DZ at ToC Prologue or Adam Craig at MTB Worlds?
Credit: Cycling News
Monday, February 18, 2008
Friday, February 15, 2008
Memories
With winter still with us and arctic air flowing freely, I am going back to reflect on a few pictures that make me smile from 2007.
Hopefully March will bring temps into the mid-30's at least.
Overlooking the Pisgah NF
Finishing the Lumberjack 100 under my goal time of 8hrs
Standing 450ft above Lk Michigan on Pierce Stocking Drive and looking over the treeline to Glen Lake
And lastly, suffering with the pain face in 85F temps running on the beach while swimmers enjoy the waters
Hopefully March will bring temps into the mid-30's at least.
Monday, February 11, 2008
I'm Getting Soft
I rode the trainer.
Also went to the MMBA expo and had a good time seeing everyone in the long of winter. Picked up 24 Solo and watched it while on the trainer. GOOD movie. Gripped Films did an awesome job filming and editing the movie to make it exciting.
No, I am not doing any solo 24's. I have done a 12 and two hundies. They are very fun, but solo 24 is not for me right now.
Couple more weeks and hopefully the temps will turn upward. We can't go much lower than now.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Cruising
Dang, January is almost done. That's a good thing from here. This means warmer weather is closer and spring is on the way, but we still have February to get through.
I spent almost a week riding like this with temps hovering on the low teens and windchills below zero. I was still out chugging through the miles and having fun. With the cold temps came some snow. I resorted to riding the trails for a few days to try and stay out of the open roads. Suprisingly my feet stayed relatively warm(not numb) for 3-3.5 hours. With the snow riding on the fixed gear came some good force workouts, but low speed and miles. Closing out January, I will hit 1000 miles outside, along with some trainer rides that I don't count. Not a bad month for me. Biggest mileage ever!
I went to the auto show on MLK day and found a sweet concept vehicle I would buy.
Rugged, great room, long bed and space for bikes and gear, give it AWD and a biodiesel engine...boy would that be sah-weet.
I spent almost a week riding like this with temps hovering on the low teens and windchills below zero. I was still out chugging through the miles and having fun. With the cold temps came some snow. I resorted to riding the trails for a few days to try and stay out of the open roads. Suprisingly my feet stayed relatively warm(not numb) for 3-3.5 hours. With the snow riding on the fixed gear came some good force workouts, but low speed and miles. Closing out January, I will hit 1000 miles outside, along with some trainer rides that I don't count. Not a bad month for me. Biggest mileage ever!
I went to the auto show on MLK day and found a sweet concept vehicle I would buy.
Rugged, great room, long bed and space for bikes and gear, give it AWD and a biodiesel engine...boy would that be sah-weet.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Take it or Leave it
With the low sweeping jetstream blowing the arctic air from Canada onto much of the US this week and into the weekend, you have to plan accordingly. Lucky for me, I am on a much needed recovery week, so I ride as far as I feel like, as hard as I feel like, and frankly, go wherever I want. With my first Thursday all day adventure in Ann Arbor, I went out in the midst of some flurries to put some time in the saddle. Cruise down Huron River drive into Dexter, up around to Hell, and back through Chelsea was the route of choice. Coming back to the start, I opted for some off road riding. Jumped into Barton Nature Park, out into Bandemer and end twisting throuh Leslie Park. Got some road riding in, then got my fix of dirt and trees.
Today was SUNNY. Decided to enjoy some gravel to give me a block from the wind. Conditions were good and bad. Some road were all clear, some were snow covered, while others were a sheet of ice. No falls or slips, just and nice peaceful ride with low traffic. Out riding around breahting fresh air, spinning the legs, and enjoying the scenery.
Some graffiti painted on the rail trail. I think it says, "Bary Peach" Maybe a band or the famous "Rail Trail Banditos"!
Also finished some bike projects lately. Took the fork all apart, re-lubed a few parts, changed the oil (3 different kinds-why?), and put in some new seals. With some added parts coming in from Manitou this week, I was finally able to put it back together. Now, only a few more months and I can get it back on the trails again.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
8 Day Binge
25.5 hours, 426.5 miles, one day off, one recovery ride, pavement, dirt roads, and even some trail.
What a week for riding. A few days of warmer weather and almost no precipitation this week lead to a big grin and some sore, but a good sore feeling in the legs. I got in a groove and stuck to it. Riding the CX bike early in the week lead to some exploration. To my surprise, the trails were in great shape. Frost still in the ground and no tire marks left. After a long ride on Tuesday, I threw on and HID light, grabbed the MTB fixed gear, and hit the trails over at Brighton Rec. Nothing like the rush you get when riding a fixie on the trail at night in unknown conditions. Its the unexpected thrill and "oh shit" moments that bring the fire back. Bombing down a hill uncontrollably with legs spinning and seeing a patch of ice around the corner. Get through it and have a sense of relief and then excitement. Stupid, maybe, but exhilarating, hell yeah!
Rode some of ILRA and Proud Lake trails this week on the skinny knobbies to see the trail conditions. Just as fun to cruise the trails at high speed rounding corners on narrow tires and smashing through sand pits like Sven Nys. This week brought back thrill and excitment for the upcoming season.
With the 14" of snow and inch of rain, the water has been really high. Normally, this is a dry swamp.
I was planning on hitting up a WRCS ride on Saturday to ride with some people for a change. Opening up a work e-mail late Friday night put the end to that. Add in a game mid-day, and I had to shuffle the schedule. Maybe sometime soon. Nothing like riding in the cold with like-minded individuals.
I rounded out the week with a morning gravel grinder on the fixie. No gears, no coasting, and no target number to hit and look at. Just pedaling for a few hours soaking in the outdoors. Nice temps out and no winds to fight with. Just me and one gear pushing up hills and spinning madly down. Ran across the Michigan State CX Champion also enjoying a little gravel goodness this morning.
Next up is the start of a new semester. I have a decent schedule, but a 6-9 class on Thursdays. That gives me 5.5 hours to waste down in A2. Looks like the bike will be packed and new routes explorered. Anyone with route suggestions starting in A2 to anywhere, Dexte, Waterloo, Chelsea etc.. post them up. I have been riding down from Brighton via Mast Rd to Huron River and back Whitmore Lk alot lately. If this weather holds, I will be able to search for some gravel as well.
What a week for riding. A few days of warmer weather and almost no precipitation this week lead to a big grin and some sore, but a good sore feeling in the legs. I got in a groove and stuck to it. Riding the CX bike early in the week lead to some exploration. To my surprise, the trails were in great shape. Frost still in the ground and no tire marks left. After a long ride on Tuesday, I threw on and HID light, grabbed the MTB fixed gear, and hit the trails over at Brighton Rec. Nothing like the rush you get when riding a fixie on the trail at night in unknown conditions. Its the unexpected thrill and "oh shit" moments that bring the fire back. Bombing down a hill uncontrollably with legs spinning and seeing a patch of ice around the corner. Get through it and have a sense of relief and then excitement. Stupid, maybe, but exhilarating, hell yeah!
Rode some of ILRA and Proud Lake trails this week on the skinny knobbies to see the trail conditions. Just as fun to cruise the trails at high speed rounding corners on narrow tires and smashing through sand pits like Sven Nys. This week brought back thrill and excitment for the upcoming season.
With the 14" of snow and inch of rain, the water has been really high. Normally, this is a dry swamp.
I was planning on hitting up a WRCS ride on Saturday to ride with some people for a change. Opening up a work e-mail late Friday night put the end to that. Add in a game mid-day, and I had to shuffle the schedule. Maybe sometime soon. Nothing like riding in the cold with like-minded individuals.
I rounded out the week with a morning gravel grinder on the fixie. No gears, no coasting, and no target number to hit and look at. Just pedaling for a few hours soaking in the outdoors. Nice temps out and no winds to fight with. Just me and one gear pushing up hills and spinning madly down. Ran across the Michigan State CX Champion also enjoying a little gravel goodness this morning.
Next up is the start of a new semester. I have a decent schedule, but a 6-9 class on Thursdays. That gives me 5.5 hours to waste down in A2. Looks like the bike will be packed and new routes explorered. Anyone with route suggestions starting in A2 to anywhere, Dexte, Waterloo, Chelsea etc.. post them up. I have been riding down from Brighton via Mast Rd to Huron River and back Whitmore Lk alot lately. If this weather holds, I will be able to search for some gravel as well.
Sunday, January 06, 2008
Weather Turning...Cogs a burning
Well, the cold snap has left and now the warm weather is here for a few days. After some cold days of bundling up and trying to stay warm for multiple hours, I was excited looking at the forecast. Temps in the 40's and 50's with chances of rain. There goes the foot of snow.
With temps reaching 40 today, I set out for a 5 hour ride down to Ann Arbor and back around through Wixom and Milford. I was planning on throwing in a loop or 2 of Kensington to fill my time on the way back. Then I woke up. Fog. More Fog. Weather man says, "The fog will be staying all day." Yup, no pictures were in store for today. If you want to visualize and you don't live in SE MI, then go into Paint(non Mac users) and use the fill bucket with grey. Yup, thats what it looked like.
So what did I do. Put on 3 blinking lights, put the road wheels on the CX bike with full fenders and set out on the wet roads. 5 minutes in the glasses came off. 4:20 later, back home, a little wet, still warm, and not hit by a vehicle. Brutal day outside. Some areas had 1/3 mile visibility, while the open areas with more steaming snow had barely enough visibility for me to see the computer on the stem. Yeah, not a good day for riding on the road. Guess I was lucky.
Looking like tomorrow will be mid 50's and a chance of rain. Much less of a chance for rain tomorrow than Tuesday. Don't start school back up for another week, so big miles are a coming!
With temps reaching 40 today, I set out for a 5 hour ride down to Ann Arbor and back around through Wixom and Milford. I was planning on throwing in a loop or 2 of Kensington to fill my time on the way back. Then I woke up. Fog. More Fog. Weather man says, "The fog will be staying all day." Yup, no pictures were in store for today. If you want to visualize and you don't live in SE MI, then go into Paint(non Mac users) and use the fill bucket with grey. Yup, thats what it looked like.
So what did I do. Put on 3 blinking lights, put the road wheels on the CX bike with full fenders and set out on the wet roads. 5 minutes in the glasses came off. 4:20 later, back home, a little wet, still warm, and not hit by a vehicle. Brutal day outside. Some areas had 1/3 mile visibility, while the open areas with more steaming snow had barely enough visibility for me to see the computer on the stem. Yeah, not a good day for riding on the road. Guess I was lucky.
Looking like tomorrow will be mid 50's and a chance of rain. Much less of a chance for rain tomorrow than Tuesday. Don't start school back up for another week, so big miles are a coming!
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
Happy New Year
Nothing like a full 12" of snow to ring in the new year. Now, what to do? Ride outside, err...no. Don't feel like getting killed by drunks today. Ski...oh yeah, can't even get out of the nieghborhood. Clear the driveway...DONE. Hmm, looks to be the first day of the new year and the first day on the trainer this year. Should be a grand time. Roads will hopefully be cleared enough to get out tomorrow. If not, XC skis will be the weapon of choice.
Holidays were good, except for the part where I was on the couch with the flu for 4 days. Then add in a few days of holiday gatherings, and I found myself cramming in big hours in a small amount of time. Now it looks like the weather is going to get colder for a few days then hit the upper 40s and maybe even 50 by the weekend. Nothing like bushwhacking in 12" power on the XC skis, and riding the skinny tired bike without a jacket and few days later. Gotta love it!
Holidays were good, except for the part where I was on the couch with the flu for 4 days. Then add in a few days of holiday gatherings, and I found myself cramming in big hours in a small amount of time. Now it looks like the weather is going to get colder for a few days then hit the upper 40s and maybe even 50 by the weekend. Nothing like bushwhacking in 12" power on the XC skis, and riding the skinny tired bike without a jacket and few days later. Gotta love it!
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Rippin' the Skinny Skis
With the 6"+ of fresh powder that accumulated on Sunday, I have said good-bye bike and hello skis. Sunday was some fun nordic through Proud Lake with high winds and large snow drifts. Today I opted for an adventure out at Kensington. When you ride through places, you notice trails and options that may make for some fun in the future. If you can believe it, I have actually never layed knobbies on the trails I skiied today, even though I ride past them all the time. 2hrs with the sun shining made a great way to start my break between semesters.
How often do we see our shadow in MI winter?
Snow covered pines line the trail
A part of the Huron River that was flowing at a good clip
Duel purpose gloves
How often do we see our shadow in MI winter?
Snow covered pines line the trail
A part of the Huron River that was flowing at a good clip
Saturday, December 08, 2007
Ride Temptations
Riding long hours in the blistering cold of winter here in MI, many things go through a cyclist head. It is a time of reflection and thoughts of a past season, work that needs to be done, or the future. Often, I find myself thinking about what I am going to stuff my face into once I open the door to replenish the 2000+ calories I burn on a daily basis. The craving is often filled by a large bowl of raisin bran, muffins, cheese, yogurt, nutella lathered on toast, and anything else that looks good.
Today, during my four hour ride in the 25F temps, I was thinking about how bad my legs hurt from a week of long rides and gym workouts. It was not how cold my toes are of how much longer I have to ride into the bone-chilling wind, but rather the amount of acid in my legs and messing with my head. Around three hours in, I was coming back from Whitmore Lake and heading into South Lyon. I see two ladies in the distance waving signs as my mind wonders why there is a car wash on a cold day. As I got closer, I was able to read the sign as one of the attendees waved at me. It read, "$10 massages. Free Hot Cocoa and food." Oh boy, how does stuff like this happen. I carry money this time of year in case of an emergency, and somehow it was exactly ten bucks. Hot chocolate would have been great along with food, you can never go wrong with free food. But, the most important was how great it would feel to get my acid burning legs massaged.
So as I rode on home, I did not think about food, but rather how great that would have been. Too bad I would have froze my ass off when I got back on my bike to finish the ride. Just the way things are connected somehow is amazing.
One more ride this week and then a nice day to freshen the legs. Ahh, how I love winter and our weekly 25F temps. Remember last year at this time we were riding in shorts and armwarmers! Maybe an early spring thaw this year, yeaaaaaaaaaaaaah!
Today, during my four hour ride in the 25F temps, I was thinking about how bad my legs hurt from a week of long rides and gym workouts. It was not how cold my toes are of how much longer I have to ride into the bone-chilling wind, but rather the amount of acid in my legs and messing with my head. Around three hours in, I was coming back from Whitmore Lake and heading into South Lyon. I see two ladies in the distance waving signs as my mind wonders why there is a car wash on a cold day. As I got closer, I was able to read the sign as one of the attendees waved at me. It read, "$10 massages. Free Hot Cocoa and food." Oh boy, how does stuff like this happen. I carry money this time of year in case of an emergency, and somehow it was exactly ten bucks. Hot chocolate would have been great along with food, you can never go wrong with free food. But, the most important was how great it would feel to get my acid burning legs massaged.
So as I rode on home, I did not think about food, but rather how great that would have been. Too bad I would have froze my ass off when I got back on my bike to finish the ride. Just the way things are connected somehow is amazing.
One more ride this week and then a nice day to freshen the legs. Ahh, how I love winter and our weekly 25F temps. Remember last year at this time we were riding in shorts and armwarmers! Maybe an early spring thaw this year, yeaaaaaaaaaaaaah!
Friday, November 23, 2007
Iceman Pics
Going for the pass at Williamsburg Rd
Halfway up the climb gaining ground-this is the fastest guy I have ever seen in jeans/carharts
Simonster leading JHK before the finish 
Looking for a charging Joe B
Just about done!
Finished!
I took 7 days off the bike after the race to refresh the body both mentally and physically. I put in only 5.5 easy hours on the CX'er and SS this week. The past two days showed signs of winter with snow and wind chills in the teens today. Good winter clothing makes those rides very doable. Fenders help tremendously also. Time for some exlporation next week. I read in the paper Hamburg has 28 miles of gravel roads. Mmmm, gravel. Hamburg is a quick 6ish mile ride from home. If I find some good raods I can likely link them up to Pinckney and maybe the Lakelands trail to make a good loop. I usually venture East and sometimes North to Fenton, but this year that will change. A few more weeks of school then almost a month off to ride!
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Iceman Videos
For those who haven't seen them
Crossing Williamsburg Rd-credit to Joe Lekovish
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDpYMSb5YTw&feature=related
Here is te Iceman teaser video from Mashers Media
www.mashersmedia.blogspot.com
Embedded links won't work, so you'll have to click the hyperlinks.
Crossing Williamsburg Rd-credit to Joe Lekovish
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDpYMSb5YTw&feature=related
Here is te Iceman teaser video from Mashers Media
www.mashersmedia.blogspot.com
Embedded links won't work, so you'll have to click the hyperlinks.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Iceman Cometh
Well, its over. A long season just ended yesterday and I am very happy with it. I topped the season off with an 18th place out of 53 Pro finishers. I crossed the line in 1:40:12, 15 minutes faster than last year!!! Improvements.
Pre-rode the first 7 miles of the trail on Saturday before heading to the expo for packet pick-up. After a nice pasta dinner at the Brew Pub, it was a relaxing night in the hotel room.
Saturday morning came with temps in the mid 20's. I was out watching the fam start the race. Then a quick drive and hike over to Williamsburg Rd to watch them come through while endulging in some cold blueberry pancakes. Another short drive got us to the finish line, but late for my mom coming accross the line in 2:40. Switched vehicles and drove down to Kalkaska. Had to miss my dad and uncle finishing; they came in at a quick 2:16 and +:30.
Ay Kaskie, it was prep and warm-up. The first few miles of the trail provided some excitement for fast trails. After a long wait with call-ups, we were off.
Started about 3/4 back and picked people off left and right. Following moves, we dwindled the group down. For the most part, it was Randy, me, jeans man from Ohio, Dan Jansen, and Christian Tanguy. We were moving along pretty good riding in 11-15 place. Just past Williamsburg Rd, the jeans man cut infront of me and rubbed wheels. I tried to keep it straight, but ended up flying into the woods. A branchy bush stopped me, but after re-mounting, I was a long shot from the group. I was out in no mans land trying to find a groove. I kept looking back waiting for someone to catch me. Finally with 7 to go, a guy from PA and Joe Brzuchanski caught me. Yes! We rode together almost the rest of the way. With 2 miles to go, I had to get off on a climb to pull a stick out of my derailluer. I couldn't shift the stick out, so I had to get off on a climb. They pulled away, but I was trying to get back.
I bridged the gap up to Joe just before the last hill coming into Timber Ridge. With all the people cheering, I stood up and tried to gap Joe. He hung on at the beginning, but as I went up people were yelling at me to go and I was gapping him. Just as I am sitting down, the trail goes left and I look up to see more of the hill. Crap. I jump out of the saddle and finish it off. Was able to ride to the finish 5 seconds ahead of a fast Joe and 5 seconds behind the PA guy.
I was very happy with the result. The group I was with ended up passing Ross Schnell and placing 10-15. They were 1:37:30. Very fast race and awesome competition. Great way to end the season.
Pre-rode the first 7 miles of the trail on Saturday before heading to the expo for packet pick-up. After a nice pasta dinner at the Brew Pub, it was a relaxing night in the hotel room.
Saturday morning came with temps in the mid 20's. I was out watching the fam start the race. Then a quick drive and hike over to Williamsburg Rd to watch them come through while endulging in some cold blueberry pancakes. Another short drive got us to the finish line, but late for my mom coming accross the line in 2:40. Switched vehicles and drove down to Kalkaska. Had to miss my dad and uncle finishing; they came in at a quick 2:16 and +:30.
Ay Kaskie, it was prep and warm-up. The first few miles of the trail provided some excitement for fast trails. After a long wait with call-ups, we were off.
Started about 3/4 back and picked people off left and right. Following moves, we dwindled the group down. For the most part, it was Randy, me, jeans man from Ohio, Dan Jansen, and Christian Tanguy. We were moving along pretty good riding in 11-15 place. Just past Williamsburg Rd, the jeans man cut infront of me and rubbed wheels. I tried to keep it straight, but ended up flying into the woods. A branchy bush stopped me, but after re-mounting, I was a long shot from the group. I was out in no mans land trying to find a groove. I kept looking back waiting for someone to catch me. Finally with 7 to go, a guy from PA and Joe Brzuchanski caught me. Yes! We rode together almost the rest of the way. With 2 miles to go, I had to get off on a climb to pull a stick out of my derailluer. I couldn't shift the stick out, so I had to get off on a climb. They pulled away, but I was trying to get back.
I bridged the gap up to Joe just before the last hill coming into Timber Ridge. With all the people cheering, I stood up and tried to gap Joe. He hung on at the beginning, but as I went up people were yelling at me to go and I was gapping him. Just as I am sitting down, the trail goes left and I look up to see more of the hill. Crap. I jump out of the saddle and finish it off. Was able to ride to the finish 5 seconds ahead of a fast Joe and 5 seconds behind the PA guy.
I was very happy with the result. The group I was with ended up passing Ross Schnell and placing 10-15. They were 1:37:30. Very fast race and awesome competition. Great way to end the season.
Photos from my so-pro photog should be up later in the week.
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
Vets Park CX Video
Mike from Mashers Media has been filming the MTB and CX races this season. He's got some sweet videos out from many races. CLICK HERE to see the video from last weekend. I've even got a nice little bunny hopping action going on in it. Mashers Media is also doing the Iceman Cometh video this year. It should rock and put the old Iceman vids to death. Sound like racing action, helmet cam on seatpost action, and even still shots thrown in.
Saturday, November 03, 2007
Vets Park CX
Today turned into another awesome weather day. CX season is supposed to be cold, dreary, muddy, and even snowy. Out of my CX races this year I had 60's, 70's and 80's all on sunny days. I can't complain about that.We lined up with 23 strong in the A race. The field was stacked with the usual suspects, MTBers getting the final touches in for ICEMAN and even some out of town guys came in. I started the first lap in my usual spot. Robert and I were fighting it out for dead last. Just before the end of lap 1 I got into my rhythm while everyone else settled down from the fast start.
I rode my bike and enjoyed every moment of it. Every lap I would pass people. 1, 2, or 3 people a lap. Just like my other races, my steadiness won. No crashes, no screw ups, and 110%. After 3 very tough end laps battling it out with a WMCR rider, I came in 11th overall and am very happy about my result. Props to the WMCR rider who could run like the wind on the run-up. I would gap him, then he would run-up and catch me. Finally on the last lap he got me.
The funniest part of the race was after the first set of barriers on one of the middle laps. I had ran over the barriers (smoothly) and jumped back onto the saddle. I look up and hear, "Awe, man, that has got to hurt." It was a 14-15ish year old kid standing at the end of the tape over his BMX bike he had just rode there. That gave me a great mid-race chuckle.
Looking foreward to next weekend shows some 40 degree weather and hopefully no rain. Today was probably the hardest I have ever raced in my 3 years of racing. After the race my lungs were on fire like I had just had an asthma attack. Talk about 1 hr of VO2 Max. My form is good and with a little rest and a touch of intensity between now and Saturday, I should be good to go. Not to win, but have a good race, have fun, and try to place well.
Friday, November 02, 2007
Funny
Check this video out. It's a spoof on Mythbusters with 26" vs. 29". That's all I will say about that subject. Well, except for I'll put my money on a 29er winning Iceman.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=OyIWPB-X49U
CX tomorrow at Vets Park. Ready to race!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=OyIWPB-X49U
CX tomorrow at Vets Park. Ready to race!
Thursday, November 01, 2007
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Lower Huron CX
What a nice day for a ride in the park. That's what my day turned into. I rode a few laps of the course before the masters race and before our A race. Nothing special besides a steep run-up after the barriers. It was a rathe bland course that favored a power rider. Not many turns that had to be accelerated hard or any climbing. Just pedaling into the wind. I started off in a good position for once. Then going into the sandpit, I followed a 2 guys attempting to ride and a runner. I ran into them, so I had to get off and run it out. A few passed and I was chasing. Just before the second set of barriers, I wiped out on an off camber section. I was riding the top and was coming off the ending of it when WHAM, I was down before I knew what was going on. One of those quick falls where you think back to it and don't know the cause. After that it was more chasing, almost everyone was by me. I just kept pedalling and enjoyed the day of high intensity training. A few more slips here and there and that was the story of the day. With 3 to go, I came into barriers #1 and down-shifted late, which had me getting off the bike just before the barriers. I didn't have time to get my hands off the bars, so WHACK, the rear tire smacks the barrier. Running the bike up the hill I notice the wheel isn't spinning. A looks at it and a forced spin around shows the rim is true but the brake it slammed into the tire. I tried forcing the brake pad down, but no luck. So on I went in a jog over to the pit to grab a tool. I got there and decided to take the wheel out and try to re-align it. Luckily that worked out, so on I was again, almost last. I ended picking off another spot before I was caught by the flying Wissink. He had a huge gap.
One thing I noticed with this power course and maybe the wind was that all of the riders were spread out. There was no riding in groups and working to chase down others. For the most part it was every-man-for-themselves. I ended up 12th. Not close to what I was looking for, but not everything went my way. Oh well, I still had fun and was able to ride my bike hard today. Not to mention the 78 degree temperatures. Ocotber 21st, huh? Lets keep this weather around another 20 days or so. After that, the cool weather can come in for a short bit if necessary.
One thing I noticed with this power course and maybe the wind was that all of the riders were spread out. There was no riding in groups and working to chase down others. For the most part it was every-man-for-themselves. I ended up 12th. Not close to what I was looking for, but not everything went my way. Oh well, I still had fun and was able to ride my bike hard today. Not to mention the 78 degree temperatures. Ocotber 21st, huh? Lets keep this weather around another 20 days or so. After that, the cool weather can come in for a short bit if necessary.
Monday, October 08, 2007
Stony CX
It all started off on a blistery cold, almost snowy fall day. Well almost. High 80's and humid. Sounds like summer MTB weather, not 100% all out cross.
I did my normal race thing. Start at the back and pick riders off in the hour. I was in 18th on lap one and finished 9 laps later and 9 times through that friggin' beach up 8 spots. I was closing in on Robert and another rider on the last lap, but couldn't close the gap. Good race, fun times, lots of water weight lost, and no barrier mess-ups. My CX skills are getting better. Now only if I could start the race out near the front and not taking the caboose.
Pics up later. Oh yeah, no crashes!
I did my normal race thing. Start at the back and pick riders off in the hour. I was in 18th on lap one and finished 9 laps later and 9 times through that friggin' beach up 8 spots. I was closing in on Robert and another rider on the last lap, but couldn't close the gap. Good race, fun times, lots of water weight lost, and no barrier mess-ups. My CX skills are getting better. Now only if I could start the race out near the front and not taking the caboose.
Pics up later. Oh yeah, no crashes!
Sunday, September 30, 2007
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.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Saturday, September 22, 2007
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!
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!
Sunday, September 09, 2007
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.
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.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
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.
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.
Monday, August 20, 2007
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.
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.
Monday, August 06, 2007
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.
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.
Monday, July 09, 2007
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.
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.
Sunday, July 01, 2007
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.
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.
Monday, June 18, 2007
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.
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.
Monday, June 11, 2007
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.
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.
Monday, May 21, 2007
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.
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.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
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.
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.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
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!
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!
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
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.
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