Fort Custer Stampede

The race I wasn't planning on doing...

This one came down to a "near day-of" decision for me. I had it on my schedule, but it was a low priority race. Although I love the trail, especially as a race course, it's a 2 1/2 hour drive to get there. So, my original decision was to not do this race. The day before, I started to re-consider my decision, and eventually decided that I would do the race. The next morning, I almost reconsidered. However, we did load up the car and hit the road.

We arrived at Fort Custer an hour and a half before start time, leaving me plenty of time to register, get ready, and get in about a 25 minute warm-up.

Just before 12:30, I made my way over to the start line, and lined up with the rest of the Sport/Beginner singlespeeds. The Expert/Elite singlespeeds were starting about a minute and a half before us. At this race last year, the singlespeed class was combined, meaning that I was racing against riders of all levels, from Elite down to Beginner. With the class being split this year, I would not be racing directly against the very fast guys.

GO!!! I tried to get the jump off the start, however a missed clip-in left me 5th wheel going into the singletrack (thankfully fairly open, but about a hundred yards from the start). The eventual class winner motored away right off the start, and another guy pulled away (a bit more slowly). The other 2 in front of me were not as fast, and 1/3 mile into the race I made a pass. Shaun from the Mysinglespeed.com team was shortly behind me, as evidenced by his rather loud rear freehub (Hope Pro hub).

The first couple miles were mostly open/flowing singletrack (the BLUE trail if you're looking at the trail map), with a tighter connecter (complete with logpiles) leading across an old road to the RED trail). Here we hit 2 of the major climbs at Custer, named Cardiac Hill and CPR. Cardiac is a longer climb, CPR is short steep and loose, and there is maybee 1/4 mile between them to recover. The top of CPR dumps you straight into a section named "Granny's Garden", the most technical section at Custer. Logpiles, drops, tight turns, logpiles, rocks, steep grunt hills. Through Cardiac, CPR, and Granny's I was able to hold off Shaun (in fact he would spend about 3/4 of the race very close behind me). After Granny's, there was a short hill, with a Boy Scout troop passing out water. I didn't take any water, as I use a hydration pack, but thanked them for their work anyways. This led to a stretch of open "2-track" where I was able to pull ahead of Shaun. In fact this would be the M.O. for the day. I'd pull away on the open and flowing sections, and he'd catch up in the tight stuff.

We rode through a short tight singletrack, then onto an open downhill singletrack, complete with a couple of whoop-de-doos. At high speed, this dumped us across another old roadbed into a section called the Amusement Park. This is a sweet flowing section of singletrack, with a couple of logpiles, a few short hills, and many fun turns. The Amusement Park, another section named the Crazy Beaver Loop, past the normal trailhead, and into a section called "The Trenches". This is probably my favorite section at Custer. This is a series of trenches that remain from when the park was still part of the military training base, and can be best described as riding in a halfpipe.

We rode through more tight singletrack, and over a section that could almost be described as "dirt jumps". In fact there were people there watching, I guess to see people catch air. I didn't, preferring to keep the rubber down. This spit us out over another old roadbed, and back onto the BLUE loop. There was a water crossing, a minor hill, and a very fast stretch of singletrack leading us back through the start/finish area. I finished lap one with Shaun hot on my tail.

Lap 2 basically continued where lap 1 left off, with Shaun on my tail and me trying to hold him off and pull away. Just before Granny's Garden, we ended up catching the 2nd place guy. I made a pass near Cardiac hill, and held them off through the singletrack. We passed a couple of the slower riders in the Expert/Elite class, and headed back into the Amusement Park. Here I could feel myself finally putting distance on Shaun and the other guy in my class. My legs were feeling strong at this point, so I put the hammer down. In the Crazy Beaver loop, I caught another 2 riders from the Expert/Elite wave, and passed them on the 2-track which followed. They stayed on my wheel back to the BLUE loop, and we traded passes.

I rolled across the finish after 1 hour 20 minutes and 9 seconds, in 2nd place! The 3rd place finisher came in a half minute later, and Shaun took 4th, about a minute and a half behind me (I guess my focus on endurance paid off with a good finishing kick). The winner was 4 1/2 minutes ahead of me: I would've needed a motorcycle to keep up.

A beautiful day, a great course, and a strong performance. You can't ask for a better race day!



Photos by Dan Frayer. Video by Duke at Mysinglespeed.com

Bloomer XC

This past weekend, I did my first race of the season. It was held at Bloomer Park in Rochester Hills, and was a Cross Country format. This meant that I would be doing 3 laps of roughly 6 miles apiece.

The forecast for rain in the days leading up to the race meant that I was a fence-sitter. Also, I had swapped out my usual Ignitor/Smallblock 8 tire combination for some slower, but grippier in the mud, Kenda Klaws. The rain didn't quite materialize (some showers), but the tires stayed on. There were a few muddy spots that I noted on my pre-ride earlier in the week, and I decided that I would appreciate the extra grip.

I arrived a couple hours prior to my start time, registered, and met up with the team. Some time was spent just hanging out, and then we headed out to do our respective warm-ups. My start time approached, and I found my way to the starting line. I took my spot in the 2nd row (Expert/Elite guys were on the front row), and briefly took note of who was racing that day.

A blast of a whistle, and we were off. I found myself 3rd wheel in my class, behind Mark from the Mysinglespeed.com racing team, and Tim from Macomb Bike, while the Expert riders gradually pulled ahead. We stayed this way through the first half lap, running fast and hard through the early singletrack, down the switchbacks, and along the ridge trail. This dumped us (via a 180 degree turn) onto a long straight section. I was feeling good and strong, and decided to pass Tim. Over the next mile, I put some distance between Tim and myself.

After 5 miles, on a rough downhill, I got on the brakes way too hard. In hindsight I think this is because I remembered there was a slight reroute at the bottom due to mud. My bike started bucking, and after a brief fight, I hit the ground hard. In a haze I pulled my bike off the trail, and sat for a minute and a half, as I watched numerous riders pass by (Tim, Mark from Cycletherapy, and a couple others in my class).

After realizing that I wasn't busted up badly (no bike damage, some trail rash, and most of the cobwebs significantly cleared from my head), I got back on the bike and vowed to continue. I was able to get back up to speed rather quickly, and a quick glance at the clock on my way through the start/finish line made me realize I wasn't in horrible shape. My second lap proceeded very fast, as I attempted to reel in the other riders who had passed. Although I didn't catch anyone that lap, I did turn a fast lap and made up ground. Early in my third lap, I caught one of the other riders in my class (SWEET... I won't be DFL). A short while later I caught (in order) Tim, Mark, and Cary (who was racing Expert/Elite). I continued to ride hard attempting to put distance between them and myself. It worked, as they never caught back up.

After I rolled across the finish line, my teammate Todd informed me that only a handful of singlespeeders crossed the line before me. A good sign. About a half hour later, the preliminary results were posted, and I found out that I finished 3rd in my class!

Singlespeed Class Results (click to enlarge)



Sport/Beginner Singlespeed Podium


Here are a few videos from the race:


Singlespeed

Video courtesy of Duke at Mysinglespeed.com


Expert/Elite geared classes

Video courtesy of Masher's Media


Sport/Beginner classes, including Singlespeed

Video courtesy of Masher's Media

What's worse, wind or ice

I'm going to have to go with ice on that one. At least the wind was at my back nearly as much as it was in my face.

The snowstorm they had originally forecasted for today failed to materialize, at least in our area, so I piled on the layers, filled a bottle and camelpack, and saddled up my trusty steed. The steed of choice today was my Quiring, set up in fixed gear format. My plan was to ride basically the same loop I rode last weekend. I headed out of town, and climbed the first hill on Attica Road. At the top, I turned right onto Summers Road, straight into north wind suckage... or shall I say blowage. Yup, the headwind would be with me for a while. I resolved to grunt my way into the wind, knowing it would be at my back for the return trip. Besides, Summers Road was in much better shape than last weekend, having no snow cover.

The headwind stayed with me until Lum Road, where I headed west. Crosswinds are slightly better than headwinds. Lum Road took me through Lum (don't blink... even on a bicycle), and out to Spaulding Road. A bit of a rear tire slip, and I had the sudden realization that I was riding on WHUMP ice. It was kind of neat in a way, a relatively painless landing, and a slide of about 30 feet before I came to a stop. I picked myself up, and walked the short distance back to Lum Road.

I rode back to Slattery Road, and started north. Slattery was in much better shape... to start. Sure enough, Ice, and another gravity check. I got back up, and rode/walked (mostly walked) northward, to see what Curtis road offered. Sure enough... more ice, and more ride/walk alternating. After a while, I came to Lake Pleasant Road. Paved at last. North into the wind. Heartrate at my Lactate Threshold and single digit speeds at points. I rode like this to North Branch Road, and headed west through North Branch.

Just past North Branch, I turned around and basically retraced my path. On to Lake Pleasant Road. South. With the wind. Speeds averaging 18mph, hitting well over 20 on the downhills. Spinning like mad but in a nice zone 2 endurance heart rate. Back through Lum. Down Summers Road. With the wind. Dirt roads seem rougher at 20+ than at less than 10mph.

I rolled into my driveway pretty much spent, and with just under 47 miles showing on the Edge.

Route from Today's ride (ain't high tech GPS toys neat)

Today's elevation profile

Spring Fever

Just (im)patiently waiting for the spring thaw.

The bountiful snowfall in Lapeer county this year hasn't stopped me from logging some riding time outside though. Just aching to get back on the trails. Over the past year, I've put together a serviceable assortment of winter riding clothes. For Christmas, my parents got me a pair of neoprene booties, and a new pair of tights (to replace the ones I tore when I crashed at Iceman). I also picked up a pair of Moose Mitts at the MMBA expo to keep my hands warm. Add to that the skull caps, windbreakers, pullovers, long sleeve base layers, and socks that my wife and parents have bought for me, and I'm just about set.

The Quiring is set up in fixed gear format, with a 16 tooth tomicog (http://tomicog.blogspot.com/) bolted up. I've worked out a nice dirt/paved road route that takes me up through the Lapeer State Game area. So far I've done that route twice.

Route for dirt road ride.

Elevation profile for dirt road ride.

I've also been out on the road bike on a few occasions during February and March. Once I met up with Dave from the RBS bike team, and we rode from Lapeer to Otisville and back; just under 50 miles for that day. Another time I met up with my teammate Curt (blog link on right) and a few others at Stony, where I logged 40 miles of riding at a pace I wasn't expecting this early in the year. I've also done the below route from home, which I had done a few times last year. Basically I ride from Imlay City to Lapeer and back. This one nets out at 35 1/2 miles.

Imlay City to Lapeer route.

Elevation Profile

The preceeding maps and charts were made possible by a great gift from a loving wife to her husband. For Valentines Day, Brandy got me a Garmin Edge 305. This came with a cadence sensor and a heart rate monitor, and has a barometric altimeter built in. I'm hoping this will be a great training tool. At the very least, it will be neat to see elevation, speed, and heart rate statistics from my rides.

Re-Runs From Last Year

Originally written on March 18,2007

Today I decided to take advantage of some glorious March weather. I laced up my hiking boots, grabbed my GPS and camera, and drove up to the Hogbacks area just north of Elba. When all was said and done, I had hiked for 6 miles.

A nice small lake within the Hogbacks area.

Looking back along the trail.


A view from the top of a ridge.

It's much steeper than it looks... basically a root staircase.

Between the trees or over the roots... you decide.



Fall line runs seem to be the norm here.


The end of the line, unless you have a horse or waders.

Another fall line run. Once again, it's steeper than it looks.

A river runs through it.




Through the open and flat.



The trail next to the lake.

Fun in the Cold

Trainers and rollers are excellent off-season training tools, so don't get me wrong here. They have one major flaw though, and that is boredom. Sitting in the basement spinning away like a hamster on a wheel. TV with the right video helps immensely, but there is still no substitute for the real thing.

Saturday, I chose to brave the chilly temperatures and met Steve out at Island Lake for a few miles. Steve is one of the regulars on the mysinglespeed.com board. We decided to start with a lap of the Blue loop (approx. 10 miles), and make the call on the ~5.5 mile Yellow loop afterwards.



Here we are about a third of the way through the Blue loop. Steve's on the right, I'm on the left.


We did the blue loop, were feeling good, and decided to give the yellow loop a go. Trail conditions were excellent for the season: snow was good and grippy, there were only a few small icy spots, and only one tree down (about 2 miles or so into the blue loop). The wind was only a factor in one spot, the open area by the swimming hole.

Here's your's truly at a crossing on the yellow loop.

I'm the drab green spot in the middle of the photo. Note the runner up ahead. We weren't the only crazy ones out today.

We completed the yellow loop, and decided that we had time (and energy) to do another go-round of the blue loop. When we rolled back into the parking lot, I had about 23 1/3 miles showing on the computer.

Here's a photo of Steve's dash after the ride. Note the temperature of 13deg F.

The Fun Stuff

May 17: Zoo-De-Mack
This will mark the 3rd year that Brandy and I did this ride. It has proven to be a fun time the past two. Picture arriving at Boyne Highlands on Friday, drinking, waking up on Saturday morning, riding, break for lunch and drink beer (or a massage in Brandy's case), ride some more, ferry across to Mackinac Island, drink more. Fun times


June 21-27: Pedal Across Lower Michigan
A 6 day bicycle tour across the state. Brandy and I did this 2 years ago, but missed last year's ride because we mailed in the application a "wee bit" too late. May 1st or 700 riders... last year they hit 700 riders by the end of February. We won't make the same mistake again.


Sometime in Late September-ish: High Country Pathway Fun 50
Click back in the archives a bit... 'nuff said!

Also on a date yet to be determined, I'm contemplating a trip either to the North Country Trail, Copper Harbor/MTU Trails, Mohican, or even as far as Pisgah NC.