I used to start the day with a pot of coffee….love the dark water. Too bad my GI doesn’t. Its usually tea now. This makes me feel better.
Awesome, maybe they’ll have one for decaf some day.
Quite the weekend. Mrs. Dr. Evil and I headed to Dharma Wheels South, where the shop now has new windows.
We met with a builder to discuss a few small projects that remain for the season….should be all set for an Afterbike grand opening. I’m sure everybody will be in a great mood to party after a week in Las Vegas.
The Crusher in the Tushar happened Saturday. My favorite quote on The Facebook was an angry participant who was pissed that the course was re-routed due to the 11000ft high fire road not being opened of debris. Burke’s response “talk to me after the race if you don’t feel adequately crushed and we’ll figure something out.” I don’t think there were any complaints once the race was done.
Dr. Jeff showed up with his game face on.
Julian as well.
ChrisP and Tim…
And, of course, Me.
Part of the fun of the Crusher was deciding what bike to ride?
The top dogs all had 29ers….I think a full suspension model would have been the way to go for speed – especially since the course was re-routed. Being a rockstar, I showed up with my custom IF touring bike, complete with 35C tires, handlebar bag and kickstand. Chris Fox teased me a little about not removing the rear rack….its part of the bike…
So we climbed up Beaver canyon, and went from 6000 feet to 10,000 feet. I felt good. My joints were a little sore from the different riding position (I”m used to the Moots Vamoots for racing) but I kept up a slow and steady pace, never feeling terribly bad.
The scenery was amazing…
After reaching the high point, and the aid station just after, I got a bad feeling. The station people were switching sides of the road – meaning we’d have to return up this way again. As I approached the dirt road leading to Junction, the view was amazing – but so was the feeling that I’d have to climb up 10 miles from Circleville.
I said fuck it, and headed down. Near the bottom I passed riders returning upwards. Tinker Juarez gave me “Hi Jon” and smile that made us both want to just top right there and chat a bit. To be honest, I actually had more to loose with every second so I cut things short to continue…downhill. The decent to Junction was nice, then the wind to Circleville down 89 hit me. I bridged up to a fellow clydesdale rider who was excellent at wheelsharing. We both made it to Circleville where the road turned to gravel again and headed toward Junction. After the good road ended, we hopped on an ATV road which was difficult. It was there that I dropped my companion and marched on. It was hot, my heartrate got a little high (I had thoughts of my heat incident in Wanship) and I monitored with every pedal stroke. It was early afternoon and the sun was high in the sky. Finally, I made it to Junction where I started up the 6 mile climb back to the Tushars. That was the crusher. 55 miles in, and now another 6000 climb.
Yes, yes indeed. What would any winner do…..you march on. The top came faster than I anticipated and many riders were walking their bikes. I had plenty of gearing on the I.F. and I just marched on. Hit the last aid station and eventually made it to the uphill finish. 8 hrs in the saddle, 4 hrs slower than the winner, 2 hrs slower than the fast guys. Do you know what happens to a Garmin 800 when it hits 10,000 feet of total elevation gain….it looks like this ———.
Overall, great race/event. Next year, if possible, I’d love to see the following….the standard crusher as well as a shortened event (for the bigger riders). M.DR.E and I noticed that much like Leadville, this race was for the super fit. Nobody showed up to this thing cold…even me. Not that you ever should – but it was very obvious that EVERYBODY in the field was super fit, lightweight, and would get blown away in a strong wind. I’d love to see a clydesdale crusher – where the field starts with the skinny punks, and then goes to the top of the climb (next year, perhaps the 11,200 pass will be available), and then the ride ends at the ski resort….so that you only have the one massive climb and its easier on your psyche. Thanks again for all who helped and participated. Quite a Crusher.
With the close of the Crusher, I feel like my base miles are in. I’ve still got LOTOJA on my mind…I hope I didn’t bite off more than I can chew…
Now, on to RAGBRAI…Zeke is ready
Bear is ready…
The overnight towns are ready…
And you can bet your ass that Mr. Porkchop has been ready for months.
