Laramie Enduro

The Laramie Enduro is a 111 kilometer (about 70 miles) long mountain bike race in Laramie, Wyoming. I have done the Laramie Enduro twice before and it is one of my favourite organized rides. It is well organized, the riding is great, the volunteers are just simply amazing, and the post-ride BBQ party is always a good time for hanging out and chilling with friends after a hard ride. Friday Don I headed north to do it once again. Jen had a tough choice to make as the Laramie Enduro and one of the races in the Adventure Xstream Series she is racing this year was on the same day. She finally opted for the adventure race since her team is doing very well in the series.

The drive up to Laramie was as always super windy, and much like last year, it ended up raining hard in the evening as we were having dinner. Heavy afternoon and evening showers are normal in Laramie at this time of year, and it is something I have read about in older race reports, but so far – knock on wood – I have yet to get significantly rained on during a Laramie Enduro. The moisture from the night before was very evident in the morning as a thick fog engulfed the entire start area.

We got to the start area in good time and got signed in. It went fast and smooth. The organizers seem to improve the logistics a little bit every year and sign-in was quick and efficient. Every little thing makes a difference, especially when you need 350 riders to sign in before a 7am start.

After checking in and chatting with a couple of friends, I lined up at the start with the pro and expert racers. I am neither pro nor expert, but I do ride a single speed, and if you do so you get to start with the “big boys”. At 7 am sharp the race was on. It was a FAST start. Everybody was hammering out the start gate. The reason being the first single track section which all the riders needs to funnel into. The single track section starts after a short ride up a gravel road, and much like the previous years, it was quite the the scene here, but I think I only waited about 15 seconds or so before I got myself into the string of riders heading down the single track. This first single track section is sweet, and even though everybody was on everybody’s tail I find myself enjoying it. I was feeling good, and I was enjoying the first sun rays finally penetrating the fog. By the time we got through the first single track section, the sun had burned off all the fog, and it turned into a nice clear crisp morning.

The Laramie Enduro route is a mix of single track, double track and gravel roads strung together in a way that takes you all over the Medicine Bow National Forest.

The two most prominent sections of gravel roads are in the beginning of the ride. The first one goes pretty much straight east, and the other pretty much straight west, so regardless of the wind direction, you are almost guaranteed to be heading into it on one of these sections. The wind wasn’t strong this year, but it still made its presence known. It was coming from the west, as it normally does, so everybody was flying down the first gravel road section. I was spinning like a mad man on my single speed, and I think I managed to keep the speed above 20 mph for the most parts. Then came the second section of gravel road heading into the wind. Riders starting grouping up, getting pace lines going. One guy on a single speed told me he wanted to work together if he could stick to my wheel. It turned out he couldn’t, so I motored on, hanging on for a little while to rear wheels of riders I would either catch up to or that would pass me.

I was almost to the end of the gravel road when I felt a tug in my CamelBak. It was Ed. We ended up taking turns pulling the rest of the way to the end of the gravel road section. Its amazing how much of a difference it makes to have somebody break the wind in front of you.

By the way, Ed. I know this is your lucky jersey, but maybe you should sew the sleeve back on. Or tear them both off all together

That was the last I saw of Ed. I slowed down to put my camera away, and off he went. The next sections of the route include some very nice single track and fun downhill. I simply had too much fun going through these to stop and take pictures. The constant change in scenery and type of riding is by the way one of the things that makes the Laramie Enduro as much fun as it is.

The sky was amazing too. I am no meteorologists, so I have no idea what causes these long streaks of clouds other than probably strong winds, but they sure made the sky look dramatic.

Another Laramie Enduro “specialty” are long sections of trail next to fencing. I’m not exactly sure why that is. Did somebody build these trails next to the fence for fence maintenance? are they “cow trails”? or something third?

Another question to ponder: What’s up with triple track? I can understand double track and single track, but triple track?

It is funny the kind of questions and thoughts that pop up when riding your bike for 6+ hours. Most of mine are prompted by the surroundings; like this white “lake”. What is that? White rocks? Salt? Whatever it is, the cows seemed to like it.

While pondering these questions, the route – marked with little orange flags – continues to take you through all kind of terrains. The route marking by the way is another thing the organizers do very well. I was never once in doubt about where the route went.

Towards the end of the ride the route takes you through the Vedauwoo area.

The Vedauwoo area has these very cool looking rock formations and outcroppings.

By the time I got to here I was pretty much riding by myself. The riders had sorted themselves out in terms of there pace. I did pass a couple of people from here on out, but I think in most cases only because they were stopped to fix a flat, take a nature break or something else.

The Vedauwoo rock formations are apparently world renown for climbing, which got me thinking: Doing a combined mountain bike and climbing weekend some time in the future in this area would not be a bad idea…

The Laramie Enduro route is a big mess of ups and downs. The descents feel like flats, but if you look on the elevation profile you will see that they are in fact descents, setting you up for the next climb. The total climbing with all those ups and down ends up being about the same as the Firecracker 50, although over 20 more miles. The last climb is up the Headquarters trail. Its a very reasonable grade, but with 60+ miles in the legs it can be a quite the bear. This year, for some reason, I felt pretty good, and actually passed a couple of geared bikes going up Headquarters.

I rolled over the finish line at 6 hours and 40 minutes. A time I am very happy with. It is quite the improvement from last year’s 7 hours and 21 minutes. I was moving at a good pace, so I think if I decide to ride the Enduro again next year, I might try to spend less time at the aid station to improve the time. But then again, the volunteers at the aid station are so nice. At the last aid station this year, one lady came over to me and washed down my muddy legs, arms and drizzled cold water down my neck and back. I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again: The volunteers at this race are incredible nice and helpful, bar none I’ve seen at other races.

The post ride chill-out was nice as always. Our good friends from Oskar Blues were there with our favourite post ride beverages.

There was even a live band this year. Good times!