Michael Brodsky and I took off late last night from Washington DC to Nice, France (via New York) on our way to ride our bikes through the Southern Alps of France and Italy as part of the Rapha Cent Cols Challenge. We will be endeavoring to ride up to 10 days. Each day will be about 120 miles of riding with 12,000 feet of climb! We are both anxious just thinking about it.

We just arrived in a very sunny Nice today and are staying at the beautiful Boscolo Exedra Hotel just a few blocks off the Mediterranean Sea. We started our adventure by taking our good friend Nicole Valentine to lunch. Nicole is a professional triathlete formerly of the DC area and now of Boulder. Nicole just competed in Ironman France herein Nice and made it to the podium as the 3rd woman across the line. Way to go Nicole! We have ridden many times in DC and with Nicole and the “Miele Gang” over the years and as recently as a few weeks ago. By finishing 3rd and recently 5th at Ironman Brazil. She jumped from 130th ranked woman to 60th in the World! We had a lovely lunch and wished her well as Nicole heads off to Paris to visit with another ex-pat member of the Miele cycling gang.

Above is the Beautiful lobby, the facade of the Boscolo Exedra Hotel, the rocky and beautiful beach of Nice and a fountain that reminded me of my wife’s horse back in Virginia.

Tomorrow we head to Carros, France to meet up with our fellow Rapha Cent Cols Riders and the organizer/leader/spiritual guru if the event Phil Deeker. Can’t wait to experience and write all about it.

It’s a Thursday evening and I am packed for an early morning flight the next day and about to head for bed in my home in Washington DC when I get  a text from my partner Tom Yockey, who lives in Evergreen Colorado, that reads…”Forest Fires in Colorado, Triple Bypass Cancelled”. Now some people might read that and unpack, cancel the flight and thank the stars they weren’t going to fly a couple thousand miles to ride 240 miles and climb more than 22,000 feet in two days at elevations approaching 12,000 feet with no time to acclimate  and 2x crossing of the Continental Divide ( 2x), but that ain’t me. Nor is it my friend Brent Goldstein’s style.

Next Move….Check Facebook! So I look at the Triple Bypass Ride Facebook Page. My buddy Brent, already in Colorado, had already scoped the Triple Bypass Route, decided that the Fire was not a threat, had already posted on the Triple Bypass Facebook site, “Hey, my wife and I are still going for it, Who is with me?” . “Hell yeah, I am”, I posted back! Bright and early the next day off I flew to Colorado to attend my 5th Triple Bypass.

For the past 5 years, I have gone to Colorado for the Triple Bypass, a beautiful 120 mile ride from Evergreen Colorado to Avon Colorado. I  have started each ride with my pal Mike Brodsky as in “Mike(s) Great Adventures”. Mike and his wife Heidi have graciously hosted me at their home at the finish line in Avon for each of the past rides. The ride takes you over 3 passes, Juniper, Loveland and Vail Pass. The summit of Loveland Pass, about 64 miles into the ride, is the Continental Divide separating the Pacific and the Atlantic watersheds of the USA. Yes, that is me in the picture above on the summit of Loveland at an elevation of 11,990 feet above sea level.

This year I signed up for the “Double” Triple Bypass which gives me the opportunity to ride 120 miles and 11,000 feet of climb on Saturday, just to do it in reverse the next day, Sunday. Mike and I have planned an upcoming 10 day ride in the Southern Alps of France and Italy with Rapha as part of their Cent Cols Challenge. On the Cent Cols, there are 10 days of 120 miles and 12,000 feet of climb on average per day. We figured if we couldn’t handle two days in the Rockies, we couldn’t handle 10 days in the Alps! Our big question, “where we up for the challenge?”

So off to Colorado I flew not knowing exactly what to expect because the normally very well-organized and highly supported Triple Bypass Ride would now become an unsupported and hastily organized 249 mile ride over two days across the Rockies and back! When I arrived in Denver, I checked in with Brent and found he had about 20 brave souls who willingly would join us on the ride. One of our friends from DC along for the ride, Kim and Larry Weinberg, offered up or twisted the arm of their college age daughter thankfully to cart some gear across the mountains and one of our new Friends from Minnesota,  Lang Hunt’s wife, Kerry heroically played SAG driver and carted food and water along the route. Thanks Kerry!! So at 6AM on Saturday AM, we met 14 or so total strangers at a local middle school in Evergreen, Colorado and off we went! (Note: it’s a “small world” story, I discovered along the ride that Lang and my good friend of ten years from Washington DC and magnificent Triathlete, Hilary Cairns, were first cousins!)

One of Brent’s motivations was that he had talked his wife into riding one way across the Mountains. She had been training valiantly to attempt this ride and he didn’t want her to miss the ride she had worked so hard to prepare for. Turns out my buddy Mike decided to stay and ride in the vicinity of his home in Avon/Beaver Creek but would join us the next day for the return….if we survived day one!

Off we went, a beautiful day and not a sniff or sign of a Forest fire. One of the best things I love about the Triple Bypass is one immediately starts climbing a majestic mountain with clean crisp air and great views of still white-capped Rocky Mountains. Not unusual to see a pack of Elk and other wildlife on what seems a forever sea of evergreen tree’s. The mountain comes alive with the chatter of excitable riders, already with climbing heart rates, all looking forward to a great adventure. Thankfully, the route is composed primarily of paved roads and trails the entire way to Avon. Generally, long 4-6% ascents and descents.

One of the most important lessons from past experiences at the Triple is to try to arrive at the top of the second pass, Loveland by no later than 12-1 PM so as to miss the inevitable thunderstorm or worse hailstorm. So it takes some effort to shrug off the excitement and social conversations in the first climb up Juniper Pass and descent into a highway town called Idaho Springs so we can get going to Loveland. I wait at the bottom of the descent from Juniper pass at, I kid you not, “Kum and Go”, convenience store.

After Idaho Springs, it’s a long, slow ascent towards Loveland Basin, the foot of Loveland pass when headed west on the Triple Bypass Route. The Triple bypass organizers usually have a lunch stop setup before a 4 mile climb to the summit. So, thanks to Kerry Lang, we had lunch! Nothing like a peanut butter sandwich to rejuvenate before a climb. The climb up to the summit of Loveland Pass and the Continental Divide is probably the toughest 4 miles of the day with grades averaging around 8% but rarely much higher. This year I climbed Loveland with one of our new friends, Tricia. Tricia did a great job climbing to the top. We would bump into Tricia’s husband later in the day and he thankfully provided a cold Coca Cola and bags of salty chips near Georgetown!

The descent out of Loveland is awesome, 8 miles of twisty and exposed downhill! Hold on to the bars, teeth grinding, fast descent! Passing around beautiful Swan Lake, we make our way through Frisco, Colorado on our way to the top of Vail Pass. Most of this part of the route is paved path. Just before I get top Vail Pass, I looked back across a beautiful field of mountain flowers and see a couple pedaling towards me. It looked like the woman was riding the kind of bike you would see Dorothy riding, yes that Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, complete with a lap dog in a basket strapped to her handle bars. Then I realized she was catching me climbing towards Vail pass. WTF!! Have I totally bonked? Nope, she was riding an E-Bike complete with extra horse power motor and passed me like i was standing still! Well that’s one way to do it!

Descending out of Vail Pass, I suggested that Tricia simply hang on, get behind me and draft the whole way to Avon! And she did.

I arrive feeling great in Avon at Nottingham Park. Usually a fantastic party has been organized but just a few kids playing in the park and Tricia’s husband. No where to be found is Brent, his wife Lisa or any of the other folks we began the day with. After taking the obligatory finish line photo, I say goodbye to Tricia and her husband and pedal off to Heidi and Mike’s home about a mile away ( mile 125, of course on top of a hill!).  After a quick shower, we head off to our good friend Neil Cohen’s in Beaver Creek. Neil started a great post Triple Bypass tradition a few years back and along with his wife Marcie, they host a very nice party at their home in Beaver Creek. Neil is a great host and at Neil’s I catch back up with Brent and Lisa as well as the Weinberg’s and receive the great news that Lisa finished the ride and got it done! Great Job Lisa! Thanks Neil and Marcie for another great party! Cant wait to do it again! Before departing, Brent, Mike and i make our Day Two plan, the return to Evergreen!

Turns out for Day Two, there are only 3 takers. Brent, my pal Mike and myself. Nothing to be ashamed of to those who decided not to make the return journey. It was a tough day. We decide to sleep in a bit and take off around 7:30 AM. Another beautiful day in Colorado. Avon/Beaver Creek and Vail are beautiful and I am a little sad I can’t enjoy it a bit more. Someone told me it was easier on the return ride. Don’t think so. Maybe it was the 2 beers I shouldn’t have enjoyed at Neil’s, maybe the elevations, maybe a little dehydration but I am dragging ass from the start.

Vail pass, no problem. But we arrive at the western base of Loveland, stop to refuel and grab some water and I realize I am already tired. And then…it gets hot! Before we make a very tough 8 mile climb to the summit, i make another mistake and eat half a turkey sandwich from Subway. Bad move. Mike B takes off and shouts “see you at the top!” Brent and i wave him off and say “yeah yeah, whatever”. I am next, about 10 minutes later, followed by Brent. As soon as we climb, I realize it was a bad move to eat that sandwich. Very bad move!!

Very quickly, Brent overtakes me on the hill and I slowly watch him disappear around a switch back. I pass one rider, another passes me like I am standing still. I am in my lowest  gear just grinding it out. Damn, its hot. Where are all those beautiful fir and aspen tree’s? Apparently not on the climb up the backside of Loveland pass. Damn, I am tired. I realize I am only 3 miles into the climb and still stuck in my lowest gear. Damn, I am thirsty. I am employing every technique I know, breathing patterns, concentrating on pedal strokes, changing up my hand positions, putting my favorite playlist in my ear. Damn, my back and shoulder hurt. I catch up to the guy who passed me like I was standing still as he is sucking wind on the side of the road. Ok, maybe I am not that bad off. Screw it, I am only at 5 miles, 3 to go and I need to take a break. I never take breaks! Somehow, I get back on the bike and make it to the top. There Brent and Mike greet me with high 5’s and smiles. I learn they have been there for 25-30 minutes. Ugh!

Thankfully, the guys and i decide to take some photo’s at the same place I was the day before. Although, I don’t think I look to bad, I was feeling pretty bad. Had Mike not reminded me that I had been riding with a backpack, I would left it along with my car keys on the summit. Boy, that would have been a frustrating ride back up! The descent from Loveland Pass to Idaho Springs is thankfully long and gradual. More than 30 miles of flat to descending rejuvenates me and gives me the opportunity to recover. Because we started later in the morning,  Brent starts to suggest we skip the final ascent up Juniper Pass and we find a shortcut that will still have us climb but not the full 3000 feet left and maybe not the full 120 miles.

We make it to the famous Kum and Go convenience store  in Idaho Springs for your final refuel and water stop. We load up, discuss the options and decide to take the detour. Good move because it started to fade to dusk as the day grew long. Somehow, I catch my second wind and feel pretty good on the road to Evergreen. Thankfully, we arrive back in Evergreen just as the sun is setting over the Rockies. After a few high fives and a quick photo hop, and since its late in the day, I say a quick goodbye to my boys Mike and Brent as they hop into Brent’s car to head back to Vail and Beaver Creek and I head to my favorite Denver Hotel, the Brown Palace. The Double Triple Bypass is complete! Next stop the Southern Alps!

 

Epilogue: After arriving at the Brown Palace Hotel, I pad in my cycling socks and still wet cycling kit with the neon pink trim into the beautiful Atrium lobby to check-in. The ever professional staff at The Brown doesn’t give me a blink. I allow the bellman to bring my things to the room and I never do that. A hot shower later, I feel like a million bucks! I head down to the pub in the hotel to grab some well-earned post game grub. The Brown Palace has excellent food and some great craft beers on tap. I quickly enjoy my first brew as I engage in nice conversation with a couple of guys in Denver for a convention, We discuss the craft beer. My food comes and I go for a second awesome amber ale. Although I milk that second beer for a while, the bartender offers me a third. I utter my famous last words, “I just biked 220 miles over the past 2 days and I can drink whatever I like” and go for beer #3. My second worst decision of the day after the pre-Loveland ascent turkey sandwich. I finish beer #3 and feeling good, bid my new bar buddies goodnight.  I head back to my luxurious room and immediately fall asleep. I wake up at about 4 in the morning, not unusual for my 54-year-old body, and immediately sense I am not myself. At first, I think I am a bit drunk but no, I feel just off. I lay back down and can’t fall back to sleep. Each hour I wake up and feel worse and worse. Ugh, I have a 8:30 AM breakfast meeting to recruit some new people for our Denver Office. I am sweating, shivering and nauseous all at the same time. I am not gonna deliver the best recruiting pitch of all time. I stumble into the shower, dress and head downstairs, doing my best not to lose my cookies in the beautiful Brown Palace Atrium. I meet my guests in the elegant dining room at Ellington’s, a great place to impress for a breakfast or lunch in Denver. And proceed to work twice as hard as the climb up to Loveland to concentrate on the conversation and not lose it on the table.  I don’t even touch my beautiful breakfast. I am one not to miss a meal and I love the food at Ellington’s. My guests are gracious and we adjourn within an hour. Somehow I stumble back to the room where I get back in bed  at 10AM, not to sleep, not to move, not to eat but just to lay there in a semi conscious state and suffer in misery until 5PM. I meet my partner Tom at 5 and have an animated conversation. Thank you to Tom for dealing with me in my awful state.  I am back in bed by 7PM. I have a 6AM plane to catch and got to lug me, my bike and my car rental to the airport at 4AM. Lesson learned, never, ever, ride 220 miles at elevation without being acclimated and expect to enjoy a beer!

 

 

 

I left Washington DC on June 23, 2017 with one of my work consigliere’s Aras Holden to head to Deep Creek Lake, Md, otherwise known as McHenry, Maryland with the goal of riding the infamous Garret County Gran Fondo. We met up with two more of our Broad Street Realty  pals, Ben Heldman and Alex Staneski in McHenry. We shared an interesting “cabin motel” house not too far from the Gran Fondo start line.

Alex, Ben and Aras are very hard working young guys all of which are young enough to be my kids. Not gonna lie, I was worried they were out to kick the boss’s ass the next morning!

I thought I was being a little paranoid on the “kick my ass” thought. We headed out that night before the ride and went to a great brew pub called Mountain State Brewing Company. Although this place is off the beaten path, it was a very busy happening place.  We all talked about skipping a beer the night before the ride but Mountain State has a great selection and after all how much damage could one or two beers do? (Note to self: More than you think!!)

In the picture above, that is me on the left followed by Alex, Aras and Ben. The night before the ride it began to rain, then pour, then storm! And it stormed all the way to the start line!

The Garret County Gran Fondo offered multiple distance options. We had talked ahead of time and Ben and Alex planned to the “Masochistic Metric” or 60 miles, Aras planned on the “Savage Century” or 100 miles and me the glutton for punishment planned on the “Diabolical Double” or the full 124.6 mile ride featuring 16,800 feet of climb!

We were all a bit anxious in advance of the ride. Alex was concerned over an old knee issue, Ben over the longest attempted distance he was about to undertake, Aras over going the full 100 and me…well just keeping up with the young guns! We woke up on game day to a howling rain storm. The driving wind and rain was adding to everyone’s anxiety but like magic the rains ended just as it was our turn to get going on the ride!

Although the organizers stagger starts based on longest ride first, we all decided to start with the  “Savage” Riders and try to ride together until the 60 miler “Masochists” diverge from the 100-125 milers on the course. I had no idea what to expect from the young guys other than I hoped they would not leave me in the dust!

The Diabolical is not a race but it does feature 7 KOM timed climbs throughout. Having KOM climbs in an already extremely hard ride is a bit crazy but what the heck, as long as you gotta climb might as well give it a little college try.

As we got going, I was immediately impressed with all of my consigliere’s energy. Nothing like twenty something year old legs! Alex and Ben in particular had way more energy than i expected, they obviously had prepared better than i expected for the ride. Good cheer abounded from the boys as well as all the other riders we met along the way. The scenery is truly beautiful in Garret County. I was mesmerized by the hews and depths of the green forests.

Garret County Gran Fondo organizer Kyle Yost does a great job! I have done this ride several times before and I am always impressed with the quantity and quality of the food and drinks at the rest stops. Also, I don’t know how he does it but the folks manning the rest stops are the nicest and most cheerful volunteers at almost any event I have ever attended. Cheers to the volunteers!

 

 

 

The guys kept up until we all split somewhere around 45 miles. Ben and Alex pictured above really impressed me as they seemed in great spirits and didn’t seem to have any trouble handling this brutal and beautiful ride through Garret County. Aras and I said goodbye to the boys and continued on our way uneventfully until we too parted at around mile 68. Aras also seemed in great spirits and I was equally impressed with his preparation and focus for the ride.

Shortly after Aras and I went our separate ways, I bumped into a couple of buddies from DC at the potato stop. Yes, the potato stop. Baked potato’s were offered to all riders somewhere around the 75 mile mark. I skipped it but there i watched my pal Tom Kish sprinkle his salt capsule contents on the potato and throw it down. He swore it was awesome! I ended up riding the remaining 50 miles, a long 50 miles with Tom and another  weekend riding buddy Peter Hancock. Peter is  a super strong rider and he did me a favor waiting up for me. Thanks Peter!

125 miles and 16,000 feet of climbing later, I am feeling good about my next adventure, The Double Triple Bypass across the Colorado Rockies!

Aras, Alex,Ben and I met my pals Tom and Peter out for a celebratory post game burger and beer overlooking the now serene Deep Creek Lake. Thanks boys for a great weekend of riding, bond building and all around good time.

 

Gonna be short and sweet. Getting Old sucks. I picked up triathlon because i thought it would provide a little variety and that i wouldn’t overtrain by running or swimming too much. Should have known myself a bit better!

Last year, 2016, I started working with a new triathlon coach Darren Rentch. Darren and his wife Jen run Meridian Performance and they are awesome. With Darren’s guidance I reached All World Athlete Silver status with Ironman! Even made it to the podium a couple times! Had a great time meeting Darren and Jen’s other disciples and traveling to a few events together. I have thoroughly enjoyed my training experiences with Darren. He understands I have a day job, running a commercial real estate company, and that gets in the way of my night job ( or should i say my early morning job)!

 

I was fired up and was ready to rock and roll this year. Unfortunately, I fell off my bike last summer and my shoulder really never recovered. I was able to swim all last fall after making a stupid training mistake and taking a nice superman dive off the bike. I felt fine after a week or so and kept training. I dialed back in November and December thinking that would help…Nope! Started physical therapy, cortisone shot and thought i was on my way back! I did have to cancel my plans to do South Beach TRi and Ironman Florida 70.3 in April under penalty of death from my Doctor and physical therapist. I did a Sprint Tri in May as a warm up for Ironman Raleigh 70.3 in Raleigh North Carolina. Although a little achy, I wasn’t too worse for wear finishing 4th at the Sprint.

Off to Raleigh!! A beautiful course in a beautiful town. The start and finish line of Ironman Raleigh 70.3 are on a closed street in downtown Raleigh right on front of the host hotels and the convention center. Only a few blocks and in eye sight of the capitol building of North Carolina. Coach Darren came down to Raleigh with a couple of great  guys and we had a great time warming up the day before the race and enjoying a meal and some good stories.

The swim course was about 20 miles from Raleigh at Jordan Lake. Beautiful place to swim. The Bike course meanders back to Raleigh and is very pretty. Unfortunately i never made it to the run.

Although, I felt great all week and warming up the day before my shoulder was feeling pretty good. I was determined not to overdue it in the water, swim steady, swim straight and just stay within myself. I had a nice steady swim and came out exactly where i thought i might. In fact, there was Coach Darren in transition exactly where I expected to see him as he is an awesome athlete and good swimmer. Off to the Bike! A beautiful ride that starts with a fast sprint along a wide well paved road. Flying! The route was relatively flat and I was in aero position the whole way. Starting around mile 26, halfway, my shoulder began to ache, by mile 30 it began to bark and by mile 40  I was sitting up and out of aero position, by mile 45 I was hanging onto my bike with one hand! Made it to the run transition and was done! Just done! My shoulder never hurt this much before, it was hot out, no shade in transition and I just wanted to cut off my right arm! Walked straight into the med tent, grabbed some ice from the nurse and that was it! I am shutting down swimming until I rehab the shoulder.

So triathlon season is done for me. The shoulder feels fine on my road bike and running. Michael B has encouraged me to focus on my cycling anyway. I will still run a few times a week but The Double Triple Bypass and Cent Cols Challenge is calling! So Michael B, here we go, a couple big adventures right around the corner!