Jr. Camp & Chain Drive

It's been a while since the last update, but its been busy and time has been flying.  I'm almost done with base miles and that means the season is just around the corner!

First off - Jr. Mtb Camp.  Part of the Michigan Tech University youth camp programs and still the best week of the year.  It is awesome any time you go to the UP.  They have amazing trails, an awesome laid back mtb atmosphere, and add on top of that being able to give back a little to the kids and have fun with them ripping up the mountains....it can't get any better.  Here is a highlight video I made after 4 days of riding.



Watch more video of Brian Matter on cyclingdirt.org

What makes the weekend even cooler is the Keewenaw Chain Drive.  Its the perfect opportunity to let the juniors go out and practice some of the new skills, and then tell war stories afterwards!  The race itself is really cool.  It starts off in downtown Houghton and rolls across the draw bridge to the Keewenaw Peninsula.  The race gets going with a $50 KOM prime at the top of Cemetary Hill.  Its pretty brutal and this year I had to battle it out with roadie superstar Ryan Baumann.  I might have beat him by a half bike length.

After the KOM the race gets right to it with some pretty good singletrack....Tyler G and I soon separated ourselves from the group and were racing mano y mano for the win.  Tyler pulled the first half - I pulled the second half and started ramping the pace with 6 miles to go.  I bobbled through a river crossing with 2 miles to go and Tyler attacked.  I bridged up to him and then waited for a big sprint.  I had sprinted here before and I was pretty confident I could get the win!

 A couple more days of training big and maybe a TOAD race - then its interval time!