Video Recap HERE
Karel went to bed and woke up very tired, sore and exhausted. Shortly after he got out of bed around 6am he said to me "I'm not even half way through the event. I don't know how I'll get through today." I knew the stage would be challenging for him based on Karel's feedback from last time so I gave him lots of words of encouragement. Karel was feeling nauseous and had a hard time eating his oatmeal.
Around 7:10am I drove up the street to drop off Karel's aid station bags. He decided to use two bags today. In aid station #2 bag he had 1 bottle of sport nutrition (INFINIT) and in aid station #3 bag he had another USWE hydration pack (1.5 L) with INFINIT. He started with a USWE hydration pack and had a bottle on his bike with sport nutrition.
A little after 7:30am, I headed out for my ride. My plan was to go to the village of Vail and back and then climb up to the B&B trailhead to see Karel finish. Based on his time from last year, my goal was to be back at the finish by 1pm. It was chilly out this morning but not as cold as yesterday. I wore knee warmers, light gloves, a base layer tank and arm warmers. I warmed up quickly once I got to Frisco as I started to climb on the bike path towards Copper Mountain (7.7 miles, 652 feet). I rode through the town of Copper mountain and made my way onto the bike path towards the Vail Pass. I enjoyed this 4.4 mile climb (705 feet) as it was a gentle grade (for most of it, with a few pitchy sections and a narrow section due to construction). The bike paths are incredible in this area. I was riding from Breckenridge to Vail all on a car-free bike path! I descended 11 miles which meant I had been on a bike path for 2 hours and 34 miles! I then made my way on to the bike lane and descended into the village of Vail - 37 miles, 2:12, ~1600 feet. I kept track on the time to make sure that I would be back in time to see Karel finish. I was a little worried about the 15 mile, 2300+ feet climb back to Vail pass but overall it wasn't too bad. There were some really pitchy sections which had me breathing heavy. Overall, I feel like I am getting a little more used to the altitude but I still can't push hard without my legs hurting and breathing heavy. I enjoyed the 15 mile descend back into the town of Frisco and then I made my way 8 miles back up to Breckenridge (into headwind) and then a few miles up to the B&B Trailhead. In total, my ride was 5:10, 80 miles, ~5600 feet.
I arrived to the stage finish a little before 1pm and around 20 minutes later, Karel rolled through the finish line. He looked disappointed but I was just so happy that he made it to the finish. Unfortunately, he got a flat tire on one of the very rocky descends. Thankfully his foam insert helped to not destroy the rim and he was able to plug the tire, use some CO2, plug again and then at the next aid station, get another CO2. Seeing that several riders had much more serious issues like broken wheels, broken chains and broken spokes, Karel got lucky with only a puncture that he was able to plug (2 plugs). He ended up losing around 8 minutes but he rode really well throughout the stage. He finished 9th in his category and continues to sit in 8th GC (40-49).
In any race but especially in off road cycling, it's not about if something happens but when AND how you deal with it. Karel was bummed about the situation and it made him lose some of his mojo but he acted quick, fixed the flat and continued giving his best.
After the stage, I gave Karel a cup of tart cherry juice (I brought the concentrate packet and added water from the finish line area) and Karel also made himself a bottle of skratch recovery from the finish line area and we shared a coke. I consumed 4 bottles of INFINIT 90g carbs throughout my ride.
We rode back to the Airbnb and after Karel cleaned up, he went to the village to have Orange Seal fix his tire. Karel brought another tire so he had them fill with sealant and put the tire on. This saved Karel lots of time and energy as he was not looking forward to spending time fixing his bike this afternoon instead of recovering. While Karel was fixing his tire, I went for a 38 min, 4.5 mile run. At first I thought I was getting used to the altitude but then after I turned around and started the net incline back to our Airbnb, I quickly realized it's still incredibly hard to run here.
Karel is now officially half way through the Breck Epic 6-stage event. He is really tired, sore and exhausted but he is also performing really well. Although he is 2 years older than the last time, his skills have really improved and he is feeling much more confident on the descends.
Hoping for lots of mechanical luck for tomorrow!
A few pics from yesterday late afternoon at the bike week expo....
