First, you should know that less than a year ago, neither I nor any of my friends rode mountain bikes.   And you should know that the Leadville 100 is perhaps the most “epic” mountain bike race in the U.S.  Lance Armstrong won it a couple of years back.  It’s a 100 miles, and it starts at 10,000 ft. elevation.  And when I tried to ride just a portion of the course, there was a five-mile stretch during which I crashed (hard) three separate times (to say nothing of the thin-air climbs up bumpy trails).

There’s a lottery to get in, and Shane and Ned wound up getting “slots” in this year’s race; for better or worse (almost certainly better), I didn’t.   They trained like crazy, especially Ned, who spent about six consecutive weekends in Colorado (ask him about the oxygen tent over his bed in Houston – no kidding).  They both rocked it!  At least I got to tag along, drive the chase car and take pictures.

Oh:  And it all took place on my birthday.  So I got a nice present from the gang — a Payday (candybar).  Long story.