The Drift 100

The Drift 100 had been on my radar for a couple of years. Its location starting in Pinedale, Wyoming and the overlap of part of the course on the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route piqued my interest and I was ready for a new type of puzzle to figure out on my bike. 

While I’ve had enough winter experience to keep myself safe in cold temperatures (commuting by bike during cold midwest winters, bikepacking in freezing temperatures, and riding my fat bike in the shadow of the La Sals the past two winters), this would be my first winter ultra. I spent lots of time training – riding and pushing in the coldest temperatures I could – and planning for this event. 

Andrew was the chauffeur for the weekend, driving me and our friend Pete up to Pinedale for the start. The night before the start, there was a gear check and rider’s meeting held in the Pinedale Library, a gorgeous building with rammed-earth walls. Kari, co-race organizer with her husband Darren, led the rider’s meeting, going over the route and acknowledging the volunteers, including the local Snowpokes Snowmachine Club who would be running aid stations, patrolling the course, and providing bailouts if needed. Bailing costs $200 in an evacuation fee, an added incentive to finish! 

Conditions were fast, at least at the race start, and the pointy end saw records broken. Toward the tail end of my time out there, snow started impacting visibility and resulting in softer conditions, but overall conditions were great. I had some trouble with my lungs, and as a result had to keep my pace lower than I would have liked, but I’m stoked to have finished! Below are some lessons learned as well as a YouTube video from my race. 

Lessons Learned: 

• I wouldn’t bring a helmet next time.
  • I brought my helmet because I spent so much time riding on ice at home and was worried about that. 
  • It turned out there was zero ice on the route. I ended up not wearing my helmet a lot of the time since it was more comfortable to layer my hoods without it.
  • For future winter races, I’d make a decision based on the route and potential ice. 
• I would practice with the same sunglasses I plan to race with.
  • I ended up using nicer sunglasses I’d been “saving” to race in with a little more coverage. I should’ve practiced with those sunglasses because I was fighting foggy lenses until I decided to just wear my ski goggles instead. 
• I would bring clear lenses for my ski goggles.
  • I had yellow lenses in my ski goggles which worked well most of the time, but I would’ve liked having a clear pair for nighttime. That little extra bit of clarity can help me feel more alert. 
• I would have a better asthma management plan from the beginning.
  • My plan was to deal with asthma if it flared up by covering my face with a buff and using my inhaler, but by the time I noticed I was having issues, it was too late to truly recover. 
  • I ended up stopping for several hours the first evening to let my lungs rest, which helped for a while, but I continued to have trouble with my breathing for the duration of the race. 
  • Next time, I’d start with my face covered to try to prevent issues as much as I can. It seems that this race has a special combination of cold, dry air, and elevation that gives lots of folks, even those without asthma, breathing issues. 
• I would continue to use liquid calories.
  • More than half my calories in this race came from drink mix. This worked really well for me and I would definitely do it again. It was much easier to consume liquid calories than to eat in the cold. 
• I would change my socks every 12 hours or so.
  • This is something I usually do in a long race, I just neglected to do it this time. After about 24 hours of riding, I started to get that swamp foot nerve pain that was fixed after I changed socks. My feet were definitely more gross at the finish line than they would have been if I changed socks sooner. 
• I would bring fewer batteries.
  • I had battery anxiety about the cold so I brought more extra batteries than I needed. Next time, I’d trust my gear testing and only bring what I know I need…plus one extra. 

I’m excited to do more winter riding. It was incredible being out in the cold, knowing I had exactly what I needed to keep myself safe, warm, and to keep moving through the rugged landscape. I’d definitely race The Drift again. It was a well organized, grassroots event, and everyone I interacted with was kind and shared the winter stoke.