Racing bikes and writing about it, 2016 is the new 2015.Prior to Leadville I got to soak up some of my favorite former training grounds of Nederland. Check out those insider words too.In the days soon after Leadville I reached out to some current or retired pro roadie buddies of mine. I collected some quotes and think you'll be interested in their words. I won't say who said what, but you can likely guess who these usual suspects are. I let them steer the insight and simply asked, "Why Leadville?"It’s mega rad and it comes with a fancy belt buckle that I will be wearing every time I hangout with Joe (he had to jet early for the Vuelta and couldn’t pick his up). At the core of a cyclist is someone that likes to see and do the unknown on two wheels (perhaps this was taking that to another level though). On top of that, to help raise nearly $80,000+ for WBR is far more influential than anything I did when I was getting paid to ride. All in all, it was an unforgettable day and experience and even though we're pretty nuts for doing it, we'd be even more so if we didn't.I would do every mountains bike race I could if Cannondale-Drapac let me. Leadville just happens to fit in the schedule. I am always looking for the hardest races there are. Leadville grabbed my attention around 2007 when I heard roadies were winning some kind of shit hard high mountain bike race in the super high Rocky Mountains The guys who won are in a complete different league. To race like them you would have to do intervals and technique training specifically to Leadville. Not to even mention the gear and nutrition side of things. This is an entirely new sport to me. It was great fun for me and the family. After I retire, I'll race Leadville again for sure. I think the retirement bucket list just got longer!I grew up riding and racing mountain bikes and still love to play in the dirt. Leadville fit into my schedule and it seemed like a really cool challenge. I have to think about equipment selection, nutrition, logistics etc. - that's not something I do in my day job but I loved the refreshing challenge. All that and MTB is wicked fun and a great scene!