The 2021 Breck Epic 6 Day Mountain Bike Race with coach Joe Azze
Well, it has already been almost 4 weeks since I completed the Breck Epic 6 day mountain bike stage race. I had my eye on this race for a few years and finally registered for the 2021 edition the first week after moving to Silverthorne, Colorado, about a year ago. The race took place in Breckenridge, Colorado, and went from August 15th through the 20th. Each stage was more epic than the previous days. It was composed of 6 big backcountry loops.
“Breck Epic: Let me explain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up; The Breck Epic. Back to the beginning. When mountain biking was about big rides with friends. About lending a hand when a rider went down. About a shared experience that somehow, flying in the face of all logic, disproportionately enriched all involved.”
Training was going well the first half of this year but after the Silver Rush 50 in Leadville, Colorado on July 11th, it had to take a bit of a back seat the 5 weeks leading up to stage 1. We were planning on spending another winter in Summit county but realized that wasn’t going to work out so the hunt began for another place to live. We wanted to stay in Colorado and continue to live within the mountains but the housing shortage was real.
While we were looking for a place to live, we also had to figure out what we were going to do with our vehicles. We have been wanting to purchase a van and convert it so we would be able to travel and work from pretty much anywhere. This would be especially important to us when we headed back east to visit family, friends and clients, as well as participate in some of the best races in the country. It would also be Sammy’s home away from home. He is 10 now and as Elizabeth likes to say, “he is our retired adventure dog”. After much searching, we finally found a van that should do the job. We still needed to find a place to live but at least we could live out of our van if we needed to.
Stage 1 of the Breck Epic was Sunday, the day after the Leadville 100 MTB. I was contemplating pushing my entry to next year but I was too intrigued by the opportunity to ride new trails and feel what this race was all about. My focus was to just get to the start line of each stage and take it from there. I had plenty of fitness for a 1 day race but wasn’t sure where I stood for 6 days of mountain passes.
My strategy was to line up near the back of the pack each day and slowly work my way up. I wanted to be in control early on and not feel forced into a pace that I knew wouldn’t fair well for the later miles and stages. Now, this is not your normal back of the pack, every rider was there to push their limits of endurance and perceived notion of what they were capable of. They were fit and they were ready. My intention was to ride smart and technically sound. I needed to not only take care of myself but I also had to make sure that my Ibis Ripley was taken care of as well.
The first stage was designed to throw everything at you at once, to let you know what you can expect during the days ahead. It had everything and you had to work for everything. There were no miles given. This would be the theme for each stage. We climbed mountain pass after mountain pass, day after day. Views were endless, company was great, aid stations and volunteers were awesome! This was a very well run event.
I kept my nutrition simple throughout each day. Eating nothing out of the norm before and after. During each stage, I consumed GU Roctane Gels (strawberry kiwi & blueberry), water, NUUN Sport Electrolytes and Hammer Raw Energy Bars. You had to be quick with getting in the energy since you were constantly working, you couldn’t get careless or your day and week could be over just like that.
This helped me to recover faster for each successive stage since I wasn’t limiting or missing opportunities to get in calories. If you get behind, you will increase the overall stress on the body and cut into your already small recovery window. No gut issues as well and I would follow up each stage with some collagen protein, glutamine, greens and Hammer Nutrition CBD. I felt stronger each day, which is the norm for me, as long as I am taking care of myself.
One very notable day was Stage 5. This was a wild ride and it will be one to remember. My day started off early. Elizabeth had to drop me off at 4:30am at the race start which didn’t begin until 8:30am. She was driving to Colorado Springs immediately afterwards with Sam to have our van converted by the awesome people from Wayfarer Vans.
I was prepared and had everything I needed to stay warm, dry and comfortable for the few hours as I waited to get rolling, as well as for after the race. The day was calling for thunderstorms, especially high up. It was in the low 40’s to start, with light rain. The word going around was that the radar was looking promising and we shouldn’t have much weather to contend with.
I wasn’t taking a chance. Looking around I would see riders with just bibs and a shirt on, nothing more. No packs to carry backup gear, no arm warmers, maybe they had it at an aid station but those were limited do to the nature and route of the course. Also, some riders were just really f#%#ing fast and would be done with the day before all hell broke loose.
It felt like November back on the east coast so I dressed for that. I had knee warmers on and my go to Patagonia long sleeve capilene shirt under my retro Blue Ribbon Translations Cycling shirt, which was designed to remember Zach Koop and Eddie Espitia. They were two of my teammates who unfortunately passed away too soon.
In my pack I had my Ultimate Direction Ultra Jacket, backup gloves and a fleece lined cap. We were heading up to the ridge line of the 10 mile range via the Colorado Trail, topping out at 12,500+ feet. I wanted to be sure that I was prepared so that I wouldn’t have to turn back or be forced down if bad weather hit.
It was raining from the start. As we slowly made our way up, the skies would clear a little, given false hope that the inclement weather was behind us. Nearing the top, we were in hike a bike mode as weather started moving in fast. Winds picked up, it began raining harder, and it was getting noticeably colder. My goal was to get past the point where they may stop the race and force us down a dirt road to safety. I needed to get past this point of no return.
I continued pressing on. Then conditions became even more intense. Just before we reached the ridge line, I put on my UD jacket. Pushing forward I came upon the last bailout point where riders were turning back and heading down. I was with another lady that I had ridden often with during the previous stages. She was extremely strong and a very technically sound rider. I believe she won the 60+ division!
I was feeling good and had plenty of calories in me. We pushed forward. This encouraged other riders who were turning back, to follow us. I made sure that everyone around us was getting in the calories and hydrating. This is essential, especially when the weather was only going to get worse and the colder we would get.
Lots of hike a bike here, battling the winds, cold and clouds. The trail was very difficult to see and it was hard to gage where and when we would finally be heading down the Miners Creek Trail. I tried to use my phone to navigate but everything was too wet, however, my Garmin 530 was working just fine and it confirmed that we were heading in the right direction.
We finally reached the trail that would take us down towards Frisco and the beginning of the Peaks Trail. Once on the other side of the ridge, we were a little more protected from the winds. The descent was gnarly! It was steep and muddy. I would have my brakes locked out and just continued to slide down. I was able to steer just enough and stay upright until the trail improved. I finally made it down to the aid station and jumped onto the Peaks Trail, an 8 mile trail that gradually climbs up from Frisco to Breckenridge.
After crossing the line with my number plate in my mouth because it ripped off somewhere during the stage, I made my way back to where I was dropped off earlier in the morning. I had to wait for Elizabeth to drive back up from Colorado Springs. This worked out well because I was able to attend the evening meeting and hear some of the amazing stories and battles that were fought during today's stage.
After a long day, I finally was able to get back to where we were staying and get a few hours of sleep. The final stage wasn’t going to be easy. On our morning drive back to Breckenridge for the final stage, the entire 10 mile range was covered in snow. Remnants from yesterday's weather that we battled through.
The day was cold, the ground was crunchy and snow was layered on both sides of the trail. We climbed, climbed and climbed, making our way over Boras Pass and then down into some really fun twisty and windy trails. We would then need to head back up and over Boras Pass but this time with a very strong headwind the entire way up.
I wasn’t feeling great at the start of the climb because I had my first crash of the week a few miles back. I went down hard. I thought I was losing air from a poor line choice, which I was but Orange Seal took care of it. I started to be too cautious and didn’t want to have any more mishaps, which eventually led to my fall. Being too careful never turns out the way you might expect.
I took in some calories and just pedaled easy at the beginning of the climb. Other riders passed me and I just kept it easy. After about 10 minutes I put in an effort to see how things were feeling. A couple of other riders caught up to me and I jumped on their wheel.
I started to feel pretty good. I got out in front a bunch to pull into the headwind. We caught everyone that passed and some. At the top where the final aid station was, I continued on without stopping. There was only about 7 or 8 miles left and mostly downhill, some challenging downhill of course. I believe one of the trails was called Broken Wheel.
Crossing the finish line and completing the entire Breck Epic was surreal. I didn’t want it to end. I was feeling good and rode myself into fitness. I felt stronger each day. I knew the lack of sleep would eventually catch up so it was good that Friday was the final stage. The feeling was similar to when I would be finishing up my final lap of the 24 Hours of Allamuchy mountain bike races back in 2004 - 2006. That seems like a long time ago...
We have so many stories to share, writing to do and videos to create. We look forward to sharing more of our experiences during these past several weeks as well as our future adventures living in Salida. Yep, we found a place in Salida, Colorado! Thanks for all of your continued support.