Dan Ryan Woods

Trent running up a hill after a barrier.
Photo by the talented Bill Draper.

by Trent Williams
Last Sunday, Kristi Hanson, Kelly Clarke, Hayes Sanborn, Aaron Byrnes, Peter Monko , PJ Cavoto, Kyle Kershasky, Mark Zalewski, myself went down to the South Side at Dan Ryan Woods to see how they do CX there. We were all there to race, but Katie Isermann was packing heat with Twizzlers and Swedish fish.

I showed up around 8:30 to see Hayes with the tent already set up and pre-riding the course.  I put my gear down and pre-rode the course in jeans.    And as similar to last year, this year course did not disappoint.  There was a challenging climbs, including a single track section with tree roots, fast descents, power,  run-up to an off-camber mount, fast power sections, a bunny hop section (think stacked 2 x 4's), another couple power sections, and a recovery, turn-y section.  The first race for the Spidermonkey's was the Master's 30+.  PJ, Hayes, and myself line up - well at least PJ and Hayes lined up while I was fixing a pre-race flat and was able to line up in the last row just seconds before the whistle.   PJ and Hayes were able to finished in the top 30.  Great Job guys!  I had to pull out of the race due to (yet) another flat. 

Men's Cat 3

Since PJ wasn't in that race, he let me use his front wheel.  Along with Hayes, Mark, and Peter.  The whistle blew and we were off.  There was a nice crash 30 feet after the start line which slowed down all but the people in the front.  The first couple laps is always the hardest, especially with the single track climb.  By the second lap I was able to get into a rhythm.  Much better than the 30+ race, where I flatted, I was able to settle into a hard pace.  I never count laps because my brain can't do math while gasping for oxygen, but I think we did 6 laps.  Every one seemed to get harder than the next and especially on the climbs my legs reminded me.  Peter had a great first finish as his first cat 3's race.  Mark had a strong finish and Hayes fought though for a while but the pain from his bruised ribs was too much so didn't think it was too smart to continue.  It' always knowing racing with your friends and knowing they are suffering just as much as you.

Pete Monko in his first Cat 3 race.
Photo by Bill Draper.

Women's Cat 4

Kelly and Kristi lined up for the women's 4.  Even though it was 3 quick laps, those ladies made sure they got their cyclocross fun for the day...

Kristi had another awesome race and racked up another 10 ten finish (6th place actually) - and her last Cat 4 race before her fresh upgrade. 

Kelly - right at the end Kelly was able to to fight and fight hard for one last spot to finish.  So impressive to see her eek one more spot right at the end. 

And throughout the day, we had Katie Isermann handing up her Twizzlers and Swedish Fish in all but easiest places.  

Men's Cat 4

PJ, Aaron, Kyle lined up for the the men's 4A race.  3 laps of fun. Kyle decided to focus on racing rather than eating hotdogs.  Luckily for him, it paid off, no broken rim this time.  And PJ and Aaron fought hard for their 7 and 14th place finish respectively.  All of them managed to clear the bunny hop section unscathed.  Through out the day it was the place to spectate, but 4's race, this was especially the case.

Nice job everyone.  Thanks to everyone who raced and cheered.

Katie handing up candy to Hayes
Photo by Bill Draper