The weekend started with the inaugural Mud Plunge in Ishpeming. What an awesome event this was for our community. What was expected to bring in 250 or so racers ended up bringing in 700 racers and with spectators over 1000 people. It was an awesome site to see so many people enjoying the outdoors, fitness, and Ishpeming. I really enjoyed watching my wife, Amber, run with my Mom, my sister-in-law, and Barb D. They competed in the all woman division and took 3rd place! As much as I enjoy competing sometimes it is nice to watch others compete. Especially in a fun event like the Mud Plunge. The greatest moment, getting to watch my wife run the course and obstacles with ease. She's in great shape and a great runner and I truly enjoy watching her compete. Here is a video of her in the first water obstacle. She's the 3rd one in the water.
Right after this event it was my turn to compete. I took the short trip to Green Bay for WORS #9, Reforestation Ramble. It is so nice to only have to drive 2 1/2 hours to race.
Before I mention my race report I have to mention how talented this WORS field is becoming. The rising talent in this series is incredible and it's not slowing down. This is beyond your best of the best in Guerra, Matter, Phillips, and Schouten. Racing those guys every race is hard enough. I'm referring to the guys that are trying to get to their level. Typically you may see a a couple guys rising in the sport and making a run for the top but this year we have a handful. Guys like McConnell, Stelljes, Hanes, Koenig, and Neff. We are in the battle for the top 10 every race and occasionally one can and will take a podium spot from the bigger names. With so much competition these races are getting faster just when you think they can't get any faster. All this and I haven't even mentioned the names that are crazy fast and have been for years like Eppen, Peariso, Braun, Stawicki, and Krayer. Man, the list just goes on and on.
The race had a long and fast lead out. I stayed in the top 10 just wating for the legs to warm up. Right before the single track and I made a jump and got in 7th position behind Matter. He smoothly followed the wheels in front as the trail winds back and forth like a crawling snake. Slowly but surely I lost the wheel and when we popped out the first single track the front 7 were gone. A chase group was formed of about 10 guys. My legs starting coming to me and just in time for Shriver to attack the group. We caught on and then I countered just trying to shrink the group. I think our attacks got a few off the back. From there we pretty much created a group that stuck for the rest of the race. About 1/2 way in we picked up Braun from the lead group and then about 3/4 the way in we picked up Eppen. The pace must have been hot for those guys to come back. With them we had a group of 9 or so. Approaching the single track on the 2nd lap, to our surprise we picked up 2 more from the lead group, Guerra and Schouten. This meant that Cole and Matter must have been blazing the trail. We lost a couple but added 2 so we had a group of 9 again. The tempo was high for a lot of the second lap as some tried to break the group in the single track but we were able to bridge with a big effort on the long 2 track. It stayed this way until at about mile 6 in the 3rd lap on the12 mile lap. Hanes put tempo down and than Guerra continued it. They created a small gap and Schouten bridged up leaving the rest of us out. After that happened McConnell and Eppen kept up their hard pace and I was hurting but kept telling myself it's almost over. Eppen put down a huge tempo to boost McConnell off the front and with it myself, Krayer, and Stelljes went with it. We slowed it down for the last single track and coming down the final stretch Krayer jumped for the sprint but hit a spectator riding his bike on the trail. Can't believe that?????? A spectator riding his bike on the trail?? I saw that happen and decided to make my move right after and got a small gap on the other 2 that I was able to keep to the finish. After so many failures at sprints I finally pulled one off and finished 6th overall. 6th is tied for my best finish on the year. I'm extremely pleased with my finish especially following my comments from above. Time in the saddle was 2:18. A longer race for a WORS event but I liked it especially coming off of O2S fitness.
Not sure if I'll go up to Fat Tire yet. First I have to help my dad remove the roof off his house. Then if I have enough energy after that I'll take a trip up there as it sounds like a good bunch will show up.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Monday, August 22, 2011
The Great Deer Chase
I haven't had to many posts with race pictures lately and this one will be no different. My wife is my awesome photographer and she has been so busy with other photo projects we just haven't had the time to pick and choose the ones we want for the blog. So in the mean time I hope you enjoy my amateur shots from the iPhone.
It's rare that I attend or travel to races alone. Typically I'm with my wife or my family and they support me if every race need. This weekend I was on my own but with a short trip to Calumet on tap it wasn't to be much of a problem considering the short drive and no bottle drops required on course. My in-laws and Amber were gone to IA so I even had their house for the weekend.
I was on my way back to Calumet to defend my win from last year. This would be my first time ever wearing the #1 plate and I was excited about the pressure and pride it carried. This meant a lot to me to show up and defend this title. So much so I decided to skip the WORS race and take another hit in the overall standings..
The course was a bit different this year so I really didn't know what to expect. The one thing I could expect is I was going to stick to my game plan. Patience is a hard thing to learn but it can be valuable in many ways in MTB racing. Used correctly it can produce many wins. In order to learn patience you have to practice patience and that was my game plan. It's quite typical of this race every year to roll out with quite a few guys but as you hit the single track it slims down. This year was no different and entering the single track we had about 7-8 guys including Carp, Wakeley, and the eventual winner Tesch. It was also nice to see some young talent in Karinen and local riders in Sarasin and Lash with us. It wasn't long into the single track and the selection of 5 was made. This is also typical of this race as there isn't really a lot of hard terrain to cut the group down. There wasn't much going on during the race as I was content working on my game plan and the others with exception with Carp didn't have much interest in leading. I would take a section and then Carp and it stayed this way until the last 2 miles. I sat 5th one time in the group when I took a wrong turn and Carp had to yell for me to turn around. (Thank you Carp. Much appreciated.)
Side story: 2 years ago in the Ore to Shore I was sitting 5th or so in a group coming down to the last 2 miles and the lead 2 guys took a wrong turn and I corrected them by yelling for them to turn around. They ended up catching back on and both beating me that day. At the end of the race I questioned myself to why I yelled for them to turn around when it was their mistake, it cost me 2 spots. This weekend confirmed why I did that. Because I would want someone to do it for me and Carp did. The mountain bike community and racers are a special group and I have learned it's about the relationships we gain. I will always offer a helping hand in a race if it is the right thing to do because I know my fellow competitors would do the same.
The end came fast in this race and before I knew it the 2 miles to go sign was posted. Wakeley jumped immediately and I was quick to take his wheel and still wait for my turn. Coming out of the last single track and with about 3/4 miles to go I made my move as I had practiced as much patience as one could in this race. I put a small gap on the group and thought I could hold on to what I had gained. It was a snowmobile trail followed by a 1K road to the finish. Just before the road Tesch caught my wheel and did not move. A lot went through my mind at this time on what to do but as I peaked back Wakeley was catching and I wanted nothing to do with 3 men at the finish so I kept the hammer down. With 200M remaining Tesch came around and there was nothing I could do to get it back. No repeat and 2nd overall.
I took a lot from this race and I'm positive that it will give me something to use in my future situations. Patience could have worked here but like I said before you have to learn how to use it and I didn't use it right in the end. Then again, that's racing and you can never predict how a race will play out. It was a lot of fun though.
The next day I did an awesome 3 hours on the Tech trails and ended it with a 5th & Elm coffee break. Back home to shower and pack up but just as I thought I was done Copper was telling me otherwise. If a dog talk could talk, he would have been saying, "Please, please, please, pretty please, I'll never be bad again. Just take me on some single track, please!"
So back out we went for his turn. Then on the way home we decided to end the trip with a spontaneous stop and River Falls. And even though I reinjured my shoulder it was slightly worth it :) What an awesome end to a great weekend.
It's rare that I attend or travel to races alone. Typically I'm with my wife or my family and they support me if every race need. This weekend I was on my own but with a short trip to Calumet on tap it wasn't to be much of a problem considering the short drive and no bottle drops required on course. My in-laws and Amber were gone to IA so I even had their house for the weekend.
I was on my way back to Calumet to defend my win from last year. This would be my first time ever wearing the #1 plate and I was excited about the pressure and pride it carried. This meant a lot to me to show up and defend this title. So much so I decided to skip the WORS race and take another hit in the overall standings..
The course was a bit different this year so I really didn't know what to expect. The one thing I could expect is I was going to stick to my game plan. Patience is a hard thing to learn but it can be valuable in many ways in MTB racing. Used correctly it can produce many wins. In order to learn patience you have to practice patience and that was my game plan. It's quite typical of this race every year to roll out with quite a few guys but as you hit the single track it slims down. This year was no different and entering the single track we had about 7-8 guys including Carp, Wakeley, and the eventual winner Tesch. It was also nice to see some young talent in Karinen and local riders in Sarasin and Lash with us. It wasn't long into the single track and the selection of 5 was made. This is also typical of this race as there isn't really a lot of hard terrain to cut the group down. There wasn't much going on during the race as I was content working on my game plan and the others with exception with Carp didn't have much interest in leading. I would take a section and then Carp and it stayed this way until the last 2 miles. I sat 5th one time in the group when I took a wrong turn and Carp had to yell for me to turn around. (Thank you Carp. Much appreciated.)
Side story: 2 years ago in the Ore to Shore I was sitting 5th or so in a group coming down to the last 2 miles and the lead 2 guys took a wrong turn and I corrected them by yelling for them to turn around. They ended up catching back on and both beating me that day. At the end of the race I questioned myself to why I yelled for them to turn around when it was their mistake, it cost me 2 spots. This weekend confirmed why I did that. Because I would want someone to do it for me and Carp did. The mountain bike community and racers are a special group and I have learned it's about the relationships we gain. I will always offer a helping hand in a race if it is the right thing to do because I know my fellow competitors would do the same.
The end came fast in this race and before I knew it the 2 miles to go sign was posted. Wakeley jumped immediately and I was quick to take his wheel and still wait for my turn. Coming out of the last single track and with about 3/4 miles to go I made my move as I had practiced as much patience as one could in this race. I put a small gap on the group and thought I could hold on to what I had gained. It was a snowmobile trail followed by a 1K road to the finish. Just before the road Tesch caught my wheel and did not move. A lot went through my mind at this time on what to do but as I peaked back Wakeley was catching and I wanted nothing to do with 3 men at the finish so I kept the hammer down. With 200M remaining Tesch came around and there was nothing I could do to get it back. No repeat and 2nd overall.
I took a lot from this race and I'm positive that it will give me something to use in my future situations. Patience could have worked here but like I said before you have to learn how to use it and I didn't use it right in the end. Then again, that's racing and you can never predict how a race will play out. It was a lot of fun though.
The next day I did an awesome 3 hours on the Tech trails and ended it with a 5th & Elm coffee break. Back home to shower and pack up but just as I thought I was done Copper was telling me otherwise. If a dog talk could talk, he would have been saying, "Please, please, please, pretty please, I'll never be bad again. Just take me on some single track, please!"
So back out we went for his turn. Then on the way home we decided to end the trip with a spontaneous stop and River Falls. And even though I reinjured my shoulder it was slightly worth it :) What an awesome end to a great weekend.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Ore to Shore
Waking up on Saturday it was like my shoulder new it was game day and it had no business showing me pain. I'm absolutely amazed at the recovery time of my shoulder. With the amazing help of Dr. Tim Palomaki, in just 10 days my severely separated AC joint was feeling great. With the shoulder off my mind I was prepped for a solid 2011 Ore to Shore.
Coming into this year my goal was a top 10 finish in the Ore to Shore. I knew that would take a great race and hard work as the competition gets better and better at the Ore. If anything though, I know this course as well as the trail designer himself so I was going to use that as an advantage to keep me up front. Approaching Lucy Hill I was in good position as a couple guys pounded the hill with fury. I matched the acceleration and over the top I went with a small group compared to other years. As we rolled through Ishpeming I think everyone was surprised at the small group of only 20-30 guys.
Rolling through the power line the selection was growing even smaller. I was disconnected briefly but caught back on entering the pond and Gold Mind area. The efforts were sporadic through the next few miles up to Deer Lake swamp. The selection of riders was now down to 13 riders. I was feeling good and I knew if I had a good Misery Hill I could stay connected up to the Noque trail. But Misery didn't go very well and I was disconnected. I could see them and knew I had to put my head down and ride hard to catch because I couldn't risk not being with them on the road. If I missed them on the road my day with the group was done. Leaving the Misery section Braun, Anderson, and Simonson were close behind so I sat up and waited for them to catch. Simonson rolled through like a freight train and I had to sprint to catch the caboose. I wasn't sure if we could catch them but these guys were quite confident we would so I contributed to the chase. Sure enough we pulled them in and we were back to being a group of 13 onto the steel bridge. The steel bridge must have turned a switch on for the guys because the punches started flying just after. I knew I had some big efforts left to continue on but I was ready because the legs were feeling good.
The first punch came from Steinberg, then Matter, then Tristan, then Simonson, and then seemed like it repeated itself. The efforts were big but no real space was made as the group of 13 responded quickly to each one. Approaching the dirt road Simonson went to the front and pushed a heavy pace. Then as we entered the trail system Matter continued the pace pushing the speeds down hill. Sitting near the back of a now 12 man group these speeds have a lot of yo-yo and it slowly took it's tole on me. With 13 miles to go, right before the Noque trail, Phillips but down the race hammer. I saw it coming and I saw it go down. There was a fury of response from the field and the yo-yo popped me quickly. The way that attack was going I knew my day with the front group was done. Come to find out, Phillips attack was so brutal it was the move that split the race down to 5 which then went down to 4. I was 1 mile away from seeing the "smack." It was my goal to make it to the "smack down" and I was so close. Now with no one in front of me and no one behind me I was in no man TT land.
It was time to deal with my demons, riding alone. This year I have really challenged myself to ride my best pace possible when alone. It's so easy to relax when your not being pushed by other riders. I didn't know how close the chasers were but I knew if I could make it to mile 10 and then ride my best pace I could hold on. I rode a great last 10 miles and rolled in solo, 11th place. Just outside of my goal but considering the competition ahead of me I was and am very pleased. It was actually quite an experience to ride down the finishing mile alone and have a chance to absorb the crowd and moment.
The support this year was amazing. The spectators go crazy for the front group as we roll through each viewing area. Add a local boy to the front and the love gets even stronger. Every viewing area and aid station I had people pick me out and yell my name. Add that to my extremely supportive family and I felt like the race course was lined with only my fans. It's hard to tell people how much support means while suffering on a bike. Hearing a clap, a cheer, and your name allows us to find energy you didn't think you have. When I was done I felt the love from everyone and I'm so appreciative of that. It makes me want to win this someday just for you guys.
Thank you to everyone that took the time to cheer, say hello, and talk to me before and after the race. I enjoy seeing and speaking with everyone of you. Thank you to my family for extracting every ounce of energy I have through your cheers. My wife, my parents, my brothers, my sister in laws, my nephews, my niece, my Grandma Barb, my Aunt and Uncles (Bernie, Lowell, Sherri, Rich), my cousins (Tammy, Tina, Aaron, Marissa, Vanessa) and their kids - THANK YOU!
Support: Jared Koski - bottle drops, Tim Palomaki - bottle drops, Quick Stop Bike - bike support, Fuel The Burn - coaching
Sponsors - Culvers, Meyer Family Vision, St. Onge Insurance, I-Build Construction, Palomaki Family Chiropractic, Quick Stop Bike, and A. Lindberg & Sons,
Coming into this year my goal was a top 10 finish in the Ore to Shore. I knew that would take a great race and hard work as the competition gets better and better at the Ore. If anything though, I know this course as well as the trail designer himself so I was going to use that as an advantage to keep me up front. Approaching Lucy Hill I was in good position as a couple guys pounded the hill with fury. I matched the acceleration and over the top I went with a small group compared to other years. As we rolled through Ishpeming I think everyone was surprised at the small group of only 20-30 guys.
Rolling through the power line the selection was growing even smaller. I was disconnected briefly but caught back on entering the pond and Gold Mind area. The efforts were sporadic through the next few miles up to Deer Lake swamp. The selection of riders was now down to 13 riders. I was feeling good and I knew if I had a good Misery Hill I could stay connected up to the Noque trail. But Misery didn't go very well and I was disconnected. I could see them and knew I had to put my head down and ride hard to catch because I couldn't risk not being with them on the road. If I missed them on the road my day with the group was done. Leaving the Misery section Braun, Anderson, and Simonson were close behind so I sat up and waited for them to catch. Simonson rolled through like a freight train and I had to sprint to catch the caboose. I wasn't sure if we could catch them but these guys were quite confident we would so I contributed to the chase. Sure enough we pulled them in and we were back to being a group of 13 onto the steel bridge. The steel bridge must have turned a switch on for the guys because the punches started flying just after. I knew I had some big efforts left to continue on but I was ready because the legs were feeling good.
The first punch came from Steinberg, then Matter, then Tristan, then Simonson, and then seemed like it repeated itself. The efforts were big but no real space was made as the group of 13 responded quickly to each one. Approaching the dirt road Simonson went to the front and pushed a heavy pace. Then as we entered the trail system Matter continued the pace pushing the speeds down hill. Sitting near the back of a now 12 man group these speeds have a lot of yo-yo and it slowly took it's tole on me. With 13 miles to go, right before the Noque trail, Phillips but down the race hammer. I saw it coming and I saw it go down. There was a fury of response from the field and the yo-yo popped me quickly. The way that attack was going I knew my day with the front group was done. Come to find out, Phillips attack was so brutal it was the move that split the race down to 5 which then went down to 4. I was 1 mile away from seeing the "smack." It was my goal to make it to the "smack down" and I was so close. Now with no one in front of me and no one behind me I was in no man TT land.
It was time to deal with my demons, riding alone. This year I have really challenged myself to ride my best pace possible when alone. It's so easy to relax when your not being pushed by other riders. I didn't know how close the chasers were but I knew if I could make it to mile 10 and then ride my best pace I could hold on. I rode a great last 10 miles and rolled in solo, 11th place. Just outside of my goal but considering the competition ahead of me I was and am very pleased. It was actually quite an experience to ride down the finishing mile alone and have a chance to absorb the crowd and moment.
The support this year was amazing. The spectators go crazy for the front group as we roll through each viewing area. Add a local boy to the front and the love gets even stronger. Every viewing area and aid station I had people pick me out and yell my name. Add that to my extremely supportive family and I felt like the race course was lined with only my fans. It's hard to tell people how much support means while suffering on a bike. Hearing a clap, a cheer, and your name allows us to find energy you didn't think you have. When I was done I felt the love from everyone and I'm so appreciative of that. It makes me want to win this someday just for you guys.
Thank you to everyone that took the time to cheer, say hello, and talk to me before and after the race. I enjoy seeing and speaking with everyone of you. Thank you to my family for extracting every ounce of energy I have through your cheers. My wife, my parents, my brothers, my sister in laws, my nephews, my niece, my Grandma Barb, my Aunt and Uncles (Bernie, Lowell, Sherri, Rich), my cousins (Tammy, Tina, Aaron, Marissa, Vanessa) and their kids - THANK YOU!
Support: Jared Koski - bottle drops, Tim Palomaki - bottle drops, Quick Stop Bike - bike support, Fuel The Burn - coaching
Sponsors - Culvers, Meyer Family Vision, St. Onge Insurance, I-Build Construction, Palomaki Family Chiropractic, Quick Stop Bike, and A. Lindberg & Sons,
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Creeping Closer
The Ore 2 Shore is creeping close and the countdown to blast off is quickly approaching. I ran across a article about the Ore to Shore and found a mention of my name. A huge thank you to mtbracenews.com for the recognition. Now all I have to do is back their words up! 3 days.
On a side note Nathan G. is joining me and my family today. He will be staying with my parents prior to the Ore 2 Shore and through the weekend. We will be doing some recon the rest of the week and I'm looking to forward to riding with a friend and awesome competitor. Also hoping to catch up with the Adventure 212 crew as they start to roll in.
On a side note Nathan G. is joining me and my family today. He will be staying with my parents prior to the Ore 2 Shore and through the weekend. We will be doing some recon the rest of the week and I'm looking to forward to riding with a friend and awesome competitor. Also hoping to catch up with the Adventure 212 crew as they start to roll in.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Injury Report
This is definitely a first. The first time I have had to write two injury reports in 1 year. I think I have said this in my past injury report but I have been very fortunate as an athlete not to sustain major injury. In the 3 years of being a competitive mountain biker this is the first year I have had to deal with injury. In that perspective I'm pretty fortunate.
Now for the unfortunate, I have dislocated my right shoulder. More unfortunate, it comes 10 days before my biggest race of the year. This past Tuesday I was doing some of my last intense intervals for my Ore 2 Shore preparation. I had recruited Jared Koski to drive my scooter for a moto-pace session. I got my warm up in and then completed my first 30 min interval. All was going very well and by the end of the first interval we had developed a rhythm to where I was catching the draft perfectly and still keeping a safe distance from the bike. He had also successfully routed me around and warned me of any hazards on the road. The start of the 2nd interval had started as perfect as the 1st had finished until..........bam.......pop! I was on the ground faster than I could even comprehend what was going on. I laid on the shoulder of US 41 stunned but not terribly out of it. My first reaction was to look for my bike which was laying in the middle of the highway. I stood up, looked for cars, and removed it from the road. After that everything started to hit me. The realization I was just in a huge crash, my front wheel was destroyed, and my shoulder was in a lot of pain Jared came to a fast stop and was at my side immediately. I saw the panic in his face as if he thought it was his fault, but it had nothing to do with the driver. I gathered myself and started to analyze the crash scene. The culprit, a small egg sized river rock that my front wheel to hop over it proceeded by folding it in 1/4. The bent wheel sent me straight to the ground on my right shoulder scraping my head along the way. My bike was then catapulted into the air landing in the highway. My computer shows us going 27.7 mph hour at the time of the crash.
About 5 minutes went by and Jared and I started to make phone calls. That is when my sponsor and friend Ron Meyer pulled a u-turn and was quick to my rescue. Into the truck and on the way to Dr. Palomaki's office. It was crazy to think of the timing of Ron coming by. It was near perfect and saved me a lot of time waiting for Amber to come who was on her way but 30 minutes out. The faster I could get my shoulder back in the better and that saved me a lot of time. To get me there we had made a sling out of my spare tube. During the drive home I had noticed that my helmet shell was cracked all the way through. Wow, if that is not a testimony to wear your helmet. I remember hitting my head on the pavement but I didn't feel it was that bad. Well, it was bad enough to crack my helmet in 2. WEAR YOUR HELMETS!
The damage to my shoulder is pretty bad compared to my last dislocation 8 weeks or so ago. I have a lot more muscle and tendon pain this time around. My movement is very small and pain is more regular. The positive thing is it has been 36 hours and I already feel small progress. Dr. Palomaki from Palomaki Family Chiropractic has me on a very intensive repair plan and I'm optimistic that with his treatments I'll recover faster than normal. As for being ready for my most important race of the year? Well, I'll do my best and you can guarantee I will be riding in it. I know I will not be 100% but only time will tell how well my shoulder can handle 48 miles mountain biking. If the race this weekend I would not be riding as I have no control over my front deltoid. Sadly, this is why I'm choosing to skip WORS #7 this weekend.
Wish me a speedy recovery.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)