Well, it wasn't even close to 28 below at this year's 28 Below Fatbike race/ride/tour. While plenty of snow graced the course the weekend prior, the warm temps during the week took a little over half the snow on the course before race day. Lucky for us the nighttime temps stayed cool enough to freeze the ground, and a 7 am, hour early start, proved to be a good move as the conditions were firm and fast until after about 10am. Of the 60 registered riders, 53 toed the line and rolled out of Spearfish Canyon Lodge just as the sun began to rise above the canyon walls.
The course was fast this year, with a mixture of gravel, ice, and snow, and a variety of terrain.
It was heads up riding as riders had to navigate the course, following
the route across several grassy fields with only the orange diamonds on stakes
and pink flagging, marking the route as their guide.
A beautiful bluebird day, made the view from the Cement Ridge Checkpoint, worth the grueling climb. Thanks to our sponsors at Legend Suspension and Munro Earthmoving, our volunteers were able to make it to the top and prepare the Chicken Noodle soup for the coming riders.
Eggs were scattered throughout the course and the Golden Egg is always hidden somewhere at the Cement Ridge Fire Lookout. This year's 'finder of the golden egg', recieved a "golden" framebag (among other prizes for other eggs found) courtesy of our sponsors at Dirtbags! It Pays to Play!!
We also had a raffle to help raise money for the grooming of sweet fatbike singletrack at our local trails on Big Hill. Kirk Munro of Munro Earthmoving, generously donated a Grizzly Cooler, and we were able to raise $330 toward the grooming efforts. Thanks to everyone who supported the raffle!
Top 3 overall men's and women's riders recieved an equal cash payout and a Fatbike Flask thanks to Dykstra Pottery! And the overall fastest rider of the day Harley Hanson, recieved the fatbike powermeter valued at $1,200.00, courtesy of our generous sponsors at Quarq!
We hosted the after party outside this year, with Dan Sherill kicking out some tunes, and Crow Peak Beers flowing freely. The Prize table was overflowing, and every rider ended up walking away a winner! It was a great day, and we are already looking forward to next year's race. Thanks to all the volunteers, sponsors, and riders who help to make this event happen. We couldn't do it without you! Pedal POWder!!
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