Skinnyski Race Team Weekend Recap: Birkie Story

Abbi and I headed down to Hayward on Friday afternoon, keen to test out our skis before bib pickup. We skied around at OO, trying to decide which skis would ride like lightning the next day. Based on weather predictions, we (and likely half the race field) misjudged the overnight temperatures and ended up waxed a bit cool (i.e., using Swix FC100 instead of FC200 as a top coat). We bunked down at the Hollingsworth's cabin near Barnes, enjoying some great lasagna as a pre-race feed.

We were a little late to the start (dragging kids along has that effect!) but nevertheless I had time for a couple km warm-up before filing into the start gate. Anne and Sarah took over child-minding duties, which was very appreciated. The start was pretty uneventful, or at least as uneventful as pounding off the line amongst 200 other crazed skiers can be. I focused on keeping my poles intact, especially after skiing by Nathan Schultz who was waving a broken pole in the air and looking for a replacement.

Things thinned out a bit when we hit the power lines and there was plenty of room to maneuver. I jumped on Bruce Bauer's tail as he was moving up through the pack. Heading into the woods, gaps started to open up and I couldn't quite hang on as he jetted up to the next group. I settled into a pack along with a couple of factory-team types. We were caught by a couple more skiers, including John Bauer and Chad Giese, who seemed like pretty impressive company to me. I was feeling good on the climbs, but my skis were clearly not the best of the bunch. At one point I saw a group of skiers ahead and started pushing the lead to try and bridge the gap. I was feeling particularly good as we climbed to the high point. Coming over the top, except for John, I'd gapped the whole group! I hadn't intended to make a break, so I eased up a bit knowing that they would catch me on the downhills and latched back on when they did.

At OO, Anne handed me a bottle of Enervit, which was great, because I'd accidentally dropped my bottle about 10k earlier - I was so thankful! Soon thereafter, someone must of upped the pace, because I couldn't hang onto the pack and dropped off the back. I continued pushing reasonably hard, stranded for a bit in never-never-land. Happily, at about the 30k mark, I reeled in a couple skiers who had also fallen off the back. My glide seemed to improve a bit, especially if I stayed out on the harder cordory. I pushed by and French skier named Nicolas latched on.

Climbing the last major climb after Hwy 77, I figured I'd put in a solid effort to try and give Nicolas the slip. I opened up a good lead and was skiing solo as I hit the lake. The head-wind wasn't too welcoming, but I dug down for the last few painful kilometers. I glanced back to see if he was gaining, and unpleasant surprise ... there was a group of four skiers churning up the lake just behind me. I knew I was done for, so I backed off and jumped into line as they came by. When the final sprint for the finish came, it was painfully obvious I wouldn't be a factor. As we turned the corner onto Main Street, I cruised in, happy to enjoy the cheers. That is definitely a fabulous way to finish a 51k ski!