Last Friday, we cruised up to Breezy Point, MN for family vaca... however, that was not going to stop my dad and I from cruising down Sunday to Red Wing for a race that I have missed several years in a row.
This is another MNSCS destination where, simply put, if you don't like the Red Wing course, you probably don't like mountain biking. The course was a little longer this year, but with cooler temps, I don't think anyone was complaining about an extended Sunday ride.
I made a mistake on Sunday leading out the race. Beyond the first "whoop" section, I didn't remember anything about the course and given the twisty track, knowing where you are going is imperative for efficient riding. I dropped the field in the section of course that I knew, but some of them pulled me back when I overshot a couple corners later on. SamO was riding the strongest and he led Jack and I around until the start of the third lap. BTW, after a double-flat-bonk WORS race last weekend, Jack came back really strong. It shows mental toughness to recover from something like that to race well.
Going in to the third lap, I was FINALLY getting in the singletrack groove, and I took a couple Roctane's after the 2nd and 3rd laps that were starting kick in. SamO and I gapped Jack, and other that the climbing, I was having a blast (my legs were not very good on the climbs). In the "prologue" part of the last lap, SamO told me to keep it hot (or did he say consistent, I can't remember=) through the single track to get more of a gap on Jack. I did keep it hot and was able to put some time on him. From there, I suffered through the last time up the "Stairway" climb to claim the victory.
Again, we had another great MNSCS turn out. Lets all keep it rolling!
I have a couple days left up here at Breezy Point before returning to reality. I am sure Jen will have some updates on our activities up here, but suffice it to say, we are enjoying ourselves.
1 comment:
Great job Brendan!I could tell you were having trouble in the singletrack on the first lap because you didn't disappear like in previous races.I knew then you just had to find the flow.Sure enough,you found it on the last lap.I had a blast also.It's always fun to break away & duke it out like that.Keep it rollin!
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