On Saturday, Feb. 8, cyclists faced the cold and flurries near Lake Macbride State Park for the Lake Macbride Fat Tire Classic. This annual bike event brought cyclists from across the state to Solon.
The event was presented by Sugar Bottom Bikes and The Solon Centennial Lions Club. Cyclists could choose to ride either a 15- or 30-mile path around the lake. They used mountain bikes with extra-wide tires to handle a mix of terrains.
Nathan Kullbom, manager of Sugar Bottom Bikes and the event organizer, was at the finish line outside Lake Macbride Golf Club, tracking cyclists’ finishing times. Kullbom said, “The course is unique. It has all kinds of terrain. We’re on grass, gravel, hiking trails, snowmobile trails, deer trails – a wide mix.” He also said the 30-mile route had around 2,300 feet of climbing elevation gain, which is a lot for Iowa.
Wayde Stover, an avid cyclist from Des Moines, often rides his fat-tire bike on local trails but had never done a fat-tire race before. He said of the scenic route, “It was awesome. Super fun course, lots of variety.” As he’s training for a 60-mile gravel bike race, he thought the Fat Tire Classic was good practice. But he was a bit disappointed with the weather. “I was a little bummed there was no snow on the ground,” he said, as he’d seen pictures of past races with snow.
Jenna McCoy from Iowa City was back for her second year in the race. She said, “The snow was great. Any sort of precipitation adds fun to a race, like being a kid playing in the snow.” Riding with her was Siri Felker, a Solon resident and first-time participant. Felker said, “It’s such a good course. It’s all the best parts of this area in one 30-mile experience.” She usually bikes leisurely and hadn’t raced much before. She said, “The challenge was expected, but there’s always a level of brutal you’re not prepared for. You can know it’s going to be hard, riding over a frozen pile of cow turds.” McCoy thought riding across icy farmland was fun.
Felker and McCoy said they were motivated by the other cyclists when going through tough parts of the route. They both plan to participate again next year as it kept them active when many stay indoors.
Jeff Storjohann, participating for the second year in a row, drove nearly three hours from Carroll to Solon for the event. He said Eastern Iowa has a strong biking culture with more gravel and fat-tire races than Western Iowa and more clubs and bike shops for serious riders.
However, just 10 minutes before the race began, a passerby near the lake called the Johnson County Joint Emergency Communication Center. The caller saw gloves on the boat dock and broken ice nearby and feared someone had fallen in. Many departments like the Solon and North Liberty Fire Departments, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, and the Johnson County Metro Dive Team came to the lake. Storjohann said an officer directed cyclists to take a short detour to give first responders space. “The route was only affected maybe one minute,” he said. He saw a stretcher on the ice but not the first responders or the victim.
The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release that when emergency personnel arrived, they saw a body in the lake. The Solon Fire Department got the person out using ice rescue suits. The person was taken to the University of Iowa Hospital but didn’t survive. The length of time the victim was underwater isn’t clear, and the incident is under investigation.
Kullbom said, “That was a horrible tragedy. We had to take a short detour off route to avoid the emergency rescue area.” Despite this, he was happy with the turnout. 239 cyclists registered, which is a big increase from the 84 when he started managing Sugar Bottom Bikes and organizing the race eight years ago.
In the end, Jason Rassi won the men’s division with a time of 2:10:37, and Nicole Roth won the women’s title at 2:43:14.
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