BRX 2013

I have done this race every year but one and have had a blast every year.  Not sure why other than maybe because it is early season and there isn’t a lot of pressure, as most people don't really expect to feel great.  It may also be that Rick Plite puts on a great event (Read Party!) and his passion and enthusiasm for the race is contagious.  Whatever it is, this year’s event was no different… probably even better.   The move to downtown Hastings was a nice addition and helped to alleviate the congestion at the Sager/Shaw sections of the race which are usually very sandy and nearly unridable.

Mud the day before

The weather in Michigan this time of year has been depressing (More than it normally can be).  It snowed 4+” the week coming into the race and the weather didn't look like it was going to be north of freezing till the Friday before the race.  All of the recon rides were stating that the conditions were very icy with ruts.  On Friday the report changed to icy with lots of mud.  I was on the fence as to whether or not I would even race, as staying home and riding was looking better than 5hrs in the car and racing in the mud.
 

I started training a bit later than last year due to work travel and wanting to be able to have something left at the end of the year for CX.  So the thought of racing in March with no form and crappy conditions was not appealing.  But as stated earlier, Rick puts on a great race and I wanted to support his efforts.  Sager/Shaw sections were bypassed for safety as they were all ice and Rick paid Barry county to spread sand on the other icy sections.  So Brad Lako, Dan Bannink, Wayne Harper and I loaded up in the early Saturday morning hours and headed to Hastings.

Icy Roads

After a very short and freezing warm-up, I found myself standing at the start shivering violently waiting for our start.    Lots of familiar faces were lined up and ready to do battle… Simon Bailey, Dave Messing, Jamie Parker and Jarod Makowski just to name a few.  The start was a bit slow, but I knew that would change soon, so I just tucked in.  Once on the dirt, things heated up and everyone was tested on the first few climbs.  Icy ruts and potholes were abundant… and when they weren't,  it was just plain icy!  I just worked on staying rubber side down in the lead group and put in my digs when the pace seemed to slow.  Once on the pavement climb our group quickly whittled down about 5 or so guys.  Once back on the dirt (ice), Jarod laid down the pace till we hit the "wall" climb, which at that point was a mine field of slower riders and people walking.  We navigated it without incident and caught the leaders of the wave ahead of us that contained John Osgood and Dan Bannink which added to the fire power of the group.  We rolled at a pretty steady hard pace till we were back on the pavement close to town.  As we neared town, Osgood put in a dig and we all quickly jumped on his wheel.  Once the finish turn was in sight, Dan attacked to try and lead me out, but I couldn't get on his wheel fast enough and ended up sitting 4th wheel behind a couple of guys in my class.  The finish was a bit confusing as there was a guy pointing left, but he wasn't up by the actual turn and we thought they may have changed the finish.   After realizing what happened/where to go, we started our sprint.  I didn't get the jump and couldn't pull around the top 2 guys and rolled in for 3^rd in class with a time of 1:48:38 which was good for 10^th overall in the race!!

Results: http://www.raceservices.com/13/brx/36mile.html

One of the coolest parts of the race for me was the team competition.  The KLM crew as a whole did very well with Brad Lako, Joe Seidl, Dan Bannick and Cindi Bannink all on the podium in their respective classes and netting us the win in the 36 mile Team Competition!!

Team Results: http://www.raceservices.com/13/brx/team.html

Next up... Yankee Springs on the SS!!