Since Wendy has not updated the blog with the last day of TransRockies, I figure I better tell you "all" about it... at least my version of it.
Another beautiful day - we were very lucky with the weather - in the Rockies. A little chilly in the morning, but it actually go to the mid 80's early in the day. Wendy and Stu started in Vail, and I cleaned up the RV, packed our stuff and headed to Beaver Creek - a long 10 miles drive :-)
I parked at the bottom parking lot, since I was told the spaces were limited at the finish and since I have my bike, I could ride to the top. Little did I know that the runners ran right by the RV. I rode the last 7 miles of the running course and let me tell you, it was pretty damn hard. The pitches were a few short climbs with at least a 25% grade and the steepest of them all, which was straight up a ski run, must've been about 30% (this was the only one I was not able to ride) and was about 200 yards long. Brutal!!!
Once at the top it was a mix of fire roads, paths, and singletrack. Nothing too difficult. To compare, it took me almost an hour and a half on the bike to cover the 14 miles to and from the finish line. I kept wondering how long it would take Wendy and Stu to cover it. I decided to run/hike/walk with them, so I changed into my "runner" kit and waited for them at the last control station - about 5 miles from the finish. Of course I was fresh for doing a bit of running, so once the two of them got there, I took the camera and would run ahead of them and snap some pictures, then run with them for a while and then repeat. Not to jump ahead, but my quads were a bit sore the next day.
Wendy and Stu finished in 9th place overall in the mixed category. About 18-19 teams started, but only 15 or 16 finished. Great job, specially for Wendy, as she has never done an ultra-distance event. I will say what I rode of the course was very difficult, but I would love to try to ride the whole thing.
I enjoyed myself tremendously. I ended up riding almost 20 hours, with just under 20,000 ft. of climbing, so it was a great training week for me. I did take me a few days to recover from the riding, but I'm back.
Next up for Wendy and me is the Payson Stampede 24 hour in two weeks, we're racing with some of the members of our new mountain bike team. I have a couple of 100 Km races in October and then Baja Epic, a 250 mile mountain bike race in early November. Stay tuned.
Another beautiful day - we were very lucky with the weather - in the Rockies. A little chilly in the morning, but it actually go to the mid 80's early in the day. Wendy and Stu started in Vail, and I cleaned up the RV, packed our stuff and headed to Beaver Creek - a long 10 miles drive :-)
I parked at the bottom parking lot, since I was told the spaces were limited at the finish and since I have my bike, I could ride to the top. Little did I know that the runners ran right by the RV. I rode the last 7 miles of the running course and let me tell you, it was pretty damn hard. The pitches were a few short climbs with at least a 25% grade and the steepest of them all, which was straight up a ski run, must've been about 30% (this was the only one I was not able to ride) and was about 200 yards long. Brutal!!!
Once at the top it was a mix of fire roads, paths, and singletrack. Nothing too difficult. To compare, it took me almost an hour and a half on the bike to cover the 14 miles to and from the finish line. I kept wondering how long it would take Wendy and Stu to cover it. I decided to run/hike/walk with them, so I changed into my "runner" kit and waited for them at the last control station - about 5 miles from the finish. Of course I was fresh for doing a bit of running, so once the two of them got there, I took the camera and would run ahead of them and snap some pictures, then run with them for a while and then repeat. Not to jump ahead, but my quads were a bit sore the next day.
Wendy and Stu finished in 9th place overall in the mixed category. About 18-19 teams started, but only 15 or 16 finished. Great job, specially for Wendy, as she has never done an ultra-distance event. I will say what I rode of the course was very difficult, but I would love to try to ride the whole thing.
I enjoyed myself tremendously. I ended up riding almost 20 hours, with just under 20,000 ft. of climbing, so it was a great training week for me. I did take me a few days to recover from the riding, but I'm back.
Next up for Wendy and me is the Payson Stampede 24 hour in two weeks, we're racing with some of the members of our new mountain bike team. I have a couple of 100 Km races in October and then Baja Epic, a 250 mile mountain bike race in early November. Stay tuned.
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