TJ Woodruff ONLINE

With September nearly here it’s the eve of my favorite season for MTB racing.  Not sure what it is about the month of September, but it’s fantastic for racing bikes with other fast guys.  In what has become somewhat of a tradition, I’ll be doing the double-header this weekend with the Seeley Pre Fat on Saturday followed up with the WORS Reforestation Ramble on Sunday.  Since a similar Chequamegon build up has worked in recent years, I might as well stick with it. Really I just love to ride fast and choosing between races is often too challenging so I figure why not just go fast two times in one weekend?

It’s a combination of the venues, the history, and the weather that make September racing all that it is, but really without the tight competition these ‘races’ would simply be rides. The mix of racer personalities and generous promoters make these experiences possible and also addictive.  Thanks to everyone who helps make it possible. See you at the races, -TJ

skinnyski.com captures the action

Yes, I realize it was nearly two weeks ago, but I might as well throw out a couple lines to reminisce about the River Falls WORS vs. MNSCS race. It was really fast from the start, probably one of the most intense starts of the year with the hill climb there serving up plenty of lactic euphoria. It didn’t take long for a lead group of five to establish on the first lap. Marko, Jesse, Brendan, Mikey, and Myself all exchanged turns at the front but the speed and tightness of the course meant that getting away from the bunch was more of a challenge. Patience worked out well and on the last lap I was able to let loose up the climb with only Marko in tow.  Exchanging the lead in and out of singletrack he drew the right card and led into the final stretches of singletrack. It was close and we were both riding fast, but he got the best of the finish line. I was pumped to have raced a good battle even though a close second place never sits too well. Looking forward to more racing soon to come. And plenty of it!

CyclingDirt.org recaps the race in full detail

TJ

Having placed 2nd at last year’s Ore to Shore I was really motivated to improve on my result. I knew that I could be in the mix and with some great training rides within the past couple of weeks I was feeling good and ready to give the race my 100% energy.  Traveling to Marquette with Chad made for an old school road trip and we got in a great pre ride on Friday with the company of Matt and my 212 bros Chris and Mike.  Flying through the final 20 miles of the course was a great refresher as to just how much fun this race is and fast the trail allow you to go. Overnight rain showers had the course in perfect condition and I was ready to go. All of the MI, WI, and MN riders were there with only two notable exceptions so it was sure to be an intense race.

Mike did the leadout on the pavement and the 212 train was rolling smoothly until I was forced to exit the front group with a rear puncture. It was one of those flats that you knew it happened right away. I kicked up a softball-sized rock with my front wheel and it went squarely under my rear wheel. It was enough of an impact to put some small cuts in the sidewall just above bead on either side of the tire. I used my CO2 to seal off one side and Sova graciously supplied some more air to get me back and rolling down the trail two minutes after stopping.

I was in full chase mode, trying to negotiate my way back to the front end of the race, passing what must have been 100 riders in the process. Inspired by Brian Matter’s ride from ‘08 (he flatted in just about the same spot and chased back to finish 7th) I was still racing and more focused than ever. My goal was to contact the fast guys near the front and get myself back into some sort of contention, whether for the win or otherwise I wanted to be in the mix.    After 50+ minutes of solo chasing I was caught by Doug, Marko, Jeff, and one other rider to my suprise since these were the guys that I thought I was chasing. It turns out that they had taken a wrong turn so poor luck for them made for good luck for me since I now had riders to share the workload with. Jeff and I did the bulk of the pacemaking and if any of us would catch the leaders I would have been happy with my efforts. We rode hard across the paved section and were still charging once in the woods.

At twelve miles to go I felt my rear tire getting soft and before I knew it I was dismounted and scrabling to put in an inner tube. This time I found a two-inch long square headed nail lodged into the tread. This was likely the source of the slow leak and with the low pressure before I stopped I managed to put another cut into the tire too. This time the tire was more or less done for so installing the tube was the only option. I got the tube in and the wheel back on the bike only to discover that I had nothing left in my CO2 but the white cloud that exits once the canister is empty. Eventually Nathan Guerra stopped and offered me his CO2 cartridges so that we were able to ride in to the finish together. At this point we weren’t so much racing, but rather enjoying the trail and finishing off what has been an adventurous race. I was completely drained at the finish, happy with my riding and bummed about my luck. Such is racing on occasion and I’ll be more motivate for the next one…

Thanks to Adventure 212 and Specialized for the support and to Justin for the late race bottle handup.  Chad’s help allowed me back into the mix early on and Nate’s help allowed me to ride it in instead of walk. There’s an awful lot of great people in this sport and I’m thankful for all the help along the way.  See you at the Border Battle on Sunday!

July was a busy month, full of a lot of good times on and off the bikes. It included a WORS race, a National Championship, and a MNSCS event. Off the bike there was camping, birthdays, and even a wedding (well the wedding was actually August 1st) all spit between WI and CO.

The biggest race highlight was finishing 2nd in the Singlespeed Nationals race. I’ve done limited riding on a single before so it was something not necessarily in my element. This made for some awesome pre race nerves, but by the race started it was largely business as usual. One gear or not bike racing is largely the same in that whoever focuses and works the most usually wins, this assuming that you show up with good fitness.  Using a 32×20 allowed me to sit on some of the climbs to finish out the three long laps of racing. I was with JJ for 1/2 a lap, but he got away near the top of the climb while we struggled to pass Expert racers in the singletrack.  For the most part I rode the race solo and the time gap to JJ stayed at roughly a minute for the bulk of day. I was having fun with the course and figuring out just how hard to go on various climbs.   JJ is a CO guy and we’ve got back and forth in previous races when I’m using gears and he’s on the single.  The Tucson Daily Star even did a little write up: here.

Prior to Nationals, the Eau Claire crew put on a good WORS showdown with the Fireracker race. I was recruited to race with a fork mounted camera, but so far none of that footage has surfaced. If and when it does, there’ll be a couple good crashes and plenty of chasing to be seen since I was off the lead group for most all of the race before finishing fourth.

And to close out the racing for the month I got over to Elk River, MN for the Singletrack Attack last weekend. It was my first ride back from Colorado and unbeknown to me my front tire hadn’t fully sealed itself prior to the start of the race. About 10 minutes into things I was forced to stop and add CO2 from the Big Air. This did the trick, but several riders were able to go by so I had some passing to do and it didn’t take much for the lead trio disappear and I wasn’t able to join in. Another fourth place was the result.

Up next will be the Ore to Shore. I’m excited for this one and hope to have another good go at it after finishing 2nd there a year ago.  I’ve been able to get in some solid training for it, so if all goes well it ought to be an interesting race at the front end.  Over and out,  -TJ