Races like Saturday’s Chequamegon is what I dream about. Every hour of training or every race that I suffer through I think of the good days and how such ‘average’ days make them that much sweeter. Yesterday was one of the sweetest ever. Entering the birkie trail out of Rosie’s field sitting 7th wheel I was having zero issues. Past Chequamegons I’ve felt pressure early on, but this year I was in total control, never riding at my limit and wondering when we’d crank it up. This lasted until just north of the Mosquito Brook road crossing where Doug attacked just before the left turn onto the snowmobile trail. JHK and T. Brown were the first respond and Tristan was right in there too. Jeff Hall and I followed suit and eventually pulled up to Tristan but our efforts were in vain as the lead trio was absolutely drilling it on Phipps fire lane.
Ian, Tristan, Mike Phillips, and B. Matter all rejoined and the chase group has officially been formed. This chase group wasn’t living up to its name however, as everyone seemed content to race for 4th place. There were a lot of times that I had to keep smart and stay second wheel in the group even though I knew that I could up the pace at the front. Perhaps we would have closed the gap some, but in the given situation my energy was best to be conserved. 90% of the time I sat second wheel all the way to Hwy OO. At this point I was getting excited for the hills that were soon approaching and began to make some moderate efforts. Just a couple hard stomps on the pedals created a gap and Chad came up to me quickly. For a couple of minutes I thought that we might actually have a shot at riding away, but of course the group was strong and pulled us back. In a counter move Jeff attacked after Martel’s Pothole but I was able to slowly claw my way back up to his wheel. From here on, we all knew that the battles were to be huge.
After these four miles that were quite intense, my legs began to cramp. Anytime I’d get out of the saddle both quads would cramp. With twenty miles to go, and otherwise great sensations coming from my body, I was scared for my day on the bike. Immediately I slammed down a Double Latte PowerGel and chased it with Sun Tea PowerBar Endurance Drink. This has become a favorite race day combo for me and now was the true test. Could I ward off the cramping with the hardest efforts yet to come?
Riding near the front all of the time we negotiated Boedecker, Smith Lake and Lake Helane roads. With all of the sand I was able to ride good lines since I had a clear line of sight and could plot a good approach in order to keep the pace high. With my legs still cramping every time I got out of the saddle and Fire Tower approaching, I was getting very nervous, but I knew that I could only try and hope for the best. Matter attacked first and Tristan was first to follow up the big climb. Ian had to pull over with a Trek Fuel issue of some sort, so I lead Jeff and Mike to the top. Matter and Tristan had a little gap but Jeff and I pulled it back on the descent and Mike rejoined as well. Staying in the saddle I had made the hardest effort without cramping, maybe I would continue with this luck all the way to the finish…
On the last birkie trail section Jeff went to the front and tightened the screws down. He never really attacked, it was just that he inched his way from the rest of us slowly. Perhaps he caught us sleeping, but the pace was very high here, so speculation isn’t worth much. This turned to be the smartest move from our group, as he was able to solo away and claim the third log of the podium.
We eventually shook Mike and our chase group was down to four – myself, Ian, Tristan, and B. Matter. Ian pulled us the full length of Telemark road and Tristan took his turn shortly after. Once we turned into the Telemark ski trails I went to the front and hit some of the hills hard, pushing the pace. I never got too much of a gap, but it made everyone in the group work hard and test the legs. Tristan would jump and it kept going back and forth that way. As we neared the final climb up the backside of the hill someone called out that they could see Travis Brown ahead.
This meant ‘game on’ and we went into warp speed mode. Brian had been saving something huge and unleashed it all on that final climb, blazing by T. Brown while I tried to follow his moves with Ian and Tristan in tow. Down the ski run was super fast and Ian was sitting right in my shadow, but Travis was just too far to catch with so little trail left. I knew that this was going to be an amazing finish and I absolutely had to get to the line first. In the big sweeper to the left at the bottom hill Ian came just to my right side and we absolutely pounded that last climb with the crowd roaring. The amount of adrenaline pumping through my body was incredible and those final seconds were surely the biggest rush I’ve ever had on the bike. Going by Ian meant that I had finished the Chequamagon 6th overall after fighting many battles for 40 miles. Quite a different story from being dropped with 30 miles to go and riding solo in the past two attempts…
Everything came together for an amazing day and it was awesome to have a large part of my family and friends there to share in the experience. It was a great way to cap of what has been an amazing season. Now I’m ready to find the next adventures that await me in Tucson. I hope that your Chequamegon experience was as memorable as mine. Gary Crandell does an amazing job with this event that is truly unlike any other. Thanks so much!
-TJ
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