Turning Around

With the snow dumped on us, I was able to get out for a 2hr cross country ski before I hit the trainer for an hour. Snow was deep enough that the park rangers actually groomed the trail, whcih made for some good gliding. After two hours, it just gets boring staring at the two tracks to follow in the snow. I woke up the next day with a sharp pain in my back. It is really annoying, but feels much better in riding position than when sitting or standing. Hopefully it will go away quick. It is likely a result of not putting inserts in my boots before skiing. I have a high arch and using a flat sole in the boots gives me no support. That also explains why my feet get sore after I ski.

The good news is that the weather is starting to turn around. With windchills below zero today and bitter temps yesterday, I am really ready for a change. It looks like it will be in the 30's next week and maybe, just maybe hit 40. Sweet. Just in time for some good outdoor training with more intensity. I have only 5 weeks until my first race down in Tennessee. It will likely be my first trail riding of the year too!

Get ready, 'cause were gonna have a heatwave!

The Best Winter Bike Name

Really, it can't get much better than this. S.A.S.S. fits into all winter categories.

It starts as...

Shiny Ass Single Speed

then moves to...

Snowy Ass Single Speed

and after a day it becomes...

Slushy Ass Single Speed

and lastly after evaporation comes...

Salty Ass Single Speed

The name seems to fit for all of our lovely winter conditions.

Pugsly...Anyone?

Middle of February and we are getting our first big snowfall of the year. I guess it's a good thing that the winter has been pretty kind so far. It started off being temps way above normal and then they dipped below normal. Do you think we have ever had an average temperature. Example: If January avg temp is 30F, we had 50F and then 20F. Have we ever truely had a month where the temps were always right around 30? So the flurries were flying today and accumulated to 1-2". I was able to get out on the bike and hit up the dirt roads. There was enough loose gravel that has come up in the past week that there was a little traction. The ride was pretty good and I even saw a nice little accident right after it happened. I guess a garbage truck came down a decent sized hill and started sliding which made some lady swerve and land in a deep ditch. The garbage truck also got stuck on the other side of the road and had to have it pulled out also. I rode by up the hill as the cop slowly dorve down and gave me the "why" look.

Besides that, it was a pretty calm weekend of ridng a bit Sat and hitting up the MMBA expo on Sunday. Acustics were better this year, so we were actually able to hear Gary Fisher. 29er what? Turned out to be a decent day all around.

Next up-who knows. Forecast shows 3-8" of snow in our area and 6-10 further south towards Ann Arbor(aka school). Sounds like some major fun. A little snow and I'll be a ridin', a lotta white stuff and the XC skies will be a glidin'

Warm!

My new tights came in the mail yesterday, so that meant that I had to give them a good chance to see how they worked. I chickened out on the weather yesterday and did my ride indoors where it was toasty. I got what I needed to get done, so that is all that matters.

The new tights are the Pearl Izumi AmFibs. Well worth the money. I have been wearing a 3yr old pair of Sugoi thin tights that I bought because they were the cheapest ones. Now that I ride outside 5-6 days a week outside in the low 20's, I needed something better. A nice warm fleece lining and a thick windproof front kept my blood flowing throughout the entire ride. I can't freakin' wait to ride again tommorrow knowing that my legs will not be freezing. Before I was wearing knee warmers under my tights, but still that was cold.

Today's ride had me climbing over 3,030ft. Pretty darn good for SE Michigan. I think it is easier climbing than going down 3,030 ft spinning at 180rpm on the fixie!

Oh boy, I never thought I would ever get excited about buying a pair of tights. What has happened to me:-)

Cool

No, not the weather. I just read on the MMBA board that Robert from Tailwind is having the NORBA stage race at Brighton Rec. Schweet. That's a quick pedalstroke away. Good trails and camping for people coming from out of town. I read the TT might be on Torn Shirt, and the XC would be laps of murray lake. I guess I'll have to start logging some miles over there once the trails thaw out. I assume the short track will be on the dirt roads and through the campground area out there. There is tons of land, so who know. All I know is that it is close and not neeeeeeaaaaaaaaaarly as sandy as Whiskey Creek. Should be a fun time of racing.

Thursday, Thursday, Thursday!

That's when it looks like I will be able to ride outside again. Hit the trainer again today and it will see more action tommorrow. It will be almost a full week without riding my bike outside. That hasn't happened in a long time.

Inspiration Point, Leelanau County, MI-September 2006

Coldest day of the year and again I had to work...at the ice rink. Tonight I was at the local rink and the frost was so bad on the brick walls all around the arean that it was hard to see the blue paint of the bricks! Looking like Thursday will be around 20F, which means I will be out riding. Ah crap, just remembered I have BIO lab on Thursdays and don't get home til later. Hmm, maybe lights? Well, it is staying lighter longer, so I might be okay. Time will tell.

Special 2 for 1 today. Yes, that's 2 pictures since it is so friggen' cold. You can tell not much is going on lately since the only thing to talk/rant about is the weather!!!

My mom decending on knife-blade downhills in Fruita, CO.

That's me navigating the rock drops on Moore Fun, Kokopelli Trails, Loma, CO

Slow Times

Not much has been going on as of late. With the temps near zero, the last thing anyone wants to do is to go somewhere cold, but that is what I had to do. It is district playoff time in hockey, and work calls. I was reffing this weekend in freezing cold ice rinks. Hands frozen and all. At least I get some cross-training in while being paid. The weird thing this weekend was that te brick walls of the rink were all frosted over from being so cold. Once over with, I warmed up and was able to think normally again. It was nippy, but the skill level was much higher so it made it more exciting to ref.

Since the temps are below my requirements (above 15 with windchills above 0) I have been working on psychological training. Yes, the trainer. The scary thing is that after my session this morning, I am not seeing the trainer as being so bad. Maybe I am getting used to it, or maybe watching the wind gust and howl at high rates of speed reminds me that I am warm and riding. Even with extremely warm temps, my lungs would die in the first 5 minutes with the cold air.

I did read in the paper that our(Livingston County) woodchuck, Woody(redneck for groundhog) predicted an early spring. Spring better come soon or the shot gun is coming out. Darn rodents!

Today's ride gave me a chance to bask in the warm temperatures!!! It was 25F during my ride and the windchills were not too bad. Just some gusts here and there. Tommorrow looks like mid-twenties when I'll be riding, but winds are supposed to be 15-25mph. FUN. The weather people bumped the temps up on Saturday to 20 as a high, so a ride might be in my future then. Sunday still looks cold-time for physical and mental sufferage on the trainer. I am just looking foreward to my first race which is only two months away! It will be a good test to see how the winter training paid off (since I am actually training this year) and to hopefully experience some warm weather in TN.





The picture of the day is from more hot summer conditions in MI.

Your's truly coming through the pits at the 12H of Boyne, May 2006

I finished that race first with 11 laps and stopped racing at 10:40-My first off road century!

Please, Drive That H2

This weekend and into next week is going to hurt. Bitter cold temperatures are going to be in town. Thank you Canada. I was starting to beleive Al Gore's hype about global warming. Looks like the brave souls who are going to be riding outside this weekend are going to be racking up some WRCS points. I was thinking today as part of my body was a little chilled, that for next winter, I am going to invest in some better cold weather gear...and fenders. At least we still have a few days where I can get some more miles in outside before it gets real cold.

And to brighten everyone's spirit, here is a sunny picture!

Colorado National Monument, Grand Junction, CO-April 2006

If your looking for warm temps and have no way of heading south, put a call out to your neighbor with the Hummer or Escalade. Maybe it will become warmer. Time to go clear the driveway, I have put it off for riding the past week!

After todays ride, I had some spiffy "snero" dynamic wheels. Temp was a manageable 23F with a decent wind out of the west making it feel single digits at times.And for the sunny picture of the day...

Mi padre montando su bicicleta en el Lion's Loop, Loma, CO-April 2006

90F at the LJ100, Big M, Manistee, MI-June 2006...250oz. of fluids consumed!

Minnesota rider behind on lap 2 rollin' on a 29er

I beat him on a 26er:-)

My Goal this year...8hrs-thats 32:10 faster than last year

I Love this Picture

It is much better there than what is was like during my ride today.

Zippety-Do-Da, 18 Rd., Fruita, CO-April, 2006

Cooling off via a river crossing on the Amasa Back. A sunny 80F day in Moab, UT. April 2006

Ain't No Biking Like Snow-Biking

Yup. That's right...except for climbing mountains out west in 80 degreee weather. Ahh, that would be nice! But on the other hand, it is winter and we have to deal with it. I am. I was able to get in a few rides on singletrack this week. It was the first time I rode a trail in over a month. ILRA was Monday after riding some dirt roads on the fixie. It turned out to be in great condition and was fast for a snow covered trail. Tuesday was a good long afternoon in the saddle riding from home out to Hickory Glen in Commerce Twp. The dirt roads and horse trails getting out there were in primo shape. The trail is tight and twisty, so it gave me some good leg work speeding up and slowing down the fixie. On the ride back, the temp had dropped into the low teens and the dirt roads had turned to ice. I tried to add in some more paved roads and undisclosed trails, but the last 5 miles home are all dirt. I stayed on the rubber the entire time, but it was not an easy task, considering there is no coasting!

Anyway, some fresh white stuff came down on Wednesday, so after class on Thursday I went to Kensington to do some x-country skiing. Trails had enough snow and the 2hour ski felt pretty good. Skiing definelty works some different muscles that are not encorporated as much in cycling. By the hour mark, I could surely feel my hip flexors up front. Luckily, I woke up this morning and felt good. So, I went out again today and did another ski after the gym workout. I was going to do another snow ride, but we got another 2 inches, so I went for a ski.

This weekend should be some bike time, but a ski is not ruled out. Probably a couple double workout days. Should be fun.

Since the 10-day shows more cold and snow, I think I am going to start posting warm weather biking pictures. It will give me something to look foreward to!

Whats Better than This?

Ride in the morning.
Ride in the evening.
Snow packed dirt roads.
Fixed gear.
HID's.
23 degrees.
Snow/sleet/ice chip mix.
Frozen Helmet.
Frozen glasses.
Crinkly Ice covered jacket.
No one on the roads.

What a great day!

Frozen Chamois

That was cold. I headed out for a 3.5 hour ride about 11:30 this morning. It was hovering around 20F with a 7w/c factor. Not bad, I just dressed for the weather with my normal of tights and booties down low and an underarmor, l/s jeresy and wind jacket up top. My ride was on paved roads which all turned out to be really wet or slushy. The cold melted snow/ice immediately sprayed off the tires and coated me. My ass was very wet, cold, and in the freezing process. I would stand up and pedal to try and keep blood flow going. After a while it seemed to get better as I got on more highly traveled roads. I cut the ride short to just over 2 hours as my entire lower body was soaked. My booties were covered with a salty water mixture that went down to my shoes. Even my toe warmers were wet! My tights were soaked, but the knee warmers underneath kept the water from reaching my skin.

As I came in the house, I pulled my jacket off as globs of ice fell out. I guess I was working hard and sweating, which correlated to water sitting on the jacket and freezing. I took everything off and threw it in the washer right away. My tights and bike shorts were drenched up high. I have only seen my chamois wetter than that twice. That would be riding in heavy downpoors this summer. Even after the 90F temps at Lumberjack or 12H of Boyne didn't get it nearly as wet. When I would stand up and then sit back on my seat, it felt like a layer of ice had formed over the leather. Brrr.

So, the lessons learned...do one of two things

1. Use fenders on the front and rear to keep the road spray to a minimal since it was also all over my face and glasses

or

2. Wear waterproof pants to keep the water from soaking the base layer, but that keeps the sweat in and will make me colder if I happen to sweat a lot or stop.

Tommorrow I will try the waterproof pant thing since I have a pair and do not own fenders. Or if the roads dry up, I will not need either. I need to be on the roads tommorrow for my ride, but I am thinking next week will be good for the back roads, especially if there is more snow. Off to ride the trainer for another 2hrs.

Back to Normal

School. Buy book. PT. Home at 3. Ride at 3:30. Strap on lights. Get ready to roll. Thought it was 30F. Actually 19F. Home 2.5 hours later. Frozen water. Frozen hands. 15F with 5F w/c. Good Times.

Sick

This week plain out sucked. I had a great week of riding the previous week, getting in 14.5hours just by riding when I felt like it since it was so nice. This week was different. I took my recovery day Monday and things went down hill from there. I came home from work early after an early disposal of my lunch and dinner. I had got that nasty intestinal flu that has been attacking the entire country. It hit me like a truck. I was told that most take 12-24 hours to get out of your system. Went to bed and didn't get to sleep until 3 o'clock. Woke up after puking all night almost evry hour. I felt like total crap and decided I should stay home. Slept for a while then tried to get fluids in me. Yup, I was even throwing up plain water, and that was all that was coming out. Tuesday's calories included 2 popsicles at night, a few spoonfuls of J-ELLO and a few ounces of water. Got up Wednesday and felt better. I ate some toast, but still looked like hell and couldn't function right after no nourishment for days. Got better as the day went on. I drank a 7-Up and that was the first time I had drank a pop in over a year. Ended up having an egg and bagel for a meal and was able to keep it in my system. Thursday came and I was ready to actually go to school. That was until I was unable to sleep most of the night due to a painful stomach. Thursday morning I was back at step 1-could not even drink water. Yippie! Got better later in the afternoon. Friday, felt better, but I had no energy again and no appetite. Food just wasn't anything I wanted to deal with. Saturday was almost normal. I had some stomach pains, but they went away as the day wore on. I was able to get in a spin on the bike for a bit inside. Boy did my knees and legs hurt. After days of sitting/laying around and used to being active, my body hated me. Stiff is a good word. Sunday I was finally able to get in a decent ride. I kept it inside as it was cold and rainy/drizzly/icy. I was also able to skate later in the day.

Today I woke up to a nice ice storm. The trees, cars, houses, roads, and anything outside is covered in ice. 1/4 inch of ice to be exact. It looks cool, but with temperatures in the 20's all week, it is not going anywhere. Power is out in many areas and I assume it will keep going out as the weight starts taking down poles and trees. I was able to get to the gym mid-day and my body was a little sore/weaker after that nasty cold. Doing nothing for almost a week kills you physically and mentally. Hopefully after school tommorrow I will be able to get in 3 hours on the SS. I geared it up to make it a little harder. Can't wait to taste the salty spray off of the roads. It will taste so good to be outside pedalling after sitting inside for waaaaaaay to long. No cable TV, no new magazines, crappy weather equalled staring at the table or the same picture for an hour last week. School is actually looking good to get to, something to do and learn...productivity.

Hopefully no one gets that nasty strain of the flu because it SUCKS. BAD.

I Love Global Warming

The past few days have been awesome. The sun has been out and shining, it has been dry, and I don't have school until next week. I did the Trails-Edge New Years Day ride on Monday. A nice easy 13.5 mile ride on the fixie with a bunch of other people. I had no idea where the hell I was, but that is part of the fun. That ride turned out to be a good rest/recovery ride for me.

With this warm high 40's low 50's weather, I have certainly enjoyed it. The past three days I put in 10 hours just because I could. It felt great and my legs are feeling good too. I found a few more routes to ride and some nice roads.

Off to the gym today after Pilates. I can't wait to see how many people are there now after making their new years resolution to lose weight. Those are the people who show up a few times for a few weeks in January and then disapear. They are also the ones who wear sweat pants and sweat shirts in the hot gym and sweat like pigs. I guess when they step on the scale after their workout it shows them that they lost weight...yeah, water that needs to be replenished. These are often the people who I see come in and use the weight machines and nothing else. Weights are good for building strength and toning, but they should at least be doing some cardio workout to burn some calories. And they probably believe the machines too. When I ride the stationary bike to warmup 10 minutes, I usually burn 200-300 calories. That is usually 1/2 hour riding at a zone 3 pace, not 80bpm. The other day at the high point, I was burning 2000 calories/hour rate. That is friggen impossible. While I am ranting about the gym, I guess I should point out the #1 thing that bothers me besides people looking for the closest parking spot....people running on the treadmills for an hour when it is sunny and 50 degrees out. Get outside. Well, maybe they are working on the mental aspect, becasue I would fail that part.
/rant

Okay, time for some core strengthening!

...and while I rode my bike, I saw people

Yes, people were actually outside today. Tons and tons of people. Normally on my rides, I see a few warriors who brave the Michigan weather and go for a run or walk on the bike path. Today, with 40 degree temps, people came out of the woodwork. It must be boring sitting inside all day watching TV and eating cookies. Don't get me wrong, I like cookies (don't watch much TV at all) but I also like to get outside and breathe-sometimes really hard! As I rode through Island Lake, I saw more people than normal and the trailhead was half full. Hopefully the trail is dry. As I got into Kensington, I could not beleive my eyes. There were cars everywhere. Parking lots were filled with cars. The paved path was full of outdoor seekers. And the nature trail and it's parking lot were loaded with people. Now, wait until the temps drop a few degrees and you'll be wondering whrere everybody is...praying to DTE energy for a heated house!

I have decided to start riding my road bike after a month of straight of riding the fixed gear. I figure if there is no snow, I might as well. It was nice to be able to float through the gears again. The weird thing was coasting. I found myself trying to slow down at a stop sign with my feet. Yeah, it doesn't work with a freewheel. It was a good ride and I am looking foreward to more time in the saddle with it.
I was able to wear gloves light enough to be used with a camera today. I took a few pics before the battery died. I always seem to see stuff, and not have to camera ready. Today, some of the interesting objects were...some young kids racing go-cart like machines around a school parking lot(I should have asked if they wanted to race...it would have been fun), a specialized bike frame laying by a gaurdrail by I-96, and an old VW hippie bus. All cool things I was unable to get a picture of. Maybe I should get a mount for the camera on the handlebars. Helmet cams are too expensive.

Additions to the Fixie

How much can you really add to a fix year you're wondering. Not much. I just replaced a few parts. First off, I took off my cheapo Selle Italia blowoff saddle and put on my SLR which was sitting on the winterized YETI. The cheapo saddle was good for around 2 hrs then it was painful and annoying. The SLR is the best saddle ever made for my butt style!
Another addition is a sweet NSYNC fork. I took off my Skareb to send it in for service since the rebound endcap blew a while ago and was hydrolocked. I took this fork off of an old T-rek bike. It is likely worth 30-40 bucks new for the greased suspension. It weighs a boatload, has rusted uppers, and does not work. It is a SOLID fork!
I was able to get out for a ncie gravel grinder today for 3.5 hours. I kept on the dirt roads (which is hard to do in this metropolis area) and found some new gravel. Was able to stimulate a few brain cells riding some never before seen terrain. There was even a decent hill on one of the new roads. Covered a good distance(I still have to map it out) and my HR monitor clocked 2200ft of climbing/ascent. It was a good ride all around. I was fresh after my weights and recovery day from the bike yesterday. Phil Ligget would have been all over his "dancing on the pedals" quote. The weather was also nice. Cooler than the past week, but still very warm for December. And that yellow thing in the sky was also out. I cannot remember what it is called since it is a rarity, but it was nice today!

Where did this Weather come from?

This is awesome. The past few days I have worn a few less layers and it has been awesome. I remember just last week I was riding in 0, 2, 9, degree temps with the wind chill. Tommorrow is looking to be 55 and maybe some rain. With all of this heat in December, it got me thinking about that global warming thing everyone is talking about. I rented An Innconvenient Truth, a movie which features Al Gore explaining global warming and his theory and predictions on it. It was interesting to say the least.

In other news, I just finished up a 12.5 hour ride week. I did a 2.5 hour ride with my dad yesterday on the fixed gear. Pretty much did the same ride as Thursday, but skipped the whole rail trail and Whitmore Lake section. A little windy in a few spots, but all was good. I just got back from a nice little hour forty five ride on the dirt roads. Since it is so warm, the road commission was able to grade the roads. This makes them better and worse. Better in the fact that the potholes are mostly gone, and worse that the top layer is really loose gravel. The loose gravel likes to swing the rear end of the bike around when I am pedaling 150-175 cadence on some larger downhills. Overall, I'll take the graded roads any day of the week. Off to work tonight, then depending on the precipitation tommorrow, I might do a 3hr ride, or an indoor trainer ride.

In MTB news, it looks like all the crazys who sent in a postcard are going to be riding in TransIowa! Hope for dry conditions.

Cranking out 4 More

I hit the gym yesterday after class and then decided to ride the trainer at night. I wanted to give my body and lungs one more day of riding inside before I went for some fresh air. I was able to put in 2hr while watching the Biggest Loser. The guy who won lost 214lbs. That is a rediculous amount of weight to loose in somewhere around a year time frame.

Today turned out to be another unseasonably mild December day. I took my last final-macroeconomics(Aced it) and came home to get ready to crank. I stuck to the pavement today to keep the bike free from the nasty muddy roads. I headed out on the fixed gear around 11am and rode into the driveway 4 hours and 61.25 miles later. Not bad. With my little cooldown, I made a metric century on the fixie-that is with fat tires! I cranked out the 36-16 gearing around the GM proving grounds, through Milford and Wixom, rail trail in South Lyon, and eventually rode around Whitmore Lake before heading back home. The legs are a little tired no after 8.5hrs and 2 days of weight training in the last 3 days. The route is mapped out HERE.

Looking at hitting the gym in the morning and then going out for a 40mile fat tire fixie ride with my dad later on. My legs should recover enough to put in a hard effort at the gym. Saturday is also shaping up to be a nice day. Maybe a dirt road rampage if it dries out.

Now all I have to worry about is training; riding, weights and pilates. I am done with the semester and don't start up again until Jan 8th. That leaves me 24 days to have some fun on one!
(Maybe I should major in poetry!)NOT.

The weather is nice, get out and RIDE. There are no excuses withe temps in the high 40's and low 50's.

2.5 Hours of Monotony

My cold seems to be getting a little better day by day. My lungs were burning on Sunday, so I decided to take a recovery day and hit the bike again on Monday. Monday came and my cold was worse. I changed from a chest cold to a head cold. My nose ran all day. After my finals in the morning, I headed over to the gym and hit the weights. I got home and still felt like crap. I wasn't tired at all but my body needed some rest. Instead of a 2.5 hour ride, I took that time for a nap.

Finally, yesterday I was feeling much better. Well, I took the past couple days off and it has been warm (high 40's up to 50) and dry. Yesterday turned into an all day rain, drizzle, and downpour type of day. I jumped on the trainer in the afternoon and started to ride. I threw in a Carmichael Training Systems climbing tape, then went and rode to the sprinting tape. I took the last 45 minutes and just rode keeping the HR in zone 2. 2.5 Hours on the trainer was not mentally too bad until I was 1:45 in and the only thing on TV was either Ellen, Oprah, or Judge Judy. Woo Hoo. Not. I put my head down, pedaled, and kept on listening to the music running through my headphones. I have to say that the trainer seems to work out the legs harder than the road. More tension and friction seems to need more effort and instill more leg burning.

Finished the evening off with a 30 minute Pilates session. Didn't burn too bad either. Now I am sitting at school waiting for 4:15 so I can go take a pointless BIO Lab exam. I have a 100% in my BIO class, and this test is worth 50 points. I guess I don't have to take it and still get an A, but I will. After that, it is off to the gym. Usually it is just over an hour workout, then I am off to grab the bike. Hopefully the rain holds off so I can put in 2.5-3hrs on the fixie. Lights are charged up and ready to go.

New Milestone...for me

With my 2hr jaunt this morning, I reached a new high mileage. I went over 6,000 miles. For me that is pretty good. I started riding three years ago and put in under 2,000 miles the first year and 3400 miles last year. With simple math, that's 2,600 miles more than last year. Not too bad. I am sure next year will be more as I become a better and more experienced rider. We still have another three weeks, so I should be able to get at least 500 more miles in.

I put in 3 days at the gym and 11.5 hours on the fixed gear outside this week. With some warmer temps coming next week and a higher volume week for me, I should be able to get around 200 miles in. Last week, the total temp of wind chills added up of my four rides is only 35. Now, tommorrow and the next few days will be in the 40's. Huh.

When I was going to write this, and then searched around some blogs for a few minutes. 6,000 was pretty good for me, but when I clicked on Robert's Blog, damn. Almost 14,000 miles and still riding strong! That is remarkable...and maybe a little crazy!

I work again in the middle of the day tommorrow. Those just suck. It screws up my whole riding schedule. Today I had to ride at 8am so I could get my ride in and then go skate for 3 hrs before going to a Christmas party. I was looking at at least 3hrs tommorrow, so I might have to take my light with me and finish in the dark. The warmer temps should also be better on my lungs than the cold morning air. Once I get over this little cold the air shouldn't be as much of a problem.

More LSD Please!!!

I know a lot of people who dread going out in the cold to ride long slow distance. I have not seemed to mind it a bit. It is a nice change up from intervals, hill climbs, and hammerfests. I would not mind some nice HOT weather, but at least it is not 33F and raining! I was able to get out again today for a 2.5hr ride on a little bit or gravel, paved roads, and snow covered rail trail. The sun was out for half of the ride, melting the slight layer of powder. Once the sun went down, the melted snow started turning to ice in some spots. It was a bit nippy out today, but my garb worked out pretty well. For the 20F and 2W/C temps, I layered up with knee warmers under the tights, a base layer underarmor, long sleeve jeresy, wind/rain jacket, and a balaclava to warm the face. My fingers stayed nice and warm with my new Moose Mitts. They work really well and all I wear is a wind glove underneath, which I tend to sweat in due to the heat.

Did some Pilates tonight as well. Off to the gym, then a hike later in the day tommorrow.

Good Times Riding

I got out on Sunday morning for a ride, hit the gym and skated on Monday, and was able to get some more spinning in yesterday. The rides were pretty similar, but some changes.
Sunday-----------------Tuesday
2 hrs--------------------3hrs
snow covered roads-----snow-ice roads/bare white salt colored roads
ride on road------------road and snow covered trails
fixie--------------------fixie, and I cleared ILRA b/y without brakes
22F, 9W/C------------25F, 14 W/C

This cold weather riding is not bothering me at all. It is actually quite enjoyable when the entire body is warm. I am going to the gym again today, do some core workout with pilates afterward, then a nice 1hr spin with speed skills. Looks like tommorrow will be a high of 24F and really windy. Looks like I'll have to bundle up again for another 2.5-3hr ride.

Get off that trainer and gert outside!

It's Been A While...

Because it has been nice outside. The end of November and sixty degree temps. It was almost two weeks straight of fifty and sixty degree days. Now we are back to reality, but its life. It was nice to get a nice burst of warm wether for a bit. Now only if we could get warm weeks once a month in the winter! I was able to get some good riding in with shorts and a jeresy and often some arm warmers. I did the Thanksgiving Day ride at PLRA and then ended the 14 hour weel off with a night ride at Brighton Rec. I have been riding quite a bit at a low zone 1/2 on the fixed gear. The gym has been going well and I am about to move onto my next stage. Now that winter is finally here, it is time to bundle up and hit the road for some long hours in the saddle. A month into the off-season, and I am still keeping my weight constant at 142, even after a Thanksgiving feast! School will be over in two weeks(for the semester), so that will leave me evn more time for weights, riding, pilates, and maybe X-C skiing if there is snow.

Bundle up and go RIDE!

Saddle Time

Did some more weights early this morning at the gym. The body is starting to get used to pushing iron, therefore, I am not nearly as sore as I was earlier in the week. After the gym, I headed over to d-town Brighton to check out the new bike shop in town. It is called Ride Botique and it is really nice. It has a nice vibe and atmosphere to it. Chad, the owner, is stocking high end stuff from Seven, Guru, Bianchi, Felt, C-dale, and he is also a Zipp dealer. He has a fully built Seven Ti/Carbon 29er on the floor that is his. Pretty cool looking stuff.

This afternoon I took the SS out for a 2:20 venture. Just spinning a high cadence and keeping the HR in zone 2 for the most part. My goal today seemed to go the whole time without bonking. It worked, but by the time I got home, I really felt like I needed some sugar. Toast with Jam worked pretty good for that! This ride taught me about winter riding on the road and rail trail...carry an mp3 player when riding solo. That straight and flat rail trail becomes very monotonous.

A nice staircase I found to ride off of the rail trail-it lead to paved singletrack into a neighborhood. Narrow asphalt winding around trees?

Off to do some skating at the ice rink tonight, and tommorrow afternoon after my ride. I am thinking of riding around and eventually riding over to the new Milford trail and putting in some miles there!

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Riding for Fun

I got out of bed and my body was STIFF and SORE. That's what happens when you lift weights after 9 months of riding and no gym work. My plan was to go out to Highland and do a night ride, and that is exactly what I did. It was an awesome ride. We headed out backwards on the A loop, then hooked up with D and rode it backwards until the road. We cut out on the road and turned in on the horse trail (shhhh) to get to the B/C intersection. Rode B backwards and that was a rush. I don't know what got into me, but I was zipping through the corners and cruzing right up the hills. Maybe it was the fact that B suits my 36-16 gearing much better. I succesfully finished the trail with no crashes and no bured out lights. Along with the helmet mounted HID, I strapped on a halogen on the bars for some better depth perception for the drops. Fun ride.

Today after going to a natural science museum at the U of M fo BIO lab, I headed back over to the gym. Once I got pushing the weights, it didn't hurt too bad. I am doing 25-30 reps of each exercise at least 3 times. MTBing doesn't work the upper body terribley much because I am only pushing 50-75lbs on the row and lat pulldown! A day off of riding for me, but I'll be back on it tommorrow.

While looking around today, I went to the LJ 100 site and found some cool info. Rick is thinking about changing up the course and going backwards next year. It'll be fun, but that hill coming down to the parking lot will suck going up. Good news is that it will only have to be done 4 times. I also found a few pictures of me during the race under the photos section on pg. 10/11. I would post them but pics are hard to get up here with dialup.

A Week Off

To start the off season off right, I too the past week off from riding. My last ride was Monday at ILRA when I rode the fixie off road for the first time. What a blast! It was much easier than expected and I still managed a 55 minute lap.

It was hard not to ride on the nice 65 degree day, but I have a plan, and it says recovery. I barely rode beofre Iceman, so it is almost like a 2 week recovery with a race thrown in the mix. This will all end tommorrow when I hit the gym for the first time since last March. I am planning on hitting weights 3 times a week and starting some base training in December. I am actually try to focus on a training plan this year and see how it works instead of just riding like I normally do! For the next few weeks, I am just going to have fun doing night rides and other easy social rides in the cold and snow.

I did not sit on the couch all week though. I got in some ice skating (work-hockey referee) on Wed, Thurs, Fri, and 3 hrs today. It is good cross training and keeping the legs moving. I also started Pilates back up again. It didn't hurt too bad after the first 2 minute warmup. Maybe a little snow in December will help me get some cross training in with cross country skiing.

I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

1:55

Not my best race, but I still ended up 4th in Expert 15-18. Start line was 29 degrees and I was dressed for it. I started 5 or so rows back and made up some spots early on through the grass and moving side to side for a while. I was feeling good, hammering it out and the legs didn't even burn at all. I was in third place about 8 miles in and then a little later, I was riding with Mike Anderson(who got 2nd) for a while. We could see the lead group ahead of us, and were working on pulling them in. I got caught in a few sand pits throughout the race and cost me some time getting off and running through them. It is amazing how much harder the sand is to ride through when there have not been 1000 races packing it down and making a line for you. About mile 14 we were riding through a long stretch of deep sand with more on the sides. Mike was in front and slid to the side and corrected, but I did the same thing plus more and ended up putting a knee down. Then I had to yank a branch out of my wheel and try to get going. I jumped on and my chain had fallen into the largest gear (11T). I tried to pedal but it went clunk, clunck, clunk. I got back off and ran throught the sand until I could get moving again. I never saw Mike after that, but I guess he caught the 3rd place rider in the last few miles. Right after that point, it got colder and started snowing. The colder air started to burn my asthmatic lungs from my chest cold and killed me. My legs never hurt though. The first 16 miles of the race I averaged 172bpm, but the last 12 I only averaged 164. I would go hard, no burning legs and not get my HR over 169. I felt like I could not get going fast on theflats like I had been. The last few miles I pushed as hard as I could go and said screw the lungs and just got up the last couple climbs. After the race, I coughed my lungs up for a half an hour and througout the evening. Maybe I shouldn't have pushed them so hard at the end, but I can just try to get healthier this week. I finished a little faster than last year and there was an extra mile or more added of singletrack,so there is progress, but not as much as I have shown before. In the Boyne race, I beat my time by 21 minutes compared to the year before. Not what I was looking for, but there is always next year!

For now, I am just planning on cooling it off and letting the body recover before I start hitting the gym hard in a couple of weeks. I am looking at having some enjoyable group nightrides in the next month or so and have some fun casually riding. Come December, I will start some Base training on the fixie!!!

Looking back at the season, I accomlished quite a lot, more than I thought.
-3rd at Yankee TT-my first expert race
-2nd at Fort Custer(starting with the wrong group, not chasing anyone and losing by 1 minute)
-1st 12 Hours of Boyne Solo-my first endurance race...quit at 10:45 with 11 laps
-3rd Hanson Hills-learning to let the body recover after a endurance race no matter how good you feel the next day, and do not go hammer out 2 lpas of PLRA after the endurnace race=bad
-12th Overall Lumberjack 100-I battled the heat and did much better then expected with a time of 8:32:10
-2nd Boyne Marathon-cutting out 14 miles killed the marathon part and truned it into a XC, but I still managed 2nd
-Riding the WAM 300 with my dad-it was a great time and some nice roads to ride on with hundreds of other cyclists
-2nd Addison Oaks-got attacked on the last hill and couldn't counter fast enough, it was a fun 1 vs 1 race
-1st Boyne-good course and some fast racing. I had a good day and some good training before hand.
-4th Iceman
Not bad for 2nd year racing and only 3rd year riding MTBs. Next year I am looking for more competition and people to race against. The 15-18 class is usually faster than the expert other expert classes, but with minimal people.

A True Iceman?

After last years Niceman, I think we are going to have an Iceman this year. A few inches of snow maybe? I am the first group to go off at 9:30 am, so we might have some fresh powder to ride on. Thank God for semi-slick tires!!! It should be a fun event with the expo, race, and all other festivities! Hopefully I can get over this cold quick and be able to let it all out:-)
-Keep the Rubber side DOWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Halloween!!!

So here is the creation. I carved the Kokopelli. If you haven't seen him, I strongly reccomend taking a trip out to Grand Junction, CO or Moab, UT-and don't forget your bike while your at it.

And this is what I call lighting a pumpkin. Screw those little candles, here is an HID lighted Pumpkin. A little bright, huh? You can see it shining through the left side. When I took the picture, the entire pumpkin was glowing from the light. For the best interest of trick-or-treater's eyes, I took it out and replaced it with a night-light.

Now go get some candy. I hear it is great powerfood and carboloading for some snowy and cold race this weekend! BTW, 36 degrees high SAT in TC!

Recovery

My legs were really feeling it the past few weeks. The legs started to burn on a constant basis last week and I decided to answer the call. I took Friday, Saturday and Sunday all off the bike and guess what? I am still alive. I did it! It wasn't too bad because of the crummy weather on Friday and Saturday. Sunday turned out decent but WINDY. Saturday even showed some nice big wet snowflakes when I was truing up the wheels for all of the MTBs in the household.


I was able to get an axle and some cones to put my rear wheel of the Yeti back together on Saturday. It is now spinning nice and smooth, ready for this weekend. I did a little Pumpkin carving on Friday night so that we have a orange circle on the porch for Halloween. I will show off my creation tommorrow as I don't want those hoologans smashing it tonight. I am thinking screw the candle inside and the normal nightlights that we normally use. I am thinking of going all out-HID inside the pumpkin to light it up! Hopefully it won't blind anyone.

I did a ride over to ILRA today and put in a little over 20 miles on singletrack and another 10 on my way over and back. I took the trail out the backside of blue and rode over to the new Green Oak Village Mall at Lee Rd. I am not a mall guy at all, but I decided it would be cool to check it out. I read in the paper that it had a huge oudoor fireplace that I wanted to see. Yeah, I rode around there and never saw it. The place does look nice and had some good restaurants in there. I forgot to mention, it was 70 degrees today.

T-10 Days

Holy Cow! Iceman is only 10 days away. I was sure that it was at least 2 weeks. Time seems to be flying by. It has been a fairly easy week at school, but I have not been terribly motivated to ride. I am always giddy and exciting to rush home and jump on the bike for 2-3 hours. This shock of cold weather and Michigan clouds is killing me. I am sure the end of the season thing isn't helping either, as well as wet conditions. I pushed myself to go outside on Monday as I rode the fixie on the backroads and through the hills at Kensington. I took a little different route and found some new roads. Riding the same dirt roads over and over just gets monotanous. Yesterday was another gloomy day. I decided that I would flip the wheel over on the SS and run a 44-18 with the freewheel(the off-road fixie ride will happen AFTER Iceman!). I rode over to ILRA and rode a lap before hooking up with the group and riding a pretty good pace most of the time. On lap 1, I had some chain slipping issues, as the chain kept falling off on standing climbs. I stopped and added some tension to the chain which seemed to work. The second yellow loop required lights. I cut out at Kensington Rd and took the roads home. With a rear blinky light and a HID up front, the cars could easily see me and moved much further over than during the day. It seemed like at night people are more cautious and actually care than in the daytime. Hmm, centuries at night? Start at 6pm and finish before 11 for a dark 100 miles. Might need 2 lights though, doh! Today I was actually hyped to go put in a hard road ride with intervals and hill repeats. After I got out of school late, I had to eat, needed to get some things done, and had to work at 6pm...there was not enough time. At least tommorrow looks like 50degrees and maybe, just maybe a peak of sun for a nice 60 mile road ride. I can't wait. Get a little more riding in this weekedn before tapering for Iceman.

End of the Season Training

2 weeks until Iceman; the last race of the season. I have been getting in some good rides lately to get reasy for the race. Another good week of riding coming up, then a nice taper will hopefully get me into the race shape I need. Last Sunday, I put in a good 52 mile ride from my house and 3 loops of ILRA. The weather turned out to be decent, as I only wore arm and knee warmers. I have noticed lately that once te sun goes down(if it ever comes out) it gets much colder. Monday was another nasty day, and Tuesday showed some good hopes of an all day rain/mist/wet-fest. I decided to jump on the trainer and get in some good intervals with the Carmichael DVD's. Wednesday finally turned into a nice day with temps in the low 60's. I did a 60 mile road ride through ILRA and Kensington. I put in 5 loops of the hills in the park, then rode back over to ILRA and headed home via Kensington Rd to hit the last hill. My legs were a little sore at first, but seemed to feel better as time went on. Thursday was yet another damp day and I took it as rest. Frida was going to be another 60+ mile road ride, but after my knee had a little pain in it, I called it a day and rode home for a weak 22 miles. I just need to keep up on my knee exercises and I'll be fine! Saturday was going to be a dirt road ride on the fixie in the morning before work, but guess what? Rain!!! I went to work from 1-3, but ended up filling in for another game, so I didn't leave until 4:15. I got home and that yellow ball in the sky was peeking through. I came home and immediately got dressed. I grabbed the SS and headed out. I did dirt roads with 2 loops of Kensington Park hill loops, and a ride up the Kensington Hill standing up the whole time. There were a few good leg burning hills with the 44-16 gearing. By the tie I got back at 6:50, the sun had been swept away, and the temp had dropped. I mapped out my ride HERE and had just over 40 miles with about 2000 feet of climbing.

My Yeti is down right now. I was going to change the disc brake rotor when I noticed that the rear hub bearings were rough. With over 2200 miles on them, I figured I should probably grease them since I hadn't done that since winter. I took the axle and bearings out, cleaned them, re-greases verything, slid the axle in, and threaded everything back on. I had the cone at perfect tension, and was trying to tightend the end nut against it. Well, the end nut was turning the entire axle and not tightening against the cone. So I took it off, and found out that the axle is stripped, or has some bad threads about a centimeter in. I tried to take the cone off, but it got stuck and would not come off at all once it got to the bad spot. Luckily, it was far enough out that I could take the nut and cone off from the freehub side and slide the axle out. Now I just need to order a new axle and put the wheel back together before Iceman. I have 2 weeks, hopefully I can get a few rides on it before the race.

Cold? Snow? October?...Oh, Michigan!!!

WHAT?

I was pretty sure that I was wearing shorts and a jeresy on Sunday as it about hit 80 degrees. Then on Tuesday I wore the same, but with the choice of some arm warmers for the 60 degree temps. Yesterday it started snowing and din't let up my whole drive into school. I did not ride yesterday, as I took it off for recovery, but dang-it was snowing A LOT.

I was ready for the cold today, so away with the shorts and jeresy. I wore all of my COLD WINTER riding gear. Yup, booties, tights, under armor, wind proof jacket, winter gloves, and a balaclava to keep the blood in my cheeks. I headed out around 10am to brave the nasty winds(but not quite as bad as yesterday) and cold temps. When I left, it was 34 out with a wind chill in the low 20's. Ain't nothing better to train in for the ICEMAN!!! I rode the fixie again on the dirt roads out to Wixom, and through Milford. I came back a little different way to mix it up a bit. I was pretty comfortable for most of the ride. I least I get to wear a bunch of clothes unlike the Tigers(YEAH, Go Tigers). Closed off the morning with 33 miles of dirt. It was enough for today, but I am planning on heading out early again tommorrow and riding the 16 miles over to Highland and riding the A and B loop. I am hoping it will be a tad bit warmer with no wind so I can wear less clothes. The ride today just felt waaaay to much like January base training miles=cold, snow flakes, bone-chilling wind, and of course...gray skies. Only in Michigan. Has anyone found the door out of here yet. When you do, let me know!!!

The fixed cog

Fixed on Dirt

I have officially gone FIXIE! I ordered a Boone Titanium fixed gear cog for my single speed a few weeks ago. It showed up the other day and I installed it and rode around the neighborhood to check it out. The cog bolts onto the 6-bolt pattern where the disc brake rotor usually is attached... you flip the wheel around on your SS and "wallah". Yesterday was the maiden voyage for the never-stop-spinning bike. I took it on the dirt roads around Brighton, Milford, and Wixom to see how it was to ride fixie. I went for some hills and was standing up pushing through them to get a good ride in. To my surprise, it is much easier to ride than I would have thought. One of the hardest parts is spinning very FAST on long steep downhills. I is a constant workout because once you have hamemred to the top of a climb, you must keep pedaling and then spin wildly down. I was running a 44-16 and it worked out really well; being able to sit down on long grades and hammering out of the saddle on steeper pitches. I got in 34 miles on the fixie and had a great time. I am going to keep riding that on the dirt roads as it is good training to keep pedaling ad no coasting, as well as powering up the climbs. I originally bought it for off-season base training miles, but I think it will be used a little more than anticipated. I have the route mapped out with distance and elevation HERE on Route Slip.

After that ride, I came home and grabbed a few twizzlers as my lunch before changing clothes and heading off to ILRA. I grabbed the gearie (I didn't want to kill myslef riding fixed gear on the MTB trails on Day 1) and rode the five miles to ILRA and rode the second half of yellow. I hooke dup with my dad to ride with him as he put in a good B/Y and then another half of yellow before I headed off for home. Another 30+ miles in the saddle was necessary since the weather wasn't looking too promising for future days. Good thing I just watched the weather and it looks dry for the next 5 days. Cool, I don't mind cooler temps as long as I can ride. I don't know about others, but I get grouchy if I don't ride for a few days!

Pictures from Boyne

My Dad coming down the final hill

The B-E-A-UTIFUL fall colored leaves on the earth's floor

Boyne XC Race Recap

The past week was getting ready for Boyne and enjoying myself. Friday, we left on mission "to boyne." I threw down a nice pre-ride in sunny 50 degree weather. I rode a lap with my dad and then went and rode the first 2.5 miles, then crossed the road and spun up the mountain (well, MI ski hill) and finished the backside of the trail off. Saturday was a nice recovery day to watch the Tigers BEAT those Yankees! I am not a baseball fan, but ya have to show some love for dem Tigers. I rode a trail called Aspen Pak in the middle of Gaylord to move my legs for 5 miles.

Sunday was race day. I got there nice and early to be able to get a good pre-ride in. I rode around for a while, then rode the first 2ish miles of the trail to get my HR up and ready for the climbs in the race. As the race started, I realized that there were only 2 of us in 19-under. We lined up with the 20-29's and took off. That was the best start ever! The pace wasn't pushed really high-my HR was only 150, when usually it is high 170's. After the first few climbs, I broke away from the group with a guy from Breakaway Bicycles (how ironic). About 5 miles in, I started picking off Elite riders. After the first lap, I had passed 4 Elite riders and was way ahead of my competition.

Lap 2-I kept on chugging and moving foreward. I passed another Elite rider early on, then another one later on. The hills were feeling good even though I couldn't get my HR as high as I normally can. There was no back and forth, but I just had to try and stay focused.

Lap 3-The guy from B-Bicycles zoomed by me after the last downhill at the end of lap 2, so I just let him go. I was going, but not sure how hard since I had no gauge with anyone. There was no one in front or behind me, but eventually I got into a good rhythm on the hills and caught the BB guy at the top of the ski hill.

I ended up getting first place by 25 minutes, which wasn't too big a deal. I would have managed to get 7th in Elite if I would have raced that (about middle of the pack). I figured race Expert in this and Iceman, then move up to Elite next year. A fun weekend with a beautiful countryside of red and orange leaves. Next up, ICEMAN...I have 4 weeks to figure out what tires to run!!!

Another Good Week of Riding

After the Addison race, I took some good measures of recovery to be able to train hard this week. Monday I was planning on a 60 mile road ride through the parks and around my Milford/Wixom route. That was changed when the forecast called for 20-30mph winds. I decided instead to go ride the MTB. I went over to ILRA and rode three loops of blue/yellow and then came back home for a good 52 miles. For most of the ride, I had about 20psi in my tires just like at Addison. I guess my tires didn't seal to well and the Stan's sealant wasn't working well around the rim.

Tuesday was less wind, but a nice looking day out. I took a long route on the road bke over to Novi Tree Farm. I got in 39 miles on the road and put in some good efforts along the way. I jumped on the SS and did the 10 mile loop over at the Farm with a group at a nice social pace. The weather turned out great and no extra clothing was required at all.

I took Wednesday off as a recovery day and because of the rain that was coming down sparatically. At one time, I was cleaning all of the mud from Addison off of my bike when it started raining. I pulled it in the garage before the sky let loose and hail was coming down! I also decided to re-seal my rear tire and put fresh sealant in to try and fix my leaking problem. Later on in the evening I went off and reffed a hockey game. It was a good way to move the legs and get payed:-)

Thursday I came home and sealed my front tire up. It seemed like it was working, so I headed off to the Poto to ride. I ended up riding with Crispy, Bryan, and Amanda from the KONA Team. The trail was in the best shape I have seen it in a long time. There was even some guy who had raked all of the sand off to the side of the trail. Almost every sand pit or sandy climb had been raked until it was like concrete. Kudos to that guy, but why the hell would anyone do that-especially on 18 miles at the Poto. It turned out to be a fun ride with a few good efforts thrown in near the end. I could tell my downhill skills improved just by riding behind those guys!

Friday was my day off school, so I took a ride in the morning on the back roads. I rode out to Milford and around the dirt roads back and forth and to Charms Rd. in Wixom. I was planning on coming back the same way I came, but the cholride trucks were soaking the road around Kensington. In return, I decided to ride through D-Town Milford and over to the new Hubble Pond Park to ride the new 3.5 mile loop. For a new trail, it was great-and I figured out where to go without getting too lost. After a little single-track to keep myself motivated, I rode the road back home going around the GM proving grounds and then down the Kensington Rd. Hill beofre hitting the dirt roads bac home.

Was supposed to ride the Poto today; it's really wet and more rain is forecasted. That just means I have to get a good ride in before the baptism tommorrow.

Addison Oaks XC Race Recap

The last of the CPS races is now over. The Addison Oaks XC was this morning held under slimy conditions, but better than anticipated. The past week was spent tapering for a few days and only putting in 145 miles. I rode the course this morning to check it out before the race and it was a little greasy in the corners. You just had to be careful in a few and slow down instead of blowing through them. I came out of the race clean-no crashes that is. I was pretty muddy from my pre-ride and the race. The course dried out and the mud was pushed off for the most part after 2 laps.

It started off with only me and Kyle Stange showing up to race. He is winning(now won) the CPS sereis, and is some good competition. I let him take the lead into the woods as I followed him for the first two laps. Lap 3 I took the lead on a stupid decision and then tried to give it back. On the beginning of lap 4, we were going slow through the grass trying to make the other lead. Finally he took the lead after one of the Elites(we had already passed) decided to not play our games and go by. I went for it on a climb and through some two-track, but it was too late in the two-track. I should have done it earlier-lessons learned. On the last gravely climb, I was leading and he stood up and flew around me before I could see it coming. He put a nice gap in and it wasn't too far from the end. Just some singletrack that was hard to make time up on. After going back and forth the whole race, he ended up sliding by me and winning by 17 seconds. It was a good strong race and I had fun. We both handed it to the other Expert calsses as the next closest time was 3.5 minutes later. I learned a lot as far as decisions and what I need to work on. I will focus on those as I train for the next races. Boyne Championships in 2 weeks and then Iceman in November.

FS: 2006 19" Giant XTC Carbon Fiber Bike

A friend has their bike up for sale. It is a 2006 19" Giant XTC Carbon Fiber bike only ridden since the beginning of the year. It is full stock setup and the info can be seen HERE. It is a light hardtail racing machine. If you are interested, leave a comment below and I will get you in touch with the owner.

Well, I got 2 up...I guess I should get a Wirless Card

Leelanau's Largest Cup of Cofee
Your's Truly at the top of Inspiration Point

A Weekend of Riding in Leelanau

What a fantastic weekend. We left early Friday morning ready to go north to Leelanau County. ONly 4.5hrs later, we arrived at our little motel a few miles from d-town Glen Arbor(can you say no night life). After indulging in a few bagels, we headed out to do part of the TDL race loop around Maple City, Empire, Glen Haven and Glen Arbor. I ended up hitting 2 of the KOM's and then a turnoff to Tower road to ride the 20% grade. All of the route was rideable in the big ring except for Tower Rd. It was a great ride with some awesome views of both Glen Lakes, the Sand Dunes, and cool small towns in-between. There were a few fun sweeping downhills that were easy to hit 45mph with some fun no-braking corners!

Saturday was race day in Leelanau County. I went out and watched the Tour de Leelanau at 4 different spots. First was about 25 miles in at Fredrickson Rd which had a good steep climb for 1/3 of a mile or so. From there it was over to Tower Rd. to watch the guys and gals climb the 20% grade. That was a good site to see struggling and progressing. Then it was off to M-22 and Carlson Rd where we saw the lead guy riding for Priority Health come by 3:00 ahead of everyone else. There was also a small group of 4 off the front a couple of minutes before the peleton came sweeping through the turn. Following that sighting, we drove a mile down the road to see them returning with 6 miles to go. There were no marshalls or cops, so the 10minute car threw me and another person an orange vest and had us stop traffic and guide the racers left. It was fun watching how the group really split up by then. It turned out to be a gorgeous day and a fun day of watching cycling. After the race we went into Leland's "fish-town" ad cruised around for a while before heading off to the Dunes to run around.

Sunday was the Leelanau Harvest Tour. All of the people we were with decided on the 67 miler. There is no way I can turn down a hundie, so I went off solo. It was another good scenic ride-some of which we dd a few days prior. At the 52.5 mile mark, I had an average of 21.5 and was feeling pretty good overall. From that stop at Lake Leelanau, the route headed up into Northport and rode by Lk. MI for a while. The wind really picked up there and was a steady 15-25mph the whole way back. At mile 83, I joined up with a group of 8, eventually splitting it up a few iles down the road. I took a few 10 minute pulls and helped the guys out in the wind. At the end of the ride, I had and average of 20.6 and feeling good. I ended up getting back just minutes after evryone else, so it all worked out. The CCCC put on a good route, only confusing me on the route a minimal amount of times. I was dissapointed that there was only 3500ish feet of climbing, but I guess the wind made up for it.

This week I am tapering for the Addison race after 4 good solid weeks of XC training. I went to PT for me knee after school, put on some new rubber on the Yeti along with grips, and took a 35 minute ride on the trainer while studying to make me smarter and flush the lactic acid out.

Blogger is being lame. I actually have some good pics to put up but it's not working for me. I will get them up tommorrow. I have one of the TDL here with this guy solo off the front.

Slip Slide and Away

This damn rain stuff is messing with me. As of right know, it is raining, lightning, and thundering like a bitch. Good thing I finished my ride 30 minutes ago. It was a nice sunny ride with some decent wind and dry streets. I even took the time to look at the trees between my intervals on the road and noticed that the leaves are already changing colors. It must be this annoying fall like weather destrying everything and its pattern. The road ride today was dry until the ride home where I turned around in the park and said, "Ah, no," when the first bolt of lightning struck. It was all downhill from there with torrential downpours and dark skies. Morelightning came to follow, but I got home in time to survive.

The training has been going well lately. After 13 days straight of riding, (yes, I had recovery rides in there) I took Monday off, then rode the TRAINER (ugh) yesterday for some quick power intervals to keep me in check. Tonight I start my winter job up again. I am off to ref hockey this evening for good money and great cross training for cycling.

I leave you with a picture to make this and the rest of the dreary days better.

Met the quota

After my 47 mile hill repeat ride today, I was able to meet my quita for the week. The ride put me over 211 miles and I should have more coming for tommorrow. This end of the season training for me has been going really well. It helps tremendously when the weather cooperates. I got in a recovery road ride on Wednesday out on the roads around here. Thursday I went out on a dirt road ride and did intervals and then went for a group ride on the SS out at Brighton Rec.

Today was a good hill repeat day out at Kensington. There was a US Ametuer Disc Golf tournament that I was able to scan as I road up Spring Hill by the tobaggon runs. Weather was great in the 80's like it should be, but it is looking down from here. Now comes the fall leave color changing, arm warmer wearing, night riding season. Should be a fun on as long as it stays free of the white stuff by November 4th!!!

Tommorrow I am off early at 7:30 t ride out to the South Lyon High School where I am supposed to lead a group of runners out for the Witch's Hat 10K run. I belted up the SS with a 44x18 which will be good for the dirt roads. If the rain holds off, I plan on riding a loop of ILRA before venturing home. If you've got nothing better to do on Sunday, come out to ILRA to help fix the trail.

Thank You Mr. Weatherman

I would like to first send a shout out to the Fox 2 weatherman who said it wasn't going to rain, and the weather.com doppler who showed no large grren areas in the vicinity of SE MI. Yep, I started my ride over to ILRA for a lap then out to Novi tree farm. What are the chances I am riding through Yellow and BAM! rain. It was raining although it was quite nice in the trails besides all of the puddles that haven't drained yet. So I decided to ride home after my lap and it just downpoured. The 5 miles home the rain never let up one bit. At one point it was raining so hard it was stinging pretty bad. Came home and pampered my bike with a wipedown, greasing and some oil. Got it all nice and purdy for its next adventure.

The holiday weekend was a good one for riding. I was able to get in about 35 miles on the SS out to Highland Rec and the trails out there on Thursday. Friday was a successful day of riding the eastside loop of Addison, Bald Mt, PCT, and Stony. It was a really nice ride-only if I knew my way around Bloomer would it be better. Saturday was a 30 some mile roadride over through the parks and back home before I hit up a double Poto on the SS Sunday. Poto was awesome-great condition and extremely fast no-brakes downhills. I finished the Labor Day weekend off with a Double PLRA on the SS with a little extra riding. It has been some good training getting ready for the end of the year races of Addison, Boyne, and Iceman.

I Am Feeling IT...

Left the house about 4:30 to start a nice road ride over to the bi-parkal region. After a good warmup over to ILRA, I rode to the trailhead to see what was happening, and then made my way over to do my thing. Yup, it was hill repeat day. My plan was to do the loop-'o-hills 4 times all in the big ring. Well, I ended up doing them five times just to keep myself happy and motivated. My legs were in great shape and feeling good for the whole ride. I would go up farm center hill, then Spring hill, left over the rollers to the big "puke" and little "puke" hills, and finnaly back down Farm center before turning around and coming back. I beautiful day; although it is becoming fall WAAAAAAAAAAAY too early. If it keeps up, Iceman will be "snowshoe while holding your bike"MAN. Ended up with 55 miles on the day.

I had the long day at school today-got out around 1:30. Came home and did some homework before mowing the tall weed looking grass. Then it was time to get to work...yes, get the single speed back in order with the 36-16 for my ride down to Highland tommorrow and then all 4 loops. All is good and working well. Should be a fun ride if it doesn't rain.

Hammer Time

The first day of school was short and fairly uneventfull. I walked out of there around 11:30, and was home by 12 where I got ready to go ride. The clouds were still rain threatening, but I could not resist the urge to ride. I popped out of the house at 12:30 and headed out towards Kensington to hit the Kensington Rd Hill and the GM loop. From there I did the normal out through d-town Milford and back around Wixom before cruising back home. It never did rain on me, but 45 minutes after I got home it came down and has been raining ever since. 40 miles, 21.5 mph average felt good for the day. Unfortunatelty it kept rainng so I didn't get to go down to Hines, but I had time to work on my SS.

Plan was to ride the SS down the dirt roads tommorrow with the 44x18 gearing then hit up a few loops of ILRA and then back the roads home. After this 1" of rain so far and still coming, it looks like a hill repeat session is in store for tommorrow out at Kensington. Hopefully it will dry out soon so I can get some good FUN riding on the SS and for riding Addison and hopefully other trails on the east side Friday.

The Ohio Weekend

We left early Saturday morning at 6am sharp to get down to Mohican State Park in Loudenville, OH. We pulled in around 9:45 and relaxed while powering up on bagels and bananas. Once Deadman got to the park around 11:30, we all headed out to the Mohican Wilderness Trail 10 miles away to go for a ride. The trail starts off with a 1.2 mile climb with just under 400 vertical feet of climb sprinkeled with roots and rocks. Once at the top, we re-grouped as riders caught their breaths before going into the next singletrack section.

The trail then winds through the woods with minimal climbing, and then extends down a fire road before hopping back into the timbers downhill. The trail then becomes fast and fun. From to much speed to hammering up the hills, it was an adrenaline rush for all. After riding along a ridge, you come upon a nice long downhill technical section where you have to pick your line well or hit the ground. Near the bottom, the rocks become the trail and there must be no hesitation to ride over them because of the slick moss and tire catchers. Last year I walked this section, but this year I cleaned it easily, then went back and cleared it again for fun(It is nothing after riding out west on all rock!).

Once you get thrught that section the majority of the fun stuff is over, but the trail is still fast and enjoyable. We met back up down at the bottom of the first trail before heading into the second trail. It went through a few shallow creeks and then into some climbing singletrack before ending at a non-ridable horse trail.

We packed the bikes back up and headed back to the state park. Once there, I refilled bottles and took off. I went right up the 1.25 mile climb and kept on booking through the trail to get some good intensity in. I was having a great time dancing my bike around the rock sections and climbing up the hills. That was until my sweaty bike shorts decided to slide around. So, I turned onto a return loop at mile 4 and went back to change my shorts. I came back and started form the begining again to do the climb. I decided to go around race pace, but a little shy of it to get the the 8 mile end turnaound point where the group would meet. 43 minutes later, I was there, just behind them. We came back the trail, which was considerably downhill until mile 4 where we took the return route down to the valley. I ended up getting 27 miles in for the day of some decent riding with lots of fun.

The plan for today was to get up and ride the 16 miles of the state park again before packing up the tent and heading home. Wel, at about 3am it started raining and didn't let up until 7:30 when I got up and packed up most of the stuff. We hung out helping for a while before coming home where it was also raining. No riding today which was a bummer, but I should tommorrow after my first day of school. I am hoping to be home around noon and get a 40 mile road ride in before hitting up the Monday night RR on Hines Dr.

Back on Track!

I finally saw the knee doctor and he told me that I have Chrondomalacia in my knee. I had it a few years ago in my right knee and I guess it often comes back in the other. It is something like flamed up cartlige due to a knee displacement. It has been feeling better lately, and I am going to go to PT to get a refresher course. I am already doing some exercises that I can remember to get the ball rolling.

I took Monday off after the hundie and then went back hard and rode 40 miles of MTB on Tuesday with some good intervals. My speed is really coming along, especially on the flats where I needed the work. I rode over to ILRA and did a double B/Y then home to make dinner.

Wednesday I took off from work to get stuff done.
#1-Buy books for school. ONLY $400!!!
#2-Order bike parts
#3-Go to Maybury and demo Kona Bikes
#4-Go to USA Hockey Referee Seminar

The Kona demo at Maybury was a ton of fun. I first took out the King Supreme and rode a lap on that with my friend Dave who had just happened to show up. I threw it down a few times to see how it handled and WOW. That little 2.5" of rear travel flew over the roots really well. I overshot the first few corners, but that was the 5" handlebar differencial and slacker headtube-I got the hang of it and took the rest much smoother.

Next up was the Coilair. Now that was FUN. 6" front and rear travel with air shocks made for a pavement-type feel. It soaked everthing up and was exceptionally fast for the type of bike. I cooked through the trail much faster than I thought. I figured it would be a squishy pedaling bike, but I was shown wrong. I went back after a lap and did some more of the rock piles over to have some more fun.

A good day of riding and trying out cool new stuff. Next up is a trip to Ohio this weekend to ride the Mohican Wilderness and State Park Trails. Maybe after that I will think about this for next year.

3+3=6

The knee has been feeling much better lately. Maybe the extra rest and not riding has hopefully helped it. I went out and rode a decent clip on Tuesday at Maybury after riding through Amish country SAT and Grubers Grinder SUN. Friday I decided to test out the knee on a harder ride, so I took the MTB out on the dirt roads and rode 15 miles out to Highland Rec, rode the D loop, then came back. I gave it a few good efforts early on going to Highland, and then did intervals on the way back. I pushed it pretty good and averaged 19.2 coming back home.

Today was the Assenmacher 100 out in Flint. We headed out there with a big group and I knew the average would only be around 18ish so I grabbed the Yeti and went. It made it for a better 100 mile workout. I wanted to even out the bike on centuries with 3 on the Yeti(2 off road) and 3 on the C-Dale. It turned out to be a nice day-a little cool for me, but I'll take it over rain. Last 8 miles was fun pulling 25mph on buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzing knobbies then gettin' her going up to 30mph before I slowed up to be nice!

Hoping the knee will continue to get better and get back to normal. Plan on hitting up some trail or road ride Tuesday then going to the KONA demo day at Maybury Wednesday before going to a USA Hockey certification for my winter work/off-season training!!!!

What can I do?

I had to cut my ride short on Saturday because of more knee pains. I have decided to take it easy and give the Doc a call. I have an appointment tommorrow where I am assuming I will be told to go see a knee doctor. I just want the pain to go away. Without riding, I have nothing to do. I have been working, but I get home and do nothing and have nothing to look foreward to.

Recovery Week

After the WAM and the knee pains, I decided to take it easy and let my body and knee recover for a while. I didn't ride Monday or Tuesday, but I did get ot for a quick hour MTB ride from home to ILRA Yellow and then back in the early AM. I took Thursday off and then hopped back on the bike for an easy ride tonight. I decided to hit up the dirt roads and then join into some Multi-Use singletrack(mostly horse traffic) from Kensington Metropark until Old Plank road where I headed down to Garden Rd and through Proud Lake. Came out at Wixom Rd and brought Buno Rd back home for a decent 23.6 m,ile ride. I kept the HR at a low 136avg and the knee felt pretty good. Hopefully it will just go back to normal and I can ride free again.

Tommorrows plan is to ride over to ILRA and then cut out on Blue and head over to Brighton REc to ride Torn Shirt/Murray Lake before heading back to finish up ILRA and come back home. Should be a good ride if I don't get lost!

2006 WAM 300 Recap

I left Thursday morning and headed off to the Chelsea fairgrounds to throw the bikes in the semis, register, and get on the bus and head for Traverse City to start the 300 mile ride back to Chelsea for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Michigan. We finally departed around 11:00 after a delay thanks to traffic on US23. We were off and into construction sites all over us127 until we reached lunch about 1pm. We had bag lunches at a rest area 60 miles south of Grayling. After lunch, our bus broke off from the others and headed some strange way up to TC. Surprisingly, we were the last bus to arrive at the TC HIgh School where we grabbed our bags and searched for our bikes before finding a spot in the HOT gym to sleep. Dinner was tasty and snacks were ate later after we took a little stroll around the penninsula on the bikes for a total of 7.5 miles. Went to bed around 10 when they turned the lights off and slep well all through the night.
FRIDAY
Day 1 of the riding was just ahead of us and all we had to do was pedal 117.5 miles and climb 4500ft. We left as a mass start at 7am and were off towards Caberfae Ski Resort for lunch 56 miles later. I rode with a good group of guys for the first 15 miles before I went back to ride with my dad. Not to loong after riding with him, we hit heavy fog which soaked us and had us with our glasses off trying to see 100ft in front of us. We got to the first main rest stop 30 miles in and were still shocked that we had not hit any hills yet. We jumped on a group and headed out for another 26 miles for lunch with a group who was doing a good comfortable pace. That was when the hills started. There were some rollers, then there was one big climb that resembled the Kensington Rd hill. I was at the back of the train, pulled out, and went by everyone as the group split apart. I rode with 4 other guys who kept up for the next 5 miles until I dropped them on a 1 mile long gradual hill. From there I figured I would just ride into lunch since I was only 12 miles out. So I hammered away by myself passing some people and mostly looking at the scenery. 7 miles before lunch I caught another rider Ted, who picked it up and jumped on my wheel. I pulled for 1.5 miles before he came up and decided to do his duty as we went into the Caberfae area. We climbed a decent hill and he stayed on, then we hit the 1.5 mile long climb into Caberfae where I left him behind. I just set my pace and pedaled up the climb as it didn't bother me much at all. I had plenty of gears left, and I just tried to find my line(the road was in horrible shape and a base that seemed like compacted peastone). One at the top, you ride over some small rollers and then decend into Caberfae pedaling the whole time to get some speed. Lunch was 10am for me and my dad came in about 15 minutes later after I was done with my few bites of hamburger, couple noodles, and peanut butter on bread. Back on the bikes, we jumped on the group of Matt Henkel, Jon Heft-from Trails-Edge, and some other strong riders-Jeff, Scott, Barry, and Tim. After some more hilly roads 10miles later after my pull, I dropped of the back to ride with my dad. We rode together until mile marker 99 where there was a rest area. From there, I jumped back on the group that only consisted of Matt, Jeff, and Scott and rode the remining 18.5 miles into Big Rapids. We were on the chase for the beggining trying to catch a group that went by the rest area, and soon enough, we reeled them in a few miles later. Rode the rest of the ride with the group and came in 15th overall with just two groups in front of us. I ended with a 19.5 avg and my dad came in 18minutes later with a very good ride. From there it was waster time before dinner whic was still 3 hrs away. At 5pm, we went for the food and were told tha only 152 people had come through and that they sent out a semi and ordered shuttle services to pick up riders. We were in awe at the amount of riders who couldn't do it out of 650. Dinner was good and the massage afterwards was decent, but good conversations were had and listening to people complain about the course left and right was quite amusing.
SATURDAY
5AM came and everybody was alarmingly still laying there in the 100 degree gymnasium where I got 2 hours of total sleep. We headed off to breakfast and came back to roll pack up, stretch, and burn some time. We decided to get going since everbody was leaving quite early to get on the road. We saw people departing at 5:40 and were sure there were more before that. We hit the road at 6:40am and started passing people left and right. I rode with my dad and pulled him until the 30-some mile rest area where we hooked up with the group we rode with during the first day after the rest area and hills. It was a good clip and we were going about 24 when I came up and pulled and kept it there and more up the grade until the group blew apart and I was left riding with my dad into lunch at mile 52. We were there at 9:30,so we decided to kill some time and get a 10 minute massage. After that it was lunch and then back on the bikes for another 49 miles. It was all my dad and I after that. We just went through it seeing just a few people here and there. With 20 miles to go, we pulled out of the rest stop and cruised down the road until we headed south and had a nice tailwind up a long section of a false flat. We pulled into St Johns middle school at 12:44 and were again around 15th back at the school with an avg of 19.6mph. With no food until another 4+ hours, Jon and I went off to Subway with orders for some chow. We sat around in the A/C building and chatted for a while before I went for a nap and woke up around dinner time. Went for a quick dinner in the HOT cafeteria an then searched for the audetorium where the WAMMY Awards were going to be held. We got on the massage list and thn went into the A/C audetorium and waited for the start. We sat there for a while listening to the speakers before we left the 90+ degree room and went and got a massage. We were informed later that the money raised by the WAM riders was $942,000. It was lights out at 10PM and I got some better sleep in that night thank to the cooler air.
SUNDAY
People were up at 4am getting ready and it was disturbing, even though I managed to fall back asleep. We went out for breafast and people were all ready on the road a 5:15-It was friggin' dark. With nothing to do and almost no one left, we headed out at 6:30 to get the last 92 miles in. A few miles down, we hooked up with the group of Matt, Jon, and those guys. At mile 11, my knee went south on me and I couldn;t pedal on it at ALL. It was sore the day before, but I don't know what the deal was. So, I pedaled into luck at mile 50, mostly using my right leg while my leg leg spun around the pedals. It was so frustrating and painful, but it got better after lunch. I ate some food, and threw down a few Motrin before heading out for the last leg of the ride. A few miles in my pain went away and I picked it up. 5 miles in, we passed 2 guys who jumped on and I pulled them up to the next rest area 20 miles up. They were loving it and the sounds coming from the back made my day! With 10 miles to go, they couldn't hold on any more and went off the back. I rode with my dad as we went by the marking counting our miles down for us. Finally we came back to the Chelsea fairgounds where we finished in a cheering crowd of people(again15th back and an average of 19.1 after a 18.5avg at lunch), had our bikes taken away for us, and went to find our luggage and change. We came in at 11:54 and were just in time for a good lunch thanks to Caraba's. It was good and the cold drinks were resfreshing. We went and recieved our medals by the Wish Heros and then went over to the massage area. We stood around talking with some fun guys and had our massage and left before the rain came. Just as we unpacked the car, the storm rolled though!

It was a great weekend, nice to meet some new people and good riders, and had an overall GREAT experience on the WAM. I will surely be back next year. The volunteers are amazing and will do anything for you. All of the people are nice and courteous and best of all it is for a great couse which I learned much more about this past weekend.