BLoomer XC USAC Tailwind Series #2

Jason Lummis attended the 2nd stop of the tailwind.net USAC series at Bloomer Park Rochester Mi. 16 racers lined up at the start of the Elite/Open class for a great day of racing, cool and sunny.

Jasons report:

My first race of the 2008 race season is under my belt (skin suit). I had missed the 1st race of the year at Pontiac Lk due some nagging back pain. Our new team kits arrived this past Thursday from Pearl Izumi and they are awesome.

The race: It started out fast as usual with a slight down hill to first set of single track. I missed my pedal, which is odd since using CRANK Brothers over the last few seasons I had not done that before. I made way to 5th or 6th wheel and entered the tight and twisty single track behind a new face in the Elite class. Khuncapi grabbed the whole shot and Neil S. was right behind him, Brent and Dylan where just ahead of me. After the single track opened up I was able to get around the racer in front of me, he started way to fast and was fading with in the first few miles. We made it to the big downhill switch backs and I almost lost it because of not pre riding and the trail changed directions from previous years at the bottom. It was a fun change and I started closing the gap to the racers ahead. I closed the gap on the RR bed flat along the river. I sat on for a few and tried an attack on the little hill before the sled hill (which was cut out) and tried to keep the pace high. Coming around the infield by the start/finish Christian tanguy came by and Dylan grabbed his wheel leaving myself and Brent in the dust. We caught Kuhncapi and then dropped Brent in the same spot The flying Frenchman dropped me. Kuhncapi and I slowly reeled in Neil and dropped him as well on the 4th lap of 5. I had a small scare on lap 3 with a stick jabbing my rear wheel and the hissing sound of a flat. My Stans liquid quickly sealed the hole and I lost about 10psi, the tire held for the rest of the 2.5 laps. Christian was gone and Dylan had a gap that wasn't getting smaller. On the last lap Kuhncapi was fading and I jumped about 1 mile from the finish and held him off. Greg is a good friend and I really have fun racing with him, he and I have had a few good battles for position in races over the years.

results:

Christian T. 1st

Dylan 2nd

Lummis 3rd

Kuhncapi 4th

Neil 5th

Yankee Springs TT Top 10 for John Meyers

Great TT result for the team 7th. place elite. The warm-up started off with an easy spin from Richland Michigan with a couple jumps to try and get my motor started. I rushed around the start an offed my top and ipod to Ken my buddy at the Trek trailer...always great to check in. So I started in 2nd. position. As I approached the start line just before 10:00 I noticed that things had changed??? I shot up the hill were everyone was and found that the start had been moved and we were going to race in reverse....wow! Great! Level the playing field. I had a great time but just could not get comfortable on the bike??? A recent bike fit again revealed a few changes to the stem and seat height which I made on Friday. The changes did not work and made me feel cramped and restricted on the bike? So this was my second off-road ride of the year and feel very good about it! No complaints! Looking at adjusting the schedule slightly so that I can go out to Nationals (Masters Expert) in July with Joe and Erin. The season is very L O N G and the slow roll up is the best way to stay motivated in December for the Cyclocross State Championships and Nationals. Last year was a great year for me with a total of 27 races completed and 20+ top five finishes so this year will be very similar and the slow roll-up and lot's of motivation in December is most important!!!! Good Luck Jason, Erin and Joe this weekend!!! Take care and have fun!!!!
J.Meyers

JOBERON TAKES 1st WIN of 2008

JOBERON on the TOP step






Graduation Day My very first MTB ride was with my good buddy Larry at Pontiac Lake. I believe it was early spring as well as it was quite muddy that day. I recall spraying our bikes off at my parents afterwards and grinning ear to ear the rest of the afternoon. From that day on I never looked back. I immediately entered the Cameron-Clark-Farnsworth-Collins-Luczynski-Dunn-Bowes PLRA School of Big Ring Jammin'. Well, 10 years later I'm happy to say I finally graduated. The Tailwind/USAC MTB Michigan State Championship Series kicked off this past Sunday with a 2 lap Time Trial at Pontiac Lake. I awoke to cold, snowy and wet conditions. I must admit my motivation wasn't the greatest. I pressed on and kept thinking of what my brother said to me the night before, "It's going to be cold and snowy tomorrow. You will do great. You've been riding in the crap all winter." I rode out from the apartment with full winter layering. It was quiet as the snow covered my glasses and helmet. It seemed as if I was just out on another winter base training ride. As I closed in on the park I started to hear the familiar sounds of a race. The music and announcements over the PA and the chatter of fellow racers preparing for battle caused reality to set in. I quickly registered and continued with a light warm up. The next thing I knew I was lined up for the first race of the season. With the crazy conditions and over a dozen Elite riders showing up I really wasn't expecting much of a result. I rolled out from the line pretty conservatively trying to stay relaxed and upright. There would be no Big Ring Jammin' on this day as it was slick and quite muddy is spots. This was also my 2nd trail ride since Iceman and only my 2nd ride on the Quiring steel 29er race rig since the 2007 season finale. To my surprise I was picking off riders within a few minutes. I caught Dylan Lanspeary(A-Bikes) who is riding really well and knew if I could stay near him I'd be doing pretty well. That was the case going into lap two. We'd also caught Bill Clikeman(AC&F/WSC) who eventually found his wings on the 2nd lap and rode away from me. Dylan had some unfortunate chain trouble and disappeared behind me. I picked up the pace as I closed in on the finish and spotted Bill again. I just tried to ride smart, avoiding crashes and keeping Bill in my sights knowing he started a minute or so in front of me. A few minutes after I had finished I heard I'd posted the fastest lap time. Then, after a short cool down with Bill, I'd heard I won. I won! Finally. A much better result than last years season opener at PLRA. Funny thing is my lap times were nearly the same. In the mud! Another good day on my Quiring 29er. The Stans wheels worked flawlessly with a big o'l Geax up front and a Karma on the rear. It's so nice to be riding the Quiring and racing again. Spring is here everyone! Good luck and have a super fun and safe season. I'm looking forward to hanging out and sharing some Oberon's with you in the coming months. I got things started off with a 6 pack of the beauties following Sunday's race. See you at the races!Joberon

Joe Brzuchanski aka JOBERON BEERCHAMPSKI takes the 1st win of the 2008 MTB seasion here in Michigan. report coming soon !

Erin Vicary continues here top podium ways with a hard fought 2nd place........................

Winter is over the racing Begins !!!!!!!!

Here is two of the first 2008 team interviews: Erin Vicary & Jason Jones




ERIN:

How was your winter ?
Great, though I'm not convinced it's over yet.
Living in a state shaped like a mitten, I guess I should expect to be pummeled by snow for at least half the year.

Thanks to a 4 week cycling hiatus right after Iceman (a 2 week adventure in Brazil, sandwiched between two weeks of doing whatever at home) I came into training raring to go. And then it snowed. And snowed. And snowed. It snowed so much that I found it difficult to make riding outside effective training this winter.
In years past I did most of my winter riding outdoors. This year I was on the trainer for what seemed like most of it...yuck! The height of my skills work was a four hour stint at Rays Mtn Bike park in Cleveland. Fun, but yikes... that's all?! Despite what might sound like a bunch of setbacks, I feel strong & quite confident that I'm prepared as best as can be for the upcoming season.
Hopefully my form & handling will continue to improve steadily this spring as I finally get out on the trails. I just can't wait to shed the layered-load-of-laundry look I've been sporting all winter, slip into something more comfortable like the new Bell's/Quiring Kit, & RIDE!




What are your goals for 2008 ?

Two top three's at national races: 1 NMBS + National Championships
Win 1 AMBC race
Repeat as MI USAC Expert/Elite Women XC Series Champion
Improve results for Triple Crown races

Favorite race event and why ?
My favorite race event isn't a particular race course, it's a format I guess.
I like the stage races.
I love XC, but I also really enjoy the bonus of it's flat out fast cousins: time trial & short track.

Favorite Bells Flavor?
Oberon

Best thing about your Quiring bike ?
Can't wait to find out... the frame's being built up as I type!

Pizza or Burritto ?
Buritto

Coffee or tea ?
COFFEE! Freshly ground & French pressed.


JASON:

How was your winter ?
Interesting. I was doing winter biking and xc skiing up until the end of February. Then, in March, I had a 7 hour open-heart surgery to repair a birth defect in my heart. They stopped my heart for 19 minutes, but thanks to all that mountain biking, it started up again.

What are your goals for 2008 ? Racing or life !

My riding was taking a slow spiral down the past few years because of my heart. Due to my recovery from surgery, I can't ride again until the first week in June. While that sucks, I am psyched to see what I can do on the bike with a healthy, fully-functional heart.

Favorite race event and why ?

Probably Iceman in Traverse City. I like the terrain and the team Sunset on the Season Party the night of the race always rocks.

Favorite Bells Flavor ?

It depends on the season, but I am a big wheat beer guy and like Belgian Wits and German Hefes, so Winter White does it for me.

Best thing about your Quiring bike ?

Q knows 29ers. Before Q sponsored the Team, I had Seven Cycles build me a 29er. When I got it, I was disappointed. It climbed like a pig. It turns out that, despite their reputation, Seven didn't know how to handle the tight 29er trade-offs in geometry between ring clearance and tire clearance. Instead of bending the chainstays right, they just lenghtened them to accomodate clearance. When Q looked at what I'd been riding, he commented that the 'stays were way longer than they need to be. He tweaked the geometry on the new Ti 29er he built me. What a difference! It felt like I was on a jet compared to the Seven. Knowledge and skill trump marketing every time.

Pizza or Burritto ?

Tofu.

Coffee or tea ?

Peet's Major Dickason's Blend in the morning, Green Chai tea at 3pm.