Wow. It has been a year since the last entry. None-the-less, since parting from West Michigan I've been trying hard to keep up with riding in these parts. Not quite so successful... but one of the nearby clubs has been promoting an upcoming video centered around the area and I thought it is an inspiring... from the NEW OM club in Northeast Wisconsin... Enjoy:

Click click click click click...

Pando 2011!

On Saturday, August 13, a nasty storm hit West Michigan about 6am. Driving rain, lightning, thunder, and a forcast of more rain coming told Harv to text other Dirt Dads that "I'm out", referring to backing out of plans to race in the 6 & 12 Hours of Pando bike race near Belding, MI. But the skies suddenly cleared and Tim talked us into doing the race. Harv was not the only one who was hesitant about this decision. The forecast called for 80% chance of rain. Would we be hit again? We decided to risk it.
Marc & Ben were already set up at Pando (winter tubing & snowboarding hill) by the time Harv, Tim, Bob, & Brian arrived. The skis were now clear & blue. The trail was a little muddy but it should get better as things dry out. Marc & Ben signed up for the solo 6-hour race. Harv, Tim, Bob, & Brian entered the 12-hour 4-person team veterans category. In team competition, one rider is on the 4.2 mile course at a time. After 1 or 2 loops, a teammate is tagged and enters the course to keep the race going. The solo riders take breaks if and when they want to.
The race was going very well until mid afternoon when the skies got very dark, the air cooled rapidly, and wind picked up. Then the rain came. Down. And sideways. Hard. Bob for the 4-person team and soloists Mark & Ben got soaked along with all the other riders on the course. The race was stopped for about a half hour but some on the course did not hear this and kept going. (There was no shelter anyway at the time.)
After the race started back up, all riders' jerseys turned brown with mud. Mud-packed chains & derraileurs made shifting difficult and caused chainsuck.

After about an hour, Brent Walk, the race director announced that the trail had become so bad that the 12-hour race could not continue into the dark. It would end at 7pm instead of midnight. We did not hear anyone complain about the decision.

Despite the less than ideal conditions, the race was a success! Marc won 1st place in his category (age 40+ sport) with 12 laps and Ben won 3rd place in his (sport) with 11 laps. The 4-person team also won first place in their category with 15 laps. (I guess I should mention that we were the only entry in this category.)
A taco feast ended the race.
Click on Photo Archive for more scenes of the race.

Eric's back in town.

Eric Graveling was back in West Michigan from Orlando, Florida, visiting family and friends. That included a bike ride on Saturday morning, August 6. Tim & Harv took him south of Hudsonville to Dorr and back for a 35 mile ride. The photo shows Eric & Tim at the start. Harv took the picture. 

Cannonsburg Ski Hill 7-25-2011

JP, thanks for cooking up the dogs! Oh, yeah, we biked, too.
We talked about who's in or at least interested in racing the 12 Hours of Pando on August 13. Let's do this! Camping optional. Good times at past Pandos!

GR Classic, Fort Custer, & Holland 100

Brian, Tim, Kim, & Harv witnessed the Grand Rapids Cycling Classic on July 10, a big group rode Fort Custer on a hot 5th of July, and Brian, Tim, JP, Harv, Ben, and others rode the annual Holland Hundred (also a hot day) on July 17. See more photos at the "Photo Archive" link to the left.

NORTH CAROLINA 2010 Baby!!!!

On April 14^th, 2010 we began our annual adventure to NC – Pisgah NF for 3 days of spring training. Nate, Brad, JP, Brian, Bob, Tim, Marc, Eric (coming from FL “redneck”), Dan (the fisherman), Brian’s wife and one pooch.

First day we rode the classic Clawhammer grind and other trails in Pisgah until we could be rattled to death no more. Next day we headed over to Dupont SF to ride Ridgeline, Airport Run, Eastern Slick Rock. As usual MANY stream crossings and one bath for Bob (Brrrr!)!!! Next day we explored new territory at Bent Creek for lots of fun on singletrack, fire roads, and more stream crossings. Of course, at least 3 of us will not forget “The Wall” at 3mph all the way to the top.

Much fun as always and a little better in shape now !!!

Check out the pictures here!

ICEMAN 2009

On Saturday, five Dirt Dads joined some 4500 (!) bikers for the 20th annual Iceman Cometh Challange mountain bike race from Kalkaska to Traverse City. The weather was amazing, almost in the 60s with partly sunny skies. Here's the Dirt Dads results:

Marc 2:13:11

Brian 2:17:03

Tim 2:19:02

Bob 2:21:08

JP 2:52:53

If I (HP) am not mistaken, all above improved their times from last year with the exception of Bob who was quite sick for this year's race. JP had to take time to repair a broken chain. Great times considering the course was longer than past years at about 28.5 miles. Thanks to Brian & Joni for sharing the motor home, campsite, and food at the finish line. Laura and Harv were also there to cheer on the guys.

Check out more photos by clicking 'Photo Archive' on the left. Look for photo folder 'ICEMAN 2009'.