All along, I have gotten through the rough times, the setbacks, the difficult stages of growing a company from scratch, ONLY with the help and encouragement of the Boo family. Most of my friends and family are customers, and I have relied on each person in this ever-expanding group at one time or another.

Nothing in my life has brought me more joy than working with you all for the last four years. Every day is work, but every day is enjoyable…and I would rather have it no other way.

This brings me to me point: I know many, MANY of you fans, friends, family, and even current Boo riders either don’t have the money for a custom bike (they aren’t cheap) or know someone else who is in the market for a great rig but has a $2k budget. We all started there, and I even mowed yards for an entire summer when I was 15 to pay for my first road racing bike…a yellow aluminum Giant TCR 2 which I rode to 2nd place the following year at Junior Nationals and got a contract with Hottubes, a team that changed my life, got me into Princeton, taught me how to sacrifice for a leader, persevere through incredible struggles, and work hard for anything I want to achieve.

Bikes can and do change lives. I hope that Boo has changed a few, but I have always desired to open things up more…reach more people. Bamboo bikes, done well, can be unlike any other two-wheeled machine on the road. They can ride smoothly, perform well, look gorgeous, and make riders excited to get in the saddle. I’ve always said I don’t care if Boo is “green”, that if I can make someone want to ride their bike more and get exercise outside, maybe drive their car less and take the day off work to enjoy some wonderful weather…well, mission accomplished.

This is where Aluboo comes in. James Wolf, known by many as the Bamboo Master, has spent a number of years working on putting his special Iron Bamboo into a bike that would cost less. A lot less.

In my world, a nice wheelset costs $2,800. But in the new Aluboo world, that gets you a top-shelf Ultegra-equipped road bike. With disc brakes, if you want.

James and I have brought on Drew Haugen, another Princeton boy, and the three of us have worked tirelessly for the last 12 months to make this dream a reality. From design and engineering, to testing and branding and legal documents like you cannot imagine…we haven’t slept as much as we should. But it’s worth it, because this dream is quickly coming true!

We just launched a Kickstarter campaign yesterday to sell our first run of Aluboos. They are going like hot cakes.

James just got a bunch of production samples from an aluminum frame manufacturer, instrumental in the creation of the Aluboo frames, and the first frames are outofthisworldgorgeous.

I’m super excited about this, and I want to bring Boo to so many more folks. The Aluboo is not custom, it’s customizable. It’s not a pure race machine, but it’s race-worthy. It’s not meant only for “serious cyclists”, but serious cyclists love riding it. You just get on and pedal and smile. I did.

So please check out our campaign. If you feel like we’re doing cool stuff, and want to be a part of it, then pick what you want on the right and make a pledge. Even $5 helps us out, and you’ll get some cool stickers. But do check out the bikes–they are thoughtfully built, creatively designed, beautifully crafted, and come from passionate people. We all hope to instill this passion for two wheels in many, many more…and maybe change a few lives in the process.

Thanks for reading, and thanks so much for your support, past present and future. You guys rock

YouTube is the best!

Check out all the awesome Boo snippets, interviews, races, and just plane riding videos below…then buckle those shoes, click your heels twice, and saddle up buttercup–it’s time to pedal!

Building a Boo

Boo 29er: Stiff, Light, Smooth…Even When You Aren’t!
Boo 29er: Stiff, Light, Smooth (Park City, Utah)
Boo 29er: Along the Shoreline

Boo RS-R: 2012 CSU Oval Criterium W!
Boo RS-R: 2012 Boulder Roubaix
Boo RS-R: 2012 Quad Cities Criterium Fly-by

Tyler Wren: 2011 UCI LA Cyclocross
Tyler Wren: 2011 UCI Boulder Cyclocross
Tyler Wren: 2010 Cyclocross National Championships (Bend, Oregon)

NAHBS 2012: Road Bike Review RS-R Di2
NAHBS 2012: Road Bike Review RS-M 29er SS
NAHBS 2011: Road Bike Review Introduction

I would personally like to thank all of our customers, fans, and supporters in the media for all the attention and the accolades. There are so many incredible bikes at NAHBS each year that to receive any kind of recognition is a huge honor…but Best Alternative Material and Best Belt-drive Fat Bike is just cooler than sliced bread. THANK YOU!

We look forward to another incredible show next year in Charlotte, NC…but until then, we’re going to race the snot out of some super-fast bamboo bikes and make sure to get as many people as possible to experience the joy of a stiff, light, and smooth custom bike.

Below is every piece of press we’ve received in January and February…as well as a huge article in Outside Magazine today! They are in reverse-chronological order and all the links to the articles are underneath the gallery.

http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-gear/cycle-life/Our-Favorite-Bicycles-From-NAHBS-2013-Boo-Bikes-Glissando.html
http://www.velonews.competitor.com/2013/02/gallery/gallery-integration-and-innovation-at-nahbs_275803
http://www.bikerumor.com/2013/02/24/nahbs-2013-boo-bicycles-bamboo-titanium-commuter-concept-budget-aluboo-road-bike-more/
http://www.cxmagazine.com/nahbs-2013-boo-bicycles-rs
http://www.coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2013302250023
http://www.cyclingdirt.org/article/18735-AluBOO-A-Swiss-Army-Bike
http://www.summitdaily.com/article/20130224/NEWS/130229916/1078&ParentProfile=1055
http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/nahbs-2013-the-glissando-in-bamboo-and-ti-36523/
http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_22649456/north-american-handmade-bike-show-hosts-200-bicycle
http://cielo.chrisking.com/2013/02/22/boo-cycles-a-builders-profile/
http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20130222/BUSINESS/302230010/Fort-Collins-handmade-bike-builders-show-off-their-wheels-North-American-audience
http://www.roadbikeaction.com/New-Releases/content/313/6407/Exclusive-First-Look-Boo-Bicycles.html
http://www.boobicycles.com/aluboopr/
http://www.boobicycles.com/boolossalpr/
http://www.bikerumor.com/2013/02/14/boo-bikes-to-premier-architectural-bike-glissando-at-nahbs/
http://www.boobicycles.com/glissandopr/
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/overthetop1/2013/02/12/over-the-top-radio–indy-frame-builders
http://www.bikerumor.com/2013/02/08/road-to-nahbs-2013-boo-bicycles/
http://www.cyclingdirt.org/video/691237
http://www.boobicycles.com/velospread/
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/overthetop1/2013/01/09/over-the-top-radio–boo-bicycles
http://www.boobicycles.com/boome/

Take a look at the newest creation from the boys at Boo: the BOOlossal fatty with Rohloff, Gates, and Black Sheep bits

BOOlossal Press Release PDF Download

To whomever called in Tony the Tiger…sweet!

Two weekends ago, thousands of racers descended on Madison, Wisconsin, for the 2013 USA Cyclocross National Championships. Contenders encountered the unpredictable weather of Wisconsin in January. The course started as snow, but with thousands of feet and tires pounding down, the snow began to melt. By the time the weekend rolled around, the course was a muddy mess. But that, too, was about to change. When colder temps rolled in at the end of the weekend, the mud froze, making for a slippery, frozen mess that rode differently from hour to hour. Despite the conditions, there were fields stacked with killer competition, in top form, ready to fight for the title of National Champ.

Boo’s own Skyler Trujillo was there, for not one, but two challenging races: under-23 and collegiate. It’s rare to have such important races back-to-back, but Skyler was prepared for the doubleheader. I had a chance to talk with Skyler about his experience at nationals; here’s the low-down.

The Course

According to Skyler, the course was top notch, including tall, well-crafted stairs, super high barriers and three technical, hard climbs each lap. The course was all built around a “sick” hill and when muddy, rode like a hard European course. When the mud turned to frozen tundra, the course was fast and riders were ripping around. What a difference a day can make. Skyler’s first race was technical, muddy and challenging. The second race was faster with less technicality because the mud wasn’t as prevalent.

The most challenging part of the course for Skyler was a muddy soccer field, followed by a false-flat, which ended in a super steep hill. He said it hurt so badly – every lap he was just smashed. The easiest part was the descents – they allowed him to catch his breath and recover just a bit before the next challenge.

Saturday – U-23 Race

Skyler woke up the morning of the U-23 National Championship with a mission: to improve upon his 6^th place finish from last year. But rather than just improving, this year the stakes were even higher. This single race would decide if he was going to represent the United States in the first World Cyclocross Championships on US soil ever.  Any normal bike racer would have been quaking in his muddy cleats, battling nerves, butterflies and stage fright. But Skyler is a different breed, one of a select few young races who can manage stress and anxiety and consistently perform well regardless. His attitude was to keep it simple, not over-think it: “I just decided to let whatever happen, happen. With great preparation, some solid European racing in December, great bikes to race on and dialed in equipment, there was nothing else I could do but relax, race as fast as I could and see what happened.”

It was a fantastic start to a dream race

This race was full of epic battles. An awesome front row start set the stage for Skyler to rock 2^nd place the entire first lap, away from the pack and up with Yannick Eckmann (who finished 1^st). He didn’t belong there. Yannick was favored to win; he’s a superior rider. Skyler had to fight the inner demons of fear, nervousness and excitement. He was riding with the best U23 rider in the country. Skyler knew he would get dropped at some point – it was inevitable – but he strived to stick with Yannick as long as he possibly could, without depleting his energy in the meantime. As he fought to hold onto Yannick’s wheel, the mud being spit in his face the entire way, Skyler stayed focused on his goal. As expected, Yannick eventually pulled away, slowly at first, as if he was still reachable, but the gap continued to grow.

In any race, moving forward is motivating, and moving backwards is disheartening.  But in ‘cross, every successful racer somehow stays on the gas at all times, never giving up hope.  Anything can happen in a bike race, especially a ‘cross race.  So when Skyler’s elastic to Yannick finally snapped, he knew he had to keep pedaling in anger.  That became easier when a new foe came lurking: Drew Dillman.

Drew caught up to Skyler and they battled it out for a lap and a half, changing positions frequently and each looking for an opportunity to drop the other. Skyler knew that the only way he could get ahead was if Drew made mistakes, but he didn’t. He was riding so smoothly. It was Skyler instead who made a couple of minor mistakes, allowing Drew to drop him and pull away. Now sitting in 3^rd, the race was far from over and Skyler was willing to put in the work to hold onto every position.

Shortly after Drew pulled away, another competitor, Josh Johnson caught up to create another epic battle which lasted the rest of the race – the battle for 3^rd. Neither rider gave up ground or made fatal errors—it was truly an even match, and an exciting one for all the sideline hecklers BOOing Skyler. Going into the last lap, Skyler got a little time on Josh and thought he had him, but then out of nowhere, Tobin Ortenblad caught him with half a lap to go and “ended up throwing the stomp on me!”  Skyler just didn’t have the gas to sprint it out with Tobin, but fought to maintain his position ahead of Josh.

In addition to the battles with competitors, Skyler was dealing with the challenge of riding such a muddy, messy course. The Boos had to be washed, dried and lubed every half-lap, lending a bit of craziness and chaos to the race, stress to the racers and full-on pandemonium in the pit. It was just crazy having to pull into the pit so often, get to your team, get on the clean bike and set out to create more mess, all while holding (or ideally gaining) in position. The RS-X Disc bikes Skyler had been racing on the whole season passed the difficult, muddy task with flying colors—the Challenge Limus tires dug down and scarred the earth below the muck, and the Enve carbon 29er disc wheelset tracked through the ruts and slop without error.  With geometry custom-made for Skyler’s MTB position, he was able to brake late, throw each RS-X into the corners, and power out with nary a whimper.
Skyler finished in 4^th place. The entire race was sweet because it went from one epic battle to the next and was a fight for the podium. “It was really a dream race,” Skyler said. With a perfect race, he was hoping for 5^th. Pulling off 4^th was huge, especially in a race with such high-quality competitors. With a field like U23, many of the racers know each other quite well and race frequently, so they have a pretty clear idea of how everyone stacks up. There were people like Yannick and Drew, who consistently outperform Skyler and were expected to finish near the top. And there were also people he ended up beating that he didn’t expect to beat. That was a victory in itself and was exactly what he wanted to do. Skyler’s summary: “I’m so stoked!”

Sunday – Collegiate Race

Between races, Skyler prepped for the next race and did a lot of nothing; mostly resting, relaxing and preparing. He knew he had to be prepared, because the course was much different from the prior day. Rather than deep mud and sloppiness, he was going to deal with frozen mud and deep tire ruts from the prior day’s races. The course was riding much faster and didn’t have as much technical difficulty. Although quite different from just the previous day, Skyler had ridden the course enough and was prepared for whatever came his way.

At the start of the race, Skyler was really excited. He had just come off an awesome performance and was hoping to do equally well in this race. The collegiate field is not nearly as fast as the U-23, so he was pumped for a great race, and better result. Unfortunately, he had a third row start – not where he wanted to be. “I didn’t quite have the spring that I normally have when I’m starting so I couldn’t get a whole lot of position,” says Skyler. He went off the road in around 15^th place. He had work to do and spent a lot of time accelerating really hard to get past people and working to make something happen. The first lap was a struggle. “I couldn’t really pull it together,” says Skyler.  At the end of the first lap, he was sitting in 10^th. At that point, it all seemed to be falling apart and Skyler thought he was definitely going to have a bad race.  He had a moment of being upset and frustrated, but continued to keep pushing. He decided to take one more lap, let himself settle down and pull it together.

Skyler races for Fort Lewis College on the collegiate circuit

By the end of that lap, he had worked up to 6^th. Then he came across his teammate Ryan. They worked together for a good three laps, each leading the sections where they were strong and maintaining a high speed. While teamwork isn’t as impactful or common in cyclocross as in road racing, teammates can still help each other out a bit. Ryan and Skyler used each other mostly on the road section of the course and utilized the small chance to draft. Working as a team could provide just enough advantage to get that one more spot, and that’s what Ryan and Skyler were aiming for.

Skyler left Ryan behind to chase down the guy ahead of them. Getting around him put Skyler into 5^th place going into the last lap. He kept looking for more racers out ahead, but none was within reach. He knew he couldn’t catch anyone else and accepted the position he was in. “I made sure to ride smooth and not make mistakes because at that point, I didn’t really have anything else I could do,” said Skyler.

After the race, Skyler spoke about the mental aspect of this race. The key, he said, was to not make mistakes and then not get frustrated with the mistakes he did make. Lap one included some mistakes and could’ve been a race changer. “I almost let it get the better of me,” he says. But he was able to pull it together and get a respectable result. Skyler says the key to overcoming this mental hurdle was attitude. He went into the race with a super positive attitude so even with a bad first lap, he maintained a positive outlook, knew he was strong enough and that he could make something out of the race. Even if it didn’t go as expected at the beginning, he could still turn it around and do something. “I just knew it was still worth it. It’s always still worth it.”

In the end, Skyler finished up in 5^th place. All things considered, he is happy with the result. Most of all, he just really loves racing and having the Fort Lewis team together, supporting each other—that was one of the most memorable parts of the trip.

Boo In Action

Skyler was riding a Boo RS-X with disc brakes and Enve 29 inch tubulars, which dominate in  muddy situations. The Enve wheels are just the best thing to race on, says Skyler, because they are super stiff laterally and easily resisted deflections. They are a race mountain bike setup with cross tires, so while other riders were spinning in the mud, Skyler made it through with ease.

Tires also were super important for the conditions. For the U23 race, Skyler was riding Challenge’s Limus Team Edition tire at 25 psi so that he could get as much traction in the mud as possible. This low pressure created a bit of a challenge on the road section, but he just had to take that part a little easier to avoid rolling the tire. For Sunday’s collegiate race, with more of a frozen, rutted course, Skyler rode Challenge’s Grifo Team Edition at 32 psi to prevent pinch flatting and have a little less rolling resistance.

Skyler also contributes his success to disc brakes. While mud was collecting on the bike, it wasn’t collecting on the brakes and didn’t affect performance at all. “This is such as great design to have disc brakes on a ‘cross bike,” he says. Speaking about his Boo, Skyler says, “racing on these Boo bikes, like, they totally compete. They are at the same level as the best race bikes in the world, but they’re made out of bamboo. Like, it’s ridiculous.” The stiffness, fit, components, weight, design and handling all have to come together to make a top-quality race bike. Boo bikes do just that and in any area where the Boo lacks a little compared to other top brands, it makes up for in the ride quality of the bamboo itself. Besides the quality, design, materials and craftsmanship, Skyler says it is by far the coolest bike at just about every race. “It gets more looks and more attention than I know what to do with!” he says.

What’s Next

Skyler is super stoked to be representing the United States at the Cyclo-Cross World Championships in Louisville, Kentucky February 2-3. If you are going, be sure to show Skyler some love and BOO him! Good luck Skyler.

Apparently he did, as did Brad Kaminski.  They shot her in Denver, described her talents, wrote eloquently of her beauty…if she was my girlfriend I would have been jealous.

Thanks guys!  We will just keep making cooler bikes, and I’m excited to have more of them appear in Velo and be put to the test!

DIG IT!

Then check out the latest new Boo CO Tees, hot off the press!  They will be available starting at the North American Handmade Bicycle Show in Denver, Feb 22-24.  If you don’t get one there, they may be gone…forever!!  MUAH HA HA

If you didn’t know, we are all about CO

For those Boo customers who have not heard of Skyler Trujillo, he’s a young man who rides bikes off-road very very fast.  At just 20 years of age, he’s been on Elite Men’s podiums after duking it out with other high-calibur riders, and he’s been a star in the Fort Collins and Colorado scenes for a while now.

Skyler had a brilliant performance at the State Championships, storming to third place in the Elite Men!

In the past, he’s been more focused on the summer MTB season.  This year, after some brilliant racing and earning the honor of riding for the United States at the World Championship Cross Country Mountain Bike race in July, he has carried his form through to the ‘cross season.  He has two Boo RS-X Disc ‘cross rigs, decked out with a full compliment of Enve Composites tubular 29er wheels, Enve bar/stem, and Sram Force 1×10 drivetrain for reliability.

Check out a gallery of Skyler’s amazing third overall Elite Men in the CO State Championships!

Skyler just finished up his “BOO me!” campaign over in Europe–this slogan is one which has become quite popular in the ‘cross world.  Normally heckling and cheering in cyclocross are one in the same, sometimes positive and sometimes negative.  But as Skyler has been cheered by so many screaming “BOO!” he’s turned it into a positive, a calling card of sorts.  Whether lead riders hear “BOO!” and know Skyler’s charging up from behind, or he’s off the front with no hope of being caught, he’s encouraged all fans to, “BOO me!”.

Muddy buddy! Apparently the Boo RS-X Disc with Challenge Fangos mounted to Enve Composites tubular 29er wheels passed the test with flying colors.

After a brutal few races in Belgium and Northern Europe, he is coming back home to Colorado to rest up and be ready to rock the U-23 National Championships in just two weeks in Madison, Wisconsin.  He had this to say about his experience:

The Boo’s preformed great and at each race they got more exposure than during my entire US season. People loved them and wouldn’t leave me alone about them, even on the start line. I even got a few groups to start BOOing me because I let them know that’s what I was about. It was way too cool of an experience and even the other mechanics in the pits wouldn’t leave my own mechanics alone while they were trying to work. They told me it was by far the most popular bike in the pit and while walking to the pit. No one could believe that they were really made of bamboo! Even when warming up I could hear people talking about the bike, sitting right in the middle of all the other Americans warming up. My top results were 19th the first day here in Namur, 42nd at the Zolder World Cup, and 25th my last day in Baal.

One of only a handful of riders to scale “The Wall” during the CO State Championships, Skyler wowed the crowd.

Having raced in France, Belgium, Holland, Spain, Germany, and Canada myself when I was between 17 and 20 years old, I understand how brutal the European racing style is.  It’s a cutthroat, no-holds-barred cage match.  To get these kinds of finishes, or to even finish at all…let’s just say I’m stoked to see how he benefits from it and finishes out the season these next four weeks.

If you’re in Madison on week from this weekend, Skyler will be taking on the top under-23 ‘cross racers in America.  He took an impressive sixth place last year, his second year as a U-23, and he’s aiming for the podium this time.  His 50min race starts at 1PM on Saturday, January 12th.  Skyler aims to be the 2013 Cyclocross Collegiate National Champion!  That race, in which he took 2nd last year, is at 10:30AM on Sunday, January 13th.  Make sure to shout “BOOOOOOOOO!” from the top of your lungs, and of course check out his bikes before/after!

Luck is that elusive special ingredient which is on the side of every winner of a bike race.  You can hear it when they describe a special turn of events which favored their effort and hurt the effort of a competitor, and luck usually involves some aspect of their bike, be it a flat or a mechanical or a crash or some kind of mishap.

With mountain biking, this is even more important due to the sheer pounding that one’s equipment experiences throughout the course of a serious off-road race.  Leadville is truly a test of man and machine, just as I said in my pre-race post.

Well, the short story is this: luck was not on my side yesterday, but I’m proud to say that I didn’t throw in the towel and I ended up with a big belt buckle and a lot of experience that I can put towards a serious run at the top ten in 2013.

THE RACE

Anyone who followed me on the live feed through Leadville’s website saw that I was in the front group through the first check.  I was freezing cold and the legs were heavy and the stomach was full of breakfast, which is hard to digest above threshold at 10k+ feet…but I was pretty much where I wanted to be after the first decisive split over St. Keevens and Sugarloaf and down Powerline.

Then my rear tire started losing pressure.  I made the call to quickly jump out of the second group in the race, chasing one minute behind Sauser/Alben/others, and burn a CO2.  I figured I’d just burped some air on the gnarly descents to that point and needed a refill.

All was not lost, I was no longer in the group I wanted but I was close to another fast group and was still top-20 at a very early point in the race, with the legs starting to come around…and then I see Bryson Perry and Christopher Sauser and others coming back down the road, full throttle in the opposite direction!  I quickly turn around and jump on their wheel without even asking a question.

As it turns out, we were directed the wrong way on the course by a volunteer, and the top 20 riders had all just ridden two to three miles in the wrong direction and were now reversing and heading back the right way.  Luckily, in this case, I was able to re-group with the very top guys and roll through the Pipeline aid statin essentially in the fastest of the fast groups, the guys who would all ride under seven hours and contend for the overall win.

Then my rear tire started going soft again.  I could not believe my luck, she was simply not on my side.

I had been riding in the front of the group, right behind Sauser, and just pulled off and everyone said their various regards and apologies that Lady Luck was not shining on me, as every racer of any speed has been neglected by her at some point.

I knew I had to use my spare tube at this point, as I only had one CO2 left and I couldn’t risk the tire flatting again before the next neutral aid station almost 15 miles away.  I quickly popped the wheel out, put the tube in, and things setup with the CO2…then realized the valve was too short!!!

I had just a little valve sticking out, and hoped and prayed it would take the CO2, and after it blew out around the rim and onto my hand, extinguishing my last option for a successful repair, a series of profanities flew through my head and I began thinking about how I would get home, race over.

I stood on the side of the trail, bike disassembled, watching a stream of riders flowing by, each of them putting more and more distance between me and my goal of a top-ten finish under seven hours.

THE FIX

As a last resort, just to get back on a riding bicycle, I decided I would try to use my tubeless valve stem as a valve extender for this tube.  Miraculously, it seemed to fit onto the end of the tube’s valve and have a decent seal!

With no CO2 remaining, I had to call out to every passing racer (keeping in mind these are still relatively fast guys in groups racing the event and not wanting to stop and give up their position) for a CO2.  After 30 to 40 riders went by, one guy finally reached into a back pocket and chucked a cartridge into the bushes!  I ran up the trail, found it in the brush, and went back to try my home-brew inflation setup, my last resort for getting out of the woods on saddle instead of foot.

I blew some air into that sucker and it held!  Probably only 12psi went in, but it was enough to ride gingerly…but in the process of pulling the tubeless-valve-stem-turned-extender off, the tube’s presta valve head broke off!  Just my luck

The ride to the Columbine neutral support station was excruciatingly slow.  I was riding with most of my weight on the front tire, to prevent a rear pinch flat, and cruising behind others in 150th place or so.  From the flat to the Columbine neutral station, I was just riding a bike, I was not racing, and all plans of a top finish were gone from my head…I was lost.

FROM RIDING TO RACING

I stopped for a third time, another eight minutes of painless time spent not riding my bike, at the Sram station and luck was finally on my side: they had long-stem 29er tubes!  The mechanic put a tube in the rear, I told him to put it to 45 so I wouldn’t pinch, and I took a spare tube with me.

Then the Leadville Trail 60 commenced: the final 60 miles of the race, when I could actually RACE the whole time.  I decided, just as my good friend Alex Hagman had last year after a horrible flat situation early on, that I would focus on gassing the rest of the course so hard the I could ride myself into a decent finishing time.  If they didn’t have a huge belt buckle available for sub-nine finishers, I am certain I wouldn’t have continued!

I stormed up Columbine, essentially riding on the left just passing passing passing.  I was cross-eyed at the top, 12,6XX feet above sea level, and just staring at the riders coming down who I was with earlier on in the race.  Each rider in front of me became a pole around which I would throw my mental lasso and reel in, one by one by one.

The next 60 miles were a series of short-lived relationships or battles with various riders on various sections of terrain, but overall it was an internal battle–a struggle to forget Lady Luck and focus on what I could control, and that was my Boo and my legs.

DONE

After pounding away, uphill, downhill, and sideways, for hours and hours, I made my last catch–a Lifetime Fitness rider who was putting up a serious fight.  He was in my sights from the last mini feedzone at the backside of St. Keevens all the way to the last hills coming into the finish with just two miles to go.

When I finally linked up with him, we rode side-by-side and commiserated on the trials and travails of our respective previous 98 miles of mountain bike racing.  As it turns out, his name is Kimo Seymour and he is the global director of the Leadville Race Series!  On the last little hill just .3mi before the finish, I asked him what time we had and he said we might make it under 7:50, but only if I crushed the last section, so I did…and came in 7:48:25.

I cannot wait to do the race next year, probably racing again for Herbalife–their composite team and family environment is second to none, and their hospitality and generosity is something I can only hope to pay back by racing with Alex Hagman again and both shooting for a top finish.  This is a truly wonderful event, and series, and after I move to Breckenridge you can rest assured I’ll be making many day-trips over Fremont Pass and down into that wacky place at 10,200 feet