Maplelag Memories

The weekend of Laddies Loppet is never a disappointment. The long drive up is always worth it in the end. Thanks to my parents taking the kiddos, I was able to enjoy a long weekend away with my wife and racing buddies.

The events started with the TT on Saturday morning. Feeling good, I headed out only to be disrupted by horrible shifting conditions on my HT and the chain not staying in-gear. 13 minutes later, I found out the derailleur hangar was bent and the chain had blown apart at one of the links, leaving a single plate attached through the TT. There goes another chain.

The STXC was next, knowing my HT was out-of commission, I headed into this event with the FSR. The race started out even faster w/13 minute time frame, instead of last year's 17 minutes. The pace never let up. John Oman, Eric LeBow and I hooked up a lead train for most of the race. Last lap out, I pulled our train, put the hammer down and we managed to do some nice pull away from the rest of the group. Overall, 10.

The main event was the Sunday XC ride. This race started out with me putting on a replacement wheel after my SLR hub started howling like a buzz-saw when I'd coast. The race started nice, 2-1/2 laps to go. I started feeling very wasted quickly. By the time the end of the "prologue" (1/2) had completed, I was not feeling good and completely powerless. I hung on, controlling out the bonk as best as possible. I started to feel great the second lap, putting some great moves in to make a overall 10th; 2nd age group.

With not setting this as a season goal, i guess I was pleased. My TT could have gone better, but overall, the XC is the funnest event! :)

Thanks to the Maplelag staff for hosting such a great event - next year will be just as great!

WORS wonders

Last Sunday was our day out at the WORS "Border Battle" in River Falls. The WORS series and especially KORC put on a great race at Whitetail Ridge. The race started in WORS fashion, with 15-34 being staged together. Got a great start, pulling the hole shot leading up to the selection climb. This climb was included each lap this year, which made for a more spread-out field; definitely an advantage IMHO. The first lap was very fast, with a lot of jockeying for positions. Towards the end of the first lap, my RH shifter came loose, quickly pulled the MT out of the pocket and adjusted it. Starting the second lap, there was a huge gap to the next rider, but I still ended up dropping my water bottle in the backside field. With the heat that day and it being already the start of a lap, I had no choice but to halt and grab it. Ouch. Third lap, with the gap opening, somehow I ended up on the ground, still not sure how that happened. Finally, fourth lap I was able to pull away and stay in contention for a 3rd place, besting my 4th from last year. Definitely a good day on some very good trails.

Kudos to Joe Surla as he also cleaned up the podium for our team in 4th. Awesome work out there.

Long time, no updates

Gotta get familiar with this blogging thing and stay consistent. The latest for me is the US Nationals Race in July out at Sol Vista Basin (Granby, CO). The race started at approximately 8000' and climbed to about 9200' elevation. With altitude, the lungs are definitely restricted and breathing becomes a large limiter to your performance.

The race started out on an approximate 22% incline. The pace was definitely slower than experienced at other races, just because of the incline and altitude. The course consisted of a front-side climb that sent us up a twisty, rocky, singletrack climb - it was rife for tire problems. Next, a long sandy descent only to be greeted by another long double-track climb. Upon commencing the climb, we get dumped into some gnarly tech detail downhill stuff. The best part after that was descending down the back-side of the mountain, with the valley and edge staring right in front of you. No room for error there. The descent into the finish was fast and slalom-like. Overall, a third-place; definitely a pleasing result.

Another congrats to Tim Williams for placing 2nd, and to all of our other team-mates who made the journey and race: Scott Spoo, Jeff Bushendorf, Eric LeBow & John Oman!

St Cloud; MNSCS X

the final event of the season couldn't have come soon enough. With a long season of training and heavy racing, it was a welcome relief for this one to be over. :) Coming to pre-ride on Wednesday, I had to take this race more seriously than last year. Last year, I had a position locked up for the season, so I just raced for fun; regretting it the whole off-season for not pushing harder. This year had to be different, with a close scoring in the top six, it was going to be tough.

It started off with Sportel, Luke Baker, Jamison, Martens, a few others and myself all on the long leadout into the first lap. I settled in behind Jamison and it was a tough, tight run through the new challenging spur. I was able to hold off Baker and Martens for the first two laps until I ended up running my bike into a few trees. I was very lucky on this one because the two trees were separated enough to allow my front wheel to go between them, the trees flexible enough to bend when I hit them with my bars. Upon hitting, I was sent OTB into the treees, smashing my collarbone and tangling me into the trees. Martens and Baker were quick to pass after this one. Thankfully i was able to get back on and keep going. After another great handoff from my wife, I had a lot of catchup to do now. I was able to pass Baker in the new "expert spur", only to be halted when my chain shifted into the spokes; grand! This is the spot I sat for the rest of the race. I turned up the pace afterwards to close a gap on Sportel, but he ended up besting me at the finish to give me a 6th overall; 4th age. A good solid finish to a long season. Time for some much needed R&R now.

Chwammy XXVI

Went to the Chequamegon 40 for my first time. I only had one goal in mind for this race: finish in a 2:30's time frame. Not really training for it and not knowing what to expect, I was a bit reluctant to start. I had staged my bike at 05:30 with a good spot. The start was definitely not what I expected; I was expecting a more modest pace through town, but next thing you know, we're flying down the road over 30mph. Next year, I won't be so naive. I ended up having to play a lot of catchup to get into a good group. Heading into Rosie's field, I was knocked over domino-style when a rider steered into me. Picking up and continuing, I settled into a pace that would suit me for the duration. In the last 6 miles, I started cranking up the pace since I felt pretty strong. Coming into the finish line was Jack Baker of MNSCS, another rider and myself in a 3-way sprint. It was a classic finish with a final time of 2:36. ;) After washing down the bike, we headed back to the motel for some family time. it was definitely worth the trip!

Laddie's Loppet

Headed up to Maplelag resort for the weekend "Laddies Loppet" stage race over labor day. The Maplelag resort and Richard's family put on a great hosting for all. The festivities started with the time-trial on Saturday morning, which went pretty well, allowing me to post a 2nd in Comp open. The STXC came on Saturday afternoon and it started out fast with Wally leading out the group. After hanging with the leadout group, I ended up overshifting the chain & causing some major chain-suck. This forced me into doing more catch-up. I eventually caught back up and was able to finish out with a 3rd place; not bad for my first STXC race!

The events continued with the final event being the XC race on Sunday. After cheering on fellow team-mates in the citizen & sport races, it was time to line up for our event. The start was fast, as usual with a Wally taking the hole-shot. After staying on his wheel, I was able to pass him before going into the first set of drops. At that point, I started to push the pace hard and was able to hold the race-lead until the last 1/3 of the final lap when a strong Seth Carlson passed me up. At that point, we both had a pretty good gain on the majority of the field. I was starting to slow soon then cuz of the course intensity. Finally, I was able to close out some of the gap between Seth and me for a final finish of 2nd overall, 1st in age-group. It was a great recap to the weekend, which allowed me to collect the overall GC leader in Comp open.

The changes to the XC course this year were incredible and made for a definitely challenging and exciting race.

I definitely look forward to next year out there.