Last Saturday, I participated in one of the greatest mountain bike races in the country: the Leadville 100. After one of the most memorable days I've ever had on a bike, filled with plenty of excitement and a bit of adventure, I crossed the finish line in 11:08.
Here are a few pictures: (To read the full story,
click here.)
Preparing for the race takes a little time. Here are my sketches as I prepared my time splits and nutrition plan.
Packet pick-up, along with every other aspect of the race, was a well-oiled machine.
Everyone was excited at the racer's meeting.
Pre-game meal: I tried to stockpile my body with as much fuel as possible the night before the race. This thing was huge. I ate about 2/3 of it at dinner, then polished the rest of it off a couple of hours later before I went to bed.
My race-day bag, complete with my refills on gels, honey stinger waffles, bonk bars, and bottles of my special strawberry heed/perpetuem mix.
Riders stand in 39 degree weather, waiting for the gun to go off at 6:30 a.m.
The mass start. Almost 1,600 racers started the race.
A few pedals later...the finish!
Here's my bike, after the race. The race was approximately 104 miles. My bike clocked 100.4, which means means I walked over 3 miles over the course of the race! Having the splits where I could easily see them was helpful. And my motto for the race (it's becoming more of a life motto): SPKM. Stay Positive. Keep Moving.
Again, the difference in my official time (11:08) and what my bike recorded (9:48) has me off my bike and on my feet for an hour and twenty minutes. I had been wondering what my bike computer would do at the 10 hour mark since there is no room for another digit, but I never got to find out.
My faithful bike didn't have a single problem. A special thanks to the awesome mechanics at Bicycles Inc. (The bottle on the bike is one I picked up off the side of the trail on the last stretch between Carter Summit and the finish line, when I realized I had about an hour to go with nothing to drink.)
At the awards ceremony, they honored Fred. At 80 years old, he is the oldest person to compete in the Leadville 100 (last year he finished in just under 12 hours). This year, he finished in over 13 hours. Nevertheless, he was deservingly honored with a silver pan and later a buckle. Way to go Fred! (He's a fellow Texan by the way.)
All 50 states and 38 countries were represented.
There it is!
There were quite a few racers from Texas. Here are 4 of us who race locally. Katie, Amy, me, and Jen. Not pictured is Lisa, who was proposed to at the finish line by her boyfriend! I got to witness the whole thing. They crossed at the same time, he got down on one knee, and she said yes! There were a lot of guys from Texas as well. I'd like to see what the total number was...maybe I'll find out and update this...
And this is another couple who apparently got married during the race at the top of Columbine!! They rode the whole time in these outfits.
Here is a look at all the cool stuff you get if you cross in under 12 hours. A finisher's medal, a sweatshirt with your name and time on the sleeve, a necklace (for females) and a buckle.
The founder of the race, Ken, poses with my Bicycles Inc. friends, Janis and Bill.
Here they are with a double arm amputee who finished the race!
And Carlos (in the scarf), a leg amputee who finished in under 9 hours for the big buckle!
One last look at the streets of downtown Leadville. This was a few evenings before the race. It rained on us every single day we were there, except for on race day.
When I got home, I assessed all the cool stickers I collected during the trip. (The blue Pb sticker in the middle is now proudly affixed to my car.)
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