Friday after work I pilled into to a car with Dan and Chris from Half Acre, a ton of camping gear and 5 bikes headed for Fort Custer near Kalamazoo Michigan.  The guys have been talking up the trails there for weeks, so when a camping trip was planned on the way home from Levis / Trow last month, I signed up.

Well, we got there, set up camp and talked loudly well into "quite" hours.  So, when the tree cop walked into our campsite, we were already on the out with her and the dozen or so empty containers didn't help matters much.  Chris was the only one actually drinking at that moment, so only one ticket was issued.  We poured out another dozen adult beverages in the name of Michael Jackson and went to bed shortly after, kind of a buzz kill.

The weather was perfect for camping and I slept really well, woke up before everyone, read a little Miller while I cooked breakfast and generally took in the woods.  A few other guys from Team Beer'd were showing up in the late morning, so we all went for a quick ride instead of waiting around making "that's what she said jokes."  Back to camp after a quick loop, the other boys had shown up and we were quickly back out on another ride.

The trails there are really fun.  There are more trail features there than anywhere else I have ever ridden.  Log piles, creek crossings, a latter bridge over a fallen tree, the trail even goes through an old trench warfare training area.  Banked burms that you can whip your back end around on, jumps.  I really had a good time and only fell once.  After completely wearing ourselves out we went in search of somewhere in the shade, near the lake to drink beer-mosas.  We found this cool inlet in the lake where we could sit with our feet in the water and after a minute of worrying about whether the water was clean, I went swimming.  Back at camp, we had dinner, talked a bunch and then got ready for a night ride.  I have only ridden at night once, and this time was a freaking blast.  Going fast in the daytime is fun, going fast at night is even cooler.  A little scarier, a little cooler, the trail is a little more tacky and all the while I feel like I am on the set of the blair witch project.

Again a cool evening meant I slept pretty well and woke up way later than I had hoped to get in my road ride.  Pretty stiff from the trail riding I almost didn't get on the bike at all.  But after a group of guys rolled out for the trail, without breakfast, I forced myself onto the saddle and pedaled out of the park.  It was windy and the first half of my ride was into the wind.  Rolling hills and plenty of sunshine made for a nice effort.  Made a stop on the side of the road for some fresh berries before turning to fly with the wind.  Really it was uneventful until about 3 miles from the campground, where my google maps route put me at a 12 foot fence blocking the road.  Side note: The state park is boardered on one side by a military base.  I pulled out my phone and it said I was where I thought I was and this road led back to the campground.  I just figured that it was blocked to keep traffic from entering at this side of the park.  There were not any "no trespassing" signs posted, and instead of backtracking 6 miles, sidis and spandex were scrambling up and over the fence with my bike.  I rode about a mile of decrepit road before I started seeing the backside of these yellow Federal No Trespassing signs.  Oh crap, we had seen military vehicles driving around the day before and I really didn't want to have to try to explain why I was riding my bike on federal property.  And, oh; THAT'S what tank tracks look like!  Luckily, there was a small creek that was flowing under a fence, out of the base and onto the park side of things with just enough room for my bars to fit under in the water.  Got on some single track and blindly found my way back to the camp ground.  One of the more interesting ends to a training ride lately.

It was a great weekend with some solid riding.  I had a great time hanging out with the guys and having a weekend outside the city.  Monday morning feels like it should after a big riding weekend and I am already looking forward to this coming long weekend!

Side note, have you seen the set of pictures on Flickr from the Library of Congress, as pictured above, that is a entire collection of COLOR photos from the 30's and 40's.  They are almost all large format and incredible!

Photo: Gavin.  The routine is so easily found, I wake before the alarm and turn it off.  Slip into the bathroom and pull on my gear.  Out of the house barely disturbing Julie and the dog, both lay still in the bed, kisses.  There are ten revolutions into the pedals before even hitting the street, which without a doubt will be absent of moving cars, they too are all slumbering.  Easy effort into the loop and over the river, the walls of glass and steel radiate the heat of the previous day.  Crossing Lake Shore Drive against a red light is only now a possibility, eight empty lanes.  Pain is always scribbled on the prescription.  I dare the sun to chase me out from behind the horizon.  The legs finally realize that they are awake and working, pain sets in.  Sunrises' revenge.  This pain slowly transforms into a rhythm and the hurt becomes strength.  Bugs in the teeth, time flies by.  Thirty five minutes from home, waves are exchanged with my first human contact.  The miles whir past with blurred vision and loss of time.  Out of the daze, I am waiting to cross eight lanes again, this time with the light.  That pain is everlasting for as long as it was fleeting.  One last race West through the greens on Adams before chalking up another workout.

Bitter sweet syrup of the gods, darker than Satans' heart, an elixir that keeps my eyes open until tomorrow.

Yeah, that picture again.  I am going to milk it for all it is worth because holy crap am I fucking excited right now.  Just booked our room for CrossVegas at the Wynn for dirt cheap! 5 Stars baby, we should invite JPow and Clinton Sparks over for a hotel party after the race.  Rollin deep!  But as excited as I am, the reality hits me of how much of a effort the fall is.  Flying Southwest because it is only $50 each way for the bike and not $250 on United.  Rental car, hotel, airfare. Expensive.  I promise this year that I will have just as much fun at this race as I did last year, except this time, I am pretty determined to do it on the lead lap, in short sleeves and my helmet will match my kit.

I have talked about it briefly before, but it seems more and more is happening with this event and I am getting me more and more excited for it.  I have not committed to doing any races this summer, except for this one in Augusta New Jersey.  It is going to be cyclocross styled racing at the state fair.

At the end of July, Julie, Chris and I (we have room for one more, any takers?) are going to drive out East to the fair where I am damned near set on finding someone to deep fry me some chocolate covered bacon, all the while racing in a couple cyclocross races.  We are meeting a few friends from out that way, and generally just looking for some good times.  Well, the more I talk with the promoter, the more exciting it has started to sound.

First, he found that there were many people who seemed to be making this their first ever cyclocross race and thought that a beginners skills clinic would be a good idea.  So, he asked me if I'd like to help instruct the clinic.  I thought it was a fantastic idea and jumped at it.  So now, Friday afternoon before racing starts, I am going to be giving out a few pointers at a cross clinic at the fair.  I am pretty excited about that and it should be good for me and the team.

The promoter then sends me a new email with some incentives to try to draw riders for further away.  He is putting on a "7 for 7" promotion.  Where the jist of it is that, if you come from more than 7 hours away from the venue, race registration is seven bucks!  Our hotel is a mere 5 miles from the fair.  They are going to have fireworks Friday night, a run up over a car and I think one of the obstacles might be to out run truck-a-saurus.  Who knows.  I just know I am pumped!