One of the harder parts about this race was having to make the decision to do it or race the MTB at Fort Custer.  All of my kids list the Fort as one of their favorite races, so their minds were already made up.  I made the tough decision to go to Cone by myself while the rest of the family did the MTB thing.  The other hard decision was which wheels to use.  I thought about using the new Bontrager Aeolus D3, but figured they would be way too stiff on the bumpy gravel.  I ended up using the Bontrager RXL and could not have been happier.  Geoff and I packed up his dwarf-sized vehicle and headed out around 6:00 the morning of the race.  We had planned to arrive early and take a lap of the course.  We did arrive early, but it was easier to stand around and talk then do a whole warm-up lap.  We rolled the first half mile of gravel then turned around and headed for the start.  The memories of the race are pretty fuzzy as the lack of oxygen and gravel flying make it difficult to focus during the race.  I will try to recount the important events as I remember them.

Lap 1- Nice, easy roll-out but once the gravel is in sight guys start swarming the front.  Once we hit gravel the pace increases and stays there until we hit pavement.  I find myself off the front with another guy and then he looks back and has a panic look.  We missed the corner to the second section of gravel and we begin to chase.  I think the group slowed down and waited for us as we catch back on before we hit pavement again.  It was a ton of work to catch up, but not too much harm done.

Lap 2- Kind of a replay of the first except the gravel was even faster this time.  Lots of attacks, but nothing comes of them.  Geoff comes up next to me and is having issues with his wheel and lets me know he is going to get a replacement.  On his way back he also gets a flat and is never seen again.

Lap 3-This is where I am pretty fuzzy.  I remember the Spin guy in orange going off the front alone, but Mac joined him some how and I honestly have no idea how it happened.  I know there were attacks and lots of chaos, but I think he disappeared for a while and very few people realized it.

Lap 4- Nice easy pace even on the gravel.  I now know why, because Bissell was letting the break, that few people knew about, go.

Lap 5- A group gets away on the second gravel section and some of us begin to rotate at the front and try to get them back.  Tom and I are the only teammates working and Tom tells me he will do the work and I should relax a little.  I take his advice and hide while they pull down the windy finishing straight.

Lap6- I go to the front on gravel and before I know it I have caused a separation.  It is just me and 5 other guys.  Adam York and I are the only ones without teammates up the road, but a little pleading and we get some help from the other guys.  We finally catch the group in front of us, but Mac and the other guy are long gone.  We finish out the lap with a few attacks, but nothing real strong and guys are getting pretty tired.

Lap 7- Paul Martin flex’s his muscle’s a little and hits the gravel super hard.  I’m not sure about everyone else, but I was just about at my limit.  Thankfully the pace slows a little and everyone settles in for the finish sprint.  The group has about 12 guys and I’m not sure if anyone is a sprinter.  So, rather than wait for the sprint I start it.  In my normal fashion it is probably a little early, but it almost worked.  I am sitting almost dead last and decide to go with 300 meters left.  I think I caught a lot of guys by surprise as I was able to get a pretty good gap.  I am sprinting strong and can see one wheel coming up.  I try to hold them off but my legs aren’t working with me and I am caught by Derek Graham at the line.  Just finishing the race without mechanical troubles is good, but finishing 4th is awesome.

Dan K

The first week of May brings us many great things in the Michigan cycling world. Occasionally, pleasant weather is one of them, but the Grattan Race Series is a constant. Now in its 33rd year, people have been racing bicycles at Grattan longer than my time on earth. I think we’re all excited for this Wednesday.

A new addition to early May – though not quite in Michigan – is the “I Love Goshen Bicycle Criterium,” and the name really could not be more appropriate. Goshen is a small town with a small college of the same name in northern Indiana. It’s about a 2-hour drive from Grand Rapids, depending on your adherence to posted speeds. Of course Leadout’s own Peter Beels attended Goshen College during his early post-secondary years, so it must be a great place. The town really turns out for this race. Leading to the final race of the evening, people line the streets cheering loudly. You don’t always get that in a small town crit. Plus the course is a wide, smooth, and non-techincal, seemingly designed to maximize speed. Racing on a Friday night is a rare treat too, if you can duck out of work early enough. You might even get to enjoy a normal Saturday at home.

Early May also brings us Cone Azalia. You either love it (Paul Martin; certain former MBRA directors), or you hate it (most people)…or you’re kind of indifferent and you show up just hoping not to break your bike. Anyway, while Lori and I were in the area for Willow TT and the Ann Arbor training crit (more on those in an upcoming post), we drove the Cone Azalia course to check out the road conditions.

Bottom line…definitely better than 2011. If you’ve ever wanted to ride your bike through mud-filled potholes every 5 feet while riding 25 mph, 2011 Cone was your dream. 2012 looks to be better. The first gravel section is 2.5 miles long, occurring just after the start/finish line. It is very smooth. There is some loose gravel on the edges, but potholes seem to be very sparse. The gravel at the time had been packed down nicely by a light rain throughout the day. Gravel section 2 occurs a mile after section 1, following a much appreciated stretch of fairly decent pavement.

Relatively smooth gravel - section 1

Gravel #2 is a bit rougher. While section #1 is very open, generally surrounded by fields, #2 is a bit more wooded. I think the trees contribute to a greater number of potholes…maybe their shade causes less or slower thawing in the winter, something like that. Section #2 before the left-hand turn is about 1/2 a mile, and is still decent, but a few more potholes. Section #2 after the left turn (heading west) is the worst of the gravel. Potholes are more common, and the gravel seemed to be looser (and deeper) here. I would guess that this road is much less traveled, so any gravel laid down is going to stay on the road longer.

The worst of the gravel - section 2 after the left turn

Arguably the worst stretch of the Cone course is the paved road coming off of the last gravel section (Dennison Rd.) Where there are not gaping holes in the pavement, there is a patchwork of shoddy chip-sealed repairs. Anyone who’s done the race knows this is nothing new, but I think it’s gotten worse.

I will probably race at Cone Azalia this year. I’m about 90% certain. I vowed if the gravel was anything like 2011, I would not return, and it appears that it is improved. Who knows what could happen in the next week with rain and Monroe County road maintenance. It’s also quite possible that driving a car does not provide adequate perspective, but I also drove some of the gravel last year the difference in a car was noticeable. I would say I’m cautiously optimistic about course conditions this year.

Hope this report helps. See you at the races.

Admittedly I have neglected my blogging duties over the past few weeks. I was supposed to write Part 2 of our Kentucky training trip. That was 6 or 7 weeks ago. Old news. In short, we rode lots of hills and twisty roads, saw lots of dogs and trailers, and managed to find 7000+ feet of elevation on our 91-mile day. It was an excellent weekend of riding our bikes and telling stupid jokes.

Last weekend (April 21-22) Lori and I spent the weekend in Chicagoland. April 21 is Lori’s birthday, so it was quite a treat for her to spend 2 nights in a ghetto hotel in the western suburbs. We did enjoy a classy dinner at a nice Greek restaurant Saturday night, so all is well on the domestic front. Saturday was Leland Kermesse, a gravel road race on a 25 KM loop of flat farm roads. Fellow Leadouts Ben Groenhout and Bryan Kuyper joined the fun, getting to the hotel at about 2 AM. The race totally blew apart from the very first gravel section, and I was disappointed to find that I could not keep the pace of the front groups. BK (also in the cat 3 race) suffered a similar fate, and we both dropped out after 100 KM following intense muscle soreness in the “saddle area” from all the rough gravel road jostling. Ben represented well for Leadout, placing mid-pack in the cat 4 race. He also did 100 KM, but that was his full race distance. Results can be found here.

Mark, Ben, and Bryan discussing the savagery of the Leland Kermesse.

Sunday was the Lincoln Park Criterium on Lake Michigan on Chicago’s north side. WIND was the story of the day here. With temperatures in the low 50’s and mostly sunny, it should have been a decent day, but 20 mph winds off the fifth largest lake on earth make it feel very frigid. Joined by BK again and Mike Vandenberg, we would put on extra layers and crank up the heater in the car between races to stay warm. Since the event had a masters 30+ race and other combined category fields, I was able to do 3 races on the day. Early in the day, Mike raced the cat 4’s and finished respectably despite field fragmented by increasing winds.

I picked up a cash prime in the first race (30+) and was able to ride near the front pretty easily the entire race. Only a poorly timed late bridge attempt to the winning pair scrapped any chances I had for a good sprint finish.

In the cat 3 race, friend of the team Eric Blankenship (Rhythm Racing, Chicago) made a bold solo breakaway attempt from the gun. Despite a chase that came within 20 feet of him after a few laps, he persevered and extended his lead again. I was in the right place and initiated the flurry of moves that soon allowed 3 or 4 people to catch me, drop me, and bridge up to Eric to form the winning move. I was caught in no-mans-land for a few laps of frustration before resigning myself to the field. Guess I should have done more intervals in the winter. BK and I both finished mid-pack again.

The 1/2/3 race was really a non-event for the Leadout boys. I think the first 2 races combined with 10 minutes of shivering at the start line really took me out of it mentally. I was back to my old ways of tailgunning the field. The race was not a whole lot faster, but the jumps out of the 180-degree turn were certainly more consistently aggressive. Not good at the back of the pack. BK and I both DNF’d about a half hour into the race. Full Lincoln Park results are here.

Although I’m not quite happy with my race fitness at this point, I was pleased to be riding pretty aggressively during the crits, and doing so without a ton of struggle. My spidey senses…err…race awareness was pretty strong, I just need to make the body execute better. Good early weekend in a long season.

Accelerating out of the 180-degree turn

Wow I can’t believe I forgot to add how grateful I was to have my Soigneur embrocation for my pasty white legs on this chilly spring weekend. Warmth without bulky tights or leg/knee warmers is fantastic. If there was ever a time for it, this was it.