Short.....

All good things come to an end.....

Looking back....was it really good?

I have been putting words on this page since 2010. After 16 years I have started to wonder why I do it. I never fully developed a following like I had hoped. My page on facebook has a massive 350 followers. Half of those are probably fake profiles trying to scam something.  

So.....I wonder what the point of this whole thing really is. 

The more I thought about it....the less I had to wonder and the closer I was to my answer. There really isn't a point. I am just some random cyclist typing into space. 

So.....this will be my lasts post. Thank you to those that chose to read and to follow along for so many years. No reason to beat a dying horse.....its already dead.

Thank you everyone. See you out there. 

2025 Recap and 2026 outlook

 For those that are still following along.....thank you. Thank you for following along on my journey over the years. 

2025 is already gone

Why does it seem like 2025 just started? Yet here we are in January yet again, in the midst of winter. More on that later, but I wanted to share a few things about my 2025. A lot happened this year. Some good, some bad. 

Overall it was a good year. I got married. I continued to strive toward my goals. I had some podiums. I lived. I became a grandfather....with two granddaughters within 24 hours. All good things. As usual there were times of stress as well. Life continues to be the ocean and we are just boats floating on the surface.

Because I am a stat guy, I wanted to share some of what I did achieve in 2025. For those that have followed along, you know I was able to get on the podium a total of 3 times last year. I never reached the top step, but I did reach the 2nd step twice. I was also able to stick to 3rd in the M.O.R.C. series. These were the main points to the season.

I was also able to log the most miles I have ever logged in a season. My previous best was back in 2015 when I did LJ100. This year was much more consistent. Not only did I have more miles, but those miles were much faster. Dropping the weight surely helped. My total miles were just over 2300. This might not be a super impressive number, but one that I will take! 

I mentioned my miles being faster because I believed it showed in the number of PR's that were tracked. Looking at Strava, I see a massive 494 personal records in only 150 activities. I averaged over 3 PR's every time I was on the bike. 

As I have said before, it was a great year and I am looking forward to many more.

Thank you to my friends, new and old, that helped keep me moving and keeping me company! 

2026 outlook

I am planning on doing the Michigan off-road championship series again this year. However, I will not be racing Clydesdale any longer. The qualifications are kind of in a grey area. Some events have a 200 lb weight limit, while others have a 2x your height qualifier. In order to just make it easier for me to navigate, I am moving to Sport Men 50-59 for the season. The main reason is my weight. I am working on getting to that 200 pound range and I know racing age group will give me some extra motivation to both lose the weight and to train right. I will have to be faster to compete. Not only are the guys in this group fast, there are a lot more of them. Last year for the Yankee Springs Time Trial there were 27 Clydes and 53 in age group. Instantly doubling the field. Getting a podium in the series will be a tall task, but the refreshed goal will help to keep me moving.

Right now I am planning on Dirty 30 (short course), Barry Roubaix (short course) and many of the events in the M.O.R.C. series. The idea behind the short course gravel races will be to test the fitness before the MTB season starts. I want to get into a group, hang on, and see what happens at the first two events of the season. My third event will be the Yankee time trial. 

The future

Blogging as an art form is dead. While I appreciate those that follow along, I am not sure what I want to do with this moving forward. My posts last year were very chaotic and spread out, lacking a posting cadence that would engage most people. My last post was 2 months ago. Yes the holiday season has an impact, but the consistency was lacking throughout the year. I might continue to post, or I might come up with other ideas. I have been pondering shutting it all down. I have thought about a weekly video post. I have thought a lot of things. lol. Nothing seems to be a great idea that will sway a decision or direction. Its all up in the air at the moment. More on this in the future. 

Happy New Year everyone! Thank you for reading and your support. Keep striving. 

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

 

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

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

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

The Good

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

The Bad

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

The Ugly

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

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

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

The weakest Link

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

Aggressiveness

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

Group riding

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

Passing

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

Handling

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

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

Seems pretty simple....right?

Striving for 100 - Part 4

 What a week! 

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

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

I stepped on the scale Monday morning.

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

That's WILD....

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Until then....keep striving! 

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

 

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

Yankee Springs Time Trial

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

Fort Custer Stampede

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

Island Lake Challenge

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

Maybury XC

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

Luton Park Time Trial

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

Addison Oaks Summer Classic

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

Traverse City Trails Festival

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

Custers Last Stand Time Trial

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

So to recap my finishes.....

11th

3rd

2nd

9th

7th

2nd

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

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

Total Races: 6

Average Finish: 5.7

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

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

5 Top 10 finishes

Overall races in the series: 8

Total different racers in the events: 66

Average racers per event: 11.3

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

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

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

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

Custer's Last Stand TT (my season finale)

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Photo Courtesy of Brian Bartzen



The podium was a repeat of the Luton Park TT. 

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

Race Week: Custers Last Stand TT

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

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

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

Anyway....

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

See you Saturday.