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bazzer99

Senior Member
Location
Basingstoke
Completed stage 3 this evening. Tough one on your own, especially in the evening heat in the conservatory. Was still sweating 20 minutes after finishing. :heat:. Glad that one is done with now - really saps the energy in your legs :tired:. I should have set some ghosts to draft behind but that'd just be making it too easy :tongue::angel:
 

kipster

Guru
Location
Hampshire
Hi all, I've been out on the road trying to get some miles in, bkool certainly help me keep some fitness while the collarbone was repairing itself. I'm ok on the flats and the fast descents are as fun as ever, but the hills just hurt. I might just be beating myself up feeling I should be going up them faster. Over the past two weeks I have managed to drop to a slightly gaunt 12 stone. I have decided to try and fit in at least one bkool climb per week, this means that I wont be venturing into the leagues.
 

CXRAndy

Guru
Location
Lincs
That is a shame Kipster, give it more time whilst out on the road. We don't mend as quick as we age(I know this from personal experience).

Come and try weight handicap hill climbs,they are great for close competition.
 

JLaw

Veteran
I'm totally hammered.

I had planned to leave for Moab Friday morning and be riding by evening. However, something came up and I had to stay in the SL valley. So I did an early morning climb up Little Cottonwood (yes, again). 1:33 which was quite respectable. I was trying not to fry my legs and I felt like I was successful in achieving that goal. Arrived in Moab around 10pm and got settled in.

7:15 pick-up for the shuttle to Hazard Co. The higher drop point is still snowed in. I haven't been riding in Moab for ~8 years, but figured it'd all come back to me soon enough. I had mixed feelings about Hazard -- there's a fair amount of rutted-out single track littered with oodles of rocks -- certainly not in as good condition as when I last rode it in 2008/2009. Anyway, still had a good time. Connected to Kokopelli at the bottom of Hazard, it's a dirt road, so not much of interest, though the trees seem to have recovered after the fire from many years ago. Noted they've cut in other signed singletracks off Kokopelli that may be worth exploring, but not on this trip.

Connected to UPS & LPS which are twisty turny typical Moab singletrack rides on the Porcupine Rim. Few places to let the bike ride, lots of drops off slickrock humps back to the singletrack, loose rocks, slickrock slabs, etc. Again noticed some new trails branching out, but didn't try them. Skills were quite rusty and I saw stunts I knew I could do, but didn't have the bike on the right line. Started running into cows on LPS trail. Interestingly enough, though there were ~30 riders at the initial drop point I'd been riding alone for the entirely of the ride, so a bit of bovine company was OK.

Connected to the to of the Porcupine Rim ride. Not a soul to be seen, a rarity up there. Light lunch and noted some of the folks from the shuttle up had caught up to me. The Porcupine jeep trail seemed "slow" -- most of places where I'd normally let the bike ride and launch off the little drops seem to have been chewed up badly. On the other hand, the "line" through (and around) the debris fields is so obvious after 20+ years of nearly exclusive mountain biking access that it was hard to not get sucked into the common line. There were certainly stunts I remembered, but did so way too late to be in the right position to give them a try. Oh well.

Connected to the singletrack on the tilted shelf above the Colorado for the last bit of frolicking. Clearly beat by now, there were a ton of stunts I recognized, but either bailed too early or was not in good position to try. Still an excellent ride, but a little sad to think that instead of hitting that trail every few weeks I probably wouldn't hit the trail again for another year.

Hit the road for the final 5 mile pull back into town on the much maligned paved trail next to hwy128. I found myself thankful it bypassed the one (short) climb though and by the time I hit town I knew I was totally fried. Showered, ate and collapsed, cramping throughout my nap. Knew there was no chance of riding in the evening, but held out some hope for Sunday morning. Sadly my legs, arms and back are all cooked and I didn't ride Sunday at all.

Still a good weekend. ~20 miles of punishing trail work -- mostly on Moab style singletrack with a vertical mile of downhill.

I won't make the handicap race this week as I've got a commitment Tues afternoon.
 

kipster

Guru
Location
Hampshire
That is a shame Kipster, give it more time whilst out on the road. We don't mend as quick as we age(I know this from personal experience).

Come and try weight handicap hill climbs,they are great for close competition.

The shoulder is fine, it's the legs and breathing that hurt on the hills. I might try the handicap climb tomorrow as its due to rain here tomorrow evening.
 

bridgy

Legendary Member
Location
Cheddar
The much talked about Double Devil ride next year is on 28 MAY 2017 if you want to start getting your excuses prepared.....

That's the Sunday before the second May Bank Holiday and for most schools the start of half term week (as it was this year).

(That screenshot I posted a few days ago had mistakenly said it was 28 April which had seemed odd, but the organisers have corrected it since)
 

kipster

Guru
Location
Hampshire
The much talked about Double Devil ride next year is on 28 MAY 2017 if you want to start getting your excuses prepared.....

That's the Sunday before the second May Bank Holiday and for most schools the start of half term week (as it was this year).

(That screenshot I posted a few days ago had mistakenly said it was 28 April which had seemed odd, but the organisers have corrected it since)

51 weeks to get fit and ready, come on we can do it.
 

bobinski

Legendary Member
Location
Tulse Hill
"The much talked about Double Devil ride next year is on 28 MAY 2017 if you want to start getting your excuses prepared.....

That's the Sunday before the second May Bank Holiday and for most schools the start of half term week (as it was this year).

(That screenshot I posted a few days ago had mistakenly said it was 28 April which had seemed odd, but the organisers have corrected it since)"

And a nice Saw tooth profile too-I am in luck:okay::tongue:^_^
 

theboxers

TheBoxers on Cycle Sim sw
"The much talked about Double Devil ride next year is on 28 MAY 2017 if you want to start getting your excuses prepared.....

That's the Sunday before the second May Bank Holiday and for most schools the start of half term week (as it was this year).

(That screenshot I posted a few days ago had mistakenly said it was 28 April which had seemed odd, but the organisers have corrected it since)"

And a nice Saw tooth profile too-I am in luck:okay::tongue:^_^
I will probably go for the 60 miler as a first attempt :blush:. If they accept me :ohmy:. I'd need to shift a heck of a lot of weight to do the full double :mrpig:.
 

Add

Guru
Location
Powys, Wales
Well I'm signing up. I set a PB on my usual round the lakes ride the week after doing the DD. So not only was the company excellent, but so was the training. For anyone that does fancy doing it, I can get details for all manner of accomodation, from a pleasant campsite (my in-laws, so should be able to swing it for free, or several hotels of various quality). Bridgy and Bill, are more than welcome to stay again, as I know they aren't axe murderers. I will organise a BBQ too for the night after, and book us in somewhere for the night before for a nice carbohydrate loading meal. A good friend of mine owns a restaurant, and will cook us whatever we desire really! If it's just 4 or 5 of us mind, I could probably cater for us tbh.
Hopefully a few of you will sign up, it will be a great days riding, I promise you, and there is always the shorter routes for those not feeling too crazy. Come on Randy, get signed up, I'll pick you up from whichever airport....actually, not Edinburgh or Exeter, make it one in the middle somewhere.
Soarer, maybe you could bring a butler to help with the BBQ?
 

BILL S

Guru
Location
London
I'm signing up too. Apart from a great weekend away, I can hardly resist the temptation to try to beat my and Adams (and maybe even Bridgy's) PB in an annual event like the DD.
Looking back on it just over a week ago I have very fond memories of what was a great experience. I don't think we were really trying our hardest and I don't remember any pain as such, more of just a buzz and wishing it would never end. Possibly we even slowed a bit so we could stay out there a bit longer. I may have mentioned some mild discomfort at some point, but I am given to extreme exaggeration about things like pain, especially concerning bike saddles. Just take all that with a pinch of salt.
When we got to the end, both Adam and I agreed that we'd love to go for another lap, if only there were enough time in the day...
 
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