Inching Along at Blue Mound

That which does not kill you makes your stronger.

Blue Mound. There is so much you could say about it.

Hardest course in Wisconsin for me. Course most likely to draw blood and break your bike. Evil mind control rocks. Course most likely to be the set of a horror movie.

I have been thinking about the horror movie aspect all week. This idea hadn't occurred to me in previous years, but the heat, humidity, huge rock piles, vegetation, jungle-like atmosphere and pig farm smell this year all added up to a surreal experience!! (note: I haven't seen a lot of horror movies, so I really have no basis for comparison!!)

The first time I did this race, maybe in 2004, the start was down in the lower parking lot, by the pool. It gave it a different feel. Instead of the long gravelly climb, we climbed the hill on the road. Our cars were at pretty much the same level as the trail. This time around, it was like we were descending into a steamy jungle.

Now, can't you just see it? Innocuous gigantic green field, parking lots, picnic tables, a shelter, some bathrooms, lots of happy people's tents set up along the course, amiable Toyota Fj Trail dudes taking photos, giving out schwag, and giving test drives, all in all a nice day in the state park! It's a whole different story however, when you descend into the steamy jungle underworld. This takes place soon after the rocky downhill. The evil mind control rocks are lying in wait to puncture!! You are "initiated" into the underworld by the rock gauntlet within the first few minutes of your first lap!! Whether your realize it or not, you are being forwarned about what lies ahead. They are just waiting oh so patiently for you to fly by, full of enthusiasm and adrenaline!! And what happens then? Boom, the mind control rocks immediately show their dominance by causing flats before people even get to the next stretch of singletrack. The rocks let you think you made it safely by letting you ride past the pool and then next thing you know your air sneaks out in the first stretch of open doubletrack... I'm sure almost everyone saw someone changing a flat after that rocky section at some point.... So I decided ahead of time to walk the worst parts of that first downhill section - partly to avoid that fate but mainly because I knew the downhill was above my skill level. The two women right behind me decided to do the same thing once they saw what was to come.

You momentarily pop back into happy State Park mode (just a teaser!) as you barrel down a grassy hill past the pool, which was hopping. We turned left, the longer races turned right after the pool. Then we hit the doubletrack for a bit.

Then, in the first stretch of singletrack, there are green finger-like fronds reaching out at you from the sides of the trail at waist level and below. The lush vegetation makes the trail feel very intimate, but could be spooky too, if you were all alone out there. There are small rocks, big rocks, and rock piles everywhere. Navigating the rocks requires such intense concentration, you end up blocking everything else out. A lap ends up taking so long that you just feel immersed in the jungle, like you might never emerge. I never had a clear sense of where I was. It was close call after close call. I had a "no crash rule" for this race after getting really banged up in previous years. I did get saved many times from friendly trees on the side of the trail that I fell into or grabbed onto. If you took this setting and added some eerie bird noises in the background and took away most of the competitors except for the Thing behind you in black that you can never quite see but you know he's there chasing you, ready to pounce if you don't make it over the next rock pile.... well, there's the start of your movie!

Silly, huh? I don't know what made me think of this, I didn't think of it so much while I was riding as I did later, when I was thinking about what a drastic change it was to go from the parking area into the woods.

And really, you could say the LaCrosse course is kind of like that too - after all, my bike did get attacked by a Rooty Thing there, causing it to bleed brake fluid!!

Anyway, the first person I saw when I got there was Ray, aka "Rayana". He had just done his first lap of the 6 hour, and his story did not inspire confidence in my ability to handle this year's course. He was covered with scrapes and said he endoed twice. Then one of the registration guys told me that they used the hardest part of the course for the three hour. Upon further questioning, he assured me he was not kidding! Gulp!

I had been looking forward to seeing the FJ Cruiser Trail Team. I really like the look of the FJ's, they caught my eye the minute they came onto the market. Ray told me that the Trail team was taking pictures and giving away multi-tools and other stuff. He suggested going over there before the tools were gone, so that is what I did after registration. Then I got ready for the race.

I noticed Marty and his kids arriving in a van with kayaks on top as I was getting ready. I couldn't resist telling him he forgot and brought the wrong toys. They had a big kite too, in addition to the kayaks and bikes. I'm sure they had a fun weekend trying to do everything.

I found Chris and Kim's tent over near another parking lot that I didn't even realize was there. Rachael, John and Mountaingoat were also stationed there. I left my little cooler with them before the start. I kind of loped at the LeMans start for the 3 hour race, instead of running. The running starts are not great for me. The cast of characters was pretty much the same as usual, it's nice to see the familiar faces.

Made it through the downhill gauntlet, the cautious way. Chris flew by in the gauntlet, he had the rocks under control. Once in the singletrack, I did alot of walking. Ride a bit, almost fall over when hitting some obstacle, get off, walk a bit through the rock piles, get on again, almost fall into a rock pile, grab a tree, get off again, on again, off again. On, off, on, off. I was drenched with sweat. The heat didn't bother me, I like heat, but I was also soaking wet from being away from a breeze. And not going fast enough to create my own. I was again on the unfamiliar bike that I am not used to, and was just trying to survive. Stabbing knife pains in my feet too, that added to the survival factor, knowing this was really hard on my back.

The funny thing about walking your bike there is that you could really just as easily crash Walking as you could Riding!! Or at least I could. As I got tired, I would find my toe catching on a rock or root, which would almost send me flying. I can't count the times I turned my ankles on embedded rocks and rock piles. Also, my shoes would slip on the rocks. Last year one of my worst "crashes" was when I was trying to drag the bike over a rock pile. I noticed one or two people at the start were wearing running shoes, and I wondered if that was a strategy for dealing with all the dismounts and the walking that some of us had to do. I was not the only one walking out there, that was for sure.

The course required so much attention that any "conversations" were bound to be weird. A few times when I asked someone a question as they were passing, it was like they had to snap out of their haze for a moment, think about what I was asking, and then realize they had no idea if they had just passed any women right behind us, or how far into the lap we were, or whatever I was asking them. Hardly anyone was giving a warning before passing - I told one guy I could move out of the way faster if he warned me ahead of time, and he said he didn't have the energy to talk.

At one point in my last lap John G. passed me, then I saw him standing in the vegetation by the side of the trail, looking for something. His sunglasses had flown off. I think Chris passed shortly after that, then John passed me. Must have found the glasses, I wasn't sure he would. It would be really hard to find anything there! Don't lose your car keys! I didn't dare stop, I was under the gun on time at that point.

The last lap I was very worried I would not make it back before the cut off time, based on my previous lap time. I pushed myself harder and tried to stay on the bike more. I rode alot of stuff that I walked the first time around, so I felt a sense of accomplishment about that. Not that I had mastered the course or anything, but it was a little more manageable. Except for how much harder everything gets when you are getting tired and sloppy. I didn't think I'd be able to lift my right leg over the seat to get back on one more time... but I always did somehow, even when I felt like I couldn't. (see...? the riders with poor technical skills get an entirely different workout in this race than the more skilled riders!)

Was anyone else besides me creeped out by the creaking noise that fallen tree made as it rubbed against another tree trunk? I just about jumped out of my skin until I realized what that was. I guess there must have been some moving air down there, for that thing to move like that. I think we had to ride right under it. Maybe that's what subconsciously got me thinking about scary movies....

Someone else in their blog, I think Peter from Killjoy, mentioned the stinky trail. I definitely noticed a pig farm type of smell floating around in spots. It didn't make any sense that it would be there, it seemed out of place. I remember going, huh, what's that doing there? Another thing making it surreal....

Thanks to Kim for the bottle handup! I was soooo tired after slogging up that hill - it was wonderful to have her there to hand me a bottle so I didn't have to get off and find my cooler.

I finished with time to spare - my watch was off from the race clock, and I failed to check the difference at the start.

After changing, I checked my raffle tix against the raffle board and found that I had won a Planet Bike pump and Hat, and a bottle of Hammer Gel. Thanks to both of those companies and all the others that donated to the raffle! I was excited to get such useful stuff. I also got a third place medal at the awards.

I then went for an FJ Cruiser test ride. I enjoyed that. We went driving in the countryside, got a little lost but not for long, thanks to the Garmin stuck to the windshield. I liked the truck. If I weren't so happy with the one I have, I might consider it. That was fun having those guys out there, it added something to the event. The special modified Millenworks off-road cruiser on display had a refrigerator inside, and the guy said he puts his bike upright on the other side in back next to the fridge. That was the one they took our pics with. I notice on the website that it did the Baja 1000.

After the race Chris, Kim, and their friends/hosts John and Michelle and I went to dinner at Pasqual's, the one close to the race. I was excited when I saw that was where were going, because I had heard about it but had never been! I didn't get to try their famous margaritas because I still was driving back to Chicago that night. But I did get a delicious chocolate cupcake for dessert, something I haven't had in ages, mmmm.

Enough of Blue Mound for now, if you made it this far. Other people gave wonderful detailed descriptions of their race, so I thought I'd also try to capture the mood of the place a little. Not sure if it worked, but if not, you can always wait for Blue Mound, the movie!