MUDMAN?!
 |
| The Mudman! Oh, the humanity! |
CARNAGE
IN THE MINION NATION!
HELMET,
WHAT HELMET?
TEAM
TAYLOR PARTY THIS SATURDAY!
Belo
News
November
8, 2014
Traverse
City, Mi. - It had rained most of the week and the prediction for
start time for the 2014 edition of the Iceman Cometh was not looking
good.
Zychmaan
and Sharkman had spent the afternoon checking into their Condo and
scouting out possible pubs for Saturday night, post ride, Minion beer
drinking where the big MSU/OSU game could be watched on big screen
TV's. After all, this is America and big screen TV is what it is all
about! As they reviewed the spots and texted with Brewman who was
also checking out places, it was decided that most of the downtown
pubs would be too small, too crowded or didn't have enough TV's. A
quick Google found a Buffalo Wild Wings on the south side that would
be perfect!
 |
| Danielle Young & Sharkman at Registration. |
After
getting registered, the three proceeded to Team Headquarters for Reb
and Yeti Boy. Yeti Boy was kind enough to invite the three for his
home cooked, pre-race, spaghetti dinner, complete with some of his
home made bread. The dinner was outstanding, as well as the banter
about Minion names and how Zychmaan did not like his
name and wanted
to be referred to as “Fabio” from now on. Sharkman informed him
that thought the name was humorous, he had already had “Zychmaan”
embroidered on his jersey collar and his hair was too short. Other
Minions in attendance were Cool Dad and Hambone, as well as Johnny
Vegas. The riders filled themselves on spaghetti and wine and were
ready to ride! Yeti Boy was sporting his new hat that he got for free at Registration!
 |
| Yeti Boy and his free hat. Sometimes you shouldn't wear a hat even if it is free! |
 |
| Yeti Boys Spaghetti Dinner! |
Sharkman
had promised to blast an email out to the Nation about where to meet
on Saturday night, but when he got back to his condo, for whatever
reason, he could not do an email to the entire Nation from his iPad
and instead, sent the email to a limited number of riders he knew
were in attendance but was sure he had missed a few (after all, he
had a couple of glasses of wine with the spaghetti). In the email,
Sharkman asked them to “pass the word” that they would be meeting
at BW2 on Saturday night.
 |
| The photos don't do justice to the mess! |
As
Styker Guy, with his fat tire bike, Zychmaan and Sharkman headed out,
the rain started to stream off the windshield in rivers and the temp
was not moving in the right direction.
Zychmaan
was first to launch, followed by Sharkman and Stryker Guy.
 |
| Hoosier Boy back at the campsite. |
Sharkman
was in wave 17 at 9:48 a.m. along with Yeti Boy, Gazelle Girl and her
tandem Partner, Richard.
As
the clock clicked down to 9:48, the rain continued to fall.
Sharkman
and wave 17 were off in the rain!
Before
the riders even got out of town, they had to traverse a huge puddle
of water that crossed the entire road, which was a portent of things
to come.
To
say this ride was muddy would be a major understatement. The logging
roads were loaded with water and sand and when the riders got to the
12 mile marker, the mud began in earnest!
Riders
were experiencing major chain suck and bikes were all over the trail
with riders trying to clear the mud from their drive trains. Sharkman
was slipping and sliding and at times it seemed like his GPS was
frozen and no distance was being recorded. Oh, the humanity!
The
carnage was unbelievable where Minions broke chains, derailleurs, and
assorted gear as they rode on.
 |
| Cheese's derailleur, gone! |
Brewman
and Rainman both broke their chains, with Brewman having to drop out
at Williamsburg and Rainman being close to the finish had to run his
bike in!
Cheese
broke his derailleur and cable, others had chain suck so bad they had
to drop out.
Yet
others had fantastic rides considering the conditions. Yeti Boy
finished 8th in his age group but was only seconds out of
6th place while Sharkman finished 12 in the same age group
of old guys. Guys in the 2:30 range included Nickhead, Iceman (12 in
his age group) and Polar Bear. Hutch was in around 2:44!
It
was an epic ride with riders fighting the elements as well as their
machines.
Stryker
Guy, who had only 9 miles on his Fat Bike was able to ride up every
hill with the exception of Anita Hill and was very pleased with his
new bikes performance as well as his own!
Sharkman
was just happy he finished. Though his bike, at times, sounded like
it was about to fall apart and he had the occasional chain suck, he
was able to make it to the finish without falling and in one piece.
Despite
his broken bike, Minions reported that Cheese celebrated with a party
at his
campsite with the Team Taylor riders!
 |
| Cool Dad makes the cover of the Paper! |
The
link to finishing times is below so you can check out the times
yourself:
To
add insult to injury, as Sharkman crossed the finishing line to a
cheering fandom, it began to sleet!
 |
| Team Taylor at the campsite! |
At
the finish, the changing tent was a welcome site and even the mud
floor was just a minor nuisance as the Minions changed out of their
wet, muddy clothes. The longest line was for the WD-40 free bike
clean up. It was hard to find other Minions and it seemed that
everyone just wanted to leave and get cleaned up.
This
was an epic ride that will not be soon forgotten. Sharkman spent
most of Sunday afternoon cleaning both the bike and his clothing. He
reports that he is still not sure he got all the sand and grit out of
either......
Iceman
shared the following, which will give our readers more perspective on
just how difficult this ride was this year.
Fun
pics of fall in TC and of the race with a short article on one of the
largest Mountain Biking sites out there.
Different
types of bikes for the Iceman mud in this link.
It
was an interesting end to the 2014 season, and though there may be
some riding left, Sharkman will be off until after the hunting season
as he took his bike in for a complete tune up after this ride!
Do you like beer Bunkie? Come on, what Minion doesn't, eh?
Well here is your chance to tip a few with the Team Taylor Minions AND help them raise fund for Make a Wish! Sharkman will be making an appearance (come on, there's beer!)!
Taylor’s
Holiday Wish
Benefitting
Make-A-Wish®
Michigan
Latitude
42 Brewing Company
7842
Portage Rd
Portage,
MI 49002
November
15th
11am-Midnight
Raffle
3:00pm
Come
join us in celebrating Taylor Grainger’s giving spirit while
benefiting Make-A-Wish Michigan. There will be a Keg tapping of a
special holiday brew. And a Raffle with some great prizes from local
Team Taylor supporters at 3:00pm! Proceeds for
the entire day
will go directly to making wishes come true in Michigan. Bring the
family, bring a friend, and celebrate Taylor’s
Holiday Wish!!
Raffle
Prizes from our valued Team Taylor sponsors include: (total value of
prizes is well over $1,500!!!)
- Autographed guitar form Styx lead drummer, Todd Sucherman
- WMU Football tickets for 11/28 game – Consumers Credit Union
- Kwings hockey tickets - Consumers Credit Union
- Auto detail package – Maple Hill Auto group
- Golf gift bags – Wells Fargo Advisors
- Sunglasses gift card – RX Optical
- Services gift card booklet – Seelye Ford
- Gift card for Services – Agility Physical Therapy and Sports Performance
- Big Burrito gift card
- Massage gift card – Custom Chiropractic
- Cycling gift bag – Pedal Bicycles
- Meat and Cheese gift package – Carlson Farms
- Visa Gift Cards – Northpointe Bank
Please
come join us for lunch, dinner, raffle or all three. Enjoy the food,
the beer, the company and camaraderie of making wishes come true.
Spread
the word, and watch your Facebook page…please share with your
friends!! It’s for the kids and families…Rob and Brian
Riders
joining the Minion rides acknowledge the inherent risk involved with
bicycle riding and by joining any Minion ride hold harmless any rider
involved.
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