There's a blog coming in a month to explain the reason for this tire test, but I'm not sharing details today (but IFYKYK, please keep it on the downlow for now).
I LOVE my Grand Prix 5000 tires on my Bianchi Infinito that I got last year from Tonka Cycle & Ski! I'll be sure to keep buying them as I need new road tires. But some times, I like to ride my Bianchi on roads that do not have pavement, and for that, I'm a big fan of GravelKing SK tires. So I swapped from the GP5000 to the GravelKing tires this week and did the same silly tire test I did with my Pugsley earlier this summer
The test was 28 mm Continental Grand Prix 5000 vs 32 mm Panaracer GravelKing SK - seriously an apples-to-oranges comparison... but that wasn't really the point, my point is what is the "price" to be paid to ride gravel tires on pavement. And I was surprised by the results.
First, I'm changing tire size, tubes, and tire pressure on this test, while keeping the bike, body position, and routes/segments for this test, while targeting 200W.
Weights to start, 'cause weight-weenies:
28 mm Grand Prix 5000 with butyl tubes - 1310 g
32 mm Gravel King SK with latex tubes - 1420 g
Like my last test, I used a paved and straight rail-trail with some rolls, a good test for rolling residence.
I used the SRAM Tire Pressure Guide to get both tires sets pumped up to ideal pressures. The GravelKing tires were 62 psi on the front and 66 psi on the rear tire; the Grand Prix tires were 72 psi on the front and 77 psi for the rear tire.
The results from Strava:
Blake to Beltline
Beltline to Blake street
I'm blown away that one of these tests were so close to the same time with the same power! The other segment is more complex with the 8W difference in power, and 21 seconds difference, that a 4.7% difference in time over the the segment.... and that's a shockingly small margin for gravel tires versus road tires ... and 8W less power (or 3.8% less power).
To be clear, I will ride Grand Prix 5000 for 99% of Bianchi rides, but I'm shocked to see the GavelKing tires are so close. but also worth noting that the tubes on the GravelKings are reported to be much faster, and the Grand Prix 5000 tires are not recommended to use with latex tubes.
In summation, I'm happy to see that there's no major "price" to paid for riding the GravelKing tires on pavement. The GravelKing is heavier and rolls slower, but it not a major penalty when you're gonna mix pavement with non-paved roads.
[August 5 edit: I updated the result percentages, my original calculations were wrong, but the conclusion is the same]
I've had The Wolf on my mind for many years, since it was called The Heck Epic. The Wolf is a three-day bikepacking stage race coursing through the heart of Minnesota's North Shore wilds. This is the event that will test your endurance and grit and maybe even set your eyes on bigger adventures like The Tour Divide.
I've never done back-to-back century rides, let alone three in a row. I was doing a lot of planning around pacing strategies and ways to pack on-bike food. The nice thing with this event, the race provides breakfasts, and the camps are in town where you can get dinner eats and resupply some on-bike food. But being sure that I didn't wreck my legs before finishing the third day was stressing me out.
Big news hit my inbox at the start of July:
Due to the extreme storm on June 16, we have had to make some major changes to the race. Major flooding damaged many roads and trails in the Northland, and despite our efforts, we cannot find a safe and open route in and out of Ely. This means that Day 1 to Ely has been canceled.
Having watched the news of the June 16, I was concerned the whole race may be cancelled, like 2024 The Fox (the 'introductory' bike-camping - 120+ miles over two days).
Driving to Two Harbors
I was very happy to find a carpool with long time gravel-grinding friend, Sean Mattner. Sean also offered a ride to another friend, Chase Grieves. All three of us, and our bikes, packed inside Sean's 'vintage' minivan Friday around noon and made our way to the North Shore, with a dinner stop at Pizza Lucé in Duluth, all of us getting extras to-go for the campsite out of Two Harbors.
We arrived at a familiar lot in the hills above Two Harbors, the East Alger gravel pit, this is the start/finish of the Heck of the North. There was a check in tent and a couple outhouses set up. This camping area is VERY primitive, without running water or electricity. Sean, Chase, and I took time to get our bikes out of the van, set up our sleeping systems, get checked in, and take shakedown rides on sections of the Heck of the North routes.
The check-in crowd
As the sun was getting low, Jeremy started a fire and we all gathered around, not for warmth, but to keep the bug off of us. This old gravel pit was full of biting flies and as the sun got low the mosquitoes started coming out. As the mosquitoes got worse, I realized I made a mistake not bringing long sleeves and long pants, so I decided it was time to bed down and stop feeding the bugs. As I got into my bivy, it was still too warm to need a sleeping bag ... but the bivy bug netting was right on my shoulder and those little shits were getting me inside the bivy. So I pulled the sleeping bag up to keep the mosquitoes off me and fell asleep while sweating. I woke up a few times in the night, hearing this massive and frustrated swarm of mosquitoes inches from my face, and I was stressed out thinking about how I was going to get in my cycling kit in the morning without getting eaten alive!
My Friday night campsite
Day 1 | Two Harbors to Grand Marais
We had breakfast served at 7:00, with egg & sausage on English muffins (vegetarian option available), plus yogurt, granola, berries, bananas, and just about everything a biker could want before a 111-mile ride in the Northwoods ... oh, and COFFEE!!
The Wolf Pack gathers for day 1
As we all gathered, we had our rider's meeting, and I found myself right by the front of 60 riders because I got a picture of Sean with his Hub teammates. So when when Jeremy said "GO!", I rolled out right at the front of the pack ... I know that's not gonna last. LOL! I let about half the field pass me in the first 5 miles as I settled into a mellow pace to hold all day.
Here's both day 1 & day 2 routes - nearly all the same roads, but it felt like totally different.
It didn't take long to see our first ATV/snowmobile trail, before mile 20 we hit a technical double-track trail and the Pugsley was happy as a pig in slop! I was able to ride some very challenging ATV tracks with ruts and loose gravel. I found one small but steep ramp that was too much for my bike-handling skills that required pushing the bike. But on the technical descents, the Pugsley was just a ton of fun!
The one-and-only check point was at mile 59, it was perfect to refill my hydration, grab another Embark Maple, and a couple Fox wraps (flour tortilla, humus, wrapped around dill pickle). From the check point to Grand Marais, there is nearly nothing, just a handful of cabins ... so you better have everything you need on your bike.
The checkpoint was on the same corner both days ... in the middle of nowhere! The volunteers are the BEST!
Funny little story, many riders have a set of camping sandals/shoes strapped to their bags. On a rough section of trail, I found a single flip-flop in the road. I stopped to pick it up and clipped it my bag to offer it to lost-and-found in Grand Marias. It seems like lost shoes was a common issue on the ride, happily, my shoes stayed strapped to my bag, but they did move around!
Over the last 20-30 miles, I started riding with Tom, the only other person riding a fatbike on The Wolf this year. He and I enjoyed flying down the double-track trails, letting our bikes roll over all the boulders and nasty trail conditions. As we complained about each little roll in the road, wishing to get to the last long descent into Grand Marais, I confessed my stress about long highway descents and my memory of The Fox descending the highway with our tandem in 2022. And the dumb/funny bit, there was a headwind going down the highway, so we're pedaling nearly the whole way into Grand Marias, that and clearly handling our new tandem in 2022 had left a mental scare that wasn't justified.
Grand Marais
After I checked in at the campground in Grand Marias, I found Sean setting up his tent and I picked a patch of grass next to him for my bivy setup. I was feeling gassed, and wanted to focus on getting my bivy set up, get a shower, so I could get FOOD! Another dumb packing error, I forget soap, so I filled my hand with foaming soap at the sinks before getting into the shower and did my best to stretch it out ... not ideal, but I felt much cleaner!
My bivy in the camp village
Sean and I walked to the Hungry Hippie Tacos for dinner, I enjoyed a large Hungry Gringo Taco and a side of Spanish rice. That was great food to refuel! Then we walked over the Voyageur Brewing to claim our free beer! The brewery was full of Wolf riders, and we were invited to the rooftop area, but I had no interest in stairs LOL, so we joined a crew of Wolf riders on the main level. As we were sipping our beers, a rider was stressing that his Garmin had bricked. I was able to share the hard-reset process (press and hold the power button for 10 seconds) and after a few seconds of "is it working?" he was happy to report his Garmin was back up and working!
The view from my bivy
I was so tired, I fell asleep before dark and wasn't bother by folks still talking around the campground, and I guess there was an outdoor concert nearby, I didn't know anything about it!
Day 2 | Grand Marais to Two Harbors
The breakfast gathering in Grand Marias
The route back to Two Harbors was a lot of the same roads/trails we'd used on Saturday, but there were a few changes to keep it interesting. The start on Sunday is no surprise, but none-the-less a real test of your recovery, the climb out of Grand Marias ... oof. The first 8 miles are all up, you gain nearly 1,000 ft with no real rest. Better still, the first ramp out of the campground gets to up to 10% grades. I was happy with my legs and rode past many riders on the climb, but most of them passed me again up the road when things flattened out.
The ATV/snowmobile trails seemed more technical on day 2, forcing me to put a foot down a few times ... but there were the same trails in the reverse direction.
I was feeling the miles on the second half of the day, it was challenging to keep the energy up as things are getting sore ... my hands were raw and I'd move my hand position often to try to find a comfortable position, I was getting some chaffing from the saddle despite the Chamois Butter, bug bits getting itchy, etc. And those damned bugs, when the trail pitched up or there was a tailwind, the biting flies would fly circles around you and the bastards would get in the vents of my helmet, biting me through my cycling cap. That became a real incentive to move quickly ... getting away from the swarms of insects.
We had a paved highway that's a gentle descent, I was looking forward to letting the bike roll, but just like Saturday, there was a headwind forcing me to pedal downhill. blarg
As I got in the last mile or two, I had the best closing song hit my Shokz: "Smash it Up" by The Damned ... I found a little nugget of energy to finish strong!
Finish line smile
Results
I finished 34th place of 55 riders (including 3 DNF). I was the fastest of the two fatbikers. My combined time was 16:41:34. Day 1 was 8:18:31 & day 2 was 8:23:03. I'm happy with my pacing strategy, most riders took 20 to 30 minutes longer on day 2; and I was only 5 minutes slower on a longer day 2 route. Link to the results: https://www.heckofthenorth.com/wolf-results
Driving Back to the Twin Cities
We all agreed to head home Sunday after the ride, and that's fun, three riders without access to showers, and our bikes covered in mud/dirt packed into Sean's van. We made a stop in Duluth for burritos and tots to fuel our drive back to the Cities. After getting out of Duluth, we hauled ass back to the Cities, getting Chase dropped off first in Northeast, and Sean got me home to Hopkins around 8:30 before heading home himself. It was great to get home, get a shower, and share a drink with Lisa to catch up after I spent much of the weekend without any cell service.
The War Rig
This is my 2015 Surly Pugsley, customized with Salsa Woodchipper handlebars and Gevenalle GX shifters. The Pugsley, with all gear loaded, is 78 lbs, including 10 lbs of water (4.5 l of water).
I've done well over 11,000 miles on this bike and love how comfortable I am on the bike all day long. I loved seeing other Surly bikes set up with drop-bars at The Wolf, including a Troll and Krampus .... I wish I'd have gotten a family photo of the Surly Freakshow at The Wolf!
The Pugsley full-loaded
My new gear for The Wolf was the B-RAD Double Bottle Adapter. This is a great way to increase hydration capacity! Also offers me more space to get bottle out with my frame bag.
I was also running new tires for The Wolf - Schwalbe Jumbo Jim 26x4 that I 'borrowed' off Lisa's Pugsley (thanks honey!). I did a quick post on a tire comparision.
I ran tire pressures relatively high for a fatbike: 14 psi front & 15 psi rear; but with all the weight of my gear, this worked great on everything from the rough ATV/snowmobile trails and the paved roads.
Toolbox, with my multi-tool, patch kits, and other field repair stuff, in the container in the seat tube bottle rack - it's so old and I have no idea what it's called
I built my Surly Puglsey into the War Rig for gravel races back in 2016. I put on Salsa Woodchipper handlebars, Gevenalle shifters, and Panaracer Fat B Nimble tires. This bike has done the Almanzo 100 twice, the Heck of the North twice, the Ragnarok 105, the Freedhem 76 (fastest fatbike), the Westside Dirty Benjamin two or three times, The DAMn (fastest fatibke), and a number of other endurance gravel races. All of these rides were on the same set tires, Panaracer Fat B Nimble. These tires are at the end of life after 8 years (uncounted miles), and Panaracer doesn't make Fat B Nible tires any more. I was bummed out and didn't think I'd find a tire I'd love like the Fat B Nimble. But needing to find something new for some big ride this year, I did a kinda sciency test ride with my Panaracer Fat B Nimble tires and some Schwalbe Jumbo Jimmy tires (thanks to Lisa for letting me borrow your tires).
My drop-bar Pugsley at it's first race with the Panaracer Fat B Nimble - the 2016 Almanzo 100.
My test was to ride the same Strava segments with my Panaracer tires and again with the Schwalbe tires. I worked to keep variables to a minimum, like riding in the same position (hands on hoods), holding the same power (targeting 200 W), two segments (one eastbound & one westbound), same tire pressure (15 psi), and both tires labeled 26x4. The only thing that wasn't great was riding paved trails on tires meant for gravel roads, but this was my best option since the paved Cedar Lake Trail has no stop lights or road crossings.
The Arrowhead 135 is recognized in the book “The World’s Toughest Endurance Challenges” by Richard Hoad and Paul Moore as one of the 50 toughest races in the world. It is a human powered Ultra Marathon taking place in the coldest part of winter in the coldest city in the lower 48 states.
The average finish rate for the Arrowhead 135 is less than 50%, in 2014 & 2019 the finish rate was 35%; and the finish rate for new racers is much lower.
The race is 135 miles in deep winter across Northern Minnesota on the rugged and scenic Arrowhead State Snowmobile Trail from Frostbite Falls (actually it's International Falls MN; and commonly referred to as I Falls) to Tower, MN. Pick mode of transport at start: bicycle, ski, or foot. 2024 is the 20th year of the Arrowhead 135, it began with 10 entrants in 2005; and up to 150+ starters 2024, featuring some of the best winter ultra-athletes in the world, including some Olympians.
Race rules include: No outside help except other racers or race officials.This means no support crews of any kind, no pacing, and no rides/tows accepted from snowmobilers, trains, planes, automobiles, llamas, or other vehicles except in emergencies. If you take a ride or enter a nice warm vehicle (or bar) you are disqualified but hopefully still alive. Participants encouraged to help each other. Buddy system good way to race dark and cold. We encourage spectators but no assistance allowed any time, no teams greeting you at every possible spot. No snowmobiles following you, meeting you, or breaking trail for you. Arrowhead is about you, the wilderness, your inner dogged spirit and self-sufficiency. Camera crews not allowed to follow the race on Snowmobile except within 1 mile of checkpoints. Racers can be penalized due to actions of their camera crews/snowmobile friends/family. Do not accept hot coffee, food, warm vehicles, clothes etc unless it is from a race official. (outside help can be as simple has holding up a racer's bike for them)
My Journey to The Arrowhead 135
I started dreaming about this challenge roughly 10 years ago, after seeing the stories from some of my bike friends that took on this event. I knew I needed to learn a lot; and beg, borrow, or buy a lot of gear.
Over the years, I'd get out for training rides any time the temps in the area dipped below 0°F/-18°C. Back in 2019, I was so excited for the polar vortex that delivered -28°F/-33°C air temps; and that just happened to be the same day the Arrowhead 135 was starting, and racers had much colder temps at the Canadian border. I felt badass for riding in these conditions, but I was out less then 2 hours, while my friends were out for 24+ hours in colder conditions in the remote northern woods.
Selfie after 90+ minutes riding in -28F conditions
2024: A Year Without Winter
As we got closer to the start of the race, it was very clear, we would not have very much snow and very mild temps for the event. It was understandably stressful getting prepared to be out in sub-zero temps for dozens of hours, but it became oddly stressful trying to adapt to these warm temps. The trail had so little snow there'd been extremely little traffic and little to no grooming. Some folks posted pictures of the trail including open water from a flooded stream and tons of uncut brush on the trail. Adapting to these conditions, I made a couple last minute changes, included a tire repair kit and extra tubes in case the brush trashed tires; and some shower booties for a cast to cover my boots in case I needed to walk through some ice-cold water.
Prerace: Arriving in I Falls
We drove up on Sunday morning, getting to I Falls for the race check in and equipment check. We pulled into the Backus Community Center right behind good friend, Trenton Raygor, that was a great thing for me, to see a friendly face as we arrived.
Racers are required to show that they have all required gear (see gear list below with all required equipment for this event).
Showing my required gear at the Backus Community Center
After gear check, we headed to our hotel for a couple hours before the racer's meeting. This allowed me time to set up my bike, loading and mounting all of my bags.
Later, we went back to the community center for the racer's meeting. The meeting had a lot of good and critical information. The organizers also had a great sense of humor, I was laughing nervously to hear the race director saying they had bets on the number of racers that could finish in this unique winter. A couple of funny quotes from the racer's meeting: "There is no budget for the Arrowhead" (so true); and "I paid for 60 hours and I intend to use all of them"
Some statistics shared at the racer's meeting about the 2024 race: 166 racers signed up, 30 female, 136 male; roughly 45 volunteers; 86 bikers, 73 foot, and no skiers due to the lack of snow; 28 unsupported; 46 rookies; & 2 A'trois (anyone finishing Arrowhead 135 3 years/3 disciplines bike/run/ski eligible for unique Arrowhead a’Trois Award. Only 22 ever issued).
Me and Pugsley resting up the night before the race
The Start to Gateway (36 miles)
Dozens of nervous and excited racers show up at Kerry Park before dawn to check in and start the race. The check in is quick and easy: give your race number, confirm your race division, and confirm that both your tracker is on and your lights are on.
The race starts with a great fireworks show!
Video Credit: Lisa Nelson
The first miles were smooth and fast, but there's only one good line, so riders are all in one long line. As good as the trail is at the start, it still offered some challenges, and if you lost focus (try to get a drink or adjust something) you'd quickly lose the line and bog down to a crawl. I'd just stop and wait for a break in the long line of riders and jump back in. And for a little humor, you'd pass another rider standing, waiting for a gap to get back in the line, it was like this for the first hour or two of the race.
The early miles out of the I Falls start (photo credit Jamison Swift)
After nearly 10 miles of this single-file riding, we took a hard left turn and the trail turned to tough snow conditions. Some folks would bike, but the rough ground with only a few inches of snow cover made it exhausting to bike it. This was the first of many long slogs of hike-a-bike (walking while pushing 80 lbs of bike & gear). After about 10 miles of these conditions, the first few of the runners caught up to us walking our bikes.
Lead runners mixing in with the bikers
There were so many miles with brush covering the trail, it would normally be weighed down by the snow and the snowmobiles and groomers would have totally buried the brush. Sometime you'd ride through it and get whipped by the branches, other times you'd just mash through pushing your bike.
An example of the brush in the trail
One of the benefits of the mild temps was electronics (and specifically their batteries) would hold up much better than in the sub-zero cold. This allowed me to keep my Garmin Edge 1040 on my handlebars; I had planned to keep it inside my layers if we had typical Arrowhead temps. I set up a very simple display with the course map on one page and few data fields on the second page. The data field that I typically enjoy is ETA (giving an estimate of when you'll get to the end of the route based on your average speed), but on Monday, the ETA wasn't helpful ... it'd show "7:42", leaving me to ask: "7:42 AM or PM?" and "is that today, or tomorrow, or Wednesday?" LMAO
Rolling into Gateway was fun with so many friendly faces cheering. I made this checkpoint quick, I had a short list to do at the stop: change socks, fill my hydration pack, and dump my trash. A bonus was Lisa greeting me with cheers and a hug!
The Gateway minnow water is the best hydration on the Arrowhead 135 ... just kidding, but too funny having the fresh water tap next to the minnow tanks
Gateway to Melgeorge (34 miles)
I left Gateway feeling good and strong, but I was aware my arms were suffering from pushing the bike and handling the rough terrain. This section of the race is where I was pushing my body too hard. I had a stupid thought I could make up some time from walking so many early miles. This lead to me crashing too much, and wasting energy to get on the bike and only pedal a couple feet before bailing out again.
Here's a the classic hike-a-bike tracks: bike on the right and boots on the left
Not too long after Gateway, I caught up to Leah Gruhn (star of "40 Below"; see info below), she was stopped talking with a couple racers. She'd taken a hard fall and was worried she injured some ribs, she said she was good enough to get to Melgeorge and reassess there. Leah's crash should have sobered my 'speedy' energy, but I continued to push too hard to find any speed the trail offered and taking some avoidable falls as a result.
On trail bike adjustments are something I was prepared for; and from early in the race, I was noticing my left thigh was getting chaffed, and my bike kept pulling to the right. This was all quiet odd. I got off the bike and eye-balled the saddle to see the saddle was clearly twisted to the left. That was a quick and easy fix, but the damage to my left thigh was not great especially so early in the race and with the rough terrain continuing to abuse my 'saddle zone'.
Amanda caught me recovering from one of my falls
Around mile 50, I stopped a couple time after hearing a spoke pinging sound. I looked for a branch or something stuck in the wheel or frame, without anything showing up. It was the third stop when I found that my front wheel had come loose in the rough terrain. That was a quick fix, and a little stressful to know that the wheel had come loose. On the other hand, with all the weight on the bike, there was basically no chance the wheel would simply drop out of the fork.
The warm temps meant there was a fair amount of melt puddles to navigate
The miles after sunset were getting long, I kept taking dumb falls, and there are some long steep climbs to push the bike up, I think one climb had to be the longest and steepest of the whole trail. And right before the resort, the course takes you across Elephant Lake and that meant you had to ride into a strong and unprotected headwind. I found myself walking a short distance on the lake because the headwind was that challenging ... and I was that worn out.
Long break at Melgeorge
I got to Melgeorge at 9:30 on Monday night. I was feeling totally wrecked, and couldn't see a way to move forward. I had thoughts of dropping out, but gratefully, Lisa texted that she wasn't going to pick me up until morning.
As I got inside the Cedar cabin (the check-in location), and pealed off my layers, but I couldn't stop sweating. I was seriously worried there something wrong with me, but when asked a volunteer working the checkpoint and they said it's like 90F in the cabin. I went shirtless to the unheated porch and laid on the floor with my feet up for a while to cool my body down.
After a few minutes, I went to the loft in the Cedar cabin and claimed a twin bed for an hour or so, this got me feeling OK again. I realized I'd need to recover in the cabin for a few hours, maybe all night, so I wanted to get my electronics off my bike to save batteries. After getting everything inside, I went back to the loft and moved to the only open bed in separate room with door. A volunteer asked if I wanted a wake up call at a specific time, I told her my theory: if I can sleep through all the noise in the cabin, I need the sleep. And if I can't sleep through the noise, it's time to hit the trail! I was also informed that there was a second cabin (Tamarac) available for folks that wanted to sleep in a quiet place, but moving to another cabin seemed like too much work at this point!
After sleeping for awhile, I heard someone come into the private bedroom and lay down on the floor next to the bed. I told him the queen sized bed was big enough to share, and as he was getting into the bed I asked if he preferred big spoon or small spoon (it was a positive sign that I felt good enough to make dumb jokes).
After getting roughly 3 hours of sleep between a couple naps, I was feeling like it was time to get back on the trail. The cabin crew made me a wonderful grill cheese sandwich, and a bowl of soup too. I grabbed my drop bag of food to keep me fueled for the last 63 miles and checked out of Melgeorge at 3:45 Tuesday morning.
The overnight crowd at Melgeorge
As I checked all my electronics before walking out to the bike, I found that my 1040 lost my first 72 miles of my ride. I was upset to find this and the best I can guess, when I arrived, I paused the ride while I was inside the cabin; and I think the rain drops hitting the touchscreen hit the right spots to delete the ride .... or at least that's the best theory I have.
Melgeorge to Embark (40 miles)
I rode out of Melgeorge well before dawn and I was by myself, the woods were quiet and beautiful in the darkest part of the night. Before dawn I caught up to good friend Sean Mattner, we shared a ton of miles through the morning. Lots of walking, talking, and some biking when the trail conditions allowed.
Sean and I both suffered ice building up on the bottoms of our boots. Sean was riding with clipless pedals and was really challenged to get the ice off his cleats so he could clip in. I was riding with platform pedals, but left my cleats in my boots. Getting ready for the Arrowhead, I didn't think the cleats would cause any issues, but the ice build up was enough that the icy chunk was taller than the pins on my pedals, leaving my boots slipping around on the pedals. This was a unique challenge with temps just below freezing, call it the perfect conditions for icing up your cleats.
This IS the trail!
Sean and I were back and forth with a couple other riders, but when we hit an especially long hike-a-bike section, I found I'd walked away from the group and was all by myself again. I was getting annoying with the last mile into Embark, I thought the check point was closer than it actually was and there was a 4-5 mile long hike-a-bike section of trail that hadn't be touched, the racers were breaking fresh trail.
The Embark (checkpoint 3) with Lisa and Eric the Embark Fox
Embark to Fortune Bay (25 miles)
Coming out of Embark, there are two more big climbs before a long stretch that's a gentle grade but constantly going up.
The view from the last big climb
The trail was better in a lot of ways that allowed you to stay on the bike, and I was passing many runners that had passed me while I was at Melgeorge. But this section of trail had little snow and was very rough for long sections. I was going back-and-forth with other riders, we'd all take a break every mile or two, leap-frogging each other. We'd check in with each other when passing, and it was always the same thing, we were all just exhausted and sore.
The damage from the saddle pounding me was getting difficult to ignore, and with only 15 miles to go, I stopped to apply some more Chamois Butt'r (single pack to the rescue!).
This looks inviting and fast, but the ground is so lumpy
The last mile or two to Fortune Bay required some focus as daylight dwindled and trail offered options for making mistakes. And racers get to climb one last rise to get to the finish line. I look at the small climb and thought about walking it, but a little surge of pride got me to dig deep and pedal up to the small crowd cheering me on.
The cheering crowd at the finish included Lisa and I was so honored to find my DAMn buddy, Elizabeth Powers, made the trip to cheer my finish!
After crossing the finish line, I let the bike rolling a little too long and the race official checking my gear was worried I knew I'd finished ... I knew I'd finished, I just wasn't sure I could safely stop and get off the bike.
Photo credit Elizabeth Powers
Fortune Bay
Like everywhere on this race, the volunteers are THE BEST! The volunteer that did my gear check at the finish line noticed my Birchwood Café vest, he grew up in South Minneapolis near the creamery that became the Birchwood Café (West River Racing's former title sponsor). That was a fun small world connection at the end of this long journey!
The back hall of Fortune Bay where racers show they finished with required gear
Lisa had a room for us and it was located right next to the hospitality room, I was thankful for the short walk. I was happy to get a shower and get on some fresh clothes.
The racer's lounge at Fortune Bay and the finishers photo op
We packed out right away with a goal of getting home Tuesday night, Lisa needed to be back to work for Wednesday morning. Lisa did a great job driving us home safely, I stayed awake as long as I could, helping with directions from Tower to I-35, and once on the highway she knows so well, I kept her company until I couldn't fight off the sleep any longer ... I think I made it to Forest Lake (about 45 minutes from home).
Once we got home, I needed to get my bike off the rack, and take the rack off the car (our garage is too small to close the door with the rack mounted). After that, I had one last thing to do before crashing ... I had to keep my Wordle streak going... LOL!
My Finish
I finished in 34 hours and 51 minutes, making me 41st place for the bikers. There were 84 bikers at the start line in I Falls, and 60 finished at Fortune Bay (24 DNF'd). Here's the full results.
The Arrowhead was my longest duration bike race by a long shot, even if you just look at the roughly 29 hours biking/hiking. Also the first placed runner finished minutes before me, that was seriously impressive runner!
I want to return to the Arrowhead 135 to ride it in true winter conditions, it may sound silly, but I spent years preparing for sub-zero weather and damn it ... I want to challenge myself on this course in those conditions!
Ken's Recap
Race director Ken shared the following on Facebook:
And that's a wrap, folks! The last racer finished at 17:57 today (5:57 PM Wednesday, 58 hours after the start).
We started 84 bikers, 60 finished. 71 runners started, 46 finished. Total finish rate of 68%. That is waaaaay higher than predicted given the conditions.
There is very little snow on the trail and the weather was warm. The bikers took much longer to finish but the runners were not slowed very much.
Ken and Jackie would like to thank all involved - racers, volunteers, and sponsors.
The Duathlon
I knew I'd walked A LOT on the Arrowhead Trail, but wasn't sure how much walking I'd done. The day after there race, I noticed my Garmin watch tracked nearly 80,000 steps over the two days, or in very rough numbers, 40 miles of walking. I didn't trust that number and look a little deeper into my stats.
The real number of miles walked is between 30 and 50 miles, so the Garmin watch step counter is in the right range. Here's more details from my nerding out on this detail:
Speed data from VeloViewer (this is an app that gives deep data analysis of your activity), I spent 30.73 miles at 0-4 mph (definitely walking pace); and 51.58 miles at 0-5 mph (clearly includes some slow biking). I'm sure some of the data reported at 4-5 mph was slower in reality because the data I'm working with includes 72 miles recorded on my inReach satellite tracker that only captures my location once every 10 minutes.
VeloViewer data on the left showing percent of time spent at each speed, the right side is my spreadsheet converting the time into distance
Screenshot with my inReach tracks into and out of Gateway, inReach is the orange line and the blue line is the trail
Data Nerd Stuff
After seeing that my 1040 lost the data for the first half of the race, I spent too many hours thinking of ways to capture that data. When I got home, I was able to export the data from the inReach satellite tracker for I Falls to Melgeorge; and merged it with the data from my 1040 for Melgeorge to Fortune Bay. The inReach data lost 6+ miles of the race by clipping corners with only one data point every 10 minutes, but this was better than nothing.
Post-Race Odds & Ends
Lost one NiteRider light in a crash, didn't notice it was gone for many miles
Also lost my iconic white Rock The Garden swag sunglasses in a night time crash
I suffered nerve damage to my right shoulder/arm causing numbness in my fingers, the combination of handling the heavy bike over extremely rough trails, and every time you'd push the bike, you'd walk on the left side of the bike; therefore, your right arm was extended adding to the fatigue ... and subsequent inflammation. As I recover and the inflammation goes down, the numbness is fading and everything is getting back to normal.
The big toenail on my right foot suffered from all the miles of hike-a-bike, I found blister/puss under the nail bed a couple days after the race. This toenail hasn't been right since the 2015 Westside Dirty Benjamin when the nail totally bruised and months later fell off. YUCK! (if you wanna see gross stuff, look up "runner's toe")
Thanks to an extremely rough trail, I'm nursing some saddle sores, I rarely suffer saddle sores, so that's a statement to conditions. Plus the saddle being twisted added pressure unevenly and more damage on my left ... um ... cheek.
Arrowhead Documentary
Keep an eye out for 40 Below - The Toughest Race in the World documenting the 2019 Arrowhead 135 when air temps were -40F/C. The film has been on tour in 2023 and 2024, and I understand it will be available for streaming soon.
Thank You!
Lisa: I could not do The Arrowhead 135 (or so many other challenges) without her loving support. She is my best friend, biggest fan, travel agent, driver, CFO, nutritionists, dog mom, and too many other roles to remember and list here. Seriously, I've heard too many stories of support crews falling short of the athlete's needs, Lisa has never left me wanting for anything on these endurance challenges (sorry folks, she's not available for hire).
Ken and Jackie, as well as all the volunteers: I was so honored by the amazing care and support everyone offered.
Bill Brandt event medic: Bill was super supportive and knowledgeable. Leading up to the event, Bill organizing a couple on-line meetings with Arrowhead veterans, the conversations covered a wide range of topics. Plus he was there throughout the race, I had a great conversation with him on the couch at Melgeorge and he offered help loading my bike while we packed out of Fortune Bay.
Tonka Cycle and Ski Team: Brett, Tyler, and the whole crew did great work helping me get my Pugsley ready for this challenge and some extra equipment for this big ride. One quick story about their help, I found my seat post was seized in December, Brett worked for days to extract the seat post and got me set up with a new seat post; and in the process, found my bottom bracket was at the end of its life, getting that replaced too.
Dr Paulie Glatt GO Physio: A couple months prior to the race, I had a minor but nagging pain in my knee. I'd typically give it time to see if it's sorting itself out, but with the Arrowhead 135 right around the corner, I wasn't willing to risk it getting worse. Paulie's consultation was super informative and helpful, and I'm happy to report that with some light PT and minor changes, the pain is all gone.
Risa & Verse Racing: Risa Hustad and Versus Racing put on a winter bike camping trip in December. This was great for a few reasons: I had the opportunity to test out my fully-loaded bike, test out my winter sleep system, and we had a great conversations about the Arrowhead 135 as well as other winter bike events. I learned so much and gained a ton of confidence.
My Pugsley fully loaded on the Arrowhead Trail
The Overly Detailed Gear List (*means it fulfills mandatory gear requirements):
Bike:
2015 Surly Pugsley the original fatbike! This bike is mostly stock, here are my modifications: Ergo grips, Brooks C-15 Carved saddle, and Salsa Guide carbon seatpost.
Dillinger 4 Tires started with 6 psi, but stopped a few times early Monday to dump pressure. Checking the tires after the finish, I was at 3 psi. The low pressure helped 'float' over the soft snow, and suck up the rough trail. The tires felt awful anytime you'd cross a road (there are very few roads to cross, so that wasn't a problem).
Tech stuff:
Garmin Edge 1040 Solar
Garmin inReach Mini 2 | Satellite Communicator*
NiteRider Lunina 750 & 700 | bike headlighs*
Black Diamond headlamp
Planet Bike Superflash Turbo (x3) | bike taillights*
Toolbox, with my multi-tool, patch kits, and other field repair stuff, in the container in the seat tube bottle rack - it's so old and I have no idea what it's called
Clothing:
Podiumwear Arrowhead jacket (but that spent most of the ride strapped to my trunk bag)
Podiumwear lightweight vest
Woolly tank top base layer
Smartwool midlayer
45NRTH Naughtvind bib knickers
Smartwool socks (x4)
45NRTH Wölvhammer boots
45NRTH Greazy hat
45NRTH Nokken gloves
Patagonia puffy jacket (never left my stuff sack)
45NRTH Naughtvind shell pants (never left my stuff sack)
My sleep system deployed on a the "winter" camping event with Versus Racing
Miscellaneous
Spare tubes (x2) PocketRocket 2 stove * GSI Outdoors Isobutane Fuel Canister * (1x 110g in my CamelBak & 1x 230g in a fork bag) Windproof matches * 1 Pint cup/pot * Whistle on a string * Reflective safety sash *
Melting water test when it was -10F
Here’s the required gear list; racers must have the following on them at all times during the race:
-20F degrees sleeping bag or colder rating
Insulated sleeping pad
Bivy sack or tent
Firestarter (matches or lighter)
Stove
8 fl. oz. fuel at ALL times (either gas, alcohol or 2 canisters of propane/butane 100 g. each or 12 Esbit tablets)
Pot (min. volume is 1 pint)
2-qt (64 fl. oz.) or just under 2 litres, insulated water container
Headlamp or flashlight
Flashing red LED lights, both on front and back of sled or bike (or on backpack if skier).
Everyone have at least 10 square inches of reflective material on front and back of the person for this race.
Two lights total are required, one on the front of the bike, sled or racer (runner or skier with backpack), one on the back of the bike, sled or racer (runner or skier with backpack). Each light must have a minimum of three flashing red LEDS.
Whistle on string around neck to call for help, because your mouth is too numb to yell.
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