I saw a bear. What a scare! Friday afternoon Linds and I made the haul up to Seeley to pre-ride the Pre-Fat. As we rolled past the dump gate I jokingly told her to watch out for bears. Little did I know, I would be the bear greeter. The Seeley area has many great rides. There is a variety of double and single track sections along with some undulating elevation. Carving a steep rocking downhill I scanned ahead to see a black bear standing in the middle of the trail. I hit the binders with 20 yards to spare. Surprisingly, the bear did not move! After some yelling and flailing my fuzzy friend busted off into the woods. Maximum heart rate accomplished.

The atmosphere and nostalgia of an up north race is something I truly enjoy. It is always great to see the enthused faces that inspired me nearly a decade ago. After Tom explained signs and course we were rolling up OO.

As in past years, the road pace was moderate. I stayed near the front to avoid any silliness. Over the first climb I tucked into second wheel as we entered the woods. Aaron was pushing hard and a three man group was established before we crossed for the big climb. Cooperating, we set a hard tempo over the ski trail and the gap continued to grow. At the end of the first major single track section I was 10 sec off the pace as Scott rallied the trail. After hard chasing, I was able to reconnect with 10 miles to go.

Seven to go, with a three minute gap, we kept a mild pace heading into the final single track loop. Once again, Scott had 10-15 sec at the end of the single track sections. Many things were running through my mind. I knew at red line it would be close, but not that close.

100 yards to go, with the finish banner in sight, I pinned it. The gap was small and my legs felt strong. Inspired I surged one last time to cross for the W.


A big thanks to On The Rivet, Momentum Endurance, Lindsey, and the fam for all their support!
Dakota Five-O here we come!

O2S Adventures

We loaded up the VW on Friday morning for the long haul to da UP. Our crew made good time from RF as we cruised the north country roads. Our pre-ride worked out well this year with the two car shuttle system. As you know, there is a long paved road section in the middle of the race. This road is also home to one the largest climbs on course. We started our pre-ride at the bottom. Rick, Mark, Matt, Tj (the winner!) and I cut up the last 15 miles. There is certainly something to be said about riding down hill for over 10 miles. Along the way nature treated us to a near death black bear sighting and some speedy descents.

Morning of the race went well as we beat the racer rush to the local AM eats. As we drove by the start line things started to get real. I am not exactly sure why the triple crown races carry such a stigma, but it is always exciting to line up with the big boys for a point to point battle.

Bam! Things were started in usually fashion with contenders at the front cruising behind the "neutral" start. Don't let anyone fool you, this is not a roll out start. To our surprise there was also a VW-bug driving around the first corner! I started poorly, I suspect my warm up was not hard enough, however I made my way back to the top 10-15ish by the ski climb three miles in.

Ping! The tragic sound of my chain ending its' life at the start my first big race. I watched in dissapointment as it rolled from my chainring to the dirt below. Game over.

As I leaned against my bike, holding my chain in one hand, I couldn't help but wonder how often this really happens. It was the first time for me in seven years of racing.

Fortunately for me, Scott Cole came cruising up the climb just in front of the sweep quad. He had flated just 2 miles into the race. After removing the damaged link I added to insult by dropping the quicklink into the grass! I was on a roll, not really.

Rally, rally, rally trading pulls with Scott. Our two man time trial made up some good time for ninety minutes or so. At the very least I got some good tempo work in! At ten to go my bad luck struck again. I walked for a quarter mile as I watched riders roll by for the second time. Fortunately, there was another kind soul who stopped to help me out. Thank you Mr. Cole and Mr. Mix.

I rolled over the line at 3hours 12 minutes with a rolling ride time of 2hours 40mins. Not bad for Scott and I after an adventurous day in and out of the saddle.

All that being said, an enormous congratulations is in order for my friend and fellow speed racer, Travis Woodruff!! Good work bud!

The Porch Podium!

Blistering Pace

My industrial park warm up loop left much to be desired as my legs felt heavy and my tires sticky. However, motivation is high for the home town race. I knew what had to be done. Reach the singletrack in the top ten. Job one complete.

Lap 1:
A bit tapped from the explosive climb I was passed by half a dozen riders on the high side of the course. Riding in the mid teens.

Lap 2:
Made a big effort on the start climb. Rallied the single track to tag along with Jesse and Chris.

Lap 3:
Steady pace and already running into heavy lap traffic. I can really feel the effort draining my power.

Lap 4:
Slowest lap by over a minute. Two falls from cross-eyed fatique and heat exhaustion. Straightened the handle bars at the water station. Lost my racing partners. Caught by small group of four. Recovered by end of lap.

Lap 5:
Small attack on the big climb. Split our small group. Pushed the limits of cornering speed and ended up limping in for a top 20 finish.

There is certainly a long way to go, but I feel a bit more horsepower may be coming around.
See you all at the big show!

Sunday INSPIRATION...

Here is a quick Boarder Battle race course update.

WICKED FAST!

Possibly the fastest the KORC trails have ever been.
See you on the line!