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Danny’s 2017 Willow Time Trial Race Report – Podium Baby!

Danny 3rd Place Willow TT 2017I have been racing the Willow TT for about 8 years. It takes place at the Willow Metropark near the Detroit airport. It is a 13-mile race which requires you to circle the park 6 times, and yes… it is important to keep count :). The weather is usually cool and windy with a few exceptions – so pacing is tricky and important. Yesterday was cool and windy so a good warm up was very important.

I warmed up for almost an hour with leg warmers and decided to take them off to race. While my training has been a bit off the last few weeks, I felt really good in the race. I rode a good race but would have liked to go a bit faster (as always). I have averaged over 26 mph there twice but could not pull that out yesterday. 25.4 mph for a 31.10 finish. About the same as last year but 3rd instead of 4th – podium! I will take it for a 47-degree day.

~Danny Wolin

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Jeff’s Yankee Springs Time Trial Race Recap

Jeff and Zoe Cachero
Jeff and his daughter, Zoe, who also participated in the intermediate kids race.

Finally a better day in the saddle! My Yankee Springs Time Trail race went well. I raced the Sport 40 to 44-year-old group for the first time ever. When I started racing, it was in the 25 to 29-year-old category. The course was nice and fast.  The sand traps were uneventful and the climbs were not as steep as I remember. All of this led to a finishing time of 54 minutes. That was good enough for me to place 20th out of 36 in my age group. Fort Custer is next!

~Jeff Cachero

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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”