Hanson Hills 100 May 24, 2014

   Hanson Hills 100 has been a race that I have been wanting to do for the past few years. Before this race I have never done a century on a bicycle. It has been another thing that I have been wanting to do but for some reason just never got myself to do one. Most people do their first century on a road bike but I like to think of myself as one of the crazy people who go against this and do their first century on a mountain bike.

   Going into this race I knew my training was not targeted toward the longer races. My main focus is the shorter type xc mountain bike races that are typically full sprints. I had two weeks between the race in Brighton, Mi and Hanson Hills 100, so I spent this time riding longer and doing my typical hill work through out the week. Of course 2 weeks isn't enough time to switch the training program to fit for an much longer race but I really didn't care how things went. My main goal was to finish and enjoy the experience.

  This race held a special twist specifically for me because it just happened to fall on my 22nd birthday. My sister and niece came up to Grayling, Mi the night before and we shared a hotel room. Since my parents were not going to get to the race till after I had already done about half of the race, I needed my sister there to help out with the pit station at the end of each 24.5 mile lap.

  The morning of the race was an early start. I woke up about 4:30am to make some breakfast, shower and get stuff back in the cars. Since we had 2 different cars we had to drive to Hanson Hills Rec. area to drop off my sister's car then drive back into town for the start. The weather was pretty cold at the 7am start. Knowing that it was going to get warmer throughout the day I dressed light and put on some arm sleeves and full fingered gloves. As the race took off down through Grayling for the 1.5 mile roll out the pack stayed together at a reasonable pace. Once the group got into the Hanson Hill Rec area it started to spread out. We rode past the finish line to start the first official lap of this 4 lap race. This race included riders doing the 50 mile and 100 mile race. Once getting to the single track the group rode wheel to wheel for about 4 or 5 miles. Riders started to separate as the trail increased in difficulty. I tried holding back and tried to find an easy, relaxed pace. I'm not a fan of riding behind people in single track so I made a few moves on some climbs and got into some clear traffic and started picking people off. I got into a group and then settled into a solid pace. Since the laps consisted of mainly single track it was easy to get into a zone and just ride. I found myself forgetting I was racing and thinking that everyone was out for a trail ride.

   The first lap came and went fairly smooth. I felt great and I thought I was controlling my food and water intake. About half way through lap 2 mother nature decided she was going to get hot. Within a few hours the temperature raised over 15 degrees F. The group I was riding with on the first lap started to fall apart throughout the second lap and I ended up riding solo at mile 40. After lap 2 I started to feel the torture that I was putting my body through. I grabbed a piece of bread and switched out a bottle of Hammer Perpetuem for a bottle of Heed at the end of lap 2 and continued onto lap 3. By this time my parents showed up.

   Lap 3 proved to be my hardest lap. I started getting muscle spasms on the inner part of my upper legs and I started to cramp up a little. The heat was still increasing and after about 60 mile the water in my camelbak was hot. I had to dump it out and get it filled at the aid station part way through the laps. I really struggled on this lap. I tried to stay calm and just kept focus at the job at hand. I knew if I can get into the 4th lap then I could be fine and finish the race.

   Before starting lap 4 I took a quick break while my mom filled my camelbak with ice and water. She also put ice into a bottle of Perpetuem. I grabbed a peanut butter wrap and a few frozen Hammer Gels. Lap 4 was no better than lap 3 as far as pace but I felt slightly better. I stopped at the far aid station for my 4th banana and a few sips of Coke. This aid station was about 15 miles to the finish. The last 15 miles seemed so long.

  I came across the line with a time of 8:55:35 for 100 miles. It was not the goal of sub 8:30:00 I was hoping for but I can't be to upset considering this was my first century. I was happy I finished. As soon as I crossed the line I got off the bike, handed it to my mom and walked over to sit in the shade. My sister ran over and gave me a beer. It wasn't good but the fact that it was cold was all that mattered. I was the only one in Male 29 and Under age group. I hate winning this way but I'll take it.

  Overall this race was fun. I took three items off my bucket list (1.Ride a century, 2. Race Hanson Hills 100, 3. Win a race on my birthday). I learned a lot about these longer races. I still prefer the shorter races and that is where I will keep my focus for now. I'm happy that I can say that I did a century on a mountain bike before doing one on a road bike. I will probably do one again but I don't see one in the near future.

I couldn't do this without the thanks to those who help me
-My sister, She was so supportive and got my everything I needed for this long day
-My parents, They have always been there and they helped so much with everything
-Breakway Bicycles of Muskegon
-Hammer Nutrition
-Crank Brothers
-Jason Luther, thanks for the tips on this race

-The man above, Thanks for keeping me safe and healthy through this new experience

Lake Island Induction May 10, 2014

             The Lake Island Induction was located in Brighton, Mi. This race was a USA Cycling sanctioned event that was part of a race series put on by Tailwind Racing. For most racers there this race was one of the first races of the season and a good way to shake off the winter rust. For me this race was a way to qualify for the USA Cycling Cross Country Mountain Bike Nationals in July. I knew based off of last years results that qualifying would not be that difficult because of the number of racers in the 19-24 Cat 1 class. All I had to do was place in the top 15 in my class at any of the Tailwind races. So I chose to go to their second series race and try and get qualifying out of the way as fast as possible because the travel to this part of the state is a bit much for such little races.

                After Mud Sweat and Beers I traveled back to Oceana County (hometown area) and spent a week riding and getting stuff sorted out for the upcoming races. I spent a few rides at Owasippe testing both mountain bikes and seeing what I liked most and getting some time in the woods since the weather in the Soo has not made the trails rideable yet.  I took the time at home to also relax and catch up on some rest that I had lost during the last month of the semester.

                Thankfully I have awesome parents who support whatever I choose to pursue. So the family and I took off on a Friday afternoon and made the 3 hour drive to Brighton. We stayed in a hotel and just relaxed

                The morning of the race I was not feeling like that energetic. I didn’t sleep very well the night before and was a tad droggy. Got a decent breakfast then packed up the vehicles (including all 3 bikes I brought with me that I put in the hotel room). We made the 20 minute trip to the State Park and started getting in the grove of things. I checked in at sign up and then proceeded on my basic routine of getting things ready.

                This course was a 2 lap race with each lap being about 13.5 miles long. My class was a few waves back. From the looks of the start area there was about 12 or so guys in the class so if I finished I qualified but that’s not how I do things. I wanted to race hard and get a good result. The course had a slight uphill start before making its way into a small roller coaster section that was all two-track but the fast line was only 1 bike wide. Everyone took off sprinting, trying to get into a good position before making its way into the single track.  Since I suck at sprinting I got pushed to the back. The opening miles were lighting fast and the pace through the single track was awesome. Racing with guys that all had skills on a bike and could push hard was so much fun. There was some passing when the single track opened up. I held my zone for most of the first lap. Once we started catching the single speed racers in front of the pack, they stared to slow us down but the single track at this point was tight. After a few miles of following this guy, a rider from behind me yelled at him to move over. Once we got around him the pace picked back up. I was starting to feel the intensity of the pace about 3/4^th through the first lap and made a bad line choice and got passed. I soon feel off the pack and had to take some time to find my second wind. My first lap was about where I wanted it to be so I just tried to hold on to a solid pace and try to regain some speed toward the middle of the second lap. After getting passed by a group of racers from a wave behind me I tried to stay with them and just hooked onto their wheels and found a new pace.  After making some passes and a few hard surges I found myself with a good group of riders and we all worked together to push the wind and make it to the finish. I crossed the line in 1:42:08. The results came in and I was placed 5^th. It was a better result that what I thought but still not fully satisfied.

               

                With it being so early in the season and feeling this strong is a great feeling because I know how much I can gain throughout a season. By this time last year I was just slowly starting to ride outside and now in 2014 I have 3 races done and getting ready for a 4^th race before I had only one done last season.  So now that I was qualified for nationals all I had to do was wait for the results to be posted on the USA Cycling page and for my name to be on the Qualified Riders list. The results and everything else was posted a few days later. So now I’m getting ready for a race that has been on my bucket list for the past few years and once that is out of the way I can put my focus on getting ready for nationals.

Thanks to those who help me with this great sport:

Mom and Dad

Breakaway Bicycles of Muskegon

Hammer Nutrition

Crankbrothers

Spy Optics

Schwalbe Tires

Mud Sweat and Beers May 4, 2014

     This race has been on my to-do list for the past few years. Normally I don't like racing so early in the season because school can get in the way of training but with the direction I'm taking this season, the early races are a must. I love riding a bike but the every day grind of training suck and I am a firm believer of racing into shape. I like testing to see where I stand and evaluate what I need to do from race to race to better my riding.

    After Barry-Roubaix my confidence was pretty low, I just got a Cat 1 USA Cycling license for xc/endurance mountain biking and what I showed at that cold March day in Hastings was not what I am all about. I am a much better rider than what I proved that day and I was so pissed at myself for not putting in the work and so flustered by how much this semester's school work was interfering with my training. Yes, school is more important than racing these silly bicycles but its what I have a passion to do and what I sacrifice so much for. To me racing bicycles isn't just something I do to fill the void of not racing motocross anymore. Cycling, especially mountain biking is what I feel at home doing. I feel like I belong on a mountain bike. It's the best possible cross over from the motocross world.

    The month and a half between Barry-Roubaix was longer that what it actually was. This semester was kicking my butt. I was taking a much larger course load that I have ever had. The classes I was taking took up a lot of my time and my riding felt it. School was not fully at fault for my lack of training. I will take the blame for being lazy at times and not wanting to get on the trainer or rollers. The semester course load really took its toll at the beginning of April. I did a few all nighters just to get projects done. In the past I would have put projects and school aside to make sure I was training but this semester I needed to setup to the plate and get my grades up and survive this grueling semester.

   The week going into Mud Sweat and Beers just happened to be finals week. Unlike most college students, finals week for me was fairly easy. Compared to the two weeks prior, finals week was a chance of me to catch up on sleep and get some minor riding in and get the bikes and everything else ready for the race weekend as well as the week I was going home (downstate) for to train in some warmer weather.

     The night before the race I got my stuff together and left the frigid Soo around noon and took off for Traverse City, Mi. Thankfully I have some helpful friends (Cody and Wes Sovis) that allowed me to stay at their house.

    The morning of the race the weather was a tad chilly. According to the weather radar there was going to be a big rain shower going over TC at 9am (the start of the Elite racers). Once I got to Mt. Holiday I got stuff organized and ready to go for the race. I had about 2 hours to get things around and warm up. I rode around a little bit before I warmed up just to shake the legs out. With about an hour before the race I started my warm up. I rode the first mile or so of the start and the last section of the race that winded down Mt. Holiday. My parents were coming up for the race so When I got done w/ my warm up they showed up.

   9:03 was the start of my wave. I was riding the 18-29 Expert Class. There was 5 of us signed up so I was hoping for a top 3. Knowing that Alex Schultz was there I knew that there was going to be at least one if not more heavy hitters in this class. By time my wave rolled up to the start the rain was coming down. The course was already muddy prior to the start because of the rain that TC was getting all week. As the race started, everyone took off hard like any race I have ever done. I started in the rear of the pack so I quickly made a charge to the middle of the group. Since my training was pretty minimal, I had no clue what my legs were going to do. I got out like I wanted to and just slowly started picking guys off and getting into a good pace. Once the race entered the single track I started making up time and was able to slow down my heart rate. The single track was a tad slippery at first and I was only going to get worse through out the race. I just focused on my race and tried to ride a smart race. This hills on this course were smaller than what I have normally seen at races last year and at Barry-Roubaix. The course was very fast and it was an all out sprint. As the race proceeded the rain got heavier and the course got slippery. You had to be very careful on how you put the power to the pedals. By the end of the race the single track was a mess. If you charged the corners hard enough you could actually feel the bike skate away from you. Thankfully my Schwalbe Rocket Ron's hooked up amazing. The last few miles of the race were very fast. they slightly overlapped the start section. Flying through a sub-division and back into the woods for one last climb before weaving down Mt. Holiday. This finish section is so far my favorite finish section. It was so fast and had a few jumps in it. Since I was racing my Trek Superfly 100 (full suspension), I got to feel how the shock really worked.

  Mud Sweat and Beers 2014 was a successful race for me. It was the first race on the full suspension and it was a great race to test out the legs and see how I stood.  I took third in the 19-29 Expert class. I know I have a ton of work to do yet but for being early in the season I felt not far off of how I finished last season.

I want to thank those who helped me for this race:

Cody and Wes Sovis
Mom and Dad
Hammer Nutrition
Breakaway Bicycles of Muskegon
Crank Brothers
Spy Optics