Leadville 2010 Video and More

Well, I finally got around to cutting up the video and stills I had from Leadville and you all can enjoy a few strange images. The big difference this year over previous was that I got to the starting line and was surprisingly relaxed… That’s the word for it. Not that the feeling would last long after the gun went off, but for those minutes up to that point, I was ready, prepared and relaxed. That’s an amazing way to start a day systematically designed to beat you up:

Or the direct link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRT7n9BMDVg
The best write up I saw on the whole day has to be this one. To quote from it:

“To say Leadville is hard, is an understatement. It conjures the historical pain of its namesake; Leadville is full of strife and through Ken’s efforts, that strife is being shared effectively with a chosen few. It seemed that as the procession slowly crossed the line, everyone left a piece of their life out there somewhere in the dirt between Columbine and the finish. Many, tearful in what they had just endured probably wont do more, but others will.”

I have now completed nine Leadville races. That’s nine starts, and nine finishes. One more makes 1000 miles on that trail, and very likely the end of my Leadville “career.” For doing that, they give you a belt buckle the size of a dinner plate, so I guess I still have that one left in me. Beyond that, who knows, but as my friend Francois pointed out “after 10 you lose that respect as it is pure madness that cannot be encouraged.” I think in some ways I have to agree, but that race has this special draw for me that I’m afraid may be stronger than logic.

Meanwhile, I’m still training and riding. I did the Hunter Lake Loop. The GPS data are here and I helmet-camera recorded most of it and made this video:

Here’s the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuKUtuyrsBQ

On next Sunday, the 12th, I leave for Costa Rica for the recon trip and will be back a week later. Sound pretty sweet — a week of riding in Costa Rica. Then the efforts keep building for La Ruta in November. Then next year, there’s the Cream Puff, Leadville and then I keep hearing about this Vapor Trail…. too many races, too little time…

Cheers,

–John

This entry was posted on Monday, September 6th, 2010 at 7:22 pm and is filed under adventure, bike, bike races. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.