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Ore 2 Shore 2017

This weekend I finished my 4th Ore 2 Shore.  I traveled to the Superior state with Bill, AKA Skittles, AKA Star Boy, AKA the head wrench at the Trek Store of Battle Creek.  He taught me some valuable #VanLife lessons from Galesburg to Marquette.  We are not talking about the romanticized conversions of vintage volkswagon Van Life.  We are talking about mid 2000s, heated synthetic leather seat with automatic doors #vanlife.

We comfortable crossed the bridge into a rain soaked and cloudy better than everyone upper peninsula.  The rain continued during our voyage and made for unique race day trail conditions.
The 48 mile point to point race was a mix of sand, dust and knee deep mud “puddles.”  I watched one brave soul completely submerge his bike and body in a murky “puddle” and radically accepted that I would shoulder the bike moving forward.
 
I kept things full throttle and my bike was tolerant of the conditions.  With ten miles to go I lost my number plate and came through the line around 3 hours and 29 minutes.  I rounded up to three hours and thirty minutes with the race officials and called it good.
It was not the result I had hoped for but I am very happy with the effort.
Next up for the Traveling Circus is chasing Michigan Gravel Series Points September 10 and Competing in the Fort Custer Xterra September 30.
Stay Tuned.
Dan
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Will Run For Beer… As Long As It’s Oberon

Will Run For BeerI ran the inaugural Oberun 5k in Ypsilanti, MI July 14th. It was sunny and 85 degrees for the 6:30 PM start. Well organized event, with great swag and after party!

I felt a little fatigued and possibly dehydrated about halfway through the run, but I still managed to finish in 25:17, which put me at 18 out of 122 in my age group!

Matt Wright

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WSI Cycling Represents at the 90th Goguac Lake Swim

On July 15th, the Battle Creek YMCA proudly presented the 90th Goguac Lake Swim staging from Willard Beach on beautiful Goguac Lake. The air was cool, the water was warm and the sun was shining making it a great day for a swim. Participants were able to choose from a 750-meter or 1.15-mile open water swim. There was also a 200-yard short course for children. The 750-meter swim was a new addition and allowed for participation in an open water swim without having to complete the 1.15 original course. This drew many new participants to the event.

Goguac-Lake-Swim

WSI Cycling members Katie Bridges and Holly McKee participated in the 750-meter swim and can be seen in the above photo with friends of WSI Cycling Maggie Wood and Brandon “Bubba” VanderOosten (who both completed the 1.15-mile course). Holly finished 2nd in her age group and Katie took 3rd this year. Great job, gals!

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The 8 Hours of Ithaca Endurance Race Report… (for some of us at least)

Dan and Jeff It isn’t very often that two WSI riders lead an endurance race, but that happened recently at the start of the 2017 8 Hours of Ithaca. WSI went one and two and showed promise for the remaining 7 hours and 40 minutes… but their one-two standing was not meant to be for long.

Dan and Jeff both partnered up with two other non-WSI Cycling riders to race the 4.3-mile loop as many times as they could in the 8 hour time allotment. Unfortunately, Dan’s partner took a nasty spill when he went out for his first lap and bent his front wheel beyond repair.  Instead of going solo for six hours on a really rugged trail, Dan’s team decided to call it a day early and go have a beer and a calzone instead.

However, that was not the case for Jeff’s team, the returning two-person defending champion from 2016 and 2015. The two of them put their heads down and cranked on the pedals throughout the entire 8-hour time allotment until the final bell rang at midnight, racking up over 100 miles between the two of them. When the dust settled, they found themselves in first place again by one lap, completing 22 laps overall (the most of any other team or solo rider for the day).

Dan’s focus now is on putting in some solid training leading up to Ore to Shore, while Jeff sets his sights on the Iceman Cometh Challenge. Congrats to both WSI Cycling riders for their great showing, even if one did involve an early adult beverage and inside-out pizza!

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Headed to “da U.P., eh” for Some Fun (and Running) on Grand Island

kevin-and-katie-grand-isleKevin and I went back to Grand Island to run the Grand Island Trail Marathon and Half Marathon July 22nd. The Island sits among the forests and beaches of Lake Superior’s Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and is simply one of the most beautiful places in Michigan (at least we think so).

It’s an early-morning ferry ride to the Island, then a short wait to start the race. I began my race at 6 am, along with the ultra runners and other early-start marathoners. It was just getting light as we started our run and you could see the sun coming up over the horizon as the starting gun went off.The trails are a mix of two-track trails and singletrack. The route follows the perimeter of the Island, running along the beach sand in places, and climbing up to overlook the sandstone cliffs. The area had a lot of rain, so bugs and wash-outs were plentiful, along with mud and humidity. It was a tough, beautiful course. I set a goal to finish around 6 hours and came close, but in the end, I slugged it out to finish 6:12.

katie-grand-isleKevin started at 8 am for the half marathon finish. Like me, he got to enjoy the humidity (did I mention there were lots of bugs too) during his time on the course, finishing his 13.1 miles in 1:57.

If you’re thinking of heading to this race sometime, here’s a few interesting things about this race to note. The race has amazing and wonderful volunteers, who fill your water bottle at the aid stations (no cups, in fact, everything is pack-in, pack-out). Also, swimming in Lake Superior after the race is divine! Yes, a bit chilly, but after a race like this, it’s a refreshing break and a great way to cool down (quickly). One last note, watch out for the Sasquatch that lives on the mainland! We hear he got to meet one of our other WSI Cycling teammates the week prior. LOL ~Katie (and Kevin) Bridges