| As I wrote in the introduction topic, I'm new at this. This past summer
we were driving through Colorado, and stayed at Purgatory [the ski
resort, I'm not ready for the other one yet 8^)]. They held the 1990
mtb XC championships on the mountain, and many of the top riders in the
country are from the area.
I didn't have my bike with me, but for $40 I rented a full suspension
Cannondale, and got free rides up the lift. I know you're supposed to
earn you descents, but it was about 2:30 pm and I had to be done by 6,
the elevation is 12,000'+, I think, and I didn't want to miss what I
thought would be some awesome downhill.
I took the lift up and rode around the top of the mountain for a while,
feeling the thin air, and decided about 5 pm to head down. The track was
great, but it also gave me a great deal of respect for the world class
guys who were riding it. It took me 45 minutes to go downhill, and I
passed a couple people. The winner of the '90 championship did it in
2 hours and 15 mins. That's up and down (no chairlift). Four times. I
couldn't believe it, especially when I saw the grass on the ski slopes
completely flattened for hundreds of yards down hill, where someone fell
and just slid, but couldn't stop. I'm working on my wife to head back
there next year, but gotta get some high altitude work in first.
Bruce
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