Leadville 100 MTB FAQ: Should I Ride Through Creek at Bottom of Powerline?

Colorado, Leadville 100, mountain biking | UltraRob | Thursday, August 6th, 2009 at 5:58 pm

This post is part of the Leadville 100 MTB FAQ.

There’s a small creek at the bottom of the Powerline. A lot of racers ask whether they should ride through it or walk the plank over by the bushes.

For 2009 it is no longer just a plank. The plank that has been there since I first raced the Leadville 100 broke. It’s still there but 2 nice new planks have been added.

The water really isn’t very deep and anyone with decent bike handling skills should be able to ride it. Even so a good rider could hit an hidden rock just wrong and crash. Outbound it is definitely faster to ride it if you don’t crash. Inbound the time difference is small but riding the creek is still probably faster.

You still shouldn’t ride through it even if you’re a great bike handler. The water will do a good job of washing the lube off your chain. Then you’ll get to listen to the annoying sound of a dry chain. Even worse you may lose much more time than you saved due to chain suck.

Hi Tec Penrith Mid Jr. WP Hiking Boots