December 2010 - Tuscobia 150, Part I of III?

"Who is the third who walks always beside you? 

When I count, there are only you and I together
But when I look ahead up the white road
There is always another one walking beside you
Gliding wrapt in a brown mantle, hooded
I do not know whether a man or a woman
-But who is that on the other side of you?"

— T.S. Eliot (The Waste Land and Other Poems)

Part I

It was a warm day by Northern Wisconsin standards. A little too warm for all the layers that I brought with me so my wind shell was strapped to the back of my bike in case I needed it later. Just after clearing a small bump in the trail I felt the shell touch my right leg so I reached down to fix it but too late. The strap securing the shell wrapped itself around the cassette and wound itself up tight in an instant. The chain then joined the party by getting caught in the strap and jumping down three gears causing some pretty severe distortion to the rear derailleur. I came to a screeching halt. This all happened ten minutes into the 150 mile race.

Tuscobia, from the American Indian word “Tuscola”, means “level place”. That’s a pretty good description of the Tuscobia State Trail which runs from Park Falls, WI to Rice Lake, WI. 75 miles and mostly flat. Sounds easy until race organizer, Tim Roe, decided to create an out and back option, so 150 miles, just to make things interesting I guess.

I did this same race in 2009 when it was 75 miles. Soft trail conditions made for a very difficult event. When the 150 mile option was announced I just couldn’t resist for some strange reason. I guess that I’m a sucker for punishment.

The pre-race meeting was held at the “Shanty” restaurant near Park Falls the night before the start. Normally this is a great time to see old friends and meet some new ones but it had taken me fourteen hours to drive there so I really just wanted to check into my hotel and get some sleep. I said hi to everyone, picked up my race number and headed out. I went to bed early knowing that if all went as planned this would be the last sleep that I would get for two days. My plan was to ride the entire 150 miles non-stop. That said, plans have a way of changing as these types of races develop.

I woke early and embarked on my pre-race ritual of checking my gear one last time, drinking my coffee and eating my cereal. I’ve done this ritual many times and it is almost like being on autopilot. There are so many variables in a long race like this that I find it hard to really focus on anything except the simple tasks directly in front of me. Sip my coffee, check the weather forecast one last time, sip some more coffee, tighten my sleeping bag just a little bit more, sip my coffee...

It was still dark at the start line. Fellow racers were wheeling around the Park Falls Trail Head parking lot trying to stay warm. I joined them. We all wished each other good luck and waited patiently for 7:00am to arrive. We were all in competition with each other yet there is a certain comradery that goes with these types of races. It is as much a competition to finish as it is a competition against each other.

The Start

“Well guys, its 7:00am so...” With that statement from Tim Roe, we were off.

I always find it almost surreal starting these long races, feeling great yet knowing the distance that needs to be covered. 150 miles on a snow bike is a long way, flat or not.

The temperature was perfect at about +11F. Not so cold that I needed to put on all of my layers but cold enough to keep the trail firm. And the trail was definitely firm. In fact, we were flying by snow biking standards. The three favourites to win (Lance Andre, Charlie Farrow, and Jason Buffington) took off together and quickly separated themselves from the rest of us. I was riding with two people who have traditionally been very close to the same speed as me: Nick Wethington has been ahead of me at times both in this race last year and at the Arrowhead 135. Jason Novak finished within four minutes of me at last year’s Arrowhead 135.

In fact, all of the racers that signed up for the 150 mile option of this race turned out to be what I considered to be a very experienced and competitive field. All were multi-year veteran finishers of either this race or the Arrowhead 135 or both. No rookies and no room for rookie mistakes.

That’s why I was so annoyed at the jacket strap getting caught up in my drive train. Only ten minutes into the race and I was falling behind already! After some messing around with my gears and chain and jacket strap I finally got the whole mess untangled by spinning the wheel backwards and basically unwinding the strap. I re-secured the jacket to the front of the bike this time and got moving again. The rear derailleur appeared to be undamaged. Lucky. Nick and Jason were completely out of sight.

I told myself that riding alone is better for me anyway since that is how I do all of my training. I cruised along at my own pace hoping to catch the others at some point during the day. The delay from the jacket incident was really only a few minutes and in a race this long it is unlikely that a few minutes would make any difference.

It was only about an hour more when I started to see a biker come into view. I slowly gained on him until he finally pulled over onto the side of the trail to adjust some of his layers. It was Nick. I stopped and we chatted for a minute or so. He said that Jason Novak was ahead but he wasn’t sure how far.

I carried on now in fifth place and hoping to reel Jason in before we were too far into the race.

At about the four hour mark of the race I arrived at the first checkpoint, a hotel room on the side of the trail occupied by Tim Roe’s parents. Tim’s Mom served up some hot chilli which I gladly gobbled down. I had been riding pretty hard so a hot meal went down really well. I topped off my water supply and headed out the door immediately. A time check told me that Jason was 35 minutes ahead.

Morning turned into afternoon but still no sign of Jason. At one point I started to hear a faint, intermittent squeak coming from somewhere on my bike. I ignored it at first but it started getting louder and sounded like it was coming from my front wheel. I stopped and gave the front wheel a spin but it seemed fine. I wiggled it back and forth but the bearings seemed ok so I decided to keep going. The squeak would eventually reveal its origin or go away. As I made my way along trail, the intermittent squeak only continued to get louder. Eventually I came to a highway that ran parallel to the trail. I noticed a front end loader on the opposite side of the highway clearing snow from a parking lot and soon I noted a pattern: each time that the loader backed up the intermittent squeak from my front wheel returned. Two thoughts came to me; 1) Front end loaders have back-up alarms so that explains the squeaking noise that I have been hearing and 2) Bill, you are an idiot!

With my concern about a wheel bearing failure gone I got back to trying to catch Jason. The flat trail continued on forever until I reached the tiny town of Birchwood. A room at the Birchwood Hotel was the site of the second checkpoint. It was pretty easy to find since the volunteers lined the door with Christmas lights. The two women inside the checkpoint have become known as the “Glamour Girls”. I’m not sure why. Races like this can only happen through the selfless efforts of volunteers like the Glamour Girls. They worked hard to make sure that we had everything we needed. It helped that they were both experienced ultra-runners so they had a pretty good idea of what we were going through. They mixed up some instant Kraft Dinner for me and it went down really well. I was all set for next leg of the race. As I headed out the door they told me that Jason was about a half hour ahead of me. I thought for sure that I had at least gained a bit on him but no such luck. At least he wasn’t pulling away from me!

The next section of the race was the turn-around section. We would leave the Glamour Girl checkpoint, travel 14 miles to the Rice Lake Trail head, and then come back in the opposite direction of the route that we had just travelled. Reports about this section of the trail were highly variable with some saying that the trail was in very good condition and others saying that there had been no travel on it at all so we would have to walk. I stocked up on food and water at the check point in preparation for a long haul. Hopefully conditions would be good but if they were not then I would be ready. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

I was only on the trail for about half an hour when I met up with Lance Andre and Jason Buffington coming back down the trail toward me. They had already made it to the turn around and were on their way back. I stopped on the side of the trail hoping that they would stop too and give me some information about what I was about to face. They stopped and told me that the trail was in great shape until the last three miles at which point it becomes very soft. Lance said that I would know when I was there because I would cross a paved road and then the trail becomes very “punchy”. He suggested that I not even attempt to ride it without letting some air out. No use in trying to struggle through it.

Just as I was about to get going Jason Buffington said, “Also Bill, Jason Novak is only a short distance ahead of you and he looks tired. You may be able to catch him.”

I couldn’t believe how good Jason and Lance looked. They were hours ahead of everyone and were still joking and appeared to be having a great time. I did see one chink in their armour when Lance suggested that they stop for a 30 minute break at the Glamour Girl checkpoint but Jason Buffington wanted no part of it. Was Jason the stronger rider today? I thanked them for the information, wished them luck, and carried on with renewed vigour. The trail would be ridable and I may be gaining on what has turned out to be my main competition in this race, Jason Novak. It was 4:30pm. I turned on my lights knowing that I would not likely shut them off again until I finished.

Another hour passed before I met the person in third place, Charlie Farrow. He had been dropped by the two leaders at some point but seemed to be hanging in there. Charlie and I have known each other for several years through the Arrowhead race. He gave me very similar information to what Jason Buffington and Lance told me, “The last few miles are pretty tough going and Jason Novak is only minutes ahead of you.”

A short time later I crossed a paved road and the trail immediately turned to mush. I could see tracks all around where people were either pushing their bikes or attempting to ride and falling off. This must be the spot that Lance and Jason Buffington told me about. I stopped immediately and reduced my tire pressure to about 5 psi. If I did not have the information that the trail was like this all the way to the turnaround then I likely would have tried to struggle through it. Thank you Lance and Jason Buffington! It would be slow going but at least I could ride and I found myself riding right over spots where others had walked. That is always a great feeling when you can ride in areas that you know other people couldn’t.

Every report seemed to indicate that I was gaining on Jason. Soon after entering the soft section I actually met Jason on his return route. We stopped and chatted briefly. I asked him how far to the turn around and he checked his odometer. “1 mile.” So there it was. It was one mile out and one mile back to this point so Jason was exactly 2 miles ahead of me. He knew it and I knew it. No more guessing or wondering. Jason also told me that he was getting pretty tired and may pull over to rest somewhere.

I carried on still hoping to eventually catch Jason. The turnaround came into sight at 6:10pm, 11 hours and 10 minutes after the start of the race. It was a dark, cold, and lonely place. There was absolutely no one there. I tagged the Trail Head sign to make it official and started heading back immediately. My total time spent at the turn around was less than 30 seconds.

I’ve been doing these types of races for a lot of years. One thing that I’ve learned is that the time between the half way point and about three quarters is mentally the most difficult part of any race. Just getting to the half way point is a huge milestone and it is a goal that is easy to focus on. But then reality sets in and you realize that you have to do it all over again. If people are going to have trouble in a race, this is usually the time. I’m fully aware of this so I have a simple strategy to deal with it. “Don’t even think about the distance to the finish, just get to the three quarter point. After that, finish line fever will carry you through.” It’s hard though when the numbers are there. 11 hours into the race and still 75 miles to go!

The good part is that I still felt great. I decided to pick it up a notch. Up until now I had been riding hard but conservatively, saving a bit of energy for the last unknown section of trail. Now that I knew exactly what I was facing for the return trip I could open up the throttle just a bit and ride a little less conservatively.

With Jason only 2 miles ahead I was hoping to catch him before I reached the Glamour Girl checkpoint.

About half an hour after leaving the turnaround I met Nick Wethington still on the outbound route. We talked for a bit and again I was told that Jason was just ahead. I must be gaining on him. I was also a bit surprised at this time at how close Nick was to me. Was Nick reeling me in?

All I could do was ride hard so that is exactly what I did. As soon as I crossed the paved road which indicated the end of the soft trail I immediately stopped and put air back in my tires. I actually put a little more air in than what was there before. It was colder now so in theory the trail should be firmer. I also donned my wind shell. The cold was starting to penetrate my other layers just a bit.

The extra air helped and I was travelling faster on the return route. I fully expected to catch Jason but as I closed in on the town of Birchwood there was still no sight of him. I had done all I could. With any luck he would be at the checkpoint when I arrived.

I went through a steep ravine (one of the only hills on the course) and when I got to the top on the opposite side I stopped for a drink. When I looked backed I saw a light entering the ravine on the other side. The person was only minutes behind me. I quickly got going but who was it? I still hadn’t passed Jason so he couldn’t be behind me. Nick was an hour behind me so he could not have caught me that quickly, could he? Could it be the “third man” that I’ve been reading about?

I decided that it must be Nick. He must have saved a bunch of energy for the return trip so now he was pouring it on. If that was the case then he should overtake me shortly.

The Glamour Girl checkpoint came into view and before I knew it I was there. My jaw dropped with disappointment as I approached the door to the hotel room. No bike outside which meant that Jason had already been to the checkpoint and left again. I thought for sure that I would have caught him at the check point. Not only did I not reel Jason in but Nick was hot on my heels and would likely overtake me at any moment. Just before I walked in the door I looked back down the trail to see how close the light behind me was but it was nowhere to be seen. Who was that on the other side of the ravine?

I walked into the checkpoint and the girls immediately asked me what I would like to eat.

“More KD of course!”

I asked how long since Jason left but to my surprise they told me that he had not arrived yet. Since I had not passed him on the trail this seemed pretty strange. I told them about the light behind me so we all concluded that it must have been Jason. Where he went and how I passed him without seeing him is still a mystery.

Phil Jemielita arrived at the checkpoint while I was there. Phil and I have become good friends over the past few years so it was good to see him. We ride at different paces so it’s pretty rare that we get to see each other once the race starts. Phil was still on the outbound route so I filled him in on the trail conditions that he was about to face. We wished each other good luck and I headed out the door happy to be in 4^th place. Just as I was leaving they told me that Charlie Farrow was only two hours ahead of me. I joked that I would go catch him next!

After several hours I came to the first of the runners still on the outbound route. I told them how far it was to the next check point and they told me that Charlie was only 45 minutes ahead of me. There was no way that I could have made up so much time on Charlie. I figured that the runners must have mixed up their times.

It wasn’t long before I came around a corner and my headlight caught the reflection of a bike off the side of the trail. I stopped to have a closer look and realized that it was Charlie’s bike and he was sleeping beside it. It is a bit uncharacteristic for Charlie to be sleeping this early in a race. I didn’t really want to wake him but I thought that something might be wrong. It was around 0F at the time and at that temp a small problem can become a big problem pretty quick.

“Everything OK?” I yelled.

“I’m fine, just taking a little break. Thanks for checking on me. Have a good race!” he answered. 

Charlie is pretty experienced at these types of races so I wasn’t really too worried. He seemed perfectly coherent so I noted my odometer reading so that I could let the next checkpoint know where he was and then carried on.

Shortly after passing Charlie, the trail turned hard and fast. Charlie had opened a window for me and allowed me to jump into third place. I figured that he would be getting up and chasing me down right away. I would only have one chance to put some distance between us and that chance was right now. I started pushing really hard. It was midnight, 15 hours into the race, and the good trail combined within my effort to put some distance on Charlie meant that I was going faster than at any other time so far. Moving into third place also gave me a bit of an adrenaline rush so I felt great!

The fourth and final checkpoint came about 2 hours later. As I approached the door I was shocked to see a bike sitting outside. I recognized it right away as Lance Andre’s bike. I walked in and found Lance sleeping on one of the beds. He woke when I walked in and described what happened: He and Jason Buffington were riding together until his chain broke. It took him several minutes to fix the chain and he then put in a huge effort in an attempt to catch Jason. The effort was too much and he bonked. When he arrived at the checkpoint he decided to rest and hopefully recover enough to finish the race.

Tim’s Mom was also there and she offered me some chilli which I gladly accepted. I had been looking forward to a bowl of her chilli for several hours! I started removing some of my winter gear to refill my Camelbak when I noticed that both Lance and Tim’s Mom were looking at me a little strange. Finally Tim’s Mom said, “You’re not Charlie, where’s Charlie?” I had to laugh. During all our conversations up until then they both thought that I was Charlie!

I told them where I passed Charlie and that I checked on him as I went by and he seemed fine. Lance asked if I was taking a few hours break. “Nope, Charlie opened a window for me, I’m leaving right now.”

Lance decided to come with me so at 2:00am we departed together for the final push to the finish line. Lance and I have known each other for a few years but we have never ridden together. He is usually many hours ahead of me. It took us a while to find a rhythm. Before we even started riding I told him that I could not ride very fast and to go ahead if he wanted. He wanted to ride together and told me to take the lead and just ride at my own pace. I did this for a while. We stopped to have a drink and then he took the lead. I did the best that I could but after about a half hour his pace was too much and I let him go. After a short time I caught up to Lance. He was pulled over on the trail waiting for me. I told him that his pace was too much for me so go ahead if he wanted. He said that he got a bit carried away and that he would slow down. He led us out again but now he was going too slow, even for me. It was driving me crazy so it must have been driving him really crazy! We stopped for another break, I took the lead again and picked up the pace a bit. I asked him how it was, he said great and we were finally able to ride comfortably together. We switched the lead several more times with no further pace issues. It had taken us three hours to find the groove!

Ten miles from the finish the trail turned soft again. We struggled for a while but then both decided that a bit less air in the tires would be just the answer. I let out a few psi, gave it a try and all was good! The pace was a little slower but at least we were not sinking.

The turn off for the finish line came into view and we briefly discussed sprinting for 2^nd place. Neither of us had any interest so we crossed the line together. Total time was 23 hours and 55 minutes.

It was my best placing ever in a winter race!

My trusty Surly Pugsley bike worked perfectly (aside from the jacket problem at the start) and I felt great the whole time. Every now and then everything just comes together. Today was one of those days.

We hung out at the finish line for a little while and then I went and found a hotel that would allow me to check-in early in the morning. I crashed pretty hard. It was 3:00pm when I woke up. A cheeseburger and fries sure tasted good for supper that night!

Epilogue

Jason Buffington was at the finish line to greet us. He had finished many hours earlier. Jason had an amazing race.

I found out later that Charlie was not fine at all when I passed him. He had been suffering from a respiratory infection since before the start of the race and it had finally forced him to stop. He was shivering inside his sleeping bag and in very bad shape. He eventually forced himself to get up, made it to the checkpoint, and dropped out of the race. When I talked to him the next day, he vaguely remembered talking to someone, wasn’t sure that it was me and he had no idea what we talked about. I’m glad that he made it back without any injuries.

I’m still not really sure what happened to Jason Novak but I heard that he rested at some point and then made it to the finish line a few hours after Lance and I.

Nick finished about an hour after Jason Novak. I spoke to Nick just after he finished and he looked and sounded great. Nick was the only person in the race riding a single speed bike.

After 37 hours on the trail, Phil also finished. Way to go Phil!

Thanks Tim for hosting a fantastic race!

This story is what I hope will be a three part series; three winter races spread across the 2010/2011 winter season. First, Tuscobia which you just read about, next is the Arrowhead 135 at the end of January – a 135 mile race through Northern Minnesota along the Arrowhead State Trail, and finally, the Grand Daddy of them all, the Iditarod Trail Invitational – 350 miles through the interior of Alaska along the remote Iditarod Trail.

It is going to be a good winter!