Tick, tock...

Hey All! Well, the countdown has begun! Less then a week now until I head up to Bishop to compete in the Death Valley Stage Race. There's a very good chance this will be my last race of the season, and judging by the past write ups on this event, and given its location, I think it's going to be high on my list of favorite events.

So far there are only three of us Cat 4's registered, and I'm desperately hoping the other two racers are guys who love to climb, and excel at it. I'm not assuming I'm going to walk away with a win, but because of the extremely small field size, it's not going to be difficult to keep track of the comeptition and know how well they're doing.

So, I leave Friday morning for Bishop, spend both Friday and Saturday nights there. Day one of the race starts just outside of Big Pine, and day two starts smack dab in the middle of Lone Pine, and then proceeds up the hardest rated climb in California, Onion Valley Road! I've never ridden up in that area, but if time permits, I'd like to drive Onion Valley on our way to Bishop. It's always a good idea to recon the course before you race it.

This weekend I managed to get some fairly good training in, but truth be told, my body is getting tired of all these hard workouts, even after a rest week not too long ago. I left the house Saturday morning, and made my way up Highway 395 to Rainbow, then down Rice Canyon Road, up Cousar Canyon Road, up Valley Center Road, down to Escondido, then through Elfin Forest, and finally up and over San Elijo Road. I made the fatal mistake of not consuming enough calories on the 2300-calorie ride, and paid the price coming in. I weighed in at 151 when I left, and 142 when I returned! Not good!!!

Needless to say, I still felt the effects of that ride this morning, so I headed straight to the coast via Palomar Airport Road, made my way down to Solana Beach, then headed inland home, via Rancho Santa Fe. A good ride, pushing it in places, but not too hard.

This week is going to be all about short intense efforts, keeping the legs moving and tuned up. A nice "opener" here Friday morning before we get on the road, then race Saturday and Sunday. I'd really like to end this season with a win, so wish me luck!

Hope all is well, until next time...