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!

No More Tour Divide

Last night's cycle consisted of 10 minutes feeling good, 1 hour feeling bad, 10 minutes good, 1 hour bad ..........      The brakes were driving me mad - every time I came to stop I would pull the brake and nothing happened.  Its just how I usually stop - unclip my left foot and brake with my right hand. Its just how I do it!  Of course then I wouldn't actually stop just end up dragging  my foot along the ground while I remembered what was happening.  Just had to think about it!!
Get to the top of a  climb - downhill - just take it easy! Then there would be a track so I would let myself go and then there would be a sharp corner which I would end up skidding around, just about managing not to fall! It just meant I had to go slowly down a really good downhill - I remember this particular one from last year - when I lost my flip flops - it was a great one - so I was bummed to have to take it slowly.  
Everything now hurts - being annoyed and upset seems to make my ankle hurt even more - I have mouth ulcers, numb hands, cuts on my face and nose - feel like a complete mess.  
At the bottom of the hill I sat under the bridge for a while - not too sure why but I did. Had another muffin and looked at the route.  I knew the next hill would be horrible.  I remember it from last year - up a grass bank to the top of the mountain and then straight down a grassy bank the other side - more an animal track than a trail.  This was the one the guy in the bike shop warned me against - he said I would have to hike it down.  A hairy descent!!    While  looking at the map I noticed the highway underneath would take me back to Butte and looked fairly flat.  Then I also realised that I still had a hotel room in Butte that I had already paid for as I had checked in in the morning.  Butte also had an airport with flights to Denver.  Then I also realised that I was not going to finish this ride........  I could go on further but would probably still have to stop assuming the problems with my bike were going to continue.   Best case scenario would be to take a few days off to get my bike repaired but that would put me so far behind my planned time for this ride and I simply could not afford those extra days - there is no point for me to just carry on just to say I have finished without worrying about how long that would take.  Realistically I now knew I was not going to finish - and the further I went the more difficult and expensive it would be to get home again.

Nothing seems to be working out for me on this trip and that seems to be emphasising the pain my body is feeling.  If my bike was working I could cope with my ankle and everything else - maybe if my ankle was not so bad I would cope better with my bike?   I just feel like throwing my bike off the cliff just now!  

So - two o'clock in the morning and I decide I have had enough - I ride back to Butte and check into the hotel again.

Next morning everything hurts!  Maybe my body is just not up to this ride? I dont mind riding for months on end as long as I get to eat well.  Eating has been a huge problem for me.  Some people on the trail can get by on a power bar for breakfast, ride a few miles and have a good meal and then ride again till its time to camp and then get up for their power bar!!  Not me!  The night I camped I had 3 sandwiches and tons of snacks and still woke up in the morning feeling hunger sick!!  i then stil had to stop every 10/20 minutes for a snack till I found somewhere for breakfast!! Camping out for prolonged periods requires too much food - so maybe I am just not suited to this sort of ride - I thought I woull dbe but it seems not!  Well - thats how I feel right now anyway!!  

I feel happy enough with my decision and manage to book a flight home to Denver.  Going to take a few days to recover and get my bike sorted out!  One thing I have realised is that I am quite good at riding non stop for 24 hours straight - so I am going to try a few 24 hour bike races and see if I am better suited to them.  There are actually three races I have my eye on.  I also rather like the idea of the Colorado Trail Race - sam kind of idea as the Tour Divide but only 500 miles - might be better. People complete in 4 - 8 days.  Will set my expectations a little lower and just see how I get on.

Thank you very much to everyone for their support again - mum and dad have been wonderful - always supporting me in my stupidity. Also thanks to a great friend who I talked to every day and who helped me through it all.

Am already looking forward to the next challenge!!

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