Less Than Two Weeks

 Winding down to the last weeks and I have put in some great training rides. On Wednesday, Aug 19, I took a day off of work, drove 2 ½ hours to Leadville and met my friend Abe Valdez and rode most of the Leadville Trail 100 MTB course (91 miles) then drove 2 ½ hours back home. It was a truly awesome day. The weather was perfect, and we had an amazingly fun, hard ride. On the way home, blasted a playlist of sing along type songs (mostly Beatles) and pretty much sang at the top of my lungs all the way home. It was an awesome day.

Abe Heading up Sugar Loaf before Power line Descent

Abe - Almost to the top of Columbine

Top of Columbine

Columbine Mine

 

For the weekend with less than two weeks until Utah Mixed Epic, I worked on getting everything dialed in; What to take, what not to take, and how to pack. Set up so I can carry up to 8 liters of water when needed. This will come in handy on the long stretches of desert with no water availability.  It was another great training weekend with a 100+ mile ride Saturday and 100+ KM ride Sunday to get things dialed in. Just a couple more minor adjustments and should be set!

Gettin er Dialed-in!

Hope I'm Ready

One of the things I thought about on these rides is how lucky I am to be able to experience these adventures. One of the things I loved about coaching the Cheyenne Mountain High School Team was seeing the joy those kids experienced riding their bikes out on the trails. There are many kids who may never get to discover that joy and that is what Kids on Bikes is all about. By helping a kid experience the joy and freedom of riding a bike, who knows where that might take him/her. And I did say “helping” not giving. These kids have to earn their bikes and you can learn all about the program at the Kids on Bikes website. If you feel this worth a few dollars, and every dollar helps, then please see my donation page at Larry Bikepacks Utah. Thanks for your support!

 

-larry