Tuscobia Ultra.



Like the Holidays the Tuscobia Ultra has come and gone.  Saturday, 12/29/12, the racers of the 150 mile bike lined up outside the Chequamegon Canoe Club (a bar in Park Falls, WI) a bit before 6 am.  We were off shortly with a police escort to the trail head.

Immediately Jason Buffington, Charly Tri, Lance Andre, Joe, and I were pulling away from the other riders.  Not too long it was down to Jason, Charly, and myself.  Sitting third wheel I allowed myself to drift back in my own little world.  I'd wake up and pull the other two back.  At one point the gap got pretty damn far.  But again I was able to waist energy and get back on...to only let them go again.

Eventually I caught up with Charly who was suffering from knee pain.  He let me go on as he tried to bring his knees back.

I could see the lights and jacket of Buffington over and over again so I knew he wasn't "too" far gone.  At the 1st checkpoint, Winter, I was in and out without getting off the bike.  There I learned Jason was 3 minutes ahead.  Still 120 miles to go so not to worry...ha!

 

From Winter to Birchwood, the next checkpoint, the trail deteriorated from a mediocre snowmobile trail to a criss crossing of ATV tracks, some footprints, and loose snow.  Along with the trails went my mental attitude.  The going was slow and tough for me.  I ended up crashing several times...cursing the race in vain.  NEVER, I promised myself, would I do this stupid race again...just as I did the previous year!  But already time has passed and I'm sure I'll be back for more.

 

Also in this section I managed to pull the bite valve off my hydration pack.  Only after losing precious water I was able to get the valve back on.  Thankfully it wasn't too cold and the hands suffered little.  Nearing Birchwood I would start to encounter the 75 mile runners and bikers.  This was a great mental boost to see people.  From them I would learn Jason was 10-12 minutes in front of me and the trail would get better...which it did.

 

At Birchwood I was in and out quickly, about 2-3 minutes.  Enough for a glass of Coke and a handfull of gummie bears.  The next section, Birchwood to the trail end and back to Birchwood was uneventful. 

Back at Birchwood I stopped a bit longer.  I needed to refill my hydration pack.  Again it was a short stop of maybe 10 minutes.

I was worried about hitting the section that had me wanting to quit.  While it was still tough and challenging I think the opportunity to pass other 150 mile riders going out or 75 mile bikers and runners going in was uplifting and kept me going on.

At Winter I sat down this time.  Had a bowl of beef stew, lots of coke, and some cookies for the road.  Again about 10-12 minutes.  Overall I think my stops totaled up around a half hour.

 

I was excited for the last stretch as it wasn't too bad the first go around and it will have been packed in by the 35 and 75 mile bikers.  But...nope!  Some snowmobiles had passed over it as well as some ATV's.  I also forgot that a major chunk of the participants are runners.  The last 30 miles were like riding over dried up cow tracks at the Mah Da Hey trail...rough!  So yeah, I was cursing runners!

Here I really started to notice the pain in my neck, back, and butt.  I still feel them today but it has dissipated greatly.

 

I was to never catch back up to Jason except at the finish where he waited the 50 minutes he put on me to shake my hand and tell me I was making him work hard and had him worried.  Ditto!  The win couldn't go to a better guy.  I was happy but bummed about not getting the chance to win the ITI entrance and how much time Jason put on me.  Oh well, next time.

Funny how things are at the end of a race compared to during.  I will be back!

Thanks to the organizers and super volunteers.

 

 

 

 

Jason and I with our medals of wood...very cool.

 

So I have a 2nd in both the 75 and 150...maybe I'll do the 35 next year.

 

Only a tad over 3 weeks to the Arrowhead 135!  I did ride 2 hours yesterday but will not go crazy this week.  Then 2 weeks on with a period of rest.  Then it's TransIowa time!