42.3 miles
6473 feet
4:43
In 2023, I didn't see much of Karel racing as I was preparing for XTRI Icon. My workouts were long and I was gone for most of the day because the pool was 30 min away. This time around, although I am preparing for an Ironman (IM Chattanooga - I signed up a few weeks ago), I want to share as much of this experience as I can with Karel.
Karel woke up exhausted and his sinuses are bothering him because of the dry air. He once again questioned how he would get through another 4+ hours of racing. The courses at Breck Epic are incredibly challenging with a lot of rocks, dust and climbing. Every stage has over 5000 feet elevation gain.
I dropped off Karel's bag around 6:30am and had a very early start to my day. I started my ride at 6:45am as I my plan was to ride to the top of Loveland Pass in Keystone and then head a few miles back to watch Karel come through aid station #2. My plan was to be at the aid station by 10:30am.
I started to make my way up Swan Mountain and noticed that the road was closed at the top. This had me worried that I would have to reroute and go around the lake to Dillon/Keystone but thankfully I was able to cut over and get on the bike path at the top. The bike path around Swan Mountain is a piece of art. Switchbacks and a smooth windy road around the side of the mountain.
I made my way towards Keystone and noticed a sign that said "Loveland Pass closed." I looked it up on my phone and sure enough, the pass was closed indefinitely due to a recent landslide. I had over 2 hours left until I would go to see Karel so I backtracked and headed back up Swan Mountain from the Keystone side and down to the bike path and then around the lake. I wanted to get in a good amount of climbing and Swan Mountain is a nice 2.5 mile climb with a little over 600 feet.
The bike path on the Dillon side is a little more rough (not as smooth) but still very pretty. The Keystone path is very pretty with a rocky river alongside the path.
After 3 hours of riding, I finally made my way to a gravel road to aid station #2 by Keystone. I waited around 20 minutes and finally saw Karel. While he went pee in the grass, I got him a small can of Fanta, topped off his water bottle that had precision hydration 60g and gave him a new hydration pack w/ 3 scoops INFINIT in it. Karel told me that he had a bit of a tumble on one of the descends but he was ok. It was getting warm out and it was very dusty. Karel was having a hard time breathing today. The aid station volunteers are incredible and once again, the riders are very nice and considerate. There were several mechanical issues that riders had to stop and fix.
I made my way back to Breckenridge, dropped of my hydration pack in our Airbnb and then rode my bike a few miles up the road to the B&B trailhead. I ended up with 4:56 ride time, 74.6 miles and close to 5000 feet of elevation. I waited around 20 minutes and Karel finally rolled through.
Karel couldn't stop coughing and he said his lungs hurt really bad. He did really well considering all that his body is going through. He ended up 9th on the stage (40-49) and is maintaining 8th overall (GC - general classification) in his age group. Karel drank the tart cherry drink that I made for him and he filled up his bottle w/ Skratch chocolate recovery from the aid station.
After thinking about life and why he is doing this event, we finally made our way down the mountain. Karel rode to the lodge to wash off his bike and I went back to the Airbnb and ordered Karel a burger from Flipside Burger (per Karel's appetite :)
Around 5pm, Karel went to pick up his aid station bag and I went to the Rec center for a swim.
Tomorrow's stage is short - only 25 miles but incredibly challenging with over 5200 feet elevation gain. The Wheeler pass is rocky, steep and technical and requires a lot of hike-a-bike. Two more stages to go!
