Weekend in Scony

Last weekend Big D and I headed north, while Lynn, Super Y and G Man headed south. My trip...for racing and having fun, theirs for gymnastics competition and having fun. I pulled Big D out of school early Friday so we could make the start of the Bike Across the Bay , fat-bike race in Ashland Wisconsin at 6pm. This was the first year for a fat-bike race that is piggy backing off the super popular Book Across the Bay ski race. Both are held at night and cross Chequamegon Bay of Lake Superior from Ashland to Washburn.

From the Chequamegon bay Hotel

Desolation....the race course 

The ski race is like a huge party after 10 k's out on the lake. The fat bike race was little longer at around 12 miles. The blowing snow just before the race detoured our course mainly on ice roads. I was cool with that since the small amount of riding on the original track was super soft and slow...besides that, how cool is it to be fat-biking on Lake Superior in the dark? We did have a full moon on the night of the race and when it got up off the horizon we hardly even needed head lights.

Start line

 The pace was fast and the race was over for me in about and hour. The temps had dropped substantially from the time I had suited up until the time I actually finished chilling me to the core. I was very thankful for a massive heated tent to warm up in and a hot meal to enjoy with my son and friends. Thanks to..... Marry for watching Big D. After the race we headed south to the Legend's cottage near Cable to stay the night and prepare for the bar stool ski races in Drummond the next day.

The big tent and Big D

Some of the "stools" from the unlimited class

Spidey riding the more common "classic"bar stool with skis 

  I was not racing but Big D and I along with Marry were going to watch. The race is simple with one person pushing at the start and the other riding to the finish line. The Legend going as Evil Spiderman would be the pusher of the bar stool while regular Spiderman would be the driver/rider. We had a good time people watching as well as race spectating. After a few hours Big D and I were ready to warm up and got invited to another cabin for a sauna. This one belonging to another good friend of mine B-dale. I hadn't been to his new place since he built it so it was nice to get a tour and defrost at the same time.

Jamaican bobsled team was there, and as usual....losing 

starting gate

Later in the evening we all met back up at another cabin for dinner. It's kind of crazy up there as it seems everyone from the twin-cities has a place in the Cable/Hayward area. I wouldn't mind my own place but for now I'll just have to visit. By Sunday morning school and work obligations had us packing up and driving home. Big Thanks to Mr and Mrs The Legend for a warm bed to crash on as well as the tasty breakfast, B-Dale and Kim for the sauna, Big D for finding a huge piece of icicle,and the Spidey family for the big group meal in a luxurious cabin.

Vintage sleds are always cool

Fat-Tire Loppet

Last Sunday was the Fat-Tire Loppet held in Minneapolis. It's part of the City of Lakes Loppet, primarily nordic skiing. In addition to all the ski events are two bicycle races, an ice race on Saturday and a Fat-Bike race on Sunday,both sponsored by my team's shop Penn Cycle. Although I would have loved to do the ice race, I had other plans with my family on Saturday. I had to settle for only one race this weekend, waaaaaa.

Fat-Bikes everywhere

 The race wasn't until 2pm after all the nordic events were over so we wouldn't potentially ruin the trails for skate skiers. Unlike last year we were actually allowed on the ski trails instead of just the lakes, which made for a much more exciting and challenging race. The first third of the race was very hilly and had me at red-line, even though the course was hard packed and very fast. I started strong but soon faded as the hills were punishing me, I went from the front to somewhere around 20-25th place. Just as things started to flatten out I stopped and aired down just a little, as the tires were just breaking through the crust enough to make the going slow on the flats and twitchy on the descents.

Check-in,  yes boring pic but I didn't have a lot to choose from...I was racing not doing a photo shoot

  About this time I got my second wind and began picking off riders as we neared the finish. I was glad to be out of the hills but the miles out on the open lakes into a strong headwind were a challenge all their own. I had broken away from two separate groups before hitting the last lake and was paying for it. They were all able to draft each other and if the race had been a mile or two longer they definitely would have caught me. I was relived when I took the last turn off the lake to the finish chute. It was different than last year and came up much sooner than what I was budgeting my legs for.

Start Line

 When I made the last steep little bump a woman at the top was shouting my place and cheering. The finish was one of the coolest ones I've ridden through, it had a short but really steep downhill that allowed for some effortless high speed and a sharp turn at the bottom. It felt good to come in "hot" through a large crowd and coast to the actual finish line instead of dragging ass, ready to puke, and slogging along at a snails pace like I was just before the last little climb. I was quite pleased to have  finished 8th overall and I'm not ashamed to admit 7th was a woman. She was damn tough and I was not able to hang with her in the hilly sections at the start. Congrats to my team mates who finished 2nd, 13th and 14th.    

Team mates, Best in Schow and Moto Guse.....   The fat guy on the left is me

        Until next time....... D Rider, out

Get Phat with Pat

This past Saturday marked the conclusion of a two race series on the Minnesota River bottoms. This was also the second year for the running of this race. It also happens to be an event put on by my awesome sponsor of 17 years, Penn Cycle and the owner Pat Sorensen (the namesake of the event, and a top notch friend).  Both events went well in the bitter cold we have been enduring this year. The numbers weren't as high as we all would have liked, but both events were competing with other races held on the same day. Last Saturday there were two other events in the Twin Cities and this past weekend we competed against one. As usual Penn Cycle had a ton of swag to hand out including a 9-0-7 fat-bike frame! Minnesota Off Road Cyclists (MORC) was on hand giving out hot dogs,brats and hot beverages both weekends....Thanks Morc.

Big D was out with me the first weekend. He had fun building snow forts, eating hot dogs and drinking hot chocolate while I was out racing.

The start line for race # 1

 The first weekend we were fortunate enough to have CJ come out and groom the course the night before. A few guys, and myself, had been trying to keep up with the snow and the packing of the course to no avail. The river bottoms trail is a two way and we needed to maintain a complete one way loop by bush whacking an alternate route. If not for the grooming, the racers would have been doing a bunch of walking. The second race was much easier to set up, I know because I was responsible for putting up ribbon and marking the turns with florescent paint early Saturday morning. It hadn't snowed much all week and the course was really firm and well defined. Having done my duty early in the morning I had planned on riding out with the pack on the first lap of the race and then backing off on the second and pulling all the ribbon for the "clean up". I knew I was wussing out but I had already been there four hours before the start of the race and I kept telling myself "you either put on the race or you race the race....not both". In truth I have done both on many occasions, but that little voice in my head was telling me otherwise.

It was peaceful but cold morning for race #2 when I was out setting up

The only two beginners to show up at race #2. I had just finished up with the course when they came through to start their lap on the bottoms

  Not wanting to let my team down, I took the start line and did my best. I was still planning on a slow second lap, cleaning up. It wasn't until about a quarter of the way into the race and about 12-15th place that I started feeling good. I wanted to go fast now, I felt great. The trail is too narrow to pass except for a couple places so I would either ask to get by or give a couple tire rubs to let them know it's time. By the time I got through the first lap (8 miles) I was sitting in 6th or 7th place and had abandoned the idea of cleaning up. Somehow on the last lap with only a mile and half to go I managed to drag my nearly 200 pound carcass up to third place. I was really happy with this and was determined to hold on to it. Right behind me was Mr Wolf Tooth Mike Pfeiffer, I knew he could beat me and has done so in the past. So as soon as the two of us got around the 3rd and 4th place riders I went as hard and as smooth as I could in the remaining mile of single track. I had a good lead on him when I hit the road for the final approach. I put my head down and pedaled until a felt like I would black out, too scared to look back. I held on to 3rd place and could not have been happier.

The winners circle, B Moore, Pat Sorensen, B Tungseth, and yours truly... D Rider

 At dinner tonight, while I was giving a recap to my boys, my middle son Super Y, commenting on my fatness, asked if the finish was on a downhill ? Then they all laughed and said that's why you went so fast. Thanks kids :-)      

Solstice Chase

This past weekend was the Solstice Chase fat-bike race in St Croix Falls Wisconsin, put on by the good folks at Cyclova XC. This was a true...-fat-bike only-... race with  25 and 50 K options held on groomed x-c ski trails. Nearly 70 riders took the line, with both distances having roughly the same amount of riders, give or take a few.

The Venue, Big Rock Creek Retreat. St Croix Falls WI

  Honestly I could really give a crap if someone wants to try and ride their non fat-bike on whatever surface they choose, but this course had no place for them. It was very soft for a majority of the trail, and was a real challenge for all those participating.  This would be my first race of the fat-bike season and a good test of my unconditioned body. Tipping the scale a few pounds under the morbidly obese category I still managed a third place spot in the short race, finishing in about an hour and a half as the "real" men and women braved another lap. I my defense I initially signed up for the long race but had plans to be at an event/competition with my kids in the early afternoon so I had to opt out and be a good dad.

The Mayor comin' in hot 

   I mentioned the course was soft, this would be of great benefit for me as I have a little more experience than the average Joe out there. It seemed everyone including myself was running way too much pressure in the tires,hoping for a fast race. The only difference is, I stopped within the first few minutes to air-down.The two fast guys who would eventually beat me were off the front but struggling on the climbs. I struggled too but the few seconds I lost to let out some air brought me right to the front and into first place with a good lead until the midway point of the race.

Hells Yeah !  Penn Cycle in the house. There were four of us in attendance on race day, not like a race at Buck Hill, but still good to see some of my teammates 

 I was feeling pretty good about myself just before both of them passed me within a couple minutes of each other. We had just come out of some really grueling hills and were on a nice flat, fast section. All I could do now was ride smooth, not crash, attempt to stay with them, and at all costs stay out of sight of the fourth place guy. The two off the front were really fast, I lost sight of them within a mile of being passed. I was running scared now and praying another rider would not catch me. I rode smooth, didn't crash, and beat the fourth rider by 10 minutes. Ten minutes isn't bad, but the five plus minute shellacking I received from the leaders was a slap in my own face.

We had a little time to grab a snack after the race in a warm building near the finish

  I was reasonably happy with my finish and it felt good to get on the podium even if I did do the lesser of the two races. The guys at Cyclova are promising a repeat of the race for next year, check it out and celebrate the shortest day of the year!  .......they have food too.

I won the one of a kind trophy with place and date on the back side , as well as a really nice pair of thick wool cycling socks ....Thanks Cyclova XC

       

8th

A fire to warm-up by is always nice

 This past weekend was the City of Lakes Loppet. There were many skiing events as well as a couple cycling events. On Saturday was the Ice-Cycle Loppet, and you guessed it, it was on ice. While I was not able to participate in the ice race, I was able to do the Fat-Bike race on Sunday. A last minute change had us off of the ski trails and on the lake (Calhoun and Isles). What this really means is no chance to rest. Although I'm not the light weight I used to be, I need some hills to recover on, particularly the down hills. Flying across a frozen lake at red-line is a killer.

P.D. (with arms raised) was the man organizing all the cycling stuff, ...Thanks Bro 

 I managed to get the hole-shot and lead us out, go for the picture , not the win, right. Shortly after the start some guy named Jesse Lalonde passed all of us and started putting a big gap on our chase group of three. Lalonde hmmmmm.... maybe you've heard of him, he's only one of the fastest guys in the region, there was no way any of us were going to hang with him. So then it was just the three of us charging hard for second place with a chase group nipping at our heels. I was going so hard I was seeing stars, fell off of our little pace line, and was gobbled up by the next group. I stuck with them right up to the end when I made my final push for fourth and was out-sprinted by four of the five guys in our pack.

Lots of fat-bikers, 64 racers to be exact

 Eighth place again, it seems to be theme. Of the three races I've done this winter I have placed 8th in every one, not dead last, but nothing to be proud of. I did have a good time, despite the last minute change, and look forward to next year when we might get to actually race on the ski trail.

Coward

That's me, a coward

 The sticker clearly states "Cowards Won't Show". For the 9th running of the Arrowhead Ultra I will be a coward. I've started all eight Arrowhead Ultras and finished six.  This race has been such a big part of my life over the last eight years it's really hard not to be part of it. The fact is I'm burned-out on this race, mentally. Over the last several years I've found myself thinking about it during the warm months of summer and stressing over it. The last two years I vowed to take a year off and still threw my name in the hat when the registration opened. This year I even signed up thinking I could pull off another one, I can not

This was my home-made bike for the very first AH135. This pig weighed about 80 pounds, I was lucky to get it over 5 miles per hour

There were only 12 of us at the first race.  You think it's dangerous now, back then  there was only 1 snowmobile checking on us and he definitely did not stay up all night patrolling 

 What I will miss most about not being there is seeing all my friends I've made over the years.  Some of them I see on a regular basis, but others I only see in International Falls over the extended weekend. They are a different and hardy bunch of people compared to who you meet at shorter, much easier races. I have always enjoyed hearing what kind of crazy stuff they are pulling off.

I thought the race would be fun, kind of like winter camping and bike riding combined. I was wrong and seriously thought I would freeze to death the first night when I bivyed ,completely drenched and exhausted @ 20 below zero.

Everything was going great during the day when it was nice and sunny.  The darkness brought very cold temps and a living nightmare of shivering and deals with God.

 I've already been reaping some of the benefits of not showing up this year, they include... saving money on new lighter gear, not having to ride my bike by myself for 4-6 hours in every winter condition imaginable, not having to pack my bike 100 times to make sure everything is ok, and not obsessing over long term weather reports and snow conditions.

This was the original check point at Turtle Lake, mile 83 approx. I dropped out here in the late afternoon on the second day after I was told I could only stay a short while because they were leaving and the lodge was closed. I could either go back out on the trail or get a ride with them to the finish. 

This is the original finish, I'm standing with Pierre Ostor to my right and Ron Cadera to my left.  The AH 135 was the brainchild of Pierre, not only did he bring the race to fruition but he also competed in it. He is one hell of an athlete and an exceptional guy, Ron is too. Ron was the first skier to finish and held the record for a while

 I will also not be missing.... The hours and hours of slugging through the boreal forests of northern Minnesota on a 45 pound bike by myself. (that's right, I've spent so much money  :( on my bike and lightweight gear it weighs very little, I also don't bring anything for back-up gear, bare minimum) The nausea experienced after about six hours of eating trail mix and candy and holding it down because you need this shit to survive. The fifteen minutes or so it takes to start feeling your toes and fingers after stopping for only a minute and having that repeated over and over every time you stop to piss, eat, or make an adjustment. The stinging that comes just before you start to feel those toes and fingers. Being freaked out by hallucinations of people and or ghosts, standing on the side of the trail during the night and realizing it's only a pine tree as you approach it/them. Going so slow that when you look at your odometer two hours later you've only gone 10 miles. Running continuous math equations in your head to figure out how long you have left, if you have enough calories in you to make the next checkpoint, how close you are to the next guy, how close they are to you, and why the hell you would ever want to ride your bike this slow.

Back in December of 2004 when I was getting ready for the inaugural AH135 there were no fat-bikes readily available. They were not even called fat-bikes then.  The only thing available were the rims, so I built my own by bastardizing my old StumpJumper

I built my own fork from the crown of a Rock Shox  Judy. The lowers were crafted from the down tubes of two other bikes I fished out of a dumpster. I welded on some home made drop out tabs and bosses for a disc brake.

 This sounds like I'm complaining, I'm not. All the difficult stuff is what draws a person to the Arrowhead 135 to see if they can conquer it. It's pretty amazing when you do. I failed my first attempt and it made finishing it the next year that much sweeter. Good luck to all who are attempting it this year, I truly hope you have prepared for it, because there is no way to fake this race.      To all my friends up there..... I will miss seeing and talking with you....... maybe next year...... D Rider   Out

This thing was really cobbled together but it got me through 1 3/4 AH135's.  This is not finished here but you get the idea of what it took, this also f-ed up the geometry but I had a race soon and didn't have time for such luxuries as a bike that rode well.  I added in the little spacer and filled the gaps with a tig welder.

I spliced in more parts from the dumpster bikes to get enough clearance for the  3" Nokian Gazzaloddi's.  Those tires absolutely sucked, they had soooo much resistance. I believe this was part of my down fall leading to a DNF the first year, later I cut off all the knobs, something every fat-biker had to do at that time before we had tires you could "just buy". 

This pic shows the disc brake mount and a reinforcement. If you look close you can see the chainstay was cut and a piece was added to make the stays longer. Most of the frame was done when I finally got the wheels and tires a couple weeks before the race. I had no idea of the diameter so when I put the wheel in it rubbed on the frame, no biggie, cut splice and weld.

This is the finished bike, I also had to weld in a new head tube to accommodate the 1 1/8 " steerer  tube. This really sucked too, the tube was something I found at work that sort-of fit,  the only way to keep the headset from wobbling was to tighten it down almost to the point it would not turn freely

This is the same bike the following year. I cut off the head tube and made it a little steeper. It was the same head tube so it still wobbled. I still have the bike and almost threw it out several times but couldn't. This bike really sucked and I'm thankful for factory made fat-bikes and John Evingson for getting the ball rolling. That's right Evingson is the godfather of  Fat-Bikes for the masses. He planted the seed on a cold day in February  at "Kid Riemer's original "Snowball's chance in Hell".   

This is from  08',  just before I left for AH 135 # 4. I finally got a real fat-bike, this one only lasted for a season  when I retooled and upgraded ........ several more times

Racing, Minnesota River Bottoms

The only guy in the intermediate class  to ride the first deep water hole. 

 My second race of the year was at the Minnesota River Bottoms on Saturday. The top notch race was put-on by Pat Sorensen of Penn Cycle and several other volunteers including the Penn Cycle Race Team.  The weather was terrific, warm and sunny for most of the day. The racing kicked off at 10 am with the intermediate class and the beginners immediately after. I'm a little biased since I helped layout the course and Penn Cycle is my team, but it was awesome. We were able to make a complete loop by running a  second trail parallel to the existing one. On race day the newer trail was very bumpy, if we had snow it would have been smooth and fast.

Intermediate race leaders 

 With the warm temps overnight, the racers were greeted by a surprise when they rode the section along Nine Mile Creek. During the evening hours the creek level went up enough that it was necessary to ride through standing water on top of the frozen creek. I thought this was about the coolest thing one could ride during a race or any ride for that matter. I was looking forward to plowing through the water when it was my turn. As the day wore on the water level rose enough that the advanced class had about a half mile of it on the final lap.

Staying warm as the racers cruise by, out at Nine Mile Creek

good turn out for a winter race with very little snow and  competition with two other races being held on the same day in the twin cities.

 The race was a success with approximately 50 racers and will be back next year. In true Penn Cycle race fashion, a ton of schwag was given out, including a 9 Zero 7 frame. Check it out next year and pray for snow!

Winter Racing

 The first snow/fat-bike race of the year, in our area, was held at Murphy Hanrehan Park on Saturday. The trail was is excellent condition, and fast. About thirty people showed, and most were on fat-bikes. I think I only saw a couple skinny tired bikes and one half-fat.

Too much power !

Finish Line 

 The event was put on by Freewheel Bike and Three Rivers Parks. These two always have good races that are challenging and fun to hang around afterward. The free pizza that was provided was a  welcome surprise and much appreciated. Thanks!  Although I didn't do very well in the race (8th ?),  I won a sweet pair of 45NRTH socks. Freewheel is having another race at the same venue next weekend, show up and have some fun! It would also be nice to see some of my "homies" from the Penn Team to mix in some black and green with all the black and yellow out there. :)

Free Pizza 

WTF

 After the race I headed down to the river bottoms trail with Jo-Mama to ride the course for the fat-bike race Penn Cycle is holding in the 19th. The Penn crew, myself included, have been working on a route that parallels the existing one so we can make a complete loop. The finished loop is right around nine miles and will be a lot of fun. The course is in prime shape right now, I hope it holds out for a couple more weeks. For more info on the race go to Penn Cycle.

invisible jump?