The last month has been strange. Since finishing the Tour Divide it's been a mix of extreme sloth, occasional unstructured exercise and long jaunts in the mountains. Plenty of time to think, too much time to eat. I'm beginning to itch for some structured training again. Rolling out with the Colorado Trail racers yesterday morning probably pushed me over the edge.Today I registered for the 2010 Arrowhead 135, a large part due to the influence of my "friends"... ahem Jill, Doug, DaveB, Eric, Pete, Jeff, JayP and T-race. Of course I'd by lying if Mike's beautiful 2009 race report hasn't also been an influence. I've wanted to race in the snow for a few years and the awesome Leadville winter series has kept me in check. However the passion has only grown despite my focus and funds being allocated elsewhere. Winter is one of the most beautiful seasons and I really do enjoy it's harshness. I decided this was finally the year to get serious. Last week I sold my too small 18" Pugs and there is a new 20" Pugsley on the way. While I would love a Fatback, it's just not financially in the cards. Luckily the new grey Pugs is quite attractive, much better than purple. I don't have the money for a wheelset yet but I do have a brand new 20" Surly Karate Monkey frameset in red that's for sale if anyone out there is interested? Luckily or unluckily, depending on your viewpoint, I'll also have some actual earned income coming in the somewhat near future.
So now I'm committed to at least racing the Arrowhead. I'm a little nervous and a lot excited. There are critical things to figure out, number one being my footwear situation. But nothing forces creativity like necessity and I think I'm up for the challenge. Is it too early in August to say...let it snow?
15 comments:
The snow won't be your challenge up there - it'll be the cold, cold, COLD! Whenever we were freezing our asses off when we lived in MN, we'd say, "Well, at least we don't live up in Duluth or International Falls or something..." :-) It'll be hard to train for that on the Front Range, as it doesn't really get cold here. Maybe you should move out to Gunnison for the winter...
I love following that race, though, and since Doug isn't doing it again, I'm glad to see someone else I "know" doing it so I have a horse to root for. Good luck!
Yep I'll be having to make some training trips for the cold for sure. The coldest I've seen here is -16F or so. However WY should have what I need :)
And Doug might be doing it this year too!
The coldest I've ever seen was -76.
there is a reason I moved from Northern Iowa to CO....so I didn't have to ride in the snow and cold. Northern MN is an awesome place....and very cold in the winter. Enjoy!
Awesome. I've been doing some thinking about the Arrowhead, too, although the travel is way too far for me. I'm thinking seriously about signing up for the Susitna 100, and the thought of training for that makes me excited.
I'm worried about figuring out footwear, too. Ever since the frostbite, I'm pretty much back to square one in knowing what works for me. Lucky for me, the Susitna Valley in AK isn't all that likely to be nearly as cold as International Falls, MN.
Good luck in your training and building up a shiny new Pugsley. And, if you're feeling totally crazy and manage to save some of that income, give the Su100 a try! I think it's a full 10 days after the Arrowhead.
The Su100 would be fun. It's possible but we'll see. I really want to get up to AK and the Arrowhead is my shakedown. What I do when I get up there this year is still a big question mark.
10 days could be enough recovery...it will depend on how long the Arrowhead takes this year!
Very Cool. I've been following Jill's adventures, reading reports from Mike and Charlie, also influenced me and I sent in my regestration form this morning. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.
"Doug isn't doing it again"....I wouldn't be so sure. I've got the bug. Plus, with two new winter ultras in the area, I can't stop thinking about it. I may have to break the news to my wife that I'll be at the start line of the 2010 AH135.
Chris, I'm looking forward to following your winter biking adventures.
Stoked to be watching from warm Hurricane or Colorado...
You are a man in continual search of a challenge. Or is it the challenge that searches for you. Good luck amigo!
enjoy your digits while you still have them!
Whoa, very cool (no pun intended). I've really enjoyed following racer reports from Arrowhead. Now I've got another to follow!
Good luck with the prep.
Great to hear you are coming this year! We need someone new to challenge the old fast guys :)
nice blog on travel places, it gives brief information on all the places, it is helpful those who want to planning to see the travel places.
Decisions, decisions. The AH135 is appealing to me but also scares me a bit because of the cold. And I like riding in the cold! -35F is way different than 0F which I have trained in a quite a bit. Let's just say that I have saved the Google driving map from Victor to Intl Falls.
Post a Comment