SCOLETRAIN

Ore 2 Shore
Finished another O2S with a quick trip up to Michigan's UP in the WORS Subaru where my S-Works Epic was dwarfed by the three massive looking Gary Fisher 29r's of "Big D", Mark and Dirk. The race conditions for Saturday morning were perfect with the temps in the mid to high fifties with a high predicted somewhere in the seventies. My objective with entering the O2S was to ride at a very easy training pace to get some miles in and have fun. When the gun went off and I was starting from the front row, every ride easy brain cell disappeared and I shot up main street in Negaunee like my legs were totally recovered from 24-9 as I sucked wheels to stay with the main pack. This lasted until we hit the first abandoned railroad dirt section as good line choice either kept you moving forward, or you found yourself behind those racers who tried to win this 48 mile race in the first two miles and were dropping back through the pack like they had already found the meaning of blowing big time with 45 miles to go. With my plan out the window for having fun, I settled into a manageable pace with a few close calls as one racer got caught in the deep sand on the trails edge and fell hard onto my left leg as I barely escaped going down. This years course was probably the toughest, as I've never seen so many bad sand sections that were part of every mile of the course with the exception of the road start, the long asphalt road hill climb that never ends, and the finish. I finished 67th overall, well ahead of my goal of sight seeing and having fun. It seems that my recovery from 24-9 is on schedule and the only ache from that event that still lingers is the outside top of my left knee which I have determined is my IT Band that is irritated. The highlight this weekend was seeing beautiful Lake Superior during the race after being reminded to look up after seeing the well placed sign at my slow pace a few miles from the finish, wading out into the frigid waters of Lake Superior after the race to clean up, cool down, refresh my tired old body, and having a good time with the guys even though they were riding Gary Fishers.

Ore 2 Shore Mining Journal article from the Sunday online newspaper.