The Togwotee Winter Classic was just another peak into the realm of possibilities of snow bikes and the events that support the growth of this space. This year's TWC was the 5th annual already!
The TWC is held up at the Togwotee Pass area north and slightly east of Jackson. We figured we were in for a good time when we were driving up the pass and kept watching the banks of snow get taller and taller!
We stayed at the Togwotee Lodge and us fatty riders were definitely in the minority in terms of user groups. The Togwotee area is a destination mecca for snowmobilers and after having spent just a little time up there it is understandable as to why snowmobilers flock there.
We woke up Saturday morning and my first observation was that it snowed somewhere between 3-5 inches throughout the night and the forecast called for a 60% chance of snow throughout the day. As luck would have it, that 60% just happened to coincide nicely with our race time! It literally snowed the whole time we rode.
We met at the lodge at 8:15 for a quick debrief and the general consensus was that the conditions were going to be soft and make for a tough day of riding. Discussion revolved around what tire pressure everyone was running, and that the 35 mile option of the event would be a big mouthful to try and chew and swallow, and that the prevailing conditions would push just about everyone to the 25 mile option. There were three people who did the 35 miler and mad props to them for taking it on.
The rest of us mortals were in our own little hurt locker trying to get through the 25 miler. The snow came down sideways due to the constant wind which also made it really difficult to find the tracks where the snow was the most packed down and rideable. The result often meant meandering into deep snow where you had to posthole your way back and try to find more packed down snow....often to no avail. There were a couple of particularly mean sections where they looked very very rideable but the snow just gobbled up your bike and you resorted to hike a bike.
About 1 1/2 hrs in I noticed that both my camelback hose and my water bottle were frozen so that meant no more liquids for the remainder of the event. Bear in mind that the beginning and middle section of the course were the hardest so it was going to be a stretch to manage the effort while not dehydrating over the remaining 2/3 of the race.
I opted for ski goggles for the day thinking that the combo sideways falling snow and nasty winds would make it a good call. I was glad I had the goggles but they too needed a little cleaning every once in a while. I was particularly happy to have them when we entered the valley and encountered swirling winds that at times felt like headwinds and other times felt like sidewinds that just wanted to blow snow everywhere. It was snowing and blowing hard enough that the riders that were a couple of minutes ahead of me had their tracks completely blown over by the time I got to their location.
As usual with these longer events, you end up riding in a pack of sorts. I spent about the mid 1/3 of the event with a couple of fellow phatties as we commiserated in the foul weather. As with most of these events, you realize how small the endurance riding community is. One of the fellow phatties was a rider from Lander who knew a mutual friend and we immediately started to chat about different events that we had done.
The last 1/3 of the race I was back in solo mode and ended up getting into the line of sight of the 2 riders ahead of me. It was a bit of a yo yo game at that point with them. The irony is that the two riders were the two shop owners who were in the race. Chad from Red Barn and Scott from Fitzgeralds. At about this point I had not had anything to drink in about 2 hours and the dreaded cramps were starting to make themselves present. I relented and stopped to try to get some water. The hose on the camel back had long since been frozen but I figured the reservoir was probably fine considering it was in my backpack. Fortunately it was not frozen so I was able to take a couple of swigs and then get going again. The yo-yo had released and I lost sight of the riders ahead of me. I did reel them back in a little but then had to stop again to get some food and water and a little mental break!
The hardest blow on the ego/pride for the day was the last little push back up to the start/finish where the trail paralleled the road for a bit and was a low grade hill. There was just enough snow and the conditions were just poor enough that it made it really really difficult to ride that section (the legs were tired at this point too)......The lodge was in sight but yet I found myself pushing the bike along this section for a while.
We got back to the lodge and everyone quickly started to compare notes about the day's events and the consensus from the crew who had ridden this before all said that this was probably as tough a conditions that the TWC hosted. The trails are usually nicely groomed and the race is usually much faster due to the nice hard packed groomed trails.
It was an awesome day in the saddle and the best part was getting to see ALL those phatties in one place and ride with other like minded people who were chasing the same elusive euphoria of riding big tires in snow. It was super fun to hang out in the lodge after the event, swill some local brews, and get to know more about everyone else that rode. Big Fun all the way around!
There is still more to digest from the weekend's events and tomorrow will be some lessons learned for me.
Mad Props to TWC organizer Dave B for putting on such an awesome event.
The TWC is held up at the Togwotee Pass area north and slightly east of Jackson. We figured we were in for a good time when we were driving up the pass and kept watching the banks of snow get taller and taller!
We stayed at the Togwotee Lodge and us fatty riders were definitely in the minority in terms of user groups. The Togwotee area is a destination mecca for snowmobilers and after having spent just a little time up there it is understandable as to why snowmobilers flock there.
We woke up Saturday morning and my first observation was that it snowed somewhere between 3-5 inches throughout the night and the forecast called for a 60% chance of snow throughout the day. As luck would have it, that 60% just happened to coincide nicely with our race time! It literally snowed the whole time we rode.
We met at the lodge at 8:15 for a quick debrief and the general consensus was that the conditions were going to be soft and make for a tough day of riding. Discussion revolved around what tire pressure everyone was running, and that the 35 mile option of the event would be a big mouthful to try and chew and swallow, and that the prevailing conditions would push just about everyone to the 25 mile option. There were three people who did the 35 miler and mad props to them for taking it on.
The rest of us mortals were in our own little hurt locker trying to get through the 25 miler. The snow came down sideways due to the constant wind which also made it really difficult to find the tracks where the snow was the most packed down and rideable. The result often meant meandering into deep snow where you had to posthole your way back and try to find more packed down snow....often to no avail. There were a couple of particularly mean sections where they looked very very rideable but the snow just gobbled up your bike and you resorted to hike a bike.
About 1 1/2 hrs in I noticed that both my camelback hose and my water bottle were frozen so that meant no more liquids for the remainder of the event. Bear in mind that the beginning and middle section of the course were the hardest so it was going to be a stretch to manage the effort while not dehydrating over the remaining 2/3 of the race.
I opted for ski goggles for the day thinking that the combo sideways falling snow and nasty winds would make it a good call. I was glad I had the goggles but they too needed a little cleaning every once in a while. I was particularly happy to have them when we entered the valley and encountered swirling winds that at times felt like headwinds and other times felt like sidewinds that just wanted to blow snow everywhere. It was snowing and blowing hard enough that the riders that were a couple of minutes ahead of me had their tracks completely blown over by the time I got to their location.
As usual with these longer events, you end up riding in a pack of sorts. I spent about the mid 1/3 of the event with a couple of fellow phatties as we commiserated in the foul weather. As with most of these events, you realize how small the endurance riding community is. One of the fellow phatties was a rider from Lander who knew a mutual friend and we immediately started to chat about different events that we had done.
The last 1/3 of the race I was back in solo mode and ended up getting into the line of sight of the 2 riders ahead of me. It was a bit of a yo yo game at that point with them. The irony is that the two riders were the two shop owners who were in the race. Chad from Red Barn and Scott from Fitzgeralds. At about this point I had not had anything to drink in about 2 hours and the dreaded cramps were starting to make themselves present. I relented and stopped to try to get some water. The hose on the camel back had long since been frozen but I figured the reservoir was probably fine considering it was in my backpack. Fortunately it was not frozen so I was able to take a couple of swigs and then get going again. The yo-yo had released and I lost sight of the riders ahead of me. I did reel them back in a little but then had to stop again to get some food and water and a little mental break!
The hardest blow on the ego/pride for the day was the last little push back up to the start/finish where the trail paralleled the road for a bit and was a low grade hill. There was just enough snow and the conditions were just poor enough that it made it really really difficult to ride that section (the legs were tired at this point too)......The lodge was in sight but yet I found myself pushing the bike along this section for a while.
We got back to the lodge and everyone quickly started to compare notes about the day's events and the consensus from the crew who had ridden this before all said that this was probably as tough a conditions that the TWC hosted. The trails are usually nicely groomed and the race is usually much faster due to the nice hard packed groomed trails.
It was an awesome day in the saddle and the best part was getting to see ALL those phatties in one place and ride with other like minded people who were chasing the same elusive euphoria of riding big tires in snow. It was super fun to hang out in the lodge after the event, swill some local brews, and get to know more about everyone else that rode. Big Fun all the way around!
There is still more to digest from the weekend's events and tomorrow will be some lessons learned for me.
Mad Props to TWC organizer Dave B for putting on such an awesome event.
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