Island Lake Challenge Preview

 Next up for me is the Island Lake Challenge Mountain bike race in Brighton. This will be the first time leaving the area for a race this season. Here are my thoughts on the course and how I hope to do.

The course on Strava shows just under 6 miles with 368ft of climbing. Sport will do 3 laps, so looking at around 17 miles total with about 1100 feet of climbing. Not terrible in the grand scheme of things. Yankee had nearly that amount of climbing in 11 miles. Custer was close to the same distance with the same elevation gain, so they are comparable. After my last ride at Owasippe, I am glad its pretty flat. lol

Out of the gate is a wide paved trail. This is a short blast of about .2 miles before hanging a left into the singletrack. I would love to crush the start and recover on this little downhill to the actual finish line. That is my plan at the moment.

Once you cross the finish line it is a wider section until you cross the bridge. Shortly after the bridge is where the first climb is located. From the video I have been watching it looks like a short but steep climb. Make it to the top first and you are in great shape. I would love to be leading here, but I will take being in the top 3 and being in the lead group. 

Here you are rewarded with shady singletrack as you roll along the Huron River. It seems to be pretty fast and flat with a few rollers, but nothing terrible. Keep the focus and keep the hammer down.

There is a grinder of climb around 1.5 miles in. Just have to maintain pace and keep going. The sign you are getting close is a bridge with a turn on it. Should be interesting at speed. lol. But you find the bridge, curve to the left...and get met with the climb. Looks like it starts innocent enough and gradually builds to a 15% grade with some roots. Stays that way for a bit before flattening out. Get over the climb and keep going, getting a bit of recovery.

Making your way back to the East, the trail seems pretty quiet. A smaller climb, and areas wide enough to pass. Turning south, you have another road style section with a wide bridge. This is a great place to gather your thoughts as the lap is halfway over. The trail kicks back to the West and follows the South side of the river. This section looks like a great place to hammer down, or get some needed recovery. 

The next portion seems pretty chill. Just what I would describe as normal mountain biking. As you approach around a mile to go there is a notable climb. Not super long, but steep enough to make you aware. After a while there is another grinder before things flatten out again. Basically you just paid for the rest of the trail with the climbs. 

Things here get tight and twisty. You cross a road and make a hard right into this twisty section. Handling skills will be important in this section. Smooth lines, not choppy and jerky. This is how you go fast through here. Keep your eyes down the trail and make sure you are set up for each corner. 

Cross the last section of pavement and you are basically downhill to the finish line. If you have someone trying to pass, stay full gas and hold them off. There is not really any room for passing, so you can hold your position. Take a drink, you have a few more laps to do. 

Overall this looks like a fun trail. Nothing too challenging. Wide singletrack with plenty of spaces for passing. The overall distance and elevation seem to be in my wheelhouse. The notable climbs are spread out enough that there is recovery time between them. Should be fun.

My goal time? Well, that is a tough one. I am going for another podium, so based on the times from the last two years I will need to be pretty quick. looking at sub 27 min lap times. That is flying. I looked at where my friends have fared on this circuit...and I am honestly hoping to break 30 minutes per lap. That likely won't be good enough for a podium. I am hoping maybe the distance is off and that it shows longer than what it actually will be. That gives me hope that I can rip off sub 28 min laps and be competitive. All I can do is my best and hope its good enough. Looking at finishing times of riders that have raced in previous years, and comparing to our Yankee finishes....I might be ok. Its really hard to say. All I can do is go go go and hope for the best. 

If I can finish in the top 5, and the leader of the series isn't here, I will have enough points to overtake 1st place in the series. All I know is I will give everything I have and will see what happens.

Lets get it! 

 

A mixed bag for Memorial Day weekend

The weather (and the schedule) finally allowed me to get outside and ride. Knowing the Luton TT is coming up, I snuck out of work early and headed to Rockford. Traffic was already starting to fill in, so I am grateful I could get out early.

When I got to Luton the park was pretty empty. There was only a handful of cars. My plan was to ride a double loop of the race course to get an idea of what my time would look like. The race course is pretty much the entire loop with a few modifications. The first one is bypassing a short section of Yellow. You don't miss much there, just a few twists and turns. Instead you go straight and find the first climb. I was feeling pretty good, but the legs were barely getting warm at this section. Its not a terrible climb, but one of the longer ones here. 

On the orange loop I rolled up on a hiker and scared the bejeezus out of her. She seemed to be in tune with nature and oblivious to anything else. She jumped and moved over as I rolled up and announced my presence. lol. Unintentional, but kind of funny none the less. I am not sure she realized she was on an active trail. Kind of "out there"....if you follow.

I continued on, just riding a comfortable pace. I wasn't pushing, but my legs did start to feel a bit heavy. Not riding much and then a hard trainer ride a few days prior added up to sluggish legs. They did open up eventually. I did my two laps without anything spectacular to report. It was a decent ride overall. However, it does make me pause when thinking about the TT in a few weeks. I honestly felt like I would be faster than I was. Granted this was not race pace, but I was hoping for a bit quicker pace than I achieved. 

Still, good day to be out on the bike on one of my favorite trails. I will dig more into the TT in a few weeks.

On Sunday I got up and headed to Owasippe. This is a trail I have not ridden in nearly 10 years. Hard to believe it has been that long. There have been some additions and I know this is a great place to train. I drove up on quiet highways and arrived to an empty parking lot. 

I headed out and was welcomed by old school singletrack. Narrow and deep channels in some sections. The first few miles went pretty good, and then the climbing started. 

There is a reroute that was entirely new to me. I believe it was done in 2024, but it was ridden in fairly well. It was pretty long, and it felt like it added a ton of climbing. I knew there was hills out here, but it felt like they squeezed even more elevation gain into an already challenging loop. 

I was doing ok, but the relentless climbing was starting to wear on my. It was dragging my mental state down with every pedal stroke. I was starting to ride sloppy and nearly crashed a few times. Not a great time when things feel like they are falling apart. 

I welcomed the sight of the sign pointing towards the parking lot. I got back to the car and was really ready to go home. What I planned as a 2 lap day turned into surviving a single lap and then heading home. Understanding my limits is important. I was wiped out, both physically and mentally. It was good to ride here again, but a humble reminder that I am still a work in progress. :)

On Memorial Day I had planned a group ride on Kal-Haven. After my ride at the O, my mood just wasn't there for company. I decided to sleep in and just recover a bit more. In the afternoon I did decide to head out for an easy ride. I wanted to just spin the legs and check out mentally. I headed out on the TCX to some flat gravel. 

There was a stretch that I thought was gravel, that turned out to be an old gnarly two track. Otherwise I just kept my heart rate low and just spun the cranks without pushing too hard. It was a beautiful day and it was a nice recovery ride. This recovery was good for my body and my mind.

Not entirely sure why, but the last couple of weeks have been a struggle mentally. Sometimes things sneak in and chip away. Sometimes multiple things all pile in and just make your mind chaotic. That is how I have felt. Like my mind pinballs between family, riding, work, finances, and the future. Most of time I can keep everything in its own lane, but the last few weeks everything has been mixing together. I am working on untangling the whole thing and understanding where everything should be. Some days are better than others, but I keep forging ahead. 

Rainy couple of days

After a busy weekend with some missed opportunities to ride, I have been due to get back on the bike.  I finally did last night. But why did I have another gap in riding....well....

Dance Comp. My daughter teaches at a dance studio she used to dance at herself. She teaches my step-daughter. The last competition of 2025 (for our team) was this past weekend. Friday was a full evening, so I wasn't able to get out for a ride. Saturday we did our normal grocery shopping before heading back to GR for day 2 of the comp. Sunday I was determined to ride. 

I loaded up and headed down to Three Rivers to ride Meyer-broadway park. All was good until I pulled my valve core out when taking the cap off. Instant flat. No worries, just put it back in and snug it down. A guy in the lot had a pair of pliers, so I was able to get it tightened back in. But.....in the midst of that process the inner stem of the core disassembled itself. I went to leave the lot and the tire was flat again. Realizing the issue, I loaded back up and simply came home. Wasted 2 hours in the car and the gas to miss a ride. Mood wasn't great. We headed to the rest of the dance comp and that was my weekend.

Monday I intended to ride but my mood wasn't great, and I skipped it altogether. 

Tuesday is rained. :(

Wednesday it rained again.

But, I knew it had been a week since I was on a bike, so I headed to the basement to get the legs moving. Strava had an apparent event on the Big Flat 8 course, so I just joined in there. Just over 18 miles with a little over 300 feet of climbing. Good to just spin and remind my body what it feels like to ride. I started off and was cruising along minding my own business. Then a massive group caught me. It was one of the robo pacer groups, but there had to be 300 people. 

The pacer was CoCo....who runs at 2.6  w/kg....which is pretty stout for me unless I am powering down. While my ride was pretty calm and I was comfortable.....I knew if I could hang with this group that the miles would start to pass quicker. Thankfully it was a flat route. I started pushing to hang onto the group, which was cruising at 25mph. That is flying for me, but I was holding my own. Eventually the group split off the route that I was on and I was alone again. Or so I thought....

I crested the biggest hill on the route and was feeling pretty good about my burn with the big group. A couple of guys must have done the same because we found ourselves in a new group of 3 riders. We held a pretty solid clip for pretty much the rest of the ride. Towards the end there is a drawn out low grade climb and I got separated from them. We were about 3 miles from the end, so I was disappointed that they had gapped me. I could still see them, but they had some space.

I pressed on and eventually caught them with about 2 miles to go. It felt like they lifted the pace a bit because I was struggling to keep up. I was watching the distance tick down when we reached the final sprint. When we hit .2 miles to go I put everything I had left into the pedals. At first I didn't even generate a gap. Then all of a sudden I had a gap and broke the draft line. I didn't put much distance into them, but it was enough for me to finish the route in front of both of them. I don't know if they were in the same frame of mind as me or not, but that isn't the point. I beat them. lol.

I took some time to soft pedal and cool down. Overall just over 19 miles in about 55 minutes. Yes it was flat. Yes it was Zwift. But I still averaged just under 21 miles per hour after taking a week off. It was good to be pedaling again, even if it was the basement. 

Training is what you make of it. I remember the days of the wind trainers, then mag trainers, and then fluid trainers long before smart trainers were a thing. With my old fluid trainer I could make the ride as easy or as hard as I wanted, depending on what I would do. The evolution of smart trainers has been a game changer for me. With simulated hills (both up and down) it gives a much more real feel to a ride. I was glad to be able to ride and burn off some lingering stress.

With the holiday weekend I plan to ride a bit. Planning on Luton tomorrow. Hoping to sneak out a bit early and get some good distance in. Taking Saturday off to recover. Then the plan will be to head to Owasippe for a few laps. Might even do another ride on Monday since its the holiday. We shall see what happens! 

Have a good Holiday weekend everyone. 

Gravel, rain, and sand

Wednesday when I got home I checked the weather one last time. 10% chance of rain. Lets get it.

I headed out from home on the TCX. After a stint on some pavement I reached the gravel of 110th street. Then it was a very straight shot for the next 10 miles. There is a short section where the road kicks north for a bit and then back south....but the rest was very straight. Just a lot of packed gravel with a few stops signs thrown in. 

I was feeling pretty good, so I was pushing my pace a bit. I was trying to keep my average up, with the idea that I had a tailwind. I was riding West and the weather seemed to be coming from the East. With my average speed holding steady I started to believe that the entire way back would be brutal. 

Just after Mile 13 is a lake. Its called Lower Scott Lake. Pretty small, but the first sings of life I had seen in a while. Most of the property out here is state land, so not a lot of houses. Its a good ride because there are hardly any cars either. 

I made the turn north and started to think about 112th and my trip back. The temperature tanked. Looking up the road I could tell that it was starting to rain. I literally rode into the 10% rainstorm that was forecast. I was as far away from home as I would be on this ride....and it was raining. It started as a drizzle, which wasn't bad. But before too long the drops got bigger. The rock solid roads were building puddles. Still heading north I saw the turn to head back towards home.

The cold rain continued for another 10 minutes before I finally started to ride out of it. After a short haul East, I was surprised by a Southern turn. Must have missed it when I created the route. So now, in the rain and heading South I was starting to wonder if I was on the right path. Before too long the rain cleared and the roads started to dry back out. 

The rip down 112th is strange. There was no headwind, but it feels like a false flat. Maybe I was just starting to run out of legs. I had been pushing for a long time at this point. Still, I kept my body steady and pressed on. Around mile 20 I took another turn north towards 115th. As soon I turned back East I remembered why I don't like this section. It is a seasonal road that is mostly sand. I found the most solid area I could find in the middle of the road and just forged ahead. 

While my Panaracer tires work well on gravel, they tend to dig into hard sand. This stretch of 115th seasonal road was giving me issues. My speed started to suffer here. All I could do was keep pushing with what I had left. Finally I reached another intersection where the seasonal road ends and the roads get better. Still not great, but the closer I got towards home the better they get. 

Eventually the gravel gives way to blacktop for the remainder of the ride. There is a bit of climbing here, but nothing major. I just kept pushing away until I was close to home. 

Overall, a solid 27 miles of gravel. The rain sucked, but thankfully was short. The sandy section was rough, but didn't kill me. The route is pretty flat, so the legs don't really get any rest. You just have to pedal for nearly the whole way. I held a pretty good average speed that I am happy with. It was good to get out.

 

Weekend gravel and Dirty Donuts...

 I wasn't really able to get out this past week and ride like I wanted. It was a mix of being worn out from racing and weather and motivation. 

On Friday Chris had an appt so I had the day off. We were home early afternoon and I headed out. I left from the Allegan State Game area parking and just found some gravel. I usually prefer to ride a loop so that I know exactly how far and which direction I am going. On this ride I didn't have a plan, so I just headed out exploring. 

Eventually I hit a paved road and rode a bit north. But I turned around and headed back south, only to hit a Tee on M89. So I turned around again and then took a side road that once again hit M89. I decided to just head back the way I came and start towards the car. I ended up with 20 miles. Not a bad ride. Was great weather and decent roads. Good to be riding.

Sunday I got up and headed to Martin to do a Dirty Donut ride. In my head I was thinking the 42 mile loop. I figured I would see how I was feeling at the turn. The decision corner is at mile 15. Going straight keeps you on the longer courses, but turning right puts you only 6 miles from the end.

As usual on this course, there was a minor wind. But the weather was perfect when I started. It was sunny and around 60 degrees. I kicked out of Martin and made the turn towards the Drag Strip. I was feeling pretty good as the miles started to pass. I settled into my pace and just checked out mentally. There are bright spots for gravel. You don't need the focus as much as when mountain biking. You can just roll and let your brain wander. 

I was thinking of course descriptions and how I would narrate a turn by turn video of the course. Or at least the turns, with videos and ques to let people know where they are. But this course isn't difficult to follow. The first 12 miles are very flat. There are a few climbs on 118th, but the nasty climb comes just before mile 15. Short and steep. gross. 

After I cleared that climb I had a decision to make. Part of me wanted to just turn off and head back to the car. But the endurance side of me screamed "JUST DO THE LONG COURSE". So I pressed onward. The majority of the climbing is in the middle of the course. So the next 10ish miles are hilly. Nothing terrible. 

Eventually I passed through Hopkins. Then I could see the Casino to the East. This is a marker to let you know you are closing in on the finish. There are roughly 10 miles to finish when the New hotel comes into view.

I pressed on and reached the main road back into Martin. I finally got back to my car. Looking at my time I was a lot faster than my last attempt on this route. That day it was cold and more windy. I remember a terrible headwind for the first 25 miles. This ride was much better, with a higher average speed. It was actually 1.2mph faster than the previous ride. I will take that for sure. 

The gravel was a mix of solid concrete style dirt, loose sandy sections, normal gravel, and a lot of washboard. My arms were actually getting more fatigued than my legs. While I was slowing down because of endurance, it was my arms that were giving me fits. lol. I am really glad I reconsidered my centuries this year. I am still building to the longer distances, but I am far from ready to do 100 at this point. I will get there, but I know its a work in progress. 

Overall it was a good couple days of riding. We enjoyed time with the family for Mother's Day on Sunday. I hope you all got out to ride or to do what you enjoy!

Island lake is just under 3 weeks out. 

9 Years.....

 Its funny how time is relative.

When holding your breath.....a minute can seem like a long time.

When driving to a destination....an hour can seem like a long time.

When working.....a day can seem like a long time.

When thinking about what is for dinner in a week....that seems like it is so far off.

Looking at vacation in the next month.....doesn't feel like it will ever get here.

When planning on moving south.....a year seems like an eternity. 

Yet, all these seemingly long times are just drops in the ocean of time. Our long work days that feel like long weeks are gone. What feels like forever, is passing super fast. It has already been a few months at my new job and a few months since I got married. 

Where am I going with this? Well....I was doing some thinking yesterday about my riding and racing. I have been 'racing' for well over 20 years now. That is crazy to me. To think of where I started when my Brother-in-law came home with a flyer for some event called Iceman. Doesn't seem like that long, but it has been a lifetime. 

Now that I think about it....its probably closer to 25 years ago that I did my first Iceman. Damn. 

Anyway....those thoughts were conjured up yesterday because I was thinking about the old Championship Point Series (CPS) that the MMBA used to do. I had a solid year one time...and took 5th in the series. That was when I was a Beginner Clyde. I moved to Sport that following year. It was a long long time before I ever stepped on a podium again. Years in fact.

Life got crazy there for a while. Lots of kids and working put riding on the back burner. I gained a ton of weight and wasn't riding at all. Eventually I got back into it. I started riding again around 2007. Not even sure how long it was that I was off, but that isn't important. 

This past Sunday I was able to step back onto a podium step. I was curious as to how long it had been. So I took a trip back in time to sort it out. 

After 7 years, I reached my first Sport Podium at Sweat Shaker in 2014. I remember that I had just gotten my first 29er and I was flying that day. 2015 my focus on was LJ100, and that was my defining event that year. No podiums, but still a massive achievement.

In 2016 I was able to step on the podium once again. However, the first one was by default. I travelled up to Tree Tops and took a 3rd place.....out of 3. All I did was finish, but it was a podium over those that chose the couch that day. 

My next event was the TK Lawless XC race. There were a lot of clydes that day, so I opted for Sport Open...in which there were less people again. I believe there was only 3, so I was guaranteed a podium at the start. However, I did take 2nd that day. Earning the podium spot. 

Nine years. It was nine years between the Lawess podium and the Stampede Podium. That is a long time for sure. The latest bronze medal was earned with every pedal stroke. I was able to finish 3rd out of 7 racers that day. It was good to be back on the steps, but even better to know I deserved to be there. I did the work and I rode hard to earn that finish.

Nine years. Nearly a decade. That...is a long time.

During my race, my thoughts were bouncing around a bit. They would go from the leaders, to what place I was in, to the rain, to wondering how long it has been since a podium. 

For some reason Jimmy Valvano came to mind. His inspiring speech at the ESPY's was one I will never forget. He was fighting cancer, but he had some good words of wisdom.....

I don't know why that came into my head, but I am glad it did. When it came to mind, it was raining. I was worried I was being chased down. My mind said "Don't give up, don't ever give up" and my just kept forging ahead. After 9 years away I figured out a way to get back into the sport that I love and be a name on the steps instead of just a finisher. 

I haven't given up. I don't plan on giving up. 

It took a long time, but it has been worth every step of the journey. 

Here is the speech if you are interested. 

Fort Custer Stampede Recap

 

When I rolled into Fort Custer it was 50 degrees and super windy. With this event being on top of a hill and across a small lake....its open. Meaning the main parking lot is open to wind. It was cold. It was supposed to be 60 and sunny.....but Mother Nature can be a bitch! lol.

I checked in and had a lot of time to kill. My start time wasn't until 12:55. I talked with Jay a bit and saw Lisa. Before too long it was time to gear up and start warming up. I just did some slow rolling around to get my legs moving. It was almost an hour before my start to I didn't want to fully warm up, I just wanted to be warm enough from moving. 

Eventually I did a solid warm up down to the boat launch and back a few times. I didn't want to be sweating when we lined up, because there is always a wait for the start. Instead I just rolled around the parking lots when people started staging. I was in Stage 6 so I knew I had some time. Before too long, it was time to line up. I joined the other clydesdales and fatbikers in my wave and headed to the chute. There was only 4 preregistered in my class, but it appeared there was 7 lined up. Great, a challenge. 

3,2,1.....GO GO GO. I was in the second row and pushed hard to be the 5th rider going down the hill. Solid start I thought. 3 clydes ahead of me. Knowing I wanted a podium I pushed to pass and get into 3rd before we crossed the road and hit the singletrack. There was a fat biker and a fellow clyde that I was chasing the first two miles. We got through the technical area and spit out across the road again for a flat section. I was being dropped, but I was in 3rd and I wasn't being pressed by anyone else. 

We got into the trenches and I was trying to see how close anybody was. I still had a fatbike in view, but 2nd place was out of sight. I blasted the first switchback climb and started toward the second when I heard "good job Sean!". It was Brian, who started in the wave ahead of me. We climbed to the top of the next switchback and I took the chance for a breather. We rode through the next section before the trail widens and I took the inside corner to press onward. 

I was feeling really good, but my breathing was fast. So I focused on bringing that down while still pushing as hard as I could. I had zero concerns about distance....I just wanted to kill this first lap. The narrow twisty singletrack gave way to the leadin 2-track to the green. I could still see the fat biker and nobody was behind me. I took a peek before we got back into the trail. Riders were back there, but I couldn't tell who they were. No real reason to stick around and find out. PRESS ON.

Erin's climb was tough as always. I caught another guy and passed him at the top, before the minions started coming. Now I had a chance to see that they were the 14 and under men coming. No worries, they will get right past and leave to suffer. lol. They came and went very fast, and I could still see the fat biker in front of me. I just keep going as fast as I could. Eventually a few other guys came into view. They were suffering and would pull off to let me pass. 

Before long I caught a guy before the rooty climb before the boat launch. He went left, I went right. He got kicked in front of me and we almost hit. No worries. A quick hop off and another peek back. No body was coming. This is looking good for my first lap. More kids started to come, but no big guys. The first lap was already ripping past. We got to the boat launch climb and my legs were screaming. While this isn't a hard climb, I was pushing the entire way at this point. I was still riding with the same guy at this point. We crossed the lap line to a group of cheers. Lap 1 was done. 

This was when I felt the first rain drops. I was hoping to finish before the rain, but it was ramping up. Going through the first section of green I could feel my tire sliding on rocks and roots, and I still had 7 miles to go. The guy I was with said "it will super slick by the time we reach Erin's climb". But, I wasn't with him when I got there. Earlier in the race a guy passed, but it wasn't clean. I got pushed off the trail and lost my riding partner. I was riding pretty solo through red back to the green 2-track. But he was right, the corners were getting super slick. I was being forced to slow down in the corners because I didn't want to lose it, and even slower I could feel my rear wheel slipping. Not great.

The good news is, I was riding alone and still couldn't see anyone coming. I cleared Erin's climb in some traffic but was able to put some distance on them. Then it was survival. The rain was falling harder now and it was getting worse by the minute. My brain went to finishing instead of a podium. But, I was still sitting in third.

I could see the rider that I got seperated from again, and I was trying to reel him back in. I eventually caught him in the long sandy climb after the last creek crossing. He looked and goes "I was wondering where you went". We were 4ish miles from the finish. We both cleared the rooty climb and pressed onward. A Wildcat caught us and snuck past. But it was quiet otherwise. We all rode out towards Eagle lake together to the boat launch climb. The youngster ran out of legs and pulled over, we were only 1.4 away from the finish, I just told him to press on.

The guy in front of me started asking how we wanted to finish and he would let me go. I was out of gas from chasing him so long, so I suggested we cross together. There is a grassy off camber turn right at the end, so we didn't want to risk a crash right there. We rolled around the corner and across the finish line at the same time. He is a 70 year old guy, that I have heard about for so long.....it was an honor to cross the line with him. 

I headed to the car and got changed because I realized just how cold I was. I peeled off my jersey and shorts and put on dry clothes, layered up with my sweatshirt and went for food. They had some good pulled pork. I headed to the pavilion because it was still raining and I wanted to see where I finished. Well, I scanned the barcode and with lots of hope went to my category. There in all of its glory was my name....firmly in 3rd place. 

I was in 3rd from nearly start to finish! I was able to reach podium again for the first time in many many years. I honestly think it was a default 3rd place at Tree Tops many years ago, when there was only 3 in my class. This was was earned with every pedal stroke. I fought my way back from the brink of death, to be able to stand on one of these steps. I cannot even begin to explain how it felt.

Clydesdale Open

My lap times were not as good as I had hoped, but I will take them all day long. The first lap was 47 minutes, even though my goal was around 43. That is ok, not far off my pace. Second lap was disrupted by the conditions. Not a terrible fall off, but I will say I feel like it was from the rain and not my endurance. Yes it was being tested here, but I was in a comfortable position and didn't need to take any risks. 

This finishing place puts me in 2nd place in the M.O.R.C. series. I am behind the guy that Won the race today. He is a tall and lean machine for sure. He fits that Clydesdale bill, but his body type is not like mine. lol. We had a good chat today as he recognized me from Yankee. Apparently he will now be my arch nemesis on the bike. lol. I have work to do still, but I am making great progress. I will do my best to keep building up to my next race. That is about a month away and it will be the first trip across the state. 

Until then....keep moving forward!

Next up: Island Lake Mountain Bike Challenge

Fort Custer Stampede Preview

 

Race #2 for me is this coming Sunday. I was only able to get 1 ride in this week, and I plan to do a trainer ride tonight, but that isn't super great heading into a race. It was a busy week with a concert and bringing Jayden home from MSU. That leaves tonight for a ride. I was going to ride Luton, but just wasn't feeling it this morning. Cooler temps and a chance of rain prompted me to leave the bike home. I might try to sneak out when I get home, or just do a spin on the trainer to clear my legs. 

The last time I did this race was again back in 2023. This time last year I was having surgery to repair my elbow tendon, so I missed it. This year, I am on a mission to put a stamp on this event.

I have always loved this event. its not as big as it used to be, with the gravel scene dramatically trying to kill the mountain bike scene. But that doesn't matter, its still a fun event. Being smaller, there are only 4 Sport clydes pre-registered. That means I have a 25% chance at a podium. So that is a good start. lol. 

This course starts at the upper lot of the Eagle Lake area in Fort Custer. Out of the chute we make a left down a narrow two track and cut across the side of the lower parking lot. After crossing the road you dive right into the Green loop. This is towards the end of the Green, so it has a chunk of tight and root filled trail along Dickman road. After that, its a long flat blast to get in to the trench section of Red.

This twisty trench section is always fun, but can be frustrating if you are not in rhythm. Its important to relax and stay focused in here to ride smooth lines. After that section is some good flow to a switchback descent followed by a switchback climb. Nothing tough, but this is the first climb on the course. After the climb is more fast and flat sections before landing in the Amusement park portion of the trail. 

Eventually you kick out to the two track that leads to the front end of the green trail and Erins Climb. Another switchback climb, you will see Erin's rock at the top. Job done, keep pressing on. There is a mix of flow with some climbs. The green trail then flattens out for the most part until a climb in the pines. One nasty climb filled with roots and then you are nearing the boat launch climb. Make it up that and you are flying towards the finish. 

At around 8 miles, the laps are fairly quick. With less than 500 feet of climbing per lap, it is not a tough course at all. One of my favorite places to ride, I have the course knowledge I need to gain a bit of an edge. I know where to push and what to expect. 

So what are my goals for this race? Well, first off I am shooting for a podium. Yes I know there are only 4 people (right now) signed up, but showing up is only half the battle. I need to have a clean race to get podium. That is the goal. My time goal is not as clear. In 2023 I had a finish time of 1:39:05, which was not great. My lap times were 49:00 and 49:45. Consistency I like to see. I know I can pull at least 5 minutes off of each lap time. This would put me sub 1:30 for the race.

 

Side note: When I compared my Yankee Springs TT times from 2023 and 2025 I noticed I shaved 15 minutes off of my time. 15 minutes over 11 miles. That is 1:21 faster per mile. Pretty solid improvement. If I use that same number at this race, figuring a 15 mile race, I could shave 20 minutes off of my time.....

If I take the above into consideration, I could see a finish time around 1:20. I am going to set my goal as such.. I want to take one of the top steps with a finishing time under 1:25. 

At the end of the day I just want to improve from 2023. If I finish in 1:30 I will take it. But I am feeling pretty good and I will be riding my home course. I am happy to be out here riding and seeing what I can achieve. Every ride I have done has PR's and top 3 results on the segments ridden. I am still getting lighter, but I know there is still room to drop more. I will be interested to see how my gains will show for this event.

Tune in next week to find out!