Leadville 100 - tandem style
08-17-09, 06:43 AM
#1
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Leadville 100 - tandem style
Some of you may have heard of this little race out in Colorado due to a certain 7 time TDF winner's attendance. It was quite the scene. We went and lined up with 1300 other riders, one TDF champion.
Well we did it! My wife and I decided a year ago that we wanted to take a step from road tandems to mtb tandems. Many phone calls with Alex at mtbtandems.com (he’s awesome by the way), and October our big green machine arrives. We managed to log about 900 miles on it since then with about 100,000 ft of climbing (quite a few road tandem miles as well too). The goal of all of this was to register and complete the Leadville 100 mountain bike race and finish under 12 hours (with 14,000 feet of climbing)h. Yesterday we achieved that goal. It was a LONG day. It was cold, it rained, it was muddy (and that was all in the first 20 miles).
There were 5 tandems, we managed 4th place 11 hours 23 minutes. The second, third and fourth place tandems were only separated by ten minutes. The first place team (team Warner) came it at 10:48 defending their winning streak at Leadville.
Great race! It was no picnic, the mud took a toll on the drivetrain and we had some mechanical issues, we overcame those and managed to work through all the low points that occur when you’re on the bike for 11 plus hours. I can’t put into words how proud I am of my stoker, wife and best friend. She’s a rocks-star! Completing Leadville on a tandem is exponentially more fulfilling than on a single bike.
I have multi-page race report that I am compiling, PM me with your email address if you would like me to share. I don’t have a blog and the length of the race report is probably not appropriate for the message board.
EDIT - I have attempted to post the "race report" to a blog. I caution you all that I am no writer, this is just a rambling report of the happenings on Saturday. https://leadvilletandem2009.blogspot.com/
Dan
Well we did it! My wife and I decided a year ago that we wanted to take a step from road tandems to mtb tandems. Many phone calls with Alex at mtbtandems.com (he’s awesome by the way), and October our big green machine arrives. We managed to log about 900 miles on it since then with about 100,000 ft of climbing (quite a few road tandem miles as well too). The goal of all of this was to register and complete the Leadville 100 mountain bike race and finish under 12 hours (with 14,000 feet of climbing)h. Yesterday we achieved that goal. It was a LONG day. It was cold, it rained, it was muddy (and that was all in the first 20 miles).
There were 5 tandems, we managed 4th place 11 hours 23 minutes. The second, third and fourth place tandems were only separated by ten minutes. The first place team (team Warner) came it at 10:48 defending their winning streak at Leadville.
Great race! It was no picnic, the mud took a toll on the drivetrain and we had some mechanical issues, we overcame those and managed to work through all the low points that occur when you’re on the bike for 11 plus hours. I can’t put into words how proud I am of my stoker, wife and best friend. She’s a rocks-star! Completing Leadville on a tandem is exponentially more fulfilling than on a single bike.
I have multi-page race report that I am compiling, PM me with your email address if you would like me to share. I don’t have a blog and the length of the race report is probably not appropriate for the message board.
EDIT - I have attempted to post the "race report" to a blog. I caution you all that I am no writer, this is just a rambling report of the happenings on Saturday. https://leadvilletandem2009.blogspot.com/
Dan
Last edited by colotandem; 08-18-09 at 06:15 PM. Reason: Attempting to add a link to a blog
08-17-09, 07:46 AM
#2
pan y agua
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Awesome job.
__________________
You could fall off a cliff and die.
You could get lost and die.
You could hit a tree and die.
OR YOU COULD STAY HOME AND FALL OFF THE COUCH AND DIE.
You could fall off a cliff and die.
You could get lost and die.
You could hit a tree and die.
OR YOU COULD STAY HOME AND FALL OFF THE COUCH AND DIE.
08-17-09, 08:29 AM
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Hats off to you and your stoker. Congrats!
08-17-09, 08:54 AM
#5
Riding Heaven's Highwayson the grand tour
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Congrats on a big time accomplishment!!! Wow!
08-17-09, 12:07 PM
#6
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Congrats, really really cool!
08-17-09, 01:16 PM
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Congrats on a terrific accomplishment ... the ride report is a great read too! - Jim
08-18-09, 08:13 AM
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Disagree with your decision not to post it. Just split your account of the race over a few posts and post away. A report like this would be an inspirational resource that should be publicly available. Far more valuable IMO than other stuff on the Internet.
Please.
Please.
08-18-09, 08:22 AM
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08-18-09, 10:27 AM
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Congratulations! She is the queen among us stokers! I hope the TDF winner gave you a wave of accomplishment!
08-18-09, 03:18 PM
#14
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Regarding the ride report - I need to figure out how to post it. It is LONG and rambling. My wife actually wrote a report as well, much better than mine (for a group that she rides with).
I have no problem sharing. I actually wish there was more such "race reports" out ther so that we can all learn from each other.
Any ideas how to post a 4 page word document?
Dan
08-18-09, 03:34 PM
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What kind of gearing did you have?
08-18-09, 05:32 PM
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08-18-09, 05:49 PM
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I saw you out there, as you hit the dam. Great job! Did all the tandems finish?
Here is a pic of team Warner
Sorry bad resizing!
Here is a pic of team Warner
Sorry bad resizing!
Last edited by terricola; 08-18-09 at 06:00 PM.
08-18-09, 05:58 PM
#18
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08-18-09, 06:24 PM
#20
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29er
I believe they were the 5th place team.
1 Mark Warner/Serena Warner 10:48
2 Mark Hirsch/John Hirsch 11:14
3 Chuck Schuster/Karla Wagner 11:19
4 Dan Orlinski/Bevin Orlinski 11:23
5 Bob Brown/Robin Johnson 12:04
By the way, after a bit of harassment, I broke down and posted my "race report" to a blogsite (Warning - I am no blogger). I'm not even sure if the link will work...
https://leadvilletandem2009.blogspot.com/
1 Mark Warner/Serena Warner 10:48
2 Mark Hirsch/John Hirsch 11:14
3 Chuck Schuster/Karla Wagner 11:19
4 Dan Orlinski/Bevin Orlinski 11:23
5 Bob Brown/Robin Johnson 12:04
By the way, after a bit of harassment, I broke down and posted my "race report" to a blogsite (Warning - I am no blogger). I'm not even sure if the link will work...
https://leadvilletandem2009.blogspot.com/
08-18-09, 07:58 PM
#22
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This has been a great read for this team.
PK
PK
08-18-09, 10:16 PM
#23
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awesome job!!!
great report.
do you consider full suspension a requirement for the ride?
great report.
do you consider full suspension a requirement for the ride?
08-18-09, 10:41 PM
#24
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The winning team rides a hard tail Cannondale (I think I heard it might have a rigid fork - but I did not notice it when they passed us on their way back).
Also, I think Bob Brown was on a hard tail 29er.
If you wanna know about riding a hard tail tandem for a LONG way, look up Jay&Tracey Petervary. I think he has a blog. They did the Tour Divide on a hard tail 29er. We saw them at the Laramie Enduro - they are AMAZING!!!