Bummer to have a season full of stories & race recaps some of which go untold…battles waged, crashes witnessed, spectacular racing at times….yet, not always enough time to catch up & express it.
Maybe with something more than a half hearted effort those stories & tales will yet come forth.
In fast forwarding to the present, with finish of the always awesome DeerFly Chase MTB race at Hickory Ridge trails 30 min north of Eau Claire, it’s almost always the end of MTB racing for me. Sure there’s one last really good WORS race in Sheboygan this coming weekend. And if one can endure a 8hr drive to Traverse City, MI – there’s always the Iceman Cometh in November. But with the growing popularity of cyclo-cross, racing activities start to tilt in that direction.
Now despite being incredibly fortunate of having miles of single track in my backyard (literally) & being relatively close to the Cable/Hayward “CAMBA” trail systems. With really no shortage of MTB racing opportunities within a 1-2hr drive all summer long. However my opportunities for ‘cross racing get squeezed due to geography & it seems like everyone that’s turning wheels & pedals in the summer around here is picking up guns & shooting forest chickens in the fall. Needless to say I digress…
So to get into some more frequent ‘cross racing it takes a bit of effort. Generally it’s 3+hr drive to the U.P. of Michigan or the 3 1/2-4hrs to the Twin Cities. Head east or head west… toss a coin.
The U.P. has got a super great weekend series and community like no other for cycling. Dedicated folks that I very much admire. The MN series…ah, plenty of good there too – they run under USA cycling rules & regs so -- their races trump others because valuable sanctioned point systems are needed IF a person plans on racing the big State/Regional/National races.
So far I’ve taken in the Lowes Creek Cyclo-cross race in Eau Claire in early Sept. A stab at the Madison USGP of cyclo-cross right the weekend after Chequamegon Fat tire. Then a MN series ‘cross race the EC3 at Elm Creek.
Tuesday night, opportunity presented itself to be in the Twin Cities and take in the Tues Night Cross races. Nice point possibilities & two races in a night.
Got there with plenty of time to spare, with a questionable rear tubeless Michelin Mud 2 tire, I swapped it out for file tread Bontrager CXO. It began the start of good going bad…
After some warmups, it was time to line up in first race of Masters 35+ race. At the “go” Doug Swanson, in his like only 3rd time on the bike in… over 3 months, took to the front like only he knows how. All heart… even without the legs. Gotta love it. I found a reasonable place in between 2nd & 5th with Jesse Reints following.
All is going well & probably 2 laps in Jesse decides to go to the front when Doug falls off the pace. Jesse grabbed a decent lead & I was left to follow with Oliver V. & two others. About the 3rd lap I feel my newly place Bontrager getting low & one bump on the course later it’s rim riding time for me. Ugh.
I go to the pit area, grab my pump try to re-inflate. It won’t take & no tubes with me. So mid race I walk to my car to get my questionable Michelin 2 which I knew would at least inflate so I could finish & then be ready for race #2 -- the Cat 1/2/3 race that started immediately afterwards. As I re-enter the course… only a half lap into that, the Michelin blows off the rim entirely. Crap!!
So besides blowing a good opportunity in a the first race, I’m in a pickle to even be able to do the 2nd race. Get to the pit area & see the other guys finishing when my savior of the night comes along. Jeremy Ames – Angry Catfish racing, tells me to check with the support area for a spare wheel, but to no avail. He then says “Hey, you can’t have driven all this way & not get in a race. Here I’ll pas son racing, take my wheel.” How friggin’ cool is that!! Thanks a million Jeremy! Now not only is it a rear wheel… it’s a tubular with a Challenge Griffo tire. My first time ever riding a tubular.
I can almost say I had an epiphany – wow!! I had no idea skinny tires could grab & go around a tight corner like that! I was a kid in candy store. The course had plenty of twists, turns & cornering so it was a great opportunity to experience the benefits of tubulars. Amazing considering what my experience had been previously on regular tires. On certain courses those tires or tubulars can make all the difference….. I gotta get me some!!
Though a back row start on the race, I got a nice welcome from Pete of the Crossniacs & moved into the top 10 quickly into the start. Sorta got stuck in with Brian B. & Owen T (nice SS MTB effort). We traded things back & forth, but a mistake or slip here & there & gaps would open up. We caught up & passed two riders a 2nd or 3rd lap in on a race course that was quickly disappearing due to the daylight waning. I had a barrier & clip in issue & it gave them the gap to get away on me. I think I finished 7th or 8th?
All in all, for the night the bad luck turned into good opportunity thanks to the generosity of a friend. Given the situation, happy to have tried the TNC races, a real nice thing you guys in MN have going there. Great to see.
Once we all coughed the cold air out of lungs it was onto Pizza Luce with Jeremy & later catching up with Chris Ames of Freewheel. Sure nice to finally meet Chris, a great guy & good conversations we had. Hope opportunity presents itself again in future seasons to do some more TNC!!
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