Heading up to Keystone for the Xterra on Sunday. Although I have done many mtb races this will be first Xterra so should be fun, although not looking forward to that cold goose crap filled puddle the swim is in
Not doing it, but post a report. I just did my first Xterra in Milwaukee, im not a mtb biker so it was tough. Xterra puts on a great race!
I’ve been racing every weekend for a while so my wife has a pretty good list of stuff for me to do this weekend around the house. Have a great race though… Watch out for my buddy Andy, he’s quick!
HAHA, I have that list too:) I get to start on mine next weekend 
.
Having done that race, I don’t know what is more difficult, riding up to the top of Keystone, or coming down. I can clearly remember trying to slow down on that scree covered trail.
If you have a ‘squid lid’ for the swim, it will help the ice cream headache the very cold water gives you.
Have fun.
Thanks, I don’t have a cap so may just try doubling up which I have done before. I heard this bike course has some steep and technical sections. I think my wave is last to start so I will have plenty of carnage to navigate I am sure.
Does the ride still go up to the top of Keystone, on the cat track, and the ski runs? On the descent I think there is a section called ‘Wild thing’ that will have carnage.
Remember to save some skin for the run.
Yup, still up and down and wild thing is what I was thinking of. I am not a strong swimer and my wave (last of 3) is all women and M35+ so I will have a ton of work to do passing people going up.
Yup, still up and down and wild thing is what I was thinking of. I am not a strong swimmer and my wave (last of 3) is all women and M35+ so I will have a ton of work to do passing people going up.
Where did you get info about the wave starts? Can you point me to it?
Although based on the info you gave I’m going to guess: wave 1 = pros; wave 2 = men under 35.
Thanks!
sure, I am just going by what is on the site, it is under the course description for the swim:
There are three wave starts, sometimes four. Pros first, then men 15-34 then all women and men 35 and up. If our womens’ field gets bigger we might just do an all womens’ start as well.
Heading up to Keystone for the Xterra on Sunday. Although I have done many mtb races this will be first Xterra so should be fun, although not looking forward to that cold goose crap filled puddle the swim is in
I pre-rode and ran the course a couple weeks ago. Being a mountain biker, you will find you have a distinct advantage, as this course is weighted heavily for the bike.
Here are the comments I posted on the xterrachat forum (http://www.xterrachat.com/viewtopic.php?t=372)…
Just got back from an awesome weekend at Keystone. Great riding and the Bluegrass & Beer Festival added to our apres ride experience!
On Saturday my wife and I rode the Xterra bike course. It is a FANTASTIC course! Beautiful alpine trail, with views and lush greenery in the trees. Enough technical challenges to keep it interesting and give an advantage to real mountain bikers (this is XTERRA, after all).
Here is the blow-by-blow…
THE BIKE COURSE
Start from the lake on the paved bike path at a very slight uphill grade. The easy part continues for several minutes until you arrive at the base of the Peru Express lift, where Jackstraw Road starts to climb at a steep grade. This section is relatively short (about 0.5 mile or so), but most racers will be gasping for breath and struggling to turn the pedals in the granny gear.
Reprieve comes quickly as the course takes a left onto Sleepy Hollow, a mellow singletrack trail. Continue climbing on Bluegrass and Celtic Way. These trails are all rated “Green” (easiest), and are mostly dry hardpack dirt with a few embedded rocks and very few obstacles. Often the trail climbs at an easy grade (middle ring) and then becomes steeper as you ride through a switchback. Your best strategy is to accelerate into the turns so that you have momentum to take you around the switchback.
At the top of Celtic Way you’ll hit Jackstraw Road again for a few hundred yards of steeper climbing, then the big climb on Let it Ride begins. This is another “Green” singletrack trail. It is still relatively easy from a technical standpoint, but as you climb higher you will encounter a few more rocks and roots than you did on the lower trails. It’s still middle-ring terrain, but you may have to use some effort on a few of the short climbs to avoid your granny gear.
Josiah Middaugh on a buff section of the climb* (from http://homepage.mac.com/xterraphoto/Menu4.html)*
As you approach the top of Let it Ride, you’ll see the top of a ski lift and then a few minutes later you’ll pass an overlook with a picnic table. Too bad you don’t have time to enjoy the fantastic view of Dillon Reservoir.
At the end of Let it Ride, you’ve done about 75% of the climbing. A short stint on the 3-P Road takes you to Suz’s Cruise singletrack. This is still a “Green” trail, but it’s the steepest one of the bunch and has the most obstacles. This one will hurt!
One mile later you emerge onto Jackstraw Road again. Luckily, it climbs at a mellow grade at this point. Grind it out, you’re almost there (just one mile to go). A sharp left-hand turn onto the 11-7 trail will take you the last 150 yards to the top.
Shift gears because you’re in for a wild ride! Girl Scouts (Green) winds its way down a short ways through some rocky obstacles and then suddenly you’re flying down TNT, the first “Black” (Most Difficult) trail. TNT offers sections of rocky, rooty obstacles to negotiate, followed by super fast descents littered with rocks that will toss you around. During the climb, my wife decided that she was going to do the race on her hardtail. A few minutes of the TNT downhill convinced her to use her full suspension bike instead.
A little further down, TNT becomes Logger’s Way (Blue). This is basically the same trail, but Logger’s is slightly easier, with more high-speed riding. At the bottom of Logger’s you’ve already done most of the descent. You’ll hit Boy Scouts, a narrow Green trail that twists its way through the trees for less than half a mile, and then brace yourself for Wild Thing. This is a “Double-Black” for a reason, but most of it is still ridable for someone with good mountain bike skills. There is one “north shore” type ladder descent at the start, but it’s around 24 inches wide and not too bad. There are some tricky switchbacks with steep steps; there is a 2-3 foot rock drop; and there is one 30-foot steep, gnarly rock section that most riders will walk. Personally, I was able to ride everything but this one section and one of the drops.
The “north shore” ladder
The gnarly 30-foot rock section
After Wild Thing, you’ll take a left on a dirt road and climb for a short ways to Sleepy Hollow (remember this?), but this time you’re heading down. Be careful on the blind outside turns so you don’t go off the edge. But don’t worry, this is just a Green.
At the bottom of Sleepy Hollow you’re back on Jackstraw Road for a blazing fast descent back to the transition area. Watch your speed in the turns because the surface is a bit loose.
Ok, you’re done (except for the run). It took us 2:15 to do the whole bike course. The climb took 1:33 and the descent took 0:42. This was at a pretty easy pace. We were working, but not too hard. The pros will do it an hour faster.
THE RUN COURSE
I wasn’t expecting the run to be so gorgeous. Sections of the trail do run near the road, but it is beautiful, nonetheless. After 2300 feet of climbing on the bike, the run is a lot more forgiving. There is some gradual climbing and a few short and somewhat steep climbs, but overall it’s a very flat course through the trees. My wife and I ran it on Sunday in 1:11 at a pretty mellow pace.
Sylvain Dodet chased by Nico LeBrun on Granny’s Trail (from http://homepage.mac.com/xterraphoto/Menu4.html)
We followed the run course directions on this site, but found them to be a bit confusing for the return trip. The directions didn’t seem to match up with reality. We believe we chose the right trail branching off the Aquaduct, then crossed the road and ran through the horse complex. We headed east on the road at that point until we saw the “Bike Path” sign, and then the directions seemed to match up again.
Anyway, it’s a great course and I am really looking forward to it!
Cool write up thanks! I have not been on my mtb bike much lately so it should be interesting. I have not riden at Keystone and will not make it before the race so not too jazzed about that but can’t do much about that now. It looks like there are some good wide places to pass which is good. When you were up there are there any sections that are muddy or sloppy? I presume no but you never know up there?
Cool write up thanks! I have not been on my mtb bike much lately so it should be interesting. I have not riden at Keystone and will not make it before the race so not too jazzed about that but can’t do much about that now. It looks like there are some good wide places to pass which is good. When you were up there are there any sections that are muddy or sloppy? I presume no but you never know up there?
Yep, it will be interesting, that’s for sure! There is a lot of singletrack climbing and passing will be a challenge in some sections, but every so often you get a short section of dirt road where you can pass whenever you want.
It was 100% dry when we rode the course 2 weeks ago.
Good luck on Sunday!