Spring Training Series - 25th Year

The Awakening
Tires are crawling out of their holes, metal is stretching out of its long layover of fatigue, carbon is...I'd like to say carbonating, but I have to say it's...expensive. And what does this all mean? It's time to tighten the cleats on those Sidis, replace that seedy looking chain laden with winter rust, and prepare for the first test of the legs this year for most of us. The Spring Training Series is a short way off. The teasing hell known as March--though so far it's been pretty nice--will lift its damp and dirty cloak, issuing in the warm and fickle winds of April.

The Beginning
STS crept out of the dawn of time with its first few one day attempts at racing on stone wheels with carefully carved ash frames. The races traversed the newly developed cobblemac (now known as tarmac) roadways around the land of "Runway," or thereabouts, because everywhere at that time was either a runway or a walkway (and we didn't mingle with the walkway crowd--far too slow).

The Evolution
That was a mere 25 ages ago, and Paul Alman has been fine tuning it from that first day until now. This is probably his final year at the helm of this great series of four Sunday races in April. It, along with its cousin the Spring Fling Waterford series running on alternate days, is one of the best opportunities for new racers to get into the mix and feel the exhilaration of riding with the pack and picking up the rudimentary skills of road racing. It's also a great venue for experienced racers to refresh their skills and get ready for the long leg crunching summer of racing ahead.

The Exterminator
I'm not saying Ray D is in here, but I'm not saying he's not either.
Though it's hard to believe that he jumped into this whole thing from the beginning, Ray Dybowski has ridden in every one of the 25 "ages" that the races have been held. And I thought I was old. I once got in a two man breakaway with "Big" Ray at Allen Park. I didn't know who the heck he was at the time, I just did a flyer and he came with me. For three laps he dabbled with me, kind of like cats do with a mouse they've managed to get under their claws. He won a preem in the process, while I ended up back in the pack, thankful for my release and the reunited comfort of a pack of maniacs with attitude.

The Pro
That's his wheel as he leaves us all behind.
At the Spring Training Series you also might get the chance to meet and even race with Frankie Andreu, a Dearborn native and nine time Tour de France racer. Frankie is a great guy and a savvy bike racer who shows up now and then. I rode with him in some of the A races in past years. On one occasion, I traded drafts with him near the front for a few laps until I was feeling the effort (read, shattered spent force). At the two lap to go mark he bolted past my wheel with all the energy I wished I had. I had to watch him and probably Blair Dudley and Ray Dybowski leave the group like an explosion of atoms in a superconductor. You can use me and abuse me any time Frankie. Did I say he was a nice guy?

The Info
So join us. It is a great experience and the thrill of the pack is leg cranking bad and that is so good. Go to MBRA.org for info on racing in Michigan. Then, click on the adjoining PDF file associated with the race you're interested in. In this case, the AAVC Spring Training Series. It will let you know the different race classes and the times for each. First race, March 29.

The Man!
P. Alman as a young lad. Entrepreneur that he is, he started his own team at the time.

Most of all, congratulate Paul for all the great times he's brought us through his administration and supervision of this series these past 25 years.

Word is that he'll be spending more time in Europe, further developing his team.

Many of the dynamic photos in this essay were taken by my friend and teammate, Brian Hayden, aka, T-Bone. These last couple were borrowed from P. Alman's personal collection.