Wow, was the Michigan race fun! Of course the weather was awesome if you were having a cookout, but hell on the bike. Temperatures rose to 92-95 degrees F, and winds of about 10-15 mph; no clouds and high humidity made it rough with a lot of people dropping early.

The first half for me was my best 12 hours yet, even compared to the flat course of Calvin's Challenge a few weeks earlier. In fact, I was at 174.5 miles after 11 hours, then started on the 7.5 mile night loop.

Although I ended up at 257 miles, I was happy with that. I started getting cramps after about 11 hours so things slowed down. With noone to assist or motivate me, my breaks between laps were longer than they should have been. Oh yeah, I was also still smoking and taking a smoke break every 2 laps.

As for the smoking, that was the last straw for me and this week I did something about it. I went in for Laser Treatment after talking with a co-worker who had done it successfully. I drove 350 miles to Raleigh NC, smoking like a fiend the entire way. I went in for the treatment and haven't smoked since! Not even a craving, desire or a withdrawal symptom. When I had quit before (twice) I was extremely irritable and couldn't concentrate. This time, nothing. It is as if I am simply a non-smoker now! Unbelievable.

In light of this, my work schedule and my weight, I have decided not to enter the Hudson Ramble in New York in July. Instead, I am concentrating on weight loss exclusively. I plan on dropping 20 pounds in the next 10 weeks then doing the New England 24 hr challenge in August. This will put me at about 172 pounds, not smoking and feeling good. I believe I am on the road to my goals and can finally see some big improvements. 2007 is the year I will qualify for RAAM.

I am only doing light riding this week to prepare for Michigan. Hopefully all of the hill work will help, I actually did 26,000 feet of vertical climbing last month. That is over 5 miles, and more than sea level to the top of Pikes Peak twice! Looking at the Michigan course, last year there was 1,000 feet of climbing in the first 71 miles; much less than I have been doing.

One more week until the 24 Hour Challenge in Michigan! I have been riding on Skyline Drive quite frequently and have made some marked improvements. For the rides of 30 and 40 miles, my average speed has increased from 10.4 mph to 13 mph. I am sure that will be noticeable on a less hilly terrain also, since that speed includes over 6,000 ft. of climbing.

On my first Skyline climb some time ago, my uphill average was 5.9 mph, and now it is 8.1 mph. I can't wait to see how this helps in Michigan!

Perhaps the biggest change however is the absence of knee pain! After some evaluation, I made a shoe adjustment by adding cleat shims. These shims have my feet in their more natural position, and for the first time ever, my knees don't hurt after a long ride. The difference was also instant!