For sure I knew it would be a different trip to Colorado as I hoped to be prepared for Leadville and I expected to do some things I have not done before but ah.. The best laid plans are sometimes no match against lady luck. The trip was great the race….Well a flat on the first climb had me chase at desperate speeds more suitable to a downhill race and if not for a wheel from Tinker and a solid lead out into the second climb by cross star Tim Johnson I may have not salvaged the top five. For sure have a team approach helped Alex to his best Leadville so far and 3rd and my 5th made for a solid team showing and of course hanging out and eating Tim Johnson’s special home baked cookies with ice cream was fun. It was also sweet watching Tinker drink the fishbowl sized margarita I bought him. It was so big he brought it home to nurse it the rest of the evening. ;)
Highlights of the trip included meeting Mike Hall and touring the Uber high tech SRM HQ and seeing the gadgets of the best riders in the world not to mention the imported euro toilette, nice touch.
I went up to Leadville for a pre ride but preferred to stay in the Breckenridge area with my awesome host Kristin and Clay. It was fun to ride the trials there since the LVT100 is the day before Breck Epic I couldn’t fit it in. May as well check out the dope single track there. I randomly hooked up with Josh Tostado for a short jamm session. So much rippn single track there it was killing me as I rested up for the dirt road fest. I am doing Breck next year for sure! Leadville is a scene but the real trails are at Breck.
The other neat thing I did was stay at the Mont Alto cycling house in Nederland. My host were the excectric but bike loving couple that set me out on some great adventures like the sourdough trail. Some tricky high alpine single!
Hmm.. What elses. Now I am in Switzerland for the World Championships of XC. Pretty much like the course but its only 4 k long so.. I go for some wunder riding today. I will bring the camera to share what mountain top I can find. There are many insanely steep ones here. Yesterday I found this half track trekking trail that was eched into the side of a dark green wall of a mountain. It was so steep I had to walk the switch backs like a dwarf staircase thru the ferns and shrubs. Occasional vistas offered a glimps into the life of the sheep herder his summer range house just above tree line and the brave sheep that make that tundra their home. Bahhhh.. You could hear miles away as sound here travels like history sometimes muffled; some times ringing clear for ages.
