I did the drive out to Arvada yesterday.  It was pretty painless.  Lots of rain.  I was in Eastern Colorado at around 84 mph  and got passed by two motorcycles going at least 40 mph faster than me.  They disappeared up the road instantly.  That would make the trip from Topeka lots shorter time-wise.

The traffic in Denver was bad.  It was only 2 and everything was stopped in I-70.  I still got to Vincent’s just in time to go for a ride.  It was already in the lower 50’s and dropping.  We rode over to South Table Mesa and by the time we got to the top, it was in the lower 40’s and raining. So we cut our ride short and headed back, just missing getting totally drenched.

We’re gonna pack up and head to Gunnison in a hour or so.  They are racing on the course today, so there is no reason to get there too early.  Me and altitude don’t normally get along so well, so I’m going to be interested seeing how this worked out tomorrow.  Right now I’m planning on the start slow and finish fast tactic.  And by slow, I mean pretty molasses slow.  If I go over the limit early in an altitude race, when I’m not acclimated, it takes forever to recover. Plus, the race is long, 64 miles, over 5 hours.  I might just be here for the ride, it really doesn’t matter.  It is going to be great either way.

Changing the subject, how about two races yesterday.  The Giro and Pro National Time Trial.  At the Giro, Nibali had been completely written off and took advantage of a crash by the pink jersey and now is just 40 seconds out of winning the whole thing.  Nibali was supposedly sick and the Nibali was rumored to being pulled out of the event.   Guess that was all make believe. I’d bet he wins the race overall today.

At the Pro National Time Trial, the results were predictable.  Taylor Phinney on paper was the best rider and he won the event.  The one glitch in the event was that is you notice here in the results, Daniel Eaton was DQ’d from the race.  The problem was that he turned around at the marked turnaround and that “the real” turnaround was up over a short hill, out of sight.  In the race bible it was marked at a different place and during the pre-ride, lots of the riders were turning around where Eaton turned.  How screwed up is that.  I talked to Trudi and she said that the BMC guys were mixed up too, during the race.  Can you imagine the outcries if Taylor would have been the one turning around early because of confusion about the turn around. Completely unacceptable.

Anyway, the final climbing day of the Giro is going on right now.  It’s the last climb, 15 km to go. Should be an interesting finish.

Missing Snake Alley.  Only so much time and so many places you can be. 

Podium for the Pro National Time Trial yesterday.

Not bad view to wake up too.

Tucker has been playing with Nick for over 12 hours now.

The Full Growler MTB race this morning isn’t going to be the same as as a real full growler.  That is unless you happen to down a full growler at 7 am this morning instead of riding 72 miles at 8000+ feet.  The race is only 64 miles and it is 4 miles out to the course, neutralized of course.  Then 4 miles back to the post race party.   I am pretty sure I am going to be wasted by noon.  Probably closer to 1pm.  The race winning speed is less than 13 mph historically.  That is pretty slow considering there is only 8000 ft. of climbing total.  Only 8000 feet.

We drove from Arvada to Gunnison, super slowly yesterday.  Everyone and their toys were on the road to head up into the mountains for the Memorial Weekend.  We then met up with a couple of Vincent’s team mates and rode a bit of the course.  It is a bit intimidating.

After the paved neutral section, you turn right and immediately head up a kilometer steep hill.  Like close to 20% steep.  It is hard.  I plan to crawl up the climb, in just a little while.  I mean as easy as I can stay upright.  I’ve found that if I go over the redline, at altitude, not acclimated, it takes forever to get going normally again.

We just rode over the hill a bit and did the last descent into the finish area.  I think the trail was called Rattlesnake.  It was a difficult rated trail and I think it was rated correctly.  This race is going to be a heads up MTB race.

I don’t think I can be competitive here, but I’m looking forward to the race.  I told Vincent that I am pretty happy that he’s riding the whole race and not the 32 mile race.  I figure that if I totally suck at the start, I have a goal trying to catch up with him.  And if I am ahead of him, and blow, then I can look forward to Vincent catching up with me.  These scenarios don’t work out if we both suck.  I don’t think Vincent is going to have that issue.

Last night was the first night I’ve spent away from Tucker since I met him.  But he was in good hands, hanging with VIncent’s wife, Lisa, and their two dogs, Nick and Jack.  Plus Brian Jensen and his wife Michelle drove out to Vincent’s yesterday, with their two dogs.  So, it was a little doggy sleep over last night.

Trudi is flying driving from Pro Nationals, at Winston-Salem, to Denver this morning.  She is arriving at 10 am.  We left my van for her, so she can just get it, drove to Vincent’s and hang with Tucker until we hobble back later.  I brought her MTB out, so she can ride a day or two before having to head back to Europe on Wednesday.  Some time off.

Okay, it is cold out.  Like mid-30’s cold.  It is supposed to get up to the mid 60’s by the afternoon.  I plan to be done by then.  Actually, I know I’m going to be done by then, probably applying in more than one way.

Lots of cable on the front of my bike. Two extra for the fork and rear shock lockout.

My bike. Dual suspension Eriksen, 27.5, Full XTR with Fox fork and rear shock. Maxis Ikon tires, 2.2, front and rear. Somewhere between 20-25 psi pressure.

Heading out for the pre-ride. The start climb is in the background.

Pretty magnificent vistas.

I hope a lot of the course flows like this. Here is Vincent riding.

I’m going to carry a full bottle of this juice. Ned sent me a link to a test that supposedly proved pickle juice helps with cramps, so I’m all over it.

How about this photo, crash at the finish of Iron Horse yesterday. Ned is back on the right, finishing in 3rd, Todd Wells on the left in 4th. Haven’t talked to anyone about it to see what happened.  It would have been Ned’s 6th win if you could have pulled it off.

Tucker can play all day when given the opportunity.