{"id":3852,"date":"2014-10-19T11:46:17","date_gmt":"2014-10-19T18:46:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/teamkaker.com\/?p=3852"},"modified":"2014-10-28T17:38:21","modified_gmt":"2014-10-29T00:38:21","slug":"smoke-n-fire-2014-idaho-bikepacking-bliss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/teamkaker.com\/smoke-n-fire-2014-idaho-bikepacking-bliss\/","title":{"rendered":"Smoke N Fire 2014 | Idaho Bikepacking Bliss"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Left<\/a>

Beginning of the 2014 Smoke N Fire bikepacking race.<\/p><\/div>\n

My muscles were tired from tensing up during the long downhill to Deadwood Lake. I flexed and bore-down as if I were trying to fold my body into itself. It was a futile attempt to stay warm. Futile indeed. My water was frozen. My face was frozen. My fingers and toes hurt. And it was only going to get colder.<\/p>\n

Screw it. I decided to take shelter in a bathroom, crawl into my bag, and warm up. It was 5 AM. I told myself that I wouldn’t venture out until the sun had taken the bite out of the cold.\u00a0I\u00a0didn’t emerge from my warm refuge until 7:30 AM.<\/p>\n

Back on the trail, I was excited about the prospect of finishing the 400-mile race before sunset. It had been a great ride so far. There were just a couple of big climbs between me and the finish in Boise.\u00a0Little did I know that, later, I’d struggle through the final 30 miles with just one pedal.<\/p>\n

Put this race on your calendar<\/h2>\n

The inaugural Smoke N Fire<\/a>\u00a0bikepacking race was picture perfect. The organizers, Norb and Tyson, really had their act together. Everything was well-planned and communicated. Very impressive.<\/p>\n

The route was forgiving with lots of water sources and plenty of food options. It was very rideable and the scenery was beautiful. And, had I not been racing, I could have enjoyed a dip in numerous hot springs along the route. The forecasted cold temperatures were the only wildcard. It did, in fact, drop into the 20’s on certain parts of the route.<\/p>\n

Overall, it was a great ride and brought together a really friendly group of riders. This is a great race, especially for \u00a0those just getting into bikepacking.<\/p>\n

I finished in 9th place and was happy that I was able to complete it in less than 72 hours. There was plenty of climbing, but my GPS said that I did about 31K ft, which was much less than the advertised 51K. I’m not complaining.<\/p>\n

Some recommended gear<\/h2>\n