Ore to Shore - mtbVegan

Ore to Shore Saturday August 08, 2009
by: Regina Campbell

Ore to Shore turned out to be an awesome time. It started out rough, but finished well. The trip started out with me driving to MKE on Wed night so Chris could install the hitch & bike rack! The entire process took a stupid amount of time, mostly because the hitch kit was missing pieces…so we spent a good part of the night running around getting the missing pieces.

Friday we loaded up, with 5 bikes! Three for me, two for Chris. We took some bikes to ride Marquette Mountain, because rumor had it the lifts would be running. This was the best chance to test out the Kona I’d be borrowing for our upcoming Canada trip. Then I also borrowed Len’s Ellsworth Truth, since I’m thinking of getting a full suspension bike, so he let me try out one of his for the weekend as well. Lastly, I had my good old Trek for the race! Chris brought along his Tallboy & Cove bike for some awesome trail riding.

We got a late start due to being up stupid late with the hitch. Ate breakfast and got on the road. The 5 hr trip went quickly, but we both didn’t realize that there was the time change and just out general exhaustion. So we made it there by late afternoon and hit the trails for a bit of riding. I opted to ride the Ellsworth since we were just hitting up some good old cross country trails. Man, that bike is HEAVY! It’s having me rethink the entire FS bike idea. I did the math and that sucker is about 25% my body weight while my Trek is only 13%. It was awful climbing, but super sweet on the crazy downhill stuff we rode through.

The trails we fun either way, we found some great sections to ride and got some good exploring in. After the trail riding fun we got back to the hotel to get cleaned up and eat. Made some phone calls and found out the the lifts would not be running at all. We were super bummed and ended up not riding any of it since the idea of pedaling some crazy heavy bike sup the side of the mountain seemed like punishment. So instead on Friday we woke up, had a quick breakfast and went for a trail ride. This time I brought my Trek. It was so much nicer on my hardtail…climbing fun, fast turns, just awesome. I had the best time out there and probably rode too much, but I just don’t care anymore. I’m in it for fun, not for racing!

After the trail riding, I headed back to the hotel while Chris went for another lap. I scored a snack, shower, and then a nap. After that we pedaled around Marquette, out to some scenic cliffs/bluff, through registration, and back to the hotel so we could get food. My legs were tired and I was half excited & half freaking out about the 48mile ride the following morning.

On Saturday morning we woke up and headed to the start. We took Ann & liz to the start of the Soft Rock, so we were at the start of the Hard Rock pretty early. It was nice though, we got to hang out with everyone and I got to take my mind of the race that was ahead of me. Seeing as how I’ve only been commuting 20mi a day, my training is, well, there is none! So I was just focusing on riding hard and not bonking. I had no aspirations of a fast finish or winning anything, just having fun and hopefully not being last!

I’m pleased to say I am happy with my performance during Ore to Shore. I didn’t know what to expect, I haven’t be “training”, I’ve just been commuting and doing the fun stuff I love. So at the start the legs felt heavy and tired, but I was excited. Got going and kept going. I know they say this is a flat course, mostly downhill, but it sure didn’t feel like it. Misery Hill was exactly that, miserable. Climbing, water crossing, hot sun burning down on you. I hit a rough patch in the middle, where I couldn’t eat, couldn’t drink, couldn’t pedal well, was all over the place. It took about an hour but I pulled through and pushed myself to keep moving.

I’m pretty pleased with my finish too. I’m happy I made it, that I had fun, that I didn’t have any bike issues. =) I came in 8th in my age, 34th overall for the women, and 471st out of all the Hard Rock riders. Finished in 3:54! It was a great day to be out there!