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My personal flavors are Kona Cola, Banananuun, and Tri-Berry. Also dig the new U-Hydration flavors as well.
What a super final weekend of training leading up to Marathon Nationals and the Breck-Epic Stage race...all of which start July 4th. This Saturday, Sonya and I drove up to Breckenridge to pre-ride one loop of the Marathon Nationals course. We had a great group of folks to ride with... Dejay Birtch & Rebecca Tomaszewski of Team Niner/Ergon Jake Kirkpatrick John Adamson of Team Bike-Tech Andrew and Stephen Carney of Big Wheel Racing. The pace was super relaxed for the entire day...and included lots of stopping and chatting. No still images from the ride, but I did shoot tons of video.
Sunday was more of the same. A brief 2.5 hour spin with Sonya, Dejay Birtch, Nick Martin, and Jake Kirkpatrick. We stayed a bit closer to home and rode just west of Boulder up in Nederland, CO.
Yet another few days closer to 2 of the biggest races of the year....the Breck-Epic Stage Race and the Marathon Nationals. With all the training leading up to these events, various Continental tires have been tested in various Colorado terrains to help choose the perfect weapon on these courses. My final choice for both events is the Continental Mountain King 2.2
For Marathon Nationals, I will run the Mountain King 2.2 Supersonics set up tubeless with Stan's on DT Swiss XR1450 wheels. For the very fast 50 miles that the Marathon Nationals race is, this will keep the weight down on the bike...as well as offer super traction on the rocky loose course.
For the week long Breck-Epic, I am running the same tire and set up....but choosing the more durable ProTection version to help deal with the harsh & remote backcountry trails used in the Breck-Epic. The higher the course goes...the larger and sharper the rocks get in the Breckenridge area. My tires are the last thing I want to worry about. The ProTection tires are tired and true on some pretty insane courses...such as the Vapor Trail 125....I trust them.
Those of us racing the 6 day Breck-Epic are just under 2 weeks away from the race start. As the days draw near, our fearless sick-in-the-head race director, Mike McCormack, is filling us in on the finer details. Today, Mike informed all of us racing that during each stage, each racer will be required to carry a set amount of gear....mostly for survival in the worst case of all scenarios. Here is that list...
For me, the plan is to not carry a pack during the stages. Wth the many support stations on each stage, I can get the food and water I need. So, the 3 pockets on the back of my jersey will be filled mostly with the items listed above....and sports nutrition for the day.
For my waterproof shell, I am going with the tired and true Go-Lite Phantasm Jacket. First of all it is waterproof and has already seen some heavy and cold backcountry rains. Secondly, it is light in weight (9.6 oz) and packs down small. With this jacket, I can roll it up to the size of a 12 oz. soda can. That is the perfect size to fit in the jersey pocket....and still have room for a hand pump or C02.
For my first-aid kit, I am going with industry leader, Adventure Medical Kits. They basically offer a first-aid kit for all outdoor activities and lengths. Going with their Ultralight & Watertight .3 was a no brainer. If you need anything not in this kit....chances are you are in bad shape.
We also need to carry a survival blanket. Once again, I went with Adventure Medical Kit....and their Heatsheets Emergency Blanket. It is one of those items we will carry....and you hope you do NOT have to use.
Finally, for my multi-tool. With Topeak being a major team sponsor we have access to some great multi-tools. I am opting to use the tool I carry on all rides...road or mnt. The Mini 18+ has everything you need in a super small package. All folded up, this tool is smaller than a small cell phone. I can easily carry this in my seat back with a spare tube....or 2.
So there you have a quick rundown on some gear for the Breck-Epic. Also announced today was the stage order. It is going to be a good kick in the nuts! The stages in order are as follows...
Breck-Epic recon: Penn. Creek and Gold Dust Stages
The 3rd and final training day is in the books. Today, I was joined by Ft Collins resident and Breck-Epic racer, Aaron Potts. The plan today was another 5 hours in the saddle and to get in some time on the Penn. Creek Stage...as well as more time on the Gold Dust Stage. The Penn Creek Stage is sure to be a good kick in the nuts as well. Steep rocky climbs are the norm. Lucky for us racers, the stage starts out with some rip'n trails.
It isn't long and the true side of the Penn Creek Stage shows its true colors. Long, steep, and rocky roads/trails. Depending on when this stage falls in the race, it will be tough. I had over 10 hrs of training leading up to this ride today....and it felt like it at times.
The cadence tells the story. Grunt, grunt, grunt.
Yeah, it mellows out at time, but the climbs still add up to create a huge fatigue monster.
After hitting up the Penn Creek Stage, I took Aaron out on the south part of the Gold Dust Stage. Lots of big views followed by more singletrack towards the Como, CO area.
On the way back to Breckenridge, Aaron and I hit up some of the Marathon Nationals course. Once again, bring your climbing legs. And why do all the longer steep climbs let you see the top.....it is such a tease when have heavy legs and are suffering.
We topped of the training session with another climb towards the finish of the Prologue uphill TT. It's all down hill from here.
Yummy, HR and elevation data. More climbing please!? Taper time is in full effect now. Brief easy rides are the norm all this coming week. All I know is I hope the my full suspension bike arrives this week, or this week of racing will hurt more than it already will.
After yesterday's super ride, I was eager to get back out today for 5.5 hours. With all the snow still looming up high, I opted to scope out the Gold Dust Stage of the Breck-Epic which sits lower than most of the other stages. I have ridden a good chunk of the Gold Dust Stage last year....so this was a refresher. After wondering around East of Breck on some of the trails, I finally hit up Boreas Pass Rd. Nothing here but a long gradual climb up to around 11,300 ft. Which then descends a bit to the Gold Dust Trail.
Gold Dust starts out like this.
Then turns to this.
Then you cross over this....but not in the Breck-Epic.
Back to some more of this.
Then it gets technical for a bit. I about saw Josh Tostado loose his front teeth trying to ride this last July. Ernesto M. can confirm that. I believe this is also NOT in the Breck-Epic. It is too far south towards Como, CO.
The technical does not last long before you are greeted with more primo singletrack.
Hmmmmm, now which way? I really need to invest in a GPS.
I ended up climbing back up Boreas Pass Rd from the South head back towards the Breckenridge area. Legs were feeling good after 3 hours of ass-to-saddle time.
Boreas Pass Rd. looks smooth....but it is not. Going up!
After getting down and off Boreas Pass Rd, I hit up some of the Firecracker 50 course. It was delightful today with the light rain showers passing over.
I ended up climbing to the top of the Prologue TT again since I was in the area. A different view than yesterday. The rain was moving in, and I needed to start heading down!
Never fails. The rained moved in. Dry trails were now moist. The Gore-Tex jacket made its first Breckenridge appearance of the year. Dropping down from 12,000 ft in 50F temps and rain....you do the math on that one.
Here is today's HR and elevation data off the Suunto T6. Mission accomplished. One more 5 hr day plan for Sunday. Just hope it stops raining.
Sonya and I are up in Breckenridge, CO for 3 days doing some course scouting. She is checking out the Firecracker 50 Marathon Nationals course, while I am out hitting up stages of the Breck-Epic race. First, I must give a huge shout out to Jeff Cospolich at Great Western Lodging for the smoke'n deal on a sweet condo for the weekend. Not only is he helping Sonya and I out....he is also giving out some smoke'n deals for the Firecracker 50 and Breck-Epic. Please try to support those who support us bike riders and racers. OK, back to today's training effort. Coach had me climbing the Prologue TT not once...but twice. I pretty much have this thing nailed down now.
For the first climb up, Jeff Cospolich joined me and guided me up this 9 mile 3,015 ft climb. Technical? Sure, a little bit is spots. Steep? Yep, in spots. Hardest part? That is for you to find out. Ha!
I would guess that half the stage is singletrack, while the other have is loose rocky jeep road.
Dude, I told you it was steep in spots!
It does not take long and you soon find yourself well above 11,000 ft.....and all the trees.
Switchback after switchback.....after switchback....after switchback.
Here we are.....2 weeks from race start and there is still snow covering 95% of the road towards the finish line. Needless, to say, we didn't make it to the finish line/top of the climb today. We were about 600 ft lower I would guess.
We were treated to this view from out highest point today.
After this initial climb, Jeff C. and I dropped back down to Breckenridge the same way we climbed up. Jeff C. went back to work, and I climbed back up again. This time I pushed the pace a bit more to give an idea of what the stage will take time wise. After today, I bet the top times for the Prologue TT will be between 45 minutes to 1 hr. After I finished out the 2 efforts of the Prologue TT, I headed out to scope a few more sections of some of the other stages....which put me at 4.5 hours of saddle time today.
Here is a small teaser from another one of the stages. More to come tomorrow!
2005 Results
12 Hr Sugar Creek :: 2nd
12 Hr of Metro :: 1st
12 Hr of Thunder :: 2nd
12 Hr of Winter :: 3rd
24 Hr of 9 Mile :: DNF
24 Hr of 7 Oaks :: 1st
24 Hr in Japan :: 1st
2004 Results
Stump Farm 12 Hr :: 2nd
24 Hr of Rapelje :: 1st
12 Hr Nationals :: 3rd
24 Hr of 9 Mile :: 10th
24 Hr Solo World :: 12th
24 Hr of Moab :: DNF
Bio
NAME: Jeff Kerkove
NICKNAME: Mr. 24
COUNTRY: USA (Colorado)
TEAM:Topeak-Ergon DOB: 2.7.1978
HEIGHT: 6 ft.
WEIGHT: 165 lbs.
RACE CATEGORIES:
Pro (XC & Endurance) Click for full Bio
