Colorado Trail Race

Got a ride down to the start from Karen this morning (not too far from where I live in Denver) - arrived about 15 minutes early - there were a LOT of people there - kind of cool. Car park was full with boots open - bikes and gear everywhere!!  Nice weather too - didn't need jackets or anything.  I pretty much had put together my bike last night so all I needed to do was put the front wheel back on and attach the lights to the wheel and I was ready to go!!  Only thing was I now needed the bathroom but it was time for a little speech from the organisers and off we set - out on a dirt road with me now looking for a bathroom!! Of course when i found one and stopped everyone went whizzing past and I am now at the back of the pack :)   We carried along this gravel road probably for about 6 miles and then into the woods for the single track.  Absolutely amazing! A lovely trail zig-zagging back and forth through the woods up the side of the mountain!  A nice climb!!  There were a few tough bits - boulders in the way - and had to walk a little every now and then!  My bike feels a bit too heavy with all the food I have with me - but of course that will get lighter as we go along - that is my plan!!   The climb has been great and I am now sitting at the top of my first big climb (see photo) and getting ready for , hopefully, a good downhill!  I am feeling good - slept well last night - about 8 hours - so that was also good!!  my bike seems a lot better although still a bit of grinding - but apparently that should soon go away!  I guess I will find out!!  

Ready for that downhill!!

Grand Loop Saturday July 28th

Head out and ride with the fast group - planned to do the same as i did on the Death Ride - stay with them until the first big climb and then drop off!  Anyway we set off pretty fast but I stayed with them OK through the early rolling hills.  Then I had a problem with my front light which stopped working - don't know why - thought I had changed the batteries!  So now i was committed to staying with the group, but I can't go up front without a light - so felt a bit bad sitting in the middle of the group.  Going pretty damn quick too!!  Anyway i thought I would just stick with them until the checkpoint - it was OK just a bit quicker than I had planned!!  So I changed the battery, had some food and was ready to continue.  It looked fairly flat up ahead so I decided to maybe try to jump back on with the front leaders.  Almost immediately I realised again that I had no light - the other battery must also have gone!!  So I chased the leaders for about 10 minutes and decided it was safer to stay with them where there were lights.  As we went uphill it began to hurt - I was OK and  if we were  riding100 miles rather than the 200  l would have been happy to stay with them but I knew i had another gruelling race in only two days time!!  So I stayed with them until the sun came up - I didn't need my light now!!  My back lights were fine - I was more worried about being disqualified if I rode alone without a front light!!  Anyway all was now OK in the daylight!!  

Rode the last part of Section 2  - bit of a downhill - into Estes Park and stopped for a McDonalds.  Received a text message from Kendra out of the blue asking where I was - I told her i was about to enter the park and she said she would try to meet me!!  Great!!  So I looked out for her as I continued to ride!  really looking forward to seeing her!  It was a pretty good climb now and i had a good rhythm going - not that steep but long - and very pretty scenery!  Took a picture of a load of deer at the side of the trail.  I felt pretty good, climbing away enjoying the amazing views.  I had probably completed about 20 out of the 25 steady climb when I  saw Jorge and Kendra ahead!!  Great!!  We stopped and chatted for about half hour.  However when i got back on my bike my legs had seized up - I couldn't get back into that good rhythm I had found earlier.  Now it took everything I had just to pedal - and I really struggled to finish the last 5 miles to the top.  It was cold and windy at the top - with snow on the ground - but just incredible views!  Pretty awesome - I would definitely like to return there and go hiking!  Over the top and down a little to the next checkpoint i a car park.  I just sat on the ground for a while, hanging out and eating - also gave me a chance to put on some warm clothes.  Then there was a really great downhill - quite a way - down through the valley with a bit of a headwind - which i had been warned about earlier!  There was another little down before ending up in Granby - i was pretty hungry at this point so found another McDonalds to stop off at.  Back on the bike to Winter Park and a Taco Bell!!  I was feeling pretty good - I kept stopping, hanging out, eating plenty - not caring about the other riders passing!!  The idea today was to take it easy - getting myself ready for the Colorado trail Race on Tuesday!  Got into a good rhythm again and started passing a few riders - into the second biggest climb of the day up to Winter Park Ski Resort.  So there i am, in a good rhythm and i start thinking about flat tyres.  Thought to myself i hope i don't get two flats today as I only have one tube and 1 CO2 canister - and sure enough I get a flat tyre!!  So I changed it really quickly at the side of the road - eager to get back on my bike again.  Hop back but within a mile I get another flat - managed to immediately yell at a rider just ahead who kindly stopped and loaned me a pump and a tube.  This time i sat at the side of the road and inspected the tyre more thoroughly - finding a piece of glass which had caused the trouble.  However I now struggled for the remainder of the climb - just like before unable to get  that rhythm back.  Made it to the top and the next checkpoint!  Charley was there!!  Had some food and a drink - could see rain clouds ahead on the downhill so put on my rain jacket - actually should have put my rain shorts on as well!!  the downhill was awesome - went flying down - steep at first but then flattened out.  But then the rain came - torrential.  I recognised where I was at last- the road we were joined the I70 - which was nice.   Caught up with Mel  from Texas - but he nearly took a wrong turn in the rain - luckily my GPS put us straight!  We rode together for a while - not too close because of the rain but at Idaho Springs I waved him off as i decided to stop for another burger!  I knew there wasn't too much of the ride left now! - the river runs all the way along the I70 and we were on a road parallel to it - and then there would be one more climb up to Evergreen.  Felt great after the Mc Donalds and the hot chocolate.  However i was really cold now when i got back on my bike - I went through the construction zone we had been warned about - it was very gray and miserable and I was now shivering continuously!  It was a good uphill - short but decent up to Evergreen.  I caught up with Mel again and we had a little chat as we carried on.  The weather improved slightly - no sun but at least the rain stopped - then there was a good descent on Look Out Mountain to the finish back in Golden!!  

All in all it was a difficult day - harder than I had expected. The flat tyres were particularly annoying.   Anyway two down now - one more for the Triple Crown - I just want to get my fancy Triple Crown jersey!!!

Colorado Triple Crown Part 2

Here I am at 2am ready for the Corado Triple Crown part 2 (for me).  
The Grand Loop - 200 miles and nearly 16,000 feet of climbing!  I signed up late yesterday and so haven't been receiving the pre race emails and confirmed start time.  The last race I did started at 2am (having been changed from the advertised start of 4am) - so I wasnt too sure today, although it did say 3am online!   So I thought I had better arrive in plenty of time - however at 1.45 am this morning I was the only one here!!      
Managed to get to bed at 8.30 yesterday, having finished work at 7.30 - so not a lot of sleep!  Anyway I am sitting in the car, ready to go - people watching.  People in all stages or readiness - helmets on, shoes on, messing around with their bikes - just making me laugh, sitting here watching the scene!!  Went to Burger King for breakfast earlier - apparently the breakfast menu doesn't start till 3am!  So I had a chicken burger!  I guess I am ready.  About to chuck my gear in the truck and get ready to do this ride!  at least it is a lot warmer than last time - hopefully I am not going to need the fleeces today!  We start off riding towards Boulder - so don't ride a Pass for a while, by which time it should be a bit warmer anyway!!   Well - that's it - another blog later!!

More info here

Part Two to Completion

By now I felt as though I had warmed up and rode really strong for a while - I had eaten enough food and was feeling good!! At the next rest stop I quickly grabbed some Pringles an energy bar and some water and carried on real quick without stopping too long. The stops so far had been pretty close together and I assumed the next one wouldn't be too far when I could stock up again! From this point it was slightly uphill following a river and I was still riding really well - with possibly a slight tailwind. Then after 20 miles cycling uphill I started to run out of food and was getting a bit hungry - at 25 miles I was really hungry and I had no food - I was wondering when the next rest stop would be - I remembered being warned about a long constant climb - I struggled on but it was about 40 miles total uphill until that next stop - by this time I was starving, bonked completely and just felt dreadful! I ended up having to recover at this stop for about half an hour - sitting under a tree just eating and drinking until finally I had enough energy to stand up and realized that I had better carry on going! Quite a few people had passed me during this time. So I carried on and the ride continued uphill - climbed and climbed! Got steeper and steeper towards the end! Finally the scenery started to change - was a lot more open and I finally made it to the top! It was a killer! That must have been a good 50 miles of constant uphill. Had some food and drink and felt better as I headed off on the downhill - just for a while - there followed another short climb and surprisingly I felt pretty good going up! Then there was a really nice long downhill into Telluride where I stopped right at 200 miles - a nice stop in a little town - double century! Only trouble was that there had been a headwind going down into the canyon and I was struggling. I was stoping often and eating trying to get enough energy to just get through it!! 25 miles left - I knew there was a final pass to get through - ended up a good 10 mile climb not too steep but at this stage in the day it was really hard work - wind was swirling - mainly headwind. I finally reached the top and I was so relieved - view here was incredible - 10 miles to go now and I was hoping it would all be downhill. I was so exhausted I don't think I could have climbed any more. Going downhill now - still having to pedal because of the headwind - only trouble for me was I was looking at the total number of feet climbed and total descended and I expected them to match by the finish - and yet I got to the point where my descent total was now greater than my ascent. All I could think that for every 100 feet extra I now went down I would have to climb before the end - 100, 200, 300 feet - but I could still see the signs saying I was near the end. Finally I turned a corner and could see the traffic lights marking the end. Looks likes that might have been a Garmin error but I was pretty worried there for a while!! It was great to just roll back into the hotel - a few people there to provide a few cheers and had my photo taken. That was one hell of a ride. Had a quick shower and a drink (protein shake) but when we sat down for a steak I felt awful - everything caught up with me. We had decided to drive straight back to Vail that night - couple of hours drive. That was so hard - I was overheating and couldn't stretch my legs enough - a very painful drive home. So good to arrive though - fell asleep the second my head touched the pillow!!! Official Death Ride report click here

Colorado Death Ride - July 1 2012

This blog was recorded as Paul was cycling! After 4/5 hours sleep I was up and ready at about 1 am this morning. Headed down and registered for the 2 am start - it was freezing cold, as warned! I definitely didn't get enough sleep - always difficult to go to bed so early! But nevertheless I was keen to get going. I decided I would try to follow the quickest guy from last year for the first 10 miles until the climb. He went off pretty quick and so I followed in the pitch back. There ended up being a group of 4 of us riding pretty damn fast until the climb. When we reached this point my plan was to slow down and let them go but I got chatting with them so stayed with them a while longer! But my heart rate was now 180 so I decided to slow down a little after the 10 mile climb! It was kind of fun though being out there on my own in the pitch dark - in those first 20 miles we had climbed 3650 feet. Hadn't put enough clothes on though - for the downhill I was shivering so much I was wobbling my handlebars - not good. At the bottom I was so cold I ended up sitting in the car for a while to warm up - then headed out - still dark. There followed another pretty good climb and then at the top the sun started to come out. Really nice, amazing views - up at 10500 feet - on the next good downhill it started to warm up at last - all the way down to the second checkpoint in Durango! My stomach had not been feeling great - think it just takes a while to get used to all this exertion - so I then stripped out of all my warm clothes - down to shorts and shirt - had some food and took my multivitamins - and was ready to head out again! I started to feel a lot better after all that - seems like the usual thing - I am riding faster than a few people but then I stop more to eat and so they overtake me when I stop. Then at 110 miles I stopped again for some more food - feeling pretty good now. Just over 7 hours so not too bad. Now I have just passed the half way mark - I am on my own - there was a bit of a headwind this morning going up that first climb and there is one now but as we are riding a big loop hopefully that means there will be a tail wind later!! I am feeling pretty good - I just tried to ride with a guy but it didn't work out - I was going a bit too quick for him - but I know there are two guys ahead of me - maybe if I catch them up I can ride with them for a while - be nice to get a bit of a break from the wind!!

Death Ride

Drove to Ridgeway today (Friday)ready for the start of the Colorado Death Ride tomorrow at 2 am - 225 miles, 16000 feet of climbing! I will be using my SPOT so hopefully you will be able to track me! There was a meeting a little earlier and supposedly it is going to be 40 degrees in Silverton in the morning! Should be interesting. The guy who organises it all spoke at the meeting - he completed the ride in just over 12 hours last year - slowest was 16 - I have up to 19 hours to get a recorded time!! Sounds like fun! I have all my stuff laid out so am just off to bed ready for a 1 am wake up! Am excited and a bit nervous. Looking forward to riding my road bike - fairly confident it is all in good working condition ( why was I hearing some clonking sounds earlier?) Good night!