Photo from Bill Hade. Read the socks :)
Ok, I got ahead of myself yesterday. This morning was more like a stage race morning (i.e. feeling sick, tired, etc…. also what seemed to be the story across the board today. I think I woke up every half hour last night). I was very thankful for the coffee bean this morning.
This stage was tough last year. It was almost equally tough this year. I’m pleased that my time was the same as Jeff and my time last year within 30 seconds!
I was groaning on the inside when we climbed up the first wall, errr climb… of the day. The difficult part about today’s 6200′ of elevation gain was that it wasn’t gradual. It was like one kick in the nuts (well, if I had them. I’m glad I don’t because what the heck do you do with them in your chamois?! Do you tuck them up?) after another. I knew there would be many more, so I settled in at a steady pace.
The loose rocky downhill to the first aide was in MUCH better shape than last year (was it different?) I watched the video from last year and I was actually walking last year. My DH mojo was stolen from all the wasted time on flats yesterday, so instead I wasted time descending the loose descents much slower than in the previous days. A couple guys even commented, but I didn’t want to deal with flats today.
It was honestly a little frustrating that I couldn’t just let ‘er rip like the last 3 days, but all I could think about is the back tire going soft on me. Tire impotency. Meh.
I still enjoyed the descent off West Ridge today! Wicked!
I definitely struggled a little bit today, but held it strong and consistent. I was on and off my bike on a few of the very steep climbs (I saw 33% grade read on my Garmin up Vomit Hill) and would alternate between pedaling and running.
I took the win by 8-9 minutes today. We have 2 more stages to go. Tomorrow is another queen stage – Wheeler. Wheeler has been my bitch, and I’ve been Wheeler’s bitch. We have a mutual understanding. I’m looking forward to getting ‘er done.
