The Race

Remember that time I nearly showed up in Tahoe for a race I didn’t sign up for? That just happened. Except luckily the race doesn’t sell out and I was able to register the night before. Had the race sold out, this would have been a double whammy as I was fortunate enough to use the Bicycleattorney.com team van (team is technically Prestovelo, but nobody knows that – now you do!)

Last year I finished in 5:30 at the Tahoe Trail 100k, which gave me a pretty solid corral spot at Leadville. This year, I knew the course, knew how to mountain bike better, had the bike more dialed, had my body more dialed, and thought a 5:15 may be in the cards (getting me into top “mortal” corral at Leadville).

I had been training quite hard leading up to this (look for a training post soon in which I share my totally unscientific plan) and my legs were pretty shot, but I tapered the training three days beforehand and felt pretty fresh at the start and through the first lap. Through that first lap, I was just off a sub-5 finish.

…And then the brutal heat and lack of hydration (yes, again I tried to “go light” and take less liquid than I knew I’d need) hit. I wouldn’t say I fell apart on the second lap, but I had no life in my legs and merely got through it. I’d finish, following a decent high speed crash that bent the heck out of my derailleur hanger and left my chain wanting to suck into my wheel near constantly, in 5:24, a mere six minute improvement over last year. Of note, I could have won the 50k so maybe that’s what I do next year? I love me a Tahoe vacation and not having an all-day race on vacation sounds nice. So does winning.

Considering I need to shave 27 minutes off of Leadville, I’m not feeling too confident. My Leadville time last year may have been slower than I was capable of though based on comparables so there is hope. Going for me this year is the fact I won’t have two gnarly leg wounds at the start line; living life very safely these next few weeks.

Peter, a teammate and friend, also doing Leadville and in need of a corral spot made it to town for race day and had a solid race (managed negative splits, which is pretty nutty considering the heat) finishing in 5:59; barely squeaking into the same corral as me, which will make for a much better day in Colorado for him.

I have a three weeks until Leadville, one more of heavy training (I’m sore head to toe 24/7), and then two weeks of  to make ensure everything is as fresh as possible. That taper can’t come soon enough. Ooo and the “offseason.” So soon!

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The Trip

Rebecca was able to make the trip with me, which made it a lot more enjoyable than doing it solo last year. Again, we were quite fortunate to be able to use our team van. It soaked up the miles, fit all our stuff, and five bikes (brought Peter’s, who flew) all in extreme style and comfort.

We got out of town Thursday morning, grabbed lunch in Oakridge, dinner at the same Mexican restaurant I went to in Alturas last year, did a nice little cruise around the wildlife refuge just outside of town, and made our way another two hours down the highway to a hotel stay in Susanville. We had planned on camping at my same spot on the side of the road from last year, but wanted to get further, get a better night’s sleep, and not deal with setting up camp in the dark. Susanville is a great point to end a day of travel and has the added bonus of the Bizz Johnson Trail, where Rebecca was able to get a nice run in the following morning.

We arrived in Tahoe around lunch on Friday, checked into our amazing little AirBnB, did some lunch and shopping in Truckee, grabbed Mexican desserts and finally got to see the lake in King’s Beach, and finally back to the place for a home cooked meal with Peter joining us.

Saturday was the race. Nothing too noteworthy other than us sticking around for awards and the Leadville lottery (race winners and a lucky handful get bids to Leadville). I have very little desire to do Leadville a third year in a row, but I if I don’t go sub nine this year, I think I need to keep trying so I threw my name in the hat… and won. Three years in a row sounds brutal, but I think I can make it into a quick and dirty weekend rather than devoting a full week of my already short vacation time to it (I’m actually working remotely this year). I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Rebecca getting an outstanding run/hike in up Mt. Rose. From the photos, it appeared to be an epic one. We celebrated the “crux day” of our trip with a long wait in line for some outstanding ice cream at Little Truckee Ice Cream… I desperately needed the calories and it was some really good stuff.

Sunday morning she got a run in around Donner Lake, we wrapped things up at the place, grabbed some coffee and beans in Truckee (highly recommended: Dark Horse), and made our way to D.L. Bliss State Park for a hike to Emerald Bay, a Tahoe favorite of mine via the Rubicon Trail (no relation to Jeep, but that Rubicon Trail does exist out that way and is a 4WD testing ground). At the ranger station halfway down the steep two mile hill, we were turned away for lack of parking. We’d have to park at the top, ride down, lock the bikes up, and then get to our nine mile hike. It all worked out, the views were amazing, the water temperature in the bay was great, and the climb back out wasn’t all that bad – she climbed like I’ve never seen her climb before and set the 2nd best women’s time on Strava.

The hike/swim/run justified some ice cream (yes, again), and it was National Ice Cream day so we grabbed some in Tahoe City (she even got her own for the first time ever!), ate it on the water, and made our way back up to a Susanville where we found a great brewery (I’d been needing a quality beer all trip), and turned in for the night. These $100 hotel nights turned out to be a lot more restful than sleeping on the road. This day turned out to be a legendary one in the outdoors; all the planning worked out to perfection and the weather cooperated. It was quite magical.

Monday she went for a run along the Bizz Johnson Trail again. I cruised down the street to find some coffee at the local car wash where I got started on writing this, plugged into work (was on-call the final two days of “vacation”), and heard all about the new local tax on deliveries from the cronies. We then packed things up and made our way to camping at Crater Lake via Adin and Klamath Falls.

We arrived in Crater Lake fairly early in the day, setup camp at Mazama Village (a little too busy, child-friendly, and swarmed with mosquitos for my liking), and go onto the Garfield Peak Trail for a vertical hike that afford our first views of the lake. Spectacular. If you go, huff it up this one. Following the hike we settled into some cooking and s’mores over the campfire. It had been a hot day, but the elevation really cooled things off nicely.

  

The following morning, Tuesday, was the last of our trip. Would we pack it up and head straight home? No chance. We had planned on riding around the rim, but weren’t feeling it, and once we got rolling realized it wasn’t the safest ride in the world; narrow to no shoulders, tourists in rented RVs… No thanks. Bail! Instead, we first hiked up Watchman Peak, which I could have lived without (didn’t provide views any better than Garfield Peak), but it did provide some background on the lake that didn’t seem to be displayed prominently anywhere else (the visitor center was kind of lacking). We then made our way along the North Rim to hike down to the lake at Cleetwood Cove, the only legal water access in the park. It proved to be another vertical one, but short, and ended at a bunch of rocks that were prime for “cliff” jumping. After some coaxing even Rebecca took a jump! The water was cold, but not frigid… a refreshing and exhilarating way to end our trip.

Following our dip, we left the park, grabbed some food on the highway, and made our way home. The trip would end with a bang or a crack or a snap, but that’s a story for another day. We checked a lot of boxes in four days; she was able to see Tahoe for the first time, I got a great ride in (the race), she got some great adventure/exercise in, and we both got to see Crater Lake for the first time (she’d been, but it was a whiteout). Colorado soon!