2010 Race Report
As two of the original 11 Arrowhead racers it was fun to sit
at the pre-race meeting at the VFW and recall our first pre-race meeting and
gear check in 2005. That meeting was
held at one table
at the Chocolate Moose! Later,
Yes, the Arrowhead has grown and evolved – and as the years have gone by we have also grown (older) and we’ve learned at each of our Arrowhead starts from experience, successes, and mistakes. After missing 2009 due to Dick’s hip resurfacing, we were eager to get back on the Arrowhead Trail to try for our second finish out of 5 starts. We promised ourselves that 2010 was going to be a good year. We weren’t going to let any outside forces get in our way. There would be no self-pity and no excuses – this was going to be a good year.
We had brand new bikes this year. We bought 9:Zero:7 frames from Chain Reaction
cycles in Anchorage – they went overboard to get those frames to us and we
built our bikes with some of the old components as well as some new, upgraded
components like Ergon grips and mechanical disc brakes (oh so much better than
our old cantilever brakes!). They were
done just a week before the race (thanks, Dan and Scott at
The start took us back to 2005, as we started in that same spot in town. The red flashing lights looked like a Christmas parade as everyone took off jockeying for position. We tried to stay patient and hold back knowing the long trail ahead but we did get caught up a bit in the hubbub – our pace seemed a bit fast for the long run but it sure felt good.
Not long after the first shelter we were both cold. It’s weird to be cold in the first two hours but a stop for another layer really helped, and off we went. We rode easily to Highway 53 only to be told when we got there that we had ridden a section of road (one that had been part of the course in previous years) and we had to go back to catch the trail and ride to the highway on the trail. Grrr! Anyone who has ridden extra miles at Arrowhead knows how painful that can be.
Once back on the trail and across the highway, we rode pretty consistently, but at Dick’s quick pace. At one point he got so far ahead of me I wondered if he was actually behind me and I was trying to catch someone else – but finally he woke up from “the zone” and waited for me to catch up. We went back and forth for awhile with Chris Finch, John Kurth, and Phil Jemialita, but after awhile we were out there by ourselves. We rode into Gateway, where we ate, drank, visited with our good friends Ellen and Phil Hart, regrouped, and left the store about 2:30.
For some reason, the next section into Melgeorge is a tough
one for me. Dick continued strongly and
I lagged behind suffering but trying to suck it up. I sang songs in my head and tried to stay
strong and patient. We were both looking forward to, and dreading, the sign that says
“Melgeorge 5 miles” – looking forward to it because we only had five miles to
go! Dreading it because it meant we had
five more miles to go! Being the
gentleman that he is, Dick pushed my bike up the two mini-mountains that come
before
We’ve learned that the secret to our Arrowhead success is to
take our time at Melgeorge. I think it’s a function of all of
the stage racing we’ve done. Afterall, finishing is always the first goal
and recovery time is key to accomplishing that
goal. Perhaps its
also a function of advancing age, but we like to think its experience and
knowing ourselves. That means eating and
sleeping. We ate micro-wave mac and
cheese (gluten free for Dick) and hot chocolate, and went to sleep, not waking
up until almost
More food, packed up, and pushed off a little after
A snowmobile went by us at one point and told us we only had 25 miles to go to the Crescent. While it was nice to get the update, the truth is, 25 miles is a long way on that stretch of trail. Later, Matt Evingson went by on his snowmobile and told us we had the majority of the worse hills done. I think he was just being nice, because there were some doozies not long after seeing him! Nevertheless, it was nice to talk with him. Other than the two snow machines we hadn’t seen any race participants since we left Melgeorge. Based on tire tracks we knew we weren’t too far behind other bikers but the day was spent by ourselves on the trail.
We rode through a stretch of trail that neither of us remembered…..maybe it had been logged and looked different? Who added those hills we didn’t remember? We finally made it to Wake-em up – it was pretty dark by then and as we walked up the hill I didn’t think it was as bad as I remembered. I started to worry that maybe it wasn’t Wake-em up – but then we got to the top and saw the shelter. That was a real pick-up for us as we knew the Crescent wasn’t far. We arrived at the Crescent about 7:00pm and were happy to see Chris, John, and Phil inside eating and drinking. We ordered a cheeseburger and fries, hot chocolate and coffee and enjoyed all of that thoroughly while warming up and getting ready for the final push to the finish.
We heard varying distances from the Crescent to the finish
ranging from 18.5 to 22 miles, but regardless, we knew it to be very flat and
potentially very cold. It was indeed
both. We rode fast and smoothly, riding
about half a mile then stopping to walk 100 yards or so, then getting back on
to ride. That was both to keep warm and
also to help our sore butts and backs. A
long, flat stretch is tough on the body after so many hours on the bike! We knew that Chris, John, and Phil were
ahead of us and occasionally we saw their flashers in the distance. We kept at it and finally saw the “Bayview
Lodge 2 miles” sign. Knowing that was
the finish line in the past, it was painful to ride beyond that sign not
knowing what we had left to go. It
seemed like forever but we finally ahead of us we saw the welcoming markings
(thanks, Don!) into
The race volunteers lead us into the casino’s abyss, showing us where to store our bikes and then up to the hospitality room. We talked and laughed for a few minutes, picked out our Arrowheads, and then checked into our room for the night. A shower felt great and so did the bed.
As is typical of this race, we learned a lot and had a great time. Ultimately what keeps us coming back is the people. We’ve made some great friends at Arrowhead, and this year we made more. It’s a great homecoming every year. We love hearing about everyone’s race – as we feel that we are amongst some of the greatest people we’ve ever met. It’s a small community and we all understand what each of us has been through and what we’ve accomplished.
Thanks to Pierre and Cheryl for another great event. Thanks to all of the volunteers and the city
of