Detroit Invitational of Cyclocross

I've had a deathly cold since last Wednesday, but that hasn't stopped me from riding over 100 miles in that same time (: 2 of these rides finished after dark, sub 50 degrees, which probably doesn't help my situation, but it can't hurt either, right?

                                           *an unofficial podium picture w/ the best racing pal

I rode with the Wednesday night gravel group and we ended up all the way down by almost Three Rivers. It was a lot of fun, and I"m looking forward to riding lots of gravel races in the Spring. I'm planning on riding the Michigan Gravel Series Long races in the Spring, with the rest of the fastest guys in Michigan and surrounding areas. Super stoked! The Wednesday ride finished about 8:30 and it was super cool to be able to hang w everyone comfortably. My lungs exploded with about 2 laps to go today though, I think I might have overdone it a little too late in the week, oh well.

                                                *Kal-Haven trail, sometime mid-week

School is going fantastic. My motivation for anything school is at an all-time low. People always talk about 'Senioritis' but its pull is so strong. It might be the fact that my two classes right now are Professional Writing and  a Business Internship thing that is all online. Believe it or not, I can cite just about anything in APA format, perfect preparation for my career in the accounting field. Speaking of which, I'll begin studying for the CPA exams this next week, with plans of taking the first test in January. Planning to finish the fourth and final CPA exam early next summer, and then it will be all bikes all the time; it kind of is right now, but school and CPA exams will be a welcome distraction (not really).

As with most of my cyclocross races, it is a lot of fun but my CX skills are still developing. I'm in some pretty good fitness right now and I've been losing weight!!! but I can't seem to go around a corner very fast without falling. No worries, we will get them next weekend!

                                                 *Not fantastic, but best result of the year!

A week from this Wednesday I'll be flying out to Cali solo to spend some time with family out there and get away from the office and school! I'm very much looking forward to getting away and riding bikes in the mountains; this time my focus will be on not crashing (: hopes are low, but I won't ride by myself so all will be good!

Ha! I didn't write about it two weekends ago but I raced up in GR and I crashed on the second corner!  My computer said my race only lasted :34 seconds, ouch! I landed pretty hard on my shoulder and it is still pretty sore at times, but not bad! I was second place and feeling really good but just hit some wet pavement/bricks just right and my front tire slid out. I crashed in front of the entire field. I feel really bad about it, especially on the first lap, but these things happen (: We continue learning!

3/16 Waterloo G&G, Grass Lake, MI (Gravel) 34th Overall (221) / 4th AG (6)
3/23 Melting Mann, Vandalia, MI (Gravel) 61st Overall (255) / 17th AG (31)
3/30 Dirty 30 Gravel Grinder, Saranac, MI (Gravel) 81st Overall (215) / 9th AG (24)
4/6 Lowell Classic, Lowell, MI (Gravel) 27th Overall (239) / 8th AG (15)
4/13 Barry Roubaix, Hastings, MI (Gravel) 216th Overall (1342) / 6th AG (18)
4/28 Ann Arbor Spring Training Series, Ann Arbor, MI 11th Overall 4/5 (48)
5/5 Fort Custer Stampede, Battle Creek, MI (Mountain!!) 7th AG (13)
6/1 The Waterford Races, Clarkston, MI 21st Overall 4/5 (24)
6/5 Grattan Race Series, Grattan, MI 20th Overall 'B' (37)
6/9 Dirty Donut, Martin, MI (Gravel)  1st AG (11)
6/14 Zeeland Crit, Zeeland, MI 27th Cat 4/5 (40) / 30th Cat 3/4 (38)
6/15 Ada Crit, Ada, MI 16th Cat 3/4 (25)
7/13 Detroit Cycling Championship, Detroit, MI DNF Cat 4/5 (81)
8/25 Debaets-Devos Crit, Detroit, MI 16th Cat 4 (25)
9/7 Alma Grand Prix of Cyclocross 18th Expert 3/4/5 (20)
9/8 Uncle John's Dirty Ride, St. John's, MI (Gravel) 2nd AG M 21-26 (9) / 10th Overall (322)
9/15 Art Van Sports Complex CX 14th Expert 3/4/5 (17)
9/29 Kisscross - Richmond Park DNF
10/12 Detroit Invitational of CX 37th Expert 3/4/5 (55)

I'm pretty sure this is by far my biggest year of racing, and by even more far my biggest year of training. YTD I am at 6,707km for the year; which for my less-European friends, is 4,167 miles. This is pretty insane, but I for sure think 5,000 miles is well within sight for this year! If I can keep my fitness somewhere near where it is now in the Spring, I'll be competing quite well in the early-season gravel adventures!

I have two goals in mind for the rest of the year:
1) Get to 5,000 miles
2) Top-ten finish in a CX race!

Have a great evening everyone! Cheers!
CE

Art Van CX

My road cycling skills don't necessarily translate into being able to go around corners even semi-quickly, but that's ok. I figure each week will be a learning process, and in a couple weeks I'll be able to hang with my best pal and CX coach, Tyler.

Again, my warm-up laps are feeling good, but once the race begins, I've tended to slow down quite a bit. As in all my life, my true goal is to feel a little more European everyday, and today's race was a good example of that. Not only did I bunny-hop a very small wooden plank in the ground on an uphill every lap, I was also able to ride through a pretty size-able sand pit every lap.

All my cross practice with Tyler is certainly paying off, where I have been losing ground is on the flat, real-bumpy sections. I think I may be running too much tire pressure, so all the little bumps in the ground are being exaggerated, which is throwing me all over the place, slowing me down.

This week of riding I'll certainly focus on working on these sorts of sections on various local trails, but the barrier jumping has been a strong point of mine. I'm certainly not losing any time getting off my bike, hopping, and getting back on, I'm losing a lot of time on the sections I would think I would excel at. I suppose the only way to continue getting better at cyclocross is to keep racing it, so I think I will.

I've been vegetarian for a little over a month now and that is going very well. I'm able to find something vegetarian at every place I've been, most places are super helpful in pointing out my options. These last two semesters of class are going by very slowly but I'll figure out how to get through them. I suppose this happens to everyone, but it seems like all the classes I'm taking are just to fill out my degree, I'm never going to use this stuff I'm learning in my life again.

3/16 Waterloo G&G, Grass Lake, MI (Gravel) 34th Overall (221) / 4th AG (6)
3/23 Melting Mann, Vandalia, MI (Gravel) 61st Overall (255) / 17th AG (31)
3/30 Dirty 30 Gravel Grinder, Saranac, MI (Gravel) 81st Overall (215) / 9th AG (24)
4/6 Lowell Classic, Lowell, MI (Gravel) 27th Overall (239) / 8th AG (15)
4/13 Barry Roubaix, Hastings, MI (Gravel) 216th Overall (1342) / 6th AG (18)
4/28 Ann Arbor Spring Training Series, Ann Arbor, MI 11th Overall 4/5 (48)
5/5 Fort Custer Stampede, Battle Creek, MI (Mountain!!) 7th AG (13)
6/1 The Waterford Races, Clarkston, MI 21st Overall 4/5 (24)
6/5 Grattan Race Series, Grattan, MI 20th Overall 'B' (37)
6/9 Dirty Donut, Martin, MI (Gravel)  1st AG (11)
6/14 Zeeland Crit, Zeeland, MI 27th Cat 4/5 (40) / 30th Cat 3/4 (38)
6/15 Ada Crit, Ada, MI 16th Cat 3/4 (25)
7/13 Detroit Cycling Championship, Detroit, MI DNF Cat 4/5 (81)
8/25 Debaets-Devos Crit, Detroit, MI 16th Cat 4 (25)
9/7 Alma Grand Prix of Cyclocross 18th Expert 3/4/5 (20)
9/8 Uncle John's Dirty Ride, St. John's, MI (Gravel) 2nd AG M 21-26 (9) / 10th Overall (322)
9/15 Art Van Sports Complex CX 14th Expert 3/4/5 (17)

Lots of pictures this week courtesy of our great friend Adam! Adam and his wife Jess were in the area so came by the race and took photos of Tyler and I. Thanks Adam!

Cheers! CE

Alma Grand Prix & Uncle John's

Good evening!

From a small and particular circle in my life, the blog posts have been requested; and thus have returned! It has been a very busy couple of months for me, and it doesn't seem like life is going to slow down any time soon. I've just got back to Kzoo from Alma (did you know it is pronounced El-ma, according to a billboard), after I stopped at the bar there to fill up a growler a teammate won, and generously donated to my cause. I slept in my car last night, which was exciting, and this weekend has been the closest to a vacation I've had in about a year (:

Yesterdays first cyclocross race of the year was a bit underwhelming. I started in the back, and followed wheels for most the first lap before I fell trying to carry my bike up a flight of stairs. It was pretty embarrassing and I was shaken up for the rest of the first lap. I wasn't able to recover and I cruised in for 18th/20, one place above where I was predicted to finish; better times ahead!

                                         *Best bud and CX coach Tyler takes third at Alma GP

I had a great set-up to sleep in my car Saturday evening. I was one of two other cars who decided to camp after the cyclocross race, I thought it would be more of a party! My good pal Nick texted me around 7 and he was set up in his van at Uncle John's Cider Mill, so I drove down to St. Johns from Alma and set up camp next to his van with Nick & Kelly. After a fantastic evening of conversation, I had a pretty restless night in my Chevy Cruze, but it feels pretty pro to sleep in a car the night before a race, I'll probably chase this feeling.

                                                *A beautiful evening for camping awaits

Today was much better. One of the local favorites; Uncle John's Dirty Ride! The race started fast, and didn't disappoint as it went forward. Of course, when you are racing only 24 very flat miles with the fastest people in Michigan, it will always be a questionable experience. I was quite nervous throughout about wheels touching around me and causing me to crash, but I managed to get to the finished road unscathed. I was able to stay about mid-pack, protected from the wind, and fresh until the last mile or so. I knew I needed to move up to the front and a gap opened up on the left side the road and I was able to come all the way to the front with less than a mile to go.

3/16 Waterloo G&G, Grass Lake, MI (Gravel) 34th Overall (221) / 4th AG (6)
3/23 Melting Mann, Vandalia, MI (Gravel) 61st Overall (255) / 17th AG (31)
3/30 Dirty 30 Gravel Grinder, Saranac, MI (Gravel) 81st Overall (215) / 9th AG (24)
4/6 Lowell Classic, Lowell, MI (Gravel) 27th Overall (239) / 8th AG (15)
4/13 Barry Roubaix, Hastings, MI (Gravel) 216th Overall (1342) / 6th AG (18)
4/28 Ann Arbor Spring Training Series, Ann Arbor, MI 11th Overall 4/5 (48)
5/5 Fort Custer Stampede, Battle Creek, MI (Mountain!!) 7th AG (13)
6/1 The Waterford Races, Clarkston, MI 21st Overall 4/5 (24)
6/5 Grattan Race Series, Grattan, MI 20th Overall 'B' (37)
6/9 Dirty Donut, Martin, MI (Gravel)  1st AG (11)
6/14 Zeeland Crit, Zeeland, MI 27th Cat 4/5 (40) / 30th Cat 3/4 (38)
6/15 Ada Crit, Ada, MI 16th Cat 3/4 (25)
7/13 Detroit Cycling Championship, Detroit, MI DNF Cat 4/5 (81)
8/25 Debaets-Devos Crit, Detroit, MI 16th Cat 4 (25)
9/7 Alma Grand Prix of Cyclocross 18th Expert 3/4/5 (20)
9/8 Uncle John's Dirty Ride, St. John's, MI (Gravel) 2nd AG M 21-26 (9) / 10th Overall (322)


My ever fearless teammate Matt came up with me and we took turns for a moment keeping the pace very high into a very sketchy left turn into the apple orchard. I was able to cut the corner and miss the ditch, but I hear plenty of people went down right there; I was ahead of all the crashes and feeling good. Another teammate, Mike, ended up taking the victory! as Matt and I cracked under the slight elevation at the finish! Rolling into a second in my age group, I was super happy being able to influence the finish! I am hoping to be able to take this form into the rest of the CX season.

                               *Hoping I can keep stacking podiums with CX season here, this picture was                                         actually very posed, they were only doing podiums for the age group winners

Next week I head up to GR for a CX race on Sunday, the anticipation builds! For now, I really need to get started on some homework.

Cheers!
CE

Who crashed? -- Detroit Cycling Championship

Good afternoon,

I stayed home from work today in an effort to speed up the healing process (also because I can't sit on anything without wincing). Another race in Detroit, another day of super solid positioning, and another super disappointing result. The question becomes: when does this hard work pay off? I've ridden more this year than I ever have done, I've been training smart and hard, I feel like I can hang with just about anyone, but I still can't win anything (or even come close). I know at this point it is just a game of luck and getting a good break, and I'm really hoping it happens soon.

The race in Detroit on Saturday was huge, a field on 80 to begin. I met my buddy Joe before the race started and we had a nice warm-up with him and one of his teammates. I didn't have any teammates in this race, which was too bad. Having somewhere there to keep me safe and towards the front would have been great. Anyway, I started the race in the second row, perfect positioning, and it started fast! The pace finally let up after about 4 or 5 laps and I was able to get my heart rate back down from it's thunderous pace. I was sitting pretty good, probably about between 7-10 guys off the front, but feeling good and pedaling through most corners (which is good as you won't lost momentum).

We get to about 5 laps to go, and I'm feeling super good. Holding my positioning well and not burning too many matches before the finale, I am this feeling that I might actually have a go at the sprint! 2 laps to go, things are starting to get dicey, people are making moves that aren't smart in an effort to get towards the front, and I'm following their wheels getting a free ride to move up a couple places.

Last lap comes, and I'm in the perfect spot. I'm on the outside coming into the first corner, about 6 guys in front of me. I was thinking, I will use the back straight away to move up another position or two and get behind a guy I had chatted with before the race, who I knew was very strong. As we come into the first corner, I have a guy pretty close to me on the left, and then someone else tries to fit between us. He does, but then moves to his right as we are coming around the left-corner (to get into position to take the inside line on the upcoming right-turn) and he takes someone out, who then brings me and a couple other guys down. We all slide across the pavement into the barriers.

I lay on the ground for a couple seconds, assessing the situation. If feels like no harm is done, and I didn't really hit the ground that hard. It's just the sliding across the pavement at 28mph that does the damage...I tell the paramedics I'm fine, hop on my bike, and finish the race. Of course, it seems as though I wasn't placed as I'm not on the results list, but I did ride my bike across the line. I immediately went over to the medical tent, they patched me up, and in good spirits and high hopes, I am on my way!


3/16 Waterloo G&G, Grass Lake, MI (Gravel) 34th Overall (221) / 4th AG (6)
3/23 Melting Mann, Vandalia, MI (Gravel) 61st Overall (255) / 17th AG (31)
3/30 Dirty 30 Gravel Grinder, Saranac, MI (Gravel) 81st Overall (215) / 9th AG (24)
4/6 Lowell Classic, Lowell, MI (Gravel) 27th Overall (239) / 8th AG (15)
4/13 Barry Roubaix, Hastings, MI (Gravel) 216th Overall (1342) / 6th AG (18)
4/28 Ann Arbor Spring Training Series, Ann Arbor, MI 11th Overall 4/5 (48)
5/5 Fort Custer Stampede, Battle Creek, MI (Mountain!!) 7th AG (13)
6/1 The Waterford Races, Clarkston, MI 21st Overall 4/5 (24)
6/5 Grattan Race Series, Grattan, MI 20th Overall 'B' (37)
6/9 Dirty Donut, Martin, MI (Gravel)  1st AG (11)
6/14 Zeeland Crit, Zeeland, MI 27th Cat 4/5 (40) / 30th Cat 3/4 (38)
6/15 Ada Crit, Ada, MI 16th Cat 3/4 (25)
7/13 Detroit Cycling Championship, Detroit, MI DNF Cat 4/5 (81)
8/25 Debaets-Devos Crit, Detroit, MI 16th Cat 4 (25)
9/8 Uncle John's Dirty Ride, St. John's, MI (Gravel)
11/2 Iceman, Traverse City, MI

As the road season winds down already, I'm looking forward to cyclocross! I will shift my training to that discipline for the rest of the summer (high miles) and then pour on the intensity when we get closer to those races. The Cherry Roubaix is the state championship race for road racing, so I'm looking forward to that race.

I'm aiming to be back on the bike for the Pedal Thursday night ride. My wounds don't feel great, but my bike is fine and I've got a deep hunger to succeed now. I know my fitness is there as I was in the mix in one of the bigger races in the country, so I'm hoping for some good results and to be able to Cat up by the end of the year!

Cheers! CE

Zeeland and Ada Crits

What started out as a terribly disappointing race weekend turned out to be one where I can take some confidence. In an epic Charlie Eaton move, I decided I would try and race my gravel bike at the Zeeland Crit, a race I look forward to every year and keep on my 'A' list of races. My pink cruX is a fast bike, but it does not compare to an aero road bike, which I desperately needed in the howling wind through downtown Zeeland.

Team Clark Logic controlled the 4/5 race very well. There were 5 of us racing (Tim, Dan, Elliot, Kevin, and myself) and we all stayed towards the front the entire race. One of us would attack, making the rest of the field chase that person down, while the others on the team were able to stay in the draft and not do any work. As soon as the field brought back the rider in front, someone else from our team would attack. This went on for the first 25 minutes of the race and things were going very well for me. I could tell that I was at a disadvantage being on my gravel bike with far less gearing than my road bike (meaning I had to pedal much faster to have any sort of speed), but I was hanging around in the top-10 of the race the entire time and feeling pretty good.

Eventually, we brought back Elliot and it was my turn to make a move. I attacked up the right side at the start-finish straight-away with about 4 laps to go, and I completely blew up. I was away for 2 corners (super not great) and the field caught me on the back stretch which was completely into the 20mph wind. I had nothing left, trying to grasp the back of the field but I couldn't do it. I was dropped. I heard the announcer the next time we crossed the line say, 'here is Charlie Eaton, he has done his work for Clark Logic and is off the back', in truth, I hadn't done that much work and I just couldn't hang. But I won't tell him that. I cruised into the finish towards the back of the race, and it was a bummer. Lesson: no gravel bikes at road races, it just doesn't work.

Next was the 3/4 race in Zeeland. It was super, super fast and I made it about 15 minutes before I was off the back and there was no catching the field. I pulled myself out of the race and I was broke, the calamity was setting in and I was pretty heated. A race I had been looking forward to for months was over and it was my worst race of the year.

As they say, the best way to get over a bad race is to race again. So race again I did. I went up to Ada Saturday and did the 3/4 race. I wasn't planning on going, but the forecast seemed like the rain was going to hold off and my legs were feeling fresh. The race wasn't until 4:30 and it only takes an hour to get there, so I had until about 2:00 to decide if I really wanted to go or not. I did some yard work early in the morning before the rain began (we still love owning a home) and then went to my parents house to hang out with my sisters (everyone is home this weekend for father's day) (the driveway at my parents house has 6 cars and a boat right now) and do some laundry. I didn't really have anything else to do so I decided I would go race.

Got up to downtown Ada around 4, went for a nice little warm-up and the race began. I was on my road bike this time, and the race was just as fast if not faster than Zeeland, but it was so much easier for me to stay with the group. I felt my positioning was good, top half of the field, but I lost focus for 20 seconds and there was a gap. I had found myself behind a couple riders who weren't paying attention and before I know it, 15 or so riders have a gap on about 5 of us. Once I realize what is happening it is too late and now I'm chasing.

There were 5 of us in the chase group and it didn't seem like everyone knew what was going on. I hate to sound full of myself, but there was only myself and one other guy who seemed to know what we should be doing. Quick pulls to chase down the group. When we began to chase the gap wasn't too large, maybe 10 seconds. If we would've worked together well from the start we probably would have had a chance to catch the field. Alas, a couple of the guys with us were taking far too long at the front and it really slowed us down. Looking back, I really wish I would've taken off with the other guy that was sort of trying to direct our group and we might of had a chance working together.

Anyway, the official pulled our group with 4 to go (if we would have kept going, the officials had calculated that our group would have finished the race at the same time as the main field, only a lap down, which would have been extremely dangerous) so we got the bell with 4 laps to go (meaning it was my groups last lap). I was determined to be first in the group I was in, so I took off on the climb on the back side of the course and came flying down the down-hill into the finish. I was able to have a real go at a sprint and I was able to maintain it for a while. I finished first in the chase group, and I was feeling super good.

3/16 Waterloo G&G, Grass Lake, MI (Gravel) 34th Overall (221) / 4th AG (6)
3/23 Melting Mann, Vandalia, MI (Gravel) 61st Overall (255) / 17th AG (31)
3/30 Dirty 30 Gravel Grinder, Saranac, MI (Gravel) 81st Overall (215) / 9th AG (24)
4/6 Lowell Classic, Lowell, MI (Gravel) 27th Overall (239) / 8th AG (15)
4/13 Barry Roubaix, Hastings, MI (Gravel) 216th Overall (1342) / 6th AG (18)
4/28 Ann Arbor Spring Training Series, Ann Arbor, MI 11th Overall 4/5 (48)
5/5 Fort Custer Stampede, Battle Creek, MI (Mountain!!) 7th AG (13)
6/1 The Waterford Races, Clarkston, MI 21st Overall 4/5 (24)
6/5 Grattan Race Series, Grattan, MI 20th Overall 'B' (37)
6/9 Dirty Donut, Martin, MI (Gravel)  1st AG (11)
6/14 Zeeland Crit, Zeeland, MI 27th Cat 4/5 (40) / 30th Cat 3/4 (38)
6/15 Ada Crit, Ada, MI 16th Cat 3/4 (25)
6/29 Port City Crit, Muskegon, MI
7/13 Detroit Cycling Championship, Detroit, MI
7/14 Corktown Crit, Detroit, MI
7/20 Whiskey City Twilight Challenge, Lawrenceburg, IN
7/26 - 7/28 Make-a-Wish, Traverse City to Galesburg
8/10 Rose City Crit, Jackson, MI
8/18 Gaslight Crit, Grand Rapids, MI
8/25 Debaets-Devos Crit, Detroit, MI
9/8 Uncle John's Dirty Ride, St. John's, MI (Gravel)
11/2 Iceman, Traverse City, MI

What started as a disastrous weekend, thinking I had washed-up and was never going to be fast, turned into something that I can be proud of and take some confidence from. I know I can hang with the 3/4 guys, I just need to be attentive and not let gaps form. I'm strong enough to stay with just about anybody, now I just need to prove I can finish well. We will get them next week.

Cheers! CE

Dirty Donut

The struggle is real. I have to wake up at 5am now in order to get things done (:

The Dirty Donut was fantastic yesterday! With rain and mud and donuts, what could go wrong? Before the race, no rain. Fantastic. As we begin to line up to start, the rain begins. It is pretty warm out so no big deal, but it still wasn't great and it was a prelude to a questionable race. The race began with all the TCL guys up front and we set the pace for the first few miles before the hills began. I was popped on the first real big, steep hill (no surprise) and at that point it was all about the donuts!

A couple teammates picked me up and I rode with them to the first donut stop. I was the only one of the 4 of us to stop for donuts, and I ate 12 at the first stop (: I didn't eat them super quick, but they all went down pretty easy. I left this stop with another teammate, under the idea it would be a pretty chill ride the rest of the way in. There were 4 of us again, and I rode off but missed a turn (: I was worried I had missed the turn so I turned my head to see if the people I had just dropped had turned, which they did. I turn around and do my best to catch them quickly before the third and final donut stop. Here, Albie and I had both eaten 12 donuts at the first stop, so I was pretty certain he was the only person who had matched my donut count. That being said, I knew I had to eat as many as he did and make sure I had the same number of donuts when we left the last donut stop.

He ate 6 very quickly and was off. The 6 I ate here took a long time to eat and Albie probably left the donut stop 10 minutes before I did and there was no catching him, he is too quick. I still took some risks and got back as fast as I could, my legs felt very good. I ended up getting 'first' in my age group, after my time being adjusted for donuts eaten (: I ate 18 so I got 1.5 hours taken off of my time. I crossed the finish line about 3 hours, so my ending time was about an hour and a half, taking my age group and tying Albie for the most donuts eaten, my prouder of the two accomplishments. However, I didn't win the King on the Donut award as Albie had a better finishing time than I did. There is always next year I suppose.

3/16 Waterloo G&G, Grass Lake, MI (Gravel) 34th Overall (221) / 4th AG (6)
3/23 Melting Mann, Vandalia, MI (Gravel) 61st Overall (255) / 17th AG (31)
3/30 Dirty 30 Gravel Grinder, Saranac, MI (Gravel) 81st Overall (215) / 9th AG (24)
4/6 Lowell Classic, Lowell, MI (Gravel) 27th Overall (239) / 8th AG (15)
4/13 Barry Roubaix, Hastings, MI (Gravel) 216th Overall (1342) / 6th AG (18)
4/28 Ann Arbor Spring Training Series, Ann Arbor, MI 11th Overall 4/5 (48)
5/5 Fort Custer Stampede, Battle Creek, MI (Mountain!!) 7th AG (13)
6/1 The Waterford Races, Clarkston, MI 21st Overall 4/5 (24)
6/5 Grattan Race Series, Grattan, MI 20th Overall 'B' (37)
6/9 Dirty Donut, Martin, MI (Gravel)  1st AG (11)
6/14 Zeeland Crit, Zeeland, MI
6/15 Ada Crit, Ada, MI
6/22 Athens Brick Criterium, Athens, OH
6/29 Port City Crit, Muskegon, MI
6/30 Great Lakes Classic Road Race, Marne, MI
7/13 Detroit Cycling Championship, Detroit, MI
7/14 Corktown Crit, Detroit, MI
7/20 Whiskey City Twilight Challenge, Lawrenceburg, IN
7/26 - 7/28 Make-a-Wish, Traverse City to Galesburg
8/10 Rose City Crit, Jackson, MI
8/18 Gaslight Crit, Grand Rapids, MI
8/25 Debaets-Devos Crit, Detroit, MI
9/8 Uncle John's Dirty Ride, St. John's, MI (Gravel)
11/2 Iceman, Traverse City, MI

Super excited to kick some a$$ in Zeeland this Friday. Last year, this race was super fast and I didn't even get close to the front. My positioning was poor and I wasn't aggressive enough, things I have been much better at this year. I need to stay towards the front but not too far in the front. The danger of being too up-front is that I'll be doing a lot of work bringing back riders who take off. The danger of being too far in the back is that after every corner I'll have to do a little more work to accelerate back up to stay with the group. A fine line between the two, but I have big hopes. It is about time for me to start getting some upgrade points so I can move up to Cat 3 (the big time). I'll be racing twice in Zeeland on Friday night, it'll be super cool, you should go.

Cheers!
CE

The Waterford Races

I may need to rethink my racing strategy (: I don't understand how I finished nearly last in this last race over in Clarkston, MI. I was first at the start of the last lap, right? I was pushing the pace with a couple other guys and I came around to the front as we crossed the line on the bell lap.

My answer to being on the front (where I didn't want to be) was to sit up (go real slow) and I'm thinking this was a mistake. After a lot of thought on the way home, I should of kept the pace fast. I had done a lot of work throughout the race, chasing people back, trying to form moves with other riders, etc., but I still had a little bit of gas left. Everyone came around me and I was pretty well boxed in (meaning I couldn't move left or right because other people were there) so I didn't have a go at the sprint at all. My co-worker Evan can attest that I told him, 'the one thing I really want to do in this race is have a real go at the sprint", and it seems like I did not.

Well, I can take some serious positives here. I held on very well to the front of the race the entire time, something I wanted to work on from last year. Yeah, I had to dig deep a couple of times to keep in contact, but it was impressive I was able to hang at the front. Overall, I raced just about exactly how I wanted to until the end, I believe this bodes well for the rest of summer! Hooray!

I just got back from a 100km ride with Tyler. I don't do many long rides and I really need to start. It felt good but my hamstrings are still suspect, I should really be stretching more but you know, that takes too much time. Instead, I'd rather write blogs.

My new house is amazing, I love being a homeowner! I always have something to do, and it is so lovely not having my mother asking me a million questions all of the time (I love you Ma). I've got a cat, his name is Zipp. He is super perfect but the little buddy likes to knock around his water bowl and spill water everywhere, does anyone have any suggestions with this? (:

*this is Zipp he is just so purrrfect*

This Saturday is the Dirty Donut!!! 5 minutes is taken off your overall time for each donut you eat (and don't throw up) at the 3 donut stops throughout the 40 miles. As all the people at my office (and former offices) know very well, I don't blink at 6 donuts, so I'm looking forward to see how many my body can handle during a bike race!

After this weekend, we head up to Zeeland on Friday for two races. This is probably my favorite race of the year, at dusk on a Friday night, right through downtown! It was super fun and super fast last year, and I'm hoping I can put on a super good showing for myself and the team! The next day I head over to Ada to race again, I have no idea where Ada is so I'm going to figure that out. Sunday is up in Grand Haven, I haven't done this race before but it is a road race, so I'm hoping to sit in and draft off of everyone and then out-sprint the field at the end!

*my spare bedroom has been taken over*

3/16 Waterloo G&G, Grass Lake, MI (Gravel) 34th Overall (221) / 4th AG (6)
3/23 Melting Mann, Vandalia, MI (Gravel) 61st Overall (255) / 17th AG (31)
3/30 Dirty 30 Gravel Grinder, Saranac, MI (Gravel) 81st Overall (215) / 9th AG (24)
4/6 Lowell Classic, Lowell, MI (Gravel) 27th Overall (239) / 8th AG (15)
4/13 Barry Roubaix, Hastings, MI (Gravel) 216th Overall (1342) / 6th AG (18)
4/28 Ann Arbor Spring Training Series, Ann Arbor, MI 11th Overall 4/5 (48)
5/5 Fort Custer Stampede, Battle Creek, MI (Mountain!!) 7th AG (13)
6/1 The Waterford Races, Clarkston, MI 21st Overall 4/5 (24)
6/5 Grattan Race Series, Grattan, MI 20th Overall 'B' (37)
6/9 Dirty Donut, Martin, MI (Gravel)
6/14 Zeeland Crit, Zeeland, MI
6/15 Ada Crit, Ada, MI
6/16 Vuelta a Porta Sheldon, Grand Haven, MI (?)
6/22 Athens Brick Criterium, Athens, OH
6/29 Port City Crit, Muskegon, MI
6/30 Great Lakes Classic Road Race, Marne, MI
7/13 Detroit Cycling Championship, Detroit, MI
7/14 Corktown Crit, Detroit, MI
7/20 Whiskey City Twilight Challenge, Lawrenceburg, IN
7/26 - 7/28 Make-a-Wish, Traverse City to Galesburg
8/10 Rose City Crit, Jackson, MI
8/18 Gaslight Crit, Grand Rapids, MI
8/25 Debaets-Devos Crit, Detroit, MI
9/8 Uncle John's Dirty Ride, St. John's, MI (Gravel)
11/2 Iceman, Traverse City, MI

Have a fantastic week everyone, I am so glad summer (?) is finally here.

Cheers!
CE

Fort Custer Stampede

First mountain bike race about went as well as expected. I started in the front but I wasn't in the front enough. That's fine. I know I'm not going to be able to hang with these guys once we get on the technical parts. I was able to fly on anything that was straight and flat, but I was losing so much time on the singletrack it didn't do me much good to try and get back to the leaders on the two-track. Not much to say about this race, I'm feeling pretty fast-ish on the trails, just need to learn a bit more about mountain bike racing. Only thing is; I'm not that interested to want to learn anymore (: It is kinda fun, but not really.

                                              *I might have been the Easter Bunny at Easter

I'll be participating in the WAM 300 at the end of July. WAM stands for Wish-a-Mile, and it is a benefit ride for the Make-a-wish foundation, something I'm sure most everyone knows is very dear to my heart. The 300 stands for miles, starting in Traverse City on Friday, the 3 day ride ends at the EATON proving grounds in Galesburg on Sunday. That's crazy, right? No. Some of the kids I've read briefly about, it absolutely breaks my heart. No fault of their own, some of these wonderful children are faced with the battle of a lifetime, sometimes before they are even in high school. I can't even begin to imagine. My goal is to raise $1,200 before the 300 mile ride at the end of July, and I hope you'll consider donating here. More about this in the upcoming months. I was extremely fortunate to never require the services of this organization 5 years ago, but a lot of kids need our help.

Next weekend starts a couple months of driving around the Michigan-Indiana-Ohio area for racing. I'd really like to do this, but to say I'm overwhelmed with everything would be an understatement (: For those keeping score, I'm taking 4 online classes this summer, coupled with buying a home (I hope to close this week or next) and a little extra workload at the office, I'm not expecting a whole lot of success on the bike. I've already kind of designated this year as one of some more learning, seeing what my body is capable of and trying to hold on in races and see what happens. I know next summer, I'll be done with school, but I just realized I hope to be in full-swing of taking CPA exams, so even that will slow me down next summer. Ugh. I'm hopeful I can rest up and get some solid miles in this week, now that the weather is scorching hot. I can already feel the sun-burn.

I rode my first ever Wednesday night 'hammer-fest' ride last week! As the name implies, this ride is fast and long. Fantastic. Just what the doctor ordered (I've actually strained my hamstring and the doctor ordered rest, but what do they know). It went fantastic. I was able to hang with the front group the entire time, we ended up having 4 flat tires between the 12 of us in the group, super fantastic. Of course, this brings a lot of confidence that I'm fast enough to hang with some of the fastest guys in kzoo. I think my days of going out for 3 hour long rides are behind me, I've built up enough base. For this summer, my focus is working on my speed and some interval work (super hard, super easy, super hard, super easy) and this will bring me the results I'm looking for in a few months time.

3/16 Waterloo G&G, Grass Lake, MI (Gravel) 34th Overall (221) / 4th AG (6)
3/23 Melting Mann, Vandalia, MI (Gravel) 61st Overall (255) / 17th AG (31)
3/30 Dirty 30 Gravel Grinder, Saranac, MI (Gravel) 81st Overall (215) / 9th AG (24)
4/6 Lowell Classic, Lowell, MI (Gravel) 27th Overall (239) / 8th AG (15)
4/13 Barry Roubaix, Hastings, MI (Gravel) 216th Overall (1342) / 6th AG (18)
4/28 Ann Arbor Spring Training Series, Ann Arbor, MI 11th Overall 4/5 (48)
5/5 Fort Custer Stampede, Battle Creek, MI (Mountain!!) 7th AG (13)
6/1 The Waterford Races, Clarkston, MI
6/9 Dirty Donut, Martin, MI (Gravel)
6/14 Zeeland Crit, Zeeland, MI
6/15 Ada Crit, Ada, MI
6/16 Vuelta a Porta Sheldon, Grand Haven, MI (?)
6/22 Athens Brick Criterium, Athens, OH
6/29 Port City Crit, Muskegon, MI
6/30 Great Lakes Classic Road Race, Marne, MI
7/13 Detroit Cycling Championship, Detroit, MI
7/14 Corktown Crit, Detroit, MI
7/20 Whiskey City Twilight Challenge, Lawrenceburg, IN
7/28 The Divide (Gravel) / Muncie Grand Prix, Muncie, IN
8/10 Rose City Crit, Jackson, MI
8/18 Gaslight Crit, Grand Rapids, MI
8/25 Debaets-Devos Crit, Detroit, MI
9/8 Uncle John's Dirty Ride, St. John's, MI (Gravel)
11/2 Iceman, Traverse City, MI

As far as an 'A' race for the rest of the year, or a race I'm really looking to do well at, nothing stands out. Of course I'd love to do well at the Detroit cycling weekend on the 13th, but that is a huge race and might be coming a year too soon based on my current fitness (good not great) and my injury woes (as mentioned above). For those concerned, I can't take 3 weeks off a bike to let my leg heal, I'd lose too much fitness. I can stretch and ice and compress which will put a band-aid on the problem, but I'm able to ride and ride fast so I'm happy.

Hammond, IN sounds like a long way away, but my best-bud Nate Timmons is driving a 1950's (?) VW van around the entire country, so maybe it isn't too far. Check out The Dad Book here.

I have two classes starting tomorrow..........

Cheers! CE

Home Ownership

Good evening!

Not having any classes for a couple weeks is strange. There is this gap for a couple hours everyday where I wonder, 'shouldn't I be working on something?'  It is fantastic, but I can't help but wonder what happens to this feeling after I graduate? I lost my 4.0 gpa this semester, but I was taking some tough classes and it was my first tax season, so I get some slack. Also, grades were still pretty darn solid, so no issues there. I won't be going to grad school, so as long as I get a C, I'm good, right?Further, I've talked with my bosses and adviser at Davenport and we've come up with a pretty good plan for my next 2 years. I want to purchase the Becker CPA prep exam course online thing by the end of this summer. It's expensive, but it is all-encompassing and I get it for 18 months; meaning it is critical that I pass the 4 CPA exams in that 18 months, not too bad.

If I start preparing for the exams by the end of summer, I plan on taking the most difficult of the four exams in December before tax season kicks off. This will give me a solid 4 months to prepare for the most difficult test, and I think that will be fabulous. After I pass the first, I want another 4 months to prepare for the second test, meaning I'll take that around April or May. Assuming I pass the two most difficult exams, I'll take another 2 or 3 months to prepare for the final 2 exams, which I would then plan on taking next summer. And there you have it, Charlie Eaton CPA! Very loose, and a lot needs to happen of course (I've got all my classes scheduled to be able to graduate next Spring), but we are excited for this little chapter. Further, I'm taking 4 online classes this summer, so if I'm not riding bikes or at work, chances are I'm at Starbucks pretending to do homework.

Everyone knows I think, but I bought a house! I don't close for another couple of weeks, but based on what I know, everything is going super smoothly and it looks like things will be finalized without much hassle. A lot of the older men in my life (again, no offence) have asked questions about this decision and I won't go into the details here, but I am super super super excited to begin building some equity in a fantastic little house in the Westnedge Hill neighborhood, and I'll hope everyone I know will stop by at some point to have some drinks with me and chat! Ethel has been fantastic, I texted her last Tuesday morning and we made an offer Wednesday and it was accepted that evening! I was able to get pre-approved for a mortgage without any co-signers (if you haven't started building credit yet, lets chat - Betsy and Em) I've got big plans for this little place, I figure it's a 5-10 year house, I'll sell it, and it'll be a down-payment on another house for me, fantastic!

I know you all came here for the bike stuff. I've strained my hamstring. I don't exactly know what that means but it hurts. I rode a couple weeks ago out to Gobles and back and ever since there has been this pain on the back of my knee. I've been able to ride through it and still be pretty fast, but it has been there for a while. After enough concern from my parents, I went to the Borgess walk-in something and they took some x-rays and felt around and decided my hamstring was strained. Word on the street is, I don't ever stretch so that is why this happened, but goodness it isn't super comfortable and it is slowing me down enough where I need to give it some attention. So, we are going to stretch, drink a lot of water, and eat healthy. I've said this before? (: Best Pedal Thursday night ride of my life last Thursday though with the problem hamstring. I was able to go as fast as everyone else up all the hills, which I'm never able to do. I know it is all mental, but I think this may be a turning point for me. Let's hope I can do it again next Thursday.

I raced today over in Ann Arbor after having skipped the Yankee Springs Time Trial on Saturday for a couple reasons: 1) I waited too long and couldn't pre-register online 2) weather was questionable 3) my mountain biking skills are laughable. Anyway, this was my first road-race since I crashed hard in Detroit last July (really?) and it went well. Not great, but well enough to be excited about next week. I'm not exactly sure what happened, but some guy took off by himself at the very beginning. I then got up to the chase group of about 6 of us. A couple laps later, I saw a couple guys from our group take off in an effort to get up to the solo leader. I saw them leave, but didn't do anything. So that leaves 4 of us in this chase group behind 3 guys in front of us (the leader had waited for these other 2 to catch up) and our group never really worked together. We ended up lapping the field but at the end of the race, the 3 leaders also lapped us. So it was a crazy finish, as the leaders come around our group at the finish while we are coming around the rest of the field, everyone was done. I didn't realize this, but once the leaders finish the race with the correct number of laps, everyone else is done too. So I didn't really have a go at the 4 other guys I was with because I was under the impression we still had another lap to go. Looking back at this race, I think I need to do whatever it takes to make the break-away. I for sure have the fitness, especially after I can get my health back to 100%. We'll get them next week.

3/16 Waterloo G&G, Grass Lake, MI (Gravel) 34th Overall (221) / 4th AG (6)
3/23 Melting Mann, Vandalia, MI (Gravel) 61st Overall (255) / 17th AG (31)
3/30 Dirty 30 Gravel Grinder, Saranac, MI (Gravel) 81st Overall (215) / 9th AG (24)
4/6 Lowell Classic, Lowell, MI (Gravel) 27th Overall (239) / 8th AG (15)
4/13 Barry Roubaix, Hastings, MI (Gravel) 216th Overall (1342) / 6th AG (18)
4/28 Ann Arbor Spring Training Series, Ann Arbor, MI 8th Overall 4/5 (35)
5/5 Fort Custer Stampede, Battle Creek, MI (Mountain) / AA STS
5/11 Hammond Region Riot, Hammond, IN
5/25 Twilight on the Square, Akron, OH
5/26 Newark Center Classic, Englewood, OH
6/1 Deaconess River City Bicycle Classic, Evansville, IN
6/9 Dirty Donut, Martin, MI (Gravel)
6/16 Vuelta a Porta Sheldon, Grand Haven, MI (?)
6/22 Athens Brick Criterium, Athens, OH
6/29 Port City Crit, Muskegon, MI
6/30 Great Lakes Classic Road Race, Marne, MI
7/13 Detroit Cycling Championship, Detroit, MI
7/14 Corktown Crit, Detroit, MI
7/28 The Divide (Gravel) / Muncie Grand Prix, Muncie, IN
8/10 Rose City Crit, Jackson, MI
8/18 Gaslight Crit, Grand Rapids, MI
8/25 Debaets-Devos Crit, Detroit, MI
9/8 Uncle John's Dirty Ride, St. John's, MI (Gravel)
11/2 Iceman, Traverse City, MI

Good stuff this week, right? Super exciting times for everyone's favorite Associate Accountant, as always, get a hold of me if you are having any issues with the IRS or other taxing agencies (: I'd love to help. There is so much more I could add, but I'll leave it alone. I was planning on doing two races this morning, but my leg had other ideas (: probably, shouldn't have done the one, but it'll be fine, right?

I can't believe it is already Monday.

Cheers! CE

Barry Roubaix

First time racing BRX; a learning experience.

The race lined up super early. I was out riding my warm-up and found Elliot riding around so joined him. My wave was set to start at 10:08, and by 9:30 the start chute was filled. No worries, I thought, as this race is timed as sort of a time trial. So it isn't necessarily what place you finish in, but the time from when you cross the start line until you cross the finish line.

Before I knew it, the front of my wave was quite a ways in front of me. So I'm in a strange position. I start in wave 3, but all the contenders for the race I'm riding are starting in wave 7, which starts 8 minutes behind my wave. For the first 20 minutes of the race, coming up the 'three sisters' - three large hills at the beginning - I was just trying to catch the front of my wave. The fastest guys in the 36 mile race still start in wave 7 - and all my teammates - but I still knew that all the guys in my age group, 19-24 started with me in wave 3. Up the big hills I was able to catch up with a few tandems that started in my wave, which are very good allies to have during the race. As I experienced with Tim last year at Melting Mann, tandems are very fast when the racing is flat, just very slow climbing. So for about 5 or so miles, it was a constant passing the tandems up hills, and then they would catch me up on the flats and I would get behind the group of 3 tandems and ride behind them for a while.

I don't think I ever caught the very front of wave 3, as I finished 6th in my age group (which all started in wave 3), one spot off the podium, darn. The top guys in my age group were in front of me the whole race. I was constantly passing people the entire time. The 22 mile route merged with my 36 mile route during the race, so the road was constantly filled with riders much slower than I was going. It was a constant cycle of riding as hard as I could to get on the group in front of me, realizing quickly they were going much slower and then coming around and chasing down the next group on the road. I was doing very well at this until we got to Sager Road, the renowned two-track, which was full of rocks and sand, it was bad. I was behind a large group coming into Sager, so I was behind a lot of people walking their bikes, with not any room to get around. With all the sand, I didn't have anything, and my race blew up. I walked pretty much the entire road and while doing so got a lot of sand in my cleats.

For the next 10 or so miles after Sager, I couldn't get my right foot clipped into my pedal. For all those concerned, I have shoes and pedals that fit together, and not being able to clip in my right foot really messed with me. I was mad about it for a while, letting a lot of people pass me and not really worried about putting in the effort to make up some ground on the riders ahead of me. I eventually got over this after a while, and just used my right pedal as a sort of platform, which was dangerous as my foot kept slipping off, causing me to go slower and not really able to hold onto any wheels ahead of me. This was a large part of the race where I lot of people came by me, and I'm disappointed with this as my fitness was good yesterday, I was really putting in some power when I could, and I was able to out-climb anyone around me. That being said, I was never really with anyone I was directly competing with. I didn't know who was in my age group so I couldn't mark anyone to make sure I stay with them.

Eventually, I hit a large pothole fast enough and the hole was large enough that it forced my shoe to be able to clip back into my pedal, and I was off. The last 10 miles I was with a group of about 5 people, and we cruised back into Hastings. Probably averaging upwards of 22 mph, we passed a lot of people. Unfortunately, most of these people we passed probably weren't in our race, as the 36 mile course was now the same as the 22 mile course. Basically, all these people are in the way, and no benefit to me.

3/16 Waterloo G&G, Grass Lake, MI (Gravel) 34th Overall (221) / 4th AG (6)
3/23 Melting Mann, Vandalia, MI (Gravel) 61st Overall (255) / 17th AG (31)
3/30 Dirty 30 Gravel Grinder, Saranac, MI (Gravel) 81st Overall (215) / 9th AG (24)
4/6 Lowell Classic, Lowell, MI (Gravel) 27th Overall (239) / 8th AG (15)
4/13 Barry Roubaix, Hastings, MI (Gravel) 216th Overall (1342) / 6th AG (18)
4/27 Yankee Springs TT, Gun Lake, MI (Mountain !!)
4/28 Ann Arbor Spring Training Series, Ann Arbor, MI
5/5 Fort Custer Stampede, Battle Creek, MI (Mountain)
5/11 Hammond Region Riot, Hammond, IN
5/25 Twilight on the Square, Akron, OH
5/26 Newark Center Classic, Englewood, OH
6/1 Deaconess River City Bicycle Classic, Evansville, IN
6/9 Dirty Donut, Martin, MI (Gravel)
6/16 Vuelta a Porta Sheldon, Grand Haven, MI (?)
6/22 Athens Brick Criterium, Athens, OH
6/29 Port City Crit, Muskegon, MI
6/30 Great Lakes Classic Road Race, Marne, MI
7/13 Detroit Cycling Championship, Detroit, MI
7/14 Corktown Crit, Detroit, MI
7/28 The Divide (Gravel) / Muncie Grand Prix, Muncie, IN
8/10 Rose City Crit, Jackson, MI
8/18 Gaslight Crit, Grand Rapids, MI
8/25 Debaets-Devos Crit, Detroit, MI
9/8 Uncle John's Dirty Ride, St. John's, MI (Gravel)
11/2 Iceman, Traverse City, MI

This years Barry Roubaix was one of learning. Get to the start early. Stay on wheels. Try and survive Sager Rd. without stepping off or walking too much in the sand. It was too bad so many people were in the way. It is too bad that the people I was competing with started 8 minutes after me. I wish this race was organized differently, but it is what it is. I'm happy with my fitness, I'm looking forward to more races. I'm thinking about going down to Indy next weekend to race, we will see. It might be of greater benefit to train hard this week, this weekend, and next week; just to get some more solid base behind my training. I don't really have any races on my A list until July in Detroit, so now might be a good time to really work on my fitness some more and work on some smart, structured training now that tax season is over, and school is about done.

A fantastic race from all the TCL guys and ladies, a ton of podiums. Well done!

Not too many photos this week, but lots of information; enjoy (:

Cheers! CE

Lowell 50

So the Lowell 50 was amazing on Saturday! Super beautiful area and course, and the event was very well run. From the parking to the registration and the awards, I was impressed. I'm always looking for free stuff, and I got a new PINK water bottle holder out of the race, already a winner in my book. Further, it was a beautiful day; the first real 'summer' like weather we've had, and that seemed to raise my confidence even more than it was already.

*first row, fifth from left

I think I should mention how pro I felt at Lowell yesterday, but when don't I feel pro, right? We started with a neutral lead-out for maybe the first mile or so. That means there was a car in front of all the racers, and no one can pass the car until it pulls off. So the car is leading this group of around 250 riders through a beautiful area, we are all just going nice and easy, about 15mph, through a covered bridge, and then the car pulls off. The racing started immediately. Some guy took off right at the start but he wasn't strong enough and came back as soon as he left.

We then took a right I believe, I was still sitting about 5th wheel, and a big, rocky, uphill in sight. Of course, I'm all into it and I'm fine for about 20 seconds then people start coming around me and I can't hang at all. Ugh. Who would have thought. BUT, another group came around me once it started getting flat again. It's a bigger group, maybe 10 guys, and with everything I had in me I was able to grab the last wheel in the group and hang on. This is really all it takes to get with a group, but it still takes that 10 seconds of all out effort when you're already struggling to hang.

The entire race, I was with this 'chase' group. I'd say by the end there were about 15 of us, as we were really making up some time on the lead group and we kept picking people up and they would be able to hold on and join us. Now, something to note is that a bigger team out of BC I think, Athletic Mentors, had 3 or 4 guys in this group. It was a game of trusting that this team would want to catch the lead group, so they would be setting the pace the entire time, and they pretty much did. I had to trust that these guys would want to get back up to the front so they would be making sure our group was going fast, which was very well done.

Towards the end of the race, maybe 2 miles to go, I found myself in the front of this big group. I'm not quite sure how I got up to the very front, and I didn't really have any idea how many people we still had with the group, but I decided to lay down the hammer a little bit. I could feel everyone getting pretty tired, I was too, and I thought lifting the pace might crack a couple guys and get our group smaller. This didn't work; I brought the pace up to about 22mph but it seemed everyone was able to sit in the draft and match the speed. Then we got into a few little rolling hills and I found myself at the back of the pack with maybe 1.5 miles to go; not where I want to be.

Fortunately, there was a big down hill into the finish and I was able to take my own line on the outside and work my way back up well enough to have some sort of good position coming into the sprint. There was a big left turn, I was maybe about 6th in the group, and I could tell people were starting to wind up. I was just so happy I was still with this group at the end of the race, I didn't really make a move. I was exhausted, I had done a lot of work to stay with this group and I didn't have much left. I was able to hold my position but I couldn't pass anyone, so I finished probably around 6th in the 'chase' group, only about 5 minutes off the leader. I'm super happy.

3/16 Waterloo G&G, Grass Lake, MI (Gravel) 34th Overall (221) / 4th AG (6)
3/23 Melting Mann, Vandalia, MI (Gravel) 61st Overall (255) / 17th AG (31)
3/30 Dirty 30 Gravel Grinder, Saranac, MI (Gravel) 81st Overall (215) / 9th AG (24)
4/6 Lowell Classic, Lowell, MI (Gravel) 27th Overall (239) / 8th AG (15)
4/13 Barry Roubaix, Hastings, MI (Gravel)
4/14 Ann Arbor Spring Training Series, Ann Arbor, MI
4/20 Marian Cycling Classic, Indianapolis, IN
4/27 Yankee Springs TT, Gun Lake, MI (Mountain !!)
4/28 Ann Arbor Spring Training Series, Ann Arbor, MI
5/5 Fort Custer Stampede, Battle Creek, MI (Mountain)
5/11 Hammond Region Riot, Hammond, IN
5/25 Twilight on the Square, Akron, OH
5/26 Newark Center Classic, Englewood, OH
6/1 Deaconess River City Bicycle Classic, Evansville, IN
6/9 Dirty Donut, Martin, MI (Gravel)
6/16 Vuelta a Porta Sheldon, Grand Haven, MI (?)
6/22 Athens Brick Criterium, Athens, OH
6/29 Port City Crit, Muskegon, MI
6/30 Great Lakes Classic Road Race, Marne, MI
7/13 Detroit Cycling Championship, Detroit, MI
7/14 Corktown Crit, Detroit, MI
7/28 The Divide (Gravel) / Muncie Grand Prix, Muncie, IN
8/10 Rose City Crit, Jackson, MI
8/18 Gaslight Crit, Grand Rapids, MI
8/25 Debaets-Devos Crit, Detroit, MI
9/8 Uncle John's Dirty Ride, St. John's, MI (Gravel)
11/2 Iceman, Traverse City, MI

Yes! Would you look at that. I'm very happy with 27th overall. I wasn't able to hang with the front group, but I did hop on the second big group to come around me and I was able to stay with them most of the race! YES! I have a feeling Barry may be coming a little too soon for me. I've been training well and I'm super stoked with how much I've been riding, but I need some more time. I rode with Tim, Ryan and Ben up at Yankee today, and it was rad. First time on my new mountain bike and it was the best! My mountain bike skills have much to be desired, but my fitness is good and I was flying. I went out for a second loop with Ben and Ryan and they just destroyed me. They were gone before I was even able to see where they were, ugh. But, I'm just starting out with a mountain bike and there is a lot of technique involved, none of which I have.

We've got one more week of tax season, just about another week or two of school (I think??) and then things will calm down a little bit. For all those concerned, I'm taking 3 classes this summer so I can graduate next Spring! Yes, an end is in sight. I have a feeling this week is going to be one with little sleep. I have about a million things I need to do for school, and don't tell any of my professors but I haven't really started anything yet, ugh.

I'm super excited for the rest of this year, I'm pretty fast, I'm figuring out what works for me, and I am having a super good time doing it; the most important thing. I should probably be doing some homework. Big race next week, my plan is to just hang with whoever I get with, stay relaxed and calm, and hope to do well, let's do it!

Ha, oh. Today at Yankee Springs Tim and I passed some people, and of course trying to be as courteous as possible Tim said something along the lines of, 'oh no hurry, we're fine' to which she replied, you must be in a hurry if you're riding a pink bike. LOL Of course Tim and I both have the same bright super PINK mountain bike, that was hilarious, you had to be there.

Cheers! CE

Dirty Thirty

ALL EYES ON BARRY! ALL EYES ON BARRY!

It is important to remember, the races I've been doing are just practice for Barry in April. There aren't a lot of gravel roads I know of around Kzoo, so these races are what I have to practice on. I'm looking for a big result in the biggest gravel road race in the country up in Hastings. WE will see how everything goes, but these races won't define the year; at all.

Ugh. Yesterdays race in Saranac (?) was by the far the most muddy and most wet race I've done yet. This clearly did not play to my advantage. Not only was I super caught off by the climbs in the first mile in the race, but the ground was very loose and I don't think there is too much I can take from today. I have a fleeting suspicion that I don't have any brake pads left and my brakes are metal on metal, but I'll confirm that tomorrow.

*If you haven't noticed, my favorite face to make when I'm trying to jump on groups ahead of me is that of desperation

I don't really understand how it is happening, and no offence to anyone, but these 50+ year-old men are coming around me and just riding me right off their wheels. I can't really tell what I'm doing wrong or what I'm not doing right, but I certainly need to be a little more efficient with just about everything. I've been able to just about stay on top of homework, but it's been tight. I don't know how other people are so good at time management, tips would be appreciated. I always find myself wasting a lot of time either playing solitaire on my phone, watching Netflix, or writing blogs, and I need to be more intentional with my time.

I really think I need to add some sort of stretching routine to my day. For being a 22 year old young man, I'm very inflexible. I often come off the bike pretty sore in places you wouldn't expect - back, thighs, neck, things like that. It's annoying and it slows me down, I think I learn how to stretch and maybe do some yoga.

3/16 Waterloo G&G, Grass Lake, MI (Gravel) 34th Overall (221) / 4th AG (6)
3/23 Melting Mann, Vandalia, MI (Gravel) 61st Overall (255) / 17th AG (31)
3/30 Dirty 30 Gravel Grinder, Saranac, MI (Gravel) 81st Overall (215) / 9th AG (24)
4/6 Lowell Classic, Lowell, MI (Gravel)
4/7 Ann Arbor Spring Training Series, Ann Arbor, MI
4/13 Barry Roubaix, Hastings, MI (Gravel)
4/14 Ann Arbor Spring Training Series, Ann Arbor, MI
4/20 Marian Cycling Classic, Indianapolis, IN
4/27 Yankee Springs TT, Gun Lake, MI (Mountain !!)
4/28 Ann Arbor Spring Training Series, Ann Arbor, MI
5/5 Fort Custer Stampede, Battle Creek, MI (Mountain)
5/11 Hammond Region Riot, Hammond, IN
5/25 Twilight on the Square, Akron, OH
5/26 Newark Center Classic, Englewood, OH
6/1 Deaconess River City Bicycle Classic, Evansville, IN
6/9 Dirty Donut, Martin, MI (Gravel)
6/16 Vuelta a Porta Sheldon, Grand Haven, MI (?)
6/22 Athens Brick Criterium, Athens, OH
6/29 Port City Crit, Muskegon, MI
6/30 Great Lakes Classic Road Race, Marne, MI
7/13 Detroit Cycling Championship, Detroit, MI
7/14 Corktown Crit, Detroit, MI
7/28 The Divide (Gravel) / Muncie Grand Prix, Muncie, IN
8/10 Rose City Crit, Jackson, MI
8/18 Gaslight Crit, Grand Rapids, MI
8/25 Debaets-Devos Crit, Detroit, MI
9/8 Uncle John's Dirty Ride, St. John's, MI (Gravel)
11/2 Iceman, Traverse City, MI

Ah, so not a fantastic result. Not as bad as I thought it would be, but again not great. We must all remember, it is still early, this is my first year taking my cycling more seriously, and the results will come. I'm really looking for that top-10 finish in one of these gravel races. I know the results don't really point towards that, but it is a lot closer than it may seem. I know the bike fits well, I've had good races before. I'm a little suspicious of my fitness, but I know what I need to focus on, which is important.

I'm super excited to race on the pavement next weekend. My road bike is dialed, and I feel very quick on the road. My plan is one of attack. I want to stay towards the front and get back any attack that goes off the front. If anyone is strong enough, it'd be great to make a move and hold until the end.

It is the final two weeks of tax season and we are all super excited about that. I've got a solid grasp on all my classes I think. I'm not sure the 4.0 is going to make it through this semester, but that is OK. I'm hoping today is the last of the real cold weather, and we will have a big week of riding. I refuse to take Thursday and Friday off before a race; that is too much time not doing anything, and I think that hurt my race this weekend. We'll get them next weekend with some nicer weather, I'm expecting a couple podium pictures.

Cheers! CE

Melting Mann

Disclaimer: I am having a fantastic Spring. I know sometimes my posts can come off as a little negative, but that is just me being hard on myself and having huge expectations. I'm super happy with how my Spring training and racing has been going. It is early, this will lead to a big year.

Ah, Melting Mann. There's nothing like ringing in the first weekend of Spring with a gravel race down in Vandalia; the air is chilly, the wind howling, expectation fills the baseball field where the race kicks off. I came into this race with about the same expectation and strategy as any race this time of year; hold the first group until I get shelled, pick people off one at a time and finish pretty alright.

This is exactly what happened. Started the race in a solid position, a lot of people in front of me but only about 4 rows back. In the future, may even want to start a little closer to the front. While I was with the front group for about the first 20-ish miles, I was never really at the front. I was about mid-pack, maybe a little further back, just hanging on. I was popped at one of the bigger hills, no surprise there.

I was very impressed with my positioning today. While maybe not positioned towards the front where I would have liked to have been, I wasn't giving up position easily, I wasn't falling further back every time the group bunches together; which in the past I have been guilty of getting a little complacent and letting riders come around me as the race slows (bad). Today I was a little more brave. I would follow wheels that I could tell were moving up, a very good thing. Only being able to see out of one eye slows me down in instances like this, I'm hesitant to change lines quickly because its pretty hard for me to tell if anything or anybody is on my right side. Ugh. Today though, I was following wheels and not losing position, something that will probably translate to future races well. This is a huge positive, and I'm excited to be learning about races since I've been doing so many.

Another positive, my body feels great after racing today. Last week, I really couldn't bend too much for at least a few hours. I'm not sure why I wasn't sore after today, I think it may be a combination of better pedaling form, better conditioning, getting used to riding at a fast-pace, etc. It's hard to tell, but I feel super fresh, ready for a nice long ride tomorrow with friends.

3/16 Waterloo G&G, Grass Lake, MI (Gravel) 34th Overall (221) / 4th AG (6)
3/23 Melting Mann, Vandalia, MI (Gravel) 61st Overall (255) / 17th AG (31)
3/30 Dirty 30 Gravel Grinder, Saranac, MI (Gravel)
3/31 Autobahn Spring Criterium, Joliet, IL
4/6 Lowell Classic, Lowell, MI (Gravel)
4/7 Ann Arbor Spring Training Series, Ann Arbor, MI
4/13 Barry Roubaix, Hastings, MI (Gravel)
4/14 Ann Arbor Spring Training Series, Ann Arbor, MI
4/20 Marian Cycling Classic, Indianapolis, IN
4/27 Yankee Springs TT, Gun Lake, MI (Mountain !!)
4/28 Ann Arbor Spring Training Series, Ann Arbor, MI
5/5 Fort Custer Stampede, Battle Creek, MI (Mountain)
5/11 Hammond Region Riot, Hammond, IN
5/18 Weekend at WLSR, Muskegon, MI
5/25 Twilight on the Square, Akron, OH
5/26 Newark Center Classic, Englewood, OH
6/1 Deaconess River City Bicycle Classic, Evansville, IN
6/9 Dirty Donut, Martin, MI (Gravel)
6/16 Vuelta a Porta Sheldon, Grand Haven, MI (?)
6/22 Athens Brick Criterium, Athens, OH
6/29 Port City Crit, Muskegon, MI
6/30 Great Lakes Classic Road Race, Marne, MI
7/13 Detroit Cycling Championship, Detroit, MI
7/14 Corktown Crit, Detroit, MI
7/28 The Divide (Gravel) / Muncie Grand Prix, Muncie, IN
8/10 Rose City Crit, Jackson, MI
8/18 Gaslight Crit, Grand Rapids, MI
8/25 Debaets-Devos Crit, Detroit, MI
9/8 Uncle John's Dirty Ride, St. John's, MI (Gravel)
11/2 Iceman, Traverse City, MI

Further, another positive, once I got popped, boy I was cruising. I'm a huge fan of riding my own race when it comes to this gravel nonsense. After losing the front group, all that happens is I'm going close to the same speed as them, and I'm just picking up one group at a time, sitting on their wheel for a moment to get some rest, and moving to the next group, it is wonderful. Occasionally someone will hop on my wheel and I'll drag them along for a while, but I'm pretty quick when my heart-rate is under control, so I'm able to leave most people.

I did notice today while I was cruising by myself towards the end of the race, a large group, maybe 10 to 15 riders came past me, and I didn't grab their wheels, this was a mistake. I think I get a little distracted when I'm coming into a finish after a long race, and they just stayed about 30 seconds ahead of me the last 3 miles of the race. In the future, when I'm riding by myself in these races, I want to be grabbing every wheel that comes past me. Like Ryan says, 'that 15 seconds of all-out pain to grab a wheel will lead to an easy 5 minutes of drafting'.

Good day in the saddle. Another learning experience. Probably didn't ride enough this last week, between questionable weather, a weird stomach bug last Sunday, and mountains of homework, I didn't get out as much as I should have done.

It's a new week, I'll ride a bunch, and hit them again next Saturday up in GR!

Cheers! CE