“It’s 365 days a year, 7 days a week. It’s not like a car or a snow machine, you don’t put in the garage and it doesn’t need attention until you drive it. Everyday of the summer, they need food, they need water, the yard needs to be cleaned. And then in the winter it’s three times a much work with training and all the dog care and everything.”- Pete Kaiser “Goal Setting” (See it Here)
Race day is always a little nerve-wracking for mushers. After many years of days like this though, Pete and the Team have a pretty good system for making sure that everything is in place to begin the trek into the wilderness. This year Kaiser Racing has two Teams in two races which relieves a little of the stress compared to last year when both Teams ran the K300. Nik Wikstrand will leave a bit after 5:30pm and then Pete and his Team will leave at 7:00pm.
Every race day begins as every other day begins in a dog yard– Caring for the Team. Feeding, cleaning up, and making sure they are happy. Then it’s on to taking time for themselves. Mushers will try to relax just a bit as they know for the next couple of days, there will be little sleep to be had.
One thing I have noticed is how much more relaxed Pete is on race day compared to the early years. In the early years I think he second guessed himself just a bit and now he has a full system of things that have to happen. The entire Team, Ron, Janet, Bethany, and Nik all have specific things to do and it just gets done. Folks like myself, Rick and Kathy and other supporters also know what will happen and what is expected, so it is way different for us as well.
I stopped by the lonely Start Line that will be a flurry of activity for the next few days. Standing alone, like a sentinel awaiting sunrise, the Start Line won’t be lonely much longer. In fact Rick Hanson was down there prepping the start line by smoothing the snow to make it easier for Man and Dog.
This year the Start Line is upriver just a bit. It is not directly in front of Bethel. It is a nice location just East of the Bethel Boat Harbor entrance.
We will be posting as usual! Here are a few photos from the Start Line as well as Pete’s Setting Goals video.
https://www.facebook.com/DonlinGold/videos/2082821531733385/
