It's not over til it's over. Don't get ahead of yourself.
But at the same time, if you've done it before, then you have a grasp on what is coming. And that is helpful.
So with the massive hike up Wheeler, you know that Friday is a "fun day" so really, when you stop and think about it, the week is over when you reach the top of Wheeler. (This from the guy who then crashed coming down the backside!)
Friday is all lightness. Not only is it a great ride, but becuse it's short, there isn't going to be much shakeup in the standings, in case you are IN the standings or care about the standings. But regardless, you can push without any worry about needing so save anything for later in the week. This IS later in the week!
We start up the familiar cut into the woods that we've been on before. We climb for a while and then we hit the switchbacks. As long as you can burst on the steepest sections, those short intervals when you are actually pointing uphill, it's not bad. But if you can't maintain speed and power through them, then every corner is agony, or the hassle of dismounting and pushing then remounting.
Kristi on the switchbacks up Mt. Baldy...
But an hour or so of climbing up a trail called Nightmare on Baldy is rewarded with some beautiful swooping singletrack down to the old Sally Barber mine. From there it is more of the same great stuff until you are finally dropped out onto Boreas Pass Road at Bakers Tank.
Sally Barber mine...
The mine, the tank, the old flumes...you can't ride far without being reminded of all of the history in the area.
Baker's Tank, Then and Now...
So from here it is a climb up Boreas Pass Road, which seems like a decent road. Though in actuallity it is just a dirt road with a fair amount of pot holes in it, but compared to the other trails we have been riding on, it is a four-lane highway!
We climb to the top of Boreas Pass, the continental divide and then very quickly drop down into the woods for a good long stretch, part of this trail is yet another swooping "ditch" maybe three feet deep and three or four feet wide that just "rocks" back and forth as it winds down the hillside, taking you with it. Riding high in the banked corners, crossing the center line as you roll from one side to side and corner to corner. Pure joy that seems to go on for ever.
photo of Gold Dust Trail lifted from Bikepacking.net...Dumped back out onto another dirt road, we get some more fast descending until we have to make a hard left and climb all the way back up to Boreas Pass again, this time from the South Park side. (This is apparently the area from which the cartoon got it's name.)
It is a long climb. It is Friday and everyone is tired. But it is what they call a "middle ring" climb. And I have been doing a lot of standing and enjoying it. But this is also the VERY last climb. I end up chatting with the woman camping next to me, an Xterra athlete from the Durango area. Probably 20-something. Pretty fit, pretty serious. Went to the Gary Fischer factory last weekend to pick up her bike. A 2011 carbon fiber thing. Serious. Not sure why she is back with me, but that's ok... We chat...drop the folks who were with us at the very bottom...catch up to and pass the former governor of New Mexico...then as we get closer to the top we see two of the YetiBeti women's team. Cranking up the hill... The scenery in that ridge back behind the pass was just breathtaking, vast, green and brown with a sky-blue sky. Wow.
There are times where your gearing matches the pitch of the road/trail and your legs perfectly, and at those moments you climb perfectly, and quite quickly. I don't know if it was one of those moments or if it was seeing those two women in front of me, but there was a goal. And before I knew it I was alone out in front of my chatting partner, closing in on the Yetis. I finally caught them right around the spot where the headwind picked up. I should have tucked in behind them and conserved energy, but I was rolling and just could not contain myself...and there where two other guys up ahead who were now in my sights. This was the last hill.
So I cranked it out, trying to gt to them before the top of the hill. They got there just before me, but they stopped at the aid station at the cusp and I, knowing that there was no need for anything between here and the finish, THE finish, just cranked right over the crest, right past them without missing a beat and just kept on pushing. It felt so good.
Shifting into high gear, pushing it down Boreas Pass Road, trying to dodge most of the potholes, trying to bunny-hop the larger ones, tyring to keep eyes focused on the obstacles as quickly as they came up. Like playing a video game at the highest level. Dialing back a bit on the corners, though some were more sketchy than others. Don't slide out on the gravel here, play it safe. But still pushing.
This road is open to the public, but the very few cars are driving pretty slowly on it and because the landscape is open, you can see them in advance. t's not dangerous from that perspective, but it just adds another element to what you are trying to do.
photo of Boreas Pass Road lifted from Bikepacking.net...There is one point where there is a line as the road just changes from dirt brown to bright red due to the makeup of the soil. Still enjoying the scenery, noting the details, even as we fly down this road. A couple of places where there is a narrow gap in the rocks, a couple of places where the pine trees close in on you. You see it all. It is still happening at full speed, but it seems like your perception is hightened and you can see it more quickly. Perhaps this is how the knucklehead feels just before he plows into a telephone pole. Or perhaps this is how skiiers are able to maneuver at high speed and react so quickly to things, because they are actually seeing things more quickly.
Finally, after more fast twisting trails over roots and rocks, through a horse-community, we pop out back at The Steve, the ice rink. Cross the small wooden bridge, then through the Finish Line arch. Done. NOW you're done. No more flats, no more crashes, no more worries, done.
They have tons of food, some of it salty junk food, there is beer, soda, recovery drinks of all types. Folks are sitting around talking, chatting, it is generally a festive affair. Most of the leaders are still there. The crowd thins a bit, but many of the folks are waiting for Wendy Skean.
At 66, the oldest person in the race and often the last person to cross the line, the race isn't over until Wendy comes in. But the joy she brings and the respect folks have for her, really just highlight that for so many people this is not a race at all, but a personal challenge. MikeMac, the race organizer said more than once, that few people, even ones who live here, have stood at the top of 10 Mile Range and looked down on Breckenridge, Keystone and Copper from the top of Wheeler Pass. What we have done, what we have all done, is not trivial. We have accepted the challenge, we have done something hard, we have met the challenge. And it feels good.
And we have the trophy belt buckle to prove it.
Front...
and back...
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