The final block

As of this post, I am 3-days into a 4-day Yak-Attack mini training camp. I have one more day, today. Sunday. When it is said and done, it will have been a hard race-like 4-day block. These big blocks are always interesting. First few days are always easy and fun. As the days and hours mount, it becomes more and more difficult to wake up in the AM....and get out on the bike to ride hard. The food disappears from the house at an alarming rate as well. Basically, it's a mini stage race with the comforts of home.

The Yak-Attack stages are short in comparison to other stage races I have raced in. While hard and very demanding, the Yak-Attack stages last from 2-3.5 hours versus the 4+ hours for events like the Breck-Epic. Pace will be high....or at least as high as it can be pushed at the higher altitudes. My training rides in this block have been hitting the 3 hour mark. Short for me, but the pace much harder. Basically all training efforts have been at sub-threshold for the duration.....right near the limit of red line...but without actually hitting it.

Week looked a little something like this....

Steep and slow climbing work on 'Rattlesnake' west of Loveland, CO

Followed by rallying the corners coming down 'Rattlesnake'. Lean right!

Night hiking behind the house in 8F temps. Good evening to test clothing and lighting for the Thorong La pass hike-a-bike


The next day....shots! Like 4 of them. Which cost me $370. Some shots I needed the update on, but most are needed to survive/enjoy my time in Nepal. Damn, I think she hit the bone with that needle!

Back to the riding, a 3 hr zone-3 road bike tempo up the Poudre Canyon. Yes, it was as cold as it looks. Good views distract from the freezing 'bits'

Arrived home to the new GPS, which is needed for some of the early stages at the Yak-Attack. The Garmin eTrex 30 is the latest and greatest from Garmin for navigational riding. Not a cycling specific GPS, but ideal when doing multi-day rides and not have access to life's necessities, like electricity.

Seems we are getting all our winter this month. Few weeks ago we got nearly 1 foot of snow. Then, overnight another 5" inches. This time, it was super light and fluffy. Not a huge fan of snow, but this was a pretty amazing snowfall!

Good timing for the snow, as I focused on hike-a-bike training for day-3 of the 4-day training block. Temps were cold....by Ft. Collins standards...while a high around 23F. Was able to get my footwear and clothing dialed for what could be a very chilly Thorong La pass.

One more day, then rest!

See the training GPS files on Strava.