WSI-Team Active Cycling Leads Out 2013 Dig ‘Em Dash

This weekend found me “uncharacteristically available” Saturday morning and actually home for the weekend. That meant I was able to help out at this year’s Dig ‘Em Dash, a 5k run located in downtown Battle Creek. This was the third and final event in the Cereal City Stampede, a series of races in Battle Creek to get people be active and get out in the community. Similar to when the team helps with “bike patrol” for the Oaklawn Hospitality Classic, team members ride the course and help to ensure the runners’ safety by helping at busy intersections with traffic control, watching for injured runners and offering words of encouragement to the racers.

The weather was just about as perfect as it could have been, cool to run and sunny. While I’m not that much of a runner, I know that running in cool temps is a whole lot better than blazing hot weather. While the likelihood of that happening this time of year was minimal, it could have been cold and rainy (like it was the next day), so Mother Nature smiled upon the race organizers for sure.

To help kick things off the Kellogg’s characters all made an appearance (since the event started right in front of their world headquarters, it only made sense). We got some nice “high fives” during our roll-up for the event and it was nice the announcer made several mentions of the team throughout the morning.

Towards the end of the event (there were runners and walkers) a couple of ladies finishing the walk were just about ready to make the final turn to the finish and gave a “woot” to me when I rode by. I get it… It’s not every day you see grown men riding their bikes around in spandex and shaved legs. Much to their surprise, I “wooted” back and turned around to come back and give them their own personal “biker escort” to the finish. I could tell when I turned around on my bike that was not what they were expecting, so of course I had some fun with the situation. Turns out they both worked at the Federal Center in Battle Creek and a bunch of them had come out to do the event. Exactly what the Cereal City Stampede wanted people to do!

While many of the reports you’ll read on this blog involve team members competing for medals, this is one of those events we do just because it’s a good thing. No awards or podium finishes… just supporting the community and being part of the event. I’m sure the weather had a lot to do with the great turnout for the event, but it was great to see so many people up early on a Saturday doing something fitness related.

After the Dash was over we all headed back to Brownstone for some coffee (thanks Dutch and Team Active for treating!) and then I got to continue my day of riding at Fort Custer with Dwight. We did the Red and Green loops and since I’ve not ridden out there much this year, some of the trail was new to me, so I had a blast. Dave and his kids were just finishing up when we came in, so we got to hang out with them a bit before packing up and heading home.

Great event, great weather, great friends and a great way to spend a Saturday…

Wrapping up the Tailwind & MMBA Series - Big M Resurrection & Addison Oaks Fall Classic

Big M Resurrection – August 4th, 2013 – Wellston, MI – Big M Ski Area

I didn't exactly forget to write about my second race at Big M this year; what happened was that the Big M Challenge and the Big M Resurrection were on consecutive weekends, and I didn't feel like turning this into a dedicated "mountain bike racing at Big M" blog.  Anyway, since I've previously detailed what riding at Big M is like, I'll just discuss the race.

In order to win the Tailwind series, I needed to place high at the Big M Resurrection so that my result from Pontiac wouldn't be taken into account.  I had placed 7th at Pontiac, and my next 4 races in the Tailwind series were all podium finishes; since the final standings are determined by your top 5 races, Big M would displace Pontiac if I finished higher than 7th.  So there's that.

Apparently not many people wanted to make the drive up to Manistee for the race, and we only had 6 people in the sport SS class, including Brandon Karbum, Colin Holsinger, and Pam Bufe. Jeff Gilbert was also racing sport SS, although he usually races elite/expert in the MMBA series - USAC requires a license to race elite/expert in the Tailwind series, and Jeff justifiably did not want to pay for a license to race for one day.  I had raced against Jeff a few times before, and was anxious to see how I'd do against him with a bit more experience.

Soon after we hit the trail, it became clear to me that this race was going to be won by either myself or Jeff.  We decided to work together early on in the race, and had outpaced the rest of the field by about mile 3.  About a half-mile from the end of the course, there was a huge sketchy downhill with lots of sand - during the first lap, I (being my usual, tentative self)

carefully descended this section at a snail's pace, burning up my brakes the entire time.  Jeff led during the second lap, and bombed the descent with maniacal (although oddly controlled) abandon, gaining about 20 seconds on me on that section alone.  I caught up with him about a mile into our third lap, and he was fading a bit during the climbs.  Knowing that my only chance to beat him would be to put some distance between us before that final downhill, I passed him with about 4 miles to go and increased my tempo.  I thought I had him about two miles before the finish as I couldn't see/hear him behind me, but apparently I didn't go hard enough, as he caught up to me as the intensity of the climbs faded right before the final descent.  Since I didn't really need the win to clinch the series, and also because I wanted to respect the fact that he was clearly faster on that section, I let him by.  We finished about 18 seconds apart for first and second.

Although there was one race left in the Tailwind series at this point, I had locked down the series win by placing 2nd at Big M.  And since the Tailwind series also counts as the USAC state championship series, I received a state champion medal for the sport/beginner SS category.  I had no expectations about this series at the beginning of the season (since I didn't really plan on competing in it), and I'm extremely happy with the result.



Addison Oaks Fall Classic – September 8th, 2013 – Leonard, MI – Addison Oaks County Park

The 2012 Addison Oaks Fall Classic was my first mountain bike race ever, so I was looking forward to competing there again with a full season of racing under my belt.  On top of that, the points competition in the MMBA series was tight, and I needed to beat Talon Tramper and Byrne Johnson here in order to secure 2nd place in the series.  Furthermore, Addison Oaks is a very fast, hardpacked course, with lots of passing opportunities.  There were numerous factors making this race an exciting one.

I rode the course the night before, relatively close to dark and just after it had rained.  I was running my standard Fort Custer gearing of 38 x 18, which felt good, but I decided to make my gear a bit heavier for race day based on the amount of two-track on the course.  This ended up not being the greatest choice, because I believe I over-estimated the two-track; also, there isn't a ton of climbing on the course, but you do spend the majority of the race on pitchy singletrack, where my larger gear wouldn't help me much.  Anyhow.

Aside from Byrne and Talon, a number of Tailwind series racers showed up including Tim Fargo and Brandon Karbum.  Also present was my friend Mike Tuomi, who had been racing geared this year but set up his SS for this race.  The 2012 Addison race had also been his first race, and he and I had placed 7th and 8th last year, respectively.  His results in geared had been very good this year, so it was great to be racing against him again.

I took the holeshot from the start and led a 6-person paceline of Mike, Tim, Brandon, Talon, and Byrne for about 2 miles.  Now, I'm not sure exactly when this happened, but Byrne crashed during the first lap by hitting a rock on a quick uphill turn that taco'd his front rim, bent both his top and bottom tubes, and tore up his forearms.  Fortunately he was alright aside from some trail rash, but his poor bike... I feel for you, Byrne.  (aside: this would be the first of many crashes on the day)  About 3 or 4 miles into the trail, right after some not particularly technical rock gardens, I went over the bars after hitting who-knows-what with my front wheel.  Honestly, I may not have hit anything.  Ghost rocks, maybe.  Tim and Mike went by me.  I got up and tore after them, burning up quite a bit of energy.  I was bleeding a bit from my knee as well, but it didn't seem too bad.  And my bike was ok, which is the most important thing, right?  I caught and passed them again on the longest section of two-track, and we rode together for most of the first lap.  At one point Tim washed out and fell behind, so Mike and I finished the lap together.  Now, I'm not sure where Talon came from, but he and Mike led the second lap.  My knee was starting to stiffen up from the fall, and I was having a bit of trouble pushing my gear to keep up with them.  About a mile from the end of the second lap, Talon went over a little rock/log feature and completely blew out his front tire.  He went over the bars in front of me and into a small group of trees.  It was a dangerous-looking fall, but fortunately he was ok.  But, like Byrne, his bike was not ok, and he could not finish.  He had been riding really strong too, and it would have been a great battle on the 3rd lap.  As it was, Mike and I finished the second lap, and he put the hammer down hard.  I don't know whether it was my gearing or the fall that had sapped my energy (probably a combination), but I had nothing to keep pace with him.  It ended up being his fastest lap of the day and my slowest, so we finished for first and second; Tim Fargo ended up with 3rd.  Aside from the carnage, it was a great race.  The folks who organize Addison do a great job, and there's free food and beer for the racers afterwards.  And Addison is a beautiful park.



By placing 2nd at Addison, I secured 2nd place in the MMBA CPS, which I'm very happy with.  There's one more race in the series at Pando in a few weeks, and I'll be moving up to expert/elite SS.  6 laps of hill repeats against some of the fastest dudes in the state.  Should be a blast!

Maybury, or rather, yrubyaM

Maybury Time Trial – August 17th, 2013 – Northville, MI – Maybury State Park

The 2013 Maybury Time Trial was the 8th race in the MMBA Championship Points Series, and a race that I had been looking forward to quite a bit.  I had finished 3rd at Yankee and 2nd at State Games, and since only 2 out of 3 of the CPS time trial races count towards your points total, the only way Maybury was going to matter to the standings for me was if I placed higher than 3rd.  There's also the time trial "series within a series" for the CPS (to encourage racers to do all 3), but I wasn't particularly concerned with that.  In short, I wasn't feeling much pressure for this race, and really just wanted to go out hard and have a good time on the trail.  Livening things up a bit was the fact that there were quite a few sport SS riders competing - Eric Wolting wanted to lock down the time trial series in his last race in the sport category (he'd won at both Yankee and State Games); Tony Cressey (who beat me by a lot at Pontiac) was back racing following a broken scapula suffered at Mud, Sweat, & Beers; my Wolverine Sports Club foes Tim Fargo & Fabrice Portes were in attendance; and Talon Tramper had made the trip with his Village Bike crew from GR.  Oh, I should also mention that they had reversed the course, which eliminated any benefit the local riders may have had.

A little about the course - Maybury is 75% tight, technical singletrack with lots of rocks & roots.  Reversed, there's basically no intuitive way to carry momentum, so it required a really active riding style (read: a LOT of work).  For the race, it was roughly a 10-mile loop, with 1.5 miles of grass/gravel/2-track at the start, 6.5 miles of singletrack, and then another mile or so of pavement/2-track/grass at the end.  The race organizers gave everyone a chance to pre-ride the course on the Friday night preceding the race, which I took advantage of.  I'm not sure it really helped me, because there's so much technical stuff that your brain just goes "Roots, roots, roots, rocks, roots, horrible switchback, surprisingly terrible climb (featuring: roots!), roots... bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..." Nothing really sticks.  But it was good to get a decent spin in my legs the night before the race, and it did give me a general idea of what to expect.

The morning of the race I was feeling pretty great.  For the past two weeks, work had been rough with long hours and high stress, and for the first time in a while, I was feeling scrappy.  Unfortunately, this didn't exactly translate to how I felt during the race, but it was a good way to start the day nonetheless.  My beautiful bride Jessica and my brother-in-law Eric were kind enough to accompany me, and we arrived at the park around noon.  I had a 1 p.m. start time, so I got my business together, chatted with Mr. Wolting, and cruised around for a warm-up that was probably too brief.  It was relatively hot out (high 70's), for what's been a very cool August, but otherwise the weather was perfect.  So, on to the race.

I was 5th off the line behind 3 Expert/Elite SS riders and one sport rider (Jonathan Bolenbaugh, I believe?).  I had a clumsy start, missing my pedal and jamming the nose of the saddle into my lower back/upper butt.  Ugh.  On the initial out-and-back grass/2-track, I could tell I wasn't going to feel great during the race - heavy legs, rough breathing, etc., likely due to the heat.  But cycling is suffering, right?  Push through it.  I caught the sport SS rider after about 2 miles in the single track, and he kindly let me pass.  After that, I was basically alone all race.  The expert/elite guys in front of me were clearly extremely quick, and I never saw them.  I did see some of my sport SS competitors on the trail where it doubles back on itself, and towards the end I could tell that Eric was making up distance on me, but I was never passed during the race (which, during a time trial, means you're cooked).  I kept my head about me, made sure I stayed upright on my bike, and tried to find the best lines through the root maze.  There was a climb at the end of the course that everyone had been griping about, as it really catches you off-guard, and I did have to do a bit of a run-up for that.  Otherwise, I felt like I was riding competently, but I didn't feel fast.  Eric caught up to me right at the end of the course, and he crossed the line right behind me.  That meant I definitely did not win, as he had started over a minute behind me, but other than that I had no clue how things were shaking out.  When everything was sorted, it turns out my time of 41:27 was good for second place.  Eric had tied with a geared sport rider for the fastest sport time of the day at 39:59, and Tony Cressey had finished for 3rd at 42:25.  Given how I felt during the race, I was very happy with this result.

[caption id="attachment_736" align="aligncenter" width="235"] You can do whatever you want with your arms when there's no photographer yelling "ARMS UP GENTLEMEN" at you.[/caption]

I'm likely going to be skipping the last Tailwind race at Stony Creek on Aug. 24th, so that leaves just two more MMBA series races at Addison and Pando.  Time to finish this thing strong. - Adam Cefai

Summer Races - LJ 100, Big M and Ore2Shore

As any of us have experienced; work trumps life, life trumps hobbies and, often-times cycling takes a back seat to all of the more ‘important’ things in life.  I am not suggesting that this is the way things should be, in fact, I try to operate in the exact opposite hierarchy- but it happens.  So far this year, training has taken a big hit and it shows up on the weekend races.  My goal this year was to try to crack the top 3 in the Sport Tailwind series (last year I finished 3^rd, but this year, the race organizers pulled out my strongest race-the stage race) and I now currently sit in 6^th after finishing the last race that I can make for the series.

 

Race season is far from over, but I want to catch up with a few notable races.  In mid June, I competed in the Lumber Jack 100.  Or rather, I showed up hoping that I could mentally overcome a huge lack of training (the volume in anticipation for the LJ100 is huge—at least it should have been for me).  Eric Cook and Charles Elder joined me and a buddy of mine (Kayo R.) at my dad’s cabin to prepare for the 100 mile race.  Without belaboring the details, my legs cramped so badly that after 50 miles, I knew my day was over.  I stopped at the remote aid station, hoping to find a short cut back to the start, and they told me that the fastest route was to follow the course.  I completed about 60 miles of the LJ100 and felt that I wasted my entry fee.

 

Early August, I returned to the Big-M to exercise some demons only to find that the demons were laughing at me all three laps of the Tailwind 18 mile race.  I finished DFL in 7^th place for my category.  (Prior to this I finished 3 races in a row one out of the medals-a completely discouraging reality check.)  I had signed up for the Ore2Shore the following weekend, so I stayed in the cabin to work out, stretch, eat well and focus on Life and cycling (I had recently been honored with a promotion to Director at the U in our Tech Transfer office).

 

The next weekend, August 10, was the Ore to Shore Mountain Bike race.  The Ore2Shore was in the beautiful back drop of the Upper Peninsula’s Marquette with a  crystal blue sky and crisp morning.  I love being in the UP and the 9:45 start helped keep it from being too miserable of a morning start.  The start was a bit of a wonky roll-out on pavement with a lot of eager riders trying to get to the front of the race.  I did not witness any crashes, but I saw some really stupid moves.  Some challenging short hills at the beginning of the race helped line us up into 2 threads of bikes and riders heading up the Negaunee country side.  I was feeling okay, but felt like I was losing places even though it was still early.  We then came to a train (yes a train) that was across the race course.  The race piled up as if we were salmon at a dam until the leaders saw that we were only yards away from the front of the train, so we rode quickly to get in front of the train before it started to move again (which it did right after we crossed).  We were bunched up and walking for quite a while until we got into the really steep climbs (one hill called misery hill) which was impossible to ride up due to everyone walking their bikes in the middle of the hill.  In these hills (about 10 miles into the race) there were some short steep down hills with some huge rock outcroppings.  My font wheel found a crevasse in one of these down hill rocks and I end-o’d and hit harder than I have ever hit before—so hard that my vision began to narrow because of the pain on my left side.  (I knew that the best thing for me to do was to just ride and hope that the adrenaline would mask the pain until we were done.)  This worked until a guy stopped in front of me in a huge sand pit 5 miles from the end, I slowly fell to my left side in the soft sand but the pain all returned as a reminder of my age and lack of training.  With a few miles to go, the effervescent Angela Bowers came flying by and made me forget about the pain and think about how lucky I was to be doing this.  I pushed this race as much as I could possibly push, hammering all the way through the last 2 miles of winding pavement to the finish line.  I finished in 3:30, which was 36th of 63 Men age 50 to 54…not bad,  but then the season has been a series of races against myself anyway.

Jack Miner, WSI Team Active Fan and part time racer!

Playing Catch-Up in the MMBA Championship Points Series

Big M Challenge – July 28th, 2013 – Wellston, MI – Big M Ski Area

After skipping both the Sweat Shaker and Boyne races, I found myself in 4th place in the MMBA CPS Sport Singlespeed category.  Eric Wolting has 1st in the series locked down, with 5 first-place finishes on the season including a win at Boyne, which was worth 1.5x the points (due to the drive and the distance of the race).  I skipped Boyne in order to defend my points lead in the Tailwind series, and even though that series has become my priority, I'd still like to finish as high as possible in MMBA.    Skipping those two races really cost me, so it was off to Big M on Sunday to try to make up some ground in another race worth 1.5x the points.



Since Eric has secured 1st in the series, he's moved up to Expert/Elite SS for the rest of the season with the exception of the Maybury Time Trial.  It's unfortunate, because the only races where we've competed head-to-head in an XC race format, each of us had a mechanical (him at Fort Custer and myself at Hanson Hills).  I would have liked another chance to race against him this year, but it looks like I'll have to wait until next year when I plan on moving up.  And we'll both be in the Sport SS class at Maybury, but we likely won't see each other on course due to the time trial format.  Anyhow!  Sidetracked.  Basically, the point of this is that the Sport SS class in the MMBA series has lost its rabbit, and the rest of us need to fight it out for the remaining series podium spots in his absence.  Prior to the race, Byrne Johnson was in 2nd in the series, Bob Kidder was in 3rd, I was in 4th, and Talon Tramper was in 5th.  All of us showed up for Big M.

Some background on Big M: it's a cross-country ski area located in the Manistee National Forest near Wellston, MI.  The Lumberjack 100 is held here, and due to the number of trails, race organizers can really get creative with course layout.  This means that, even for locals, it's going to be difficult to anticipate and/or prepare for the race route.  I hadn't ridden here before, and I really had no idea what to expect.  Based on a conversation I had with Byrne when I arrived, I decided to lighten up my gearing to 38 x 19.  I'd like to thank Byrne for the pre-race information, because if I'd have gone heavier, I don't think my legs would work anymore.  Sport racers were doing 3 x 8.5 mile laps for a total of just under 26 miles, and what turned out to be a TON of climbing.

We started right around 12:30 p.m. with temperatures in the low 60's.  It had rained intermittently all morning, but fortunately stopped for good in time for the sport/beginner races.  The conditions were actually pretty perfect, as the rain had settled some of the sandier sections of the trail.  I was first off the line and into the woods, and I decided to really push the pace for the first few miles to see if I could get some distance on the group.  After about a mile I had outpaced everyone but Talon, and he ended up hanging with me throughout the first lap and for part of the second.  The course included a monster climb about 2 miles in that was over a half-mile long, and I was able to drop Talon after our second time up.  For the remainder of my second lap and all of my third, I just kept a steady pace and tried to stay upright.  I did end up fading a bit from my first lap to my third, as I neglected to eat anything, and the course was not particularly conducive to taking your hands off the bars to drink, so I don't think I even finished the water bottle I had with me.  I definitely need to work on that.  Speaking of the course, it was great - tons of faster sections combined with a few severely punishing climbs and a series of intense downhills toward the end.  My lap times were right around 40 minutes each, and I finished in 1st place in my category and 13th overall in sport with a time of 2:01:44.

 

[caption id="attachment_725" align="aligncenter" width="215"] 2013 Big M Challenge Sport SS podium, minus the actual podium and Byrne Johnson (3rd place)[/caption]

I'll be heading back up to Big M this coming weekend for a Tailwind series event in order to protect my points lead, and then the Maybury Time Trial on August 17th, which I'm very much looking forward to. - Adam Cefai

Silver at the Lumberman Olympic Triathlon in Cadillac - Woot!

After spending all my racing season “on a bike” and doing some mountain bike and cyclocross/dirt road races, this weekend I completed my first of three triathlons for the season. Saturday was the Lumberman Olympic in Cadillac, MI and was the second year competing in this event. As with all 3 Disciplines run events, it was very well organized an early registrants even got a nice sleeveless 3D cycling jersey. It was also pretty cool that one of my college buddies from Alma came up from Hastings to join me. Rob has not been doing triathlons for more than a couple of years (at most) and was coming off the Half Ironman in Muncie, IN just a couple of weeks prior. Even though he said he’d never do another one that distance, like everyone that does a race that distance it takes a while to get over the initial “shock” and decide that it’s something you actually will want to do again. Doing the Olympic was a nice “cool down” for him and after the fact, we both agreed that running 13.1 miles was something neither of us would have wanted to do today.

As with last year, the night before there was a lot of rain in the area, making everyone wonder if the race would even take place. Mother Nature stopped the rain, but about fifteen minutes prior to the start fog rolled in across Lake Cadillac and standing on the shore you couldn’t even see the first marker in the water. Obviously the organizers were not about to let us in the water for safety reasons, so we waited for the fog to lift and started about 45 minutes later.

The temps were in the 60s at start, making the 74 degree water the warmest place on the course. After spending so much time on the bike, it was apparent about 15 minutes into my swim that I better spend a bit more time in the water before my “half” 70.3 mile race in September! I came out of the water in the last half of my group, but was confident that I’d be able to make up some time on the bike.

Transition went quickly and I was off and pedaling for the next 26 miles. It was an out and back route and most of the way to the turnaround it seemed like I was fighting a headwind most of the way. One of my friends, Shirley, passed me on the swim and I saw her leave just before me in transition, so my first goal was to catch her, which I did. However, she hung on (not drafting, of course, because that’s not legal) and stayed within sight of me exchanging “banter” along the way.

I hit the turnaround and was nice to feel the wind at my back for a change. There were a few hills at the mid-point, but I made quick work of them and passed several other riders, especially coming down the back side. With the tailwind I was carrying 27-28 mph on some of the flat sections, which I knew would help me with some extra “time buffer” when I got to the run.

Coming into the transition for the run I was able to quickly rack my bike, switch to my running shoes and toss on my hat before heading out for the last hour (or more) on the course. Typically an Olympic has a 10k for the run, which is 6.2 miles, but we were running around Lake Cadillac and that meant a 7 mile run was ahead. My legs didn’t feel too bad given that I had not done much ride-then-run work this year. I was expecting my legs to feel like I was running in cement shoes, but fortunately that was not the case.

The first three miles were uneventful and some of the faster runners (who I had passed on the bike) were getting their payback and passed me. I kept an eye on their “size” given that I registered for the Clydesdale category (racers 200 lbs. or greater) and fortunately all the runners were “skinny dudes” so I was comfortable that I was in the lead for my division. Right around mile four Shirley came by tailing a fellow Clydesdale. They both were carrying a bit faster pace than me, but I knew if I wanted to keep my position I had better jump on and follow for as long as I could. We ran together for the next mile or so and was at my max for most of the time. I can honestly say that had I not been following them my pace would have been slower, so the motivation was nice.

Just about around mile six I started to catch a second wind and picked up the pace. By now Shirley had gapped us, but I was hanging on and the two “big guys” were clip-clopping along together. When I made my move and tried to build a gap he didn’t have the steam to keep up and I pulled ahead. Then, just about a half mile later another fellow Clyde came around me carrying a pretty good pace and I couldn’t hang on and he ended up finishing just about a minute ahead of me, taking first and leaving me with second and a nice sliver medal to bring home to Alicia.



Looking back at my performance I was pleased overall with my results. Had I raced in my age group (40-45) I would have taken third and overall was in the top 20 males for the Olympic. I was proud that my bike split was the ninth fastest of the entire field, but it’s evident that I’ve got some work to do with my swim, and especially the run. Had I been able to carry a faster pace on the run I easily could have won my division. But in the end I’m just grateful that this “old body” is able to still get out there and complete an event like this in one piece (and still be able to walk the next day).

Next race is in August, where I’ll be headed to Ludington for the Lighthouse Olympic triathlon. That’s always a good weekend since my grandparents live in Pentwater and we make a weekend event out of it. It’s also a great course and I’ll be returning as the “defending Clydesdale champion” (if there is such a title). Then, it’s back to Cedar Point for the Rev3 half in September for my 70.3 of the year (plus, some roller coasters).

Keep the rubber side down...
Eric

P.S. A special thanks to my good friend Donna, who luckily was at her cabin in Cadillac and had an extra race belt for me to use Saturday. She raced the Racine, WI half the weekend prior, so she was not racing this weekend. But that didn't keep her from coming down at at 7 am to meet me. Thanks Donna, you rock!

Brighton Rec Repeat

Brighton Rec Repeat – July 13th, 2013 – Howell, Michigan – Brighton Recreation Area

After the Bloomer Park Daze race, I found out that I was leading the Tailwind Racing series in the Sport SS class.  At the beginning of the race season, I was only planning on participating in the MMBA Championship Points Series, but the scheduling of the Tailwind races made it convenient to compete in that series as well.  The only real scheduling conflict between them was on Saturday, when there were races at Boyne (MMBA) and Brighton.  I was in 2nd in the MMBA series prior to Saturday, and Eric Wolting, who is leading that series, had a pretty big lead.  So instead of trying to gain points in the MMBA CPS, I opted to defend my Tailwind points lead.

Having never ridden Brighton before, I did a bit of quick online recon which showed only about 200 feet of climbing per 6.5 mile race lap.  Based on that, I decided to run 38 x 18, which is what I usually run at the Fort, which has a similar amount of elevation.  At the park I ran into the usual east side crowd, but it was a relatively small field of just 6 participants.  We lined up around 1 p.m. with temperatures in the mid-80's, and hit the course.

I was first off the line and into the woods leading Tim Fargo and Nate Layle.  Tim and I dropped Nate after a mile or so, and after passing a few other riders from other classes, I dropped Tim about 2.5 miles into the first lap.  From this point in the race, I just kept my pace up to try to ensure I wouldn't be caught.  The Expert/Elite SS lap times were around 27-29 minutes, and I wanted to keep mine under 30.  I completed my first lap in just about 29 minutes, and on my way back into the woods, I saw Tim and Nate coming out to finish their first lap - this meant that I had at least a minute on them.  I tried to keep my pace consistent throughout my second and third laps, and apart from a brief moment of panic during my third lap when I thought Tim was close behind me, I managed to do so.  I also made the choice to have a GU pack at the beginning of my third lap to try and prevent the fading I'd been experiencing, which I believe helped quite a bit.  I finished in just over 1:30 for my second win on the season.



 

There are two more races in the Tailwind series, and four more in the MMBA CPS.  My goal is to protect my Tailwind series lead, and to finish in the top 3 in the MMBA series.  I'm going to keep my training intensity high, and possibly add in some running to increase my endurance.  We'll see how it shakes out! - Adam Cefai