Station #1 training ride

CX State Champs 2014

May have seen a bridge to the future?

Weekly Cyclocross Practice

All season, Scott organized and ran the cx practices for all that wanted to join every week, rain or shine (or cold). Hope it pays off for all those that are heading to CX Nationals in Texas in a few weeks!

Thanks again, Scott.

Thanks to the Trek Cafe!

Thanks to the Trek Café who’s been giving a shout out to both Colectivo Coffee and our Trek Midwest Team all season long!
We’ve been properly fed and supplied quite well with coffee!

Cinci3 CX Road Trip

I was lucky to co-pilot an RV to southern Ohio for the Cinci3 Cx racing over the Halloween weekend.  Racing started on Friday.  The fields were large with 4 or 5 categories making up a wave with a total of 100 – 125 riders per wave.  They do a mix-category mass start with call-ups based on your Cylocrossresutls.com ranking.  It was quite a different experience than the WCA races. 

Friday racing was in a cold rain with the course quickly turning into liquid mud during my race.  The mud was the best feature turning a “good” course into a challenging super- fun course.       Each day the race venue changes to a different park. 

Saturday was windy and cold and the course was nearly dry.  Racing started in the afternoon and finished in the dark with the pro-women and men.    It was a power course with three short steep climbs - the kind where they put a U-turn at the bottom and you grunt your way up most of it, then repeat 3 times.  On the 6th lap you are really wondering if your legs are going to fall off or not.  It also featured a  long sand pit that was ride able for some but running at least ½ of it was faster for types like me. 

Sunday’s course was one of the best CX courses I’ve ridden.  It had some extreme off camber sections that had wet grass and usually a couple bikes and bodies sprawled across them.  I saw guys fall and slide right under the tape and off the course.  Couple of serious steep climbs that were run ups for most but a few could ride them.   The worse was a 15-20 foot wall of a climb.  The only one a saw pre-ride it was Matt Shiver.  I hear the top 10 pros were riding it.   The pro course also featured a gnarly downhill section we didn’t have to do – thank god. 

I had some good results in my category  a 1st on Friday, and 2nd both Friday and Saturday.  I was chasing Tom Price all weekend again. (Finished 2nd to him both days at the Trek Cup. )  Only managed to pass him on Friday after he crashed a bunch in the mud.  

Thanks for reading,

Mike M

Post-race analysis

Top step!

Trek CXC Cup

Micah navigating the downhill section.

Soy

Go go go!

Are you ready for some CX?

Fun times!

At the Trek CXC Cup

Green Mountain Stage Race - Prerace Prep

After a "nice" 20 hour drive, we arrived in Vermont, unloaded the trailer full of bikes, and started the race preparations.

First order of business was recovery fluids - we arrived in Warren (site of the time trial course) just in time to pick up our quota of Lawson's Double Sunshine IPA (one of the top rated IPAs in the country, brewed right there in Warren!) as they sell out of it shortly after the morning delivery. We also managed to get out an pre-ride the time trial course and part of the road race course.

There are also some unusual sights to be viewed in VT too - for example, Diane spotted the zebra in the picture below - who knew zebras lived in VT!

Green Mt Stage Race Bound

Several TMT members (Eric, Mike, Diane, Lisa, and Amanda as well as 2 non-TMT friends) are heading east to do the Green Mt Stage Race in VT over Labor Day weekend. Four of us went last year and had so much fun we are heading back again this year. We have a trailer full of bikes packed and ready to hit the road - hopefully Mike, Eric, and Diane are ready for 20 hours of fun car time together!


The race seems to draw a lot of really strong riders, and this year is no exception as it looks like Mike and Eric will have their work cut out for them as the Hammer team is bringing a stacked team!  But with Mike on the team, we have no worries!

Successful Weekend of Racing!

This past Sunday was the Wisconsin State Road Race Championship, and the team came away with several state champs, podium finishers, and top five finishes!

Starting off the day, Mike (I ride alone) Meteyer captured the overall win in the Masters 55+ as well as the state title. And for the second road race this year, he took off early (in this case, Lap 2 of 6) and soloed impressively to victory!  Also, in the race, Gordy (I only need one working leg) Paulson managed to play the good teammate making sure no one bridged to Mike, and then proceeded to take 4th overall and capture the state title in his age group as well!  Nice work boys!

Not to be outdone (and having already heard of Mike's exploits earlier in the day), in the Masters 45+, Eric (if Mike can do it so can I) Knuth and Dale (what, no beer at the finish!) Humphrey started a series of attacks and counter-attacks part way into Lap 2, with the result being Eric going away solo for the final 4 laps for the overall win and state title! So take that Meteyer! :)

In the women's races, Diane (hills, smills) Schlipper took the Masters Women state title and Lisa (I never met a hill I didn't like) Harms just missed out on the Women's 1/2/3 title taking second.  Way to go ladies!

And in the largest field of the day, Tony (Oh so close!) Lemke narrowly missed the podium in the Men's Cat 4/5 race taking 4th!

All-in-all a fine day of racing for the team!  Hard to believe it's not even August and that was the final WCA road race of the season!

Training For States

Anybody out there???

So...  I've been quiet on this "Blogger" for a while.  I apologize for the lack of my great stories and my recommendation of cheap, good beers.  It's been a great but long summer.  I never thought focusing so much on the road scene would take me all the way to the end of July!  I am tired!  Yet, I have had some good results.  Top 11 at the La Crosse races. 6th, 7th, and 11th at the TOAD races I did. A couple podiums here and there. I'm happy.  However no win yet like I want so bad.... soon.

So forth, the last major race of the season is coming up on Sunday.  The State Road Race.  I have a couple buddies who are not on the team planning on racing with me.  We have a plan, we will be active, it will be fun!

He's a pic of the clan training out west of Cross Plains, WI in the hills.  We did 55 miles west of Madison with the last 6 miles on the Military Ridge Trail. Which is gravel. I felt like Fabian on the cobbles.  It's the closest we get to Paris Roubaix here.  It was a great, sunny Sunday!

After States it's Cross Season!  Much needed.  However, that will bring cold temperatures.  Not sure how I feel about that yet.  Maybe I'll move to SoCal.

Well,  get out there and enjoy a ride!

Tony

Colorado Hill Climb Championship

Took a road trip out to visit family in Colorado and decided to do the Colorado Hill Climb Championship that was taking place while I was out there, The course (see the profile) was less than 11 miles in length and climbed from about 8500 feet to just under 12,000 feet - I figured I'd show those Coloradans they were no match for a climber from the Midwest! 

The race started with a few minutes (yes, only a few minutes!) of flat easy riding before we hit the 8-12% slopes. My plan was to stay with the front group, but that plan was quickly shot to hell as the combination of poor warm-up plus altitude and immediate hard climbing efforts had me redlined within the first 10 minutes of the race - not a good sign for an hour long climb! Fifteen minutes into the race I was ready to call it quits - so much for my pre-race bravado! :)

Since I had sent warm clothes to the finish with the support car (for the descent) and could not convince myself that it was OK to kiss my expensive clothes good-bye and just head back to the car, I trudged on eventually making it to the top. With dreams of glory long gone, I enjoyed the high speed descent back to the start.  Lesson learned - climbing at altitude is tough! :)

Another beautiful night to ride yer bike!

‎"B" crit, mid-race

"B" crit, lap 1

‎Sadly, last night of the season. 

Galena 2014

LAPT/Trek Midwest RR Recap

"Fun" day of racing at the LAPT / TMT road race this past weekend - although the temps were in the low 80s, it was one of the first hot days of racing so far this year, so the heat was definitely a factor (not to mention it was also pretty windy, with a strong headwind on the finishing stretch).

Looks like the team had some excellent results, with Tony taking 3rd in the Cat 4, David S taking 3rd in the M3/4 35+, Eric taking 4th and Greg 9th in the M1/2 35+, Sanjay taking 6th in the Cat 3, and Lisa taking 2nd, Diane 6th, and Shelley 7th in the W Open. And the tough luck award goes to Michael Mayer for getting a flat in one race, suiting up for the next race, and then flatting in that one too!

You would think that the "old" guys race, the M1/2 35+, would start kind of mellow as a warm up and then at some point racing would start - but no, we roll up to the start and ATTACK - the pack is strung out right from the get go! Several iterations of attack-chase-attack-chase went on for the first half a lap, and we settle down for the moment with a Velocause rider hanging off the front. I noticed John Van Susteren moving up and looking ready to attack, so I follow him, and sure enough, a small gap opens up along the center line and off he goes with me on his wheel. We bridge up to the Velocause rider and immediately start a pace line. Our gap begins to grow and over the next few laps the peleton is no longer in sight! I am hoping that means we can let off the gas a little bit as the heat (and effort) is killing me and as we roll past the finish line with 2 laps to go I am thinking "I sure wish that had been the last lap!" - not a good sign!

Fast forward to 1.5 laps to go and we can see a pack approaching us - I think it must be the pro race catching us - but no such luck, it is the rest of our race! Mark Harms bridges up to us, which we are happy to see as Scotty was requesting more power from the engine room! The four of us keep at it, but the pack draws within about 10", and I think to myself, "finally, I can sit up and recover in the pack and save a bit for the end." But then the pack sits up, so we hit the gas again and our lead extends back out - but then the peleton chases again and gets close (and once again I am ready to wave the white flag) - but then they sit up and … you get the picture for the next few miles. Finally, one other guy manages to bridge up with half a lap to go and proceeds to go right past us, we half-heartily chase, but he holds on for the win, and our foursome holds off the fast-approaching pack!

20May2014 Madison Practice Criterium

Schwag is getting better each week as the volume of participants increases.
And, Smart Motors seems to be color matching our kits with the vehicles their letting us use for the events (Thank you!).

Come on out if you’ve ever wanted to try a criterium!

Bike to Work Week

Early morning set up at Colectivo:
getting ready to wrench on bikes and hand out great food/coffee to support Bike to Work Week.

13 May 2014 Madison Practice Criterium

LaCrosse Omnium Road Race

Whitnall Park Spring Classic 4/26/14

Second place on the podium was a nice way to start the season. 


Shelley Smith

Weekend of Fun at the La Crosse Omnium

Fun three days of racing in La Crosse - a weekend of racing well worth doing!

Leaving Madison Friday afternoon, the forecast for La Crosse that night looked good, but of course keeping with the annual tradition of the Friday night uphill time trial, it rained! The hardest part of the time trial was coming back down soaking wet and cold, and trying to manage the high speed wobbles caused by shivering! The team had a good showing in the TT with Eric, Mike, Barney, David S, Jim, Lisa, and Diane all racing and putting up some good results.

Saturday was much nicer (as you can see from the smiling ladies below), perfect for the criterium. Greg, Heidi, and Tony arrived for the rest of the weekend of racing (why would anyone want to not arrive in time for the Friday uphill TT in the rain??). 

The weekend finished with the road race on Sunday - a fun course with a nice long downhill and, of course, a nice long uphill. Barney, Greg, Mike, and Eric raced in the 50+ while Tony raced in the Cat 4s.  In the 50+, Mike took the win with a blistering finishing sprint from a 3-man break, starting his sprint from 500k out!  Not sure how the ladies or David and Jim did as they raced in the afternoon.

Put the weekend of racing on your calendars for next year as it is a great event!

The ladies warming up in advance of tearing it up!

And a few of the "senior" boys talking about how to best apply Ben Gay post-race.

LaCrosse crit a few pics

Meet Me: Tony

This is the year, 2014, going to dedicate my racing calendar to the road scene.  Follow in the footsteps of 'Spartacus' or as you may know Fabian Cancellara, one of the most talented and prestigious riders in the peloton today. Though I am surprised I didn't get the call up to the newly formed Trek Factory Racing Team, I was able to join a team that is a bit more on my level of play. That's the team of Trek Midwest.  The team, based out of Waterloo Wisconsin at Trek HQ seemed to be a perfect fit for me considering I work at the team HQ as a Sales rep for Trek Bicycle.  My name is Tony in the office but many on the bike call me 'Bonesaw'.

Coming from years of racing experience on the mountain bike, this was the first year I plan on hitting the road scene hard with my new team and help Matt or Nick get a win in the Cat 3's.  But first I need to upgrade from the 4's.  

The first GDVC race was a nice spring day with temperatures in the mid to high 50s.  Very nice for our Wisconsin Spring this year.  A group of 25 of us joined at the start line to commence our 35 minutes of racing.  There were a couple solo attackers but none of it stuck and we all came to the line together.  I ended up with a 4th place finish.  For my first race this spring, I was happy with that. However I wanted a win.

As Sunday of the 2nd Great Dane race came around, the weather did not seem to pleasing for the amateur cyclist.  It had been raining all night with the potential of more to come.  I knew I had to race, for myself but more importantly for the team and upgrade points.  I know Matt could use a teammate to draft behind.  Thankfully the rain held off for our cat 4 race.  15 of us set off on the same course as last week but in the opposite direction.  I felt good. I was ready for that win I have been training for.  6 miles into our 12 mile race I decided to attack from the front of the group on a slight hill that was half way on course.  Not sure what I was thinking, maybe I thought I could take it home just like Niki Terpstra did in Paris-Roubaix that morning winning from a late race attack.  And so there I go.. off the front.  I started with a decent gap of 20 seconds.  At times, I would look back and not see the peloton.  Were they chasing? Was I going to be able to hold this off and grab my first ever road win!?  Third lap into my solo effort I started to lose steam, heart rate dropping, legs tightening, oh oh... Here they come.  I was caught with 3 laps to go.  I've been in this position before thinking to myself.  Just hang on and rest. Get a good spot going into the finish and give er all you got.  And so I did, coming across the line in 3rd.  Considering my mid race fun, a podium finish suited well.  I am happy with the way my form is coming along.  Job well done Sir.  My parents came to cheer me on and they offered to take me out for a burger and a beer(s). A successful race...

Until next time....

Tony

Ridin'

When I say "I like ridin'"

You know what I mean, eh?

Double file for a double espresso!

Thanks for a fun ride!

Thanks to Smart Motors Toyota, Focal Flame, FatCat Coffee Works and Jets Overhead!

Sun!

TMT Womens Team looks great!

Another nice day for a ride

Especially behind Studner and Barney!

New team mechanic

Out on a cool, sunny spring ride today

And I think I found a new mechanic

To go with our new team tent

Looks like a good one!

‎Bit windy, but sunny and warmer...

Recovery

‎In Hendo

Our fogless leader

‎It'll clear

It'll clear...

Early days, NC bike camp 2014

Havin' a good time, down south
beautiful
good food
nice people
and the weather is now

turning in our favor...