Crested Butte Challenge Too Much...

What a change a couple of weeks and 3,000 foot elevation gain can make!

The Shimano XTR Cross Country race at Crested Butte Resort threw me to the ground, stomped me and took away any cockiness Angel Fire and my fastest century ride may have planted. I came with nothing to offer the mountain and was anaerobic 200 yards from the starting line. Two laps with 1,600 feet of gain per lap threw me into the hunch-back survival mode and brought up the question again-- "WHY THE HELL DO YOU DO THIS? "

I'm just glad I'm not paying a cycling coach this year to tell me how bad I prepared for a particular race. I could list the variables but in reality, sometime you feel good and are happy with the outcome and sometimes you just suck and die. This was one of the races I sucked and died.

Finished 10th out of 10 on this one but still ranked 2nd in the series.

What I will always do despite the pain and results, is have fun!!

The best part of the weekend had to be the Sunday morning 8:00am start of the Super Downhill race. COMOtion chums Cris Taylor, Cary Dunn and I shared a chilly and wet chairlift ride to the top of the mountain for a mud slopped downward hurl. We pretended we were going to beat somebody to the finish line. Mission accomplished!
Yeti "Bossman" Chris Conroy was right there beside us on the SD startline proving the adage "practice what you preach" .

Crested Butte trails are like no others in Colorado with really dark organically rich soils that suck up moisture and produce spectacular wildflower carpets . The off-camber singletrack trails are deep and just waiting for you to bang a rim side into them so they can toss you over the handlebars like a rag doll.

With racing done, we enjoyed the beautiful scenery and reminders we we live in ( and never leave) Colorado.

A picnic lunch along the Taylor River on our way to Cottonwood Pass and home ended another memorable MTBing race weekend.

A Ride With 7,500 of my Colorado Cycling Friends

The Elephant Rock Ride is not popular among the cross country race crew but, I still enjoy seeing families, "chubbies", old geezers and ex-high school jocks head out together on the open plains of central Colorado with one common goal FINISH!

The event was the first chance to try out some of the magnificent prodeal sponsor stuff. The Ritchey carbon wheelset contributed greatly to my best time ever with an average speed of 17.2 mph for the wind riddled 100 miler. A top speed of 46.2 mph was recorded 5 1/2 hours into the ride. Total crank time was 5 hours and 50 minutes. The borrowed Topeak Prepstand Max grabs all bikes by the downtube and serves as a stable rack for last minute chain lubes and shifter adjustments. Continental 4000S tires had more air in them when I finished than when I started.

Colorado headquartered and potential 2010 sponsor, Pearl Izumi made the ride extremely comfortable with their new Octane series bib shorts. A hundred miles in the saddle is no time to have your panties in a wad. The PRO series chamois kept me comfy throughout the ride and drew at least a couple of whistles from (bluehaired) ladies as I sprinted by out of the saddle.

E-Rock has definitely grown over the 7 years we've been riding it. The RV parking lot was 20% full when we snuck in a few minutes before the 3pm check in time.

Still the way to beat the massive Sunday morning traffic jams, camping at the Douglas County Fairgrounds lets you relax before the morning frenzy and shower a couple of hundred yard from the finish line.Munching on cedar plank grilled salmon the night before the ride helped provide needed protein and yumness.

Throwing in off weekend century road rides is a good way to keep the drumsticks from going flabby. Another weekend off then we climb the 10,000 foot Crested Butte cross country course. Next road ride-Copper Triangle http://coppertriangle.com/ August 1st.