Za Cone Azalia

3 miles of dirt road, 7 miles of paved. The race page says it's the Paris Roubaix of the Midwest. They forgot to leave out the part that it is DEAD flat.

Oksy, so I decided to do the race earlier this week when I saw rain forcasted all week and into the weekend. The idea of camping at Fort Custer, racing in the rain, and driving the 2hrs both ways, ON TOP of $45 bucks to race, made the decision easier. And I am trying to do some road races and get my license upgraded from the 5's.

Decided to roll big. CX bike, 35c tires, 39x53 on the front and a PT out back. I didn't feel like flatting or shredding my tires. I figured I would be fine, the road would be a bit slower, but who cares, it's 5's, right?


Tested the setup to make sure it worked Saturday. Dirt roads, some pavement, and of course some 1-track. Ya never know when you have to go off-roading! Rig worked good and legs felt good.

Race day. 10am start. They also bumped our class down to 2 laps, oh boy, 20 miles. I did 1.5 laps of the course beforehand. Dirt roads were fine, just loose gravel on them and only one road had some potholes. 5's went off 2 minutes after the 4's. I lead on the dirt road from the start. A few people put in some 10 second pulls when I moved over, but not much help. Pack blew into shreds, and I looked back to see 2 dangling about 30 yards back. I was nearing on the 4's, but then a train came. Sat up, it was quick, and 4 of us went by the 4's. Then some 4's went by us and we were in the group. That's stupid. No need for mixing. So I rode next to the group and moved back up to the front as we came through lap #1.

With 4 5's in the group, I figured I would put the hurt on. I pulled 98% of the 2nd lap. That 2% was a 4 when I pulled off to see if anyone would work. I jumped back into the group, but the speed dropped, so back I went to the front. Yup, CX bike pulling everyone down the road. I shredded the group of 4's down to 9 people. One 5 was left, but he was sitting in (aka mixed in with 4's) the whole race. With 1/2 mile to go, I noticed he was on my wheel. I sat up and let him work. He tried to pull, but I could tell he was tired 15sec later when his pwoer died. I jumped and went for it. Ya, then the 4's jumped and tried to bring me back. Schweet. So I went again and sprinted into the win.

It was short, and not even tiring. The 4's lap times were 28:XX, then 25:05 when I lead the loop, then 27:XX. I did not see the 1/2 times, but I put in the fastest lap of the day. Yee-ha! The rest of the 5's finished a bit back, mostly scattered.

Went home, grabbed the MTB, and went out for a 2.5hr ride to Milford and Proud Lake. Made the sunny, nice day even better. I like riding bikes!


I wonder if they will upgrade me yet? I really don't think it's fair for me to race with the 5's. Next race is Kensington Rd race. I will likely do Waterford before that. Waterford rocks. Race whatever Cat you want and racing is hard and aggressive. Just try and stay on DC's wheel. Fun and pain.