# Triple Bypass report



## jimrolf (Sep 22, 2004)

What an awesome day! 

We started off at 6:00 with blue skies and no clouds in the sky. The climb up Squaw/Juniper pass was sublime, followed by a chilly, but exhilarating descent. The slog from Georgetown to Loveland ski area was my least favorite part of the day, but the descent from Loveland Pass, with nice new asphalt, was quite a change from last years rainfest. In fact, it was my favorite part of the ride. When I tasted cool watermelon at Summit High School, I knew I was going to make it. We managed to hook up with a fast paceline coming down from Vail Pass (I apparently just missed a pile up of 6 or 8 bikes on the descent) that, with a nice gel shot, provided enough adrenaline to finish strong in Avon. 

Overall, it was a great day.

Any other experiences?

jim


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## godot (Feb 3, 2004)

*Great ride*

We hit the road about 6:30, perfect weather. The cloud cover kept the temps reasonable, and no rain. Finished at 3, quick shower at the condo, then it was burgers and beers with my wife.

Lots of people, a lot more than 2 years ago. We skipped the 1st 2 aid stations because they were just too crowded, grabbed water at a gas station in Georgetown and kept rolling.

My friend was having a really rough day, so we were moving a lot slower than usual. I just sat up front and set tempo for him all day, and finished the ride very fresh. Had a very good 3 person paceline working into Avon, when we got joined by 2 guys that were either very tired or weren't that good in a paceline. The highest heart rate I hit all day was putting in a big acceleration to drop them.

I somehow avoided my annual hamstring and calf cramping festival on Swan Mtn Rd. Don't know if it was the easier pace, tons of "Nuun" electrolyte tablets, or keeping my legs spinning the whole way down Loveland. I don't really care, and I definitely didn't miss having my hamstrings strung up like piano wires for the last part of the ride.

A few random observations 
1. A lot more women on the ride this year. I've noticed more women out on the roads around here lately, too, good to see.
2. Cell phones - people talking on them, cell phones ringing fairly regularly, people swerving wildly while reaching in the jersey pockets to answer their phones (I almost got taken down near the top of Loveland by someone that did a very hard swerve trying to get to their phone), saw a couple people with their phones clipped to the hip of their shorts for easy access. It's a beautiful ride, with lots of sag wagons, and lots of people on the road, turn the phone off while your pedalling. Sorry for the rant, I hate cell phones.
3. Specialized seems to have sold a lot of bikes lately. Usually this ride is a Trek-fest, My guess is that it was almost 50/50 this year on the trek to specialized ratio. Lots more Orbeas, and BMC's too.
4. I guess you notice a lot of stupid things when you're slogging out passes at 10mph.
5. I still struggle on the bike path from Frisco up to Copper Mtn, just an endless false flat that I can never find a good rhythm, gear or cadence on. It's a personal thing, but that stretch is always the worst part of the ride for me.
6. A special thanks to the group of riders blocking the entire lane down the last few miles into Keystone and not allowing cars or faster moving cyclists to pass. I spent a few miles drafting a pickup truck and riding my brakes because these clowns decided to take the whole lane. The guy in the pickup truck started yellling at me, about what a bunch of jerks cyclists were and how he hated all of us, and all I could do is agree with him.
7. Passing all those ski areas with pretty green slopes made me realize how I'm ready for it to be ski season.

Sorry if this sounded negative, it was great ride, as always, and I really did enjoy the day. Having all the people at the finish cheering for you, even though they don't know you from Adam is always really cool.

Hope everyone else had a fun and safe ride.


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## Bulldozer (Jul 31, 2003)

Overall, it was a great ride. The weather couldn't have been better. We started just after 6am. I did the ride with my buddy Kevin. He ended up having a slow leak on his back tire so we spent the first few miles working that out. On our second stop we switched out the tube and went on our way. 

I was a little worried on the climb up Juniper pass because I wasn't passing very many people. I guess I got used to the slower pace of the BTC. The Triple brings out a whole different class of riders. Juniper was a nice steady climb in the cool weather. The descent to Idaho Springs was a mess. It seems everyone, and I mean everyone, regardless of speed, was clinging to the yellow line instead of the white line. I chose to go over the yellow line too many times to count. ut: 

We did a quick stop in Idaho Springs with my other friend that was sagging us. Chugged a GoFast and was on my way again. The slog from Idaho Springs to the Loveland Ski area was the worst part of the ride. Rough roads. Lots of people. No scenery. Climbs in places you don't expect them to be. We made another stop in Georgetown to switch out my friend's back tire and tube. It continued to slowly leak on him. I ended up waiting at the base of Loveland pass for almost an hour waiting for Kevin. He was starting to feel the pain. I waited another 30 minutes at the top of Loveland and still didn't see him. I ended up leaving just before he summited. I hooked up with some different friends and bombed down the other side.

The pace picked up significantly with the second group of friends. They're strong riders and we hit Swan Mt pretty hard. I jumped off in Frisco and hooked up with the family for a nice lunch. When Kevin finally got there, he said he was done climbing and he was going to take a ride to the top of Vail. Knowing that, I took off ahead of him to meet him there. After realizing that the rest area was closed at Vail pass for the ride, he ended up starting again at Copper. I'm really proud of him for making that last climb up Vail. He said that he couldn't live with himself if he only did a double bypass.  Halfway up Vail I finally started to feel the effects of the day. I didn't bonk or anything but I could finally feel my legs starting to deteriorate. 

The last stretch into Vail and Avon wasn't bad as I thought it would be. Kevin and I had found our second...or third...or forth wind and finished strong. It was great to have our family waiting for us at the finish line. Hearing my daughter yell "Go, Daddy!" could have sustained me for another 20 miles.  

I have no idea if I will come back and do it again next year. I'm usually the type that has the "been there, done that" attitude so who knows. Maybe I'll come back and ride it as fast as I can and see where that takes me.


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## Bocephus Jones II (Oct 7, 2004)

Did you see Stingray Phil? I talked to him Sunday and he said he actually had a rough day of it despite the good weather. He finished in about 12 hours. Had some tire problems on his Stingray.


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## Bulldozer (Jul 31, 2003)

Bocephus Jones II said:


> Did you see Stingray Phil? I talked to him Sunday and he said he actually had a rough day of it despite the good weather. He finished in about 12 hours. Had some tire problems on his Stingray.


I didn't see him out there.


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## Bocephus Jones II (Oct 7, 2004)

Bulldozer said:


> I didn't see him out there.


Would've been hard to miss on his 5 speed Stingray. He said he dressed up like Joe Dirt minus the mullet wig since it was hot. I've seen him before as I come up Loveland chugging away on the Stingray...too funny.


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## godot (Feb 3, 2004)

*Phil*

I saw Stingray Phil prior to Georgetown. He had a sign on his camelbak that read "Yep, it's got a hemi"

Cool guy, I seem to find in the same spot just about every year.

Leaving the Loveland rest stop a couple guys walking behind us were talking about him.

As for the descent down Squaw Pass, it's the best descent on the ride, and is usually a nightmare of dodging people, going into the oncoming lane, and guessing which inconsistent line people are going to take thru corners. The pack just hasn't had enough time to split apart at that point, so it's a crowded ride down.


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## Woolbury (Oct 12, 2005)

I left a little befor 6, and had a great time the entire ride this year. Not too hot, not too cool, very little headwind, finished feeling pretty fresh. Got a little bogged down at Loveland ski area, that seems to be my low spot, but had little trouble climbing over the pass and finishing the route. Knocked 45 min off last years soggy ride and broke my 8hr target with a 749 finish. Agree with most of godot's obsevations, too many cell phones(I called my wife a couple times :blush2and people taking entire lane on descents, a bit inconsiderate and unsafe. Rode solo, and pretty much rode solo except for a great paceline from bottom of Vail pass to finish. I've done so many rides this year all these aid stations start to feel the same-more gatorade, a few snacks(love the shotblocks) and back down the road. It's been the story of my summer.


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## Birddog (Sep 9, 2004)

There hasn't been any better weather in my 7 TBP's. The food was better than in the past too even though it was the same menu. Maybe it was the 4 Amber Lagers. 

I saw Stingray at Bakerville, he was asking around for a pump (which he found) to top off his tire.

I thought the descent from Squaw was safer than normal, it was spread out when I went down and except for one unmarked crater was well marked. There were two morons that went over the center line on a curve passing me as I was passing some other riders forcing the oncoming car to move far right. One of these idiots was about 5 feet into the uphill lane. That was the only incident, but over the years I've seen as many stupid moves by fast riders as I have slow riders. The nice weather brought out a lot of rec riders on the trails near Frisco and also going down to Vail.

Does anybody know if it is Squaw or Juniper? It used to be called Squaw several years back and that's how the shirt was marked. Now it's apparently called Juniper, is this for PC reasons?

Birddog


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## Bulldozer (Jul 31, 2003)

I know of Stingray Phil. We rode together for a while at the Buena Vista century a couple of years ago. I just didn't see him out there.

Coming down Juniper wasn't packed with people. It was just a lot of single riders hugging the center line. I know there were some bad stretches of road, most of which were on the right side of the lane, but it was ridiculous. It's not that hard to decend safely. Stay to the right unless passing and keep a consistent line. The people that I passed over the yellow line were the ones that migrated from side to side in the lane with no regard for who might be behind or next to them.


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## kirkdig (Apr 7, 2006)

I passed Stingray Phil at Echo Lake around 7:30 - very cool. How about the guy who had a full size cooler and boombox on the back of his bike? I saw him and his wife climbing up Juniper pretty early.

I've been fighting IT Band issues in my left knee for about two months. I almost sold my registration, but am glad I didn't. I had to reduce my mileage from what I had planned -- basically nothing over 50 miles in the past month. On Saturday my left knee was fine, but the right one hurt -- haha.

"Lowest" point of the day -- the last mile into the Vail Pass rest station, the tank was empty.
"Highest" point of the day -- the paceline from Vail to Avon, had to sprint like hell to get on with these guys, but once on, we flew.


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## ProudDaddy (Apr 19, 2006)

Birddog said:


> Does anybody know if it is Squaw or Juniper? It used to be called Squaw several years back and that's how the shirt was marked. Now it's apparently called Juniper, is this for PC reasons?
> 
> Birddog


I'm pretty sure you pass over Squaw pass and then Juniper pass on the way to Echo Lake. Juniper pass is actually the high point on the climb.

Don't know of Mr. Stingray, but had some guy on a cross or mountain bike blow by me at about 15 mph on the way up Squaw :blush2: . At the time I was trying to kill myself way too early in the ride at 12 mph before dropping to a more reasonable pace - so mad props to you.

As for the ride, the weather was surely better than my first triple last year. I bettered my 8 hour time by a half hour despite being in much better climbing shape last year. There were a lot of fast riders out there I didn't see last year, so had the opportunity to be pulled on occasion this time - last year was pretty much a solo ride through the slop. And to the guy that took turns pulling with me from Vail pass to the finish - and happens to work in the same office building as me - what a coincidence - that was one helluva sprinting descent and finish! :thumbsup: If you are out there, drop me a PM - maybe we can hook up for a ride.


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## norton55 (Jan 10, 2006)

left at 6:00 and had a pretty good pace up squaw. the decent was fun except in the shadows where it felt like the temps dropped 20 degrees. i did noticed a lot more women also and some were very strong climbers!! my worst part was that *****y little pull by the lake before the aid station near frisco. the bike trail between breckinridge and copper was also hard. had a great time and it was great to meet new people on the climbs. i didn't see the stingray but i did see the guy with the boom box near idaho springs.


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