2019 Little Su 50k

Wow what a finish!

Congrats to Jason Lamoreaux for winning the 50k. Nice job rebounding from the late ride running sprints!

A couple weeks ago I strained a muscle in my hamstring and decided to see how it was feeling. I started with the lead pack, stayed with the guys on the hills and had some strong pulls on the front. I would say that it's pretty much back to operating strength.

The race was pretty calm through the first 20+ miles. I told myself that I would ride the first 10 miles with the lead pack and re-evaluate how I felt and whether or not I should back off the effort or continue to race. I found I was not suffering on the hills to keep the wheels of Oliver Sternicki, Eric Flanders and Jason so I motored on. We were pretty much on our own until James Stull covered the gap after getting hung up in traffic at the start. Then, Mike Crawford covered 2 or so minutes after the water stop and caught the pack by the power line. Nice job guys!!!

After turning off the power line, I could tell the pace was starting to pick back up. Eric, Jason, Oliver and I were getting strong pulls at the front. No doubt because we didn't have to cross the gap that Mike and James did.

Things got a little interesting after the Gnomes. A few of us developed a little gap which was perfect. I think we knew that it was going to be really difficult to pass someone at this point because the snow was starting to soften the trail conditions.

I was pretty confident in my position and my choice of tires and wheels. I have been using my 4.8" Husker Du's and 100mm HED rims with Hadley hubs for a good part of the year. They roll really well and have lots of air volume.

Jason, Eric and I started to get a little gap and I was thinking that we were going to get a strong pace going. We approached the railroad crossing and to our surprise we dropped down the other side and found ourselves on the wrong trail! Eric, Jason and I ran through knee deep snow back on course and did a cyclocross remount and started to hammer! I felt really good that I could hang with Jason's wheel after that. We quickly caught back up to James, Oliver and Mike.

Bummer, we lost our positioning in the pack. Instead of 1st-3rd we were now 4th-6th. This was going to be challenging. :-P The good part was that the pack had slowed down a bit allowing us to recover a little bit from catching back up.

Now here comes the fun part! Within a mile or so of the finish we caught one of the dog teams taking some visitors from Happy Trail Kennels! That never happens! The pack basically piled up behind the sled. I heard some folks talking back and forth with the musher and all the sudden the team stopped right in the trail! It was a mad house. All the sudden our $$$$ fat bikes were just getting pushed through knee deep snow again and were were in an all out sprint to get around the musher and his team.

This really broke us up this time. Oliver went to the right and was able to re-mount quickly, Jason and I made good time through the snow and remounted quickly. James was right behind me, then Eric and Mike.

James is really good at putting in accelerations and recovering quickly and that is something I'm not trained as well in. I tried as hard as I could to cover the small gap to Jason and Oliver but just couldn't cover it the whole way. I pulled over because I knew James could give those guys a go and I just settled in for a fourth place finish.

In the end, it was Jason, Oliver, James, myself, Eric and then Mike. Boy what a finish! I had a blast and it really pumped up my confidence going into Iditarod Trail Invitational next week.

Little Su 50k

If you haven't started looking at the weather on the Iditarod Trail, now might be a good time. Haha

Iditarod Trail Invitational

A couple teammates of mine are racing the Iditasport, Tim Kirk is going to McGrath and Andrew Cunningham is riding his bike to Shell Lake and back. See their trackers here.

Iditasport Live Tracking

This past weekend, one of the best 100 mile races was put on by a great group of folks. The Susitna 100 is such a fun event (sadly I haven't raced the 100 mile distance the past two years with it being a week before the Iditarod Trail Invitational.)

Susitna 100 start. Front row starting with Megan Chelf on the left, Laura (1st place lady,) Dusty, Josh (1st Place) David (3rd Place) and Tim (2nd Place.) Photo Credit Andy Romang

I participated in the Little Su 50k which races on the 100 mile course with exception of a couple miles to close the loop. I enjoyed riding with my good friend and awesome teammate Danielle and another teammate Brant for the first 6-8 miles then decided I felt a little racy and started to put in a bit of an effort. I was happy with my pace on the second half of the race and caught my teammate Oliver who followed our team motto (Blow up early, struggle to finish.) Just kidding buddy, nice job out there hanging with the fast folks for so long.

Little Su 50k Start. Danielle is in the Grey/Blue coat with grey helmet, Brant is in the Revolution Racing jacket. Photo Credit Andy Romang

Photo Credit Andy Romang

 Then the fun part of the event weekend starts, I boogied up to Deshka Landing and EagleQuest Lodge to see the racers come through mile 62 on the 100 mile event.

Laura, Dusty and Nick at Eagle Quest. Photo by me

Josh Chelf edged out Tim Berntson at the finish. They both had a great race and are awesome dudes! Way to go guys.

In a weird twist of fate, my emotional support human Laura Fox finished fourth overall in a sprint finish after the second group missed their turn after Cow Lake and rode 14 miles off course. Part of me is really bummed for my friends who went off course, but part of me is really happy that Laura, Nick and Dusty did a great race and benefited from their prep work and knew the course well.

Just finished a sprint with David Berg. Damn near a podium! Photo Credit Andy Romang

Dusty with a cool beardcicle. Photo Credit Me

Laura and Nick at the finish line. They look pumped? Photo Credit Me

I'm going to ride my bike a little bit with some gear and see how it feels. Till next time. :-)

T - 3 days and counting

What to pack, what am I going to wear, how are the conditions, can I get my bike lighter...Who gives a damn? Am I right? Hahaha.

The latest Intel is that Dazell Gorge and Tetina River isn't passable. So we are planning on using the Iron Dog route through Hellsgate to get to Rohn Roadhouse this year. Iditarod goes through Rainy Pass, and with no established route this year most of us will ride to Hellsgate and attempt to dip, dodge and dive overflow and holes in the ice.

The red route is Hellsgate. The purple route is Rainy Pass which we usually use along with Iditarod. The purple track is why Iditarod is NOT starting in Willow this year. 

Lately I've been helping my dad with his house sale. I got a great final week of training in that culminated in a Third Place at the Little Su 50k behind last years ITI winner Tim Berntson and local hotshot Jason Lamoreaux. Jason pipped Tim in a sprint finish. I'm happy for Jason, he finishes second and third a lot!

ADN Article: After 31 miles of tough pedaling, a fierce finishing sprint settles Little Su 50

I've got to give a big shout out to the folks at Speedway Cycles. I was "that guy" who brought bikes by the shop at the last minute. They came through and really got us "back on the road." Thanks a lot.

That's about all I have for now. I've gotta rest. 

Some of my favorite people. I'm so happy for Laura, she really worked hard for first place this year.

Man this is a good looking bike!