Moronacity Cycling Journal » Entries tagged with "Racing"
Something is Amiss
For the first time since 2007, I rode the Fort Custer trails on Sunday. I signed up for the Fort Custer Stampede in the Sport Class, meaning two 9-mile loops. I wasn’t too keen on the forecast for rain, but I chose to tough it out and pre-register for the race. Once I got there, the clouds had already begun to clear away and the sun came out. It was suddenly a beautiful day and I was ready to ride my bike. When I reached the starting line, I was pretty happy because there were only three of us. After a bit, I turned and saw that there were quite a few more women in my class who were standing behind us. Uh oh. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Racing
Because I Can
“For the first time, I was able to do a race and actually enjoy it.” That was the end of yesterday’s blog post, and it probably left some of you scratching your heads. “What do you mean, ‘actually enjoy it?’ Its mountain biking. You should always enjoy it!” Sure, if you enjoy racing, then that’s great. I have mixed feelings about it, though. I enjoy seeing mountain biking friends and fellow advocacy freaks … Read entire article »
Filed under: Racing
Racing the Yankee Springs Time Trial
“Go!” The guy next to me took off and I got rolling. I started down the course for the Yankee Springs time trial having no clue what was in store for me. I heard that there were some bad climbs, and that the trail was notorious for sand, but I really had no clue what was up ahead. The first things I noticed were some sandy spots and a couple of small drops that looked like the result of erosion over roots. The singletrack was clean, winding, and flowy. The uphills were gentle and the downhills created opportunities to open up and fly through the woods. To say that the uphills were gentle is not to say that they were easy. Maybe they seemed gentle because I … Read entire article »
Filed under: Racing
2009 Ore to Shore Recap
This year’s Ore to Shore was held on August 8. The course was the best! Yes, it was even better than last year. Thunderstorms moved through the area, Friday night, so the sandy course was packed. This was a year for personal records if they were to be had. Unfortunately, that wasn’t exactly the case with me. Since I haven’t been riding very much, I came in over 10 minutes slower … Read entire article »
Filed under: Racing
Chain Drive – Setting the Record Straight
Two responses to my Keweenaw Chain Drive post were somewhat hateful and seemed to take it quite personally. It seems like some of you have taken that post the wrong way. One person remarked that it was a tirade-type post. That wasn’t the case at all. I clearly expressed how the Chain Drive did not parallel my personal preference, which I clearly described. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Don’t take it personally if I am not happy with the changes to a race. I am entitled to that opinion. One person remarked that there wasn’t more climbing because the elevation change remained the same. Elevation change and distance traveled are not the same thing. The elevation gain from the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Racing, Uncategorized
2009 Keweenaw Chain Drive
The Keweenaw Chain Drive took a rather brutal turn, this year. There were some sections of trail that were excluded and replaced with brand new singletrack. The singletrack was masterfully built and offers some different views and some interesting riding opportunities. My race started off well for the 16-mile competition. I began climbing, as is always the case, and kept climbing. There was an occasional downhill, but it was usually short and … Read entire article »
Filed under: Racing
Grrrr, Phhhtt, Scratch, Claw, ROAR!
It amazes me how the Iceman Cometh manages to single-handedly ruin the year of countless mountain bikers who are denied access to this November race. It brings out the worst in people. It really does, and I don’t quite understand it. This year, I finally get to witness the event as a racer. Actually, I’ve never been there, before, so I get to witness the event, period. I’m not looking forward to it as the greatest race ever, because I know it’s not. I’ve been told that it’s not my kind of race. I like technical singletrack. This race, I’ve been told, is essentially the anti-technical singletrack. Last year, I didn’t make it in. Like all lotteries, I lost. “Oh, well,” was my … Read entire article »
Filed under: 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
Skijoring
Saturday was an exciting day, but not in the way I expected. It was going to be the first time that the Red Jacket – Bluesky Health Cycling Team hosted the Talvi-something-or-other (I can’t remember Finnish), a skijoring race. Many of you are probably thinking, “Ski-huh?” Skijoring.  Skijoring is cross country skate skiing with a little help from man’s best friend, or friends. The skier is harnessed to one or two dogs for a fast journey … Read entire article »
Filed under: Skate Skiing
