Tetons Race and Ride

Taming the Tetons is a race that was not initially on the heavily negotiated race schedule.  However, the week before the race, the misses decided to pack up the kids and head to Oregon to see their cousins, so I was living the bachelor life.  And I took full advantage.  Not only did I go on my peep-show ride, but I was able to hit the Crest for the first time this year, and even got double the pleasure (double the fun) one evening by pre-riding the Canyons race course and then hitting a Glenwild night ride.  

I was hoping to have some legs left over for the Tetons race, and I suppose I felt okay, but didn't have the upper end power for the climbs.  There were only 10 starters this week, and I finished in 4th.  I went back and forth with 3rd place for a while - he'd pull ahead on the climbs, and I'd pull back time or pass him on the descents - but he eventually landed the knock-out punch on the 3rd lap. I certainly can't complain about another visit to the Tweety Chair though.

(Thanks to Kris for the photo)

I drove up to Jackson with the Holleys, so I was their third wheel (or wheels five and six, to be more specific) for the weekend.  On Sunday, the Holleys, Keith, Tim, Dave Dean and I headed out for what ended up being an amazing ride in the mountains to the South of Jackson.  I'd ridden up there once before a few years back, but Kris hooked me up with a map so that we could find our way around. 

Everyone but the Holleys and I called it a day after 25 miles (what sort of pansy only wants to do 25 miles the day after a race?), so I joined the Holleys for another 15 miles of "Leadville Training" (hopefully I can put the training to another good use).  If you want to become a better descender, just try and follow Chris around for 5 hours.  During the few times you can keep up, you'll pick up a thing or two about maintaining flow and momentum.

Unfortunately I didn't take a single picture during the ride, but I can tell you that it would be tough to beat that ride in any way, shape or form (right KC?).

Here's a snapshot of the route:

If you want more detail because you were on the ride (or you're a tech geek or just really bored), check the ride out here.  Click on the "Player" tab, and it will take you through the map and elevation profile of the entire ride.  I forgot to start recording until 4-5 miles into the ride, but you'll get the gist.