CALUMET

Well it was a great weekend and it looks like everyone had a good time at the final year of Calumet racing. Ty and I arrived on Friday night to set up camp early and relax. Mikey and
Chemain joined us for a few brewskies and a fire to start off the weekend right. The rest of the gang joined us on Saturday making for a spectacular social gathering. A fresh pot of Alterra French Roast was brewing to start off the morning and the best part is Mikey's specialty French toast he prepared for us, I did not know the boy could boil water, he must of been showin off to his gal. Speaking of his gal...It's about time Chemain join the gang for the weekend. She certainly was a trooper and had no problems acclimating to the outdoors, infact
look here what was she thinking of recycling her tissue for reuse?

So with a hearty breakfast in my belly I was ready to attack the course. Anyway the pre-ride went well, the course was dry and fast and the new added single track sections were fun. I accompanied Dan and Cindy on the pre-ride and we practiced the new sections a few times over. Cindy certainly should consider racing one of these days, for someone who does not bike much she certainily ran through the tough sections like a pro without any problems. After the pre-ride I went back to camp to eat and get ready for the shower.
Mike and Jo arrived and they were off for the pre-ride and finally towards the end of the afternoon, Carlos and Sonia joined in.
Tammi arrived with her sister a little after 2:00 pm.
Ty went off to go swimming with Mikey, Chemain and the gang. Dinner time went in shifts and Jo and I were smart to start cooking first before the rest of the gang arrives for dinner. Two gas burners and a dozen hungry bikers all with finicky tastes, preparing pasta several different ways, makes for an eventful evening. My favorite pasta dish is Penne Pasta with a good olive oil, sauted with lots of garlic, fresh basil and chicken, yummy. After dinner we all sat around the campfire and relaxed and headed off to bed at a reasonalbe time.

I think it was around 5:30 Am and I had to get up to pee, just as I got back into the tent I think it started raining. It seemed to be raining pretty steady and I fell back to sleep until 9:00 AM which is pretty late for TY and I on race day. I was already passed my breakfast time and had no caffeine in me so I felt a little rushed in the morning, but I did not let it get to me. Jo was preparing to get ready to race and it was nice to see her so chipper on a gloomy damp morning. I put a pot of coffee on the burner and proceeded to eat my breakfast with some time to relax.

10:45 AM came too soon and it was time to get ready and get on the bike. Sonia and I headed out to do laps on the road and as we were warming up I saw Linda and Katie getting ready in the parking lot unfortunately not getting a chance to chit chat before the race. After the warm up I tried to keep spinning, I hate waiting for the start.

Sometime around 11:20 AM or so, I wait for the infamous GO000000000000000000000000000000! We were off and I was having a great start and got to the front. I remember feeling good and it felt as if we were going a bit slow, but hell, I sucked a wheel and let the leaders pull. Sonia was smart and broke away from the group to be the first one to the single track. Sonia told me later that the person pulling, I think it was a KILLJOY chick was not happy about pulling 30 girls so she held back the pace in the front. This worked out perfectly for those who were conserving their energy for the single track hill climb that was to emerge after the 2 mile lead out. Well, unfortunately the entrance to the single track even though it is wide open, people start to pass on the downhill and you have to keep on alert and call out your moves or someone always gets hurt. Well the downhill went well and we were off to more lead out on the grass along the lake. I was feeling the effects of the grassy lead out and felt a bit of relief on that small section of pavement to pick up some more speed. I was starting to get passed by a few until we hit the start of the grassy climb onto the single track. I was able to step up the pedal strokes and suck it up the hill as best as I could. The first lap on the single track hill had a lot of divits from the runners earlier that day which made it a little tricky on the climb. Finally to the top and down and up again and relief was in site, caught my breath and off I went. I pretty much kept a great pace for each lap and was a bit cautious on the first lap on the downhills where it was a bit slick or tacky on the corners. Along the way here and there hearing familiar voices say hi. I knew that the section of single track that is off camber would be a challenge for some and I took advantage of opportunity and had stayed clear of wipeouts. Shifting problems remain, and was not able to use the granny gear at all, so I suffered on most of those hills. I think I was able to use the granny once or twice during the race luckily on the start hill, although I can't remember. I was back and forth with Greisbach until the last lap hill climb, I stepped it up a notch and was hoping to create a gap. I kept it up and did not look back until I hit the swooping, winding singletrack and rock gardens and no one was in site. I was feeling good all the way to the finish line.

Unfortunately after the race I find out that one of our Alterra members got hurt and no one really new the details. I did not see it happen but Katie went down on the downhill section of the start and then got ran over. I guess from talking to her sister Linda it was pretty bad and it happend so fast it was hard to describe what all transpired. Katie I guess was wisked away to a tiny little hospital and found to have internal parts of her ankle broken, tibia and fibula breaks. She is awaiting surgery this Thursday at St. Lukes Hosptial in Milwaukee. Katie is a mother of 5 children and these times will be tough. Who the hell ran over her?