Made the voyage up to Northern Wisconson for round two of the Midwest Triple Crown last weekend. There's always that one race that just never seems to go your way, and for me, it's the Chequamegon. However this year, I cant complain. The weather was absolutely perfect, the course was dry and fast, and I finally made it thru the roll out in tact!
Things seemed to start off just as I would have liked as I sat 3rd wheel thru Rosies field. As soon as we hit the rollers on the birkie trail, I could feel myself struggling. I managed to hang onto the pace until it slowed down on the dirt roads where everyone took a breather. It wasn't long before we hit the birkie trail again, and the attacks came hard. I hung on till my head was spinning, but eventually lost contact before we crossed CR-00. From there on out, I went into survival mode to get to the finish. A group finally caught up with me including fellow Michigander Joe Brew-Champ-Ski as we turned up Seeley fire tower hill. We stayed together right until the end where I managed to save a final attack to the finish to end up 15th.
Not quite the finish I was looking for, but not too shabbly considering there were 9 former Chequamegon champions in attendance, as well as some other national and world caliber riders. No crashes, no mechanicals, and a solid start. Not sure what it is about this race that makes it so difficult for me. Perhaps it's the hills? the pace? I don't know. That's something I'll have to talk over with the old timer.
I do know I had a great time with these guys celebrating our survival of the rollout and sharing stories about our race. Congrats to Brian Matter who seems to be on track for completing the triple crown... however I've got 48 days to get myself into racing shape. Better start laying off those Ultimate Burgers and pints of Belgian Wheat!
Things seemed to start off just as I would have liked as I sat 3rd wheel thru Rosies field. As soon as we hit the rollers on the birkie trail, I could feel myself struggling. I managed to hang onto the pace until it slowed down on the dirt roads where everyone took a breather. It wasn't long before we hit the birkie trail again, and the attacks came hard. I hung on till my head was spinning, but eventually lost contact before we crossed CR-00. From there on out, I went into survival mode to get to the finish. A group finally caught up with me including fellow Michigander Joe Brew-Champ-Ski as we turned up Seeley fire tower hill. We stayed together right until the end where I managed to save a final attack to the finish to end up 15th.
Not quite the finish I was looking for, but not too shabbly considering there were 9 former Chequamegon champions in attendance, as well as some other national and world caliber riders. No crashes, no mechanicals, and a solid start. Not sure what it is about this race that makes it so difficult for me. Perhaps it's the hills? the pace? I don't know. That's something I'll have to talk over with the old timer.
I do know I had a great time with these guys celebrating our survival of the rollout and sharing stories about our race. Congrats to Brian Matter who seems to be on track for completing the triple crown... however I've got 48 days to get myself into racing shape. Better start laying off those Ultimate Burgers and pints of Belgian Wheat!
