Big Wheel Racing

The Hermosa Creek Off-Road Classic was a race put on by the Fort Lewis College cycling team as a fund raiser for their team. As most know Fort Lewis College has some of the strongest riders in the country, so for a fund raiser the level of racing was very high. I went up knowing the competition was out of my league but also knew that I’d have a great time racing on the course and hanging out afterwards. Additionally, this was my pre-Leadville race tune-up.

Heading up to Durango with my Fun Finder camper, two dogs and bike for a weekend excursion seemed like a great weekend get-away. But from Aztec to Durango the drive was in the rain, which cast some doubt on the plan. In Durango, the rain was a light drizzle that continued through the night guaranteeing some mud on the race course. Thanks to the camper, the dogs and I had a good (and dry) night sleep.

There were two options: the short course that consisted of the Hermosa Creek trail and an extended course that tagged on another 18 miles and 2500 feet of climbing. I opted for the long course (which effectively was racing down an age group.) Compared to last year there were fewer people racing, but the level of riders was still top notch as you would expect for Durango. I finished about 10 minutes faster than last year. This year I didn’t loose my water bottle, unlike in last years race, thanks to a recent switch to a pair of King Cages. Also, I gained a new appreciation for the Specialized S-Works mountain bike shoes. After being submerged the shoes didn’t stretch and dried out quickly, which was an important features for this race since there were three deep water crossings.

Thanks to Ron for supporting BWR by hooking us up with the King Cages and High Desert Cycles for helping BWR with the Specialized gear.

-Mike

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 21st, 2008 at 11:37 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.