9/24/07-Fall is in the air
Good afternoon boys and girls. Its been a wicked long time since I threw down an update here, and for good reason. I've been training like a mofo lately, racing, and working a bit, so I haven't had much time for posting my ramblings on this site. Rewinding. 24^9 rocked. Our team got pretty pummelled in the "sport" division. To think I was feeling bad about sandbagging beforehand... I had a solid ride and came out of the race feeling better than I ever have after that race. Props to my teammates, Jen for the hot food in the middle of the night, and CK and TT for the sick 24 solo rides. My mtb racing "season" got kicked off a couple weeks later at Ore to Shore. I felt pretty good and turned in 69th spot, which was about 50 spots better than last year. I rode an aggressive, if not entirely intelligent race. I ran suicide hill and felt pretty solid doing do, but my legs were definitely lacking something towards the end. Maybe that wasn't the best strategy... Lesson learned. The next weekend it was back up to the UP for the Great Deer Chase in Calumet. After a sweet preride two laps of the course I joined Curt and Sean at the Michigan House for dinner. Following dinner I had a piece of apple pie the likes of which I've never seen before. It was enormous and delicious. We kicked it back at the ski house with a sweet bonfire before heading to bed. The rollout the next morning following the all-terrain golf cart was pretty reasonably paced, leaving me in a pretty good spot heading onto the trails. I moved up here and there, but was pretty well undergeared for the course with my 32x18. I managed to spin home in a solid 9th place. My boy Casey Krueger took top SS in honors in 4th. Thanks to all of the tech ski homies for the hospitality. Next up was the Seeley Pre-Fat. After a nice preview of the course on Monday, I was feeling pretty good. I had a pretty decent start and moved up well. I had a pretty solid race, but didn't feel outstanding, despite reeling in Casey towards the end of lap one. Towards the end of the race, I pulled back local homey Aaron Swanson. We rode together for a while before I tried to put a bit of a gap on him on the last couple hills. I succeeded in opening a little gap, but with the railroad grade finish, it wasn't enough and he cruised by me for the win. Continuing my stretch of race weekends, we headed back to the greatest land of all, the Keweenaw for the Copper Harbor Fat Tire fest. The new course rocked and homeboy Eric from New Moon joined the party. I didn't drink enough water race morning, and was pretty dehydrated at the start. I battled my body temperature the whole first lap before settling into a rhythm the second lap and picking of a few riders for an 8th place finish. If you like techinical riding and haven't been to Copper Harbor, don't hesitate.
The next weekend brought a weekend off from racing, but not from riding. On Sunday we went out for a mellow pre-ride of the 40 course. Just short of OO, my crank bolt sheared. I pedalled one legged to Chapin's and borrowed his SASS for the remainder of the ride. This put a serious dent in my recon plans, as I was planning on testing a more aggressive (for me) gear at 32x17. I ended up running a known quantity (32x18) for the big race. Race morning dawned bright and early at Chapin's place and we cruised into town to place our bikes, then back to his place for some oatmeal. I rode a pretty solid race, posting a "negative split" picking up the pace pretty significantly in the second half. It was funny that it never felt like I was riding all that well in the 2nd half, but I definitely turned up the volume. I never really had the "pop" I wanted on the hills, but I guess I can't complain. I just never got the motor runing 100%. K. McKnight had a superb race, smoking me by nearly 7 minutes. Props to Meyer for taking second in the kids race. The story of the day had to be Jesse LaLonde's smoking ride in the 40. It's always rad to see the boy showing what a SS can do.
Next up? Brothers Rim Century is this weekend. Want more info? Send email.
BayCross 07 is coming up on the 20th. It will be rockin' and I better see you there. That should about wrap things up. I'm off to work on the cross bike.

©2005 Paul Belknap All rights reserved.
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My disclaimer: The opinions expressed on this website are mine and mine alone and they do not reflect the position of Gonzaga University, if they did, you would be hearing as much about their nordic ski team as their men's basketball team. :)