Adirondack Sports February 2024

COMMUNITY continued from 31
FEBRUARY 2024 33
The SLTC is intended as a progressive
challenge with the BT 700 being the easiest
and TATR (588 miles) the most difficult.
When I’m out there, I remind myself
that I alone am responsible for being there
and it’s my responsibility to finish. An
important fact of bikepack racing is that
for the most part, everyone is facing the
same hardships, and it’s up to the individual
if they will “find the joy.” Here is a brief
recap of my journey:
BT 700, June 2023: 800K, Solo, First
Attempt; 5D, 12H, 10M – I love the start
and finish in St. Jacobs, Ontario, and Three
Corner Brewery. This ride earns the best
singletrack award… And, best hand me up
leftover pizza at the finish line! Also, the
worst hills award, as there’s pretty much
no rolling in to keep your momentum.
The sections labeled “Rough” were actually
great riding. The weather was hotter
and dustier than blazes. One-night motel
stay in Owen Sound, with the best motel
owner ever; speechless he was not when
he learned Jody (my wife) was out there
riding by herself! Another thing, I never
found ground soft enough to put more
than two tent stakes in at a time.
I experienced a Ride with GPS navigation
failure, a Garmin 1030 failure, but
the Gaia app bailed them out for the win.
I learned the moisture warning in the
iPhone “lightening connector” has nothing
to do with severe weather warning. It’s
an awesome event, cheers Matt and Tabby!
Has everything, from dusty gravel roads,
big climbs, out of the way singletrack riding
– and Mennonite horse and buggies.
Log Driver’s Waltz, July 2023: 800K,
Solo, First Attempt; 4D, 16H, 50M –
Almonte, Ontario. Looking for a descriptive
feel for Almonte… X-files? (Maybe it’s
almost being taken out by a dog in the
pitch dark, rolling into town at zero dark
thirty and then looking for a statue hidden
in a diminutive park to finish.) Another
awesome event, this one developed and
organized by Eric and Jen, bravo! Dogs –
chased by more dogs in four days than in
the last 40 years. Kindness is… a stranger
giving me a pizza hand-up. Cold and damp
weather, versus hot and dusty. Travel tip:
bonjour, pronounced “BON-JOR” if you
really wanted a chuckled response from
the Québécois. Best lodging was Irene
and Jerry’s camper in Wakefield, Quebec,
adjacent to Gatineau Provincial Park, plus,
a gaggle of camper kids.
This is a ride that includes navigating
the cities of Gatineau and Ottawa. The
race director, Jen, and friends have an
amazing cowbell cheering crew. I enjoyed
having a trailhead beer with the locals at
their post-ride gathering near Ottawa City.
Loved the hills of Log Driver’s Waltz, many
of which you could roll into – and some
roll over – and some (like everywhere)
required, for me, to shift to two-foot drive.
The final challenge was rolling back into
Almonte, looking for the finish. LDW
memories include chunky gravel roads,
more rideable hills, big city lights, ATVs,
and fast cars.
The Adirondack Trail Ride,
September 2023: 588 miles, Solo, Fifth
Attempt; 6D, 11H, 16M (two hours off my
personal FKT) – No comparison, TATR is
the most difficult, mind-bending, grueling
ride of the three. Not only is it longer, it has
a crushing finish. It’s also the least “massaged”
of the three. My buddy Dan was
out clearing trails, as well as organizer and
chief monkey wrangler Mikey Intrabartola,
and myself. Three weeks before the Grand
Depart, Mikey and I cleared the trail down
to the Boreas River, cutting a half-dozen
dead fall/blow downs. By the time I
got there on my ride, there were over a
dozen new trees down. This frequently
required bushwhacking, also referred to as
“thwacking” when bringing a bicycle with
you, deep into the dense woods trying to
navigate around the mess.
The legendary (for TATR riders) Lester
Flow/Irishtown snowmobile trail (long
abandoned) was much-much worse. The
only purpose-built mountain bike trail is
a short section of flow trail in Wilmington,
about two miles long. And I am not going
to count “The Poor Man’s Downhill!”
Otherwise, the rest of the trails are snowmobile,
hiking or ATV trails. Many never
see summer travel.
To make this year special, it had been
one of the wettest this century. Crossing
the Sacandaga River was uneventful but
the Boreas River was the highest I’ve ever
crossed with water mid-thigh and swift. I
took a hard look at the crossing and feeling
that it might be my only attempt at the
SLTC, made the decision to forge ahead.
Multiple roads and bridges were washed
out. I should have gotten a picture of the
cavernous Johnson Pond Road washout!
Tough hikes, but rewarding natural singletrack,
gravel roads and doubletrack,
low traffic, and locals who “dotwatch”
(the act of watching dots move on a map
during an ultra-endurance cycling race)
on trackleaders.com. There is nothing that
has challenged me more than a lap on The
Adirondack Trail Ride.
Trail Angels, Trail Magic, and People
Along the Way – Trail Magic has become
another sub-controversy, but in its purest
form should be spontaneously provided
by strangers without knowledge of the
event. In Canada, some Trail Angels were
■ TATR BOREAS RIVER CROSSING.
■ LDW GATINEAU PROVINCIAL PARK.
■ TATR DEEP IN THE ADIRONDACKS.
listed on the route sheet. On TATR they
spring up in a more spontaneous grass
roots way. Regardless, I would like to pay
tribute to all the people who provided
food, water and support. They will probably
never know the impact they have on us
when we’re down and struggling. Thanks
to all the dot-watchers, strangers, competitors
and business owners, who are all
part of the adventure. Thanks to the route
developers and race directors who put in
countless hours and effort to bring us all
together. And the bears, and wildlife in
general. (But the bears.)
Finish – Providing I didn’t suffer a
mechanical problem, an illness or injury,
I was confident I would finish. However, I
did not think I would be the first rider to
complete the St. Lawrence Triple Crown
Challenge with the current FKT: 16 days,
16 hours, 16 minutes. While certainly
■ LDW OTTAWA CITY NAVIGATION.
■ TATR ROUTE FINDING.
■ LDW RIDER WALKING ON
THE TRAIL. JODY DIXON
not a time that will be hard to beat, I felt
good about this finish. I had ridden all the
routes completely, solo, unsupported, and
following the general rules of bikepacking
– and within my personal parameters.
Resources: bikepacking.com/bikepacking-101;
bt700.ca/route-info.html; logdriverswaltz.ca/st-lawrence-bikepacking-triple-crown.html;
theadirondacktrailride.
com/results; trackleaders.com/history.
Michael Feldman (riosacandaga@
yahoo.com) first slung a leg over a
bicycle 62 years ago when his big sister
taught him to ride a bike. He’s never had
training wheels. He shares his freedom
of adventure with his wife, Jody Dixon,
whom he says hoodwinked, bamboozled,
beguiled him into this St. Lawrence
Triple Crown Challenge. Instagram:
@mikefeldman_sdad.