Year in Review: A Strong Finish to 2024
I haven’t posted an update to this blog in quite some time. In fact, it has been almost a year since my Update on My MRI Results and Recovery Path. A lot has happened since then.
I finished 2024 stronger and in much better shape than I started. When 2024 began, I was injured and unable to do much riding. My physical activities were limited to physical therapy exercises. In the second half of 2024, I was able to resume training and riding, and I’m happy to report that my left shoulder has made an almost complete recovery. Although I am still experiencing slight stiffness and limited range of motion, I have regained much of the strength I had lost due to the injury.
As a result, I have been able to post solid performances on the following rides:
- Beach Cities Double Century (9/21/2024): My second California Triple Crown Double Century of 2024 (the first was Camino Real in February). This had way too many stop lights!
- Bass Lake Powerhouse Double Century (10/12/2024). I crashed on my prior attempt in 2023 to complete this double century, so I came back looking for redemption. It certainly felt good to complete this ride in 2024 after everything that had happened in the preceeding year! Completion of this ride earned me the California Triple Crown for 2024.
- Dead of Winter Double Century (12/7/2024). I really love this course around Ventura County. When my shoulder was injured in 2023, I had volunteered to provide support at a rest stop. This year, I was happy to be able to ride the course.
- Five Rivers 300k Brevet (2/1/2025). A relatively easy 300k brevet along the river trails in Riverside, Orange, and Los Angeles counties.
- Camino Real Double Century (2/15/2025) My favorite early-season California Triple Crown Double Century. Unfortunately, ridership is diminishing and this year it was run as a “brevet-style” event, meaning that it was minimally supported.
- Joshua Tree Loop 300k Brevet (3/8/2025) A fantastic ride through Joshua Tree National Park. (See below.)
I was sick with the flu in December, and then was out of town for a couple of weeks on vacation, and was unable to do any substantial training or riding during that period.
A Slow(-ish) Start to 2025
The start of 2025 has been a mix of big rides and inconsistent training–something that I am now working to correct. I have resumed a training plan on TrainerRoad for indoor training during the week, and I have almost completed my first training block. Due to the injuries that I have experienced over the past couple of years and the resulting time off and inconsistent training, I have experienced a substantial decline in several performance metrics, including FTP down from about 4.1 w/kg to about 3.0 w/kg (as a result of both weight gain and decrease in watts), and VO2 Max from above 60 mL/kg/min to about 47 mL/kg/min (as reported by Garmin).
I am now taking corrective action to achieve my goals of dropping about 10kg of body weight and increasing my FTP and VO2 max numbers over the next 5 months.
Highlight Ride: Joshua Tree Loop 300k Brevet
This past weekend, I completed the Joshua Tree Loop 300k Brevet with PCH Randonneurs. The route included a long southbound route through Joshua Tree National Park along Park Blvd, with a climb up to Keys View.
Although windy and cold, the view from Keys View was stunning. From Keys View, you can see the vast expanse of the Coachella Valley, with the Salton Sea visible on clear days. The view also includes the Santa Rosa Mountains, San Jacinto Peak, and San Gorgonio Mountain, as well as the path of the San Andreas Fault.
On the descent from Keys Views view back to Park Blvd, the cold, gusty crosswinds almost blew me over. It was quite a relief to make it back to Park Blvd in one piece and out of the cold. Continuing on to the long descent of Pinto Basin Road and Cottonwood Springs Road to the south entrance was fast, with a gentle tailwind most of the way, the landscape of twisted Joshua Trees gave way to vast stretches of arid land dotted with patches of ocotillo and cholla cacti.
Once out of Joshua Tree National Park, I experenced 30 nerve-wracking miles along the shoulder of Easbound I-10, with a quick stop-over at a Chevron station at Chiriaco Summit. This was followed by a long, mind-numbing slog up Rice Road to the junction with Twentynine Palms Highway. Rice Road is a long, mostly straight road that climbs about 1,000 feet over the course of 30 miles. Although it average about 1.0% gradient, with a max gradient of only 3.4%, the expansive landscape with a notable lack of variation made this a real test of mental endurance. This was then followed by about 50 miles on Twentynine Palms Highway, another long, straight road that seemed to stretch out into an endless horizon, with little variation in the landscape.
Sunset and the darkness that soon followed were a welcome relief to the monotony of the landscape. Heading westbound on Twentynine Palms Highway, I enjoyed the transition from the blue afternoon sky to the orange/pink sky of sunset, and then the deep blue to black transition into a night sky dotted with thousands of stars.
Overall, the Joshua Tree Loop 300k Brevet is a ride that I won’t soon forget. I am grateful to PCH Randonneurs for putting on this ride. Because there are no services available for over 100 miles along the route, it is a ride that I would not have been able to do without support.
Reflections
Each pedal stroke through the vast stretches of Joshua Tree was a reminder of how far I’ve come and how much further I wish to go. It’s not just about the distance conquered but the resilience built along the way. Thank you to those who have reached out with kind words and support.
Arriving at the finish after an elapsed time of 14 hours and 19 minutes, I felt exhausted. Reflecting on the ride, I realized that I had pushed myself a little too hard on the early climbs, particularly the climb to Keys View. Pacing on these longer rides is something that I have often struggled with, and something that I will continue to work on, particularly as I push myself over greater distances.