LOTOJA Worries

I woke up this morning to the sound of thunder in the sky and rain hitting the windows. I was supposed to be meeting a group for a bike ride around the Alpine Loop (which takes you past Sundance Ski Resort into some gorgeous foresty areas, to an elevation over 8000 feet), then into Lehi/Highland, and up Traverse, and over to Salt Lake. We were planning on about 75 miles, and over 4 hours of ride time.

Did I want to ride in the rain and the wind and the lightening? Not really, but I did need the miles.

The phone rang. The group ride was put off with an agreement that if the weather cleared up, we'd go.

I went back to bed and slept for almost three more glorious hours. I really needed that sleep.

At around 2 p.m., things were looking up in the weather department. The group convened, but we decided that because of the chance of a downpour we would skip the Alpine Loop. None of us wanted to risk having no brakes on a scary fast, twisty, windy descent. So we headed out to the other side of the lake. We wound our way around Saratoga Springs then hit the Jordan River Trail toward Lehi. Since we were in Lehi anyway, and since the weather had improved considerably, we decided to climb Traverse Ridge. By the time we got to the base of the mountain, it was getting hot. It was probably about 5 p.m. by this point. The clouds had moved out, and there was no more wind. This is where things got bad for me. About halfway up the climb, I think I was on the verge of heatstroke. I was getting delusional. Coach Girl finally started taking my begging for shade seriously when I asked her if the guy who passed us on a motorcycle had fangs. So we found a corner where there was a big sign to provide me some shade. Luckily, we'd climbed high enough by this point that there was a nice breeze to cool me off. After a couple of minutes of rest and cooling down, we started back up the climb again. I was totally energized by the rest, and the rest of the climb went by really fast. The descent was fast and fun, but the ride home was long because everybody was so tired.

So, I spent almost four hours on my bike, and I am exhausted. In three weeks I will be riding my bike for over six hours of mostly climbing at LOTOJA. I'm worried.

The good news is that my back is feeling better. Only a little bit of cramping during the climb. Or, maybe I was so focused on not dying of the heat that I didn't notice my back?

58.67 miles in 3:45 with 3114 feet of climbing.