Hanson Hills XC

Start: Got my game face on putting the psych to the competition.

Sunday, June 1 was an exceptional day for cross country racing. This was stop #3 of the MMBA Championship Points Series (CPS). The venue was the Hanson Hills Ski area in Grayling, MI. Hanson Hills is one of many mom & pop ski areas around the state that offer relief from the modern day resorts. Most of these areas feature great singletrack and Hanson Hills always delivers a great ride. The trail has been expanded to a 10 mile loop through fern covered forest with lots of up's and downs and maintaining momentum is essential. The start was fast and I was spinning out on the 2 track while the lead group left me in the dust heading into the singletrack. There was only one rider left behind me and I was stuck behind an Expert dude(Jeff Socia) who had just finished his geared race and needed some additional abuse riding singlespeed. His gearing resembled a Track bike and I could not get around him while he struggled to get up the first series of climbs. I finally got around him when he overshot a turn and I started to pick up my pace. The group in front of me was long gone. Eventually, I passed a few more riders and came up on fellow Greyhound, Jeff Wittbrodt halfway on lap 1. I found it was great to have a teammate out there with me and we continued to exchange leads and push the pace for the remainder of lap 1. I kept hydrating, took in 1 gel and my legs felt very good. On lap 2 Jeff dropped back and I rode alone waiting for either himself or a pack of Sport riders to overtake me. This helped motivate me as I kept the pace high and pushed right to the end. The 29 wheels and rigid setup worked well for me. The wheels flattened out a lot of the small bumps. My gearing (32X18) sucked on the 2 track but allowed me to ride the hills and maintain a good speed in the singletrack. I finished with a time of 1:37:ish and placed 4th in my class.
Finish: Glen, Di-Bear and myself hamming it up with our swag bandanas.