This past weekend was the 7th race of the MNSCS series at Welch Village. We packed up the car Saturday morning and headed down to preride the course. It took us a little longer than expected to get out of town and we didn't show up to Welch until around 1:30 PM. The course closed at 3:00 PM for preriding so Andrea and Jordan went out first. I wanted Andrea to have plenty of time and not feel rushed. This is her first race back since the second race of the season where she broke her clavicle. I was starting to get a little worried after about 1 hour because typically the citizen laps are around 45 minutes. Little did I know that they only marked the sport course and she had to ride the "Wall" which is a 100' vertical climb that goes almost strait up. Although it took a while to finish, Andrea was starting to feel comfortable on the new bike (Fisher supercaliber).
I went out for my preride lap after the course was officially closed, so I pushed a little harder than I normally would. I also was riding a new supercal, but had brought the trusty hardtail along as well. My first impression of the bike was that the front end was rather high, probably due to the riser bar. The bike also felt relatively heavy compared to the 23# hardtail I had been riding. On the way back to the finish I was greeted by a man who needed his car jumped. Yu Vang and I hopped in the car and wassuccessful at getting his Honda Pilot started. He wished me a great race and we went our separate ways.
We loaded the bikes and headed to my parents in Cottage Grove to celebrate my mothers B-day. It was also a nice excuse to spend the night, making a shorter drive the next morning. Later that evening the entire Horner family met at Demorie's for a nice laid back pizza dinner.
Sunday morning we rolled the kids out of bed at 6:00 am (not too many happy faces) and had a quick breakfast. We arrived with pleanty of time to get everyone registered and Jordan ready for her Kids Comp race. Andrea was a little nervous but excited to get back in race mode after a long wait.
Andrea let most of the pack get out in front so she didn't have to worry about riding in traffic at the start, but she started to pass people on the first long climb. I snapped a few pictures as she picked off riders up the long first climb. Andrea came in first place in her age group and felt she could have pushed it a little harder, but she was comfortable with her finish.
Jordan finished first in her age group (again) and 4th overall. She is a very good technical rider and an exceptional climber. She handled the downhill switchbacks with ease.
I had a terrible start in my race. I somehow got confused as to which wave I was in and started at the back of the pack. After the riders funneled out of the start area I was about 5 places out of last place (30-39 age group). I managed to pass a handful of riders on the first climb, but was stuck behind slower riders entering the single track. The leaders were now way out in front and there would be little chance of bridging the gap. I had made the decision to use the FS supercaliber and althought the bike is very efficient for a FS it felt heavy and slow compared to the hardtail. The bike rocketed on the downhill sections, but on this course there was a lot of climbing and the extra weight was evident. I still think if I would have had a better start I could have held close to the lead group.
I will post an update after the next race up at Spirit Mountain.
I went out for my preride lap after the course was officially closed, so I pushed a little harder than I normally would. I also was riding a new supercal, but had brought the trusty hardtail along as well. My first impression of the bike was that the front end was rather high, probably due to the riser bar. The bike also felt relatively heavy compared to the 23# hardtail I had been riding. On the way back to the finish I was greeted by a man who needed his car jumped. Yu Vang and I hopped in the car and wassuccessful at getting his Honda Pilot started. He wished me a great race and we went our separate ways.
We loaded the bikes and headed to my parents in Cottage Grove to celebrate my mothers B-day. It was also a nice excuse to spend the night, making a shorter drive the next morning. Later that evening the entire Horner family met at Demorie's for a nice laid back pizza dinner.
Sunday morning we rolled the kids out of bed at 6:00 am (not too many happy faces) and had a quick breakfast. We arrived with pleanty of time to get everyone registered and Jordan ready for her Kids Comp race. Andrea was a little nervous but excited to get back in race mode after a long wait.
Andrea let most of the pack get out in front so she didn't have to worry about riding in traffic at the start, but she started to pass people on the first long climb. I snapped a few pictures as she picked off riders up the long first climb. Andrea came in first place in her age group and felt she could have pushed it a little harder, but she was comfortable with her finish.
Jordan finished first in her age group (again) and 4th overall. She is a very good technical rider and an exceptional climber. She handled the downhill switchbacks with ease.
I had a terrible start in my race. I somehow got confused as to which wave I was in and started at the back of the pack. After the riders funneled out of the start area I was about 5 places out of last place (30-39 age group). I managed to pass a handful of riders on the first climb, but was stuck behind slower riders entering the single track. The leaders were now way out in front and there would be little chance of bridging the gap. I had made the decision to use the FS supercaliber and althought the bike is very efficient for a FS it felt heavy and slow compared to the hardtail. The bike rocketed on the downhill sections, but on this course there was a lot of climbing and the extra weight was evident. I still think if I would have had a better start I could have held close to the lead group.
I will post an update after the next race up at Spirit Mountain.
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