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. ;-)

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.