We had the day off on Friday so I had planned to get out and do a longer ride. I haven't done one in quite some time. The weather was calling for a chance of rain but the radar looked like the rain would pass to the north and south of us. I decided to resurrect an old ride that would take in many of the trails in the area.
I started with some older trails off the the PollyAnn trail; these were used a few years ago for a race and way back were part of some motorcycle trails; you could tell from the bermed corners. Unfortunately they had become overgrown so I spent some time ducking and weaving around the brush. And also getting very wet from the moisture still on the leaves from the rain the night before.
I then headed to Orion Oaks where I got even wetter when the rain decided to let loose in a short downpour. I had a rain jacket with me so put that on for the rest of the time in the park. The sun came out and the jacket off as I was leaving and heading to Lake Orion High School for a lap around the race course.
From the High School I entered Bald Mountain South for a partial lap and then headed over to Bald Mountain North. I rode most of a lap before exiting the trail and riding to Addison Oaks for a full lap.
After Addison I took the back roads over to Stony Creek and completed a lap of the XC course that will be used next weekend. On the way home I was on part of the Paint Creek Trail before the final short stretch of roads back to the house.
I could have ridden down to Bloomer for a lap after Stony but decided that I had enough for the day. Maybe later in the fall I will do the ride again and pick up Bloomer as well as the Macomb Orchard Trail and the Clinton River Trail as well. As it was I had 64 miles and only 24 of that was on roads. Even when on the roads only a little over 7 of the 24 miles were paved, the rest were dirt.
Yesterday I was talking to my team mate Bernie and we decided to get together for a ride today. It turned out to be somewhat similar to my Friday ride except that we skipped Orion Oaks. We started with the high school course and then headed to Bald Mountain North. Then we did an easy lap at Addison with another team member and his friend who was camping there. Bernie and I then headed over to Stony so he could check out the XC course as well.
By the time we got back the sun was starting to cook us and I could feel the effects of Friday's ride plus from my ride yesterday testing my SS gearing. We had almost 48 miles and again, a majority of that was on the trails. In spite of being tired it was nice to ride with someone for a change.
I'm glad tomorrow is another day off work, I need it to recover from the weekend.
Hopefully I will be able to post the flyer to the October 26 LOHS running and mountain bike race pretty soon. We should have it down this week.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Sure is quiet
Jason and family left Friday afternoon to start their trip back to Spokane. After being here for almost three weeks it was very hard to see them go. We had a great time with the whole family and enjoyed the chance to see our grandson. The house didn't seem the same once they left.
During the time they were here I had taken vacation so that means I have to go back to work tomorrow. That will seem strange that I have to get up early again and play the corporate game. I wish I was a year and a half older, I would have been eligible for a retirement package from Chrysler. I think I would take it and look for another line of work.
Today was the Pontiac Lake XC race, part of the USAC series where I currently hold the series lead in my class. This is probably one of the harder courses in this series with lots of climbing and rough downhills. It is also one of the more popular trails in the area and gets a lot of riders on a daily basis.
I started out well, running fourth in a paceline at the start and eventually working up to 1st as the other riders in front of me would make mistakes or take bad lines. That lead didn't last for the whole lap though as two of them went past me before the end of the first lap and another after starting the second lap, putting me back in fourth again. I stayed there for the rest of the race but finished in front of the two closest to me in the overall points chase.
So now it's back to work and a normal schedule with the next race not until two weeks at Stony Creek. This will be the last race in the USAC series and one of the final important XC races for me until the Iceman race in November
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Ft. Custer TT
Instead of racing the Pando 12 hour we decided to make a day of it at the Eastern Market. Or to be more precise, the morning at the market turned into a lot longer than originally planned once Sandy and Emily found the antique shops and recycled clothing. Both came away with some new (old) hats but now I've heard that they need to go shopping for something to wear with them!
Today Jason, Emily, Oliver and I headed to Ft. Custer to race the last event of this year's time trial. The neat thing about a TT is that you can start with someone other than in your age group if you are both in the same category. Jason and I signed up so we could start at the same time. A father and son battle to be first across the finish.
Jason wasn't feeling confident in his ability to outlast me but I told him I was going to use him as a rabbit to set the opening pace. I needed to finish ahead of a particular racer in order to earn 2nd place for the TT series. Once we started Jason took off and I chased after him as he opened an early gap.
I caught up to him as he lead the way for the first few miles. At one point I bobbled and lost him but before too long I saw him ahead as we came to a small climb. Once the climb got steeper I passed him as he was starting to struggle. I kept the pace up as long as I could that Jason had set early on but eventually I backed off to a more comfortable tempo, if there is such a thing in a TT.
Parts of the course were familiar from the spring XC race but other sections I hadn't ridden in four years. I played it safe around lots of corners since I wasn't sure what to expect. There were a couple of exciting moments as the sandy corners would cause the front end to slide but I managed to stay upright.
I ended up with 2nd place in my class for the day, about a minute back from the winner. I didn't feel too bad knowing that I had gone about as fast as I could. At least I didn't get beat by one one hundredth of a second like some of the Olympic swimmers. That would be tough to take. I also managed to secure second place for the series and received a really nice engraved plaque.
This week will be Jason and Emily's last week here before leaving for Spokane. We have a few things planned but mainly plan on sticking around as much as possible. Then for me there is the Pontiac XC race next Sunday.
Oliver gets carried in style when we go out.
He was facintated by the brick wall while the rest of the family shopped.
Showing off his teeth that are coming in.
Posing for the press
Discussing race strategy just before starting
Podium spots
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Family Time Part 2
Jason and Emily went up to a friend's cottage for a few day which meant we got to be the typical Grandma and Grandpa and spoil Oliver. We took him to the Armada fair today and are happy to report that he approves of french fries and hand squeezed lemonade. He mad friends with a few of the animals while he was there.
Earlier in the week everyone went out to Cook's Dairy Farm for some of their fabulous ice cream and Oliver had a few close and personally encounters with the cows. The have t-shirts for sale that described it perfectly, "I got licked at Cook's Dairy Farm". That cow's tongue moved pretty fast.
Hopefully we will get a chance to get to the zoo and up to Frankenmuth, maybe take in the Renaissance festival in Holly. On Sunday Jason and I are racing the time trial at Ft. Custer. We decided not to do the 12 hour race on Saturday and spend more time with the family.
Playing in the cold fountains by the Ren Center in downtown Detroit.
Ice cream at the dairy farm
New friends at the fair
Farmer Oliver
Looking at all the sights at the fair made Oliver tired.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Family Time
We had been eagerly waiting for the arrival of Jason, Emily and our grandson Oliver. Although we were keeping up on Oliver's growth through Jason's blog, we have only seen him in person twice, once a month after he was born and then again in February when we was about four months old. Plus we had not seen Jason since November.
The family arrived by train on Monday evening and will be here fro about three weeks. Oliver had begun crawling shortly before coming to our place and pulling himself up to stand which meant we needed to literally baby proof the house at a different level.
My parents came up for the weekend to see both their grandsons and great grandson as well as to get better acquainted with Emily. They had only managed to meet her briefly back in December of '06. On Friday I was fortunate to get three tickets to the PGA from my friend Mark; my dad, Jason and I spent the morning at the tournament. We also spent the rest of the day in the doghouse since we had taken the vehicle with Oliver's carseat. We didn't realize it until we got to the event.
With everyone coming we hired a photographer to take some family pictures. Oliver didn't seem especially pleased about it but we managed to get a few smiles out of him. Later we has some of the kids' friends over for a barbecue.
The next two weeks will be spent going here and there and the kids getting away for awhile by themselves as we babysit. Jason and I are supposed to race this weekend on a team but we will see how he is feeling. A little over a week ago he had his wisdom teeth pulled and is still feeling a little bit of an effect from that.
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Dry and Sandy Big M
Sunday I returned to the site of the Lumberjack 100 but for a much shorter USAC XC race. The race course ran in the opposite direction of the 100 mile race and only used 6.5miles of the 25 mile endurance loop. We had perfect weather for the start of the race and the driest race so far this year. In fact, much of the course has sandy patches that were no problem for those of us running 29” tires.
I ran with the eventual leaders for a half a lap before falling back, feeling the efforts of three consecutive weeks of racing. I ended up fourth but ahead of my closest rivals in the chase for series points. Next up will be a 12 hour race as part of a team, racing with my son who is in town visiting from Spokane and then a time trial the next day where I can wrap up a top three spot in that series as well.
Sunday, August 03, 2008
My 15 minutes of fame
Someone told me that Cannondale had linked my rider bio to their front page. So for a short time, anyone that goes to the Cannondale main page will see my name and can link to find out more about me. They took some of my answers to questions and turned them into a bio. Cool!
Sunday, July 27, 2008
A race with no rain!
Wow! The Stony TT was completed on a darn near perfect day. There was a good breeze blowing but it was head wind on the way out. A pretty big crowd showed up as well as the trails are popular among the eastsiders plus it was one of the MMBA races. The time trial format is also a popular way for newbies to get into racing since instead of a mass start you go off two at a time every 30 seconds.
I wasn't sure what to expect since my legs were feeling pretty good but I still had a little muscle soreness from last week's race. And yesterday while preridng a section of the course I hit an overhanging branch hard enough to about knock me off my bike. I thought I may have cracked my helmet I hit it so hard. As a result I have a little stiffness in the neck but otherwise I'm OK. I would have said I was knocked silly but others would ask how I would be able to tell.
I was one of the last starters and ended up trading leads with the guy I started with. I managed to drop my chain twice and also forgot my water bottle. I'm not sure what was going on today. I ended up third in my class, 15 seconds behind 2nd place. I checked the results from last year and ironically the guy that beat me this year lost to me last year by 15 seconds.
This was not an important race for me and it was more of a filler; a race to keep me tuned up if I decide to head north next weekend for the race near Manistee. That race will be part of the series I have a shot of winning. It would be nice to have an insurance race in the bank so that I don't have to rely on finishing the last two races in the series.
In a little over a week Jason and family arrive for a three week visit before heading back to their new place in Spokane. They have been spending the last few weeks visiting Emily's family and friends in Indiana and Illinois.
I wasn't sure what to expect since my legs were feeling pretty good but I still had a little muscle soreness from last week's race. And yesterday while preridng a section of the course I hit an overhanging branch hard enough to about knock me off my bike. I thought I may have cracked my helmet I hit it so hard. As a result I have a little stiffness in the neck but otherwise I'm OK. I would have said I was knocked silly but others would ask how I would be able to tell.
I was one of the last starters and ended up trading leads with the guy I started with. I managed to drop my chain twice and also forgot my water bottle. I'm not sure what was going on today. I ended up third in my class, 15 seconds behind 2nd place. I checked the results from last year and ironically the guy that beat me this year lost to me last year by 15 seconds.
This was not an important race for me and it was more of a filler; a race to keep me tuned up if I decide to head north next weekend for the race near Manistee. That race will be part of the series I have a shot of winning. It would be nice to have an insurance race in the bank so that I don't have to rely on finishing the last two races in the series.
In a little over a week Jason and family arrive for a three week visit before heading back to their new place in Spokane. They have been spending the last few weeks visiting Emily's family and friends in Indiana and Illinois.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Practice makes perfect
Practice in the mud that is. And I've certainly had plenty of opportunities to race in the mud this year.
Today was the Ruby XC race and I already knew I would be getting wet since the course crosses a river twice on each lap. But the weather forecast called for overnight rain and into the morning and of course this forecast they got correct.
Bernie and I drove up this morning and we hit harder rain just before the course. With the wet conditions and falling rain it made it easy to decide which bike to use. The 1x9 with Michelin XC tires came out and the fully geared bike stayed in the van. This is essentially the same bike setup I used at Pontiac this spring and the Stony race a few weeks ago. Except this time I had a slightly smaller chainring on the front to make it easier to climb the couple of hills this course had.
At the start I got in right behind the fastest guy in our group as we headed into the first section of singletrack, the other guys were right behind me. At the start of the race we had warned each other to stay safe and take it easy but it didn't take too long before I heard the guy behind me crash. "That's the first one," I told the guy in front of me, figuring there would be more to come.
A little later he had trouble on some roots going up a hill and I went around him. I knew he was having a little more trouble with the mud than I was so I tried to push my advantage in case it started to dry out. By the end of the first lap I had a lead of about two minutes.
For the next three laps I concentrated on trying to stay upright and only fell once, when I put my foot down on a slippery bridge section. The mud began to get thicker and the course faster as it stopped raining and began drying. I was worried the others would begin to catch me.
I also had some problems with the chain skipping on the two smallest cogs as the mud packed the cassette. On one lap through the river I stopped to try and wash some of it off. The river was deep enough that most people were running with their bikes instead of riding. The water actually felt refreshing as it was not too cold to cause a shock to the system or to cause the muscles to cramp.
I managed to extend my lead over second place to four minutes to take the win. I actually had a good time in the mud. I always seem to do fairly well in the nastier conditions; part of is from practice and the other from having a positive outlook. It also helps when you have the right equipment.
Next race I know I will get wet again, even if it doesn't rain. The Stony Creek time trial runs through a creek twice but it is usually pretty shallow. The current forecast for next week's race actually says 0% chance of rain. I won't know what to do.
Today was the Ruby XC race and I already knew I would be getting wet since the course crosses a river twice on each lap. But the weather forecast called for overnight rain and into the morning and of course this forecast they got correct.
Bernie and I drove up this morning and we hit harder rain just before the course. With the wet conditions and falling rain it made it easy to decide which bike to use. The 1x9 with Michelin XC tires came out and the fully geared bike stayed in the van. This is essentially the same bike setup I used at Pontiac this spring and the Stony race a few weeks ago. Except this time I had a slightly smaller chainring on the front to make it easier to climb the couple of hills this course had.
At the start I got in right behind the fastest guy in our group as we headed into the first section of singletrack, the other guys were right behind me. At the start of the race we had warned each other to stay safe and take it easy but it didn't take too long before I heard the guy behind me crash. "That's the first one," I told the guy in front of me, figuring there would be more to come.
A little later he had trouble on some roots going up a hill and I went around him. I knew he was having a little more trouble with the mud than I was so I tried to push my advantage in case it started to dry out. By the end of the first lap I had a lead of about two minutes.
For the next three laps I concentrated on trying to stay upright and only fell once, when I put my foot down on a slippery bridge section. The mud began to get thicker and the course faster as it stopped raining and began drying. I was worried the others would begin to catch me.
I also had some problems with the chain skipping on the two smallest cogs as the mud packed the cassette. On one lap through the river I stopped to try and wash some of it off. The river was deep enough that most people were running with their bikes instead of riding. The water actually felt refreshing as it was not too cold to cause a shock to the system or to cause the muscles to cramp.
I managed to extend my lead over second place to four minutes to take the win. I actually had a good time in the mud. I always seem to do fairly well in the nastier conditions; part of is from practice and the other from having a positive outlook. It also helps when you have the right equipment.
Next race I know I will get wet again, even if it doesn't rain. The Stony Creek time trial runs through a creek twice but it is usually pretty shallow. The current forecast for next week's race actually says 0% chance of rain. I won't know what to do.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Lazy weekend
Even though I spent some longer time on the bike this weekend it seemed like a lazy couple of days. Sandy and I had dinner at the White Horse Inn on Saturday and I made my marinated shrimp and chicken barbecue for Greg's birthday dinner today. Topped off by finishing the bottle of Riesling and some of my wife's orange cake I was ready for a nap on the couch.
The legs are starting to come around and hopefully they will be ready for the next couple of weekends in a row of racing. I haven't decide if I'll head back north in a few weeks for the Big M race but first I have two other ones to contest.
Jason and family are moving to Spokane tomorrow and then start their eastern trip to Indiana and then here for a few weeks. And if you hadn't read it on Jason's blog, they found out last week that their new addition will be a girl. We are looking forward to seeing them all in a few weeks.
The legs are starting to come around and hopefully they will be ready for the next couple of weekends in a row of racing. I haven't decide if I'll head back north in a few weeks for the Big M race but first I have two other ones to contest.
Jason and family are moving to Spokane tomorrow and then start their eastern trip to Indiana and then here for a few weeks. And if you hadn't read it on Jason's blog, they found out last week that their new addition will be a girl. We are looking forward to seeing them all in a few weeks.
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Sunday, July 06, 2008
Downtime
I didn't ride the bike for five days in a row, and on purpose. I had to look way back in my training log to see when the last time was that I had taken that much time off in a row. My legs were fatigued from the early season racing and training and not responding the way they should. I was going to take more time off but this weekend's weather was just too hard to ignore the bike.
I am easing back into the training, having rode for a short and easy ride on Saturday and a little longer today. I don't want to push hard as I can still feel a little fatigue in on of the quads. Saturday's ride made me feel like I had lost all my fitness but today was about back to normal. The first day after a down day is always the hardest, after five it was even worse. That is why the Tour de France riders get out and ride on their rest days; they want to keep their legs relatively active.
Work is supposed to be taking some downtime as well. A few months ago they announced that the company would be having a two week shutdown in July. As it turns out a lot of people are working anyway, including my me. A good indication of the number that will continue to come to work is that the fitness center will remain open along with one of the cafeterias. I'm glad I don't have to take a forced vacation as I'm saving mine for when Jason and family come back for a three week visit in August.
Speaking of the Montana (soon to be Washington) family, Greg has been out there visiting since last Sunday. I guess they have been having a good time enjoying the outdoors by hiking and rafting. They had a close encounter with a bear on one hike. Greg has also bee beating up on his brother while playing roller hockey.
The house has been pretty quiet with Greg gone. In fact the whole neighborhood has been strangely silent given that it was a holiday weekend. We didn't hear many kids around or even a lot of fireworks this year. Speaking of fireworks, Sandy and I parked the van at the rail trail and rode our bikes up into town to watch the fireworks. It is only about a mile and a half ride each way and it eliminates any traffic problems.
Hopefully I can get back into decent shape for the next couple of races as there are a couple of them in a row starting in two weeks. And then the kids come in to town and we will be busy with other things.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
That wasn't so bad
Even though we had heavy rain in the early morning hours the race course for the Stony Marathon wasn't too muddy. I got the most mud on me from being behind people when we were on the two track and we were riding through puddles. I was actually hoping for more rain during the race because some of the mud in the singletrack started turning to the consistency of peanut butter. The rain would have made it easier to ride through.
I wasn't sure how I would be feeling since my legs and HR haven't seemed to be cooperating with any higher intensity riding. I figured I would just hang out in the back and see what happened.
From the start the pace was much less frantic than a normal XC race, probably because we knew we would be racing for close to five hours. I had no problem staying with my age group as we made our way around the course. We had one guy go off the front but no one made an attempt to chase him down.
Once the trail opened up onto the relatively flat two track I felt like I could probably open it up some since I knew I would have problems on the hills. I seemed to be able to ride fairly fast on the flats without a problem. I took the lead of our group and slowly stretched it out, eventually catching and passing the early break away.
I stayed in first for the end of the first lap but half way through the second lap the original front runner caught me on a hill but then I caught him back again on the flats. We traded positions through the rest of the lap and half of the next until i backed off, trying to at least salvage a finish. I was concerned that if I raced him instead of riding my own pace I wouldn't finish at all.
About half way through the race I started getting lots of cramps in various leg muscles as the legs seemed to stop working well. The cramps would come and go throughout the remaining three laps.
One time my rear wheel slid out on a root and I fell, causing both my legs to instantly cramp, much to the amusement of the rider I was passing as he was pushing his bike up the hill. I lay there for a few seconds trying to stretch the legs out. I managed to get back on and keep going but I could feel my legs wanting to stop at any second.
I managed to hang on for second place. With this race worth double points in the local USAC series it gave me a good chance for a top three overall position at the end of the season. Of course, there are a few more races that I have to do well at. Anything can still happen.
I wasn't sure how I would be feeling since my legs and HR haven't seemed to be cooperating with any higher intensity riding. I figured I would just hang out in the back and see what happened.
From the start the pace was much less frantic than a normal XC race, probably because we knew we would be racing for close to five hours. I had no problem staying with my age group as we made our way around the course. We had one guy go off the front but no one made an attempt to chase him down.
Once the trail opened up onto the relatively flat two track I felt like I could probably open it up some since I knew I would have problems on the hills. I seemed to be able to ride fairly fast on the flats without a problem. I took the lead of our group and slowly stretched it out, eventually catching and passing the early break away.
I stayed in first for the end of the first lap but half way through the second lap the original front runner caught me on a hill but then I caught him back again on the flats. We traded positions through the rest of the lap and half of the next until i backed off, trying to at least salvage a finish. I was concerned that if I raced him instead of riding my own pace I wouldn't finish at all.
About half way through the race I started getting lots of cramps in various leg muscles as the legs seemed to stop working well. The cramps would come and go throughout the remaining three laps.
One time my rear wheel slid out on a root and I fell, causing both my legs to instantly cramp, much to the amusement of the rider I was passing as he was pushing his bike up the hill. I lay there for a few seconds trying to stretch the legs out. I managed to get back on and keep going but I could feel my legs wanting to stop at any second.
I managed to hang on for second place. With this race worth double points in the local USAC series it gave me a good chance for a top three overall position at the end of the season. Of course, there are a few more races that I have to do well at. Anything can still happen.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Here we go again
Tomorrow is a 60 mile race at Stony Creek Metropark and of course we will have rain and wet conditions to deal with. In fact, we have had quite a bit of rain already this week and the course has been altered to avoid some of the mud.
I rode parts of the course today and surprisingly much of it was dry or just damp. The soil is a sand and gravel mixture on the two track and more clay in the singletrack. Most of the 10 mile loop is on the two track which means mostly just puddles. But it also means picking up a lot of sandy grit to wear away your chain and drivetrain.
I an still having a few issues with having the power fade in a short time so I may not be racing tomorrow and end up taking some time off the bike to fully recover. But it will be hard to avoid the temptation to play in the mud (again).
Sunday, June 22, 2008
At least the grass is growing
The rain has been affecting the riding this year but at least the grass is growing. Of course that means cutting the grass more often. I actually have some grass in spots that hasn't had grass in years.
This weekend was spent working on a new trail connector at Addison Oaks as well as betting in a couple of training rides while trying to avoid the rain showers. Of course it rained before the trail work and the brush was wet, meaning we soon were also. The section of trail we are working on is like a jungle, very thick undergrowth that is difficult to clear.
Later in the afternoon I headed over to Stony Metropark to ride next week's marathon race course. It had been a while since I've ridden there plus I rode the bike with the power meter to get a feel for what kind of wattage a lap would have.
This morning I went out for a longer ride and hit up the high school trails as well as Bald Mountain north and south and Addison Oaks. It was a beautiful morning to be out. I flushed a large buck at the school; the deer had a nice rack growing.
Next Saturday is the marathon MTB race, 6 laps that should take somewhere around 5 hours to complete. True to form, they are calling for a chance of rain and thunderstorms almost every day through race day.
This weekend was spent working on a new trail connector at Addison Oaks as well as betting in a couple of training rides while trying to avoid the rain showers. Of course it rained before the trail work and the brush was wet, meaning we soon were also. The section of trail we are working on is like a jungle, very thick undergrowth that is difficult to clear.
Later in the afternoon I headed over to Stony Metropark to ride next week's marathon race course. It had been a while since I've ridden there plus I rode the bike with the power meter to get a feel for what kind of wattage a lap would have.
This morning I went out for a longer ride and hit up the high school trails as well as Bald Mountain north and south and Addison Oaks. It was a beautiful morning to be out. I flushed a large buck at the school; the deer had a nice rack growing.
Next Saturday is the marathon MTB race, 6 laps that should take somewhere around 5 hours to complete. True to form, they are calling for a chance of rain and thunderstorms almost every day through race day.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Lumberjack 100
Carrying on this year's trend of rain affecting my races, the area that the Lumberjack race was held at received over 11 inches of rain on Thrusday night. The city of Manistee was also hit by high winds, bringing down many big limbs and trees, some onto buildings. The city was also without power.
The motel we stayed at was about 15 miles east and not affected. The trail was also surprisingly dry, thanks in a large part to its sandy soil base. There were a few trees down on the portion we rode but nothing like the damage we saw in town.
Race morning was clear and cool. After a two mile start on the road I was in a pretty good place entering the trail and continued to work my way forward. Coming into the back part of the course, a little more than half way through the 25 mile loop, we encountered the water filled trenches we had heard about. There was no place to go but through them. The water in some spots was about two feet deep of balck water. You had no idea what was underneath. Other spots along this stretch were dry, teasing you into thinking that your were done with the water and then you hit another stretch.
I felt good until starting the second lap when my back started acting up. I had done something to it last week while working on the school race trails. I also was losing power. I had noticed that since the Mohican 100 race two weeks ago my heart rate didn't seem to be responding to hard efforts. I have not determined the cause yet.
I finally decided to abandon the race at the end of the second lap. Since I will probably not be able to do the minimum to qualify for the NUE series we decided not to do the Wilderness 101 in Pennsylvanial next month. Especially with the price of gas. This trip was only four hours each way and cost $140 in gas alone. The upside of stopping early is that we were able to get home last night instead of this afternoon.
I now need to figure out what to do to salvage the rest of the season. And think about racing in general and how I want to proceed.
The motel we stayed at was about 15 miles east and not affected. The trail was also surprisingly dry, thanks in a large part to its sandy soil base. There were a few trees down on the portion we rode but nothing like the damage we saw in town.
Race morning was clear and cool. After a two mile start on the road I was in a pretty good place entering the trail and continued to work my way forward. Coming into the back part of the course, a little more than half way through the 25 mile loop, we encountered the water filled trenches we had heard about. There was no place to go but through them. The water in some spots was about two feet deep of balck water. You had no idea what was underneath. Other spots along this stretch were dry, teasing you into thinking that your were done with the water and then you hit another stretch.
I felt good until starting the second lap when my back started acting up. I had done something to it last week while working on the school race trails. I also was losing power. I had noticed that since the Mohican 100 race two weeks ago my heart rate didn't seem to be responding to hard efforts. I have not determined the cause yet.
I finally decided to abandon the race at the end of the second lap. Since I will probably not be able to do the minimum to qualify for the NUE series we decided not to do the Wilderness 101 in Pennsylvanial next month. Especially with the price of gas. This trip was only four hours each way and cost $140 in gas alone. The upside of stopping early is that we were able to get home last night instead of this afternoon.
I now need to figure out what to do to salvage the rest of the season. And think about racing in general and how I want to proceed.
Lake Orion High School Results June 11
Results from the June 11, 2008 race. We may have more races later this year. Thanks to everyone for coming out and thanks to our sponsors Cycletherapy, Rochester Bike Shop and Peppy's Pizza.
Sunday, June 08, 2008
If I've got a race it must be raining
It seems to be the case this year, every race I've been involved with,except one, has had precipitation as a factor before or during the event. Starting with the Pontiac TT in April where it snowed the morning of the event to today's race at Brighton when we had early morning thunderstorms to make the trails slick. So far any Lake Orion High School race date has had rain as an attendance factor and it may be again this week. Even next week's Lumberjack 100 keeps having rain move in and out of the forecast.
I went out to the Brighton XC race to use it as a fitness maintenance race, in preparation for next week's Lumberjack. The overnight thunderstorm and temperatures in the 90's did not really get me excited about racing but I figured I would at least get in a couple of hours of high intensity training in.
During my warmup the HR never really came up, similar to what I experienced yesterday in training. There were only 5 of us in our class and I had already decided I was not going to try and chase the leader. Once we started I saw that I couldn't even keep up right from the gun. I settled into 3rd for most of the 1st lap to get an idea from the person in front where the trail was going. I hadn't been on the trail in about 5 years.
My HR was still down from normal XC races but I felt fairly comfortable, just not quite as much power as I would expect. But I went past the 2nd place guy mid way through the first lap as I was climbing better and my tires seemed to hook up better in the slippery spots. I opened a small gap and increased it slightly by the end of lap one.
I was still feeling OK but sensing a power loss as the hills became a little tougher than the first lap even though the trail was drying out. I also saw that my HR seemed lower than before. I didn't think it made much sense to push and eventually the third place guy caught up and went by. I decided to end my misery early and pulled out after two laps. I was calculating that total race time would be around 2 hours and 45 minutes; I didn't want to push myself that hard in the heat.
I'll admit that I had zero motivation for this race but I can probably count on one hand all the races I DNF'd since I started racing. It's not something I normally do. But I figure maybe it was better to live to fight another day, or, lose the battle to wage a better fight next week
I went out to the Brighton XC race to use it as a fitness maintenance race, in preparation for next week's Lumberjack. The overnight thunderstorm and temperatures in the 90's did not really get me excited about racing but I figured I would at least get in a couple of hours of high intensity training in.
During my warmup the HR never really came up, similar to what I experienced yesterday in training. There were only 5 of us in our class and I had already decided I was not going to try and chase the leader. Once we started I saw that I couldn't even keep up right from the gun. I settled into 3rd for most of the 1st lap to get an idea from the person in front where the trail was going. I hadn't been on the trail in about 5 years.
My HR was still down from normal XC races but I felt fairly comfortable, just not quite as much power as I would expect. But I went past the 2nd place guy mid way through the first lap as I was climbing better and my tires seemed to hook up better in the slippery spots. I opened a small gap and increased it slightly by the end of lap one.
I was still feeling OK but sensing a power loss as the hills became a little tougher than the first lap even though the trail was drying out. I also saw that my HR seemed lower than before. I didn't think it made much sense to push and eventually the third place guy caught up and went by. I decided to end my misery early and pulled out after two laps. I was calculating that total race time would be around 2 hours and 45 minutes; I didn't want to push myself that hard in the heat.
I'll admit that I had zero motivation for this race but I can probably count on one hand all the races I DNF'd since I started racing. It's not something I normally do. But I figure maybe it was better to live to fight another day, or, lose the battle to wage a better fight next week
Friday, June 06, 2008
Lake Orion High School MTB Race June 4
The second race in the series was run this past Wednesday under the threat of rain. Rain the night before and heavy fog the morning of the race meant the ground was wet on top but relatively firm. Areas of drainage from the ball fields did get pretty squishy.
A brand new section of singletrack was used and was slick in numerous spots due to the clay surface. It changed the outcome of a few races since compared to the previous race, the course now took a little more in the way of bike handling skills.
Pictures can be found here http://kinley.smugmug.com/gallery/5098034_XKx5s#307440167_SKMtg
The results
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
Swiftwick Socks = All Day Comfort
I am pleased to announce a new sponsor to my racing endeavours, Swiftwick Socks. I ran into this company last year when I did the inaugural Dirt, Sweat and Gears race down in Tennessee. We were given a pair of their socks in our goody bag. At the time they were a start-up company that I knew nothing about but once I put on their socks my feet were in heaven. I began to use that pair for all of my longer rides and races. The wool blend works in all weather conditions; hot, cold, wet, it didn't matter. I think I wore the same pair in 5 or 6 endurance events so far and they show no signs of wear.
I had been in contact with them off and on over the winter to try and purchase some more pairs but their website and on-line store was still under construction. I did make email contact and ran into them again at the Cohutta this spring.
One thing led to another and they wanted to add me to their list of sponsored riders, or their "5% Faster Club". A package showed up this weekend with all sorts of pairs of socks in various styles. They have really branched out since last year. They even had their socks on the feet of some of the big time roadie pros in the tours.
I'm looking forward to trying out their other blends of socks as well as the wool ones I've come to love. If you get a chance check them out on-line or look for me at one of the races. Chances are I'll be sporting their socks and have samples you can look at. Hopefully you will be able to find them at a LBS near you in the future.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
