Wimmer's Sherwood Hills

What began looking like a mudfest turned out to be a relatively dry, spongey and fun XC race. When I arrived around 10:00 most of the talk was about tires getting hung up in the mud, deraileurs clogging and talk about whether or not to ride. By the time my group pushed off around 11:45, all was well and I'm glad I stayed.

Many of the usual suspects were noticably missing, but that did not effect the competition or level of excitment. My group was only 5 strong and I was able to finish on top of the podium. I was in 3rd place in the over 50+ group when my 2nd lap finished, so that made me feel real good. My teammate, Bill Dark, came in 2nd so we had a good day. Other Mad Dog riders had mixed levels of happiness topped off by KC & Chris Holley taking 2nd and 3rd, respectively, in the Pro divisions. I'm always amazed when someone rides faster than them because when I so on training rides with those two, I'm maxed out and they are barely breathing. How can people ride that fast!

Overall I'm a little amazed with my conditioning at this point in time. My time on the bike and total mileage is lower than last year, but, I feel better and I'm racing stronger. Go figure. Maybe it all the rest and recovery I'm getting - hopefully that won't come back to haunt me later this summer. My plan is to start Lynda's 100 mile PR program on May 19th in preparation for Leadville in August, so that should pick up the mileage and bike time. That ought to make my wife real happy. In the meantime, I'll do a few more ICUP races and the Soldier Hollow/Sundance series and see how things work out.

White Rim

Horse Thief Canyon in the morning.

Riding along the Colorado to Hardscrabble in the canyon's shadow.

The back side of Hardscrabble before Potato Bottom.

Roundng one of the many finger bays on the White Rim.

The approach to the Shafer Trail from the Potash potty.

Ellen just before the top of the Shafer.

When the climbing is done, here's your reward. The Shafer Trail from the top.

Dudette and dude.

I forgot to mention the desert flowers were just starting to pop! Gorgeous.

Last Saturday, Ellen Guthrie and I rode the White Rim Trail under a cloudless, sunny sky, and a minor blow that varied from a tailwind to White Crack and headwind to the end. The conditions could not have been more perfect. Yes, there was a lot of sand, but that's the WR. We rode in the opposite direction of the RAWROD crowd which came down Shafer's, and met up with them at White Crack. We both picked up 2 bottles of water from their sag wagon, and that was it. I still had over 3/4 of my 100 oz Camelback full, and food to spare, when we finished! Because it wasn't hot, I guess we could have made the whole thing unsupported.

Our total riding time was 9:06 which was real good considering this was the 1st long ride of the year for Ellen. A 1st for me was cleaning the entire route for what I think is the 1st time ever. Typically, Hardscrabble has a nasty soft section on the steepest part of the climb that always does me in. Not this time. Someone has come in and filled in the soft sand hole and the climb is now ridable. I hit 175 bpm by the time I got to the top, but I made it non-stop, without a dab. Yahooooo. Another 1st was I beat Ellen on a climb!!! That little waif always kicks my fat ass whenever the trail/road kicks upward, so being in front was a real treat. I'm going to enjoy it while I can - I know my glory will be short-lived.

The climb up to Murphy's was interesting and a little more painful than I remembered. The last left turn was a little loose and almost bucked me off, but I was able to keep my balance. And the ledge just before the summit was a challenge. Since it was smoothed out a few years ago, the ledge has been a no brainer and somewhat of a letdown. As I got closer to it, it became apparent a slight ledge had reappeared and just hitting it straight on might not work. What was interesting is gravity took me to the left edge of the road, then back across diagonally to the right edge, through a narrow smooth section, and then back to the left to the top. I'm certain if I had hit this straight on I would have fallen, or at least dabbed. As it turned out, I made it, but there was nobody on top to cheer me on. When we came down the backside toward White Crack, I felt sorry for the others that had to still climb Murphy's. It looked much harder to me climbing from White Crack. My hat's off to the RAWROD dudes and dudettes.

Before we started, my one concern was riding Shafer at the end, but that proved to be no problem, relatively speaking. From where we started at the top of the Mineral Bottom Road, the Potash potty was 87 miles in with the 2.6 mile climb looming ahead. It was still sunny but much of the climb was now in the shadow of the canyon wall. I found a comfortable, smooth and steady pace and did the climb in 36 minutes, no dabs. Now I have a number to shoot for this fall when I do it again, and I'm in better shape. Counterclockwise worked out well for us and I would not hesitate to do it that way again. The ride back on 313 was a bit of a drag since we had a headwind and all the fun was done. When we got back to camp, Rob Westerman had the Brats ready for us and we settled into a nice, chatty evening with their kids, Doug Davis and Scott Tolly. A perfect end to a perfect day.

This was a memorable weekend, and one that came at a good time. Ellen was a great riding partner and I wouldn't have changed a thing. Thanks for the fun day Ellen.

Matthew Knoop, 1988-2008

My daughter MarKay, and Matt's sister Marney spent the first 10 years of their life together.

My very dear friends, Dave and Kay Knoop lost their son Matt April 21st in a tragic accident in Brazil, where Matt was serving a mission for the LDS Chruch. Words cannot express the emptiness everyone feels at this time. It has been said countless times that parents are not supposed to bury their children. For the first time in my life, I now know the pain associated with that statement. Our sadness is deep and our hope great that he is in a better place and that Dave, Kay and Marney will grieve, heal, live life, and someday rejoin Matt. It is that hope and belief that makes enduring such a tragedy bearable. Rest in peace our dear Mattmo.

IHE Boost Complete

Part of the IHE protocol is to recharge every 6 weeks in order to bring the new new red blood cells created in the last 6 weeks up to the level of the cells that remain from the 3 week initialization phase. I'm told our red blood cells replace themselves every 12 weeks, so half of those guys inside me right now are new and they don't know what the other guys are doing. Now they do.

The boost phase consists of 5 - 1 hour sessions at the following levels:

Session 1 - 11% SpO2 88
Session 2 - 10% SpO2 86
Session 3 - 10% SpO2 84
Session 4 - 9% SpO2 82
Session 5 - 9% SpO2 78

I'm embarassed to say I don't totally know what the numbers mean, but, I do know that each session was harder than the prior one and by session 4 I was feeling pretty good. Session 5 was very difficult.

During sessons 1 and 2 I had to take the mask off several times during the 1st two five minute pulls. It appears I was forcing my breathing and trying too hard. During session 1 I think I may have passed out because I found myself with my head on my shoulder, dizzy and not knowing where I was. That made my wife real happy! She thinks I' crazy :-). Eric, the owner of the USA rights to this incredible technology told me to be sure to relax, recline in the chair and just breathe normally. Dont' over work and press. That seemed to work cuz I was able to do sessions 3-5 without removing the mask. That doesn't mean I didn't get light headed. I did and hopefully that means I'm receiving the desired benefits. Physiological things I experienced were the afore mentioned frequent light headness, a muffling of ambient sounds, twitchy face muscles and a big need to pee afterwards.

It's my feeling that this stuff is working. My training volume is down from last year this time, but the one XC race I did last week was stronger than last year, on what some are saying was a tougher course than 2007. My recovery is very good and I am not at all fatigued. The XC race season begins in earnest May 3rd and I will be racing for 5 weekends in a row. That's a lot of stress on my system so I'll have a better feel for how this IHE is effecting me. I'm hopeful and confident my results will be positive.

Cholla Challenge

What a beautiful spot for a race.

The "over the hill" podium.

Chris, me, KC and Dwight

What a perfect day for a race. The average temp was 72F, the skies were crystal clear, there was very little wind, the course was dry and dusty and the usual suspects were there in fine form with smiling faces and happy hearts. It sounds like Pleasantville instead of stop number 2 of the ICUP Series in Hurricane Utah.

Last year this course ate many top flite riders and spit their carsasses out in the sagebrush and red rock. The buzzards had a field day with all those lean, skinny bodies dotting the desertscape. Heat, dehydration, wind and bad luck was the norm in 2007, and almost nobody was exempt. Not this year! The weather cooperated, Jerry reversed the course, it was fast, fun and nobody died. All the climbing was left to the last 3 miles, along with a nice dose of sand and gravel in the drainages, but the first 9 were reasonably well packed, sometimes dusty, and fast. My per mile average times went from 4:48 in 2007 to 4:22 this year.

My race went well and I finished 2nd, 2:13 behind teammate and ICUP points leader Dwight Hibdon. I rode with Dwight on the Rim Ride "social event" 2 weeks ago so it was fun lacing 'em up and doing battle in a real race. I hung with him the entire 1st lap but had to let him go as the 2nd lap began due to implosion and poor planning on my part. Ya see, I'm beginning to think I'm superman because I can do these long races, and, I know Lynda and Dave. Just knowin them makes me special (in my mind) and vicariously I can do what they do - go long and go hard. 24 miles is nothing! I wish I could say ignorance is bliss, but I know better. My mistake was pre-riding a full 12 mile lap before the start of the race. Dahhhhhh. That was stupid! I felt fine on the pre-ride and first lap, but that was it. The pace of a XC race is soooo different and intense, it doesn't take me long to fall apart. Dwight's pace was way too ambitious for me and I was cooked. The anerobic and VO2 max portions of my training are sorely deficient, and it shows when I race XC. My lungs are good (I think the IHE training has something to do with that) but my legs just give out. No, it's not age - it's effective, specific training that I'm lacking. Hopefully I'll get that addressed shortly, then, watch out!

Congrats go out to Chris and KC Holley. The dynamic husband/wife duo topped the pro men's and women's podium and took home the bacon! That is so cool...

All-in-all, it was a good day. I love to race and really enjoy my teammates and the friends I've made through biking. Events like this make the long, cold winter days tolerable. Helllllllllo summer!!!