Das Tour de Frankenmuth- Juniors 10-14

 Friday evening we arrived in Frankenmuth. Me and my family drove through the new part of the course. On race day we woke up early for the race. When I was ready to go I rode my bike down to the start. I did a quick warm up then went to the start, where I met up with my sister and Claire. I watched as all of the other groups go off, while I moved closer and closer to the starting line.

Junior Start- picture courtesy of Rich Kipke

 As they started to count down I got nervous then the race was on. Everyone was rushing ahead I was trying to get in the front group but they were moving too fast for me. I started falling back it seemed like I was alone when a group of girls came up riding behind me. I got in the middle of the group. We were moving at a pretty fast rate trying to catch up to the other group. Near the middle of the race, my sister attacked off the front of the group.  Just then, the Pro/1/2 men passed us.  Our group sped up, caught Kiersen and she dropped off the back.  One girl kept attacking off the front and our group started breaking apart.  

Mid-Race picture by Cristin Robb

Near the finish, we caught up to two boys.   The closer we got to the finish, the faster we went.  Everyone was riding very close together and at times it felt chaotic.  As we turned the last corner, the Cat 3 men were starting to pass us.    I raced down the hill with the men’s group passing within inches of me.  I couldn’t tell where anyone in my group was.  When I reached the bottom of the hill I took off sprinting as fast as I could.  Claire came next to me right at the finish and we had no idea who won.  It was so close and I was exhausted! 

Proof I was exhausted by Mark Hotchkin

Claire and I talked about how crazy the race finished.  When I went to junior rollout I asked the official who won and she said it was me!!  I was filled with joy. 

Podium pic by Scott Kroske

It was a fun day of racing with the other juniors and cheering on teammates and my family.  Loved the race, Drumstick the Chicken, and the jug of root beer that we used to make root beer floats all weekend:-)

The jug of root beer I won!  Picture by Kroske

                 By: Ellie K.

Ada Time Trials (aka Ada TT)

Well I joined Real Women Tri this year to learn more about biking so that I could do a 70.3 triathlon... who would have guessed there are so many different types of events on a bike!! Gravel races, road races, mountain bike races, criteriums, triathlons and now time trials. (Sarah Mac will be putting on a clinic on cyclocross races soon, so another type of race to learn!!Watch for that!!)

Time trials are very similar to the bike racing portion of the triathlon. So if you are thinking of doing a triathlon or two, this is a good competition to do. I would suggest that the Ada Time Trials are the perfect place to learn. The organizers are laid back and excellent teachers. There are many athletes at all levels from the bike with baskets and regular pedals to those killer Tour De France guys with pointy space age helmets and solid (no spokes) noisy wheels!

Ada TT are every Monday night with registration starting at 5:30 and the racing starting at 6:30. You register and it is smart to let them know that you are new to time trialing, as they let you go out at the beginning. They give you a number and a time you will start. You warm up a bit and then go to the starting line. At the starting line you line up by number. Last week I was #2 so I was the 2nd racer to go. Tonight I was 14. (Fast racers go later, as they do not take as long and the race people do not have to wait for them as they are speedy!!)

The clock starts and the first racer lines up. At 30 seconds the 1st racer goes. Then the next biker wheels to the line. At the line you get race ready by clipping in and getting your pedals where you like. You should be in a medium gear. The time keeper gives you the 5,4,3,2,1 and go. There is a person holding you up as you are clipped in and at go, they give you a nice push. You are off and pedaling! This TT is 15 miles and is relatively flat. You pedal down Grand River Drive for 7.5 miles and you pedal back. Easy as pie!!!! Not!! You try to go at top speed the whole way. Of course fast people pass you on  your left. The only rule is you cannot draft, (similar to triathlons). When you get to the turn around you look for cars and cross the road and begin the journey back. At the finish line you yell out your number to the timer and they will adjust your time for the staggered start. (Your actual time will be a 5th graders story problem....excellent opportunities for family math!!)

Why do it?
1) The Ada Time Trials are every Monday (except Memorial Monday) throughout the summer. You pay one fee $25.00 (which is to join the Rapid Wheelman) and you get to race every Monday. So it is reasonable!

2) You get to see your improvement. The organizers keep all of your statistics on their website and you get to see how good you are getting. I hear there is even a prize at the end of the summer for most improved biker! And they do graphs on your improvements etc. Very Cool!

3) Each week you get points. Yes EVERYONE gets points. The slowest person (with baskets and regular pedals) who finishes with the slowest time gets 5 points. The next slowest (who removed their baskets from the previous week ;) gets 10 points, and the next slowest gets 15 etc all the way up to the fastest biker. So if you come out and give it a shot you get points. You could accumulate points while those very fast Tour de France people sit at home.... Hey you could pass them by if you pedal and they do not show!! Points collect through out the season. Prizes are given at the end of the season.

4) You can meet new biking people and support other PINK who are out there riding. You can see the speed of the pink when Sarah RAH! zooms by, and Angie with her very cool space age aero helmet zips past, and Sarah Mac in her Pink Skin Suit  pushes with an awesome time to the finish!! It is great fun.

5) You can get training miles in and have fun at the same time.

6) AND A VERY COOL THING: If you are planning to be in the GRTri (June 9th), this time trial course is on the GRTri route. So you can practice for the triathlon and race at the same time!! A Great Deal!!

Plan to get there early as the traffic in Ada is very slow. The website is: http://www.rapidwheelmen.com/time-trials.html

I really hope that many of you come out and try this! I would love to see you all there! If I can do it, you all can certainly do it even better!

Go Pink!

Respectfully Submitted:
Gail