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August 2007

8.30.07 It's been a long drought of no riding. I did 20 miles this past Sunday, but that was it. Twenty miles since Pando. Well, no one will accuse me of overtraining. I have my cooler ready to load, the 5-gallon rubber maid jug and a tote with gas stove, french press (gotta have coffee hahahaha) and a iron fry pan for solid food. I just need to get ice and beer and hit the highway tomorrow afternoon. It's five hours to the DeTour State Forest Campground, where I stayed last year. I should reach there no later than 1100pm, perhaps earlier. Traffic up US131 will likely be heavy and I will dodge east as soon as possible to get to US127.

8.25.07 It was different for me to stay on the sidelines and not race. The weather alternated between promising to clear up, light drizzle, then pouring rain, repeat. The conditions were worse for the sport riders mid-day and the bikes and riders were completely caked with mud. Brenden had a great race at Maybury. He was in first place after lap one 20 seconds ahead of second. After lap two, he was a full minute in first place ahead of second, who was 30 seconds ahead of third. However, somewhere in the third (last) lap, the racer that was in third surged ahead and passed both Brenden and the second place racer to take the lead and hold it into the end. Brenden finished a solid second place of nine racers.

Joni also had eight competitors in her category. The race officials shortened the beginner loops from two laps to one lap as the course was now so muddy that progress would be very slow. Joni finished her lap last in her group, but ahead of several other racers from other categories.

Photos of Maybury are at this link. Also- here's a link Matt (HighGearRacing) did at Maybury- it's very nicely done: LINK

Here's a photo Joni took of me last week... Rather like the IMBA "what would we do without trails" campaign-hahahaha I came home from a training ride and was in a hurry to get the front lawn done so I just put the bike down and grabbed the mower for the 20 minute task. I didn't even take off my bike shoes or helmet!

I got this photo from the 12 Hours of Pando copied here with permission of the photog, Nathan Bush. The photo flattens the terrain- this is a steep downhill on the ski hill -about 45 degrees. More photos of this event and others by Nathan at this LINK

8.24.07 No racing tomorrow at Maybury. My back muscle is still hurting. I had a massage on it last night which helped but it's still problematic and no use aggravating it. My focus the 24 Hours of Drummond Island anyway. So I will provide support and cheer on Brenden, Joni and Rafi and visit with Steve- we may ride the trail some without racing it.

One of my favorite movie lines of all times: "I don't want to sell anything, buy anything or process anything as a career. I don't want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought or processed, or repair anything sold, bought or processed. You know, as a career -- I don't want to do that." Lloyd Dobbler (played by John Cusack in "Say Anything")

I've decided to put La Ruta de los Conquistadores BACK on my agenda. I was really frustrated last year with my biking but I think I've seen some steady improvement this year with the training I've done- So, I decided that La Ruta will be my 50th birthday present to myself in November 2009 at the least (though maybe in 2008). So I have one year, perhaps two, to reach the necessary level of training.

8.22.07 It's rained here Monday and Tuesday, which put me off the bike a couple days anyway- necessary as my back muscle is still doing spasms. Today the weather appeared to break a bit, and I thought I may go ride this evening, but as I got home, the spasms really kicked in again- I will continue to rest and put IcyHot and icepacks on it through this week- a week of after weeks of solid training won't be too bad- I do want to get on the bike no later than next Monday for a couple days leading to the 24 Hours of Drummond Island- yes- 24 hours! I have a choice of the 12 hour race or the 24 hour race. In May I knew I wasn't ready for the 24 hour race at Boyne- especially at Boyne- which is a hard course with the climbing. But the combination of solid training all summer and a flatter course at Drummond Island makes my first attempt at a 24 hour event more palatable.

So tonight- no riding- instead I will go to the Freethought Association of West Michigan lecture (FTAWM is changing their name to Center for Inquiry-Michigan The lecture tonight is on the national parks.

8.19.07 Tough race weekend! I raced the 12 Hours of Pando on Saturday Aug 18th. I started strong for three or four laps, but I had a knot in my lower back for a week that got worse as the laps went by. Finally after lap nine, I pulled off and laid in my car for a few minutes trying to stretch out my back. My colleague from work, Jim Proce, had decided to race the 6 Hours of Pando and arrived about 15-20 minutes later to our tent to change water bottles, fill up supplies, etc. So I popped three ibuprofen and we rode out to do laps ten and eleven together. Jim went into the event intending to do ten laps, but by the start of lap eleven I knew he could make the cut-off to get in a twelfth lap. As we rode in from lap eleven, I went into the tent to refill water and supplies and Jim went out for lap #12. He ended up with second place for his category for the six hour event.

By 5pm, a light drizzle settled on the race and the temperatures dropped. I kept spinning away on the course until 8pm at which time I stopped in the tent to put on the lights for night-time riding. I also changed jersey as well as putting on a base layer to help keep the cold away- which was a good move as the rain got colder and colder. However, by midway through lap 18, my back was very sore everytime I had to dismount and re-mount the bike. I came in to the tent at 945pm, sat down, sprayed water on the mudcaked gears. A few minutes reflection- and pain- I decided to call it a night and went to the finish line to register lap 17 and drop out. But the lap count was good enough for 4th place (3rd place had 18 laps, with first and second at 23 and 20 respectively). An hour later I was glad to have stopped as the rain changed from a drizzle to an actual downpour!

Brad's girlfriend is a certified massage therapist and worked on the knot in my back after I I'd changed and loaded my gear in the car- she succeeded in making it about 80% better- now I need to follow her advice to reduce the swelling and eliminate the knot this week.

Today- Sunday Aug 18, Brenden had the last of the five time trial races. He raced the Tailwind Time Trial Series on his single speed. The series had five races of which he did races two through five. He was third place in the standings after the first four events. He merely needed a decent finish to hold to it and claim a third place trophy. He finished the event in 8th place. The guy in 4th place in the series finished the race today in 4th place. After tabulating points, Brenden held onto the series 3rd place by ONE POINT! Had his competitor gotten 3rd in the race today, or Brenden gotten 9th, he'd have been bumped to 4th in the series final standings! As it was, he brought home a really nice plaque!

Next Saturday, Aug 25, is the CPS race Maybury. Brenden will race it, but Joni is still deciding as am I.

8.16.07 No visit to the Creation Museum as work took too long in Ky, and I didn't get near the museum during it's open hours.

8.15.07 Out of town for work- Georgetown Ky. If I have time this evening I will divert to the Creation Museum and check out that expensive fantasy show. Final word from Ireland- they went with another candidate for position. It was fun, challenging and interesting to pursue but the reality is that it was always a slim possibility anyway.

8.13.07 YES! I met and beat my goal at the 48 mile Ore-to-Shore. - a full ten minutes and some seconds faster than 2006. (See Race Resume) My time was 3:53:55, and my position in the race field was as follows: 295 of 518 Racers, 244 of 414 men, 29 of 57 Men 45-49yrs old, 12.3 mph avg. Last year my average speed was 11.9, so I was almost a half-mile per hour faster this year. I rode steady and hard, getting a twinge of cramping in the thighs at about mile marker 44, though I had been popping Endurolytes consistently at two or thee at a time every 45-60 minutes- so I took the last two I had here and kept pushing. The course seemed even sandier than in the past, and by some accounts these conditions actually created a five-to-seven minute drag on times (which means I really did the course 15 minutes faster!). There was a lot of dust- the course was extremely dry and on some fast downhills I was concerned I could not see obstacles due to the dust. Riders came into the finish looking like coal miners. The only issues I really had were chain-suck- which I have not had ever since buying this bike at the start of 2006. I attribute that to the high level of dirt and a stretched chain- which will be replaced with a new chain this week. At one point I shifted from the big to middle front chainring and the chain jammed on a small climb- I had to flip the bike upside down and tug at the chain as it actually got caught in an open spot between the two rings! Jeez. and a dozen people I passed had now passed me and I had to catch up all over again.

By the middle of the event, you find yourself ridiing in small pelotons, small groups of riders that have hit the same pace. I was in one such group of eight or nine racers which included a couple women riders and a single speed racer. One woman, Sarah, would pass me on the climbs, I'd pass her on the flats and downhills- same with the singlespeed guy. I did pull away from this grouping as we entered the last few miles which included a bit of single track- the only single track trail on the whole course- about 100 yards of it.

I kept my 1.80 Maxxis tires on the bike- it was a gamble and I am still not sure it paid off or not. Fatter tires would have been an advantage on all the sand- maybe. I got off the bike in several sections and merely ran across the sand areas rather than try to ride through them. It was nearly like riding the beach so I am not sure wider tires would have paid off.

Joni did the 28 mile event, finishing two minutes faster than her 2006 time (see Joni's race resume)- good for her.
Her results were: Time 3:16:22, 783 of 864 racers, 210 of 255 women racers, 27 of 31 Women 45-49

Brenden DNF'd and this is a whole other issue! He said he fell three times in the first seven miles due to collisions with other riders- the sand often caused people to swerve wildly. The last time at mile seven, a rider went down in front of him causing him to fall. A woman fell on him and while they were trying to get up, another woman rider rode ACROSS HIS ANKLE! He's injured this ankle in the past so it immediately swelled a bit and was painful. The O2S staff took him off the course back to the start on a 4wheeler. He asked to be taken to the finish point- which is where Joni and I would be coming in. But the ambulance guys said they thought it was broken and piled him into the bus and took him to the hospital where he was xray'd and got ice on it. GUESS WHAT- NOT BROKEN! Idiots. They aren't paying for this! It wasn't an emergency- no head, neck or back injury. No massive bleeding! Hell, by the time I finished he was hobbling around the finish area and by 5pm was walking just fine. Had they taken him to the finish and just iced it until I got there we'd be right where we are NOW without additional expenses. I am sure I will be arguing with the hospital and the ambulance management about this for a few weeks. (See Brenden's race resume).

We drove to my friends' house near Mass City. Pam J Beal and her husband wayne live on 40 acres in a beautiful setting. We had pizza and beer and conversation and spent the night. We departed at about 1230pm for the drive home. We did stop by the Mystery Spot- true classic Americana cheesiness. I think I'd last been there about age 13, so we thought it would be a short fun diversion to take Brenden through it. Then Subway for a quick meal at a bridge-view park, then over the Mighty Mac bridge for the remainder of the drive home.

Tonight we face the task of cleaning the bikes- they are thoroughly caked with upper peninsula dirt!

Update: Cleaned the bike, had a flat tire which must have been a slow leak due to sharp rocks at the race. Bike cleaned, tubes changed- no ride tonight and I won't be able to do so until Thursday- which is disappointing, but necessary due to work travel. So down night with a beer and my favorite TV show, The Closer.

8.10.07 Well- I may get to ride the bike to work on occasion after all. Last year I rode to work (only three times, though). It is a 23 mile trip each way which means I put 46 miles on the bike riding in and then home in the evening. But up until this spring, we had a company fitness center across the street where I could shower and change before donning office duds. The company got out of that this year as it was a financial drain -they sold it to a private fitness club concern and predictably the price jumped from the$25/month I was spending to about $80/month I think. I opted to not join to save money as I was doing alot of biking anyway. But the subject of the fitness center came up in coversation at work today and someone noted that a shower was located in a men's restroom just off the development area downstairs from my desk! All this time and not known! I looked in there and it appears that three or four other people use it- bike jerseys and shoes were strewn about. I've seen some bikes sitting next to the desks in this development department. This means I can likely ride to work one or two days per week depending on schedules and have a place to shower and change. I then change back into riding gear for the trek home. I pull a BOB trailer with the bike in which I carry my computer bag and a gym bag for the change of clothes and toiletries.

8.09.07 Thursday! Rode last night with Brenden- 20 miles. Tonight is prep night- lube drive train, change tires and tubes, get all equipment ready. Tomorrow I will load up the car. We head to Ore-to-Shore at noon from Joni's office with a goal of reaching Marquette by 8pm or a little after. We need to get our registration packet and eat the spaghetti dinner we paid for!

8.06.07 No riding Sunday- total down day, relaxing, it rained most of the day off and on. Tonight I rode 30 miles- not hard riding but steady. Ore to Shore here I come!!

8.04.07 No fifty miles today- we got a late start to Fort Custer. Joni and I got there about 3pm. I did a Red loop, then the Green loop- on which I got my first flat since April. Joni and I then rode most of the Red loop again, except for Granny's Garden and Crazy Beaver. My total mileage was twenty-three miles.

If weather cooperates Sunday, I will do a small trail re-route at Ionia and ride a few miles there too.

8.02.07 Great week of riding- 35 miles on Monday, 45 on Tuesday, and 30 tonight (Thursday). I am hoping to do 50 on Saturday on a trail.

Last night was interesting, fun, nostalgic. Joni and I met Amy and her husband at the Ovals park in Muskegon for pizza and three hours of chitchat. (Amy was my girlfriend in 1982-82) It was great to see Amy after 20 years (I ran into her in Muskegon in 1987 as she was shopping for the move to Massachusetts) - and she really hasn't changed much. I bet there are people that would see her and say "weren't you in third grade with me?" hahaha- (Joni gets that too- I think someone once recognized her from kindergarden)! Amy's husband, Mike, is cool- with great taste in music- a fello prog-rock fan! Their three kids are handsome kids- the oldest hitting fifth grade this year.