The Arrowhead 135 is a bike/ski/run race that starts in International Falls and ends near Lake Vermillion 135 miles later. It takes place at the end of January and is usually bitterly cold. This years bike finishing times ranged from 14h20m (record) to 55 hours...
I've heard about this race for some time and usually just brush it off. There are several things that I don't like about it. 1. It's cold. 2. You can't really go very fast. 3. It requires a bunch of expensive equipment.
1. I am starting to get over this with better clothing and stronger will. I think that spending 2 years in Sicily and 3 in Japan (one with an "endless summer" where I was never in weather below 70 degrees) really took away my bodies ability to handle cold weather. I remember my first two years back in MN if it was below 15 degrees my body would shiver uncontrollably. It was not fun. This winter, I have been riding in -6 with a 20mph headwind, foolishly only wearing two base layers and a jersey top and while I was super cold, my body and mind handled it alright. So my reasons for not doing the race just went down by one.
2. Not being able to go fast is relative to your bodies conditioning I suppose, but there are times when the snow gets deep that I don't think it matters how good of shape you are in, the bike is incapable of going fast, or at all. In order just to finish, this is not a problem per se because you are allowed plenty of time, but it is the mental aspect of going so slow and suffering that makes me hesitate. I've punished myself before, but no where near what could happen out there. So this one needs some work.
3. Gear. Holy shit. This stuff is expensive and it is definitely something that you do not want to skimp on. I would guess that from having really nothing, I'd have to spend about $600 just to make myself eligible, not to mention that ideally I would have a new bike as well...
Factor in all these things, plus the very real possibility of getting severe frostbite, or much worse, and I haven't given it much thought until this year.
I have done enough 100+ mile events that I am sure that I can do 135 miles, and I keep getting that itching feeling that I need to do something new and harder, and this seems like the perfect event. It is going to take some time though. Years. The prevailing thought that runs through my mind when I think about this race is that it's ok to sit on the side of the road in a gravel race and catch your breath, but for this race, that could mean freezing to death via your own sweat. Not fun.
I'm going to keep this event in mind though. Picking up sleeping bags and bivy's here and there all while mentally preparing myself.
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