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Rust Shaker 2015 Race Day

Today was the Rust Shaker XC race at Mid Michigan Community College in Harrison. They always put on a great event and they had a good turnout for an early season race. It felt more like Iceman weather!
 
I did not get much sleep Friday night.  Brendan was sick and it kept us up some.  I had got most all my race stuff together on Friday night so there was not much to do.  I got on the road and headed out for the hour and a half drive.  I arrived with plenty of time to get ready and attend the race meeting.
 
I did a brief warm up ride with Raymond and got up to the start line.
 
Farley was ready.

Raymond was ready.



The starting line.
 
I had signed up for Sport Clydesdale so I would be doing two laps.  Our starting wave was Sport Men 50+, Sport Clydesdale and Fat Bike Open.  I could have raced in any of those classes.  At the start line I was not sure if I was racing against anyone in Clydesdale?
 
The race started and I felt good.  I was near the back of the group and my goal was to finish in 2 hours or less.  The race was going well and I passed a few riders that had passed me earlier in the race.  The course was not as rough as it was in years past.  They did a good job of setting up the course for the race.  Good combination of climbing and technical riding.  I was moving along really well until the last couple of miles.  My legs just went away.  I thought I was going to cramp.  I managed to get through to the end and was happy with the race.
 
17 miles and under 2 hours!
 
I put the bike away and changed clothes and headed in to the school cafeteria.  They had pizza, chips, water, fruit and other goodies.  I filled up and good and checked the final results.

Hard to read here? First Place!
 
So there was one rider and myself.  The other ride DNF'd.  I won my first race in several years!  I also received $15 for the win.  Very cool.
 
So I learned a few things today.  I need to put in a lot more miles if JJ and I are going to do the Soft Rock at Ore to Shore.  I need to make sure I have gels during a race and drink more during the race.
 
This was the first trail ride on the Farley.  It rode very well and handled great.  I do believe that a suspension fork will make it a much better handling and faster ride off road.  The Bontrager Hodag tires work great off road.  There were no scary moments because the tires kept traction at all times. There was a few close calls from going to fast into corners.  The fat tires really inspire confidence on the downhills.  Again, need a suspension fork to get the full benefits of the Farley as a trail bike.
 
The Pro/Expert class had an up and coming Michigan racer and a Michigan MTB legend.
 
Jordan Wakeley
 
Jordan won the race with a time of 1 hour and 53 minutes for 3 laps.  Jordan won the Arrowhead 125 this past winter.  He passed me with about 3 miles to go like I was standing still.

Scott Quiring
 
Scott has won Iceman a few times and is the owner of Quiring Cycles.  He makes some of the best handcrafted frames out there.  He finished second today and Jordan now represents Quiring.  Both Jordan and Scott were riding 29+ Ti Quiring bikes.  These guys are fast!
 
So what is next?  You will have to wait and see.
 
 


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