Catching up

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

High School Cycling!

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

Oct 6 Short Track results

Short Track Results 10-6-10

More results

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

LOHS 9/22 Short Track Results

Racers seemed to enjoy the direction we ran this race. We will probably use it again on the 6th.

Jeff Weinert won the A class for the second race in a row. Will he make it a clean sweep? I think the rest of the big boys in the area are afraid to come out and test him.

Short Track Results 9-22-10

Short Track Results 9/8/2010

Last night the Lake Orion High School Guided Activities Program (GAP) hosted the first of three short track races to benefit the MICA program. 50% of the entry fees were split among the top three finishers in each category and 22 racers across three categories lined up to race the 1.6 mile course. The course was very firm, fast, and flowing with the top racers averaging six minutes per lap. The races are designed to allow for pack racing at a high intensity but for a relatively short duration, between 25-30 minutes. All of the racers seemed to enjoy the course and the top two C racers were from Clarkston High School. MICA came away with over $150 for the night when race entry fees were combined with donated winnings.

These are great training races for both students and adults, and with only a $10 entry fee very affordable. The next short track race is September 22 and the final race is October 6. Come on out and have some fun and help support MICA at the same time.

Short Track Results 9-8-10

The Big Valley

Some readers may have read the blog title and thought of the TV show. I guess that would probably mean you are getting up there in years. But this Big Valley is the race held every year south of Cleveland in the Cuyahoga National Recreation Area at Camp Manatoc. The race weekend is the only time of the year that the trails are open to riding at the Boy Scout Camp.

I raced last year and enjoyed it a lot and since the weather looked like it would cooperate, decided to do it again. This is a course that would not be very enjoyable when wet. Plus it is less than a half hour from my parent's house so I get to visit them and they can see me race, or at least see me go by.

The preride on Saturday was better than last year since the course was dry. Last year it had rained overnight and the wet and slippery conditions had me nervous. Even on race day last year there was some moisture. This year it was dry and even a little dusty.

It was strange to not start a race until 1:00 in the afternoon. But the early chilly temps gave way to the 70's by race time. I line up with 18 others in the 50+ group, not really knowing who was the race favorite although a couple of the guys looked familiar from last year.

As we rounded the first corner after the opening straight I was in 7th but moved up into 4th or 5th after a short while and then on one of the longer gravel climbs early on moved into 3rd. Soon it was hard to tell who was in my class because we had caught up to so many that had started in front of us. I kept plugging away and passing people where I could without getting passed.

At some point 4th place passed me in some traffic but I was stronger on the hills but kept right behind him, planning on passing later in the race when we got to some more hills. We cam around for our final lap and was right on his wheel and starting a climb when I felt and heard a strange sound in my rear wheel. I couldn't figure out what it was when I looked down so I stopped and got off the bike.

I discovered that at the bottom of the rough and bumpy downhill right before the climb, my seat bag had come unzipped and the contents had come out. My spare inner tube had wrapped itself around my axle between the frame and the spokes. It took me a while to work it free and riders continued to pass me up. I was fortunate that the tube hadn't done any damage to the bike or me.

Once the tube was free I remounted and charged up the hill and just tried to catch whomever I could see. I think with a mile to go I passed another rider in my class but it was hard to tell. I ended up 4th out of 19, with the tube mishap probably costing me at least one place. But it was still a fun race and one I would recommend to everyone.

Next up is the MICA short track race at LOHS this Wednesday. I have done some preliminary marking of the course with paint. Hopefully everything goes well and we get decent turnout.

First sighting

Today was the last race of the Tailwind USAC MTB series at Stony Creek but I elected not to race. Instead, I set up a tent to hand out literature and talk about MICA. Our first race is in two weeks and I was trying to drum up interest in the organization.

I also wanted to stick around for the start of the Beginner race since our first MICA team, Clarkston High, was supposed to be making their racing debut. Their coach is on the MICA board of directors and has done a great job recruiting and starting a MTB club.


While talking to her before the race the only school in the state to have mountain bike racing as a varsity sport, Detroit Country Day, pulled in with their school bus and car towing a DCD logo'd trailer. Kind of intimidating to other kids but DCD has had a program now for ten years or more and they have done a great job. It is quite impressive to see 20-25 kids with the same jersey milling about before the race. DCD is planning on joining MICA as well.

At the start I noticed that some of the DCD kids seemed both shocked and excited to see another team represented. Most of the Clarkston kids were wearing their new jerseys that also sported the MICA logo.

I didn't stay for the whole race but heard later that three of the Clarkston kids ended up on the podium. A great way to begin their racing season and I'm sure all the kids will have great stories to tell their friends. Hopefully the excitement translates into even more kids entering the sport.

A bridesmaid again

Once again I was the bridesmaid, not the bride. I raced the time trial at Ft. Custer today, a trail I had not been on since I raced almost exactly two years ago when Jason was in town. It is a very fun trail and the re-routes they have done lately have made it even better.

The trail overall is pretty fast with no really big climbs so I decided last night to increase the front chain ring by one tooth to provide a little more speed. I felt pretty good riding around before the start but there were a lot of SS's at this race and I wasn't sure who was in my class.

I started last, or so I thought, but luckily I didn't have too much traffic to contend with as I caught slower riders who started in front to me. There were a few times I had to slow to find the right place to pass; you don't need to force someone off the trail or yell at them as they are trying the best they can also. Racing is hard enough as it is without some Bozo ruining your day.

I seemed like I had the right gear as I was both able to spin comfortably yet make it up the hills and through all the tight spots with no problem. I was surprised though to see my name at the top of the results list when I finally got around to looking at them. Then I noticed that there were still a few results not posted, and one of the racers was someone that I had rarely beaten. I just had to sit and wait for the final results.

Actually, the final results were never posted but when the awards were given out and my name was called for second place I knew who had beaten me. Sure enough, it was they guy who had started after me. I never saw the times so I don't know by how much.

Oh well, at my second buttons up at least a third for the series since the last race is next week and 4th can't earn enough points to displace me. I have a possible shot at finishing second in the series but since it doesn't matter that much to me I may forgo the last race; I plan on racing in Ohio over Labor Day and don't really want to race three weeks in a row.

Now it's crunch time for the MICA program and we have a lot to do. I just have to keep remembering that this is the pilot season and really we are building for next year.

Weeknight short track series at LOHS

Earlier this summer Jeff Weinert, a local rider and nationally ranked cyclocross racer, approached me with the idea of putting on a weeknight race series this fall. The Lake Orion High School has such a great variety of trails and terrain that it is well suited to just about any type of off road race. After consultation with the school and Jeff the Wednesday Night Short Track Series has been formed.

The races are meant to be fairly short but intense, perfect training for the upcoming cyclocross season and also serve as a means for staying sharp for the Iceman race at the beginning of November. The entry fee is only $10 with 50% being returned to the top three racers in each class. The remainder will benefit the MICA organization.

More details can be found here http://www.scribd.com/doc/36210814/LOHS-short-track-races

LOHS short track races

Back in the groove

After being back to work for a week now it's like I never left. The first few days were a little tough due to catching up to the time difference but after that it was routine.

The heat and humidity this past week had me doing things other than riding. I spent part of Thursday trimming the school trails but not really doing anything to them for well over a month they were not as overgrown as I had feared. I finally got back on the bike on Friday and then again yesterday and today.

Sandy has started work at the local Meijer this past week. She will be working in the deli and eventually bakery but the first few days were taking computer based training. I think she get her first on the floor training today. Her schedule varies each week and even between first and second shift. We may not see much of each other except in passing.

The focus on racing will shift somewhat from me to working more on the MICA program and trying to get it going. Plus there may be an opportunity to put on a few more races up at the school this fall. I will race a few others here and there but only if the time and desire intersect.

Busy past three weeks

Wow! The past three weeks have been very busy as I have been on vacation for most of it. I will provide more details in the coming days but for now a short recap.

Michigan Senior Olympics - finished 4th in all three events but my first time trying this type of racing. I may look into buying a road bike and doing more road events next year.

Spent 2 1/2 weeks in Spokane, WA with Jason and family. Much of the time was spent helping out on the CSA. They have their hands full with three children under age three, the CSA, the school year starting, and trying to add alpacas and goats to the mix. Pictures are here

Jason and visited Seattle for two days, staying in a hostel in the downtown area. Very nice city, I hope to get back and see more of it. Seattle pics here.

Got in a few rides, both mountain and dirt. A nice paved trail took me all the way to the Idaho border. I could have gone farther on it but opted not too.

Spent a day in Coeur d'Alene with the family. Nice town on the lake.

Came back yesterday evening an raced the Pontiac Lake XC race this afternoon. Very hot and rough trail. I just wanted to finish and score some points. My slow and methodical pace paid off as I started dead last and ended up second as others crashed, had mechanicals, or burned out. My mantra for the day was "Be the turtle".

Now back to the real world and work, MICA, and getting the trails back in shape. Not sure what the next race is, I think I have enough points in the series to guarantee a 3rd place so I don't need to race any more of them.

A horse of a different color

For the past week I have switched my riding from the trails to the road. I borrowed the bike pictured above from my great Cannondale rep, Jason Edinger, in preparation for the Senior Olympics coming up in a few days. More on the races later in the post.

The bike is set up for someone a little smaller than me so I have been trying to spend as much time as possible to try and adapt to the riding position. The road bars are not any easier to hang on to with my left hand than my mountain bikes. The taped fingers just hang along the outside of the brake lever but can't do much.

The bike is one of Cannondale's top of the line road bikes, a SystemSix, which is super lightweight and fast, yet also stiff when pressing on the pedals while still providing some comfort over rougher pavement. I could be persuaded to have a road bike at sometime but maybe one with a more upright position for an old guy.


I first heard about the Senior Olympics last year but the cutoff for entering was past. I made it a point to mark my calendar for this year. The bike races are road only, both time trials and regular road races. Even though I haven't ridden a road bike in years I thought I would try anyway. The races are held over two days at the local road race track, Waterford Raceway.

The first day has a very short time trial in the morning followed by a road race in the afternoon. The TT is only a 5k, or about 3 miles. This will be closer to a sprint for seven minutes or so. The road race is also fairly short, only 40k or 24 miles. This should take somewhere around an hour.

The second day is similar to the first but the TT is twice as long, 10k, and the road race is half as long as the prior day, being only 20k. But that is OK because I leave later that evening to fly to Spokane for two weeks. I think the race distances are so short because they run the same races for all age groups, which may include people in their 80's or older.

I am looking forward to seeing the family out west, I haven't seen them since Christmas plus I haven't seen my new grandson, Jonathan. I'm sure the time will fly by and all too soon I will be back in Michigan.

Pull my finger

I rode with a bunch of guys early today at a local trail, Pontiac Lake. My plan was to do two or three laps but early on a little mishap changed all that. I was riding my singlespeed which usually means you have to work a little harder to get up the bigger hills.

There is a particularly long hill known as two mile hill that can be tough to climb as it can be a loose surface and is fairly steep in spots as it winds its way up. The trail is also built along the side of the hill which means you need to be careful from going to close to the edge. I have never had a problem on this hill before.

Today while climbing it my foot pulled out of the pedal which caused me to jerk the wheel just enough to have it slide off the edge, causing me to slide out. I quickly popped back up and didn't think much of it other than I had reopened the scab from last weeks race. It didn't take too long to feel some pain in my left hand.

I noticed I couldn't really bend my left middle finger around the bar and in fact, the finger was pointing off in its own direction. The pain was more pronounced when trying to pull on the bars while climbing and if trying to use the front brake. Bigger bumps would also send pain shooting through the hand so I just slowed down some and pretty much used only the back brake. The mishap happened two miles into the 9.5 mile trail but I wanted to finish the ride instead of turning around.

When I got back to the parking lot and pulled off my glove I could see that something was definitely wrong. I called Sandy on the way home to let her know that she would probably need to take me to the urgent care. By now she is used to it and as long as I was breathing and moving it couldn't be too bad.

Once I finally got into the Dr's office they took some x-rays and then gave me the results, a severe dislocation. I was afraid of that because I know how these things get fixed. I was more worried about the cure than my present pain. The x-ray did look pretty cool though.

The nurse came in to give me a shot to numb me us some but gave it to me in the butt. I still can't figure that out but the doc said it was sort of a calming drug as well as a pain killer.

The doctor was a young female and as she started to work on my finger (read: pulling really hard) she kept apologizing for the pain she was causing. I kept telling her it wasn't her fault. She was having a hard time getting the finger to move so after awhile stopped to let me recuperate, probably her as well. Now my finger really hurt and I started to feel light headed.

She came back in a little while later and had me lie down while she gave my finger another go round. Her hand kept slipping slightly as she was pulling and I was afraid they were going to have to send me somewhere else that had somebody stronger to work on it. Finally the finger started to move around and I could feel a couple of pops as it worked its way back into place.

They took a few more x-rays to confirm that it was straight, they didn't want to move it too much more because they were afraid that it might slip back! They finger was splinted and taped to the finger next to it to keep it stable. By the time I left the finger felt 100% better. In fact, I hope to ride tomorrow, just not on a very rough surface. Hmm, that leaves out most of Detroit's roads.





Worse than it looks because I reopened an old scab.

My 15 minutes of fame

A while back I was going through some old mementos and found this page from a magazine. I had appeared in an ad for Mercury clutches, back then the hot setup for mini-bikes. The ad appeared in lots of different magazines and I remember one of my older brother's friends had seen it while stationed in Vietnam. I don't think I got much money for the shoot but reading the mini-bike and motorcycle magazines the ad appeared in was the catalyst for my interest in motorcycles. I do remember the tattoo got a lot of criticism though.

She's Baack!

Sandy arrived home yesterday just in time for the heat wave we are having. Spokane gets hot but humidity is usually far less than here in Michigan. It sure is good to have her back but as I previously wrote, it's too bad things didn't work out where she could stay.

Greg and I had been busy around the house in preparation for her arrival. Not that the house was every that dirty but we wanted everything to be extra nice. The last few days were a little hectic as we cleaned, I finished all my ironing, refinished a piece of furniture we bought last fall, and did last minute grocery shopping on Saturday evening. And I was gone at the Stony marathon MTB race most of the day on Saturday. I think I did an extra marathon just getting everything finished after the race was over.

We succeeded in impressing her. She said she felt like a big weight was off her shoulders since she could simply relax and unwind. She was glad to be in her own home, she said there was something special about being in a place that was truly your own. She was especially surprised by the chest that Greg and I had refinished. But we may have done too good a job in cleaning, now she expects us to keep it like this all the time!

Sandy has to adjust to east coast time and will be taking some time to unpack and get settled back in. It was kind of strange for the three of us to be sitting around the table today when Greg and I had usually sat in different chairs so we could both see the TV while eating. She was out doing some grocery shopping today to get the things that us guys never have bought for ourselves. I imagine in the next week or so she will start the job hunt all over again. But at least this time it can be from home. She will miss the family out west but there is nothing to say we won't move out there, just not in the immediate future.

Saturday I raced the Stony marathon MTB race, really it is just a longer XC race than usual, about twice the normal distance. I had preridden the course last week to get a feel for what gearing I should use and approximate lap times based on my target heart rate. I felt pretty good about the race as the times I was turning were near the top based on last year's results.

The race was going to be a hot one so I didn't want to start out too fast. I kept to my target HR as much as possible and was turning laps in the time I expected. But even though I finished two minutes ahead of last year's winning time I was still almost 10 minutes behind the first place winner and only managed a fourth place. I am not sure I could have gone too much faster anyway as I started to cramp up in the legs a lot on the last lap. I just don't have the the same speed as the top guys in my class, although most of them are much younger. But it is more fun in some ways since I have the extra challenge of competing against younger riders and also seeing how I would have compared against the geared riders of my age.

I don't plan on any more MTB races until August since in a few weeks I will be traveling out west to visit the kids. I also am competing in the Senior Olympic road races in two weeks.

Late in updating

I haven't been updating as much as I should, I guess I have other things going on so i don't really bother. Some of the highlights of the past week:

Our second LOHS race in the series had 70 racers attend, the most we have had at ANY of our races. Rain was in the picture once again but it happened the night before so the trail was pretty much dried out by the time the race started. We have had such favorable comments about all the new trail we have put in at the school that we are thinking about expanding the number of races next year and making it a weeknight series. Our next race is not until October.

Last Sunday I went up to Port Huron to race but had to pull out after a little over a lap due to my lower back hurting. It is a different pain than the one I had earlier this year from playing golf. I have been able to ride without any problem until last week. I didn't race at the school and hope to be ready in two weeks for the Stony race.

I did some longer rides this week to get some time in the saddle but kept the effort fairly light. Today's ride was over 50 mile and my back didn't really seem to protest too much. But if it was a harder ride or race I think it would have been screaming.

Greg cooked dinner today and he had bought some steaks that were about 2 inches think. We grilled those and had fresh green beans and corn on the cob. A great dinner. For the past two months we have been able work together on meals and housework and I think the experience has been good for both of us.

Sandy and I have decided that for the time being things haven't worked out for her out in Spokane so we are pulling the plug on the experiment. She will be returning on July 4th. That means we have only two weeks to get the house cleaned up! It will be nice to have her back but I also wished it had worked out. I was looking forward to moving out there at the end of next year. So now our future plans are open and we will just see what happens.

LOHS Team Challenge 6/16

Attention race teams. The LOHS GAP program has issued a team challenge for this Wednesday's race, June 16. We will be giving out a special award to the top team according to the rules listed below. Teams must be those normally represented at Michigan races, i.e. Cycletherapy, RBS, Cannondale Midwest, Trail's Edge, etc. No composite teams allowed. Is YOUR team up to the challenge?

Teams will be scored based on the top 5 finishers per team, no more than 2 racer's results counted per category. 1st = 1 point, 2nd = 2 points, etc. Lowest total score wins. In the event of a tie the team with the most registered finishers wins. If there is still a tie then a blind drawing will be held from available classes, the team with the top scoring finisher in that class will be declared the winner.

Lake Orion High School Race Results June 9, 2010

Our first race of two drew close to 60 riders. Rain in the morning but it dried up for the most part by race time. The weather looks even better for next week.

June 9, 2010 Results

It's a boy!

Last Thursday Emily gave birth to a healthy baby boy. That is child number three for the Jason and Emily. Everyone is doing fine and this time the midwife was present during the at home delivery and they were able to use the birthing tub. No name has been selected yet.