2011 Lumberjack Prerace Activities

Well on Thursday June 16th around 5:00 p.m. or so Molly, Emma, and I headed over to Marks house and picked him so we could start our 659 mile drive to Manistee, MI. I started off with the driving and held the wheel until a little after 10:00 or so and then Mark took over. I decided I better try and get a little sleep so that I could drive again later. Molly was willing to drive but I knew she had worked all day and I really didn't want her to have to drive but we would let her if needed. Mark dove til 2:45 I think and then I took back over and drove until about 5:00 a.m. or so. When I took over driving the last time I stopped and got a cup of coffee and it kicked in quickly, not only keeping me awake but also making me have to stop and pee. As we got close to Ludington, MI the fog was getting very thick and it was tough to see very far in front of the vehicle. Mark took back over driving from Ludington and got us into Manistee. We decided to get something to eat and then we headed to the beach. It was cool that morning, around 55 degrees, and the fog was still pretty thick. The view off the pier over Lake Michigan was very limited but it was still pretty neat, I think Emma really enjoyed it.




From there we headed to the race site so Mark and I could pick our pit area, we had a great spot last year and wanted the same location. Most people don't pick their pit area until the come to preride the course and do their packet pick up but we decided to go ahead and claim our spot. We got the same exact spot as last year which was about 60 yds after the lap but still on the course as we would head out for another lap. The corridor widened there and it would be easier to access our pit while not obstructing the trail. Mark mentioned later that he knew we had a good spot because the pros pitted right next to us both years, they were looking for the same area too.

With still some time to kill before we could check into our cabin and get some mid day sleep Mark and I decided to walk part of the trail. We walked in the opening stretch which was a long gradual climb that seemed to go on forever. The mosquitoes were unbelievable this year so we made sure to spray ourselves really well. After we hiked out we decided to go to the cabin and see if we could check in, it was almost 11:00 a.m. by now. We were able to get in and we got some stuff settled and Mark and I laid down to get some sleep. I think we slept for 2-3 hrs off and on, I don't know about him but it wasn't the most restful sleep I have ever had but it was better than nothing.



About 4:00 p.m. we headed back over to the race site and picked up our race packets. The raffle this year was already underway, they had drawn race numbers and labeled the prizes so if you were a winner you could get your prize at that time. Mark won a hydration pack with about a million pockets in it, it is pretty cool.



We got our bikes down and prepped and worked our way into the single track. The early part of the race had a couple good climbs in it so I was trying to fly downhill into the climbs to carry momentum so my single speed wouldn't get bogged down. After a couple climbs I went ahead and walked a couple big climbs because I didn't want to burn my legs up on them during the preride. Early in the ride Mark noticed this tree was having "pecker problems" so I had to take a picture, it's hard to see the issues in the picture.

About the time I took the picture Marks phone rang and it was fellow Lumberjack Tim Riekena so Mark had to take it. We sure did miss Tim this year.



We only rode about 5.5 miles and then was back at the van, my legs wanted to ride some more but I knew the next day was going to be some work. We headed back to the cabin where Molly was just finishing up some lasagna and cheesy garlic bread...YUM!!! It didn't take much for me to pass out on the bed that evening and then I was back up at 4:30 to start getting ready for the race.

I'll do another post about the race later.