Sea Level to 9,600+feet. At the closing ceremony of the Breck Epic, Mike McCormick asked who came from the lowest elevation to race in the high Colorado Alpine. I thought I might have been close since I had been at the beach the day before I drove west. Then of course there was the below sea level, Death Valley ringer who stole my excuse glory. Then... there was the 62yr old, Wendy, and the other lady who rode the whole race with a cast on her hand. Both of them neutered my "I'm sick" excuse for bailing on the race like I wanted to do after having a fever the night before the start. 
It's okay that I was about to be pasted by singlespeeders and ladies with one arm. It had been a good trip up to this point and there is nothing like a little alone time to put things into perspective. I decided to drive out instead of flying because I wanted to bring the dog and I wasn't sure how long I wanted to stay out. So for the sake of flexibility and dog company I took the racks off the car, stuffed it all inside and managed 5 extra miles per gallon in the aero tuck.Proof that roof racks are turning all the bike riders out there into gas guzzlers.
I decided to take 70 all the way out. Along the way I stopped at Buck's Pump track, got pulled by the state T for following too close, rode Columbus trails where I was inspired by a couple kids who jump out of their mini van and were on their bikes in less than a minute (in tennis shoes, and gym shorts), saw an Arch, called 911 on a one armed drunk driver, rode Kansas's Lake Wilson Trails +++, ate at the Hanover Pancake house in Topeka, met Garrett Steinmetz in Missouri (email me Garrett) and watched mile after mile of the American Landscape roll by.
If you've never been to the Jefferson Memorial in St. Louis, I recommend a visit. It's like the Washington monument, except it's made of metal and fell over. I love graffitti and the Arch has it's own special sort. Here is my photo expose`.
The Roller Coaster Trails of Wilson Lake are 15 miles of exposed-to-the-sun fun.
So in a about three days I made it to Longmont Colorado to stay with IF team mate John C.We rode Halls Ranch, pretty fun but crowded, and ate some serious burritos.
It was time to head to the Tiezen race head-quarters, just north of Breckenridge. My original plans were to do the trifecta; the Firecracker, the Breck Epic and the Breck 100. Being a rational being a-la John Locke, I decided to skip the Firecracker and just watch it. As I stood there cheering on the peeps trying to finish their first oxygen deficient lap I saw a strange sight. A lady that looked like Katie Compton riding an INdependent Fabrication!
So I stalked her down the mountain and when I found her I also found it to be true. Some how she was now a member of the IF crew! If you don't know who Katie is, you might recognize her as the only American to win a World CUp cyclocross race. A national Champion and an all around bad ass.So it turns out that IF is her new frame sponsor after a loss of her old sponsors. She's still looking for someone with money so if you can help let her know.
