Slowly adapting…

The I-day ride....Eat some breakky at 7am. Leave town headed west out on highway 160 on your mountain bike. Make sure you have a posse. Ride over Hespreus (8200’), and take a right up La Plata Canyon past Mayday then Climb. Then climb some more. 1 hour to Kennebec pass (12000’; 3650m). Descend slide-rock goat track which is in fact the Colorado trail. Continue descending the loamy Colorado Trail singletrack for 1 hour, then single-track climb for an hour, then descend some more mind-blowing singletrack again for two, yes two hours!! I was lucky enough to meet up with Todd Wells (recently confirmed on the USA XC olympic team), Troy Wells, Tad Elliot (USA U23) & Ben Kneller (jittery joes). This meant a solid day out. A 5 hour treat both up & down.

Get back to town & eat a tonne.

some local scenery...

One of the loops on the edge of town is animas mountain. a 6 mile loop (3 up , 3 down) that overlooks each of the valleys that durango is centered in.

getting high in Durango...

After day one my decision to use Durango as a base for some altitude adaption is a decison i'm quite proud of. At a svelte base elevation of 2000m rising to approx 4000m up in the hills & the hometown of legends like Ned Overand & Mr T Tomac, the decision to be here was made pretty easily. As the worlds elevation is at 1350+, adapting to that altitude will reduce that initial shock from the thinner air & I’m sure will make racing over 24 hours bearable, as opposed to unbearable if I didn’t. If it means having 3 weeks riding in a place like this, then I’ll happily oblige. Once off the plane (after a very very fortunate upgrade to business class for the long haul flight!) & I was greeted by Mark & Jeanne of the Pastore family. They are a sporting family & their names are synomous with mtb & Nordic skiing in the region. Their two kids Gino & Alicia are taking the mtb scene apart here.

I could feel the altitude straight away & my first ride with Mark to show me the main trailheads was a real eye opener to how unfit the altitude made me I feel. He showed me several areas & the quality of trails in the area are outstanding. They are generally highly polished, flowing, packed loamy single-track and miles & miles of it. The riding areas border all sides of town. Up the road from where I am living is the start of the Colorado trail which winds its way 480 odd miles to Denver. A definite for some serious backcountry single-track adventure. A quick look around at the snow speckled mountains in the distance combined with the knowledge of what lies on the edges of town, the enthusiasm to get out there & explore is sky high. Stay tuned.