Blogger is too smart for its own good. It knows Im in Austria so it changed my interface to German.
I cant speak German but I can try if you like.
Im very tired and disoriented. My computer says its 2pm but my phone says its 11pm and my body is not sure what on earth is going on. I just ate a large pizza and some schwarze bier. Im now noshing on some ritter sport and (oregon) hazlenuts. I do so love this part of the world.
We're staying at the posh Penz Hotel in Innsbruck for the next few days and I will take advantage of their FREE WIFI (score!) to make some updates and share pics. Apparently we will be visiting some very remote places later in the tour so I have to take advantage of modern conveniences like interwebs and ATMs while I can.
The flight was long but turns out I didnt need to be entertained. I sat next to an older gentleman, Manny, from the bay area who works in airplane manufacturing. His background is chemistry which he has been using to produce some good wines in San Diego. He talked of leaving the corporate world to pursue wine making and food/wine pairing with his wife. It made me think of my sister. I told him that sounded like a great idea. Also the flight had Hunger Games on the on-demand movies. Score again!
6 of the 10 riders are here. Im rooming with Claire and I also met Greg, Dan and Alejandro tonight. Tomorrow will be bike building after breakfast, fingers crossed again that everything is functional after its flight across the world.
Weather is rainy and 15C Afternoon showers have been common lately, hoping for some good rides between now and when our tour starts on Sunday to get the legs warmed up. Alejandro is rocking a 34 in the back. Makes me feel pretty nervous about my 28, but its what i got!
After 8 months of physical preparation I sit in the San Francisco airport awaiting my departure to Munich Germany. After an 11hr flight I will hopefully arrive to find my smiling tour guides, bag and bike all without hassle. Fingers crossed! My flight here was pretty uneventful except for the kid screaming like they were possessed. Yikes!
In chatting with some friends about racing a comment was made about how fun it is just to push yourself and see how you can do in a race. The competition aspect is "fun" and not a yardstick to stress yourself out over. Competition has been hard for me as long as I can remember. Usually Ive been totally focused on winning. I would train so hard and put a ton of pressure on myself to hit that one small mark. I rarely if ever enjoyed the journey. This started in the same way. I took on a grueling training schedule that made me cranky and irritable. The trip became a millstone around my neck. Then I changed my thinking a few months ago, when I was telling a friend what I wanted to do next summer and he said 'why wait? what about this summer?' Indeed, why wait? So I let go. I decided I didnt have to climb every mountain or ride with the big boys on my trip. I wanted to have fun. My body has come a long way and Im sure it will do amazing things, but instead of being stressed about performing to a certain expectation Im trying to just focus on enjoying the entire experience. I knew my body was going to change in the last 8 months. What I didnt expect was how my mind changed as well. As crazy as things have been there has been a settling of sorts around what Im really wanting out of life right now.
Ive brought along several amusements for the flight. A book my sister gave me, some geek magazines. I also brought my GoPro manual thinking I might actually read it and play with the camera a bit. And Im making playlists. I figured these climbs are going to be LONG so I may need some inspiration. Heres a peak at my "climbing 1" playlist. haha! a peak! :)
Incubus - Megalomaniac
NIN - Perfect Drug
Pearl Jam - Leash
TVoTR - Red Dress
Linkin Park - Bleed it out
STP - Naked Sunday
Lady Gaga - Scheisse
Ozzy - I dont wanna Stop (my theme song)
Rick Astley - Never gonna give you up
Wang Chung - Everybody Have Fun Tonight
So here I sit at the threshold of my big adventure. Heading off alone to a foreign land where I have no comprehension of the language or customs, to ride what professional cyclists call the most difficult climbs in the world 3 years after I started cycling. I am at moments excited but right now mostly nervous. My thumbs are in danger of being picked raw. I have completely overpacked like an obsessive mother with 5 kids. This is going to be awesome, terrifying, upsetting, thrilling, new and exciting... a real bonafide adventure.
So, sorry I didnt blog my whole BRP trip. Theres tons of unedited video, pics to be uploaded, etc that just havent happened. Thats life. I guess I know to reign in the amount of video I take in the Dolomites. I think Ill be doing more point and shoot action there
So its a month from my trip to the land of the Giro. I received my packet in the mail yesterday with all my trip prep goodies!
Maps! Foot! Cat!
Perhaps now would be the time to learn some Italiano. Nah. Ive got a 13hr plane ride to do that.
This packet contains all the maps and descriptions of our daily riding. Its thick!!!
Thats a lot of maps! Ella is intrigued
The toll of training has become very apparent. Ive been fortunate so far (knock on wood!) to have only minor issues physically but I have totally hit the wall mentally. As I said to some friends today I have not just fallen off the training wagon. Ive fallen off and been run over by a semi.
I knew something was up on the BRP ride when I fell to pieces at the simple act of someone else (Brent) taking care of things for me. How much had I been carrying on my own? I hadnt even realized how exhausted and strung out I was. I dont want to ride on the road, I dont want to ride in the cold or overcast weather. I really just want a hug. Fortunately I got some needed hammock time in this weekend
Ommmm
I have noticed myself becoming increasingly more irritated. Yes the weather sucks, but it seems to be an especially problematic thing for me this year (because Ive been riding in it since November most likely). Ive been more short tempered and more volatile.
Today I experienced some seriously flagrant road rage unlike I have ever been subject to before. It made me furiously mad. I am a believer in the Law of Attraction, and while I dont claim I brought it on myself I think I'm attracting more of these events lately.
So Ive basically stopped training. Yes, going to Italy in slightly less decent shape is a bummer, but a bigger bummer would be forcing myself to train these last few weeks and end up hating my bike. Nothing would be worse than going on this trip Ive been preparing for this long and be miserable. Im having a hard time motivating myself to ride and freaking out about losing my fitness level.
Clearly, I need more hammock time.
I have decided priority #1 for Italy is to enjoy myself. If the weather is putrid do I really want to ride, or would I rather take the van that day and rest my legs? Do I really care about grinding up every last famous climb? I know a big part of me will be saying 'but Jenn, when will you ever have this opportunity again !?' It will be interesting balancing Ego and Id, well, as usual :)
So Im trying to be gentle and remind myself that its pretty damn silly to be fussing over my 'performance' on a luxury bike vacation. The fact is in 15days I will be off work for TWO MONTHS!!!
I didnt particularly want to get out of bed, not having had the most restful night, but it was time to get some breakfast before our Grand Depart from the Holiday Inn Express in Waynesboro. The sun was shining and it was a little brisk, perfect bike riding weather. We gathered necessities, like water and nyan cat.
The HAMMER twins Scott and Brent
the power of NYAN compels you!
While we were loading up the van a few women also checking out were checking out our spandex. Chatting with them I found out they were driving the parkway. When I told them we were riding the parkway in 5 days they looked somewhat astonished.
"Is it all downhill from here?"
*grins* "Nope, about 47,000ft of climbing"
About 7 miles later we found our way to the BRP. L-R: Kevin, Scott, me and Brent. Photo taken by Tom
This was before anyones butt started to hurt
And so we rode. It was exciting and beautiful. The climbing started promptly at mile 1. The weather was sunny and cool with some fairly wicked head winds. After the first 10 miles we regrouped to chat about how we would like to ride the trip. The consensus was generally everyone ride their own pace and work out SAG support as needed. I know I dont enjoy riding when i feel like i have to keep up so this was fine with me.
We had a small snafu with our SAG that day and Kevin and I got locked out of the van. Fortunately Tom, our awesome SAG driver, anticipated our predicament and cut his ride short to come back and check on us
Disco Tom to the rescue! This happens a lot
Tom (Disco Tom) is Scott's uncle and a generally all around awesome dude. In his early 60s, he just did the entire 470 mile BRP RAAM style (no breaks, except a few cat naps) last October. He was telling me about an upcoming adventure race he has in the next few weeks on the trip. He also had fond memories of the Disco era. You can get your fill of water, food and the BeeGees in Tom's SAG van. Tom's considerate attitude and BRP expertise made him a really awesome SAG driver for our trip. We were super lucky!
The last 20 miles of the day featured a 12 mile, 3700ft climb from the lowest point on the BRP to the highest point in VA. The mountain in the distance is the destination, the bridge is the lowest point and a few miles before the start of the climb
I decided to treat the climb as a mini Stelvio Pass, which I will be riding in July. So I stubbornly stayed in my 21 gear all the way up, reserving my bottom 2 gears for the Italian climb, which will climb an additional 2300ft and top out at 8000ft. I was rewarded for my stupidity, I mean, badassedness, with two fairly sore quads at the end of the day, but I was able to shake it out mid day 2.
Almost there
Get a load of those 1-litre water bottles!
View from the top!
It was pretty darn cold up there! I hadnt thought about that in my short sleeves. Fortunately on the descent Brent and Scott (the hammer twins) who had finished an hour before Kevin and I came looking for us in the van. I got a vest to descend the last few miles with to Peaks of Otter where we stayed right on the BRP at this awesome place!
The Peaks of Otter!
Brent really took care of me on this trip. Its great to have a speedy, considerate friend up the road from you to prepare clothes, recovery beverages and drugs for you to come home to.
Hammer time! Not to be confused with EPO time.
We headed to the thriving metropolis of Bedford and had dinner at the Bedford Social Club. I got a steak that ended up providing my lunch for the next few days. We also stopped in the local grocery store for some snacks
date night dinner specials are.. inspiring ??
CHEEZY POOFS
We all pretty much passed out after our first big day on the road, after some ice cream of course.
Wow the internet on my computer! Welcome back to the future.
Our grand BRP trip was aborted on Day 4 amidst truly awful weather conditions and the threat of thunderstorms the next day. One brave rider soldiered on but I was fine to quit (more on that later). I had hoped to blog about each day as we rode but besides lack of internet access I was pretty tired each day and wanted to spend my spare moments taking the experience in rather than sitting in front of the computer.
In the end it was 3 days of great riding and 1 day of not so great riding. I learned a lot about my body. I learned a lot about what motivates me to ride and what doesnt. When we planned this trip out months ago I was gunning for 500mi/50,000ft to prepare for the Alps. During this trip it became clear to me that numbers dont motivate me, enjoyment does. It made me realize that there are probably going to be days in the Alps when I dont ride, or SAG out, in favor of riding at an enjoyable pace taking in the experience.
This was a really awesome experience. Im excited to share my thoughts, photos and video over the next few days as I blog it out. A lot, though, cant be captured in words or pictures. Like any grand adventure you really just need to experience it yourself.
Today the fellowship assembled at Scott's house to prepare for our trip to the Mountains of Mordor.
No wait, that isnt right. Our trip through the Appalachian Mountains via the Blue Ridge Parkway. At least I got the Mountains part right. Tomorrow we will go from the lowest point on the BRP to the highest point on the BRP in VA. So kind of like Mt Doom, but not quite. We will meet the real Mt Doom later this week. Tomorrows climb ascends some 3400ft over 12miles at mile 60/85. We have about a 7mile ride to get to the BRP from our motel.
There was the ceremonial mounting of the bikes... on the car
Thus began our road trip. 4 valiant riders and 1 valiant SAG driver / rider packed with our gear and more wheelsets than Saxo Bank's tour bus.
Our drive to VA was stalled by a gnarly tractor trailer accident that deposited something large on the road. Im sure its a piece of that kids space ship from 'Flight of the Navigator'
The typical road trip shenanigans ensued, or maybe not so typical. "We never had anything like that when we were kids!" said Brent as Kevin was setting up a wireless hotspot with his smart phone. At one point there were 2 laptops, 3 phones and 1 tablet on the network. Siri may have been responsible for us missing our exit to interstate 81. And Brent was playing doctor
We arrived in Waynesboro about 8pm and got dinner at a local italian joint. Chilaxin before we headout to ride bikes like a mofo in the AM. It will indeed be, Hammer time
Hello from warm and alternately sunny and monsoonlike western NC!
I arrived here on Saturday. Here is a lesson in how not to acclimate.
1. Sit on a plane for 7hrs
2. Sleep 12hrs
3. Decide to go out for a ride at the crack of noon in weather 30+ degrees warmer with humidity 80% higher than the weather youre used to. Oh, and some alarmingly bright orange thing beating down on you from the sky.
4. Go ride hills. Immediately, with no warm up. And make sure its some of the most ass kicking hills near the house too.
5. RIde with people who can kick your ass on a good day and lament your pathetic state.
Easily the worst Ive felt on the bike in a long long time. The last time I rode with my pal Brent was over a year ago. I was chunky and seriously slow. He had to push me up the climb we were doing together. I was so eager to show him how bad ass I have become riding hills all year in Portland!
Guess who had to get pushed up the hill?
Guess who had molasses legs?
Yep. At least I know what not to do when I arrive in Italy!
I apologize for the lack of pictures in this entry. I upload them to Facebook which doesnt talk to Blogger because Google doesnt own it (yet). Google+ is like a desert with some tumbleweeds rolling by so i never post there, but it looks like Ill have to start if I want to easily share photos here. We will see how it goes. For now
We headed out to the Nantahala Outdoor Center to spend some chill days in the forest before heading up to VA to start the ride. Formerly an Olympic training site for water sports its somewhat of a summer camp for grown ups. We stayed in a neat little cabin above the river. We heard bull frogs at night! And saw some dirty AT hikers! Good times
Monday, eager to redeem myself, we headed out again for a ride from the NOC. Legs were feeling a lot better (turns out warming up helps) and Brent took my GoPro. For the first time someone would be getting video of ME on the bike! This was exciting
This was also exciting, but in a very bad way
Brent was a bike courier. And a semi pro downhill mountain bike racer. Clearly, the one with the bike handling skills, complete lack of fear and defiance to flip off someone coming at us at about 65mph,. 6" from his elbow.
So after nearly dying we had a really beautiful ride through the gorge and up a nice steep little hill, after riding a long a river with a lot of waterfalls. That video is coming later, still working to cut it together.
Today while running around doing some last minute errands before our drive to Waynesboro VA tomorrow we stopped into Motion Makers. They had this sweet Mavic wheel set on sale. A sweet wheel set that was over a pound lighter than the one I own. Well, I was talking about getting a lighter set for Italy anyway, so why not try them out on the BRP. Lucy is very excited to show off her NEW ruby slippers (See FB photo album above). Once again she has matchy matchy red hubs. On top of a fantastic price they also gave me an awesome padded wheel bag! Thanks guys!
^_^
So how am I feeling right now? Very nervous. Worried I wont be able to keep up. Wondering how the hell my body will react to what we are doing. Hoping we wont get caught in a spring monsoon. We were advised by someone who did this ride a few years ago to get Valerian root to help with sleep. Why would you need help sleeping when your banging out about 10,000ft of climbing / day? I guess your body gets too exhausted to sleep.
0_o
Maybe Ill try some Valerian root tonight.
I cant make any promises but Ill try to blog a little about it at the end of each epic day, or at least tweet a bit and/or update Facebook. I will say that after our encounter in the gorge Im very glad the max speed limit on the BRP is 45mph.
To Waynesboro and beyond! (beyond being south to Cherokee NC, the end of the BRP)
