The Tour de Wyoming - Training

Once I was officially registered, I started researching and thinking about training. The same Tour veteran friend said that if I could pedal up to Bruce’s, I could do the Tour. Bruce’s is a parking area at the top of Sinks Canyon, seven miles beyond and 2,000 feet above town, and I remember the first time I saw cyclists up there. At the time I’d thought to myself, “You crazy &%*ers.”

So one training goal would be Bruce’s. Another would be the Baldwin Creek – Squaw Creek loop, a hilly rural stretch 10 miles west of town. The ultimate training session would be to Bruce’s and then climb another 1,000 feet on the switchbacks above Bruce’s for a total elevation gain of 3,000 feet from town. Throw in some longer rides on local highways and I’d have both the climbing and the endurance training I’d need. The way I figured it, if I could climb 3,000 feet and still not be good enough for the Tour, then good for the Tour.

By March I was chomping at the bit to ride. My first ride of the year, four miles or so up the canyon, was a blustery, slushy affair. I’d turned around, discouraged and cold. By late March I’d tried the Baldwin Creek loop, and although the weather was warmer, the ride was brutal. I was out of shape, certainly, but the bike itself was cumbersome and particularly unstable on steep descents.

So on April 1, I bought a new road bike, relegating my 10 year old REI hybrid to in-town errands. The new bike, a Giant Defy, felt nimble. You know how some cars just feel like they want to go fast? That’s what this bike felt like.

On weekends, then, I’d ride the loop or the canyon and I gradually improved my fitness.

I’d planned on serious training once school got out, but then I was convinced to teach summer school. It was great money but I’ll never do it again; it gobbled up June and thus ate into training. Oh sure, I was still putting in some good rides on weekends and riding the loop almost every morning, but I couldn’t easily do 3 or 4 hour rides.

That’s what I told myself, anyway. The reality is that I was home by 2:15 every day and although I took some afternoon rides, I should have taken many more., and the rides I did take should have been longer. My training definitely prepared my legs and lungs, but it did very little for my heat tolerance. More on that later.

By mid-June I’d made it to Bruce’s. Some of that road is 6 or maybe even 7% grade, and it smoked me. I had to take breaks every 100 yards or so, but I made it. I remember sitting on a rock at Bruce’s, chewing a Cliff bar and thinking that I’d officially become one of the crazy $&#*ers.

One Saturday in early July, the Tour veteran friend and I rode up to Bruce’s and then up the switchbacks. According to me, I was ready.

According to me.