Interesting day today. Thought I'd catch some of the hoops tomorrow, which meant a little ride today. I figured heading from the stoop in Missou to mile 62 and 1/2 out Hwy 12 West should be about five and a half to six hours and do the trick. The weatherman said 40 degrees in town for today, so I though I could get away with it. I have a little catching up on base to do too. I hopped on Jake and hoped for the best from mother nature.I hit a few lights in town and in Lolo, but for the most part the ride out went smooth. I maintained a mellow h/r at 150 and kept he cad at about 90. The only issue was a major headwind which was freezing. I had on a jersey, a pack with the basic needed items, light shell and semi warm gloves. Heading past the chain up sign it started snowing and really blowing.
I had decided on this ride to try some new protein ideas along with some caffeinated gels. The protein power I had mixed with a new binder into a paste. I did not pack my normal peanut butter beagle. I did have some bars. Well, with frozen fingers, I managed to eat a significant amount of the paste on the top of the pass, prior to dropping over to the Lodge area. At the time this really hit the spot! At this point, I truly experienced what cold is. Coming down the Idaho side of the pass was excruciating, wet snow and wind and speed. The old toes were feeling it a bit in their new socks. I did have on booties over the shoes.
I passed the lodge at 54.75 miles and kept going until the garmin hit 62.5, wanting to ride 125 today. Then it happened. I finally had my first clip out of the ride and noticed I had a combination of cold fatigue and I think excess powder munching issues, w/o enough fluid chaser. This is only a guess. At any rate, things were not feeling too swell. I rode back towards the Lodge and passed an east bound sign that said Missoula 67 miles, then got to the Lodge and took a break.
There were folks there dining and the "snack bar/general store" area was open. I pounded some chips and bought some beef jerky of all things. Not sure why, but it worked - salt, carbs and protein. The cashier (not sure if he was the owner) said I was the second cyclist over this year to visit. He said another guy had come by in January in a full blizzard. I managed to semi warm up and took my time. I knew the climb out and drop back down to Lolo was going to be interesting. [Actually, being a descent, it's always faster and was today].
The climb back up turned out to go ok actually. I enjoy climbing. It was cold and snowing but at this point, I had toned it down a bit anyway. However, at the top of the pass, it was bitter. It made for an interesting drop down to the hot springs, where I pulled in thinking I'd make a call [no cell service in the area], but then decided to clip back in and take it home. On top of the pass I looked at the gps realizing after I left the Lodge I'd forgotten to turn it back on [actually, it had malfunctioned] and at that point I said the heck with it, maintaining things on the h/r monitor. In the elements, I pressed it home in time for a nice meal, followed by green tea and McLaughlin. I almost forgot it's Friday. It was funny coming back. "Why didn't you clean the toys up in the back yard?" I asked. "Sorry, it was freezing out." Came the reply. Silence. [The rascals had stated it was the wind. Funny what a string of warm days does to us. 40 degrees in town today.].
Lessons learned on the ride. I love coffee, but not caffeinated gels. Stick with peanut butter beagles. Carry one more upper layer (though I was pretty well prepared). [The legs felt great. The bicycle is medicine]. Sorry, no pictures. I've posted this ride numerous times. See Lochsa below. The Cayuse Creek post is one of our most widely read posts nationally. Fly fishing of all things! We sorta like that too.
I had decided on this ride to try some new protein ideas along with some caffeinated gels. The protein power I had mixed with a new binder into a paste. I did not pack my normal peanut butter beagle. I did have some bars. Well, with frozen fingers, I managed to eat a significant amount of the paste on the top of the pass, prior to dropping over to the Lodge area. At the time this really hit the spot! At this point, I truly experienced what cold is. Coming down the Idaho side of the pass was excruciating, wet snow and wind and speed. The old toes were feeling it a bit in their new socks. I did have on booties over the shoes.
I passed the lodge at 54.75 miles and kept going until the garmin hit 62.5, wanting to ride 125 today. Then it happened. I finally had my first clip out of the ride and noticed I had a combination of cold fatigue and I think excess powder munching issues, w/o enough fluid chaser. This is only a guess. At any rate, things were not feeling too swell. I rode back towards the Lodge and passed an east bound sign that said Missoula 67 miles, then got to the Lodge and took a break.
There were folks there dining and the "snack bar/general store" area was open. I pounded some chips and bought some beef jerky of all things. Not sure why, but it worked - salt, carbs and protein. The cashier (not sure if he was the owner) said I was the second cyclist over this year to visit. He said another guy had come by in January in a full blizzard. I managed to semi warm up and took my time. I knew the climb out and drop back down to Lolo was going to be interesting. [Actually, being a descent, it's always faster and was today].
The climb back up turned out to go ok actually. I enjoy climbing. It was cold and snowing but at this point, I had toned it down a bit anyway. However, at the top of the pass, it was bitter. It made for an interesting drop down to the hot springs, where I pulled in thinking I'd make a call [no cell service in the area], but then decided to clip back in and take it home. On top of the pass I looked at the gps realizing after I left the Lodge I'd forgotten to turn it back on [actually, it had malfunctioned] and at that point I said the heck with it, maintaining things on the h/r monitor. In the elements, I pressed it home in time for a nice meal, followed by green tea and McLaughlin. I almost forgot it's Friday. It was funny coming back. "Why didn't you clean the toys up in the back yard?" I asked. "Sorry, it was freezing out." Came the reply. Silence. [The rascals had stated it was the wind. Funny what a string of warm days does to us. 40 degrees in town today.].
Lessons learned on the ride. I love coffee, but not caffeinated gels. Stick with peanut butter beagles. Carry one more upper layer (though I was pretty well prepared). [The legs felt great. The bicycle is medicine]. Sorry, no pictures. I've posted this ride numerous times. See Lochsa below. The Cayuse Creek post is one of our most widely read posts nationally. Fly fishing of all things! We sorta like that too.
[At 23.00 it finally rolls in below.]
2 comments:
Enjoy reading your posts about your adventures...curious how you get your garmin profiles pasted into blogspot?
Hi Anonymous,
I asked the same question a few years back in a Suunto forum as other folks were figuring it out and someone in Brazil said to do a Ctrl, Alt and PrtScn in that order, which copies the page. Then use Paint in the Windows Accessories to paste it into and save it. ~Ride on!
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