You either win.....or you learn.....

 

I have never won a race. I have come close a few times. I was within a minute at Sweat Shaker in 2014. Closest I have ever been. Fast forward to 2015 and I came close again. I had multiple occasions where I was on the second step. But how close was I really.....

Not real close. I don't count 6 plus minutes a close. I would say that my finish at Yankee (11th) was very close to being top 10. I was 6 seconds out of 10th. That is close. 6 minutes at one race and a staggering 16 minutes at another.....not close. Yes, big picture those second place finishes look 'close' but in reality not so much. 

But.....as Nelson Mandela put it.....you can learn without winning. I have been thinking about my season and pondering how I can improve in 2026. In order to move ahead, I had to take a look back. I wondered what went right, what went wrong, and what really stood out. I also started to take that big picture and break it down into smaller sections for analysis. 

The Good

When things went good, they went good. In general, things went good on courses that I know well. Yankee, Luton, and Custer two different times. Yankee was very encouraging as I barely missed my goals of breaking an hour and finishing top 10. The Custer Stampede was good in that I finished on the podium. I held on to the leaders for a mile or so and felt comfortable for the whole race. At Luton I was able to push the entire race. At the Custer finale I reeled in Charles and pushed him to the finish line. 

The Bad

While Traverse City Trails fest wasn't super bad....it was kind of bad. The starting debacle aside, I wasn't able to get into a fast rhythm and push. The traffic didn't help, but there is more on that below. I didn't clear one of the climbs. This was after a long push after a singletrack section. I pushed too hard and wasn't able to push on the climb. Lesson learned, but that was pretty bad on my part. 

The Ugly

I had my  moments this year. Fast Fitty tops the charts here. I had no choice but to pull the plug because things just got ugly. I had pain. I was mentally checked out. It was hot. It started good, but ended ugly. Another ugly one was the Addison Oaks race. I started strong, but fell off the pace. Then lost another place towards the end. It was another ugly event.

Since I didn't win......what did I learn?

I really had to go back and watch some of my footage to get a reminder of how things went. I also dug into my memory banks to remember how I felt, and how the week led into any given event. Because I want to improve next year, I wanted to cover everything I could. Here is what I determined.

The weakest Link

Climbing, hands down. Yes I have dropped weight, but I am still not the best climber. I am much better, but I know this is an area where I need to improve. My plan is to work more on core strength this winter to help. I can work on more intervals and climbing through the winter as well as dropping more weight to improve here. 

Aggressiveness

In looking back I realized that I am not as aggressive as some other riders. I am not talking about riding like an asshole, I am talking about seizing opportunities in tight quarters. Attacking on a climb. Jumping at a chance to pass. Starting super hard. Just being more assertive during an event. Some missed opportunities to move up or even put a hurt on a person were missed. I made a strategic move to stay behind Charles at The Last Stand. I could have passed him and possibly dropped him. It was a tactic because I knew I had him beat. However, I could have lost 2nd place by staying with him. If another guy was coming I could have dropped back and lost my position. It was in the back of my mind, but I gambled and it paid off. Basically, I was racing Charles and nobody else that day. The goal for next year will be to keep my nose in the mix. Fight for positions. Be more assertive in the group. Just don't be a dick ;)

Group riding

This one kind of snuck up on me. In general I am comfortable riding in a group.....on gravel. For the most part I am riding with people that I know and I understand their tendencies. In a bigger event it is harder to know what people will do. In the Fast Fitty I was ok for the most part. I was able to jump on a wheel and hold on as long as I could. The speed didn't bother me. But I noticed something different at Addison and again at Traverse City trail fest. In a bigger group of mountain bikes I am not as comfortable. I don't think this is due to my abilities, just the lack of riding in bigger groups on wider and 2-track style trails. I know at TCTF that there was a big mix of beginner and sport riders, but it still took me a minute to find my groove. Once into the singletrack I was comfortable riding right on a wheel. But the surges were having an averse affect on me as well. Its hard to simulate big groups on the trails, but I need to join more group rides on gravel next year. If I can get my comfort level back on gravel it will be a natural transition to the trails as well. Goal, more group rides in 2026. Part of this will be being assertive at the start as well. Establish a position and hold onto it. 

Passing

This one isn't too shocking. In general I have never had to pass. I have always been the guy that has to move over and let people around him. It has been a rare occasion over the past 10 years that I have had to pass someone. When I did, it was usually a super duper slow rider compared to my super slow riding. This year I got stronger and faster, so passing was a welcome outcome. I am just not the best. This comes with experience I know. I truly wish my gopro had stayed working at the Last Stand race. I was hooked to Charles' wheel and we were picking off some riders on the second lap. My passing here was the best it had been all year. This makes sense because it was my last race. Addison Oaks is where it really stood out that it was an issue. My footage showed it very clear. We were in a long line of riders. A guy a few people ahead of me stalled on a climb. Everyone else (or at least it felt like everyone) was able to get around him and keep going. Even a few behind me took advantage and generated a gap back to me. I worked hard to close down the gap, then had to pass another guy and got gapped again. My pass was far from clean, even rubbing the tire of the poor guy ahead of me. Because of my bad passing choices I had to work harder. Passing and aggressiveness come together. The more aggressive I can ride the more passes I will have to make. Hopefully with more opportunities I will get better. The goal here, be fast enough to generate opportunities to learn.

Handling

Last but not least....my handling skills. I am an average rider. On some trails I can handle the bike, other trails I am a wreck. Part of this is due to my lack of riding in 2024. I had a new bike (Mudhorn) and had not really put a lot of time on it. This bike took me from a 27.5 back to 29er wheels. The handling is different, and I am still learning how to ride the new bike. Yes I got better, but I know there is room for improvement here. When I focus on relaxing and leading into corners I am a better and smoother rider. A lot of my rides this year were choppy and rough out of the corners. Sometimes I would come into a corner hot and nearly leave the trail trying to recover. Because I am faster it means I have to ride different. Mentally, I was riding like the weight was still on. I did have those rides where I was focused and would lead into a corner instead of trailing. That means I would start to turn before the corner or curve was under me. No different than a race car starting a turn before it reaches it. If they go into the corner and turn late....they come out wide. But hit the corner already turning and they come out fast and on track. Part of this is just learning to ride faster. There are a lot of pieces that have to come together, and I know I will get there. New bike. new body. New skills. My goal will be to ride more and continue to improve my handling skills as my speed goes up. 

So there you have it. I won't deny that I had a good year. I just know heading into 2026 that the areas listed above are the places I want to improve. It will be a new season and a new group of guys to ride with. The only thing I can do is improve myself. Continue to lose weight. Work on my core. Ride more groups. Be more assertive. Learn how to pass effectively. And keep the rubber side down.

Seems pretty simple....right?

Striving for 100 - Part 4

 What a week! 

We had to go to a wedding down in South Carolina. My wife flew down early to help, since it was her daughter getting married. The other kids and I drove down on Wednesday. We arrived at 2am on Thursday morning after 11 and a half hours in the car. We got some sleep, and headed to the wedding venue to help set up. After set up and rehearsal we had a bite to eat and headed back to hotel. Got some more sleep and were up for a Friday wedding. After the wedding and clean up, we were back at the hotel to pack and sleep. Up Saturday and out of the hotel by 9am, we were on our way. We finally reached home after dropping off the first kid in Novi and the second kid in East Lansing.....at 11pm. Right to bed. Sunday we unpacking, cleaning, groceries, and recovery. 

I got on the bike Sunday night because the car time makes me nervous. Being prone to blood clots isn't great when sitting in a car for long periods of time. I had a nice 20 mile ride to just get things moving again. 

I stepped on the scale Monday morning.

I figured with a lot of car time, a wedding, and a lot of bad food that I would probably gain some weight. To my surprise I was down. I have officially lost over 90 pounds Since last August.

That's WILD....

That is what 90 pounds of flour looks like. Now, pick that up and carry it around with you. Your whole body will hurt. You will feel tired. You will want to quit. You will want to put them down. 

I carried that around with me for a long time.......again....WILD.

The best part....I am now only 2 of those bags away from being down 100 lbs. 

I am only 4 of those bags away from being under 200 pounds.

When I stepped on the scale I was 218.6 pounds. I can remember years ago when I was that size and I had a weight loss competition at work to get shredded down to 180. That is the lightest I remember being and that was 26 years ago. My ultimate goal is not that low, but my main goal is sub 200. Being under 19 pounds away is crazy to think about. 

I know it won't be easy. I know I have work to do. But if I keep striving to get there....I know I can. To see a 1xx on the scale is going to be one of my greatest personal accomplishments. Hitting 100 pounds down will be another one. I am less than 10 pounds away from that goal.

Yes I got some assistance. But this journey has been far from easy. I have had pain. I have had suffering. I have had lifestyle changes. I have had physical changes. I have had more blood clots. I have had setbacks. I have survived. In the end, it was a difficult decision and one that I would make again. I knew I couldn't do it on my own. I had been trying for too many years. With that assistance, I have been forced to make changes. I am thankful for those changes.

I am far from perfect, but I keep learning and keep moving towards my goals. Stay tuned to see what happens next.

Until then....keep striving! 

1st Annual Michigan Off Road Championship (M.O.R.C.) season review

 

Many people around Michigan will remember the CPS that the MMBA used to put on. It has been many years, but that series made things interesting. With the rise of gravel events we could see the mountain bike scene take a back seat. 

Yankee Springs Time Trial

First race of the year is always the biggest. There were 27 people in the Sport Clyde race. Knowing so many people show up, I was just going for my best result. I missed my goal time by just 1:33. I landed in 11th out of the 27, missing the top 10 by only 6 seconds. This was a great finish for me to start the season! 

Fort Custer Stampede

Home course advantage is always good here. I know this course better than most. With 7 of us lining up I knew it was going to be tough. I was able to make the lead group hitting the woods. I held on as long as I could, and pressed all the way to the finish. I landed in 3rd, for my first podium in many many years. Great race for me. One item of note here....the guy in 2nd place DID NOT look like a Clyde. But, it is what it is. 

Island Lake Challenge

I was not able to attend this race. I woke up sickly and didn't risk further health issues. 

Maybury XC

I did not attend this race. Its too bad too, only 2 finishers. Had I been able to race I would have had a higher finish and possibly would have moved up in the points series. 

Luton Park Time Trial

Another course that I know very well. I was able to get off the line early and stay in high speed mode for the entire race. I took that pace to the 2nd step for my highest finish of the year! Love the course and the event was good overall. 2nd out of 7 is a great race for me!

Addison Oaks Summer Classic

I made the trek across the state to Addison, on a course that I had not ridden in many many years. I was prepared for the race, but it didn't go as good as I had hoped. I started and hit the singletrack in 5th place. A few poor decisions on my end had me trying to bridge gaps on the first lap. I ended up tanking and landing 9th out of 14 on the day. This was my worst race by far. Started hard, tanked, and suffered for the 2nd lap.

Traverse City Trails Festival

This race was a ton of fun. It did have its own set of issues, but those just sound like excuses now. I mustered a 7th place out of 14 on the day. I was hoping for a better finish here, but some odd circumstances (excuses) left me reeling back in the pack a bit. Still, super fun event and I am confident it will be better next year. 

Custers Last Stand Time Trial

The series finale was also my season finale. With a goal of podium I was excited to get started. I was really hoping Chris wouldn't show, but he did and killed me for 1st overall. I finished in a solid 2nd place to wrap up my series. I felt great and had a strategic race to end up where I did. Good day! 

So to recap my finishes.....

11th

3rd

2nd

9th

7th

2nd

The 11th place finish got dropped off because only your best 5 races count. The points I gathered were enough to land me in 3rd place for the overall series. I was only 4 points behind 2nd place. I needed a top 5 and I would have been there, but this was a really fun season. While Chris was way ahead, Charles and I had a battle right to end. I will take this season and try to build off of it. 

Here are some stats that I find interesting....

Total Races: 6

Average Finish: 5.7

3 Podiums (2-second place, 1-third)

Finish place in top 45% of all races. Meaning I was better than average.

5 Top 10 finishes

Overall races in the series: 8

Total different racers in the events: 66

Average racers per event: 11.3

Total different winners: 5 (Chris won 4.....and took 2nd in his 5th)

Different people on the Podium: 15 (this is a good mix over 8 races)

There were 8 people signed up for Sport Clyde, with 5 of them qualifying for the overall series.  

Big thanks to Dale and rest of the group over at MORC for putting this series together. I know there are countless hours that go into the planning of something like this. It was a lot of fun to be part of a MTB series where I could compete and not just donate my money. The gravel series was basically a donation from me. lol. I prefer the woods anyway, so I am thankful for all of your efforts to make mountain biking fun again! 

Custer's Last Stand TT (my season finale)

 

The morning started with a relaxing bowl of cereal. I was up earlier than I planned, but not early by any means. I ate, and threw the bike on the car. I was out the door by 7:50 to make the drive over to Augusta. I rolled in to Fort Custer and made my way back to Eagle Lake. The sun was feeling warm and the sky was spotted with clouds. I picked up my number plate packet and chilled until my start.

I saw Chris pull in. He is the fast guy in my class. Honestly I was hoping he wasn't going to show. lol. He is a beast and my chances at first dropped dramatically. With only 5 people signed up my chances of podium were still pretty good. Charles rolled in a bit later. I chatted with some old friends and headed out for my warm up. 

After some easy spinning I rolled to the start area. I was starting right behind Charles, who at this point is 2nd in the series standings. Being my home course I joked that I was going to catch him. I figured I would because I am relatively quick on a course I know very well. Plus I was feeling pretty good overall. Legs were a bit heavy feeling, and had a chunky feel to them....but were feeling good after my spinning.

Then it was time to go. Dale sent me off and I was instantly in attack mode. I rolled across the road into the trail and was feeling confident. But my legs were not cooperating. The little rollers here were hurting and my legs were angry. Knowing this would get better I pressed on and kept going as hard as I could. With Charles 30 seconds ahead of me I had that carrot to chase. 

The miles ticked by pretty quick. Before I knew it I was on the long stretch of open trail heading to the Yellow connector to red. The problem was, Charles was out of sight. I should have been able to see him here and I just didn't. Not giving up, I pressed on and my legs were finally starting to feel better. 

I passed a few people here and there. And I was settled into my rhythm. As I got close to end of the Red loop (and end of 1st lap) I thought I spied Charles ahead of me. When I made the turn onto the open yellow trail I could see him. That was my incentive to push and close him down. Now I was feeling better and was comfortable. 

As we got back to the beach I had nearly closed him down. We crested the hill and cross the finish but I just couldn't reel him in. As we crossed the road I caught him. I had been chasing him for 9 miles. Because this is a time trial I knew I had him beat just by being on his wheel. Chris was LONG gone (more on that later) and I was confident we were sitting in 2nd and 3rd. 

He asked if I wanted around. Part of me did, but part of me was content to just stay there. Instead of pulling away I just pushed him into every corner and closed him back down after some of the climbs. My legs, which were doing alright, were feeling on the verge of cramping. I didn't want to push super hard and end up losing my finish spot. So I just stuck to his wheel like glue.

We passed a handful of riders on that lap. Felt like we were flying. My damn gopro quit halfway thru the first lap, or I would have had some great footage. Dangit. We pressed on and on and then we hit the green 2 track. I was feeling good enough to go.....but I didn't. Legs were still finnicky and I felt better just holding his wheel.

Into the red and then we reached the last sections. We burst onto the beach area and I was excited to see the finish. He put 2 seconds into me on the final climb, but I beat him by 29 seconds. Yes he crossed the line before me, but I got him in time. When we stopped he was super red faced and breathing heavy. He thanked me for pushing him that 2nd lap. 

While I figured it would take a major mechanical for Chris to lose 1st.....I was racing for 2nd place and win over Charles. In our four races together we split the results. He beat me twice, I got him twice. Good dude, a lot of fun to race against. And this race was fun to stick to him like glue and push him into the finish.

The unknown was where we actually finished. Well.....

Thankfully my strategy worked and we ended up in 2nd and 3rd place respectively. Chris was way ahead, but I was super happy to end up my season on the podium. It was a great day in the woods for sure! 

Photo Courtesy of Brian Bartzen



The podium was a repeat of the Luton Park TT. 

Thanks to Dale and his team for a great time trial. It was a good day for me and I am thankful for the opportunity to ride bikes. This year was one to remember. 

Race Week: Custers Last Stand TT

 As we roll through October I have my final event of the season approaching. The leaves are starting to fall, the hunters are starting to take over the woods, and the weather is turning cooler. Temps are still pretty warm, but the feel of the air is different. 

Many people will finish their season at Iceman in November, but mine will conclude at Fort Custer where I will take on Custers Last Stand Time Trial. 

Funny thing about this event....I have been signed up, but I have never raced. I don't even remember what year it was, but I have a shirt.....lol. Weird.

Anyway....

This race is at the one and only Fort Custer in Augusta, MI. A relatively flat course overall. Solid mix of open trails with a few tight sections. Might as well dive in.

The start is from the Upper Pavilion at Eagle lake. A common start spot with the Fort Custer Stampede. The difference here is that the event is a Time Trial, and is run in the opposite direction. You take off out of the parking lot and loop around the pavilion before crossing the entry road and diving into the Green Trail. 

This first section is flowy with some small uphill root sections. You loop around and take the descent down towards the boat launch on Eagle Lake. Pretty fast first mile. Stick along the lake for a bit before diving back into the woods and finding some of the first climbs. Nothing terrible.

Continue on the green trail with a few minor roots and smaller climbs. Eventually you reach the second creek crossing and this is where the climbing is condensed. There is a short punch climb, followed by a sandy climb right out of a corner. Once that is cleared you get a breather before the switchback climb out. This is probably the hardest section of the whole course. Each corner feels harder as you finally reach the top and can settle back into pace.

The minor climbs keep coming until you end up at Erin's Rock. Take the switchback carefully and smash the last singletrack before you spit out on a 2-track. This is a good passing spot (if there are people around you). If you can work with someone here that is even better. It is only half a mile long, but it trends uphill so your legs are screaming. Any help is appreciated here!

As the trails converge, take a left up a sandy climb. This is the Yellow trail connector that will dump you into the Red trail. This is where the speed comes in. There is really only 2 climbs in this entire section. The first one is a bit longer with a minor kick. The second is before the camel humps, and if you carry speed its not a bad climb at all. 

After the camel humps, it is hauling ass all the way towards the parking lot. Hold the right line and you can carry speed to the Yellow/Red intersection. Here is another passing spot if needed. Its a wider part of the trail taking you back towards the road. One narrow section and you are next to the road and heading back to the Start/finish area.

As you ride behind the building you can see the last climb on the lap. Not awful, but after riding across the grass it can hurt a bit. Smash the small climb, hang a right, and you are done with your lap....or your race. Strava says 9.21 miles with 573 feet of climbing. Seems pretty close.

I have ridden the race course twice in the last 3 weekends. I wanted to get a good idea of what I am facing. While I know Custer very well, I haven't ridden there in a while so I wanted to ensure fresh knowledge. A few weeks ago I turned in a solid second lap. Last weekend I went out solo on a race style ride. No stops, just letting it rip for the entire time. I set my PR and 2nd overall times on the segment. So that is good leading into a race. I have a good grasp on the course. I am feeling pretty good.

My goal is simple.....PODIUM. I don't care what my time is, as long as am standing on the steps at the end of the day. Based on finishing times from last year, my last training ride would have landed me very close to 1st place. I do believe that Chris is coming, so unless he has a mechanical he is likely the winner. His time last year was 15 minutes faster. lol. 

I will go into the race fresh and hope for the best. I am guaranteed 3rd in the Michigan Off Road Championship series, so there is no pressure there. I simply want a 3rd podium for this season. This is not only my last change, but it is my best chance. As of this post there are only 4 signed up. Chris is not one of those guys. So at the moment I have a 25% chance of podium. If he shows, that drops to 20%. All I can do is what I can do and hope for the best. 

See you Saturday. 

Striving for 100 - Part 3

 If a model train comes off the tracks....you don't throw it away. You pick it up, see if there is any damage, and put it back on the tracks. Seems simple enough. 

I am the train....and while sometimes I am a trainwreck.....I can still get back on track. You get it....

Anyway, here is my update on how things are going on my journey to losing 100 pounds. As of this morning I am down 86 pounds, leaving just 14 pounds to reach the century. 

Last week I had my follow up appointment with my nutritionist and behavioralist. These appointments came at precisely the right time for me. I have been struggling with things. Talking through them with the specialists was very helpful.

Nutritionally, I am doing what I need to do. However, I have been 'grazing' and adding in extra calories that have stalled my weight loss. Simple enough. Just eat what you are supposed to right? Well, I did just that the remainder of the week and thru the weekend. The result.....I feel better and I am actually less hungry than when I was eating too much. Wild. 

The bad habits that got me to 309 pounds are still part of my mental makeup. While I am aware of those negative habits, I also have not done a lot to fight them off. Talking with the counselor I was able to identify the habits and was reminded that it won't get easier. However, being aware is a big part of the battle. Stopping those habits is important. But, knowing that you can have one bad day and bounce back is also helpful. I just can't have a bad day and then say 'fuck it' and let those bad days pile up on each other....or I will end up back at 300 pounds. I had the self awareness to know that I was self sabotaging myself....and that I don't want to continue to do that. 

After these brief conversations I left the office feeling recharged. My sense of purpose renewed so to speak. I took that feeling into the rest of the week and managed a nearly 3 pound weight loss. Amazing what happens when I don't eat junk or pile in calories that I just don't need. My mood is better. I feel better. I am better.

I know I will have hard days. I know it won't be easy. I know some days the wheels will come off. All I can do is try to limit those days. If the wheels do come off, put them back on the next day. Don't let the days add up and stall my progress again. 

With my last race coming in less than 2 weeks I will have the focus to stay away from the junk. I would love to be a few pounds lighter going into that race and end the season with a high finish. 5 pounds lighter than now would awesome. But I am just over 2 pounds away from teens.....and that number can actually be reached this week. 

Just need to keep Striving. 

Traverse City Trails Festival Race Recap

 Sometimes it who you know....and not what you know. I happen to know people that live in the Fife Lake area. So instead of getting up a 4am on Saturday, I was able to get up at 6:30am. They own a small cabin on a pond. I headed up after work on Friday to cut my drive from 2:45 down to 30 minutes. 

With views like this....the accommodations were excellent. 

I made the drive up and stopped for Dinner at Fife Lake inn. I had some Shrimp Primavera. It was really good, what I was able to eat of it. After dinner I headed to the Pond House. After getting my stuff inside I camped out in one of these chairs and read some. No electricity. No plumbing. Nothing but nature. 

Here is a peek at the inside. 

Hard to see but there is a bed up there in the loft. Very cool little place that my friends graciously let me stay in for free. Saves me time and money. Very very much appreciated my friends! 

In the morning I was up, had some cereal, and headed the last jaunt to Timber Ridge. I wanted to get there early and scope out the finish of the course. I rolled in around 7:30. I found a place to park and tracked down the Start/finish area. Here is where the chaos started. The email said the plate pickup would be by the main lodge. Wrong. And there were zero signs showing the Start area. Just kind of stumbled across it. No big deal, just a sign of things to come. 

I got my plate and headed back to gear up for a warm up. I rolled out the start and found where the route rejoins on the way back in. This wasn't terrible....and I won't spoil the fun with any description here. lol. I was warmed up and just rolling around waiting for the start. When it got to be 9am I headed up to watch the Full Pint waves go. My start was wave 4 at 9:19 (remember this) so I had plenty of time.

The first wave headed out, and wave 2 was right behind them. A minute later, wave 3. Then I hear the announcer call Wave 4. I looked at my number plate again to make sure I wasn't delusional. I wasn't. Wave 4 was in the chute and ready to go. I saw a fellow Clyde names Chris and swung up to chat with him when the announcer says "3, 2, 1, GO"....and my response was "he is kidding right?". He wasn't....wave 4 started 15 minutes early. I wasn't really ready.....

I dropped my gel. Chris handed it back to me and we were off. If I had to guess I would say anywhere between 75-100 people shot off the line. The first part of the course is 2-track so there is plenty of room. But the sand was making people slow and weave and it was very chaotic. Making it thru unscathed, I spied Chris and took off after him. He had passed me a little bit before, but there were so many people it was hard to find speed. Eventually the traffic started to spread out, but it was far from gone.

The two tracks ended. As the bodies piled up in the singletrack I settled in behind a few guys. The line of people in the woods was long. I would guess I was probably 40-50 people deep in the line on this section. As you can imagine....it was slow...fast...slow...fast...slow....fast....as people were trying to find their rhythms. It was difficult....

After the first section of singletrack the roads opened again. I jumped on with another guy and we picked off 3 people before the next section of singletrack. Small gaps were forming now as we got a bit further into the race. I was locked in with a super awesome dude. We snuck past another ride and closed to the next group. At one point he got past a rider and it took me a bit longer. But I closed him down again after I got past. 

I stuck with the Blue Jersey guy for this section as we finally had space to ride. After a few minutes we bridged back to another big group. There was a lot of SLOWING.....and SLOWING...as the trail closed down. Someone crashed and you can hear a guy yelling for people to calm down. This rubber banding in tight quarters lasted for quite a while. We are pushing 6 miles into the race at this point. 

Not wanting to be part of the problem, we settled in with this group. It was smooth at points, but very chaotic most of the time. Tight races like this on narrow trails can be frustrating. When the people slowing you down are not part of your class....its more frustrating. I just settled in and did my best to stick to Blue's wheel. Eventually the trail opened up again to two track. I thanked Blue for letting me chase and took off.....but our day was far from over.

This is where the hills started. I was able to gain some ground on a few people and made some passes. We dropped down a hill before the climbing started. A mix of singletrack and fire roads followed. I actually hit a steep hill I had to walk. I was going pretty hard up to this point and just couldn't settle in. So I walked up a climb and got back on. At this point, Blue Jersey passed me again. We joined up with a woman and attacked the hills that followed. Eventually on a long climb she peeled off and I joined back with Blue. 

I found out he is 69 years young. He knew the course so well that I felt like I knew what was coming at all times. The Trail split (half pint, my race and full pint...the long race) and we made the left back into the singletrack. This is where we really started talking. Great guy and fun to hang out with for almost this entire race. 

This section of trail was amazing. Felt like we were flying. Even with the climbing starting to add up. We reeled in a few more people and a few passed us from time to time. Our group grew to about 10 and we hit some open section by the power lines. The miles were ticking by now. The VASA didn't disappoint. Awesome trails. 

We were rapidly approaching the finish section. Blue Jersey and I reeled in another ride on the two tracks leading into the final climb. There is a preview climb and then a nice down hill before the Wood Chip climb. Yes....that nasty climb at the end of Iceman. Finally the last climb was in sight. I passed my blue jersey friend and reeled in 2 more riders before reaching the top. Well, almost the top. It keeps going for a minute. Then you hang a right and are almost to the finish. One final little push to the line and I was done. 

I felt like I did pretty solid overall. The traffic was rough in the first part and then again towards the end we had some that could have slowed us down. I did have to walk a hill, but that was the only thing that went wrong. I feel like if they had started each group in their own wave that it would have been better....but....it is what it is.

I cross the line is 1:20 which was a full 9 minutes behind Chris. He is a beast, but he crushed me in the last 8 miles. With a chaotic start....I will take my results. I ended up in a solid 7th place. However, I do have one major fucking gripe. Had I started at 9:19.....with only 30 people.....the traffic would have been much much different. Instead, I was in a conga line for the first 5 miles. And then again the last 3 or so. I talked to another guy that started at 9:19 and he never said a word about traffic. So it does piss me off that the races were not considered equal. I will share my thoughts with the promoter and hope they make improvements. They did see entries double from last year....and they clearly were NOT ready for that. Unfortunately, I believe it did have an affect on my outcome. 

Anyway, I will say that this was a fun event. The VASA is such a great trail system, and the trails were in amazing shape. So kudos to the NMMBA for their work up there! I didn't do as good as I had hoped, but hey.....I will take my finish and move onto the next. I am planted firmly in 3rd for the series. I can possibly move into 2nd place....with one race to go....but we will let that play out the way it does.  

Speaking of the next......its coming in 2 weeks at Fort Custer. You better bet your ass that I will turn myself inside out to take another podium on my home course. I will have some videos posted soon. 

Until then.....keep moving forward. 

Next Event, Traverse City Trails fest

 It has been many many years since I have ridden north of Big M. The last time I did Iceman was well over 10 years ago. Before that was the Boyne Marathon......and I don't even know what year that was.

TRAVERSE CITY TRAILS FESTIVAL

Click here to check out the event and see what the Northern Michigan Mountain Bike Association (NMMBA) is up to! 

This will be my first time for this event. From what I see on the site listed above it appears that this started back in 2017. You might think that isn't very long ago....but it is already 8 years.....ugh....time flies.

There are two distances to choose from with a Full Pint (30ish miles) and the Half Pint (15 miles). For the Michigan Off road championship the Sport riders must ride the Half Pint. So it looks like a mix of the Vasa singletrack and some connecting fire roads. I looked around for videos, but the latest versions were the original course layout. So, basically going to be flying blind.

The climbing doesn't seem terrible. There is only 696 feet of gain over 15 miles. This is about 46.4 feet/mile. In comparison, my last ride at Custer was 51.6 feet/mile. The course profile makes it seem like there is some climbing in the middle and then some at the end. This doesn't give me too much concern. 

The concern comes from other places. First off, riding a trail blind. I have a big of an idea, by watching videos of the Vasa trail system. The first few miles should be flat and crazy fast. From what I can see the trail isn't technical. It is flowy and open singletrack that just lets you ride. Nothing really sneaks up on you. This is a bonus, because at high speed with an elevated heart rate the vision isn't always the best ;). It makes it a bit easier when riding in a paceline too. Tight and twisty doesn't work well with groups. See Island lake recap for my reasoning there. 

Another concern is the amount of Clydes signed up. At the time of this post there are 12. I know for sure I can beat 1 of them. I know one is a beast and another is pretty even with me, as we are pretty close every race. The unknown locals will have the course advantage here for sure. I don't really know how the start will be. It could be wide and then narrow down to singletrack, or it could be narrow and cause a major issue right away. 

So what is my strategy? 

Seek out Chris......line up behind him.....and hold onto his wheel until I no longer can. This dude is a beast. He had beat me by 13 minutes at the Stampede (my 2nd lap was in the rain....he was almost done) and at the Luton TT by 6 minutes. I know he is stronger, and I have watched him ride away from me in nearly every race we have done together. I never saw him at Yankee, because he started way before I did. I just know he will be fast no matter what, and I know if I can hold onto his wheel that the group could be decimated in the first 5 miles. The longer I hold on, the better my chances are. As a historically slow starter this might not work.....but I have to try.

After my last ride at Custer I am feeling pretty good overall. My speed was good and my endurance was where it needs to be. I was able to push hard for 20 miles and carry a strong pace to the finish. I did an easy ride at the Allegan State game area on Monday. I did a zwift ride last night. Both of those rides were good to keep the legs moving. Now I will rest until Saturday.

So I will chase Chris. I will work with anyone else I can to get to the finish as fast as possible. Sounds perfect right....

Also....on Saturday morning I will scope out the start and finish so I have an idea of what is coming. I will figure out where to line up at the start (other than behind Chris) so I can take the right approach in the group. I want to see the last mile of the course too, so if there is a sprint situation that I will know when to go.

Goals

I have a few goals for this event. Mainly I want to win. I know with Chris there that it just got considerably more difficult, but that won't stop me from trying. Realistically I am hoping for another podium. With the unknowns......I will settle for a top 5. Again, I am going to try to win.....but my hard floor is 5th. 

Well.....there is one caveat to that 5th place finish. I need to be ahead of CP. He has beat me once, and I have beat him once. We are fairly even riders. He is a good dude, but I want to beat him. He is currently in 1st place in the MORC series. CP, Chris, and myself make up the top 3 for Sport Clyde. So we have a solid group of guys heading to this race as we get near the end of the series. I need to finish ahead of CP in the next two races to move up. We shall see!

I am heading up to Fife Lake tomorrow to stay at my friends cabin. This will pull well over 2 hours out of my drive in the morning. That means I can be up at a decent time, eat some food, and head over to do my recon. 

Check back next week to see how it goes! 

Striving for 100 - Part 2

 Well, it has been a couple of weeks and I suppose it is time for an update.

Short story.....not great. 

But the long story might explain why. Or maybe it won't. I am confident it will sound like a laundry list of excuses. So I will give the medium story.

Riding has been ok, but not as much as I would prefer. I had a good ride at Merrell. A solid ride with the guys at Kal-Haven. Then a decent ride at Cannonsburg. A few trainer rides were sprinkled in there as well. Overall, feeling decent on the bike. All I can do is hope for the best at the race coming in a few weeks.

Food. Bad. I eat too much. Or I eat what I shouldn't. I did better towards the end of last week. Today I have to stay on track. 

Weights...non-existent. I have to get back into this. It is important for longevity. 

In a nutshell, I am now 17 pounds away from that 100 pound mark. I am up a few pounds. Weeks of terrible eating and inconsistent exercise will do that.

So all I can do is try again. I am off to a good start this week. I had a good food day yesterday and I was able to get out for a quick ride. Today I will avoid those pitfalls of the vending machine and any unnecessary garbage that I don't need. I plan to ride the trainer tonight, just to keep moving.

Every day is a different challenge. I need to ride to those challenges and not get stuck in a downward spiral. 

Keep striving! 

Hard to explain

 It's really hard to explain where I am both mentally and physically these days. It feels like a roller coaster for sure. Its hard to even put it into words, but I will try.

August had my 2nd highest amount of training hours this year. This was also my highest amount of saddle hours since January. The trend has been more on the trainer than outside. Its odd, but it is what it is. 6 of the 11 rides were indoors. Crazy for August. And....only 11 rides out of 31 days.....also not great. 

September isn't going much better. A whopping 4 rides out of 12 days so far. 3 of those rides have been in the basement. I have a race coming in 2 weeks. Ugh, not great.

So what seems to be the issue?

I really wish I knew. I could chalk it up to bad habits. Being lazy. Lack of discipline. No motivation. Some weather. The list of excuses is never ending. I just can't seem to get going. Its not like my rides are going bad. I had a great ride with friends on Kal-Haven. I had a solid ride at Cannonsburg Ski area. My Zwift rides are all stable. I have even been going after routes with more climbing. 

But here I am.....

Weigh has fluctuated a bit. Nothing major, but its never good to see an uptick when you are trying to lose. Before you start harping on me about how "weight will fluctuate so just keep going" I already know. I have seen 4 pound gains from water weight. I have seen weeks where 7 pounds have come off too. My weight is directly related to what garbage I have been ramrodding into my stomach. Nothing good. I do great for a minute, but then I find myself eating ice cream. Then the next night its more. And more, and more and more junk. One little trigger where a sweet is allowed in.....and it feels like the flood gates open. 

This, I fully understand, is due to my lack of mental fortitude. My emotional state has been all over the place. Why am I being lazy and heading to the basement instead of outside in this gorgeous weather? I don't know. Laziness I suppose. Just easier to gear up and head to the bike than it is to load up, drive somewhere, and enjoy the outside. Its dumb really. All winter i want to get outside. Now I can be outside and I choose to head to the boring trainer. 

I do love being out there. My ride with Lisa was great. We did some Allegan State game area trails. Was good to hang with my sister and get some miles in. The Kal-Haven ride with Brian, Jay, and Scott was also great. The weather was awesome and the company just as good. Even my suffering ride at Cannonsburg was good. The ride at Merrell was solid. I have felt just fine on the bike. Maybe not as strong as I would like, but comfortable with how the rides have gone. 

What I do know is that I have had some additional stress these past few months. While that stress is starting to go away, I know I did a terrible job of managing it. Instead of powering thru, I let old habits resurface. Extra snacks on the way home from work. Snagging something out of the vending machine at work instead of eating what I bring from home. Letting those habits that landed me at 3 bills show their ugly fucking faces again. 

This week, I did finally put a stop to that. I had to. Empty calories are stupid. They are stupidly atrocious worthless life sucking and delicious. Bad combo. I made much better choices this week. I avoided the vending machine at work. I didn't stop to or from work for anything. I did get gas yesterday, and I grabbed a non sugar drink along with a beef stick. Better choice than a pop and bag of chips or candy bar. 

It has just been a struggle. I am hanging in there. My weight is a byproduct of my effort. My effort has been lacking. My effort is lacking because of my mental state. My mental state has been trash because I allowed it to. Instead of fighting, I let it sink in like a comforting hug. It is the path most chosen. Least resistance. Downhill. Easy.

....but its the wrong path.

Now I am here looking at the valley walls trying to make a plan to get out. I will not get stuck here. I will find a way to climb my way out. 

In the Dark Knight movie Bruce falls into a well. His dad eventually makes it there to rescue him. He asks a very important question....

"Why do we fall Bruce?"

The answer is "So we can learn how to pick ourselves up"

I am still learning. We will fall many times. We just have to keep getting back up. Rocky did it time after time. No quit. Even when things seemed bleak. He got back up and kept swinging. I am right there. I am learning how to pick myself up again. I know its not easy. But I have to take it one day at a time.

But I gotta go....my ride is here......

Striving for 100. Part 1

 Striving for 100

Part 1

The plan is to do a recap weekly until I eclipse the 100 pound weight loss. This is how it starts.

Why 100?

Its a funny story actually. I worked with a guy that was a big weight lifter. He was trying to bulk up, and I was in the constant struggle to lose. I was around 290 at this time. He asked what my goal weight was, which remains at sub 200. One day he said

 "you should just get over 300 and then start your weight loss. That way when you get under 200 you can say you lost 100 pounds!"

Well....unintentionally I did pass the 300 mark. If you don't know, I maxed out at 309 once upon a time. Ugh. Heavy. 

Fast forward to today....his comments have resurfaced. Back then that 100 pound mark seemed so far away. To fathom losing that much was difficult. How does a person go about it? Turns out that losing the weight is the same way you gain it.....a little at a time. 

Yes it is much easier to gain than to lose, anyone and everyone knows this. I can gain 50 pounds in what feels like a week. And it can take years to lose that same weight. Anyway, getting off track.

Reaching 100 pounds will be incredible. As of this week I am around 15 pounds away. Yes that is up from last week. But....I was likely dehydrated last week after Fast Fitty and the warm temps. Weight will fluctuate every week. While my trend is still moving down, I simply don't lose every week. Body needs time to reset and find balance. Next week will be trend down again. Water weight can be 3-4 pounds week....in either direction. Crazy, but true. 

So I am 'striving' for 100 pounds down. Why 'striving'? Well, my Exercise Physiologist finishes his emails with 'keep striving' and it has stuck with me.  The definition means to "make great efforts to achieve or obtain something". It is a great term for this situation. Its actually a great term for this entire weight loss journey. 

I need to 'strive' for the 100 right now. Its a short term goal that I have. I have to be more consistent on the bike. I have to take extreme care with what I put into my body. I have to make the great efforts to reach this goal. I am right there, and I have the tools to make it. I just need to use them. Follow along as Week 1 gets started. Check back next week to see how it went and what the plan moving ahead will be. 

Constant adjustment. Stay focused. Be better today than you were yesterday. Keep moving forward. Lets Strive together. 

One year later....

 

Hard to believe that a year ago I was pulling into the parking lot of the surgery center for a procedure that would start me on my journey to today. 

How it started....

I know I have said this before, but I wanted to go back to where it started. In 1999, when my oldest daughter was born, I was in the best shape of my life. I was 180 lbs. I was playing basketball 3-4 days a week and working out every day. It was 9-9-1999 when I broke my foot and lost that shape. My weight shot to nearly 220. Then the long drive to work, buffet lunches, yada yada.

Fast forward to 2019. My terrible eating habits added on top of a very stressful divorce culminated with a 4 day stay in the hospital due to a pulmonary embolism. All good things.....not. I maxed out at a whopping 309 pounds during that stretch. Depression, sedentary lifestyle, snacks, stress, and general laziness landed me nearly dead. 

But in many conversations last year the idea of assistance came to mind. I ran it past my doctor and he immediately pushed through a referral. No discussion, it was something that was needed for my current and future health. Under the knife I went to start me on this new journey.

How it's going...

Well, I am alive...so that's good. It did start fairly rough. The night of the surgery I wanted to die. The pain in my shoulders was the worst. Imagine Hulk Hogan (may he rest in peace) grabbing you by the top of the shoulders and squeezing. But he doesn't let go....he just holds on for endless hours in a pain that you just can't get away from. Once that night was over things improved slowly. The infusion I got was the ultimate game changer. I wasn't drinking enough and I was dehydrated, so my body was not great. Once I got the fluids I felt so much better and things started to improve.

I got sick from one bite too many.

I got sick from eating too fast.

I got sick from a drink of water after dinner.

I started to learn.

I still get yucky feeling if I eat too much or too fast. 

I am still learning. 

At this point I am down nearly 87 pounds from my heaviest. For those that don't like math....I am sitting at 222. This is close to the weight that I was after I broke my foot in 1999. I feel better. I move better. I just had my yearly checkup and my doctor told me that my numbers were looking better. I am faster on the bike than I can ever remember. Things are going pretty good overall.

Still hard to believe that it has been a year. I am closing in on that 100 pound loss mark, which is mind blowing to me. At the 103 mark that will be 1/3 of my body that is no longer in existence. Crazy. Stay tuned for the "Striving for 100" series that I will be starting next week. It will be a combo of short videos and blogs covering the final push to losing 100 lbs. Only 13 to go! 

How it will end...

I know I have room for improvement. I want (and need) to be consistent with working out and my time spent on the bike. I have been managing my stress fairly well, and those levels should be smoothing out here in the next few months. My eating is pretty good overall, but I know I need to choose healthier snacks and even limit those. My ultimate goal is 185. I am still around 37 pounds to that number. My goal is to reach that number by my 50th birthday in June of 2026. Again....ULTIMATE GOAL.

Short term is the "Strive to 100". I know its not easy. I know it won't be easy. None of this has been easy. People that believe having surgery is 'taking the easy way out' should try it. Or maybe take the time to talk to the people that have been through it. There has been nothing easy about this process. Yes it looks dramatic to lose that amount of weight in a relatively short period of time. Yes the surgery was helpful. It was a tool to help me reach my goals. Nothing easy.

I will continue to work towards my Ultimate goal. Along the way I will pass the 100 pound mark. I will work to be stronger and healthier as I work through the rest of my journey.

Its been a wild ride so far. No reason to give up. Stay tuned to see what happens next.

Until then....

Keep moving forward.

Keep striving.