Ken Woods Recap

Jordan's first road race of 2007 was a tremendous success. His mom and grandma were there to witness his big win. I couldn't be more proud. And could the weather have been any better (especially compared to last year)?

The older and younger juniors all raced together in the 9:00AM wave. The field was almost all MNJRC, except for a couple others, and Jordan. Jordan had trouble clipping in at the start, and got gapped right away. No problem, he sprinted through 3 riders to join up with 2 others before the corner. I was too impressed, except for getting gapped in the first place. We'll have to work on that. He rode with the 2 he caught for a while, then passed them, and caught up with Dano Barret. He rode with Dano a little, then passed her, and rode the rest of the way solo. He beat all 4 of the other juniors under 15 and even beat a couple of older juniors. Way to go buddy!

In the Masters 35+, LSC had a good group: Baker, Cullen, Macy, Cleary, Skibby, Trebesch, and Goblirsch. Grandstay and Birchwood also had a strong presence. The first lap was relatively easy, with a few attacks primarily by Bell and Bagley from Grandstay. We stretched into a line the first time up the climb, but generally came back together before the corner. The cross-tail wind section on the second lap was fairly active. Attack, relax, attack, relax... Bell got a good gap before turning the corner into the headwind, and kept us at bay for a couple miles before we reeled him in. While Bell was off, we see an entire pack of riders stopped and blocking the entire traffic lane. Eventually, we figure out we've caught the 3/4's group. Then a few miles later, they stop us, and the 3/4's re-pass us. I guess we need a bigger gap between start times?

The second time up the hill wasn't too bad, as the tailwind was welcomed by most of us. However, John Redmond had slowly rolled off the front just before the hill. At the top of the hill, several riders pressed the pace, and got a gap. They went by a GP rider, who I thought was Redmond, and we're all back together. Things got strung out a bit in the cross-tail section, and a few riders lost touch with the group. The group was still pretty large (20+). On the headwind section, Grandstay was pushing at the front, and I was a little baffled why they were riding tempo. That's when I figure out that Redmond is still up the road. We caught John headed down into the valley.

After the first ramp in the valley, Treb went to the front to ride tempo and keep things together into the base of the climb. Birchwood had also moved to the front. We turned the corner up the hill, and Peter Maxwell attacks like a rocket. The only 2 riders who can match him are Coyle and Macy. The rest of us are doing our best, but they are definitely leaving us behind. I backed off to recover, and Goblirsch and Baker came through me. I got on Bakers wheel, hoping I can recover and get us up there if the other 3 come back. It was pretty clear they were going to come back once we got into the false flat before the last ramp. Goblirsch had been pulling for a while, so I took over, figuring Baker would have the legs to win the sprint. We gobbled up the front 3, and I started my sprint at the bottom of the small valley just before the finish. I could see that Baker had my wheel, so I buried myself. Baker won it easily with Coyle in tow. Thankfully, we had a little gap, allowing me to take 3rd. Next was Mlinar followed closely by Goblirsch. 1st, 3rd, 5th & Macy finished a respectable 9th after covering the dangerous move by Maxwell.

This was probably one of the best teamwork experiences I've ever had on the bike. It was just plain fun to watch how each of us took our turn to cover attacks, and take our turns in the front of the group.


For you data junkies out there (like me), my average HR was 152 with a max of 190, occurring in the final sprint. 22.4mph average, and 2322 total feet climbing.

After last week's humble pie with the 1/2's, I opted for the Masters 35+. Good thing too. Doug Swanson and Doig took off from the corner, only to be reeled in on the backside of the course. Then Timmer, and the same 2 took off in the valley, and left for good. Clearly with Silver, Grandstay, and Flanders represented, there wasn't anyone left to chase (Most of GP is racing in Iowa). Once the front 3 were long gone, a chase group of 5 formed. Timmer and Doug dropped Doig the last time up the hill, and Doug won the sprint. Doig 3rd, and Dan Swanson was best of the rest. Doug is winning everything right now, but Timmer was 3rd@Durand, now 2nd. Next week should be another great race.