The cement hurts...

Jimmie and I headed out for a ride Saturday morning.  It was suppose to be a typical ride down to Northville and back with an added TT on the latter half of Hines.  We had friends coming over to spend the night.  I was looking forward to having company.  I had planned on finishing the ride and heading to the store to get new chair covers and a fire pit for some evening outside hangout time.  Things didn't go as I planned.  I woke up in the ER on Saturday afternoon throwing up as some Dr. I'd never seen before was asking me questions.  I noticed Jimmie there still in his jersey with some jeans on.  I was confused.  I woke up in my room and again wasn't sure what had happened.  Lots of Drs in and out of my room asking me questions about my vision.  Apparently I had quite the shiner on my right eye.  I had broken a bone above my right eye, broke my left clavicle ( again) and injured much of the right side of my body.  I kept trying to figure out what happened as I drifted in and out of consciousness.  I know I saw my parents at different parts of the day but I couldn't tell you when.  I know I kept asking Jimmie what happened.  He kept telling me the same thing.  We hadn't even made it to Newburgh Rd when he heard me sliding across the pavement behind him.  We didn't have a cell phone on us so after he made sure I was conscious he high tailed it back to the house to get the van to drive me to the hospital.  When he got back I had been loaded into an ambulance and they were checking over me.  They told Jimmie they were going to take me to Botsford hospital because it's the only hospital in the area with a trauma unit.  That's right apparently I was a trauma case. 

Maybe it was the black eye or the bleeding from my nose or the repetitive asking of the same questions.  Regardless this memorial day weekend was going to be the worst I somewhat remember.  Sunday I was again in and out of it all day with the added bonus of vomiting many times throughout the day.  I wanted to go home but I couldn't even sit up without feeling super dizzy.  I hate throwing up.  It makes me want to cry every time.  It's an awful feeling.  Fortunately I couldn't eat anything - no appetite due to nausea and head injury.  I threw up breakfast on Saturday and didn't eat all day Sunday.  You never get sleep at night in hospitals.  They wake you up several times throughout the night to take your vitals and of course I had the added bonus of heparin shots in the belly so I don't get a blood clot.  Jimmie stayed super late on Saturday, basically until the nurse made him leave.  I could tell he was worried.  Monday eventually arrived and I was more than ready to get out of the hospital.  I wanted badly to take a shower.  I felt like a dirty grease bomb.  After the umpteen Dr showed up to ask me the same round of questions I was cleared to go home. 

My sister, Layla and Lambros showed up later on Monday with some food.  They were at the hospital on Sunday and probably at the time where I was most awake. It's amazing how much family helps out when you don't even ask them for it.  We talked to them for a while and eventually they left.  I was finally home and cleaned up and ready for bed.  Jimmie and I watched some Fringe and eventually went to bed. 

Jimmie stayed home with me on Tuesday while I made appointments and just tried to feel normal. 

Since the whole crash hoopla happened I've been thinking a lot about everything in life.  I may be ready to make some big changes soon or maybe I'm ready to hop on the trainer and continue with my training...only time will tell. 

I'm grateful to have all the wonderful family and friends in my life but mostly I'm unbelievably lucky to have Jimmie.

Tandemania and trail skills

We've had a tandem 26" mtb in the house for a few years now.  Over time Jimmie has been slowly acquiring the parts to put the bike together.  We decided to try out the tandem after a personalized trail skills clinic we had at ILRA.  I believe this was the same day as the Willow Run TT.

We rode our race bikes through much of the trail at ILRA before we stopped toward the beginning of the short loop to go over some skill related drills.  There are some really fun short downhills with corners on the short loop that we figured would be the best spot for me to get my learn on.  Jimmie demonstrated how I should ride the course at that spot.  I went to the top of the hill and came barrelling down it to try to repeat what he showed me.  Actually it worked.  I thought about what he said and applied it.  Now I can see how people fly through corners as fast as they do. 

After we finished our trail ride we got the tandem out of the van and took it out on its maiden voyage.  Holy crap is that a weird experience.  I rode as the stoker and all I can say is there is a sh!t ton of flex and you really can't see what's going on ahead of you.  It's also something to try and get a feel for the spinning and timing.  I was laughing a ton and having a lot of fun, but I was also kind of getting freaked out about going downhill on this thing.  As we headed over spring mill pond and crossed the creek the rear tire totally exploded.  It turns out it the Fire XC Pro tire was in pretty bad condition and we didn't notice.  As we were stopped we ran into Gabby Bruno from Dark Horse who was doing her usual fast paced ride through ILRA.  We chatted for a while and then she rode off to get more trail riding on.  It was nice to catch up with her.  We put a tube in the rear tire, CO2'd it up and headed back to the trail head via the road.

I've since talked to Seth about how we now have a tandem.  He said we should all meet up at The Poto (it gets an article because it is such a bad a$$ trail) to ride together.  Uh not so sure about that idea as of yet.  Jimmie and I take very different lines on that trail and I think I would scream with him at the front. 

ILRA XC

I had originally planned on racing the 6 hours of stony on Saturday May 11th.  I woke up that morning and just couldn't fight the urge to race the tailwind racing XC race at ILRA.  That place is like a giant reminiscence of times past when I began riding in 1997 on my blue aluminum Nishiki.  Years ago on one of my many rides out at ILRA I saw tailwind racing signage.  I tossed around the idea of racing then, but was too intimidated.  I couldn't even tell you what year that was.  My understanding is that it's been years since anyone has been allowed to have hold a mtb race at ILRA.

I pulled up close to the Sweet Bikes tent where Seth and Emily were hanging out.  They both thought I showed up to the wrong race and I told them I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to race at ILRA.  I registered, reluctantly, for the elite/pro category and headed back to the van to get geared up.  Seth was making last minute bike setup changes and warming up with me here and there. 

We both decided to get in our waves for the start.  It was cold and rained a little that morning.  I think it was in the mid 40's for our start.  I wore knickers and a short sleeved jersey.  I was shivering so much waiting for our start that a nice man in front of us offered to let me wear his jacket.  I thanked him and explained to him that I prefer to be cold at the start than comfortable.  Comfortable means I'll probably over heat - a little lesson learned from iceman. 

It seemed like it took forever for our wave to lineup to start.  It was on the gas from 1.  Sue and Erin were in the front from the start.  I hung on till about the first climb and never saw them again.  At this time I figured I was in 4th since another Canadian racer was ahead of me.  Abby Owsley pulled us through quite a bit of the 1st lap.  We finally caught the other Canadian, Melanie Bernier, atop the climb next to the road where you see the smiley face.  I was happy to catch her.  The three of us rode together through the completion of the 1st lap and all the way to the sprint finish that I didn't participate in.  I can say I had the most fun I've ever had racing that day.  I've never actually rode with other competition the entire race.  I can only hope for more racing like that in the near future. 

Emily Kleinglass raced and ended up in second.  It's always fun to watch new racers really enjoy themselves.  She seemed to really have a good time. 

I got to meet Cru Simpson, Scott and Chrissie Simpson's baby boy.  Chrissie picked out the name for their son not knowing anything about the movie Rad Racing, a film about BMX bike racing, and the main characters name Cru Jones.  Needless to say Scott, a very enthusiastic BMXer, was happy with the name. 

Willow Run TT

Seth Kleinglass, owner of Sweet Bikes in Canton, has an accomplished background in road racing.  This year the Willow Run TT was one on his radar.  Kim Canales enthusiam pushed the Blumericks and ourselves out there as well.  Most of us registered for the classic bike category since we don't own and are not interested in owning really, really expensive aerodynamic super light carbon road bikes. 

I've raced a few road races here and there and I personally enjoyed myself.  I've just noticed one thing about road racing more with the men than the women.  There seems to be a "my bike is better than your bike" fest going on.  When someone pulls up and they're sporting a pimped out Pinarello on their BMW you kind of think somethings to yourself.  Let's just say there was some serious money in TT bikes out there that day. 

 

It was a little cool in the morning so I dressed warmer than I probably should have.  My start was good I just missed the 1st turn and had to slam on the brakes and lost a little time there.  As I went around for what felt like the 10th time I realized how hot I felt and how my heart rate was about 10 beats per minutes higher than it should be.  Wendy eventually passed me and went on to win the race in our category.  I ended up in second.  That was a surprise.  I was getting use to 5th places by this time. 

Jimmie Colflesh ended up in 2nd in his category as well.  He just keeps getting faster.  Seth Kleinglass ended up in 10th and only 2 minutes behind 1st place. 

Jeff Carek showed up via his cross bike to support us while we raced. 

Finish Times:

Todd Blumerick 35:41.39
Kim Canales 35:46.89
Jimmie Colflesh 32:44.16
Melissa Colflesh 38:54.80
John Conlin 38:09.34
Seth Kleinglass 32:31.00
Bradley Williams 36:09.74
Wendy Zamzow-Blumerick 36:06.80

All pictures are from detroit spoke. 

Lowell 50

Wendy really wanted to race the Lowell 50 and Todd really wanted to race the Amish Country Roubaix in Ohio.  It was decided that we ladies would venture to Battle Creek, MI to stay at Wendy's parents house to race the Lowell 50 the next day while Jimmie and Todd would head south to the Mohican area to race. 

When I first looked at the weather that was supposedly going to happen for the Lowell 50, I was pretty happy since it looked like it may be fairly nice for the 50 miler.  Wendy and I were in the kitchen at her parents house looking at the weather on our phones.  Holy crap 20 to 30 mile winds and temps in the 30's and 40's.  I was not happy to read that at all.  Regardless we still ventured up to Lowell, MI Saturday morning and barely made it to the start of the race.  In fact we had to push through the group of starters because apparently we missed the start for the 50 miler.  I hung in Wendy's draft through a little bit of the first few miles until we hit the first climb.  I watched Wendy climb up and over that hill as I struggled to make my cross bike move over the loose gravely climb.  After that it was literally 45 miles of a suffer fest for me.  I barely had anyone to work with since; I was on my own.  Again I had front brake rubbing issues but this time with the cross bike.  I tried several times to get that thing to stop rubbing to no avail.  I just dealt with it.  About an hour into the race it felt like my hands were on fire, so I stopped and removed my gloves.  That made a huge difference.  Of course at that time I thought I maybe had 2 hours tops left of the race.  I was way off on that estimate.  Since we had 20 plus mile an hour winds with wind gusts for much of the course I realized quickly that I was going to have a hard time getting to the 1/2 way point at even 15 miles per hour.  I got so frustrated at one point I was swearing out loud at the wind and wishing I had signed up for the 28 mile race.  Finally other women racers came up from behind me and they were working together along the flats - actually I would say the taller woman in the FRCC jersey was working for the other woman who just seemed to stay in her draft.  I latched onto their train and was grateful to catch a break for a while.  I slowly began to feel better and decided to take a pull.  I must have been a little too fast for the FRCC woman or she just didn't care because she dropped off the back.  I then had the hanger on-er lady who I swear was having lunch while I pulled for what seemed like forever.  Eventually I slowed up so she would have to take a pull.  I hung on for a while but eventually her pace was too much for me and I found myself alone once again.  Much of the race after that was a blur until a lady on a MTB started gaining on me.  I suddenly was on some sort of personal mission to not get passed by the MTB racer.  I dug deep and pushed and fortunately held her off to the finish.  I was cooked.  I guess it was good training...I think. 

Wendy opened a can of whoop a$$ on the course and once again came in 1st.  She loves those gravel grinders. 

Barry Roubaix

The majority of our team, Mom & Pop Racing and Sweet Bikes, signed up for this race due to the team competition added this year.  Todd and Wendy were trained and ready for BR, Jimmie and I - not so much.  We were still in the early stages of our base training, so we figured if anything we'd just have fun. 

It was hard to have fun at a race with temps in the 20's and icy conditions on the road.  The majority of us raced SS.  Seth and Jeff raced on their green crazy tandem fat bike. 

Jimmie had a good race and finished with a good time.  I had a front brake rub/screeching issue starting about 45 minutes into the race and forward.  I tried to make it go away, but I made it worse.  Probably about 1/2 way through the race I passed Chad Aiello from the Racing Greyhounds.  He was fighting off puking.  I guess he and his friends had a little too much alcohol the night before the race.  I was just glad to cross the finish line without throwing my bike into the woods. 

Wendy Zamzow-Blumerick had an awesome time finishing 1st in the SS 36 mile race and 4th fastest overall in the women's 36 mile division.  I remember hearing her say that she felt great and that she should have raced the 62 miler. 

Team finish times:

Nicholas Bayma 2:04:23
Todd Blumerick 2:05:08
Kim Canales 2:05:08
Jimmie Colflesh 1:59:39
Melissa Colflesh 2:23:05
John Conlin 2:09:11
Seth Kleinglass/Jeff Carek 2:32:42
Wesley Watt 2:29:54
Wendy Zamzow 2:05:31

Mud, Sweat and Beers

Jimmie and I raced the MSB the first year it happened.  I believe that was 2010. 

We had such a fun time.  I remember driving up to Traverse City through some torrential down pours thinking maybe this wasn't such a good idea.  The next day the weather was awesome.  In fact it was much better in Traverse City than it was at home.  This year I was hoping for much of the same.  We stayed at the same place we stay at when we race iceman.  It's nice and close to Mt. Holiday. 

We arrived early and picked up our packets and did the usual routine prep stuff we do for races.  We did a little warming up and I insisted that Jimmie check out the crazy sand pit you had to go through at the end of the course.  He of course thought nothing of it but I thought that it looked like it was going to suck b@lls.  I rode it once just to see if there was any sort of good line...there really wasn't. 

We lined up.  Jimmie was a waves ahead of me.  They lumped expert women and SS's together.  I talked to Ali Bridson and Nicole Baker as we waited to start our wave.  I previously overheard Nicole saying that she was getting married to Rick after the MSB race.  I made sure to congratulate her.  Just before it was our turn to line up at the start some guy hurried back in the lineup and announced that he just dropped a bunch of weight and was ready to race...TMI dude!  After I chuckled about his announcement and checked the tire pressure of the SS wearing a pigs flying jersey rear tire in front of me, our wave was up to start.  I looked around at all the Hagerty racers around me.  We were off and into some wide trail that lead to a few hills.  I dropped my bottle not even 5 minutes into the race.  A fellow racer let me know but I thought screw that it's not worth it you never know those seconds may count.  I followed Rachel from Hagerty into some single track and eventually the pigs flying jersey SS guy worked his way into our group.  Over time Rachel and the pigs flying jersey SS guy pulled away from me.  I just continued to concentrate on my race and tried to reel Rachel back in.  Before I knew it I was on the paved side streets and porting back into some trail and onto the crazy sandpit area.  They made us go through a mud pit at the end.  My face is pretty awesome in the pictures. 

After finishing and meeting up with Jimmie we talked about the race.  He was in 2nd, but missed a turn and ended up in 4th.  He was pretty annoyed by that.  We over heard quite a few people complaining about missing turns here or there.  I fortunately didn't miss any turns.  After we cleaned up we headed to the results board and I was completely surprised by my finish.  I could have sworn that Rachel was ahead of me.  Anyhow I picked up my award and headed to the beer tent for some chocolaty right brain brewery beer. 

The weather was awesome during and after the race.  The Mud, Sweat and Beers promoters did an excellent job of creating a fun laid back atmosphere that includeed excellent beer and good food.  We got to talk to Scott Simpson and his wife Chrissy after the race. 

Post race we headed to Subway to eat fresh and then headed to Hanson Hills.  It was getting warmer by the hour, but there was still snow atop the ski hill.  For some reason the forest seemed eerily quiet.  I didn't see or hear any wildlife until we were beside the rode at the outer edge of the course.  It was a nice slow ride.  Sometimes it's nice to ride to ride and not ride to train...I occasionally miss those days. 

Arcadia Grit and Gravel

I had so much fun at the Island Lake race and talked about it off and on all week that I think Jimmie was itching to race.  He was down in Brevard, NC riding on some awesome trails and wasn't able to race at ILRA.  We made a last minute decision to make the trip up north to the western side of the state to race on one of our favorite trails in Michigan. 

After Jimmie raced the Lumberjack 100 a few years ago we made a short trip from Big M to Arcadia, MI and discovered the awesome single track at the C.S. Mott Nature Preserve along M-22.  The trail is fun, fast and flows real well. 

The race started at the community center in downtown Arcadia.  It was a little cool that morning (but warming up) and there was still a slight chance for rain.  After we picked up our packets we got our gear on, lubed the chains and headed out for our warm up.  We rode the beginning roads of the race.  Based on how things were going to start I figured on a hammer fest at the start.

I lined up near the back of the group next to Kati Krikke.  I told her that my monies on her for beating Sue Stephens.  We lined up and we were off.  All of us in the first group stayed together almost entirely on the roads and the pace was surprisingly slow at first.  It was sort of a mutual role out pace.  As we approached the entrance to the dirt roads, the surging began.  I hung on for as long as I could but unfortunately I had to watch the group ride away.  Ah in the back...love it there.  Nothing but work to catch up to anyone.  I spun along the suck out your momentum sandy roads until I spotted Erin Vicary.  I set my sites on her wheel and very slowly reeled her in.  I pulled up next to her and it turns out she was waiting for the quickly approaching group of male racers.  We latched onto their wheels for some fast pavement riding and again I shot out the back after a short period of time.  Maybe I need to road race some more.

I didn't catch up to Erin again until just before the single track and rode behind her for about 1/2 of it.  The last couple of races I've done have helped me determine my current weaknesses and one of my them was taking it's toll on me so I decided to just enjoy the trails and have some fun while I lost site of the competition.  Eventually I passed Melissa Ryba on the side of the trail letting approaching racers go by.  I didn't expect to see her again.  She was way ahead on the dirt road sections.  Again, maybe I need to do some more road racing. 

Once I exited the single track I checked my computer to see how much further I had to go.  I rode on some fast two-track and thought about how much it reminded me of the Great Deer Chase in Calumet, MI.  There was a whole bunch of two-track in that race.  I came to a hard left that sucked all my speed away and I had to work back up to a good pace for the remainder of the race.  I pulled a couple of guys along the last stretch of road until they sling-shot around me and sprinted for the finish. 

I was happy with the race all in all.  Jimmie finished 8th and I finished 5th; Jimmie was closer to the first place time in his class than I was.  Unfortunately Kati didn't beat Sue, but it's early in the season yet.