The single closest thing to assisted suicide is the Firehouse 50. The mass start citizen WISPORT race is held the first saturday in August. And for some deranged reason, Im hooked on racing this deathtrap. Some people even bring their last rights and a tombstone in the car. Its that evil.

I headed up to Cable with Camilla to stay with Dave Pramann and his wife Mary at their super cool cabin just off of why 63 on friday.  In hindsight, we should have left earlier in the morning since traffic on 35 was a nightmare. However, we did accomplish our goals of eating, getting a ride in the evening, and finally getting some good sleep.

The start time for the road race was 1030. We headed over early for Cams TT start. So I had plenty of time to wander around and get the bike prepped. Overcast weather  was replaced by some sun and nice temps. Just a base layer was needed.

The usual suspects were there: Metza and a few Spring Street boys, Brones brought a nice group, a couple solo strong guys that stood out after mile 30, rich settergren, (pete hanna), Don S(LSC). Just be near the front most of the time and look for the right attacks to follow. Thats what I did. I even took a couple flyers that lead to nothing more than staying warm.

There were many 3 and 2 person groups that lead for maybe a few miles at most, but everything got chased down. I should note, and this is funny, close to the beginning, Pete and I came together and we were chatting about his injury and racing, when he said to me "this is the first time Ive been on my bike since the crash." What? Not only was this his first race, but his first 'ride'...the firehouse50. Was he insane??

So, I put in a nice long effort along Lake Owen Drive. Through the woods with many rollers chasing a group that was just up ahead. The group slowed after we caught them and I was able to drink and eat. That helped.

The race ends with a nice 8 mile stretch along hwy 63 into Grandview. This is where things wind up. Center line rule is ignored. People start yelling. More twitchy handling. Egos take over. A fast downhill and a mild uphill just after leads to the penultimate challenge of entering a hairy 90 degree corner for the finish. An incredibly insane surge left me slightly out of position. I knew i couldnt be top 3 into the corner. I took the inside line this year. Pete Hanna had the outside and found a nice opening for the win. His first try and he wins. I was 8th. RESULTS

So Cam did awesome winning the womens TT. With a chaotic morning and a weird mechanical, she pulled off a nice solid effort. She is bummed they didnt give out huge trophies like they did for the road race.

Big A race this coming weekend. Mtn biking at the Ore to Shore in Marquette, Mi. Awesome race. Tougher than Cheq.