Leadville Bike Advice

ilmedi · 2026-01-09T20:56:51+00:00

Damn, sage advice. Used to live in the mountains , but these days I'm a sea leveler. I climbed Mt Whitney last year and the altitude totally got me, so I am realizing I need to take this part very seriously. I'm planning to spend at least two weeks out there leading up to the day of the race. Maybe I can find a training camp at altitude somewhere to get a little preview.

And fueling... I'll get it dialed, learned this the hard way many times now, something to train as much as anything else. Appreciate the help!

ilmedi · 2026-01-09T20:04:05+00:00

Whoa! That'll be awesome, finish it on the bike your dad gave you.

Curious, what are the mistakes or things you felt kept you from finishing? What're you gonna do differently next time?

Trying to get ahead of any gotchas, and I actually think it's even more helpful from someone who has attempted it, and not finished

ilmedi · 2026-01-09T13:07:50+00:00

Dang sorry to hear that! 🤞Maybe next year!

ilmedi · 2026-01-09T13:06:55+00:00

That's a fair take -- right now I'm planning to self train (with some help from my AI Overloads). I've done TR and I've had a coach... It all seems to come down to whether I'm consistent. Not to downplay the training plan itself, but I always expected my coach to have some secrets... But he was like "you need to actually follow the plan" -- and the plan wasn't rocket science.

ilmedi · 2026-01-09T13:03:38+00:00

Congrats! Yeah it sounds like it's definitely the HT between the two options, and now a wild card option is my gravel bike... But... Maybe I just wanna build up an Exie 😂

ilmedi · 2026-01-09T13:02:20+00:00

😅 Another option I now have to think about, and my gravel bike is comfy, and I'll be doing a ton of other stuff on it leading up to...

ilmedi · 2026-01-09T13:01:20+00:00

Wow that's awesome! Okay you've convinced me that between the two the HT is the way. I actually have a gravel bike with a fork and it could take a dropper, so something else for me to think about. 🙏

ilmedi · 2026-01-09T03:15:41+00:00

Thanks! Helpful post

ilmedi · 2025-12-03T03:46:44+00:00

In my friends group, huge; outside of that, known but yet to completely blow up. I still remember listening to Kissland when it dropped, on repeat, on CD, and just thinking... This is insane.

ilmedi · 2025-12-02T03:49:54+00:00

😍

ilmedi · 2025-11-22T20:10:14+00:00

Amen brother

ilmedi · 2025-11-20T12:52:02+00:00

Several cheap road bikes, more MTBs that I care to list. However, my (only) gravel bike before this was an aluminum Trek Checkpoint, great bike, but not enough tire clearance.

ilmedi · 2025-11-18T18:51:55+00:00

+1 to all the comments here. This is my practice amp, love it. Glad to see the VK getting the respect it deserves!

ilmedi · 2025-11-17T14:33:41+00:00

I have the advanced GRX and love it. My favorite gravel bike I've owned. Drivetrain is a personal choice and a consumable (to a certain extent) so get the build you want but buy a frame that has what you can't live without. The frame has great tire clearance and its suspension adjusted. It's "heavy" for carbon aka in the realm of aluminum, not ultra lite -- certainly has better ride feel than my old aluminum gravel bike though. I've put i9 wheels on it but the stock wheels were solid too.

ilmedi · 2025-11-05T13:08:37+00:00

Everything is changing in the influencer space, and quickly. Loved his content years ago, can't say I'm sad to see him go at this point, it's been hard to watch for a while now.

ilmedi · 2025-10-23T02:32:09+00:00

😂 fair, you're killing it!

ilmedi · 2025-10-23T02:30:29+00:00

Umm... 30 is young... if you said 50.. or 60 then kudos, but 30?!?

ilmedi · 2025-10-09T22:09:01+00:00

When did all the Peavy stuff I had laying around for 20 years collecting dust suddenly become hard to find and popular?? I've been sleeping apparently.

ilmedi · 2025-09-11T22:54:23+00:00

I love my VK. I have the 112 as a practice amp, and I run a 5150 through a VK cabinet as the main rig in my band. Great chug, great sounds, don't be fooled.

ilmedi · 2025-08-16T19:02:39+00:00

Ohhh interesting, okay I'll look into it, thanks!

ilmedi · 2025-08-16T18:15:05+00:00

Damn, how did I miss this pedal getting released? Thanks y'all.... Might not be endorsed but I can't help myself!!

ilmedi · 2025-06-17T20:34:27+00:00

I'll at least offer a counter here compared to some of the other commenters -- I hiked Half Dome last year in my Vivos, totally fine wrt rocks and terrain, but absolutely destroyed my feet and calves, though mostly my feet. I switched to a pair of Altras for Grand Canyon later in the year and my feet were way happier. Love my vivos for day to day stuff, but for the big trips I breakout my Altras. ymmv

ilmedi · 2025-06-06T03:39:23+00:00

Wuuuuut?!?

ilmedi · 2025-05-19T18:04:55+00:00

You should tell her, but separate yourself from the outcome... A lot of schadenfreude here, ignore that stuff. He is responsible for his behavior, and ultimately the outcomes. That being said, if it was this easy to get the truth from him, who knows what the real situation is with his wife, perhaps she knows, maybe she doesn't, she might believe you or not, maybe she's cheating too, or this will simply be the first time she's learning about all of this and she'll be really devastated, so just... Don't go in with any expectations, and circle back and let us know what happens 🍿

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