The Salida Big Friggin Loop, a new addition to the Colorado Endurance Series, started out in classic style for me. Scrambling to print out course maps, a McD’s power dinner in Gunni, and rolling into Salida to camp in the Walmart parking lot around midnight. About 70 riders took off from downtown Salida the next morning to loop around the Colorado Trail to Buena Vista and back via the Arkansas Mountains. There was a long loop (~110 miles) and a short loop (~90 miles), and the race organizer emphasized at the start that you would definitely get lost without a GPS on the long loop. Without a GPS to my name, it sounded like a challenge. My plan was to follow tire tracks or latch on to someone who knew where they were going. When the course hit the Colorado Trail about 10 miles out of Salida, I started moving up through the pack and found myself in first. Without any tire tracks to follow, and with temperatures already becoming uncomfortably hot, the idea of the short loop was growing in appeal. The deal was sealed when I crashed off a sidehill section of trail and snapped my front brake hose, leaving me with just a rear brake. Dozens of skid turns and off-trail mishaps later, I was resupplying in Buena Vista with a bag of gummy worms and water to mix with my Aclimate for the last 50 miles back. Coming off of the Midland Trail, I caught up to Chris Phenicie, who had passed me after the crash, and we were both happy to have company for the brutally hot dirt road return back to Salida. We were the first to roll back into town together in just under 8 hours, both a bit delirious from the heat and dehydration. Over the course of the day, all I could stomach was a PBJ and a bag of gummy worms because the heat spoiled my appetite, but my Aclimate mix and the thought of a cold beer at the end kept me rolling. Thanks for a great ride!
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