Back from Germany

I flew back in to Pontiac airport this afternoon after being in Germany for the past four days for a business workshop. The closest I came to a bike was when walking through one of the local towns a team of riders on a club ride came through. I think my body was grateful for the forced break from riding.

I mentioned in an earlier post that we would be staying at a castle, this one was partly converted to a hotel and restaurant in the 1950's to help cover the growing cost to maintain such a place. The place was wonderful, very quiet and out in the country. It was furnished with many antiques and all around were portraits of the ancestors. The staff did whatever they could to make you feel at home. At night we would stay up until midnight or later sitting by the fire and partaking of the beverage of choice.

The conference was an intensive couple of says working with our German colleagues on the internal business consulting organization that we began last year. Unfortunately with the impending split of Daimler and Chrysler, we also had to work on how we would continue independently yet still collaborate. This may have been the last chance most of us would be together.

The flights were booked on our company jet and the flight over to Germany only had 14 of the 48 seats filled. This meant the flight attendants were able to bring the drink cart down the aisle four times in the first hour. And dinner was served quickly so we could try to get some sleep to get our bodies adjusted to the six hour time difference. Arriving at 7:30 in the morning Stuttgart time meant it was only 1:30 in the morning back home.

Later in the day on Tuesday we took a guided tour of the Mercedes museum which opened last year. This is an impressive eight story building with exhibits displayed on a descending spiral walk that takes your through the history of the company's vehicles. Attached to the museum is a Mercedes car dealership where I was able to see most of the vehicle lineup including the new Smart fortwo that will be sold in the United States. It is a very small car and makes a Mini Cooper look huge by comparison. The Smart car will also come as a convertible.

We were fortunate to have a guided tour of the castle by the Baron Max von Rassler, descendant of the original Baron that bought the castle in 1720. The Baron still lives in one wing of the castle.

I managed to get a ride into the village on the floor of the valley to take a look around before hiking back to the castle. I didn't see any path up to the top from the road below so I just climbed the hill up to the top. I can see why it would have been difficult to attack from that side.

I was sorry to leave but maybe I can get back for a vacation. I certainly know quite a few people over there now that would be able to assist if I was able to return.

I got out for a short ride today and it felt good to be back. I felt re-energized to be riding again. I will be doing some rides with the team this weekend as I prepare for the Boyne marathon XC race next weekend.

More photos of the trip can be seen here http://kinley.smugmug.com/gallery/3073571#167891524

The left side of the castle is actually the new side and where the Baron lives


View from my window



One of the hallways leading to guest and meeting rooms


The Baron and a portrait of his father

From first to second in the blink of an eye

Or in the time it took to read the email. The National Ultra Endurance Mountain Bike Series has not posted the overall series results yet so I sent a few emails inquiring on the status. I also wanted to find out if they were changing the scoring method. As I had written in earlier posts, they were either using a time based system or switching to a placing system.


If using the time system I would currently be in 1st but by the slimmest of margins. Using finishing positions would drop me down to second. The first reply I got said they thought they were using time. I just received another email that said they are changing it to be based on finish. So I guess I am now in second. In order to win the series I would have to beat the current first place holder twice.


I am getting in my last rides this weekend before leaving for Germany on Monday. It is for business and will probably be the last time that some of us will be together now that Chrysler and Daimler are splitting. Travelling on the corporate jet gets you spoiled when you have to fly commercial.


Instead of staying in the city of Stuttgart we are staying a ways out of town, near the Black Forest in an old castle, the Schloss Weitenburg. I had hoped to spend a few extra days in Germany after our meeting but won't get the chance. I'm glad I will have a week to recover after getting back before the next race. I might need to lose a few pounds when I get back as I expect to hoist a few steins with my German colleagues. At least my arms will get a workout.


I was at the mall today looking for a plug converter for my trip and unfortunately right next to the place I needed to go to was a Carter's children's store. My wife was in there looking at all the clothes that she would like to get for our first grandchild expected in October. I think my bike racing days may be numbered as I can see where our money will be going!

The Schloss Weitenburg

My 10 seconds of fame

Cyclingnews published a write up of the Lumberjack race and included a nice paragraph about the Master's class including the top three so I got my name in there other than the results. Mentioning much about the Master's class is pretty rare, in fact at some races they don't receive much acknowledgement at all. And we usually seem to be omitted when people publish pictures of the winner's on the podiums. So we will take what ever press we can get.

From the article:

The men's masters class was chock full of fast racers. The top five battled it out for a full 100 miles with only 17 minutes separating first through fifth.. Jim Jordan (CFX Prod) was first at 9:01:05, second was John Majors at 9:14:20 and third was Steve Kinley (Hammer Nutrition, Cannondale) at 9:15:59

http://www.cyclingnews.com/mtb/?id=2007/jun07/lumberjack100_07

Lumberjack Results

The official results have been posted for the Lumberjack 100. http://www.lumberjack100.com/results/lumberjack_results_2007.pdf

This year I finished almost half an hour faster than last year but dropped from 32nd to 56th overall among men. But this year there were 129 finishers where last year there were only 59. And we had more starting this year as well, 177 vs 135.

It was interesting to compare my lap times to others in my class. After 1 lap I was behind 1st by 4 minutes and up on 2nd by 6. After the second lap I was down by 5 and up by 9. Then things started going south as the third lap showed me down by 9 and only up by 6. In the end I was behind 1st place by 15 minutes and behind 2nd by 1 minutes and 40 seconds. Fourth place was only a minute behind me and 5th another minute and a half after that.

I did learn a few things about myself and my abilities. I was hanging with some of the faster racers early on but didn't have the endurance needed to keep up the pace. I have a few areas to work on for future races and also know some of my opponents weaknesses. Hopefully I can put all this to good use yet this year.

Depending on how they are doing the results for the series I may have moved into 1st by a slim margin since the current 1st place holder never actually raced even though he signed up. if not first, I definitely have a lock on second in the series.

Lumberjack Report

Well, I broke my streak of four consecutive 2nd place finishes but not on a good way. The short story is that I ended up 3rd. The long story is that I was in second for about 96 out of the 100 miles but faded on the last two laps allowing the competition to close the gap and catch me.

It was no body's fault but my own, I simply went out too hard on the first lap and built up about a 10 minute lead. I wanted to try something different this race, instead of trying to close a gap I want to create one. I felt pretty good going into the race so I got ahead on the first climb of the day and extended my lead.

I was surprised though when I came around at the end of the first lap and my crew told me someone was ahead of me by three minutes. I figured it was the first place guy in the national series. My second lap still felt pretty good but I could sense the power fading.

On the third and fourth laps I felt like I was starting to go backwards and got that awful feeling that people were starting to catch me. I still had a pretty good lead over second starting the final lap but I was having problems on the climbs. My heart rate was way down from previous laps.

Sure enough, with about 4 miles and some of the biggest climbs to go I saw 3rd and 4th place catching me. They soon passed me and I struggled to pass the 4th place guy and catch up to the 3rd place, or now 2nd place guy. He is the person who has traditionally beat me in these races and I didn't want to let him get away.

I managed to stay on his wheel and eventually passed him back, thinking I had opened back a small gap but he was right behind me. I was faster in the tight sections and downhills but he managed to pass me back on the last major climb of the day, probably the worst hill of the trail. I couldn't catch back up and ended up rolling under the finish banner 1:30 back. My finishing time was bout nine hours and 15 minutes. I was so disappointed in my result after all that effort, I know my pit crew was really pulling for me.

Speaking of pit crew, I had to have had the best crew out there, Shari had everything organized and ready and I felt like I was in a race car pit stop. Tracy was there to help as well as they got me into a fresh Camelbak, changed my bottles and Hammer products and got me back out in probably less than 3 minutes each time, maybe faster unless I asked for something. I owe them a great big thank you and am sorry I couldn't have hung in there for 2nd place.

The overall series has to be extremely close, depending on how they are doing the series calculation. The current leader was not the winner at Lumberjack but finished below 5th so I don't know what the actual standing look like now. I may have moved into 1st but it is an unknown.

The next race is in August near State College, PA. Unfortunately the person who always beats me has raced there quite a bit and won several times so he has that advantage. I will have to come up with a different strategy next time.

A big congratulation to Robin for completing his first 100, and on his SS. This was a tough course with no rest like the other 100's since this one was 100% singletrack. You were always pedaling and a lot of it was bumpy.

For the record Chris Eatough won the race for the second year in a row setting a new course record of six hours and 49 minutes. Our local racer Mike Simonson was 12 minutes back. The course was run in the reverse direction from last year and it seemed faster. Most riders reported faster times this year. It helped that the temperatures were about ten degrees cooler as well.

The 29'er was fantastic on this course with all the sand and loamy soil. I was blasting by people on the downhills and right with them in the twisty stuff. I am glad that I added a suspension seatpost due the bumps on the course.

Ready to go

The van is loaded and I'm heading over to pick up Robin and Shari for our trek up north to the next stop in the National Ultra Endurance Mountain Bike Series. This time the race is in the Manistee National Forest on a 25 mile course that will take four laps to complete the 100 mile distance.

The course may not have as much elevation gain as the other races in the series but then there is no rest either since you almost always pedalling. Last year's race had an extremely high attrition race as 162 racers started and only 62 finished. The temperature was really hot last year but it is only supposed to be in the 80's this year.

Both of the other two guys that are close in the standings will be there so I will have to have the A game going to keep in the hunt for a top three placing. But with Shari in the pit handling things at least that part should be a breeze. We were supposed to share a pit with the legendary Tinker Juarez but he had to cancel at the last minute. Maybe next year.

Weekly update 6/10/07

At the Stony trail head

Seems like I only get around to posting about once a week now. Not a lot going on during the week that is different and worth reading. Just a lot of riding or working on bikes or even a day or two of real work every once in a while.

This weekend was more of the same but with some longer rides but not too much intensity. I'm trying to still recover but get ready for the Lumberjack 100 next weekend. Last year I over did it the weekend before the race and paid the price of not being at my best. I feel a lot better now and still did some hard efforts.

After riding early on Saturday, I met some of the team later in the day at a graduation party for another team member's graduation from high school. I seems hard to remember that far back, it was 32 years ago.

Today Robin and Shari came over so we could do a back road ride and also take in a partial lap at Stony Creek before heading over to Bloomer to watch part of the XC race going on in case any of our team members were there. Where yesterdays' ride was chilly enough to have me in knee and arm warmers, today's ride started a little later in the day and the weather was perfect.

Early on in the ride we came up a hill by the state recreation area and there was a female turkey herding her brood of chicks across the road. There must have been about 15 little ones all scrambling to get up the embankment into the woods. They couldn't have been much more than a week old, if that.

We met team members Joel and his son TJ at the entrance to Stony Creek Metropark and we all rode part of the trail there before heading over to Bloomer. At Stony Shari's bike started squealing pretty good and we discovered her rear brake pads were almost worn down and the vibration was causing the noise. Robins swapped the pads front and rear and all was quiet again.

At Bloomer we got there in time to see our team mate Jeff come through on his first lap in his Sport race. We left and headed back to catch the Paint Creek Trail up to my house. While riding through Rochester we caught a few heats of the Soap Box Derby. I ran across this last year too.

All in all it was a great day for a ride and we will probably plan more of them to come.

Fixing Shari's brakes

The winner of this heat by .004 seconds was the white car on the right

Mohican 100 - A Bridesmaid Again

John Majors, winner of the master's class and me, 2nd place
(Photo from Jeff Kerkove)

Our travelling crew (Shari, Shirlee, Robin and myself) left early Friday afternoon for the four hour drive to the Mohican 100 race near Loudonville, Ohio. Last year Jason was home and the two of us did the race. That race was very muddy at the start due to week long rain prior to the race and we hoped this year would be drier.

The weather forecast was calling for occasional showers and we ran into some rain on the way down. Arriving at the race venue we could tell it had rained at some point during the day. After registering and checking into our dorm room we headed out for a short ride. The heat and humidity was enough of a reason to take it slow plus we had the race the next day. After riding some of the great paved back roads around the Mohican Forest area we rode the last mile of the trail to the finish, a new route that wound it's way though the forest to the finish. It was still wet and muddy in some spots under the trees causing me to make a tire change that night to accommodate wet conditions.

We had dinner at a nice restaurant in town, it seemed slightly out of character with the rest of the local establishments. Back at our rooms we were glad to find that the staff had provided a fan for our room. The race start and finish was at Camp Nuhop, a typical camp that had dorm rooms, cabins and big area for camping. Everything was right there in one spot. It was the perfect setting to host a race.

Race morning we did a mass start that was supposed to be a neutral roll-out for the first few miles until we reached a designated spot on the road. About 200 riders took off and out the reverse of the finish route. Riding the route yesterday we had taken note of a particular ditch that could cause problems if you were not aware. Sure enough, as I was going through it my front wheel turned sideways and flipped me over the bars. I got up and my left thumb was hurting to the point where I could hardly hold onto the bar and shifting was difficult. Great, only a mile in to the race and I was in trouble.

The first part of the race had a lot more singletrack than last year, probably about 30 miles of the first 35 miles of the course. Fortunately the trail was pretty dry but it was a lot of work in the high humidity and increasing temperatures. I managed to crash three more times in the first three hours. One was at a pretty good speed when the front wheel slipped off into the edge of the bench cut trail and I slid out. Sort of reminded me of when I was road racing. I was glad when we finally turned onto some back roads.

I could see that my pace was still ahead of last year's but I didn't feel particularly strong, especially when climbing. I'm not sure what is going on with my legs this year but hopefully they will recover in time for the Lumberjack 100 in two weeks.

The next seven hours was spent on a mixture of back roads, farm trails and secret singletrack that is not open to bikers at any other time of the year. There were also a few hike a bike sections where everyone was off there bike pushing, because it was either too steep, muddy or technical to ride. One section had us going along an old two tack trail only to come to a stream with a washed out concrete bridge abutment on the other side with no other trail across. So we had to cross the stream, throw the bikes up on to the top of the bank and then hoist ourselves up. I felt sorry for the shorter riders.

Later in the race with about 7 miles to go we had to go down a trail that ran along the river. The trail was full of big rocks, roots and drop offs that would have been almost impossible to ride at any time, let alone after racing for 93 miles. Then, after navigating that section you had another 3/4 mile section that was super muddy, the only way was to ride right through it.

Just when you though you were safe the trail exited you out to the bottom of the dam where you had to climb (walk) up the back side. Of course at the top you got back on the road with an uphill climb to take you back to the last mile trail section to the finish. At least I didn't crash in the ditch this time.

I ended up in second in my class, just like last year. And the same guy who beat me last year and won the national series beat me again. But this time instead of beating me by 42 minutes I think it was under 5. That makes four of the national 100 milers I've done and four second place finishes.

Robin raced again on his single speed but opted to do the 100k loop instead of the 100 mile after determining that he may not make the 100 mile cutoff time. I used every one of my 27 gears, I don't know if I could have done it single speed. And Shirlee finished as usual, with the regular grin on her face as she crossed the line. Several other riders from Michigan made the trip down to race, including Danielle who finished 2nd in the women's field and Mike Simonson who finished 4th overall.

I have to thank our support person, Shari Scurr for being there at the aid stations to look after our need and cheer us on. At some point almost everyone racing thinks about quitting a race, for one reason or another. Shari provided just the motivation we needed to keep going.

Approaching the bottom of the dam

Time to start walking

Getting closer

Almost there

Coming up the last paved climb

At the finish

Danielle and I, looking a little muddy and me with some of it in my eyes

My left thumb, about twice the size of my right

If I could stay on the trail these things wouldn't happen

Memorial Day Thoughts

Yesterday I waited until AFTER the rain to ride, unlike the day before. I rode the SS again and got in almost three hours. It was strange that my legs didn't feel particularly strong but I could see by the bike computer that I was travelling about 2 mph faster than normal for the same route and heart range.

Today was a light ride and I felt just the opposite of yesterday. Even at an easy pace the legs felt heavy and slow. I think a lot of it has to do with my diet of the last 18 hours. We cooked up some traditional holiday fare which was OK but we also had ice cream in the house. This a weakness of mine so I try to avoid it by not buying any.

Between yesterday and today the simple sugars in the ice cream were causing me problems and lack of energy. Not that I eat a 100% healthy or organic diet but I have pretty much eliminated most sugars. I think my body was having a hard time processing what I was putting in it. It really made me see the connection between diet and performance. At least I've got a little time to get it out of my body before the next race.

While riding through my neighborhood this afternoon I noticed that very few houses had the US flag displayed. There might have been one for every 30-40 houses. Growing up everyone had flags flying on the holidays. It is a shame that most people seem to view today as just another day off work.

Timing is everything

They say timing is everything, today then I had nothing. I had planned for a long ride today but last night they were calling for rain. When I woke up I went to the weather site, hoping for good news and to see if there was and update. Almost as soon as the site came up the rain started to fall.

I delayed my ride for a few hours hoping it would stop. I planned on riding the pavement on the SS rather than trash a drivetrain on a geared bike so I dropped a tooth on the back to 42x16. Once the rain let up I put on my rain gear and headed out the door.

About 15 minutes into my ride it started to rain harder and soon my rain gear was functioning more like a wetsuit. I was wet underneath but it was stopping the wind so my body was keeping the wet clothing warm. After another 30 minutes the rain seemed to stop but it was the proverbial calm before the storm.

It soon started raining so hard that I could barely see. Fortunately at this point I was riding laps around the Chrysler complex where I work so there wasn't much traffic. I wasn't too concerned until I heard the thunder. I don't think bicycle tires will protect me too much from a lightning strike.

I considered pulling into a parking garage and calling my wife to pick me up but since I wasn't hearing any more thunder, I decided to keep riding. When I got home I found out my wife had tried calling ME to see if I wanted a ride. I couldn't hear my cell phone though. Usually my wife jokes about not coming to get me if I am stupid enough to be out riding in bad weather so the storm must have been worse than I thought if she made the call.

When I got home I took off most of my garments in the garage and formed big puddles when I rung out my gloves and socks. And of course the rain had about stopped by then and here it is six hours later and it still hasn't rained again. Timing is everything.

Feeling stronger

After doing a preride of Addison Oaks with a couple of my team mates and feeling a little fatigued in the legs I was beginning to wonder if my legs were ever going to recover from racing the past few weeks. It has been a long time since I really felt good on the bike, way before the Cohutta 100.

Since I wasn't racing on Saturday I planned on doing a long ride instead and catch some of the race. Once I got out of my subdivision and onto the dirt roads I felt completely different from the day before. My legs had the snap in them that had been missing and my HR was where it should be as well, quickly moving up and down depending on the effort.

I did a lap of Addison before the race started and then went to the start area to cheer on those I knew, especially my team mate Shari Scurr. Watching everyone take off at the start made me wish I was racing, especially since I was feeling so good. I had to keep telling myself to remember the races coming up. No sense racing only to have to try and recover for an even bigger effort in two weeks.

After waiting for Shari to complete her first lap I rode over to Stony Creek and did a lap there before riding back to Addison for a race update. Joel was there with a mini camera, we had arranged to video a lap of the course. Robin got ready and was the "rabbit" while I rode behind him with the camera on my bike. Robin set a pretty good pace and we were soon passing some of the racers. Of course we were careful to not interfere with their racing.

The video was a little jumpy but looked pretty good from what I saw. Hopefully it will be able to be put up on the web site. We are experimenting with the best way to mount the camera and may have two cameras, one on the bike looking at the lead rider and another on the lead rider pointing back. We are going to try and video a lot of the trails in the area once we figure out the best way to do it.

I don't know the official results of the race but I understand that Shari finished 2nd, and was able to finish a little early after riding for 11.5 hours since the third place women would not be able to catch her. Amazing considering Shari had knee surgery not too long ago. My friend Chris W got his first win in the 12 hour SS class. Congratulations, I understand a tattoo is in the works?

Change in race plans

I decided the other day to not race the Addison Oaks 6/12 hour race. Since the Mohican 100 is only two weeks after Addison and the Lumberjack 100 two weeks after that, it would not be wise to attempt to do all three races in a 4 week period. It takes me longer to recover from hard efforts as I get older and I want to do well in the national series so it is better to prepare for those.

I would really like to race at Addison since it is my home course, only 15 minutes away and I ride there quite often. It would be nice to race where I don't have to drive three hours or overnight to get there. I plan on racing the fall XC race there so I will have one nearby race. And the Stony time trial later this summer is also close.

I will ride out and watch part of the race as my team mate Shari will be racing. Good luck to everyone racing there, the weather looks better than last year's mudfest.

Weekly update

Last week was non-exciting during the week, just riding and preparing for the Addison Oaks race this weekend. Same for this week, just not as much riding or as hard.

I rode a few laps at Island Lake on Saturday, a trail I have rarely ridden since it is over on the western side of the city and I rarely venture to that side because I have so many great areas to ride out my front door. The trail is relatively flat and has a nice flow to it but it is all big ring, and mostly flat. The trail attracts a lot of riders due to it's location and the fact that is a good place to learn to mountain bike.

The main reason I was at Island Lake was that there was a bike demo day at the park. Many of the dealers in the metro area had demo bikes available and our team was there to support the Cannondale brand. Cannondale was unable to get one of their factory trucks with demo bikes available so we helped one of the local Cannondale bike shops. We also got to hang out with our Cannondale area sales rep, it's always a plus to see and talk to him.

After church on Sunday ( a rarity for me) the family went to brunch to enjoy Mother's day. in spite of eating too much I went out for a four hour ride later in the afternoon. I did a lap at Addison Oaks so I could compare lap times with the Scalpel I was on vs. laps I had done earlier in the week on the 29'er. I felt a lot faster on the Scalpel but the lap time was only marginally faster and it was a lot drier on Sunday. Maybe I was more efficient on the 29'er so it didn't feel as fast.

I rode over to Stony to do a lap there as well. They had done a reroute on one section of the trail that had become badly eroded. The managed to increase the trail length slightly but I didn't care for the new section. It doesn't have the same flow to it that the rest of that section has and the trail construction makes me wonder how long it will hold up. Much of the trail is built on an off-camber including some of the corners. I think it will start to break down after a while and have to be redone.

It looks like we should have a dry Addison Oaks race. Last year's race turned into a mud bath that also ruined the trail. Many hours were spent to get the trail back in shape. We have added some new trail so that the course will be a little longer this year and have more climbing. I'm only doing the 6 hour race, not the whole 12 hour race. I don't want to completely ruin my legs two weeks before the Mohican 100 miler.

Ft. Custer in the books

Photo from our team web site


Today was a day of a few firsts; the first xc race of the year, the first race in Michigan this year and my first race as Expert. I was not sure what to expect other than it would hurt, especially after racing in Tennessee the past two weekends. I haven't done much high intensity training so I planned on using this race more for training; I figured the pain would be over with a lot sooner than the previous weeks so at least I could look forward to that.

They created a new class in the Expert category for us old guys, 50+. Many racers were dropping out or moving back to Sport rather than race the old 40+ Expert class. It would be nice to have a few more move up as the Sport class was pretty big today and some of those guys could have raced with us instead.

When the gun went off our class seemed to move out pretty slow, certainly slower than the Sport class last year. It didn't take too long for the pace to pick up though and starting in 5th I slowly worked my way up to 3rd until we passed the first place guy who had gone out hard and then started to fade.

I stayed on the new 1st place guy's wheel pretty much for the first two laps when he started to open a gap and pull away. I could see him sometimes but my legs were starting to protest whenever the trail turned uphill. I guess the previous two weeks were starting to catch up to me.

I eventually lost sight of him about half way through the third and final lap so I put it in cruise mode just trying to make it to the finish and not give up 2nd place. I ended up holding on to 2nd , about a minute and a half back but almost cruised too much as third was only 24 seconds behind me. Overall I am happy with my first Expert race and think the results might have been different with a fresher set of legs. I can't say enough good things about the Cannondale F29 that I used today. The bike handled great and the larger wheels rolled over the log piles with no problems and tracked straight through all the sand.

Ft. Custer is probably one of the most fun trails to ride or race on in the lower part of Michigan. The weather was perfect and the race turnout was huge.

Next up is the 12 Hours of Addison Oaks on May 18. It will be nice to have a race only 20 minutes away.

Tennessee Dirt Sweat & Gears 12 Hour report or Act Naturally

Well I hope you come and see me in the movies
Then I know that you will plainly see
The biggest fool that ever hit the big time
And all I gotta do is act naturally

Those lyrics to the Beatles song seem appropriate for this past weekend's race in Tennessee and I'll explain why later. I went down with the plan to ride for fun and have a good time with the other team members, six of us in total. I didn't plan on being competitive after racing the 100 miler last weekend.

We arrived at the race site on Friday afternoon to find a lot of pits already set up but we managed a good one across from the Dirt Rag crew and with some of the top pros a few tents away from us on either side. We took an easy prelap, well as easy as you can with 1,200 feet of climbing in10.5 miles. The course is fairly new but was really fun, lots of singletrack, fast downhills and some killer uphills. Also lots of jagged rock in places that would come into play in the race the next day. I'm glad it was dry, the trail would have been difficult in the wet.

Back at the race site they had a vendor area with local merchants, food concessions, and some national sponsor tents . In the evening some of the top pros held a meet and greet and we talked with Tinker and had a team picture taken with him. Tinker is sponsored by Cannondale, our primary team sponsor as well. One of our team members used to race with Tinker on a BMX team a long time ago.

While the pros were signing autographs Robin and I started talking to someone who does reports for a Tennessee public TV program, Tennessee's Wild Side. We explained a little about the sport and what would happen in the race and then he asked if we would mind being interviewed for their show. Robin and I each had a chance to talk while the camera was rolling. They wanted to get some on course video footage but by this time the light was fading so I volunteered to start the race with the camera on the bike.

The next morning we took some footage with the camera pointed in different positions prior to the start. The start itself was a running start, you had to run to where the bike was and then take off. When the gun went off I was in about the top 1/3 to the bike but had to wait for the camera man to help me with the recorder waist pack and make sure the tape was rolling. I ended up dead last out of the start area.

I put it into XC race mode and hustled to try and catch up so that other riders would be in the footage and not just an empty trail. I started passing people as well as my HR reached it highest point it has been all year, not exactly the usual endurance pace I have been running. I was wired for sound and they promised to edit anything I said that might not be acceptable on the air. I think I was polite, besides it's hard to say much when you are huffing and puffing besides "on your right", or "when you get a chance".

I stopped shortly before the end of the lap to give back the camera and recorder. I saw the camera man in the wood later shooting additional footage. The show is supposed to air in a few months and they will send a DVD of it to us.

I was pretty well cooked after the first lap and decided to call it a day after only 3.5 hours. I have a whole season ahead of me and didn't want to push to the point of physical exhaustion for this particular race.

The race took its toll on a lot of racers and bikes with flats being the number one problem. Even Tinker had two flats on the first lap but still managed a third place in the pro division.

I can't say enough about the race venue and hospitality of the people in the area. The town really supported the race; the mayor was selling clothing items including the shirt showing at the top of the page. She was delighted to have everyone in town.

I think this may have been the first race where I left weighing more than when I arrived. The race entry fee got us dinner Friday night, pancake breakfast race morning (I didn't partake) and dinner after the race. We had a chance to sample a lot of southern cuisine since the post race dinner was excellent pulled pork and we bought a Cajun sampler for lunch which contained red beans and rice, crawfish etouffee, and jambalaya. Later in the afternoon we sampled homemade fried pies.

The awards after saw our team member Shirlee Finch get second place for solo amateur women. The amount of prize drawings they had was amazing including 7 bikes and frames, a Fox fork and a complete SRAM gruppo. None of us won anything big but scored some smaller items that were tossed to the crowd.

We had a good time and I would recommend the race to anyone for next year. We are talking about doing it again and maybe extending our time to take in some of the other trails in the TN/GA area.

Check out some other pictures and video of the pit area. http://www.jeffkerkove.net/2007/04/dirt-sweat-and-gears-12-hour-brief.html

Next up on the race calendar is Fort Custer XC on May 6th.

Tinker with some of the team

Listening to the band


The had trial demos during the day


This helicopter showed off landing a few times

Interesting sculpture at the entrance to the trail

Tinker getting ready to start another lap

Tennessee bound again

I have just about finished getting everything packed again for another trip to Tennessee this weekend. it seems like I just got unpacked. This time it is a 12 hour race which means doing laps. That also means a support crew and the ability to stop each time around. I may be doing a lot of stopping this race.

My legs felt OK after the race last weekend and riding on Monday. Yesterday they felt pretty dead and I didn't ride today and won't tomorrow either since I am leaving after work. My plan is to just take it easy and have fun. The have a lot of give aways at this race so maybe some of us will come home with some.

Hopefully the rain won't come in but they are calling for some on the day of the race. Since thins race doesn't mean much I don't plan on riding in mud. No sense messing up my bike and replacing parts so early in the year.

Cohutta 100

Just got back from the trip to Tennessee for the Cohutta 100. I managed to finish 2nd in the Master's class. The race had a lot of climbing and some sweet singletrack at the beginning and the end. I wish I wasn't so tired for the last section, it would have been a lot more fun.

The fireroad climbs seemed to go on forever but you were rewarded with some super fast decents. The scary parts weren't so much from the downhills themselves but that the roads were open to traffic and there seemed to be quite a few cars and trucks on them. You had to be careful rounding corners when you couldn't see what was coming. The best lines were usually on the inside of the corners where they were banked.

The race started and ended at the Ocoee White Water Center, site of the 1996 Olympic whitewater competition. There are over 30 miles of marked singletrack trails plus the options of hundreds of miles of fire roads to connect other trails. We all agreed that we would like to come back and ride the trails for fun. Make a week out of it and do some whitewater rafting as well.

My travelling companions were Shari and Robin Scurr and Shirlee Finch, all Cannondale Midwest team members. We had a great time travelling together and were certainly never bored. Robin and Shirlee both raced as well, Robin did almost half the course on his singlespeed before dropping out, the gearing on his bike was a little tough for the amount of climbing required. I don't think I would have gotten that far on a SS, hats off to anyone using only one gear. Shirlee finished with the usual smile on her face. I don't know if anything fazes her.

Next week the four of us plus two more team members head back to Tennessee south of Nashville for a 12 hour race. I'm just doing this one for fun, no serious competition hopes on the line.

On to Tennessee

Tomorrow I leave for Tennessee along with three of my team mates to compete in the Cohutta 100. This will be my first race of the year but many of the competition have been already racing. I haven't had a lot of training time lately so I'm not sure what to expect.

Next weekend several of us will be back down in Tennessee for a 12 hour race. What a way to start the season. Usually the first race of the year is a time trial that is under an hour long.

The weather will be good and the company a lot of fun. So no matter what happens in the race the trip will still be a good time.

Wedding Part 2

Yesterday I posted some pictures, here are some of the details. The wedding was in Spokane, Washington at Mount St. Michaels, the church/school where Jason taught a few years ago. The facility was originally a Jesuit center that in addition to teaching, also helped supply Gonzaga University which is in Spokane.

The wedding was small, especially since most of the guests had to come in from all over the country. We were fortunate so many were able to do so and make it special for Emily and Jason. While Sandy and I struggled with our emotions at times during the events of the weekend it was harder a few years ago when we moved Jason to Spokane.

The rehearsal dinner was in a restored mansion that is also a bed and breakfast. The female side of the bridal party had all the rooms reserved so we basically had the whole place to ourselves. The same caterer did both the rehearsal and the reception and the food was excellent.

The reception was at a local winery. It started in the cliff house overlooking the valley before moving to the tasting room. A DJ kept things moving as nearly everyone made it onto the dance floor at some point during the evening.

Jason and Emily are honeymooning in Mexico at a resort called Verana. It looks to be pretty secluded.

We are happy to have Emily come into our family and wish both of them the very best of everything.

The Wedding!

It' official. Jason and Emily were married this past Saturday in Spokane. More to follow later. Additional pictures here http://kinley.smugmug.com/gallery/2722048#144387260

Better

Since we didn't head over to the west side of the state today I was able to get some other things done but rode later in the day. Despite my fears of muddy roads they were in pretty good shape.

My legs felt a lot better, maybe it was all the Easter candy. I could still feel a little muscle soreness in the one quad but it was better than before. I was able to get in a few short sprints and the legs and HR seemed to respond well. I will still need to be careful to not overdo it in the next two weeks.

Happy Easter

There is something wrong when there is more snow at Easter than there is at Christmas. The weather has put a damper on my training. I find it hard to get motivated to ride when the wind chill is 12 degrees.

I rode outside Friday and Saturday but not today. Some of us were planning on riding on the west side of the state on Monday but we cancelled the trip. We could have ridden but it wouldn't have been much fun in 39 degree temps with snow.

The lack of riding time on my recently built 29'er is causing me some concern with the Cohutta 100 only two weeks away. it seems to feel about right but I had hoped to put some longer rides in to make sure I have the bike set up the way I like it. Plus I want to get the spokes and rims some mileage on them in case they need some tweaking. I've heard that a lighter version of the rims I am using require some readjusting after some time on them. Maybe these won't but I want to make sure.

The other thing that is bothering me a little is a deep pull or something in the left quad. I may have strained something a few weeks ago when doing two back to back heavy strength days. So I am trying to take it easy and add extra massage and muscle stimulation along with Hammer Nutrition Tissue Rejuvenator. Hopefully the legs respond in time for the race.

Here are some pictures of the recently built Cannondale Caffeine F29.

The weather matched the way I felt

I pretty much finished building the Cannondale F29 late Friday night. I was trying to get it done in time to go on a longer ride Saturday morning but I could tell as I was working on the bike that I was starting to come down with something. The throat was getting scratchy and eyes started to get that itchy feeling. I was hoping it was just that I was tired.

I got up early the next morning not feeling 100% but decided to meet the group anyway. About a half hour later I headed for home, knowing that it was the prudent thing to do.
The weather was cloudy and spitting rain anyway. I spent most of the day lounging around the house or sleeping.

Today I didn't feel much better and didn't ride either. The sun came out for a while so we took the dogs for a walk.

That is a total of one hour of riding in the last four days. Maybe I needed the rest but now I have some catching up to do. After Tuesday the temperatures are falling again but I have a few days off on either side of Easter and plan on riding regardless.

Mother Nature has a funny sense of humor

All day today the sun was shining, the air was warm, people eating outside at lunch, etc. I figured I would sneak out of work about 15 minutes early to get a head start on my planned ride. I pull out of the parking garage and see dark skies in the direction I'm heading. Maybe it will pass by.

Five minutes later as I'm on the freeway I see the brake lights and what looks like a wall of water as we drive into a down pour. Another mile up the road and it's completely dry, no rain had fallen. I run into a light rain again but nothing at my house.

I got out of the car and looked at the ominous clouds heading my way and still think that maybe I can get the ride in. And then I hear the thunder. And see the lightning.

So off to the basement and on the trainer. Real funny Mother Nature, get our hopes up all day and wait until we leave before you start to rain.

76 and sunny (and windy)

Two days in March above 70 is amazing. I had to get out today and enjoy the shorts weather. Since today was a recovery day it was perfect to just cruise along, as long as you weren't riding into the wind which was crazy strong. But I stayed out of the wind as much as possible. On the way home I stopped and helped two turtles cross the road to get to the swamp. And the spring peepers are deafening.

The back roads had dried a lot since yesterday but the rain coming in will change all that. It may be a wet weekend as well. I don't know if I'll have my 29'er done but if everything is muddy I wouldn't be riding it anyway.

Weekend hurt

The warmer weather and rains have made riding the back roads a real challenge. They may be fine one day and a total mess the next. Or they may change within a ride as parts of them dry out. I think the ruts and holes this year are bigger than I have seen for a while, I don't know how vehicles can get down some roads. Even on a bike you are constantly switching course to try and find a line through the holes. Yesterday I almost went over the bars when I rode into one hole that was deeper than it looked.

I did what I thought was my hard ride yesterday, 50+ miles on the SS and on my hill route. I felt pretty good climbing and had a slightly faster time at my checkpoints than last week when I was riding the FS. But last week I did the route the day after my strength workout, this week it WAS my strength workout so my legs were a little fresher.

I had issued an invitation to my team mates to join me for a casual pace 50 mile ride today, up in horse country and on a route that wouldn't have a lot of big hills but still have some climbing. The only one who was able to make it was Bernie and he brought his SS for a little extra workout. I took a geared bike so I could ride a little easier.

The back roads were in way worse shape than yesterday, many of the roads were muddy or soft, robbing you of energy. It turns out the route I chose also had more climbing than my normal hill route. With the wind in our face for much of the return leg plus the soft roads made it feel like we were on a death march, just trying to survive. So much for an easy ride. But it made for good training. By the end I felt like I do at the end of a long race, every little hill hurt.

I think I will take it easy for a few days and allow my legs to recover. The weather for the next few days calls for rain so I may do easy spinning on the trainer or stay off the bike altogether. But the recovery process is essential to rebuild the legs even stronger.

Nothing new

Not much really new to report, the cold weather came back and I don't want to ride outside. I spent most of the week on the trainer or in spin class and on Saturday I was busy most of the day so I did intervals on the trainer.

Today I go out early, temps in the 20's which meant all bundled up again. I wanted to spend my time riding a little harder on the hills but I could tell my legs were spent from the previous day's efforts. I only managed 50 miles and half my planned route but I figured it was best to regroup and recover. Sometimes I tend to push too hard and then have a hard time recovering for a few days. I think it is harder the older I get.

More parts for the 29'er build have come in, now it's time to build the back wheel while waiting for the front hub. I'm still hoping to have the bike built by the end of the month but it will be close.

70+ and sunny on March 13!!!!!!!!

The first ride of the year in just shorts and short sleeves. And I had to put on sunblock to avoid a burn. It's amazing how much faster you feel without all the extra clothing.

I had to wait and put the SS back together before heading out to enjoy the weather. I switched back to the 42 tooth front ring for a better workout on the roads. I was surprised that the roads were in a lot better shape than I expected. There were some areas of standing water,thick mud, tacky soil or even dusty gravel, sometimes all within a mile stretch. The SS is the perfect bike for these conditions since I don't have to worry about all the drivetrain parts getting messed up.

If we had a few more days like today the roads would be in great shape, other than the potholes. It doesn't look like the weather will cooperate though.

I received a bunch of parts for my 29'er build tonight but nothing so that I can really start to put the bike together. I'm waiting on the rims which should be here on Thursday and the front hub and fork. I also have a few parts showing up in a week or so. We are taking all the team's drivetrain parts to a sponsor, Future Technology Services, that does metal treating. It is a process that hardens the metal and makes it last longer. I hope to have the bike pretty much together before the end of the month so I can have a few weeks on it before the Cohutta race.

Finally

The weather finally broke with warmer temps starting on Friday and it is supposed to continue through Tuesday before turning colder again. Probably every cyclist who has a blog will be writing the same thing, it sure is nice to feel the sun and warmer temperatures. The switch to daylight savings time came at the right time.

The warmer weather meant the snow melt and thawing roads turned the back road into something better left for mud boggers. I stuck to the pavement to avoid totally trashing the bike. I felt like I had wings, the pavement seemed to make the miles fly by on the mtb, at least compared to what I had been riding on all winter.

Friday was an easy ride and I ended up riding with a few other guys I know for part of it. Saturday was strength building doing big gear intervals for a total 3:15 ride time and 52 miles.

Today was my endurance day so I wanted to start early and get in around a 6 hour ride. I couldn't start as early as I wanted because I had to wait for the ice on the roads to start to melt. The melting snow from the previous day had formed frozen puddles or sheets of ice where the water running across the roads had frozen.

Even when I did finally start out I had to be careful since it was still below freezing but the sun was out, melting the ice. I did multiple laps at an industrial park, Chrysler HQ, and Oakland University before riding over to Stony Creek. There were a lot of cyclists out at Stony taking advantage of the weather. I managed to hold off some of the roadies but others just flew by me on their skinny tire bikes. I ran into some of our team members as well that were just getting started.

I ended up the day with right at 6 hours and 96 miles, averaging 16 mph. Not too bad for a fat tired, full suspension bike. Maybe not a lot of elevation change but the idea was to get the saddle time in. I know the last hour was the slowest as it was more up hill and into the wind. Of course, save the worst for last.

Out and about

I spent part of Saturday at the Bicycle and Fitness Barn in Port Huron where I gave an informational talk on sports nutrition and race fueling strategies for Hammer Nutrition. I was invited by Team Sandbag and the shop to get the team and the general public ready for the race season. The event was well attended and the store owner told me as I was leaving that he had sold enough product that day that he was going to have to reorder, and he had just gotten in his shipment that morning!

Getting home late in the afternoon it was too warm to ride outside. Sounds strange but sunny skies cause the back roads to become a mess of mud and slush. I had planned on doing some big gear strength sessions so I opted to spend three hours on the trainer grinding them out instead of on the roads.

I made sure to get out early this morning while the roads were still frozen, having switched my studded tires over to the geared bike. I'm glad I did since the roads were very icy and the potholes and frozen ruts would surely have caused me to fall on more than one occasion if not for the studs.

I was also glad that I decided on a full suspension bike due to the poor conditions of sections of the dirt roads. Twice I was able to pass vehicles that were crawling along, trying unsuccessfully to dodge the holes. I got a kick out of sailing past an expensive SUV that was negotiating the craters. I could pick a line around most of the holes or sometimes right through them without too much problem.

I rode the first half of my hill training route, not so much for hill strength but to use them to practice getting into a rhythm with out putting out maximum effort. My time for the route was much slower than the last time I rode it in the fall but I attribute that to several factors, heavier bike, resistance and weight of the studded tires, winter clothing, and the poor road conditions. The very first hill on my route was through the state park on an unplowed road that had me down to walking speed while riding most of the length of the road and the hill. It was good training though for Tennessee.

Here is the text from the nutrition seminar advertisement.

Sports Nutrition, Hydration & Electrolytes Seminar Presented By Hammer Nutrition, The Bicycle & Fitness Barn, and Team Sandbag

When: Saturday, March 3rd What time: 11:00am to 1:00pm

Where: Bicycle & Fitness Barn, Port Huron, MI

Steve Kinley with Hammer Nutrition will be presenting on the role of hydration, fueling (prior to, during, and after exercise) and electrolytes. Additionally he will discuss how Hammer Nutrition products can help you maximize performance and minimize problems like dehydration, bonking, and other conditions that not only ruin your day, but are also hazardous to your health.

Steve is an avid racer who has used Hammer products exclusively to win the CPS series the past two years as well as finishing first in the 2005 Fun Promotion Endurance series. Last year he also finished second in the Master's class in both the Mohican and Lumberjack100's.

There is no cost to attend so please join us and bring a friend. The program will be beneficial for everyone from the avid racer to the recreational enthusiast. Free snacks and beverages / Hammer Nutrition samples / Discounts on Hammer products / Prize Drawings

A new year, a new bike.

And so it begins again. For the 2007 racing season I will have another weapon to choose from in my Cannondale lineup. I am hopping on the 29 inch wheel bandwagon and building a Caffeine 29'er from the frame up. I rode the stock version at the Iceman race and liked the way the 29" wheel bikes handled the sand and the singletrack. In stock form as a complete bike it is a little heavy for serious racing so I will add my own parts to suit my preferences.

I will be using some parts from the hardtail it replaces such as Marta brakes and XT cranks but I will have to get a new Lefty for this one, the old bike used a Headshok that will not work with the larger wheels. I will stick with SRAM XO shifters and rear derailleur with an XTR front.

The wheels are the second largest investment and will be using the new Stans Arch rims with the Hope Pro II hub in the back and Lefty hub in the front. Not the lightest build available but I want these to last as I plan on using the bike in several of the 100 mile races. No place to stop and swap wheels in these races.

Cannondale has been great to our team, and they build some outstanding bikes. Now I can choose from the new 29'er, the Scalpel for a little rougher trail and the Rush for all out comfort. All three bikes have their advantages and disadvantages depending on the type of race and terrain. I am lucky to be able to pick from multiple bikes.

No doubts that this is a 29'er frame

Made in the USA

Nice to Ice

Saturday was the perfect day for getting out on the roads and the trails. The snow melt left the trails still packed from the snowmobiles and I was able to travel almost as fast as when they are dirt. Some of the corners were a little slick and icy but otherwise the trails were the fastest they have been all winter since the snow came.

The plan for the day called for big gear intervals so after a short trip around the trails I exited onto the roads for some slow cadence, big gear work. The roads were mostly dirt but in some places you could see the ice peeking through. I tried to stay in the big ring/small cog as much as possible and stayed seated for all of the efforts. I eventually wound my way over to Chris's where I joined him and two more for a couple hours on the roads. I rode most of the ride in a big gear to keep up the strength work. Not many big hills around here and the first race in Tennessee is only 8 weeks away.

We headed back toward my place so they could ride the trails before they got too soft. The surface was slightly soft but I didn't have any problems with the wider tires I was using. By the time I finished the day I had almost 5 hours in. My legs felt pretty good in spite of the workout and I would have ridden longer but I had promised to be home by a certain time.

Today it was spitting rain, sleet and snow off and on. The side streets were covered and looked slick so I opted for the SS with the studded tires. Once rolling out the driveway I could tell I made the right choice in tires. No need for a repeat of last weekend.

After I was out for awhile the sleet started up again and the glasses became useless. Then it turned to rain and back to harder sleet that stung. I didn't get to ride as long as I wanted to but at least I was riding outside.

On a work related note people have been wondering what has been going on with my company, DaimlerChrysler. They announced over a week ago a turn around plan (again) and subsequent staff reductions. The most ominous part was the comment that they were considering all options to make the company profitable.

Most took that to mean a potential sale of Chrysler. A lot of press was generated and it looks like there is some interest from potential buyers. Everyone at work is just waiting to see what is going to happen. We don't know anymore than what we have read in the papers.

As far as reductions go we should be OK due to the announced buyout packages reducing the employees to the required number. I am not eligible for a package and I imagine a lot who are will take it. I know I would look at it pretty hard given the uncertainty of a sale.

Stay tuned for more info as it happens but you will probably read about it in the papers before we know anything.

First road rash of the year

I managed to earn my first road rash of the year today. And actually on the road. The weather has remained cold with occasional snow which means the back roads have been snow and/or ice covered for several weeks. I don't remember them being frozen for so long, the snow just hasn't melted off of them. But that could change next week.

But back to today's ride. I got out mid morning to get in a couple of hours on the SS after doing a 4 hour ride yesterday while grinding out some big gear intervals. I planned on taking it easy and checking out Bald Mountain South to see if the trails were rideable. I thought the snowmobiles should have it packed down but I got in to the trail all of about 50 feet before turning around and continuing down the road.

It started snowing fairly hard while I was out but then the clouds gave way to sunny skies but it was still only in the teens. I was enjoying the ride, being careful whenever I came to a downhill corner to avoid sliding. I would slip at times when going uphill and even when just cruising on the flats if I got into an off camber groove.

I was coasting down a grade leading to a stop sign when the next thing I knew I was sliding on my left side. I hit on my shoulder and hip and my head bounced off the ground. I got up quickly and brushed myself off, not really hurt but more surprised. It reminded me of my days road racing motorcycles, except no leathers or full face helmet. I do have a nice bruise on my shoulder and a little broken skin. I was only doing about 15 mph and hadn't touched my brakes. It looked like I had gotten into an icy stretch caused by cars hitting their brakes as they approached the stop sign.

So last week I fall trying to stand while going up a hill. This week I fall while riding down a hill. I'm afraid of what will happen next week.

In fact, next week the weather is supposed to start warming up which is both good and bad. it brings about a transition time when the roads start to get muddy during the day and freeze overnight. The trails may set up nice and firm though provided you get out on them early in the morning. I ratchet up the intensity a notch so it may be easier on most days to do the intervals on the trainer, and safer too.

Team meeting, MMBA annual meeting

This weekend was set aside for annual meetings. First our Cannondale Midwest Racing team meeting and dinner held Saturday night and then the MMBA meeting and swap meet on Sunday.

I didn't get a chance to do any riding on Sunday but I did get in a 3.5 hour ride on Saturday morning. The back roads for the most part were still snow covered but worn down, even icy in spots. On one hill that seemed to be mostly ice I lost traction on the way up and when I put my foot down it had no traction either so I fell over standing still. In fact I had trouble even walking up the remaining portion of the hill.

Saturday evening most of the team gathered over at the Scurr's for our annual team meeting where we get a chance to see all the old team mates as well as greet new members. We also go over the various sponsorship requirements and place some initial orders for parts. This year we are changing uniform colors and logo for the first time in 4 years so everyone got a preview of what the new uniforms will look like. I think they will be pretty sharp. A lot of the work for the layout and design was done by team member Joel Miller.

Sunday's MMBA annual meeting and swap meet brought together mountain bikers from all over the state to check out the swap meet and the vendor expo area. I set up the Hammer tent and sold product and answered questions on their product. Robin and Shari Scurr along with Chris Werth assisted me in handling the crowd. There was a good turnout as bike enthusiast use the event to kick off the season, or at least help get rid of some of the cabin fever for those who haven't been riding much yet. Sort of like the boat and camper shows that are also going on this time of year.

I met the guys for Team Sandbag that will be putting on Nutrition Seminar in March that I will be helping them with. They had flyer's to help advertise the event that were pretty impressive. But for the record I don't work for Hammer, just help out at some of the shows and events.

The MMBA annual meeting usually has an interesting guest speaker every year and this year it was none other than Gary Fisher, considered one of the founding fathers of mountain biking and also the manufacturer of his own bran of bikes. Gary is known for his unusual attire and today was no exception, he wore a purple leather suit.

One of the final event of the day was the awarding of the race series awards from the last season. The top three winners of each category were given a trophy. Cannondale Midwest Racing was well represented, the first six winners in a row were all from the team. I received my award for 1st place in the Sport 50+ class. This year I will be moving up to the new Expert 50+ class. I don't expect quite the same results this year as last, plus I may not do enough races to qualify for the series.

Ok, now it's cold out

People are always asking me how I can ride in the cold. It's no different than when it's warm, just a lot more clothes or at least clothes of a different type.

For example, today it was 3 degrees so I added the snowboard helmet, goggles and neoprene face mask to avoid exposed skin. I have poor circulation but even in today's cold I was fairly comfortable for an hour and a half ride. If it's warmer, say in the teens or 20's I just have a head covering under a regular helmet and glasses.

I use handlebar gauntlets and change the type of glove I wear based on the temperature. For the feet I wear two pair of socks, a base wool layer and then a fleece sock over it. If it's below freezing I add a chemical warmer. I also use winter mtb shoes which helps.

I have winter tights with a windproof front that eliminates the need for extra knee or leg warmers plus keeps the legs dry if you hit the slush. The upper body doesn't need as much so it's usually a long sleeve jersey and then a light or heavy jacket. On colder days like today I add a short sleeve technical type shirt under the jersey.

I would have ridden yesterday but the wind was blowing pretty good. I decided to get out the xc skis instead. This was my first time out this year but it didn't take long to get back into the rhythm. I had the woods to myself and managed about two hours on the trails, most of it out of the wind.

I got started xc skiing about 40 years ago, back when wood skis were the only kind available and everyone had to wax their skis. It was kind of an art to read the snow conditions and pick the proper wax. You always carried extra waxes with you in case the conditions changed. It was really a pain if you went from soft snow to harder, colder conditions since the wax for cold temps is also harder and tough to apply over the softer waxes used for warm conditions. I picked up a set of newer wax type skis a few years ago but haven't used them much.

Next weekend is the MMBA expo, swap meet and awards presentation. Quite a few of our team will be picking up CPS awards. I'll be there in the Hammer Nutrition tent so if you are going be sure to stop by.

Now it's time to get ready to flop on the couch and watch the Super Bowl. Hopefully one of my squares will win me some money this year, I came really close last year. Looking back my first blog post was one year ago. So Happy Anniversary to my blog.