The drive to Leadville was great because I got to watch the elevation readout on my Garmin tick up the entire time. I also got to see droves of people on I-70 driving the other direction back to Denver in the “weekend rush hour” to get back home to work on Monday.

When I arrived Sunday afternoon, I drove around for a few minutes before heading to the hostel. Leadville is a really unique little town. When I walked into the hostel, I was immediately intrigued- the walls were covered in posters from Mississippi and Memphis blues festivals. Then, I met Wild Bill- the owner… from Mississippi! He wanted to know why I didn’t bring any Corky’s with me…

After getting the usual hostel tour, I met Art- a multiple-time age group winner of the Leadville 100. He comes up early every year to acclimate/race, stays in the hostel, and meets up with people every morning at 9:00am to take them out to different parts of the course. He’s 68, and has lots and lots of advice.

Once I was settled, we ordered some pizza, and he took me on a driving tour of the town. This place is beautiful…