Reality Check

The Start. Next time I need to warm-up longer than 14 minutes and 57 seconds.




The view from the bridge. Looks easy right?



Ouch.

I did the Clark's TT this morning. Twice. Dang that hurts! It was also my first ride on the single speed this year and now my back is sore. I've been slacking on my core workouts this spring which hasn't been a big issue on the road bike or full suspension mountain bike. On a fully rigid single speed, however, the core plays a much larger role as I discovered today.

My times were ok. My first attempt was 14:04 and my second was 15:01. That's faster than my first go last year so given that I spent my winter skiing instead of riding I can't complain too much. Plus, I totally blew up on the first attempt, starting way too fast. By the time I reached the left hand bend at the top of the gully I was wasted and hanging on for dear life. I seriously wondered if I would make it up without stopping. Luckily I held on but man, having only 1-gear doesn't leave much margin for error!

I descended the dirt road to the top of Ghost Falls and took that and the Southern Trail back over to Clark's. Speaking of the latter trail I've got to say it pretty much sucked. Eroded along the stream and bulldozed at the bottom, it didn't have many redeeming characteristics. Next time I'll stick to Ghost all the way down.

On my second attempt up Clark's I paced myself better but didn't have much juice left in the legs so my plan to turn it on over the second half of the climb didn't amount to much more than survival. Also, I had to deal with 3 bikes descending Clark's and pass 1 other guy near the top. Finally (this is the last excuse I have) I should state that the trail is quite rough so once it smooths out I'm sure everybody will shave a few seconds off their current times.