Captain Curt

Post Season

2011-12-18T16:52:00.000-08:00

Well a week with no races, it is kind of strange. I have been thinking about 2012 a lot lately. Going to try some new things, hopefully with better results next cross season.

Hoping for some snow in the near future, the XC skis are feeling neglected.

One more lap

2011-12-09T19:19:00.000-08:00

Well I slogged through the mud on the singlespeed last week. One more to go this season. Hopefully it isnt muddy, but I have a feeling it may be.

The season hasnt been what I had hoped for. I guess that is what happens when life gets in the way of racing a bit. That isnt a excuse, it wasnt going good before all that. So back to the drawing board as they say for 2012. Thanks to go out to everyone that cheered me on at the races this fall.

Linden CX

2011-10-17T18:48:00.000-07:00

Well I had a game plan going into this race to see if I could finish a bit higher in the standings. Training the last couple weeks has been a challenge, but I was feeling pretty good. The start of the race was a bit of chaos with people blowing through course tape, crashing, etc... I finally start to make some progress passing a few people here and there and then on the 5th lap going around a simple turn, wham I am on the ground. It hurt to say the least, I got up and thought I busted a rib. But I got back on the bike and figured to give it a try. The barrier section hurt, every climb hurt, I basically just rode until I got lapped just before the finish line. I must say I didnt mind getting lapped, I didnt want a DNF so that just made it easier for me. Still havent figured out the B race, Vets park is up next. I used to good there maybe I will get a bit lucky.

Ugh

2011-10-02T13:40:00.000-07:00

Well time for the annual cold/flu/sinus infection thing. 2 years ago it was the first weekend of CX season, last year it was later probably mid Oct. This year well end of Sept. No racing for me this weekend which is too bad. There were two races I would of liked to do. Oh well, hopefully I have turned the corner on this one.

In the land of cheese

2011-09-26T18:24:00.000-07:00

First trip to the planet bike USGP race this past weekend. The USGP folks always put on a first rate race, and this weekend didnt disappoint. The number ceremony on friday night was cool, and seeing all the big name pros is always fun.
Singlespeed cross is the way to go at these races, the course was perfect for it, and the small field size keeps the craziness down. John & Jim both did really good, I only got one day of racing in. Stupid rain, and a insulin pump that isnt waterproof had me sitting on the sidelines. At least I dont have a bike clean, because the course turned into a swamp.
The drive was long, but it was a fun weekend.

The time is almost up, are you ready?

2011-08-30T18:20:00.000-07:00

I think I am, just a couple more weeks. The pain cave is calling.

Kind of makes me think of star wars.

"That place… is strong with the dark side of the Force. A domain of evil it is. In you must go."
"What's in there?"
"Only what you take with you."

Racing?

2011-08-02T17:47:00.000-07:00

Finally did my first race of the season. Much later into the summer than I originally planned, but I really havent had much interest in racing the mtb this year. The stony TT is my home course, I ride this trail and the same route all the time. Overall I felt good, it was a hot day, and lets face it I am a bit rusty when when it comes to racing. The guy I started with went out too hard I caught him by the time we hit the first fire road. I pretty much rode with him until we got into the coaster, and then I went around and pretty much rode the rest of the race by myself. I probably should of passed him sooner, and it probably cost me 5th place sitting on for longer than I should of. Then I was sick for 3 days, and missed some training. I am feeling better now though, and looking forward to September.

Tour de Cure

2011-05-27T17:59:00.001-07:00

Almost time for the Tour de Cure, but plenty of time left to donate. Click the link at the right.

Next One Down

2011-03-24T16:44:00.000-07:00

This time it was the stomach flu.
On the plus side:
I lost 15lbs, but I know where it all went, and it sure wasnt enjoyable.
Caught up on my sleep.
Got to eat toast and chicken broth for all my meals.
Maybe by getting all these stupid things now, I wont when the real season begins.
Probably wont eat 5 guys burgers and fries again for a very long time.

On the down side:
I had the stomach flu.
The 15lbs I lost are probably already back.
No Barry-Roubaix this year.

A ear infection?

2011-02-27T18:13:00.001-08:00

Not just for kids apparently. So I cant open or close my mouth without all kinds of pain, this sucks. It seems to be getting a little bit better but it has kept me off the bike now since wednesday. Maybe tomorrow it will be better, if not back to the Dr.

My name is...

2011-02-15T17:59:00.000-08:00

Training is my name, racing is my game. First race isnt too far away.

Its snowing!

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

Maybe some XC skiing instead of a run this week??

First real workout of the season tonight. On pace with last year, power numbers were down a couple of watts, but that is ok. :)

Yeah I know, I know

2011-01-10T18:08:00.001-08:00

I know its been a while. Not much to say I guess. 2011 is here, my race schedule is made, and I am hoping for better results this year. I plan to do more mountain bike races to help prepare for cross. This is going to be my first week of training, which is a week behind last year. Too much stress at work last week, but I am looking forward to getting on the bike this week. Hopefully I can get some early season fitness in time for B-R in March.

Making history

2010-10-25T17:54:00.001-07:00

First race at the Eva Bandman cyclocross park in Louisville, home of the 2013 world championships.

I really like the USGP races. So far this is our second year at the Derby City race. John and I left on friday and headed down to the race. Once we found the park, thanks to Ryan Trebon being our personal tour guide, we got a few laps in and met up with the Rouge racing guys. They were our hosts for weekend and a big thanks goes out to the entire team for making us feel at home.

The saturday course was quite short but had us off the bikes quite a bit. We decided that rather than racing in the 2/3 race with probably 200 guys we would race the singlespeed race with 20 guys. I was off the bike about 6 times each lap, there was sand, some soggy hills, one barrier section with a tricky hump right in front of it, and super steep run up right after a tight 180 that some of the pros actually rode. I didnt have the right gearing so I got blown away on the start and got lapped by beard guy, of course beard guy also raced the pro race, so I guess getting lapped by him wasnt so bad.

Day two, the course was a bit longer and I had it in my head to ride all the hills that I ran the day before. I did awful, I dropped my chain on the first lap, and was feeling pretty tired from the day before and got lapped by beard guy on the last lap. I was thinking that I havent been on my singlespeed since like mothers day, and I was feeling it. I didnt even get my bike put together until tuesday, so I guess one dropped chain isnt too bad.

Overall the weekend was a lot fun. John did good even though the results were all messed up. Wissink won the leaders jersey for the masters 35+ race which was really cool seeing him put that on. The wolverine and rhino guys all did good and Michigan was well represented. It is always fun doing the out state races and hanging out with all michigan racers.

Next up is vets park which is one my favorites, now I just need to shake this stupid cold that I have before the weekend.

Cross Season

2010-10-12T17:26:00.000-07:00

So far there hasnt been much to talk about, well at least not anything good. The season started at waterford, day 1 just hurt. I ended up way at the back of the B race, and was pretty cooked 30 minutes into the race. Day 2 at least I felt better, but my results were not much better.
The Ronde Van Stony was a fun race, it hit a lot of the roads that I train on and some of the trails at stony. About 4 miles into the race I lost my front brake, which really wasnt that much of a big deal just had to take some of the turns a bit slower than I would of liked. I was riding pretty good, but got stuck out in the wind pulling for longer than I wanted on area of the course that I didnt want, and got dropped and pretty much rode by myself for quite a bit of the race.
Munson wasnt really a race I was looking forward to. I got a pretty crappy start at the back of the field. My first lap was the slowest and the rest were pretty consistent and faster, so at least that was something. I finally felt like I could race for the whole 45 minutes and was able to go forward in the race instead of going backwards.
This last weekend John and I made the trip down to Cinci, for the UCI 3 day festival. I was really looking forward to racing cat 3 35+ instead of cat 2/3. I only ended up racing 1 of the 3 days though. Saturday on my second lap I came off a curb onto some pavement and blew out my tubular tire, I actually almost crashed because when I landed the bike wanted to go sideways, but I was able to keep it upright. Why they didnt make a little ramp is beyond me, there were two decent drops off a curb that they should of done something with. So this happens just before the start line, so I figure I should run to the pit and get my other bike. Sure I might get last place, but at least I will get some riding in. So I start running, run through the start, run past the Kona riders Trebon asks if I need anything I respond with a wheel or a beer, they laugh, run through the sand, run up the hill, and back down, get a brownie hand up, run on to the finish straight, the pits are just past this, and the race official pulls me off the course. 3.5 km of running for nothing. Well not entirely I got two nice blisters on my heels as a reward, I take off my shoes and walk back to the car in my socks because the pain was pretty bad. Sunday I decided not to race, the damage to my heels was pretty bad and I didnt want to make it any worse. So all of that for 19 minutes of racing, not the best return on my investment for sure.
While I am complaining, I dont get why they ran the Cat 2/3, 3 35+, and the 3 45+ all at the same time. I was second on the line, but I was still 90 people from the front. Why not stagger the start by a minute? The first lap was chaos and I had to come to a complete stop multiple times. It was pretty frustrating, and I am looking forward to racing the tailwind races more so than ever.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

2010-09-20T16:59:00.000-07:00

Well cross season is finally here in Michigan. It ended in December and I have been looking forward to it ever since. Lots of training miles, lots of time on the bike so I was expecting decent results moving up to the killer b`s this year. Well that didnt happen, not sure if the 10 days on vacation, and week before that of limited riding, or not doing much mountain bike racing this summer was the problem. The training has been going good, but training is one thing and racing is a totally different animal. The good news is that I least felt better on Sunday than on Saturday, so I guess that is something to build on.

On another note Banff and Jasper in Alberta is the most beautiful place I have been. Words cant describe it so here is a picture. :)

Stony XC

2010-08-30T17:36:00.001-07:00

Bah! Time for the real season to begin!

Stony TT

2010-07-26T18:17:00.000-07:00

Well my first mountain bike race of the year, finally. I was expecting pretty good results, being that I have been training a ton, and I ride the trail all the time. Going into the race I had my highest 20 min. FTP yet, and was feeling really good.
I started the race out hard, and was already passing people before I hit the river crossing. Time I hit the pines I had passed a lot of people and was feeling great. It was pretty slippery so I backed off the pace and made it through with only one near crash. Going up the snakes I passed a few more people and into the rollercoaster, and that is when it started to fall apart. By the time I was 3/4 of the way through some of people that I passed earlier caught up and got around me, and that continued all the way back. I had nothing by time I hit the grass and it was a real struggle not to let anyone else around me. I hit the line in about a hour flat, and felt like I was going to pass out. So I check my blood sugar and it was only 50! If you dont know, that is very low, 110-120 would be where I would want it to be. I should of known that was what was going on, instead of thinking that I went out too hard at the start. So I think if I would of ate something after the pines I probably would of put in about a 55 min. lap.

It is frustrating, but I feel the training is really paying off and I would of had a really good time if I didnt have to deal with being diabetic. But nothing I can do about that one, just need to listen to my body a bit better next time. You would think that after 10 years of this, I would know better.

Meet the Mudhoney!

2010-06-26T15:45:00.001-07:00

DOB 6/26/2010
Weight 18.3lbs
Father and baby are resting comfortably, for now...

First ride will be tomorrow, I cant wait.

Goodie Bin

2010-06-19T12:10:00.000-07:00

It is getting closer......

Brighton

2010-05-17T18:48:00.000-07:00

My first race of the season and why did I choose brighton? Oh wait I know, because of the short track race.
I decided to take a pre-ride on torn shirt before the race being that I havent ridden the trail in 3 years. If you havent ridden torn shirt it is only about 5 miles, but the first 3 are quite technical with a lot of rooted, eroded climbs and really technical descents. After that the trail is quite a bit tamer and almost flows even. I havent ridden a trail like that in a while and it sure showed. I took a nice little spill on one of the last technical downhills, I guess I picked a bad line and didnt get back over the bike far enough then I rolled down the hill landing on my side. I finished up the loop bloody and bruised and decided that I wasnt going to do the TT. I figured I would probably be to tentative and just crash more, and the sore shoulder and back werent going to help.

Next up was the short track. The course was very cross like, more so than I was expecting. After a lap or two on the course I couldnt wait to get to the line, but I had to wait for the expert/elite race. My buddies John & J.B. were both racing in the expert race. J.B. got first in his race which was cool to see, and John got 4th. I counted out the laps for them each lap and before I knew it was time for me to take the line.
I line up early and get a good spot in the front row. The whistle blows, and we are off. And no sooner than that I hear the guy next to making all kinds of noise trying to clip in, and then he hooked his bars on mine. I am not sure how we separated without crashing but somehow we did, I guess I ended up braking and he got away along with a few other guys. The 5 laps that we did went by pretty quick and I couldnt quite make it up to the lead group. The cross bike was a big advantage, and the fmb tires were great on the dry course. I rolled across the line in 4th place. Not bad, and looking at my times compared to the expert racers I would of been in the top 7 or 8 spots.

Not sure what the next mtb race will be. I really cant wait for cross season now and the new project that is in the works isnt helping with that either.

Thanks to J.B. for all the pictures.

Look who is now famous!

2010-05-07T14:50:00.000-07:00

2010 Gary Fisher Catalog

(Bottom left with the red/black coat and camera in my hands)

Maybe that pro deal wont be too far off.

The hell of the north!

2010-04-09T08:25:00.001-07:00

Birthday Ride

2010-04-02T16:35:00.000-07:00

This year on my birthday we will be riding the Tour de Cure in Brighton. I couldnt ask for a better birthday present than spending time with my wife, friends, and raising money to find a cure for this stupid disease that I have. A cure hopefully isnt too far off so please donate what you can to help out. Just click the logo on the top right to donate.

XC of a different sort

2010-02-27T10:52:00.000-08:00

Every four years in Feburary it happens to me. I watch a couple of the XC ski races at the Olympics and I am all fired up about learning how to XC ski. So this year I decided to rent a set of skis from REI and give it a try. Maybe it is just being stuck inside on the trainer all winter and the boredom that accompanies it is getting to me. Being out in the woods any way that I can is a nice change. It is just too bad the conditions in SE Michigan arent always the best for this. Seems like a lot of times we get a lot of snow then it turns to ice after a few warm rainy days. Not good for biking or skiing or really much of anything.
So after some practice in my living room and then the neighborhood park I met up with Pete K. at stony creek today. We started at the golf course and then headed back to the pines. The snow was really good and freshly groomed. Getting out there early helped also with the amount of other people out on the trails. I tried skiing there once before, probably 5 years ago, I just remember having a hard time and falling down a lot. It was much better this time around, it took some getting used to and I did fall down more than a couple of times, but it was also a lot of fun. We put in just over 6 miles, and by the end we were both getting better. I am still not ready for any big hills since I am still trying to figure out how to stop but by the end I was much more comfortable on the skis than when we started out.

Cold!

2010-01-31T10:49:00.000-08:00

Decided not to head out to the mmba expo today and ride my bike instead. It was a cold ride, and I am really wishing for spring. I think the Q is almost done finally. I stumbled across a orange salsa liplock on one of the forums. Crazy finding the right size, and color when I was looking for it. If it would of popped up a couple of weeks ago I probably wouldnt of thought about it.

The other good thing about not going to the expo today was being able to watch the worlds from Tabor. Stybar put the hurt on everyone else and just crushed it today. I cant wait until 2013 the world championships are coming to Louisville! This is huge for cyclocross here, and to have it in the mid-west instead of either of the coasts is quite amazing. It has never been in the States before.
So I know where I will be in 3 years!

Time for studs!

2009-12-20T06:31:00.000-08:00

Rode stony yesterday. There is a nice layer of ice under the snow in most places on the trail. I was happy I put the studded tires on the bike. I was also happy I switched the gearing to a 34x20 or I would of been walking up the icy hills instead of riding them. The studded tires always amaze me.
The new little re-routes are nice. I like the first one with the bench cutting, the second one I was more concerned with not crashing than paying attention to what the trail was like.

Trail Riding

2009-12-12T13:09:00.000-08:00

Got out on the Quiring single speed today at stony creek. This was only my 2nd time riding the bike since I have been so focused on cross and also with all my knee problems I didnt want to push my luck.
The trail was a bit icier than I was expecting today, and with the rain tomorrow studded tires are going to be a must. The single track was in good shape, but there were a lot of sections of the two track that I decided to walk.

The bike rides nice, my legs are sore as I am not used to putting that much force on the pedals. Even with a 34/18 I struggled up some of the hills out there, of course the snow didnt help any. I put a flat bar on the bike also recently and like the feel of that much better. I am planning on riding this bike all winter, but I am thinking I might need a bigger cog.

I am already looking forward to summer.

The Golden Cowbell

2009-12-07T14:13:00.000-08:00

It all came down to this last race, could I keep my third place and win my first golden cowbell or would Paul S. make up enough ground to take it away from me? Coming into the race he had beat me the last couple of races, and wasnt too far behind in the points. I did two less races though and only your top 6 count.
Going into the race, it was a peak for me after building since Iceman. The previous two races I didnt do as well as I wanted by any means, stony and bloomer neither of them suited my riding stlye apparently. The week leading up to states I had a pretty light training load but my power numbers were higher than I have seen them in the last month if ever. I was trying to do all the right things, the big one was avoiding getting sick, so far so good with that.
The day before the race I decided to get outside for my pre-race workout. I wanted to dial in my clothing and get my lungs used to the cold air. It hurt, but I think it helped some.

Springfield Oaks is typically is one of more challenging courses in the series. I have raced there after a week of rain making the course a swamp, I have raced there in the hot, and now in the freezing cold. Luckily racing in the C race the ground stayed frozen for most of the race, and I was very thankful for having tubular tires. Overall there were only a few areas of the course that were tricky, and on my warm up lap the first time through the tricky off camber section I tried to take the shortest line, that didnt work. It was too slick and tore up already. So I went back and rode it again, going to the bottom of the hill and then up. I figured it may burn a few more matches in the book, but it was better than hitting the dirt. I also knew I had to be near the front off the start once we hit that section. So with a early call up and waiting under the orange crush we were off.

I jumped on Shawns wheel off the start. I knew if I could hang with him I would be in great shape for the whole race. We kind of cooked a couple of the first turns and almost ended up in the tape. I backed off the pace some going through the barn and into the off camber section Shawn crashed right in front of me. He was up quick and where I was I couldnt really get away from him. I felt the heat from behind me though, and knew I had to get on it. Going over the barriers and down the hill onto the pavement I wasnt quite feeling as confident in my bike handling skills for some reason and a couple of guys got around me at some point. I really dont remember when exactly. Seems like the Specialized guy passed me just before the barriers, not sure about Andy. So the rest of the race was spent trying to bridge back up to 3rd place. I did that many times, but was never able to get away. Maybe on the second lap the chasing group of guys behind me got tangled up in a turn, and were never able to get close to me again. The flyover was my down fall on the last lap. I lost time on it and ended up in fourth place. I was hoping to do better, but was happy with results, and my third place in the series was secure.

So looking back at the year. Overall I am quite happy with the results. This season has been my best on the bike, not just cross either. I have never done this good no matter the type of racing. It is a lot more fun racing than just trying to survive until the end. Next year it is the B`s, a year late, but that is ok. I couldnt of done it without my coach Terry.
It has been fun racing and seeing all the new faces in the C race. It is great that the sport is growing, even with the tough economy there have been good sized fields every race.

I have to congratulate my teammate John that moved up to the B`s this year and really killed it. I remember talking him into trying a cross race, and all the near to the bottom finishes in his first year so this was well earned to say the least.

Also I want to thank Robert and Tailwind, for all the great races and another fun season.

Turkey Day

2009-11-29T12:35:00.000-08:00

Well not quite Turkey day but a couple of days later. Some of the guys from TSB got together to work off some of the thanksgiving fatness at Addison Oaks. I really love the trails out there, and it seems like every time I go there is a new section. I guess I just dont go there enough. It was fun hanging out with everyone and putting a few laps in. This year it seems we havent really done anything like this so it was cool and hopefully we can do this more often. I think the last group ride I did was back before the PLRA race, so it has been a while.
Thanks Todd for taking the pictures.

After the ride and a few refreshments in the parking lot we headed over to Sagebrush Cantina. John and Drew had the super burrito. Since I dont have a lock on the series standings I decided to go for something a little less super, but just as good.

Next up states!!

Bloomer CX

2009-11-23T18:38:00.000-08:00

I was feeling good going into the race. Maybe I was feeling too good. I didnt have any of my usual pre-race jitters for some reason. This was a big race for me, I was hoping to do quite well even though my training is building towards states like everyone else. I got a good spot on the line but a lousy start. For some reason I couldnt get clipped into the pedals. So I was going backwards more than I was going forward right off the start. I manged get on the wheel of a group of 3 guys and that is where I stayed for the rest of the race. I got stuck behind some lap traffic on the last lap at a few really bad times and I crossed the line in 7th place. Not really what I was expecting, but what can you do.
John did good again in the B race. My family came out to cheer me on also, which was nice. Jason and Lee stopped by an cheered us on so that was cool as well.

Stony Creek Cross

2009-11-21T11:25:00.000-08:00

Stony is one of my favorite places to ride. I usually put in well over 1000 miles riding there each year. But the stony cross race, well that is not always one of my favorites because running on the beach. But this year they switched things up a bit.
I went out for a mtb ride on saturday and figured I would swing by the beach and see if the course was set up at all. It wasnt but Joe & Matt were figuring out how to lay it out. I talked to them for a bit and learned that the course direction was going to be backwards from the last couple of years. I liked the set up this year, the start was a bit hairy, but the beach was much better. Overall I thought it was a hard course. Riding the sand, then running and then back on the bike and riding some more sand was kind of tough, once you got off the beach there was a muddy section and then up the hill or slope I guess. They did a great job twisting the course around and making something out of nothing.

As far the race goes, I was hurting. Not sure if it was left over fatigue from Iceman, or the course, or the combination of all of that and 5 weeks of racing everyweekend, or whatever it has been. I started out on the front row, and right from the start I couldnt hang with the guys that I knew would be at the top after the 30 minutes were up. So I tried to maintain as much as I could over the guys behind me and was almost able to reel in 3rd on the last lap. I was lazy and didnt try hard enough so I finished in fourth place.

Chad and boys made the long drive down to do the SS race. It was cool hanging out with him and John. It has been pretty light this year as far as turn out goes from guys on the team.

This week is Bloomer. IT is hard to believe that there are only two races left.

Global Warming?

2009-11-08T18:36:00.000-08:00

62 degrees after I got back to timber ridge on saturday after the Iceman. Lots of people complain, well that is in general, but a lot of people complain about the weather being too warm for the Iceman. But riding in the warm and then hanging out at the campsite all afternoon when it is warm out is much nicer than the cold. I`ll take the snow in the cross races at least they are only a 1/2 hour.
So going into this race I really didnt know what to expect. I have been training a ton, but I have only done one longer ride in the last few months and that was only about 22 miles. Friday a few of us from the team met up at timber ridge and rode out about 5 miles on the trail. My legs were feeling pretty tight but I really didnt get a chance to warm up the legs at all. So I just took it easy and spun the hills and let everyone else ride at their own pace while I rode at my own.
It seemed for the race everything went smooth with all the extra people. I liked the start in downtown Kalkaska it seemed less crowded than starting at the school.
My wave had like 140 riders in it, and really was too many. On the trail it was a constant struggle to pass people. I dont know how many times I had to go around people and into the brush on the side of the trail. I am happy I didnt break any spokes or anything. I had a bit of a problem with my hamstring cramping up on one of the last hills, but I rode them all but the very last wood chip hill right after the single track section. I decided I would try to run it because there were quite a few people walking up it and I just opened up a gap on a guy in the single track and thought I could get up it faster that way. I did pass a guy in my age group so that was good. All in all I am happy with my results. 2:18: something or other. My goal was 2:15 so I was pretty close to that.
After the race we had the grill going and some chilli cooking at the TSB campsite. That was a really good way to go. We had a ton of room and a lot of people stopped by which was really cool. That is one of the best things about the Iceman, hanging out with all my friends one last time for the year. People can say what they want about it, but I am looking forward to next years already.

Racing Vets Park

2009-11-02T17:29:00.000-08:00

Vets park, to sum it up: pain. Lots of pain. But that is part of the allure of the course and the race. It offers the most climbing it seems of any of the races in the series and a lot technical off camber sections.
Day 1, I got 3rd place. That was my best finish ever in a cross race. I had 4th once at the KTR UCI race a few years back, but that was awarded after the race when they decided to break the catergories up by age group. I had a good start and got myself into a position that I wanted to be in. The leaders rode away on the first lap so I sat in with the second group. The last lap I decided it was time to go so I attacked into the wind. I got around a couple of the guys, then on this off camber down hill the guy in front of me wiped out. Hopefully he is ok, but I didnt see him back on sunday though. That put me in third place and I held it for the rest of the lap.
Day 2, was another 3rd place. I really didnt know what to expect. My legs were sore, but the course seemed easier. I got out for my warm up lap, and felt really tired. I got back to the car and checked my blood sugar, and it was 41! No wonder the course felt so hard. Because of that I didnt get much of a warm up in before the race. At the start of the race I was sitting in second for about 1/2 the first lap, until we hit the big ride up. Then a 3 or 4 guys went around me and opened up a decent sized gap. I spent the next lap or two working my way back up to 3rd and 4th place. I finally made contact before the big hill and sat on for a bit. Before we hit the big hill I moved into 4th place, and rode there for most of the rest of the lap. We werent really going as fast as I would of liked so I was debating when I should go. On the start of the last lap I decided it was a good time to put in an attack. It worked and I opened up a decent sized gap. I was worried about being able to hold it up the big hill since that is where I got passed on the first lap, but it held all the way to the end.
I guess all the training hours are paying off finally. It felt good to get on the podium after all these years.

It was just myself and John racing both days. John continued on his streak both days with a fifth and a thrid place finish.

Derby City USGP

2009-10-26T17:55:00.001-07:00

Pictures are posted on my picasa page. I will add a write up later.

Racing Lower Huron

2009-10-18T18:46:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite places to race cross is Lower Huron Metro Park. One of these years I am going to ride the paved trail after the race since it is such a pretty park. I think that is one of the reasons that I like this race so much. I still remember my first time racing here. I was driving in and you can see the run up from the road and I thought to myself what am I doing? I have to run up that. Now I look forward to that run up.

I wasnt sure how I would feel coming into this race. I have been putting in a lot of training on my way to my peak for vets park and Iceman. I stopped on the way and picked up Terry R. since he was having some car problems and got to the race plenty early. This was the first race this year that we had frost on the ground. It wasnt bad though, there was no breeze and the sun was coming out.
We line up and I make sure to get the front row this time after what happened at Munson. The whistle blew and I took off and was feeling really good. I put in a good hard effort and was leading down the paved straight. I could hear the guys gaining on me so I shift up to the big ring, and my chain falls off. I tried to back pedal to get it back on, but it was off too far by then. So I am coasting in the middle of the pack while everyone in my group passes me. They must of the started the next age group too soon because those guys were passing me also. I tried to get out the way and took a look behind me and it looked clear, but I guess I cut a guy off I didnt see. Sorry, but I had to get my chain back on, and I wanted to get out of the middle of the pack. I get it back on quick, but everyone in my group was long gone. I spent the rest of the race trying to get around the slower traffic, end up in a sprint at the line. I didnt know if the guy was in my group or not, and I thought I got him, but he beat me for 9th by .003 seconds or something like that. So what did I learn? Start in the big ring, and make sure the bike is working good. In a 30 min. race there isnt time to make it up unless you are a lot faster than everyone else.
John had another good day of racing and looked really strong in the B race. Terry had a flat so it must of been some bad luck riding down there with us.

Saturday Night Lights

2009-10-05T16:36:00.000-07:00

Well no lights for me since I did the C race and it wasnt dark by the time we got done, but it did make for a cool race experience. I must say munson is not one of my favorite races and I was kind of on the fence about doing the race. I need the points, but it is just so far away. But I made the trek down there and am really happy I did. The race was a lot of fun, and it just seemed like everyone was really into it. The course was also pretty cool, different than years past, much more compact with a lot of straight aways out in the flats. John and I were the only TSB guys that did the race, and John did really good.

My bloodsugar was all over the map before race, too much good food at the tailgate party I was at earlier in the day was the cause for that, so I didnt know how I was going to feel in the race. Usually when it is high my legs are dead, when it is all over the place I just feel tired. I got there a bit later than I wanted and was trying to squeeze in as much warm up time on the course as I could, but it seemed like people lined up way earlier than usual. So I got over to the start and was the at back, not where you want to be. So the whistle blows and as we get up the hill I got stuck in traffic, and had work my way up and around a bunch of guys. I saw a big pack forming so I worked my way up to them and sat on for a bit. Seems like I went off the front once it spread out some, and I found myself riding with a couple of guys for a few laps. I couldnt shake them and we stayed together pretty much the whole race. On the last lap on the finish stretch I decided it was time to go. I probably should of done it on the second to last lap, but I am still trying to figure out how much I have in the tank in a race. I didnt want to go too soon and blow up, but with all the hours I have been putting in I am in much better shape than a few years ago. So I stayed away and finished about 12 seconds behind 5th. I feel that if I would of got a better start I would of had a top 5 finish. Oh well, it takes a while for the body to come around and it does for the mind also, but every race I am getting my race smarts back. :)

Next up is lower huron, possibly my favorite in the whole series.

GP of Ithaca

2009-09-28T17:17:00.000-07:00

First off let me say thanks to JB for putting on another great race. This was my third year doing the race, kind of, stupid knee last year. If you havent done this race you need to do it next year. The course is always challenging with one of more technical routes taking advantage of all the terrain in the park. Luckily the sandpit was off limits this year so that wasnt part of the course. I dont think anyone complained about that. :)
This year TSB was a sponsor of the race. It has been really cool seeing cross grow, but especially on our team over the last few years leading up to us sponsoring such a great event. I am hoping that we can help out again next year.

A few of us made it over on saturday to help set up the course and get a few pointers at the same time. I have never set up a cross course before, and have a new respect for how much work it takes. Setting up the course is just a small part of putting something like this on, I cant imagine how much work Brian & Kristi put into making it all happen over the course of a year.

So after how bad I did at the double cross last weekend I decided that I wasnt quite ready for the B`s just yet so this week I raced the C class. This year I think there were 24 guys lined up at the start which was cool to see the turn out grow over the last few years. I was feeling pretty good, and it seems like my cold is mostly gone now. We rode a few a laps on saturday and I got a good warm up in on the course. My legs were feeling a bit sore, but not bad. So I got to line in the front row, and debated trying to get the prime. I thought better of it, figuring that if I tried I would be cooked on the first lap. So the whistle blows and we are off up the hill. I look around and I am sitting pretty much even with a couple of guys for the lead and the prime. I gave a few more strong cranks, but decided it wasnt worth it and a couple of other guys were already starting to open a bit of a gap. Most of the race was a blur of suffering and pain, but it seemed I was second going into the grass. From there I lost a spot and dropped back to thrid and then fourth. There were a lot of crashes around me but I was able to get around a couple of them, but they never really happened in a spot where I could open up much of a gap. I rode in fourth place most of the race. I could catch the guy in front of me but at times but he able to gap me in certain parts of the course where he was a bit stronger than me, then I would catch him in the areas that I was better. That was pretty much it for the entire race. The last lap a guy got my fourth place and slight bobble cost me the chance to sprint with him to the line.
I am really happy with the results even though I know I could of done better, but that is racing there always places where you could of done better that you think about after the race.

Waterford Hills CX

2009-09-23T17:34:00.000-07:00

Well a less than spectacular weekend of racing for me. Someone at work had a saying that seems to fit pretty well.

I was so far back I thought I was in first.

How true that was. Hopefully I have better results as the season rolls on.

Shattered

2009-09-15T16:40:00.000-07:00

Watching the news and wondering what is up with people. The lyrics from one of my favorite bands, The Dropkick Murphys come to mind.

"Something's gone wrong with the world today
What's the matter with the human race
Everybody's fighting for more power and money
Braveheart's a racist
The paperboy's a junkie

And what's with the role models for all our boys and girls
Anorexic skinny monsters who seem to rule the world
The ball players you loved as a kid are gone
They've been replaced by steroid fed Neanderthals
(Replaced by Neanderthals)

Shattered, shattered, when people aren't always what they seem"

Remember it just like yesterday

2009-09-11T13:03:00.000-07:00

9/11/01.
I still remember exactly what I was doing that sad day. I remember being at work trying to find a radio to figure out what was going on because all the internet sites were overloaded. It was one of those days that you never forget, like when the shuttle exploded.
Please take a moment to pray for all of those who lost loved ones that day. Also, if you happen to see a soldier or a Vet. say thank you for everything they have done to make our country a safer place.
Never forget.

Sick

2009-09-10T16:50:00.000-07:00

Being sick sucks. How much snot can there really be in your head? A lot more than you think possible apparently.

Stony Creek XC

2009-08-30T15:23:00.000-07:00

Well this was my second training race today. Overall I suck, but that is ok. I think my fitness is back to pre-injury levels so at least that is one good thing.
I felt good on the first lap, but the second I could tell something was going on with my blood sugar. I stopped and checked it, and it was 309. When I stopped everyone passed me or left me that I was racing with. I suffered through the rest of the lap which was about 5 minutes slower than my first. The last lap I started to feel better about 1/2 way through it, but by then it was too late.
It was good getting the body back being used to the racing and how much it hurts. I was just happy to be out there, last year at this time I didnt think I would race or even ride my bike again.

Next up the season starts for real at waterford hills!

Cross Rumors

2009-08-28T12:39:00.000-07:00

Heard some interesting rumors today. Well maybe they arent rumors and are the truth?

The flyover is almost done. It is big, but you got about a 12 foot platform to get on the bike. The steps are big and it is going to hurt. Sounds like it will be at the clinic on the 12th and could make an appearance at springfield oaks, depending on the weather.

(I ripped this off from lil ponies blog)

Vets park is going to have a costume race. Sounds like it will be in addition to the other races, and I have heard that they will be giving away a pretty expensive frame. Not sure the details of how I am going to go about wining it though.

Stay tuned for more info...

Bloomer

2009-08-23T17:48:00.000-07:00

From Bloomer CX 08

Cross is in the air

2009-08-22T19:06:00.000-07:00

It needs to warm up. This weather reminds me of cross season, and I am itching to get the racing started.

Vets Park

2009-08-22T05:32:00.000-07:00

From Vets Park Day 2

Lower Huron

2009-08-20T18:23:00.000-07:00

From Lower Huron 08 A`s, Masters, Elite Women

From Lower Huron 08 B`s

Stony Creek

2009-08-19T16:40:00.000-07:00

From Stony CX 08 A`s & B`s

From Stony CX 08

Barriers

2009-08-18T16:25:00.000-07:00

Got the barriers out of the basement and set them up today.

Felt good, really good.

From KTR Day 2

KTR Day 1

2009-08-17T16:14:00.001-07:00

From KTR Day 1

Shots from last season

2009-08-15T17:02:00.000-07:00

I am going to post up some of shots from last season to help me from going into withdrawal from no cross racing since December.

From Stony CX 08 A`s & B`s

Stony TT

2009-07-27T15:39:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was one of my favorite races of the year the stony TT. This was my first mtb race since Iceman 07. After the year I had last year, I am just happy to get out on my bike. Being able to race is just an added bonus. Last year I had this race marked as my comeback when I was going through PT. Well here it is a year later and I finally got to do it.
Going into the race I didnt really have any goals or big aspiriations. I was hoping to be close to an hour. I really didnt have much to base this on, but it seemed to be a reasonable time. I cooked myself on the grass at the start, and it took me awhile to get back under control. I forgot how much it hurts, and the voice in my head telling me stop that I havent heard in a year was back. But I pushed on and settled into a pace. Nothing to interesting happened in the race, I ride stony so much there were no surprises. The trail was great, other than a bit of mud at the river crossings. I ran those, and was reminded that cross season isnt far away, and my running sucks. I rode across the line in 1:04 something. Last time I did this race was in 07. My time was 58 minutes, but the course was shorter. I am happy with 1:04 for my first race, now I know where I stand and can plan from there. Not sure what my next mtb race will be. Maybe I wont do another this season, hard to say.

Seven Months with the Seven

2009-07-22T20:06:00.000-07:00

Well I think it has been seven months now since I got the IMX. I figured this would be a good time to write a long term review on the bike.
Here is the build:
Custom Seven IMX
Fox F29 fork
I9 Wheels (Arch rims)
Hope floating rotors 160mm
Salsa skewers
King headset
XTR Cranks
XTR dual control shifters
XTR front/rear der.
XTR pedals
XT calipers
XTR Cables
Ritchey WCS 4 axis stem
FSA K-Force light flat bars
Ergon grips
Kent Erikson Sweet post
Specialized Alias saddle
Kenda Karma 2.1

The ride quality of the bike is really close to a full suspension bike. I have been quite impressed with how comfortable the frame really is. I am not sure if it is the bigger tires, the ride quality of the frame or more than likely the combination of many little things, but it really has a great feel to it. I have been able to push much faster through the turns than I could any of my other bikes. It seems as hard as I push it the bike still has more to offer. The stability of the bike is really good also, I still cant track stand it, but climbing off camber parts of the trail and low speed maneuvering is very balanced. I dont know how to describe the feel of the frame other than suspension like. It is not as jarring as my steel frame 29er, and it feels like it skims over the rough stuff at times.
The I9 wheels are strong, roll fast and are light. I had one spoke come loose so far, but otherwise I have not had to touch them. They arent making as loud of a clicking sound as some of my friends wheels that have them for some reason. Maybe they are all a bit different?
The hope rotors have been a pain. I can not eliminate the rubbing from them. The front I had to take off and put a avid rotor on the bike.
I am really liking the Sweetpost. It looks great on the bike, and I think it contributes to the overall ride quality. I had it slip on me twice after I first put it on. I have tightened it down now and no problems.
The Karmas are really good tires for the trails I ride. They just seem to grip and then grip some more. I am debating trying a SB8/Karma setup, but right now I am happy with the karmas.

I really love the bike. Everytime I look at it I just think to myself, that is such a hot bike! :) I have no regrets, it is better than I could ever of hoped for. I really dont see myself getting another mountain bike for a long time.

Riding SS

2009-07-04T17:52:00.000-07:00

Took the new SS out for a spin today at stony. I had a 2 hour ride planned, but I forgot how hard riding the SS is. This was the first ride since before I hurt my leg a year and half ago. After a couple of miles my leg started to hurt like it did before. I decided once I got done with the pines I would try moving the seat and see if it helps, if not I would just ride out and go home and get my other bike. I moved the seat forward probably about 3/4" and no more pain. I bumped into masher mike while I was working on the bike so we headed back into the pines and no pain. Hit the roller coaster next and the leg felt fine, but I also felt like I was going to puke. Like I said it has been a long time since I rode a SS on the trails. So we cut out and I took an easy spin around the lake.
I need to change the tires out the ignitors are just way too slow. On my old surly that was way too small for me I would usually have quite a bit of back pain after a ride. All was good today though. The bike felt good, maybe a little rougher riding than the seven, but it felt good. After I put some more miles in on it I will post up a review.

Something to get you thinking about september.

2009-06-25T17:58:00.001-07:00

The complete Q

2009-06-18T14:09:00.001-07:00

Got the bike all put together. I havent had a chance to ride it yet, but hopefully today or tomorrow.

2009 Tour de Cure

2009-06-15T16:28:00.000-07:00

First let me start with saying thanks to everyone that donated this year. Also I want to say thanks my friends Jason & Jackie, Mary, that did the ride and raised a bunch of money. Most importantly my wife she organized the team again this year and raised a good chunk of money herself.
The day started out rushed as these things usually do, but they were late getting it going, which is usually the case with big events like this. It worked out good this year since everyone was running late, except us. ;) This is year is the first year I did the ride, and even got a red rider jersey.
The course left island lake and rode the path over to kennsington. From there we followed the road around the lake and then back out the main entrance and back into island lake on the paved path. It was a little bit over 25 miles which we all finished and everyone had a good time doing the ride, even if some of the hills were walked.
If you havent ever done of these it is a cool atmosphere, and a lot of fun that I suggest doing at least once.

The 29er Project

2009-06-12T15:49:00.001-07:00

Well that sucks. You forget how good the hockey is in the playoffs, then when they lose in a game 7, well it sucks. Maybe next year it will be wings and leafs. Oh well. At least I have something new to cheer me up.
I got hooked on the 29er with my seven. Before I got the seven, I started talking to Scott Q to build me up with a 29er SS. I wanted to wait until I had a few rides and like the geometry on the new bike. My surly 1x1 was way too small and after riding a custom bike that fits so well, riding something that wasnt the right size wasnt really an option any more. So here we are today, and I got a big brown box from fedex. Most of the parts are carry over from my 1x1 but I did get a couple of new parts. Hopefully I can get it built up here in the next few days and take it out for a spin.

GO WINGS

2009-06-06T18:53:00.000-07:00

Coming together

2009-05-22T12:56:00.000-07:00

Just got a couple of pictures of the new single speed so I figured I would share.

After riding the new 29er I was hooked and sold my Surly frame. I got in touch with Scott Quiring for a replacement based on the Seven`s geometry. This bike is steel with sliding dropouts, and is going to have a pretty cool paint scheme. I am carrying over all my parts from the surly, except for the fork. I am putting on a reba 29er, but also want to run a rigid carbon.

Hopefully it will be done in the next few weeks and I get it built up and out on the trails.

Cutting in new trail

2009-05-09T16:36:00.000-07:00

MMBA Metro North had a trail day at stony today. Not sure how many people showed up but I would say 15-20. The first project was improve a berm at one of the downhill sections of the second new re-route that was put in over the winter. We also installed a draining pipe under the trail that will hopefully keep it nice and dry. Then we cut in a new section of trail in the re-route, so the re-route has a re-route. But I digress. This little section of trail has some bench cutting and a tough little climb, but we picked up 2 more rock gardens. There is another trail day planned for tomorrow, and the plan is to tackle another new section of trail. This new section is going to be big! We started to rake it in today, but 10 hot-n-ready pizzas were waiting for us, so that was all we did for the day.
I actually went home and got my bike and rode the new section. It is pretty cool, and the berm works really well. Stony is one of those places that gets so much traffic that new section will be packed down and in really good shape in no time at all.

Back from the south

2009-05-04T16:46:00.000-07:00

Last week my wife, a couple friends (Jason and Jackie) and myself headed down to the Smoky mountains for a much needed vacation. We stayed the week just outside of Gatlinburg, Tn. This was the first time that I have been there since probably the late 90`s. I was amazed at how much the area has grown, not for the better really either. Do we really need more than 1 wax museum on the same street? How about 2 baskin robbins? Avoiding the town area was one of my main goals for the week.

The park is just beautiful, even with all the dying trees from all the non-native things that are killing them. The first day there we had lunch in town and decided to hit the roaring fork motor loop. It was a 5 mile, one way loop just a couple miles out of town. Wow what a difference you wouldnt even know Gatlinburg was there once you got on the loop. It would be a great ride also, so long as you mind dodging all the parked cars along the road at all the trail heads.
We bumped into this guy on the drive as well.

We went over to the Biltmore estate in Asheville, N.C. one day as well. The house is like a castle, and the gardens were very impressive. It really is kind of sickening to think that someone can have so much money to spend on a summer home. Their is a bridge in the move last of the mohicans that is located on the property and my wife has always loved that scene in the movie so that was the motivation for seeing the house. I am happy we went, it really was something to see.

Asheville is a really cool city. We stopped in at liberty cycles bike shop. You walk in the and there is a serotta a moots and another serotta all within 20 feet of each other, not to mention the seven`s hanging on the wall and all the rest of the cool bikes.

Ramsay Cascades was the first hike that we did. It said moderate in the guide book. I am not sure who wrote the guide book, but it was anything but moderate. The trail was a 4 mile uphill slog to the waterfall. as you can see from the elevation profile.

It is the tallest falls in the park that you can hike to, and would of been really cool if we were there a couple of weeks later when all the rhododendrons are in the bloom. The trail is lined with them.

On monday night we thought that we were going to be evacuated due to a forest fire about a mile away. We decided to get all the stuff packed up and ready to go just in case we had to leave in a hurry in the middle of the night. We could see a orange glow from our condo, and countless fire trucks went past. But luckily they got it under control, and only about 60 acres burned we heard on the news.

We had planned to ride Tsali, but that didnt work out. We had planned to go on wednesday, but my stupid leg injury was acting up, probably due to all the hiking that we had done. So we figured we would head over first thing friday morning. As we were sitting having breakfast it started to rain, and rain. So we went to ihop instead and had breakfast. It was a let down, but I guess that was only thing didnt work out, so not too bad.

What I missed

2009-04-21T17:47:00.000-07:00

The last couple weeks of warm weather have been great. It is still April, but the warm days are more frequent. I really like this time of year. You really appreciate the warm days when you get them.
I have been putting in a lot of miles on the bike. Well a lot of miles for someone that is trying to get back in shape after a year off. I have been riding stony and PLRA. The trails are in great shape, surprisingly good shape for this early in the season actually. I feel stronger with each ride and so far the knee is holding up. I just need to know my limits and stop if it starts to bother me.
The new bike is great. I dont miss the suspension at all. I feel like I am much more balanced and comfortable on the bike. Any doubts I had about the size are totally gone. I even got out on the SS road bike for the first time. I put it together over the winter but have been lazy about swapping out the gearing on it. I think it has a 54/17 or something. Too big to ride until the leg is feeling better, but I had to take it out for a spin. I really liked it. Just a simple ride. I cant wait to get more miles in on it.
The best part of being back on the bike is hanging out with friends on the trail and after. I really missed seeing a lot of people I spend so much time with every summer. Check out JB`s blog for some other pictures of PLRA a couple weekends ago.

I have a few projects in the works. More on those later...

Tour de Cure

2009-03-16T18:53:00.000-07:00

My wife Noelle signed up for the tour de cure again this year. She signed up for the 25 mile route. This will be the longest ride she has ever done. I am going to do it as well.
I have been living with diabetes for the last 10 years and on insulin for about 6 years. There have been up and downs but luckily I have a great wife and lots family support. Biking has changed my life for the better as well. Living with diabetes your life revolves around food, testing yourself and taking insulin. Exercise helps to lower blood sugar but introduces challenges as well. But once again it is about food, testing yourself and taking insulin.
My daily routine is wake up test, eat breakfast, 2 hours later test, test, eat lunch, test, test, eat dinner, test. You do start to feel like a pin cushion after a while, but you get used it. Luckily I have good insurance and can afford an insulin pump. It really makes a huge difference in my daily life. Instead of having to take multiple shots a day, I can just put a new infusion set in every 3 days. This allows me to fine tune my insulin intake similar to what my pancreas should be doing. But it is a balancing act that doesnt take much to upset. I try to do my best to keep it in control, somedays you can do everything you are supposed to but it is all out of wack, other days everything is perfect. Overall I feel that the disease has made me more healthy in many ways.

Hopefully a cure isnt too far off. The more money that is raised the closer we get. One thing I am grateful for, is that I didnt get the disease until I was in my 20`s. I feel so bad for all the kids out there with this disease that dont get the chance to have a "normal" childhood. So if you can donate $5 or $50 (click the link on the right) I just want to thank you for making a difference in my life and everyone with this disease.

The streak continues

2009-03-15T11:21:00.000-07:00

Another nice day to get out and ride. I put in about 16 miles on the dirt roads. I headed east on the MOT but the gravel was like riding in kitty litter so I jumped off at 33 mile road headed east until I hit Armada. The legs were really sore from my ride yesterday, this was the 4th day in the row that I have ridden. I need to keep this up to get ready for summer and the racing season.
As of right now I have 136 miles on the new bike.

I guess some guys on mmba including brad did a ride out to richmond yesterday. I didnt see it posted, and I bumped into someone on the trail today that was asking me if I did it yesterday. I would of liked to so hopefully they decide to do it again. I havent made it that far east yet. I really want to get out that way more and do some riding, I have lived in this area my entire life and havent really ever been out that way much.

Good bye to a old friend.

2009-03-14T16:56:00.000-07:00

Another "warm" day here in the S.E. part of the mitten state. The sun was out and the temps were in the 50`s. I got out for about a 2 hour ride on the Seven. I love the bike. Today was my first ride on the I9`s as well. I have never ridden a bike that is so well balanced and handles just right. I am still waiting for the ice and snow to go away so I can get some trail riding in. I stopped by stony today with hopes of at least hitting a little section of trail that doesnt get ridden too much, but would be fun to try the bike out on. But as I pulled up to it, all snow covered. I wasnt going to ride it if it was muddy or snowy, and it was probably both so I turned around and headed home. I had a bit of of pain in my leg climbing a hill, but I was trying to keep a guy on a road bike behind me, which I did. I am sure it was some old, fat guy, but in my mind he wasnt. :)

I sold one my favorite bikes this weekend. It was one of the most verstaile bikes I have ever owned and always fun to ride. But now that I have been bitten by the custom 29er bug the Surly just wasnt working for me any more. When I bought the bike I didnt realize it was only a large frame, it was comfortable, but now with being fitted and feeling how well a bike can feel I had to sell it. So stayed tuned to the next project bike. It will be a single speed and I am thinking Orbea orange/blue for a color scheme.

70 in March

2009-03-07T12:17:00.001-08:00

Well we dont get too many 70 degree days in March so yesterday I had to get out and take advantage of it. It was the first time in '09 that I got to wear shorts and a short sleeve jersey, even though I cheated a bit with a wind block layer in the chest underneath. I put in 30 miles on the road bike my longest ride since last April. It was nice to get out and I bumped into Lloyd L. and also Jeff S. on my ride. It was nice to see a couple of friends that I havent seen in the last year too much. The leg felt pretty good, I could tell though on they way back home I was maybe pushing it too hard. There was a decent headwind and with my lack of miles for the year the leg started to hurt a little. I cant say it bothered me too much and after I was home for a bit I really didnt notice it. But it was a pretty easy route that I took, mostly flat the entire way to stony. Have to start somewhere though.
At least the warmth melted some of the snow and ice out there, every day like this the closer we get to being able to ride the trails again. Hopefully that isnt too far off.

What is all this brown stuff on the roads?

2009-02-28T16:09:00.000-08:00

Got out on my 20 mile back road loop today. I think this was one of first rides this year where I saw more dirt on the road than snow and ice. There were both today and even mud. Not so happy about that, now I have to clean the bike. I was surprised it was as muddy as it was since the temps were in upper teens when I left the house. The new bike felt great. I swapped around the spacers under the stem and think I have found a really comfortable set up with the flat bar. There are a few minor things I need to take care of though. My back up wheelset, the spokes keeping coming un-done, that is they are coming unscrewed. I had the wheel tensioned and 2 rides later the stupid spokes are loose again. I guess I am either going to have to loctite them on, or get some different spokes. But it is a good time of year to work all the bugs out. Getting the bike up to speed it just flies and seems to float over bumps. I cant wait to get it out on some trails. Hopefully only another month of this stupid winter stuff to go.

Still waiting

2009-02-26T19:17:00.000-08:00

Well still waiting for the nice weahter to show up. The days are getting longer, but there is still a lot of snow on the trails. I have been riding 4 days a week to meet my work fitness goal. Maybe I will win a I-Pod, maybe not.
Got out on the rail trail last weekend. It was anything from snow and ice to just dirt. I rode the studded tires, which I was thinking I shouldnt have, until I hit the long icy sections. Riding this time of year really makes you miss the warm weather, and reminds you not to take it for granted.

Training, of sorts

2009-01-28T15:17:00.000-08:00

This week is the first week that I have actually started doing some structured workouts. I am still ramping up on the slow side, but so far the leg is feeling pretty good. Yesterday I had to do some work in one of the vehicles at work, so I was standing around in my steel toe boots for about an hour and half. I got home and my leg was feeling pretty sore so I decided not to ride. But if that is the way it is going to be, I am much happier with pain after standing around, and no pain after riding. I am hoping to be able to get out on some of the back roads this weekend on the new bike. So far I have only taken it for a short spin.
The winter this year has been way too long. The good news is that it is almost feburary, the bad news is it is almost feburary.

My lucky Seven

2009-01-24T13:59:00.000-08:00

This all started in the spring of 08 bike demo at Island Lake. I rode a few different bikes, but the one that stood out was the Racer X 29er Ti. Out of all the bikes I rode that day, it just felt like I was flying on the trail. So for my wedding present I could order any bike that I wanted, but it was going to be my last bike for a while. No question it was the Racer X. So after our wedding in August I went in for a couple of fittings at Ride Boutique in Ann Arbor. We settled on a fit and geometry and I put my deposit on a 29er racer x Ti frame. I have been fitted 2 other times, at others shops over the years, and each of them have told me I needed a bike with a longer top tube. So here is my chance to get a custom bike that fits me the way a bike should instead of me trying to fit the bike.
After 5 months of waiting, I pulled the plug on the Racer X. I must say I was very disappointed with the customer service from Titus. My frame since it was bigger than a normal bike, needed a different down tube than what they normally stock. Every couple of weeks since about the end of October I would call the shop and the story would be the same, still no word on when the tube would come in. All the tubes were cut, except the one they were waiting for. Being that my leg was injured all summer and it was the end of the cross season, I was in no big rush to get the frame. By December I was really hoping that some progress was being made on it, but nothing. We asked Titus if they could build the bike with different tubing that they had in stock that would accomplish the same goal with the frame. They checked and said yes we can do that, but if we do you will be put back at the beginning of the list just like a new order. So I decided to just wait it out a bit longer and we told them whichever way was faster, lets go that route. Couple more weeks pass, and still no progress, and no idea when it will be done. It annoyed me that I am going to be paying a lot of money for this frame and they cant help me out at all. So I had enough, and canceled the order.
I of course had another option thanks to Chad at the shop. First we looked at the viscious groover which uses the racer x suspension design. However they wouldnt build it in Ti, only steel and I really wanted a Ti bike. The next option was a Seven.
The first option from them was a duo lux. They are not making the frame for 2009, they are going to a dw link bike instead, but they had enough parts/tubing to put one more frame together as a favor to the shop. After some serious thought I decided I rather wait to get the dw link bike or look at another option. Way back when I first started looking at all of these bike the Seven IMX was my runner up to the Racer x. The question I was struggling with was going back to a hard tail. I have been riding a FS bike for the last 4 or 5 years. The IMX is a race bike, light, fast and sexy. It just so happened that Chad has a IMX as his personal bike and he let me use it. I couldnt get it out on the trails, but it rode really nice on the dirt roads. So I made up my mind after stressing out about it for a few days and put the IMX on order. The day after the order was placed I had a phone interview with seven. A week later my frame was done and ready to be shipped. What a night and day difference it was dealing with Seven vs. Titus. Seven even stepped up and moved my order to the front of the list which they didnt have to do, which was really awesome. Finally the customer service and philosphy I was looking for in a custom bike.
So far I have just ridden it around the block, but it feels really nice. I expect it to weigh in some where under 25lbs.
Thanks Chad at Ride Boutique and thanks Seven, I cant wait for the stupid snow to melt and ride it on the trails.

A bit of warmth

2009-01-18T19:42:00.001-08:00

Well after the last week of below zero to single digit weather it finally warmed up a bit today. After being trapped in the house for the last week we finally got outside and into the fresh air for a bit. I have been looking for a used set of snowshoes for quite a while now, there have been some on mmba lately but it seems like someone always snags them before I see them. So after a trip to REI Noelle and I headed out to Stony Creek today to get a little hike in. We tried the nature center, but it was packed. I guess everyone had the same idea about getting outside. So we headed over to the osprey trail. I have never done that hike before, we didnt see any ospreys, but it was a nice walk. Next time out I plan on getting a run in with them on. That is going to be a heck of a work out.
I guess stony isnt plowing the road anymore. This is the second time that I have been there and the road wasnt plowed. Usually they are really good about getting the snow off the road. That is not going to help me get my miles in. I guess I will be spending more time out on the dirt roads this year.

The saga continues

2009-01-11T07:44:00.000-08:00

Hopefully it will be coming to an end shortly... After riding the racer x in the spring at the bike demo out at Island Lake, I was hooked on the idea of getting a 29er RX. I thought about it for quite a few months, and then after our wedding I went ahead and put my order in. That was mid September. I was hoping to have the bike in time for Iceman, not to race but to just to get a ride in on the trail. Iceman came and went and still no bike. The bike I was having them build is on the larger size, mostly in the TT but no longer than some of the other xxl 29ers that are out there. Well Titus was unable to get a larger tube than what they normally get. Their tube supplier couldnt commit to a date, and so my frame sat for a few months. We tried to get them to build the bike out of other tubes, that they had in stock, or were able to get but the only way they were willing to do that was to put my order at the back of the list. After about 14 weeks of waiting and Titus not willing to work with me, I canceled the order. For the kind of money I am spending on this frame I would of expected a lot more from them.

Enter Seven. I decided to go with a IMX. It is a hardtail, and I never thought I would go back to a hardtail. I rode one a few times now and really like the bike. It will take some getting used to for sure. Seven has been great to work with. I have been able to talk directly with the designer of my frame every time I have a question. They were also willing to do the bike shop and myself a favor in pulling my order through the process quickley. What a difference from Titus. The IMX was my second choice when I started this whole order process. I just wasnt sure if I wanted to ride a hardtail again or not. But now that I have some time on demo bike, even though it is way too small for me, I really like it.
So hopefully in the next few weeks the frame will be done. I cant wait now that I am finally starting to see this bike take shape.

2009 already?

2009-01-03T17:45:00.001-08:00

I will not bore everyone with the details of what went wrong in 2008 as far as racing goes. If you are reading my blog I am sure you are well aware. So, bring on 2009.

What have I been doing since my last post. Well not a whole heck of a lot. I have been off of work for the last 2 weeks, back to reality on monday. It has been nice, I have grown a thick beard. I have now shaved the beard mostly off, but not quite. Noelle has been working a lot, this is a busy time of year for her. So I have been just hanging out, playing some guitar hero and riding my bike. So it has been a good break, but starting monday it is back to the 100 push ups, and the new program for 200 situps. I am not too happy that I have put on some weight, but it gives me something else to work on in 2009.

As far as riding goes, I am pretty good for about an hour or a little bit more. I am slow, and out of shape, but hey at least I am able to ride. I find that my leg still bothers me, but I am trying to build back up slowly, and at least it doesnt hurt after I stop riding. I am working on putting together my plan and goals for this season. I wanted to try the lumberjack for some reason, even though riding a 100 miles doesnt really appeal to me all that much, but there is something about it that is drawing me to it. I dont think I will be ready to do it this year. Maybe 2010.

Still waiting on the Titus. I have all the parts, except the most important, the frame. Hopefully soon. Stayed tuned.... I finally got the fixed gear done. I havent really ridden it yet, just a bit around the house. The gear was a little big at the time, but I am looking forward to getting on it. I wanted to get some new brake levers that werent all sticky (?) so I finally found a good deal on some and put them on the bike. The frame has internal cable routing, it was actually much easier than my Klein was to route the cable through it. So maybe a different cog it and that is it for that bike.

Well looking forward to 2009 I hope I can get back to the level of racing that I had in 2007 and exceed it in certain areas. I still think focusing on fewer races, but doing better in the ones I do is the way to go this season. Well at least until cross season rolls around. Then it will be do as many as I physically can.

Thats enough for now. Look for my 2008 in pictures post coming soon!

Waterford Hills CX State Championships

2008-12-07T16:02:00.000-08:00

Today was the last race of the year. It was a cold, and snowy day for a race, but it was a blast. This was my second cross race of the season, and was a real test for my knee. It is a bit sore but not too bad at all. All the snow on the course made it a real grind. I felt going into the race it was going to come down to tire choice and of course bike handling skills. I rode my Challenge Fango`s today, wow is about all I can say. Last year in similar conditions I rode maxxis raze and they sucked. The fango`s today were great, I never slid out going up or down any of the hills. I did have to get off and run a few times, but that wasnt any fault of the tires, it was all the people not riding fango`s. :) There were some deep areas on turns that I slid around in a bit, but that was expected.

The course was similar to years past, but with only 1 dismount section. Some of the areas though were quite tough with all the snow, but all the snow made the infield nice and smooth.
This was the first race that I have ever done that Robert had to come out and plow it between all the races. The course was tight, mostly because all the drifting snow, so there was only 1 good line and everyone wanted to be on it.

TSB had 6 racers out today. Lee, John, Ben, Jason, Joe and myself. For some reason they started the 39 and over with us "younger" guys today. Traffic jams were going to be bad with such a tight course and it got a whole lot worse with twice the number people all starting at once. So myself, Joe and Jason all moved to the back of the pack to let the faster riders move up. We were just out there fun anyways. John got the lead off the start, and rest of us were on the back with Ben and Lee somewhere in the middle. By the first technical section it turned into a mess. The three of us, Jason and Joe were all toghether, Joe said he was getting a flat tire by the first straight away then I hit a big frozen clod of dirt that the plow picked up. He was able to get around me, along with a few other guys. I didnt endo, but it was close. By the time we got back to the start line I passed joe and jason was on my wheel. I didnt know that joe dropped out, but the two of us rode the rest of the race together. Sometimes running was better than riding, just depends on who was in front you. We were able to get around some people, and passed a lot of crashed riders. My laps times got faster each lap even though I felt a lot worse. My first lap according to my computer which I stopped by accident for a few seconds was 9:53, Lap 2 8:41 and the last lap was the fastet at 8:26. Not flying by any means, but I will take it after the way this year has gone.

The big winners today were John and Lee picking up 2nd place. This was Lee`s first time on the podium. Ben got 8th I think? Myself and Jason were either 17 & 18 or something like that. Joe had to drop out with the flat, but it was good riding with him. John also won the series for the C race.

No more races until the waterford spring training series starts back up in April. I have a lot of work to do in the off season to get myself back where I should be.

New Bike Bling

2008-12-07T13:43:00.000-08:00

Well I am still waiting on the frame, but my I9 wheels showed up this week. I wasnt expecting them until about january. They quoted a lead time of 10-12 weeks, but they showed up in about 6.

I went with blue hubs/blue spokes on ZTR Arch rims. The engagment on the hub is amazing I cant wait to get out on them.

Front 791 Grams

Rear 1000g

Bloomer CX

2008-11-24T14:03:00.001-08:00

Well it finally happened. I raced a cross race this year. The knee pain that has been bothering me all year didnt show up at all, even today no pain. I thought that maybe yesterday it was just numb because it was so cold out there. I just want to thank everyone for their support this year, hearing all the cheering and all kind words went a long way that is for sure. It sure felt good to race!!

So about the race, TSB had 5 of us out there racing. John picked up another win the C race and 3rd? in the SS race. T3 kept the streak going with a 4th place finish, and Ben (15th), Jason(21st) and myself(19th) finished out the field.
JB (12th) finished storng in the A race this week as well.

(picture by Tom L)

The course was similar to years past, the velodrome hill wasnt used as much as before, so there was less off camber through that section. Behind it though there was a long downhill on the trails, that made a sharp 90 degree turn up a short little hill. The first time through on my warm up lap caught me off guard a bit, but in the race it didnt seem to cause too many problems. The ground was frozen up pretty solid in the C race, but it got pretty slick in spots in the later races.

I basically just rode the race at my pace and enjoyed myself. Well as much as a 194 heart rate average will allow you to enjoy yourself that is.

I am looking forward to the state championships and next season as well. Cant wait to see everyone at the next race.

What to do.

2008-11-22T11:26:00.000-08:00

I am debating racing tomorrow at Bloomer. The knee is feeling better, or at least it was. I decided to get out for a cross practice yesterday. I botched a remount, bashed me knee into my brake, and also broke the other one when I hit the dirt. So not only am I really out of shape, my technique is not at all good. I think I am going to give it a try, but I will do a few warm up laps before I pay to race and see how it feels. I figure as long as just ride it at my pace, it doesnt matter where I finish, just being able to finish is enough of a accomplishment this year. Hopefully TSB will have a big turnout at the race also being that it is somewhat local for most of the people on the team.

I finally got the slingshot all built up. First ride I crash it and but the brake. Well not really the first ride, but the first ride with it being done. Oh well time to look for another brake. Here are a few pictures of it, before I broke it. :)

Tubular Fango`s, look for a ride report shortly

Vets Park and Iceman

2008-11-14T18:26:00.000-08:00

Not much has been going on here for the last couple of weeks. Still waiting for my new pride and joy to be delivered. It has been 10 weeks now, and I am still waiting.

I made the trip out to day 2 of vets park. I took the DDX with me and was able to do a couple of laps before the C race started. My knee didnt hurt too bad, but it felt like I was going to have a heart attack. I guess I am not in cross shape, but no riding since april will do that you to.
TSB had a good day at the race with a John (2), Todd (3) , Ben (4) finish with Jason and Lee doing well also.
The course was similar to years past, there were a couple of tricky spots though, that didnt really cause as much chaos as I thought. Time the A race went off there was a light rain falling but hey those guys are studs and a little rain didnt slow them down at all.

Iceman was last weekend. This was my first one that I have missed now in the last 4 years. It wasnt as depressing as thought it was going to be, it was a fun weekend hanging out with friends. It was a lot of fun having everyone stop by the tent and hang out with us for a bit. Sunday was probably the worst day, driving home seeing everyone with bikes on their roofs, and knowing that the race was done for another year.
TSB did really well this year. There was a lot of improvements from their times last year. Tough luck with Brian breaking his rear der. and busting up some spokes right out of the gate, but that is thing with mtb racing, it doesnt discriminate.

I picked up a Challenge Fango tire. I cant wait to get that mounted up and give it a try. The goal is for me to do Bloomer here in a couple weeks. We`ll see how it goes between now and then I guess. If not I will be out taking pictures of John which I am sure will make him happy.

Lower Huron CX

2008-10-19T16:51:00.000-07:00

TSB had 3 racers today, John, Lee and Jason. This was Lee`s first cross race, and it sounds like not his last. The course was very similar to the last few years, with the big run up.
It was a cold start to the C race, with temps in the thirties and frost on the grass.
John picked up a third place finish in the C race and a 2nd in B single speed. Lee finished in 10th place while Jason got 15th after some issues with the course rope.

From Lower Huron 08 B`s

From Lower Huron 08 C`s

From Lower Huron 08 A`s, Masters, Elite Women

What would happen first?

2008-10-11T16:01:00.000-07:00

I have wondering that ever since I hurt my leg in the spring. The question was, would I be back riding before the new bridge on the macomb orchard trail was open. Well today I beat it by just a few hours. I was able to get a ride in without too much pain, for about an hour. I had to use a platform pedal, but I was able to ride the bike. It felt so good! I put in a hour on the bike, something I havent been able to do since April. I took it slow, and there was some pain near the end of the ride but so far it is not too bad.
This might be the last warm weekend we have here in michigan for quite a while, so I am planning on getting out tomorrow also.

Stony Creek Cross

2008-10-06T15:21:00.000-07:00

Well what a difference a year can make. Last year for the race it was about 90 and humid this year was just about perfect. Cool, sunny, what a fall day should be.
TSB was well represented 4 racers, Jason, John, Ben and Todd #3. This was Todd`s first cross race and managed to pull off a second place finish. Good job! John, Ben and Jason all did well also.
The course was a bit different than last year, a lot more beach to run on, and a log run up were added. The beach run was a bit controversial because when they staked it out, they put the post up on the outside of a cement wall that was about foot high. Well all the racers soon found it and ran on that instead of the sand. I cant say I blame considering how long the beach run was. That was fixed in the later races, no breaks for the A`s racers, not like they need any.

Just out the photo`s link on the side for close 700 pictures I took.

Knee update

2008-09-24T15:07:00.000-07:00

Well I went to see the surgeon on tuesday, my knee has been messed up since april with only a little bit of improvement. He looked at my MRI, did an exam and didnt really see anything wrong with my knee. He thinks I may have scar tissue built up on the front of me knee because that is kind of painful, but I can deal with that pain. The pain in the back on my leg is much worse. It really feels like the calf muscle more than anything else. So I figure if I am going in for surgery I might as well go ahead and ride my bike some. It feels better than it did the last time I tried to ride a month or so ago. So now, if it continues to feel better, maybe I just need more rest. I would rather not have surgery if I dont really need it. It would just be nice to know exactly what is going on with it. Oh well nothing is ever easy.

KTR Double Cross

2008-09-21T17:45:00.000-07:00

What a great weekend of racing. The weather was just about perfect, even though it was not very cross like. It sure feels good that it is cross season again, I just wish I could race. Since I cant race and I dont know when I will be able to I decided to take up a new hobby to get me through, photographing the races. Check out my photos sections for about 700 pictures from the two days.
Team Sandbag did good both days. John and Ben ended up racing, John both days, and Ben just day 2.

JP totally dominated both days of racing, it wasnt even close. Right from the start he had the lead and never gave it up. But a lot of local Michigan guys raced really strong and finished really well.
Thanks to Kinetic Systems and Tailwinds for putting on another great start of the season.

Next up the GP of Ithaca. Brian is doing a great job setting up this race and I hope it grows this year over last year.

Raleigh Technium 480 Project

2008-09-06T08:39:00.000-07:00

While we were up north for our wedding I on stumbled onto my next project. Someone posted up on mmba that they were looking for a older road bike, size 56cm. One of the responses was from someone who had a old Raleigh Technium 480 that was about a 60cm. I have been looking for a older road bike to make into a fixed gear/single speed for some time. My teammate Kyle had a older Bianchi that I was going to get from him, but that hasnt worked out yet. So for $50 dollars I am now the proud owner of a bike that was made when I was 12.

The bike is in really good shape, just a few scratches in the paint, the wheels are even true.
The color is very 80`s, mauve and white.
These bikes are a bonded aluminum and steel mix, glued at the at the head tubes lugs, and bottom bracket. It is a pretty light bike for it`s day.
I am thinking about building it up with white wheels, white Toupe saddle and white bar tape. I think I might pick up a Chris King Gripnut headset as well, but I am not sure the color.
The bike will need some work for sure. The headset feels ok, but the bottom bracket needs to be re-built.
I am going to get a set of wheels that have a flip flop hub so I can run the bike fixed/free. I think that will be the best setup, for the riding that I am going to be doing.

Here are some more pictures of the bike. I want to update my blog as I get new parts on the bike so look for more updates soon.

August 23rd

2008-09-05T15:56:00.000-07:00

The big day finally arrived.

From Wedding Ceremony

We got married!!

Noelle found the place back in the winter, it is called frog pond village. She knew right away that it was the place. It is just outside of Traverse City, which is about 4 hours from where we live. We thought it would be nice to do a destination wedding, and TC is a place that a lot of people really enjoy. 9 months since our engagement went by really fast.

Everything went really good. It rained like crazy the morning of the wedding, but I was watching the weather and it looked like the line of rain was moving through really fast. Sure enough, about 2 it started to clear up, the sun came out and the temperature dropped. All of those are good things when you have a outdoor wedding, and are wearing a black tux.

We wanted a different wedding, we tried to keep it small also. This place was very outdoorsy and very much us. It is a really nice place, we had a jazz band playing (Mike Davis Trio) and they were great. No one danced really, but with the music playing and all the places outside for people to just hang out, it was really nice.

The food was really good, the only complaint was with the owner of frog pond, she needs to just focus on running the place and not doing the flowers. She didnt deliver what we expected and I think it was over priced. But otherwise it was a great place. (In case you stumble on this looking for info on FPV)

Just out the photo link on the right, for a ton of pictures from friends and family.

This sucks

2008-06-13T19:12:00.000-07:00

5 weeks and no riding. I can just feel the summer slipping away. I have been doing PT 3 nights a week, but everytime I try to get on the bike no luck. I was really hoping that it was going to feel better this week. Most of the time it doesnt bother me, but 5 minutes on the bike and the pain was back. I am going to a different doctor next week. Hopefully he can shed some light on what is going on.

Bike Demo

2008-05-12T15:36:00.000-07:00

I was able to suffer through the knee pain and ride some really cool bikes on saturday at ILRA bike demo.
I was able to ride a 29er Titus Racer X Ti, a Titus Fireline Exogrid 29er, a Pivot Mach 4 and a Cannondale Rize.
First up was the 29er RX.

Wow what a great riding bike. I really dont know what it was, but the bike just seemed so fast. It fit me just right, and every other bike I rode was lacking in comparison. I really like the bike, I have never felt so connected to a bike before. I have heard people say riding a 29er was like being in the bike instead of on top of it.

Next was the Pivot Mach 4

I have heard really good things about the bike, being that it is a Chris Cocalis design. I wasnt digging the bike at all. I couldnt wait to get off the bike actually. I dont think the bike was set up quite right for me, I had to adjust the seat angle, height etc... It just felt really slow, the bars were really wide, and it just didnt feel as good as the RX.

I rode the carbon Rize 1 next.

I like the bike, the bars were way to wide, the suspension was set really soft and I couldnt figure out how to get the lefty unlocked. But even with all of that i liked the bike. It seemed to ride and climb really good for, a longer travel bike.

The last bike I rode and, only hardtail, was a Sexogrid Fireline 29er by Titus.

The frame was too small for me, but the bike rode really well. It was a 29er so it fit me in the seat tube, but the top tube was a bit short. It was a lot smoother than I expected it to be, but there was a lot of chain slap going on. The bike was really nice though.

I really wanted to ride a Scott Spark, an Epic and a scalpel, but it didnt work out.

So for me the winner was the Titus Racer X 29er. It was by far the best feeling bike I have ever ridden. So now the main question for me is, would I go 29er? I have a few months too make up my mind, and the Sexogrid, is it worth the cash...

Here we go again

2008-05-09T11:14:00.001-07:00

The last couple of weeks I have been struggling with knee pain. I am not sure what is causing it or why it started all of the sudden either. For some reason every time I ride the bike I get a pain in my right knee. It seems to be in the back of the knee in the tendon. If you are sitting on a chair with toes pointed up and heel on the ground and try to slide your foot back towards your body that is when the pain is the worst. But just walking, and stretching out my leg makes it hurt as well. I guess I am going to have to go into the doctor and see what is going on. I am hoping to get some advice from my cousin this weekend that is a PT. At least it is early in the season, but I really hope it isnt something severe.

Cross Sexo grid

2008-04-29T16:57:00.001-07:00

Saw this bike posted on the cyclocross mag. website. What a beautiful bike. Titus makes some of the finest looking bikes around. You pay top dollar though. I dont even want to guess at the price of this bling cross bike. Based on their road bikes, I am sure it is probably the cost of 2 or 3 regular cross bikes.
Sounds like they will be offering a steel and a uber-bling version in Ti.

Cant wait to see one in person or read some reviews.

Ugh

2008-04-26T05:17:00.000-07:00

Not sure where I got this from, but man feels like I got hit by a truck. Thrusday I was feeling fine, getting ready race this weekend at bloomer, I even bought some cones to practice the one turn I can not make. On the way home though my entire body started to ache. Time I got home I was starting to shiver I took my temperature, and it was normal. About an hour later I took it again and it was 101. Amazing how you can go from feeling fine to crap so fast. I thought I was getting better on friday, but now it has turned into a stomach flu thing.
So no racing bloomer for me tomorrow. Hopefully I am feeling well enough to go hang out for a bit and get my skin suit.
This sucks!

Just a tease

2008-04-10T16:53:00.000-07:00

The last few days here have been really nice. Starting with last week saturday all the way through about wednesday the weather has been above normal or at least average.
Saturday I did my first road race. It was an interesting experience. I must say the first few laps I was a bit nervous about riding in the pack at waterford. But eventually I got used to it.
Sunday we rode pontiac lake rec. area for the first time this year. Overall the trail was in good shape. Some mud, but not too bad. My legs were tired from the race on saturday, but it still felt good to get out and ride in the woods.
This week on monday and tuesday I was able to get some dirt road riding in. I took the fuel out on monday and the slingshot on tuesday. I tried lowering the seat a bit on the fuel to get it closer to the height of my cross bike. I think it felt better. Ever since I have been fitted on that bike, I felt like I have been able to generate much power. Looking forward to trying it out on the trails in the next couple of days. When I got my fit done for it at fraser, they really raised my seat up a lot from where I had it before. Overall I have not been very happy with the fit that they did. I guess I will have to take it to Jeff at kinetic to see what he thinks, I really dig the cross bike setup he did for me.

Lets see if you can guess...

2008-03-27T15:53:00.000-07:00

When was this picture taken??

Was it January? How about December? Perhaps it was November??

Nope it is March 27th and there is about an inch or two of snow on the ground and it is still coming down hard. There is even a snow advisory! To quote NOAA "TOTAL ACCUMULATIONS WILL RANGE FROM 3"- 6" OF NEW SNOW"

What is going on with this weather this winter?

I think I need to put up a picture or two of a more pleasant time called SUMMER. Not sure if people remember what summer is. I can only vaguely remember myself, seems like you can go outside and be warm!! Maybe that is just a myth that people talk about to get through this cold, white time of the year?

More Snow

2008-03-21T15:44:00.000-07:00

WHY???

Turned the corner???

2008-03-08T06:21:00.000-08:00

Well maybe after this weekend we will have finally turned the corner on the winter and are heading towards spring. Luckily we dodged a huge snow storm and the forecast for next week is looking, well, normal for this time of year. This winter normal is good. It has been colder and snowier than any of the recent winters.
I can not wait to get out on the trails again and feel dirt under my tires instead of snow and ice. I think the last time that happened was in January when we got a few warm days. Seems like we got out to stony for a ride, and shortly after the snow returned. Normally I dont mind riding in the snow, but this year there has just been so much.
Looking back at my rides from last year the first trail ride of the spring was March 30th at PLRA. I have a feeling this is going to be a wet spring with the 80+ inches of snow that we got so far. The first race is only a little over a month away now. I guess the rollers and trainer will have to do.

DDX is complete...

2008-03-01T13:14:00.000-08:00

Well almost. I finally got the bike ready to be ridden, but not with the helium wheels. I am still waiting to get a cassette and a set tubular tires for it. So here is the build up:
Dura Ace Front der.
Ultegra Rear der.
Ultegra Shifters
Ritchey WCS Compact Crank
Ritchey WCS Carbon Fork
Ultegra BB
SCX-5 Brakes
Reynolds Comp Stem
Specialized Bar
Tektro Top Levers
Bonty Bar Tape
Mavic Helium Rims

Not sure what the total weight of the bike is, but it feels pretty light.

Weekend Racing

2008-02-28T16:48:00.000-08:00

So last weekend was the first time this year I was able to get out and get a long ride in really. We had a pretty good size group on saturday doing laps around stony creek. It felt really good to get out and ride, but it didnt feel so good to get smoked by some guys on mtb`s while I was on my road bike. But I was able to get just under 70 miles in for the two days.
On sunday Tim had a great idea of starting up a weekly TT series. Just a low key thing for fun and to get everyone into shape for the racing season that is quickly approaching. I posted the idea to the TSB site and lot of people sound pretty pumped about it. I also mentioned it to few other people as well and they thought it was a great idea. Hopefully this takes hold and we can get a good turn out. If you are reading this and are interested just check the team site for details.

I plan on getting some pics and will post up.

DDX Build Up

2008-02-22T15:27:00.001-08:00

Well my slingshot DDX project is almost complete. Just a matter of switching my Ritchey WCS crankset off of my orbea with the R-700, and taping the bars. I picked up some bright red bontrager bar tape which should look really nice on the bike. When it gets closer to cross season I will pick up a pair gray Tufu flexus tires for my Helium rims. That should make the bike look pretty darn cool.

Just waiting for the final touches.

Cant wait to get the bike done and take it out for a spin. It was going to be my bad weather bike/pit bike but I dont know that I can subject to her that...

Crystal Mountain

2008-02-18T12:51:00.000-08:00

We took advantage of a long weekend to get up north to Crystal Mountain for snowboarding this past weekend. I thought we had a lot of snow down here, but we have a lot less than they do. The drive up was interesting on Thursday afternoon. I got out of work a little bit early and we were on the road by 4. We decided to go a different route than I-75-M-72 like we usually take when we head up the Traverse area. We went across 10 to M-115 that took us all the way to Crystal Mountain, which seems like a more direct route. We were making good time until we got onto 10, then it started to snow. The further north and west we got the worse the roads got. By the time we got on M-115, we couldnt even see the lanes, road or much of anything else because it was snowing so hard. The WRX handled the snow great though, and I was able do 40-50 all the way up.
Friday we got out on the mountain for snowboarding for most of the day. What a great resort, at least for michigan. They have a lot of longer green and blue runs that were quite a bit of fun and the snow was great. It didnt take me too long to get back to feeling pretty good on the board. It was a cold day, and turned out to be very crowded. We planned on getting some more time in on sunday, but it rained all day and was warm. So at least we got out on friday.

Saturday we spent most of the day in TC, we checked out the caterer for our wedding. The food was good, and we will probably end up going with them.
I found a great deal on some keen winter boots, we were planning on going snowshoeing later in the day, and I needed some winter boots. Back Country Outfitter had some on sale, and they even had my size. We went to quite a few of the other shops in the area, but I am happy I found these. They worked really good and kept my feet nice and warm. They apparently didn't have any trails at the resort that weren't for XC skiers so we just went back to house that we rented and tromped around in the snow there.
Later that night we went and rented some skates. This was the first time I have been on skates in a few years, and probably the first time in 10 years that I have not worn goalie skates. It took me a few laps around to get the feel back. Noelle was starting to get the hang of it pretty well to, being that it was really her first time skating. I guess I miss hockey more than what I was thinking I did. Maybe one of these weekends I will have to go play some drop in hockey and see if my knees hold up or not.
It was fun, but sure feels good being home.