Ketchum's Galena Grinder XC & Marathon 2008

I put this race on my calendar first thing this year. I thoroughly enjoyed the XC race at Galena in 2007 and this year once again did not disappoint. However, after watching Friday morning my two oldest kiddos have a ball at the MCC Jr. golf tournament, I was not certain I could scrounge up the energy to drive the same afternoon 5 hours to Ketchum, Idaho, for this race. Then, when the Little Rogue (LR) told me he did not want to go to the race even though he had earlier indicated he did (and was pre-registered), well, as you might imagine, that was just about the nail in the coffin for me not going to this race. I mentally pulled out of this temporary duress, pulled LR's bike off of the Tundra in the MCC parking lot, put it on the honda and headed alone to Ketchum to get this race done! Galena is cool, the drive is beautiful (Stanley's Sawtooths above) and I was going to this marathon - period. In 2007 Travis Brown went head to head in the marathon with a New Zealander, and ended up getting second. All I really remembered about the 2007 race was a vicious single track climb that killed pretty much everyone near the top. The course for 2008 was the same, with the addition of a new spectator loop in the beginning that had numerous rollers. The marathon was about 45 miles (2 loops) and each loop had about 3100 feet of climbing. Galena also has some elevation itself. I got there at about 6 pm or so and visited with Davey and the Galena Lodge organizer about the course. Davey immediately told me no problem getting a refund for the little guy. They said camp anywhere I like. I went for a partial course pre-ride and could not believe the size of the rollers. Plenty of loose soil and large rocks in that section too.During the pre-ride, I ran into Bill Martin and Sten Hertsens who are racing for Bozeman's Muleterro. They said they had just placed a note on my truck with directions to their camp site. We had a pretty mellow night and got some rest. In the morning I felt myself for some reason mentally battling why I was putting myself through these things, and being a bit bummed that LR had decided not to come. I had a little coffee (Sten makes strong coffee!), ate some oatmeal and had a few bananas. Bill was cramping a bit and was trying to figure that out? He said no coffee for him as it causes dehydration. I rode down to the marathon registration and then to the beginning of the race which started at 9:00 AM. There appeared to be a fair number of racers in the marathon. It was on the national marathon calender. As last year though, most of the attendees were at Galena for the XC.

I had made a final decision the morning of the race, not to wear a water pack. It did turn out to be hot and sunny. However, Shae and I visited at the start, and were both glad not to be wearing packs like we did at the Cascade Cream Puff this year. Shae said his organization is putting on a race in Twin Falls, so he won't be able to come up to the Butte 100 this year. We were sent and headed for the rollers. A racer got caught on the initial section on the wrong side of a tape marker, but managed to get straightened out clipping out and coming back over. As I suspected, the rollers were a dusty mess. The ticket there though, was to simply stay off the brakes and let the bike do the work. They were not bad. We looped around and back through the start area and then up to the next single track loop which climbed for a bit and then also descended back to the road above the start area. On the descent on this track, there were log pyramids to be ridden over (as last year) and a creek to avoid most of the way down. Then to the road and up to the mother of all loops. I was racing well, and had ramped up the intensity on this ride. I had no injuries and was feeling good. I came slamming down a road section and came upon a rider on his back with two racers in blue jerseys standing over him. I stopped. He was alert and talking. I asked if they had notified anyone. Not yet. One of the stations was just below this and I rode down to it and told the volunteers there to go help. One of the racers standing there said the fellow had landed directly on his head. I don't know how it turned out. Racing mountain bikes is dangerous.

The above photo is of Galena Peak area above the Galena Lodge. I got to the climb and guys were walking it. This year it was loose and dry. I was still feeling good. Eating endurolites and staying hydrated. I could not remember what I had in which rear jersey pocket. Kept searching for gels in the wrong pockets. Also, I had a broken water bottle top that popped off and slammed sports drink into my face. After the climb, there was a very nice lengthy descent on almost all single track. Really cool section. Then back to the start again and back around once more. I passed Bill going the other way in the start area, having already done the spectator loop and closely following the Scott pro who was in the lead. Ryon was coming through as well. I think Bill must have killed the first loop on this course. He later said he cramped up significantly on the second loop. Davey filled up one of my bottles with heed and I was off again. I still felt pretty well and had a good second half of the race. I had taken my glasses off which were covered with sweat and dirt and I should not have done that. The result was immense dust in my contacts. I finally got mad, stopped, took my glasses out of my jersey pocket and cleaned them, and then rode on. I had one pretty good crash right at the end of the race (tired). I went into a stump that we had to dip above to avoid. The result was a seat slammed into my groin. Good thing it was at the end. The results are not yet posted, but I think I got 5th in the 30-39 open. My time was pretty decent on a relative basis. I pressed quite a bit harder at this race. It is such a fun course. Very well put on too. Sun Valley's Idaho Mountain Express Sports Section's take. Sten had a great race, getting 3rd in his division in the cross country. He picked out a new grill as part of his prize and then rode back to the Muleterro campsite with Bill. Knobby Tire had a nice junior race as well.

I camped out with the Mules Saturday night. We ate at Lefty's and visited Hemingway's grave. We got a tip on the Fisher Trail for a Sunday morning ride, but I decided to fish the Lemhi in the Salmon area on the way home instead. Sounds like Fisher was a good option though. When I got to Sula, I came across my friend and mechanic Max. He was riding from Hamilton to the North Fork of the Salmon, where he was going to meet his mom. He's headed to Utah for a few weeks to do a long ride and catch up on some things. Hope to see you soon Max! The Big Sur made it through another long one!