I made it to Pullman!

Its been a few weeks now since I’ve made the move out to Pullman, so its time for a little update.

Monday is Big Ass Beer night. 1 is good enough.

The drive was both difficult and wonderful at different times. The day I left, Madison was getting hit with a little snow which by the time I was packed and ready to go, turned into 5 or 6 inches. Not sure exactly how much, but enough that my car was getting stuck, without the trailer. So getting the trailer hooked up and getting out of there was a lot of work. But I made it out only to drive on the highway covered with snow as well. My car isn’t tiny, but it’s a little smaller and the trailer was testing it. With the snow, the car would wobble pretty bad above 40 mph, so it was slow going on the highway. Normally to get to La Crosse it’s 4 hours or so. It took me nearly 6. I had to stop a lot to check the trailer, because it was all over the place. But I stayed calm, and drove smart. Once I got out of Wisconsin, the snow started to let up and I made it about half way through South Dakota before I stopped for the night. The next day was pretty uneventful. I stopped at Wall Drug, which was pretty fun. I bought some tea and a bumper sticker, totally worth it. But besides that, I listened to a lot of public radio and music, but stopped for the night in Butte. The final push was pretty short, and I had made it to Pullman safely. Starting out so crazy, it was nice that the drive only got easier and less stressful as I went.

Juliaetta grade, looking down on the town.

I had been struggling with a knee injury so riding wasn’t really going to happen, but I was hopeful that after the 3 day break, I would be good to go. On Monday, I did a short ride inside, and things felt ok. Not as good as I’d hoped, but ok. So when I got there, I spent the day taking care of business, but I was thinking about riding the whole time. But it had been raining, so it was easy to pass it up. I waited a few days to ride, and finally I was feeling good to go by the weekend. Not 100%, but getting there. I went down to Lewiston with some local guys to ride the climbs there. I remember thinking that morning before we rode that I hope there are some fast guys here to ride with, so I can have a training partner. But another part of me wanted there o be no one who could keep up. When people showed up to ride, I was happy to meet Zach, a road racer from a regional pro squad. As the day rolled on, I began to realize that I wasn’t going to be the fastest dude around, at least not on the road. Zach is no joke, I can hang, I can even make him hurt a little, but I’ve got some work to do before I’m beating him.

The riding itself was pretty cool. I was a little worried that on my first day of riding, we drove to a place. I was worried that we drove because this was the best riding in the area. More on that later, but the riding was pretty amazing. It’s not terrible, but I would describe it as desolate. There are fewer towns, and there devoid of life in most cases. In Wisconsin, especially in Madison, you could survive on 1 or 2 bottles for the longer rides because the towns were about an hour away from each other and water and food were always available. But things are a little more adventurous out here. If you want to ride for more than 2 hours, you have to plan your water stops and bring plenty of food. In a way I don’t like this, but in another way, I love it. But back to Lewiston. My knee was giving me a little trouble still, and I was out of shape. But the ride was wonderful, and I was happy to meet riding friends so quickly and see some great climbs. And I’m talking great. Check out that ride here:

Part 1 https://www.strava.com/activities/251842738

Part 2 https://www.strava.com/activities/251842784

After that first weekend, things started to fall into a rhythm. And over the last 2 weeks I’m starting to get comfortable. Training has resumed, and the knee is getting better, I’d say 95% now. Still some habits and routines to get back into, but it’s going well. The biggest thing I’ve been struggling with is holding back! All the good rides here are 3 hours long, so I’ve found my 90 minute and 2 hour days turning into much bigger days. I’m super sensitive to overdoing it because of the knee, but I’m keeping things in check with help of my coach, Gordy.

Almota. 2/3rds to the top, looking down.

So far, far and away my favorite road has to be Almota. It’s a beautiful drop into the snake river valley. There are a few switch backs and the surface it amazing. Something pretty rare out here. The roads are either gravel or chip seal. It’s doesn’t bother me, but it makes those high octane, full throttle road descents a little harder to come by. Second favorite road I think would be Wawawai grade. Similar to Almota, and in the same area, but a little less steep, and a little closer. I’ve also had a chance to hit up Julieeta, and Troy. But the big thing I have yet to enjoy is the 80 miles of single track at Moscow Mountain. No Mountain bike yet, but some big announcements coming soon on that front!

Almota https://www.strava.com/activities/258141841

Wawawai Grade https://www.strava.com/activities/254979321

The local grocery store sells things mostly in bulk. Its amazing

Besides that, It’s been nice to be able to focus on training and coaching full time. I’ve been able to put more time into coaching, and I think my athletes would say that it shows. I’ve been busy, but if you still looking for, or know someone who is looking for a coach, point them my way. Beginner, intermediate or expert, everyone can benefit from a coach, and few have the focus I do on off road training. But even if you on the road, I am still your guy. If you’re interested check out my website, or talk to one of my current athletes if you know one of them. There is still time to have your best season, especially for CX. But now is the time to start!

With more time to focus on fewer things, I hope to be a little more consistent about keeping the blog fresh. If you have any questions or are interested in hearing about something, some advice, feel free to just ask! I love answering questions.

Make sure you’re tuned into all my social channels!

Twitter https://twitter.com/jhmaloney

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Strava https://www.strava.com/athletes/joe_maloney

Take care