Blanket Race = Round #1

Perfect fall weather greeted a total of 24 racers at the first race of this years Blanket Series MTB race which was held on Sunday, Nov. 29th. The venue for the race was the Lake Barton trail located just north of Great Bend. The course layout isn't very technical but the tight twisty forest trail definitely keeps you on your toes. The race starts with a 1/4 mile all out sprint of wide open grassy trail and big sweeping turns. Once you drop into the 2 mile forest loop, there are only afew good spots to pass. So, the start of this particular race is critical. As expected, Doug Chambers jumped out to a quick start and had the lead as he entered the tight forest section of the trail. Hot on Doug's wheel were Jon Shank, Brad Smith and Dave Nily. I had a decent start and found myself crank to crank with Morgan Stevens. I was able to gain a slight edge and my momentum carried me past her just before we entered the forest section. As the racers wound their way through the first lap of the forest section, Doug had began to create some distance between himself and the other riders. I managed to work my way up to Gary Mick who was running in 7th place and after riding his wheel for several minutes I was able find a space to squeeze past him just before the climb up the dam. After scaling the dam,riding the crest and dropping back into the old lake bed, I picked up some decent speed and headed towards the half-way point of the race. I finished out the first lap and was about 1/4 of the way through my second lap when Steve Dutton caught me. I was abit surprised to see him since I am usually eating his dust. However, Steve had busted his seat mount during a pre-race lap so he had been nursing his saddle up to that point. Steve was content to let me set the pace until the half way point of the second forest lap and I sensed he was ready to make a move so I eased over and he accelerated past me. Steve was able to create good space between the two of us and as we exited the forest and began the 1/4 mile cruise back to the finish line I had hoped to close the gap. However, he had no intention of that happening and was able to maintain a comfortable buffer between us. Crossing the finish line, I found myself in 8th place and I was happy with that considering how talented the seven riders ahead of me are.

Here is a final run down of where everyone finished and their race times:
1) Doug Chambers/20:45, 2) Jon Shank/21:05, 3) Brad Smith/21:24, 4) Dave Nily/21:36, 5) Jeff Stevens/21:51, 6) Brandon Kuhn/21:57, 7) Steve Dutton/ 22:08, 8) Mike Johnson/22:22, 9) Gary Mick/23:35, 10) Morgan Stevens/23:42, 11) Bob Nicholson/24:10, 12) Dodge Nily/24:43, 13) Alex Moyers/24:45, 14) Mark Flynn/25:00, 15) Ron Leiker/25:12, 16) Jim Lemen/25:13, 17) Wes Miller/25:28, 18) Danny Reimer/25:29, 19) Brian Holdsworth/25:43, 20) Austin Jacobs/26:15, 21) Paul Jacobs/26:36, 22) Ernie Garza/30:31, 23) Joni Stuckey/30:33, 24) Emma Flynn/31:58

Race #2 was to be held this past weekend at Coronado Heights near Lindsborg. However, the large amount of snow and ice reduced this race to pretty much just a ride and only a very limited number of participants was on hand.

Race #3 will be held at Lake Wilson on Jan, 17 with race #4 being held at the East Loop of the Ark River trail at Great Bend on Jan. 31.

Until next time, stay "Clipped In and Crankin".