Neglected....

This poor blog. I have not forgotten about you....or both of the people that read you. I have just been busy. I realized that I was over a week behind on even reading my friends blogs....let alone writing one. Looking back....I guess it has only been a week since I last posted....but it seems longer. This week seemed to fly by.

Saturday....it was a little longer. The Misery Loves Company race was Saturday. It was a free to MMBA members race that consisted of 25 miles of nastiness in the Hastings area. I attempted....and failed to finish. I was feeling okay, just kinda plugging away the mileage. I made it to 10 miles before I realized my front tire was low. When I stopped to put some air in it I made it worse...and the rest of the air leaked out. I started walking....yeah. 80 some degrees in the pure sun and I am walking my bike.....how dumb. Martin got to me about 15 or 20 minutes later. He had a floor pump and I was already in the process of stripping the tire off. I was tired of walking. So, we patched the tire and he sent me on my way. 5 miles later....after I started feeling decent again....I hear...psssshhhhh. And I felt the air leave the tire.

D O N E. I was done at that point. I still had to walk a long time before I heard Jeff yelling 'MARCO' from down the trail. Shew....I thought as I yelled "POLO" in the deepest voice I could muster. A DNF. First one ever....so.....I have it out of my system then right?

The entire day was full of friends. I knew about half of the people that were racing. The Fort Custer group ride had a huge showing. I don't have an exact count...but I know there were at least 7 of us there. The conversation afterward was a lot of fun....because...frankly I felt better than they all did....hahaha....I only did half of the race. Still, fun conversations with friends from near and far....and by far...I mean....Dearborn and Lansing....far. My friend Don drove over because he was going to ride with me....but his bike was bent, bruised, and/or broken.

Good day for friends....bad day on the bike...with the flats anyway.

Hopefully I have two more races....and I can crush someone.......because I am riding with some purpose now.

The worst....and the best.....

I ended up doing two races this weekend. Zack, Sarah, and I headed across the state on Saturday for the Maybury TT. I was a little disappointed when we got up and it was raining. I was more encouraged when we hit Battle Creek and the sun came out. My disappointment started again when we arrived in Northville....and the rain started. I think it must have been a cloud following me around.

For starters, Zack did a very good job. He took 4th place in his age group and solidified his standings in the CPS, vaulting himself into second place. The soggy weather didn't seem to affect him too much....so that was good.

My race....well....I had planned on a time of around 50 minutes with a sub goal of about 48 minutes that was encouraged by Jon. With the rain, and a blind course....I just did what I could. I have to say that I loved the course. Maybury is a very fun and well maintained course. The highlight of the ride had to be when I heard "IS THAT SEAN EVANS" from the aid station. There was Don, right where he said he was going to be. He gave me a ton of encouragement all the way around the field and then handed me a cup of water. Nice to see you in person Don, sorry we couldn't stick around for some more laughs! Overall, I took a disappointing 9th place at Maybury. My time was decent though....0:55:23....about 9 minutes off of first. Safe and sound....we headed home! The ninth place was my worst finish of the year.

Sunday, no rain. Race? Fort Custer Time Trial. Why? Because it is my home course.....and I knew what to expect. I saw a lot of my new friends and I was pretty relaxed. I figured the guy I started with would leave me behind......but he blew a corner....haha...and I pulled away from him for a few miles. He caught me eventually and slowly left me behind. I was cruisin. I had to back off a little to get my heart rate down, but then the rest of the race went very well. I followed one of the Flying Rhino riders for a bit and then actually passed her on a climb. Something seemed wrong with that....but I pulled away from her and knew that I only had a few miles to go. HAMMER DOWN...at least for me. I managed to pass another guy right at the end, then struggled to make the last small incline. I was totally out of gas. I crossed the line in 1:25:33. I was happy with the time, and hopeful for a high finish. Guess what, I landed in my highest finish of the year. 4th. 4th out of 7 people. NICE!!!

So, it was the worst and the best. Overall a good weekend. Two races and one medal. I have two more opportunities to get on the podium this year. I have a new found urge to push myself. A lot of people have encouraged me and told me just to do my best. So I try harder, and it has paid off a little.....with more to come in the future.

Double Header weekend?

So...I am thinking of doing two races this weekend. Maybury I am definitely doing on Saturday, and then maybe the Fort Custer TT on Sunday. Two time trials in two days....sure.

In order to prepare for this I rode a little this week. I had a very good ride on Tuesday. The zone ride I would call it. I held a nice pace and felt really good when I was done. Then Thursday came.....

I headed out for a loop on my own before trying to hang with the MMBA group ride. I rode the red loop to the green loop. I held back quite a bit because I knew I was going to have a hard time on the group ride. I am glad I did...because I needed what I had left. The group ride took off down the Green again. I was able to hold on to the back of the group and then they regrouped at the boat launch. I was pushing. We took off up the next hill and I thought I was going to die. I was running out of steam and I knew I still had a lot of distance left....so I just kept going. At one point I told my body to leave my brain alone. I kept the group in sight for the entire ride. Not super impressive...but good for me.

So now....I have a goal in mind for Maybury. I want to be under 0:50:00. I should be able to because I hear the trail is flat....just need to be careful on the loose corners. This race counts.

Second will be the fort custer TT. If I feel up to it I will go hard on this race too. Time SUb 1:15:00 which is very doable.

Here we go! Race report...or reports to come.

When a horse throws you off....

...you get right back on right?

Things have been very up and down for me lately. I didnt work a full week in the month of July. Stress. There was a death in the family. Depression.

But....July is gone and August is here. Work has picked back up and I am guaranteed at least 4 more weeks of work. Nice right. Right.

So....riding. I rode last night. It was good. I did the red loop at Fort Custer and completely focused on riding for the first time in weeks. I could feel my legs starting to remember what its like to hard. I could feel my body reacting to the terrain in a calm and collected way instead of panic and stress. The first loop was just good. Not super fast....but I was holding back because I planned to hang with the group ride (more on this in a sec.). Overall I felt pretty good. Powered up the climbs and cleared the loop with no mishaps...not even close to a crash.

That boosted my confidence. Pat and Kathy showed up and we headed down the Crazy Beaver loop so they could warm up before the group ride. I was hanging right with them, but Pat ended up pulling away for a bit. Still....I was feeling good.

Group ride time. There were quite a few people. I found myself sizing them up like I was at a race. The reason for this is because I got crushed by this group a few weeks ago. I know the acceleration is tremendous and then the average speed is just over my max. Yes...I am slow...so zip it. We took off and I actually caught up because I was left standing in the parking lot like a moron...lol. I caught them and was still feeling good. I was the last rider, but I wasn't too worried...I knew the pace would push me and I didn't want to hold anyone up. FAIL. About 5 of us got spit off the back of the group. Normally...the group will stop at intersections and wait....but that wasn't the case. There was 5 of us standing at an intersection trying to figure out where the hell the group went. Not knowing anyone I was left with...I turned and headed down the Amusement Park section of the Red trail. Knowing that it was only a few miles I put the hammer down. As hard as I could go for about 10 minutes....hahaha. Not super impressive....but I redlined my heart rate for that entire time and just kept pushing. Gotta tear myself down to build myself up stronger right?

Anyway....I have been talking to a lot of people and they are offering me tips and encouragement. So I continue.....

Maybury TT is a week from tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Oh....as far as the group ride goes.....next week I will try to hang more in the middle and see if I can hang for more than a mile or two....