. As soon as the ride got started I knew that the elastic around my waist was going to be a problem. By the time we were halfway to Ward I started feeling ill and I attributed it all to the shorts. Fortunately Matt had a knife on his mini-tool. While riding I cut the shorts down the front about 3-inches. From then on it was smooth sailing. We filled our bottles up at a natural spring in Ward that the locals claimed is the "fourth best tasting water in the world." They said it was because of the gold in the water... that's because gold not only looks good, but it tastes like candy. Good ride.

Saturday (Eldorado Springs-Niwot-Oxford):
Rode with Connor and Daniel. We rode out to Eldorado Springs and then took Cherryvale to baseline to 75th to Niwot. On the climb heading north on 75th to Lookout Rd. Daniel began to lose energy. He was able to regenerate after eating a gooey brownie. We stopped in Niwot to refill our bottles with ice water. From there we headed west on Niwot road. We decided that riding dirt roads would be nice so we headed north on 63rd and took a left onto Oxford. Oxford was nice because we only had one car pass us. Oxford met hwy 36, which we took back to Boulder. When we got back to town we headed to the creek to cool off. I'm pretty sure the temperature was somewhere in the high 90's. Sitting in the creek was perfect, minus the sand that filled my chamois.

Sunday (Hygiene TT):
I put my racing wheels and my new TT bars on and went out for a fast TT ride. I started my watch at the stop sign in North Boulder and then put my head down and pedaled my guts out. There was no wind this morning which made the new pavement feel even faster. I headed North on 36 and then turned onto Hygiene. I used feel good when I got to Hygiene in less than 50 minutes or so, but when I looked at my watch today it said either 22 or 32 minutes... I'd like to think that it took 22 minutes, but that doesn't seem very likely... The distance was 13.95 miles, and at 22 minutes my avg. speed would have to have been 36 mph.... I doubt that, although it is slightly downhill. 32 minutes would make my average speed 26 mph, a lot more reasonable I suppose. Anyway, at an hour into the ride I flatted, stopped my watch and then tried to fix my tire. Unfortunately spare tube was flat too. I tried to patch the hole with electrical tape from my handlebars (which has worked for me in the past) but to no avail. I ended up hitchhiking home. Avg. speed for the day was 23.1. Still need to work on my position... and everything else... I don't suppose my V02 max is very high after being a couch potato for 8 months. Moral of the story, make sure your spare tube will actually serve its purpose.