Singletrack, Crash, Singletrack, Fire, Fire, Fire

So Stoker and I made our 2006 debut on the tandem in Seeley this morning at the Pre-Fat. We entered the tandem division, which was the sport race due to "less singletrack" It was suppose to be 15 miles of snowmobile trails, doubletrack and fireroads...well kinda

The race started with the first mile on pavement out 00 and up a three tier climb, we decided to put it in the 52-11 and let it rip, we instantly put 20 seconds on the field (198 riders) We are thinking this is good, then we turn into some rocky double track and are rolling well, it rained 3.5 inches on Thursday so the course was a little slick. Three singles catch us as we are being cautious on the wet rocks. So we roll in 4th place for the next 5 miles. We cross back over 00 and we have a long climb, we catch 3rd and pass him on the climb, then we hit this tight, twisty, full of trees, rocks, and roots, technical single track. We get out of it still in third, but with 4th on our ass. The trail opens up for a mile or so and we left 4th place. Then singletrack and more singletrack and more singletrack...then our first crash on the tandem. We went around a tree and the back end sliding to the right and the front end was sliding to the left and timber... stoker and captain went down, no harm we get up and keep rolling through the singletrack. Trying to make up some time, I got a little too agressive on the shifting and we threw our chain into our spokes, it took us a minute or two to get it untangled...now we are in 8th! Damn Singletrack! So we get out of it and the sign says two miles to go, so we drop the hammer and pass two back, 1 mile to go, fourth is in sight, we climb a short steep hill by a railroad tressel and 600M to the finish. We drop the hammer and trying to close the 80 meters 4th and 5th had on us...we get close, but no cigar. We end up 6th, 3 seconds out of 4th. We were the first tandem team and were 28 minutes ahead of the next tandem team. Most people couldn't believe that we made it through the single track on the tandem, but we did. We are looking forward to the big one in three weeks, much easier than todays.

So what is the fire? It is the town hall in Springbrook. We were driving home and it just started on fire. So we pulled the hummer into the field right accross the street. By the time the Spooner Fire Dept showed up, the house next door was on fire, and the town museum was getting hot. So the first truck stops right in front of the fire, starts the pumps and then decides he is too close to the fire, so they start recruiting citizens to push the fire truck down the street, since I guess you can't start it when you are pumping water??? So get out and start pushing the fire truck in my flipflops. It was so hot I felt like my legs were in the fire, but we got it moved. Stoker stayed in the Hummer and video taped. Then the water tank truck came and ran over a mailbox, it was quite comical to watch.