Primal Quest 2008 - First Two Teams Finish...

The first two teams have made it across the finish line in the 2008 Primal Quest Montana. Team Active Racing (#28) is still on the course and doing well (as far as we can tell). To check their status, you can visit the Primal Quest Tracking Page and look for Team #28. They are currently in 27th place, but of course that may change based on when you read this posting. Keep cheering for them and we're looking forward to an update when they get home. I'm sure there will be some interesting stories...

Hope you enjoyed the pictures. Yours truly,
Cap'n Cook

State Time Trial, Rockford Crit and Stoney Creek Marathon

Team Active Racing had another busy weekend with racers headed to both sides of the state. Below are some updates from the road.

State Time Trial Championships
Thanks to Danny for the update...

Just wanted to give a report from the State TT today over near
Livonia. Jake, Mark, Nate and I raced - overall it was a pretty good
day - I cannot retire yet as I did not win :( but got fourth. The
first and second place got a 56 and 58 minute time which is fast for
the Cat 5s. I did 1:01:35 - I really wanted to break the hour but it
was not to be today - had a rough third leg. The good news is that
both Jake and Nate got 3rd in their Jr age groups which is great.
Mark also got a 4th. So overall a very good day. Thanks to Amy,
Angie and Mikey who were there for moral support! It is always nice
to have support. Sounds like a good weekend overall for everyone!

Off to shower and a nap! Photos will follow later.

-Danny

Rockford Criterium
Thanks to Devin for the great update...

Although the day dawned with overcast skies and the threat of rain, it was not enough to deter me from racing again in the Rockford Crit. Last year, with a slick road surface from recent rains and too much speed from a prime, I went down hard in the first corner, literally
shattering my rear Mavic Ksyrium wheel and getting some road rash where it should be illegal to get it. Needless to say, the memories were alive and well, and there was a psychological hurdle to overcome. Fortunately, my teammate Shane Carter was excited about his first criterium race, and gave me the extra incentive to go back and prove that last year was just a painful memory. Shane's lovely wife, Julie, came along to cheer the Team Active Racing contingent, and her support is gratefully acknowledged.

The sun came out, and a light breeze blew in from the West, and after some warmup we lined up at the start. There were 27 Cat 5s, and after the race announcements and a reminder to ride safely and not crash, we were off. 25 minutes and 2 laps would be filled with some exciting racing and pure pain up the Maple Street hill.

Unfortunately, and to his great credit, mid way through the race, Shane realized he was in extreme anaerobic debt - truly a debt he could not pay in this race - and he pulled out. He would live to ride another race, now aware of the intensity that is criterium racing. I found the leader's wheel and stayed on it the entire race. This was not going to be like last year. In the proud wheelsucking tradition of Criterium racing, I never "pulled," and never fell behind 4th place. However, each climb of the Maple Street hill became progressively slower and more painful.

After the allotted time, the final two laps developed a very small breakaway, and I was unable to kick start my sprint at the crest of the Maple Street hill. Despite my weakness, the leader and I had a break from the group, and I was able to cross the line in 2nd place, putting to rest the memories of last year's crash.

Later that afternoon, Team Active Racing's very own "Lt. Legs," Angela Bowers, raced the Rockford criterium and as she later related to me telephonically, actually led the race for several laps and then allowed two other riders to bridge the gap and join her to share in
the work at the front of the race.

Using a famous Lance Armstrong line, "No gifts," Angela powered up the Maple Street hill on the final lap only to drop her chain and suffer a severe case of "chain suck." Not one to ever give up, Angela enjoyed the fortune of the capable assistance of an off duty bike mechanic that got her chain back on and functioning. Despite the setback, Angela was able to get back on her bike and cross the line in 2nd place after a Herculean effort following her mechanical. The only sad part of this report is that due to the timing of the races and schedules of riders, we were not able to witness Angela's heroic efforts. Nevertheless, congratulations of the highest order to Angela on her 2nd place finish to accompany her 2nd place finish in the State Road Championships two weeks ago.

Speaking of State Championships, let's not forget our own Danny Wolin, State Road Champion, who competes today (Sunday) in the State Time Trial Championship. We look forward to his race report and wish him best of luck.

Thanks for reading, and keep on riding. Signing off for now,

Devin

Stoney Creek Marathon
Thanks to Josh for the update

Just wanted you to know that I did the Stony Creek Marathon this past
Saturday and it was a muddy mess. You can check tailwind.net to see
some photographs of the carnage. The race started at 10:00 am so the
humidity was relatively nonexistent. Being in the Sport class my race
was 40 miles, expert had 50 and elite 60. This was the longest
mountain bike ride I had ever done, so I was waaaay tired by the end.
When I finished I ate 3 hotdogs, 2 bananas, and 2 slices of
watermelon. YUM! I was able to take 1st place in the Sport Men 19-
29, which was really great since it was a double points day. That's
all for now, I've got another marathon coming up in a couple weeks at
Boyne. That one will be 36 miles for me, but hear it's a little
hilly. Time to train.

Josh

Primal Quest Update

Team #28 (go Team Active Racing) is doing great in the 2008 Primal Quest. Below are some links you can visit to check out the team. Each team is carrying a transceiver that communicates their position, so you can watch them from the sky... very cool!

Tracking Link: http://www.ecoprimalquest.com/leaderboards-and-tracking/map.php

Photos of Kathy:
Climbing a mountain
Taking a rest
Duct-tape band-aid
Time for a hug

Photos of Melissa:
Smile for the camera (nice helmet)

Be sure to check out the Primal Quest site and browse around. There's some pretty cool information online, with more pictures and videos too. Enjoy and go Team #28!

Cap'n Cook

Motor City Tri, Lumberjack 100 & Allen Park Crit

It seems that Team Active Racing was able to cover both ends of Michigan's lower peninsula this weekend, with racers at the Motor City Triathlon on Belle Isle and the Lumberjack 100 in Manistee at the "Big M" ski area.

Motor City Triathlon
The Team's "big boy" Jonah Curtis continued his dominance of the "Clydesdale" category and placed 2nd in the Sprint division. Matt Wright competed in the Olympic distance event and placed 5th in his age group (35-39). The day turned out to be a beautiful one to spend racing and the 10 mph wind gave both racers a nice "push" on the way home for the bike route on the back side of the Island. Great job guys!

Lumberjack 100
While race day provided some great weather for racing, the 10+ inches of rain that fell on Northern Michigan made for some interesting sections for this year's LJ100. While the sandy soil of the course soaked up most of the rain, there was about 100-200 yards of calf-deep "swamp water" that racers got to trudge through on each of the four 25-mile laps.

Racers Joe Kucharski (single speed), Jim Gallagher, Dan Frayer, Charlie Swett and your's truly (Eric Cook) all lined up for the start at 7 am and were off. Charlie, in his first appearance at the LJ (and one of the youngest registered riders) completed 25 miles and Dan (coming off a rather "abusive" Mohican 100) put in 50. Joe ended up placing top 10 in the singlespeed group, which was a great showing for his first LJ. Jim, who has raced the "cross country" event at the Big M before, toughed it out and also completed 100 miles in about 10 hours. Finally, I was able to push through some of the most painful cramps and completed my third LJ. The running joke after finishing was that "I got my money's worth" since it took me the full 12 hours to complete the event.

A special thanks to teammates Jack Miner and Mark Sherman as well as Charlie's little brother and father for coming up and helping at the pit and keeping us fueled. We also had a coupe of guest pit members (Dan's buddy Brain and Joe's buddy Mike) and we all got to bunk out at "Chez Miner" Friday night and Jim, and I remained for Saturday night to enjoy some of the local entertainment - nothing like a cold beer in a snowmobile bar with the locals bellowing on the Kereoke machine!

Allen Park Criterium
Great update from Devin on his crit from this weekend. Enjoy...

Greetings race fans - what a beautiful day for racing at the Allen
Park Oakbrook Industrial complex.

The CAT 5 race started swift and sure and 8 minutes into the race,
we began to lap the field. An attack from the right side (to the
outside of the lapped rider) resulted in a terrible crash that sent
one rider to the hospital in an ambulance. The field was, for all
intents and purposes, neutralized for several laps as the carnage
was cleared from the race course.

When racing resumed, the sun was shining and the racing was heating
up with numerous attacks off the front that were quickly covered.
With the final lap to go, I positioned myself to give a good leadout
to the one who had been pulling most of the race. (One of those
deals you work out during the course of the race.)

Rounding the final corner, I wound it up to about 30 mph, and in the
last 50 meters saw 4 additional racers (apart from the guy I was
leading out) pass. I wound up 6th, but happy with the result and
glad to be upright.

I now look forward to the June 28th Rockford Criterium, where I hope
to keep it upright and NOT repeat last year's crash.

Devin

Great job to all the racers this past weekend, and to all of the Team members for being there to help train, support and encouragement leading up to the "big events". Now, we all need to focus our positive energy on our Primal Quest Eco Challenge team. Go Kathy, Melissa, Eric and Scott... Rock Montana and do us all proud! Be sure to check out the Tracking option once the race starts and keep an eye on Team #28.

Cap'n Cook

State Champion and More!!!!

Greetings TAR fans,

Captain Cook here and I first want to apologize for the delay in postings. Don't let the lack of activity on the site lead you to believe the Team has been slacking though! We have had some great results over the past few weeks, most notably our very own Danny Wolin took the State Road Cat V title this afternoon and Angela Bowers took second in the Women's race. We also had several other Team Active Racing riders participating at not only this race, others throughout the state. Below is an update from Bran Clissold:

Once again, it was a good day at the races for Team Active Racing! The Cat IV Women's field was strong and stacked with 8 racers from one team. Angela Bowers prevailed though, and took SECOND PLACE in the final sprint for her first road race in 11 years! Congrats! In the juniors field Mark raced so hard that he had to stop and puke. Cool dude! So what if it wasn't a super top placing, you rode hard, and that makes you stronger. And puke always tastes better by the side of the road.

The Cat V race included Danny, Mike Shonger (in his Hoosier stealth team kit), Shane, and myself. It was a fun race, and the rain held off for most of the first 17 mile lap. Things heated up and got wet in the second lap and we all raced well. The officials decided to open up the entire road for the final 500 meters to make it safer...uh, in theory. So, with 500 meters to go, the sprint started and there was a HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE crash! 9 riders escaped off the front, including Danny, who WON THE RACE! Shane went down pretty hard in the ditch, landing on his head and making an instant accordion of his spine. He landed so hard his cleat stayed on the pedal but ripped off the bottom of his shoe. Shonger picked his way through the pileup like a NASCAR pro with a veteran spotter to come across the line in 12th. I went off the road and into the grassy ditch at 30 mph but stayed upright, hopped back on the bike, and came across in 10th. Shane, by the way, was determined to finish his first road race, and got back on to finish 17th, complete with a bruise under his eye.

So, our own Danny Wolin is officially the 2008 Category Five STATE CHAMPION!!!! Congrats dude!

Time to go support our sponsor, Advil.

Road Racing
Over Memorial Day weekend the TAR force descended upon the Tour de Gaslight Criterium. Thanks to Devin Winton for the update.

RESULTS from today's VERY WINDY 2nd annual Tour de Gaslight Criterium:

Juniors: Mark Sherman - 4th place. Cat 5: Ave. Speed = 24.0 mph (nothing like last year) Mike Shong - 10th place Devin Winton - 14th place A small break formed after the 4th or 5th lap and teammates (and the VERY STRONG WIND) effectively blocked anyone trying to bridge the gap. Did I mention that it was VERY WINDY today at the Tour de Gaslight? Anyway, we had fun and got another start (to advance toward Cat 4), and the best part - there were no crashes:-) Devin

Mountain Biking
This weekend was the Brighton Mountain Bike race and Josh continued his great results and provides the following update:

Just wanted to update on the results from Brighton this weekend. This year is going by very fast with this being my 8th event of the season.

Not sure at the moment how Matt Gaffner, and Daryn finished up. They were both doing the entire stage race (Saturday and Sunday). I had a class on Saturday so I just did the cross country race on Sunday. I got 1st place in the sport men 19-29. This had to have been one of the most humid days of the year. It felt like you were riding through an oven. It didn't help that on the second lap (of 3), the attachment piece on the end of the tube that connects to my hydration pack popped off, and all of my Cytomax poured all over me. That made for an interesting finish. I was kind of dehydrated when I crossed the finish which may be why I drank like three water bottles in a matter of 20 seconds. Besides that the course was awesome, a little tacky in spots from Saturday nights rain, but a great track nonetheless. I enjoyed taking a dip in the lake afterward, and we just missed a tornado that was headed out of Fowlerville headed directly towards Brighton. I haven't heard if it found its way to the mountain bike course. That's all for now, the next event I am participating in is the TK Lawless Time Trial.

Josh

Hanson Hills Update - Thanks Josh & Mike

Just wanted to give a quick summary of my day at Hanson. The race ended up being 20 miles (2 laps at 10 for my class). I felt pretty good coming into the race today, but for some reason I was having trouble with my asthma and allergies in the beginning of the race. There were 13 guys in my class, and after being about 6 minutes behind first place when I crossed the start/finish on the first lap, I was able to get a second wind and worked my way back from 10th place all the way to 3rd with less than a mile to go. I felt really good and then all the sudden someone from another class passed on my right going up a hill, and since the hill turned into a right hand corner, he caught me off guard and I hit his back tire and crashed.

With less than a mile to go I wasn't able to get right back up because the instant I fell off my bike both of my thighs went into spasms and started to severely cramp. It took about two minutes to be able to get back up, and so I ended up finishing 8th. I will have another shot at good results next weekend at Brighton. I will just be doing the XC race on Sunday. Mike Groat raced today as well, but he told me that he took an accidental detour and ended up on the other side of the property, so I'm not sure what his overall result was. That's all for now. Thanks to TAR for getting the rest of the TAR gear for this last weekend, it was much appreciated.

-Josh Radi

As Josh said, not a good day for either of us. They made some changes to the course and added about a mile to mile and a half, they reported it as a 10.5 mile loop, so Josh would have done 21 miles and I 31.5. I was running in about 7th out of 16 with a mile and a half left in the first lap when I missed a turn. By the time I figured out what I did, I was down at the bottom of a long, sandy two-track, no way to ride back up. Frustrated as hell, I rode out trying to decide what to do. I came out on the opposite end of the "complex" so I rode over to the course and started riding on the outside of the ribbons until a guy went bye that I had passed early in the first lap. I decided to jump in behind him and when I got to the start/finish line, I told the timing guy about my error and said I was going to finish the race, but just place me in last in my age group since I got off track. So, I placed 16 out of 16, but raced hard.

-Mike Groat


Triathlon

Last weekend was the Seahorse Triathlon in the Kalamazoo area. TAR had another good day with the senior and junior relay teams both winning overall and Mark Sherman even forgot his shoes. :) Dave Sanford stood in for the senior team swim and kicked butt. Danny Wolin missed breaking the hour by one minute (&(@((&:!) on the bike and Jennifer Blank smoked it on the run, as usual. The junior guys did great even winning after swimming 250 yards longer that they needed to. Jonah Curtis took the Clydesdale division with a 1st place and Matt Wright placed 3rd in his division. Great job team!

Endurance
Be sure to check out Dan Frayer's post on his Mohican 100 race. Sounds like he had quite the ordeal, but we're proud of him for completing the grueling course and sticking with it. Dan will be joining several other TAR racers at this year's Lumberjack 100, including myself, Joe Kucharski, Jim Gallagher and Charlie Swett. Several other TAR members are planning on coming up and "pitting" for us, but I think they just want to come watch us suffer.

Also of note, Kathy, Eric, Melissa and Scott are getting ready for their Primal Quest race, and head for Montana on June 22nd. Alicia and I headed over Saturday night for a Primal Pizza Party at the BiCi Bistro in downtown Battle Creek. The Bistro donated profits from any pizza purchased after 7:00 pm to the team and I'm pleased to say the restaurant had lots of pizza eaters there when we arrived around 7:45. Scott Capmau actually raced the PQ when it was in Utah and had lots of great stories to tell. All of us wish them the best of luck and you can track their progress on the Primal Quest website with special beacons they will be carrying - so you can actually watch their "dot" move on the map as they compete in the 10-day, 500 mile race. Ain't technology grand!!! Click on Tracking and watch for Team #28.

Until next time...