Monday, September 24, 2007

Cheq 2007

True to our style, Hwood and I hit the road with Timmer, Fat Tire bound. Jay was the perfect host to ferry TImmer and I into our first attempt at Chequamegon madness - Timmer doing the full 40, and me single speed'n it in the Short & Fat.

We left town early on Friday morning, crank'n the ipod and jammin' the whole way. Once I find Jay's camera, I'll U-Tube our homage to Wayne's World.....

Jay and Timmer hit the trail off OO, and I b-lined it to Telemark for a quick nap while they rode. The temps were in the low 50's at best, so I cuddled up and crashed out in the back seat until the Dan Swanson and Dan's brother (that's for you Vegas) showed up and started makin' noise. When J & T returned, we headed to the local pub to warm up and fill our bellies. Once done, we headed back to Telemark - Jay and I did an out n' back of the Ojibwe trail. Crankin' down the trail, we startled a small black bear, walking out onto the trail! I won't lie - it scared me quite a bit, but we finished our ride w/o incident.

The next day we were all amped to ride. The temps were down in the low 30's and my body just didn't want to move. I got a really good start position, but the 3 mile roll out caused me to lose position huge, redlining on the single speed as the big gears powered down the hill. One thing I've learned to love about the single speed - beatin' them all up the hills. No granny gearin' it for me. The pony and I had a blast, reaching a new level of understanding with each other, cruising loosely down the bumpy downhills and flying up climb after climb.
I finished in 1:19.59 - 20 minutes faster than my goal time, earning me 2nd place in the Women's Single Speed category!!!

Timmer didn't have such a great finish - DNF'ing after a pair of guys crashed in front of him in Rosey's field, taking him out and banging him up pretty bad. I still giggle at the thought of Jay shouting "I broke Timmer" after the race.

Jay rode an amazing race as well, taking 63rd, and finishing in 2:24. I was so proud of him, especially since we've barely ridden off road all year. Sam & Eric Oftedahl and Jake Richards all rode great as well.
All in all, it was a fabulous time! Thanks to the amazing Praman's for putting us up for the night - Mary & Dave - You're the best : )

Ridin' into the fall,
Kristy Kreme

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