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Snowman Adventure Race |
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Team Bikeman -
Race Reports
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Written by Anders Larson
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Wednesday, 12 March 2008 |
2008 Snowman Adventure Race
Portland, ME
March 1, 2008
 | | Homer and Lisa |
I’d like to start off by saying that this race wasn’t my first choice of something to do on a Saturday in March. I was pretty happy keeping warm, working out in my basement, and occasionally going for short runs around the neighborhood. Teammate Mary Longhofer suggested some Bikeman folks should get together and give this local race a try, and at the time I just dismissed this as an intrusion into my comfort.
However, things change, and I was trying to find an activity that I could do with my high school freshman daughter Linnea, and one thing led to another and I asked her if she wanted to try something out of the ordinary. Being a stand up kid, she accepted the invite, and lo and behold, we were on.
The race format seemed pretty cool. Teams of two (1 runner, 1 biker) would complete a combination of sledding, running, and biking. It started with the biker running up the big grassy (snowy) area on the Eastern Promenade, sliding down, getting the bike from the runner and then cycling around the Back Bay, a 4.5 mile loop total. Then meet the runner at the end of the loop, who then runs up the same hill, sleds down, runs 2.4 miles down the promenade into Portland and then returns on Fore Street, finishing by meeting the cyclist at the top of the hill and sliding down together and crossing the finish line. We’re on.
We needed a team name, and after thinking of classic father/daughter teams throughout history and popular culture, we decided that “Homer and Lisa” was about as good as we were going to get.
Saturday proved to be a nasty weather day. Several inches of messy snow followed by a steady rain. After registering, we suited up and got mentally into the game. When the “GO” yell went off, about 30 or so of us took off up the hill running. There were a few accidents. When I hit the “fun” part of sledding down, I soon realized my ghettoflyingcarpetcrapsled was not giving me that competitive edge I was looking for, and I would up having to shimmy my way down the hill. I did get down and used my cyclocross skills to jump on board my shiny Carver 96er and off I went.
I was pretty nervous as soon as things got going because I was running my Carver single-speed style, and I soon ran out of gears on the Eastern Promenade. I figured people would be flying by me, and sure enough, Marianne Stover cruises by on her cyclocross bike like I was standing still. I jumped on her wheel and was spinning like a Sylvester-chasing-Tweety lawn ornament just to keep up. We quickly cruised through the rich kids with the nice sleds, and hit the Back Bay loop. Well, here is where the old Carver started to pay off. With my Nokian studded tires front and rear (love the 29er version!) I found my groove. The snow got a little deeper and a little stickier, and between short periods of running followed by grunt it out sessions of pedaling, I got my motor running. Marianne had a few slips in the deep stuff, and about ½ way around I passed her. We stayed that way for the rest of the trip around and I managed to open a little gap on her. She said later she biffed on a corner. Now when I say we were moving, I have to put this into perspective. It took me over 40 minutes to do the biking leg. I think I could run this way faster on a good, clear day. It was the hardest riding I have done since cross season, and I pretty much burned all my matches up. I don’t know why every race turns into a must win for me, but it does. As Big Al says, if your not trying to win, you ain’t racing.
So I come into the “expo” area and Linnea is waiting for me. She grabs the baton and sled and cranks up the hill. Marianne comes in as Linnea is coming down the hill, so Linnea has about a 2 minute gap on Marianne’s boyfriend and teammate. Linnea has totally psyched herself into a tizzy, knowing she hasn’t lifted a leg in a month while struggling with the Larson “win at all cost” dysfunction. She takes off like she’s being chased by the Yo gi oh club, and hauls down the Eastern Promenade toward town.
I get to change into dry clothes, meander to the top of the hill, and wait for her. Sure enough, there she was with a nice fat gap on 2nd place. She meets me at the hill, we shimmy down the hill on the ghettoflyingcarpetcrapsled and cross the line. Boo Yaa, big fat W for Homer and Lisa. I was so proud, especially when I learned she blew chunks during the run out of shear effort. Good kid, she’s got a future in suffering. Now I have to get her on a mountain bike….
So next year we’ll defend the title. I give it a hearty recommendation for anyone in the area who appreciates a low key, fun time. The entry fees also benefited Portland Trails, so it was definitely a worthy cause for all cyclists.
Anders |
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Team Rider Profiles
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Steve Morse,
Pawtucket, RI
Cyclocross B, Road CAT 4
Profile Inside
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; "Homer and Lisa")
