Our last day in Crested Butte was spent riding the most difficult ride, evelevation wise, up to the distinct mountain of Teocalli.

Most of the ride is close to 11,000 or 12,000ft high, and the downhill section is really technical. This year the trail was really loose from all the motorbikes that have been riding it, making for a lot of chunky rocks and soft, powdery dirt sections. I was skeptical of a lot of the downhill, and, just like the rest of the week, I was cautious going down… walking what looked weird or tricky. I walked the most of any downhills this day, but it still wasn’t that much all together… only a few short sections… so I was really proud of myself for riding the majority of the downhills that Crested Butte had to offer.

The uphill on this ride was tough. It was really steep double track with lots of muddy areas due to creeks crossing the road and the run-off water trickling down off the mountain. The ridge trail that flows around the mountain was also really loose this year, forcing me to walk more than I wanted to (especially when climbing). I walked because one simple mistake and you fell WAY down the mountain side… something I did not care to do!

Teocalli is an amazing mountain, and I really loved this ride… I look forward to riding it again in the future, and conquering the sections I walked out of fear and caution.

We left Crested Butte that night to drive back to Denver in oder to catch our flight home early the next morning. I was sad to leave, and I watched Crested Butte fade into the background as we drove away until it disappeared around the mountainside.

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Wednesday’s ride in Crested Butte was Reno Flag - Bear. This was probably my favorite ride of the week… although I loved them all very much, I liked this one a lot because it had steep, hard climbs at the end of the ride too. Most of our rides were a big climb, some flat to rolly up and downs and short climbs, then big down hill. Reno Flag - Bear had a big climb, downhill, rolly climbs, downhill, steep climb, and then big downhill with fun switchbacks. I liked the challenge of all the climbing in the middle of the ride, and even at the end.

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On Tuesday we rode Doctor’s Park, which had a lot of awesome climbing at the beginning, followed by some sweet, smooth and flowy single track downhill afterwards. At the very end of the downhill were some tight switchbacks. I took it really easy on those since I had never ridden them before. They were fun! After the ride we got in the river to soak our legs.

Joe made a cool video riding down the switchbacks at the end of the ride. Here it is!

And finally, here’s the trail:

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The second ride we did in Crested Butte was Deer Creek. It is a little less than 30 miles on the mountain bike… through beautiful mountain valleys and lung-busting climbs.

Here is an interactive map of the Deer Creek loop, and the elevation profile:

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I have so much to write about and update…

We’re back after our whirlwind of travel from Crested Butte to Charlotte to DC to Charlottesville to Raleigh. Whew. Lots of flying, driving, and not much sleep… after a week at altitude. It was an awesome trip out to Colorado with lots of great training and time well spent with close friends.

I’ll write about each day in Colorado, along with a race report from the Charlottesville Xterra that I raced in today (I finished 2nd!).

For now it’s an evening laid out on the couch, watching the olympics, and resting up for my next training block before the Shenandoah 100.

We made it to Crested Butte… all be it a little later than expected. We picked up our rental car from Denver and started making the trek to Crested Butte around 11am mountain time. Before we even arrived, Joe and I had both decided to take our drive straight through the mountains instead of following the highways the “normal” way so we could see a little more of Colorado.

I can’t even begin to put words together to describe our drive over here. It was epic, to say the least. And, the road we took… the only other vehicles on it were ATV’s. Yeeaaahhhh…. it was crazy! We came through Hancock Pass which reached over 12,000ft and is the continental divide. Even the locals that we’ve talked to don’t know what or where Hancock Pass is. And… we don’t really either, until we get the GPS loaded on the computer.

I’ll post a video from our drive, once Joe gets it edited and all.

We made it to Crested Butte after 8:00pm. Of course my parents and my friend were worried, but we had no cell service to call anyone to tell them where we were.

Needless to say, we’re safe and sound now in one of the prettiest places I’ve been, and we have already been out on a great introductory ride to the area. Thankfully my friends have been here for several years and know all the good trails to go on… we don’t even have to think or look at a map, we just get to follow along and enjoy it! Pretty sweet deal if you ask me.

Here’s a link to pictures from our ride today…

Tomorrow we’ll do a longer ride, and if I have time I’ll post pictures and a report afterwards.

What a long day it has been. I’ve been at work all day reviewing folders, and I can’t believe that this same time tomorrow I will be out mountain biking in Crested Butte, Colorado with Joe. I can hardly WAIT!

I started the packing process yesterday because I’m in for a fast paced week and couple of days. And, inevitably I am sure I will forget something, even though I have been careful to try to think of EVERYTHING.

We are leaving this evening from Raleigh to drive to my parents’ house to drop off our dogs to stay with them during our travels. That’s three hours in the car.

Then we drive to Charlotte, where we are flying out of tomorrow morning. Another hour in the car.

Then we fly to Denver early tomorrow morning and arrive around 9:30am mountain time.

Then we drive our rental car 4 to 6 hours to Crested Butte.

And THEN I get to ride my mountain bike… once it’s put together out of the case. YAY!

We come back to NC on the following Friday… drive up to DC for a wedding on Saturday that same night… and then drive to Charlottesville, VA after the wedding Saturday night for my next Xterra race on Sunday.

Are you confused yet?? Okay good.

Then we drive back to my parents’ house to pick up our dogs, back to Charlotte, and THEN back to Raleigh. Agh. Yeah… and I hopefully will make it back in to work on the 18th with some sort of brain power.

hahahahaha… Here’s to some of the craziest travel I have EVER done. And that’s sayin something.

If you’re considering doing a road bike century this fall, then I highly recommend the Blue Ridge Brutal in beautiful Ashe County, NC on August 16th.

I’ve done this ride almost every year since I first started pedaling a bike. It was the first century that I completed, and it’s one that keeps me coming back year after year.

The scenery of course is absolutely beautiful, the climbs are punishing, the downhills are fun, and the event organizers are top-notch. The food and music greeting you after the ride make the day even more festive.

I remember the first time that I did the Brutal, and it sure was different than it is now. I’ve seen it develop first-hand into a very well run event. The first year I did it there was no music at the end, but there was great food (the most important part!)… and the course is different now… the added climb up 194 at the end of the ride sure makes for a more challenging route than the straight shot down flat Todd Railroad Grade Rd.

This year, I am sad to say that I won’t be able to make the Brutal… I’ll be attending a wedding in the DC area. But you can bet I’ll be back next year… and good luck to all of you who decide to tackle the 2008 Brutal!

No, I’m not running cross country… although I did my share of it in high school and college.

I’m excited to be helping with the Athens Drive Cross Country team this year, so I’m officially a running coach now. We started manditory practice this week in the evenings, and that means only one thing… school is just around the corner now.

It’s a fun time of year, for me at least… I don’t know about the kids. I’m looking forward to being back in school. My room has really come together well and, with a few more finishing touches, it will be ready to go by the first day of school.

Yesterday I rode my mountain bike over to practice and biked with a group of kids (I’m still keeping running to a minimal) during their run. It was a blast! I love where we get to run at… we’re so lucky to be located right near Lake Johnson and have easy access to the trail system there.

We did some core after the run, and then I biked back home.

I leave for Crested Butte, CO this Saturday… I can’t believe it’s almost time! I’m going to mountain bike my life away! I have a lot of stuff to get ready before the trip… it’s going to be a jet-set paced couple of weeks… and then school will start, routines will fall into place, and life will settle down….

HA! Yeah RIGHT! Not my life! “Live in the fast lane,” that’s what I always say…

I woke up yesterday morning to my dog Sheldon squirming and yelping (much like every morning at 6am) ready to get out of the tent. I rolled over and let both of the dogs out, and after breakfast we went over to the start area.

Xterra Panther Creek started with an 800m swim or so in the beautiful lake. I had an okay start… was gapped off from the faster swimmers, but I just made up ground as I went. I ended up coming out of the water 4th overall… um, how does that happen?? Oh well, I’ll take it! Off to the bike transition I went…

There was a long run uphill to the transition area on rocky gravel. Ouch… oh well, I wasn’t going to take the time to put on shoes. I got to my bike and headed out on the trail. This bike was pretty challenging for my riding style. There wasn’t nearly enough sustained climbing in the course, and all the climbs seemed to be followed by a downhill… and each downhill twisted around tight turns and then into another uphill. I was wishing I could downhill like my friend, Deb Elliott. She flies!! Since I’m such a newbie on the mountain bike, these downhill and twisty elements are not my forte. But I was really happy to force myself to race on a twisty, flowy course like this… it makes me a better rider. The more momentum you carried through all the downhills and turns, the better… and I just power through that stuff right now because I am so cautious on all the downhills. There was a really cool rocky section with some bridges and whopdidoos… and I rode through that fairly clean… only a couple dabs and I was through. I was happy about that!

Off the bike and onto the run… I was thankful that the run was not technical at all. By the time I had twisted and turned my way through the bike, I was looking forward to an easier time on the run. And boy, what a treat to just have a double track run… only the first mile was single track (it followed the same course as the bike). So I just kept a steady pace and kept it going until the finish. I still haven’t been running much so I don’t have racing legs on the run, but I did feel like my form was much, much better this race… thank you Dr. Swank!

The finish was right at the foot of the lake… perfect. I was dying to get back in the water. As a matter of fact, when I passed Joe on the way to the finish I said, “I’m getting in the water…” as a hint to where I would be when I finished this thing!

I met the Xterra rep after I crossed the line. He was really nice, and very funny giving out prizes. They had gatorade drinking contests, pushup contests, and all kinds of crazy antics to see who got race swag… much more entertaining than the usual “drawing of the race numbers,” eh??

I actually got a free entry to Xterra Nationals in Tahoe later this year… gotta see if I can swing the airfare, but I am hoping, hoping, hoping to get to go and race!

After the race while we were waiting in the shade for the awards, I asked Joe what he thought of my race. His response, “Well, you could’a beat more men.”

Priceless.

See the standards I have to live up to??

Thanks to all my sponsors for believing in me and keeping me going! I couldn’t do it without all of you.

And MANY thanks to the Race Director, RaceDayEvents, and the Panther Creek Park Rangers for putting on such a wonderful race!

See more pictures from the weekend here!