With racing not out of my system after the Chequamegon 40, the closest fix I could find was the UPCross series in Ispheming, MI the last weekend in Sept. Kate, I & the kids packed up made the 3hr trek.
Got there with a half hour to sign in & warmup. Wasn't sure what to expect for competition in the "A" race, I recognized several of the guys but knew only Jesse Bell. (Hadn't quite forgotten the come from behind shlacking he gave me at Baycross last year). Fortunately the UP guys know the correct length/time for a cross race so I liked my odds better this time around.
We lined up under the Pavilion at the Al Quaal Park (that name .... I gotta shake the terrorist image it conjures up) -- anyways, front row next to me is this bulking muscle of humanity. I introduce myself & he in turn introduces himself as "Eric". Great part of coming to race where you don't know everyone is there's no preconceived of how the race is going to turn out.
At "Go" Jesse lead to the front & for the first several turns had the lead, I took over when an opening presented itself. When it seemed like a gap happened I was set on committing myself for a long day at the front. Little did I know "Eric" would be zooming up along side & past me, to stay with him I went from alittle pain to abit more pain. The dude was rolling it hard and being my first taste of cross racing for the year the pace was getting a bit irritating -- no breaks just go, go, go. He pulled a small gap of a couple bike lengths thru the first lap and for the next two laps it held pretty steady at 10-12 seconds... that was until my chain popped off when re-mounting on the first set of barriers. A second mishap in approaching the 2nd barriers too hot & getting tangled up opened things up quite a bit more. Kate gave me a split of 50 seconds back shortly thereafter. It remained that way through most of the remainder of the 9 lap race. I kept pushing to close things but my body was resisting the effort that 'cross racing requires. I don't know how to explain it any better than that. It's a hard, all out effort, for the entire race.
I could see some trailing racers on the switch backs but no one was pushing me, Jesse I found out later had some tire issues & swapped out bikes a couple times and had a rough day.
The fans were great, cheering everybody on. I think I surprised some folks riding a mountain bike (I think I only saw two of them in the "A" race) and keeping relatively close to who I later found out was their hometown hero "Eric Marcotte". A road & criterium racer now living in AZ who was home for a visit. Try a google of him, he's not exactly a slouch -- having bettered some of the fastest sprinters in the country, even former National Champ Rashaan Bahati, at national races... so can't feel so bad placing under a minute back at 'cross race to a guy of that caliber.
Won a bontrager 29er ACX tire for my efforts, not a bad consolation for 2nd place & the $10 entry fee. Also was nice to chat with the riders & organizers afterwards. Got a chance to meet Sisu cycles founder/owner Matt Palomaki and also main sponsor of UPCROSS this season. I've got a fascination with bikes, their designs and what makes them handle they way they do so it was a really a great conversation and some very interesting insights I came away with. Thanks Matt!
What's up next? Well, it's what happened yesterday (I said the recaps were running late)... The fortune of having some travel in my work schedule afforded me to stop by round #2 of UPCROSS. A sweet 'cross course in Negaunee, MI....Good organizers & sponsors & some guys named Tyler made for a good day... more on that later.
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