The 2nd to last race of the Tailwind XC MTB racing series for this year was one of my favorite places to ride and race. Fort Custer State Rec area. This place has everything you could ever wish for in a MTB trail. And as the Cyclocross season approaches, this is the perfect race to test how my training has been going. The course is a 14 mile loop for a 1 hr max effort TT. In a nut shell it went OK. I felt like a million bucks before, during and after the race. But I did have some issues.
For starters, I could not stay on the bike in the first race and this basically caused me to lose too much time overall to be a real contender. The first stop was in the trenches. The guy that went off with me in the start house crashed and looked like he broke his wrist. Since it was about 2-3 inches from where it should have been placed on his arm. When I seen this I slammed on the brakes and focused my attention on making sure there was nothing else seriously wrong with him or that he did not go into shock. I asked him several time if he needed me to help him out or go and get help. He declined every time. When I was finally convinced that he would be OK on his own and declined my last offer of help, I started racing again. I finally got a good groove going again, and was hitting speeds of 20 mph in some sections of flat single track. About half way through I caught the edge of a sandy off camber down hill and the sand let go throwing me to the ground. Ouch! Did and quick inventory and got back on. Found my rhythm again and pushed as hard as I could. Then I began to pick a few folks off. Sweet! I am rocking. I got about 2 miles away from the finish and was on this dudes wheel. We started to go down hill and I caught a small tree with my handlebar. I did not completely crash, But I did hit hard enough to spin my handlebars about 6 inches off of center. I tried to finish the race with crooked handlebars but it was not working. So I stopped again to straighten them out. I finally finished in a time of 1:04. Not bad considering. It was faster than last year's time and the course was about a 1/2 mile longer. But I feel if I could have stayed moving the whole time I would have came in at 1:03 or even 1:02. Maybe next year.
But my day was not over. This was after all just another training day for CX right? So I entered the Single Speed race. This race went much better in terms of rhythm. I stayed upright the entire time. I was only able to manage a 1:08 on the clock. I pushed a 34x16, so maybe a different choice of gears would have helped. But in the end, I still think it was a solid time on a tough course to race 2 times in a day on. And the best part -- I felt like a million bucks.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Pontiac Lake XC
HOT! That is was. And at 90 degrees, my first goal of the day was try not and cramp. So I guess I hit my goal since I did not cramp at all, and the rest of the day went well also. There was a large field today in Expert 30-39. 19 total. Most of us were surprised at the size, because it seemed like there were only 20 cars in the lot before the start. So it went something like this.
After good warm up, we lined up. I was already sweating like crazy. The temps were already in the 80's at start time. The whistle blew and we were off. I decided to line up in the back and pick off folks as I went about my business. I hooked up early with Greg Donnie, Brad Lako, Adam Naish, and Jason the OX! We had a good pace line going and Greg and Brad were putting out a blistering pace that the rest of us could not hold on. Then it was Adam, Jason, and myself. Adam quickly peeled off the back. By this time, we were finishing up the first lap. Jason, put a gap on me by about 30 seconds as the 40+ guys came steam rolling by. I finished the first lap with a personal best time of 43 mins! I was stoked about that, but there were still 2 more laps to go. I caught Jason again about 4 miles into the 2nd lap. Passed him on the big climb and put a small gap into him, for a hot second. He said he was whipped, but I wish I could still ride like him when I am whipped. I Felt very strong and consistent for the rest of the race. My last 2 laps were 46 and 49 mins. Not bad, especially on such a tough course and with temps in the 90's on the last lap.
Coming home on the last lap, Jason was still on my tail. We battled back and forth, but I tried to put the gas on when I could to drop him. It didn't work very well. Until about the last 2 miles. Knowing I was still feeling good and would not cramp, I pushed up the last 2 large hills with all I could. On the final switch back climb, I could not see him. I popped it up in the big ring and sprinted home. 10 place. Not bad for a tough day.
This was the first race on the 29er Superfly. The bike handled awesome. I could really lay it in the corners, accelerate nicely on the flats, glide over the rocks and roots, and hammer up the climbs. Very Happy!!!!
As I am 100% into my training for cyclocross, it is going very well. In fact, I think my CX training even helped me out for today's race. I am doing 2 week builds with 1 week rest, and my body seems to be handling the stress better than when I was doing 3 week builds with 1 week rest. So live and learn. But for now the focus is on hard interval at short efforts, and power!
My next stop will be the Fort Custer TT. I am looking forward to this race as it is a favorite place for me to ride. In addition, it will only be 1 hr long. Right up my alley! This will also be a good gauge to see where my fitness is with Cyclocross in a few weeks. Furthermore, I feel this is my last and only real chance of cracking the podium 1 last time for the mountain bike season.... But we will have to wait and see.
After good warm up, we lined up. I was already sweating like crazy. The temps were already in the 80's at start time. The whistle blew and we were off. I decided to line up in the back and pick off folks as I went about my business. I hooked up early with Greg Donnie, Brad Lako, Adam Naish, and Jason the OX! We had a good pace line going and Greg and Brad were putting out a blistering pace that the rest of us could not hold on. Then it was Adam, Jason, and myself. Adam quickly peeled off the back. By this time, we were finishing up the first lap. Jason, put a gap on me by about 30 seconds as the 40+ guys came steam rolling by. I finished the first lap with a personal best time of 43 mins! I was stoked about that, but there were still 2 more laps to go. I caught Jason again about 4 miles into the 2nd lap. Passed him on the big climb and put a small gap into him, for a hot second. He said he was whipped, but I wish I could still ride like him when I am whipped. I Felt very strong and consistent for the rest of the race. My last 2 laps were 46 and 49 mins. Not bad, especially on such a tough course and with temps in the 90's on the last lap.
Coming home on the last lap, Jason was still on my tail. We battled back and forth, but I tried to put the gas on when I could to drop him. It didn't work very well. Until about the last 2 miles. Knowing I was still feeling good and would not cramp, I pushed up the last 2 large hills with all I could. On the final switch back climb, I could not see him. I popped it up in the big ring and sprinted home. 10 place. Not bad for a tough day.
This was the first race on the 29er Superfly. The bike handled awesome. I could really lay it in the corners, accelerate nicely on the flats, glide over the rocks and roots, and hammer up the climbs. Very Happy!!!!
As I am 100% into my training for cyclocross, it is going very well. In fact, I think my CX training even helped me out for today's race. I am doing 2 week builds with 1 week rest, and my body seems to be handling the stress better than when I was doing 3 week builds with 1 week rest. So live and learn. But for now the focus is on hard interval at short efforts, and power!
My next stop will be the Fort Custer TT. I am looking forward to this race as it is a favorite place for me to ride. In addition, it will only be 1 hr long. Right up my alley! This will also be a good gauge to see where my fitness is with Cyclocross in a few weeks. Furthermore, I feel this is my last and only real chance of cracking the podium 1 last time for the mountain bike season.... But we will have to wait and see.
Thanks again to Steve Balogh for letting me use the picture!
Sunday, August 2, 2009
My New Big Boy Bike!
I finally done it. I joined the big wheeled revolution. I could not resist any longer and jumped on the 29er bandwagon. After a seeing what the big wheels have done for some fellow racers, and 
hearing their testimonials, I jumped in with both feet. One of the reason I have held out for so long was giving up my 21.5 pound Giant XTC C1 carbon racer for a clunky 25+ pound 29er. But then in the last few years Gary Fisher came out with the Superfly and now getting a light weight 29er for a good price seemed reasonable. Admittedly, I have never been a Fisher fan, but come on, if you don't think a Superfly is not sexy you kidding yourself. So after stripping the XTR drive train of the Giant, and dropping some cash on some lite weight carbon goodies, I was able to build up a 23 lb. 29er race rig. This thing has enough carbon fiber to make a European Sports car Jealous! As mentioned above, I transferred a lot of stuff over from the Giant. But with out going into to much detail here are some of the new highlights of the build
Mavic Crossmax 29ers
Raceface Next Carbon crank (Only 730 grams with BB!)
FSA OS 99 Carbon Stem (Super lite)
Avid Juicy Ultimate Brakes (In Sexy white!)
hearing their testimonials, I jumped in with both feet. One of the reason I have held out for so long was giving up my 21.5 pound Giant XTC C1 carbon racer for a clunky 25+ pound 29er. But then in the last few years Gary Fisher came out with the Superfly and now getting a light weight 29er for a good price seemed reasonable. Admittedly, I have never been a Fisher fan, but come on, if you don't think a Superfly is not sexy you kidding yourself. So after stripping the XTR drive train of the Giant, and dropping some cash on some lite weight carbon goodies, I was able to build up a 23 lb. 29er race rig. This thing has enough carbon fiber to make a European Sports car Jealous! As mentioned above, I transferred a lot of stuff over from the Giant. But with out going into to much detail here are some of the new highlights of the buildMavic Crossmax 29ers
Raceface Next Carbon crank (Only 730 grams with BB!)
FSA OS 99 Carbon Stem (Super lite)
Avid Juicy Ultimate Brakes (In Sexy white!)
Now if I can only buy a set of legs and lungs....enjoy!
Friday, July 31, 2009
Stony Creek TT
Last weekend, was the Stony Creek TT. Man how I am missing the Tailwind TT series. The 
reason I like TT's so much is the more I race, the more I am realizing I like to go as hard as I possibly can, I just want to do it in a short amount of time. Like a cyclocross race! Stony is about all that is left of the original series (at least this year with the economy) and now it is entirely apart of the MMBA CPS series with Tailwind's help. So with that in mind, I am not in the CPS points race, so this race really didn't mean much for me other than to go have a good time and get in a good TT race with a good size field. But I also wanted to mix things up a bit and decided to do it on my Cyclocross pit bike. Nothing like a little early CX training - right? 
When I took off I felt great! I was burning up the flat grassy section right before you enter the single track. Got to the first river crossing, dismounted trotted through the creek and back on the saddle. Yeah! Just like a real CX race! Then it was through the pines into the double track and I thought, I am rocking this bike today! Then came the "Roller Coaster". This is when I realized that my choice of bikes may not have been the best idea. I felt every rock, root, and bump. The little 1 inch tires were squirmy in the corners and not forgiving on the steep descents. I could not tell you how many times I could hear the rear rim bottom out on rocks or roots. And I would just wait for the pssssss sound to come after. But it never did. I still rode smart and limited my risk through the single track so that I would make it out in one piece. Even though riding the CX bike through the single track was brutal and sketchy, it was a blast at the same time! And the effort can only improve my bike handling skills for the coming months. After the single track was complete, it was time for the 2nd river crossing. I dismounted early and put the bike on my shoulder and began to run over the huge tree that crossed the trail and then through the small creek. I did not preride the course this year and failed to remember that there was a decent size section of single track before the actual 2nd creek crossing. So thinking it was only a few yards, I continued to run with my bike on my shoulder down the single track. I was starting to lose so huge chunks of time and then realized This was not the best method. I put the bike back down and rode to the creek. By this time, I had already ran off 1/2 the single track. Oh well. I ran through the creek jumped on my bike and pushed as hard as I could all the way back to the finish line. I managed to take 7th place out of 14 racers, and put up a 56 min lap. Not bad on a 'cross bike!
On another note, Nolan raced his 2nd MTB race and this time it was 12 miles long! He did a great job and climbed like a billy goat and descended like a rock. He challenged himself the whole way
by making it up hills that he was never able to complete, and going down hills he would have walked in the past. As a result, he took home 3rd place for his 2nd race in a row! But the Osgood racing doesn't stop there, My 3 year old daughter Makenna tore it up in the kids race. Just like her big brother, she is starting young and dialing in her skills early. I am sure I will be writing about her results very soon. 
My favorite results for the day -
Jason Melecosky - Taking 5th without hardly racing this year. This is why we call you OX.
Jim Goerlich - 1st Place in sport SS! Way to go Jim.
Joe Gilbert - 2nd place like a diesel engine week after week!
Tom and Shawn -- WOW! This is becoming a great battle to watch. And to think, we still have CX season ahead of us....
reason I like TT's so much is the more I race, the more I am realizing I like to go as hard as I possibly can, I just want to do it in a short amount of time. Like a cyclocross race! Stony is about all that is left of the original series (at least this year with the economy) and now it is entirely apart of the MMBA CPS series with Tailwind's help. So with that in mind, I am not in the CPS points race, so this race really didn't mean much for me other than to go have a good time and get in a good TT race with a good size field. But I also wanted to mix things up a bit and decided to do it on my Cyclocross pit bike. Nothing like a little early CX training - right? 
When I took off I felt great! I was burning up the flat grassy section right before you enter the single track. Got to the first river crossing, dismounted trotted through the creek and back on the saddle. Yeah! Just like a real CX race! Then it was through the pines into the double track and I thought, I am rocking this bike today! Then came the "Roller Coaster". This is when I realized that my choice of bikes may not have been the best idea. I felt every rock, root, and bump. The little 1 inch tires were squirmy in the corners and not forgiving on the steep descents. I could not tell you how many times I could hear the rear rim bottom out on rocks or roots. And I would just wait for the pssssss sound to come after. But it never did. I still rode smart and limited my risk through the single track so that I would make it out in one piece. Even though riding the CX bike through the single track was brutal and sketchy, it was a blast at the same time! And the effort can only improve my bike handling skills for the coming months. After the single track was complete, it was time for the 2nd river crossing. I dismounted early and put the bike on my shoulder and began to run over the huge tree that crossed the trail and then through the small creek. I did not preride the course this year and failed to remember that there was a decent size section of single track before the actual 2nd creek crossing. So thinking it was only a few yards, I continued to run with my bike on my shoulder down the single track. I was starting to lose so huge chunks of time and then realized This was not the best method. I put the bike back down and rode to the creek. By this time, I had already ran off 1/2 the single track. Oh well. I ran through the creek jumped on my bike and pushed as hard as I could all the way back to the finish line. I managed to take 7th place out of 14 racers, and put up a 56 min lap. Not bad on a 'cross bike!
On another note, Nolan raced his 2nd MTB race and this time it was 12 miles long! He did a great job and climbed like a billy goat and descended like a rock. He challenged himself the whole way
by making it up hills that he was never able to complete, and going down hills he would have walked in the past. As a result, he took home 3rd place for his 2nd race in a row! But the Osgood racing doesn't stop there, My 3 year old daughter Makenna tore it up in the kids race. Just like her big brother, she is starting young and dialing in her skills early. I am sure I will be writing about her results very soon. 
My favorite results for the day -
Jason Melecosky - Taking 5th without hardly racing this year. This is why we call you OX.
Jim Goerlich - 1st Place in sport SS! Way to go Jim.
Joe Gilbert - 2nd place like a diesel engine week after week!
Tom and Shawn -- WOW! This is becoming a great battle to watch. And to think, we still have CX season ahead of us....
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Nolan's first USAC Race!
In his ripe old age of 7, my son Nolan completed his first official USAC XC Mountain bike race at Big-M ski/mtb trails in the Manistee National forest. In addition to completing the race, he was also able to stand on the 3rd step of the podium! I'm sure getting that first taste of the podium will make him hungry for more, as he already has his sights on the Stony Creek TT this weekend.
Leading up to the race, he was very excited and looking forward to going "up North" for a quick weekend get away, and a chance for him to not only do his first "Big People" race, but also ride his bike in a trail that he has never been on before. As we lined up he made sure I was ready and behind him. The whistle blew and we took off. He was setting a good pace through the first part of the fast single track and then he discovered sand. A small crash from locking up the brakes and he was up and ready for the next challenge. We made sure to yield to all the other racers by allowing them to pass. And I was impressed with Nolan for always listening for other racers coming up behind him, and then looking for the best option to get out of their way. And after most of the riders passed, he would yell out encouragement to them, like "your doing good", "keep going", or my favorite, "these hills hurt". I think we can all learn a little trail etiquette from a 7 year old. I was also impressed with his desire to try and clean all the climbs. He did very well and a few of them I could not believe he actually made it to the top! He descended very well also. Always looking for the best line and making sure his speed was in control.
As we made our way down the last hill and into the final straight, the crowd was full of cheer. And like a true racer, he found some more energy deep inside from the response of the crowd and managed to make a big push for the line sprinting all the way home. Way to go buddy!
As for my race, I give myself a C. I put out better times than last year (except for the last lap in which I crashed near the finish and then coasted home). But I felt a little flat of the climbs and flats. My bike handling is rasor sharp right now, so I hope as I get stronger, my results will improve. This is a quick base 3 for me as I ramp up for CX season. But I really need to work on my power and riding near my threshold. I finished 8th out of 9th.
Notables and congrats --
Tom and Shawn -- You guys just keep getting better and better. See you both at the big boy starting line soon.
JB -- Looking rock solid. You look like your on par with your CX training.
Brain -- Taking 4th on someone else's bike. But at least it was a good bike (Way to go plastic!)
Brad -- The human hamster. Thanks for handing it to me on the last lap.
Mike Wizzz.... -- 1st in elite! Look forward to seeing you tear up the CX courses again this year.
Leading up to the race, he was very excited and looking forward to going "up North" for a quick weekend get away, and a chance for him to not only do his first "Big People" race, but also ride his bike in a trail that he has never been on before. As we lined up he made sure I was ready and behind him. The whistle blew and we took off. He was setting a good pace through the first part of the fast single track and then he discovered sand. A small crash from locking up the brakes and he was up and ready for the next challenge. We made sure to yield to all the other racers by allowing them to pass. And I was impressed with Nolan for always listening for other racers coming up behind him, and then looking for the best option to get out of their way. And after most of the riders passed, he would yell out encouragement to them, like "your doing good", "keep going", or my favorite, "these hills hurt". I think we can all learn a little trail etiquette from a 7 year old. I was also impressed with his desire to try and clean all the climbs. He did very well and a few of them I could not believe he actually made it to the top! He descended very well also. Always looking for the best line and making sure his speed was in control.
As we made our way down the last hill and into the final straight, the crowd was full of cheer. And like a true racer, he found some more energy deep inside from the response of the crowd and managed to make a big push for the line sprinting all the way home. Way to go buddy!
As for my race, I give myself a C. I put out better times than last year (except for the last lap in which I crashed near the finish and then coasted home). But I felt a little flat of the climbs and flats. My bike handling is rasor sharp right now, so I hope as I get stronger, my results will improve. This is a quick base 3 for me as I ramp up for CX season. But I really need to work on my power and riding near my threshold. I finished 8th out of 9th.
Notables and congrats --
Tom and Shawn -- You guys just keep getting better and better. See you both at the big boy starting line soon.
JB -- Looking rock solid. You look like your on par with your CX training.
Brain -- Taking 4th on someone else's bike. But at least it was a good bike (Way to go plastic!)
Brad -- The human hamster. Thanks for handing it to me on the last lap.
Mike Wizzz.... -- 1st in elite! Look forward to seeing you tear up the CX courses again this year.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Stony Death March
For 3 years this race has haunted me. Severe cramps, 2 flat tires, and over training. So this year I wanted it to be different. I was not looking for a win or even a podium, I just wanted to finish! And finish with out any mechanicals or cramps. I wanted to beat Stony itself! Of all 3 years, this 4th year would be the toughest Stony XC Marathon yet for me. Now that I am racing expert, my mileage would increase from just over 40 to 63 and some change. Going into the race, a couple things crossed my mind. The longest ride I had done this year on my mountain bike was 40 miles, and the longest mountain bike ride I have ever done was 60 -- and that was not a race. So I was expecting to feel some pain. But would I survive?
I felt great at the start. This was my last week of my "race" period so if I was going to perform at my best, this would be the week to do it. The first 2 laps I felt like a rock star! And my bike handling was finally razor sharp for the first time this year. I stuck to the wheel of Brad Lako and Greg Donnie. We caught Adam Naish, and finally dropped Greg. I thought I may be having a race of a lifetime. The pace was not phasing me. Then Adam said he would not be able to hold Brad's pace for the entire race and decided to back off (Smart move by Adam). I stayed back with Adam, but then decided to try and catch back to Brad's wheel. But could not. I put a gap in Adam again, but he soon caught back up. We talk a bit and decided if we both had the legs we would work together like many times before. As we made our way to the pines on the 3 lap, my legs started to feel it. I told Adam, I was not sure I would be able to hold on and told him to go. Him did. Soon out of sight, I was by myself. This killed my morale, but I still had my basic goals to go after. My neck shoulders and wrist were killing me. But I pushed on. Around the end of lap 4, Greg caught and passed me. And I still pushed on. As much as I wanted to quit, I told myself I would not unless I began to cramp. But I never did. After each lap, I would see other racers fixing chains, rubbing cramps out of thighs and I thought if I could just push through a lot of other guys would DNF and this would improve my chances of cracking the top 10. It worked! 8 guys in my class DNF'ed. I am glad I stuck to my guns as I was awarded 7th place out of 15. It was not my most stellar performance, but as I saw a few weeks ago at Ruby, my team mate Todd Shorkey stuck out his race with a bent wheel that had duct taped spokes to earn his first podium ever. Thanks for the inspiration Todd. I will never give up so easily in a race, because anything truly can happen.
My hats off for some awesome performances by the follow folks. YOU GUYS ROCKED!
Adam Naish -- 3rd (his highest expert podium so far!)
Brad Lako -- 5th (Finally cracking the top 5 in the toughest MTB race in the Tailwind series!)
Greg Donnie -- 6th (What a come back!)
Tom Payn -- 1st (I am gald I could help! You were flying)
Shawn Schaffert 2nd (You were riding like a freight train! Great job!)
Things learned --
Don't train for 20-30 miles for 60+ mile mountain bike events and call it your "A" race.
I would rather line up for a 45 min cross race than a 5 1/2 hour mountain bike race.
I am starting not to like mountain bike races that are longer than 30 miles. So we will see if I do this race next year.
I finally got my nutrition and hydration down during a race. No cramps!
Well it is time for a nice week off the bike. I will be leaving for my out of start bike trip in a few weeks to New Hampshire, Vermont, and possibly a day in Maine. This will be the beginning of base 3 for me as I start my training for Cyclocross in a few months! That is when my real season begins....
I felt great at the start. This was my last week of my "race" period so if I was going to perform at my best, this would be the week to do it. The first 2 laps I felt like a rock star! And my bike handling was finally razor sharp for the first time this year. I stuck to the wheel of Brad Lako and Greg Donnie. We caught Adam Naish, and finally dropped Greg. I thought I may be having a race of a lifetime. The pace was not phasing me. Then Adam said he would not be able to hold Brad's pace for the entire race and decided to back off (Smart move by Adam). I stayed back with Adam, but then decided to try and catch back to Brad's wheel. But could not. I put a gap in Adam again, but he soon caught back up. We talk a bit and decided if we both had the legs we would work together like many times before. As we made our way to the pines on the 3 lap, my legs started to feel it. I told Adam, I was not sure I would be able to hold on and told him to go. Him did. Soon out of sight, I was by myself. This killed my morale, but I still had my basic goals to go after. My neck shoulders and wrist were killing me. But I pushed on. Around the end of lap 4, Greg caught and passed me. And I still pushed on. As much as I wanted to quit, I told myself I would not unless I began to cramp. But I never did. After each lap, I would see other racers fixing chains, rubbing cramps out of thighs and I thought if I could just push through a lot of other guys would DNF and this would improve my chances of cracking the top 10. It worked! 8 guys in my class DNF'ed. I am glad I stuck to my guns as I was awarded 7th place out of 15. It was not my most stellar performance, but as I saw a few weeks ago at Ruby, my team mate Todd Shorkey stuck out his race with a bent wheel that had duct taped spokes to earn his first podium ever. Thanks for the inspiration Todd. I will never give up so easily in a race, because anything truly can happen.
My hats off for some awesome performances by the follow folks. YOU GUYS ROCKED!
Adam Naish -- 3rd (his highest expert podium so far!)
Brad Lako -- 5th (Finally cracking the top 5 in the toughest MTB race in the Tailwind series!)
Greg Donnie -- 6th (What a come back!)
Tom Payn -- 1st (I am gald I could help! You were flying)
Shawn Schaffert 2nd (You were riding like a freight train! Great job!)
Things learned --
Don't train for 20-30 miles for 60+ mile mountain bike events and call it your "A" race.
I would rather line up for a 45 min cross race than a 5 1/2 hour mountain bike race.
I am starting not to like mountain bike races that are longer than 30 miles. So we will see if I do this race next year.
I finally got my nutrition and hydration down during a race. No cramps!
Well it is time for a nice week off the bike. I will be leaving for my out of start bike trip in a few weeks to New Hampshire, Vermont, and possibly a day in Maine. This will be the beginning of base 3 for me as I start my training for Cyclocross in a few months! That is when my real season begins....
Monday, June 15, 2009
My First Expert Podium! - Ruby XC
Maybe it's home field advantage, but I finally got to taste my first expert level podium with 5th place at the Tailwind USAC Ruby Campground XC race. This is the beloved "Ruby Trail Project" that we (Team Sandbag) take care of and is one of the most technical MTB trails in Michigan! You either love it or hate it. This is MTB racing old school style. Super steep climbs like "Lance" and "The Wall". Puckering descents like "Ruby's Remorse", "Out-house Hill", and the "Wash-out". Handle bar wide single track. Enough twist and turns to make a plate of spaghetti look straight, and then there is the unpredictable water crossings. Oh yeah, this is Ruby and we love it. However, mother nature was not kind to Ruby this year. Before the race several re-routes had to be cut and much of the trail was washed away. Thanks to Lee Tremp for giving up his time and hard work to make this palce ridable for not only Team Sandbag, but for everyone that came out and raced Your efforts gave all the racers a positive experience about what "Ruby Trail Project" is all about!
So I guess it was finally going to be my day to see where my training has taken me. And what better way to do it in my backyard, and arguably the toughest race course on the Tailwind USAC State Championship circuit. I was a little nerved up knowing we would have a lot of folks watching and cheering around every corner (Ruby is very spectator friendly!!). In addition, I was not feeling 100% but felt like I would be able to give my best effort. I lined up with my heart pounding and just tried to focus. The goal at the start of Ruby is to be in at least the first 5 places going into the single track. So the whistle blew and we sprinted down the 500 meter gravel road. Instantly my heart pegged and I hit my first goal of the day. I was sitting in about 5th position into the single track. I tried to calm down but the lead group put the hammer down and never let off. I fell off the back a little, but maintained my pace. I was actually starting to put in a good size gap between the folks behind me. Around the 2nd lap my team mate Todd Powers fell of the lead group and joined me for the 2nd and 3rd lap. Todd helped motivating me by yelling insults about my riding style and proving to me that my handling is terrible by catching me after all the technical single track parts. You see, Todd has trained this year by doing 12 oz curls with rice beer and has a sprained ankle. But you get him at Ruby in a race and he is like a dog trying to hump your leg -- He don't stop! God Bless you Brother, and Thanks! So about half way through the 3rd lap, My good ol' friend Adam Naish Caught me. Dammit, he has my number this year. I rode with Adam for about another 3/4 of a lap and he finally pulled away. He was much stronger than me and way more smooth than I was through all the turns. However, this was enough for me to pull ahead of Todd and keep the gap. On the beginning of the 4th lap, I could feel the cramps beginning in tops of my quads. It was manageable, But I ran up some of the climbs like Lance and the top of The Wall to try and control them. It was enough to keep my distance from the rest of the field and hang onto 5th!
This is great for my confidence and with 60 miles of the Stony Marathon in a few weeks. I need all the confidence I can get. My lap times were strong and consistent. 27, 27, 28 and 29. The cramps took a little wind out of my sail on the last lap. But that was a result of the other weakness I still need to improve upon this year -- Climbing power. I just finished up my peak for training, and am now into my race period for a few weeks. Time to see what I can do in my "A" race at Stony.
I have a long shout out list so here we go --
Brian Crook 2nd - place, slow down so I can catch you!
Todd Powers 6th - Even though your all beat up and out of shape you still haul the mail!
Todd Shorkey 5th - First ever podium! And did it with a duct-taped spoke and taco-ed wheel! Way to stick it out!
Paul Wood 3rd - Best ever Expert podium finish!
Tom Payn 1st - Great job!
Ben Miller 2nd on the SS! Way to haul it Ben!
Todd Lawrence 2nd -- In your first ever MTB Race!
Masher -- Finished -- First MTB race in 20 yrs! We still love you mike.
(Thanks again Steve Balogh for use of the picture, and great job in the race!)
So I guess it was finally going to be my day to see where my training has taken me. And what better way to do it in my backyard, and arguably the toughest race course on the Tailwind USAC State Championship circuit. I was a little nerved up knowing we would have a lot of folks watching and cheering around every corner (Ruby is very spectator friendly!!). In addition, I was not feeling 100% but felt like I would be able to give my best effort. I lined up with my heart pounding and just tried to focus. The goal at the start of Ruby is to be in at least the first 5 places going into the single track. So the whistle blew and we sprinted down the 500 meter gravel road. Instantly my heart pegged and I hit my first goal of the day. I was sitting in about 5th position into the single track. I tried to calm down but the lead group put the hammer down and never let off. I fell off the back a little, but maintained my pace. I was actually starting to put in a good size gap between the folks behind me. Around the 2nd lap my team mate Todd Powers fell of the lead group and joined me for the 2nd and 3rd lap. Todd helped motivating me by yelling insults about my riding style and proving to me that my handling is terrible by catching me after all the technical single track parts. You see, Todd has trained this year by doing 12 oz curls with rice beer and has a sprained ankle. But you get him at Ruby in a race and he is like a dog trying to hump your leg -- He don't stop! God Bless you Brother, and Thanks! So about half way through the 3rd lap, My good ol' friend Adam Naish Caught me. Dammit, he has my number this year. I rode with Adam for about another 3/4 of a lap and he finally pulled away. He was much stronger than me and way more smooth than I was through all the turns. However, this was enough for me to pull ahead of Todd and keep the gap. On the beginning of the 4th lap, I could feel the cramps beginning in tops of my quads. It was manageable, But I ran up some of the climbs like Lance and the top of The Wall to try and control them. It was enough to keep my distance from the rest of the field and hang onto 5th!
This is great for my confidence and with 60 miles of the Stony Marathon in a few weeks. I need all the confidence I can get. My lap times were strong and consistent. 27, 27, 28 and 29. The cramps took a little wind out of my sail on the last lap. But that was a result of the other weakness I still need to improve upon this year -- Climbing power. I just finished up my peak for training, and am now into my race period for a few weeks. Time to see what I can do in my "A" race at Stony.
I have a long shout out list so here we go --
Brian Crook 2nd - place, slow down so I can catch you!
Todd Powers 6th - Even though your all beat up and out of shape you still haul the mail!
Todd Shorkey 5th - First ever podium! And did it with a duct-taped spoke and taco-ed wheel! Way to stick it out!
Paul Wood 3rd - Best ever Expert podium finish!
Tom Payn 1st - Great job!
Ben Miller 2nd on the SS! Way to haul it Ben!
Todd Lawrence 2nd -- In your first ever MTB Race!
Masher -- Finished -- First MTB race in 20 yrs! We still love you mike.
(Thanks again Steve Balogh for use of the picture, and great job in the race!)
(Thanks to Chris Gho for allowing me to use the 2 bottom pictures! Great work!)
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