Duality

     The challenge of training for a triathlon is fun and frustrating at the same time. It brings the challenge to your body, your clock and your wallet.

     I welcome the challenge to the body. I love to push myself and still have not even begun to tap into what my body is capable of doing. Training for professional cycling and triathlon adds a twist. It's hard to devote a serious amount of time and effort to triathlon without hurting my bike speed. Running is harder on the joints and muscles, bringing on the higher risk of injury.

     It is tough on the watch as well. Triathlon has been very fun. I enjoy running, especially on the trail. However, I also have a wife and a full-time job. When it comes down to dividing up my remaining time, the bike always wins when there is a conflict. If I ever have extra time or energy in a day, it gets put into riding. The bike is my first love and always will be. Going fast down the trail on two wheels will always beat running down it on two feet.

   Then comes the talk of money. I always thought bike racing was expensive. You need a different bike for each discipline of riding. You need clothing, nutrition products, special shoes, helmet, travel money and funds to foot your entry fees. Entries to some of the bigger races are $45. With gas at nearly $4 per gallon, the money spent racing adds up in a hurry. Then comes triathlon. You need all that same bike stuff plus running shoes and swim goggles. You may even need a wetsuit if you swim in colder waters. If you aren't fortunate enough to have a large pool in your backyard, you may also need a gym membership to be able to hit the pool for swim training. Entry fees for triathlons vary from $60-$120. I was researching the XTERRA USA Championships and found out that it is $150 to enter. My plan is to race it this year, with the thought of qualifying for XTERRA World Championship in Maui in the back of my mind. Then I see $450 to enter Worlds, on top of the travel expenses to get to Hawaii. If you sit back and look at the numbers, it's ridiculous to race the Pro scene, especially if you don't have support and sponsors. I love my two sponsors, Maxxis and First Endurance. Tires are something that I don't have to worry about and I get a great discount on my nutritional products. I am very grateful for both of those things. On the other hand, it is really tough to be attempting to race against the top Pro teams and funding myself. I get no sort of help paying entry fees or travel costs, which are by far our biggest expenses. Sometimes it seems like a losing battle. You spend all your time preparing for the race that you may not even be able to afford to go to. But it's hope of being able to keep doing it for years to come that makes me keep going. There is nothing else I'd rather do than ride bikes and play sports. I just hope our sport doesn't price itself out of the range of future participants.

   I may get frustrated at money sometimes, but I keep going. I love the challenge of sport and will always strive to better myself at it. I've been doing the dual training lately, adding in more running to my bike regimen. My running form is coming along, but I'm still having occasional pain in my shins. The new shoes helped, but it hasn't gone away. Road running aggravates the pain, so I have stuck to the trail for the majority of my miles. I've spent a few days tearing up Rotary Park in Clarksville, along with putting in a few laps on my own trail. It amazes me how my running form just keeps getting better. I have been very inconsistent with my running, but my times are still as fast as they were when I was running 3-4 times a week last year. I raced the ReLoveHaiti 5K in Clarksville on Feb. 18, clocking a time of 21:15. I was really happy with that time. It was good enough to get me 4th in my age group and 13th overall.

    The long rides are tapering off in favor of shorter and faster rides. I've still logged in several 4+ hour rides recently. I actually rode my bike 20 miles to the ReLoveHaiti 5K, did the run, then rode 37 miles with Keith, before riding another 19 miles homes. It was a great day full of sport. I love it!

     Sprint and interval workouts are becoming more frequent now. I enjoy working on my sprinting. It gets me a lot of good finishes throughout the year so it is very important to me. I like doing the 53x12 big gear sprints. I slow down to a track-stand and then explode, cranking the big gear up to top speed and holding it as long as I can. I end every sprint with a bike throw because you never know when a race will come down to how far you can shove your bike forward.

     Sprint intervals are fun too. I've been doing 20 seconds on/20 seconds off for 3 minutes. Last week, I did 5 sets with 3 minutes of rest between each set. It was a pretty good workout while commuting home from work. I love it when you catch a 20-sec "on" time on a curvy descent. On that ride home, I totally blew a corner on a downhill because I came into it so much faster than I ever have before. Reaching a new level of speed is always a good thing. I'm also noticing improvement in my ability to hold a steady tempo at a high heart rate. I did a ride with Keith and Mike Neumeyer a few days ago. We had a wicked 30-40mph headwind for the final 10 miles. I was pleased with how I was able to fight against the wind a get into a good rhythm. It's about time I start feeling like I have at least some power in my legs!


    Trail work has been going down as well. We are still reconfiguring my trail, adding some more new sections, and changing the layout even further. I like to go work on the trail after a ride or on a day when the legs just feel like they need a day off the bike. Being out in the woods always relaxes me and gets me motivated to do more riding. Shannon has been working hard with me, raking leaves and cutting limbs. She's so awesome! I can't believe she likes to do these kinds of things with me. Saturday, we did some morning trail work and then played on our creation all afternoon. It was her third mountain bike ride ever. We rode together, not worrying about speed or distance, just enjoying time together and the beauty of the Tennessee woods. Life is still good.

New trail...

...with good dirt and smooth bridges.

Honey bees awake from their winter sleep and swarm out of a tree near the trail.

Riding the Snake Out

     It was a lighter week of riding the week after the Pigeon Forge trip. Shannon and I got to do some more riding together. Her pace is improving and she is getting more endurance so we can do longer riders. We spent a lot of time on sprinting the other day. She isn't comfortable with out-of-the-saddle efforts so we worked on standing and sprinting in the drops. It's fun for me to do 53x12 seated sprints next to her while she does a normal sprint. It's good for me to be chasing someone. It makes me push harder and makes her feel good when she beats me. We encountered an interesting stretch of road one day. There was a car on fire that had also caught the grass on fire around Exit 19 of I-24.

     Shannon and I teach Sunday School/Primary at church. We try not to miss too many classes in the off-season because we know we will miss several Sundays once race season begins. That was the main reason for our sudden trip to Pigeon Forge. It was looking like that would be our last opportunity for a training camp before race season. Then we found out that the next weekend's classes were cancelled due to a church meeting. That gave us the opportunity to stay in Georgia for an extra day following the second Snake Creek Gap TT in Dalton on Feb. 4. We were hoping to make a trip down to the Pearl Izumi Factory Outlet Store in Dawsonville, so that really worked out well for us. I was really needing some new road running shoes.

     We drove down to Snake the morning of the race with another 4am departure. It rained a lot on Friday and was still raining in spots on the drive down to Dalton. It was sure to be muddy so I brought my Titus Racer-X rather than the Sette hardtail.We got to the Convention Center at 8:30 and the buses were already pulling out. They were full 30 minutes before the scheduled time to leave so they just went ahead and started shuttling riders to the start. I hurried through sign-in and then changed in the car on the way to the start. I was hoping to start near the front to avoid traffic, but that didn't happen. The first rider used to leave at 10:00, but they have been letting us leave early the past year or so. Last month I started at 9:40 and was one of the first to go. This time I began at 9:39 and was in the back half of the field.

Me heading off on my 6-gap journey through north Georgia

    I started slower this time to give myself time to warm up a little. I was hoping to top the first mountain within 2 minutes of my time from January. I took it much easier on the lower slopes of the climb and it paid off. I wasn't hurting at the top and was just 15 seconds slower than last month. The mud had to be slowing me down, as it was deep in spots, but I made up for it with strength and proper pacing to deal with the lack of warm-up. I also paced myself much better on the second and third climbs. There was a lot of traffic for me to go through, but everyone was nice and I didn't get held up more than once or twice.

Tim Baker at halfway

Me crossing the highway and beginning the second half of the race

     I reached the halfway point in 1:31. My goal was 1:30, so I was close. My next checkpoint was at the entrance to the rocky section near the top of the fifth climb, where I hoped to reach in under 2:20. I was having a good ride and feeling stronger as I went. The second half was almost totally dry with the exception of a few creek crossings. My shifting was acting up from all the mud as I reached my checkpoint in 2:19. I was excited with my time and still felt good. In my head I was thinking that it normally takes me an hour to do the last section. That would put me finishing at around 3:20, which would be one of my better times.

Me following a rider during the race

My bike

     I started to fade on the final climb. My upper body was toast on "The Wall." I had no chance of riding it this time. The triceps and shoulders were on fire by halfway. I jumped off and ran it to the top instead of struggling at a snail's pace. My shifting gradually worsened in the last few miles. I could hardly shift gears either way which killed my momentum both going into and coming out of the numerous rock gardens that litter the final ridgeline. My legs faded some too, but overall it was more total body fatigue than leg fatigue. I was way off in my estimation for the time of the final section. It took me 1:07 to reach the finish. My overall time was 3:27:12 which was 4th fastest in the Men 29 and Under group.

The last tricky rock section

A young rider drops of the road next to some nice hay bale covers  :)

I tried my best to shave off a few seconds on the descent

Snake Creek Gap map per Garmin 305

Elevation profile for the Snake

   After Snake, it was on the road through the Georgia countryside to Dawsonville to hit the Pearl Izumi Factory Outlet. There weren't as many great deals as usual, but we didn't leave empty-handed. I found a pair of road running shoes in my size. They were on sale and came in a sweet green and black color.

     We grabbed a bite to eat at Red Robin to celebrate Shannon's birthday then hit the road again, traveling to Dahlonega this time. We spent the night there and went to church the next morning. One of my goals is to go to church in every state. This was my first time in Georgia. I've now checked off Tennessee, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, South Carolina and Georgia. 

Mountains in the dusky distance from our hotel window in Dahlonega

     After church, we drove over to Helen for the start of my ride. Neither of us had any idea that Helen was a little alpine town. It was like pulling into a life-sized gingerbread village. All the buildings, including the hotels and Wendy's, were decorated like something in a Swiss or German mountain village. We didn't have a whole lot of time to explore, but it looked like a really cool place that we will visit again soon.

     My ride plan was to depart Helen and go up the Richard B. Russell Scenic Parkway over Hog Pen Gap. It was one of the better-known climbs used in the Tour de Georgia. It was only 11 miles from Hog Pen over to the infamous Brasstown Bald, site of several Tour de Georgia mountain-top finishes. It was a very nice day. We had early morning rain and dark clouds that began to break up as I put the wheels to the road in Helen.

Helen to Brasstown Bald ride map from the Garmin

    The weather became sunny and quickly warmed the temperature  into the 60s. It was perfect for the climb up Hog Pen Gap. There were some steeper sections than I expected, but overall it wasn't brutal. I really enjoyed the wooded curves and lack of traffic. Shannon was stopping at some of the overlooks to get out of the car and stretch. She grabbed some pics as well.

Nice views on the way up Hog Pen Gap

     It was very cool to reach the top and see the old King of the Mountain stripe across the road. There was a bunch of "Go Lance!" and "LIVESTRONG" paintings on the way up as well. The descent was freakin' awesome! I hit 50 mph twice on a wet road without tucking down on my drops. I was scared to let it go because I didn't know if there were any sharp corners. There was also some green moss growing on some of the wooded sections that looked like it would be slick as snot. I laughed out loud several times on the way down, thinking about how much fun this was and how fortunate I am that I get to do things like this on the weekends.

Almost to the top

Cresting Hog Pen Gap

The old Tour de Georgia King of the Mountain line is still painted across the road

Two of my favorite signs preceded one of the best descents I've ever had the privilege to attack

     My legs were feeling really good, especially considering that I raced the previous day. It seemed as though Hog Pen had helped to ride the Snake out of my legs. I was met with a stiff headwind as I rode between the mountains. Brasstown Bald may only be recorded as 3.6 miles from where the road begins to the observatory on top, but the climb itself begins much sooner. I climbed for 4 out of the last 5 miles to get to the turn off for Brasstown Bald. The last 2 of those miles were pretty serious climbing.

Looking toward Brasstown Bald on a beautiful ride

    Brasstown is a brutal S.O.B. With Butterfly Gap and Cherohala fresh on my mind from just one week ago, I figured this would be a great time to get a comparison. After riding them all, Brasstown wins the award for toughest climb. Butterfly is equally steep, but the Brasstown grades are more sustained. It begins with a steep. twisty section that backs off as you go. Just after halfway comes "The Wall," a super steep section that had to have been designed by Satan himself. It was very challenging for my whole body. My legs were not the issue, I was actually cramping around my ribs and obliques. It takes a full-body effort for several minutes to get past "The Wall." Then the grade levels out and allows you to get up some speed if you have any legs left.

The observatory atop Brasstown Bald

     According to the signs, the parking lot at 3 miles is the official top. The Tour de Georgia finished at the very top next to the observatory. I thought you could ride all the way up, but the road was closed and the sign said "NO BIKES." I wanted to go all the way. I did not work this hard to be stopped .6 miles from the top. I won't give all the details, but lets just say the trail around the gate got used and the freakishly steep top section got conquered.

Coming back down

GPS view of the Brasstown Bald climb

     The ride back down was fun, but slow. There are so many sharp corners that you can't stay off the brakes for more than a few seconds at a time. I rode a few miles past the bottom of Brasstown and then climbed into the car. It was a good day of riding. I logged in a little over 35 miles and went over two mountains. 

Elevation for the ride

    It was another great weekend of riding and spending time with Shannon. I am so thankful for her and for all the opportunities that I get to travel and ride my bike. Life is good. And the season is near...

Frost Hammer

     The past few weeks have been better. I've had more time to ride and the weather has been better overall. I've toughed it out with 35-degree rides, but I think there have been more warm days than cold days.

A snowy mountain bike ride on my redesigned trail

I'm logging my winter miles on my old Lemond Maillot Jaune. Got this bike back in 2001 when I first started racing.

One of my favorite signs to see

This little creek crossing was dry today. Good thing since it was 36 degrees.

Green fields  on one side of the road...

the Cumberland River on the other side.

     Shannon has been riding more too. She accompanied me on a ride from Trenton, KY over to the Jefferson Davis National Monument in Fairvue, KY. That ride has become one of my favorites for slow winter riding. It's a fairly flat route, which was perfect for Shannon to log in her longest ride ever. We did just over 30 miles before ending back in Trenton. She then paced me behind the car for most of the 30 miles home. It was my second time pacing this year and it sucked. The first few pace rides are always the toughest. It's like your legs forget how to go fast and how to hurt. This pace ride was less painful than the first one though. First day of pacing came with a vicious crosswind and I got little relief from being behind the car.

Getting ready at the park in Trenton

The monument sticking up in the distance. You can see it the entire ride, but it seems to take forever to finally get there.

Plenty of silos along the route.

Shannon passing one of the many vocal cows we encountered.

Getting closer...

A big puddle in front of the monument.

Finally there! Looking up at the Jefferson Davis Monument

Short break and then back on the road.

The rock wall around the monument park

    Supplementing my riding with some running drills and strength work has been a refreshing addition to the week. We have some good resources at work so I come in early a few days a week to take advantage of the equipment. I'm still working hard on my glute strength which I am happy to report has improved significantly. My form on the bike has improved to probably 90% of where I want it to be. I'm starting to work on my running form now that the bike has improved.

Weight sled

Hurdles work well for increasing hip and knee flexion during running.

Plyo boxes

The agility ladder is good for footwork. I like using the tractor tire for squatting and flipping. It's a good glute workout.

     We have been working on the house as well. I hope we don't have to be in our little rental home for too much longer, but while we are here I'm going to make it the best it can be. My Dad made us a bike rack for hanging the bikes and a few weeks ago I put up some pegboard for tools. We don't have a garage so the spare bedroom serves as our bike room for now.

     My plan for the winter training included some time in the east Tennessee mountains in February. Some schedule conflicts popped up for us and it looked as if all of February would be lost for traveling. The weather forecast was looking nice the last weekend of January so we loaded up the car and headed east. Shannon had never been to Pigeon Forge or Gatlinburg, so we based our riding out of that area. The forecast was for a pair of sunny days with the temp in the low 50s. You don't get that kind of weather too often in late January. The lows at night were around 30 so it was a chilly start to Saturday. We had breakfast at the hotel, sitting in the warm sunshine next to the lobby window. I changed after breakfast and came outside to find overcast skies. It had only been 30 minutes, but it was like a different day outside. The clouds looked like they were set in for the day, so I dressed on the warm side. It was a good thing I chose my thermal base layer because the temp stayed below 40 for most of my ride.

     I left out of Pigeon Forge and rode 21 miles through backroads over to Townsend. There were a few tough climbs along the way, but overall it was a nice warm-up for the main climb of the day up Butterfly Gap. The sun was peeking in and out of the clouds as I made my way over to Butterfly Gap, which climbs up the west side of the Foothills Parkway. It's a challenging 4 miles, featuring several very steep sections, with minimal rest in between.

A green stretch of climbing took me out of Pigeon Forge

Snapped this picture during the brief time the sun was out.

The lower slopes of Butterfly Gap.

    I felt good up Butterfly. The legs were good and I was warm. It's such a cool little backroad that I don't even notice the pain that comes with the steepness. The clouds thickened by the time I got onto the Foothills Parkway. The temp was still in the upper-30s and I nearly froze on the 6-mile descent that followed. I made it to the bottom and immediately turned around to begin climbing back up so I could generate some heat. This climb is much more gradual than Butterfly Gap. I climb Butterfly because it's gnarly and will make you work very hard just to keep moving forward. I climb the Foothills to work on my climbing rhythm. It's steady and allows for some good heart rate work over a longer distance.

A switchback on Butterfly Gap

Looking back down at what I had climbed.

Overcast views of the Smokies today

The lake at Hwy 129 and the Foothills Parkway

Trees smashed down from a recent storm

     After 4+ hours of fighting the cold alone, Shannon met me at the north end of the Foothills Parkway to attempt her first mountain climb on a bike. She had spent the morning scouring the outlet malls in Pigeon Forge and had found some really great deals on clothing and other things we needed. The second I pulled up to the car, the clouds began to break and the warm sunshine finally broke through. Her ride was much more enjoyable than mine had been. We rode a little over 4 miles up the first climb on the Parkway in total sunshine. The temp shot up to 50 in just a few minutes. It made for a good end to 5+ hour ride.

Elevation profile for the ride up Butterfly Gap and the Foothills Parkway

Better views than earlier in the ride

Shannon finishing off the climb

     After the ride we got to relax a little and tour the area. We ate dinner at Mel's Diner in Pigeon Forge, where we had a HUGE banana split for dessert. Then it was off to Gatlinburg to check out the little shops along the strip. They have a stored called All Sauced Up, which is full of every kind of sauce you can think of. I am a sauce FREAK. Needless to say, we left there with a whole bag full of stuff. Shannon enjoyed the taffy stores as well. We also stopped by the Apple Barn. They have the best apple butter around so we grabbed a jar before ending the day.

Mel's Banana Split before...

...and after.

Sauce testing

     My plan for Sunday had been to ride the Blue Ridge Parkway. It's by far my favorite stretch of road to train on, but most of the south end is closed for tunnel repair and construction. My second choice was to drive through the Tail of the Dragon over to Robbinsville, NC to ride the Cherohala Skyway. I started the ride in Robbinsville and took Hwy 143 over to the official start of the Skyway. The first part of 143 was awesome! I was feeling good, the weather was warm and sunny, and there were several 1-2 mile twisty climbs and descents to keep me working. I was having way more fun than I did at any point during the previous day's ride.

A little dog hung out with us while we were getting ready for the ride. He was excited to be around people.

Climbing up Hwy 143

     Shannon provided support, following with the car, driving ahead to scout good picture spots and giving me a place to hand off clothes. I was down to short sleeves by the time I reached the Skyway. The wind was really whipping straight into my face as I made the turn onto the Skyway and started the first climb. I had never ridden the Skyway before and had no idea how long the climbs were or how many there were. The wind was really cold and I quickly found myself putting my warmers back on.

Ride route from the Garmin

Santeetlah Gap marks the start of the Cherohala Skyway

    The climb seemed to go on FOREVER. Most of the road was in the shade. That combined with the intense headwind made the temp drop quickly. The climb was tougher than I anticipated. There were some steep areas that kept me slow. The wind was so stiff that I was down to 4 mph for minutes at a time. It kept getting colder and colder as I climbed.

     The summit finally came 10 miles later at over 5300 ft. It was 25 degrees at the top with a 30 mph wind. I was cold to the bone and numb from the knees down. I tried to jog around and warm my feet, but the wind was too much and I couldn't generate any warmth. I couldn't even change my clothes next to the car because the wind was pushing the car doors shut. I finally climbed inside and totally changed clothes. I put on dry, full-winter clothing and then got back out for the descent.

Finally at the top

Running to attempt to warm my feet. Didn't work.

Climbing past some ice on the cliff walls.

    It was a teeth-chattering descent, but the air was gradually warming up as I descended the mountain. The last few miles of the ride into Tellico Plains, TN was filled with rolling hills and helped me finish off my legs. It was a good way to end a weekend that was supposed to be super hard. I never anticipated it being as difficult as it was, but I am glad for it. It will make me tougher and make for good stories in the future. It was definitely an epic weekend of riding.

Elevation profile for the Cherohala Skyway ride

Some interesting shrubbery at the end of the Skyway

Sunset on the drive home after a good weekend of riding and having fun with my wife. :)