It’s just a couple days away from the start of the Leadville Trail 100 running race. Running 100 miles at altitude in the mountains is epic in its own right. The race doesn’t need to be made tougher with lousy weather.
It appears Mother Nature wasn’t made aware of that.
This weekend’s weather looks wet and cold. I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw snow. I’m glad I packed some winter running gear. It’s going to be interesting!
A group of us from Michigan have been racing the Leadville Trail 100 mountain bike race since 1996. It’s a tough race to finish but an easy race to become addicted to, And as my friend Stani noted that everything about this race is epic: the course, the promoters, the volunteers, the altitude, etc.
Normally this race flies under the radar for everyone except the endurance racing junkies Last year was an exception as Tour de France racer Floyd Landis showed up. Landis eventually came in second to Leadville-favorite Dave Wiens.
This year Lance Armstrong did the race, putting Leadville in the national news. And similar to last year, Armstrong came up short, finishing second to Wiens. As the race announcer said, Armstrong did win his age group.
I only got one lousy photo of the leading duo. Some of the best coverage is at Super Human Mag and the Denver Post.
The majority of folks I spoke with seemed satisfied with that result. Wiens is a super nice guy and now a six-time winner at Leadville. He could have been the seven-time winner, but the race promoters didn’t let him in that first year. The race was full and they didn’t have any pro slots for late entries. Wiens said he appreciated not being treated differently than the rest of the racers,
Stay tuned for more Leadville blogging on the Michigan racer results and photos.
I’ve had some WTB custom bent titanium handlebars for over ten years now. They’ve been on more bikes than I can recall. They’ve finished multiple Leadville 100s, XTERRAs, and other races. They’ve served me well.
But yesterday they finally gave in and snapped.
And I can’t fault them I wasn’t just riding along.
I was riding up a small flight of stairs at Harmonie Park in Downtown Detroit. And I was still buzzing on energy from recently eating a delicious Katie crepe (apples, caramel, and salted butter!) from the nearby Good Girls go to Paris crepe stand.
I wheelied up the first couple stairs before hitting the top one. The bar quietly broke in half. Oddly enough I didn’t crash.
I temporarily fixed the handlebars using sticks, wood, and rebar that I found along the way. That allowed me to ride a bit longer before heading home.
And on a related note, my Dad’s handlebar stem snapped today. He ended up with what appears to be a separated shoulder. He’s in his usualy high spirits, though this is definitely going to affect his bike mileage goals for the year.
It’s not something you see everyday on the streets of Royal Oak. This four-person, four-wheeled home-made contraption is called the “Dogsled.”
Eventually it’s going to make it’s way out west for Burning Man, but for now it’s being test driven around the local streets.
The Dogsled plans and photos of his construction are on-line and definitely worth checking out.
Rifle River is a great state recreation. It’s relatively large and very scenic with camping and some great trails for running. If you don’t mind the occasional sand, the trails are fun for mountain biking as well.
And it’s only a 2.5 hour drive from the Metro Detroit area.
Unfortunately the flies were bad yesterday in many spots. It really made me pickup my running pace to try and “drop” the flies.
Any one who hikes, runs or bikes trails is familiar with the sounds of scurrying critters. Normally in Michigan this has been deer, chipmunks, squirrels, or the occasional skunk. I have been fortunate to see a couple porcupines at times. Last week I came across a small possum at night that stared me down and refused to yield the trail.
But yesterday at Rifle River I came across a badger about 5 feet off the trail. His fur was more brownish than the Wikipedia photo on the right, but his face markings were unmistakable.
Oddly enough, he wasn’t fierce or apparently too worried about me as he slowly waddled away. It made me wonder what the University of Wisconsin was thinking when choosing mascots.
I should mention that a half marathon will be run on these trails September 13th. It’s the Ken Willard Memorial River Trail Half Marathon. The registration form notes the challenging hill and I will back them up on that. You can register for the event on-line.
