Saturday was my fifth Crusher in the Tushar. The first was the most difficult for me due mostly to a poor choice in gearing. By my estimation, 2017 was only our second hottest Crusher. But the consensus of the Rexburg locals is that for conditions generally, 2017 was the most brutal Crusher yet.
Finishing times this year were about twenty to thirty minutes slower for many participants and the number of riders who failed to finish seemed higher than usual. The best result for a Rexburg local was Kellen’s outstanding second place age group finish in a very competitive Men’s 30-34 field with a time just over five hours.
Driving into Beaver, the temperature was 107 degrees F and the sky was brown with smoke from the Brian Head fire. We rode our bikes to the check in and went for a little spin before our traditional pre-race dinner at the Timberline Restaurant including homemade caramel cheesecake which rivals any great dessert anywhere.
The starting order varies a little from year to year. I was visiting with people and missed my start so I took a small time penalty and jumped in with Dan’s group. Other than that, the day started well enough. The most demoralizing time for me was the Sarlacc Pit, a sandy section about five miles long that comes just before the climb of the Col d’Crush. The hottest part of the course, the Sarlacc Pit is a difficult section under ideal conditions but was unusually soft and sandy this year.
The biggest story of the 2017 Crusher may have been the temperature swing. Among the images I am posting is a screen shot from Jeff’s Garmin which shows a high temperature of 115 degrees in the Sarlacc Pit and a low of 46 degrees. The Sarlacc temperature obviously read a little high due to radiant heat on the device, but the low temp of 46 degrees is absolutely accurate. Conservatively, the temperature dropped by 50 degrees.
The storm blew in as I was climbing the Col and stayed in the area for the rest of the day. A rider next to me expressed his concern about the impending weather. From somewhere in my feverish brain, I responded that it could not get too cold or rain too hard. I was wrong on both counts. At first, the falling temperature was the best thing I have ever felt. Then it continued to drop. The interlude between uncomfortable heat and uncomfortable cold passed in the blink of an eye. I was lucky to avoid the worst of the rain and hail, but Kellen’s group got pounded.
I cramped pretty badly on the Col last year and regretted leaving behind the bottle of Hot Shot® that Jeff had given me. This year, I made it a point to have the Hot Shot® in my jersey pocket and to drink at the first sign of cramping near the bottom of the Col. Full of capsaicin and cinnamon; Hot Shot® goes down like a ball of fire. Afterward, I experienced only minimal cramping in the final miles.
There may be a couple of people you do not recognize in the pictures. The guy in the Contender kit is Ben Peters, a friend of Tim’s, a great guy and a fine cyclist. In the yellow kit is a blast from the past of Rexburg Cycling, none other than Robbie Stone.
Thanks to Dawn, who for the ten-thousandth time in her life, provided emotional and logistical support at a bike race. I cannot say enough about the quality of the organization and the kindness and helpfulness of the Crusher volunteers. I completely lost track of the number of hand-ups I received-water, electrolyte mix, ice cold Coke-probably ten or more-a heartfelt thank you to Burke and all of the Beaver locals.
**I am going to add one post-script here. People who have seen the podium picture are asking how Santa Claus was able to beat Kellen. The 30-34 winner was nowhere to be found at the time of the podium presentation, so a spectator volunteered to take his place.
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