The MNSCS series is winding down at the same time things are heating up. Sitting in 4th place before the race, I knew I had to have a good finish in order to break the top 3. There are a couple of people that don't have six races in yet and with good finishes they could jump ahead of me in the standings.
We left Hutch later than expected Friday night after a fun company picnic. We were on the road before 8:00 PM and heading north on Hwy 15 as we neared St. Cloud we could see we were heading straight into a large storm. The rain started as we merged onto Hwy 23 and for the next 2 hours we drove in a deluge. At times it seemed like we were getting ahead of the front only to have it overtake us again. It wasn't until we turned onto CR18 that we were able to get ahead of the rain. We knew when we arrived at the cabin we would only have a short time to wake up sleeping kids, unpack the van, and gets bikes put away. Sure enoung about 15 minutes was all we had before the rain started. We successfully got everything put away and everyone in bed including ourselves.
Saturday morning we had a big breakfast (French toast, bacon and sausage) and slowly got ready for the trip up to Duluth to preride the course. We left around 11:00 AM and got to Spirit Mountain around noon. We ate lunch in the car on the way which was a good thing because preriding took most of the afternoon. Andrea and Jordan went out first and came back over 1 hour later. Andrea had a disgusted look on her face and had little to say except she didn't spend a great deal of time on the bike. I had heard the course was technical and rocky. Taylor wanted to try the course so Jordan, Taylor and myself went out to give it a try. Yep, the couse was definately rockier especially the top singletrack sections. Taylor did a very good job, but the course was too much for her and we had to walk most of it. Jordan was amazing; over rocks, down sketchy downhills, up short steep climbs, she handled it all. She made it look easy and at only 9 years of age. After over an hour we finally got back to the car.
I went out for a lap at near race pace to see how the hardtail would work on such a rugged course. The new fork (SID Team) worked flawlessly. I soaked up the huge rocks well and the lighter front end was easy to get up and over obstacles. The bike climbed very well and I felt like I had more energy to keep going fast. I made quick work out of the lap finishing in under 30 min. When I got back Andrea went out for another lap not satisfied with how the first lap went. Upon returning she said it went much better although there were still sections that she had to walk. I wanted to see how the full suspension would feel on the course and went out for one final lap. It took all of 5 minutes to make the decision to stick with the hardtail for the race. The FS was harder to control in the woods and noticeably harder to climb with.
It was near dinner time so we packed up the bikes, kids, and dog and went to Grandma's in Duluth for dinner. After dinner we grabbed Maddie and went for a walk down by the lake. It was getting late so we decided to head back to the cabin.
Sunday morning we woke up to a chill in the air and the sun not yet rising over the lake. There was still a little fog, but the sun quickly burned that off. After a quick breakfast we were on the road by 7:00 AM. There was some confusion about the Kids Comp start time and we had to rush to get Jordan registered and to the starting line by 9:00am only to have them move it to 9:35; just after the Citizen start. Andrea felt a little rushed but still had enough time to get warmed up and make a few practice runs up the starting hill. The race organizers decided to make the citizen race a mass start stating that there was not enough racers to split them up in separate waves (we both disagreed).
Andrea had a good start preferring to let most of the traffic go ahead. Although she passed quite a few riders on the first climb. The next time I saw her was a tight section of single track adjacent to the start finish line. I asked how she was doing and she gave me a very short OK. A second later she went to make an adjustment to her glasses and took a slight tumber over the bike. She got up quickly and continued on her way.
Jordan started her race a few minutes behind the Citizen riders. On the start Jordan slipped out of her pedals and fell slightly behind, however, she was able to make up most of that ground on the first climb. She made it up the entire first climb without walking, standing when necessary. The race went really well for her and I could see she was having a great time. On the final climb she was pushing really hard, standing the entire way. She finished 4th overall and 1st in her age group. Later she commented that she could see her mom periodically in the woods. It wont be too long before she is beating both of us.
I rode out to the last set of singletrack to find Andrea and we rode the last second of the race together. Overall the race went fairly well. Andrea said she could have pushed it a little harder but there were sections that she had to get off the bike for one reason or another.
I had a good warmup before the race, riding the first climb 3 or 4 times' each time slightly faster. This time I got to the starting line early and got a good position in the front row right in the middle. They sent us out in waves with the 30-39 going in wave 1. The start was exactly as I wanted. I got a good jump ahead of most riders and settled into 4th position on the climb. As I neared the top a couple of the leaders started to fade and I moved into the second spot just behind Rich Omdahl. Rich was fairly smooth through he first singletrack section and I followed closely behind. We were putting a gap on the pack so I rode in second for half of lap 1. Halfway through the first lap I passed Rich to push the pace a little faster and put even more distance on the the pack. After a couple of minutes I had also dropped Rich. I rode in front the remainder of lap 1, but was passed on the beginnig climb. I held the first place riders wheel for most of the second lap. Near the end of lap 2 I hit two trees and dropped a chain on a long fast downhill section and was unable to close the gap to first place. The third lap I focused on conserving my energy and felt as if I was slowing down. I kept pushing and the lead I had built up was plenty to finish in a strong second place. Overall, a great race which gave me the confidence to run with the leaders.
The kids race was a blast Devon won his race passing Duncan who was leading the group of kids. Taylor finished in second in her race and Wyatt finished in first as well.
I am now sitting in second place in the MNSCS series with only two races to go. Because the third place rider only has 5 races I will probably not be able to hold second place, but I could hang on to 3rd. I need strong finishes in the last two races in order to ensure a top 3 placing. Next week is a solo 24 hour race at Afton which due to recent events I will be doing more for fun and less for competing.
All efforts now are toward a strong finish in the MNSCS series, becaue next years goal is to race in Comp and a top 3 finish will be much harder to achieve.
We left Hutch later than expected Friday night after a fun company picnic. We were on the road before 8:00 PM and heading north on Hwy 15 as we neared St. Cloud we could see we were heading straight into a large storm. The rain started as we merged onto Hwy 23 and for the next 2 hours we drove in a deluge. At times it seemed like we were getting ahead of the front only to have it overtake us again. It wasn't until we turned onto CR18 that we were able to get ahead of the rain. We knew when we arrived at the cabin we would only have a short time to wake up sleeping kids, unpack the van, and gets bikes put away. Sure enoung about 15 minutes was all we had before the rain started. We successfully got everything put away and everyone in bed including ourselves.
Saturday morning we had a big breakfast (French toast, bacon and sausage) and slowly got ready for the trip up to Duluth to preride the course. We left around 11:00 AM and got to Spirit Mountain around noon. We ate lunch in the car on the way which was a good thing because preriding took most of the afternoon. Andrea and Jordan went out first and came back over 1 hour later. Andrea had a disgusted look on her face and had little to say except she didn't spend a great deal of time on the bike. I had heard the course was technical and rocky. Taylor wanted to try the course so Jordan, Taylor and myself went out to give it a try. Yep, the couse was definately rockier especially the top singletrack sections. Taylor did a very good job, but the course was too much for her and we had to walk most of it. Jordan was amazing; over rocks, down sketchy downhills, up short steep climbs, she handled it all. She made it look easy and at only 9 years of age. After over an hour we finally got back to the car.
I went out for a lap at near race pace to see how the hardtail would work on such a rugged course. The new fork (SID Team) worked flawlessly. I soaked up the huge rocks well and the lighter front end was easy to get up and over obstacles. The bike climbed very well and I felt like I had more energy to keep going fast. I made quick work out of the lap finishing in under 30 min. When I got back Andrea went out for another lap not satisfied with how the first lap went. Upon returning she said it went much better although there were still sections that she had to walk. I wanted to see how the full suspension would feel on the course and went out for one final lap. It took all of 5 minutes to make the decision to stick with the hardtail for the race. The FS was harder to control in the woods and noticeably harder to climb with.
It was near dinner time so we packed up the bikes, kids, and dog and went to Grandma's in Duluth for dinner. After dinner we grabbed Maddie and went for a walk down by the lake. It was getting late so we decided to head back to the cabin.
Sunday morning we woke up to a chill in the air and the sun not yet rising over the lake. There was still a little fog, but the sun quickly burned that off. After a quick breakfast we were on the road by 7:00 AM. There was some confusion about the Kids Comp start time and we had to rush to get Jordan registered and to the starting line by 9:00am only to have them move it to 9:35; just after the Citizen start. Andrea felt a little rushed but still had enough time to get warmed up and make a few practice runs up the starting hill. The race organizers decided to make the citizen race a mass start stating that there was not enough racers to split them up in separate waves (we both disagreed).
Andrea had a good start preferring to let most of the traffic go ahead. Although she passed quite a few riders on the first climb. The next time I saw her was a tight section of single track adjacent to the start finish line. I asked how she was doing and she gave me a very short OK. A second later she went to make an adjustment to her glasses and took a slight tumber over the bike. She got up quickly and continued on her way.
Jordan started her race a few minutes behind the Citizen riders. On the start Jordan slipped out of her pedals and fell slightly behind, however, she was able to make up most of that ground on the first climb. She made it up the entire first climb without walking, standing when necessary. The race went really well for her and I could see she was having a great time. On the final climb she was pushing really hard, standing the entire way. She finished 4th overall and 1st in her age group. Later she commented that she could see her mom periodically in the woods. It wont be too long before she is beating both of us.
I rode out to the last set of singletrack to find Andrea and we rode the last second of the race together. Overall the race went fairly well. Andrea said she could have pushed it a little harder but there were sections that she had to get off the bike for one reason or another.
I had a good warmup before the race, riding the first climb 3 or 4 times' each time slightly faster. This time I got to the starting line early and got a good position in the front row right in the middle. They sent us out in waves with the 30-39 going in wave 1. The start was exactly as I wanted. I got a good jump ahead of most riders and settled into 4th position on the climb. As I neared the top a couple of the leaders started to fade and I moved into the second spot just behind Rich Omdahl. Rich was fairly smooth through he first singletrack section and I followed closely behind. We were putting a gap on the pack so I rode in second for half of lap 1. Halfway through the first lap I passed Rich to push the pace a little faster and put even more distance on the the pack. After a couple of minutes I had also dropped Rich. I rode in front the remainder of lap 1, but was passed on the beginnig climb. I held the first place riders wheel for most of the second lap. Near the end of lap 2 I hit two trees and dropped a chain on a long fast downhill section and was unable to close the gap to first place. The third lap I focused on conserving my energy and felt as if I was slowing down. I kept pushing and the lead I had built up was plenty to finish in a strong second place. Overall, a great race which gave me the confidence to run with the leaders.
The kids race was a blast Devon won his race passing Duncan who was leading the group of kids. Taylor finished in second in her race and Wyatt finished in first as well.
I am now sitting in second place in the MNSCS series with only two races to go. Because the third place rider only has 5 races I will probably not be able to hold second place, but I could hang on to 3rd. I need strong finishes in the last two races in order to ensure a top 3 placing. Next week is a solo 24 hour race at Afton which due to recent events I will be doing more for fun and less for competing.
All efforts now are toward a strong finish in the MNSCS series, becaue next years goal is to race in Comp and a top 3 finish will be much harder to achieve.
