Fort Custer Stampede 2012

Fort Custer Stampede. Photo by Jack Kunnen Photography.

See Jack Kunnen photos from Fort Custer Stampede here.

Sunday, May 6th was the Fort Custer Stampede hosted by SWMMBA in Augusta, MI. I've written a full race report for GTMTBA that will be published later this week. Watch for it on their website!

Our family used this opportunity to take the Camper out for the first camping trip of the season, staying at Fort Custer Recreation Area (the race venue). We had a weekend chock-full of camping delights: mountain biking, scootering, playing catch, sitting by the fire, fishing, exploring, adventure hikes, and water gun fights.

There is nothing better than camping because you get to do all sorts of things you can't do at home. For instance, I drank coffee in the afternoon. The kids had hotdogs and macaroni and cheese for lunch. Juiceboxes for everyone! And mom and dad may have even had a couple of beers. Hmmm, I just realized these are all centered around food.

Chad and I had both planned on getting some time on the trail Saturday, logging miles for our Lumberjack training. But we were having so much fun playing with the kids that we had a difficult time stealing ourselves away. I managed to sneak out for a 4-mile loop around lunch time. The course was not marked yet and I got lost attempting to follow the map. Chad went after dinner and was able to ride the course that had now been marked.

The Race

Having ridden the course, Chad gave me a few pointers: Ride in your big ring and use your momentum to roll through the new sections of trail! Riding in my big ring on my Trek 8000 is no problem, but I've had a harder time on my new 29" Superfly AL Elite. I'm not good at the details so I don't know if the reason is the gearing ratio difference or the rolling weight of the larger wheels. Either way, I was thinking there was no possible way I'd use the big ring, I'd waste my legs halfway through the race and hit the wall.

Team Brewer ready to race.

Sunday morning, Race day, was here before we knew it. We were all thankful for a relaxed 10 AM start. I raced for GTMTBA and the kids were both signed up for their first ever kids race, representing team Lil' Coasters XC.

After a quick hug and kiss and well-wishes from the kids, I rode away from our campsite and to the Start/Finish, about 1.5 away.

Fort Custer Stampede is fun because it has a bit of everything and it's almost all on single-track trails. I was looking forward to a competitive race. The women's fields are getting stronger and faster. You can not let-up on the crank for a second because its guaranteed there will be someone right behind you fighting to take your place. And that is exactly what went down on Sunday.

Four of us lead out the field in the first lap, keeping a good pace. About halfway through the loop the race takes you through a section known as the "Trenches," dug-out trenches once used as a training facility for combat troops. It's filled with tight, off-camber turns and whoop-de-doos. I cut one of the turns too wide and my front tire hit a tree dead-on, sending me into a flying endo, flipping over my handle-bars and landing on my head and shoulder.

I was shaky, but okay. I got back on my bike and started to roll on the trail. Unfortunately for me the trail immediately went up a sort-of narrow land bridge with a ravine on either side. As shaky as I was, I stumbled and ended up falling down the ravine. Which is typical for me. If there's a ravine to fall down, I will fall down it.

My crash gave the lead women a good gap and the chase was on! By the end of the first lap I had managed to get on the wheel of Marnie, an acquaintance I've met through racing. She was currently in third place. I followed Marnie's pacing for the second and most of the third lap. At one point we were passed by another racer. With just 4 miles to the finish I decided to create a small gap behind Marnie in order to enable myself to maintain momentum through a technical section of trail. Marnie used this to her advantage and took off. I was not able to close the gap after that.

I finished in fifth place. I had a good race. I enjoyed my time out on the trail. It was scenic, the wildflowers were in blossom and the course took us past several lakes and over bridges. I could not have asked for a better day (other than not crashing).

And Chad was right about the big ring through the new trail. Standing up and hammering through the rough and bumpy sections helped me out a lot. It's good to know I can race in my big ring on single-track.

The Kids Race

Unfortunately the Kids Race was going on during my race so I didn't get to see them. But I have heard all about it.

The kid's racing steeds.

Sage finishing up her lap!

Recovery snack.

Chad helped Bear through the 1/4 mile loop that was mostly single-track. Sage's start was shortly after Bear's and she was left to begin the race on her own. Just after the start, Sage and another girl bumped front tires, sending Sage crashing to the ground. Another mom was there (thank you!) and helped her up. Sage managed to finish her lap, successfully finishing her first XC race! Go Sage!

Camping

I stayed at the race start/finish to cheer the Sport Women as they started. Then it was back to the campground for family time. The kids had the water-guns out and were in a full-on battle with the campfire. Their little squirts sending hisses and steam up into the air. 

Chad took each of the kids, one a time, to ride the whoop-de-doos on their bikes. I went on a butterfly hunt with Bear while Sage was off riding with dad. Then we switched kids. Sage and I scootered around the campground and played catch.

As the day wore on my left arm and shoulder began to ache. It wasn't surprising, being I crashed on it pretty hard that morning. 

Later I sat by the fire listening to the thunder in the distance, just enjoying being with the family. We closed out our camping trip with grilled hamburgers and vegetables for dinner. 

Post-Race

Sunday night I could not sleep because the pain in my shoulder was too intense. On my way to work Monday morning I made a detour to the doctor's office. Turns out I dislocated my shoulder in the crash. They popped everything back into place. Fortunately, its not very serious. I'm supposed to take 3 days off (completely!). And then I can get back to training, but no racing until Lumberjack.

Best Bear Quote of the weekend:
Me: Let's work on not sucking our thumbs kids. Anyone have ideas of how we can practice that?
Bear: I'm not sucking my thumb!
          I'm tasting all of my boogers.