Revolution Series #4 Keystone Race Report - Back to mediocrity

Day 1: 

Total ride time: 1:45 hours
Total ride: 15 miles
Total Vertical: N/A due to lift access
Day 1 Strava

Stage 1 Start

Stage 1: We started out with a flowy transfer to get to the top of stage 1. Despite that, I still felt cold and got off to a slow start. We started out with a long blue that was a lot of fun, although demanded a lot of the legs. The challenge was that it ended on a tight, technical trail. Both stage 1 and 3 started on a long, fast trail and ended on a really technical trail, which made it tricky to save enough gas to ride fast. NGL, I felt slow on this stage. 

Stage place: 9/20

Stage 2: This stage was short but had a wacky mid section with some bridges and then these wood banked corners at the bottom. It was so short there wasn't a lot of space to make up time and it was forgettable.

Stage place: 10/20

Stage 3 Start

Stage 3: Stage 3 was the most demanding stage of the day by far -  really rough top with a  rock garden and a few constructed drops and then it spit us into a double black trail at the end. Unfortunately, someone had a crash that delayed the start for a while AND it started raining. To compound the challenge, I got a puncture flat about halfway through which was super frustrating. Luckily, I was running a Cush Core tire insert that enabled me to at least ride out the stage. I was able to get a new tire installed after the race in preparation for Sunday. I didn't lose a terrible amount of time, although it put 8th out of my reach and 10th was only about 15 seconds behind me. I had my work cut out to maintain a top ten on day 2. 

Stage place: ?/20 (stage results are not currently live)

Dang Flat Tire!

Fresh Rubber!

Day 2: 

Total ride time: 2 hours
Total ride: 14.5 miles
Total Vertical: N/A due to lift access
Day 2 Strava

Stage 4 Start

Stage 4: This stage started right off the lift so I took a full warm up run with another rider. That really helped me feel ready to ride and my stage felt fast and comfortable. I had pre-ridden this stage several times so nothing was a surprise. Knowing that stage 5 was a blue, and stage 6 was 2 of the hardest features in the race, I was looking forward to getting this one over with and focused on 6.

Stage place: ?/20

Stage 5: This stage was fun as shit! It was a flowy blue that wasn't too technical and had some sections where you could really open up and go! I was enjoying the confidence of my new tire and not worrying about any surprising features. There were a bunch of young kids behind me and I was happy I didn't get caught.

Stage place: ?/20

Stage 6 Start

Stage 6: This was the stage of the race. In line 2 guys in front of me and one behind me were talking about how best to walk over a couple features without losing a lot of time. I was really happy that I'd  successfully pre-ridden everything, although only a couple times. The stage started out with a fast section down an open ski run and then right into the hardest, most exposed left turn on the mountain. I ended up doing a dumb tire hop to get around, but I stayed on the bike. After that it was a bunch of rock drops, I passed a guy, and ended up feeling pretty confident I'd maintained 9th. The level of stoke at the finish was high

Stage place: ?/20

Overall, this event was more fun as it went on. I wasn't too thrilled after pre-riding because of all the technical features. After the race though I am pretty happy with it all. I have to take an earnest look at my training schedule, bike choice, and risk acceptance if I'm going to be more competitive in a race like this in the future. 

Final results (incorrectly linked to overall results as of Monday, Aug 14)

Keystone Preview: Is Preriding Good or Not?

 Early this week I took a day off and went up to preride the trails at Keystone, CO. I have gone back and forth on whether preriding is a good idea. When I've done it in the past, I found that I was very tired for the race! Then in Steamboat, I didn't preride at all and did pretty well??

Anyway, my plan here was to ride early enough that I could recover and have time to recover. Based on my experience yesterday IT IS A GOOD THING I PRERODE. 

To quote The Loam Wolf review of the park, "It’s definitely a park for riders who enjoy picking lines, rocky terrain and technical moves." I got the maps of the course from the Rev people Saturday:

Day 1 Stages

Day 2 Stages

 The resort has a lot more trails that the map shows. I ended up able to ride every trail once and then a couple of the challenging ones more than once. There were 2 parts where I had to take a second look before even riding because they were so hard. 

The full trail map

I wish I'd taken more pictures of the course, but all I got was this one from inside a gondola:

And this from a puncture:

Tire Plug Worked Great

In summation - this is a deeply technical trail system, and the organizers have us riding down some of the hardest trails. Having the opportunity to ride down a few times and build confidence was really useful. Having a few days to recover is also great. I'm hoping that this combination puts me in good position to be competitive this weekend!

Revolution Series #3 Steamboat Race Report - Finally, Success!

Last weekend I had the chance to race the first two day, fully backcountry enduro race of the season. This race took us over 5 stages Saturday and 2 stages Sunday. Both were long days with pedal transfers, and stages were equally long and demanding. I am happy to report a top position this time due to fewer guys in my class (but I'll take it) Here is a break down of how it went! 

First Podium in a long time!

Day 1: 

Total ride time: 5:12
Total ride: 25 miles
Total Vertical: 3700'
Day 1 Strava

Stage 1: This stage started very close to the parking area so it was hard to warm up. It felt like I was really ready to race about halfway through the stage. Thanks to another rider I was prepared for several really surprising right turns. Toward the end there was some really tall grass that made it hard to see the trail. 

Stage place: 3/6

Stage 2: The transfer to this stage was pretty long and involved a lot of walking. I didn't learn my lesson in Glorietta and wore my XC shoes resulting in some pretty bad blisters on my heels. This stage was the shortest in distance, and it felt short! I was pretty excited to be back on the bike and showed it by blowing the first corner which cost me some time overall. This is the only stage I finished out of the top 3. Besides that silly mistake, the stage was really fun and flowy after that.

Stage Place: 5/6

Stage 3: This stage was another long transfer that was not awesome. This was the longest at 2 miles and  started with some fun semi-technical features that led to some pedaling in the middle. There was one cool rock feature I'd heard about that you rode straight over mostly on faith. I actually passed a guy at the bottom. After that it was not steep enough to coast, and not smooth enough to pedal which was frustrating. 

Stage Place: 3/6

Stage 4: Stage 4: The final long transfer led to this shorter stage. It was only a mile but it felt a lot longer.  This was an all gravity stage with very little pedaling (that I would pay for on Sunday). I threw a rock onto my right foot that really hurt but lucky it wasn't lasting. There were a couple corners on this course that felt really good!

Stage Place: 3/6

Stage 5 Start

Stage 5: After a mercifully short transfer to the last stage of the day, we were met with 2 miles that started out chunky and dropped off steeply to the right, and then at the bottom became a wide open pedal fest. No one came to the bottom of this stage without a smile on their face. There was one water crossing you had to just pull up and hope it wasn't too deep. 

Stage Place: 3/6

After this we were supposed to have a 5 mile dirt road ride back to the race headquarters, but I was lucky enough to get a ride in a van with some other racers.

Ride back to the Start

It was great to get back to the hotel sitting third place!

Day 2:

Total ride time: 2:30
Total ride: 19 miles
Total Vertical: 2100'
Day 2 Strava

Stage 6 Start

Stage 6: There were only two stages this day, but each was a healthy pedal transfer. The first of the day started with a short road section then a hard left onto by a pretty chunky single track. Some described it as a rock garden. I don't think it was quite that bad but it was def something to deal with. There was a huge water crossing at the bottom that soaked everyone involved. This stage didn't have a ton of pedaling, and a couple corners felt really fast.

Stage Place: 3/6

Stage 7 Start

Stage 7: Stage 7: After a not too terrible transfer to the last stage, I saw the longest line of the race. This whole stage was on a jeep trail, which meant double track. It was also a pedal-fest. There was some chunk here and there, but mostly it was about maintaining speed and staying smooth. There were several flatter corners that were followed by a short climb that could really suck speed. I ended up using the dropper a lot which meant that I was pedaling A LOT. After that it was a pretty social 45 min rode back to the start.

Stage Place: 3/6

Race HQ

Overall I stayed in sort of comfortably in 3rd for the weekend. I lost about 20 seconds a stage to 2nd place, and gained about 18 seconds a stage to 4th. I don't think my mistake on stage 2 cost me much. 

Preriding: Only for suckers

This was the first race I didn't preride anything. While it was tough going in blind, it was very cool going in with fresh legs! I am def going to consider that before putting in a big day before a race in the future. Final results.

2023 Bikepacking Trip Report!

Hello faithful follower! Last week I took a few days off and rode my gravel bike on a great loop around Colorado. This ride had it all - gravel! highways! trespassing! hiking! 

Full Map of Ride

This is the fourth year for this ride and this time I was joined by 4 friends. Here is the day by day breakdown:

Day 1: Copper Mountain to Leadville - 40 miles - 3,400' vert - Strava Activity

Day 1 started out climbing out of Copper Mountain to the Climax Mine site where we hooked West over to Camp Hale. We then climbed (literally) up to what we thought was a road but was actually train tracks. After that we hooked up with the highway again into Leadville. 

Hiking up to the next 'road'

A Tunnel on the way to Leadville

Day 2: Leadville to Basalt - 64 miles - 3,000' vert - Strava Activity

The second day of the ride was the most remote! Starting in Leadville we headed west past Turquoise Lake over Hagerman pass, peaking at 11,925 feet. Even crossed a snowfield. Once we got down a somewhat technical descent, we stopped at the Meredith general store for a snack, passed Ruedi Reservoir, and then rolled into Basalt for dinner at the Tipsy Trout.

Crossing snow on Hagerman

The top of the Pass

Resting the legs in The Roaring Fork River

Day 3: Basalt to Vail - 68 miles - 4,500' vert - Strava Activity

Surely this whole ride wasn't all snow fields and hiking! Day 3 was much more mild, taking us over Cottonwood Pass, which was beautiful. After that climb, we started our Euro Tour, which included stopping at several places to hydrate. The Wolcott Yacht Club is open again!

I met a dog in Eagle

Wolcott Yacht Club

Beers in Edwards

Day 4: Vail to Copper Mountain - 33 miles - 5,700' vert - Strava Activity

The last day of the ride was the most adventurous. We started off with a pretty burly climb into the back bowls of Vail ski resort. From there we connected the Easternmost Vail road with the Westernmost forest road leading to the top of Vail pass. This was a true adventure and provided the most beautiful views of the ride. The whole thing wrapped up on the Ten Mile Canyon National Recreation Trail into Copper.

Climbing up the Service Road

Connecting the ski resort and Vail pass

Some hike-a-bike

All in all, it was an amazing trip! Around 200 miles total, saw some really cool parts of the state and we're already talking about next year.

Taking a Break from Enduro to... Bikepack?

 For the fourth year in a row I am headed deep into the Colorado back roads to ride my gravel bike and explore some new roads with some friends. Starting in 2020, we started riding a multi-day trip focused on dirt roads, back roads, and beautiful views. 

Top of Old Fall River Road in 2020

For this year, I wanted to share my set up and how it's evolved. This year I am riding a new frame with some time tested bags. Here is my set up:

Let's go through the bike! I have been refining this set up over the years and I'm really happy with it.

Bike setup:

• Unicorn Ti gravel frame
• Replacing my Cannondale Topstone
• DT Swiss c1800 wheels
• 21mm internal width, not a wide as some but perfectly functional
• 40c WTB Byway tires
• SRAM Rival / GX AXs
• New for this ride, 44t x 11/50t, trying out the 1x
• Cannondale SAVE seat post
• This seat post takes a lot of the buzz out of the road
• Easton EC 70 AX bars
• Nice flat top and complaint carbon flare bar

Hot Sulphur Springs in 2021

On this trip we have riders using a few different kinds of gear storage from panniers to full frame bags. Below is what I'm riding with. I am trying to keep things even over the length of the bike and reasonably accessible.

Storage:

• Tail bag: Revelate Shrew 3L 
• Down jacket, rain gloves, helmet cover, flip flops strapped to outside
• Frame Bag: Revelate Tangle
• Lights, chargers, food, misc
• Top Tube: Revelate Gas Tank
• snacks
• Bar Bag: Revelate Egress
  
• Evening wear, cold weather stuff, rain jacked strapped to back
• ***New this year*** Evoc 1L Hip Pack
• Phone, snacks, misc
• Wolf Tooth Components tool roll
• Tube, multitool, tire lever
• Tool can
• Emergency tools, misc tools

Outside Meeker in 2022

In addition to all that, here are some of the select things I'm bringing.

Notables:

• Ass Savers fenders are light and functional
• Profile Designs fork mounted water bottle cages keep weight low and out of the way
• Custom handlebar bag mount to keep bar bag off hands
• Voile straps are a life saver
• Oversize water bottle cage for Nalgene
• A very bright headlight for emergencies
• Garmin InReach GPS Communication device

Here is a look at the 2023 route:

Once the ride is over I'll share the route debrief!

Now Featured on PinkBike.com: Me!

 Following the recent Revolution Enduro race in Eagle, I found a great photo wrap up of the event on PinkBike. 

Look at that fast guy

Oh you don't think that looks like me? Look again: 

Never miss the orange shorts

I'm famous!

Revolution Series #2 Eagle Race Report - Snow, Rain, Mud, Suffering

Whew, round 2 of this series was a real challenge. This race took me to Eagle, Colorado. The trails there were really cool, proving that many communities in Colorado have put time and effort into building out local trail systems. 

Course Format:

This course was set up as a van shuttle up to the top, 3 stages down, and then a 4th stage where we had to self shuttle. The weather changed a few things, resulting in a bit more climbing at the beginning and some variable conditions throughout the day.

Race Profile

Preride:

I showed up Saturday to preride, and the drive up was not promising:

Vail pass

Things got worse from there - there was an overturned truck that was blocking the road up to the start, but I was able to get around it and start my preride. In the snow. 

 Stage 1 and 2 were a muddy mess, and my bike was nearly unridable after. Stage 3 was not marked so i got lost and ended up taking the wrong trail. I didn't attempt stage 4 due to the weather and lateness. All my preride notes were: "Look for tape at sharp corners, try not to crash in a puddle and drown."

Sorry, bike

After retrieving the car on a combination of Natalie's ebike, hiking, and getting a ride, I washed both bikes, I was done for the day. Shower, hamburger, bed. 

Total ride time: 3:30 

Total ride: 28 miles

Total Vertical: 4800'

Race Day:

The weather couldn't have been more different. Still wet spots on the upper trail, but everything else was remarkable dry. 

Stage 1:

I was scheduled to get on a shuttle at 8a and start racing about 9. Due to the overturned truck, the shuttles could not make it to the planed start and we ended up riding an additional 4 miles starting about 1130a. Wasn't terrible at the time, but I paid for it on stage 4. 

View from the first pedal transfer

Stage 1 was still pretty wet, and I dumped on a stream crossing, but felt ok. 

Stage place: 14/22

Stage 2:

Stage 2 was all dry and a ton of fun. Having preridden it, I felt pretty confident, especially with this 1/4 mile flat push at the end. The middle 1/3 was this steep, heavily covered by bushes descent that just left you smiling. Nice short transfer to stage 3.

Waiting to Start Stage 2

Stage place: 12/22

Stage 3:

Stage 3 was interesting because during preride I got off course and never rode the bottom half. During the race, I got a decent start, caught a guy on one of the short punchy climbs and went into the lower, very flowy and dusty section feeling great! ... until I got passed by a 30+ category rider. The benefit was that since I was riding that part blind, I was able to just follow him at a faster pace to the finish. I finished this section thinking I'd certainly be in the top group. I was not. I was 30 seconds out of the top 5. 

Stage place: 12/22 (see the trend here?)

Stage 4:

If you'd told me that I finished this stage mid-pack, I would have called you a liar. I felt like hell on this stage, and expected that this stage would be significantly worse than any other stage, not my best finish. It started with a 5 min flowy pedal interspersed with mild rough sections and some small drops that totally drained what I had left. The last 3 min or so were really fun corners and jumps (I assume, I was cursing the sport at this point). With fresh legs I suspect I could have trimmed 30 seconds off my time

Stage place: 11/22

Total ride time:  5:15

Total ride: 28 miles

Total Vertical: 3500'

I finished feeling bad about a 12th place, out of the top ten by over a minute and out of the top 5 by 2:30. After looking at the stage breakout, seeing how consistent I have been I don't feel as bad, and the course was really a fun one. I think some time to normalize emotions is probably normal. I want to have a top 5 finish this year, and to do that I'm going to have to both focus on longer downhill endurance and overall fitness, so I don't get caught sucking wind in the last stage again.