Boulder Sunrise Century

A couple weeks ago I rode the Boulder Sunrise Century. This was the second year I rode it and this year was a bit different than last year.

Last year I chose to ride the 100 mile option. This added an extra 25 miles between Ward, CO and Nederland, CO. It's a long downhill which means that the climb back up from Ned to Ward was quite difficult -- I'll be honest, it was GRUELING!. Unfortunately this year my training schedule leading up to this event was not optimal. I was not training consistently because life got in the way. Because of this, I chose to do the 75 mile option instead of the 100 mile option. This was a good choice but even that was not enough latitude because I battled leg cramps for about an hour in the middle of the ride to Ward. Once I hit the aid station in Ward, I downed three bananas, tons of liquid and kept going. From there it's 20 miles of downhill so I had some time to tuck in behind a couple of very strong riders and fly for the entire 20 miles. After downing some food and hitting such a long downhill portion, I felt much better and was able to finish in much better shape. Let's just say the results of this event motivated me ;-).

Since that event, I have gotten into a consistent summer training regimen. Being that my next ride is the famed Triple Bypass, I knew I needed to get my butt in gear. 120 miles over three mountain passes in one day requires it! More on that ride in another post.