Yaqui Pass and and a portion of the Montezuma Grade

Today was a good day.

When we woke up this morning, it was raining. Yes, rain in the California desert.

But it soon stopped and the roads dried off. Joanne and I joined the group up and over Yaqui Pass and toward the junction of San Felipe Road. They Joanne and I turned backed while the rest of the group continued on. Back over Yaqui Pass (much slower this time) and back to Borrego Springs where we had a nice lunch.

After lunch, Joanne returned to the motel and I decided to climb Montezuma Grade. I took it much easier than Monday and had an enjoyable climb to the lookout. There I turned around and returned to the motel.

After yesterday’s hard ride, I needed to do something less intense. While the rest of the RAO/Imperial River group headed up into the hills, Martha hooked Joanne and I with a group of locals for a short, flat ride.

Just as we were leaving, the wind picked up and it was much stronger than yesterday. We meet Renee at “the circle” and she lead us out of town to the rest of the group. The group was quite large, about a dozen folks and we headed out of town on Palm Canyon Road as we did yesterday. However, we turned back toward the west on Henderson Canyon Road (and into the wind yet again). They lead us through Orange Groves and Palm Tree Plantations (I had difficulty believing how much they cost) and up to Galleta Meadows Estates before returning us back toward Borrego Springs.

The weather was nice, the company was lovely and the ride was fun!

The above does not tell you about the wind. The 34 miles of head wind. The 34 miles of up hill with a head wind. The ride was hard.

We headed west out of Borrego Springs toward the Salton Sea. The wind was behind us and we flew down the road. I knew that we would have a head wind on the way back, but such things did now worry me. It should have.

Along the way, we saw many RVs camping (for free) off the side of the road. No hookups, but then no rent either.

Soon we arrived at Salton Sea, or at least CA Hwy 86 where we turned south and rode the wide shoulder avoiding truck tire remnants along the way. 86 is a divided highway, not quite a freeway but with all of the truck traffic one would expect on a freeway. I was very impressed with the courtesy given to us; almost all of the trucks changed lanes to give us as much room as possible. Very cool.

After 9 miles on the (almost) freeway, we turned westward on Ca 78, and into the wind. Our speed dropped from 18 mph down to 12 mph and we were lucky to hold that! We took turns in the front, but soon my stomach decided it did not like something I ate that morning (a Latte?) and I needed to stop. The rest soft peddled onward while I relieved myself. I was off the bike for quite some time and I appreciate Mick who came back to tow me back up to the group.

At 64 miles into the ride, I could have taken Borrego Springs Road back, but I continued on CA 78 for another nine miles into the wind so I could climb Yaqui Pass from the north (I did the south side yesterday). The wind pushed me up the hill in a very short time. The descent down to Borrego Springs Road was quick and a bit windy. Then I turned back into the wind, with absolutely nothing left in my legs and limped back to our motel.

We came to the desert for hill training. But what we will do is wind training.

Woke up to a very windy Borrego Springs – with the National Weather Service issuing wind advisories to prove it. After a conference, the group decided to ride a 50 mile loop I calling Yaqui Pass / San Felipe Road loop. We would climb nearly 6000 feet up to an altitude of 4000 feet at the top of the Montezuma Grade. The weather up there was reported to be below 40 degrees and raining. Joanne and I looked at each other and shared the same thought, “Let’s find a short cut!”

We headed west out of Borrego Springs on Borrego Springs Road but soon turned south on Yapui Pass Road. As with any road with the word “Pass”, it began to climb. The incline was slight, perhaps 5 to 6 percent with no steep pitches. The sun was out keeping us warm; the climbing was good. I did the first third easy, the second third hard and the final third at a recovery pace so I could finish with a sprint. It was fun.

The descent was short and windy. The descending lane was next to the hill side so I did not feel that I would get blown over the guard rail. At the bottom was the junction with CA 78. If you turn to the right, you follow the route to San Felipe Road. If you turn to the left, you can descend back down to Borrego Springs Road. If you turn to the right, you ride into the head wind. If you turn to the left, you ride with a tail wind. Joanne and I turned to the left while the rest of the group turned to the right.

Traffic was light and we flew down the road at 30 miles an hour plus. But soon we had to turn back toward Borrego Springs and into a fierce cross wind. Descending down into “Texas Dip”, the largest dry wash I have ever seen. 9% down with a fierce crosswind, along the bottom for 100 yards, and then 9% up which I did in the big ring by mistake.

We now had about ten miles to ride back to Borrego Springs with a cross wind. It was slow going, but we labored on and soon arrived in Borrego Springs. We had lunch at the local bar and then decided to climb another hill – Montezuma Grade.

The Montezuma Grade starts just outside of Borrego Springs and climbs up to the west at a steep grade. Joanne and I started together, but I soon pulled ahead. My intention was to ride it hard, so I kept my effort high. Soon sweat was dripping into my eyes. As I climbed, the wind got stronger. At one point, I came around a corner to be hit by a very hard wind. It was all I could do to stay upright! Luckily, I was already in my inner chain ring so I shifted down to my lowest gear and I could barely turn the peddles. After a few feet, the wind let up and I could continue on. But, the higher I climbed, the windier it got. Shortly, I decided it was time to turn around to avoid the wind and the mist that was coming down the canyon.

The descent was not fun. Wind pushed me and the bike around. With a cliff on one side, the wind on the other side and a very concerned rider in the middle, brakes were used.

Happy to say, I made it back to Borrego Springs without incident.

The weather was nice and the workout called for a long ride, so I headed to Scotts Mills to ride some hills.

I like these long interval workouts – they just seem to suit me.

This session was another increasing stair step workout, and I felt much better than two days ago.

Some days are good, others are bad. This was a bad day.

The training planed called for six very hard efforts. I bailed on the third. I just could not do it. It was beyond me.

I almost called and end to the entire session, but I forced myself to stay on the bike and work as hard as I could. I used the failed third interval to recover, and did the balance at a pace I could maintain.

This was suppose to be a long ride. It did not happen.

Two weeks ago, I added circuit training two times a week to my overall training. My weekly schedule is now:

I am somewhat concerned that this is too much. It seems to violate the maxim “Train Hard, Rest Harder!”.

Today, when I got on the bike, I was tried from the last two days of workouts (I rode on Friday to make up for a missed Wednesday). I felt good on the bike, however, I could tell that three hours on the trainer would be very tiring, so I cut it short and called it a “recovery ride”.

The CycleTap power meter also started to suffer from data drops. It maybe time to replace the batteries in the hub.

This workout had something new – three long intervals.

After warmup, I did three 8-minute intervals at 90% or 216 watts. On paper, it looks intimidating, but on the bike it was not that bad. I had enough in me to hit the last minute of the last interval hard.