Everybody's working for the weekend...

Oh yeah...


After a week long deluge of moisture from above it's kinda difficult to imagine myself enjoying a dry ride let alone a dry race this weekend. Dry being the operative word. Who knows, last weekend turned out fine and I don't want to rain on anybody's parade.
Here is the local line up for this weekend:

Saturday, April 30, 2011
Willow Time Trial - New Boston - Willow Metropark, Michigan USA
WEBSITE:
MBRA website:

...or if you prefer something less paved.

Mark your calendars. On Saturday, April 30th 2011, the North Oakland Single Speeders will be hosting the second annual “Gravel Grinder” in Oxford, MI.
This is a group ride and you are invited to come and enjoy some of the best dirt roads in Northern Oakland County. Choose your weapon.
For 2011 we are going with a 100k (62 miles) route, plus an option to bail out early and finish with a respectable 35 miles.
FREE.


Sunday, May 1, 2011
Cone-Azalia Classic RR - Milan, Michigan USA
Cone-Azalia BLOG:
MBRA website:
This is a cool race that is affectionately named the “The Gent-Wevelgem of the Midwest”. With it's sprinkling of dirt roads and moist conditions this could be very interesting.

Fort Custer Stampede XC - Augusta, MI
SWMMBA race info:
Registration:
A classic Michigan mountain bike race.

Four events in two days. Get out people!

FROM STEEL: The making of a Soulcraft

Great video from Soulcraft bikes. Handmade is so cool...

FROM STEEL: The Making of a Soulcraft from michael evans on Vimeo.

Paris-Roubaix with the Mavic Neutral Assistance team

POV action from this year's Paris-Roubaix. So much effort goes into supporting the riders on such a demanding course. Cool perspective.

Pontiac Lake Time Trial - April 23, 2011

Tailwind Racing website:



Each Spring I go through the emotional torture most commonly referred to as "pre-registration". Like clockwork the Yankee Springs Time Trial usually goes off without a hitch unaffected by early season trail conditions. The sandy trail on the West side of the state is ideal for early spring and summer riding. The Pontiac Lake Time Trial is held the following weekend in SE Michigan on a trail with much different soil (mud) conditions. Early season conditions can be hard on the trail, drivetrain and overall mental state. After a week of snow, rain & cold temperatures the question remains. To race or not to race...?
More later.

UPDATE:
Like a sign from above the weather cleared for a stellar day of racing. I arrived in time to help set up the team compound and BS with old & new friends. Unfortunately, while this was going on I should have been standing in the registration line as the new operators were struggling to process the increasing throng of racers. The line continued to grow but after a long wait it was business as usual. At least the sun was shining! In a nutshell, I tend to suck at the short, intense effort known as a Time Trial.

I guess a better warm up may have helped but it's usually the same result for me. A fast start followed by a blow up a few miles in and I spend the rest of the race recovering. Pontiac Lake is a demanding trail with sharp climbs, rocks and plenty of roots. The trail was in great shape although I went down on the greasy climb after the switch-back section. My legs felt OK although my bike handling skills were kind of sketchy. I kept falling off my line and lost rhythm in the process. Anyways, I was passed by several guys in my age group on lap one and quietly rode a smoother second lap to finish out 5th in the 50+ Expert class.

The RACING GREYHOUNDS were well represented in many of the classes and a huge shout out for the awesome team support and relaxed vibe. FABOO!
Team compound (aka The Tootsie Roll)

Jeffro carefully tending to the ribs:

Cameron took third in the Elite class. I guess Christian (1st place) had other places to be:

Roper won his age group riding a singlespeed!

Pusher and Janice:


RESULTS:

What's going on?

It has been a while since the last update. The weather in Michigan has SLOWLY been more Spring-like and the rides have been getting better.

A week ago I took a digger. I wish I could say it occurred during some epic battle out on the trail or road. Nope, it happened while riding a flat, dirt road here in Washtenaw County. I was cruising at 20 + mph with a strong tailwind and I must have also been daydreaming because I never saw the pothole that waited for me. It went something like this: pothole, handlebar twist, right hand slipping off the hood, front wheel sideways, sliding on road along the left hip, thunking head/helmet on road hard. Denial. WTH!
Regardless, my bike and I survived. I did come across this product while tending to my wounds. Pro riders have been using these tube bandages for years years and I'm happy to find these now on the store shelves. I recall using mini-pads and nylons back in the day! The Telfa non-stick pads also work very well.
Curad Hold Tite:


Sadly, the Ragin' Raisin race that was schedule for April 16 was canceled. I hope to see it on the calendar next year.
Ragin' website:



The Michigan MTB season kicked off Sunday, April 17th with the Yankee Springs Time Trial. Hats off to the WMMBA chapter for pulling off another well organized event. This event always reminds me of how it felt at the first day of school. Everybody checking out everybody. Congratulations to my teammates who had a strong showing in several categories. Even the tandem class!
Yankee Springs TT website:
2011 RESULTS:

Michigan was also well represented at the 18th running of the Paris-Ancaster race in Ontario, Canada. Clint Verran (Paint Creek Bicycles)and Mike Simonson (RBS/TREK/NOTUBES)placed in the top 20. Rich Stark (Two Wheel Tango) won the Singlespeed class. Great work all!
Mike's race report:
RESULTS:



While all this heated action was taking place I had a date with my bride which included a trip down to Slows Bar-B-Q located in the heart of Detroit by the old Tiger stadium. Absolutely fantastic food and beer selection. It's all about choices...
SLOWS Bar-B-Q:


Today it is snowing. It was a good day to work on some things and I decided to mess around with the helmet cam on the singlespeed. Be advised, this video is 3+ minutes of boredom although it gave me a hub-high perspective that should be pretty cool on the singletrack. Hopefully the trails will dry out soon from this latest round of moisture. In the meantime the roads are in great shape for riding.
Fork cam video:

Gravel Grinder 100K Saturday, April 30, 2011

Mark your calendars. On Saturday, April 30th 2011, the North Oakland Single Speeders will be hosting the second annual “Gravel Grinder” in Oxford.

This is a group ride and you are invited to come and enjoy some of the best dirt roads in Northern Oakland County.

For 2011 we are going with a 100k (62 miles) route, plus an option to bail out early and finish with a respectable 35 miles.

FREE.

Pure crazanity!!

If I was any good at Photoshop I would have added a turd pile over that dude's shoulder on the State of Michigan. I'll just say it. The weather lately is making me crazanky. Seriously? I hate it when other people talk about the weather although I have come to discover it is constantly on my flipping mind. Precipitation, temperature, wind speed and direction, 7 day forecast, sunrise, sunset, etc., etc.....

Regardless, the paved roads are where it's at right now. Off road conditions are too soft to mess with. Here are a couple of items that have really shined for me on these gloomy days.
The first is Finish Line Wet Lube. For me, this product has performed well over the winter months as well as during the wet season commonly referred to as Spring. Give it a try.


The next useful item is a set of bombproof road tires to get those long training miles in. I would recommend the Continental GatorSkin tires. I ride in the morning before work and I cannot risk screwing around fixing flats far from home with the possibility of running late for work. These tires have been amazing. They are durable and hold up to wear very well. I went with the 25cm width for a bit more surface area and I ride gravel as well as the beat up roads around here. Try them, you will be glad you did.


Right on! Tomorrow's forecast calls for better weather and some base miles.

Thursday: Areas of fog before 8am. Otherwise, partly sunny, with a high near 52. Calm wind becoming east between 5 and 8 mph.

Some assemby required...

The Spring weather lately has been marginal at best. What better way to spend a cold, rainy day then to build up a new bike. I've discovered that next to actually riding bicycles, building them is pretty damn satisfying. This is not one of those pimped out builds that ends up at the NAHBS or displayed on the roof rack of some rich dudes Lexus. I was looking to build up a race worthy rig at a modest price. Middle of the road, that's how I wagonwheel.

I enjoy the hell out of my 29'er rigid singlespeed and I was looking for a similar ride, except with gears. I opted for a 2x10 drivetrain and a White Brothers carbon fork which I felt was a good fit for the trails here in Michigan.

I started off with a sweet looking 7005 aluminum Niner EMD frame. No scandium or carbon fiber here.


Daniel built up some sweet wheels for me. The silver & black spoke combination with the red and black nipples looks great.


Here are the specs for the tech/weight weenies out there:
Sram x9 6 bolt 135mm QR disc hub rear hub, Sram x9 6 Bolt 9mm QR disc front hub-32h w/No Tubes ZTR Crest rims 29" w/ half black Wheelsmith DB14 spokes, half silver Wheelsmith DB14 spokes , and Wheelsmith black alloy nipples and red alloy nipples-Model Year-2011-Manufactures listed weight=N/A-Actual Weight=Front-767 grams, Rear-982 grams, total weight 1749 grams-Date weighed-04/04/11

*Weight does not include rim strips and valves

After about 5 hours of assembly I now have my dream bike. The drive train components are primarily SRAM X7 and the cockpit is Truvativ Stylo. This will be my first non-Shimano component bicycle of recent times. I have finally made the jump to tubeless tires and hydraulic brakes which will require some new maintenance skills for me. Fan-freaking-tastic!
Now the wait begins until the singletrack dries up.




NinerEMDolicious photos: