Fat Tuesday Fat Bike Race

I am laying here, after this event, my entire body sore and I am wondering how to describe this race. People ask, "did you have fun?" Hmm. Did I? Not sure yet. Do I want to run out and do a race like this again? Hmmm, not sure yet. Did I survive a long two hour mental battle of wanting to call it quits, lots of slippery falls, a lot of frustration and still stay determined to not give up? Yes I did!

I am stuck in the doldrums of winter and starting to hate riding my bike on a trainer to the point where I would rather clean a house, shovel snow, pick up dog shit, or just about anything to avoid going down into the basement and get on that bike. What is one way to beat the winter blues? Buy new bike stuff...which led me to Einstein Cycles, and whilst picking out my new TT bike (schwing!) Jason W encouraged me to race Tuesday. The idea grew on me, and the thought of doing something different on a bike seemed like a good way to get some new time on a bike. It was being held just a few blocks away from my house, and seemed like it would be a good way to test out a fat bike race.

I showed up tonight, ready to ride after thinking extensively about what I would wear this time on this ride. Still trying to get the perfect cold weather outfit together. The course was laid out kind of cyclocross style across the civic center grounds, and after all the rain we got yesterday, the snow was deep and crunchy in areas, slushy in others, and icy in still others. There were a few mounds of piled snow that we rode through. The first one was my favorite because you went up a small hill and rode through about 10 bumpy feet on top of the snow drift before you went back down. On most of the route, there was only a single bike rut to ride through, and if you wandered off it at all, you had to pretty much get off your bike.

At the start of the race there was a bottle neck as some people navigated the rut of track, and others got off and ran. Which I did, but then ended up waiting anyway as the long line of people went on by when I was ready to get back on my bike. No worries, I figured I had two hours of riding. It was really intense as there is no coasting or any rest during this kind of riding, I soon figured out. You have to pedal every single stroke to move forward. I was amazed at how hard this was. It took all my concentration just to stay on the bike and move forward, and I felt that I did pretty well for my lack of experience in the beginning.

As time went on though, I got more and more mentally tired and started sliding out as it got more slippery as the night went on. At one point I hit some ice from a huge frozen puddle/lake and I pretty much had to crawl to get out of it. I noticed that if any errors were made on this terrain there was very little room to recover from it, and that I usually fall. The more I slowed down, the more often the faster guys came through, and being that there is only one lane of rideable track, it was expected that you move the hell out of the way. I frequently waited by the side of the trail, letting whole groups pass so that I could get back on my bike and ride along without slowing anyone else down. I understand that it is a race, but it did increase my frustration as it makes a hard ride even harder when I am struggling to keep going and then I have to lose my momentum, pull of the trail, and then get going again when I let someone pass. Kudos to Jorden Wakeley who always did this with class and courtesy, and was good at letting me know what side he was passing on and picked a decent place to pass. He even ventured off the beaten path to go around on occasion, he's just that good.

It really felt like the longest two hours ever. So what do you do when time slows down, you start f-bombing the entire world in your head, and know that to give up means failure and you just can't do that? I started hearing the voice of my bad ass yoga teacher Liz Graves-yeah...yoga. She kicks our ass in that class and I encourage anyone to try her 90 min Inspire class at Yen Yoga. She brings us to the edge of pain, and challenges us to go farther. She has said on occasion that if you are throwing f-bombs in your mind then you are ruining your own experience and that pain is only what you make it, or something like that. That we determine our attitude. So I made an attitude adjustment and reminded myself that I am in this for fun. I noticed people's smiles, the people cheering us on, the people handing us beads for mardi gras, the silliness of the whole experience. Keith Conway kept going even with flat tires and despite being close to bonking after riding flat tires for three laps. I saw some very strong women out there giving it their best, and they inspired me to keep going. I saw a dad with a very colorful feather boa and his daughter who was so excited to be there and has a love for cycling already. I saw lots of people encouraging each other as we rode along.

So, in all it was a good night. It is always good to push yourself to do something new, even though  it can be pretty damn hard at times. Kudos to everyone who got out there, and hey-I got 2nd place in my first Fat Bike race. Not bad for a Tuesday night.

Chelsea Strate is the Fat Bike QUEEN,
in case you didn't know