Durand Road Race

Durand, WI
Saturday April 16, 2011
by: Aaron Sturgis

“I love poetry and a glass of (dirt).  And of course, my friend Baxter.”¹ 

No really, I like dirt a lot and so to find me mixing it up with roadies is weird.  But that is exactly what I did on Saturday in Durand, Wisconsin.  I was riding in headwinds of 30+ mph, a dusting of snow on the ground, and 32° temps.  It’s races like this that you write home about.

So if I like dirt so much, then why was I racin on Saturday ya ask?  Well, because I love racing no matter what.  And at this race I bump into many MTBer friends who are anxiously awaiting the opening of their favorite single tracks.² 

My two lap race went something like this..

Lap one - Two riders got off the front halfway thru lap one.  The rest of us chased which caused the field to blow-up.  So now we are down to four riders chasing the two riders.

Lap two - Continue the chase but finally realize that we will not be catching them and realize that 3rd place will come out of our group.  The pace slows to a crawl as we head into the wind for the final 8 miles.  I sit in behind the biggest rider and wait.  500 meters out one rider attacks.  I counter and find enough in the tank to cross the line for 3rd.

Yuppers - first race in the T6 gear and waddaya know.  Despite the conditions it was a great day of racing.  But now the countdown to the first WORS race of the season…Iola - May 1st.

Now to get off the skinny wheel thingy and jump on the 29er.
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¹ Movie quote of the month….anybody?

² If you want to hit up some trails, Lowes Creek and Northwest Park in Eau Claire are officially open.  That is, until we get hit with the next round of snow.  Ufda.