The Triple Bypass

Saturday I rode the Triple Bypass, but before I get into my ride report I want to assure everyone that Hank and Ki Branjdten's Golden Retriever, Bailey, is OK. If you have been following the Tour de France you probably saw Bailey's badly timed attempt to cross the road in front of the peloton on July 4th, during Stage One of the race. Bailey managed to take down two Tour favorites and was briefly down herself. Giro d'Italia winner Ivan Basso and David Millar of Britain were back on their bikes after the crash that occurred about 56 kilometers after the start. They were able to rejoin the main group with the help of their teammates. There must have been a tennis ball on the other side of the road or perhaps Bailey mistook Lance for Hank. When contacted by

French animal control officers, Hank told them that he was pretty sure that Bailey was down by White Bear Lake, but the screen shot from the video above clearly shows Bailey rushing out in front of the on-coming peloton. The good news is that Bailey is OK and was back home with Hank and Ki in Minnesota moments later.

I did not get a whole lot of sleep the night before the Triple Bypass. My friend Tony Klaich

came in from Chicago and spent Thursday night at my house. We got some riding in on Thursday and Friday, then Friday night Tony's fiance Ying flew in late from San Francisco. The plan was for Tony to pick up Ying and we would all meet up at a house he had rented up in Evergreen. Ying's flight was late enough that we did not get up there until about 1:00 AM Saturday morning. The good news is I found a way to absolutely crush Ironman-Distance-Triathlete Tony time-wise on the Triple Bypass course. All I had to do was get up at 5:00 AM on Saturday and start riding three hours before he did. Despite getting only four hours of sleep I felt pretty good and I was also probably helped by my inability to do the grueling ride up Left Hand Canyon with Tony the day before due to mechanical issues with my bike. All this assured me of leaving Tony pretty much in the rear view mirror for the whole Triple Bypass. I say the whole Triple Bypass, but we did not do the whole ride. We did all the climbing and most of the descending and pulled the plug on doing the final downhill into the Vail area when Tony caught up with me on top of Vail Pass.

Tony did the ride 'bandit' style, meaning he didn't actually have an entry. He thought he did, but he didn't. The race number on his helmet was one he found on the route. He had to wait to start until they had reopened Squaw Pass (the first of the three passes on the ride) to non-participants. So it was fairly late by the time Tony got to the top of Vail pass and we wanted to spend some time with Ying who had been nice enough to drive my truck to Vail to pick us up and take us back to Evergreen. With that in mind we blew off the final descent into Vail and hopped in my truck to head to the Buffalo Bar in Idaho Springs for a well earned dinner. Below is my Garmin map of the ride and the route profile.

We did 10,731 feet of climbing and 7,942 feet of descending over about 93 miles. I had a good ride and felt fine right to the end. Both Tony and I got rained on a couple of time. The weather looked like it might really get evil when I went over Loveland Pass. Below are pictures of the aid station at the Loveland Ski Area (with 3,500 riders it was a zoo), the line of riders starting up Loveland Pass, and the top of Loveland Pass as I approached the summit.

When I reached the top of Loveland Pass the wind was howling and it was starting to rain. I did not dally up there to take a photo as I have other years. I rode out of the rain on the descent and had a nice ride up and over Swan Mountain on the south side of Lake Dillon. It started raining again when I was at the aid station in Frisco and I thought we really might catch hell with rain or perhaps even a thunderstorm on Vail Pass, but we caught a break and the weather totally cleared. Below a picture of the conquering heroes.

Thanks, Tony, for coming out, and thanks to Ying, too, for coming and driving support! There is bold talk of us doing the California Death Ride in the Sierras next year which is always on the same date as the Triple Bypass. And Hank, when you read this I just want you to know that I am glad Bailey is OK and I missed you on the climbs during the Triple Bypass after all the climbing we did together in France.

Back in Boulder

Pictured above Andrés Salazar and myself at the beginning of a big ride last Saturday, July the 3rd, 2010. Andrés was nice enough to join me for a spin up to the Jamestown Mercantile. From there, in preparation for this year's Triple Bypass, I rode Super Jamestown, a steeper climb further up above Jamestown. Then I descended to the Left Hand Canyon turnoff and rode up Left Hand Canyon, a Boulder classic. From there I returned down Left Hand and up over Lee Hill back into Boulder. It was about 7,000 feet of climbing in 61 miles. Below are a map of the route and an elevation chart from my Garmin.

It was a great ride and I felt good afterwards. I guess France was good training for the Triple Bypass. I'll find out how true that is tomorrow. On the 4th of July I road up to Jamestown again with my friends Brenda Maller and Julie Gillaspie for the Jamestown 4th of July parade, replete with the traditional kazoo marching band, a vintage fire wagon, and all the local kids on their bikes. Brenda and Jules in Jamestown below.

Of course with Brenda leading we had to go up to Jamestown the hardway. We had the steep climb up over Olde Stage Road on the way up and we came back over Lee Hill. On the upside, up on Lee Hill Brenda spotted a Western Tanager. I love seeing these colorful birds and had not seen one yet this year.

I think a lot about how cycling in France compares to riding in Colorado. I am fortunate to live in Boulder. The riding around here is incredibly varied and great. We can ride flat on the plains or we can pretty much pick any climbing gradient we want by choosing among the various climbs west of town that take us up into the mountains. But I have also been fortunate enough to vary my riding with some incredible bicycling trips throughout the Rockies from Montana to New Mexico; in the California Sierras; in the mountains of the American South East; and of course in France.

So how does France compare to Colorado for cycling. It's different and in that difference lies the pleasure. The first time I went to France to ride was a trip two years ago when I went to the Pyrenees. A friend of mine asked me if I was sure I could make it up the Col du Tourmalet. My friend was a good cyclist and his question gave me pause. How hard could it be?

Three days before I left for France I did one of the hardest short climbs we have here in Boulder: the front side of the Lee Hill Road plus the mile and a half up the Deer Trail Road at the top of Lee Hill. The first mile of the Lee Hill Road after the Olde Stage Road turnoff averages about 11 %. There is a bit of a break and a downhill after a false summit then another three quarters of a mile of so at about 11% to the true summit to which I added another mile and a half of unrelenting steepness up Deer Trail. I road the route nonstop and thought to myself that if I can do this how much harder can the Tourmalet be? The answer was not harder, just different.

I had incredibly good riding in the Pyrenees and I thought I road well. As a Clydesdale I am not a fast climber, but the altitude difference between Colorado and the Pyrenees is huge, and while I would be gasping for air on a big Colorado climb like Independence Pass, on the Col du Tourmalet I found myself spinning easily to the top chatting with the people around me. I had pretty much the same experience riding in the Alps. The fact I ride at such a high altitude here in Colorado is a huge advantage in France (the way Hank rode in the Alps was super-impressive given that his training mostly involved spinning in front of his TV in White Bear Lake, Minnesota - elevation 950 feet). The the top of Alpe d'Huez is only 700 feet higher than my bedroom in Boulder. Compare the profile of Independence Pass.

The top of the Col du Tourmalet is at 6,964 feet. The top of Independence Pass is at 12,100 feet. The highest point that Hank and I rode to in the Alps was the summit of the Col du Galibier at 8,678 feet.

The other big difference is that the French descents were typically much more technical. You could never just let your bike go as there was always a switch back turn coming up. In Colorado I can hit 50 miles an hour on a straight away descent. That didn't happen in France. Hank told me today he wore out his rear brake pads. I put on new brake pads before I left for France. I had an inkling of what was coming.

Speaking of what is coming, as I mentioned, tomorrow is the Triple Bypass ride - three passes, 120 miles of riding and over 10,000 feet of climbing. My friend Tony Klaich has come in from Chicago to ride it with me. I'll blog about it on Sunday.