Counting Down

I wish I had something profound or earth shattering to say about the big bike meet on Saturday. I even thought about it for a while. Fact is, no matter which angle I approach it from, it still just computes as a bike race. I spent an hour on the phone with my coach Eric Orton this morning and only about 10 of the minutes were spent talking about Leadville. There's just a lot of other important stuff going on: Tuesday I hop on a plane to Georgia to race the Fool's Gold next Saturday, 2 weeks later is the Shenandoah 100, I'm thinking about some stage racing, then there's cross season, Interbike...and that's just bike related stuff. Leadville is one of many bike races and life is full of other important stuff, too.

The climb up to columbine was looking mighty fine this week.

Being the "underwhelming favorite" for this year's race, (that's a self-given title as Rebecca Rusch has been named the overwhelming favorite by many) I'm racing with pretty light shoulders. Yeah, yeah I know I got beat last year by 25 min. But I also know that 20 of those minutes were spent fixing a flat tire and getting caught in traffic as a result. I'm confident that I'm a bit smarter, stronger, fitter and generally a better bike rider than at this time last year. I've already won some great races this year, so having a good day at Leadville would only add to an already successful season!

Looking down on the turnaround at the mine.

I am excited for the challenge and incredibly prepared to go out and ride a really tough race the best that I can. The chips are going to fall where the chips are going to fall. Lance or no Lance, movies and movie tours, too many tweets and excessive media attention, it's still just a bike race. Any of my Jackson/Victor riding buddies can tell you that I'm going to turn myself inside out to get to the finish line whether it's Leadville or my local Tuesday Night Worlds. It's just the way I'm wired.

I think what I am most excited to witness is my Victor pals the "Super-Varys" AKA Jay and Tracey Petervary destroy the course on a tandem. If anyone can break the 9hr mark on a tandem, it's these two. Theirs would be the most deserved belt buckle of all.

To all of my friends, family and sponsors who are behind me and have been sending me messages of bike love and support, thank you! Your support and positive vibes mean the world. I promise you all that no matter what goes down up there in the high country, I'll empty my bucket and make you proud!