Pre Fat Race

Three weeks out till the season finale, the Chequamegon Fat Tire Race. So it is always fitting to see where you are at condition wise by struggling through the Seeley Pre Fat race. The course is 25 miles with a mixture of ATV trails, ski trails and some serious, technical single track that they loop you through twice. When I say technical I mean technical, tight, rocky, stumpy, full of roots single track...which was awesome

Nikole, my parents and I ran up to Seeley on Friday to register and grab an awesome fish fry at the Sawmill Saloon. I registered for the "expert" race which I often times wonder what in the world I'm doing in the expert category and this race was no different.

Saturday greeted us with perfect weather. Lower 70s and partly cloudy. A perfect day for the racers and spectators. Nikole was able to watch the start, go across the street for an espresso, relax in the sun and be there for the finish.

You know the Pre Fat is a popular race when you end up parking next to Jeff Hall, professional racer looking to be named to the 2008 Olympics and TJ Woodruff from Tucson, AZ. You can only imagine what I was thinking while I was putzing around with my bike next to Jeff Hall who was calm, collective and eating a bannana.

The race, in a nut shell, was fast and awesome. I felt really good throughout the race and was slowly taking down rider after rider. I was able to sit back with a couple of riders from the Cities who set a good pace and closed up gap after gap. The second round of single track was tough and I could feel my body giving out at certain points but to my surprise I was still feeling remarkably well.

Our last climb out of the single track I started to feel twinges in my legs. I thought to myself that the race better be over sooner than later because cramping was coming on. So up until now things were going smoothly until two miles out I nailed a rock and things didn't sound right after that. I ended up bending my wheel to the point that my tire was rubbing on my frame. Needless to say I rode the last two miles with my bike making a horrible noise. It felt as if I was biking with the brakes on.

Ouch..that is not what it's suppose to look like!

I only lost four spots but I was still disappointed in that I ended up having mechanical problems that in the end is costing me some cash! Oh well...I guess you'll have that whether you are in the front or in the middle of the pack. Over all it was a fun race and I am pleased with my results. I ended up in 55th place out of 105 riders. You know it...right in the middle!

On a side note...the timers were a bit confused at the finish. Nikole informed me that when Jeff Hall and TJ Woodruff came in they announced my name right after. How sweet is that I was 25 minutes behind them on the trail but they announced me as if I finished 5th. Someday...hey!

Single Track On

Sturgie