South Dakota Training Week
It's weird comming back from a week of camping.Everything feels unfamiliar.And boy has everything greened up.I heard Its been rainy all week.Darn,and we didn't even miss a day because of bad weather.The black hills is in a 4 year drought and the 8/10 of an inch of rain that they had while we were there was the most they've had since the snow melted.It was all at night so we lucked out on that one.Bottom line why we go out there... lots of hills,no mosquitos,dry air,and more blue sky days in a year than you can imagine.
I'll break it down day by day then talk about it.
Sat-75 degrees,19 miles,1,200ft of climbing,time-1:00
Sun-73 degrees,60 miles,5,000 ft of climbing,18mph avg,time-3:16
Mon-70 degrees,29 miles,2,600 ft of climbing,17 avg,time-1:42
Tue-2:30 hike up to Harney Peak.1,oo0 ft of climbing on foot
Wed-60 degrees,50 miles,4,000 ft of climbing,18.5 avg,time-2:30
Thurs-65 degrees,61 miles,6,000 ft of climbing,16.5 avg,time-3:42
Fri-65 degrees,32 miles,2,750 ft of climbing,16 avg,time-2:00
Sat-65 degrees,24 miles,3,000 ft of climbing,15 avg,time-1:35
Toatal-275 miles,25,000 vertical ft,time-15:45
Correct me if I'm wrong but that's higher than Mt Everest.I don't know how those guys can do a Grand Tour,because this was nothing compared to what they do and they do it race pace for 2 weeks!
I was feeling incredible the entire week.Once I got warmed up and in a tempo I would feel better and better.Even after a long day previous,the legs were very strong and my breathing and heart rate was low.At the top of every climb I was able to put in a good kick and sprint.It made me want to go faster and faster.
I wish I could say the same about Sam but he was having a bad week.The first couple of days his heart rate was sky rocketing.We had to cut mondays ride short because he was feeling crappy.His fitness was comming back mid week and he could actually stay up with me on a climb.
We found another rider to tag along also.Aaron Whalen is his name.He was in the same camp ground as us too,go figure.Aaron is 20 or 21years old,a cat 3 racer from Wisconsin,and is going to college for something to do with Sports science.I felt sorry for him because he was having the worst last couple of weeks.Its fitting that I say this on Memorial day because he lost his cousin in Iraq in a bomb attack the week previous to him going to South Dakota .So he's spending Memorial weekend at his cousins funneral.And on top of that his car engine blew up when he got to Rapid City so he had no car to get around.My prayers go out to that family.
We didn't just bike out there.There are so many great hiking trails and history stories out there.We make it a must to hike to the top of Harney Peak.The highest point east of the Rockies.It was the best day I've ever been up there.There was no wind whatsoever.Perfectly calm.Thats unheard of up there.And the view is spectacular.We also drove the wildlife loop in Custer State park.And leave it to driving,we also biked it this year and I was on edge to whole ride because around every corner I didn't know if a big bull buffalo was going to be standing there.Mating season is comming up and every year a couple of tourists get mauled pretty bad.People look at these things and think they're big and clumsy.But they've been clocked at 40 mph and they've been known to throw a Harley Davidson 20 feet through the air and tear it to pieces.We did encounter a few big males too.We had to keep backing down the road because they were comming straight towards us.We stopped a jeep tour guide and had him block us so we could get through.Man was that scary,I was 15 feet from that beast,and he just stared us down as we went by.
We had tons of fun out there,and I would recommend this trip to anyone thinking about going.Its nice to get away and see another part of Gods wonderful creation.
I have to put in a few plugs for some people.Kemps Kamp is where we stayed the whole week,its a very nice and quiet place to stay.Bruce the owner, is a well known turkey hunting guide and he runs one of the best campgrounds in the Black Hills. Word out to the guys at Deadwood Bicycles. We had a good chat and he wants us to call next time we go out, and he'll hook us up with some of the good riders out there.He also gave us both a free water bottle.Thanks
I'll break it down day by day then talk about it.
Sat-75 degrees,19 miles,1,200ft of climbing,time-1:00
Sun-73 degrees,60 miles,5,000 ft of climbing,18mph avg,time-3:16
Mon-70 degrees,29 miles,2,600 ft of climbing,17 avg,time-1:42
Tue-2:30 hike up to Harney Peak.1,oo0 ft of climbing on foot
Wed-60 degrees,50 miles,4,000 ft of climbing,18.5 avg,time-2:30
Thurs-65 degrees,61 miles,6,000 ft of climbing,16.5 avg,time-3:42
Fri-65 degrees,32 miles,2,750 ft of climbing,16 avg,time-2:00
Sat-65 degrees,24 miles,3,000 ft of climbing,15 avg,time-1:35
Toatal-275 miles,25,000 vertical ft,time-15:45
Correct me if I'm wrong but that's higher than Mt Everest.I don't know how those guys can do a Grand Tour,because this was nothing compared to what they do and they do it race pace for 2 weeks!
I was feeling incredible the entire week.Once I got warmed up and in a tempo I would feel better and better.Even after a long day previous,the legs were very strong and my breathing and heart rate was low.At the top of every climb I was able to put in a good kick and sprint.It made me want to go faster and faster.
I wish I could say the same about Sam but he was having a bad week.The first couple of days his heart rate was sky rocketing.We had to cut mondays ride short because he was feeling crappy.His fitness was comming back mid week and he could actually stay up with me on a climb.
We found another rider to tag along also.Aaron Whalen is his name.He was in the same camp ground as us too,go figure.Aaron is 20 or 21years old,a cat 3 racer from Wisconsin,and is going to college for something to do with Sports science.I felt sorry for him because he was having the worst last couple of weeks.Its fitting that I say this on Memorial day because he lost his cousin in Iraq in a bomb attack the week previous to him going to South Dakota .So he's spending Memorial weekend at his cousins funneral.And on top of that his car engine blew up when he got to Rapid City so he had no car to get around.My prayers go out to that family.
We didn't just bike out there.There are so many great hiking trails and history stories out there.We make it a must to hike to the top of Harney Peak.The highest point east of the Rockies.It was the best day I've ever been up there.There was no wind whatsoever.Perfectly calm.Thats unheard of up there.And the view is spectacular.We also drove the wildlife loop in Custer State park.And leave it to driving,we also biked it this year and I was on edge to whole ride because around every corner I didn't know if a big bull buffalo was going to be standing there.Mating season is comming up and every year a couple of tourists get mauled pretty bad.People look at these things and think they're big and clumsy.But they've been clocked at 40 mph and they've been known to throw a Harley Davidson 20 feet through the air and tear it to pieces.We did encounter a few big males too.We had to keep backing down the road because they were comming straight towards us.We stopped a jeep tour guide and had him block us so we could get through.Man was that scary,I was 15 feet from that beast,and he just stared us down as we went by.
We had tons of fun out there,and I would recommend this trip to anyone thinking about going.Its nice to get away and see another part of Gods wonderful creation.
I have to put in a few plugs for some people.Kemps Kamp is where we stayed the whole week,its a very nice and quiet place to stay.Bruce the owner, is a well known turkey hunting guide and he runs one of the best campgrounds in the Black Hills. Word out to the guys at Deadwood Bicycles. We had a good chat and he wants us to call next time we go out, and he'll hook us up with some of the good riders out there.He also gave us both a free water bottle.Thanks
posted by Eric O. at 2:53 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home