Obsessing Over The Powerline Climb
Everything you’ve done to prepare for this race leads to this moment. Every pedal stroke of the race itself leads to this climb. How you do in this four miles can be the difference between hitting or missing your Leadville 100 objective, whether it be to finish under twelve hours, under nine hours, or whatever your objective is.
In this episode of the Leadville Podcast, we obsess over mile 79 – 83, AKA (cue ominous music) The Powerline climb.
It’s just four miles. It shouldn’t be a big deal. Trust us: The Powerline is a Big Deal.
We’re also pleased to bring Racer Gibson of Racer’s Cycle Service to talk about final bike prep. Rebecca Rusch talks about descending techniques for those of us not-so-gifted at downhilling, and Jonathan Lee shares some hot (haha) new research on simulating high altitude training.
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We went out of our way, for this podcast, to reach out exclusively to companies we actually love and buy stuff from ourselves. Which is to say, you won’t find ads here for life insurance companies or mattresses or cooking kits that come to you in a box. These are all companies I buy stuff from and use pretty much every damn ride. Please support them.
XT Di2 is just perfect. I have it on both my hardtail (a Felt Doctrine) and my full-suspension mountain bike (a Specialized Epic S-Works). Shimano makes the best drivetrain and braking components there are, and XT is bombproof and affordable.
Hottie and I have been using Maurten drink mix, and both of us are totally sold on it. No stomach issues, goes down easy, super easy to mix. I am a fan. And our podcast listeners can get a great price on a training and racing packs custom curated for Leadville racers. Go to TheFeed.com/leadvillefor the race pack, and there’s a link on that page to go to the training pack. And be sure to use the code LEADVILLE15 for a 15% discounton either of those boxes. You can use the LEADVILLE15 code at checkout for anyMaurten drink mix purchase.
At Leadville, and at any race, you will see riders with all sorts of crazy ways to carry their bike repair essentials. People tape or velcro stuff to top tubes, stems, seatposts and seat tubes. We say do yourself a favor, use our sponsor, Banjo Brothers, to get your flat fixing goodies strapped properly to your bike.
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I’ve got a Banjo Brothers Bag on every bike I have, and have been for a dozen years. They’re simple and they’re bombproof. They just work.
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I have ENVE wheels on my single speed setup. I have ENVE wheels on my hardtail setup. I have ENVE wheels on my full suspension setup. They are the very best wheels you can buy. They’re very expensive, but they last forever (or if they don’t, ENVE takes care of you pronto — they’re the Nordstrom of the bike wheel world). Spend the money on a great set of wheels and watch them outlast the rest of your bike by a factor of two. F’reals.
Comment by Tominalbany | 07.25.2018 | 4:50 am
You guys need to do a conversation about the first time you rode and what it was like to NOT know the course. You two have it so nailed down that there aren’t any surprises. Maybe find a rider or two from the last couple of years that didn’t know much about it and hear what they have to say about it?
Comment by Tominalbany | 07.26.2018 | 9:55 am
Thanks!