Time for planning the 2011 season

Here we are, again.   Another great year of racing, riding and hanging out with friends.   December is a month that allows us to plan and organize for the next season.   In 2011 CycleTherapy Racing will be adding a full road race team to our already existing mountain bike team and cyclocross team.   We have listed over 40 events that our 13 member team will be racing in.   In addition to these races we will continue our local shop rides and trail rides.

We are proud to have secured Allard Mold Engineering, Specialized, SRAM and, of course CycleTherapy as sponsors for the 2011 and 2012 seasons.

Also new, is our racing uniform.   A little brighter and much more bolder.

So that was a small update but there will be much more to come.  So keep coming back for updates on rides, races and other events for next season.

Happy Holidays!

Linden Cross Races Last weekend.

In the wee hours of Sunday morning the Cycletherapy racing team rolled out of bed and rolled on out to Linden State Park for Tailwinds 4th. race of the series. It was an amazing course. Starting with and hill climb right out of the gate, followed by a descending approach to a run-up, shooting us into an amazingly beautiful, tree covered technical section. What a race.. Fast lap times and stiff competition, battle ensued till the exhausted end, resulting in five podium finishes, including 2nd. place in the Elite mens category By Mark Parmelee, 1st. Place in the single speed category by Jay Jones, 3rd. place in Juniors 15-18 By Andrew Dever, and two 5th. place spots by Kyle Thatcher and Dave Zatec, in C 39 and under, and C 40+ Respectively. Great showing guys! Lets Keep up the Good Work.

24 Hours of Hanson Hills

I was looking forward to this race as it would be my first 24 hour attempt. I didn't know what to expect and my fitness was okay, not exactly where I would have liked it to be, but like most things, life steps in and takes away a little training time. So with that said, I was packing and getting things ready as early as 4 days before race day. The box was on top of the Jeep and I was ready to roll Friday after work.

I arrived in Grayling around 7:30PM and checked into my motel. Once I got settled in I decided to go to Glen's Market and get some 24 hour race day food. What's funny is that I normally wouldn't guy these items, so it was funny when I arrived at the check out and the cashier rang up, two Red Bulls, an 8-pack of small Cokes, a box of strawberry Pop Tarts, a bag of Fun Size Pay Day candy bars and bag of Frito's! With light batteries charging and all the junk food to fuel any endurance athlete, I was ready to go.

The alarm rang at 7:00AM. I look outside and it's cloudy and looks chilly. I immediately look at the weather on my trusty Droid X and see a large weather cell with some heavy rain not to far away and heading straight for us. I decide to forgo everything and go to the Hanson Hills ski area and set up the pit, which includes a tent and awning and a few extra things to make my next 24 hours easy. Just as I finish, the rain starts coming down and it's a steady heavy rain, whew! After I check my new home, I go back to my room and check out and get a little breakfast and head back to H.H.

I get back just in time to suit up, check tire pressure and take a last minute pee and head to the start line with about 8 seconds to spare, the gun goes off and our 24 hours of racing begins. I settle into a nice pace with a 12 hour racer setting a nice even pace, not fast at all which is good, I would hate to go out to fast. I follow my pacesetter for the entire first lap and there's actually 4 of us content to ride together, which made it pretty nice.

At the end of each lap, I would roll into my pit which was about 40 feet from the course and grab a new water bottle with some nutrition in it and maybe pop a couple Endurolytes, get back on the bike and roll. After 4 hours I take a little break, snap a pic of my pit and bike (see above) and post it on Facebook, I knew some of my biking buddies would appreciate a time out during a race to post on Facebook and it gave them something to talk about while SITTING ON THEIR COUCH!!! =;)

I liked coming in after each lap which took around 1:05 and actually getting off the bike for about 15-20 seconds and getting what I needed and then immediately back on the bike. I didn't feel any of the 4 hour blues, I felt pretty good, so that was a good sign, but this pace was slower than my 12 hour pace so I didn't expect it to be there. Where it did come was about the 8 hour mark, so I decided to take a long break and get my lights ready. When the time came, I was ready to rock when the sun went down. I only managed two laps in the dark and I was ready to take a long break.

As I curled up in my sleeping bag with a plan of getting up around 3 or 4 at the very latest I was having a hard time going to sleep, with noisy neighbors and loud music for the 24 hour competitors. So I didn't sleep much and I believe I finally fell asleep around 12:30AM. I woke up once and it was quiet, stuck my head out of the sleeping bag and thought that the weatherman was right for once, it was definitely in the 30's. So without hesitation, I got back n the sleeping bag and fell back to sleep.

I finally woke up at 5:00AM and immediately changed into dry warm clothes, the temperture was 33 degrees and the sky was super clear and I seen a million stars on my walk to the "Standings Board" to see where I was at. I was not to surprised to see I was one lap down in the Single speed category. I did a quick math calculation and figured I had time to do 4 laps and if I felt super good, maybe 5, but that would be stretching it. So I set out at 5:00AM, it's 33 degrees, pitch black and very, very lonely. The 2nd big climb of the course I come upon a cyclist, he's a single speeder, and happy to say, he's pushing his bike where I am riding mine. It happens to be the first place guy and I tell myself that "I'm riding, he's pushing and there's 5 hours to go and plenty of time to get the lead back. I am rejuvenated early on and it helps me with the next two laps.

I watch the sunrise on the tail end of my second lap and the sky change colors, it turns out to be a beautiful morning and the lights on the bike are soon turned off. I come into my pit, mix two bottles in anticipation of two more quick laps. It's funny, I have come to two endurance races and late in the game have found some energy to keep forging on!

I'm on my fourth lap of the morning and thinking if I hurry, I can make it into the start/finish in time to do another and hopefully secure first place. As I near the end, I have forced to walk the long last climb. I make it to the top and remount the bike and start pedaling. I look at my watch and realize that no matter how fast I go, there's no way I can make it to the start/finish in the next 10 seconds, so I just finish safely and roll in. I can hear Brent annoucing my name and saying something to the affect that time has run out and I missed the cut off just incase I wanted to do another lap. I wasn't to disappointed and I was ready to accept any placing I got.

As I rolled past the start/finish I ask where my nemisis was and he was actually within ear shot and shouted out, "here I am." He was changed into regular clothes and looked pretty fresh, so I assume that he stopped a lot sooner than I. I soon find out I got first place, beating him by one lap.

I managed 2nd overall in the solo categories, not to shabby for a 50 year old asthmatic on a totally ridid single speed!!!

I did learn a few things though. 1. Have your light scenario all worked out well before the race. 2. Frito's and their salty goodness hit the spot. 3. I didn't need any realy solid food besides that. I survived on few gels and Hammer nutrition, namely Sustained Energy and Endurolytes.

Ride safe!

Jay

The 12 Hours of Ithaca

If there ever was a close-to-perfect race, this was it.

I have to tell ya, this race was unworldly. At about the 4 hour mark I was thinking it was going to be a short day as my hands starting hurting. So I started taking small breaks (like 2 min.) off the bike when it was time to grab a new water bottle in my pit. With these short breaks it was enough to keep me going on the bike, but my lap times were falling. I was doing 24:30 minute laps for the first 6-7 laps but then slowed to 25:30 laps. But it didn't matter, I was still rolling and staying on the bike and that is what is most important. At one time I was tied for 1st overall, and when my friends (The Kreger family, Bryan and Jennifer) told me, I was rejuvenated, but my hands still hurt. This course has over 1200 turns, no kidding, which will explain why my hands hurt, I haven’t done this much turning since being lost in the new Meijer store layout.

At about the 5 hour mark is when the race just started to reach a plane I have only experienced maybe once or twice. I was riding the trail seamlessly. In other words, there were no favorites spots, or fast spots or slow spots or most unfavorite spots, it just turned into a long ribbon of single track where everything blended together, where it just flowed, no matter what I did, it just flowed without interruption. I didn't even stop at the pits except for a quick water bottle change every other lap and I just rode thinking I would blow up any minute, but I was enjoying the ride and kept going!

Up to this point I was not worried about where I was at in the race standings, but my friends would tell me every now and then. Then right at dark, I stopped to see the standings and much to my surprise I see a guy who I didn't think was racing and he was in front of me by two laps, I was a little disappointed, but I was still riding out of my mind, so I went to my pit and grabbed another bottle, some Endurolytes (an electrolyte replacement tablet), some energy gel and went back out with lights turned on! This lap turned out to be my slowest, but the transition from day to night is always requires some adjustment.

Just before 11:00 PM, my buddy Bryan was telling me that I was tied for first in the single speed class, but the guy was still in front of my by 7 minutes. So he gave me a little pep talk and told me to "get going!!!" I sped off and starting talking to myself (which my therapist tells me not too) and doing the math, I had to cut 3:30 out of his lead in each of the next two laps, which can be done, but again, I had to ride out of my mind even more so. So I was pedaling where I was coasting before, the light change was totally over and I was able to start "flowing" again and I was able to turn in lap times under 30:00, which isn't too bad after 11 hours of racing and 140 miles. I decided to do two more laps and I have one full bottle and a small handful of Endurolytes and I was ready to do two fast laps without stopping and hopefully gain all the ground I needed.

As I kept going, I was thinking I may catch up to him on the 2nd of these two laps, the trail is quiet and hardly anyone is on the trail at this time of the race. Every now and then you can see a headlight or taillight, but you don't know where they are as the trail twist and turns all over, so I relegated myself to 2nd place but in the back of my mind I was hoping that maybe the 1st place guy was ready to pull off and call it a day. At this time of the race you don't know exactly what's going on, so if you have enough gas left you should be planning on staying out as long as possible and be as fast as you safely can, so I come in to the start/finish area at 11:55 with my two planned laps done and I decide to do another lap for insurance. I shout out to the volunteers that I am going out for a last lap, that way they know I'm out there and still racing. (This race format allows you to start your last lap up to 11:59:59 if the race ends at 12:00 midnight) I felt surprisingly good and was ready just to go slow on this last lap, but I wanted to push it as hard as I could without wrapping myself around a tree or cramping and see if I could pull off another -30 lap time….soon, it would be all over.

I came in to the start/finish with a sense of relief as I knew I was done, but I was also very, very surprised at how well I felt. My buddy Bryan came up to me and told me that my competition had stopped riding around 11:00 (and between you and me, I think he lied to me earlier) =;) So, when he stopped, thats when I did my next 3 laps so I ended up beating him by that amount, which was very cool.

In the end, I was first in my class (Solo Single Speed) and 5th overall. I did 27 laps on a 5.6 mile course, so I ended up racing over 151 miles!

Ride and smile.

Hi everyone!

Hi everyone!

Mark P. will be leading a group ride on Sunday, July 4th at 9:30 a.m. We will be gathering at 9:15 and rolling time will be at 9:30 a.m. All levels are welcome! The trail is beginner-friendly and it's a "no-drop" ride.

Let us know if you can make it so we know how many to expect.

We hope to see you at the Tree Farm!

If you have any questions, feel free to post up  on facebook (link is in top left corner of page) or the forum.

MMBA link with directions :

http://mmba.org/index.php?option=com_tr ... =trail&cid[]=8

A Cup of Barry-Roubaix

by Jay Atwater

Like that extra boost from the morning cup of coffee, Barry-Roubaix

has energized me, picked me up and placed me back into the bike
saddle. Race day was beautiful, maybe cool temps in the morning,
however as they say: "There is no bad weather, only bad clothing
choices". I dressed right for the weather, so the first battle was won
before the bike was off the rack. We lined up in our groups, I kissed
the wife and child goodbye, and the roll out began. There was the
expected "slinky effect" and then after a few miles we dumped off the
road into some sandy double track uphills. I managed to get through
the jam-packed melee with a single dab, while there were people
washing out all around and pile-ups everywhere. Through the first test
and finally back on some gravel I was trying to find my pace. It was
uphill, downhill, uphill, downhill... I don't remember a single flat
section. All-in-all the race was a blast, I won a 4-pack of Founder's
Double Trouble and got to spend the day racing, seeing friends and
enjoying being away with my family... outside! I asked my 7-year old
what was his favorite part of the race and he said "the part where you
won the beer". Anyway the unexpected result of this race is that it
has place me back at a point where I am excited for the riding season
ahead, eager for Spring and full of vigor. Since then I have put in a
couple roller workouts, a 10-mile ride for groceries with a bike
trailer and the wife pulling a trail-a-bike with my son, and my first
ride at Pontiac Lake of the season. Not a bad start after months of
gloomy indoor trainer rides.

Test-Specialized Romin Sl Saddle

by Jay Jones

The latest bicycle component that I have purchased is the Specialized Romin SL saddle. While it is designed for the road, mainly Time Trialing or Triathlon, I thought it's design would lend itself well for the needs of my backroad rocket ship the Specialized Tri-cross single speed.

The Specialized Body Geometry components are designed for comfort which in the end will equal performance. The saddle is medically proven to assure blood flow to senstive areas, while I am not a doctor, one ride on this saddle proved to be one of the most comfortable saddles I have ever had the pleasure of throwing a leg over. The cutout in the middle of the saddle is not felt in the least bit, which is probably the intent of the design, no pressure points or areas, just pure comfort.

With the nose of the saddle almost inch longer than a regular saddle like the Toupe it gives you valuable real estate to slide fore and aft to gain valuable traction or get aero. The titanium rails keep the weight down and the tough Micromatrix cover is water resistant.

You may ask yourself what difference a saddle would make on a bike primarily used on the gravel and dirt roads of rural Michigan. With one gear, you are forced to a different riding style than normal. With a long sustained climb where you can stay in the saddle, I am usually sliding forward on the seat to throw more power down on the pedals. With the Romin SL, I am able to do this more effectively. I can get a more comfortable position, thus holding it longer or if its a longer race, I am able to do it more often and not get fatigued.

When it's all said and done, the comfort of this saddle and it's ability to provide me a more efficient ride far out weigh (no pun intended) any weight weenie saddle I have had previously. The Romin comes in two versions, the Romin SL with titanium rails and slightly higher price tag and a cromoly railed version and smaller price tag, but same great qualities!

Barry-Roubaix 2010 Jay Jones

The first race of the season was a real test of mettle. With not knowing much about the course except for what my misleading buddy told me, =;) I was able to make the proper selection in gear choice and weaponry. With a 1.5 mile rollout and over 600 cyclists, the first part of the race was probably the most eventful. I could tell the "roadies" from the mountain bikers and I each have their own uniqueness, some good, some bad, some that shine and some that doesn't shine. If you can determine who you are with, you can use it to your advantage.


My second concern was with the fixie and how much time I would lose on the downhills. Being a fixed gear bike you HAVE TO PEDAL all the time, no coasting. So with that said, I would actually have to use the brakes to slow down on downhills so I could keep pedaling. Any group I was working with would be long gone. I was getting a little bummed out but soon realized that everyone in my class would be facing the same issue.

After the first part roll out we got to experience the most "technical" part of the course, it was very reminiscent of the certain sandy area's in a certain first weekend of November race near Traverse City complete with carnage and tailgating racers, which induces even more carnage. Once past this section, it was wide open racing with some good and challenging power racing. And when I say power racing, I mean climbs that are not sustained, pitch differently and just require some power to get up and over. I seen a fellow fixie racer on such a climb walking his trusty steed and I thought this would be a good time to pounce. He had other ideas as his gear was more condusive to higher speeds everywhere else. I stayed with him for a short time, but was unable to keep it up on the downhills.

With each successive climb and downhill, I would be losing time until my calves starting cramping and I was forced to do something about it, this would be the exact moment I would learn something about "fixie racing". I would unclip after a burst of energy and let gravity take over. It must have been a sight to see and one fellow racer commenting on my technique, little did he know I discovered it out of necessity, but it allowed me to go faster on the downhills, sometimes 4-5 mph faster!

With my new technique I am somewhat reenergized or maybe it was the fact my calves werent' cramping anymore. With part of the last course being all downhill, literally, race fans and volunteers just weren't saying that, it was all downhill and I could tell as geared folks were flying by at high rates of speed and a tandem passed me like I was standing still. But once it flattened out for the last 3 miles, I put head down and gave all I had left, spinning like a madman, drafting off some gear folks and then once we entered the park road, it was soooo much fun. Along side of me was Dave Massey the Specialized Rep and some other fast cat, we all took turns turning up the heat and it as a blast, with the last chacane thrown in complete potholes it made for an exciting finish.
I ended up finishing fourth in the Expert Fixie Class with a time of 2:08:13. I learned a few things about the bike, the race and will return with some different fitness in mind and a few tweaks of the gear...and the technique...the technique will be improved!

March 20th - 21st BE THERE!!

March 20th and 21st will Cycletherapys 24 hour spin to help raise money for the Waterford Coalition for Youth.  Tons of stuff to do and some sweet raffles to win!  Click on the image below for a closer view.

The Sunday Sixty.

Backroad training ride from Waterford to Fenton. Awesome training ride!!

LOHS Winter Race Results

Well it was the first chance for the team and club to test out the legs after months of indoor and some outdoor training.   Steve Kinley and LOHS did a great job at making the course fun and fast.

Cycletherapy took three first and one third place podium which means everyone who race the mountain bike portion of this event stood on the podium.

While the podium is a nice place it was shadowed by seeing all the new racers joining this great event which raises money for the LOHS after school programs.

You can see more at http://stevekinley.blogspot.com/

24 Hours of Spinning!!

Click the image of the document to make it larger. Swing by March 20th and 21st for several events that will help rais money for the WCFY. If you would like more information on the Waterford Coalition for Youth go to http://www.wcfy.org. The shop will be open Saturday and Sunday for this event!!

New Club Jersey!

Cycletherapy has a NEW club jersey!!