Ingawanis

I get a little excited every time we go racing in Iowa. Not only do I know it’s gonna be a great course and full of fun people, but perhaps the best part is knowing that it’s gonna be a short drive! We can eat breakfast and dinner at home with some great racing between.

Ingawanis is a Boy Scout camp outside of Waverly. Cam told me that the course was pretty fun, but he wasn’t sure what to expect since part of the trail was shut down for logging (of all things…). He wondered if the best part wasn’t the part that was closed.

We arrived with plenty of time to get registered and get a practice lap done before go-time. I ran into Kristin Reece right when we arrived. She was a good person to lead me on a recon lap as she’d raced the time trial there the day before. The course was in great shape and a blast to ride.

Like most Iowa races, there were only three of us in the Cat 2 race, but there was another 3-4 women toeing the line for the Cat 1 cash! Cat 1 and 2 started in separate waves, but all men and women of the same class started together. Kristin, Sally Logan, and I hung out near the back of the Cat 2 field and shot the breeze waiting for the gun to sound. Having cool chicks around me at the start really helps me keep my heart from jumping out of my throat before any racing has occurred.

We took off with Kristin in the lead, followed by me, then Sally. I stayed on Kristin’s wheel for the first 4-5 minutes while I settled into a groove. We worked our way around some of the slower guys, then when I was nearing full-steam, Kristin let me by. She stayed close for a while, but by the end of lap one I was riding alone.

The course was fast and fun. There were a couple of tricky climbs, but without anyone breathing down my neck or slower traffic to contend with, I was able to get through them with little difficulty. The laps were going by well. I caught a few more guys, but the closer we got to the end, the more I started to see the tail end of the Cat 1 women’s field. I ran out of real estate just before I caught her, but it was good to know that I had made up the 2-3 minute start differential.

I came across the line first, and about a minute after me was Kristin, then barely another minute until Sally who nearly flatted and had to stop for air. Though we rarely saw each other on the course, we were a lot closer in the final standings.

I took a good cool-down spin with the Logans and others; they shared some Chequamegon tips with me. I’m really looking forward to the time we’ll all be spending in Hayward the weekend of the race! Good peeps!

Cam had a good race and even some good competition during the early laps. By the final lap he was riding alone in the lead. One downfall of the Iowa and Nebraska series is that we race at the same time, so I don’t get to watch his race progress any more than what I can see from the saddle of my bike! Still, it was yet another great day of racing for us! We are blessed!