Part III of my 2010/2011 winter season
Feb 27, 2011 in Knik, Alaska – Bill on fast trails near
the start of the race
Mar
2, 2011 at 11:00pm - 10 miles outside of Nikolai, Alaska
It is 81 hours and 290 miles into the 350
mile race. The temperature is around -30F and I can’t help but ponder the
situation that I have found myself in. My bike is in pieces. My gear and tools
are scattered up and down the narrow trail for 15 feet in either direction.
I’ve just spent the best part of an hour putting a new tube in my rear tire and
now the new tube will not hold air. My hands and feet have gone completely
numb. I’ve run out of ideas on how to
fix the tire. It is the low of lows.
Feb
24, 2011 – Anchorage, Alaska
Participating in this race has been 10
years in the making for me. When I last completed it in 2001 I said that I would
definitely come back and do it again someday. Well, it took me a while but I
made it back. I followed the race every year since 2001, always wishing that I
was there. In early 2010 I got serious about returning and got myself entered
into the race. After a full year of preparations, here I am.
Now that I am actually in Anchorage I can’t
help but have a bit of cold feet, figuratively and literally. “What the heck am
I doing here? Who do I think that I am attempting a race that will take up 10
days in double digit freezing temperatures the whole way?” Even though I’ve
done this race once before, it is still daunting. 350 miles is an awfully long
way to travel on a trail that is often nonexistent.
My home away from home in Anchorage was the
Alaska European B&B, a cozy B&B that hosts racers from all over the
world. The owner, Irene, speaks five languages which makes this a popular place
to stay for out of country racers. There were 11 of us staying there from all
over the place: 7 from Italy, 2 from Canada (including me), 1 from Scotland,
and 1 from the UK. It was pretty tight quarters but it all worked and we
certainly got to know each other really well!
Race day at Alaska European B&B
Garage
full of gear at the B&B
The race didn’t start until the 27th so I
had a few days to get to know everyone and get used to the time change. There
were two pre-race parties in the days leading up to the race. Both were hosted
by local racers and were very generous, pretty much all you can eat smorgasbords.
I know that all of the out of town people really appreciated it. Thank you to
Anne Ver Hoef, Michael Schoder, and Greg Matyas for hosting these parties. They
are really the only opportunity for the racers to get to know each other or in
some cases ever see each other! With all of the great food at the B&B and
at these two parties I did not have to eat out at a restaurant once during the
days leading up to the race. Quite amazing.
Feb
27, 2011 - Knik, Alaska – Race Day
The race start is at 2:00pm but it ends up
being a full day; up early for breakfast, final gear check, second breakfast,
bus ride to the start line, lunch in Knik, nervous anticipation as 2:00pm
approaches.
350 miles over multiple days is just too
big for me to get my head around so I decided to think of the race as a bunch
of 40-50 mile races which just happen to be back to back. That seemed much
easier to manage mentally. 40-50 miles in one stretch sounds easy. 350 miles
sounds impossible!
2:00pm finally came and we were off. For
some this is just an adventure, an opportunity to travel by human power in a
remote part of the world. For others this is a hard core race where they are
willing to take big risks in order to place higher in the field. I think that I
fall somewhere in the middle. I want to move along as quickly as possible and
do as well as I can but I also want to enjoy the ride and arrive home injury
free. I carry quite a bit of extra stuff to make sure that happens. I’ve done
my homework for this race (10 years worth!). I’m not the lightest rider out
there but I’m also not the heaviest and I believed that with what I was
carrying I could overcome most obstacles that the trail could throw at me. I
also recognize that sometimes you get thrown a curve ball that you just have to
deal with. I could only hope that there wouldn’t be too many of them.
Ready to roll –Bill Shand at the start line, Knik Lake,
Alaska
Day 1 – Fast trails and big winds
The race started
fast with clear skies and fairly warm temperatures. The forecast was for strong
northerly winds. Since we were headed north this meant that the wind would be
right in our face, not something that I was looking forward to.
We rode
single file across Knik Lake and into the forest on the other side. It wasn’t
long before the field was spread out and I found myself riding with one other
person with no one in site either ahead or behind. Our paces seemed evenly
matched so we stayed together until the trail intersected a road at which point
it became unclear which way to go. The obvious trail ahead had no bike tracks
on it and the road was hard ice so bikes would not make tracks on it. We had
passed a couple of snowmobiles just before we got to the intersection so I
figured that they likely wiped out the tracks on the obvious trail ahead.
There is
no designated course for this race. You simply need to check in and out of the
mandatory checkpoints but you can take whatever route you want. At the
beginning of the race this rule plays a big part. There are at least three
different routes to Flathorn Lake, some of which travel on roads and are much
faster than the traditional trail route. I only know the way by following the
trail route so I was hoping to be lucky enough to be riding with someone who
knew the road route when I got to the appropriate intersection. It appeared
that we may be there.
We stopped
at the intersection and I asked if he knew the way but got no response. Not
even a “hello”. This was a new experience for me. In any race that I have ever
been in, everyone has always been very friendly, even in the most competitive
summer races. This person would not even speak to me. Maybe he was deaf? I
tried again to make conversation but no response. He consulted his GPS, hiding
it with his hands so that I could not see it. Then, without warning, he took
off like a rocket down the road. I tried to follow but was too slow on the draw
and the road had lots of curves. He was gone. I had no confidence that I would
be able to find the road route on my own so I went back to the intersection and
decided to wait for another rider to come along. I couldn’t believe what had
just happened.
I’ve
written a lot of stories over the years about the various races that I’ve
entered. One thing that I’ve realized is that most good stories have a villain
but my stories never do. Well, this one does now!
I didn’t
have to wait at all at the intersection. Just as I arrived, Mark Ruda, a biker
from Colorado, arrived and stopped and we discussed which way to go. Mark only
knew the trail route just like me so we decided to go for it. Better to be on a
longer route and know where you are than be lost on a shorter route. It soon
became obvious that we were the first people to take this route since we never
came to any bike tracks, even after several miles. It didn’t matter to us, the
trail was fast and we were making good time.
It wasn’t
long before John Ross from the UK caught up to us and the three of us travelled
together. John was riding strong and took the lead. Mark stopped for a break so
now it was just John and I riding the trail that no other bikers had been over.
We came to an intersection called Four Corners. It is well marked on most maps
and I know that you have to take a hard left at this intersection. John went
straight. I followed for a short time thinking that John knew where he was
going since he had done the race before but I knew that it was wrong so I tried
to catch him. He was too fast. I tried yelling. He was gone. I turned back.
Once back
at the intersection I met up with Mark again as well as three of the Italians
from the B&B. We headed down the proper trail and I could only hope that
John discovered his error sooner rather than later.
We stayed
together and eventually came out on Flathorn Lake. I was still fuming about
what took place at the road intersection which I think was actually making me
ride faster than normal. We set up a nice paceline up the lake, taking turns at
the front. The Italians were so strong. I could barely keep up.
After the
lake comes an area called the Dismal Swamp. It is wide open and susceptible to
high winds. Now we met the head winds that had been forecast. It was really
blowing. I estimated it to be 30mph with gusts much higher. Our paceline fell
apart. The Italians were too strong and I couldn’t hold on. Mark stayed back
with me even though I think that he wanted to go faster. We stopped to put on
some extra layers. This turned out to be a bit tricky with the wind. Everything
went flying; gloves, helmet, glasses, everything. If it wasn’t pinned down, it
was gone. We got our layers sorted out and carried on as best we could taking
turns in the lead and eventually made our way to the end of the swamp.
The
Italians never really got that far ahead so by the time that we got to the
Susitna River a few miles down the trail, we had regrouped and were riding
together as five once again. This really helped on the river since we were once
again facing the same headwind as on the Dismal Swamp, though not quite as
strong.
The
Susitna River eventually meets the Yentna River which is the river that we
needed to follow. This can often be a tricky intersection but this year the
trail was obvious and we had no difficulty with route finding.
The
Italians seemed to back off the pace a bit so I wasn’t having any trouble
keeping up anymore. We travelled the Yentna River as a group with everyone
sharing the work of breaking the wind at the front. As darkness fell it started
getting colder but our pace stayed about the same. We didn’t talk a lot. With
the wind blowing, our full face masks, and a bit of a language barrier, we
mostly just pedaled hard, stopping every hour or so to eat or drink or pee or
whatever. The time and miles passed quickly. Our five little lights were the
only thing that we could see in any direction.
Mark Ruda on Flathorn Lake
Bill on Flathorn Lake – hard to tell the wind was
blowing but it was!
We came to
a riverside resort called Luce’s. Mark needed water so he went in to refill his
bottles. The Italians had slowed a bit so I found myself travelling on my own.
It was only a few more miles to the first checkpoint so I figured that we would
all regroup there.
Yentna
Station was the site of the first checkpoint, 57 miles into the race. It is a
very rustic camp on the bank of the Yentna River. I arrived at 10:25pm. I had
been out on the trail for over 8 hours. A good meal and some rest were
definitely in order. Some beef stew and a coke really hit the spot.
The
Villain was already at the checkpoint when I arrived. Once again there was no
conversation. I really had no interest in making conversation by now. I went to
hang my clothes up to dry in the drying area. He immediately rushed passed me
and said “That’s my room and I’m leaving at 3:00am!” I guess that he thought
that I was going to take his room or something? I finished hanging my stuff up
to dry and went to see if there were any beds available. There were so I laid
down in a bunk in the hope of getting a couple hours of sleep. I don’t know why
the Villain told me that he was leaving at 3:00am but I now knew that I had a
mission in this race: finish ahead of the Villain no matter what the cost. I
set my alarm for 2:00am.
The
Italians and Mark arrived while I was sleeping. Mark decided to stay for the
night. The Italians decided to leave with me. I hoped that we wouldn’t be too
noisy and wake the Villain.
The
Italians and I left together at 2:25am. I really wanted to put some miles
between me and Yentna Station. The wind was still strong and it was even colder
outside now than before. I actually put on my ski goggles. I’ve always carried
them with me but never had to use them. Well today I did. First time for
everything! We pedaled through the night making good time in spite of the
strong winds.
Just
before dawn we came to a torch burning by the side of the river. Beside the
torch was a sign that said “Ultra Sport Rest Stop” and a trail leading up off
the river to a lodge. Very cool. The Italians were cold and hungry so they
decided to stop for a coffee. I was fine and really wanted to keep moving so we
parted company.
Another
two hours of riding and I was in Skwentna, the site of the second checkpoint
and mile 90 of the race. Skwentna is actually a small village. The checkpoint
was in a lodge where they served meals and had some rooms for rent. I arrived
at 8:30am, about 6 hours after leaving Yentna Station. I was the only one there
so they treated me very well. A hot breakfast, cinnamon rolls and coffee really
hit the spot. I didn’t really want to sleep and lose prime daylight riding time
but I did want little break so I laid down on the couch with the intention of
closing my eyes for about an hour. I didn’t quite make an hour when I heard the
Italians come in, then a few other people, and then I heard the voice of the
Villain. I had overstayed my welcome. It was time for me to go.
Skwentna Roadhouse with only one bike outside, mine.
I cleared
out of there as quickly as I could, never making eye contact with the Villain.
My total time spent at the checkpoint was 2 hrs and 21 minutes.
Day 2 – Into the Mountains
The trail
out of Skwentna was smooth and fast. There was some road construction going on
for a new gold mine so the trail had been made wide and smooth. After crossing
a few frozen swamps the trail goes up and through the Shell Hills and into
Shell Lake. It was another blue sky day except now there was no wind. Pretty
much a perfect day for snow biking. I made it into Shell Lake early and the
person inside the lodge asked if I would like to come in for some lunch. I
hated to turn her down but I knew who was behind me so I decided to keep
moving. Lunch would have to wait.
After
Shell Lake the terrain varied from swamps to forest. I could ride almost all of
it so I felt like I was making good time. I made it into Winter Lake Lodge,
check point #3 and mile 130 of the race, just before dark at 5:20pm. It had
been a long night and day and I was ready for a longer break than what I had
been taking at check points up until now.
A fast trail out of Skwentna toward the Shell Hills
The trail through the Shell Hills wasn’t quite as
smooth.
Moving through the swamps
toward Winter Lake Lodge
More of the trail between Skwentna and Winter Lake
Lodge
Winter
Lake Lodge is big. They have a large main lodge and several cabins surrounding
the main lodge. I went into the main lodge and found a gourmet kitchen in full
operation. They immediately whipped me up a meal which I badly needed. The
first of two drop bags for re-supply was at this checkpoint so I decided to get
the task of re-supplying the bike with trail food done right away. Mark
Silverman and Brian Hartman were both at this checkpoint when I arrived but
they were the only other racers there. They said that they were planning to
move on right away. My plan was to sleep.
The race
organizer had two heated tents set up at this checkpoint for us to use for
sleeping. I couldn’t believe my luck. I had the whole tent to myself and it was
quiet. I should be able to get some quality sleep. By 7:00pm I was in my
sleeping bag with my alarm set for 11:00pm. I hoped to be back on the trail by
midnight. I slept soundly.
Just
before 11:00pm the Italians entered the tent with plans to sleep. I told them
that I was getting up so they could have my spot. All my gear was nicely dried
out so I was feeling good about leaving now and travelling through the night
even though the next section is notoriously tough. As I left the sleeping tent
I saw that the Villain’s bike was sitting outside the other sleeping tent. It
was definitely time to get moving. I went back up to the main lodge, had a bowl
of cereal from my drop bag and a coffee. The coffee tasted so good.
By 11:55pm
I was out the door, slightly ahead of schedule. This had been a really good
stop for me. It was my first real sleep since the start and I felt great!
The
section of trail from Winter Lake Lodge to rainy pass lodge on Puntilla Lake
has some very steep difficult sections. I took my time being careful not to
break anything going downhill and worked my way back up the equally steep
uphill sections. It was a long haul.
It was at
about this time that I encountered the first of my mechanical problems with my
bike. I noticed that it seemed like the seat was tilted up. At first I thought
that it was just my imagination but when I stopped to inspect it I saw that it
was indeed tilted up. I fixed it but after only an hour is was tilted up again.
I fixed it again, this time putting as much torque on the bolt as I dared. I
just kept thinking “Please don’t break, please don’t break, please don’t
break.” It didn’t break but I had to adjust and retighten the seat bolt eight
more times before the end of the race. I’ll definitely be fixing that before
the next race.
Night
eventually turned into day and each time that I rounded a corner I thought that
I could see a building off in the distance. At one point I was so sure that I
was at the checkpoint that I actually got off my bike to go in. But the
building was just an illusion of light and trees and snow. I continued thinking
that I was seeing a building all morning until eventually I just started
ignoring them. When I finally did get to the checkpoint, I wasn’t even sure if
it was real or not. When I saw all of the dog food for the Iditarod Sled Dog
Race then I figured that it must be real. It was good to finally be there. I
arrived at 9:00am, over nine hours after leaving Winter Lake Lodge.
Dog food – this must be the checkpoint!
Rainy Pass
Lodge on Puntilla lake is 170 miles into the race and is the site of the fourth
checkpoint. It is similar to Winter Lake lodge with a main lodge and several
sleeping cabins. Our checkpoint was in one of the sleeping cabins. Mark and
Brian were still there when I arrived. Lance Andre was also there. I know Lance
from the Arrowhead and Tuscobia races but I had not seen him since the start in
this race.
Our checkpoint cabin at Rainy Pass Lodge on Puntilla
Lake
The main lodge at Rainy Pass Lodge
All three
left just after I arrived. The checkpoint person (can’t remember his name)
served up some hot clam chowder which tasted really good. It was daylight
outside and I hated to stop during daylight but I needed a break. Once again I
was the only one at the checkpoint. I set my alarm for one hour and was out
like a light.
I
reluctantly got up with my alarm and headed out the door. It was so hard
leaving with only one hour of sleep and knowing how difficult the next section
is going to be. Once I got moving I felt better. I only spent 2 hrs and 15 minutes
at the checkpoint, my shortest stop so far. No one else arrived at the
checkpoint while I was there. Maybe I was finally gaining on the Villain?
The next
leg of the race is up and over Rainy Pass. I was happy to be tackling it in the
daylight. The trail climbed steadily above the tree line and into the Alaska
Range. I have to say it was a bit intimidating but the trail was good. This
section is often 100 percent walking but I found myself riding quite a bit of
it. As I neared the summit, the wind came up making the trail very difficult to
find at times. I didn’t like that at all. If the trail was disappearing in
front of me then that meant it was also disappearing behind me which would make
going back difficult. I came to a small lake with a cabin beside it which was a
huge relieve. There were tracks going to the cabin which told me that it could
most likely be used if necessary. I kept going but just knowing that cabin was
there gave me confidence. I figured that I could always go back to it if necessary.
The trail
toward Rainy Pass well above the tree line
Rainy Pass Summit
I kept
climbing and reached the summit of the pass, the wind rising constantly as I
went. There was a small sign at the summit and I stopped to take a picture of
it. I wanted to make a short video at the summit but when I tried my camera
shut itself down due to the cold.
The trip
down the pass on the other side of the range was certainly much easier than the
trip up. The wind dropped and there was no problem with finding the trail. It
got dark as I was heading down and I started finding it difficult to tell just
how steep some sections were. At one point I was riding and came to what looked
like a steep section. I hit the brakes but soon realized that it was a lot
steeper than I thought. I locked the rear wheel but it had no effect. I skidded
the bike sideways but it had no effect in slowing me down. Time to abandon
ship! I jumped off and landed in the soft snow beside the trail. The bike went
onto its side and flipped over several times. I think that the pedal digging
into the snow eventually stopped it. It was quite a wild ride. I gathered
myself and the bike up and decided to walk down the rest of that hill.
The trail
follows the Dalzell George to where it combines with the Tatina River and then
follows the Tatina River to the checkpoint in Rohn. This section is famous for
being quite difficult but today it was great. I was able to ride virtually all
of it. The river was mostly all frozen and I didn’t have to cross any open
water. It was ideal conditions.
I arrived
in Rohn just before midnight, very tired but really happy to have just
completed what is usually the most difficult section of the entire race. It had
taken me 12 hours to cross the mountain pass.
Rohn is
the site of the fifth check point and marks the 210 mile mark in the race.
There is a small cabin there which is used by the Iditarod Sled Dog Race
organizers. Our checkpoint is a small heated tent. When I arrived, the checker
in Rohn, Rob Kehrer, was still up and he invited me into the tent for some hot
food. Two bowls of ravioli later and I was a happy camper. Mark and Brian were
already asleep in the tent. Lance had already moved on so it was just the three
of us there. Rob told us that if anyone else arrived during the night then he
would have to kick us outside to sleep but for now it was fine to sleep inside
the tent. I like to get all of my chores done before I sleep so I got to work
refilling my camelback, restocking my bike with food (Rohn is the second of two
drop bag supply points) and hanging all of my wet clothes to dry. I set my
alarm for 4:00am, rolled out my sleeping bag and crawled in. Sleep came
instantly.
My alarm
woke me from a deep sleep. Everyone else got up too and within a few minutes,
Rob had the wood stove roaring and the tent heated back up. It took a little
while to get all packed up but by 5:00am I was all dressed in dry clothes and
back on the trail. I had slept for a solid four hours and felt great and ready
to tackle the longest section of trail between checkpoints, 85 miles give or
take. Mark and Brian weren’t quite ready to go so I left without them. They
have been faster than me all along anyway so I figured that it wouldn’t be long
before they caught up. No one arrived at the checkpoint while we slept but I
figured that the Villian couldn’t be far behind and would not likely stop at
Rohn for long if he arrived during daylight. I needed to put some miles between
me and Rohn so I shifted into a high gear and let’er rip. I planned to ride
hard for a few hours and then back off. It was going to be a long day.
It got
pretty cold during the night, somewhere around -20F. This is when I encountered
my second mechanical problem. My shifters would no longer shift. They moved
just fine but nothing happened. I figured that the ratchet mechanism must not
be engaging so I held my bare hand on it to warm it up a bit and finally got it
to shift. I found a good gear and then just left it alone. I would have to be a
single speed until the temperature warmed up some. It wasn’t really a big
problem but just an annoyance. Many people do the entire race on a single speed
so a few hours wouldn’t bother me any.
From Rohn,
the trail heads mostly north across a couple of lakes and rivers and across two
forest fire areas, one old and one new. It is kind of eerie riding through the
new burnt area. All the trees are still standing but they are all black and
dead. It was both beautiful and scary at the same time.
I worked
my way along the trail, mostly riding but also walking some on the steep hills
or soft sections. In general, I felt like I was making good time but not great.
I came around a corner and came to what is called “the Post River Glacier”.
It’s not really a glacier but that’s what it looks like. It is basically a
steep uphill section that is frequently a complete sheet of ice. I think that
it is a river in the summer but I’m not sure. This happened to be one of those
years in which it was a sheet of glare ice.
Spooky trail through the burn
Many
racers have spiked shoes or carry some kind of slip on spikes just for this
section. I chose neither and just hoped to be able to make my way through. I
slowly worked my way up the glacier. There were no tracks to follow so I just
had to find the best route that I could. I looked for soft spots that I could
dig my feet into which seemed to be working and I climbed higher and higher. As
I worked my way up, I realized that with one slip, I would likely slide all the
way to the bottom and have to start over. Be careful Bill.
I
eventually got to the top and really, it wasn’t all that bad. I was feeling
pretty smug about how easily I negotiated the glacier when I came around a
corner and met a wall of ice. How the heck was I going to get over that? It
looked impassable. I looked for tracks and could see a few scratch marks in the
ice where people with spikes had gone so I did my best to follow. Finally I got
to a point where I couldn’t go up any higher. The ice was just too slick to get
any traction. I looked around for other options and could see where at least
one other person had made it to the edge of the glacier where it met rock and
snow. It looked like they were able to climb up that side. The only problem was
that it was at least 10 feet away from me and glare ice on a 45 degree slope
separated me from the edge. I figured that I could just throw the bike and then
jump/slide myself but there was a high likelihood of damaging the bike when it
crashed into the rocks. Plan B was to push off with the bike and kind of slide
down and over at the same time. If I pushed hard enough I would make it. If not
then it would be a long and wild slide to the bottom. I decided on plan B and
started moving toward the edge to see how far I could get before pushing off.
Suddenly I felt myself starting to slide. Time to commit! I pushed off as hard
as I could. I slid down but also across and within seconds I was on the edge
buried in deep snow. I scrambled up the rocky edge where the tracks before me
had gone and before I knew it I was at the top. No big deal. I will never do
this race again without spiked boots!
For some
reason I forgot to take any pictures of the glacier which is too bad because
they would have been impressive! The trail after the glacier was easy to follow
but very rough. Many moose and buffalo had trampled the trail sometimes making
riding impossible. I was walking about as much as I was riding. It was
frustrating but this is all part of the game. You have to deal with whatever
the trail throws your way.
The next
obstacle that I came to was a frozen river with some open water on the surface.
I was prepared for this one. I had been carrying some waterproof Neos Overshoes
since the start of the race for use on just such an occasion. I slipped them on
and presto, water proof right up to the knees. It turned out that the water was
only ankle deep and I most likely didn’t even need the overshoes but I couldn’t
tell how deep the water was when I stepped in it. Besides, carrying them gave
me a lot of peace of mind.
Right
after the overflow crossing I encountered my third mechanical problem. My
brakes stayed on each time that I applied them. I had to stop and manually
force them apart. Even though I carried my bike across the overflow, I must
have somehow got some water into the brake mechanism and now it was frozen and
sticking. I started using my brakes very sparingly and eventually found that I
didn’t actually even need them. If I needed to slow down then I just put a foot
down. If I needed to slow down more then I put both feet down. Occasionally I
would lose control and just steer the bike into the soft snow on the side of
the trail which stopped me instantly. So the brake problem was solved, sort of.
With the
river cleared, it was back to the moose trampled trail. Brian and Mark passed
me. I felt like I should be able to keep up to them but they were moving just a
little bit faster than what I was comfortable with. This was going to be a long
day and going too hard was only going to make it even more difficult. I decided
to just stick to my own pace which had been working well for me. After Mark
passed it occurred to me that Mark and Brian were the first people that I had
actually seen on the trail since I left the Italians on the Yentna River two
days prior. No racers, no snowmobiles, nobody. There were people at the
checkpoints but in between I was completely alone.
The trail
continued to be slow and I came to the realization that this section was going
to take a lot longer than what I had originally intended. I was hoping to
complete it in 12 to 16 hours. Now it looked like it would be closer to 18
hours at the pace I was travelling. The entire race course had been fast up
until now and I was optimistic that I might even be able to complete the race
in under four days. That goal was slowly slipping away from me but there was
nothing that I could do about it. The trail is what it is.
I
eventually came to a milestone along the Farewell Burn called the Buffalo Camp.
The Buffalo Camp is a tent camp used by buffalo hunters each year. It was
vacant this year and we had mixed reports at the start of the race as to
whether the camp was even still there. Well, for the record, the Buffalo Camp
is still standing. I didn’t even bother to stop. It was still daylight and I wanted
to keep moving.
At about
12:00noon I decided to stop and have a bit of a break and eat a little more
than my normal hourly ration. My lunch consisted of one Hersey chocolate bar,
one caffeinated Power Gel, a handful of trail mix, a big drink of water and two
Advil. Yummy!
Well, it
was no Ruth’s Chris but it did hit the spot and the short rest did me a world
of good. The slow pace was getting me down a bit but now I felt much better. I
kept moving as quickly as I could and just before dark I arrived at another
major milestone on this section of trail, Sullivan Creek Bridge. It is just a
bridge that crosses a creek but for me it is an important place. I took a
picture of my bike beside this bridge back in 2001 and it has been on my
computer screen saver ever since. Finally I was back. The bridge is different
now than it was back then but I put my bike in roughly the same spot and
snapped a photo. It’s time to update my screen saver!
Sullivan Creek Bridge – 2011
Sullivan Creek Bridge – 2001
Day 3 – The low of lows and the high of highs!
After
Sullivan Creek Bridge, it is still a long ride to the next checkpoint in
Nikolai. The trail was in good shape but just seems to go on forever. As soon
as the sun went down it got very cold immediately. I don’t bother to carry a
thermometer but I have a good feel for how cold it is when certain things start
to happen. For example, at right around -30F, the display on my bike computer
becomes very sluggish and stops updating. We were there.
At about
10:00pm I felt the bike getting more and more sluggish. Mechanical problem
number four had arrived. I stopped and found that the tire pressure in both
tires was very low, especially the rear tire. This is normal when there is a
large drop in temperature but it seemed strange that the rear tire was so much
lower in pressure than the front. I stopped and put some more air in the rear
tire and decided to leave the front alone. It took some fiddling around to get
the pump sealed with the valve but eventually I got it working and had the tire
pumped up pretty good.
I started
riding again but within about 10 minutes the tire was low on air again and
almost flat. I’ve changed tubes at this temperature before and it is absolutely
no fun. You have to stop constantly to warm your hands and your feet. It can be
done but it is really hard. I knew that I was only a mile or two from the
checkpoint so I decided to just walk to the checkpoint. At least there I could
go inside to warm up my hands and feet whenever they got cold.
I walked
for about an hour and realized that I might not be as close to the checkpoint
as I thought I was. I turned on my GPS and found that I was still seven miles
from the checkpoint as the crow flies. That’s likely closer to twelve miles of
trail. I guess that I’m changing a tube.
It was so
hard. But I did it. Tools and gear were scattered all over the trail. I briefly
considered what would happen if a snowmobile came along right now but I hadn’t
seen a snowmobile on the trail for two days so what are the odds? I expected to
see the Villian come along at any minute. He would likely ride right over my
tools and tires scattering stuff everywhere. I hurried to get everything put
away before that happened.
By the
time that I got the wheel mounted back on the bike and my stuff put away the
rear tire was flat again. Damn! I’ve just spent the
best part of an hour putting a new tube in my rear tire and now the new tube
will not hold air. My hands and feet have gone completely numb. I’ve run out of ideas on how to fix the tire.
It is the low of lows.
I needed to warm up so I just started
walking. Everything was cold, even my core. I considered putting on my down
jacket but decided to hold off on that. The walking should warm me up. It did.
The feeling in my hands and feet returned but I was still out of ideas on what
to do about the tube. I suspected that the problem was with the valve assembly.
The valve core of the type of tube that I’m using sometimes comes loose and it
can be difficult to seal when this happens, particularly when it is very cold,
like now. I decided to just walk.
At this point things got a little strange.
What you are about to read did in fact happen as best I can recall. I started
to get sleepy. This isn’t really all that unusual for me in races like this. I
dosed off as I was walking and on several occasions woke up just standing in
the middle of the trail, not even moving. I would look around a bit to get
myself oriented as to where I was and then keep walking, only to find myself
standing in the middle of the trail a few minutes later. During this sleep
walking I had a vivid dream that I was in my basement with my bike and my floor
pump that I normally use to inflate my tires. It is a solid pump that I’ve
owned for over a decade. It has never failed me but one little quirk is that it
requires an adapter in order for it to fit on the valve of most of my bikes. In
my dream I fitted the adapter to the valve of my bike that I had with me now
and quickly inflated the tire with my floor pump. No problem.
I woke from the dream, standing in the
middle of the trail again at somewhere south of -30F and thought how nice it
would be to be in my warm basement right now with my trusty floor pump. And
then it came to me. I carry a valve adapter with me and the pump that I have
with me right now can convert into the same style of pump as my floor pump at
home. It was worth a shot!
I kept walking to stay warm and carefully
considered the sequence of the steps that I would need to take when I stopped.
First, remove my tools (pliers, rag, pump, valve adapter), next tighten the
valve core using the pliers and rag so that I don’t damage the threads, next
try threading the adapter on and off to see if it will work without disturbing
the valve core, next convert the pump head so that it will attach to the
adapter, next inflate the tire, finally put everything away and get moving.
I went over the steps again and again in my
head. I knew that my hands would be numb again by the time that I was done so
the more efficiently that I could do this, the less numb they would get.
Finally I started. I executed every step. Success!!!
The tire held air! I was riding again! It
was the high of highs for me! The tools to solve my problem were with me all
along but it took a dream to tell me how to use them. My hands were really cold
but I knew they would warm up quickly now that I was riding. I wasn’t stopped
long enough for my feet to get cold so everything was fine down there. Most
importantly, the Villain did not catch me through all of this.
It didn’t take long to get to Nikolai.
Nikolai is a small village and is the 300 mile point in the race. Our
checkpoint is at the house of Nick and Olene. At the pre-race meeting they told
us the route to Nick and Olene’s house is usually marked. I guess that
“usually” means that sometimes it isn’t. This was one of those years that it
wasn’t. I generally remembered where to go from when I was here before. I
headed in what I thought was the correct general direction making sure that
there were always some bike tracks ahead of me. There were lots of houses but
luckily some people were still at the checkpoint so I saw their bikes outside.
I arrived in Nikolai at 3:00am, a full 22
hours after leaving Rohn. It had been one heck of a long day. I was ready for a
break. Also, my rear tire was almost flat again. I didn’t really care. The
relief of finally making it to the checkpoint overshadowed everything.
The heat inside Nick’s house was
incredible. He had it up to about 90F. Nick greeted me and offered me some pork
chops and some kind of potato and rice mixture. It was incredibly good. I was
surprised to see that four other people were at the checkpoint when I arrived.
I spite of all my troubles it seemed as though I had actually made up some time
on the competition. Also, several other people had only just left the
checkpoint before I arrived. I thought that my ride from Rohn to Nikolai had
been horrible but in the end I was actually further ahead.
Jay Petervary left the checkpoint shortly
after I arrived. Mark, Brian and Lance were all still there. I told them that I
was going to sleep for a couple of hours and leave before daylight. They said
that they would most likely do the same. I was definitely short changing myself
on sleep but the finish line was close, I didn’t want to waste any daylight,
and I was pretty sure that the Villain was right behind me somewhere. I hoped
to leave Nikolai before he arrived. Before I laid down, Nick told us what I
considered to be some devastating news. It had taken the race winner, Peter
Bassinger, 12 hours to go from Nikolai to McGrath. Pete is a fast rider. I
figured that 12 hours for him would likely be closer to 18 hours for me. Oh
well, it is what it is.
I set my alarm for two hours and sleep came
immediately just like in Rohn. I actually woke before my alarm went off. I
wanted to get going. Mark, Brian and Lance were already up getting ready to go.
I told them about my tire issues and all three suggested that I not fool around
and just put a new tube in. I was somewhat reluctant to do this since I only
had one tube left. “Problem solved,” Mark said as he handed me one of his spare
tubes. “I carry two spares so just take one of mine.”
At this point in the race there are only 50
miles to go. The four of us at the checkpoint were currently in 8th,
9th, 10th, and 11th position. Assuming that we
don’t catch anyone and no one catches us, this means that three of us will
place in the top ten and one of us will not. For Mark to offer me one of his
spare tubes at this point in the race knowing that it could actually jeopardize
his own top ten placing was an enormously generous offer. I accepted the spare
tube and thanked him several times.
I used my last spare and changed the rear
tube again. This time I used the pump adapter right from the start and it
seemed to work perfectly. I also pumped up the front tire. I pumped both tires
right up to about 25 psi, more than double what I normally use. I didn’t want
to have any risk of more flats and the higher the pressure the lower the risk.
It could mean that I would sacrifice some speed but I didn’t care. With Mark’s
tube stored as a spare and my tires pump to the max I felt like I was ready to
take on the last 50 miles.
Mark, Lance, and Brian were ready to go
while I was still fiddling with my tires so they left without me. I decided to
have a coffee a before leaving and ended up having coffee, a Pepsi, and a piece
of cake. I wanted to let the bike sit for a few minutes anyway to make sure the
tires were holding air.
I left Nikolai at 7:30am, just before
daylight. No sign of the Villain. The tires were both good. I was hoping to
have no more bike issues so I made the following commitments to myself: don’t
touch the tires, don’t touch the brakes, don’t sit on the seat when going over
bumps, don’t shift gears.
The not shifting part was easy. It was
still very cold out when I left Nikolai so I couldn’t shift anyway. I could
only hope that by taking these measures I wouldn’t have anymore bike issues.
I felt great leaving Nikolai. I think that
the caffeine and sugar may have had something to do with that but whatever the
case, I was feeling good and moving fast. I was only on the trail for about a
half hour when I caught up to Brian and Mark. They were moving slow. Brian’s
leg was sore and Mark was having front brake issues.
I went by and immediately caught up to
Lance. Lance had hurt his arm and leg earlier in the race but I didn’t realize
how serious his injuries were (they were both broken). He was going slow so I
went by and kept up a good pace. The trail was in perfect condition so I wanted
to put some fast miles in since I knew that the trail would most likely become
horrible later on.
After about an hour I stopped for some
food. Lance was still right behind me. He seemed to be doing better. We
discussed the whole top ten finish issue and the need to stay ahead of Brian
and Mark. What Lance didn’t know was that there was one other person that I
needed to stay ahead of, the Villain. If he arrived in Nikolai during the
daylight then he most likely would not stay which means that he could be right
on our tail.
Lance Andre on the trail between Nikolai and McGrath –
note the large icicle hanging from his mask
I led the way keeping the pace as high as I
dared. We stopped only to eat but I did manage to snap off a few pictures along
the way. It was a picture perfect day, the trail was hard and fast, and we were
feeling great. A tail wind came up at times and pushed us up over 10 mph. We
were screaming along. At one point Lance said, “Bill, you will go even faster
if you let a little air out of those tires!”
My response was short and simple, “No way.”
Don’t step off the packed trail or you could find
yourself chest deep in snow!
I kept waiting for something bad to happen;
for my fragile bike to collapse, for the trail to turn to mush, for the wind to
turn on us. But none of this happened.
Before we knew it we were on the plowed
road which leads us into the village of McGrath. It was great riding with Lance
to the finish line. We crossed the line together in a tie for 8th
place in a time of 4 days 2 hours 10 minutes.
It was a perfect way to end the race.
Lance at the Finish Line in McGrath, Alaska
Bill at the Finish Line in McGrath, Alaska
After
The
Villain finished more than a full day behind me. I think that not knowing where
he was at the last three checkpoints actually made me leave the checkpoints
earlier and go faster.
Brian and
Mark finished a couple of hours behind Lance and me. They tied for 10th place.
So in the end all four of us did place in the top ten. Well done guys. It was
great riding with you.
The
Italians, Daniele, Sabastiano, and Ausilia, all finished the next day. It was
good to get to know them and I had the pleasure of getting to know them even
better when we got back to the B&B in Anchorage. On my last night in town
they made a traditional Italian meal. It was a perfect way to end our time
together. Ausilia is the first women to ever complete this race on a single
speed (as if the race isn’t hard enough already!). I’ll never forget how she
dropped me going across the Dismal Swamp.
I have no
one to blame but myself for the mechanical problems that I had with my bike. It
was a new bike that was custom assembled to my exact specifications. I
personally picked every component on the bike including the shifters, brakes,
seat clamp and yes, even the tubes. I failed to properly cold weather test the
bike before the race. It’s my fault and no one else’s. No excuses. I feel lucky
to have been able to work through all of the problems and still finish. In the
end, the bike problems did cost me some time but I don’t think that they cost
me any positions in the race.
I enjoyed
every minute that I was on the trail, even the low of lows but especially the
high of highs. I find it interesting that the two were only separated by a
couple of hours.
The race
finishes at the house of Peter and Tracy Schneiderheinze. They are famous for
their hospitality and I’ve now experienced that hospitality twice. I didn’t
even have my jacket off when Peter already had a plate of food prepared for me
and an ice cold beer. It was so good. Words can’t adequately describe it.
I would
most of all like to thank my wife Joanne for putting up with the months
(years?) of preparation that went into this race. There is no pot of gold at
the end of the rainbow with this race. The winners may get an interview with a
magazine and maybe even some sponsorship for future races. For everyone else,
all you get is the personal satisfaction of having completed a very difficult
event. I’m the first to admit that it is a highly selfish endeavour and there
is no way that I could have done it without her support. Thanks Joanne.
I would
also like to thank the Villain for his actions on the first day of the race. He
made me feel embarrassed, belittled and most of all, angry. Anger can be a
powerful tool when properly harnessed and channelled. I’m convinced that if the
events of the first day had not occurred then I most likely would not have
finished in the top ten of the race. So thanks Villain. I hope to race against
you again someday and kick your ass, again.
Note: Exact times
of my interactions with the Villain have been changed to protect his identity,
but you know who you are.
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