Bogus Basin

Bogus Basin, April 27, 2012

Sunday, April 27^th, our training mission was to ride the road to Bogus Basin (Boise’s nearest ski hill).  Neither coach could attend this ride, so it was considered a mentor led ride.  I have not been good about updating my blog this season, so please allow me to tell you a little bit about what has been going on.

In November/December, I was asked if I would consider being a mentor for the 2012 cycle team, training for America’s Most Beautiful Bike Ride.  After much consideration, I decided to do so. 

Training for the season started right around the beginning of February.  We started with spin classes inside due to freezing temperatures, but around the end of February, moved it outside, onto our bikes.  We have a team of 5 people, consisting of beginners to advanced riders, two coaches and one mentor (8 people in all).

2 of the 3 participants who were able to do the Bogus Basin ride on the 27th were first timers for this ride, and due to the length of the 16-mile climb, we all settled in at our own pace.  At one point, I looked down towards the road that I had just been on and saw J & M headed up the hill.  I yelled down at them and waved.  Then, I was looking around another switchback up the hill, and saw R. R did not give herself permission to stop for a rest until 5 miles into the climb.  She saw me coming and waited for me so that we could ride a little ways together.  As we were resting, stretching and eating, a runner that we had seen earlier on in the ride rounded the corner and passed us. He was running with barefoot shoes, carrying a backpack that looked like it had a load in it, and had his earphones in his ears, listening to music.

After he passed us, we continued back up the hill.  We rode together for a little while, and R took off and passed the runner.  With a little bit of work, I passed the runner as well.  I’m not sure if I liked the outcome of that, however.  I would round a corner and all of a sudden, he would yell at the top of his lungs, singing whatever song was playing in his ears.  Then it would get quiet.  Then he would yell, “WOOOOOOOOO!”  Then, he would be quiet.  A few minutes later, he would pump his fist in the air and siiiiiiiiinnnnnnng at the top of his luunnnnnnnnngs.  Then quiet.  This kept up for awhile, and I didn’t feel as though I was gaining any ground on him.  It was also beginning to make me nervous, so I pulled over, stretched, ate a little bit, let him pass me up again.

I looked back for J & M while waiting to give the runner enough time to get a good distance ahead of me.  I didn’t see him again, until the ride leveled out and I was about half a mile from the top. At that point, I was going about 16 mph and passed him like he was standing still. When I got to the top, I found E, B, and K, huddled in little shelters out of the wind.  E started looking for a garbage bag to help keep her warm on the way down the hill.  R had hidden on the backside of a building, putting her hands on it to warm them up.  E, B, and K decided that they couldn’t wait much longer, or they would turn into popsicles (they were already half way there when I got up there), so they headed back down the hill.  R waited with me.  We decided to get back on our bikes and start heading down to find J & M.  We rounded the first corner and there they were!!! So we turned back around to hang out with them and ride back down together. 

One cool thing we discovered while we were up there is that some outhouses next to the tubing hill are heated!!! Aaaaah, a little piece of heaven in a thawing (but still frozen) world.  We ate a little bit and then headed down.  We stopped once to warm up frozen fingers, and then continued on down the hill.  There was one point where we could feel the temperature raise 10 degrees just in one little area, which was a welcome relief to my chattering teeth.

That day, we rode 37 miles.