Friday, July 30, 2010
Monday, July 26, 2010
Courage Classic: Riding for the Children's Hospital
The weekend of July 31 to August 2 I will be riding in the Courage Classic, which is a 3 day bike ride . The Courage Classic is a fundraiser for Children's Hospital here in Colorado. Global Technology Resources Inc. (where I work) has always been very involved with the hospital and has actually had some families who have spent time at the facility with their children. For this and many other reasons, Children's Hospital is near and dear to us at GTRI. As such, we have started a team to raise money for the cause. Donations can be made using the link below.
Where the money goes
http://www.couragetours.com/site/pp.asp?c=tmL0KbN0LxH&b=6041715
Donations
http://www.couragetours.com/siteapps/personalpage/ShowPage.aspx?c=tmL0KbN0LxH&b=5612731&sid=ihLUIXODKjISL6PNItF
Where the money goes
http://www.couragetours.com/site/pp.asp?c=tmL0KbN0LxH&b=6041715
Donations
http://www.couragetours.com/siteapps/personalpage/ShowPage.aspx?c=tmL0KbN0LxH&b=5612731&sid=ihLUIXODKjISL6PNItF
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Breck 100 Race report
Last Friday Amy, Ben (finished 6th in 30-39 B68!), and I departed for Breckenridge to find a campsite and to get to bed early. The reason, a 6AM start for me for the Breck100. I woke up at 4AM and started the day off with a box of Smores poptarts, a coffee, bannana, and some orange juice.
The race started a couple minutes after 6 and all the Breck 100 racers left Carter Park to take on the challenge of the National Ultra Endurance Series most difficult race. The first climb went from about 9,600 ft to the top of Wheeler Pass which is 12,460 ft. Before reaching the summit the race crossed a gulley with snow. The first 1/2 mile of the decent down Wheeler Pass was very sketchy. The trail was similar to a hiking trail with lots of scree, about 2ft wide at most, and rutted. Several people crasshed, myself included. I had to straighten my handle bars after the crash. The rest of the descent from tree line to Copper mountain was probably the best singletrack in the whole race. The Lev handled great and I passed several people. I caught up to Ryan and Andy from Twin Six who I met the night before. It was great finally meeting them and riding with them throughout the race. The rest of loop one took us up the Peaks trail, which was more fun then I would have guessed, and down to Breckenridge.
Loop 2 started off with a switchback climb of about 1,200 ft. I got caught up with the back half of the B68 and B32 riders which was kind of frustrating. The second climb in Loop 2 was where I started feel tired. 4.5 hours into the race climbing the rocky fire road was taxing. A long climb up the Colorado trail led to another amazing descent. I finished up Loop 2 with what I figured to be plenty of time to get to the cutoff point at Boreas Pass....
During the pit stop before loop 3 the announcer said that time had passed for 100 mile racers to head out. I knew this to be wrong, but the news still infuriated me. I went to talk to the announcer, and he was corrected as I was talking to him. The cutoff for the race was 4:30 at the top of Boreas Pass. Relieved, I tried to eat some food and frantically head out. All I could stomach was a Coke, a bananna, and a handfull of rasins. I was not sure if I could eat more based on the way I felt, and this came back to haunt me. Mark Hansen and I took off at the sametime to find the checkpoint. We had no idea what was in front of us nor how far we had to go. We pushed on as reasonably hard to get there as there was no way I was going to accept the defeat of being told I did not meet the cutoff point. After about an hour of climbing, the trail spilled out onto a gravel road which lead to the top of Boreas pass. I got to the checkpoint at about 4:20 with 10 minutes to spare!! I was beginning to bonk hard though. I ate 6 orange slices upon reaching the top. Solid food did not seem appealling at all. The next 1.5 to 2 hours were very difficult for me. I felt like I could have taken a nap anytime. Its to bad, as I the singletrack to Como seemed really fun. I was far to tired to enjoy it and was wondering if I could carry on for another 20 miles. At the Como aid station I ate two Honey Stinger Ginsting gels. About 5 of us left the aid station and I was immediately dropped. I knew it was about 10 miles to the top of Boreas Pass, but the only thing I knew for sure was its elevation. 11,444ft. Finishing the race was all that was on my mind. I watched the elevation and distance slowly tick away. About half way up the climb I got my legs back. I caught back up with Mark and we pushed hard to the top passing a few riders along the way. I got up over the pass and blew by the aid station as I felt strong again. After a couple miles of fire roads we entered the final sections of singletrack. Mark and I bombed the singletrack with enthusiasm knowing we overcame the highs and lows and lows of endurance racing and were on our way to the finish. The trails were really fun and pretty loose which made carving in and out of trees exciting for many reasons. We put over 4 minutes on one of the riders we passed near the top of the descent by the time we got to the finish!
I rode in at 13:54. I felt great crossing the line. Finishing the Breck 100 was quite an accomplishment. As of a week before the race, 72 riders were in my age group. I finished 46th. I am sure if I stayed on top of my nutrition I could have knocked probably 30 minutes out of my lap 3 time and possibly avoided a major bonk. While I am glad I finished, the competitive peroson inside me is trying to determine how I could have been faster. The race was really difficult and included a lot of great technical descents-definitely a mountain bikers course. I now know of a nice free place to camp near Breckenridge and look forward to riding and camping there again. This race will most likely be on my calender next year! Much thanks to Amy for being there between laps.
Garmin track for the Breck 100. I think my GPS did not record a couple miles of loop 1.
The race started a couple minutes after 6 and all the Breck 100 racers left Carter Park to take on the challenge of the National Ultra Endurance Series most difficult race. The first climb went from about 9,600 ft to the top of Wheeler Pass which is 12,460 ft. Before reaching the summit the race crossed a gulley with snow. The first 1/2 mile of the decent down Wheeler Pass was very sketchy. The trail was similar to a hiking trail with lots of scree, about 2ft wide at most, and rutted. Several people crasshed, myself included. I had to straighten my handle bars after the crash. The rest of the descent from tree line to Copper mountain was probably the best singletrack in the whole race. The Lev handled great and I passed several people. I caught up to Ryan and Andy from Twin Six who I met the night before. It was great finally meeting them and riding with them throughout the race. The rest of loop one took us up the Peaks trail, which was more fun then I would have guessed, and down to Breckenridge.
Loop 2 started off with a switchback climb of about 1,200 ft. I got caught up with the back half of the B68 and B32 riders which was kind of frustrating. The second climb in Loop 2 was where I started feel tired. 4.5 hours into the race climbing the rocky fire road was taxing. A long climb up the Colorado trail led to another amazing descent. I finished up Loop 2 with what I figured to be plenty of time to get to the cutoff point at Boreas Pass....
During the pit stop before loop 3 the announcer said that time had passed for 100 mile racers to head out. I knew this to be wrong, but the news still infuriated me. I went to talk to the announcer, and he was corrected as I was talking to him. The cutoff for the race was 4:30 at the top of Boreas Pass. Relieved, I tried to eat some food and frantically head out. All I could stomach was a Coke, a bananna, and a handfull of rasins. I was not sure if I could eat more based on the way I felt, and this came back to haunt me. Mark Hansen and I took off at the sametime to find the checkpoint. We had no idea what was in front of us nor how far we had to go. We pushed on as reasonably hard to get there as there was no way I was going to accept the defeat of being told I did not meet the cutoff point. After about an hour of climbing, the trail spilled out onto a gravel road which lead to the top of Boreas pass. I got to the checkpoint at about 4:20 with 10 minutes to spare!! I was beginning to bonk hard though. I ate 6 orange slices upon reaching the top. Solid food did not seem appealling at all. The next 1.5 to 2 hours were very difficult for me. I felt like I could have taken a nap anytime. Its to bad, as I the singletrack to Como seemed really fun. I was far to tired to enjoy it and was wondering if I could carry on for another 20 miles. At the Como aid station I ate two Honey Stinger Ginsting gels. About 5 of us left the aid station and I was immediately dropped. I knew it was about 10 miles to the top of Boreas Pass, but the only thing I knew for sure was its elevation. 11,444ft. Finishing the race was all that was on my mind. I watched the elevation and distance slowly tick away. About half way up the climb I got my legs back. I caught back up with Mark and we pushed hard to the top passing a few riders along the way. I got up over the pass and blew by the aid station as I felt strong again. After a couple miles of fire roads we entered the final sections of singletrack. Mark and I bombed the singletrack with enthusiasm knowing we overcame the highs and lows and lows of endurance racing and were on our way to the finish. The trails were really fun and pretty loose which made carving in and out of trees exciting for many reasons. We put over 4 minutes on one of the riders we passed near the top of the descent by the time we got to the finish!
I rode in at 13:54. I felt great crossing the line. Finishing the Breck 100 was quite an accomplishment. As of a week before the race, 72 riders were in my age group. I finished 46th. I am sure if I stayed on top of my nutrition I could have knocked probably 30 minutes out of my lap 3 time and possibly avoided a major bonk. While I am glad I finished, the competitive peroson inside me is trying to determine how I could have been faster. The race was really difficult and included a lot of great technical descents-definitely a mountain bikers course. I now know of a nice free place to camp near Breckenridge and look forward to riding and camping there again. This race will most likely be on my calender next year! Much thanks to Amy for being there between laps.
Garmin track for the Breck 100. I think my GPS did not record a couple miles of loop 1.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Breck 100
So it is now official. I've registered for the Breck 100. This will easily be my hardest day on the bike. The goal: to finish. I am both excited and nervous. I've put a lot of hours on the bikes over the last year and a half, so I am hoping I am ready for this. I will not know until 7/17 at about 6:30 PM though, which I should either be done with the race or very close to finished. Game on.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
First Expert race and Gold Belt Loop
This past weekend was the Winter Park Hill climb and my first Expert race. I've been feeling strong but did not know what to expect. 14 of the 18 riders took off like a rocket and 1/8 of a mile they gapped the field and kept going. Unfortunately I was the 15th rider. My effort was really high throughout the whole race as I managed to keep my heart rate about 180, but by the finish I had lost 3 minutes to the closest rider in my age category. I am happy with my effort but not happy with the results. I have to come to the realization that this will be a very difficult year and to be successful one will have to be very fast. The winning rider in my age category would have finished mid pack pro. Ouch. Results here. Stats here.
Sunday Eric, Erik, Jon and I went to Colorado Springs to ride the Gold Belt Century. It was kind of a strange ride as there was quite a bit of gravel and dirt roads. Some riders choose cyclocross bikes, some with road bikes with 700x28c wheels. I was the only one to choose a traditional mountain bike. The Trek Fuel with 1.8 inch mountain bike tires was my setup. The first 31 miles I averaged 18.9 miles per hour! The ride offered a lot of different types of scenery and a lot of climbing. We had a van follow us which allowed us to eat a lot throughout the day! The pizza stop in Victor was pretty good. Photos tell the real story. Garmin stats here.
Sunday Eric, Erik, Jon and I went to Colorado Springs to ride the Gold Belt Century. It was kind of a strange ride as there was quite a bit of gravel and dirt roads. Some riders choose cyclocross bikes, some with road bikes with 700x28c wheels. I was the only one to choose a traditional mountain bike. The Trek Fuel with 1.8 inch mountain bike tires was my setup. The first 31 miles I averaged 18.9 miles per hour! The ride offered a lot of different types of scenery and a lot of climbing. We had a van follow us which allowed us to eat a lot throughout the day! The pizza stop in Victor was pretty good. Photos tell the real story. Garmin stats here.
One of several tunnels we biked through
Variety of bikes parked outside the pizza place
Erik and I
Victor Colrado
The riders
Sunday, June 6, 2010
New bike!!!
Fork: 2009 Reba SL Dual
Crank: XTR
Front der: XT
Shifters: XTR rapid fire
Rear der: XTR shadow
Brakes: Avid Ultimate Juicy Carbon
Headset: Chris King
Handlebar: Salsa Pro Moto flat bar 25.4 5 degree
Stem: Syntace F99
Seatpost: Thomson Masterpiece 27.2 330mm
Grips: ESI Chunky black
Saddle: Specialized Phenom SL
Pedals: Shimano 959 soon to be replaced with Crankbrothers egg beaters 11
Wheels: Stans 355 with DTswiss 240 hubs
Front tire: Continental Mountain King 29x2.4
Rear tire: Continental Race King 2.2
Skewers: Crankbrothers Split QR
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Bikepacking the Colorado Trail
Nick, Chad, Dave, Brett
At the start of the Colorado Trail
Not far from our campsite
Zoka burger, I hope you are not the culprit!
A few years ago Nick and Chad started an annual Memorial Day weekend camping trip. Last year I joined them for the Goose Creek loop in the Lost Creek Wilderness area near Buffalo Creek. For 2010, we wanted to do something different. I recommended spending three days bikepacking on the Colorado Trail, which is something I've been itching to do for a while. Bikepacking combines mountain biking and camping, which are two of my favorite things to do.
Saturday May 29th Nick, Chad, Dave, and I met at the Waterton Canyon in southwest Denver. Waterton Canyon is the beggining of the Colorado Trail. We had no idea how far we could get or where we could or would camp. Neither Nick or Dave are really cyclists so I had no idea what to expect. This trip was the first time bikepacking for all four of us. I've never been past Lenny's rest (8.9 miles from the trailhead), so I did not know what the terrain was like. Sounds like the making of an adventure, right.
The weather for the weekend was near perfect. The trails were in good shape as well. Though there is a pretty fair amount of climbing in the first 20 miles. The terrain is rocky in places, and there is a bit of hike a bike, especially for people loaded down with 3 days worth of supplies on the bikes. I rode my Gary Fisher Rig, which is my single speed, and used a 32x20 gear. The first day proved to be great strength training. We crossed the South Platte trail and had lunch (pizza Dave brought, thanks Dave!) after about 16.5 miles and were able to filter some water to re supply. The beginnig of Segment two of the CT (Colorado Trail) is a pretty good climb and enters into the burnt out area as a result of the 2003 Hayman fire. As a group we decided it was within our best interset to find an area to camp about 2.5 miles up the climb. We found a flat area on top of a ridge which looked good. It was next to the trail but a bit higher up. It provided a pretty good view of most of the surrounding area. The rest of the evening consisted of setting up camp and relaxing. There was a rock we climbed up onto with a nice overlook, and here we spent most of our evening. Both Nick and Dave agreed that day was the hardest thing that they had ever done. Day one numbers.
One of the things I was unsure about was how do you do an out and back in three days. Well, the second day we dropped our camping gear and carried just what we needed for a day trip. The plan was to ride about 7.5 miles on the CT to highway 126 and head into Pine to catch get some burgers at Zoka's. The start of the ride still included a fair amount of climbing, but was a lot of fun overall. Rolling pine forrested singletrack led us into more of the burnt out area. 126 took us to Pine on a little over 6 miles with a fun downhill which I hit 44.7 mph on my single speed. Nick, Chad, and I hung out in Pine and had lunch then made the return trip back home. The climb out of Pine was a good warmup with 700 ft in 3.2 miles. The rest of the trip included mostly downhill back to camp. Frisbee disc HORSE and a campfire was the nights entertainment. Day 2 numbers.
Monday... oh boy. A little after midnight I had a rumbling in my stomach. I felt like I was going to be "sick," and was I "sick." I am not going to go into it because I want you to continue reading, but I am pretty sure I got food poisoning. Monday when I got out of my bivy to begin to pack I felt horrible. I did not have any energy, I was moping around the campsite, packing my bike pretty much took everything I had left. I was not able to eat food, which is a great start to a 20 mile bike ride (sarcasm). I was nauseous and had a headache. I biked 2.5 miles to the South Platte trailhead and I had enough. I could not go on. Nick and Chad dropped everything but what they would need, and Dave and I hung out awaiting their return with cars. I ran every scenario through my head which would lead me to get back to the cars on bike, but I thought it was impossible. The main reason I decided I could not push on was because I could not eat. I felt terrible that I could not finish my trip. That really bothered me, but ultimately, I think it was the best decision. Still a couple days later, I am not fully recovered. Day 3 numbers.... not worth posting.
Things I learned on my trip. I am terrible at estimating the amount of food I need for a trip. Thankfully I always guess WAY to much, but my legs were not thanking me on the way out. My bivy was really nice and much smaller than my tent. I will always use that when I camp and weight is an issue. Chris's Epic Design Super Twinkie was great, and if I do this more, I will most likely get one. I am really fit, and I always underestimate what a group can do because I base it on what I think I can do, and I pretty much tore the legs off of my friends even though I was on my ss. Colorado is great, you can camp in so many places and the beauty of the state never gets old. When you ride a bike with three days worth of stuff including camping gear, you get a LOT of attention.
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