Extreme cold forces Springfield man to withdraw from Itidarod bicycle race

It might be a while before Aaron Benetti looks to the Great White North for bicycling adventure.

The 29-year-old Springfield plumber is back home nursing frostbitten toes on both feet after a second attempt at the 350-mile Iditarod Trail Invitational race in Alaska.

He made it past the first checkpoint this year — a total of 70 miles — before equipment failure and extreme cold forced him to stop.

How cold was it?

"It hit minus 30 degrees that first night," Benetti said Monday, a few hours after a 12-hour flight from Alaska to Springfield.

"Everybody's GPS devices quit working," he said. "My MP3 player froze. Ice got into my bike chain and kept me pedaling in just one gear. At minus 30 degrees your body just goes numb, and so does your mind."