The 2008 Leadville Trail 100 race begins as the bikers head towards the mountains

This is the first year I’ve crewed at the Leadville bike race rather than bike it. Besides getting another perspective on the race, I also got a lot of race photos. Unfortunately I only got two photos of the now infamous David Wiens and Lance Armstrong battle.

Congratulations to all who raced, including Stani Bohac (first timer and finishing well under 9 hours!), Jim Janowicz, Jeff Tenniswood, Doug Cannell, Randy Guymer, Jenn Dice (IMBA), Garth Prosser, and Patrick Olson.

The race photos are on-line at http://www.allyeargear.com/gallery/2008-leadville100-bike

Mike Curiak is the top dog in endurance racing. He doesn’t do the 24 hour loop-in-a-circle-until-you’re-a-veg. He does the endurance races that most think are simply impossible. Right now he’s riding the entire Iditarod trail at the same time as the Iditarod Trail Invitational race. Mike’s ridden the full 1100 miles to Nome before. He’s already won that race. This time he’s doing it fully unsupported.

Compared with most races and rides, the Iditarod is about as unsupported as you get. You can stop in cabins along the way and purchase a meal. Further along the trail you can stop in small villages and buy food. Mike’s won’t be doing that. He’s on his own and carrying everything he needs.

Just surviving on what you have is amazing. I just can’t imagine the willpower to ride past some of those cabins where they’ll gladly serve some hot tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. Spending a day slogging through snow, eating just Clif bars and trail mix certainly makes you appreciate a basic hot meal.

The above photo is from Eric Parsons. Eric’s company, Epic Designs made Mike’s storage and handlebar mitts. His stuff looks absolutely bombproof and very well-designed. And I know Mike sets the bar pretty high for his gear. If the stuff didn’t work, it wouldn’t be on his bike.

It was 1998. I was racing across one of the flatter sections of the Leadville 100 when I caught a guy with a strange riding style. He would spin madly then coast, repeating this over and over again. “Weird,” I thought. But later I realized the rest of the story. He was one of those singlespeeders I’d read about. He proceeded to stand for 90-some minutes of climbing and put a half-minute on me. As I spun along in my granny gear I thought how insane he must be. (more…)

My watch alarm beeps at 2:30 AM on race morning. It’s time to wake up and get to the starting line for my first 100-mile running race.

Leadville, Colorado is still sleeping except for the 465 runners, their support crews, and spectators milling about the dimly lit downtown area. It’s a rather balmy 43F and runners are getting in their last minute stretches.

At 3:59AM the announcer excitedly states “The shotgun is cocked.” (more…)

The 170-year-old Assumption Grotto Church sits quietly on Detroit’s Northeast side. Behind the Church, nestled in the Parishioner’s Cemetery is the Lourdes Grotto, an outdoors Marian shrine. Since 1881 this Shrine has purportedly bestowed miracles. Since I’d soon be starting the toughest, longest mountain bike race of my life, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to have a miracle in my back pocket.

But my 20 mile pedaling pilgrimage ends at a disappointing sign — “Closed at Dusk.” I had assumed it never closed because you never know when you might need a miracle. Oh well. I was at least on the Grotto grounds and hopefully that that was good enough for a partial miracle. (more…)