I ran, I ran so far away

Soooooooo, I did my second run tonight. Getting prepared for the onslaught of riding this winter. 5.5 miles with an under 10 minute average. I am getting to think that I have a lucrative career in marathons. Just gotta be able to hold my all out sprints for 2+ hours.

Just me, the wife, and Nina this time. Becky always did the running with Nina and Logan, now it is just the little one (see previous post).





Logan on the left, Nina on the right.














YAWN! It is time to go to bed.

Happy halloween.

Becky, Nina, and I are all set with our costumes!!

Cross Training

So the wife runs, her friends she meets run, and I don't. Well the winds of change are a foot (pun intended). No is the time of the year where one wants to get off the bike, but still be active.

My running in the past consisted of "the mile" in gym class and getting chased by the po-po. Well, Becky and I were planning on taking me running when her friend Erin calls to go running as well. Becky lets her know the plan for that night and Erin invited her self over, with her husband Mark, 2 dogs, to run with us, eat our food, drink our beer, watch our tapes, and eat our cookies.

A good time was had by all. Nina gets a little skiddish sometimes with the 2 bigger dogs in the house, but no problems.





Erin, are you alright?












From left top:
Mark, Erin, Becky, and Me.

From left bottom:
Emma, Greylee, Nina





This boxing match was lopsided. Greylee's reach far exceeded Nina's. Nina was hungry for the win (notice the snarled lips), but it went to the scorecards. Graylee won.







We ended with 4 miles ran, 2 episodes of "The Office" watched, Curry Chicken consumed, and many cookies devoured. Running is alright, but it is not biking.

Well, I have to see what the future holds. But, if I had to choose, which bike is in my future of fighting the 24 hours monsters?





One of these to add to the one I own?









This would have more squish, but is it overkill? It would prove to be the better value.








This would be the dark horse for a couple of reasons, but oh so tempting











FTP

Cha-cha-cha-changes

Notice something different? I thought this new background was a little more reflective on my life as a vagabond that refuses to travel.

My day this morning has been listening to interviews at the 24 Hour World Championship (http://www.bikelights.com/News/Headline_more/worldsvideo_06.htm). It's cool to see these guys ready to get down.

Last night I spent modifying this site. It took a loooong time as I am no pro at this. The wife spent the same time working on a scrapbook of recently deceased Logan. Logan was Nina's best friend, and mine as well. He died at the age of 5 because of complications from his cancer treatment. His death hit us hard, but we try to remember him in our own little ways. I keep trying to post a pic, but it doesn't want to work.

Oh well. You feel like getting back to work sometime today?

FTP

Just a pic of riding in Crested Butte this summer with the wife. I believe this was on the lower loop trail. Note the sweet 12 year old Cactus Cup jersey. Yeah, I'm bad!










I know, I know. It sounds better than what you are doing right now. Hey, I'm right there with you, but can't be on vacation all the time.

You here that? Sounds like your boss wants you to get back to work.

Back to the future!

So ya gotta admit that that back to the future made an impact on all of us. I mean seriously, who hasn't imagined getting that Dolorian up to 88 mph and watching that Flux Capacitor do it's thing. Well here is a funny clip of "Biff" singing. http://www.break.com/index/biff_sings.html

Here is your bike tip of the day:

There is an equation for the amount of bikes a person should have. It is

(x+1= Ideal number of bikes you should own)

The variable x is defined as the number of bikes you currently own.

Until I see you in the future, try to get some work done.

So I am finally starting to feel better. The bird flu looks like it has run its course. Just in time to as I am about to start the training road map in one week. I sat down with Daddy de Sugar to outline a game plan for next year. I believe that with the help of said Sweetner, I will acomplish many of my goals for next year. This weekend was spent just chilling. Went to a movie (The Departed), watched one at home (Ray). Both of those are good flicks.

Right now I am also trying to get together a sponsorship proposal. I have never done this before, but I believe I can make an impact on the endurance scene next that may or may not warrant company support. We'll see.





Here is a pic of my dog Nina and her new friend. The weiner dog is Becky's sister's. I have spent the last couple of days driving Becky nuts by trying to rename our dog Jonie.









Get back to work!!

Weak, so weak.

Work is for the weak.

Well, I have been sick the last couple of days. Started Tuesday with a sore throut and then in the middle of the night a semi must of run through our house and over me, cause I felt like I get hit by a truck. Poop, poop, poop is how I feel. I did post a new update yesterday, but it did not take for some reason. I am so, so sorry.

Here is a recap of a mtb race earlier this year. I posted these on the team's website (www.velorochester.com) and I stole it back for my site. So with out further typing...


Event Name Afton Alps

June 18th, 2006

20 Miles

Event Description

After winning the comp division at Steeplechase by 5 minutes, I came to the conclusion that when I raced my next mtn bike race it was either going to be on a single speed, or in expert. The next race in the MN series was Afton, and with the wife unexpectedly out of town I decided to whip out the trusted old singlespeed. Mind you, I have been able to get out on it once for 30 minutes on pavement. I was in the parking still dialing in my brakes when I heard the annoucement that the race would start in 2 minutes. I lined up at the back of a 50+ comp feild, nervous about what I was doing. You see, Afton is the hardest course on the series. You do about twice the climbing as any other race. Riding the single speed for the first time in a race that is VERY demanding was a recipe for pain. The gun went off, and I spun like a I was in a hampster wheel. There was a small hill before we narrowed to single track. I was able to pass enough riders on that to get in about 10th. Then we started to hit the hills...OUCH!!! My gearing was way to hard, and I thought I was going to be done after the 1st lap. We had 4 laps to accomplish, a feat that I was sure not possible for me and my singlespeed. I just concentrated on making it up climbs to see how long I could last. Well, after the 2nd lap of pain Gary Gross said I was a 1 miute 20 seconds back of first. He then sprayed me down with cold water. That made me feel dirty like Ben Moore when he enters those wet-t contests on Spring Break. 3rd lap went by uneventful, same pain. 4th lap I was starting to hurt BAD. I was spinning up these steep hills in a hard gear at a whopping cadence of 5. I lost a couple of minutes and was passed by Mike from War Time Coffee. I ended up with 4th overall, 2nd age group, 1st in single speed. The race was 2 hours long, about 1/2 hour longer than it should have been. Had I had gears, I am confident I would have been at the front, but hell, I was the first single speeder in the hardest race in the series. Thanks to Gary Gross for the spray downs, Gary Moore for the hand ups, and God for having the Gary's out there.

Tommorrow I'll recap the criterium I did, the very next day.

Now get to work and I'll try to figure why I can't upload pictures.

Feeding your need.

So I didn't post last night. It seems that I really made some people upset by not posting since, gasp, Friday. I hope your supervisor at work didn't fire you yesterday as you went through symptoms of withdrawl. I tried to include extra pictures for you to stare at.

Sat was "Take a Kid to Steeplechase and Go Mountain Biking in the Hopes that they Continue to do it as they Get Older Day". After running back home and getting my bike, oops, and then getting lost during a "shortcut", I found my way out to Steeplechase. The weather that day was in the high 50's, but it felt much
colder than that witht the wind that you were exposed to on the top of Steeplchase ski area. The trails out there are great and there were obstacles set up for the young'ns to try.








After hanging out for a bit I caught up to Al "thanks for the frame" Schmidt (top) and Sugardaddy (throwing up gang signs). The 3/4 of an ugly mug is myself.













I took them exporing for new trail. We ran into this set of three logs and I was proud of the fact that I was able to ride over them. Three cheers to me!










Right here, Sugardaddy is questioning the logic in following my exploration.















After watching 5 year olds run up and down this teeter totter all day MC Sugar finally got the nerve to try it. It took many deep breaths, and he was calling out to the spirit of Oprah Winfrey for help, but Mark (and about a dozen elementary school kids) did conquer this wild beast. After which he kissed the ground and went to change his pants.





Sunday was my Grandparents 60th, that's right 60th, anniversary party. Fun times were had by the 50+ children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. After that Becky and I headed over to Red Wing and rode at Memorial park. We had tons of fun despite Becky taking a low speed fall and bruising her hip. Sorry, no pics. I forgot : (


Well, that is it for now. I hope your boss appreciates the fact you are in a more chipper mood today.

Hey, I got work to do. No time to post, but I will post tonight. Some fun happenings this weekend to talk about.

Check me out tonight, I will.

Another day, another house.

Well, you pretend to work, and I'll take one more step in owning all of Rochester.

Today we close on our third house. It is a duplex that is fully rented out. It is all systems go at 4:00 today. You can see a pic of the house in a previous post.

I forgot to mention that Tues I went out to the cyclocross practice. I pulled up just as they were about to go, so the other 4 riders waited for me (MC Sugar, "Super" Mario, "Too Tall" Carl, and Gary "Mr. Energizer Bunny"). Sugardaddy (www.pinch-flats.blogspot.com) led the group at a modest pace. The first lap took us a couple of minutes, so I thought that was a perfect warmup, ha! I went to the front the second lap and turned it up a notch. All of a sudden it was me and MC Sugar out alone. I could tell he was not maxed out and I couldn't push it too my max as I was coming down with something. We spent the next 5 laps building on our lead. I was in front at the end of our laps so I guess I won? Damn, I kick ass!

As soon as we stopped riding I got a HUGE headache. The next day I would go home sick. Aughh.

Thanks to Mark for waiting to drive out of the park while I got my stuff in the car. There was a big white truck that had pulled up next to me and I think he wanted to be a friend with benefits. Mark kept with in eye sight in case he had to intervene with his bulging biceps. Eastwood park is kinda creepy.








Me in the white jersey. The 24 hour flu in the blue.

or

Mark in the blue jersey. The guy in the white truck in the white jersey.

or

Me in the blue jersey. Mark in the white jersey during cross practice. Ha, ha, ha.













Seriously now, get to work!!

Another race recap

Find some time in your day to hide from the boss and read this recap.

I decided to recap the Steeplechase cross country race I did instead of the full 24 hour race. Figured I would go in sequence. This was the weekend after my big victory in th 12 hour race, News Updates on Jo Mama: Just getting started....


Many years ago I raced Expert, but since then they added a new catagory just below that called Comp. Well, I did one of these last year and took my fat ass straight to DNF row ( I am 20 pounds lighter now). I decided to enter the same field again at this race considering my previous endeavor and the fact that many of my previous Expert rivals were now in Comp as well. The race started off with a 3/4 mile prologue before dumping you off right into the singletrack. My goal was to get to the singletrack in the top 3 as not to be bogged down. With 30 seconds to go I pulled up to the back of the field from my shaded hiding spot (it was hot that day). The "gun" went off and I instantly started working my way up the side of the peloton. By the first of four rises I was up in the top 5. At the bottom of the second rise there was one rider in front of me. Then I thought, "what would Jo Mama do?". That is when I passed the dude in front and charged ahead, leading the field. When I came to the fourth rise I looked back and saw I had a big gap. I built that to 15 seconds going into the singletrack. From there I just went into time trial mode. I started to pass the tail end of the Experts half way through the first lap. That was how the rest of my race went. Giving it what I had and passing Expert racers. Except for some skinny bald guy screaming, "go faster pussy!", each lap was like the other. I won the overall race by 5 minutes and by 10 minutes in my age group. It was mentally easy going hard that 1 1/2 hours after riding 11 1/4 the previous weekend. Special thanks to Gary Moore for the bottles, Ben for the celebratory cookie, everyone in the Comp class for going slower than me, and the Linda for showing me her new grill. And yes, several people already called me a sand bagger already.

Here is a pick of that 4th property I am looking at. Of course the front needs some work. Those cement pylons have got to go. Doing that will increase the value temondously on that place.

Now go play work.

Do you have a window at work? Looks pretty outside doesn't it. It is a great day to work,or pretend to and search the internet.

It is that time of year where the leaves fall and we are constantly told of the impending doom that winter brings. Time to break out the winter gear and lay
the groundwork for next year.








This image keeps popping up in my mind. This is around 10PM or so in the 24 Hours of Nine Mile (or was it 19). Becky is helping me stuff my face in between laps. I am playing catch up at this point because of a broken frame. Full recap tommorrow.





Next year I hope to be doing this again. Maybe I'll get two or three 24 hour races in next year. The race before the race begins Nov. 1.

For now I gotta go paint.

For now, you gotta get back to work.

Weekend with the in-laws.

I bet you boss was impressed by all the work you got done because I didn't post the last couple of days.

So, what is the differance between in-laws and out laws? Give up? Out laws are wanted! Ha, ha, ha.

No ride to the in-laws this weekend. My ribs do feel better and I am ready to start intense work outs again (I probably won't as there is sooo much good T.V. watching to be done).

The 24 hour world championships were this weekend. This is a race that interests me as it would be the next progression from my main focus next year; the national championships. Chris Eatough is the Lance Armstrong of 24 hour racing (except without the cancer and drug accusations, oh, and rockstar girlfriends, oh, huge endorsement deals, oh, and having both testicles). He was going for #7 and lost out to a fella from Australia. Chris had dominated until this point so it was unexpected for him to get beat. I did notice some names from the race of local riders. Scott Cole got tenth. Marcin Nowak got in the twenties. I have beaten both of these guys and based on how they did, I hope to have a great year in '07. Here is a pick of Craig Gordan the winner (http://www.cyclingnews.com/mtbphotos.php?id=/photos/2006/oct06/24hour_worlds06/8).

So what is on the agenda in my life?
-Gotta paint and close on at our 3rd property
-Gotta start riding again
-Looking at property #4 already
-Gotta make a video of myself throwing footballs
-Start to plan and scheme for racing next year
-Post a belly pic
-Get dressed and go to work





So I graduated from another year of racing. I think it is time to start celebrating!!









Work Hard!

Bad news times two.

Bad news #1
Well, it looks like my big ride to the in-laws is going to have to wait. The body is still not fully healed from the crash last weekend.

Bad news #2
The cross race I was amped to do next weekend is going on the back burner as it is my grandparents anniversary party.

I was excited about both of these, so yeah, it is a let down. I guess I'll just have to go kick Sugardaddy's butt during cross practice on Tues :)






I guess things could be worse.

Chillin and plotting.

Why bother fighting it. Read my blog, and then try to get some work done.





Just chillin, and protecting the rib cage.










Yeah, my ribs are starting to feel better. I just need to relax a little bit more and gear up for this Friday. The "Ride to the In-laws" looks like good weather. Temps will get down to about 50 degrees. I don't know how I'll get ready for this journey since I am 99% done with the deck. I'll be leaving Fri afternoon if anyone wants to join me for the beginning.

I am also excited for my next cross race. I was disappointed at how I started the last one as I know without the crash I could have done much better. The guy who won the "B" race had already won 3 this fall and someone called him out on it (http://mcf.net/yabb/YaBB.pl?num=1159838758). He responded now with a sarcastic remark. Basically saying he'll do what the hell he wants. I know what I want. I want to kick some ass at my next cross race (http://www.mcf.net/misc/2006/Factory_Cup_06%5b1%5d.pdf). I hope he is there and when I cross the line in front of him I'll tell him it is time to move up! Seems like opinions don't count unless you can kick their ass on a bike, and I plan on making my opinion count! Can you tell I am jacked up about this?

Now get to work. I know you want to search E-bay for a IT, but resist the urge!

WARNING: Don't come unannounced to my house!

Try to tell your boss that you are using this site as a way to expand future revenue sources for the company. That is why you look at it everyday.

Well, it started yesterday morning and continues today. I hurt. My rib cage and upper back are feeling the effects of "blunt force trauma". If you did read yesterday, I was assaulted by the cyclocross course. It hurts to laugh, stand, break dance, sit, cure cancer, lift, cough, pose naked, and breath. Other then that I don't notice the pain.

I forgot to hype up the fact that I plan on my first ever "Ride to the In-Laws" ride. I will leave Friday and travel on gravel roads, crushed rock trail, and pavement. I will be on pavement for about 1/2 of the time. How long is it? Oh not that long. Only about 250 miles to Oconomowoc, WI. I'll be there Sat morning after riding through the night. I will make sure to bring the camera. I may try to stop by and see some of the Velorochester and WOW crew that will be camping in Devil's Head, WI. I'll be stopping by late in to the night and waking their butt's up (then running like hell).

So, no cross practice for me tonight. The ribs could not handle it. Also, everyone would be embarassed by getting their butt's kicked by an injured rider ; )

Now get back to work!

Good and bad (Again).

Come on, your work is suffering. You gotta stop coming here.


Alright, I had built the deck and now it was time to take that intense training to the cross race. Headed up in the morning with the Carey's. Mark was racing with me and Erin was there for emotional support (and to do girl talk with my wife).


Mark wore a shirt that said "Tri Crossing". That's right, I was about to be "crossing".










Here is the 40+ strong field. Where is Mark and I?

We got to the start line late, so lucky me I was bringing up the rear (no jokes please). Mark was just in front of me.

Well, the course takes you around a cinder track, then through grass for 70 yard. After that you get guided through a section of a volley ball court that has 12 inches of sand. Then there was more grass, some barriers, gravel road, single track with a set of barriers, gravel road, grass, and a run up before hopping back on the cinder track.

My race started 5 seconds after the front guys got going. I immediately started passing people on the outside and ended up 2nd off the track. But remember, if you ain't first your last! So that is what I did. I moved into 1st and charged into the sand. The A riders were mostly riding this section, although not well. About 3/4 through it my tire went awry and and endo'd HARD. I heard a collective "Ohhhh" from the crowd. Mark didn't see it, but he heard me go down. I got out of the pit in 3rd, but I got the wind knocked out of me and the power had left my legs. I dropped fast. After settling in about 20th place I could see Mark doing well in the top 5. 3 laps into it I started feeling better again and making moves. I kept this up and was hopeing the race would not end soon as I was moving up. After several laps of this, Becky yelled to me that if I could pass the group of 4 that had 50 yards on me then I would move into 5th. I had 3 laps left to do this. On that 3rd lap I tried to catch the quartet with out blowing. With 1 1/2 laps I caught them. On the run up to end that lap I passed them and hammered to form a gap. I was able to hold them off, and come close to bridging 3rd and 4th as well. Well, I was not 1st, so yes, I was last. But, I could have been MORE last. Mark ended in a strong 2nd.

This is me on a barrier section, passing one of the guys in "the group of 4".

Mark "I really am a Triathalon guy" Carey bringing in 2nd place.

This is 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th place with a 1 1/4 to go. I had just caught them 1/2 lap earlier (me in the back).

SLINGSHOT ENGAGED!

This is me making the move back into the top 5.

Our own personnal podium girls. Erin on the left (Mark's property) and Becky on the right (my property). Yes, they are wearing huge sunglasses!

P.S. I had sand EVERYWHERE after that crash. I was brushing it off all day!

Now get back to work!