Farmer's Fat Bike Race Report

I had no clue what I was in for when I signed up for the Farmer's Fat Bike race. At the time we had zero snow and zero snow in sight. As the race grew nearer, Scott started to get really nervous. The Farm Team was putting on the race and snow was kind of essential. So almost every night he would watch the weather forecast and report back. Secretly I was enjoying riding my bike in warmer weather but when I was around Scott I would always shake my fist at the sky and yell, "show us the snow!"

Like my previous blog post said, winter showed up JUST IN TIME!!! And it was beautiful!
The morning of the race I woke up feeling much better (phew!) The race didn't start until noon so I had a few hours to get my gear ready, walk the dogs, and check the time neurotically every couple of minutes. Both Salsa and the Ada Bike Shop had tents set up on the race course. I felt completely spoiled because my bike was waiting for me and ready to go when I arrived. Awesome!!!

It was great seeing so many friends in one place. Reports were circulating that the course was hard and slippery in spots. Even so, everyone was really, really excited. It kind of reminded me of when I was little and would spend every waking hour playing outside in the snow with my friends. All of a sudden I love winter again.

The race had a duo and solo option. I was racing solo and rolled up to the line after the duos went off. There was some serious Mukluk power in the front row. Tara Jansen was racing on a Mukluk 2, Dan Jansen was on the Mukluk Ti, and I was on the Mukluk 3.

Photo by Joshua Duggan

I don't even know who said "GO!" but someone did and it was time to hammer. The 2012 race season had begun.
Photo credit: Joshua Duggan

I had a great start and settled in right behind the lead guys but knew that Tara wouldn't be far behind. She is one of the strongest racers that I know and I had to push the pace the entire time. It was my first time riding in real snow and during my first lap I realized that I had my work cut out for me. The course was a complete hammer-fest. The flat sections required a lot of strength to pedal through the snow and there was virtually no place to recover.

Photo by Jack Kunnen

There was one slippery hill that I had to run almost every time because my rear wheel kept slipping out. I was so thankful I've been running a bit!
Photo by Joshua Duggan

The second thing that I noticed was that I made a total "rookie-snow-bike-racer" mistake. I was so busy walking around and talking with friends that I let my powerbar drink mix freeze in my hydrapak before the race started. Therefore I had absolutely zero water to drink during the race.

I was off the bike every time I had to run up the steep hill, and at one point I grabbed some snow and shoved it in my mouth. There was a crowd watching and they started laughing. I think they thought that I was doing it to be funny but in reality it was because I was really thirsty. Even though it was cold out (24 degrees) I was working my butt off. Not only was I breathing hard but I was sweating. Luckily there was a lot of snow around to "drink!"

The race had a surreal feeling to it that I can't describe. Racing in the snow was absolutely beautiful and a ton of cyclists came out to cheer us on. I crashed hard once and even that was fun. If only I could always land in a big pile of snow!

There was a "last lap" cut-off at the 2.5 hour mark and I made it thru with 5 seconds to spare. I ended up getting 12 laps in with a finish time of 2:42:42. I was the first place female and 5th out of the guys! I crossed the finish line really happy with how I felt throughout the race...and also really thirsty.

Here I am holding my trophy for first place. A Farm Team custom pooper scooper. This will be perfect when walking Ben and Naomi :-)
Special thanks to Salsa Bikes, the Ada Bike Shop and Grand Rapids Ophthalmology for sponsoring the race. And a huge congrats to the Farm Team for putting it on. I've been to a lot of races in a lot of cool places and I can honestly say that this was the MOST FUN I've ever had during a race.

I had lots of talented friends taking pictures out in the snow. Check them out!!!

You can find photos, report and a great video at XXCMAG.COM

Jack Kunnen has photos HERE!

Joshua Duggan has photos HERE!

Now it's time to recover and then get back to training. The snow bike 25K world championships are right around the corner...yikes!