The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
"I was sort of surprised I won this thing"
Team Brick Oven/CB Builders rider Johnny Biggers closed his summer of bike racing with a win at the Monument Divide 50/50 race on Saturday, October 27.
The 100-mile race starts with 50 miles of classic desert mountain biking before switching over to 50 miles of road biking.
The mountain bike section is highly technical and involves several classic rides in the Grand Junction area including the Tabeguache Trail, the Ribbon Trail and the Gunny Loop.
"It’s ledgy desert riding," says Biggers. "It’s just not smooth riding. It beats the crap out of you and your stuff."
With a 6:15 a.m. start, riders are forced to don lights for the opening portion of the race. Unfortunately for Biggers, all he brought was a headlamp and was forced to rely on other riders for illumination until the sun was up.
"I followed some guys who had better lights than me," explains Biggers. "Once it got light, I could move ahead of them."
Biggers took the lead and finished the mountain bike section in a time of five hours and 20 minutes, nearly 30 minutes ahead of second place.
continued on page 24
continued from page 23
From there it was smooth going for Biggers, taking in some more classic road riding in and around the Colorado National Monument.
"It’s just an awesome descent down Little Park Road," says Biggers. "You can hit 50 miles per hour on that descent."
Biggers added 15 minutes to his commanding lead during the road portion to finish the 100-mile race in first place, much to his own amazement, with a time of eight hours and 18 minutes.
"I was sort of surprised I won this thing," says
Biggers.
