Week 42

Date
October 18th, 2013

Distance
105 Miles

Time
6:56:33

Route Map/Profile

Weather

Picture

Fresh oil on 6 Mile Canyon

Ride Report
It was a beautiful day out there, so I went out to Spooner Summit and added in 6 Mile Canyon and Gold Hill. I didn't feel like riding hard today, so I took it easy. You know, there are times in cycling and in life when you don't feel like pushing all that hard. I love cycling because it gives me the opportunity to face those times and to overcome the desire to be lazy or to take it easy. There have been a lot of days when I didn't feel like going hard, but I pushed through it and was glad I did. Today wasn't one of those days.

I'd love to make excuses for it, but the truth is that I simply wasn't mentally strong enough today. My body was capable of going harder than my mind was willing to push it. It's a real shame to waste potential like that. There might be a life lesson in all of this. Truth be told, I am much more willing to push myself past my comfort zone on a bike than in life in general.

Strava Link

Week 41

Date
October 13th, 2013

Distance
103 Miles

Time
6:44:16
Route Map/Profile

Weather

Picture

6 Mile Canyon

Ride Report
Today started out with a flat ride to Carson City, then out to 6 Mile Canyon. I did 6 Mile Canyon, then Gold Hill, then another 6 Mile Canyon loop. 6 Mile Canyon is beautiful in the fall when the leaves are yellow and the sun is shining through just right. I'm not a good photographer, so I've never been able to truly capture it in a picture. That can be a good thing, though. It encourages me to enjoy the moment and soak it in instead of worrying about taking the perfect picture. Besides, it's a lot more fun to replay the moment in your mind than to look at photos.


Strava Link

Week 40

Date
October 6th, 2013

Distance
109 Miles

Time
7:07:47

Route Map/Profile

Weather

Picture

Fall on Mt. Rose

Ride Report
The weather was fantastic today, so I took advantage by climbing up the east side of Mt. Rose to Lake Tahoe. This is probably my last ride out by Lake Tahoe for the year and it might also be my last time climbing Mt. Rose for the year.

I finished off the ride with 2 trips up Gold Hill. I wanted to do Gold Hill and 6 Mile Canyon, but there were outhouse races going on in Virginia City and C Street was closed. It was easier to avoid the crowd by doubling up on Gold Hill, so that's what I did.

It was a great day out there. It was nice to get in one last summer-type ride in 2013. Summer may be over but the year itself is far from over. I'm looking forward to the rides to come.

Strava Link

Week 39

Date
September 29th, 2013

Distance
104 Miles

Time
6:44:38

Route Map/Profile

4 laps around Washoe Lake

Weather

Windy

Picture

Deer

Ride Report
The wind was blowing hard today and I was not looking forward to this ride. I'm not usually a fan of doing laps, but I decided to do 4 laps around Washoe Lake so I didn't have to spend too much time at once riding into the headwind. I added Combs Canyon to one of the laps to break up the monotony a little bit.

The ride turned out to be better than I expected. Total time was about 7 hours, and I was planning on 8. I split the ride into laps to help mentally, but I think it helped physically, as well. I was able to ride hard into the headwind for a little while, then recover and save some energy for the next lap. That kept me fresh for all of the headwind sections, which probably saved me a lot of time as opposed to riding 50 straight miles into the headwind.

Strava Link

Week 38

Date
September 21st, 2013

Distance
107 Miles

Time
6:47:23

Route Map/Profile

Out and back

Weather

Cold and windy

Picture

Mountains in the morning

Ride Report
It was a busy week and I had to wake up early on Saturday to squeeze in a ride. The weather was not cooperating. It was cold and windy and I got rained on for the last 10 miles or so. I had to beat 7 hours, so I didn't do any climbing. Nevertheless, it was good to be out there. Aside from commuting I haven't been able to ride much lately.

Later that night there was snow on Mt. Rose from the storm. Snow in September. How about that? It's all gone now, but it was fun to look at while it lasted.

Strava Link

Week 37

Date
September 15th, 2013

Distance
108 Miles

Time
6:27:19

Route Map/Profile

Weather

Picture

Ride Report
This is a route I've done before. It starts off with Mt. Rose, travels along the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe to the easy side of Kingsbury Grade, then is mostly flat and easy for the second half of the ride. It's good for a windy day like today because the wind is at your back for most of the second half.

The route is an indication of how I feel right now. Summer is over, the days are getting shorter, and things are winding down a little bit. I still want to get some climbing in before winter, but I don't really feel up for huge climbing days right now.

Strava Link

Week 36

Date
September 4th, 2013

Distance
108 Miles

Time
6:48:36

Route Map/Profile

Weather

Picture

Donner Lake

Ride Report
There is still smoke out there, but today was much better than last week. I headed out to Donner Summit for the first time in a while. Now that it's past Labor Day, Tahoe is less crowded. The weather is still great, so it's the perfect time for a visit if you've never been out here before.

There was hardly any wind at all on the first climb of the day (US 50), so I was able to put in a good time there. The plan was to take it somewhat easy until Donner, but by the time I made it to Donner there was a pretty good headwind, so I wasn't able to put in a good time there. Oh well. It was a fun ride and I should probably ride Donner more often than I do.

Strava Link