P2A Battle Ax

Bike Parts For Sale

See something you like? Shoot me an email. mikesimonson at hotmail dot com.

Trek 69er. Full XT/Bontrager XXX-Lite W/XTR Pedals and Carbon XXX-Lite stem. Rock Shox REBA fork. $2000 or best offer.

SOLD: 2009 Bontrager X-Lite TLR 29er wheels. 160mm discs included. Tires not included. $450 or best offer.

SOLD: Alpha Q Carbon CX Fork. Brand new in box. $400 or best offer.

Brand new tires. 26" Kenda Nevegel 2.1" DTC and 26" Bontrager Dry X TLR 2.1" $20 each tire.

First Race - First W - Barry Roubaix

A 62 mile dirt road race with 4500 ft of climbing was an awefully ambitious choice for the first race of the year, but I was happy I made the decision to drive out to Middleville, MI for the 1st running of the Barry Roubaix. The course was a real leg buster... literally as I'm sitting here with two very sore legs! The weather was great despite the dreadful forecast we had all week. It was a good turnout of about 300 people with some hammerheads from road scene like Derek Graham and Michael Cook.


The start was pretty low key as Johny Meyers lead it out. About 2 miles in we hit a gnarly section of two track on Sager Rd. I took one look at the rocks and sand of the mile long section of road and decided this was the place to take advantage of my Superfly 29er bike choice with the new XR1 tires. I attacked hard and didn't look back till I turned the off Sager Rd. To my surprise, I didn't see anyone! I decided to bury my head and commit 100%. From there on, it was 59 miles of hammer time to the finish for the win in 3hours and 11 min.

Rick Plite threw down a slam dunk on this event. Great course, timely results, nice swag prizes... and a very cool plaque for the winners. Thanks goes out to Mike Shrift (Trek/Fisher) and Travis Ott (Fisher) for hooking me up with a great bike. Another big thanks goes out to Mike B. from NoTubes.com for rushing me a set ZTR Race 29er wheels just in time for race day! Next up is another great Spring Classic over in Canada... Paris Ancaster. Stay tuned!

We're Close

Spring is almost here! We're so close. The rds are drying out and it's almost time to start commuting to work and back. Training is going well. I seem to have dodged the latest flu bug and I'm staying healthy. For the last 3 years in a row, I've gotton sick in the Spring. It's usually in April sometime right when the weather is changing. So I guess one of my biggest early season goals is just not getting sick! Hope eveyone else is staying healthy and getting ready for this

Similarity

This out of Michael Barrys diary posted on Velonews about Tour of Qatar. I couldn't describe a Chequamegon start any better.

"The race begins before it starts. To ensure we are well positioned for a furious race into a blowing wind, we line up 20 minutes before the start to get a good spot on the grid. Even though the race doesn’t officially start until we reach the zero-kilometer banner on the outskirts of town the peloton pushes and shoves behind the commissaires’ cars — which regulate the speed — for the best spots at the front. The panic borders on ridiculous; with 140 kilometers to go, and the race not yet officially started, we push each other for position as though we are in the last kilometers. "

The Classic Winter Death March

Winter Death March is the name coined to the epic dirt road loops done in the coldest months of the year. Typically we take off from Clarkston and head North to the hilly dirt roads of Northern Oakland County. It's almost like a massive set of rolling groomed trails expanding 100's of miles. All the way from White Lake to Holly and over to Metamora on down to Rochester Hills with barely any traffic. I have countless memories of exploring these roads dating back over 15 years ago. I'm not sure where I got the idea that it was OK to ride huge miles in such conditions. I seem to remember some of the earliest rides with Don Cameron and Dave Luzcynski which is where I learned the skills of extended winter riding. Through the years, I've shared agonizing winter death marches with several people and have had some memorable experiences. Like the time Brew champ and I were out and I broke my frame! I scurried home on the cracked bike, built up a new frame, and met back up with him to finish the ride. Or the time Stewy bonked 20 miles from home and was almost in tears. We stuffed him full of Snickers bars and Coca-Cola and got him back home. They're always hard and I'm always ragged at the end of my rope when I get home. Only a couple more months and we'll back on dry dirt and hopefully I can say I survived another year of Classic Winter Death Marches. Let me know if you're ready!

Winter Update

Every summer I look back on the winter and ask myself how I ever managed to slog through all those miles in the ice and snow. Well... here we are, smack dab in the ballz of Michigan winter and I seem to be tolerating it once again. I'm getting all my workouts in, and Old Joe is keeping a close eye on my progress and making sure I don't do anything stupid.

This past Sunday, I found myself riding alone up the shoulder of Orion Rd from Rochester to Lake Orion followed by that god aweful stretch up 24 to Oxford just after we got 7" of snow the night before. It was the only road clear enough to ride on. I can't imagine what people must have been thinking as they drove by. Some drivers are furious and honk in dis-belief, while I get a thumbs up and a "go Lance" from others. I often ask myself if all this slogging through the snow is necessary. Unfortunately I wasn't born with a super metabolism and I love food, so taking the winter months off isn't an option if I want to stay competitive at this level.

Besides, with the right conditions, riding in the winter can be peaceful, and even enjoyable. Must be that Finish blood in me. It does take a lot of practice though. Your bike and all your gear has to be totally dialed. The lessons can be painful, like that time I wore my camelback outisde my coat, or that other time I didn't throw in toe warmers... or worse yet, the time I didn't wear my wind proof undies!

Sure it would be nice to be riding in 70 degree temps and sunshine through a mountain valley somewhere in Spain, but there's a little bit of pride to be taken in the fact that you survived training through a Michigan winter. It makes you mentally tough. And when you find yourself in a tough race where your luck runs out and the weather isn't cooperating, you can rely on that mental toughness you built in the winter to get you to the finish line.