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First and last cyclocross race of 2009

Wednesday, September 16th, 2009

We’re about to leave for a month-long trip back east, which means Saturday’s cyclocross race was the only one for me this year.  Too bad because this race was not up my alley.  A very wet and super-slick course, combined with lots of tight turns, put bike-handling at a premium.  I prefer lung-busting courses.  After I crashed twice, hit one tree, and skidded out on numerous corners, I decided that not getting hurt was more important than doing well.  So I backed off the throttle and just tried to survive.  In that respect, the race was a success.  But the white-knuckle experience made me a little less sad that I will miss the rest of the series.

RESULTS - ArcticCross #1

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Posted in Anchorage, Asides, Bike | No Comments »

Was it something I said?

Wednesday, July 29th, 2009

Last week, I mentioned the new Alaska Birkie bike race.  I wrote that even though I thought it sounded like a fun race, I wouldn’t be able to do it this year.  I also thought they should change the name of the race.

Well, I just saw an announcement that this year’s race is cancelled because of low registration numbers.   So much for my attempt to promote it!  But get this - they will be changing the name of the race for next year:

We will instead focus on a 2010 race. Our website will be the source of official information for the next year. There will be changes for the 2010 event starting with the name of the race. The race will not be called Birkebeiner. Stay tuned…

I hope they come up with a better name than the suggestions I offered!

So maybe I’ll get to do the inaugural race after all.  But then again, maybe not.  Summer in Alaska is really short, and as  I’ve said before, we’ve already got a ton of fun summer races.  Not to mention the other non-racing activities to choose from  (hiking, packrafting, road trips, etc).  It’s hard for a new race to get a foothold.  The Powerline Pass running race - a favorite of mine and many mountain runners - has bounced around for seven years , trying to find a date to call home.   That’s why I think this bike race should try September, or even early October.   Or maybe the first weekend of June, as soon as the trails open to mountain bikes.

But then again, what do I know?  I tend to gravitate towards events that don’t have a ton of participation.  So maybe I’m not the best guy to offer promotional advice.

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Posted in Anchorage, Bike | 3 Comments »

Ride For Life Alaska

Tuesday, July 28th, 2009

Linda did the Ride for Life this past weekend.  Its a two-day ride from Anchorage to Seward with a campout at Summit Lake in the middle.  80 miles the first day, 40 the second.  Its a ride, not a race, and the organizers treat the riders right, with huge spreads at the aid stations and a big barbecue on Saturday night.  It’s a pretty fun deal.  For many of the participants, its the longest bike ride they’ve ever done.

The kiddo and I cheered Mommy on (via car) along the way, and met her at Summit Lake after day 1, where we had the tent and her dry clothes waiting.  We camped out and enjoyed the band, barbecue, and evening program.  On Sunday morning, Linda got up and finished off the ride into Seward.

The weather was kind of miserable - a steady headwind and frequent rain.  I had grand ideas for my own adventures each day after Linda finished her biking.  I had a hike near Summit Lake and a mountain bike ride in Seward all planned out.  But Mother Nature unleashed her nastiest in the afternoons,  so I bagged both days.   My weekend was an O-fer.

Fortunately, Linda picked up my slack.   She raised money for cancer prevention and rode 120 miles.  We all had a lot of fun, even in the wind and rain.  We talked about how it would be fun to do this ride as a family.  Too bad there is no way we’d risk pulling a Chariot on the Seward Highway.

Photo: George Stransky

Photo: George Stransky

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Posted in Bike, Kenai | No Comments »

The Alaska Birkie - A New Bike Race

Tuesday, July 21st, 2009

Last fall I wrote that, as much as I enjoy cyclocross, I would like to see more interesting ‘cross race courses.  The go-around-in-circles format is just not my thing.

So I was excited to learn about a new bike race here in Anchorage, the Great Alaska Birkebeiner Mountain Bike race.  The race starts in Chugiak and traverses 90 kilometers of pavement, dirt roads and ski trails to get to the finish at Kincaid Park.  Its a unique event that offers good tests of fitness, strategy and gear selection.  This year’s race is on Saturday August 8, 2009.

map

It sounds cool but I’ve got a few small quibbles, mainly with the name of the race.  Why is an Alaskan bike race named after a Norwegian ski race?   Is someone going to be towing the infant king in a Chariot?   Plus, they call it a mountain bike race even though its about two-thirds pavement.  But then again, I guess they don’t want some roadie trashing his $7,000 Cervelo on the Spencer Loop.

I think this race has the potential to be really fun.  It will be interesting to see if it catches on.   I could see it becoming a hit with recreational riders looking for their once-a-season big challenge, a la the Tour of Anchorage ski race.

Having said all that, I doubt I will do the race this year.   I’m not sure my Achilles is ready for four hours of racing.   Plus, August is looking like a very busy month for me as I try to squeeze an entire summer into about five weekends.  (Another quibble  - Hold the race in September!).

We are fortunate to have a ton of interesting races here in southcentral Alaska, and I am glad to see the Alaska Birkie join the ranks.  I just wish they’d call it something else.  How about ‘Crossing Anchorage?  Municycle?  Cycle to Kincaid ( Cy2K for short)?   Hmm, maybe Alaska Birkie isn’t that bad after all.

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I am not doing the Fireweed 400

Tuesday, July 7th, 2009

So maybe you’ve been checking out the Fireweed 400 bike race coming up this weekend.  Or you saw the article in yesterday’s Anchorage Daily News.  In either place, you might have seen my name listed as an entrant in the 400 mile race.  The newspaper even put me on the short list of notable racers, along with Jeff Oatley, Rocky Reifenstuhl, and Janice Tower.  Not bad for a guy who hasn’t done a road bike race in 18 years.

As you know if you’ve been reading this blog, I haven’t exactly been training for a 400 mile ride.  Even though I am on the mend, I think my maximum distance right now is about fifty miles.  Maybe 75 if I really push it.  I’ve ridden about 100 miles total this summer.

So why am I on the start list?

I set up the online registration for the Fireweed races, and I had to enter myself to test the system.  I figured that when the organizers saw my entry come in, they’d know it was a test.  But somehow my name still ended up on the website.   I mentioned it, so they could remove my name, but they were probably busy with more important matters.  So my name stayed up.

I guess I will be a “Did Not Start” on Friday.  I have been known to do some stupid things to my body, but I am going to sit this one out.  I’ve had my fill of stupid for a while.

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Posted in Alaska, Bike | 1 Comment »

Early leader in the clubhouse…

Friday, July 3rd, 2009

…for “This Year’s Adventure I Envy Most”: Nabesna to McCarthy bikepackraft

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Posted in Asides, Bike, Hike, Packraft, Wrangell - St. Elias | No Comments »

Pete’s Great Divide Race Ends Early

Wednesday, July 1st, 2009

I’ve been following the two Continental Divide mountain bike races that are currently taking place in the Rocky Mountains between the Canadian and Mexican border.  The races  (I’m not going to get into why there are two separate races, its a rat’s nest) caught my attention because a few Iditarod Trail Invitational racers  (Pete Basinger, Jay & Tracey Petervary, Jill Homer) were competing.  Jay & Tracey just finished the race on a tandem, which is just insane.  Pete wasn’t so lucky.

About a year ago at this time, Pete basically saved a girl’s life after her  now-infamous bear attack in Anchorage.  This year, Pete was on the other end of a nasty mountain bike accident.  He was descending a pass in southern Colorado when he was hit by a truck towing a horse trailer.  Luckly, it sounds like he escaped with only a broken clavicle.  That’s good news, but  a broken clavicle is still a bummer unless you’ve got Lance Armstrong’s medical team.

Before the crash, Pete was absolutely crushing it in BOTH divide races.   In typical Pete fashion, one 2,500 mile race wasn’t enough, so he worked some logistical magic in order to do both at the same time.   He started in Banff (the start of the Tour Divide race) by himself and then managed to make it to the Montana border in time to offically start the Great Divide Race as well.    He was possibly setting course records along the way, but it was hard to tell because he was in stealth mode.   It took days before people even figured out he was on the course.  It was a really cool feat and was the most interesting story line of this year’s race.  It’s a shame he didn’t get to finish it off.

Pete is a remarkable athlete and a great guy.  I feel very lucky that got to ski near him for this year’s Iditarod Invitational.  Get well soon, Pete!

AKSpokes.com forum
Jill’s report from the scene

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Posted in Bike, Colorado | No Comments »

Adventures in Commuting, part 3

Friday, June 19th, 2009

My wife and I both wish we could commute to work by bike everyday.  But because of our daycare arrangement and that pesky “You must work 8 hours a day” rule, it simply isn’t possible.

So instead we’ve worked out a complicated compromise.  I bike to work early in the morning.  She drives in later after dropping the kiddo off at daycare.  In the afternoon, I bike over to her office and get the car.  I go pick up the kiddo, and she bikes home later. So we each get to bike one way.  It works out pretty well, except for one hitch: there is no good route to get from my office to her office on a bike.  Its only about a mile, but I have to take my life into my hands and cross the worst of midtown traffic.

I am constantly looking for a new route that is safer, more scenic, or at least shorter.   This past winter I heard about a new path being built in a lesser-known park in midtown.  Could this be a missing link I needed?  Earlier this week I decided to give it a try.  I found the park easy enough, but I couldn’t find any trails.  So I started busting through the tall grass, carying my bike.

Midtown Anchorage - Anyone know where this is?

Midtown Anchorage - Anyone know where this is?

The bad news was that in a matter of minutes, I was up to calves in muck and it was getting deeper.  The good news was at least this covered up my fashion faux-pas of wearing argyle dress socks with cycling shoes.  Turn around?   Are you kidding?  I was not about to accept defeat from a tiny park in midtown.  I pushed on.

I felt bad that I was probably disturbing the wetland habitat, but I have to admit that I was loving it.  The best summer adventures usually involve some degree of bushwhacking or mud-slogging, but since I’ve been injured I’ve been missing out on all that fun.  I desperately needed up up my slog quotient.

It only took a few minutes to cross the bog and I found the trail (still a work in progress) on the other side.   I didn’t find a magical corridor through midtown, but I did find a nice little slice of the outdoors hidden in the middle of the city.  I like living in a pace where my commute from work can turn into a mud-filled adventure.  And besides, its not really summer in Alaska until you’ve bushwhacked through a mud bog.

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Posted in Anchorage, Bike | No Comments »

Packrafting Montana Creek

Monday, June 1st, 2009

One way that I have consoled myself during my healing process has been to think about packrafting. Of all my favorite activities, its the only one I figured I could do while injured. Well, maybe not the “packing” part, but definitely the “rafting” part. I’ve been scouting road-accessible floats that don’t require any hiking. And now that I am starting to bike again, that will open up a few more options. With my leg on the mend, I am ready to jump into the boat again.

Linda’s parents are currently visiting us for two weeks. We took them to a cabin on Benka Lake near Talkeetna this past weekend. One of the things we give up by living in Alaska is having grandparents (aka free babysitters) nearby. So when they come to visit, we generally exploit them so that Linda and I can have some play time, sans toddler. This time, Linda and I were able to sneak away during the little one’s nap for a short packraft/bike ride loop near the cabin.

Linda on Montana Creek

Linda on Montana Creek

We put in on Montana Creek at the Yoder Road bridge and floated eight miles down to the Parks Highway. It was a decent float at the 6.13 foot water level, but lots of strainers and sweepers in the river kept it from being truly fun rafting. Without the wood, it would be a leisurely class I-II float. As is, the obstacles make it a solid class II that requires attention to each bend in the stream. There were about 5 places we had to get out and bushwhack around trees that had fallen across the entire creek. It was similar to the lower part of Willow Creek just before the Parks Highway. The photo is from one of the rare sections without any strainers when I had enough time to get out the camera.

The most excitement came when we spooked a mother moose with calf. She darted across the creek in front of us and up onto the opposite bank. Baby followed, but couldn’t lift himself out of the water. As baby struggled with front legs on the bank, hind legs in the 3-foot deep water, momma moose charged towards me as I tried to float by. When I became convinced she was about to jump into the water and stomp on me, I bailed onto a gravel bar on the opposite bank and ran back upstream. Momma continued to parallel me, but thankfully she stayed on her side of the creek. Baby eventually got up onto the bank after a couple minutes of trying, and they both quickly disappeared into the woods.

When we reached the Park Highway, we grabbed our previously-stashed bikes and rode 8 miles back up to the cabin off Yoder Road. It was a fun little nap-time outing. A perfect warm-up run, since we hadn’t been in our boats since last summer. Two hours of rafting, half an hour of biking.

I was glad to finally be doing an activity where I didn’t need to worry about my leg. I wore my leg brace so I’d be prepared for those times when I needed to jump out of the boat, and it was fine the whole time.

Even better, I was glad to be able to have an outing with Linda. Its a rare treat when we get to packraft together these days. Biking and hiking are easy to do with a two-year old. Packrafting, not so much - he really hates it when I bungee-cord him to the bow.

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Posted in Bike, Packraft, Susitna Valley | No Comments »

2009 Iditarod Trail Invitational Scrapbook

Friday, March 20th, 2009

It seemed like there was a lot more awareness of the Iditarod Trail Invitational this year. I’ve followed the race for the past few years and I don’t remember seeing nearly as many newspaper articles as there were this year. I wanted to make sure I had a copy of this stuff for future reference. So here is my scrapbook of this year’s race.

Race News and Discussion

ITI website Latest News page

ITI website Results page

ITI website participant list

MTBR Discussion Forum

ITI message board comments for me: Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3

Photos and Video

ITI Photos from the Start

Tony start photos

Fred start photos

ITI Photos from the finish

Robert May photos from start

Aidan Harding photos

YouTube video of Bill Merchant’s pass ordeal

Racer Reports

Jay & Tracey P: Tidbits | Full Report

Phil Hofstetter: Recap 1 | Recap 2 | Recap 3 | Tim’s Nome finish

Lou Kobin: Recap 1 | Recap 2 | Recap 3 Lou has some of the best ‘in-race’ photos I’ve seen

Yair Kellner: Rumors of my demise…

Geoff Roes: Interview with Jeff Oatley

Jill Homer: All of her February and March posts

Press

Athletes max out Trail Invitational field
Anchorage Daily News 01/03/09 23:58:40
Considering the Alaska Trail Invitational, the 350-mile race from Knik to McGrath along the Iditarod Trail that begins March 1? Forget it. Fifty hardy bikers, runners and skiers from Alaska, the Lower 48 and overseas have already filled out the 50-racer field. And what a loaded field it is.

Iditarod Trail Invitational Ready To Roll
Anchorage Daily News 01/19/09 22:53:01
While the 1,100-mile Iditarod Trail Invitational slog to Nome which begins March 1, a week before the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race,remains the domain of just a few endurance studs, the shorter 350-mile race to McGrath features a stellar field littered with former champs.

The loneliness of the long-distance winter race
Anchorage Daily News 02/23/09 21:32:10
The hardest race to run is the one waged in your mind, and it is for this reason the Iditarod Trail Invitational is the hardest race in the world. Forget the distance of hundreds of miles, the brutal Alaska winds, the subzero cold, the bad trail, and the danger of avalanche and overflow. Those are the smallest of the challenges to be met.

Basinger swaps bike for skis in race to Nome
Anchorage Daily News February 27th, 2009 12:21 AM
The rare endurance animals who finish the Iditarod Trail Invitational to McGrath or Nome can count themselves among the toughest bikers, skiers or runners in the world. And at least one aims to show he’s pretty flexible too. Anchorage bicyclist extraordinaire Peter Basinger, who owns the Invitational record to McGrath — a stunning 3 days, 5 hours, 40 minutes — will slip out of the pedals and strap on the skis Sunday when Alaska’s longest human- powered race begins at 2 p.m. on Knik Lake.

Oatley plows through snow for race lead
Anchorage Daily News 03/02/09 22:34:19
Picking his way through deep snow, Fairbanks cyclist Jeff Oatley is dominating the field in the early stages of the Iditarod Trail Invitational.

Oatley rolling rapidly in Iditarod Invitational
Anchorage Daily News 03/03/09 23:01:35
Fairbanks bicyclist Jeff Oatley extended his ridiculous lead in the Iditarod Trail Invitational to more than 11 hours on Tuesday as he headed into the treacherous Dalzell Gorge reported to be blanketed with deep snow.

Iditarod Trail missing under deep snow
Anchorage Daily News 03/04/09 22:10:14
Kathi Merchant with the Iditarod Trail Invitational reported heavy snow falling in McGrath on the north side of the Alaska Range late Wednesday afternoon. Merchant was reached by telephone as she waited to greet mountain bikers, skiers and runners coming north on the historic Iditarod route from Knik. She was starting to get a little worried.

Storm traps wilderness racers on Iditarod Trail
Anchorage Daily News 03/05/09 11:03:48
Along the Iditarod Trail, a race was on today to reach mountain bikers, skiers and runners trapped by snows high in the Alaska Range as the notorious Rainy Pass winds began to blow. Kathi Merchant with the Iditarod Trail Invitational said none of the 20 or so people on the trail appeared to be in imminent danger, but they were all stuck. The invitational, in cooperation with the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, was trying to get to them to provide a trail over the pass and down to a one-room log cabin on the Tatina River at Rohn. Jeff Oatley from Fairbanks, a mountain biker who led the race to Rainy Pass Lodge on Puntilla Lake near the south end of the pass, left that checkpoint at 3 a.m. Tuesday. By this morning, he’d been on the trail more than 48 hours.

Wilderness racer gets through Rainy Pass
Anchorage Daily News 03/05/09 21:39:25
An effort to reach mountain bikers, skiers and runners trapped by deep snow along the Iditarod Trail high in the Alaska Range appeared to have succeeded Thursday, but the only one known for sure to be through treacherous Rainy Pass was a hedge-fund trader from the Boston area.

Wilderness race leaders power through pass
Anchorage Daily News 03/06/09 11:24:21
The storm that stranded racers in the Iditarod Trail Invitational high in the Alaska Range on Thursday was easing today, but the race lead that Fairbanks cyclist Jeff Oatley sweated so hard to obtain in the 350-mile, human-powered wilderness epic appeared gone, swallowed up by the deep snow that stalled the race.

Iditarod Trail Invitational cyclist has been missing since Tuesday
Anchorage Daily News 03/07/09 00:02:06
Nineteen competitors in the 350-mile Iditarod Trail Invitational race from Knik to McGrath were on the trail out of Rohn on the north side of the Alaska Range on Friday afternoon, but one competitor was notably missing. Australian cyclist Yair Kellner hasn’t been seen by anyone since he left the community of Skwentna, about 100 miles north of Anchorage, at 1 a.m. Tuesday. He is now almost 100 miles behind the tail-end Invitational walkers and concern for his welfare is growing.

Missing endurance racer rescued
Anchorage Daily News 03/08/09 22:36:32
After spending a couple days shivering in his sleeping bag and building snow caves to block the chilling wind, Australian Yair Kellner was rescued near the historic Iditarod Trail on Saturday morning.

Oatley wins ’short’ Iditarod Invitational race
Anchorage Daily News 03/10/09 21:57:50
Fairbanks cyclist fastest to Mcgrath; 600 miles more for some. Oatley, who led by as much as 11 hours in the first portion of the race, persevered to win in five days, 19 hours and 34 minutes despite being bogged down for days by winter storms that all but obliterated the Iditarod Trail between Rainy Pass and Rohn.

From a racer’s perspective
Jill Homer, Juneau Empire Friday, March 13, 2009
A rookie no more, Juneau biker felt ready for all 350 miles of the 2009 Iditarod Trail Invitational. “When I finally worked the boot open, my foot wouldn’t budge. As I worked my wet sock down and wiggled and yanked my foot, nothing happened. My socks were frozen to the inside of my boot. And my foot, I realized with sinking dread, was frozen to the inside of my socks.”

Invitational cyclist rescued
Anchorage Daily News 03/14/09 03:21:23
Cyclist Billy Koitzsch was limping along the most desolate stretch of the Iditraod Trail in one of the most desolate corners of Alaska on Thursday when rescue arrived in the guise of a film crew on a snowmachine.

No cause for alarm on Iditarod Invitational
Anchorage Daily News March 30th, 2009 08:39 PM
As nasty and perilous as portions of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race were this year, consider this: The Iditarod Trail Invitational was far worse. “For racers who feel the world needs to know where they are in real time, there are other races out there for them,” said Invitational co-director Bill Merchant, who plans to ban satellite signalling and tracking devices from the race next year because of problems they caused this year. The devices have uneven performance in Alaska, he said, and can cause all sorts of confusion when people use devices like the SPOT personal tracker to signal for help only to have the signal subsequently blink in and out.

Snow machine: Jeff Oatley’s Rig for the Iditarod Trail Invitational

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Posted in Alaska, Bike, Ski | No Comments »

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