I wimped out, sort of

When I went to bed last night I expected to wake up and ride 100 miles via Emigration, Big Mountain, East Canyon and Henefer. Because the group I was riding with turned around at East Canyon Resort, I turned around with them.

So my 100 miles became only 50 miles.

Wuss.

Still, I got about 4,800 feet of climbing and my legs certainly feel it. And since it was an out and back, the climbing all came over a 25 mile distance with an equal amount of downhill. The extra 50 miles and 3,000 feet of climbing probably wouldn’t have hurt me much more, so in hindsight I wish I had toughed it out.

Then again, I got home early and will try to have a fun afternoon with the wife and kids. Maybe we’ll ride as a family for a few miles on the parkway. Maybe we’ll just chillax in front of a movie and eat popcorn.

But we will light a few more fireworks in the driveway tonight.

There were, and I am not exaggerating, hundreds of other cyclists along the route.

Get your Tivo ready

Just in case you’re wondering, HERE is the television schedule for the Tour de France.

Several hours per day including live daily coverage and replays at various times each day.

Set the trainer up in front of the big screen, lay down a towel underneath and pedal along. Liggett and Sherwin will keep you company.

City Creek double dip

Before work last night I took the liberty (get it? Liberty? 4th of July? I kill me!) of hammering City Creek Canyon a couple of times.

With a shower waiting for me at work, the plan was to ride into town, drop off a backpack of clean clothes and hit the canyon.

I was a little later than expected getting into the office, but I still had time climb, descend and climb the canyon again.

The highlight of the ride was having a face off with a racoon on the way up and down. On the way up, the racoon stared at me and I had to accelerate to pass it because I was afraid it would attack. On the way down, I had to slow down to pass it because I was afraid it would jump into the way and I’d be road kill at 30-35 MPH. Alas, no incidents of bike-on-racoon violence occured.

Total effort (commute in, two trips up and down, commute home) got me about 45 miles and more than 3,000 feet of climbing — Mr. Garmin ran out of juice on the second ascent because I forgot to recharge the battery.

As they say, be careful out there

Cyclist and deer collide in Big Cottonwood Canyon.

A bicyclist was flown to a nearby hospital Friday evening after crashing into a deer.

The 30-year-old man was riding near 11000 East and Big Cottonwood Canyon Road when he crashed into the animal at about 8:20 p.m., according to Salt Lake County sheriff’s dispatchers.

The man was wearing a helmet, which shattered during the collision. He was listed in critical condition.

Freak accident, I’m sure, but another reminder to keep our eyes open and to pay attention. I hope the guy is OK and back riding soon.

Digging the Argyle again

Team Garmin-Chipotle kit

The colors, the scheme, the crisp look — all improvements over the fan-submitted contest winner version. I’m even a fan of the team bus.

The back still has a shiny silver wrapper sticking out of the right pocket.

It’s making me hungry for a burrito.

Wow, it’s hot out there

The last few days I’ve squeezed in a few extra miles on the bike by loading up the Burley Trailor and taking my youngest to and from preschool. Usually there is another sibling in the trailor making it about 125 pounds of extra weight.

It’s about a four mile round trip but the mid-day trip is brutally hot. I think I sweat as much on that short trip as I do on a 50-mile ride.

Tonight, I’m going to try and escape a little of the heat by hitting City Creek as many times as possible from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. when I have to check in for work. Anyone looking for a few uphill miles is welcome to join me.

Good thing there’s a shower at my office.

As expected, DMV kicked my arse

Wow and ouch. That’s really all there is to say.

Yet, I’ll say more.

I knew I would get dropped. I didn’t care. I was there to learn how to take the corners with some speed and learn how to hit a hill like that when it hits me first. You never know when a finish line is going to be on a little hill like that and I will need some experience attacking a steep incline to move up a spot or two in the finish order or to even sprint for a win.

So when I approached that hill — and I remembered to do it — I would attack and try to hit it hard. Sometimes I hit it harder than others. Sometimes I hit it much less hard than others. The important thing for me on this day was to practice the skills I need improvement on.

I did not feel especially skittish in the corners. So that is a plus. The negative is I was usually alone when I hit them, so I still need plenty of work racing a course like that in a pack of cyclists. That will come as I grow more confident and become stronger.

Using those skills in a non-crit series race will be rare. But the time will come and it will be good to be prepared.

The other good thing about the race . . . after it was over and I was sucking down an ice-cold Gatorade, Dave Zabriskie called me on the cell phone for an interview. That doesn’t happen everyday.

Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time

This can not be good for the gangsters street cred.

 It’s the kind of bust you normally wouldn’t associate with a gangster. But police in Orem say a 21-year-old gang member took a little girl’s tricycle.

Police say 21-year-old Miguel Monroy stole the tricycle Saturday evening when a mother and her daughter went into a store. Orem gang task force members then spotted him joyriding down Orem Boulevard on the trike.

Police arrested Monroy for theft and for giving them three different false names.

I knew Utah County was filled with thugs  and hoodlums, but stealing a tricycle?

Something tells me the guy might have been on EPO or some other banned substance.

35 laps of sweetness

When I started adding swimming to my training, I never knew how much I would grow to enjoy it.

This morning, I went in thinking I’d just grind out 20 laps (1 kilometer) because I was tired after working until 1 a.m. As the laps came and went, I felt better and better.

At 20 laps, I kept going deciding my 15 lap workout earlier in the week was a wussy workout and I needed more.

At 25 laps, I figured going for the Olympic distance tri swim was in order.

At 30 laps, I figured a full mile was only a couple of more trips up and down the lane.

At a mile (32 laps) I thought a round number sounded good. So I kept going.

At 35 laps (1.75k) I finally hopped out of the pool because a swim lesson/water polo class was hopping in. I might have gone to 40 or 50 laps.

So, it’s 35 laps in about 45 minutes with a little too much time wasted on the side adjusting my goggles.

Tonight, I’ll get in a 20-25 mile warmup and race DMV. Not a bad day.

There is good news, however

Dave Zabriskie, while not racing at the Tour de France, will be representing the stars and stripes in China.

USA Cycling announced it’s Olympic roster and DZ is on it. Levi Leipheimer, likewise, will be there.

Those two might have fresh legs and something to prove after their rough summers in Europe.