Lotsa trainer time leads to book reading. My three recent favorites are:
* Born to Run by Christopher McDougall - a great reminder that running is FUN and a great story of ultrarunning...
* The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein - a fabulous tale of ife from a dogs perspective
* The Soup Peddlers Slow and Difficult soups by David Ansel - interesting story and good recipes (I've only made one so far but it was a winner!)
Read and ride on!
Leslie
Waterfalls
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Thursday, February 18, 2010
RR: 24 Hours of Sebring
Last weekend was time to break the ice on a new racing season at the 24 Hours of Sebring. In sunny, warm Florida. Oh, wait, let me rephrase. In cold, damp, windy as all get-out Florida!
Artemous was chomping at the bit to start, he has been stuck on the trainer since the year started (only the Raven has been outside) but I admit I was apprehensive as it was dark, cold, and really really windy (the winds were gusting at 25-30mph). Drew was doing the 12 hour race, and our good friend Wayne (Deca-Ironman) came down to start his season with the 24 hour race. At 6:15am the three of us headed over to the start line. We lost Wayne in the crush, and at 6:30 we all set off. The announcer reminded us that 2 digit numbers were trying to qualify for RAAM and couldn't draft. I was number 110... I hadn't really thought about which category I wanted to be in since I've decided against RAAM, but with the blustery winds I started to smile since I was now draft legal.
The race starts with 3 laps around the Sebring raceway. I hooked up with a group with a tandem and 3 guys coming off the track. Rode out to the turnaround with them. (was quite fun, I forget how much fun pack-riding is, and way faster than I would have been into the wind alone). Chatting with them kept my mind off of the cloudy skies and the fact that I could not feel my toes. There was an aid station at the turn-around and they took time at the turn, so I headed back. I was also a tad concerned about the pace as they were all doing the 12 hours. They cruised by me a bit later and I said hello and kept on spinning.
I finished up the 100 miles in 5:58 (clock time), stopped at the car for some food, and headed out to start my 11 mile day loops. I met up with Drew at my 2nd 11 mile lap. We rode together for the rest of his time, not drafting just side by side chatting. The winds were still gusting, but for a while here the sun was out and I actually started to feel a bit warm. It was lovely! Was averaging 16.1 (bike time) at 11:52 when Drew was done (he got in 192 miles... a solid day! And then he spent the night crewing for me).
Wayne managed to break his Speedplay cleat, his wife went into town to see if she could get a new one but there were no cleats to be found. His day ended way early at 100 miles (but he did get a nice warm bed that night... I was kinda jealous).
After sunset the wind died down to a gentle roar (5-10mph) but it got WAY cold. I had on a long jersey, my winter bike coat, a windbreaker, Drew's winter bike coat, 2 pairs of tights, my gloves and Drew's gloves but it was still cold. I tried to do sets of 5 laps (3.9 miles each) on the track between pit stops. I stopped at 4:45am because I was just frozen. Stood by the BBQ pit for a while to try to warm up and decide if 300 miles was enough. I headed back out with 1:20 to go and finish it off.
I finished reasonably well compared to the other real bikers, but got SLAUGHTERED by the recumbants. I think the top 3 men and top 2 women were all on recumbants, the flat course and headwinds really suited their bikes. I finished with 321 miles, 2nd (and last) in my category, some 60 miles behind a recumbant.
When we got in the car to leave Sebring it was 32 degrees out. All in all.. I'm pleased. I feel MUCH better than last year and I feel like I rode stronger even though I came in 4 miles less. The wind and cold took alot out of me, but I never had that exhausted I need a nap feeling... well until the drive back to Tampa. Artemous needs to go into the shop as I broke a derailler cable (I think). Would not shift when I put him in the bike box... (did not notice it during the race but then I didn't shift much on the track).
I guess I'm done complaining about the 40-50 degree sunny days here in Denver. If it's not actively snowing, it's warmer here than in Florida!!!
Next race isn't until April... the 24 Hours of Davis... I'm looking forward to an awesome season!!!
Ride long,
Leslie
Artemous was chomping at the bit to start, he has been stuck on the trainer since the year started (only the Raven has been outside) but I admit I was apprehensive as it was dark, cold, and really really windy (the winds were gusting at 25-30mph). Drew was doing the 12 hour race, and our good friend Wayne (Deca-Ironman) came down to start his season with the 24 hour race. At 6:15am the three of us headed over to the start line. We lost Wayne in the crush, and at 6:30 we all set off. The announcer reminded us that 2 digit numbers were trying to qualify for RAAM and couldn't draft. I was number 110... I hadn't really thought about which category I wanted to be in since I've decided against RAAM, but with the blustery winds I started to smile since I was now draft legal.
The race starts with 3 laps around the Sebring raceway. I hooked up with a group with a tandem and 3 guys coming off the track. Rode out to the turnaround with them. (was quite fun, I forget how much fun pack-riding is, and way faster than I would have been into the wind alone). Chatting with them kept my mind off of the cloudy skies and the fact that I could not feel my toes. There was an aid station at the turn-around and they took time at the turn, so I headed back. I was also a tad concerned about the pace as they were all doing the 12 hours. They cruised by me a bit later and I said hello and kept on spinning.
I finished up the 100 miles in 5:58 (clock time), stopped at the car for some food, and headed out to start my 11 mile day loops. I met up with Drew at my 2nd 11 mile lap. We rode together for the rest of his time, not drafting just side by side chatting. The winds were still gusting, but for a while here the sun was out and I actually started to feel a bit warm. It was lovely! Was averaging 16.1 (bike time) at 11:52 when Drew was done (he got in 192 miles... a solid day! And then he spent the night crewing for me).
Wayne managed to break his Speedplay cleat, his wife went into town to see if she could get a new one but there were no cleats to be found. His day ended way early at 100 miles (but he did get a nice warm bed that night... I was kinda jealous).
After sunset the wind died down to a gentle roar (5-10mph) but it got WAY cold. I had on a long jersey, my winter bike coat, a windbreaker, Drew's winter bike coat, 2 pairs of tights, my gloves and Drew's gloves but it was still cold. I tried to do sets of 5 laps (3.9 miles each) on the track between pit stops. I stopped at 4:45am because I was just frozen. Stood by the BBQ pit for a while to try to warm up and decide if 300 miles was enough. I headed back out with 1:20 to go and finish it off.
I finished reasonably well compared to the other real bikers, but got SLAUGHTERED by the recumbants. I think the top 3 men and top 2 women were all on recumbants, the flat course and headwinds really suited their bikes. I finished with 321 miles, 2nd (and last) in my category, some 60 miles behind a recumbant.
When we got in the car to leave Sebring it was 32 degrees out. All in all.. I'm pleased. I feel MUCH better than last year and I feel like I rode stronger even though I came in 4 miles less. The wind and cold took alot out of me, but I never had that exhausted I need a nap feeling... well until the drive back to Tampa. Artemous needs to go into the shop as I broke a derailler cable (I think). Would not shift when I put him in the bike box... (did not notice it during the race but then I didn't shift much on the track).
I guess I'm done complaining about the 40-50 degree sunny days here in Denver. If it's not actively snowing, it's warmer here than in Florida!!!
Next race isn't until April... the 24 Hours of Davis... I'm looking forward to an awesome season!!!
Ride long,
Leslie
Friday, February 5, 2010
Bike Love
I see a few miles of these marking the bike lane on my typical weekend route... Never fails to crack me up...
Ride on... Leslie
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Bring on 2010!!!!
It's been way too long since we've posted... but it's because nothing but the usual good life is happening. We had a lovely holiday season, and are now back to training like mad, working hard, and loving every day of warm weather that happens (somewhat frequent in Colorado in the winter, but rare enough to be special).
I started to update the race schedule for this season... will add to it gradually. It's the usual craziness for me, lots of fun ultracycling events. And, for Drew it's two solid chances to qualify for "The Ironman" at St George and at Canada.
First race is coming Valentines Day weekend. 24 Hours of Sebring for me, and 12 for Drew. Last year I did some 325 miles, so this year I'll set my goal at 330, my Stretch goal at 350, and my must do or I'll be irritated at 310. I'm feeling pretty good. It's hard to truly build mileage this time of year, but I have several 6-8 hour rides under my belt and will be starting the year off with a 1000+ mile January again so we'll see! It's really just a great chance to soak in some Florida sun and hang out with Marsha and Robin!
Beginning to begin to plan for the Race Around Ireland. My crew is coming together... and I'm at least starting to wrap my head around the logistics of a 5 day, 1350mile race in another country.
More "soon"...
Leslie
I started to update the race schedule for this season... will add to it gradually. It's the usual craziness for me, lots of fun ultracycling events. And, for Drew it's two solid chances to qualify for "The Ironman" at St George and at Canada.
First race is coming Valentines Day weekend. 24 Hours of Sebring for me, and 12 for Drew. Last year I did some 325 miles, so this year I'll set my goal at 330, my Stretch goal at 350, and my must do or I'll be irritated at 310. I'm feeling pretty good. It's hard to truly build mileage this time of year, but I have several 6-8 hour rides under my belt and will be starting the year off with a 1000+ mile January again so we'll see! It's really just a great chance to soak in some Florida sun and hang out with Marsha and Robin!
Beginning to begin to plan for the Race Around Ireland. My crew is coming together... and I'm at least starting to wrap my head around the logistics of a 5 day, 1350mile race in another country.
More "soon"...
Leslie
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Misc ramblings in the off season...
It's been a crazy busy off season... scattered thoughts:
- We're off to Maui tomorrow! Vacation (and maybe a 10K trail run race) for me, and Vacation and Xterra for Drew. Yup... we're on Vacation!
- We did the 24 Hours of Triathlon as part of Team Gu. TOO fun! 3rd place 4 person team and won some sweet new sunglasses...
- We went to Laramie last weekend with the awesome Linda Guerette and rode the Laramie Enduro Course (or as much of it as daylight and bad directions would allow). This race could be a fun one for next year!
- Schedule for next year is slowly coming together as races start to update their websites with dates... One more year as an ultracyclist then it's time to head back to triathlon... Will try to mix in some swimming and running as cross training through 2010 so that it's not such a shock when 2011 rolls around.
- Weight lifting, core strength, and interval training is the mode through November. Leaves me a little time to play, and I'm making the most of it!
And, finally, here's my cool news for October...
Keep on riding!!!
Leslie
- We're off to Maui tomorrow! Vacation (and maybe a 10K trail run race) for me, and Vacation and Xterra for Drew. Yup... we're on Vacation!
- We did the 24 Hours of Triathlon as part of Team Gu. TOO fun! 3rd place 4 person team and won some sweet new sunglasses...
- We went to Laramie last weekend with the awesome Linda Guerette and rode the Laramie Enduro Course (or as much of it as daylight and bad directions would allow). This race could be a fun one for next year!
- Schedule for next year is slowly coming together as races start to update their websites with dates... One more year as an ultracyclist then it's time to head back to triathlon... Will try to mix in some swimming and running as cross training through 2010 so that it's not such a shock when 2011 rolls around.
- Weight lifting, core strength, and interval training is the mode through November. Leaves me a little time to play, and I'm making the most of it!
And, finally, here's my cool news for October...Keep on riding!!!
Leslie
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Ring of Fire
Headed up to Portland this past weekend for the 24 Hour Ring of Fire...
Leading up to the race has been interesting. After the Leadville debacle I got back on my beloved RT900 (Artemous) and we've fallen in love all over again. My longest ride has only been 6 hours since RAW, and since I haven't had a chance to sort out my saddle/shorts issues going into the race I was a little nervous how my bum would hold up. Decided to just roll with it and see how the day went.
Drew's sister, bro-in-law, and 2 nephews live in Portland so it was a good opportunity for some kid-hanging. Jen and the kids drove out to the race course Saturday to play with Drew for the day, and then he planned to crew for me through the night. I prepped 5 drop bags with coke, bars, and treats and figured I was good to go for the race.
My race started at 6:41am. There were 6 gals in the race and we were separated by about a minute. This race featured LOTS of climbing and some high desert heat. Start out with a 5 mile climb out of the gate, followed with some downhill, and the some steep short stuff. My inner quads wanted to cramp so I tried to just spin and ease them out. We climbed from the high desert (read no trees and lots of brown grasses/sage) into the forests around Mt. Hood. Awesome views, some fabulous road surfaces, and lots of long climbing. The day loop was 156 miles, and then we came down to do a 26.5 mile night loop.
After 40 miles we had a fabulous decent, and then on more 10 mile climb before dropping back to the plains. The temps rose, and I was holding it together but rather slowly. Filled my bottles at each checkpoint and tried to stay on top of my electrolytes. Just taking the miles. Around 90 miles there was another 9 mile climb, but rather gentle, and wicked hot. Some folks had support crews with them and one of them gave me a baggie of ice. She was like an angel! Then at the top of the climb she offered me a huge bowl of fruit salad. I could have cried at how delicious and cool the berries were on my parched throat.
A nice down and I saw Jenn and Drew driving by. They came out to say hello and offered up a coke and some blueberries (delicious) and a turkey wrap (gag.. not a chance that would get choked down). We turned and got to preview the second half of the night loop. Some short climbs, then a steep downhill and a gorgeous 8 mile stretch by the Deschutes river. Drew and Jenn stopped to cheer a few times by the river. It was well needed as I was pretty baked.
After the river the 12 hour folks turned right and headed to do short loops and the 24 hour folks went by an unmanned aid station and then started a 20'ish mile climb... 4 steep miles and then gradual climbing to 3200ft. I was anxiously waiting for the aid station to get my drop bag. Got there, opened the cooler and there was my bag. SWEET! Wait, so NOT sweet! Someone had drank my coke, ate my bars, took my gels, and left my bag in the cooler with the discarded wrappers. WHAT? I was calmly pissed, filled up my bottles with ice water and started to climb. A mile into the steepness it hit me that I had no nutrition, 30 some miles since I had real food (other than fruit), and miles of pain until the next aid station. I was climbing and crying and finally pulled over. Called Drew and he didn't answer so I left a message saying I needed him to bring stuff NOW. Called my coach just to vent, because I needed to settle or my race would be over. (she was understandably confused). A crew came by the other direction, saw me there, slowed down and lobbed a V8 can out to me. (It was JUST what I needed, and I have no idea how they knew that).
I drank the V8 and got back on and figured Drew would be by eventually so what I needed to do was just settle and ride. This climb was really dispiriting. After a few miles only, Drew and Jenn pulled up with food. YEAH! And Drew said he'd meet me at 7 with my bike lights so just keep on rolling. Eventually I saw my competition coming back at me and they were miles ahead. It was a struggle to hold it together mentally and I just wanted to turna round and call it a day. Hot, tired, way behind, and miserable.
At 7 Drew rolled up with lights and sweet potato fries and I had 2 more miles of climbing. Finally made the top and turned to go down. Drew passed by 15 miles down and I was grinning madly, spinning and refinding my fun. Even saw a shooting star.
Hit the start/finish way behind schedule and started in on my night loops. Still lots of climbing (we had that 5 mile climb at the start of each one). I'd eat at the start/finish line, and then by the top of the climb be dealing with heartburn. Blech! After 2 laps I had a vivarin and a espresso. Struggling to stay awake out there in the slightly cold and very solitary night. I only saw maybe 2 other riders the whole night, because the loop was so long we were all spread out. Had to take a 10 minute catnap before my last lap, inhaled an apple danish and away I went.
YUCK! I had serious heartburn by the top of the climb and stopped 4 or 5 times through that lap with vomitous burps. I could push to a certain level and then it would get worse so I played with that threshold. Daylight started to break and I knew I needed to put my foot into it to finish the lap before 6:41. Going down the river I was holding over 16mph, which was wicked fast for the condition I was in but I made it.
Finished 4th female (of 6) and 7 (of 15) soloists. The night riding treated me well, although I didn;t realize it at the time. I ended up only 18 miles out of 2nd place female after being WAY down from the long loop.
Lessons learned:
- Take Pepto-Bismol often and early when eating then climbing
- Stick with it, things will turn around.
- Bring a little extra nutrition, even when there are drop bags because people can be dorks.
That's the wrap of my serious racing season. Two more fun races to go, a 4 person team at the 24 Hours of Triathlon and then Drew and I are teaming up for a 25 hour MTB race at the end of October. Goals for the next month are to have fun, recharge, lose a little weight and start to lay the foundations for a strong 2010.
Ride on!
Leslie
ps. At the post race brekkie the RD called me up and gave me 2 Starbucks drinks and told the story of how I was riding unsupported, counting on my drop bags, and someone took my stuff... He handled it well, I hope whoever did it was there and was ashamed of himself!!!
Leading up to the race has been interesting. After the Leadville debacle I got back on my beloved RT900 (Artemous) and we've fallen in love all over again. My longest ride has only been 6 hours since RAW, and since I haven't had a chance to sort out my saddle/shorts issues going into the race I was a little nervous how my bum would hold up. Decided to just roll with it and see how the day went.Drew's sister, bro-in-law, and 2 nephews live in Portland so it was a good opportunity for some kid-hanging. Jen and the kids drove out to the race course Saturday to play with Drew for the day, and then he planned to crew for me through the night. I prepped 5 drop bags with coke, bars, and treats and figured I was good to go for the race.
My race started at 6:41am. There were 6 gals in the race and we were separated by about a minute. This race featured LOTS of climbing and some high desert heat. Start out with a 5 mile climb out of the gate, followed with some downhill, and the some steep short stuff. My inner quads wanted to cramp so I tried to just spin and ease them out. We climbed from the high desert (read no trees and lots of brown grasses/sage) into the forests around Mt. Hood. Awesome views, some fabulous road surfaces, and lots of long climbing. The day loop was 156 miles, and then we came down to do a 26.5 mile night loop.
After 40 miles we had a fabulous decent, and then on more 10 mile climb before dropping back to the plains. The temps rose, and I was holding it together but rather slowly. Filled my bottles at each checkpoint and tried to stay on top of my electrolytes. Just taking the miles. Around 90 miles there was another 9 mile climb, but rather gentle, and wicked hot. Some folks had support crews with them and one of them gave me a baggie of ice. She was like an angel! Then at the top of the climb she offered me a huge bowl of fruit salad. I could have cried at how delicious and cool the berries were on my parched throat.
A nice down and I saw Jenn and Drew driving by. They came out to say hello and offered up a coke and some blueberries (delicious) and a turkey wrap (gag.. not a chance that would get choked down). We turned and got to preview the second half of the night loop. Some short climbs, then a steep downhill and a gorgeous 8 mile stretch by the Deschutes river. Drew and Jenn stopped to cheer a few times by the river. It was well needed as I was pretty baked.
After the river the 12 hour folks turned right and headed to do short loops and the 24 hour folks went by an unmanned aid station and then started a 20'ish mile climb... 4 steep miles and then gradual climbing to 3200ft. I was anxiously waiting for the aid station to get my drop bag. Got there, opened the cooler and there was my bag. SWEET! Wait, so NOT sweet! Someone had drank my coke, ate my bars, took my gels, and left my bag in the cooler with the discarded wrappers. WHAT? I was calmly pissed, filled up my bottles with ice water and started to climb. A mile into the steepness it hit me that I had no nutrition, 30 some miles since I had real food (other than fruit), and miles of pain until the next aid station. I was climbing and crying and finally pulled over. Called Drew and he didn't answer so I left a message saying I needed him to bring stuff NOW. Called my coach just to vent, because I needed to settle or my race would be over. (she was understandably confused). A crew came by the other direction, saw me there, slowed down and lobbed a V8 can out to me. (It was JUST what I needed, and I have no idea how they knew that).
I drank the V8 and got back on and figured Drew would be by eventually so what I needed to do was just settle and ride. This climb was really dispiriting. After a few miles only, Drew and Jenn pulled up with food. YEAH! And Drew said he'd meet me at 7 with my bike lights so just keep on rolling. Eventually I saw my competition coming back at me and they were miles ahead. It was a struggle to hold it together mentally and I just wanted to turna round and call it a day. Hot, tired, way behind, and miserable.
At 7 Drew rolled up with lights and sweet potato fries and I had 2 more miles of climbing. Finally made the top and turned to go down. Drew passed by 15 miles down and I was grinning madly, spinning and refinding my fun. Even saw a shooting star.
Hit the start/finish way behind schedule and started in on my night loops. Still lots of climbing (we had that 5 mile climb at the start of each one). I'd eat at the start/finish line, and then by the top of the climb be dealing with heartburn. Blech! After 2 laps I had a vivarin and a espresso. Struggling to stay awake out there in the slightly cold and very solitary night. I only saw maybe 2 other riders the whole night, because the loop was so long we were all spread out. Had to take a 10 minute catnap before my last lap, inhaled an apple danish and away I went.
YUCK! I had serious heartburn by the top of the climb and stopped 4 or 5 times through that lap with vomitous burps. I could push to a certain level and then it would get worse so I played with that threshold. Daylight started to break and I knew I needed to put my foot into it to finish the lap before 6:41. Going down the river I was holding over 16mph, which was wicked fast for the condition I was in but I made it.
Finished 4th female (of 6) and 7 (of 15) soloists. The night riding treated me well, although I didn;t realize it at the time. I ended up only 18 miles out of 2nd place female after being WAY down from the long loop.
Lessons learned:
- Take Pepto-Bismol often and early when eating then climbing
- Stick with it, things will turn around.
- Bring a little extra nutrition, even when there are drop bags because people can be dorks.
That's the wrap of my serious racing season. Two more fun races to go, a 4 person team at the 24 Hours of Triathlon and then Drew and I are teaming up for a 25 hour MTB race at the end of October. Goals for the next month are to have fun, recharge, lose a little weight and start to lay the foundations for a strong 2010.
Ride on!
Leslie
ps. At the post race brekkie the RD called me up and gave me 2 Starbucks drinks and told the story of how I was riding unsupported, counting on my drop bags, and someone took my stuff... He handled it well, I hope whoever did it was there and was ashamed of himself!!!
Monday, August 17, 2009
Leadville...
In short... I SUCK on a mountain bike...
The race started well... lots of bikes on the start line, so many that we actually couldn't get in the corral... but the gun went off and people started to move and we eased in and were on our way. I hung with Drew the first few miles on the pavement... saw a rainbow ahead. I thought this was a good sign... pretty rainbow and all... but forgot that rainbows are due to sun hitting rain... and we were heading straight towards that rain.
Got to the dirt and settled in for a long ride. Saw the first casualty, a guy down on the side of the road with a likely broken collerbone. Ouch! Don't want to be him! We hit the first climb, which I had prerode the day before, but not with a thousand of my closest friends. Add them in and it was a trackstand/crawl followed by a foot down and group trudge. Okay, no biggie. 3-4 miles up and finally there was some free space. Breathing heavy, but feeling okay. Starts to sprinkle. Starts to RAIN. The trail goes up and down and then hits a paved road and screams down. BRR! Soaking wet and cold.
Then we start going up, and up. Road turns to dirt/rocks/mud/wet. Alternate riding and trudging. My brakes (oh yeah, I have regular old rim brakes) are full of grit so my bike pulls and grinds with every roll. Still plenty of folks around. It's fun, miserable, and goofy. I have to laugh. I dread what comes at the top of the hill, a steep downhill through the powerline that Drew and I hiked up to take a looksee at the day before. I made it down on my bike, but was a total pansy doing it. Everything was slippery and muddy, and there was alot of skidding going on but I knew it was better to ride than hike...
Hit the road at the bottom and saw I was at 23 miles... CRAP! I have 17 miles to go and just over an hour to do it before the cutoff. Between the rain, the mud, and my general suckiness that first 23 took WAY too long! Tried to rally the guys around me to work together to try to make it but they just looked at me dazedly so I took off. Held speed til the next climbs and then realized there was just no way.
Came to a sweet downhill singletrack. Was near the bottom when Lance came up. Pulled to the side to let him by and got a smile and a Thank you. (We're best buddies now, think he'll put me on his christmas card list?).
Pulled into the aid station a half hour late, and they took my chip and wristband. Waited for Drew to come back by then rode it back to town on the roads...
Drew had an okay day, 10:30 for the finish. Slower than planned, but fun all the same.
So? What's next? Will I do it again?
Next up is the 24 hours road race, the Ring of Fire near Portlan in September.
Then I'll end my season by teaming up with Drew at a 25 hour mountain bike race in St George on Halloween. What can I say, I like getting muddy!
Leadville again? Maybe some day. I do really enjoy the MTB despite my lack of skills, or maybe because of it... but I think I'd need a new bike, and to go pre-ride the course several times before I commit to the race again. I do think I'll see about keeping the MTB in my schedule next year, but lowkey as strength rides... maybe a lil 50 miler on a course I ride alot (the Front Range 50)...
Back to the roads!
Leslie
The race started well... lots of bikes on the start line, so many that we actually couldn't get in the corral... but the gun went off and people started to move and we eased in and were on our way. I hung with Drew the first few miles on the pavement... saw a rainbow ahead. I thought this was a good sign... pretty rainbow and all... but forgot that rainbows are due to sun hitting rain... and we were heading straight towards that rain.
Got to the dirt and settled in for a long ride. Saw the first casualty, a guy down on the side of the road with a likely broken collerbone. Ouch! Don't want to be him! We hit the first climb, which I had prerode the day before, but not with a thousand of my closest friends. Add them in and it was a trackstand/crawl followed by a foot down and group trudge. Okay, no biggie. 3-4 miles up and finally there was some free space. Breathing heavy, but feeling okay. Starts to sprinkle. Starts to RAIN. The trail goes up and down and then hits a paved road and screams down. BRR! Soaking wet and cold.
Then we start going up, and up. Road turns to dirt/rocks/mud/wet. Alternate riding and trudging. My brakes (oh yeah, I have regular old rim brakes) are full of grit so my bike pulls and grinds with every roll. Still plenty of folks around. It's fun, miserable, and goofy. I have to laugh. I dread what comes at the top of the hill, a steep downhill through the powerline that Drew and I hiked up to take a looksee at the day before. I made it down on my bike, but was a total pansy doing it. Everything was slippery and muddy, and there was alot of skidding going on but I knew it was better to ride than hike...
Hit the road at the bottom and saw I was at 23 miles... CRAP! I have 17 miles to go and just over an hour to do it before the cutoff. Between the rain, the mud, and my general suckiness that first 23 took WAY too long! Tried to rally the guys around me to work together to try to make it but they just looked at me dazedly so I took off. Held speed til the next climbs and then realized there was just no way.
Came to a sweet downhill singletrack. Was near the bottom when Lance came up. Pulled to the side to let him by and got a smile and a Thank you. (We're best buddies now, think he'll put me on his christmas card list?).
Pulled into the aid station a half hour late, and they took my chip and wristband. Waited for Drew to come back by then rode it back to town on the roads...
Drew had an okay day, 10:30 for the finish. Slower than planned, but fun all the same.
So? What's next? Will I do it again?
Next up is the 24 hours road race, the Ring of Fire near Portlan in September.
Then I'll end my season by teaming up with Drew at a 25 hour mountain bike race in St George on Halloween. What can I say, I like getting muddy!
Leadville again? Maybe some day. I do really enjoy the MTB despite my lack of skills, or maybe because of it... but I think I'd need a new bike, and to go pre-ride the course several times before I commit to the race again. I do think I'll see about keeping the MTB in my schedule next year, but lowkey as strength rides... maybe a lil 50 miler on a course I ride alot (the Front Range 50)...
Back to the roads!
Leslie
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