So this would be considered a "guilt-post", not a lot is going on at the moment to warrant any "good" blogs, so out of guilt for lacking follow through...I blog. For all those that are still waiting for pics from the Somoa trip, get in line. My travel partner, Matt, has yet to email me the two thousand pics we took during our journey, so you will just have to keep waiting, don't worry...patience builds character.
This is the time in the cycling world where those that enjoy cyclocross, keep racing...and those that enjoy time-off, do nothing. I report to the later locker room with all of my other off-season peeps. Pretty much this time of year for me consist of constant evaluation of how I came up short last season and thoughts of how to "Un-Clyde" myself, so far I've been doing a lot of both, but with minimal to no success. Don't get me wrong, I'm still putting in some solid miles, around 150-200 per week but there really isn't any motivation. No worries, this is the time for long slow miles with possible coffee shop stops mid ride...possibly why i find myself consistently singing, "Its the most wonderful time", during our rides. We've had a couple chances to get out and hike as of late, which is nice. You ride so often it's nice to hop off the bike and do a little exploring on foot, the cross-training aspect is a bonus as well.
Tomorrow starts the the UWBL, a winter series of progressively longer organized training rides with dedicated spring zones every Saturday during the off season. I've been told that George and Craig are regulars who like to "mix it up" with the mortals. Should be pretty fun. Tomorrows route takes us South to rolling hills in constant 30 degree temps for around 3.5hrs.....layer, layer, layer. Looks like i'll be helping lead the "B" group which will be around 65ish miles, should be a good time.
There has been the occasional mtn bike trip, but nothing like the summer ones. It's a little sketchy riding in Pisgah this time of year...the locals refer to it as "brown ice", in reference to the blanket of leaves over the already gnarly trails. I, for one, am not a big fan of riding by braille, not a good day. That being said every Monday, my day off, we have headed to either FATS, Charlotte or Spartanburg to ride a little more "organized" trail system with way less penalty for not seeing that rock.
Hopefully there will be more to come in the near future.
While most of you are waiting to see pics from the trip South, I must interject and fill you in on my weekend. Don't worry as soon as the pictures download and the ink dries from the tip of a boars husk I'll give you the skinny on the island trip. Friday night I was chatting up a life long pal, G-Slim, and of course the convo was based around our love for all things awesome....kayaking is always a baseline in that talk. We're fumbling around the intra-web looking at the latest and greatest new kayak swag when I find some whitewater kayak event that's being held close to mi casa up on the Green River...what the hey, Dr. J is working tomorrow, I'll be adventurous and go check it out. I was shocked at what i found.
Only sure of the start time of the event, but not sure of the actual location i headed out early confident I'd find my way....no worries. Head North towards the mtns and what do i see but the Dagger team car ahead of me in traffic, surely they are going to the race...after a quick pow wow with team Dagger at the gas station, i keep heading North. Zig, Zag and finally find this extremely remote trail, the parking is already two miles thick along the two lane country road..."Just head down the trail", one paddler says. 1.5 miles later, I'm still hiking, down...steeper and steeper until i hear the river...there must be some serious water ahead. I had no idea. I pop out in a deep granite gorge next to a waterfall that's feeding an already full river....SICK! To be so deep in the gorge and feeling the water course threw like blood threw an athletes veins, feeling every pulse...deafening. I had no idea there was this kinda water around here....my heart almost jumped out of my chest for the next three hours.
Evidently the Green River Narrows Race has been going on since the mid 90's and is basically a race against the clock down whats called the "Monster Mile"....a one mile stretch of river that is nothing but class IV,& V+ drops....if that means nothing to you, then please, please watch this video. Majority of all the spectators planted roots at "Gorilla", the nastiest of all the drops, due to the sheer volume of water, the moves needed to set up, as well as the narrowness of the chute you exit in...amazing. Paddlers from all over the world converge just South of Asheville, NC to race in what is deemed as the "...most dangerous kayak race in the world.". For the next three hours me and 1000 like minded spectators cheered for the 162 competitors who charged every fall as if it was the last one they would ever hit. I was blown away at the burliness of the river, and all just 30 miles North of my doormat.Evidently this is an international competition attracting the worlds best steep creek boaters, and they were all out in force on Saturday. The Green River gets a ton of attention from paddlers all over the world for one reason....water. It's a dam released river, which is awesome, but the fact that it runs 300+ days/yr at full flow down IV & V moves it what is the real attraction. Ya, these were the best in the world and made most every drop look insanely easy and while several had to be rescued from some pretty nasty situations....i still must do this race, or at least run this section at some point during my stay on this big rock. To witness a boater slip their boat though granite boulders in the midst of a raging river that is doing all it can to wreck them, it's a beautiful thing. Dr. J will of course have nothing of this, but...forgiveness is easier than permission...right? Enjoy the photos, one day soon they will be of me in that fall.
I'm leaving the country. Tomorrow I board a plane bound for Dallas, TX, then Honolulu, Hi, then the final destination Pago Pago, American Samoa....I challenge you to find that on a map.A good friend of mine works for a recently established non-profit Christian organization(TWCD-That's What Christians Do) that does International disaster recovery work....and he needs a hand. The plan is to develop contacts within the Red-Cross so that in the future when disasters occur we can rally a team and head to ground-zero at a moments notice, wherever that may be. There's plenty of work to be done on the island of American Samoa...if you remember they had a HUGE tsunami hit their island about a month ago, a thousand plus dead and millions of property damaged or loss. Matt and I aren't really sure what we're getting into once we land there, or who to even talk with...we're basically winging it and praying for some things to fall into place. Luckily I'm able to leave the tent at home, Matt just yesterday found us a place to stay in AS...fingers crossed it has a/c!! The pictures I'm sure don't do the beauty justice, or even the devastation...hopefully we can make a difference. I'll spare you the details of the remoteness of the island as well as how small it is to everything we know here in the States...you can Google it and find out for yourself. I'm fortunate that my job situation, or lack there of, allows me to take part in such a beautiful endeavor, helping mankind, as well as traveling to the other side of the world to explore a strange new place....I've no doubt that it will be an adventure, in every sense of the word. Needless to say i won't be blogging for a bit, sorry, you'll have to get your "fix" from somewhere else...might I suggest coming up with ways to ditch work for a few days and come help us on the next disaster??? The organization is called TWCD-That's What Christians Do, and it absolutely should be, however regardless of your "religious" views, it's what we should ALL do. Start small, help an old lady across the street or something....it's the "Theory of Momentum", once you get started, it's hard to stop. I'll see you in a few weeks, with plenty of stories I'm sure. Filemu Tofa.
Thea finally made it home last week. After 5 days in the hospital and one Xena, "Warrior Princess" style back brace she was able to make her way down the elevator then onto "Recovery Road". I had the opportunity to go visit her Friday night and thankfully see a completely different look in her eye...though still in crazy pain, she was coherent and joking....a stark contrast to a few days prior. As of right now no surgery is scheduled but she is going to have to travel back in a week for a check-up to determine if surgery is needed. She's one tough gal. Unfortunately she is going to have one GIGANTIC bill at the end of this so the shop we work at is setting up several benefit rides on her behalf. The man himself, George Hincapie, has agreed to do a "Win a ride with George" raffle on November 15th...what an awesome thing to do George...thanks.
Things have been rather slow here..not much going on. The "NO-RIDE" bug continues to bite, leaving me completely unmotivated to train or even race. This past weekend was the last event in the Dirty Spokes 12Hr series, so "Doctor J" and I packed the Element and headed over to meet up with our friends, Kevin and Ashley. Neither Kevin and I were completely stoked about the race...the course was two days deep in rain with a 60% chance for race day....not fun news to start a 12hr race. The abridged version of the race as follows: Start off unmotivated...race a lap hoping to "get in the mood", nothing...race another three laps, still not in the mood, legs weak, no power...race a fourth lap...wreck, tweak wrist....good excuse to pull out. Kevin ended up knocking out two more laps then saw all the fun we were having in transition and called it quits as well...no worries, Oktoberfest was happening just a few miles away in downtown Helen...off we went.
We spotted this little gem on the way out...I know the Element is versatile but this thing is ridiculous!!!
Sunday we did a little sight seeing, well as much as possible with rain clouds looming overhead. We drove up to Brasstown Bald, highest point in Georgia, just to check out how disgusting the climb was that the Tour de Georgia riders had to do....i was gonna take a pic, but there was just no way to get perspective on just how steep this road was....absolutely brutal. Snapped a few pics of the leaves in full "change" mode then said our goodbyes and headed our separate ways. Obviously the race didn't go according to plan, but at least we got to hang with good friends. Kevin and I both decided that next season the 6hr series sounds much more appealing.
Like I said, pretty boring around here now that the race season is coming to an end. I'm still ironing out details for the winter training schedule....as for now though it's just long slow rides with local Upstate riders. See you on the road...
...was one of the first things she said when the doctor told her she had crushed her T8 vertebra and that she would be over a 1/2 inch shorter.
A good friend of mine and I went mtn biking yesterday at the US Whitewater Center up in Charlotte...you know the trails...I've blogged on them before. Ten minutes into the ride she wrecked, bad. Thea is the girl i spoke of in earlier blogs who just won the Cat1 SC State Road Race a few weeks ago...she's also raced in 24 Hours of Moab....so she's no stranger to riding. Today was just one of those days.
We hit the trail like normal, nothing out of the ordinary. Took a right onto the black diamond trail, across the bridges, up the climbs....chilling. I roll into an 8ft drop in not even thinking about it...pause and wait for Thea to hit it. She stops at the top, questions it, then rolls in.
That was it, the moment when the day took a very surreal turn.
I can only assume that as she gripped the bars she didn't feather the brakes at all, cause when she rolled in...she was hot...hit the small two foot bump at the bottom which sent her rear wheel over the front. If you're a mtn biker then you know how scary and helpless this feeling can be. I equate it to learning to do a front flip off a diving board as a kid...your feet just weren't meant to travel over your head. Standing a few feet away I witness as her body is horizontal in the air and see it crash head first into a root the size of your forearm....causing her body to immediately go limp, only for a second before it seizes. Rushing over i can see her eyes roll back and body tense up, luckily this only last for 5-6 seconds. I immediately grab her neck to keep her from moving or even trying to stand, she's stubborn. At this point she cant speak for lack of breath, think wind knocked out of you x10. I lay her back against the embankment stabilizing her neck, her breath is shallow and now she's beginning to put words together. Luckily I have experience in wilderness/back country medicine....thank goodness...just enough knowledge to keep her stable till the real medics arrive. I do pray that I never have to see the look that was in her eyes again...on anyone...absolute 100% sheer panic. Not sure how to breath or let alone move your toes....that was the worst part for me, looking in her eyes. Pictures of this helmet are proof that you should always were one. There are ten more cracks that you can't see...imagine.
Taking my gloves off i run my hands around checking for any blood, none. Next was arms and legs...quick prayer...luckily she was able to move her toes, feet, etc...as well as arms...and she still had one hell of a grip. So far no nerve damage. Certain her collar bone was broke i unzip her jersey, to my surprise it's not. Still no blood. During this little exchange she is gasping and trying to tell me that she can't breath. Ya, i got that one Thea, thanks. Pulse was strong, circulation was good...no immediate danger...I called 911. There was just barely enough cell service to get a call out and to let them know our rough location...all the while I'm fighting with Thea to not pass out and to keep breathing.
Luckily 15 minutes after the incident another biker came by....I told him to head back to the start and let a staff member know exactly where we were so the paramedics could find us. Hard part is that in terms of civilization we weren't very far out, but from any form of a road we were a good 300+ yards away. There was a long thirty minute period of keeping her calm and trying to keep her awake before the paramedics show up. At this point Thea is still gasping for air but has been able to muster some courage to at least calm down a little. After they check her out we slide her on a back board and start the hike out...she moans the whole way.
After finally getting into a room at the ER they begin testing and hooking up some xrays. Looks like you might have broken a rib and fractured your scapula....but we have to do a CT to be certain. These were some very painful test...unfortunately they have to manipulate your body to the desired position to snap the pic....she almost passed out several times. It took a couple of hours before the CT results came back....she'd really done a number on her back. 6 broken ribs, 6 transverse process'(the little nub between each rib on your spine), crushed her T8 vertebra and had a slight puncture in her lung. Thank god no spinal cord damage. It's pretty evident now why she was having trouble breathing...each breath causing your lungs to expand and pushing out on all those breaks.....BRUTAL!!!
As of right now she's still in the hospital in Charlotte with doctors trying to decide if she needs surgery or not...hopefully not. This was definitely not the day that I thought I was gonna have, but then again that's when accidents strike. You ride like we ride long enough and sooner or later Betty, the cycling goddess, will strike. Our thoughts and prayers are with you Thea during your recovery...may it be full and swift.
While there are many stories regarding the Leadville trip still in the vault..this one is a "must hear". The night before I was to meet the crew in Jackson, Ms to begin our journey, I was packing up a few things and doing exactly what you shouldn't do to your bike before a big event....check it over, just one more time. I did absolutely nothing to it, except literally look it over and squeeze the rear brake...dead. Lever squeezed all the way to bar. For those that don't know, this is bad..especially on a hydraulic brake. I looked at the clock saw it was 30 minutes till closing time at the shop, packed up and headed there. Due to a "one in a million wreck" in the 1 mile between my house and the shop i arrived with 15 minutes to go. No worries i can bleed brakes that fast, maybe. Luckily i did and everything was right and I packed up and went on my merry way....not so much. I did get the brakes bled in time, but 5 minutes after i was bragging about my work, squeezed the lever and it's dead again. A few curses were thrown out, but i decided to "run what i brung", i can do Leadville with just a front brake....no worries. In the words of my pal Tagg, "No one ever stands on the podium and thanks a brake sponsor." Good point Tagg. Luckily I caught myself before this stupid thought grew to an even larger mistake which would of course left me in a "hail marry" attempt and utterly out of control headed down Powerline. There were a few more attempts made that night to remedy the situation, but nothing stuck. Broken, but not beaten I stripped the Cannondale of it's BB7 in the event that i wouldn't be able to fix the Elixir prior to race day. Fast forward two days: We arrived at Wizzers house in Denver, caught some shut eye, then awoke to realize I still had a nasty brake situation going on. Now let me say this, I know that the BB7 would have worked great, fine, no problems...but after going hydraulic, you don't go back...there in lies the problem. I had to fix this prior to race day. We tried once more to bleed, even reading the instructions this time....but once again they were fine for five minutes then, dead. In a last ditch effort I decided to call SRAM, they have an amazing Customer Service dept. as well as an even better warrenty policy. Putting on my best, "Daddy I have a flat and I can't fix it," voice I dialed up SRAM. Ten minutes later, there was a new Elixir on it's way to a shop close to our house in Frisco...no questions asked. I'm sure there are numerous companies that would do this and ensure that the product would be "over-nighted" for the customer to make the race-day cut toff...or are there? I know SRAM is one of them.
But here's the rest of the story: The brake didn't arrive. We woke Friday morning, headed to Leadville to pick up our goodies and see all the hoopla about Mr. Armstrong and were going to stop at the shop on the way back and pick up the brake. No dice. Evidently the "Big Brown" shipping company was late that day and missed the store closing, therefore, no brake. BOO!!! What can brown do for me? GET THERE ON TIME!!!!!! All hope wasn't lost thanks to the owner of Gravitee, the bike shop. Call it what you want, luck, karma..whatever...but the owner of the shop actually lived in the apartment that was attached to our condo in Frisco...ya, small world. After hearing my problem, he in that cool, Colorado way said, "No worries bro, take mine." Life saver. He had a 2009 Giant Anthem in the garage where we were staying that had some Hayes Stokers on it...luckily it fit and I was able to race with two functioning hydraulic brakes. The brakes did eventually show up on Monday, picked them up, slapped them on, and spent another week riding Crested Butte and Durango with no problems. Moral of the story, BUY SRAM....and don't forget the kindness of strangers. Pay it forward.
We've all been bit by the bug of laziness here...even the weather has joined in...instead of working hard to provide glorious sunshine, it's been overcast and spitting rain now all week. The dogs have the right idea. I did somehow muster the strength to get out and grab a few rides this week, nothing to exciting but it was new roads/routes so that was nice. One of the nice things here in the Upstate is that all the "popular" routes to ride are marked...all you have to do is pick a route then follow the colored arrows on the road to find your way around, really makes it nice. One of the more popular rides is the "Bakery" ride...basically head up to Tigerville, Sc, park and ride the watershed up to Saluda, SC where there is a nice little local bakery, fuel up, then cruise home. Nothing special about the ride, pretty mellow...it is pretty much up-hill all the way there(16 miles)then you get to cruise home. To my knowledge there is nothing special about the little town of Saluda, as you can see by the pic of main st., other than being just another small town tucked in the shadows of the Blue Ridge mtns, regardless, it's a nice turn-a-round spot. JeffP and I decided to make the ride a bit longer on Tuesday...riding from my house, rolled by his house and let him jump in the draft then headed north towards Saluda. Weather held off on the way there, but inevitably on the way home it dumped....i said it dumped...for about an hour solid we road in POURING rain. Awesome. Luckily on the way home we were able to cut it a bit short and hop on the new Swamp Rabbbit trail and avoid what was certain death on wet roads with huge traffic. Day ended with 85 miles and 4500ft gained...oh and did i mention it was wet? Wednesday i got out and just road from Tigerville up to Saluda, only 35 miles, with TheaK in what turned into a 2 hour rain ride....wet again, not sure if the bike is ever gonna dry out. TheaK just won the SC Cat1 State Championships as well as becoming the newest member of the Colavita women's team...ya she's a strong rider...but she can't touch me on the downhills!! Here's a video of her a few weeks ago winning the SC Cat1 State Championship...congrats kid, I'm sure there are many more to come.
That was the week in a nutshell...pretty boring. Next on the table is the last race of the Dirty Spokes series. Right now I'm in the points lead for Clydesdale and sitting somewhere in the top 5 expert...after that it's the Swank65. Then it's time to let the bike hibernate for a few weeks while the fork is sent off to S-EX for some much needed TLC after a long season. Peace out.
So i just got this email from Specialized saying that they are looking for a "few" new Trail Crew members for the next year...all you have to do is write a blog and "tweet" to them the address and if chosen, you win a 2010 S-Works FSR and a bunch of other swag. So....let me get this straight?.....blog about bikes,check....write about new trails and blog about them weekly,check.....get all your friends excited about mountain biking(especially on Specialized bikes),check.....this seems oddly familiar? Almost like what I am already doing? Maybe it's just me, but this seems like a perfect match, almost a match made in heaven? Who knows, maybe it's just me? For those that know me...they are certain of two things...1)Dude has a hot wife who also rides...and 2)Dude is passionate about some biking. For better or worse this is me.
I thought about what to write so that hopefully I would be chosen as a 2010 Trail Crew member....but nothing inspiring came to mind. Maybe jot down a few lines about all the places mtn biking has taken me over the years and how most of the good things that have happened to me are as a result of friends that I've made on the trail while either riding, racing or doing a little trail maintenance....but then i thought that would be too lame. So what to write? How my first 4 mtn bikes were Specialized bikes and how they were for a very long time the stick by which every other bike was measured? No, that's even lamer. So finally i just said screw it, I'm gonna blog like it's any other day and just tell you, my faithful readers, about the latest and greatest trail that i hit up last week, and for better or worse, let the excess lube drip off my chain and fall where it may....so que sera, sera.
Since returning from Leadville I've had ZERO desire to ride...much less ride SS. Not sure if it's the culmination of the big "A" race of the year finally coming to an end or just late season blues....not sure. Whatever the reason there are still two more races left on the calender, actually three but i punted one, so knowing this, training must still go on. JeffP and I decided to head up to Pisgah last week and meet up with some other "guest" riders and give them a taste of true Pisgah Forrest mtn biking. I guess it was actually my first time to hit up the "classics" that make Pisgah what it is...Mulinax, Squirrel Gap, Burnt Mtn...and Turkey Pen trails were all on the agenda for the day. After a way too long detour at Sycamore Cycles(Specialized dealer...see them for all the Specialized HI-ZOOT needs)in Pisgah Forrest we made our way to Turkey Pen trail head and quickly hit the trail.
Some of the guys were, pretty green to mtn biking...no worries, we were all there at one point...just nice to get more folks out on the dirt. We finally crossed one of two suspension bridges of the day, headed up Mulinax and made our way to Squirrel Gap through some absolutely amazing single track, some of the crown jewels of Pisgah....rhododendrons provided the canopy, and yellow jackets provided the need speed. One of the dudes, we'll call him Popeye, had a avery bad day....he amassed 8+ bites, on his head and back....for me, I'd be done...but he's a military man and to Popeye...this was nothing. We forged on. Twenty minutes later his front wheel goes one way, handlebars the other....curses...that Cannondale Lefty fork is so finicky. Needless to say his day was over. Popeye and his three musketeers headed back down to their car while JeffP and I rambled on.
Barring a wreck, or a mechanical it's incredibly difficult to have a bad day up in Pisgah...gorgeous views and amazing vegetation woven together with some of the sweetest single track found on the east coast make for very good days. We rode for hours without seeing a soul...just the sound of the 29er crunching up the trail....all the way up to Burnt Mtn which somehow actually seems to overlook Ceasers Head....awesome. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of STEEP hike-a-bike sections that require some desire/tenacity to want to summit...but for those that do...it's worth it. The single track off the other side is a white knuckled, rear wheel locked kinda good. I fancy myself a solid rider, but when the trail is damp(as it always is in Pisgah, evidently it's classified as a rain forest)and the terrain is stooopid steep...i loose some nerve. Somehow when both wheels are locked and your still flying down the hill, you tend to loose some of your swagger! Fun nonetheless. 35 miles, 4500ft, 5ish hours....all in all it was another great day just North of the border.
Not sure if this is what the big red "S" is looking for, but it's what i do....weekly, for swag or not. Lord willing...I will continue to ride trails, both old and new, till the day i die...white knuckled, encouraging newbs and hopefully gaining some fitness along the way for another Leadville attempt next year. See you on the trail.
Ok so i guess it's been enough time since i turned my body inside out up in the high country....i can comfortably come out of my shell. Since returning back to the lowlands I've had little motivation to rap about our CO trip, for whatever reason the motivation has been gone....not just for blogging, but for riding as well. Who knows, i guess after your one big goal race of the year is over your body just shuts down on it's own. Who knows, but here's how the race shook out.
The days prior everyone was in a tissy about what to do for the weather....it was predicted to be nice and sunny, but a few days earlier it changed. 38 degrees with a rain/sleet mix...needless to say everyone had different opinions about what to wear and how it was going to change their entire race strategy. I opted for a sleeveless baselayer, arm warmers, and kneee warmers....seemed to work well all day. Luckily the start was dry, cold, but dry....it wasn't until about an hour in that the rain started falling. The start was pretty amazing, 1400 riders cramming into narrow Leadville streets all trying to get that "perfect" spot. Since Lance was there in all his glory, there were helicopters flying around as well as flash bulbs going crazy....love him or hate him....it was cool to line up with him.
Shotgun goes off and we start rolling....10 seconds later we slow for some dude who wrecked on the pavement...no idea how that happened. The first 5 miles or so are pretty flat and rolling, no major climbs.....so on a single speed this means you get passed a ton! All you can do is spin like mad and stay off too the side of the road, this is the part where everyone thinks their fast....all the geared guys in their big rings trying to keep pace with the pros up front....it doesn't last long. Before you know it the climb up St. Kevin's in on you....this part was really annoying. You take 1400 riders that are all pretty close to each other and funnel them down on a small dirt road then funnel, then even further when the climb begins while everyone is muscling for the best line....you now have the makings of one annoyingly long climb. If you're on a geared bike it's not that big of deal, you just shift down and spin...on a single speed, you're screwed. Less then 10 miles in and i was walking up the hill. This isn't a big deal, often times on a SS it's better to walk these sections...you're going almost as fast and you're not having to dig deep to go so slow. This is how most of the climbs went....ride as far up as you can until you catch all the geared guys taking up the whole road....then hop off and walk till it thins out. One cool thing of note...I'm riding up and see a lady wearing a Richardson Bike Mart kit....i ask if she knows a good friend of mine...she does, we chat for a sec while i follow her up....then pass her and she yells out my name? I turn and it's Kim Chance, a lady i did an adventure race with in Oregon maybe 10 years ago...havne't seen her since....small world. Not sure how she did, as i never saw her again.
The first half of the race was pretty uneventful...except for the rain. Everyone warns about how difficult Powerline is to descend....lame. Have them come out and ride Pisgah for one day and they will see difficult descents. I will say that the rain coupled with all the people did make it a little more sketchy, but nothing that was too hairy. Now that might be a different story if you were one of the 4 tandem teams i saw...those folks are amazing!!! Descending Powerline in a crowd and in the rain on a tandem....pretty cool. The section from the bottom of powerline to Twin Lakes was what killed my time i believe...in addition to the altitude. I was hoping for a 10:30ish finish time, but once we got to the flats and i had to spin like crazy to keep 12mph i knew that time was shot. The Twin Lakes feed zone was an absolute mad house...people for miles on both sides of the trail cheering for everyone...amazing to see so many people....odd though that they weren't there on the way back through.....oh ya, Lance was already done by that point....figures.
After fueling up at Twin Lakes with the help of Ashley and Daphne, thanks ladies, you were awesome, it was off to tackle the 10 mile climb of Columbine. I was just starting to head up when the almighty Lance and his motorcycle parade came screaming past me on his way to the finish, that's crazy fast.....amazing. In case you are wondering, this climb is no joke. It starts out on a long twisty fire road with lots of switchbacks, up, up, and up...until it pops out above treeline.....this is where it got just stupid hard. Not only are you at around 11,000ft but it's now two way traffic on an already narrow road and it's INCREDIBLY rocky....unridable with so many people around. So for the next hour+ me and god knows how many of my closest friends hiked to the top of the almighty Columbine. This was no joke hard, can't breath, it's now raining again, windier than Chicago on a winters day.....hard. I've also come to the conclusion that if i ever do Leadville again, that i won't wear stiff carbon soled shoes....I'm gonna find some entry level rubber soled shoes that are comfortable to hike in...just an FYI for all you beginners out there. Honestly i don't know how long the climb took, but i do know that at 50 miles and 6:02 in the race i was at the top. I couldn't afford to stay long so after two minutes...i was headed back out on the bike after grabbing a coke and some more water from the aid station up top. This is where the race took a different turn. Until now i was confident that i would finish no problem...now I'm pretty sure i won't. It was a mental battle to continue at this point. They tell you that just because you are at the 50 mile marker...it's not half way. You still have 50 more miles with the nasty Powerline climb to go, and this is when your body starts shutting down. All these things are going through my head at the 6:00hr mark, and continue for the remainder of the race.
The decent of Columbine was amazing...fast and rocky...and took probably 35 minutes. Back down at the Twin Lakes aid station the warm sun and no rain felt pretty good after chilling myself to the bone. Another hard part of this race was the fact that i was pushing so hard now to make the cut offs there was no time to chill at the aid stations....it was literally, refuel and move on....2 minutes tops. After a quick stop, it was back out to the flats between Twin Lakes and Powerline...don't get me wrong, it's really not flat...more like rolling hills....there is more climbing in this section then we could have ever found in Mobile....nonetheless, it was a challenging section on a SS. Like i said earlier, from the half way point on it was a race against the clock. I had checkpoint times taped to my stem for a 10:30 and an 11:00 hr finish.... i was now behind all of these, all i could do now was ride as hard as possible and hope for the best...i knew it would be very, very close.
There is an aid station right before you get to Powerline called Pipeline...it's here that you get pulled from the race if your not through at the 9 hr mark. Unfortunately my buddy and training partner Jeff got pulled here....no worries man, next year. I luckily came through here at 8:04, knowing that according to my stem times it was roughly 3 hours to the finish....on a geared bike of course. Somehow our support got mixed up and I didn't have anyone at this rest stop....not good. i was forced to take whatever they had on hand...nasty red power aid and some chocolate power gel....the worst kind. This was a little frustrating...but there was no time to complain, i knew it was going to take me every bit of 4 hours to get back. From here there is a long and literally flat road section until you get to Pipeline, this sucked. There was a head wind and all the folks on gears were flying by me in a paceline and there was nothing i could do....just sit and spin all the way to the base of Pipeline. I had no idea what to expect for this climb...i was shooting for an hour up knowing that anything longer would really put me in trouble for finishing. According to all the things I've read and people I've spoke too there were 4-5 noticeable false summits on this climb....5 summits in, I was still counting. This climb is completely doable..but 75 miles in with people crowding the trail....the legs weren't having it. Luckily most people were taking the hiking idea to heart and we all walked...for an hour fifteen minutes of pure fun. At the top of Powerline you have a very long descent back down to the fish hatchery....this is where i had to make up some time. My thought process was either i was gonna blow a tire, wreck, or i was gonna make it...either way i had to hang it out on these sections just to get my overall speed back up and I passed a ton of people on the way down...it was a last resort move.
Once down at the fish hatchery there is a 4 mile paved climb back up to the top of St. Kevin's and to the last water station before the end...luckily i felt good up this climb and was able to keep a solid pace. It's amazing how much adrenalin will get you through certain things....I'm pretty sure the last 4 hours were nothing but a prolonged adrenalin rush. I can't tell you the times i looked at my stem, back to my watch, did some math and sped up. Over and over for 4 hours. Finally back at the top of St. Kevin's i filled up for the last time and received some, "you better hurry up", advice from the volunteers...all of them telling me that it was gonna be close....thanks, i didn't know that. Luckily once your at the top of St. Kevin's its pretty much all down hill back to the finish...sort of...there are plenty of steep rollers to get your attention but nothing major. Like the backside of Pipeline, this was a section that i had to carry a ton of speed, which became harder and harder....at this point my lungs are now raw, spitting up some blood, legs are extremely heavy and not wanting to spin....nothing wanted to work right. It's amazing how many gear folks i passed in this section...not sure why or how, but i was motoring....I'm gonna attribute it to shear desire. I really wanted to finish this race. There was one person i wanted to prove wrong...he said i couldn't do it....suck it Ford...i did it.
The last section of note is called the Boulevard, it's about a 2 mile slight incline, that is nothing, but at this point is everything....to the finish. From here on people are starting to line the roads..cheering and in some cases yelling that you have 4 miles to go....this was a huge pshcyoligical killer. Some jerk yelled this out and i knew if he was right, i wouldn't make it....i was already at 11:50 at this point. No way to do 4 miles in 10 minutes. Luckily he was just drunk or a jerk...or both....an actual volunteer said, "just make it over this hill and you'll love what you see", and they were right. Standing up and trying to power over this last little hill was one of the hardest parts of the day, i hung it all out there, nothing left. The top of the hill was a sweet, sweet site....1/2 mile away was the red carpet finish. I'd made it. I rolled across the line in 11:56.28. Hardest day of my life....let me repeat, Hardest day of my life. I've never had to push so hard to reach a goal, ever. There are so many things that i left out, so many emotions that will be left unsaid...and who knows in weeks to come i might add a little more to this, but for now...this is it. Leadville lived up to everything that was said about it, all the hype, all the talk was completly true. It truely is a special event. The riding is nothing special, scenery is good, not great....but something about it is just special. I'm glad to be a part of it, glad to have carved my name in the hills as a finisher. Hope to be back next year...I still have 10:30 on my mind.
