GGGGrowler!! YEAH BABY!!

As i am sitting here typing this, I think back to the amazing trail i got the privilege to ride on Sunday- the Gunnison Gowler. Thanks to Dave Wiens, I got into this race that filled up back in February in 10 hours when the registration opened. Amazing. I emailed him last week in attempt to get in, knowing there's a goooood chance i probably won't, cuz everyone wants to do it. That just shows how awesome this race is- and luckily i was able to experience it.

Chris and I headed up and over the pass from Carbondale into Crested Butte on Friday. We rode some trails there (they are drying out quick! pretty exciting...) and afterward met up with Rachael, who we just hired as our wedding planner- i am so excited to have someone to help me to plan the wedding- its going to be so fun!! I feel like things are on track for the wedding, and i have no doubt its going to be so amazing- with plenty of bike riding over the weekend and beautiful scenery. every time i go to crested butte it takes my breath away. I could stare at those mountains all day...

We camped out with some friends Friday night down in Gunnison off the Hartman Rocks trails which i would be racing on for Sunday. Saturday morning we did a great ride out on the trails, doing a good portion of the course so i could get a taste of what was to come for the race. With the race being about 95% singletrack, i was in for some good times for sunday!!

Saturday eve we met up with Jen Gersbach, Miles Venzara and Nick Gould for some tasty dinner at Garlic Mikes outside of Gunnison. I stuffed myself with bread and pasta- its going to be a long day on the bike! I looked at lap times from last years results- gonna be around 7 hours- yep that would be the longest race i have ever done. i kept thinking about that as i stuffed as much food in as my belly would hold. and then, i was full.

Chris and I camped out in the van with the doggies in front of the comfort inn hotel where jen, miles and nick were staying- ok so we poached the breakfast in the morning- and utilized the bathrooms. the key things in the morning of a bike race- especially when it starts at 7am! Chris pulled out the french press and whipped up some supa euro coffee to get us going. I can't say that i am used to being ready to race my bike that early in the morning. I dont usually get up until about 830am. so this was a tad rough for me.

We rolled over to the start line around 645am and it was really chilly- like 36F. but knowing it was gonna get really hot later, and stopping to strip clothes wasn't going to happen, we shivered in shorts and short sleeves (gersbach had sleeveless! crazy chick) until the symbolic gun shots rang out at 7am sharp. we had a neutral roll out for the first 2 miles through town which lead us down to the gravel and the famous kill hill first climb. this is where the race started. the neutral car pulled off, and it was on. well sort of. with over 200 people around you climbing a steep hill with all types of abilities, needless to say it was a chaotic first lap. The neutral roll out didn't exactly space everyone out, and there was a waiting line to get onto the single track. after getting rolling, we were going pretty darn slow- like painfully slow. but there was no point in passing, since you wouldn't get very far. there were just so many people all racing together that the trails were solid with racers. so, i had to be patient, and know that it was a long day, and not to get too antsy. half way through, things started to spread out more and i could finally ride without tipping over. looking back i really needed to pass more people in the beginning before the singletrack- i guess i didn't really think that it would be that backed up the course.

i finally reached the end of the first lap and saw gersbach on the sidelines- she dropped out. she had taken a serious fall and it shook her up a little bit. she was fine, but i still wanted to talk to her. looking back on this, i should have kept riding and talked to her later... not sure what i was thinking. i wasted almost 10 minutes hanging out eating, talking, etc. i would never do that in another race. funny. Chris was there, and he ended up riding with me on the second lap. This was totally awesome no kidding. having him there riding behind me helped me mentally so much. just knowing that if anything happened, he would be there- and i always love riding with him-he kept encouraging me, pushing me to go harder, go faster- i wish he could ride with me in every race! the feed zones were great- one of them had cold coke (which was perfect!) and bacon- yeah i skipped on that since i still had quite a bit left to race... but the vibe of the race was just that- fun, exciting, and hardcore. i feel like i finished strong on my second lap- i was running on low but was still able to push through it and finish in 4th place- i actually didn't know how i finished until today when a friend called me to let me know. I had no idea, other than what people would say on the sidelines while i was racing- apparently they were a little off as far as my placing- i thought i got 7th. My final time was 7 hours and 24 minutes. whew.

slightly delirious, very hungry, and sun baked i rode back to downtown gunnison (it was a requirement to ride back to officially finish the race) and they had free beer, food and a band playing- awesome! for $55, all this was included! i have to say, this was one of the best run races i have done- with all the amazing trails, volunteers, and great food at the end, i can see why so many people want to do this race! Hands down, one of my favorite races in Colorado.

Chris and I hung out for a while and enjoyed the food and caught up with everyone afterward- we shoveled in the tasty food and beer and hit the road back home. Time to rest and clean up for the next race in Angelfire! yeah!

Thanks again to Dave and all the volunteers who handed out cokes, bacon, nutella, and pb and j wraps- delicious! I will definitely be back next year!