Addison Oaks fall Classic

Joberon and Jason L. attended the Addison Oaks fall Classic this past sunday for a little XC racing. Read the race reports below: Joe finished 3rd while Jason was 4th out of 14 starters in the Elite Open field.

Bells Sandwich:




JOBERON:

Enemy Territory

Addison Oaks was one of the first mountain bike races I competed in. Over the years it has changed so much and made huge improvements thanks to Pauly and the folks at O.C. Parks. I don't get out there often but it's always a nice late MTB season event. Pretty low pressure. Lots of guys are gearing up for CX or just knackered from a long season of racing. That's the cool thing about Addison, even if you're worn out it's still a great time. It's like a rollercoaster. Going into the event I knew Christian(American Cycle and Fit) and all the KLM lads would be the one's to watch. It's their turf and they were looking for good results. In the end the race ended up being quite the battle. One of the more exciting races of the season. It started with Christian on point leading the charge up the climb. I was about 3rd or 4th wheel. We rounded a bend and a hurried expert rider was flying down the hill back towards the start. Obviously his warm up took longer than expected. Thankfully all riders avoided him and we were able to continue. Wow! Then, moments later, we crested the top of the climb and a CAR was driving across our path. Crazy! Must have been a park employee or something. Thankfully we all avoided incident there too. We eventually made it into the sweet single track. That's when both Christian and Chris of KLM started to gap the group. They were flying through the twisty stuff and I was left to chase. With two other KLM guys and my teammate Jason in town I was working to bring back the leaders. Eventually I started getting close to Chris and Christian was, as expected, out of sight. I would bring Chris back on the open sections then he would gap me in the single..trail. We reached the start/finish area for lap 2 of 5 and I had gotten back to Chris. Myself, Chris, Jason B., Greg of KLM and, thankfully, my teammate Jason. Off we went. The 3 KLM riders kept hitting us and making us work the entire race. It was hard work but good fun. Especially as I was able to bridge each time an attack was made. Going into lap 4 my teammate Jason attacked going up the start climb. I was off the back as I had just grabbed a water bottle. As I rode back to the guys I could see Jason B. struggling a bit. Chris was gone and Greg was looking good on my teammates wheel. Eventually Greg attacked and I grabbed his wheel as the others faded. He kept the pace high through the tight stuff and I started to lose him. Going into the final lap Greg was about 15 seconds up. Atop the start climb I saw dust in the air and new I was gaining. Eventually I realed him in and was ready for the fight for the 2nd spot. The trail opened up to two track and I went to the front. Made a left onto a climb and I hit the gas in what was to be an attempt to shake Greg. Well, I shook him alright. With my head down and no real visible courses markings I blew right by a turn and went the wrong way. Thanks to Greg for yelling. I turned around and tried to chase again. BLAHHH. I was getting tired. I ended up slowing again at another intersection as I was worried I'd made another mistake. With only a couple miles to chase back Greg was out of sight. Damn! I was riding over my head through some tight single track and clobbered my shoulder on a tree. At that point I put it in cruise control and rode in for the 3rd spot. It was a great race. I felt great. I'm just bummed I couldn't have raced it out till the end. The fun was cut a bit short. Oh well. Great ride everybody!

Jason L.:

Father/ son and son day. My Dad and my son went to the race with me today and then we headed over to the UCI CX race to yell at the Crossers.

I haven't been to Addison "joke" as we used to call since 2001, it's not a joke anymore. Pauly sure has taken care of the place and I only recognized the start finish area as we headed out for 5 laps with no pre ride..... Fast open slightly down hill start and we where off dodging a racer going backwards and a mini van up the first Hill. I guess that's what ya get at a Oakland County race. The KLM crew was trying to control things as Goddard was off behind Christian. I was trying to memorize the trail and hang on to Joberons pace, it seemed that they needed a little better markings as the course popped in out of single track and 2 tracks. Joberon brought all back together by the end of the 2nd lap. I was still trying figure out the trail, with the KLM crew knowing the single track well it was a tough day holding pace thru the tight stuff. I think I clipped a pedal on every lap. Going into lap four Goddard was looking hurt and his Teammate Jason was taking it easy on the flats, so I attacked to see what was going to happen with 2 of the 3 KLM guys knowing Kuhncappi was feeling pretty good. I eased up a little and Kuhn came around and I gave him another attack and he came around again with Joberon and we hit the single track again. Goddard and Jason B. came back as well, so I just slowed down and let Joe and Kuhn fight it out. I am not sure if the other 2 saw what happened but we lost Goddard. Final lap Jason vs Jason I set pace for awhile until; Jason came thru and I could see he was losing power and Joberon/Kuhn where gone. I waited till the last wide open long dirt 2 track before the start finish turn and jumped--- looked over at Jason and new I had it, I had about 100yds before the final corner---- take the inside of the corner to the outside and sprint about 150ft to the line for 4th.

Kisscross #1

John Meyers:

I participated in my first cyclocross race this past weekend in GrandRapids at Highland park and took First place for the team. I was a bit concerned about my mounting and dismounting skills since it had been a while since my last cyclocross race which was the famous SuperCup race series in 1999. It was held in downtown chicago.
This past weekend was awesome and it felt great to get back into a fun and challenging. A great course was prepared by Rick Plite (Mr. Lumberjack and Kisscross) http://www.kisscross.com/events.htm and crew. The "A" race was a ten lap race for the "A" which I believed ended just under 60 minutes. I was able to a quick tire change on friday night thanks to my riding buddy Jeff Hamilton who loaned out a pair of his cyclocross tires. They worked just fine on my custom Quiring 29er. I am hoping to participate in a few more Kisscross races and the upcoming tailwind race in davisburg this weekend. I am hoping Jeff will loan out his cross bike for this weekend (need a bike with drops) so I can go and have some fun with Mike.
Thanks again go out to our sponsors..and "Q" for putting together such a dual-purpose bike.

CHEQUAMEGON

SIMONSTER ----- SCOTT QUIRING ---- JASON LUMMIS



Jason Lummis Cheq40 report:

Thursday am myself, Scott Q., Mike Simonson and Art Flemming left Quiring central Charlotte and headed for the bridge for the UP loop to Cable Wisconsin. We stayed the night in Ironwood and awoke to sleet and rain Friday am. We laid around till past 11am waiting to head to Cable. We arrived at the Telemark resort around 2:30 pm on Friday checked in and did a short preride of the last 12 miles of the course by ridiing out Spyder Lk road to just before the Seely tower high point starts. Mike was moving fast and smooth as he flew up the climb. I paced myself and felt good and ready for the next days race. We ran into the LaLaonde Bros and they rolled back with us to the finish. When I asked them the magic gear they both said 36x16 and felt comfortable hammering the gear was we rolled downed the Birkie trail. We then relaxed around the room eating pasta and walking downstairs for our number plates. In bed early and a good nights sleep was perfect for the 9am start. Temps where around 40 for the start. We road out to Rosies for a warm up and back to the van for final prep. I changed my mind to knee warmers at the last minute and got to the preferred start a lttle late and lined up around 50 deep. No worries since we had a long road leadout. We rolled out of town slowly and made the right hand turn onto 77 for the leadout to Rosies field. The pace was high and I slowly started to move up waiting for the yo-yo effect to stirng things out and I could move thru the gaps. About a mile before Rosies I jumped a wheel that was moving fast thru the pack staying to the outside right of the pack. The rider made some crazy dives towards the middle and I suddenly heard skreeching brakes and bikers hitting the asphalt at 30 MPH. I just rolled over the rear end of a spinning bikes rear wheel as I rode a huge nose wheelie. Down shift sprint, my goodness that is a huge gap to the front of the main field. I didn't panic and just hammered down. I rolled into the end of the main field that was strung out forever as I entered Rosies. Over the first rise and then I see the worst thing imaginable, the Simonster is off his bike and It looked to me like he was adjusting his front wheel, as Timmer was dancing around the field on 1 leg. I knew Mike would be back sans a major mechanical, he lost 8 spokes out of his front wheel, day over.
Across Rosies I pick off rider after rider, I see Marko Lalonde come by and try and weave thru the riders to catch him. Big packs start forming now and my moment is slowed due to the efforts to catch back to the top 30. I hear time gaps of a minute or so to the 2nd group and I find the 3rd group is a good place to recover in I say probably 20 at first then down to about 6 or so a few miles later. With a couple Hollywood bros racing on the front and MI local Niel S. sending off flyers trying to get the pace up. I generally just rolled through out the group trying find out the time gaps to see if we could make the jump to the next group. The gaps where getting larger and I wasn't going to waste myself trying to close the gap, so I sat in. The pace wasn't really hard and we were not slowing down, so we rolled towards Seely. As we approached the climb Neil seemed to be hurting a little and dropped off. Someone dabbed in front of me and 1 of our group was off the front climbing the Seely High point. I kept it smooth and hit the top with the 2 Hollywood bros, we picked up Tim Swift on the way down. 10 miles to go and we could see riders that dropped off the 2nd group. Now was the time to up the pace and try and pick off as many racers as possible. I went to the front and pushed the pace all the way, I gave the roadie flick to see if anyone hanging was going to be able to help. I got 1 helper but rolled past him on the next little hill (the 29er sure seems to do that to the little wheels). We past Tj Wooddruff as he fixed his flat, He flatted with the lead group and had to re-air up again a few miles later. I hammered down the last dirt road 3 miles togo and TJ is back. I eaze up to see what pace he has left in him and we hit the last little climb and I jamm up it in my big Ring passing Tj fly down the hill and up a little rise as I can see the finish flags, Tj rolls up next to me as we head down the hill. I sprint to the line and I think TJ just rolled in. I was happy that I felt strong in the end and placed 28th overall. This was my fastest Fat Tire race out of the 6 I have competed in. Not my highest finish, but differently a good result. It was a great weekend, except Mike's mechanical, and it was fun to hang out with My Wisco and Minnesota racing friends. The Ti/Carbon Quiring was the perfect weapon for this race, The Oakleys kept all the nasty trail debris from my eyes, My Stans wheels rolled fast, smooth and the tubless ride was just awesome. The Cilff shots kept my energy high, while the Adidas shoes and gloves protected and propelled me with confidence. Congrats to the BMan Brian Matter for his 2nd place and we will see all the fats guys @ Iceman.


The 3rd group forming:

Stony Creek USAC XC ----- Tailwind series finale

Teamamtes Joberon and Jason Lummis attend the Tailwind USAC series finale at Stony Creek Metro park in Rochester/Utica MI.

Joberon finished 2nd and rapped up the series in 2nd place overall ---GREAT JOB JOE !

Jason finished 5th and was able to move up to 4th place in the series final results.

Bells Brewery/Quiring Cyles team filled the top 5 position in the USAC series with Joberon 2nd, Simonster 3rd and Jason 4th.


Race reports

JOBERON:
A GOOD NOTE
The final race of the USAC-MTB Michigan XC Series was at Stony Creek Metropark. 5 scaled down Stony Marathon loops were on the docket for the day. With rain overnight the course was in excellent shape. A few puddles here and there but fast and tacky for the most part. The race started off with series leader Christian Tanguy(American Cycle and Fit)leading the charge. I was forth wheel behind single track fast man Chris Godard(KLM) and my teammate Jason. Midway through the "rollercoaster" section Jason clipped a tree and went down. I was left to chase as Christian and Chris were starting to disappear up ahead. Once I reached the first open two track I had Niel Scharphorn(KP Cycles)on his trusty Quiring 29er and Jason Buccellato(KLM) for company. With Jason's teammate Chris up the trail I had no choice but to real him in. Keeping up with his winning ways Christian was gone and out of sight. That left myself, Chris, Jason and Niel to fight for the number 2 spot. After some powerful surges from Niel we lost Chris. Shortly after Jason slid out and went down on the wooden bridge allowing Niel and myself to create a sizeable gap. As Niel and I rolled through the start/finish we heard Jason's name being announced. He was coming back! About halfway through the rollercoaster Jason was back on and looking strong. Later, in the pines section, the slick wooden bridge claimed another victim. Niel this time. Jason and I rode out the lap spotting Niel now and again safely back a ways. We thought. After a couple of good surges early in the final lap I still couldn't shake Jason. I decided to wait for the final two track climb. It was a gamble but it worked. I attacked, got the gap and rode in for 2nd. Niel made a strong comeback atop his Quiring machine catching and passing Jason and nabbing that 3rd spot. Jason B. 4th and my teammate Jason 5th. A great day at the races and a excellent way to end the series on a good note. 2nd, 3rd and 4th is the final tally for the Bell's Brewery/Quiring Cycles crew in the USAC-MTB Michigan XC Series. Not too shabby. Deserving of a few cold one's I think. It's been a great series and a successful season for the team. My personal best so far. It's nice to see the hard work and sacrifice pay off. To be able to land that 2nd spot is a damn good accomplishment considering all the competition around here. I couldn't have done it without the push from my team and all the guys I race with. It's crazy really. It's difficult to tell if I've improved or gotten stronger at times. So many folks have upped their game and show up ready for a serious fight. With powerhouses like the "Simonster" and the "Flying Frenchman" around it's strengthening the MTB field in Michigan and given us something to work for. I think that is proven whenever a Michigan mountain biker takes the show on the road. There has been some outstanding results from Michigan riders over the past couple years out of state. Thank you Robert and everyone at Tailwind for putting on a great series. There have been some great turnouts at some great venues this season. Hopefully it just gets better for next year. Mountain biking is so much damn fun. Heck, Floyd even does it. Did you notice a Mr. Sven Nys does it too? He just landed 16th at the Mountain Bike World Championships. So come on you road guys and gals. You CX'ers too. There are more Mountain bike races in Michigan than Iceman. Come on out and show us whatchya got!


Jason Lummis:

Stony Creek XC --- 38 miles of pedaling thru 2 tracks and single track with no real coasting/rest points just power on and in Big Ring......

Christian grabbed the start and we where off Goddard was 2nd myself 3rd... I felt great keeping pace behind Goddard has he had about 5 secs in the single track, just waitng for it to open up and I was planning on setting up Joberon on my wheel for the Bigg attack. Well a small sapling grabbed my bars and thru me to the ground hard. I heard the helmet crack and felt my skinny elbow jam into my ribs, nice bruised couple of ribs. I jumped up and tried to jump back on my bike, but the small tree was holding on to it and backwards my bike went. I lost probably 10 spots as I got untangled and back rolling gingerly at first. Catching Tony Torrance (home from Colorado for the weekend) and getting by him as he made a wrong turn. Power on I see DK up the trail reel him in as he crashes then get bye him after he crashed again on the wooden bridge. I passed a few more guys by the end of the first lap and was about 40secs down from Joberon and gang. With Brent in tow we worked together keeping the pace high for my fast lap #2 of the day. At the end of the 3rd lap as I bridged to Goddard, Brent washed out hard in a high speed greasy corner. Goddard and I rolled thru the 4th lap together until Goddard tired a little and I rolled thru gapping him. I was told 20 secs to the Joberon 3 and I wouls catch a glimpse of them once in awhile. I made a really hard effort to catch Neil Schraphorn after he wiped out on the wood bridge., but it seemed he caught a glimpse of Joe and Jason and took off after them. I was unable to respond and just kept going hard till the end. Joberon was 2nd me 5th and I was moved up to 4th in the series thanks to a no show by the Hermitman.
Chequamegon, I can't get enough of this race and the atmosphere.........
JL

Shenandoah 100

Welcome to the future of mountain bike racing. After being present at the National Championships and seeing the full results from 24 hr worlds, it's nice to know it's still alive and kicking. A 100 mile MTB race like the Shenandoah combines every aspect of cycling. It has long brutal two track climbs, technical singletrack climbs, long rough technical downhills, and a few long flat sections. And... a very cool atmosphere to boot. It's got something for the roadies, the climbers, the decenders, the beer drinkers, and the endurance specialists. There's no stupid call ups, silly unfair points systems, or Bullsh@t licenses and memberships. And it doesn't matter who gets the wholeshot because all that nonsense isn't going to make a dam bit of difference 75 miles into a 100 mile race. Just good tough racing. I think we'll continue to see more pro's and tougher competition at these events.

As far as my race went... I was working on 4th only two minutes down at about mile 88, then started having tire troubles. Wha Wha Wha... I think I ended up 8th or 9th??? I'm happy with how I raced though. At least now I know what the course is like for next year and I got a nice workout in prep for the Chequamegon two weeks away. A little rest and recovery this week and I should be good to go.

Michael Simonson

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