The Noquemanon pulled off adding a great addition to the Noque weekend. This year was the inaugural year of adding Snowbike or Fat Bike racing to the slue of activities. They even went as far as self proclaiming it the World Championships of Snowbiking being no other race in the country has yet. Even though it is self proclaimed I believe it will take off in time being the location of the event and the popularity of fat bikes in our region.
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| Picture is used fromm MQTphoto.com. He reserves all rights. |
I did not have plans on attending this years race because of where it aligned with my bike specific training. After I wiped the tears from my eyes and stopped whining I had a discussion with my coach and we both decided it would be good for many reasons. All said and done, I'm so happy I competed and I'm already looking forward to next years events. The inaugural event had 70+ participants! That can only mean a bigger field for next year considering the growing popularity of Fat Bikes.
Marquette received 4-6 inches of fresh snow the night before and unknown to the racers at the time the race committee decided to not groom the 1st half of the course. This made for a long and hard day for most and changed the tactics of the front of the race. I did not get a good start at all. The course turn was unexpected and so was the depth of the snow. I got caught in a rut and tangled in some handlebars. (My own teammates Glen Lerlies. I am so sorry Glen. Thank you for the quick release.) This allowed 2 riders, Tyler J. and Kyle S., to grap a sizable lead up the trail as seen in the pic. I'm the small blue jersey on the hill.
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| Picture is used from MQTphoto.com. He reserves all rights. |
It took me 2k of battling tracks to pull in Kyle S who was riding well. Then when I caught him it was a difficult pass. For the next 2k I was following Tyler J's. tracks until I finally realized that plowing my own down the center was a better option. Especially with the increased width of the Moonlander rim and tire setup. Once I found my traction I slipped into a nice cadence and tempo and pulled Tyler back at the 4k mark. I was feeling good after finding my own path and decided to keep going after I caught him. I didn't know if he had followed or not but I wasn't going to look back and didn't for another couple of K. When I finally peeked back I noticed I had created a gap.
At this point we had entered the adventure loop where the steep climbs come one after another. I opted for higher tire pressure for the latter of the race but it caused me to dismount quite early on each steep accent in the first 15k. I ran every hill and the quads screamed at me for it but I found even though it hurt more it was much quicker to run the hills. The higher tire pressure did not seem to interrupt the flow on the flats, downhills, or slight rises. Approaching Forestville (15k) the hills subside which allowed me to find a good rhythm.
I took this rhythm right onto the hard packed Noque trail which was leading us all the way to the finish line at the dome. After plowing through 6 inches of powder the corduroy packed trail felt like a highway. The speeds were so high in comparison that putting your head down and riding with pain was forgotten in the fun. I finished in 1:13 minutes which took the finish line a bit off guard considering the conditions on the first 15k.
I am extremely happy and pleased with the win. It is so much fun to win a race in your back yard and in better yet in front of you family. This shot taken at the end of the race makes every effort worth it. I had an incredible amount of support out there for an early and cold race. Thank you to all my family and the Neimi's. The best part of winning an inaugural race? You hold the course record too!
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| Sharing the podium with the Woman's overall - Daniell Musto |
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