Birkie

An average snow year. And the best conditions in ten years. I’ll take it! For the first time in a long time we’re not worrying about the Birkie being postponed, cancelled, shortened, icy or crappy.

I decided to try classic this year, my first classic Birkie since the advent of skating in the early ‘80s. They put in some sweet new trails dedicated to classic for the first 15k. So we were off on our own, four tracks wide, and out of the crush of skaters until the third food stop. Just gorgeous. Great move.

Bluebird day. Good snowpack. Excellent grooming. Wax worked well, I’d say 85% perfect. Gave up a little glide in the early going in order to make sure I had enough kick through the hills.

Got dropped by wave one, I started with one too many layers and stopped to take it off. 10k out and I was alone. On the Birkie trail. In the midst of the race. The tail end of wave one gone and the very front of wave two caught me within the next kilometer. I wanted to finish in decent shape, enjoy myself, no go out too fast. So, it’s all cool.

About 2/3’s through, got passed by the Andersson twins from Sweden. Anita and Maria. Quite-a-pair. Same skis, same wax, same suits, same warmups. Saw them at the start and they seemed to be arguing, or maybe that’s the way all us Nordics sound. They passed me midway, perfectly in sync, inches between them. Their skis tapping out the rhythm. Bap. Bap. Bap. Bap. They took their age class, classic 45-49. First and second. One second apart. And 48 minutes ahead of third place.

About the last K who jumps back into the track but those two guys from the tail of wave one! I like chasing rabbits and these guys were perfect. Someone from my wave that I can pass, a guaranteed move up two spots. I pushed and pushed, closed inch by inch. For a block down Main Street I just started hammering, furiously double-poling. Closing, closing. But after 52k, my arms started locking up, both arms – cramp city. I got around a few, missed these guys by 8 seconds. Fun! 4 hours 3 minutes, #223 out of 982.

Great to see all the familiar faces; Liz, Greg, Carrie, Ralph, Arn, Kathy, Jerry, Jeff, Mikey, Janeen,… Check out my buddy Greg Fangel’s wooden ski web site at woodenskis.com.

Saw these guys early in the race. In honor of the Vikings that carried Prince Hakon over the mountains to safety and started this whole mess. Wave one folks I did beat. But in a real knock-down…go with the big guy.

Only in MN

Well then, YOU tell me where else. Art Shanties, modeled after ice shanties used by fishermen. And indeed some of these are inhabited by fishers and limnologists. But also by knitters and musicians, DJs and cyclists, actors and curators.

Awesome. This year, finally thick ice. The shanties are a decent poke out there and not all huddled close to shore as in years past. Lovin’ it.

Best is the mobile shanty. No, not the one where you make mobiles; though it’s nice too. The one you pedal and drive! A fine, communal, pedal-powered effort. Shanty of Misfit Toys is a return and hard not to love. Ice museum shows wonderful creativity. Karoke, plane wreck, post office, radio station, shanties as robots or pinhole cameras. What’s not to like? One weekend left people.

Do itttt.

Says it all

Did-Not-Make-It-To-State-Skate-Race contestant (2/14/2008).
Courtesy skinnyski.com.

Vasa

On the drive up, watching the bank thermometers drop from -10 to -18. And the flags standing out straight in the wind. Wind chill warnings till noon, about when we’d finish. I admit I was thinking, yes hoping, they’d cancel the Mora Vasaloppet. They can’t have a race in this crap.

We got there and it was on. Shortened from 42 to 35k (22 miles) and everyone on the same course for safety. Very nice to have Barb along for support crew. That really helped make it a pleasant experience. Snow was s-l-o-w and made even 35k a real slog.

Stayed toasty enough and saw very few issues along the way. I dressed well, balaclava-hat-neckwarmer-lobster mitts-softshell top and bottom. Doesn’t breathe great but it’ll keep the wind off. And no glasses as they’ll fog up permanently as soon as they see a warm breath.

I could not catch my last skier at the end. Had been steadily closing and holding some in reserve for a killer sprint down Main Street. Well, he had some in the tank too. We hit the corner and he was off like a shot. No chance.

As soon as I stopped, BAM. I was sweat-soaked and pulling in that frigid air like a sponge. Yikes! Downed some blueberry soup and headed inside.

Other accounts: http://www.rideandglide.org/stories_mora_2008.htm

Luminary Loppet

We helped make the luminaries, so why not check out the results. Very nice and very popular. With all those folks out bustling along the ice, it felt like Oslo or Amsterdam. Our second lap was a little quieter and even better. It’s a good event and becoming a money-maker for the City of Lakes Loppet.

Stupor Bowl XI

Ah, Super Bowl weekend. What else to do but dust off the fixie and ride Stuporbowl XI!

Perfect weather, about 25 degrees (and 30 degrees warmer than last year’s race). Roads are mostly clear. Rendezvous at One-on-One. Ahem…Rendezvous at One-on-One. Jim? Kay? That’s the price I MUST PAY for not carrying a cell phone. I’ve combed through the entire crowd, they are not here. Nothing to do but make some friends and have some fun.

Great turnout. Gino’s more jazzed than I’ve seen him. Having a great time snapping photos.

In the “I must be getting old” file, chat up a gal riding an old Raleigh. The same Raleigh I got as a first real road bike. Probably back in aught-seventy-two or so. Same damn Raleigh Super Course. Even the same friggin’ color – it’s “coffee brown” Miss. I toured WI in mine and finally wrecked it through a pothole in ’78. Good to see at least one has been reincarnated and is getting regular exercise.

Add to the file, what the hell’s up with this map. It’s been reduced to the point of illegibility, at least without my reading glasses. Which I am trying to get in the habit of taking with me everywhere, but I haven’t yet learned that trick. If I stare at it long enough and piece together the main roads, I can figure out where things are. A projected route is formulated.

Gino shows faith in the crumbling MN infrastructure, our Le Mans start goes from under the Hennepin Avenue bridge. Riders scatter like lost lemmings. 100 go north, 100 go south, 100 shoulder their bikes and run up the stairs. The scene on the bridge is streams of determined riders going in every opposite direction. Traffic laws, we don’t need no stinkin’ traffic laws.

I’ve opted to get the cluster of stops in Nordeast first. A good peloton barrel’s into Psycho Suzie’s en masse. The bouncer at the door counts me as number 52. Yikes. A quick stamp and back south to Grumpy’s, then Jimmy’s, then Behind Bars bikes.

I kick myself on our extended run to Saint Paul for having a 15 on back. I’m spinning like a hamster and still getting gapped. They put a stop on the top of Witches Tower Hill. A nice climb anyway, with my smaller gear. The checkpoint is squirreled away through the gate on the backside of the tower. Glad to not be the first up here and have to figure that one out!

Got some good props toward the end for having so many stamps. “You’re winning, go, go, go”. Or maybe it was just mockery. I had decided to skip drinking and basically have a fun training race. Scheduled a dinner and night ski for Barb’s birthday. So, after two hours of hammerfest I turned for home. 13 of 17 checkpoints completed, and I shoulda-coulda-woulda got two more I just rolled past in a haze. We’ll come again next year loaded for bear. BAM!