Race to Sunset 2010

It was the 3rd year in a row that Matt and I have participated in the 6th annual 10 Hour Race to Sunset held out at Sleepy Hollow city park in Bismarck, ND.  Overall great event that I will be sure to attend in the years to come.  There are a number of ways to ride the 10 hour race; solo, 2 member or even doing half the deal racing 5 hours. We have always had a 4 member team  so that we can hang out and enjoy the day.  The main goal is the go around the course as many times in the 10 hours.  This years team consisted of Matt Wenzel, Matt Engen, Rob Belz and me.  We called Matt Wenzel "Jr." all weekend to keep things straight.  Matt Engen and Rob Belz rode the Leadville 100 with me last summer and are solid riders, we had a great team.

Lemond style start where we let Jr. have the 1st leg.  Run to your bike and then haul ass down the single track.  Perfect overcast race day weather.  4 mile single track loop offers up just about everything....climbing, tight technical and overall good flow.  The guys out in Bismarck - Mark Liebig, Dennis Kemmasat and Brian Beattie do a great job with the course and overall organization.

Everything is chip timing which requires you to pass your timing chip over a pad before handing off to the next rider.  Photo above is of me going through the shoot heading out to the single track.

Matt went OTB (Over the Bars) on one of his laps.  A nice scratch and a lost pump were the result.

Rob Belz hails from South Eastern MN and is not use to the open prairie riding offered up in ND.  Rob had consistent lap times the whole day not to mention supplying us with a bunch of laughs.

Part of making sure that you are ready to go after sitting around waiting for your turn to ride is keeping yourself fed and hydrated.  In addition, Matt Engen tried to keep his muscles loose.  The hanging around with other riders adds to the good time of the day.  Tactics are discussed and times are calculated to assure that you make the most of the day.
Check out all of the results on the Pickle Events web page by clicking here
One of the solo riders, Kelly Megelky is a nationally ranked Trek supported rider from the Dickinson area that just ripped up the course by himself all day.

It was Matt's 16th birthday the day of the race.  I was not cool enough to have a birthday cake ready or a party but Matt said he was happy being able to race his bike.  Matt was the pillar of the team running the fastest times of our group the whole day.
We had a nice family party when we came home Sunday with dinner, presents and cake.  Matt jumped on an airplane today for a European history trip with other Fargo North students.  He will not be home until July 2!