Done with training; now on to the real thing!

This morning I got in my final training ride; the usual 25 mile loop around Cherry Creek reservoir. Despite a strong wind, a very lovely ride which had me feeling pretty good. A milestone for me, to have set out a training plan, follow it and complete it. Over approximately three months I rode over 1,700 miles for over 120 hours. I rode from Lincoln Nebraska and Chicago, IL, to the Grand Teton and Yellowstone parks; from about 600 feet above sea level to almost 12,000 feet above sea level. This was definitely the longest and hardest I have trained for anything and I feel great about it. I do feel like I am ready for RTR (which starts in four days), but we'll see....

Looking back, I think the training was itself an important and good part of this whole experience. To be disciplined to accomplish something despite not feeling like getting up early and riding some mornings, lousy weather, and going on two long out-of-town trips is an accomplishment I can take some pride in. I think on the whole I enjoyed the experience, though there were certainly days I didn't have much fun. There is something satisfying about doing this with a goal in mind and I think it will definitely pay off when I get to the actual RTR.

I certainly have benefited physically from this. I am probably in better shape than I have been since I was in college and I lost about 15 pounds. Having done some serious mountain passes and having ridden as much as 70 miles on some days, I am pretty sure I will do ok on the actual ride. It will be interesting to see how my fitness compares to my buddy, Herb, who is flying out from Philadelphia on Friday to ride with me. He is the one who got me back into doing some serious bike riding and he did RTR last year and had a good time, inspiring me to try it. Before I moved to Colorado and started biking, he was my "idol" in terms of his fitness, for he is a regular weekend rider out east. He has been in good shape for a long time, something I cannot say for myself, so I'll be keen to see how my fitness now compares to his. This is not a competition, of course, but signing up for RTR is a big deal for me and it will be nice to have some benchmark to see how well I've done.

As I said in my first blog, my main goal is 1) to survive and 2) to enjoy the experience. I am pretty sure I have got goal 1) under control and it will be somewhat up to me to achieve goal 2) (though of course, all sorts of things can happen during the event). I am definitely excited (and nervous) but won't have to wait much longer to be at it. RTR, here I come!

Riding National Parks

In about a week I'll be riding through the Rocky Mountain National Park, but this week I was able to get on two wonderful rides in other National Parks.

On Tuesday we stayed at the Jackson Lake Lodge in Grand Teton National Park. I was able to make a beautiful ride of 30 miles down to Lake Jenny and back. Riding south I had the view above in sight the whole way, which was totally inspiring. Also fun that there were lots of Mule Deer to see and also a wolf with a squirrel in its mouth who was trotting along the road and seemed undisturbed by my presence. The landscape was not unlike that in Cherry Creek State Park back in Denver, other than the fact you have the magnificent Grand Tetons right there! Only part that wasn't a pure joy was where they had signs of "Do Not Stop" because of recent Mama and Baby Grizzly activity. I was a bit nervous, planning my escape if needed!

The next day we drove up to Yellowstone, where we are staying in a cabin at Mammoth Hot Springs. I set off yesterday morning about 5:30 for a ride, nor realizing that a Mama Elk had just given birth behind our cabin (that's her above just behind our cabin). When I set off, I looked to my left and saw a large elk coming at me! I sprinted off, thinking that was a bit strange....

I rode up through Gold Gate Pass (above), a five mile, 1,500 climb (nice to get in a climb on this trip!) to the Yellowstone Plateau. Then another five miles out along the valley and woods. No interesting sightings, though a fair number of elk and mule deer wandering around. Returned to the cabin and saw the elk (which I didn't realize yet was a new mother) at the top of the hill behind our cabin. As soon as she saw me, she started trotting down the hill towards me, not in a friendly fashion, so I sped to the porch, jumped off my bike and dashed inside. A new experience for my bike riding! As it happens, the elk was a bit of a pain all day, as she hung around our cabin not wanting us to go in or out, until finally at the end of the day she wandered off.

Unfortunately, I won't have any more chance on this trip to ride, so I'll have to put in some good rides early next week before taking the break before the start of RTR; just over a week away!