Hi All!

I’m looking for a bit of feedback from anyone that has raced in the Rovaniemi150 or 66 – I’m considering signing up for the 66km but not sure if I’m jumping in too deep! I have experience bivvying in very cold winter conditions, and have done a few rides of around 70 km.

How long do people train for this? Is it sufficient to just do lots of riding and be prepared for the cold? Or is it necessary to train doing long rides in winter conditions?

Thanks!

Both John Ross (shaggy john) and Ed Oxley of this forum have completed it – and, I think, finished in the top 3.
You could also contact Ed via HebTroCo.

My wife did the 66Km this February and I did the 150Km.

Temps when we did it were “mild”(!!) at between -6C and -16C. I rode in the following layers:

thermal shorts and long sleeved vest
Roubaix full length bib trousers and light cycling jacket
Windproof top.

Apart from one very short section when I hit a frost hollow and the temperature plummeted this was generally enough. I did have extra layers including a down duvet jacket. The one thing I got wrong was that I got a set of the Alpkit Pogies and they just didn’t cut it when it got to the lower temperatures.

Unless you live in a very cold place then there’s not much training you can do on that score. Fitness wise, there’s not a lot of up and down, going for a few long rides along a canal tow path should be sufficient but it does depend on what you consider a long ride. The 66Km route is mostly on frozen rivers and lakes with a few tracks to link these up. The trails are bashed down using snow mobiles, this means that you are riding on a raft of compacted snow. Break through this or wander off and you are up to your chest in powder! the lakes and rivers can be trickier than you might think, there can be lots of ridges and grooves that can catch you out especially if the light is flat.

We enjoyed it and are considering going again next Feb. Drop me a PM if you want more info

Here’s my blog post on the race

Kit discussion

Also search on the Bearbones forum for Rovaniemi, there’s quite a few threads.

I’ve completed the 150 last year and did the 300 this year – vastly differing conditions- you simply have to be prepared for all. Last year conditions very pretty mild – fresh snow and above-zero temperatures resulted in ‘overflow’ on the river and lakes i.e. melt water rises above the ice and turns the bottom layer to slush – ended up pushing the bike for nearly 100 of 150km – more than half the field DNF’d. This year was very different – cold overnight temperatures and clear weather resulted in hard-pack snow, but as the event went on it got progressively colder -27C on the fourth night is getting seriously cold for an overnight bivvy in a semi-open shelter – my boots froze solid and the cable on my headtorch broke due to cold. Low temperatures also created problems with my tyres stiffening and not sealing – much of the first day spent stopping and re-inflating, then my pump froze solid. I did no cold-weather training, just lots of long steady rides plus lots of long hikes to toughen my feet-up – blisters can be a problem. It’s very easy to overdress and overheat – wet through your base layers and it can be pretty uncomfortable. Put a down jacket over that, all the moisture soaks in – pack it away wet and it becomes a useless, frozen lump. When moving, I could get away with a good baselayer and windproof outer layers – stop and you need to layer up fast. My best clothing tips are X-Bionic baselayers and Polartec Alpha insulation. The worst choice is merino wool IME – it holds too much water and difficult to dry. UK ride distances are incomparable – when fully laden with 5 days of food and kit, maintaining 10kph was good going and with stops needed to melt snow / cook hot food a couple of my days were 16 hours to cover 80km – it was never about the speed, but making shelter at the end of each day. I like the organisation behind the Rovaniemi events – it’s a great intro to winter racing.

I won the first Rov 66 in 2015. 😉

What has been said above covers it. If the conditions are good then it’s a 65k time trial at full tilt. If conditions are soft you’ll be pushing for 66k.

Normal winter riding gear with warm stuff for Emergencies should do it. If you use GPS you can see where the nearest road is if you need to bail. Obviously not always an option on the 150k+ events.

Try and get to Rov a few days before so you can get a ride or two in and get a feel for the conditions.

Last thing….practice fixing your bike, etc in all your winter kit!

Thanks so much for all the replies, guys – that’s all super helpful! Think I’m gonna go for it (after pay day :D)!

(And good effort winning johnystorm!)

^^ nice pics, one of them is about 1km from my family summer house. 🙂

10-15 years ago it would have been easy to predict conditions (-10 to -25C with 95% probability) but these days the weather can be just about anything and snow can be white tarmac or miserable slush.

As Johnnystorm says, try and have a day or two before the briefing day (Friday) to get a feel for things. We got a couple of rides in, including a bivy at a laavu (the open sided shelter in Dovebiker’s first shot) north of the Arctic Circle – one of those things that’s worth doing just to say you’ve done it.

Get accommodation booked early, for somewhere so far out of the way it’s a surprisingly busy place thanks to Santa 😉

When booking flights, you’ve the choice of a mad rush across Helsinki airport to make the connection or a four hour stopover. Finnair state that bike bags must be rigid but we had no problems with the Chainreaction bike bags. I think they mean it hasn’t to be a simple plastic bag. Taxi from Rovaniemi airport to town was 25 euros – you’ll need a minibus style vehicle because of the bag, you might be able to share as the flight will deliver a large number of runners and riders and associated large bags.

Riding – there’s nothing technical, dress cool enough that you don’t sweat and then get your base layers wet when riding. This often means wearing a good bit less than you’d think, the main thing I found was to keep the wind off you hence the windshirt.

As an incentive to go fast….the winners trophy was a Sami hunting knife. Not something for your carry on luggage on the way back!