...and it is at the start... but then one hour in you find yourself at the lowest point in elevation with a steady heart rate in Zone 3, the idea that ya might be fucked into doing more work than expected really starts to settle in. That was the situation yesterday at the start of the last climb up the north end of Escondido Trail. The stem had just been raised one 10mm spacer after my right hand was getting increasingly more uncomfortable. The realization of "ah fuck, I have about 12 miles of steady climbing to do before I am back at the truck" was heavy... but the realization of no other choice was plopped there, sitting on my chest like a sumo wrestler.
Let's back up. My original plan had been to jump in a local Meetup group ride. There was excitement at the start of the week when the ride description came up... even if it was a similar to the one I did couple weeks ago on the gravel bike. As the week wore on and my attention had directed more into dialing in the Mach Wu (my '22 Pivot Mach 4 SL), the interest in jumping into a slower-than-usual rip on the same trails waned and was leaning more towards doing something to test out the changes on the Mach Wu.
About a month ago I started the process of re-testing my bike fit(s) on the bikes. Using MyVeloFit, an AI-driven version similar to Retul's fit system, the Canyon was the first bike to be checked over... with basically no changes. The Mach Wu was next... with more changes suggested, simply a slightly lower saddle and higher bars. A few days later the bike is being tested in Cave Creek Regional Park on some sloppy-rocky trails. My lower back was barking at the end pretty loudly.
Now mix in the feels (and measurements) from the last ride on the Smurf (my '17 Soma Juice singlespeed geared 32x20) and the conundrum of what is/is not working grows. The Smurf has a higher saddle set further back and extremely low (for me) bars. The last time I rode it was on one on the Meetup group rides. While much of the ride was slow and dawdling along, it was 2 1/2 hours on the bike... with no lower back issues. There were also moments of really grinding hard into the gears (that will be key to this tale later).
Back to yesterday - the Meetup ride got shrugged off around lunchtime on Saturday after Meghan and I found ourselves on the second bottle of wine at this cool restaurant. My momentum had already been waning 'cause the new position on the Mach Wu needed testing... and my propensity for tolerating people was running low. Most mountain bikers are cool but Meetup groups tend to attract a broad variety. The past week had been a test of my ability to tolerate ALL people... so the decision to ride solo was made.
Get up yesterday morning feeling the effects of lunchtime booze, eat breakfast and by 10 am, I am on the road. Roll into a crowded Tom's Thumb parking lot, suit up lighter than expected 'cause while it feels cold and windy, the temps are gonna come up.
- Twin Six gravel bibs (with the built-in pockets
- Pearl Izumi base layer
- Pearl Izumi loose jersey
- DeFeet wool arm warmers
- Giro lid
- Giro gloves
- ??? socks
- Lake shoes
- new Nike glasses (clear)
- two bottles - 1x w/ Skratch, 1x just water
- Shot Block in my pockets
The Mach Wu is already aired up to:
- 110 psi in the fork
- 285 psi in the shock
- 21 psi in the front tire
- 26 psi in the rear tire
Turn the bike down Caballo 'cause dealing with hiking tourists right away sounds miserable. As I roll in my heart rate is climbing EASY, really easy... likely from the Allegra I have been popping at night to stave off a stuffy sinuses. The bike feels good but my right knee is taking a bit to loosen up. Right onto the main trail, right on Rock Knob.
Easing my way down takes a bit simply 'cause the trail is DRY and gravelly. Skipping tires in corners is easy especially when I come in too hot (as I did on the second turn). Round a corner and there are 4,5 geriatric women on mountain bikes (well, I assume geriatric but they had no more gray than I do) stopped in the middle of the trail. One moves left, the other three barely move right and the one in front on the right points as if she is telling me where I am supposed to go. I veer a bit, tell her, "oh... no shit" as if I didn't fully understand that running head-on into someone would impede my flow... brah-ette?
Keep rolling, loosen up. Reach the Rock Knob, take the right turn 'cause the next downhill is pretty fun. Chunky, narrow line turns back into smooth wide trail soon enough and the pace settles down. The climbs are sending me out of Zone 2 a bit easier than expected but I have nowhere to be... so shift down, grind away. Ease past a few hikers, meet a few bikers and most of em' even say "hey". It's when I see the turnoff to Tonto Tank that I realize I went the wrong way from where I wanted to go (down Bluff). As I slow down, the sound of scratching tires gets LOUD and I glance right to see some scrawny, wrinkly racer boi speed off. No "rider back", no "on your right"... just an angry old guy itching to show someone else he's faster on the greenway portions of Pemberton Trail.
Rolling down Tonto Tank was... boring. I am kicking over a pretty hard gear, keeping the pace up but the urge to dig any deeper is minimal. Launching a few water bars was the most excitement I get until I reach the lower end of Pemberton. Take a break, turn left and head to Scenic Trail. Right turn, Scenic is really sandy and full of pretty nice hikers. Scenic turns to Cinch... and soon Escondido, the trail I wanted to hit most.
Escondido Trail is something over 5 miles long and is carved into the most northeastern part of McDowell Mountain Park. It is also at the lowest elevation. The surface though is unique to the park, feeling almost like a lunar landscape with less vegetation and black rocks. In the driest times, the silt gets thick. To my surprise when I checked Strava, it has only been ridden 4 times (by me) since I first came up in February 2015.
By now the clock has ticked off about 35 minutes. I tell myself, "self, you likely won't get another break until all the roller climbs are over... so just settle in!" Pretty soon it is clear that the Belgian Waffle Ride must be using this trail next weekend 'cause there are gravel bikers coming from the other direction (...sure enough they are. I just checked the race website and Escondido is part of the route.) Depending on where we meet and how rough the terrain, the gravel bikers' face reflect their confidence. The only one who looked truly comfortable was the State Bicycle Guy who was navigating the babyheads like pavement. The rest looked truly nervous (or unnerved?) having to contemplate a surface worse than a washboard.
As I begin riding Escondido myself, I start to feel good - legs are looser, my heart rate still high but under control. The bike feels GOOD - the setback saddle position has opened up more room, the lower-tilted levers feel more natural and the increased sweep of the bars is more comfortable... for a bit. The big surprise for me was the switch to the (cheaper) rocker-style AXS shifter.
When I switched to AXS on the Mach Wu, there was a certainty in my knoggin' that having the various shift positions would work well for me. However I struggled with one thing - which button did what. I would upshift when I wanted to downshift. I would forget what the more forward-positioned button did and would botch it. So I ditched the rocker paddle & bought a single pod "Ultimate". While button-confusion faded, the feel was never right. It often felt like I was overstretching my thumb to catch a shift... if I shifted at all. Also factor in my desire to use the Togs by the grips, taking pressure off my palm at times, and flopping my thumb all around became a chore. So I switched back to the rocker to see if it would feel better the second time around...
And it did. I cannot lie and say I shifted perfectly every time... but I did appreciate the smoother transition when shifting from the Tog-supported grip. The flow of my thumb was easier and also having the index finger option (like old Shimano stuff!) was great.
Anyways... the ride is going well. The bike just handles anything in its way. The new-to-me-in-the-last-year tire combo of Forekasters, front AND rear is gripping better than expected (more on that later). At some point towards the last roller, my lower back begins to bark and my right hand is aching a bit more. Of course that leaves my brain is this multi-tasking mode of riding a bike and deciphering a solution to my issues.
So I stop, remove the steerer tube tool kit and raise the stem 10mm. 8 minutes later I am back to riding and my hands feel pretty good the rest of the day.
At this point I am on the longer climb up Escondido. This was when my lower back was pretty much letting me know that all the work I did attacking the short punches before is gonna cost me for the rest of the ride. That was when the ride (like so many others before) becomes a matter of how slow do I go to get some relief versus how fast do I go to end the misery.
Surprisingly the tension eases off as I find a middle ground. I reach Pemberton & stop to eat Shot Blocks as an e-biker passes, nary a wave nor a glance. Turn right and start up Pemberton. Settling into a rhythm, I feel SLOW (although this would be my 11th fastest of 21 tries on Strava). The quandary became not managing my effort but dealing with the downhill riders.
The worst of the bunch was the older crowd - white hair, brightly-colored jackets and stems as high as possible. No one has ever mentioned learning etiquette so sharing the trail is foreign. They just think moving over a small bit is acceptable... if they move over at all. Grateful Dead Guy was certainly taking his half from the middle as he blasted past me. Mix this crowd with racer-boi or -girl gravel riders and I only made it as far as Lariat before I veered off Pemberton.
Lariat felt sluggish but the headwind was strong and honestly I was stiffer than expected... likely from the hangover, likely from fatigue. I did loosen up a bit but too soon I was on Delsie. Settle into a pace that manages the lower back tension, a good cadence and a Zone 3 heart rate. I was standing every so often, click up 2 gears and mash until I ran outta gear. Settle back down and spin away. Past an older guy on a day-glo green Orbea. Past one couple stopped so one could pee behind a bush. When I reach the Ramada, I roll past to cross the gate...and I flop onto the ground. That last effort cooked me.
Four minutes later I am back on the bike. See the same e-biker from before turn to go north at the next intersection. Keep trudging for the next 15 minutes to get to Rock Knob... but in that 15 minutes I realize how wasted I am. My body is still working but the aches & pains are creeping in. My knees feel fine but my lower back has that dull ache of being overworked. My hands are good but the rest of my upper body is just tired. Just staying at a comfortable pace of "get this over with" is keeping my heart rate in high Zone 3.
Past two other riders and onto Rock Knob and death would felt easier. There is no other way to attack these uphill rollers than to sit and grunt 'cause the surface is simply that loose. When I spy Caballo, my brain is in a Zone 4 haze. Ease off to the right and grunt out the last bit to the parking lot. With only 1/8 of a mile pavement left to the truck, there is nothing left and I slump over the bars in the parking lot... still only 1/8 mile away. My heart rate starts dropping, my labored breathing settles... and finally suck it up and grind up to the truck.
More about the aftermath tomorrow! Later.
