Rippin' the Skinny Skis

With the 6"+ of fresh powder that accumulated on Sunday, I have said good-bye bike and hello skis. Sunday was some fun nordic through Proud Lake with high winds and large snow drifts. Today I opted for an adventure out at Kensington. When you ride through places, you notice trails and options that may make for some fun in the future. If you can believe it, I have actually never layed knobbies on the trails I skiied today, even though I ride past them all the time. 2hrs with the sun shining made a great way to start my break between semesters.

Duel purpose gloves

How often do we see our shadow in MI winter?

Snow covered pines line the trail

A part of the Huron River that was flowing at a good clip

Ride Temptations

Riding long hours in the blistering cold of winter here in MI, many things go through a cyclist head. It is a time of reflection and thoughts of a past season, work that needs to be done, or the future. Often, I find myself thinking about what I am going to stuff my face into once I open the door to replenish the 2000+ calories I burn on a daily basis. The craving is often filled by a large bowl of raisin bran, muffins, cheese, yogurt, nutella lathered on toast, and anything else that looks good.

Today, during my four hour ride in the 25F temps, I was thinking about how bad my legs hurt from a week of long rides and gym workouts. It was not how cold my toes are of how much longer I have to ride into the bone-chilling wind, but rather the amount of acid in my legs and messing with my head. Around three hours in, I was coming back from Whitmore Lake and heading into South Lyon. I see two ladies in the distance waving signs as my mind wonders why there is a car wash on a cold day. As I got closer, I was able to read the sign as one of the attendees waved at me. It read, "$10 massages. Free Hot Cocoa and food." Oh boy, how does stuff like this happen. I carry money this time of year in case of an emergency, and somehow it was exactly ten bucks. Hot chocolate would have been great along with food, you can never go wrong with free food. But, the most important was how great it would feel to get my acid burning legs massaged.

So as I rode on home, I did not think about food, but rather how great that would have been. Too bad I would have froze my ass off when I got back on my bike to finish the ride. Just the way things are connected somehow is amazing.

One more ride this week and then a nice day to freshen the legs. Ahh, how I love winter and our weekly 25F temps. Remember last year at this time we were riding in shorts and armwarmers! Maybe an early spring thaw this year, yeaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

Iceman Pics

Simonster putting the hurt on Matter, JHK, J. LaLonde, Ned Overend and Tristan Schouten

Going for the pass at Williamsburg Rd

Halfway up the climb gaining ground-this is the fastest guy I have ever seen in jeans/carharts
Simonster leading JHK before the finish

Looking for a charging Joe B

Just about done!

Finished!

I took 7 days off the bike after the race to refresh the body both mentally and physically. I put in only 5.5 easy hours on the CX'er and SS this week. The past two days showed signs of winter with snow and wind chills in the teens today. Good winter clothing makes those rides very doable. Fenders help tremendously also. Time for some exlporation next week. I read in the paper Hamburg has 28 miles of gravel roads. Mmmm, gravel. Hamburg is a quick 6ish mile ride from home. If I find some good raods I can likely link them up to Pinckney and maybe the Lakelands trail to make a good loop. I usually venture East and sometimes North to Fenton, but this year that will change. A few more weeks of school then almost a month off to ride!

Iceman Videos

For those who haven't seen them
Crossing Williamsburg Rd-credit to Joe Lekovish
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDpYMSb5YTw&feature=related

Here is te Iceman teaser video from Mashers Media
www.mashersmedia.blogspot.com

Embedded links won't work, so you'll have to click the hyperlinks.

Iceman Cometh

Well, its over. A long season just ended yesterday and I am very happy with it. I topped the season off with an 18th place out of 53 Pro finishers. I crossed the line in 1:40:12, 15 minutes faster than last year!!! Improvements.

Pre-rode the first 7 miles of the trail on Saturday before heading to the expo for packet pick-up. After a nice pasta dinner at the Brew Pub, it was a relaxing night in the hotel room.

Saturday morning came with temps in the mid 20's. I was out watching the fam start the race. Then a quick drive and hike over to Williamsburg Rd to watch them come through while endulging in some cold blueberry pancakes. Another short drive got us to the finish line, but late for my mom coming accross the line in 2:40. Switched vehicles and drove down to Kalkaska. Had to miss my dad and uncle finishing; they came in at a quick 2:16 and +:30.

Ay Kaskie, it was prep and warm-up. The first few miles of the trail provided some excitement for fast trails. After a long wait with call-ups, we were off.

Started about 3/4 back and picked people off left and right. Following moves, we dwindled the group down. For the most part, it was Randy, me, jeans man from Ohio, Dan Jansen, and Christian Tanguy. We were moving along pretty good riding in 11-15 place. Just past Williamsburg Rd, the jeans man cut infront of me and rubbed wheels. I tried to keep it straight, but ended up flying into the woods. A branchy bush stopped me, but after re-mounting, I was a long shot from the group. I was out in no mans land trying to find a groove. I kept looking back waiting for someone to catch me. Finally with 7 to go, a guy from PA and Joe Brzuchanski caught me. Yes! We rode together almost the rest of the way. With 2 miles to go, I had to get off on a climb to pull a stick out of my derailluer. I couldn't shift the stick out, so I had to get off on a climb. They pulled away, but I was trying to get back.

I bridged the gap up to Joe just before the last hill coming into Timber Ridge. With all the people cheering, I stood up and tried to gap Joe. He hung on at the beginning, but as I went up people were yelling at me to go and I was gapping him. Just as I am sitting down, the trail goes left and I look up to see more of the hill. Crap. I jump out of the saddle and finish it off. Was able to ride to the finish 5 seconds ahead of a fast Joe and 5 seconds behind the PA guy.

I was very happy with the result. The group I was with ended up passing Ross Schnell and placing 10-15. They were 1:37:30. Very fast race and awesome competition. Great way to end the season.

Photos from my so-pro photog should be up later in the week.

Vets Park CX Video

Mike from Mashers Media has been filming the MTB and CX races this season. He's got some sweet videos out from many races. CLICK HERE to see the video from last weekend. I've even got a nice little bunny hopping action going on in it. Mashers Media is also doing the Iceman Cometh video this year. It should rock and put the old Iceman vids to death. Sound like racing action, helmet cam on seatpost action, and even still shots thrown in.

Vets Park CX

Today turned into another awesome weather day. CX season is supposed to be cold, dreary, muddy, and even snowy. Out of my CX races this year I had 60's, 70's and 80's all on sunny days. I can't complain about that.

We lined up with 23 strong in the A race. The field was stacked with the usual suspects, MTBers getting the final touches in for ICEMAN and even some out of town guys came in. I started the first lap in my usual spot. Robert and I were fighting it out for dead last. Just before the end of lap 1 I got into my rhythm while everyone else settled down from the fast start.

I rode my bike and enjoyed every moment of it. Every lap I would pass people. 1, 2, or 3 people a lap. Just like my other races, my steadiness won. No crashes, no screw ups, and 110%. After 3 very tough end laps battling it out with a WMCR rider, I came in 11th overall and am very happy about my result. Props to the WMCR rider who could run like the wind on the run-up. I would gap him, then he would run-up and catch me. Finally on the last lap he got me.

The funniest part of the race was after the first set of barriers on one of the middle laps. I had ran over the barriers (smoothly) and jumped back onto the saddle. I look up and hear, "Awe, man, that has got to hurt." It was a 14-15ish year old kid standing at the end of the tape over his BMX bike he had just rode there. That gave me a great mid-race chuckle.

Looking foreward to next weekend shows some 40 degree weather and hopefully no rain. Today was probably the hardest I have ever raced in my 3 years of racing. After the race my lungs were on fire like I had just had an asthma attack. Talk about 1 hr of VO2 Max. My form is good and with a little rest and a touch of intensity between now and Saturday, I should be good to go. Not to win, but have a good race, have fun, and try to place well.

Funny

Check this video out. It's a spoof on Mythbusters with 26" vs. 29". That's all I will say about that subject. Well, except for I'll put my money on a 29er winning Iceman.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=OyIWPB-X49U

CX tomorrow at Vets Park. Ready to race!

A beautiful day

Wireless=Pics

And now off to ride in the rain! Better than snow.

Lower Huron CX

What a nice day for a ride in the park. That's what my day turned into. I rode a few laps of the course before the masters race and before our A race. Nothing special besides a steep run-up after the barriers. It was a rathe bland course that favored a power rider. Not many turns that had to be accelerated hard or any climbing. Just pedaling into the wind. I started off in a good position for once. Then going into the sandpit, I followed a 2 guys attempting to ride and a runner. I ran into them, so I had to get off and run it out. A few passed and I was chasing. Just before the second set of barriers, I wiped out on an off camber section. I was riding the top and was coming off the ending of it when WHAM, I was down before I knew what was going on. One of those quick falls where you think back to it and don't know the cause. After that it was more chasing, almost everyone was by me. I just kept pedalling and enjoyed the day of high intensity training. A few more slips here and there and that was the story of the day. With 3 to go, I came into barriers #1 and down-shifted late, which had me getting off the bike just before the barriers. I didn't have time to get my hands off the bars, so WHACK, the rear tire smacks the barrier. Running the bike up the hill I notice the wheel isn't spinning. A looks at it and a forced spin around shows the rim is true but the brake it slammed into the tire. I tried forcing the brake pad down, but no luck. So on I went in a jog over to the pit to grab a tool. I got there and decided to take the wheel out and try to re-align it. Luckily that worked out, so on I was again, almost last. I ended picking off another spot before I was caught by the flying Wissink. He had a huge gap.

One thing I noticed with this power course and maybe the wind was that all of the riders were spread out. There was no riding in groups and working to chase down others. For the most part it was every-man-for-themselves. I ended up 12th. Not close to what I was looking for, but not everything went my way. Oh well, I still had fun and was able to ride my bike hard today. Not to mention the 78 degree temperatures. Ocotber 21st, huh? Lets keep this weather around another 20 days or so. After that, the cool weather can come in for a short bit if necessary.

Stony CX

It all started off on a blistery cold, almost snowy fall day. Well almost. High 80's and humid. Sounds like summer MTB weather, not 100% all out cross.

I did my normal race thing. Start at the back and pick riders off in the hour. I was in 18th on lap one and finished 9 laps later and 9 times through that friggin' beach up 8 spots. I was closing in on Robert and another rider on the last lap, but couldn't close the gap. Good race, fun times, lots of water weight lost, and no barrier mess-ups. My CX skills are getting better. Now only if I could start the race out near the front and not taking the caboose.

Pics up later. Oh yeah, no crashes!

Bloomer CX

Finished building the bike up in the morning yesterday and gave it a 1 hr whirl. Raced today. Sweet. I whiped out twice. One stupid slide-out on a bad line and one corner taken with a bit too much speed. It was a fun race. Consistant lap times, picked people off as the race went by, passed some a few times as I would gap them then whipe out. 11/18 in the A group. A little more time on the bike and learning about it along with some re-mount practice and I should be all ready to giv'r at Stony Creek next weekend.

RESULTS

Last Day of Summer; The Start of a New Season

Cross Season that is. Today I decided to jump head first into the cyclocross scene and give it a whirl at the KTR Double Cross in Davisburg. Since my CX bike is due in next week, I hopped on the dual suspension loaded with 2.0 tires and hit up the B race. Right off the line I was overtaken by skinny-tires accelerating down the asphalt and into the gravel road. Once we hit the grass, I started doing my thing. One after another I picked people off. The main group had 30 seconds on me after the first lap and even more after lap 2. I eventually caught stragglers and caught chase group number 3 on the 3rd of 5 laps. I rode with them changin postitions and keeping the pace high until the last lap when I moved into the middle of the 3 in our group. On a hard switchback/gravely/steep climb, I made my move and it stuck. Through the horse barn, down the hill, jump off the bike, up and over the 4 logs on the uphill, remount, and spinning again. Another few minutes and I rolled over the finish line with a solid 4th place. Not to bad for a squishy mountain bike.

I accomplished my goals today which was to have fun, race well, and not screw up any barriers and dismounts. Last week, I practiced getting on and off the bike a few times, but I never had any barrier practice and timing. I didn't do to shabby. I rode one pre-lap and did the barriers once before the race started. No screw-ups; all clean dismounts and re-mounts, and only one time I about lost the bike. As I jump off, I grab the front brake to slow the bike down and...uh-oh, the bike starts flipping over. A quick grab and I am in control again and back to the chase group. I guess that's why hydro-disc brakes aren't on CX bikes!!! It was a sweet course with everything thrown in from a trail in the woods, to gravel, grass, run-ups, barriers, off camber and a few steeps.

I had a great time and I think other would to. We should get some more MTBers out to the cross scene. It is super fun, great intensity training, not much running, and it is a great change up at the end of the season. I'll see you out at Bloomer next weekend playing with the A's hopefully on a skinny tire bike!

Stony Creek XC

Well, the end of the USAC series came and went. I ended up doing six of the races with some good, decent and bad results. Coming into the race I was looking to ride well and see what happens without a lot of rest this week. The rain gave the trail a layer of moisture the night before, but conditions were overcast and calm for race time.

After a good warm-up where the legs felt like they would work today, I headed for the start line. Once we went off, I was stuck behind a bunch of people on the inside and could not get around. I passed a few people on the first climb, but not enough. I was in the singletrack and riding behind a group of people I wanted to be ahead of. After getting out of the singletrack in somewhere around 10th place, I ramped up the big gear and went to work chasing people down. I passed a few people and made it into the pines section in front of Bill Clikeman. As I got up to the bridge, I knew it would be wet and slick, so I went extremely slow. As luck would have it, I fell in the first corner. Bill is then standing behind me in awe that I fell going 1/2mph if that. Just before the finish of the lap, Jason Lummis-who clipped a tree and was stuck behind everybody-caught up and went into the singletrack first.

Lap 2 had Jason and I working together to try and catch up to the lead group. For a race like Stony which is similar to a road race in the doubletrack, it is hard to catch back up. Near the end of the lap we were flying through the 2-track and went around a corner powersliding-both of us. I marked that one down to watch out for.

We kept plugging along trying to catch the group. When we hit the 2-track out to the Pines, I took the lead to try and close the gap between us and 5th place, Chris Goddard. We could see him in one spot, but it was a ways ahead. Lummis lead in the Pines and out to the next singletrack. On the last section of 2-track, I was on Lummis' wheel and we were cruising and closing down on 5th. Just as we caught Goddard, I hit that dang greasy corner again and whiped out. So hammering in the 44-11 and whiping out = A long, long, long 22-25mph slide on the gravel. I got up and tried to ride off. I had to get back off and play with the drvetrain to get it in line again. The shifter and brake lever on the right were up high , but I delt with it. I rode a moderate pace into the start/finish and stopped to wash out my multiple wounds. My knee was gushing blood and wouldn't stop. Then I went and stopped again to re-align my brake caliper that was smacked against my rotor. I lost the two places and 1:30 and 2 minute gaps that we had on the other riders.

I followed Bill in the singletrack on lap 4 to get my rhythm back and keep motivated. Hit the two track and went for it. I wasn't going as hard or fast as before, but I was still moving foreward. I seemed a little more cautious and went real slow through the slick corner again on both laps. After the 5 laps, I was done. Finished in 8th place.

That's bike racing and shit happens. I would have liked to not fall and see if we could have made up the time to the lead group. That would have made the race much more exciting. Overall, it was a good race and I had a fun time even though I crashed hard. The injury report is: Cut knee along a nice bump and bruise near the side, scraped elbow, sore ankle, and a very nice large road rash to compliment the hole in my shorts. Overall, I am happy it was just skin. At that speed, it could have been a lot worse.

From here on, I am planning on heading up to Leelanau to ride some awesome roads and watch the Tour, then hit up the century solo the next day. Then I am planning on hitting up the CX series (if my bike comes in) to have some fun and keep the fitness up for the last race of the year...Yeah, yeah, Iceman.

Good luck to all the MI racers doing Chequamegon next weekend and TDL racers. Should be a full weekend.

Pontiac Lake XC

What a day for racing. Sunny skies, comfortable temps, and no rain. After a week of constant showers, the trail at PLRA turned out great. The corners were fast and tacky and there were no real slick spots to wipe out in.

First lap was riding with the main group, then I was caught up behind some riders. Kuhn, Lummis, and Mike Bartlett got away, so once I was able to pass I was on full gas to make up a 30 second split. About 2/3 of the way through the trail I had closed the gap and brought back two other KLM guys(Buccaletto/Goddard). Lap 2 saw the group together until Lummis attacked and it was him and Mike alone. I was stuck behind a rider and didn't even notice what happened immediately. Just before the end of the lap I had bridged back to the group again solo, so it was the three of us until Buccalleto(sp?) caught up after the start/finish. Mike lead out the lap and then 3-4 miles in before the campground I went by him and gapped the group on a climb. I kept the hammer down for the most part, caught myself sliding the front tire out, and was able to roll in for 3rd.

RESULTS
Photos

After a bad race at Big M, I got some decent training in and some needed recovery to get the job done. It was a fun race with the group breaking up, changing and battling for third the whole time. I had a good race and enjoyed it. That's what racing is all about. It was nice to see a large group of Elite racers out today to put up some stiff competition.

I spent the past weekend ona group camping/cycling trip at Fort Custer. Was able to get in a few decent rides and a fun night ride on the green trail backwards. Friday I was hoping for more time on the bike, but a new chain was skipping all over. After some time, I was able to get a new casette in my hands for a smooth skip-free ride.

I was planning on doing the TT on Sunday since I was there and I could get in some intensity, but with a rain from 8:30pm on Saturday and all through the night and morning, I decided to skip that. I was not up for an hour training race in 55 degree rainy weather. Not to mention trashing a new drivetrain with only a few miles on it. Instead, I will be waiting for this weekend. Pontiac on Sunday should be a good race. With the forecast for the next few days of rain, it will be interesting as to how the trail conditions will be. Lets hope I can keep the rubber on the ground this time around.

Happenings

So here is a recap of the past few weeks.

After Boyne, I did some riding to stay in form for the USA Cycling Nationals. I went to Vermont for the race two weeks ago looking for a good result. Well, it poured rain Wed, Thurs, and Friday night before my 8am race on Sat. The course is very technical and hard without mud, and add thick goopy mud to the equation and you have slip sliding. I was third to the top of the 3 mile climb with the leaders on lap 1 and somehow rode the downhill clean until the very end where I nailed a rock buried in a mud bog and flew into the mud coating half of my body. I had to take my gloves off since they were coated in mud and my hand were still sliding on the grips. On lap 2 I stopped halfway up the climb to wash my gloves off in the stream. That was in the 1/2 mile hike-a-bike section. I still made it to the top in 3rd place, but then it went downhill from there! I think I crashed like 10 times. If I didn't fall sliding off the roots, my tire would stop by smacking a rock sideways. Eventually I flew off the bike and had one of those long moments in the air where I saw the rock I was going to land on. I hit it smack on with my kneecap. Stood on the side of the trail for 2 minutes. Walked some, rode some, then slid out on some more mud and roots and nailed my wrist. I finally got down to the bottom of the mountain and called it a day. 2 out of 3 laps, but the mud on the downhill kicked my ass. We have nothing like that around here. If it was dry, i think it would have been a different story. I had great form and felt great climbing up to the top of the Mt. I just didn't have any mud/rock/root combined technical skills. Also running semi-slicks in the mud doesn't help a bit. Lessons learned.

Since I was so battered and bruised and cuts all over, I decided not to go to NC to race. Good thing, because it turned out to be the same damn thing. Mud. Except this time, I heard the opening climb was full of peanut butter and people were all over the hill looking for traction. Lots of mud, lots of hike-a-bikes is not what I look foreward to in Mt bike racing.

I took 4 days off the bike as a mid-season refresher and because it hurt bad to pedal with my knee and hurt holding the bar. I took a few easy rides after that, met Randy for a ride, did the Monday Night road ride on Hines Dr, then went to a family get together for a few days.

That lead to this past weekend where I raced Big M. My legs felt fine, they were not sore since I have not ridden that much or hard in a long time. I rode with the main group for 2 laps and felt okay, but did not have the power I normally have. After a slight bobble on the trail, I lost the main group and could not catch back up. I lost my rhythm and couldn't keep the power going. I had not wattage and no leg speed whatsoever. The heart rate kept on dropping and I flipped the switch from race mode to survival mode. I finished the 5 laps, but rode myself backwards from 5th to 12th in 3 laps. I did not go to hard at the begining, I just had one of those days where the legs were dried up of power. I think it was from a lack of much training and hardly any intensity over the past 3-4 weeks and a lack of pre-race preparation the days before. I'll be back at it this week, getting the efforts in and the time in the saddle. I'll be doing the last two USAC races and look to improve.

The past few weeks have been great learning experiences. From placing well at Boyne, to not keeping the rubber side down in VT, to pedaling backwards at Big M. I am looking foreward to the last part of the season and improving on my results.

I'll have some pics up later.

Boyne Marathon Report

Did a pre-ride of the course on Thursday and it was pretty much the same course I have ridden 30 times. It is my favorite MI course, and I know it well. Boyne was actually the second MTB course I had ever ridden, right beind Island Lake. That was 5 years ago when I decided to start MTBing and rode only a few trails and times that year. Progression...

Race started at 10AM with a decent sized group of Elites going off. We took off and I just sat in and kept my pace. Some people went by me and I let them ride away. By the top of the ski slop I was riding with Shawn Meredith somewhere in the 7-8 place. On the downhill, I crashed and I guess he did too, not far behind me as I could hear him say something. On lap 2 I rode solo the entire time while making the passes of lapped riders much earlier than expected. At the start of the thirs lap I caught up to John Meyers and rode behind him. Before the hike-a-bike climb a mile or so in he had me go by. Not too far up the trail I caught John Cowan and rode with him. He set a good pace and flowed through the singletrack very well(yeah, he's from Boyne). We were riding 4th and 5th place. Climbing to the top of the ski hill, we spotted Herriman and Lummis, but never saw them once we got to the top. Near the end of the lap while passing more people on a wide corner, I flew into a tree sideways and tried to hug it in an effort to reducing the impact on my ribs. Luckily I wasn't too hurt, so I grabbed my bike and chased. I caught John again in the beginning of the trail and rode with him until the ski hill where I let it out. I laft him behind and had Lummis in my sights. I passed him before crossing the golf cart path and kept on climbing. I came out at the top and was ready to keep the pace high when I heard skipping. Shit, I looked back and had picked up and bush in my casette. There were leaves in it and a thin branch hanging out. I knew I couldn't stop, so I pedaled away with a skip-skip-skip every pedal stroke. Luckily the course was mostly downhill and I was able to keep away. i finished third with Simonson in first and Herriman in second. It was a great race for me. The course is suited better for my riding with longer climbs and less flat two-track.

RESULTS

The lovely color of green ground into my casette

No Ruby for me this weekend, but I'll be putting in some last minute rides before heading out to the USA Cycling Nationals in Vermont in 2 weeks.