Koppenberg Circuit Race

Yesterday was the Koppenberg Circuit Race in Superior.  My category did 3.5 laps of the 5 mile circuit, including 2.5 miles of rutted and pothole strewn dirt road and a grueling 17% grade dirt climb.  It's not a particularly long race, but all that rough road makes for a tough ride for both riders and bikes.  The best part about the race was having Christine and the Dyers there to cheer me on at the hill.  They were nice and loud so it was like having my own cheering section.  I loved it!

I had a pretty poor starting spot towards the back of the 100 person field, which was probably my biggest mistake.  I ended up getting behind some slower people in the dirt and a large gap opened up in front of me as a failed to pass them and tried hard to avoid the multiple crashes.  In retrospect I should have pushed much harder to catch up to the lead group, but I was worried about blowing up early.  I was happy to escape without crashing or flatting, but I did have my chain come off at one point because I hit some big holes as I tried to pass someone in the dirt.

So I suffered for a few laps and eventually finished way off the back of the pack.  I wasn't among the many people who didn't finish, and I didn't ever walk my bike up the hill.  Another race down, and more lessons learned.



Here I am racing up the Koppenburg Climb



Sprinting for the finish.  I saw the guy in pink coming up on my wheel as I rounded the last corner, and I'm glad I found the energy to keep him from passing me.


Here's a picture of the nasty climb