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| Check out my composition...Mt Massive in the background! |
Preamble
This is the 3rd time I have had a chance to race Leadville. Clearly I have a mental defect. My amazing family continues to put up with the training, the travel, my constant talking about bikes and training and more bikes. I'm truly a lucky, lucky guy. I manage to keep getting in, and with the kind of support I have at home...who can lose? (btw, here's the 2014 story and the 2013. They spend more time talking about the course and the race vs what's in my head)
I really enjoy Leadville. The chance to play bike racer for a week, soak in the atmosphere of a world class event, hang out with amazing people, and test myself on a iconic race course. Besides -- Colorado, around the Continental divide, in August...what could possibly be better?
The drive to Leadville is one I look forward to each year. It is amazing. Driving across the Sonoran Desert, Monument Valley, 4 corners area, Moab, Fruita, Grand Junction, Glenwood Canyon, Vail, and finally up the hill to Leadville. It is the American west in all it's glory. It's also completely maddening as I drive within 30 minutes of about 20 bucket list bike trails and ride none of them. This year I smartened up and activated the satellite radio in the car, which made the entire trip go by in a flash. I highly recommend satellite radio if you're driving for a 12 hour period by yourself.
I really enjoy Leadville. The chance to play bike racer for a week, soak in the atmosphere of a world class event, hang out with amazing people, and test myself on a iconic race course. Besides -- Colorado, around the Continental divide, in August...what could possibly be better?
Due to bad fate, I had no lodging in Leadville this year. Instead, I was down the slope in Copper Mountain. A soul-less, if clean and comfortable condo. I did sleep better being about 1500' or so lower, but I missed out on the Leadville atmosphere. Waking up and walking over to the City on a Hill for coffee listening to race chatter, talking with friends met in person and online...all with Mt Massive and Mt Elbert as a backdrop is something I could do every day. But not this year. I did get to hang out with Laurel Darren-Simmons, one of my personal inspirations who was working medical for Leadville and for the Trans-Rockies run, and one of her buddies, Matt before the massive waves of cyclists rolled in. It is nice to have friends at 10,200'.
I did manage to participate in a couple of pre-race festivities happening in PbVille. The Fat Cyclist and Rebecca Rusch hosted pre-rides, a brat-roast for WBR, and generally shared their awesomeness.
Fatty and Rebecca have some amazing stories that you can read in their books and on their websites. The battles they have fought with sickness and personal tragedies, the victories they have achieved on the race course and what they have given back to the world are pretty amazing. They have lived full lives, and are willing to share with the rest of us. For that I thank them. Their impact on many people, including myself is hard to appreciate. Heck, I probably wouldn't even have contemplated Leadville in the first place were it not for Fatty's writings. If you're looking for some good inspiration, or good mountain biking advice, or stories, or humor check out their books and websites.
I only managed to make it to the barbecue, and do one pre-ride, but I did make the most of it. Here's a picture of me with Fatty:
and here's a picture of me with the Queen of Pain:
CONCLUSION: I am GIGANTIC. Seriously. Look back at those pictures
Here's a shot of the group listening to Rebecca Rusch share knowledge. I think it's pretty:
I did one serious pre-ride. I rode the Powerline climb on Wednesday to prove to myself that I could ride the "normal" part of that climb at pace. And I did. Even stopping for people bombing downhill I rode the 2.5 mile section from the steeps to the Sugarloaf summit in 35 minutes. This is where the race has fallen apart for me the past 2 years. I wanted to ride this section on Saturday, and ride it properly. Proving to myself on the first day at altitude I could just go on up without hurting myself was key to my mental prep.
At packet pick-up I connected with Abby froth LRS team. She's awesome -- one of the people that makes the entire organization special. More friends at 10,200'...always makes me smile.
Thursday night rolled around, and I picked up my race crew:
Friday was the meeting. I'm pretty convinced that there's a group of people that sign up for Leadville 100 events so they can hear Ken Chlouber go into full preacher mode and minister to the assembled masses. His speeches are moving, he has the gift. I did not take pics or record. If you're interested, someone did a great job of setting his speech to scenes from the 2014 race here. It really is special. Each year I've taken a little piece away as personal motivation. This year, Ken talked about "how" and "why" we are all out here in the mountains. "the how is easy" he said. "Put your head down turn the pedals, don't quit". He went on, "They why is much harder. They why is all the sacrifice not by you, but by your families, your spouse, your kids, your parents, your job so you can be here..." True words indeed.
I did manage to participate in a couple of pre-race festivities happening in PbVille. The Fat Cyclist and Rebecca Rusch hosted pre-rides, a brat-roast for WBR, and generally shared their awesomeness.
Fatty and Rebecca have some amazing stories that you can read in their books and on their websites. The battles they have fought with sickness and personal tragedies, the victories they have achieved on the race course and what they have given back to the world are pretty amazing. They have lived full lives, and are willing to share with the rest of us. For that I thank them. Their impact on many people, including myself is hard to appreciate. Heck, I probably wouldn't even have contemplated Leadville in the first place were it not for Fatty's writings. If you're looking for some good inspiration, or good mountain biking advice, or stories, or humor check out their books and websites.
I only managed to make it to the barbecue, and do one pre-ride, but I did make the most of it. Here's a picture of me with Fatty:
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| Fatty has great advice on how to suck in your gut properly for pictures |
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| Tiaras are for Princesses. The Queen wears rainbow stripes |
Here's a shot of the group listening to Rebecca Rusch share knowledge. I think it's pretty:
I did one serious pre-ride. I rode the Powerline climb on Wednesday to prove to myself that I could ride the "normal" part of that climb at pace. And I did. Even stopping for people bombing downhill I rode the 2.5 mile section from the steeps to the Sugarloaf summit in 35 minutes. This is where the race has fallen apart for me the past 2 years. I wanted to ride this section on Saturday, and ride it properly. Proving to myself on the first day at altitude I could just go on up without hurting myself was key to my mental prep.
At packet pick-up I connected with Abby froth LRS team. She's awesome -- one of the people that makes the entire organization special. More friends at 10,200'...always makes me smile.
Thursday night rolled around, and I picked up my race crew:
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| Mom as Race Crew. How Awesome is that? |
Race day
I came into the week in some of the best shape ever. I set some truly aggressive, perhaps pipe-dream like goals, but figured, what the hell. I'm here, it's too late to go home, might as well go BIG. So far everything had gone perfectly, and that would indeed continue...
Staying at Copper was relatively easy for not being in town. 30 minutes from condo to Leadville, so 4am wake up, 5am departure. Sure, I could have slept until 5am with an in-town place, but it worked. I was there in plenty of time for start line pic with my awesome crew:
Pro Call ups, call-outs, Thunderstruck, Bulls on Parade, Ben Wiens singing the National Anthem, one more "love ya" from Ken and Marilee and the shotgun went off.
Unlike the previous years, I was rolling from the gun. Maybe 15 seconds passed before I was clipped in and rolling. 30 seconds later I was in my biggest gear, and spinning easily up the little rise on 6th street. I stood up to take in the hill, and never had to drop into a lower gear. Cresting the hill, it was full speed ahead...no jostling, no screaming breaks, no people flying up or dropping back...just that tie fighter sound of 600 knobby tires on the road at 30 mph.
Going fast in a qualifier is really really worth it.
As we hit the dirt road leading to St Kevins the confidence was bubbling up. I had just ridden the first few miles of this course much faster than I ever had previously, nearly all of it in my biggest gear. No huffing, no puffing, just laying down the power and making the bike move. On the dirt, the magic of the Red start came through again. I could actually ride my pace, allow my legs to warm up and take in the race experience. I saw a bunch of Phoenix area jerseys from various shops and clubs. Even had a few people call out my own Shadetree jersey. That's worth more than you might think to keep you motivated.
Just before we hit the cattle guard signaling the start of the Kevin's climb, I passed The Hammer. Aka, Fat Cyclist's wife. I called out "Nice Shorts Hammer!" (because I was wearing FC shorts ya know). Since she does not know me at all, when she looked over her right shoulder to see who was calling out to her, and it was this big Indian dude, her look showed "What the F??" vs "hey cool". For me personally, knowing I was riding close to the Hammer was a great indicator that I was going the speed I needed to meet my goals. She is one fast lady, and I figured she would be a good person to mark my progress.
Staying at Copper was relatively easy for not being in town. 30 minutes from condo to Leadville, so 4am wake up, 5am departure. Sure, I could have slept until 5am with an in-town place, but it worked. I was there in plenty of time for start line pic with my awesome crew:
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| That's my crew! |
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| Selfie Mode! |
This year, thanks to some miracle of effort at BarnBurner last year, I was in the RED corral for the start. This means the people in front of me had previously gone sub-8 or were honest to goodness pros. Like previous World Champions. And the American Champion. And last year's winner. And the winner from the year before that. Behind me was 2/3 or 3/4 of the field. I am naturally very self-critical, but I did let myself puff up a bit. Red means "you're fast Rohit", and I would hang on to that thought for much of the race. Because when this race gets hard, you need every bit of encouragement to keep you moving forward.
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| That's the start line. The collective Quads and Gastrocs belonging to people in this picture are truly phenomenal |
Start to Pipeline Outbound
Last year, I lost the eating contest. I was in calorie deficit before I even started the 2nd hour of the race. This year, per Fatty and Reba's advice, I started eating before the race started. One cookie-like thing from the grocery and one package of GU watermelon chews. 210 calories before the gun went off. I was ahead of the game in the eating contest.Pro Call ups, call-outs, Thunderstruck, Bulls on Parade, Ben Wiens singing the National Anthem, one more "love ya" from Ken and Marilee and the shotgun went off.
Unlike the previous years, I was rolling from the gun. Maybe 15 seconds passed before I was clipped in and rolling. 30 seconds later I was in my biggest gear, and spinning easily up the little rise on 6th street. I stood up to take in the hill, and never had to drop into a lower gear. Cresting the hill, it was full speed ahead...no jostling, no screaming breaks, no people flying up or dropping back...just that tie fighter sound of 600 knobby tires on the road at 30 mph.
Going fast in a qualifier is really really worth it.
As we hit the dirt road leading to St Kevins the confidence was bubbling up. I had just ridden the first few miles of this course much faster than I ever had previously, nearly all of it in my biggest gear. No huffing, no puffing, just laying down the power and making the bike move. On the dirt, the magic of the Red start came through again. I could actually ride my pace, allow my legs to warm up and take in the race experience. I saw a bunch of Phoenix area jerseys from various shops and clubs. Even had a few people call out my own Shadetree jersey. That's worth more than you might think to keep you motivated.
Just before we hit the cattle guard signaling the start of the Kevin's climb, I passed The Hammer. Aka, Fat Cyclist's wife. I called out "Nice Shorts Hammer!" (because I was wearing FC shorts ya know). Since she does not know me at all, when she looked over her right shoulder to see who was calling out to her, and it was this big Indian dude, her look showed "What the F??" vs "hey cool". For me personally, knowing I was riding close to the Hammer was a great indicator that I was going the speed I needed to meet my goals. She is one fast lady, and I figured she would be a good person to mark my progress.
We climbed Kevins uneventfully. The tempers were starting to pick up a bit with a few folks yelling about keeping lines and whatnot. I kept Rebecca Rusch's words in mind, "your body does not distinguish between types of energy...it just burns calories. So don't waste them being mad". As always, I climbed at the pace of everyone around me. This year, that pace happened to be quick vs plodding. HOORAY RED! I was topping the fist hard effort of the course, and I was not feeling one bit of tiredness...only total excitement. That's new.
As we approached the big left turn there were a couple guys camped out on the road. One was Doc Wenmark, the other appeared to be Ricky MacDonald. Ricky MacDonald? 21 time finisher? sitting on the side? I must be hallucinating. I was so stunned, I didn't even give him a shout out. ah well, I'm sure he won't miss it.
As the race rolled along the Carter summit I started to feel the pressure of the clock. I wanted to be at Turquoise Lake road in 45 minutes. I kept thinking, "the Carter Summit aid must be around the next corner" but it kept not showing up. I was maintaining a good pace (I thought) and keeping up with the Hammer. Keeping pace with someone as fast as the Hammer gave me a lot of confidence, as well as reminding myself where I was...riding in the clear due to the fact that I had started in RED...because I was fast. (see...it's all in your head, or my head as it were, is, something)
I managed not to panic with the elapsed time, and came to the road in 50 minutes. Not bad. And a good 10 minutes faster than I had made it in previous years. Down Turquoise Lake Road as fast as I dared. I tried to stay off the brakes, after all, this was a paved road downhill...what could go wrong?
The road tilted up and I was feeling strong. Again, the Hammer was my marker, and I was (mostly) keeping up. That is until I took a minute to take a drink and down a GU. I looked up, and she was gone. I felt a little deflated as my rabbit had gotten away, but that was OK, it was time to work up Haggermans.
Heading up Hagermans I could not find wheels to follow. I was not being passed, and I was not catching people in front of me (Based on this picture, I should have looked behind and flicked this guy through...). So I put on "fierce face" and put the bike in 1-harder gear than felt comfortable. Doing so added about 1.2mph, without putting me in too much difficulty. Magic! This year, I was RACING the Leadville 100! I was racing a clock, but I was really racing it. Another luxury I allow myself in a bike race that I don't really get to explore in daily life -- I was one of the (smaller) group of people that got to perform ..not just survive. This part of the race the sweat and the effort in the legs just generated more adrenaline and more speed. It was euphoric.
Taking the turn onto the Surgarloaf climb I started to get a little huffy and puffy. We were crossing over 11000', so it was expected. I slowed a bit, and again, did not panic even though the clock seemed to be moving against me. I topped Sugarloaf at 1:34. I had gained one of my 5 minutes back! Feeling awesome (I'm RED baby!) I started down Powerline, willing myself not to crash.
The pavement after Powerline is a place I collect myself for about 2 minutes before laying on the gas. The descent really is terrifying. It's so steep, and rutted, and lose, and rocky...I really need that time to breathe a bit. Yeah, it a race famous for it's insane climbs, I was most relived at the bottom of a descent. That's not really conventional wisdom, but conventional or wise I am not.
Rolling past the fish hatchery I looked ahead to see a good size group forming. My brain said "catch the group! save energy" But, rather than sprinting up, I did something smart. I looked back! Sure enough, there was a bigger group coming up, and they were moving fast. About 20 riders went by before I saw a gap in the line. I jumped over to the left and sprinted to catch up... now I was at the back of a 20 person paceline going 25mph, and I was soft-pedaling. THAT is an amazing feeling. Sure enough we swept up the group I had thought about catching, and there I was flying down the road towards the Pipeline spun out in my biggest gear. Beautiful!
One thing Leadville attracts are idiots on bikes. I do not know why. I had seen one back on St Kevins trying to take his jacket off, no hands, on a trail. He crashed. Now I saw a guy riding inside the pace line, 30+ mph, no hands, taking off arm warmers. I tried hard not to look at him, and breathed a huge sigh of relief when my part of the pack went by him. He could have taken out 30+ riders with a small rock or bobble. People are just strange.
Having avoided sure disaster 3 times (2 idiots, plus the Powerline) I rolled into the Pipeline aid at 2:08. IT WAS LOUD! perhaps there were more spectators, perhaps I was just earlier so they had more energy, but the tunnel of noise was amazing. Talk about a launch pad for the next few miles! I had lost 4 minutes to my goal time, but I was feeling good, and there was plenty of time left to race. 8 minutes on 2:00 is not bad at all...and 2 hours for 28 miles on a MTB is fast no matter how you cut it. A great volunteer filled my empty bottle, and I was off for Twin Lakes!
The Pipeline is anything but flat (though people refer to it as "flat", people are weird). It does lend itself to road tactics -- pacelines! However, I must have done something wrong or used up all my RED energy, because I was alone. I could not find a wheel to follow, and I kept catching riders going much slower than I was. I did not really have a group to work with until I was descending the singeltrack, and back on a road the last 3 or 4 miles before Twin Lakes. I was very happy to find some friends here, as it's a hidden hard part of the course. It's just neighborhood roads, much of it paved, but the hills are just long enough to be painful. I played leapfrog with someone from Phoenix in a Vassago kit riding a sweet Ti Vassago singlespeed. I let him know he was riding my dream bike. He let me know indeed, it was a nice bike. I was happy we agreed, and my gears carried me forward a little faster than the singlespeed could maintain.
About 3 miles out from TwinLakes I hit 2:45. That was the time I wanted to be in TwinLakes, and I was feeling the pressure of being behind my goal. The RED magic intervened again. As I was starting to despair a bit, I topped out the last rise before Twin Lakes, and started the nice long paved downhill to the dam.
The crew area at Twin Lakes was louder than I ever remember. Just like the Pipeline, but LOUDER. cowbells, vuvuzuelas, viking horns, and cheering. WOW! Three people even knew my name in places I was not expecting. THAT was a massive boost for me...people in Colorado at the Leadville 100 yelling "GO ROHIT!" Talk about a heady feeling!
As we approached the big left turn there were a couple guys camped out on the road. One was Doc Wenmark, the other appeared to be Ricky MacDonald. Ricky MacDonald? 21 time finisher? sitting on the side? I must be hallucinating. I was so stunned, I didn't even give him a shout out. ah well, I'm sure he won't miss it.
I managed not to panic with the elapsed time, and came to the road in 50 minutes. Not bad. And a good 10 minutes faster than I had made it in previous years. Down Turquoise Lake Road as fast as I dared. I tried to stay off the brakes, after all, this was a paved road downhill...what could go wrong?
The road tilted up and I was feeling strong. Again, the Hammer was my marker, and I was (mostly) keeping up. That is until I took a minute to take a drink and down a GU. I looked up, and she was gone. I felt a little deflated as my rabbit had gotten away, but that was OK, it was time to work up Haggermans.
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| That's the fierce face. This road is not flat |
Heading up Hagermans I could not find wheels to follow. I was not being passed, and I was not catching people in front of me (Based on this picture, I should have looked behind and flicked this guy through...). So I put on "fierce face" and put the bike in 1-harder gear than felt comfortable. Doing so added about 1.2mph, without putting me in too much difficulty. Magic! This year, I was RACING the Leadville 100! I was racing a clock, but I was really racing it. Another luxury I allow myself in a bike race that I don't really get to explore in daily life -- I was one of the (smaller) group of people that got to perform ..not just survive. This part of the race the sweat and the effort in the legs just generated more adrenaline and more speed. It was euphoric.
Taking the turn onto the Surgarloaf climb I started to get a little huffy and puffy. We were crossing over 11000', so it was expected. I slowed a bit, and again, did not panic even though the clock seemed to be moving against me. I topped Sugarloaf at 1:34. I had gained one of my 5 minutes back! Feeling awesome (I'm RED baby!) I started down Powerline, willing myself not to crash.
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| That's Terrified Face. Evidently I wear the flag of Arizona now. |
I made the descent in record time, managed not to crash, even though I was in a 2-wheel slide at one point.
Rolling past the fish hatchery I looked ahead to see a good size group forming. My brain said "catch the group! save energy" But, rather than sprinting up, I did something smart. I looked back! Sure enough, there was a bigger group coming up, and they were moving fast. About 20 riders went by before I saw a gap in the line. I jumped over to the left and sprinted to catch up... now I was at the back of a 20 person paceline going 25mph, and I was soft-pedaling. THAT is an amazing feeling. Sure enough we swept up the group I had thought about catching, and there I was flying down the road towards the Pipeline spun out in my biggest gear. Beautiful!
One thing Leadville attracts are idiots on bikes. I do not know why. I had seen one back on St Kevins trying to take his jacket off, no hands, on a trail. He crashed. Now I saw a guy riding inside the pace line, 30+ mph, no hands, taking off arm warmers. I tried hard not to look at him, and breathed a huge sigh of relief when my part of the pack went by him. He could have taken out 30+ riders with a small rock or bobble. People are just strange.
Having avoided sure disaster 3 times (2 idiots, plus the Powerline) I rolled into the Pipeline aid at 2:08. IT WAS LOUD! perhaps there were more spectators, perhaps I was just earlier so they had more energy, but the tunnel of noise was amazing. Talk about a launch pad for the next few miles! I had lost 4 minutes to my goal time, but I was feeling good, and there was plenty of time left to race. 8 minutes on 2:00 is not bad at all...and 2 hours for 28 miles on a MTB is fast no matter how you cut it. A great volunteer filled my empty bottle, and I was off for Twin Lakes!
Looking for Friends on the Pipeline
About 3 miles out from TwinLakes I hit 2:45. That was the time I wanted to be in TwinLakes, and I was feeling the pressure of being behind my goal. The RED magic intervened again. As I was starting to despair a bit, I topped out the last rise before Twin Lakes, and started the nice long paved downhill to the dam.
The crew area at Twin Lakes was louder than I ever remember. Just like the Pipeline, but LOUDER. cowbells, vuvuzuelas, viking horns, and cheering. WOW! Three people even knew my name in places I was not expecting. THAT was a massive boost for me...people in Colorado at the Leadville 100 yelling "GO ROHIT!" Talk about a heady feeling!
I crossed the dam in 2:58. I had lost a little more time, but chin up -- I was still moving faster than I ever had by nearly 30 minutes. I was 13 minutes off the goal, but putting in a strong effort on Columbine could make up some of that time. It was time to put all the preparation to use.
Columbine
Mom set me up awesomely with fresh bottles, GU, and a new set of electrolyte capsules. Mom really is a great crew!
Coming onto the doubletrack leading the final crew area before the climb proper I was behind 3 Ironmen. I could tell they were Ironmen because of their little "M with Dot Head" tattoos on their calves. I figured "awesome. here's 3 guys who think this is a short race. They are built like swimmers with broad torsos...let me see if I can tuck myself behind them and get some free speed for a mile or two!"
Unfortunately, they were not moving fast, so soon I was looking to pass them. As I was spinning up, all three of them were sucking down some GUs. Then they did the MOST irritating thing I have seen so far at Leadville. THEY THREW THEIR WRAPPERS ON THE TRAIL!!! This is a HUGE no-no. This was not the trying-to-put-the-wrapper-in-the-back-pocket-and-missing drop. This was a flat out, throw foil wrapper on the trail. I had to say something. I yelled "Hey Ironman, you really going to throw that wrapper there??" I got no response so I said it again, "Dude. this is not Kona...we take care of the land". Gah. Those guys were wasting my energy. So I added a gear, and accelerated past them. Wish I had their race numbers.
I digress.
So I'm climbing Columbine. It long, its pretty steep, and it never seems to end. I was significantly buoyed by the fact that I made 2 switchbacks before the lead moto came through, followed by the men's pros. World Champion Stripes, former World Champion Stripes, Swiss Champion, US Champion...WOW. Those guys are fast. But you knew that. What you don't know is that I was seeing the pros well up the slopes of the mountain. Both prior years I saw them much earlier on the course. Again, feeling RED!
I was working hard on my "fast climb" cadence. 50 standing revolutions, followed by 50 seated. Just keep doing it. A lot like my daughter climbing Sleeping Bear dunes this summer, just a variation on "one foot in front of the other". At one point, I tasted blood in the back of my throat. YES! YES! I was making this hurt and I was climbing at a pace I had never done before!
Until I wasn't.
The taste of the blood was gone. My legs were tired, but not cramping. I had been eating and drinking effectively, but I was not able to make it hurt more after a while. I had the fitness, but I was losing the mental game. I thought I was in a good, even great mood, but clearly, more was needed. I started cheering other racers. Guys who were seriously struggling I reached out and patted on the back. I cheered for guys bombing downhill. I saw Fatty, "GO FATTTTYYYYY" Fatty said "nice job guys". He sounded casual. Like he was having fun, or perhaps he was just happy he was no longer one of us going up. I kept climbing.
Reaching the rocky section I stacked up behind other riders and dismounted to walk -- but the downhill traffic was not too thick. If I could have made the hurt come back, I could have ridden. But there was no hurt to be had. So I kept walking. At the treelike Ken was in his usual spot watching the race. He teased us, "it's faster if you ride...you'd be surprised". I yelled out "I won't quit Ken!" Then I got one of the truly big boosts of the race. Ken Chlouber growls back, "I've seen you before Arizona. There's no quit in you." YEAH BABY!!
I ground it out to the top of Columbine emptying my bottles and most of my GU on the way. I knew I had a friend at 12,600', and I was looking forward to it.
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| Friends in High Places. A LDS hug will get you moving. Photo Credit: Laurel from her FB page |
My friend Laurel Darren Simmons was working medical at the top of Columbine. It's nice to see a friendly face at the top of the world! I got some water, took 20 seconds for a selfie, and started coughing. It was time to get down the mountain -- STAT.
I made the turn at 5:10. I was 25-40 minutes behind my goal. The 9 hour pipe dream had dissolved on the slopes of Columbine. However, I was still a full 45 minutes ahead of where I had ever been previously. No regrets. Time to get down this mountain, see mom, and reset the goals for a glorious Colorado day.
I bombed the downhill as fast as I dared. I was looking for friends like Bonnie Moebeck, anyone in a jersey I could recognize, anyone who looked like they needed a cheer.
As I was headed down the goat trail and the rocky section of road, I was again puffed up about my performance. I saw plenty of gold, silver and red race plates still climbing, and I saw A LOT of people. More than I ever had...well, duh, I was going faster than I ever had. Joey at the Shadetree had changed my tires out 2 weeks before the race to wider, higher volume tires. Perhaps a risky move, but those tires were paying massive dividends now. Those things were letting me fly down the mountain. (Joey and his team are fantastic. You'll notice I'm wearing their shop colors...if you have an opportunity to let them lay hands on your bike when in Phoenix, I highly suggest it). I was going fast enough I could not make out anyone specifically in the line going up, so I just cheered for everyone. I love this part of the race. Hopefully I don't sound like a jerk, cheering for everyone, but it does make me feel good.
By the time I reached the ranch it was HOT. I needed to get rid of the arm warmers, ditch the trash, and get some cold drinks. Time to make this whole thing hurt again.
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| Coming over the ridge from the ranch to the Twin Lakes aid. Fierce face is back |
Paceline on the Pipeline
Mom was ace crew again. I was a little antsy, perhaps petulant. But mom dealt with it. That's what moms do! In less than 90 seconds she had me rolling again, full of GUs, sans arm warmers, and ready to turn in a fast last 40 miles. I left the Twin Lakes Aid at 5:45. I rode through the crew area, and there were many more cheers, Matt PNut Laney gave me a high five...life was good!As soon as the climb through the neighborhood was done, a pace line starting forming. Hallelujah! Not a very efficient paceline, as the guy on the front was just drilling it, and not moving over for anyone to take a pull. It was however, fast, and took us all the way to the singletrack climb. During this transition I was able to load a few more calories, and think about where I was. My real goal was out the window. No way to make 9. So I started doing the math. I was sitting at about 11.2 mph. hmm. If I could keep this above 10.5...I could go sub 10! so, 9:something. That would be awesome! I glanced down at the Gamin and seemingly at that moment, the average speed ticked up. 11.3! Whee! I could do this! So 9-something was the new goal. Love life under the beautiful (but hot) Colorado sky, and go as hard as I could enjoying the Leadville 100! RED WAS BACK!
The pace line pretty much survived in one form or other all the way to the Pipeline aid. My elapsed time showed I had just done Twin Lakes to Pipeline in 1:05 That was well within my original goal for the segment...and that felt awesome.
I reloaded water and headed out of the Pipeline bound for the Powerline Climb
Blowing up and Finding the Will
This is the part of the race where I find out I'm not a very good paceline rider. Because I'm not really a roadie. So when I turned onto Half Moon road into that brutal afternoon Rocky Mountain wind, I just turned up the power as far as I could go without going completely into the red zone. After a few minutes I saw the shadows on the road -- I was pulling 3 guys. So I skipped left, gave a flick of the elbow, and they pulled through. The three of them took good pulls and we were moving. When I rotated to the front, something in my head said "make it hurt". So I did. When I rolled off after exactly one minute, 2 guys said "nice pull" and I struggled a bit to grab the back of the train. When my turn came again, I burried myself for one minute. I was doing my part! When I rolled off, the guys said, "NICE FREAKIN' PULL DUDE! WHOOOO!!!" Yeah it was. I had just given those guys such a sweet pull I couldn't grab the back of the train. oops.
Fortunately for me, I have been working pretty hard this year, and I was able to recover after a few minutes. My average speed was still above 10.5, and I was doing better than 11mph by myself on the road. But I was burning valuable matches to keep the pace.
Just before the turn onto the Powerline climb I passed a Specialized Factory rider. Yeah baby. This guy had his name on his jersey, his bike, and his helmet. Might have been 20 or 21. He was wearing a factory team kit, and I passed him. He laid out a tale of woe about what a terrible day he was having. Whatever. I passed a pro. Add one point to the ego.
The steep part of Powerline was the steep part of Powerline. I rode until the big right hand turn, then got off to trudge up the steeps. It looks like this:
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| It's really steep. You can see the Factory rider behind me. Yep That's a gold number. |
I reached the part of the course that I had pre-rode Wednesday. 40 minutes. It should be 40 minutes of hard work, and this will all be done. It's all rideable, and I can do it at 4-5mph, even though it is steep and somewhat technical.
That was the plan anyway. Then I got hit in the mouth, proverbially. The cramps kicked in, and I got real tired. I could not make the go happen. Bonked. I was done. The number of GUs in my pocket said I had fallen behind on calories, and I was now paying the price.
So it was a slow trudge up to the top of Sugarloaf. I watched the average speed dip below the 10.5 mph I needed for "9 something" and began to be pretty unhappy. I tried to keep myself going by reciting some of the endurance mantras -- run across the coals, don't walk, Keep moving, Make pain your friend. I tried resetting the soundtrack in my head. "Bullet with Butterfly Wings", "Bulls on Parade", "Renegades of Funk", "Brainstew". yeah, none of it was sticking or working. So I was back to counting steps or pedal strokes. I did sit once, waiting for the electrolytes to kick in and relieve some of the leg cramps.
Then it was over. I was at the top and going down. Fast. Then faster. Bouncing off rocks I would normally have braked for or gone around. I was a bit too fatigued to choose a good line, and I was really hoping the tires, wheels, fork, and the rest would hold up to the abuse of a badly executed descent.
I made it, and once on the dirt road I did my best to keep pressure on the pedals, keep the hands off the brakes, and make up some time. 23, 24, 27mph. I was willing the average speed up, but it was not going to move very fast.
Homestretch
I gave the 2.4 miles up Turquoise Lake road everything I had. I stood, I spun, I sat and applied big power, I stood again. The road required little concentration, so I put everything into leg mechanics. Drop the heels on the down stroke, shoulders down, rock against the down stroke, shift forward to reduce pressure on the quads...shift back to relieve pressure on the hamstrings..maybe I have that backwards. Whatever. Just keep pushing. The tang of blood was back in the back of my throat and it did wonders for my morale. I was back working as hard as possible again, making it hurt. That. Was. Awesome.I reached the Carter Summit at 9:15. I had gone up Turquoise lake road in 30 minutes. 15 Minutes faster than I had previously. Even with that, only a world-class finish would bring me in sub-10. So I reset the goal. Sub 10:20. I was going to make that last little goal...maybe even pull a 10:15. 2 cups of coke, 2 of water, new water in the bottle, and it was time to hammer home.
The final steeps on Kevins were not pretty. I clawed my way up them. Now, pretty much totally riding alone. The downhill was terrifying, perhaps more terrifying than the powerline descent because I was going much faster. I could see the dips and ledges coming, and the loose sand. I tried to time the weighting and unweighting of the wheels and the brakes to make it all happen smoothly. I must have plowed into some big stuff, but I managed not to go OTB at 30 mph. Not sure how I did it, I was pretty much on auto-pilot.
Off the steeps and across the valley to the railroad tracks. Just kept it turning, pushing as big a gear as I could muster. There was a big group of volunteers at a road crossing where the odometer crossed 100 miles...I cheered. They cheered. I cheered.
I came to the Boulevard, 2.3 miles of steady uphill. It's a nothing climb. An easy spin. Unless it's miles 101-103. Then it's insanely painful. I tried to call up the same mode I had on Turquoise Lake Road. I wanted to taste that blood again. I ate my last GU, downed the last of my water (no more than 20 minutes left), and put everything in. I caught myself with my eyes closed a few times, which I guess is good? I was finished. My awareness was narrowed to my legs pushing and pulling. I was vaguely aware of steering, I saw some lightning (confirmed later). I could not call up any songs, motivational speeches or mantras. Push-pull..that was it. I knew I was going to make it home, but there would be no victory sprint, no wheelie, no salute.
The Boulevard ended, and dumped me onto the road. One final uphill, which I managed to stand for. There was the blood again...I crested at 10:15. I missed that target. 10:20 it would be. The crowd at the finish line surrounding the red carpet was huge! One biker-width only with kids hands out for high-5s...I think I gave out a few.
I crossed the line, and crumpled onto the handlebars. I was aware Mom was there. I told her I was OK. I got my finishers medal on my neck. Someone asked me if I was OK. I told them I was. No hug. I was missing my finishers hug. I was promised a hug from one of the amazing people that make the LT100 what it is. I got no hug. Mom hugged me after a bit. Yeah mom! I collapsed onto the courthouse lawn and laid there for about 90 minutes. I wanted to get up and cheer the folks coming in -- all those people who refused to quit, bit I couldn't get up. Instead I congratulated those around me, knowing each of them had turned in something special today.
Post Race
So I made it to the awards ceremony to pick up my hardware and my jacket. A slight tinge of regret that it was "only" a silver buckle. But heck, that Colorado silver sure does shine bright in the morning sun!
The usual question is, "will you do it again?" Well, depends if they let me in. But I do have a plan to get that last 1:17:22 off my time.
RIP Scott Ellis #1249. Scott had finished the race 18 times, and died of an apparent heart attack on the top of Powerline. The LRS has retired his race plate. That's the 2nd time in 2 years someone has died at a race I was in. The first was Iceman 2013. It's common for people to say "at least he died doing what he loved". Maybe. But you never think "I might die" when you put that knobby on the start line. We'll be thinking about you and your family Scott. Ride in Peace.
UPDATE: Sadness
RIP Scott Ellis #1249. Scott had finished the race 18 times, and died of an apparent heart attack on the top of Powerline. The LRS has retired his race plate. That's the 2nd time in 2 years someone has died at a race I was in. The first was Iceman 2013. It's common for people to say "at least he died doing what he loved". Maybe. But you never think "I might die" when you put that knobby on the start line. We'll be thinking about you and your family Scott. Ride in Peace.
Neat , Very well written !! Cheers
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