As is normally the case, the race starts by descending a
large hill from the ski resort. It is to
be a neutral paced roll-out and passing the lead vehicle is grounds for disqualification. The pace last year was a painful 10 mph. Things were much different this year. I was still coasting and cautiously watching
for signs of trouble ahead, but the pace was much faster. At one point I summoned the courage and glanced
down to see I was traveling 43.4 mph.
Once at the bottom of the hill and on flat highway 61, the pace returned
to a respectable 24 mph.
After roughly 2.5 miles on level highway 61, we turned
north and began the long climb on highway 4.
This climb is not long by mountain standards, but is long for the Midwest. It took me 16 minutes to climb the 3 miles to
the top (average speed of 11.25 mph) with elevation gain of 775 feet. At the top, there are a couple rolling hills
before you say good-bye to the hard surface and start getting dirty.
I arrived at the first aid station roughly 10 minutes
ahead of my 2014 time and was feeling good about my pace and my legs were not
blown yet. The course contains a 17.8
mile figure eight loop which is traveled twice.
There are two sections of wide mowed rough trail covering approximately
10 miles of each loop in total. There is
also a short section of very overgrown double track. The rest of the loop is gravel. Jenni was to meet me on this loop at the
corner where the course turns back onto gravel by Devil Track Lake. I was feeling good and still ahead of my 2014
pace each time I passed an aid station or Jen.
The last aid station on the figure eight loop is aid
station 3 at mile 59.3. I was riding in
a pace line and feeling strong. In the
past, the 10 mile section from aid station 3 to aid station 4 gets long, I have
tended to lack focus and have fallen off pace.
This year I was determined to stay with the group and maintain a
reasonable pace to aid station 4 (mile 69.6).
I was still with the group at aid station 4, but was not feeling nearly
as strong. I refilled my bottle and
grabbed a couple Fig Newtons to eat. As
I was pulling away I noticed there was a bike repair stand, pump and a couple
individuals who looked like they would help racers get their bikes through
whatever mechanical they may be experiencing.
Within a mile after leaving aid station 4 I noticed something was apparently
stuck to the tread of my front tire. I
could see it every time it rotated around.
I ran through a list of possibilities for the apparent issue and came up
with: a leaf, a gel wrapper, an alien finger, and on and on… Stopping to investigate would not allow me to
continue on with the pace group. I also
reasoned, there would be very little I could do about the issue other than
observe. I decided to keep riding as
long as I could. I watched the issue and
observed it was growing with each mile.
Eventually I heard the pop of a tire and started to prepare to get
myself safely stopped with a flat front tire.
I began watching the point where the tire contacted the road and, to my
utter surprise the tire was not losing air.
It should not as my mountain bike utilizes tubeless tires with
sealant. I have survived thorn type
punctures which have sealed up, but normally any puncture larger than ¼ inch
will not seal with sealant. I continued
riding and watching the front tire carefully, but nothing ever became of the
issue.
I was starting to fade and made the conscious decision to
let the group go. I dangled for a while,
but I did not have the legs to stay with them.
By the time I reached the 5th aid station at mile 80 I was
feeling the effects of the faster pace.
I still was ahead of my 2014 time, but I could tell I was slowing. I was also riding by myself at this point
which is not ideal because it helps to have someone to draft with and to help
maintain a steady pace. I was looking
for a magic elixir, one which would rejuvenate my tired muscles and get me the
remaining 19 miles. I was desperate, so
I guzzled down about ½ of a Coke. The
sugar and caffeine were sure to give me some turbo power, or simply get me to
the finish.
I left the aid station all by myself. As I turned onto the Sawbill Trail (very wide
and hard packed gravel road) I could see another rider ½ mile ahead. I was surprised at how quickly I caught and
passed this rider. He must have been
more tired than me. In another couple
miles I caught and passed another rider.
At about 15 miles to go I sucked down a gel for another sugar fix to get
me to the finish. Before long, the first
rider I passed was actually on my wheel.
He seemed slightly stronger than me, so I allowed him to pull me. In about another 5 miles the second rider I
passed joined our group to make three.
It was not long until we made the turn onto the 2 miles of gravel which
lead to the single-track of Lutsen.
At this point my legs were tired. They had a feeling where, if I did not push
above a certain ceiling I was fine and could ride for a long time at this pace. However, if I pushed them above the ceiling for
very long they would start to feel like a cramp was inevitable. I was flirting with the ceiling on every
hill. I could push up the hill, but I
was in need of a recovery period to recharge my tired legs after cresting each
hill. I was very deliberate and careful to
not allow my new drafting friends to get a gap I could not bridge. At this point in the day it was starting to
feel hot. I also noticed some ugly
looking clouds which would cool things off, but make the single-track very slippery.
There is an aid station at mile 93 which I normally blow
through thinking I can ride 6 miles without water if necessary. I was on the edge flirting with cramps, and
wanted to make sure I had enough water to allow me to drink freely (not conserve)
to the end. I made a quick stop to fill
my bottle at least ½ full. I knew there
was some new single-track trail and was wishing I had pre-ridden this section
so I would know when to hit the gas and when to conserve.
In the last few miles I passed a guy who was nursing a
very low tire. I said something to him
and he told me he had several gel packages in the tire as a boot. I wished him luck and pushed on. I think I was passed by 3 racers but I was
able to pass a couple (OK, one had a low tire, but a pass is a pass). We finally descended a hill and crossed the
stream. I knew we were at the low point
of the last ½ mile to the finish. My
legs were very tired and crampy, but I knew I would need to push hard for only a
few more minutes. There were suddenly
several other racers around me on the fire road. I also saw a guy trying to finish the race on
a cyclo-cross bike. He was walking the
steep sections. I was determined to ride,
out of pride and, because I knew riding was the fastest way to the top. There were many people cheering and the
adrenaline started pumping. In the last
100 yards I spotted a fat bike and decided I needed to pass it before the
finish (not sure why my brain decided this was necessary). I gave one last huge effort and was able to
get to the finish before the fat bike. I
was exhausted and could hardly walk away from the finish line. Jen quickly found me and helped me stagger to
a place to sit down. I drank a couple waters
and ate some fresh fruit. I had planned
to drink a packet of recovery drink but was so tired I forgot all about it.
I am disappointed to finish with a slower time than in
2014. However, the course was a few
miles longer, so my average speed was faster than in 2014. In retrospect, I am happy with my effort, but
am already planning what I can do to be faster in 2016. For us old guys, getting faster every year is
not easy. Speaking of old guys, the
winner this year was Steve Tilford. He
is slightly older than me and he is a legend in the bike racing world. You can read his blog here: http://stevetilford.com/
He finished the race in 5:36:44 for a 17.64 mph average. He has my respect, I’m not worthy.
I have watched this race grow and mature since my first
race in 2012. I was not impressed with
the organization of the first race, but Lifetime has fixed their issues and is
offering a well-organized event. There
are enough competitors to make it challenging, but not so many to make the start
crazy or trail passing difficult. The
course is mostly gravel road or fire road.
There is enough grassy trail and a bit of single-track to make it a
mountain bike race. I plan to go back
next year to contest it on hopefully dry trails.
Thanks for reading,
Brad
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| Crossing the finish line. |
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| Finish line on Friday. |
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| This is one sample of the beauty of the North Shore area. |
