Last weekend was the Great Hawk Chase at Lester Park in Duluth. This was an excellent venue for a mountain bike race! Nice river to cool/rinse off in, awesome views, close to downtown Duluth, it was an awesome event! The course was no different – perfect mix of ski trail and sweet Duluth singletrack. It did rain the few days leading up to the race so a few 100 yard off camber sections in the woods were fastest by using cyclocross type skills, but 100% rideable with the right tires.
I did not have the right tire combination for these conditions, but still rode a solid race coming in 4th out of 11. I’m very confident I could’ve been on the podium if I had a more aggressive tire. I could catch and work on passing other riders all the way up until the off-camber slick sloppy stuff, then I would lose them again. Couldn’t keep the max efforts long enough as the race went on to keep re-catching them hoping to stay on their wheels for the last ski trail to the finish were final passes could be made. Their pace was smooth, mine was hard pedal/slide out and almost hit trees/pedal hard again…and repeat! I was only 90 seconds behind third. Overall though I had a blast at this race and I can’t wait to ride and race here again! Very happy with the results while overcoming the lack of traction. It was definitely a solid run to build off of as the MN races haven’t been my strong points this year. Things seem to be dialed in though to finish the season strong!
On Duluth, I love that area – that’s definitely a home away from home, spent a good portion of my life there, and I have family in Duluth that I now don’t get to see very often, so it’s always nice to get back. I get some of the best pre and post-race meals when I’m there ;)
This weekend I’m opting NOT to drive 8 hours one way to WI for the WORS race. Instead, I’m gonna see what I can do at the Psycowpath Series race in Stanton, NE - the Maskenthine Classic. 90 miles will be plenty for me to drive on Saturday and get some R&R away from the road.
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