Copper Harbor Fat Tire Festival…

A MTB season almost isn’t complete (some would say it’s definitely not complete) without a trip to Copper Harbor for their Fat Tire Festival.  I heard about it for the first time probably in 2008(?) after some local guys had repeated mentioned it.  I thought what the heck – it’s about the same distance as going to any WORS race and it’s someplace I’d never been before.  I was racing my Trek full suspension Top Fuel 69er, at the time & thought it was the perfect bike for the course, in many ways it still is.  I was just turning the corner in reaching the Expert/Elite field of racing (now called Category 1, or Cat 1 for short) that year.  Was having a great race, stuck with one of the best all around endurance athletes I’ve known in Scott Chapin.  Chris Peariso had flatted out and Darrin Braun was leading.  Had third place sown up when the never fun tire failure materialized.  Hence has been my constant love/hate relationship with that race.  Scott Cole took third followed by Matt Zak.  In ‘09 –  I was cooked from already long the racing season or just having an off day, maybe started too fast but faded & ended up in 10th.  2010 – things went close to perfect that day.  Chris Peariso took off in the lead, but Tom Carpenter & myself grabbed a decent lead early on and worked well together.  I nearly witnessed his untimely demise in the form of a damn forest goat crossing his path down the Whoop De Woo trail – a couple seconds or feet different & Tom would have been taking the express way down the mountain… gravity style.  Tom eventually broke free as I missed a water bottle handoff & was bonking with 5 miles to go.  Just enough for Todd McFadden & Chris Schotz to catch me on the final Red Trail downhill.  Todd got a good gap but Chris had to stay behind me.  I managed to pass Chris again about  1/2 mile before the finish but ran 50 yards short of catching Todd which would be reminiscent of all my races with Todd that year… finishing one place behind him, ugh.

2011 they changed up the course, for good or bad.  I think all the riding is pretty descent so nothing to be critical about, just happened to like the previous years better as it favored my strengths just alittle more. 

The race started out biking through the middle of town, where there’s is a controlled rollout, Scott Cole & myself wound up on the front of that following the pace truck out of town.  At the first climb (which I mentioned in previous posts) I wasn’t sure who was going to get the party started.   No one initially really went hard.  So I ended up being at the front, & focused on keeping my heart rate in check.  It’s a race you can’t win in the first climb but I find you can put yourself in big hole the rest of the race if you go too hard.  Eventually 3 or 4 guys went by and still later the guys who would lead most of the race caught up.   As a group the first 6 of us entered the single track  together, Chris Peariso, Brian Matter, Tyler Gauthier, Todd McFadden, myself & Pete Karinen.  Though I was able to climb the hill at a good clip without a problem, once I got into the single track my game was off.  Again I don’t know if it was the tires or me playing defensively due to my ribs.  All I know is I was descending slow & like shit holding up Pete.  Eventually Tom Carpenter & Mike Burnet caught up and I gave them all a pass.  They left me in the dust, so I figured I’d quite taking chances and just concentrate catching up on the uphills.  Easier said than done.  By the time I got to the bottom they had 30 seconds on me.  I’d hate to say the rest of the race was a bit frustrating but it was sorta.  I noticed racers behind me that I figured I’d be able to drop & get some distance on the climb, but it really wasn’t happening.  Once getting to the second descent, they caught me by the time I was at the bottom and so I figured I’d again climb away… not to be.  They hung like glue, Justin Weber & Jan Roubal.   That was my first clue this wasn’t going to be one of my stronger days on the trails.  I eventually let them pass and followed them to Red Trail, only to pass Mike Burnet.  My descending sucked again and apologies to Mike for having to sit behind it – which he did with such grace & poise (as he was the downhill race champ the day before).  He claimed not having his regular glasses and that I drop him on the climbs  - whatever…  Well, actually riding and chatting with Mike was probably the highlight of my race.  We did almost the entire next lap together.  He’d patiently wait behind me on the downhills & do his best to cling on when climbing.  On the 2nd to last descent of the day I told him he had to go out front as a couple of racers were now catching us Scott Cole & Matthew Colligan.  If he was going to hold his place he’d have to put those downhill skills to work now.  Mike quickly disappeared and I was able to hold off the other two until close to the top of the final climbing portion of the race. 

It’s was at that point my rear tire started to feel more squishy than it should have.  Sure enough, tire was going flat.  I got out my pump but the tire would seem to hold air yet I could see where it was leaking.  Finally it was clear that the valve stem was losing the air.  So I screwed that in as best as possible.  Fortunately Kate & the kids for some reason were at the top of this hill.  She got me another pump and I was able to partially inflate so it held air better.   That 10 minute fiasco, dropped me from 10th place to 25th which out of 150 racers isn’t too bad for that long of a delay. 

I managed to ease the partially inflated tired down the final descent called Red Trail and took it easy on the way into the finish.  Would have loved to have a better day, but would have required different tires and healthy ribs. I felt nauseous after the race and my kidneys hurt, something that doesn’t normally happen.  So I’m guessing whatever was going on with my injury was really stressing my body in some manner. 

But once done it’s time to party, visit & catch up with friends and hear their race stories and what’s going with them.  I hung out for while & had little Aaron with me but eventually I had to put things on hold & rest up at the hotel in hopes I’d feel better.  

The ribs got worse as the night went on, even so I headed back after the awards & enjoyed a few cold beverages and began to catch up with the many people I’ve gotten to know over the past several years racing in the U.P. as well as WI & MN racers that drive over.    Makes you wish more races were like this and that the season went on a whole lot longer…

Good weekend, fast riding, oh.. & the ribs…..

On the way back home right now, after spending the past 2 days in Copper Harbor for their Fat Tire festival.  Just a quick stop in Calumet before heading home for some lunch & relaxed off road riding with the kids.  Could sure use it.  I was able to brush off how bad my ribs felt over the week, but riding at the Harbor didn’t feel like it exactly did me any favors.  Would like to be optimistic it’ll be better in 2 weeks for the Chequamegon 40…

Not sure if I was riding protectively or my ribs are hurting me worse than I think, but I ended up fighting the trail more than flowing with it and no matter how hard I tried pushing it my normal power just wasn’t there during the race.   Plans for a top 5 finish were scrapped and I had to work to stay in the top 10.. which didn’t exactly pan out either because with 5 miles to go my rear wheel valve stem progressively leaked air & took 15 minute to fix so I wound up 23rd on the day.   That’s kinda amazing in it’s own right that more racers didn’t pass and illustrates how hard the race really is. 

Still going to Copper Harbor is always a great getaway to relax & unwind.  More on the weekend when I get home.

Ribs & Copper Harbor….

If it were a picnic I was referencing -- it’d probably be a pretty good time.   Copper Harbor is a beautiful place and if the weather is right you can’t go wrong. 

However it’s the pre-ride of the Copper Harbor Fat Tire festival race this afternoon that I was referencing & it ain’t exactly what you’d call a picnic.  The course has got climbing & descending like you don’t find anywhere else in the midwest that I’m aware of  and the ribs I injured earlier in the week weren’t exactly happy to cooperate with the style of riding that course requires.  Mind you it can be super fun to ride, but racing it …while still fun carries a higher degree of consequence for any mistakes you make on the vertically challenging and rocky course.  I don’t mean this in a bad way but I’m always amazed more people don’t get hurt at this event.

Had the power tap & cycling computer on the pre-ride – showed approximately 1900 feet of climbing throughout the first 16 miles lap of the 28 mile course.   I gotta be honest I actually like the start – it should separate the racers quickly.  Something I’ve always like MTB'ing  & why I chosen to pursue it, over, say road cycling.  It’s mostly individual effort to see the strongest racers over drafting or other tactics which can mask or distort one’s true abilities. 

The initial climb has somewhere over 400+ feet of climbing in 15 minutes, many parts having 17 degree pitches.  For reference, take the steepest highway road near you – it’s probably pitched at 7 or 8 degrees at the most, I don’t think the Dept of Transportation or whatever regulating body allows for anything much steeper than that on highways.  Now picture it twice as steep…. get an idea of how steep the pitch of the initial climb in the race is?

Managed to get through most of the course unscathed… only one minor tire incident, surprised?….but again the way I look at it that’s just getting the bad luck out of the way (didn’t I say that about Ore to Shore too.. and still got a second puncture during the race?  At least that one worked out ok.)  It was later on in the pre-ride as I thought I was taking it easy as my ribs were starting to act up and met an unfriendly, angry rock.  There’s alot of those kind out on the course, so I’m hoping to make better friends with them tomorrow at the race.

When I got done it was just about sundown with a beautiful sunset over the lake.   Tracked down the family, got visit with Todd McFadden along with a few other friends today like Tom Carpenter (and again Tom – the answer is still remains NO -- you’d can’t latch a tow rope on my bike tomorrow at the start for the climb).  Should however be a good fast group of racers on Sunday. 

Finally headed 40minutes back to Calumet where we’re staying Sat night.  With a good nights rest we’ll see how things pan out tomorrow – I don’t think there’s any other course where this blog title is more appropriate.   Now to see if I can abide by it; I know one thing for certain my ribs are counting on it.  Try to get in a race recap sometime Monday.

Seeley Pre-Fat….

What a great event held each year.  It’s sponsored by the Seeley Lions Club.  Traditionally three weeks before the Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival, it very well may be one of the most diverse and challenging MTB courses you may find in the midwest.

It’s a combination of cross country ski trails and some great tight technical old school single track.  Approximately 3000 feet of total climbing the 25mile race.

The week leading up to the race I’d just been coming back to riding after taking the previous week/weekend off due to unusual fatigue after Ore to Shore and later fighting allergies that sometimes strike me in mid to late August.   The time off seemed to do me well and I was feeling pretty fresh.  Thursday leading into the race I’d pre-road the course at a fast clip and it was easy so I was pretty excited at my prospects in the race if I felt even remotely the same way on Saturday.

As good fortune would have it, woke up Saturday feeling great.  The weather could not have been better.  It was one of those days you think no matter what happens it’s still going to be a great day.   

Got to Seeley, early by my standards, about 90minutes prior to the race start… sorry to disappoint those of you who take wagers like Vegas bookies on how close to the start I’ll come screaming in…. though you’re right -- I deserve it most time though. 

Brought the bike I’d been training on lately and had such good fortune on at last years race.  It’s technically Kate’s Gary Fisher SuperFly 100… I just borrow it… sometimes.  Hey, don’t give me grief, bikes are made to ride not collect dust.  Truthfully though, it’s a great bike for this particular course, the full suspension, 29in wheels and cornering ability really comes in handy on the downhills without giving up much maneuvering and handling in the tight single track sections.

After plenty of warmup riding, chatting with others &  finding out who was there.  I was settling in and ready to go.  However… the rear tire was feeling abit more squishy than I though it should.  I squeezed it and sure enough it was a little low.  Odd, but not completely unusual, I quick connected with the speedy Nathan Lillie to borrow his pump and bring it back up to the 23-24lbs of pressure I’d decide to ride that day.   It was cutting it close to the start, but I still got to the line and sat in behind Todd McFadden & Chad Sova & next to Ron Raymond. 

Soon enough we were off, all I needed to do was stay near enough to the front so when it finally went off road I’d be in the group I wanted to be.  Scottie Kylander Johnson, given his recent injuries wisely speed things up round the first corner to stay out of trouble.  It triggered abit of reaction from the sounds behind me but no grinding metal or screeching brakes so it was all good.  From there it was the steady climb out & up to where the race finally gets off road & onto some cx ski trails with hairy crazy descents – they are soooo fun!

The race would bring in the most interesting dynamics of any race  I’ve done.  A couple guys with strong road racing backgrounds Adam Bergman & Pat Lemieux came to play, along with a pretty good young talent in Jordan Cullen.  MTB & road racing just ain’t the same thing & in this particular course each style would have it’s advantages & disadvantages. 

As long as the course was open it was clear Adam & Pat wanted to stay out front.  As we crested the first main hill & went to the cx ski hill descents I was riding in 4th or 5th position behind Todd M. Adam, Pat & perhaps Josh Tesch and I wanted to get to the front.  Pushing hard on the left side of the trail I made it up to & around Adam just in time for the first descent.  Here I railed it & got a decent gap.  Not something I wanted to run with for the rest of the race, but to keep the pace up & maybe start splitting things.  Plus if I was in front I could stay out of harms way of anyone else not handling the descent & corner well.  After another hill section or two Adam & I swap leads until I was sufficiently happy the race was breaking into smaller group.  From there I sat in with Todd, with Josh T., Pat & Adam leading out front.  For the longest time I was mistaken that Scott Kylander Johnson was with them thinking once this race got in single track, if  SKJ was ahead this race would be over. Unfortunately somewhere behind us he’d gotten held up. 

I’d love to say the race was super interesting the next 40+ minutes but not exactly.  Chad Sova, last year’s Pre-Fat winner finally caught up to myself & Todd on another steep hill climb and the three of us shortly thereafter caught up to Josh who’d dropped off the back of Pat & Adam.  Somewhere in the mix was Jordan & this other guy from Denver, but it’s alittle fuzzy in my memory right now.  At least four of us road together for quite awhile with Pat & Adam 15-20seconds ahead. 

Eventually the race heads into single track, it’s here the technical riding of the guys I was with really shines vs. that of riders who mostly do road racing.  It was but a few minutes into the single track that I was trying to hang on to Todd wheel when we started to slow up?  I’m like - WTF?  We’d caught up to Pat & Adam.  Fortunately or unfortunately depending on how you look at it.  Here’s the MTB racers etiquette  as I’ve come to know it….“Yield to the faster racers”.  Don’t mean to call anyone out but maybe that’s not how road racers do things as Pat & Adam refused to let anyone pass.  I think Chad, Josh, Todd & myself were more bewildered than anything else at first… like come on.. what? you’ve got to be kiddin’?  I later could sorta see Adam’s point of view even if I didn’t necessarily agree – he said since he was at the very the front of the race(ie winning) he shouldn’t have to move over.   In the meantime, my heartrate is dropping as the effort is slowing and I’m not really complaining.  Perfect time to recover some and then attack them in the open sections. 

Myself, of the bunch racing at the front, probably sat dead middle in terms of the different abilities.  I can single track faster than Adam & Pat, and I’m pretty sure I had the power to ride in the opens & flats on the full suspension that Chad, Todd & Josh may not have been able to with their bike setups.  However on the flip side, I’m probably a knotch below all of them at their strong suits.  So I’m getting excited thinking for once maybe a race may play out in my favor!?  If I don’t loose Chad, Todd & Josh and can come around Pat & Adam for the different sets of single track this race could get very interesting… only that grand illusion…. was soon to be gone. 

That low tire I was nursing at the start was a leak in the sidewall of the tire that wasn’t sealing up.  After two sections of single track I had no choice but to jump off the bike and try to re-inflate it.  Unfortunately the cycling gods wouldn’t have it and despite my best efforts it got low again eventually causing me to stop altogether to try & put in a tube.  More mechanical mishaps with that so I was finally left to walk the bike out.  Ugh. 

After getting to the finish & catching up with others I found out I missed a real interesting remainder of the race – normally MTB racing isn’t too antagonistic, unfortunately the road guys continued the strategy of jumping ahead in single track, holding things up.  And there was another incident with Todd & the guy from Denver who thought Todd had somehow wronged him in an earlier part of the race.   Not pretty, let’s just leave it at that.

Anyways, Todd’s racing as good as he has in years, was able to break free the final several miles, as Adam had to stop to fill his tire and only Pat hung on with Chad close behind.  Pat sat on Todd’s wheel resting up the final miles not taking a turn and outsprinted him at the end.  Call that what you want…. Todd had a super race.  Chad finished 3rd but if strategy had played out different could have equally had the win.  Josh had 4th, Adam 5th, followed by SKJ.

I finally came trotting out of the woods in like 50th.  Oh well, it was good while it lasted & that’s bike racing.  You don’t know when your luck is going to turn.

Hung out afterwards catching up & visiting with friends along with my girls Hope & Grace – they always are hitting me up for the free donuts holes & Gatorade at the finish line.   I think I’m onto them as to why they like coming to Daddy’s bike races….

As soon as the awards wrapped up I headed to Hayward to catch up with a good friend.  Won some gift certificates at the raffle after the race – promptly put them to good use as we picked up candy for our kids at Tremblay’s and hung out and had a really good time catching up.  Funny story – unless perhaps you’re famous, or in an advertisement, a person never expects to see a picture of themselves in public.  So we’re in the County Market grocery store in Hayward walking down the isles and I see this huge photo of the start of the Chequamegon Fat Tire 40 race on the wall past the checkout lines.  Half joking, half serious I say “yeah, I’m up there in the that picture”  When in fact I have no clue from even what year that picture was taken.   I was talking out of my butt.  Then we get closer & I glance up again to where I’ve normal placed myself at the start of the race (right hand side).   And sure enough 2nd or 3rd row  in– there I am!?   I don’t know if my friend was impressed or though I was goofball, but I think we both thought it was pretty funny.   I should have asked the cashier for a ladder & a sharpie & gone up & signed it… anyways…

It really ended up being a perfect day even for all that stuff that didn’t quite go right.  Sometimes in life we’re lucky enough to have those days.  It really helps to remember & hold onto them.  To keep in mind that life doesn’t always have to go according to plan to still be really good and well worth smiling about. 

Up next, getting these ribs healed up and ready for Copper Harbor’s race this Sunday.  It’s gonna be a good one!

I used to think…..

That hurting your back was the most disruptive body part to injure.   I’m re-thinking that right about now.   It’s the ribs that are getting my vote.  It compromises your movement and you certainly don’t dare sneeze, cough or laugh – let alone other normal body functions….

Anyways, it’s a day after the crash & though I could be feeling worse.  I could also be feeling a whole lot better.  Just gotta take it one day at a time… like so many other things, it’s so much easier said than done.   But I firmly believe that those roadblocks or challenges life tosses our way don’t have to be bad things.  You can learn alot about yourself, get stronger in different ways and come to realize things that you wouldn’t otherwise if it never happened. 

Not saying you should go looking for the stuff -- as life has a way of putting things before when you least expect it.

Now if I can sit down & manage some pain long enough, I’ll eventually get around to a recaping what started as a great race & ended as a really fun weekend…

What’s worse than crashing your bike?……

Crashing your bike going downhill.

What’s worse than crashing your bike going downhill?

Crashing your bike going 25mph downhill.

What’s worse than crashing your bike going downhill at 25mph?

Crashing your bike going 25mph downhill on a gravel road.

What’s worse than crashing your bike going downhill at 25mph on a gravel road?

Crashing your bike going 25mph downhill on a gravel road and cracking your ribs… that is what’s worse.

What a way to start  Monday…..can’t laugh, can’t sneeze, ugh.  Oh well, think positive, heal quickly and be back in action in time for the last two MTB races of the year, Copper Harbor & the Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival.

Recap on Seeley Pre-Fat to come….

Missing a round of racin’….

Instead of building off a really great Ore To Shore race and heading into another weekend of MTB racing, things didn’t quite go as planned. 

Earlier in the week, it seemed to be taking forever to feel recovered from O2S.  I kept thinkin’, ok, tomorrow I’ll feel better… and the next day would come and the same thing.. ok, I feel better tomorrow.  Finally by Weds, things seemed to be getting better, I was in particularly good spirits – decided to hit a really hard 40 minutes of intervals in my 2+hr ride… it went decent, but by that night had me right back to feeling fatigued…. or maybe it was the bar league softball game that went til 11:50 that night… that’s an entirely different story…

Anyways, this time of year I can get a some allergies kicking in on occasion as well & that sometimes masks what the real the problem is so I’m pretty sure that was part of it too.   Hence, with just over a month of racing left, taking a break for a few days and skipping both the Calumet Deer Chase and River Falls Border Battle races was the advice I got…. and took.  Believe you me, not in the least bit easy.  I know taking a break was the smart thing to do… why is it so hard sometime?  Calumet has some of the all time most fun trails to ride and with River Falls it’s a good race and I like to drive down that direction whenever I can.

So what’d I do instead?  Well, stuck pretty close to home, worked on the trails here and then at the last minute Sunday evening decided to pre-ride next weekend’s Seeley Pre-Fat race course – “evening” being the key word.  I swear I’ll never learn.  I get so used to the having daylight past 9 o’clock in the summer that by the time mid August rolls around & the sun is setting considerably sooner I find myself stuck out on the trails in the near pitch dark.  Tonight was no exception and almost a replay of 8 or 9 yrs ago when we got a late start pre-riding the Seeley course and truly had to feel our way out of the woods.

Fortunately, I recalled a short cut, but still didn’t get back to the car til 9.  It’s definitely pretty dark by then.  Oh well, someday that stubborn & persistent (or is it foilable) person inside of me will learn… actually, nah, I doubt it.  Make things interesting and keeps life humorous.  And we could all use a laugh more often even if it’s at our own expense.

Well, congrats out to the racers at Calumet & River Falls, I’m sure I missed a good time.  Gotta thank Tom Carpenter for filling me in on how the Calumet race went, that definitely would have been fun ripping it up.

Looks like I'm probably down to only three MTB races left…excited, but bummed that the season is winding up too.  Seeley Pre-Fat Sat 27th, Copper Harbor, MI Fat Tire Festival Sun 4th and then the grand-daddy of races Sept 17th the Chequamegon 40.   All  different, but all great races.  Not a much better way to end the year than with those ones.  Perhaps I’ll pick up another race after that however I’m also looking forward to another cyclo-cross season.  Have some news on that horizon I’ll share later…