I just realized I never posted this picture of T’s visit to D-Town this past easter, here’s the group enjoying a whole lotta food after working up a substantial appetite after the DIA:

The weather on Saturday was a bit iffy, spotty rain overnight so I wasn’t really in the mood to see what conditions were like on the trails.  Not much time anyway.  So went for a nice 20-mile road ride which was nice since I’ve been trying to work more on endurance anyway.

Today I was heading out Dave’s way so I decided to start out early and hit the Holdridge trail at the Holly Rec area.  First time there and for once the descriptions were accurate – the advanced trail is quite difficult.  I made it about 10 miles before I had to take the shortcut and fly out of there at top speed to make it out to Dave’s in time for some target practice.  My legs were still shot from yesterday so I’m going to reserve judgment on the trail.  But based on my impression today I sort of hated just about every minute spent on that trail – probably the most unenjoyable ride I’ve had.  It just didn’t flow, I like to build momentum and some speed, but every inch of Holdridge is a root covered twist or a turn the flips you into a huge log or rock pile.  The ground is loose making corning a pain.  It’s as if the designers intended it to be a miserable experience.  Good training I suppose for rough and technical trails, but not at all my idea of fun.

Wow, what a day for a mountain bike race! 80 degrees and not a cloud in the sky, perfect conditions – even the wind was minimal. I’ve gotten the first race in the MMBA Championship Points Series under my belt, but plenty more await this season.

I finished at 1:16:22 (10th place out of 16 for my class). That’s pretty much where I expected to come in at, so overall I’m happy with my performance. My pacing was very good and went according to plan. Took it easy off the starting line to let the pre-race jitters and adrenaline wear off. Except for walking up on a few tough climbs, I stayed upright the whole day. The terrain was even rockier and sandier than I remember, no traction at all, making a few climbs virtually impossible at least for me.

Looks like the results have just been posted on the MMBA forum:

CLASS: BEGINNER MEN 30-34

Place Name No. Sponsor Finish
1 Talus Park 646 DEXTER BIKE AND SPOR 1:03:24
2 Glen Ruczynski 600 CYCLE TO FITNESS GRE 1:04:17
3 Joshua Markell 615 1:05:50
4 Brian Kraus 706 VILLAGE BIKE SHOP CA 1:06:16
5 Lawrence Schmidt 704 DIGITRACE LTD 1:07:24
6 Don Delagrange 630 TRAILS-EDGE.COM 1:08:57
7 Bruce Sneller 623 1:10:26
8 Brian Brown 657 PRECISION CONCRETE S 1:11:21
9 Mr. Sensational Z 668 RELUCTANT RACERS 1:13:48
10 Douglas Santos 606 1:16:22
11 Jeremy Chevalier 625 1:26:41
12 Eric Sanko 605 1:33:30
13 Brokeback Kelly 670 RELUCTANT RACERS 1:34:22
14 Jake Pangle 634 1:35:48
15 Todd Wade 616 1:53:34
16 Dump Cooper 669 RELUCTANT RACERS 2:12:38

Much of the park is still underwater, so had to avoid a couple sections, Swamp Thing most notably.  Otherwise things seemed to be in good shape.  The merciless wind made riding the normally fast, flat South Loop a real drag.  Surprised I didn’t see more bikers out, temps are back up in the 50s.  Mostly dog walkers on the trails.  Well, it looks like a good week, sun and higher temps in the forecast.  Yankee Springs a week away so need to get out and ride after work a few days this week.

Game recap

AP Photo:

It’s workday 2 of month-end close, but nothing will keep me from the trails if I can help it. Again, the idiot weather channel says 90% thunderstorms, but do I believe them? Hardly. The radar tells a different story, the large storm cell is moving east and well south of the Brighton-area, I say ride! If I get caught in the rain late in the ride I could care less, so long as the dirt is dry when I start. Work is done, I’m on the highway by 6, and decide to risk the dangerous route up US23 – the gamble pays off! People are clearly scared off by the construction signs and its smooth sailing with only a tiny delay where the lanes narrow. I’m at the trailhead by 7 and rolling. With darkness falling around 8, not enough time for more than 1 good lap (at my pace anyway) so I go as all out as I’m capable of. Felt good in the driest conditions I’ve seen around the lake yet this year. Quite a few others on the trail finishing up as I started, good to see. Aside from one minor biff after making a foolish choice on a fast downhill, the day goes well.  A nice dude following me stopped to see if things were ok, much appreciated.  I also apparently didn’t wash all the dishsoap out of my water bottle which made for a slightly unpleasant surprise about halfway through the ride. No matter, with temps near 70 degrees I won’t dwell on such minor setbacks. Sadly, the insane Michigan weather is threatening both 30 degree weather and snow the rest of the week, so this could be the last good ride for a while.

That’s at MSU for the uninitiated, Sarah texted this cell phone picture from the concert just to rub a little salt in the wound.

Saturday: Deep in the heart of Michigan’s bible belt is 13 miles of outstanding mountain bike trail. Despite the warnings of the weather channel, the conditions were just fine Saturday morning, perfect for a ride through Yankee’s sand-covered hills. Not the best day, I lost my water bottle, and had the chain suck up into the ring. It’s going to be a tough time trial come the 22nd.

Sunday: more threatening weather in the forecast, but decided to chance it and got in a nice ride at Brighton’s Murray Lake. A little damp after some overnight showers, but still very rideable with a bit of care. And the day shaped up even nicer with the sun coming out early in the afternoon.