Drewling in Palmer

I spent half of my Sunday trail ride muttering swear words under my breath.

Usually, that means I’m picking bad lines and riding with about as much grace as that chubby kid in high school who had his glasses taped together and sprayed a lot of spit when he played the trombone. On the Moose Drewl course, however, it mostly meant I was kicking myself for leaving my camera on the workbench in my garage. All that new scenery, all those new riders, and I couldn't get a shot of anything.

Ah, what the hell. I hadn’t ridden in so long, I should consider myself lucky for showing up with a bike and a helmet. Fortunately, The Grillmeister got a few photos showing the nice turnout at the start line. Three o’clock on a Sunday afternoon in Palmer, Alaska, and 39 people showed up for a winter bike race. There were fat bikes all over the place. Sweet.

Seventeen people raced the “advanced” course, two raced the beginner loop, and 20 of us “toured” the advanced course, so we were free of the clock. That means that when I finally arrive back at the parking lot and three-quarters of the cars have already left and headed for the bonfire and beer, I don’t have to worry about somebody saying, “Uh, sorry dude, we lost your time because the clock’s batteries froze up a half-hour ago.”

Good job by Mark Gronewald and the Valley Mountain Bikers and Hikers, who put on a fun event. It was a good course and a great crowd.