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.

Stony Marathon

Raced the marathon out at Stony yesterday. The rain from earlier in the week provided the trail with some good precipitation to keep the trail in good shape. The normal gravely two-track corners were there, but overall it was smooth and fast.

I rode most of lap one with the main group until the last two-track section where I decided to back the pace off a bit. Laps 2-3 I rode with Niel Sharphorn rippin it on his SS. Lap 4 I rode alone passing more lapped traffic. Lap 5 was alone until I passed Greg "I flat every race" Kuhn as he was flipping his bike back over. He came back and went by me later on in the two-track. Lap 6 was keeping the rubber side down and finishing the race off without anyone passing me. I finished 8th with a time of 4:08. I fell twice on gravel in some two track corners. The first one wasn't bad, but the second one came at about 1 mph on the tight switchback from the last singletrack to the two-track 3/4 of the way through the lap. I fell right on my hip-bone and ankle. That is when I wish I hat more fat on me. That sucker kills.

Next up is the Boyne Marathon next week. Should be some fun climbing the ski hill.

Lumberjack 100 Recap

2 for 2
That's two starts and 2 finishes.
I went into the race looking to beat my 8:32 from last year. Inside, I really wanted to see a 7 at the begining of my final time, but I didn't know if it was possible. I did a pre-ride of the inner-loop on Friday and the trail was in great shape.

Race started around 7am and was slow. I thought it was supposed to be a fast rollout, but I thought it was very mellow. I stayed in the top 20 or so riders and ended up riding by myself for most of the race with a SS'er from MN behind me. I did a 1:50 lap, which was around 8 minutes faster than last year. Lap 2 was 1:54 and I was feeling good, but riding all alone again. Lap 3 came and I was again alone pedaling along on cruise control until I hear a smart-ass comment about my bike come from behind me. It was none other than Lummis coming back from a mechanical problem. I picked up my pace a rode with him for a little bit on the inner loop while passing 3 people. It felt good to open the legs up a little more, but then I decided I was only 65 miles or so in, so I needed to keep my pace a little slower. Two of the riders passed me back a few miles later, but in the outer loop I caught them again and put a gap on them. I did a 1:59, which meant that I had 17 minutes to spare on my last lap in order to beat 8 hours. I knew that all I had to do was turn the cranks and I would achieve my goal. Yeah, that happened, but my mental game went down hill. I was at the point where I was wondering what the hell I was doing. I do not like having an inner and then outer loop go by the pits/parking lot, beacuse there were a few times I wanted to call it a day and go sleep. On the outer loop, I broke a spoke, but easily stopped and twisted it around another spoke before going again. There were a few times I was feeling sleepy tired, but I knew the bugs would kill me. Once I got over that monotonous flat and bumpy section, I was doing much better. I got to the climbs and got back in a rythm which helped. I ended up getting 17th overall in 7:56, 36 minutes faster than last year. I think if I would have had some people to ride with on the last lap, I likely would have been able to keep the pace up. I did get passed by 3 people on lap 4, which costed me places, but that is endurance racing.

Overall, it was a great weekend. A blast. Rick puts on a top notch race and great awards banquet. This is quickly becoming Michigans best race. Sure we have Iceman, but LJ100 is a class of its own.

T-5 Days

The Lumberjack 100 is on the way. I am ready for it. I am looking to post a better time than last year, but I don't know by how much. I know I am a better rider this year both handling wise and fitness wise. The course should be different. Backwards. That first sand hill w/ 200 people should be a riot. Can you say redline first 5 minutes!

During my riding last week, I decided to do a couple longer rides to make sure my legs were ready and butt was in shape for some time in the saddle. Rode 5.5 hours on Thursday from home to ILRA, dirt roads, all 4 loops of Highland, and some of Proud Lake. Then on Saturday I rode home to 2 laps of ILRA, 2 loops of everything at Proud Lake and then a loop of Milford to finish a 5 hour and 75 mile day on the MTB. Add that with a touch of intensity and I should be good to go.

After the LJ100 I am going to be in Lelenau the next weekend for a family trip, but should be able to get in some good riding while I am there. The next week is Stony marathon, then I will be up at Boyne the following weekend with the fam racing, so I will likely chamois up and get some high intensity miles in the legs. Should be a good month coming up.

Brighton Stage Race

I had a decent result this weekend at the first ever Brighton Stage Race. It started with a TT on Torn Shirt at noon on Saturday. The tight and twisty trail made for some close times. I ran a clean run until the end of the third re-route where I hit a 1ft tall stump, stalled, and fell over. I got back on, but my chain was off and I was on an uphill. I jumped off, put the chain on, and then I was on my way. After that I felt like I was flowing pretty good throught the trail. I finished it off in 29.06 in 6th place. There was only something like a 6 second spacing between 4th place and 7th place, so it was all close.

The short track was on the open grassy area in front of Bishop Lake. I was blown away from the get-go as my starting power blows. I was pedaling hard, but the legs just seemed to not have the power in them. After about three laps, I felt better and started picking people back off again. In the end, I came in 12th place out of the 16 that raced. Not a great result, but the short track is shorter, so I didn't lose too much time. Oh, I was also one of the geniuses who rode and additional 7th lap! I was playing follow the leader. At the end of the lay, I sat in 9th overall in the stage.

Sunday morning brought the cross-country race with 5 laps of a shortened Murray Lake with some extra grass, two-track, and gravel road. Again, I think almost everyone went by me by the time we hit the single-track, but I started picking racers off. After lap 1, I rode the next three laps with Dan K. at a good pace. I was a little stronger on the hills, but he can shred the singletrack, so I sat behind him and learned how to ride. By lap 4, I was cornering much better and moving my weight around. For the three laps I rode with him, we could see Bill Clikeman back about 15 seconds, and we kept on pushing. Finally in the middle of lap 4, we didn't see him, but knew he was not too far behind. On lap 5, I took off and rode a good lap. I kept it flowing and pushed it hard. I clocked my fastest lap of the day at 27:42 on the last lap, and came in at 7th place. Maybe I could have gone a bit harder on a few earlier laps, but I was happy with my race and I got a riding lesson, so I am sure it will all pay off. That put me in 7th overall for the stage, so not a bad weekend of racing.

Ride with Loppers!

The Brighton Stage race is almost here. The last two days have been crappy weather with on and off rain during the day. I was able to ride out to Brighton Rec today and check out the trails. They are in great shape. There is no mud, and they are not a loose as I have seen them lately. The surface is tacky and should make for some fast races. The new re-routes in Torn Shirt have gotten better and someone made a new re-route on the third re-route where the tight switchback was. Now there is a turn before it and the logpile that threw riders into a tree has been taken out.

I spent just under 4 hours trimming the first 4 miles of Torn Shirt. It was starting to get really overgrown and there was a lot of low hanging branches ans trees/bushes. Especially in the middle grassy section of the trail there was a lot of stringy bushes and pine trees that took a while to cut back and get off the trail. The remaining 1.5 miles of trail isn't nearly as bad as the first 4 miles, but there are still a few low hanging branches people should watch out for. I stashed the loppers in my Wingnut hydration pack and rode the rest of the trail. With these conditions it should be a fast and FUN weekend.

Back at It

been away from this thing for a while, and it is time to get back at it. After the Greenbrier race, I took a good week of riding and topped it off with a trip to the Fort. Did not race, but rode a bit on Friday and Sat and supported on Sunday. The parents raced and finished in their sport classes with a 5th and 6th. From there it was back home and time for more riding. I hit up some new places and routes in the past few weeks. I rode to Proud Lake and did all 4 loops a few times. Some good trails with decent climbing. Nothing technical, but it is all up and down. I also did a ride from my house to the Poto. Just over an hour later of dirt roads and Lakelands rail trail, I was there. But, the trail was soaking wet. They must had gotten much more rain than us, since Murray Lake and Torn Shirt were in great shape on my way back home. I did those trails at Brighton Rec a few times in the past week to get ready for the Stage race this weekend. It should be a blast and the weather looks to be perfect for it. I am going out there again tomorrow, but not to ride, but rather to trim the trail on Torn Shirt. Some of the middle section is fast, but branches and bushes hanging out in the trail make it not so enjoyable. I am looking foreward to all races, but most importantly, where the Short Track race will be. Here comes a half hour of pain!!!

I have looked at my schedule and have planned it out for a while. After the stage race, I will start working towards getting ready for the USA Cycling Nationals in VT and then the NMBS race in NC. Those are at the later/end part of July, but I have some events before that. I am thinking of racing the Hanson Hills race for training in a few weeks since I will be up there anyways, and then the next event is Lumberjack. Thats mid-June, and the next week is a little family weekend trip up to the sand dunes, so my road bike will be in full on climb mode as I'll ride the best roads in (lower)Michigan in Leelanau County. After that is the Stony Marathon, and that is it before the big races. It will be a jammed packed few months of pain, and I am looking foreward to it!

Greenbrier Challenge Recap

I spent Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday over on the east coast playing in the rocks. Did two laps of the Greenbrier race course on Friday to get the legs up and running after 8 hours in the car. The course was not something you would find here in Michigan. It started off going uphill about 75 ft before leading into a screaming fast flowing descent that was all about jumping over the water bars. This quickly led into a full on rock infested dowhill that had multiple turns. The line changed almost every lap with rocks getting moved over by tires and others coming out of nowhere. You had to keep the eyes up and tires down. I sucessfully made it through all times and it was a blast. You don't get that kind of adrenaline here. The cousr shot out onto a gravel(all stone, no dirt) trail that eventually turned and went through a creek 20-30ft wide and about 6-8" deep. There was then a small climb and some mud pits. After that section is where the fun began. A 1 mile climb with 350ft of climbing which is very steep and rocky for the first half before becomeing more gentle with the grade. I made it in the middle ring both laps, but in my smallest gear 32-32. I figured for the race with legs working hard before the hill, I might want a smaller gear, so I put on the granny later. The trail goes into a low grade before another fast swooping downhill. Then climb number 2 which consists of all rocks where you have to pay attention and pick lines carefully. It goes up 275 ft and finishes on top of a ridge. You quickly hit some moderate downhill before the best downhill. It screams down over rock, between trees, over roots, water bars, shale, and of course a few thick mud pits before wrapping around the lake to finish the 5.7 mile loop with 735ft of ascent.

Rode a lap on Saturday to keep the legs fresh, then chilled the rest of the day and went to Hagerstown for a bit while it rained.

Sunday was race day, but I had to anxiously wait all day until 3:30 before the gun went off. So, I sat and watched the racers go down the last downhill all morning. Our campsite was right off the trail, so we sat and watched all categories go through. The at 1:20, I saw the UCI Elite/Pros go through a few times before it was ready to stretch and warm-up.

Finally the race was off, and I found myself in a 3-man pile-up in the first gravel corner 15 seconds in. Some guy biffed it and 2 of us couldn't stop in time. I kept my legs planted to the ground, but the bike fell below me. Not bad, I put the waterbottle back in the cage and was off. Oh, off dead last out of 21! I passed 3 or 4 people before the first climb, where I climbed it while going by 4 or 5 others who were all walking. Then found a line of 6 or so who riding together. Go to the second big rocky climb and picked my line well while going by more riders. I was just about to the last downhill when a guy passed me. He wasn't too slow on the downhill, but he slowed before the big mudpit, which eventually got me coated from head to toe.

Lap 2 I quickly passed the rider in front of me on the first climb. I rode the rest of the lap by myself picking off Semi-Pro racers on the climbs. I flew down the last descent not even knowing what I was hitting. I just grabbed the bars and let it roll.

Early in lap 3 I passed the second place rider from Trek/VW East and never looked back. I just kept my pace up and went with it. I had to jump off for a quick bit on the steep climb when I got caught behind a rider. I ran up a bit, tried to start but couldn't. Run somemore, then finally got on and rolling. This costed a little time and showed to be my slowest lap.

Lap 4 I was passing more Semi-Pros, lapping later expert men and women, and I just kept it up. i amde the steep climb again, and just kept the power going. Came in the finish shoot after my 4 laps in 2nd place. I was happy with the finish. I rode well, paced smart, and tore up the downhills. It was extremely fun.

Since the award were over after 7, it we knew it would be late getting home, so we had decided earlier that we would stay Monday. So we rode a nice lap and checked out the scenery before driving the 8 hours home. Good trip, great event, and I might have to come back again.

Results

Yankee Springs TT Report

A nice weekend, a nice race, and a nice result. It doesn't get much better than that. The weather turned out to be in our favor and was sunny and mid-70's. The team did a pre-ride Saturday afternoon and conditions of the trail seemed to be good. Some sandy corners, but all was good. Nothing like a fast and FLOWING course.

The race started after a unique Van Halen version of the National Anthem! I was third off the line and passed my 15 second man a few minutes into the loop. I was looking for the first starter, but didn't find him until mid-way through the trail where he was camped out on the side of a hill looking like a spectator. From there on out, I saw no one. I was looking behind to see if anyone was coming, but nothing. I was handling the bike really good today. I spent some time riding laps of Torn Shirt and Murray Lake last week and it seemed to help. Better than sliding all over at Pontiac. I had one quick slide-out where I almost fell, but just a quick knee down. In the last mile I pulled a stupid rookie mistake by looking behind me since I thought I heard a chain. I didn't see anyone, but I met a nice inch thick sapling. It bent over, but I had to unclip and let it slide trough so I could keep going! Just before the finish I was passed by Christian Tanguay who eventually won the race. It was fast and fun and a really good turnout. I cracked the top 10 with a ninth place finish of 46:00. I was happy with the result and not really any bad mistakes today. The Western Chapter did a great job and put on a fun race.

Next up is the Greenbrier Challenge in Maryland this weekend where I am sure the competition is going to be strong. It sound like the course is what I like, one big climb in it like Boyne.

Pontiac Lake TT Recap

Lesson learned-greasy mud throws the bike down fast!

The race went well, I tried to keep the rubber down, but that sure as hell did not happen. I put a decent 42 minute lap in for the first loop, and a lap 12 seconds slower on the second loop. Not too bad, but I was really tentative on lap 2. Overall, I am happy with the result. There are a lot of places where I can make up time, so just a little work and handling should do the trick.

I started off in the middle ring and then not being able to hit the big ring. As soon as I eased it off, I was able to shift up. The lap was going good and the body felt great. About 3 miles in I slid out on a greasy corner. I could feel it going...I threw a leg out...I kept sliding...then I fell. It was one of those falls that you know is coming, but I dragged on for so long. I kept the pace up and eventually caught my 15 second man on a loose, rooted climb. Not too far after, I was cruising down the trail and was carrying all of my speed through the corner when all I knew I was down. It was quick. No reaction time at all, I was just down on the ground. I guess that is the safe and best way, but it was quick. Shawn was right behind me and hit my down bike and flew over. Sorry about that. I got up and my bars were twisted, so I decided to pull the tools out (I did try to force the bars over, but it was not happening. I started loosening one bolt when I realized I was a dumb ass. I put the tools away and went on my way. I guess I whacked my brake caliper into my rotor because it made a horrible high pitched sound the rest of the race.

Lap 2 came and I was riding good, but braking in every corner. After a guy went by me, I got some more motivation and picked up the pace and went by him not too long after. I came in at 1:24:16, my fastest Pontiac yet. 14th overall isn't too bad, better than I was expecting.

After looking at my bike later, I noticed some carnaige. I have a nice sized dent in my top tube. I lined it up and it matched with my brake lever. The lever snapped out of place(like it should upon impact) and it crushed my top tube. That exlpains the twisted handlebars. It doesn't look broken, just a nice indentation.

Pisgah National Forest

Why, why did we ever have to come back. The riding is just so good and the views of the mountains and waterfalls/streams were magnificent. To bad reality has struck and so has Michigan weather. Give me a break, low 30's and 29 degrees on Friday. WTF? Why can't we just have 80 degree temps like the last few weekends down south? Okay, so this is how it went.

-Drove down to NC on Friday and got to the campground around 8 pm. Put the tent up, moved it, moved it again, and then took it down. All thanks to Ranger "stormin' Normin'" Somehow, he had a problem with all of our tents and decided to change his mind in the 15 minutes that he was gone. Oh well, it all worked out...except for the zipper on the other tent!!!

-Rode some dirt road to Candy Bottom, then hit up Daniel's Ridge. Some good techy climbing and some good efforts thrown in. We rode by a really neat waterfall and it seemed like we were riding through the jungle. Leaves were on the trees and the rivers were flowing at full stream.

-Finished up the day with some screaming fast downhill sections that were super fast and flowy. It sure did get the adrenaline flowing. Temps were in the high 70's and it was a picture perfect day. Cleaned up and then went shopping before hanging out at everyone's favorite store(Sprawl-mart.)

-Day 2 had a nice long ride in store. It poured on us the night before, but seemed to stop in order for us to get some time in the saddle. We rode up Laurel Mt and had lunch at the top. It turned into an epic ride with a good solid rain after a long hike-a-bike section. It cooled off and the wind set in. The rain made it for some fun times cruzin' down the downhills with wet roots and rocks. The downhill section was a blast. Some tough switchbacks and then narly rock gardens and some drops.

-Rode up to Pilot Rock and saw the view. It was much better than the 10ft view of haze from Laurel Mt. The weather had turned around and the trail was in good shape. Closed off the ride with a fast and fun downhill then a road climb back.

-Day 3 turned into a beautiful day. Around 80F and sunny skies. The ride of choice was Black Mt. It was a really fun fire-road climb to the top at a good clip. It then turned into singletrack and some hike-a-bike sections. We stopped at a great view of the mountain valley with a scope on the road that we had climbed. Once we got the the top, the fun notch was kicked up. The downhill was the best I have ever ridden. We screamed down it and rolled off water bars that seemed to never end. Flying over rocks and roots and flowing through the corners made the entire trip worth it. We descened for a while until we hit some other trail that flew down the rest of the Mt. with whoop type jumps and fast wide corners. It was my favorite ride of the weekend and I wish we had that stuff around here.

-Then...we had to leave. Randy, Amanda, and I took the 10hr trip back to poor old Michigan. It was a great trip and well worth the time and money invested. I only wish I had an entire week to ride there. The trails really seem to help the technical skills and overall handling of the bike. I was home about 2am this morning and had to get up just past 6 for school. Time to make up that lost sleep.

Now, what shall the weather do? I hope it stays dry tomorrow so I can ride down to the Poto and get a quick lap in and back home. I am assuming it will take somehwere around 3.5hrs for the loop. We shall see...

Out-running the Storm

It was a beautiful spring day when I left on my ride at 1:30. I new the meteorologists had called for T-storms, but I didn't really care. I just wanted to ride. I opted for a gravel grinder today and the roads were in prime shape. Even the road grader was loosening up the road and smoothing the potholes out. After my interval session, I rode north over to Highland Rec. Typically known for its quickness in drying out, I decided to try the trail. Dry. No mud at all. I wasn't syrprised since I have heard other trails in the area are ready to roll. I was planning on riding A and B loops, but when the thunder was booming and rain was coming down, I decided I should shorten the ride. I chose the D loop, so I could pop out onto the road and cruise the 17 miles home. The skies to the north were really dark, but to the south it was still sunny. Just before I got to the road, the light rain went to heavy downpour. I threw on some armwarmers and hammered it down into Milford. Once I was at Wixom Rd, I had outrun the rain. Good, because it was coming hard. On the way home, I only encountered some rain once, but it wasn't too bad. It was a nice ride though. A few hours with no cars and rural back roads is something I enjoy.

Chickasaw Trace AMBC Recap

What a weekend. We left Friday morning at 6am and pulled into the park in Tennessee around 2:45 TN time (1 hr behind). Set up the camping stuff and then went for a ride. The trail was fast and flowy, just what my body needed. My adrenaline was flowing and endorphins were popping out like crazy. The first trail ride of the year, and it was a good one. The loop starts on a gravel road with a loose gravel switchback onto the paved road. Once on the road, you ride down a little bit before you shoot down a screaming fast downhill, into an open field and then on the singletrack. The trail had a good amount of rocks and root strewn throughout, but was very manageable. Later on in the trail was where most of the climbing was. You would climb, then decend on very fast, long, curving downhills. It was a fun loop and just what I needed after a long winter.

Saturday was more of the same. Took a pre-ride, but at a quicker pace than the day before. Hung out at the tent for most of the day relaxing and enjoying the 85 degree weather. Made a nice chicken linguine dinner and called it a night around 9pm.

Sunday was race day. My race was not until 12:30, so I had to sit around all morning. It felt like forever, but finally the time came. We lined up and 26 of us started in the Expert 19-29 group. The pace was extremely fast off the line to say the least. The group safely got down the steep dowhill without any crashes (there were nasty ones w/ multiple people in Sport). Since there has not been any rain in TN in 3 weeks, the clay base was very dry and dusty. My mouth was coated, and my lungs were burning. I had a quick lap, and knew I wouldn't be able to keep that pace. I was riding good, but felt like I couldn't carry much speed through the downhill corners. By lap 3, I was able to go through them better without as much braking. Just more trail riding and that should be taken care of. At the end of lap 1, I was feeling pretty good, but fairly hot.

Lap 2 came and went uneventfully. The lap was a few minutes slower, but I was still keeping a good pace. With a mile and a half to go in the 9 mile lap, I started getting some chills. I quickly drank the rest of my GU20 to try and stay hydrated and replenish the salt. It was hard telling where I was in the race, because there are so many people and other groups right after.

On lap 3, my body started to slow down. In the first half of the course where the trail is not as hilly, I could not keep my heart rate up. I was pushing hard, and my legs weren't even burning, but I could not keep a higher pace. I think it was a mixture of chasing too hard on lap 1 and most of lap 2, the 90 degree heat, and some dehydration. I drank my bottles, but it wasn't enough. The bottles were also warm, so I was not getting the cooling factor there. I am a hot weather guy, but going from 40 to 90 and full effort taxed my body a bit. My savior came in the middle of a scorching hot field where a guy was handing off cold waterbottles. I chugged the entire 16oz bottle and felt better. My pace picked up a bit there and I was riding better once i got to the hills. That was just at the right time, because I was craving a cold bottle and a cold pear to eat. Yeah, I am strange. By the end, I still had a bit in the tank. I passed a guy by outsprinting him on the final grassy climb into the finish. At the end I was hot and tired. The legs felt great, but riding 3 laps of the much rougher than MI course put much more demand on the entire body. I ended up 12th out of 26 and got a huge payout of $6.00!!! Hey, it payed for my waffle on the way home:-)

The new Kona Hei Hei Supreme bike worked good. It rides really well am I am still shocked at how well the Fox RP23 rear shock works. That rear travel sure did help down there. I could tell on day one that having the extra 2.5" of travel made the bike hook up much better.

Overall, it was a good weekend of riding, racing, and enjoying the weather. It was a late night coming home, but well worth it. I had a good time and it is fun to see the other competition nationwide and compare. I felt pretty good for March.

Its that time

Time to race! The winter has finally passed, and the races are on the horizen. Race number one is this weekend down in Tennessee. I'll be leaving tomorrow morning early for the trip down. Streets and Maps says 9.5 hours, so that should leave us some good time to get a lap in before we cook and settle in. I am pumped to ride singletrack for the first time since November. I am looking foreward to working out the rust on Friday and Saturday before the Chickasaw Trace Classic on Sunday. It's going to be a long day Sunday. I expect to get back in the wee hours of Monday. Then up for classes. Four days of sitting through lectures and then I am free for North Carolina for 4 days. Woo hoo. A travelin' and ridin' man. It's gonna be fun. Oh yeah, something about temps in the low to mid 80's!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On the new bike side, I fixed the brake problem. I got a nice hour forty five ride in on it yesterday. I felt like a fool riding on the dirt roads. I was hitting all of the bumps and holes I could find to see how the rear suspension works. I have been riding hardtail for a while, but I think this bike might just work quite well. I give a better review of it after the weekend. I suppose some riding in TN and Pisgah, NC will show the true strenghs of the bike.

Out until Monday. Look back for a race review. Until then, I'll be enjoying the singletrack and counting Waffle Houses!

Busy, Busy, Busy

Wow, haven't updated in a bit. I have had a bunch to do lately. Last week I got some good riding in. The weather was nice for a few days, then got cold again. At least it was sunny out. I closed off the week wrapping up 300 miles. This week is active recovery with a race this Sunday. I was riding a bunch, had to work a bunch this weekend at the rink, then on top of that I had to finish a BIO project, write a paper on Foreign Policy(ugh), write a psych paper, and study for a BIO, Psych, and History test. On top of that, I had to plan and get ready for the trip to TN this weekend. Dang, thats a lot of time and work.

On the interesting side of things, I picked up my new Kona Hei Hei Supreme Frame today. It is sweet. I built it up, but have a little disc brake problem in the rear. Hopefully I can get that fixed for good tomorrow. I took all of the parts off of the Yeti, but I do have a new chainring, chain, and cassette that needed to be replaced. It does ride nice around the yard! The Fox RP23 rear shock works just like the Terralogic X forks. You can pound on it and it surprisingly doesn't move. Here is the built bike. All I need is for my new wheels to come in and it will be complete.

Gloomy with Humidity

That was what it turned out to be today. I swear I checked the weather doppler at least 5 times in 3 different sites before I ended up riding. It was so damn dark and cloudy that I was sure it was going to downpour at any moment. The air was also thick and made it feel really muggy out. I was still able to get away with only wearing shorts and a jeresy. Not bad for March 14th. Now time for reality and 40 degrees.

I tried some dirt roads today to see how they were. Good news is that some are dry, some are a little wet, but overall, a little more warm weather and they'll be perfect. I see some gravel grinders in the very near future.

I saw this bike leaning up against a pole yesterday, but today it was laying in the water.

Thank You Mr. Weatherman

Well, that was nice. Really, really, nice. A good taste of whats to come. Too bad the warm weather is going to leave us and go back to the 30's and 40's. With the temps in the 70's today, I opted for a nice long ride. I spent the first little bit working on some intensity, then rode tempo for the rest of the ride. Total ride time was 4:40, and I was in the sun the entire time!!! I almost felt naked when I started riding with only shorts and a jeresy. Can't get much better than that.
A work in progress...


Time to get back to reality and bundle up! Low 60's tomorrow, but it looks like it is going to rain. If it hold off until evening, I should be able to squeeze a ride in before the showers come down.

Wait for It

Here we go, out first taste of spring. Highs tomorrow of 68F and it might reach 70 in some places. I am going out after class and will likely see at least 4 hours. It might become more since there is a group going out a 6pm that I might catch up with. Time to work on those tan lines. It's no fun showing up at the first race looking albino. MTB is the choice for tomorrow. I rode in the drop for 60 miles today, wet, cloudy, then a glimpse of the sun when I was finishing. It turned out to be a better day than it looked. Can't wait for tomorrow, except for that 15-25mph wind!

Active Recovery

After 4 strong days of riding, I decided the best choice for today was to do an easy ride to flush the acid out of the legs. I spent an hour and a half riding around the more urban part of Brighton. Normally I ride towards Milford and the parks which is very rural and not much traffic or people. Today was something different. I had actually never ridden into d-town Brighton and around there. 10 minutes into the ride I was already down town. I did a few loops around the rich people's oversized houses and around Brighton Lake. I just spent the time taking in the views and seeing what people are up to. I was surprised to see 3 families taking a stroll through the neighborhood, but not surprised to see 2 suburbans, 1 escalade, and 2 Hummers drive by me! I only had one person honk and they were on the other side of the road. Hmm?

I found another reason why children are obese in these days. As I passed the railroad tracks in d-town Brighton, I noticed a mother and her son taking a walk on the sidewalk. Unfortunately, the son-about 5-6yrs ol-was driving a big wheels 4x4 vehicle. This was no normal big wheels, it was like double the size. Are they too lazy to walk, ride a scooter, or ride a bike. I know I have a much better time riding a bike than driving a car.

70 in a 40

Obviously this is bike related. I ended up riding 70 miles on the mountain bike today. That was my plan, but sometimes that gets nixed when the weather is cold, crappy and cloudy. Today was the exact opposite. Temps in the low-40's and bright, sunny skies. I felt like I hadn't been able to ride in this environment for years. I did weat tights, because it was in the 30's when I left, but tomorrow is another story.

I am looking a doing a good recovery ride in the pm since it is supposed to rain in the morining. Tomorrow is the start to working on the tan lines. I should be sporting the knee warmers and NO booties!!! I'll still have a base layer up top w/ a jeresy, but I am hoping that soon the clothing will be dwindled down. I love the days when all it takes is throwing on a jeresy and shorts and heading off. I'm sure tomorrow I will go over everything I am wearing 10 times because it will feel so weird. Sunday is upper 40's and should get a good ride in early before I have to go to work in the pm. All of you dormant bikers should come outside, it's really nice.

XXXXXX is in the air

I am not going to jinx it, but I think "it" is on its way. The temps today were still in the 30's, but we are going to hit 40F tomorrow and keep on creeping up into the mid-50's next week. Oh, yeah. Can someone say jeresy and arm warmers. Wooooooooo hooooooooo. Another clue that "it" is in the air is that I saw 4 other cyclists today. Sure, I was in the highly populated ILRA, but I have not seen another rider all winter long since November. Sure, I saw two in January, but 50F is not winter. I was looking off into the woods when I looked back at the road and saw a rider zip by the other way. I was so shocked that I literally jumped. After a few laughs later I felt like an ass for not waving. Yeah, the title is Brent's MTB Life not Roadie Life.

So this better hold out. A couple more good weeks of riding and I'll be able to test my skills. My overall fitness feels great, but once all of the extra clothing and booties are off, I will have a better clue. All I can say is that so far I am happy with it.

Sun?

It came out today! Even though it was 25F when I rode, it felt much warmer due to the fact that the yellow ball of fire came out for the first time in a while. The legs were quite snappy today. I felt good and am looking foreward to my legs feeling good again tomorrow. Spring is at the end of the tunnel. All we have to do is get through this cold spell for a few days and then we should be good to go. Temps in the 40's and maybe 50F for early next week! Unfortunately I think it is a little too late. I am leaning to believe that my first singletrack riding will be on my pre-ride down in TN in a couple weeks. Hopefully I'm not too rusty on my tech skills, or the course is tame.

If the sun shines again tomorrow I think I will be able to get some more time in than expected. With an open sky, the days seem a little longer so more time for me to ride. I have a long day at school tomorrow=more time cramming to get a ride in.

Windy

Dang, is it gusting out there or what. This morning we had pockets of snow, strong winds, and blizzard-like white-out conditions. Luckily by around noon when I was heading out for my ride, the snow stopped and it was clear. That was a good thing because I sure as hell didn't want to get hit today and I really didn't want to ride the trainer. The snow was gone, but the wind never died. The good thing about that though was the awesome tailwind. I would be slowly moving while trying to keep a high cadence, and then I would turn around and zooooooooom. I felt like a Mazda...zoom, zoom, zoom! The hardest part about the ride was trying to stay on the road. Some of the wind gusts had me all over the place. There were at least 5 times where I was leaning real hard just to stay upright while turning the wheel inward. It was quite a good full body workout.

Hopefully the wind dies down a bit tonight so I don't have to suffer in it too much tomorrow. Okay, one last rant. We are in March now and the avg temp should be like 40F. It's 32F here today and a high of 31F tomorrow. Come on, just give me 40F, it would feel sooooooo nice. I also find it easier to ride in warmer temps and I feel much more motivated to ride harder and longer when the temps are up. The sun would be nice too!

Spring Break!

Well, that doesn't look too promising. It's been snowing/sleeting/raining all morning long. It has been coming down extremely hard and the wind has been whipping good too. It looks like a trainer ride is in store for today. I sure as hell am not riding in that type of crap outside.

Since I haven't had school this week, I have been able to get a few rides in. I put in a good ride on Tuesday around Northville, South Lyon, Brighton and Milford. The roads were a bit wet, but nothing a fender and fair of AmFibs couldn't fix. Yesterday I took a trip out to a much more metropolis area to ride with Randy. It is much different out there than it is around here. After crusing around there for a while, I have a greater appreciation for where I live. I can cruise out my driveway and ride rural roads with few stops signs, lights, or cars. The pavement is all smooth and you can pedal for hours on a road bike. A half mile down the road, I can hit dirt which will take me to many different areas of singletrack. It's a pretty nice central and rural location.

I'm looking for this rain and other precipitation type stuff to leave so I can go ride outside. Riding a trainer is not what I want to do during my spring break. And why is Spring Break at the end of February-that's just dumb. Give me a week off in April so I can go shred some singletrack!

Testing, 1-2-3

After doing a nice easy ride on Friday to spin the legs and skating a couple games yesterday, I went on and did a test. A bike test that is. I headed down to my uncle's house and brought my mountain bike so I could see what my LT is and how much power I am exerting. My legs felt pretty fresh and I was able to get my HR up to 184. The highest I have ever gotten was 189, so 184 on a trainer inside without standing was pretty good. My LT showed up right where I thought it was, which is good. At least I know exactly what numbers to ride around. This test was done on a CompuTrainer set up with my mountain bike with a slick tire on the rear. I warmed up easily for 10 minutes then started. The program started at 50 watts and bumped up 20 watts every minute. I kept my cadence around 90-95 and left my bike in the same gear. No shifting and no standing. The CompuTrainer does the work by setting the resistance higher and using sensors to determine the wattage.

The cool thing was that I have seen some great gains. I did this test 15 months ago for the first time. Today, my wattage was 90 watts higher than the previous time. The first time my legs were not as fresh, but I sure have seen some great gains. I am thinking of testing again a few times throughout the year to see my progress. It's pretty cool to see all of the stats and see the hard work pay off. Now it's time to ride. T-28 days until race #1!

Sunny

The temps have dropped down again, but not too bad. The nice part is that the sun has been shining lately thanks to the lack of cloud cover. I was able to get the road bike out for a while on Wednesday. I rolled out of my driveway in much less clothing. A base layer, long sleeve jeresy and vest was all I needed. It felt great not to have to put 5 layers on. I rode an out and back from Brighton out to Fenton. Wind was out of the southwest, so the ride back was a little more resistant.

Sunny skies were also in store for today. I took the fixie out for the last ride in a while. I am switching over to geared bikes since I am closing in on 4 weeks until my first race. Time to get used to shifting and timing again. On my jaunt through ILRA today I saw a deer and an owl. The owl actually swept over me and landed on top of a tree. It was strange that it was an owl, but I did a doubletake and I am sure it was. It was nice and chucnky too. I guess the sun is bringing out the animals. You don't see that sitting on your ass watching TV. Yeah, well I don't have cable, therefore no Discovery channel for me!

Monkey Butt

As I ventured out on my ride today, the roads were quite wet and slushy on the side. There was surely enough salt to melt a glacier too. Well, after about two hours, the chaffing I had going on was horrible. I finished up my ride another hour later and it was pretty uncomfortable. Imagine rubbing coarse salt into you skin. That was what it felt like. All of the wet road slop ended up seeping through my tights and into my chamios where it wasted no time getting to work. By the end of my ride, the roads were starting to dry up, but that does not undo previous damage. All this means is I have to lather up with more butta' tommorrow! Projected high looks to be 30F and a big 40F is showing for the end of the week. Just in time for me to start busting out the geared bikes. After riding a fixed gear for the past three months, it should be weird to float through the gears. I can't wait.

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!