Devils Challenge: My Rainy Little Hell
by George (Kip) Goehring, Chicago Tri Club Member 

For years I have always wanted to do the Devils Challenge Triathlon at Devils Lake Barboo Wi. I have been camping up there since I was little and love to rock climb, hiking, biking, etc up there. Well I had heard the rumors of the triathlon but never could find info on it and when I finally did I always missed registration. So last year I competed in the Devils Challenge and let me tell you in was a blast.

Friday night I called my brother to make sure he was ready to go. Swung by his place and loaded up his gear and away we went. As we left Illinois the sky kept getting darker and darker. My brother said I don’t know looks like pretty bad weather do you think they would cancel it due to rain. I told him I hope not and it is just a passing storm. Knowing that nine time out of ten I get rained on when I go to Devils Lake I packed for a monsoon with tarps, ropes, etc.

When we arrived at Devils Lake State park it was raining (Typical). Finished checking in and it was off to the site. I was not going to let anything ruin this weekend. While we were setting up the tent it just opened up on us good thing I had tarps. We finally got the tent all setup and we were now ready for anything outside of a tornado. I have a Jeep so it instantly became part of the setup. Strapped tarps from a tree over the tent and onto the Jeep. Made for a good sitting area to watch other setup in the rain (Grin).

We had brought plenty of firewood to cook on and stay warm but it was not looking like that was not going to happen anytime soon so we just eat sandwiches that night. Saturday morning I was expecting to have to go fetch stuff that blew away in the night but surprisingly enough nothing had left the site. We lucked out the rain slowed down to a drizzle and we got a fire going. With can goods in hand and other campfire type cooking items we cooked some food over the fire. For as long as I have been camping I have learned how to cook just about anything over a campfire so heating up can goods was going to be a simple task.

We decided to take a drive around and see what the bike and running course looked like. If you have been to Galena the bike is like that first 6 miles of farm road for the entire course. You have a lot of pretty good climbs and one about a mile from the start about 1 or 2 miles up hill gradual but tough. The running course was more or less flat with some rolling hills nothing to bad. Now the swim was COLD it gives Galena a run for its money on the chill factor. This is a nice easy .25-mile swim. Also on our travels we noticed that there was standing water from all the rain and mud everywhere.

Sunday morning the day of the race I got up early to check in and setup all my Gear. Not sure why but I love coffee in the morning. So I went into town and got my brother some breakfast at McDonalds and some coffee for me. This was going to be one of my best triathlons ever. My brother was there and my dad was coming to watch as well. My mom was making soup for after the race. Warm soup sounded go after being cold and wet all weekend. I could have finished last place for all I cared I finally got my family to come watch me compete. Even though I will pay later for having them sit out in the rain for hours. Well the morning rain continued but only a medium drizzle.

It was close to start time and we went thru the course talk and instructions. All I could think of is the cold water getting even colder due to the rain and the wet street. With my wave up to start I was off time to do what I trained to do. Trying to figure out how to swim in a wetsuit proved to be a challenging thing. I look back on that now and think should have tried swimming in it before I got there. Once we got out of the water it was down the carpet, which basically became more of a slip and slide with the rain build up on it. Saw a couple people take a fall on it and asked if they were all right as I passed them. Few scrapes nothing major that I could see. At T1 all you could do is try to get your stuff on with as little mud as possible. It was off to the bike and on to the second stage of the race. The first hill proved more challenging then I thought. Nothing like get a swift kick of realization right from the start that a few more spin classes or hill climbs would have came in handy. Making the turns and descents from the hills proved pretty challenging as well with the wet pavement. I had at least 5 close calls and white knuckles. When I was about to the turn around halfway point. I noticed a girl struggling with her bike on the side of the road. I asked if she needed help and from the soaked tired look she said yes. She had thrown the chain and was have a hard time getting it on. I got it back on track with thanks away she went. I came to a faster halt then I should have which may have caused my next problem. When I made the turn I noticed my tire was going flat. So for the next ten plus minutes I had to change the rear tire. With all the rain, gravel, and it being the rear tire I thought just my luck. Once I got all finished I was on my way again now trying to make up for lost time and hoping I got enough air in the tire I took off like a shot. One of the hills on the course is a long gradual down slope. With the wet pavement and doing over 40+ mph I white knuckled the bars and kept pumping the brakes hoping to slow it down a little before I hit 50+ mph or spill. After the bike was all done I was just glad to make it back with out walking or spilling. The run was just a pleasant ending to a water logged self. When I turned the corner on the home stretch and saw my dad and brother I was already in a full sprint to the finish. It was over and I feel great.

It was cold, raining, and miserable the entire weekend but it was fun. My brother was saying all weekend I do not think it is going to stop raining. I kept telling him that is had stopped Friday night this is just coming off the trees. He looked at me and said ya right just coming off the trees my butt.

If you had been there you would be laughing thinking oh I remember that weekend oh so well.