In my burg, December had a record number of days of snow and January has a record amount of snow fall. Mixed in there somewhere was at least one day with a record low temperature. Everyday the local news is gleeful with hyperbole about the mess the weather has caused. The mountain passes are closed more than they are open, all of the county roads (yes, ever single road one) south of my general vicinity were closed for the las week because plows were unable to keep the roads open with the 40 mph winds causing 14 foot drifts.
Despite the fact that these conditions have not made for the best winter of training, I cannot feel bad for myself. The challenges I face are small in comparison to what Mike Curiak is preparing to take on. With a whole heap of custom gear including a bike that stores stove fuel in the frame tubes, Mike is heading out to cover the 1100 mile Iditarod trail from Anchorage to Nome without any support. He is carrying 140 pounds of gear, including all the food he will need for the trip. As the record holder for the course he knows about the difficulty of the route but not resupplying and not using the warming huts along the way takes this attempt to an unheard of level.
During my six hour training ride today I will be thinking of Mike's adventure and hopefully it will help me keep my own challenges in perspective.
