Yankee Springs TT

This is the 25th year that the Yankee Springs TT has taken place. But this years event didn't end up as the season opener as it usually does. With all the snow and cold temps in early April, the date got pushed back to May. But in the end, the race happened and as usual, the fast flowing single track of Yankee Springs did not disappoint! This is one of the best overall trails in the state in my opinion, and even if I only come here to dabble in the only single speed race I will do for the year, it's always worth it. And just like the past 5 or so years, I was slow, but I wasn't fast either.

My race started off good. Felt fast and strong. Picking off geared and single speed racers one by one. Half way through Scott Simpson joined me. He was racing the geared class, but I knew this was a wheel I needed to grab. Scott can carve single track like a hot knife through butter. I was able to stay with Scott for the majority of race, and we traded pulls. Ultimately he pulled away at the very end, and by this time, a few other single speeders passed me, so I knew I was off the podium.

In the end, I was feeling really good. The way I was expecting. But obviously, several things stacked up not in my favor and produced a mediocre result. I won't bore you with all the excuses why. I took home 7th place in one of the fastest overall class of the days. So I can build upon that.

Island Lake Rec. Area XC

Finally some great weather for racing, and on a great trail Island Lake is an XC racers delight. Fast and flowy. Something for all levels. Which is why it has been a great addition to the the Tailwind USAC XC MTB Series. This is the 2nd year for this race, and the registration broke 400! Congrats to Tailwind on a job well done. This is not only great news for Tailwind, but great news for the sport of Mountain Biking in the state of Michigan. Hopefully its on the up swing again.

As for the race, not sure if this place is becoming my new Stony Creek, but needless to say, luck was not on my side. Inconsistent training leading up to race day left me in a little funk so I just didn't have the normal mojo going.

The field was deep again. And a lot of fast guys. We all took off like being shot out a cannon. I missed my pedal and floundered around trying to clip in until I ended up in about 8th place. But I was OK with this as it was the same situation as PLRA XC. The pace was high and the lead pack of 7 stayed wheel to wheel. I was feeling OK but not great. I felt the pace was manageable, but know someone was going to test the waters soon. I was still on the tail end, and was looking for opportunities to start working toward the front 3. Then through a long false flat section, around a downed tree, I some how dropped my chain and ended up with my nut smashed on my top tube. That was it, as I dragged my bike back onto the trail, the lead group was gone! I finally got the chain back on and began to chase. I pushed hard, but felt real sloppy. I slowly pick up 2 guys that were from the lead group. This gave me confidence, but I still had know ideal how many more were left, or how far ahead they were. On the beginning of the 2nd lap, I caught Dan Sterling. He was cooked. I asked him how far the others were. He told me about 1 min. and that there were 5! UGH! my confidence was going the other way now. And I was also feeling like I just didn't have the punch needed to pull back the leaders. I still marched on and figured maybe luck would come back on my side.

Half way through the lap, the 40+ guys began to catch me. This was really not a good sign. Then Jimmie Colflesh and Jeff Payn caught me. I stayed with these guys figuring this was the last train I could ride to try and catch the others in my group. With about 3 miles or so left, Ben Christian caught me. I knew it was over. This was the final nail. I wasted too much time and energy trying to play catch up and today was not going to be my day. 7th.

Huge congrats to Aryn Pongratzs for take the 3rd step. And Dub-9 for another 2nd!

Jeff Payn for 3rd in the fast old man's group.

DC for landing on the podium in elites.

Yankee Springs next...

Pontiac Lake XC

 

Well another season has officially begun. And to me there is no better place for early spring mountain bike racing that Pontiac lake. With lots of hills, rocks, roots and great overall flow, it remains one of my favorite places to not only race, but ride a bike in general.

This year's race was packed with a lot of racers! Which is great to see. And with another season, there are always new faces in the expert 30-39 class. This year was no different. But not only were the the folks I don't know, but a lot of fast folks that moved up from the younger age group. So I figured I would have my work cut out for me, and was just hoping that all the work I been putting into training would pay off and at least keep me competitive.

As we lined up, it was a little confusing, not to mention that the class was 20 racers strong! So I ended up in a 2nd row start. When we took off, I got flushed to around 8th place and just sat there to see what would happen. As we rolled through the woods, the pace was not blistering and a group of 10 or more stuck together. I would move up as some made mistakes, or fell off the pace. By about 8 miles, I was sitting in around top 5 and looking to bridge the gap to the top 3 guys, Dub-9, Dan Sterling, and Jody Cagle. As I crested the top of a climb and stood up to accelerate around a group of guys, I had to take a less optimal line and caught a root with my pedal. This completely threw me over the handle bars and onto the ground! UGH! I could see the top 5 group slip away through the woods. But now full of adrenaline, I lit a match.

I pushed hard to find the front of the group again. and within 2 miles, and the beginning of the 2nd lap. I found myself in a battle for top 3 with Dub-9 and Roger Anthony.

Dub pushed the pace, and I sat in. We stayed wheel to wheel with Roger in tow. We had 2 other riders with us from the 40-49 age group as well. Later in the race, Dub tried to make a pass around the older rider, and was forced off into woods, but he was able to work his way back. Into the final few meters of the race. We were all jockeying for position. Bumping and grinding know one was willing to give an inch. I managed to push forward enough to get my wheel out first and into the last corner to take the best line. I made one last acceleration to the line, and found myself first across. An early season unexpected win... I will take it!

Great job to Dub-9 and Roger for the tape to tape battle. I'm sure this will not be the last. And congrats to all the other guys in the class. It's been a long time since I have been in a race with that many guys riding together that deep into a race. And that's the way it should be.

My hats off to Brad Lako. Stepping up to Elite and showing he can hang with some blistering lap times. Look for a top 5 out of him soon.

Lowell 50 - Classic Gravel Road Race

 

I can't get enough of racing on gravel roads, and the Lowell 50 is one of my favorites. It's located in some of the best rolling terrain this state has to offer. With a good mix of short steep hills. a few long grinders, and some open flat farm fields that course seems to have a little bit of everything thing for all all types of riders. Not to mention the beautiful park and backdrop of the Flat River Valley. Thanks to Jeff Z. for making this race possible.

This year mother nature decided to throw in a bit of mud, to make it a little bit more challenging. The race attendance grew, and the competition got better as well. All this made for some great racing!

I came into the race a bit tired but hungry to get back into some fast pace racing. The guys to watch were going to be Simon Bailey who put up a blistering timing at Barry-Roubaix and Adam McIntyre. And of course, there are always the unknown players as well. I got a front row start next to Adam, Simon, and Tony Baustik. We rolled out the train all the way to the historic wooden covered bridge. The pace quickened as the first few attacks came from some unknowns. We now hit the first gravel section and were coming on on one of the steepest and biggest climbs of the day. Adam made a jump and I covered as did Simon and Tony. We hit the hill at the same time. Adam and Simon Surged ahead. I was just behind with Tony. We were already blowing the field apart and I was into the red zone as well. Simon, Adam, Tom White and Tristan Greathouse were slowly slipping away from us and getting a gap. We finally crested the hill, and I had to play catch up. Tony and I were working together and soon latched back on. But before we could fully recover and get into a groove, the 2nd round of hills came. Pedal stroke by pedal stroke the gap swelled again, but they were still within site and hope. I put in my best effort, and soon found Tony was dislodged from my wheel. A few more hills and I could now see Tom and Tristan slowly coming back to me. Simon and Adam were off the front alone, but I was pinning the rest back and there was still a lot of racing left.

I continued to push and finally made contact with Tom and Tristan. We made our truce and decided to work together for the remainder of the race. All 3 of us were in different age groups, but we knew that the 3rd step of the podium for the overall and maybe more was still up for grabs. Were worked well together, and shared the load equally. By now we could not see Simon or Adam, and no one behind us as well. this gave me time to think about a strategy if I had a chance. Ton and Tristan were slightly better than I was on the hills, but the rest of the course was fair game. The problem was, there were still a lot of hills.

Since I had done the race the year before, I remembered much of the course. I knew that the after the last big climb with about 2 miles to go, it was relatively flat with only a few steep bumps. If I had a chance and was feeling good this was going to be the place. On the decent off the last hill, I was on Tristan's wheel and Tom was behind me. At the bottom of the road, we hit the nastiest muddy rutted section of the course thus far. Tristan hit a deep rut that slowed him down and threw him to the left. I managed to steer clear and stay to the right. And I knew this was my spot. I stepped on the gas! Out of the saddle and full on sprint. I was now in the upper limits of my TT pace. I took a quick peak back and saw I already had a good gap. I turned the screws just a bit more. hit the 2 small bumps with the legs already full of lactic acid. But I was still holding my gap. Finally, onto the pavement I knew I was safe and kept the pace high all the way to the line. I took the last step for 3rd in the overall 34 mile race and 1st in my age group.

Congrats to;

Simon for another blistering performance to snag another overall win!
Adam McIntyre for getting off the couch for the first time this year, and coming out just to kick my ass for a solid 2nd place overall!
To Tom and Tristan for sharing the load during the race and both taking home 1st in their age groups!
Jim Jackovatz for a solid 3rd place in his age group!
Adam York for 2nd place in the Big Kids Race!

Uleash the Kraken...

 

I don't have it tall anyone something they don't already know, but man this has been a really long and cold winter. But even though it seems like it will never end, somehow the Barry Roubaix came up quick and now we are finally into another season of racing! I personally can't think of a better way or race to start the cycling season off than doing this race. And this year did not disappoint! For a few moments before the race, spring decided to show its face, and set the stage for an almost perfect day of racing. Well except for the peanut butter power zapping mud that consumed most of the course. But then again, that's what this race is supposed to be about, unpredictable like the spring classic of Europe! We got a little taste of that this year for sure.

As I have been spending time trying to stay warm, between multiple hour rides outside with purple toes, and hours in the basement, I felt as if this race was like coming out of hibernation, or "unleashing the Kraken!" I was ready to do this, and ready to see what the legs were going to be able to handle. And this is how it went.

Based on my age group, we were going to be the first wave of over 2000+ racers. I felt this was going to be perfect as there would be no traffic to deal with. My plan was simple. Stay at the front at all cost, Stay with a few key fast guys if possible, don't do anything stupid. As the whistle blew, I jumped in the lead group. The pace was very slow. I chatted a bit with Alex Gonzales and Roger Bowers, and made a truce to work together for as long as possible. We turned to the first dirt section, and the pace quickened as we hit the 3 sisters hills. But still no one attacked. And the pace remained manageable. This went on for about 4 miles. Finally I decided to take a dig and went off the front. There was a group of about 30 with us at this point. I wasn't going to go for long, but just wanted to see where every one's head was. About 2 mins later, Wade Burch joined me and took a hard pull, then Roger joined as well. We fell back into the group, but now the pace was beginning to quicken. A few more miles and a few guys went off the front. A few more hills and we were all back. 3 guys still remained off the front but they were still within site. The Joe Thomas came from behind and surged to catch the group. Soon after, we hit the first of the really muddy sections! This caused a ton of confusion and slowed several of the guys down. Joe attacked and had a good gap on the other side. I surged as did Wade, Roger and few others. Through the nastiest part of the course, we had two groups off the front now. the first group was 4 riders, and I was in the 2nd with about 10 guys. We worked really well together, cycling through our pulls. This helped grow the gap a bit. And we continued to try and catch the guys in front, but they were slowly slipping away.

At about the half way point, 2 or 3 guys from the wave behind us, caught us. We were not sure who they were and decided to hop on the train. The effort got really hard at this point. We all stayed together for a few miles, until we hit the hill named the "killer". The leaders were inching there way off the front, but I was able to hang on. Well almost. When we got to the top, they gaped me. But Roger and Wade were no where around. The group I was just with was still in reach, so I buried myself to catch back on. I made contact, but as I did, I was greeted with the next big climb. This was the last time I made contact with the leaders of the group, but was able to hang with the guys that fell off the back end.

We all tried to surge forward as hard as we could. I could not see anyone from behind giving chase, so I continue to focus on trying to bring back anyone else that may have popped from the first lead group in my wave. There were a few, and we swept them up and passed them one by one. Finally, we made it to the last paved section before heading into town. But not before 1 last big climb. I was with one other guy at this point and we were both evenly matched on the climbs and flats. We headed into the town and into the chute. He took the inside line and down the hill. I tried to come around in the last second, but missed the sprint by less than a foot.

In the end I took home 3rd in my age group, and 23rd overall in the 36 mile race. I had a very hard solid effort, and felt like my training is on track. So the first race is in the books, and I can't wait to do the next one! I am completely in a different frame of mind than where I was last year, so hopefully it will all pay off for me.

Congrats to;

Steve Broglio for taking the win in the 62 mile pro race! WOW!
Mike Simonson and Adam York for taking the race down to a sprint to decide the win with Steve!

Simon Bailey for absolutely crushing everyone for 1st overall!!!!!
Mike Seaman for 3rd in Single Speed
Alex Gonzales for 5th
Ryan Katulic for 3rd
Roger Bowser for 5th
Pam Bufe for 3rd Ladies Single Speed
Jmak and Tom Clark for a CXC pair of 5th's
Jesse Gould for 2nd and almost taking a top 10 overall!

All the KLM boys, Jeff, Brad, Joe, and Todd for stepping and putting out some great efforts in the Big boy race!

And I have to apologize for my poor podium etiquette (especially to Adam York). It wont happen again. Early season mistake.

Give yourself a chance, then take it!

This hobby of mine has completely consumed me since 2006. And of all the years, this one has been different. I struggled to find the drive for the better part of the season and it showed. I was fat, tired, and just plain not having fun. It hit rock bottom in July at Brighton where I tipped 200lbs. and had one of the worst races in my life. Not fun. So here is a recap of my season. No pics of bling, just the highs, lows, and what I learned.

I had some early glimmers of success, with my highest finish at BRX with 4th. I took the overall win and age group win on the short edition of Lowell 50, and finished with my best result as an Expert to date at the Stony Marathon with 3rd. But it was not enough... I wasn't having fun, I developed a hip flexor injury, and just felt like poo.

After some soul searching and driving everyone around me nuts asking for advice and crying on shoulders. I finally pulled the plug! Stopped riding... Skipped races (for the first time ever)... Healed up a bit... Cleaned up my diet and refocused.

First stop after making these adjustments was O2S. For the first time this year, I was feeling the fire burning again. I did not know what to expect since I was going from a week off the bike to racing for 48 miles! But I really didn't give a shit! And I was happy. In the end, I finished up making my goal of top 100 and I was happy, and finally feeling good. I was able to stay up in the UP and ride my bike on some of the best trails in the world with no limits, no plans, and no cares! And it was great. This is when I fell in love with my hobby again. The stage was set and I was ready. By this time, I was also losing the weight. So at 22 lbs. lighter I was feeling good.

For the rest of the year I had a re-newed focus, a good plan, and great advice from Jeff and Brad to help me identify and correct training mistakes I made earlier in the year. From here on out, my season took a 360 degree change for the better. When I got back from the UP, I entered the Ruby 50 since it was in my back yard and was looking to get in some longer miles any way. I took 2nd overall, and 1st in my age group. Next stop was the last XC mountain bike race of the season. Tailwind Stony XC. I ended up taking 1st there as well. This was my 1st USAC XC MTB win since moving up to expert! From here, the CX season was ready to begin, and I was not sure what to expect. I was approaching the season a little different. Start out slow, and get a good solid fitness base to work off of. Then finish off strong! In addition, I really wanted to focus on winning the ICEMAN this year. So I decided to focus more on that, and just let the chips fall where they will with the early CX season.

At Ithaca, I rolled a tubular and finished last. Not the start I was hoping for. I then got 4th at Waterford day 1. Better, but not feeling like I had the extra gears to attack. Day 2 - a puncture flat... Really? I continued to put in the hours of training. When I got to Mad Anthony, I didn't realize I was buried from training and shit the bed! DFL! I thought I blew it. My ICEMAN chances were done! My season was done! ugh! But reviewing my HR data told me what I needed to do. Take a break! This is something that was very hard to learn. Learn how to recover properly. So I did. And leading up to ICEMAN I was back on track and finally got a win! Since I finally accomplished my goal that I have been chasing for several years, I was now ready to focus 100% on CX, and I had a boat load of fitness to put into it! I took 3 consecutive wins at Vets Park and Bloomer Day 1 and 2! This was a first for me at any level of CX racing! And I was now in a good position to take a crack at the overall title in Masters 35+. Going into the State Championship race, I was still feeling good and really wanted to come home with a 35-39 State title. An early crash in the race left me chasing the leaders until the end, but I did enough work to fend off anyone that was under 40, and reached another goal.

It was not a perfect season, but I don't know if any truly are. But its the most wins I have ever racked up with 7! And one was huge with ICEMAN. I learned a lot about training, and even more about myself and what I can achieve if I put my mind to it. When I pulled the plug in the summer, I came up with a mantra that I kept telling myself over and over again. "Give yourself a chance, then take it!" This has really helped and is really true for anything you do. If you never give yourself a chance, how will you know what can be accomplished? But you got to take the risk, and take the chance as well in order to see it through.

So that's my season.

Michigan Cyclocross State Championship! - Addison Oaks

 

The last dance. It's really been an incredible CX season. At least for the Masters 35+ Class. I don't ever remember as much consistent talent week after week as there has been this year. I said in week 1, that there were 10 legit guys that could win a race in this class any given week! And that never changed - all the way to till the end. We all threw blows, rubbed wheels, cut lines, hooked bars, drew blood, and finished each race by giving hugs . All season long we were each other's biggest fans and I believe each of us left it all on the course each week until the end. This is what made coming into the state championship special. It was still going to be any one's race to win.

The day was cold! In the mid teens cold. But the anticipation on racing made the numb fingers and toes feel natural. It wasn't going to matter. There was only 60 more mins of suffering left in 2013, so the cold was the least of concerns.

I was excited and nervous at the same time. My experience has taught me this is a good thing, as long as you can control it. I did my best, and just made sure I got a good warm up in. I went for a ride on the rock solid frozen course with JMAK. I had on my Grifos, and in the first few corners I found myself on my ass. JMAK yelled "Its just practice! Come on!" This made my nerves worse! I finished a lap, and went to the truck and put the lucky Dugast Rhinos back on that have severed me well since Vet's Park. This helped but buy the ground was still unpredictable and full of surprises in every turn!

We all lined up behind the elites and took off like scared Deer! The pace was crazy fast and the carnage began in the first few off camber corners. I got a poor start but was content with just sitting in. I could See Steve B leading the pack of masters with Wade, Andy, and Brian just behind. Simon was with me along with JMAK. We picked our way through some slower riders, and I was feeling good. Lap 2, the course opened up a bit, and we started to move. Simon, JMAK and myself were closing in on the lead group that contained Alex and Steve. Halfway through the lap, we came up on Alex and Steve laying on the ground with bikes tangled! It was a mess. Alex appeared to be hurt as well. A young elite rider took them both out! We were now even closer to the front. JMAK now made his first move. He got a small gap, but I was able to cover. Simon and a few others were not able to hang on. 3/4 of the way through the 3rd lap. JMAK and I caught Brain and Wade who were now the leaders of the Masters 35+ There pace had slowed quite a bit, so we were above to sit in and recover. I was still feeling good and was waiting for an opportunity to pounce. The in one of the slight off camber turns, my front tire found a frozen slippery rut and I went down! In the process I shattered my buckle on my Left shoe! UGH! Not good! I got back up and saw that I went from lead group to chasing from about 7-10th. Don't panic, plenty of time. I kept telling myself. This left me lighting a lot of matches, but I knew what I had to do. I picked off the guys in my class one by one. Finally after about 2 more laps, I finally caught everyone but JMAK who was pouring it on and was going to be difficult to catch. I sat in for moment and looked for an opportunity. On the beginning of the next lap. Wade decided he needed to go. I followed. Brian could not hold, and Simon was back even farther, along with a charging Todd Greene. Soon after Wade washed out in front of me in one of the tricky turns. I just barley missed him and went through clean. I was now in 2nd (leading the 35-39 State title race) I made a few more attacks to open up some more room and try to pull back JMAK. After the barriers I had a nice gap. And then Alex made it back on my wheel! Where the hell and how did he get here? AMAZING!!!! I thought. He soon pulled by. I hung on to his wheel for as long as I could but it was not going to happen today. He was on a mission!

I was still in a great position and feeling good even after the additional work I had to do to get near the front again. I knew that Alex and JMAK were both over 40, so I may not be able to win the race, but I was in position to win my first Master 35-39 State Championship title, and possible the overall series title. My goal was to keep my gap and continue to apply pressure to everyone behind me without making mistakes! I rode hard and smooth. The crowd was amazing and loud near the KLM tent and barriers each lap, and this just motivated me to go as hard as possible.

 

Through the sand, one last time, I knew I had done enough and just rode out the last few corners of the lap. I held on to a solid 3rd, but finally won a Masters 35-39 State Championship Title!

Congrats to Alex on the 40-45 State title, last race win, and series overall! You deserved it.
Congrats to JMAK on a solid season end - You never give up and I love it!
Congrats to Simon, Brain, Andy, Ray, Todd, Brad, Pete, Wade, and all the other Masters 35+ Players for an outstanding season from all of you.
Congrats to Sven, Kelly, JB, Dave Z, Tom B on their state titles.
Congrats to Dennis W, and Mark C on their State podiums.

Thank you Tailwind for providing some great racing in out state, and KLM for support during the race. Especially Brad for working the pits!

Thanks to my Mom and Dad for coming out and supporting me at all the races. Even in the nastiest of weather conditions!

Thanks again Mike's Mix, Macomb Bike, and Apto Studio for all your support all year long!

Time for a much needed break.