July 2016 – WSI Cycling Team

July 29, 2016November 18, 2017

More adventures from Scott and Kevin

BTR/Maple Hills Road Race

Scott

The 2016 edition on the BTR criteruim featured a wide-open circuit; there was hardly any reason to use the brakes. This favored the riders with a high-speed finish. I did the category 3/4 followed by the category 4/5. A strong field of 45 racers lined up for the category 3/4 race. The pace was fast, among the top 5 riders. The backstretch of the course was a strong headwind. I was stuck on the front, pulling the entire field. I was okay with it at first. Better to be on the front than 40 wheels back, I thought. Here it is. I was in the race. I fought for a top 5 position going into the final corner, but the majority of the field passed me. In a matter of a few seconds my race went from possibly one of the best results of the year, to a 33^rd place finish.

There was nothing special about the category 4/5 race. The pace was slower; throughout the race I studied and observed traffic patterns, to know where to be in the pack at what time so that I was in a good position for the finish. By the final lap I tried to set up in the spot I wanted to be. It didn’t work. I was boxed in the whole last half of the lap. I got 10^th place. For who what there and how the race was I was not happy with the result.

The next day was Maple Hills Race for the Wishes. This was one of the races I was looking forward to the most out of my whole season. The course featured a 17.5 mile circuit with hard punchy hills in the first half and ended with some fast decants, we would hit 42 miles per hour on one occasion. The first lap of the 52-mile race was relaxed. It was nice to get into a rhythm for a few hours instead of trying to hold the wheel at max heart rate in a silly crit. on the second lap of three, coming down a large hill witch followed a left turn, at high speed and close proximity it was sketchy. Almost though the turn someone crossed wheels a few wheels ahead of me and was going down. The trajectory of the rider scraping his skin on the pavement was headed for my front wheel. I did my best to miss him, but his head fell on the left leg and I might have ran over him face. It felt like my whole back wheel moved over a foot. On the last lap of the race as we creased the main hills I attacked and tried to bridge up the guy up the road. After a few minutes of that I was reeled back in. coming into the fishing corners I did my best to get to the front. We made the last turn just over 500 meters to go all together. The field lined up across the road for a bunch sprint. Only a few seconds separated the first position and 40^th. I managed to get a 17^th place finish out of the sketchy sprint finish. I was okay with that.

Kevin

I decided not to race at BTR this year and save my energy for the Cat 4/5 Maple Hills Road Race. My Crit racing has not going well, so I wanted to be fresh for the 52 miles of rolling roads around Lawton.

The race started off sketchy, the pace was surging with riders fighting for position. On the first big climb I heard a crash behind me, luckily I was ahead of it. The next few miles where spent fighting to stay up towards the front. The pace was fast but consistent and I settled in for a long morning ride. A few miles from completing our first lap of three we descended into a left hand corner I was on the right side towards the back when a couple of riders went down. I had to go into the ditch to avoid hitting

Kevin

I chased the leaders into town but could not catch back on and abandoned the race after one lap. A disappointing result to say the least, I should not have let myself to get that far back in the peloton after fighting to get a good spot. It was a rookie mistake that I should not have made. I was probably lucky to miss the crashes and come home with all my skin.

Next year I will come back smarter and maybe a little faster.

July 29, 2016November 18, 2017

Waterloo lived up to it’s name.

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When I first started racing triathlons a number of years ago, I came across this wilderness race, and put in on a to-do for my future, when I felt ready. A truly unique race featuring trail running, lake crossings and road biking, the Battle of Waterloo is a ten-stage triathlon held every other year in Waterloo Recreation Area near Jackson. Turns out, 2016 was the year I was going to make it happen (ready, or not).

About 150 athletes lined up for the 7:30 start. As soon as the horn sounded and we were off, so came the rain. Leg 1 was a short trail run, followed by a quick transition to Leg 2 on the bike. All running and swimming gear stowed in my pack, I pedaled out of the park for 20+ miles. The non-water legs were hilly! Waterloo is a beautiful park, the woods were thick and green and the highway was very, very wet.

Our 2nd transition area was on Clear Lake, and thus began the swim-run x3. A swim buoy held my running shoes and running backpack while swimming, the backpack held my buoy and goggles while running. The rain really came down during the first swim, and it was a unique experience swimming as raindrops pierced the water’s surface. The run legs were mixed single track and two-track roads linking the lakes. Mill Lake, was particularly “wild” with weeds. It was during this swim I heard thunder rolling above – I took that as the “get-going” signal! I was lucky enough to get to the beach and was allowed to proceed to the run, while other athletes had to wait out the weather to swim.

The storm passed during my run, and I never was delayed for the weather. The rain, however, was there to stay for the duration. Another lake crossing and run, and I was back at the T2 area and so very happy to see my bike! A six mile spin and another quick run (Leg 10) and I finished my goal from many years ago, the Battle of Waterloo.

~Katie

July 29, 2016November 18, 2017

The Xterra that wasn’t….

This may be the shortest race report ever…..

Dan Frayer set out to put his hard training efforts to the test at the Ionia Xterra on July 24th. Clouds rolled in along with lightening and storms. The event was cancelled and Dan was hopped up on caffeine with no place to go, which left him feeling like a caged bull. Better luck next time! At least he remembered to get some pre-race shots for the blog.

July 20, 2016November 18, 2017

The Battle Creek Half Marathon and 5k

The first ever Battle Creek Half Marathon and 5k had WSI members involved in all aspects of the race from planning to pacing to lead outs and more! The Battle Creek Half Marathon and 5k, in its first year, brought over 700 runners to the start line. Participants got an up close view of the Field of Flight and Hot Air Balloon Show that is a tradition in Battle Creek during the 4th of July week. Participants even ran right in front of the Thunderbirds which provided a great photo opportunity!

WSI and Custer Cyclery riders took to the start line on bikes to lead out both the half marathon and 5k. It was quite the experience to ride past the Thunderbirds and on airport runways! In addition to the lead out, WSI’s Charles and Danny both ran in the event.

For Charles, the race started at 4:30 am as he helped to set up the event. Surprisingly, he was then able to run his best half marathon time to date, coming in under 1:50.

Danny loved the course, the shirt, the event staff and volunteers. He was impressed by the organization for a first year event and commented it definitely put other long standing events to shame. For Danny, the half marathon was a bucket list item that had never really worked out for him. His lonest run had been 10 miles a few years ago. With an Olympic Triathlon in his back pocket from the previous weekend, he knew the fitness level was there, but it was still uncharted territory for him. His duathlon runs were in the 6.45 minute/mile range but knew that was probably not a good idea for this race – he lined up with the 7.30/mile pacers and that worked out well. Comfortable pace and the two leaders were good to chat with – made the miles go by quickly. A few of the miles were at a quicker pace but that was fine. At 10 miles the legs started to feel the distance and time out running. Staying with this group was not a great idea so he backed off the last 3 miles – pain, pain and more pain. But he kept the pace around 7.45 or so and finished. With all of the turns, my overall distance was a hair short at 12.8 and his watch said 7.30, officially my pace was 7.17 for an overall time of 1:35. For his first half marathon he was super happy with his performance. “I finished 30th overall and 7th in my age group (a bunch of freaks in my age group). I will definitely do it again once all of the soreness goes away…”

Lastly, WSI’s Katie Bridges ran the race too but not for herself. Katie was an event pacer for the 12:30 min/mile group. Her job was to keep runners motivated and help them to reach their goal of crossing that finish line. She did just that with a smile on her face the WHOLE time!

As a race director for this event, I couldn’t be more proud in watching how the community came together and supported this event and loved seeing WSI team mates being a part of it in so many different ways! Way to go team!

~Nikki

July 20, 2016November 18, 2017

No aquabike this time…

Saturday, July 16, WSI’s Matt Wright competed in the 89th annual Goguac Lake Swim presented by the Battle Creek YMCA. For Matt, this event was just the first half of his preferred race; the aquabike. It was a cool July morning with water temps higher than air temps as over 100 swimmers ranging in ages from 7-77 got ready to dive in. This year the event offered 3 different distance options: a 250m swim for the under 17 crowd, a 750m swim new to the event this year, and the traditional 1.1 mile open water swim.

Matt competed in the 750m event and took first in his age group and 3rd overall.