Stoney Creek Time Trial

It's a wrap. Today was the Stoney Creek Time Trial at Stoney Creek Metro Park near Rochester, MI. This event always draws a large number of riders, Dark Horses, Roadies and local riders who can't pass this race up. The 13 mile lap consists of stream crossings, singletrack, double-track and a couple of half-mile stretches along the park road on the grass. Going out against the wind on the grass made it feel like my tires were flat while towing a boat anchor. I had my heart-rate spiked right off the bat. I decided to race my age group (50+ Expert) on the geared bike and then run the singlespeed in the Expert/Elite category.

The weather was perfect and we had many Greyhounds on hand to help set up the posh team compound.

My geared race was at 1015 and I was paired up with Calvin Stewart, one of the faster 50+ dudes in the area at the start line. He went out first along the road and I stuck to his wheel while he pushed the pace and the wind heading to the first water crossing. Once across the creek he kept pushing and I started to drop off as we hit the first climbs. Pretty soon he was gone and I pushed to stay ahead of the riders behind me. The full suspension was a treat and felt great on the descents and rough areas. I made a wrong turn mid-way in and ended up way off course. I turned around and retraced my route until I found the trail. I lost a few precious minutes in the process. DOH! The second creek crossing exit was funky and I just hoofed it up the bank through the mud. Sprint to the finish with a time of 54.02 placing 2nd in my class. It felt pretty good. I had about an hour before the next start. I changed my socks, swapped out bikes and re-hydrated. The 29'er felt good and the Maxxis Ignitor tires were hooking up really well in the loose turns. There were 15 riders in my group and I was passed by several guys about a third of the way in. I felt pretty good and hung with them for a bit and eventually got back around them. That was a highlight. A younger rider(pretty much everyone in this class)blew past me near the last climb and I jumped on his wheel until the last stream crossing. Once across it is a mile flat on gravel and grass back to the finish line. I went around him and knew he would try and nip me at the finish. I pushed hard in the sprint to the finish and beat him to the line by a foot. Unfortunately, he had started a minute behind me so he still placed ahead of me.


My time was 54:48. Just a few seconds slower than the geared bike. Considering all the time lost spinning out on the 2-track I am surprised by the time. It was a great day for a race. The trail rocked and the team did fantastic! PARTY!
Results here:

Next up...Stoney Creek Time Trial

This Sunday, July 27 will be race #5 of the MMBA Championship Points Series. The race is a time trial format taking place at Stoney Creek Metro Park near Rochester, MI. This race attracts a large field and although I usually feel as if I ride it well, I never end up placing well. My sprint skillz suck. I've decided to enter my age group (50+ Expert) and ride at 10:15 to warm up on the FS. I will then race my series category on the singlespeed at 12:15. Event flyer HERE.
Here is the 13 mile course layout narrated by my teammate, Ritzy. Click on the image for additional detail. PARTY!

Tour de France 2008

Today is Stage 17. I haven't been able to get anything done while the Tour has been on the tube. In the dead of winter I'm really gonna miss it. This is easily one of the best stages. The 21 famous switchbacks of L'Alpe d'Huez among the Oisans and the Romanche Valley. L'Alpe d'Huez will be the last chance for CSC to put time into Cadel Evans. If Frank Schleck or Carlos Sastre don't put more than a couple minutes on the time-trialer then it's pretty much over. Here is a breakdown of the 3 climbs included in this years stage.
The three hors catégorie climbs of stage 17:
Col du Galibier, 20.9 km at 5.6%
Col de Croix-de-Fer, 29.2 km at 5.2%
L'Alpe d'Huez, 13.3 km at 8.6%
I'll never complain about the hills here in Michigan again! Click on the image for a larger view.

Boyne Marathon XC

It's a done deal. The Boyne Marathon lived up to it's reputation as one of the most demanding XC events Michigan has to offer. The weekend started for me on Friday, July 11 as I made preparations and set out for Boyne Mountain, about 250 miles North of fabulous Garden City. It was warm and muggy and the forecast called for rain Saturday. I arrived at the "round cabin" in the woods a couple of miles West of Boyne Mountain.

Team mates Glen "Shakey" and Ali "Mudshine" arranged the ideal hook-up for some nearby lodging. The Yurt-Cabin ROCKS!

Within 1 hour after arriving there was a commotion out on the road in front of the cabin. We went out to find this pick-up truck smoking and thought the engine was on fire. After finding a container to hold water (trash can) Glen delivered the H2O and they determined the smoke was coming from a burning brake rotor.

Soon the volunteer fire department arrived and doused the offending wheel. Very thrilling stuff!

After a nice dinner we went down the road to Boyne City on Lake Charlevoix. Boyne City is a very cool little town with access to Lake Michigan that draws people in boats from Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan. There was a car and boat show going on in the street. We were just trying to score some ice cream in a sea of people.


Is bigger really better?

Now to the race. Woke up on Saturday to a little rain. It was overcast and conditions were good. Oatmeal, banana and coffee. Good to go.

The Dog Pound:

Daniel & Jennifer:

Start of the Expert Men's race:

Lining up for the start in the Advanced Single Speed class with only 5 riders I should of realized then that this was a sign. The remaining 50-75 riders entered into the Elite, Sport and Beginner classes chose to ride with more than one gear. What was I thinking?
The promoter combined my class with the Expert 50+ men and I soon found many of the riders clogging the singletrack within the first 2 miles of lap 1. The trail was tough. On the rigid singlespeed I found myself standing and pulling myself up the steep trail at a very low cadence trying to get around geared riders who were spinning their granny gear at 100 RPM's. I found it difficult to gain and capture any momentum and I found myself standing for every climb as well as standing for the descents. My legs were on fire. I had a small bobble on a descent and went over the handlebars in a reverse-pirouette and found myself face-to-face with other riders bombing down the trail. No injury. OK. Re-group. There was very little saddle time to allow any rest and by lap 2 I was dropping off the pace fast. Lap 2 was a blur and I found myself walking many of the climbs. The sun came out and the sweat was pouring off me. I was taking in plenty of fluids and nutrition and had no cramping. Lap 3 was even slower and halfway through I got "chicked" (passed) by a very talented Elite women's rider, Jessica Woodard who was riding singlespeed. "It's all good" as I trudged up many of the hills and pushed hard to get it done. I finished 3-12.5 mile laps in 3:13:04 and placed 5th (last) in my class. I heard many other riders mention the trail this year placed more demands on the riders. It was a great effort and I'm looking forward to doing it again next year, only faster. This trail can only make you a better rider.
Preparing for the kids race:

Pimpin' on the road to recovery:

Next up...Boyne Marathon.

Saturday, July 12 will be the date for the Boyne Marathon XC at the fabulous Boyne Mountain Resort in Boyne Falls, MI. This is stop #4 of the MMBA Championship Points Series and this event will count for double points. For Michigan standards, Boyne Mountain offers up some substantial vertical and the trail truly provides a challenge. Three 12.5 mile laps on my rigid Singlespeed should provide plenty of abuse for me and my body. Sweet. Event flyer. I'll be back with a race report and photos. PARTY!

Quad Pontiac Challenge!

Ritzy and Pimp-Daddy (a.k.a. The Bouncer) post ride:

On Sunday, June 29 our team held an informal off-road event dubbed the Quad Pontiac Challenge. This was stop #4 of the team training series of events scheduled to prepare us for Time Trails, Crits, and MTB racing. Pontiac Lake Recreation Area in Waterford, MI features a sweet 10 mile trail that has a bit of everything that characterizes Michigan singletrack. Smooth flowing singletrack through thick forest. Technical climbs, rock gardens, and bombing descents. The trail was in good shape despite the recent rains and the turnout of riders was good. The plan was simple. All riders start at the same time and are required to make 1 stop back at the parking lot before completing the 4th lap. In theory this should work as long as you have someone keeping time. Daniel forgot the stopwatch so we were on our own. I was riding singlespeed and turned 2 laps, went back to switch water bottles and finished the last 2 laps. J-Dub finished 1st and I came in second about 15 minutes back. There were only 4 riders who rode the full 4 laps while most did 3. I rocked the singlespeed and was very happy to be able to push it hard on this unforgiving trail. If I had been riding alone I easily would have given up after a couple of laps. Great time!
J-Dub:

June 08 mileage

June has come and gone. It was a very wet month which resulted in less off-road rides and more mileage on the pavement. Considering the bulk of this mileage started March 1st I am now at the halfway point for my mileage goal for this year. PARTY!
View Larger Map

June Rides = 19
Distance = 682.26 (miles)
Average Speed = 16.70 (mph)
Ride Time = 43:49:01 (hh:mm:ss)

YTD Rides = 73
Distance = 2,508.89 (miles)
Average Speed = 16.76(mph)
Ride Time = 156:07:49(hh:mm:ss)