IATP

It stands for Ian's Arrowhead Training Program. He has signed up for the 135 mile race on the snowy and cold Northern Minnesota trails that Lindsay brought to our attention. That means our Vicarious Arrowhead Pool will be a little more complicated than it was last year when we had only Lindsay to cheer for. In addition to Ian and Lindsay, Dallas will attempt to run it. That should be fun . . . to follow from a distance. It also means Ian is in full on training mode. His goal for yesterday was 8 hours or 100 kms, whichever came first.

Jonny G, KK, Halberto, and I joined him in what was, for us, envisioned as an hour or two of good times in BHP. Ian's new Pugsley was considerably more nimble on the snowmobile trails than our mtbs. But once we got into the trees, we were able to maintain a decent pace. For about 20 minutes, at least. And then Jonny's bike shit the bed. His freewheel flew the coop and was free of any spliny engagement whatsoever. Because none of asked ourselves What Would Aiden Do? as we prepared for the ride, we discovered we had not a single zip tie on hand. But Halberto has been on sabbatical for the past six months, so he is wise. Even wiser than usual. He had the bright idea of cutting the elastic cords off his jacket and using them to tie the cassette to the spokes.


It worked well enough to get Jonny back to the parking lot. At which point our ride was brought to a premature end. But the other three soldiered on a bit longer. And hopefully Ian reached his training goal for the day. This could be fun. The next opportunity to participate in Ian's Arrowhead Training Program is next Saturday for the Frozen Crow Ride.

While we were fixing Jonny's bike, each of us had a chance to try out the Pugsley. It is pretty awesome. Almost as awesome as Jonny looks when he's wearing the sweetest jacket in the world.