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Completed the climb up Emigration Canyon for the second time this season … felt pretty good, although my asthma definitely kicked my butt on the early parts of the climb before my lungs settled down. Had to take it easy the rest of the way of the climb, but managed to make it.

Unfortunately, my ride home ended in a minor tragedy on 27th South near 23rd East, when somehow a piece of bubble gum managed to destroy my rear derailleur … and my discount code for Backcountry.com doesn’t work for the one Record derailleur they have in stock.

They're not supposed to look like this, are they?

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Made it to the top of Emigration Canyon/Little Mountain for the first time this season … had to stop a few times to get my HR under control and catch my breath, but I made it to the top, which is all that’s really important. Had to take it easy on the descent because there seems to be something goofy going on with my front wheel … it keeps on a-knock, knock, knockin’, but when I try to figure out what the problem is, no one is home.

It’s frustrating, and can be a little scary when descending. Time to swap out for the spare wheels and take this one in to be overhauled; hopefully that will resolve the issue.

Now: Food. Shower. CarboRocket. Beer. Not necessarily in that order.

One of these days, I’ll remember to pull my camera out of my jersey pocket and take a few pics while I’m out for a ride.

No legs today … turned around near the mouth of Emigration Canyon just past the golf course behind Hogle Zoo. Still put in about 24 miles, and 1400+ feet of vert, though … I can definitely feel myself getting a little bit stronger; now all I need is some consistency and better endurance.

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Longest ride of the season thus far for me … yeah, yeah, for most of you, this is nothing, but anyone who has been reading this blog over the last couple of years knows that I’ve been dealing with (unfortunately not very well) a lot of personal/emotional shit … so to me, the fact that I even made an attempt at Emigration, after going south into Cotton Bottom is an accomplishment.

Turned around after re-filling bottles at Ruth’s Diner, then dropped into Sugarhood for some Mexi-Coke and a banana at Liberty Heights Fresh, then took it as easy as I could on the way home down Highland, hoping that slight stabbing pain in the back of my thigh didn’t turn into a charlie-horse.

Still managed to just about double my biggest vertical day of the season thus far, as well as tacking on a few extra miles.

Home now, obviously, and about to jump in the shower to rinse off the salt. Then Advil. Then hydrate more, and a movie.

I hurt, but I feel good!

Oh sure, they kind of nice when they’re at your back while you’re climbing a canyon … when when you finally summit and want to rip the DH, up-canyon winds really blow (pun totally intended).

Emigration to Little Mountain Summit, then about half-way up Burr Fork towards Pinecrest … then a struggle to descend faster than 25 mph back down Emigration.

View from Little Mountain Summit

More of the same.

People who say they don’t like taking I-80 back down into the Valley from Little Mountain because of the traffic are pansies. That’s right, I said it … they’re pansies … weak little, large flowered garden plants.

I’m far too left-wing to use that word to cast aspersions on one’s manhood (or womanhood, I suppose), by using it in it’s more common pejorative sense.

It’s not the traffic on I-80 that sucks. It’s the fucking up-canyon headwinds that cause you to suffer to push 20 miles/hour on a 7% downhill grade.

The best part is that there’s very little knee pain or back pain; in fact, none that I wouldn’t expect after a ride this difficult for someone with my current fitness levels. Had to stop a few times too many for my liking to catch my breath back and to get my heart rate back under 170 before pushing on the next section.

Must keep hydrating this evening … do NOT want to go down with a dehydration headache. And gotta remember to stretch, so I don’t kink up my back again before my next appointment with Greg Freebairn.

So far, the position that Dave Harward put me in seems to be settling in … while I can’t say that I feel more efficient yet, it is comfortable, and taking a lot less time to adjust to than I would expect if it were not the right position. So once again I must heartily endorse his fit/position services.

Maybe next year I’ll be able to afford him as a coach!

… the 41st birthday isn’t turning out to be too miserable … the weather sucks, which makes getting out on the bike a less than happy experience, but I’ve gotten acknowledgements from people who mean a lot to me, a couple of nice gifts thus far, and plans for both later today and tomorrow.

Also had an interesting conversation with Prefontaine via TXT earlier today, before he headed out to do Emigration.

Gonna have to get out and ride with him someday … on one of his easy/recovery road days, of course … if he ever takes one.

Update (7:46 pm MDT / 02:46 am GMT): Managed to upset one friend today, I think, because I flaked on her, when she gave up part of her day for me … but I’m just feeling icky and while I didn’t really want to back out, I also didn’t want to impose my mood on anyone else.