Fat Bikes are Stupid

Fat bikes are dumb

Stayed tuned for more research on the matter.

Make-A-Wish Complete!

Rock on Noa!

Mission Accomplished!  Team Hot Dog has successfully completed the 300 mile bike ride from Traverse City, MI all the way to Michigan International Speedway all for the Michigan chapter of the Make-A-Wish foundation.  I will speak for my THD brethren and tell you it was both an honor and a pleasure.

We had a lot of fun meeting all kinds of bikers and MAW supporters, riding our bikes a ton, as well as indulging in a few post ride beers, telling jokes, and being the goofy guys we are when we travel.  But the one thing that trumped all of that was that this was for the kids.  Kids that are battling something that they need help with.  And may never be able to live or enjoy their lives the way that we take for granted each and every day.  Our five man crew had a goal of raising $5,000 for Noa.  Noa is a 15 year old girl suffering from Biliary Artesia and is awaiting a liver transplant.  Her wish was granted, and she got to go surfing in Hawaii… but her battle continues on a daily basis.  God give her the strength to overcome and beat this thing down.  Least Team Hot Dog could do was to suffer some out on the country roads of rural Michigan raising some awareness and funds for these extraordinary kids.

Our team has raised $6,467, easily surpassing our fundraising goals.  We cannot express our thanks and gratitude enough to all of you!  Whether you donated money, came out to our fund raising event at Dave & Buster’s in Livonia, spent time out on the roads training with us, offered up your cabin and fed us for a night during the WAM, or gave us words of encouragement on Facebook… we greatly appreciated it and love you all!  It truly was a group effort and wouldn’t have been done without your help.

The 3 day 300 mile trek was something.  I think each of us on the team had blast.  The riding was tough at times.  There were some big climbs.  Some of us snored in hotel rooms.  We dealt with cold mornings, hot afternoons, flat tires, moments of strong wind, threats of rain, obnoxious people with no respect for cyclists on the side of empty roads, medical situations as well as the challenge of sticking in packs of riders that may be going faster than you would have liked at times.  It was difficult.  All you had to do was look down at your wrist, and stare at that orange bracelet with Noa’s name stitched in MAW blue. That’s all it took to suck it up, and keep going.

I will never forget the tears of pride streaming down my cheeks, hidden behind my Oakleys, as our five man team known as Team Hot Dog rolled out onto Michigan International Speedway’s finish line to cap off our support of the Make-A-Wish Foundation and Noa.

It’s a pretty powerful experience.  Sometimes when you are down, and you feel lost yourself, the best way to pick yourself back up is to help someone else and forget about your issues.

Thank you everyone.  Donators.  Supporters.  Volunteers.  Medical Personnel.  Policemen.  Friends.  Family.  Fellow riders.  Coach.  Jrad (special thank you to him for pulling me all over Michigan).  Rob.  Kevin.  STown.  The Make-A-Wish Michigan Organization.

We rocked it.

Team Hot Dog will be back.

-hd himself

Make-A-Wish Michigan: Wish-A-Mile 2014

Well.  IT'S HERE!  We make our way up north to Traverse City tomorrow, and begin our 300 mile pedaling adventure for an AWESOME cause Friday!  We are all ready and eager to get going and help out these kids!

If you happen to read this between now and the time registration closes, you can still donate by visiting this link.

Thank you!  Expect a full blog report upon our return.

All my love,
hot dog

Road Cycling in Maui

With the advent of Facebook and other items of interest, I know blog posts here aren't really that cool anymore... but I look back on some of my coolest biking adventures, and they are documented right here on this blog.  Things like Mulberry Gap, Arcadia Grit & Gravel, Iceman, Tree Farm Relay, Ore to Shore and even the tHD dictionary.  Before too much time elapses, I wanted to document these chronicles as a souvenir for myself (and maybe a few others googling about biking in Maui.)

Before I get started, I wanted to preface a few things.  I'm not a racer boy type cyclist.  Just an average one with a few extra pounds.  As much as I'd love to document some really hard core rides (I will mention them), most of my adventures were pretty tame. I've been to Maui for our honeymoon, as well as our one year anniversary.  Not really there to bike.  Just happened to rent a bike and check some things out.  I would have loved to ride more, but between everything you can do in paradise, it got kind of hard to squeeze some riding in.

Me before a ride at the Sheraton Maui

My stays in Maui were in October of 2012 and 2013.  Both times, my wife and I stayed in West Maui at the Sheraton Maui in Ka'anappali.  Gorgeous!  If you ever get the chance, GO!  And stay there.  It is heaven.  My wife and I will be back several more times.  Perhaps one day live there permanently. Who knows?

Last climb of the day at the Sheraton Maui

There are some pretty cool places to ride.  From my research, I deducted the road biking on the island was a better choice than mountain biking.  Yes, there is singletrack, but there isn't a ton, and from where I was staying I could road bike to anything I wanted.  No need for a car.  Maui has what I consider three epic road rides.  I attempted two of the three, and did not come close to finishing either.  Between all the sun and ocean I enjoyed, the best food on the planet paired with tons of Mai Tais and Pina Coladas, as well as a six hour time change and eight gazillion other things to do there, my out of shape a$$ would have not been able to accomplish these three epic feats.  In no particular order, I would say they are:

1) The West Maui Loop
2) Climbing Haleakala and
3) The Road to Hana

If you were to drive all three of these in a car (which I have), that is almost as good.... nothing beats saying you did them yourselves though.

Both visits to the Valley Isle had me renting my carbon Specialized Roubaix from West Maui Cycles in Lahaina.  Awesome, awesome bike shop!  The boys working the shop were pretty cool.  There is a West Maui Loop group ride that starts from the shop every Wednesday morning (in the event you were looking to latch on for a nice 62 mile jaunt with a good 4k worth of climbing!) They are busy, but have a huge fleet of Specialized steeds to rent, both road and mountain. 

West Maui Cycles in Lahaina

I was able to reserve mine on-line months before I arrived.  No issues once I got to the shop.  West Maui Cycles had everything ready to go.  I brought my helmet, pedals and shoes, but rented a carbon Roubaix for around $200 for the week.  If you wanted to, I think a day rental of a bike of that nature was around $60.   They also name their bikes.  In 2012, I rode "Captain Awesome", and in 2013 I had the pleasure of riding "Lola".    Bikes were in awesome shape, and handled as if they were on rails.  I've never ridden better road bikes.  I have an old 2003 Trek 2200 at home for comparisons sake, so yeah, these were the bees knees.

My Specialized Roubaix rentals.  Red Bull and Vodka not included

Since I stayed at the Maui Sheraton in Ka'anappali, I was literally staying on the west end of the West Maui Loop.  All but one of my rides consisted of riding either north or south of the Sheraton on the loop.

Southwest Portion of the West Maui Loop from Ka'anappali
My first ride.  Ka'anappali past Lahiana and back.  I didn't know much about the island on my first ride. I just knew there was a mountain and a volcano to avoid on my shakedown ride.  The wife was still asleep.  I got everything set, and walked through the hotel with my road shoes in hand as to not slide all over the hotel's shiny floors because of my cleats.  I took off from the Sheraton at 6am, and headed south (which my gut told me would not be as hilly as heading north).  I'll never forget my first ride in Hawaii.  WOW!  What a feeling. I've done a lot of cool things on a bike through the years.  I've gone on epic bike trips to North Carolina, Georgia, West Virginia and northern Michigan.  I've participated in some pretty tough mountain bike races and rides.  I've met a lot of awesome people, and even helped start a bike team.  But this was the pinnacle of my cycling life. 

Just an easy ten miles out, ten miles back on flat terrain through Maui and a sleepy little old whaling town named Lahaina.  The ride itself wasn't anything that would have wowed anyone.  But it made me fall in love with Maui in just a few seconds.  I flew through the resort area and golf course I was staying at and linked up with the surprisingly wide cycling lane/shoulder on the side of the Honoapillani Highway that extends pretty much all over the island.  The sun was still rising as I headed towards Lahaina.

Sun rising on an amazing trip!  Nice wide bike lanes too!

It was already hot.  I knew upon my return that the pool and ocean would be in use!  Tucked into a tailwind and just cruised (after stopping once or twice to make seat height adjustments) down the highway.  I passed a cemetery and a few parks along the ocean before a little road emerged that I assumed took me directly through town before linking back up with the highway.  I took it into town.  The pavement was smooth.  Sunkissed and kind of reddish brown from the yearlong barrage of rays it receives.  I wheeled through town, the ocean on my right with other islands in view.  Sailboats anchored in shore peppering the coast.  It was 6:15 in the morning, but the town was already starting to bustle.  They get up and at it early in Hawaii.  Sun goes down around 5, so you want to soak up as much as you can.  Joggers, dog walkers, tourists, workers getting bars and restaurants set for the day. Others tending to their ships in the marina before shoving off were all within view.  Everyone just seemed calm and happy.  They were in Hawaii.  The island has that effect on you.  I knew my wife and I would be spending a lot of time in Lahaina during our stay, and boy was I right.

Sleepy downtown Lahaina

Lahaina

More Lahaina

Upon completing my tour of the downtown, the road links back up with the highway heading south.  The West Maui Mountains quickly appear on your left and shadow you heading towards the heart of the island.  The road opens up along the coast approaching the southern portion of the west side of Maui.  Palm trees line the road.  I was in bliss.  Couldn’t believe how gorgeous everything was.  At this point, I knew I was getting close to the area where the highway goes through some tunnels.  My Garmin read about ten miles, so… it was time to turn around and head back.  I was in awe.  I always dreamt of being in Hawaii, but was finally doing so.  This ride, as flat as it was, was not disappointing!  Highs like this, especially after biking for 15 years and seeing quite a bit, don’t come easy.  They did in Maui!  Even though I had a bit of a head wind, I blasted through it and made it back to the hotel with ease.  For a fatty like myself, think I averaged 17mph on adrenaline.  20 miles in the books.  Got to spend the rest of the day at the pool and at Black Rock.  Wow.

West Maui Mountains

Pretty much where I turned around and headed back

Sheraton Maui pool & Black Rock

Northwest Portion of the West Maui Loop from Ka'anappali
Ride 1 was down.   I was acclimated to the bike.  Time to explore other areas, and head north.  I didn’t do too much recon.  I wanted to experience the ride without knowing everything that would be coming my way.  This was both good and bad for this particular route.  I didn’t know it, but was heading into cycling nirvana and the best bike route of my life.  Rode through the resort area to Honoapillani Highway and made a left at the intersection. 

As you head north towards Kapalua, you can tell right away that the grade of the road slants up.  It’s not drastic at first, but it’s enough to let you know you are headed somewhere hilly!  It was early in the morning.  It was hot again!  I got about five miles in, and pulled over.  Already laboring, and tired.  Maybe hungover from the previous nights Luau?  I didn’t know where I was going, but knew it was going to be hard.  Sipped on some Gatorade, and stared off into the ocean.  Was still on a highway lined with strip malls, so how hard could it be right?  I got back at it… passed another strip mall with the Maui Brewing Company in it… Damnit!  I would indulge there another time.

Indulging another time.  Coconut Porter deliciousness

Heading north, the road continues to slant up.  Reached Kapalua, and you can tell the terrain is changing.  Pass the entrance to the Ritz-Carlton, and the ride changes even more.  Paradise!   Rode past the legendary Kapalua golf course.  One I’ve played on the computer a few times… Ridiculous!

Slight climb into Kapalua

Xterra was there same time I was.  Too bad I didn't train!

Leaving Kapalua... headed for Honolua

You go from strip mall city, to a resort area, to a pretty hilly region scraping the north west section of Maui tilting you east.  A few good, longer climbs.  Traffic thins out.  And the road heads east.  Bike lanes vanish, and the road hugs the coast line.  I kept thinking, man… I’ve never been to Malibu, or the rocky coastline you see on TV that reminds you of California… but this is a much better version of that!!  Then you reach Honolua Bay:

Honolua Bay

Honolua Bay

The Bay a different day...

The road tucks you away from the coast for a bit, as you climb and wind around switchbacks.  Couple banana bread stands sprout up.  The coast opens back up and you can tell you’ve climbed some.  Breathtaking vistas appear!  Whoa.  This is really happening.  No, you are not in some Bicycling Magazine spread.  You are actually on your dream ride!  Just about that time I reach another switchback, thinking I might not want to go too far, cause who knows what I’ll have to climb out of… I hook up with another rider climbing.  His name is Christophe.  He’s originally from the Netherlands, but resides in California.  He rides this section in Maui all the time.  Rich bastard!

Christophe!

We’re about equal abilities so we continue on together.  The ocean now on our left, I look over during our ascent to see 30-40 spinner dolphins hopping in and out of the water no different than minnows do here in Michigan at your favorite bait shop. 

The riding was amazing!  Each bend you turn offers more and more crazy views, you would never encounter if not out on a bike!  No Way!

Switchback fun

The terrain is challenging, and there is a lot of climbing but you are so taken back by what you see you don’t care how hard it is.  One small mistake, and you could be down on the pavement or over a rail.  Not sure when it happened, but since I've ridden there, I have read about a female rider going over the guard rail and died!  Anyways... We reach a rocky overlook and stop to take a break.

Rocky top

Christophe and I talk a bit, take on some water and just soak in the views.  There are a bunch of other dudes hanging out at this overlook too.  Turns out they are surfers checking out the waves, deciding on where to “drop in” that morning.  One of them was pro, but I’ve sense forgot his name.  No, not Kelly Slater or Laird Hamilton either.  After a little small talk, Christophe the Dutchmen heads back to Kapalua to meet his family.   I realize I’m getting tired, but decided to press on a bit more.  There will be a fair amount of climbing to get back out of this gorge I’ve found myself in.  Still punch drunk on the views though.  Finally, I arrive at something that signals to me its time to turn around… The guys from the shop told me about this.  It’s simply called “The Wall”.  Lance Armstrong named it “Mr. Steepy”.

18-20% Mr. Steepy

As you see in the photo, its pretty steep.  I gave it a shot, and did get to the top.  It wasn't easy.  It was about a 18-20% grade.  I had to grind pretty good.  About ¾ of the way up, I stopped to take a break.  It was so steep, that I literally slid backwards on my cleats as they touched the ground.  As gorgeous and fun as all this was, that was enough.  I realized the hills would continue.  I still had to climb out, and have enough energy to go swimming, snorkeling; entertain the wife, etc. the rest of the day.  I turned around.  Rode everything in reverse.

Riding down to check it out

Climbing out

There is a pretty good “worker” of a climb as the road turns south back up to Kapalua.  Ugh.  Once you climb out of that, its clear sailing back to Ka’anappali.  I rode back to Lahaina to get my tires pumped up from the shop for the next day.  Second ride in Maui complete.  33 miles or so, and I think around 1500 feet of climbing.  Not too shabby.  Most gorgeous ride of my life.  Doubt I ever ride anything cooler.

Climbing Haleakala
35 miles.  10,000 feet of climbing.  How hard can that be?  Haleakala, or the house of the sun, is a massive shield volcano that forms more than 75% of Maui.  How hard can that be after you’ve partied you’re a$$ all week?  Prior to getting to Maui I did some studying on this ride.  EPIC!  You’ll find a ton of resources on this ride with a little googling.  Leading up to our wedding, I had dreams of losing weight and training for this.  That never happened.

Plan of attack

Since this type of a ride would take me a good six to eight hours, I decided I would make my attempt near the end of our stay on Maui.  That way if it took all day, I wouldn’t hose up any other plans.  I was exhausted from riding all week.  I knew I was already in trouble was when my alarm was set to 5am, yet I didn’t get out of bed till after 7.  Wife drove me over to Paia on the north side of the island, just east of the airport.  I loaded my jersey pockets full of cliff blocks, bananas, additional cytomax to fill waterbottles, an extra water bottle, and even a sandwich.  I knew this ride could take me eight hours.  The plan was for the wife to drop me off, and then she’d go shopping and cruise around Maui.  I was hoping to see her next atop the volcano. I got the bike ready to go and headed off for my journey from Lower Paia Park on the Hana Highway.

Partying in Paia

Did I mention I was exhausted already?  I started up Baldwin Ave, and immediately the incline goes UP!  Ugh.  Guys at the shop told me the average grade of the climb was 6%.  It was going to be a long day.  I kept climbing. Left the confines of the cute little town known as Paia.  I passed a church, and said a little prayer.  The incline was killing me. I was not moving fast.  Maybe 6mph.  I think I started counting mileage before I got to ONE!  I knew I was cooked.  I made it 4.35 miles, and climbed exactly 961 feet.  I pulled over to take a small break, with hopes I could mentally regroup.

Toast. Pretty selfish to have the wife waiting for me while I suffered up a volcano all day, all the while being on Maui.  It was our last full day there.  Suffer up a volcano all day, or hang at the pool with filet mignon sliders, sipping Mai Tais…?  Called the wife.  Within five minutes she was at my location, and my Specialized Roubaix was in back of the rented Chrysler 200 we had.  Changed my clothes and we made the drive up Haleakala to check it out.  I wasn’t even sad that I quit.  I was that exhausted.  It would get much more difficult as well. And to think there is actually a race up this thing every year?!  Its called Cycle to the Sun if you were curious.

The agony of defeat

Driving up Haleakala was phucking nuts!  It was awesome.  You pass through four different ecosystems.  Each one with its own distinct vegetation.  Lots of switchbacks, tour busses and cows.  As you climb, you see more and more of Maui (and the other Hawaiian islands) from a different perspective.  There are sections that are ridiculously steep!  I don’t think I would have been able to do this anyways.  I justified my failure.  Didn’t see too many other cyclists.  Just a few as we broke the clouds and actually entered the national park.

A biker makes it to the top!

Place was amazing.  You start the trip from sea level, in paradise… and end up above the clouds, atop a volcano.  If I ever was on Mars, this was it.  The crater and its surroundings are red rock.  Lunar.  There’s even an observatory there, so yeah, it looked like a space station alright.

Out of this world!

If you plan on doing this ride bring your A game and train your butt off for it.  Make sure you are well rested and prepared.  I didn't take it seriously.  If you do end up bailing on it, make sure you still get up to the top.  Being atop the Rocky Mountains or something similar on the mainland is one thing, but atop a Hawaiian volcano 10,000 feet in the air is an entirely different thing!  Literally breath taking!!  What a capper to our trip.

Atop Haleakala

So that was that.  In my two trips to Maui, I’ve made one attempt up Haleakala.  All my other rides were parts of the West Maui Loop.  I’ve had the pleasure of riding over 200 miles in Maui.  The most beautiful bike riding I have ever been part of.  These rides will push you regardless of your ability.  You’ll learn something about yourself in the process too.  I have done the Road to Hana in a car.  If you want one ride that encapsulates all of Maui, do the West Maui Loop.  If you can only do 30 miles in Maui, just do the northwest cliff section north of Kapalua!  Amazing!!  The Road to Hana is something, but round trip its close to 90 miles with I think 9,000 feet of climbing.  Annoying amounts of tourists and cars lining the roads.  If you don’t mind that, the views are insane.  If you do that one in a car, you give yourself more time to enjoy it as well as a change of clothes to go waterfall hopping!  I have a feeling though, one day… I will be back to actually complete Haleakala.

Be sure to swim with honu (turtles) too!!  Yes, I took that.

I love you Maui!  Mahalo.

Aloha

and Mahalo!

HD’s Arcadia Grit and Gravel Weekend Experience

WOW!  What can I say?  My goal was to go try something new and have fun.  And that’s exactly what happened.  The Arcadia Grit and Gravel mountain bike race will be an event I do every year now, I absolutely loved the race, the area, the place where we stayed, and the weekend!

It all started on Friday.  DLC and I took the day off so we could drive up, get a ride in up in Traverse City, and enjoy Traverse some before we headed over to Arcadia.  DLC promptly pulled up my driveway at 7am on the dot.  We loaded up, and without a stop, landed in Traverse City before 11am.  Interesting to drive through a blizzard on 72 in between Kalkaska and Acme.  Couldn’t believe the snow flying sideways, but whatever, we were excited (not pitch a tent happy, but happy) to be in Traverse.  From past experiences of eating on the road before a bike ride, we chose to stop and dine at the Omlette Shoppe instead of the usual Wendy’s or McDonald’s.  That was a good call.  Our HRs did not blow up on our ride, just our legs and lungs did.  Next stop was the VASA for our pre-race warm up ride. Oooof!  HD here made a gaff, and instead of riding the singletrack, took DLC on the pathway.  I don’t know why I didn’t realize the difference, but there is one.  It was cold, around 39 degrees.  Once we shoved off, we averaged about 100 ft of climbing per mile for the first 8 miles or so, before it leveled off a little.  So much for warming up!  David wanted to kill me, and we pondered turning around.  Realizing it really didn’t matter at this point, and for fear of being heckled by our teammates for being pansies, we muscled our way along.  13 Iceman like miles, and over 1,000 ft of climbing later, we had our warm up ride in, and were ready for a nap!  

One pissed off DLC looking like he's in the Iceman

No naps here.  Being in Traverse, and finishing a bike ride meant one thing… a stop on the peninsula for a post ride meal at Jolly Pumpkin.  Man, that place never disappoints.  We indulged in many a delicious beer, had crazy good burgers, and discussed our race strategies for the next day. LOL, like we need to strategize. Before walking out of the joint, we made sure to grab some beers for the next evening, once the race was finished.  A little over an hour of scenic driving later, we arrived in beautiful Arcadia and our home for the weekend, the Watervale Inn.  What a place!  It’s a campus of cottages and an Inn upon a real pretty inland lake, as well as just steps from Lake Michigan and the ridiculously awesome Arcadia Bluffs.  60 bucks a night got you a real pretty pink room (including a sink), as well as a surprisingly delicious breakfast and dinner.  The food was that good.  Right on par with Mulberry Gap.  The place exceeded our expectations.  We didn’t know what to expect based on price, and the fact that they were hosting a yoga retreat the same weekend we were there.  The Watervale Inn had a ton of character though, very classy.  Even required collared shirts for dinner.  Also just a 5-7 minute drive to the start of the race.  I would definitely come back here to enjoy the place without a bike race going on.  Dave and I scarfed down our dinners, and pretty much called it a night.  We had a big race the next day!

 

  

Race morning. Got my coffee and walked the lake a little, then went in for breakfast and ate with another biker we met named Mark.  Last time I raced, was Iceman… so it had been a while.  It’s cool having that feeling of really not knowing what to expect with a race you had never done before.  Once we got to the community center or school or whatever, we parked in some field.  I was surprised there wasn’t as many people here as I was thinking there would be.  I hope this thing gets bigger, my gosh was it fun!  Dave and I got dressed and rode around a little, making sure we were ready to go.  I had mentally prepared myself for what DLC said… a decent climb near the beginning, a bitch of a long, steep climb called Taylor Rd, 10 miles in, and then the singletrack.  I figured once I got to the singletrack, it would get easier and I could relax some.  NOT!  The race gets underway, and it’s very Ore to Shore like but smaller.  A roll out on pavement for a little while, everyone going balls out at 20mph or higher. The pavement turns to dirt roads.  Very Barry-Roubaix like.  I fell into a grove, and actually felt pretty damn good.  Every time I would look down at my Garmin, my speed was much higher than I thought I was going, so I thought, hell…. I’m doing awesome!  I didn’t even realize the first “big” climb everyone kept talking about, I just rode up it and kept going. Settled in with a pack of riders and just had a blast riding the country side waiting for this climb and then the singletrack.  I felt great, still kept looking down at my Garmin, with results better than I had thought.  At one point I was calculating to finish at 2:15 or so, and that made me pretty happy for being so out of shape! We get to Taylor Rd hill, and this guy is kind of leading myself and a few other people up the climb.  It wasn’t that bad, pretty similar to that long paved climb at Ore to Shore.  At any rate, his speed keeps going down, so I say F it and break apart the group.  As I ride past the guy leading us, he calls me a sandbagger!  LMAO!  I tell him I’ve never ever been called that, and he’s free to attach himself to my tire and let me pull him.  He couldn’t keep up.  Well, shortly after kind of riding past everyone on the climb, you settle back into some dirt roads before the singletrack hits.  My pace had lowered a bit and a few from the pack I was riding with passed me.  As coach would say, “my egg timer went off”.  I kind of blew up right when the singletrack started.  I knew I had a good 10 miles of singletrack before a few miles of dirt roads to the finish.  The Arcadia singletrack was cool!  I wish I was in better shape cause you can really hammer it.  It’s kind of a combination of everything we are used to riding down here at home.  Reminded me a little of P3 in Georgia without all the super steep inclines.  If we wouldn’t have had such a harsh winter, the trail would have been more hard packed.  It was still leaf covered and not as tacky fast as it could have been.  I grinded it out.  Got passed by I think the rest of the group I rode with, hit some pretty sandy downhill near a highway before you get dumped out on roads that take you to the finish.  I was spent.  My time was 2:26 and change.  Crossed the finish line on fumes, waited for DLC, and then we got our beer on.  The race was sponsored by StormCloud Brewing.  Never heard of them, but after a few IPAs I sure was happy.  Good beers.  Cool logo.  I won a StormCloud hoodie but almost didn’t hear my name being called because the beer was so good. 

We were looking for something to eat, but the food tent ran out of hot dogs and food I guess.  So that was that, we took off and went to StormCloud Brewing in Frankfort for food.  They didn’t have a big menu, but we got a couple pizzas and I talked to an older gentleman who I rode much of the course with. We drank a few more beers and reveled in what a beautiful day it was (50ish and sunny), how fun the race was, and what a great time in general we were having up north and in Arcadia. Headed back to the Watervale Inn… and DLC petered out on me.  He was one tired cat.  I could tell by the look on his face. We ate our dinners, and skipped desert we were so tired.  I went out to the car and got the cooler, went down to the lake, and cracked open the first a few Jolly Pumpkin beers to end the night.  I think it was around 7pm.  David staggered down to the lake for about 5 minutes.  He tried.  Didn’t even attempt to open a beer.  He was done, and went to bed.  

So that was the trip in a nutshell.  Pretty awesome.  I will definitely do this race again.  It was well organized, challenging, in a beautiful area of the state I had never seen before, and just all out FUN!  Events like this are why I bike.  I’d put it up there in Iceman category as one of my favorite races.  The roads surrounding the area are sweet, perfect for getting pretty hilly road bike rides in.  I was amazed at how pretty Arcadia was.  I will definitely stay at Watervale again too.  That place, the character of it, how nice the people were there, the scenery, how good the food was… yup.  I knew this was going to be a good bike trip from what I had learned, and what David had told me.  But it exceeded everything.  I really encourage anyone who hasn’t done this race, try it next year!

In closing, I'd like to share some additional photos from the weekend... Enjoy!