Moronacity Cycling Journal » Racing
Cold Blast for Iceman Registration
Last Friday and today mark the two Iceman Cometh registration days. Two, you ask? Why two? Well, the site that was handling registrations went down one-half hour before registration was to begin. Why is that, you ask? Well, Steve Brown does a wonderful job explaining SportsBaseOnline’s problem in the email he sent out Friday night (typos corrected by yours truly): Dear __________, I am very sorry about the cluster during tonight’s registration process. At 6:30 PM everything was set to rock and then somebody launched a program to register themselves. This program contacted SBO 100 times per nanosecond and resulted in 100,000 hit[s] on the SBO site in one minute. SportsBaseOnline is doing everything they can to stop this attack and then figure out how we … Read entire article »
Filed under: Racing
Collegiate Racing In The Mud
I was in an interesting situation. I am a 31-year-old woman. I had a career and traded that in for a part-time position of the same job so that I could return to school. Don’t think for one minute that this post is about a woman choosing an education over family and simply making a career change. Oh, no. This post is different. Thursday, I was brutally persuaded to join the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Racing
Tour da Oh, God, I Need Sleep
Tomorrow, unless unacceptable weather hits, is the Peaks Tour in the Keweenaw. It is a group of riders who will ride all day. I wanted to sign up for the half day portion, but I quickly realized that my sink is full of all my silverware, every bowl, and many glasses, water bottles, and some mixing bowls. Yeah, yeah, I know. You’re probably thinking, “Jeez, Di, you’re such a slob.” Consider this, over the last two weeks, the only day I was home with no obligations was Sunday, August 24. That weekend, I spent two days cleaning, reorganizing, and exterminating dust bunnies. You see, I was hosting a Trekker’s ride the very next day: August 25. I worked that day, and did twelve-hour … Read entire article »
Filed under: Racing
Fat Tire – Are You Experienced?
More bottle stuffing!! I helped out with registration, again, from 11:00 ’til 1:00. This is where it gets really interesting. All but about four pre-registered people showed up. We had about 130 registrations. I was thankful I wasn’t taking care of race-day registrations, though. The line got very long. After taking final count, 329 riders showed up to race the Copper Harbor Fat Tire race. This is up over 100 riders from last year and is more than either of the other record-breaking Keweenaw races: the Keweenaw Chain Drive and the Great Deer Chase. I had a good race. I was disappointed that I got fifth place in my age group (third last year), and that one of the girls … Read entire article »
Filed under: Racing
Momentary Lapse of Willpower . . . Strange Revival
Beer . . . or ride? Hm . . . well, I could sneak a ride in tomorrow even though I’m on call. I’ve done it several times before. I used to do it all the time when I worked full time and fifty percent of my free time really wasn’t free at all . . . because I was on call. That beer really sounds good. I don’t know if I’ve told you this, but I’ve given up beer until Fat Tire weekend (that is Labor Day weekend for you non-cycling folk). My friend, Pat, is trying to lose five pounds before the race, and I’m trying to get down to 165 pounds. I was 175 a couple days ago, and it might very … Read entire article »
Filed under: Racing
The Great Di Chase
Ok, maybe that is a little confident. Yesterday was the Great Deer Chase in Calumet, Michigan during the Heritage Days celebration. The race started at 10:00 am and was followed by a 10:05 parade. What a great way to start a parade! It was my goal to defend my title, as my team mate, Carp, put it. I won first place in my age group, last year, and I was going to do it again. The race actually started Friday night. I ate a healthy sandwich from The Library as my bike was readied at The Bike Shop. Caleb fixed my rear brake and adjusted both, re-cabled the bike, and lubed it up. I had absolutely nothing else to do to prep … Read entire article »
Filed under: Racing
Ore to Shore—Improved!
I’ve had the great fortune of not having any mechanicals during my races over my short, two-year, mountain bike racing career—not even a flat. I guess today could follow that trend, depending on how you look at it. This was possibly the best race preparation I’ve ever had. I wasn’t hungover; I had a full-night’s sleep; I had a healthy breakfast: latte, bagel, fruit salad; and I didn’t forget to bring anything. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Racing
12 Hours of Potluck
I overheard someone asking why it is called the 12 Hours of Potluck. Yes, it used to be a potluck. It no longer is a race-wide potluck, but that doesn’t stop groups of friends from sharing their food and beer. The race is held down by Lake Superior at Harlow Lake. The course was actually quite fun, but there was a tremendous pain element involved. It started out fairly level and fast. Eventually the uphill – the long, long, uphill – wound through the woods and almost to the very top, known as “The Top of the World.†We raced down Jedi – a super long downhill reward for completing the super long uphill punishment. Jedi was the part I really loved. It … Read entire article »
Filed under: Racing
Knowing When to Quit
Sometimes you just have to know when to quit. Tomorrow is the Ride for Glory in Ishpeming, Michigan. I never thought I would cut this race out of my schedule because it is only an hour and a half away. A large number of my team is going. I finally decided not to. I feel a bit stretched. My car still isn’t unpacked from Superior Bike Fest and I feel like I’ve been gone almost every weekend . . . probably because I have. I am getting a bit raced out. Moronacity.com … Read entire article »
Filed under: Racing
Kryptonite
Sunday marked a rather unmemorable event for me. It was the last day of Superior Bike Fest and the mountain event, my best event, was the order of the day. After Saturday’s road event, it was no surprise that I was less than eager to begin this race. My legs were stiff, although soreness wasn’t really taking effect. They were heavy and energy failed to renew with the changing of the day. One mile in, I decided that my only goal was to finish the race. This is pretty sad considering it was only sixteen miles and I’ve excelled at distances longer than this. The pack lost me right away. By mile three, I was seriously considering a big DNF (did not finish). … Read entire article »
Filed under: Racing
