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August 2007 Team Santa Fe Activities
RACES:
Durango 50K Mountain Bike Race
Durango, CO
August 4, 2007
http://www.gravityplay.com/MTB100
Jan Bear Finish time: 4:16 1st/ 9 riders
Kim Bear finish time: 5:23 1st/3 riders
This was a fun race to do in Durango. You can choose to do 50 km versus 50 or
100 miles. This was a warm up to the Leadville Trail 100 mountain bike race that
we have done for the last 13 years, so we chose to do the 50 km. It was great to
finish before noon as the rain and thunder storms rolled in. The route had
beautiful single track, waterfalls, and great scenery. It was another great race
put on by AdventureXstream.
Thank you to Team Santa Fe Sponsors: Litespeed, BTI, Bike & Sport, ThorLo,
GoLite, Gaerne, Camelbak, Dermatone, CW-X, SofSole, Shain, Hydropel, Polar
HRM, Maxxis, E-Caps, Wingnut Gear, Potable Aqua and Bolle.
Leadville Trail 100 Mtb
Leadville CO
Aug 11 2007
http://www.leadvilletrail100.com
Overall: Name: Time: Class: Place in Class:
245 Gary Johnson 009:57:01 M5 18
484 Kim Bear 011:23:26 F5 2
515 Deb Werenko 011:36:52 F5 3
532 Carl Gable 011:42:09 M4 205
DNF George Broom 012:51:00
DNF Jan Bear (broken hip)
DNF Lisa Carr-Broom
Friends:
301 Bill Carey 010:22:15 M4 118
562 Brett Bagwell 011:49:16 M3 179
626 Paul Laur 012:27:15 M5 74
DNF Richard Murray
DNF Bud Felson
DNF Brett Bagwell
By Carl Gable
After entering the race for the third time, this year I finally lined up for the start
this year. Team Santa Fe was in Leadville in force with seven entered. In addition
there were six other friends entered so we had all the rooms of the Alps hotel to
ourselves. That made for a nice atmosphere for hanging out before and after the
race and collecting beta from all the veterans of the race. Bill Carey and I went
out to scope the course a bit on Friday. We walked up part of the power line hill
from the south side and drove out to Twin Lakes and rode north from there on
dirt roads. The section of the course we wanted to see was a steep scratchy
section that folks had said was worth seeing. As it turns out, that was exactly
where Jan had a major crash.
Carl Gable on the Leadville 100 course the day before the race (Photo by Bill Carey)
Race day was perfect weather, not too cold, calm, no rain in the forecast. This
year was bigger than past years with 971 riders entered. Bill and I started out
together but we quickly lost sight of each other. In the first five minutes I came
across Kim, so figuring she knew exactly what was going on, I locked onto her
back wheel for the first ten miles. The crowd was still pretty thick even climbing
over Sugar Loaf and I was not looking forward to the power line decent in a
crowd. Somehow however, it worked out that during the toughest part of the
decent, nobody was very close to me. I was glad to have that behind me. Most of
the rest of the race was pretty uneventful. Even at the spot where Jan crashed, I
saw all the activity and a rider on the ground, but I had no idea it was Jan. The
climb to Columbine mine and the turn-around was long, but not as technical as I
had expected. The pack tightened up in the final parts of the climb since there
was a lot of pushing. That was not a problem. The scary thing was the downhill
riders coming at you at high rates of speed. It seems like an accident waiting to
happen, but I never saw any major problems.
The second half return seemed to be going well. A great downhill from the turn
around and then pretty easy riding back to power line. The trouble was that I
bonked at power line. I knew it was happening, but there was nothing I could do.
I had plenty of Perpetium and Hammer Gel, but not enough water. My stomach
was full of fuel, but my body just didn't have the water to process it. Between the
beginning of the power line climb and the aid station above Turquoise Lake I was
passed by over 50 people. Quite a bummer. At the aid station I downed a liter of
water and within minutes it seemed I was moving with the field again instead of
feeling like a rock in the stream with the current flowing past. Onward to the
finish.
After the finish Kim was off to be with Jan. We were surprised to find that in the
time it took for us to complete the race, Jan had been helicoptered to Frisco and
undergone surgery. He was done with surgery by the time we finished. The next
day at the awards ceremony, the most emotional part of the entire event was Kim
going up to receive her award. The combination of Kim being the first woman to
finish ten times and get a 1000 mile buckle combined with Jan being in the
hospital was just too much. There was not a dry eye on the stage and a lot of
people in the audience felt the moment too. It was a wonderful finish.
Best wishes to Jan for a quick and full recovery.
Thank you to Team Santa Fe Sponsors: Litespeed, BTI, Bike & Sport, ThorLo,
GoLite, Gaerne, Camelbak, Dermatone, CW-X, SofSole, Shain, Hydropel, Polar
HRM, Maxxis, E-Caps, Wingnut Gear, Potable Aqua and Bolle.
Leadville Trail 100 Mtb
By Kim Bear
Let me start by saying that I am thankful for our team! This was going to be
memorable race for me as it was to be my 10th successful completion of the race
and I would receive a big buckle for recognition. There were over 800 riders at
the start and the day looked like it was going to be perfect for a mountain bike
race.
Kim Bear receives her 1000 mile buckle.
I felt good until 30 miles into the race I came to the top of a rugged slope and
someone was warning us that there was a rider down with a broken hip. As I
rode down, I quickly recognized the African jersey that Jan had picked out to
wear that day. He was the one with a broken hip. The medical staff was there, a
helicopter was on the way and I refused to leave. Jan encouraged me to
continue and finally I agreed that there really was nothing I could do…but cry! I
took off, immediately regretting it as I felt he might need me. At the next check
point, the medical people gave me an update and it sounded like they had it
under control. I finished the race as Jan was coming out from surgery. I talked
to him in the recovery room and arrived at the hospital later on that night to find
him well sedated after having had a rod with compression screws placed to
reduce his hip fracture. He was just happy I had finished the race and received
my big belt buckle. He was sad because he was having a great race and got cut
off (which can happen to anyone) and fell causing the person behind him to also
hit him.
George and Lisa took our bikes back to Santa Fe and we stayed a two extra
days in Frisco's medical center until they would discharge Jan. We got home on
Monday to begin a new chapter in our adventure racing careers…rehab! We had
to cancel all of our races and now look forward to racing again in about 8 months.
(That is when the orthopedist said Jan would be ready to go again!)
Thank you to Team Santa Fe Sponsors: Litespeed, BTI, Bike & Sport, ThorLo,
GoLite, Gaerne, Camelbak, Dermatone, CW-X, SofSole, Shain, Hydropel, Polar
HRM, Maxxis, E-Caps, Wingnut Gear, Potable Aqua and Bolle.
Pajarito Punishment Mountain Bike Race
August 11, 2007
Los Alamos, New Mexico
Helen Morell, 3rd Place, Women Sport
By Helen Morell
The Pajarito Punishment Mountain Bike Race was 25 miles of grueling single
and double track. The high temperature and sandy course made for an exciting
25 miles. After suffering through a flat tire I managed to make it to the finish line!
There was a good turn out of local racers. The area burned by the horrific LA
fires is making a good comeback and the trails are as good as ever. The
raspberries along the way were very tempting but I had to keep my eyes on the
trail!
Thank you to Team Santa Fe Sponsors: Litespeed, BTI, Bike & Sport, ThorLo,
GoLite, Gaerne, Camelbak, Dermatone, CW-X, SofSole, Shain, Hydropel, Polar
HRM, Maxxis, E-Caps, Wingnut Gear, Potable Aqua and Bolle.
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