CX State Championships is Over.

Tuesday night and still no results posted?

Oh well guess I need to wait a bit longer to get confirmation on how slow I was. Can't expect much when all the riding you've done in the past month is Cincy 3, Iceman and CX States recon. Weekend warrior doesn't get the job done. No excuses here just the truth.

Great seeing people show up to cheer and race.  Could always use more but I'll take what I can get.

The Rabbit wins in convincingly.

Cyclocross network takes the rest of the podium and leaves Hoffner 5th.

DC has some trouble in the mud and 'let's' Thompson win?

Saari spoils the Mstrs35+ and leaves Simon to fight it out with Osgood. Damn Monkey still riding shotgun!

Next up is DICX?, ALMA Fun Day then off to Regionals. I love this Shit!

Will The Monkey Show?

Osgood Keeps Rolling!

Congratulations!

1st Place Lower Huron CX

 

 

A Tough 2 Weeks Coming

Michigan Riders Impress, but I'm Not One.

Some Michigan riders are showing others how good we have it, by going out of town and posting some great results.

Danielle Musto travels oversea to the 24 Hour Solo World Championships and takes 4th.

The Cyclocross Network is having a solid start with Adam York, Tom Burke, Alex Morton and Drew Dillman finding high wood at OVCX and Ellison Park

Sven Baumann returns to the states for several weeks and stays true with more podiums.

Don Cameron travels to Ohio. Starts from the back and still makes the podium steps.

Jorden Wakely has a solid race at MMM then travels for some CX in New York at Ellison Park. He bests locals Burke and Weinert, with the win, in the men's 1/2/3 aboard his Borealis Fat bike.

Congratulations guys and girl.  There are others doing there thing in house but it's nice to see the strength of our Michigan riders when they travel.

Nothing much from me.  MMM Gravel Grinder was brutal.  I loaded up on the first KOM and never recovered.  Pedaled the best I could and tried not to lose any spots. Way off the pace. Ouch!

Vet's Park Ann Arbor- Felt good, not great and that wasn't nearly enough.  Got lapped by 4th place Cat1 and a solid half lap from Masters winner.

Body is going backwards. Time to figure it out and make some changes.  Still have time but not much.

P2P this weekend then maybe skip Mad Anthony before Cincy 3 day and Iceman.

Waterford 1 and 2.......Still Working

Having 24 hours to think about the weekend I'm remaining positive and looking forward. I wasn't involved in the selections or made any spectacular moves but I managed to not get lapped and finished both days.

The competition is strong and very competitive. There's a solid group of 5-7 guys who can make a go of it. The season won't get any easier, but my fitness will improve.

Day 2 was definitely worse. Had a better start, but shortly into lap one the HR just didn't want to go up and legs felt heavy. Bpm ave. was down from day one and I couldn't hold the passing 45+ group. Time to recover and get back to it.

Great racing guys and Congratulations to Queen Ann for taking both days in the women's elite.

It's Only the Beginning. ALMA GP of Cyclocross

I'll start with the formality of saying Thank You to JB Hancock, his volunteers and sponsors for getting this race to happen. It takes a lot of work and sacrifice to make the day a success. Yeah the course was 'BUMPY' but we all had to deal with it.  I definitely have some blisters and a soar anus.

Once again I'm racing in the Masters 35+ and the depth of the field keeps growing. This is a great thing and helps elevate the level of competition for our group.  My race was nothing special and I won't give a blow by blow, just a quick summary.

Pre-race rituals went smooth but I wasn't excited about the race. I was try to psych myself up, trying to lift my enthusiasm.  It just wasn't working.  Lined up second row and waited for the whistle.

Going into turn one I'm in my typical dead last, feeling very comfortable and having work to do. The rest of the race is going through all the emotions of pain, suffering, wanting to quit, what am I doing, etc. 2 to go, bell lap and it's over.

Not sure my end result because timing system was down and results took some time being finalized.  Overall I'm happy with the day and my race.  I'm further along then the start of last season and will practice my starts and doing some more specific CX 'training'.  Waterford is in 2 weeks and I only plan on improving.

Congratulations to Shaun Welch on his 3rd place Cat 3 podium.
Congratulations to Brad Lako and John Osgood on the 1st and 2nd in Masters 35+
Congratulations to all the finishers and podium results

Barry Roubaix 2014

This past Saturday was the unofficially start of Michigan's cycling race season, Barry Roubaix in Hastings! This event continues to grow and attract strong competitors from most Midwest states. Taking a look at the start list / results and you can see just how big this event has gotten. Rick, his staff and the community of Hastings do a great job. Thank you for all the hard work and the support of cycling. What about the race?

We all know it's been a long, cold winter and many haven't had the 'off' season they dreamed of, so the question for those looking for wood was 'Have I done enough ?' From yesterday's results I'd say most have managed things well. Some great rides out there. Mine was good, but made some mistakes.

Race morning went well, with no problems. Rolled into town and got suited up in plenty of time. I didn't do much of a warm up and this will come to haunt me later, but I lined up front row and knew a few guys to mark in my wave 6 start. Plan was to ride smart, stay with the leaders up Gun Lake then get on the front and see what I can do.

Race pace starts quick, not fast, and we settle into formation early. Pace picks up on Cook Rd. and the 'lead' group seems to be forming already. We're about to hit the dirt for the first time and no one wants to be gapped off. Right turn onto Yeckly and the race is ON! Pace goes up again and we start to see the first signs of weakness / strengths from those who are still in the mix.  By the time we reach Hubble our group is already into earlier waves and staying together is tough. 'Left, Right, Middle, Hold Your Line, Leaders Coming' we are picking our way through recreational victims of peanut-butter dirt roads. I'm not sure the exact location but the main move in my group came somewhere before Gun Lake Rd.

As I said earlier, not doing a proper warm up will haunt me later. There were 2 sections where water and thick mud created one preferable line. These lines were congested / occupied by earlier waves so we needed to make our own lines. I was 4-5th wheel and would get gapped off in these sections and my body was having trouble fighting back to get on. The leaders were slowly gaining ground. Up Otis Lake I could still see the leaders and was driving hard but I wasn't closing quick enough. Left turn onto Gunn Lake I could still see them and I needed to do all I could to gap back before we crossed Yankee Springs Rd. I stayed on the front and crested the climb but the leaders were gone. I did a fast look back and realized I was dragging 4-5 guys with me. On the shorter climb past Yankee Springs Rd I gave a flick of the elbow and decided to change tactics. My guess was 2-3 guys from my category were up the road and I wasn't the only one here that wanted to bring them back. Luckily I was rite. 3 others decided to work together and keep the pace going. We worked together well and nobody tried to explode the group, just ride hard. About mile 28-30 we were joined by Wave 7 leaders and they helped to motivate us further.  We formed a group of 6-7 and charged to the finish.

Once done with the dirt roads and onto Broadway the group slowed and no one wanted to pull. It stayed like this until the last punchy climb, then the pace jumped and the finish tactics were on. Over the top and a series of left and rights before the downhill finish. It would be another sprint finish for the final piece of wood. Like last year I came up short but still managed a spot on the stage. 5th in category and a top 20 overall. I was hoping for more but I'm not disappointed. I'm not a great tactical racer when it comes to sprint finishes. That comes from experience and I don't have done many of those races.

Congratulations to all we finished the race. Great 62 mile race for the Michigan guys and great to see all the familiar faces. Good luck this season and may you exceed all you set out to do.

3	1973	Brent Portenga	West Michigan Coast Riders, Mountain	Muskegon	MI	1:57:06	18.4
4	1083	Troy Crady	MOX MULTISPORT	Prophetstown	IL	1:57:09	18.4
5	1709	Jarod Makowski	Bele Tire / CXC	Troy	MI	1:57:09	18.4

This Just In.......

CXC Cycling is very excited to announce that we have a new supporter for 2014.

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Thank you Dennis and Katy.