and led six to 21,000 feet on Mount Everest.
Next up? The -mile mountain bike race on August 14. Below, the Golden, Colorado resident shares his thoughts on mountain biking blind.
Why Leadville?
It usually starts at a neighborhood party in somebody鈥檚 garage, drinking a couple of beers. Someone will suggest an adventure and we鈥檙e all high five-ing and then I wake up the next morning and think, 鈥淥h no! What did I commit to?鈥
So your riding partner, John Lemon, is your neighbor?
Yes. He鈥檚 47 and an animal. He鈥檚 a really good mountain biker鈥攁 freak on the downhills, he鈥檚 like insane. He鈥檒l look at something and say, 鈥淚 think we can ride this, but if you fall, don鈥檛 fall right.鈥
Describe your ride.
Full-suspension Ellsworth. 40 pounds. Aluminum. Tubeless tires.
Can you shift or brake?
I have another mountain bike that鈥檚 not full suspension that I shift and my wife steers. But on this bike, I鈥檓 just sort of the power. I try to pedal as hard as I can while staying quiet in the back. I have to mirror everything my partner does鈥攅verything he does, I do. I try not to be an issue. When somebody鈥檚 on a tandem mountain bike, if the back person wiggles a lot, it鈥檚 really hard. It鈥檚 a long bike with 170 pounds on the back wagging.
Is it scary in the back with no control?
It鈥檚 like Mr. Toad鈥檚 Wild Ride in Disney World where you鈥檙e in a train going toward a fire and you鈥檙e going to crash into a wall but the wall opens. That鈥檚 how it feels on the back of a tandem. I鈥檓 175. My partner is 160-170 as well. So that鈥檚 350 pounds or something coming down hill鈥攏othing is designed for two people barreling down a hill. We almost need a third brake. Coming downhill, we鈥檝e cracked two rotors in the front because they scorched.
What鈥檚 your training been like?
We started training four months ago. My longest training ride has been 10 hours. I鈥檝e also been working on . The soldiers get in tomorrow, and this week I鈥檒l be teaching them all the climbing basics. So that project has been simultaneous with Leadville.
Do you have a time goal at Leadville?
There鈥檚 never been a blind person to do the race. I would love to get somewhere close to 11 hours, definitely to break 12 hours. It鈥檚 taking us seven hours, 20 minutes to 60 miles now, so we鈥檇 have four more hours to do 40 miles. If we could do 11:20, I鈥檇 be pretty psyched.
You were my fifth grade teacher, do you remember me?
I remember your voice.
Do I still sound like a 10-year old?
No!
–Erin Beresini
Photo by Paul Foster. Erik Weihenmayer and John Lemon ride near Rollins Pass.