Race Reports: State Games and MSU Gran Fondo

Race #7: State Games of Michigan MTB Time Trial

This is a race I wasn’t planning on doing.  Historically I’ve volunteered at this race, which included setting up the course and adjusting the course for the beginners (making it easier).  This is the first year the race was run as a TT instead of the typical XC format.  Given the TT format and the fact the course was ‘dumbed down’ slightly, there was no real need for me to be on the course during the race.  This opened up my time to get in a quick race.

I don’t train for mountain bike races so I wasn’t really expecting much.  Just looking to have some fun in a competitive environment. 

The first lap went as well as I expected.  My HR blew up on the first big climb, which was about 300 yards from the start line.  Back in my  mountain bike training days, I use to do hill intervals on this climb.  Its been a couple years since then and it certainly showed. 

The real goal of the race, for me, was to hold consistent lap times.  My first lap was 28 minutes, which is about four minutes slower than the winner of my AG.  I was not able to hold that time for the remaining three laps.  Even if I did, I would have only moved up one spot in the rankings.  Yeah, I was that slow.

The reaming three laps were all within 30 minutes, with my third lap being the fastest of the three.  Thus I partially hit my goal of keeping lap times consistent.  In the end, it was a ton of fun, I continued to work the event afterwards which was also a lot of fun. 

Race #8: MSU School of Medicine Grand Fondo

Technically this is not a race, it’s a big group ride to support skin cancer research.  It was a tremendous success with registration closing at 1500 riders.  When the idea was initially pitched, the goal was closer to 500 riders, at least that is what I was told. 

The race has three distances: 16-miles, 40-miles and 80-miles.  I opted to do the 80-mile ride with a goal of under four hours.  Since I don’t have a true road bike, I opted to use my CX bike with road tires.  They did allow triathlon bikes, but I figured it would be a group ride, thus wouldn’t be in the aero position that much.

The ride started out pretty clean and on a flat roads.  The only issue I had was that I found myself stuck between the lead group and the second lead group.  These groups contained approximately 40 riders each, with the remaining riders well behind. 

Being stuck between groups meant I was working very hard.  I eventually had to allow the 2nd lead group to catch me so I could ride with them (which I did for the 80-miles).  We all rotated turns leading the group so that structured worked out okay.  However, when I drifted to the back of the group to recover, I found myself very frustrated with the riders.

First, this is an 80-mile ride, thus these riders are experienced cyclists.  That didn’t stop them from taking up the entire lane, despite the road being open to traffic.  A few us tried to get them to ride in a double pace line, but many riders just didn’t listen.  Another issue was one rider who couldn’t hold a straight line.  This guy was all over the place.  He’d randomly stand-up without warning and just be all over the lane.  He had a team jersey on with other teammates around so I finally told them to get his shit together before he causes an accident. I could tell he was a mountain biker due to his riding style and the fact he had a visor on his helmet.  Thus maybe he’s just not use to pace line.  He was a very dangerous rider. 

Another issue was a couple riders in headphones, despite the multiple announcements they were not allowed.  You shouldn’t have to be told they are not allowed, it’s common sense.  A few riders, including myself, barked at him, but he paid no attention.  Most likely couldn’t hear us. He had a team jersey on (Founders Brewery) but doesn’t mean he road for the team.

Final issue was some riders taking out their phones so they could take pictures while riding.  Yes, that really happened. 

At the 40-mile mark, we stopped at North Beach.  The aid-station there was more of a catered event: cheese and crackers, fruit, etc.  I didn’t really do anything other than fill up water bottles and continue back on the road.

The ride in was police escort, so that was nice.  The route was more hilly, plus I was more sensitive to hills given the distance we’ve ridden.  My time came in around 3.3 hours with a 23ish MPH avg.  (24mph average heading out).  Even with a police escort, we stopped at a couple traffic signals, however must stop sign intersections were cleared for us. 

It was a fun event, must faster than I thought, but still fun.