Roughly half of the SPH crew made it up to da UP eh for the annual Chaindrive Festival. The weather was perfect, the trails were awesome and the driving was tedious (but the Garmin's sweet voice kept things interesting).
Big Lar and Mad Man Marcus competed in the 16 mile race and clocked in just under 2 hours. Considering the amount of rocks and climbing on the course that's pretty sweet. Props to Larry for stopping and helping a few guys out on the course. Representin' the colors baby.
Eric the Red and Blackbeard decided that riding 32 miles on rigid singlespeeds would be a good idea. All in all, I guess it was.
Race day started with the cell phone alarm going off at 5:30
EASTERN so I could make sure to take care of a little business before starting the 2 hour drive to Houghton. Unfortunately one of the items I forgot to take care of was eating. One banana and a granola bar was my breakfast of choice. 5 bikes on and 5 people in the Civic and we were ready to roll. Passing through L' Anse, ummmm... Baraga... maybe some other small towns was a treat as we got to drive up Lake Superior on highway 41. Very scenic. Plus we threw on some sweet tunes (Who stole the Kishka again?). Pretty soon Houghton was in our sights. Side note: I don't think one vehicle (buses included) carried more people or bikes to the race. Thanks Larry, Marcus and Elliott for not being big!
Signing in revealed that I drew #6. Crap, I'll look like a pro. Luckily Elliott drew #3, so while he does look like a pro, I didn't feel quite so stupid. Of course we were there a bit early so we went to the bathroom a few times.... stood around.... basked in our orange and green glory... etc. etc.
Upon starting (again in the back) we promptly started to pass lots of folks who were doing the 16 miler. Rolling through town and across the bridge is pretty sweet/neat. Here the 34-20 gearing was questioned... a few of the hills heading out of Hancock left more gearies in the dust. I was actually feeling pretty good as I pounded up Cemetary Hill. Somehow this small paved hill is the bane of a large portion of the less serious 16 milers' existances. It's not that bad.
Clogged initial singletrack (that would be sweet to go at your own pace on) led to the rockiest bits of ATV trail that you could imagine. Climb, bomb down an insanely rocky hill and repeat. I was still feeling alright, but was starting to get bits of trepidation creeping in. We were 6-7 miles in super fast.... and my back, legs and arms were feeling the rockiness.
Most of the singletrack (which is predominantly in the final 24 miles, which is largely singletrack) was a bit of a blur. I was still passing a few people that were having more cramping issues than I. But I also was being past (usually on or right after insane rocky descents). Eric was doing sweet and passed me in "Drunken Sailor" (which is beautiful trail). I wanted to stick with him, but soon after there was a big climb and both legs seized up. Some goo, half a powerbar, and a gulp or two of energy drink solved that problem.
Lots of singletrack, lots of rocks, lots of climbing preceded the creek crossing, which after "Drunken Sailor" was probably the next coolest part of the race. I didn't really know what was going on at that point, so I didn't exactly bomb through the creek. But the cold water felt awesome and I made it 75% of the way through. Next year I'll be fine and bomb it.
Long story a bit shorter, Elliott finished in 3 hours 5 minutes (approx.) and stakes a claim to being on the team. Eric dominated and finished in roughly 3 hours and 10 minutes. Isaac didn't do too bad either (hey, I finished), crossing the line at 3 hours and 15 minutes. Over 32 miles, those aren't huge time gaps. I was hoping to at least beat Elliott and Eric, but that will have to wait for Chequamagon... Nice race guys. Seriously. Awesome job. It was fun, and I'd be up for it again. Rigid. SS. Next time I'll be under 3 hours.
