The Iceman Cometh

I awoke Saturday morning to temperatures in the high 30s, and a forecast calling for light rain. Camelpack and bottle got filled, clothes got picked out, breakfast got consumed, and we made our way over to Kalkaska. We pulled into a crowded parking lot, where I finished getting ready. After about a 20 minute warm-up, I handed my windbreaker to Brandy, and made my way to the starting chute. Here I sized up the competition: this year the singlespeeders were divided into 2 waves, under 39 (which I was in), and 40+ (which would start 5 minutes after me). The last Expert wave, sport/expert clydes, started, and we were called up to the line.
Likely due to the smaller wave, we had roughly 45-50 people in ours, I was able to secure a spot on the front line. I wanted a good starting position, as my goals were lofty; a top-10 finish, be amongst the top 15 if you combine both singlespeed waves, and finish in the 1:50-1:55 range.

At the start. I'm number 703, near the right hand side of the photo.

After a five minute wait, we were off! After a clean start, including negotiating a loose corner a couple hundred yards in, I settled in holding 7th or 8th wheel. I kept the lead riders in sight for about 3/4 of a mile, before dropping back. A couple miles in, and I was catching the first of the sport/expert clydes, I passed them, and continued to hold a strong pace.
After about 3 miles, on a rough straight section, I felt my pedals go slack and heard a "chank" noise. #&*@, I dropped my chain! OK, now get off, re-rail the chain (while watching a half dozen guys on singlespeeds fly past), remount, and get going again.
The next 5 miles were spent picking off the guys who passed me while I addressed my chain. Here I was able to put my 65 gear inches to use, hammering a strong pace on the flat sections.
I caught and passed Joe from KLM's team just before some singletrack. We got caught up in a "conga line" of slower riders, so we used this opportunity to recover and chat about riding. We crested the grunt hill that marked the end of that singletrack and I put the hammer down, with Joe hot on my tail.
After another stretch of wide-open riding, we encountered a section signed "Steve's Secret", which was a sequence of loooooooong singletrack climbs, not wide enough for passing. Sure enough, we were greeted with a long line of riders from previous waves, slowly creeping up the hill in granny gear. I was able to pass one of them, but quickly caught the next. There would be no way for me to get around him till we hit the top. Somehow, I was able to keep the pedals turning (at an extruciatingly slow cadence), and ride up without having to dismount.
We reached the top, things opened up again, and I put the hammer down. I also looked back and noted that somehow I had dropped Joe.
Williamsburg Road greeted me with a downhill sand pit, where I had to negotiate a fallen rider right in the good line. I made it through unscathed, and hammered up the hill leading to the road. The cheering spectators and the announcer added some spring to my step. Some more fireroads, and we hit the Vasa trail. This was a fast rolling ski trail, with a bit of singletrack thrown in, including The Wall. The wall is a steep switchback singletrack descent, complete with 2 trees that there was no way in 'ell I was making it through without dismounting. Other than those trees, the wall presented no great difficulty.
The race finished up with "Anita's Hill", which was a run-up, the "Ice Breaker" hill, some sweet flowing singletrack, and another short steep run-up hill where I overtook another rider in my class (putting me in 7th). Knowing he was behind me, I hit the gas when I crested the hill.
I rode up the last climb: I knew it was the last one because the spectators were announcing that fact to everyone who rode by, and then was greeted with signs for 1 mile and then 1 kilometer to go. The announcer's voice was in the distance, as was the sound of cheering spectators. Almost done! I could hear Brandy cheer from on top of the bridge, and as I was crossing the finish, I saw that I had done the course in 1 hour 53 minutes and change. We would see later that my official time was 1:53:13, which put me in 7th place in my group.

Approaching the finish.

I found Brandy, and we walked around congratulating teammates and other friends as they finished. After changing, we made our way to the team tent where we shared our war stories, drank beverages, cheered the later beginner waves, and watched the Pro/Elite class finish.

Fun - High Country Pathway Style

I met up with Steve and Shaun from the mysinglespeed.com group, and after a quick lunch, we headed northbound in Steve's overpacked Honda CRV. Four-ish hours later, and we rolled into the Clear Lake state park. Gear was unloaded, tents were pitched, beer was drank, burgers were ate, and stories were told. Around the campfire sat a number of return riders, and a handful of newbies, all anticipating the day ahead.

We woke the next morning, got our supplies ready to be staged in a couple of cars, and headed out to Osmun Road.

Organizing supplies

Getting ready at Osmun Road

Yours truly at the start

The group

We hit the trail, and for the first mile or so were greeted with some gnarled root sections and numerous boardwalks. I rode the roots, and walked the boardwalks. There were a couple trees we had to portage our bikes over, including one where it was a challenge to do even that.
The trail opened up, and we had a few miles with a great flow. The trail continued through Pigeon River state forest campground, past an overlook, and through some meadows.

Stopped at the first overlook

After a while we hit the Shingle Mill Pathway, were things opened up. Up until this time, I had been riding with 4 others out in front of the rest of the group. Myself and one other guy decided to take the eastern leg of the Shingle Mill, which was 2 miles longer, while the other 3 took the western leg. Some screaming downhills led us past Section Four Lake, a sinkhole lake. We had some rollers, a "neverending boardwalk" section, and then finally the first car at Pigeon Bridge.

Section Four Lake

Lunch stop at Pigeon Bridge

At Pigeon Bridge, the four guys I had been riding with forged on ahead. The 3 who took the western leg were getting ready to go, and the guy I rode the eastern leg with didn't want to stop. I waited for the rest of the group and had lunch with them.
I took off with one other guy from lunch, and, having fun on the nice flowing stuff that followed, pulled away from him. This left me to ride the stretch to Rattlesnake solo. I got into a zone here, flowing the trail, enjoying the views and changing flora.

Near the firetower site

I came to a road crossing. Here I didn't see any evidence where to go, so I hung a right and rode about 3/4 mile down the road. No blue dots! I turn around and ride past Town Corner campground, and see the posts for a HCP crossing. Here I hang a right onto the trail, and ride into the campground. Nothing looks familiar. I ride up and down the campground looking for the strangely missing blue dots. Get brave and ask some campers if they saw any other riders. A number of different campers reported seeing another rider about 20 minutes prior to seeing me (reports of yellow on the front of the jersey). Nobody knows anything on where the trail picks back up. Finally I find a guy who looks like a plumped up lost member of ZZ Top, and ask if he can help. He says "Sure, I have a map over on the table". We head over to the table where he has a map lying under an aluminum baseball bat (strangely, no other sporting equipment of any sort, let alone baseball gear, can be found). He points to the map, and directs me to ride out the enterance, hang a left, ride down the road, and at the top of a big hill there would be a clearing where I could find the trail. I said "have a great weekend", and rode off, out the campground, down the road, right back to where I first emerged from the woods. A bit of looking around revealed tire tracks entering the field directly across the road from where I had originally emerged! Oops. My little diversion into Town Corner campground probably added 45 minutes and 7 miles to my ride.

Town Corner Lake

Along the trail

Town Corner Campground - the site of my diversion

I crossed the Black River, and the trail took me into some lowlands. I rode some boardwalks, walked most, rode some rooted sections, and walked others. After I crossed Tubbs Creek, the trail climbed out of the lowlands. The stretch that followed was a great flowing section through some mature hardwoods with very little undergrowth.

Bridge

Roots and boardwalks

Tubbs Creek boardwalk

Back into the hardwoods

I came out onto a road, which I took to the car at the base of Rattlesnake Hill. Here I rejoined the group, where we had a snack and replenished our water supplies.

At the base of Rattlesnake Hills

Reaction to arm-scratchers

The climb up rattlesnake was hike-a-bike, and a tough hike-a-bike at that. But the view, and sweet downhill that followed, was more than worth it

How we got up Rattlesnake Hill

On top of Rattlesnake Hill

Rattlesnake Hill

After Rattlesnake Hill, the trail flowed through ferns, a field, another moderate hill, a short swamp/root/boardwalk section, and then finally out onto a roadway. We took the roadway back to the state park, entering through the day-use area.
After a shower, we ate, drank, and hung out around the fire.

Cruising back to the campground

HCP Here I Come

A half day of work, and then I leave for the High Country Pathway Fun 50 ride!
Visions of blue dots dance in my head.

Addison Oaks Fall Classic

Today I went back to where my short racing career began, Addison Oaks County Park, for the Addison Oaks Fall Classic. The trail at Addison Oaks has an excellent flow, with no big climbs, and not many spots where you need to scrub your speed. Pretty much the kind of trail that invites you to go at full throttle.

I had debated racing in Expert 30-39, but the other day I found out that Expert/Elite singlespeed would be doing the same number of laps as Expert (not the same number of laps as the Sport guys like in most races). I made a morning decision to race Ex/El Singlespeed (12:30pm as opposed to a 10am start time), and headed up to the venue.

After my warm-up, I made my way over to the start line. There was a good size field today, about 10~12 Expert/Elite guys and a similar number for the Sport/Beginner guys. My teammate Todd was lined up with me, as was Cary Marsh.

On the go, I got a decent start, and settled in about 4th or 5th wheel, just behind Todd. I held on strong until 3/4 of a mile in, when I crashed after striking a pedal. Just as I was getting ready to go again, Craig pointed out that my bottle of HEED was lying on the side of the trail. A near disaster averted, I picked up my bottle and got going again.

Most of lap one was spent in catch-up mode, eventually catching Craig and Todd. Coming through between laps, I reached down to take a swig of HEED. %#@W, the bottle was gone again. Must've rattled out on one of the downhills. Luckily I carry my water in a Camelpack, so I wasn't completely screwed, but 28 miles (21 more) at race-pace with no fuel source could be bad.

The 2nd lap started, I caught back up with Cary, and passed him. He latched on, and despite my best efforts, I couldn't shake him. This would go on for 2 full laps and the beginning of the 4th lap. Early in the 4th lap, I could feel myself pulling on Cary again (like at Stony 2 weeks ago). He would be a little slower catching back up to me. A couple miles into the lap, and I heard a crashing noise. Believing Cary went down, I hammered away. I knew I needed to pull ahead so he couldn't draft me on the 2-track mid-lap.

For the rest of my last lap I played it conservatively, trying not to crash. I caught another rider in my class, passed him, and after a bit of a fight on his part pulled away.

Just over 2 hours after the start, I rode across the finish line broken, battered, and whupped. A short while later the results were posted, and I saw that I finished in 3rd place!

Running with the Big Dogs - Stony Creek XC

After a less than stellar crack at the expert class at the Custer Time Trial a couple of weeks ago, finishing in the bottom of the heap both in my age group and singlespeed, I was due some redemption. And I would find it on my home trail of Stony Creek. The overnight and early morning hours brought a fair amount of rain, but as I was making the drive, blue sky was starting to appear. I pulled into the parking lot, unloaded my bike, watched some muddy riders come through, and registered for the Expert/Elite singlespeed class.

A few minutes were spent hanging out with team members and other riding buddies, and with about 45 minutes to go I started my warm-up. Good and warmed up, I made my way over to the starting line and got staged.

Tailwind (the promoter) has both Expert/Elite and Sport/Beginner singlespeeds start at once, with the Expert/Elite guys staging at the front. I looked around to find about 18 other riders in both singlespeed classes combined.

TWEEEEEET!!!! We were off!!! I had a good start, and found myself in 5th or 6th off the line heading towards the opening climb. Cary Marsh and Joe (Sport/Beginner) were hot on my tail. We climbed, crested the top, and hit the main section of singletrack. I passed Ed Serrat in fairly short order, with Cary and Joe both passing him shortly after.

The first stretch of singletrack went uneventfully, with me taking things conservatively due to the wet conditions. We hit a fast downhill, and then had a mile of 2-track to put the hammer down. Here I put my 65 gear inches to use, but Cary was there to answer spinning away. We headed into the Pines, a flat stretch of singletrack that flows nicely, and except for a stretch in the middle, is blazing fast. Speeds, especially in that middle section, were kept in check due to the slickness. A sport guy who had been in front of us crashed here, and we all went around. After the Pines, we had about a third of a mile of flat 2-track, and then a couple 2-track rollers before hitting the rest of the main singletrack. After we finished the singletrack, there was another ~1 3/4 miles of gently rolling 2-track with one good hill. I tried again to no avail to gap Cary here again.

Through the start/finish area into the opening climb, with Cary and Joe hot on my tail. Joe took the lead of our little group mid-lap, and I jumped on his wheel to catch a bit of a draft. We also caught and passed a rider from Wolverine Cycling Club. Towards the end of lap 2, I re-took the lead of our group, and as we approached the start/finish area, I could feel myself starting to pull away.

On the opening hill of the last lap, I dropped Cary and Joe. Now flying solo, I held a strong pace. In fact I wouldn't see anyone else from my class until the end.
I crossed the line after 1 hour 35 minutes and change. Joe Lee from Fraser Bikes told me that he thought I was in 3rd or 4th. I didn't believe him, but after the results were posted, I saw that I did finish in 3rd! Some great redemption for the Custer TT, and proof that I am capable of running with some big dogs.

Sweet Ruby Mud

Rain + Ruby = Fun Times!!! Made even funner when taken at race-pace. Yes, this past Sunday was the Ruby Campground XC race. Team Sandbag home turf. After watching my teammates Kevin and Todd put forth excellent efforts in the Expert race, I prepped up for my race in Sport/Beginner singlespeed.

After warming up, I headed over to the starting line, and took my position behind the Expert/Elite singlespeed guys. I noted that there were 2 others in my class.
A blast of a whistle, and we were off. I got a mediocre start, with one of the other sport/beginner guys in front of me, and another behind. We hit the opening hill, and one of the expert/elite riders fell, holding me up. The other sport/beginner guy made it through.
Very shortly after, I found my groove in the nicely flowing (imho) front section. I overtook 2nd place about a mile in, and quickly put some space between him and I.

A little over a mile in, the trail snaked through the parking area and ducked behind the "big green barn". Here was a section along the hillside with a very nice flow and some quick ups-and-downs. Just enough to keep your heart rate nice and high for "Lance", the first major climb at Ruby. This climb is always a crap shoot for me, and it wasn't any easier due to the greasy trail conditions. I did a brief hike-a-bike over the steep portion, and then rode along the top to the stepped downhill and the "washout", a mildly puckering armored downhill.
The trail then led me to the "mat hill", a short steep hill armored for a portion with a grid mat. I took this one on foot, since I'm usually successful in riding up it about 40% of the time, and it's quicker to run it anyways. The trail then led me down "outhouse hill", a bench cut downhill, that makes a 90 degree left just before the old outhouse.

Across the river we went, with me holding 2nd position. Through some greasy corners, up and down the section added last year, up "the wall", and then down "Ruby's Remorse", the biggest downhill. Somewhere in this stretch, I made a pass and found myself leading my class.






Lap 1 concluded with me holding the lead. Then disaster struck! I was hammering up "Lance", when just as I was about to crest (while carrying good momentum), I heard a "snap", and my foot violently came away from my bike.






First I though I had accidentally unclipped, but I glanced down and found that my pedal body was seperated from the spindle. Luckily with some quick thinking (to realize my teammate also used the same type of pedals), and some even quicker running by my buddy Scott (to find said teammate), we made a swap. This cost only about 2 minutes plus a run up "Lance".




I got moving, and found my groove again. The remainder of lap 2 proceeded uneventfully for me. Early in lap 3, I caught up with the leader, and overtook him to put myself in the lead. I gradually pulled away from him, and rolled through the finish chute after 1 hour 34 minutes and 48 seconds, to take the win!

Pedal Across Lower Michigan

a.k.a PALM

This is a 6 day bicycle tour across the state, on the last week of June. This year it started in New Buffalo on June 22, and ended in Monroe on June 27.

Saturday
We drove down to Sterling State Park just outside of Monroe. Here we loaded our bikes onto box trucks, and hopped on a bus bound for the other side of the state. A few hours (and a lunch stop) later, and we were in New Buffalo. We went through the registration bit, set up our tents, and headed out for a short ride to the lake to dip our tires in the water.

The last of the bikes get loaded

Dipping the wheel

Brad, Brandy, and Rocky on the shore of Lake Michigan

Sunday
After a nice railroad alarm clock, we set out bound for Dowagiac. The first half of the ride gave us nice weather, until we hit the town of Buchanen. Shortly after, the skys opened up on us for quite some time. Thankfully we had decided to don our raingear prior to this. The rain let up just in time for us to stop at the "fruit stop" at Love Creek park. Here we took a deserved break, and snacked on a few things. We got rolling again, and the rain started back up. We had rain until about a half hour before Dowagiac, and then things started to clear. This was a nice thing, since it meant that we could dry out a bit and weren't setting up camp in the rain.
After setting up camp, we showered (ice cold gang shower for the men), had dinner, and then walked into town.
We stopped in at Zeke's Bar for some drinks to soothe the muscles. If you're ever in Dowagiac and looking for a good beer, Zeke's is the place to go. Something like 25 beers on tap, and about a bazillion other varieties in bottles.

Dinosaur Bones - must've been part whitetail

Three Oaks - the movie Prancer was filmed on location here

Dowagiac Union High School - where we stayed

Brandy and I in downtown Dowagiac

to be continued...