2011 Iditarod Trail Invitational

[Eric]

started yesterday under cold and brisk skies.
Trail conditions are super fast and the leaders blew through Skweetna (mile 80) hours earlier than usual. We had a day of above freezing temps earlier in the week then straight back to cold, so everything is nice and compacted.



Follow along here: http://www.alaskaultrasport.com/results.html
and here: http://www.alaskaultrasport.com/latest_news.html

Lots of really fast people this year in addition to the usual suspects of JayP, Pete Basinger and Jeff Oatley.

[ScottM]

Thanks for the post.  Looks like we have a good horse race developing between the veterans of the trail.  This should be fun to watch!

[Eric]

Pete B made it to Puntilla in just over 25 hrs! That is a mega effort!

[sean salach]

So much TD attention, so little love for the ITI!?!?!?

Pete and Jeff came within an hour of setting a new record this year. Up until Rohn, it looked as though at least Pete would be under 3 days. Louise Kobin crushed the women's record by around 20 hours. Ausilia Vistarini became the first female ever to finish the McGrath race on a singlespeed. Loreen Hewitt set a new woman's foot record. It was an exciting race!

And now Aidan Harding is poised to become the first single speed rider ever to make it to Nome in the race. He, Jay and Tracey have made it to at least the ghost town of Iditarod. How do we know? A photo in an article about the dog sled race. No phone to call in from there...

http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/rough-trail-lies-wait-past-iditarod

http://www.alaskaultrasport.com/alaska_ultra_home_page.html

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Iditarod-Trail-Invitational/169964759708637


Show some love people! These racers are out there crushing it in deadly conditions.

[sean salach]

Here're my photos from the McGrath race this year:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/72475478@N00/sets/72157626102869699/with/5510743455/

[Marshal]

Been trying my best to follow this race from day 1. 

Aidan has posted up a 350 report
http://www.aidanharding.com/2011/03/mcgrath/

but the updates for this race are so slow, scattered and disjointed its tough to stay interested

Ha, to bad the Iditarod does not allow spot trackers--as a fan they really spoil you!!

Anyway GO Aidan, Tracy and Jay and the other Nome hard cases!!!

[sean salach]

The Mcgrath race is a lot easier to follow than the Nome race, with the multiple daily updates of peoples progress. The updates should be a lot more frequent once the racers reach Shageluk. With possibly a one day lull between Grayling and Kaltag.

[bmike-vt]

Here're my photos from the McGrath race this year:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/72475478@N00/sets/72157626102869699/with/5510743455/

Did you do a bit of skiing on the way?
Nice photos.

[sean salach]

Nope, but if I had continued on to Nome, my bike would have. Thanks.

[sean salach]

Jay and Tracey are into Shageluk!!!  4 days from McGrath to Shageluk is really good speed. If trail conditions are halfway decent from there to Nome, it definitely could be a record year.

Carl, you out there? How many days did it take you to get to the Yukon from Knik?

[sean salach]

Aiden and Tim Hewitt should be there later today.

Jerym Brunton, a walker, is attempting to be the first person to complete the Yukon Arctic Ultra(430 miles) and the ITIto Nome(1000ish miles) in the same year, less than a month apart.

[bmike-vt]

Nope, but if I had continued on to Nome, my bike would have. Thanks.

That needs a bit more explanation...

[sean salach]

When faced with upwards of 150 miles of deep snow without a trail, your options are:

1- Wallow in post-hole hell till exhaustion.

2- Camp out, ration food and wait for the Iditarod(dog race) trail breakers to come through and cut you out a trail.

3- Assemble a sled that you've been carrying to put your bike on, strap snowshoes to your feet and pull your bike through the snow. Aidan and Billy Koitsch attempted this option this year. It's complicated and the risk of losing small parts is high.

4- Attach skis to your tires, snowshoes to your feet and continue pushing your bike through the snow. Downsides are conveniently attaching the skis to the bike while riding and having to hold the bike upright the whole time, but that's no different than if the trail was there, just soft.

I'm going to try to find some shorter, wider skis for next year, to make it a bit easier mounting them to the bike while I'm pedaling.  Having them behind the seat like that was a bit awkward with the waist pack I was wearing, and didn't allow me to use my Moxey post.

[donkey]

I'm going to try to find some shorter, wider skis for next year, to make it a bit easier mounting them to the bike while I'm pedaling.  Having them behind the seat like that was a bit awkward with the waist pack I was wearing, and didn't allow me to use my Moxey post.

How about a twin tip snowboard cut in half? One half for each wheel......attach a few webbing straps to the binding mount inserts and you're on your way.

B

[bmike-vt]

How about the Marquette skis.  Wide,  plastic,  short.

http://www.marquette-backcountry.com/

[sean salach]

EDIT: Both of those are...  one of the options I'm considering.

[donkey]

How about the Marquette skis.  Wide,  plastic,  short.

http://www.marquette-backcountry.com/

and heavy:-)

[sean salach]

Scratch that, those Marquette skis are the same length as the child's nordic skis I have now. They would actually be more difficult to mount due to the same length with more width.

[sean salach]

Jay and Tracey are into Grayling! They've still got one long stretch of Yukon to cover, about 120 miles, before they're back to seeing villages every day. The Iditarod checkpoint at the halfway mark of this stretch should be in full swing when they get there, but so far, the dog teams haven't caught them. They're making incredible time and apparently have ridden all but about 15-20 miles since the race started.

Aidan made it into Anvik last night, about 2.5 hrs and only 17-20 miles behind the Petervary's. Still a pretty close race, it'll be interesting to see what happens further up the trail.

[sean salach]

Aiden has caught up to Jay and Tracey in Grayling, and all three appear to have left before the first mushers. They'll be caught and passed by a few of them on the 60+ miles of Yukon to Eagle Island, and will be steadily passed by more as the days go on. The plus side of this is an almost guaranteed to be there trail that's decent to ride and the excitement of seeing the dog teams passing in beautiful and remote country. The downside is potentially crowded shelter cabins and the 'decorations' the dogs leave on the trail.