Independence

We took advantage of the weekend off from our race production to go an experience somebody else's race production. It's nice to see the world from in front vs. behind the lens some times. So where to go...the Fire Cracker 50 in Breckenridge was the place to be. The '50' is a 50-mile mountain bike race, with two, 25 miles loops, each with 5400' of climbing. It's not a day for the timid and my hat goes off to everybody that lined up for the experience.
The Domingue's were the travel companion this weekend. Ben's from Austin (currently a Boulder transplant) and he was sporting the new Ozone jersey. Here he is bringing special attention to Vytis's soldier crab on the bottom left pocket. Good ol' Vytis.

The race starts off Breck's 4th of July parade. It's an awesome experience to see the streets lined deep with smiles, flags, and high 5ing kids. I lined up next to Travis Brown, a legendary MTBer and now one of Trek's R&D guys. We talked 29ers and the Trek UAR in Madison(he's thinking about coming out;), then the clock struck 11 and we were off. The Fire Cracker was the national championships for the marathon - so the talent was out for sure.

The course was incredible. Hard - yes - but worth it. There are 4 major climbs/lap. 2 are on singletrack and most everybody was loving their granny gear. The views were awesome, the air was clean, and the race was a great chance for me to check in with myself. It's a big accomplishment to finish this event in less than 5 hours - which leaves plenty of time to think and unplug. For me, events like this are what life is about. It's why I started Adventure Fit. It's a great feeling to push yourself, doing what you love, then kick back with your friends with a great sense of accomplishment .
Looking down at a mountain lake. I envy to mountain goats that get to experience these trails every day.
And here's the pain. It's not every day that you see elite riders walking their bikes. As the VeloNews article stated, this was a race of attrition. Many of the top riders flatted, crashed, or just plain DNF'd due to exhaustion. This is why. The climbs were steep (it's hard to see in this photo) and LONG. Unless you train on terrain like this, it's pretty darn painful. But it's true that - Pain is Temporary (thank goodness). I guess that's why people keep signing up for endurance events like this.
And this makes the effort worthwhile. A nice spot in the warm sun, a beer in hand, a chill band playing, and good friends.
On the way home, we found this fellow, happy to express himself on this lovely 4th of July. The only thing he's missing is a pair of yellow Crocs.We made it back in time for fireworks above Long's Peak.
And Jackie even made some pies to come home to. 4th of July - quite possibly my favorite day of the year. And on a side note..I'm watching the TdF as I write this. Will somebody PLEASE tell Phil Ligget how to pronounce "Chipotle" Geez!