Rawrod 2010

Pics in reverse order from the trip....

This was year two for me....

Some things were different:

• Weather conditions - went from brutal winds last year to near perfect this year. Ironically, this year felt like it was a little tougher for me.
• Avoided pitfalls - namely, the ridgey rock sections. Made extra effort to stay off of them all day, and it made for a much more comfortable ride. Note I said more comfortable, which is a far, far cry from meaning it was a comfortable ride.
• Familiar course - yep, this helped in knowing to avoid the slickrock stuff. But, it backfired on the psyche. The bluff I was pretty sure was the one that was only a short straightaway from White Crack and the lunch spot at Vertical Void just a little further up the road, couldn't have been much further than only being half way there - which made for a long 2nd half. It was a real grind for me from mile 45 to 60-65 - mostly due to false hope, expectation, thinking I knew what lied around the next bend. Way too many times it was just the next bend.
• Tried to do it self supported - fell well short of carrying enough fluid.
• Struggled more on the back half of the ride this year, vs. earlier in the ride last year. Still learning how to manage eating and trying to maintain energy levels on rides that long.
• Banks made his virgin run around the course and broke in a new pair of shoes, and rode it like a champ.
• Tyler rode it on a single speed, and went fast all day - give him the ride of the day out of our travel group. We rode down and climbed back up horsethief when we pulled in Friday evening, and I put my bike in a singlespeedish gear for that climb out and kept it there, just as an act of sympathy towards him. Pretty sure I would have been brought to tears at that prospect at that point on Saturday. Singlespeeders are a different breed, and Tyler's got some of that bloodline in him.
  

Some things were the same:

• Bright expelling large volumes of gasses, this time fueled by what I think was Subway Meatball Marinara, which made it irrelevent as to which end he fired from - potency was equal and the windows went down either way.
• Tasty Brats and bread the night previous, courtesy of Kenny and Elden - along with plenty of funny stories from the group of good folks - probably highlighted by the education on chinese massages.
• Sore hind quarters post ride, highlighted by literal throbbing that lasted till Green River. Much better morning after feeling though.
• The hammy cramp struck again at Ray's, triggered by the exact same motion of pushing my chair out from under the table - only got one leg this year though. I considered laying down and flopping on their floor briefly during the episode.

All in all, as is the case with all road trips with the cycling crowd, it was a great time with great folks, and always a great feeling to ride across the cattle guard back into camp having put in a really big day of riding. Or at least a great feeling within a day or two....