Erin took the Big "W" in the womens Open class
Mike Anderson battled The Simonster for a hard earned 2nd place
Joberon finished 7th after a last lap mishap with a lapped rider.
Erin Vicary checks in with the following report:
Last weekend was the 3rd annual Peak2Peak race at Crystal Mtn Ski Resort in Thompsonville MI. We enjoyed it so much last year, Joe & I made sure it was on the 2008 race calender! And thank goodness it was because once again it was a blast. Sunny skies, a fun race, good friends, & good beer with a back drop of perfectly peaked fall colors. Friday Joe & I met Keith (Paint Creek Bicycles) & drove up together. Destination: “Deer Camp” in Harrietta, MI (aka our good friend Randy’s hunting cabin). That evening, Randy, Keith & I sat at the kitchen table talking, sipping wine & eating Mrs. Brzuchanski’s homemade chocolate chip cookies while Joe entertained us with his bike maintenance. After he was done I pathetically poked around at my rear brake that had been rubbing for some time, hoping someone would come to my rescue (thanks Keith!) & fix it because I hadn’t had any luck lately. With my Quiring machine now running flawlessly, all that was left to do was get a good nights sleep .Saturday morning proved to be a stellar day for racing. The air was crisp & bitter cold for our warm up, but then the sun came out right before the start. It warmed up just enough that it required a quick wardrobe change & then I was ready to line up.Lining up behind & starting with the Elite men, were 8 Elite women. Five of which on any given day are capable of winning a mtb race here in Michigan. Besides Iceman, it was the deepest, most talented (MI) field I’ve had the pleasure of racing against. Pretty exciting. Stiff competition slated for three 11 mile laps. Perfect.The start was EXTREMELY fast this year! Last year was a slower kind of roll out to the trail. This year it was an all out hammer from the word “go!”. Following behind the tail end of the elite men’s field I redlined 1 minute into the race so I let up a bit & watched a few ladies get a wheel or two ahead. About twenty seconds later the men had completely dropped us all & our lead group of four ladies (Laura, Danielle, Susan, & myself) was decided so we settled in. Each took turns pulling for a while. Turns happened by accident really because going around some sandy spots & sharp corners people went down a couple times leaving the next woman behind in the front...lol. Laura Webb (Hagerty) did a lot of work on lap one & after a while I was starting to wonder if I should move up just when she asked if someone would. So I got in front to do some work. Not very long after that the two track made a kind of “Z” that had lots sand in the corners. I took good lines through it & I believe this is where I made a tiny gap. I wondered at that point what to do with it. Do I attack hard so early again st such a strong group? I decided not to & just kept riding the same steady pace. The races terrain was mostly flat but kept interesting by twists & turns (some slightly banked), sand pits, & the occasional incline or decent. The entire race you were either surrounded by or tunneling through brightly colored trees that were raining leaves. It was spectacular. After a while I looked back & didn’t see anyone behind still so I kept on riding the same pace because I figured it was working. Finally the 1st lap was coming to an end but not before I climbed the back of the ski hill which then shot down back into the woods for a fun downhill, & finally a wicked fast decent across the ski hill to the lap chute/start/finish. 1 down 2 to go. At some point toward the middle/end of the 2nd lap I hooked up with some expert men that came up on me. I rode with them until the finish, struggling at times but managed to hang in. I was pretty taken back when I came through the finish for the win! Very very happy! Especially considering the respect I have for my competition that day... to come out on top felt really good! We celebrated back at deer camp & then went for another awesome trail ride but this time we were on quads... much MUCH easier than pedaling ;o)! Next up Iceman! I hope to see everybody at the after party .
:o)! -Erin
Mike Anderson reports in :
That was a fun race, a perfect Iceman fitness check. Simonster takes the whole shot, i take the lead into the single track, set the pace nice and high, simonster comes by and keeps it fast. We hit the hills and its Simonster, Derek Graham, and me. swap pulls for lap, hit the hills again, simonster gets about 15 second gap. I wait for derek to react, he doesnt respond so i jump across. Simonster and I put the hammer down, were catching a lot of lap traffic, I take a pull before the hills. Simonster roles away in the hills, I try to rip the descent to maybe catch back up, but to much traffic. role in 30 seconds back. Excellent race, fun course, straight up good time.
Anderson
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