Dan Frayer and his traveling circus were at it again. Haven’t seen them at the races? Just look for them under the red striped tent. (Not really, but a tall bearded guy on a pink bike is not too hard to spot either!)
Traveling Circus #8
“The Hills of Grayling”
On Sunday morning, June 7th, I woke up before the sun to pick up my pal Bill G. Bill G. and I have been traveling across, around and through the state of Michigan chasing podiums since 2002 when we raced together for Western Michigan University.
It was a quality road trip spent sharing old stories and discussing pre-race jitters with the looming gray clouds in the distance.
The venue was Hanson Hills. (a big emphasis on “Hills”)
A ten mile cross country loop with fast flowing trail and long grinding climbs. The first lap was quick with me getting shelled off the back shortly after the start. I was convinced that I was the back of the pack and I was not interested in suffering for last place so I slowed things down and enjoyed the trail. At the start of lap number 3 (yes, 3 laps, 10 miles each + 30 painful mountain bike miles) another rider came from behind. I saw his race number was close to mine and I quickly realized I was not in last place. This gave me a rush of motivation and I pushed myself as the rain starting making the trail a bit slick in spots.
I managed to keep the bike upright for a 9th place finish out of 12 in the expert 30-39 class