#019: Gunnison Growler Race—Part 1
What did I get myself into here?
Late last year a friend of mine and I were talking at dinner about his mountain biking hobby. It was one of those conversations that went like;
Me: “That’s cool. Do you still race?”
Friend: “Yeah. I’m doing the Gunnison Growler in May. It’s a fun one.”
Me: “What’s that? I love going to Gunnison.”
Friend: “Yeah. It’s 32 miles. I’m trying to win it this year. Want to join?”
Me: “Say no more, I’m in!”
I honestly had no idea what I was getting into. Me and my impulsivity. I mean, I’ve ridden bikes before, just not competitively. And while I’m not in amazing shape, I do exercise daily. So I signed up and now I’m preparing to do the actual race in just five days!
May approached so fast and I haven’t been totally idle. I have a stationary bike in my home gym, and I’ve been riding every weekday for about 2-3 miles every morning. And I went to Gunnison last week to do a quick test run of the Hartman Rocks trails (see video below). I lasted for about 12 miles before I returned to my car, utterly exhausted, sun-battered and bruised.
The rocky parts of the trails and the uphill climbs at high altitude (8,000 feet) were challenging for a novice like me. Yet for some reason, I found it exhilarating. It’s really good to get outside and test myself in ways I lost a long time ago. I grew up playing sports. I would train hard and was super competitive at football and street basketball. I eventually played DII college football.
Later, I began doing average to difficult hikes in Colorado’s elevated trails, but nothing extreme or competitive. Without this competition in my life for many years, I’ve lost “the edge”.
I don’t get why I gave up on it. I remember once I met a colleague from Australia for a company event at an Atlanta Falcons football game. We started talking football and I expressed how it felt great to be around the game. He asked me if I played football and I replied, “I used to, but not anymore”.
He scoffed and said, “Pffft. You Americans always talk like your life ends in your late 20’s. Why can’t you play now?”
His point hit home. For some reason, I gave up on sports after college because, well, I had no reason to play or an organized league to compete in. Once I lost that structure, I simply just thought it ‘was over’. But I lost something inside. I lost that fighting element in my life that was really important.
I know the drive is still there, because a few years ago I began playing basketball games at my local YMCA, and it felt amazing. Call it a mid-life crisis, but when my friend who is actually older than me began talking about how he was seriously competing at mountain biking, it reawakened something in me that I thought was lost.
And last week when I was out there training and pushing myself to the limit, I found the drive that has literally changed my mindset and made me think differently. I feel better today, even though I’m physically still feeling beat up.
Below is a video of my experience, which is my first time mountain biking on a real trail. This weekend, as I compete in the 32 mile Gunnison Growler race on Hartman Rocks, I will record more footage and post more about my experience next week.
Wish me luck!
Disclaimer: No AI was used to write this article or the video. I used ChatGPT to check the altitude of Hartman Rocks, that’s it.