Ok, so it’s been a very long time since my last post. But I’m
going to ignore all that and let you know about something recent, Sunday in
Chicago for Melas Basin CX!
I have to tell the story about this race because I was
excited for it, and it deliver. I drove down with long time buddy Alex Martin.
Martin is a rad dude in every aspect. And like most rad dudes he’s exceptional
at riding in the mud. But I love the mud too so we were both excited to get a
good mudder CX race in before it got truly cold and it was all snow and ice. The
forecast had rain all Saturday and Sunday so I made sure to have a guy in the
pits. Before I could even contact him, Chandler Snyder. Better known as the
Wookie, hit me up and asked if I needed someone. Of course I did and he’s the
best. Check him out if you need some expect advice in the Chicago area.
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| Martin wins for best sand pit face. |
The race started with a long straight. I had heard that the
right side was the side to start on so I lined up and when the whistle blew I
took off. In a race where skill matters and a sport where you’re only as fast
as the guy in front of you, I knew it would be important to get out a head
early. So I didn’t hold back on the start straight and got the hole shot.
Youngster Max Hall stuck to my wheel and despite the fast pace wasn’t letting
go. Props to him. But as the lap wore on and Max and I had about 5 seconds, he
seemed to be in the box so when I hit it hard on one of the straights, he
dropped back a little bit. A cruel fate, but that’s how you get faster.
So I was riding alone with about a 5 seconds gap for a few
laps and kept a close eye on the developing group behind me. Sure enough,
Michael Dutczak, Max Hall, and Alex Martin were all in the hunt with Martin
closing it down. Normally I would sit up and let him come back to me, but in
these conditions I knew he was faster and I needed every advantage I could get
so I settled into the fastest pace I thought I could manage for the rest of the
race. But the gap continued to close, in small part to a few pit exchanged from
the Wookie, a strategy that I knew would cost me early, but pay off later
because my bike would be running smooth. But still the gap closed.
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| One big rut in the sand pit meant high risk, high reward. I often took the other lines as they were slower but safer. |
A few laps later, it did close. He had my wheel in the off
camber section of the basin where he was gaining most of his time each lap on
me. But I stuck to my plan and when I got to the straight I held my pace and he
couldn’t keep it. The gap went back up and held at 5 seconds once again. It was
a battle for sure, our lap times must have been fractions of seconds apart. It
wasn’t until the last 2 laps I could relax a little bit. I guess he went down
on one of the most challenging off-camber corners, a corner I had actually went
down on in practice.
Sunday was all about grip, tires, and wheels. With the
Wookie in the pit keeping my Trek Crockett clean, it was running flawlessly. I
ran a 42T WolfTooth single on the front and the lower weight was nice, but the
simplicity meant it was running perfect. I ran the challenge Limus, unmatched
in the mud at 19psi front and 20.5 in the rear. I had grip where others didn’t. And when their mounted on Psi 38W CX wheels? I could accelerate out of corners like it was dry.
A fun weekend rippin up some grass and having a good time
down in Chicago. And to top it off, win number 5 this year in the CCC.
One of my favorite shots from Snowy Mountain. Wire-to-Wire
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