Rider Down

Another Michigan cyclist lost on the road.

At 77, Lawrence "Larry" Walcott loved riding his bike and by all estimates had ridden well more than 100,000 miles in too many races to count.
His son, Phil, said his father was training for the Jalapeno 100 mile bike race in Harlingen, Texas, on Feb. 8 with sea breezes from the Gulf of Mexico propelling him along a state highway not far from Corpus Christi.
The Texas Department of Public Safety reports that the Holland Motors retiree and Korean War Army veteran turned his bike in front of a vehicle traveling on State Highway 188 and was killed when he was struck in Rockport, Texas.
Walcott and his wife of 55 years, Jean, both of Jenison, were staying at an RV park not far from the scene of the crash.
Walcott was pronounced dead at the scene by a justice of the peace and no charges have been filled in the incident.

Roll Call

What's going out there, cruel world? It's February and in the upper midwest we're all cooped-up, counting the days till that big thaw. This deep into the winter there's no way to describe the cabin fever that seeps into your bones. Unless you live above the snow line all I can say is that it's a Michigan thing, you wouldn't understand. What? you say you live even farther North? Well, then I probably come off as a real whining prick. I guess then it sucks to be you.

So what's the going's on these dark days in the 616?

A ways east of here our friends in Dexter (Washtenaw county) are fighting the good fight against a hoard of NIMBY anti trail nazis. Keep fighting, Jones!

There's a new mountain bike team in town. Farm Team Racing promises to promote the cause of Elite weekend beer drinking fast as Hell trail bike racers. Take your bike club membership apps somewhere else, cause Farm Team is invite only. You think you can hang with the Farm Team? Yeah, I don't think so...

Farm Team got itself a race. Couple of 'em. Versluis Snowcross 1 and 2 are in the bag. Results at the Farm Team Blog. Photos over at Jack's.

Were you hoping to race Lumberjack this year? Looks like you're too late! The Lumberjack 100 is full. Sold out in 12 hours. According to "Old Joe" over on the East Side, it's all the fault of a bunch of "chodes!"

The sellout frenzy was fueled in part by all the chatter on the mmba.org bb....a lot of weekend warriors and chodes want to jump on the endurance race bandwagon and don't really care about the full NUE series..

Got that? If you ain't a real pro who races a million ultras a year, you're a frickin' chode who's taking up space. At least according to Old Joe.....or should we call him Art? And just what kind of a guy is Art?

This sounds completeley typical of this guy, but let's review what has lead to his belief that he is of the standing of "Legend". In 1996 he travelled to Australia and won a Masters World Championship in XC (his age group, whatever that was then). Yes, he is a World Champion. In 1997 and 1998 he returned to racing the local mtb Expert scene amongst the "chodes" in 50+ Expert and couldn't win. That's right, one year after an incredible victory he could not win locally in 1997. Two years ago he was diagnosed with DVT (blood clotting in the legs) while training for Leadville in Colorado. Typical of an arrogant person, he drove back home across the country to see his own physician with zero regard for what should happen if he were to pass out or have a heart attack and take out some innocent, unsuspecting motorists. BTW, DVT is linked to the possible abuse of EPO for those that may not know. He is in impressive shape for somebody his age, I would not discount that for a minute, but he loves to let everybody know just how great he believes he is too.

For Old Joe, I'll borrow a quote from your own signature on another board, "Be the person your dog already believes you are". Time to heed your own advice...

EPO, shitty attitude...thanks for representing, Art. Thanks for reminding us all that in every State in America there's some dip-shit who thinks he's better than the rest of us "chodes."



Gotta leave it there. Peace out.

Back From The Brink

Iggy Pop, 32 years ago on the Dinah Shore show. Iggy gives props to Detroit and Ann Arbor.



Then he rocks out, with David Bowie on keyboards and two of Soupy Sales' kids in the band. Thanks to boing boing...



Soupy Sales died last week. The guy was muched loved in Michigan.

Rider Down. Driver Down.

Bad news. Another Michigan man pays the ultimate price while riding his bike on the road.

John DeStefanis was riding his bicycle to meet friends on Saturday night in Clinton Township, but he never made it.

A driver struck DeStafanis, 41, of Roseville, less than a block from his destination, leaving him on life support in a local hospital.

"They found his body in the middle of Gratiot," said his girlfriend Diane Ferschneider.

"They're talking about maybe taking him off life support tomorrow. And he's a father. He's a good man."

DeStafanis has five children, and friends say that despite a rocky past, he had turned his life around in recent years.

Witnesses say a dark blue sports car struck him. It may now have front-end damage.

It's an old story, right? Hit and run. Cyclist in the hospital and close to dead. There's even the local cyclists arguing whether the rider was an ignorant bike salmon or a "legit" member of the lycra set.

But this one ends a little differently than the typical "Corvette Driver Hits Cyclist and Gets Away With It" story.

With police zeroing in on him, the key suspect in a hit-and-run accident that left a bicyclist brain dead took his own life early Tuesday on the bike path outside of Metro Beach, according to police.

A man riding a bicycle on the bike path found the man’s body about 6:35 a.m. near the intersection of 16 Mile and Jefferson. A shotgun the suspect used to kill himself was found near the body, according to the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office.

“He left a couple of notes, one in his truck and one in his home, but I wouldn’t categorize the contents as a confession,” said sheriff’s Capt. Tony Wickersham.

The suspect, a 38-year-old St. Clair Shores resident, was being sought for questioning in an Oct. 4 accident on Gratiot, near Quinn, in Clinton Township that left John Destefanis with critical injuries.

I don't even know what to say. Two lives lost. A cyclist meets his end on the road, and the driver who took him out dies by his own end on a bicycle trail head. WTF?

Vacation Weekend Craptacular

I'm on vacation. Today. Officially. Unlike the Italians or French who take a month long national holiday every summer I'm doing things the American way. taking a week off and I'm going to Vegas, baby! That means gorging myself on $19 buffets. Giant cocktails by the pool. Overpriced versions of off broadway shows.

Before I go there's a few things to lay on the table. Stuff to get off my chest. Yeah, more ranting. And some props.

First off, Sue George gives mad props where props are due to a guy who put the pros on the ropes this year. A working stiff, who punches the clock 40+ hours per week. Christian Tanguy ripped up the pros this year in the NUE Series. He beat almost all of them. At the finish line of the Shenandoah 100 Bishop put it all on the line to beat Tanguy by only 20 seconds. But who was sprinting? Tanguy thought there was 2 miles of trail left! Christian is a down to earth French expat who now lives in Michigan. No pro ride, but the real deal.

"Christian is the revelation of the NUE series this year. His fitness is world class," said fellow competitor and Shenandoah Mountain 100 winner Jeremiah Bishop (MonaVie / Cannondale). "He's opening some eyes for sure."

The 34-year-old Tanguy placed second at the Mohican 100 and the Lumberjack 100 races earlier this season. In August, he finished second at the Wilderness 101 and he won the Fool's Gold 100. Last weekend, he was second at the Shenandoah Mountain 100.

This weekend is race number two of the Midwest Triple Crown, Chequamegon. How does Simonster train for such a race? By Motopacing! Mike Simonson has won The Iceman AND Ore To Shore. But Chequamegon has eluded him. Will this be the year?



While Tanguy is moving up in the world and Simonster is riding his Superfly behind a subcompact hatchback on a gravel road somewhere, the fight against Sport Class Women racers continues.

Why do they always start the sport women before the beginner men? There is always this big, race-deciding log jam in the single track section. It sucks for the guys to be stuck in "traffic", and it just HAS to suck for the ladies to be getting passed all the time.

Yeah, why do they start faster people before slower people? Oh wait. Here's a tip, dude. If you race beginner and the Sport people in front of you are in your way, it means you're not supposed to be racing beginner. It makes for good comedy, though. There's nothing funnier than an internet fight between sandbaggers over trail etiquette.



It could be worse. Instead of being a sandbagging tool who is edging his way into a healthy sport with a cool subculture, the guy could be a right wing closet racist who can't stomach the fact that an articulate black man is the president.

SM100

Early results from the finish line

Men
1. Bishop
2. Tanguy
3. Schalk
4. Jakomait
5. Koerber
6. Draugelis
7. Kuhn

Women
1. Haywood
2. Shogren
3. Lowery
4. Musto
5. Simril

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