3 Day Shake Down Ride - Practice for Ride the Divide

Time is flying and June 11th is coming fast!

Easter Weekend I had Sun, Mon, Tuesday off. I decided to turn my three day off opportunity into a three day training ride. Saturday after work my husband and I drove out to Gruene, TX and stayed at a camp ground on The Famous River Road. The worst part was the drunks were still out partying so getting to sleep that night was a bit tough.

Sunday morning Nathanael made us breakfast while I kitted out my ride with all my gear. I wanted a realistic weight for the divide so I packed everything I currently plan to take.

After loading (54 pounds including water weight) we went out for a nice 53.5 miler with 2791 feet of climbing. This is huge for a Houston dweller. The ride started out with a nice ride down river road into downtown Gruene. I enjoyed getting a fill for downhill with a fully loaded bike.  My bike handles well and my confidence is growing a bunch. During this trip I wanted to get more familiar with my etrex 30. If you think you might want to use GPS for a big ride.. Get is way in advance and learn it. You almost need a degree to figure the thing out. I am still learning. It's not easy to operate if you have never used one. Not like your cell phone apps, Android apps are easy to understand and flow. GPS does not flow.

We stopped shortly in Gruene to walk an art show and drink some coffee. After our coffees we headed out from some more big climbs. Based on my study of the divide maps most of these climbs were steeper and shorter than the ones out on the divide. Getting an understanding for how your bike climbs with a load is very important. You have to get an idea as to how your knees and your heels are going to hold out. I felt strong and was keeping a good pace about 11 mph average. My goal wasn't to bust a move but just get miles in and feel the climbing.

After about 25 miles I was faced with my first challenge:

 

After climbing for about 3 miles into a headwind we came to this fence blocking cars from driving along the dam road we were going to traverse. Notice the tight triangle access to the left of the gate... Yeah.. Try getting a 50 pound bike in it. I was afraid we would have to turn around and ride all the way back the long way. My husband wanted to help me but I said, "I am going to have to do stuff like this on the divide. I have to figure it out." I managed to wedge and lift the bike at a very odd angle. It was tough but we made it to the other side.

After a short downhill we were on top of the dam. With a rewarding view of the lake and the valley on the other side.

Hope this levee never breaks. I was thinking of that Led Zep Tune..

"If it keeps on rainin', levee's goin' to break,
When The Levee Breaks I'll have no place to stay."

As this tune played in my mind I pedal on back towards camp. Of course we got to sail down to the bottom of the level and then climb out of the valley to drop back down to the river.

 

Remember the learning curve for GPS.. my next challenge was at mile 34. My GPS sent us onto a ranch road. We both thought it was a bit odd riding past a gate but maybe it was one of those neighborhoods. It started as pavement and went to gravel with several creek crossings and a steady 3 mile climb. With a few real kickers when you are loaded. I was feeling strong and proud and didn't have to walk a single section. As we approached to turn off for this section we noticed a huge concrete fence with a closed gate. Oopps we just road across some ranchers land. The gate would not open. Realizing we were on private property we really didn't want to turn around. So we braced my husbands bike on the wall and he used it to climp to the top. While I power lifted my beast up to him about 5 feet off the ground. While Nathanael balanced the bike on top of the wall I scaled the wall using his bike to boost my self to the top. After dropping to the other side of the wall Nathanael handed me the beast and his bike. Sweating and a bit nervous about getting shot by a Texas Rancher we both hopped on our bikes and tore down the road like nothing ever happened. In Texas Ranch Roads are not always open to the public. However GPS on our phones and handheld seemed to think so. With this exciting moment behind us I had a renewed sense of energy and blasted the last 14 miles. I averaged about 16 mph and got back to camp quickly.

Day one profile 1

 

 

 

Day 2... Running from Yettie's

Not really. With 2500 feet in 39miles this ride was a bit tougher getting started. Tired legs and a lot of climbing for the 1st 10 miles. Not to mention the wind was in our face and much stronger on day two. We rode out from Grune North up the River Road and out to a camp ground at the bottom of Canyon Lake. Along the way we ran into an advertisement featuring Yettie's. We could not resist. We got photos of us running from them.

 The original plan was to ride around Canyon lake but Ranch Roads struck again and we had to reroute. Neither of us wanted to ride across another ranch and risk getting shot. This ride turned into a traditional out and back which was great cause you got a 10 mile down hill at the end. We decided to ride and up and down to the lake. Which gave us the chance to hit some big climbs and see some nice views of the lake.

On the way back we would take all the off shots down to the lake and back up. Resulting in some steep climbs 85 to 12% and some great training.

Profile for day 2





 

Day Three:

Nathanael and I planned to ride out together for about 10 miles. Nathanael was going to do about 10 miles with me and then head back to take down the camp and then drive to Lulling to pick me up about 50 miles away.

 

Instead of going into downtown Gruene and having to climb the massive hill going into down town I decided to ride threw New Braunfels. God decided to laugh at me. When Nathanael and I got to the 10 mile separation point this was what we got to climb:

21% Grade!! Ouch. Does my bike even have that many gears!!! From 600 ft to 800 ft in two tenths of a mile. My agony when we saw this. I would not walk. I had to zig and zag but I got my butt to the top without falling and without walking.. My accomplishment was super huge. Nathanael had never ridden up anything like it. We both were proud.

 

After our huge climb Nathanael turned back to camp and I was on my own for 40 more miles. My plan was to ride around the north side of the airport and head to Lulling. However, road closure struck! I had to reroute because of  a new air landing being built across my path. Part of me wanted to ride across it but the good side of me said no. I had to back track and reroute about 5 miles. This new route feature rice patties, corn fields, no shade, vortex winds, and burning hot pavement. The only place to get water was a church. I greeted a lady in the parking lot working the daycare program. She let me in to get some water and a bit of AC.

 

I had to push on for about 15 miles before the ride became blocked with trees and hills to slow the wind. Once in the trees and hills the road became white dusty gravel. Solar FLARE TIME. I could feel the sun burn coming. I stopped under an oak tree and lathered up again.  After a brief moment of no sun I pressed on to my final turn onto  Hwy 90. This turn would put me out on the side of a highway, no shade, headwind, no gas stations, no water, and no mercy for 13 miles. I was happy cause this meant only 13 more miles but it was hard to get above 15mph and hold it. I just trudged on. I was looking for tossed out water bottles on the side of the road to help time march on. After 10 miles and about 3 miles outside of Lulling I saw my husband drive by. He pulled to the shoulder about 500 feet in front of me and I was elated. I chugged two sodas! He drove down to a park about another 1500 ft and I took a poor mans shower in the shade of an oak tree with the water in the cooler. Refreshing! No longer being baked alive.

Profile day three. Ignore the 1st part of the chart. I have no idea what my gps was doing.

 



Random Photos:

 

Guest at our Camp ground. Kitties away from home. The neat part was the camp ground had a cat colony. They would get them fixed and take care of them. The guest get to hang out with them and enjoy kitty love away from home.

 Nathanael relaxing after day 2

Me resting after day 2 down by the river.

 

Austin Rattler - Last big race before the big day June 13th!

Austin Rattle was this past weekend and what a fun race! Four laps of 15 miles on a seriously fun course. Going into this i was thinking I would only be able to average 10 mph but I was actually at 11.3. This may sound a bit slow to all of you roadies out there but I am covering a mile every 5 mins on a mountain bike. I am proud of that!! With rocks, dirt, mud, roots, and other obstacles...

Just before the race I get a chance to have my photo with Neil Bremner. The owner of Bike Barn and my boss. It was great getting to see a big group of Bike Barn Riders out to take on this tough course. Several got coins or won a lottery spot into Leadville. I won the lottery earlier this year so my focus was to get my best time to up my spot in the leadville coral. I fortunately finished in 5:28 mins landing me a spot two up from the back. Super cool!

Lap 1 was a blistering pace for me. I was up front but I didn't want to be in the back with other riders who I didn't know were confident on a mountain bike. Main goal is to always finish and to do so safely and without issue. My time for lap one was 1:18. About a 12.8 mph average according to my computer. Remember my goal was 10 so I was happy and hurting. It was about 52 degrees when we started and warmed up to about 78 before the end of the ride. I started with arm warms and next time want do that. Just start a bit cold or get some sun covers.

The race starts with a large climb up to the top of fat chucks followed with flowing single track which drops you out on top of an treeless plain. The wind hits you and the rocks are larger than normal so you really have dig. The night before it rained making the 1st lap a bit wet and sometime slippery on the roots. A few creek crossings would leave your breaks squeaking and you butt a bit wet but not as wet as my many other jaunts and frolics at Rocky Hill.

My husband was there as usual snapping photos and making sure I was getting food and water. I could not do these races without him. Before lap 2 I snagged a bottle and headed out for lap two. I was aware of a group of about 5 other women riding around me and just kind of sizing myself up. I wanted to back my 2nd lap pace down to about 12 mph and did so with a lap finish time of about 1:20. Getting ready to head out to lap three I told Nathanael I just wanted it to be over cause I was surely hurting. Setting my mind I headed out and just did the divide slug up the hill. Sadly during lap 2 my front derailleur spring decided it was time to die. The rest of the race my chain would drag on it no matter what gear I was in. I just had to tune it out and go. I wasn't going to stop. It sounded sort of like a roller coaster chain pulling a coaster up to the big climb. Lap 3 was a slug. I thought my legs would cramp a few times and land me out of the race. I started to chug water and and eat salty gu. My mantra became Aerosmith's Living on the Edge along with the Pink Floyd The Wall and some random Prodigy Song. Anything to stop thinking about the pain. I focused myself to stay on someones wheel no matter what. I found my hero on the course... he must have pulled me a lap and a half and did so without making me feel bad. He even told me to grab his wheel. Lap three ended and I was still in the mix with the five other ladies I had been watching since the start.

Lap 4 started the dog days of the race and my mental game. I heard two of the ladies catching me on fat chucks but wasn't going to let it get me. I let them ride fast up the big climb. I tagged on with two faster men and they pulled me up to the girls. I decided I would sit in the back and eat and drink and not loose the draft. One of the girls blew and pulled out. I thought she would grab my wheel but she was toast. Encouraged and elated I told the guys to let the other girl work and I can get her in the end. I had noticed her single track technique wasn't like mine. I let her rip and she takes it slow. I knew I had her if i could just stay on the train.

I managed to stay in the back and not get hammered and caught her on one of the last two major climbs before the really fun single track. In addition to her I nipped off two more ladies struggling on the last section of single track. The last two miles of the course is my favorite, the wall, the bridges, and the awesome downhill bomber section.

I never looked back I just put the pedal to the medal and went! I finished in 5:28 and was super happy! Glad to be done. I grabbed a coke, banana, orange, and some hot fries and proceeded to eat and eat. The day was fun!

My Hero and my helper! Thanks for the Draft!

Fellow bike barn finishers! Glad to be done!

Thank you Nathanael and Great Job Kevin!

2ND AND 3RD SHAKE DOWN RIDES - 14 weeks and counting

Time is rolling by and narrowing the days to my depart quicker than I can mentally grasp! The miles are ever increasing and the recovery from my jaunts is taking its toll. The past two weeks I did two overnight trips. March 4 - 5th I rode from my house in Cypress to Montgomery. After Houston got hit with ice. I am not joking around. We actually got some ice:
My way out route: http://www.mapmyride.com/workout/498261041
My way back Route: http://www.mapmyride.com/workout/498858785hit



The ride was pleasant. I only had to re-route once because of the ice. A tree had fallen and blocked a section with crews working on dropped power lines. The hardest part of the ride was the cold and wet. My rain pants and cold weather gear were perfect. My new rain jacket was perfect too. I stayed warm and dry and no real issue. I had my new sleeping bag and mat with me be but opted for the comforts of a cabin instead of freezing. I really could not risk getting sick and loosing my quick turn training ride.

My total trip mileage was about 125 miles with about 2500 feet of elevation. Not too bad for flat land Texas. No dogs chased me on this ride!

 I went back to work on the 6th and then headed out 4 days later on the 10th  for an epic route of 90 miles in a day with full load of about 50 pounds!

I rode from my house in Cypress TX to Warda, Bluff Creek Ranch. This route gave me about 2000ft of climbing in a day. Took be about 6:45 mins. I was very happy with the pace and my results. I gladly was not chased by any dogs on this ride. I did get chased by cows!

 My out route: http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/370619761
On arrival I was provided with a wonderful meal of potatoes and ribs by Alan, the ranch manager. He was so generous and kind. I was starving.. After my meal I went and set my camp down by the lake, made a fire, and ate some candy bars!

This trip I tried to sleep without the aid of any sleeping pills and found that I really struggle to relax or calm down from a long day in the saddle. I also found the new sleeping bag and mat to be fantastic. I made a mental not to pack some ear plugs too. The frogs were so gregarious and eager to sing all night. They too were not helping me relax and go to sleep. Then once I feel asleep I was awoken by rain.  This would be my 1st experience of rain in the bivy sack. Nothing like waking up to the rain in a bivy sack. It sounds really loud and you can feel it hitting the tent all around you. Fortunately the rain was brief and I was able to fall back asleep. I woke around 8:00 am and packed up my gear. It takes about 30 mins to an hour to pack. Mostly dependant upon my speed.

My racing and training friend Cesar greeted me in the morning. We had some eggs and ham with Alan and then loaded up and drove over to Rocky Hill Ranch to ride the race route for the Austin Rattler (Leadville Race Training Qualifier) at the end of this month. http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/370730905

Review of my 1st loaded run.

What a wonderful learning experience! The one and only way to see if what you are  doing to prepare is working is to get out there and do it! For my 1st test run I rode from my house to Stephen F. Austin state park close to Sealy Texas.

It was an easier route with lots of return options in case things didn't go well with my fitness. The route took me southwest along country roads and dirt roads. Unfortunately, an 8 mile section was well maintained by vicious cyclist chasing mad dogs! I must admit pumping your legs to a 28 MPH sprint on a 50 pound mountain bike is no challenge I want to attempt while being chased. I named this section of the ride doggon alley. Sort of like Harry Potter's diagon alley without the magic.  Instead you have huge burly German Shepherds filling you with fear you never knew you could experience. I must have been chased 15 times. In addition the wind was blowing at a steady 12 -20 mph north. In my face the whole ride. I still made exceptional time. I was so proud to arrive at the park around 4:30.

Sadly my elation was replace with devastation when I realized I must have dropped my wallet. I had some cash so I secured myself a campsite. I must have dropped it at one of the stops I made to check GPS on my phone. Fear filled me again as I turned around and headed backwards on my route. Learning a valuable lesson. Hide your wallet in your gear bags!! As I travelled backwards I was quickly approaching doggon alley. I was going to have to ride back threw this dog pile. Heartbroken... 60+ miles in I had to run from three clusters of rapid furry fangs. To my great joy only 9 miles back I find my wallet. Praising God I secure it in my frame bag and route an alternate way back. There was no way I was going to run from those dogs again!

The Sun was going down fast at this point. I had to get motivated. The alternate route was an addition 6 miles but it was worth having to ride 14 miles back without being attacked by angry dogs. This route was a lot nicer too. It had rolling hills and beautiful farms.

 I made it all the way to a gas station just outside of sealy before I had to stop and strap my lights on. I found a nice little local grill and ordered me a steak and a baked potato! Yeah yummy gluten free food.

After I stuffed my face I rode back to camp. Total Miles for the day was 83 miles. A lot more than I had planned to do on my 1st big loaded ride.

Sleeping in my Bivy sack for the 1st time wasn't so bad. I am glad I picked out a bivy with a canopy! I could get inside and lay up and read a bit. The Big Angus air mat was a pain in the butt to air up. After having rode my bike all day pushing a bunch of air into a mattress wasn't fun. I also had to blow up my mattress twice during the night to keep it full. My thoughts were definitely towards getting a new one when I got home. My sleeping bag was almost too warm but way better than being cold. I also didn't realize my bivy didn't come with steaks to nail it down with until my trip. I learned that when I got home I would order me a new sleeping mat and sleeping bag. Ones that compress to a smaller size and an air mat that requires less effort to air up.

In the morning I rose to a new day feeling not too sore and ready to get back on the road. I packed up all of my gear and rode home a much quicker way. Just about 40 miles back. I rode into a town east of Sealy called Pattison. There was a little dinner here that I got some breakfast at. A vegetable omelet with extra vegetables. My ride back from Pattison to Cypress, TX was a wind powered tail wind almost the whole way. There was a 9 mile section with a stout side wind that made for a tough pedal and a lot of mental chanting. The best part of the ride was I didn't get chased by any dogs! I arrived home safely and in one piece. The overall ride was enjoyable and a big eyeopener!

Since my ride I have purchased the following new pieces of gear:

1: Dog Spray - Halt
2: New Sleeping Bag : mountain hardwear ultralamina 32
3: New Air Mat: Therm-a-Rest Neo Air
4: Rain Jacket:North Face Stormy Trail Jacket
5: Warm jacket: mountain-hardwear-thermostatic-jacket
6: Stuff Sacs: Sea To Summit Mini (For all of my tools) It was frustrating having things piled. I needed to be able to get things out with creating a disaster.
7: Alternate Water Carry: Platypus

With these changes I was able to load my bike tonight for my Tues - Weds overnight ride this next week with about 5 litters of leftover space for my clothes!!! I am still considering a larger frame bag. I am more than likely going to have to purchase one. I still need a bit of space for my cold weather gear and some extra comforts.

This week I will be riding to huntsville state park with my loaded bike. http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/366175703

 

 

1st Fully Loaded Test Ride

I sent an email out last night to my friends and family making it officially the real deal!

The Message reads:

Some already know about my Epic plans for this year but now it is becoming very real!!! Starting June 13th I will ride my mountain bike from Banff Canada to Antelope Wells. My goal is to complete the race in under 25days! I have to carry all of my own gear and naviagte 2700 miles and 200000 feet of climbing.

I wanted to send out an email providing you with a link to my blog, a link to my tracker, a link for my check in recordings, and a link for information about what I am doing!

You can read about my prep and my gear choices on my blog:
http://jessicagreenrides.blogspot.com/

About the Ride and the rules:
http://tourdivide.org/the_race

Watch the movie Ride the Divide on Netflix and get the fever!
http://www.ridethedividemovie.com/

I will check in on the ride and you can hear my recordings after June 13th at
http://mtbcast.com/site2/

My Spot Tracker Link"
http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0ZxylCvuSOl1S6LNJsXsNOsV4bkB4EG49
If the link doesn't work, try copying and pasting it to your browser's address bar.
While you are reading this email I will most likely be setting up my bike or riding my bike Feb 18th to the 19th for it's 1st fully loaded test run!! I will ride about 50 - 80 miles out. Set up Camp and ride back home on the 19th.. Hope it is a success! This 1st trial ride makes it very real to me and prompted my desire to send this message out to my family and friends!

Thank you and Please Send up your Prayers!

19 weeks and counting!

I spent the last three days knocking down some miles and getting my head into the reality of  this is really going to happen. I have to get ready in 19 weeks!

While reading and researching today I found an excellent article written by Kent Petterson on his blog (Of which he is way better at blog managment than I am) Frequently asked Questions about the divide.  His words touched a belief that I have held and helped me put words to it. In the question? How does one train to ride the divide? I top my helmet to the answer Kent gave, "I practice!"

So, I spent the last three days practicing for Ride the Divide! I put in about 110 miles and did some rain riding with my rain jacket. Which does keep my dry but is very warm and toasty... I used my Helly Hansen Women's Voss Jacket. I like the fact that it keeps me dry and the hood fits over my head under my helmet and provides a bit of a visor. I still need better rain pants too. The stuff I have stays dry for a while but if it comes down hard it sneaks in. I plan to purchase a pair of North Face Venture Rain Pants

I found the camera I plan to purchase too!! Olympus Stylus TG-830 iHS Digital Camera

As the days tick by I realize I need to get all of my gear on the bike and go for a test ride/camp. My new frame will be here Wednesday so I plan to build up the Stumpy and load here up for a ride next Weds and Tuesday. I will post a blog after my adventure!

Dirty Dozen 12 hour Race / Mental preperation for Ride the Divide

After the Excruciation Exam race two weeks ago my bike started making a constant creak when pedaling. So, we basically overhauled the bike and even installed some new ceramic bearings to the bottom bracket. Sadly the noise continued. After a deep clean and more investigating we discovered the bottom bracket was ovalizing and the material is beginning to fail. I have successfully broken everything on the bike during my training for the ride the divide. The guys at the shop renamed Beast Maker to Jessica the Destroyer #1. After realizing the bike could not be raced on for the 12 hours proceeded to find an alternative ride option. I contacted our stores Specialized Rep who generously allowed me to use his bike for the race.

A specialized Epic 2013 World Cup! I have never really ridden a full suspension bike so I was very worried I could really break this one. In fact I only got to ride the bike 5 miles before the race. I had to swap my pixie bars over, recharge the tubeless setup, and get the shocks sort of set up for my style of riding. Which after 5 laps / 35 miles I realized I need to adjust it more. The other challenge of the new ride was its equipped with Shimano and I am used to Sram for mountain. You should see the blisters on the inside of my palms. I will pass posting a photo of those for you!

 

I decided that I need to enlist some moral support for the race so I invited Cesar and Kevin to come suffer with me! The created Team Blueberry and signed up for the 12 hour two person team and took 4th place and landed in the money too!

The weather was perfect. You could not have asked for a better day. Overcast with a few sprinkles here and there but never a full out rain shower. The temperature was  between 60 - 75 for the whole day. It was great day for 12 hours of saddle time. I was able to get off to a great start and maintained a 39 min to 49 min lap time for 11:15 mins. I took 2nd place!

My goal was 10 laps but the day and everything just came together and I was able to put in 15 laps. Kim Jennings and I were neck and neck and made a great race of it! The 1st lap was a log jam, the 2nd lap started to open up a bit, the 3rd and 4th laps were still bunches of people you would have to ride around, my 5th lap was blissful with me and the trees and no one in my way. I Loved the flow and started to really get to know the bike. Laps 6 to 13 blended into a flow and me thinking about the ride the divide and the hours I have to be in the saddle. I set myself an 11.5 mph pace and held it. Just watched my average speed and kept going.

 When I hit lap 13/101.4 miles I wanted to stop and be done. My left forearm muscles were really giving me a sting and my left foot was feeling a blaze! My husband and Sonya (Cesar's wife) told me I had to keep going. Kim was only 11 min in front of me. I took the challenge, hit the Porty pod, and then jumped on the bike feeling somewhat better. I had reached a point where I couldn't really eat anymore. After completing lap 13 they told me I was still on her and she was starting to slow. Reluctantly, I set my music on my phone to some hard heavy death metal and launched into my 14th lap. As from whom the bell tolls blared in my right ear I cranked my pedals as hard as I could and pushed to catch her. About half way into the lap my stomach started to cramp and when I breathed deep or had to put out a hard effort I would feel that I was about to barf. After completing Gas Pass which is a technical high speed down hill I did leave it all on the course. The effort made me barf. Which I did while riding off the side of the bike to the right and kept going. It was dark and no one saw me thankfully :) Adds a whole new meaning to leaving it all on the course. After suffering the climb back to the check point and completing my 14th lap there was an 1:37 min left on the clock. I had to do another lap. I had to force her to complete a 16th lap. After all I felt better after my barf break. It was fun doing the last lap cause you could see the people really suffering and you could see those determined to race the clock riding hard next to you! Finally after 11:15 mins I got to get off the bike and walk. I immediately took a shower and drank some muscle milk. I was proud to ride that long and happy knowing that when the divide comes i can ride 12 hours and know what it will feel like. Today I feel sore but I know if I had to I could go ride!

Cesar, Kevin and I looking Refreshed after our 12 hours. I think we could have kept going!

Congratulation to Kim Topp, Ali Wilkerson 5th place 2 person 12 hour, Jessica Green 2nd place solo, and Kim Jennings 1st place solo.