Team Active Racing

You know you want one.

2010-02-13T08:55:00.003-05:00

All the cool kids are doing it.

This guy rides one.

This guy rides one.

This guy and this guy rides one.

Live the big hoop dream.

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Changes

2010-02-11T16:00:00.002-05:00

NEW TEAM
NEW SPONSORS
FAMILIAR FACES

The Team Active end of winter party is going to be a special slice of heaven. Cool bikes, cheap gear and free beer.

Details

2009-08-10T09:21:00.001-04:00

Greetings Team Active Race Fans:

Mike Shong and Devin Winton raced the 3rd annual Grand Cycling Classic in Grand
Rapids today, despite heavy rains and a slick course.
Mike and Devin, both Category 4 road racers, made the trip North and lined up at
the line at 12:15 with a field of approximately 50 riders.

Instead of a pistol, a bell started the race, and on the last turn of the first
lap, the crashes began. Midway through the race, Mike flatted, and while in the
wheel pit, noticed Devin was not in the peloton as it went by. Devin had been
taken down (but not out) in the same corner by two riders in front of him.
Taking advantage of the free lap, Devin reentered the race and had to work his
way back to the front. Mike greeted him along the way and after each had been
reassured the other was OK, went back to racing.

All in all, there were 5 crashes in the race, all due to the slick roads and
rain throughout the race. On the final lap, Devin was in 3rd place, but due to
sickness the previous week, could not hold it for the finish. Devin placed 9th
and Shong came across the line 13th.

Next race for Mike is the National Criterium Championships in Downer's Grove,
IL.
Devin's next race is the inaugural Milford Criterium.

Final results:

Devin - 9th
Mike - 13th

Thanks for reading and make sure to stop by Team Active for all your cycling
needs.

Devin

2009-06-23T21:54:00.000-04:00

Just like last year, it was perfect weather for the LJ. None of us slept very well the night before with pre race jitters and a major rain storm that busted through the National forrest at about 2 am. I think we all had thoughts of last year's storm that had chain saws running until just hours before that race, not this year, the rain just kept the dust down and firmed everything up very nicely.

Daryn worked his butt off at the shop so he could come up and support us, and that was huge. So Daryn, my son (Jack 3) and Josh's parents would be our support for the race.

Jim, Josh and I positioned ourselves in the middle of the pack before the start, not because I had any delusions of grandeur, but because I knew that is where Jim wanted to start. As we were rolling along at the start, I asked Jim whose bike was 'squeaking' and he said it was mine...more on that later. The three of us worked our way to the front 50 or so riders by the first hill, and that was the last I saw of Jim and Josh.

Things went really well for the inner loop, I was 10 minutes behind Jim and Josh and under 40 minutes elapsed time. I had no serious crowd issues and only a couple crashes around me, one rider spilled behind me and nearly took me out. As I worked my way through the next 3 or 4 miles, my 'squeak' got loud enough that riders behind me were trying to help assess what the problem was while we were riding. As it turned out they were right, my hub was shot.

About 6 miles from the end of my first complete lap, I stood up to keep my legs loose and busted my chain (I need to figure out how not to break my chain) spent 5 or 10 minutes putting a quick link on and then rejoined the race. I was behind a huge group of riders, but, since it was the first lap, and they had a pretty decent pace, I was happy to just ride along.

When I got to the pits, I told Daryn there was something seriously wrong with my bike and he looked at and said 'there is nothing I can do to fix it, just go ride your bike'. I thought this meant there was a potential for a problem, but not to worry and just ride on. About 4 miles into the inner loop, it was as if someone turned up the gravity. I was really surprised that I was having so much trouble riding after only 30 miles, but the squeak was gone, so I thought to just tough it out.

After the inner loop hand up, things went from bad to worse, it felt like my back brake was on and I had to use my granny gear even in the flats. I made to the outpost aid station and was going to abandon the race, I was getting just trashed having to work so hard with my back wheel shot. I spun my back wheel and it did a rotation and a half before seizing up....I was just completely devastated. All of the training and prep and I was not even going to finish 2 laps. I decided that maybe, just maybe Daryn could pull a miracle or maybe I could find the Trek rep and beg him for a wheel. If I could not, I would not be able to continue. In any case, I still had a chance but I needed to stay on my bike and get to the pits, so off I went, granny gear and me.

That next 8 miles just sucked and I had thoughts of olympians who worked for years just for one day and what it must feel like if they were sick or injured just before the race. I was completely depressed, but I stayed hydrated and fueled hoping that I would get some luck in the pits.

Josh was having a great race and was close to Jim but had to abandon 59 miles into the race. This bad fortune for him turned out to be the bit of luck I needed. When I finally arrived in the pits, I saw Josh eating cookies and asked if he was alright, he knew that I trained really hard for this race and when he knew I needed a wheel he said that I might want to use his wheel. It fit my bike and it even had my favorite small block eight tire. I went from complete depression to elation to know that I was now in a position to at least finish. That was my goal when I started, so I was back and very happy that I did not abandon at the aid station.

Third lap was uneventful other than hugging a tree when I was trying to put my water bottle back and did an endo. I grabbed a tree to break my fall and I have a little pine tree rash, I was going pretty slowly, so not a big deal. I did get a chance to see Etough for a second time as he lapped me (Jim was only minutes behind my 3rd lap time for his finish, so he certainly rocked!)

The 4th lap was hard, I used a lot of gas trying to finish the second lap with my bad wheel, and it started to hurt bad. I caught up with a guy that I chatted with at the start of the race from Founders and it was nice to have the company. On the back side by Udell hills, he was flying down the hills. I was concerned about going too fast since my reaction time was getting very slow from fatigue. While hanging back a little bit from him, I heard a big thwack down the hill and my fear was confirmed when I rolled up on him. He was standing next to his bike with a mohawk of leaves and branches in his helmet from skidding through the dirt after clipping a tree. I helped him put his bike back together and continued to the finish.

I went through a full spectrum of emotions yesterday and want to thank Josh again for letting me use his wheel and Daryn for making the trip up to help out. We'll do this again next year, though I will be pit crew....it may take a couple years to recover.

Great race Jim and Josh. Thanks Joe for all the advice. See you all soon.
Jack Miner

2009-06-16T19:39:00.002-04:00

Greetings Team Active Racing Fans:

Team Active racers Joe Kucharski and Devin Winton competed in the first Toru de Mont Pleasant this past weekend and enjoyed beautiful weather and some exciting racing.

Joe competed in the Cat 5 division and finished 3rd in the Criterium and 11th in the Road Race.

I competed in the Cat 4 division and finished 8th in the Criterium and 14th in the Road Race.
The Cat 4 Criterium was the last race Saturday night and the streets of downtown Mt. Pleasant were pretty hot after a full day of racing. We started with a field of 32 and right from the start we were flying. The only problem area was the second to last turn where we went from a wide full road to the right lane on a separated boulevard. It was the second lap that two racers went down right in front of me. I endo'd and after getting my chain straightened out, took a free lap and continued on. There were several crashes in that corner, and the only recommendation for next year is that they extend the course one block to avoid that corner. There was never any let up, as we continued to push the pace with surges coming from the left and right. The countdown started with 9 laps to go. Always near the front but not leading, I tried to position myself so as not to crash again. Coming out of the final turn on the final lap, I just avoided a crash in front of me and came across the line 8th. Average speed was 26 mph, and my ave hr was 178.

After a night's rest, I returned for the 33 mile road race. After the pros departed on their 105 mile race, each of the successive categories departed approximately 5 minutes apart. We had the largest field (about 50 riders) in the Cat 4s, and despite some early surges, it was relatively calm. I chased two breaks and caught on, but pulled the rest of the peloton along the way; so after burning those matches, I still wanted to have something left for the finish. About a mile and a half from the finish, a lone rider broke away and was never caught. In the field sprint, I came in 14th, and happy that I didn't crash, as there was a crash in that last mile. The Seven did great during the Crit, and the Super Six performed superbly in the Road Race.

It was a special treat to see Frankie Andreau again, as he had come to Battle Creek for a Team Active End of Winter party several years ago. I mentioned it to him and he remembered the event.

For some reason, the results were delayed for over 2 hours, but as a result, I got to see the finish of the pro race. What an incredible experience to feel the wind generated by these riders as they sprint for the finish.

All in all, a very enjoyable weekend in Mt. Pleasant.

Devin

LINK to Video CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK

Tour De Frankenmouth

2009-06-07T17:16:00.003-04:00

Greetings Team Active race fans.

It was a cold and rainy start to the 2009 edition of das Tour de Frankenmuth, a 47-mile race for Cat 4 riders through the outskirts of this lovely village situated in Michigan's upper East Side. The course was very flat with only 2 rollers and a valley in the last mile of the race. The rce was 3 laps of a 15.5 mile course.
There were 60 riders in Cat 4, and 2 would not finish (more on that later). The Masters 45+ class started 3 minutes prior to our start, and that would come into play as well.
The first lap was fairly fast, and I stayed in the top 10-15 the entire time. There were three attempts to break, but none of them successful. Midway through the first lap, we caught and passed the Masters 45+ group. They caught us just after the first lap, and that is when I had my "false flat." We had just gone over some rogh road, and I felt my rear tire flatting, so I pulled off. The group pulled by and after I checked my tire, it was OK; thus the "false flat." I spent the next 10 minutes chasing back on and then working my way up through the field to my original posistion.
The second lap was fairly uneventful; just pushing the pace and trying to sort out the field.
The third lap got interesting about a mile from the finish when I was moving up on the right side and heard a sound to my left. I looked over just in time to see two wheels facing the sky and a racer fully laid out in mid air. I found out after the race that wheels crossed and two racers went down; one with a broken left collarbone. I was lucky, and finished the race in 18th position, with a time of 1 hr. 57 min, with an average speed of 23.6 mph.
By the time the race finished, the sun was shining, and I headed up to Sebewaing to an open house for a couple of nephews graduating high school.
With this experience, I look forward to next year's Tour de Frankenemuth.

Sea Horse Triathlon

2009-05-31T20:37:00.000-04:00

All and all a very good day for Team Active Racing today at the Seahorse Tri.
Pretty chilly in the morning but we had a lot of team members there and the
results as follows:

Melissa Hughes - Winner in the 25-29 age group - kick butt! (Olympic Distance)
Matt Wright - 3 in his age group - excellent! (Sprint)
Olympic Relay (DW, Jennifer Blank and super stud swimmer Bill Vann) - 1st place.
Fastest swim time of the day.

Eric Cook and Jonah did well in the big boy category and even raced eachother at
the end :)

Brad did well also.

Nice job everyone.

2009-05-08T16:31:00.004-04:00

Team Active Racing had another busy weekend on and off road. Here are some pictures from the Fort Custer Stampede. Lots of singletrack, burgers and top finishes for the team.

Willow Time Trial

2009-04-26T15:54:00.004-04:00

Danny, Devin, Eric, Kathy, Jack, Jake, Micah, Nate and Shonger represented Team Active Racing at Michigan's first USA Cycling event of 2009, the Willow Park Time Trial.
Jack's Recap:

This year's Willow Time Trial finished kinda strange. Last year I knew nothing about riding a TT other than sticking a pair of aerobars on my old bike and riding as hard a I could. This year I was on an honest to god TT bike (BMC) with some borrowed wind cutting whack em and stack em wheels that I borrowed from Daryn. I put in a couple training rides before the Time Trial and went to bed confident that I had prepped all I could.
I woke up, ate a good breakfast, and arrived at Willow Metro Park in advance of the rest of the team and shot out a text message to let Danny know where I had staked out some pavement for us to warm up. I spent a lot of time thinking about what I could do to warm up. I knew after a year to riding that I dont even feel right until we have been riding for half an hour...that was about the total amount of time it would take to ride the 20k TT. I essentially used the Carmichael Training TT warm up as my guide only I extended the time. But I had to do two efforts that would red-line my heart rate in order to get the lactic acid flushing and my heart and lungs ready...that really worked well. Half way through the TT I was a little giddy that my warm up worked so well, not that I wasnt balancing the pain in my legs and the inability to get enough air, but that I was spinning and picking off one rider after another. The wind was almost the same as last year, right out of the SE, it drilled you into the saddle and forced smaller rings for the last couple turns. I had a good ride, I cut 3:30 off of last year's time (a lot due to the BMC TT rocket), but the strange thing is that I felt that I would have finished higher (damn ego) I find it funny how I become delusional in what I am capable of doing until the results are posted...reality is a great motivator for extra miles. Next up is the LJ 100. Tonight, a glass of wine before I look at what Kucharski has in store for training. Cheers!

RESULTS

Spring is in the Air

2009-04-24T08:24:00.006-04:00

The grass is getting greener, group rides are getting faster and weekends are being dedicated to fast bike riding across the state for Team Active's 2009 roster.

Last Sunday Daryn, Keith and Dan made the trip to Yankee Springs Recreation area for the first installment of the Michigan Mountain Bike Series. In year's past racers were forced to suffer one 12 mile lap at maximum effort in a race against the clock, off season goals and friends. This year the promoter decided on a new form of torture, TWO LAPS!

The squad had a great showing with Daryn throwing down some screaming fast laps in the Michigan pro category and Dan Frayer squeaking into the expert class top ten.

Keith Wilkinson also put forth a great effort.

Here is Keith's experience:

 I showed up in the cold rain today and rode the Yankee Springs Time
Trial.  Dispite the less than ideal weather conditions, it was a fun, fast
ride.  That trail is a tough challenge and good litmus test for
your own personal condition.  I passed one guy at the top of a hill puking
his guts out :-)  
 
I was 14th in my group which does not sound too great but I was somewhat
satisfied with my time.

In other racing news, Brad Doane and Bob Emery tested their adventure racing
skills at the Spring Fury 10 Hour Race.
They pulled together a great race finishing
7th out of 21 two man teams.

Great Harvest Energy Bars

2009-04-19T14:55:00.002-04:00

Rumor on the street is one of our title sponsor, Great Harvest Bread Company, has come out with a new energy bar.

No pictures yet but here is Iron Man Matt Wright's impressions:

I stopped in at Great Harvest this morning to get a few bread items, while I was there I thanked them for sponsoring us. The manager was happy to hear that, and she even gave me one of their "power bars" to try. I tried it this afternoon before my mountain bike ride and was very impressed! It tasted kind of like peanut butter and honey with oats and it packs some serious carbs and protein. The serving size is 1/2 a bar which is 270 calories and 48g carbohydrate with 7g protein. I would highly recommend giving them a try!

Stay tuned for a Yankee Springs Race Report

Barry Roubaix and Fisk Knob

2009-03-29T16:19:00.004-04:00

Team Active Racing put forth a great effort this weekend at the First Annual Barry Roubaix Gravel Grinder.

Joe Kucharski 1:43:27 2nd SPORT/EXPERT SINGLE SPEED
Dan Frayer 1:57:48 2nd SPORT/EXPERT FIXIE
James Gallagher 2:00:17 20th SPORT/EXPERT MEN 40-49
Daryn Franks 2:03:09 12th SPORT/EXPERT SINGLE SPEED
Jack Miner 2:24:00 44th SPORT/EXPERT MEN 40-49

Looks like all those Monday trainer rides at the shop are paying off.

Group rides starting soon

Danny W’s Fisk Knob Report

Well that was interesting today. Myself, jake and josh raced fisk knob
today. 32 degrees and snow/sleet and wind. It was actually fun though.
I ended up fourth in my age group out of ten and 25 secs out of third.
Jake did really well- not sure the place but stuck it out. Josh did
9th for his first race In 12 yrs. Not bad at all.

Jack Miner’s Roubaix Recap

I have been training pretty hard, lost about 12 pounds since the first of the
year, spit my lungs out on the Team Active shop floor riding the Velo Dyne in
January, have followed some of Kucharski's training program and when the start
signal was announce at the Barry Roubaix, that was the last I saw of these guys.
I was above LT for the first 10 miles and could not reconnect with the massive
group in front of me, the wind was in my face for the first half of the race
and, try as I might to suck off the wheel of anyone going by (I even tried
drafting a woman walking with a baby stroller), I was still unable to
reconnect....leaving me essentially doing a 32 mile time trial. I kept trying
to get my heart rate down and keep spinning and everytime I did, someone would
slide by me as if they were eating cheetos and watching the scenery go by, all
while I was gasping for breath and regretting having skipped some of the
training that I thought was 'not that big of a deal'.

I was riding my old mtb, but even though I had several mechanical issues, I
would not have done much better than I did....not that I was bad, it was
probably one of the single most consistant physical efforts I have ever
delivered, it is just that these guys (you guys) are that much better. Even
then, all my excuses are over, I have a brand spanking new MTB in the shop
waiting for me to pick up, now the engine has to perform.

February 9th Adventure Racing Clinic

2009-01-22T18:50:00.002-05:00

Hosted by Team Active and our Primal Quest Finishers

Feb. 9 6-8 PM
Adventure racing basics, training, teamwork and gear selection will be discussed

Stay tuned for more details

advocate

2009-01-04T19:18:00.003-05:00

Lansing February 22

Grand Rapids May 29-31

New sponsor and Team Member

2008-12-29T09:54:00.001-05:00

Happy Holidays from Team Active Racing

2008-12-22T17:20:00.004-05:00

2008 Ice Man

2008-12-07T16:23:00.003-05:00

Late Season Intermission

2008-10-19T20:01:00.002-04:00

Once the road season ends there is a lull in the blogosphere leading up to the Ice Man.
Stay tuned for race reports.
df

Criterium Udpate from Devin

2008-09-08T09:40:00.003-04:00

The following update comes to us from Devin, our very own Cat 5 Criterium State Champion. He raced this past weekend in Grand Rapids and did great!

Greetings Team Active Racers and fans,

It was a beautiful day in Grand Rapids for the 2nd Annual Priority Health Grand Cycling Classic. Last year, I missed the inaugural event because I was in Florida for my father's quadruple bypass surgery. This year, as I was warming up around the course, none other than the Battle Creek Bicycle Club's Wayne White showed up. It was good to see Wayne and after talking some, I continued my warm up. The course itself contained several stretches of brick pavement, a la Roubaix, although not as bad. During the race, though, it was rather disconcerting to have tires skip over pavement. At around 10:20 am, we gathered at the start to hear a short speech from the Grand Rapids mayor (who was wearing a green sprinter's jersey), and a rousing rendition of the national anthem by a local a capella group (Brian Clissold would have enjoyed it), and then we were off. Like the Ada Crit, the 4s and 5s were running together, with prizes paid out to 10 places.

The race was scheduled for 35 minutes, and the first ten minutes were hectic as the racers sorted themselves out. I was almost taken out on the third lap by someone coming in on me in turn 1. Fortunately, I handled the bike well enough to keep us both upright, and I tried to stay more to the front, although there was a lot of yo-yo effect. In the fourth lap, there was what sounded like a pretty nasty crash in the little chicane section near Van Andel arena, and again, I was lucky enough to be up front. There were 4 or 5 primes, and I actually led a lap, but no one ever got away; we all sat up after each prime, and clumped up again. I could occasionally hear Wayne cheering me on, and I can't tell you how much it means to have some support from the sidelines. Fast forward to 6 laps to go and the positioning started. Since I was able to catch my breath each lap, I was feeling pretty good.

With 2 laps to go, there were some serious separations in the making, and I accelerated to be at or near the front. Coming into the final lap, I felt I could at least make a top ten finish. We wound it up with 200 meters to go, and although I was not at the front, I did accelerate past a couple of riders to claim the 10th spot and a share of the cash prizes paid out in the Cat 4 races.

My lovely Polar cyclocomputer/heart rate monitor purchased from one of our sponsors, Team Active, indicated a HR average of 178 and a 23 mph average speed. All in all, a good day at the races.

While we were waiting for the official results, Wayne and I visited the Hopcat, a local watering hole, and I can say, if you are ever in Grand Rapids, it is worth the trip. Wayne also took several pics which I believe he will post on the Battle Creek Bicycle Club web site.
Well, that is it for my 2008 official racing season. Next Saturday, I'll compete in the Cereal City Corporate Cup 10-mile time predict sponsored by Team Active, and then on Sunday, I hope to see EVERYBODY out for the Cereal City Century. Until then, ride safe and ride strong.

Devin

Another State Champion - Congrats Josh!

2008-09-08T08:01:00.002-04:00

I got the following update from Josh last night and sounds like his first year of mountain bike racing is turning out just as he planned. With his win on Sunday at Stony Creek, he secured the 2008 Tailwinds XC MTB Series and USAC Michigan State Championships for Sport Men 19-29! Below is the recap from Josh. With just a handful more races to go, he's still got a few races yet this year, but for his first year of mountain bike racing has accomplished quite a bit thus far. Great job, Josh. We're all very proud of you!

From Josh...

Today I raced the last race in the Tailwind XC MTB series at Stony Creek Metropark. It's been hard to train with the addition of fall classes to my schedule, but I still managed to come out swingin. I got 1st place, and in addition became the 2008 Tailwind XC MTB Series Champion and 2008 USAC Michigan State Champion for Sport Men 19-29.

Out of the 8 total races, I participated in 7. My results were as follows: 1st, 4th, 1st, 1st, 2nd, 2nd, 1st. I am very excited about my accomplishments so far, but the hardest part of my season is yet to come. I have 4 races left, with each successive race becoming exponentially more important than the last. The first two races coming up are Addison Oaks and Pando. These are a part of the MMBA CPS series. These are important because I am in a close battle with 2nd place. The third race on my list is the Boyne State Championship Race. I'm not sure why they call it the "state championship" but I'm racing it anyway. Finally, to top off the season I will be competing in the Ice Man Cometh race in November, and from what I've been told this tends to be an icing on the cake race, which separates the men from the boys. I hope to continue my first year success in the races to come to add to this amazing first year MTB experience. Thanks again to all my sponsors, and friends who have helped me so much this year. I couldn't have done this well without all of the support.

Josh

Help Fight Childhood Cancer

2008-09-04T08:42:00.005-04:00

Fifteen year old Team Active Racer, Mark Sherman, is competing in the 2008 Cereal City Century this year, but completing the event is only one of his goals. He's riding to help raise awareness (and money) for childhood cancer and needs your support. Specifically, Mark is raising money to support the Children's Neuroblastoma Cancer Foundation and has raised over $1,000 so far, but he's still a ways away from his $10,000 goal.

Mark participated in his first mountain bike race last year and raised over $1,400 to support the CNCF and joined Team Active Racing in 2008. As you may have read in a recent post on this site, he just completed his first 12-hour road cycling event in Illinois, completing 195 miles and setting the course record for 25 and under male category. So, the 100 mile CCC should be a "walk in the park" for him, but raising money is the big challenge.

Mark joins me in fund raising through Pedaling with a Purpose and helping to support the CNCF. Together, with Mark's help, PWAP has raised over $23,000 to support this worthy cause and is deserving of your support. Even if you can only afford a small amount, please show your support by making a contribution of any amount. You can check out his site for more information and can make a debit/credit card contribution online. The donation is tax deductible and goes directly to the CNCF.

Please join me in supporting Mark and helping to fight this deadly disease. Mark is an amazing kid and a true inspiration to all of us on Team Active Racing. What you may not know, is that Mark is actually a survivor of this deadly disease. Stricken as an infant, he was given only a 15% chance of survival. But thanks to medical miracles (and I'm sure his positive attitude), he's with us today and taking steps to make a difference (and tearing up the road on his bike at the same time). I think we can all learn a lesson from Mark and I consider it an honor to consider him my friend.

Donate Online Now: http://www.activegiving.com/donate/mshearman2008

Thanks for your consideration,
Cap'n Cook

Another BIG weekend...

2008-09-02T09:16:00.002-04:00

Well, the weekend started off with Alicia (my wife) and me headed up north to Houghton Lake for the 3-day holiday weekend to hear parent's home. About 5 miles from our destination, I saw some bikers riding with flags off the back of their bikes (not even thinking about the DALMAC tour that goes from Lansing to Mackinaw City). Much to my surprise, the lead rider in the group was wearing a Team Active Racing jersey! We slowed down and found out it was Daryn riding with one of his buddies, finishing the second leg of their journey from Midland to Houghton Lake. Had it not been for the "team colors" on his back, we would have drove right past. I haven't heard how he did, but 70 miles per day is a walk in the park for Daryn, so I'm sure he did great and hope he had fun.

This weekend we had a couple of riders set some pretty amazing accomplishments. Matt completed his first Ironman triathlon event down in Louisville and Kathy and Mark competed in a 12-hour road cycling event in Illinois (and both set course records for their divisions). Below is Matt's recap of the event for your reading pleasure. Incidentally, Kathy rode 217 miles, setting the course record for overall female and Mark put in 195 miles, also snagging course record in the 25 and under category! Great job team...

Ironman Louisville Update - By Matt Wright

Team,

It was a hot and sunny day in Kentucky but I managed to complete my first Ironman. It was a time trial start jumping off the Tumbleweeds boat dock...the guy behind me jumped in on top of me and nearly dislocated my right shoulder... I shrugged it off and proceeded to swim the 2.4 miles in 1:14:07. Then it was off to the VERY hilly 112 miles of beautiful Kentucky countryside. I managed to maintain 18.28 MPH on the bike course for a 6:07:42 split. The first half of the marathon was quite brutal for me, but, as I passed by the finish line for the first loop of the course, I saw the end in sight and managed to pick up my pace for the second half to finish with a 4:56:52 marathon. My overall time was 12:29:54 and I was 86 of 342 in my age group.

Thanks to everyone that has encouraged me and especially to Team
Active and the Race Team sponsors!

Matt Wright

Now that September has arrived, you're probably like me and wondering where the summer went. Time to start charging up the lights to extend the riding day and get out and do some night riding. I'm looking forward to trying out my new Nite Rider lighting system that I picked up from Team Active a bit ago. There's nothing quite like riding a mountain bike trail at night with lights. Makes it an entirely different experience, for sure.

Until next time...
Cap'n Cook

Kensington Valley Metropark Results...

2008-08-30T20:35:00.002-04:00

Just got this update from Devin on today's race. I know we also have a few folks competing in a 12-hour road race in Illinois this weekend as well, so that will be posted once results come in. Thanks for the update, Devin...

Team,

This morning was cool and foggy at Kensington Valley Metropark, site of the 2008 Trophee des Grimpeurs, the unofficial Michigan Climbing championship, where winners in each category take home the polka dot jersey. By the time of the start at 0800, the fog had burned off and we were ready to race. The category 5 race was 6 laps of a challenging 3.5 mile loop that included 2 challenging climbs. Of course, the finish was on the final climb.

For the first 5 laps, there were a few flyers, but no real breakaway. Speed ranged from a max of 40.9 mph to a min of around 14.9 on the climbs. I recognized a couple of strong riders from previous crits, and never fell beyond 5th place. Of course, it's not where you are during the race that counts, but where you are at the finish. Despite my hill repeats the past three weeks, I came in 9th, but happy with the fact that I finished my first road race.

When I got home, I checked results, and although the "official" TdG results were not posted, I did re check the Ada Crit results and wouldn't you know it, in the Cat 4/5 race for Crit State Championship, it appears as though Team Active Racing can now say that they have both the Road and Criterium Cat 5 State Champions on the team. Danny Wolin for Road and Devin Winton for Crit.

Well, one more big race left for the season - next Saturday's Priority Health Classic in Grand Rapids. Should be exciting as the 4s and 5s race together once again.

Thanks for reading and enjoy your Labor Day holiday.

Devin

Busy weekend for Josh...

2008-08-25T08:34:00.002-04:00

Our first-year Sport-Class phenom, Josh, had a busy weekend - racing Saturday and Sunday. Below is his recap of the weekend's festivities and he continues to maintain strong standings in the point series. Great job Josh!

This weekend was super busy for me. I raced on both Saturday and Sunday. Saturday's event was the Maybury time trial for the CPS MMBA series. Locals ran the show taking the top 3 spots in my class (Sport Men 19-29). My overall finish for the day was 4th out of 12.

I missed the podium spot by 10 seconds. That's a kick right in the "you know what". Sunday was a little different but still painful. Sunday's race was at Pontiac Lake. This was a cross country race in which the 30 year olds were let go at the same time as our class. I was under the impression I was leading my class until I saw the final results posted. It turns out that the person who won the class is actually an expert who had raced a couple times earlier in the season and beat 50% of the field, so I'm not too sure why he decided to race in the Sport class, but he did and handed me a 2nd place finish for the day. There were 7 total riders. His time was 1:25, my time was 1:30, and third place had a time of app. 1:34.

It's been over a month since my last win, and I'm getting antsy. I'll be at the Stony Creek Cross Country race where the final Championship Awards ceremony will be held, and I look forward to trying to end on a good note by winning that race, even though I have a firm hold on first place in this series as well, which will make me Sport Men 19-29 State Champion. This also gives me a free entrance into the 2008 Iceman Cometh race in November. Right now, however, I have my sights set on the final two races of the CPS series, in order to accomplish my original goal of winning all three series championships.

The final two races will determine the champion since I am in a very tight battle with the person in second place. I'm looking forward to all of my upcoming races, and have got the urge to train harder than I have all season. I'll keep you posted on my results.

Josh

Jonah's Triathlon Update

2008-08-21T09:07:00.002-04:00

In typical "Jonah" format, below is an update from our resident Tri-Clydesdale. Who needs the shift key anyway... capitalization is for wussies. Way to go Jonah (although I'll have to take your word on the "kissing your sister" comment - I only have a brother and we don't do that in our family)! LOL, Cap'n Cook

people,

just a jonah update. i raced the lansing legislator olympic tri on the 10th and got 1st clydesdale. i did pretty well overall too and it is a tough course finishing with a trail run. Then a couple of days later, running fit put on an evening tri in brighton on wednesday the 13th. amazingly enough, it sold out. i raced age group in this one and barely landed on the podium at 4th. it was tough competish though, lots of eastside badasses showed up and times were fast. i missed 3rd by 3 seconds and 1st by 2 minutes. being that close and missing it is like kissing your sister, but more motivation for next time. next race for me is not until sept 7, the michigan tri championship. they have a relay division too, for anyone that may be interested.

namaste,
jonah