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First Fat Bike Race

Sunday morning, March 2, 2014 was cold and we had some fresh snow.  It was around 7 degrees when I got up at 5:30am.  I got a nice fires started and woke JJ just before 7am. I had prepped and loaded the bike Saturday night and had all our stuff packed.  We ate breakfast, finished loading the van and headed for Pando Winter Sports Park in Rockford, Michigan.  Rockford is about 15 minutes from Grand Rapids.  The roads were not in good shape so it took a little longer than usual.  I had not been to Pando in over 7 years and had never been there in the winter.

I went into the lodge, checked in and picked up our number plates.  I headed back to the van, set up the bike and got into my riding gear.  I told JJ he needed to get changed and I headed out to warm up.  I did a full lap to see what we were in for.  The trail was in great condition and it was 2.25 miles long.  I felt I was ready for this.

So the race would start by tubing down the tubing hill and then getting on the bike for our first lap.  A modified LeMan's start and it would be fun.

JJ getting the Green Machine to the Start Line.


The Wait!
 
The start was definitely fun and fast.  I ended up going down the tubing hill backwards and headed for the bike.
 
Heading out on the first lap.
 
I did the first lap in 23 minutes.  I made a couple changes to the bike and JJ took over.  It was a bit of a wait for JJ and I started to get a little concerned.  Then I seen him appear at the top of the mountain and head for the start/finish line.
 
 
JJ hit the start finish line and said he was done.  I sent him to the van to warm up and get changed.  I made some adjustments to the bike and headed back out.  I did another lap which was difficult and came around the start finish.  I looked at the clock and decided to do another lap.  This took me some time but it was fun.  I finished with getting us another lap and just over the 2 hour time limit.  I was tired and headed for the van.  I talked to JJ for a while and rehydrated.  It was time to change clothes and eat.  We stuck around and found out that we finished in 4th place.  We had a few cups of soup and then headed out.
 
We stopped in Greenville and ate at 57 Brew Pub and Bistro.  They had great burgers and good beer.  I highly recommend this place if you are in Greenville.
 
So will I ever do another Fat Bike race?  Absolutely!  Just need to get in better shape and ride the Fat Bike more!
 


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