Leadville Part 1:

So it all comes down to this.....2 weeks in Leadville and then it's go time. An entire year of training dedicated to this one goal: Finish the Leadville 100. We arrived in Leadville and set up camp right outside of town.

The plan was to spend the next 2 weeks riding the major climbs of the race, and doing some easy fun rides in between. We were joined by Tad Nielsen (Jon's co-worker from Sunrift) and his friend Sonya Loftis. They were in Colorado on a mtb vacation, and decided to spend a few days with us.

After they headed home, it was time to focus. First up, we would ride the first climb of the race: St. Kevin's. It seemed like the climb started very near where we were camping, but the race map was tough to read. Thankfully, Tad had bought a trail guide book while he was in town and it detailed every major climb of the race (including directions to the start). This little book came in very handy for the next few weeks......Thanks Tad!!! We rode from the camp ground to the start of the climb (only a few miles away).  It started out fairly flat on a hard packed dirt road, but quickly kicked up and became rutted and rocky. After 1 mile of steepness, a sharp switchback to the left and the climbing gets easier. A few hundred yards later and the sight of old mine tailings tells you the climbing is almost over. A few rolling miles later, and you end up back on County Road 9 (the same road that our campground is on). We turned around and did the entire thing in reverse. Since the LT100 is out and back, I would be riding this last part at about 90 miles in. Not so bad, and the descent was scary fast!!!

A few days later, we rode Sugarloaf and Powerline. This would be the next climb after St Kevin's, and the Powerline climb would be on the return trip (about 80 miles in). The Powerline climb is said to be the hardest in the race, and the sight of many a DNF. We drove to the start of the climb, and started down a long flat gravel road. A sharp left took us to the start of the climbing, and it was very rocky but not all that steep. As we were winding around to the summit, there were gunshots nearby. Jon and I both started yelling, hoping that they weren't shooting in our direction. We rounded a corner, and a young girl was holding a handgun. It looked like a family was doing some target practice.....no big deal, but they seemed surprised to see us. Thankfully, they waited until we were a little ways off before they started shooting again. The adrenalin made the rest of the climb seem easy. After a little route finding, we were on the Powerline descent. 

If you have ever seen the movie "Race Across the Sky", you may think that this descent is gnarly and dangerous. If you have ever ridden or even attempted to ride Farlow Gap in Pisgah, then you could probably ride the Powerline descent on a cross bike. I may be exaggerating a little, but it really isn't that bad. It has some ruts and  big rocks, but it also has some pretty clean lines. Before riding this, Jon was sure that I would die on this section during the race. Good thing he pre rode with me, now he should have no worries.

The ride back up was a different story, the very end of the descent is super steep. It flattens out after that and ends at a road. We turned around here and went back up the super steep part. You can see this steep section winding off in the distance, and you can even see the top (which was a blessing and a curse). I was determined to ride this. I had a triple on my bike and a 36 tooth cassette, and I was not getting off. Also, we had spectators for this pre ride. A photographer and a couple of pro riders were standing in the middle of the steepest part. I put it in my easiest gear, and started spinning. It was slow, but I wasn't walking. I rode right past them and up the first of the steep sections. There was a not so steep section separating the 2 crazy steep parts, and when I got to it I tried to recover. The next part was so steep that I was starting to spin out from all the torque it took just to keep moving. My rear wheel was spinning out most of the way, but I made it! Jon rode most of it, but had to walk the second steep pitch. The remainder of the climb was still hard. It was rocky and there were more short steep sections. This would be tough after riding most of the day, and no way could I ride the steeps if I weren't fresh. 

We took a few days to do some fun and easy rides:

Turquoise Lake Trail, near our campground

Mine Tailings on the Mineral Belt Trail

We saved the best for last.....Columbine. 7.5 miles and 3,126 ft of climbing topping out at around 12,400ft in elevation. Sounds like fun, right? We started a few miles away with a gradual uphill gravel road approach. I wasn't feeling very good at all. I really wanted to quit and go back to the car, but this was the last good day to ride this, so I sucked it up. I felt better when we actually got to the climb and out of the brutal crosswinds on the open road. Columbine isn't terribly steep at the bottom, but it gets steeper as you go. As you near the treeline it gets steep and rocky.

It then flattens out a little, and then it gets ungodly steep......and I am pretty sure there is no oxygen. Walking even sucks (I didn't ride this second steep part, and I almost passed out when I started walking). After this section of hell, we actually got a short section of downhill (which was evil, because we were gonna have to turn around and go right back up that) and we arrived at Columbine Mine. The view was spectacular!

Columbine Mine.....Brrrr!

I laid my bike on the ground, and the wind was blowing so hard that the bike started rolling across the ground by itself. Crazy! I put on my rain jacket to keep warm on the descent. The descent was very rocky, and the lines were sketchy in some sections. During the race, there will be 2 way traffic on this section....giving you even fewer line choices. I tried to stay on the right side of the road, but every once in a while I would end up on the left. Hope that doesn't happen on race day, because speeds can easily reach 40 mph on this descent. :-(

Bike racing wasn't the only type of racing going on in Leadville. I am pretty sure I want to start a mini donkey racing series in SC (are you in Jackie?).

We did some mellow rides on the Mineral Belt Trail (Leadvilles version of the Swamp Rabbit), and rested up for the big day.........