{"id":2456532,"date":"2020-03-30T20:56:00","date_gmt":"2020-03-31T02:56:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/steamboat-biker-graham-muir-rides-700-of-1000-mile-alaskan-race\/"},"modified":"2020-03-30T20:56:00","modified_gmt":"2020-03-31T02:56:00","slug":"steamboat-biker-graham-muir-rides-700-of-1000-mile-alaskan-race-on-fat-bike","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/steamboat-biker-graham-muir-rides-700-of-1000-mile-alaskan-race-on-fat-bike\/","title":{"rendered":"Steamboat biker Graham Muir rides 700 of 1,000-mile Alaskan race on fat bike"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"swift-gallery p402_hide\" readability=\"6.7147335423197\">\n<ul id=\"imageGallery-323552-579\" class=\"gallery list-unstyled\">\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/wireIDITAROD-atd-033120-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/wireIDITAROD-atd-033120-1.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Graham Muir\/Courtesy | Steamboat Springs resident Graham Muir completed 700 miles of the 1,000-mile Iditarod Trail Invitational in Alaska on a fat bike before the race directors deemed the trail impassible.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-0.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"10\">\n<p><strong>Steamboat Springs resident Graham Muir completed 700 miles of the 1,000-mile Iditarod Trail Invitational in Alaska on a fat bike before the race directors deemed the trail impassible.<\/strong><br \/>Graham Muir\/Courtesy<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/wireIDITAROD-atd-033120-1.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Steamboat Springs resident Graham Muir completed 700 miles of the 1,000-mile Iditarod Trail Invitational in Alaska on a fat bike before the race directors deemed the trail impassible.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/wireIDITAROD-atd-033120-1-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/wireIDITAROD-atd-033120-1-1.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Graham Muir\/Courtesy | Steamboat Springs resident Graham Muir completed 700 miles of the 1,000-mile Iditarod Trail Invitational in Alaska on a fat bike before the race directors deemed the trail impassible.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-0.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"10\">\n<p><strong>Steamboat Springs resident Graham Muir completed 700 miles of the 1,000-mile Iditarod Trail Invitational in Alaska on a fat bike before the race directors deemed the trail impassible.<\/strong><br \/>Graham Muir\/Courtesy<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/wireIDITAROD-atd-033120-1-1.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Steamboat Springs resident Graham Muir completed 700 miles of the 1,000-mile Iditarod Trail Invitational in Alaska on a fat bike before the race directors deemed the trail impassible.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/wireIDITAROD-atd-033120-1-2-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/wireIDITAROD-atd-033120-1-2.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Graham Muir\/Courtesy | Steamboat Springs resident Graham Muir completed 700 miles of the 1,000-mile Iditarod Trail Invitational in Alaska on a fat bike before the race directors deemed the trail impassible.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-0.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"10\">\n<p><strong>Steamboat Springs resident Graham Muir completed 700 miles of the 1,000-mile Iditarod Trail Invitational in Alaska on a fat bike before the race directors deemed the trail impassible.<\/strong><br \/>Graham Muir\/Courtesy<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/wireIDITAROD-atd-033120-1-2.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Steamboat Springs resident Graham Muir completed 700 miles of the 1,000-mile Iditarod Trail Invitational in Alaska on a fat bike before the race directors deemed the trail impassible.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"caption-toggle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/sports\/steamboat-biker-graham-muir-rides-700-of-1000-mile-alaskan-race\/#\" class=\"show-captions\">Show Captions<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/sports\/steamboat-biker-graham-muir-rides-700-of-1000-mile-alaskan-race\/#\" class=\"hide-captions\">Hide Captions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText DropCap\">STEAMBOAT SPRINGS \u2014 Those who race the Iditarod are undoubtedly brave athletes, relying on dogs for the power to carry them nearly 1,000 miles over the Alaskan wilderness from Anchorage to Nome.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">A week before the mushers are sent off, an even braver, perhaps crazier group of racers take to the course. Starting in the 1980s, competitors have traveled the Iditarod course on foot, skis or bikes, ditching the dogs to see just how far they can push themselves.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Steamboat Springs resident Graham Muir, 49, completed 70% of the Iditarod Trail Invitational, or ITI, on his fat bike when he was forced to stop in Unalakleet, a small town on the west coast of Alaska. The next part of the course stretched over Norton Bay, which was covered by sea ice. At least, it was covered until a storm broke up the ice and put water over what remained intact.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Muir and a few other competitors waited in town for a few days, but the sea ice didn\u2019t return to a state that allowed them to ride over it. Usually, there is an alternate trail along the shore, but due to COVID-19, it was never built. With just three finishers in the 1,000-mile race, the directors decided they had to call it. So Muir, along with about a half dozen others, came up short of the finish line at no fault of their own.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIt was a huge bummer,\u201d Muir said. \u201cIt had taken us 18 days to get there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Muir rode alongside a few other fat bikers, getting close with a few. Getting to know them so well over the short period of time made not finishing the race, or seeing them finish the race, all the more heartbreaking.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">To qualify, all riders must compete in the 350-mile ITI course. Muir did so just last year in four and a half days, but one Italian man he met completed the 350-mile ride 22 years ago. Finally, he was taking a crack at the big one.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Muir started biking regularly when he moved to Steamboat 11 years ago and his first major race was a 50-mile race in Leadville about six years ago. He\u2019s been upping the distance ever since.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Next, he\u2019s hoping to compete in the Leadboat, the combination of the Leadville 100 and the SBT GRVL race, which are on back-to-back days in August, totaling 250 challenging miles on trails and gravel.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">While the 2020 race was Muir\u2019s first shot at the ITI, it might be the only one he takes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIt\u2019s just so hard taking a month off,\u201d he said. \u201cThis was going to be my attempt at it. I\u2019m not going to say no, but it\u2019s such a scary race. It\u2019s so challenging.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Subhead\">Moose, storms and knee pain<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Over the 700 miles that Muir did complete, there was no shortage of challenges, the greatest of which hit right away.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Upon leaving Anchorage, the ITI competitors were faced with heavy snow, which not only reduced visibility, but accumulated quickly.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI started having some knee issues from two days of post-holing through deep snow and pushing my bike,\u201d Muir said. \u201cYou can train to ride a bike, but it\u2019s really hard to train to push your bike in deep snow with a heavy bike.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The storm set him back days. In 2019, Muir spent 14 hours getting to the first checkpoint, including a two-hour break. This year, to go the same distance, it took him 48 hours.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Days of pushing and carrying his bike put stress on his body, particularly one of his knees. On day three, he was having trouble just putting weight on it. He said battling that was frustrating and exhausting, as he had to spend so much of his mental energy to keep moving forward.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Muir saw 10 moose along the course, and heard that two people had suffered a stomping from a moose and a few bikes had been busted by the large animals. Thankfully, Muir\u2019s encounters weren\u2019t as dramatic.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWe had one standoff, but it wasn\u2019t too bad,\u201d he said. \u201cHe eventually moved off the trail for us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Along the course, there are open shelters available to competitors, as well as villages that typically welcome Iditarod athletes to stop in, get warm, dry out equipment and sleep. With the concerns around COVID-19, only the shelters were available, making for fewer covered spots to stop along the course.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Of course, like every endurance challenge, most of the struggle is mental, not physical. Muir said he hit a wall multiple times, but on each occasion, was able to push past it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIt\u2019s definitely a lot of alone time in your head,\u201d he said. \u201cYou ask yourself questions. Are you drinking enough? Are you eating enough? How are you dealing with your body, how\u2019s your body holding up? How is the trail? There\u2019s so many variables going on out there. Trying to figure out a game plan, when to sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Subhead\">Coming home<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">In the past couple weeks, some countries have closed borders and enforced post-travel quarantines, making Muir\u2019s trip home an adventure within itself.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Once he was told the race was no more, he hopped on a plane back to Anchorage. From there, he quickly packed his bags and bike and flew back to Colorado.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI didn\u2019t have my passport with me, I just had my driver\u2019s license,\u201d said Muir. \u201cIf anything had been shut down, they wouldn\u2019t have let me across Canada.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Thankfully, his flight was mostly empty and the journey home went smoothly.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Muir, who lives on Emerald Mountain, is already itching to get back on the bike for his usual early-morning ride, but since he\u2019s been traveling, he thinks it\u2019s best to stay out of commission for a while longer.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Tagline\"><a href=\"mailto:sreardon@steamboatpilot.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">sreardon@steamboatpilot.com<\/a><i class=\"fas fa-external-link-alt\"><\/i><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/sports\/steamboat-biker-graham-muir-rides-700-of-1000-mile-alaskan-race\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Steamboat Springs resident Graham Muir completed 700 miles of the 1,000-mile Iditarod Trail Invitational in Alaska on a fat bike before the race directors deemed the trail impassible.Graham Muir\/Courtesy Steamboat Springs resident Graham Muir completed 700 miles of the 1,000-mile Iditarod Trail Invitational in Alaska on a fat bike before the race directors deemed the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2456532","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-local-news"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-18 06:57:09","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSPN The Valley&#039;s Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2456532","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2456532"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2456532\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2456532"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2456532"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2456532"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}