Will Lance Armstrong Show at the Leadville 100?

July 30th, 2008

2007 Leadville 100 MTB Start

Update: Lance finished 2nd in the 2008 Leadville 100. See videos of Lance and Dave Wiens at the Leadville 100.

In January Lance Armstrong did the Miles of Discomfort mountain bike race. He dropped out from cramps 43 miles into the 52 mile race. The word was that he was training for the the Leadville 100.

In March Biking Bis reported that Chris Carmichael, Lance’s long time coach, said Lance was planning to do the Leadville 100. Since then I haven’t been able to find anything about Lance doing the Leadville 100 until today.

Today Ken Chlouber announced that Lance has entered the Leadville 100. Early last year, it appeared there would be a battle between Lance and Floyd Landis. Soon after Landis announced he’d be racing, Lance said he had a scheduling conflict. In July Lance rode part of the course and it seemed he would be racing. In the end Lance didn’t show but Landis did race and finished 2nd to Dave Wiens.

Ricky at the Leadville 100Ricky, one of the very few that have finished every Leadville 100 MTB race, has posted on the Leadville 100 Yahoo group that Ken had also told him about Lance racing. Lance told Ken he wasn’t in that good of shape but thought he could still finish in the top 10. Of course he’ll have to actually show up.

I doubt we’ll see a race between Lance and Landis this year. Although Landis was going to be racing the National Ultra-Endurance Series this year, he hasn’t done any of them since CAS ruled against him in his 2006 Tour de France doping case.

Related Links:

Asolo TPS 520 GV Evo Hiking Boots
Asolo TPS 520 GV Evo Hiking Boots
Price: $268.44
 
Scarpa Zen Pro Mid GTX Hiking Boots
Scarpa Zen Pro Mid GTX Hiking Boots
Price: $159.94
 
Hi Tec Penrith Mid Jr. WP Hiking Boots
Hi Tec Penrith Mid Jr. WP Hiking Boots
Price: $38.73
 

NYC Police Assault on Critical Mass

July 28th, 2008

I don’t agree with the methods Critical Mass uses but I also don’t agree with a police officer knocking a cyclist down. The cyclist was charged was assaulting a police officer. Read more from GigaMike.

Asolo TPS 520 GV Evo Hiking Boots
Asolo TPS 520 GV Evo Hiking Boots
Price: $268.44
 
Scarpa Zen Pro Mid GTX Hiking Boots
Scarpa Zen Pro Mid GTX Hiking Boots
Price: $159.94
 
Hi Tec Penrith Mid Jr. WP Hiking Boots
Hi Tec Penrith Mid Jr. WP Hiking Boots
Price: $38.73
 

Tagged by Dave Moulton

July 25th, 2008

Dave Moulton tagged me (his blog has moved to new location)to write six little known random things about myself. He was tagged by Ron at Cozy Beehive which is another blog I read.

I’ve been tagged a couple times before. The other times I was tagged it was for 5 things. It seems the meme has been growing in the last year.

I started writing this nearly 2 weeks ago but just couldn’t find the inspiration to come up with little known things about me. I revealed enough last time. In the meantime the Fat Cyclist was tagged.

He thought it was unimaginative and came up with a list of questions to answer. I like his new meme better so I’m switching to it.

If you could have any one — and only one — bike in the world, what would it be?

I prefer not to have needless constraints. There are enough real ones without making more.

Do you already have that coveted dream bike? If so, is it everything you hoped it would be? If not, are you working toward getting it? If you’re not working toward getting it, why not?

For me it’s not about the dream bike. It’s about the dream rides.

If you had to choose one — and only one — bike route to do every day for the rest of your life, what would it be, and why?

See my answer to the first question.

What kind of sick person would force another person to ride one and only one bike ride to to do for the rest of her / his life?

Some poor, unhappy person that can’t stand to see other people happy. I don’t think Fatty is unhappy but he is the one that came up with question …

Do you ride both road and mountain bikes? If both, which do you prefer and why? If only one or the other, why are you so narrowminded?

I ride both. They’re different tools. If I’m going to ride 200 miles on the road, I prefer my road bike. If I’m wanting to go to the middle of nowhere on single track, I prefer my mountain bike.

Have you ever ridden a recumbent? If so, why? If not, describe the circumstances under which you would ride a recumbent.

No. I’d ride a recumbent if the closest food was 20 miles away and I didn’t have any other way to get there. I suppose I could run but I only do that if something large and scary is chasing me.

Have you ever raced a triathlon? If so, have you also ever tried strangling yourself with dental floss?

No, I swim just like a Rock. Straight to the bottom and that’s where I stay. If I raced a triathlon, there’d be no need for me to strangle myself.

Suppose you were forced to either give up ice cream or bicycles for the rest of your life. Which would you give up, and why?

That’s easy, ice cream. Ice cream is good but it’s not near the top of my favorite foods.

What is a question you think this questionnaire should have asked, but has not? Also, answer it.

Have you done a solo 24 hour race? If not, what are you waiting for? If yes, when are you doing your next one?

I’ve done 6 solo 24 hour mountain bike races and 4 races on the road that were longer. Hopefully I’ll do a long race next year.

You’re riding your bike in the wilderness (if you’re a roadie, you’re on a road, but otherwise the surroundings are quite wilderness-like) and you see a bear. The bear sees you. What do you do?

This has actually happened to me twice. Fortunately I’m scary enough looking that both times the bear ran away from me. I slammed the brakes and gave them time to get away. As fast as they ran, they didn’t need much time.

Since I already had my list of 6 bloggers chosen, I’m sticking with it instead of Fatty’s three. Even he couldn’t stop at three.

Asolo TPS 520 GV Evo Hiking Boots
Asolo TPS 520 GV Evo Hiking Boots
Price: $268.44
 
Scarpa Zen Pro Mid GTX Hiking Boots
Scarpa Zen Pro Mid GTX Hiking Boots
Price: $159.94
 
Hi Tec Penrith Mid Jr. WP Hiking Boots
Hi Tec Penrith Mid Jr. WP Hiking Boots
Price: $38.73
 

Technorati Tags: |

White Acres Article

July 24th, 2008

White Acres/Section 16

Update 12/1/08: The city has decided not to buy White Acres for open space and it looks like development is moving forward. Development still isn’t approved so make your voice heard.

Last week The Gazette, our local paper, had an article about White Acres. I’ve written about the possible open space a couple times. My last post had several pictures of White Acres.

According to the Gazette article, Bethany Church would like to see the land undeveloped. The church needs a lot of maintenance and needs money. Since TOPS wasn’t initially interested in buying the property, they’ve partnered with Infinity Land Corp. and have a plan for 28 houses.

My 5 year old went with me to the TOPS meeting a couple months ago when White Acres was discussed. We were riding at Red Rock Canyon last Sunday. She asked me if that was where we needed to stop people from building houses. She was on the trailer bike and I took her up there. I certainly got a workout!

It really would be sad if this great spot was developed. You can let TOPS know what you think by sending email to Chris Lieber.

Asolo TPS 520 GV Evo Hiking Boots
Asolo TPS 520 GV Evo Hiking Boots
Price: $268.44
 
Scarpa Zen Pro Mid GTX Hiking Boots
Scarpa Zen Pro Mid GTX Hiking Boots
Price: $159.94
 
Hi Tec Penrith Mid Jr. WP Hiking Boots
Hi Tec Penrith Mid Jr. WP Hiking Boots
Price: $38.73
 

116 Miles Instead of Silver Rush 50

July 23rd, 2008

Over the last couple weeks, I debated whether I should go do the Silver Rush 50. It would have been just for training because I’m still in no shape to be competitive. The best way to push hard is to do a race. I can go harder in a group than by myself and I can go even harder in a race.

I ended up deciding not to do it. One of the reasons was that I wasn’t sure I’d feel like riding on Sunday and wanted to get 2 days of training in. Other reasons were the cost and time driving.

Instead I decided to ride up to Denver on Saturday to see my brother-in-law that is in the hospital with lung cancer (More about him here). It was a hot day but the ride was pleasant on 105 to Sedalia. From there I took 85/Santa Fe to less than a mile from the hospital. Once I got past C-470 to where there was lots of asphalt and concrete, the heat became almost unbearable. The sun was beating down and the temperature on my computer was reading 102 degrees.

My wife and kids had driven to the hospital. We stayed for a couple hours before heading home. Since it was about 10 miles farther to the hospital than I had guessed, I was going to run out of daylight on the way home. I had my wife take me back 18 miles to Sedalia. That way I also avoided the least pleasant part of the ride.

Some clouds had built up by the time I started riding again and I got a couple drops of rain. The good part was that it was cooler. The bad part was that I had a strong headwind.

Just a couple miles south of Sedalia I was surprised to see a herd of over 30 elk. They were running through a field as thought they had been spooked by something. The herd was made up of females and young.

The Saturday before, I had gone up to the hospital with my wife and then just rode home from Sedalia. Even after already riding nearly 70 miles, I felt better this time. I was also slightly faster even with a stronger headwind.

The ride was 116 miles with 4403 feet of climbing in 8:02. Average speed was 14.5 mph. I’m guessing the extra headwind on the way back balanced out descending slightly more than climbing.

Asolo TPS 520 GV Evo Hiking Boots
Asolo TPS 520 GV Evo Hiking Boots
Price: $268.44
 
Scarpa Zen Pro Mid GTX Hiking Boots
Scarpa Zen Pro Mid GTX Hiking Boots
Price: $159.94
 
Hi Tec Penrith Mid Jr. WP Hiking Boots
Hi Tec Penrith Mid Jr. WP Hiking Boots
Price: $38.73
 

Living in the Least Obese State

July 18th, 2008

Colorado has the lowest percentage of obese people according to the Center for Disease Control. Even so nearly 1 in 5 are obese. The CDC has an unbelievable animation of how obesity has increased in the last 22 years.

Obesity is defined as a BMI higher than 30. I currently weigh 201 pounds and am 5’8″. That gives me a BMI of 30.5. Yes, that makes me one of the obese people in Colorado. I gained 30 pounds in the 6 months after RAAM in 2006. It was tough to cut back enough on food when I went from training 20-30 hours a week to riding 2-3 hours.

I’m much heavier than I should be now and I feel it. I’ll really feel it in 3 weeks at the Leadville 100 mountain bike race.

Even when I’m fit, lean and racing well, I’m still close to 170 pounds. According to the BMI, I shouldn’t be over 164.5 pounds. BMI works well as a general gauge but it only measures height and weight. Newer measurements that also include waist size are more accurate.

Asolo TPS 520 GV Evo Hiking Boots
Asolo TPS 520 GV Evo Hiking Boots
Price: $268.44
 
Scarpa Zen Pro Mid GTX Hiking Boots
Scarpa Zen Pro Mid GTX Hiking Boots
Price: $159.94
 
Hi Tec Penrith Mid Jr. WP Hiking Boots
Hi Tec Penrith Mid Jr. WP Hiking Boots
Price: $38.73
 

Lance Armstrong Foundation Donation

July 17th, 2008

Last month I announced I was going to donate 20% of my June site earnings to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. The Fat Cyclist’s Triathalon and raffle is what prompted me to donate to the Lance Armstrong Foundation through MikeRoadie’s donation page.

Fatty’s Triathalon was a huge success and the raffle raised $37,500 for the Lance Armstrong Foundation. June was also a good month on UltraRob.com. Over $30,000 of cycling and outdoor gear was bought after visiting UltraRob.com. That made for a nice donation to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Thanks to everyone who helped out by buying some gear.

Unfortunately nearly everyone has been affected by cancer. We were fortunate when my Dad got testicular cancer several years ago. It was caught early. He had surgery and some radiation treatments. He has been doing well since.

Things have not gone so well for my brother-in-law. A little over a year and a half ago, he started coughing up blood. It took the doctors a few months to figure out what was going on. It turned out he had a very aggressive form of lung cancer that is different from what is caused by smoking.

He has had a few rounds of chemotherapy and radiation. Through it all he has stayed positive. When the chemo isn’t making him too sick, he has been mountain biking and hiking.

A couple months ago the doctors said there wasn’t much more they could do. A couple weeks ago he started having a lot of pain. He was admitted to the hospital with a lot of fluid on his lungs. They’ve drained the fluid a few times. They did a procedure they hoped would reduce the fluid but it didn’t help much.

A scan they did yesterday didn’t show much since he has so much inflammation. With the little they could see, they could tell the cancer has continued to spread. Even though they are giving him morphine, he’s in a lot of pain. Hopefully he’ll improve but things aren’t looking right now.

Asolo TPS 520 GV Evo Hiking Boots
Asolo TPS 520 GV Evo Hiking Boots
Price: $268.44
 
Scarpa Zen Pro Mid GTX Hiking Boots
Scarpa Zen Pro Mid GTX Hiking Boots
Price: $159.94
 
Hi Tec Penrith Mid Jr. WP Hiking Boots
Hi Tec Penrith Mid Jr. WP Hiking Boots
Price: $38.73
 

Technorati Tags: |

Camping Trip Near Lake City, CO Day 4 Photo Dump

July 15th, 2008

The 4th and last day of our camping trip near Lake City, CO didn’t involve any mountain biking or hiking. My brother rented a jeep and wanted to 4-wheel the Alpine Loop which goes over Cinnamon Pass, through Animas Fork and back over Engineer Pass. We also drove into Silverton. The first day when I rode Cinnamon Pass, I would have done the Alpine Loop if I had been fit enough.

Lake San Cristobal, Lake City, CO

Lake San Cristobal, Lake City, CO

American Basin

American Basin

Cinnamon Pass

Cinnamon Pass

Cinnamon Pass

Cinnamon Pass

Valley Near Animas Forks, CO

Valley Near Animas Forks, CO

Animas Forks, CO

Animas Forks, CO

Animas Forks, CO

Animas Forks, CO

Animas Forks, CO

Animas Forks, CO

Duncan House at Animas Forks, CO

Duncan House at Animas Forks, CO

Duncan House at Animas Forks, CO

Duncan House at Animas Forks, CO

Blue Columbine

Blue Columbine

Train in Silverton, CO

Train in Silverton, CO

Train in Silverton, CO

Train in Silverton, CO

Train in Silverton, CO

Train in Silverton, CO

Engineer Pass

Engineer Pass

Engineer Pass

Engineer Pass

View from Engineer Pass

View from Engineer Pass

Engineer Pass

Engineer Pass

Cabin on Engineer Pass

Cabin on Engineer Pass

Cabin on Engineer Pass

Cabin on Engineer Pass

Whitmore Falls Near Lake City, CO

Whitmore Falls Near Lake City, CO

Whitmore Falls Near Lake City, CO

Whitmore Falls Near Lake City, CO

Whitmore Falls Near Lake City, CO

Whitmore Falls Near Lake City, CO

Related Links:

Asolo TPS 520 GV Evo Hiking Boots
Asolo TPS 520 GV Evo Hiking Boots
Price: $268.44
 
Scarpa Zen Pro Mid GTX Hiking Boots
Scarpa Zen Pro Mid GTX Hiking Boots
Price: $159.94
 
Hi Tec Penrith Mid Jr. WP Hiking Boots
Hi Tec Penrith Mid Jr. WP Hiking Boots
Price: $38.73
 

Camping Trip Near Lake City, CO Day 3 Photo Dump

July 14th, 2008

I didn’t spend as much time on my bike on our 3rd day camping near Lake City. I only got about an hour spin. We also did about a 4 mile hike to Thompson Lake. I had my 3 year old in the backpack so I got a good workout.

My brother that is 6 years older than me was the one that got me into backpacking and mountaineering when I was a teenager. He now lives in Ohio. He and his family arrived in Lake City late the night before. His family and my parents came out to where my sister’s and my families were camped for dinner and a marshmallow roast.



Related Links: Camping Trip Near Lake City, CO Day 1 | Camping Trip Near Lake City, CO Day 2

Asolo TPS 520 GV Evo Hiking Boots
Asolo TPS 520 GV Evo Hiking Boots
Price: $268.44
 
Scarpa Zen Pro Mid GTX Hiking Boots
Scarpa Zen Pro Mid GTX Hiking Boots
Price: $159.94
 
Hi Tec Penrith Mid Jr. WP Hiking Boots
Hi Tec Penrith Mid Jr. WP Hiking Boots
Price: $38.73
 

Technorati Tags: |

2008 Fireweed 400 Results

July 13th, 2008

According to a 2008 Fireweed 400 report in the Anchorage Daily News, Ben Popp of St. Paul, Minnesota won. His time was 22:28:42. My time in 2003 was 22:09:42 but weather and course conditions make it difficult to compare times.

Long time endurance althlete Rocky Reifenstuhl was 2nd with a time of 24:46:27. He was last year’s winner. Reifenstuhl led for most this race before being passed by Popp after Glenallen.

The amazing thing is Reifenstuhl was hit by a lumber truck a week ago. He was struggling just to walk. He considered not doing the race but he said he doesn’t like to pull out of races.

400 Mile Solo Results

  1. Ben Popp 22:28:42
  2. Rocky Reifenstuhl 24:46:27
  3. Brandon McNerlin 24:56:22
  4. Chet Fehrmann 26:01:24
  5. Lew Meyer 29:12:28

Asolo TPS 520 GV Evo Hiking Boots
Asolo TPS 520 GV Evo Hiking Boots
Price: $268.44
 
Scarpa Zen Pro Mid GTX Hiking Boots
Scarpa Zen Pro Mid GTX Hiking Boots
Price: $159.94
 
Hi Tec Penrith Mid Jr. WP Hiking Boots
Hi Tec Penrith Mid Jr. WP Hiking Boots
Price: $38.73
 

Technorati Tags: | | |

Email: web@ultrarob.com

Business Seal       Privacy Seal