Up high on Trail 401. Image by Brian Riepe - Mountain Flyer Magazine.
Originally scheduled for August 6th and postponed due to rain, Gunnison Trails‘ Growler Series race #4 on Trailriders 401 up past Crested Butte almost looked like it might get rained out again. Dark, foreboding clouds were rising over Gothic Mountain as riders scrambled to get on site, sign up and line up for the 5pm start last Thursday. But the clouds and storms moved south as the group of 24 races plus assorted hangers on headed north toward the summit of Schofield Pass.
We kept this race pretty quiet as 401 is the most popular trail in the valley; it gets a ton of use and for good reason. We figured if word got out, we might have more riders than we’d like for a first-time event. I think we are actually lucky the August race had to be postponed as we would have had more racers and also more users on the trail that may or may not have been pleased to suddenly find themselves in a bike race.
We had posted NOTICE! signs at each point where someone could access the trail and we only encountered two polite hikers….and about 250 cows, complete with all that goes along with cows! That was on lower 401, which is completely different than the world renowned upper section but top-shelf all the same. We were also concerned about getting everyone off of the trail before dark and moved the start up to 5pm to allow as much daylight as possible.
Ethan Passant leads Travis Scheefer on the grind up Schofield Pass. Image by Brian Riepe/Mountain Flyer Magazine.
Dark clouds to the south but hazy bluebird to the north. It was a classic September evening in the Elk Mountains. Image by Brian Riepe/Mountain Flyer Magazine.
In the end, it was no big thing as everyone was in - smiles firmly glued on - in under two hours. The local powerhouse Brick Oven Pizzaria team represented by taking the top three spots in the men’s expert race and taking the ladies expert race, too. Those riders, Travis Scheefer, Ethan Passant, Jeff Irwin and Laura Anderson are fixtures at the Growler Series races, which continue into the fall with three more Thursday evening events scheduled: September 17th, October 8th and October 29th. Check out gunnisontrails.com for more info.
Susan DeMattei, AKA my lovely wife, Suzee, wearing her race face on the climb. Image by Brian Riepe/Mountain Flyer Magazine.
Susan DeMattei following the Brick Oven's Laura Anderson into the descent. Anderson would hold Suzee off to take the win in 1:23:56. Image by Brian Riepe/Mountain Flyer Magazine.
The Brick Oven vet, Jeff Irwin, taking it seriously. Image by Brian Riepe/Mountain Flyer Magazine.
Bryan "been racing longer than Wiensy" Miller fresh from the jobsite. Bryan is building his family an amazing home in Gunnison. Image by Brian Riepe/Mountain Flyer Magazine.
Just another pretty picture from Mountain Flyer jack of all trades, Brian Riepe.
CB Classic special agent, Original Growler MC and helmet cam operator, Dave Ochs, looking relaxed on the climb. Image by Brian Riepe/Mountain Flyer Magazine.
The duel up front going away. Image by Brian Riepe/Mountain Flyer Magazine.
Paul Byers always makes the trip over from Salida to race the Growler Series on his singlespeed. Here he grinds away while Keith Fisher, with gears, spins along. Image by Brian Riepe/Mountain Flyer Magazine.
Torrey Carroll zipped way down on the climb. Image by Brian Riepe/Mountain Flyer Magazine.
Troy Hiatt getting into his groove on the way to finishing in 4th. Image by Brian Riepe/Mountain Flyer Magazine.
The young Brick Oven rider, Travis Scheefer, on his way to victory. Image by Brian Riepe/Mountain Flyer Magazine.
Brick Oven hammerhead Ethan Passant chased hard but couldn't catch young Scheef. Image by Brian Riepe/Mountain Flyer Magazine.
We shot some video of the race, too, so if we can figure out how to put it together, we may be posting a low-budget indy film later this fall. Enjoy the pics!
