February 2012 - The Arrowhead 135

Bill vs the Villain Part II

Bill riding on a fast trail just after the start of the 2012 Arrowhead 135

This is the sixth time that I have lined up at the start line of the Arrowhead 135. On my previous five attempts I have always finished. Each time that I have done the race I always said that my goal was simply to finish. I’ve had about enough of that. This year my goal was not to finish. That may sound strange but it’s true. Given enough time, anyone can pedal a bike 135 miles and at the Arrowhead you are given 60 hours. That’s heaps of time. So this year my goal was to push myself way outside of my comfort zone, to take big risks and throw caution to the wind. Isn’t that what racing is all about?

There is another issue that motivated me this year and that is the Villain. I was wronged by a person during a race last year and I’ve nicknamed that person “the Villain”. At the end of my story about that race I wrote, “So thanks Villain. I hope to race against you again someday and kick your ass, again.” To be honest, when I wrote those sentences, I never thought that the situation would come true. About a month before the start of the Arrowhead I checked the roster and was shocked to see that the Villain was on the list. Training suddenly took on a whole new level of focus. The pressure was on. The Arrowhead is “my race”. There is no way that I could be defeated by the Villain in my own backyard!

Two days before the start I arrived in International falls, MN. My first stop, like always, was the race registration and mandatory safety gear inspection. As soon as I walked in I saw the Villain standing in line to have his gear checked. I wanted to see if he would even recognize me so I walked right up and started talking to him without introducing myself. The Villain had absolutely no idea who I was. I wasn’t surprised.

The next 36 hours were pretty routine: pack everything onto the bike, go for a test ride, dial in tire pressure, sleep, eat, drink, sleep.

7:00am, Jan 30 - The Start

Some light snow fall overnight covered the trail with about an inch of fresh snow. Just enough to cover the tracks from the day before but one inch was not really enough to cause any problems. The temperature was +9F which is pretty much perfect for snow biking. +9 is cold enough to keep the trail firm but not so cold that it makes things too uncomfortable for the people riding.

Race Organizer, Dave Pramann, started the countdown and we all lined up on the trail. There were about 60 bikers this year. Dave lined the bikers up first to allow us to get ahead of the runners and skiers. There is a lot less potential for broken equipment that way.

The gun went off and we were on our way with blinking lights and reflective equipment stretching up the trail as far as the eye could see. As much as I would like to go right to the front and ride with the lead pack I know inside that doing so would be a recipe for disaster for me. It takes me a little while to get going. I settled into a pace that was just a bit uncomfortable but not so high that I felt like I would blow up.

The first 18 miles of the course are flat and if the trail is in good shape you can really set a fast pace in this section. A guy named David Cizmas seemed to be riding at the same pace as me so we started taking turns leading. We were going fast enough that it actually seemed to be helpful to take turns breaking the wind. We were having a blast and by riding this way we seemed to be catching and passing people quite regularly. It was a beautiful start to the race.

8:10am – A Close Encounter

David and I had been riding together for just over an hour, slowly catching and passing people and chatting about various topics that I can’t really remember. It was nice to have someone to ride with. Another rider was in sight ahead of us and we were slowly reeling him in. David was in the lead when we caught the other rider. He passed immediately but the other rider seemed to be keeping up with David so I stayed behind.

Something looked familiar about the other rider. I don’t know if it was the boots, or the bike, or the way he pedaled but is seemed like I should know this person. Then it clicked. I knew exactly who it was ahead of me, the Villain.

David started pulling away but I stayed behind to memorize everything that I could. What he was wearing, where his lights were mounted on his bike and what parts reflected most. I wanted to be able to recognize him from a distance in the dark later in the race in case there was a need.

As soon as I was satisfied that everything about the Villain was burned into my brain I moved out from behind him and pulled up alongside.

I said, “Hi”.

He said, “Hi” back. Wow, that’s a lot more conversation than I got out of him the last time we rode together. We exchanged in idle chit chat about the mild conditions and fast trail.

Finally I said, “I’ve met you before. We rode together during a race last year and spent some time together at a checkpoint.”

He responded with “Really? What’s your name?”

I told him my name. The time for chit chat was over. I’ve been holding this grudge for a long time. In my mind, it was now time to put up or shut up. I dropped down two gears and pedaled away. I looked at my clock. It was 8:10 am.

Onward to Gateway – Mile 36

David had opened up a pretty big gap so I had to really hammer to catch up to him. That was perfect since I was hoping to put some distance between me and the Villain. I caught David and we began riding together again. I kept up the higher pace and he seemed content to ride faster as well so we continued to stay together. All conversation stopped between us. The pace was too high to talk, at least for me anyway.

I’ve often ridden with people at the start of races who seemed evenly matched with me and it seemed like we would ride the entire race together. David was one of those people. I also know that it rarely works out that way. One of us was likely stronger and we would most likely separate at some point. That time came sooner than I thought it would.

We caught a few more people and David began to pick up the pace even more than when we pulled away from the Villain. I held on as long as I could but he was too strong. I let him go. It was actually kind of nice to be riding alone. I could just set my own pace without any concern that I might be slowing someone else down.

Before I knew it the first check point came into sight. This checkpoint is a store called Gateway. There is a short out and back section of trail which took us to the checkpoint from the main trail. This was the perfect opportunity to see how much distance I had gained on the Villain. The total distance out and back was about a half a mile so if I made it back to the main trail without seeing him then I knew that I was at least a half a mile ahead.

When I arrived at the checkpoint I did not even unclip from my pedals. I just shouted out my race number, did a u-turn and head back down the trail. There was no Villain in sight. I had at least a half a mile lead.

Melgeorges – Mile 72

After the Gateway checkpoint I continued riding alone. It was nice. The trail was in good condition and I was feeling strong. I kept the pace as high as I could. A few hours passed and I noticed a rider catching up to me. It was David Gray, the race winner from back in 2007. David and I are usually pretty close to each other with him almost always ahead. Today would be no exception I realized. He came by me riding pretty fast. I tried to keep up as best I could but he was too strong, just like in all the other years that we have ridden together. I let him go.

Not long after David Gray passed me, I met Lindsay Gauld riding toward me. Lindsay has been doing this race for several years and I have gotten to know him pretty well. He is quite a character. At 63, he is one of the oldest competitors in the race. He is an Olympian from the ‘72 Munich Olympics. He generally has always placed in the top 10 of the Arrowhead. I feel honoured to be able to call him a friend.  He was not feeling well the night before the start so he decided to not start. Now he was riding out on the course for fun and checking up on everyone. He told me that there was a group of riders just ahead and they seemed to be taking their time. I thanked him for the information and rolled on.

As I moved through the hills closer to the Melgeorges checkpoint I started to see David Gray again. Usually he was at the top of a hill just as I came to the bottom of the same hill. I must be gaining on him which seemed a bit odd.

By the time that we got to the checkpoint, I was right behind him and we entered the cabin at the same time.

There were five other racers at the checkpoint when I got there including, David Cizmas. In keeping with my goal of staying outside my comfort zone and take big risks, I decided to push on. I refilled my Camelbak, loaded my pockets with food from my drop bag and walked out the door. And just like that I moved up five positions in the race. The other people at the checkpoint seemed pretty surprised that I was leaving right away but wished me well and said words of encouragement like, “Go Bill!” It doesn’t seem like that should be a big deal but these were people who are my friends and also normally always finish ahead of me in this race. It felt great to be cheered on by people that I had so much respect for. I left the checkpoint feeling totally re-energized. My total time there was eight minutes. I didn’t even sit down.

Darkness, Freezing Rain and the CHASE

There was of course one other reason that I felt re-energized after leaving the checkpoint. During the eight minutes that I was stopped there was no sign of the Villain. I desperately wanted to stay ahead of him so I decided to use the boost of energy that I was feeling and set a fast pace for as long as I could. The race was more than half done. I sure didn’t want to lose the lead that I had worked so hard to create.

Several more hours passed and I continued riding hard and feeling strong. I was having a blast riding up as many steep hills as I could and then flying down the other side. Just before dark I was caught by one of the people that I passed at the checkpoint. I figured that this would happen eventually and didn’t let it get me down.

A short time later, another person caught me. It was Josh Peterson. Josh is the only person to have started all eight Arrowhead races. Last year was his best finish ever at fourth. Josh is a very strong rider. He went by me and I asked about the others who were at the checkpoint. He said that they weren’t far behind. We chatted for a bit more and I settled in behind him, content to try to match his pace for as long as I could. I didn’t last long. Just before I let him go I yelled out for him to have a good race and I would see him at the finish. He said goodbye, went around the corner and was gone.

The hard pace set by Josh had taken a bit of a toll on me. Nausea was starting to rear its ugly head so I backed way off the pace, drank a bunch of water, ate a bunch of food and just generally tried to regroup. I was just starting to feel better when yet another biker from the checkpoint caught and passed me. It was David Cizmas. He went by me like I was standing still. “Good evening,” were his only words as he screamed past. I was a bit depressed and demoralized. I thought that my fast checkpoint time had gained me a huge advantage but now I was almost right back where I started. On the other hand, who knows who else would have caught me if I had stopped for a rest? And besides, I was still ahead of the Villain and that’s all that really mattered anyway!

Darkness came and I cycled between feeling great and feeling nauseous. Each time that I started feeling sick I would back off just a bit and soon felt better. I was definitely right on that razor thin edge.

At around 9:30pm I saw the lights of another bike stopped on the trail ahead. It was Josh. He said that he had enough and was going to bivouac for the night. He was gathering wood to make a fire and settle in for a good sleep. It was a beautiful night for a bivouac. I wished him well and carried on. Josh is experienced and I had no doubt that he would be just fine.

Not long after passing Josh, it started to rain, freezing rain. I’ve experienced rain before in winter races but never in the Arrowhead. I was really happy that I had my clear glasses with me. The ice was sticking to everything. I had to scrape off my headlight several times so that I could continue to see the trail. As this was happening I thought about Josh trying to bivouac in the freezing rain. It was no longer a nice night for a bivouac.

I also couldn’t help but wonder how this was going to play out for me. So far the rain was not slowing me down but if it got worse and then turned cold things would change. As I thought about this it almost felt like I was looking down at someone else, like my mind and body had somehow become separated. My mind was wondering how my body would cope but I wasn’t really worried about it. It was more of a curiosity, like, “OK, what’s he going to do now?” And “he” was me. The whole experience was kind of weird.

The rain eventually stopped and did not create any problems at all but it was quite interesting, fun even.

At 11:30pm I arrived at the third and final checkpoint. The checkpoint was a tepee set up beside the trail. I stopped, said hello, and said goodbye. My total stop time was about 10 seconds. It felt great to have such short stops at the checkpoints.

Just after the third checkpoint is the last major hill on the course. We call it Wakemup Hill and it is a monster. I’m always happy to be climbing it because I know that it is the last one. Today was no exception. I was sure glad to be climbing that last hill.

With only twenty miles to go and all of it flat, the only thing that I could think about was that I had to go flat out in order to stay ahead of the Villain. He couldn’t be very far behind me and he would almost certainly be moving very fast on this flat section.

I put my head down and kept up as high a pace as I could. At ten miles to go I started to see a glow up ahead. The glow seemed to be getting closer. Suddenly a bright light appeared on the trail ahead and I figured out what was going on. The glow was a bike head light and the bright light was the rider of that bike looking back at me. I was catching someone and now they knew that I was there. The glow stayed in sight but I stopped getting closer to it. The biker ahead had obviously picked up the pace when he saw me. I picked up the pace some too.

A minute or so later I saw very bright lights appear again on the trail ahead. This time they appeared to be coming toward me. I rode up to the lights and saw that it was Lindsay Gauld again. He was out for an evening cruise apparently. Did I mention that it is 2:00am at this point? I asked about the rider ahead and Lindsay told me that he was about 400 yards ahead, looked good and was highly motivated to stay ahead of me. I thanked Lindsay for the valuable information and put the hammer down. It was time to throw caution to the wind. THE CHASE WAS ON.

There are some very long straight sections on this part of the trail and each time that I came to one I could see the glow up ahead. Unfortunately, I did not seem to be gaining any. At the end of these sections I also looked back to make sure that the Villain wasn’t chasing me down, not that I could do anything about it since I was already at max. Fortunately there was no one in sight.

When the turn off for the Fortune Bay Casino came into sight I accepted that I would not catch the rider ahead. He was too strong. The consolation was that as a result of the chase it looked like I would finish the race in less than 20 hours as long as I kept the pace right to the end. The other benefit was that no one caught up to me during all this activity.

I kept up the high pace right to the end and crossed the line at 2:58am in 11^th place. My total time on the course was 19hrs and 58 minutes, over six hours faster than my previous best time. The rider ahead finished one minute ahead of me and was still standing there when I crossed the line. It was David Cizmas. How appropriate.

After the Finish

The Arrowhead was gentle on us this year. The warm weather allowed bikers to race with reckless abandon without concern about frozen water, frozen digits, or worse. I even saw some people with their hydration packs on the outside of their clothing. There is no way that you would get away with that during a cold year. While I certainly enjoyed the warm temps as much as the next person, I also found myself missing the struggles that come with the extreme cold normally associated with this race.

My Fatback bike worked perfectly. This was the first time that I used it at the Arrowhead. It won’t be the last.

David Cizmas thanked me for pushing him so hard at the end. I kind of enjoyed it too although it would have been nice to have caught him.

David Gray finished about an hour after me. I think that he had a good race but I did not get a chance to talk to him.

Josh Peterson finished at around noon. I’m guessing that he had a good sleep but I didn’t get a chance to talk to him either.

After a bit of rest I went for a huge breakfast with some of the other racers. As I looked around the table I couldn’t help but reflect on who was there:
Jay Petervary - current men’s record holder of many different events including the 1100 mile Iditarod Trail Southern Route
Tracey Petervary - current women’s record holder of both the North and South route of the 1100 mile Iditarod trail.
Eszter Horanyi - current women’s record holder of the 470 mile Colorado Trail Race and new women’s record holder of the Arrowhead 135.
David Cizmas and Todd McFadden - two local gravel road racers who decided to give snow biking a try and ended up dominating most of the field.

I was in the presence of greatness. It was a pleasure getting to know all of you.

The Villain finished several hours after me. Having the Villain behind me for most of the race sure did keep me motivated. I couldn’t or wouldn’t have done what I did without him there. So thanks Villain. I really enjoyed kicking your ass, again.