Week 44

Date
November 7, 2015

Distance
100 miles

Strava Link
Week 44

Route Map/Profile

Weather

Ride Report 
Winter weather hit and there were a few wet days where the high was only in the mid 40s. Saturday was a nice day in comparison, with a high in the mid 50s and no wind. It was even warm enough to squeeze in a climb up Six Mile Canyon.

Snow in the mountains

The wet weather during the week brought snow to the mountains, which is great news and made for a nice change in scenery. Snow in the mountains and dry roads down below- that's the ideal scenario and it played out perfectly on Saturday.

The ride itself was nothing spectacular. I definitely feel slower out there. The air is more dense, my clothing is less aerodynamic, and all the other winter riding excuses. I'm slow enough as it is. Winter just adds insult to injury.

Week 43

Date
October 31, 2015

Distance
102 miles

Strava Link
Week 43

Route Map/Profile

Weather

Ride Report 
Today was one of those days where everything seemed to go wrong. It all started with my schedule. It was a busy week and my only chance to squeeze in my long ride was after I got off of work at 12:30. That meant I'd be doing a portion of the ride in the dark. Not such a big deal, but it was my first minor annoyance of the day.

As it turned out, there was a problem at work and I had to stay until 1:30. I didn't get out on the road until a little after 2:00, and by that time the wind had picked up and was blowing pretty hard. I had a big loop planned and theoretically should have had a tailwind on the final section. Unfortunately, I timed the wind about as poorly as possible. I thought maybe it was all it my head, but if you look at the weather graph above it's actually true- I was riding into the wind during it's strongest point in the afternoon and by the time I made it to the final stretch the wind had died down. I fought the headwind all that time without a proper reward at the end.

The good news is that I was treated with a beautiful sunset. I didn't know it at the time, but the wind that was coming Saturday afternoon into Sunday morning and all day Sunday was blowing in a storm that put an end to all of the unseasonably warm weather we've been having. Essentially the sun is setting on warm weather for the year.

The loop was somewhere between 75-80 miles, so I had to ride a little extra towards the end. I simply retraced the first 10 miles or so on 49 to Loyalton. I had been struggling for the whole ride and couldn't really find a rhythm, but as I got close to Loyalton I finally started feeling good. Right after I made my turnaround I got a flat tire and the rhythm was gone. I got a huge staple stuck in my front tire. I'm not sure what the staple was used for, but it was thick and super sharp. I don't think any tire would have stood a chance against it. I had a hell of a time prying it out of my tire, actually.

It seemed like a fitting way to end the day. I halfway expected my spare to be flat or my pump to malfunction or something just to continue the theme of things going wrong. Fortunately, everything was fine. My rhythm was gone and it felt like a long 10 miles to the finish, but the good news is that I did finish and at the end of the year that's all that will matter.