Josh Tostado

Endurance Mountain Bike Athlete

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The Gunnison Growler – 2014

June 1, 2014

Gunnison GrowlerIt is my third time doing The Growler and I look forward to this really great mountain bike race. The trails out at Hartman’s rock in Gunnison are a good mix of fast, flowy, bermed-out, rollercoaster riding with plenty off technical riding to keep you in check. There’s not much for long climbs, but there is some significant vertical gain.

The 4:45am wakeup is never fun, and when you look outside to see that it’s raining and about 35 degrees it kills (my) motivation for racing. By 6:00 am the rain was letting up but temps were still chilly and there was going to be some mud to deal with on the first of two 32-mile laps… After the first big hill to thin out the masses I was just behind the first 5 racers and felt good about my position. In the past, I’ve tried to stay out front but I felt good to settle into a good pace and deal with the slick conditions. The trail was not the worst mud I’ve ever seen by any means but there were sections that were un-rideable.

By the second lap I had moved into second place, the sun had come out and things were drying up. I felt great and really put the hammer down, going as hard as I could for the lap. Unfortunately my bike was not happy and I was getting bad chain suck and couldn’t ride in my little ring. This went on for a while, luckily there was an aid station about halfway through and was able to get some lube. The dirt at this point had dried out and became hero dirt! It was a rail fest and you could go as fast as you wanted into the berms, super fun riding… I was able to stay ahead of three chasers for second place. 64 miles is a little short for my taste but the quality of riding and the quality of the event brings my back year after year.

gunnison growler podium 2014

Filed Under: Race Reports

2020 Race Schedule

February 15-16th – 24 Hours Of Old Pueblo, AZ
March 14th – True Grit Epic, UT
March 28-30th – Moab Rocks Stage Race, UT – POV Filming
April 16-19th – Sea Otter Classic, CA – Working For Infinit
April 24th-26th – Whiskey 50, AZ
May 9th – 12 Hours Of Mesa Verde Duo, CO
May 16th – Royal Gorge 12 Hour, CO
June 6th – 12 Hours Of E-Rock, CO
June 20th – Baily 100, CO
June  23rd-25th – Outdoor Retailer, CO – Working For Infinit
July 25th – Butte 100, MT
July 30th-Aug 2nd – Downieville Classic, CA
August 16-21st – Breck Epic, CO – POV Filming
September 18th-20th – 12 Hours of Albuquerque, NM
October 22nd – AZT 300, AZ

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