Last Saturday at the Leadville 100 just after the top of Sugarloaf at the top of the descent down Powerline, there was a bad crash. By the time I got there about a dozen riders were standing around a rider laying on the ground so I didn’t stop. I had the feeling the rider was seriously injured and later heard that a rider had been airlifted from there.

Someone posted an update from his wife on the Leadville 100 Yahoo group.

Gary was competing in the Leadville 100 mountain bike race. He was on the top of a mountain and hit a rock. He was thrown over the front of his bike. Another biker behind Gary crashed into him who was also injured.

Gary had amazing medical people helping him on the mountain to keep him safe. He was flown to St Anthony Central Hospital. He has a brain injury and 4 broken ribs and bruised lung. Gary is in the ICU unit. He is progressing fast. He can move his limbs, responds to voice commands. He knows his name, me and the girls. He sat up today and walked. Spoke a few sentences. He is fiesty which the nurses say is great. I am not sure how long we will be in the hospital. The goal is to get Gary back 100%.

Thank you for all your prayers and support! Please keep them coming. This will be a journey we need your help with. God has already put amazing people in place to help Gary. I will try to update the site daily.

If you’re interested in sending him some encouragement or continuing to get updates, he has a care page at the hospital. Click the become a member link and once you enter the information, you’ll be taken to Gary’s page.

– UltraRob

Related Links

• 2010 Leadville 100
• 2010 Leadville 100 Photos
• Leadville 100 Mountain Bike FAQ

Salomon X Alp Mid LTR GTX Hiking Boots Price: $219.95

Salomon X Alp Pro GTX Hiking Boots Regular Price: $280.00 $209.95 on sale

Asolo TPS 520 GV Evo Hiking Boots Price: $268.44

David from 303Cycling was at the bottom of Powerline outbound Saturday during the Leadville 100. He got the great shot above of me. He took over 1100 pictures and has them organized them by bib number. You can check out the rest of his great Leadville 100 photos here. You can purchase them for very reasonable prices.

Rob O’Dea is a pro photographer that was on a moto shooting photos. He has an album of the leaders posted. He expects to have photos of many of the other racers online by Wednesday at the latest. He takes incredible photos but in the past he’s been fairly pricey. I guess compared to the cost of doing the race, his photos aren’t that much.

I also posted a few Leadville 100 photos on Saturday.

– UltraRob

Related Links

• 2009 Leadville 100 photos
• 2007 Leadville 100 photos
• 2006 Leadville 100 photos

Salomon X Alp Mid LTR GTX Hiking Boots Price: $219.95

Salomon X Alp Pro GTX Hiking Boots Regular Price: $280.00 $209.95 on sale

Asolo TPS 520 GV Evo Hiking Boots Price: $268.44

Tuesday afternoon I drove up to Leadville and rode the first part of the Leadville 100 course. I rode from the start, up the St. Kevins climb and out to the pavement at Carter summit. I then rode back and took the Boulevard back into town like finishing on race day.

It had rained just before I got there so there were puddles of water and some mud. Other than being wet the course looked in normal condition. St. Kevins had some small gullies like it normally does.

Tuesday night I drove up to the Leadville mining district to sleep at altitude. I found a nice level spot to park the van at 11,700 feet with a view of the Leadville lights below and crawled into the back for some sleep. I think it was raining every time I woke up during the night. There was just a little drizzle when I got up in the morning but it was still very cloudy.

By the time I drove down to Twin Lakes and got ready to ride the Columbine Climb, the sun was starting to break through the clouds. With my lack of fitness and the extra weight I’m carrying, it was a slow, painful climb to the top. The sun came out nicely and I hung out at the top at the turn around for a little while enjoying the views.

The upper section has recently been smoothed out and is in the best condition I’ve ever seen it. Downpours in the next couple weeks could wash it out some but I still expect it’ll be in better than normal condition. Carmichael Training Systems posted a helmet cam video of the top of the Columbine descent from their camp last weekend.

I didn’t ride Powerline while I was there but Arlyn Asch posted a video of his recent ride of it. From the video, it looks like it’s in typical conditions with a few ruts to look out for. You can also read Arlyn’s write up of the rest of his Leadville 100 course preview.

I saw a few other mountain bikers training for the Leadville 100. I had some nice chats with them. I saw Brian from Pikes Peak Sports riding with his friend Wade who is racing. I blew by them descending Columbine and didn’t recognize Brian. I ended up seeing them again along US 24 and giving them a ride back to their cars.

– UltraRob

Related Links

• Leadville 100 FAQ
• 2010 Leadville 100 Entrants
• Leadville 100 Course Google Map
• Lance Armstrong Wins 2009 Leadville 100 Wiens 2nd

Salomon X Alp Mid LTR GTX Hiking Boots Price: $219.95

Salomon X Alp Pro GTX Hiking Boots Regular Price: $280.00 $209.95 on sale

Asolo TPS 520 GV Evo Hiking Boots Price: $268.44