This weekend was round two of the Snake Creek Gap Time Trial Series, a three race series over 34 of the rockiest miles of singletrack in north Georgia.  NWGA SORBA puts on the event every year and they do a fantastic job in spite of the fact that the race is a huge logistical challenge.  This year is my first time doing the full 34 miles – the last two years I did the shorter 17-mile version.  The 34-mile race covers two sections of the Pinhoti trail, from the fast and flowy trail rolling out of the Armuchee trailhead across Snake Creek Gap to the technical sections and on to the finish line at the convention center.  It’s an awesome ride.  Hard, but worth it.

The Hammer and the Nail

Sometimes you’re the hammer, sometimes you’re the nail.  At the first Snake this year, in early January, I was the nail.  Actually, I think I was the board the nail was being driven into.  I hardly rode at all in December, and I could tell at the January race.  I rode like crap.  Cramped up like crazy, lost a lot of time to flat tire, and then blew up my chain and it shot off down the mountain somewhere.  I had to hike about two miles, and then coasted the last two miles downhill off the mountain to the finish.  My finish time was 6:09.  It was a long day.  I wanted redemption at round two.

NWGA SORBA does a great job moving nearly 400 racers and their bikes to two different starting points.  Photo: Featherbrush Photography

Reader’s Choice

A few days before the race I posted a poll on the Singletrack forums and let folks vote on which bike I should race: my owner hardtail 29er or the Slingshot Ripper 29er I have on review.  The Slingshot won by a lot.  I was a little skeptical… but I took the Slingshot to Dalton but not before making a few changes to the bike.  I swapped on some lighter Fulcrum wheels with tubeless tires, my own WTB saddle, and my much loved Ergon grips – the bike was starting to feel like my own.  It was also a good bit lighter.

Some racers have more style than the rest of us.  Photo:  Featherbrush Photography

Fire The Weatherman

The forecast for the day wasn’t good: rain the night before the race and 70% chance of rain all day during the race.  Well… WRONG.  It did rain over night, but not at all on race day, which was good.  The first half of the course was wet, and the doubletrack sections were really muddy.  I was glad I wasn’t riding my own bike in those conditions.  I rode well, didn’t worry about anyone else, and just rode my own pace, being a little conservative.  The plan was simple: spin the climbs, stay safe on the descents, drink often, and down a gel every 45 minutes.

I was actually a few minutes slower on the first half of the course than I was in January, even though I felt a hundred times better.  At the halfway point I stopped for a few minutes to adjust the brake lever positions, moving them in toward the stem and adjusting the reach closer to the bars so I could just use one finger to brake instead of two.

Conditions on the first half were a bit muddy.  Photo: Joe Cattoni

One guy crashed out hard on the mega-fast decent leading to the halfway point. When I rolled past him he was on his back with blood all over his face, and he was surrounded by volunteers, one of whom was on the phone with 911. As I worked my way up the big climb after the halfway mark I heard the ambulances coming in to get him… not a good mood setter for the 2nd half of the race. Good news is he commented on the Snake’s Facebook page Sunday to say that he’s okay, mostly. He had a concussion, a few broken ribs, and various cuts and scrapes. He did go home that night – at least he didn’t have to stay overnight at the hospital.

The Last 17 Miles

For the first time ever, I think, I rode the entire climb out of the halfway point.  When I was racing the 17-mile we started with that climb, and starting it cold was tough, especially since I was on a singlespeed, so my heart rate usually went past redline and I did a little walking here and there to recover.  Last month I felt like I was dying already at this point, but this month I felt good.  Rode it all with no problem.  Once up the climb you’re rewarded with some really fun ridge-line singletrack.  A little rock, swoopy, big views, good fun mountain biking.  Oh, and the rain we were promised?  Nowhere in sight.  Blue skies.  Sun.  Warmth.  And the trail here was bone dry.

A racer rips through the north Georgia mountains.  Photo:  Joe Cattoni

I reached the final SAG stop about half an hour ahead of my January race time – things were looking good, and they stayed that way.  I had two minor mishaps in the big rock garden near the end, but nothing major.  The first was a pedal strike on a rock.  I slammed my left pedal, while seated, and the bike slammed up and into my, um, undercarriage if you will.  It hurt.  Bad.  I thought I had ruptured my sphincter for a few seconds, but the pain went away pretty quickly and I was back on the bike and moving again.  The second happened just a short while later when I fell after riding up and over a big rock instead of around it.  Cleaned the rock no problem, then once on the other side I suddenly slammed into the ground for no apparent reason whatsoever.  Tweaked my bars a little, but I was so close to the end I decided not to straighten them and just kept going.  Crossed the line at 5:18 – a whole 51 minutes faster than my January time.

About The Bike

So how did the Slingshot fare?  Pretty well, thank you very much.  The wheel swap and resultant weight loss really made the bike come alive.  It climbs surprisingly well.  Is it the Sling Power that makes it climb so well?  I’m not ready to say one way or the other on that just yet.  I can’t feel it working, but the bike does seem to hold momentum going uphill unlike any other bike I’ve ridden.  I’ve got a test in mind that should show if it really works or not, but you’ll have to wait for the final review for that.   The rigid fork was a bear on the rougher descents, but I knew that going in – I’ve ridden the Snake rigid several times before.

The Slingshot fordes a creek!  Photo: Featherbrush Photography

The Slingshot is an odd bike; it looks a lot different than everything else on the trail.  But, part of our SWAG this month was the latest issue of Dirt Rag, which actually has three Slingshots in it!  Most racers check in the night before the race, so a lot of us spent the evening flipping through the magazine.  I lost count of how many people out on the trail said something along the lines of “Whoa!  It’s a Slingshot!  I was just reading about those last night!”  The bike is a great conversation starter, that’s for sure.

One More Time

I get one more shot at the Snake this year on March 3rd.  My goal is to finish in under 5 hours, which is certainly doable, if the weather cooperates, and I can avoid mechanicals, and keep from cramping up.  This month I just rode my own comfortable pace, never really pushing it.  Next month I’m going to try and turn up the wick a little and not stop at any of the SAG stations.  I might even have another test bike to race on…

I was pretty tired by the end of the ride.  Photo: Featherbrush Photography

Cyclo-cross is the fastest growing segment of competitive cycling in the country right now.  Chances are, if you don’t race cross (as it’s also called, or, CX for short) you know a few people who do.  So what’s it all about?  Why are so many people racing skinny-tired, road bike-esque bikes off road?  I recently set out to answer these questions myself, and when there was a local CX race, I showed up, pinned on a number, and tried it out.

It might just look like a bunch of roadies riding around someone’s front lawn, but cross is actually a ton of fun.

What is Cyclocross?

Cross is a multi-lap race around a short course that utilizes a variety of surfaces (pavement, gravel, grass, sand, dirt, etc) and usually contains some obstacles such as barriers and run ups (super steep climbs that are usually faster to run rather than ride).  They’re usually set up at a park, and rarely feature real singletrack.

A proper cross bike is sort of a mix between a mountain and road bike.  They look like road bikes, with skinny tires and drop bars but the geometry is a little different, the gearing is a little lower, there’s clearance for mud, and the tires are wider than true road tires and they have some tread on them.  The UCI (the governing body of professional cycling) has some restrictions on what sort of bikes and components can be used at the pro level, but you’re not racing in a pro class, so don’t worry about it – your mountain bike is fine, even if it’s full suspension.  Bar ends are not allowed however.

Augusta CX: The Course

The Augusta CX is part of the GA Cross Series and was held at the Lake Olmstead park in Augusta and hosted by the Augusta Cross Coalition.  Part of the course was on a baseball field (using both the infield and outfield), there was a little pavement across a parking lot and on a paved bike path, and part of the course was off road through a grassy area.  There were two barriers, and lots of tight switchbacks to test your cornering confidence.  There was one beast of a climb, not long, but really steep with some rocks and no momentum going into it.  A lot of people walked it, and some fell over trying to ride it.

There was a lot of grip on the infield, as long as you stayed out of the rutted loose spots.

The Bike

I raced my geared mountain bike, which has a lot of parts on it I’m either testing or have already reviewed.  I made very few changes.  I did have to get rid of my wonderful Ergon grips because they have bar ends built in so I put some cheap foam grips on for the race.  I put an extra few pounds of air in my tires (the Specialized Ground Control and Fast Trak) to speed up the paved sections and firmed up the Terralogic function on my fork by a few turns.  The course was pretty smooth, so I was perfectly happy to sacrifice some smoothness for efficiency.  I’m still getting used to the lighter weight Fulcrum wheels I recently installed, and that light weight was greatly appreciated at the ‘cross race where there are lots of tight switchbacks to accelerate out of.

The Race

At the start I lined up near the back of the group, figuring I’d wait a little while to see how things went before trying to move up.  There were 27 of us in my class, and one of my co-racers was my friend Drew, also doing his first CX race.  My goals were simple:  don’t get hurt, and don’t let Drew beat me by too much.

Off the pavement and back into the grass.  Photo: brianW

A countdown followed by a whistle got us started.  All of us took off as hard as we could on the narrow course, elbow to elbow, wheel to wheel.  Soon we got to a set of tight switchbacks; hard on the brakes, hard (but slow) right hander, one or two pedal strokes, brake, then a hard left.  Someone crashed right in front of me going into the first switchback and I got stopped just before I monster-trucked over his rear wheel.  Lucky him.

Trying to make a pass on the outside.  Photo: brianW

Once underway I started working my way forward, picking off a rider here and there.  When we hit the first paved section I put it in the big ring and hammered, and surprised myself when I passed a few people.  Shouldn’t they be faster on the pavement with their skinny little tires?  The paved section ended with another test of handling: hard diving left down the hill into an off camber right handed u-turn back up the hill, then, back into the grass, into the rougher section of the course.  My high volume mountain bike tires were an advantage on this section since I could more comfortably bomb the downs and carry more speed through the loose corners.

The Climb was really steep!  I rode it every lap, but it really sucked the life out of me.  Photo: Kim Jordan

When we reached The Climb I was behind a group of four, all of whom dismounted to run, but I rode the climb and passed them all.  Then I immediately fell over at the the top, on the first bit of level ground.  I’m not sure what happened exactly, but I think my front wheel lifted slightly while I was torquing on the bars and mashing a pedal, and when the tire lifted the bike just swung out from under me.  I bounced right up and got moving again; I think one person passed me back.

We did four laps (about 30 minutes total), and the pattern pretty much repeated itself.  I would close in on people in the tight corners, and did most of my passing on the paved sections and going up The Climb.  I rode The Climb each time, and managed to stay on my bike the rest of the race.

On the third lap I realized that I had closed in on Drew – he had gotten a better start than I did, but now there were only two people between us.  There was also someone right on my wheel that I couldn’t seem to shake, a local named Mr. Johnson.  You have to call him Mister because he is an older gentleman, about twice my age.  He’s also a monster and routinely rides the legs off us younger folk.  I met him at the Cohutta/Big Frog 65 a few years ago when he was using the race as training for the Leadville 100.  I bonked and had the worst ride of my life, Mr. Johnson beat me by several hours, taking 2nd in his class!

Mr. Johnson passed me, but I passed him back…and almost took us both out.  I have no idea why I’m trying to lift my bike over my head to get over an 18″ tall barrier. Photo: Kim Jordan

Back to the cross race… he passed me a little before the barriers, but I was able to run him down (literally) through the barriers and then I almost took us both out when I fumbled the re-mount and swerved into his path – sorry about that, dude.  Mr. Johnson was on me like white on rice for the entire 4th lap – I couldn’t get away!  He got up next to me once or twice, but didn’t go all the way around.  I managed to get past the riders between me and Drew but Mr. Johnson stayed on my wheel the whole time.

I had Drew in my sights, but Mr. Johnson was right on my heels. Photo: brianW

When we hit the base of The Climb for the last time, Mr. Johnson was right next to me, and Drew was just ahead of us.  Mr. Johnson dismounted and ran the climb, so I was able to (finally!) put some space between us for good, but I couldn’t catch Drew.  Between The Climb and the finish he pulled away.  I finished in 12th place out of 27.  I made it into the top half and I was super stoked with how the race went overall.

When Mr. Johnson opted to run The Climb I was finally able to but some distance between us.  Not sure I could have held him off if he had ridden The Climb.  Photo: brianW

Afterthoughts

The race was a blast.  It was short, and high intensity the whole time, riding wheel to wheel at high speeds through tight corners – a total rush!  You’re either pedaling as hard as possible or pushing your luck in a corner, trying to maintain as much speed as your tires will allow.  Luckily for me this particular course didn’t really favor a ‘cross bike over a mountain bike.  The ‘cross bikes were a little faster on the baseball field section, where the lower rolling resistance and quicker acceleration out of tight corners was an advantage.  But on the other half of the course my mountain bike seemed quicker.  It was rougher and there was less grip in the corners, so having bigger, knobbier tires helped.  The extra traction and lower gearing were an advantage on The Climb as well.  I thought I would be at a disadvantage on the pavement, but that didn’t seem to work out.  I think the fact that no one passed me on the pavement, yet I passed several people, speaks volumes to the rolling speed of the Specialized Ground Control and Fast Trak tires.

Cross courses are really compact, which makes them very spectator friendly since much of the action can be viewed from a single location.

The atmosphere at the race was great, everyone was having a good time, and no one was taking it too serious.  It was just good plain fun.  Cross races are really spectator friendly, so there was always someone there cheering you on, and when you’re not racing you can watch one of the other classes.  Besides being fun, it’s also a great way to work on your bike handling skills.  There was nothing technical, but being able to corner hard was a big advantage, and there were lots of opportunities to work on that skill.  Cross season is winding down, but you can probably still find a race nearby to try out if you’re interested.  And if you enjoy riding your bike, pushing yourself physically, and hanging with bike people, ‘cross is right up your alley, so give it a shot.  If you’re not so sure about racing, at least go and watch a race, it really is good fun.

A racer hangs his head in pain as he hits the pavement.

Have you ever done a ‘cross race?  Tell us about it in the comments section below.

Big thanks to Ross and the entire Augusta Cross Coalition for putting on a great race, and brianW and Kim for the photos.

photos: Don Feeley.

“The whole weekend was a mud fest.”

This is how Team Florida’s premier mountain bike racer Victor Alber sums up the 2011 Collegiate Mountain Bike Championships, which were held in Angel Fire, NM from Oct. 28-30. The town, a popular ski resort destination that boasts elevations of nearly 11,000 ft., was a far stretch from the terrains he normally covers in Florida. The elevation and ice-covered soil posed some challenges but didn’t prevent him from posting some very impressive results.

Alber compared the elevation to the restrictor plates used to limit engine power in NASCAR. “I could push my legs, but it was only so long until (my) heart rate (went) through the roof.”

Alber examined the task at hand and barreled forward, earning a seventh-place finish in the cross-country race and ninth place in the short-track event to put the finishing touches on an incredibly impressive 2011 season.

For somebody who reaches the podium in nearly every event he enters, it might seem a little odd to learn that Alber admits to spending nearly all of his time training through road cycling.

“You can control your efforts a lot better, and you don’t beat up the bicycle.”

Despite the tendency to train on the road, Alber will quickly admit that his true passion is mountain bike racing. He began riding seriously at 14, and he found himself competing within a year.

When asked why he prefers mountain biking over road cycling, he said, “It’s more of an individual sport. You control your own race, and it’s not just about how strong you are. It actually takes technical ability.”

With multi-day races heavily scattered through the year, it’s pretty remarkable that Alber is able to churn out such dominant performances while balancing training, racing and school.

“It’s all about time management. School comes first, so I try to get my work out of the way so I have time to ride,” he said. “I also find that riding helps my ability to get schoolwork done, if that makes sense. Sometimes getting out there and riding can help me clear my mind so that I can get back and focus on my work.”

Alber also emphasized the point that mountain biking doesn’t always have to be such a serious, stressful event.  He said his favorite race of the year was the first race of the season, the ETSU SECCC Dirty South Weekend in Johnson City, TN. With a huge turnout from schools throughout the southeast, the Dirty South Weekend was a great way to start things off.

“It’s a fun time traveling with a bunch of friends, meeting new people and starting out the season. And it wasn’t as stressful [as the National Championships].”

Of course, nobody starts out on top—you have to work your way up there. In Alber’s opinion, you’re never too old or young to start.

“My dad started at 40, and that really helped me to start riding. Here in Gainesville we have an awesome cycling community with GCC (Gainesville Cycling Club), Team Florida and all the bike shops. So there’s a wide range of skill and ability, and there’s a lot of group rides so anyone can go find a group.”

Victor finished 4th in the individual D1 omnium at Nationals and also won the SERC/US Cup East Pro championship this year. Singletracks.com is an official 2012 Team Florida sponsor and we’ll be posting some of their MTB race reports throughout the year.

The second annual London Bike is happening January 12-15, 2012 at ExCeL with something for everyone from newbs to pros. There will be tons of new gear on display plus great deals on all kinds of cycling equipment. Tickets to the show also get you into The Outdoor Show, The Tullett Prebon London Boat Show, and the newly launched Active Travel Show. There’s even an indoor bike polo tournament and trials performances during the Animal Relentless Bike Tour.

To celebrate this year’s launch, the London Bike Show has given us 10 pairs of weekday tickets and we’re giving them to the first 10 mountain bikers who add a review or a new trail to singletracks.com. Once you’ve added your review or trail, just give a shout in the comments with a link to your work and we’ll add you to the list!

For more information about the London Bike Show, go to http://www.thelondonbikeshow.co.uk/ or follow the show on Facebook.

I’ve been a serious mountain biker for a little more than 6 years now. I enjoy exploring new trails, traveling the country, and pushing myself and my bike to the limit. I always try to improve my times and my technical handling skills… but somehow this continual progression has not led me to the competitive realm of mountain bike racing.

Until now.

The Baker’s Dozen 13-hour endurance race this past weekend was the first time I had ever raced my mountain bike competitively. As a serious rider just getting into the racing scene, I thought I’d write up a few random thoughts I had during my first competition (in no specific order):

1. Passing isn’t that difficult. I was surprised to find that passing and being passed on the singletrack wasn’t nearly as difficult as I thought it’d be. In fact, with an endurance race format such as this, there was very little passing taking place in general.
2. You can be competitive without being a jerk. We had some stiff competition with the other teams, but it was easy to be competitive and still joke and laugh at the same time.
3. The right equipment can make your life easier and make you a faster racer, but it is not essential. Riding with the right gear and a lightweight bike was a definite bonus, and I could easily feel the advantages of having certain pieces of high-quality equipment. However, there were many people out on the course with whatever gear they could find… and I think everyone had a great time anyway! The guy who took second place in the solo class rode with flat pedals, shin guards, and a downhill jersey and downhill shorts.
4. Quitting shouldn’t be an option. There were quite a few teams that quit well before the end of the race. What’s the point in coming out if you aren’t going to put your all into it? A direct corollary of this truth: “Just because you’ve raced before doesn’t mean you’re hardcore.”
5. Only ride one lap at a time. As trek7k mentioned in his race report, riding one lap at a time is definitely the way to go in a team race. Even some of the two-man teams were switching off every lap.
6. It’s more fun on a team (misery loves company). Having teammates to cheer you on really bolsters your resolve. Also, hanging out at the pit all day and talking about mountain biking with whichever teammate wasn’t on the bike was just a ton of fun. It’s nice to take a break from the computer, from work and real-life, and just think about riding bikes all day.
7. Small roots can take their toll after 4 hours of riding. During our pre-ride I noticed that the course was pretty bumpy, and I correctly predicted that riding lap after lap on a hardtail would take its toll. Long story short: it did.
8. Small amounts of time add up quickly. We were only an average of one or two minutes per lap behind the first place team in our category, but it quickly added up to a 44 minute deficit by the end of the race.
9. Racing is fun. What’s more fun than getting to hang out with like-minded folks and spending all day riding mountain bikes and eating great food?
10. Endurance racers do it better. After experiencing an endurance race, a regular 10-20 mile cross-country race seems like it would just be anticlimactic. Training for weeks or months beforehand, only to spend an hour or two on the bike? Eh, I’ll pass. Getting to hang out and ride all day from dawn until well after dusk was a lengthy, all-encompassing experience.

What thoughts do you have about mountain bike racing?

This weekend Singletracks took third place in the a 3-person team division at the Baker’s Dozen 13-hour race at Lick Fork Recreation area near Edgefield, SC. The weather was picture-perfect and Greg, Dustin, and I had a great time taking laps around the 6-mile Horn Creek trail loop. Our strategy was to take 2 laps each (about 16 miles total) to minimize transition times and maximize rest (read: eating and drinking).

The race start at 9am was a bit chilly and I volunteered to take the first two legs. Everyone lined up for a standing start and when the siren went off I found myself near the front of the pack racing down the gravel road. I didn’t have a chance to pre-ride the course like Greg and Dustin so I was really surprised when I hit the first section of singletrack: roots, roots, and more roots. Ok, so it wasn’t that bad but that first, slightly downhill section seemed to suck the momentum right out of me.

Since this was the first lap it seemed like everyone was going for broke and admittedly I was feeling antsy as well. After about a mile I could hear another rider getting close to me and soon after he asked if he could pass. I replied “go for it” and moved over to give him some room to get by. I didn’t slow down at all and clearly he didn’t have enough gas to blast by me very quickly. We came to a narrow, broken bridge where I re-took the centerline and the other guy fell back. After the bridge I slid to the right side of the trail once more and yelled out “Go! Go! Go!,” frustrated that I was riding in the rough and that he hadn’t passed me already. He eventually made it past but I ended up passing him back once we got to the first extended climb on the singletrack.

At about the 2 mile mark the Horn Creek trail starts a nearly 1-mile, gradual climb. The ascent tops out in a clear-cut area and begins descending with a series of sharp turns that seem to come out of nowhere. Again, a pre-ride would have been very helpful to me! At times I was able to get into a flow on the descent and started having a little fun but I still hadn’t found a rhythm. After the descent the trail bottoms out for what seems like miles and the roots start to multiply. At about the 5.5 mile mark there’s a switchback climb that skirts the back side of the start/finish and pit area. By the top of the climb my lungs were about to explode and I was relieved when I finally hit the gravel road leading back to the finish line. Still, I had one more lap to go.

It wasn’t until the middle of my second lap that I felt like I really got into a rhythm on the bike. Still, I was exhausted and my second lap was slower than my first. In fact all three of us followed the same pattern: fast first lap, slower second lap. Thanks to the frequently updated race results provided by Dirty Spokes, we recognized that our 2-lap-at-a-time strategy wasn’t ideal. The teams in front of us appeared to be doing a one-and-done rotation so after lap 12 we made the switch to single lap pulls. At least mentally it made all the difference in the world to me and I turned in my second fastest lap of the day on lap 13.

Everything went well during the daylight – no crashes or mechanical issues. It seemed like we stayed in third place for most of the day, though the fourth place team briefly passed us at one point and were within minutes of us most of the time. It started getting dark during Greg’s lap 14 and as Dustin and I waited in the transition zone we saw a rider in the distance that seemed to be running with his bike down the gravel road. Sucks for that team, we thought (we heard there was a rider with a broken derailleur coming around and figured that was him). But it turned out to be Greg! Somehow his chain went off the big ring and got jammed between the crank arm and chain ring and he had run and coasted almost the entire way down the road (at least half a mile). Even with the minor mechanical issue it was one of Greg’s fastest laps!

By the end of the race we had our transitions down to a science thanks to Dustin. The timing anklet had to be handed off between riders so the guy who wasn’t riding would stoop down to take the anklet off the guy who was finishing, then attach it to the guy who was going out. Even after 16 laps we were still hustling through the transition area, not slowing down all!

After my night lap there was just over three hours left on the race clock. The deal was you had to be back before the 13-hour mark or your lap wouldn’t count (unlike some races where you just have to start your last lap before the clock winds down). I had done six laps and Greg and Dustin had ridden five each so if Greg did his lap in 45 minutes or so we would have just enough time for Dustin to take his last lap. At that point it wouldn’t make a difference in the standings if we took an 18th lap (though admittedly Greg and I weren’t so sure about that) so when Greg came in at 45:11 Dustin and I were stoked! Dustin had already changed out of his racing clothes since he was doing double duty as a race volunteer but Greg and I yelled “You gotta go for it!” Somewhat reluctantly Dustin stripped down to his shorts and jersey (it was getting chilly at this point) and finished his final lap just minutes before the 13-hour mark. Epic!

From left to right: GoldenGoose, mtbgreg1, and trek7k. Not pictured: dgaddis who was riding a lap.

Everyone had a great time at the race and we all enjoyed hanging out between laps. GoldenGoose stopped by for a bit and we also got a chance to talk with flamingotter before the race (he was riding solo – crazy!). Garvin from Ibex was out there as well taking pics and looking after the demo bike Greg was racing.

This video has not been doctored in any way but WAS edited to make me look good.

As for our friendly competition, I ended up with the fastest average lap time but that’s probably because I took those first two adrenaline-fueled laps. Dustin rode two night laps which were slower for everyone and Greg had his mechanical mishap on lap 14 so all things being equal, we were well matched as a team. It was an exhausting 13 hours – we each rode almost 50 miles – but we’re all stoked to do it again next year!

For the first time ever, three of the World Famous Singletracks.com Bloggers will be teaming up for a mountain bike race!  This coming Saturday, October 22, mtbgreg1, trek7k, and myself will be entering the Baker’s Dozen mountain bike race at the Lick Fork Recreation Area near Edgefield, SC.

This area will be jam packed with racers and pit set ups on race day.

The Event

The Baker’s Dozen is a 13 hour race with the emphasis on fun instead of competition.  It’s a race targeted at the average mountain biker, not the guy who has a coach and power meter and gets excited at the idea of doing hill repeats.  It’s laid back, relaxed, and a good excuse to spend an entire day outside surrounded by bikes, old friends, new friends, food, and fun times.  The entry fee is nice and low – only $55 for IMBA/SORBA members and $65 for non-members.  All proceeds are used for mountain bike advocacy and trail repair and construction in the Augusta, GA area.  Dirty Spokes Racing will be handing timing duties, and SORBA-CSRA has a bunch of stuff to give away plus there will be a drawing every hour to give away some prizes.  At the end of the day custom engraved pint glasses will be awarded to the top 3 riders/teams in each class.

Mile markers make it easy to meter your effort and keep an eye on your pace.

The Course

The Horn Creek trail is a bit of a hidden gem.  We have a lot of great trails here, most of which are closer and offer a lot more miles, so Horn Creek doesn’t get a ton of traffic which is a shame because it is a lot of fun!  Some sections are out in the open through areas that have been logged in recent years.  Other sections flow through thick forest on picture-perfect bench-cut singletrack.  There’s a lot of roots, some bridges, a few rocks here and there, and some hills.  The race course starts with a mile of paved and gravel roads through the campground which gets you to the six mile singletrack loop, and another mile of roads brings you back to the finish.  The singletrack goes right past the start/finish area, giving teams a heads up that their rider will be finishing a lap in a few more minutes.

The  Horn Creek trail is a pretty fast trail, even though some sections are a little rough.

Formal Invitation…and some smack talk

Come hang!  Race solo to see what you’re made of or get a team together and spend the day hanging with your buddies.  If you get a 3-person team together you can even go head to head with Team Singletacks!  You won’t beat us, but you can try.    Pre-registration is still available, but closes at midnight on Wednesday October 19th. Day-of registration is also available, if the race doesn’t sell out, and prices go up $10.  Camping is available for only $7 on a first-come-first-served basis.  But, if all the tent pads get filled up you can still set your tent anywhere inside the park.  Mtbgreg1 and I will be camping Friday night, so drop by and say hello if you do camp.

The open sections of the trail have great sight lines and really let you rip.

Internal Competition

Team Singletracks is going racing just to have fun…but we’re also racing against ourselves.  We’re going to see who can have the fastest average lap time over the course of the day and here’s your chance to get in on it.  In the comments section tell us who you think is going to throw down the fastest average lap times.  If you get it right, we’ll send you some sweet Singletracks stickers.

Hope to meet some of y’all at the race!  Be sure and stop by our pit and say hello – just look for the tent with the Singletracks banner.

Get all the important details on the race HERE.

For most of the country the first week of October is usually knee deep into fall and everyone’s MTB season is slowly switching gears. If you’re in Anchorage, fall has all but landed on the ground and old man winter is charging down that newly cut singletrack like an angry Grizzly. “Outerbike in Moab? Sign me up! By the way, what’s an outer bike?”

Now in its second year, Outerbike is an annual event that brings dozens of bike manufacturers to Moab to let regular riders demo the latest bikes. For one price anyone can get admission to the 3-day event and the opportunity to ride any bike they choose on a network of trails ranging from novice to highly advanced and everything in between. Of course you also get the chance to talk with bike and component manufacturers and get your hands on a bunch of cool new stuff.  For those who got in town early, there was the option to choose from several scheduled shuttle rides with Western Spirit Cycle Adventures on trails around the Moab area for the 3 days leading up to the event. Free skills clinics were also held during the week in a park located at the brand new Aquatic/Rec Center in Moab – all you had to do was sign up & show up.

I can’t think of a better location for this event. The Moab Brand trails area has adequate space and parking for the event plus it’s right at the edge of a full range of trails. The paved bikeway from town through the Moab Canyon runs right past the front gate creating not only hotel commuting options but also a place to test ride the road and urban bikes that were available for demo. The event itself was very well organized and is a benefit for IMBA among other MTB-related organizations. The event staff were ever present, friendly, very helpful and seemed to pull this off without a visible hitch. I estimate there were 20 different bike companies there with a huge selection of bikes to choose from. Getting the exact bike you wanted to ride could require a bit of a wait, however the chance to try something you had never seen before was always there. Along with major bike companies there were booths from several component companies like Fox and Shimano.

Continental Tires kicked off the event Thursday night with a showing of Klunkerz at the Star Hall in Moab. This is a must see movie for anyone even slightly interested in how we got where we are today – good stuff. Each day there was a different free shuttle destination from the event; on Friday it was the Mag Seven trails. On Saturday there was a shuttle to Amasa Back and on Sunday the shuttle dropped riders at Slickrock Trail. Check out a bike you want, and get on the shuttle – as many times as you want. Yeti Bikes had the largest selection of demos and was probably the busiest booth there. Want to ride an $8,000 Ibis? Or an Orbea? No problem, getting there early will help. Turner, Elsworth, Kona, Niner, Pivot, Giant, Intense and many others were there too. Spot had a selection of their belt drive hardtails that were very popular.

My friends from Alaska even showed up with the Fatback bikes just to kind of introduce them to the folks here. They brought four bikes since the bikes aren’t really ideal for this type of terrain however they couldn’t seem to keep them on the rack – everyone wanted to try them. Pete even threw in his personal bike as a demo so they could have one more in the rotation – go figure.

Lunch was served for several hours each day so no one missed it and consisted of fresh, locally baked breads and a full selection of cold cuts plus pasta salads, drinks, etc. After a few hours of hard riding the DIY Dagwood sandwich is pretty awesome! The steady stream of riders and bikes coming and going was almost dizzying and kept that constant buzz of excitement heavy in the air. Saturday was actually overcast and unseasonably cold for Moab but that didn’t seem to slow anyone down – the down coats and ski hats came out and everyone kept right on riding.

I noticed at around 4:30 everyday the crowd thinned out dramatically – then I realized this is when the Beer Garden opened for those who wanted to partake. For myself it gave me a chance to talk with the manufacturers and others about their products in a more relaxed manner. I met Maurice Tierney, the original mastermind behind Dirt Rag Magazine. We talked for a bit, swapped stories and that led to an invite to a semi-private party at Poison Spider Bikes including some awesome tacos and several locally brewed beers. It was great having dinner and conversations with some of the industry’s movers and shakers and finding that no matter where you are from and what you do, we all just love to ride.

Not having been there last year I didn’t have anything to compare this event to but this year there were over 850 registered riders. According to the locals Outerbike was at least 3 times bigger this year than last. Nice. With any luck next year will be even bigger, and I really hope they don’t change a thing.

*Disclaimer: I’m not really in the market for a new bike so I wasn’t shopping very hard. Nor am I very qualified in giving the high tech reviews on bikes as some of you are. I did, however, love getting to see the newest frames outfitted with components I have only read about. Outerbike is about the bike, but really, there’s so much more to it. I finally used a 2×10 drivetrain and can see some of the advantages. I also used a 3×10, several new forks, shifters etc. that were all incredible. After my first ride on a bike with new brakes I was compelled to drop my personal bike at Chili Pepper Bikes for a bleed and tune up.

I was disappointed in one bike that I was really anxious to ride but then completely surprised by one that I rode ‘just because.’ That’s the whole purpose here I guess. Of all the bikes I rode the Santa Cruz Blur TRc stands out as light and just a whole lot of fun to ride. I have to say that the Pivot Mach 5.7 is the most amazing trail bike I have ever ridden – this will be the one the industry chases, within this category anyway. It ate up everything I could possibly throw it at and seemed to taunt me asking for more – ‘is that all you got old man?’ I’m very impressed.

Bottom line is this was one cool event and a real bonus if you’re in the market for a 2012 bike. I can only see the popularity of this growing over the years – I know I will be here just to soak up the excitement if nothing else!

The “granite side” at the GA International Horse Park.

Hot on the heels of the success of events like Outerbike, the Southeast is getting its own consumer-friendly cycling event: the Southeast Bike Expo. The SEBE is scheduled for February 25-26, 2012 at the Georgia International Horse Park, home of the 1996 US Olympic MTB course and 24 Hour of Georgia.

Details are still being hashed out but we’ve heard the event is going to largely cater to mountain bikers (yes!) and will include demo bikes from top companies like Trek, Specialized, Niner, and Felt. There will even be a special night ride where you can test the latest lights on the trail. Admission is $20 and a portion of the proceeds will go to IMBA.

We’re stoked to have this event right in our backyard and can’t wait to get more deets!

Photo courtesy Granny Gear Productions, Inc.

Last fall I rode 24 Hours of Moab as my first mountain bike race ever. Seeing a tent city pop up in the middle of the desert, riding a fairly technical course at speeds I didn’t think I had in me, and doing it again in the dark while hanging around the start/finish area with my teammates eating food and watching the other racers was collectively the highlight of my mountain biking experience last year.

As a former participant, I am now on their mailing list and I just received a rather disturbing email from Lance Knight, the race director.

After 16 Years, This Year May Be The Last 24 Hours of Moab
In recent years there’s been a trend towards teams signing up later and later. Distressing as this has been, taxing our ability to anticipate and plan for the size of the event, we’ve been gratified to see late registrations consistently pour in, and “save the day.”

This year, going into the last two weeks before the race, our pre-registrations were only slightly down from previous years. That was a little un-nerving but not alarming, given the trend we’ve observed. In previous years we’ve seen 40-60 teams sign up two weeks before the event and fully 75-85 teams sign-up in the final week leading up to the race.

This last week we have seen only 10 additional teams sign up. Now that’s alarming. It does not bode well. While in recent years we have seen fields of well over 350 teams, at the rate things are going, even 300 teams would appear to be an optimistic expectation.

There is no doubt that the economy plays a huge part in how we spend our recreational dollars. For my part, I am purchasing a new bike and taking the family on a much needed vacation. With gas still over $3 a gallon, plus registration and camping fees, 24 Hours of Moab is just not feasible for me this year. “I’ll go next year,” I told myself, and apparently I am not alone. But unless something changes, next year may not happen.

24 Hours of Moab is a tradition among mountain bike endurance races and to see its demise would be tragic. With the race occurring this weekend, it is very short notice for teams to pull together an entry, but there are some things you can do if you’d like to help:

What can you do about it?
a) If at all possible, sign up and field a team in this year’s race.
b) If you can’t race this year, put a shoulder into making 2012 happen
c) If you’d like to make a contribution on behalf of your team, register a “phantom” team.
The Men’s or Women’s Solo Singlespeed class is the lowest entry fee ($162 total).
An inordinately large “turn-out” for the solo singlespeed class would certainly send a clear message about the support for the continuation of the event. (Even if you don’t show up, we’ll mail you this year’s T-shirt!)

Let’s see what we can do to save this iconic mountain bike race. If you’ve ridden it in the past and loved it, if you plan to do it “someday,” or if you just hate to see traditions die, please consider helping out.

You can read the race director’s complete message here.

And you can register for the race here.

The Fool’s Gold 50 and 100 mile mountain bike race is presented by 55Nine Performance and takes place in the mountains of North Georgia.  It utilizes lots of forest service roads, some double track, and some sweet singletrack – including Turner Creek, Moss Branch, Bare Hare, Bull and Jake mountain trails, and Black Branch.  It’s got about 7,000 feet of climbing for the 50-mile route and double that for the 100 milers – they do two laps of the course.  As part of National Ultra Endurance Series it draws some of the fastest professional endurance racers in the country – but it also draws lots of regular Joes looking for a challenge, like me.

Background and Game Plan

This would be my third time tackling the 50-mile race.  In 2008 it was the first big mountain race I’d ever done and I had no idea what I was doing.  I made two big mistakes – I used a 1×9 drivetrain with no chain guide, and my nutrition plan consisted of water and two gels.  That didn’t work well at all.  Without a chain guide the chain bounced around like crazy, so at the bottom of pretty much every downhill I had to stop and put the chain back on the front chainring.  And I didn’t have nearly enough calories, and no electrolytes at all, so cramps started about halfway thru the race.  I finished with a time of 6:30.  In 2010 I DNF’d after 6.5 hours and only 30 miles due to horrible conditions.

I don’t think the hotel really understood the value of all the bicycles in their “secure” holding room.  I say “secure” because while they claimed it was secure, there was no control over who came and went into the room.  But as far as I know, none of the bikes “walked away”.

My goal for the day was to finish in less than six hours.  The plan was to spin a nice easy gear all day to save my legs and keep from cramping, and to eat every 45 minutes whether I wanted to or not.  I decided not to use a hydration pack and just used two big bottles instead, which I filled with Gatorade GPro.  I carried more drink mix in a few ziplock baggies and each bag had enough for two bottles.  I also took 4 Hammer gels and a package of Clif Bar Shot Bloks.  I had intended to take a flask of Hammer gel as well, but I accidentally left it at the car.  I carried everything in my jersey pockets so I had nothing to send ahead to a SAG stop.

Race Day

The three Augustans just a few minutes before the start.  From left to right: Ross, Ted, me. 

After a late start getting out of the hotel and a semi-hectic morning, me and two friends from Augusta, Ted and Ross, lined up together at the start.  The race was based out of the Monteluce Winery (a new start/finish location for this year) and began with a paved 3.5 mile neutral roll out behind a pace car.  I hit my top speed of the day, 40.7 mph, and lost sight of Ted in just a few minutes which didn’t surprise me at all.  Ted is strong and I knew he’d beat me by a wide margin.  Ross and I hung together for a ways but he eventually pulled away from me on the big climb of the day.  My pride wanted to turn up the pace and stay with him, but my brain knew I needed to ride my own race and not worry about anyone else.  So that’s what I did.  I hoped to catch Ross later in the day.

The 100 mile racers getting ready to start.  These folks are crazy.  The 50 mile field was almost twice this size.  Photo:  GeorgiaMTB

We climbed for a long ways at the beginning; at least, that’s how it felt to this relative flatlander.  Pretty much from the time we hit the gravel at 3.5 miles all the way to just past the 16 mile point it felt like we were climbing.  There were actually a few short downhill sections, but they were over so quickly I hardly noticed them.  SAG 1 was at the top of the big climb.  I topped off one water bottle then hit the big descent of the day, and killed it.  The next six or seven miles were all downhill, mostly on a gravel road but then on some singletrack.  While my fitness and climbing legs aren’t as good as many of my fellow racers, my bike handling is better and I’m more willing to take risks – I passed a ton of people on the descent.  In fact, I didn’t get passed on a downhill or on singletrack all day long unless I was stopped to eat.  It took me two hours to reach SAG 1 at 16 miles, but only 40 minutes to reach SAG 2 at the 25-mile point.

If you’re keeping track, that means I made it about halfway in only 2:40 – I was well on my way to making my sub-6hr goal.  I knew I’d be going slower near the end, but hoped I had enough of a buffer to still make the goal.  I didn’t stop at SAG 2 and rode onto a singletrack-heavy section of the course and had a blast.  My average speed between SAG 2 and 3 was really low though – it took me an hour and twenty minutes to cover the 10 miles.

SAG 2 was also SAG 3 – we came by this spot twice.  Most racers stopped at least once here, and the volunteers were awesome.  Photo:  GeorgiaMTB

A few miles before SAG 3 I caught up to Ross on a steep hike-a-bike section of trail and we stayed together for the next 10 miles or so.  We both stopped at SAG 3 where I refilled my two water bottles, drank about a third of a can of Coke, and ate a few M&M’s before Ross and I headed out.  That was when I noticed my seat bag was wide open… and empty.  My tube, two CO2 cartridges, a power link, tire levers, and a multi-tool were laying on the ground somewhere behind me.  If I had any mechanical issues at this point, I was screwed.

After SAG 3 my legs didn’t feel good the rest of the day.  I felt like I was slowing down, having to use a lower gear than I would have liked.  Then I had a mechanical and lost sight of Ross at mile 40.  My chain shifted past the big cog and got jammed between the cassette and spokes.  AHHH!  This happened to me at a XC race not too long ago and afterwards I adjusted the limit screw on the derailleur and fixed the issue.  But somehow it had come out of adjustment – a good bit too – and it was easy to see that the derailleur and big cog didn’t line up.  I’m still not sure how this happened since I had been using that big cog off and on all day long with no problems.  Since I had lost all my tools I couldn’t adjust the limit screw to fix it either.  Luckily it didn’t take long to get the chain free, and I made sure to stay off that big cog the rest of the race and didn’t have any more issues.

About five and a half hours into the race it started raining.  Hard.  Luckily I only had to ride a little bit of singletrack in the rain, then I was back out on one of the forest service roads.  It had gotten hot, and the rain actually felt really good since it cooled things off.  When I reached mile 50 five hours and fifty minutes were on the clock – but I wasn’t done yet.  I was still on some God forsaken gravel road, and I didn’t know how much further I had to go, but I knew I still had that 3.5 mile section of pavement to get me back to Monteluce Winery.  And it was still pouring rain, which was no longer nice and cool – now it was annoying.

The Kenda arch signaled the finish line – and the end of a long day in the saddle.  The sun wasn’t shining when I came through, but I was still stoked to finally get there.  There was food under that big tent in the background, and it was awesome!  Photo:  GeorgiaMTB

I hit the pavement with only five minutes left to make my goal.  For some reason I thought I still had a chance – apparently I don’t do math well when I’m exhausted.  I would have needed to average 42mph, but for some reason I thought I only needed to average about 18mph.  I put my head down and used the last bit of the energy I had in a futile race against the clock.  I was amazed my legs were still putting out some decent power after this long in the saddle; I passed about a dozen people and nearly ran off the road braking too late into a sharp corner.  When my stopwatch said 6:00 I sat up a bit and slowed down a little… the near-crash scared me, no point in risking a spill now.  I crossed the finish line with 54 miles behind my tires and 6hrs and 10mins after I started, with the rain still pouring down.  Ross had beaten me by ten minutes, and Ted kicked both our butts with a time of 5:20.  The winner of the 50-mile race finished in 3:55 which is crazy fast.  What’s even crazier is the winner of the 100 mile finished in only 7:11!!  He rode 50 miles further than I did, and he only needed an extra 61mins to do it.  Screw that guy.

Not A Bad Day

I finished in 92nd place out of 158 guys in the Open Mens class, and 134 out of 233 total 50 mile racers.  I didn’t make my sub-6hr goal, but I’m still really happy with my race.  The course was a little longer than I expected and I couldn’t have done it any faster.  I stuck to my game plan and rode my own pace and didn’t worry with anyone else, although I may have pushed a little too hard in the first half.  My bike was 99% perfect all day long.  The course was a lot of fun, everyone else out there was friendly and having a good time.  The volunteers at the SAG stations were great, and the post-race lasagna was amazing - big thanks to those guys and gals who volunteered so the rest of us could ride.  Congratulations to all the winners and all the finishers.  Since I didn’t make my goal I guess I’ll just have to try again next year!

Thanks to 55Nine for hosting a great race, all the volunteers who made it easy for us to just focus on turning the pedals, and GeorgiaMTB for the photos.

On Tuesday, August 23 the USA Pro Cycling Challenge (USAPCC) will kick off stage 1 where the racers will get their first real taste of the mountains.The folks in Salida are clearly excited about the race start and they’ve even set up their own website, SalidaStageStart.com, to fill visitors in on the race and surrounding activities and events. As the smallest host city in this year’s race, Salida should be a great spot to get up close to pro riders while experiencing all the amazing mountain bike trails in the area (more on that later).

The view of Salida from the trail on S Mountain.

After an opening circuit around the town of Salida, the cyclists will head up to the top of Monarch Pass to duke it out for the first of the King of the Mountains (KOM) points. If you’ve mountain biked the Monarch Crest trail you probably drove up most of the roughly 13-mile ascent to Monarch Pass on US 50. The climb appeared less steep than I remembered during my drive-by last week; officially, it’s 3,200 feet over 13 miles which isn’t exactly Tour de France steep but still it’s higher than Alp d’Huez. And over the next stages the racers will be forced to ride even higher!

From Monarch Pass it’s a quick descent down to the town of Gunnison where the riders will head north to the finish at Mount Crested Butte. Along the way there’s a sprint line in Gunnison and another in the town of Crested Butte just a couple miles from the finish. Speaking of the finish, the line at Mount Crested Butte represents the race’s only uphill finish where the top riders will pick up more KOM points.

Race day in Crested Butte promises to be an all day party, starting with a Townie Criterium at 11:45 (the same time racers will be leaving Salida). At 1pm the US Handcycling Federation is putting on a handcycle criterium in town while up in Mount Crested Butte kids will get a chance to race in a strider bike competition. Oh, and there will be plenty of live music, food and beer at the Finish Festival just steps from the finish line where the first riders are expected to roll in around 3:30pm.

Mountain Biking Stage 1 (Salida)

Ok, so the cycling race promises to be exciting but depending on where you stake your spot, you’ll probably only get to see the riders for a few moments before they buzz past. Which leaves plenty of time for mountain biking!

Salida is best known for its epic mountain bike route known as the Monarch Crest trail. This 30+ mile singletrack ride starts at the top of Monarch Pass (right on the USAPCC Stage 1 course) and (mostly) descends via the Continental Divide/Colorado Trail, Silver Creek Trail, and Rainbow Trail back to the town of Salida. Maddslacker wrote about this ride a few weeks ago and last week I got my second chance to ride the trail. Still as epic and beautiful as usual but this month there’s a world-class bike race happening there too!

Salida sits at a bit of a mountain bike trail crossroads with the Continental Divide Trail (~ 3,000 miles), Colorado Trail (~500 miles), and Rainbow Trails (~100 miles) all within just a few miles of town. While I was there I spoke with riders from New Zealand, a group in the middle of riding from Canada to Mexico via the Continental Divide trail, and dozens of day-trippers from around the state. And if Salida is the hub of mountain biking in Central Colorado, Absolute Bikes is the grease that keeps mountain bikers running smoothly. I spent a good bit of time in the shop with owner Shawn Gillis and was excited about the stories I overheard: epic day trips on Monarch Crest, Leadville training rides, and top Divide Trail race finishes.

Mountain biking around Salida isn’t just about big miles – there’s also a world-class trail system right in town that offers everything from machine-cut beginner fare to advanced, technical singletrack cut into the hills. Shawn from Absolute Bikes has been instrumental in getting the Salida Mountain Trails built and maintained and last week he gave me a quick tour of the network. The cool thing is the trails are sited and designed to maximize the riding season so even when other local trails are socked in with snow, the “S Mountain” trails are usually ready to ride. The parts I rode reminded me of classic “desert” rides like Bootleg Canyon and Chutes and Ladders in Fruita. Absolute Bikes has great maps and their folks are always happy to point riders to the best singletrack.

Mountain Biking Stage 1 (Crested Butte)

As a mountain biker I couldn’t have been more excited about Stage 1 of the USAPCC with a start in Salida and a finish in Crested Butte. For many years if you had asked me to name my favorite mountain bike trail the answer would have been (and might still be) Trail 401 in Crested Butte. And the crazy thing is when I asked the locals for their next favorite ride, most of them had a really hard time choosing from the dozens of classic trail rides in the area.

Crested Butte is also home to the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame and Mount Crested Butte features lift-serviced downhill runs for gravity-oriented riders (more on that from mtbgreg1 soon). Some have even argued that Crested Butte, along with Marin County, CA, is the birthplace of modern mountain biking.

And it’s not just that the trails in and around Crested Butte are well designed and fun to ride – the scenery turns great rides into world-beating epics. In summer the wildflowers along the trail are unbelievable and the soaring mountains make every view photo-worthy. If only trails like 401 weren’t so flowy – it’s damn hard to force yourself to stop to admire the views!

Where to Eat

For such small, remote mountain towns, both Salida and Crested Butte have some amazing dining options. After an epic ride along the Monarch Crest trail, I recommend treating yourself to a big steak dinner with a poblano relleno stuffed with grits at the Laughing Ladies Restaurant in Salida. And in Crested Butte, head to the Brick Oven for pizza (natch) and Colorado beers on tap while hobnobbing with local super-athletes on the outdoor patio. The Brick Oven patio also happens to be located just feet from the sprint line in Crested Butte so get your table early!

Where to Stay

Salida has a number of chain hotels including the Hampton Inn, Comfort Inn, and Super 8. I spent a night at the Hampton Inn and it was great – close to downtown plus there’s an indoor pool/hot tub and free breakfast.

Since Crested Butte is more of a resort town and ski destination, there are a number of options for lodging as well. The Elevation Hotel & Spa is super swanky and is located at Mount Crested Butte with lobby-level access to the bike lifts and mountain bike rentals. Not only that, it’s just steps from the stage 1 finish. You can also find plenty of condos for rent in the ski area through web sites like VRBO.com.

Fun Facts

This area of Colorado is so massively amazing for mountain biking that I haven’t even mentioned Gunnison (site of the first sprint line of Stage 1) or the ride I did while I was in Crested Butte last week (it’s actually along the Stage 2 course). So stay tuned for info on the next stage – who would’ve thought mountain bikers would have so much to get excited about for a cycling stage race?