Day 2 of Racing Begins Now
Updates all this week are going to be short. Full stories will be coming next week. And there should be a lot of stories to tell.
Yesterday was an amazing Leadville 100 Race for The Hammer and me:
- The Hammer finished in 9:28, knocking 11 minutes off her previous personal best, and getting third in her age group. This is her first time on the Leadville Podium!
- I finished in 8:50, my fourth try at doing the LT100 on a single speed, and my first time at finishing it under nine hours, netting me my second big buckle for this race, and my first for doing it on a single speed — a longtime goal reached! Ordinarily, this would not be fast enough to get me on the podium, but some fast guys didn’t show up, and other fast guys (i.e., Kenny) didn’t have a great day. As a result, I took first in the single speed division.
So both The Hammer and I got on the podium — but won’t be there for the awards ceremony, because we had to hotfoot it out of Leadville right after the race and get ourselves set up for the Breck Epic!
Today is the first stage: about 40 miles in distance, with about 5400 feet of climbing.
Our objective is to simply get through this stage. Our legs are sooooo cooked.
PS: Be sure to tune into Leverage on TNT this evening! Check your listings here for the when. If I am not too tired (or still out on the course), I plan to liveblog it at 6:00pm MT tonight.
Comment by Saso | 08.12.2012 | 6:45 am
Congratulations! You are a formidable duo.
Comment by roadrash | 08.12.2012 | 7:39 am
Allez! Allez! Allez Nelsons!
Comment by MattC | 08.12.2012 | 8:24 am
Uhm, er…Fatty, I think the HAMMER finished in 9:28…(sorry to be so critical so early in the morning)…which is a FREAKING UNBELIEVABLE time by any standard!
Hang in there today to the both of you…I’ll be anxiously awaiting the FULL STORIES from all three of you next week. And maybe I’ll finally get some sleep..stupid Olympics! Thank goodness they are only every 4 years (well, 2 when you add the Winter). Happy Sunday!
Comment by Charlie | 08.12.2012 | 8:33 am
Nice job!
Comment by Davidh-Marin,ca | 08.12.2012 | 11:36 am
@mattc (formerly known as pat schlock) you did not take into account the time change here for the west coast. That should account for something. Ditto on the Olympics call out, riding time has been curtailed.
@ Fatty and the Hammer. To say GOOD JOB is inadequate at best. Fit/Fat (this does NOT apply to the Hammer) also fails to explain your superpowers. I can only surmise that the real source of your success is CIGNA. I think you owe them a little thank you. Very, very, little thank you.
Looking forward to tonight’s television. If I understand correctly, you’re leading in the nations for the closing ceremonies???? Putting out the flame???? Can’t wait.
Comment by GenghisKhan | 08.12.2012 | 3:51 pm
So, Fatty killed Kenny? Mystery solved!
Congrats, of course–can’t wait to read the full write ups!
Comment by Alex | 08.12.2012 | 3:55 pm
Woohoo!
Comment by Erin | 08.12.2012 | 4:42 pm
Perhaps it’s time to finally admit to yourself that you ARE one of the fast guys.
Comment by Nick-Sydney | 08.12.2012 | 4:55 pm
Awesome work – congrats to you both and good luck in the Epic.
Comment by Tommysmo | 08.13.2012 | 8:02 am
Congrats to you and The Hammer!
Comment by Keenedge | 08.13.2012 | 10:33 am
Awesome! Congrats to Both of YOU! Very Inspiring. Looking forward to both recaps of both races. Especially how you both suffered through and finished the Breck Epic.
Comment by Hautacam | 08.13.2012 | 11:36 am
You guys are a pair of singletrack shredding animals! Congratulations all around.
Good luck with Breck!
Comment by Clydesteve | 08.13.2012 | 3:59 pm
and you beat Kenny! Congrats – That says a lot!
Comment by Yukirin Boy | 08.13.2012 | 4:13 pm
Congratulations Fatty and the Hammer too!
You WON a race and couldn’t wait for the podium ceremony?
You missed the Fatty flag being raised and Fatty anthem played.
Comment by JD | 08.13.2012 | 4:53 pm
Great Ride and great blog! Thanks for sharing!
Comment by Jenn | 08.13.2012 | 5:26 pm
Amazing, amazing!! Big congrats on the sub-9 hours!
Comment by Michael | 08.13.2012 | 6:09 pm
I think Erin’s right. You can call yourself fat if you like, but not slow. Those days are over.
Comment by Owen | 08.13.2012 | 8:52 pm
I saw Fatty flying down Columbine while I was pushing my SS up in the conga line – he had the biggest smile on his face and I yelled Hey Fatty and he said OOOO YEA BABY. Congrats to you both! I am happy with my small buckle and finishing.
Comment by E | 08.13.2012 | 10:10 pm
You FREAKING WON THE SINGLE SPEED DIVISION????? Congratulations! You have now had just about every sort of Leadville race experience possible, haven’t you? I think the only logical move is to gun for “Last Ass over the Pass” next year.
Comment by hilary | 08.13.2012 | 11:45 pm
Congrats to both you and the Hammer — and also to the IT guy, for finishing!
Comment by Susie H | 08.14.2012 | 4:11 pm
Do you have an idea how cool it is to get to live some of this vicariously through the 3 of you? You do us all so proud! Carry on!