Stage 6 - the last day. For some classes, it was still racing as the time gaps were tiny. For us, it was pedal party time. There was no surmounting the distance between us and the leaders and the third place team was several hours behind Amber and I. So we didn't have to race. We just had to have fun and remember that's why we ride bikes. We aren't getting paid to ride or do crazy things like the Breck Epic. We do these things because they are fun and we love to ride our bikes.
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| Ready to go for the last stage of the race |
While the descent of Gold Dust trail on the south side of Boreas Pass is the highlight of the stage, it's a roadies dream. Two long climbs to the Continental divide on Boreas Pass Road with nothing to get in the way of putting the head down and pedaling. Before getting to Boreas Pass Roas, however the course followed Breck Epic Course Rule #1 - if there is a fun descent, at some point in time you will climb up it. This time it meant climbing up Aspen Alley and Banker's Tank trails - both awesome trails that we'd decended six long days before. Ugh. Five days worth of fatigue in our legs and we were still leading the train up the trail, and nobody wanted around (we asked - several times.) The French Canadian riders were behind us and all four of us were yipping away. (Amber and I used a loud yip to communicate throughout the week - we could tell where the other rider was without having to slow or look around. Once some of the other duos realized that, they joined in.) Our mantra for stage was to have fun and enjoy the ride. And when we heard banjos, that meant stopping for a photo. Yes, we brought the camera with us!
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| I hear Banjos!! |
The first climb up Boreas was a good opportunity to chat with several of the men's duos we'd been riding with for most of the week. That made the gravel grinding pass much faster and actually made it kinda fun. We thought we were making good time until one of them looked up the hill a bit and asked "is that a racer coming back already?" And it sure was. A white streak flying down Boreas Pass road - Howard Grotts, racing hard for the stage win and to get the time he needed for the GC win. Holy Crap! He had about five minutes on the next two riders - the time it took us to climb to the summit. True to our having fun on the day pledge, when we heard the magic words "Donuts" it was time for a stop!
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Donut time!
Photo - Linda Guerrette |
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Gold Dust!
Photo - Michael Kane |
Then it was time for some Gold Dust. We weren't riding the entire segment - just down to the main road crossing. Gold Dust is one of those multiple personality trails - from the chunky alpine decent near the summit to the Star Wars-esq slalom down the center of a flume trench. By turning off early, we missed the really technical traversing section, but I was perfectly happy about that. It was a long week and riding the fun techy part also meant additional climbing which we didn't feel like dealing with. I was already not looking forward to the climb up Boreas Pass again for several reasons. Luckily, Amber was able to engage the diesel and drag us both up to the summit. We didn't stop this time. With less then 30 minutes left in in the race, we didn't need to stop. All that separated us from the finish was the descent down Indian Creek and the Blue River trail.
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The return up Boreas Pass Road
Photo - Michael Kane |
And then the Finish Line! Amber and I rode in together, hands in the air. We may not have won the day, the class or even a single stage. But that wasn't the goal of our journey around Breck on two wheels. Any great adventure will involve certain amount of fear. We woke up every morning for the past six days wondering what the day would bring. But allowing that fear to hole you back will limit the scope of the adventure. And every morning, we lined up with our new friends and prepared for another day, another 40 miles and 6000 feet of climbing. You have to step into the unknown with an open mind and eager heart.
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| The French Canadian team we spent many hours riding with. A yip with a French Accent is an special sound |
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