I haven't written here much since my divorce. partially because I couldn't get Xanga to in line my photos with word wrap, and it was such a chore to edit the html by hand that I gave up. maybe I'll try this again....

Above is a random pic of me from Zwift .

We, Dave, Ilka, Brent, john and myself decided to do the 11 hours or Erock aka Sunrise to sunset team MTB race.  I was wishing it was a 24 hour race just to get more miles in but this will be fun anyway.  It's a different course than I race in the 24 hours or Erock and thank goodness because that course was so boring that I swore I would never do that one again.

In any case we had been talking about this for a few months but we didn't actually register until an hour before registration was to close.  It was someone of an interesting team since Ilka has only been on a MTB maybe 10 times in the last 3 years or so  and Brent and John are pretty new to mtbking.   Ilka and Brent were pretty nervous about the whole thing, but we were just here to get some experience and have some fun.   There were no expectations of any kind of podium experience so there's no pressure, we're just here to have fun. 

We arrive at the venue on time and park etc.  The weather is looking good since the forecast was for horrible rains.  It was cloudy but I'll take that over the the blazing heat of the sun as that heat can take a lot out of you.  Seems like no one wanted to go 1st so Dave volunteers and I plan to go 2nd.   The start was a huge mass start which was crazy large.  If we were int this for some good laps we would need to be near the front, but since we didn't care Dave got a spot buried deep in the pack.
Bang the gun goes off and there is lots of cheering and it's a relief to finally be racing.

Seems like it took forever to get all of the riders past the start line.   5 minutes later John an I decide to get in some course checkout and we ran into the line of starters only 200 yards down the course!  We hang out for a bit and check out some of the course and we know it's going to be a fun day as this course is awesome!

Dave finishes his 1st lap and I am waiting for him.  I not really nervous but I am anxious to get that Cannondale of mine into battle.   That bike is like a rocket and on this course it should be a blast.   I take off and I immediately start passing riders.   Seems like I am picking them off quite easily but there are only a few good places to pass and riders are letting be by but not as fast as I would like.   At least I can let the bike run on most of the down hill sections without being held up too much.  I'm probably loosing more time than I think I am but I press on knowing that everyone pretty much has the same disadvantage.

This course is sooooo much fun.  It just flows with lots of twisty fun ups and downs.   It's also easy enough that Ilka and Brent won't have too much trouble with any of it.  I want everyone to have  good experience here so this is a good thing!   I am ripping past riders feeling a bit guilty that I am riding a $$$$ bike, but it feels good!   I wish I had this bike for some of the other races I did in the past as I might have been on the podium a few more times.    Anyway I get down with my 1st lap and I can't wait to get out there again!

Ilka is waiting for me at the handoff and I really hope that she has a good experience.  She was soooo nervous.  I know that she can ride this course easily and her climbing and endurance will be a real asset longer in the race.   I am wishing it was a 24hr race to really be able to take advantage of her strengths but there's always next year to find a 24 race!    We are waiting and watching for Ilka.   I decide to go up to the start finish line and to my surprise she is rolling in and Brent is not waiting for her!!!  I run back to our pit area and announce that Ilka is back!   Brent grabs his bike and heads to the start finish and takes off.   That was a major faux pas!  one that we don't need to repeat again!
Brent done a pretty good lap despite the fact that he crashed a couple of times over cooking a couple of turns.   I am sure he was going pretty hard which is good that he is treating this event as a "let's see what I can do" event.   I am not sure how much time was lost in those crashes but I am sure it was at least a minute or so.    Good think he wasn't physically or mentally hurt by this one.   He definitely learned from that experience and  was ready go for his next few laps.

John is up next and I know he will be pretty fast.    He goes off and he is looking pretty smooth.    He come back at a reasonably fast time, but turns out that he crashed pretty hard out there.   He basically had to one leg pedal it back as he hit a tendon or something and was in a lot of pain when he pedaled.   He was bummed that he had crashed, but more bummed that he might not be able to do any more laps!  John is a real team player and the thought of letting his team down was tearing at him and I could see the anguish on his face that at this point he won't be able to do another lap!   Major bummer here!   So we get John somewhat cleaned up while Dave is on his second lap. John visits the EMTs and they bandage him up.  The didn't have any crazy news like he broke anything, but Johns still in a lot of pain!
At some point John finds  the intermediate results and it seems that despite our woes, we are in 4th place and only down by a few minutes.   This was quite surprising  but it was motivating to have a decent finish and perhaps the chance to reel in the folks in 3rd.   In any case it was a relief I am sure for all that we weren't in last place or embarrassing  ourselves.

I take my next lap and I am still feeling pretty good.   The riders are more spread out and I am able to go a bit faster on this lap!   Since I the 1st time I had seen the course in it's entirety was on my 1st lap, it was nice to know where I can go hard and recover.   I was feeling as strong as the 1st lap but that can be an illusion when fatigue sets in and perceived effort isn't in actuality a good gauge of performance.
Ilka takes her next lap and  we are doing pretty well.  John is still in a good bit of discomfort, more from the feeling of letting his team down.

It's more of rinse later repeat and we keep doing our turns.   John is unable to take his next lap so I  slide into his slot to give him more time to recover. He's thinking he may be able to do a lap but not just yet, but he is feeling better.

I check the results after my lap and I find out that have moved up into 3rd place!   Yes we are now in a podium spot.  This is quite motivating for the team.   Knowing that now we could podium  we are much more attentive to not making any more mistakes.    We are only up on 4th by a few minutes and they could come back on us so we don't want to celebrate as the race isn't even half over yet.
We keep checking the results and find that we are pretty solidly in 3rd as we put a ton of time between us and 4th place.   We seem to be putting time into 2nd place and are 6 minutes back or so.   That's a lot of time to make up but looks like we have 3rd locked in unless some thing catastrophic happens.   There is lots of excitement in our pits and ya know, racing seems like more fun now that we have a reason to go hard in that a podium is possible.

John is feeling good enough to take his turn.   I am hoping that he isn't pushing himself too hard and risking season ending damage by not just calling it quits.  John is out on the course for about 10 minutes and it begins to rain!  Boom, lighting and it's raining really hard!  We all scramble to get into the cars and I am really hoping that John is OK since it would suck to be out there in the cold rain!  with the wind chill on the bike, it could easily mean hypothermia for John and that would be bad!

At some point the race officials call for a rain delay and they are not letting anyone else out on the course.   John had made the choice to keep going. which turned out to be a good thing to ensure our podium spot and keep us on the same lap as the top 2 teams.
Finally John makes it back to the start finish!.   I was so worried that he would be hurt, cold tired or worse.   He was pushing pretty hard, so he wasn't cold.  You could almost see the steam coming of of his body!

The results come in after a while and we are now in 2nd place!  Holy cow, that would be so cool to get a silver.  We are only up on 3rd by a couple of minutes and I know they will realize that they are close to a silver so they will push hard.
Seems like a 45 minute delay and the rain blows over and they are doing another mass restart. Bummer, cause we need to get a good postion over the 3rd place team as we only a few minutes apart.   Brent was going to start near the back, but Ilka makes him move up and this is a good thing, since as it turns out later, we would have lost our podium spot if he hadn't.

My turn to ride again and it's going to be my 4th and last lap so I don't need to save anything.   I am definitely not as fresh as earlier but I am still OK.    I immediately start passing people but it starts to rain again slightly and the course is getting slicker.   My front wheel almost washed out a couple of times and I am really missing the blue groove lines that were there on my 2nd lap.  With all the rain and much, my glasses are getting foggy and I can't go nearly as fast as I would like.  I keep pressing on and find myself behind a young woman who asked me if I wanted to pass.  Her speed is good, so I just sa nah and hang behind her for a minute or so.  Then I ask her if she was on a 5 person team, and she said yes!   Turns out she was on the 1st place team that we were competing with.   At that point I decided that I should go by her!  I pass her and checkout.   I pushed pretty hard to the end.   I know that with the time delay we are still 20 minutes behind 1st place, but we must have made up a could of minutes. 
I come in and  Dave, Brent, John  finish up our laps.   John was pushing so hard on that last lap coming up the hill.  I'm not even sure if he saw me when he went by.   He was so focused on doing well and putting the team 1st in his effort to finish strong.

When it was all said and done there was a timing snafu and the promoters weren't able to give out the medals in our category.

kind of a bummer not to get to get our medals and accolades from the crowd but it's all good!   After a week or so they sorted it out and we ended up in 2nd, yes!   Nice time was had by all.   We could win this one next year, maybe we will be back!

So, I find myself at the Ridgeline Rampage mtb race. Seems that I said something to one of my co-worker cycling buddies about doing this one and to my surprize he was more gung-ho about this than I expected. Long story short, here I am!

I don't think I have done a less than 40 mile Mtb race in a long time, maybe 15 years or so. it's a much different beast than the typical endurance stuff and requires riding at a much higher intensity. Make no mistake about it, I have no asperations of being on the podium or anything, but I can still "hear the cry of the warrior" and I still want to do my best.

I do have motivation this year or I at least need to justify the purchase of my 2011 Cannondale Scalpel Ulitimate. This was a bad-ass bike in 2011 and can more than hold it's own and I am excited to see what it can do in battle. Granted I haven't even ridden the thing that much, except to dial it in, but my initial impressions of the bike is that it is flippin fast. Anyway, back to my story.

I car pool down with Jon and Paul and we enjoy a nice conversation on the way down to Caslte Rock. On the way down we stop a the Mc Donalds for a bathroom break and Paul grabs himself a purple unicorn Mojo for his bike. This is so old school and I doubt whether many of the racers will appreciate that nice touch which paul tie-wrapped to his bike.

So we arrive and pay our money and the get back to the car to make ourselves ready. I was feeling pretty good, not nervous or anything, like in the old dayz when I would have expected to be top 5. After a bit of sandwich and filling my pockets with Power Gels I head to the start area with Paul and John so we can warm up. We kinda split up for the warmup since everyone needs to do what they need to do to get ready.

It's a good crowd which is started in waves, segredated by age groups. The 50 plus group is only about 21 riders so I am feeling good about this and won't have to push to hard to get around too many riders if the worst case should happen and I get caught behind too many slow riders.

Finnally the gun goes off and we are charging down the road. I was going pretty hard and I was thinking, Why are we going so hard?. Well, low and behold I look at the front of the pack and see my carpool buddy Paul at the front and charging hard. I am near the back of the back and thinking that I can't and don't want to hold this pace so I just back off and let a few riders go by. At least the start is on pavement which goes up a bike path climb which gives riders plenty of time to find their position. I must admit I am somewhat surprised how fast and fit these guys are, but then I remember that most of these guys race all the time. I see John go by me too and I think I find myself near the back of the pack. It's a long race so I am not concerned.

I am at last onto some single track and some rather large guy passes me. Oh Well, I'll just settle in. I am thinking that I may be able to real peolpe in since my bike tire preasure is setup for the trail and I should be able to settle in. After a mile or so I do go by that last guy who passed me as well as a few other from the 40+ group that we straggling. After a few miles I am feeling pretty good and I can still see the leaders with Paul still at the front. OK I'm not too far back so this is good. I am definately caught up in the excitement of the race and I am pushing pretty hard. I want to keep the pack in sight for motivation. My HR is in the high 160.. 170 and I don't know how long I can keep this up but for now I will just go with it.

I complete a 1/2 lap and we pass thru the start finish area as the course comes through this area twice per lap. For some reason I though i was covering more distance than I though and I was motivated to keep pushing. On one of the big climbs I catch a lot of riders and pass a couple of them including John! OK I can't be doing to bad. I finish that lap and motor on passing a few folks and getting passed by some of the speeders from the group which started behind me. I complete another pass through the start/finish area and for the 1st time check my Garmin and see that I have only done 11.6 miles or so. At this point I came to the realization that I can't keep tihs pace for another 20 miles so I back off a bit.

The course is really twisty with loose sandy soil and the bike is loving the climbs but I am descending with a lot of caution as the front end is plowing in the corners. The fork is too stiff and it's not allowing me to rail the corners as I would like. I find I can't hold the wheel of many riders I am chasing and I know if I were on the my Trek YSL or Yeti 575 that this would not have been my issue. So, I make the best of it and try to figure this bike out but I know I am loosing lots of time on the descents. This is not a technical course, but if the ground weren't so loose then I'd be much faster in and out of the corners.

On one of the climbs after about 14 miles or so. John passes me and for the next few miles we exchange spots as we make room for other faster riders. I can feel my lack of intensity training and I am unable to stay with John one one of the climbs. I try and remember to take eat some Power Gels and I think that keeps me going at a decent clip. I am happy I choose my small Camel bak instead of the big one or Water bottes, as the lack of weight and conveinence is nice!.

At some point I see Paul with maybe a lap to go and I pass him. He gives me a nice push as I go by as jesture of encouragement. I pedal on thinking that I might just be able to finsh ahead of Paul which would be cool! I am catching a bunch of riders every so often and gettimg passed by some of the fast juniors.

With about 7 miles to go I am chasing this guy who sees me and takes off! I am hoping I can catch him, but he's really strong and pulling away from me. I hit this little whoop and I hear my rear tire rub the frame but I don't think much of it but the tire is feeling a bit loose. I look back on one of the climbs and I see Paul to my surprise and he is gaining on me big time. It's only about 5 miles to go so I am hoping I can hold him off. My bike is seeming pretty slow and I realize I am getting a flat rear tire. Ugh. It's only 2 miles or so from the finish and I am crawling along trying to keep weight off the rear wheel. Alas, Paul catches me with a woman right behind him and I just pull over and let them go. I nurse the bike to the finsh, getting passed by a couple of others on the way.

I ended up finishing 13th out of 21 or so. Not too bad considering. Paul got 12th. John was like 10th or so, but he had 4 mechanicals and would have done much better. My right lower back was kinda stiff after the race but I was so happy to be done. I took a look at my tire and it looks like I must have burped some air somewhere(s) on the course. I pumped it up afterwards and the tire held air. Hmm next, time I'll have to put in more air. I need to also get that fork dialed in before next time. All in all a good time was had! Maybe I'll do the next race in the series in 2 weeks.

I keep telling myself I need to keep blogging, but only the more epic stuff.  Well so  I'd planned to do the Laramie Enduro again this year.  Why you ask, Well, my brother Paul wanted to get into endurance racing and had thought that the Leadville 100 waw what he wanted to do.   As luck would have it, we didn't get into Leadville but Laramie was open and so he decided to cut his teeth on this one.    I'd promised him I'd Shepard him through this one and so once again I find myself at Laramie.

So we decided that we would not car camp as I had done in previous years, with the exception of the 1st year that I had done Laramie.  I'd never had a good night sleep while cramping for whatever reason.   At  least this year the nights sleep was good.   The drive up however was a bit slow as there was a lane on I 80 that was closed.   As a result we were a bit pressed for time and anyone that knows myself or my brother, well we sometimes cut times a bit close.  In this case  by the time we made it too the start line we had about 2 minutes to spare.  As we arrive the stater informs us that we are late and the 35 and 45+ racers had already left.   We got a good chuckle out of this as we informed the starter that we were over 50 and indeed not late.   There was lots of chatter which we could hear that went mostly like, "Those guys are over 50???"    Amusing that our own tribe didn't recognize us.
In any case we park ourselves in about the 8th row and wait for the start line.

I go to start my Garmin and I see that it wasn't charged,  Argghh  and so I wouldn't have a record of this one .. Oh well,   Bang and the gun goes off and we are off an running.  riders are charging pretty hard onto and up the  opening dirt road climb and so we just settle into a rhythm knowing that  going to hard was a waste of time due to all the bottle necks that will occur as soon as we hit the single track.    I think Paul was commenting on his  high HR to start the climb, but the effort was too great so it was all good.
We enter the single track and it's a good time to recover from the minor effort.    It's somewhat nice to have people to keep us from going too fast at least for a little while.   We are settled and everyone is in a line and it's all good for now.   After a few miles we find ourselves using our brakes a bit too much and I can see the guy in front of us  doesn't have any skills and is holding us up.   He's got an ironman tattoo on his calf, a clear indication that he probably doesn't have skills so at our earliest convenience we get around him.

We are out of the woods and onto the roads and we don't have to worry about any traffic for a while.  It is here that I am starting to see the advantage the Paul's bike has, as it's rolling a lot better than my old ride.  I am beginning to think that I should have rented that Specialized MTB for  $75 as a  bike demo, or even taken Tyson upon his offer to lend me his bike.  Oh well, can't do anything about it now and I am sure that I will be fine.   It's  on this stretch that Dave Newman catches and passes us on his spankin new Jet 9 RDO.

We motor on and there are some riders catching us and we are catching others.   I should mention that we are not going that hard, cause this is a long race and  this 1st  portion of the race is downhill and one could easily blow ones load early and have nothing for the 2nd half.  Up and down on the fireroads and I decide we should catch Dave N, and we do and we are flying down the fire roads.    I can see that I have to work a bit harder than Paul on that 29er but it's all good for now and there's no suffering yet.    It clear that in the loose sand the 29ers advantage and  my front end is squirrelly on some sections of the courses.... Argh.   Up and down on the fire roads some more and  we are sitting in behind some riders trying to take it easy and conserve.  It's seems like these guys don't have much of a clue as to how to ride together since as soon as some rider get rested from sitting in, they just take off and wind up just a bit in front of us, but going no faster.
We get close to the 1st  aid station and we see Ignacio and he sits in with us until the 1st rest stop.   Dave N and his group don't stop at the 1st aid station and he is never to be seen again by us.   We get some food water etc. and probably spend too much time here, but it's a long day and Paul needs to get the experience etc.   I  always blow by this one  with only a grab of a gel or banana that the aid workers are holding out as I would go by.
Off and running again and we are doing OK.  It's  a bit windy out and we are working together so as to conserve energy as was our plan.   At this point the race is opened up and there are not bottlenecks and we are free to hold whatever pace.   I keep forgetting just how long this race is  even though I had pre-rode the course 2 weeks prior.     In the wooded sections I am seeing just how much faster Pauls bike is and  he keeps slowing down so that I don't get dropped.   He's climbing really well, which is impressive since he came from sea level.  Of course having a bike that's  5lbs lighter that mine and a body that's 5 lbs lighter doesn't hurt either.    Makes we wish that I had trained for this one ....
Hmm, at mile 20 something, I got my 1st cramp which is much earlier than i had ever cramped before.  This was not a good sign, but since I'd  ridden 1/2 as much as I would had like to, due to work and life it's not too surprising.    Some Gu took care of that one, but that's not a good omen of things to come so I know I can't go any harder than I am, which really wasn't that hard.  I really like the course between aid stations 1 and 2.  It flows well and there's a good mix of everything.   On the small  ascents and rocky descents on  right before aid station too, it's even more apparent what Paul is capable of and for a short bit he is out of sight.  Oh well.  I could probably have stayed with him, but the price to pay would have been too high.  Eventually he comes back to me since the plan was to stay together.   It's all good though as  we are having a good time.
I am happy to  be at Aid station 2 to get some food and recover  a bit.   We hang out there, maybe a bit too long, but it's good to get some food and stretch a bit.   The weather is really nice and cool, and I am hoping to be able to bring it in the 2nd half of the race, but I feel some pressure to stay with Paul and I am hoping that I am not exerting too much effort too soon.
We depart aid station 2 and those fire roads are welcome.  The bikes are rolling well and I am holding my own more/less except when it comes to the sandy spots where the sixer is squirrlly.   Yeah, I know,  I should have gotten a niner for this one, but I got what I got so I gotta deal with it.   Maybe if I win the lottery next year I'll by some blingity blinged out 29er and quit my job and have time to train....  Yeah I know, like my mother always used to say,  "I wishes were horses, then beggars would ride".... but I digress
There's some sweet terrain out here and the flowy single track is really nice.   Paul is really in the groove on the sage brush section and he is walking away from me and he doesn't even know the course!  I'd like to blame it on the  29r he's riding, but I think he's a better technical rider than I am, and with the bike all I can do is watch him walk away from me.   I wonder what he could have done with out holding back!  Anyway while trying to follow him, my bike was acting weird, like I didn't have any fork, and low and behold the fork had blown out!   This made me really have to slow down as the geometry was busticated.  I'm glad that  Paul waited for me and we took it easy into the next aid station.  We are losing lots of time here but it's all I can do.  My arms are starting to hurt a bit cause this not having suspension really sucks,  Big time.
Finally we made it to aid station 3 and I was asking the aid workers if anyone had a shock pump.   Well, they didn't but the guy next to me did and graciously offered it too me.  I wasn't sure if it was going to work, but I pumped it up and it held.  I put 30lbs more than was spec, but just in case it was going to loose air I figured too much was better than too little.   This was a really long stop for us and with going to the lavatory we lost big time here, but I am just glad to have a fork that is at least extended.
Once again we get to flow some nice terrain.  Life is more or less good and we are heading on.   This half of the course is the hilliest and I am hoping to have enough in the tan to be able to push on and not cramp.  Well, that was wishful thinking as I was cramping on and off, but gels and Endurolites are my friend and so I am in limp mode more or less.   I am starting to think that doing the long pre-ride 2 weeks prior was not a good idea, as I don't really think that I have fully recovered.  I felt much better that day and I was riding my Yeti 575 which is a slug and I just felt great on that day.  I think maybe I peaked too soon.   Could be that I didn't do the 40 in the fort race as I had done as part of my training which put some serious seasoning into my legs.... Oh well
We are keeping a decent rhythm on the hills, but it's a bit windy at points  and this is where staying together with Paul is paying off.  He's pulling like a bull into the wind at points and doing the lion share.   It's good though.    I am totally getting tired though, but it's OK for now and  I am hoping that I don't totally blow up on the way back.    The fork isn't great on some of the rocky stuff and my arms are really getting pumped.  Paul's bike is working great and anytime there is technical stuff,  I've gotta tip toe through it and we looks lots of time.  I still have visions of 2 weeks ago riding the Yeti 575 and what a difference in handling.   I can only imagine what it would be like to be rolling the  big wheels.    Those last miles towards aid station 4 were mentally brutal and I was so  tired of pushing into the wind.  Thank goodness that Paul was there to pull for me.
We get some good relief at the aid station and it felt good to be walking around.  At this point I don't really care how much time we are spending, only about trying to get some fuel and recover.   It's here that we run into Doug, whom I ridden with before on Gale's rides.   He joins us for our departure and we have provided motivation for him to keep going.   This next section is a nice mix of up and down and single track.    Paul and Doug and I ride together for a while, but Doug gets his 2nd wind after a bit and checks out after passing this woman who was kinda holding us a back a bit, not that we cared at this point.    This is some really fun riding, I just wish that there wasn't so much of it.   I find myself climbing some stuff that I shouldn't  but  I am tired and foolish and am remembering  what I road in the past when I was much more fit....   We are pushing pretty good as we head to the final aid station and actually pass a bunch of people who are  cheering us on.
It seemed like forever until we got to the last aid station which was moved  a mile or so away than in previous years.   I was so disappointed when I had to keep riding to get to it.    At this aid station we hangout for a while and we see Bo, a 1st time single speed rider from back in the fort  He's spent!  and will not finish.     Paul and I gather ourselves for the final push up Headquarters hill etc.     This rocky climbing stuff is getting officially old and I am so ready to be done now.   Well, wouldn't ya know it starts to hail and it;s good for the 1st minute but it gets cold after a while.  The rocks are slippery and I am tired.   I remember riding so much more of this previously but all I can do is walk now.   Paul is patiently riding behind me and walks to keep me company.
It seem like forever until we got to the top of that climb and now the dreaded rocky rooty section which wouldn't have been so bad if I had a fork that was working properly.  I had to go so slow in that section.   We are close to the end and I bid that Paul just go ahead, but he insisted that we ride together, saying something about, never leaving his wing-man or some such.   I think he's seen Top Gun too many times....   In any case we gingerly make our way through the woods, with my arms just about on fire from weariness and arm pump etc.    I was so happy once we got to that semi-technical descent as I knew the end was close and my suffering would end soon.
Finally we make it to the smooth single track that will lead to the start finish.   I am leading down the the hill and moving pretty good.   Finally Paul takes off, flying by me to the finish and I didn't have the strength or will or desire to go with him.   I  stroll to the start finish with folks cheering me on.    I am so so so happy to be done.   Another epic event in the books.
Will I do this one again?  I don't know, but if I do, it will be on a 29er!   In any case it was cool to do a race with my brother again, even though we weren't racing each other like in the old dayz.

Special Thanks to Michael Roberts for the Race Photos and Marshaling/Volunteering at  this event!

I am so not happy with  Xanga as far as getting my photos in lined properly.  Ugh............

Another Laramie Enduro and  I can’t believe I signed up to do this one again.  I guess I need a goal each year to keep me motivated to stay fit, so I keep on doing it.  Not that I don’t enjoy it, cause I do enjoy the camaraderie and all but any way you look at it, it’s a long day in the saddle. 

This years training had to be different than the previous years cause the wife divorced me and I have the kids 50% of the time.  This means that I only get to ride long on every other weekend.  Not exactly the ideal plan, but it’s what I’ve got for now. Yeah, I suppose I could find a sitter and all that , but the $$ that it would take isn’t really worth it for me.  Now, if I were potentially going to be on the podium that would be a different story.

So I decided to car camp again.  I really don’t like camping all that much for races, cause I never seem to get a good night sleep, but I don’t feel like paying for lodging or driving up from Fort  Collins early enough to make the 7:00 start.    The night was pretty much uneventful except I woke up at 2:30 for some reason and I don’t think a got back to sleep as quickly as I would have liked, if at all.  Something about being on ground that isn't 

perfectly level seems to not let me relax….

The morning finally arrives and I get up and it  looks like it’s going to be a good day.   Seems warm enough that I won’t need leg warmers or anything and I hope that the temps won’t get too high.   I need to get some food, and I would like to eat a ton, but for some reason I can’t seem to eat more than a veggie hot dog, some chips and a few crackers.  Well I guess I will just have to be mindful of eating early and often and then I should be OK.

I finally make it too registrat

While standing around I see a few folks that I know,  Dave, Mark, Tom, Ian, Mike etc and all are in good spirits.   There are a ton of old guys here, which is a good thing, and reassures me that I am not too crazy for doing this event.ion sign-in and the line is super long.  Guess it’s a good thing that I am in the 50+ group that is going off last.   Also a good thing, as I get to make one final stop at the porta-potty. 

Finally we are called to the line and it’s go time.  This year I have the Garmin GPS and a speedo, so I am assured that I can gauge my effort and have some data to look at afterward.   I check my starting HR and it’s a bit high, but since I am not as excited as I was in the old days it’s a lot lower than it could have been.

Bang the gun goes off and we are off and running.  I am mindful not to get caught up in the Melee to get to the gate first as this is going to be a long day and why waste the energy.   I find myself right behind Dave who appears to be working pretty hard, due to a lot of upper body movement.   I just sit behind him on the climb cause I know he is pretty fast and what’s the point of passing just to get passed again.   It’s also a good chance to guage how the other old guys look at this point. 

I make it to the single trak and there aren't any bottle necks like I remember in the previous years.  Hmm,  I guess they did a really good job of staggering the start with enough categories such that this isn't an issue this year!   This is a good thing and I try to settle in behind Dave and keep things tight.   At this point I am doing pretty much the same tempo as everyone else.   There is some pressure not to gap any one so I may have been working harder than I should have but it’s early and this won’t last too long.

We are into the twisties in the woods and this is good east coast riding.   At Dave’s earliest opportunity he goes around a laggard whose skillset wasn’t that good in the woods.  I find myself behind this guy and I am watching the guys in front of me walk away while I am applying the brakes in places where there is no need.   I am patient until we make it to the long open double trak at which time this guy picks up his pace and I have no desire to go with him.   He was probably some roadie, coming here to ride the dirt cause his single trak skills were wanting.On the double trak, it seem like a bunch of the guys that were behind me were catching and passing me.  I guess they were taking their time warming up, but I was very surprised at how fast they passed me.  Yes I could have matched their effort, but not for any distance.     For me  it’s all about managing my effort, such that I don’t cramp.  I am not an endurance rider since I have more fast twitch, so I must be careful not to dip into the glycogen reserves to early or it’s “game-over”. 

So  I am keeping a good tempo on the flats and pretty much soft pedaling on the descents so as to take some advantage of the grades, but not waste any energy here.  This seemed not to be the strategy of many of the riders around me as I could see they were pushing pretty hard everywhere.   I wonder how well I would do against these guys on a 25 mile course where managing my efforts would not be an issue.   Hmm,  maybe I will have to do a “Short Trak” race one of these days just to test out the racing legs…  but I digress…

I come to that really sketchy section and I slow way down and get back over the rear tire with my weight.   A couple of guys come past me with abandon, just a sliding and a skidding but they pass me without incident.   Guess they were comfortable riding like that but I sure wasn’t going to risk it that early.   In any case within the next mile or so I catch and pass these guys. 

Shortly I see my co-worker Mark and I pass him before we get to the single trak at that little hairpin corner that points us to the woods and more single trak.  I am checking my HR and it’s  a bit higher than I would like, but some of that could be  due to the altitude so I press on.    I think  Mark tried to say with me for a bit, which I was thinking that although my perceived pace was comfy, that it probably as such for him.  In any case after a few miles I no longer hear his breathing and I can assume he settled into a more reasonable rhythm.

The whole time I am in the twisties, I am thinking how nice this is.   I am just kinda riding with relative calmness,  not really feeling like I am racing, but merely managing so as not to cramp.

Before long I make it too the 1^st aid station, and unlike last year, I stop to get some food.  I have a tendency to run out of fuel on long rides, where I perceive that I am tired, but I am really just hungry, so I want to keep the calories in.    I don’t stop too long and on the way out I see a “brother” who I acknowledge and apparently he is from Nearby Fort Collins as he and his friend ask me if that’s where I am from, cause they see me riding there a lot.   Cool! 

Off and running again, and I can tell that I am not as fit as previous years, but the course seems to be flying by faster.   I can’t tell how long or far I have gone cause my computer, although it’s giving me speed is not registering distance!  Wtf.  I don’t like not really knowing how far I have gone, which makes it hard to gauge what effort I think I should be exerting.

Ok,  Out to some more fire road which seems to last forever.  This is where I wish I had a niner or something that rolled better.    Seems like I keep getting passed by a lot of riders and I am not passing very many. Oh well.  Finally out to the road and back into the single trak again.   This is one if my favorite sections, but I am not able to push as much as I would like and I think I am

going pretty slowly despite the fact that I actually caught and passed a few riders.

It’s on one of the technical climbs that I catch Ignacio, who is the 17 year old son of one of my co-workers.   He is riding some 30+ lb bike and I am amazed at how well he does with that .    I follow him for a bit until he stumbles on the climb and I bid him adieu.  This for me is really a fun section and it does take a few matches to clean it all, but it’s fun.    I am really enjoying the  pushed 130mm fork that my Trek YSL now sports.  I used to get so beat up on the old-school 80mm ones that I used to run, and although there is a weight penalty with the new fork, it’s worth it!

Out of the single trak and it seems like I am spending so much time on fire roads!   I can see why this is a favorite with some roadie type since there is plenty of opportunity to just hammer.  I find my self trying to draft as much as possible, but I am also doing my share when the time comes.  I am pretty pleased that I am riding every thing so far, even the steep 20% grades tha

t it might be better to walk, which I had done in some previous years.

Before long my right leg is beginning to cramp, and we are not even ½ way through yet!   Time to do some power gels and I am good to go for a while.  I need some enduralytes and I take about 6 at the next aid station.

I am trying not to spend all day at the aid stations and this is probably where I passed a bunch of folks as they were recovering and eating more than I am.  I am sure the real racers are barely spending more than a few seconds there, maybe just enough to fill their water bottles.   I am finding that I only need to fill my camelbak every other aid station.  I am trying to drink as much as p

I am not really focused on not going to hard so as not to cramp, but to no avail my right leg is cramping ever so often.   My left leg never cramped the entire way, so maybe I am not using them evenly, or it could be my left leg is just stronger …ossible, but for some reason, I have never been able to keep well hydrated, even though I think I am drinking like a fish. 

I push on from aid stations 3 where the single sage bush stuff is a blast.   I am totally loving how the fork just makes the bike so comfy compared to the years without!  I am seeing lots of the same riders as we leap frog each other.   For some reason many of the climbs didn't seem as bad as I had remember,  and I only wish I could have been able to push hard up them.    I am thinking that not riding  Old Flowers road or riding the MTB up to Rocky MTN park from Loveland as I had done previously didn't help me in the training department.  Hmm, I wonder how many of these guys have done as few races or miles as I have done?  That could be a big difference as to why I am not really able to “race” this thing, but merely survive.

Looks Like I’ve got 2 more aid stations to go and I know the sections between the last 2 could be tough.   In any case I am in a slow rhythm and I am feeling OK.   I am still not pushing that hard and it just seems like I am riding this course instead of racing.  I guess I always feel this way during some portions but this year it seems like more than usual.

Lots of dirt roads and trails that seem really familiar.   I guess I have done this enough that I know where I need to use some effort and where I can recover.   Seems like on all of the fire road descents I was pretty much soft pedaling, just to have something for the climbs.  

At this point I would just like to be done, done, done.  I have what it takes to finish but I know I am not going that fast  and it seem like a death march.   Well, maybe not that bad, but the climbs on the fire roads are so boring and they seem to last forever.   I know I climbed so much better last year with a take it easy strategy on the 1^st half and push on the second.   This year I didn’t feel like I would be able to push so I didn't at all. 

I was glad to make it into some of the more technical sections and the bike is doing well here.   There was some rider coming up from behind, but he fell back on the technical stuff.  He eventually caught me a bit before the step ladder over the fence.

At this point last year it was “go time” this year is was survive this one to live another day.   Every so often I would see another rider or so, some I would pass, others would pass me.    Right now I just want to make it to the next aid station.   It is slog to aid station 4 with lots of fire road.  This was the longest section mentally for me

Seems like there is a line of us now as we had to slow down a bit for the ambulance and police car.   Someone had a pretty bad spill and we were way back there.   I am near the front of the train here and am able to ride my own pace.   Rider with me were clearly pretty tired and some words were exchanged when a rider failed to move out of the way on a climb, forcing the rider to dismount.

I was so tired when I got to that climb that I always walk, I dismount early pushing the bike.  A few riders went by me, but I didn't care.   Pushing up that grade was pretty hard, but my legs were pretty happy to do something different for a while.   Many of the riders who passed me stopped to rest at the summit, but I just pushed on, recovering as I went on. 

Looks like we are coming upon an accident, where it appears that a motorcycle and a racer collided.   I think one of the riders in front of me knew the rider and they exchanged greeting and the downed rider gave him a message to pass on about being more/less OK.

I know there is one last big climb before aid station 4 and this is where last year I was able to blast past a lot of riders.  This year I hung on the wheels of 2 riders in front of me bearly holding their pace, but  I didn’t want to fall back.  Eventually I did have to slow the pace, but at least the rider behind me fell off the pace before I did.   I was only a few seconds behind at the top and I knew aid station 5 was close.

I was so happy to see aid station 5 and food.   Potatoes were on the menu which is just what I wanted, real food.  I probably spent more time here than last year, but I was close to cramping and I wanted to get some good fuel in.   At this point I am thinking that I probably didn’t fuel well and should have had a breakfast with more calories.  Last year I had a subway sub with chicken.  This year I had a veggie sandwich I made up from fixins and I think I could have been experiencing the result.  In any case, I take 6 enduralytes and some heed and some water mellon.   I wish I could have eaten more but there wasn't much else that looked appealing.

Off I go for the final push.   Headquarters hill and all that.   If anyone thinks that this part is a walk in the park think again.  Yes there is some descending, but you have to climb up again.  Once again the fire road is so dreadful and I can’t wait to get into the single track.  I had forgotten how bad that 1^st section is, and I found it just better to walk some of the rocky rooty stuff.   I was so glad to get back into the east coast stuff.

The legs are OK at this point and feel better than they have in miles.  Hmm,  I think having good fuel is making a difference.   I pass a rider and then get passed but I am feeling OK.   I chose to walk some of the technical climbing stuff as I was too tired to yank and push and balance.

Once all that rocky stuff was done, it was time to see if I could chase down the rider in front of me.   When I got closer to him, he hit the gas, but I gave a good chase.  I thought I maybe could catch him on the final technical descent, where I saw another rider walking, but this guy had skills and all I could do was stay even.  A bit later I knew the chase was futile so I settled into a brisk pace, but not with any sense of urgency. 

I was starting to sprinkle a bit and it had been cooler for the last several miles.  I felt much better when it was cooler, which could be why I was able to push a bit an give some chase. 

At last I see the road and  I know that it’s a little bit of a downhill and I am done.  Yeah, finally,  I have finished.    I was so hungry and I didn't care about my time, which was 8 hours 4 minutes, which is about 30 minutes slower than last year.  I felt like it would have been more than that, but I am good with it.

Post ride,  a rider  asked me if I was the guy who writes this blog!   Turns out he liked what he read and used some of the info to help him prepare!  Nice to get some in person feedback once in a while.   A couple of other riders I met along the way thanked me for warning them how bad the climbing in the 2^nd half was so they were prepared. 

I wasn't too long when the rain came down and I was lucky enough to have Janet invite me into her camper to wait it out! It was nice to catch up with Janet (we did Leadville together in 2006 as part of Gales group). 

Anyway, this could be the last enduro race for me for a while….  Results can be found here.

It’s 2013 and it’s time to do another 40 in the Fort.  I was pretty sure last time I did this one that I wasn’t going to do it again.  Originally in 2012 I wanted to do it as a tune up for the Laramie Enduro.   After doing it last year, after doing Laramie I was thinking that this was too tough for me to do as a tune up in June.  For whatever reason, I decided that I should do it as a tune up and that perhaps my recollections of it were not as bad as I had remembered.  Mental note here:  Always Trust you memories when concerning endurance MTB racing.

So  I signed up, but wasn’t feeling really all that fit the week before.  An infection that required some Antibiotics was still in place and this seemed to make me really tired, but that might just be a coincidence or the fact that it’s been so hot lately.  In any case I pretty much took it easy the week before, with no running and pretty much only commuting in to work.    My training or at least riding has been different since the Divorce last October in that I am only able to ride every other weekend.  That meant getting some decent rides in Sat & Sun day and then resting or riding the trainer on the other weekends… but I digress.

Finally the day of the race is here.  Once again I chose to ride the 1998 Trek YSL.   It’s not as light as it was in the Leadville days, but with the addition of the 130mm Fox Talas it’s a lot more fun to ride.   The day is much hotter than last year and I am concerned about cramping.   The plan is to ride easy and not get sucked into any early Melee.  Well this is the plan anyway…   I look around the start area and I see most of the riders seem to be in the Open Pro group and there are not too many old duffers like myself.  Hmm, not a good sign but maybe it’s cause the race isn’t sanctioned and the older guys are off getting some real points someplace else..

The gun finally goes off and I am really feeling kinda lethargic.  The legs feel OK, but not with the snap I believe I had 2 weeks prior.   In any case I force myself into a rhythm that puts me near the back of the middle group on the way up the fire road.  I see a pack of  6 or so riders flying off the front.  I am thinking that these guys are either really foolish or really fast.

I make it to timber, pushing ahead of any riders that I don’t gauge to be as strong as myself.     Seemed like I did a good job here as I was able to move fast enough that no one wanted to pass, but no so fast as to be reeling in any of the other riders.   Flashing back to last year, I know I felt a whole lot better at this point but that’s probably cause I had  much more time to prepare than this year.

Up we go.  Some folks biff near some rocky stuff and so I just follow suit and dismount for that section that I always ride.  I didn’t lose any time that was significant, and it’s still early anyway. 

Now the 1^st Kimmons descent and I see Ignacio off to the side, which I would find out was because he crashed and mangle a pedal pretty badly.   I ask if he is OK and he says he is fine so I continue my descent.   I was following some guy that I was faster than, but I wasn’t in any hurry.    There’s that one nasty left hand switch back that I always have trouble with so I was content to follow on this one.   Somewhere though the guy in front got off his bike and let me by.   Now I am setting my own pace and there are 4 guys or so on my tail as we hit the low lands.

West Valley should have been a pretty fast trip, but because of the rain the night before was sticky and clay was packing up on the tires.   I am thinking that I didn’t want to be wasting energy before the climb and that I was pretty sure that this was going to be a slower race for me than last year…

I finally reach Saw Mill which is a new climb this year.  I had only done this one twice before and I recall that it was pretty nasty.   I really did prefer the old course where Towers road made up the bulk of the climbing.  I don’t mind doing sawmill when I am having fun riding, but this is going to be a suffer-fest for me and I’d rather not have the extra technical difficulty, not to mention the extra mile or so that it added.    Neat the start of this climb a few rider got by me and the slowly checked out.   Ignacio had caught up again and went by me here too on one of the sections I thought too expensive to try and clean.

Seem like I had been climbing for every and there was a lot more walking of technical stuff than I would have liked.   I know my forte is not endurance racing, and I somewhat miss racing the distances that I can hammer.  Guess if I trained more I might be able to do that for this distance, but I am not interested in giving up that much of my life for a few extra seconds shaved off… Anyway  I make it to the top of Carey Springs on onto Towers road Yeah.   Yep, I am thinking Yeah to be on Towers, which no one in their right mind would be thinking.

I look up the road and I am thinking, I gotta do this again.  What was I thinking when I signed up for this…  I start to think about those Bacon Donut sandwiches from last year and how that would be good some thing this race.   I am pleasantly surprised as I make Bacon hill to see Team Bob dressed in “Fantasy Wear”.  They were dancing and offering bacon to all comers.    I didn’t get any bacon on the 1^st go around but I promised I would get some on the 2^nd.    I must say the women there were looking mighty good at this point and it would at least provide some motivation for me to see them 3 more times.

As I continue on my journey I see some of the Open Pro guys climbing past me on th 2^nd to last pitch up to the aid station.  The guys were offering me some encouragement which was nice to hear.   Hmm,  maybe I was  doing OK. But maybe they could see that I didn’t have any Warp Drive and figured that I needed any thing I could get to help me.

Past the aid station,  maybe I should have stopped but I wasn’t really hungry yet and they didn’t have enough calorie dense tasty food to motivate me to stop just yet.   I see Ignacio is getting some food here and that was probably a wiser choice than I made. I  am thinking I will stop before the descent to MillCreek.

I am a bit concerned about how the bike will descend.  It’s got a super high bottom bracket which gives me more height than I would like.   I make a quick stop to lower the saddle about an inch and that makes a world of difference.   I was wishing for a dropper post, but at $400 for one of those I think I will just stop and lower it myself.   The bike handled pretty well, and  I probably could have gone faster if I rode this bike more often, since the last time I rode it was 40 in the Fort Last year.   My thinking was that I don’t want to fry the rear shock on this one cause it’s too expensive to replace, only to race maybe twice a year….

More climbing etc up to Bacon Hill and this time I get some bacon.   I am thinking hmm, some of these women look like they might be my age hmm, single maybe… OK no time for any of that thinking.   The bacon is good, and the girls were a lot of fun.  Big thanks to Team Bob on this one!

As I make my way to the aid station at the apex,  I am having thoughts that I might not finish this one as my leg is starting to cramp. I had to stop and take about 4 or 5 enduro some-things along with a gel.   That seemed to do the trick and I was good to go, but I just had to make sure not to push to hard.

I was looking forward to the descent and yet not, since I knew it could be sketchy at points and I have only ridden this trail once or twice since last year.  I keep telling myself I need to come session some of this stuff, but I just never seem to make the time to do it and now it’s reckoning day again.    Wit the saddle dropped a bit ,  I ride a good bit of it except for some of the really Nasty stuff.   That  kid with the Dreads from last year came blowing by me again and we exchanged greetings,  “Good to see you again”,  “Likewise I replied” and he was gone..

I was so happy to finally be in the valley and was looking forward to some fuel and hydration.  I see Marie Walsh, eventual women’s Open/Pro winner and see was flying! and a hooting like she was having the best time of her life!  I am thinking that this Heed Stuff doesn’t work as well for me as the usual Cytomax and Powergels, but it’s all I’ve got.   I would have loved some salty French fries and a burger as I was so sick of  the rabbit food I was eating.   I am pretty sure at this point I am on the bring of bonk, but I must press on.

OK,  Timber trail one more time and I am going like 5 mph or something. I am trying to do all I can, but have enough for the steeper stuff later on.   Seems like I have been alone racing for quite a while and going as slow as I am, I am looking for those who will be catching me.  In any case down Kimmons and still no-one.  Hmm, can’t see anyone in front of me either.  

Down West Valley and the sticky mud is pretty much all gone.  It’s not fast, but it’s not slow either.  I make it to SawMill and I am dreading this climb.  I am really starting to wonder if I can finish this one!   I am sweating like a pig and drinking like a fish, and I don’t feel like I have much energy and am on the verge of cramping.   Mayb3 1/8 up Sawmill and I see the chasers coming for me.  Yep,  I am really dogging it now. I am walking so much of this trail as I feel I have nothing left.   In hind site I think I am on the verge of Bonk, but I have enough seasoning to keep going.  Maybe I have bonked, but just don’t want to admit it. 

I get passed by one or 2 riders as I am on Carey Springs almost to Towers.  Once again I am glad to be on Towers, but this time I am walking.  I have never walked so much of Towers in my life.   My 70 camel back which I had filled at the Start/Finish is almost kicked and I have a long way to go.   I catch a Single Speed kid with a Gear that looked like a 36 16 or something crazy.  He was walking even slower than I was.    I think I got on the bike on some of the easier grades, but it was painfully slow.

Finally I see Bacon Hill again and I push on hoping that my Angels are still there.  Yes they are and in good spirits they are.   I think I spent a lot of time there and perhaps they were thinking I might quit as the gently kinda insisted that I keep moving.  If I were in my right mind or younger I would have been trying to get some digits, but I guessing that I probably wasn’t looking so good anyway and that wouldn’t have worked out so well, but I digress.

With some coke and a smile I am off again,  pedaling ever so slowly.   I  think this is where young Ignacio caught me again.   At the 1^st sight of any grade changes I was off the bike and walking.   I am so glad that I had been running a bit earlier in the season as I am sure that this helped me quite a bit.  I was having Flash Backs to Pushing up the Power-line Trail in LeadVille, but at least these were short lived!   Never again I am thinking,  Never again.    I think I am getting to Old for all of this foolishness, and should return to doing something that more suits my years….

Finally I am to the Aid Station and looking for some food.   I got some Water Mellon, but I would have paid good $$ for some food.    French Fries is what I was dreaming of and a nice fat hamburger!    While I am hanging out there I see Barb Shutlz coming up before her final descent.   Oh man, she is so much ahead of me.   I am thinking that on a good day I could be within 20 mins of her, but today is not that day.    We exchange greetings and I am off and running.  Oh,  Ignacio catches me hear and we take off together.

I have no desire to try and ride that last pitch up to the antennas.  Maybe I could have done it, but the price like many things would have been to much for me and I choose to walk, while I watch Ignacio just  pedal away from me,  Oh well.

Finally the grade levels out and I am able to ride almost to the antennas, but I am so happy that I think I know for sure that I can finish this one.   My only fear now is that I am so tired, I could make some technical mistake and wind up in the weeds somewhere or worse.   I see Ignacio stop for some gels at the top but I continue on with the descent.  I am getting to know/trust  my bike much better this time around but I am to tired to really take advantage of what I know now.

I Feel like I am moving OK now and this descent would be fun if I were not so tired.  Just got to make it to Bacon Hill, One more Time….

I make it out to Towers road and I am happy that I can see the tunnel that is suppose to have the light at the end of it.   I see the Bacon Hill Gang there one last time.   I get some coke and push on.

Walking and Riding with more of the former is getting it done, but I have memories of riding some much more of this last year, where I only walked 2 of the pitches on the last lap or so.  Anyway, I get some more  Water Mellon at the last aid Station and Off I go.   I am pleased that my arms are obeying my commands albeit them a bit slow at doing so.  I an see where doing these trails more often would really help me if I were to ever do this race again…  I actually catch and pass a couple of riders on some of the techy stuff and they say, “Good Job” to me..

Ok,  Last push to Mill Creek and we are in the Valley and home Free.   I  see Mike Greiner just riding and he follows we for a bit and we chat.  He said he saw some bears on saw mill a little while ago!   Glad I didn’t see them.  Nice to be cruising easy on the flats and at last I  see the finish line and I am so glad to be done.

 

Results can be found here:

So it's a good day to ride and I am finally going to make it out to Hall Ranch.  I have heard a lot about the place but never had the impetus to make it out there.  I must say I was a bit nervous going to ride there, as I heard it was quite technical and that's not my strong suite yet.   I have done some Technical rides with the likes of the 450 club, and I know my limits and even though I enjoy working on some tech, I don't like to ride over my head, so Let's see how this goes.

Yeah, so you are probably wondering what got me out here.  Well, if your read my last 40 in the Fort Blog,  I was lucky enough to connect with Marie (Zils friend), the woman in the green socks with the amazing down hill skills.  I figured I could hold my own on the climbs and with the help of the Yeti 575 would at least not embarrass myself too much.  So the plan was set for me to ride with Marie, Clyde and Matt.

I met Marie in Loveland and we carpooled down to meet Clyde and Matt at the Trail head.  The drive down was uneventful and it seemed a bit odd to be driving those roads, since most of the time I get down there on bike when doing one of Gale Berhnhardt's Sunday rides. In any case it was good to get to talk to Marie, since I only got to exchange the small words mentioned in the last blog when we passed each other.

At last we are at the trail head and it isn't long before we are joined by Clyde and Matt.  Clyde, Marie's boyfriend drove up from Denver and Matt also came from Fort Collins.  Probably should have carpooled with Matt, but it just didn't work out that way..  At the Trail head everyone is pretty friendly.  Good vibes from the hikers and all, and this is a good start to the adventure.

We are all off and ready and Marie heads up the trail 1st.  Oh my, I had forgotten how fast she was and I am putting more effort in getting the 575 to move compared to what my YSL would have required.   At this point I am starting to rethink my choice of steeds cause at this rate, I'll be toast in 40 minutes.   In any case this only lasts for a minute until Clyde takes over and sets a much more civil pace.  Yeah, that's more like it and life is wonderful again!  Not that it wasn't anyhow, but my legs aren't going to explode any time soon.

It's after a mile or so the technical stuff begins.  I was holding my own more or less, but since it was my 1st time being there, I didn't know any of the lines and with so many rocks etc. my eyes were darting around trying to find something I could handle.   after a 1/4 mile or so we come to some Sessionable sections where I watch Marie, Clyde and Matt work the terrain.  For some reason I didn't have a ton of confidence in my rear tire which I was planning on replacing and with the dust on some of the rocks I didn't feel like "going for it" and risking injury so early in the ride, so I am content to enjoy the show.

At this point in the ride I am happy with my choice of bikes, but I couldn't help wondering how the YSL would have held up with it's 130mm pushed fork.  I am sure it probably would have been OK, but it's bottom bracket is kinda high and descending may have been an issue... but I digress.... 

As we are climbing we come to a few other sections of trail that are worth some do overs and I watch the Marie/Clyde and Matt show.   I was thinking that I should jump in there and do some more sessioning, but for some reason I just wasn't feeling that go-for-it spirit.  I could be cause I was a bit hungry but whatever, I was content to observe.  There were some really good opportunities to take some sweet pics, but that phone camera wasn't cutting it.  Mental note,  Next time bring a real(tm) camera...

Finally we are done with the technical stuff and it's time to relax and just ride. I must say, the trails here are really sweet and I am wishing I had taken  Barb/Tim/Chad/Darrens suggestions to ride this one before now.  In any case I am here now and life is good.   As we reach one of the clearings  Marie spots a Bobcat!.  We hang out and watch them, and once again, my camera is inadequate, but I take some pics anyway in hopes I can crop and zoom my way into something decent.

Once again riding I get a chance to chat more with my new found companions and they are pretty cool.  I like a ride where it's not too deep and relaxed, with not too much technical bike talk, just good conversation, which is important to me when riding with folks for the 1st time.  While we are talking we run into one of the friendly Hikers (Liza) and she is kind enough to snap a pic of us and email it to me.  It's good when hikers and MTBr's can get along so well and it's real....  Anyway Thanks Liza.

So, anyway, we talk and ride and get to the summit where there is a view of Longs Peak and Meeker.  I need not say it, but I need to get back to bringing a real camera....  OK time to descend and life is sweet again.   Marie and Clyde just about checkout on the descent and I do my best to keep pace and follow their lines.  The terrain up here is a bit grainy and that 575 seems to want to "push" a lot.  I've gotta figure that out some day, as at times there are lesser riders that I hookup with and even they are able to walk away from me but when following skilled folks it's such a noticeable shortcoming on my part. Maybe it's the front tire, I just don't know.  Maybe some day I will Strava some of these sections for comparison between some of my bikes and see if I have that problem on all of them...   Anyway, besides that getting dropped feeling I am really happy to be out and riding.  Hmm Maybe I can get the Push folks to help me out with some of their fancy gadgets... probably not, but that would be cool...

Now onto the Descending part of the Technical Section!  Ok, I drop my saddle and I can handle most of this stuff.  I try and see the lines that Marie, Clyde and Matt are taking and that is taking the guess work out of some of it. I am still not really comfortable doing this and I think I would do better if that 130m was at least a 160, but the 130 is more that adequate if one has skills.  In any case I felt more and more comfy as time went on and I am sure if I took the time to practice I would be much much better...  While I am checking out some lines some riders came by that were "Amazingly" fast.  Wow, Ok, so I am so far from the limit of how fast this can be ridden it's ridiculous.

Finally we are back in the parking lot and it's time for Matt to checkout as he has places to be.  So Marie, Clyde and I are chatting and we decide to ride over to the Picnic Trail which is a couple of miles down the road.   Well, my legs feel good so this sounds like a plan and the way it was described it sounded like some sweet riding.  Clyde leads the way to the trail head at a good clip.  I am not sure that Clyde knows how strong he really is, and considering that he only rides off-road, it's more impressive.  I suppose he's got to be strong to keep up with Marie all the time!

This trail is some of the sweetest Single trak I have ridden in quite a while. It's got some East coast feel with some trees and nice flowing switches.  Yeah, baby, this is the life.  Clyde's pace is excellent and right in the zone of exactly what I would have set if I was riding point.  I gotta love it when I am not being push and I can just enjoy the ride. 

The Sun is starting to set, but we are making good time.  While we are climbing, I see a familiar face sitting astride a bike,  and it's Darren.   We stop and exchange greetings.  Looked like Darren wanted to join us for the rest of the ascent, but the Sun was setting and it looked like he'd rather not get caught in the darkness.  We say our goodbyes and off we go.

At some point a woman had passed us and Marie decided to go chase her down. Clyde and I just let them go and we had a nice chat while enjoying the trail.  It's not too long before we are at the top where Marie and the other woman are chatting.  She had some sweet Carbon bike and from what Marie learn, she's a racer.    We don't chat very long and we are descending.

This is one sweet descent.  Marie checked out and I am following Clyde.  This part of the trail is hard and the Yeti is lovin it!  This was probably the only part of the ride where it was pretty comfortable following Clyde.   We are moving pretty well and just flowing the trail.  The only thing I could have wished for was a GoPro Camera to capture all of this splendor.  That footage would be some good to roll into something to watch if I was ever forced to ride the trainer in the winter or to just watch when I am old and can't ride and can relive the good-old-daz!

After a bit we find Marie resting and it's time to rock and roll again.  For this section I find myself behind Marie and we are flying pretty good.  The hard pack is good for the Yeti and event though I am riding pretty hard I am not stupid-crazy.  As the soil loosens up and gets a bit more Twisty, Marie starts to checkout.  I know better than to try and stay with her as "A man's got to know his Limits".   It's a bit harder to ride without her lines to follow.  I must admit I was enjoying the Marie show, especially when she did those little stylish mini-whips into the corners... Mental note, gotta get a Go-Pro....   So now I back off a bit but am still cruising pretty well and I am not sure why, but my front end washes out and "crap" I can't save this one and down I go! Ouch.  I get up check out the bike and body, and with the exception of some dirt-rash I am OK.

Clyde passes me at this point and I get back on the bike and slowly take off.  I see that the handle bars are a bit askew, so I stop and fix them.   As I ride along I see that Clyde and Marie in the distance and with enough daylight left I don't need to chase to hard. I am still doing self and bike assessments and I am good-to-go and before long am not feeling any of that initial crash impact soreness.

We regroup and take the road back and we are back at the cars before long!  Excellent day, except for my crash, but a good time was had by all.  Gotta hit Hall again sometime.  It's definitely worth the drive!

Finally the day has come to do the forty in the fort MTB race.   I had signed up to do this as training earlier in the year for the Laramie Enduro as it would be a good tune up.   Unfortunately or maybe fortunately the race was postponed.   I must admit that this is the one race I feared that I might not finish as it’s technically challenging and the climbs are brutal.

I arrive at the race, park, see a few folks I knew, get my packed and head down to the Start area.  It’s a bit cold on the way down so I have my arm and knee warmers on, but by “go time” it’s clear that I won’t need them.   Looks like the waves of racers are pretty small this year, no doubt due the difficulty of this one.  The “Pure” roadies and beginner types aren’t present here as this is no place to cut your teeth or snag some easy hardware, but I digress….

By the time it’s my turn to go the race official decides to combine the rest of the starters into my group.  I guess this is a good thing.  Bang and we are off and running!  This is a long event and I watch the jack rabbits take off, thinking that they must be  really fast or they are on a fools errand.  I find my self falling back in the middle of the wave and I am OK with this.   Shauna from Braap comments that she likes my pace as it’s sustainable and I agree as we enter the Timber Climb parking lot. 

I find myself at the front of my little group with a 100 yards or so between me and the group ahead of me.  I am resisting the urge to reel them in as this would be a waste of energy and I would probably be bottle necked at some point.  They are keeping a good pace behind a woman in green socks.   Timber is a familiar climb so I just keep a good rhythm.   Slowly the others that are behind me are falling away from my wheel.  Hmm,  I am no where near my AT so I know I am not going too hard, and I am surprised that they are not keeping pace.  I guess it could be a matter of strength as this is what I fear could be my undoing later on, cramping to the point of submission.    As I near the top of the climb I have made some ground on the group in front of me.   I watched as Sara Sheets etc. go by the woman who was pacing them up the climb. 

As I reach the Kimmons descent I have just about caught the woman with the green socks.  I don’t want to pass her before the descent as I am not the great of a descender.    Good thing I didn’t pass her on the descent as she pretty much checked out on that one.  I think I saw a few glimpses of her on the way down, but she must be really good to have gotten out of sight that quickly.  I am pretty sketchy on some sections on this one and it’s probably a good thing that I was alone at this point so as not to embarrass myself.

With the Kimmons descent finally over it’s on to West Valley and a chance to pedal again.   Still trying to keep my speed in check here so I have something for the 2^nd lap.   I didn’t have my HR monitor or speedo so I am just guessing at effort and had know Idea of speed.  Well, I did have my garmin 405, but it was set to “pace” mode and I didn’t feel like doing the math to convert  pace to mph.  The stroll across West Valley was nice and it was a good warm-up for Towers.

At last I have reached Towers Rd and this will be the real test of how I am going.   My right leg seems stiff but I am going OK.   I seem to remember this same thing at Laramie, so maybe I need to stretch more or something.   So not to far into the climb I catch the Woman with the Green socks.   She is Marie(?)Walsh AKA “M” for short.  We chat for a bit before I bid her “goodluck”.   I am trying to do enough work so I don’t go too hard and cramp and have something the 2^nd time around.   I find that on some of the grades that this is almost impossible as I forced to pedal pretty hard just to make it up the climb.   Hmm, I see some riders walking early on, which can’t be a good sign for them. This climb seems to go on forever until Stout section.  There were some guys playing guitars at one of the corners here and it’s nice to see this race developing a culture of it’s own.

On to stout and single trak, Yeah!  It’s probably harder than just going up towers but it’s mentally less draining.   There are some hike-a-bike sections but it’s pretty much rideable.   Half way up or so I catch Liz Boese and we exchange greetings.   She is only doing one lap since the 24 hour Nats are in two weeks and needs a tune-up without going too hard or long.   

Backout onto Towers again and I am reminded how stinking long this climb is.  Seems like I am only a little better than halfway up and there are still two nasty pitches left.   The 1^st pitch has been labeled “Bacon Hill” and I think to myself  “what the @#$”.   It soon becomes apparent why.   As I crest this pitch there are a group of folks handing out Doughnut Bacon Sandwiches…. Oh OK.  Can’t say I ever heard of this before but it’s calories so I took one.  Hmm, not bad.   Can’t say I would make these at home but not too bad.

Another Towers road pitch and the last aid station is here.  A quick stop here and onto more climbing.  There is some respite here and then the final push to the top.  I didn’t realize that we go to the very top here, since the earlier course didn’t, but had a nasty hike-a-bike section.  Ok, I am good with this over hiking.  This section always takes a lot of muscle to get up and there were folks resting/walking etc. already at this point.

Hmm, that climb wasn’t too bad, but what about the next lap! Ouch, that’s is what I am expecting, but really I am expecting to be walking this one.   In any case I make it under the antennas and follow a couple of riders into the woods.   I don’t know this section of trail so I am extremely cautious and the other riders get away from me.   The descent is the part that I was most worried about as the Trek Y has older geometry with a super high bottom bracket which could be problematic. 

I am still taking it pretty easy on the way down, walking some sections of trail and taking other pretty slowly.  In hindsight I should have lowered my saddle, but I didn’t think about that at the time and I am sure that I lost precious time not doing so.  Well, I guess my goal is just to finish this thing and so speed isn’t really an issue or at least that’s not where I am focused at the moment.

The descent is pretty much of a blur with me tip toeing pretty much all the way.  I do remember walking of of the switch backs when I see 2 riders, a rammin and a thumpin!   I am in the switch back and I apologize for holding them up.  Well,  my presence didn’t seem to slow them at all.  Butts dragging on the rear tires almost they didn’t mind me at all!   One of the riders was M Walsh and she greeted me with a “Hi Steve” before the three of them checked out.  Man, I really gotta learn these trails and work on my descending.  It was sweet watching how they worked the trail, like it was in their back yard, which it probably was!

Ok, back on the bike and I see my co-workers 16 son ahead of me.  He is descending really well and I finally catch him as he pulls over with some mild leg cramps.  I tell him to take some gels and that should take care of them and I bid him good-luck.   This was near the bottom of the descent, but I don’t know the name of the trail, and I am too lazy right now to look it up (Carrie Springs).    In and case it dumps back out onto Towers road where once again I must ascend it.   The good part about this is that Bacon Hill is there and a chance to get some more Donut Bacon Sandwich. 

So, I grab some more Bacon and Donut and am good to go to the final climb before descending  MillCreek.  I see Liz Boese pass me at this point and I guess since she was doing one lap, didn’t need to stop for any fuel.  It is here when Ignacio (“Co-workers son”) catches up to me.  His cramps are gone and he is looking good and still having fun.   I am super impressed with this kid as this is only his 2^nd MTB race ever!

Time to descend again and it’s pretty sketchy.  I am pretty cautious as before but I am happy to have all of the climbing for this lap pretty much over.  The bike is doing well, and I am happy that I haven’t had any issues. 

Finally back in Lory onto the West Valley Trail and heading for the  Finshline area.   The legs feel OK and its good to spin them.   They are a bit tired though, and I am wondering how they will fare on the 2^nd loop.  As I arrive at the aid Station,  I see Kate Erickson who is really nice and helps be refuel.  Hmm, I can see I didn’t drink as much as I think I should have the 1^st lap so I make a mental note to try and drink more this time around as it is much hotter.   I ask Kate how Ian (“Husband”) is doing and see says he came by a little while ago.  Turns out that was more like an hour ago, but she was being kind, which is probably a good thing as I may have gone harder than I should have to try and catch him!  Anyway, Kate gives me a nice push off and I am off an running again.

Ok,  2^nd time up Timber and my legs have definitely paid the price on the 1^st lap.   I fear the climb up towers so I keep a good mellow pace so as not to cramp.    I get caught on this climb by Mike, a guy I met at registration.  He says he wants to try for a sub 6 time and that he is on pace for a faster 2^nd lap.  Wow, I am going faster than I had planned.  Last time I did this lap with Barb Shultz, we did it in 3:30 and I was thinking that there is no-way I was gonna race it that hard…   Anyway I can’t or choose not to keep Mikes pace as he gets way from me after the Kimmons descent.   I must say I am getting more used to the bike as  I was much better on Kimmons the 2^nd time around.

The West Valley Trail was uneventful and I was mentally preparing for Towers again.  I can see Mike up the road a piece and I am pretty much alone.   I do end up passing a guy who is walking up towers.  By the time I get to Stout,  I get caught by a skinny kid who professes to be more of a roadie and lets me enter the single trak 1^st.   Ok, and I keep enough of a pace to keep him happy and keep that lead until we get back on Towers, where he gets a gap on me.

I am doing OK until I get to Bacon Hill where I decide to walk the bike.  I think I could have ridden, but I fear the whole cramping thing, and I am sure I wouldn’t be going much faster than a walk, so what’s the point.   I get caught by some guys on Single Speeds and a Woman and guy who are walking much faster than I am with apparently less effort.  Oh well,  I guess I must be tired….

On to Bacon Hill for some more breakfast.  This time I spend a bit more time there.  The crew there is quite in good spirits.   I recognize the young lady there as Stacy of the Overland club.  I met her a few years ago during her 1^st week here in the Fort a few years back…..  We exchange greetings.    Her passe has slingshots and marshmallows which they randomly fire at riders going by!    Anyway, after my fill of donut-bacon whatever I am off to the last climb and aid station at the top of Mill creek.   While I am their I catch Mike who calls it quits along with another rider.   I proclaim that Klingon has no work for quit and that they should do the honorable thing and finish, but they are too tired and fear falling on the descent.   At this point Ignacio catches me.   He asks if I am going to continue and I say yes!   He looks pretty good at this point, and I am so impressed with him.  If there is a cycling coach reading this they need to find him and sign him to their team…. But I digress.    Ian is also here, and about to descend Millcreek!  Wow he must be way ahead of me and any thoughts, fleeting as they were of catching him are lost forever in the reality that is I will not.

I remount and make the final push up Towers to the antennas.   This time I am walking and I doubt I could have ridden it without a major penalty.  I am so glad to be at the top again.   This time I take a page from the kid with the Blond dreads that was descending a like a madman.   I noticed that he dropped his saddle for the descents so I decide to drop mine a bit.  Wow!  I had forgotten how good that works and is well worth the time to stop and fix it at the end. 

I am now descending much faster than I did the 1^st time around and am riding almost everything, except that really nasty rocky switch back that even the blond kid had to stop in the middle of.   Hmm, now I am wondering how much time I would have saved if I had just done the seat thing in the 1^st place.   I wish I could justify one of those dropper seat posts as I am sure minutes would have been saved.  Oh well, I just tell myself that the goal here is just to finish and that I am sure I will do!

Back around and up Bacon Hill again for the final time.  The kid with the dreads passed me on the descent again, and I see that he is easily able to still ride the climb up to Bacon Hill.  I over hear him chatting with the crew there and he said that he was just taking it easy for the most part.   I’ll buy that.   He seemed to have no interest in time or any such, just the rush of the descent.   He is still chatting by the time I leave but I am sure he will catch me again on the Millcreek descent.

So continue on and walk the final climb to the Millcreek aid station.   I am pretty weary by now, but I’ve got this one in the bag, so I am pretty happy.   I get some more food and then head for the descent, this time with the seatpost dropped.   About half way down I hear, “On your right” and it’s the blond kid just flying! He was so smooth, where I was just on my brakes fearing death, where he apparently embraced it.  In a few seconds he was out of sight, never to be seen again until the lunch pavillon.

I am descending much better, but not like I know it can be done.  I’ll try and ride these trails a bit more so as to sharpen my handing and control my fear….  

So nice to finally be back in Lory and the West Valley trail.   I can finally spin the pedals a bit.  The legs feel fine to spin, but they are not too happy with climbing any steeps at this point.   I am so glad that there isn’t another lap to do!    I keep a good clip up to the finish line and I am done, done, done done. 

Time to get some food and relax a bit.   I don’t feel that bad compared to like,  Leadville but I guess this was only 7 hours long and Leadville for me was about 12.    I am already thinking about how I would train differently for this one….

Special Thanks to 450 club Head Honcho Yann Ropars for taking some excellent Pics of this event!  Final Results can be found here. My Strava data for anyone who cares.

 

 

 

2012 and it’s time for another Laramie Enduro.   The year of training has gone well and the day is almost here.  I figure I will do the Car Camping thing one more time as I don’t really want to spring for a hotel or drive up from Fort Collins. 

So, I  take ½ day off from work and pack and drive up to Laramie to get may race packet.  The drive up was nice except for the wall of rain that I hit on the way up.  I was really glad that I decide to put the bike in side truck instead of the rack this time.   In any case I arrive at the cam[ ground and grab a spot under a tree.

I want to get the bike ready for the A.M so I pump up the tires,  clean and lube the chain, stick the number on the bike, add the Garmin and Polar watches and I think I am good to go.   The only issue is that the "Stratos XC pro" shock is having issues and it doesn’t compress smoothly.  There is this horrible grinding feeling/sound when it compresses but there is nothing I can do about it except put in some air and hope that it holds up for the race.

Time for sleep and life is much better than last year.   This year  I’ve got an air mattress and made sure to park on more level ground.    I must say that this is almost comfortable!   Seems like I woke up in the middle of the night for some reason,  maybe the howling winds.   Before I knew it, it’s time to ready to race.  With the bike already to go,  all I need now is to get some fuel into myself.   There were some tasty smells coming from some of the other campers, but I had to settle for a leftover Subway Sub, some Pop Tarts, a few crackers and some ice tea.    I also figured I should do some Endurolytes and some vitamins (mufti, B, Calcium) so as to help with any potential cramping.  Ok, I think that should do it and I am off to races…

I get down to the start and there is a wall of people standing around.   I have never seen so many folks at this race before!  They were staged all the way back to the parking area.   On my way through the crowds I see some folks that I know,   Jo, Barb,  Yann etc.  There are a few folks that recognize me from the previous year and they are all friendly.   I  make my way to the sign-in page where  a  nice woman racer compliments me on my hair.   I used to remember when it was my bike!  Now that I am registered it’s time to wait for my start time.

This year, they are starting folks in smaller waves, which is a good thing since there are a ton of folks here.   I am in the Pink Wave with all the 40 and 50+  male sport racers.  I think the announcer said that this was the largest class or some such.

Finally I am staged and time to start the computers.   To my horror the Gamin drained it’s battery overnight, so now I won’t have any GPS data or speedo!   I am bummed at this point, cause I really wanted this data to upload to Strava.  Oh well, at least I have the Polar HR monitor and I can use that to gauge my efforts, which is better than nothing.

Bang and we are off and running.  I am pretty far back in the wave cause I didn’t want to get caught up in the melee of folks going really hard up that 1^st climb.    I am working with the HR in the 160’s which is fine at this point and not too hard.  I can see a wave of folks in front of me and I am thinking that there are a ton of folks in the class.

Finally in to the single track and I must say that the Y bike is working well with the new fork.  I had thoughts of switching the bike from 90 .. 130mm but the bike seems to work so well at 130 that I just left it there.    There is a line of folks and the pace is still pretty easy, which is what I wanted to warm-up with.  There are a few riders struggling early on and I can hear they are breathing way to hard for an 70+ mile race.   I had to go around this one guy who was descending like a 95 year old man since he was letting daylight open up where I would be making up ground and certainly not loosing it!

Soon we open up onto some of the double track/road and I can see the masses in the distance just a ramming and a thumpin.   My legs are starting to warm-up and I must resist the urge to go fast by pushing larger gears.    It takes some discipline to let folks pass me but it’s too early to be racing anyone and an easy trap to fall into.....   So far so good and my right leg seems a bit stiff but nothing to worry about.

Now we are into the fast descending stuff where it was loose and my bike didn’t like it at all last year and was knifing all over the place.   This year was different!   I don’t know if it was the new fork or front tire choice, but the bike was handling the loose stuff quite well!   I was so happy to be able to descent with some confidence in those spots.   The real test came in a mile on “Break Neck” hill which was steep and loose.   The Y bike had no problem with this year and I could have gone faster if I would have known the bike was going to be handing this well!   I was surprised to see Mike, one of my group ride friends volunteering here and I believe he gave me and HP a shout out as I came by.

Miles and miles seem to pass and I am not really passing many riders, but then again, not many riders are passing me.   In any case I am looking forward to some climbing as I think that’s where there is ground to be made up.   As the climbs do come, the early ones are crowded and I choose to walk one where everyone is stacked up.  There are some riders that are impatient trying to ride past as if they have special privilege because they are riding, and maybe they would have if it wasn’t so packed up.

There is some sweet single track into the woods and the bike is working well.   I choose to lock out the fork for much of this and it makes a big difference.   I am also pleased with my choice of sunglasses, since they are photo sensitive, they allow for good light in the darker wooded sections.

Lots of ups and downs and then onto this dirt road with a headwind.  Ouch!   I need to find some shelter and there are groups ahead of me and I wished I could be up there, but I don’t want to waste the energy.   I could go faster at this point but I fear cramping and so I just keep an eye on my HR and try to spin.   I find some riders that made for some good shelter and as faster, but not too faster riders would pass I would grab heir wheel.   I sat on this one guy for a long time and I don’t think he liked me back there and after a while just sharply pulled to the left and I was forced to do some  work.   I would have been happy to work with him, but I don’t think he knew how to draft.

I must say that I am feeling pretty good and am having a pretty good time on the bike.  I was looking forward to this rooty  East Coast sections where I would loose so much time due to the fork not being up to the task.  This year I knew things would be better  and indeed they were.  I was able to ride it like I wanted to!      I  was on this section  that  some riders caught me and I used them to try and pull myself along, figuring that if they could do it I could do it.   I knew I could go much faster but there is a balance of Speed and Endurance that I need to balance, which is hard to do if one doesn’t race enough to figure that out.

So I have been trying to do some gels at least once per hour and I think I am doing well keeping in some hydration.    I could tell that I was running low on fuel as my HR would drop and I needed to keep in some fuel if was going to keep the pace.    So far so good and not an inkling or cramping which means that I have trained well and am well hydrated, or that maybe I am not going hard enough.   

With the race ½ over I think I am riding well.  I am skipping every other aid station and carrying a full camebak so as to have able liquid.   That strategy seemed to work well as I needed a full refill each time.   I could never do any of these events on just a water-bottle but it seems to work for a lot of folks.

I get a chance to rip some sweet single track where last years bike was beating me up, this years was running really well and I was feeling so less beat-up.    I see some folks along the sides of the course resting as they are cramping or just gone out too hard.   Seems like I am getting to aid stations much faster than in previous years.  

I am really enjoying the food at the aid stations where the potatoes, watermelons along with some gels are just the ticket.   I must say that the Hammer products are pretty good as I was using them after my Cytomax was long gone and I was still feeling good.   I may have to buy some of this stuff to try on the shorter rides that I do and see how that works out.

With so many people in this race there’s no way to know what place one is in.   In the old days I would always try and run with the leaders, but those races were shorter and I had aspirations which are not the same…. But I digress,

I reach the 2^nd to last Aid Station and I am looking and feeling pretty good.  I know there is still a bunch of climbing to do but at this point, life is pretty good.  I get some fuel but I don’t hang out too long.  I think there are good chances that I can make my goal so I press on.  That next dirt road  with that up and down climb is long and I can’t wait to get into the single track.  My butt is starting to hurt and I am happy to stand up when ever I get a chance.   

I am so happy to be into the single trak where I catch and pass a few riders whose legs no-longer have the strength to pedal over some of the rocks.   My legs are still pretty good and I think I could use some more fuel, but I am getting a bit sick or gels by now.     I still force them down as needed but I would rather have some real food….  There are some pretty serious little climbs on the way to that last station and I am doing OK on them.  There is only one that I have to walk and my calves are almost on fire doing so.   There are quite a few riders with me walking, but all but one of them stop and rest at the summit.    Several stopped riders, cheered me on as I cleaned some sections that they walked, which was nice to hear!

There is some guy ahead of me moving pretty well, and I am using him as a carrot.   He does get away from me after a time as I refuse to push too hard and cramp.  Maybe I fear this cramping thing too much, but I’d rather not have to deal with it now.    Last climb of this section seems really long; I kept a good rhythm and caught a few riders so all is good….  At the summit a course volunteer says one more mile to the Aid Station.

OK, final stop and I must say that everyone at all of the stations was so nice and helpful.    Of any of the races I have ever done, this is hands down the best supported of all of them.    They even had Coke at this one, but I didn’t have any.    I downed a few potatoes and some gels and it’s  off and running.   

Last push of the day and  that rocky climb is really nasty and I choose to walk a section or two rather than get sloppy and crash.  Maybe if I had a 29’r I might have rolled this but,  “If wishes were horses…then beggars would ride”.   That final rooty section through the woods seemed rough, but  I had dialed up the compression during the ride from using the lockout on/off.    In any case it was so much better than the old fork.    There was a woman in front of me on 29’r and she was flying though the woods.    I was watching how her bike ran over the rocks and I can see why there are so many 29’rs out there racing today… they are just plain-old-fast.

At last I can see the finish road and we are almost there.   I am happy that the rear shock held up and that I didn’t have any mechanicals…  I check my time on the way down and I see that I am going to beat my goal, of only by a little bit.  On that screaming downhill some guy passed and for some reason it seemed important not to loose that  spot,  So I  spooled up the FLT drive and blew by him before the finish!  Yes!  (Later he found me and was impressed by my finish)  

A good time was had by all.  My time was 7:27:33 which was faster than my goad of 7:30 which was ½ faster than last year at 7”58:XX.  Yes. Results can be found here.

 

 

 

Another Old flowers ride and this one should be fun.  The plan is to do the White Pine Loop which is always fun on the Yeti.   The plan is to do the ride with Paul and I figured I would post this to the Breakfast club site just for old time sake.   As luck would have it Brian checked in so, there would be at least 3 of us. I pick up Brian from his place and then we go and get Paul.  We make our way over to the Stove Prairie intersection, but  there isn’t any one else there, so it will just be the three of us.   That’s OK  by me as I do have time constraints and somehow more folks seem to pretty much mean more time.

So Brian is on his SS surly 29r and Paul is on his Carbon Specialized 29r and I am on the old trusty Yeti 575.  Hmm,  my bike is the heaviest in the bunch and I am the weakest rider and this can’t be good.  I must admit I was a bit tired from the previous weeks rides and was not totally recovered, but recovered enough to do the ride at a modest pace.

We take off and my thoughts/fears are realized.    Brian is really fast and Paul  has no problem keeping up with him.   I try and hold their pace, but it’s clear to me that’s not gonna happen today.   They pretty much walked away from we at will which means it’s going to be a long day of me following from afar.  In any case, that’s OK and I don’t really want to hold anyone back on my account.

Finally we make it to where the climb really begins.  The horse flies here are enormous and annoying.   Luckily only one bit me but it did smart.    I had to stop on this one to wait for some traffic but otherwise I was able to clean it. This was a good test of my legs and it only confirmed that they were a bit weary and that I should not push any more than I needed to.

The next climb is the one that I really always want to clean.  Brian and Paul are way up the trail.  I know that I must meter my energy, but on this one, it’s all I can do to make it up clean, which made me pretty happy.   The perceived effort was pretty high on this on and looking at the grade, I was very surprised that I didn’t have to dab, considering how I was feeling.   I know that some folks like to play with words and they say they are tired and then rip your legs off.  I however am not like that, and when I say I am tired, I am tired!

I catch up to Paul and Brian and we make the next climb.  This one is relatively easy, but I am still the laggard, despite Brian being on the SS and hadn’t been riding in earnest, but rather spending time in the climbing Gym with his family.

Time for the descent to Pingry park and while I am usually up to rip this one, I am really too tired to enjoy the entire thing.  I start out having fun, but my arms are tired and I just back it down and take it easy so as not to injure myself.  Brian is flying down this one, and I would have liked to have hung with him, I just wasn’t up for it.  Paul  who was back a tiny bit on this one, catches me and passes me  too.

I must say we haven’t taken too many breaks here and are actually moving pretty good.  I don’t’ have a speedo or HR monitor or any of that cause I just wanted to enjoy the day without the encumbrance of all that tech.  

The climb out of Pingry park really grated on me and I was thinking that I am going to be walking most of White Pine Later.  Brian and Paul were once again way up the trail.  I am really amazed at how strong Brian is on the SS.  Climbing stuff that would have snapped my legs in two.   He is a lot stronger than he knows,  and he is humble too, but I digress.

At last we are onto the big climb and I am not looking forward to it.  I am tired, my bike is heavy and I really want to be done now.   As we start it starts to sprinkle lightly!  thPaul and Brian are a bit ahead of me when Brian pulls over for some reason.   Paul keeps pedaling and I stop to chat with Brian.   Seconds later the rain gets harder and then within minutes it’s coming down pretty good.   Brian and I are trying to take shelter under some trees but they are pine trees, and they provide almost nothing and before long we are drenched.

We are thinking that Paul will be coming back down soon, but after about 15 minutes it’s pretty clear that he has checked out.  Hmmm,  there is no way I am going to climb this hill in the rain and risk the slippery rocks on the back side, so it’s decided that we will take the dirt road back tot the car when the rain settles down.   Brian was getting really cold and decides that we should go and seek some shelter from the locals.

We head down the road and approach a small cabin.  “Hello”,  “Hello”, calls Brian.  After a few seconds a scruffy old guy comes out and Brian asks if we can take shelter under one of the structures on the property.  The guy is agreeable and invites us to enter his place.   There are 3 other guys there and they were taking shelter as their Frisbee golf game was interrupted.   They seem friendly enough and life is good.

We make some small talk about the wind powered generator the guy has built.  The one he has is from otherpower.com 750 watts of clean energy from the wind.   He even has some solar stuff and it’s all working really well.  He’s got many modern devices, such as microwave,  Laptop, Fridge etc. all being powered by the wind  Turns out that he as been playing with wind power for over 20 years and spoke of building some of the early generators our of  old  Automobile Brake Drums and Hand winding the armatures.  

As we are chatting, they fellows were smoking something oddly familiar and they offered to partake with us.   We of course declined and our excuse was that we were riding, so as not to seem too un-cool!    After a few rounds of passing the pipe and light banter, the rain cleared up and the 3 other guys took off since it was too wet to finish their game.    Brian was still pretty cold so we ended up putting his jersey in the microwave to heat it up a bit.   Brian also fashioned a jersey out of an old trash bag which actually fit quite well.

Now we are good to go more or less and we want to get back to the car before Paul so we bid our host (Tom Hammond) adieu and off we go down the dirt road.    Ordinarily that road would have been fun, but it was cold and cloudy and I would get roosted by Brian’s bike every so often,.  It seemed like that road lasted for ever and I was so glad to get to the pavement and begin the climb  back to the car.

I had forgotten how long that road was up from the  Buckhorn, but I was glad to be warming up with some effort.  My legs were pretty tired, and I had to stand on the climbs to try and hold Brian’s pace.  Mile after mile pass and finally we are back to the car, but Paul is not there yet, so we get changed etc. and figure we will 4x4 it up old flowers to get him.

We didn’t get to far and he went screaming by us but didn’t notice it was us.  We followed him down  and we could see the look of surprise not to see a car at the bottom.   We roll up next to him and he seems plenty glad to see us.   We get him all packed in and head for home.

Long hard day, but an epic adventure.   I definitely need to get a faster bike to hang with some of these folks.  Maybe the 2.4’s are a bit much for the Yeti, but I like them and don’t plan on racing it.  In any case a good time was had by all.