Doing Breck Epic Shit - Breck Epic 2018 - Act I
It's now about 2.5 weeks after Breck Epic and I am back at sea level, 100F and 100% humidity Chicago. So it's a good time to look back at a 'cooler' time in August and write all about my adventures. This race report will be written a little differently as I set to also answer the bigger question - what makes a race epic and is Breck Epic worthy of being called epic.
So what makes a race "epic" worthy? and is Breck Epic - 'EPIC' worthy?
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| Stage 5: Wheeler. A great day to hike with your bike Photo: Linda Guerrette |
Meaning of Epic
To answers this question, I went back to the origins of the word epic. Yes, I actually opened a dictionary. Well of course not a real paper one (does anybody still own those?), but the on-line version of it. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary EPIC means:
1: of, relating to, or having the characteristics of an epic [btw - an "epic" means a long narrative poem in elevated style recounting the deeds of a legendary or historical hero]
2a: extending beyond the usual or ordinary especially in size or scope
b: heroic
So basically in the context of a race, at least as I see it, if I were to combine the noun and adjective meanings together ... Wait please don't stop reading - this is not a grammar or history class, at least not by me. I can barely spell.
OK, back on topic - an epic race, like and epic hero should take place in a vast and grand setting, be so hard and challenging to make you perform deeds of great strength and courage, make you fight with everything you've got (preferably use some superpowers too), but stay humble and true to yourself. OK, maybe I went a little too far with the literary requirements, but you got the drift.
So after setting out the requirements it's time to dive in to the Breck Epic (haha - see what I did here?)
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| Peaks Trail |
The Setting
The epic takes place in Breckenridge, Colorado, a ski resort town about 1.5 hours drive from Denver. Breck Epic is a mountain bike stage race and in 2018, it's 10th year, it was held from August 5 to the 10th. Each day is a big backcountry loop that utilizes the vast network of trails in both Summit and Park Counties, and you got 6 of those (3 if you are doing the Epic-curious events). Each loop is between 30 and 44 miles with hmmm many many 1000s feet of climbing, because basically the only way is up when your starting point is Breckenridge. But for every up there will be a well deserved down (more about that later).
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| 6 backcountry loops that showcase what Summit and Park Counties has to offer |
The rules
Some races have complicated rules, especially coming from triathlon, there are a lot to remember. Not at Breck Epic. Here there are 3 simple rules that are easy to remember even at altitude. Yeah, forgot to mention that Breckenridge is located at 9,600 feet.
– 1. Don’t be a dick. (This really covers a lot of ground.)Although you'll hear about rule #3 at the daily briefings, these guys care a lot about the area and the trails and it shows (!), rule number #1 is key and represents the essence of the race. It's simple and what I love about mountain biking. Most people are cool, laid back, friendly (even at a race setting) and will stop to help if you need, so I'm glad to report that rule #1 is my favorite rule and I didn't encounter any dicks while there ;-).
– 1. (subsection 1): are you now serving or have you ever served a USADA or WADA suspension? Yes? You’re out.
– 2. Wear your helmet.
– 3. Don’t litter in our beautiful backcountry. Seriously.
Anything else that pops up? We’ll do what’s right and what’s fair. That’s been working pretty well so far.
Also important to mention that the promise to treat fairly anything else that pops was kept, like in the case of a missed marking due to a course sabotage.
So with these 3 simple rules, all we got left to do is have fun - what type, you'll see later.
The Cast
While the main character in this epic needs no introduction (you guessed it, it's me). There is another character that needs introduction, my noble horse or weapon of choice, by that I mean my bike choice. It wasn't an easy decision to make. The Breck Epic course is a mix of single track, dirt roads and some but not a lot of paved sections. The single track going up and down is a mix of flow trails, lose dirt, rocks and roots that some wouldn't shame the trails of BC Bike Race (read about that here). On the other hand you have miles and miles of climbing and dirt roads, but a lot of those are not of the type that a regular 4x4 can drive through. Whatever bike I chose it would be a compromise - fun factor vs. efficiency. For this race I chose efficiency - my Specialized Epic, Effie (yes, she has a name). The perfect race machine for this race and best part is it sparkles in the sun which makes me smile. It is light enough for me not to suffer too much pushing it on the hike-a-bike, fast on the flats (and under a different rider on the uphills too ...), and was great on the descends, although yeah a bike with more travel would have probably been more fun. Plus, really it had to be an Epic bike for an epic race.
The other 2 characters that join me on most adventures, Michelle and Summer, joined on this one too. On top of being my private cheerleaders and support crew, they also volunteered all 6 days at the aid stations.
The other 2 characters that join me on most adventures, Michelle and Summer, joined on this one too. On top of being my private cheerleaders and support crew, they also volunteered all 6 days at the aid stations.
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| The Cast - Effie and me |
Prologue
We loaded the car and headed to Colorado arriving 4 days before the race. Coming from sea level to an altitude of over 9,000 ft you want to arrive as early as possible. Some recommend at least a week (or the day before if you cannot make it a week before). I also heard some people sleep in an altitude tent to acclimate. Since I am no pro and can barely sleep in my own bed (my dog keeps kicking me out :-), I just show up and suffer. I also do relatively OK in altitude so I knew I'd be fine with only 4 days. I spent the days before the race doing short rides to keep the legs "fresh" and getting the lungs acclimated as much as possible, some hiking and generally enjoying meeting friends (more about that later) and hanging out around town.
It is strange that until Saturday afternoon when we actually headed to Beaver Run Resort for packet pickup and the mandatory pre-race meeting when things got real all of a sudden, you couldn't even tell there was a big event with over 500 racers in town. What's even crazier, is that the banner hanging above Main St was for the Spartan Race the town was hosting the weekend after Breck Epic is over. In fact, even during the week of the race there were no signs there is a race going on. Now, don't get me wrong this is not to say that the town and it's residents were not hospitable - they were for sure, and this is the reason it's our 3rd summer in a row spending time in Breck, but just an observation. Unless you are part of the race or maybe a mountain biker who happened to be in town it's business as usual in Breckenridge, for better or worse. So different than for example Leadville race week (read about that here) or some of the small towns in BC.
It is strange that until Saturday afternoon when we actually headed to Beaver Run Resort for packet pickup and the mandatory pre-race meeting when things got real all of a sudden, you couldn't even tell there was a big event with over 500 racers in town. What's even crazier, is that the banner hanging above Main St was for the Spartan Race the town was hosting the weekend after Breck Epic is over. In fact, even during the week of the race there were no signs there is a race going on. Now, don't get me wrong this is not to say that the town and it's residents were not hospitable - they were for sure, and this is the reason it's our 3rd summer in a row spending time in Breck, but just an observation. Unless you are part of the race or maybe a mountain biker who happened to be in town it's business as usual in Breckenridge, for better or worse. So different than for example Leadville race week (read about that here) or some of the small towns in BC.
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| Shit is getting real - pre-race meeting |
Verse 1 - Waking up to the sounds of raindrops
Pennsylvania Creek 35 miles, 6000' climbing (planned)
On Sunday morning I woke up to sound of raindrops. This may have been good news for the locals as it has been a relatively dry summer, but it wasn't for me. The thought of waiting for the start in the rain and then riding in the rain made me more nervous than I already was. As I made myself eat my breakfast, an email came through from MikeMac (the race organizer). Race start is postponed to 10:30 am and the course shortened not to damage the trails - 'stay tuned'. The a shorted map was posted shortly after but it didn't really say much to me other than the fact that the fan single track called Aspen Valley we pre-rode the day before is out. Oh well, at least we got to ride it then. Secretly I was happy about the later start when the sun was out and the shorter course, and not only because this really showed how much the race organizers care about the local trails, but mainly because I was nervous about racing 6 days with so much climbing.
Due to the shorter course the start was changed to a time trail start and my wave 'women 40+' was the last to start at 11:15am, which kinda messed up my nutrition. I was focusing on the fact that the sun was out and it was getting warmer.
The first day gave us a short sample of the week to come and got some of the nervousness out of the way. The day ended up being about 17 miles with less than half of the climbing (2,700' according to my Garmin).
On Sunday morning I woke up to sound of raindrops. This may have been good news for the locals as it has been a relatively dry summer, but it wasn't for me. The thought of waiting for the start in the rain and then riding in the rain made me more nervous than I already was. As I made myself eat my breakfast, an email came through from MikeMac (the race organizer). Race start is postponed to 10:30 am and the course shortened not to damage the trails - 'stay tuned'. The a shorted map was posted shortly after but it didn't really say much to me other than the fact that the fan single track called Aspen Valley we pre-rode the day before is out. Oh well, at least we got to ride it then. Secretly I was happy about the later start when the sun was out and the shorter course, and not only because this really showed how much the race organizers care about the local trails, but mainly because I was nervous about racing 6 days with so much climbing.
Due to the shorter course the start was changed to a time trail start and my wave 'women 40+' was the last to start at 11:15am, which kinda messed up my nutrition. I was focusing on the fact that the sun was out and it was getting warmer.
The first day gave us a short sample of the week to come and got some of the nervousness out of the way. The day ended up being about 17 miles with less than half of the climbing (2,700' according to my Garmin).
Verse 2 - Breath and learn to love heights, rocks and roots
Day 2 is everything you want from a race that takes place in the Breck setting. It's the perfect mix of climbing mostly rideable trails but with some pushing up, steep burly descends that can be scary at times, miles and miles of sweet flowing single track, giant berms, roots, rocks, some more roots and rocks, water crossings and big steep drop-offs on either side of the narrow trail and in some cases on both sides (like riding on the edge of a knife). This course will test all you've got from endurance to technical abilities. It will mostly test your comfort level with heights and exposure (and then you get to face it all again the next day). I generally do well with both, but some sections on that day even made me nervous. You have to keep your eyes up on the trail and not look down. I was breathing deep to relax and kept channeling the mantra my coach taught me last year when we worked on technical skills "look up, look up" I kept reminding myself. It was a tough day made even tougher with a crash I had early in the day where I sprained my wrist. Holding onto the handlebar on these long and techy descents was super painful and required going slower. Good thing after BC Bike Race I know how to tape my wrist to be able to continue the next day. The views though were totally worth it.
This video pretty much summarizes it all:
Verse 3 - An epic to the glory of nature
Mt. Guyot 41 miles, 8100′ (6,000' according to my Garmin)The stats for this day scared me, 8,100' over 41 miles is no joke. On top of it I read that we will be climbing up to the continental divide twice and there is some serious hike-a-bike. So I came prepared with a different pair of shoes that are easier to walk in, to make those long miles of pushing the bike less uncomfortable.
With my wrist taped, I was ready to tackle the beast. I rode, I walked, I rode and walked some more, suffered on the climbs and smiled on the descents. It was everything I feared of on the one hand and not as bad as the build up in my head on the other. I came prepared for the worst and it helped. Also helped that the weather that cooperated. Blue sky, sun - which made it possible to actually see the view and enjoy the magic of nature reviled to us on the hike and peak. I said no to the skittles at the top of French Pass but did stop for a picture. Another day came to an end, I am half way through.
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| Pushing up |
Chorus A - Race Admin, it's complicated
After 3 days of racing you are well into the routine and hopefully got the hang of things at least as it goes to a stage race admin. While there are only 3 basic rules, Breck Epic has some special quirks that if you don't pay attention can get you in trouble - like you'll get to the wrong start point. Once you get into the routine, it is easy to follow.
So here how it works: race starts at 8:30 am each day, unless we are told otherwise (some days had a TT start and you would need to pay attention to when you start). By 7:30 am you need to drop your aid bags at the race HQ (what the F are aid bags you ask - see below). The start location changes depending on the day and you can find it on the race website, make sure you got your days right it gets hard to follow. Lucky for me, Michelle dropped my bags off each day, which gave me an extra hour in the morning for more coffee and Instagram (priorities - right? ). After the stage, go home - shower, eat lunch and relax a bit and then head back to the HQ for a 5pm awards and briefing for the next day as well as to pick up your aid bags. Then go home, have dinner - and repeat. If you are the back of the pack like me, this schedule doesn't give you a lot of down time or time to relax and recover after the stage. So I was extremely happy to discover the Elevated Legs trailer where I could use the awards time to get some needed compression massage. Off topic for a bit - I liked the Elevated Legs so much that I ended up buying my own. Hit me up if you would like a 15% off coupon code!!!!
** The aid bag system is a great feature in the Breck Epic, it's like the special needs bag at Ironman races but better. At packet pickup you get 3 bags with your race number (this year we only got 2 but were allowed to use our own for days with 3 aid stations). This bag is best explained using MikeMac's words "It’s like flat rate shipping boxes – you can put whatever you want in it that you might need during the race". The bag will wait for us at the aid station. I used mine to put warm cloths, spare tube, tire and CO2 and extra nutrition.
So here how it works: race starts at 8:30 am each day, unless we are told otherwise (some days had a TT start and you would need to pay attention to when you start). By 7:30 am you need to drop your aid bags at the race HQ (what the F are aid bags you ask - see below). The start location changes depending on the day and you can find it on the race website, make sure you got your days right it gets hard to follow. Lucky for me, Michelle dropped my bags off each day, which gave me an extra hour in the morning for more coffee and Instagram (priorities - right? ). After the stage, go home - shower, eat lunch and relax a bit and then head back to the HQ for a 5pm awards and briefing for the next day as well as to pick up your aid bags. Then go home, have dinner - and repeat. If you are the back of the pack like me, this schedule doesn't give you a lot of down time or time to relax and recover after the stage. So I was extremely happy to discover the Elevated Legs trailer where I could use the awards time to get some needed compression massage. Off topic for a bit - I liked the Elevated Legs so much that I ended up buying my own. Hit me up if you would like a 15% off coupon code!!!!
** The aid bag system is a great feature in the Breck Epic, it's like the special needs bag at Ironman races but better. At packet pickup you get 3 bags with your race number (this year we only got 2 but were allowed to use our own for days with 3 aid stations). This bag is best explained using MikeMac's words "It’s like flat rate shipping boxes – you can put whatever you want in it that you might need during the race". The bag will wait for us at the aid station. I used mine to put warm cloths, spare tube, tire and CO2 and extra nutrition.
** This time we chose to stay at an Airbnb that was a little off Main St. but still a short walking or driving distance to downtown and most days a great warm-up ride before the stage. I definitely recommend staying in Breck for the race week. It would make your life easier to get to and from each stage, the post stage meeting and droping and picking of the aid bags.
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| Day 3 - Top of French Pass |
About the lodging, since there are many options around Breck (including camping) the fun Apres-bike scene that stages races that mostly offer the camping option does not exist at Breck Epic, which I think takes away from the experience. You get plenty of chances to mingle with others before and after the race meeting and during the stage but it's not the same.
Intermission
Or more like wait for Part II.Link to part II - here
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| Day 2 - It's Party Time |
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