Off to Ireland!

The time is finally here! We leave tomorrow for the Race Around Ireland. This race will be the culmination of my taking 2 years to focus just on cycling, if I finish I will "win" the women's division (I'm the only one) and also get enough points to solidify my position to win the Ultracycling Cup. As usual the clock is my nemesis, and my crew knows that I intend to finish this thing even if the clock runs dry... If bad things happen, I will still be racing in *Ireland* and it is a celebration of the journey that got us there...

The race website is: http://www.racearoundireland.com/

The race is a 1350 mile cycling race which covers the circumference of Ireland, starting Sunday September 12th, 8pm. I am the only female, and the only American solo'ist in the race. I have a great crew with my hubby Drew, Susan as my crew chief, Julie my massage therapist, Jason (who I hope knows what he is in for!), and Jim who lives in Ireland and will be driving his car and taking care of the other 4 when they are "off duty". I will be riding non-stop, with 3 hours sleep breaks each evening (after the first one), to attempt to finish in under 132 hours.

If you want to follow along, I will have a SPOT GPS device with me, that should update our location every 10 minutes and show the location on a map (follow the "Where's Leslie" link) In addition, my crew will try to post twitter updates to the blog on a regular basis.

Here we go!
Leslie

Quadzilla "400"

Just back from the Quadzilla 400. This is a brevet in the fingerlakes region of NY, miles of hills short and steep and totalling over 30000ft of climbing. This is my final challenge before Ireland and it was a doozie!

20ish people toed the line sat mornin, and I was on my own with no crew, just a backpack and a stellar race organization, the rd was doing the event and he had 6 checkpoints staffed with food and fab volunteers. I had a hard time gearing up for this mentally, being pretty thrashed from the season and also travelling alone and not knowing anyone there. But, picking up my packet I was chatting with the other riders and everyone was quite friendly.

There was one other gal, Michelle, and they had us lead out. We rolled along nicely til we got a few miles from town and the climbing started on earnest. Before we were 10 miles in I was in the rear and full of doubts. It was quite windy which was actually good since it kept things cool.

I rode along and at 60miles in or so hooked up with a nice guy (who's name I cannot remember, so I'll call him Sir) going my pace. We chatted and rode and before we knew it hit 100 miles in 9 hours, yup, 9 hours. This course was brutal. We had a 5 mile climb to "lunch" which took close to an hour and enough walking to shred my cleats.

I ate a bit and then headed out alone to face a 40 mile section with 10 fresh chip and sealed miles and of course hills. At the next cp I was looking at my options and Sir rolled in along with another fellow, Stan, who spoke only a little English. We decided to take the short course option (355mi) and agreed to work together thru the night. A mile later we were walking up another steep incline side by side just laughing at the absurdity.

The shortcut skipped 30 miles in the next bit and when we hit the next cp the other gal was there. She has done this 4 times before and has the course record and made the same decision we did. She headed out as my trio ate a bit then followed after.

Time for rollers, but in the dark and too long/steep to really cruise. Stan dropped back to ride with some other folks and Sir and I came upon Michelle sitting at a church. Our new trio was formed and we continued through the darkness. We finally got a 30 mile easy section before hitting the hotel cp.

It was 24 hours in and we'd only covered 215 miles... We decided to do an hour sleep and then continue. An hour sleep takes 3 hours by the time you eat, sponge off, lay down, sleep, and then drag yourself back on the bike. That's why I don't get to see the inside of a hotel on Ireland!

Sir dropped out so Michelle and I headed out. The second day was rainy, ocasionally cold, and hillier than the first with a series of 1800 foot climbs interspersed with steep shorties. My cleats wore down from walking and I could no longer clip in with my left foot. Stan met up with us again so the three of us pushed each other along.

It was hard, but really fun. I learned a bit about hills riding with Michelle and we chattered nonstop. Stan was our quiet partner in crime. There was a .6 mile crazy steep grade that took me 10 minutes to walk up, Michelle powered up it but I had to stop and rest even walking. I tried to keep the pace up on the flats and downhills, and Michelle pushed us up the hills.

Finally, are you tired of reading yet, we got to the end. 355 mile, 39:2x. At least 6 of the starters dropped out, and the three of us did the short course. By all accounts the winds made it a tough year.

I'm really pleased with this event, despite the slowness and my nervousness going into it without knowing anyone. The organization was topnotch and I put it all out there. I was whupped going into the hotel CP, but the short rest really helped with the rest of the trip. I think it was a great final push for Ireland... Legs are tired today, but not too sore. Artemous needs a bath, and I already called my bike shop to get a 29 tooth cog so hopefully I can ride more and walk less in Ireland!

Bring on the taper!

Ride long,
Leslie

RR: Colorado State S-N crossing record

It was a very good day! The kinda day where it all comes together, minimal bad things happen, and the good starts to multiply... Saturday was my attempt at setting a Colorado State crossing record by bike. My crew for this journey was my hubby Drew, and massage therapist Julie. Susan played the part of the UMCA official after scoring 100 on her officiating test.

We drove down to Raton on Friday afternoon, and thanks to some rush hour traffic by Colorado Springs decided to go the back route and check out some of the roads I picked out for my course. 5 miles of chip and seal later, I was thrilled we checked it and we knew to reroute that bit! Got into Raton at 10:30pm in the rain, and planned to be up and out the door by 3:30am. I laid in bed and tried to sleep, but a huge storm came through at 2 and sleeping just wasn't happening. Looked out the door at 3 and it was still raining and everything was drenched. Quickly decided to meet up at 5:15am instead, figuring I would get started at dawn and would at least be able to see the puddles. Was tired, but buzzing at 5am and we got the car set up and everything ready. Drove to I-25 and Raton Pass, where the Welcome To Colorado sign is.

Got out of the car, and ready to go. Julie spent a few minutes warming up my muscles, and at 5:52am Susan said go. It was just cracking dawn, so I had lights on, but they weren't really necessary. The first 14 miles was wicked downhill, wet pavement but no rain. I tucked in and let Artemous fly. A truck with a HUGE windmill blade went by and the currents sucked me around but I just tried to relax and believe in my bike. Went around a bunch of rocks in the road, and was glad I waited til light to start!

Hit Trinindad, where I had to get off the highway due to construction. Drats. Some serious rerouting hapenning as I think I hit every road in Trinidad going back and forth across the freeway and the railroad tracks, until we were finally allowed back on. I just tried to remember it was going to be a long day, and didn't let it get to me. Finally got back on I-25.

Going into this I was worried about riding the highway but I LOVED it! Great wide smooth paved shoulders. Enough traffic to get a little draft on. My crew would leapfrog me, and would hand me small bites out the window which I swore to eat. Long downhill grades where I got into my drops and pedaled, and nice uphill grades. And a super sweet tailwind. As an aside, I had just perfect conditions the whole day! A friendly wind, often at my back, occasionally out of the East or West, but never a headwind. The storm was still in the plains, so the day didn't heat up until the afternoon.

Hit Pueblo and had to leave the freeway again. My original route had me leaving for good, but from the prelook the night before we instead got back on after 10 city miles. Going through town was a little irritating, with lots of traffic lights, but I used them to rest. Was glad to see I-25 again and the roads finally dried up. It was a bit climby, but not bad. I took a 5 hour energy, and then asked for a sprite and handful of Doritoes, which went into my Bento Box. Figured I'd pretend I was sitting on my couch playing a driving video game as I pedaled on and snacked.

Came to the town of Monument and said goodbye to I-25 for good. Requested we stop at a proper bathroom and took a few minutes to wipe the grime off my legs and Drew wiped down Artemous. Julie filled the Bento Box with grapes and off I went to the airport area of Colorado springs.

Blech! Lots of climbing, a tailwind, but it just made me hot. Lots of traffic, so the crew went and got lunch since they couldn't leapfrog well. This was majorly the lowpoint of my day, as I stopped at yet another light and wiped sweat out of my eyes looking at the hill ahead and wanting to be done but knowing I was only halfway there. The car came by and I asked for a break and a few miles later we pulled off into a subdivision. I sat down on a curb and drank a coke out of a proper cup and ate. Julie worked the kinks out of my shoulders, hands, and feet. This break was so needed, and I felt better getting onto the bike.

A turn, and then a long slow climb but pretty and scenic with great pavement. I was wishing I had an elevation profile to see what was coming, but then I found out. 30 miles of FUN! After the climb there was great downhill, with just enough uphills to make it good times. I settled into my drops and rode it like I stole it... and I kinda felt like I did! Just a total blast!

Went under E470 and into the Denver area. I routed this East of town and went through an area we lived when we first moved here. Was fun to see the changes. Around 6:30 my crew decided it was time for real food and I stopped and tried to eat a chicken sandwich (blech, but the fries were good and the coke rocked). Julie put some magic lotion on my legs and Drew put the light back on Artemous. Next we went by the airport and into parts north.

It was getting dark when I got on I-85. The crew moved to follow-me mode and settled in for a boring drive. I got a bit crabby when my iPod battery died, and then a piece of poundcake went down funny and I stopped to cough and gag. The towns were 5-10 miles apart, and my only fun was looking at the elevations as we hit the town signs. The last 40 miles of the route were sublty uphill, maybe 1000 feet, but the longest false flat I've ever ridden. After Greeley I got my now recharged iPod back and set up my night music (Lady Gaga, Eminem, and a little country) and knew I'd just have to get through these last some number of miles.

The signs showed mileage to Cheyanne, and I knew that was in Wyoming but I didn't know how far past the border it was... there were lights in the distance that kept coming in and out of sight and driving me batty... eventually I went by them and it was a gas plant of some sort. Back into the dark, and yet another climb in the distance when I saw a sign on the left and looked back and it was a welcome to Colorado sign. Then I saw a Laramie County sign and below it the most beautiful 0.0 mile marker ever.

310(ish, still waiting for the final calculation) miles. 18:59 is the new women under 50 Colorado South/North state crossing record!
It was a very good day, the kind of day I dream of. A day where I felt like I rode as well as I could, and the clock reflected it. A huge thank you to Susan, Julie, and Drew for making it possible!

Ride on!
Leslie

Leslie & Artemous vs. the Clock & the State of Colorado

I'm inexplicably nervous, but Artemous has his race wheels on and is ready to fly!

Saturday at 3am we will be starting out at the Southern border of Colorado, and heading to the Northern border in an attempt to set the state crossing record. Just us against the clock, with the help of my fabulous crew (Julie, Drew, and Susan as my official). We'll use hubby's car as my follow vehicle with flashing yellow lights on it, a caution bike ahead sign, and coolers of drinks and food in the back. The crew has to follow me in dark, and can leapfrog during the day. This will be a learning experience for us all, and will be invaluable for the Race Around Ireland as they will be crewing there as well.

I spent several hours last week with google maps, and mapmyride and planned a course that takes up up I25 to Pueblo, then hits frontage roads, cuts East of Denver, and heads up I85. The route I came up with is 319 miles, hopefully we can shave a few when we are out there. I am the first in my category to do this (Women under 50). I am expecting this will take 20hours, give or take (hopefully take) 2 hours. Previous record holders have been from 304 to 316.2 miles (not sure how).. maybe my mapping is long. Previous record holders are:
305mi / 23:07 /Men 50-59
311.6mi / 19:37 /M18-49
316.2mi / 22:14 /Men 60-69
310mi / 17:15 /Women 50-59

My SPOT device will be in the follow vehicle, and we may practice some tweeting as well... Live updates will be under Where is Leslie, and the Twitter feed.

Should be an interesting day!
Leslie

DNF @ the Dirty Kanza

My 3rd try at this race was not too successful... in a word, I melted! This remains one of my favorite races, just one tough fun challenge put on by a great group of folks. I'm already looking forward to going back next year and getting a little payback for the day I had on Saturday!

The race started at 6am as the huge group (over 160 racers!) rolled out of Emporia. The day was already hot, but there was a nice 15mph wind in our faces that helped keep us cool. The first 60 miles went by pretty nicely, fun gravel and parts of the course I had seen before. My legs were pretty flat from last weekend's race, but they responsed when I asked them to push up the hills and didn't complain too loudly. MIle 20-40 was into the headwind, and I just settled down for a long day in the saddle. Lots and lots of folks changing flats on the side of the road... so I'd have faster riders coming by periodically as they fixed up their gear. The next 18 miles were fast and fun, tailwind at my back. Things did start to get warm, as I no longer had the cooling headwind... but the speed was worth a big smile!

Made it into the first aid station at mile 58, spent a little time at the gas station loading my camelback and waterbottle with ice water, and then time to take on the next leg. I headed out with a 30 minute cushion on the cutoff... right where I want to be! As I stepped out of the gas station the heat hit me in the face. Uh oh. This is going to hurt!

The first 8(ish) miles were asphault and I tried to make time, but my body began a rebellion. Not the legs, but the stomach. Tossed up the delicious coke and ice water I had drank at the last CP and felt a little better. Tried sipping on the fresh ice water I'd taken on and just rolled as easily as I could. This section just went from bad, to worse. It took nearly 5 hours to cover the 42 miles, and I hear the temps were up around 105. I haven't really ridden in heat this year, and between that and having tapped my resources last weekend... I struggled to keep anything down. The ice water turned to hot water. I stopped several times in the "shade" of a scraggly tree to try to cool down. I tried eating my Gu chews... I tried eating Gu... I puked up all manner of race food 4 times in that section, my stomach just wasn't having any of it.

I called Drew and mile 70 and told him to come get me. I called him back 5 minutes later and said I wanted to go another hour and see if things would turn around. I called Drew and mile 88 and told him I was done and gave him directions to retreive me, and called him back again before I even put my phone away and cancelled that rescue. And still the battle raged between my head and my body. After a puke, I would feel better. And, I maintained the ability to bike, just not with much oomph. I figured if I could just make it to dusk the temps would go down and my speed would pick up... but I was seriously crawling through the miles. I decided to just get to the 102 mile check point and think about things then.

And, I did. And, I DNF'd. Me head is still a bit pissy about it, but I also firmly believe it was the right thing to do. If I would have made it through this thing it would have been with alot of damage, and I have the National 24 hour race in 2 weeks that I want to do really well at. As it is, I'm still thirsty as a dog, and tearing up at the drop of a hat (both signs of how deep the hole was I dug). I've got mild sores on my bum, which will heal in a few days. And, turns out my cross bike agrees with the decision as I found a broken spoke on the front wheel when I pulled it from the car today (didn't notice it when I was riding, but something tells me I would have eventually when I hit a rock the wrong way!).

So... I'll be back next year! And, hopefully the heat will be too!!! I am in good company, although final results aren't up yet runor is that over 100 people dropped out, but I pride myself on my ability to take a beating and a DNF just doesn't sit well. This will be one of my key spring events next year, and not just a fun training day, and I'll remind that Kansas gravel that it's can't deny this Colorado girl!

Leslie

RR: Lewis and Clark 24 Hour race

Short story: I won! 268.5 miles. Drew's 4 person team set a wicked record of 444.4 miles...

Long story: Not all that easy!

This was a 24 hour race near Vancouver, WA. A very small field, for a new but (hopefully) growing race. I was the only female soloist, and there were but 3 solo men. My hubby got sucked into a 4 person men's team, so I would only have support at night. There were also 10'ish solo and team 12 hour racers. Did I mention this race was small?

I got to start the race off at 6:30am, with folks heading off in 30 second intervals. I was unprepared and hopped on my bike. I looked down a few minutes later and my bike computer wasn't working. Drats! I reached down to try to adjust the sensor, hit a bump, and ping. It went into my wheel and sheared off. The wheel was fine, but as I looped back to pick up the sensor I realized that wa going to make for a long day not knowing where I was exactly. Okay... no prob... I'll go by feel. As I started again, I found my handlebars slipping. Crap! Stop once more, dig out my allen wrench and tighten those babies down. Smile at the riders going past while I'm wasting time. Finally I'm on the road for real and Drew comes riding by. I tell him about my odometer, and he hands me his Garmin... it only has a few hours of battery power, but at least for the first 70 miles I know where I am.

Did I mention it was raining? Oh yeah.. to add to the farce there was a steady rain. Oy! I tried to take it all in stride and just settle in for the day. Then, another bad decision came into play. I wore my prescription sunglasses. The rain made them impossible to see through (especially when I'd hit a climb and the insides would fog up), but I'm pretty much blind without them. As the rain fell the first 6 hours of the race I was forced to stop frequently and try to wipe them off. At each aid station I would get the volunteers to clean them, and then off I'd go.

Settle in and smile... So what... its a long day, and given the moisture the area is just a lush jungle of trees. Absolutely beautiful! The day loop (140 miles) had two significant climbs, several short steepers, and one 15ish mile false flat. Three checkpoints tricked out with all the food you could want. Seriously... PB&J, Doritos, jello pudding, chips, race-foods... for such a small race these guys were stocked!!!

I had a recumbant behind me, and traded places back and forth with two other races through the day. So, enough company to not feel totally isolated but I did spend alot of time singing and trying to stay upbeat and in the moment. Made it in off the day loop and then it was time for endless laps of the night loop.

And, what a loop! 9.5 miles, with 480ft of climbing. One short steep hill (which I only rode up about half the time), one longer steep grade (never walked that one), and an even longer grade (but shallower). 480 feet doesn't sound like too much, until you multiply it by 15 and realize that's almost 7500 feet of climbing. The first couple of laps there were people around, then the 12 hour racesrs stopped and things got quiet.

I did get a suprise gift. The awesome Sandy Earl came out and crewed for me. (She's going to rock RAAM on a recumbant in a few weeks). So, when I'd come in off a lap, she'd hand me some food, etc. Aound 5am I got tired. Really sleepy tired where my eyes were doing crazy unfocusness while riding and the Vivarin only gave me heartburn. I negotiated a 15 minute nap, which was perfect and I was able to rock out the final lap (as the light came up) and 3 bonus miles (to the base of the steep hill).

So.. all in all an okay day. Not a steller race, but a solid training race with enough crazy stuff happening to give me a good mental challenge (and 20 or so more ultracup points). My quads and hammys were totally thrashed Sunday/Monday but today I'm feeling tired but okay. Saturday I switch gears to my cross bike as I head to Kansas for the Dirty Kansas 200 miler gravel grinder (and Artemous heads to the shop to get his shifting cleaned up). Build her up and break her down, that's the plan for the next few weeks...

Ride on!
Leslie

Goodbye Salida...

A sad week. We had to say goodbye to our beloved Salida (aka Barely Bear)...



She was the mama bear of our pack, watched over Trixie, and trained Gretchen and Maddy how to be good pups.

I will never forget falling in love with this 15 pound puppy that looked just like a little bear and wanted to just lay in my arms, and begging Drew to let me have her for my birthday. She was going to be named Boots originally, because that was what he was going to get as my present, but instead we named for where we went for our honeymoon... She grew to be an amazingly sweet and gentle dog.

I will miss her. I hope its true that she and Trixie are somewhere having a joyful reuinion...

Leslie