Cross Country

I was up at Boyne Mountain this weekend for the Fun Promotions race. There was some controversy earlier in the week, as the promoter of this race bills it as the "State Championship". Some racers took exception to that, as there is no sanctioning body involved, no series that leads up to this race, no special purse, etc. Anyway, I don't give a rip about this stuff. I have done races put on by this promoter for years, and nearly always have a good time. He can call it the super-duper all-in hyper-championship for all I care--I was just happy to be racing again.

Boyne is a fun course. I have done 24 hour events there, both solo and on teams. I have also done a few XC races there. It is always a good time; I think it is one of the best venues in the state. Usually, the fall race is wet. This course has many roots and is covered in leaves in the fall, making for very slippery conditions. This year the weather was post-card perfect, with temps in the high 60's and lots of bright sunshine. Best of all, there was not a drop of water or spec of mud on the course.

I did the singlespeed class, which in hindsight might have been a mistake as only three people signed up. Since I don't do XC races very often, I didn't know either of them. One guy was on a nice Ionic 29er and the other was on a 26er Monocog. I chatted with the Ionic guy for a minute before the race, and he seemed to know what he was doing.

The gun went off, and I put my head down and went as fast as I could for the next 90 minutes. I never saw either of the other racers until the finish line. I won the race, and passed a small handful of geared expert riders in the process. My chain stayed on and I was able to put in a hard effort despite my recent (and still lingering) sickness. I was very pleased with my effort.

Next week has no races, with the following week being the first running of the Peak to Peak race. I will be up there with a few friends and teammates, hopeful that my pre-Iceman preparations continue to be successful.