Everyone should go to a Monster Truck Jam

FYI: The following post has little to do with triathlon or athletics in general.

So last summer the Emmet County Fair announced there would be a Monster Truck Jam. Having never been to such an event I had to attend. Long story short it was an incredible experience and we had a blast. The finale performed by Predator was spectacular.Video on left. Reptoid on Right.

Thus when I was driving to the Farmer's Market to sell by B-Nuts Trail Mix and heard an advertisement on the radio for Monster Trucks at the North West Michigan Fairgrounds I decided I had to go. So we got a car full and drove down to TC for the show. Now this show was paced a little slower but had superb people watching. To blend in we dressed the part (pictures below).

Walker the Welder and myself. Trucks in background. 

Nigh Stalker crushes a helpless station wagon

The following is a short bit of prose I was compelled to write following the show.

A dusty haze settled over a technicolor sunset as the scent of high octane racing fuel entered the nostrils and implanted itself within, touching the deepest elements of the human soul. The raging behemoths sat silent, having already unleashed their rage and destruction on the derelict station wagons. Leaving with ringing eardrums and muted grins, we absconded into the night. 


 

Duck Lake Time Trial-My first pure TT race

     Today I competed in the Duck Lake TT (link here), which served as the Michigan Time Trial Championship. Having competed numerous 40K (24.8 Miles for us silly Americans) efforts in triathlons, putting in an all out, balls to the walls effort is slightly different. I was excited to see what kind of time I could put down, considering I've been focusing on my bike training since my injury this winter.
    I have an 11.8 mile rolling hill loop by my house that I've been training on. This year I've been doing the loop consistently under 30:00. Last year my Olympic Distance Tri I've had splits of 62 and 64 and taking those things into account  I set a  goal for the TT to be at 58:00.
    I drove down the night before and stayed with my Grandma in Big Rapids, before driving to the race, near Whitehall.  I felt a little rushed as I got my equipment set up, warmed up, etc. I'd rather be rushed than have to sit around and wait--less time to think about it.
   I was a little jittery from excitement and some caffeine as I rolled out at 9:07. I focused on keeping a steady and controlled pace for the first lap, passing several riders and splitting somewhere around 29:30 I believe. The roads were in decent shape for what I'm used to-chip sealed last summer or so.  There was a steady wind, leaving the long side of the rectangular course into the wind. I just tried to keep my head down, stay aero and slowly build up the effort. With about 10K to go I knew I needed to force myself to push the pace and I responded well. I rounded the finishing corner and sprinted to the line. Glancing at my watch I knew I was right close to 58 flat.
   After a cool down I was able to track down my official results-58:02 and another Cat 5 'W'. Reflecting on my race I am happy, but I do feel like I could have left a little bit more out on the course. It was a new experience and I'll have to learn the pacing required for optimal results. I also need to get more confidence and risk more on the corners. It was a great experience and I plan on doing some more in the future.

Cat 5 40K TT- 58:02

  I have to give a shout out to Lon Epstein, who was a roommate while I was in Colorado my first year. He had an internship at Cannondale and got Chrissie Wellington to sign a picture for me. It arrived by FedEx the day before the race. Thanks Lon!

"Where'd those guys go?"-West Brach Road Race

After winning the cat 5 race at Washtenaw I put in to upgrade to cat 4, despite having less than the required 20 points. I didn't think that USA Cycling really cared that much...but I got rejected. Thus when Daemian and I signed up for the West Branch Classic road race we were both racing cat 5. Upon registration there was no course map, no info about number pickup or much specific info in general. There was a hand drawn map to the start staging area where the heading had North pointed down. Judging by this we were expecting an interesting race. The course was 44 miles, two loops, with plenty of rolling hills and one mile long steady climb to the finish.

Our race started at 10:30, and as we were standing in a group waiting and it was HOT! Not like Kona, just overcast, no air movement whatsoever. I hate waiting around to start in the first place and the heat only made it worse. However once we rolled off and got a breeze I didn't notice the heat for the rest of the race. There were about 30 or 35 in cat 5.

 For the first lap everyone was in one group, no one was really pulling, just getting into it pretty easy. Like my experience with other cat 5 races, there was little organization and tons of brake use-age. Annoying blast up the hill, sit up and bunch together, etc. No one wanted to work to put in some pulls and break the group up. I just sat in the middle of the pack. At the finishing climb for the first lap, there was some more steady effort and some people fell off the back. Around mile 25, I started to move up to the front of the pack to try to work with some people to break the group up. I put in a pull and looked back and no one went with me, they were just hanging out. So I sat up and chilled.

A mile or two latter I made another move to see if anyone wanted to go in a break. No one did so I figured I'd try it solo, since they weren't very organized. I got probably 300ish meters off and the distance held as I worked for a mile or so. Then they closed the distance down and I re-grouped. Still, no one was making any moves. I guess everyone wanted a sprint finish.

After a couple more miles I tried to break again and get someone to work with. This time one guy went with me. We gained some distance and it looked like there was a mildly organized attempt to catch us. We started to catch a few cat 4 guys that had blown up, still gaining time on our pack. We made a right turn and were working together well as there were many rolling hills. At this point we had quite a distance on the pack, but kept the pressure on. As we approached the final right turn for the climb to the finish I new there was no chance we would be caught.
    Getting into the "lets finish this race" mode, the began to distance the guy I had been working with. About half way up the hill I had about 100m on him and eased up as I crested the hill to the finish, getting my second win of the season. Now I can upgrade for sure.
   With Daemien in the main pack he gave me the scoop after we broke away. There was an attempt to bridge up, but it didn't get organized. After the second to last right, everyone went back to the "chillin" mode and didn't work together. At one point, in reference to our breakaway, a guy asked, "Where'd those guys go?" (or something like that). Daemian said, "They're gone!", to which he responded, "WELL WHY DIDN'T ANYONE SAY SOMETHING!" Interesting, since I thought I was pretty obvious with my intentions.

After the finish there was pizza, sandwiches and beer for all participants. I'd never been at a race with "free" beer (even if it was Mich Ultra). Road races just keep looking better than triathlons. Tons of fun, cheaper, food, beer and good prizes. I won a beer tub with 6 beers, a beer mug, and a nice helmet. Granted I killed 8 flies, got bitten by mosquitoes and  sweated my stones off waiting around for the awards, which should have been more organized, but it was worth the trip. I highly recommend any triathlete try road racing. I'll be doing a lot more of it.