Happy Holiday!!

Well December is here and it is almost time for the holidays! CycleTherapy Racing would like to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday!

Winter Training!

Well there is still a few more CycleCross races left before we are done racing for the 2009 year. For some of us the winter training season has already started. Long rides on the back roads, indoor training at the shop (soon to be announced) and stairs. Of all the training the stairs seem to be the one thing during the winter that we all look forward to with a timid spirit. Doing the stair routine is hard, the duration of pain is short but the recovery takes a couple days.

If you want to start your winter training off with a bang come join us on the weekend at the Bloomer Park stairs in Rochester MI!

Wow

Well there is still more racing left to the year but this has been a great year for Cycletherapy Racing and next year is shaping up to be more spectacular!

Thanks to Mike F. Ernie and Tony S. we have secured several new sponsors for the team while keeping a couple of our key sponsors from last year. You will see a new team dynamic next year consisting not only Mountain and Cyclocross racing but more organized Road racing. We have explored the idea of a road team and 2010 looks like it could happen!

But before that, we still have some serious Cyclocross races left and the grand daddy of all mountain bike races, ICEMAN Cometh! Look for orange and black Cycletherapy jersey in many of the categories!

Our primary sponsor Cycletherapy has received several 2010 Specialized bike including the 29er Epic Marathon. If your in the Waterford area stop in and take a look at the new 2010 models from Specialized!

Check out more information and photos on Facebook.
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/profile.php?id=1592656428&ref=ts
and
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Cycletherapy-Racing-Team/70875876925?ref=ts

Stony Marathon

Ahhh… the Stony Marathon where endurance is the game and legends are made. Unfortunately, that did not hold true for our Cycletherapy mountain biking team. Half of our team members Did Not Finish (DNF); Expert riders had to do six laps or 62 miles. Mark Parmelee-DNF, Cheryl Hill -DNF, Derek Hill- DNF, and Brian Underwood age group 19-29 took 3rd place, missing second place by a second. The Sport class had to complete four laps or 42.3 miles. Kelly Bartlett, 24U took first place. Lisa Johnson 40+ took first place. Montana Johnson, 14U –DNF, Forrest Johnson 15 to 18yrs- DNF, David Moore 35-39 , 12th place and Dave Zatek 40-44, 9th place.
Our club riders Duane Underwood Beginner men 50+ DNF and Andrew Devers 11-14 took 4th place. Montana crashed hard in the Pines, coating himself with mud and whacking his head on a log as he hit face-first. It was a long, tough day, but Team CT will be back for more!

Catch up

Ruby Campground; attitude is everything

The following two weeks after the Brighton XC race is the most difficult time for me to get any workouts or rides in. I rode twice the week before Ruby. Going into the race, my outlook was not good. I didn’t expect to perform well at all. The race got under way and my competitor Lillian was leading the pack down the straightaway. I caught her at the first hill and stayed with her through the technical terrain. Every straightaway she would gain distance on me. I finally caught up to her after the “Wall” on the return trip from our first lap. Again, she pulled away at the river crossing and through the straight away on the campground road. The race was turning out as I predicted. I caught her on the first hill as our chips recorded our times for the first lap. I love the technical sections and I was able to keep pace with her. This is when my attitude changed. I told myself, “Well if she is going to win, she is going to have to earn it.” As we hit the wide wooden bridge, I realized I had more of a push and had to veer left to avoid hitting her. My legs were feeling good. I started to break more to keep pace with her. Finally another rider wanted to get by and I took the opportunity to pass her. I knew she would catch me on the straight away and I really wanted her to earn the win. Eventually I could not see her through the trees. Now, my attitude starting to change again, I wanted to win. I rode the last lap with the mind set to win and it paid off.

Lumberjack 2009

Here are a few images and highlights from Lumberjack 2009!

Mens Open
17th Place Mark Parmelee 8:21:48
100th Place Ed Barker 12:03:08

Single Speed
25th Place Mark Terrian 10:26:07

Ruby XC Race

Ruby was great, the water crossing was high and we had to carry our bikes across but it was all fun. Team CT did well; Kelly Bartlett took first in 24 & Under, Dave Zatek 40-44 to a first, Forrest Johnson 15-18 yrs. took first, Lisa Flores-Johnson 40+ took first and Montana Johnson 14 & under took second after being off for two weeks because of a foot injury. Also racing were Parmalee, Underwood, David R. Moore and Derek Hill but I didn't see how they finished. Jen D. took a first, even though she went to the Dark side.

This weekend was a busy time for our team. Eight riders in the Tour de Cure and nine riders hitting the trail at Ruby while other riders assisted in the BOW clinic on Saturday.

Good job everyone!!

CT Racing and Tour de Cure

Sunday was the Tour de Cure bike ride charity event that the CycleTherapy Racing team raised almost $2000.00 for. We had eight riders showing in attendance; Mike Fry, Ed Barker, James D'Amore, Jason Acker, Ray Frisbie, Sarah Frisbie, Jay Jones and Todd McInally. Our team rode a cumulative of 695 miles on various routes through SE Michigan. It was perfect day starting out with fog that lifted around 7:00AM. By the time we started riding the temps started to warm up and kept climbing to around 78 degrees for the day. Post ride festivities included a great meal from Caraba's, free 10 minute massages and live music. What a great way to close out a weekend.

Tour de Cure - American Diabetes Association

Just wanted to say thank you everyone for helping our team become 2nd in raising funds for the American Diabetes Association. While our team has a few more days to raise more money we just wanted to say thank you to everyone who has donated money and time up until this point.

Check our page out at Brighton Tour de Cure

Pontiac Lake TT Photos

Sports Clydesdale 3rd place Mark Ladwig

& 5th placeRon Ressler

Single Speed Champ Mark P.

Grandpa Ressler is so proud

3rd place young Devers, 2nd place Sarah Frisbie & 3rd place Jason Aker

Derek Hill & 2nd Place Lisa Johnson

Look at our sponsors

Deep thoughts Aker, Sarah Frisbie & Ed Barker

Divide & Conquer

The Johnson’s had to divide duties to conquer the day. Forrest decided to participate in the Kalamazoo Soccer Tournament with his Clarkston Impact teammates and skip the Pontiac Lake TT. We drew straws (not exactly) and Norm decided to go with Forrest. He loaded his road bike in the Traverse and they departed. Montana also had soccer games, but somewhat closer to home. Two of his games were scheduled before and after the mountain bike race. It was decided that he would play in the 9:00 AM game, race Pontiac Lake TT sport category, and skip the 3 p.m. game in Port Huron.

Montana had a great 1st soccer game and the team won. Unfortunately, two teammates were injured which would leave them with ten players for the 11 v 11 soccer game at 3 p.m. Well they convinced Montana to go to game by saying he could play goalie knowing his energy level would be low after the race. Montana’s 1st game finished at 10:30 AM and Pontiac Lake Recreation was ten minutes away. We jumped into the Jeep and were off. We arrived at Pontiac Lake at 10:45 a.m. and Montana was fast asleep!

That was okay in my view because by the time I registered both of us for the sport category; I figure we would draw a noon start time. Registration was completed and both of us were to go off together at 11:59:00 a.m. By 11:30 a.m. I started to wake Montana. He said something inaudible. I tried again, and more gibbering. I finally said to Montana, “You don’t have to race; this is the first race of the season.” Still in his soccer uniform, leaning on the window with his eyes closed and not moving an inch, Montana responded “Okay I won’t race.”

Now I have twenty minutes to warm up before I start my first race of the season. As I lined up at the start, I suddenly felt alone and wished Forrest, Norm and Montana were racing. The feeling quickly passed as my Cycletherapy teammates cheered for me, and I was off.

The course felt good but I noticed something after the two mile marker or Heart-Attack Hill which was my average heart rate was at 170. Hmm, last year my AVG was 143. All week I had noticed it seemed to be rising as I rode the course. I didn’t dwell on it too long because I began to pass men and women, including women in the Sport Cat. 40+. As I approached the switchback I noticed one of my competitors; she noticed me and sped up. Something told me that I needed to catch her before she went down the switch back because she would not make it up the other side. The upside of the switchback does not leave room to pass. I didn’t catch her before she went down the switch back. I was feeling tense about now, but I had good speed coming down the switchback and I could feel the wind in my hair. Unfortunately my fears had come true as she was already half off her bike right before the first steep crest of rocks. I was angry with myself for not catching her so I used the extra adrenaline to jump off my bike and run, ran past her all the way up to the top. I can’t recall where in the path it was when I jumped off my bike. I have never practiced jumping off my bike at any rate of speed. At the seven mile marker my heart rate was 173. Fortunately it is mostly down hill for a time, and I could get my heart rate back to a more sustainable rate. I picked up more speed and passed some more people. I saw “Lake Muddy Water” at the last second and didn’t have time to react properly. I hit the water hard. Water and mud flew everywhere. Shocked, I stopped pedaling. Bad news as I lost speed immediately and was sinking deeper and deeper as I slowly drifted to the center of what I now decided to call “Lake Mud-Ville.” I switched gears and began to spin fast. I made it through the lake without having to get off my bike and I completed the race. As I crossed the finished line I surveyed the crowd, I didn’t see Montana. I went to the Jeep and there he was still asleep. I had to quickly wake him as his teammate was giving him a ride to Port Huron, and was on his way to pick him up!

Everything worked out for Montana, Forrest and I. I finished second in my category, Montana played goalie and they won the game. Forrest’s soccer team won the K-Zoo Tournament and had a photo printed in the Clarkston News. Unfortunately for Norm, he had no time at the tournament to sneak away for a bike ride. Maybe next time he’ll insist on racing while I go to the tournament.

Lake Orion Hign School GAP Race!

Thank you Steve for putting togther a 3 mile trail filled with great technical sections!

This years LOHS GAP race number 1 had 4 of the 6 CT racers making the podium but this was not the best part of the event. The best part was the relaxed, yet competitive, race atmosphere. Making this event is perfect race for the first time racer. But it is also great training for the more experienced racer looking for some racing in during the week.

See everyone next Tuesday the 12th for a little more racing!


Pictures where taken by Cannondale Midwest Racing

Pontiac Lake TT

I arrived at Pontiac lake at 8:30 a.m. thinking that I would help set up for the race. To my surprise there were plenty of volunteers already there and they seemed to have everything under control. So instead, I helped Ernie set up his tent and unload all of the demo bikes. After that, I got ready to warm up. I gave myself enough time to get back and check over my bike before I lined up.

I was the fourth rider to go out. All I was thinking about as I left the starting tent was that I hoped nothing would go wrong with the bike being a new build. I caught two of the riders in front of me shortly after 2 mile hill. I was riding hard, trying to get a glimpse of the rider in front. Then about three-quarters of the way through, I picked up a stick and it wedged in my big ring. At every revolution, the stick would come around and stab me in the leg. So, I had to stop at the top of the next hill and yank it out. Luckily there was no damage to the bike and I was off again. The second lap went a little smoother as some of the mud had started to dry up. I never did catch the rider in front, but I felt I had put in some good times. I managed to get 2nd place with a total time of 1:18:17 for the 2 laps. My first race of the day was over and it was time to rest up for the second race of the day on the single speed.

I took a very quick warm up before the beginning of the race and I could tell my legs were tired, but it was too late to back out now. When I was lined up at the start line, I went to take off and heard a loud pop and went nowhere. My chain had slipped and delayed my start. So, I tried to start again and this time took off after the rider I lined up with. I managed to get around right before we crossed the two tracks. Before we got to two mile hill, I heard something else rattling on my bike. I started looking down at my bike trying to diagnose the cause of the noise. I finally noticed the quick release on my front wheel had come undone. Quickly, I pulled off to the side of the trail, jumped off the bike and closed the quick release, then took off. By this time the rider I had started with had passed me. I spent the rest of the time chasing him. He would pull away from me on the climbs, but I seemed to make up time in some of the more technical sections. I didn’t really know if we were making good time, I just wanted to keep him in my sights. When we hit some traffic everyone was kind enough to let us pass very quickly. I had closed the gap coming up to the last hill and he went wide to the left. I was able to pass him by going straight up the middle. I made it to the two tracks first, but shortly after we hit grass he got around me. I didn’t think I was going to be able to stay with him but I dug deep and gave one last burst coming to the finish line. He beat me by about half a bike length. As the results came up, I questioned the fact that I took first since the rider I started with had beat me across the line. Come to find out that because of my chain slip at the start line, my timer didn’t start until a second after his. So being such a close finish gave me a faster time by .3 seconds, making my total time 40:37.

Overall, it was a good day for me. The only downfall was that now I had two bikes covered in mud that needed to be washed.

Pontiac TT – April 26, 2009

The first races of the season always seem to have an interesting twist! This year did not disappoint. The severe storms blasting the trail Saturday all but completely undid all the hard work at the last trail day. BIG thanks to Robert for and his group of faithful volunteers for braving the weather to clean it all up in time for a GREAT day of racing.

Even after all the hard work helping to prepare the trail after the storms Mark Parmelee had a great start to his 2009 race season! Coming in a close second to Mike Anderson in the men’s elite category! He then jumped off the geared beast and fired out the winning lap time in the Men’s Single Speed Expert/Elite category!

The Orange on the podium didn’t stop there with Lisa Johnson’s off season training paying off in Sport Women 40+! Mark Ladwig and Ron Ressler returning after injury, they dominated the Sport Clydesdale category with a 3rd and 5th place finishing! Jason Acker exceeded his own expectations and taking 3rd place in sport men 19-29 (though we all knew he’d do well!) Sarah Frisbie also exceeded her expectations finishing 2nd in beginner women 30+! With time like that she will be racing sport in no time!

Congrats to all who came out and raced despite the real threat of more severe weather. Next up? BLOOMER XC MAY 17th!!!!

New team kit arrives!!

Sunny and in the high 60's! You could not ask for a better day to ride. Well unless you also recieved your new team jersey! To the left is pictured half of our team at Pontiac Lake Rec Area just before our first team ride.

Trail conditions where perfect and seeing the long line of orange was picture perfect!! The ride was a great way to ride with fellow team members that we may only get a chance to see at the races.

Thanks to all of our sponsors that made this possible!

Promo video from iVisual!

Infiterra’s March Madness 2009

With the rain taking it’s time to get into the area, it gave us a false sense of security for the day. But by the 10:00AM start time, most participants were all gathered under the large pine trees staving off the shower for as long as possible. With the race promoters about ready to send us off and asking us all to come out from under the trees and make our way to the start line, we prepare to start our day’s adventure.

The March Madness is a 6 hour sprint race. Although racing for 6 hours on a chilly March day in the rain, doesn’t sound like it’s going to be a sprint kind of day.

Today’s race format is called a Rogaine style race. They spread out the Control Points (CP’s) over the entire Pontiac Lake Recreation Area, even the area west of Teggerdine road and you have the choice to cover the ground on foot or bike, or both. Today, I choose to stay on foot as the single track does not lend itself to efficient riding, and along with the placement of CP’s, this seems like a logical choice. I make my way to the first check point without any problems with its nice easy location. As I approach the 2nd point of my choosing, Cycletherapy team mate Tony Misovski has reached it seconds before me and we agree that two heads are better than one. So for the time being, we are two solo racers working together.

We manage to grab the next point fairly quickly and are on our way once again. Then we split up a little bit and go our separate ways but end up running in to each other two CP’s later. Once again we join forces and are off and running, literally.

The conditions for the day are something I have not witnessed before. You have your usual spring leaf cover and underneath lurks a slippery surface that is ready to thaw, but not quite yet. So any incline, decline, off camber, small hill, or steep hill was a challenge. You would slip and your footing was gone, making a labor intensive task even more so. But hey, this is adventure racing.

As Tony and I make our way to the next point we have to run the trail quite a ways without having to locate a CP, just find our way in unfamiliar territory. We get very near a point and we have two ways to get the CP, Tony chose one way, I chose the other and I do not see him for the rest of the day until near the finish.

I make my way somewhat quickly to the next set of points, and apparently to quickly as I make a tactical error and basically forget about two points that would be easily attainable. But I shall not cry over spilt milk and carry my plan of attack with minor changes. The next group of points will require a compass, but I don’t know this right away as I have not used it so far. So with the utmost confidence I enter the woods and make a rookie mistake by following the newly worn path created by the few dozen or so adventure racers who have gotten here before me. Pretty soon, the path is scattered and you are basically lost. You stop, regroup, use all the resources you have which is a topo map, a list of small clues, one for each CP and a little plastic thing with a magnetic needle. The most useful at this moment in time is the list of clues, it says, CP 5 in an open meadow on a hill. I locate an open meadow but cannot locate the blue, orange and white CP flag I so covet. So I regroup again, look around and continue in the open meadow in a direction I believe at the time is the wrong direction. But with pure dumb luck, I stumble upon it and I whip out the trusty ol’ compass and take a reading for the next CP. Much to my amazement, it works and I’m off to the next CP, then the next, but that one was simple as the land mark was easy to distinguish but hard to get to. In other words, swamp. Nothing gets me more worked up then ruining a perfectly good pair of shoes. But alas, the shoe trashing will wait for another day as most of the swamp is still frozen and getting to this CP becomes uneventful, until my map case cord gets caught on a tree and rips the sides right off. After a few explicative’s I surmise once again that there’s no use in crying over spilt milk. So I am forced to carry my map case for the rest of the race. Using more energy than I had planned on, but it could be worse, my maps could be falling out and then I would be very bummed.

The next section is the part of the PLRA that is most westward, so just getting there will take time on foot and as I see racers speeding by me in the opposite direction I am somewhat jealous and questioning my tactics for the race. But upon arriving at the next CP, you have to show two items from your Mandatory Gear List. This CP volunteer asks for a pocket knife with locking blade and a compass. Both of which I have and know their exact location within my pack. She inquires about my choice of not having a bike, I tell her of my reasoning and show her which CP’s I have already attained and with an “Oh wow!” she has sequestered any doubts I had of running the entire race.

With the early season venue, there are no leaves on trees or bushes, just wide open space. So your vision is much clearer and CP’s are more visible. With this high level of visibility you can run a “point and shoot” type of strategy. It’s more efficient but can come at a cost as you move faster and can make some mistakes by moving too fast.

With the next set of CP’s, they are few, but spread out in a fashion where a compass reading will be imperative. With these thoughts in mind, I set off. I knock down the first two with relative ease, giving me some confidence. I take a compass reading and start heading off. This point is far away though and can cause doubt within you as you will believe you are at the right point, but for some reason, the CP is not. So you stop, regroup, look at all your resources and search again. Double check your double check and still nothing. Time to count your losses and get out of Dodge. I decide it will cost me more time looking for a point then it will to start moving to the next point, one that I believe will be much easier to obtain and with the rain coming down harder, I pull up my hood and move on.

As the next succession of points are reeled off, I am building confidence, but my knees are not. Although I trained fairly well for this race, I lack the areas to mimic the hilly terrain of PLRA and it comes at a cost. But I can move, just not fast, so I keep plugging along. I get more CP’s without much problem save one and I am making a plan and checking my watch.

The most enjoyable CP is CP 31, which is at the end of a zip line. So after getting one of the hardest CP’s, two ridges over is the zip line, so you are somewhat rewarded for you hard effort with something fun! They harness you in, throw your helmet on and off you go…100 feet dangling in the air sliding down a rope. You come to a halt and you unhook yourself, grab the CP punch, punch your passport and decision making time comes! Major decision making time. And much to my surpise, my good ol’ friend Tony Misovski is coming down the zip line right after me.

We exchange ideas briefly and he says he is heading back to the finish and I tell him I am heading to get CP 32. Experience from a previous adventure race held here gives us both knowledge that CP32 lies in a briar filled area that will make grown men cry (don’t ask me how I know this). But I am confident with the 39 minutes we have left, I can snag this CP faster than “The Bachelor” grabbing fiancés and still make my way back to the finish line within the 4:00PM cutoff. After looking at the map, on the run, I determine there is three physical/geographical objects on the map that will help me locate it in a timely manner. Much to my surprise the briars were not bad and the CP was buried in a nice little round bowl IE; large depression shaped like a bowl. Again I grab the punch, make it do its thing it does, throw the passport in my pocket and am off and running in the direction I have chosen to grab a trail to head back to the start finish.
Another thing about adventure racing is map quality. Some maps may be older than 10 years, which means you could be looking at something that does not exist anymore. Which can lead to something that will take more time then you have anticipated, today, is one of those times.
I have found the trail without any problem. I am off running or at this point of the race, my best trot. I get to a point where the trail turns left at 90 degrees, this is not on the map, but I take the trail anyway. I keep going and much to my amazement it leads me to where I want to be, but a fence has stopped my progress cold. I am forced to turn around and make my way around the area. I know where I’m at, but with time expiring I will have to pick up the pace if I want to grab one more point. But with my re-route I am forced to just think about finishing in time.
I go as fast and efficiently as possible and near the finish area. I see Toni (very cute girlfriend) and she is motioning me to pick up the pace. As I near the finish tent they are announcing, “One minute left….one minute left” which means, well, you know what it means and I have one minute left and I have made it in time. I hand over my passport and make my way to my car for hot coffee and dry clothes.

After a slow change in the phone booth, I am a new man, a slow new man. My knees are in pain, but I know in two days it will be gone, so I don’t worry. We make our way back to the finish area in the pouring rain to see if I managed a miracle and finish in the top three. We find out I did not, so with that said we leave before all the sweet swag is given away, but on to some much needed food.

Later that night we find out that the results are posted. Much to my dismay I am listed as “Unranked” with a time of 4:16PM. But as I have said, I finished with one minute to spare. So I shoot off an email to Infiterra and they respond quickly saying I did indeed finish in the correct time and my placing will be corrected. Oh happy day!

I ended up finishing 6th Solo Male, 11th Overall and one CP in front of my friend and archenemy Tony Misovski. This was a good day overall, even with the rain. Another adventure race in the bag and more lessons learned. Survival was never meant to be this much fun!

Jay Jones

Pictures by Jeff McWilliams

2009 Kahtoola Michigan Mountain Run

On beautiful, sunny February 8, 2009 at the Pine Knob Ski Area 68 people lined up in front of the lodge to test their mettle on the snow, ice and the ski hill itself. The temperature was around 24 degrees and no wind, perfect for a winter run!

You had a choice of a 4K or an 8K run, with the 8K doing two laps of the 4K course….math easy enough for me to understand. I chose the 8K as I always like to get my money’s worth and adhere to my personal mantra, go big or go home. The course had you go up about 100 yards of one ski run, then back down, do a loop around the snow making pond then go up another ski run about 200 yards then back down and THEN all the way up to the top on a run called the Quarter Mile. Then when you reach the top, you go along the backside of the ski hill and it’s all downhill and back to the start/finish line.

The start was pretty laid back with a just a few of us geeks with a forefinger on the start button of our heart rate monitors. It had a grass roots feel and everyone there was there to have some fun and shake out the cobwebs. I was using it as a training/see where my fitness is at/pre adventure race run. The pace was manageable at first but the snow tends to suck any power you have right out from under you and running up hill will take its toll on the calves.

With a course this tough, it wasn’t a matter of IF you were going to walk, it was a matter of when. I took my first walk break about ½ way up the Quarter Mile run at the steepest part of the trail in about 18 inches of snow. Being near the front, there was very little footing and you had to work hard to keep your momentum. After this section, it was on a steep groomed run and by this point your calves are begging you to stop, but you are not quite yet near the top and must dig deep to finish it off. Once your there, “it’s all downhill” with a nice finish stretch to plan any last minute moves.

Two laps later I am coming down the finish hill and I see one cat out in front that’s too far to catch and no one behind me. I am relegated to the current position I now hold which ends up being 8th place in the Male 8K with a time of 46:56:00.

I will definitely do this race again, it’s totally different than any other running race out there and a ton of fun!
Jay Jones

2009 Jersey!

CycleTherapy will be sporting a new look at the races for 2009!