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.