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Triple By-Pass - CycleCentury


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Evergreen / Avon, Colorado
United States
Team Evergreen
Total Time = 00m
Overall Rank = /
Age Group =
Age Group Rank = 0/
Bike
  • 9h 30m
  • 120 miles
  • 12.63 mile/hr
Comments:

It all started last June while riding with a good friend of the family while he was in town. Roy, a Kansas City cycling enthusiast, told me about this ride called “Triple ByPass” which he had ridden previously in 2007. He told me how unbelievable of an experience he had and how he highly recommended it to every cyclist he thought had the guts to try it. The seed was planted and I waited and thought about this ride for over 12 months! On July 11th, 2009, I rode the Triple ByPass and the following is, to the best of my recollection, a summary of the days events! Quick note: if you’re not framiliar with the Triple ByPass ride, please check out my earlier post to get more acquainted.

5:00am - Colorado makes me sleep very heavily so getting from the bed to my feet is a bit difficult. I showered, suited up and was out the door by 6:00am. We were only a 10 minute drive from the starting point, Bergen Park. Things seemed calm and somber as riders from all over made there last minute preparations and gear checks. By this time, any butterflies or nerves were long gone. “Let’s do this damn it! I’m tired of waiting.” We both made a last minute bathroom stop and headed towards the road leading up Squaw Pass.

Squaw/Juniper Pass – The ride begins by immediately handing riders their first climb of the touted “Triple” that is encountered during the day. There might have been one or two clouds in an otherwise pristine and fresh feeling mountain morning. The day looked to be absolutely perfect, but c’mon, this is the mountains and weather can spin on a dime. This first climb was approximately 14 miles to the top and somewhere around 3,300 feet of elevation gain. The grade slowly notched up over the first 2-4 miles, but never turned into anything serious. There were several packs of riders that were riding pretty aggressive (my opinion) for it being the first 5 miles, but what do I know, I”m from Iowa. “Don’t chase the locals”, was one of my mantras for the day! Of the many folks we talked to on the way up, I was suprised that a majority of them were from the midwest…. Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota and Nebraska. Nobody was really into talking that much, probably because they were thinking too much about what the next 10+ hours of their day would bring. I’ll take a stab at what most riders were thinking heading up Squaw Pass – “How bad is this day gonna hurt?” I kept waiting for the climb to turn up in grade, but it never did and we hit the summit in about 1.5 hours which is what we had anticipated. Terry and I were both a bit perplexed because we really didn’t have much trouble getting up Squaw/Juniper Pass at all. We grabbed some fig bars, cookies and refueled the bottles with Cytomax and began the descent into Idaho Springs. I was framiliar with this section of the route as I had climbed it from Idaho Springs in 2008(far more challenging the opposite way up the pass!). As I previously mentioned, I am a horrible descender. I don’t have much confidence at all in myself or my equipment. I just ride the brakes and stay to the right and let the locals blaze by me. Side rant: Being new to mountain descending, there are riders who obviously have control of themselves and are very experienced exceeding 50+mph. Then there are absolute idiots who will eventually kill themselves or someone else during an event like this. They’re reckless, inconsiderate and a liability to everyone they go near. If you’re like me, stay right, don’t make erratic movements, remain in control and you’ll be fine.

Idaho Springs -> Georgetown - Terry and I stopped briefly in Idaho Springs where my wife, daughter and my parents were waiting for us. Sunscreen, bananas, pictures,a few high-fives and we were off for Loveland Pass. This second stretch of the Triple looked like a long climb on paper and I had learned, from doing a little homework, there was some high grade climbing out of Georgetown. We left Idaho Springs feeling “as good as new,” but it wasn’t long before we began noticing a headwind. By all means, it wasn’t bad, but enough to slowly wear on you with time. The stretch to Georgetown followed a side road that ran somewhat in-line with I-70. By around 10:00am, there didn’t seem to be many riders around us at all which meant the majority of the 3,000+ participants were either behind us… or most likely ahead of us. Besides pushing into the headwind, this section was probably the calmest and relaxing part of the day. About 15 miles later, we spotted the Georgetown Aid station and stopped for some nutrition. Side Note: From my previous encounters with “long-course” endurance events, I’m very framiliar with the necessity of nutrition. It is absolutely essential!!! On a day where you will likely burn upwards of 7,000+ calories, if you fail to replenish them… you bonk. No question about it. I was on top of it and was consitently drinking my Cytomax as well as prgressively eating more at each aid station. In addition, I would hit a GU in between aid stations as well. It seemed to work good for me.

Georgetown -> Loveland Pass – Although still a continuation of the second climb, this stretch is touted as one of the most difficult of the ride. For the most part, this is correct. Specifically the part after Georgetown heading up to the I-70 underpass. I didn’t know where or what to expect, but I knew immediately once the road turned up. Boo-yah! To be honest, I was thrilled because this was what I’ve been training for and now it was time to test my Iowa trained butt against the Colorado steeps! I had completely ran out of gears, but made it a point not to lose my cadence. There were a ton of riders that seemed to be crawling up this section and several folks who were walking their bikes up. I felt good and besides being short on air, was able to keep my tempo high while staying comfortable. There was one rider who passed me, yet had a similar tempo so I latched on to him and finished the climb with him. This part of the ride is definitely a section that will break you if you’re not ready. Fail to train or if you have a weak threshold of pain, you will feel it here. Once Terry and I hooked back up, our next section of the route was riding the shoulder of I-70. That’s right…. I-70. Around 8-10ft wide, there was room, but it was still frightening to have 18 wheelers buzzing by around 60+ mph. We had a scary moment at one point when after Terry (who is very good at alerting other riders to his presence) had yelled “left… on your left” several times, began to make his pass. Well, this woman suddenly swerved to her left while Terry was making his pass and had Terry not the presence of mind to hit his brakes, he would’ve been out on I-70. We’re not there to lecture anyone, but I’m sure the look both of us gave her let her know she made a bad move. Pull the earplugs out sister! After 5 miles of I-70, we were at the base of Loveland Pass where the third aid station was located. It was huge and there were a ton of riders there. The watermelon and PB&J sandwiches were inhaled. I will add that the volunteers were so nice. Every single one of them thanked me for riding and was so very supportive. The only problem was that there was a line at least 50+yards long waiting for water and Gatorade. My sincerest apologies if you were waiting in that line, but nobody was filling up from the opposite side and several coolers were just sitting there… so I just walked up and filled up my bottles. Don’t fume at me, because there probably should have been a little more availability to minimize the build up. Jumping back on our bikes, we began the final stretch of the 2nd climb of the “triple.” (yes, after 56miles, we were still only on the 2nd climb.) Terry immediately told me to “get after it”, because he wasn’t going to be pushing it on this one. Loveland is a 4 mile ”HC” or “Above Category” climb which is used in cycling to mark the most difficult of climbs. On Terry’s command, I began my push. I dropped into aero postion and picked up the tempo. It felt about as steep as the climb out of Georgetown, but longer. Somewhere around the last third of the climb, someone jumped on my wheel and I kind of “got into the moment” TDF-like and kicked it up a little more to make him work for it. Just short of the summit, I’d looked back and didn’t see him any more. Woot! Oh wait… this is a ride and not a race Kev.

Loveland Descent – I was feeling a bit more confident heading down from Loveland considering I lived throught the descent to Idaho Springs. I hit 43.5 mph at one point and felt pretty good about everything. Below A-basin Ski area, we came around a turn that obviously exposed us to some serious wind, because it hit me hard. My entire bike started to wobble and everything seemed to turn on me so suddenly. Within seconds, Terry whizzed by me, jacket flapping in the wind. I’m still wobbling and trying to gain control of my situation. Another rider blows by me and yells ” You’re shimmy-ing!!! You’re shimmy-ing!!! (not sure if that’s how you spell it) Not only was I aware that I was about to crash while going 35+mph, but it was apparent to others as well. (I was properly riding right and out of the way of faster descenders) If you’ve ever ridden a skateboard down a hill and had it start to get away from you because you’re going to fast, that’s what it was like except I was on a bike. For about 10 seconds I had accepted that I would crash at any time and simply tried to minimize it before the inevitable. Let’s just say that if I would’ve crashed, it would’ve been bad. Very very bad. Amazingly enough, I managed to slow down enough to recapture control. I pulled off to the side, took a deep breath and just looked around for a while trying to calm myself down. The rest of the descent was 20-25mph max in a very controlled and non-aggressive manner.

Keystone -> Vail Pass – We stopped in Keystone where my family was. They were so kind to meet our request of Coke and Payday bars. So wonderful. At this point, it felt like we were close, but Terry might have well punched me in the face when he told me we had 50 to go. I said goodbye to my family, although I would’ve liked to have just retired to the couch with my wife and daughter. Swan Mountain Road, a small road bypassing I-70 and leading close to Breck/Frisco, was our next little bump. Honestly, one’s own fatigue at this point makes the small climb worse than it really is. Only for about a 1/4 mile does it really kick up on you. Beautiful views of Lake Dillon are abound here. On the way down I felt a drip, then another drip and before we got to the bottom it began steadily showering. At the end of Swan Mtn. Rd., the fourth aid station can be found and was quite possibly my favorite. Why? Pizza! Lot’s of pizza! Again, hats of to Team Evergreen because that was exactly what I needed. Cold as the pizza was, it was fantastic! Our stop was short though because, although unspoken, Terry and I were both getting anxious to finish. By now we had likely been in the saddle for around 6+ hours. Leaving the Frisco aid station, we jumped on a asphalt trail that snuck its way through the trees towards Copper Mountain. This part becomes more challenging because there is oncoming traffic(bicyclists). The challenging part is keeping an eye out for traffic because you’re becoming fatigued and your mental accuteness is dropping with each pedal stroke. I looked down for a few seconds at one point, drifted into the other lane and about smashed into another rider. Terry fortunately yelled “heads up” at me and I was able to yank it back over to my side. Whew. My fault totally, but they other guy should’ve been a bit more cautious too considering he was riding 23+mph past hundreds of oncoming Triple ByPass riders.

After about what seemed like an hour of very gradual climbing, we thought we were at the top of Vail Pass. Sorry Kev, that’s a false summit near Copper Mountain and Vail Pass was another 6-7 miles of climbing. Personally, this was where things began to become more difficult for me simply because of mental fatigue. I still had plenty of legs on me, but my mind was begining to soften up…. not good. The mind will go before your body will. For the most part, Vail Pass is through a beautiful meadow-like valley and only steepens up for a short bit near the very end. I saw some dude get half-way up around a steep switch-back, dump his bike and crash to his butt from sheer exhaustion. Kind of funny, but I definitely felt his pain! At the top of Vail Pass, there was a definite sense of relief in that most of the hard work (climbing) was over. The catch was we still had around 25 miles to cover before we could “officially” call it a day. We didn’t stay long at the Vail Pass aid station and began our descent towards Vail. Halfway down the wind began picking up, things got dark and BOOM, BOOM went the thunder. The rain began steadily coming down and by the time we reached the outskirts of Vail, I was more or less soaked with frozen hands and feet. The mind was really starting to sputter as my recollection from this point on becomes far more spotty. I do remember many riders getting picked up by an I-70 underpass in Vail. Wimps. Would I have liked to? Absolutely. Was that an option? Of course not. Through Vail, the rain was pooling in areas or running across the road which made for some moments of caution. Terry definitely came back to life in Vail which helped me out because he suddenly ramped it up to around 22-23mph from Vail to Avon. For the most part flat, we kept a very steady pace and ground out the last 8 or so miles. That burst of effort seemed to give us something to concentrate on, helping us safely get to the finish line.

Finish – 120 miles and 10,300+ feet of climbing for the day and I was a Triple ByPass finisher. Terry and I could’ve cared less at that point though, because we laid down our bikes and made way for the beer tent. We both knocked back some Tommyknocker wheat beers (outstanding I might add) and soon after headed into what appeared to be the central area of Avon. Our rendevous point with my father and wife who came to pick us up turned out to be Bob’s Place. Our exhausting day meant one thing, recovery drinks. A shot of Wild Turkey and a Guiness took a large chunk of the pain away and is highly recommended!

Summary – Team Evergreen knows what they’re doing and Triple ByPass, as large as the ride is, comes off highly organized and well run. I never went 10 minutes without seeing some form of sag support. Volunteers were abound, uber friendly and more than helpful. Aid stations were, for the most part, more than ample to keep riders fed and hydrated. (”for the most part” means there was not any sports gels/bars available for carrying out of aid stations. No Ibuprofen either, but I’m sure they’re not allowed to dispense that for liability purposes, so bring your own!) Solid course, with continuously changing scenery keeping things fresh. It is a big ride, not only for mileage, but for climbing too. If you’re not trained and ready for this ride, you will encounter pain and suffering. You don’t need to go overboard with training, but definitely having a few 100+ mile rides logged as well as some “climbing specific training” will go a long way. I believe anyone can do this ride and highly recommend it to someone looking for an amazing experience. I loved the entire day, I love cycling in Colorado and you can bet your arse I’ll be back!

Post race



Last updated: 2009-04-30 12:00 AM
Biking
09:30:00 | 120 miles | 12.63 mile/hr
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Good
Wind: Headwind
Course:
Road: Smooth  Cadence:
Turns: Cornering:
Gear changes: Hills:
Race pace: Drinks:
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race?
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 5

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2009-07-17 2:09 PM

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Regular
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252525
Des Moines, IA
Subject: Triple By-Pass


2009-07-21 11:09 PM
in reply to: #2292291

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Master
1651
10005001002525
Breckenridge, CO
Subject: RE: Triple By-Pass
Hey, nice ride! I don't know how you guys from low elevation do it. Sounds like you didn't take my advice about waterproof gloves and bagging your feet. Well, experience is the best teacher

FYI: I have all the Triple Bypass segments mapped on BT which you can access from my race report at:
http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp...

There's also a way to copy the routes into your BT account but I can't remember exactly how.
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