Biking and Such

Holy cow, I just checked my blog and my last entry was on the 8th! I've definitely been slacking, but I have a good excuse...we've been on the road almost every weekend! Hard to keep up with the blog and travel and ride and work and....well, you know.

So, here's the recap: I've been doing lots of riding!

Tuesday Chica rides have been in low attendance, but not to worry, Jim's Timid Tuesday ride keeps me occupied! Glad I decided to do my ride on the same night as his. I've been taking out the singlespeed and doing all sorts of damage to my quads...they burn every time I try to pedal!

Last weekend we were in Leadville, CO--Matt did an excellent job in the LT100, as did other local folks like Nate, Travis, Brent (and Brent's dad and stepmom!), Rick, our former governor Gary Johnson, and his friend Deb did quite well representing the state too.

In the morning, I woke up and headed to the starting area for the race. We stopped in Provin' Grounds for some morning java, and Matt caught a little more shuteye before the race start. Once I saw him off, I hooked up with Paige and some of her old Texas buddies. We got a bite to eat, went to hang out with part of their Leadville support crew friends, then Paige and I took off for a ride of our own (after the other 2 bailed on us due to fear of rain and altitude sickness). So, we had a great ride together, even though we DID get drenched. Paige is always fun to ride with though...fun, great sense of humor, and never one to shy away from a ride in the dirt!

We started out from Paige's camp site at Sugar Loafin' and took the road to a trail that goes around the perimeter of Turquoise Lake. The dirt trail is on one side of the lake only, so we biked through the Turquoise Nature Trail to warm up the legs (reminded us of the super fast stuff in the Bosque trail in NM). The edge of the lake actually had a very nice beach! After messing around on this very short piece of trail, we then took the road up to the point where the Leadville race came through. On our way, we saw a beautiful nest of Osprey--the mom, dad and baby. It was amazing to see! Wish I would have had a camera with better zoom.

Anyway, we picked up the dirt trail from there, and found it to be surprisingly fun and even had a couple technical areas. CO has been getting its fair share of rain, just like NM, so there were some nice creeks and waterfalls that went into the lake. The rain hit as got about 2 miles into the trail, coming and going, then just dumping on us.

We finished up the ride, wet but happy to have been out on the bikes. I had to haul tail to get to the finish line...I wanted to be there when Matt came through! Saw most of our friends make it, including the hubby! I also got a chance to meet Jenn Dice, IMBA Government Affairs Rep in Boulder, CO. That was nice since we've always exchanged emails and talked on the phone, but never met!

This was a great weekend. Matt's trying to talk me into doing Leadville next year. Paige wants to do it, so why shouldn't I??? Okay, peer pressure has set in. Guess I'll try to get in next year--it is a lottery, you know. The race was nicely organized, even though it was stretched over 3 days. We were fed well and the ceremony on Sunday morning was really nice. It definitely supports the "little guys" who come out to ride much more than the top finishers. In fact, the awards are given out from the last place finishers up to the first. I liked that idea! Many of the top finishers weren't there anyway.

Well, next weekend is La Veta, CO for me and Paige...got the Stonewall Century to complete. Week after is the Durango 100. I may try the 30+ route while Matt does the 100. Hopefully it's a dry day!