I GOT SHOT

Ok now that I have your attention.

Watch out in Waterford/Clarkston.

Over the weekend I was riding on the road to my in-laws house in the Waterford/Clarkston area after a great mountain bike ride at Pontiac Lake and as I was riding along Clintonville Road near Mann Road someone shot at me and hit me with a BB gun or pellet gun. I heard the pop, pop, pop and felt the slight sting after. I'm fine except a small welt that went away. I was going to make a police report but I only had a vehicle description and no plate number. When I realized what happened they sped of and I only saw an A on the plate and maybe a G, I’m not really sure. It was a red, older model Chevy S-10 Blazer. Not much the cops can do without the plate number unless they get another complaint with the same vehicle and a plate number. And to be honest I didn't really want to give up any more of my holiday weekend driving to the police station to make a report they couldn't do much with. I tried to follow them riding as fast as I could to see if the turned into a side street but they just sped off and continued straight until I couldn't see the vehicle anymore. I was close to the in-laws so I jumped in my truck and drove around for 30 minutes on a hunch of where they might have turned but didn’t see them, which I didn’t really think I would, and like I said didn’t want to take up more of my weekend for these ignorant A-HOLES. This is one of the reasons I ride mountain bikes and not on the road. I'll take my chances with trees any day VS cars and not so bright people. Although I ride to trails more these days because of high gas prices. So be careful out there. So just watch out for yourself. -Bryan

BRYAN GETS SOME PRESS

The Detroit Free Press did a story on me riding in the Make-A-Wish, Wish-A-Mile 300 bike tour and fundraiser. The team got a short little plug as well. See the story HERE!

US OPEN DH RESULTS

Amanda made the podium with a 5th place!!!
Adam took 29th in the pro mens open class.
Hopefully Crispy will post up more of a report and photos soon.
Sounds like it was fun. -Bryan

Off to the Downhill US Open

Some of the team is heading to Diablo Freeride Park for the Downhill US Open! Good luck to Adam Chris and Amanda! Stay tuned for updates, results and photos.

Stage Race Day 2 - Crispy is 2nd overall!

Crispy had a great racing weekend. He rode a good, smart xc race today and got a 3^rd place which gave him a 2^nd in the Brighton mountain bike stage race in the expert men 30-39 class! Brent rode a great stage race getting 7^th in the xc race and 7^th overall in the elite men’s class. Randy had a good stage race getting 6^th overall but was a little disappointed in his xc race performance. But he gutted it out and finished the race. Even though he has been sick for over a week Evan tried to race but his body just wouldn’t do what he wanted and he had to stop his race half way through. Gutsy to even try. A good weekend for the team.

Brighton Stage Race - Day 1

Randy with his poker face during the short track race.

Ok the time trial and short track races were today and we had a good day. Randy sits in 3rd overall 2 minutes behind the leader in the elite class. He said he feels confident that if he races hard and smart he can make up that 2 minute gap in Sundays XC race. Brent had a good day and I believe is in the top 10 in elite. Crispy is also sitting in 3rd overall in his expert mens 30-39 class.

Brent always rides hard and knows Brighton well.

Check out Crispy battling for postitions on the last climb of the short track.

Ride with Loppers

The Brighton Stage race is almost here. The last two days have been crappy weather with on and off rain during the day. I was able to ride out to Brighton Rec today and check out the trails. They are in great shape. There is no mud, and they are not a loose as I have seen them lately. The surface is tacky and should make for some fast races. The new re-routes in Torn Shirt have gotten better and someone made a new re-route on the third re-route where the tight switchback was. Now there is a turn before it and the logpile that threw riders into a tree has been taken out.

I spent just under 4 hours trimming the first 4 miles of Torn Shirt. It was starting to get really overgrown and there was a lot of low hanging branches ans trees/bushes. Especially in the middle grassy section of the trail there was a lot of stringy bushes and pine trees that took a while to cut back and get off the trail. The remaining 1.5 miles of trail isn't nearly as bad as the first 4 miles, but there are still a few low hanging branches people should watch out for. I stashed the loppers in my Wingnut hydration pack and rode the rest of the trail. With these conditions it should be a fast and FUN weekend.
-Brent

Adam 9th at Mass Yeeha & Brighton Stage Race

The Yeeha proved to be confirmation that Adam is in great shape for racing downhill this year. On a perfect spring race day in the mountains of Virginia Adam took a respectable 9th place in the Pro Class. Adam described the course as "A very fast course with many turns and alot of pedaling". There was some pressure at this race and Adam overcooked a corner right out of the gate washing the front end and going down. Then a little further down the course he ran out of trail on a slight uphill and tagged a tree. Given the two crashes, finishing in the top 10 is just awesome.

Adam is headed home from Virginia to take a couple weeks off before the US Open at Diablo over Memorial Day. The MESS crew along with Kona Midwest Racing are headed out to Diablo to show what being a fast flatlander is all about.

Next weekend is the Brighton Stage Race. Look for a big turnout from Kona Midwest Racing. and stop by for a Coke and Hamburger!


-C-

Good Luck at the Yeeha!!

Smoking fast downhiller Adam Rapheal is headed to Virginia today for the 2nd stop of the 11 event east coast DH series at the Mass Yeeha!!

He is excited to have a chance to prove his speed after an incredible win at the Duryea DH last weekend!!

Adam looks to have a great shot at the podium given his success at last weekends race. The rooty in the woods nature of the Yeeha looks to provide an awesome course for Adam.

There is practice today and the race is tomorrow. Look for a full report on Sunday!!

-C-

Adam WINS the Pro class at the Duryea DH !!!

YESSSSSSSSSS!!!!

Way to go Adam.

In The Money! Adam with his loot at Duryea. Thanks to Devin and MESS for getting him to the race and helping him out with support.

Adam Rocks!
Posted on RideMonkey: "thank goodness Adam Rapheal is racing pro this year. Last year he raced sport and flat killed everyone. I bet it feels awesome to get 1st in your 1st pro race ever." Also: "Adam is a super cool guy, and perhaps modest to a fault."
USA Cycling info on race HERE.

Big Bikes

Rode big bikes at Maybury tonight, me on my Stinky and Jim on his new Coilair. The best ride I've been on in awhile. Big bikes are cool!!!! -Bryan

Poto Thursday Night..... Fast!!

Yes!! The first Thursday night Poto ride was completed last night. It went really well for me. Did the 2 mile warm up with Lummis, eracer, & Chris. It was fun to follow Lummis because he picks really good lines and just flies on that trail!! My bike is working really well now and I am getting all the bugs out. I have a new middle ring to pick up today which will help my shifting alot. I will get that on tonight and then I will be all ready for the Fort Custer race. The race this weekend at the Fort is going to be fun and expect the whole team to be there including Jim Schofield & Jon Cross.

Later,

-C-

My Sidewalk Request: Approved

This is riding to work. For about a mile, I get to ride by myself on this brand new 2 lane dragstrip where Woodward is being rebuilt in Pontiac.

Commuting the 12 miles to work by bike has been awesome. It is a fantastic way to start the day. Showing up to the office on the bike has garnered a fair share of odd looks. But I'm saving gas, I get to ride, and I can reduce emissions. It's been worth the jeers and people honking at me.

If you bicycle commute or support people who might like to: check out http://capwiz.com/lab/home/ this page and urge your elected officials to support the bicycle commuter act. It will extend transportation tax breaks to include cyclists. I hope this legislation will pass. And I hope it encourages many people to consider a daily bicycle commute.

Brent does well at the Greenbrier Challenge

I spent the last weekend racing down in Maryland, The Geenbrier Challenge. It was a USAC National Cat 2 race along with an AMBC race. For the pros, it was a UCI points race, so there were some good riders like Bishop, Eatough, Wells, Compton and Haywood. I raced the Expert 19-29 and placed 2nd out of 21.
It was a great course with 2 major climbs, 2 smaller climbs, lots of east coast rock, and some screaming fast techy downhills. Total climb for the 5.7 mile loop was 735ft, so it is not as flat as MI. I kept the rubberside down and flew down the downhills. The Crispy's 101 class to downhilling pays off!!! I started off the race in the back of the pack after a 3 man pile-up on the first corner. Fun course and a great time racing. -Brent