Leadout Racing » Race report

Farmer’s Fat Bike Race

Leadout Racing — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 03:32:21 +0000

Going into the race I had no idea what to expect. I borrowed a bike and picked it up Friday evening and was able to get in about an hours ride. Showed up Saturday morning sort of ready for the race and still not sure how the bike would fit or handle. The duo teams started first then the solo riders followed a couple minutes later. As the race started I soon found myself riding at the front with Dan Jansen from the Farm Team. The course was pretty cool with the typical route around the outside of the orchards (or least where the orchards use to be), but then there was a new section added. It was a really nice wooded trail with lots of little challenging climbs and some twisty turns. Lapped traffic was constantly an issue, but no major problems, just lots of “passing on your left”. On the third lap Dan and I asked what the time was and to our surprise they said 38 minutes. We were both in agreement that it felt like much longer and I started to settle in for a very long race. We had already separated ourselves from the rest of the solo riders, so it was going to be just the two of us the rest of the day. It was pretty uneventful the second hour as Dan is not much for conversation while he is racing. I had a few attempts at levity, but Dan returned all my attempts with stern silence. As the 2.5 hour cutoff was approaching I briefly thought about my strategy. I decided it would be best to just try to hold on to Dan’s wheel and hope that he would let me stick around to the final straight. I was pretty confidant I could carry a lot more speed than him on this long flat area. Well, Dan is a lot smarter than that and on the second to last lap he put in a good effort going through the wooded section. I had no answer for his speed through there and he quietly rode away from me. We ended up doing 13 laps in just over 2:30. We lapped all the other solo riders and even beat all of the teams. I don’t think I am sold on a snow bike, but this race was definitely fun and I would love to do it again. The Farm Team does a great job putting on races and i have to give a big thanks to Scott Chambers for letting me use his bike.

2011 Iceman Cometh MYC 12-18

Leadout Racing — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 02:16:03 +0000

Coming into this race, I was excited and nervous because this was my first shot at the big race. I had only done the Slush-Cup up until this year. When I arrived at the starting line I saw that Luke Mullis and Spencer Grasl were there. They had beat me in every other race. Luke beat me on the road and Spencer has beaten me both times we have raced MTB’s. There were plenty of other strong riders there, but those were the two that I knew. As I warmed up I was talking to Luke about the race and we knew it was going to be fast. Ten minutes before the race we started to get lined up and I was happy with being around the 3rd row behind the fast guys. As the start got closer I became more nervous, but when the race finally started I took off trying to stay with the front. Almost immediately they were gone. Spencer was on the very back of the front group and I knew I had to bridge up. I tried to catch him, thankfully Luke went by and I jumped on his wheel. We were not making up any ground, but we weren’t losing any either. As we are getting to Tornado Alley the 3 of us are together with one older kid. Once out of Tornado Alley I pass Spencer and never see him again. Luke and I continue together through the never-ending hills. Going through Williamsburg was awesome as their were tons of people cheering me on and inspiring me to keep going. I would loss Luke on almost every downhill, but he would come back on the uphills. When we got to the 3k sign i knew the course from there as I had ridden it the night before with my mom. I took the first single track hard in hopes of getting a gap on the people behind me. I came out of the singletrack and then straggled up Icebreaker. The last single track I went hard again and I heard someone crash behind me. I didn’t look back and just kept going. I went up Woodchip in my big ring and really liked all the people yelling at me. i came to thefinal stretch and I got outsprinted by another kid. Afterwards, I was resting on my bike and I saw Luke come in. I was happy to beat him for the first time, but really appreciate his competiton.

2011 Iceman Cometh 20th Pro/Cat. 1

Leadout Racing — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 17:49:25 +0000

After several months of anticipation and preparation the day for the Iceman Cometh was finally here. I had an afternoon start time and sleeping in should have been on the agenda, but with the whole family racing the alarm was set for 7:00AM. Ellie and Kiersen were racing the Slush-Cup at 9:00, Laura was set to go at 11:00, Keegan was taking off at 12:00 in the MYC 12-18 group, and lastly Geoff and I were in the Pro/Cat. 1 race at 2:30. The first stop of the day was Timber Ridge for the girls at the Slush Cup. Ellie and Kiersen did awesome, with Geoff and I following along, and ended up placing 3rd and 5th in the girls 10 and under race. More importantly, both of them made every hill without walking. Ellie did it with her new 1×9 and no granny gear! Geoff and I now had time for some breakfast and a little relaxation while Laura and Keegan were giving their all during their races. We went back to the hotel and made some final preparations. I made sure I had my Infinit Nutrition mixed up and ready to go along with one final check of the Superfly. At 12:30 we picked up my dad and it was off to Kalkaska for the start of our race. We made a few attempts to get updates on Laura and Keeg, but had no luck.

Once we arrived at the start, it was all business as Geoff and I attempted to look calm and relaxed. We decided to ride the first part of the race as our warm-up and it was really cool to see all the big names out and about. I felt like a little kid as Geoff and I would pass someone then laugh and talk about how good they are. Everyone started lining up about 15 minutes early and we were able to secure a fairly decent spot towards the front. The really fast guys covered the front row and we were right behind. The next thing you know we are off headed down the street at 30mph. The pace was crazy, but I was able to hold my position. As we neared the end of the pavement it got a little hot as guys tried to move up at the last second. I placed myself right in the middle, held my ground and was happy to be sitting about 20th. The first 2 track was pretty uneventful with no big issues. Once onto the first single track gaps started to open up and I was getting nervous. Once back on double track I put in a big effort and was able to latch on to the end of the lead train. It was about 20 guys and we already were getting a decent gap. Everything was going well then we came to a little hill with a turn at the bottom. I could see guys slowing way down and tried to cut the corner and shoot by, but the guy in front of me unclipped and I ran right into his leg. I had to unclip and run the hill and the lead pack was now gone. I had a little while by myself, but a few guys came back from the lead group and a couple caught me and we continued to clip along. The rest of the race we stayed pretty much together as a group of 7 and were really hammering. Mike Simonson and Derek Graham were killing it and setting a blistering pace. I stayed with the group up Anita’s Hill, up Icebreaker, but lost a little ground on the final single track and then lost a lot of ground up Woodchip, although Dan McGraw did his best to try and make me faster by yelling at me all the way up. I was able to finish 5th out of the group and 20th overall. Geoff came across a few minutes later and just missed being in the top 50. I was stoked to see that I finished so high and had to keep looking at my computer to confirm my time of 1:37. I know the course was fast, but I never thought I could go under 1:40. It was an absolutely awesome race and I am very thankful to have the ability to ride with guys that are some of the fastest around.

Keegan and Laura also did well and had very respectable times of 2:19 and 2:35. Keegan ended up 22nd in his group, but was the first 12 year old and even the first person under 15. I hope that he continue’s to love racing and if he keeps improving he will win this race someday!

Dan K

2011 Fort Custer Stampede – 2nd Elite

Leadout Racing — Mon, 02 May 2011 17:31:25 +0000

Keegan bringing it home strong.

Although I love to race at the Fort, I would have to say that this year I was a little unhappy with the conditions. Geoff and I did some recon of the coarse the day before and niether of us were real impressed. The water crossing wasn’t horrible, but it does beg the question…why? Although I know many people wanted the two big climbs (Cardiac and CPR) I don’t find them as much of a challenge as the reroutes. And lastly, Grannies Garden is in need of some serious reroutes as they have tried to patch it with bricks, logs and more dirt enough. With all of my complaining aside there are some great parts to the coarse and a few bad spots didn’t ruin my day, it just cold have been better.

I went into this race thinking that I had a chance for the win, so at the start I put up a fight for the lead instead of doing my usual sit back and and play passive. I was able to grab 3rd wheel behind Mark Parmalee (the eventual winner) and 1 other guy. A little ways in Mark got a little gap and was I able to come around and close it down. We were putting a gap on the rest of the field and I biefly had thougts of the 2 of us fighting it out the rest of the day. Those thoughts were soon destroyed as we got to the fist big climb and Mark hit it perectly and off he went by himself. He stayed visible for a few miles, but at no point was I able to get any time back. 2 other guys (Earl Hillaker and ?) came around me and the 3 of us played a little cat and mouse, as they would leave me in the tight twisty stuff and I would come screaming back on the straights or hills. It was soon just Earl and I and we kept going back and forth for the 2nd and 3rd laps. At some point I must have entered my red zone as I became delusional and swear that I saw a naked man jumping up and down cheering me on. Anyway, toward the end of the third lap I put in a hard effort on the straight, flat part and was able to lose Earl. So, for the last lap I just hammered away in the hopes of not getting caught. I ended up finishing second and was pretty happy with the days effort.

My day wasn’t quite done as I had to go back out for another lap with Kiersen. She was the only girl agaisnt 7 boys in the 10 and under group. She faired pretty well finishing 6th. Ellie got 3rd in girls 11-14 and Keegan was 4th in Sport 15-18.

Dan K.

2011 Yankee Springs TT (Elite)

Leadout Racing — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 14:24:34 +0000

The Yankee Springs TT is a race that I absolutely love. The course is awesome and no matter how many times you ride it, you will find parts that are challenging. It is also the first MTB race that I ever did. It was 4 or 5 years ago that I raced in the beginner clydesdale catagory and took 3rd place. The 40 degree temps were a little colder than expected, but a little Soigneur Embrocation warmed my knees and back up nicely. As I rolled up to the start area I could see the usual contenders were present and a few other guys that are really fast. Before I knew it I was at the start line and on my way. The first couple of miles I continually kept telling myself to slow down and breath as I did the usual blast out of the gate and needed to settle for the long race ahead. I was the 7th person to leave and we had 10 seconds between us. I caught a couple of guys right away and was feeling pretty good. The plan was to keep a comfortably hard pace on the first lap and then kill it on the second. After the first lap (46:51) I had passed 4 of the 6 people in front of me and felt like I could stick with the plan and start to really push it. The plan didin’t last real long as killing the hills was taking a ton out of me. I began to settle into a good pace when the fatigue got the best of me. I was rounding a corner and took it a little tight and got completely knocked off my bike as I was introduced to a rather large tree. I shook off the cobbwebs and got back on the bike and started rolling while trying to figure out if I was ok. Finger hurt, hand hurt, shoulder smashed, bike ok. Some good pain but everything was working so I continued on. The rest of the lap was pretty uneventful as their was no one in sight either in front or behind me. I crossed the finish line in 1:34:54, which was good enough for 3rd place. Full results here. I was pretty proud to place so well against some really good competition. I got a little time to relax then it was off again as I rode with my daughters in their race. Ellie (11-14) took 3rd, Kiersen (10 and under) took second. Keegan raced sport 15-18, even though he is only 12 and finished 4th, just 2 minutes behind first place. All in all, a great day of racing for the whole family.

Dan K.