Leadville 100 Mountain Bike Race Across the Sky

My brother is an extreme athlete. He has run marathons with the Marines, snowboarded in the back country of Colorado, jumped off cliffs and out of airplanes in Hawaii and competed in the Leadville 100 mountain bike race in Leadville, Colorado - twice. Bicycling has been a passion of his for as long as I can remember. He actually moved from North Carolina to Colorado when the mountain biking bug bit him.

Why did you feel the need to compete in the Leadville 100 Mountain Bike Race for a second time?

Well, the first time I was the first place loser - not a high honor. That means I was the first person that did not finish the extreme endurance mountain bike race in under the required 12 hours. I led the losers across the finish line. My time was 12-hours, 1-minute, 8-seconds. Yes, that's 68-seconds too slow. Anybody with a competitive streak knows you've got to go at it again; you just can't leave it like that.

So how did you do the second time?

I trained for the Leadville 100 Mountain Bike race much harder the second time. And I had knowledge on my side. I knew what to expect, from the mountain bike course and from myself. There were no surprises. I knew there are 5 major climbs and I knew how to pace myself to be ready for them. I finished the second Leadville 100 race in 10-hours, 45-minutes. Respectable enough for an average guy.

Tell me about the Leadville race.

The Leadville 100 mountain bike race is one of the most challenging endurance races in America. There is less than a 60% success rate - less than 60% of the mountain bike riders cross the finish line in under 12 hours. As you have already amply covered, I was not in the esteemed group the first time I rode the race. Hence the reason I went back at it.

One time, going up an extreme climb I got completely depleted of oxygen. Suddenly I was on the ground - I did not even know I was falling. Don't forget the race is at a high altitude. You leave Leadville at over 10,000 feet above altitude and the highest peak is almost 13,000 feet above altitude. With peaks and valleys you climb and descend almost 13,000 vertical feet.

Do you take time out to rest and eat?

Oh come on. No way, you've got to keep the pedals spinning. I only got off my bike at rest stops and yes, I ate as much as possible. Many of the hard core mountain bikers ate the high carbohydrate goo but I ate a lot of ham sandwiches and bananas. Not really but you eat what you can when you can. During mountain bike races like Leadville, food is fuel. And I needed lots of fuel during that race. Still seem to need a lot of fuel, but that's a different article.

What about using the bathroom?

Langley, use your imagination. Or not. But you do not take time to stop for restroom breaks.

Tell us about your mental preparation for the Leadville race.

Ha, ha. Good one. I'm trying to take this interview seriously but I've got nothing for you here. Thanks for trying to make me sound cerebral but you know the truth. There was no mental preparation.

What do you think about while you are riding for 12 hours?

On a more serious note, some of the climbs can be demoralizing. You've got to give yourself pep talks along the way. And sometimes you try to just numb out and not think about anything. You just get in to the rhythm of the pedals spinning.

What about your physical training for the mountain bike race?

Living in the high hills of Winter Park, Colorado, training was as easy as pedaling out my front door. Instead of over-thinking a complex training strategy, I just tried to log a lot of saddle time. I did ride much further in preparation for the second Leadville 100 race. If anybody ever asked me for advice in preparing for an endurance mountain bike race I would just say ride. And ride. And ride.

It's been many years, a knee and foot surgery, a marriage, 2 children and a move across America since my brother rode the Leadville 100. But, as all true competitors, he knows he has not ridden his final race. In fact, he and a friend committed to ride the Leadville 100 in 2011. (Why 2011 you may ask? Well, 2010 is way too soon for him to get his old body into shape.)

Source:
My brother, Bubba Watts