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.
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.
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.
