Frostbike 2015 - Race??? Review

It was a dark and stormy night.  Actually, it was a bright and frigid day!!

It was the morning of the Frostbike Winter MTB race.  And I was off to partake.

The normally 40 minute drive to Port Colborne took about an hour and a half.  The cold and snow left the roads in terrible condition.  So what did this mean for the trails???  (Yeah, that there is what you call foreshadowing...)

Finally arrived, and got registered.  It was great to see familiar racing colleagues that hain't been seen since the fall races.  However, everyone was so bundled up against the frigid temps that it was difficult to recognize people.

This...

is misconceptionz

Yeah....I preferred the balaclava too...

I think this ...

may  have been a pic I have been requested to remove

was Kyle....

I know this...

Is this guy...1st overall when the race was said and done...  Ah, let's just call him John...

This...

Was JeffS....who of course also ended up on the Podium....again...

egggman is always recognizable...

This might have been Blaze...

In a pic I have been requested to remove...I think because Blaze is not so photogenic...

Although Blaze spent most of the race doing this...seriously.

I'll explain more later...For now....let's get to the race...

For those of us who showed up for the race (registration is limited to 100 racers for this race...it sold out in 24 hours...but 37 did not show up due to volume of snow that fell in the days preceding, and the frigid temps)...we may have been a little too eager.  We gathered at the start line about half an hour ahead of time....just to sit and wait in the cold.  thedumbopinion, race director extraordinaire warned us but we are stubborn like that...(yes I speak for all).

A few pre-rode the course and were returning to tell the rest of us that the course was OK for fatbikes, but anyone else would have trouble.  Great...I doesn't haz fatbike...

There, a shot of a BicycleWorks rider on a fatbike wheel....not me...in case you forgot I doesn't haz fatbike....this is TheSchnepf...posing for the media  (seriously...article in the Flamborough Review).

Anyways it was time to start.  This race is run in waves of 4 - 6 riders...who seat themselves into waves at their own discretion.  I was in the third wave along with Seth, Louda, misconceptionz, and Blaze.  And we were off.  The first 100 meters or so was great!  Nice plowed road.  Then we were into the single track...very narrow singletrack;  and in my very limited skill set I was off track, stopped.  Blaze rode past me and made it about 5 meters before falling over and making his first snow angel of the day...remember I said I would explain later....so this is it.

Damn!  He does pretty good work, eh?

Occasionally we would try to get on our bikes and get going again, but for the most part it was not doable, at least for my limited skill set.  thedumbopinion and his crew had put 100s of hours into shoveling, blowing, and attempting to groom the trails over the previous days and nights...he even took a selfie to prove it...

but in the end conditions were just too harsh.

I'm not much of a bike runner...I got passed by several people who were running faster with their bikes than I was.  And Blaze kept throwing me distractions to slow me down...

Although he might have done better with this one...

So....I just kept running and running.  And when I started to get angry...I just remembered that this was better than golfing, or couch sitting....and there was beer, chili, and friends waiting at the finish.

And while conditions were not great, it was not bullshit...and I was occasionally able to actually ride my bike....even in my limited skillset.  Here is proof...

In fact I was riding by the feedstation on course....not wanting to stop for the rare occasion I was riding...but I heard the marshall say ' There's whiskey!'  Wait....what??  Of course, had to stop....and continued on a little (OK, much) happier.  In fact, I looped back around a couple of times....I don't think they noticed....   And by now, Blaze was almost out of site ahead of me.

These guys were at the next feedstation...

But now I was good...didn't need them...and continued on...eventually making it to the finish...

And yes beer and chili was available....and good friends and good laughs now that it was over.  JeffS took my pic to prove I could still laugh...

And the awards...the winners getting swag, and these nifty puck medals...

As I already mentioned, JeffS was on the podium taking first in his cat.  John was on the podium first overall.  VVagabond also on the podium...

So was CptSydor...but he is camera shy.  In fact the Rock & Road Cycle team really steamrolled the podium this year.  Congrats!!

However, the real congrats go to thedumbopinion, his crew of volunteers, marshalls, and ShortHillsCycleClub, for making the best of very tough conditions and making this race a very fun event...again.  And kudos to all the racers who braved the temperatures and showed up!!

So whats next??

Oh, there is alot!!

Stay posted!