Wilderness 101

2011 Mileage: 4,215
This post is long over due but I'm kind of glad I took some time to really let the experience of W101 sink in. It was by far the longest I've ever raced and with all that time in the saddle, most of it alone, I had a lot of time to go through some serious ups and downs.

The race started off pretty quick and almost immediately on to the first climb of the day. I knew that the climbing here would be something completely new to me, as in the longest climbs I had ever ridden, so my plan was just to stay within myself and spin up them. As the pavement turned to gravel and I continued to feel good just spinning my way up I was starting to gain a little confidence. Then shortly after that I felt my rear wheel start washing out and I knew I was losing air. I quickly hopped off and shot some air in with my CO2 inflator hoping that it would just seal itself back up with the sealant in the tire. No luck and within a couple miles it was doing the same thing again. Off the bike again and this time to throw a tube in. Too bad I wasted my CO2 on a failed attempt so this time it was using the hand pump to get the tire inflated. Good thing I decided to bring it as a back up. So about twenty minutes wasted and I wasn't even to aid 1 yet. Got to aid 1 and borrowed a floor pump to finish pumping up my rear tire and was back on my way. From this point on it was just riding past people and feeling good, trying to make up ground. I got to aid 2 before I knew it and my sister was there to greet me. While I restocked with a new tube, CO2 and took in some calories really quickly she refilled my bottles and I was back on the bike. Then it was back on the bike and I was still feeling great and I continued to pass people as I headed on to the long climb after aid 2. Feeling great turned to feeling good, and then feeling good turned in to "is this climb ever going to end." After I finally reached the top I couldn't wait for the trip back down. Then I headed down the single track descent and felt like the rocky terrain was going to knock my teeth out I was bouncing around so hard. It was basically more of this, long gravel climbs and long rocky descents, for the next 50 miles. Cramping hit me a little bit at around mile 65 but I just took in some more fluids and managed to push through it just fine. I started feeling good again and saw Kate again shortly after at aid #4. Right after my brief break there I immediately got punished by a long unmaintained road climb and simply dragged myself to the finish from there. But at least I finished. I had a time of 9:49 putting me 107th/234 in the Men's Open category. Definitely not a great result but I went in to this race with pretty much no expectations and just wanting to finish and I did just that. Only one crash, and two flat tires.

I need to give a huge thanks to my wonderful little sister for all of her help. She brought new life to me at the aid stations and it would have been a lot tougher of a day without her. She also nursed me back to life (well as much as possible) right after I crossed the finish line. I really miss having her as a next door neighbor.

Also congrats to my traveling companion Mike on his third place finish and a time that was 3 hours faster than mine. So he beat me by three hours and then drove the entire way back to Michigan right after the podium because I was too beat up to contribute. Talk about humbling for me.

If I would've been asked right after I finished if I'd ever do another hundred mile mountain bike race I would've said no way. After a week to think about it I've come to realize that I'll just never do W101 again, on a hardtail at least. I've already committed to do Cohutta 100 with Kate next year.

This weekend I've got two races on the schedule. Ore to Shore, a 48 mile point to point mountain bike race in Marquette, Saturday and Cherry Roubaix, the state championship road race in Traverse City, Sunday. It should be a great weekend, especially since Linz is making the trip with me.

A DNF, a DNS and Feeling Strong

2011 Mileage: 3,929

Last weekend was supposed to be a two race weekend for me with Maillot Jaune Road Race in Fenton on Saturday and Le Champion Pave Crit in Flint on Sunday.

Saturday I felt good, and got feeling better as the race went on. It was a course that suited me with some climbing, but all big ring climbs and some fast rougher sections. A break went early on the first lap and I spent a lot of time on the front for a little over a lap reeling them back in. We brought them back half way through the second lap and then little attacks would go here and there but nothing that could stay away. For how much I had my head in the wind my legs felt really good and I never felt red lined the entire race, and like I said, actually felt better on the third (last) lap than I did on the first. Too bad none of this mattered as I tore the sidewall on my rear tubular with less than two miles to go. I hopped off and quickly tried to shoot some sealant/air into it but the gash was too big and sealant just spewed out the side of the tire and it never held any air. First time all year that I didn't throw my spare wheelset in the wheel truck, and they were even sitting in my car. Oh well, live and learn. My bike got tossed in the back of the wheel truck and I hopped in for a ride to the finish line. Not how I wanted to cross the line, especially feeling that good but its bike racing and things happen.

Saturday night we had a couples shower for our friends Ryan and Kelli and it was a good time but things definitely went on much later than I expected and 5am came way too early after not getting to bed until after 2am. I got out of bed and my throat felt scratchy and I could tell that I didn't get enough sleep. It was a repeat of how I felt the week before Lumberjack 100, but that day I got out of bed and went and rode hard. I decided a 30 minute crit wasn't worth getting sick and went right back to bed. I think that's a first ever DNS (did not start) for me since I pre-registered and didn't go but I still think it was the right decision.

Yesterday was another Waterford Wednesday and I decided to race the A (1/2/3) race. I actually wasn't going to race at all with Wilderness 101 this Saturday but my buddy Scott is back in town from Europe were he spends most of the season racing and training and he convinced me to come out and sit in since he was going to be there. So much for sitting in. I got in on early break about 20 minutes in to the two hour race and we stayed away for 10 minutes or so before getting pulled back. Then another break went with a chase group and I attacked the field to try and bridge. I sat solo in no-man's land for 5 or 10 minutes, getting within 10 seconds of the chase group but never quite catching on. I sat up and waited for the field to catch up and I realized as I saw them coming that they had really ramped up their speed and the group had blown apart and it was about half the size it was when I attacked. I jumped back in and we pulled the chase group back. There were still 3 guys up the road but they were long gone. I waited until two to go and I saw two guys go, Clint Verran and a Team Giant guy, and I decided to try to jump to them. It took me an entire lap and I caught them with a small gap on the field and as I bridged up Clint attacked and got a little gap that the two of us couldn't close. I cramped the second half of that last lap but managed to hold off the field even though I could hear them breathing down my neck as I crossed the line in 6th. My best ever result in the A race there by far and I felt stronger than I ever have in that race before. Again like at Fenton I seemed to feel better as the race went on. Not exactly sure what it is but I seem to be riding pretty well right now on the road.

I'm sure that won't translate this weekend though as I drag myself through Wilderness 101 over in PA. 12,000 feet of climbing over 101 miles. This could be interesting.

Block O Crit

Saturday I made the solo trek down to Columbus to take part in my first ever crit racing. I headed down because there were two races that I could do since they were offering both a 3/4 and a 4/5 crit and I was planning on doing both of them. It was about a 4 hour drive but it went smoothly and I got down there right on time. Thanks to some coaching from my teammate Rob I had a good idea of what I was up against and how I needed to warm up and fuel for the race, as well as what to expect in the races.

The 55 minute Cat 3/4 race came first and Rob was right on with what he told me to expect. I was warmed up and ready and I stayed near the front the almost the entire race, sitting within the top 10 (usually 5) spots and taking the occasional turn at the front. I thought I was lined up pretty well sitting third wheel with 3 laps to go and then all of a sudden with 2 to go "the swarm" as Rob described it came and everyone wanted to be where I was. Another problem was that a lot of these guys where all on the same team as it seemed like a bunch of guys in K.O.M. style polka dot jerseys seemed to make up 1/4 of the field and they got to the front together, clogged things up and made it virtually impossible to move up at that point. I didn't even contest the sprint at the end and rolled in for a disappointing 21st right in the middle of the field. We averaged about 27 mph and I had an average heart rate of 183 for the hour.

Then it was off to hydrate, try and bring my heart rate down, find a nice mother hanging around to pin my other race number on me, and then warm up again for race number 2.

I felt a lot more in control and comfortable in race number 2. I spent the entire race near the front again and if I slid back I didn't have any trouble moving up in this field compared to the previous race. The race went by without much incident for me, even though I found out later there were a couple wrecks but being toward the front I didn't even know they happened. Again the swarm showed up, but this time it was just before the last lap and I didn't fall quite as far back. With half a lap to go I went to jump back up near the front but couldn't find a wheel to get on so I went to the front and just went for it. I buried myself for the next half lap and managed to pull away from most of the field, but I didn't have any kick when it came down to the very end so a few guys got me right at the line and I came across in 4th. We averaged about 26 mph for this 40 minute race.

Not the results I wanted but all in all a great experience for my first ever true crit racing. I got to spend a beautiful Saturday outside racing my bike and I stayed crash free so there really isn't anything I can complain about.

Next weekend I have The Maillot Jaune Road Race in Fenton and Le Champion Pave Crit in Flint, along with hopefully a long mileage week in preparation for Wilderness 101 less than two weeks away. Although at this point I don't think anything can prepare me for 10.000 ft of climbing over the course of 101 miles.

A Wedding Weekend

2011 Mileage: 3,637

A little over two weeks ago I did my first race on the road in a while and my first race after my DNF at Lumberjack and being sick for a couple of weeks. It was a fast race with a lot of guys riding in top form and the showing of a local cycling man of the hour, Alexey Vermeulen, who had just won the U-23 National Road Race. It seemed as though a lot of guys where watching his every move and weren't going to let him go anywhere.I sat in the field for the most part, trying to bridge to an attack here and there but never going on the offensive. At an average pace of over 28 mph it was way too fast for me to ever be on the attack. My average heart rate for the 2 hours was in the low 180's (really high) but at the same time I never really felt red lined and when I was in the field I had no problem recovering. I finished somewhere in the middle of the field not contesting the sprint since I was too far back to have a real go at it, probably around 20th.

Then it was over a week out of the saddle for Kate's Wedding and two days ago I did another Waterford Wednesday. Heart Rate was a little lower (high 170's) and the speed was a little slower (about 27.5 mph) but I could tell I lost some form in my time off (and put on some weight with all the wedding festivities). I was trying to mark some wheels early and put in way too hard of an effort in the first twenty minutes trying to bridge to an attack that I couldn't quite reach. I was red lined and then went back in to the field to try and recover. Recovery wasn't really happening as the pace was ramping way up and I was forced to continue chasing, but this time just to hold on to the pack. I hung in and recovered and by the time I was feeling like I had legs again there was a break with about a 30 second gap on the field. I went with a group that was trying to bridge and once again we got close but couldn't quite close it and I put myself in the red once again. After that I kept finding myself at the very back of the field just struggling to hold on. With about 30 minutes left my teammate Rob sat up and told me he was done. That put that thought in my head and after struggling to hold on to the back for another 15 minutes I did the same. There was no way I was going to do anything but finish and with two crits on Saturday I decided to save the legs from any further destruction.

I think the look on my face here says a lot, and this was only about 30 minutes in to the action.At least I've got a great reason for being a bit out of shape right now, my little sister got married! It was basically four days of parties over the Fourth of July weekend with rehearsal dinner Friday, golf outing and barbecue Saturday, wedding Sunday, and Barbecue at our house Sunday. It was great to see all the family and friends who came in to town (and the ones who are from here and I don't see very often). I'm so happy for Kate and Andrew and it was a beautiful wedding on a perfect summer day. I also got to walk the aisle with my two favorite ladies, my Mom because my Dad was obviously walking Kate and Linz since we were matched up in the wedding party.I was also honored that Kate and Andrew asked me to do a reading at the ceremony. I read an excerpt from Captain Correlli’s Mandolin and I had a few people ask me about it so I thought I'd just post it here.

Love is a temporary madness, it erupts like volcanoes and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your root was so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion. That is just being in love, which any fool can do. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. Those that truly love have roots that grow towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossoms have fallen from their branches, they find that they are one tree and not two.

Now that the party is over and I showed myself just how much fitness I lost on Wednesday it's time to get back to work here and put in some hard days in the saddle and shed the 9 pounds I somehow put on in 4 days. I'm about half way there on the weight but that still doesn't put me anywhere close to the final goal of 180 lbs. Next on the schedule is Block O Crit down in Columbus, OH tomorrow. It is going to be a two race day with at 3/4 crit and then a 4/5 crit an hour later. Never raced this way before so we'll see how it goes.

It's Been A While...

2011 Mileage: 3,403

The past month has been a bit of a blur. I've had a lot going on with my CFA exam, catching up at the shop and trying to get in my last block of training before Lumberjack 100. All of this led to a serious lack of sleep and me getting sicker than I've been in a long time. Attempting a 100 mile mountain bike race while sick is not a good idea. I don't really feel like going in to too many race details but lets just say that lap 1 (out of 3) I managed to stay feeling alright and was right on track and then it was downhill from there. On lap 2 it was about 80 degrees out and I could tell that my fever was back but I still couldn't stop shivering. I rolled through with a lap time about 20 minutes off my pace and called it quits from there. It was a disappointing day. I brought Dad and Grandpa up with me for Father's Day Weekend and to help support for the race. I had an amazing time with them and was grateful for them being there and the amazing support they gave me, but at the same time it makes the DNF that much worse.

Car packed and the bike ready to go for LJ101, it worked great, too bad I couldn't do the same.
We did have a beautiful view from the condo we rented in Cadillac for Lumberjack.
I still am not sure whether I should be embarrassed about my Lumberjack performance or just let it go. Either way as soon as I got home on Sunday I signed up for Wilderness 101 in PA on July 30th in hopes of redeeming myself. The LJ100 experience is still weighing a little heavy on me and I definitely need to get another race under my belt so I can push that one out of mind. I'll be heading over to another Waterford Wednesday Night Crit tomorrow so hopefully that can happen pretty quickly here.

I've been running in to a lot of obstacles on the morning commute lately. The tree was easier than the geese since it doesn't attack you if you get too close.
Linz got me one of these for my birthday earlier this month along with an ipod nano. A funny combination: when I crash because I'm listening to the ipod and can't hear what's going on around me the ambulance will be able to figure out who I am. Obviously I'm just kidding I only wear one earbud so I can still hear just fine and I love them both, thank you sweetheart.

Another Waterford Wednesday

Rode to third in an interesting 4/5 crit tonight. The pace was pretty high right off the bat with a lot of attacks going. About 30 minutes in to the 90 minute race I saw an Essex Bass rider who looked strong go pretty hard and I jumped up to his wheel with one in tow. I assumed there would be more but somehow it was just the three of us with a reasonable gap. We went for it and rotated until we had a gap of over half a lap on what was left of a blown apart field. With 30 minutes to go I cramped on the short climb and the two guys I was with gapped me and I was never able to get back on. I was able to push through the cramps and get some water in me to keep on riding. Solo with the wind that was out there today was pretty tough. One of the guys I was in the break with ended up pulling out of the race so I was sitting solo in second with what seemed like a really good gap on the next 4/5 group. As I was getting passed by the 1/2/3 group it turns out that a Team Giant rider in my group was at the front of them and so I rolled for third on the day, even though I thought I was going across the line in second. Definitely a little shady how he passed me with another field but oh well there's nothing I can do about it. The officials told me that since he was at the front of them it was alright. I guess I should have stayed with the break I was in and it wouldn't have mattered. I think I still got enough points to get my upgrade (at least I hope) and walked away with enough money to cover our trip to the grocery store.

Now its back to the pile of books until Saturday. I've been living on coffee and lucky if I get two hours of sleep a night, so I wonder if that had anything to do with me cramping today.

TdF

2011 Mileage: 2,867

Yesterday was Tour de Frankenmuth. It was way too early of a morning with a 4:30am wake up to meet with Chris out at the shop to drive to the race together. We still got there with barely enough time to get registered, ready and warmed up. An 8:15am start is really early.

I lined up with the biggest field I've ever raced with in a road race, a full field of 71 Cat 4 racers. The course was three laps for 47 miles, all relatively flat but with a really strong headwind at a few points. I spent most of the first two laps sitting up near the front in the top ten riders. I wasn't sure how the race was going to go and with no other teammates in the race I didn't want to get left out if a break actually looked like it might succeed. This caused me to put myself in the wind at the front bringing back attacks a fair amount. I realized by the start of the third lap that it didn't seem like any breaks were really going to succeed so I went to the middle of the field to sit in for a bit and try to recover. Then with 5 miles to go I worked my way back up to the front to make sure I was up there for the finish and to go with any last ditch effort attacks that might try to go. There were a few attempts but again with the size of the field nothing could get far. The end of the course was a downhill followed by a quick climb and then a left turn to a long gradually downhill finishing stretch through town. The field had been a bit sloppy all day and I was willing to put my money on a crash and I didn't want to be a part of that. As we hit the downhill I went to the front and then was second wheel going up the climb. Not sure exactly where I was going through the left hand turn but it was definitely top 5. We came around the corner and everything opened up. The finishing stretch was actually a lot longer than I realized and a bit confusing with no banner going over the line, nobody actually knew where the line really was. I just went as hard as I could towards the crowd and actually heard the inevitable crash occur right behind me. I'm not sure how bad the crash was but it definitely didn't sound good. I ended up rolling across the finish in 4th.
Not the result I was really hoping for but I guess I really need to get accustomed to the fact that I can't win every race I enter, especially as I continue to upgrade. I managed to stay upright, get some more points towards my upgrade, and walk away with a little money so I guess I should call that a success. It was a well run event and the venue is awesome with a finish in downtown with a pretty big crowd gathered for it. I can definitely see how it drew such a big field to race.

Now it is time to bury myself in books for the next week with my CFA exam next Saturday and a lot of reading left to do between now and then.

ToW and another Waterford Wednesday

2011 mileage: 2,630
Last week started off on Monday with a challenge that Simonson and I have both been trying to accomplish for a while now, the weekday workday century. Started off with about 30 miles before work and then skipped out a couple hours early to put in the rest, mostly dirt roads and a lap at Pontiac Lake for my first singletrack of the year 85 miles in to the day. It was great to accomplish something I've been trying to do for a while, and 100 miles on the mountain bike combined with an 8 hour work day actually went by easier than I expected. The dirt roads out North of the shop seem to go on forever. It seemed to take the legs all week to recover but they did just in time for Tour of Washtenaw on Saturday.
Tour of Washtenaw:
Tour of Washtenaw was a 55 mile road race with about 28 miles of dirt roads. The fields were combined earlier in the week to be a 3/4 race so I knew that I was going to have my work cut out for me racing with the 3's. The race started off slow with everyone just jockeying for position to get ready for the first dirt section. When we hit the dirt the pace surged and every little attack seemed to get brought back in really quickly simply because of the pace of field. Also a couple teams had pretty big turnouts and there were enough teams represented that no one really managed to get away for long. The roads for the most part were a lot like Cone-Azalia, except more rolling hills. Riding those kind of roads in a pack also brought the pot holes a lot more in to play. Hitting one of those pot holes knocked one of my water bottles out of the cage which proved to be a bit of a factor later in the race. As the pace surged on these early dirt sections the group of about 50 starters was brought down to about 40. Then we hit a section of dirt roads that felt like riding through peanut butter an inch deep. At this point our group grew a bit smaller and the cramps began to set in. I'm not sure what exactly it is but I seem to cramp at just about every race, and being short a bottle I'm sure wasn't helping the situation. A few people attacked but the pace remained pretty high even though you could tell everyone was putting out a lot of effort to ride through the mud. I had to tell myself to fight through the cramps and stay on, knowing that if I fell off the back my race was over. As we rolled back on to the pavement the entire field that was still with us seemed to breath a collective sigh of relief and I think our pace actually slowed for a few minutes. We went through another wet dirt road section after that you could tell that the final group of about thirty was going to stay together until the finish. The pace ramped up as we hit the final stretch of pavement with about 3k to go and I sat in the middle of the group. The sprint finish at the end was uphill which really didn't suit my 200 pound frame but I still made a go of it and finished midpack in the remaining group. Considering I was cramping for the last twenty miles of the race I'll be happy with that. My teammate Ron saved me by sparing some water in the last ten miles. I finished in 2:29:12.4 covered from head to toe in mud, my legs were cramping like crazy, and I had a huge smile on my face.
My time put me in 14th in the 3/4 field and 5th in Cat 4. Good enough to win $25, not enough to cover my entry fee but my first ever cash winnings in a bike race. I think this is the last of the dirt road races until the fall but they were fun and this was definitely a good one to go out with. I hope that with all the ups and downs the promoters had with this one they still decide to come back next year.Waterford Wednesday:

Then after a busy couple days with Kate & Andrew's wedding shower and a going away party for Kate my next race was upon me before I knew it. It was barely drizzling when I left my house to ride to the race (it's less than 10 miles away) but by the time the race started it was really coming down and I was already soaked. I chose to do the B race (4/5) to try and earn some points toward my upgrade to Cat 3, so that would put me racing an hour and a half plus two laps. I think they shortened the race a bit but nobody was really complaining about that. I mostly sat in near the front, front five taking just a couple turns at the front, until they rang the bell for the first prime (for those of you that don't know, a prime is like a mid race sprint for a prize). I took off and went hard for the entire lap and ended up easily winning the first prime with a large gap. There was still about 70 minutes of racing left though so I had no desire to stay out so I sat up and coasted for a lap until the field caught back up to me. There were always a couple attacks here and there but never anything that couldn't get reeled back in. When the bell was rung for the second prime I went to the front and pulled back the break that was just ahead and then controlled the pace until half way through the lap when I jumped from off the front. One guy managed to stay with me for a bit but I still had a solid gap to win prime number 2. Again the group stayed together with little attacks here and there but nothing that couldn't be handled, unfortunately mostly by me at this point. Then came the bell for the last lap. I was once again at the front when we hit this point and I hit the small hill (if you can call it that) about 1/4 way in to the lap a little hard but nothing crazy and as I was pedaling down the other side I realized the only guy still with me was the same guy with me at the last prime. I told him if he wanted to go with me then he had to do some work. He didn't pull through so I went side to side across the course attacking him until once again it was me rolling my way across the finish alone. First time I really won anything of any significance at a bike race so it was really nice. $61, a $25 gas card, a growler of Kuhnhenn's beer, a cycling cap and a water bottle. The 8 upgrade points are great too. I'm sure the wins won't come like this when I get that upgrade (which will hopefully be soon) so I need to savor them while I can. That's why I have such a big smile on my face.Sorry for the long rambling entry since I was way behind on posting so thanks if you actually managed to read all of that. Now I need to knock out a couple long mileage days and then next on the agenda is Tour de Frankenmuth in just over a week.

Approved!

2011 Mileage: 2,309
Recovery from Cone was basically nonexistent with no real day off the bike due to commuting and a couple mornings waking up late so I had to push the pace to make sure I was at the shop in time to open. Then my day off on Wednesday was full of yard work and mowing the lawn. After all that the legs were feeling a bit sluggish and even though I was planning on heading over to Waterford to do the local Wednesday night crit I had it in my head that I was going to do the B (4,5) race and just take it easy. That is the race that I am supposed to be doing anyways based on my current category, but not exactly the group that I feel like I should be riding in on a good day for me. Well I rode over to the course and it took about 30 seconds for my team to convince me to do the A (1,2,3) race. I'm glad I did because it was a great learning experience riding at that level and I had no problem at all riding in (and even a few times at the front of) the field. There was a break of 4 guys that finished about 1/2 a lap up on the field and on the last lap the field got a bit squirrely and I had to rub elbows a few times to make sure I was protecting myself but I finished in the front 1/2 of the 50 guys riding there so I'm happy with that, not sure exactly what place since they only post the top 15 to USAC. The goal was a field finish and I accomplished that. There was a pretty bad crash right in front of me just before the finish but I managed to avoid it so the whole day went by without any real incidents. Not bad for my first ever crit. 50 miles on the day and a hard 90 minutes of racing, followed by some Kuhnhenn's in the parking lot after the race and a few more beers with the team at The Woodshop after that.

On another note, I finally got my Cat 4 upgrade today. This means I'll be racing Cat 4 at Tour of Washtenaw on May 14th. That's next up on the race calendar, a 55 mile road race with over half dirt roads.

Cone-Azalia

2011 Mileage: 2,183

Cone-Azalia is a road race that is about half dirt roads and half paved roads that aren't much better than the dirt. The attrition rate for this race is usually about 50%, meaning about half the people who start don't finish, mostly due to flat tires from the massive pot holes and sharp gravel covering the dirt portion of the course. It rained a fair amount last week and even a bit on Sunday morning so the first dirt section was still pretty wet and the potholes were all full of water but the rain stopped before race time and it was a pretty comfortable overcast day in the high 50's.

My Cat 5 to Cat 4 upgrade got denied earlier this week so I had something to prove going out and racing Cat 5 again. I was just hoping I could prove it having put in over 200 miles during the week leading up to the race, mostly commuting. The legs felt good though despite the fairly long week.

The race starts heading out and over a set of railroad tracks and on to the worst section of dirt roads within the first mile. I had decided up front that on the first lap I just wanted to lead through this section to avoid being ridden in to a pothole and flatting, but I wasn't really going to push the pace, and then on the second lap I would probably try and break away here. Things didn't work out that way. I went to the front early and was leading as we went over the railroad tracks and on to the dirt. Water bottles were everywhere and guys from the earlier fields were walking there bikes back to the start. It was pure carnage. I snaked my way through the potholes at a comfortable pace and then after about a quarter of a mile I looked back and realized without much effort I had a good gap. I decided to just go for it and drilled it and by the time I reached the end of the first dirt road I had a really good gap. I'm not great at judging time on a gap but I knew I was going good. I pushed hard for the entire first lap and by the end of the lap any kind of cat 5 field that may have been left was out of sight. From there I rode my own race, going hard but trying hard to avoid any potholes and the mechanicals that could come with them. It worked out great for me and I was able to easily cross the line in first with a gap of over 4 minutes on second place and what was left of a field. That was quite a bit of time to put on the field in only a 30 mile race, especially riding alone all day so I was pretty happy with the result. Also I hope it proved that I am strong enough and really do deserve an upgrade.I felt pretty bad that I made Tim, Kate and Andrew hang out for over an hour to watch me stand on the podium, especially since my "prize" was a bottle opener. Oh well.
I'm really not looking forward to cleaning the bike. There is a thick layer of white mud coating the entire back/bottom of the bike.Now it's time to try and figure out how to recover quickly while still putting in over 40 miles a day commuting. Next up is Waterford Worlds on this Wednesday Night.

The Best Of The Worst

2011 Mileage: 1,899

So I was going on to USA Cycling to apply for an upgrade and saw this as my national ranking. I've never been #1 in the country for anything before, even if it is just Cat 5.

Today was a much needed day off after commuting in snow, hail, rain and sleet the last couple days. The legs have felt sluggish and that all too familiar twinge has been in my right knee. Hopefully yoga and a day out of the saddle was all I really needed.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Paris to Ancaster

2011 Mileage: 1,818
P2A is one seriously crazy race. I was expecting something like Barry-Roubaix (a really fast dirt road race). What I got was more like Iceman on a CX bike. A little bit of everything, pavement, dirt and gravel roads, singletrack mtb trails, grass fields, and mud chutes full of what seemed like riding through a 6 inch deep layer of mashed potatoes/peanut butter. I've never witnessed so many crashes in one race before. The weather also didn't help things with a mix of snow, rain and sleet coming and going throughout the race and winds gusting up to 50mph.

The race started up with me lining up later than I should have once again, I lined up with one of the few guys I knew there, Adam Naish from RBS. Our plan was to work together and shoot around the outside and try to get around as many people as we could at the start to work our way up to the group we should really be riding with. Things definitely didn't go as planned. The guy right in front of me had no sense of urgency and by the time he bothered clipping in to his bike Adam was already gone. I jumped out to the left side of the field and gave chase as best as I could. I made up some ground and could see him about thirty riders as we entered the rail trail section shortly after the start. Once we funneled down to the rail trail there wasn't reall anywhere to pass with bushes and a hill up on the right and the same but going down to a river on the left. I chose the left and looking back on it I'm pretty lucky I didn't slide down and end my race right there. I caught up to Adam and at this point things were starting to split in to groups. We were at the front of our group and the next was only a couple hundred meters ahead so I jumped on it to try and catch them. That was the last I would see Adam all day. I was still feeling pretty good and working my way through the crowd and then we hit a loose gravel climb that unfortunately everyone just ahead of me was off their bikes and running so I was forced to do the same. I made the mistake of not downshifting before I hopped off and was unable to jump back on midway up as the grade came down so I had to run the whole climb and definitely pegged my heart rate. I looked down and saw I was only about 8 miles in. Uh oh. After that it was a lot of sitting in and moving back and forth from one group to the next. I managed to get in behind a couple guys on a tandem for one of the longer dirt road sections which was awesome since they were really motoring. In the flats and paved sections I was struggling a bit and I would sometimes lose the group I was with or get caught by a group from behind. The wind also had a big impact on things so if you fell off the back of a group with the headwind it was really tough to get back on. In the singletrack and mud chutes there were a lot of instances where I was the only guy actually riding them and I would catch and pass people. The mtb handling skills definitely helped and I was surprised at how much time I could make up in the short singletrack sections. The mud chutes were absolutely crazy and I've never ridden anything like them before. I just remember reading a Belgian cx comment about how if a rut looks like it is going to swallow your wheel then let it because it is probably the best line and that is why it looks that way. That was true for the entire race until the very last mud chute. Everybody was off and running and I was riding until the first giant puddle/rut swallowed my wheel and spit me out. There was a rock at the far side of the rut and I went flying straight over my bars landing in the thick peanut buttery mess that was six inches deep. For the rest of the race I felt like my hands were slipping off the bars from all the mud on my gloves and hoods (my bike was stuck in the mud by my bars after the crash). It was a quick recovery and I was back on and running in no time and actually didn't lose any spots because of it. In the next singletrack section I watched another rider do the same thing as me but moving quicker and with another guy right on his wheel. My brakes were pretty much out of commission at this point thanks to all the mud so I literally had to reach out and hug a tree to stop from joining the pileup. The race ended with a big climb with the finish line right after. I was pretty much alone by the time we reached this point with no one that could pass me and no one that I could really catch, which is probably a good thing since I cramped on the final climb and just spun my way across the finish line. I finished a muddy mess (both me and my bike) but with a big smile on my face. I haven't even checked my bike yet to see what is broken but I'm sure something is after a day like that.

I finished in 2:05:35, good enough for 92nd out of 1188 finishers (which gets me a preferred start at the front of the field if I go back next year) and 21st out of 107 in my age group. I was about 20 minutes off the winner. I'm not really sure how to feel about the end result since I know I rode hard and didn't know the course at all and I was pretty pleased with how the race went, but I look at my place and don't feel that great about it. I just know I had a great time on my bike and in the end I guess that is why I do this.

After the race Linz and I gave Mike and Adam a lift back to their car which they left at the start line. We had all three bikes up on the roof along with Mike and Adam's wheels. I checked to make sure the bikes were secure before we took off but neglected the wheels. Cruising down the 403 at 75 mph we heard a strange noise and then all of a sudden I saw a wheel flying through the air in my rear view mirror. We hit the next turn around and decided to ignore the sign that it was for police only to head back and retrieve the wheel. We cruised back and found it rather quickly sitting perfectly upright in the cattails in the median. I didn't get the final scoop on whether or not it came out of true at all but there was no visible damage on it at all. It's always an adventure when Simonson and I end up in the same car.

Now it is time for a big mileage week in attempt to shed some pounds before the season really gets here. I stepped on a scale for the first time since NYE this weekend and I'm definitely not at the weight I'd like to be racing at. Next on the race schedule I think will be Cone Azalia, another road race with a few dirt sections thrown in.

And on another note, why am I still commuting through inches of accumulated snow? It's the middle of April already. I'm tired of this weather. Pic below was around 9AM this morning on the Polly Ann Trail.

Getting There...

2011 Mileage:1752

It is finally warming up (I guess that's a very relative statement) and the bicycle commuting has resumed as Linz and I have returned to being a one car family. I rolled for 65 yesterday along with working a ten hour day. I think a work day century might happen in the near future, that could be a fun challenge. But first I need to get through Paris to Ancaster this Sunday. 65k on dirt roads sounds like a great way to spend any day if you ask me.
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Barry-Roubaix

2011 Mileage: 1405

Well Barry-Roubaix didn't exactly turn out like Perry-Roubaix did. I raced the 65 mile open category, starting with over 150 people including a lot of the top guys from the Midwest and some strong guys from Ontario. I may have been a little out of my league riding my way up to the front early on but I felt pretty strong and figured I'd just see how long I could stay up there. I settled in on Simonson's wheel during the roll out and stayed there until we hit the roughest section of the course about 6 miles in, Sager Road. This is where things blew apart, although I managed to stay fairly close to the front, with the lead group down the road I was starting to settle in to a second group. As we exited this section I started realizing I was washing out around all the corners and realized I was losing air quick in my rear tire. I had pinch flatted. At around mile 8 it was unrideable and I had to stop and change it. I lost the group I was with and watched as people flew by while I fixed my flat. I even saw most of my team (all doing the 35 mile event starting after me) pass me by. I'm not sure how long it took me to fix it and although it wasn't too long it still left me well behind anyone that would be riding the pace I wanted to go. This left me out to suffer for most of the next 60 miles by myself. I was constantly passing people on the first lap and actually managed to catch up with a couple strong riders who were in the same situation as me after having been caught up in a crash and needing to fix mechanicals caused by it. I rode with them for about 15 miles and then watched them drift away on an early climb on the second lap and even though they weren't far up the road I could never seem to bridge back up. I could see them as I crested every hill for the next five miles. That was a little demoralizing. Then the cramping set in which didn't help much either. I fought off cramping for the last 20+ miles. Considering how much climbing there was on this course, that was quite a challenge. I ended up finishing in just 4:02:47, good enough for 67th place out of 108 finishers. 48 minutes behind the winning time.
It was a little tough to have a race go like this and I know that I wasn't going to win this one being an open race with that many big names at it, but I expected more than this from myself. I realize I had a mechanical but that doesn't make it much easier to swallow the result. I rode with Simonson yesterday and we talked about our races and how we thought they went (he DNFed) and although I'm sure I wasn't much help to him it was great to be able to bounce all of my issues off someone with his kind of experience.
After that reality check it's time to get back in the saddle to get ready for the rest of the season. I think some hill repeats may be in order. I could not believe how much climbing Barry-Roubaix had, anyone who says Michigan doesn't have climbing I challenge to go ride that course.

Perry-Roubaix

Last night Dad and I loaded up the car to head for Daufuskie, but decided to take a little detour over to Perry, Georgia to get in my first race of the year and my first ever road race. We arrived in Perry around 6am, plenty if time to check out the course and make all the needed preparations for a 10:22 start for my 50 mile cat 5 race.

When they sent us off it was all new to me and a lot different than I was accustomed to. In cyclocross and mountain bike races the hole-shot is an important part of the race, here it seemed like everybody wanted to treat the start like there warm up. That is with the exception of one guy who attacked right after the first turn and I quickly pulled him back in with the field on my wheel. The next time he went, about two miles in to the race, I decided to jump up to him withou the field and see what his strategy was. It came down to he basically didn't have one but wanted to be first in to the dirt section for fear of crashes. We quickly decided that while we had a gap we might as well just make a go of it and see if we could stay away. We really pushed ourselves on the first lap and the field was nowhere in sight by the end of it. A solo rider caught us on the second lap and the three of us then worked together. The extra man really helped in allowing one of us to take a break from pulling briefly if they needed it. I was really hurting by the time we hit the early climb on the final lap and could feel the twinges of cramps coming on but I dug through it and hung on. The guy that caught us on the second lap cramped on the final climb and dropped off the back. So the guy I started with 2 miles in and myself managed to stay away to the finish. I was sitting behind him and jumped around to sprint with just under 200 meters to go. I didn't get much response from him and rolled through with the win.

As I crossed the line every muscle in my legs was cramping but the win in my first ever road race felt great and overall I felt strong for the day. We beat the field pretty handily and averaged 23mph for the 50 mile race. The average speed of the winning rider last year on the same course was just under 19mph.

I also made some gear changes and put a new crankset on the bike, a DuraAce in a true double, 53-39. This was from my experience on the sprints in florida were I was topped out at just over 35 mph. I topped out at just over 39 in the sprint today and that made all the difference.

Now I'm just arriving on Daufuskie for a few days of training, golfing and relaxing with my Dad. We've also got some household projects that I'm sure my Mom would like us to do, but that's more just an excuse to be down here.
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Daufuskie Island & Returning To The Cold

2011 Mileage: 950About a week ago Lindsay and I made a trip down to Daufuskie Island (my Mom joined us too). It was our first trip back to the Island since we got married there last May and we had an incredible time just relaxing on the beach and riding around the Island on our beach cruiser tandem.Then it was back to the bitter cold of Michigan and yet another snow storm this weekend. I commuted last Saturday on the bike and it was 35 degrees and raining for my 20 miles in, so the heavy snow for my ride home actually seemed very enjoyable. It was alright that it took me three hours to go thirty miles, the lights were fully charged.
I've decided I've had enough of winter and I'm headed south again this weekend and I am hoping to get my first race of the season in while I'm down there. Perry, GA is only a slight detour from Daufuskie and it might not be the best thing to spend 14 hours in a car driving overnight and then get out and race but I think I'm gonna give it a try anyways. I'm sure I've made worse decisions regarding racing in the past. The Perry-Roubaix is a 4 lap, 50 mile race and a part of it is on red clay roads. Should be fun, and it will be good to get the first real test of the year out of the way.

Under The Weather

2011 Mileage: 865

Last night was the first time in the saddle in over a week. I am still congested and feel like I'm coughing up a lung every night but at least I am feeling better than I did last week. There was a lot of loose snow on the dirt roads so it was slow going for the 20 miles Ed and I put in last night but it felt good to be back out there. Just over a month until Barry-Roubaix. I'm also really hoping that this snow goes away soon so I can start some regular commuting again to bring up the weekly mileage. I've had enough winter, it's time for things to warm up.

Back to Reality

2011 Mileage: 771

Last night I rode the customary Thursday night ride out of the shop. Unfortunately I got way too accustomed to the weather in Florida and the 5 degrees it was outside made me pretty miserable. Also, I only had one companion last night since everyone from our regular crew except for Tim bailed on us. We made pretty good time but my knee got the all to familiar twinge about half way through the ride and we skipped the Markwood climb because I didn't want to push it. Now it is back to the stretches/foam rolling/exercises and a couple days off the bike to avoid any further problems with the knee. What stunned me last night was how cold I felt. It wasn't any colder and I didn't have on any less clothing than before I left for Florida, my body just acclimated to the warm temperature and I was freezing for most of the 1:42 we were riding for. Sunday should be a lot longer than 1:42 so I hope I acclimate back to the cold pretty quick here.

Florida Recap

2011 Mileage: 747

Well that trip went by way too quickly. Six days in Florida was not long enough, but we definitely made the most of our time down there. My grandparents took great care of us and made sure we were always well fed. Grandpa even got me out for 9 holes of golf and I was content with the 49 I shot. Lindsay got in a good amount of beach time and a little shopping as well. And I got in lots of time in the saddle. 350 miles to be exact. My long day was Saturday at 110 miles. Monday was a recovery day with 50 easy miles but the rest of the time was rip your legs off fast with the Naples Velo group ride. I couldn't believe how fast these group rides were. I thought Friday was fast with a pace of 24-25 mph. Saturday was Ft Myers Beach and back (about 45 miles) at 27-29mph and I followed that up with another 30 mile group ride and then another 35 on my own to put my day at 110 and still home by 1. Sunday was a similar pace for over 60 miles, with the paceline surging up to 32+ mph for the last 15 miles or so. That was brutal after my long day Saturday. Monday I took it easy and explored all the incredible homes out in the Port Royal area. Considering the economic downturn it is amazing how much new construction is going on in an area where you can spend over $10M on a lot alone. Then Tuesday was a simulated crit. Similar pace as Sunday, 27-29 with surges up in to the low 30's. What I was having the hardest time with was cornering at this pace. It forced me to put out more effort than necessary since I would get gapped off on the corners and need to fight my way back up to the wheel in front of me. Again I was topped out at over 35 on the final sprint and it wasn't enough. I also might have jumped a little too early but I still made a good go of it. All in all it was a great trip and great riding. I accomplished my mileage goal for the trip, even though I rode a lot harder/faster than I had anticipated.Now it is back to the cold weather with a group ride tonight. It is supposed to be a lovely 12 degrees outside, a little different than the 70 degree temps I've been riding in but it will have to do.

A Compact Wasn't Cutting It

2011 mileage: 490

This morning I met up with a group of about 50 people for the Naples Velo group ride. A pace of 25 mph for 25 miles sounded fast but I figured I'd give it a shot. All I can say is Florida is really flat. I had no problem with the pace and took my fair share of pulls at the front. I only encountered two issues. First, I was getting gapped on every corner and then having to put in extra effort to close the gap. Closing it wasn't too tough but it showed me I need to work on cornering at speed. Also, I realized that the compact drivetrain I am running is lacking big time on the high end. I crossed the line second in both of the group sprints I contested but I was completely topped out at about 35 mph and I still had some in the tank but not enough of a gear to push. That was a good time and helped me knock out the first 30 miles pretty quick. I then headed North along the coast to add on another 40 miles to be home by 10:30 with 70 miles on the day. Now it's time to enjoy the beach with Linz, then massages this afternoon. A pretty good day if you ask me.
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Hello Florida

2011 mileage: 420

Linz and I left behind the snow and cold this morning to spend a week with Grandma and Grandpa in Naples, FL. We landed to 80 degree weather and after a nice lunch and a glass of wine Linz laid out and got some sun while I built my road bike up that I sent down last week and headed out for a quick 23 miles. It feels strange wearing shorts and short sleeves, but I'm sure not going to complain about it. I'm hoping to get in a lot of mileage over the next five days (and a lot of good meals too I'm sure, I am at Grandma's). Barry Roubaix is 8 weeks away!
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A Perfect Saturday Night

Two years ago Linz said yes when I got down on one knee and made me the luckiest guy in the world. We also had a little surprise when we got "iced" by Per, Jo, Luca & Morgan so I found myself on one knee once again. I think this blog has shown more food than bike stuff lately...
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