Leadville, Colorado, Thursday, July 11, 2024.
I don’t get why Lance Armstrong didn’t just move to Leadville. You may recall, his blood doping with EPO (erythropoietin) finally caught up to him, and his seven Tour de France victories were invalidated.
But erythropoietin is a natural hormone your kidneys make as a response to low blood oxygen, which you can get by simply moving to a higher altitude. Leadville is the highest incorporated city in North America, with an elevation of 10,200 feet. I just checked my oxygen saturation on my Apple Watch, it’s running about 7% lower than usual. Spend a few months here, your erythropoietin levels will rise naturally, which in turn will raise your serum hemoglobin, allow your blood to carry more oxygen, and enhance your athletic performance. All untraceable.
Leadville is another of those Colorado silver boomtowns, with a trajectory similar to Aspen, only at its peak it became the second biggest city in Colorado at 30,000 people, its population is now 2,633, making its money in recreation, but not alpine skiing. It’s cute, and many of the historic buildings remain, notably the Tabor Opera House, which at one time was the largest in the west, with over 1000 seats.
The guy behind it, Horace Tabor, is one of the great rags to riches to rags stories, with a juicy scandal behind it. His silver grubstake made him fabulously wealthy, he spread his money all around Denver and Leadville, divorced his faithful wife for the dazzling beauty Baby Doe McCourt. Society didn’t approve and ostracized him, the silver market collapsed, and he and Baby Doe died in poverty and squalor. I found this PBS documentary about them compulsively watchable. https://youtu.be/M2quvBXAvmo?si=tp4nMIrtixibrvyr
Today was a “zero day”; I recovered from yesterday, caught up on my sleep, walked around the little downtown, got advice from the local bike shops, relaxed in the tiny house, and firmed up the next few days. Maybe got an iota of blood doping. Fremont Pass, not quite as formidable as Independence, is on tap for tomorrow. I’ll close with a few more pictures.
©️ 2024 Scott Luria
The Ends of the Earth 