Maple Hill RR

We had a great turnout for the club at the Maple Hill Race for Wishes with nearly 20 AAVC’ers making the trip over to Kalamazoo.    The race was held in a rural area west of the city in Lawton Township and featured four short climbs of ~8% grade with a number of rollers.  In the Cat 4 race Tyler Trask and Harvey Elliott set out to punish the competition

Harvey Elliott sitting in at 4th wheel

from the start and set the pace for much of their four laps.  Of the 75+ riders who started the race, only 42 finished and of those only ~15 were there for the sprint.  For his part, Tyler really dished out the pain, but unfortunately crashed out with less than 2 miles to go.  Harvey was able

AAVC'ers setting the pace in the Cat 4 race

to dive out of the lane to avoid the pile up, but didn’t have any more go for the finish and rolled in with the lead pack at 11^th.  Fred Feng finished 33^rd and Rob Shoemaker was just behind him at 35^th. Rob had a short breakaway in the 3^rd lap, but these guys ended up solo for much of the 4^th lap when things got really hairy.  In the Cat 4 Womens race, Andrea Merlotti shined as a climber staying near the front the whole race and winning the group sprint to the finish.  With that performance she secured a new State Champion jersey and proved that she needs to upgrade!  While I can’t say much for the other races, I can report places. 

Cat 1/2: Rob Ehrman took an impressive 4^th place

Masters 35+: Colin Hebert finished 11^th and Lucas Wall 18^th

Master 45+: David Fanslow 15^th, Winston Benedict 21^st, Kurt Schaldenbrand 36^th

Cat 3: Danny Soltan 14^th

Cat 4: Harvey Elliott 11^th, Fred Feng 33^rd, Rob Shoemaker 35^th, Tyler Trask DNF

Cat 5: Ben Rothacker 8^th and Michael Kines 14^th

Cat 5 35+: Rob Grainger 4^th and Matt Raezler 19^th

Juniors: Vincent Vermeulen 4^th

Womens Cat 4: Andrea Merlotti 1^st

Bloomer Park XC

The day after the Herman Miller criterium, Tailwind’s Bloomer Park XC race took place in Rochester, MI. The course is relatively technical for southeastern Michigan with some challenging climbs and a famously dangerous switchback downhill. Representing AAVC Racing were Tyler Trask in the Expert 19-29 division and John Krauss in the Expert 50+ division. After two hard criteriums in the heat, this race proved too much for Tyler and he cracked in the first lap after covering a strong attack up the first climb. He was able to hold off another rider to maintain second place through the second lap but the fatigue proved to be too much and he lost another place to finish in third, keeping him in the running for the series title. John Krauss finished 10^th in his category after an equally competitive field with riders from the best mountain bike teams in the state.

Tyler Trask #271

John Krauss #659

Herman Miller Brickyard Crit

Tyler Carlton's review of the Herman Miller Criterium in Grand Rapids, MI.  This seemed like a great course down by the BOB, but the large size of the combined 3/4 field led to a number of accidents during the race...  

The bad vibes surrounding the Herman Miller Crit started before the race was under way. The field was HUGE, so we were planning on getting to the line early in hope to get a good spot. We rolled up to the line, stopped, and were told that staging wouldn't begin for 5 more minutes so we'd have to take a lap. Fair enough we thought, until we took that lap and came back to see 60+ people already lined up. Ugh, this was going to make the race a lot harder as we'd have to work to get to the front instead of already being there. To make matters worse, I slipped my pedal twice before finally getting clipped in. Going into the first corner I was in dead last, exactly where I didn't want to be. 

Matt Ronan in the first turn of the Cat 3/4 race

The course consisted of six corners, two of which came right after each other and included a pretty darn sharp turn onto a narrow road. Before our race started we got to see a cat 5 being taken away in an ambulance after crashing on this corner, but sadly this was just foreshadowing of the mess that was to come. Also, the section right after the first turn was cobbled, alternating between sections of smooth and quite rough cobbles from corner to corner. 

A hard first lap brought me back into the first 1/3 of the field, but things were about to get hairy. On lap 2 some guy was trying to pass in a corner, took it too wide, hit the curb and went down. Of course I was right behind him so I ended up slamming right into the pile of bikes and bodies before flying over the handlebars. Luckily I landed on some other dudes so the damage was minimal and I was able to dust myself off before heading to the pit to get my free lap. I noticed later that they put up a barrier to prevent people from taking this corner as wide. 

For some reason the official wouldn't let me get rolling before the field came by, so I had to go from a stop to 30 as fast as possible in order to not get immediately dropped as the field roared by. Not more than a few laps later I was nearly involved in another crash as someone roared up next to me screaming "INSIDE INSIDE INSIDE" way too late before diving under me into the most dangerous corner on the course. After cornering, he struck a pedal and nearly went down. That move got him chewed out by me, his teammate, and a few others as they rode by. There's no reason to make sketchy passes with 40+ minutes to go in a race. A few laps later I saw Jeremy Zeigler standing on the side of the road with his bike in this same corner.

Brad Field and Tyler Carlton waiting for the restart

We managed to make it a few laps without another incident, but it was just the calm before the storm. I don't know what caused it, but about 30 min in there was a huge crash in the death corner of doom. There were bikes and bodies strewn about the whole road and unfortunately I couldn't avoid it. I was pretty much stopped when I tumbled over, so I wasn't hurt at all, but I sure was angry. As I rolled up to the start finish line I told the officials that I was done because I wasn't about to leave this race in an ambulance. They calmed me down, told  me the race had been neutralized, and asked if I wanted back in. I figured that I'd already paid, so I might as well finish the race.

The neutralization lasted a good 15-20 minutes while they carted two guys off to the hospital in ambulances [thoughts go out to them] and changed the course [they made the death corner wider by about a lane]. After everything was cleaned up they had us take a neutral lap, which of course meant that everyone was trying to get to the front for the restart. You shouldn't have to sprint out of corners on a neutral lap, but alas I was.

After the restart my heart just wasn't really in it anymore. I hung on the back of the field and just rode it in. I had no faith in the pack's ability to avoid more crashes, so I didn't feel like trying to mix it up in the sprint. I rolled in 42^nd, just happy to be in one piece.

I had many gripes with the way the race was put on, and unless there are changes I won't be returning. The course changes mid-race are what really frustrated me. If the road was available to be made wider and safer, why was it not like this originally. Three people went to the hospital in an ambulance on the corner!  Also, I see no reason for the combined 3/4 field. It was clearly too many semi-inexperienced racers for that kind of course. There were more than enough people to fill separate fields, but instead the organizers insist on lumping everyone together to advertise bigger cash purses. The difference in ability between almost Cat 2 guys and just got their 10 races so now they're Cat 4 guys is too big for a course like that and results in people riding over their ability, making mistakes, and causing crashes. 

The race has a huge potential with a really cool location, but poor organization has made it an event I don't plan on doing again unless significant changes are made to how its run. And here's your summary of results...

Masters 40+: Tom Wamsley 39^th

Cat 3/4: Rob Ehrman 3^rd, Tyler Trask 25^th, Matt Ronan 41^st, Tyler Carlton 42^nd, Colin Hebert 54^th, Jeremy Zeigler DNF and Brad Field DNF

Cat 5: Michael Kines 2^nd and Ben Rothacker 9^th

Tyler Trask on the bricks

Tyler Carlton in the "death corner"

Zeeland Crit Race Report

Tyler Trask in the dusky light

This year’s Zeeland Criterium took place on the same turn-filled course as last year with hot temperatures even with the twilight start times. The race is a lesser-known crit but draws serious competition, as it is the night before the well-known Herman Miller crit and only a short drive away in the small West Michigan town of Zeeland. The course and its many turns took its toll on the Cat 3/4 mixed field where all of AAVC’s representation was. After an unfortunate line-up, Tyler Trask and Stephen Doll were in the back of the large field of approximately 70 riders. With Tyler working to give Stephen the chance to reach the end of the 45 minutes ready for a sprint, the two fought to gain position in the field. After 15 minutes of hard effort, Tyler seemed to be out of gas and signaled for Stephen to lead the charge. Shortly after, an opposing rider bumped Stephen going into a fast 90 degree turn, causing him to crash and forcing him to abandon the race. Tyler managed to avoid the crash with some crafty bike handling and rode on alone. Meanwhile, Matt Ronan and Jarod Winn had started in better position and were facing their own problems, with the second crash of the race forcing Ronan into the grass and out of the main pack and eventually forcing them to abandon the race. After a total of three crashes and a fast field, Tyler finished 27^th.

Matt Ronan before concession

Tyler is now our sole survivor in the race...

Perfect form for the sprint finish

Michigan State Championship TT

 AAVC was represented by Fred Feng, Mick Jones, and Tyler Trask in the Cat 4 Men’s division and Lucas Wall in the Masters 35+ division for this year’s state championship time trial. The course was relatively hilly for a TT in Michigan and included 3 out-and-back legs with a turnaround at the end of each making for a challenging 26-kilometer route. To add to the difficulty was the weather, hot and humid. Mick was able to secure a second place finish with Tyler finishing 5^th and Fred 9^th. Lucas Wall finished 3^rd in the Masters 35-39 age group division. With a taste of the podiums and riders within reach of state titles, AAVC will be back next year to improve upon this year’s results.

Lumberjack 100 Race Report

Harvey Elliott's report of the Lumberjack 100 MTB race at Big M in Manistee.

Riding rigid hurts, I can't believe I used to do this on a regular basis!  I finished in about 8:43 with Ellie, Craig North, Nate Kerns, and Jesse from Treefort Bikes not far behind.  Jack Miner (and son) provided excellent pit support although thankfully I didn’t have to use him much.  I’d describe my race strategy as “remember, this is only a training ride!” but looking at my time from last year that may not be entirely accurate.  

Dawn at Big M

I converted my rigid single speed to 1x9 while standing in a mud puddle outside Timber’s restaurant the night before.  We had a 30 minute wait so it was a real Gran Prix type affair.  A slapped it together and give it a quick spin before running inside and ordering a pitcher of the Horny Monk from Petoskey Brewing - QUITE DELICIOUS! It was nice to have a bit more flex in gear selection, but without a chain guard I would frequently drop the chain on downhills forcing me to scrub my speed.  It was maddening because I was riding with people then would drop my chain and be alone in the woods for the umpteenth time.  You’d hear a brake pad squeal or a bad shift so I knew they were out there, but somehow I was mostly alone.  There were several cases where I’d pass someone on the hill and they’d pass me back 1-2 minutes later after the drop.  At the finish line I played this out three times with a single RADING GREYHOUNDS rider.  


Off the start I was bound and determined to stay in front of the tandems which was fortuitous because they ran the course in reverse this year.  In reverse, there wasn’t much room to pass off the start and we started off with a fairly serious climb - something I rather enjoyed but everyone else seemed to lament.  I sat on with some guys from the RACING GREYHOUNDS (don’t ask me why they insist on all caps), but unfortunately dropped after a fast downhill where my rear wheel decided it would rather meet my bottom bracket then stay back there all alone.  I clamped everything down again but another good bump put me out of commission just before the gravel road section.  My Kenda Small Block Eights may have cut a hole through my frame because I was too into "feeling fast” to care about the bike.  There are about 300 photos of me as I stood on the roadside re-attaching my rear wheel.  After 30 more mosquito bites and another amazing fast gran prix style repair job I was back on the bike and rolling smooth.  I don’t know how much I torqued those bolts but the wrench (and the bolts) may never be the same. After that, things literally rolled smoother and I cooled my jets a bit.  

Craig North at the  starting line.

I had to make a few on-the-ride adjustments to the barrel adjuster but by lap two the chain and cassette were meshing nicely.  While I wasn’t riding hard, I also realized that I wasn’t eating or drinking enough.  I had a single bottle on me and 4-5 Hammer gels stuffed up my shorts.  Yummy!  I figured that since I did pay for this race and clearly wasn’t going to win, I should at least consume as much Hammer product as possible.  I’d grab an average of 10 or so gels every lap and add them to my shorts for good measure.  In all, I think I ate 18 and brought 8 more home with me.  At $1.50 per gel, I consider that a real win!  On lap two I made friends with some single speeders from Team Camelstache in Boston.  I also think it was the first time I’ve ever heard “you ride like a single speeder!” as a compliment.  Thank you, Team Camelstache. Thank you.  That was also the point I decided I should actually start riding and putting some efforts in.  On lap two I also realized that I was burning up my brakes alarmingly fast.  By the third lap I had the barrel adjuster all the way out and could still pull those levers all the way to the bar with little effect.  

On the third lap, I entered into Hammer gel dementia.  I was very talkative up to this point and heckling the guys I was passing - in retrospect I do feel a little bad.  ;)  In the third lap I hardly ran into anyone except some old guy I kept passing only to drop my chain and get passed again.  I don’t really remember anything else, except my ass and hands hurting.  A rigid 29’er should really have tubeless tires if you want to have use of your hands the next day!  I pretty much stood on the pedals and “sprinted” that entire lap or so I recall it.  I finished at 78th place with a time of 8:43:47.  Compare that to last year when I was 124th with a time of 9:57:39.  Considering that I didn’t work very “hard” and really wasn't sore (except the ass/hands) the next day I’m pretty happy.  I even went for a nice 40 mile ride on that Sunday.  

David Palan's Barry-Roubaix Race Report

David Palan reports on his return to racing in 2014 with his age-group at Barry-Roubaix.

The 2013-2014 cyclocross season was anything but what I had planned. An injury in August sidelined me for much of the racing season. I did manage to participate in a few races which included a podium finish at Veterans Park in Ann Arbor. ...

Somewhere in the fuzzy haze that indoor trainer sessions induce, I let someone convince me that riding a dirt road race would be a good idea. I decided to target the Barry Roubaix Classic Gravel Road Race. For road racers Barry-Roubaix represents the first race of the season — an early spring race and an opportunity to determine early season fitness. For me, Barry-Roubaix represented the end of ‘cross season — a late winter opportunity to put to rest a frustrating season of ‘what ifs’ and ‘if onlys.’

Read the whole story...