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.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
The time is almost up, are you ready?
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."
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."
Tuesday, August 02, 2011
Racing?
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.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Tour de Cure
Almost time for the Tour de Cure, but plenty of time left to donate. Click the link at the right.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Next One Down
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.
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.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
A ear infection?
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.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Its snowing!
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. :)
First real workout of the season tonight. On pace with last year, power numbers were down a couple of watts, but that is ok. :)
Monday, January 10, 2011
Yeah I know, I know
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.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Making history
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.
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.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Cross Season
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 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.
Monday, September 20, 2010
The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
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. :)
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. :)
Monday, August 30, 2010
Monday, July 26, 2010
Stony TT
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.
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.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Meet the Mudhoney!
DOB 6/26/2010
Weight 18.3lbs
Father and baby are resting comfortably, for now...
First ride will be tomorrow, I cant wait.
Weight 18.3lbs
Father and baby are resting comfortably, for now...
First ride will be tomorrow, I cant wait.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Monday, May 17, 2010
Brighton
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.
Friday, May 07, 2010
Look who is now famous!
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.
(Bottom left with the red/black coat and camera in my hands)
Maybe that pro deal wont be too far off.
Friday, April 09, 2010
Friday, April 02, 2010
Birthday Ride
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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)