TJ Woodruff ONLINE

It’s a let down to flat out of the lead group of the Chequamegon 40 with just seven miles remaining in the race. Feeling good at that stage of the race made it all that much more disappointing. What can I say, that’s how bike racing goes once in a while… Now its time to step back from what has been an awesome, but long season. A Full NMBS series, the Sea Otter, the National Championships, the Teva Games, Multiple MSC, MNSCS, and WORS events all make for quite the adventure.

Here’s how the last racing adventure of 2007, the Chequamegon 40, went down. I was ready for this one. I felt strong and fresh after what was an awesome lead up, racing five consecutive weekends. I knew the race would be a real challenge, but I felt good about my chances to be in the mix when things really happened at the front of the race. Fortunately I got that experience until that final section of birkie trail. It’s a great time to be had riding with the guys who all have legitimate shots at taking the win. The pace south of OO was hard at times, but there was never a time that it took 100% to stay on the wheel. Wanting to preserve my legs for the crucial late race miles I was fine just to go along for the ride, sticking on the wheel in front of me.

As we approached Lake Helane I rode at the front of the group not so much as to up the pace, but simply to have a better vision of the winding road that was full of sand and rocks. Fire tower would be the first real effort and a good test to see who had it and who was simply hanging on. I crested the hill second, right on Tilford’s wheel. Without much of a pause we hammered down the backside with Jeff Hall also approaching us. This fast descent had a fair share of rocks and we were really going, but I don’t recall hitting anything harder than usual. But I must have as I could feel that my rear tire was riding softer than normal.

My denial lasted until the pressure dropped to 15 psi or so when I jumped off the bike to quickly add some CO2 in hopes of it sealing at a higher pressure. Had that of happened I could have rejoined the front perhaps. It only took a matter of minutes for it to leak down to 15 again; the cut was too big and right in the center of the tread. The next stop I threw in a tube and aired it up to about 20, draining my CO2 in the process. A third stop at the final feed zone and I was able to find some air, eat a donut, and get back rolling again. Of course by now the leaders were long gone and my race was just about finishing now.

Overall the race was an awesome experience and I’ll be back in hopes of better luck next time. Jenna took the Women’s victory in her first attempt so the great track record of continues. If you want to win next year, you’re best bet is to ask me if we’ve got a place for you to stay… Brian Matter did it in ’04, Megan Monroe set the course record in ’05, and now Jenna Zander followed up in ’07. Paul and Wenk also turned in some good results and I know that we all had a great weekend. The Chequamegon is a great event to have just 45 minutes away.

I’m off to Tucson tomorrow and I’m already excited for what waits for me there. CTS has just opened the regional training center and I’ll also be turning some wrenches once again at Arizona Cyclist. Working with the U of A cycling team is always a riot too. And, after six weeks, it’ll be good to be near Chloe again. Tucson is an exciting place and there’s a lot I’ve missed over the summer. It’ll be good to be back.

Next time from the Sunshine,

TJ

This entry was posted on Monday, September 17th, 2007 at 11:42 am and is filed under Race Report. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.