Sunday, October 31, 2010

Cannondale Sponsors MiSCA

Cannondale Teams With Michigan Scholastic Cycling Association To Offer College Scholarships

The Michigan Scholastic Cycling Association (MiSCA) announces that Cannondale Bicycle Corporation will be donating resources to help fund college sponsorships for the winners of the 2011 MiSCA Varsity championship races. MiSCA has tentatively scheduled five mountain bike races for the fall of 2011, with the final race awarding a minimum of $2,000 in college scholarships.

MiSCA, formed in the spring of this year as part of the Michigan Mountain Biking Association, has as its mission to establish and maintain safe, quality scholastic cycling programs. An interscholastic racing league was piloted this fall and the inaugural season saw students from area schools compete for podium positions at three mountain bike races held in the SE Michigan area.

Look for MiSCA board members at local cycling events, expos, and bike shops this winter and spring as they reach out across the state to recruit more schools and volunteers.

For more information on MiSCA or how to donate or sponsor them visit: http://www.miscabike.org

Some time is better than no time





Sandy and I went to Indy on Friday afternoon to attend the funeral of Emily's grandmother. We got down there in the evening in time for the viewing and then the funeral on Saturday. Emily and the grand kids had been there for a few weeks since her grandmother had taken a turn for the worse.

The original plans were for us to take the two older ones for a week after visiting but the plans changed with Emily flying home later this week. Flying back with Jason or shortly after should make it easier for her.

We had a nice visit even if it was all too short. Not sure when we will get to see them next but hopefully it won't be too far in the future.

Friday, October 15, 2010

More singletrack

We added another short piece of singletrack a the school, finishing it yesterday. It is only .3 miles long and not very technical but more trail is always good.

I rode the entire race loop for the race on the 23rd and came up with almost 9 miles per lap. I was at 6 miles before getting into Bald Mountain. We will use two miles of the Bald Mountain trail which should help those training for Iceman as the sections are pretty fast and fairy wide open.

There are a lot of leaves on the trails now, to the point that some of the trail is hard to see. I plan on going up this week and blow some of it off.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Catching up

I haven't been very good lately about updating the blog but it's one of those things that is easy to put aside or neglect. I realize there are a few people that follow it from time to time but it seems more and more people are staying in touch via Facebook. And it is a lot easier to post a few sentences here and there rather than constructing entire paragraphs. It is just another way in which our world is changing.

In the past month I haven't really done much racing, I did do one up in Midland, the race where I crashed hard last year and thought I had broken some ribs. This year I managed to stay upright and finish second in my class.

Earlier in the same week I competed in the short track race I put on at the high school but did not do very well. Part of the problem was that I put on skinny tires to help the bike be faster on the primarily grass course but the tires also lowered the crank to the point that the pedals would hit in the turns if I wasn't careful and pivot the rear wheel off the ground.

I had been busy preparing for the first two interscholastic races and the MiSCA board had put in a lot of work. Especially when the Lake Orion school told us to go ahead and run the one race on our own and keep the proceeds.

The day before the race it rained hard for most of the day but by late afternoon it had stopped enough that I could blow of the trail to help it dry. By race time on Sunday the trails was in pretty good condition but I think the previous day's rain had scared some riders from competing. Those that did come out enjoyed the course and the interscholastic competition; I believe the first of its kind in Michigan.

The board also went through a name change for the organization. What used to be MICA, Michigan Interscholastic Cycling Association, was changed to MiSCA, or Michigan Scholastic Cycling Association. It doesn't seem like much of a change but we were asked to change our name by the national organization, NICA. They thought it was too confusing, especially since we are not a part of their organization.

That meant a new logo and website domain name as well as some changes to come on the website itself. We are working on literature to have ready for the Iceman in a month; over 4,000 racers are expected to attend and we hope to be able to get the word out about MiSCA. We also plan on hitting up shops and schools across the state as we expand for next year. This winter and spring will be critical to get new clubs in the program so they can form teams for next fall. We want to be able to get enough support to be able to offer scholarships next fall.

Talking about Iceman, I decided to sell my entry to the sold out race. I put it up for auction on eBay and unless the buyer doesn't pay in time, I will not be racing. I decided a while ago to not race anymore this fall as I didn't really have the time or motivation to race any more. I have been finding it harder each year to continue to have the same enthusiasm for racing. Each year I have done something a little different to change it up.

This year I raced most of the races in the singlespeed class for a change of pace. I also didn't do any of the endurance races for the first time in a many years. Next year? Who knows, maybe try some road racing or maybe just go riding. I know I will still be very involved with racing, just not so much while on a bike.

Friday, October 08, 2010

High School Cycling!

A photo from a member of Clarkston High's cycling team. The cycling club has been added to the varsity jacket.

Oct 6 Short Track results

Short Track Results 10-6-10

More results

From the Oct 3 MiSCA race
LOHS MiSCA Results 10-3-10