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The is not for the faint of heart. Mountain bikers pedal unsupported for 470 miles and gain about 65,000' of elevation. The route is in Colorado's Rocky Mountains and takes racers from Denver to Durango. If you sign on for this be prepared to HTFU. It's no joke.
rackleaders, Scott Morris's genius software program, tracked the riders. I'll confess I became a blue-dot junkie, watching the dots march along in the most horrendous weather, all the while staring at my screen from a warm, dry place. Congrats to all the riders. I was lucky enough to chat with , 2009's 24 hrs of Moab Solo Champion, about her record breaking ride this year. Wow.
Did you have dry kits everyday? Or was it wet chamios?
I had two pairs of chamois and a single jersey with me, so I had a dry chamois for approximately the first 12 hours. 听From there, I'd say I听had wet shorts on more often than dry. I was washing the dirty pair听every day and leaving them on my pack to dry, but we rarely got a听stretch of sun long enough to actually dry them.
How much heavier does your equipment get with all the rain?
听My sleeping bag was constantly damp and my tarp never got dry. 听I'm not sure how much weight it added on but it definitely made it听psychologically hard knowing that all I had was a wet sleeping bag to听crawl into at the end of the day.
Was it a season goal to set a CTR course record?
No. 听I'm pretty sure that if I'd been planning it all season, I would听have freaked myself out about it. 听I'd made some noise about wanting听to do it early on, but I didn't actually start ordering and听overnighting gear until a week out. 听I had know idea how close I could听get to the record, but it seemed like a good goal to shoot for when听lining up.
I know you almost decided not to go, what was your turning point?
There was a showing of Ride the Divide the Wednesday before the race.听I was feeling pretty unmotivated about doing the race but then I saw听the scene where the film crew had caught up to Matthew Lee in the听middle of Wyoming and told him that the leader was waiting in a hotel听for him, lonely. 听He had this wild look in his eye, looked over to a听building storm, and said 'Looks like I'm going to get wet tonight' and听pedaled off. 听I'm not sure why that affected me like it did, it was听that half-crazed look, but after that, it was game on.
Were you riding alone for most of the time after people settled in. You and Dave Harris seemed fairly close for quite awhile. Were you?
The last racer I saw was in a gas station in Leadville. 听I knew Ethan听was about 6 hours ahead of me and afraid I was going to catch him via听the bike shop in Leadville we both stopped at and that Jeff was right听behind him. 听Other than that, I had no clue where anyone was for the听first half of the race.
How did you keep your mental focus? Counting? Humming? Did you bring any electronics ( music ) or ditch due to the weather?
Thirty years of Bon Jovi. 听All in a mental library. 听I don't have the听mental focus to listen to music and ride trails, I tend to crash a听lot, so I sing to myself.
Any scary wildlife moments?
Cows. 听There's a giant herd of cows up on Sargent's Mesa and they just听stare at you. 听They all have babies and they're huge. 听It's creepy.听Other than that, saw a bear, a bunch of elk, but no close encounters.
How much night riding did you do?
I'd try to be moving by 4 everyday with mild success, I slept through听my alarm every single day, so that was two hours pre-dawn. 听I never听rode later than 10:30, which was an hour and a half in the dark. 听I听actually spent a lot of time in my sleeping bag, so if I wanted to cut听time off, I could definitely do it on less sleep.
On average how much did you sleep each day?
I'd always get 2 hours of solid sleep. 听Then I'd spend an additional听3-5 hours in my sleeping bag shivering, drifting in and out of sleep.听In hindsight, there would have been more efficient ways of breaking up听sleep cycles.
Longest ride was? Day 2. 听I knew I had to get over the 10 Mile Range into Copper, and听Searle and Kokomo pass into Leadville before the storms so I started听hiking at 4. 听I really wanted to sleep in Buena Vista that night so I听rode til 10 before I decided that I didn't want to have to ride Hwy 24听in the dark so it was better to bed down and get moving again in the听morning
Did you have support along the way? If so what kind?
The rules of the game are that the ride has to be self-supported,听meaning that you can buy stuff from any commercial source. 听Other than听that, I was on my own.
Did the universe show up for you, meaning random acts of kindness?
Trail Angel Apple was set up at the end of Sargents Mesa. 听When I听rolled out, he asked me if I wanted a cold drink but I refused because听I didn't want to accept outside support but then I realized he was a听Trail Angel so I stayed awhile, ate his food, talked about the BP oil听spill, and how to keep chipmunks away from his truck.
The big electrical storms also hit when I was below tree line and I听had the one clear day to get across the high section of trail that was听above treeline for 9 hours. That was pure luck.
How heavy was you equip including bike?
I never actually weighed it. 听I'm sure it wasn't the lightest setup,听it surely wasn't the heaviest.
What bike did you ride? and how much did it weigh?
I rode my Waltworks () custom 29er hardtail.
Again, I've never placed it on a scale, but I get the impression it's听pretty light. I have it built up to be more durable than ultra-light听because with the amount I ride it, I'd be broke pretty quick trying to听keep it built up as an ultra-light race bike.
Was it hard to ride away from your husband?
Riding away from my husband wasn't hard, simply because I was sure听he'd catch me once we got back on the trail. 听He was riding the听Buffalo Creek sections a lot faster than I was and waiting for me听often, so I figured that if I just kept chugging along, he'd come听blowing by me, hooting and hollering once we got to Georgia Pass.听When it started storming and it started to dawn on me that he probably听wasn't going to catch me, at least that night, I got pretty sad.
How did you cut weight? broken tooth brushes? single servings?
I did a couple of weight saving things, but I definitely didn't go听overboard. 听I had to buy a toothbrush and toothpaste en route, so I听ended up squeezing 3/4th of the toothpaste into a trashcan to save听weight. 听Conversely, I carried around an entire salt shaker of salt听from Buena Vista on after I realized that it was a lack of salt that听was causing some stomach distress.听I carried mostly all dry, instant food and was filling up on water听frequently rather than carry a large amount on my back.
Hard Girl points are off the charts for this ride. How did you keep your听mental edge with all the rain?
I took the sage advice from听Chris听Plesko that he gave me at the start.听He was lamenting on the weather of the Divide ride last year (maybe听year before) and said that he kept telling himself that 'Tomorrow's听weather will be better.' 听It never was, but I ended up not getting听really angry with the weather until the last full day when I just听wanted to get home. 听I also have a terrible short-term memory, so if it was beautiful and听sunny in the morning, I'd completely forget about the suffering and听misery of the rain the night before.
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What were your darkest thoughts? When and Why?
It started raining really hard right after I crossed Hwy 50 and听started climbing Fooses Creek. 听Hwy 50 shoots straight back into听Gunnison and I figured that if I hung a thumb, I could be home in听under 2 hours. 听I sat under a tree, huddled from thunder and lightning听watching the hail pelt my bike and I had a serious 'Why am I doing听this?' moment. 听Then the rain let up, I got back on my bike, and听started pedaling. 听That was the closest I got to really quitting.
What were your most glorious moments?
Watching the sunset on the San Juans before descending into Silverton听on Day 5 and then watching the sunrise on the last day from Indian听Creek at 12,000 feet. 听The entire valley was under a huge cloud and it听was like a view from an airplane. 听 I also knew that all I had left听was 27 miles of mostly downhill before I could change out of my听chamois, dry my feet off, and eat a burger with french fries.
Did you cry?
I actually got a little choked up the last morning on Indian Creek at听sunrise. 听It was probably a combination of knowing I was close to听done, low-blood sugar, and simply intense beauty. 听I had to sit down听and soak it all in for a few minutes. 听I felt like a bit of a dork,听but it was a really intense moment.
How did you dry out your shoes if at all?
I didn't. 听There was one day when it only rained on me a little bit听and I think my feet may have been dry for a few hours, but that was听it. 听I think the wet was the downfall for a lot of racers.
Which day and which night was the hardest for you?
Sargents Mesa, which was Day 3 for me was really hard. 听My feet were听verging on trench foot and after several hours of hiking on Sargents,听they were so beat up I couldn't stand on my pedals anymore. 听I had to听stop halfway down a descent, sit down, pull my shoes and socks off and听just let them dry for 20 minutes. 听I've never had such intense foot听pain before.
But then I hit Trail Angel Apple's camp, sat and ate for a bit, and听felt immediately better. 听I also had a good section of road ahead of听me that didn't require hiking, which in the end, I think was the听saving grace of the whole trip. 听It gave me feet a little chance to听regroup and recover.
Did quitting ever cross your mind?
Not super seriously. 听Whenever the thought crossed my mind, I reverted听back to my old swim coach's mantra of 'If you quit now, it'll be that听much easier to quit next time.' 听It seems to have gotten me through听some rough times.
I also knew I had a lot of people watching my little blue SPOT dot at听home and cheering for me. 听Maybe it sounds hokey, but I could feel听their energy and encouragement the whole time.
What was in your equipment list?
They central part of course was the Waltworks bike. 听I had on my听American Classic () lightweight听race wheels which definitely raised a few eyebrows. 听Light wheels are听just so important on a 29er, and for being as light as they are, the听American Classics are bomber. 听I threw on some Ergon GX2's
() so that I could have bar ends听for the long road sections which may have been the best decision I听made setup-wise for the whole thing.
Everything else was pieced together. 听I had a 32 degree sleeping bag,听an 国产吃瓜黑料 Medical Kits Emergency Bivy, GoLite's Poncho tarp, a 6听liter dry bag, and then two of the Mountain Man feedbags
FB was all a flurry when Jeff's Kerkove's blue dot was heading towards Gunnison, did
you know he was dropping due to those awful blisters? He was leading and having a fabulous race. I know he'll back back in 2011.
I was following tire tracks the whole time. 听First there were six or听seven in front of me, and then one by one, a specific set of tire听tracks would disappear. 听I never knew who was associated with each set听of tracks or whether I had passed them in the dark, the rain had听washed their tracks out, or if they had dropped out. 听Apparently I was听in Silverton at the same time as Dave Harris, but I never knew.
What was a typical day of fueling?
Not enough. 听If there's one lesson I learned, it was that I need more听food than I think. 听I've always used Hammer products (Perpetuem, HEED,听nd gels) for all my racing needs with a huge amount of sucess, so Ithought maybe I could run the whole CT on mostly liquid calories.听Turns out, 6 days of racing is a lot different than say, 24 Hours of听Moab, in terms of fueling and I would have needed bars or other solids听to keep my stomach happy. 听I was so concerned about weight that I听didn't take enough solid food with me and that resulted in a major听slow down the last two days of racing.
I ate a lot of Snickers Bars, some trail mix, a breakfast burrito from听Bongo Billies in Buena Vista. 听I think I was pretty much the example听of what not to do, but you live and learn.
Any mechanicals?
I got a flat tire descending from the 10 Mile Range on Day 2, but听other than that, the bike ran beautifully.
What did this journey teach you about yourself?
I think it reiterated the point that you regret the things you don't听do more than the things you do. 听I was so close to not doing this听race, even up until the night before but in the end I had such an听amazing experience, I woudn't trade it for anything.听I learned that I really can take care of myself out there and that听when the going to gets rough, I've just got to put my head down, get a听good song going on repeat in the head and keep moving forward. 听And听that tomorrow, the weather has got to get better.
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How were the sunsets and sunrises?
Absolutely epic. 听I feel like have the reason I go on these adventures听is to see the world during the golden hours around sunrise and sunset.听听Everything becomes so vibrant and alive.
How did this 6 day ride wear on your body? Any damage?
My big toes are still a little tingly and my legs were anything but听spry riding to work on Thursday, but I think that it held up pretty听well considering what I put it through.
Any gory details you'd like to share. I'd imagine some rear-end issues?
The rear was bad on Day 3, which was unfortunately the same day that听the feet were bad, it was pretty much impossible to get comfortable in听any position. 听The big hike on Day 5 helped the rear-end issues and it听was pretty good after that.
My feet looked like they came off a corpse after being wet for 3 days.听听They were all white and wrinkled and then after I finished, they听ballooned up to the point that I couldn't put on sandals let alone听regular shoes. 听I slept with them elevated for two days to try to help听the swelling. 听I was a little worried about them then, but they seem听to have gone back down to my normal shoe size.
What would you differently next time?
My sleeping situation on a variety of levels. I wanted to sleep enough听so that I could enjoy riding trails all day, but in the end, I'd sleep听for a few hours and shiver for many more, so I think they way to do it听would be how the top guys did it, 2-3 hour cat naps a couple times a听day. 听The emergency bivy/sleeping bag combo also wasn't idea because听the bivy, while warm, didn't breathe which led to a damp sleeping bag.听I think I'll have to experiment with the set up some more before I听tried something like the CTR again.
What were your biggest mistakes or closest calls?
Food. 听I think I was eating well under 2K of calories a day at which听point my stomach shut down and I just wasn't hungry anymore. 听I听definitely finished the race in a major calorie deficit and I could听feel it the last two days. 听I think I would have slept better and听stayed warmer if I had more calories in me.
The first couple of nights I was good about putting all my food in my听dry bag and shoving it in a tree, but by the second half, I was eating听what I could from my sleeping bag and passing out with food scattered听everywhere. 听This could have ended badly but I think the weather was听so bad, even the critters didn't want to come out to eat.
What were your brightest ideas?
I always think I'll go on these adventures and come up with solutions听to save the world. 听Then I finish and I have no clue that I thought听about for six and a half days. 听I definitely thought about what food I听was going to eat in Durango, and whether I'd be able to scrape听together the money to go to 24-hour Solo World Championships in听Australia in October, and whether or not Dave Wiens was going to cook听pancakes at the second aid station at the Vapor trail 125 this year.听Deep thoughts, let me tell you.