Wednesday, August 24, 2016 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Agenda
Sisters rider takes on 100-mile race
By Andrew Loscutoff
Correspondent
Jason Gulley, a therapist
with Green Ridge Physical
Therapy, is no stranger to
testing his endurance limits.
He is a veteran of the Boston
Marathon, the High Cascades
100-mile mountain bike race
— and now an iconic event in
the high country of Colorado.
Gulley, originally from
Vermont, is always out for
the next big challenge. One
event came into his cross-
hairs over a year ago — the
Leadville trail 100 moun-
tain bike race in Leadville,
Colorado. Leadville is the
nation’s highest elevation
incorporated town, at 10,152
feet. With a population of
2,300, it is a similar town to
Sisters because of the allure
to tourists. It once was a very
productive mining town.
The August 6 race is a
spectacle of fortitude, cross-
ing the high Rocky Mountain
passes, with steep climbs
and long sections of dirt jeep
roads. It creates an atmo-
sphere of camaraderie, as a
tribe of endurance junkies
gathers in the thin air to test
their limits. The race draws
more than 1,600 participants
from all over the world.
Gulley said, “Leadville
is a small town. It feels a
lot like Sisters. Actually,
the race itself seems like
the (Sisters Memorial Day
weekend mountain bike
race) Stampede, except with
a much bigger crowd and
atmosphere. Riding into town
the street is lined with people
to cheer us on.”
Gulley also mentioned the
family culture.
“The whole thing is about
family. They mention it in the
pre-ride meeting, at the start
line, and finish; they wel-
come you to the Leadville
family.”
Gulley’s journey to the
starting line began in Tahoe
a season ago as he qualified
on time in a 100k race. He
circled 2016 on his calen-
dar as the year of Leadville.
Then, as things wound down
last season, a happy curve-
ball was thrown his way: The
pregnancy of his wife, Laura.
Due date: a month before
Leadville.
With Leadville in the back
of his mind, Jason raced the
spring season and prepared
as he would have otherwise.
One month before Leadville
he had a local 100-mile event
planned as the last big train-
ing piece before Leadville.
Instead of resting soundly
before a 5 a.m. start, Jason
wound up in the hospital to
see the birth of his daughter
Erin.
Now, his mind completely
off Leadville, Gulley took to
the joy of being a dad. He
took less time to ride, and
took to helping out. It wasn’t
until a few weeks before the
race that he decided he would
give it a shot. His parents
were to come from Vermont
to be with their new grand-
daughter. Jason’s plan was to
fast-track across the country,
beelining to Leadville in two
days, racing, then driving
home.
When asked about what he
could do differently, Gulley
said: “Not sleep in the car,
avoid sitting for 10 hours the
day before. And ride a lot
more.”
In any case, Gulley had a
good result, and a good story
to tell. He gave a good depic-
tion of how as miles tick on,
the mind often tries to talk
itself out of going deeper,
the inner quitter stomps its
foot and causes a stir. There
is tug-o-war between self-
preservation and pushing the
13
photo proviDeD
Jason gulley in action in the
Leadville 100.
body beyond what it’s used
to. He laughed as he admitted
to his mantra for continuing
on: “I commit I will not quit”
The stress of leaving his
beloved new family at home,
driving on an epic journey,
and the stress of it all gave
him a crusade. He would not
pull out, regardless of the alti-
tude, frustration, and having
to get off the bike to hike up
the rocky mountain terrain.
Jason acknowledges that
this race wasn’t ridden under
the best circumstances. He is
already planning for 2017. He
will train with a new perspec-
tive, knowing how tough the
race will be. Gulley pushed
himself to his breaking point,
and now looking back as a
stronger person.
Sisters City Council
City Hall, 520 E. Cascade
Ave.
Thursday, August 25
6 p.m. workshop
• Highway 20/Barclay
Avenue roundabout decisions
7 p.m. regular meeting
• Public comment and
consideration of a motion
to adopt the Highway 20/
Barclay Avenue Roundabout
traffic management, aes-
thetics, and landscaping
options
• Recommendation to
the Oregon Liquor Control
Commission (OLCC)
on the annual renewal of
liquor licenses for Sisters
businesses.
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