After a smooth drive down to Pueblo with Bryce and Joe on Friday night, Saturday morning came a lot sooner than we thought and we quickly found ourselves at the at the starting line of our first mountain bike race of the season. The Voodoo Fire was composed of a 70 mile marathon event which Joe entered and a 35 mile event that Bryce and I signed up for.
The Orbea Alma was ready for it's first hard effort with a Timex Global Trainer GPS and Powerbar Gel in tow.
Since I am in horrid form at the moment and Bryce has only ridden a handful of times since the fall, we had absolutely no expectations other than to give it our best and have fun. We had a neutral roll out start for all 35 mile starters so Bryce and I got to start together. We raced together for over 11 miles picking off riders left and right until I got my first flat. Bryce kept racing and I threw in a bunch of CO2 hoping that the sealant inside the tire would seal the puncture and hold air. Within 3 more minutes, I was completely flat again and realized that I had huge sidewall gash and putting in a tube was my only option. After using the rest of my CO2 and air from the pump I brought along, I was back on my way. About 15min after that I got another sidewall slash and my day was completely over. I walked for over an hour until I ran into a photographer who offered me a ride back to the finish after hiking another 2 more miles to his truck. I was definitely disappointed as I was sitting in the top 5 for the women but I wasn't the only one who suffered from numerous flats. The terrain was composed of rolling single track that was littered with shards of shale rock that resembled shattered dinner plates.
After getting over being angry about the race, I couldn't help but be really excited for Bryce who finished 5th in his age group (also getting a flat) and Joe who got 6th overall in the 70 mile race! At least I know I was in descent form for not having raced since June 2010. Next time!
Since my ride was cut a bit short yesterday, we decided to go play on big bikes for several hours this morning at Heil Ranch. There's nothing better than spending Easter with your favorite person, in baggy clothing and on knobby tires. Boulder has been getting a bit of moisture so we enjoyed ripping it up on some serious ''Super Hero Dirt". Below is a quick clip of the trail we played on. Happy Easter!
The Orbea Alma was ready for it's first hard effort with a Timex Global Trainer GPS and Powerbar Gel in tow.
Since I am in horrid form at the moment and Bryce has only ridden a handful of times since the fall, we had absolutely no expectations other than to give it our best and have fun. We had a neutral roll out start for all 35 mile starters so Bryce and I got to start together. We raced together for over 11 miles picking off riders left and right until I got my first flat. Bryce kept racing and I threw in a bunch of CO2 hoping that the sealant inside the tire would seal the puncture and hold air. Within 3 more minutes, I was completely flat again and realized that I had huge sidewall gash and putting in a tube was my only option. After using the rest of my CO2 and air from the pump I brought along, I was back on my way. About 15min after that I got another sidewall slash and my day was completely over. I walked for over an hour until I ran into a photographer who offered me a ride back to the finish after hiking another 2 more miles to his truck. I was definitely disappointed as I was sitting in the top 5 for the women but I wasn't the only one who suffered from numerous flats. The terrain was composed of rolling single track that was littered with shards of shale rock that resembled shattered dinner plates.
After getting over being angry about the race, I couldn't help but be really excited for Bryce who finished 5th in his age group (also getting a flat) and Joe who got 6th overall in the 70 mile race! At least I know I was in descent form for not having raced since June 2010. Next time!
Since my ride was cut a bit short yesterday, we decided to go play on big bikes for several hours this morning at Heil Ranch. There's nothing better than spending Easter with your favorite person, in baggy clothing and on knobby tires. Boulder has been getting a bit of moisture so we enjoyed ripping it up on some serious ''Super Hero Dirt". Below is a quick clip of the trail we played on. Happy Easter!
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