Fingers crossed for next year...

This would be the ultimate! This is a picture of the handcrafted gold and silver Leadville 100 mountain belt buckle you get if you finish the race in under 9 hours. I have not idea if I could do that but I know I could get it in under 12 hours which would mean that I would get a all silver handcrafted belt buckle.



Only problem is that the race participants are selected on a lottery basis. That means you have to turn in your registration/fees by January 31, 2009 for the August 2009 race and just cross your fingers that your name is drawn. There are over a thousand participants each year for this race and normally quite a few big names that ride it. Last year was Floyd Landis and this year it was Lance Armstrong. From what I have heard that race is hard but the Breck 100 is harder. I would like to do both next year. I am also considering the Lumberjack 100 which is back in up state Michigan which would be completely different riding than out here and I think it would be super exciting. We'll see what happens. I know Curtis one of my roommates in college has been getting into riding as well and we might get together to do one of these races which would be AWESOME!

Bummer

Well B-RAD ended up missing his flight out of Chicago because of unusually long lines and won't be making it out for the weekend.... bummer

That's nice!

Well I don't know about the rest of you but I am officially addicted to the Olympics! This is no surprise though. I went off last night when the US won the 400m relay in swimming after the French had been talking smack! I LOVED IT! For the next few weeks my evenings will be spent cheering on the Americans!

Saturday after a rough bike ride up to Jamestown I went down to Denver to hang out with Leia and a few of her friends. It was a good time. We were going to go to this place called Boondocks that has mini golf, go karts, video games etc. However turns out someone had rented the whole freakin place out so we didn't get to. Instead we went to the driving range and killed some golf balls cause Leia was dying to hit something.

After that we went out for a delicious dinner and went out for some beers as well. The next morning I headed back up to Boulder and went up to Walker Ranch and had a solid tough ride up at Walker Ranch on the mountain bike. It has been nice lately to have a bit cooler weather and I have been feeling better about gettin on the bike.

Tonight I got out on the mountain bike again with perfect temperatures in the mid 70s and roasted it! I started out getting a good warm up riding out to the trail and then just GASSED IT. I saw this shirt the other day that had the picture of a turtle and a rabbit on it just like the throttle on a John Deer lawnmower and it said give it more rabbit and that is EXACTLY WHAT I DID!!! I absolutely throttled it around the trails! It has been the best that I have felt since the race in Breckenridge and I think it is because of the cooler temps for sure. I have to say I am back on the bikes again with regular rides and it feels good. I have been pretty lazy lately but I'm back at it.

The weekend before Stephanie came through on a flight home from Montana and we had a pretty good time hanging out though it was mellow. We went out for drinks with her sister and then the next day tried to go swimming at the Res but got there right in time for it to thunder and they kicked everyone off the beach and it never stopped so we headed down to Pearl Street to walk around. Here's a quick pic of Steph, Angela, and myself down on Pearl Street.



Brad Freshour gets into town on Thursday so I'll get some pics of us hanging out. It was a great time when he came out last year and I expect the same this year. I'm sure we'll go out, do some biking, and hiking. Until then!

First Show at Red Rocks...

So I apologize I have been extremely lazy lately. Actually in almost all aspects of everything except for work I have been doing pretty well.

So I haven't been riding to much lately kind of using the weather as an excuse which is ridiculous. But yesterday I did go out and kill it and it killed me. Ended up with a headache for a few hours. I didn't think the heat was taking a toll on me because I felt fine on the bike but turns out it did. Anywho the ride was good even though I suffered afterwards.

So Keith and Rob are in town this weekend. They are currently at the Yonder Mountain Stringband show at the Boulder Theater. I didn't want to pay for tonight and tomorrow night so I am just holding out to meet up with them later tonight. But tomorrow will be a killer show at Red Rocks for Yonder. This area is their stompin grounds and they are killer bluegrass band so it should be a good time. I can't wait.

Tomorrow morning we are going to get up and do a ride in Nederland and then were are going to head down to Red Rocks for the show. I won't be gettin crazy since Steph is flying in from Montana on her way home for the night catching a flight Sunday morning. So I will be back in Boulder to hang out with her for a bit. Leia Watkins was supposed to come to the show tomorrow but due to some unforeseen circumstances she will not be which makes me sad but we will hang out sometime soon.

Alright just a quick update. Hopefully some more posts more frequently if I get my act together and it freakin cools down out here!

I DID IT!!!!

Breckenridge 100 COMPLETED!!!


Well ya'll I completed the race after a 13.5 hour roller coaster of a ride on the bike! The day started at 6am as the race took off on a neutral rolling start through the town of Breckenridge to the base Peak 9 at Breckenridge Ski Resort. From there the race was on. All of the true maniac racers were gone within a few minutes flying up the fire road which would take the race up to Wheeler Trail and Wheeler Pass which would take us over the resort and down by Copper Mountain Resort. The climb went flawlessly and the views were amazing on a perfect July morning. It was amazing riding my bike where I had snowboarded this winter flying off of rock drops with Breckenridge down in the distance. As the race approached the pass we were above Imperial Chair Lift which is the highest ski lift in North America. On route I passed over a couple of snow fields as I made it to the pass and then the decent was on! I looked at my watch and it had taken about 1.5 hours to do the climb and I thought I was in good shape. I thought I would be able to make up some time descending but this proved to be otherwise. The decent down Wheeler Trail was muddy, wet, and narrow. I got thrown all over the place trying to stay in the rut and with people in your way it made it even more crazy. A couple of guys let me by and I turned it loose a bit more. Then I took my first spill of the day. I was able to get one foot out of the pedals and then the other but my momentum sent me summer saulting. The ground was very forgiving however and I immediately got to my feet and got right back on the bike.

Waiting for the 6am start... 29 miles 3,500ft of climbing...


After the first spill I decided I better tone it down a notch. As I did I was still making up time catching up to people. One dude (a Texan) fell into a creek right in front of me but I think he was more upset that he may of scratched his bike than that he fell. Everyone asked if he was alright and he said yeah so we all pushed on. I made it into an area where I was on my own and was content just focusing as the wet muddy obstacles came my way. I started to notice that my rear brake was acting funny and I thought oh here we go a mechanical is going to take me out of the race. I stopped and checked on it and everything seemed to be fine so I just kept at it. As I made it to the end of the decent (which was awesome even with the challenging conditions) I turned up the pace once we hit the Frisco bike path. It was cold as hell since we were riding along the creek and the sun hadn't made it over the mountains yet and that is always a bit of a shock to the muscles.

Then it was onto the Peaks Trail which would take the race back to Breckenridge. As the race started up another climb I began to wonder if my first loop was going to have me on pace to make the cut off time at Boreas Pass at 4:30pm. I knew I would have to keep my times between 3.5-4 hours per loop to do so. I started to catch up to another group of 3 riders and we all went along several miles together until we came out of the trail and hit the road to head back to the park where each of the loops ended. We all looked at each other and tried to figure out if we were going the right way and I said the directions said to go past the construction which there was a lot of so we took off and indeed it was the right way. As I came into the park at the end of the first loop I had made it just under 4 hours. My mom was waiting for me to help me out in anyway she could. She got me to calm down a bit and get some food in my body (which was not easy all day long) and then I took off for the second lap after about a 10 minute break.

Out for Loop 2, 32 miles 4,300ft of climbing...


I had been hearing all day long and even prior to the race that the second lap had some wicked climbing on it. And this it did. There were a couple of sections that were so loose everyone was walking them. I actually chatted a bit with a guy that would continually be with me for the rest of the race here and there and we both were doubting our chances at making the cut off time. As the loop progressed it turned out to be much different than the first lap because the terrain was drier and you could absolutely fly down the roads and single track descents to make up time you had lost on the climbs. Loop 2 was extremely fun with well taken care of single track on the Colorado Trail. We ran into lots of people who weren't in the race and they were kind enough to left everyone by and cheer us on as then did so.

At this point I was taking on fluids just fine but I was beginning to struggle with eating which always seems to be my down fall. I finished the Colorado Trail section and hit the road to climb back towards the park. This climb led us on a dirt road back to the switchbacks we had climbed out of the park. I raced back into the park completing the second lap in just over 4 hours. My down fall was that I had gone through the aid station at the end of the Colorado trail thinking I had enough water to make it back. Turned out I didn't. I had climbed for about 25 minutes with no water in the sunshine. However I did have some electrolyte drink to get me through though I was really wanting some water.

Final Loop 3, 37 miles 4,200ft of climbing


As I tried to take on more food talking with my Mom I was still wondering whether or not I would make the time cut off. I did know that if I didn't try and eat first there was no way I was going to make it through the whole final loop. So I relaxed ate what I could and then took off with 2-2.5 hours to climb Boreas Pass and make the cut off. I had no clue how long it was going to take me so I decided to put quite a bit of effort in to make sure I did. On the climb I ended up catching up to a guy that lives in my apartment complex that I had met only a week before. He told me that the climb was pretty easy on the road and that it was 9 miles to the summit. At that point it looked like I WAS GOING TO MAKE THE CUTOFF! That I did with an hour to spare. The only problem was I had used quite a bit of energy and my lungs were starting to hurt and go into coughing fits.

After I made it through the Pass and down through the single track decent to Como I started to slow down as the terrain became super hard. It was like a rock garden that you had to walk through and it completely broke my rhythm. Matt the guy from my apartment complex caught up to me and I let him go by. I told him I was reaching my limit and was going to be taking it slow so go ahead and pass me (he had only signed up for the 68 mile ride so he was still pretty fresh). As I made it out of the single track and into Como I knew it was going to be a long 10 mile climb back to the summit of Boreas Pass on the road. I just put it into survival mode and climbed at about 5.2 mph as that is all my lungs could handle. The legs were actually doing alright and didn't have any pain in them but my lungs just couldn't handle a faster pace. I stuck with it though as people passed offering encouragement and as I fought off the mental battle of my body wanting to quit and my mind wanting to finish all 100 miles. On the final single track after I had made it over the pass I caught Matt yet again. He got a flat for the third time. The first time he put a tube in his tire and the second time he patched and but it wasn't holding. I gave him the two tubes I had since he would then be behind me and if anything happened to me he would then be able to help me out. Turns out though no need as I flew down the final sketchy loose single track and raced down to the park 13.5 hours after starting and completing the whole Breckenridge 100.

I was lucky enough to not have a single mechanical issue (probably thanks to all of the issues I have had earlier this summer and getting the parts replaced before the race). The only problem I had was with 25 miles left I bonked and just went into survival mode to make it home! This was an awesome experience with a great group of people out on the trail. After the race you wonder if you would do it again... at first... not so much... as you reflect on it... yup I would and I would like to go under 12 hours for the ride! I think that is totally reasonable as I learn how to keep myself fed on the bike.

I have to send out thanks to my Mom first and foremost for coming out and being a part of this with me and to the rest of my family for making sure everything went well and believing in me. Also all of the friends that knew I could do it I thank you!

P.S. Now that I finished the race the Stash is coming off! I know how much all of you loved it! HAHA!

Two days to go...

and the suffering will begin. Saturday morning at 6am I will be starting the Breckenridge 100 with my Mom on looking. She flies in tomorrow and Friday we will head up to Breckenridge to go to the pre-race meeting and check into our Condo.

I took yesterday off and tonight I headed out on the same climb that I did when the seat post broke on the road bike on Monday except this time I was on the mountain bike. The climb was freakin hard as usual and the legs were screaming. But then I hit the down hill and ragged time trial style all the way down to Heil Ranch where I then climbed the rocky single track the best I have in quite a while. It was about 8pm so I turned it around and flew back down the singletrack to head home just before dark. I then once again ragged all the way back to the house and had another big dinner loading up on the calories.

Tomorrow night I will head out on a little ride to spin the legs out and then out to dinner with the Mom. Friday I might get a little ride in up in Breckenridge but tonight was the last night of hard work.

My head and my heart tell me I can do this whole race but altitude, 100 miles, and 14,000 ft of climbing could say otherwise. We'll see how it goes and hopefully get the results to all of you this weekend!

The Boat

I had a great time in Steamboat this weekend and had a great host. Keith took off out of town to go to a Festival so I ended up staying with his old roommate and now a good friend of mine as well Rob's. Rob actually lives right next door now since he moved out and went off to a NOLS course for 3 months and then came back. Rob is super into biking much like myself and it was fun to ride and hang out with him even though we didn't get to ride to much since he had to work most of the weekend.

Friday I got up and went to breakfast at The Shack and chowed down on a stack of pancakes and drank a few cups of Jo to get me going. I went and did a couple of laps up on Emerald where the singletrack is fast, tight and windy. SO MUCH FUN! It is about an hour climb or so up the 6 miles to the top then about 20-25 minutes of fun freakin downhill. I did a couple laps up there and then decided it was hot as hell and I had lost enough fluids for the day. That night I met up with my old roommate Dave and he, Rob and I went out for a few drinks and Julianne met up with us later.

Saturday I once again went to The Shack for another delicious breakfast and some Jo and then I went and rode this little ridden trail that Rob pointed me in the direction of off the back of Emerald. I then waited for Rob to get off work and we went and rode the Spring Creek trail where not two weeks ago Rob's fork broke on his bike and set him flying into the woods ripping up his elbow and even worse cracked two ribs. He is on the mend and it didn't seem to bother him to much as we both ripped the downhill after the climb to the top. Spring Creek is an awesome trail where you ride deep in the ferns and cross the creek something like 10 times. That night Rob and I got some Salmon, rice, and veggies and made a terrific dinner. I had been talking with the Fam in Florida how I wanted to give Salmon another shot since it is loaded with all kinds of good nutrition and well it turned out to be AWESOME! Rob grilled it up right and we had a great dinner. We took it easy that night just hanging out on the deck at his place.

Sunday I finally got Julianne to ride with us on her kick ass bike the Santa Cruz Julianna. She and I met up and had breakfast at Creekside which was awesome. We sat outside right along the creek and hung out for a bit over breakfast. Then it was up Emerald again. Rob rode with us on his lunch break and we had a good lap up there. Julianne was hesitant to ride with us but she did awesome and I can't wait to get up there and ride with those two again.

Here's some photos of the weekend.

MGM through the Meadows over looking Steamboat


The Ridge Trail with the Flat Tops in the background


Looking back on some downhill (30 mph down it!!)


Julianne crossing the planks! So proud!


Today I went out for a ride as I wanted to get a few more days of decent climbing in before the big weekend. I took off up Lee Hill in north Boulder which is a short climb but pretty freakin steep. I ended up some what cracking turning over the big road bike gears compared to the mountain bike. But after a quick stop to shake the legs out and adjust the seat height the legs came back a bit. It's always hard to climb after sitting in the office all day and starting a climb so quick is always rough on the legs anyway. Usually takes me about 30 minutes of pain to get going. I could feel some fatigue in the legs as well from the weekend but that is good. I crossed the top and went down the backside of Lee Hill. Once at the bottom I had to make another seat adjustment because I moved it a bit to high and my freakin seat post clamp broke. That meant 10 miles home with out sitting down aka not fun! So I climbed back up Lee Hill standing the whole time which was a good work out on the legs. The only sketchy part is going 40 mph downhill on the road without a seat to control the back of your bike is not fun and pretty nerve wrecking. I made it back safely though and everything worked out.

P.S. Christian Vande Velde aka VdV from Chicago of Garmin Chipotle Pro Cycling based out of Boulder had an amazing day in the Tour de France. He climbed with the 10 best riders in the world today and solidified his #3 position in the overall on the hardest stage thus far! Hopefully he can hold strong over the next 9 stages or move up even more!

Pic of VdV from Velonews.com