epic
well...an epic for me ~72miles/12599 feet of elevation gain(per motionbased)...I know it's not an epic for you crazy endurance freaks out there. ;)
Rode Kenosha to Breck - spent the night in Breck - then rode Breck to Kenosha. Data and pix courtesy of my data geek friend, Mark. Here's the data for Saturday and Sunday.
The Plan
I had been wanting to do this ride for a while. Several people expressed interest - some serious/some not so serious. By the beginning of the week it was to be me, Mark, Ann, Nils and Ted. As the week went by sadly Ted had to drop out due to family/friend conflicts and Ann due to health reasons.
For the past year - Mark has been my "go to" riding buddy. He never bails and I can always count on him. Even tho he is way faster than I am - it's great riding with him. We seems to have good bike riding compatibility.
I finally booked a condo on Friday - a 2bedroom/2bath in Breck. I couldn't find anyone to carry a SAG bag for us so we had to carry everything we needed on our backs. Luckily the condo had a washer/dryer so we would be able to wash our cycling clothes.
Due to all the climbing - I opted for the 21lb hardtail. I knew I'd miss the FS for the descents but I wanted to go as light weight as possible.
Kenosha to Georgia Pass
Just the out-and-back (one of my favorite rides) to Georgia Pass is a full day. It's ~25miles - but going all the way to Breck is 36 miles - Georgia Pass is at mile 12 so when you reach the summit you are only 2/3 of the there.
We hit the trail ~9:50am - it promised to be a hot day. I heard in hit 106 in Boulder.
I made it a point to "take it easy" but that's hard to go easy on this trail as once you hit the singletrack climb to Georgia Pass - it's a hefty climb. It's not *super* technical but it's demanding - power move after power move. I know i went anaerobic plenty of times during that climb. After Lunch Rock the trail mellows out some and then I know we were on the home stretch to the top. We hit Georgia Pass 2:45 after we started. Not a fast time - but a decent one considering were take it easy.
Here's Mark hitting tree line.
Here I am approaching the summit. 
when we reached the summit - Mark got this great shot of the view and some random bikers. :) 
Breck bound
After a brief stop for lunch we hit the fun ~7mile descent. Mark got this shot of me starting the descent. I don't have too bad of a view, eh?
The descent is littered with downed trees - not a ton of trees but enough to keep you on your toes. But before long we hit that fun rock garden toward the bottom of the descent.
Mark shot a few pics as we entered the fun stuff.
As I came around the corner i see Mark attached to his bike laying on some rocks. Yikes - it was scary. Nils was already there attending to him. Mark was talking and said he had hyper extended his fingers. He was able to shake it off and keep riding. whew!
But here's how his fingers looked at the end of the day.
Sausage fingers.
After the descent we knew we had a 40 - 45 minute brutal climb in front of us. At this point - Nils decided to bail on Tiger Rd and bypass the next 17miles of singletrack and 2500ft of climbing.
Mark and I were determined to do the whole bit - so off we went.
the things people say
It was hot. It felt like it was in the 90s. I don't sweat profusely - but I was sweating a LOT - I figured I might be able to replenish my electrolyte supply in Breck and didn't want to get dehydrated. I had packed what I thought were enough electrolytes for both days but I started popping the electrolytes like it was candy.
Mark took off and rode at my pace. It's a tough climb in the heat and there is no way to really *take it easy*. I mentally cursed Mark for talking me into running a 12/27 tooth dura ace cassette - i sure could've used a 34tooth cog on that climb. but i just kept on cranking...
Two different groups of ~5 people had started before us. It was every man for him/herself. I just kept climbing at my pace and slowly passed some of them.
Here's what I heard on the way up:
guy in red spandex shorts - who was walking: "I don't understand - I can climb all day long on my road bike"
me: "yeah - this is a *little* bit different kind of riding"
girl in brown shorts: "how much longer??"
me: "a good 30 minutes"
girl in brown shorts: "oh no! really?!?!?"
me: "yep"
girl in blue tank and flat pedals: "I *used* to kill this climb! I'm 7 weeks pregant and can't seem to move fast"
me: "oh - you should take it easy then"
girl in yellow tank and 2 guys standing on the side of the trail as I passed: "good job"
guy without a shirt on the side of the trail: "want a hit of weed??"
me: "uh...no thanks! ;) "
I finally got to the top and Mark said he had been there 7 or 8 minutes. We sat - i ate and then we hit the next 5 mile descent. There was 1 more 15 minute climb and then the last descent.
finally the bike path to Breck and I was ready to be done!!! We finally hit the condo ~5pm. whew!
Hanging out in Breck
The condo was nice. Plenty of room for all 3 of us. We showered and hit the Breck Brewery for dinner. I was a little grumpy and Nils and I ended up having a few *words*. Luckily we were able to get past it. I hid out in one of the bedrooms and hit the sack. I had a terrible night's sleep. :(
We all got up ~7:30am, got our stuff ready and then went to breakfast as the Blue Moose. yum!
Devora Peterson wanted to ride with us - so she was going to meet us at the Tiger Rd entrance of the CT at 10am. Again Nils decided to bypass the 2500ft climb and 17miles of singletrack and was going to meet us at Georgia Pass.
By the time we ate, stopped by the store and waited 15minutes for Dev - it was 10:15.
Breck to Georgia Pass
I was tired but my legs seemed to be doing ok. Dev rode mostly with Mark while I lagged a bit behind.
Here's a couple of pics when I was still fresh for the day.
Dev rode with us for about 2.5 hours...she brought me some electrolytes and cookies. She also gave me half of her gatorade as it promised to be another hot day. She was a lifesaver!
I was feeling decent on the first climb and the first descent. Here's another cool pic. Mark built this rock wall in 1993 when he worked for the forest service. He's pretty stoked it's still holding up fine. Mark entertained me with all kinds of stories from the forest service days and his immense knowledge of the area.
By the time we hit the rock garden climb after we had been out for 3.5 hours I started feeling the miles. I pretty much walked up the entire rock garden as I didn't have the legs to do any power moves. I would be on the bike for 50 ft then get off walk 50 feet ride 20 feet and then walk. I figured i'd save my energy and just walk the whole thing. I was worried I was so slow and I imagined Mark way ahead of me.
finally I got past the rock garden and Mark was waiting. I asked how long he had been waiting and he said "not long - the mosquitoes are so bad I won't wait too long for you". it took us an hour to go 3 miles and then we finally hit the rolling terrain as we approached Georgia Pass. whew!
Me getting above treeline - day 2
Mark approaching Georgia Pass -day 2 (aka "where's waldo?")
Top of Georgia -heading to the finish and bonkage
By the time we hit Georgia we had been out for over 5 hours. Typically it's 1.5 hours to the car at this point but I was concerned about the 2 climbs out. Not long but I was feeling pretty worked.
The descent off of Georgia is the great descent - fast and flowy. I took off down the descent - I was hauling it at first. but after a couple of close calls with trees due to my limited mental facilities at the time I decided to slow it way down. I had decided i wouldn't ride the rooty section by Lunch Rock but there was Mark with the camera so i had to ride it. ;)
I gingerly made my way down the rest of the descent. I could tell i was started to "ride stupid" and i needed food but I couldn't force myself to stop and eat. I kept on going and when I hit that little rock garden before the gate I botched a simple move and when I put my foot down my foot slipped and I fell over. I made myself get out my last gu to suck it down. since it was so hot when I opened the gu half of it squirted out and landed on my tire. I started crying - I told Mark he had to forget he saw that. ;) I shook it off and got back on my bike and started riding.
Here I am just before my meltdown
The last climb was hard but not as bad as I expected. After that climb i popped it in the middle ring and rode as hard as possible at the time to get to the car.
Mark's computer indicated we had been out for 8 hours - but that includes a 15minute stop at the grocery store to get more food and a 15 minute wait for Dev to show up in the morning. So surprisingly our ride time and total time for both days was about the same.
Aftermath.
Will i do it again. sure! :)
=oh...check out this cool tree on the trail...I LOVE mtn biking. :)
Rode Kenosha to Breck - spent the night in Breck - then rode Breck to Kenosha. Data and pix courtesy of my data geek friend, Mark. Here's the data for Saturday and Sunday.
The Plan
I had been wanting to do this ride for a while. Several people expressed interest - some serious/some not so serious. By the beginning of the week it was to be me, Mark, Ann, Nils and Ted. As the week went by sadly Ted had to drop out due to family/friend conflicts and Ann due to health reasons.
For the past year - Mark has been my "go to" riding buddy. He never bails and I can always count on him. Even tho he is way faster than I am - it's great riding with him. We seems to have good bike riding compatibility.
I finally booked a condo on Friday - a 2bedroom/2bath in Breck. I couldn't find anyone to carry a SAG bag for us so we had to carry everything we needed on our backs. Luckily the condo had a washer/dryer so we would be able to wash our cycling clothes.
Due to all the climbing - I opted for the 21lb hardtail. I knew I'd miss the FS for the descents but I wanted to go as light weight as possible.
Kenosha to Georgia Pass
Just the out-and-back (one of my favorite rides) to Georgia Pass is a full day. It's ~25miles - but going all the way to Breck is 36 miles - Georgia Pass is at mile 12 so when you reach the summit you are only 2/3 of the there.
We hit the trail ~9:50am - it promised to be a hot day. I heard in hit 106 in Boulder.
I made it a point to "take it easy" but that's hard to go easy on this trail as once you hit the singletrack climb to Georgia Pass - it's a hefty climb. It's not *super* technical but it's demanding - power move after power move. I know i went anaerobic plenty of times during that climb. After Lunch Rock the trail mellows out some and then I know we were on the home stretch to the top. We hit Georgia Pass 2:45 after we started. Not a fast time - but a decent one considering were take it easy.
Here's Mark hitting tree line.
Here I am approaching the summit. 
when we reached the summit - Mark got this great shot of the view and some random bikers. :) 
Breck boundAfter a brief stop for lunch we hit the fun ~7mile descent. Mark got this shot of me starting the descent. I don't have too bad of a view, eh?
The descent is littered with downed trees - not a ton of trees but enough to keep you on your toes. But before long we hit that fun rock garden toward the bottom of the descent.
Mark shot a few pics as we entered the fun stuff.
As I came around the corner i see Mark attached to his bike laying on some rocks. Yikes - it was scary. Nils was already there attending to him. Mark was talking and said he had hyper extended his fingers. He was able to shake it off and keep riding. whew!
But here's how his fingers looked at the end of the day.
Sausage fingers.
After the descent we knew we had a 40 - 45 minute brutal climb in front of us. At this point - Nils decided to bail on Tiger Rd and bypass the next 17miles of singletrack and 2500ft of climbing.Mark and I were determined to do the whole bit - so off we went.
the things people say
It was hot. It felt like it was in the 90s. I don't sweat profusely - but I was sweating a LOT - I figured I might be able to replenish my electrolyte supply in Breck and didn't want to get dehydrated. I had packed what I thought were enough electrolytes for both days but I started popping the electrolytes like it was candy.
Mark took off and rode at my pace. It's a tough climb in the heat and there is no way to really *take it easy*. I mentally cursed Mark for talking me into running a 12/27 tooth dura ace cassette - i sure could've used a 34tooth cog on that climb. but i just kept on cranking...
Two different groups of ~5 people had started before us. It was every man for him/herself. I just kept climbing at my pace and slowly passed some of them.
Here's what I heard on the way up:
guy in red spandex shorts - who was walking: "I don't understand - I can climb all day long on my road bike"
me: "yeah - this is a *little* bit different kind of riding"
girl in brown shorts: "how much longer??"
me: "a good 30 minutes"
girl in brown shorts: "oh no! really?!?!?"
me: "yep"
girl in blue tank and flat pedals: "I *used* to kill this climb! I'm 7 weeks pregant and can't seem to move fast"
me: "oh - you should take it easy then"
girl in yellow tank and 2 guys standing on the side of the trail as I passed: "good job"
guy without a shirt on the side of the trail: "want a hit of weed??"
me: "uh...no thanks! ;) "
I finally got to the top and Mark said he had been there 7 or 8 minutes. We sat - i ate and then we hit the next 5 mile descent. There was 1 more 15 minute climb and then the last descent.
finally the bike path to Breck and I was ready to be done!!! We finally hit the condo ~5pm. whew!
Hanging out in Breck
The condo was nice. Plenty of room for all 3 of us. We showered and hit the Breck Brewery for dinner. I was a little grumpy and Nils and I ended up having a few *words*. Luckily we were able to get past it. I hid out in one of the bedrooms and hit the sack. I had a terrible night's sleep. :(
We all got up ~7:30am, got our stuff ready and then went to breakfast as the Blue Moose. yum!
Devora Peterson wanted to ride with us - so she was going to meet us at the Tiger Rd entrance of the CT at 10am. Again Nils decided to bypass the 2500ft climb and 17miles of singletrack and was going to meet us at Georgia Pass.
By the time we ate, stopped by the store and waited 15minutes for Dev - it was 10:15.
Breck to Georgia Pass
I was tired but my legs seemed to be doing ok. Dev rode mostly with Mark while I lagged a bit behind.
Here's a couple of pics when I was still fresh for the day.
Dev rode with us for about 2.5 hours...she brought me some electrolytes and cookies. She also gave me half of her gatorade as it promised to be another hot day. She was a lifesaver!I was feeling decent on the first climb and the first descent. Here's another cool pic. Mark built this rock wall in 1993 when he worked for the forest service. He's pretty stoked it's still holding up fine. Mark entertained me with all kinds of stories from the forest service days and his immense knowledge of the area.
By the time we hit the rock garden climb after we had been out for 3.5 hours I started feeling the miles. I pretty much walked up the entire rock garden as I didn't have the legs to do any power moves. I would be on the bike for 50 ft then get off walk 50 feet ride 20 feet and then walk. I figured i'd save my energy and just walk the whole thing. I was worried I was so slow and I imagined Mark way ahead of me.finally I got past the rock garden and Mark was waiting. I asked how long he had been waiting and he said "not long - the mosquitoes are so bad I won't wait too long for you". it took us an hour to go 3 miles and then we finally hit the rolling terrain as we approached Georgia Pass. whew!
Me getting above treeline - day 2
Mark approaching Georgia Pass -day 2 (aka "where's waldo?")
Top of Georgia -heading to the finish and bonkageBy the time we hit Georgia we had been out for over 5 hours. Typically it's 1.5 hours to the car at this point but I was concerned about the 2 climbs out. Not long but I was feeling pretty worked.
The descent off of Georgia is the great descent - fast and flowy. I took off down the descent - I was hauling it at first. but after a couple of close calls with trees due to my limited mental facilities at the time I decided to slow it way down. I had decided i wouldn't ride the rooty section by Lunch Rock but there was Mark with the camera so i had to ride it. ;)
I gingerly made my way down the rest of the descent. I could tell i was started to "ride stupid" and i needed food but I couldn't force myself to stop and eat. I kept on going and when I hit that little rock garden before the gate I botched a simple move and when I put my foot down my foot slipped and I fell over. I made myself get out my last gu to suck it down. since it was so hot when I opened the gu half of it squirted out and landed on my tire. I started crying - I told Mark he had to forget he saw that. ;) I shook it off and got back on my bike and started riding.
Here I am just before my meltdown
The last climb was hard but not as bad as I expected. After that climb i popped it in the middle ring and rode as hard as possible at the time to get to the car. Mark's computer indicated we had been out for 8 hours - but that includes a 15minute stop at the grocery store to get more food and a 15 minute wait for Dev to show up in the morning. So surprisingly our ride time and total time for both days was about the same.
Aftermath.
Will i do it again. sure! :)
=oh...check out this cool tree on the trail...I LOVE mtn biking. :)
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