Ore 2 Shore

U.P.

by: Joel Coon

This year was my first time racing the O2S and it was pretty awesome.  Heading in to the race I had no idea what to expect.  I picked the gear I usually use at the 40 and just hoped for the best.  I forgot about the time change so I didn’t get to the start line until 45 minutes before the race started.  I didn’t get a chance to look at the course map so I was racing blind but figured they’ll be enough people to follow.

The course had a great mix of just about everything.  A few sections had a lot of water and I could have done without those but that made the race more interesting.  I tried riding at my own tempo but it gets hard once we got out on the open road sections.  I had to bust it to keep in the draft and try to conserve some energy.  I had no idea how long some of the road sections were going to be.  I was lucky that I tucked in with a fast group. 

I found myself alone with about 11 miles to go.  A fellow T6 mate came blowing by me and I grabbed his wheel.  Jorden was flying and basically dragged me to the finish.  There was no way I would have kept that pace without somebody to tail.  We ended catching Nick C at the line and crossed right under 3 hrs which was my goal so all in all it was a good finish for me. 

Looking forward to next year already