By:  Christina Vipond

Is it a race without Rob, Mortimer and dog snouts? Racers can catch a glimpse of Rob Meendering, Rob Meendering Photography, behind trees or right in the middle of the road, not moving as the bikes whistle by. I had the opportunity to talk with Rob and get his story.

As a teen and in his early 20s Rob wanted to be anywhere other than Michigan. He had always had an interest in photography and took photos during the time he traveled. He had cheap cameras during this time and even used throw away cameras. Eventually, his very nice in-laws who spoil him, bought him a nice lens.

Rob told the story of being a regular smoker and drinker. He drove an old jeep and worked at a garage. When gas prices went up to $4, he bought a Cannondale mountain bike to get to work and back. One day, he had the bike on the back of his jeep and a family member said he was going to ride Yankee and invited Rob to join. He said he hit every tree and took over 2 hours to ride 1 lap. His wife was a runner and swimmer so they decided to train for a triathlon. Rob decided to get a road bike and coincidentally, he lived 5 doors down from Ada Bike Shop manager, Steve Kunnath. Steve was so energetic and his enthusiasm got Rob excited about riding. He did his first 30 mile ride and joined the Founders team.

Rob started taking his camera to races. After he had finished his race, he would take “really cool” pictures of his teammates. It didn’t take long for race promoters to invite Rob to be the race photographer. He described himself as a “caveman with a camera”. Rob is now an icon at cycling races. I asked him about his favorite moments. He said he loves what he does so much, there isn’t 1 thing. He loves watching folks accomplish something they didn’t think was possible. He enjoys being in the woods, being a part of the experience, seeing his nephew, bad a$$ cyclist, Logan Barksdale,  as well as friends. “It’s always great to see Matt Acker and seeing him win.” Another highlight was when Alexy Vermeulen won the Iceman Cometh 2019. Rob was able to chase him with the camera. Another meaningful memory for

Rob was when he was asked to shoot Peak to Peak. Rob had broken his leg in August (riding a bike, of course) and was still wearing a big boot. He told Ted Peacock that he could sit at the finish line. Rob got to the race, ready to shoot the finish line when Joel Voss said he would be chasing Marie and Brandon around the course and invited Rob to ride with him. Rob hopped in with Joel and was able to get pictures from the course. That memory and story is touching for so many of us.

I asked about the dogs. Rob was playing around with a wide angle lens and trying new shots. A dog walked right into the lens and a new category was formed. We all love seeing the pictures of fur friends at the races. Rob will be happy to talk about his rescue pit, Simon. (The Mortimer story is a fun one as well).

There was so much more to our conversation, it was a fun and interesting conversation. It is obvious that Rob loves being out there, taking photos and allowing us all to share our memories. He stated several times that he would never deny how fortunate he is. We are so fortunate to have him out there with us.

The post Capturing Rob appeared first on Team Athletic Mentors.

By:  Kathy Braginton

As I limped my way to my car for the 2nd time in 2022, having just completed a 5k, I knew I needed to seek the advice of a professional.  A 5k should not hurt as much as this and require a 4-day recovery period.  With my goal race being in August and the race season still early, I turned to Armor Physical Therapy where Scott Miller, PT and his team of sports performance rehabilitation specialists went to work on my injury.

One of the initial benefits of Armor is the ability to book an appointment without needing a referral from your primary care physician.  I was allowed 10 visits over a 21-day period which allowed time for an initial assessment, manual therapy, and rehabilitation as we sought approval for continual therapy.  With each sports performance rehabilitation treatment I have sought with Armor over the years, initial diagnosis has been a lack of glute activation. My injury this time around was no exception.  My hamstring and low back muscles were doing all the work and the nerves between the glute and hamstring were angry.

The therapists at Armor quickly went to work to create a program that was customized to my specific condition, needs and goals.  The program included manual therapy, stretching and strengthening exercises, and a home exercise program.

With each visit, therapists used manual therapy for a hands-on treatment to remediate body functions.  The manual therapy (aka massage) was the best portion of each treatment.

Stretching and strengthening exercises to improve flexibility, boost joint range of motion, strengthen muscles, and most importantly get my glutes firing again.  Here is a sampling of a few of the strengthening exercises.

*Note – Armor is not responsible for the content of my exercise descriptions!

Armor offers a wide variety of additional services in their sports performance rehabilitation: Dry Needling, Gait/running evaluations, custom foot orthotics, and AlterG Anti-Gravity Treadmill, just to name a few.  For a full list of Armor’s treatment options, visit https://armorpt.com.  As a part of my customized plan, I utilized the Dry Needling and the Orthotics. With dry needling, the needles are used to stimulate an area of muscles that have become stiff.  The special needles can reach areas that other manual therapies cannot.  After each treatment, I found I had improved flexibility and range of motion.  As a side note, the dry needling and orthotics are not covered under insurance but can be paid for through an HSA account.  I found the benefits of both services to be well worth any additional costs.

With my diligence in attending weekly in office sessions, as well as, continuing home exercises, Scott and his team at Armor Physical Therapy, had me running pain-free by my goal race in August.

The post How do you “Armor” up for your Key Race? Rehab with Armor PT! appeared first on Team Athletic Mentors.

By: Charlotte Wright-Rosinski

Hi, my name is Charlotte Rosinski and I’m from Highland, Michigan. I’m currently 14 years old and in 9th grade at Milford High School with a few other members from Team Athletics Mentors Junior Development (TAMJD). I’ve been cycling since I was in 3rd grade, but I guess I’ve been on a bike longer than the 3rd grade. I would say that the spark for cycling really started the summer after 3rd grade, when I joined my school district’s mountain bike club where I was able to learn skills that have stuck with me and made many friends that have also stuck with me.

I have raced with MiSCA since I started mountain biking on the Huron Valley United Racing team, and in the 2021 season I achieved the Advanced Middle School Girls Champion title. I’m currently racing on the HVUR Varsity team. This is my first year on TAM Junior Development, and I joined because many of my friends on HVUR had either joined or suggested that I should join the team. I was really drawn to the team because I felt like I had continuously been growing as a cyclist, but I really needed people to help direct my growth which I feel the TAMJD team has really helped with.

My goals for races overall this year are to try to learn a bit more about racing and place well. To be more specific, I want to do well in the elite category at Peak2peak and try to win my age group at Iceman. Similar to the non-MiSCA races this year I want to place 3rd overall and top 5 per year, but I also want to treat this year as a learning experience. I’ve been racing the Varsity category as a freshman with people who are a few years older and I guess you could say “wiser” in racing than me, so I’m really just excited to be racing people that I looked up to just a couple of years ago.

It’s hard for me to pick a favorite riding place but I would probably say either Pontiac Lake, Highland, or any of the trails the team rode in Colorado during the Fort Lewis College camp we attended this summer . My favorite race that I have done is probably the USA Cycling MTB Nationals or the USAC/UCI Englewood races that I, and the members of the Junior Development team, visited this year. My favorite thing about riding is that it has made me closer with a lot of people and I have loved the places I have gotten to go to that I probably would never have gone to, like Brevard, North Carolina where we had our TAMJD training camp in March this year.

My favorite things about racing go hand-in-hand with simply riding, but with that I have loved seeing how much I have improved over time and all of the opportunities I have gotten just from racing that I am so grateful for. This year with cycling I have been able to do my first road race and gravel races, and I would really like to try to do more gravel and road racing because so far I’ve really enjoyed them and their atmosphere. Racing has become an outlet for me and I’m so grateful for the things I’ve learned about myself from it, like the fact that I am very competitive and won’t give up, I have to use proper nutrition, and I like to be very talkative with my competitors/friends after races, not before. Thanks to TAMJD, I have noticed growth in my riding and racing that I don’t think I could’ve accomplished as quickly alone.

The post Meet Charlotte Rosinski appeared first on Team Athletic Mentors.

By:  Christina Vipond

The first time I raced Uncle John’s Gravel Race, I was tooling along by myself about 16 miles per hour thinking I was going really fast. I climbed the hill to the finish line expecting champagne to be sprayed all over me and saw what looked like 1000 racers who had already finished.

Lesson:1  I wasn’t “really fast”. Lesson 2: I had a lot to learn about racing.

The Michigan Gravel Race Series provides a great opportunity to experience different courses. Melting Mann kicked off the season with an overnight rain and drop in temperature which made for a chilly and leg zapping peanut butter road ride. A very nice volunteer was excited to tell me I only had 10 miles left. I tried to hide my true emotions with a smile and a thank you.

Barry welcomed us with a snowy start and a new, uphill finish. Lowell-it’s always nice to get to the bridge. I had to miss Hart Hills this year due to mechanical issues with both bikes at the same time. A racer can never have too many backup bikes. Waterloo was memorable with  lots of water bottle sucking potholes. The Cow Pie Classic added a 2nd farm, those trails always add adventure. Arcadia Grit and Gravel and Lord of the Springs are short but both pack a powerful punch. This year’s MGRS season ended with Uncle John’s and a new, straight up the grassy hill climb for the finish. The MGRS awards were held at the Moran 166. Although this  wasn’t part of the long or short course, it was the final ultra race. The 66 mile course was beautiful with leaves just beginning to turn and racers talked non stop about the infamous snowmobile trail. The weather was perfect, it was a great way to end the series.

It doesn’t take long to recognize the same faces at the races. The men are always helpful with “hop on my wheel” and “hey, we raced together at ___”.  Rob Meendering is always in the middle of the road, shouting encouragement as he captures the action. As nice as all that is, there seems to be a special bond with the women.  As competitive as the women are, they are also very encouraging.  There is chit chat during warm up rides, wishing each other good luck and a safe ride.  Some of my biggest competitors are some of my greatest friends. We stay at each other’s houses during race weekends, ride together for fun and share stories about our families. I was talking with another female racer about the relationships we build, she said her husband, who also races, just doesn’t understand it. For many of us, it goes beyond the gravel.

The post Beyond The Gravel appeared first on Team Athletic Mentors.

By:  Jeff Nordquist

Gravel racing meets triathlons in The Dirty Mitten in Middleville MI. I decided to race the Long Course on Sunday which is equivalent to the standard Olympic distance triathlon. The race directors shortened the swim distance which measured 1200 m and the bike route was just under 30 miles. Both of these changes didn’t cater to my strengths.

The forecast called for rain all morning, so I was anticipating a messy day of racing. The swim wasn’t  much of a challenge, temps were high 60’s and felt great through the two-loop course. I had a 45 second lead out of the water and tried to capitalize on this with the longer trek up to the lodge for transition.

I settled onto my bike saddle and took in some nutrition before hitting the gravel roads. Biking is not my strong suit, so I knew I was going to see a few riders soon. At Mile 4 I was caught by one and we worked off each other for another 10 miles sharing the workload (drafting is legal in gravel triathlons). Just before we reached Sager Rd, I was dropped and then I struggled on Sager. This portion was nearly 2 miles long of sandy two-track and it whopped me, I had to dismount up two slippery climbs. My front wheel found a root just beneath the soft sand and it threw me over the bike, I’m sure it looked graceful but I picked myself up and rode solo all the way back into the transition.

I wasn’t too confident with my run legs, but knew I was in 3^rd place leaving transition and felt I could close the gap. I maintained even splits for the first 5 k trail loop passing 2^nd place at the same time. I pressed to keep him off my heels and never saw him again. I was in a solid 2^nd place for loop 2 and crossed the line to finish 2^nd overall. I was really hoping to come away with the victory here, but considering my bike course struggles, I was ultimately happy with a podium finish.

There is much to learn with this new format for triathlons and I’m excited to see more of these races appear in the coming years

The post Race Recap – Dirty Mitten Gravel Triathlon appeared first on Team Athletic Mentors.