The packing for the Leadville 100 mountain bike race has begun. Why so early, considering that I’m not going to leave for Leadville, Colorado, until Friday morning? Because by packing on Wednesday I have enough time to get to a bike shop tomorrow if I learn tonight that I’m missing some important part or piece of clothing.

While the Leadville 100 is a summer-time race that starts in the early morning and is generally over by mid-afternoon, there’s a lot that can happen in the hours in between. On top of that, the weather in Leadville changes very quickly, largely due to the high-mountain environment. We all think the sun’s going to be out on Saturday morning, but I don’t want to wake up to rain and 45 degree temperatures only to realize I have no warm clothes.

And packing for cooler temperatures isn’t just a pre-race issue. Since the event lasts around 9 hours – give or take a few hours – there’s more than enough time for bad weather to roll in while you’re out on course. That’s why I have warm clothes and rain jackets in a bag I send to the Twin Lakes Aid Station. You see this aid station 40 miles into the race, and again 60 miles into the race (you climb the Columbine climb to the turnaround point of the race and then come back through Twin Lakes). This makes it a great place to evaluate the clothing/equipment you’re going to need for the Columbine ascent and descent, and also for the trip back to town.

At 9,500-12,600 feet above sea level, hypothermia is a risk even at the height of summer. When the rain falls up there, it’s ice cold, and once you’re soaked it can be very difficult to maintain your core temperature. Getting into dry, warm, and water-resistance or water-proof clothing can mean the difference between reaching the finish line or needing medical assistance. So, despite going to a summer race, I’m packing my winter and wet-weather gear as well. And as always, I’m taking Aquaphor to prevent chafing (a big problem during ultra-endurance events), sunscreen, my Smith eyewear and a few replacement lenses so I can change the lens color if I want to, and my MBTs so my legs don’t get tired walking around on Friday afternoon/evening (I’ll need them again on Saturday afternoon after the race…).

In terms of equipment, packing for Leadville means checking over my Serotta one last time and making sure it’s tuned and ready to go. I’m also bringing some spare parts, just in case something happens on Friday’s warm-up ride, because I’d hate to be all the way up there, have a spoke break or a cleat snap off my shoe, and not be able to race because of it. By packing early, I can make sure I have all the spare parts I want to take with me, and I still have time to hit the bike shop if I find I’m missing something.

The other thing I’m packing tonight is my on-bike tool kit. In mountain biking, you’re not allowed to receive mechanical assistance from your support crew, so they cannot touch my bike or fix anything on it. And there are long stretches of the Leadville course that are not close to an aid station, meaning a broken bike translates to a long walk out. As a result, I make sure I carry the following items during the Leadville 100 (which is more than I normally carry on a training ride):

- Spare tube

- Patch kit (in case I get a second flat)

- Tire levers (to get the tires off and on the rims)

- Inflation Devices: I carry a small pump and a CO2 inflator. I’ll use the CO2 first because it’s a lot faster, but I carry the pump for backup because once you’re out of CO2, you’re screwed if you don’t have any other way to get air into your tires.

- Multitool: I carry a folding tool that has a wide array of Allen Wrenches, screw drivers, a chain tool, and spoke wrenches.

- Power Link: This is a small replacement link you can use to put a broken bicycle chain back together. If the chain breaks, you use the chain tool on the multitool to take off the broken link, and replace it with the Power Link. All told, you can be back on your way in less than 5 minutes.

- Cleats: Modern mountain bike shoes attach securely to the bike’s pedals using a binding system similar to what you see on skis. There’s a cleat on the bottom of the shoe that snaps into the pedal, and once you’re “clicked in”, you and the bike are one. Disconnecting is easy and hands-free, all you do is rotate your heel out and the pedal disengages. Originally these systems were designed for safety because they would allow the rider and the bike to separate during a crash. But cleats can break or come loose from the shoe, so I like to carry at least one extra cleat with me for Leadville, because pedaling home with one leg doesn’t sound like fun.

One other tip for other athletes who might be packing tools for a long endurance event: you can either put the aforementioned tools in a bag that secures under your saddle, or you can carry them in one of the pockets of your jersey. I use a saddlebag, but one of my colleagues uses a Ziploc bag so he can easily transfer the whole thing from one jersey to another. If it rains, for instance, and he needs to switch jerseys, he wants to be able to quickly get all his tools from one jersey to the next without worrying about leaving something behind. Why doesn’t he just use a saddlebag? Believe it or not, he thinks it’s quieter to have the tools in his pocket so they’re not rattling around in a bag under his seat

Chris Carmichael

www.trainright.com

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