Volume 22: Dig Deep, Only a Hundred Miles To Go
*it's only over when it's over
Welcome back to What Needs Knowing. At the moment this volume arrived into your inbox, I plan to be eating copious carbohydrates and enjoying the company of both Carter and the rest of his support crew before the Leadville 100 tomorrow. It’ll be an early night for all of us as the horse will leave the barn on Saturday before 6am for a 6:40am MT start.
I find extreme sports, especially the ones in which I’m not a skilled participant, particularly intriguing. What makes a person voluntarily glue themselves to a two-wheel machine for 100 miles worth of punishment and exertion? Is it a desire to test the human spirit or a weird form of sadism? We will explore that and more below.
A Race Across the Sky
A little over a year ago, I was eating dinner at my summer camp job in Vermont when I snuck a look at my phone under the table away from the prying eyes of technology-starved campers. I was checking whether bib #606 had crossed the finish line of the 2021 Leadville Trail 100 MTB, a 100-mile brutal mountain bike race in the mountains of Colorado. Bib #606 was my brother, Carter. A year later and with more planning and a revamped training regime, bib # 606 has become bib #688 and Carter is back in Leadville (with me and some friends as his support crew) taking a shot at topping his finishing time from 2021. In a moment of downtime this week, I caught up with him to talk about his preparation and goals for this year’s race.
In your own words, how do you describe the Leadville 100?
To people who don't know what it is, I always have to explain it. It’s 100 miles on a mountain bike. But it's not just 100 miles on a mountain bike, it's 100 miles at 10,000 feet [of elevation] to start and then it goes up above 12,000 feet. I think it's around 12,000 feet of elevation gain over the whole course of the ride as well. There is a lot of climbing in an environment that you're not used to and that your body is not used to. If people know what it is and I say I'm riding the Leadville 100, most people get stoked!
Why have you chosen to ride in this specific race?
I’ve wanted to do this ever since 2009. That's the year that me and our parents were watching the race in Leadville and Lance Armstrong finished [and won] on a flat tire. It was just very inspiring. At that point, I don't know how much had come out about his doping but growing up, I was a huge Lance Armstrong fan. Seeing him do that race and finish it in such a badass way and then later on in life realizing that a normal person can enter and race that race, well, it felt like a chance to live the life that you'd always thought was reserved for your heroes.
How long and by what methods have you been training for the event?
Well, I've known that I've was going to do it again since I finished [the race] last year, so I kept riding my bike in the off season. I knew that every ride, even if it was just a pleasure ride with my bros, was a way to get better, which ultimately decreases the time it takes to ride Leadville. I also work out in the gym three or four days a week during lunch. And then a couple days a week I do this yoga sculpt classes where it's yoga with weights. It's not really meditative at all, it just kicks your butt. And then I'll ride after work. It turns out I have been avoiding riding my road bike because I just really like mountain biking.
How do you prepare yourself mentally for the race?
This past weekend riding the trails around Leadville alone was really, really good for my mental game because just riding a portion of [the course] took all day. Having the mental toughness to know that every section of the trail could be its own full day's ride and I can't rush from the get go will help me mentally pace myself during the race.
The race is an out and back which means there is two-way traffic on the course. What is that environment like to race in?
That's one of my favorite parts of the race. I remember last year I was just getting to the base of Columbine when the pros were coming down. I was like, Oh, I'm on the same course as these people I've watched in the Tour de France.
They come whizzing right past you. There is a level of trust that it builds between all the riders. If you start to worry about every single person you're riding past at really high speeds on loose gravel, you'd want to get off your bike. You just have to decide you're going to trust people you don't know who are at their limit whizzing down these Jeep roads, handlebar to handlebar, with 40 mile an hour closing speeds. You have to just grin and bear it.
You mentioned the climb to Columbine Mine. Is there a section of the race course that you're most nervous about?
Yeah. Like everybody who does Leadville, I'm nervous about Powerline.
What’s Powerline?
It’s a climb toward the end of the race that gets up to at least 20% grade. You’re ridden 80 miles, you've been pushing your body all day and you've climbed up to Columbine Mine [at over 12,000ft] and come back down. Then you hit this climb and you could have a very tough time on that climb if you're weak in terms of food or water. I know I have to be dialed in before I hit the bottom of that climb. And then I have to just ride within myself and not push too hard.
You had a pretty big crash this spring while training for the race that resulted in some stitches and over a month off your bike. How did that affect your training and preparation for this year’s race?
I'd say it made me hungrier. At the same time, as I look at where I am fitness-wise, I could have used another month [of training]. I think I would have used it to build a little bit more threshold power. But I can't have it back.
It also made me a lot more careful during descents. Who knows, maybe it saved me from a bigger crash down the line. It took me a while to get confident again, descending. But I can say from this past week of final prep, I'm finally back with better technique, and a little more confidence descending and going fast but hopefully safely. Knock on wood!
Do you have a mantra or mental practice in your back pocket for any hard moments during the race?
Yeah, my motto is “just fucking do it!” Ha! There's not a lot to it, it can't be too complicated.
I know I'm capable of doing it. Last year’s race was a huge question mark. Would I be able to do it? Now I know that I can, it becomes a game of how hard can I push? And how do I push responsibly without burning all my power early on.
You finished last year’s race in 10 hours and 12 minutes. Do you have any goals for this year?
Ride within myself but also I know that I'm going to have to risk it for the biscuit just a little bit. I would like to go faster this year. I think I'm going to be looking to gain time early on in the race before we get to the big flats in the middle because I want to ride [on the flats] with people I can work with, and trade roles in the wind and hide from the wind a little bit. As a big guy, slower people use me in the wind and I want to get on a fast train where we can work together.
What motivates you to race and push yourself athletically in the first place?
I think it definitely has to do with aging and wanting to get the most out of life. I'm 33, and I have the potential to be in the best shape of my entire life right now. To me, this is taking advantage of it and seizing the day. It involves not letting your heroes in life be superheroes who are doing unattainable things. Instead, this makes their achievements something very doable in your home life, which I think, to me, is why we have heroes.
Do you think you’ll see or ride with some of your heroes this weekend?
[The start list] has been published. It's just amazing to even be on the same website as Lachlan Morton because he is the guy who rode the Tour de France race alone and unsupported last year, one day behind the actual tour. He finished in Paris at the same time as the main race.
That makes him sound like a big tour guy but he's really fast [on a mountain bike], too. He won the Telluride 100 race two weeks ago. I'm super excited to be [at Leadville] with him and have a meet your heroes moments and be able to ride with him.
What are you looking forward to at finish line tomorrow?
Coca Cola! Coca Cola! That's all I’ll need. That's all I’ll want.
*This interview was edited for clarity and brevity.
Want to follow Carter’s progress?
Using his bib number (#688) or his last name (Timbel), you can search for his split times and final finishing time at this link. His start time is 6:40am MT.
Service will be limited so I can’t promise excellent coverage but if you want to be on my text thread with more frequent updates and some pictures, send me an email with your phone number.
What’s Worth Knowing
The Curiosity rover turned 10 years old this week. The rover was originally constructed to complete a 2-year mission on Mars to collect data pertaining to the potential of ancient life on the red planet. Expert engineering has allowed the vehicle to exceed its mission length and continue offering value to planetary science and astrobiology researchers.
This week, Sue Bird played her last regular-season home game for the Seattle Storm. She is an icon for all women’s sports and has inspired many young women. Thank you, Sue!
Lewis Hamilton is on the cover of the September issue of Vanity Fair. The feature discusses his early-career challenges, the controversial loss to Max Verstappen in the 2021 World Championships as well as Lewis’ work to end racism in sports. Definitely worth a read. And you have to admit, the man looks good in pink!
Serena Williams used her own cover feature in Vogue’s September issue to signal her retirement from competitive tennis after the U.S. Open which starts in about two weeks. She is one of the most dominant athletes, ever. I plan to enjoy watching her last few matches this summer while looking forward to what she will do next. The woman is unstoppable.
It’s the F1 summer break which means the F1 drivers shift their attention from racing to vacationing. Valtteri Bottas is in Colorado (he is racing in a gravel bike race in Steamboat on Sunday alongside his professional cyclist girlfriend Tiffany Cromwell), Daniel Ricciardo is somewhere with palm trees, Lewis Hamilton is in Africa, and Lando and Carlos are in Spain.
To those keeping score, the last few weeks have been tough for me to follow through on my reading goals. A combination of ultimate frisbee, project management courses, and travel have prevented productive reading sessions. I hope to finish Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin on Sunday while catching a plane to Burlington, Vermont. You can find a copy here or at your local library branch.
Thank you so much to Akane and Hannah, two WNK readers and long-time friends, for a wonderful Monday. The laughs and easy conversations were delightful and spending time with you was the highlight of my week.
I hope you all have a great weekend full of time spent with family or friends. If you’re feeling frisky, do something that scares you this weekend. Just think, it can’t be more miserable than mile 80 of the Leadville 100.
-Mackenzie “was addicted to Coca Cola in college” Timbel
Coca Cola - No Way!!! You are killing me here. That beautiful smile of yours.