Stoney 12 Hr

It all started out as a bright idea my training buddy Robert Herriman and I had. We figured we had a chance to top our one day mileage records in the Stoney Creek 12hr MTB race. His was 150 miles and mine was 140 miles. Besides that, it would be great to use as preperation for the upcoming back to back NUE events in June. The weather forecast looked beautiful, and Fun Promotions put together a really cool 11.5 mile course with 1000ft of climbing per lap! Fellow 29er crewer Tim Finkel also decided to join in the fun. He motivated me to work hard all the way to the finish.

A quick riders meeting and we were off. We were supposed to wait for the teams to start first, then the solo riders would go. Robert had his I-Pod turned up too loud and missed most of the meeting. He took off with the teams, so me and Tim just followed. I don't think it really made much difference in the end though. The course was fast and fun. We rode together for the first couple laps, then Tim and Robert decided to drop back and let me continue to cook myself. I wanted to ride at a 100 miler pace, then just hope to survive in the end. Throughout the day, people sort of visited me during my ride. First it was Cruise Bogedin, then my home boy Jeff Tewks hung out for a lap. On lap 13 I even got a chance to do half a lap with my coach Art

The first 100 miles went pretty quick and smooth. After that I began to struggle a bit. One minute I'd feel fine, then the next minute I'd feel aweful. I think it was my blood sugar dipping up and down as I sucked upwards of 30 ounces of Carb Pro and NUUN per lap. It was nausiating at times, but I knew I had to keep getting it down to survive. I started the last lap and decided to give it my all. Surprisingly I found some reserves left in the tank and was able to take my pace up a notch. I coasted in for the win with 14 laps and 161 miles in just under 12hrs. I was never so happy to be done with a race. I was very pleased with my performance. I never stopped for more than a minute and most of my laps times were pretty consistant. This will set me up well for the next stop on the NUE calendar... Mohican 100.

NUE 2010 Stop #1 Cohutta

First 100 miler of the year in the books. What a crazy race! The rollout up the 3 mile paved climb was just as fast as usual. I surged to take the wholeshot at the top, but Jeff Schalk shut me down and I took 2nd wheel going into the singletrack. Things were pretty calm as we snaked through the Tsali trail system. The dirt was a little moist from the rain overnight, but for the most part the trail was in good shape.

We continued to whittle down the front group as we head out onto the fire roads. Josh Tostado was pushing a torrid pace which left a 5 man group to duke it out. It was Schalk, Peariso, me, Tanguy, and Tostado. By the time we reached aid 3 at the top of Big Frog Mt, it was just me and Jeff left at the front. I encountered a little tire trouble on the descent, and Jeff rolled away. Thanks to a little help from Chris Peariso, I limped into aid 4 where I was able to completely fix my flat for good. I lost a couple spots and was sitting in 5th. As I continued on I was able to take back the couple spots I lost.

Then came the rain and thunder. I kept thinking they were going to call the race at aid 6 and just send us down the fire road to the finish. The lightning and rain was hitting us full throttle and I could barely see as the mud flung up onto my glasses. I finally got to aid 6, where I realized they weren't going to call the race and we were going to have to finish the full 100. Good thing my brake pads held out on my XX brakes! I pushed to the finish were I rolled in for 3rd place!

Overall I was pleased with my performance. The legs felt solid. It's 100 miles and 9 times out of 10, you're going to have something not go to plan, like a flat, a mechanical, or the dreaded bonk. Thanks goes to all the sponsors for the support. It's a good start to 2010 and there will be more good things to come! Take care and thanks for reading.

I Finally Have The Ultimate

SF100 frame + Full SRAMXX kit with the tapered head tube REBA XX + Stan's Race wheelset + Crankbrothers 2ti pedals with ti axles + All the lightest Bontrager components = one light ass 29er full suspension bike! I love it! Mucho thanks to the sponsors for making this ultimate bike come to life!

Mitch check's in

Mitch will be writing a few entries from time to time this season to give a little perspective from a wife's side of things. Without further ado, I introduce my wife... Mitch

You and I’ve got what it takes to make it….

Mike and I married in 2004 at Addison Oaks…the venue of the first race that I ever came to support Mike at back in 2001. Guns N Roses - Patience was the song Mike and I first danced to as a married couple, this puzzled some people as it may not be the “typical” first dance song for newlyweds, but we liked it and felt a connection to the lyrics. Looking back on it today, there is definitely some significance and connections from it to the places that our journey has taken us. Many of you are aware that the past 8 months or so have been personally difficult for us to say the least…from a cycling perspective those of you that usually enjoy hanging with Mike and I and sharing a beer or two with us at Michigan’s two biggest races the Ore to Shore and Iceman may have noticed that we were “a no show” and “a DNF.” We had not missed these two events in nearly a decade, Mike plans his season in preparation to be at his best for them; they are a major focus of the season.

Mike has often referred to me his “teammate”, in life and in terms of the support that I provide him with his cycling…we just want everyone to know that the team is ready to take on another season!

A big “thank you” to all of our family and friends that have been and continue to support us while we have been picking up the pieces and getting the wheels up!

See you at the races!

Mikal and Mitch

The Rat Race

Up at 4:30am, get the cycling gear on, get on the bike and pedal to work like crazy! Finish work at 4:30pm, get the gear on and pedal home like crazy! Rush rush rush. Rush everywhere to everything. Getting in the hrs and miles can prove to be quite a challenge. I'm always on the lookout for any way to save an extra 5 minutes here and there. I thought I would share a few of my time saving secrets which help me grind out the dual lifestyle.

1. I make all my meals for the whole week on Sunday, then save them in the refrigerator. It saves time, and I eat a lot more healthy this way.

2. Grocery shop and do errands on my lunch breaks... on the days I drive of course.

3. I train on a singlespeed rigid mountain bike. This cuts way down on the time I have to spend on maintenance. Save the race bike for race day.

4. I train and ride right from my door 90% of the time. Driving to the ride = waste of time, unless I get to ride Lummis and McDreamy ;-)

5. Of course my wife Michelle helps me a ton with keeping the house cleaned up, doing the laundry, and a bunch of other glorious household chores like caring for the animals and paying the bills. Thanks Mitch!

6. I also lay out all my cycling clothes and my work clothes for the entire week. All I have to do is grab them and go.

I'm sure I'm leaving out more time management stuff, but you get the idea. It's a ton of effort to find the time to eek out that last bit of performance that may be overlooked. But I guess that's why they call it a rat race.

February Update

Training is going well. Getting in some good rides and staying healthy. Look down on the right side of the blog. You'll notice I updated the 2010 calendar. I'm pretty excited about hitting 6 of the 8 NUE series races and Fools Gold will be a first for me. Being on the road during the weekends and working during the week takes it's tole pretty fast, so I have to try and ration out my road trip efforts. I'm glad to see the NUE schedule is spread out pretty well. We'll see if I have one more road trip in me to hit Iron Cross in the fall. It's such an epic course and I'd love to return there and have a good race.

I'm also excited about heading to Boyne in July for the Boyne Marathon. It's one of my favorite courses and a great time to get up North and enjoy the beauty of Michigan. And of course who could forget Iceman. 2010 will be my 11th one in a row! Has it really been that long!? I'm starting to feel old. Peak to Peak is slowly growing into it's own Michigan classic and I'll be back again going for the three peat!

Not too much longer and I'll be able to start commuting on my bike again. That will be nice. As for now, I'm slowly ramping up for the Spring races on the calendar. Barry Roubaix is an instant favorite, and I'm planning on returning for another go at Paris Ancaster to prepare for the first big race in the NUE points series, Cohutta. So stay healthy and get ready to race your bike! It won't be long. See ya next post.

Stuff For Sale

I have a pair of 26" Velocity VXC wheels. They're the standard 32H disc hubs. The website has a claimed weight of 2060 grams. They're brand new, never taken out of the box. $300 or best offer takes them. Great set of spair wheels to train on. They come with Skewers too. Here's a link to the website with the info. email me: mikesimonson at hotmail dot com

http://www.velocityusa.com/default.asp?contentID=522