Another RAD Day
It was the 3rd year of Race Across Duluth, and my 3rd year attending. Race day was finally here!
It was 42°F out when we woke up, there was a threat of sprinkles by 10 but nothing that should have given us any trouble. We made breakfast, loaded up the bike, and made our way across town to Lester Park. It was 46°F when we parked, and might have hit 50°F when they turned us loose.
I started out intentionally slower on the prelude and going into the Lester Park section of the Traverse letting riders spread out and not burn too many matches. Around 25 minutes in felt good and warmed up and started passing people. I first went around the other 3 riders I'd been pedaling along with, then another lady and finally got out ahead of the rest of the group I'd been pacing my warmup with. It was time to up the cadence and keep this momentum going, that sub 5hr time was within my sights.
As I was about to cross the bridge and exit to Hawk Ridge I clipped a tree with the right side of my bars and that sent me towards the nearest tree on the left giving it flying hug 10' later. The impact knocked the wind out of me and my glasses landed about 5’ down the trail. Once I had my bike pulled away from the tree and off the side of the trail I started checking myself and bike over to make sure nothing was broken. That's when I realized my computer had been ejected from its mount and started looking around. At that point a group of riders caught up to me with Derek at the tail. As Derek passed I realized my computer was in the middle of the trail next to the first tree I bounced off of.
After about 5 minutes gathering my wits I put my feet to the pedals and hammered through again. That crash was definitely going to slow me down the rest of the day. A bit later I caught Derek just as we entered Hawk Ridge and we rode that together for a few miles. With all the rain the last few days there were still plenty of puddles and damp spots making traversing the exposed rock sections through Hawk Ridge a challenge. At some point here he pulled away, but I caught him again after getting through the exposed rocky sections. Once through Hawk Ridge though I pulled away because I was just feeling good. We eventually met up at the first aid station but I was just leaving at that point.
Once through the neighborhood the aid station was in the trails dive into Hartley Park. This trail and the UMD segment were riding great. It started to rain off and on as I was coming into the Chester Bowl Rim trail, through Westchester, Antenna Farm, and just before I got to the midpoint the rain ended. The rain felt nice, helping keep me cool, but it didn't help my mood as it was starting to slicken up the trails a bit.
Taken somewhere around Antenna Farm. Thank you for the snap Carrie
From here you head back up the hill, tackling oh so many switchbacks, until you get into Piedmont and Brewer segments of the Duluth Traverse. These parts of the trail have a nice flow to them that's really needed after the big climb from the midpoint. And then comes the joy of descending the Keene Creek segment. They had it set up as a special timed stage and of all the times I've ridden it I think this was the best condition I've ever seen it. The course then crossed Cody Street and under I35 where the next segment of the Traverse leads into a climb that's a bit of a slog and finally brings you over to Spirit Mountain. Here I soldiered on through more of the trails that the DWP rail trail parallels eventually arriving at the last aid station.
Just as they did last year, volunteers were cooking up grilled cheese sandwiches and I stopped long enough to eat one, a pickle, and some potato chips before continuing on to the Ely Peak train tunnel. About 2 minutes after I departed the rain started. At one point I could only see about 20’ ahead and my fingers were so cold I could barely squeeze my brakes. After about 5 minutes of that I just wanted to get to the tunnel for a little shelter from the weather. I was soaked to the bone by the time I got there, but there were several other like minded people waiting out the downpour, and the DJ in the tunnel made the wait more bearable. Based on previous experiences I knew Mission Creek and the trails leading up to it would be a mess.
And boy was it ever, maybe the worst mudfest I've ever ridden in. What should have taken me an hour from the Ely Peak train tunnel to the finish took 2. Despite the mud and muck from the riders churning things up the trail was riding well as long as I kept my speed in check. I had to use caution with every turn and bridge due to the lack of available traction.
I finally crossed 210 and made the final descent along the St. Louis River into Chambers Grove and just stood there in disbelief at how muddy I was. 6 hours and 22 minutes later I was done. Not the finish I was hoping for, but I'm just glad I finished given my wreck and the weather.
