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Ore To Shore Part 2

Friday was a beautiful day and we went out for a short preride of the Shore Rock Course.  We parked at the trailhead that is around a mile or two into the race and rode out.  We got suited up and prepped the bikes and were off.  Brendan was doing pretty good for not riding much and Michelle was cruising along good.  Brendan stopped quick on some routes which caused Michelle to crash.  She was ok, we dusted her off and kept going.  JJ was doing good and rode ahead a bit.  I started to ride with JJ and tell him more about the race and strategy.  We got to the base of the big sand downhill and I was telling him about it.  JJ thought it would be a good idea to walk to the top to check it out, I agreed.  Before heading up Michelle called and informed us that her and Brendan would be heading back to the van.  Some riders started coming down the hill so we waited for them to get to the bottom.  Come to find out it was one of my friends, Steve Tafelsky.  We rode together on team mysinglespeed.com and previously had competed against each other in the Clydesdale class.  Steve and his friend advised us it would be a good idea to check out the hill and enjoy the view.  We said goodbye and JJ and I headed up the hill.  It was not an easy go, but it was an incredible view at the top.  I had raced through here the 4 previous years and never had seen this view.
 
The view.
The white bubble is the Superior Dome and behind it is Lake Superior.  You could see for miles.  We both wished that Michelle and Brendan could have seen it!
 
The way down!
 
The hill doesn't look like much here.  This is deep sand and there are washouts in the lower areas.  It flattens out and then there is a second section that is also challenging.  So we set off and went back to meet Michelle and Brendan.  After we got them in the van JJ and I rode back to the finish.  JJ felt he was not ready for the race.  I reassured him that he could do it and that I would stick with him.  I told him that if he could finish within and hour he would have a shot at the podium in his age group.
 
We stopped and ate on the way back to the hotel.  We did some things at the room and then headed out for the packet pick up and spaghetti feed.  We walked around the expo for a few minutes to check things out.  There was not much going on at the expo and we did talk to the guy from Tree Fort bikes.  He was giving out pint glasses, which we have a nice collection started.  Tree Fort bikes was sponsoring the Shore Rock, a special thanks to them.  JJ and I got in line for our packets which time passed quickly.  We then ate and sat with the Leach and Stange families and did some catching up.
 
After eating we returned to the hotel and went down to the pool for a while.  We met the Leach's there and had some fun.  We returned to the room and settled in with a movie.  It would be an early morning as our race started at 8:00am.
 
Next up Race Day!


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