Let's catch up a bit since the Growler. June has fortunately been one of our busiest months of the season at my job so with limited races on deck I took the opportunity to pick up some much needed banquet shifts. After a long Spring closure and Colorado's unemployment process biting me in the A$$, I pretty much needed to make up some cash somehow to get us through the remainder of June. Our fridge took a crap on us and I also had to grab a new one of those from Lowe's. My advice? Stay the course, brush the stress of your back and good things will come. In this two week period, I was able to make a ton of money working banquets, finally got my unemployment payments squared away, and thanks to Danielle's parents for buying us some condo insurance last year, we were able to get a nice check from them to replace our food and fridge! "Good things come to those who wait?" No, good things come to those who wait patiently.
Now, back to the focus of this blog. Cycling...
I've had two Vail Rec Series races since the Growler. "Hammer in the Hay" at 4 Eagle Ranch and "Berry Creek Blast" in Edwards. The Hammer in the Hay course is infamous for a non-stop "hammerfest" with few climbs but a relentless bumpy course thanks to the horse trails the loop is setup on. It did not disappoint. Hurt as usual and the course was extra bumpy to give your hands a test of endurance. Thank God for the Ergon grips that relieved some of the pain. Gave it a good effort, caught people on the one sustained climb per lap but quickly dropped off the back on the long, windy straights. Tyler Eaton had an awesome ride taking 1st in the Mens Expert group. I finished a decent 10th place.
A couple of days before the Berry Creek race, I had a big crash pre-riding the course. Dumb thing was that I tried "having some fun" and taking a line that I would not ride during the race and the trail took advantage of that mistake. Took a line off of a ledge and the landing was a bit harder than expected. Not exactly sure what happened but all I remember was the massive impact on my back and head, then opening my eyes stomach down in the sage brush. Only took a few minutes to catch the breath, check to see if the body was in one piece and finish the descent back to the trailhead. Surprisingly, nothing was broken. Just a damaged rotator cuff and now a week later, my lower spine still hurts. We'll see how it progresses. Wish I had some video for you from that one!
3 days later, I felt good enough to give it a go in the race. Four freakin' laps of Berry Creek... Gave a little bit too much on the first lap and got dropped pretty bad. Lap 2 was slow, but felt revived a bit for laps 3 and 4 to bring back the pace and pass a few guys before the finish. Finished 9th.
Spent this past week watching every stage of the Tour de Suisse. Despite all the rumors, attacks, and banter in the cycling world right now, that was some of the most exciting cycling to watch on television. The stages in the TdS were incredible, from the views, the course profiles, and the non-stop action the riders gave us. Fabian Chancellara's ability to time trial is simply super-human (no motors required). He handles a time trial bike like it's a mountain bike. Everyone questioned Andy Schleck's form on the stages he was "dropped". Take a look at the stages that he pulled... his form is there, he was running some tests by my book. The guy lost his bike during the time trial in the prologue. There was no reason for him to completely blow himself up in an effort to make that time up. Finally, after a courageous effort by Damiano Cunego defending the yellow jersey for most of the Tour, Levi Leipheimer had an outstanding time trial in the final stage to make up a 1:59 gap and win the overall in the Tour de Suisse by 3 seconds. Of course, the masses came out bashing his ability to ride that fast at that age. But take a look again, it's not like he crushed Fabian's time. He is a very strong time trialist and Cunego's performance was less than stellar in the final defense. Cunego looked worked after 9km. Should be an exciting Tour de France for sure. Not trying to play favorites but Levi and Chris Horner could be a force to reckon with. I'm sure Jonathan Vaughters has some tricks up his sleeve with Garmin-Cervelo. I expect an all-around great performance from those guys whether it be sprints, TT's, or climbing stages.
Next race on the schedule is the Firecracker 50 in Breckenridge. Here is a picture in town this morning... We'll see if the snow is cleared in time, especially up Little French.July gets busy after Firecracker with Davos Dash, Telluride Full Tilt, Vail Grind, followed by the Breck 68 - All within the same 2 week period.
Until next time, get outside, ride your bike, and be sure to stay in the bike lanes...
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