The event couldn't have been run without hundreds of volunteers and their dedication made it a very organized event. After signing up for it way back in February, it was hard to imagine how all the pieces would fall together, but they did. Everyone who worked so hard to put it together made it pretty brainless for the riders - we just showed up to ride and everything else was taken care of!
Buses were available to depart the Twin Cities starting at 1pm on Friday to make the journey to the starting line - Proctor, MN, which is near Duluth. My friends (Jess, Katie, & Matt) and I decided to meet at 2pm and go from there. We picked up our registration packets and put our race numbers on our bikes and luggage. They had semis to load the bikes on, which were then transported to a large field near the starting line for pickup on Saturday. We kept the luggage with us on the bus. As soon as we got up to Proctor, there were more buses that were shuttling riders to area hotels. We were lucky enough to get a hotel for Friday night (not so lucky on Saturday - more on that later), so we boarded the next bus and checked in at our hotel. By this point we were starving, so we headed out on foot to Canal Park in Duluth to eat at Old Chicago. The walk to and from the restaurant was freezing and we were getting pretty nervous about the temperature for the next day...so when we got back to the hotel we tried to drown our concerns in the hot tub. We were all in bed by about 10:30, in preparation for our alarm to go off at 5:30 (gross).
We were all dressed out of our hotel room in about 15 minutes and then headed down to the lobby. Hopped on another bus to take us back to the starting line - loaded our luggage on another truck - ate breakfast at the high school - found our bikes - and got ready to depart. It was about 7:30 when we headed out across the start. And yep, it was cold indeed - probably about 50 degrees and overcast. And it really didn't warm up all that much throughout the ride on Day 1, we all rode with jackets.
They had designated rest stops about every 12-15 miles and these were great - they had port-a-potties, tons of food, water, gatorade, bike repair tents, everthing we needed. We were generally pretty grateful to get off our bikes and walk around a little bit at these stops - it was a good way to work out the soreness and get a little refreshed to tackle the next stretch. On Day 1 we averaged about 13-14 mph. We were towards the last third of the pack (3500+ riders) due to our late start, a moderate pace, and rest stops. We pulled into Hinckley, MN at about 2:30 or 3 with 75 miles in. It was a great feeling to get there! Most of the ride was a trail lined with trees, which made for great riding (no wind, cars, or potholes).
Once we got there, we dropped off our bikes in a designated area and then went to find our luggage which was set up in another field. Then it was time to set up our tents! Ugh...when we registered for the race 4 months ago, all of the hotels in the area were already booked...which left us with outdoor camping. Suck. But again, most everything else was taken care of - they had a dinner catered by Buca, Medtronic had a tent with snacks, there were food vendors, etc, etc. Oh, and we took showers in a "Shower Truck" which was a new experience for all of us. They had separate semis for men and women, with private shower stalls inside - they were actually really great! We hung out for a few hours and were all ready for bed by about 9:30. The temperature dipped below 40 degrees overnight so it was COLD. Yeah, a hotel would have been nice.
Sunday morning we were up at 5:15...tasked with getting dressed at 41 degrees (shiver!), packing our luggage and our tents. This time we skipped breakfast and headed over to the starting line at about 6:15. It was nice to get on the road earlier with more riders, but holy hell, it was COLD. I had tears in my eyes because my fingertips were numb. That first stretch was about 14 miles and by the end of it, we had finally thawed out for the most part. The sun was out and the temperature was warmer. What a difference that extra hour made! Our friend Katie dropped out of the ride at this point - her knees were hurting and she hadn't trained as much as the rest of us...fortunately they have vans at the ready to transport riders back who aren't feeling well enough to finish. The next 25 miles were actually a lot of fun - we got into a groove of going about 16 mph and at one point were drafting behind a group going about 19 mph. We felt a little more energized being in the first third of the pack, as compared to the day before.
We got to the halfway point at about 10:30, where they were serving lunch. The sun was out, it was about 70 degrees and we were feeling great. The second half was another story. Friend Matt rode with his sister for the rest of the ride, so it was down to just Jess and me. The sun disappeared, the temperature dropped and the headwind was relentless. We averaged about 11-12 mph for the next 2 legs, it was rough! One of these legs was the longest too at about 16 miles, we didn't think we were ever going to make it. Finally we got to Hugo - the last stop before the finish - and that was a big lift. We stayed there for just a few minutes and got back on the bikes again, with new resolve. This time we were back up to 15-17 mph, trying to keep up with 2 guys on road bikes. The last leg wound through mostly residential streets and then we hit the last stretch where we had been warned there was a giant hill. UGH! Giant hill it was, but we made it up...all the way to the parking lot near the finish line. Our friends Craig and Meghan were there to cheer us on, among hundreds of other people. It was very exhilirating to finally finish!
TBD if we'll do it again.
Jess, Katie, Me, Matt
Team Medtronic (we had 36 riders and raised over $27,000!)
Finished!
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