Gunnison Growler Pre-Ride

Yesterday, Danielle and I packed up the bikes and took a little day trip down to Gunnison, CO to give her a little taste of what to expect on May 29th when we race in The Original Growler. While I will be throwing down for the Full 64 mile version, Danielle will be getting out for the half version, a one lap 32 mile course of fast, swooping singletrack that was built through the efforts of Gunnison Trails, the local trail advocacy group founded by Dave Wiens in 2006. The amount of work this group has put into their local trails over the past 5 years is unbelievable and their hard work truly shows. If you haven't been out to the Hartman Rocks Recreation Area, you NEED to get out there now! As stated by Jake Wells after last years race, "Don't ever ride the Original Growler singletrack, because nothing else will ever compare."

Driving over Monarch Pass, just 50 miles East if Gunnison, we were al little worried because it was snowing. The forecast in Gunnison was iffy with chances of rain and thunderstorms in the area. But when we arrived in town, the clouds seemed to part just over the Hartman Rocks area. With the clouds looking menacing to the North over Crested Butte and rain/snow showers clearly hammering Monarch and Wolf Creek, we weren't sure how long the ride would actually last. Geared up for anything, we started our initial ascent up the infamous "Kill Hill", which will hit all riders hard as we start the Growler course. Pictured below, it consists of a steep 10-15% grade for about 3/4 of a mile climbing just under 300 feet.

Trying to find our way around via a printed course map was interesting at first, but thanks to the simple and clear trail signage, we quickly found our way. Gunnison Trails uses a name and number system to mark its trails, and with a simple placard at the start and finish of each trail, navigating by trail map was flawless.

We decided to skip the lap 1 fire road section of the course and climb the lap 2 designated "Rattlesnake" trail. I quickly realized that cleaning this trail would be key to sustaining a consistent pace. It featured some large granite rock formations that all the other riders who were coming "down" the trail seemed to be grinning from ear to ear every time they passed us. We however, were climbing "up" the trail and by climbing, I mean "climbing" by foot. Some steeps were at a pitch that even the shoes were having trouble holding steady. There is going to be some bloody scraped up knees on this trail. Here is one formation which has two options to ride: the center line to descend a steep 12 foot drop and the left-side route to navigate around the rock which Danielle opted for (watch those pedals for the narrow tracking through the rock or you will be walking).

The next section named Josho's, which for lap 1 will be the first taste of singletrack, was oh-so-fun! Fast, smooth singletrack descending into a small valley with minimal technical sections. The thing about the Growler course which is so unique is that it does not lack climbing (about 4,000 feet per lap), rather the course is rolling all throughout with every climb being no more than a few hundred feet at a time. The Whiskey course for example, had a 13 mile 3,000+ foot climb in one shot. These small rises in the Growler course allow riders to enjoy every bit of singletrack thrown at you weather climbing, descending, or playing on the technical rock formations. Pictured above left is an example of some of the small technical features that keep riders attentive to the trail.

We rode the majority of the course, ditching a few fire road sections meant to spread out the field and keep the 32 mile distance factor in the race. After a sweet, short descent into a trail named "Enchanted Forest" due to its random mix of trees and lush green, a welcome change to the sage brush infesting the rest of the course, we jumped into some rolling technical singletrack with names like Dave Moe's, Dirty Sock, Top of the World, and The Ridge.

Here's a pic of me about to clean one of the many "Ups" on the course. Our Bach Builders light-weight wind vests from Sugoi provided the perfect balance of warmth and protection from the consistent 15+mph winds all day. The chamois in our RS Bib Short provides us with enough cushion to ride for hours on end without making you feel like "the new guy" at the local prison after a long day in the saddle.

Danielle taking a break sporting the newly designed kits for Team High Maintenance.

All in all, it was a fantastic day down in Gunnison with no foul weather ever descending upon the Hartman Rocks area. It's going to be a big ole' fashioned throw down on the 29th with all sorts of friends heading down to race including Jake Wells (3rd last year), Tyler Eaton, Ken Boyer, Sara Delano, Ryan Cantrell, Mark Beresniewicz and more. Look for Jake to be gunning for a 1st place finish this year. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say Ken and Sara will take podiums their respective age groups, and if Tyler can ward off the cramps on "The Ridge", expect to see some impressive results from him as well.

For me?? Well, my plan is to rise up the rankings as races get longer, so let's shoot for a top 10 finish in my age group. I'm calling it a 6:45:00 finish time. Throw some times for me in the comment section below and I'll get a little prize out to the closest person without going over. (US residents only)

TMP