Traffic in Old Town Taos is nothing short of horrendous. Driving one single mile in approximately 20 minutes almost kills the excitement of the weekend before it even starts. Fortunately for the weary and disillusioned bike racer, the final 8 miles into the Taos Ski Valley are superb. The road winds up the narrow, lush alpine valley along the Rio Hondo—the air is cool and the traffic is light.
Taos Ski Valley is a pretty cool, unique place. The valley is “steep and deep.” This is just like ski valleys in the Alps. As such, the village has adopted a German theme. Unfortunately, some lame people with money have neglected the theme when constructing some of the newer buildings. I am told that Taos has some of the best skiing in the region and one of the best ski schools in the country. So, if skiing is your boat than check it out.
Ascending NM HWY 150 in the valley, I began looking for a place to camp. All the awesome campsites were taken (all the campsites looked awesome). I reached Taos Ski Valley a little before 7:00. I found the less than 10 campsites already nabbed. All well, I had better things with which to concern myself. I changed clothes and hopped on my bike. I pre-rode the first 1 ½ miles of Saturday’s hill climb. The air was moist and thin. The yellow evening light struck the surrounding peaks. I was filled with the idea that Saturday’s race wasn’t going to be that bad. I cruised around the village and finished priming my legs for racing.
After returning to my car, I moved things around so I could sleep in my back seat, which turned out to be a satisfying experience. I read some C.S. Lewis and drifted off to sleep at the late hour of 10 PM.
Day 1: The Hill Climb
Saturday dawned like any other race day, expect I was already at the race site (no driving), I slept in a car, and I was at 9,200 feet. I warmed up for the 5.5 mile double track hill climb. The finish was just shy of 12,200 feet. The average grade was 9% with a max of 23%.
The promoters got the things going with a bang by firing a shotgun. The start was moderately intense, but no one was interested in blowing themselves up too early. I wasted no time in jumping to the lead group. However, by the time I caught the lead group, 2 of the 3 pros were off the front. They looked like they were pretty determined to demoralize the rest of us. After only 2 swithbacks, the road really kicked up. We were still among the cabins and people were out to cheer us on. The first steep section saw a lot of folks drop into their small chain ring, I middle ringed it and passed a few guys as the group split into smaller groups. I pushed for a little longer and passed a solid handful of guys, including the pro that didn’t make the first split. I settled into a group with 2 other guys. We took turns pushing each other and made quick work of the tough sections. About 3 miles in attacks started coming from my two compatriots. I sat on as the first few moves were brought back together pretty quickly. Finally, the youngster of the group attacked and I went to chasing. I dropped our other companion and started closing the gap.
Sadly, it was all for not. We hit a flat break just before timber line and I was too throttled to accelerate as fast as the other two racers. I was passed and watch the two put real estate between me and them. Right at timber line, I started losing power. Overall winner of the day, Damian Calvert, said it best. I was having a “Toto, I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore” moment. I rounded the next bend and was able to get it together and made chase. I was closing the gap. I saw the kick to the line and then bobbled. I quickly recovered, but it was too late. I guess next year I will know to shift into a harder gear and sprint. However, I had no ground to complain. I finished 8th overall, 5th in the overall expert rankings, and 2nd in expert 19-29.
I stuck around the top and chatted for a little while. Mt. Wheeler was just a little farther away and I wanted to hike to the top. I convinced myself that was a bad idea pretty quickly. I found the alternate way down the mountain and decided that would be a good idea. The alternate way down included some fast, open single track and some technical single track with the remainder being double track. I had to go slow because of hikers. So, I played around on the rocks. The alternate route was definitely a good decision.
After returning to the parking lot, I cleaned up, took an ice bath in the Rio Hondo, and loaded up the car. I ventured over to the awards ceremony where racers were enjoying free music, Santa Fe Brewing beverages, and a wicked awesome raffle. I spent the rest of the evening moseying around the village, reading, and enjoying the fresh, crisp smell of rainy alpine air.
Day 2: The XC
It rained on and off for the entire night which brought back unpleasant memories of Syllamo’s Revenge bike destruction. I convinced myself that it wouldn’t be muddy—just really slick. I awoke around 6:00 and ate breakfast in my car. It stopped raining around 6:20 and I proceeded with the usual pre-race preparations.
The race start was about the same as the day before, minus the shotgun. I latched onto the back of the lead group. The pros seemed content to not ride off directly. However, after 2 or 4 switchbacks, I realized that my legs lacked the edge they had the previous day. The pack started splitting up, and I settled into my own rhythm. I caught up to the same Taos Fit and Sports Systems riders that I spent yesterday riding with and we worked our way up the climb. We turned onto the single track and Lewis from Fit Taos decided it was time to go faster. Jason, the Sports Systems racer, responded, but it was a futile effort. I hopped onto Jason’s wheel. We hit the first section of ultra tacky, fresh, narrow single track. I bobble on a steep turn—lame. I chased back to Jason until the top of the climb (several miles into the race). We hit a rocky double track descent and Jason decided to go faster than I could go. I was caught by two riders and managed to keep them in the cross hairs with the help of a few rollers and some twisty single track (Midwest stuff). Still the lead rider managed to ride off. I managed to pass the other racer shortly after.
On the second loop, I climbed stronger and rode cleaner. Each loop being slightly different for the pros and experts, I also suffered like an old arthritis afflicted hound in the heat of a Louisiana summer on a steep, nasty, rocky climb that took racers above timber line. Fortunately, that was offset with some added fresh, narrow bench cut. There was no change in placement for me. With the start of lap 3, I started to hurt badly. I managed to pass one rider on the first part of the climb. Then it came again—the left turn that took me up the steep, nasty, rocky climb. Upon being told to turn, I shot the course marshal a nasty look. She asked if I wanted water. I said “no,” but really, I meant “where do you get off?” (Or something like that). Cresting the top of the climb, I switched to finish mode—nothing to do now but descend clean and fast. All the little rollers made my legs scream. Everything that I could pedal on, I did. I flew by some Frisbee golfers, cruised under the ski lift and crossed the line in 2:30:00. That was definitely the toughest 20.3 miles I had ever raced. Another solid finish: 9th overall, 6th overall in the expert field, and 3rd in the expert 19-29 class.
Epilogue:
At this point, I thank the reader who actually read to the bottom of this lengthy post. I must apologize for the excessive the length and my lack of effort to sculpt the words into something that would be at least mildly enjoyable. Please understand that I had much to write about and am tardy at making this post anyway. Also understand that this is one of the best races I have ever attended. The course was excellent, well marked, and superbly staffed with quality volunteers. The promoters took the time and effort to put together an excellent awards ceremony with some of the best SWAG, great atmosphere, and an excellent beverage sponsor. The weekend ran smoothly. I left thinking “that is how a mountain bike race is supposed to be.” Only complaints: 1) All 4 pros got great payouts; experts got no payouts. 2) One section of new trail was fall line trail more or less in a creek bed. It was fun but not sustainable. Bottom Line: Taos knows how to put on a good mountain bike race!
Taos Ski Valley:
Frazer Mountain (the knob on the far right):
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