Next up: Mohican 100

LINK
Visiting Ohio this Saturday to take part in this epic ride in the Mohican Wilderness. Being a first timer it is a daunting task preparing for this ride both physically and mentally. My expectation is to ride clean, fast and make it to the finish in one piece. Simple. I'm hoping the rain outside will move off to the East by week's end and the course will be relatively dry. I can only hope? I am scary-excited about this thing. More updates later.
All packed up...

Das Tour de Frankenmuth - race recap

I came, I rode, I finished. This was the 3rd running of this great event in Frankenmuth, MI and the second installment of my official road race experience. The course is significantly flatter than last weeks Tour of Kensington Valley and without any pre-ride I really had no idea what I was in for. Weather conditions were cold with intermittent rain and there was very little wind. After several clothing revisions I chose to spin on the trainer in the parking lot versus riding around. This was a good choice and I felt pretty loose. In hindsight, I was glad the conditions were cool. My class (Cat 5) had 73 riders in it and the group was split in half at the start line. The first group with bib numbers from 500-535 started 3 minutes in front of us.

We were finally off and the group headed out of town on a series of open country roads with very few turns. The group stayed together and I found myself settling in midway in the pack and exerting very little energy in the process. I also found myself constently adjusting my position in the pack to keep from getting boxed in while doing my best to avoid crossing the yellow line. The first lap was completed without incident and I had a pretty good feel for the course. Halfway through the 2nd lap the pack made contact with the first group of Cat 5's and as we swept them up many of these riders managed to latch on and in the process, double the size of our group. I felt good and found I was able to match the accelerations of the group without blowing up and my legs did not feel heavy. Aaron and I were exchanging positions throughout the entire race. If I saw him up the road I would accelerate to keep him near. By doing so, I ensured my position near the front and hopefully provided some support to my teammate. About 3/4 of way around lap 2 I heard the faint sound of tires rubbing together off to my immediate left and saw the rider next to me go down hard followed by a series of terrible crashing noises. I did not look back and when I saw Aaron reappear on my left I was grateful that we had avoided the mayhem. It was like a slap in the face and the sound of the crash was sobering. Soon after, Aaron and I were pretty well positioned near the front of the pack and we had a decent pace line going with several of the race leaders as we approached town. As we hit the smooth pavement at the one mile mark the pace accelerated and I was trying to hang on and get into position for the finish. On the contrary, I soon found myself boxed in on the roller leading up to the downhill before the finish and saw Aaron hugging the right side of the road. He had great position. Meanwhile, I was having some difficulty getting a good draft off some of the other riders as we were all spread out but I managed to get around a few just before the line. I need to work on my sprint skills.

Today I learned a few more things about road racing:
1. Pre-ride the course, make notes on key areas of the course and clearly know where the finish line is.
2. Have a strategy for the finish.
3 Ride smart and go like hell in the stretch.
Initial results showed me in 13th place and Aaron in 6th. We realized several in the finishing group had started 3 minutes ahead of us and once the event organizers revised the results I had finished in 6th whilst Aaron took 3rd! Freakin awesome experience. Overall, the team had a fantastic showing today. PARTY!

das Tour de Frankenmuth - May 23, 2009

Next up, the Tour de Frankenmuth in Frankenmuth, Michigan. Sweet creamy Jesus, there are already 68 riders signed up in my class. I'm totally geeked...
REGISTRATION

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and riding bicycles

When I was in 5Th grade I was out of control. I was a constant disruption to the class in a time when there was no medical name for my condition. I'm surprised Mrs. Mervis didn't throttle me in front of the class, although I'm sure she wanted to. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD runs in my family. I've been distracted and anxious for as long as I can remember. If I were painting a wall I would start somewhere in the middle, get distracted and then wander off to start another project. Now that I'm older I have learned to recognize my symptoms and take steps to organize my thoughts. Routine helps me a great deal. While on a 3 hour ride it dawned on me that although my mind is racing through a thousand thoughts, I am only able to do one task (ride) from start to finish. It is a continuous process. Maybe that is why I love cycling so much and it might explain why spinning in my living room is so difficult. I wonder if other people like me feel the same way?

Bloomer Park USAC XC May 17, 2009

Next up on the XC calendar. Simply put, Bloomer is not a venue that I hold close to my heart. The trail is a maze of connectors that link up to make a continious loop. While it has a few technical sections like the North Shore bench cuts and Switchback area, it does not flow very well in my opinion. The trail is situated along the Clinton River and with the recent rains, the soil is fairly saturated. I'm going to wait until later this week to make a last minute decision on this event. Rain is in the forcast and my drivetrain could use a break. Any other excuses...?
Registration link:
UPDATE: IMPORTANT NOTICE!! BLOOMER XC RACE IS POSTPONED UNTIL NEXT SUNDAY, MAY 24

Tour of Kensington Valley May 16, 2009

I truly enjoy riding my road bike but and I have considered entering a road race for several years, but I never took the plunge. I don't think I'm really suited for Crits and Time Trials and may prefer the format of the road race. Kensington Metro park is just North of me and with all the rain we've had lately, a road race may be a great change from all the mud I've been eating lately. This will be my first real road race and I have to enter it as a beginner or Cat 5. I hope this goes well because I really think I want to do more races like it. More later...

UPDATE: What a rush! The Cat 5 group had about 50 entrants. The 8.5 mile loops were hilly and fast. The first lap was very fast and I got spit out of the main pack about halfway around. I soon found myself somewhere in no-mans land between the lead group and a chasing group behind me. I hooked up with several riders including teammate Mark Bugnell (Bugs) and we rode well together, exchanging pulls as we sought other riders to share the work. The course was a blast. On the last lap I felt my left calf starting to cramp. While I tried to work out the cramp I lost contact with my group and worked hard to keep them in sight. I finished strong and I now have a new found respect for road racing. What a great group of riders!
RESULTS:
Adam and Bugs:

Hummus and Tabbouleh at the team compound:

Finish line image (to capture photo finishes). Notice how the spokes are distorted.
Cat 1-2 winner Derek Graham (Bissell/ABG) outsprints Paul Martin (Panther/RGF) in the 2009 Tour of Kensington Valley (ToKV).

rain rain go away...

Holy guacamole! It's been a wet Spring so far here in Michigan. I have been working in my training rides around the rain which has worked out fine except it is limiting me to the roads. I enjoy riding and training on the road but I guess I'll just have to wait it out a bit longer before the singletrack dries up and all is well again in the universe. I know, I know, I could go with fenders and ride in the rain like a true die-hard but I'll be the first to admit it that I am a fair weather rider. I'm just glad I packed in some early week miles so watching the rain is less painful while I take a day or two off the bike. Time to brew some coffee...

Great day for a ride...

I was visiting the in laws in Shelby Township, MI and worked in a nice ride today. I started off riding down to Bloomer Park and tried to stay mud-free but I had to bag it after several abbreviated laps. There was a great deal of soft ground and mud although the switchback chute is always fun.

At the bottom of the chute a came across this beauty. Orchids, especially in the wild are very cool (in my opinion).

Bloomer mud:

I then rode up to Stoney Creek and turned a few laps where I knew the trail would be dry. The trail is in great shape and is always a pleasure to ride. I did come across one small lake that blocked the trail.

I then rode North to Addison Oaks County park and tried to ride the trail. I came across the Henry Ford family milk house. Addison Oaks is the former summer estate to the Ford clan. Got milk?

I made it about half way around the trail and I decided to bail out along Lake George road through a hole in the fence. I then turned and headed west on Indian Lake road toward Bald Mountain Recreational area.

I did pretty well sticking to the dry trails although I did make a few poor choices.
Bald Mountain has a ton of anthills next to the trail. As I stopped to take a few shots I became a little freaked out when ants started to climb up my leg. There were some very large hills teeming with activity.

I bailed out of Bald Mountain, my water bottles were empty so I headed back to Stoney Creek for a refill and another lap. 60 miles of great riding and dinner never tasted so good. WOOT!

Pontiac Time Trial video

Here is a recent video from last Sunday's Time Trial. MTB Matt usually walks the trail and his viewpoint of the riders is refreshing. His videos do not contain a bunch of effects and fluff and the soundtrack is usually pretty good. Check out his 2008 Maybury video in the video links column. Enjoy.

Fox Float shock rebuild

I love my full-squishy 26" Kona. My back loves it too. I had noticed myself pumping up the rear shock more and more indicating that the shock was loosing air. The beauty of this shock is that Fox Racing designed it without dampers or oil which can add weight to a shock. The shock works on air pressure, but over time the seals can wear out. Thanks to the beauty of the Internet I located a less-expensive (cheap) alternative to sending my shock back to Fox to have it rebuilt. PUSH Industries. They offer services and products which helped out. I purchased the rebuild kit for $8.95 and did it myself in a half hour. I referred to the Float Seal Kit Service Video which really helped out. If your air shock is acting up do yourself a flavor and service it. Happy trails.

The race of Truth...

At least that is what the Time Trial is often refered to. I'm not sure what I would call it. We ended up having some heavy rain in the area on Saturday, although Sunday turned out to be perfect for riding. The trail was greasy in a few corners and somewhere around the 6 mile mark there was a stretch of standing water/mud that progressively worsened each lap. There was no way around it. My pre-race ritual was much better this week and I felt confident with the 2.25 Racing Ralph on the front.
I hadn't been on a bike since last Sunday and I felt very rested, possibly too rested. At the start I was paired with a nice guy, Ray Fulkerson, who smoked my age group at last weeks race. This dude looks more like he's 25 years old than 50+ (see podium photo). We started and like a rabbit, Mr. Fulkerson was gone within the first mile. I settled in and tried to keep from blowing up on the 2-mile hill. About half way around the 10 mile loop I saw Big Gary coming up fast behind me. We rode together for the remainder of the first lap and most of the second lap. In hindsight, I could see toward the mid-point of the 2nd lap, Gary was starting to slow down the pace and I should have gone around him right away. I eventually passed him and gassed it to the finish to try and wipe out the 2 minute deficit since he started after me. No go, he still beat me by 1:20 and we finished 2nd and 3rd. Very good.

I had over an hour to spin on the singlespeed before my next heat. The sun came out and the temperature soared. I drank and stayed in the shade of the team compound. The ride of the singlespeed is always a trip compared to my FS 26'er. What a blast. The trail was drying up well. I was passed by just about everyone in the SS Open Class but I still felt like I was turning a good time. I came across a struggling Daniel who was riding his 24" BMX rig after bonking at the 1 mile mark. He was in the hurt-locker. I also came across another rider who had sheared off his Race Face crank and was trying to finish his lap while riding with one leg. Another stellar day of racing in Michigan. Great job Racing Greyhounds!
RESULTS

Pontiac Lake Time Trail - April 26, 2009

This Sunday will be the Pontiac Lake Time Trial. This is race #1 on the USAC Series sponsored by Tailwind. Online Registration link.
Pontiac Lake never disappoints. It looks like the weather will be clearing towards the weekend and hopefully, the trail will dry out after the crappy weather we've had lately. My success at Time Trials is limited and I don't place a lot of emphasis on these events other than the conditioning benefits to me from the "all out race pace effort". Looking forward to it.

Yankee Springs Time Trial - April 19, 2009

Another great day of racing as the season kicked off today with the Yankee Springs Time Trial. Yankee Springs is located on the West side of Michigan several miles South of Grand Rapids. Yankee Springs is a state park and the Deep Lake trail used for the event is 11.5 miles in length. This trail has it all with it's mix of fast flowing terrain and the light showers today kept the sand nice and firm. This time trial is an annual event that draws crowds (over 500) that rival Iceman. It always reminds me of the first day of school. Visiting with friends after a long winter. This year a change was made to the Expert and Elite classes and the race length was expanded to 2 laps. I pre-registered in my age class (50+ Expert) and also the Expert/Elite Singlspeed class. My usual per-race confusion was compounded by the rain, my ill-fitting team kit, and my geared bike was not shifting very well. I made a game-day decision to run the singlespeed for both events. I went with a 32x16 by 29'er which gave me 58.0 gear inches. In hindsight, I coulda' used something a little less tall for this trail. The start was well organized and I had no real issues out on the course. There was a lot of traffic to contend with and passing was very important. With the majority of the trail in tight singletrack you needed to make opportunities or risk becoming the caboose. My 2nd lap went smoother although it was also slower. My legs felt good, yet, I knew I was plodding along. I would crank it up and then I would lose my speed and struggle to get moving again. It was a tough rhythm. I eventually hooked up with another singlespeeder as we exchanged leads and this helped bring the tempo up. I finished and got ready for the singlespeed race. While busy warming up in my car I missed my start time and jumped in at the back of the Sport class. Needless to say, I had a hard time getting around many of these riders. I would have to wait for one of the rocky climbs when the masses would dismount and I would hike-a-bike sprint past them to get around them. I finished strong and succeeded in finishing DFL (Dead Fucking Last). It's all good. Our team had many riders who did very well. We have some new talent and this is just the beginning of another fantastic racing season!
RESULTS.

Recovery is good...

Man, what a difference a couple of recovery days can make. We had 2 full days of rain and I took some time off the bike to stretch, eat, sleep and recover. I rode for 2.5 hours today before work and I felt very good. The weather is warming up and the sun is shining. It's hard NOT to ride when the weather is perfect, although we all know the benefits of rest, I have a hard time laying off the rides. Coming up this Sunday is the first race of the season, the Yankee Springs Time Trial.

Paris-Roubaix April 12, 2009

Another fantastic Spring Classic! The "Hell of the North" lived up to all of the hype. I have a new respect for the riders that complete this race without crashing out or having a mechanical. Tom Boonan made it two in a row and 3 wins total.

Velonews article.

How the Race Was Won - 2009 Paris-Roubaix Video Analysis from Cosmo Catalano on Vimeo.
One of the cooler trophies out there:

Easter weekend

Daniel's rendition:

What a fantastic weekend to celebrate Easter and squeeze in a couple of great rides. Saturday I took advantage of the great weather and rode from the in-laws house in Rochester, MI to Bloomer County park and rode a lap. Conditions were a bit soggy so I decided to head north to Stoney Creek Metro park for a couple of laps. Stoney was dry and the trail was in great shape. I then rode up to Addison Oaks County park for a lap and decided the trail was too soggy and headed back to Stoney Creek for one final lap. After 3.5 hours of riding I needed to get back for dinner. For Sunday, I headed over to Pontiac Lake to meet Daniel and MV. My first lap was a disaster. I struggled with my pace and finding good lines in the singletrack. I blasted a sharp rock and quickly flatted. All fixed, I was back on the trail when I had a mechanical with my rear derailleur. I finished the lap and re-grouped back at the car. I ran into Pimpin, we chatted and I headed out for a much better lap. Pontiac is always a great training ground and I was glad the "hell lap" was behind me. The singletrack feels great to ride again.
Pontiac Lake singletrack has plenty of teeth:

Why I ride...

I ride to get away. To get out of the house, away from the television and everyday life. Riding makes me feel alive and satisfies my urge to move under my own power as fast as possible. With so many places to ride and endless miles to cover, I will never run out of opportunities to ride and put the smile back on my face. Here are a few shots from some recent backroads rides.
Huge oak tree on the road in Oakland County, MI

Stoney Creek Metro park

Church on a dirt road:

Cool barn north of Ann Arbor, MI:

More barn, although this one is "artsy".

Keeping with the rural theme, a historic farm:

Tour of Flanders

I watched this race yesterday and it was an incredible sight. Belgium is a place where bike racing is a way of life and everyone comes out to see the local boy kick some ass for a 2nd straight year. This photo says it all. Click the photo for a larger image.


(CNN) -- Local favorite Stijn Devolder retained his Tour of Flanders title under clear blue skies on Sunday, powering away from his rivals for a comfortable victory in the 261.5km spring classic in northern Belgium.

The Quick Step rider made light of one of the toughest tests in cycling to break away with 15km remaining, finishing nearly a minute ahead of Germany's Heinrich Haussler (Cervelo) -- with Silence-Lotto rider Philippe Gilbert third.

Belgium's premier race, which features 16 steep climbs -- many of which see the peloton ride over bone-jarring cobbles -- was brought to life with 50km remaining when Italian Manuel Quinziato, Frenchman Sylvain Chavanel and three-time runner-up Leif Hoste led a six-rider breakaway.

However, they were gradually caught by race favorites Devolder, compatriot and dual winner Tom Boonen and Italian Filippo Pozzato.

Devolder made his decisive move over the crest of the penultimate climb, the Muur-Kapelmuur, and by the time he had reached the final climb, the Bosberg, he had an unassailable advantage.



The rest of the breakaway riders were eventually caught by the peloton and German Haussler won the sprint for second place which was marred by a nasty crash on the final straight into Meerbeke.

It snowed today...

Just when the weather was starting to give me hope of warmer days to come, it snowed last night and this morning. It reminded me of this Nike commercial from 2005 and how the conditions out don't seem too bad now. HTFU!

Lance Armstrong - enjoy the weather!!! - Funny videos are here

Lance Armstrong crashes out of Castilla y León

From Velonews

Armstrong crashes out of Castilla y León
By Andrew Hood
Posted Mar. 23, 2009

Lance Armstrong crashed hard in Monday’s opening stage of the Castilla y León and first indications appear that he seriously injured his shoulder and might have broken his right collarbone.

There are no official reports yet as the crash just happened at about 150km into the stage on narrow roads, but the Astana rider was crouched on the side of the road cradling his right shoulder.

Armstrong went down in a crash featuring at least a dozen riders as the peloton was cranking up the chase late in the stage. He was seen entering an ambulance cradling his right shoulder.

Next. The April Fools joke?

Today, Lance Armstrong and Bontrager released more detail regarding Armstrong's recent collarbone surgery. While it was previously reported that Armstrong's right clavicle was screwed and plated back together after his March 23rd crash at the Castilla y Leon stage race in Spain, Armstrong and equipment sponsor Bontrager, jointly announced that he was the world's first recipient of an inForm® Full Carbon Clavicle Upgrade.

Originally slated to be released at the AAOS (American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeon) Convention May 18-24th in Las Vegas, Bontrager moved up the launch date of the inForm CarbonClavicle™ to aid the return of Armstrong to the peloton.

“The original intent of the Bontrager inForm line was to use medical research to aid us in creating better cycling contact points, such as saddles, shoes and grips. But when we did the research into the most common cycling related injuries, the broken collarbone proved to be an area where we could actually help cyclists get back on the road sooner,” relates John Balmer, head of Bontrager Development.

The CarbonClavicle™, available in 4 male sizes and 4 WSD (Women's Specific Design) sizes for both left and right shoulders, is an actual carbon fiber replacement of the clavicle. Developed with the aid of Sports Medicine Specialist Dr. Mark Timmerman, a Bontrager consultant, the inForm CarbonClavicle has greater shock absorption, greater impact strength and a greater tensile strength—while being grams lighter than the OEM bone.

“The installation on Armstrong was completely coincidental, but I must admit, the Bontrager marketing team was doing high-fives when we heard about Lance's crash. It really was a marketing god-send. I mean, could there have been a better way to launch the new Bontrager medical Upgrade line?” explains Chris Clinton, Bontrager Marketing Manager.

The installation procedure is substantially quicker than the conventional collarbone repair procedures of stabilizing, drilling and pinning, as this is a full replacement. Essentially, the broken bone is completely removed and the carbon one is anchored in place. Armstrong's procedure took approximately 30 minutes and will reduce his recovery time from 3 weeks to typically 5-7 days for the sutures to fully heal.

The delay in releasing details was due to an extended approval process with the UCI, which has now ruled that since this piece is structural yet provides only minor aerodynamic advantage over the traditional bump of a healed broken clavicle, it falls with the current parameters of the UCI rules.

Future sponsorship plans include full support and pre-emptive upgrades for the full Trek-Livestrong U23 team. “These guys are early in their careers, and if averages apply to the team, we think we can prevent about 10 or more future breaks across the 12 members of the team,” adds Clinton.

Backed by the best in industry Bontrager 5 year warranty, inForm CarbonClavicles will be available through referrals from Trek and Fisher dealers exclusively. Retail prices will be set by the retailer.