Note to Readers
Hello Friends & Followers,
It has been a while since my last article, and I do sincerely apologize. Since January of this year, I have been busy trying to balance work, play, training for a hut trip, healing from two injuries, and starting a small business. Hopefully you enjoy this article about my latest adventure.
Christmas Morning
Rewind to Christmas morning. I recall my husband say earlier in the fall that he bought me a “big gift”, looking around the tree I think, hmm he must have hid my gift. Assuming he bought me a new bike rack or some type of gear, I was perplexed. After opening a few smaller gifts, I was handed a thick envelope; inside was a detailed trip guide for a San Juan Hut Tour to take place early May.
In 2019, I was recovering from a torn glute muscle and was unable to race; by the end of the year I had stared training more intensely and was ready to start competing again in 2020. As COVID hit, I watched all my favorite races announce cancellation for 2020. I attempted a few virtual races, which kept me motivated to keep training at high intensity, but the competition wasn’t the same. Although a tour is self-paced, 150 miles of biking requires some level of training, and this hut trip was just what I needed to lift my spirits after a two year hiatus from racing.
Training
Rides
Throughout our training, we rode the bikes we planned to use during the tour, we both have hardtail bikes with 29 inch tires; my husband has a KHS and I have a Niner. We hit the pavement in mid-January for weekly training rides, starting with 12 miles on the Riverfront Trail. Each week we added more miles, and started adding elevation gain to prepare for the hefty climbs we would experience on the tour. As the trails dried up, we started adding in some mountain bike rides as well. Mountain biking is a great way build leg strength, picking trails that offered some gradual elevation gain along with a series of short hills; the short bursts help to build leg strength and also help to build lung capacity and VO2 Max.
Most of the rides we did, we started from our front door and incorporated some section or another of the Colorado Riverfront Trail, as we live only a few hundred yards from the trail. Some of my favorite rides included the upper Fruit & Wine Byway on East Orchard Mesa, Fruita RFT up to Kokopelli and back through James M Robb State Park, the north Fruita farm roads, pedaling though Las Colonias over to Monument Connector and over to South Camp, the climb up Mariposa to Redlands Mesa Golf Course, and combining Mary’s and Steve’s Loops.
Workouts
Strength training off the saddle is just as important as biking. Long distance biking will build the quadriceps quickly, so it is important to work the opposite muscle groups to avoid a muscle imbalance. We did several exercises that involved hamstring isolation. My weekly workouts also incorporated a combination of exercises ranging from weight training, agility, and Pilates movements that worked to strengthen my knees, calves, low back, neck, shoulders, traps, and chest.
Pedaling long distances with elevation gain, puts the hip flexors in a prolonged flexion state, which can cause tightness and lead to other issues and may cause pain in the low back, IT Band, and even the knees. Stretching is key; I incorporated yoga into my training regimen, 20 minutes daily. Another tip is to use a foam roller to try to break up the Myofascial and help to release muscle tension. Check out some of my favorite training routines, stretches, and injury prevention tips on my Pinterest page.
Overtraining
After training heavily for about six weeks, I developed Patellar Femoral Syndrome, an overuse injury in the front of the knee. The culprit of the injury was a combination of things, but I looked at my alignment and body position on my bike and started making minor adjustments to the seat height and stem position.
I had to reduce high impact exercises for a short period of time, so I cut running for four weeks and continued to bike, but had to reduce the mileage and limit hill climbs to short segments rather than gradual climbing with distance. To accelerate the healing process I saw my physical therapist weekly for dry needing sessions; each week she focused the needling work in my Gluteus Medius, along my IT Band, and under my kneecap. I also added supplements into my diet to help lubricate my joints. In addition to glucosamine, I added fish oil, Chia seeds, and turmeric to my daily routine and I started drinking bone broth after training rides. After six weeks I was good as new and back to training at full intensity again.
Hut Trip
DAY 1
We booked our trip through San Juan Huts Systems, a gravel ride from Grand Junction to Moab via Gateway, along Highway 141. Living just a few hundred yards from the Colorado Riverfront Trail, we started our adventured from our front door, biking west on the trail to 29 Road. Then we headed south on 29 Road to Highway 50 and over to 31 Road, past the Mesa County Landfill and the Spanish Trail, and over to Coffman Road. After riding 8.5 miles from home, we made it to Highway 141, which is where we spent the remainder of Day 1.
The first day was tough; within a few miles of reaching 141 the road starts climbing steadily. There is one section called 9 mile hill, and it was nine miles of climbing, no breaks with little downhill stretches. As if this steady climb wasn’t challenging enough, we were also graced with 25 mph headwinds. One point I looked at my Garmin and noticed it took us 30 minutes to do a mile. The headwinds never let up, in fact on the downhill descents we were still pedaling, making it difficult to get up off the seat and get some relief from sitting all day. Needless to say, we took far more breaks than we anticipated, we consumed most of our food and water by the end of the day.
Half the fun of the Hut Trip, was sleeping with strangers in the huts. We met our hut mates at mile 13 (from our start), we had stopped for a break and we saw a guy chugging uphill with paniers and we assumed he was headed to Gateway too. We introduced ourselves as he biked past, and Dan told us he had two other guys back behind him. Back on the saddle and we pedaled another half mile until we saw our new friend Dan stopped along the road waiting for his friends so we stopped too. Soon after Bob and Steve pulled into the rest stop and we had a chance to meet our bunkmates. The three guys were longtime friends from Knoxville, TN ranging in age from 66 to 72, and they had all done a number of bike tours together. Our new friends put in a few extra miles, as they started downtown Grand Junction, we cut off a few miles by starting from our front door.
Throughout the day we played a game of cycling tag, passing each other and catching up at some of the same rest stops. It was nice to know we were all feeling challenged and hating the conditions of Day 1, knowing others were in the same boat offered a level of comfort. Although the ride was grueling, the scenery was beautiful; Unaweep Canyon is probably my favorite canyon in Western Colorado. The slow pace of the ride offered a number of opportunities to take photos during the much needed rest stops. One thing I noticed was the amount of garbage alongside the road, it made me angry; I don’t understand why people have to leave their trash behind. I hope Karma catches up with those who have no regard for our natural surroundings.
As we made our way into Gateway, exhausted and running on fumes, we made one final rest stop at the Gateway store and refueled with ice cold chocolate milk. The hut was only a short distance from the little store and it was nestled back on a ranch, overlooking the Dolores River and surrounded by pinnacles. We settled in and took a moment to soak in the sights, then we cooled off in the river. Our group of five cooked together in the hut, which was fully stocked with a large variety of meal options. We made a Thai noodle bowl with bamboo shoots, fresh cabbage, onion, canned mushrooms, canned chicken, and fresh asparagus that I picked along the road. Overall, Pat and I biked 52 miles with 2,095 feet of elevation gain on Day 1 and it took us around 7.5 hours.
Read Hut Tour Part 2 to hear about Days 2 & 3 of the tour.
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