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: