Pumpkin Cross & WORS #12

Grafton/Sheboygan, WI
WORS #12 Wigwam MTB Challenge Sunday October 11, 2009
by: Andrew Schirpke

Double race weekend! Cross is here.

Great weekend starts with my cousin coming over Friday night to join us to watch his first Cross and for me to race my first. Get to bed by 10.

Saturday morning we load the Trek and the Felt. Sis and cousin come along to see what all the hubbub is about. Go to register and I get #88, that’s nice and even, cool. It was cold and warming up was hard to do. My dad went first and got killed. Good thing they had Fat Tire.

I was up next. 14 and under. These guys are huge. Oh well. They say go and we’re off. Sand trap and a straight uphill, road them every time. Gotta love the twizzlers. I couldn’t stay with the older guys and got 6th out of ten. 20 minutes of redline. Not sure if this is a great warmup for a WORS race in the morning. Starts to flurry…Cross Season is here! Load the bikes up and say hey to a few cat3 and ups. Joe and Mike and some old friends Claire and Matt.

Well we need to get Sis back for homecoming and get up to Sheboygan for a pre-ride. One lap is enough and then register. Moved up, no more Juniors:( get plate #4088. that’s wierd. Say hello to Mrs. Litzke and of course Richard. Then a short ride home and a chicken pasta carb load. Another early night since we have to get up at 6:30.

Dad’s up first then my turn to shower. Eat light and get everything loaded. We were bringing Bombers for the after party so we were packed to the gills. Everyone was there and the place was nuts early. Watched my friends start in the Junior waves. Got right to warming up. 32deg is colder then my last two Iceman races!

156 racers is only TEN TIMES the size I’m used two. 2 laps were better than one and I rode the equalizer both times. Only 5 bucks to show for it since they ran out of money. It’s fun beating guys 20 years older then me. River crossing went well and 75 overall didn’t seem bad. The only racer younger than me is Marilee. Missed my hand-up but my dad ran through the woods and caught me for a quick refill. SheVegas is a great course and has it all. Climbs, water, roots and roots. Did I mention roots? Super flow though.

No METAL today and 2010 will be tough against 14 year olds. I know I’ll get faster quicker racing against these guys though. My dad can’t wait till I’m sport, then we get an extra hour and half of sleep.

Big cookout after and the bombers are always a hit. Happy Birthday to Mr. Timm and then the raffle. Won some clif bars and shared them with all our buds. Closed the place and still got home by 7. Unload and put the gear away. Next weekend looks like a cross and the Saturday race I’m not allowed to talk about.

Looks like we’re going to convert an old 8000 into a cross bike, I’ll let you know how it races. Thanks to everyone who read my reports this year. It’s an hour my dad and I spend together after every race. See all you regulars at Lapham Wed.

Ride On

- Andy