Singletrack Chronicles

First Singletrack of 2012

2012-02-08T09:41:00.000-08:00

This past Sunday was going to be excellent weather. Highs approaching 40. I packed up all my junk and headed to Yankee Springs to meet up with some friends for a loop. The tentative plan was to ride a lap of Yankee, then a short course Barry Roubaix. In theory it sounded like a plan.....in reality....well.....not so much.

When we started it was about 25 degrees or so. It was Jay, Tompkins, Stewie, Summer, J. J., Charles and I in our group. Off we went. Right away.....I got dumped out the back but Dan S. stuck with me because he was on his Surly Moonlander. That bike is like a tank...but another story none the less. I knew it was going to be rough, but the cold air in my lungs was not helping anything. I just rode my pace and figured the rest of the group would be waiting up ahead somewhere.

Even after a decent month on the trainer in January, I am still showing effects of not riding much the second half of 2011. Legs felt like crap.....3 miles in....yippee. I knew I would struggle....but I wasn't going to quit. If it took me 2 days to get around there I was going to finish.

The fun started when Dan and I caught the rest of the group. We regrouped at the bottom of a "trench" climb that is just a sign of what this trail contains in the remaining 7-8 miles. Tompkins was on his SS so the green light was given to him.....in a very amusing and strict sounding "get the ___ moving!" lol. Even though I was suffering....the fun was just beginning.

I love riding at Yankee because it gives you so many different terrains and difficulties. Roots, rocks, sand, hills, small drops, stumps, log jams, and off camber descents match up with the switchbacks and flowing sections. After regrouping yet again the conversation went downhill.....and I am not sure if my eyes were watering from the 20 degree temps....or from laughing so hard. I won't get into all of the topics.....because it was surely a "you had to be there" moment!

The turn towards the trailhead is always my favorite section of the trail. The beginning of the end is signalled by a steep blast up a mat covered climb. Thankfully Tompkins was standing there to give me a much needed "boost" to get up the hill.....and then an additional "boost" when I about half way up. Thanks Dan! Made it....then the 4 or so miles back are fun with some still challenging climbs.

Made it. Not going to talk about times....average speeds....number of stops or anything like that. Just know that I am thankful for teammates and friends that are willing to wait up for a slow guy like me. I know what I need to do.....and that is what I am going to do.

"GET THE F--K GOING!"

Marriage problems?

2012-01-31T06:43:00.000-08:00

This winter has been less than spectacular. I am not really a fan of winter....but I do like the season changes. I like the way the snow looks, but I dislike the cold. I really don't mind driving in the snow, but I worry about how other people drive in the snow. This year....we have gone from 12-15" of snow in two days back to high 40's and rain within the same week. This has happened three times this year as a matter of fact. I am looking out the window right now where there was a nice blanket of snow....and all I see is grass with some speckles of snow. So.....I have a conclusion.....

....Mother Nature and Old Man Winter are having marital problems. Think about it......Old Man winter only has to work for 3 or 4 months out of the year in our area....leaving the remainder of the year for Mother Nature to do her part. This year...winter came late. I don't think we even had snow on Christmas. Mother Nature clearly kicked the Old Man out of the greenhouse and into the dog house. Maybe his dog house is Antarctica or maybe Alaska (because they got some snow!!).

Mother Nature kicked him out.....and eventually he talked his way back home. Boom.....a foot of snow for Southwest Michigan residents. Then....he left the toilet seat up on his 6th night home and Mother Nature fell into the toilet at 3 in the morning......resulting in him getting outcast yet again. Temps in the 40's. Lets look at a time line....

December....hardly any snow.....Old Man kicked out.
January....snow storm....kids miss school......Old Man back home.
Mid-January.....temps in the 40's.....snow all gone.....Old Man kicked out again....
Mid-January (later)....temps in the single digits and more snow......Old Man apologizes and is back home.
End of January.....Old Man messes up again and gets kicked out one more time.....temps back into the 40's and all the snow is melting.

My conclusion.....Mother Nature and Old Man Winter are having marriage problems. Tell me I am wrong......

What kind....

2012-01-29T16:33:00.000-08:00

As I sat at the dinner table watching my son take off layer after layer of clothes I began wondering what kind of person it takes to put all those clothes on to go play in the snow. Seriously, he had on an under-shirt, t-shirt, sweatshirt, jacket, coveralls, and a winter coat. 6 layers on top....jeans and only coveralls on bottom. Unbalanced maybe, but at least his body was warm. When he came in the door his face was red, and not from the cold....he was overheated.

So...what kind of KID does it take to load up on layers and go out into the snow. A kid that simply wants to have fun. So it relates to cyclists as well. I have had people ask me what is wrong with me after I tell them I raced 30 miles in 22 degree air. My story starts with the line "it was 22 degrees at the start, but the only problem I had was when my tears started to freeze". When I read that.....I start to wonder what is actually wrong with me.

But then I remember what my friend and teammate Pat said last year on a Barry Roubaix training ride. I was struggling up a monster climb.....heart rate peaking near max and totally out of oxygen. He looked at me and told me to slow my breathing and find a rhythm. Once I got settled in a bit he smiled at me. I told him I must be crazy. He smiled again and nodded his head yes stating : you're right....we are crazy. we are out here on a Sunday morning in the fresh air, getting exercise, and having fun. Think about the people that are just getting out of bed.....or eating biscuits and gravy for breakfast.....yeah....we are the crazy one's".

So what kind of person are you? Are you a person that will put on numerous layers and head out to play in the snow? Are you the kind of person that will put just enough layers on to be warm...and then race for a few hours while your water bottles are freezing? I am....but not all the time. Only when I need to be.

Today I stayed indoors on a cold Michigan day. I still managed 90 minutes on the stationary trainer, but all I had to put on was a pair of shorts and a jersey. No extra clothing. In fact....I turned a fan on. Funny thing is...I was watching a video from a race last November that I was unable to attend. Iceman. I got sucked in and felt like I was in the race....only warm and cozy in my house.

In the coming weeks I will turn into the other kind of rider. I will brush the snow off my car and load my bike onto the rack. I will take a pile of clothes and drape them on my body. Balaclava, shoe covers, wool socks, wool jersey, neoprene gloves. And I ride. Whatever the distance it is cold when we get done. First thing you do is start the car and crank the heat. Then all of the clothes come off and you try to warm up your toes and fingers.

On the drive home I think about the ride....and just how crazy I may be. I will tell you this much.....the asylum I am part of has a lot of people in it.....and the only medicine we take is our bikes....with a huge dose of motivation and support.

What kind of person are you?

Sweatin' to the oldies

2012-01-24T21:02:00.000-08:00

Winter is the time of year when I hide indoors. I set up my trainer. I put a television in front of me. I pick out a movie. I spin. From talking with friends I know a lot of people that would rather poke their eyes out with a toothpick than spin on the trainer, or rollers, for an hour or more. I like it. I don't have to put on 4 layers of clothes, worry about my light being charged, and find thermal bottles so my water doesn't freeze. If I get too cold.....I turn off the fan.....or I pedal harder.

This year I am involved in two different accountability groups. One is focused on weight loss and general fitness. The other....well...these are the guys that want to punch me in the face when I eat Arby's for lunch. These two guys are both very fast racers and I am learning a lot from them. After talking to them for a few months the Rocky movies kept coming up. I decided to bite the bullet and purchase the box set of all 6 movies. The first one was made when I was 3 years old. Ha!

Anyway, I have been watching the series from the beginning. I find it easy to get amped up during the training and fight scenes. This evening was Rocky III. Rocky was fighting a character played by Mr. T.....his name is "Clubber" a brutal fighter. He beats the living hell out of Rocky in the first fight. On the trainer....my legs were tired....and there is Rocky getting pounded. The next fight....Rocky finds his mojo and fights like the boxer we all love. He is down and out....ready to quit. He stands up and fights for what he wants.......just like I am doing. Thanks for the recommendation guys.....

I am sweatin to the oldies.....how about you?

That New Bike Smell.....

2012-01-23T19:21:00.000-08:00

So....it has been about 3 years since I got a new bike. I got my Epic Expert off the show room floor from Cross Country Cycle in Holland. Great bike, on the verge of being out-dated, but only because it has 26" wheels. Speaking of wheels...being a heavier rider I have burned through a few rear wheels in my day. I blew bearings out of one while I was riding it....wheels wobbled right under me like a shiatzu machine. I have rebuilt a few sets with little success. Maybe I should actually learn how to do it. Anyway, I bought a nice set of wheels and rode them into the ground before spokes started breaking. I finally had enough and put out some feelers. The result is a really nice set of Mavic Crossmax SL's. Thanks to Mr. Boese on my team I will be riding the dirt in style!

Mavic Crossmax SL tubeless ready!!

The next thing on my list for this season was a road bike. I have always wanted one and after the Holland 100 last year I was really really wanting one. I had it narrowed down to two different bikes from Custer Cyclery (my awesome shop that I ride for!!). It came down to the Defy 1 and the Defy Composite 2. Basically the same bikes, but one carbon and the other not. I was waffeling for a few weeks and talking it over with my wife (who for the most part seemed dis-interested). I was talking to Dan, my shop owner, on facebook when my wife got home.....with this in the back of the car!!!

Giant Defy Composite 2

She made up my mind for me and brought me home this beautiful Defy Composite 2. Now I have two less excuses for this year. I cannot wait until this crappy weather breaks so I can get outside!

My first race is in about 8 weeks....so training rides out there on Barry-Roubaix will start probably in February.

Long Road ahead

2012-01-21T09:01:00.000-08:00

I started thinking about the 2012 racing season last night. I was spinning on the trainer at twenty-one miles per hour and watching Rocky II. I was not in a good mood. Not a good mood at all. The trainer was giving me the opportunity to blow some steam off. On a mountain bike...21 MPH is really fast for me. I generally average about15-16 on the trainer. So a full 5 mph faster is no joke. I was doing intervals of 5x2 max intensity with 2 minutes rest between them. So basically.....2 minutes full tilt....2 minutes rest.....2 minutes full tilt...ect. There are only 10 intervals total......so 20 minutes at MAX intensity. I watched as my average speed dropped off for each interval. I felt my power drop after each interval. I felt myself giving up.

Have you ever felt defeated? Have you ever just wanted to throw in the towel and give up? Have you ever felt like that and then decided to press on? I did that last night. I was ready to quit. Ready to get off the bike and go to bed. Ready to think about other things. I kept going......and all I was thinking about was the long road ahead....

I am on a very long journey. Sure, there are stops along the way....but if I stop for too long I might start missing where I came from. It would be easy to just turn around and head back to the safety and warm feeling of where we start from. The picture above shows a long and fairly flat road....but at the end of a long journey those small hills can fee like mountains. The further you are on your journey and the closer you are to your goal the easier these hills will be. You can see the end in sight, it's just over that next hill. Keep going. Keep moving. Some hills will kick your ass. Eventually you will be able to kick back. If you stop trying.....the hill will win and your journey will end. Just keep spinning.....

Motivation list

2012-01-04T18:48:00.000-08:00

Some might call it a race schedule...but I am calling it my "Motivation List". This will be my tentative race listing. Look for Zack, the Family and Me at these venues this year!

March 24th Barry Roubaix
April 22nd Yankee Springs TT
May 6th Fort Custer Stampede
June 10th Fort Custer Trench Race
June 16th Keweenaw Chain Drive (tentative)
June 23rd State Games of Michigan
July 14th Boyne Marathon
August 8th Maybury TT
September 23 Pando Challenge
Nov... Iceman

10 races is the goal for this year. Just be competitive and see what the Sport class is all about.

Mileage Goal 3000 miles.
Goal Weight 195 by end of the year. This is about 5.5 down per month......or 1.25 down a week from now until the end of the year. Done.

So...recap.

1. Complete 10 races in Sport
2. Ride 3000 miles.
3. Weigh 195 pounds.

Another year begins

2012-01-01T12:22:00.000-08:00

Time to start yet another chapter in this crazy book of life. It was a busy year for sure. Good times, bad times, happy times, sad times, and an injury on my knee....ha. However, the year did not end well...with the passing of Michelle's dad on December 27th. He is in a better place now, watching us from Heaven.

What does the next chapter have in store for us? We don't really know....but we take each step in the same way we did before....never knowing what the future holds for us. One thing I know for sure....I am setting some goals. Here they are:

1. Lose weight (I know this a reoccurring theme but it is still my main goal)
2. CORE strength. This will help in my overall cycling abilities.
3. Love the hills. If I do the first two on this list....this one will be a lot easier.
4. Go baby go. Making the jump to Sport this year will be an interesting one....but I have to remember to just KEEP GOING even though it hurts.

Nutshell. Happy New year everyone.

Edit: I went to the doctor for my knee and found out it is tendinitis. I have been stretching and the pain is gone! This may change when I start riding again, but I know how to counteract it.

The future is foggy....

2011-12-06T17:35:00.001-08:00

I am not sure what the future holds. It could be foggy....much like the picture below. I know the bridge has a beginning and an ending. I know there is safety on both sides of the bridge. What I don't know is what the picture shows......the connection between the beginning and the end. Right now I am at the beginning. Taking that first step towards the other side........

Mackinaw in the Fog

You see....there is this little problem with my right knee. I injured it running....or jumping on the trampoline....or for whatever reason. All I know is that the picture below shows the inside of a knee. I don't think it is the ACL or MCL. It hurts right where the patellar tendon connects to my tibia. Ouch.

Too skinny to be cyclists legs

So...that leaves some work for the people with knives. I want to get this thing fixed and get back to a healthy state. All I know for sure is that I will not gain any weight if I need surgery. I will continue to lose weight and progress towards being healthy. So....the guy with the knife might be the answer....or not....but I do have to sit down with him for a few minutes to try to get to the bottom of this.

Turkey Burner

2011-11-25T19:32:00.001-08:00

I managed to get out of bed this morning and head to Fort Custer for a Turkey Burner ride. I had full intentions of riding a full red loop and a full green loop. I managed to ride the red and the first part of the green. Legs were feeling like I was pulling a few bags of concrete behind me. For me.....10 miles was enough. I rode. I managed to get there on time and ride. I got to see a lot of my friends and then I came home. Not much else to say right now other than I am tired. Glad I rode and happy to burn some calories with my friends. Off season is in full effect. Don't know if I will ride outside anymore or not this year.....I would like to....but endurance is on the menu for at least the next month.

Thankful....

2011-11-24T16:34:00.001-08:00

I am thankful I woke up this morning.
I am thankful the sun came up this morning.
I am thankful my Dad made it home safely from Alaska.
I am thankful my Father-n-law was able to spend Thanksgiving with us.
I am thankful for my children.
I am thankful for my wife.
I am thankful I have a job.
I am thankful for friends.
I am thankful for mountain bikes.
I am thankful for kick-ass trails to ride.
I am thankful for a lot of things....and I am thankful year round....not just today. Being thankful is not a once a year deal....it should be an every day deal. Take a second every day to realize...no matter how bad things are going that they could always be worse. I have had friends, recently I might add, tell me that very thing. "things could always be worse". At that exact moment I really didn't think they could....but I am positive that they could be.....probably will be....and will eventually get better.

If you ride....slow down and appreciate the scenery. Ride the trail backwards. Ride in the dark. If you don't ride....look in the mirror every morning and understand that you have the opportunity to be thankful. I hear people complain about their job....but at least they have a job. I hear people complain about how dirty their house is.....but at least they have a house. I hear people complain about pain.....only to forget that pain tells us we are alive.

Then I hear people apologize for everything that they do. Stand up "sorry". Sit down..."sorry". Breathe "sorry". Just being sorry for everything that they do....or that is needed to be done for them. Frankly....we are thankful he is still here. Thankful for every day he wakes up. Thankful for every "nickle" that is traded between him and my daughters.

Thankful........how about you?

Weight....yeah...again

2011-11-20T08:49:00.001-08:00

I am tracking my weight again. I know I know. I need to really get the work done this time. I have some good accountability partners that are going to kick my ass if I falter again. I have a lot of incentive this time, because my lovely wife is trying to earn an incentive trip to a tropical location.....and I would feel uncomfortable on the beach being the size I am. So.....the next round of the fight starts with the scale. Here is how it starts:

Current weight: 263

Weigh-ins on every Monday.

I'm givin her all she's got capin.....

2011-11-19T19:26:00.001-08:00

Ever get that feeling that you just don't have any power on the bike. I got that feeling last weekend at Yankee Springs when I was trying to climb tiny little hills. I kept thinking......

and just kept plugging away. 3 months is a long time to be off the bike...and as far as singletrack...well....non-existant for nearly 4 months. The little rollers just feel like pure sand. Or maybe it is because I feel like this guy....

....

....I suppose I better get to work. My yankee ride with Brian, Dan, and Jay was not terrible...but it was slow. I lacked power in every climb...small or large....there might be a theme here. I love going down the hills...and I still felt fast at Yankee on the downhills...but the uphills were awful. All of the hills out there are long and just were taking the life out of me. But at least I wasnt riding this bike like Dan was....

These bikes weigh 30 something pounds but go like hell thru the sand and snow!

Needless to say.....I don't climb like this guy shown below.....but I was on the verge of loving climbing before my knee injury....not like my Uncle Cadel....but still.....

So it moves on to the ride today at Fort Custer. I was riding very well at Custer this year....managed a 5th. Today was a different story. Thank G-d bicycles have "granny gears" because I had to use them a few times.

The new re-routs were a lot of fun, but I did take a beating because I didn't have any power in my legs to hold myself up. I went from jamming up hills to using the smallest gears on the bike.....oh how fast the cookie crumbles.....

The good news is that I can still get it all back. I can be faster, lighter.....better. Buckle up.

Watching from the sidelines

2011-10-26T18:29:00.000-07:00

Iceman is in 10 days. I went from pure excitement as the season began to not even going. I keep getting the never pings about this race, because I keep getting notions of going, but then they pass and I get back to normal. I would not be going up there to win, but to challenge myself to my time from 2010. A time of 3:07:00 was way off of what I wanted to post last year, but cramping ended that battle with 9 miles to go.

This year was going to be different....then I injured my knee and effectively stopped riding. I also have a bike that is not 100%....so the combination is not good. I planned on coming into Iceman strong by doing Barry Roubaix training rides. Instead, I have a total of three rides since July. I went from a century ride in July to not riding at all in August, September, and barely in October.

I am standing on the sidelines now. Wondering what could have been for this year end event. What-if never got me anywhere....so I won't wonder what would have happened. I will just cheer for my friends and teammates and wish them luck. I won't be going to Traverse City, but I will be there inspirit.

Might be watching from the sidelines right now, but I will be back.....

What does a mountain biker look like?

2011-10-23T16:59:00.000-07:00

Over the past few months I have had more than one person ask me "are you really a cyclist?". At first it didn't really bother me because I am not built like a typical "fit" cyclist. I am about 70 pounds overweight and I look more like a person that sits on the couch and eats ice cream and donuts.

The first person saw my bike on the car and asked if it was mine. Really? Nope...I just drive around with it on the back of my car....here's your sign. The second walked up the same day and started asking me how much I ride. This was a few days after I did the Holland 100, so at that point....my response was "I just rode 104 miles last Saturday". The guy goes "Really?!?!?"......he would have been better served just blurting out "I don't f'king believe you".

So, a few weeks later I got another one. I was talking to a guy about dying my hair blue for Iceman last year and I explained that it was for a mountain bike race and the scrawny bastard looks me up and down and goes "really dude?" with a super unbelievable look.

My wheels started turning and I began to wonder what exactly a mountain biker, or a cyclist, actually look like. I am 6'1" and weigh 250 pounds. I have friends that are 6' and weigh 175 pounds. I have cycling friends that are 240, 160, 120, 260 pounds. I think we all look like cyclists. Maybe it is our helmets. Maybe our bikes. Off bikes we look like everyone else. We look like engineers, doctors, teachers, and managers. I guess maybe the spandex or cycling shoes set us apart from everyone else. I do wonder, what do professional football or baseball players look like in street clothes. I could see a place kicker or punter getting the "you are a professional football player???" question. I do know some people that look like football players, others that look like basketball players.

Moral of the story is....I asked them when they wanted to go ride so I could show them....not one of them took me up on the offer. I will continue to ride and be whatever size I am....continually proving that I can do what rail skinny people cannot. I will just do what I do and keep amazing people. Why.....because I am amazing.

Anyone have an idea?

2011-08-20T17:32:00.001-07:00

Well....my bike hangs in the garage without a rear wheel....and I sit here on the computer. I know this blog has been neglected in recent months and I don't really have any excuses other than a full time job, four kids, a wife, and many other empty reasons.

I would like some help thinking of ideas. What should I write about? There are maybe 3 people that actually read this, but I would like some ideas. My riding will be non-existant for the next week until I get to the doctor and have my knee checked out...so I think my first post (on Monday) will be about knee surgery recovery. Not that I am going to need surgery, but still good to see what steps might be needed for recovery right?

So...it is open. Bike review? Product reviews? Injuries? Photo journals?

Anyway.....let me know.

An open letter....

2011-08-16T16:27:00.001-07:00

First off, the blogs have been fairly quiet lately as I am sure everyone is out riding and squeezing every last second of excitement that they can out of summer. Myself, things have been rocky at best but I am plugging away. My last post explained how I applied to Trek and how I was rather excited. Today I got a friendly "not interested" in response to that application. I did ask them to elaborate as to how I was "not qualified" so hopefully they will respond and I will learn what I need to achieve a position with them.

Second, I tweaked my knee on the trampoline the other night. Wasn't feeling too bad today until I helped a co-worker lift a conveyor. Pain shot throughout my knee and I have a bag of frozen veggies on it as I type. After I got the denial from unnamed company the wheels got to turning. Maybe I should just tell everyone that I am looking with an open letter. Not to anyone in particular, but just to anyone willing to read....so here it goes.

Open letter:

To whom it may concern,

My name is Sean. I am 35 years old and I love cycling. I started as a mountain biker but have grown fond of road riding due to time constraints and trail availability. I don't ride as much as I would like, but I do my fair share. Four children keep me busy with each of their activities; however, my oldest races mountain bikes with me and my middle daughter keeps asking me to take her to a "real trail". I started riding over 10 years ago, but I had a very long period during which I never rode. I finally got started again about three years ago when the passion started to grow again.

As time has progressed I have always dreamed of working in the cycling industry. I would love to design, but I am also not picky. I recently sent resumes to numerous companies for positions that I am not qualified for, but you never know unless you try, right? Now the denials are starting to arrive and the dream is beginning to fade yet again. It makes me wonder....what do I have to do to get a job in the cycling industry? I ride. I love bikes. My wife tells me that I am intelligent. So I am in limbo again....not knowing what I need to do to find a job in the industry that I love so much.

I can learn. I can travel. I can test. I can do whatever you would like for me to do. It appears the only thing I cannot do is understand what it takes to land a position in the cycling industry. Somewhere in Wisconsin, California, or Colorado would be nice. Somewhere with some hills. Somewhere I could raise my children in a culture that promotes activity. We are a very active family and would need activity to keep us busy. I am really not picky, these are my only requests. I would like to pay my bills and ride my bike. Not too much to ask right?

Anybody out there that can help me out? Point me in the right direction? I need advice as to who I need to talk to. Advice on what I should know. Advice....plain and simple. I just want to be part of the industry that I love so much and will continue to love until my last breath. My dream is to die while bombing down a mountain somewhere....at age 85. Bury me with my bike....I don't care. I just need some advice as to how I can make this happen.

Keep the rubber side down,

Sean

......so.......if you can help me out........please do so.....

A glimmer of hope.....

2011-08-08T17:33:00.000-07:00

Anybody that reads this blog or knows me will know at least two things about me: 1: Family always comes first....2: I LOVE BIKES. That leads me to a much needed post on my blog. We haven't exactly had any good news, and I won't spill all that information here.....but I do have a glimmer of hope to tell you about.

I applied to a major bike company....and I am actually qualified for the position!!!!!\

I am super excited about the possibility of actually working for a company that makes the things I love 2nd most....behind my fam! I sent off my resume and the response I got, which everyone who applies gets, was that they will review and let me know in the next few weeks. I am super stoked about even the possibility. It would mean a move to another state, but it would be totally worth it.

On a more recent note.....I rode about 15 miles tonight.....hahaha

Holland 100....and 4

2011-07-17T10:17:00.000-07:00

Up early on Saturday morning to get Zack ready for work. Dropped him off, had a small bowl of cereal and started to get everything ready for my first century ride ever. Here is a timeline effect for you.....

4:45 alarm going off

5:15 Dropped Zack off

5:30 breakfast done....packing commences

6:30 Time to go to the start.

7:00 Arrive at start, getting ready to go

7:20 First pedal stroke with Chris, Terry, and Bruce

Now I need to switch to miles...because time was a blurr.

Pacing behind some people is nice. 100 miles is going to be easy if this keeps up. Never really drafted in a group so this will be interesting...as long as I can hang on. Pace is perfect and I am doing good.

5 miles......take a drink....go to put the bottle back in....jack the handlebars and drop the bottle. Turn around......pick it up.....group gone.

Mile 5-30 went by pretty quick. I was trying to catch the group again but not going super hard. I caught a group that was doing a decent pace and dropped in behind them for about 7-8 miles until the second break area, Pancake breakfast. Found Chris, Bruce and Terry and after getting some food and refilling the bottles headed out again.

I was still doing okay, but the group got split up and I got spit out the back on a climb. Pushed really hard to catch them....when I did.....the road kicked uphill again and I promptly got spit off the back. Next aid station was at 47 miles. Refilled the bottles...and hooked up with the group again. It was awesome for about 10 miles. Just cruising along and enjoying the break. I was feeling pretty good....but I was reaching my "longest ride ever" point.

The next aid station was not for 39 miles. And once the group when up a climb I got dumped again and was riding solo. I found a few other people to ride with and just drafted for a few minutes then moved on. I was in my own pace and didn't want to try to match someone else. I finally see Chelle with Izzy and Zoe about 70 miles in. I was happy to see them and get some encouragement from the family. Stopped at the rest area, chamois cream applied, sandwich thingy, filled bottles, fruit, gel, off we go.

I pretty much rode by myself for the last 20-30 miles after the aid station.

80 miles.....20 to go...keep going.....

90 miles.....10 to go....it is getting warm....keep going......

100 miles.....I am done!!!! Wait....I am still 4 miles from the car. thankfully a couple passed me and I drop in behind them and draft for about 3 miles. Right when I needed it most. The heat was starting to radiate off of the roads and I was totally out of gas.

104.08 miles. Done. Glad to be off the bike. Total time was only 6:48:56 for my first ever century. My saddle time was 6:05:37 for a riding average of 17.1 mph on a borrowed road bike. This will surely not be my last because it was a lot of fun. Next time I would like to have a group to ride with that I can hang with on the climbs because I think it will be more fun. I do enjoy suffering alone....but being pulled along at 20 mph is always better ;)

Time flies.....

2011-07-14T09:34:00.000-07:00

It has been nearly a year since we lost my brother-n-law. I am planning the "1st annual remember Big Timmy ride" on Monday the 18th to start the celebration of his life. As such, I want you to read the following and just take it in. The story of how I started riding in letter form to Tim.

Dear Tim,

Do you remember that hot summer day at Pioneer Park? The kids were ripping thru the woods and hitting that little dirt jump. We ended up going to Meijer and buying two of the coolest bikes ever.....those red Mongoose bikes with the shock seat posts that never worked. We brought them back and promptly started to destroy them on that little dirt jump.

About a week later you came home with brochures for Trek and started to hunt a "real" bike. I took a different path and headed to Cross Country Cycle where I was introduced to Specialized. Time went on and we kept riding the Mongooses....but not much because they were junk....let's be honest. Eventually we convinced our wives, with the help of a shop mechanic, that there was indeed a difference in the bikes and that we needed to spend some money. You came home with that shiny black and red Trek 4500 and I got a great deal on a Schwinn Moab 3. We went out to Pentwater pathway on our first actual rides. You found that trail in your enormous Michigan trail atlas that you had bought earlier in the year. I fell completely in love with riding after about 3 minutes on my new bike. You did too if I remember correctly.

A month later you handed me a brochure for a little race called "Iceman Cometh". We figured why not and signed up for this race that was held rain, snow, or shine. Fun was not really what we had during that race. We didn't know what the hell we were doing....we were just riding along pounding at the pedals. The discussions however started on the way home about how we would train for next year....

We never raced it again together, but we did to the Fort Custer TT where you took 4th. We were all very proud of you for your efforts....even though you felt like you didn't deserve it. It was later that year that you scared me, and yourself, really bad. You did a super-endo over that log. No damage to your bike, but you had a black eye, stitches, and a concussion to deal with. I could tell your courage left you after that crash.....and you were never really the same on the bike.

Time went on though....and even though you stopped riding you still had an intense interest in how I was riding and the newest products to hit the market. I want to thank you again for sparking the interest that I have now for bikes....and for taking me out of my comfort zone to try a race. I owe you indefinitely.

Just wanted to remind you about how all of this got started in the first place. I also want to let you know that we miss you. Your family, your mom, your daughters, your sister, your nieces and nephews, and myself. We are going to celebrate the life you had....and how you made us all laugh. And I am doing this silly ride for you on Monday. Gonna share some silly stories and a little of our history. Thanks for watching over us.....it is appreciated.

Your brother,

Sean

After reading this I want everyone who reads it to think about the person that got them started riding or gave them excellent advice about bikes. Find them.....and thank them......because you may not get another chance......

Boyne Marathon

2011-07-11T17:44:00.000-07:00

Last year this race was awful. The race this year was better....but the course was still brutal. I drove up Friday night and camped in Glen and Ali's yard. Slept like a rock! Woke up before the alarm and took the tent down. Loaded the bike back up and headed up to Boyne.

9:00am: arrival, got butterflies when I saw the ski hill on the way in.

9:15am: get registered and start looking around for everyone I know. Head to the car to change, line at the bathroom too long...as usual.

9:30am: head out to warm up. Warren rode up and we did a quick out and back while discussing his knee issues. It held up for him and I believe he took 3rd.

10:00am Expert riders start....Talking to Dave....trying to figure out how many in my class....

10:10 (or so) Brent calls up the old (not sure on age group) beginners and then the cyldes. We step to the start line and I am guaranteed podium. Only 3 of us. Brian, who is faster than me, Dave, and myself. Dave and I are evenly matched so I knew it was going to be a fun day!

Time goes out the window now. The start was slow. We just formed a line and started down the trail. There was very little separation until the first climb. When Dave and I got to the top we both knew it was going to be a long day.

Second climb......struggle. Third climb.....struggle. Get the picture? Here is where I started to think back to last year. Were the climbs really this hard? Were there really no flats? Begging for a downhill I trudged onward and upward. Eventually reaching the paved cart path. Climbing legs be my friend. My road riding paid off a little here as I was able to spin the cart path to the top. Not fast...but still made it. On my way down the back side of the ski hill I saw Dave on the cart path. At least I think it was him.

Now the downhill. Wanting to rock it...but unable to. Too tight, technical, tough. I did well....just staying upright. Some people were crashing and we ran down one section because it was so steep and nasty. Onto the flat, I paced a guy back to finish area and headed out for my second lap. Danielle thankfully handed me another bottle and off I went for lap two....comfortably in second. Brian was long gone.

Lap two....well....it sucked. I was out of gas and the climbs just kept coming. Then I heard Jon....COME ON SEAN.....he was on his third lap just ripping along. I pounded my last two gels and just kept going.....thinking that Dave was gaining the whole time.

I got to the last downhill and just let it go. Go....speed. As fast as I could go without crashing. Cleared the steep section and was feeling fairly confident. Got to the last flat section and gave it all I had left. Crossed the finish line for my highest place ever....a hard earned 2nd. Dave had to abandon because he wasn't feeling well. I feel bad about that because we have a nice competition going on!

2nd. Doesn't matter if there were only 3 of us......only 3 of us were brave (or stupid) enough to do this damn race.

Next up.....Holland 100.....what have I gotten myself in to?

1/2 Century....with some needed support

2011-06-18T15:39:00.000-07:00

Can you bring me a powerbar and a bottle of water.....

These were the words I used on the phone when I called home. I will get to that in a minute...but I want to talk about the events leading up to that..

I had a big bowl of frosted mini-wheat's for breakfast. They were the maple style and are very good. I was planning on riding a half century today and I knew I would need a big breakfast. I loaded up two bottles and headed out for the ride. I rode this route one time last year and I knew the roads...so out towards Lake Michigan I went. I was feeling pretty good and I was just at cruising speed. No records need to be set today. I noticed that I was cruising along at 18-19 mph pretty easily....which meant only one thing......tailwind. I started to wonder how terrible it was going to be on the way home...with a head wind.

The first 25 miles were sweet. No problems. I got to the lake and headed south....looking for a place where I would stop at the beach. I couldn't find one. I never considered looking at the map before I left.....but at any rate....the ride started to get hard here. The south turn put me into the wind a little. It felt like forever before I saw the road to turn back home...but there it was. I rode about 5 more miles before I had to call home. I was riding into the wind and I was running out of gas. With 20 miles to go I knew I needed assistance...and I never ride with money. So the call went out....

I kept riding and Chelle met up with me with about 13 miles to go. I stopped and slammed the power bar and took the water from her. She caught me a little while later and gave me more water too....which was much needed!

The last 5 miles were awful. I have not ridden over 35 miles this year and I surely was feeling it. I finished with 50.80 miles. My average speed dipped below 15 mph because of the stops that I did, but my moving average was still 15.7 mph.

Good ride for my birthday and Father's day. Hope everyone I know had a good Lumberjack today.

Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there on Sunday!

Fort Custer TT Recap

2011-06-12T17:27:00.000-07:00

This was today...and is fresh in my mind....so I need to get it out!

My original plan was to attend the TT but not to race. I wanted to, but finances..yada yada. So about Friday I get a message from Jon telling me to get ahold of a teammate that had a free entry. I wanted to race, but I was still hesitant because I haven't been riding much. I took it.

As usual...there was not a lot of people at the Fort. The turnout is rather disappointing actually. I was more hopeful actually that I would be able to do better because of the low turnout. I was right. I lined up at the start and was very relaxed. I had no pressure because I was just racing for fun. I lined up next to another guy for the start of the TT....and I never saw him again. The difference......I was in the lead....by a lot. As I reached the trail towards the red loop Dan T. came up (during his warmup) and rode with me for a few minutes. "Don't do anything stupid" were his last words of encouragement.

I know I started fast...and it took some time for me to find my rhythm. Heart rate was very high but I just kept plugging along. I got passed by quite a few people, but that is expected in a TT. I did have to walk a few of the hills....like the last part of the switchback on the Green......and a few others that I just didn't have the gas for. Amazing what a month off does. Lost what climbing power I did have!

I finished as strong as I could. My goal was 1:30:00...and I finished in 1:34 and some change. Not a bad finish overall. I took DFL in Beginner Clyde.....but it was good enough for 3rd place. I was only 16 seconds off of second.....not bad....not bad at all.

This race did stirr up some memories too. Many years ago my brother-n-law and I raced the Fort Custer TT. If memory serves me correctly this was the last race we ever did together. I remember he took 4th place that year. Out of 5. He shrugged his shoulders and said that he didn't deserve the award. The guy he beat told him good job and that he definitely deserved it.

He deserved it.....

It wasn't all good though......because seeing this particular area of Custer brought back memories of a lost friend. A lost brother. A lost family member. I believe he was looking out for me today. This one was for you Timmy. Thank you again for the many memories and getting me into this crazy sport to begin with. We miss you.

Rebuilding Part #1

2011-06-11T07:05:00.000-07:00

Since the Fort Custer Stampede things have been very chaotic. I changed jobs in the middle of April and my stress level has gone thru the roof. Not because of the job, but because of all of the little things just adding up. During this rise of stress level my riding was zero. As a matter of fact, I only had 27 miles in the saddle for the entire month of May. Not good. I was down.....and not wanting to do anything.

A good friend of mine was witnessing my struggles and put things into perspective for me. Suck it up. He said it nicer than that, and he took the time to understand why I was being the way I was being, but then he got me back on track. It took me another week or so....but then the rebuilding began.

I got out my bike and rode 14 miles a week before Memorial Day. Then another week break. Dan S. and I rode 14 miles on Memorial Day and I was starting to get the spark back. Finally the following Saturday I got out for 18 miles on the road. Took Sunday off and smashed 34 miles on Monday. Another 34 miles on Thursday. So...in each of my last two rides I have ridden more than I did in May.

Because of the high stress and low riding levels I gained some weight back. I am back on track this week and I plan to stay there.

So why the rebuilding? Well.....after not riding and eating like crap for a month I am tired. I am tired of feeling drug down. Tired of allowing myself to think the way that I was thinking. So I am starting over....again. Rebuilding my confidence, my weight loss totals, my mileage, my demeanor. I was told that the only way to get better at racing is to race more. Finances just are not allowing that right now. But, having friends that have friends that cannot use entries is another story. I will be racing the Fort Custer TT tomorrow. This is the race where I got my first award. last year. Trained up. Lighter.

I will go into the race very rested. Ready to do what I can to. Rebuilding what I worked on last year. Lets go.....

Why do I feel like I should be somewhere......

2011-05-02T17:54:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was a beautiful day for racing the Fort Custer Stampede. Sun was shining and temps were perfect for me.....high 60's/low 70's. I decided to go warm up and headed out for a spin up. I had about 15 minutes....plenty of time. When I turned around to head back to the start line I felt a little bouncy. My rear tire was going flat. I stopped to put some air into it...and failed. I was a lot further away from the start than I had planned.....like 1/2 mile. So....I kept trying and finally just jumped back on because I was going to miss my start. I finally gave in and stopped. Ripped the tube out and was getting ready to pump when a car pulled up and asked if I needed anything. FLOOR PUMP! Thankfully he had one and was eager to help. He pumped up the tire and I flew to the start....heart racing. While changing the tube I heard the start horn more than once. I knew I was going to miss my wave.......

When I did get to the start line I was almost 4 minutes late.....Zack's wave (wave 9) was starting and I was in wave 5. 4 minutes.....behind.....right off the bat. SUCK. My racing rival and I had planned on podium before the race started.....and he left without me.....dang.

I stopped thinking....and just went. I started catching people right away. I am not the strongest passer...and I know it burns more energy to pass....but I had to. This was supposed to be my race....my podium......4 minutes......

Heart rate was maxed......what seemed like forever. I knew I had to just keep going because I was so far behind. I know the course well enough to that I had an idea of what my final time would be....and even 4 minutes should not hurt me too bad. About 4 miles in I caught my first co-clyde. He was struggling....and I was in rhythm.... (side note: there were only 6 pre-reg in my class....so I was guessing that I was in top 7-8 at this point...with work to do)

I passed what I thought were two more in my class and I was sure I was top 5 now. I kept pushing on....but then I got hung up with a train. There was nowhere to pass and about 10 people in front of me. I am sure I lost at least a minute here....but I was running low on energy and I wanted to save it for the last mile. Finally....an opening....and I shot thru passing about 4 people....then a few more....then I was alone. Head down.....hard as I could. Hi Chelle! Head back down to the finish. 0:59:11 roughly 10 minutes slower than I wanted to finish. Good enough for 5th place though.

So....I will take it. If I had the same time while starting with the correct group I would have been in 4th. Had I started with the group....I would have been able to keep them in sight and maybe done better.....but I will take my 5th! First top 5 in the CPS. More to come!

Yankee.....bad.

2011-04-18T17:38:00.000-07:00

So....I was hoping for a good result at the Yankee Springs TT on Sunday. I did a training ride on Wednesday and I was only about 3 minutes slower than last years race time. That gave me a pretty good boost of confidence that was much needed. I was confident at the start. Ready. Set. Go. Uh-oh. About 2 miles in I started to wonder why I was feeling terrible. Those two miles went by pretty good.....too good....because I must have started to fast. Maybe the temps in the low 40's didn't help. The next 9 miles were not good...not good at all. I just kept my wheels turning as fast as I could...which was really slow. When my rivals caught me.....I got really pissed.....but there was nothing I could do but watch them ride away. I finished......11th place. Not a DFL....but close. I was 8 minutes slower than my race time last year....and over 5 minutes slower than my training ride on Wednesday. Maybe it was the cold....maybe it was lack of training....maybe it was a long list of excuses. All I know is that I have lots of work to do before Fort Custer....because that will NOT happen again. I should be a top 5 contender every week......not struggling to avoid being last. I just need to train better...and remember to have fun. That is when I did better....smiling and having fun. This was only one race....not the season.

Awesome, fail, acceptance

2011-04-05T18:09:00.000-07:00

I headed to Fort Custer this evening. It was to be the first ride on singletrack for the year. A group of us started down the red loop and the pace was immediately fast....but I was trying to hang on. Probably not a great idea considering my handling skills were rusty...but at any rate I didn't crash. I hung tough until the switchback climb and then felt like I was dying by Granny's Garden.....yes....2 miles into the ride. Brian waited for me...and we headed into Granny's Garden. It was then that I started to hear a rubbing noise. I stopped.....spun the wheel and a spoke broke right off. Damn. So, I looked closer and realized that I had two broken spokes. I was very disappointed because I was ready to ride. The first two miles were sweet. Then I came to the realization that my ride was over. The short ride back to the car was actually pretty good. I got my heart rate back to a reasonable level and then just pedalled. It was a nice short ride. My acceptance came on the way home. I just need to get the wheel fixed.....and go again. No biggie right?

Official Schedule 2011

2011-03-30T16:59:00.000-07:00

The racing season has already started...but I never posted a schedule. So here we go.... April 17th Yankee Springs Time Trial (A RACE) May 1st Fort Custer Stampede (A RACE) May 7th Mud Sweat and Beers (C race) June 5th Hanson Hills Challenge (probably not going) June 12th Fort Custer Time Trial (B Race...gotta defend my 4th place last year) June 25th State Games of Michigan (B race) July 9th Boyne Marathon (A Race....redemption needed) July 24th Stoney Creek Time Trial (probably not going) July 31st Mid-State Poker Run (not a race....but on the schedule none the less) August 20th Maybury Time Trial (B Race) September 11th Addison Oaks XC (probably not going) September 25th Pando XC (B Race....might race sport if I have overall award already) October 15th Peak 2 Peak (C Race...Iceman training) November 5th Iceman (B Race) That is it in a nutshell. Zack and I are signed up for Yankee, Custer, and The State Games. I am already signed up for Mud Sweat & Beers, Peak 2 Peak, and Iceman. We will definitely do at least 5 of the MMBA CPS races and shoot for overall awards. With Barry Roubaix already done it and Yankee on the horizon I know I have work to do. Gotta get out and RIDE. See you on the trails!

Barry Roubaix....let the season begin

2011-03-29T16:51:00.000-07:00

The 2011 season started with a cold....cold...day. It was about 18 degrees at the start....but it was sunny. I lined up at the start towards the rear of the wave. I know that this is the kind of start where people take off like mad and I didn't want to get caught in the scramble. The start was just as I suspected. By the time I got to the road I was nearly spit out the back of the pack. Knowing that the race was 35 miles I didn't want to blow up in the first flat section. Eventually I managed to hook onto a wheel and keep pace with a smaller group. The turn to Sager Road was where the real fun began. The first hill had people walking. Sager was in good shape because it was frozen and there were good lines to follow. After Sager I tried to find some people to ride with...but everyone was just smoking past me. The later waves were coming full force and I reminded myself to just ride my own pace. Eventually people started to slow down and I caught a few here or there. The split where the 23 mile loop turned opposite the 35 mile loop was where the traffic dropped. I turned onto the 35 mile loop and saw some people ahead of me. Just keep plugging away. I was well above my planned average speed by now...so I was feeling good. Eventually I stopped getting passed...because everyone was settled into their own grooves. There are three hills that just about murder people. Small, medium and large. The sisters as my teammates lovingly call them. At the bottom the third sister a family was blasting "Eye of the Tiger" out of their yard. The family was standing there cheering everyone one. Cool to see the locals be happy that 100's of people were zipping by their driveway. The third sister is just a monster. Seems like it goes on forever....but I just dropped into Granny and spin away. Its fun to pass skinny people on their cross bikes....walking....or stopped on the side of the trail. Numerous on this hill....and more to come. I started to gain on people. One at a time I would close gaps and leave people behind. They were running out of gas and I was just plugging away....keeping my pace even. Chelle and Zack were driving by and ringing the cowbell. It was cool that they could be right there to see what I was actually riding up and down and around. Put a new perspective on things for them. The last roughly seven miles are paved. I passed a lot of people on that last stretch. I was shooting for a time of 2:45:00 and I knew I was going to be close. I had a post here about defining what kind of rider I wanted to be. I remembered that as I was making the last long grinding climb. I was defining who I was as a rider. I was going as hard as I could with what I had left in the tank. I crossed the line in 2:49:56 less than 5 minutes off of my goal time. First race in the books....now you have the perspective of a "slower" rider. ;)

What kind of rider?

2011-02-15T18:37:00.000-08:00

Saturday as I was watching my riding companions crest the hill ahead of me and disappear I started thinking "Who do I want to be as a rider....what kind of rider do I want to be?" I was having one of those moments where I was feeling good about the ride until that hill. It just would not end....and my body was fighting my mind. My mind was losing the battle....the body was just trying to quit....and my mind was allowing the behavior.

Right here.....I made a decision to figure out what kind of rider I would be. I truly believe that I have the necessary skill set and endurance to race at the Sport level. What I lack is mental toughness and speed. The good news? Both of these can be acquired.

Towards the end of last year I really started to see what it was like to buckle down for an entire race. At Maybury I was feeling good....and my ego got flattened when a fellow Clyde stomped me on a climb. I wished him good luck and pressed on. I finished strong on a greasy course that I didn't know....and kept pushing as hard as I could. The next day, I pointed my Epic down the green trail at Fort Custer and let it rip....for 15 miles....never let up....go go go. After that race....I stood in 4th place. I decided at that point that I would try to continue this trend....of mental toughness.

I hear the voice telling me "you can't" long before my legs ever get tired. I refuse to be that kind of rider. I am going to have the inner voice that says "is that all you got" when my legs get tired...and my next response will be "shut up legs" and I will continue. This happened on Saturday a little. Watching the riders disappear pissed me off, but I kept slugging on. When I got to the top of the hill I changed into the big ring and hammered down the next hill....barely pedalling up the next hill....and rolled down the next. That is the kind of rider I want to be.....the one that never gives up and keeps pressing on.....all the time asking my body for more than I should.....and smiling about it......

Getting on track....

2011-01-19T19:02:00.000-08:00

Get on track. From the picture above you can see that there are a lot of choices. Left takes a path, right takes a path....and each of those paths offer more choices. In the end, it is us to me to make a decision and hope that the right switch gets thrown....and I stay on track.

...but what if the choice is like the picture above. No clear choice. The tracks are defined by what they are....solid and unforgiving. If two trains end up on the same track heading different directions.....nothing good happens. People can get hurt or more time can be lost trying to figure out a solution. So...we pick a path and hope for the best.

When you see this picture what do you think of? A single set of rails headed thru the woods. An Amtrack train would never be seen on this type of track. Only a slower train would grace this set of tracks with a slow and determined trip. Life is not a sprint, its a marathon....or a stage race. We choose a track....and set forth on our journey. There are times when the tracks need to be repaired....or a bridge seems unsafe. We press forward.....one small step at a time.....on a single track.

See....life is always about mountain biking......

Discipline

2011-01-11T18:55:00.000-08:00

I was thinking about this word on my way home from work today. I hear my friends talking about how much they are working out, or how little they are eating....and I just kinda shrug my shoulders with a feeling of laziness. I think it comes down to simple discipline.....or LACK of discipline. I like food. I like to ride, but would rather sit and watch television. I know that I have a race coming in about 10 weeks and I really want to be ready for it, but I just don't like winter. I want to curl up in a ball and just be lazy.

My master is so mad that he doesn't even have anything to say about it. Always what cannot be done.

So....here is a the lighter side of the force.

I need to get disciplined....and fast. I don't have very much time until the 2011 race season starts. Maybe if I use the force.....

Operation: SHOCK and AWE

2011-01-05T15:25:00.000-08:00

I realize it has been a while....but I have a good excuse....but it is an excuse...and I will not give it to you....so....just read on.

My plan is to shock some people this spring. I am not in hiding, but I am also not going out of my way to visit with teammates and fellow riders. I am just hiding out in my house, working towards getting fit. In the spring....I want people to say "Holy shit....you lost a ton of weight" or "wow, you look good dude". That kind of thing. So....I will be on the bike......on the exercise ball....and on my feet.....attempting to kick my ass. Have you ever seen a person kick their own ass? It is pretty amazing.

I have had a bad few weeks. Not really doing a whole lot of anything. Just kinda floating along. I am finding some focus and I am planning on keeping the focus. The 2011 race season is quickly approaching...even though the snow is flying.

I will beat my ass today....to kick yours tomorrow~~Sufferfest

Time to get to work.

The Affair Part 2

2010-12-24T06:11:00.000-08:00

You might want to read PART 1 first to understand what this is truly about.....

Part 2 should have happened a long time ago. Part 1 took place many months ago in May. My affinity for the number 250 has long dwindled, and I was totally into 239. The problem was....239 just was not as interested as I hoped. We flirted a few times. I would approach the number with plans on asking it out within a week, but then some other numbers would call and we would hang out. Stress was surely a factor in my decision on what number to hang out with. When I get stressed I find it easier to hang out with the comfortable numbers.....sometimes even the 245's and 247's. We had good times....so why not right?

Today though.....I got a visit. When I woke up 239 had left me a present. Christmas present maybe, but FINALLY....I was being approached by 239. Just look at the number.....its curves....240 is kinda blocky and round....but 239.....man......

Eh hem. Anyway, I am thinking that 239 and I will hang out for a while. I might even get to hang out with 239's friends.....235, 232, and 229. I have heard that a lot of people are friends with 229....but I am looking for relationships. Short meaningFULL relationships. Maybe if 229 sees this I might have a chance. For now, I will enjoy my time with 239 and part ways with 240.

Note to 240: I have enjoyed our time together, but please understand that I need to move on. Maybe you can hang out with 250 and say bad things about me like 260 and 270 have. I will have moments of weakness, but I will do my best not to call you. I have moved on to better numbers.....better for me......maybe you will find someone else to be happy (or miserable) with. Please don't call......I would hate to have to explain this to you again.....

Merry Christmas everyone!!!

Decisions.....decisions.....

2010-11-27T16:17:00.001-08:00

Every year we are faced with many decisions. Next season I will be faced with a decision as to what category to race in. This year I raced Beginner Clydesdale. I did nine races this year. This is how I fared:

Yankee Springs 8th
Fort Custer XC 6th
Bloomer XC 6th
State Games of Michigan XC 6th
Boyne Marathon 6th
Maybury XC 9th
Fort Custer TT 4th
Iceman 46th

I did finish 5th overall in the MMBA Championship point series....but I never had a top 5 and the class was generally fairly small. I did what I had to do to get an overall award...but I am torn. I don't really want to move to Sport and get my ass handed to me week after week....but I don't really want to race Beginner Clyde again. So here are my choices

1. Race Beginner Clyde again and stomp some ass.
2. Get my weight down around 200 lbs and race Beginner Men.
3. Move to Sport Clyde if I don't get all the weight off.

My decision will be easier to make as the season approaches. I just don't feel like I am ready to make the jump to Sport......but I don't want to be in the same class again this year either....especially after taking an overall award......but....I never took a top 5 in the series....and the cycle continues.

What do you think?

Post Thanksgiving....

2010-11-26T08:56:00.001-08:00

Since I have started to buckle down again (and actually be serious this time) with my calorie intake....I knew Thanksgiving day was going to be difficult. There is always so much food and lots of desserts to choose from. With my official weigh-in day being Friday, Thanksgiving will always fall on a bad day. This year I am more focused. I got up and ate a bagel for breakfast. I didn't eat anything for lunch because we were having Thanksgiving dinner around 2pm. I picked up my plate and started to worry about what I was getting. I got the following:

Mashed potatoes and gravy
Turkey
Cheesy Veggies
Plain veggies to mix with the cheesy veggies
Deviled eggs.....4 halves (not all at once)
3 tiny biscuits
Taco salad

Dessert....1 piece pumpkin pie with whip cream

Writing it out it looks like more than what I thought. I did do my best to add up the calories last night....and then I got on the bike for an hour. I am confident that I balanced out my calories for the day. I even guessed pushed the calories higher if I wasn't sure on how much I ate.

Overall, I had one plate of food. I did have a small scoop of taco salad later in the evening as my dinner...lol. Lots of water.

So....I weighed in today. How did I do? Well. I lost another 3 pounds this week. I am once again knocking on the door of 239. If I keep it up, next week will be the Affair Part 2. It has been a long time coming......

(for the affair part 1 CLICK HERE) Dang....this was way back in May. I didn't really have a great year for weight loss this year.....

My apologies.....

2010-11-18T18:12:00.000-08:00

I figured out today that I have had many comments on my blog. To those of you who have posted regularly....I apologize. I must be dumb or something....because I didnt realize that I was even being posted......just thought everyone was reading and not leaving comments.

Again....I can be kinda dumb.....so....keep posting....and I will respond this time....I promise....it only took me a year to figure it out.

November.....new plan

2010-11-15T16:31:00.001-08:00

Ok...this season of racing is over. How did I do? Well....not bad if I say so myself. I took 5th overall in the MMBA CPS and I hit the podium once with a 4th place finish in the Fort Custer Time Trial. I managed to race Iceman and did okay...considering the cramps. But....I have been doing a lot of thinking lately about next season. The 2011 season is quickly approaching with the first race being Barry Roubaix....followed quickly by Yankee Springs TT and Fort Custer XC in the following weeks.

So...I need to make a decision right now. This year I did lose nearly 30 pounds. Not bad, but as it is right now I am only 25 down from last January. Stress, work, yada yada. Excuses.

The plan....Intervals on the bike....core training and Tae-bo off the bike. The focus is building core strength and dropping weight. This means counting calories and working hard to keep focused. Mixing up workouts and eating better are my main goals. I know the weight will come off....just need to get to work.

The calorie counting thing went well today. I have 600 or so left....but I will not use them. I just need to keep plugging away. 30 more pounds this year and I will be like lightning on the bike.

Iceman 2010

2010-11-13T05:54:00.000-08:00

Saying a quick prayer to the Iceman before leaving (note....no snow)

The weather report changed dramatically in the days leading up to the 2010 Iceman Cometh. 10 days out the weather was calling for mid 40's and sunny. By three days before the forecast called for snow. Two days before....it was snowing. Being who I am....I planned for the weather to be cold....and crappy. It was very cold....22 at the start....but it was sunny...so that made up for it being cold...sorta.

Its going to be how cold in the morning???

Yes....it was an Iceman this year....

As you can see from the picture above....there was some snow. I stayed warm though....my toes were the only things that got cold....but not too bad. The race started good. I really liked how Iceman created the waves so that all of the riders were riding basically the same speed. I was just cruising for the first few miles....and then the fun began. I was hanging with the larger part of the group. Just keeping them in sight. I would close the gap on the single track areas, and then they would pull away again. I stayed with the main part of the group for the first 10 miles or so and then everyone was in their rhythms and own paces. There was not nearly as much climbing as I had planned on (or remembered from previous races)....or maybe all of the training rides I did really helped.

Coming up to Williamsburg Road

When I passed Williamsburg Road I was feeling pretty good. I got two new bottles and headed back out for the rest of the race. I think I had about 10 miles to go at this point. Feeling good...right on the pace that I wanted. Problems set in shortly after. I started to cramp with about 8 miles to go. I stopped and stretched for a minute and started drinking a lot more. Feeling okay....I pressed on. The problem came with about 4 miles to go. There is a long climb and I had to get off and walk. Both of my legs (quads) started pulling and I was in trouble. I stopped at the top of the hill and stretched for what seemed like an eternity. It was probably 5 minutes or so....but a lot of people passed....and I was soooooo close to the end.

Glad to be done...

I did finish. The picture above pretty much shows how I was feeling. I missed my goal time, but I still had fun even with the cramping. This race has a way of being fun even while bringing the pain. I placed right in the middle of my class. I had an experience I have never had before....and never wish to have again (cramps). Below is a time card of my finish.

One more thing.....I met Gary Fisher. Interesting guy. He was here for his 60th birthday. I kicked his ass in time......Yes....I beat Gary Fisher in a mountain bike race. Just cool to say that I even raced with him.....hahahaha.

Mr. Gary Fisher

Where did the focus go?

2010-11-01T20:29:00.001-07:00

I don't know....but I am starting to line up the sights again on the last race of the season. The weather report for November 6th looks cold. Highs in the low 40's. It will be cold....but I am still banking on it being fun. The Iceman is going to be closer to 29 miles this year. I start in the 21st wave....about 1600 people will have already started by the time I go. The path should be beaten in. Hopefully I will pass a few people....and I am sure I will be passed by a few people. I am going in with a goal time and a positive attitude. Just finish. I know I won't win....the class formation (or lack of beginner, sport, expert classes) will ensure that my goal of a top 10 will not happen. Oh well, just race against the clock and the few people that I can compete with.

GO BABY GO. My goal time was going to be between 2:15 and 2:30. My official goal is still 2:30...but I will accept anything less than 2:43.....my fastest time in any Iceman. It was a long time ago....and I need to raise the bar just a little bit more.

Nice and easy spinning this week just to keep the legs moving is the plan. Good luck to everyone that is racing. Drive safe. Have fun. Repeat.

13 days to go.....

2010-10-24T18:31:00.000-07:00

Today was warm. I mean....70's warm. I arrived at the Long Lake Outdoor Center completely over dressed. It was already in the 50's and I kept teetering as to whether I should wear my jacket or not. I tossed it into the car and rode around for a minute. No jacket required. There was a larger group today. Dan, Cathy, Pat, Lisa, Dan, Mike and a few that I don't know. Also Jon drove down from the Lansing area to ride with us. We headed off....and the suffering began.

35 miles in the hills of Barry County. Pain. I felt terrible on the bike today. But in typical fashion....I just kept going. Tompkins told me that I needed to stay with him on the next hill. He is on a SS and the hill gets fairly steep. I stayed with him until the half way mark and.....felt like I was going to die. I was spinning like crazy.....and I wanted to keep going....but I just didn't. Not sure....guess I didn't want to pass out....lol.

More towards the end of the ride I really started to doubt myself. I was letting the thoughts creep in and tell me that I should not be out there. I was fighting an interior fight. My mind was trying to get my body to shut down. I fought off the thoughts and finished as strong as I could. It was beautiful day to be out on my bike. Friends all around. Lots of hills.

In 13 days I will be as ready as I can be for the Iceman race. The route we rode today will do nothing but help me get to the end faster!

Moving on....

2010-10-18T18:53:00.000-07:00

Sunday.....Barry Roubaix.....34+ miles.....a long time on the bike.

It was in the high 30's again this past Sunday. Small crowd because almost everyone was racing Peak 2 Peak. A grand total of three of us rolled out of the parking lot. I was fairly warm before we started rolling. I had on my starter pants, my shorts, my jersey with arm warmers and a jacket over the top. The jacket was mainly to cut down on wind so I didn't freeze to death. About three or four miles in I told Dan that my bike was feeling really heavy. Heavy like it has two flat tires and was full of lead heavy. My legs were just not getting any blood...at least that is what it felt like. After a two track section we stopped for a second so Brian could adjust his seat height. That 30 seconds was enough for me to gather myself and continue onward.

The next 20 miles were fairly uneventful. The weather warmed up enough that I didn't really need the jacket, but I kept it on out of pure laziness. Plus it was making me sweat more...(hidden weight loss). I ate a bar at one point just for more energy and it did not sit well. With about seven or eight miles to go I started to get a cramping feeling in my stomach. I just drank more and it went away so I pushed on.

In the end, we just missed the three hour mark. I have done three rides on this route and each time I get faster. Small steps towards the greater good. 19 days from now I will be enjoying a 27 mile race from Kalkaska to Traverse City. Hills, sand, tons of people. Nothing like a ride with 4000 of your closest friends.

October mileage report: 181.97 miles. About 3 times what I had last month....and we are just over half way there.

Cruising in October

2010-10-13T18:14:00.001-07:00

I have more mileage in the past three days than I did the entire month of September. Sunday was a 35 mile training ride on the Barry Roubaix Course. Tuesday evening was 23 miles at Fort Custer. A person might not think that 23 miles at Custer is very hard....but my legs were feeling worn out after my ride on Sunday. So...what does this mean?

TEAR THEM DOWN SOME MORE!

I have weight loss intervals on the schedule for tonight. My legs are feeling tired right now...but I will go at the intervals and see how I feel. If my legs are dead.....I will cool down and call it a night. If I feel okay.....GET SOME! I will do my best to get through the intervals. Apparently some of my friends think they can eat pizza and cookies and I will do an extra interval for them....but we will see how that goes.

24 days to Iceman.

High 70's.....

2010-10-09T06:44:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday at 8:00am it was 37 degrees. This week it is looking like temps will be closer to 50 degrees at 8:00 am. Considering I am training for a race called "Iceman" I would almost prefer that the temps stay cooler. I need to get my lungs and body acclimated to the cooler temps. Don't get me wrong, 50 degrees is great riding weather...and I hate being cold.....but I know how different it can be riding when its 30 versus riding when its 50. The last week has had highs in the 70's all week...not your typical October weather. Get out there and enjoy it!

At any rate.....there I will be.....riding 30+ miles in the hills of Barry County.

Tuesday I headed to Fort Custer for a long ride. I had an issue again with my rear wheel. When I was pedalling there was no noise....but when I was coasting I could hear a clunk......clunk.....clunk. I used the word "tick" and many of my friends were thinking the BUG....and not the noise. I thought I figured out what the noise was....Freehub. I took the axle apart and realized the bolt holding the freehub was loose. I took it completely off and cleaned it...because it was DIRTY. When I put it back together I still heard a noise.....Damn. I looked at the guard that is on the wheel to protect the spokes from the chain......and two of the four clips that hold it in position were missing. I ripped it the rest of the way off.....no noise. At least my wheel is clean...lol.

Going to test it out today just to make sure....because I would hate to get 8 miles in tomorrow and have the noise come back. Going to be a good ride tomorrow.

Get out and enjoy these temps!

Encouragement....

2010-10-04T16:56:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I joined a group of friends by Yankee Springs for a training ride. The course is the one used for the Barry Roubaix. It is safe to say that there are a few hills out there. Seems like there is one around every corner....and every corner is uphill. Anyway, I have been invited for many weeks to do this training ride. I was apprehensive to go because I don't like to be the slowest person in the group. Being the slowest person in the group means that you are holding up someone and potentially ruining their training ride. I was reassured that it would not be a problem...and that I would get faster every time I do the ride. So....I went.

It was 37 degrees when I parked the car. Dan T. and April were the first people to arrive. Thankfully, Dan T. had a windbreaker that I borrowed so the wind didn't freeze me to death. Once everyone else arrived we headed out. Dan S. and I were first to go..and the rest of the group followed. We didn't make it very far before everyone passed me. Most passers told me "good job" or "keep going" as they passed. We reached one corner and everyone was there waiting for me. At this point...what I was afraid of most was happening....I was slowing everyone down...and we had about 25 miles to go. Ugh.

We took off again. Pat and Cathy caught up to me and my ride changed dramatically. Dan S. was waiting for me, as he said he would......and the addition of Pat and Cathy was a definite boost. We were climbing a hill and Pat came back to me.....he started offering me tips. Breathe....slow your breathing........keep going. That tip alone was enough to keep me going....because I was mentally ready to quit...and we were only 10 miles in.

Cathy always offers encouragement. She just says the right things....Good job...keep going....you're doing good....ect. A few hills later as she passed she told me these things. They always help!

On a MF'r of a hill Dan S. came rolling back down to me. He told me to drop into granny gear and just keep spinning. I don't like the granny gear....but I am really glad I had it yesterday. I used it on many of the hills because I just didn't have the legs to power of them. As I rolled into the parking lot everyone was standing there. Everyone gave some type of congratulations or encouragement. Overall....30 miles in just under 3 hours. Yikes. Next time will be better right?

I thanked everyone for the encouragement and for waiting for me. It was really appreciated that they would wait for me....know I am slower....and that I struggle with hills. They never complained once....just kept me moving forward.

One other rider had a bigger impact on me. He asked me before we started "do you realize how fast you are going to be when you lose more weight?"...and all I could do was smile and say that I could only imagine. He was not being rude....he was offering more encouragement. I asked him about it later that night because it stuck with me. He sent me a long message about why he said that to me. With all of the encouragement that I got from all of the people his message hit harder. He told me that guys like me are good for the sport. Guys like me? Middle aged slow fat guys? No.....middle aged overweight guys with a drive to do better. Guys that may be spit out the back of the pack....but keep going. Guys that are willing to ride in nearly freezing temperatures because someone thought it was a good idea. Guys that love to ride for the simple reason that we can ride.

Encouragement......pass it on.

Entry secured....September sucked.....

2010-10-01T15:44:00.000-07:00

I sent off my transfer form and electronic check to a friend earlier this week. He was not able to go to Iceman this year and I happily took the entry from him. I do have some work to do before this race. 27 miles in the sandy hills of Traverse City is never an easy task, especially for those of us that have not been riding much. Illness, work, schedules and weather put a huge dent in my September mileage. I do have a good plan of attack for the next 5 weeks, so all I need to do now is follow the plan.

I mentioned earlier that September was terrible. 5 total rides for less and 70 miles....yikes. I rode more in two days a month ago than I did this entire month. What is even sadder....I actually doubled my mileage from September a year ago. Yikes....still...just a bad month.

The plan is to SPIN. I know that one of my larger issues (minus weight) is my lack of spinning ability. There is a long list of things I do wrong....but lets start here. My cadence is generally lower and I power the pedals more than I should. I think I am more comfortable spinning slow and trying to push a harder gear. So....I am trying to balance that out. I will spin a gear down from where I am comfortable...and carry a higher cadence. I have set up the trainer because I can control things a little better in there. Last night I did weight loss intervals that took an hour. I averaged 83 rpm for the hour. Generally I average close to 80 or slightly under. I have a new found motivation to push harder. Pushing myself at the Fort Custer race was what triggered it. I knew I could push hard and once I did it....I took 4th.

Training ride planned for Sunday. 35 miles on the Barry Roubaix course with a group of people that are all faster than me. I will do my best to not slow them down, and I know I will see big returns for my work.

Pando....CPS finale

2010-09-29T17:25:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday we loaded up the van and headed up to Rockford for the Pando Challenge. This race marked the series finale for the MMBA CPS. Zack had to get more more race....and I was too sick to try. I had a cold...or allergy attack...or whatever it was...but I could barely breathe...and I knew trying to ride would kill me.

Zack had an okay race on the GT. He was flying up the ski hill until his pant leg got caught in the chainring. Ugh...he was 5th coming down the first hill...and he ended up finishing in 7th. He had a rough time after that.....and I was not jealous at all. The Pando course looked brutal.

The finish for Zack gave him 2nd overall in the CPS series. This was the first year ever racing for him and he did great! 2nd place for Beginner Men 11-14.

If my calculations are correct I took 5th place overall in the Beginner Clyde class. I never had a top 5 finish in the series....but I did have 3 6th place finishes.....and my lowest was a 9th. The funny thing was that after my 9th I took 4th at the Fort Custer TT....too bad it didn't count for the series.

Iceman is next.....gotta get to work.

Back in the saddle

2010-09-22T18:27:00.000-07:00

Tuesday night I headed to Fort Custer. First, I stopped by Custer Cyclery in Augusta to have Dan tighten up my hub. Always good to have friends that will lend a quick hand. We had a quick discussion about the trail damage the horses caused over the weekend. I also saw some pictures and am just sick over what has transpired out there. Hopefully the trails are separated and the mountain bikers prevail....but only time will tell.

The Ride:

I headed down the red loop because it was said to be in the best condition of the three (red, green, and blue). I was pleased that at least one of the trails was in good condition. I was feeling pretty good......real good actually. I don't know if it was from all of the rest I have had, or just that I was having a good day. By rest I mean my serious lack of riding this month. Only three rides for the ENTIRE month....not good. Anyway, I held a decent average speed and did a quick check on the hub rebuild. Looks good. I saw April and Chris getting ready and headed over to talk to them.

Lap two was a bit more painful. I was chasing the best I could. I sorta hung with the group, but then I took the cutoff around Granny's Garden to I could rest. Then I promptly got spit out the back again...lol. I did catch back up because they were nice enough to wait for me. It is a good test to ride with people that are faster than you. You can push with everything you have and still watch them disappear around a corner or over a hill. I like to push myself because I understand that I will not get to where I want to be unless I push myself more.

On a side note....it might be time to set up the trainer just to get base miles in. I am busting out the Chris Carmichael book "Time Crunched Cyclist" so I can be peaking at Iceman. Time is flying by.....

Everything happens for a reason

2010-09-19T18:09:00.000-07:00

Last week I was riding at Fort Custer and started to realize something was wrong with my rear wheel. It felt...wiggly....if I had to describe it one word. I actually stopped twice and check the tire pressure because that is what it felt like.....like the rear tire was losing air. To my surprise...it was fine. Hmm. So, I kept going.

Back in the parking lot when I was waiting for some other people I started looking at my rear wheel. My rear brake was rubbing a bit....so I reset the wheel in the drops. When I checked to see if the brake was rubbing....I hear a tick. The tick was a broken spoke. Only one....and a slight wobble in the wheel. I took it in and Laura fixed it up for me. When she put the wheel on the truing stand....she looked at me with a strange look. She said....you better look at this. My rear hub is in rough shape. It was loose....and full of sand....so loose that she was not sure she was going to be able to true the wheel. Thankfully a quick tightening (knowing I will tear the wheel apart later) and she was able to get the wheel straight.

I started thinking about this broken spoke....and loose rear hub. The wiggle that I thought was a low tire was probably the tire sloshing around on the loose bearings. I might not have ever checked the hub.....well....I know I never would have checked the hub. So....the broken spoke led to the discovery of another issue.

I guess everything does happen for a reason......

Not broken....just misread....

2010-09-14T17:51:00.000-07:00

Sometimes life can get you down. I have found myself down lately. Just blah in general. Sometimes a person just needs that little jolt to get them out of a rut, or back on track. I made a comment that I though my compass was broken. That it wasn't pointing in the correct direction. A friend enlightened me that the compass is surely not broken, but it was probably misread. This made me think today. If I am misreading the compass....how can I figure out where I am supposed to be going. Maybe that is the answer. Maybe I am not supposed to know where I am going. Maybe I should just trust that the compass is pointing the direction. That the compass will put me right where I am supposed to be. I always struggle with the unknown. I simply want to know what is going to happen and why it is going to happen. So, I should not be surprised that I am misreading my compass. I want to end up one place and my compass is pointing me in another direction. I fight it and then wonder how I ended up where I am. I think that we have people around us that help us read our compasses. These last two days I have had the right people helping me get things straight. Help may come from places that you don't expect it....my suggestion....take it.

Thanks Don. Thanks Mike. Thanks Chelle. You guys were there when I needed you.

Priorities....get them straight....

2010-09-10T20:19:00.000-07:00

I need to get my priorities straight. Well....they are...and they seem off at the same time. With fall comes the soccer practices and dance schedules that make everything topsy turvy. The last two weeks have seen me on my bike a total of one time....for 15 miles. Unacceptable to say the least, but family should, and will, always come first.

Addison oaks is this Sunday. My plan, to drive over Saturday afternoon....preride....and camp with the family. Reality.....not happening. Because I am a numbers guy I did a little basic addition and started to realize that this weekend was not happening. Camping, race fees, gas money, and food.....that sum is more than it should be....so we are not going. We still might camp close to home....just to take the kids camping....but it looks like rain....so we will see.

Second note. I got my chubbly little sausages on an Iceman entry. So....in about 8 weeks I am going to be kicking someones ass.....and I don't care if I make an 8 year old girl cry....I will do my best to beat her across the line....and then I will mock her to NO end...stating how superior my cycling skills are compared to hers....until a parent interrupts.......

Eh-hem. Sorry about that. I did get an Iceman entry. I do have 8 weeks to lose about 15 pounds. The plan is to finish with a time from 2:15 to 2:30 or an average speed between 10.8 and 12 mph. Very attainable if you ask me.....so no excuses. The 15 pounds should help me climb the hills and I need to lose the weight anyway right?

So....I have two more races. Pando and Iceman. Pando is important because I just want a high finish. Iceman is important because there will be a TON of people there. Gotta do my best!

Robbing Peter....

2010-09-02T19:00:00.000-07:00

...to pay Paul. For the record....Peter and Paul (for this example) are mountain bikes. Paul is shown in the picture below...and Peter is Michelle's Rockhopper. I am setting this bike up for our last two races of the season and then he will be ready to roll next year.

Again....our family schedule has taken on its normal crazy form for the fall. Soccer and dance on Monday. Soccer on Tuesday. Youth group on Wednesday. Dance on Thursday. Soccer on Friday. Somewhere in there has to be time to ride....and it will show up eventually. I know I will get some saddle time this weekend...because I have to take Zack out to try the new bike right? Make sure its functioning before race day? Sounds like a plan. And I am hoping we can pre-ride Addison on Saturday before the race.

Anyway....sleep well people. Hopefully we can all wake up rested.

Neglected....

2010-08-30T18:13:00.000-07:00

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.....

2010-08-23T18:34:00.001-07:00

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?

2010-08-20T16:17:00.000-07:00

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....

2010-08-13T16:35:00.000-07:00

...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....

Crashing out of July

2010-07-31T08:46:00.000-07:00

I headed to Yankee Springs for a loop. Hector came out and we went down the trail. I think we rode together for a few miles....then he, just like everyone else I ride with, disappeared over the hill. I spent the rest of my ride fighting with my bike. I need a serious adjustment because I was having shifting issues. Anyway, I kept fighting. Made most of the hills....just attacked them with a very slow approach. With about two miles to go I carried up the side of a berm and it grabbed my leg. Down. Hard. Fast. Head snapped to the ground. Shoulder sore. Ribs....oh no.....that one hurt a little. Wait....is that blood? SWEET. I have a nice mark on my leg and my back is killing me.....but I didnt break anything. My time was super slow....but I still had a good ride. It was fun to ride a different trail....but one that I still know.

Now for July. Not a good month by any stretch of the imagination. I logged a total of 137 miles. Enough to keep me on pace but not what I wanted. There were two weeks out of the month where I only rode one time. The Boyne race really messed with my mind. I was sick for about two weeks. There was a death in the family. I have been following the downward spiral. I need to get off of it because I have another race in three weeks. I will just do what I can and build my fitness back up some.....then try to be faster.

Back to your normally scheduled stupidity...

2010-07-24T16:55:00.000-07:00

This past week will be one that won't be forgotten. But....it is the past and I need to get back into the swing of things.

I did that today with a nice 20 mile road ride. I had all kinds of intentions to ride a half century, which was cut to 47 miles (one for every year Tim was with us), then down to 15 miles (the number of years I have known Tim), and then I just kept going. This is how the trip went

One mile....

Two miles.....just getting away from home

Three miles....nice long climb. Felt like standing and started to understand why Shleck and Lance do it.

Four miles.....man...its windy....

Five miles....the roads are so wet.....I about crashed on a washed down area filled with sand

Six miles....gotta keep going.....

Seven miles....that car was kinda close.....I need to start thinking about turning or going straight...

Eight miles....went straight....just passed the DNR office....wonder if we can ride out there yet...

Nine miles....Megan's friend lives there....meg will be leaving for camp tomorrow....

Ten miles.....since I went straight I will ride to the next paved road and turn around. that road has to be in about 4 miles.....

10.5 miles. The decision was made for me. The road was flooded and it was about a foot and a half deep. Not riding through that....just going to turn around and head back.....20 miles will be enough for today...

18 miles.....damn....this hill is really hard....stand and pedal......sit......just keep going......wow....that hill was super hard.....harder than normal....good thing I am close to home.....

20 miles.....oops...ran that stop sign.....its okay....no cars were coming. Glad that I am home.

20.99........how did that happen? maybe I should have just kept going....

Back on the saddle again. Good to be back....

It ended....for the one that started it all

2010-07-19T16:09:00.000-07:00

How many of you know how you started in cycling? Did you never lose the fever that we all once had as children? Did you decide to start riding again when you got older? Do your knees hurt, so you gave cycling a shot? Did a doctor tell you to get in shape and cycling caught your attention? Or...like me...did someone spur the interest in you many years ago?

My story begins some time ago. My best friend, and brother-n-law, stirred the interest for me. We both bought bikes and started riding. There was this crazy race that we decided to do called The Iceman...maybe you have heard of it. Tim started the craze for me with little pressure. He brought home a race flier and a Trek brochure. I started looking through the pages filled with shiny new bikes and the ideas started flowing. When we bought our bikes the debates started.

Who's bike was better?

What manufacturer had superior quality?

Who was faster?

In those first two years we rode ourselves skinny. We did a few races. We ate, drank, and slept bikes. One day we were riding close to home. We just wanted to do a quick little ride. We thought we were cool and he tried to bunny hop a log. Front tire clear. Rear tire...not so much. He endoed, breaking his fall completely with his face. Knocked out and Bleeding. For a second I thought his neck was broken because when he landed his helmet turned on his head...giving the appearance of his head being turned past the breaking point. With a tall build of 6'4" I had my work cut out getting him untangled from his Trek. Clipless pedals are very efficient...even in a crash. I got his bike off to the side and said his name once again. Tim?!?!! No response. I reached down to pop the strap on his helmet and when it popped....he sat straight up. I told him that he crashed and was bleeding so it was time to go. He wiped his eye and looked around. I asked him if he knew where he was. Behind the school.....he said....looking at the branch....then he smiled and said....apparently I didn't make it? Knowing that he probably had a concussion....I wanted to get him home. We walked a few steps....and he threw his leg over his bike and started to pedal. The next mile to our houses was rather interesting.

In that mile he started to forget what happened. When we pulled up out front we were joking around and then our wives saw us. Panic. We, Tim and his then wife Kim and I went to the ER. 7 stitches in his eyebrow and a concussion. He never really rode after that. He told me that he lost his confidence...and that he had no business being in the woods on a bike. Later he sold it....but recently I have been thinking about our riding.

You see....he passed away Sunday morning. My wife's brother. My niece's father. My children's uncle. My friend. The one that started it all.

He taught me so many things over the years. We renovated our entire house, with him showing me what to do. We blew breakers while cutting down walls. I cut his wedding ring off of his finger when a nail grabbed it as the porch was pushed off the house. We laughed. We cried. We got angry. We laughed some more.

So I will finish with this....a short letter to my brother.

Tim,

Thank you for everything that ever did for me. Thank you for teaching me how to finish drywall, and not caving the roof in on us that day. Thank you for believing in me when I felt my worst. Thank you for bringing home that brochure. Thank you for introducing me to bikes. Thank you for riding with me for those first few years. Thank you for fixing our computers all those times and answering any questions we ever asked. Just....thank you for everything. I was thinking about the day we met. You were buried at your kitchen table with various computers and parts. I sat down and tried to offer my help....do you remember? That was almost 14 years ago. I wish that you were still here so we could start working on stories for the next 14 years. Rest in peace brother. Tell our passed loved ones we say hello. Play a song. Build something. Relax. Enjoy.

R.I.P. Tim Counterman. 47. Taken from this Earth for reasons we will never know.

Quick and dirty

2010-07-16T19:49:00.000-07:00

Since I apparently "stole" a camera at the Boyne Marathon, I made arrangements with teammates of Glen and Ali to return said stolen property. At the time of arrangements I was not planning on working the rest of the week. I planned on meeting John at Cannonsburg SGA around 5:30 and giving him the camera for safe transport back to that little house up north. Instead....I had to work. So....my one hour drive turned into an automatic two hour drive. It was okay though....gave me an excuse to leave work early.

So....the camera is delivered to the transporter.

Now...the quick and dirty.

Cannongsburg State Game Area. 7.6 miles of nice trail. We rode. It was muddy. I walked around the mud. We rode some more. That was about it. Nice ride with Chris.

I was thinking about riding another lap but it was already getting late. I decided to hammer as hard as I could through the first section and take the road back. I think its just about 3 miles round trip...with a nice paved downhill at the finish! Since I had decided to hammer I did just that. GO. Hard pedal strokes....big ring all the way....just mashing the pedals. Fast for me is not really that fast....just cruising. Today...I was fast. I redlined in about 30 seconds and I kept my heart rate up until I hit the last downhill on the way back. I know I was cruising 20mph on the flats.....and I was carrying 12-13 on the uphills. My body wanted to stop but I willed it to just keep going. That 3 hard miles was well worth the driving time. I need to do that a little more often to start building myself up more.

I feel good right now, but I will be off of the bike until at least Tuesday. We will be heading to Cedar Point for a few days of family fun and just stress forgetting. Gotta blow off some steam every now and then ya know!

Positives and Negatives

2010-07-15T11:56:00.001-07:00

Here is a list:

Negatives:
Stress from work
Not riding much
DFL at Boyne Marathon
Not working
Bills
Car needs to be fixed before more it costs me more $$$

Positives:
I will ride today
I will ride tomorrow
I might work tomorrow
I am going to Cedar Point with my wife and big kids on Sunday and Monday.
I am 3rd in the CPS standings...

This last positive is the one I am struggling with. I have not even had a top 5 finish this year. In fact...I have had 4 sixth place finishes in a row. I was hoping that Boyne would be my opportunity to break into the top 5, but the whole class showed up.....all 6 of us. The cool thing is that I am getting to know some of the racers and they are all good guys. I just cannot quite compete with them yet. Just hanging on to 6th....or taking last place in other events. If I get an overall award...I might just stay in Beginner. I shouldn't....but if I can't compete with the beginners....how am I supposed to hang in Sport?

It will still be a different class.....because I don't plan on being a Clyde next racing season. So...I might land firmly in Beginner 30-39 or Beginner 35-39.....and I might end up getting my ass handed to me again....but if I am under 200 pounds I will be able to compete again.

Have a good night everyone....

Sometimes you're the nail

2010-07-12T16:10:00.000-07:00

I could sum up my Boyne Marathon race in two words: I finished. There is really nothing more to say....but I feel like I need to speak more on the subject.....so here we go....

I drove up to an area just south of Kalkaska on Friday night. Ali and Glen invited me to tent camp in their yard....and I just couldn't refuse. When I got there Glen started to clean and tune Ali's sweet Quiring rig while I checked out his Niner. When Ali got home we headed out for a quick ride while Glen cooked us dinner. I have to say....the dinner was awesome. After about 12 miles we got back to their house and the smell coming out the door was amazing. You know me...I am all about food. After dinner we went and got some ice cream. Then it was tent set-up and air mattress filling. Ali helped with the then....then Glen and her filled the mattress. I was just kinda sitting there....lol.

In the morning we loaded up into the car and made the jaunt to Boyne Mountain. As we approached I could see the hill....and the doubt started to creep in. I had been feeling ill all week and lost my voice on Tuesday. Add in the idea of not having a job again and my stress level was very high. Thankfully the family was all good....so no worries there! Before the start I was talking to a few of the other racers and trying to look tough. On the inside I was wondering how bad the course actually was. GO....it was time to find out. The first few miles were sweet. Flat. Nice. Then.....someone tilted the earth and it never flattened out. I felt like I was climbing for hours....wait....I was....that's right. My first lap was horrible. The second was worse. With about 5 miles to go I was ready to toss the Epic into the woods or just give it to the people at the aid station. This is where someone passed me. As he passed he looked at me and said "sometimes you are the nail"....and went out of sight.

Perspective. That comment put things into perspective for me. Even though I was being pounded.....I was still accomplishing something. I was moving towards the finish line. I crossed the finish line. Last place. The fourth 6th place in a row. At least I am consistent....

At least one more race for the year......maybe more if I am working. Might be getting an interview with another company this week. Fingers crossed.

Big thanks to Glen and Ali for the weekend of fun.....and torture!

Holiday ride

2010-07-07T10:31:00.000-07:00

I took a guy new to the sport out on Monday morning. We met up with an old friend of mine and headed to Cannonsburg SGA. 7.5 miles of sweet trail. When we started my niece's boyfriend, Jeff, took off like a bat outta hell. As this was his first time I just smiled and waited for reality to set in. It took longer than I anticipated....but eventually he slowed down...about 4 or 5 miles in. At about 6.5 miles it really set in when he pulled off the trail and created an interesting waterfall of water, fig newtons, and a cheese danish. Not good. He was a trooper though.....finished the lap and then we rode another one. 15.25 miles with a few crashes for him...and ONE for me. Good times....

The crash was not very much fun. I pride myself in the fact that I don't crash. I can count all of my crashes on one hand that I have had in the last three years. Earlier this year I tanked at Custer when I slid off of a bridge. Reaction was to pull the bike like normal....wet bridge made the tires slide under the pressure....DOWN I went. No injuries.

Monday was different. Speed was higher....was riding someones wheel.....he hit the sand and fished a bit.....I hit the sand with my brakes at full squeeze....couldn't hold the wheel straight. DOWN I went again. This crash hurt. I stayed on the ground for a second because I was wondering if I broke something. I sat up....no blood. I stood up....ouch. Shoulder was jammed in and my ribs on the right side were sore. I could definitely tell I crashed. I felt okay on Tuesday. I managed to pull on my shoulder to make sure it wasn't jammed into the socket. Mobility good. Ribs a bit sore. Today....whoa.....legs hurt...shoulders are sore....lol. To top things off I lost my voice on Tuesday...in totally separate deal.

Today....sore. Drinking water and orange juice. Boosting the Vitamin C. Voice coming and going. Nose draining with the help of Vicks. Setting up the tent to air it out before the weekend. Not working due to no orders......man....I am a mess.....

The importance of hydration

2010-07-03T11:19:00.000-07:00

On Thursday night I barely drank anything. No water, pop, milk, or liquid to speak of. Friday, I drank a grand total of about 40 oz. at work. Normally I drink over 80 oz. while at work alone. This lack of hydration caused me some issues on my ride Friday. I rode two laps at Custer...and neither of them was very impressive.

I felt good on the first lap. Red loop only. Granny's Garden went by and I was impressed with my progress. I didn't clear all of the climbs....but I did clear some that I usually don't. Bonus. The problem was that I felt fast....and I was just slow.

Second lap....same thing. I was riding a slower pace....and I started to feel loopy. I noticed my balance was off a little. I didn't make the switchback on the green loop because I misjudged the roots towards the end of the climb. Then I flew off the trail a few different times....but never actually crashed. Almost.....like an idiot...couldn't get my foot off the pedal....and nearly fell down towards the foot that I had on the ground already.

Anyway....20 miles on the dirt was fun. I could feel that I was dehydrated and I drank a ton of water last night. I was sore and had pains in areas that never hurt. This morning I felt much better and I am still drinking a lot of water. I need to take the Hydrapack to Boyne...because I cannot afford to have cramps or be slow there!

Happy 4th of July everyone!

June in the books

2010-06-30T18:40:00.000-07:00

June of 2009 was my best month. I had 238 miles. This June I barely hit 200 miles, but I am still stronger than I was this time last year. The really scary part about the 200 miles this June is that I had 1/4 of those miles in one ride. I rode a 1/2 century in the first week of the month...and scraped the rest of the miles together. The difference for these miles was simple. I found as many hills as I could and pointed my front wheel right towards them.

I am happy with my total for the month...and for the year. Yikes...I am way ahead of last year...so far in fact that I passed my mileage for last year a while ago.

My ride tonight was interesting. I got chased by a doberman. And I mean....chased. I accelerated and thought that I dropped him....but he was still closing in. I could hear his owner yelling for him to come back. He was barking....but he didn't seem mean...but I didn't really want to take my chances. Cruising 20 mph and having a dog close in on you is sorta disheartening.

Boyne is in the near future. 11 Days. I want to be under 240 pounds by then....and I am on my way. July will be a good mileage month!

State Games of Michigan

2010-06-29T16:27:00.000-07:00

This was the first year for this event and over 150 racers were there. I got everyone up early because Zack had a 8am start. We piled into the van and left the house at 6:50am. After what seemed like a short hour we arrived at Cannonsburg Ski Area. The skys were dark....but the threats of thunderstorms dimished quickly. The day ended up being very warm with partly sunny skies. My face actually got burnt....lol.

Zack started at 8am. He lined up with the 14 and under group and took off. The course was set up so that about half way through the riders would pass an open area. I asked him when he went by how he was feeling and he said "okay". This open area is right before a long climb so I told him to be prepared.....and he downshifted and went out of sight. He took 7th out of 8 with a good time of 0:53:42. The course was being changed after the beginners went through. The course added some of the skills area that the promoter must not have thought the beginners could handle. More on that later.....

9:30am Meeting new people and old friends. Getting ready to race.
9:45am Climbing the hill on the entrance road to the ski area....warming up.
9:55am Start line...sizing up competition. The funny part of this was that I was talking to the guy that beat me by 12 seconds at Custer....rrrrrrr.

10:00am General Sport Racers Take off.
10:02am....Dave sounds the gun and we are off.
10:02 and 30 seconds..........I am riding alone.

It took all of 30 seconds for my race to end. I knew there were 6 people in my class and that things can happen...and I am never going to quit.....so I kept going. The course was brutal. It started with a nearly mile long climb right out of the gate. By the time I got to the top everyone was out of sight. Smiling to myself....I kept going. The course seemed like it was on a wheel...and I was stuck on the uphill side of it and it was just spinning. I eventually got to the top but I was just feeling slow. The first hill killed me. Heart rate went sky high. F the hills. I managed to settle myself down and caught up with my eventual riding partner for the next 15 miles. She is a rider from the Fort Custer group and we just started talking. She would leave me on the climbs and I would catch her a few minutes later....just in time for her to leave me on the next hill.

The first lap went by in just over 40 minutes. Then....the long climb again. Then about half way through....another long climb. Lap two was quiet. A few singlespeeders had passed me on the first lap and I was expecting to see some of the other racers before finishing this lap. To my surprise I don't think anyone passed me. As a matter of fact, only about 10 people passed me on the third lap. Not bad for a beginner clyde racing in the sport clyde class.

My lap times were fairly consistent:
Lap 1 0:40:25
Lap 2 0:43:40
Lap 2 0:45:53

I figured that my last lap would be much longer than the others because I am not used to racing more than 10 miles. This race came in at 16.6 by my computer. I chalked it up to a good training ride in preparation for the Boyne Marathon on July 10th. I took a 6th place out of 6.....but I was only 11 minutes away from 5th place. Not bad considering the extra lap. Overall, it was a good day with family and friends. Next year I am coming back to try for a higher finish.

I know I still have a lot of work to do...but someone gave me an interesting compliment. Briana, my racing buddy at this race, asked if I normally race sport. When I told her that I am a beginner she was surprised. She said "you definitely have the skill set of a sport rider....you should be racing sport". If I was faster....I would be......but I appreciated the compliment on my skills.

Boyne is in about a week and a half. Hills are on the menu again....so I will fill up on hills for the next week and see what happens!

Stay tuned....

2010-06-28T19:16:00.001-07:00

I will have a good post tomorrow about the State Games race......but not tonight....

Nerves?

2010-06-23T17:27:00.000-07:00

It is the Wednesday before the FIRST EVER State Games of Michigan Mountain Bike Race. Now...that is a long title. I am not really nervous....but this race is on my mind. Especially because Boyne is looming in the near future as well. I know that I need to do well in this race to boost my confidence for the Boyne race (which is more important because of points). I have ridden the Cannonsburg Ski area numerous times. I know there are only three significant climbs and the race route allows a warm-up before tackling the long climb. Usually the trail starts straight uphill for nearly a mile. Not a good way to start a race for a non climber....haha.

I will do my best and represent my team with a smile on my face.

Yesterday I started a post and ended it in favor of a ride. I headed out for a 27 mile road ride and it was good. I felt really good. There is that one climb where my legs are engaged for nearly 9 minutes. Climbing for 9 minutes is not fun....but I know it makes me a stronger rider. To top off the 9 minute climb there is another long and steep climb right after it. I know that climbing will make be faster in the long run....so I look for the hills.

When Chelle got home she told me to check out channel 3 because Allegan Dam road was washed out. There is a really cool video showing it here: www.wwmt.com/articles/allegan-1378161-road-viewer.html

When I passed this last night I thought it looked washed out on the right side.....but I never imagined it would end up like that. So...I guess I need to find a new route :(

The month less travelled....

2010-06-22T16:11:00.001-07:00

So I have not been riding a lot this month. Way less than June last year...and only 6 rides total for the entire month....Is that right? Yes....rain and schedules have been hampering my riding. I did have a good day...and that is the only reason my mileage is as high as it is. So....I am signing off for tonight and I am going to ride. See you in about 25 miles.

99.95%

2010-06-18T03:17:00.000-07:00

This number represents my the number of miles I have ridden when compared to last year. I rode 1200.99 miles last year....and I hit 1200.42 last night. I am riding at a 2 to 1 pace over last year. The super scary thing is that I have only ridden 4 times in June...and we are more than halfway through the month. Not good when you consider I have a race next weekend and my toughest race at Boyne coming in about three weeks. I am hoping for a peak at the Boyne race, so I am starting to build miles this week. I rode 30 last night...and I am hoping for 30 more tonight.

The ride last night was very good. I took my route towards every hill I could find. Aiming for the largest and longest that I know about in this area. I was feeling pretty good when I got to the longest climb on the ride. I literally climb for over 8 minutes on this hill. The plan was to climb it and then ride back down for another go. The road construction pushed that idea aside. The climb was terrible. The road crew had just peeled the top layer of blacktop off....so the road was like riding on cobbles....hey...Paris Roubaix right? I do ride a mountain bike with skinny tires....so I didn't get beat up too bad....but 15 minutes on the shingles had me ready for to get off the bike. Once the road went back together I had another long climb. I held a decent pace and was awarded with a nice rest on the downhill. Knowing that I needed a few extra miles I turned and found a few more hills. Then I took a different road than normal and it was all uphill. So I was thinking to myself....the hills will know my name. They can call me........daddy.........

Overall....30 miles at a 15.5 pace in the hills. I will take it.

That "left behind" feeling

2010-06-10T18:13:00.000-07:00

Do you ever get the feeling that you have been left behind? I mentioned this feeling a few weeks ago....and I touched on how I didn't like it. I am still having this feeling...but it isn't involving a group ride. I think I am bringing this feeling onto myself. Here is why....

I am trying to get an overall award in the MMBA CPS this year. I figured that it would be relatively easy....I would just need some middle of the pack finishes and one or two high finishes. I have been close to the high finishes...with two 6th place destinations. Because I am a numbers geek I know where I stand in the CPS standings. I have done three of the four races, and I sit in fourth place. At first glance....not bad. When I look closer at the numbers I realize the gap is big enough that I might not be able to close it down.......hench...falling behind.

I am planning on 3 more races in the series....and I figure I will need a top three finish in two of them. This is a tall goal...but one that I have had since the season started. I have had a terrible week of riding since my half century....as in I have zero miles since. I was going to ride tonight....but things happen. Now the forecast calls for rain until Monday. There is another step behind....

As I fall behind I start to think
they vanished ahead of me in just a blink
I pedal as hard as I possibly can
but I just cannot seem to catch that man
he was there, but now is out of sight
"you will never catch him"....you might be right
the thoughts that are spinning right through my mind....
are he is gone....he left you behind.....

Milestone

2010-06-08T17:23:00.000-07:00

This post is a day late....but I was being slammed by an allergy attack yesterday!!!

Sunday morning I got up with full intentions of riding 50 miles. I have never ridden that far before and I was thinking it was time. This morning offered me temps in the low 60's and rain filled cloudy skies. I filled the water bottles and headed out.....the route.....50 miles.

When I left the house my eyes kept turning skyward. I really didn't want to ride in the rain, but I really wanted to turn the wheels. Thankfully I stayed dry. The first nine miles of my route are simple with a few rollers. I was feeling pretty good climbing the hills but I decided to back off a little so I had some gas left in the tank for the last 15 miles. From mile nine to mile 23 the roads are mainly flat. The wind was coming from at a 45 degree angle but it wasn't blowing very hard. I managed to keep my average speed above 16 all the way to the lakeshore. That is Lake Michigan for those who are wondering!

The turn south was easy! The wind pushed me for about 4 miles until I turned back towards home with over 20 miles to go. At this point I was approaching my longest distance for the year, which was 33 miles. The only thing that kept me going was that I was going towards home. I kept pushing the pedals and the miles ticked away. At 40 miles I started to get excited about what I was doing. I was actually going to ride 50 miles without stopping. As the odometer climbed closer to 50 my mind started to get the better of me. Doubt was creeping in and I thought I was going to have to stop. Then the sun came out.....and the warm glow of our star revived me enough to get home. Final distance was 50.33 miles in just over 3 hours. Longest distance ever.

Half Century.

Wow.

What are you thinking about?

2010-06-05T06:00:00.001-07:00

Mosquito

2010-06-04T02:46:00.000-07:00

For such a little package, these guys have a lot of bite. Because of the rain we have been experiencing, the mosquito factory has been busy. So busy in fact that I was afraid to stop at all on my ride last night. No bug spray let to a shortened ride. I still managed to get 11.75 miles in, but I was slow because of the wet trail. I didn't feel comfortable hitting the corners hard because I didn't want to crash. I still had a decent average and I feel great this morning. Good to get the wheels turning after 5 days....lol.

My goal of running everyday has not happened. I haven't run once actually. I need to get off my duff.....

My goal of 15-20 pounds down by Boyne is on its way. I lost 1.5 this week. I have a lot of work to do....but I need to continue to lose anything....even if it is only 1 pound per week. Those 1 pound weeks add up after a year.....

....now....where are those donuts?

2nd post today.....

2010-05-31T08:09:00.000-07:00

I am a little upset with mother nature. Apparently she couldn't decide what to wear so she was late with the thunderstorms and lightning today.....that I still haven't seen. I was going to ride a 1/2 century this morning....but the weather was calling for t-storms starting around 4am and going through the day. I got some much needed sleep, but I really wanted to add that milestone to my books today. Oh well....sooner or later I will get it!

Looking at the schedule I have another race in a month and then a very important race on July 10th. The State Games race is in June and we will be heading there for basically one reason. In 20 years I want to be able to say that I was at the very first one. The Boyne marathon is the July race....and I need to earn a podium spot there.....which means I have work to do!

I really want to lose 15-20 pounds by then to be lighter and faster. I need to continue to ride and I am thinking about running a mile a day. If I start running one mile per day for the first week and then move up to 2 miles the second week I will be up to 3 or 4 miles every time I run. This will help with cardio and the weight loss. I will always be a biker....I love it too much!!!

Here are my goals for the next month and a half

1. Lose at least 15 pounds by July 10th.
2. Run a lot.
3. Compete in the State Games with a smile on my face!
4. Hill repeats???
5. Show everyone what I am made of......
6. Keep smiling!!!
7. Have fun!

In my oldest daughters motto "if you had fun.....you won". Learn it.....live it.

Bloomer XC

2010-05-31T06:49:00.001-07:00

The third installment of the MMBA CPS was on Saturday at Bloomer Park in Rochester Hills. As a west sider we had a long drive ahead of us for this race. Zack and I loaded up and picked up my friend Chris for the trip. Chris was taking pictures and corralling Zack after his race was done. When we got to Bloomer Park I was surprised by the amount of people.....or lack of people. I guess he holiday weekend chased off a few people and I have only raced where the turnouts are huge. It was nice to see that only a few people would be racing so I wouldn't get passed as much...lol. We got a parking spot right by the start area so we were not walking a mile to the car when we needed something. It was a sunny mid 80 degree day. My plan....hydrate and ride fast to get done faster! This would be the first time we have ridden here....and the intel we gathered from the locals and finishers was 'relative' to their beliefs.....No offense Jesse....but you weight half of what I weigh......so your perspective is slightly different than mine!!!

I lined up with seven other clydes for the start. We took off and right away I knew the podium was gone. The first four places were out of sight on the first flat. I just smiled and told myself to ride my race and just keep going. There is an interesting sledding hill that we bombed down, then turned around and rode right back up. I stalled on the way back up and walked up the hill...hoping things would get better. Not so much. As a big guy I need a little bit of recovery between climbs to get my heart rate under control. Bloomer offers an uphill/downhill combo in the first few miles that was fun, but pushed my heart to the max. The first lap was decent. My goal time was a realistic 1:30:00 for the race so a first lap of 43:46 put me about 3 minutes behind third. Not too bad!!! The problem is that we had another lap....and I pushed myself to the point where I thought I was going to puke. I had to back off and just enjoy the ride from that point on. I figured I was in last because I had slowed down so much, but the trail was a blast and I was starting to have fun and forget about the race. I finished with a time of 1:33:29 and ZERO crashes or injuries.

That kid with the orange shorts is a terror!!! He has only done three races and he barely rides his bike....yet there he stands on the podium in the 2 slot. His time was 51:39 which was only 8 minutes slower than my first lap!!!! He was super excited about his finish and he barely talked about the course....just that it was fun! WE ARE SO PROUD OF YOU ZACK!!!!!

So....we drove 3 hours each way for me to ride for an hour an a half and Zack to ride about an hour.....we might be crazy....but we have fun! I learned a few things at this race. They are as follows:

1. Try to preride the course so you know exactly what you are in for.
2. Bring more fluids in a BIG cooler!
3. Eat correctly so you don't feel like you are going to puke 8 miles in.
4. that kid will pass you if you don't lose more weight!!!

As far as I can tell Zack and I are both in second place in the CPS standings. With his 2nd place finish he jumped ahead of me by 1 point....but I haven't told him that yet.....

On a side note....I had a guy introduce himself after my finish. He asked if I was Sean....that writes this blog!!! I am really sorry that I cannot remember your name!!!! You caught me right after I finished and I was still foggy!!! Anyway, thanks for introducing yourself because it was nice to know that someone actually reads this!!!!!

Sorry about that.....

2010-05-22T17:47:00.000-07:00

I need to apologize for such an odd day for a post. I wanted to let the world know about my ride at Fort Custer on Thursday evening and this is the first chance I have had to spill my thoughts....

Thursday the weather was awesome. I left work and headed right to Fort Custer. I had decided earlier in the day to try the MMBA group ride that heads out every Thursday. I took off on a lap by myself before the group ride. I headed out for my red to blue to red loop. It comes out to just over 12 miles. I head down the blue loop because there are two decent climbs added in and about 3 miles or so of extra dirt. The plan was to ride 30 miles to complete a 'Dirty Thirty' ride. As I rode back into the trailhead after the first loop I started to see people from the MMBA ride. I refilled my bottles and talked to a few of my new friends. After talking to them for a while I got the itch to ride solo for my remaining 18 miles. I don't know why, but I like riding solo right now. I am still progressing and getting faster, and I don't ever let anyone down when I am by myself. One of the guys made a very good point....he said "you won't get any faster unless you ride with faster people". I understand that concept, but I feel bad when people have to wait for me. I am getting faster, but not even fast enough to hang with the slow group. They drop me, then when I catch up after they stop for a rest....they take off again.....leaving me in alone anyway. So, I took off alone for 18 miles to suffer in agony by myself.

The second loop was interesting. I rode 18 miles without touching a foot down. Cleared the switchback on the green. Cleared the nasty rooty climb, and anything else the trail had for me. I was glad to be riding by myself because I got really tired over the last 5 miles. I reached my goal of 30 miles, but I lost a lot of time on the second lap because....well....I am slow and overweight. Overall I managed to keep my pace well above the average I carried last year. I know where I stand and what I need to do.

Wildlife.......and an interesting offer?

I did see some different wildlife on my ride. I saw some deer, a live chipmunk, a dead chipmunk (which appeared to be murdered by an unsuspecting mountain biker), a raccoon, and a duck. The interesting offer made me laugh for about 15 minutes. It was very unassuming, and I know I took it the wrong way....but it made it WAY funnier. Towards the end of my ride I turned to head back to the end of the red loop for distance. This portion of the trail is called 'Crazy Beaver'. The story is that a beaver built a dam in a lake....with no river present....hence...Crazy Beaver. As I was entering this section of trail I noticed a guy and what I assumed to be his wife or girlfriend stopped at the turn off. As I approached the guy smiles and says "Crazy Beaver?" with a slight amount of excitement in his voice. He was also pointing to my right, which was the way I would be turning......and precisely where his female companion was standing. So, my question was this "was he offering me a ride on the trail.....or describing something else?" I can't help smiling right now thinking about it....and wondering just how far in the gutter my mind is......

....maybe this was one of those 'you had to be there' moments.......

1000 and counting

2010-05-19T18:16:00.000-07:00

I felt good. Real good actually. Good enough that I had a smile on my face while making the final uphill grind toward home. I was smiling because my legs were sore when I started the ride. I rode on Sunday, followed by two hours of running around with the girls. Then I had another hour of soccer on Monday and my legs were just hurting. When I left the house I knew it was going to be a good ride. My mood was in the right place because I knew I was going to clear 1000 miles for the year. As I rolled into the driveway I had a pace of 16.44 mph over 25.85 miles. Considering that I was averaging 15 mph a few months ago....I will gladly take that pace.

Looking over the schedule for the rest of the year is interesting. Bloomer in a few weeks, a course I have never ridden. State games....where I will get my ass handed to me by the skinny fat guys. Boyne Marathon....23 miles on a ski hill...and a trail I have never ridden. Maybury.....you get the point.......and Pando.......

I have only ridden 1 of the 5 courses that I will be racing on. I am hoping for a good showing in a few weeks...and I am planning on Misery Loves Company on Sunday for a solid 12 miles of ass kicking roads and hills. Time to get to work on the second thousand miles....

Rain, rain, go away....

2010-05-12T16:13:00.000-07:00

The forecast for this week sucks. Rain almost every day. After not riding from Thursday last week through Monday this week I knew there was trouble. My days were like this:

Friday: a whole lot of nothing
Saturday: Soccer, cold soccer in the am followed by working on school. Also watched three movies....Lovely Bones, The fourth kind, and Brothers.
Sunday: Mother's day. Sat on my ass watching a movie and eating while working on school.
Monday: worked then finished project for school.

So when Tuesday rolled around I needed to ride. Not only for my mental wellness, but because of all the junk I ate over the weekend. It rained all day and the weather was calling for rain every day until Thursday....so I got loaded up and headed out. I felt pretty good during the first part of the ride....but then the cool wet began to set in and I could feel myself slowing down. It might have been all the extra clothes but I was dead at the end of the ride. 18 miles in the rain was way better than riding on a stationary trainer......after all ......its May.....

The Affair Part 1

2010-05-08T11:58:00.000-07:00

This will be an ongoing series. You will understand why as soon as you read it. Each part will take place on it's own schedule. The closer the parts are together the better the story will be. If the dates are further apart....well....they may still be good....

Part 1

I have had numerous affairs in the past. Some of these affairs are very long while others only lasted for a short time. It is hard to say, but I am flirting with having more affairs. There are many opportunities for me to change my life for the better. I have had my eye on this one little number for many years. I was very close to this affair many years ago right before my oldest daughter was born. We flirted, but then an injury ended any future involvement between us. It has crossed my mind many times over the years. What would it be like if we hooked up? Would we have fun? How would people react to our relationship? Would they be happy? Would I be happy?

At this point I am sure that anyone reading this is thinking "why in the hell would he be putting this on a public forum?" My response is simple. These affairs are not with another person. These affairs are with numbers on a scale. My weight struggle has been evident for many years. I was 180 pounds when I got married. I grew to 220 pounds before dropping back to 190 before Megan was born. Then I broke my foot and shot back to 220. I generally hung around here for many years, but then things changed again. I started driving nearly 2 hours each way to work and sitting in an office chair for 10 hours a day. I shot up to 250.....and eventually back and forth between 260 and 240. My high was 273. Only 27 pounds away from 300 pounds. I gained nearly 100 pounds over the course of 12 years.

So, I have broken up with and stopped seeing 270. This affair was very short. A matter of a few weeks. I then started an affair with 260. We were only together for about 5 or 6 weeks, then I grew sick of being tired, so I broke things off. 250 and I have had numerous affairs over the years. We would spend a few weeks together between the other affairs. We have spent probably the most time together out of all of my affairs. The last break up was just this past Friday. I told 250 that I never wanted to see it again. I need to move on. As comfortable as I am with 250, I need to be better and not allow myself to fall back into arms that have treated me so badly. Our time has come to an end. I am with 240 now. Hopefully our relationship will be short lived because I see that 230 is giving me the eye again. For now, I am content to be in a relationship with 240. We will work together to be faster on the bike and just healthier in general. Once I have gotten everything that I need from 240 I will move on.

There are a lot more numbers I would like to see before this is all said and done. Every time I meet a new number I will add another part to this story of affairs. I would like to see 5 more parts, one for every 10 numbers ranging from 240 down to 190. It might be a long term affair, but it will all be worth it in the end.

Learn to love the hills......

2010-05-06T18:13:00.000-07:00

Learn to love the hills.....Grasshopper.....

These words have been stuck in my mind for a long time. A very fast mountain biking friend has been telling me this for over a year. She told me again here a few weeks ago....and it has stuck. Because I am so heavy I struggle in the hills. I am getting faster, but I still feel the pain from the inclines. Tonight I decided to stretch out my route a little at Fort Custer. I headed down the red like normal, but I turned and went onto the Blue loop where the race course was. This route added a few miles and a couple of nice climbs......like gotta stand up and mash the pedals climbs...at least for me. Eventually the Blue meets back up with the Red and I looked for all of the hills I could find. The new switchback, the reroute up to Granny's Garden, all of Granny's Garden, Amusement Park and Crazy Beaver. I was feeling the pain at this point, but I decided to head out again for another loop. This time I wanted more hills. This meant that I was going to ride the same Red to Blue to Red loop....but then turn off at the Green and include the climbs out there. The last climb going up from the Boat launch about killed me......but I survived.....and I kept my average speed up to a respectable level.

Overall....a 26.21 ride. 10.57 average speed. Hopefully this ride pushes my weight under 250......and boy do I have a funny idea about how to leave 250 behind. More on that later.

Side note....I passed 900 miles today. I didn't pass 900 miles until some time in September last year.

And Jody, keep telling me to love the hills.....I appreciate it!

What the hell....?!?!?!

2010-05-05T17:06:00.000-07:00

That was what went through my mind yesterday at Fort Custer. I was riding the Red-Green combo and I caught up with Dan and a group from Custer Cyclery. Dan yells "hey it's Sean, I'm gonna follow him" and off we went. I was killing myself to keep my pace high. I had already ridden the red and was starting to run out of gas, but I kept pushing. I cleared the nasty root climb....actually.....I cleared everything....Never put a foot down for 11 miles at Fort Custer....Nice. Anyway, I was going hard to try and stay ahead of the group. The last part of the green loop is flat two track. I was about .1 miles down this portion when I heard....."here we come".....and 5 or 6 people (I don't know how many because I was suffering from lack of oxygen) went tearing past me. Then I hear Dan say "I am gonna see where the hell they are going" and he promptly leaves me in the dust......so......I think to myself.....

WHAT THE HELL..........

I am killing myself and they leave me like I am watching a race on the side of the trail. I didn't feel too bad though because they are all fast riders. What irked me most was that I was faster on this ride than I was on my race. I think the difference was that I was being pushed by faster riders...and not being left behind by faster riders......hhahaha.

At any rate I am feeling pretty good about my progress and I am plotting my next few races to see what happens. Hanson Hills might be my next race.......so I need to find a course with some elevation change......

Fort Custer Stampede

2010-05-03T16:03:00.000-07:00

May 2nd was an interesting day. When I got up to eat a bagel it was still raining pretty good. I was relaxed enough to know that the rain was going to end and that the trail would be dried out by the time I started. I was right....but it wasn't quite enough....but more on that later. As I lined up I was checking out my competition. There were 11 of us big guys lined up and chatting about the Yankee TT. I started to get nervous because 3 of the top 5 finishers from Yankee were lined up with me....and they were talking about winning. I figured I would hang with them until I ran out of gas. When the trail turned to a slight uphill I heard an awful sound.....that thankfully was not from my bike....but one of the speedsters (for my class) was spinning and not moving. His rear derailleur was toast. I got excited because I knew I could beat him to the end. As I approached the switchback climb I started to feel settled in. I actually pulled another racer up the hill with me. When I let him pass he said 'thanks for the pull dude' and promptly left me in the dust....lol.

Apparently Granny wanted me to visit for a few seconds longer. As I approached the end of the section I came up on the wooden bridge. My mind told me to swing wide and ride through the mud, but my body took over and tried to pull my Epic left and onto the bridge. FAIL. The bridge was still wet and had a nice layer of dirt on it from the other riders. Back tire first......off the edge of the bride.....chatter.....DOWN. I caught myself for the most part but took a good slam to my shoulder. I got up and moved to the side to take inventory. No blood....keep riding. When I ran up the next hill I realized my bar end was broken. I was less than half way done with the race. I jumped on and kept going.

The last mile and a half are really flat and fast. Just before this section I caught a sport rider that I could tell was struggling. I was chasing another guy in my category and really wanted to catch him because I thought I still had a chance at podium. The rider in front of me said "go ahead" but I was trying to catch my breath and was able to say "no worries, I just need to keep the guy wearing the blue jersey in my sight". The guy lowered his head and mashed away on his pedals with me right on his rear wheel. He helped me bridge to the guy I was chasing. I stuck with him until the flat and I just fell behind. I was still hauling ass when I passed my family and a few riders. It felt good to pass as many people as I did. Overall it was a great day to be racing. I finished with a smile on my face and was surprised that I dropped to 6th. I am very proud to represent Cross Country Cycle. I am also proud of Zack that finished 11th in his class.

I will take the improvement on my time this year. I only missed my goal time by 1 minute, and I was less than 4 minutes off the leader. Simply stated, I rode hard and had a blast. My next race is not for a while, so I have time to build more speed. If not, I will take what I can get!

sorry about the results page. here are the times

1st 47:13
2nd 48:26
3rd 48:28
4th 50:37
5th 50:48
6th 51:00

April in the books

2010-04-30T19:18:00.000-07:00

Clearly someone was watching over us

Zack and I headed out for our pre-race ride at Fort Custer. I feel really bad for him because he doesn't ride a lot and then we make him race...lol. If he didn't like it, I wouldn't make him do it.

The woods were looking very interesting tonight. It went from view like the picture above to just plain brown ugly woods with a light brown path tucked in.

This picture is from early on the race course, Blue Loop. At this point I knew it was going to be a long ride. Zack was more concerned about the scenery and sounds than actually riding. The trail is in amazing shape. The rain scheduled for tonight will do nothing but help to keep the dust down and firm up the sand. The sand won't matter much because of how many laps will be ridden before we ever get there.

Zack didn't want to ride down this, but I told him to just do it. It is part of the race and he needed to have it under his belt. He nearly crashed because he tried to stop....which if you have ever ridden this section you know it is a bad idea. The fun came later. We took a side step and checked out the 'old and eliminated' creek crossing. After resting for a few we headed back to the blue loop and finished our ride. The last two miles were a fury of pedal strokes and peeking around open corners. Zack saw a 'hot chick' and felt the urge to chase her down. Little did he know that she was my age. It was very interesting to see the surge of testosterone in his body...because he was hauling ASS! And I mean hauling.....13 MPH around the end of blue on flat ground.....which was WAY faster than what we averaged on the entire ride.....LOL. So, we at least had a fun ride and got some good father-son time in.

Now that April is done I need to look at numbers. Final numbers for April are as follows:

Miles: 159.19

Yearly: 866.34

For anyone that cares....I had 17% more mileage in 2010 than I did in 2009. Total Mileage to this point is 91% higher than last year. I did dip in mileage this month, but I had the right kind of riding....DIRT. I barely rode on the road and Fort Custer was my key. If I can keep that up I will do fine next month. I should blow May out of the water because I barely rode after the Stampede. More on that later....

For now. Good luck to all my friends racing this weekend. I am hoping for a good finish in my class and then routing for Zack to do well.

Put that in your water bottle and SUCK IT!

2010-04-29T18:25:00.000-07:00

Well then......it is Thursday night before the Fort Custer Stampede. I had a very good road ride on Monday and a blast of a ride on Wednesday at Custer. The good people from the SWMMBA posted the race route so now I know exactly where I am going. I am pretty confident that I can do well in this race. I have been riding the course (most of it) twice a week for the last month. My times have been getting consistently faster and I am feeling much more comfortable on the Epic. I wonder if maybe I was too tentative last year on the new bike. Now I can manipulate myself and let the bike flow below me. It is a weird feeling to just let off of the brakes and ride my bike....instead of holding on for dear life.

Now....why the title? Well.....it is just kinda how I feel right now. I should have taken the bike to work with me today and ridden a longer ride, but I didn't. I will take Zack tomorrow for his training ride and I am sure it will be a blast, but I am just kinda ugh. My mileage has taken a huge hit because of soccer, dance, and work. My singletrack mileage has increased because of working by the Fort, but still....I had two awesome months....and now a mediocre month. With my distance tomorrow I will have about 160 for April. Not enough, but better than last year. SO PUT THAT IN YOUR WATER BOTTLE AND SUCK IT. LOL. I am ahead of last year at this point by 90%. Meaning....I have 400 more miles to this point than I did last year.

My plan for Sunday is as follows:

PEDAL HARD, hydrate, smile, pedal hard, hydrate, smile, PEDAL PEDAL PEDAL FAST, hydrate, SMILE!

Wait....which way?

2010-04-23T19:24:00.001-07:00

So tonight I attempted to ride the Fort Custer Stampede course from last year. I know exactly where the course leaves the Red loop and rejoins the Red loop. What I don't know is where to turn......clearly. I had an idea because I had looked at the map before I started riding, but I turned left instead of right and ended up riding into last years start/finish area backwards. LOL. I turned around and took off again down the Blue loop and then my memory was working better. I felt okay on this loop. I got soaked in the creek crossing and I think I got a mental block because of it. The water was freezing...and unexpectedly deep. I got passed by a woman the the freeway section, which was a surprise to me for a few reasons. One, I haven't been passed by anyone while training and two I haven't been passed by a woman since Jody caught me a few weeks ago. The bonus was staying with her for the next 6 miles. She caught me but then I was motivated enough to chase her and keep her in sight. I filed this experience under 'racing' because now I know how to keep a person close enough to beat them at the end...maybe.

I was not done riding when I finished my non-race route loop. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do so I headed down the Red loop again. After some thought I decided to turn down the Green loop for some extra hills. Jody keeps telling me to "love the hills grasshopper" so I figured riding in them would be helpful. I only had to put a foot down once....on the long switchback that rises away from the lake on the Green loop. I just didn't quite have enough oompf to get over one of the roots. I continued on and had a good day on the bike.

Total ride distance: 23.63 miles at a 10.7 avg speed.

A burnt Fort Custer

2010-04-22T17:07:00.000-07:00

The DNR has been doing the controlled burns this week. The Fort looks very interesting right now.....lots of black and burnt items with a perfect ribbon of brown singletrack going right through the center of it. It stinks like an old fire, but the feeling of devastation is very evident. It is cool....in an eerie sort of way.

So, I rode two loops at Custer last night. The red loop was first and then I rode my red to green combo for the second loop. The first red loop was fast.......for me....really fast. I am feeling pretty good on the bike. I was having a front derailleur issue which I solved before I left the trailhead...thankfully. I was able to drop to the middle ring on the climbs and shift back to the big ring for the rest of the trail. I was feeling good and I flew around the red loop. I averaged 11.2 mph for the red loop. I don't think I could have gone any harder, unless I was racing. The trail is starting to fly by...minus the climbs. I still struggle with the hills...but I am getting stronger. A few weeks ago I couldn't muster 10 mph on the red loop....and now I am up to 11....dang. I think some kind words from a few friends have helped. Niel told me to just have fun. He is really fast so I listened and I had a blast at Yankee Springs. Brian told me to stay off the brakes...so I don't brake as much....and I can feel my handling skills improving. So, minus a few slow climbs I am feeling good about the Fort Custer Stampede.

So, second loop. I was hurting by the time I got to the Green loop. I almost made it up the switchback, but ran out of steam on the roots at towards I end of the climb. I dabbed and then climbed the rest of the hills....giving a nod to 'Erin' as I reached the summit. After that I started to feel better but I could feel myself slowing down on the climbs. I was very surprised when I caught a couple of guys stopped and talking on middle of the long climb in the pines. I was even more surprised when they never passed me back. I had the opportunity to show off my skilz when I approached the step-up climb towards the end of the green. The hill goes vertical when the roots jut out. I cleared it and then noticed a group of people standing at the top of the hill. They all kinda had surprised looks on their faces...lol. Then I cleared the huge log jam on the other side of the hill. At this point I was feeling good....but it was short lived as I ran out of steam on the next climb. I managed to average 10.2 mph over those 10 miles though....so all was good.

I am riding tomorrow....going for a Dirty Thirty...which is 30 singletrack miles. I am thinking it will take me about 3 hours to complete....and I look forward to the task. Gotta ride!!!

The purpose of a goal

2010-04-21T09:22:00.000-07:00

I have always been a goal setter. I want to complete a certain task by a certain time, or get to a place by a certain time, or make enough money to do stuff....ect. What I have found is that the goals I set are flexible. They seem to move to wherever I am at that point in time. For example, I have had a goal of losing weight for many years. I would lose a little and progress towards my goal only to lose focus and gain weight back. Progress comes in small steps for me. I am finally refocused on my weight loss and it is showing. I have lost about 20 pounds and I am much stronger from cycling. Which leads me to the point.....or the purpose of this post.

A goal should have strict guidelines. They are as follows:

1. Set a goal
2. Make sure the goal is within reach
3. Never change the level of the goal if you are not reaching it....make a different goal

So...basic....right? Well, I have found that if a goal flexes down to an attainable level it was set too high. At the Yankee Springs Time Trial I set a goal of 1 hour and 15 minutes for my race time. I have never been within 5 minutes of that time and I figured in the race I would push myself harder to ensure I met the goal....which I did. The goal was just on the edge of being out of reach. 1 hour 10 minutes was too steep, so I took the low road (which was still faster) and hit it on the head.

Now I am looking at the Fort Custer XC in a week and a half and wondering what I should set my goal time at. Last year I have no comparison because I took a DFL after going flat 3 times. I can compare my times from this year on the Red loop (which is most of the race course) and get a decent idea of where my times will be. The problem I have is how low do I set the goal. I want to hit it, but not be disappointed by a low finish....and I don't want to miss it and be disappointed by a SLOW finish. So....hmm.

My goal for Fort Custer XC is to finish in the top 5 with a time of 0:50:00. Do you think I can hit it? I do....

Yankee TT

2010-04-18T17:58:00.000-07:00

And my 2010 race season begins. Today was perfect weather for me. It was a little cool but the sun was shining and NO RAIN. We loaded up and headed to YS Rec Area with only two bikes this year. Izzy and Megan decided not to race the kids race this year, but Zack decided to do the long race. His report first:

Zack did sweet. I was a little worried because this was his first race and he had a change of heart on racing after last Sunday, but we made him do it anyway. He finished 8th in his class which was last in his class...but he was far from the slowest person on the trail today. He raced in the 11-14 Beginner Men category and finished with a time of 1:50:10.7 I am super proud of him and his results.

Now for mine:

I stated earlier that my goal time was 1:15 for this years TT. I had a decent training ride that planted me with a goal of shaving 5 minutes off of my best time from this year. The funny thing is that I actually did it!!! I finished with a time of 1:15.15.5 for an 8th place finish. I managed to shave 9 minutes off of my time from last year....and drop 3 places in the standings. LOL. Anyway, I am very happy with my results. It was a fun day of racing and camaraderie. I had to help a guy get his foot out of his clipless pedals when he fell over after clipping a tree. I asked if he was okay, then made a derogatory comment about clipless pedals....and offered to help him. He took my offer and I went on my way. It was a ride full of getting passed and passing a few people myself. It was fun to go flying past the skinny beginners while I was still feeling good. I had a nice short ride with a guy from across the state too. He was suffering. Now I see he was a sport racer that was in for a little more than he bargained for. He had never ridden over here and was not feeling well. Unfortunately I didn't have anything to offer him. When I got about 1/2 mile from the end I saw Sarah.......then Megan.....then Chelle. After a short jaunt and a climb I saw all three of them again. This is the best part for me because when I am suffering I find strength from seeing them. After the gravel section towards the end of the trail there is a downhill next to the road and then the finish area. I hammered it as best as I could to the line. I could hear some friendly yelling and then saw Kim and Jessica. My finish felt awesome. I was hauling ass when I got to where the people were standing and I hope some of them were impressed....I know I was...

All in all....good day of racing. Now looking forward to Fort Custer Stampede in a few weeks.

One for the RODE......

2010-04-16T16:31:00.000-07:00

So.....I had my last training ride at Yankee Springs last night. I left work and got a little turned around on the way north...but got there eventually. I was glad I was a little late because I ran into Niel and Jody as I was heading out. I knew they would catch me...but more on that later.

Yankee Springs is a wicked trail. Sand, roots, rocks, sand, hills, sand, sandy hills, rocky sand, rooty rocks, ect. I wanted to get one fast (for me) ride in before the TT. The strange thing is that I started strong, but the 80 degree air was killing me. I was wheezing from asthma, which hasn't happened at all this year. The resulting lack of oxygen in my lungs was depriving good blood for my legs and I started feeling like dirt. Determined to keep pushing on I just decided to walk the longer hills and not kill myself. At the 1/2 way mark I still hadn't been passed by Niel or Jody. Then, I hear..."Hey buddy...how you feeling?" as Niel approached. I was walking and he was out of sight in a hurry. I kept pushing onward and started to feel a little better, but my breathing was still a mess. With about 2.5 miles to go I hammered it as best as I could. I went super hard on the flats...then when the trail tilted uphill even a little I felt dead. Just no energy......but Jody still hadn't passed me. With about 50 to go I heard "HEY"....as if my heart wasn't beating fast enough....she scared the bejeebes out of me and it started beating harder. LOL.

I almost made it around without her catching me...and I will take that as a victory.

Ride time: 1:20:20.

Now with 11 people in my class I know this will not be fast enough, but I will do my best. I am shooting for 1:15 or better because I hope that my race pace will be faster and that I will feel better. So, good luck everyone. I will post a race report on Sunday evening or Monday.

Let the season begin!

"I think I dislocated my......."

2010-04-12T16:11:00.000-07:00

These were the words that my son used yesterday at Yankee Springs. He asked what the body part was called...the proceeded to use it in a sentence. It was as follows:

"I think I dislocated my urethrae"

While trying not to laugh because I could tell he was in pain.....I asked him if that was even possible. It drew a smile from him....thankfully. We were about 3 miles from the end of Yankee Springs and he was completely running out of gas. We had a good ride out there for his first time. He is about as ready as he can be for the TT on Sunday....and he will surely finish.....it just might take a while. Good thing there are sweepers.....at least he will have someone to ride with.

He did a great job for his first time out there. No major crashes and he climbed most of the beginning hills on his bike. When he got tired he started pushing but he kept right on going. He says he is feeling okay today, thankfully! I thought maybe we were going to have to take him in for that dislocated urethrae.....

Dropping in the standings....

2010-04-09T17:23:00.000-07:00

This week really sucked for weight lost. Not only did I not lose....but I gained. I actually gained everything back that I lost last week. Upon further investigation I realized why I gained it back. There were numerous factors. They are as follows:

1. Easter Sunday. I ate all day.....good food.
2. Easter Candy. I started Saturday night and ended when the candy was gone....on Wednesday.
3. Rain. It makes me hungry.
4. Only ONE bike ride.
5. Deep Dish Pizza

These added together equal a weight gain.

On a positive note....I did two laps at Custer tonight. I wasn't feeling too good on the first loop and my legs were trying to quit on me. I was a little slower than last week, but the temps were about

30 degrees cooler too. I decided to head out for another lap knowing that I could take the road back if my legs gave out on me. I decided to ride the Red loop again but skipped the Amusement park. I did ride the Crazy Beaver loop and the new longer section towards the end and managed to hold my avg speed up. It is amazing to me that I was as fast as I was considering how I felt...but I will take it.

The standings....I am now guaranteed at least 3rd at the Yankee TT because there are only 3 people in my class. I am sure I will have to kick some ass to podium....and I am up for the challenge. 11 days to go.

Nature induced rest days

2010-04-08T17:11:00.000-07:00

The last few days have been rainy. Today is snowed....not enough to stick on the ground....but still....it was 70 degrees two days ago. I did manage to ride on Tuesday evening. 10 miles of climbs followed by 10 miles of fairly flat. It was good to get out and ride for an hour and a half after no logging any mileage for 4 days. Wednesday and Thursday (today) were both nature induced rest days. It was rainy yesterday and snowy today. I am heading to Custer tomorrow for some good riding. I have heard that the trails are not muddy and that is all the green light I need. I am thinking of riding the Red and then the Red to Green combo again like I did last week. 19 miles of kicking my ass.

Yankee is quickly approaching. As of this post I am guaranteed at least 3rd because there are only three people signed up in my class. I know that will change and I will have to ride my best to get to the podium....but that is what I am shooting for.

Podium. GO!!!

Fried nerves....

2010-04-06T16:04:00.000-07:00

I started a new job two weeks ago today. I have managed to ride Fort Custer twice a week for those last two weeks...with a great ride last Thursday. Unfortunately, I haven't ridden since. Saturday we were busy and Sunday was Easter. I was going to get up and ride on Sunday but I didn't...now I wish I would have. Last night I had no babysitter and then the forecast had rain until Thursday. Right now I am looking at partially clearing skies....and I have no babysitter. I really really want to ride and its looking like I will be riding in the dark....but that is okay....because I ride faster. Yankee is about 12 days away and I am already getting nervous thinking about it.....just thinking about it?!!? are you kidding? I have a little more riding on my race season this year because I am on a team and I am gunning for a series award. I want to be on the Podium on April 18th. I feel good...but need more miles. I am more confident...but need to lose weight. Good thing is this......I will ride my best and hope that it is good enough. Hopefully I won't worry about how Zack is doing in his first 'real' race and I can just focus on my riding.

12 days.

good news! I might have found a babysitter...gotta go ride!

'Fast" is a relative term....

2010-04-01T17:09:00.000-07:00

Something strange is happening. I feel like I am pedalling the same speed....but I am covering more distance in less time. I almost made it around the entire red loop at Fort Custer tonight without putting a foot down. I got hung up on one root that stopped me....but other than that I never stopped. I can climb hills....but I still feel slow. I think the major difference is that I don't have to stop and rest at the top of the hills anymore. I can pedal a little slower for a short distance and get my lungs back. I have a mental block that tells me I am slow. After not getting passed again tonight I am beginning to wonder exactly how fast I am. I have a good feeling about the Fort Custer XC that is coming up in May. I know the course well enough and I can ride Custer twice a week until the race day. Yankee is the course that is bothering me.

Will I be 'fast' enough?

Tonight solidified my feelings that my training is definitely helping. I rode 19.28 miles at Fort Custer and averaged 10.38 mph. I have been trying to break into double digits on MPH for a long time. I have been close this year.....and the only other time I have been over 10 is during races. If I can hold over 10 on a ride (that is not a race) I should be able to ride faster than that during a race. Anyway.....I feel good and I am getting faster. Now, if I can lose more weight I will be seriously dangerous.

March....DONE

2010-03-31T19:23:00.000-07:00

My mileage slipped a little bit in March...but that is normal for me. I still managed 285.25 miles in March...which is exactly 200 more than last March. The awesome news is that I am over 700 miles for the year already. A huge dent in my last years mileage. Now that I am working by Fort Custer I am able to ride two days a week on dirt. It is only 10 to 17 miles (right now) but dirt is much harder than pavement. If I can ride the dirt two times a week and sneak in a few road rides as well I will be fine in April. The scary thing is that Yankee Springs is only 18 days away. I am feeling pretty good and I can still lose a little weight...but I am on the right track.

Yesterday I had a sweet ride at Fort Custer. The only issue was that they were burning around Eagle Lake. I had to hold my breath for a while on the Green loop...but then it was fine. I cleared all of the hard hills on the Green and almost made the tough climb on the Red (the steep one). I shaved time off my last journey...but it didn't show because I was waiting for a guy I was riding with. I was only 20 seconds slower than last week on the same loop...but I know I stopped for well over 1 minute. So.....40 seconds faster?

I ROCK. Watch out Clydesdales....I am ready.

Barry-Roubaix and Yankee

2010-03-28T08:38:00.001-07:00

I told Megan to grab the camera so we could take some pictures. She said it wasn't in the van...so no pictures. (later we found it).

Barry Roubaix:

Zack, Megan, and I headed out to the Aid station for our shift. We got to see a ton of people from the 35 mile course go flying by. We got there early enough to see how the aid station worked and got some pointers from the other volunteers. I have never volunteered before and it was a very fun time. Seeing the race from a different perspective is always good. I have always appreciated what the volunteers do for the events, and now my appreciation is even greater. Getting a simple thanks for helping gave us a good feeling. To see the suffering on some of the faces and the enjoyment on others was also interesting. One of the 65 mile riders stopped to refuel. He was totally out of gas. He took a little of everything we had to offer him. He hinted about bailing and catching a ride, but we filled his encouragement bottle and sent him on his way. After we were done cleaning up we headed back to the start/finish area. We passed this same rider and decided to stop at the campground and get out to cheer him on again. He had a huge smile and said thank you. It made the little bit of time we offered worth more than anything we could have been given. Congrats to all of the racers!

Yankee Springs:

We bought the kids new bikes on Thursday and Friday. I took them out to Yankee for a ride after the Barry race. After a crash 25 yards down the trail we were off. Zack sped ahead and stopped at the first shortcut, which offered him a long rest. Megan took her time and pedalled up all of the hills. I was very impressed with the way the kids handled themselves on this trail. It is the first time they have ridden out there (minus the 2 mile loop on the north side). We took the first shortcut at the top of the ditch climb and headed back. The only scare Megan really gave me was when she almost flew off the trail. There is a creek on the left and a decent drop to the water. She held on and tipped away from the water, thankfully. She was running out of gas towards the end but she gutted it out and kept going. We managed 5.5 miles of riding...but time was no object. It was a fun day of spectating and then riding.

The first at the Fort

2010-03-24T15:40:00.000-07:00

Tuesday was awesome. I started a new job and then headed to Fort Custer for a loop in the sunshine. I took off down the trail and was immediately having fun.....until I tried to power up a climb and my chain slipped......then slipped again......and one last time before I changed into the big ring in front....and the skipping ended. Problem was....I don't ride in the big ring....unless I am on the road. I powered through it...but I was surprised by the difference in cadence and power output. I rode the red loop to where the green and red cross...and took off down the green loop. I never even saw another person on a bike while I was on the green....but I am okay with that. If felt like I had the woods to myself. I pushed until I was back to the parking lot.

The results were astounding.....fast average on an awesome trail. Actually....fast enough that I posted a 14% reduction in time over nearly a mile longer in distance.......if that works. Average speed increase was actually nearly 28% faster than my race time last year. Granted...I did have a flat....but I was still held a 20% faster average pace than I did at any time last year at the Fort.

Anyway....race season is coming and I am getting faster while trying to get less heavy....

1st dirt of the year

2010-03-22T10:57:00.001-07:00

It felt really good to get on the Epic and ride on a ribbon of dirt. It felt even better to show an increase in speed from my fastest time at Yankee Springs last year. Some people don't think that a 2% reduction in time is good....but it is substantial. Along the same lines, a 1% drop in weight per week might not seem like much...but it is over 2 pounds.

Anyway, fast time on a bike with my new fit from Brian at Cross Country Cycle made my quads hurt. I have been riding a lot more this year and have been able to walk with little pain the next day. Saturday I woke up with some obvious 'good' pain in my legs. I know I worked them harder because I was on the dirt....and I loved it.

Yankee was in great shape. There are still a lot of leaves on the trail but as they dry out and the trail is ridden more they will disappear into the surrounding nature. Sand will always be an issue at Yankee but early in the season the sand is still not wanting to come out of hibernation. After the TT in a few weeks the trail will be super sandy, and still a ton of fun.

I figured out that I showed a reduction in time even though I am over 10 pounds heavier than this time last year. Now, I have about a month to drop more weight and keep my mileage up so I can sneak into a podium spot. Yes, I am gunning for the podium at Yankee Springs this year. Here we go...

That old feeling....

2010-03-16T20:11:00.000-07:00

Two local trails are ready to ride:

1. Fort Custer (which I am pleasantly surprised about)
2. Yankee Springs (which is always ready when the snow is gone)

So....I will get a fit from Brian at Cross Country on Friday and then I am hitting Yankee Springs. It is time to see if the work I have done on the trainer will do me any good. Until then I will pedal around home. 11 miles tonight in the dark was sorta fun. I have a long 33 mile ride planned for Wednesday and then my monster hill climbing route on Thursday. After a week like that I will be begging for singletrack.

A lap at Yankee is on tap.....if you wanna ride with a half-fast guy.....I will be out there....maybe around 3?