Here's a couple pics of some friends mountain biking in the Ukraine with the local BOMB chapter. That's the Black Sea in the background. Quite the contrast to New Mexico!

Some good miles last week. Monday thru Thursday got 1.5 to 2 hours in every day on the single speed. Saturday got together again with the team for a devotional and talk by new Hammer sponsored triathlete Hector on nutrition and fueling your body. Thanks again to Hammer for providing sampler bags for everyone! After Hector's coaching session, got another 20 miles in on the SS in the foothills on an overcast morning. Trails were moist and fast and I focused on staying in HR Zone 4 for the climbs and 2 and 3 for the descents and flats. Forgot to set my timer but estimated 2 hours riding time.

Sunday was about long, steady, distance (LSD), so, I got out on the roadie and Ann and I started out heading down Tramway to the casino, then climbing the five miles back up. After a while on Tramway, Ann peeled off and I continued down Tramway, then went up the Canyon to Tijeras, then headed down South 14 a ways, and came back the same way. Once back in town, I had another hypoglycemic episode creep up on me along with the telltale signs; could only spin about 12 mph, and my concentration becomes non-existent and confused. After the gels kicked in, my senses rebound and the legs start to work again, but it's a horrible feeling. Sometimes I wonder if I'll ever be able to get a fueling plan dialed in, short of a new pancreas.

As I got closer to home, I needed another half hour to hit my target of 4 hours saddle time, so I hit some of the neighborhood climbs, but trying to hold back some to keep the heart rate out of the 4 zone. I eventually came down San Rafael to Tramway again to do some cool down, just in time for Damian to fly by me on his team Cannondale MTB. He was doing at least 25 mph down Tramway until I lost sight of him. It's fun to watch folks who are gifted cyclists! So, the good points of the ride were I burned 3,000 calories, which equals 1,000 calories for every 1000 feet of elevation I climbed. The average heart rate was 133 since I held back some on the climbs, and it was a beautiful, sunny day. Our team finished off the afternoon with an outreach to a local homeless shelter and everyone had a great time.

Rocks, rattlers, things that scratch and sting. Yeah, I love the desert.

More fun in the foothills this weekend. Won't be long before other area trails start to clear up, but in the meantime, the temps and conditions are primo in our backyard. Saturday was a social ride with a couple of folks from the bomb group who were a bit out of shape after the winter. We kept a fairly slow pace and Ann's odometer read 18 miles by the time we got home. Not many out Sat., but I did run into Jeni (almost literally) cranking out some intervals on her Moots with a couple of other riders trying to keep up. Sorry about that Jeni! I've gotten into some bad habits carrying too much speed into some blind corners, so lesson learned.

Sunday was my longish SSolo ride, so I covered the foothills from north to south and back again. I broke my Cateye computer, but from previous experience, I know this ride is 30 plus miles and I kept a nice steady pace. Quite a few people out too. Ran into fast youngster Aaron J who traded his Fetish for a two-niner SS Rig since I've seen him last. Saw Tiffany leading out her friend Forest by the Tram, and crossed paths with Jeff on his Scalpel while I was doing an interval up the bomb trail but I was too breathless to do anything but nod hello. Also saw a couple of local lady pros ripping a climb and was glad I was going the other way! The junipers are still ripe with pollen (see picture) but my allergies weren't as bad Sunday, but when the wind blows just right, those junipers look like they're on fire with those red tips, and clouds of pollen coming out of them. Finished up the urethane coatings on the new doors after my ride. Also got the fruit trees fertilized, so hoping for some good peaches and apples this year. Need to get a cross pollinator for the bing cherry tree too as it's ready to bear fruit. Should be ample time for some after work rides this week

Saturday morning was brisk. Downright cold, actually, but sunny and the trails were calling. Got out with several FCA-E team mates, including Hector T., an amazing triathlete that can throw down some sub 10 hour ironman times and is a military tri champ. Despite the fact that he had run 10 miles before our 20 plus mile mountain bike ride, he just stuck to my wheel on the 5 mile climb from Bear Canyon at Juan Tabo to the Pino Wilderness boundary, and I know he could have dropped me if he wanted, but I think he was saving a little for an additional 10 mile run after the bike ride. These triathletes just amaze me! Trails were great and due to the cold, surprisingly we didn't run into any other riders up there. Nice mellow road ride with Ann on Sunday, including a nutrition break at Flying Star!

Last night, Ann hit up the Audio Adrenaline concert with friends, so I took the opportunity to go for a north foothills hammer session. A great ride, but the juniper pollen was so thick in places, that my light just reflected off, making the trail difficult to see. I paid the price sucking in all that pollen as my eyes nearly welled shut by the time I got home and my sneezing fit lasted nearly 15 solid minutes, before an allegra started to kick in. After the ride, I went back to work on my second job of late and finished prepping and staining all our new baseboard and door trim. Still need to get a couple coats of urethane over the stain on all the 6-panel pine doors, and boy, they already look beautiful. Gonna have to save some cash before we can put the wood floors down, but everything else came together fantastic. Fell asleep on the couch around 10:30pm and Ann woke me up shortly thereafter when she returned. Up at 5am this morning for some good quiet time and two espresso shots. Another big day ahead!

And the wind blows. The Spring winds arrived like clockwork this year and you can see how they've chipped away at our snowpack. (see: sublimation) Not as bad as it could have been, but we still need some of those heavy wet snows that typically come in the Spring in these parts.

The wind was not my friend on the bike yesterday either. I got two hours in on the roadie and it was tough work with gusts up to 50 miles per hour. I mostly battled the cross wind, but had several miles of headwind that felt like I rode into a wall when it gusted. Only had about 3 miles where the wind was at my back. A good workout and my average speed was nearly 17.5 mph, including the routine stoplights in the downtown area, so I'm happy with that given the conditions. Weekend forecast looks good and you can bet I'll be getting some dirt miles in somewhere.