Stage 3

Queen stage, we were warned to drink plenty of water. I stick with my ‘there’s water in beer’ philosophy, quaff a couple beverages to keep the blood flowing. Then drink a liter of water, and another throughout the night. Still wake up with a niggle of a headache, oops.

Otherwise, I do wake up refreshed, body adjusting to the thermarest reality, mind is tranquillo. After trying to keep it real yesterday, and seeing no real effect on placement, today is a day for a steady tempo ride, take some breaks, snap some pictures. Legs are feeling fresh enough during the rollout, so I opt to mix in with the lower steps of ss podium battle for the first hit of climbing. Use it if you got it, right? Pushing the 18 thru the thin air eventually catches up to me, let the elastic stretch a bit, then try to limit losses on the downhill, mostly just to mess with Dicky.

Out into a meadow clearing, stoked that I’m holding my place, looking to keep it rolling, and blow right thru a corner then down a rock n roll steep loose jeep track. Heard a holler from behind…’I think we go lefffffffff….’ I though the dude was talking to a teammate, I was in the groove and put on a fixed descending clinic for absolutely no one. Pop out on some tarmac, see no arrows. Fuck. Turn around, hike ten-ish minutes back to the course, and see the half dozen arrows I rode right past. Dumbass.

Now, it’s definitely an enjoy the ride day. Think it’s kinda funny though, ‘cuz now there’s a chance Dicky and the rest still think I’m in front of them, giggle about them chasing a ghost up the trail. I get to settle in with fresh faces, rip some sweet benched piney love and stop to take in the view. Carrying the camera, may as well use it, spend another 10 minutes taking it in, snacking and getting the head straight.

From there, we climbed, and climbed and climbed and I stared at remnant snow wishing I was slogging a pack w/ skis up this mother instead of pushing the silly fixy up to 12,000 feet. Then we dropped down, and down and down. And down and down and down, until we find a road, then we climbed and climbed and climbed, and climbed and climbed and climbed up to Georgia Pass. Nice three and a half hour tour to get warmed up for more CT love. The CT delivers yet again, first with hi alpine shredding, then shwoopy abusive rooty railing before dropping some sweet east coast style techy gnar. Long stretch of on it descending until the hands and arms are blown. Manage to finish it with the wilted stumps then it’s just a quick ‘25minute climb’ up over to the finish….as usual, the 25minte climb is followed by a bit more than told.

Clear the climb one foot in front of the other, rocking the pedal push tempo then throw in the towel and begin thinking about tomorrow. Bring it home slamming the water bottle, keep the calories topped and definitely don’t burn anymore matches. Finish the 42mile + detour route in about five and a half elapsed, 5:0something ridden on the gizmo, staking a solid claim on that 8th spot.

Follow all that up with a massage and some chill time before awards and dinner. Ohhhh, the dinners. We are eating like kings on the catered plan! More food than you can possibly put down and a variety that can’t be beat. Two nights out to related restaurants, Monday was trout with crab, tonight saw a big fat burrito served up. The catered on sight was delish pot pot pie and primo lasagna options last night. No reason to be left wanting ’round here, Mike and the crew are taking most excellent care, thanks guys!

Tomorrow, Wheeler Pass at 12,400, that’s 12000 feet higher than my apt, should neat!

Stage 2

Wake with the sun as usual, then roll over to catch a few more zzzz’s, long sleeve wooly is perfect to fight the chill. Was up late dicking around trying to get this pos laptop to connect to the webz, no luck. So, sorry ‘bout the delay in getting these words out, I brought untested gear….

Get into the standard stage morning expend minimal energy routine, chomp on some breakfast, forcing the appetite before rolling ‘cross town to the start venue. A nice quiet spin to let the butterflies flock in the stomach, really hope this queasiness subsides. After the shorter than expected ride yesterday, I’m thinking about riding an honest race, no trailside tourism today, see what’s in the tank. Do bring along the gear though in case things go pear shaped, but wanna keep the boys honest, best I can.

Neutral rollout is decent enough, although the field was splintering even before the pace vehicle rolled off. Then there was an acceleration, and I opted to keep on the neutral pace and let my legs come around, watch all the contenders cruise on up the hill. Keep pace w/ Dicky & Jake, then have a blast ripping a taste of AspenTunnel love in the mix, doing what it takes to keep Dicky in sight….takes more than I have.

Time to settle in for another 2 hours of cat n mouse. Stomach is agreeable, doing what I can to keep it full, keep the calories coming in. Hit a decent little climb, then more tastey singletrack along the BlueRiver something or other. Almost reminded me of Meeshowslowvakian creekside love, but that little bit was over in ten pedal strokes and we’re onto a nice elevated ribbon of trail.

Roll that sweetly, keeping pace in the mix with the lead ladies. Then the big mamma climb begins. My blue clad carrot appears ahead, white rims blinging, time to reel him in, again. One foot in front of the other mantra takes over and contact is made over and over, up then down, up then down and finally we hit the high point of the route.

Try to be quick thru the aid station at 11,800ft, but the effort to get there tells me to tone it down a smidge. Volunteer beta is ‘nice stretch to relax on…’ Great, a wide open piece of fireroad bombing, just what I need. Bye bye Rich. Try to recall the profile during the long downward slum, I think there’s another couple of hits coming up. Wave to Danielle M. on the way down, then back into the woods for the daily highlight, hitting that sector that makes it all worth it.

Scenery looks immediately familiar and soon enough we’re ripping down a portion of the prologue climb. Finally, some terrain where I can hold my own. Tight, freshy single with enough off camber and rooty mini drops to keep you on your toes. Pedal, pedal, dodge, weave, pedal, bip, bap, skippity skip, goooooo! Totally dialed into the flow of the trail, Conti’s eating up the RockyMtn loam, get light and let it drift right on over to the outside. Do what I can to reel in the stranger in front, can only manage to keep the gap constant.

Stage 1

Stage One.

Supposed to be a somewhat big day, 42 miles of high mountain love. Learn at the start that it’s really a 37ish mile romp. Sweet, recalibrate from 5hr mindset to ballpark fourish. Neutral start heads out of town behind the local popo, nicely brake checking us in the turns, sweet. Neutral tow rolls off, we hit the opening climb and I settle into pretty much what was the roll out pace.

Gotta let it come to me, settle in and breeeeeeeeath. Do a few systems checks then decide to light a match or two, slot in line w/ the contenders, keeping Jake & Jeff in sight and Dicky too after my pee break at 45minutes. Jeep Track continues up then turns into a rippin steep wide open descent, if you can coast. Get passed by a lot of riders, boil the shoulda been bled front brake and reevaluate the plan for the day.

First aid station appears soon enough, then a nice rolling climb up to the CT. CT gives and takes and takes and takes, now into the heart of the day, altitude starts taking effect, but pretty much everybody is in the same boat. Not just the one speeders huffin and puffing. Push, slum pedal, push, slum pedal, thinking about the big picture, push. Some casual back n forth with the gearies, get a small gap, then hike, get a small gap, then hike. Then bust out of the trees into a blinging landscape that just has to be captured. Bit more of open-ish climbing, see Dicky ahead, but the legs want a break, and the air is thin. Take a quick 5-10minute Sally sit down and regroup for the next portion.

Instinct stoppage time put me at the top, opening a gap to those ahead and holding an apparently big gap behind also, had the entire descent to myself. Just rolling the fixy flow at perfect cadence spinnin’, letting the mind be blown by the primo conditions. Pop out of the trees again into one of the sweetest meadows I’ve ever been in. Tight benched ribbon thru the wildflowers, kick back the pace for a bit to be the tourist gapper. Snap some pics, get rolling once more and finally have company. Fellow bloggity blogger Jen rolls up turning those shifty bits and becomes a nice carrot for the return leg.

Thru the last aid, bit of open road foot off relaxation, then a few hits of urban backyard linkage before a taste of flumeness. Caught Jen on one of the rolling ups, then went looking for more. Poked the pedaling ninja and woke him up, feeling like this is the final push home, so let instinct take over and open it up a bit. WooHoooo!!!! Reel in a couple familiar jerseys from earlier in the day over these last few minutes, then the always welcome sound of PA chit chat floats up from down below. Hit the finish line content, somewhere’s around 3:30 couple elapsed for the 35 or so ridden. End result shows me giving up 30+ minutes in the single GC, reality is setting in, gonna be a long week.

prologuing

Trip began with a steady two day acclimation, prologue morning arrives, headache is subsiding and almost feel sorta fresh. Plan to keep a good thing going, so continue to slam the water and just deal with having to piss all the damn time. Another liesurely breakfast, then off to the venue! Roll thru the smooth registration, claim my assigned tent and settle in for the week. Comfy digs on a plush ball field, staying in a tent that I don't have to crawl in and out of will be a definite bonus on about day three. Two hours before go time, begin to find that pre race rythmn. Work thru the mental checklist, finetune the on bike kit, pare it down just a bit. Sort out the personal kit, then watch menacing clouds as they crest the western ridge. Everybody retreats to shelter, check the radar and it's moving quick, will hopefully be blown out by my 4ish o'clock start time.

Kit up heavy for the chill post storm air, then shed it by the time we spin ten minutes across town, sun's out. Carter Park is the assigned departe, no pre race chat, so roll to the line when you're up. SS freakers corral in the staging like the beasts we are, damn these dudes look fast. Hang at the start shack and look up the switchbacks that are the first few minutes of effort. Silent goal #1 is set, try to not walk until at least out of sight of the adoring fans. That pitch might a tough match for the 18, only one way to find out I guess. Get the official ski racer finger signal countdown and begin turning that gear. Into the first berm suddenly finding the inspiration to tickle the red. Stay on the gear and hit it for effect, into the next switchback and rail out of it, uh oh. Legs begin to have something to say about the effort, time to settle the fuck down. Jake in front of me is running the same gear, he'll be a good carrot for the next 45 minutes, just don't try to catch him right out of the blocks.

Manage to clear the switchbacks and get into the woods out of sight, take a few steps immediately and look up the trail, red jersey carrot still there, cool. Hit some pitches and ride 'em in the saddle, standing effort will spell trouble for sure. Catch a break w/ a bit of singletrack flow intermission and super surprised to spot my carrot, plus Dicky, plus the dude that caught me all right there within reach. Use the 18 and reel 'em in a bit on this rolleur portion before finding crazed half dressed flower children atop the next pitch. Keep on the pedals for the crowd then hike it a bit with that red line in mind. On, off, on, off, always keep moving forward. Hit a powerline pitch and it's a class action hike up the hill. Nice to spectate JB killing it up the steeps, fuckin' hammering.

Jake the carrot is ohh soooo close, just couldn't catch him. Punch out in 45ish minutes, then work over a set of brake pads on the looooong road down the mtn back to camp, they're gonna need some love in the morning. Post stage/pre week meeting was interesting. Boo'd down the concept of getting aid anywhere on course, someone's gotta be that guy, thanks to Harlan for being a bit more eloquent....everybody plays on the same field, using the same resources made availible by the promotor. Simple enough, right? The popular vote agreed, yippee! Then it was awards for the stage, JB crushed all, w/ a mid 30 minute effort, I think T. Brown was second. In the dumbass class, I somehow slotted into fourth! Super duper stoked on that, guess the work is actually paying off, but frustrating to miss my only realistic podium shot by less than a minute. Damn you Jeff Carter!!!! Tomorrow is some sort of big ride. 42ish mile I'm hearing, should be an interesting day. Curious to see how well these dudes go down the mountain. Sitting a smidge under four minutes off the lead pace, time to start lingering I guess, Chip away, chip away, chip away, and maybe somebody other than me will crack. 'til then.

Honesty.

Nervous morning, queasy stomach butterflies. Splintered neutral rollout, then chase Dicky down the hill. Let the ninja mix it up in the opening melée. Rest of the three-ish hour ride spent chasing and limiting losses.

Rode it straight thru, no pics, no impromptu rest stops, an honest race effort. Still dropped another twenty minutes to the local ponies. Lot's of climbing tomorrow, fiveish hour expected for the 42mile route. Couple gc spots within cracking distance, and spectacular scenery also, hmmmmm

Rolling along

Day 1 in the books. Cold frosty wakeup, shorter than expected stage. Planned on five-ish, done in 3:30 something. Trying to keep decent pace. Long solo gapped descent, $$$$$!!!

Hemmoraging time as expected, able to sorta hang on the ups, downs not so much. Gave up 30ish to the class leader, dudes are flying. Tomorrow sounds like it plays more to my hand. Rocks I'm hearing, we'll see.

Laptop won't connect for shit, so stuck to the gizmo for now. Other words written, stuck on the pos Dell until tommorrow...

Breck pre game

Wow! New sights blowing my mind.
Excellant Denver shakedown with
Furious G. Then roadtrip adventures,
crowded holidaze camping in Buffalo
Creek, another altitude shakedown
up the CT to Georgia Pass.

FKNA Awesome!!!! Chilling at
12,000 taking it all in. Too bad
I don't know how to post pics
from this gizmo....more later.