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Marathon Bike Tour winner story
17.Feb.2010 We've heard a lot of great stories from the Marathon, but Lauren Hefferon of Ciclismo Classico passed this gem along from the winner of the Italian bike trip raffle post-marathon. It's from early February, so remember that with some of the date references. Enjoy. To see the prize Candace won, check out the Ciclismo Classico website.
As Luck Would Have it…
In 2009 luck did not grace us with its unpredictable presence. Eli could write the teenage bible on bad luck. Luke suffered too. He was on the unlucky (and stupid) side of two alcohol-related incidents that cost him dearly. But the real zinger was losing his place on his college ski team last fall. That one knocked us all for a loop. But when Luke told us he’d like to race in the long marathons this winter, I rushed to the website of the Craftsbury Outdoor Center to reserve our rooms located right at the heart of the action associated with the famous Craftsbury 50k marathon that took place this past week-end. We had never been to this winter recreational paradise in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom, it was on our ‘list’ anyway, and I was desperate to support my son. Luke registered for the 50k race and I for the 25k tour, a non-competitive, non-timed leisurely stroll over hill and dale. Craftsbury draws hundreds of skiers (registration closes at 1,000) from all over the country. Peter planned to take Friday off and we anticipated a new experience with great pleasure.
Then, a week ago tonight, the Monday before race weekend, it rained. Poured all over the northeast. And poured. Two inches or more. Updates on the Craftsbury website tried hard to strike a balance between realism and optimism. The original race course would be dramatically altered. Volunteers were harvesting snow and shoveling it onto the new course. Unfortunately, the 25k tour would have to be re-scheduled. That meant I would have to switch from the tour to the 25k race or lose my $75 registration fee. It got colder. Everything re-froze. I complained to Peter about our bad luck. I was so disappointed. And I did not want to race. Should we just cancel?
Luke would not hear of it. He too had a hefty race registration fee to honor. He found a ride for the 5 hour drive from Colby across Maine and New Hampshire (‘no way to get theah from heahr’). On Friday, Peter and I arrived at Craftsbury just in time to ski the newly configured 12k race loop, get the legs warmed up and check out the hills and hazards. It was 3 degrees. No matter, I said to myself; you used to ski in these temperatures all the time when you lived in Minnesota and Wisconsin - conveniently leaving out of this little pep talk that the last time I lived in either place was 1984.
As racers gathered Friday afternoon and evening, the wax talk was making me nervous. Even after 35 years of x-c skiing, I understood little of it. After dinner, Luke graciously offered to do the job for me. By then the temperature was well below zero but I trudged across the dark and frozen tundra to the wax shed to lend him moral support. There, heat lamps made it a toasty 8 degrees. I watched in wonder as fellow racers painstakingly ironed in and then scrapped off layer after layer of glide wax despite the frigid air. I blessed my son as he ran his thumb across the blobs of sticky klister on my skis, watching his bare fingers turn purple. Later, I lay in bed fretting about how I might survive the ordeal ahead. Wakeful, I looked out my window in the pre-dawn hours, and there at the start of the race, skiers, with headlamps lighting the tracks, were testing their wax.
Saturday morning dawned frozen but windless and by race time, the thermometer had edged just above zero. Racers went off in waves, organized by race distance and gender; I put myself at the back of mine. Luke and I had the same goal of finishing our races (his twice as long as mine) in 3 hours. After the first few klicks, I changed mine to ‘just finishing’, but by the time I had completed the first of my two 12.5k loops, I was even questioning that revision. My wax was gone, I struggled up the little incline to start the second loop and was increasingly pessimistic. But there was Peter who helped me throw on new hard wax and cork it in. A little Hammer gel (eeuw, what is this stuff?) and I took off again. Things got better. The really fast guys zoomed past me on their 3rd and 4th loops creating wind and fear, but somehow I stayed upright. Eventually, it was my turn to feel the thrill of whizzing past someone, though I fully expected her to catch me again as I dragged myself up the next hill. It had happened several times already. But she was gone. Or I was. About 5k into the second loop, I knew I would finish and that confidence seemed to make me go. Out of 71 female 25k racers ranging in age from 20 to 80, I was 48th.
Hold on, stick with me here. The best part is yet to come. In the afternoon, racers are treated to a big lunch in the charming village of Craftsbury Common, and after the lunch they gather in the Craftsbury Academy gym for the awards ceremony and raffle. The traditional race raffle offers an array of ski paraphernalia – waxes (them again?), wax remover, scrapers, water bottle belts, hats, neck warmers, etc. Those whose numbers are drawn can select their prize from the table and of course the early winners get the best prizes. Luck is never on my side in raffles. And it wasn’t this time either, as all the prizes for 25k racers disappeared. But it’s a new year now and among the 50k racers, unlucky Luke was an early winner. He came away from the prize table with a big smile and a new pair of skate skis. Then, after the dozens of prizes had all been claimed, they put all the tickets back in the hat to draw again for two grand prizes: an erg machine and a place on a deluxe $2800 bicycle tour in northern Italy. The erg machine was won by someone we know and in the excitement, I did not hear the next numbers being called. Suddenly, there was Luke striding across the gym, new skis still in hand, to claim the Italiano bike ride. He turned, grinned, walked back to the cheering crowd and handed the certificate to me.
As luck would have it, this is one of my dreams come true. Many of you know this. I will do this tour, learn the ropes and organize it again for anyone who will come. Today my ears still hurt from a bit of frostbite and I forgave Luke a debt for which he is delinquent...he made a good case, something about a bicycle tour. Lucky guy has a pushover for a mom.
-Candace Nelson Ciclismo Classico Website
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