Heather & Uhl Albert

For Sale: Yeti AS-X

Uhl in Eagle, ID – I purchased this Yeti AS-X a few years ago but with my emphasis on road racing these last couple years I hardly ride it anymore. This is one great freeride bike. It’s perfect for lift-served mountain biking or just to use as a heavy duty all-mountain bike. It climbs well for such a beast of a bike…I’ve taken it up Hard Guy many times. Size is medium and I upgraded a few things from the stock build. Details and more pictures can be found on my For Sale ad on PinkBike.

Finally a Good One

Uhl in Eagle, ID – After a week of mediocre rides, I finally had a solid workout today. I headed west to ride part of this Sunday’s Idaho State Championship road race. I headed west on Chaparral and did six 30-second sprints with 90 seconds rest. They were tough, but I pushed through it and managed to produce consistent power across the set. Then I rode medium- to high-tempo as I rode the El Paso loop, jamming it up the hills and doing LT on the flats. I went back to tempo-mode as I returned back to Eagle through Hillsdale. With an intensity factor of .86 for a 3:20 minute ride, it was one tough workout!

Descending VO2s

Uhl in Eagle, ID – I did my first “real” workout since last weekend’s hard rides. Since I was on the rollers, I decided to do VO2s today. They’re good for indoors since there’s no traffic or intersections to contend with and can turn on the tunes.

Instead of doing a straight set of 4x5s or 5x4s, I decided to do descending VO2s; from 5 minutes down to 30 seconds with a 1:1 work-to-rest ratio. They went okay, but my legs felt a little blocked as I had not gone hard all week.

Garden Expansion

Uhl in Eagle, ID – I didn’t get to write about it this past weekend because I was too busy riding, but last week we made some improvements to our garden. Since the garden that came with our house was is in the corner, next to a six-foot fence, the area didn’t receive full sun. This meant that most of the tomato plants wouldn’t produce until really late in the season. And since we have no use for so much lawn, we decided to put a couple raised beds right on top a grassy area where the grass wasn’t growing very well, anyway.

My friend Dan helped out with building the frames—without a truck nor any wood tools, it would have been difficult to do myself. Then Heather and I stained them and filled them with the rich compost dirt we’ve been cultivating since we moved here. Any organic matter we discard in the kitchen goes into the compost bin and eventually churned into the garden. We didn’t have enough to completely fill both 5’ x 10’ beds, but it’s plenty for for the tomato, squash and watermelon plants we planted.

Tired EHB

Uhl in Eagle, ID – Well, I should have known better but I did an Emmett–Horseshoe Bend loop, even though yesterday’s ride was pretty tough. My legs weren’t too bad over the first hour, but by the time I was in Black Canyon, it was getting pretty hot and I could feel myself fading.

I wasn’t trying to make hard, I mainly just rode low tempo, but I always like giving it a go on the hill. But today I had nothing by then and just rode tempo. With a nice headwind, it wasn’t much fun. I did enjoy the downhill as usual and just paced myself back home. With another three hours of saddle time it gives me a solid 16 hour week. With my CTL at 102TSS/day, it’s time to let it drop a little bit over the next couple weeks leading up to Elkhorn.

Double Bogus

Uhl in Eagle, ID – To get Heather ready for Mt Hood, and me for Elkhorn Classic, we rode early today to get in some serious climbing miles. We did a slight modification of our new favorite climbing ride: Riding up and over Seaman’s Gulch to Hidden Springs, then Cartwright to Bogus Basin Road, up to the Pioneer Condominiums, and turn around and return the same way. But today when we rode it, we rode the Bogus to Pioneer climb…twice!

Since we knew it would be an epic day, we took it easy on the Cartwright climbs and just rode low tempo up Bogus the first time. Even so, it was still hard and when we got to the top I double-checked with Heather if she still wanted to do another one, and she confirmed she did. The second time up we pushed the pace and ended up splitting up a little ways up the hill. There were quite a few riders out and we saw a few of the competitors in the Camels Back Duathlon.

I pushed the Pioneer section of the climb as best I could and then refilled my bottles…again. Heather wasn’t too far behind and after she refilled, we headed down for the last time. It was nice and cool at the top and we really didn’t want to descend down into the heat in the valley below. The hill on Cartwright by the motorcycle park was even more painful than when we do Bogus only once, but somehow we managed to get over it in our 25s. Seaman’s wasn’t as bad, but we had a headwind the rest of the ride back to Eagle.

In the end it was a 104 miles with approximately 13,000 feet of climbing. I say approximately because Bikely, MapMyRide and my Garmin all report different elevation gains. Don’t know which one is “right” but all I know is that it’s a lot of climbing and we were both cooked by the time we got home!

Memorial Day Bogus

Uhl in Eagle, ID – Even though we just completed a two-day, three-stage race, Heather and I headed out to do Cartwright, Bogus to Pioneer, Cartwright. Yes, we love to suffer! But the weather was just perfect and we both beat our times (and wattage) from the last time we rode Bogus.

We did sleep in a little bit and didn’t head out until 8 AM. It was a bit cool heading out on Hill, but perfect by the time we climbed Seaman’s Gulch. My legs were hating the first few pedal strokes up that hill but it got better as we went along.

We really enjoy the nice, new pavement on Cartwright Road. What a difference nice asphalt and bike lanes make! The “wall” is definitely a lot less steep than it used to be, but it still hurt in my 39x25! On the motorcycle hill I “only” hit 51.7 MPH this time; the wind wasn’t conducive to a high-speed run today.

We both treated Bogus as one, long interval. Heather stayed with me for a while, then dropped off on the switchbacks. I felt pretty good and very comfortable on the bike but my legs started to fade as I approached the trees. I eased up through the flat section, then kicked it up again through the parking lot and the last section to the Pioneer condos. I just barely finished all my fluid by then, so I went straight to the spigot and refilled my bottles.

Top Five

Uhl in Eagle, ID – This afternoon was the last stage of the Treasure Valley Stage Race, the Nampa downtown criterium. Heather went off before me and it was an interesting race to watch with only six women. Heather was on the front a lot, but that was the plan. Heather really wanted to get a workout in as the Mt Hood Cycling Classic is only a week and a half away! Heather and her teammate had a plan for the finish, but it didn’t unfold as they wanted so neither of them won today’s stage. But Heather still won overall, in addition to racking up a bunch of cash primes.

My race also had a small field; only 11 starters today. That was fine as this was a pretty technical course; lots of turns and bumpy pavement all around. We started out steady with Team Bob’s Bicycles setting tempo. From time to time, there’d be a surge in the pace, but then it would settle down again. The first few of them, my legs were really feeling yesterday’s road race.

It got better after the first 20 minutes, so then I decided to attack. Well, “attack” may be too strong of a word. I just rolled off the front as the pack slowed on the back stretch. Since I was so far down on GC, no one chased so I quickly got a good-sized gap. I put it in TT-mode and just rode the corners as smoothly as possible. Riding solo and picking your own lines, you can pedal through every corner.

Treasure Valley through Stage 2

Uhl in Eagle, ID – The road race was long and hot by the end, but I finished! We got to the start area early and being in farm country, we got to watch a crop duster to its thing. We started with eight miles of neutral which just delayed the pain to come. But with a small field, everyone was content with keeping things together until the hill(s). It’s really a double hill, just like Chicken Dinner; a more gradual one on Deer Flat, then Perch is the steep one. Even before we rode up Perch, everyone agreed to have a pee-stop. Since I didn’t have to go, and I knew how bad Perch would be with 5 lbs of water on my back (no feed support) that I just rolled through and got a head start on the hill. Well, I wasn’t even but 1/3rd the way up, when the climber-types just sped by me! I managed to stay with the group, but so much for taking the hill “easy” the first time. Next time I’ll “roll through” faster so I have a bigger gap!

Then things basically stayed together and on the headwind section along the Snake River the whole group just pacelined. Then the second time up the hills I was dropped early on Deer Flat. I just paced myself over both and could see that I wasn’t too far off by the time I crested by the landfill. I time trialed for the next five miles and managed to catch them before the steep downhill by the river! That was my big accomplishment for the race. I knew if I didn’t catch by then, I would never because the pack will always be faster than a solo rider with a strong headwind like that. So I integrated back into the front group which was down to about 10 riders at that point.

1,000 Warriors Registration Ends Friday!

Uhl in Eagle, ID – Race the hardest stage of the Tour of Utah, hours before the Pros take to the course. It's about 100 miles with over 10,000 feet of climbing. If anyone breaks the pro's times, they get $1000! But don't do it for the money, this route takes you over the best climbs in Utah. I know, I've done all three...just not in a row! Should be epic!

• 1,000 Warriors web site
• Race flyer (PDF)

YouTube Video of the Course

First Full Bogus

Uhl in Eagle, ID – Did my first full Bogus climb today and it was tough. Heather and I were debating about doing a “Big Loop” but opted out after yesterday’s harder than planed workout along with lots of house work. We thought a shorter, but lots of climbing, ride would be better.

We rode in on Cartwright and rode Bogus Basin Road all the way to Pioneer then came back on Cartwright as well. We were really pleased with the work they did on Cartwright as now most of it is nice smooth asphalt with a decent shoulder. I also forgot how steep the hill before the Owyhee motorcycle park was as I hit 55 MPH on the descent!

Then on Bogus we rode tempo to the bottom of the switchbacks, then I started an interval to the Pioneer condominiums. The first half was okay, but by the time I reached the trees my legs started to fade. I only averaged 272 watts for the 85-minute interval, with a normalized power of 279 watts. Yesterday’s ride took more out of me than I thought. I waited a short time for Heather then we had fun on the descent. On the way home on Cartwright, when we hit the first big uphill by the motorcycle park, we were both really glad we didn’t do a Big Loop. In the end it was solid 70-mile ride with 9,000 feet of climbing.

Indoors Outdoors

Uhl in Eagle, ID – I did a half hour on the rollers so I could get some intensity before heading out with Heather, Dan and Kurt for a nice 3+ hour outdoor ride. Did a short set of 4x3-minute VO2s on the rollers then headed outside and rode mostly tempo. We rode west out through Middleton, then north on Old Hwy 30 then returned on Oasis, Hollow and Galloway. The weather was nice and cool for most of the ride and the wind wasn’t too bad. Solid ride.

4x4 VO2s

Uhl in Eagle, ID – After hardly riding the last couple days I ended up doing a nice set of VO2s today. I only did four 4-minute intervals as that’s all I had in my legs. The ride was just over an hour but I didn’t want to do any more than that anyway since I’m still TSB negative. The weather looks good for this weekend so I plan to rack up some serious TSS before tapering for the Treasure Valley Stage Race next weekend.

St George Training Camp

Uhl in Eagle, ID – Heather and I went down to Saint George, Utah for a mini-training camp of long rides in hot weather. After the spell of warm weather a few weeks ago, riding when it’s only in the 50’s wasn’t doing it for us so we decided to head south and ride where it was really warm.

We got some good rides in, though we didn’t hit it as hard as we thought we would at the start. With a hectic week leading up to the trip combined with the travel, we took the first few days easy with only 1–2 hour rides. But we slowly increased durations and ended up going to Enterprise and back on Thursday giving us a nearly 5-hour ride with over 8,000 feet of climbing.

We did one more short, but hard ride on Friday, then had fun with family at the pool before we left. After travelling home we were both wasted on Saturday, but still did a long ride on Sunday; an Emmett Rd – Horseshoe Bend loop for another 4+ hours. So my totals for the week are almost 20 hours of saddle time with a TSS of 1,086!

BTW, more pictures from the trip are posted to my Facebook profle.

May Day VO2s

Uhl in Eagle, ID – Did a nice set of 4x5-minute VO2 intervals today. I think the wattage numbers are slightly low, probably because my PowerTap wasn’t properly zero’d. The LCD recently broke so I can’t see the top line anymore. I still zero the torque before every ride, but since I can’t see the display, I do it based on muscle memory.

Comparing my watts and speed with the last few times I did 5-minute intervals, I can confirm that today’s set doesn’t correlate. My average speed for today’s intervals are more representative of average watts around 340, not 330. Anyway, it doesn’t really matter, it’s still a good training effect. Hopefully there’ll be a break in the predicted rain tomorrow and I can ride outside.

Hail Storm

Uhl in Eagle, ID – Good thing I rode indoors this morning. This afternoon we had a nice thunderstorm roll through with pounding rain and hail! It left a nice little pattern of hail beneath the rain gutter.

First Half-Bogus

Uhl in Eagle, ID – Today I rode Bogus Basin for the first time this year. I rode out with Kevin and we were greeted with windy conditions. I didn’t really have a plan but after some hard tempo up the switchbacks I decided to keep the pressure on. I just rode to the Forest Service sign and then quickly turned around as it was clouding up and I didn’t want to get rained on. We rode from work but after descending Bogus I still had to ride home. Fortunately the wind was coming from the southeast so I had a super tailwind on Hill Road and managed to make it home in 25 minutes!

To the Finish

Uhl in Eagle, ID – Emmett–Roubaix was today and I wasn’t very excited about racing. After riding in a sleeveless jersey on Tuesday, today’s weather was more like early March than almost May. The other warning sign that it wasn’t going to be a good day is that my legs didn’t feel so hot during my warm-up. Actually, they didn’t feel good yesterday either. But once you’re registered…you’ve got to race, right?

So the pace starts off ballistic, even before we hit South Slope Road. Fortunately I was at the front and was able to stay pretty sheltered. Then on South Slope it was more of the same with random people attacking here and there. The pace was fast even though we were going into a headwind.

Added Tempo

Uhl in Eagle, ID – Even though I felt fatigued all day from Sunday’s and Tuesday’s rides, I still went out to rack up another hour and a half of tempo. It was a little bit cooler ou but still pretty nice. I ended up riding by the start of the FCA Time Trial and saw Klaas pinning his number. From how my legs felt, I wasn’t jealous at all. If I had to time trial today, I’m sure it would have been ugly.

Tuesday EHB

Uhl in Eagle, ID – After a tiring Chicken Dinner road race, I decided to rest a day before riding long again. Even though it was hard due to the unseasonably warm weather, I didn’t even get on my bike yesterday. Instead I hit the gym and did some light cardio and core work.

So it was a good thing the warm weather held out another day so Heather, Cory and I could do a nice Emmett–Horseshoe Bend loop after work. It was my first ride in just shorts and a sleeveless jersey, thanks to the 80°F weather!

Cory was an “eager beaver” when we headed out and even though my PowerTap CPU display is cracked, I swear I was doing like 250 watts just riding side-by-side with him on Beacon Light. It was probably just residual blockage from racing hard on Sunday then taking Monday off, but then again, I’m not one who can talk and ride unless I keep it to zone one. By the time we were northbound on Hwy 16 my legs felt better and the three of us enjoyed the strong tailwind to the top of Emmett hill. It’s always fun to ride uphill at 20+ MPH!

We cruised through the back roads in Emmett and then hit Hwy 52. For the first time this year we stopped at the Wild Rose park to top off our water bottles. With the warm weather comes increased hydration needs. Then we got back on our bikes and did a nice rotation through the canyon to Horseshoe Bend. Since Heather had a hard stage race this past weekend, she took easier pulls while Cory and I pushed it a bit more.