I rolled out of bed at 3:15am, walked into the kitchen made breakfast and finished packing. Then I got my brand new Ripon kit on, put on some Chamois Butt'r and headed out around 4 with my Good Earth tea in hand. My dad and I are driving down highway 24 and we see a flash in the sky, we turn and both said "did you see the shooting star". I closed my eyes and made a wish. I opened them to see a cow elk standing on the side of the road. Thankfully it turned and ran back into the woods. What usually took 45 minutes to 1 hour to drive to Leadville now only took 30 minutes. We arrived in Leadville at 4:30am, which was much earlier than we planned. At 5:15ish I walked over to the starting chutes and laid my bike down, only to find out from an official this was not allowed, even though everyone else did it. I listened and my dad thankfully came over to stand with it so I could sit in the car with Coach Ric Damm's wife and kids. At 5:50am I headed back to the starting chutes and waited, with all 1800 other riders, until 6:20am when the count down began. The gun went off at 6:30 and my gate, the white gate/very last one, took off like a herd of snails. We stood and waited for at least 1 minute when we finally started to roll forward. Thankfully my time didn't start until I crossed the start line.
Once I crossed the line I turned on the gas and weaved my way through 800-1000 people before the pavement turned to dirt. Some one must have crashed because a vast majority of the people came to a stop. After riding the start the day before I knew the left side was best, so I tried my best to stick to that side. Luckily there where 2 lines of people riding down the middle and I could easily make my way up the left side. Once we hit St. Kevins (kee-vans), I throw it into my small ring and spun my way through the sea of people at about 5 mph. Still riding on the left side, I picked people off one by one until one guy buzz's another guys wheel and lean's into me. This forces me into a rut and off my bike. I ran about 10 feet passed 2-3 more people and remounted. I settled back into my rhythm and brought my HR back down. After 5 miles, we got to the top and flew down the backside until the dirt turned back into pavement. We continued to descend another 2-3 miles when we started Sugarloaf climb. We climbed for 1-2 miles when we turned back onto gravel and continued to climb for anther 4-5 miles through a mix of 2-3 inch rocks and pea gravel. We came to the top and started to descend 1500 ft down power line. With only 2 rideable paths down, I took the right one, a little bit more sketchy, and flew by 8-10 people before hitting the section shown in the Leadville movie. This section is about 28% grade. Now with only one good path around the 3 foot deep ruts, I sat behind the riders floating far enough back just incase someone crashed. Now at mile 20ish, we had about 5 more miles to the first aid station. Of this 5 miles, about 3 miles was flat and on a paved road. Luckily I was in a group and we all took turns on the front. We had a tail wind and were flying down the road. Once we turned off the pavement and back onto the dirt we caught Dallas Fowler, who had a flat rear tire. He said he had been riding it for about 4 miles. I asked if he wanted my saddle bag, but with only about 1/2 mile to the aid station he didn't take it. When our group got to the aid station no one was going to stop except me. I spotted Mrs. Greene grabbed GU chomps, gels and 2 new bottles. With only about a 30 second pit I easily caught back up to the group. Still on the flat part of the course we kept taking pulls until one guy decides to not pull off. He sat on the front for about 12 miles until we hit the "single track". The path was one bike wide but it was cut into the side of a hill with grass on either side, so call it single track if you want, but it was no where near what I consider single track. After this section, at mile 40, was twin lakes aid station. My dad was at this station and knew everything I needed. When I rolled up he had everything sitting out waiting for me. I traded Camelbacks, grabbed one bottle, some GU chomps, GU gels, peanut butter flavored and Chocolate Honey Stinger waffles. After another quick pit, I remounted and rode about 1 mile to the base of Columbine climb. This climb is a gravel road just wide enough for 2 cars. It takes you from about 9500 ft to over 12,000 ft. About 3 miles from the top, it narrows to only one car wide and has a couple of 20 plus percent grade kickers. After passing another 25 people and 1 hr 30 minutes later I got to the top where another aid station was. They had M&M, sandwiches, crackers, more GU gels and hot soup because the temp dropped about 10 degrees. I grabbed a sandwich and quickly got out of there.
With 4 hours 3 minutes in the legs I was feeling pretty good. I flew down Columbine at about 35 mph with a max of 42.6. 22 minutes later, I made it back to the twin lakes aid station. I again traded Camelback's, grabbed 2 bottles and GU gels. Rolling out solo, I spotted a group of about 5 guys 20 seconds ahead. I picked up the pace and started bring them back, until a down hill when they put another 20 seconds on me. Now 40 seconds behind, I put my head down and TT'd until I caught onto the back, just in time for the single track where I took the lead. We were riding at about 12-13 mph and getting faster. Once things opened up again I jumped to the back, sat in for a bit until one guy couldn't hold the pace and falls off. I move up to about 3rd wheel and one by one the rest of the group falls off. Us 3 work together and catch another strong rider. Now with him, we had a great group. We worked and had a good rotation going. We would pass people, they would sit on the back but shortly after fall off. We kept this rotation going until about 1/2 mile from the pipeline aid station where I told the guys I was jumping off the front to go to my pit. I put enough of a gap on where I stopped, surprisingly to find my dad with Mrs. Greene, grabbed 2 bottles and rolled out with about a 5 second gap. I sat up and waited for them knowing it would be best because the long road section was coming. Now at mile 74 we hit the road and had a nasty head/cross wind. We each took 30 second pulls and managed to hold about 16 mph. We kept cruising and made it to pipeline. We started the assent, the group split up and once the steep sections started we all got off and walked. About 1/2 way up the steep section, I passed a couple guys that were cheering and I hear them say "that kid must be 16" I respond "I'm 18" and hear "see I told you he was young, your doing great keep it up young gun". I climbed all 1500 vertical feet of pipeline and at the top was all alone. With 20 or so miles to go I wanted to catch at least one person, so on the long 3 mile road assent, to the back side of the St. Kevin's, I wouldn't be alone. Luckily I caught one guy on the decent, after pipeline, and we worked until the road climb where he said "ride your pace and I'll try and hang just don't forget to save a few bullets for the kickers on St. Kevins". I got into a comfortable pace and looked back to see him way off the back. I got to the top and started to climb the backside of St. Kevin's when I looked back and he was no where to be seen. At the top of St. Kevins there is 14 miles left because the Leadville 100 is actually 104 miles. Of this 14, 9 was down hill. After flying down I had 5 to go. When it flattened out for some reason I looked back and saw Ryan, the guy who started next to me. He caught me and we crossed the hwy, that we started on, and got onto a gravel road. At mile 4 we turned up hill and he dropped me. He looked back and said "lets go we can beat 8 hours". I shifted up and gave it my all but couldn't catch him. I took a couple deep breaths, put my head and climbed the last 3 miles when we turned onto the start straight. With just under 1 mile I looked at my Joule and saw 7 hours 52 minutes and knew I could make it under 8 hours. With all that I had left, I pushed it up the finishing straight. I crossed the line in 8 hours and 41 seconds and shortly after I realized my wish came true. My chip time was 7:59:20.14 which put me in 74th overall, 69th out of the males and 2nd in age group. My dad runs over, with my grandparents, and almost knocked me over with his huge hug. A couple photographers rush over and start snapping pictures. MaryLee then came over put my medal around my neck and gave me a hug. Shortly after followed a head official of the race. He asked me my age and was shocked to hear that I was 18. He congratulated me and assured me I was under 8 hours. Now with the race over I cleaned up and waited for my teammates to come through. First came Ric Damm at 9:38:12, then Jeremy Brouwer at 9:56:10, next was Ben Jones at 10:44:37, then Kyle Greene at 11:30:24 and then Paul Meuer at 11:31:54. 6 started and 6 came home with belt buckles. After a great couple of weeks I'm almost home. The captain just asked to put away all electronics. Pics will be up soon.
Once I crossed the line I turned on the gas and weaved my way through 800-1000 people before the pavement turned to dirt. Some one must have crashed because a vast majority of the people came to a stop. After riding the start the day before I knew the left side was best, so I tried my best to stick to that side. Luckily there where 2 lines of people riding down the middle and I could easily make my way up the left side. Once we hit St. Kevins (kee-vans), I throw it into my small ring and spun my way through the sea of people at about 5 mph. Still riding on the left side, I picked people off one by one until one guy buzz's another guys wheel and lean's into me. This forces me into a rut and off my bike. I ran about 10 feet passed 2-3 more people and remounted. I settled back into my rhythm and brought my HR back down. After 5 miles, we got to the top and flew down the backside until the dirt turned back into pavement. We continued to descend another 2-3 miles when we started Sugarloaf climb. We climbed for 1-2 miles when we turned back onto gravel and continued to climb for anther 4-5 miles through a mix of 2-3 inch rocks and pea gravel. We came to the top and started to descend 1500 ft down power line. With only 2 rideable paths down, I took the right one, a little bit more sketchy, and flew by 8-10 people before hitting the section shown in the Leadville movie. This section is about 28% grade. Now with only one good path around the 3 foot deep ruts, I sat behind the riders floating far enough back just incase someone crashed. Now at mile 20ish, we had about 5 more miles to the first aid station. Of this 5 miles, about 3 miles was flat and on a paved road. Luckily I was in a group and we all took turns on the front. We had a tail wind and were flying down the road. Once we turned off the pavement and back onto the dirt we caught Dallas Fowler, who had a flat rear tire. He said he had been riding it for about 4 miles. I asked if he wanted my saddle bag, but with only about 1/2 mile to the aid station he didn't take it. When our group got to the aid station no one was going to stop except me. I spotted Mrs. Greene grabbed GU chomps, gels and 2 new bottles. With only about a 30 second pit I easily caught back up to the group. Still on the flat part of the course we kept taking pulls until one guy decides to not pull off. He sat on the front for about 12 miles until we hit the "single track". The path was one bike wide but it was cut into the side of a hill with grass on either side, so call it single track if you want, but it was no where near what I consider single track. After this section, at mile 40, was twin lakes aid station. My dad was at this station and knew everything I needed. When I rolled up he had everything sitting out waiting for me. I traded Camelbacks, grabbed one bottle, some GU chomps, GU gels, peanut butter flavored and Chocolate Honey Stinger waffles. After another quick pit, I remounted and rode about 1 mile to the base of Columbine climb. This climb is a gravel road just wide enough for 2 cars. It takes you from about 9500 ft to over 12,000 ft. About 3 miles from the top, it narrows to only one car wide and has a couple of 20 plus percent grade kickers. After passing another 25 people and 1 hr 30 minutes later I got to the top where another aid station was. They had M&M, sandwiches, crackers, more GU gels and hot soup because the temp dropped about 10 degrees. I grabbed a sandwich and quickly got out of there.
With 4 hours 3 minutes in the legs I was feeling pretty good. I flew down Columbine at about 35 mph with a max of 42.6. 22 minutes later, I made it back to the twin lakes aid station. I again traded Camelback's, grabbed 2 bottles and GU gels. Rolling out solo, I spotted a group of about 5 guys 20 seconds ahead. I picked up the pace and started bring them back, until a down hill when they put another 20 seconds on me. Now 40 seconds behind, I put my head down and TT'd until I caught onto the back, just in time for the single track where I took the lead. We were riding at about 12-13 mph and getting faster. Once things opened up again I jumped to the back, sat in for a bit until one guy couldn't hold the pace and falls off. I move up to about 3rd wheel and one by one the rest of the group falls off. Us 3 work together and catch another strong rider. Now with him, we had a great group. We worked and had a good rotation going. We would pass people, they would sit on the back but shortly after fall off. We kept this rotation going until about 1/2 mile from the pipeline aid station where I told the guys I was jumping off the front to go to my pit. I put enough of a gap on where I stopped, surprisingly to find my dad with Mrs. Greene, grabbed 2 bottles and rolled out with about a 5 second gap. I sat up and waited for them knowing it would be best because the long road section was coming. Now at mile 74 we hit the road and had a nasty head/cross wind. We each took 30 second pulls and managed to hold about 16 mph. We kept cruising and made it to pipeline. We started the assent, the group split up and once the steep sections started we all got off and walked. About 1/2 way up the steep section, I passed a couple guys that were cheering and I hear them say "that kid must be 16" I respond "I'm 18" and hear "see I told you he was young, your doing great keep it up young gun". I climbed all 1500 vertical feet of pipeline and at the top was all alone. With 20 or so miles to go I wanted to catch at least one person, so on the long 3 mile road assent, to the back side of the St. Kevin's, I wouldn't be alone. Luckily I caught one guy on the decent, after pipeline, and we worked until the road climb where he said "ride your pace and I'll try and hang just don't forget to save a few bullets for the kickers on St. Kevins". I got into a comfortable pace and looked back to see him way off the back. I got to the top and started to climb the backside of St. Kevin's when I looked back and he was no where to be seen. At the top of St. Kevins there is 14 miles left because the Leadville 100 is actually 104 miles. Of this 14, 9 was down hill. After flying down I had 5 to go. When it flattened out for some reason I looked back and saw Ryan, the guy who started next to me. He caught me and we crossed the hwy, that we started on, and got onto a gravel road. At mile 4 we turned up hill and he dropped me. He looked back and said "lets go we can beat 8 hours". I shifted up and gave it my all but couldn't catch him. I took a couple deep breaths, put my head and climbed the last 3 miles when we turned onto the start straight. With just under 1 mile I looked at my Joule and saw 7 hours 52 minutes and knew I could make it under 8 hours. With all that I had left, I pushed it up the finishing straight. I crossed the line in 8 hours and 41 seconds and shortly after I realized my wish came true. My chip time was 7:59:20.14 which put me in 74th overall, 69th out of the males and 2nd in age group. My dad runs over, with my grandparents, and almost knocked me over with his huge hug. A couple photographers rush over and start snapping pictures. MaryLee then came over put my medal around my neck and gave me a hug. Shortly after followed a head official of the race. He asked me my age and was shocked to hear that I was 18. He congratulated me and assured me I was under 8 hours. Now with the race over I cleaned up and waited for my teammates to come through. First came Ric Damm at 9:38:12, then Jeremy Brouwer at 9:56:10, next was Ben Jones at 10:44:37, then Kyle Greene at 11:30:24 and then Paul Meuer at 11:31:54. 6 started and 6 came home with belt buckles. After a great couple of weeks I'm almost home. The captain just asked to put away all electronics. Pics will be up soon.
check race start time. I thought it was 6:30
ReplyDeleteDad
Ben...congratulations on a great ride! I was at Leadville as part of the GU support crew but I think I got to the finish line (coming from Twin Lakes where we had an extra aid station for some GU company riders) just after your finish. Thanks for your post on our FB page and for making GU part of your nutrition plan for Leadville.
ReplyDelete- Tal J.
Congrats on your ride, Ben! I live just north of you on the east side of the lake, and it's an honor to have a Leadville buckle winner in our neck of the woods! Nicely done!
ReplyDeleteSarah
www.thinfluenced.com