Steve Kinley

More Internet exposure for MiSCA

2010-11-25T21:44:00.000-05:00

http://reviews.mtbr.com/blog/cannondale-teams-with-michigan-scholastic-cycling-association-to-offer-college-scholarships/

Go Cleveland Browns!

2010-11-07T16:44:00.003-05:00

I spent the afternoon with Sandy, Greg, and one of his friends at one of the bars in the Detroit area that hosts a local chapter of the Browns Backers clubs. Greg has gone in the past and also on one of their bus trips to a Cleveland game. Sandy went to the bar two weeks ago when the Browns beat the Saints but I was busy at the time.

I decide this week I would go and it was a great way to spend an afternoon. There must have been about 50 Browns fans watching the game on the big HD screen and we got pretty loud as the Browns thumped the Patriots 34-14. And Sandy and I won two tickets to the Browns game on November 28th! Very glad I decided to go this week.

Iceman Weekend

2010-11-07T08:10:00.003-05:00

Saturday was the big mountain bike race from Kalkaska to Traverse City, the biggest one day race in the United States and has drawn close to 4,000 racers for the past couple of years. It has become a huge end of the season event with racers coming as much for the after race parties as they do for the race itself.

I sold my entry earlier in the fall as I did not feel that I would be very competitive this year as I have not done much riding this fall. I thought I would miss not racing but really didn't. After attending the expo all day on Friday I got up race day morning and drove home. I am kind of disappointed I missed doing it though because the race was finally held in winter conditions complete with ice and snow. But after being on my feet all day Friday I would have not been very fast, as evident by my ride I did when I got home yesterday.

The Iceman expo held on Friday is the spot for registration pickup and is also an area for dealers, vendors, and other bike related enterprises to set up and display information and sell merchandise, many at season end clearance prices. It can become a madhouse at times, especially later in the evening . I have set up a Hammer Nutrition tent at several of these and was usually exhausted by the end of the day from talking and selling product.

This year MiSCA shared a booth with the MMBA and we set out material for our organization as well as merchandise for the MMBA. MiSCA had a big banner in the back of the tent and polo shirts to wear with our logo. We drew a lot of attention, both from interested racers and potential schools as well as interested sponsors. Some had heard about us from word of mouth, others had seen the recent article in Cyclingnews. At the end of the day I was again exhausted but I think it was a very productive day for the future of MiSCA.

MiSCA gets national press

2010-11-03T21:47:00.004-04:00

An article about MiSCA appeared on the internet site, cyclingnews.com today. Click here to read it.

LOHS Winter Race Series

2010-11-02T19:51:00.001-04:00

Cannondale Sponsors MiSCA

2010-10-31T19:21:00.001-04:00

Cannondale Teams With Michigan Scholastic Cycling Association To Offer College Scholarships

The Michigan Scholastic Cycling Association (MiSCA) announces that Cannondale Bicycle Corporation will be donating resources to help fund college sponsorships for the winners of the 2011 MiSCA Varsity championship races. MiSCA has tentatively scheduled five mountain bike races for the fall of 2011, with the final race awarding a minimum of $2,000 in college scholarships.

MiSCA, formed in the spring of this year as part of the Michigan Mountain Biking Association, has as its mission to establish and maintain safe, quality scholastic cycling programs. An interscholastic racing league was piloted this fall and the inaugural season saw students from area schools compete for podium positions at three mountain bike races held in the SE Michigan area.

Look for MiSCA board members at local cycling events, expos, and bike shops this winter and spring as they reach out across the state to recruit more schools and volunteers.

For more information on MiSCA or how to donate or sponsor them visit: http://www.miscabike.org

Some time is better than no time

2010-10-31T18:34:00.002-04:00

Sandy and I went to Indy on Friday afternoon to attend the funeral of Emily's grandmother. We got down there in the evening in time for the viewing and then the funeral on Saturday. Emily and the grand kids had been there for a few weeks since her grandmother had taken a turn for the worse.

The original plans were for us to take the two older ones for a week after visiting but the plans changed with Emily flying home later this week. Flying back with Jason or shortly after should make it easier for her.

We had a nice visit even if it was all too short. Not sure when we will get to see them next but hopefully it won't be too far in the future.

LOHS Fall Harvest race resutls

2010-10-26T05:30:00.001-04:00

10_23_10 Results

More singletrack

2010-10-15T17:31:00.003-04:00

We added another short piece of singletrack a the school, finishing it yesterday. It is only .3 miles long and not very technical but more trail is always good.

I rode the entire race loop for the race on the 23rd and came up with almost 9 miles per lap. I was at 6 miles before getting into Bald Mountain. We will use two miles of the Bald Mountain trail which should help those training for Iceman as the sections are pretty fast and fairy wide open.

There are a lot of leaves on the trails now, to the point that some of the trail is hard to see. I plan on going up this week and blow some of it off.

Catching up

2010-10-10T20:01:00.003-04:00

I haven't been very good lately about updating the blog but it's one of those things that is easy to put aside or neglect. I realize there are a few people that follow it from time to time but it seems more and more people are staying in touch via Facebook. And it is a lot easier to post a few sentences here and there rather than constructing entire paragraphs. It is just another way in which our world is changing.

In the past month I haven't really done much racing, I did do one up in Midland, the race where I crashed hard last year and thought I had broken some ribs. This year I managed to stay upright and finish second in my class.

Earlier in the same week I competed in the short track race I put on at the high school but did not do very well. Part of the problem was that I put on skinny tires to help the bike be faster on the primarily grass course but the tires also lowered the crank to the point that the pedals would hit in the turns if I wasn't careful and pivot the rear wheel off the ground.

I had been busy preparing for the first two interscholastic races and the MiSCA board had put in a lot of work. Especially when the Lake Orion school told us to go ahead and run the one race on our own and keep the proceeds.

The day before the race it rained hard for most of the day but by late afternoon it had stopped enough that I could blow of the trail to help it dry. By race time on Sunday the trails was in pretty good condition but I think the previous day's rain had scared some riders from competing. Those that did come out enjoyed the course and the interscholastic competition; I believe the first of its kind in Michigan.

The board also went through a name change for the organization. What used to be MICA, Michigan Interscholastic Cycling Association, was changed to MiSCA, or Michigan Scholastic Cycling Association. It doesn't seem like much of a change but we were asked to change our name by the national organization, NICA. They thought it was too confusing, especially since we are not a part of their organization.

That meant a new logo and website domain name as well as some changes to come on the website itself. We are working on literature to have ready for the Iceman in a month; over 4,000 racers are expected to attend and we hope to be able to get the word out about MiSCA. We also plan on hitting up shops and schools across the state as we expand for next year. This winter and spring will be critical to get new clubs in the program so they can form teams for next fall. We want to be able to get enough support to be able to offer scholarships next fall.

Talking about Iceman, I decided to sell my entry to the sold out race. I put it up for auction on eBay and unless the buyer doesn't pay in time, I will not be racing. I decided a while ago to not race anymore this fall as I didn't really have the time or motivation to race any more. I have been finding it harder each year to continue to have the same enthusiasm for racing. Each year I have done something a little different to change it up.

This year I raced most of the races in the singlespeed class for a change of pace. I also didn't do any of the endurance races for the first time in a many years. Next year? Who knows, maybe try some road racing or maybe just go riding. I know I will still be very involved with racing, just not so much while on a bike.

High School Cycling!

2010-10-08T20:44:00.003-04:00

A photo from a member of Clarkston High's cycling team. The cycling club has been added to the varsity jacket.

Oct 6 Short Track results

2010-10-08T20:43:00.000-04:00

Short Track Results 10-6-10

More results

2010-10-08T20:41:00.001-04:00

From the Oct 3 MiSCA race
LOHS MiSCA Results 10-3-10

LOHS 9/22 Short Track Results

2010-09-26T08:04:00.004-04:00

Racers seemed to enjoy the direction we ran this race. We will probably use it again on the 6th.

Jeff Weinert won the A class for the second race in a row. Will he make it a clean sweep? I think the rest of the big boys in the area are afraid to come out and test him.

Short Track Results 9-22-10

Short Track Results 9/8/2010

2010-09-09T20:02:00.002-04:00

Last night the Lake Orion High School Guided Activities Program (GAP) hosted the first of three short track races to benefit the MICA program. 50% of the entry fees were split among the top three finishers in each category and 22 racers across three categories lined up to race the 1.6 mile course. The course was very firm, fast, and flowing with the top racers averaging six minutes per lap. The races are designed to allow for pack racing at a high intensity but for a relatively short duration, between 25-30 minutes. All of the racers seemed to enjoy the course and the top two C racers were from Clarkston High School. MICA came away with over $150 for the night when race entry fees were combined with donated winnings.

These are great training races for both students and adults, and with only a $10 entry fee very affordable. The next short track race is September 22 and the final race is October 6. Come on out and have some fun and help support MICA at the same time.

Short Track Results 9-8-10

The Big Valley

2010-09-06T16:45:00.002-04:00

Some readers may have read the blog title and thought of the TV show. I guess that would probably mean you are getting up there in years. But this Big Valley is the race held every year south of Cleveland in the Cuyahoga National Recreation Area at Camp Manatoc. The race weekend is the only time of the year that the trails are open to riding at the Boy Scout Camp.

I raced last year and enjoyed it a lot and since the weather looked like it would cooperate, decided to do it again. This is a course that would not be very enjoyable when wet. Plus it is less than a half hour from my parent's house so I get to visit them and they can see me race, or at least see me go by.

The preride on Saturday was better than last year since the course was dry. Last year it had rained overnight and the wet and slippery conditions had me nervous. Even on race day last year there was some moisture. This year it was dry and even a little dusty.

It was strange to not start a race until 1:00 in the afternoon. But the early chilly temps gave way to the 70's by race time. I line up with 18 others in the 50+ group, not really knowing who was the race favorite although a couple of the guys looked familiar from last year.

As we rounded the first corner after the opening straight I was in 7th but moved up into 4th or 5th after a short while and then on one of the longer gravel climbs early on moved into 3rd. Soon it was hard to tell who was in my class because we had caught up to so many that had started in front of us. I kept plugging away and passing people where I could without getting passed.

At some point 4th place passed me in some traffic but I was stronger on the hills but kept right behind him, planning on passing later in the race when we got to some more hills. We cam around for our final lap and was right on his wheel and starting a climb when I felt and heard a strange sound in my rear wheel. I couldn't figure out what it was when I looked down so I stopped and got off the bike.

I discovered that at the bottom of the rough and bumpy downhill right before the climb, my seat bag had come unzipped and the contents had come out. My spare inner tube had wrapped itself around my axle between the frame and the spokes. It took me a while to work it free and riders continued to pass me up. I was fortunate that the tube hadn't done any damage to the bike or me.

Once the tube was free I remounted and charged up the hill and just tried to catch whomever I could see. I think with a mile to go I passed another rider in my class but it was hard to tell. I ended up 4th out of 19, with the tube mishap probably costing me at least one place. But it was still a fun race and one I would recommend to everyone.

Next up is the MICA short track race at LOHS this Wednesday. I have done some preliminary marking of the course with paint. Hopefully everything goes well and we get decent turnout.

First sighting

2010-08-29T21:42:00.002-04:00

Today was the last race of the Tailwind USAC MTB series at Stony Creek but I elected not to race. Instead, I set up a tent to hand out literature and talk about MICA. Our first race is in two weeks and I was trying to drum up interest in the organization.

I also wanted to stick around for the start of the Beginner race since our first MICA team, Clarkston High, was supposed to be making their racing debut. Their coach is on the MICA board of directors and has done a great job recruiting and starting a MTB club.

While talking to her before the race the only school in the state to have mountain bike racing as a varsity sport, Detroit Country Day, pulled in with their school bus and car towing a DCD logo'd trailer. Kind of intimidating to other kids but DCD has had a program now for ten years or more and they have done a great job. It is quite impressive to see 20-25 kids with the same jersey milling about before the race. DCD is planning on joining MICA as well.

At the start I noticed that some of the DCD kids seemed both shocked and excited to see another team represented. Most of the Clarkston kids were wearing their new jerseys that also sported the MICA logo.

I didn't stay for the whole race but heard later that three of the Clarkston kids ended up on the podium. A great way to begin their racing season and I'm sure all the kids will have great stories to tell their friends. Hopefully the excitement translates into even more kids entering the sport.

A bridesmaid again

2010-08-22T18:36:00.003-04:00

Once again I was the bridesmaid, not the bride. I raced the time trial at Ft. Custer today, a trail I had not been on since I raced almost exactly two years ago when Jason was in town. It is a very fun trail and the re-routes they have done lately have made it even better.

The trail overall is pretty fast with no really big climbs so I decided last night to increase the front chain ring by one tooth to provide a little more speed. I felt pretty good riding around before the start but there were a lot of SS's at this race and I wasn't sure who was in my class.

I started last, or so I thought, but luckily I didn't have too much traffic to contend with as I caught slower riders who started in front to me. There were a few times I had to slow to find the right place to pass; you don't need to force someone off the trail or yell at them as they are trying the best they can also. Racing is hard enough as it is without some Bozo ruining your day.

I seemed like I had the right gear as I was both able to spin comfortably yet make it up the hills and through all the tight spots with no problem. I was surprised though to see my name at the top of the results list when I finally got around to looking at them. Then I noticed that there were still a few results not posted, and one of the racers was someone that I had rarely beaten. I just had to sit and wait for the final results.

Actually, the final results were never posted but when the awards were given out and my name was called for second place I knew who had beaten me. Sure enough, it was they guy who had started after me. I never saw the times so I don't know by how much.

Oh well, at my second buttons up at least a third for the series since the last race is next week and 4th can't earn enough points to displace me. I have a possible shot at finishing second in the series but since it doesn't matter that much to me I may forgo the last race; I plan on racing in Ohio over Labor Day and don't really want to race three weeks in a row.

Now it's crunch time for the MICA program and we have a lot to do. I just have to keep remembering that this is the pilot season and really we are building for next year.

Weeknight short track series at LOHS

2010-08-21T12:53:00.003-04:00

Earlier this summer Jeff Weinert, a local rider and nationally ranked cyclocross racer, approached me with the idea of putting on a weeknight race series this fall. The Lake Orion High School has such a great variety of trails and terrain that it is well suited to just about any type of off road race. After consultation with the school and Jeff the Wednesday Night Short Track Series has been formed.

The races are meant to be fairly short but intense, perfect training for the upcoming cyclocross season and also serve as a means for staying sharp for the Iceman race at the beginning of November. The entry fee is only $10 with 50% being returned to the top three racers in each class. The remainder will benefit the MICA organization.

More details can be found here http://www.scribd.com/doc/36210814/LOHS-short-track-races

LOHS short track races

Back in the groove

2010-08-15T16:55:00.002-04:00

After being back to work for a week now it's like I never left. The first few days were a little tough due to catching up to the time difference but after that it was routine.

The heat and humidity this past week had me doing things other than riding. I spent part of Thursday trimming the school trails but not really doing anything to them for well over a month they were not as overgrown as I had feared. I finally got back on the bike on Friday and then again yesterday and today.

Sandy has started work at the local Meijer this past week. She will be working in the deli and eventually bakery but the first few days were taking computer based training. I think she get her first on the floor training today. Her schedule varies each week and even between first and second shift. We may not see much of each other except in passing.

The focus on racing will shift somewhat from me to working more on the MICA program and trying to get it going. Plus there may be an opportunity to put on a few more races up at the school this fall. I will race a few others here and there but only if the time and desire intersect.

Busy past three weeks

2010-08-08T19:32:00.005-04:00

Wow! The past three weeks have been very busy as I have been on vacation for most of it. I will provide more details in the coming days but for now a short recap.

Michigan Senior Olympics - finished 4th in all three events but my first time trying this type of racing. I may look into buying a road bike and doing more road events next year.

Spent 2 1/2 weeks in Spokane, WA with Jason and family. Much of the time was spent helping out on the CSA. They have their hands full with three children under age three, the CSA, the school year starting, and trying to add alpacas and goats to the mix. Pictures are here

Jason and visited Seattle for two days, staying in a hostel in the downtown area. Very nice city, I hope to get back and see more of it. Seattle pics here.

Got in a few rides, both mountain and dirt. A nice paved trail took me all the way to the Idaho border. I could have gone farther on it but opted not too.

Spent a day in Coeur d'Alene with the family. Nice town on the lake.

Came back yesterday evening an raced the Pontiac Lake XC race this afternoon. Very hot and rough trail. I just wanted to finish and score some points. My slow and methodical pace paid off as I started dead last and ended up second as others crashed, had mechanicals, or burned out. My mantra for the day was "Be the turtle".

Now back to the real world and work, MICA, and getting the trails back in shape. Not sure what the next race is, I think I have enough points in the series to guarantee a 3rd place so I don't need to race any more of them.

A horse of a different color

2010-07-18T19:09:00.003-04:00

For the past week I have switched my riding from the trails to the road. I borrowed the bike pictured above from my great Cannondale rep, Jason Edinger, in preparation for the Senior Olympics coming up in a few days. More on the races later in the post.

The bike is set up for someone a little smaller than me so I have been trying to spend as much time as possible to try and adapt to the riding position. The road bars are not any easier to hang on to with my left hand than my mountain bikes. The taped fingers just hang along the outside of the brake lever but can't do much.

The bike is one of Cannondale's top of the line road bikes, a SystemSix, which is super lightweight and fast, yet also stiff when pressing on the pedals while still providing some comfort over rougher pavement. I could be persuaded to have a road bike at sometime but maybe one with a more upright position for an old guy.

I first heard about the Senior Olympics last year but the cutoff for entering was past. I made it a point to mark my calendar for this year. The bike races are road only, both time trials and regular road races. Even though I haven't ridden a road bike in years I thought I would try anyway. The races are held over two days at the local road race track, Waterford Raceway.

The first day has a very short time trial in the morning followed by a road race in the afternoon. The TT is only a 5k, or about 3 miles. This will be closer to a sprint for seven minutes or so. The road race is also fairly short, only 40k or 24 miles. This should take somewhere around an hour.

The second day is similar to the first but the TT is twice as long, 10k, and the road race is half as long as the prior day, being only 20k. But that is OK because I leave later that evening to fly to Spokane for two weeks. I think the race distances are so short because they run the same races for all age groups, which may include people in their 80's or older.

I am looking forward to seeing the family out west, I haven't seen them since Christmas plus I haven't seen my new grandson, Jonathan. I'm sure the time will fly by and all too soon I will be back in Michigan.

Pull my finger

2010-07-10T15:52:00.003-04:00

I rode with a bunch of guys early today at a local trail, Pontiac Lake. My plan was to do two or three laps but early on a little mishap changed all that. I was riding my singlespeed which usually means you have to work a little harder to get up the bigger hills.

There is a particularly long hill known as two mile hill that can be tough to climb as it can be a loose surface and is fairly steep in spots as it winds its way up. The trail is also built along the side of the hill which means you need to be careful from going to close to the edge. I have never had a problem on this hill before.

Today while climbing it my foot pulled out of the pedal which caused me to jerk the wheel just enough to have it slide off the edge, causing me to slide out. I quickly popped back up and didn't think much of it other than I had reopened the scab from last weeks race. It didn't take too long to feel some pain in my left hand.

I noticed I couldn't really bend my left middle finger around the bar and in fact, the finger was pointing off in its own direction. The pain was more pronounced when trying to pull on the bars while climbing and if trying to use the front brake. Bigger bumps would also send pain shooting through the hand so I just slowed down some and pretty much used only the back brake. The mishap happened two miles into the 9.5 mile trail but I wanted to finish the ride instead of turning around.

When I got back to the parking lot and pulled off my glove I could see that something was definitely wrong. I called Sandy on the way home to let her know that she would probably need to take me to the urgent care. By now she is used to it and as long as I was breathing and moving it couldn't be too bad.

Once I finally got into the Dr's office they took some x-rays and then gave me the results, a severe dislocation. I was afraid of that because I know how these things get fixed. I was more worried about the cure than my present pain. The x-ray did look pretty cool though.

The nurse came in to give me a shot to numb me us some but gave it to me in the butt. I still can't figure that out but the doc said it was sort of a calming drug as well as a pain killer.

The doctor was a young female and as she started to work on my finger (read: pulling really hard) she kept apologizing for the pain she was causing. I kept telling her it wasn't her fault. She was having a hard time getting the finger to move so after awhile stopped to let me recuperate, probably her as well. Now my finger really hurt and I started to feel light headed.

She came back in a little while later and had me lie down while she gave my finger another go round. Her hand kept slipping slightly as she was pulling and I was afraid they were going to have to send me somewhere else that had somebody stronger to work on it. Finally the finger started to move around and I could feel a couple of pops as it worked its way back into place.

They took a few more x-rays to confirm that it was straight, they didn't want to move it too much more because they were afraid that it might slip back! They finger was splinted and taped to the finger next to it to keep it stable. By the time I left the finger felt 100% better. In fact, I hope to ride tomorrow, just not on a very rough surface. Hmm, that leaves out most of Detroit's roads.

Worse than it looks because I reopened an old scab.

My 15 minutes of fame

2010-07-09T19:23:00.003-04:00

A while back I was going through some old mementos and found this page from a magazine. I had appeared in an ad for Mercury clutches, back then the hot setup for mini-bikes. The ad appeared in lots of different magazines and I remember one of my older brother's friends had seen it while stationed in Vietnam. I don't think I got much money for the shoot but reading the mini-bike and motorcycle magazines the ad appeared in was the catalyst for my interest in motorcycles. I do remember the tattoo got a lot of criticism though.

She's Baack!

2010-07-05T19:57:00.003-04:00

Sandy arrived home yesterday just in time for the heat wave we are having. Spokane gets hot but humidity is usually far less than here in Michigan. It sure is good to have her back but as I previously wrote, it's too bad things didn't work out where she could stay.

Greg and I had been busy around the house in preparation for her arrival. Not that the house was every that dirty but we wanted everything to be extra nice. The last few days were a little hectic as we cleaned, I finished all my ironing, refinished a piece of furniture we bought last fall, and did last minute grocery shopping on Saturday evening. And I was gone at the Stony marathon MTB race most of the day on Saturday. I think I did an extra marathon just getting everything finished after the race was over.

We succeeded in impressing her. She said she felt like a big weight was off her shoulders since she could simply relax and unwind. She was glad to be in her own home, she said there was something special about being in a place that was truly your own. She was especially surprised by the chest that Greg and I had refinished. But we may have done too good a job in cleaning, now she expects us to keep it like this all the time!

Sandy has to adjust to east coast time and will be taking some time to unpack and get settled back in. It was kind of strange for the three of us to be sitting around the table today when Greg and I had usually sat in different chairs so we could both see the TV while eating. She was out doing some grocery shopping today to get the things that us guys never have bought for ourselves. I imagine in the next week or so she will start the job hunt all over again. But at least this time it can be from home. She will miss the family out west but there is nothing to say we won't move out there, just not in the immediate future.

Saturday I raced the Stony marathon MTB race, really it is just a longer XC race than usual, about twice the normal distance. I had preridden the course last week to get a feel for what gearing I should use and approximate lap times based on my target heart rate. I felt pretty good about the race as the times I was turning were near the top based on last year's results.

The race was going to be a hot one so I didn't want to start out too fast. I kept to my target HR as much as possible and was turning laps in the time I expected. But even though I finished two minutes ahead of last year's winning time I was still almost 10 minutes behind the first place winner and only managed a fourth place. I am not sure I could have gone too much faster anyway as I started to cramp up in the legs a lot on the last lap. I just don't have the the same speed as the top guys in my class, although most of them are much younger. But it is more fun in some ways since I have the extra challenge of competing against younger riders and also seeing how I would have compared against the geared riders of my age.

I don't plan on any more MTB races until August since in a few weeks I will be traveling out west to visit the kids. I also am competing in the Senior Olympic road races in two weeks.

Late in updating

2010-06-20T21:38:00.004-04:00

I haven't been updating as much as I should, I guess I have other things going on so i don't really bother. Some of the highlights of the past week:

Our second LOHS race in the series had 70 racers attend, the most we have had at ANY of our races. Rain was in the picture once again but it happened the night before so the trail was pretty much dried out by the time the race started. We have had such favorable comments about all the new trail we have put in at the school that we are thinking about expanding the number of races next year and making it a weeknight series. Our next race is not until October.

Last Sunday I went up to Port Huron to race but had to pull out after a little over a lap due to my lower back hurting. It is a different pain than the one I had earlier this year from playing golf. I have been able to ride without any problem until last week. I didn't race at the school and hope to be ready in two weeks for the Stony race.

I did some longer rides this week to get some time in the saddle but kept the effort fairly light. Today's ride was over 50 mile and my back didn't really seem to protest too much. But if it was a harder ride or race I think it would have been screaming.

Greg cooked dinner today and he had bought some steaks that were about 2 inches think. We grilled those and had fresh green beans and corn on the cob. A great dinner. For the past two months we have been able work together on meals and housework and I think the experience has been good for both of us.

Sandy and I have decided that for the time being things haven't worked out for her out in Spokane so we are pulling the plug on the experiment. She will be returning on July 4th. That means we have only two weeks to get the house cleaned up! It will be nice to have her back but I also wished it had worked out. I was looking forward to moving out there at the end of next year. So now our future plans are open and we will just see what happens.

LOHS Team Challenge 6/16

2010-06-12T08:39:00.003-04:00

Attention race teams. The LOHS GAP program has issued a team challenge for this Wednesday's race, June 16. We will be giving out a special award to the top team according to the rules listed below. Teams must be those normally represented at Michigan races, i.e. Cycletherapy, RBS, Cannondale Midwest, Trail's Edge, etc. No composite teams allowed. Is YOUR team up to the challenge?

Teams will be scored based on the top 5 finishers per team, no more than 2 racer's results counted per category. 1st = 1 point, 2nd = 2 points, etc. Lowest total score wins. In the event of a tie the team with the most registered finishers wins. If there is still a tie then a blind drawing will be held from available classes, the team with the top scoring finisher in that class will be declared the winner.

Lake Orion High School Race Results June 9, 2010

2010-06-10T20:29:00.003-04:00

Our first race of two drew close to 60 riders. Rain in the morning but it dried up for the most part by race time. The weather looks even better for next week.

June 9, 2010 Results

It's a boy!

2010-06-08T05:50:00.002-04:00

Last Thursday Emily gave birth to a healthy baby boy. That is child number three for the Jason and Emily. Everyone is doing fine and this time the midwife was present during the at home delivery and they were able to use the birthing tub. No name has been selected yet.

You can go home again, sort of

2010-05-31T21:01:00.008-04:00

The three day holiday weekend allowed me a chance to partake in a variety of activities, starting Saturday with a XC race at a trail fairly close to me in Rochester, Bloomer park. I don't ride there very often so I made sure to ride the trails twice last week to try and pick what gearing I would use on the bike.

In some ways the trails are similar to parts of the LOHS trails but Bloomer also has more flat areas and some longer climbs. Picking the right gear ratio is never easy at courses like that. I started with an easy gear on the first ride, made it harder for the second, and picked a compromise for the race.

On race morning my stomach wasn't feeling 100% plus the anticipated race time temps in the upper 80's prompted me to switch the gearing back to the one I had on the first ride, fairly easy. In the end I'm glad I listened to reason.

I purposely started out slow, 6th out of 10, and just tried to keep a steady pace and not overdo it. I passed a few riders and was in 4th or so and kept taking it easy. On the second lap I got stuck behind a young girl in the race just as we entered a long section of trail that was very narrow and went along the side of the hill. There was no place for her to pull off and I felt bad for her as she was obviously nervous. I finally got around but the wait cost me a lot of time.

On the final lap I caught up to another rider in my class and I thought we were racing for 4th and 5th place. He got away from me but I got up behind him again a little ways from the finish. I stayed right on his wheel but didn't have the power left to pass so I ended up crossing the finish line 7 seconds behind. As it turns out we were 2nd and 3rd place. Overall I was happy with my result given the way I felt at the start. Plus I ran a smart race and never really blew up or cramped. Next week we are going down to near the Indiana border to support a race sponsored by our team shop. I haven't raced at the course in many years.

After getting dinner at home I drove down to my parent's house east of Cleveland to spend the night. The next day they wee going to participating in a one mile walk as part of a bigger event during the Chagrin Falls Blossom Time Festival. I hadn't been in the town for a while and while they were walking I walked around the town seeing how things had remained the same yet changed.

Chagrin Falls was featured in the 1977 movie The Gathering, which was supposed to take place in New England but the town is very much like a town you might find in Vermont or New Hampshire, except that the houses and incomes are probably two or three times those in the northeast. However with the incomes also comes a change in the once sleepy town to a more upscale and exclusive attitude. The town still has its charm and beauty.

I didn't actually grow up in the town but close by. They were a rival in high school yet I went to church in the village and new quite a few kids there. Sandy and I ended up getting married at the church in Chagrin. Lots of good memories but a long time ago.

Leaving Chagrin I drove out to the memorial gardens that my mom helps to maintain. I had heard a lot about them but had never seen them. I was impressed with the size of the gardens and the care that has gone into them. The edges of the walks were lines with brick in memory of loved ones. I found the one for my sister that was located under a bench so I sat there for a while remembering.

One of the other reasons for heading down to Ohio was to attend an open house at the park where I had my first official job over 40 years ago. Wiegand's Lake Park is in some ways a throwback to simpler times with a picnic grove, swimming lake complete with rowboats and paddle boats, softball field and horseshoes, concession stands and a dance hall. The grounds were always in immaculate shape, partly due to the hired help that constantly was on patrol picking up litter and emptying waste cans. In fact, that was my first job, litter patrol.

The park is not open to the general public but instead rented out to companies and organizations for picnics and other functions. One of the high points was the food provided by the park, always home made. The custard stand was another highlight.

The park is now being run by Wendy, the daughter of the people I worked for. I graduated with her and when my dad's company or our church had their picnics at the park she and I would usually hang out together. I hadn't seen her since school but lately have been catching up via Facebook.

Arriving at the park the entrance and parking lot was just as I remembered, complete with a law enforcement officer directing traffic. But once I got onto the grounds it was impressive to see all the improvements that had been made. Wendy and crew have been really working to add to or update just about everything. But more important they have kept everything that made the park special.

I got a chance to see Wendy's mom who is still helping out in the kitchen. We had a nice chat and she is still as sharp as ever. My parents had to leave but I stuck around a little while longer to visit. I may stop by again the next time I am down there to visit my parents.

It was nice to see some things were actually better than you remembered as a kid, I also swung by the house where I grew up, unfortunately a lot of the big trees have come down over the years due to their age. But the house itself is in good shape.

I always enjoy visiting my parents and fortunately for now they are still relatively close, only 3.5 hours away. I should get down there more often but it always seems there is too much stuff going on around here. Definitely something I need to work on.

My parents starting their walk

The walkers started after the runners

The popcorn stand has been a fixture in Chagrin Falls forever

The church where Sandy and I got married

The memorial gardens

Wendy and her mom, my first boss

The lake with swimming and boating

The original custard stand

Brand new wedding spot down by the lake

These tables probably weigh 500 pounds with all the coats of paint over the years

Wendy was prooudn of her new bathrooms and the floors, complete with her requested glitter

Warm weekend

2010-05-23T18:52:00.002-04:00

No races this weekend but still plenty of bike related stuff going on. On Saturday, members of the MICA board manned a hot dog stand and information table at the REI store in Troy. It was part of their Celebrate Michigan week or something and different agencies (DNR, US Forest, etc.) had tables inside to distribute literature and talk to the shoppers. We shared a table with the MMBA and promoted the MICA organization.

Outside, the store was giving away coney dogs that the MICA and MMBA volunteers served up. We set up a donation jar and collected about $100. We had heard that the store would be donating money to MICA but that seems to be up in the air.

Today I spent a few hours in the morning weed trimming part of the school trails. Later in the day several members of the CMR team met at the school to do a lap of the race course and then head over to Addison Oaks for a lap there. Two members of another team showed up as well.

With all the rain we had recently the school trails were fairly dry. But Bald Mountain was a mess, probably the worst I've seen it. Addison was also pretty dry. By the time we were done I was pretty tired, doing the ride on my SS. The temperature was in the 80's, something we have not had for awhile. The body has to acclimate to the warm weather again. But at least the trails should dry out.

LOHS Spring MTB entry form

2010-05-22T08:31:00.002-04:00

Information and mail in form for the races. You can also register on-line here and here.

2010 Spring Mountain Bike Entry

LOHS trail map

2010-05-19T17:43:00.002-04:00

Here is an overview of the trails at Lake Orion High School as recorded by my phone. it is pretty accurate but missing a lot of the little corners. It recorded the distance as just over six miles but it is coming up short of what is measured by a bike computer. The elevation gain showed just over 1,000 feet of climbing which seems too high.

View LOHS 5_19_10 in a larger map

Three to make one

2010-05-17T20:12:00.002-04:00

I decided to race the Brighton stage race this weekend. The race was three races spread out over two days with the lowest total time for all three races the winner. I haven't done one of these races since the stage races were held at Whiskey Creek near Ludington and that was probably five years ago.

Saturday's race was a short time trials on a section of trail that was not very singlespeed friendly. The first half was very tight with many hills that did not allow for a fast entrance, and then the second half was a lot faster. It was hard to pick the correct gearing. I geared easy and prerode the course about an hour before my start. It was probably a mistake as it was hard to keep the heart rate down in the preride. I ended up third our of the three in my class, about 40 seconds behind first.

Later in the day we had a short track race, similar to a cyclocross course in that it was a mass start over a mix of grass and pavement with tight corners. The only thing missing were the barriers. I got a pretty good start but was getting passed by geared riders in the straight section of pavement. I would work my way back up to and around them, usually passing them in a corner or up a hill. I ended up fairly high among the entire group but more importantly I made up about 22 seconds on the 1st and 2nd place guys.

That left us with the Sunday XC race to determine who would win the stage race. I was in second now, about 17 seconds behind 1st and seven seconds ahead of third. I didn't preride the course this time but just warmed up as usual. The race on Sunday had more racers in every class since some people could not do the stage race but still wanted to compete in the XC race. It had its own awards separate from the stage scoring.

At the start the third place guy went out hard and it wasn't too long before he began pulling away with the eventual winner of the day. I was in front of the stage leader until I bobbled on a hill and he got in front. He also pulled away. I saw the third pace guy fixing his front wheel and after asking if he was OK I sped past. Later on the lap another SS got past me but I stayed on his wheel and eventually we caught the stage leader right before the end of the first lap.

I also passed the guy who pulled me as he also started to fade. I tried to turn up the heat to build a lead but I could still see the stage leader behind me every now and then. Eventually I lost him but I knew he was not far behind. Surprisingly the third place guy caught back up and passed me again. But to show how fast things can change, just as I came out of the trail toward the finish of my second lap, there he was with his chain in his hand. One more lap to go.

I kept looking back but could not see the stage leader but kept on the attack, not wanting to assume anything. I started to develop cramps in various parts of my legs but worked through them with additional Endurolytes and HEED. I finally finished the third lap and was grateful that the race was over. AS it turned out, I finished 2nd in the XC race and far enough in front of the stage leader to take first for the stage race.

I'm not sure what series race I will be doing next, it may not be until a month from now. In the meantime I have the Lake Orion races coming up plus plenty to do with MICA. And still some trail work as well.

Out west there is not much new news. There is a feeling that the baby may be coming early; it's still three weeks from the due date but could really be any time now. Sandy is still looking for employment but is being kept very busy with watching the grand kids and helping around the house and farm.

Wait, I thought I would be doing MORE riding

2010-05-09T20:19:00.002-04:00

The saying goes, when the cat's away the mice will play. I've got to tell you, this mouse isn't playing much. In the back of my mind I thought that when Sandy left that meant I would have more time to ride since I wouldn't worry about being home for dinner, shopping with her, or whatever else we would normally do on the weekends. So far it hasn't turned out like that at all.

I seem to have less time than I did before. Some of it has to do with MICA ramping up and also trail maintenance starting to be required as the brush is growing like crazy. But a good part of it is due to now handling the little things that I took for granted, like shopping, cooking, laundry, and ironing.

I have been trying to make dinner most night so that Greg has something decent to eat instead of eating out or junk food. But that means we don't eat until late. Even if I make a lot the leftovers don't go very far with lunches. But I am showing Greg how to cook a few things; Friday he made shrimp stir fry.

I spent all day Saturday at the bike demo day, both in the MICA tent and helping at the Cannondale trailer. The weather was more like November, mid 40's, windy and intermittent rain. A great time though seeing all the people interested in cycling.

This morning I went through the LOHS trails and trimmed back the growth. I need to go back with the string trimmer in a few areas. On Friday I took out a few trees that I had tagged previously. The trees were in areas that really slowed you down or could be a hazard. The trail is faster now and should make it a little more enjoyable. Still a lot of climbing though. I have a few other modification in mind for a later date.

This week is another MICA board meeting as we try to nail down our 2010 budget, decide on a logo, and get a preview of our website. The weekend brings a two day stage race; a time trial Saturday morning and a short track race in the afternoon. On Sunday is a traditional XC race. The lowest combined time for all three events wins.

Our tent at the demo days. Signs courtesy of Clarkston High School.

One week down, how many more to go?

2010-05-02T20:05:00.003-04:00

Well, Greg and I survived the first week as bachelors. Neither of us got food poisoning and the house is still standing and relatively clean. With our individual schedules we still managed to eat dinner together a few nights and only ate out once. We have decided that each of us will cook at least once each week, I will probably do so more often. But we already miss Sandy's cooking. Plus just having her here; the dogs just aren't a good substitute.

I entered into the modern era of cell phones, finally breaking down and getting a smart phone, along with its associated benefits and costs. I had been looking at them for a few weeks as I was getting more involved with MICA responsibilities. Sandy's departure also meant it would be nice to stay in touch via text and photo messages. Under our former plan each of those types of messages cost a quarter.

In doing research on phones available under our carrier I ran across discussion of a new phone that was due out. So I opted to wait a few weeks and on Thursday I picked up an HTC Incredible for Sandy and myself. This was the first day they came out and the supply was limited. The phone is amazing in its capabilities and now I have to upgrade my skills to use it. But now free to send me all the text messages you want.

Yesterday I took part in a social bike ride I had been wanting to do for several years. The ride started in Ferndale, about nine miles north of Detroit and covered quite a few of the famous landmarks in and around the city. Plus stops at several bars along the way for refreshments.

If you saw the Dateline piece a few weeks ago you know what some areas of Detroit are like. We rode through some of the best and worst that the city neighborhoods had to offer. But we never felt threatened; most people we saw just smiled or waved and said hello. Of course, they probably weren't going to mess with 70 or so cyclists riding together.

It rained hard before the start but then we had mainly clear skies and warm weather, although a pretty strong wind was present for most of the ride. We wound our way to several landmarks including a goat farm in a blighted neighborhood, Mexican Town, the old train depot, the Riverwalk Park, Dequindre Cut, Heidelberg Project, Eastern Market and Hamtramack Disneyland, just to name a few. We only rode about 40 miles but the ride took almost 8 hours. We spent a lot of time looking at the sights or stopping for refueling.

I am glad I was able to see the city from a different side. It is quite different to be rolling through it on a bike rather than in a car with the windows up and doors locked. I intend to visit some of these areas again when I get a chance. For a look at the pictures I took you can go here.

This week brings our third MICA board meeting and the bike demo day at Island Lake. I had planned on being there to help at the Cannondale tent but now will probably be at the MICA tent instead.

Time flies

2010-04-25T17:58:00.005-04:00

Time has flown by since my last update which are now seeming to come less often. But lots of things going on. Not sure where to start but I guess the biggest thing is that Greg and I are now living the bachelor life. Sandy left this past Friday for Spokane, the length of her stay has not been determined.

I explained in past posts that we had an opportunity to rent a house on Mount St. Micheal's property but it didn't work out. But they did have another unit for rent and wanted us to come out. It seemed to be a sign that we were to move to Spokane, especially after I turned down an offer a year and a half ago.

But since I am not ready to retire yet but could at the end of next year, we decided to have Sandy go out and test the waters; see what she could land in the way of a job and then I would come out at a later time. If things don't work out we still have the house for her to come back to. Another bonus of her going now is that she will be able to provide some help for Emily as she is expecting their third child in June.

It was hard to see her go, especially not knowing if it was permanent or not. Now
Greg and I have to take up the slack and do all of the things that we used to take for granted, such as cleaning, cooking, and ironing. Hopefully we don't come down with food poisoning.

In other news the MICA board met again as we are planning our awareness campaign. We had the MMBA Marketing Director prepare a plan for us. We now also have a new board member and web master to help us design and launch our web site. Hopefully we will have it up in the next couple of weeks. For those of you on Twitter you can follow us at http://twitter.com/MICA_BIKE.

I raced this weekend and last but both were time trials so the overall time was pretty short, under an hour each race. I switched to racing in the singlespeed class for a couple of reasons, mainly because I didn't want to do the longer distance of the Expert age groups. Not training as much as in the past would really put me at a disadvantage, but that is my own doing. Racing in the SS cuts across all ages and racing the Sport SS class has me racing with a competitive group, even if some of them are 30 years younger than me. Not sure what will happen later in the year as the races are the longer, traditional XC format.

Greg took last week off to spend some time at home before Sandy left so he and I tried to get in some golfing. We played 9 holes earlier in the week and my upper back started acting up. It had been sore for some reason, almost like a muscle strain. But playing seemed to make it worse. But after a few days it seemed to be getting better so Greg and I went out to play again.

Of course we went for the full 18 holes since it was a weekday and the course was running a special deal. It didn't take long for the back to start going out. It was getting progressively worse to the point it was painful to move. We ended up quitting after 9 holes. I had an appointment with the chiropractor later this week anyway but this back issue will be new for him. Hopefully he can work his magic.

The final update, if you've made it this far, is in reference to a blog post I made a few months ago about a special phone call that was received while Bernie Wendel and I were out riding. At the time I couldn't report on the content of the call which of course got all sorts of responses. If you were to reread the post I didn't say the call was for me. Yes, the call was for Bernie. It was from his wife informing him that the early pregnancy test had come back and it was positive! What joyous news!

They had been trying to conceive for some time and had gone through the in vitro procedure. As it turns out, she is having twins. I had to wait until it was formally announced before I could say anything. And they had to wait for some time to make sure everything was OK. I know they will make wonderful parents and I will always have a story to tell of that special day when Bernie got the news.

Brief updates

2010-04-11T18:19:00.002-04:00

It seems like I have been less inclined to getting around to updating the blog. Things have been busy preparing for Sandy's departure in a few weeks plus trying to get the MICA organization up and running. I have been riding a little plus putting the finishing touches on the trails at the school.

Yesterday Sandy and I spent the morning at Eastern Market and I got out in the afternoon for a ride. I also had a short ride this afternoon as the trails are starting to dry up again after the rains that came in the middle of the past week. We needed the rain though as things are starting to green up but that also means it will be time to get the mower back out of hibernation.

Tomorrow I say goodbye to my trusty Caravan as it's time to turn it in for a new vehicle we had on order. Replacing the van will be a Dodge Journey, nicer on the inside than the van and it will be in AWD so that will be nice in nasty weather. it doesn't have the carrying capacity of a van so the bikes will probably remain on the outside while traveling, but I think I can still get my cot in there if I decide to stay overnight before a race. This will be the first time in a long time we don't have a van or pickup truck to haul things. A sign of getting older I guess.

Speaking of races, the first MTB race of the season is next week at Yankee Springs. Traditionally it is the largest attended race of the season other than Iceman. I am not sure if I'm racing but plan on attending to represent MICA. If I do race I may step back a notch and race the singlespeed class so i don't have to race for as long a distance. I may decide to race SS all year for the same reason. I am not doing any formal training this year so I don't expect great results.

MICA

2010-03-28T14:49:00.003-04:00

Over the past few years I have had an idea of getting more youth involved in the sport of cycling, specifically mountain bike racing. When we started the races at Lake Orion High School a few years ago I included categories specifically for students and cut the entry fees way down for them. We haven't had a big turnout of students but did get some new to the sport.

One of my thoughts was that someday we could get an interscholastic league started in the state. Michigan has a big racing community but spread out over the state. There is a mountain bike race of some sort almost every weekend from May through September.

I started looking into the idea a little more and discovered that there is a big school league out in California that has also spawned a national program that is still in its infancy. Colorado is starting to organize under the national guidelines. I thought we might be able to do something similar in our state.

I have been talking about it for long enough and decided to finally see what i could organize. A few weeks ago I held an informational meeting and invited anyone interested and made sure to include the advisers of school clubs already in existence. Also in attendance at that meeting were a few members of the Michigan Mountain Biking Association state board.

The meeting was well received and positive communication generated a follow-up meeting with the advisers to work on how to get other schools involved and put together a club start-up document. The MMBA members and I talked about possibly incorporating my ideas as part of the MMBA. This would provide many benefits, including insurance, resources, and fit into the MMBA mission as well.

It was decided to present the concept at the state board meeting this past Wednesday. I was put on the agenda and a copy of my presentation was emailed to the board members. During the meeting, which was held via phone conference, I presented my ideas and answered questions. The motion to be a part of the MMBA was unanimously approved.

Now the work begins, forming our own board of the Michigan Interscholastic Cycling Association (MICA) and getting the word out. We have to develop brochures, a web presence, budgets, race schedule, school literature, etc., etc. The 2010 race schedule will be a trial run of only two races, including one already on the Michigan calendar in September and another TBD. At this late date in the school year it will be hard for schools to put together a team for the fall but we hope to have a few schools participate.

I started another blog for the MICA site as a placeholder for now but hope to have our own website soon. Stay tuned for more details of this exciting new venture.

Moving on

2010-03-21T16:58:00.004-04:00

Those of you who read my blog may have noticed I changed the color scheme from green to black and red. I had changed to green last year to match the colors of the Cannondale Factory Racing team, of which I was a member. Unfortunately the team changed it's format for this year, abandoning the grass roots team as it cut back to only include a few of the top pro racers from around the globe.

Not that I'm terribly upset, I am back racing with the Cannondale Midwest Racing team of which I have been part of, in some fashion or another, since its inception. Of course CMR's team colors are black and red. It also means no more of the free stuff that the factory team provided. But we still get good deals through the CMR team sponsors.

Another benefit of being with CMR is that my race schedule is more flexible. In fact, as of right now I don't have any specific races I plan on doing. For some reason I don't have quite the ambition this year as in years past. I sort of feel like been there, done that.

One thing sort of new with bikes is that I commuted to work by bike this past Friday. I hadn't done that in years. I used the singlespeed bike I built late last year. I now have fenders and a rear rack and also purchased a set of panniers, or saddlebags, that connect to the rack. Using the bags means I don't have to use a backpack or try to strap it down on the rack. The panniers keep the center of gravity lower which helps keep the bike stable. The commute is just under 10 miles and takes 40-43 minutes. It's a little slower in the morning since I am more careful. Time will tell how often I use the bike to get to work.

I am concentrating a lot of my efforts on the formation of the interscholastic racing program that I hope to get up and running soon. I should have more news about that later in the week.

Probably the biggest news of moving on is preparing for eventual retirement. Many of you know that I turned down a chance for early retirement a year and a half ago. I could have had a job about an hour from the grand kids but had second thoughts.

We received a call from Jason about a month ago that a house on St. Michael's property would be coming up for rent and the church thought of us first. Sandy and I talked about it but I am too close to be able to get regular retirement to leave Chrysler now.

We decided that if the house was available at a reasonable price we would see if Sandy could go out now and work for the Mount in exchange for rent and then I would come out after the end of next year once I turn 55. Not an ideal situation short term but it would get us out west.

As it turns out, the rent is pretty high and they wanted the money anyway, not a barter for work. But, they said, the do have a 2 bedroom apartment coming available soon that would be very inexpensive. And they might have some leads for Sandy for employment.

We decided to take a shot and have Sandy go out and stay with the kids for a while before the apartment became free. This would give her a chance to look for and hopefully land a job to have income to support herself until I would be able to move at the end of next year and look for a job and a bigger place to stay. If things don't work out then she would end up moving back to Michigan.

Sandy has given her notice where she currently works and will be taking the train in the middle of April. The train has more baggage allowed but we have to go to Toledo to get the train; no trains in Michigan have the baggage allowance.

While I am not thrilled about the long distance separation it allows a way to check out the job situation and will also give Sandy a chance to spend more time with Jason and Emily and the soon to be three grand kids. In the meantime Greg and I will have to take on all sorts of new responsibilities.

Spring is almost here

2010-03-07T19:31:00.004-05:00

You can feel it, literally. The warmer weather is causing the snow to melt off the roads and in the woods, leaving the trails mushy and some of the roads an absolute mess of mud. But other roads are perfectly fine. The conditions are starting to be favorable for long rides on the back roads again.

But the melting snow also means that the XC skiing is probably over with. Sandy and I were going to spend the weekend up near Grayling and Roscommon at a couple of the XC ski trails but the snow conditions were deteriorating so we canceled the trip.

Instead, on Saturday we went hiking at a state recreation area close to us that we had not been at before. The trails are also open to mountain biking so I had a chance to see what they might be like. It is not a long trail, about 3.5 miles or so, but it had some nice elevation changes and sweeping corners. It seemed like it will be fun to ride over on a bike and check them out this summer. I'm glad that the trail was not much longer because my knee bothered me more from hiking than from any riding I have done.

Today I put the knee to the test as I headed out early to try and ride most of the 100 mile loop some of my buddies had put together for a charity ride next month. The ride is geared toward singlespeed riders so that is the bike I rode. The roads were frozen hard when I set out and for the most part were in good condition even as it warmed up. There were a few that were a real mess and almost had me walking due to the heavy mud. I ended the day with 107 miles.

Back at Christmas Sandy had received an amaryllis plan from my Mom. She planted the bulb a while back and once it started to grow we were amazed at how fast it sprouted. Sandy started recording the growth and on some days it was over an inch in one day. It sort of reminded us of something out of The Little Shop of Horrors. We kept checking to see if all the dogs were still around.

This week promises more warm weather but it looks like some rain moving in. On Tuesday is the initial meeting of the interscholastic mountain bike racing league I am trying to start. We have some interest and hopefully we get enough of a turnout to get some committees up and running.

White knuckler

2010-02-26T18:52:00.002-05:00

This week we had more snow including a good bit on Monday. We have gotten a little bit more each day, not a lot but enough to cause some problems with the morning or evening commutes.

Yesterday I had to attend a 7:30 am meeting at one of our engine plants about 75 miles away. Leaving early meant that I would miss the majority of traffic but the roads were very icy in spots. At one spot where the freeway merged with another traffic was coming to a standstill. As the overpass curved there were multiple spin outs and accidents. We crawled past and I encountered more cars off in the median or ditches for about the next 40 miles. Listening to the traffic reports I heard that they closed the stretch of highway I had come through earlier.

Today we had another moderate snowfall but the wind was causing it to drift. Once home from work I went to work clearing the drive and didn't think too much about the temperature as it wasn't really that cold. Once inside I realized that my fingers had gotten colder than normal. The result was the lack of blood flow to one of the fingers.

I have poor circulation in my extremities, and growing up I used to play out in the snow until I couldn't feel my toes and fingers. I bet most kids have done that at one time or another. When they started to thaw out they hurt like heck. Now that I'm older it doesn't take as much for the circulation problems to occur. Come on warm weather.

Typical February

2010-02-21T18:21:00.003-05:00

The weather has been about average this week with highs above freezing and lows in the 20's. By the time I get home from work it is warm enough for the roads to thaw out and be a muddy mess. I have refrained from riding on them and instead have reluctantly consigned myself to riding the rollers in the basement. Or taking the spinning classes at work.

But on Saturday I got out early while the roads were still frozen, accompanied by Bernie, a teammate on the Cannondale Midwest team. We ended up riding for three hours into horse country on mostly frozen roads. We both prefer to ride singlespeeds in the winter to avoid drivetrain wear and tear plus it's good training. While we were out a life changing phone call was received with joyous news, but I can't reveal the content quite yet.

Today I left the house even earlier since the temperatures were going to warm up quicker than the previous day. I planned on riding most of the first half of the 100 mile route that a couple of my friends had designed for a ride scheduled in April. I rode the singlespeed again but switched the tires to regular instead of studded and made the gearing a little harder.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that most of the roads had less ice and snow and were drier than the roads by me. I think part of the reason was that the route had more open areas than the roads I normally ride. The sun was able to reach the road surface and melt the snow and ice. By the time I returned home I had 70 miles for the day.

It looks like we will get hit with another big snow tonight and tomorrow, dumping 5-8 inches. So maybe I will be back on the skis this week and depending on the amount of snow during the week, on the skis next weekend as well. I don't really mind except it was nice to see the roads starting to get in shape for riding again. Looks like we will be back to square one after tomorrow.

Winter returns

2010-02-14T16:27:00.003-05:00

We got hit with our biggest snowfall of the winter on Tuesday night and Wednesday. For us it wasn't really big at only 8" and certainly nothing compared to what other parts of the country had been getting. But it was kind of nice to get some snow back on the ground.

I'm glad the snow waited until after our race last weekend although we would have been able to keep a clear course on the school property. Bald Mountain would have been terrible for riding since it really hasn't gotten warm enough to pack down, even with the snowmobile traffic.

Wednesday I snowshoed up at the school, following a lot of the trails. No one else had been out so everything was undisturbed except for the animal tracks. Thursday I went back up and spent a couple of hours XC skiing on the trails and into Bald Mountain. Again, in many spots I was the first person to lay down any tracks.

Friday night several people were supposed to get together and snowshoe at the school after dark. I stopped by a local outdoor supply shop to pick up a new headlamp. Previously whenever I wanted to go out night hiking or skiing the only light I had was the one I use when riding. It is a little overkill for slower speeds sine it is a super bright HID and has a heavy battery that had to be carried in a pocket or pack. The light is mounted to a helmet so I have to wear that when hiking. It is bright though. The new light is self contained and uses LED's, still very bright for normal hiking or skiing.

Unfortunately everyone backed out of the hike for various reasons but I decided to go anyway. I'm glad I did. There is something magical about the trails at night, especially in the snow. Maybe we will try to get together again this week.

Yesterday I went out early for a few hours on the SS on the back roads. Most of the roads were clear, or at least plowed but they still had packed snow and ice. Then later in the day I went over to Stony to XC ski. They had just groomed the trails and were a lot better than when Sandy and I were there a few weeks ago. I ran into Bernie and we skied around the park together.

This morning I was out on the bike for a few hours again and picked some different roads to ride. Some of them were not as clear as others, in fact it made me wonder if they had been plowed or just partially cleared from the traffic. Sandy and I are going out on the trails to hike in a little bit. I need to go back to work tomorrow just to get some rest.

St. Isidore's Garden

2010-02-09T18:10:00.006-05:00

I have mentioned numerous times about the co-op that Jason and Emily are running out in Spokane. The name of the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) is St. Isidore's Garden and while there is no stand alone website, there is a blog started that will represent the garden.

They have also put together a professional looking brochure that describes the venture. Most of the pictures are from the garden. The Scribd view on this page does not look as good as it does if you actually download a copy from the Scribd site. This web conversion seems to move the text boxes around.

St Izzy Brochure FINAL Copy

Another race video

2010-02-08T19:49:00.000-05:00

The Knee - Good news, bad news

2010-02-08T16:09:00.002-05:00

I saw the knee specialist this afternoon and there is no sign of any internal damage to the knee. Which is good. In fact, in spite of my concerns with all the hits the knees have taken there is also no sign of arthritis, also good.

But the pain is still there and there is still some swelling, although neither are as bad as they were. His conclusion is that it is tendon damage that will just take additional time to heal. He thought that one of my falls happened to hit in exactly the wrong place. His only remedy would be to prescribe physical therapy but instead we decided we would just go with trying to stretch it out myself.

So there is no need for anything beyond stretching although it will continue to be painful for a while. fortunately it doesn't bother me much while riding. The reason it hurts most after sitting is because the tendon is shortened in that position and then is elongated when first standing up. It is the initial stretching that hurts, then it subsides.

I can begin planning my 2010 race calendar now since there don't appear to be any limitations other than time, money and ability. Not that has ever stopped me before.

LOHS Winter Race Results

2010-02-07T17:40:00.002-05:00

2 06 10 LOHS Results

LOHS winter race video

2010-02-07T08:14:00.003-05:00

Video by Matt on the MMBA forum http://mmba.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=95481&p=630631#p630631

Thanks Matt. I wish I had a camera mounted on the bike to capture the whole trail and how much fun it was.

1st race in the books

2010-02-06T14:44:00.002-05:00

We had almost perfect weather for the races at Lake Orion High School today. And pretty much ideal course conditions. We had a decent turnout but I would have expected more riders. Everyone that did show up had a good time and most of use got to race on some singletrack. There were a few icy spots but the trail got better each lap and never broke down like I was afraid of.

I used the new carbon Flash with studded tires. I worked my way to third by the time we got to the top of the parking lot and then flew down the sledding hill, never touching my brakes. I went a little too fast and overshot the course but managed to ride back online. Going up a small hill the two riders in front got tangled and I moved into 1st.

I stayed in that position almost all the way back to the start line but was struggling since my seatpost had slid down, not allowing me to fully extend my legs and get full power. I stopped to raise and tighten the seat as a couple of riders went by.

The same thing happened on the next two laps, a slipping seat would force me to stand more or try to spin. I could feel the muscles tighten in odd spots due to them being forced to work in a way not normally encountered. I finished 2nd in my group. Overall I liked the way the bike handled but wished I could have had better luck with the seat. Every time I had it where it should be I was making good time.

Tonight is the Cannondale Midwest team meeting to kick off the new season. Most of the team should be there and we will get a look at our new logo and uniform design.

1st Look

2010-02-03T05:46:00.002-05:00

The frame for the Cannondale Flash Carbon 29er arrived Monday, last night I pretty much finished the build. Right now it is just under 21 pounds on my scale which tends to read heavy. Slightly different geometry than last year's bike will mean some tweaking on fit. Not sure when I will get to ride it due to the snow we are having.

How it started life

Too short a visit

2010-01-30T20:30:00.002-05:00

Emily, Oliver and Isabel came in to town Wednesday afternoon and left this morning to fly back to Spokane. Jason had gone back earlier in the month and the rest of the family had been visiting Emily's relatives in Indiana. That meant they had been away from home for five weeks. I know that as much as they liked visiting they were anxious to get home. And Jason was glad to have them back as well.

It was amazing the how fast the two kids had grown just in the month since we had last seen them. It was fun playing with them and almost watching them develop before our eyes. I'm sure the next time we see them they will have really grown. Hopefully we can get out to Spokane this summer after Emily has their next child.

Sandy and I took the family to the airport early this morning and saw them through check-in and security. The line inside was really long and we were worried that they wouldn't make their flight. After checking the bags the security line was also long. Fortunately the guards waved Emily and the kids to a special checkpoint to expedite their processing.

I'm not sure if it was because the kids were in the big double passenger stroller or that Emily was pregnant or that they didn't want the kids to have to wait in the long line. In any case they made it through and got to gate as the flight was beginning to board.

Their flights were on time and they arrived at home safe and sound although their two car seats that had been checked didn't seem to make the flight. Hopefully they show up soon as other items were packed with the seats. In the meantime the airline offers loaner car seats.

After leaving the airport Sandy and I went to the Eastern Market to stock up on fresh produce. We had never been there in the winter and while it was cold in some of the buildings, it also wasn't as crowded as we were used to. It was nice to be able to park close and also browse the merchandise without fighting the crowds.

Once back at home I headed out on the bike for a 3+ hour ride. The sunny skies and lack of much wind meant the ride didn't feel nearly as cold as the thermometer indicated. But my frozen water bottle said otherwise. Fortunately it was my second bottle, the first one was consumed before freezing.

While I felt OK during the ride and my knee doesn't really bother me much, once off the bike it definitely hurts. This week I finally made and appointment to go see a doctor that specializes in knee pain. He comes highly recommended by a friend who has used him.

I don't get to see him until the 8th so I may not race my own winter race coming up next weekend at Lake Orion High School. And until I find out if it is anything serious, I also don't know what races I am going to do this year. Maybe it is just a deep bruise that requires a little more time to heal.

Tomorrow is the MMBA annual meeting in Lansing. I'm driving over early to help the Cannondale rep set up his merchandise and hopefully come back home early as well. They also have a swap meet but I don't really need anything in the way of bike parts. If anything I should sell some of the extra stuff I have laying around.

Nuts to you (and fruits and veggies)

2010-01-24T20:17:00.002-05:00

Since shortly after the start of the New Year I have changed my eating habits, both for a more healthy lifestyle and to see if it makes any difference in my riding performance. Late last year I had begun to do some investigation in to the Paleo diet, sometimes called the caveman diet.

The word "diet" has the image of something you do to lose weight and seems to be a temporary thing. This is more of a change in eating habits that also brings about weight loss as a benefit, not as the primary goal. The Paleo in the strictest sense does not allow most foods that would have not been around during the caveman's time, before agriculture became a common practice.

This means that it focuses on fruits, vegetables, nuts, eggs, fish, and lean cuts of meats. Gone are the grains, dairy, sugars, fatty meats, legumes and some starchy vegetables such as potatoes. Depending on who the author is, there may be other items either allowed or disallowed. At first glance it would appear all the good food is literally off the plate.

For endurance athletes it presents a problem since carbohydrates are a big source of our energy. It is hard getting enough from fruits and veggies but a revised Paleo diet for athletes makes some allowances for extra sources of carbs immediately before, during, and after exercise. For the rest of the time you should be following the guidelines. But it is expected that from time to time you allow yourself a cheat meal or item.

So, for the last three weeks I have been eating a lot healthier than I have in the past but it has been a struggle at times to find the right foods or meals, especially when you consider other members of the family that don't share the same limitations on diet. It has meant that some meals may be compromises or that an ingredient is left out or a portion or even something else altogether is chosen.

I have also found that eating healthier is also more expensive as cheap food is usually loaded with things that are not good for you. Fresh is expensive. And it doesn't even have to be organic.

My results seem to be typical of most who start on the diet, I lost over 10 pounds in the three weeks since starting. A lot of that was probably water loss. I also initially noticed a surge in energy as my body was cleansing itself of the bad stuff. As other endurance athletes had noted , you hit a low point before starting to rebound and have greater endurance and recovery. I think I was at the low point last week, so now I hope things start to improve.

I have been cooking some meals and eating things that I never would have before. I think my taste buds have become more sensitive and things taste sweeter or saltier than before. Looking for Paleo recipes I discovered a great egg breakfast that includes chorizo, onions and raisins. I used chicken chorizo and it tasted great. Today I made a stew that included turnips and parsnips. I don't know when the last time was that I had those two vegetables but found I enjoyed the taste. And I rediscovered brussel sprouts.

I have cheated a few time such as eating a hamburger on a bun and also a hot dog last week. Yesterday I had a few pieces of pizza. But I found that once I ate them I didn't seem to feel as well. But they sure tasted good. It will be interesting to see how long I can keep this up. I may find that I have to modify the rules to suit our budget, meal constraints, or my training needs.

Yesterday I met up with some of my singlespeed buddies for a back road ride and I finished up with four hours. I could that I didn't have quite the energy or strength I normally would but expect that to change over the next few months. Today I did a two hour ride but decided to stay inside due to the rain.

My knee is still bothering me a little and I think the time has come to finally get it looked at. Hopefully it something that will just go away with time.

This week will be busy as Emily and the grand kids come back into town for a few days before leaving for home. And then Sunday is the MMBA annual meeting in Lansing.

Farmer Jason

2010-01-23T12:16:00.002-05:00

Jason found that his wireless network will extend to the barn where the chickens are now so we video chatted the other day while he was looking in on the birds. Amazing thing, the Internet.

The Egg and I

2010-01-19T17:21:00.004-05:00

With Jason and Emily getting into chicken raising and farming we thought it would be funny to get them the set of Ma and Pa Kettle DVD's for Christmas. Appropriately the first title is The Egg and I. Sandy and I have most of the set on video tapes and watched them so much that we took to calling each other Ma and Pa. If you saw some of the places we lived in the country there was a resemblance to one or two of the houses in the movies.

Last week Jason called to inform us he was about to head out to pick up 20 more chickens, mostly grown. It seems a family had started raising them as a project for their kids but that didn't last too long once the birds got bigger.

These are already laying eggs and the day after getting them Jason got his first return on the investment. All of the chickens are now in the barn so the basement has been returned to normal. At some point we will be seeing the birds live since he discovered the wireless signal reached to the barn. Now that is something I don't remember seeing in the movies.

Get out and ride

2010-01-18T21:01:00.002-05:00

This week the weather conditions have made the trails used by snowmobiles perfect for riding. Plus the temperatures have been moderate, or at least not as cold as last week. With highs in the low 30's and lows in the 20's it is easy to stay warm.

Everyone in SE Michigan who is sitting on trainers preparing for the coming race season needs to get out and ride right now while the riding is good. I don't think it will last through the weekend. Not only is the trail riding a refreshing change of pace it helps to practice some of the technical skills so that you aren't as rusty once the trails are ready this spring.

This morning I spend a couple of hours on the local trails since there were in such great shape. In fact, some spots were faster than in the summer due to rocks and ruts being smoothed over by the snow. It was easy to pretty much stay in the big ring for much of the ride. The heavy frost put an icy coating on most of the branches which made it seem like riding through a fantasy land.

The pictures at the top is of the LOHS winter course. This is the sledding hill that bikes ride down each lap and the runners go up. The photo at the bottom of the page is how most of the trail looks on the school property. The grounds crew has kept the course plowed to make it easier to keep up when we get more snow.

New rides

2010-01-17T17:48:00.004-05:00

Sandy and I each picked up new rides this week. Mine requires pedal power and hers fossil fuel.

The lease was up on the Nitro back in November and we were debating what to do with it when they announced that the company car program was being reinstated. We placed an order for the PT Cruiser and crossed our fingers that it would get built and delivered before we had to turn in the Nitro after getting the maximum two month extension on our lease.

We couldn't have timed it much closer, just like the material supply systems I work with, it arrived with little time to spare. We picked it up this past Thursday and turned in the Nitro the following day. We would have liked to keep the Nitro since Sandy took good care of it and it had low mileage, plus it had four wheel drive but the PT was cheaper in the long run. And, being a corporate lease we don't have to worry about mileage, insurance or maintenance.

We had one of the first Cruisers before they were available to the public. That was fun since everyone wanted to look at it and would follow us on the freeway and into parking lots. Now they are a little dated but a nice utility vehicle for cheap. Plus Sandy finally got heated seats and she likes the satellite radio.

My bike is Cannondale's only singlespeed offering for 2010, the Trail 29'er SL 5. It is a basic, no frills bike that I wanted to get to use for training in sloppy weather plus as a potential commuter this summer. I have made a few changes such as a different saddle and the fenders but I don't plan on changing much else. It's heavy compared to my race bike but is perfect for what I intend to use it for.

This past week's warmer weather has pretty much stopped the XC skiing but the snowmobile packed trails have firmed up to the point where they are just about perfect for riding. Almost like riding on dirt.

I started back lifting weights in the fitness center last week after a long absence since my rib injury. I am really sore all over my body now, even though I started off easy. It will take a while to get back some of the fitness I lost but by race season I should have adapted.

We have the day off from work tomorrow for MLK day. It should be another great morning for a ride.

LOHS Winter Race Entry Form

2010-01-11T17:22:00.001-05:00

Mountain Bike Run Race Winter 2010 Entry

LOHS Races for 2010

2010-01-09T18:25:00.000-05:00

I met with the LOHS school race coordinator yesterday to lay out tentative race dates for 2010. Here are the dates as we have them planned for now. More information will be posted as we firm up the details but I expect the races will follow the same structure as last year. We have extended the school portion of the trail by about a mile since the race last October and we have two more sections of singletrack to complete next spring. Beginner racers will ride almost the entire loop due to the new course layout but we plan on having a much shorter loop designed for elementary students this year.

Saturday Feb 6 3rd Annual Winter Running and MTB races http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=9567

Wednesday June 9 Evening training XC race
Wednesday June 16 Evening training XC race
Wednesday June 30 Rain date

Saturday October 23 3rd Annual Fall Harvest Running and MTB races

We also began to lay the groundwork for the formation a scholastic MTB league. Hopefully more news on that initiative later this spring.

Ski conditions - finally!

2010-01-09T18:19:00.002-05:00

The snow we got a few days ago meant that there is finally enough to go XC skiing without worrying about scraping the bottom of the skis on bare ground. This morning I skied around the school trails and then over and around Bald Mountain. The air was cold but the sun was shining on the powdery snow causing it to sparkle like diamonds.

Later in the afternoon Sandy and I skied around the Bald Mountain lake and nature trail under mostly blue skies. We are going to try and get over to Stony Creek tomorrow to ski there. I ride there quite a bit but have never skied. They groom the trails which will be a nice change but I hope that the numerous users haven't thinned out the snow cover too much.

More laughs

2010-01-05T20:59:00.003-05:00

After looking at the last post I thought I would show the opposite extreme. I don't think I started growing my hair longer until junior high.

Hey, I used to have hair

2010-01-04T21:54:00.003-05:00

This was 20 years ago but Sandy wasn't the only one that had longer hair. Of course she still has hair.

Christmas memories

2010-01-03T16:00:00.003-05:00

1978

1979

One of the items we received from my parents this Christmas was a USB flash drive loaded with pictures of family Christmases starting back in 1952. My dad used to take a lot of slides and has started to convert them to digital format. It was great to look back and relive the memories and watch how things and people changed over the years.

Sandy, Greg and I had started to watch it the day after Christmas but decided to wait until Jason got back yesterday. Last night we stayed up until after midnight looking at the pictures. Some brought up interesting discussions on family history. Others brought back memories of long forgotten gifts and moments. It was also fun to see when certain items of decoration first appeared and how the various houses we lived in were decorated. Anyone who has watched Mad Men would recognize a lot of the styles of the period.

Obviously in over 50+ years some of the people(and pets)pictured are no longer with us so it was a nice was to show them to the kids or just remember them in general. It was amazing how some photos of the kids and relatives when they were younger really display the family resemblances we may not have noticed before or forgotten. I noticed a few poses that have been repeated over the years among our own family, whether subconsciously or not.

I was particularly taken with the early photos of my wife in our first years together. I always thought she was a hottie and have to admit that it was one of the things that first attracted me to her. Looking at the older pictures I can see how lucky I was to marry her, she was even better looking than I remembered. And as we have aged she has lost nothing to her early looks, she just keeps getting better. I am one fortunate guy.

I hope my dad gets a chance to get more of the slides copied for us to see. I wish I still had our early family photos but unfortunately a lot of them were damaged by water.

Sandy and I went for a hike on the trails today and took our dog Oliver. I decided to give my knee a rest for the day by hiking instead of riding. It was cold enough that Sandy was able to wear her wool hat I gave her years ago. If it is much above 15 degrees it is almost too warm for her. I think it makes her look like a movie star.

2010

1st Post

2010-01-01T20:43:00.003-05:00

For 2010.

Happy New Year!

We managed to stay up to ring in the new year but we were in bed 15 minutes later. Real party animals here. But I was able to get up reasonably early this morning and get out to ride for a while.

We received about an inch of fluffy snow overnight and it was still snowing slightly as I was riding. The trails were still able to be ridden without too much trouble and the ice was buried below enough snow that studded tires didn't make much difference.

It was a little colder out on the roads as the temps were in the low 20's but the wind was blowing enough to cut through you. I think this made the tenth year in a row that I have ridden outside on January 1st.

Today was a good day for other members of the family as Ohio State won the Rose Bowl. We had a party at our house with some friends to watch the game. In spite of being a Michigan fan I was rooting for the Buckeyes to win. I want to see the Big Ten do well in the post season. Plus a win for the Buckeyes may make the rest of 2010 a little better on the home front, at least until next November.

Jason arrives tomorrow and will be here until his flight home on Monday. Emily and the kids arrive at the end of the month for a few days before they also fly back west. It will be good to see the family again, even for a short while.

I'm still trying to figure out my racing plans for this year. I have a few races I would like to do but not sure if I will compete in one of the local series or just pick and choose those of most interest to me. Some of the decision will depend on which race team I am on this year. Whichever team, it will be on a Cannondale branded bike.

Last posting

2009-12-31T15:36:00.004-05:00

For 2009.

The furnace company came by today for our annual maintenance and gave the unit a clean bill of health. In fact, he thought the furnace would probably outlive us. The unit is the original one that installed when the house was built and is about 35 years old or so but it's built like a tank. About the size of one too.

Over the years we have lived here most of the components on the furnace have been replaced under the appliance protection plan we have through the utility company. The plan has definitely paid for itself. The repair man was lamenting the quality and short life expectancy of newer furnaces and cost of parts. He said to not bother replacing the furnace even though newer ones may be slightly more efficient. It would be cheaper in the long run to keep what we've got. Not what you would expect to hear from a company that makes its living selling and installing heating equipment.

Later today I rode some of the local trails. We had some snow overnight and warmer temperatures helped to pack the snow under the tires, providing some traction. We could have used a couple of more inches to allow the snowmobiles to get out on the trails and pack them down.

We also need the snow for any local XC skiing that would allow the use of good skis. There is a little bit of snow predicted over the next few days so maybe we will have enough before heading back to work on Monday.

Sandy and I are planning a quiet evening at home to ring in the new year and were joking that we may not be able to stay awake that long. We are not party people so late nights are an anomaly. I had proposed that we go xc skiing at night but I don't think there is enough snow.

Whether we are awake to see the arrival of the new year or not, best wishes for a Happy New Year to everyone.

The last photos for 2009:

Mid week update

2009-12-30T14:29:00.005-05:00

My leg felt a little better so Sandy and I did get out on a local loop yesterday afternoon to try some XC skiing. The snow was thin in spots to where the skis would occasionally drag across something. I should have used my old set of skis so I wouldn't have worried about any damage to the bottoms. As it was there were a few new scratches but nothing major.

This morning Sandy didn't want to make the 2.5 hour drive to ski up north as there were things she wanted to do around the house. My leg had improved to the point that I decided to go out for a ride.

I suited up and headed first to the school and rode most of the winter race course and then part of Bald Mountain before heading over to Stony Creek Metropark to ride the trails there. I was being very careful anytime I encountered ice since I didn't want to fall again, especially not on the same knee.

Stony didn't seem to have as much snow as by our house and there had been quite a bit of foot traffic to beat down the snow. It was a lot easier to ride most of the trails there than Bald Mountain or the school. But Stony did have quite a bit of ice on the trails. Most of it was easy to see because other bikers had scraped away the snow on top as they had slid and sometimes fallen, as evidenced by the tracks.

I managed to stay upright and rode almost all of the trails without having to stop with the exception of three different uphills that were solid ice. I wasn't going that fast anyway and treated the ride as more of skill and balance training.

On the way home I jumped on the Paint Creek Trail, one of the area rail trails that is popular with runners, walkers, and bikers all year long. Fortunately the footprints were not very deep and I could make pretty good time on the generally level path.

As I got closer to home the trail was less traveled and beat down so the foot prints were more wide spread and harder to ride. I moved off to the side to what looked like a smoother section but no sooner did I do that than the front wheel slid into a rut hidden under the snow and the bike dumped me onto the ground. I landed right on the knee I had fallen on this past Sunday. I lay there for a while until the pain subsided before getting back on the bike. Fortunately there was no one around to witness the fall or hear what came out of my mouth.

I made it home without any further incidences but I think I may invest into some downhill body armor for riding in the snow. Jason clued me into an herbal remedy for bumps and bruises called Arnica Montana that I purchased yesterday and it seemed to help with my knee. Maybe I should be buying it by the gallon.

And now more pictures from last week:

Tuesday pics

2009-12-29T10:38:00.002-05:00

I could barely straighten my leg yesterday so no riding. It's a little better today and Sandy and I may try some XC skiing locally. If that works then later in the week we may head north where there is more snow.

Monday photos

2009-12-28T12:26:00.005-05:00

I woke up this morning and could barely bend my left knee. It is pretty swollen from hitting the ice yesterday while riding. Today will be an easy day on the trainer if at all. The snow is coming down hard enough that the trails will be difficult and the roads treacherous due to traffic. But it looks like we will be able to XC ski or snowshoe tomorrow!

And now some more pictures from last week.

Today's photos

2009-12-27T15:57:00.003-05:00

Some photos from the past week.

What a Merry Christmas!

2009-12-26T20:19:00.005-05:00

The last week has been a whirlwind of activity, starting with a trip down to Ohio to see my parents and brothers, along with their families. Sandy, Greg and I started out early in the morning by dropping off the van at the Detroit Airport before 7:00 am in preparation for Jason and his family's arrival later in the afternoon. Then we went to an early church service close by the airport before driving down to Ohio.

We met everyone for lunch and the went to check into the hotel before heading over to my parents. It was great to see the family together as it has been a few years. While there we were all waiting for Jason to arrive as everyone but my mom knew they were coming.

Jason drove straight down after their flight arrived in Detroit around 4:30. We had my mom talking to Jason on the phone when he walked through the front door. What a scene, it reminded me of something out of a TV commercial you see around the holidays. For Jason's wife and kids it was their first time meeting most of the family other than my mom and dad. In spite of them starting the day at 2:00 am the kids and parents were still in good spirits.

We got back together in the morning before we headed back home, leaving Jason and crew to spend some more time with their little seen relatives and then they headed back to our place. We were looking forward to spending a few days and Christmas together before they would leave to visit Emily's relatives in Indiana.

Our house instantly became much more active, noisier, and festive once they got in. Having little ones around at Christmas just adds to the excitement of the holiday. but I think since the kids were so young that the grown ups may have been more excited than the children.

We weren't able to get to do everything we wanted during their short stay but we did get in a visit to Santa as well as a trip out to a former co-workers place to let the kids get on a horse back ride. We also were fortunate to spend an evening with our good friends the Scurr's. My new camera definitely got a workout over the past week.

We went down to the midnight mass on Christmas eve which means that the service was over at around 1:00 am and then we visited at the church and then took a slight detour on the way home through Rochester to see the Christmas lights. We did not make it back to the house until 3:30 in the morning.

Sandy and Jason stayed up even later and didn't get to bed until around 7:00. Fortunately the kids slept in and we didn't get up until 10:30 or so. I think that is the latest I have ever started opening presents. I have a feeling as the kids get older it may be harder to sleep late.

We took our time unwrapping gifts and were surprised to hear a knock on our door. One of Jason's friends stopped by with his family to visit. Nate had been one of the ushers at Jason's wedding and we hadn't seen his new family for a while.

After they left we resumed where we had left off but I don't think we finished unwrapping until 2:30 or so. it's not that everyone was loaded down with gifts but I think we were moving at a reduced pace due to the lack of sleep. The kids were well behaved and had to be reminded from time to time that there were more presents to open; they were busy playing with those already unwrapped.

Sandy cooked a fabulous leg of lamb and we were plenty hungry, most of us had not eaten much during the day but had instead munched on baked goodies and washed it down with lots of coffee. Sandy's home made ice cream roll topped off the meal. In spite of being tired we stayed up late, knowing that they would be leaving the next morning.

This morning Sandy mad gingerbread pancakes and sausage to provide a going away meal for the travelers as well as those staying behind. All too soon it was time for them to pack up and leave for Indiana. Fortunately Jason will be back next week before flying home and Emily will be up with the kids in a couple of weeks. Even though we would be seeing them again soon it is always tough to say goodbye.

The house really seemed quite once they left. But tonight Sandy and Greg were laughing hard as they played video games and watched episodes of Frasier. Life goes on.

While Jason was here I didn't really get in any training but got out for a while today. The rain had washed away a lot of the snow but it also left behind a lot of ice. Thank goodness for studded tires. There is some snow falling now so maybe it will cover the bare spots to make everything look fresh again. With another week of vacation yet to go I plan on riding as much as possible and hopefully get to XC ski as well except we may need to head north.

I tool so many picture and videos this past week that I could post a new one every day for over a year. But instead, I will probably post a few every day for a while, to showcase the week that just was.

On my ride today

2009-12-19T16:54:00.002-05:00

We had about an inch or two of snow overnight and I wanted to get in a decent ride early. I managed to get out the door at 8:00 am and headed first to ride some of the school trail before heading into Bald Mountain and beyond. The snow didn't really slow me down too much but since I was on the singlespeed I couldn't just shift to an easier gear either.

The back roads had not been heavily traveled yet and there was ice under the snow. I was glad I had decided to put on the studded tires a few days ago. Every so often I could feel a wheel slip and then catch. I ended up with about 2.5 hours on the bike and maintained a pretty good tempo the whole way. This off season I am going to try and get in the higher tempo efforts during the week and do longer, endurance paced rides on the weekend when possible.

I took a few roads that I hadn't ridden on much with the bike, normally I am in the car. I spotted a few big houses and then came across the one at the bottom of the page. Just a simple summer home I presume.

Later I was riding up the Paint Creek Trail when I spotted two young deer ahead of me. They stood watching me as I approached until I finally stopped fairly close to them. We eyeballed each other for a while until they slowly proceeded across the trail and up an embankment. A little farther up the trail someone had made a snowman.

I am almost through with work for the year, hopefully I will get plenty of opportunities to ride and XC ski. I may also get enough exercise shoveling the driveway since I went to start the snow blower today and it wouldn't start. I had taken it in for a tune-up back in August but didn't try to start it when I picked it up. Of course now that I need it it wouldn't start. I guess I have to take it back to the shop. Hopefully they slot my blower ahead of others since it's rework.

Just s simple country home

One of the two deer I watched as they crossed the trail

A snowman built on the side of the trail.

The farmer in the dell

2009-12-14T20:06:00.003-05:00

Not really a dell but a hilltop. Jason and Emily worked with the church this past summer to start a vegetable co-op on a piece of property right outside their front door. Next summer they will be managing the co-op and taking care of the majority of the gardening.

Vegetables were just the starting point, they are now branching out in to chicken eggs. And you know where those come from, right? Chickens. They took delivery of 30 very young chicks last week and for now they are raising them in their basement bathtub. At least until the chicken enclosure that is being built in the shed next to them is done.

A lot of people think it is crazy but the kids are getting a great education and something that most adults, let alone children, never get to experience. They hope to branch out into additional livestock as the co-op grows. Managing the co-op also has a monetary benefit as they are getting a % of the gross.

The church ans school is trying to become more self sufficient as a way to not only eat more wholesome and organic foods but also as a way to save money. Interestingly the original seminary built on the site once provide a majority of the food to Gonzaga University which sits down in the valley a couple of miles away. A history of the property can be found here.

We wish them the best of luck and envy them a bit. I know we had thought of moving to the country and trying to become more self reliant ourselves. We had even bought some books on the subject but never pursued it any farther than that. Maybe Jason needs a hire hand?

The chicks were sent out via the mail.

Olive had practiced caring for a toy chick prior to the arrival of the real thing.

Isabel was also captivated by them.

First tracks

2009-12-13T21:04:00.002-05:00

Although the racing may be over for the year that doesn’t mean the riding stops. We finally have gotten some snow here in SE Michigan and while not quite enough for XC skiing, it’s also not enough to keep me off the trails. I got out early Saturday morning for a couple of hours to take in some trails and back roads. I certainly didn’t set any land speed records while navigating through the snow but it sure beats riding the roads or trainer.

Only two more months until the winter race that I help coordinate. And less than two weeks to the shortest day of the year!

We finally put up the Christmas decorations and lights. The tree is still in the garage and will get put up next weekend. We tend to put it up late and leave it up for quite a while.

Back on line

2009-12-10T19:31:00.002-05:00

We have been having intermittent internet problems for the last week or so. The connection would be lost and then come back. Greg tried a few things and got us going for a few more days but then it went out for good.

We called Comcast and they were able to get out this afternoon. We suspected the modem again as we have had several replaced over the years. But after hooking up the new modem the tech was still having problems. He determined it was the line leading from the pole to the house.

He called in another guy to help and the two of them installed a new cable. I felt sorry for them out in the -6 wind chill. They said the line probably had moisture in it because they could hear it cracking as they rolled up the old cable. They also found a previous repair that they felt had not been properly made. Now, with the new cable web browsing seems faster than before. Hopefully that is the last of the problems for a while.

Since my last post not a lot has happened. I managed to get in some good rides on the trails now that the ground has froze. We finished a new section of trail at the school that combined with some other sections we don't normally use, adds about a mile to the overall length.

I started working on the next section and was able to get it roughed in as the snow began to fall on Tuesday. I got the small stuff cleared and now all we will have to do come spring is to cut the fallen logs out of the way and rake it. We have another piece of school property that we will be studying over the winter to see how to best use it.

The winter race is only two months away and it's time to get back into training for next spring. I haven't ridden much the last few weeks so the body should be rested. Now that my ribs appear to have healed it is also time to get back into the gym. Just in time for the holidays.

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T17:32:00.006-05:00

I got up early to get the stuffing done for today's meal so that I could go attend the annual Thanksgiving day Turkey Roll at Pontiac Lake Recreation Area. Even though they have been holding this ride for quite a few years I haven't been able to participate often due to kitchen responsibilities.

I counted 64 riders in the picture at the top of the page. I am in a blue jacket, the second rider to the left of the second sign from the left, next to the guy in the red jacket (you need to click on the picture to expand it). The trails were in pretty good shape, a little slick in spots due to wet leaves and some mud. I rode on my singlespeed and quickly warmed up once we got going. The ride is a great way to burn off some calories in preparation for the heavy eating to follow.

Since taking over turkey duties I am usually home when the ride starts preparing to put the bird in the oven so we could eat early in the day. But with Greg working in the morning the last few years it has meant that we eat later in the day, allowing me time to get back and still cook the turkey.

This year I tried a different brine recipe and I don't think I liked it as much as the normal brine I have used. But at least this one didn't call for me rotating the bird every so often. I also decided to try my hand at stuffing, something that normally comes out of the box since I'm the only one that normally eats it. The stuffing was excellent and I will definitely save this recipe. It used cornbread, sausage, and apples and the combination really worked well together. I'm not too sure how it will work with turkey goulash though.

I'm not sure what I'm doing for the rest of the weekend. Probably haul up the Christmas dishes, maybe put up some outside decorations if we figure out what we want to do, and ride if the weather is decent. I also plan on working on the trail up at the school that we started yesterday. It will add a fair amount of singletrack to the trail as well as create new options for the races. After this trail is done we have a few other sections to put in but those may wait until spring.

This is really getting old

2009-11-22T16:49:00.004-05:00

Six years in a row Ohio beats Michigan. We normally have a party to watch the game and our house is split in loyalty between the two teams. And I have been on the losing side for a long time. My parents normally come up but didn't make the trip this year. It's just as well as my younger son had the regular flu so the party was canceled anyway. At least my Dad knows that his being here or not did not make any difference in the outcome. He was beginning to think he was a jinx.

So today I' rooting for an Ohio team (Browns) to beat a Michigan team (Lions) and with no time remaining the Lions win. I couldn't get that pick correct either. But living in the Detroit area I can't be too upset at them winning.

Not much else happening in racing. I didn't plan on doing the Bloomer cyclocross race today, instead riding for a couple of hours each day to enjoy the milder weather. I might go to the state championship race in two weeks.

Hard to believe the Thanksgiving is here already and Christmas isn't far behind. I'm trying a new recipe for the turkey this year along with one for stuffing. I've been cooking the turkey for the last few years since trying something we found in the Sunday paper. Hopefully this turns out just as good if not better.

This is November?

2009-11-15T16:27:00.002-05:00

Hard to believe that we had another couple of great days of nice weather. I wonder if November's average high temperature is higher than October's was? I didn't get a chance to ride Friday because I got home late from work but made sure I was out early on Saturday. Nothing hard since I was planning on racing the Stony cyclocross the next day. I also wanted to enjoy the last day of riding on state land before the deer gun season started.

The ride had a magical feel to it as I rode along and leaves crunched under the tires. The early morning light was filtering through the trees and a light fog. I wished I had a camera with me to capture the feel of the ride. Later while riding in Bald Mountain I came across a couple riding the trails and gave them a tour of the LOHS trails. I enjoy showing people the school trails; most have no idea that the trails are even there.

The nice thing about this time of year now that the leaves are down is that you can see deeper into the woods and sometimes new trail opportunities open up. I had already planned on a few additional sections for next year but discovered another potential expansion yesterday. It wouldn't be very long but more trail is always good. I went up to the school later in the day with the leaf blower and marked a rough outline of where the trail would go. I will need the help of the school to cut out some fallen trees but other than that it would be a quick build. I may work on it again tomorrow since we have the day off from work.

I headed over to Stony Creek Metropark this morning to do another cyclocross race. The weather was definitely not as nice as Saturday and it started to rain lightly as I was loading up the bikes. Fortunately it didn't rain hard or for very long, just a light mist that seemed to follow me over to the park. The gray skies and wind coming off the lake the course ran against made it feel colder than it was.

I had again planned on racing my converted MTB SS in the B race although team member Bernie was planning on racing his first 'cross race in the C class so I thought about racing with him instead. I didn't see him in time to get warmed up for the earlier C race so opted to race the B class.

The course ran along the beach in spots and the sand was mostly ridable but there were a few short sections that forced you to run or dig deep and power your way through. And then shortly after the sand you hit a muddy stretch that was almost as bad as the sand, it really sapped your strength. After doing a partial warm-up ride I elected to go to an easier gear but didn't really have the right chain combo so I just made the tensioner as tight as I could and hoped for the best. I finished the swap as they were calling for us to line up for the start.

I took my usual spot near the back and tried to keep up the best I could once the race started. I was in front of about a third of the group when we hit the grass but immediately the chain started to pop as it slipped on the cog or ring. It didn't do it consistently but you never knew when it would happen. I tried to be careful while applying power. Sometimes it slipped more when soft pedaling, I think it may have been because there wasn't as much tension on the chain.

I was pretty much near the back of the field but I managed to catch one other rider as he faded back to me. In the end I came in 20th and beat about four or five others. Sometimes I'm not sure why I do these races, especially knowing how much it hurts and with very little chance of even finishing in the top half of the field. Before Iceman they were great to add a little intensity to the training. Now I'm just racing and pushing myself for the exercise. Plus it will make the off season a little shorter. Two more cyclocross races are left, I may do them and maybe even throw gears back on the bike.

Beat the Clock

2009-11-12T19:52:00.007-05:00

There probably aren't too many who read my blog that remember the game show, Beat the Clock, or at least the first shows. I don't remember the ones from the 50's but do remember watching the later editions. Riding after work is sort of like playing my own version. Or at least it is if you want to get in a decent ride and still get home before dark.

Today I rode for an hour and a half, getting back about 5:15. Much later and it would be dicey for cars to be able to see me. I need to start putting the lights on just in case I'm caught out after dark. Certainly over the next few weeks it will be a requirement for almost any ride.

If we look on the bright side (pun intended) it is only 40 more days until we start going back to more daylight. In the meantime, let your light shine on.

Can it get much better?

2009-11-08T17:11:00.005-05:00

60+ degrees in November and sunny skies! The Iceman this weekend probably set two records; most racers ever and warmest weather. It was strange to be waiting at the start line and not be shivering.

I left work early on Friday and headed north so that I would have time to ride the last portion of the course, both as a warm up for the next day and to see what changes have been made to the finish. Each year they seem to change the way the course winds around the last half mile before the finish line. This year you made a right hand bend with a few trees in the way as you went around a spectator area and then it was a short downhill to the finish. Knowing what is coming can mean the difference of a position or two in the final placing.

After preriding I made my way over to the Grand Traverse resort to pick up my registration material and check out the expo. A lot of bike related exhibitors have displays and you can usually run into quite a few people that you know. This year was no exception.

I stopped by the Cannondale display to not only say hi to Jason, the rep, but also to check out the Flash 29er that he had out. The new carbon framed bike is not available yet and I have a frame on order. Jason let me take it out to the parking lot to ride around a bit. I could tell right away that it handled a bit quicker than my current bike. It will be interesting to see how the bike really handles once I can get mine built.

I had brought only my singlespeed bike this year and I had intended to ride it in my age class. I had figured I wouldn't be as competitive this year so instead I would try to have some fun and see how well I could do while riding a bike with only one gear. But since all my usual riding buddies had signed up in the SS class I decided to switch my registration to the SS class and join them.

After the expo I headed over to the house the team had rented for the weekend. This is the third year we have rented a 5 bedroom house overlooking the golf course at the Grand Traverse resort. We used to get 2 or three bedroom condos and it was always a little cramped when we had our team dinner the night before the race. The house is plenty big enough to get everyone in comfortably. Shari always has things well organized and prepared for everyone.

Race day morning was warmer than it has ever been that I have done the race. We were more worried about being over dressed than freezing. Everything was going like clockwork as we loaded up the van and headed over to Kalkasa for the start. We easily found a parking spot despite our fears of 4,000 bikers clogging the town.

The race started in town for the first time, taking us down one of the side streets and then over toward our regular starting area before dumping us onto the dirt. The town seemed to be more involved with the race than in years past and the new start made the race feel even bigger. The extra mile and half or so of pavement allowed the field to string out some but it also resulted in some crashes as riders touched wheels or bumped into each other.

Our wave of singlespeeders over the age of 39 also started with the tandems. There were probably somewhere close to 100 bikes taking off at one time and we made it through all the potential trouble spots on the pavement without any problems. But when you only have one gear you are spinning your legs like crazy on the flats and not moving anywhere near as fast as the geared bikes. If you could you tried to draft the tandems since they were moving at a higher speed and offered some nice wind resistance.

It took me a few miles after the start to settle in to a good rhythm, initially i thought I wouldn't make it 5 miles. I knew the top guys had already opened up a good lead but that was to be expected. The class include former pros that have decided to race in the singlespeed class. Unlike the geared classes , singlepeed does not have classification by ability. Everyone races together. My goal was to just finish the best I could, try for a top 20 placing , and hopefully beat my friends' times.

The course was super fast this year and we were moving pretty well. We quickly began to catch the slower riders from the waves that started ahead of us. Fortunately most of the trail is wide enough that you can get around without a problem but you have to watch out for the ever present sand. A couple of us seemed to stick together for most of the race, occasionally trading positions.

I was able to climb all the early hills, winding my way around the slower geared riders and continued to feel pretty good as well. I knew from my previous races where the biggest hills were and I had pre-ridden them the day before. Actually pre-walked them would be more accurate. There are times when certain hills are either impossible to climb given you gearing or just more efficient to get off and walk or run. I knew in the last 6 miles where those hills would be.

Each time we got to the hills I would get off and make my way up the hill, pushing my bike. I was fortunate to not have anyone pass me while doing so and actually passed a few others on the climbs. The last climb was near the finish and it led directly into the narrowing twisty chicanes prior to the last corner. I hustled to get around any remaining SS guys in front of me so that it would be harder for them to pass me back.

I tried to pass as many of the geared riders I could in the remaining distance as we wound our way around the finish venue. I wasn't sure who was behind me but didn't want to take any chances. Just as I was starting my way around the last right hand bend I caught a glimpse of someone starting to come up on my right side. There wasn't quite enough room for him to squeeze by as I sprinted to the finish. I have no idea who the rider was but later when looking at the results I saw that I had beat someone by one second.

While I didn't have my fastest time I ended up with a time of 2:02:19 which was good for 18th in a field of 81 finishers. It also meant that I had beaten my friends that had raced in the same class with me. I determined later that at least no one older than me had bested me; there were only four riders older than me in this wave and three the same age, everyone that beat me was under 50. So I guess I could look at it as winning the SS 50+ class if there was one :-) The interesting thing is that I would finished in the exact same position if I had raced in the other SS class, under age 40. That class also had 81 finishers. Strange.

When I analyzed the overall results I would have finished top 20 in my age group as well but I think I would have been faster on the geared bikes due to all the fast sections. Possible I could have had a top 10 placing but it's all speculation now. Anyway, I'm happy with my results accomplished all of the goals I set for the race.

I drove home after the race rather than stay a second night since my wife hadn't come with me. Getting home in the early evening allowed me to sleep in my own bed plus take advantage of the beautiful weather for the second day in a row. I went out and put another couple of hours on the bike, just not as fast as the previous day.

The season is really winding down now, a couple of cyclocross races left and the nothing until our winter race at LOHS on Superbowl weekend. But hopefully we get lot so snow this year so we can go XC skiing. If not, the studded tires are jsut waiting for some action.

What is, was, and will be

2009-11-05T06:34:00.003-05:00

This week is marked with many events, not the least of which was the celebration of our 31st wedding anniversary. We went to a local restaurant that we had not been to and neither of us were impressed with the food. It is part of a chain of local restaurants that has a good reputation and even though this location has been in our area for several years, we had never tried it. And I doubt we will be back. But at least we got out and celebrated.

I opted to skip the cyclocross races in Ann Arbor to allow more healing time before the Iceman this weekend. I did ride both days and spent half of Sunday cleaning up the yard. I'm not sure how much healing I actually did.

Yesterday was the big day here at work as we had several hundred journalists and VIP's in to attend the presentation of the 5 year plan for Chrysler. Employees get the overview today but it was pretty well documented by the media yesterday. Most of us were scanning the Internet for news updates from attendees since we did not have live access to the event.

The plan is ambitious and in the long run should help the company. Short term we don't see much for the next 9 months and hopefully our company will survive on the limited sales we have. They say our spending is way down so we are more likely to survive slow sales.

This weekend is the big Iceman race from Kalkaska to Traverse City. The event is supposed to have over 4000 racers, the most ever. Fortunately the starts are by different groupings every 5 minutes so it's not like we are all starting at once. I don't usually get too serious about the event and with the injury a month ago I'm just going to have a good time. It would be even better if I can ever get my wife to go with me. Instead I have to be content with my team mates and the huge crowd of racers expected. This blog has a very good description of the event and why it is so popular.

I found an answer

2009-10-28T17:16:00.002-04:00

A web page that seems to answer some of the questions I posed yesterday about when leaves decide to fall.

Why Do Some Trees Lose Their Leaves Faster Than Others?

By Paula Swenson
eHow Contributing Writer

Trees that lose their leaves in the winter are called deciduous trees. They lose their leaves to conserve moisture and reduce the amount of energy they must consume in order to stay alive. The leaves of some deciduous trees turn bright colors before they drop to the ground, while others simply fade or turn brown. Environmental factors and the genome of the tree affect how quickly the leaves fall.

Time Frame
1. As the days get shorter, starting around the autumnal equinox, there is less light, heat and water for photosynthesis. Photosynthesis utilizes chlorophyll as it provides energy for the tree. With less hours of sunlight, the chlorophyll content of the leaves decreases and the green color no longer hides the yellows, oranges and reds that are also in the leaves, so we see bright autumn colors before the leaves fall. Trees with a northern exposure often will change color and lose their leaves earlier than the same types of trees that are nearby but getting more hours of sunlight.

Trees respond to the duration of daylight, and will start to lose leaves when the days are shorter even if temperatures have not yet fallen. Different species respond to slightly different lengths of days. A tree living under a street light will have its cycle disturbed by the light.

Chemical Signals
2. Leaves fall because of chemical changes that occur within the tree sap. First the veins transporting sap into and out of the leaves slowly close down. Deciduous trees produce chemicals, mainly ethylene and abscisic acid, that basically cut the link between the leaf and the tree's nutrient system. As the veins close down, a layer of cells, the abscission layer, forms at the base of the leaf stem, and when it is complete, the leaf falls from the tree.

Stress Factors
3. Environmental factors also have an impact on when trees lose their leaves. Trees in cities experience a variety of man-made stressors such as air pollution, salt damage (from both home water softeners and use of salt to melt snow and ice), industrial pollution (heavy metals introduced into the soil) and herbicides used to kill weeds and unwanted plants near the roots of the tree. All of these factors can influence when an individual tree will lose its leaves. For example, a tree planted closer to a busy street may lose its leaves earlier than a tree of the same type in a park few blocks away.

Species
4. All deciduous trees shed their leaves. Some species like maple, beech and aspen are noted for their spectacularly bright fall color. Others, like the oak and chestnut are less colorful. Different species form the abscission layer at different rates, causing the leaves to fall at different times. The oak is unusual because it does not completely form an abscission layer, so oak leaves often remain attached to the tree throughout the winter.

Environmental Factors
5. Common environmental factors also affect when leaves fall. The amount of water the trees get, early or late frost, high winds and unseasonable temperatures (both warm and cold) can change the pattern of leaf loss in deciduous trees. Trees that are watered regularly and stand in sheltered areas often hold on to their leaves longer than others of the same species that are in a more exposed setting.

Raining leaves

2009-10-27T17:27:00.002-04:00

Sitting at home today for the second day in a row of being sick, I watched the birch tree outside our kitchen window shed almost all of it's leaves in one day. At times they came down in such large quantities you would think someone was up top grabbing handfuls at a time and throwing them. It was if I was watching something out of a movie where the props person was dumping them from above the set.

I wonder what makes a tree decide that today is the day to give up their leaves? And why other trees seem to linger forever, often well past the first snows before grudgingly letting go? Are the oaks more stubborn than birches? Are our maples weaker still since their leaves have been gone for a week or more? I guess I want to be like the oaks, not giving in until the inevitable.

One day

2009-10-25T20:07:00.001-04:00

We missed the good weather by one day. Our second LOHS Fall Harvest Run and MTB races were held on Saturday. It started raining on Thursday and continued into Friday night, off and on. Saturday morning was a light mist at times but certainly nowhere near what we experienced back at the August race. Sunday the sun came out,it warmed up and the trails were a lot drier.

We ended up having the largest turnout for our races so far, both in the run and bike portions. The trails were slick and the grass sections were soft but not impassable. I think a lot of riders were not used to riding in wetter conditions, judging by the lap times. I used my singlespeed and cam in third in my class and third overall. The SS was the perfect bike for the day, assuming you had the correct tires and gearing.

Not content to just race on Saturday, Sandy and I stopped by the cyclocross race that was on the way home from church. I entered the B class again but only managed to complete four laps before pulling out. My body was shot from the previous day's efforts; from spending hours clearing and marking the course on Friday to actually racing on Saturday. Hosting the races puts more stress on me than I think I realize. Plus I am not giving my ribs a chance to really heal, as they painfully reminded me on Sunday. I had taken a muscle relaxer on Saturday and it seemed to help.

I'm not sure if the weekend's activities left me in a weaker state or it was something else but I woke up sick this morning and spent most of the day in bed. I doubt I would have ridden today but at least I would have spend some time outside to enjoy the nice weather.

I can't figure out what we need to do to attract more racers. The events have been publicized and we generally get good feedback on the races from those who participate. By fall many racers are through with MTB racing although the Iceman in two weeks has 4000 riders registered. I thought we might be able to draw out some who wanted a last hard effort two weeks before Iceman. Maybe our trails are too hard, or maybe it's just the weather. It is kind of disappointing to put in all the work and continue to get low turnout. But the school is happy since we were able to raise money for the Food Bank and GAP program.

Next weekend is a the cyclocross double header in Ann Arbor. Races are on both Saturday and Sunday and I have to decide which day, if any I'm going to race. And then the Iceman is less than two weeks away, Long range forecast is calling for cold weather and some snow. Hopefully my new frame arrives but I'm ready either way. Now the question is what tires to use?

10 24 09 LOHS Results

Riding, racing and eating

2009-10-18T17:33:00.004-04:00

And not necessarily in that order. Saturday we hosted the Cannondale Midwest team ride and BBQ. The weather was kind of chilly at the start of the ride but we warmed up quickly as we headed out on the Lake Orion school trails and then hooked up the Bald Mountain north and south units before heading back. We were honored to have Jason Edinger, our Cannondale sales rep, make the trip up from Toledo to join us for the day.

After the ride everyone came back to the house and we were joined by those team members and family that didn't ride. Everyone brought a dish or food to share while I cooked up plenty of hamburgers, hot dogs, and marinated chicken breasts on the grill. On Friday Greg and I put up all the patio furniture, thinking it would be too cold for people to hang around outside. So where were most people? Outside of course.

It was nice to have a lot of the team get together in a social setting. For most of the year we only see each other at the races and even then for a short time. A lot of us will be together again in three weeks at the Iceman since we rent a big house for the team to stay in.

This morning I raced at the Lower Huron cyclocross race but used my singlespeed in the B race, which lasts 45 minutes. I found that two weeks ago I had fun racing in the geared bike class since I could usually find someone to race against. Unlike two weeks ago, this time it was a faster group where instead of competing for a podium spot I knew I would probably finish near the back and even stood a chance of getting lapped.

I lined up at the very back of the group, not wanting to get in the way during the long opening straight on the pavement where everyone would probably accelerate away from me before hitting the grass. Once we started I was surprised to find myself passing some riders as I was getting towed along in the draft. And once we got onto the grass and the turns began, I was passing a few more.

I slowly worked my way up for the first two laps before the ribs were causing enough pain that I had to back off some. I almost pulled out but decided to finish so I could get in the much needed intensity training. I could hear the announcer talking about the leaders and I knew they were getting closer. If they passed me before I finished my next to last lap I wouldn't have to do another lap. I managed to get through the finish line in time to go out for one more lap. Lucky me. But I did catch and pass one more rider during that lap so I guess it was worth it.

All told I finished ahead of eight riders in my race, even lapping one. I think my ribs cost me a few more places but at least I finished. More importantly I got in a good workout and had fun. Sometimes going into a race without any conception about winning is the best way to race. It is not about how you finish, but that you do and have fun. Too often the pressure to do well spoils the day, especially if you don't do as well as expected.

Today, and probably for the rest of the cross races, it is all about just going out and racing hard but having fun. I think I need to treat Iceman the same way, since I didn't do as many xc races this year or train as hard it is unrealistic to expect top results. The best race I had there was a few years ago when I raced the SS in may age group just to see how I would do. The whole race I had a blast and actually did better than expected. Something I need to keep in mind three weeks from now.

Next weekend is the LOHS race, hopefully we get a good turnout to benefit the Food Bank. I've seen a lot of riders up at the school so that is a positive sign.

Frost on the Pumpkins

2009-10-11T16:06:00.003-04:00

The temperatures really dropped in a hurry this weekend. It seemed like we were enjoying temps in the 70's or so and then boom, the mercury fell 30 degrees. Frost once again has started to appear. No scraping the windshields yet but I am afraid it won't be too long before I will be.

A bunch of us hit the back roads yesterday to do my hill route. It is a good training course for the Iceman in four weeks since there are lots of hills, a couple of them big, and some fast sections in between. The only thing missing was the sand. But due to the heavy rain the day before we did have some mud to make up for it.

Joining me were my team mates Bernie and Shawn, Cycletherapy team members Mark and Derek, and Mark's girlfriend Jen. Bernie, Mark and I were on our singlespeeds, the others had gears. I had driven the course earlier in the morning and marked the top of four hills with orange ribbon so we could have our own little king of the mountain competition. We all knew Mark would probably take first on each one but the other places were up for grabs.

The sun played hide and seek all day and the wind would sometimes make the ride seem very cold. We didn't set any land speed records on the ride, I was struggling with my ribs and they felt worse as the ride went on. We made a stop part way through at one of the cider mills before pushing on.

By the time we got back to our starting area most of us were both cold and tired. It took me a long time to warm up after getting home. But we all had a good time and thought it was a good training ride. It was also fun to ride with someone for a change. Oh, and the KOM competition? It turned out that the singlespeed guys beat the geared riders on every one, and always in the same order; Mark, Bernie and myself.

This morning I started early to head out for a ride by myself up into horse country. The temperature when I started was just above freezing. But I was dressed for it so I wasn't cold nor overdressed. The sky was beautiful blue and the sun made the leaves show up even more. While we haven't hit peak colors yet the maple trees looked especially fine.

I didn't have a lot of power, but my ribs weren't as sore as yesterday. I think the pain pills I took last night were still doing their thing. But the slower speed allowed me to enjoy the sights that much more.

My route today took me past some great old farm houses and big horse farms. But it also took me past one of the stranger things you will find out here. One of the places also has camels and their barn is close to the road. I've never had a camera with me when riding past them but today I did. I only saw one camel, they did have two. I hope the other one is still OK.

Next week we have our team ride and BBQ at our place and then on Sunday I may do another cyclocross race. In two weeks Lake Orion High School is hosting the second annual fall harvest MTB and running races to benefit the local food bank. Hopefully we get a good turnout.

No guesses as to where you are riding.

One of the farms

This "horse" looked a little different

Saturday night lights

2009-10-06T21:50:00.003-04:00

Although the weather is changing there are still a lot of races around to choose from. The local cyclocross promoter held a race under the lights this past Saturday and I wanted to give it a try. My ribs were still sore and I hadn't ridden much during the week but I needed to see how they would hold up in a race so I can make a final determination about doing the Iceman race.

Although we had rain most of the day, it was not raining at the race site and the course was dry. At the last minute I decided to race two classes, the C class and the singlespeed class later in the evening. I didn't have much time to warm up or even get a complete preride of the course before it was time to start. I as near the back of the 40+ group so that I wouldn't get in the way.

Once our wave started I found myself moving up very quickly before the first climb and worked my way into the top 10 or so. I was able to pass a lot of riders in the corners due to my being on a MTB combined with a lot of rider's inexperience with racing or technical abilities. The C class is sort of a beginner class but the racing is still just as hard, just not as long.

On the straights I was at a disadvantage to the geared riders so I would try to tuck in behind them to draft, plus try to stay out of the strong winds. On the secon lap I was behind a rider that had started in an earlier wave when another rider caught us. As he started to go by he told us not to worry since he wasn't in our class. Since there were only two classes racing he to be with one of us. I asked him what class and it turned out he was in mine.

We both passed the other rider and I decided to just stay with this guy that caught us. He was moving at about the same pace I was. HE was a little faster in the straights but I had the edge in the corners, uphills and barriers. I couldn't see anyone else from our group ahead of us so I just stayed on his tail.

I guess he didn't like it after a lap or so because I never went on the front. He started to do a weave to shake me and then did a brake check, a quick slowing to try and discourage me from following so close. I told I couldn't go any faster in the straights since I only had one gear. I mean,c'mon, he had at least 18 to choose from. I also told ho to be cool since I wasn't going to try and beat him at the line, I just wanted to stay with someone.

We did two more laps together where I would pull up next to him on the hills and then drop back on the flats. On the last hill and finish straight I just stayed behind him and didn't contest the finish, ending up one second back. Turns out he took the last podium spot which was good. After all he did do all the work. Besides, I would have felt funny being up on the podium in the lower class than I normally race.

After sitting around for an hour while the next race was held before mine, I went back out to warm up again. It didn't take long to see that my body was not up to another hard effort. The legs were OK but the ribs were stiff. I decided that one race was enough that evening. But it was probably the most fun I've had racing for a while. I think I may race in the next class up next time against the geared riders. I will be near the back but should have at least one or two riders to compete against.

Sunday I managed to miss most of the rain and went out for about three hours. I kept it on the rail trails to avoid the muddy roads and also to keep the bumps to a minimum. My legs felt good, the cross race the night before wasn't really that long to cause a lot of fatigue.

Now I need to try and determine if I will be able to race in the Iceman competitively. The past two days I have done shorter rides and while the legs are fine, I have a harder time while sitting over rough ground. The race is just over four weeks away so there may be time for healing but I also need to keep training to stay sharp. I plan on using this weekend as a final test before deciding whether or not to sell my entry. I only have about a week to do so. I would hate to find out too late that I won't be racing and have to eat the entry fee.

And Baby Makes Three

2009-10-02T19:12:00.002-04:00

Three, as in three grandchildren. Jason and Emily gave us the good news earlier this week. Their third child is due in early June. While some may be concerned about having three kids in such a short period of time, we have seen what great parents they are and how much each of their kids are loved. We are confident that another little one will be just as special as the first two. Besides, two more and we have a basketball team.

By no stretch of the imagination are they wealthy in the traditional sense of the word. But they have found other riches that are even more important, something I think a lot of us envy and would like to emulate, if only we could let go of our attraction to possessions and what seems like a never ending pursuit for more "things". I know I am guilty as charged.

They have been fortunate to have a community around them that not only has taken them in, but they in turn have been able to give back to through their teaching and social efforts. Next year they hope to take over the small community farming area they started this year. Maybe they are just following their agrarian ancestors and raising a family big enough to help in the fields.

Jason has taken up bow hunting after getting a bow earlier this year. The property on the Mount is rich with wildlife including turkeys, pheasants, deer and elk. Jason just missed a deer in the last days of the first deer season, he got his hunter safety course late in the season. But yesterday he called to tell us he did manage to bring down a turkey. He was as excited as a little kid on Christmas. He dressed it out and they plan on enjoying a wild turkey dinner tomorrow.

Now Sandy is thinking how good a wild turkey would taste. I am not a hunter but maybe that will change. I have seen a lot of turkeys around here, some are even birds.

Kids Just Want to Have Fun

2009-09-30T19:51:00.002-04:00

I have been communicating with some area school MTB club coordinators that are eager to get more kids involved and also looking for outside assistance. The primary goal of these clubs is to introduce kids to the sport and promote a healthy lifestyle. Several of the coordinators have also expressed an interest in my goal of developing an inter-school competition.

I hadn’t gotten the chance to visit most of the clubs but today I managed to get over to the Oakview Middle School ride just in time to accompany them through the nearby state recreation trails. Nick Shaskos, the coordinator, has been working on the club for several years now and holds the rides twice a week. Participation has grown every year and several of his students have come out to the local races.

I got a bang out of riding with the kids and seeing their enthusiasm for just having fun on a bike, something we tend to forget as we go about our training and racing schedules. Along the ride we helped the kids with some of their technical skills. I plan to go back if possible to help again and work on bike fit and teach some basic maintenance skills. Besides, they made me an honorary member of the Oakview Mountain Bike Club and gave me one of their t-shirts.

Hopefully the success of this program can be used to stimulate other schools to start riding clubs as well.

30 Miles of Pain Haven Lives Up To Its Name

2009-09-27T14:41:00.004-04:00

Yesterday I raced in the 30 Miles of Pain Haven near Midland, MI and the course lived up to its name. I raced there last year and had fun plus it's a benefit race for the local Michigan Mountain Biking Association chapter. The course is a lot of singletrack interspersed with some fast two track sections. The singletrack has a lot of little bumps in it that wear you out after a while.

I planned on using the full suspension Scalpel but also took the other two bikes just in case. The geared 29'er in case when I got there that the 29'er seemed more appropriate, and the singlespeed in case the predicted rain came before the race and made the trails really muddy. Although I drove through rain in spots on the way up to the race, the course itself was dry and it was not raining. I decided to go with the Scalpel as planned. While preriding I discovered that the bike seemed to have some play in the rear linkage, something I had not really noticed before. Good thing I brought the other bikes as backups.

The race has a different twist in that starting waves are decided by a one mile time trial before the start of the XC race. The TT course is on the most technical part of the trail. I did not want to waste a lot of energy or push too hard on the TT to the point where I might crash. I guess I was just postponing the inevitable.

My time for the TT put me in the 4th wave with one guy in my class starting 20 seconds in front of me, the others behind. Over the period of 30 miles I thought I should be able to make up the 20 seconds. What I didn't know was that the guy in front was also one of the trail builders and rides the trail all the time. The value of local knowledge on twisty singletrack should never be underestimated.

As we started into the trail I was just feeling my way around the course, trying to get familiar with the trail. A lot of it looked alike and it was difficult to remember what was around the next corner. I would see the first place rider but with all the twists and turns it was hard to tell how far ahead he was. I noticed that at times I seemed to be gaining ground and other times losing it. I'm not the best singletrack rider and he was putting time on me in these areas where I was gaining on the flats and hills.

At the start of the second lap I was closing in but had my first miscue for the day, a small crash that allowed him to slip away. I managed to catch up to him a little over half way through the lap but didn't want to pass as I was able to use him to guide me around the course. At the start of the third lap he slowed to pick up a bottle and I went past. He eventually caught back up but I stalled on a tight corner when my foot accidentally unclipped. We both ran up the hill and I got back on but caught a pedal and crashed. Fortunately he was still behind me a ways. I started to pull away but ended up bobbling another section, allowing him to pass. I'm not sure why I was so out of synch in this section.

I slowly started to reel him back in as I could see him ahead of me. My plan was to either get in front of him before the last section of singletrack leading to the finishing straight away, or stay on his tail and try to out sprint him at the end. Everything unraveled in the blink of an eye.

I went over a large log pile that I had no trouble with the previous two laps, only to discover that some of the logs on the backside were gone, having been kicked aside by previous rider's wheels. The path I had chosen caused the front wheel to drop in a gap and stick, meaning the whole bike rotated around the front wheel, up and over with me attached. I slammed into the ground and felt instant pain as the wind was sort of knocked out of me.

Normally when you crash you let out one good "oof" or an expletive and then hop back on. This time I had a few more grunts while still on the ground for what seemed like forever but was probably only 10 seconds or so. Getting up I my left ribs were hurting and it was painful to take deep breaths. Great, still a few miles to go.

I got back on the bike and pedaled gingerly for a couple of minutes while assessing the situation. It didn't seem to be getting worse but it was a little difficult to really muscle the bike around. I didn't think I would have much luck catching first but now was worried about those behind me. I hadn't seen anyone close but wasn't sure how fast I would be going for the remainder of the lap. I just wanted to finish.

I managed to make it through, still in second place. After the race we sat around waiting for the awards, food, and door prizes to be given away. I wasn't feeling too bad as I loaded up the van but by the time I was getting close to home, after driving for over an hour and a half, the adrenaline from the race had worn off and the ribs were starting to ache.

At home Sandy and Greg unloaded the van while I showered. Sandy had convinced me to go to the Med center to get x-rays taken. But she also was making me laugh which made it hurt even more. While the doctor was examining me he was kind enough to remind me that I'm not 20 anymore. Gee, thanks Doc. It was when he pressed on my side and I winced that he decided to have the x-ray taken. Fortunately it turned out to be negative and the ribs were only? bruised. He prescribed some pain killers and muscle relaxants.

I took a couple pills last night and felt better but seemed to get a little nauseous after one of the pills, even though I had taken them with food. But they did seem to help. I woke up in the middle of the night and took a few more and again this morning.

Overall the pain has subsided to where I can do a few things including mowing the front yard and joining Sandy on a bike ride to the cider mill. The taste of fresh cider and warm cinnamon doughnuts more than made up for any pain. Actually, pedaling didn't hurt, maneuvering the bike around was the only thing that bothered my ribs.

Yesterday was also a day for x-rays for our black lab, Angus. He had been limping off and on for the last week or so and it didn't seem to be getting any better. Sandy took him to the vet where they checked him out. It turns out he has stretched out a ligament that may or may not heal on its own. But the biggest surprise is when the vet informed Sandy that Angus had had a broken leg at one time. The x-ray showed a big pin in his leg from a prior operation. That would explain why that leg looked a little awkward. Since we got Angus from the pound no one knew about his prior condition. Hopefully the pain meds we have for him will help him feel better. But with his laid back disposition it would be hard to tell the difference.

This week's training/workouts are up in the are along with my plans for the night cyclocross race this Saturday. Hopefully I can still make it as it looks like it should be exciting.

The cider mill we prefer, up the road from the one on the trail that is more crowded but less personable.

The mill sells a lot of homemade products including breads and jams.

Cider is made on site, unpasteurized. Delicious hot or cold.

Live entertainment was a perfect compliment to the simple pleasure of doughnuts and cider.

Highest HR This Year

2009-09-20T17:22:00.008-04:00

Ow! Today I raced my first cyclocross race of the year, doing it in the singlespeed class. No matter how much you train it's still a shock to the system when the gun goes off and you try to maintain a maximum effort for 45 minutes.

There were only three of us in the SS class and I was surprised when they had us go off with the 35+ Master's class. It was kind of intimidating sitting there on the line with all the fast younger guys and lined up right behind us were the 45+ Master's and then the Woman's Elite class. That meant a lot of people would be breathing down my neck. Also daunting was the fact that I was wearing number 666, I sure hoped it wasn't a bad sign.

I started in the back of the group when the whistle sounded for the start but still had to hit the brakes many times in the first few corners as riders were not able to negotiate them as easily as I could on my converted MTB. Where I could out maneuver many of them, as soon as we hit the straight sections they were gone. I did all right on the barriers, beating some riders over them and getting on the bike quicker. Check out the video from a practice session of the runup they built for this race. The steps were very tall and you sort of had to step sideways to get your feet on each step. There also wasn't much room at the top to get your feet back on the pedals before coming down the ramp.

I ended up last in my class but at least I did manage to hold off some of the geared riders. This was easily the hardest effort I have done all year and shortly into the race I recorded my highest heart rate so far. I am treating the races just as hard training rides and hopefully it will better prepare me for the Iceman race in November. I haven't done as many high intensity races as last year so I need the pain.

Yesterday while practicing I managed to bend my chainring. I would like to think it was because of my massive power but one of the chainring bolts had come out, causing the ring to become loose. When I stood to power up a hill the ring just folded over. When I got home I switched out the bottom bracket and crank to my old SS crank.

Next weekend is the 30 miles of Pain Haven, a benefit race near Midland that helps to maintain the trails in the mid-state region. I did the race last year and had fun. It's a low key event that is for a good cause.

Thanks to my team mate Shawn Schaffert for the race photos

Taking on the barriers, practicing the week before definitely helped

Up the steps of the the "Orange Crush"

And back down the ramp

What happens if you don't keep your chainring bolts tight

If you have never seen a cyclocross race here is some footage of the races today.

Where did the daylight go?

2009-09-17T21:43:00.002-04:00

It seems like the early darkness came out of nowhere. My ride tonight had me finishing close to 6:30 and I realized two things: I wouldn't be able to ride much later for very long and that I soon I will need to bring a jacket or something warmer to put on.

It's hard to believe that Fall starts next week and that the longest day of the year was three months ago. If not for daylight savings time then our daylight hours would be similar to the middle of March. Back then we were looking forward to the warmer weather and getting out to ride on dry trails and roads. Where did the time go?

I think we were lulled into the fall season by the glorious weather we have had the last few weeks. Plus with vacation time and races it was easy to get in a lot of riding without extending the ride time into early evening. Now, it feels like I need to rush to get in a ride at all before dark. At least the lights are charged; it won't be long before they will go on the bike just in case I am out longer than expected.

My hope is that when winter comes, it comes quickly. None of that rainy, 40 degree junk. Just open up the freezer doors and let it snow. We can still ride and my new XC skis are just waiting for some action.

1st=Last=4th plus DNF

2009-09-13T14:53:00.002-04:00

Another beautiful weekend weather wise. The number of races available to Michigan mountain bikers each weekend sometimes makes it difficult to decide which one(s) to do. And the fall weather almost demands long back road rides once the leaves start changing along with the prerequisite stops at the cider mills.

This weekend was a good example of race schedule conflicts; cyclocross races started on the west side of the state, there was a 12/24 hour race at Hanson Hills, a XC race at Chippewa Hills near Alpena on Saturday and the MMBA race at nearby Addison Oaks today. My original plan was to race the 24 hour race, then that got cut back to only doing the 12 hour and maybe trying Addison Oaks.

I left early Saturday morning with the three bikes and gear for the 12 hour race but when I got near the exit for the Alpena race I decided to head over to that instead. The race is pretty low key and a fun trail. Plus the money goes to a good cause to help maintain the ski trails there. The fact that it was cheaper than the 12 hour was a bonus. In fact, I could race Chippewa and Addison for less than my entry fee for the 12 hour. I may not get as many hours of riding in but I would also be home in my own bed on Saturday. And the Addison race also benefited the MMBA chapter.

Parking for the Chippewa race is literally in the organizers back yard, or field. The course heads out into the woods and ski trails that run near his property. I participated in this race a few times a couple of years ago but they had added some more singletrack since my last visit. Gone was a lot of the two track and replaced with singletrack that swooped up and down the valleys. The two track sections were similar to other courses up north, paths through the woods with ferns growing up all around. The trail is probably one of the best in the lower UP; it's too bad that it is so far from most people.

I had decided to race singlespeed and made a last minute gear change after preriding a section of the course. I thought there would be two of us but the other SS entry moved down a class before the start. So all I had to do was finish to get 1st, and last. This almost was easier said than done.

The start was a fast section of level two track and I tried to tuck in behind some of the geared riders to draft. Not too far after the start my chain popped off. I got off, removed the wheel and put the chain back on. This happened three more times in a short distance. The fourth time it came off I decided I had better do something more than just put the chain back on or I would never finish the first lap, let alone the race.

I flipped the bike over and pulled out my tools. By now the other wave of starters had passed which meant I was really in last place, out of everyone, and I didn't have a working bike. I manged to add more tension to the chain beyond where I normally have it and just had to hope it would hold up. I got going again and it seemed to be working.

My first thought was to just keep it together and finish the race, then I wondered if I could catch back up to anyone now that I had given them about an eight minute head start. I decided to put my head down and see what I could do. It took a while but I started to see riders in front of me, the beginners who also were able to bypass some of the section that the advanced riders used. So that meant that even though I was taking the longer route, I was making up time.

I passed most of the beginners before they finished their one lap and I caught sight of advanced riders in the distance. Slowly i was able to crawl my way toward them and on every uphill I seemed to get closer still, finally passing them a few at a time. As we got closer to the end of the race there were more and more of the riders that I would pass, usually on the hills.

I was glad to see the last section of singletrack appear but had to hold off a geared rider down a long gravel road before entering it. Once back in the trails I could distance myself and sprinted through the field to the finish. I had managed to work my way back to 4th overall and based on the times of the three in front of me, I may have been able to beat them as well. But it was still a good workout and a fun course.

Today I headed over to Addison Oaks for the MMBA chapter benefit race. I ride the trail all the time as it is only about a half hour away by bike. The popular trail and good weather mad e for a big turnout of racers. I had planned on racing the SS class again with a bunch of my riding buddies. But I wasn't sure how my legs would be from the previous day's race. Once at the park I rode over to the nearby Bald Mountain trails to test my legs.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that they felt pretty good but I decided to change to a slightly easier gearing once I got back to the Addison parking lot. I lined up with about 20 singlespeeders, probably one of the largest fields this year. I knew from the starting line chatter that I would be slightly under geared and it would be difficult to keep up on the flats. I just had to hope I could hang on in the singletrack and on the hills.

Once we started I found myself about midpack, maybe a little further back. I sat there for a while since no one was really breaking away. About half way through the first lap there was a small split of about five riders that seemed to open a gap but other riders in front of me were not responding. Once we got out onto some two track I expected the pace to pick up but if anything it seemed to slow. I jumped out of the saddle and hammered to get around and bridge up to the next group that was slightly behind the lead group.

Heading up a small hill I passed three more riders and began to catch the lead group. I had worked my way up to 5th or 6th, I wasn't really sure. On the last big hill I could sense that my back was beginning to tighten up but stayed on the pace. Coming through the first lap I could see that we had a pretty good lead on the next group of riders.

As we headed up the first hill my back began to spasm and tightened up and completely shut down so that pedaling was difficult. I pulled off the trail and reluctantly rode back to the finish to call it a day. I had the legs and my first lap time was pretty fast, in fact I think it was faster than my geared times last year.

I was disappointed to not finish, my back has been bothering me off and on for some time. Maybe it's time to get it checked or go back to riding motorcycles instead. I have to admit I was kind of envious of the motorcyclists I saw as I was coming home from up north. Sandy and I used to go for rides all the time 20 years ago. Maybe next year or the year after.

Up next is probably the first cyclocross race of the year on Sunday. I have practiced it some and made up a few portable barriers to put up at the school. Some of my team is starting to get together one night a week for practice as well.

Labor Day Weekend Goodness

2009-09-07T14:08:00.008-04:00

The holiday weekend allowed me to take advantage of the nearly perfect weather we have had this past week. The temperatures in the mid to upper 70's and sunny skies were to much to take while sitting at my desk so I opted to use a vacation day on Thursday to stretch my four day holiday into five day. Thursday is also Sandy's day off so I could enjoy some time with her. I even managed to talk her into going for a bike ride around the lake at Addison Oaks.

Thursday evening I joined Greg and his friend Nate to play nine holes of golf. It was the first time I had even swung a club in over a year and it showed. I managed to shoot under 50 but the lack of touch on the short shots and putting really cost me. I was starting to hit some decent shots near the end of the round but I don't know if the clubs will come back out the rest of the year.

Shawn and Bernie, two of my Cannondale Midwest Racing team mates, joined me Friday morning for a scheduled 11 trail ride, similar to the one I had done a few weeks ago. Bernie rode over from Waterford so he already had over 20 miles before we started. The first trail section we hit had some grassy spots and the dew was pretty heavy. The wet tires caused the sand and dirt to kick up and stick to our bikes and bodies. By the time we got done with that section we looked like we had ridden through the mud even though the trails were bone dry.

We continued on to several more trails via connectors and back roads. Eventually Bernie had to back out and leave. Shawn and I continued the route and worked our way east and south. The cool morning had given way to sunny skies and warm temperatures and we were starting to get tired. We made a pit stop at the Paint Creek Cider Mill to get a doughnut after smelling them while riding past. The first cider mill doughnut of the year hit the spot. I'm sure it won't be the last. We rode back into the school after 5.5 hours of riding and almost 80 miles. And less than 25 miles were on roads. Even then we had a total of maybe 5 miles of pavement.

Sandy and I left Saturday morning to drive to Ohio for The Great Geauga County Fair, the fair we both used to go to every year while growing up east of Cleveland. The fair is out in the country and near Amish settlements so you had horses and buggies mixed with the autos and motorcycles. It had been many years since we had been back and we were both a little apprehensive about what time had done to the fair.

We were looking forward to seeing Franny, one of Sandy's best friends who still lives in the area. While they still talk on the phone they don't get to see each other very often. Fran was able to spend the day with us and it was great to catch up and laugh at the stories they both told.

The fair was much as we remembered, lots of rides, games, concessions and exhibits. While some of the agricultural and domestic arts entries seemed lower, other parts of the fair seemed to have expanded. Sandy and I were both in 4-H and the number of non-farming clubs left was very small but others, such as horses, seemed about the same. Sadly there did not seem to be as many sheep exhibited either. I had raised sheep for a few years back in the late 60's. What had grown in number were the alpaca and llama exhibits.

Of course while at the fair you have to sample the food, for us the one item that is a must is the fries. A big cup of greasy fries doused in malt vinegar and sprinkled with salt. Another regular item on our menus is a sausage, complete with peppers and onions. We complimented that later with fried mushrooms and then before we left a roasted pork loin sandwich and kabobs. Other than a lemonade the only other beverages we consumed were water and hot apple cider. Looking back we didn't eat too much in the way of sugary foods but a lot that had grease as a major factor in their preparation. I wonder how many gallons of grease are used at the fair each year?

Fran has to leave before Sandy and I were ready so sadly we said our goodbyes and made tentative plans to get together again. We stayed through my favorite time at the fair, the time when it starts to get dark and the lights some on. The place seemed to take on a magical quality as the moon rose and the sky turned dark. We ended up strolling around longer than we had thought, almost 7.5 hours. I guess we didn't want to leave the place that had been part of our childhoods and held so many happy memories. But it was getting late and we wanted to get over to my parents for the night.

We spent a little time visiting before going to bed. We had plans for the next morning of Sandy going to church in Akron and me riding out to some trails that i had not ridden before. I had brought a MTB along and was looking forward to riding somewhere new in Ohio for the second weekend in a row. Unfortunately things did not go as planned but instead we stayed at my parents and visited some more over breakfast before heading home. It is always good to see them, the next time may be on November for "the game". I still managed to ride for a few hours once we got home.

Today was more of a lazy day of finally sleeping in and then getting out to ride on a practice cyclocross course I had set up at the high school. I don't have any barriers yet but practiced getting on and off the bike where I imagined they would be. There are also a few steep sections that you have to run up while pushing or carrying your bike. It doesn't take much effort in this type of practice to get your heart rate up. Hopefully we will have some team practices at the school this fall.

Next up in the racing schedule? Not sure yet, maybe a 24 hour race or the Addison Oaks XC next weekend.

Some of the original building on the grounds

Harness racing was going on when we arrived

The sheep I raised looked a lot like this

This breed of sheep was one that I don't remember before, the markings looked like a cow

This is for Shari

Where's the beef? Fran and Sandy

Sandy and I

Night time at the fair is special

Racing South of the Border

2009-08-30T21:07:00.007-04:00

I ventured south of the Michigan border this weekend into enemy territory (OSU Buckeyes) to do a race I have wanted to try for several years, the Big Valley race at Camp Manatoc in the Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area. The course is at a Boy Scout camp and is only open to bikes the one weekend of the year. The fact that it is less than 30 minutes from my parent's house makes it even better.

I arrived at the course on Saturday afternoon to preride and pick up my registration materials. The area had received a lot of rain overnight and I could see the bikes coming off the course were muddy. I decided to do the preride on the singlespeed to save the wear on the drive trains of the geared bikes. I also had the SS set up with mud tires.

The start of the course wandered through the camp on the roads and two track before entering the singletrack. At first the trails were dry but soon I came to the first wet and rooty downhill. Other riders were standing around figuring out the best line. I decided to just walk it, a decision I would make many more times during my ride.

The trails were not build for bikes but for hiking; many of the sections were straight up or straight down hills with a narrow bridge across a creek at the bottom. Other sections were long stretches of roots and off camber corners, up and down. In other words, technical and fun if it was dry, but slick and slow when wet. But other sections of the course were very fast, flowing sections of singletrack or open road so there was a chance to get some speed.

When I go to my parents the first thing I did was to change the gearing on the SS to make it a little easier to handle the steep hills. I figured if I was going to be riding in the mud I wanted to make it a little easier. Before going to bed I checked on the internet and people were saying the the course had really dried out later in the day. With no rain in the forecast I figured I would be able to use a geared bike instead. But I changed the rear tire on the SS to a slightly less knobby one in case I wanted to use it on the geared bike.

Sunday morning it was very cloudy and cool but no rain. My race didn't start until 1:00 in the afternoon so I had plenty of time to hang out at my parents. But about 10:00 am, the time the Beginners were to start, it began to rain. At first it was a light mist but then became harder with occasional hard showers. I figured I was back to the SS.

I left for the race and was surprised that as I got close to the race site the roads became drier. At the course there was very little evidence of rain and it was still fairly dry. I pulled out the Scalpel and then it started to sprinkle with what looked like more coming. Back in the van went the Scalpel and out came the geared F29 with slightly knobbier tires. I went out for a ride to warm up and check out the singletrack. I was pleased to find that it really had dried and the point that everything I had walked yesterday I was now able to ride.

About 20 minutes before the start of the race it started to rain again, this time a little harder. I dashed back to the van to swap wheels from the SS. Of course that also meant I had to put the cassette on the back as well. I wish I had kept track how many times the bikes were in and out of the van. Anyone around me that was watching must have thought I was nuts. Sometimes so many choices is not a good thing.

We had a large class and were the last to go off. Of course I didn't know anyone but at the start it didn't take long to find out who the local fast guys were. I missed the clip in and got away a little behind, about 10th but soon worked may way up to 5th and then 4th. When we got to one of the open hills I managed to pass two more and sat in 2nd. It didn't take us long before we started running into back markers in the singletrack from the earlier classes. Many times we would get stuck on the uphills and be forced off our bikes.

In one of these sections I heard a lot of shouting in front of me and assumed someone was upset with another rider but soon I realized they were yelling about bees. At that point I looked down at my left wrist to see a bee hanging on, stinging me. I brushed it off and continued; I heard later that others received quite a few stings. I saw one guy throw down his bike and rip his helmet off as he was getting stung. Thank goodness for the screen mesh in the front of the Uvex helmet to keep the bees out.

It was during the mad scramble up the hills that second and third passed me as they ran around the other riders. I didn't make the right moves and I lost them. Later in the lap I caught back up the third place rider and passed him. I didn't see him behind me but then somehow he was back, like a bad penny.

I stayed on his tail until we had an open uphill again and I put down the power to make the pass. I could tell he was not able to respond and I kept the power on as long as I could to try to get out of his line of sight. About this time I started to hear a pinging noise in may back wheel every so often. I couldn't really place it but thought it might be the derailleur or a broken spoke. I looked back but the wheel seemed to be straight so I pressed on, but the noise was making me wonder if I would soon have a problem.

I was relieved to see the final section of uphill switchbacks before the finish. I thought that maybe the derailleur was hitting the wheel in the larger cogs so I shifted down to try and save it. It made the climb a little more of a struggle but I just wanted the bike to survive. I ended up crossing the line to hang on to third. After the race I checked the bike and sure enough, I had a broken spoke on the rear wheel. This was the first spoke I have ever broken where it broke in the middle, not at the head or nipple. I can't figure that one out unless something got caught in the spoke.

The race was fun, definitely a type of trail that I don't get to ride in Michigan. I'm not sure I would want to do it in the rain but plan on keeping it on the list for next year. For those of us in the Detroit area the drive is about the same as going to Boyne. And for the same entry fee I got a t-shirt, a chance to enter a raffle, free energy drinks after the race and a huge burrito from Chipotle.

Thanks to my Mom and Dad for coming out to the race and providing dinner and a place to sleep. As the ad goes, "priceless".

0% = 100%

2009-08-23T14:37:00.003-04:00

So why is it that when I looked at the weather forecast and radar this morning before starting my ride I didn't see any rain at all? Yet after an hour into the ride I was soaked? I guess I didn't look at the right weather web site or should have been better prepared, just in case. I ended up cutting short my planned long ride; soaked to the core my legs and arms were starting to turn purple. I wonder how many people have suffered from hypothermia in August?

Earlier in the week I added a new dimension to my training, trail running. I really, really hate running but with the cyclocross season around the corner I figure I ought to put in some time on foot; even now it is a little late to start but better than not at all. I was really sore from the effort for a day.

Yesterday I put in a hard effort on the bike for a few hours then followed it up with a run. I have a 5k course laid out up at LOHS that will be the course we will use for our fall running race. It uses all of the singletrack so it is a very hilly course with lots of twists and turns as well. It makes running a lot more interesting.

Earlier in the morning yesterday Sandy and I went down to Eastern Market, as much for the fruit and vegetables as to browse the antique shop. Sandy had her eve on a couple of vintage hats which we purchased for her birthday. We bought a few other items as well. I ended up using the money I had set aside to go to the races today but buying things for her was much more satisfying.

Next weekend I have preregistered for a MTB race down in Ohio. The race is only about 20 minutes or so from my parents' house. I have wanted to do this race for some time now but the schedule never worked out. The race is at a Boy Scout camp that is only open for riding one weekend out of the year. I'm looking forward to racing someplace new.

Another one of those "seemed like a good idea at the time"

2009-08-16T19:19:00.003-04:00

I hadn't had a lot of riding time lately with all the other stuff going on so I had planned a longer ride for today. I just wanted to make sure to get out the door fairly early to beat the heat as much as possible. Even though I had just finished getting over being ill on Friday I figured a long ride would be fine; I seemed to handle Thursday's ride without any problems.

I wanted to do a ride similar to one that I used to do that took in most of the trails in my immediate area. This time I decided to go with my SS and changed the gearing to a little harder than I used in the race last week since there would be some road sections and the trails were dry.

I left about 8:00 this morning and hit the first few trails but within about an hour and a half I began to feel really light headed and had to stop to catch my breath. I almost turned around to head home but instead decided to just back off some and see what developed. The pattern seemed to continue for most of the ride, especially as the day heated up. About every 1.5 hours of so I would end up at one of the trailheads and stop to pour some water over my head and let the cobwebs clear. At Bloomer I sat and watched the Velodrome races for a while.

I was still pedaling OK but the heart rate was higher than normal, I think due to the heat. I was glad when I finally made it home after over 5.5 hours of actual riding and was able to recover in the air conditioning. I didn't seem to suffer any lingering effects as far as I can tell but I'm glad I had decided not to race this weekend.

For the record I managed to ride all or part of 11 different trails. The Polly Ann, Orion Oaks, LOHS, Bald Mountain South, Bald Mountain North, Addison Oaks, Stony Creek, Macomb Orchard Trail, Clinton River Trail, Bloomer, and the Paint Creek Trail. I don't think I was ever much farther than nine or ten miles from the house as the crow flies.

I think I will do the ride again but later this fall when the temperatures are cooler. And when the cider mills are open :-)

Dreamin' of Cruizin'

2009-08-15T17:14:00.009-04:00

This weekend is the Woodward Dream Cruise, the annual celebration of the automobile in Detroit, especially the vintage cars of the 50's, 60's and 70's. Each year the event draws 30-40,000 old and custom cars out to Woodward Avenue, the original cruising highway. In fact, just this week the street celebrated its 100'th anniversary of having the first concrete mile of road in the US. It has been estimated that over one million people come out to watch or participate.

Sandy and I don't go every year and in years past we were fortunate to know someone who put on a picnic the day of the cruise so we had a home base to partake of the festivities. Since then we have only gone a couple of times, last year we happened to hit it on the tail end of the Friday night before the cruise. This year we stopped in on Saturday afternoon after first heading into the Motor City.

The temperatures were in the low 90's by the time we arrived; the crowds were down this year and we had no problem finding a parking spot right next to Woodward. The heat keeps a lot of vintage cars off of the road since the stop and go traffic tends to make lots of them overheat. Instead they are parked in various lots along Woodward so you can get a good look at them up close.

We couldn't decide which cars we liked the best if we were to own one but Sandy had her eyes on the older Corvettes and other muscle cars with the big engines. We also liked the older 'rods and decided that we would need a car of each type, depending on the type of cruising we wanted to do that day.

We stopped to admire one 1961 Vette and Sandy posed for a picture in front of it. The owner happened to be sitting close by and told her to go ahead an sit in it. That made her day! We talked to him for some time and he told us a lot about the car and that even though he was from Montreal, he has always been a Redwings fan and would drive from Montreal to Detroit to watch the Wings play at the old Olympia and then drive back home.

Earlier in the day we had gone down to Eastern Market, one of our favorite spots to spend a Saturday. We didn't really need much in the way of produce but always enjoy the sights and smells of the market and small businesses surrounding the area. We spent some time in one of the antique stores and found an oak chest/bureau that once refinished should be the perfect companion piece to the cabinet I refinished before we moved to Michigan.

After we left the market we went up the road a few blocks to the Pierogi Fiestival at the Sweetest Heart of Mary Catholic Church. The church offered pierogi and chicken dinners, all home made including the deserts. We enjoyed our meals while listening to the polka band. In addition to the food the festival offered games and raffles. We took a look inside the 116 year years old church and were amazed at the splendor and detail. It is simply gorgeous inside and reminded us of the pictures you see of the great churches of Europe. We were glad that we decided to include the festival on our itinerary.

I think tomorrow I will get out on the bike for a long ride before it gets too warm. I'm not sure if I will race next weekend but I have already signed up for one two weeks from now down in Ohio that is only about a half hour drive from my parents. I always wanted to try the race but the timing never worked out.

Sweetest Heart of Mary Catholic Church

Woodward Dream Cruise

1923 Hearse

The visit

2009-08-12T18:30:00.010-04:00

Jason, Emily, Oliver and Isabel arrived last Tuesday afternoon and stayed until this past Monday before driving back to Indianapolis to catch a flight back to Spokane. We had been looking forward to their visit since we had not seen them in person since January. At that time Isabel was barely two months old. We had been able to chat with them on video over the internet but to actually see them again was terrific.

The entire family looks healthy and it was fun to have the grand kids around for the week. Oliver is very active and now starting to say a lot of words, or at least try to. Of course that meant we men had to be on our best behavior when he was in earshot. Isabel looks just like a doll, with the curly hair and big blue eyes she could be a model for some toy maker.

The first night they were here we enjoyed egg rolls that Sandy had prepared and lounged around just watching the kids. On Wednesday Jason and I went for a bike ride and later in the evening Robin and Shari came over to visit. They are great friends of the family and hold a special place in our hearts.

We were fortunate to have my parents able to make the drive up from outside of Cleveland to spend some time. They got to see Oliver last year about this time and were looking forward to seeing him again as well as their first ever great grand daughter. They arrived on Thursday and took us out to dinner. Afterward we had a birthday celebration for my dad who just turned 85.

Jason and Emily made breakfast for all of us on Friday; Jason likes to cook crepes and they were delicious. Later in the day we went over to Trader Joe's to sample the wine, shop, and just relax. Back at home Sandy was watching Oliver who was helping her make truffles for my mom. For dinner I barbecued salmon on cedar planks that always seems to be a hit.

Saturday was the mountain bike race at the school and it just poured down rain, greatly reducing the turnout. Jason was doing the timing for the race using the equipment of the company he does timing jobs for back home. My parents came up to watch the start of the race before heading back to Ohio. Unfortunately they didn't get to see too much as they stayed in the car due to the rain.

Sandy and I babysat on Saturday evening so Jason and Emily could have a night out. Even though it was a long time ago that our kids were little, I can still remember how special it was to have a night out by ourselves. But this time we got to play the grandparent role and spoil the kids.

Somewhere around 2:00 in the morning on Sunday the power went out; there had been some big storms come up on Saturday evening. Sunday was supposed to be one of the hottest days of the year but I hauled out the generator and got it going so I could plug in the fridge and some fans. Sandy made us french toast with homemade bread outside using the camp stove. Later we decide to go to the mall and cool off when the power did not seem likely to come on soon. Unfortunately we had to cancel a planned get together of some of Jason and Emily's friends.

I wasn't feeling well and because we had driven in two cars, I came home and went to bed. Jason and family shopped some more and then went to visit one of their friends before coming back later that evening. I pretty much stayed in bed the whole evening, night, and most of the next morning. That was not exactly the way I wanted to spend my last day with the family.

All too soon it was time for them to leave but first they wanted to go to a restaurant for a couple of drinks. I think part of it was to use the alcohol to help make the goodbyes easier. I still wasn't up to it so said my goodbyes at the house and watched them drive away. I could have used a few drinks myself by this point.

So, here it is a few days later and it is still hard to adjust to them being gone. We were so torn last fall about whether or not to take a job out west and be closer to them or stay here. Seeing them again initially makes us think I made a mistake. But I have to sit back and realize that there were, and still are, valid reasons for staying here. But is is still so tempting to move closer if possible.

I can appreciate what my parents, and parents the world over, have gone through as their kids grow up and move out or away. I know when our family was young it was an adventure to move and while hard, we were still together. This is a whole different ballgame. I like the idea of those communities or cultures where the kids live in the house next door or just down the road. Of course ask me that again when the grand kids are in their teens.

Jason and Emily are doing a great job raising their growing family and make us proud. Whatever their plans are in the coming years they can count on our support. I just hope that someday we can all be closer to them.

And now some pictures from the week.

Oliver liked the truck.

Uncle Greg

Blowing bubbles

Helping? Grandpa

The lifeguard

Isabel liked her truck also

Helping daddy make crepes

Great Grandpa

Great Grandma

Outdoor cafe, courtesy of the power outage

How to save on your electric bill

2009-08-10T14:34:00.004-04:00

A quick tip on how to cut down on your electric bill; just use DTE Energy for your electrical needs. As often as we seem to lose power it's a sure fire way to trim your bill.

The power went out early Sunday morning around 2:00 am on what would be one of the hottest days of the year and didn't come back on until after 4:00 in the afternoon. but then went back off three hours later to finally come back on again about 1:00 this afternoon. In all the places we've lived and even growing up I don't ever remember losing power as many times as we have since moving to Michigan.

We bought a used generator a few years ago but don't have it hooked to the main circuit but instead just run a few cords to the refrigerator and to power a few lights. Practically everyone in the neighborhood has generators now. But after this recent outage I'm considering one of those units that runs on natural gas and automatically comes on in the event of a power failure.

They call me Noah

2009-08-08T15:53:00.005-04:00

I had the reputation for a while of being responsible for rain to occur whenever I would race. I thought I had managed to break that streak when we were rain free for all of our school races this spring but lately I seem to be resorting to my old ways. Last week the 12 hour race was shortened due to a threat of rain and then today, after weeks of almost drought conditions, it started to pour a few hours before our race and continued for almost nine straight hours. I know we needed the rain but c'mon, couldn't it have waited one more day?

We had a small turnout as expected but the rain didn't dampen the enthusiasm of those who showed up. In spite of the rain the trails held up well, probably because they were concrete hard to start with. Only a few sections started to get soft but even the sections with standing water were solid underneath.

We ended up canceling the Beginner races that were to start later in the afternoon; those Beginners who preregistered can get a refund or credit for the next race which will be on October 24th to benefit the Food Bank.

Thanks to Cycletherapy and Jet's for sponsoring the race and to the school for the hosting the races. Also to Zachary Brehm for driving over from Pittsburgh to make the race part of his weekend plans.

Results are posted here: Milliseconds Timing The DNF's do not appear in the results.