The Practice Run

On Sunday I will be back in the "Natural" state to tackle the Lake Sylvia trail for a second time in three weeks. For those of you who read the earlier "Sylvia" post, you know how that day went, for those who don't know, it's probably best to remain that way. On this second attempt I will be attempting to ride 73 miles, I figure that should be about 8500' of climbing. If I can accomplish this task in 9 to 9.5 hours I will be a happy man.

I will be treating this run as a true Leadville set up. I will be waking up when I will be in Colorado, eating what I will eat in Colorado and hydrating and refueling in the same manner. This day will be about a lot more than just the ride, there are so many other factors that must be in place and this ride will be the test of those items. One positive, I checked the weather and it is only going to be 97 degrees, much cooler than the 107 it was last time.

"LadyKiller" will be present again for the ride. I've got the over-under set on 3.5 for the number of times we will want to strangle each other. I do appreciate him taking the time to be there with me, it's one hell of a gesture.

I've got my checklist and laid out all my items for the trip, I thought I would go over a few of them with you.

BIKE
Two weeks ago I had a Retul done on the bike and I felt 100% better on the ride, I also added a pair of Ergon grips with the climbing handles. I wasn't really sure these would help, but they were amazing.

KIT
I have made major changes in the kits since the "Technicolor Dreamcoat" photo, but lets face it, I'm still 15lbs over weight and I'm only 5'9". I was excited to recently switch to a L for XL, but the thin & tall cycling physique is still escaping me. Because I would like to take some photos for the blog on this ride I will probably wear black, take advantage of that slimming effect.

GLOVES

About three months ago I switched to full finger gloves for both the mountain bike and the road bike. I thought that when the weather really got hot that I would switch back, but I haven't. I just like the comfort and I think my hands stay cooler than with the half finger gloves.

SHOES
I've wear the DMT mbt shoe and it is incredible. They are super light and very comfortable. I also like the two soccer style spikes they have on the tip of the shoe, they come in very handy when I have to dismount and walk on a steep section. I got a lot of practice of that two weeks ago.

HYDRATION
I've got two hydration backpacks, one is a 70oz and the other is 100oz. On my last ride at Sylvia I took the 100 and it was heavy, to heavy. This time I will be packing the 70oz. I will also have two water bottles on board. Plus the 70 oz pack is very basic with regards to straps while the 100 is like a damn octopus. It took me 10 minutes to figure out witch straps went with each other.

FOOD
I will eat breakfast at 5:00 am. It will consist of instant oatmeal with honey. On the ride I will be consuming a number of different products, all honey based. The first is what I call my honey shot, it is a flask with half honey and half water, it's really good and it's straight energy. The only problem with this one is that it must be consumed early, it's pretty nasty when hot. They rest of the day I will refuel with Honey Stinger gels and waffles. My goal is to consume around 80g of carbs per hour.

EARBUDS
I forgot these on the last ride and it was brutal. There is nothing worse than hearing yourself moan in agony for 3.5 hours. I haven't decided on the playlist yet, but I'm working on that.


HEAD
I packed my head last time, but it was on crooked. It must be straight as an arrow this ride.



Check back on Sunday evening for an update on the ride. Have a great weekend.