Fat Bike Birkie, 2016

The year and season finale.
I had set a goal last year to win my age division of the Fat Bike Birkie 47k race.
Missed my goal by a little, but still made the podium. After the race they had me in 2nd but was knocked down to 3rd later. Stayed on, though!
It was a great finish, spent with great friends along with our wives.

Photo credit, friend and fellow racer, Nick Templeton.

Sweaty Yeti 2016

Season winding down with the good times at Levis Mounds. A race, yes, but this event is more about just having a good time.
Ever since the first faty race here a few years ago, myself and many meet up to ride, have a few brews and have a good time.
I brought grandson Jason to this race last year and he came again. We "camped" out in the chalet.
We brought his new fat-bike and he rode it around some, but it's just a tab too large for him and I don't think he feels 100% comfortable with it.

Buddy Russ from Appleton teamed up with me so I could hang-out a little with Jason during the race.
We finished 1st in the Open Team Division. Team name was Russ x 2....in honor of me being twice the age of Russ. It started warm and got warmer. Glad I had studs on again. Russ didn't but he still turned in some really fast laps.
Won some nice beer from Sand Creek Brewing, plus they tossed in a keg for general consumption.

Random shots of the day.

Friend Al.

Bra Man.....Jason was looking at him and was a little confused.

Mass start.

Tippy Viking

Birkie 2016

XC- Sking buddy Doug picked me up in the AM and we flew up once again to ski the Birkie, my 11th. On the way up we flew close to the land I own on the Jump River, so Doug made a swing so I could take a picture.

From the open field south to the point where the river makes a left turn then north to the road is what we own, around 50 acres. I could see the hunting shack, just off the field to the south/left where that small white/open spot shows, is where it's at.

Doug did a great job of landing the plane at the small private Telemark airstrip, where the race starts, on an ice coated tarmac. After the race we got to fly through a few snow squalls, which were a bit unnerving, but again, Doug did a great job navigating up, over, around and through them.

After the race a friend, Leah Gruhn, a fellow endurance racer from Duluth, MN was at the finish line waiting for her husband to finish. She shared a bit of her celebration elixir with me.....