2008 XTERRA LAST STAND TRIATHLON/DUATHLON

John Meyers raced the Duatholon at Fort Custer this Past weekend winning the Overall for the Duatholon. 2008 XTERRA LAST STAND TRIATHLON/DUATHLON
SUNDAY, MAY 18, 2008
1 862 John Meyers 44 M 1 run 10:38 trans. 0:55 bike 1 47:45 trans.1:00 2 29:28 overall finish time = 1:29:43
FIRST overall duathalon

Johns race report:

I returned to compete in the Xterra national race series at Fort Custer http://eliteendeavors.com/race_lastStand.htm,

My day started out a little rough with about 60 min. bike warm-up and a 5 min. run. During the run I stepped into a gopher hole and twisted my bad left ankle...ouch. Not sure if I was going to be able to compete I decide to shake it off and go to the start line. The foot race started and I was able to finish first and then into the transition to the bike. The first transition went fairly smoothly and jumping onto my new race rig I was excited...off down the trail and onto the course everything seemed good but a few bike issues (my fault "Q")occurred; chain suck middle ring up first climb damm! big ringed the balance, seat post slipped, first time; riding the bike, with lefty fork, disc brakes....back into transition I laced up my shoes and off for another run (4 - miles) the ankle felt bad and I had to watch every stick, rock and hole but was able to stay and take the WIN for the team. All and all I felt good and had a lot of fun on my new race rig.

A bid thank you goes out to Scotty "Q" for designing and building the custom ti-carbon frame.....Get well son bro we need you out there...Lumberjack and O2S are just around the corner so the new Lefty front end is going to smooth things out.
Again thanks to all of our great sponsors...Jason thanks for hooking me up with the Cannodale Lefty it is sweet!
John

HAPPY 44th John Meyers !

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOHN!!!

Fort Custer XC

The team headed over towards Kazoo for the Fort Custer XC and a little luv at the Eccentric Cafe for Lunch afterwards.

Erin Vicary took the BIG W in the womens Open class, while Jason Lummis held on for a 2nd Place in the Mens Open. Local Star John (44 isn't that old) Meyers kept it together for a 4th place finish in the Mens Open as well. Joberon helped the team out with feedzone excellence and support after being sick all week. We owe Joe a huge thanks for the team support and his family for coming out and cheering us on.

Race reports soon !

Results

JOBERONs Report:

The Fort :

Looks like the Greenbrier Maryland marathon may have been a bit much for my already worn out system. The Monday following, after 3hrs of sleep, I awoke to those pesky sensations. Scratchy throat, a few sneezes and to few hours of sleep. What does that spell? C.O.L.D. A nasty head cold that had me completely grounded by mid week. I did everything in my power to recover in hopes of enjoying some Fort Custer hot laps with my pals on Sunday. Friday night I even tried my good buddy Marco's home remedy. Keep reading for the secret recipe. Saturday morning rolled around and I was determined to get out and ride. I was actually feeling a bit better. Had the secret ingredients from Marco's Bavarian ancestors really worked!? After a quick bite to eat I suited up and headed outwith Erin. 2 plus hours later we returned and I was feeling quite knackered. I still hadn't ruled out racing. Yeah, pretty stupid. But Custer is a riot. I knew the conditions would be great out there as it had rained a bit. I was willing to race just to ride 4 laps out there.Saturday evening we had a delicious dinner and I hit the sack hoping to awake Sunday morning feeling recovered and ready for launch.Unfortunately it just wasn't meant to be. I was still feeling a bitachy, tired and very congested. I packed my stuff anyway and we started the drive to Augusta. 2 and a half hours and a bit of pouting later we arrived at the park. The weather was perfecto. This would be the first race of the season that wouldn't have us riding through mud and muck.Arriving at the race venue somehow gave me a "I'm feeling better" kinda feelin'. I decided to suit up and see how I felt. I cruised out onto the trail and found it to be just as I had suspected. Perfectly...FAST. A bit tacky and groomed as if it had been paved. This would be a nice change after racing through a war zone at Greenbrier the week prior. A different kind of fast and furious fun. I hit the first climb, however,and realized anything involving me and a bike would be nothing but a pile of goo and puss. I didn't want to gross out my racing buddies. So,I pulled the plug and just rode out a nice easy lap. Fun but not like rolling with my teammates and friends at warp speed. All was not lost however as I had the privilege of doing hand ups for the team. I handn't done this in a while and was a bit nervous. I nearly blew in a call to Elite Team Support Feed Specialist Michelle Simonson. I managed to...manage though and all went well. I was quite proud standing on the sidelines watching my teammates at the front of the race mixing it up and, in the end, all making the podium. I'm glad I was still able to contribute in some capacity helping bring my teammates and friends to the line with groovy results. Results that...resulted in celebrating. We packed up after the race and all headed over to the Bell's Brewery bier garden. The friendly staff helped bring us back online with some wonderful grub and icy cold Oberon's in the sun. Doesn't get much better. Fun was had by all. Including Bell's Brewery first timer, my beautiful and sweet as Oberon little nephew, Emery. 4 weeks in and he's already showing he's got good taste. Welcome to the team little buddy. Good health, good racing and good times everyone. I hope to see you at the next one. Let me know if you need a hand up:) Oh! That super secret Batzner Bavarian Recipe. I almost forgot. Now, this isn't for everyone.In fact, it may only be something for the true hard men. You know,mountain bikers. Mountain bikers on beer teams. The Bell's Brewery Beer Team to be exact. Roadies, use at your own risk. You to Founders ;) Ha!! Step 1: A good hearty meal. For example, blood sausage and/or bratwurst.Step 2: A boiling hot shower/bath. Your azz had better be as red as a tomato when you're done. Step 3: Multiple layers of clothing. You need to be Sweatin' To The Oldies at this point. Step 4: Select your favorite Bell's flavor from the fridge. For this process Joberon suggests a Bell's Porter. Step 5: Pour brewski into pot or microwave safe bowl.Step 6: A couple of minutes in the micro or ~5 minutes on the stovetop. You want the brew-HA nice and warm. NOT BOILING. Step 7: Carefully pour the contents into your favorite Bell's pint glass and drink. Not too slow. Joberon suggested good healthy frat party gulps to get your melting carcass in to bed. Step 8: CAREFULLY Hopp(crawl) into bed andcover up. Step 9: The final step. Wake up 5-10lbs below your race weight and ready to rock and roll. Enjoy!

Joberon

BMX track ?

Lummis report 2nd place:

2nd place Elite ---- better than 3rd but still not as cool as Joberon's and Erin's BIG Ws. I'll keep trying and having fun in the process.

The race went well and the trail was fast. Maybe they need to lay off excessive grooming of a trail. I like to back country ski this course is like a fresh groomed skate ski track. John and I lined up against 11 others in the Elite class, while Joberon rested from his flu.

Any way I somehow managed the hole shot into the open field with the head wind, oh yeah. I kept my pace fast and accelerated into the little hills before the first set of tight single track. I looked back and things seemed strung out as I hit the entrance to the quick tight section. I ended up clipping my bar end on a small tree and stacked it in front of everyone. Blocking the trail with my mishap. I jumped up fast and ran over the log pile still on the front. We hit the first hill and just before the next Christian and Stu drove past me. John and the Farmer where back a few seconds. I just kept my pace letting Christian and Stu go. I could see Stu just head and Christian was gone. John and Nate caught on and I paced the rest of the 1st lap. Nate came thru at the end of the lap and John rejoined us. Into the headwind Nate motions me to the front and Stu is about 20secs up and in site. I feel like and catch him but I am also not wanting to drop John. I keep a steady pace for the next few miles and we hit the hills again and the 2 yo-yo off me again. I decide to close the gap on Stu and hopefully John can join up with us soon. I catch Stu and let him know I have No intentions on working unless John comes up. At the lake there is a steep little down hill with landscape rocks on it, Stu takes the wrong line into hit and endos down the hill. He jumped up I asked if he was OK and he seemed ok. I kept up my pace and told the next volunteers to makes sure he come through soon. I was just pacing myself along thru the end of the 3rd lap and into the 4th and final lap. As I was existing the Open starting field I could see Stu pushing hard from behind. I didn't panic, figuring he would have to use alot of energy chasing me down. He finally caught up to me at the water station about half way thru the lap. He could of sat on me, but he went straight to the front and pushed hard. I was ready and stuck to his wheel easily. I kept looking for a chance to try and attack him, but he wasn't going to let me go by. So I waited until just after the boat launch along the 2 track to the finish and jumped. Stu wasn't happy and I told him not to stop trying and we raced it to the line for a 2 sec time gap with 2nd place for me.

We headed down to the Eccentric Cafe after the race for some killer food and a few pints from the taps. Great weather and great group of people. I just wish my wife and son had been there.......... Lumberjack I am actually looking forward to it this year, O2S I need to improve, Chequamegon top 20 !?! The Iceman top 8? and as many local races I can get to this summer.

We have socks and wrist bands for sale:

1 pair socks and 1 wrist band $20 + $2 SHIPPING

email: jason.lummis@gmail.com

Joe and Erin take the show on the Road............

Joe and Erin Headed down to The Green Brier AMBC in Maryland this past weekend. Erin won her Expert class while Joe battled it out with the Semi-Pro class for a hard earned 12th. Race report and Pics below.

Great job guys and not a bad way to break in the new team kits.....

Joberon:

Greenbrier Challenge AMBC, Boonsboro, MD. Erin and I, along with the Simonsters(Trek Midwest), made the marathon journey to Maryland this past weekend for the Greenbrier Challenge. In an effort to qualify for Nationals and improve our technical ridingskills for Mt. Snow in July we decided the long drive was justified. In the end we were in the car about 15 hours and on the bike 3. Including Saturdays pre ride and Sundays race. Yeah, not a good balance I agree.We do, however, think the trip was worth it. The course was fantastic and the event was run really well. The turn out was large and the competition was stiff. Saturday night brought torrential downpours to this lush very hilly region. This was only going to make an alreadytechnical course twice the challenge for race day. With me taking my first crack at the Semi-Pro's and Erin rollin' Expert we didn't start racing until 2PM. My hope was that this would allow for the course to dry up a bit. As we were preparing for our event we could see that wasn't the case. Beginner and Sport riders were coming off the trailsoaking wet and covered from head to toe in mud. A good test for sweet new Quiring bikes and slick new team kits I suppose. I rolled up to the line after a nice warm up with Mike and Erin. In front of my Semi-Pro group were the Pro men. I was surrounded by fierce, lean and mean looking athletes. I wasn't sure what to expect besides pain. A minute after the Pro men launched our group was off and immediately up a longclimb. Long for a Michigander anyway. The start was very fast and the pressure was on the entire first lap of four. I held my own on the climb then things started to get interesting. The entire 5 mile loop is quite technical. Which is one thing going up. But when you're screaming down a hill...it's an entirely different story. Rocks, roots, logs, muck. This course has it all. I struggled a bit but kept it upright not allowing too many passes. I survived the first lap and had a couple riders in my sights going into lap two. I was hovering around the top 10. I was trying to find some sort of rhythm and not blow up. On a course like this that can be quite a task. For all of lap two I tried to stay within reach of the couple Semi-Pro's ahead. There was basically zero recovery on this course therefore I didn't feel I had the power to chase. I could only hold my pace and hope for the best. Lap three I felt a little more fluid and smooth. I was able to catch a few riders but still didn't have the legs to really dig. Rounding the start/finish for the fourth and final lap the fatigue was setting in. Every section of trail worked me over. Especially due to the rain and wet conditions. I didn't panic. Just put it in cruise control not redlining even once. I cleaned the last rocky down hill better than I had in the laps prior and rolled across the line in 12th. I wanted to crack the top ten but it wasn't meant to be. Overall I'm satisfied with my performance and ability to ride the tricky stuff. It really makes MTB racin' around here feel like a road race. Erin ended up having a fantastic race winning her class and having the 2nd fastest Expert Woman time on the day. Way to go Erin! Way to go Bell's Brewery/Quiring Cycles MTB Squad. Another successful racing weekend down the hatch. See you at the next one.

Joberon

ERIN: ERACERS NEW RIDE !

1st Place @ Greenbrier Challenge AMBC Race April 27th,2008

We started the 8 hour drive to Frederick,MD at 8am Saturday morning. On the Ohio turnpike, we bridged up to & continued caravanning with the Simonsters the rest of the way to Maryland. The drive went well, as did the 2 lap pre ride, because the darkening sky’s held out until we were done with both. Later that evening, Mike, Mitch, Joe & I got cleaned up & went to a local steak house for dinner. In the midst of conversation, I happened to notice water streaming from the ceiling in a few spots...hmmm. I looked out the window to find it raining as hard as rain can possibly fall. Instantly my mind started flashing images of how the trail would look for the race. Like little glimpses into the future, I saw everything I’d seen earlier but it was all wet & covered in mud. Normally I would’ve started to freak out a bit, but not this time... ‘cuz I’ve got the new machine with me! My beautiful Quiring equipped w/(amongst other wonderful amenities) DISC BRAKES! Disc brakes you say? What’s all the excitement?! I’ve never had them until now & I after this weekend I will never be without them again! Sunday morning was centered around coffee, food, & killing time until our 2pm race start. Joe & I ate a leisurely “...down on the farm” breakfast & afterwards enjoyed the headache that is U-Scan at the local grosh. Then before we knew it, it was check out, load up, drive, arrive, packet pickup, chill, people watch, prepare bottles, dress, warm-up... ahhhh yes... The Race: The Fun! I’ve only done it a handful of times, but I love racing against unfamiliar faces in unfamiliar places. Outside the bubble of the Michigan scene there is much to see! The Greenbrier terrain was awesome! It was just as I’d envisioned the night before... VERY WET & VERY MUDDY. It’s about a 5.5 mile course & if I had to guess I’d say there was 65-70% climbing & 35-30% downhill. Not much of anything in between really. Thank goodness for my super light ZTR RACE wheels from Stan’s notubes.com. Those long climbs wouldn't have gone as well as they did if those wheels weren't as light air. Both ways, up & down, were quite technical. The trail absolutely littered with rocks, slick water bars & logs, a river crossing, & even some roots thrown in for good measure. Then there was the mud pits, the puddles, & the small river that had formed on the last downhill section. It kind of highlighted the best line to take so it actually helped! Being so used to the trails at home, all hard packed & highway-like, it all appeared quite treacherous... but in a fun way. I managed to only bobble a couple times & most of the time I just ate it all up. Lots of people were slowed down or sidelined with mechanical. The only issue I had was some crummy shifting on the last lap due to massive mud.... no biggy.As far as the competition within the experience, in the Women's Expert Master 30-39 class I never saw any of them after the start & finished 3+ minutes ahead of 2nd Place. Afterwards we cleaned the bikes,dunked ourselves in the lake, did the podium, grabbed a medal, & @ 6:00pm Sunday night the next race began.... the race to get home for work in the morning :oP. Good times!

:o)Erin