Day 2 - Sunday 30K Freestyle (Skate)

Bill and Eric

Out place has lots of amenities; including a full kitchen and living room with comfy couch and chairs. Bill whipped up some delicious Oatmeal; and we ate bananas and pretty much everything we had as we hadn’t really gone grocery shopping yet. There is limited parking at the race start, so they encourage everyone to take the shuttle buses. We weren’t sure if the bus was going by our house or not… but we decided to walk down towards the main road – about a mile. After walking for 2 minutes, a bus came by and picked us up… we were set.

Ponderosa State Park where we are racing is amazing. The Park is basically a peninsula that juts into Lake Payette. The views of the lake are beautiful and remind me of Glacier Park with the mountains in the background. The start/finish Stadium area at Ponderosa definitely makes you feel like you are racing in the World Cup or the Olympics.

The people at registration and information were very helpful and we got our bibs and packet stuff picked up right away. We wear the same bib for all races. You also get a credential to wear around your neck when you’re at other events.

The Race
The Sunday races were a 30K Freestyle for most of us; 15K for older men (like Will and Odd); Bjorn did 10K. The race was fun! The Ponderosa trails are excellent with nice views and majestic Ponderosa Pines lining the course. The start area is really cool with flags and very official ski marking areas and lane assignments.
Eric started 10 minute in front of us; I was able to see him start; He seemed primed and ready for the race. Eric started on the far left in lane 19;
I was also on the far left - assigned lane 20 (or position 20) way on the left.. but in the first row. There was about 40 or so skiers in our 40 to 44 age group. Bang! The gun went off and away we went. The rule was you had to double-pole the first 200 meters. After about 50 meters I received a wack on my left side by a ski pole! The foreigner, Italian? Behind me wanted me out of his way! Luckily the guy on my right was going slow so I could cut into his lane. I learned later that it was illegal to change lanes, and presumably also illegal to track someone.
Baldus and I got out together and skied with the lead group for about 2+K They were flying and we pretty quickly settled into a group of 4. Bill, myself and two other Americans, aka, “guys who don’t like to lead”. The course was sweet, with flats, easy transitions, and just a few hills, with one twisting hill that did me in on the 2nd lap, but really wasn’t that large.
Bill led for much of the 2 laps, I took an occasional lead, and led up both hills. One of the other guys, Scott?, was looking pretty strong, but every time Bill pulled over to let him pass, he just dropped back and wouldn’t take the lead! We skied together for about the first 28K; Eventually I fell to the back, Bill and the other American skied neck and neck – and darn! Beat out Bill by about a foot length. I stumbled in just past them very pleased with my finish and getting the first race completed successfully. Bill finished 6th American, about 15th overall; I finished 19th overall.
Eric and the rest did great. It was fun watching Odd, Bjorn and Will. Odd finished 2nd American so we’ll get to see him on the podium. Later we ate at a Mexican restaurant and spent some time downtown McCall. We saw the awards ceremony and then went to the USA gathering. A little bit of waxing for the big 10K Freestyle on Monday and off to bed!