Barn Burner

This is a post for Ginna, who is in Utah for a half marathon tomorrow. As Ken from Leadville would say: You gotta dig deep. Have fun and good luck.

This past weekend I went to Flagstaff for a bike race. It was a 104 mile race which is part of the Leadville qualifying series. I was hoping to qualify for Leadville (which I did very ungracefully) and have some fun at the same time.

The long and short of it was that I finished within the time cut for additional lottery slots and won a Leadville spot in the lottery afterward. The ride was the worst I've ever felt on the bike: I cramped like never before and suffered tremendously just to finish. It was also the most dehydrated I think I've ever been. This came as a surprise to me as I've done more than one 100 mile ride this year and I never felt this poor or weak.

So, without further adieu, here are the pictures I took and some that I stole from commercial photographers website--they are proofs, but they convey the way I felt very accurately.

I stayed Thursday night at an RV park in Gallup. A first for me. 

The drive in was so dusty, a foreshadow for how dusty the race would be.

Love the ponderosa pines.

More dirt road.

A taste for how much dust accumulated on everything.

The Airstream fulfilling the measure of its creation.

My solo rider support tent, where I could restock on food and tune the bike.

That's the barn where each lap started and ended. You had to walk your bike through it.

I hung up this nice New Mexican coat rack for my helmet.

I stocked the magazine rack with appropriate cycling periodicals. 

Looks and is comfy. 

The support tent on race morning.

Pre-race carb loading, courtesy of the Airstream kitchen. Sure beat tent camping.

Pre-race meeting on Friday night.

Huge crowd. 1100 riders. 

Dr. Jensen putting his race number on. 

This is what happens when you use special gel sunscreen, so you don't get sunburned during an 11hr bike ride: dirt mask. Some people pay for such things.

The BMC resting post race. A little dusty and in need of a new wheelset. Something breaks each race.

Beautiful night. If only I had been able to sleep. I ran out of pain killer and hurt too bad. It was a long night.

Ken giving me my Leadville coin. I'm in. Better start training for real. 

Fully cramped, trying to run the bike through the barn.

This looks like the first lap because I have arm warmers on. 

ouch.

1st lap--not that hurt yet.

Obviously things weren't going so well.

More trying to walk through the cramps.

End of first lap, when the fist major cramp set in. I wasn't sure I could get through the barn.

This is how I would have looked the day after too, if I had quite and consequently missed my chance at Leadville.

Yep, that's the face you make when your body decides it doesn't like bike riding any more.

I was actually trying to make an Elvis face for the camera. Not too bad, huh?

Trying not to fall off the bike during a cramped dismount.

Is it over yet?

Proof I didn't walk the whole last lap. 

That's all for now. I haven't touched the bike since then, but we'll make friends again this week.
Good luck to Ginna at the Utah Valley Half.