I have had 4 races in the last 5 weeks! I've been training through all of them and my body is not very happy about it! Since my last post, here's an update on how things have gone.
Fort Custer Stampede XC - 1st
Queen and King of the Fort 2013! Fastest lap by a woman and man.
Island Lake Induction XC - 1st
And now a true race report to re-cap how the 2013, Arcadian Grit and Gravel went down........
This was the 2nd year for the Arcadian Grit and Gravel, in Arcadia, MI. Endoman Promotions is the event organizer. I was back to defend my title. The race is approximately 27 miles long (17 miles of road, split up by 10 miles of singletrack).
We arrived in Arcadia Friday afternoon, checked into our quaint motel and then did a pre-ride of the singletrack. It had been lightly raining there all day, the temps were in the high 50's. With all the sand in the area, the rain was perfect for the trail. IMBA designed the singletrack and it is perfection in its given environment! My legs were pretty sore and my pre-ride was high cadence, light effort, but its hard not to get consumed by the fun flow of the trail. We had an awesome dinner (thanks to my wonderful teamie Erin), and I went to bed early sporting my compression pants. I hoped that my legs would have a turn around after a good night's sleep!
Pre-riding through all the Trillium that blanketed the forest floor! With the Trillium being Ontario's provincial flower I felt like it was a warm welcome!! Lake Michigan was calm, clear and beautiful!!
Let the race begin......
I lathered my legs with Arnica gel/cream like it was body lotion, hopped on my bike and Erin and I proceeded with our warm up. It was evident that with the strong road racers at the start line, road tactics were going to be needed. The elite men and women went off together. The pace was controlled as we rolled out into a head wind. Many of the women held in the group of men. Once off the pavement, we came upon a sand road climb and poof...... my legs lost power! I was getting nowhere, my legs were not recovering. Not the way I wanted the beginning of my race to go. Lauri Brockmiller (Hagerty Cyc;ing) went whizzing by and I had no counter to go after her. She pulled away and gained about a 30 sec lead, over the next few miles. My plan of not riding by myself had vanished as I took the headwind and open roads solo. I kept Lauri in sight as she worked up the road with an elite male racer that she had managed to hold on to. Slowly but surely I began to close the gap and felt confident that I would catch her before the singletrack. Next thing I knew Melissa Ryba (Hagerty Cycling) was flying by me on the left! I didn't realize that her and Kati Krikke (Freewheeler's) were not far behind working together. I grabbed her wheel and we pushed. With Melissa and Lauri being teammates I was always aware of what team tactics they may use. Melissa would push hard on the downhills and I would just tuck behind her, and I would lead up the gradual road climbs. The gap between Lauri and us got smaller and smaller. When we caught Lauri, she had put a small distance on the elite man she had been riding with and I grabbed her wheel. The three of us ladies stayed in a row until the elite man that had been dropped came pedaling past. I knew I had to go, so I jumped in behind him, and with that move the Hagerty girls popped in behind me. We went up the longest gradual dirt/gravel climb at a comfortable pace. Just before we crested I went around to take the pull and picked up the pace with 2nd and 3rd place ladies on my wheel. We made a left on to a short stretch of road that would bring us into the first section of singletrack. Just before entering the singletrack, I moved a bit left to make the really tight right hand turn and as I steered into it, I had a small collision with Melissa who had been drafting and was heading straight past the turn on my right. We had to put both feet down, I grabbed my bike and threw it around her to get back on track. I was first going into the single track and for the first 5 min I kept a real conservative pace, waiting for my legs to recover a bit. I then picked it up and pushed a bit more. After that I had no more contact with the other ladies, and I didn't look back, just kept pedaling. When I came out of the final section of singletrack, I was able to grab on to the wheel of a group of fast moving expert men. I had to give whatever was left in my legs to hold on. Soon enough, the finish line was in sight and I crossed the line taking the WIN!! Erin had her own body aches to deal with as well and she battled through to take 3rd!!
Lauri Brockmiller 2nd, Me 1st, Erin Vicary 3rd
A huge thanks to Tad Peacock and the crew of volunteers!! They rock!!
I had told Jay that I would ride the 10 mile singletrack with him after my race. So sticking to my word, and moving my sore legs I enjoyed one more lap of the awesome trail! I look forward to racing with fresh legs soon!!
Cheers,
Sue
We took the back roads to get to the highway and this "guy" was curious as to why we stopped to admire him. He was huge and beautiful with a blonde mane and tail. Country roads, take me home.....
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