A Reason to AZ

The biggest difference in my season last year was adding 2 base periods to my training. Before hiring a coach I knew nothing of the base period and had a hard time understanding the big hours for short races. After the completion of 2 base periods I saw a dramatic improvement in my fitness and ability to finish races which lasted throughout the year. The year before I had start power but could never finish without a cramp or decline in power. This past year I had my same start power and made it much further into races. With so much success with base the plan was to build on last years program. After looking back on the training log, even though an improvement, last year's hours were sporadic and I still achieved the purpose. "The Plan" is my reason for 26 days in AZ this year. To build on my program from last year and not allow anything to get in the way of achieving it. Sure it can be done from home but 20 hour weeks with 40 hour work weeks and unpredictable weather is, well...unpredictable. I have the fabulous support of my employer, sponsors, and family to do 3 weeks in AZ so why not give it a go. I'm on my way home now and the trip was a success. The brief stats are 70+ hours, >1,000 miles, >70,000 vertical feet, and all via the MTB. All the data is everything I was looking for and adds up to my largest month on recorded and I still have one week to add to make it a complete 4 weeks.

The training started in Phoenix where I became very familiar with the Trail 100 and the canal. In addition, in the Phoenix area I did McDowell Mtn and South Mtn both with Danny Hill. I also rode plenty of the pavement with the knobbies left on. The tread on my Bontrager 29.3 can prove that. On the other hand my Maxxis Ikon shows little wear. Maxxis has always been my tire of choice and this is good validation. By the end of my trip I would have made a darn good GPS. From Phoenix I headed North to Black Canyon City where I rode the most continuous single track trail I've ever ridden. It's a 25 mile out and back trail, all single track and all up and down the mountains. I joined Chris Peariso and Ryan Krayer for the ride. Chris killed the first half of the out and Ryan used all his gas on the second half. That left me with no gas for the 25 mile return. They dragged me a long which ended up being one of the best single track rides I've been a part of. From Black Canyon I went back South for a few days until I returned North to Prescott. I waited to go to Prescott until the 20 inches of snow they received cleared. I was hosted by the friendliest team on the circuit, Adventure 212 and the Peariso's. They had a condo at the base of all the trails in Prescott. These trails were fairly similar to Black Canyon as they are a lot of single track along the mountains. Chris and I smashed a 4 1/2 hour day with 7,700 feet of climbing in 43 miles. That hit us hard enough where we both were zombies on the next day's ride. We could not resist the trails though and still managed 3:20 with 6,000 feet in 33 miles. Even if it included a 30 min nap and complain session on the sturdiest picnic table known to man. After rides of those magnitudes all that consumes the mind is food. We had our fair share and be even got questioned twice in the same day by 2 different severs if we knew how much food we were ordering. Our response with a smile, "We know. We are hungry." The Pearsios bolted town and I stayed for a morning ride via the winding roads from Prescott Valley to Jerome. I may have just become the most beautiful ride I've done. The roads are smooth and winding up one side and down the red rock faced hills of the other, all leading to the Ghost Mining town of Jerome. I found a fabulous place for Espresso and back to Prescott Valley. Thank you Trish Riutta for that suggestion. My 2nd to last ride I mounted the Shwalbe Marathons and did the BOS Road group ride. A fast group ride in Scottsdale. I received quite a few comments about rolling up on a MTB bike but the chattering stopped when I made the break to the first rendezvous point. I quickly became known for 3 things. The guy from the same town of the fastest man in the Valley, Eric Marcotte, the MTB who survived the group, and the guy who made everyone hungry by my Butter Burger kit. The ride consists of two attack points. I made the first but could not make the 2nd. A good and fast ride. A good way to end the camp. A side note: I didn't like how the group thought they owned the road. The group consistently blew stop signs, rode 3-4 wide, and cut in front of cars. With moves like that I can understand the impatience of drivers. Im a believer we deserve the road just as much as motorist but because we are a group of 30 doesn't mean we own it. I hope they work on that problem. 

My iPad will not allow me to upload pictures so come back in a few days where I will have plenty to share. In the mean time it is an off day for travel and then back to work and then finishing off the final 2 weeks of base back home. With the bulk of this period in I hope I can grudge through the spring weather and call 2012 base a success.

Western Style Update - 1st Half

2 1/2 weeks ago I left the snow covered UP to concentrate on training and throw in a race out west. Leaving a job behind you figure that you will have a lot of time to do the little thingS like relax, vacation, and update social media. Wrong on all 3 accounts. I have been more busy on my trip out West than if I were to stay at home and train. The obvious benefit is the warm weather. With exception to a 3-4 day spand where Ishpeming had heigher temps that Phoenix AZ. Can you believe that? I could not either. Our weather was nice but it made it tough to stomach being 2100 miles away to ride a bike when the Ishpeming weather was more than worthy of bike riding. Anyhow, back to being busy.

It startled with a stop in San Dimas, CA for the 2nd stop of the ProXCT. Race prep and living out of a bike box make racing awful stressful. Once we figured it out we were geared and ready for racing. I had great support in my coach, Danny Kaukola. Saturday was the XC. I pre rode the course Friday and found it tough to get comfortable in the single track. The snow bike does not translate well to the fast dirt. I climbed well but never figured out the fast descents. The course was constantly up and down through a park hill. I started 38th and my goal was to move up a few but mostly to make the cut and finish the race. In the 6 lap race the first 2 went very well. I went over my limit a bit but climbed extremely well and felt fine. On lap 3 the fatigue set in and my descendinworst bad to the point of a crash. At the time I was riding about 28th. By th time I remounted it had dropped me back down into the high 30's. I continued to climb well but I scratched the brakes way to much to continue to put out respectable laps. After the completion of lap 4 I was pulled. I fell outside of the 20%. I was riding solo at the time chasing 3 riders. The 3 riders finished the race. I was 20 sec off from being pulled. Down but not out. Sunday was the short rack. I got a 3rd row call up and my goal was once again to make up a few spots but mostly finish the race. The track was fast with 2 inclines that did damage. The course stung us out into a long line which made the back yo yo affect unmanageable. I busted off the front group and then the 2nd group until I was solo. 15 min into the 20 min race I was pulled. This time I was so close to the rider that was allowed thru I should of grabbed his pocket. I even yelled at the judge to let me thru in a cry for mercy. He didn't allow. I was the last pulled and 5 sec from the cut. I was so upset at myself I finished the race on the nearby hill and then proceeded to rip out 2 hot laps on the XC course. The bad news, I was pulled. The good new is my legs and comfort level on the MTB were better than the day before. More good news, my 2 hot laps were 1 min faster than my fastest lap from the days before XC race. My race goals for my first ever ProXCT Pro race were not achieved but I marked that in the book as a good learning experience. I had to get the first race in at some point and I was happy to have it under my belt. That was the start of my journey.

Packed Car for All Night Drive

After the race I decided to rent a car and drive 6 hours straight through the night to the Grand Canyon. Wow, was I glad I did. I drove through CA and AZ in 6 hours, slept for 2 hours at a truck stop, and made it to the Canyons in time to watch the sunrise. I rode my bike along the rim to Hermits point and back. One of the most gorgeous rides I've been on. The Canyon is so large words don't describe the views. At times the eyes cannot comprehend the lines.

I departed that night and made it to Phoenix for my 3 week solo training camp. Im 2 weeks in now and have had some great riding. I will update more on my training in a later post. For now I'll keep this shorter and label the "Western Style Update - 1st Half"

My very 1st view of the Canyon

Furthest point of the Canyon. Accessible by bike and bus only.

So It Begins

In less than 24 hours I'll be departing Marquette for Sand Dimas, CA the 2nd stop of the ProXCT series.  I'm following that up with a drive over to AZ for a solo style training camp.  I am extremely excited to strap the shoes and helmet on again and dive straight into race efforts.  The need for pain is built into an athlete.  We need constant reminders of why we put the time in we do and in the weirdest way the pain is a reminder.  Especially after a period of diesel style base training.

I have a lot planned for the next month.  The opening of the 2012 race season, meeting up with my coach, a Retul bike fit, a stop at the Grand Canyon on the way to AZ, a family wedding in AZ, training camp in AZ, riding with fellow Yoopers in the AZ sun, start of base 2, trail riding in Prescott with the Peariso's, Mt. Baldy and Mt. Lemmon, and getting to know my MTB again.  There is probably a lot more to be included but that is a great start.

Stay tuned the next couple of weeks as I update frequently of how the racing and training is going on the West Coast.  Thank you to my sponsors for making this possible and especially one of my biggest supporters, my employer - St. Onge Insurance my family owned business.    

Early Start - Dedicating - Season Notes

An Early Start
An early start in the far North of the Upper Peninsula is not the easiest of tasks.  I thought starting training in March last year was tough when I was riding the roads in 30 degree weather showing up back at my house plastered in salt.  Now I'm doing rides on snow covered snowmobile trails in 20 degree weather showing up back at my house covered in snow.  Thank God for the invention of the Snow Bike.  The Snow Bike has allowed me to take a different approach to this 2012 Mountain Bike season.  I find in this sport you are always trying to tweak something whether its your fitness, the bike, the workouts, the races, or even sponsors.  I find that change is a good thing in this sport because usually change means you are working towards a more positive result.

In past years I have started base in March and finish a few weeks after WORS #1 Iola.  This year I have moved the dates up 4 weeks.  I did this because I'm approaching the season different because of my declining results in mid summer.  The coach (Danny Kaukola - Fuel the Burn) and I are going to try and prevent this from happening again.  We will see by mid summer and especially fall time how the 4 week earlier start effects the body and mind.

Dedicating
As most of my followers know one of my biggest supporters and sponsors is Meyer Family Vision from right here in my home town of Ishpeming, MI .  A couple years back Ryan and Ron Meyer approached me to support my efforts at becoming an elite Mountain Biker.  This was very special to me and will forever hold a my gratitude because not many riders get to experience sponsors reaching out to them.  I've known the Meyer brothers for a long time.  Along with them being family and personal friends we have grown up as brothers in Christ.  This relationship brings another level to the sponsorship.  Its not only a sponsorship it is a partnership and best yet a friendship.

In the past year Ryan Meyer has experienced some illness that has brought on the need for major medical attention.  Just recently he went through a liver transplant.  His body was rapidly declining as his liver was losing all function.  This was a serious matter and a life threatening one.  Through the power and miracle of Christ, the loving effort of his brother Ron, and the steady hands of the surgeons he was blessed with a new liver from none other than his own blood brother, Ron.  After the transplant his medical condition seemed to worsen as the body adjusted to the liver.  It wasn't until just recently that he was released from medical attention and back home to continue life and recovery.

This year I will be dedicating all season to my friend Ryan Meyer.  He will be my motivation to train, race, and win.  He has battled life and is on his way to a strong recovery.  His struggle and pain throughout this process are an infinite amount more than I will ever experience from the temporary pain of a training ride or a race.  Ryan....this season is for you.

Season Notes
I was scheduled to take off for a training camp in Arizona on March 13th where I will be meeting up with family for a week, Danny Hill for a week, and then the Peariso's for another..  I am moving that date up a week to attend the 2nd stop of the ProXCT - ProXCT Bonelli.  My goal since turning Pro has been to travel and attend the ProXCT series as it is the premier Pro series in the nation.  The struggle with that is the series starts extremely early in the year and does not appeal to a Northern Snow Bird.  But because of the early start I figured I wold give stop #2 a run.  Plus, I need to get out of this place.  We just got hit with almost a foot of snow!  I expect guys to be extremely fast as they battle in an Olympic year and prepare for the first World Cup the week after.    

Culvers Racing 2012 Kit Design

We have officially released our look for 2012.  We have made some small changes to the kit from the past 2 years.  We went with a look that we feel is much more smooth and clean while still representing the sponsors respectively.  Look for your athletes supporting the new look soon.

Front and Back Jersey and Jackets

Bibs

Wind Vest and  Sleeveless

Noque Snowbike XC World Championships

The Noquemanon pulled off adding a great addition to the Noque weekend.  This year was the inaugural year of adding Snowbike or Fat Bike racing to the slue of activities.  They even went as far as self proclaiming it the World Championships of Snowbiking being no other race in the country has yet.  Even though it is self proclaimed I believe it will take off in time being the location of the event and the popularity of fat bikes in our region.

Picture is used fromm MQTphoto.com.  He reserves all rights.  

I did not have plans on attending this years race because of where it aligned with my bike specific training.  After I wiped the tears from my eyes and stopped whining I had a discussion with my coach and we both decided it would be good for many reasons.  All said and done, I'm so happy I competed and I'm already looking forward to next years events.  The inaugural event had 70+ participants!  That can only mean a bigger field for next year considering the growing popularity of Fat Bikes.    

Marquette received 4-6 inches of fresh snow the night before and unknown to the racers at the time the race committee decided to not groom the 1st half of the course.  This made for a long and hard day for most and changed the tactics of the front of the race.  I did not get a good start at all.  The course turn was unexpected and so was the depth of the snow.  I got caught in a rut and tangled in some handlebars. (My own teammates Glen Lerlies.  I am so sorry Glen. Thank you for the quick release.)  This allowed 2 riders, Tyler J. and Kyle S., to grap a sizable lead up the trail as seen in the pic. I'm the small blue jersey on the hill.

Picture is used from MQTphoto.com.  He reserves all rights.

It took me 2k of battling tracks to pull in Kyle S who was riding well.  Then when I caught him it was a difficult pass.  For the next 2k I was following Tyler J's. tracks until I finally realized that plowing my own down the center was a better option.  Especially with the increased width of the Moonlander rim and tire setup.  Once I found my traction I slipped into a nice cadence and tempo and pulled Tyler back at the 4k mark.  I was feeling good after finding my own path and decided to keep going after I caught him.  I didn't know if he had followed or not but I wasn't going to look back and didn't for another couple of K.  When I finally peeked back I noticed I had created a gap.

At this point we had entered the adventure loop where the steep climbs come one after another.  I opted for higher tire pressure for the latter of the race but it caused me to dismount quite early on each steep accent in the first 15k.  I ran every hill and the quads screamed at me for it but I found even though it hurt more it was much quicker to run the hills.  The higher tire pressure did not seem to interrupt the flow on the flats, downhills, or slight rises.  Approaching Forestville (15k) the hills subside which allowed me to find a good rhythm.

I took this rhythm right onto the hard packed Noque trail which was leading us all the way to the finish line at the dome.  After plowing through 6 inches of powder the corduroy packed trail felt like a highway.  The speeds were so high in comparison that putting your head down and riding with pain was forgotten in the fun.  I finished in 1:13 minutes which took the finish line a bit off guard considering the conditions on the first 15k.

I am extremely happy and pleased with the win.  It is so much fun to win a race in your back yard and in better yet in front of you family.  This shot taken at the end of the race makes every effort worth it.  I had an incredible amount of support out there for an early and cold race.  Thank you to all my family and the Neimi's. The best part of winning an inaugural race?  You hold the course record too!

Sharing the podium with the Woman's overall - Daniell Musto

2012 Culvers Racing p/b Meyer Family Vision Team Announcement

It seems every year we have a change to announce with the team and every year it is a good thing.  Last year, as you all know by now, it was adding our sponsor Meyer Family Vision.  This year we are proud to announce that all sponsors will be returning and we have added another.  But our big news for 2012, adding a Junior team to the Culvers Racing Family.  This has been a goal of the teams since its first year in 2010.  We believe that the youth is the future of the sport and it is important for us to invest into our talented youth giving them the platform to succeed in sport and continue a positive lifestyle.

Culvers Restaurant of Marquette and Escanaba will continue to support our team and once again will be our headline.  Meyer Family Vision of Ishpeming will be our co-headline making another year of Culvers Racing p/b Meyer Family Vision.  Supporting sponsor Quick Stop Bike Shop will be our official bike shop and mechanics. Quick Stop continues to make sure we are on the best equipment and that they run smooth week in and week out.  This year Quick Stop and our Pro team will be working with Trek as the official bike of the Pro Culvers Racing Team.  Watch for Tyler to be on both the Trek Superfly and Trek Superfly 100.  We will also be continuing our great relationship with these great supporters and a new one in Pure Sport.  Donna Marlor has joined the support in helping our Pro team receive the proper race and training nutrition with Pure Sport product.

• St. Onge Insurance
• I-Build Construction
• Palomaki Family Chiropractic
• A. Lindberg & Sons
• Pure Sport - Donna Marlor Nutrition

2012 Roster

Pro

  - Tyler Gauthier

Local Male

  - Danny Hill

  - Glen Lerlie

  - Ron Williams

  - Eric Ollis

Local Female

  - Cooper Dendel

Junior

  - Collin Kytta

  - Cody McGrath

2012 Local Schedule

• Keweenaw Chain Drive
• Ore to Shore
• The Great Deer Chase
• Keweenaw Fat Tire
• Tour Da Woods
• Marquette Bike Jam

2012 Pro Schedule

• Fontana City National, CA
• Cable Classic
• Rasta Ralley
• Wisconsin Off Road Series - 12 Race Series (10 Planned)
• Keweenaw Chain Drive
• ProXCT - Ute Valley Pro, CO
• ProXCT - Missoula XC, MT
• Ore to Shore
• ProXCT Subaru Cup, WI
• Great Deer Chase
• Copper Harbor Fat Tire
• Iceman Cometh 
• UPCross Series

Tune in next week for the release of our 2012 kits.  Culvers Racing will be racing in a new look this year!