Kona Midwest Racing

AMANDA SWEEPS - ADAM CHAMP!!!

2007-09-09T20:09:00.000-04:00

Amanda Pilling won again at the Snowshoe Mountain Downhill race this weekend sweeping all three series races there and winning the overall title as Snowshoe Champion!!! She also won her dual slalom race telling me how her and the girl she battled in the finals were throwing elbows in the air and pushing to try and get the win! Sweeeeeeeeeet!

Also Adam Raphael took 2^nd in the pro DH which gave him the series win. So for the second year in a row Adam is the Snowshoe Champion!!!!

Kona Midwest by far has the best men’s and women’s downhillers from the state of Michigan going to the big races along the east coast and dominating! Ride Snowshoe Link!

08 KONA BIKES ARE ONLINE!

2007-09-06T08:51:00.000-04:00

Wep page looks:
http://konaworld.com/08_coilairsupreme.htm

Cool electronic catalog
http://konaworld.com/08catalog.htm

SWEEEEEEEET!
Bryan

RANDY GETS A WIN AND A 2ND!

2007-09-06T08:48:00.000-04:00

Randy had a couple of great results in his first college race. He one a short track race and came in 2nd in the XC race. Read about it here. To bad he seems to have turned into a roadie! :) Read it, you will see.

BIG DH WEEKEND

2007-09-06T08:12:00.000-04:00

Both Adam and Amanda are heading to Snowshoe Mt West Virginia this weekend for the final race in the Snowshoe DH series. Both have a great chance of winning their races this weekend and winning the whole series! Good luck guys, I wish I was going to cheer you on!

BRENT 3RD AT PONTIAC LAKE NORBA

2007-08-28T09:25:00.000-04:00

Great job Brent!!!!!!!

What he had to say about the race:

What a day for racing. Sunny skies, comfortable temps, and no rain. After a week of constant showers, the trail at PLRA turned out great. The corners were fast and tacky and there were no real slick spots to wipe out in.

First lap was riding with the main group, then I was caught up behind some riders. Kuhn, Lummis, and Mike Bartlett got away, so once I was able to pass I was on full gas to make up a 30 second split. About 2/3 of the way through the trail I had closed the gap and brought back two other KLM guys(Buccaletto/Goddard). Lap 2 saw the group together until Lummis attacked and it was him and Mike alone. I was stuck behind a rider and didn't even notice what happened immediately. Just before the end of the lap I had bridged back to the group again solo, so it was the three of us until Buccalleto(sp?) caught up after the start/finish. Mike lead out the lap and then 3-4 miles in before the campground I went by him and gapped the group on a climb. I kept the hammer down for the most part, caught myself sliding the front tire out, and was able to roll in for 3rd.

RESULTS
Photos

After a bad race at Big M, I got some decent training in and some needed recovery to get the job done. It was a fun race with the group breaking up, changing and battling for third the whole time. I had a good race and enjoyed it. That's what racing is all about. It was nice to see a large group of Elite racers out today to put up some stiff competition.

IN THE MONEY

2007-08-25T19:29:00.000-04:00

AMANDA WINS THE MAYBURY XC!

The day after a very stormy night with buckets of rain and a tornado or two Amanda fought through the rain and mud to win her first XC race of the season and get a little cash. She has been focused on downhill but still has some XC legs left in her. Great job girl!!!

It gets Better

2007-08-06T12:05:00.000-04:00

It is getting better and better for the KMR downhill crew! Adam stunned the Snowshoe crowd with a ripping race run in a light rain to take over the hot seat and hold it for his first proffesional win. Amanda again showed that Michigan may be a hot bed for downhill talent. She convincingly took the downhill win and with her new improved jumping ability secured first in the Dual!!

Congratulations KMR>

-C-

Awesome KMR Weekend

2007-07-31T10:57:00.000-04:00

KMR had a great weekend.

Adam Rapheal took 2nd in the Dual Salom & 4th in the Downhill at the Sugar Mountain National race

Amanda Pilling & Mike Filipiak took a 2nd & 4th respectively at the Stoney Creek TT.

Bryan Mitchell & Chris Filipiak both completed the WAM 300 mile bike ride. The event raised 1.3 million for Make A Wish charity. See pictures below.

Next event is the Big M race & the Snowshoe DH.
Later,

-C-

WAM

2007-07-27T21:34:00.000-04:00

Bryan, Scott, Crispy and Karen are all riding in the Make-A-Wish Foundation's Wish-A-Mile 300 mile bike tour this weekend. Here are a few photos from Fridays ride. Much cooler this year but real humid. Bryan is also photographing the event as he rides.

WAM 300 THIS WEEKEND

2007-07-25T15:08:00.000-04:00

Ok everyone the Make-A-Wish Wish A Mile 300 bike tour starts Friday! I will be leaving early Thursday morning to catch a bus to Traverse City and then the ride starts Friday morning. A cool thing this year. You can see steaming live video of the start each day, the awards Saturday night and the Heroes Hurrah finish on Sunday.

Go here:

http://dev.magicoast.com/media_center/subscribe/subscriber.jsp?sn=d987ac64bf2ee0a9eff7321c9d288eab

Or here www.wishmich.org and click the video link.

Also when there isn’t a live feed that will be showing video shot the day before and running slide shows with some of the photos I shoot.
I also hope to be bloging about the ride at the end of each day.

You can still donate here!

http://makeawish.kintera.org/wam/konabryan.

RUBY CAMPGROUND NORBA

2007-07-17T06:20:00.000-04:00

Randy took 7th in the elite mens race and Evan had a great finish coming in 2nd in the expert mens 19-29 class. Looks like it was a sprint finish as he was only 3 seconds out of 1st. Great job Evan!!!

ADAM KICKS ASS AT PLATTEKILL

2007-07-15T21:28:00.000-04:00

Adam took 2nd in the Pro mens downhill and won the pro mens dual slalom at Plattekill near Roxbury, NY!!!!! The Kona Factory team should take notice of Adam for 2008. He is rockin!!!

KMR WINS NOVI TEAM RELAY!

2007-07-15T21:24:00.000-04:00

Crispy, Amanda, Jim and Bryan won the Advanced Co-Ed class at the Novi Tree Farm time trial team relay race for the 2nd year in a row!

Full Results.

Oh, and notice who had the fastest time with a 1:28!!!! :) :) :)

BRENT 3RD AT BOYNE MARATHON!

2007-07-09T06:42:00.000-04:00

Brent got on the podium with a 3rd place in the 40 mile, 4 lap Boyne Marathon XC race this past weekend. He came in behind Mike Simonson and Robert Herriman after passing Jason Lummis
and Jon Cowan on the last ski-hill climb. YES! Way to go Brent! Results.

From Brent:

Did a pre-ride of the course on Thursday and it was pretty much the same course I have ridden 30 times. It is my favorite MI course, and I know it well. Boyne was actually the second MTB course I had ever ridden, right beind Island Lake. That was 5 years ago when I decided to start MTBing and rode only a few trails and times that year. Progression...

Race started at 10AM with a decent sized group of Elites going off. We took off and I just sat in and kept my pace. Some people went by me and I let them ride away. By the top of the ski slop I was riding with Shawn Meredith somewhere in the 7-8 place. On the downhill, I crashed and I guess he did too, not far behind me as I could hear him say something. On lap 2 I rode solo the entire time while making the passes of lapped riders much earlier than expected. At the start of the thirs lap I caught up to John Meyers and rode behind him. Before the hike-a-bike climb a mile or so in he had me go by. Not too far up the trail I caught John Cowan and rode with him. He set a good pace and flowed through the singletrack very well(yeah, he's from Boyne). We were riding 4th and 5th place. Climbing to the top of the ski hill, we spotted Herriman and Lummis, but never saw them once we got to the top. Near the end of the lap while passing more people on a wide corner, I flew into a tree sideways and tried to hug it in an effort to reducing the impact on my ribs. Luckily I wasn't too hurt, so I grabbed my bike and chased. I caught John again in the beginning of the trail and rode with him until the ski hill where I let it out. I laft him behind and had Lummis in my sights. I passed him before crossing the golf cart path and kept on climbing. I came out at the top and was ready to keep the pace high when I heard skipping. Shit, I looked back and had picked up and bush in my casette. There were leaves in it and a thin branch hanging out. I knew I couldn't stop, so I pedaled away with a skip-skip-skip every pedal stroke. Luckily the course was mostly downhill and I was able to keep away. i finished third with Simonson in first and Herriman in second. It was a great race for me. The course is suited better for my riding with longer climbs and less flat two-track.

No Ruby for me this weekend, but I'll be putting in some last minute rides before heading out to the USA Cycling Nationals in Vermont in 2 weeks.

TdF

2007-07-08T17:59:00.000-04:00

Almost hate to blog on top of those awesome Detroit ride photos. Wish I could have been there!

The Tour de France came to me this weekend so thought I'd post a few photos. No Kona's on the course but plenty with the spectators. See more Kona's on the streets in London than almost any other major brand.

The view off the first bend of the prologue with Westminster Abbey, Big Ben and the London Eye in the distance. London was all about the bike this weekend.

Hincapie on his way to a third place finish...

Watching the finish of the prologue on the big screen in Hyde Park. So cool to see hundreds of thousands of cycling fans.

The Peloton starting stage 1 today at kilometer zero in London. CSC up front protecting the yellow jersey Fabian Cancellara who won the prologue (7.9km) by 13 seconds over second place Kloden...

Stage 1 winner was Robbie McEwen who went down hard in the prologue hitting a barrier and again today with 25km to go. His team paced him back onto the lead pack with 10km to go and he sprinted to take the win. Morale... never give up and it's all about riding with a great team. Be there Tuesday and looking forward to riding with all of you!

BOYS (and girl) IN THE HOOD

2007-07-05T10:03:00.000-04:00

Dale, our guru Kona rep, was in town on the fourth so Todd Scott took us on what is becoming our annual downtown ride in the D. Detroit for you out of town folks. :) (Click on each photo for a larger view)

AMANDA WINS AT SNOWSHOE!!!

2007-07-02T11:21:00.000-04:00

I just listened to a message on my voicemail from Amanda saying she WON her Downhill race this weekend at Snowshoe Mountain, West Virginia and took 2nd in the Dual Slalom!!!!!!
"I'm stoked about that and I'm not too broken!" she said on the message.
Hopefully there will have more info and photos soon.
Adam took 5th in the Pro Open DH race!!!

STONEY CREEK MARATHON

2007-07-02T10:01:00.000-04:00

Brent raced in the Marathon over the weekend and placed 8th in the elite/pro mens class with a time of 4 hours and 8 minutes in the 62 mile race. Full results.

From Brent:
Raced the marathon out at Stony yesterday. The rain from earlier in the week provided the trail with some good precipitation to keep the trail in good shape. The normal gravely two-track corners were there, but overall it was smooth and fast.

I rode most of lap one with the main group until the last two-track section where I decided to back the pace off a bit. Laps 2-3 I rode with Niel Sharphorn rippin it on his SS. Lap 4 I rode alone passing more lapped traffic. Lap 5 was alone until I passed Greg "I flat every race" Kuhn as he was flipping his bike back over. He came back and went by me later on in the two-track. Lap 6 was keeping the rubber side down and finishing the race off without anyone passing me. I finished 8th with a time of 4:08. I fell twice on gravel in some two track corners. The first one wasn't bad, but the second one came at about 1 mph on the tight switchback from the last singletrack to the two-track 3/4 of the way through the lap. I fell right on my hip-bone and ankle. That is when I wish I hat more fat on me. That sucker kills.

Next up is the Boyne Marathon next week. Should be some fun climbing the ski hill.

SPREADING THE WORD

2007-06-25T21:38:00.001-04:00

Me, Crispy, Mike and Amanda took Katharine, a writer for the Detroit Free Press who did the WAM story on me, out on her first ever mountain bike ride at Maybury! We put her on Amanda's CoilAir and she had a blast! It is so much fun to show new people our great sport. She crashed a couple times but just got up and wanted more. She handled the twisty trail AWESOME. Bill, also a writer joined us for the ride and he was very impressed with Katharine's riding as well. What a great time!!!!!! It won't be her last.
Below is an email she sent to me after the ride.

Bryan,
I cannot thank you and the other Midwest Konas enough for that WONDERFUL experience you gave me on Saturday. It was truly one of the most spectacular days I've had in my life - fun and friendly and exciting and a great workout. I was so impressed with you TKM riders - you're true ambassadors of your sport, and so good at it!

Bill told me he's never seen better mountain biking, and we were both taken by how kind and generous all of you were to us, a newbie and someone who hasn't mountain-biked in a long time. He says you all would be killer in triathlon.

Of course, now I want to get a mountain bike ...

So again, many thanks to you.

And when can we go riding again?

Regards,
Katharine

ADAM WINS THE SUPERIOR BIKE FEST DH

2007-06-24T20:41:00.000-04:00

Full results here.

BRENT IS TOP 20 AT LUMBERJACK!!!!!!

2007-06-19T07:05:00.000-04:00

Way to go Brent! 17th place in under 8 hours!!!

Full Results Here.

Brents Lumberjack 100 Recap

2 for 2
That's two starts and 2 finishes.
I went into the race looking to beat my 8:32 from last year. Inside, I really wanted to see a 7 at the begining of my final time, but I didn't know if it was possible. I did a pre-ride of the inner-loop on Friday and the trail was in great shape.

Race started around 7am and was slow. I thought it was supposed to be a fast rollout, but I thought it was very mellow. I stayed in the top 20 or so riders and ended up riding by myself for most of the race with a SS'er from MN behind me. I did a 1:50 lap, which was around 8 minutes faster than last year. Lap 2 was 1:54 and I was feeling good, but riding all alone again. Lap 3 came and I was again alone pedaling along on cruise control until I hear a smart-ass comment about my bike come from behind me. It was none other than Lummis coming back from a mechanical problem. I picked up my pace a rode with him for a little bit on the inner loop while passing 3 people. It felt good to open the legs up a little more, but then I decided I was only 65 miles or so in, so I needed to keep my pace a little slower. Two of the riders passed me back a few miles later, but in the outer loop I caught them again and put a gap on them. I did a 1:59, which meant that I had 17 minutes to spare on my last lap in order to beat 8 hours. I knew that all I had to do was turn the cranks and I would achieve my goal. Yeah, that happened, but my mental game went down hill. I was at the point where I was wondering what the hell I was doing. I do not like having an inner and then outer loop go by the pits/parking lot, beacuse there were a few times I wanted to call it a day and go sleep. On the outer loop, I broke a spoke, but easily stopped and twisted it around another spoke before going again. There were a few times I was feeling sleepy tired, but I knew the bugs would kill me. Once I got over that monotonous flat and bumpy section, I was doing much better. I got to the climbs and got back in a rythm which helped. I ended up getting 17th overall in 7:56, 36 minutes faster than last year. I think if I would have had some people to ride with on the last lap, I likely would have been able to keep the pace up. I did get passed by 3 people on lap 4, which costed me places, but that is endurance racing.

Overall, it was a great weekend. A blast. Rick puts on a top notch race and great awards banquet. This is quickly becoming Michigans best race. Sure we have Iceman, but LJ100 is a class of its own. -Brent

Checking in

2007-06-17T16:36:00.000-04:00

Checking in again to say hello. From my last post I've had a 7th place (Vet) result in the London Beastway round 4 and a disappointing 26th place finish at the 12 Hour race at Bristol Bikefest. Bristol was an amazing course and the weather was perfect. The course was super fast and flowing. If you add climbing like the Boyne 24 hour course with flowing rocky downhills similar to Pontiac Lake that was the course. The Hei Hei was the perfect bike! Unfortunately we lost a rider before the race and started with 3. Then one of my team mates broke his Specialized frame on his second lap. I doubled up while he tried to get something worked out but it was unfixable. He ended up borrowing demo bikes and rode mine on the last lap but we just lost too much time to the other teams. After riding 3 other bikes though my team mate pulled his best time of the day on my Kona (on his last lap). He was amazed at how much faster it was than the other big name rides he tried on the day. Kona did well at the event winning competitive pairs (Torq Kona) and the competitive team (Paligap Kona - UK Kona sponsered team).

Next race for me is next weekend for a 24 hour race called Mountain Mayhem at Eastnor Castle in Herefordshire, UK . It's the biggest mountain bike event in the UK with 450 teams and 2500 riders in the race. They bill it as the world's largest 24 hour race Yes... ought to be interesting in the woods at night with 450 other teams on the course at the same time. I am not a big fan of 24 hour events but I'm helping a team out that lost a rider. Since it's supposed to be the Iceman of the UK thought it was worth the pain to say I've done it.

http://www.mountainmayhem.org/index.php

Look for me at the Tour de France prologue and stage 1 in London on July 7-8th. I'll ride down to the event and be on the side of the course wearing my KMR kit in case you see the team colors. Back in the states July 9th - 23rd and looking forward to riding with everyone!

Jim

RACE NEWS

2007-06-12T20:44:00.000-04:00

Randy took 6th at the Bloomer XC race and is ready to peak! Read about his race and training here.
This weekend is the Lumberjack 100 in Northern Michigan.

FREERIDE CLINIC

2007-06-10T17:11:00.001-04:00

Amanda and Bryan helped out at a Freeride clinic today. The idea was to give riders who only do xc rides a taste of basic trail/freeride skills like bunny hops, log rides, small drops and skinnies. It went great and the two of us ended up helping out and teaching the ladies in the group a few things. The ladies who came out were real eager and really pushed themselves to try new things. I always love to see women try hard types of bike riding as its not the norm. Erica and Liz were Awesome!!!!! Of course we showed off our Kona big bikes, gave out some stickers and sponsor swagg and had a real fun day. Thanks to Matt for High Gear Racing for setting up the clinic and having us along.

Amanda demonstrates how to do a log ride.

Some comments from the clinic:

"Bryan - Thanks so much for all of the help today. I had so much fun and rode lots of things I have never even attempted. Some of those log piles were really easy once I tried them. I can tell already I will have more confidence in my riding. I am going to get some knee pads of my own and go back out and finish that skinny Thank you for giving me the confidence and knowledge I needed to try it."

"Bryan, I would like to thank you for your help and encouragement for my first ride on the skinny. It was great to finally be able to attempt to ride the skinny. I have a few scrapes and bruises, but other than that I am fine. Also I enjoyed riding your bike over the rock garden, it looks like I may have to invest in a downhill bike in the next few years. Thank you very much for the gift bag, that was kind of you to give it to me."

"Thanks for all your help and coaching today. You helped Erica (better half) out a ton, especially with the skinny. Your help is definately appreciated, especially since i am an XC guy and it is becoming a FR/DH chick whethr she fully realizes it yet or not. And that isn't something i can help her with. She only started riding last July and i already know her nxt bike will be big travel bike. You were definately a great guy i my books for being so helpful to her and the others."

London Calling...

2007-06-05T06:01:00.000-04:00

Well monsoon season is finally over in the UK and the trails are starting to dry out. Good timing as I just was able to pick up the new Hei Hei while in the states a few weeks back and starting to get some races in over here in Europe. The bike is great! I just need to get back in race shape. Finished 9th in last weeks Beastway race in the Vet class. Beastway is a weekly racing series in the London area that runs for a few months. Pretty nice because it runs on Wednesday night and does not interfere with the bigger weekend races. So I'll be at Beastway again this week and then on to the Bristol Bikefest a couple hours away near the border with Wales on Saturday. Supposed to be a great course and a nice weekend long event with camping, DJ, live band etc.. Looks like close to 700 people entered for the Saturday 12 hour race (teams, pairs and solo) that I'm taking part in. I'll be in my Kona colors but riding with a team from the London Phoenix Cycling Club. A great group of people that I ran into over here with 2 competitive male and 1 female team in the event.

http://www.bike-fest.com/bristol/ if you're interested to see what events look like over here. Miss those great Michigan trails!! Don't know how good it is until you don't have it.

ADAM 7TH AT GRAVITY EAST DH RACE #4

2007-06-04T14:17:00.000-04:00

Adam placed 7th in pro open at the Gravity East downhill Series #4 race in Plattekill, NY. Adam is just rocking the east coast DH series. More great things to come.

TRY A POLARPAK WATER RESERVOIR

2007-06-01T16:00:00.000-04:00

Looking for a new reservoir bladder for your pack?

I tried out the Moflow by Polarpak twice so far and it worked real nice. You pressurize the bladdder with air so the water "flows" out and you don't have to suck the water out. (See their website Polarpak.com)
I don't wear a pack often except on adventure type rides and never while racing, they hurt my back when going all out. The first time out with the Moflow I didn't put enough air in the bladder. The 2nd time I did and how nice it was to have the water come out very easy and a bonus be able to skirt the sweat out of my eye while still riding. I know its not that smart but my eye really burned.

The only thing that might be an issue for me is I normally try to get all of the air out of a bladder before I put it in the pack. The reason is when I wear a pack I usually have photo gear in it and the air can take up to much room.

But like I said I really liked the water "flowing" rather then having to suck. And the bite valve works very easy and isn't to bulky. And you know I think I did end up drinking more since I didn't have to work to much to get the water out like it says on their website. The quick release worked great and was easy to use.

So far I would definitely recommend the Moflow if you are looking for a new bladder.

Also, for the second year in a row I will be doing the WAM 300 mile ride to raise money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation and am looking forward to using the Polarpak gel cooled bladder that is suppose to keep liquids cold. Last year temps hovered around 100 and the Polarpak should really come in handy.

I GOT SHOT

2007-05-29T07:18:00.000-04:00

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

2007-05-29T06:48:00.000-04:00

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

2007-05-29T06:44:00.000-04:00

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

2007-05-25T06:54:00.000-04:00

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!

2007-05-20T19:50:00.001-04:00

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

2007-05-19T20:07:00.001-04:00

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

2007-05-17T18:12:00.000-04:00

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

2007-05-12T17:42:00.000-04:00

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!!

2007-05-11T10:15:00.000-04:00

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 !!!

2007-05-07T21:36:00.000-04:00

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

2007-05-07T21:12:00.000-04:00

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!!

2007-05-04T09:53:00.000-04:00

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

2007-05-02T16:19:00.000-04:00

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

2007-05-01T06:43:00.000-04:00

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

Commute #1

2007-04-30T09:15:00.000-04:00

I spent the weekend working on bikes. Now I have 4 of 6 bikes working! I just have my commuter to go. The commuter is the one I really wanted to get going, but it is waiting on a 2nd application of frame saver.

So I rode the Leroi in this morning. This works out cause I am going to ride it to Maybury for a dirt ride later this afternoon.

Okay so Commute number 1 is in the bag.

Later,

-C-

Bike Build for Jon Cross

2007-04-27T10:48:00.000-04:00

Like C said J Cro will be home this weekend from serving in Iraq and I am building up his bike as I write this, I had to check my email. A few parts will not be here in time but we have some parts laying around until those other parts come in. Then we will deliver the bike to him, ride and have lots-o-beers!!!

My Parts My Parts & Welcome Home Jon!!!

2007-04-27T09:34:00.000-04:00

Well I will finally have the missing links to all my bikes. I have been swapping parts around and trying to get all my bikes going. I have 6 bikes and only 1 is working. So I needed like 1 more thing for each to make them go and those parts are here today. So after work it is down to Continental Bike Shop(248 545-1225) to pick up my stuff.

Rumor Mill: supposedly CBS does not sponsor us. Well this is not true! Continental Bike Shop and Kona Midwest are both doing fine and looking forward to an awesome 2007 season.

Good Luck to Brent who is headed out east to rip it up.

Next up Fort Custer next weekend.

Finally and most Important. Welcome Home Jon Cross. Jon is now back in MI and he is getting a sweet new Kona Hei Hei to ride!

Later,

-C-

1$ off

2007-04-26T09:09:00.000-04:00

What is it about the $1 off a pint of Guiness that makes you ordered it and eat chicken wings. Is this good for my training or my ability to make it to work the next morning. No! When it is your favorite pub though it is hard to say no.

Well hopefully I will get back on track tonight with a ride at the Poto. Problem is I will need a Kona Ark instead of my normal Kona Leroi. The rain is coming down in buckets here in Michigan right now. Luckily though the mud at the Poto washes off fairly easy and I am redoing my bike anyway this weekend.

Later,

-Crispy-

Hot Laps Maybury State Park

2007-04-25T08:16:00.000-04:00

Well, the team was out for a few hot laps at Maybury last night. It looks like Maybury is the hot place to be on Tuesday nights. Many of the locals were up there. Bryan, Amanda, & I turned in some good laps and worked on our turning!! Saw local ripper Erin Vicary up there and also rode with our freind Rob.

Then after some stuff in the parking lot we hit Baja Fresh for some fish tacos which were ohh so good.

I was going to ride to work today, but the weather is so bad with lots of rain that I just could not do it. So I drove. Miles commuted to work this year 0.

Next week though I plan on commuting at least three days.

-C-

Yeah

2007-04-24T14:12:00.000-04:00

I can't believe it I can blog now.

Maybury Hot Laps tonight at 5:00pm.

-C-

Paris to Ancaster

2007-04-23T15:00:00.000-04:00

Email from Randy

I thought I'd fill you on my race in Canada... obiously you can always check my blog too.

It was a good race for me, but at this point of the year my strength on the flats isn't there and I was getting killed out there on the roads. The race was like 40% roads, 30% dirt road, 10% rail trails, 10% farm fields, 5% forest two-track and 5% steep hills (relief for me.) I was one of few people out on a 26in mountain bike and probably the only one on a full sus. Almost everyone was on cyclocross bikes.

I was at the front in the beginning rail trails, but when it got out onto open road I was dropped by the lead pack. I was in and out of various chase groups only making time when the trail got rough and actually resembled anything even close to mountain bike conditions. There were these killer mud schutes that I totally nailed each time and put a lot of time on people. After getting dropped all day I was able to catch a lot of people again on the last hill which was really long and steep. I finished 34th unofficially.

I went out there with Jason Lummis which was cool. He told me a lot about the ways of the great mi mountain bikers like Quiring and Simonson. As an infamous triple crown crusher, he also gave me some suggestions for being faster on the flats.

All in all, great weekend. Great job to everyone at Yankee. Brent, 9th place is good. I was 9th place there last year, as you know.

-Randy

JC home from Iraq!!!!!

2007-04-20T07:17:00.000-04:00

First off GREAT NEWS!

Jon Cross is back from Iraq!!!!!!!!!!!!

He is at his base in California right now and should be home to Michigan in 10 days or so.

I talked to him on the phone last night and he was all talk about bikes and riding.

He can't wait to get on a mountain bike and to start trainging for racing.

He plans on doing an Iron Man Tri in August and wants to do well at Iceman.

I will be taking his bike out to him probably around the 28th over on the west side of the state and riding Yankee or Custer and having beers and food after!
We shot the photo below about a year ago. The last time JC was on a mountain bike before he left. It will be awesome to ride with him once again!

Back Alley Bikes

2007-04-17T22:32:00.000-04:00

I finally made a trip down to Back Alley Bikes in Detroit tonight. Back Alley Bikes is a not-for-profit community bike shop in Detroit's Cass Corridor. They offer programs for anyone to be able and get a free bike or buy a bike for as little as $25. The also teach people how to fix bikes. I have been meaning to go and donate a bunch of bike parts and things like helmets that I have been collecting and sponsors like Kona, Rudy Project and ProLink donated. I also stopped by our shop sponsor Continental Bike and they sent me away with a bunch of water bottles and 4 bikes to donate. When I got there and the volunteers and people working on bikes saw I had boxes full of stuff it was like Christmas. I also hung around for awhile to shoot photos. I plan to donate those to their website. I plan to go a few more times this summer and take a few other team members with me to help out wrenching on some of the bikes. I'm sure I will shoot more photos as well. It’s a real cool place for photography and just to hang out and be around bikes and people who really love all kinds of bikes. –Bryan

First Race of the Year!!!

2007-04-15T21:58:00.000-04:00

Well the team was out at the first race of the season on a chilly and windy Michigan morning. Yes it was cold, 30's at the start; but the trail at Pontiac Lake Recreation Area was dry, fun and fast for this off road time trial! Because of injuries and family commitments we only had 3 riders race but they did well. Randy took 2nd in the elite/pro class with Brent grabbing 13th in his first ever elite race. Crispy just missed out of a top 10 finish with 11th place in the tough 30-39 expert class. Next race is Yankee Springs this coming weekend. It is suppose to warm up!!!! –Bryan

My Kona

2007-04-14T20:55:00.000-04:00

Coming to a race near you...

Check out my personal blog for a little feature on my Kona Hei Hei supreme.

Kona Gang in Pisgah

2007-04-09T20:03:00.000-04:00

Crispy, Amanda, Brent, Randy and Adam on a mountain top in Pisgah. Read the story on the post below. It doesn't get much better the Pisgah!!!

So Long, NC

2007-04-06T16:34:00.000-04:00

Fantastic Pisgah trip! The camping worked out great, and was cheap. We stayed at Davidson River, right in the middle of the park. We had some tent issues (puddles, and a door that wouldn't close), but all-in-all it was cool. There weren't really any bugs!.. weird.

The team seems to have some very good comraderie, and we have a lot of diversity. It makes for some interesting conversations, and I learned a lot from riding with everyone. We did a team ride on Saturday to Daniel's Ridge, Butter Gap, Cemetary Loop, and Longbranch. There were some really punchy climbs up rooty and rocky stuff, some fun single track, and some reasonably technical donwhill sections. We had some major bike tuning issues as our stuff was breaking in which slowed us down, but it was a fun first day.

Amanda and I were trailing the group and we heard a huge crash through the trees. We knew what happened. Brent was riding a section cut into a steep (almost vertical) ledge and slipped off the trail. He was caught by a big Laurel bush and a fallen tree about 10 ft or so down. Although he was ok I think it gave everyone (especially him!) a good scare. Apparently that happens to everyone (I took about a 12 ft drop off the "gnome trail" my first time in Pisgah.)

On Sunday we did the Laurel Mt. loop. I think Randy, Brent, and Adam as first timers were very impressed by their first glimpse of the really tough terrain that Pisgah offers. About an hour into the ride we were in a down pour which made everything really tough and slick.

After Amanda, Brent, and Randy left on Monday (they were definitely sad to go) after a Black Mt. team ride, we had an eventful rest of the week, I would have said awesome, but Adam seperated his shoulder on the Laurel Mt. trail on Tuesday, and I probably ended up with a broken ankle from Pilot's Cove ride on Sunday.

I crashed about an hour after some hard rain, I washed the front on a super fast downhill section. I don't really know what happened, but the front tire was forced out from under me by a slick root or rock probably because I was on the front brake pretty hard and it locked up when it lost traction. I threw out my foot on instinct (stupid), but at about 20 mph it gripped hard and instantly rolled over. I ended up in a bundle on the side of the trail for a few minutes before managing to limp down the rest of the run. Wet, slick, fast downhill on a new bike, with an old front tire.. there were contributing factors.

Adam crashed after washing the front on leaves during a fast left hander on a Laurel Mt. downhill run with Crispy. He hit the ground hard with his head and shoulder and probably ended up with a type II/III shoulder seperation. It was just bad luck on one of the easy parts of the trail... very unfortunate, but he should be back in a couple weeks. Both of us were totally bummed at the prospect of being stuck at the campsite all week (and missing our chance to get out on some of the best trail in the country).

Well now onto the post-tuesday good news: On monday evening, I was so bummed about not being able to ride with the team I headed out even though I could barely walk. (The rest of the crew headed out for some sliding rock freezing cold river fun.) I was motivated from the team's morning tracks so I followed them all the way up to the top of Black Mt. but I just came back down the fire road descent. My ankle was very scary looking on tuesday, and I spent some time letting it soak in the very cold river because the ice packs weren't enough. It was swollen to 3-4 times normal size from my foot to upper mid calve. There were 2 nurses on site at the campground that helped me with it (Thanks Karen and Jess!).

Tuesday I was out of commission so I just shuttled Adam and Crispy for the Laurel Mt. run. On Wednesday, Chris and I did the Black Mt. climb again with some good competitiveness, and I ventured back onto the single track with him on Thrift Cove, and Sycamore Cove in the evening. Both are fun easy trails with some fast downhill sections with awesome (very fun)jumps.

On Thursday, with Adam injured, it Chris and me. We really wanted to ride as much as possible as it was our last full day. I bought a heavy duty ankle brace that gave me some protection. We headed out for an epic day to Buckhorn Gap, Black Mountain, Buckwheat knob, and Bennett's Gap (The 4 B's). That is the coolest trail I've ever ridden. It was roughly a 2500 ft. climb that was mostly tough rooty, rocky, single track. There must have been a dozen water crossings as well. The descent was very technical, but the Satan's Staircase section of Bennett's Gap was insane. Most of it was just steep rough rocky stuff... really steep. Chris was enticed to go for it. He hit almost everything, and on the XC bike (impressive!), although there was a re-do or two.

There was one section that is worth going into detail about. It was a triple rock drop into a switchback. 6-7 feet from the turn, the vertical distance between the upper and lower trail was easily 10-12 feet. There is only a 2-3 inch margin for error during the entire switchback... it really was insane to see something like that. It looked unrideable, but Chris nailed it twice without error, although the second time almost got out of hand. For the rest of the ride, my ankle held up, and I did a fair portion of the steep stuff. I was just super pumped I could still get out there.

We had so much fun on those trails that after coming back to camp we headed out again. We did North Slope. It was an easy fun trail, but we were approaching 6 hours of riding for the day so just keeping with it was challenging.

This morning, Friday, was freezing. It was 32 when I got up. It was our last day and I still wanted to ride, but I was seriously beat from all the power climbing we did the day before. Chris and I cobbled together a quick breakfast and headed out to do the full Black Mt. loop with the sycamore cove section because I've never done the complete loop before.

We were frozen within 10 minutes and as we wound our way up it just kept getting colder. When we got to the cave on the top of Black Mountain or Clawhammer Mountain there were 2-3 ft icicles hanging from it, and there was ice on parts of the trail. My feet were still numb an hour and a half into the ride.. and probably just getting colder. I figured it was probably 10 degrees colder up there. The descent was pretty tough because we were worn out. There was a new tree that blocked the trail on the fast downhill which was a good scare also. But it was fun to end the trip totally worn out and exhausted. I'm looking forward to cleaning and rebuilding my bike when the rest of the new parts get in.. and also resting for a few days.

I definitely learned a lot. The terrain there really forces you to learn good riding technique. There are plenty of 'ride or die' moments that push you to new levels. All the fast paced, tough riding, is an awesome compliment to just climbing your bike to the top of a mountain, getting a breath of fresh air, and checking out an amazing wilderness. Very cool... I'm already looking forward to next year. See you there..

Pisgah

2007-04-05T08:22:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone! This is my first KMR blog.

Spent a few days down in N.C. with the team. I've never ridden out of state before and the trails down there were a totally different animal. I was afraid I wasn't going to dig it, but it turned out to be pretty fun. The descents that Crispy took us down were insane, at least on my full-out xc race rig (the new Kona Hei Hei supreme, which is a great bike)

Now, after riding down there, I feel totally confident heading into any trail we have here in Michigan, not to discredit our trails because I wouldn't trade them for the world. But with my new trail skills and ever increasing fitness I am ready to capitalize on the success I achieved last season.

The hard training is under way and the first race is PLRA t.t. just about ten days away. I'll be there representing Kona Midwest Racing in full force. Stop by our tent and say hi.

-Randy LaPrairie

Racing has started!

2007-03-26T08:48:00.000-04:00

I just got this email from Brent.

"Got back at 3am this morning, so I am a little tired here at school. The race was good. I got 12 out of 26 in Expert 19-29. Pretty damn fast group down there. The trail was much rootier, rockier, and overall rougher than here (in Michigan). That travel in the rear of the bike really helped-I was glad I wasn't on a hardtail. It was also quite hot, 90+ degrees during the race...that was killer when your used to 40. It was a good fun weekend.
-Brent
P.S. the competition is a lot tougher at National races, even the Simonster lost by like 3.5-4 minutes!"

Yes, racing with the big dogs is a whole other world!
Way to Rock for Kona Brent!!!! -Bryan

Raising money for Make-A-Wish again in 2007!

2007-02-28T11:21:00.000-05:00

Raising money for Make-A-Wish again in 2007!

I will be once again riding in and photographing the Make-A-Wish Foundation (MAW) of Michigan - Wish-A-Mile 300 bike tour. Click HERE for a photo gallery from last years ride. Please, Please consider a donation by going right to my MAW website.

http://makeawish.kintera.org/wam/konabryan

Even if you only kick in $5 by skipping Starbucks for a day every little bit helps and if enough people donate even that small amount I can reach my required $650 and then some very fast.

If you want more info on Make-A-Wish click HERE!

Then read this story about Maddie, who died last year from cancer, but was able to go to Disney World first because of Make-A-Wish. If the photo of her with Cinderella does not make you want to kick in a few bucks I don't know what will.

I know I am glad Make-A-Wish does what they do in case my kids ever got sick.

One last thing, I donate all my time and talent to this project and do not charge a fee at all.

Thank You!

-Bryan

Ray's 3RIDE

2007-02-14T06:07:00.000-05:00

I went down to Ray's in Clevelend this past weekend with Crispy and Amanda. We were there to se the pro 3RIDE event and do some riding ourselves. I was photographing the event and you can see photos and a short story at, justrideEzine.com
Now I'm heading out to shovel snow. I am ready for winter to be over! -Bryan

Greetings from the Sandbox

2007-02-03T16:40:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to lay down a quick hello to everyone and try out this blog thing. Things over here have been pretty tame in the last couple of weeks. Lots of local security missions, not a lot of firefights, and I think I've watched the Collective about a dozen times this week. The rumors are rampant about our return home, but the fact that noone is arguing is that we'll be somewhere in the US by mid-April. There'll be a lot of work going on for a couple weeks to demobilize the unit, but I'm hoping that means I'll be back on the bike (after a full year of ZERO riding) by May. I can't wait. There is an entire summer ahead of me to rediscover all the trails I've raced on and trained on in the past. I am dying to check out the new Hei Hei, it will be my first real full suspension XC rig, and it looks awesome. Between XC heaven on the road out west and in MI and taking the Scrap out to some DJ's and some urban rides, there's a lot to look forward to. I can't thank B and Crispy enough for putting me on the roster this year. I've raced with these guys in the past during some of my best seasons and fondest memories and I'm expecting a great year of racing and fun rides to come. I hope everyone's training is coming along well, it's really the only thing I'm worried about since the only time we get any exercise around here is when we're in a fight. It'll come back quickly, I hope, as the very least I can do for the team to repay going out on a limb for me is to post up a couple wins. Train hard, I'll see y'all in the springtime.
JC

Snowy night ride.

2007-02-03T16:03:00.000-05:00

Amanda and I went for a night snow ride on Thursday at the tree farm knowing this weekend would be to cold, for us anyway, to ride. It was a great ride. I think she had a good time since it got her off the trainer and it was her first trail ride since Iceman. I’m hoping to ride again this coming Thursday since the temps should be back up into the mid 20’s. Its 12 right now with a -15 wind chill at my house in Novi. The high Sunday is only expected to be 5! -Bryan

Team Bike

2007-01-31T19:33:00.000-05:00

OK, not really. Came across this at the auto show a couple weeks back and it was love at first sight. Then I got on it... oh my. I think I discovered what I was meant to do on this planet- ride this bike across Baja Cali. Unfortunately the snowplowing gig has not turned out to be as lucrative as I had hoped so I don't think it's in the budget anytime soon. But a girl can dream, right?!

Snowy ride

2007-01-29T14:13:00.000-05:00

Wow! This past weekend is the first time I got off the trainer in the basement and went for a ride outside. I rode Sat and Sunday at the Novi Tree Fram and the winter trail rocked!!! Crispy and I have been working a bunch on team stuff and the new 2007 team will be announced Wednesday. Its going to be a great year! -Bryan

Happy New Year

2007-01-02T19:51:00.000-05:00

Bryan and Scott started the year off right riding in the Flying Rhinos Polar Ride on New Year Day! Stay tuned later this month for the announcement of our 2007 team!!!!

Email from Iraq

2006-12-11T08:53:00.000-05:00

Jon Cross sent this along to us from Iraq:

Hey Crispy, hello from Fallujah.
First things first- I’m safe and it looks like we’ll remain that way for a while. We’ve been here for 6 weeks and have done OK. We’ve taken a couple knocks, gotten into some hellacious fights, and we’ll be coming home without a couple of our boys, but all things considered, we’ve been doing well. On a kind of odd note that you may find interesting- I don’t care for the issued eye protection we use. They are these cheap ass sunglasses that provide ballistic protection from shrapnel etc… but they are not that great. Anywho, I mentioned this to my dad and I ended up with a care package a few weeks ago that had the oddest set of Rudy Project lenses I’ve ever seen. I didn’t know that Rudy Project even made ballistic eye pro, but I’ve been rocking a pair of Ekynox S with ballistic lenses made out of a bulletproof polycarbonate for a couple weeks now and they fucking rock. Basically they are just Rudy’s- they are clear, don’t scratch, and don’t fog up, but have the added bonus of being able to stop flying bits of metal from killing or blinding you. The next time you talk to your guys at Rudy Project make sure and let them know that I raced with their glasses for 5 years and now I’m using them in

Iraq-

customer for life!

But moving on. My dad sent me the iceman results and some stuff from collegiate nats. When I left for CA last year I honestly wasn’t sure that I would race again, at least not seriously. I will always ride, but I think I needed this break from the racing scene to reevaluate my priorities and really find that will and drive to train again. To make a long story short, I’m coming back. It will be a while before I’m ready, but I’m coming back dammit. The XC race bike project I’ve always had kicking around in my head will be a reality in May, and in July I’m planning a 3 week road trip for CO, NM and UT- the mother of all training camps. After that and a few weeks on the road bike I think I may be ready to start making an appearance again, but I won’t show up until I am ready to win. I’m thinking Iceman as a target race for next season, and I’m reasonably sure that I can get a late entry with one of those “best excuse” letters.

For me, XC, CX, and maybe some DH only though, no more bullshit road races with a bunch of gram counting self infatuated Euro-tools. It’s time to get back to the real roots of this sport, what I loved in the beginning, XC racing. I’m thinking Bloomer, Stony, and Ft Custer, dirt plastered on sweaty legs and lungs that ache and burn and that smile that just won’t leave your face in spite of the ache running up and down your legs. I’m remembering a sprint finish at the 24 hours of Boyne and kamikaze DH shuttles on a piece of shit hardtail in NC, missing the start at the bloomer xc and blitzing up through a playground onto the trail to take the holeshot and the win anyway. I’m thinking of the good days, the old days, the all or nothing days where you don’t show up to place, you show up to win and you don’t quit until you’re there. I never realized how much I loved it until I was taken so far away from it. It’s been 13 months since my last race, but I can’t wait to come home to start again with a blank resume and a clean slate. Thanks for reading my long ass sleep deprived starved rant and I hope one of you guys will be able to help me out with a ride for May. Good times to come bro, guaranteed. I have to get rolling, busy times here as always. I’ll be able to check me email every few days here so keep in touch bro. -JC

The Naughty List, Santa and The Boss

2006-12-09T20:30:00.000-05:00

So in case you're thinking you accessed the wrong blog- you didn't. Did we mention that since winter is approaching our blog entries will be strictly about snow and ice...
OK, so none of that is true. The image actually does have something to do with bicycles... can you guess what it is? Probably not so I'll make it easy: Santa's not comin' through with the Stab Supreme so I've come up with a plan to make the extra cash I need. That's right, it involves big trucks and deep white stuff. Now if NOAA could just give up on their el Nino prediction we might just get some snow action around here!

New Kona Factory Store!

2006-12-03T22:20:00.000-05:00

Just in time for Christmas!!!!
Get Your Kona Swagg!!!!
http://content.konaworld.com/webstore/
-Bryan

Can't get enough of Rays!

2006-11-27T21:23:00.000-05:00

Me, Crispy and our superstar biker chic Amanda went to Rays on Sunday. Crispy was trying out his jump bike for the first time and loved it. (Check out the angry face though). One of the newest members of the Kona Midwest Team was there tearing it up, headless photo. Watch out in late December or early January for our official announcement of the 2007 team. We have some exciting changes coming!!!!

Crispy in the foam pit. Work in Progress! :)

Amanda on the Double Teeter, Go girl.

New Mystery Kona Midwest Rider!

Kona Midwest Racing

2006-11-14T14:12:00.000-05:00

So to answer a freinds question. Yes it will be done soon. You see my dirt jumping freind Thomas has been asking when my Cowan will be done for a year. Finally I ordered a fork and can steal the cranks from my Stinky Bike because she is retired. I have everything else! So I will have an honest to god dirt jumping bike soon!

I can't wait to try it out at Rays!!

-C-

Grassroots DH and Iceman!

2006-11-06T06:44:00.000-05:00

What a great Iceman weekend, I did some shooting for velonews, http://www.velonews.com, (look for Iceman coverage). Amanda won some cash taking 2nd in the womens singlespeed class. Jim placed respectable in his class even on tired lages after flying back from England to race. Crispy, Jamie and Justin had good rides in the pro class, dan had a good singlespeed run and Eric had a respectable expert race. The the underground DH race the next day was a blast!!!! Great people, great weather and great riding! The photos are from the DH (Thanks for taking some photos Jim). -Bryan

Amanda Wins takes 2nd in womens ss at Iceman!

2006-11-04T19:34:00.000-05:00

Video at Rays

2006-11-02T09:39:00.000-05:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuyPlWg389A
I forgot I shot this at Ray's back in January.
I also finally joined you tube and am trying it out. -Bryan

Kona Midwest Racing

2006-10-11T10:12:00.000-04:00

Boyne Mountain Escape and the State Championships

It was an really good weekend and the DH was a ton of fun. I made a couple of mistakes(went off course twice) but felt I raced really well. Amanda did really well in the first race. The 2nd race was a much tougher course and even more fun and rowdy. It had this huge double between two trees that I skipped cause I only got to preride twice. That cost me some time. Amanda stacked it right before the double trying to get to the ride around, but had a good race. Adam Rapheal again killed it in the Mens race taking 1st in both events. Afterwards, they offered a $5 lift at Boyne highlands for a couple hours. So we went over there and rode. They are doing a lot of good work there and the riding is really good. It was a perfect combination of jumps, skinnys, & drops. Boyne Highlands is a place you need to ride.

The XC was so hard. I was exhasted and dehydrated from riding the day before. It was g
ood training though.

I took 11th in DH 1 & 2 and 11th in XC. I guess my lucky number 11 was the place for me.
Amanda took 2nd in both DH 1 & 2 and 4th in the XC. She pinned it at the highlands riding well above what I have seen her ride before! I have pictures of Amanda with all her trophys and Cash.

On another note, the weather is crap today. I did ride in and hit my commute goal of 2000 miles today!! I've rode to work 40 times this year.

Later,

-C-

Newest stunt

2006-10-01T13:44:00.000-04:00

Crispy helped me finish up the newest stunt in my yard. It need a few slight tweeks but looks cool and is fun and thats all that matters!

Kona Midwest Racing

2006-09-26T10:24:00.000-04:00

Major Bummer.

Found out Shirlee Finch, the outgoing, bike rippin, acrobatic, super fast bicycle racer took a digger while walking her Dog. Shirlee has raced all year and been at more events then anyone. To think she went out walking here dog is a bummer. Everyone is pulling for her Speedy Recovery in here effort to get ready for Iceman!!

Not to much news today. I am up to almost 2000 miles commuted into work. I just need to ride in three more days and I will be there. It was cold this morning and dark most of the way.

I am thinking about doing intervals on the way home cause I need to tune up for Iceman!

Have a great ride!!

-C-

Kona Midwest Racing

2006-09-18T15:52:00.000-04:00

Kona Midwest Racing

Jumping Dirt was what Bryan & I did on Sunday at Matt's place. Matt has a sweet back yard set up with a large set of jumps, a small set, a huge skinny(that we rode both ways for the first time), a 6 foot drop, & a smaller 3 foot drop line. We dug a little to help Matt out and pretty much rode until we were tired or the bikes broke. Bryan took some pics and I hope he posts a few.

I hope my dirt creditability is back up now, cause Amanda thinks I am becoming a roadie with commuting to work and all. Not me. But I have put in 35 days riding to work for about 1750 miles commuted this year. Good Iceman training though.

Kona has its new catalog out in a sweet online version. For sure the bike I will be getting is a full on DH bike. I need a stab.

Okay...... Looks like a ride in the rain today on the way home.

Later,

-Crispy-

Eyes Up!

2006-09-10T06:25:00.000-04:00

Myself, Amanda and Crispy did some stunt riding on Friday night and I shot a few photos after the sun set. Be careful girl you might just be stepping over into the dark side and become a freerider! :) YESSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!

Lesson Learned at Maybury, Maybe!

2006-08-26T19:51:00.000-04:00

Ok so I know better then to try and race on sub par gear but I really don’t have any extra cash to spend and riding with a worn out drivetrain caught up with me. I had to change my rear derailed last night to the low end SRAM 4 because my SRAM 9 crapped out. Also my cassette has been giving me problems for over a week and I though I could make it through one more race, WRONG! The first 5-10 minutes of the Maybury XC race went as planned and then my race was a total disaster! Maybe the worst race I have ever had! My start was almost like I wanted it to be leading everyone out to the bottom of the climb then going into the singletrack at the top of the climb in fourth place. I stayed right with the leaders then made a sweet pass through the first rock garden that the others rode around. So now I’m in 3rd and right on the wheel of the 2nd place racer. Then my first mistake, riding to close and not being patent. (Well this was my second mistake; the first was making sure my drivetrain was in top shape so I had a chance to compete.) So I went wider in a corner then I wanted slid in the mud some which was fine until I high sided and slammed to the ground. (As I write this my butt and hip really ache and the pain and tingling is going down my leg. I guess I hit even harder then I thought.) I didn’t lose any places at this point but it took me out of my rhythm, my hip and butt hurt and I was real mad at myself for crashing on a trail I know so well. Then I was just was too tired to hold the pace because of not being fit enough and sick all day yesterday. I had this illusion and hope that if I survived a hard start I might pull out a good race. Not much climbing at Maybury but you are “working” hard the whole time. Crispy told me, “Bryan I know you are frustrated and disappointed with not feeling well this week and not sleeping much. So just go out hard and see how long you can hold it. Whatever happens happens.” So I did. I gave it my all on the start and first lap but new I was in trouble very early in the race. I never planned on winning but thought if I rode smart I could squeak out a top 3 finish somehow. Like I said in the back of my mind I thought and hoped I could make up for my lousy week and lower fitness with good singletrack riding. I didn’t! So I faded back to 7th or 8th place with the other riders gaining every lap with my butt and hip getting more painful from the crash and part of me decided I was done racing. I would NEVER just quite so I would limp in for the rest of the laps to finish and maybe, just maybe get a second wind on the last lap to catch back up or not lose more places. Then my rear cassette and hub started making real bad noises and using them one to many times came back to haunt me. My drivetrain blew up. Busted derailleur hanger, bent and busted derailleur, twisted chain and this all started with that damn loose and jammed cassette. Now I was done. My first mechanical DNF ever in 10 years of racing and my first DNF ever period! I think it was bad karma following me, not for voicing my opinion on things I didn’t like about how this race was set up but for being so obnoxious about it. Maybe I learned a lesson, but probably not. I am very frustrated, irritated and angry with myself. -Bryan

Kona Demo at Maybury State Park was a blast!!!

2006-08-23T23:29:00.000-04:00

We had a blast at the Kona Demo out at Maybury in Northville, Michigan. Mark and Michelle rock!!! Went for a real fun ride after the demo. Remember the Demo will bhit the Poto on Thursday afternoon. Go to http://www.konamidwestracing.com for more info!

National Races Utah and Colorado Photos

2006-08-17T16:26:00.000-04:00

I got all the National Utah and Colorado race Photos up.

http://dansypniewski.smugmug.com/gallery/1784815/1

just copy and paste.

Kona Factory Demo Tour is coming to SE Michigan!

2006-08-16T07:42:00.000-04:00

Lock up your kids! The 2006 Kona Bicycles Factory Demo Tour/Race Rig is coming to SE Michigan NEXT week!The Kona Midwest Mountain Bike team is hosting Kona Bicycles Factory wrench Mark Matson (aka Matt Markson) and DH studette Michelle Camp (broken ribs and all) and will be hitting up a few venues here in the Great Lakes State.Come on out and Demo the best mountain bikes around!We will be at Maybury State Park on Wednesday August 23rd. Demo rides will be from 3-6 PM then we are going for a ride around Maybury a few times at about 6:30.Thursday the crew will hit up the Poto for the normal Thursday night ride. Again the demo will run from 3-6 and then everyone will hit the trail at 6:00!!!If you miss those days we will be racing at the Maybury XC race on Saturday so stop by and say hi and check out the Kona bikes then!!!!
www.konaworld.com
www.konamidwestracing.com

Nationals at Snowmass

2006-08-14T12:41:00.000-04:00

Well here we are the Brian Head and Snowmass Nationals are over. Kinda sad cuz that means it almost time to come home. After camping, staying in the Kona Factory Team Condo, then camping in the rain we thought it was time to get a hotel so we sprung for the Days Inn by Crested Butte, I pretty sure you Know were gonna do some riding there.

The Snowmass course wasn’t as hard as Brian head, but then it rained hard Saturday, then again during the night. Oh the tent didn’t leak this time and we didn’t wake-up to a small pond around the tent either, but it was cold! And not having enough blankets wasn’t fun either! So Sunday morning when we got moving about 5:45-6 it had just stopped raining and was about 50-degrees, everything muddy and cold, which isn’t a fun way to start a race. Amanda broke her bottle cage, my grip came off the bar, so we had to fix those problems then it was up the road to the start line which we almost didn’t make our starts. I went off and it felt like a Michigan start. About 100 people. All the expert men up the mountain. The course…20-minutes up the mountain then into the single track climbs, which were about almost impossible, due to the mud and slippery rocks. Finally after about 30-minutes of single track climbing we came into a single track section that was so muddy it was like riding Bloomer or maybe Addison after a hard rain! Slippery as all hell, but with a lot more sharp rocks and roots. Then some more climbing then a crazy decent down a trair that was mainly used by equestrians, so it was concaved and very very dangerous. Amanda and I both too a couple of falls in that section, Amanda taking the worst. Then finally the last decent before the end of the lap and up the hills again, but my erratic shifting and the mudd build up caused my chain to break, I was not happy.

But Super “D” I still can’t get no love! Last weekend I get a flat and this weekend I lost my chain about 50-yrds before the finish line, so I was left to run up the final hill getting passed by 2 people finishing 4th. The course description was for the Super “D” course was Cross country fit and Downhill fast. The start is like a Michigan XC start, ball out off the line but for only a 12-13 minute race. My start running with our bikes sucked! Getting on my bike about 10 people back. But I made time and places with the 44t-11t The course was sweet! So fast in one spot I hit 45mph, lost of switchbacks, a few technical climbs, a long road climb. Glad I put on the down hill 2.3 tire cuz it rained before this race too! But I rode the course perfect. DAMN START! DAMN CHAIN!!

Dan

Yeah, XC was rough. Waking up on the mountain in the freezing cold rain and discovering that there is no propane left to make breakfast or coffee is bad news before a race. The only warm-up I had was climbing up to the start line. I think everything got worse from there- I couldn’t drink or take in any food and totally bonked. Had to be the worst I ever felt during a race. Glad its over. Evil mountain.

I was not feeling up for Super D at all. Blacked-out in the parking lot after my XC race- yup this is the worst day ever! But I got it together and went for a practice run on the super D course. One was enough for me- my legs were done and I was feeling terrible. Just wanted it to be over with. I think nerves were definitely a factor here since I learned that if I take 1st my points for this race are doubled and I had a chance at beating this chic who was currently first in the series and had done one more race than me.

I had a horrible start- couldn’t get on my bike then bashed my shin with my pedal. Watched 5 girls with cyclocross backgrounds jump on there bikes no problem. Caught them on the single track and was stuck. Knew my only way out was to pass them on the climb- not easy on my beast of a bike. Actually I think I almost died but anyway… had two more girls to catch on the downhill. Passed the one and then came up on the girl in front in this corner with a sketchy pro-line. Knew it was my only chance so I remembered Crispy’s words, “Eyes up” and I pinned it. All that was left was the descent through the downhill course (so fun, btw) and then a climb back up to the finish. Done, finally! These races and traveling and camping has been stressful but I think it was worth it!

-Amanda

Ore to Shore - The Justin Perspective

2006-08-14T11:39:00.000-04:00

2006 has brought me to my first O2S race and it's been a memory all right. Warming up my legs felt good and I was able to stage in the preferred start area. The race started and I was settling into a comfortable position going from the road, transitioning into the dirt/grassy area. Then it happened. While riding along in the grassy area, what seemed to be the Hand of God slapped the rider in front of me and he just went down. Being that I was right on his wheel, I was able to share his fate as I unclipped and prepared for impact. This was a less than optimal situation for me to be in. I'm scrambling to my feet just hoping that the whole field doesn't run over my poor bike. I pick it back up, hopped on and just start tearing ass along the left side though the tall grass trying to make up as many positions as I could before it started to get too stretched out. Riding on the edge of lactic blow out I'm pushing though the sand till I start catching back up to riders I know. Jamie and I work together for a little bit trying to find a half way decent line though all the maddening sand. He and I eventually catch up to Terry Ritter and Pete. All 4 of us are supposed to get bottles from the same person and that thought crossed my mind for a second wondering if we would still all be together at that point and how pissed Katie would be trying to hand up to 4 guys at once. Then I remembered how pissed off I was and pushed harder. Pete and I eventually moved up a bit till we were moving along with a small group taking turns pulling. Then I caught site of an orange Bell's jersey. Working hard I bridged up to that group and was greeted by Jason Lummis. By this time we are within view of the huge shale hike-a-bike hill and we can see the lead group working their way up it. Lummis calls out to me "Dusty if you run it you can jump onto that group". Filled with glorious inspiration from Jason I charged up the hill to hop onto the back end of that lead group. Finally I'm back where I started out and my legs are just burning. The group was fast moving but kept surging and slowing like a pack of roadies. Robert Herriman was getting a little agitated with the lack of spine in the group. I could completely understand, but given how bad my legs were hurting I wasn't about to take lead. I stuck with this pack for quite a while and actually started getting a little worried that I might have missed Katie for my hand up as I was pretty much out of anything to drink. Just then we come out of the trail to a paved climb where Katie was standing, with a bottle in hand. With a new source of life blood in the form of a blue liquid I was back at it trying to hang on. More and more into the woods we rode, plowing though the sand. I HATE sand! Really it started looking like finishing was just who was just going to survive this race. I've never seen so many mechanicals in a race. Quite a few riders double flatted or had dérailleurs mate with a rear spokes. Eventually I had to take in some food and when I went to pop a Gu that's when a gap built. :-( Slowly riders started falling off and the line became pretty stretched out. I manged to stick out the rest with about 1 mile to go getting a terrible cramp in my left hamstring which really brought out the angry face. Hitting the pavement I came up on a guy who, as I passed, tried to hang on to my wheel. No even thinking of letting that happen, I grabbed the center of the bar dropped my head and just cranked as hard as I could. Made my last turn and comfortably crossed the line in 12th place. A pretty good experience all around I would say.

-Justin

Nationals- 8 days down and 8 to go!

2006-08-08T22:07:00.000-04:00

For those of you wondering, we are alive and well. To state the obvious, the riding out here is phenomenal. Our first stop was Brian Head, UT for the NMBS race. The XC course was 27 miles of fun, well except for the 1800 ft of climbing in the first 4 miles reaching about 12,000 ft of elevation. During my race I came around a corner and there was a big, brown, shiny cow’s butt in the middle of the trail. After realizing I wasn’t hallucinating I noticed 2 more cows on the side of the trail. Free-range cows on the course- that’s a first for me. My goal was to finish the 27 miles which I thought I did, but after I crossed the finish line I realized I missed a turn and went off course about a ¼ mile before the finish chute. So I turned myself in for a nice DNF- damn. Now for the real fun- Super D. The course was sweet, a lot of climbing for the big bike (mine needs to go on a diet- STAT) but wow was it rippin’ fast on the descents! The race was tough- the start was a sprint on your bike uphill which was so, so hard especially at altitude. Glad I survived it all. Now on to more fun in Snowmass, CO.

-Amanda

Yeah all Amanda had to say pretty much applied to me too! Oh the 2000 lbs bull and the cows! That was the weirdest things I have ever seen and probably will while racing my bike. Thought I needed to eat some gel for something. The XC course was Sweet! Just what I like! some of the about a mile in the woods felt like PLRA with the rolling hills roots and rocks, but that didn’t last long. Then came the red dirt roads. I some how cought a few pro women, that was a nice change, some of you guys know what I’m talking about! Besides all that the XC course was HARD!!! And hell at the same time! But I’ll do it again! Oh yeah I got 9th. The Super “D” race was fun. Even though we were coughing up lung tissue after the race! The rain pre-riding it wasn’t nice. I was stuck on a 20-minute chair ride in the hail and rain. Then had a 15 min ride down the mountain. The race…I had a great start was up the hill second but lost a spot to a guy on a XC bike then flatted, but rode it out and still didn’t get last! After this great coffee at Starbucks its off to Snowmass to stay in the Kona-Pro condo, how I hooked that up I don’t know! Mark is awesome! Oh yeah Amanda just reminded me that last night we stold Georga Gould’s campsite for those of you that don’t know she’s one of the many hot girls that ride for Luna.

Dan

And a link to some photos http://dansypniewski.smugmug.com/gallery/1755024/1/86930445

MORE WAM stuff with PHOTOS!

2006-08-04T22:51:00.000-04:00

What a great ride!!!
Click http://bryanmitchell.com/06wam/wam.html for 9 pages of my favorite photos I shot.
I shot over 2000 images!
This was my first WAM 300 tour and it won’t be my last. I really enjoyed the ride, the people and helping a great organization. I shot close to 2000 photos that I hope Make-A-Wish will be able to put to good use to promote next years 20th WAM! The last 20 miles of the ride were some of the coolest 20 miles I have ridden. I was in a group of about 30 rides including some of the great people of team Blizzard. We were all tired and hurting but you could feel the excitement and electricity in the air of finishing such a great challenge and our pace picked up. These miles were emotional for me. Because I was tired, because I was thinking about what I accomplished in 100 degree heat, I was thinking about the kids who we were helping, thinking about my kids, thinking about life, thinking about what I am grateful for and thinking about what I should change. I felt a tear run down my cheek. Riding into the finish with everyone cheering was a nice reward to a long ride as well.
More random thoughts on the ride:
The mass start and taking over the streets of Traverse City.
Looking down and seeing my temp gage reading 99 while riding.
Seeing the same gage read 106 when I was stopped and baked on the hot asphalt.
That hill before lunch on Friday.
Sleeping outside under the stars.
The headwind while climbing on Friday.
The tailwind on Saturday.
Riding with team Blizzard and team Alex
Riding through the spray of giant sprinklers watering a corn field.
Pulling Lisa back to a group after she lost her chain on a climb and catching them just before they stopped at a rest stop. We laughed about working so hard to catch back up.
Hitting 40 mph on one of the downhills.
How bight orange my Kona Jake the Snake cross frame is.
Being referred to as “Kona Man” or “Camera Guy.”
All the kind words and encouragement people gave me about riding and shooting photos at the same time carrying the photo gear with me.
Beating the storm on Sunday.
Watching riders finish in the rain, you rock!!!
Randy the bike doctor, he rocks!
Pigging out at dinner.
Air conditioning!!!
The great sunrise on Saturday and Sunday.
The fog on Friday.
I think I now like road riding much more! But I am still a mountain biker!
Getting maybe 3 hours of sleep Thursday night.
Kevin on his 3-wheeler!!!
Missing some photos or just being to exhausted to get the camera out.
Sleeping on the bus to Traverse City
High-fiving some kids along side the road in one of the small towns.
The dog that chased our 30 plus rider group then cut right through the middle and know one hit it or crashed.
Water!!!
Gatorade.
Getting my medal.
Being sad it was all over.
-Bryan

WAM!!!

2006-07-30T22:26:00.000-04:00

What a great ride!!! 300 miles in 3 days raising money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Michigan in the wish a mile 300 bike tour. I shot a ton of photos and have some great memories. I am very tired and have been packing to take my kids camping since I got home erlier today. I will be gone all week but will try to post more about the ride.
-Bryan

Utah and Colorado Nationals

2006-07-27T11:44:00.000-04:00

Well in 4 days this Monday Amanda and I will be leaving for Brian Head Ut. and Snowmass Co. NORBA nationals. What a great feeling! I don’t think I could be more excited since I have never ridden out west beside in the snow, but I’m sure I’m gonna love it!

Amanda will be fighting for the National title racing in Super “D” on her new CoilAir (now we have three matching bikes) that is being delivered to a bike shop on Moab called the Poison Spider Bike Shop. LOL.. I think that is what she should name the bike! Oh and XC.

Me, I be trying to medal racing Super “D” and placing top 10 racing XC. Oh and staying injury free!

KMR wins the first ever Novi Tree Farm team relay time trial!

2006-07-23T20:24:00.000-04:00

the CoilAir

2006-07-21T21:49:00.000-04:00

yup I got a new bike and is it SWEET!!!!

Some Press for Bryan

2006-07-20T08:46:00.000-04:00

There is an article in Todays Northville Record about me riding in and photographing this years Make-A-Wish Foundations Wish A Mile (WAM) 300 miles bike ride fundraiser. You can still donate, please do! - Bryan
http://www.observer-eccentric.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060720/NEWS12/607200677/1029

Try this online photo lab!!!

2006-07-11T20:24:00.000-04:00

Great news. I did some test prints with this photo lab and they were real GOOD!
Good quality, good prices, fairly fast shipping.
Go to:
http://myphotopipe.com/
-Bryan

What a guy!!

2006-07-10T23:39:00.000-04:00

Our Kona rep Dale plant was in town this week and we finished his trip with a fun and fast ride at Maybury tonight. Me, Crispy, Dale, Kevin Laroe and Gus!!!! We then ate an AWESOME grilled chicken dinner my wife Alice made. Dale is such a cool guy and unlike some bike reps a GREAT rider. We did this cool urban ride in Detroit on Sunday with Todd Scott showing us around the "D" but like a dumb ass I forgot my little camera. Dale also won his expert age group at the Boyne Marathon!
Good Times! -Bryan

No fireworks here, just stunts!

2006-07-04T20:11:00.000-04:00

Amanda, Dan and Crispy came over to my place on July 4th to try out the stunts in my backyard. Dan tried out everything while Amanda worked on skinny riding and kept at it untill she nailed a section a couple times in a row. She has got to be the most AWESOME biker chick I know!!!! I rode ok but managed to smash my face on one of the skinnys when my front wheel fell off, no major damage though. I'm just as ugly as ever! - Bryan

photos

2006-06-20T10:14:00.000-04:00

Well we survived Vermont and Mt. Snow Nationals, what a fun week it was! What a great two weeks traveling and racing! Don’t really have to much time to write much, but here are some photos for the Mt. Snow trip the men and women’s Pro STXC, XC, naked Crit, and other photos of us just having fun.

Mt. Snow Vermont National photos- pick me

Back from Mt. Snow

2006-06-19T22:40:00.000-04:00

Finally back in Michigan from a great weekend of racing. There were lots of Michigan racers out there and it was good to hear lots of friendly voices around the course. The racing started off for Justin and I on Friday for the semi-pro XC. We both had a bit of a rough start off the line and had to really work hard through the large field throwing elbows up the climb. Unfortunately a rider stacked it in the first bit of single track right in front of me forcing me off my bike. Once I got back on I noticed the chain dropped. While fixing it, I watched in dismay as the entire field rode right by. Ugh! That misfortune made for a frantic first lap as I patiently charged through the field with good legs picking my opportunities. I covered quite a bit of ground from the dismal start and my race was looking pretty good. Well, that didn't last too long as a front flat at the start of my last lap had me off the bike again. A "quick" fix and I was going again only to be off the bike again 20 minutes later with a second flat midway down the downhill. Doh! I decided to try and finish it out, being the last lap, and ran the downhill - not fun in biking shoes btw. I finished the race running, no walking, across the line. Justin rolled across a strong 15th. Way to go dude!

The short track finished the weekend's festivities. Justin and I lined up in 90 degree full on sun blast heat for our 20 minute torture session. We were baking standing there at the start and knew it wasn't going to get better. We then proceded to pedal our bikes very quickly in circles around the start/finish area chasing other guys doing the same thing trying to remember how to breath and keep it upright. I was towing a chase group for a little while until they all decided to attack me and I got shelled off the back. Bye bye. Justin finished with that group finishing a strong 7th while I rolled right behind in 12th. However, the highlight of the short track was watching the pro men's race. Ryan Treefarm of Kona Les-Gets threw the smack down on a world class field complete with top Euro riders in town. A second lap attack sprung him as he rode the entire race solo winning by over 30 seconds. That was impressive!!

Day 4 XC & Short Track

2006-06-18T12:53:00.000-04:00

Kona Midwest Racing

Well there it is Day 4 final day!! XC just finished up and we started the beer drinking in grand fashion with a 40, 4 molsons, & Thanks to Joe B a couple of Oberons!! We share beered the Oberons. Amanda got her Super D 3rd place way to go!! Dan took a gutsy performance placing 11th in a stacked expert field. Amanda cracked the top 10 taking a 9th place in a very tought field. Eric & Crispy did strong rides in the mens class.

Pete & Justin are racing in 15minutes so will give an update on that later!!

-C-

Day 3 Super D

2006-06-17T10:55:00.000-04:00

What up from Vermont Day 3!! Well this morning was the Super D. 7am practice and 8am race. It was a running start but in the tradition of Super D the start was different then ever before. This time we ran with the bikes about 50 yards up around a poll and then started down. The course was actually longer this year too and included some more of the XC downhill after the start climb. Amanda flated and was working on fixing it while I headed to my starte. Well it was crazy and I was doing really good. Super D is tough cause the XC riders blow by you on the climbs and slow you down on the DH which is so annoying. I made it through the tough stuff and as I was head towards the dreaded water bars my right foot came off and I hit the 2nd one left foot only and down which sent me flying. I now know what it feels like to be that guy flying in the iar after being bucked. The funny thing is how quiet it gets and how peaceful it is flying through the air as you begin tipping more and more forward. But, then theres the ground and oooooh hit and skidded for about 2o feet. Pretty much landed all on my left side and am mostly okay. Still finished up strong coming in 13th. Amanda had crashing trouble too and hurt her knee. But beieng the tough as nails women that she is she rode it out taking 4th in a very tough field.

Justin rode strong in the Semi Pro XC taking 15th. Pete gutted out a tough race that was plauged with mechanicals and flat tires. Way to go Pete and finish your race!!

Tonight................???

Tomorrow am; Amanda, Dan, Eric, and Crispy XC race 8am.

Tomorrow afternoon; 40s party Yeah.

-C-

Great Weather, Great TImes in Vermont!

2006-06-16T19:52:00.000-04:00

Well, we couldn't have ordered up more perfect conditions to ride/race if we tried!

Here we are in day 2 of our VT adventure. Today was the Semi Pro race, which included Justin and Pete. What an incredible race!! They represented Michigan and our team extremely well, both having strong finishes.

Justin picked his way up to a 15th place finish, and Pete, in spite of a flat finished very strong. They were in the midst of an incredibly experienced and fast crowd, and it's great how well they showed these mountain boys that us Michiganders are a force to be reckoned with.

We got some great photos of them racing, and will hopefully get some posted soon. We'll post again tomorrow after the Super D, where we expect Crispy to finish at the top of the pack, and Amanda to defend her first place title.

Mount Snow Pics Thursday

2006-06-15T23:04:00.000-04:00

Travel day today and cleaning up after a preview of the XC course.

Some Pictures!!!

we're here! Vermont Mt. Snow Nationals

2006-06-15T20:58:00.000-04:00

well we got here, thought Justin was gonna kill us all, but we tied him to the bed cover on the truck until he calmed down. the course was a little muddy but in good conditions, some how I managed to hit the ground but my shoulder feels good, maybe its the 1600mg of ibuprophin I took. Chrispy is feeling good and of course Amanda was decending like a National Champ! Eric here too and riding good. oh also saw Pete on our way up the trail. good time so far. time to go get some food and the magic secret weapon Ice cream!

Kona Midwest Racing - Mount Snow NCS Start

2006-06-15T00:01:00.000-04:00

Kona Midwest Racing

Going again! Well the team is over my place and we are all tucked in for the night. It is about 12:00am and we are waking up in just a few hours to get on the road. The truck is all loaded up so once we wake we are just going. Then find some breakfast and a short drive through Canada. Should be at Mount Snow by 3:00pm. It is going to be exciting. Justin, Amanda, Dan & I are driving. The team is going to be doing all the events except DS.

Good Luck to the other MI racers going!!

-C-