Ore 2 Shore

The extended weekend couldn't have turned out any better. Jim and I packed up the truck Thursday night and headed up to Michigan for our 4th running of the Ore 2 Shore. We have it better than most as we get to stay with Jim's parent's on the water just 15 minutes from the start of the race. Mid Friday morning we headed out to pre-ride the start of the 28 mile and 48 mile courses. I have been training hard and got a little nervous when the legs didn't respond on the initial hills, so we called it good at about an hour and headed back to camp. Jim's mom put on the usual killer pasta feed for us Friday night (thanks!!!) and it was off to bed before 9 pm. Peanut Butter Bagel and a bowl of granola cereal at 6:00 a.m. and we were ready for some racing. I didn't apply for a preferred start so I had to stage my bike and forgo the warm up, which left me sitting about 100 bikes back. The gun was fired and we were ripping down the 2.5 mile paved roll out. Anything can happen with a pack of 866 mountain bikes going 30mph down the road, so I lowered my head and sprinted to 3-5 wheel to avoid any potential crashes. Took the turn into the woods a little wide and slightly on the safe side sitting 10. Mixed it up with a solid group of 5 and we chased until the last aid station. My strongest opponent reached for a water hand-up in the sand and I attacked. The gap was set and they kept me honest chasing hard on every section. I stayed on the gas and was able to catch the number 9 guy with a mile or so to go. I sat on his wheel as he slowed to conserve energy and we were set for a full on sprint finish. The legs felt awesome so I made the first move. You could here the XOs' slamming down to the smallest gear as we reached 30 mph. I had just enough in the tank to finish a strong 9th overall and 2nd in my age group. It was a lot of fun and I was able to achieve a year-long goal. Check out the Garmin file here. Congrats to Jim for another successful run at the Hard Rock (he did way better than he will ever let on)

My very own little rock man!

God's country