Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Barns and Donkeys

Enjoyed another great weekend of cyclcross at two different events. First race on Saturday was Red Barn at Erikson's Tree Farm in Shafer, MN. Having never raced this course I didn't know what to expect, I was told it was a good one. The temps were decent, in the high 40's and no rain, unlike last weekend. The race started pretty fast, I was sitting about 4th after the intial sprint. I worked my way up to 2nd wheel behind Kesha as he was going really good. Before I knew it I was down, my front tire slipped out on a fast corner. I uncrumpled myself and got up, straightend out my bars and made sure nothing was too messed up as 10 riders went flying by. As I battled my way back to some riders I past a man dressed in a all gold suit and another in jean shorts and aviator glasses who was dressed as Goose. With three laps to go I caught the chase group of 5 guys who seemed to be content riding together, so when I went by I went hard and got a gap that held to the end. Was happy afterwards with my 3rd place custom wooden medal and free pork sandwiches.
The second race was Donkey Cross out at the Ham Lake Baptist Camp. This course was mostly flat sandy/dirt trails back in the woods with one bumpy section that I don't think had any "good" lines. Everyone agreed this course was a lot like riding the MN river bottoms. I just wanted to make sure I didn't have any nice crashes like the day before. After the start, a barrier, and a couple off camber turns I was sitting 4th wheel again and wanted to feel out the pace for a bit. Once we got onto the second half of the first lap with some faster sweeping turns I went to the front and set my own pace, also wanted to stay out of trouble in the few technical sections. After a couple laps it was down to just myself and Jesse L. It stayed this way for about 4 or 5 laps. Jesse is a super strong rider, and I'm pretty sure he went undefeated this summer in any mountain bike race he showed up at. So with 3 laps to go he went by me on his single speed and put down some nice power, after about a half lap I had to let him go. I finished 2nd, maybe 25 seconds back with CJ coming in 3rd.

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

The place to be

Had two fun days of racing Green Acres CX this past weekend. Saturday the course was a little slick with some muddy spots here and there. The field was pretty strong and I found myself blown off the back of the leaders by about the halfway point, rode the rest of the race alone in 7th. Day two was a slightly modified course that included a steep muddy grass climb, some good off camber slopes, and a dark piney forest trail. On top of that it rained most of the day so the course was almost all mud. The wistle blew and we were off sprinting up the dirt road climb, and once we got onto the top corn field area there were a couple crashes in front of me with everyone trying to find the best line in the 4 inch deep mud ruts. As I was trying to find my rhythem in the mud, a fast wheel came by, it was Tonkin, so I jumped on and we started passing people. I stayed with him for about a lap or more, but got shed off as he was riding the mud and the corners much smoother with a little rear tire flick that I need to learn! Tonkin actually battled up to the leaders and ended 2nd on the day behind that one guy ET who has been undefeated in the MNCX scene this year, I ended up in 6th behind the same guys as day 1. Overall it was a great weekend of cross with friends and family. Can't wait for next weekend!

Friday, October 18, 2013

First Post

Quick recap of my season so far, 38 races, 6,400 miles, and 409 hours on the bike. Seven weeks of cross racing left with Green Acres on tap this weekend and then on to fatbike season where most rides include beverages from Canada. Just make sure you watch out for this guy when riding the MN river bottoms!