Cold Bear

With a -4 air temp, -25 windchills and zero sleep from another night of screaming baby boy, it was a perfect day to race. Got to Hillside just in time to register and get the pre-race 411. I signed up for the advanced class which meant 2-laps. There were 3 of us, everyone else was on Pugsley's or doing sport (1-lap).

The pirate flag dropped and we made our way to the singletrack from the parking lot. As soon as I hit the trail I knew it was going to be brutal. I rode Leb yesterday and it was super packed down and very easy to ride. No such luck today -- very loose, deep snow the whole way. I stopped about 2 minutes in and let out as much air from my tires as I could. Even with studs it didn't do much good. Riding the singlespeed (32x16) wasn't the best idea either. So, I did a LOT of walking. Pretty much any incline meant hopping off and hoofing it.

Did I mention it was -4? About a quarter of the way through Lap 1 my fingers were stinging from the cold. I sat for a minute and thought about calling it a day. My Camelback was frozen solid, my fingers were frozen solid and this had turned into a long walk that was briefly interrupted by occasional bursts of biking. The part of my brain responsible for reasoning was frozen, so I continued the slog. My hands suddenly felt better, and now I was roasting. I finally made it to the pay lot and Section 1, meaning I was halfway back to the start/finish. Lots more hike-a-bike, then into Section 2, which I was able to ride most of. If the whole race had been like this it wouldn't have been so bad. I got to the lap/exit sign and looked at my watch. What would be about a 40 minute lap in the summer was today about an hour and 45 minutes. I took the exit and downgraded to sport (which was an option presented in the pre-race meeting). The reasoning part of brain must have thawed, because I did not have the energy, desire or need for a 4-hour day on the bike (well, mostly on my feet). Saw one of the other advanced riders I started with throw in the towel after attempting a second lap.

Next time I need better gearing on my singlespeed or a geared bike. Otherwise, it's not a lot of fun. Think I finished 5th or something like that, but my overall concern was just to finish one lap, and keep all my fingers and toes. Managed that much.