Leadville, The 100 Mile Mountain Bike Race Podcast p/b Shimano

We've never raced the Leadville 100 with a power meter, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't be done. There's a lot to be learned from racing with power, and a good case to be made for it. Coach Jonathan Lee of TrainerRoad joins us to make that case. 

We also take on the question of whether it's worth the time and travel for flatlanders to spend less time in Leadville, and more at a midway point (altitude-wise) like Denver. For once,...

At some point, you're going to wish you'd listened more closely to this episode. And we're betting that point is as you're riding inbound from Pipeline to the base of Powerline and confronting a headwind that can charitably be called "evil." The fact is, we all think about iconic climbs when we think of Leadville, but you'll spend far more time on rolling and flat terrain than you will on Columbine and Powerline. So: being aero mat...

This podcast has always been about regular people who are racing the Leadville 100: real people with real jobs and families, who find a way to do something big and bold: ride the highest and hardest one-day race in the country. 

Natalie Dyksterhouse is doing exactly that. She has a career (as does her husband). She has two young children. And this year, she will be racing the LT100 for the first time. 

But while ANYONE who does thi...

A lot of living happens between lottery registration day and race day, and sometimes that means you have to make a decision: do you line up and race, or do you defer? Fatty's confronting that question right this second, so obviously we get into it -- plus we have info about the deferral policy that we're pretty sure will be news to most people.

We're also EXTREMELY pleased to welcome Alison Tetrick back to the show, with her story ...

If you're ever at a Leadville Party and the energy starts to lag, you know with 100% certainty you can jumpstart the conversation by asking, "So what tires are the best for Leadville?" In reality, though, that question doesn't really make much sense until you understand the anatomy of tires: their composition and performance characteristics. That’s what we aim to do in this show. To help us, we have recruited someone who has no bra...

We're excited to have Dylan Johnson back on the show to talk about how to approach the big X-Factor in the LT100: altitude. Dylan puts thought into every race and every situation and in the case of Leadville, he worked very hard at getting his arrival to high altitude right.  He’s here to share his approach and how the citizen racer can figure out how to lessen the blow of Leadville’s biggest challenge: it’s lack of air. And for ou...

Dr Allen Lim knows more about sports nutrition than most of us know about...well, anything. And he knows the Leadville course, too. We have a feeling this is going to be one of those episodes that people refer back to, over and over. We also get into the question of how much time we've shaved (or in Fatty's case, increased) between our first and second years of racing the LT100, along with how much time course knowledge buys you. D...

There was a time when the choice between hardtail and full-suspension bikes at the Leadville 100 was obvious: hardtail if you wanted to be fast and efficient, full-suspension if you wanted to be slow and comfortable.

Times have changed, and full-suspension bikes can now be a no-compromise solution for the Race Across the Sky. In today's episode, we get expert advice on setting up your suspension for the Leadville 100, and take a fi...

The white corral is not an easy place to kick off the Leadville 100 MTB. There are thousands of riders ahead of you, there’s anxiety, there’s uncertainty, and there’s a HUGE question hanging over your head, probably playing back in a never-ending loop: “Can I get back to 6th and Harrison and get a buckle?” In this episode we will take a look at what the numbers say about that question. Don't miss this conversation with Jeff Dieffen...

Many endurance athletes have turned to wearables to monitor their sleep and recovery. In this episode we take a look at this growing trend with Dr Kevin Sprouse to find whether — and how — regular racers can use these devices to recover smarter and faster. We also take on a great listener question in our LFAQ segment: "What 5 things do you wish you had known the first time you raced the LT100MTB?" We think first-time (and second-ti...