3 Letters I Hate: DNF

2010 Mileage: 4475

Saturday's Mad Anthony CX Race down in Detroit was an awesome event with a great course and a descent size crowd. Too bad I didn't get to race much of it since I pinch flatted less than a mile in to my first lap. If you know cross, then you know there is no point fixing a flat so that was it for me, hence the DNF (did not finish). I was definitely disappointed (Linz can attest to this) since I had a really good start and was sitting fifth wheel and feeling great when it happened. Oh well. At least I pre-rode a couple laps because it really was one of the coolest courses I've ever ridden for cyclocross. After I was out of the running I cheered our shop rider Chris Fillmore on to an impressive 4th place finish considering he dropped his chain going over the barriers on the first lap.

I guess you can't win them all (although I'd really like to) and so this result puts me with two wins and a DNF on the season.

Saturday night was then filled with a wild time out at the Collins' for their annual Halloween party. It was our first time attending but Lindsay and I had heard a lot of good things about it and it definitely lived up to all the hype. Tim and Karey sure know how to put on a party and make sure absolutely everybody has a good time. I quickly forgot about my disappointment from earlier in the day once we got there and Linz told me after we left that it was the most fun she's had since we moved to Michigan. We were some of the first to leave departing at around 1:3o and I guess things were going strong until around 4. Everyone I talked to sure knew they had a good time the next day too since they had the headaches to prove it.

I'm trying to see if I can sneak out to Ann Arbor for a cross race this weekend otherwise next on the schedule is Iceman.

Peak 2 Peak

2010 Mileage: 4365
This past weekend Linz and I loaded up the new car and headed up to Crystal Mountain in northern Michigan to meet Kate, Andrew and my Dad to race Peak 2 Peak. It was a great time and a gorgeous fall day.Ending on the podium with the win in the sport class felt great too.I lined up not sure how I wanted to approach things since I have ridden very little single track this year but as soon as we were off that all changed. It was a really wide open start so it made jockeying for position going in to the single track pretty easy and I knew I didn't want to roll in first but close to it. I entered the woods in 4th position and was surprised when I had no difficulty at all with the pace being dictated by the leaders. As we hit an open section about 1/3rd of the way in to the lap some positions changed ahead of me but I remained in 4th. The guy that had moved up to the lead was pulling away a bit and I realized that the two guys right ahead of me weren't giving much chase so at the next opportunity I went around them and bridged up fairly quickly. As soon as I caught the guy I told him we had a descent gap and said if we worked together we could grow it. I then passed him expecting him to grab my wheel and instead didn't see him again for the rest of the race. I rode solo for roughly a lap and a half from there on out and managed to push myself to keep away. I had a mechanical just before the second ski hill climb (we did two laps) and got passed briefly but as soon as I got my chain back on I bridged back up on the climb and rode away with the win with a time of 1:31:10 for the 23.5 mile race.Lindsay also completed her very first mountain bike race (and only her second time riding mountain bike trails) and Kate won her class too.Next up is Iceman, although I think I'm might be more excited about the party after than the actual race.

Ronde Van Stony

2010 Mileage: 4171
I actually won something! And you can't go wrong with beer and ice cream (the gift certificate is nice too but its to a different shop so I feel a little weird about it).

The race was a blast and I placed first in Men's Sport age 20-29 and second in the sport category overall. I was really happy with the way that I rode. I pushed myself to my limits and was riding on will power alone at times but it felt great. I ended the race completely exhausted but with an average pace of just over 21mph for the 36 miles (not 33.5 like advertised) of dirt roads and two track I should have expected to be.

I'm not sure I know how to write a true race report because it all seemed to fly by so quick. It started off with a fairly easy mass start roll out behind a motorcycle on paved roads. This was nice because I didn't get much of a warm up so this made up for that. I made my way up to the front of the sport group (they separated us at the line) during the roll out and then when they let us go at the two-track I really hit it hard and started passing every chance I could. By the time we exited and were out on to dirt roads I realized I had passed just about everyone I could and could see one group (followed closely behind by a solo rider) off in the distance. This was still really early in the race and my legs were feeling the effort to make my way through the group but I knew that if I could just get up there I would be able to sit in and get some rest. I pushed myself close to my limits here and caught the solo rider, a nice guy named Tom, who told me he didn't have anything in him to catch the group so I continued my effort as he grabbed my wheel and we clawed our way up. Once we caught that group it was all a blur of dirt roads and turns at the front. The miles seemed to fly by at this point and I was amazed with both our pace and how well my legs felt. We even managed to grow our group as we reeled more riders in and avoided anyone coming up from behind. Then as we neared the end we headed back in to some more two-track and this was the only place that a cyclocross bike was not the ideal bike for this race. I was washing out through a lot of the corners due to the lose gravel and struggling to keep up. I felt cramps coming on a couple times but managed to fight them off. Our group split in this section as it seemed lots of people were having the same problem I was and I even saw a couple crashes. I chased the front group (front of the group I was riding with not front of the race) but couldn't quite catch them through the single track as I fought off cramping. As we headed back out on to the road I made up some ground but I couldn't quite catch them as I crossed the finish line solo. I rolled in for 29th in the overall (out of 118 finishers) and I was really happy with my performance and pain tolerance for 1:44:40. Full results are posted here.

The cross bike worked great and even with all the abuse it took I was amazed that I didn't have any mechanicals at all and the wheels even stayed true. I also was pleasantly surprised about the beer from Kuhnhenn Brewery. I won a growler of the Simcoe Silly and it was delicious.

Next race on the schedule is Peak2Peak up north at Crystal Mountain.

Always Learning

2010 Mileage: 4110

Well I decided that I was going to rebuild my sister's headshok the other day and it has turned out to be much more of a project than I expected. I really hate all of Cannondale's proprietary crap that they won't even put schematics for online. The good news is it looks like it should go back together without too much difficulty, although I probably just shot myself in the foot by saying that. I'll keep you posted on the rebuild.
Aside from the shock rebuild things are staying fairly busy at the shop. We have gotten the place really cleaned up and organized and we're in the process of revamping inventory a bit to get some really cool new product in (like these and these). Anybody who knows me knows I'm a sucker for 29ers so it is great to be able to sell them on a regular basis. In NYC only delivery guys and Brazilians on vacation bought mountain bikes, where as here in Michigan its a majority of what we sell. I'm also learning (and learning to love) the Specialized brand and considering this beautiful bike for myself for next season (although the wife doesn't know this yet).

This Saturday is Ronde van Stony, a 33 mile dirt road race that I am probably not ready for but I am still looking forward to it. I think Kate is going to do it with me too so another reason to be excited. Look for a race report (and headshok report) this weekend.

Still Adjusting

2010 Mileage: 4070

Settling in has been a slow process but I think we are finally falling in to a routine here in Michigan. We are both noticing that we rely more on each other here than we did in NYC and it has been good that we have had each other. We are coming back to something that is familiar yet so very different. I can just say that I am lucky to have an incredible wife to come home to every night.

Things are going well at the shop and it is keeping me busy which is always a good thing. The place looks great and I plan to post some pictures soon. It is also keeping me busy enough that I wasn't able to do the local cyclocross race this morning. I could have done the cat4 race but just couldn't justify racing for only 30 minutes and the 2,3,4 race started too late for me to open on time. Oh well, next week is Ronde van Stony, a 33 mile hammer fest (I hope) on dirt roads and jogging trails. I'm not sure if my body (my knees in particular with this stupid IT band problem) is up to it but I sure hope so. Hopefully Kate's program of stretching and glute exercises does the trick.

I Need Internet

2010 mileage: 4030

Posting has been difficult lately since Lindsay and I have been avoiding paying the absurd sum of money comcast wants for internet here. How did they end up with this local monopoly?
Anyways, the riding has only been consisting of my commute, but that is 20 miles each way. Also a little different than nyc, I spend about 1/3rd of it on a gravel trail that winds through the woods. I saw 3 deer the other morning. I'm enjoying all the work there is to do at the new shop and that too is much different than nyc, a lot more space and a lot less people through the door. I'm also missing the midtown crew. Any of you guys want a job in Michigan?
Lindsay went from wondering what she was going to do to working three jobs in the course of a week so needless to say she is staying busy too.
The house is slowing coming together but we dedinitely can't fit a car in the garage yet, too many unpacked boxes. Now it's time to go mow the lawn, another of the many things to get accustomed to.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

A New Chapter

2010 Mileage: 3963

This post is a bit overdue since we have been without Internet but Lindsay and I are officially out of New York City as we said goodbye to our old apartment last weekend.


And moved in to our new house in Waterford, Michigan.

It has been a pretty big change but we are both adjusting quickly and enjoying it. I know I am going to miss the great friends I made more than anything else.

We also got a new kitten as a playmate for Leo. We named her Zoey and she is a total sweetheart even if she is a little wild for Lindsay's liking in the middle of the night.The unpacking is taking longer that we would like but I have managed to get in a couple of long rides this week. Took out the cross bike for 77 miles of pavement, dirt roads and gravel trails in the on and off rain on Thursday and it was a great reintroduction to Michigan riding. Then rode out to visit the shop I'll be working in on Friday and that ended up being 41 miles on the mountain bike. Two fun rides in two days and I'm discovering that the rail-trail systems have gotten a lot better since I was last riding them.

Now I'm just enjoying a relaxing weekend of hanging out on the lake and grilling until it is back to work (if you can call what I do work) on Tuesday. The most interesting thing could be the 40 miles a day I'll be putting in if I choose to commute by bicycle (which I am hoping I'll be able to regularly do.