oxbow fever

last year Joel and I went down a week early to ride the course.. luckily we met a couple of rochester riders who were doing the same and we were able to tag along.. I flatted and dropped my chain and pulled out of my pedals. The gravel was pretty soft. There are a couple of paved sections, both downhill. (except of course for the hill, also paved) .. I was riding my cross bike with cross tires - 35's and a cassette that went up to 32 in back (?!) wow, I'll have to check that again. I decided to stick with that setup for the race and save the 32 for the last climb. During the race I kept my chain on and my tires full but pulled out every time up the climb, including the third and final time up, runnig 36x32 and with my legs totally cramped. I had to weave up that beast, even with that low gear !

check out the pics at skinnyski ... go to the following website and select subcategory cycling and season 2006 and when that loads scroll down all the way to the bottom to find the Oxbow photos ...
http://skinnyski.com/racing/articles/default.asp

nice report and map at the following:
http://www.rasc-mn.org/Road%20images/SpringClassic06/SpringClassic06.html