On our way to Leadville we had Steve and Ben's bikes loaded on the rear bike rack and when we stopped for lunch we discovered that Steve's bike was hanging precariously off the back, only attached to the rack with 2 bungee cords:
Gotta love the bungee cords. Otherwise Steve would have either not ridden or would have had a new bike just for the race. He was actually hoping that the bike would fall off so he would have an excuse to get that new carbon-fiber, full suspension 29'er. Alas, we discovered the problem and securely fashioned it back to the rack, and it survived the rest of the trip (and the race).
On our way we drove over Independence Pass east of Aspen; it tops out at over 12,000 feet.
Here we are at the top of the pass:
We stayed at a former brothel in Twin Lakes, a beautiful little hamlet on the other side of Independence Pass from Aspen. Such gorgeous surroundings. Check it out:
Registering for the race:
We had to get there early to get our bikes in line for the start:
Some pics before the start:
We had some Lance sightings as well:
While waiting for us to get to the feed zone Paige took some stunning pictures of rainbows:
Some pictures during the race:
Ben wins the award for best facial expressions:
Some pictures of the finish:
If you finish the race under 12 hours, you get a hoodie with your name and finishing time on it and also a silver belt buckle. We all met our overall goal of finishing under 12 and here we are with our just rewards:
Paige was a rock star one-woman support crew, supporting all 3 of us and taking all these great pictures. It was one long-a## day for her and we appreciated it so much. She was especially great at the finish when we were all dazed and hypoxic and worthless.
It was such an ridiculously difficult race and everyone we talked to said it was the hardest thing any of us had ever done. And many thanks again to my wonderful wife for all her hard work and patience not only for supporting us during the race but also for all the time i spent away training for it. You rock!!
5 comments:
I am so proud of our men!! Paige thank you SOOO much for being their to support Ben. I so appreciate you...really I can not thank you enough. I am very impressed with how far Ben, Chris and Steve (and all of the other riders) can push themselves to achieve a goal. Wow! I think you all deserve much more than a hoodie and buckle! Good job and great pictures, again Thanks Paige! Oh, and a comment on Ben's faces: he passed those facial expressions on to his baby girl - no joke.
Awesome!!! Your photos truly capture the pain, blood, sweat, tears, and mud of the Leadville 100. Did you get Lance's autograph??? You are so close in that photo. I love to see how clean the bikes (and riders) were before the race and how hammered and muddy they are at the end....it helps others to understand how long those 100 miles really are through the mountains. Thanks for including me on your team! Mike
DUDES!
That was a ridiculous ride! Paige you were great, thanks for capturing my intestinal feelings with my outward expressions. Although, Chris looks like somebody wrecked his face in one of them.
What a memorable weekend, lets do it again!
Ben
As I've said in many a comment before: "I am SO impressed." Way to go. I feel really lazy, so I think I'll go eat some chocolate! ; )
congrats!! what an accomplishment. you guys are amazing.
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