Ithaca GP!

T-shirt sales end TONIGHT for the Ithaca GP!

Details here:

www.IthacaGP.blogspot.com

Pre-Registration and sales for shirts is here:

https://www.usacycling.org/myusac/index.php?pagename=registration&eventid=558&year=2012#

Stomach of Anger jersey

'Cross with Surly et al.

Another quality post from Surly HERE...I think he's excited for 'cross.

Photo by the Surliest of Michigan 'cross racers, Marc Dettman

2012 Michigan Cyclocross Calendar

I'll do my best to keep this post updated...  As usual please refer to the individual promoter's website for the most up-to-date information and driving directions.

New for 2012 is the expanded StomachOfAnger Michigan Cyclocross Series of races.  Keep posted for details, but this series is an all-encompassing grouping of select Michigan races, representing the best of all that is 'cross in the mitten.

Back again are the two main staples of east and west side dominance:

         

Revised 8/28/2012

StomachOfAnger series races are highlighted in blue

9/4 42-85 Tuesday Training, Lowell

9/7 Kiss Cross Cannonsburg (Night Race), Cannonsburg
9/8 Ithaca Grand Prix of Cyclocross, Ithaca

9/11 42-85 Tuesday Training, Lowell

9/15 Derailed Genius Breezeway Cyclocross, East Jordan
9/16 Tailwind Columbus County Park, Columbus

9/18 42-85 Tuesday Training, Lowell

9/22 Kiss Cross Highland Park, Grand Rapids
9/22 Ronde Van Stoney Classic, Gravel Road Race, Stoney Creek
9/23 Swamp Thing I, Lansing
9/23 Run Up TK Lawless, Vandalia

9/25 42-85 Tuesday Training, Lowell

9/29 Tailwind Kensington DAY 1
9/30 Kiss Cross Richmond Park, Grand Rapids
9/30 Tailwind Kensington DAY 2

10/7 Kiss Cross Caledoina Lakeside Park, Caledonia

10/14 Tailwind Lower Huron (PENDING), Belding
10/14 Run Up Kindleberger Park, Parchment

10/20 Mad Anthony Historic Ft. Wayne, Detroit
10/21 Kiss Cross Cascade Park, Grand Rapids
10/21 Derailed Genius Northmen Cyclocross, Petoskey

10/27 Tailwind Lake Orion High School DAY 1
10/27 Lowell 50 Gravel Road Race, Lowell
10/28 Kiss Cross Manhattan Park, Grand Rapids
10/28 Tailwind Lake Orion High School DAY 2
10/28 Run Up McCoy Creek Park, Buchanan

11/11 Kiss Cross Markin Glen Park, Kalamazoo

11/18 Swamp Thing II, Lansing
11/18 Run Up Bendix Woods County Park, New Carlisle, IN

11/24 Tailwind Waterford Hills DAY 1
11/25 Kiss Cross Plaster Creek Park, Grand Rapids

11/25 Tailwind Waterford Hills DAY 2

12/1 Detroit Invitational Cyclocross

12/2 Kiss Cross Holland

12/9 Big Bad Wolf, Midland (SoA Series Finale)

12/16 Tailwind Addison Oaks

STOMACHofANGER

Details to come, but you won't want to miss any of these...

Ithaca 6-Hour

After living in Gratiot County for more than a decade now I decided to give the Ithaca endurance race a shot for the first time.  The Jailhouse trail is special because it is where I first jumped into racing as a 14 year-old.  I think the 14 & under race only did one lap back then, but it hooked me.  

A few weeks ago a group of us rode a few laps out there - my first laps on that course this season.  Then I found out the race course for the endurance race would be run backwards from what we did during practice.  Ithaca is so twisty the first lap of the race yesterday was full of surprises.  

Since this was my first jump into endurance racing I had a lot of questions going into yesterday's event. Fortunately between Wayne Cook, Chris Maltby, Mike Seaman, and a few other locals you have about a billion hours worth of endurance tips and tricks that would help out.  

There were five racers in the solo 6-hour 29 & under group.  The race started and we quickly caught the tail end of the team category racers that started a minute in front of us.  That first lap was a bit sketchy - you were always coming up on racers and the backwards lap took me a bit to dial in.  Previous to the start, Wayne suggested I try to get six laps in before making a stop.  After five I was out of water so in going through the pits I snagged two bottles and another mini Clif bar.  I wanted to delay a longer stop as long as I could without getting myself into trouble.

Rolling through after more than three hours of racing I saw Kristie and Grace had made it out after Grace's post-lunch nap.  I took the opportunity to sit for a minute, eat a sandwich, and drink a slim fast. I was probably off the bike for 6 or 7 minutes.  In retrospect that was a bit long, but it was great to stop for a second and hang out with my family.  

But I jumped back onto the trail with over 3 and a half hours of racing in the bag but I knew something was awry.  My legs were starting to twinge a bit, meaning that if I didn't back things off I would be hard pressed to even finish the race.  In doing so the 2nd place rider caught and passed me, and before I knew it he had a HUGE gap.  I know I wasn't going that terribly fast, but he put a lot of distance between us in a very short amount of time.

One thing about endurance racing is that you have to be smart about when you pit, what you take at your stop, and how long you stay in the pits.  I think for a 12-hour race you have a bit more freedom in the length component, but a 6-hour race is pretty tight if you want to compete for the win.  

With under an hour to go I was still feeling cramps when I would push it too hard, so it was a balancing act between racing and recovering for the last hour.  I crossed the finish line at 5:57, meaning there was room for one more lap.  Figuring the guy in front of me went for a final lap meant I would also be pushing for one more.  The gap at this point was ballooning and it was by far my slowest lap.  I ended up crossing the line about 7 minutes back from first, completing 16 laps in 6:23.

There was even a pair of 12-hour racers doing the race on cyclocross bikes.  After 6 hours solo my shoulders were wrecked - I can't imagine endurance racing on 33c tires.  Maybe they were just getting their bikes acclimated to the altitude before bringing them back in a few weeks for the Ithaca GP?

Jack Kunnen already has photos up here.

Help out!  Take this survey here for this year's Ithaca GP.  Thanks!

Sweat Shaker

Decided to hit up a mtb race at MMCC last Saturday.  The weather was warm and the new singletrack was pretty rough but that course is fun.  With the hot weather I was very concerned that my awesome cramping legs would rear their ugly head again.  I wasn't wrong but had done a lot to manage things.  

The start of the Expert 29 and under category was new to me as we took the pavement to a walking trail before first hitting the singletrack.  That was a nice change as it allowed for everything to string out.  The pace was fairly fast for the first lap but I kept things at a reasonable pace.  I think I had figured a few minutes before the race that this would be in my top five longest MTB rides for the year...  Not exactly confidence inspiring.  

At the start of the second lap I noticed my quads were starting to twinge.  That's a long lap to start with cramping.  I took things easy for a bit and pushed the pace when I could.  At this point I was fairly sure I was sitting in third and I hoped not to get caught for the last push.  

Rolling into the finish I had gone through a total of three full large bottles over a race that was just under two hours.  And drinking on that course isn't exactly easy to do.  But the cramps still seem to come back no matter what I do.  It'd be nice to actually race a mtb race some time!

Third was it for me, but I made some cash.

Have you registered for the Ithaca GP yet?

Tour de Mont Pleasant

My job - fill and hand up bottles.

Pro 1/2 start

Jake Rytlewski 

The early break, heading south on Whiteville Rd. 

The break that stuck

Jake rolling to his claim his second KOM

Jake rolling in solo for the win

Is this the start or the finish of the race?

Article HERE.

TT

TT

Decided after a long spring of no racing to try and stretch my legs with the Tour de Mont Pleasant TT last night.  It was without a doubt the hardest effort I've made on a bike over the past six months, as riding has been hit and miss lately.  The course was about as much fun as a 4.1 mile course can be, and there were a lot of volunteers on the course keeping things safe.  Registration took 45 minutes which severely cramped my warm-up, but did provide the opportunity to stand in line and catch up with a few friends.  

I believe my time was 10:28, good enough for 12th in the cat 4's.  There were some flyin' guys in my category - I believe the winner beat my time by almost a minute.  Regardless, it was fun.  Looking forward to helping Jake on Sunday at the water stations.

ChiCrossCup and the Heckle

These guys are always up to something fun.  If you haven't made it to a Chicago race you don't know what you're missing.  Evidence?  Check out the Heckle Hall of Fame tab on the website...

Is it September yet?

Only when you win.

Surly Write-up for the Ithaca GP

Surly posted a pretty cool write-up about the Ithaca GP - Presented by Token Products on his page, HERE.  Check it out!

Pre-game Surly

Game face Surly

2012 Preview Video

New trail in Alma

One of the local riders put in a pretty sweet singletrack trail in Conservation Park.

Two log options, both fast.

This is way harder to do on a MTB than on the rail trail...

Fresh.

Cruise

Somebody loves  getting pulled around in her Chariot...

Flanders

Cycling Fans has live coverage HERE tomorrow morning...

And it seems like every team is now making recon videos.  Here's a bunch.

For those of you in the vicinity...

Omloop Het Nieuwsblad '93

UCI MTB World Cup - South Africa

MSR

Live coverage on Cyclingfans this Saturday.  Start list HERE.  Amazingly cheesy promo videos HERE.

Domination from 12k

Scoop

Boulder 2014
Austin 2015
Asheville 2016



Connect the dots...

Available through September 1...

Buy your official t-shirt through the registration page!  T-shirt sales end on Saturday, September 1st to give time for my printer to prepare everything for a race-day delivery.  Sizes available are small through XXL (men's sizing).  These will NOT be available day-of so if you want one please plan on pre-ordering!

Registration now open!

Registration for the 2012 Ithaca Grand Prix of Cyclocross - Presented by TOKEN PRODUCTS is now open!

Register HERE!

CX Magazine Clothing Reviews

A few more for your reading enjoyment:

 Louis Garneau SF-2 Long Sleeve

Louis Garneau Compress R Long Sleeve

Big News...

2012 Ithaca Grand Prix of Cyclocross - Presented by TOKEN PRODUCTS

Superprestige Saturday

On Cyclingfans...  Information to be posted on their site later.  But most likely 9:00 a.m. - ish on Saturday morning.

Worlds and Sand Dunes

Check out the article from Chris Jones on CXM HERE.  I like the part when he said he prepared for the course by watching video of the November race...  Man, is watching videos all it takes to get fast?

In that case, fill up a bottle and get ready to train:

GVA Lille

World Championships

Don't forget the world championships are on Sunday morning.  You can probably catch the action at www.cyclingfans.com once they post a link.  Don't forget to pick the winners and possibly score a free entry to the Ithaca GP!

Man, so close...

WIN AN ENTRY to the 2012 Ithaca GP

Details are HERE, but basically, pick your top five men and women for next weekend's world championships and be eligible to win!  Best of the entries will receive a complimentary ticket to ride in the 2012 Ithaca GP on Saturday, September 8.

But don't worry, online registration will open shortly in case you don't win!

Inside the race - Lievin

Get your cross fix.

Cycling Fans, 9:00 EST this morning.

Ithaca GP!

What does cyclocross race promotion look like in January?

This.  76 rolls of course tape for the Lansing, Saginaw, and Ithaca GP.

USAC National Championships

Live audio commentary currently streaming.

1:00 EST Elite Women

3:15 EST Elite Men

According to THIS, coverage will begin approximately 10 min before the start of the elite races.

JOE BROWN

Congrats to Joe on his third place finish in Madison!

http://www.cxmagazine.com/cyclocross-national-championships-2012-masters-men-60-64-65-69-70-madison

CX Nationals

Cool updates are on cyclocross magazine: