Return to Mountain Biking

It took some convincing, but I managed to get myself out on the trail for a great ride. I did almost all of the Churning Rapids trails (practically all) and rode home in less than two and a half hours.

I felt strong. Even though I am sore from yesterday's weight training, I pushed through my climbs and felt good. Some of the climbs even felt easier. As I was climbing High Point, I thought to myself, "This isn't nearly as bad as it was a few weeks ago!"

Keweenaw Chain Drive Recap

Di (left) enjoying her second place age group finish. Photo by Sean Evans and edited by Di.

I realize I rushed through my Keweenaw Chain Drive commentary. I didn't really say anything except, "Here ya go!" . . . basically. One of my team mates started a thread for Chain Drive recaps and I decided to do my race play-by-play. Here you go! ;-)

After realizing how well I did in O2S last year, and doing a few wave starts this year, I realized I needed to start up toward the front. My starting position was going to make a huge difference in the results. I was right. I was able to keep up with the guys until we got to the further side of Hancock and started the little climbs. I'm a better climber this year, but I still have lots of work to do, and I most certainly will not be able to keep up with the front runners, so it's not like that was a huge loss for me. I knew I was still in front of most of the pack.

I used my roadie skills to get an edge. Everyone would pass me on the climbs and I would blow by them on the flats and downhills. Crazy how that works. We reached cemetery hill and some guys went by me, but I actually had a very good climb at a personal best speed. I popped in front of Bruce P at the entrance of Iron Ring and we moved forward rather slowly. I used special superhero techniques (near trackstands) to allow people to get ahead of me so I could maximize momentum on the uphills while my competitors worked harder than I. Some people behind me weren't too happy with me, but Bruce knew what I was doing. Hey! I know the course! It hurts! Don't waste energy on the first couple miles.

We reached the doubletrack and I seriously opened it up while navigating the rocks - you know, the trail with a couple of dirt spots in it. ;-) We reached that first nasty, nasty hill and I walked up the middle of it to avoid blocking the rider line. For the rest of the race, I pretty much just got down to business.

The end was like every other race: some lady got behind me and made me super nervous, but I really couldn't push that much harder. Being an uphill, the end is a great place to get the best of me. I had mixed feelings when I saw who was passing me.
1. Relief - it was Tammi, fellow Red Jacket, and she is not in my age group.
2. Hurt pride - it was Tammi and she was finally going to beat me in a mountain bike race this year.
3. Camaraderie - it was Tammi and I was happy that I was crossing the finish with a fellow Red Jacket - who also happens to be the same Red Jacket who usually finishes within seconds of me even though we never really ride together.

I got to the finish and several people came up to me and chatted and congratulated me and asked me how the race went and we compared stories. It was awesome. I absolutely love the social atmosphere of riding in the Keweenaw, and this year's Chain Drive was peak happiness.

Lesson learned: avoid aid stations, even when you're trying to be efficient. If I didn't dally trying to get some fluid in my mouth at the aid station, I most likely would've beaten Tammi. ;-)

One Hundred Thirty Minutes

. . . that's how long it took to ride all of the old Tech loops - fifteen miles. I had a blast!

I don't ride Tech as much as I did last year. I moved a little further away and, with the cost of gas, I choose to drive only when necessary. Fortunately for me, I can hop on the Churning Rapids trail system just about two miles away.

Today, I went shopping. I've been meaning to buy a gallon of milk for the last few days, but it never really happened. The night of the Stanley Cup win, I stayed out until 7:30 a.m. I was way too tired to buy milk. Thursday, I didn't go anywhere. Same with Friday. Saturday, I was going to buy milk after the Copper Harbor trail day. Nuh uh. That didn't happen either. I just couldn't get out of town soon enough to make it to a grocery store in Calumet for a gallon. Today, I decided it was time.

I threw my mountain biking gear, and bike, in the Pathfinder and drove to the Tech Trails. I started out with the technical loops full of skinny bridges and fabulous rock gardens. I hustled over to the Pilgrim trails and busted around those loops and finished the ride with the Outer and Inner loops. It took me just over two hours - about an hour shorter than last year's early summer rides. I was a little shocked to see the difference.

There is something about Tech that makes me so happy when riding through the trails on a sunny day. Each loop is different and offers different views and different types of trees. Some loops are slow and rocky, others are fast and technical. All are great fun. Tech is right up there with Copper Harbor on the happiness scale for me. It's not as gnarly, but it sure is fun!

Oh! I finally brought that gallon of milk home.

Keweenaw Chain Drive Pre-Ride

Pat and James after conquering a Maasto Hiihto hill I can't climb.

My team mates James, Pat, and I embarked on a "32-mile" ride today. Our course wasn't really 32 miles because we were doing the Keweenaw Chain Drive long course sans parade rollout.

The "long course" consists partly of all the trails in the Churning Rapids trail system. These are the trails near my home that I will be riding the most this year. The course was creatively plotted and amazingly includes all the singletrack, however not in the order I prefer. Great Oaks is a wildly fun, technical trail on the descent, but a beast on the ascent. It is a climb in the race and I found it quite challenging when we rode it today. We did the usual favorites such as Drunken Sailor and Pow Pow and headed back to Maasto Hiihto to finish up the race course. Towards the end, both of my knees were getting achy, we were all talking about pesto pasta at the Michigan House, and decided to cut out the last singletrack and simply head back to our vehicles.


Di riding under the Twisted Tree, also the name of the trail.

One of the new trails in the race was recently created because a beaver dam caused flooding of our singletrack. Here is the beaver dam and its newly created reservoir:


Pat noticed how the beaver dam, the sticks and brush at the bottom of the picture, is concave resembling the Hoover Dam.


Pat riding across the new bridge adjacent to the beaver dam (on the right).

We rode at a leisurely pace with me leading the way – twenty-seven miles in three hours and forty-seven minutes. We might have gone a little faster had I not been suffering from a hangover resulting from the previous night's Stanley Cup Finals festivities.

Even considering my less-than-preferable physical state, I decided that the thirty-two mile course was not on the agenda for this year's race. I have every intention of completing it this year and will continue to concentrate on climbing and endurance for my training this year. Next year, I plan to move up to the longer races.

Riding Through the Woods

Today's ride took a rather different turn than I expected. I started out doing the two new [to me] trails near my house and followed the connecting trail to Churning Rapids. I had a great time as I flew down Great Oaks Trail and my climbing was showing improvements. I reached the trailhead and saw two guys getting ready for their ride. It turned out to be one of my co-workers, Kirk K., and his friend, Bob. They invited me to ride with them and had me lead the way.

We started out with two loops near the trailhead. They are short and offer a wonderful warm-up allowing the rider to relax as he or she travels quickly down the hillside and around corners. This is followed by a climb. We did both loops and headed up to find the new trail that was built this last week. There must have been one hell of a trail crew out there because Kirk told me that they finished about a mile so far. It was a great mile! We took an existing trail I was not familiar with to the beginning of the new trail. I saw spectacular views and met interesting challenges. I wished I had my camera.

We climbed up to Pow Pow and rode the banked, hilly turns through the trees. Pow Pow is a very fun trail and is a great way to end the ride. When we reached the end, I parted ways with my riding buddies and proceeded the way from which I originally came to head home.