Laramie

Laramie 2008 is in the books. If I don't write up our experience now, I never will so here goes the long version. First, I have to say that the course was much more diverse and enjoyable than I thought it would be and I am happy we finally made the trip up for this one. It all started with a rush hour drive up 287. We finally got into Laramie late evening and picked up our race packets. We then headed for the camp site I had already reserved which was right at the start/finish line. We found a good spot and Jessica quickly set up the tent which was smart because within a 1/2 hr, we were eating dinner while sitting in the car during a thunder storm. I am envious of the rain they have been getting up there and it made the trails pleasant to ride.



The rain fell steady which made it difficult to get anything ready for the next day so we headed to our home away from home. The rain fly made the tent hot and humid and sleep hard to come by. 5am came fast and the 7am start time was not far behind. Some coffee, a couple bites of food, a lot of " I can't find this and I can't find thats" and we were off heading to lineup for the start.

Luckily the singlespeed class started with the first wave so we had an opportunity to get out front fast and get a gap on the soon to leave very large sport class. I didn't want to jinx myself the week before by saying I was feeling good but the legs were feeling in tune as far as I could tell so I was excited to go. We started out and I try to get up the road quickly due to the fact that I had no idea what passing would be like once we hit the first piece of trail. The legs warmed up fast and I start to pedal to get by a clump of people. As we head into a left sweep in the trail, a few guys throw on the brakes when someone washes out and I get off my line causing my rear tire to bounce off a rock and land offcamber. Normally, this would not cause any concern but as soon as the wheel hit the ground, a gunshot went off and I find myself in shock looking down at a bare rim and twisted up rear tire turned inside out.

The Schwalbe racing ralph that I had ridden the week before after the stans tubeless setup process, had completely blown off the rear rim. We were maybe a mile into the 70+ mile course and I jumped off the trail as the rest of the pack rode by. I look down with the sound of bikes whizzing by in the background. I was not sure if the tire had torn or just blown off the rim. The stans liquid made the inside out inside tire look like a yogurt covered pretzel intertwined in a figure eight around my frame and rim. I gather my thoughts and get the wheel off and my tube and air out of the bag from under my saddle. Jessica passed and looked at me in disbelief, all I could think of to say was go get it! It took me a while to get the tire back in shape and get all the stones, sticks, debris, and anything else that could poke a hole in the tube out of the stans latex that is inside the tire. Pulling the spent cartridge out with wet slimy hands was almost impossible though so I decide to go against the advice of my dentist and use my teeth. This works and I get enough air in to get going and I later borrowed a pump to top it off at aid 1.



By this time, the sport waves had been going by and I knew it was going to be crowded getting through everyone to get back up. I just start to push it and try to get around people every chance I get. Luckily things started to string out a little and open sections allowed for easy passing with safe passage. I saw Jessica at some point on a little climb and she looked bewildered at what had happened to me. Obviously I wanted to hit my time goal so I knew I had to utilize my 32:18 in the beginning 3/4 of the race before the tough climbing started so I just kept the best pace I could.

The tire was obviously going to blow off the rim at some point so better in a flat section in the beginning of the race, than a technical downhill I thought. Overall, it was a smooth fix but it just threw me for a loop being so early. It's funny to think about now as it was quite a scene and it really scared some people when it blew. EDIT:today I took off my rear wheel and found the rear tire flat!

There are plenty of open dirt road sections in this race where you can get some speed and pass safely so it was just a matter of settling into a pace and not blowing up completely before the end. I had to stop and take my wheel out of the bike as I was hearing some funny noises. The rear rotor was rubbing after I had ridden on the rim but it seemed to be ok. I spent a bit of time at the 2nd and 3rd aid stations trying to get it together after pushing to get back in it. I have to say, it is unreal how supported the aid stations and course are at the LE. The people are absolutely great and even though I don't find it possible to eat much in terms of solid food during an event like this, the three table spreads were just overwhelming.

Toward the end of the course, we rode through some great areas with beautiful rock formations. We got into the Veduawoo area where many of friends of mine have come to climb so it was cool to put a landscape with the name.

A pro woman came up behind me on on a flat section before aid station 4 and we informally trade pulling until 5. She was off like a shot at 5 after grabbing a H20 bottle on the fly. I wanted to get some energy in before some of the bigger climbs so I grabbed a gel and had an enervintene. I thought we had more miles than we actually did from aid 5 to the finish so I was pacing myself through the first 1/2 of this section. I had to jump off to walk some loose stuff that the legs refused to go up and was really unsure what was in store. I had caught back up to G.Reeves, who is quite the hammer by the way, at the headquarters trailhead. She had already pulled back from 2 or 3 early flats so she was really cranking with only one possible pro woman in front of her. This made for a good pace. Even though passing crossed my mind in a couple sections, my misinformed self was thinking there was more to go in the race than there really was so I settled into her pace which was pretty fast anyway. Right before we top out one of the last big climbs before the final open section and wooded singletrack, a photographer tells me we are almost done," what?!" I say. Yeah, only a few more miles he says. My navigation was off obviously as I was thinking we had maybe 8+ miles left and more climbs but I was more than happy to accept reality. I started to stand on it but realize the pace was ok at this point and I ride the rest of the way in behind her.

We rolled across the line a 5:58 just inside the sub 6hr (unspoken) goal I had set for myself. I was 25th overall unofficial and 3rd in the mens SS class 10 minutes behind 2nd place. Charlie Hayes took 1st in SS and 4th overall, amazing. I guess he finished around 5:32 or so, all I know is the guy is incredibly fast!

I chatted it up with several really nice people after the finish and headed for food and a Dale's Pale Ale in the shade. No women SSers had come through yet and I had no idea how jessica was doing out there. It was getting hot so I knew it would be getting tougher around the 7hr mark. Kara Durland, the first SS woman rolls in before 7hrs. I have a feeling Jessica is not far behind her so I stand there with my camera waiting. I see Neil from our team and chat it up while keeping an eye out for my lady. He was hurting and had to bail around aid station 4 due to a leg issue which was unfortunate. Of course Jessica comes in while I am not looking and I pretty much miss the shot.



Yeah, I missed the shot but what strong work, talk about a hammer! She did such a great job staying out front most of the time and got passed by only one other in her class. Kara D. is a very strong rider/SSer so what an incredible job getting 2nd! She rode really well.



Most stylish bike award went to the Fat Chance Yo' Eddy. This vermontster is pre-suspension corrected with the original fork. An MTB classic in the truest sense. I spoke with the owner for a while who was really cool and he said he was going to restore the paint this winter. A sweet setup for sure.



There were heaps of VW vans young and old out there too. I know Timmy will appreciate this shot, to the future buddy! One day we will be rolling some sweet trails based out of these (one can dream).

The rumors of how well supported the LE is does not do it justice. The people that came out to help and cheer for us on the trail were incredibly nice and friendly. I tried to say thanks and hi to everyone working the course and to all the supportive and encouraging people running the aid stations. It really is a very unique event. The after bbq is sweet and beer from Oskar Blues and New Belgium hit the spot. It is the type of event where you are smiling at every course photographer. There is climbing but it is only about 7000 ft for the whole course from what two people with garmins told me. I thought I read 8500 in the course description but the race director said that was not accurate when I emailed him before the race. Funny, that is half the climbing of double boundary with a handful more miles, can't wait until September!

I met some other cool SSers before the race and out on the course but unfortunately rarely get names or recognize people outside their bike helmet and glasses. Bill from Arvada, Steve from FC, someone from Utah, the guy with the Chance, etc. I did see EdE on the course who I have yet to meet formally on a beautiful SS Eriksen. Sounds like you had a good time as well and we should hit a ride up in the mtns sometime. I have never met Jesper either but his photos of the course are really good, check it out.

I talked with several people on the course and at aid stations that had taken wrong turns so I was happy that I did not get off course. I was hearing a lot of stories after the finish as well of wrong turns here or there and lost time frustrations that were understandable. I was disappointed about my tire issue as well but all was quickly diluted with a couple Dale's pale ale. The course was marked well for the most part but a few sections were very tricky so I guess I lucked out. I know to keep a keen eye on the flags next year. I am sure we will be back for this one.