Icekhana

{Auto} Gymkhana events are time and/or speed events in an automobile (borrowed from equestrian). These can feature obstacles such as cones, tires, and barrels. The driver must maneuver through a predetermined "track" performing many different driving techniques. What separates gymkhana from traditional autocross events is that the gymkhana requires drivers to perform reversals, 180 degree spins, 360 degree spins, parking boxes, figure 8s, and other advanced skills. Drifting is also encouraged where helpful or necessary. Essentially, a gymkhana is any event featuring a starting point, a finish line and some sort of "obstacle" to get through, around, or by, all within a certain time limit. 

Icekhana is gymkhana on a frozen lake; with the gymnastics we had on a ride to big island on Tonka it was {Fatbike} IceKhana. 

This spring is actually really great for me. The ice isn't melting and it's making a fantastic playground. I ask my buddy Josh to join me on a mixed adventure to try and ride fatbikes to the big island on Tonka. I made the trip earlier in the year and it was awesome. At that time the ice was thick and hard as stone. I used studded tires and leaned into the gears pushing the speed over 20 at times.

This weekend it was soft and we had to swim out to the ice sheet. I know the pressure ridge is going to be open and I expect a pond in the middle that will allow for a lot of swimming. 

We both don drysuits, PFDs (in our backpacks if it's warranted but they still float in a pack so it's like we have them on), and a heavy layer of fleece to hold the cold water at bay while we swim.

Onto the bikes for the first 1,000 feet. We hug shore and walk the deep parts. The first task is to get swimming and check the seals. Josh is starting to understand the brilliance of a drysuit.

I've been using one since 2003 so time has expunged my emotional memory of the first swim. I still remember my first ice dive pictured below. I'm waiting to go in and I'm so excited I don't know what to do.

On to the ice after the dry suits pass the test. We walk out about waist deep before we can belly-flop onto the ice and roll quickly way from the soggy edge. I say soggy because it's very clay like when it's rotten. The ice bends and slowly sinks before it breaks.

It's not long before I overheat and want to go swimming so I head right over to the nearest open water and crash through. Bust some ice, swim around, and encourage Josh to come in. He's a little freaked out.

After the controlled swim we have to pass open water of unknown depth. I cross first so I can feed information back to Josh to help even out the skill gaps between us. He's really freaked out but I keep asking if he's having a good time because I catch him laughing and smiling at times.

Once we are in the water we need to try and get out. When we jumped in we had no idea what the exit looked like or how far we would have to swim to get to the ice. It turned out we had to swim about 75 feet to water that was almost too deep to touch.

Josh is starting to enjoy it, if only a tiny bit.

It's not long before the summer sun makes mush of the ice. The top 5 inches turns to mush. The largest body of water sumps as the weight of the snow and water press the middle down and give the illusion that you're going to fall through. This happens over and over but I know there is lots of ice below me and even if there isn't, I get to cool off.

We make it to the island, hike a short time and then head back before the sun makes riding impossible  As it is, we flatten the tires and ride as if it's fresh snow. Walking would take way too long.

Back at the gap we swim across without much excitement.

The video below is a short clip of the swim across. Josh pushes his bike in and then enters for the swim. I try but, well, you'll see. I was filming and didn't have the control to push my bike in.

Once we are done with the ride we have a little time left to go boating. The rivers are already flowing too fast for a casual packraft out and back. We check a few spots and its roaring and full of foam. We check the maps and find a protected waterway close to Minneapolis for about an hour of boating.

I estimate the current at 3 or 4 knots so paddling upstream is hard if you can't stay out of the heavy current.

We find an old drain and it's a sure thing, we are going in.

It closes off within a few 100 feet.

We'll need to return for this one. With all the paint it's probably really interesting.

We started out swimming around a bridge then biking around to get to the ice. We zig zag around the bays crashing though the ice. Swim a circle around one island then bee line to the big island. Run around, back on the bike, retrace our route, inflate the rafts, enter a drain, pass under a train bridge and finish the IceKhana course in record time and on that first place finish good bye.

Isle Be Ready

I have the Arrowhead next week and the warm weather and poor snow hasn't helped me train the way I'd like. What I'd like is, bitter oppressive cold. Cold so bad your boogers freeze when you inhale. That is correct, booger just made a one and only cameo on this blog, now pull it together. I can do cold and I can ride a bike but can I ride fast in the deepest cold. I've had problems with cold feet so I upped the boots and added Sorrel brand liners but the issue may be my eating. In a short yet savage ride I bonk, blow up, hit the wall! I've had a blood sugar crash (bonk) many times but this last one was controlled and I saw it coming but in the cold I felt it first in cold feet! Wahoo! If I eat better my feet stay warm. 

I've put 600 miles down in the last 2 months, maybe more. I got a 7 hour snow ride in powder. I got 10 hours of snow machine trails and a lot of road. I've worn-out everything but the handlebars on my bike, upgraded the wheels and added a rear rack. I'd like to throw a big thanks to Jay over at Hollywood Cycles for keeping my rigs rolling. I destroy gear, limp in over lunch and he fixes me up. If you're tired of being a stranger in your bike shop, go see Hollywood.

That's enough of the small talk about how I trained or didn't. My father stopped by today and I showed him my gear. After, he said, "And you have fun doing this?" to which I say, "No, but it's fun to be done!" It doesn't answer why I start but I don't have that answer. I trained mentally because you can gear for everything but a weak mind so let's go ride on the ice.

I stud up and roll under the Grays Bay Bridge just skirting the water on my way to Big Island. I've wanted to look around it for a long time. Ever since I started diving the ferries that shepherded the tourists long ago.

Below, the ice is at least 12 inches thick but clear. I took this to show those that think my ice dives are dark. The white ice you see most of the time is compressed snow but this winter it's all lake ice, not snow, so it's clear.

It's in the singles and with hard ice and studs I can go quite fast but a hard headwind holds me back. People are always asking about windchill but as you can see I don't allow any skin so the chill is minimal.

It's reported to be thin and it probably was last week when it was in the 40's but last night it was below zero and I can now see cracks that report over a foot of ice. I had to stop and repair the sign so I took the photo of my work. 

Below is a pressure ridge. We all learned in school that water expands 1/9th it's volume when it freezes so the larger body if water overtook the bay I'm leaving and created the ridge to make room for the larger sheet of ice. They are hard to cross because the ice is very unstable and can be a foot thick yet not frozen in places. 

The smooth pond you see was probably open water last week. The pressure opened it and the wind kept it open until maybe yesterday.

The same goes for this. The pressure ridge is behind me. Today this ice is maybe 10 inches or more.

This is a tributary crack to show how much pressure is in the ice. This is old ice over a foot and split 5 inches wide for 100's of feet maybe 1,000. It can and did make a floating burg but has since frozen.

This person was not thinking clearly and tried to cross the major pressure ridge and tributary cracks. It looks like everyone got out but left everything behind. I didn't touch anything because it's still private property so I get about as close as I would in a parking lot and take some pictures for your entertainment.

I'm disappointed, I park my bike to take a picture of the landing at Big Island when I see this old beam and lose my mind. I forget to take the photo and take off into the woods to find more. Big Island was an amusement park from 1906 to about 1911 and I was excited to find what was left.

This piece of steel has been laying here since the island was dismantled in 1917! I want to restate that, it's been in this very spot for 95 years. I've passed it a few dozen times in a boat but today my personal history crosses with its history. I'm sure it's just me but when I touched the rivets I wondered about the steel workers that bucked it into place in 1891 if I assume it's part of the hotel.

I didn't expect to find underground plumbing. That is a stick but this island had power from shore to run the rides and lights. I didn't have time for a detailed search but very little was exposed in the thin layer of snow so most is lost in time. If you get a dive computer and jump the lakes wrecks you'll find more. 

 The historical map shows this was likely a shop or service building.

I find no less than 6 of these. They look like well pipes. Threads on well pipe look different and that is well pipe threads. Clearly it was drilled in so it must be well pipe but I couldn't see a reason to explain so many.

I was surprised to see trails on the island. It also has posts that look like campsites but a sign later on clearly says no camping. How do they expect people to obey rules if they set up campsites.

The rules are long but the only one that matters is the last, NO FUN ALLOWED.

This gets me to the best part of the island. This is the main gate that greeted the tourists in large hats and formal attire. Remember the Titanic sank a year after this Island closed its doors. The photos are the same.

This is an early time for Big Island because the tower is not complete. I could see the foundations for the two guard towers that flank the stairs. If I could "see dead people" this place would be awesome.

The day can't last forever and I have to ride back but first I have to sit on the ice and have a snack, remember the warm feet. I stop right in the middle of the lake because it's the strangest place to be. It was kind of funny how I can be totally happy eating a pop tart in the middle of the lake when it's maybe 5 degrees out.

A quick read over at this site will fill in all the parts I skipped. History of Big Island

On that my training for the Arrowhead is done. The cold I've had available is easy to control and the mind is as strong as it's ever been to just stay head down and peddle.

We'll See.