2009 Leadville 100

Colorado, Leadville 100, mountain biking | UltraRob | Friday, August 21st, 2009 at 7:24 am

The 2009 Leadville 100 was billed as the rematch between Dave Wiens and Lance Armstrong. I was there just to get my 6th finish. I’m far from the shape I was in when I finished top 20 in 2004.

The race started under overcast clouds but the overnight rain had fortunately stopped. As we rolled out of town, there was a beautiful rainbow to the west. At one point it was straight in front of the pack and framed by the trees along the road. Only problem was it was where we were headed and that meant it was raining there.

I had woken up a few times in the night with my stomach not feeling good. I almost felt a little feverish. I also felt really off when I was getting ready to head out. It didn’t concern me much because the way I feel right before a race has very little to do with how I feel once I get rolling.

Once we turned off the pavement onto the dirt road to St. Kevins, it was time to start riding hard. Unfortunately my legs refused. I’m not a fast starter and it can take a while for me to feel good. I still wasn’t too concerned but my stomach still didn’t feel right.

It didn’t take too much longer to know my day wasn’t going well. Soon I had to stop a couple times and empty my stomach of the little bit I had forced myself to drink.

Still hoping things would get better, I kept riding. By then freezing cold rain was pouring down. The descent down the pavement on the backside of Turquoise Lake wasn’t much fun with the rain stinging my face.

Once we started climbing back up, it was clear I was going to be doing good just to get over the Sugarloaf climb. Without being able to eat, I was concerned about bonking and getting hypothermia. I decided to pull out at the Hagerman Pass road.

I still needed to get to the Pipeline aid station since my wife was waiting for me there. Somebody was nice enough to give me a ride part way there. While in the car, I started 2nd guessing whether I had made the right decision. Once I got dropped off and rode the couple miles to the aid station, I once again knew I had made the right decision.

I was really bummed to drop out but there are much worse things. Hopefully I’ll get back in the entry lottery next year and get my 6th finish.

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