Time flies when you're working hard and having fun. I can't believe 2 big races and our summer vacation already came and went. It's been good and we got to spend some great time as a family in the mountains which we love.
I worked hard this summer and went into the Big Bear Grizzly and Leadville in great shape and with really high hopes. The Big Bear Grizzly is an awesome course with plenty of great single track and a really hard climb at the end. It's the best endurance race course there could be in SoCal and I wanted to race for the win. I rode well and was with the leaders about a third of the way, but had a slightly off day combined with some hydration / stomach problems that caused me to blow up at the end. It was pretty bad and I went up the final hour long climb about 12 minutes than I did the week before pre-riding it at a tempo pace... I had a lot of mixed feelings after the race, disappointed with my result, satisfied that I raced for the win and just didn't have it that day, and thankful to be in the mountains doing what I love. It's a great event with a good balance of laid back grassroots feel, while well organized and plenty competitive at the front of the race. The start and finish is right at the heart of the Big Bear Village which is great and I highly recommend the ride / race for next year.
Leadville was similar... I think the elevation is just too much to have a peak performance when coming from sea level. Even with about 9 days of acclimatizing in Big Bear 2 weeks before the race, I'm just a lot slower at 10 - 12,000ft! It's such a great event I would love to have a super ride there, but this year was just good. I wasn't feeling great early on and my hamstring was bothering me. At the turn-around point at the top of Columbine I was about 10 minutes off my time from last year. I was feeling pretty decent at that point though and was able to ride fairly well the 2nd half of the race (which is way longer than the first half mentally and physically!) and finished stronger than last year to get about the same time and 3 places better. Whether or not I'll go back I'm not sure at this point... Congrats to our good friend Tim for taking the win in the 50+ category, a lot of hard work and faith paid off!
A great week on vacation in Beaver Creek and Telluride (amazing!!) followed and now it's back to the regular routine at home. I've only done 2 hard rides since being home but felt really strong on both. I'm holding out for one more chance at a great ride in the big mountains next weekend - at the Park City Point to Point.
With all the crazy things going on in the world we are so lucky and blessed to be riding and racing bikes. I hope you realize that for yourself, be thankful, and make the most of the opportunities you're given!
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