Title says it all.
Anyone have recommendations of where to stay (or not to stay) in or around Leadville?
Am looking for 3 nights over the weekend of August 11-12 for the 100M mtb event.
Rob
Lots of people rent houses or condos in Leadville or down the hill at Copper Mountain. There are a few hotels in Leadville, but I hear they fill up early. Some look creepy, so maybe read up on Travel Advisor?
Another option would be Vail or Avon/Beaver Creek area, which is about 45min to 1hr drive up to Leadville… The advantage of staying outside of Leadville is that the elevation is much lower, thus easier to sleep… But then you have an early morning drive up to the race site… but you’ve got an early morning on race day regardless. Then have to drive it again for the awards ceremony at 7am on Sunday! I’m in Edwards, so didn’t mind the drive up b/c I could sleep in my own bed.
Either way, good luck. Its a pretty awesome experience. Just don’t tell anyone, b/c the race doen’t need to be any bigger. 
I’ve got a room booked in Leadville already but wasn’t sure what the options were for staying outside town.
Appreciate the insight from a “local”.
Would be interested in hearing from anyone who may have done the race to know what traffic is like getting into town on race morning. Looks like most of the places to stay are in the direction of I-70.
Anyone know the logistics of a one person support crew getting out of town after the start and getting setup at Twin Lakes?. Seems like there would be a lot of people doing this so maybe just follow the crowd?
When coming from Edwards/Vail/Beaver Creek, we didn’t have much traffic coming up on race morning. Since it is such an early morning, just watch out for wildlife and drunks.
Yes there are a lot of support folks jetting down to Twin Lakes right after the start. My girlfriend didn’t have much trouble getting there. But parking is limited, so expect to walk a bit after you park. Definitely recommend driving to the aid stations before race morning so you have an idea of timing/distance and terrain–some are rough dirt roads… so leave the pimpin lowrider at home Along those same lines, I definitely recommend pre riding at minimum: Columbine climb & descent, and Power Line climb & descent.
I’m in the same boat as you. First time Leadville rider this year. I’ve been to Leadville once, but not during the race. It was just last year.
I’ve got a campsite reserved in the only campground in town (for weeks before the race) as I plan to get out there nearly three weeks early and will have an RV) and a house for the race weekend that’s in town. I’m curious about the traffic issue, though, as I may have some other friends in town for the race that will stay out of town as well.
It seems like from the race documentation that it’s not a problem to get from the start to Twin Lakes before the bikers do, but I was curious to hear from someone who has done that, too.
–Donnie
I lived in Leadville for 5 years, raced 2x, spectated lots, and still go up there often.
Don’t worry about traffic on race morning getting to town from Summit County (Copper Mountain, Frisco, Breckenridge), Eagle County (Vail, Beaver Creek), or Chaffee County (Buena Vista, Salida). Unless there’s an accident or something wacky happens, it’s not an issue.
Getting to Twin Lakes from the start is no biggie. It’s about a 10 - 15 minute drive, and while there will be a lot of people zooming down there with you, you should have plenty of time. It would be difficult to get lost getting from Leadville to Twin Lakes…
However, if you want to go to Powerline (which is where first aid station is) that can be pretty tight, since it’s up a dirt road and there’s not a lot of parking. But you should be able to do it. Lots of racers, though, just pick up a bottle there from the aid station and head down to Twin Lakes.
The Columbine Inn & Suites is a nice, reasonable hotel. Nothing fancy, but a nice hotel. There are some others that I might not recommend, but you can PM me if you want to know where NOT to stay (or eat).
Seth
I’m typically a get there plenty early, pre ride/drive every course I race on type but logistically this isn’t in the cards on this trip.
At best I figured that I’d pre ride St Kevins and (even more important to me) is to scout out a rendezvous spot at Twin Lakes. Flying in on Thursday just doesn’t leave one with a lot of time. I’ll be using a lot of utube for my preride visualization.
If you know, how accessible is Powerline for a pre ride? How close could I drive and park to it?
I’m now thinking that seeing this part of the course might serve me better than St Kevins. For whatever reason I thought I’d feel better knowing the early miles of the course but now I’m thinking I’d rather see the trickier parts.
Sounds like you’re making this race quite the family event.
Good on you for that.
I’ve found that the “Endurance Racing” forum on mtbr.com has several threads; search for “Leadville”.
These shed a little light on the support crew/race day logisics (maybe you’ll find some of it helpful).
Thanks, I’ll check that out. I know about mtbr, I just don’t find it as interesting to hang out on regularly as here. Dunno why.
–Donnie
Powerline is easy to access to pre-ride. You park on the side of the paved road, cross the street, go through the gate, then hit the dirt road & start climbing.
St Kevins is easy… so I’d suggest getting to know the tricky part (Powerline) if you’re time limited. Definitely don’t want to come into a corner too hot there…
Twin Lakes will have A LOT of people… so make sure your crew knows what colors/kit to look for on you, and vice versa. Also you might see on the map the dam that you ride over (open only to cyclists on race day). There will be crews on both sides of the dam (some on the Columbine side, and some closer to the paved road). Suggest picking one side for your crew to meet you and sticking with it.
I so wish I could do this race. So when do I get my annual “sorry loser, no lottery spot for you”? I usually know it’s coming when I do a Lifetime ride and all of last year’s DNFers talk about how they are excited they get to try the race again.
Having watched both Race Across the Sky movies, my greatest fear is being in the group that doesn’t make a cut-off. But then I look at those guys that don’t make the cutoff and most of them REALLY look like guys who are just recreational cyclists that ride a couple times per week for fun, but don’t really train.
I’m definitely in this year (via Team First Descents). I’ve had a coach for the last year. I’m running nearly 20 miles per week and my biking varies between 40 and 80 miles per week depending on how much roadie is mixed in there. I’ll do a road century in a few months and several big races including ORAMM and the Pisgah 111K (both of which are well over 10k feet of climbing) between now and Leadville.
I don’t think I should be worried about the cutoffs, but yet I am. I tell myself my goal is 10 hours, but that’s mostly because it seems like if I have a horrible day that leaves me a two hour pad for still getting a buckle and a three hour pad for being a “finisher” at all. With a really good day I could make a push for 9 hours. But in reality I think I’ll be tickled shitless if I roll in at 12:59:59.
–Donnie
I’ve been entering the lottery before Lance was involved. This year will be my 5th year to enter the lottery. Fully expecting another sorry Charlie. I ride with some LT groups and I find the lottery process, especially the team concept and how certain riders can pull in other people on their team, broken. I know several 2x DNFers. Not 13 hour riders. People who quit or were pulled early in the race. Maybe one day I will get a chance to do the race.
Oh, and you want 11:59:59. Best of luck to you.