Bill Frielingsdorf and Jim Fu rode to their best respective times at the 2010 Laramie Enduro on July 31.
Bill’s 4th ride of the Enduro yielded an utterly impressive time of 5:49:12, earning him a 19th place finish in the Men’s Open/Pro 30-39 category.
Bill Frielingsdorf exemplifying winning form proving himself on the final test, Headquarters Climb, of the 2010 Laramie Enduro. Bill went on to PR in his 4th campaign of the event.
Jim rode to finish with a time of 6:41:29 on his 2nd ride of the race, which counted for 16th place in the Men’s Sport 30-39 category.
On his time, Jim says, “Not bad, but not good. I was aiming for closer to 6:00, but I felt most rewarded by more and more coming together for me in terms of race experience with pacing, hydration, and technical handling. Leaves a lot on the table, and serves as a good datapoint.”
Last year on his first ride of the race, Jim crashed 7 miles into the course on a downhill section that is notorious for claiming riders, but pressed on “with absolutely no choice but to finish the race” in spite of a dislocated shoulder and a snapped off front brake lever body. “Besides the build in skills that a year brings and the expert guidance of my coach Yuki Saito, a new cockpit setup that consists of Ritchey Logic’s SuperLogic Carbon Rizer handlebars and WCS 4-Axis 73D stem run inverted has helped me tremendously with front-end handling and overall stability. Also, Ergon GX2 grips (thanks, Sonya!) added comfort and confidence, helping to boost endurance. It’s amazing how minute tweaks can make such a big difference.”
“Once again, the volunteers especially at the aid stations were as spectacular as the race itself; you almost want to do better just for the sake of reciprocating how hard they work and how wonderfully cheerful and supportive they are!,” adds Jim.
Video below by Jess Watts:
Bill generously provides the following coverage of his experience with the race which has become an institution of on-the-dirt cycling without compromising its grassroots character amid the recent popularity explosion in MTB racing:
“I first rode the Laramie Enduro in 2007. I had a great time. The course is a unique, and kind of crazy mix of dirt roads, jeep roads, two-track, swoopy singletrack, technical singletrack, and lumpy livestock trails. Wind is often a factor in some of the more exposed parts of the race and riders encounter everything from dusty dry conditions to sloppy energy sapping mud. At times you are riding as fast as you can on challenging trail with a barbed wire fence racing by only inches away. This year the water crossings were emasculated. The forest service had built temporary bridges over creeks and bogs that are sometimes waist deep. While many consider this an improvement, especially given the high cattle feces content of the bogs, I think that a small part of the character of the event was lost.”
The Laramie Enduro course spans nearly 70 miles traversing breathtakingly gorgeous wooded singletrack, rutted rock gullies, jeep roads, sand washes, cattle runs, and even putrid marsh
Bill continues, “The scenery in the Vedauwoo area is really amazing, but most racers are too cross-eyed with fatigue to appreciate the massive rock formations that define the landscape. What is probably the most beautiful part of the race is ironically little appreciated by tired racers. It comes at roughly the 50 mile mark, when you enter a lush canyon. In addition to the stunning rock formations there are beautiful aspens and evergreens, but exhausted racers are forced off their bikes by a succession of huge rocks, slimy mud, and impossibly steep climbs. Once through this section racers arrive at the final aid station. All of the aid stations are manned by enthusiastic volunteers, and are supplied with a full array of Hammer Nutrition products and other food and drink.”
“Hammer Nutrition has become my food of choice on race day. I used Perpetuem, Hammer Gel, and Heed to see me through six hard hours on the bike.”
Hammer Nutrition is an event sponsor of the Laramie Enduro and provided team riders Bill Frielingsdorf and Jim Fu fuel and hydration support to sustain their races. Hammer products are available at Peloton Cycles.
“After the final aid station racers face the Headquarters Trail. This is also feared, but I look forward to it because I know it is the last hard climb and I can smell the barn! Or rather, I am looking forward to the excellent feed and post-race party put on by event organizer Rich Vincent and the local sponsors. I had so much “fun” the first time I did the race, I have done it every year since. I consider it the unofficial endurance mountain bike championship of our region. The race has become more popular each year. This year it sold out in less than ten minutes. I would like to thank event sponsor James Bleakley of Black Sheep Bikes for getting me into my favorite race of the year.”
For additional coverage and photography, see MountainFlyer.