A Memorable Memorial Weekend - Part 1: Growling in Gunnison

The beauty of high-desert terrain against a stunning mountain backdrop.

With snow capped peaks in the rear view mirror, we celebrated another Memorial Day remembering the previous two days of epic adventures with friends in the mountains. 

Our destination was Gunnison, Co., host to the Gunnison Growler mountain bike race. The MTBWagn crew was Larry "bacon quest" Kintner, Todd "Green Machine" Eyberg, Gnarly Carly, and new to the crew, Kaitlin "You Tube" Neary. This year the wagon became the wagon train as we had more riders than seats in the van so new crew member Amy Collison also drove which meant Ryan and I could bring our big bikes too. Eric O’Brien was her copilot, also a new crew member. The Stohls followed the train in their own car, because Gunnison was to be just the first stop on a multi-day trip to the Great Wide Open.

We left on Thursday night, making our way to a Super 8 in Ogallala. Normally this wouldn't warrant a mention but this particular hotel had a special host who took care of us at breakfast, making our waffles and attending to us like the tender hearted granny she appeared to be. “Grandma Jeannie” recommended going into town to get good coffee for the road. I think we made the baristas day, probably doubling their day's take in a matter of minutes. (Mental note: next year, skip the continental breakfast and get breakfast burritos at the coffee shop).

It was a long haul but we made great time. We stopped at the famed walk-up Tai restaurant off the highway. It's such an oddity but the food is legit and it's fun to bring new people there to experience sitting outside eating pad tai at a picnic table on the side of the road. Anything goes in Colorado.

Porch perfection.

Bike conga line?

Within an hour we were at our home away from home, a condo in town that as it turned out was right on the race course. We didn't waste time getting unloaded and kitting up for a recon of the start of the race. We took the crew up Kill Hill to give the new racers a sample of climbing at altitude and to shock our systems into race mode. We climbed a bit more and continued on a gravel road to the start of the single track. We descended for a short bit until the trail pointed upward where we dumped back onto the service road. Dark clouds were approaching and we didn't want to get stranded so we headed back to the house. The eminent rain finally hit as we walked to registration. And it was a good soaking, leaving us wondering what fate would have in store for us come race morning. Next was a trip to the grocery store and then dinner: naked burrito bowls courtesy of Larry. Par for the course we ended the day getting gear and bikes ready for our 9 am start, falling asleep to the pitter patter of rain on the roof.

The Race
Ten people getting ready for a race went pretty smooth. We had been having issues with the water heater not working and that morning was no different. I texted the owner about it asking if someone could fix it while we were racing. Instead she called and tried to walk us through a quick fix but no luck. Eyberg and I had to start getting ready so she sent someone right then. After a long day on the bike, a hot shower would be a necessity. By 8:15 we were all warming up on the street outside our front door. The streets were wet but it wasn't raining. The forecast was iffy which in the mountains, could mean anything. I dressed in my summer kit and stuffed a rain layer in my pocket just in case. There was no shelter whatsoever on course so I wanted to have something, even if it was for piece of mind. By the time we got to the start line, the sun popped out and everyone was stoked. One last bathroom break and I lined up a few rows back from the front. I scanned the crowd. Lots of pros. Time to bring my A game. It's always fun to see how us flat landers stack up to the locals. I was ready.

Photo courtesy of Matte Burt http://mattburt.zenfolio.com/

Amazing race course views!

We got a 2 minute warning then a rifle shot into the air signaled the start. It came without any countdown so I took off and forgot to start the Garmin until a couple minutes later. The start was neutral with a police car pacing us through town towards the famed Hartman Rocks and Kill Hill. The pace was steady. 350 mountain bikers charging like a swarm of angry bees. Nobody was talking. It was a controlled chaos. Adam was just ahead of me so I paced off of him until the swarm swallowed him up. I picked others to pace off of, trying to avoid single-speeders spinning desperately. As we hit the last straight-away, the pace quickened. I had a 28 on the front and I was in my smallest gear in the back. I sat in for the most part but that didn't last long once we hit Kill Hill. Larry went around me. Locals charged while others went backwards. My goal was to hold my line and not burn too many matches. I was in the red but there would be some recovery until the next hill. My intervals were spot on for this exact start however, racing at altitude doesn't allow my heart rate to come down as fast as it does at sea level. Kaitlin was with me up the first climb but she was breathing pretty hard and was hoping she would have the ability to recover by the second climb. I got up the next big climb and then took a couple of moments to catch my breath before clicking up the cassette. Within a minute on the gravel road, I was on single track. I knew there was another big climb coming so I settled in. I didn't see anyone I knew. I put my head down and motored.

The course was reversed from last year. Also, instead of finishing at the parking lot of Hartman Rocks, we would be racing all the way back to town. The first big technical section was Top Of The World trail. I remembered doing it last year. It's a stacked trail that takes riders up via a series of switch back trails that also included some rock climbing. I dabbled only a couple of times and one of those times a local woman went by. We yo-yo'd back and forth over the next several miles. She let me by one last time and I didn't see her again but knew she couldn't be far.

The climb up Top of the World

I made it!

The course was hero dirt. The rain from the day before had tamped down the dust and the corners were Velcro. So much of the course zig-zagged through hillsides of sage brush. The air was thick with its fresh scent. It was during these segments, with elbows out, that I was having the most fun, like skiing in the sand. It was also where I would try to recover from the punishing technical sections that really tested me. I was passed by a couple different ladies in these tetchy sections when I clipped out. I cursed in my mind. After the second woman went by I was mad and stayed with her. This was around mile 12ish. She was really strong and had a great pace and could pass the guys with ease, which sometimes left me behind them and having to flight my way back up to her.

At mile 15 I stopped at the first aid station. Adam was there recovering from cramps. I realized I could've stopped later because riders were going by it on another trail. The man helping me fill my bottle was struggling to get water out of the spout. Riders were flying by, including the woman I had been battling Damn! And like that she was gone. It was a two mile, extremely technical loop back to the same aid station. I had to pass many riders who got in ahead while I was at the aid station. Then it was a long climb back up to it, again passing riders to gain back my position. 

Racing with friends.

Not too long after, I saw Larry! I’m always happy to see him. He’s a great rider and always positive. We dumped out of the singletrack onto a dirt road where I rolled up on him and pointed at the woman up ahead and said, “We need to catch her.” And we did. The next section was a shitty, loose service road, that had ruts, rocks and more rocks. Everyone was walking, including me but as soon as it leveled off a smidge, I remounted. I hate walking my bike. It puts me in a bad mood. I’d rather turn myself inside out than walk one step. It was a tough battle but I put some distance on everyone. It would come at a price, however, because I started to lose some steam. Larry and the woman caught me and then the trail started to get really technical. She ended up walking down a large boulder where I was hung up and I couldn’t catch her again. She seemed to have just vanished. Larry and I were putting down some power but she was a ghost. We rode quickly and with determination the last 5 miles before we got back to pavement. Hoping we could reel her in, I got in behind Larry and it was TT all the way back to town. We thought we saw her up ahead, but it was a different rider in the same color jersey. I was deflated, so I looked down at the clock. I wanted to get in between 4-4:15 but it was looking like I’d be under 4 hours. Mush, mush! Pavement turned to gravel and sand for a short bit and Larry pulled away. My gearing was leaving me in the dust. I had it in my hardest gear and I couldn’t stay with him. We made our way through the edge of town, eventually going past the rental condo, then a right and then a left. I could hear the announcer call out my number as I approached the line. I was done. Larry was done. My favorite part of racing. ;) We had just made it under the four hour mark. I was super excited! We immediately say Ryan and Todd standing in line for pizza and beer. 

Mobile wood-fired pizza (aka water heater repair guy)

Only the good stuff @ the Growler 

Finishers' prizes

It turned out Ryan and been pulled up to Todd on the pavement and was just sitting in until Todd turned around to see that it was RF on his wheel. This was just before the final left turn. The story went that Ryan took the inside line and they both were dragging knuckles trying to get the advantage. They both stood up for the final sprint, with Todd taking the win by a few seconds. A perfect way to end a race! Not too long after, Kaitlin came in, then Carly and finally Adam. Everyone was beyond beat. Hollowed out by hard efforts at altitude. We all cashed in on the noms before making our way back to the condo to wash up. We kept an eye on the road for Amy or EOB. We saw Amy and ran outside to yell for her. As soon as she heard us, she sped up, shaking a rider off her wheel. It was much later that EOB made it in. He came down the street, all tucked, his big engine was bringing him home. We ran out in the street, ala TDF style, yelling his name. He gave us a mere turn of the head and motored on. We knew he couldn’t stop until the finish line or it would’ve been over right there. Later we found out it almost was over after an epic meltdown and some conversations with the Almighty. Sometimes races like these can show you what you’re made of and apparently EOB’s made of stubborness and tenacity.

The famous Dave Wiens

With EOB in, we all felt relief and joy. We headed over to the awards ceremony. None of us were on the podium but we wanted to find out if Omaha was in the top 15 cities. Nope, not this year. But Kaitlin won a year’s worth of Honey Stinger product in the raffle so that was the highlight.

After the ceremony, it was time to fill our bellies with proper Mexican food. We hit up a local place that had no wait and a table by the window. On tap were endless chips n salsa, strong margies and stories of a day on the trail. It couldn’t have been a better ending to a great day. The rest of the night was spent digesting and then eating again while we prepared for Day 2 of our memorable Memorial Weekend.

ArkanSpa: 2014 Season Opener

And it begins; another race season. Though training has been underway for months, it takes tying on that first race plate to properly mark the occasion. I was excited as this would be the first real test of the Superfly 100. It was time to see what magical powers this thing was hiding from me.


PRERACE

This season's opener was the Spa City 6hour in Hot Springs, Arkansas. I missed this race last year due to a crazy reaction to some antibiotics I took for a chest cold, so I was happy to be back in "The Natural State".
 
This trip it was just Larry Kintner in the mtb wagon. We lit out after work on Thursday, bunking up partway in Joplin where we hooked up with the Wixons who were on a family spring break trip, and the race was their first leg.
 
Weather reports on for the weekend were not looking ideal for those of us camping. I did a mental check of my gear which took about 2 seconds because I knew I didn't bring anything for wet weather. On top of that, I didn't bring my pajamas so a trip to Walmart scored me a pair of jammy pants with bikes on them and the only rain jacket I could find was what looked like a trash bag with a hood but it would beat being wet, I figured.
 
We pulled into Hot Springs around lunch time and went to a well known eatery called 1217 Cafe. The food was delicious. Five stars and a rare healthy food option in the land of BBQ and gravy covered everything.

After lunch, we headed for the venue. It's a great place to bring the family. It has a playground and a giant wooden fortress for kids to play on, with a bridge that goes over the finishing straight. Bike wash station, picnic shelters, RC car track, and lots of camping options. We pulled up in a little nook lined with large boulders, perfect to use as tables or seats. We unloaded and prepped for our recon ride. Time to see what my Trek Superfly 100 was capable of since I only rode it a couple of times back home and felt it had yet to tell me its true magical powers.
 
The trails anywhere in Arkansas consist of rock with a little bit of dirt. It should be called "Rockansas". This race would be no different. We rode the entire ten mile race loop which consisted of punchy climbs and some fun descents on what were mostly contour cut single track trails through dense pine forest. I was pretty happy with how the SF100 performed. I didn't make any adjustments afterwards aside from a bit more air in the tires because they seemed to be leaking an excessive amount of sealant around the rims.
 
After the ride we set up camp and got ready for the race. I got a chance to chat with Lorraine, a woman I have had to battle at many races in this area the last couple of years. She's super cool and just puts out a great energy and has a genuine enthusiasm for the sport, especially when it comes to other women competing. Girl power!
 
We ended the night properly, around a camp fire discussing all things bike and feeling good to finally be riding single track after the winter we continue to have. And as we tucked ourselves into our sleeping bags, we said a silent prayer for a dry course.
 

THE RACE

As most race mornings go, we were up before the sun. We couldn't see any stars so clouds had moved in but no signs of rain so far. Temps were in the high 40s and no wind. We started the water for coffee. Last weekend I tried a new meal before heading out on a long training ride, inspired by local long distance racer, Rafal Deloto, a.k.a The Polish Punisher. He eats rice with a couple of fried eggs mixed in and it worked great for me so I decided to make it again in place of my usual oatmeal with fruit and nuts. I had bought some pre-made rice so all I had to do was warm it up, fry my eggs. Easypeesy. I also found these really tasty all natural energy bites at the Natural Grocers on Dodge St. They taste a lot like Lara bars and are already cut into bites and in ziplock bags. That was to be my solid food during the race. I put them into a paper cup we snagged from our hotel and put it all in jersey pocket. It worked like a champ. I think next time I'll use a plastic cup though.
 
Food down. Coffee down. We filled bottles last night so all that was left was kit up and getter bike ready but somehow that always takes longer than I plan and suddenly it's rider meeting time and I haven't even sat on my bike. But, for a six hour race all i really need to do are some high cadence openers to spike the heart rate so I did that instead of the meeting. Ryan already scoped out a spot on the bike racks to place my bike for the Lemans start, which was at the bottom of a grassy slope. As we waited for the start, we were all doing jumping jacks or running in place. Everyone but Ryan who did push ups and then danced around like he was tweekin' at a rave.
 
I totally suck at running. Add on top the lumpy ground and it was comical. But I got to my bike easily enough and found myself probably in the top 50, and right behind Lorraine. The parade loop took us onto pavement then around the start field which had a few mud bogs to deal with. I went by Lorraine before we hit the hole shot. Once into the single track the pace was good. Up the first switchback climb, not too crazy then down some twist-turny stuff and suddenly I found myself on the ground. Not a root or rock around. I jumped right up as I the train of racers yelling rider down! The guy immediately behind me helped me up and a quick assessment told me bike and body were ok and off I went.

Nothing to see here.

The pace was high as they always are at the start but manageable. I could hear people talking behind me and I was working so I knew I was probably working too hard if these people were chatting. Once they went round, Lorraine was right on my wheel. About 3/4 into the first lap she went by and said jump on! but going harder was not the plan at only :45 into a 6hr race. I let her go in hopes that her effort now would bring her back to me later. I rolled into the timing table just a few minutes over an hour. The guy at the table told me I was in 2nd. I swapped bottles and was off.
 
Lap 2 I had a visitor. A guy latched onto my wheel and chatted me up. Usually I am not much for chitchat while I'm racing, but I obliged and held up my end of the conversation. I caught glimpses of Lorraine when the trails were stacked so I knew I wasn't too far back. I learned that my visitor owned a lawn service in Springfield, came in behind Lorraine at last years BTEpic, this was the first race on the bike he was on, it was a snowy winter in Southern Missouri, and on and on. But, the good thing, I stayed on pace and came in just as fast as lap 1.
                                                        

Lap 3 I was back by myself and found myself missing my friend who took my mind off my growing back pain. A single speeder who was with us lap 2 was in front of me so I started to pace off him until he waved me on. After that, I was solo, so speak. I finished lap 3 in over three hours and some minutes. When I rolled into the pits I grabbed half a banana and switched from carbo rocket to water so my stomach wouldn't get upset. Though don't take in as many calories when I do this, it's a trade off so my stomach can get a break.

Lap 4 was uneventful. I kept the suspension in descend mode most of the lap because my back was rocked. It still performed surprisingly well on the climbs. I made a decisive choice to back off this lap so I could have something in the tank for laps 5 and 6. When I rolled in I downed half of a red bull. As I left for lap 5, it began to drizzle.

 Lap 5 took a little longer than I wanted. The greasy rocks had me riding a tad more cautiously. Finally though at one point I was fed up with slipping around and my hands hurt so I stopped to take some air out of my front tire. Not sure it really helped. I also lost my tire lever on a descent and then about a half mile later my spare tube fell to the ground. So I stopped to pick it up, figuring it would be harder to bum a tube off someone if worse came to worse. I wasn't about to waste time folding it up all nice so I smashed it into by jersey pocket and was off. By the end of lap 5 I almost caught Larry but he put on the after burners and disappeared. I rolled into the finishing area around 5:16 and I could see him just ahead. When I got to the timing table the announcer was calling out cut off times for those who planned to go back out. He looked at me and said I had 1:14 to make it back or the lap wouldn't count.

Red Bull shot #2 and it was on. The drizzle had stopped and I was seeing red. Though I knew I could make it back, it was about catching carrots. Every person ahead of me was a race within itself. I was hoping one of those was Larry or Lorraine but that was not in the cards. On the bright side though, my extra effort did put about 3 minutes into Lorraine who finished only about 2 minutes ahead of me. We chatted afterwards and she wanted to go out hard early, which she normally doesn't do, to see if she could hold the pace. She doesn't stop in the pits either, so that plus my stops on the trail, crash and pit stops, it made sense that she was faster on the day. But I was pretty pleased overall. I made up time and was as fast on the last lap as the first so I couldn't really be bummed.

POSTRACE

As I always say, my favorite thing about racing is being done. I could barely stand up when I finally hopped off the bike after 6 hours of pounding, rocky singletrack. Seriously, I looked like I was 90. It took a good 5 minutes of just walking before I could stand up straight. Everyone in the group finished and was smiling. It was a good day for all.
 
The awards presentation was comical. The rain we had all prayed for to stay away couldn't hold it any longer so the director had us all huddled under this small outdoor stage where the podiums were placed.Once all of the hardware was passed out, we hit the road. We had planned on camping the whole weekend but got a hotel in town due to the cold and rain. We each got to shower and warm up before the big chow down.

Now I don't know about you, but 6 hours of bike racing, I'm sure I burned through 5000 calories. So what does one do when they are down 5000 calories and in the land of BBQ? Stuff face, that's what. We looked up the famous BBQ joint that is a fan fave of the former President Clinton. It's a hole with standing room only in the aisles. It was our lucky day. We got a table right away and even luckier (well, it WAS St. Patty's Weekend!) we were the last people to get ribs. And not only some ribs, but like a pound each of baby back ribs, completely hidden by the mounds of fries on top. I felt like I was on Man VS Food. Which, I have to say I came in second to my plate of food, unable to eat the last rib and fries. But that only meant I'd have room for dessert! Later that night, we hit up a local place that made ice cream from scratch and then topped that off back at the hotel with a few beers we had planned to drink by the camp fire.

The ride home was misery. Long and slow, we had to make our way through every type of snow, sleet and rain as we made our way north. Add on top the pain of soar legs and back. We get to do this two more times this spring...

Coloradical Part 2 - Salida - Keystone Recon - The Firecracker 50

The middle of our Coloradical funwich was jam-packed with downhill riding, xc riding and racing, with a little r 'n r as well. It went something like this.

SALIDA AND THE GROUND SQUIRREL INVASION
After the successful weekend in Crested Butte, we took that Monday off. The plan initially was to ride Monarch Pass but we were both pretty beat down and we still had a lot of pedaling to do in the coming days. Ryan and I do not rest easily - especially when we're outside. We made our way to Salida and decided to seek out some good camping before heading to Keystone. We had never been to Salida. It seemed like one of those places where settlers, tired of heading west, said F-it and decided to stay. It's a quaint little hippie town, bigger than I thought. Located at the Arkansas headwaters, one can literally put in from town and be canoeing or kayaking as easily as we can be on a bike path. It's historic main street is door to door art galleries and studios, hip outdoor clothing stores, gear shops and eclectic restaurants. We hit up a few and also had to make a stop at the famed bike shop, Absolute Bikes. The staff was extremely friendly and they had some really nice stuff.We spent lunch at The Laughing Ladies b/c Ryan liked their sign. The food was awesome and we were able to sit in a covered outdoor patio. It was perfect. After lunch we did a bit more walking, hit the store for the next round of provisions and headed to a camping spot up the highway from town. We drove through some high desert-like ranch land for a couple of miles, passing a rafting outfitter that was busy with folks wanting to escape the heat of the day on the Arkansas River. We finally located the small campground which was pretty far off main roads, right next to the river. (Yes, we were in a van, down by the river). It was well maintained and had a bathroom. We were greeted immediately by the ranger who was checking for permits. He was inquisitive of our plans, seeing that we had a huge van with 4 bikes hanging off of it. The nature of the job, I'm sure.

We quickly set up camp (parked) and had the idea of washing our very dirty riding gear that we had been sweating in for days. A little camp soap and a tub and we were good to go. Ryan took a "bath" first and it was pretty funny to watch. I guess whilst he was scrubbing, some rafters went by (I wasn't there) catching a glimpse at the Ginger in the wild. I'm just glad he had his board shorts on. Post wash up, I headed out for a hike to explore the area while the wild Ginger messed with his bike. I hiked up some rocky ledges to see if I could get a better view but I didn't want to venture too far and some storm clouds were starting to roll in and I didn't have any cover. I was gone for a good hour and shortly after I returned it started to rain. I had to take down all of the clothes that were hanging on the bike rack and hang them from a clothesline I rigged inside the van. As Colorado rain storms go, it didn't last too long. We made some dinner after the storm passed, watching the sky turn all kinds of colors as the sun did it's ritualistic descent. As we were sitting at the picnic table we saw an animal on the other side of the river. There was a grassy embankment that had been cleared of the trees and the grass was lush and green. The animal was a sheep! We were bummed Sweater wasn't there to see it. Quickly, another followed down the same path, then another and another. Soon there were about 5 or 6 sheep in the pasture. Then a man and a woman appeared from the treeline. The sheep seemed to be with the couple because they huddled around them as they prepared to fish. Over the next hour, the man at one end of the grassy shore and the woman on the other, the sheep would run back and forth between them, sometimes stopping to have a nice game of head butt. Ryan was enthralled, although later he admitted he was waiting to see if one of them would head-butt the woman into the water. They were there until sunset, just enjoying a Monday night in Arksansas River Valley. It was a strange site, not something we would have expected because we didn't recall seeing any farms nearby on the other side of the river. There was a very nice private home down a ways from the camp so it's possible there were domesticated animals on the property. We ended the night watching mother nature watercolor the sky. Being next to the river, we kept the van door cracked open and let the cool breeze and the rush of the water lull us to sleep.

About oh, three or so in the morning, I was awakened by a noise. We had left some of our cooking gear and bins under the van so we could have room to get in and out. It sounded like something was rummaging through the bins underneath. Then I thought I heard something up on the bike rack or the bumper. I quickly closed the back door (which was by our heads) and laid back down. I heard the animal again. Now I was awake, staring at the ceiling of the van, wishing the animal to go away! Then I heard the corn chip bag crinkle INSIDE THE VAN! I sat up immediately. There was ambient light coming from a lamp on the bathroom but I couldn't see much. I put my hand on Ryan's back as I listened. The bag crinkled again. I shook Ryan awake.

"Ryan, there's something IN the van!" 

Silence. Crinkle. 

"Yep. Sure is.It's probably a ground squirrel. Think we should open up all of the doors?"

"And let more in? No. I'll just open the back door again and hopefully it will leave"

We lay down again. Ryan is back asleep. I am wide awake! "What the hell! How can you sleep?" 

"It's not going hurt us. Do you want me to pull everything out of the van?" 

"No." I said. I was sitting up by this time, listening. I could hear it's little paws running around under the van. I couldn't take it. I opened the doors and turned on lights. I didn't see it but I did see a bunch of torn up paper towel all over the place and our paper towel roll shredded. Huh? There was a bag of food not all the way zipped closed and this thing was sitting on top of it (hence the crinkling of the chip bag) gnawing away at freaking paper towels? I put them away and sealed up the food bag and put it inside an empty cooler. Then I waited. After several minutes of silence, I believed it had exited the van. I shut the doors and turned off the lights. I laid there for a few minutes more and I finally fell asleep.

The next morning, with the sunrise shedding light on our little camp site, we could see the shredded paper all over the van floor. We got up and decided, to be sure it was gone, we'd take everything out of the van. Just as Ryan opened the van door to get out, we both saw a little ground squirrel run away from the van. We couldn't tell if it ran out of the van or if it had been sitting there waiting for a chance to get back in. Either way, and fearing a moment like in Tommy Boy when the deer awakens in the back seat, we made sure no critters would be scurrying across the dashboard doing 80 mph down the highway. So around 6:30 a.m., we hauled all of our gear out of the van and onto the ground. Everything under the seats and under the sleeping platform came out. Satisfied that it was indeed gone, we put it all back in. All of that work so early had us pretty hungry so we got the coffee going and ate a bit of food. We had a long day of travel and biking ahead of us. I'm pretty sure I had a few cups more than usual. 

KEYSTONE RECON OR RECKONING? 
We made our way up to Breck and then Frisco. It was still early so we decided to hit up our favorite cafe for breakfast, the Log Cabin Cafe. I had the special: blueberry waffles! And bacon. Double freakin bacon. It was great. 

KEYSTONE QUANDRY Our first order of the day was to find a camp site that was somewhere between Breck and Keystone. Unlucky for us, everything around Lake Dillon was reserved, which was surprising since it was only just Tuesday. We didn't want to camp somewhere only to have to move again. We drove around for about two hours and found not ONE campsite. Frustrated for already missing precious hours of practice runs, we drove to Keystone as fast as possible. We only had a few hours to find out if we were cut out for the next race in the BME Series. 

From the bottom, the mountain looked twice the size as Crested Butte. 

The lift took almost 20 minutes to get us to the top, compared to the 8-10 at CB. The same question that popped into my head in CB bubbled up again: What was up there that wanted to fling us off the mountain? 

Only one way to find out! 

We studied the map of the mountain on the way up. (The race routes were not released yet). We had heard from many sources that race was going to use as much of the mountain as possible. Hmmm, there are several black and double black diamonds on this hill. Needless to say I was a bit unnerved. 

At the top, Keystone was kinda cool. Much more scenic and developed than CB. It had a couple of look-out areas, a large building with a restaurant, bathrooms, deck, chairs. Aaah, chairs! At least we'd have more of a place to hang out between runs instead of sitting on the ground. Before hitting the green run, Ryan hit up the bathroom. As I was waiting for him, I chatted up a couple of maintenance guys. They were like the Keystone Welcoming Committee, saying how happy they were that we came to Keystone, wishing us a nice stay, etc. A lot of pride in their place of employment for sure. "You don't do it for the money" one guy said. One of them demanded that we let him take our picture, claiming he had gotten pretty good at it. Since they were so friendly, I decided to ask about any secret camping spots, telling our story of bad luck trying to find anything around the lake. They gave us some intel about a road on the backside of the resort, which I had read about on MTBR. It was National Forest so we could camp anywhere just as long as we packed out. He mentioned some possible bathrooms up the road a ways in case of emergency. We agreed to check it out after our test rides. We thanked our new friends and redirected our focus of scouting out the hill. 

We started down the green run to get our legs under us. I think it was Girl Scout. Not far into the run, we came upon an older couple out for a ride. Older, as in 50 at least, all kitted out in pads and the whole nine yards. Pops was on a big hit, double crown rig. They were from Texas and offered up some good advice about what to avoid, what might not be open, etc. I don't recall exactly the route but that first descent wasn't too bad. The terrain was better than CB. In that I mean there were less machine-built trails out in the wide open and more single track trails made of natural terrain in the trees. In other words, we felt like we were more in the back-country instead of a bike park.

The next run Ryan was eager to get to some of the tougher stuff. I was fine waiting as long as I could. We got onto a trail called Cowboy Up and it was a bitch of a rock garden. Garden, hell it was a rock cemetery, where giant boulders had gone to rest for eternity. It looked like the park had raked every rock from the mountain to that very spot and then told people to ride there. The approach was a long open double track run through a field to get the speed up. This was key. Speed was the ONLY way to get through it. I tried a couple of times but I just didn't have the speed to get very far. I kept getting hung up at a spot that had a deep step down with a tree stump on one side. Ryan bounced around it like he was in a washing machine but he made it and was zooming down the trail as I hiked my way down. Ok, I'll definitely need to come back and practice this again. The funny thing is, as I look back at that section, I don't look back with fear. I look back mad that I didn't clear it. A sign of improvement for sure! We got in a few more runs and it was two trails in particular that made us start to think twice about what we had gotten ourselves into: Wild Thing and Even Flow. Wild Thing has some pretty famous step downs in succession that are steep. Walking them is even hard but that's what I had to do. I lacked the skill and the guts to push myself that far. Then on Even Flow, the trail was straight out of North Shore, with an elevated, twisty trail. I thought I was going to vomit. I had to walk it and when it was too steep to walk, I bush-wacked, walking alongside of it. NO FUCKING WAY was I going to be able to race down this. I was starting to really question my decision to race here. Ryan felt the same after he crashed pretty bad on another run down Cowboy Up. He had to walk some of the trails after that, trying to keep the demons quiet. This was, in our minds, the real deal and there we were on our "little bikes" trying to ride them without losing our teeth in the process. We ended the day wondering if we should attempt to race at all. We had much more summer ahead of us and jeopardizing it and our health was something we had to really consider. Were we in over our heads? We decided we'd think about it over the next few days. 

We left the resort so we could find the camping spots we were told about. Following the directions the park guys gave us, we drove through a small condo development and up a dirt road that, looking at the signage on the gate, had just been opened to traffic. We saw a few turn-outs that we could have pulled into but our natural curiosities forced us to keep looking. About 20 minutes later, we came to the back side of the resort. There were a couple of lifts and a restaurant that was closed for the season (darn!). But to our joy, we found the bathrooms were unlocked, with only cold running water, flushing toilets and the heat was on! Oh, happy day! This was a five-star resort as far as we were concerned. We found a flat spot near the entrance and pulled in for the night. A few cars went by but we had the place to ourselves.

The next morning, we got up early and headed to Breckenridge to ride and to meet the elder Eybergs to pick up or beloved Sweater. We rode Peak's Trail, which is always a favorite, to shake down the race bikes. It was time to switch back into XC race mode. Not an easy thing to do after the week we'd had. Now it was time to race UP the mountain as well as down. After how many years of racing, we finally understood those factions that believed riding up is dumb. Nah, it's not really. It's just not as fun.

We arranged to meet the Eybergs at their condo, which happened to be at the finish line of the Firecracker 50 race that we were doing as a duo. It was nice to have Sweater back with his people although I think he was going to miss all the attention he got from their two granddaughters and their stuffed friends. After hanging out, we registered for the race and went for a stroll around town before heading back to "camp" to prepare for the race.

For the last several years, we have spent July 4th in Breckenridge, racing the Firecracker 50. This was the first time as a duo team. I was going first. We parked in a parking lot just north of town at the ice skating rink. I kitted up about an hour prior to the race and hit the road to warm up. By the time I made my way to the start line, it was so packed, I couldn't get to it. I had to ride on a street parallel to it but to my frustration, when I found where my group was (way in back), there were barrier fences along the sidewalk. The sidewalks were packed with fans and those waiting for us to get out of the way so the parade could start. It was a pain in the butt, but I finally got myself where I needed to be. Per usual, we had a neutral roll-out down main street. Once our lead-out team peeled off, the race was on. Which for me meant it was time to watch the rest of the fields go by me. Quite frustrating, but nothing new. This is always how it is. When the start line is at 9500 feet and the first single track isn't until 11,00 feet, you just gotta grind it out. This is when I began wishing I had big wheels. 

The race wasn't one of my better attempts but I knew I wouldn't be fresh going into it. We were really just killing time between BME races. The ride up Little French pretty much sucked. There was so much traffic and it was pretty wet from the late snow that everybody was walking. I HATE WALKING! Especially on Little French. But there wasn't anything I could do so I trudged up the hill with all of the other pack mules. At the top, a banjo player stood, belting out some jolly blue grass to cheer us up after the long hike. I love Colorado! After that, my race was pretty much just survival. I didn't anticipate some new trail that was used in place of a long, soul-crushing gravel climb. It was, on a normal day, a down-hill run. So needless to say, it was a bit taxing but it made time go by way better than if we were on the gravel for sure! Once at the top, it was downhill the rest of the way to the finish line. When I got there, I had no idea how I was going to find Ryan. There was a wall of riders lined up next to the race course. There was no official hand-off or check-in so it was pretty much on the honor system. Somehow he made his way to the front and was ready when I came across the line. I tried yelling at him to save some for the new single track but there was music and madness so I didn't know if he heard me. He'd figure it out. 

After my race, I grabbed some food and a beer that was free to racers. I hobbled back to the van where I cleaned up (I had hung up the solar shower on the rack) and got into some freshies. I made my way back to the finish line and waited for Ryan to show up. He had a great race, probably one of his best lap times at that event. I think we ended up like, 16th out of sixty. At first I thought we were dead last but not all of the results were posted when I had looked. We hung out for a bit. We found our coach, Jason, and we bumped into a few other folks that we knew. It was a good time but I was glad it was over. So much stress! 

After the race, we met up with a couple who came up from Denver to hang out for the 4th. We shared a hotel room since camping was impossible and to be honest, I really wanted to be able to lay in a bed and have a hot shower. When we got up to the room, which was just a studio-size, on the wall above the bed was a giant photo of a ground squirrel! Aaaaaah! We had told our friends about our experience with one back in Salida so when we got to the room and saw the picture, we all had a good laugh! The rest of the night was spent eating (again at Fatty's) and then off to another joint that had an awesome deck where we could watch the fireworks and drink. It was so great! We had a blast! 

The next morning we got up early so we could get a table at our favorite eatery The Blue Moose. Our friends had plans to hang out until they needed to check out from the hotel. Ryan and I said goodbye to our friends and Breckenridge. It was time to decide if we were going to race at Keystone.

2013 Berryman Trail Epic: Race Report

It's been a while since I've banged out a race report. Odd, since it seems that's all I've been doing since March. Let's just say, it's been a busy summer. I do plan to catch up on the blog now that the season is over. Finally. But it wasn't over until I crossed the finish line at the BT Epic.

Leading up to the Epic, post Five-0 and post our annual trip to the Great Wide Open (more on that in another blog) I didn't know how motivated I'd be to try and contest the BTE. It's really, really hard to go out and do interval training on cold, windy days, especially when you have to drag your bike and gear to work every day just so you can get in a soul-crushing road ride before dark. But I did it and well, I'm glad I did.

The usual rag-tags came along with the Ginger and I; Carly, Adam and Jenni Stoll, Wixon and Larry. We let out early on Thursday after work and got down to KC where we got a couple of rooms for the night. By 7am the next morning we were eastbound and down, heading to Steelville, Missouri, float capital of the US. Home base would again be the Bass River Resort. We rented the same 4bed cabin as we always do, right near the start line. In fact, the race goes right by its front door.

We stopped in town for some provisions first so that we wouldn't need to drive the van again until it was time to go home. To our shock, the little grocery store in the dirty south did not sell liquor. What? Is it a dry town? An employee at the store gave us the lowdown on where to buy us some package. It was a dumpy ol place on the outside of town. Dust on the bottles and unlimited Bud Light. Hmmm, but to our fortune honey whiskey and Captain were plentiful. Whew! We all bought something to bring to the after party. Soon we were checked in to our place and getting ready to head out to ride. But before we did, one of the bedroom's smoke alarm's started chirping. I tried removing the battery but it was wired to the ceiling and kept chirping. I called the main office and they sent someone out pronto. He tested it and reset it before we left to go ride. Now that's service!

Soon we were off to preride. We took the van so we didn't have to slog up the gravel road to the hole shot and Jenni drove it back. This was our 3rd time at this race and it was the first time we could actually see the trail. Usually the leaves are so thick it's impossible to separate the trail from the rest of the forest floor. Not this time. The entire trail is crushed rock, not too dissimilar from the trails down in Arkansas. Throw in some thick roots, rocks, water crossings, sand pits, gravel roads and pavement, and that my friends describes the 55 mile course that is the BT Epic. For the most part it flows nicely. Not much sustained climbing and lots and lots of rock. We rode for about 35 minutes before we turned around. The first miles of the track are some of the rockiest so it was good to get on them and test out our suspension set up, etc. I was still feeling my big miles from the previous weekend so I rode pretty lame. I bombed descents but spun on the uphill because it was too easy to gas it due to all of the rock. I played around with my suspension a bit and called it good. After the pre-ride we registered for the race and to my amazement, my name was listed on the back of this year's T-shirt, along with the other 2 top women finishers and all the top men from 2012. Ha! First time for everything. That, I have to say, was pretty cool.

The promoters of this event are a couple of real good ol' boys. With big trucks, big dogs and big accents, these guys are all about good times. They're good natured, friendly and generally excited to have us at their event. They saw us in the parking lot of the grocery store earlier that day. One of them remembered Ryan from last year. We reminded them we were bringing the mother load of honey whiskey and that brought a cringe to one of their faces, saying he was not going to get drunk this year. (Last year the two of them split an entire bottle of honey whiskey that Ryan handed up to them during the awards ceremony).

The rest of the day was filled with the usual pre-race stuff. Eating, bike tinkering, eating, bike tinkering. Anything to pass the time. I found my Garmin file from 2012 (thought I should at least look at my time from last year) and plotted some strategies to improve my time and hopefully pull off another win. The cabin seemed pretty relaxed and orderly. Just how I like it. I went to bed feeling as ready as I could be.

The alarm went off around 5:30 a.m. The race meeting was at 8:15. I finally got out of bed around 6. Larry was already up, making french pressed coffee on the patio. Carly was on the couch trying to grab as much horizontal as possible. Seemed our good friend, the chirping smoke alarm that was in her bedroom, decided to wake her up at 4am. You could still hear it out in the living room. I felt really bad! Soon everyone was up and shuffling around the kitchen, nuking their prerace meal or drinking coffee. After I ate, I went back into our bedroom to lie on the floor next to the heat vents and enjoy a few more warm minutes of rest. By 7:30 I was kitted up and out the door. I headed up the gravel road, not only to warm up my lungs and my legs but also to get a sense of the distance to the trees. By the time I turned around, I had my puffy coat wrapped around my waste and I was down to my summer kit and arm warmers and I was hot. Perfect. I stopped back at the cabin for one last tinkle, loaded up my bottles in the van (Jenni was our pit crew) and then headed to the start line to find a sliver of sun. It was chilly!

I lined up about 6 or seven rows from the front. I could see a couple of ladies here and there (only 16 signed up). I saw Laureen, who I barely scraped by last year. I had to keep my eye on her. I saw another woman in a bright pink Hammer kit (roady, I thought). Carly was next to me and that's all of the women I could see. But it's hard to say when it's a mass start. The promoters gave a few words and sent us off with a gunshot. I clipped in, grabbed some gears and surged, trying not to get caught up in the cock fight. Once safely amongst the herd, I spotted my competition and kept them close. I followed a short trail of guys up the far right side of the road as the middle began to stack up. I broke free of them and gave a surge as I approached the long gravel climb to the single track. I took an inside line next to Laureen through some deep gravel, making sure not to lose traction. As we began the climb, I kinda got boxed in behind a spinner and a large SS rider. I saw Laureen take the outside lane. Once around the corner, I sprinted for better position and started to gain some ground. The woman up front (Laura) was a bit closer now and she was riding like a woman possessed. I took a pull and went by as the road climbed but on the descents she would blast by me. After she did that a second time, I stayed with her up the next climb, riding her wheel so I could recover a bit. Then I realized I might have a chance at the hole-shot prime. From my recon ride that morning, I knew we were close to the seeing the hole-shot. I decided that as soon as I saw it, I'd go for it and the plan worked. I swung wide and dove into the trees, making sure I made eye contact with the promoter who was standing there cheering us on. I just hoped that was worth the effort cuz I had 50 more miles to go.

Not long after entering the trees, Laura snuck around me when I moved over for a buy behind me. I was surprised and knew I had an aggressive rider to compete with. She was riding well and really putting down the power. So much so, that I eventually had to let her go. With any luck, she'd burn out at some point.

The pace was good. I was around dudes that were keeping it steady. After Aid 1, about 11 miles in, I was in a train of guys and I saw Laureen was amongst them. Our train came up on Laura. She was riding really well. I was two bikes back from her when, on a tight switchback, she couldn't get her big wheels around and I dove into the inside and suddenly had the lead. Yay 26ers! (more on that later). I was up around Adam, which always helps me mentally. He's a strong rider so if I'm around him, I'm probably up the field a ways. But so was Laureen. She's a NUE rider and carries everything she needs to get through a race without stopping. I knew this so when I came into check 2, I zeroed in on Jenni. She was ready for me. I was there for less than 15 seconds. But Laureen came right past me as we headed back into the trees. I was right on her wheel. We both then caught a couple of others, including Adam and group he was in that being lead by a guy on a fat bike. Also mixed in were a couple of SS riders. They weren't going that hard. At one point someone bobbled a rooty switch-back and they were all off their bikes. Laureen & I stayed steady and motored on by. At another choke point, both of us had to run by a troop of riders who were off the bike. After stopping at check 3, Laureen took a bit of a lead. It was open gravel and her big wheels had a slight advantage. The road had deep puddles that sometimes were edge to edge. Adam and another dude came up on me and Adam said, let's go get her! It was a nice gesture but he soon faded. The other guy stayed steady, in fact he was down-right chatty.

Dude: "Are those 26-inch?"
Me: "Yep"
Dude: "I don't like 26. Twenty-nine has more speed advantage, I think."
Me: "You're probably right."
Dude: "Did you get the hole-shot?"
Me: "Yes. On my 26"

I think I earned a couple kernels of respect because he told me to jump on as we clicked up a couple of gears. Laureen was slightly ahead but not for too long. Once past her, the dude wanted to catch the next gaggle of riders and trade pulls into the wind. We weren't far from aid 4. I tried to stay with him for maybe 30 seconds when I was like, wait, I need to race my own damn race. So I sat up and let him race his race. Soon, though, Laureen was right on my wheel. About this time, I felt something hit my helmet with enough knock that I thought it was an acorn. But it wasn't. A bug had kami-kazeed into a slot of my helmet, successfully lodging itself under it and in my hair. I could feel it crawling around. I tried digging at it and moving my helmet from side to side. I thought it was gone. We came up to a part of the course that was along a highway. The bug began to sting my head. Shit! Well, I knew there was a very long road climb coming up where we'd be going slower and I could deal with this bug situation. Still hoping it would fly away, I moved my helmet around some more. Laureen was chugging away at the hill, nice and steady. I could see SS riders scaling the hill, riding back and forth instead of straight up to maintain momentum. Yeah, kinda steep. The bug was still lodged under my helmet so I had to deal with it right then. I shifted down in my small ring in front, which caused it to get caught between the frame and the chain ring. I tried shifting it back to the big, but no dice. Crap! Ok, one thing at a time. I could still pedal, so I took off my glasses and unclipped my helmet and held it in my teeth by it's straps. I felt the bug on my head. It had to have been a beetle b/c it was big. As I was swatting at my head and shrieking, the promoter drives down the road. Now, had this been a USAC event, I could've been dq'd for having my helmet off. I finally got the bug out. I tried getting my chain to unkink itself but it wasn't having it. I had to stop and deal with it. Quickly though I was back on the bike and putting in a bigger effort to make up some time. I came into the check point, frazzled. I threw some food in my mouth and some Sport Leg pills. Bad idea! You can't chew and swallow pills at the same time! I swapped bottles and threw it in the big ring. Laureen was nowhere in site. Dammit! I kept trying to chew/swallow my pill/bar combo on the open stretch before I got into the trees. I'm such a dumb ass. Once into the trees, I was on a mission to catch her. I got caught behind a dude who really wasn't going that slow, it's just that I wanted to go fast. I'd have to go even faster to stay in front of him and I didn't know if that was a good idea, being that it was only mile 40ish and there was still another 15 to go. Eventually, he let me by and I was back on my pace. The course at this point was mojoflow. Nothing sustaining. Some switchbacks and some dry spring beds but for the most part, it's just capital F Fun! I was in my zone and bombing descents like I was on my Remedy. I had to keep my eye on my heart rate though. Fun can sometimes disguise fatigue until it's too late.

I'm not sure how soon it was that I saw Larry ahead of me. Sweet! Except he was looking like he was kinda chillin'. As I came up to him, I could see Laureen just ahead. Larry, like the gentleman he is, let me go by and I eeked by Laureen too. I backed off my chase pace so I could recover a bit. The flow of the trail kept me focused. I could hear both riders behind me on the gravel trail. We chewed it up! Once feeling recovered and after switching bottles from my bottom cage to the one on my down tube while still on the bike (a feat of skill I had to master a few times), I began to push the pace. Not crazy, stand up attack, but a slow, python squeeze, if you will. Soon Larry was behind me, not Laureen, telling me it was go time. He advised that we should pace off the guy that was a few bike lengths up the trail and to keep on the gas. That was a direct order I was willing to follow. And it seemed to be working. Our rabbit up front was in his local flow, slowing for nothing. He had a rabbit ahead of him as well. This went on for about 4-5 miles. Then we entered a section of trail that I recognized as the end of the single track. We rode through a small clearing that signaled the start of a the slow, ATV road back to the gravel road up top. It was on this road that I caught my rabbit and his rabbit. "Great pace out there" I said. Up! Up! Up! As I climbed I saw the promoter, Scott, driving down the road (seems some signage had been moved). I knew the gravel road was close. Once up there, the wind greeted me. I looked back hoping that Larry would be there so we could battle the wind together. But he must have fallen off because I was all by myself.  I put it in the biggest ring I had and took off. This was where I eventually caught Laureen last year so I was sort of in a panic that she might try the same. She had big wheels and if she was going to gain ground, this was it. But I felt like I was going backwards. The wind was that strong. And the road was that long. Turn after turn. Small rise after small rise. I was hoping I'd see someone ahead to latch onto. I looked back a couple of times to see if anyone was coming but nobody. No Larry. No rabbits. No Laureen. As the miles clicked off, I started looking for land markers. There was the hole-shot. There was the turn-about where we unloaded the day before. Closer. Then I started seeing the large purple circles on some of the trees on the side of the road. Closer. Then a big descent where I tucked and rocked that bike like my life depended on it. One more climb and then the last descent that lead back to flat road and the resort. Just need to stay upright this last hundred yards and not ditch it in the sand pit. I cleanly got to the other side and popped out at the resort's campground and the final straightaway to the finish. As I predicted, Ryan and Jenni were standing there, screaming their lungs out. I smiled and pulled into the finish tent to take first place, 31 overall. I was very happy at the outcome and even more so to be done (my favorite part of bike racing). I rode directly to the bathroom and then over to Ryan and Jen who were chatting it up with Larry. He came in only a few minutes after me. He said he cramped on the climb and was bummed he couldn't help pull me in. We stayed there until our whole crew crossed the line: Adam, Carly (6th place, scrubbing an hour off her time) and then Wixon, who cramped right at the start of the finishing straightaway and had us scratching our heads for a minute as he got off his bike to try and stretch his leg. We were like, what the hell is he doing?

Everyone was in and healthy and with bikes intact. It was a great day on the bike for all of us. Ryan secured 16th place overall, and only 2:30 from top 10 overall. For someone who was "chill riding" it was very respectable.

We all hung around for a bit to bathe in the euphoria of being done and exchanging war stories. I told of my bug situation and having to actually race someone the whole time. (So many times on these long races, you end up riding alone and racing the clock more than each other). Food was next on the agenda so we made our way back to the cabin to get cleaned up, fetch our meal tickets and head back to ground zero for post race festivities which included a meat buffet, unlimited beer on tap, a good ol' boy, back country bon fire and lastly the awards ceremony, which was held under a big top tent that the resort had set up. Carly won a commuter bike in the raffle! She was the only one to win of our group and she was so excited. I took the top step for open women. Laureen had to leave early, so it was just me and Laura, who I chatted with after the race. I love meeting these incredible women who can shred at middle age (or just under). So inspiring!

We capped off the night with some more time around the bon fire, sharing pulls of honey whiskey with anyone and having the pleasure or not, of seeing the two promoters dressed up as Hooter's girls as part of the costume challenge. I think they won! It was about this time that Wixon's order of 5 large pizzas from the resort's lodge were ready for pick up (They will also deliver to the cabins. Sheah!) Needless to say, those pizzas didn't have a chance. We brought them back to the cabin and ate them as we sat around our own little fire pit in the back of the cabin. We were joined by some neighbors and later by some other riders. Swapping stories and getting lit was pretty much the only thing on all of our agendas. Well that and trying to keep a drunk woman from burning the derma off her hands. Once our fire died down, she was hell-bent on bringing one of the larger, STILL-ON-FIRE, logs over to the fire next door. She drug it across the lawn, probably 20 yards, before depositing it in the fire pit. We were pretty sure she was going to have a painful morning, wondering why her hands were covered with blisters.

I sacked out, along with Carly and Jen while the boys talked bikes. I don't even remember Ryan coming to bed. Carly was behind on her Zs and Jen, who worked her ass off to feed us, deserved her sleep too. It was the end of the night, and for many of us, the end of the race season. As I've said many times before, being done is my favorite part of racing. And boy, I was done.