This was a bad year for training, with the weather the way it was, I didn't get out until late April this year. The longest ride I've logged prior to doing the triple was 60 miles. I also haven't figured out the whole fueling science yet. I now know that I should be taking in gu or some kind of food about every 30 - 45 minutes during the ride. I need to make sure and get enough drink with sodium as well.


I got started a little late (6:45 AM) due to parking being very limited. However I felt good, and made good time.

Juniper Pass:
This was the first pass. I planned on starting off easy, just until I could get warmed up. After about ten minutes I felt pretty good, and began to pick up the pace.
I was able to stay in the middle chain ring all the way up Juniper. When I reached the summit, I stopped for a quick couple of minutes to refill my water bottles. The ride down to Idaho springs was a little crowded in some sections, but it was still a lot of fun. Those aero bars are great!
The ride from Idaho springs to Georgetown was fairly easy I stopped off in Georgetown for 5 minutes to refuel.

Georgetown to Loveland:
It was starting to get a little warm out, so I made sure to hydrate about every 5 minutes or so. The I70 portion of the ride was a little sketchy with all the truck traffic heading up to the mountains, this made me a little uneasy when passing other riders. The aid station at Loveland ski resort was a welcome break, I spent a good 30 minutes here, stretching, eating and drinking.

Loveland Pass:
The ride up Loveland pass seemed a lot quicker this year. I felt like my legs were still pretty fresh and I was able to sustain a good cadence all the way up. Once at the top, I snapped a few pictures and headed down. The ride down was fun! I was able to stay in my aero bars for the entire descent, reaching speeds of 45 to 50 mph!
The ride from Keystone to Breckenridge was fairly windy and I could start to feel the effects of dehydration. I finished off what drink I had and refueled at the Breck aid station.

Frisco to Vail Pass
The ride from Frisco to Copper was a gradual never ending ascent, I was starting to feel tired and very thirsty. I think this is where I hit the wall. I noticed that I had a thick coating of salt on my face, and my heart rate didn't want to go above 140. I knew I had to get some salt, and the accelerade they provided didn't have that much sodium in it.
Once in Copper, I found a convenience store and bought a coke and a bag of salty potato chips, after about 10 minutes I started too feel a whole lot better and headed up Vail pass. I knew once I got to the summit it would be downhill the rest of the way, so I made no excuses and powered my way up just as fast as I could.

Vail Pass to Avon:
Upon reaching the summit, I didn't stop, I continued down into Vail.
This is where I got a second wind, I mean I really felt strong all the way into Avon. I think it had something to do with knowing the finish line was close. I have to say, it was a lot of fun having traffic stop for you while whipping around those traffic circles in Vail.