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2018 Melting Man Dirt Road Race Report Recap

Wow, that’s a lot of “Rs” in that post title, eh? WSI Cycling was represented (yeah, another R) at the 2018 Melting Man as we are all anxiously awaiting the warm weather that hopefully is just around the corner. Kudos to Dan and Matt for their hard work! Enjoy the reports…

Dan Frayer

I spent the week leading up to race #2 of the Michigan Gravel Race Series moving my family from Galesburg to Kalamazoo. Many late nights and several hours of manual labor on Saturday kept Sunday’s result in question.

With limited prep time (Had not touched, let alone maintained by gravel bike since Waterloo) I had no front brake, a dirty drivetrain and a few un-identified gritty sounds coming from the metal warship. This did not add to my race-day confidence.

Instead of bailing on the race, I made the decision to eat an entire pizza the night before, drink an extra espresso shot on race day and see what would happen.

Raging speed happened.

I fell off the lead group quickly and settled with a small group of stragglers. A guy with a drop bar fat bike, a 62-year-old beast and a couple guys in my age group. We lost the fat biker in the last pavement miles but stayed close to the finish line.

28/203 total racers.
9/29 in my age group.

Matt Wright Melting Man 2018Matt Wright

Vandalia, MI was 30 degrees and windy on March 25th for this race. I competed in the 24-mile event, they also offer a 35-mile route. The roads were in perfect condition for riding; hard packed and smooth. I was able to hang on to the lead pack from the start for the first 3 miles, then got dropped on one of the hills.

I averaged 14.79 MPH and finished in 1:37:22. This is always a fun and well-organized event. They had sub sandwiches and beer at the after party, a welcome treat after a great ride.

Matt Wright Melting Man 2018

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Waterloo Grit & Gravel

Dan FryaerThe Circus traveled to the Waterloo Recreation Area for race #1 of the MGRS.

The 50k course was a mix of smooth gravel, dicey rutted roads, and ice.  I was happy with my lack of form and 13th place age group finish.

The points will count and I look forward to race #2 next weekend.

~Dan

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Rainy Day; Time To Play

Michigan Mountain Mayhem Gravel Grinder’s 3rd year was warm with a light rain most of the race, making it slippery and challenging with some very long hills! But what a great race and very well organized with a great meal at the post party. I’ll definitely plan on doing this race next year. I was 4th in the fat tire race.

~Dave Goff Sr.

 

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Traveling Circus HellKaat 50 Race Report

Dan Frayer's HellKaat 50 RouteThe Short Story: 29/84 in the Men’s open with a time of 2:52:32.  It was hard.

The Long Story: The HellKaat 50 was race #4 in the Michigan Gravel Racing Series.  Starting at 5 Lakes Brewing in Dorr, the 50 or 100-mile event was a fundraiser for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

The neutral roll out from the parking lot was short and things got real intense real quick once the pavement turned to gravel.  There was a great deal of confusion at the first turn with 100-mile participants going straight and 50 milers turning right.  There were a couple of crashes as people were turning around.  I took advantage to weave through the traffic and hop on with the fast guys.  The 50-mile group split and I was happy to sit in with 15-20 guys that were way faster than me.

That was mistake #1.  I blame my ego. Continue reading “Traveling Circus HellKaat 50 Race Report”