Well, Icebike 11 is tomorrow at The Forks, so I took the mountain bike out for a pre-ride of the course. This year it seems as if the day might be unusually warm! Right now it’s 0° and trying to rain!
On the ride from the house down to The Forks, the roads were very wet and it was sleeting and/or freezing rain for a while. By the time I arrived at the course, it was if I’d ridden into work in the rain, I was soaked. This years course is similar to last years and there doesn’t appear to be any really crazy parts, just the steep hill after riding up the skating path. Of course that’s followed by dropping down a very steep staircase to go under the Norwood bridge. I’ve never ridden those stairs even in the summer when it’s clear and dry.
On the St. Boniface hospital side there will be one challenging section which I rode just after the course crew had touched it up with some shoveling. No pressure, just 8 guys watching to see if you’ll crash and kill yourself. No such luck, as I was being slow and careful. Tomorrow will be a different story as I’ll need to go a lot faster through this section. The rest, while being off camber, is quite clear of snow and should be fast. But, if the temperatures stay warm, it could turn into a mud bath, as there is lots of dirt exposed.
As always, it should be exciting and the weather will be a big factor. If there is freezing rain and more snow overnight and a temperature drop, it will be quite challenging.