Dedication, Heat and Climbing

Sometimes it's hard to be a cyclist in Phoenix, especially in June. That right, the time above is when I got up this morning to brew some coffee before heading out for a ride.

The plan was to ride up to the Four Peaks with a bunch of endurance mountain bikers. By 5:30 AM we were ready to roll and the temp ya just 75. There were twelve us and all but one have plans to ride an ultra endurance event in the next few months. Some are going to BC Stage Race, others to Leadville or Breckendridge and us to AMC. Much of the talk on the way up was about training plans and preparation for these events. About 45 minutes into the climb the group had fractioned into small groups. The ride was supposed to be everyone on their on, so we each settle into our own pace to the top. Trever and Mike in this picture are going to BC in two weeks. Dan, just behind them is doing Breckenridge 100 in July. They were all riding strong. I came to the front to snap some shots then drop to the back and cough my way up. I got this cough thing going on since Wednesday and today it didn't help. Mark, the last one in this group is also going to BC as well as the two girls up ahead, Heidi and Jennifer. They are all Canada bound. Mark picked up the pace and left us all behind.
Two hours and over 4500 ft of climbing later we made it to the top. The trail doesn't quite make it to the Four Peak rock formations but pretty close. On the other side of the ridge you can see Rosevelt Lake. We drop down for a little bit but turned around after losing 1000 ft of elevation. You know the Newton Law... Sometime in the future I would like to drop all the way down to the lake, as long as we have a car there to pick us up. By the time we made it back to the parking lot the temperature was over 100. You can see behind me portions of the road that we climb and later descended on today's ride.

Total bike practice time: 4 hours 30 minutes including stops.

You like my "new helmet". Well it isn't new, it's my helmet from three years ago. I left my helmet at the bike wash station after the Afton race in Minnesota last weekend.

Oh well, I was due for a new one. In the meantime this one will be protecting my melon.

Until next time, stay cool!
Pura Vida!

Jeff