It has been very rainy so we need to be particularly careful in selecting our trails for this practice. Stick to the fire roads (including the aqueduct road — which you can access by going left at the top of Sweet Caroline — and the road up from Orson Smith trailhead), the double-track that parallels Highland Dr., Rattler, Gasline, and other trails on the sandy northern end of Corner Canyon. If the single track trails are too soft, let’s work out on only the fire roads like true champs. Specifically plan on avoiding Canyon Hollow, the trail above Ghost Falls, trails that are in the trees, any part of Rush, etc. where the going is less sandy and more likely to be muddy. This is a great opportunity to show how much we care about the trails and to demonstrate to the riders that certain trails need more time to dry out than others. Remember, if the trail is sticking to your tires or you are leaving tire marks in the trail, it is too soft and you need to turn back. No exceptions.
That said, it is a climbing power day! Manti and Price race courses both have some significant climbing sections. We want to train to be able to make a more significant effort during those sections of trail knowing we can push our limits and recover once the trail flattens out or descends. To accomplish this, we are going to seek out sections of trail that allow our ride groups to repeat several minutes of sustained climbing several times during our ride. The section of trail you select for your group should take several minutes of sustained riding at your group’s fastest pace. Every group will be different in this regard so be thoughtful about the section(s) of trail you select. Here are a few options to get you thinking:
- Option 1: climb from the five-way up BST to the bottom of Gasline, then do a quick out and back on the flat double track at a conversational pace to recover before climbing up Gasline with a sustained effort. Once you top out on Gasline, return back to the five-way and then repeat by again climbing BST back to the bottom of Gasline again. And repeat.
- Option 2: climb for several minutes up Rattler starting where it connects near the top of Gasline. Recover at a conversational pace, followed by another several minute climb up Rattler toward Ghost Falls.
- Option 3: for green, blue, and purple, consider doing your sustained climbing efforts on the fire road…this will let the riders focus on the climb and not worry about the technical skills required to navigate single-track.
- Option 4: you may also consider sustained accelerated pedaling on the trail next to Highland Dr. as a way to create a solid workout opportunity.
Remember: warm-up first (always), then complete the climbing power exercises with your ride groups. These climbs should be UNPLEASANT, but also fun and rewarding once they are completed!!! Finish the ride at a conversational pace.
PINK / BLACK
Complete at least five 3-4 minute sustained climbs, focusing on climbing power and pushing heart rates to the point where only single word answers are possible (HRZ 5). This is not an all out sprint, but it is a serious “race-pace” effort. Recover between efforts for five minutes.
SILVER / RED
Complete at least four 3-4 minute sustained climbs, focusing on climbing power and pushing heart rates to the point where only single word answers are possible (HRZ 5). Again, this is not an all out sprint, but it is a serious “race-pace-plus” effort. Recover between efforts for five minutes.
ORANGE / YELLOW / GREEN
Complete at least three 2-3 minute sustained climbs, focusing on climbing power and pushing heart rates to the point where only short answers are possible (HRZ 4+). These climbs should be at race-pace. Recover between efforts for five to seven minutes.
BLUE / PURPLE
Complete at least three 1-2 minute sustained climbs, focusing on climbing power and pushing heart rates to the point where only short answers are possible (HRZ 4). These climbs should be at race-pace. Recover between efforts for five to ten minutes.