Leadville 100 course recon is 1/2 complete. Rode the course from town up to the turn around point at Columbine Mine on assorted sports nutrition, cookies, and 180 oz of liquid. Got lost a few times, because all the road markings are either missing, stolen, or were never there to begin with. Pace was pretty chill as I could not get the HR over 150 due to the previous days race effort.....no matter how hard I tried to go.
The Powerline descent....and then climb. You know you love it! Not sure how bad the water ruts were in years past....but right now, I can stick my entire bike down in most of them. You don't want to hit any of those at speed. Rest of the course is fast and in good shape. Hardtail all the way for this 100 miler.
Pano-view near the Columbine mine.
A view from atop the World....or at least pretty close. After this first of two Leadville training camps, I can say I am pretty happy with my bike set up. I am going to make a few changes. First, I am going to change out the FRM cranks for a set of XTR. Although super light, the FRM cranks tend to be a bit flexy. Not a huge deal for a 2 hr xc race, but compound that flex over a 100 mile effort....and you can loose some precious time. I also need to find the sweet spot the Terry saddle I am running. Couldn't get comfortable on it after 5 hrs in the saddle.
Got to ride the first 50 miles of the race course....and then the highway back into Leadville. Pacing will be key...as will a solid nutritional program come race day. The recon will continue as I am heading back up to Leadville next weekend for a 2 day training block....and to escape the 90+ degree temps here in the Front Range. Not sure when the last time it rained here at the house.All the photos and videos from the ride here.