With the warmer weather, I've shifted the majority of my training rides from Marshall Mesa to the Foothills. Yes, I've been continuing to train through my knee issues and will post a knee pain update soon. The February thaw melted most of the snow below 10,000 feet, but April's blizzards have offered persistent replenishment. The base rides I've been doing are variations of a Sunshine Canyon, Poor Man's Road, and 4 Mile Canyon loop. The Switzerland Trail crosses the top of 4 Mile Canyon and offers more routes both to the North and South. Wednesday, Jean-Paul and I did a 28 mile, Sunshine, Poor Man, 4 Mile, Switzerland loop to Sugarloaf Road, ending on Canyon Blvd. It had been about 5 days since the last snow, but there was still about 6" of semi-frozen wet snow on most of the Switzerland Trail.
I had managed to forget all of my nutrition that morning and was near cracking when we hit the first snow. There were two compacted ruts, one featuring a motorcycle track that offered the best line. Jean-Paul took off while I trudged along, slipping and sliding. The problem was that I was too cracked to middle ring the climb and maintain my momentum. On deep snow, or any loose surface for that matter, momentum is your friend. I rode steadily, but slowly, having to expend more energy on balancing and not slipping. Seeing my sad state of affairs Jean-Paul offered me a Gu, which eventually gave me enough juice to downshift and maintain a little more speed. As I rode faster it got remarkably easier and soon were we on the back side of Sugarloaf Mountain and out of the snow.
I had managed to forget all of my nutrition that morning and was near cracking when we hit the first snow. There were two compacted ruts, one featuring a motorcycle track that offered the best line. Jean-Paul took off while I trudged along, slipping and sliding. The problem was that I was too cracked to middle ring the climb and maintain my momentum. On deep snow, or any loose surface for that matter, momentum is your friend. I rode steadily, but slowly, having to expend more energy on balancing and not slipping. Seeing my sad state of affairs Jean-Paul offered me a Gu, which eventually gave me enough juice to downshift and maintain a little more speed. As I rode faster it got remarkably easier and soon were we on the back side of Sugarloaf Mountain and out of the snow.
This loop is a great base loop with a 100 different variants from short 1 hour rides to all day 80 milers. As the snow continues to melt more options will open up. The sustained moderate climbing will be a good segway into climbing-focused rides like Super Walker, if my knee allows. Riding in the snow was good fun and a great work out. It will be good training for my last race of the season, The Iceman, held on Michigan's upper peninsula in November. More on that later...
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