The Captain’s Log

Well, I didn’t race in the Jay Winter Challenge after all. My older sisters gently reminded me that I’d had the flu the week before and would most likely spend another week in bed if I raced. But that didn’t keep me from being there. I overslept the alarm and missed the start of the 30-miler, but got there in time to help shuttle a couple of folks to the start of the 10-miler. It was a really well-organized event with lots of crazy fun people participating.

As an old-school Iditabiker, I really felt like I needed to be there. Ironically, many of the people racing had never heard of Iditabike (started in 1987–a 200-mile mountain bike race on the Iditarod sled dog trail in the dead o’ winter) and were more than happy to listen to an old geezer tell tales. And Steve Mitchell, who rode the Idiotbike (as those of us who’ve done it are wont to call it) with me in ’89, rode the 30-miler. I recognized him in my telephoto lense. He’s in Vermont now working for Ibex, those awesome purveyors of wooly sports clothing. He ran the Iditabike for a few years before moving on to other projects, such as wife, kids and steady employment.
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So, with the wind chill and all, it’s all of a sudden 60 or so degrees colder than when I was whining about the winter being too warm. Be careful what you wish for, boys and girls.

Saturday is fast approaching and with it the Jay Winter Challenge in Newport, VT. That’d be that silly 10- and 30-mile mountain bike race on snow I was babbling about months ago. Thanks to my newfound journalistic clout, I’ve been granted gratis entry in the 30-miler. At my present state of fitness, second prize would be two free entries in the 30-miler.
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