ITI 2015 Race Report - Beyond Words - Part 1

Sunday, March 1, 11AM. I was in the Westmark Hotel's lounge with all other participants. The start was only three hours away. I was going to do something that I never, ever believed would be possible. It was an incredible feeling. These kind of moments can only be described as "defining moments".

13.30AM, Knik Lake:

My bike in front of the Knik Bar:

Joe Stiller:

Racers gathering in the start area:

9:Zero:7 team mate Charly Tri getting ready.

I had a very clear plans in my mind for my race. Plan A was to hang with the lead group as long as possible, if the speed would be suitable. My biggest concern for the beginning of the race was to not get lost. Following veterans would take care of this concern. Plan B would be to hang with a slower group, if the lead group's speed would be too high.

Another key plan for my race was to make every checkpoint as an intermediate goal and keep my own pace. 

The ice on the Knik Lake was extremely slick, with a thin cover of snow on top of it, hence the start was cautious and slow. A section of icy singletrack followed, and soon we hit a tarmac road leading to the actual Iditarod Trail.

Andrew Kulmatiski, an ITI rookie like me, attacking this early in the race!:

The first warning signal came in the end of the road section, when John Lackey, followed by the others, cranked up a nasty uphill with more speed. I almost lost the lead group at this point, but managed to get back in the following flat section.

When we hit the actual trail, the speed started to rise again.

At this point, so early in the race, it was very clear that I had to find my own speed and rhythm, but I tried to keep visual contact with the lead group because this was the place where I could get lost. The trail was like a huge fatbike highway and visibility was very good. I took all the photos on the fly.

As you can see, the views were already very spectacular and I was very stoked.

After some 30 miles in, I reached Flathorn Lake.

Followed by Dismal Swamp:

I was still not feeling like I wanted to feel, most likely because of the fast start. But things started to get gradually better as I reached the Susitna River.

Pavel Richtr, who was going to Nome, joined me for awhile:

Susitna River is really beautiful:

A snowmobile heading to Yentna Station, first checkpoint:

And then the sun was setting:

59 miles in and I reached the first checkpoint, Yentna Station:

My stop there was very short, because everything was now under control and I was feeling great. Fast conditions continued from here to next checkpoint at 90 miles, Skwentna Roadhouse, and in this section I was feeling high. I had excellent rhythm and I had that 'ride-all-day-all-night-long' feeling!

At Skwentna, some real food was in order, so I ate chicken-noodle soup. Bunch of other riders were there too, among them Jay Petervary who was actually sleeping, Jay Cable, Joe Stiller, Heather Best and the legend himself, Jeff Oatley.

I found myself leaving with Cable, Richtr and Stiller and we had a good speed towards the next checkpoint. Soon Stiller was dropped because he had some cramps. I continued with good rhythm with Cable and Richtr. The trail had some really fun but also a little tougher sections there, with some short uphills.

Next checkpoint, Finger Lake / Winter Lake Lodge, was still far away. We reached the Shell Lake Lodge where racers can sleep in a cabin. Cable and Richtr wanted to stop there to take a nap. I was feeling great without any sign of sleepiness, so I continued alone towards Finger Lake in the night.

Iditarod

The year was probably 2002. It was winter, and I was searching on the internet for tips on winter cycling. The site I was looking is still amazingly online, Icebike.org. At the same time I learned about this race, Iditarod Trail Invitational, in 2001 and before known as Iditasport Extreme (350 miles) and Iditasport Impossible (1100 miles). My first reaction was that, wow, this is amazing, but also that it is completely impossible for me, for many reasons. It felt that there is no way that I could ever take part in it. Back then I was still more of a road racer, but I loved cycling in winter time. Alaska is very far away from Finland. Financially and every other way it felt impossible. 

In 2006 I did my first 24-hour solo race, Kangasala 24h. It opened my eyes, but ITI remained impossible. Somehow, things started to change in 2009-2011 when we had great winters in Finland. In 2013 I did my first winter ultra, Rovaniemi 150, and again last year, which I nearly won. The idea of doing ITI didn't seem impossible any longer.

And in the end of April last year it was confirmed. I was selected to ITI 2015 roster. It's a miracle for me. All credits for this goes to my awesome sponsors, 9:Zero:7, 45NRTH, Lumicycle, Porcelain Rocket, Nextie Bike and Alpkit. Without them, this project would have remained impossible. Also huge thanks goes to my wife and daughter, my parents and in-laws.

This winter has seen lots of training and preparation for the race. If you have followed my Facebook and Google+ pages, you have seen updates about my training. Here are some photos of those updates.

As I'm writing this I'm already in Anchorage and it feels unbelievable that I am here. I never believed that this could happen but I'm here now, and it's only two days to the start of the race.

My expectations? Compared to all the other races that I have done so far, this is going to be different and a lot longer. I will do my best and as always, I have to win myself. Everything else comes after that. Surroundigs are breathtaking here, and this will surely be mindblowing experience.

I did a ride here in Anchorage on Wednesday, in Kincaid and Earthquake Parks, and here are some photos from it. I rode with my 907 teammate Charly Tri in the beginning as he did a bike test shake down ride.

This year you can follow the race in realtime at Trackleaders.com, and like in previous years, check ITI Facebook page for the updates too.

What really draws attention to me in this race is it's philosophy, which is best said by Bill Merchant, racer and co-director of the race: "We go into the Alaskan backcountry to find cracks in ourselves. We go back a year later to see if we've done anything about them". I will find out that soon myself.

2014 in Retrospective

The New Year 2015 has just started. It's time to look back at 2014. Instead of writing about every month, I chose a photo for every month that somehow was highlight for every month.

Like for 2013, it's very easy to pick the best moment of the year: Rovaniemi 150. The race that I was so close to win. It was truly unforgettable experience and the feelings are imprinted deeply in my soul.

Another fairly important achievement for me was Tahko MTB 240 in June. After doing it there really is no reason to go back.

Barring any force majeure event, 2015 will be monumental year for me. It will be something that I never thought would be possible: Iditarod Trail Invitational. A standalone blog post is in my mind about that and it will be published this month.

Thanks to all supporters, sponsors and you readers for a great year! Happy New Year 2015!