Nearing the finish line

        The week before this year’s edition of the Leadville 100 I had set a goal of improving upon my last year’s six place finish. Not really sure of who was showing up to the race I felt this was a reasonable goal. I was feeling a little under-prepared (which is the most prepared I have ever felt about a 100 mile mountain bike race), and I knew Dave Weins was not racing this year so that automatically moved me up one spot. But when I pulled up to the start line in the dawn of Saturday morning and saw who was lined up at the front of pack I was forced to readjust my pre-race goal.
     There were the obvious favorites like Todd Wells, Jeremiah Bishop Tinker Juarez, Alex Grant, Bryson Perry, and Manny Prado, all who have had prior success in the Leadville 100. There were also a handful of road racers like Tim Johnson, Greg Krause, and Alex Hagman, all who I knew from first hand experience were solid on a mountain bike and were excellent high altitude climbers. There were the European all-stars Alban Lakata and Bart Brentjens, along with their respective teammates. And along with all of these obvious threats, were another dozen or so riders, who could potentially play a role at the front of the race. It was by far the deepest field the Leadville 100 had ever seen. Looking across these racers on the first couple of rows, I was just hoping to finish in the top ten.
     Hitting the first climb at the front of race was an absolute relief. It meant that I had survived the downhill asphalt start with 1600 eager racers and the race could begin in earnest. Last year I struggled to stay in the top 20 on the first climb and I felt I was working way too hard way too early. This year, to my amazement, I maintained a comfortable pace and pulled away from the field with five other riders. When Alban Lakata flatted at mile 10, it left Todd Wells, Greg Krause, Alex Grant, and myself in the lead group. I was feeling great and absolutely thrilled to be off the front with such a strong pack. But I also knew all too well that, in hundred mile race, feeling good early comes with a price, and there would be a reckoning.
     Knowing the huge amount of horsepower in the riders behind us, our lead group worked well together, flying over the flats that lie between the two monster climbs of Powerline and Columbine. It was obvious that Todd was the strongest and each of his pulls at the front noticeably increased our speed. In this group we were delivered to mile 40 and the base of the 10 mile, 3,200 foot Columbine climb. It is where the easy part of the race ends and the character of the races changes from a road race with group tactics to an everybody-for-themselves mountain bike race.
     Starting up the climb, Todd predictably began tapping out a quick pace. Greg and I were the first to drop off, both knowing that on such a long climb anything but our own pace would mean an agonizing end. Alex was able to stay with Todd a while longer and quickly gained about a 20 second gap. About a mile and a half from the summit the four of us were all riding solo up the climb. I was in third place and had settled into a tempo that was uncomfortable but sustainable, with Alex and Todd still in sight. Seemingly out of nowhere Alban came flying by me like a freight train, grinding a huge gear in a slow and powerful cadence. Watching him go by I was in awe. We were at 11,000 feet and I couldn’t push that gear if I were at sea level. By the summit Alban had easily caught Todd and Alex was in third about 90 seconds ahead of me. It was a colossal relief to reach the turnaround at the summit and begin the journey back down. But my relief was short lived when I hit oncoming traffic on saw the riders who were chasing me down. Though my vision was blurred by exertion and lack of oxygen, I saw clearly Jeremiah Bishop and Bart Brentjens climbing quickly to the summit. They were not far behind and I particularly remember thinking that they looked a whole lot better than I felt.
     Returning to the base of Columbine I was revived by the relatively rich air of 9,000 feet and began chasing the three leaders back across the flats. By now the gaps had increased, and with the grueling Powerline climb looming I knew I needed to save some strength. Hitting the steep and intimidating bottom section of Powerline I could see Alex just a couple hundred yards ahead. I was still feeling strong but a little disheartened to find that on the steep slope 200 yards meant a two minute gap. The steep section was much more loose than it was last year and I struggled to maintain traction. As I crested to initial false summit (there are three of four on the Powerline climb) I was reeling from the effort on the steeps, and for the first time all day I felt I was in real trouble. All power and fluidity was gone from my legs and my pace dropped to a crawl. In a matter of minutes I went from chasing for a third place finish to really questioning if I was going to finish at all.
     In a seven hour race, I have learned from agonizing experience, you will have peaks and you will have valleys, and both are only temporary. Riding up Powerline, I was in a dark valley. I convinced myself that if I kept eating and drinking, and if I kept moving forward, no matter how slowly, I would come around. It was a just a matter of how much time and how many places I was going to loose. Within a half mile of the summit I began pedaling in circles again, slowly gaining power and momentum. Despite looking back every 20 seconds, expecting to see Greg, Bart, and Jeremiah come barreling by me, I still held fourth place. Descending down the backside of Powerline I was relieved to have not only survived the vicious climb, but the even more vicious physical and psychological low point that inevitably accompanies this kind of race.
     At the bottom of the Powerline decent I got a split of two and a half minutes to Alex. I was surprised I hadn’t lost more time on the climb, but it was still a big deficit to make up in the last 10 miles. Still, I chased hard, not knowing any splits to riders behind me. I was especially worried about Jeremiah. There is no tougher competitor and if anyone could close down a gap at the end of a100 miles it was him. Hitting the final asphalt road with no one behind me I knew I had fourth wrapped up.
     As I crossed the finish line I was glad to be done and pleased with my race. But it wasn’t until I returned to the finish line later in the afternoon that I fully felt a sense of pride and accomplishment. Watching rider after rider crossing the finish line with such joy and unbridled relief, I realized that a 100 miler really is more about the battle with yourself than the battle with other riders. And when you cross the finish line, regardless of what place, you, and only you, know exactly how well you did.

A very happy moment for me & my friend Reba

Me & two of my favorite support crewers

My training thus far this summer had been focused on the Wulong Mountain Quest Adventure Race happening in China in early September. This training includes a mix of running, paddling, biking, and just plain suffering. If you can imagine being on the tail end of a tow rope pulled by Jay Henry or Travis Macy, you would understand the need to suffer endlessly in training so that at least you would be used to it by the time you are getting dragged around the mountains of China. At any rate, my desire to get out and play with the fast girls got the better of me and I decided to get in some serious miles before the showdown.

I dusted off the road bike which rarely gets used once the trails are dry here in high country. I was amazed at the response in the legs after just a few long rides on the road bike. I’m no scientist, but there is something to that muscle memory thing. My boyfriend Cannon was also happy to go out and kick my arse on a some sweet, epic mountain bike rides…he is good like that, straight off the couch. This combined with a couple of shorter marathon races including the CB Fat Tire 40 and the Laramie Enduro all contributed to preparation for the big day in Leadville.

To back up a bit here, I have done the Leadville race before back in 2007. I turned up that year without having pre-ridden the course, stopping at every aid station (and then some) and no real plan other than to break 8:30. I ended up just 7 minutes off of the women’s record of 7:58 set by Laurie Brandt in 1997. This has eaten at me since thinking if could plan a bit better, I could break that long-standing record. In the meantime, Rebecca showed up and shattered Laurie’s record by 11 minutes. So now, there was a newer, faster record that a few of us had our eyes on coming into the race.

Race day arrived and I was the usual crap show before the race…getting up early to run late, losing my gloves 10 times, borrowing sunscreen from the neighbor, and doing the 3 minute sprint to the start line. This is called the G$ warm-up and was perfect since you’re not supposed to change things on race day, right? I did have a race plan for the day though, and once the gun was fired, full execution was on.

The start of the race was stressful because it is downhill in a huge pack, and I’m not used to that anymore. It was pretty straightforward once we started climbing just making sure that I didn’t blow early and that I was in a good group across the flats to Twin Lakes. I was relieved to get to Columbine and settle into the climb with Jenny Smith. At this point we were in first and second but I was far from counting my chickens. I also knew from several years experience in the backcountry that my power knob hits the dimmer switch pretty hard once I hit timberline. Knowing that this was a possibility, I told myself before the race that if I started to lose it on Columbine, I would pretend it was a little break for the legs. Well that “break” was like a happy hour that turned into a full night of partying and sleeping through the alarm clock. Rebecca came by me right as I rode by the last little shrub and Jenny went with her. I watched their legs spin like a windmill in Kansas as I struggled to turn over my granny gear.

By the time I got to the back to Twin Lakes, I was hearing split times of 5:30 to the leader. I got mad to build up some determination and grabbed my feed without even saying “thank you”. Then I immediately proceeded to drop my entire food bag so guess that’s what I get. Fortunately, Greg (Rebecca’s boyfriend) gave me a hand-up which was enough to get me to Pipeline.

Sticking it to Powerline - all 80 watts

Coming back down into Turquoise, I got some inaccurate but very encouraging splits from Rishi Grewal. He said we were less than two minutes from Rebecca so I said to Jenny “let’s go!”. At that point Jenny was feeling the effects of some stomach issues so I went on ahead. I was hoping to catch sight of the Queen of Pain and, if nothing else, hold off all the talented women behind me. I finally did catch sight of the Queen but it wasn’t until I crossed the line. I was thrilled nonetheless, having broken the record set by Rebecca the previous year and finishing less than four minutes back. It was funny because we were both thinking the same thing riding up the Boulevard which was that we were going to have a fun party that night. This was truly a highlight of the year if not a top 10 career moment.

I have many good friends in the peloton that I want to mention. Rebecca I’m super proud of you and your 3-peat. Jenny, great riding with you again and awesome finish as a first-timer! Sari, we missed you up front and know you’d be there any other day. Tammy, amazing top-5 finish and it’s so cool to be racing with you again.

Huge hugs and thank you’s to Cannon and the rest of my Leadville support crew, Tokyo Joe’s, Trek Bicycles, Notubes, Nuun, Smith Optics, Maxxis Tires, and Prana clothing for taking good care of me. Will try to send updates from China but remember it is hard to write from the tow line.

The season is fully underway and our Tokyo Joe’s Team members have already been racing all over the United States!

Mitch Hoke has been on a tear racing in California and Texas – finishing in the Top Ten at the US Pro Cup in Austin. Mitch also went on to win the opening round of the Mountain States Cup in Colorado Springs, Battle of the Bear in Morrison and the overall title for the Salida stage race. Whew! Go Mitch!

Erin Huck also finished on the podium at the Salida Stage race for the women’s pro field and took second in the Iron Woman competition this past weekend at the Iron Horse in Durango, Colorado. She finished in the top ten in the road race and took the victory in the mountain bike race.

Lydia Tanner headed west for some early season races and was happy with her early season fitness. Lydia is currently living in Bozeman, Montana and tearing up the race scene there.

Jay Henry worked himself over to finish third at the Whiskey Row 50 in Prescott, Arizona. This is a great race and they run it in memory of our late teammate Mike Janelle. I know it was an emotional finish for Jay. Gretchen Reeves also finished on the podium, taking fourth. I know Mike is proud! “Live like Mike”

Races closer to home – Rabbit Valley, Mountain States Cup #2 in Fruita, Colorado.
A mountain blizzard tried to keep racers away, but ten out of our 35 team members made the trek and many were rewarded with podium finishes for great racing.
Erin Huck finished third in the Pro women’s field, with Jill Behlen in the top ten as well.
Other podium finishes were all in the junior races: Garrett Gerchar, Kurtis Barth and Jacob Carter-Gibb taking the top three spots in the category 2 men’s race.
Kensia Lepikhina won the girl’s 14 and under field. Jack Tanner also finished on the podium in the 14 and under boy’s race, taking fourth. Lyndsay Dye finished second in the girl’s 15-18 race.
Congratulations to our juniors!

Battle of the Bear, in Morrison also saw a large crew of Tokyo Joe’s racers.
Tokyo Joe’s riders had five victories in different categories – Taylor Sheldon, fresh of several weeks of road racing with the Garmin team, taking the win in the marathon event. Mitch taking the win in the pro men’s “half” marathon cross-country race. Jack Tanner in the 13-14 year old boys. Ksenia winning the 13-14 year old girls. Kurtis taking the win in the 15-18 boys category. Erin Huck finished second in the pro women’s field. Heather Szabo took third in the 40 – 49 pro women’s field.

Kevin Sheldon (Taylor’s dad) has been letting the X-terra world know his National Championship title in the men’s 40-49 age group is no fluke. He’s won the three races he’s done so far this year. And finished second in a two-person adventure race in Moab.
Ashlie Angel has also had thre podium finishes in X-terra’s this season as well.

Next up:
TONIGHT! June 2nd, Tokyo Joe’s Boulder is hosting a fund-raiser for our junior squad. Starts at 7:00pm.

Racing this weekend at the Teva Games in Vail and Winter Park Hillclimb. More Mountain States Cup series races. More X-terras and three team members are headed to Canada for the BC Bike race later in the summer.

Thanks for your support of our great team!

Loving the technical downhills...and the only time I could keep up with Cannon!

On Wed, we began our two day journey in and out of Alberta beef country. The singletrack was rugged with big views of rolling green hills and lots of cows. Apparently the cows dig the trails as much as we do which was evidenced by the amounts of droppings along the way. The combination of cattle trails mixed with rain made for some epic cyclocross training. Attempting to ride this section was pure comedy but we kept trying as that seemed a better option to running through muck that was almost knee deep in spots. The jewel at the end of these two days was finishing at Little Elbow Camp with huge hail-capped peaks surrounding us.

After a great night of sleep by the river, we were stoked for day six and what appeared to be the toughest stage of the race. Coming from CO, I felt we were ready for whatever the high country had to throw at us. It had rained most of the night and the starting area was empty until just before the ACDC (our daily start music) kicked in. I checked out everyone’s gear choice for the day and was second guessing my light and fast setup. All was good up and down the first climb of the day. We made it through CP1 and were one of twenty teams that were allowed over the high pass. We were soaked to the core when we finally donned our rain coats and we didn’t warm up at all on the climb. The top of the pass hit us with harsh winds and rain blowing sideways. We were hanging in there until we had to stop at the top to fix my flat tire at which time I realized I’d ripped the cleat out of my shoe. From there it was survival mode getting to CP2 where there was warmth and shelter.

At CP2 the staff had a warming tent and hot drinks for the weathered riders. I was shaking rather violently and was sent to the front of a U-Haul truck with the heater blasting. This went on for over an hour. In the meantime, Cannon scored a shoe for me from another racer that was dropping out of the stage and our bodies warmed up enough to get back on course. So, we lost an hour and a half but it was one of those days I was thankful we were able to finish and still hold third place. The trails we rode that day were spectacular nonetheless and I hope to ride them again in fairer weather.

The last day was a parade lap for many teams that were pretty set with their overall positions in the race. It was a rolling singletrack ride into the Nordic center in Canmore. This was familiar territory as it was a world cup venue in the late nineties and one of my favorites on the circuit. We arrived at the finish soon after greeted by our support guy and a couple of Kokanees.

To sum up my experience, I would say that the Transrockies was a bigger challenge than I was expecting and I think this had a lot to do with the weather and my taking that for granted. The organizers had us covered though and didn’t miss a beat. Hot showers in the middle of the backcountry, bike wash setup, great variety of food, and strong coffee takes a lot of planning and they had it dialed.

G and Cannon at award banquet small

I would like to give a shout out to our competitors: Mical Dyck/ Jeff Neilson (first place) and Wendy Simms/Norm Thibault (2nd place) who rode strong and hard the entire week. They were friendly on and off the course and were happy to give us beta when needed. Thanks to our support guy Andy Keck and Larry at Tokyo Joe’s who has been sponsoring cycling teams for over a decade. Most importantly I’d like to thank my super-talented, patient and humble partner Cannon Shockley who helped make this race a truly unforgettable experience.

G&C crossing the rio. Yup the guy in the middle lost his bike.

Day two: Wicked fast descent, eh?

On stage two we rode to the start with blue skies to match our fresh blue leader’s jerseys. Our plan of coming here to ride and have fun has taken a competitive twist now that we have the lead. I expected we might have another good day after reading the course description. We started with a 30k climb to a super sweet single track descent that dropped 3,000 feet in under 4 miles At one point a gentleman told me “you might want to walk from here” but we ignored his advice and continued the rip session.

Cannon set a nice pace on the rollers on the way back and all I had to do was hang onto his wheel. We met up with the Honey Stinger boys from CO and it was nice to chat with them between breaths to the finish. The second place team was within sight of us for most of this second day but we managed to put another almost two minutes on them by the end.

We have been making the most of our afternoons once we are done racing and cleaning bikes. Yesterday, we stopped along the Elk River for lunch, libations, a swim, and a siesta. The race itself has been a bit of work but the afternoons are relaxing and fun. We had a great turkey dinner from the locals in Elkford last night and the hospitality all around has been remarkable.

Day three: Gettin’ served…

Today we have discovered that it’s a lot easier to lose a 3 minute lead than to gain it. I figured it would be a tough day as we started with a 40km power line road ride. We were in a pack of at least 40 and it was stressful. As the pack whittled down, Cannon helped me out by pushing me up the hills whenever I dropped from the pack. After the big ring session, we were on and off of our bikes, hiking up steep terrain overgrown with willows. This went on for probably two hours and was a bit demoralizing.

Our competitors were well up the road at this point. I was having a rough go of it today and we had to shift into damage control. Cannon helped as much as he could by taking some of the weight from me and pushing when he could. We finally made it to the top of the pass and took in the view as best as we could through spinning heads and muddy glasses. We started into what we thought was a 15km downhill that was actually more rolling with more hiking, polished off by a flat tire and a wrong turn. The finish line couldn’t have come any sooner today!

So, today wasn’t our day to shine, but that’s mountain bike racing. We are now at a camp spot in remote Etherington Creek , showered, recovering, and hoping for a grizzly sighting. We remain optimistic about the race and will enjoy the days ahead and the rest of our time in Canada.

After almost three days of driving, Cannon and I made it from Colorado to lovely Fernie, British Columbia and the start of the Transrockies stage race. We had a great trip up in the camper, stopping along the way to ride and dip into a couple of lakes where the water is pleasantly warmer than our lakes in CO. Our favorite stop was Whitefish, MT where we hit up some newly built trails and camped at a spot called Beaver Lakes. Cannon reminded me that we were now in grizzly country and that I should be cautious with our leftovers. Don’t want to lure the bears in the camper with all the crumbs that seem to end up on my hoody!

We pulled into Fernie Saturday afternoon and met up with our support person, Andy Keck, also from CO. He will be bumping the “house on wheels” along for us and helping us keep the bikes together. Registration was a breeze and we got some pretty sweet stuff in our goody bags which our moms will be excited to hear.

The first thing I checked out were the stats of the race to see what kind of terrain we will be up against for the next week. The course will take us from Fernie to Canmore, travel a distance of 250 miles, and climb over 40,000 feet. This is a shorter distance than in previous years; however, this year’s version will be more technical with larger percentage of singletrack. Looks like we picked a great year to do it!

Andy was on weather detail and the report was 75 and sunny for our first stage. We started to doubt this as we fell asleep last night to the pitter patter of rain turning into meatballs at times. We awoke to the same sound this morning and figured the weather man was either a little loopy or perhaps just optimistic. At any rate, it was time to get psyched up for some mud.

After a Slovakien warm-up (this is where you sit in the car with the heater on until it’s time to line up), we headed to the start line. The first stage was a time trial and something about the beeping clock as it counts down to the start makes me nervous. This quickly went away as we headed out onto the course. It was as if Cannon and I were on one of our regular weekend rides, only this one was a little faster. The first climb went from steep to steeper to where you start thinking the course markers are playing a joke on you.

The good news is that the descent was just as steep. And with the fresh coat of rain on the trails, I felt like I was back in my Georgia roots, literally. Cannon was gentlemanly enough to let me take this one first and we had a sweet ride down. The remainder of the ride was rolling, technical singletrack with a side of mud. Super-sized mud, in every crevice of your bike and body, and 3 hair-washings later there is still a little more mud. It’s like that Moab dust that you still have in your car from last October. Mountain biking rules!

We did manage to slip past the other coed teams that started in front of us and found ourselves at the top of the podium today. The times are very close and we expect there will be a good battle with our competitors throughout the week. Stay tuned for our take on the race and some photos later this week!

Gretchen Reeves Courtesy of Denver Post

AVON — By most societal measures, it takes 18 years to become an adult. That’s the generally accepted maturing process, anyway, give or take.

So it stands to reason that some 18 years into her pro mountain biking career, Tokyo Joe’s team rider Gretchen Reeves finds herself shifting gears and focusing on grown-up goals such as careers and relationships and seven-day, 250-mile stage races across the Canadian Rockies.

Read the Denver Post Article

Day One: started with Lindsay Dye taking her first podium in the Category 2, girls 15-16 age group. This is her first season of racing, she’s going to be a name to look for in the future.

Tokyo Joe’s had three girls in the Category 1, 17-18 race. Wesley Geer was our top finisher, taking the fourth step on the podium. Ellen Patton and Ellie Atkins both finished in the top ten. All three girls will race this group again next year too.

Day Two: U23 men and women. We had five racers and four finished on the podium! Lydia Tanner in her second year racing U23 finished second. In her first year racing U23, Jill Behlen earned a podium spot, taking fourth. Lydia is sending in her petition to be on the World Championship team and will know in a week or so. The men also turned in great races with Mitch Hoke finishing fourth, Matt Beaton was fifth and Brae Patton finished in the top 15.

Day Three: age-group classes and professional cross-country.
Rus Kappius started the day on a great note taking the National Championship in the 50-55 age group. Congratulations Rus!

The pro women’s race saw 32 of the nations top races take the line. Tokyo Joe’s had three contenders: Erin Huck, Chloe Forsman and Heather Szabo. Erin had her best National Championship finish, taking 9th. Heather managed to finish 24th. And unfortunately Chloe had to drop out due to back pain.

The pro men’s field had nearly 90 racers and Tokyo Joe’s had two: Jay Henry and Pete Stetina. After the first lap both were in the top 20. By the midway point, both were in the top 12. Coming into the last half lap of the race, Jay had secured 10, but even more exciting was Pete in the final podium position! This is Pete’s first year racing in the senior race, being only 23 years old.

We had 15 racers compete this weekend; 12 finished in the top ten, with eight finishing in podium positions. What a weekend!

Congratulations to our newest National Champion Rus and Pete, Jay, Erin and all the Tokyo Joe’s team members who competed at the National Championships.

Thanks to all of you for the fantastic support of our team. We are really proud of what everyone has accomplished and couldn’t do it without you.

Heather & Pete

I was super pumped to start this race and see where I could place with names like JHK, Jeremiah Bishop, Sam Shultz and Dave Weins at the start line. I think I was a bit too eager as seemed to race like it was a normal XC. I ended up in fast a group of Colin Cares, Sam Shultz and myself. I totally blew my legs trying to hang with these guys on the first lap. I think I came around the first lap in 6th or 7th place with Weins and Bishop.

The second lap was damage control I think I dropped around 10 places but due to difficult course I finished 12th. Not the top ten I was hoping for but I gave it my all.

I was proud to see teammate and road superstar Pete Stetina up there with JHK and Sam for most of the race until a rock snapped his frame. Teammate Gretchen Reeves came in at a very impressive 4th place so congrats to her!

Next year the Firecracker won’t be Marathon Nationals, but it will still be an epic race with all the festivities to go along.

Tokyo Joe’s leading the charge up the start climb:

http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/us-marathon-national-championships-firecracker-50-cn/photos/128986