Above The Clouds

This past weekend (June 26th through 29th) I spent some time in Boulder, CO. We flew up on Thursday morning and got there around noon. The weekend was great and taught me a lot about myself and my abilities.

Thursday:

The Flight
We were up before the break of dawn “K” was having a driver pick Chad and I up at Chad’s house as “K” needed to be at the airport around the same time as we did for his trip to NY, NY. I got up as planned at something ridiculous like 3:30 and threw my bags into the car. It is amazing how hungry you can be at 3:30 am. So on my way to Chad’s house I made an attempt to go to Mc Donald’s. I pull up at the drive through and was promptly informed that they were closed. They didn’t seem too humored when I asked how a 24 hour Mc Donald’s could be close; after all they’re supposed to be open 24 hours a day. So the alternative was to stop at a gas station and get a few bottles of juice and some Little Debbie’s (I know a healthy breakfast before what is going to be a long weekend).

We get at the Airport and ended up just chilling in the lobby with “K.” When it was time to go we were ushered through the front of the line at security, and seated on the plane right away – FIRST CLASS BABY – thanks Chad! I’d never been in first class before and know I understand why people work there asses off before flying. They fed me food, good food, and lots of it! There were movies, and enough space that even if you were sitting next to Big Bertha you would still feel like you had your own hotel room. So needless to say the flight up was awesome.

Arriving at the Denver airport we had some time to kill before Mark arrived on a later flight so we chilled got our baggage etc. While getting our baggage I saw about 150 Boy Scouts all in uniform getting bags etc. I talked to one of them to find out that they were on their way to Camp Philmont. We spent a few minutes talking about there trip and I reminisced about my short stint at Philmont in 2001.

I bet you we could make a killing importing Air up here

I knew I was in trouble when I was carrying my bags at the airport and breathing like I was running a marathon. From there it was a constant reminder that we were so far from home. Every task, from walking up stairs at our Hotel for Thursday night (the Boulderado) to riding our bikes, was a battle for oxygen consumption. I asked Chad at some point during the day if he thought we could get some oxygen brought up to the room for us (after all we were staying in a 5 star hotel, and they call that service right?).

So once in Boulder after a short transfer we met with Frank Overton, our guide and my soon to be coach. We had lunch then we went to put our bikes together. That afternoon the plan was for Chad to go get fit by Pruitt’s protégé (I forget his name) while Mark and I would go for a ride.

On the ride we went to Canyon Rd. and basically started climbing. Mark and I were only going to do a 2 hour ride; taking it easy knowing that the next day would be harder. Mark definitely out rode me on Thursday easily setting tempo and riding away from me at ease. If I felt this bad on my first day I was not looking forward to the rest of the trip. (On the way up to Boulder, Mark and Chad told me that I would feel the worst of day 2 or 3 of the 4 day trip.) The descent back down the mountain was pretty satisfying and we flew all the way back to Boulder. That evening we all just chatted and prepped for the next day (a 4 hour ride in the mountains with Frank Overton, coach/guide; Eric, one of Frank’s athletes from Dallas; and Frank Pipp, road race professional on the Health Net / Maxis Team).

Friday:

How do you work this thing!

Before we left New Orleans, Chad had one of his SRM’s installed on my bike to collect data from the trip and training. I had been using power for training for some time but this new system was going to take some getting used too. So riding to Frank’s house to begin our morning ride I had Chad show me how to do some stuff while I was riding. So I was riding along playing with the SRM and WHACK! I hit a temporary road sign in the middle of the road and go down. Granted I was only going about 5 or 10 mph but regardless it was fast enough to rip my derailleur hanger off of the bike. Frank was kind enough to let me borrow the Motor Scooter to go around town and try to find a Derailleur hanger for my bike. I ended up at a shop where Lucious was kind enough to help me out and find one for me. After fixing my bike I was back at the hotel room and it was 10:30 am (the ride started at 9:30). So not wanting to sit around waiting for them to get back I remembered that Frank told me that they would be coming back the way we rode out on Thursday. I got on my bike and figured I would meet up with them on their way back.

FBI Sanctuary

I got dressed again for a ride and rode out solo to the climb. It was a 10 mile climb and I seemed to be having an ok time with it. I finally got to the last 2 miles that reminded me of something I would see in Arkansas; straight up and just downright steep. I actually caught an older man on the climb right at the base of this section and he ended up just riding away from me (I think he was using a 27 tooth cassette or at least that’s the story I’m telling everyone). At the end of this 2 miles you come into this little town that the clerk at the general store at the top informed me has a population of 150 people. Along the rode sides you see burnt out and abandoned cars some dating back to the 40’s and 50’s. I got an ice cream bar and as I was getting ready to go back to Boulder Frank, Chad, Marc and Eric showed up (Pipp turned around easy because it was his easy day). So the ride was a success, I met up with the group. On the descent Frank told me that the town was a place to go if you wanted to avoid the FBI and related it to Colorado’s version of Deliverance.

The Little Kicker

Frank told us we were going to take a different way back that was a little shorter but had about a 2 mile kicker on it. We were soon to find out that a Kicker in CO means a short very steep climb! We reach the base of the climb and I take off. Mark soon bridges up to me and we played Cat and Mouse for a while. When it leveled off he would pour in the power and ride away, then it would get steeper and I ride back to him as he would stand still going upward. Fortunately for me the finishing part was pretty steep and I came around to take the sprint to the stop sign at the top. I then sat down and caught my breath while Mark continued to tell me that he could have beat me in the sprint. The rest of the ride home was good with some nice descending.

Happy Hour.

At the top of that “Little Kicker” we met a lady who was quite possibly macking on Mark. Anyway, she invited us all to happy hour at the St. Julian. It just so happened that the St. Julian was where we would be staying that night so we agreed to meet them there. Happy hour started around 5pm and we went for a while. Now I have to say that I’m not too familiar with Boulder but this was definitely the place to stay. Not only was the St. Julian just and awesome super modern 5 start hotel but the happy hour was definitely my scene (as my co-workers might describe it back home – POSH). There were tons of beautiful girls all dressed to the nines for drinks on a Friday afternoon; while the guys were content in flip flops shorts and shirts. I didn’t drink anything but enjoyed good company and met some new friends.

Saturday:

Breakfast Sandwich and Coffee to go please.

So while all of our other rides left at 9:00 am or later Saturday was described as what was going to be an Epic ride and we would be meeting at Frank’s house at 6:00 am. So Chad didn’t sleep so well. All night we could here the remnants from happy hour stumbling around the hotel; both inside and out. Chad went down to get a bagel and I got ready for the ride. I went downstairs to get some breakfast and ended up getting a breakfast sandwich and a cup of coffee. I was in the middle of eating the sandwich when Chad and Mark came down. So I stuffed the sandwich in my stuff and rode to Frank’s house coffee in hand. I ended up giving Mark half of the sandwich as I couldn’t eat all of it and he hadn’t been able to get breakfast.

Big Tom Zirbel

We had about a 45 min drive to the place where we would be starting the ride. A few other guys would be joining us there to make the trip. On the drive there we passed one of our ride companions riding his bike over to the start – Big Tom Zirbel! Zirbel is a pro riding for Team Bissel and is an impressive rider. We all ended up meeting at a little organic coffee shop and had some coffee before leaving. Chad decided that he wasn’t going to attempt this ride with us and was going to do his own thing (I tried to convince him otherwise but with no success).

Up we go!

As soon as we started riding we started climbing. At one point I guess I was pushing the pace and got a slight scolding from Frank who said I needed to mindful of everyone in the group. He said “Your stronger than you think take it easy” I thought. Yea right, I’m from -10 sea level; I’m just trying to get this done! After the first climb we had a good descent in which Zirbel showed us how to do it easily picking the pace up to 40+ mph. Before heading to Rocky Mountain National Park we stopped at a Donut Shop for a break and some refueling.

Winter Wonder Land

Leaving the Donut shop we rode to Rocky Mountain National Park where we had to pay $10 just to enter. We started climbing and I asked is this it? Frank quickly said no. So for the next 5-10 miles I would keep asking if we were on the climb yet and each time he would say no and tell me to just enjoy the ride.

Finally we did reach the climb and when we did I didn’t need to ask, you could tell. It was a 20 mile trip to the top of the range and the Visitors center. At the beginning I started climbing at my own pace which was faster than most. A few minutes later Zirbel rode up to me and we started chatting and taking turns pulling. We were riding along and he got into his zone and started picking up the pace. He ended up riding away from me easily. I just kept going at my own pace and before long I was above the tree line with snow all around me. I ended up arriving at the visitor’s center about 15 minutes before the last people in our group. Zirbel actually rode up then turned around and rode back down for the others and rode back up with them. The Visitors Center was very cool and after hanging out, looking around and getting a hot dog at the concession area we started the decent back down.

Racing Legs

After the majority of the descent and leaving the national park we cam back into the little town where we stopped to have donuts earlier. This time we stopped at a little coffee shop. Leaving the coffee shop we had another “little kicker” before descending back to where we started. We got on the climb and I punched it. Zirbel came with me and we took turns pulling up the climb. About 1k from the top we were going into a headwind and I was sitting on Zirbel’s wheel putting out over 350 watts (a huge amount for me). I couldn’t hold on but only finished about 150-200 meters behind him at the top of the climb. I waited for the rest of the group while Zirbel went on (he was going to meet his g/f. Back with the rest of the group we started rotating going downhill. I think we average 33mph back to the start. When the Start was within sight we went up a slight kick. At the top I put in a little effort and only one guy was able to come with me. He came through with a little attack and I sprinted pass him at the city limit sign. After over 6 hours of riding I was still about to take a sprint against another Cat 2 rider.

BBQ

That night we all went to Frank’s house for a BBQ which was awesome. Mark was pretty upset that we had to ride our bikes overt there as he was definitely over riding for the day. The burger’s and beer were great. After 2 beers I could feel the “altitude” and decided that 2 was enough. We rode back to the hotel and because there wasn’t enough rooms for the 3 of us and since they couldn’t put a rollout bed in the room (fire code) I made a pallet on the ground made of pillows and down comforters.

Sunday:

Relentless

I got up a little stiff from the prior days ride and from the floor but was ready to go nonetheless. Chad and Mark on the other hand were done for the weekend. I set off on a ride by myself and came across Boulder Falls. I spent some time here enjoying the view and walking on the little trail to get back to the main falls (kinda difficult with cycling cleats on). They also had people rock climbing, taking pictures, and just enjoying the area; it was all pretty cool. I got back to the hotel and finished packing and we went to Frank’s to pack our bikes for shipment back to NOLA.

Delays

On the way back my seats were coach. I was spoiled by riding first class up and was pretty restless on the way back. We flew from Denver to Houston. In Houston we found the standard delays. It seems like every time I fly through Houston we are delayed. This time our delay was like 2 hours and we ended up not getting back to NOLA until after midnight and Chad and I were both exhausted.

The trip was over but I had a great time, realized that I really do love riding my bike, and that I’m not such a bad climber after all. Back now on pancake flats I’ll have to go back to the same old thing but with a revised attitude and vision!

For another write up on the Saturday ride visit this website:
http://gunznrosenthal.blogspot.com/2008/06/trail-ridge-road-report-photo-dump.html