The Rouge flows through its concrete trough

I think I’ve only crashed two or three times this year.

One was in Birmingham.  There was slick ice on the roads and a thick layer of loose snow on top.  I was running studded Nokian tires, but the snow kept them from hooking up on the ice.  It wasn’t that bad of a crash since you can’t go too fast in these conditions and snow is fluffy.  My riding partners even noted that I was laughing as I fell.

So that wasn’t my number one crash.

It was in the middle of summer and I was on a long ride.  My purpose was to scout the planned Rouge Gateway trail extension along the Rouge River from Michigan Avenue to the Fort Street Bridge.

This segment of the Rouge River had been heavily modified through the years in order to accommodate large Great Lakes ore vessels on their way to Ford’s Rouge Plant.

Keeping the river in a more natural state was clearly not a priority. It had been dredged, straightened, and eventually placed in a concrete trough.

More scratches on glasses = less abrasions on face

On the bright side, that concrete is somewhat fun to ride.  It gently slopes towards the river and you just need to avoid the occasional dead wood.  It’s like the Dorais Velodrome with any turns.

My scouting ride was following some recent rains, so there were some wet spots where water was flowing over the concrete to the river.  It was no biggie — or so I thought.

One time it wasn’t just water.  It was a slimy, wet algae mix.  I was riding about 15 MPH when my front wheel hit that slick concoction and slipped sideways down the concrete slope.  My handlebar end was the primary contact point with the concrete and a quarter-inch of metal was quickly ground off.  My knees, hands, and face eventually hit the hard surface as well and I quickly slid to a stop.

I took inventory, swore, flushed the blood off my face with my water bottle and got back on the bike.  I really thought about continuing my ride, but all my cleanup meant I was nearly out of water.  Oh, and everything hurt, too.

I rode 15 miles home, cleaned up my wounds, and bandaged my knees and face.  My cut above my eye got a butterfly bandage and didn’t require stitches.  I got a tetanus shot just in case.

Yes, it’s premature to blog about your year’s biggest crash with three months remaining, but I’m an optimist.

Looking thrilled just minutes before the start

You know you’re going to be in a death march when bad weather prevents you from driving the posted speed limit on the way to a race start.

Running 100 miles at high elevation in the Rockies is tough as it is. Driving through freezing rain with the occasional lightning hitting the nearby mountaintops makes it surreal.

Fortunately there was only an occasional drizzle in Downtown Leadville prior to the 4 AM start. And unlike the Leadville bike race, there was no jockeying for a good starting position among the 466 runners. Everyone basically stands around nervously making small talk and waiting for Race Promoter Ken Chlouber to fire the shotgun. (more…)

Neighbor: You’re not going biking tonight, are you?
Me: Oh yeah. Can’t miss it. They take attendance.

That was a conversation I had with my neighbor as we were once again shoveling our driveways after the most recent snowstorm.

Winter biking is great fun. Pulling on layers of clothes, prepping your crusty bike, and being cold for that first mile is not fun.

What makes Robert (Herriman’s) Winter Ride Challenge Series (WRCS) so valuable is it motivates you to get out and get going even on the most wicked days. The motivation is he takes attendance. You get more points the colder it is. You also get bonus points for being on a singlespeed. If you can’t ride and just show up to see the group off, you still get social points.

This year there were three rides per week: two from Royal Oak and one from Rochester Hills. It started January 2nd and ended March 10th. The biggest rides had 22 cyclists, the smallest had 3.

As the WRCS progressed through the winter, Roberts tracked everyones points, ranked us, and posted the results on the WRCS blog. Group shots were also posted.

Awards will be given at an upcoming end of the series party.

We had some rough rides this year: icy roads, freezing rain, deep snow, sub-zero wind chills. Mother Nature certainly put the “Challenge” into the series.

So thanks to Mother Nature and Robert for pushing us through another Michigan winter of riding. Indoor trainers and gym memberships? Who needs ‘em!

Mike Curiak is the top dog in endurance racing. He doesn’t do the 24 hour loop-in-a-circle-until-you’re-a-veg. He does the endurance races that most think are simply impossible. Right now he’s riding the entire Iditarod trail at the same time as the Iditarod Trail Invitational race. Mike’s ridden the full 1100 miles to Nome before. He’s already won that race. This time he’s doing it fully unsupported.

Compared with most races and rides, the Iditarod is about as unsupported as you get. You can stop in cabins along the way and purchase a meal. Further along the trail you can stop in small villages and buy food. Mike’s won’t be doing that. He’s on his own and carrying everything he needs.

Just surviving on what you have is amazing. I just can’t imagine the willpower to ride past some of those cabins where they’ll gladly serve some hot tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. Spending a day slogging through snow, eating just Clif bars and trail mix certainly makes you appreciate a basic hot meal.

The above photo is from Eric Parsons. Eric’s company, Epic Designs made Mike’s storage and handlebar mitts. His stuff looks absolutely bombproof and very well-designed. And I know Mike sets the bar pretty high for his gear. If the stuff didn’t work, it wouldn’t be on his bike.

I used to cross country ski a fair amount. I’ve done a couple races, including the VASA. But since I started biking more in the winter, I’ve hardly skied at all.

The dry spell was broken this year when Karen and I skied the Lake Ann Pathway near Interlochen. That was a great time.

I hit the trails again with Dan Harrison. Dan was good enough to let me borrow his waxless skis so I wouldn’t have to deal with waxing mine. We did a quick loop at Harwick Pines near Grayling, but not the main groomed trail. Instead we did the less used, more rustic AuSable River trail.

I need to put a plug in for my Patagonia Cold Track jacket, Windshield tights, lightweight balanclava, and All Season clothes. My hands were chilly at the start, but I was the perfect temperature after that and everything seemed to breathe just enough.

Again, it was another great time.