Moronacity Cycling Journal » Mountain Biking
Official Business at the Novi Tree Farm
Di finishing “The Crater.” November 14 was a great day. I met with some of my fellow MMBAers to copywrite the new MMBA membership brochure that will be available at the 2010 Annual Meeting and Expo. This was my first copywriting job, and it was a great educational and social experience. I met my friends Nick and Marty, my fellow blogger, Andrea, and the Novi Tree Farm trail coordinator, Dave at the Tree Farm for … Read entire article »
Filed under: Mountain Biking
Thanksgiving Morning Ride at PLRA
Thanksgiving morning started off perfectly! I drove to the Pontiac Lake Recreation Area where I joined a huge group of people for an annual turkey day ride. Robert Herriman took the group photo at the beginning of the ride. Check out his blog post to see this impressive group. Jon Rose was kind enough to let me borrow his Gary Fisher 29er. Of course, this bike was one hell of a challenge … Read entire article »
Filed under: Mountain Biking
A Surefire Cause of Inappropriate Verbiage
Great plans were made and commenced, today. Jon and I headed to Bald Mountain to meet with our friend, Brad. We were going to ride the Bald Mountain trails, then ride a couple of miles to Addison Oaks, a little trail system that I have been repeatedly told is lots of fun. Brad even said, “It’s a hoot.” Notice that I used the word, “were.” Yes, we were going to do this … Read entire article »
Filed under: Mountain Biking
Knobby Tire Tours at Stony Creek Metropark — A Photo Essay
The clouds parted over Stony Creek Metropark bringing the rain to a halt over this great Southeast Michigan trail. I headed to the trailhead with Jon Rose of Knobby Tire Tours to witness Jon’s hard work as a tour guide. The following is a photo essay. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Mountain Biking, Photo Essays
Di’s Surefire Iceman Training Program
When I was a runner of sorts, I read everything I could about training. I raced several 5Ks, the Crim, and a couple of marathons. I knew my stuff. A lot of the training concepts I learned from running translate into the mountain biking. I have four years experience with mountain biking, three of those racing, although I’m not really sure if you can count this year’s sorry racing performances and lack of involvement under the scope of “racing experience.” Nonetheless, I have learned a lot about putting together a brilliant training program. Hill Workouts Hill repeats? Pishaw. Really, now, who does hill repeats? That is soooo yesteryear. My hill sessions consist of taking Jake for a ride up a long hill, … Read entire article »
Filed under: Mountain Biking
Grand Tour of Churning Rapids
What do you do when you are having a hard time getting out for a ride? The reason could be laziness, business, or both. In my case, I’ve been a little lazy and I’ve certainly kept myself busy. Spend the weekend in Houghton? Wha…? Is that even possible? The Keweenaw had the pleasure of a visit from Dave, a resident of “near” Grand Rapids. Wise Dave sent an email that was forwarded to the Keweenaw cycling community. He also contacted me directly. He was quickly informed of the various group rides, and he even accepted my short-notice ride commitment for a Tuesday afternoon jaunt through the woods. I gave Dave the choice of choosing which trail system to ride. He chose Churning Rapids. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Mountain Biking
Singletrack Snobs
Horseshoe Harbor. I had to ride my mountain bike the last day I was in Copper Harbor. It would simply be wrong to do otherwise. The problem was that I didn’t feel like climbing all the way up the hill just so I could ride back down. I wasn’t in the mood for climbing-climbing-climbing, although I am usually in the mood for descending-descending-descending. I chose to take a ride towards the tip … Read entire article »
Filed under: Mountain Biking
Fourth of July Weekend – Part III
My Sunday was not very exciting. We’ll skip that. Monday, I went for a ride with Rachel and Cory. I really enjoyed it. Riding with Rachel is fun because it’s not super serious and we take the time to stop and ride those parts that are hardest for us. We rode some Copper Harbor singletrack and headed back into town for lunch at the Harbor Haus. I really enjoyed the Harbor Haus lunch. Trash (Brian) joined us (yay!). That made me really happy because I haven’t been able to spend any time with him. We vented over a superb lunch. We shared our plans for the future and offered support for one-another. It was actually quite productive, I think. Tuesday, I got up and … Read entire article »
Filed under: Lifestyle, Mountain Biking
Monumental Attempt
I showed up to the Monday night 32-mile Chain Drive pre-ride. I thought I would attempt this ride for the second time, ever. The interesting thing about the Chain Drive, and all of the other Keweenaw races, is that, while elevation evens out, total climbing mileage is significantly greater than descending mileage. Imagine me, a slow climber, attempting a 32-mile course. I am happy to say that no one completed the whole course, last night. We were all smart and shortcutted to the hosts’ home for food and beverages. My riding partner and I, however, did not return until 9 p.m. We rode for four hours. Ouch. When I returned home, I took a warm shower followed by some yoga. I knew that stretching was absolutely necessary after … Read entire article »
Filed under: Mountain Biking
A Snotty Situation
I was feeling really good. I took several rock piles and gardens and tackled all of the log rides. I saw a double log ride and thought, “What the heck! I can clear this.” I made it over the first log ride and started to prep myself for the second one only about two feet away. Suddenly, my front tire was stopped by the logs and I flipped over forward. Nice. I am smooth. I bashed the front of my right thigh into the handlebar and crashed into the log pile with my belly. As I hit the ground, a long string of thick snot ejected from my left nostril. Was I ever in a predicament! I stayed there for a moment feeling the pain. I forced … Read entire article »
Filed under: Mountain Biking
