Lotoja '08

I did it. I finished my first Lotoja. Sept 6 was an awesome day just cloudy enough and not too hot or cold, no rain. It went great, I feel great after having finished it. The day after I was kind of sore. As far as training for it this summer I went on a few 60 mile bike rides, a few mountain climbs, one century, quite a bit of mountain biking and that's about it. I rented the bike that I used and it worked very good for me, no flats. Honestly I wasn't prepared for the 25 miles of uphill to Strawberry Summit, yeah I had looked at the elevation maps but the enormity of it didn't really sink in. That's what slowed me down the most the other two mountain passes weren't bad compared to Strawberry Summit. I credit the six Clif apple flavored energy gels I had with helping me get over both Geneva Summit and Salt River Pass because I had definitely used up all of my energy reserves by the time I got to them. At Alpine Junction I was really tired that's when I resolved to just go on and finish the race. The course wasn't level again until I got to Jackson Hole, just a bunch of rolling hills through the canyon. I skipped the last rest stop at King's Wave pullout because I wasn't feeling thirsty or anything. I got to Teton Village just as the sun was going down, it was a great sight. Bike riding is all about going faster and farther than you did last time, which is why the Lotoja is such a great course because of the challenging distance and three mountain passes.

Summer Plans

I've been riding my mountain bike quite a bit lately. Provo canyon is a fun place to go. I've noticed that there was so much more to the canyon than you can see from just the road. I wish that I didn't have to work this summer and I could spend a lot of time camping and being outside. I want to go to Great Basin National Park and 9 Mile Canyon this summer. I'm definitely going to get to one of those places, I haven't decided which one I'll go to first. I went up to Brigham City last weekend and Promontory.

One Speed is Enough

I'm of the opinion that single speed bikes are the way to go. Pretty much all I ever really need is one gear. One time of stomping down on the pedal just to have the chain fall off was enough for me to look for another type of bike. Bikes with shifters have to be kept in tune frequently. My bike currently has a 4:1 ratio (110" gain ratio) fixed gear and that works for most places I need to go. It's more efficient because the chain is always aligned directly with the gears and not at an angle. Yeah I have to build up speed to make it up the long hill to campus and at the top of the hill on the bike path going from Provo to Orem by the mall I have to make a few switchbacks. Those are the only places I go frequently where a lower gear would be nice. If I want to bike up to the Y or Squaw Peak I flip my rear tire around and that gives me a 2.4:1 ratio, which is pretty high but it still gets me there with a lot of work. I wish they made a 28 tooth freewheel so I could have a 1.9:1 which would be nicer for the steeper hills. So it takes me 5 minutes to change gears, but it's worth it. This gets me in the habit of not slacking off in lower gears and helps build up strength which I can use when I'm on my regular 16 speed and it's speed that matters more. If you think about it cars only have 5 speeds and they go a lot faster, there's really no need to have a bike with 21 or 24 speeds. It's the range of the gears that is more important than the number. Those extra chainrings rarely get used and just add extra weight.