Tour de Cure

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

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.

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

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?

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

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

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

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

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

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?

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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 C`s

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

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

What would happen first?

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

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

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.