Going up North

My old man and I are headed up North this morning. Four days of working on the cabin in store for us. So far your view of the inside has been limited. Although the place is not a dump, we have many changes in store that will make it look much better.

I think at one point this blog had something to do with biking and not cabin stuff. Well, if you must know my training has been going very well. I think I am stronger than last year, but time will tell on that. This week has been turned into a rest week as I simply do not have time for many hours on the bike.

I must get to work now as there is a lot to do. Maybe you would be interested in doing something similar? Or, maybe you will just go to some other website and waste time?

And the Empire grows...

After signing the paperwork Friday, My Baby's Momma and I decided to travel North to the new Cabin on Sat. The intention was to do a little cleaning, a little hiking, and bring a van load of furniture from "Chuck's Furniture Gallery". Chuck insisted it was ours to keep (good cop) , but his wife said, "hey, how about a weekend up at the cabin?" (bad cop). Well, their strategy worked, so sometime this summer Chuck will be living Northwoods style.

Some trees, Baby's Momma, and property #4 in the Empire.


Before purchase with owls. ................................Then this weekend with most owls gone.

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A super good breakfast at The Brick House in Cable on Sunday morning and we were hiking. Where did we go hiking you may ask? Well, out the front door of course.

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2 Minutes walking and we were on the Esker Trail(Part of Camba). No driving to the trailhead, no walking on a street, just out the front door we went.

Grab something, call it a "stick", and Nina will do her best to destroy it.

After an hour Nina got chilly. I had to warm her up in my coat and Becky gave away her scarf. We forgot her doggie sweater, and we'll have to get her some booties.

Words can't express how excited we are to go again (we were there less than 24 hours). Cable, WI is extremely peaceful and relaxing. Trails are endless and start out the front door. Dale (Augie's Son) is also extremely nice and he has a cabin next door!

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Next weekend is a 4 day weekend with my Old Man. Our job is to make the inside really nice (not the most exciting right now). When we are done it will look awesome!! I'll have to get on the boots again for more exploration.

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For now it is back to the daily grind.

T-minus 2 days till closing.

Looks like the wife and I will spend our first night up at the cabin this Saturday. We got some hauling to do.

Check out the pics of Augie on his website.

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Oh, I gotta contact Chuck's furniture gallery to look at some pieces.

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Training is going well. I have been on the trainer again with the temps so low and with me working during the warmest time of the day. I'll be picking up Queen Bee this Friday so that will get me some hours outside on the Monkey again. 10 below just doesn't work well at 7am in the morning.

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I gotta sell my bikes (see below) so that I can buy more crap.

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Just because they get a kick out of it...Matt Kurke, J-No.

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And now...

How to ride on the Interstate

1. Use the buddy system.

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2. Look before merging into traffic.

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3. Own the road. Oh, and the tunnels too. Note: Pics taken in Duluth while my Baby's Momma ran Grandma's Marathon last year. The road was shut down to cars and does not represent what you would encounter if you stupidly decided to ride on the Interstate.

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5 days until the cabin is in possession. At the moment it is vacant during Birkie weekend. Interested? charlytri@yahoo.com.

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Now...BTW.

"Pippity poppaty, give me the soppity" -Michael Scott

After lots of back and forth, delays, excitement, disappointment, and head scratching we are set to close next week on the cabin. Or as the French call it, Le Cabin.

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The outdoor wonderland that is Cable, Wi shall now forever be tainted.

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Now comes the cabin to do list...

1. Make it "pretty" on the inside.

2. Get a canoe.

3. Get some snowshoes.

4. Exercise facial muscles so they don't get strained when up there.

5. Work on the "rent the cabin" website.

6. Get crunk, YEAH!

7. Get it rented so that it is more affordable.

8. Get to work.

Uh, oh. Looks like we may get the cabin now. Just one small detail and then a closing late next week. At this point I am cautiously optimistic.

Leaving the house tommorrow at 6:30am on the Monkey, over to Ben Point Nine's, out to QB's and then back to Roch. Riding 3 hours in the cold is hot.

Mullets are business in the front and party in the back. Speaking of business, I am sure they would appreciate you working right now.

Rapidfire.

Lately I have been riding out to pick up the Queen Bee to meet up with her and ride into work. This sees me leaving before 7am so that the 3 hour trip is done before we open at 10am. Ben Point Nine and Mr. T-bone have joined me many times on these endeavors. Today, Ben Point Nine and I called today's ride off. 4 Degrees and 22 mph winds make for a -15 below windchill. That is a little much for 3 hours of non sheltered riding(at least for us slackers).

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Don't know what is going on with the cabin. Seems like the family has gone AWOL. Worried? Yeah a little.

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We got to see Corky, Mrs. Corky, and Baby Corky over the New Year. Sweet.

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My Baby's Momma is a tough ass.

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Remember when Sugardaddy rode a bike?

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Stuff for sale. charlytri@yahoo.com

Gary Fisher Supercaliber 29'er, 17.5". Several upgrades over the stock bike (built custom). Crank not as pictured, $1,450. Excellent condition!

I ALSO HAVE JUST THE FRAME FOR $575!!!!!

Fuel Ex-8 WSD, 16". Barely used, original tires are hardly worn!!

Bontrager Race 29'er wheels. Awesome condition, awesome wheels. $200.

Make an offer, get to work, fight the power.

Charly

Lots-o-things

Just an update on the cabin, it is on hold. An unfortunate death on the seller's side has postponed things for now.
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I got some stuff this Christmas (thanks baby Jesus) to help tackle the outdoors on the bike.

Shoes via the baby's momma.

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Bike built up by myself, from myself. Charly, oops, I mean studded tires grace the wheel thanks to the folks. Picture was taken pre-ride.

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Headed out for almost 3 hours. This would be my 3rd consecutive day of 3 hour rides outside. With the temps a little warmer in the mid 30's, I invited the trophy wife. Fog was the name of the day.

My fine wife riding in the fog with cows and geese hidden in the mist.

The gravel was a little sloppy.

Someone doesn't have sweet new winter shoes, thus their little piggies got cold. I will not name said person, but it was not me.

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BIKE FOR SALE

16" TREK FUEL EX 8, WSD.

XTR, REBA, CARBON BARS, TUBELESS WHEELS

LIGHTLY USED BY THE WIFEY, IN FANTASTIC SHAPE.

$1,200 obo

That is it for now.

Get off to the new year right and be a little more productive at work, ok?

Pro or local schmo

What is the differance between in-laws and outlaws?

Outlaws are wanted! Ha!

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Gotta go to see the baby's momma's family. Bringing a new snow bike (pics to come). Bringing new winter shoes (pics to come). Bringing my baby's momma (you've seen the pics).

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Christmas is starting off well in more ways than one.

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Nina is staying with her Grandparents in Rochester. She has been chomping at the bit to "play" with with the cats.

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Alright, time for a new one!!

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Who is the PRO?? Who is the local SCHMO??

Who, who?

The baby's momma and headed up to Cable for the inspection on the cabin. Just a couple of notes.

-Something is gonna be done about the well J-No.
-Augie and his wife raised 6 children here, RIP.
-Augie and his oxen were instrumental in the building of Telemark lodge.
-Sounds like Telemark will be getting sold and a huge water park may get installed.
-This place is going to be so much fun. I am not a winter person, but Cable begs to be explored with the snow on the ground.
-Augie had an owl obsession. This is only a portion of the owls in and outside of the house.

The inspection took 5 flipping hours!! The plan was to stop by and see baby Corky, Corky, and Mrs. Corky on the way back, but it was getting late and my woman was under the weather. By the time we got home I was not feeling well either.

I am gonna get to work on some personal stuff now. Later.

New place, new website.

Check it out.

More to come on that site. Can you tell I had some time on my hands?

Maybe this Santa should find a new job? Santa, get to work!

Offer accepted, commence giddiness.

You are looking at the next acquisition in the Tri empire. 3 bedrooms worth of up North fun.

Room for the wife, I, and family? CHECK!
Hundreds of miles of trails out the back door? CHECK!
1/2 mile from Telemark Resort? CHECK!
Dozens of lakes and rivers to conquer? CHECK!
Snow shoe and Ski Trails abound? CHECK!
Open for rental? CHECK!
2 groups of people interested in staying already? CHECK!
Me and the woman excited? CHECK!


My baby's momma showing the goods.



Location, and a perfect place to land our private jet.

Well, I know where I am staying for the Fat Tire this year. I also know who may or may not be staying there for the Birkie.

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Drop what you are doing, call the spouse, call the friends. You just found where you are going to spend a fun cheap week this year.

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Seriously, don't go back to work.

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If interested e-mail me at charlytri@yahoo.com. Cheaper than you may expect.

One step closer.

This is an access path to one of the best trails in the midwest's largest trail system (off-road and cross country ski).

I (with the folks) am one step closer to buying a 3 bedroom "cabin".

This picture is from the backyard of this "cabin".

Can you say endless riding?

It will be availiable for rental at a very reasonable rate. I already have a week booked and we haven't even accepted the counter offer from the seller yet.

More to come, but this would make a great get-away for you that ride, ski, canoe, or just plain like the outdoors.

Anyone interested in a monster (5 hours) gravel ride this Saturday?

A haiku:

I sit here and type
You sit there and read my crap
Why? Get back to work.

Riding the storm out.

The first blizzard of the year. Need to ride. And the trainer keeps giving me dirty looks.

Dipped into the Maxipad stash for toe warmth(tip from Mr. Bennet). My ride looked like this. The haze is from the downpour of snow.



Out to the Mayowood trails. Slow going with the thick snow. I was able to ride 95% of the trails. Fun, fun. I am hoping others join me in packing down the trail so that it ride able in the winter (You hear me Kurke?).

"Dam it", was the command. From this Mayowood lake (pond?) was formed.

On the way back, my tracks left 45 minutes earlier were completely buried. By now it was VERY slow going in the snow. Mucho resistance0. Finally, I was able to find a quiet, freshly plowed street. Despite the fact that I was now going up a steep incline, I shifted down 2 gears because there was no snow slowing me down.

3 hours. Only half a bottle of energy drink as the rest froze. Coasting in on fumes pre-bonked.

So what did you do Saturday?

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Maybe you should get some projects done around the house instead of reading blogs. How about going for a ride? Do something for gosh sakes.

Brrrr....

15 degrees and wind at 23 mph with gusts up to 37 mph= cold.

I was pretty toasty except the toes. Just a warm pair of socks, my Nike mtb shoes, and booties. Coulda used some toe warmers last night, so I ended running with the bike a few times. I like to see what I can get away with some times.

Hoping to get these for Christmas.

2 hours on the cross bike by myself. Cold, hungry, alone.

Oh, look at the time. You need to work.

Now I wait for J-No to make a smart remark....seems both him and his wife can't stop saying my name :0

Ünathlons, babies, and gravel

Well my "training" officially started for next year. Having signed up for Transiowa for the second time I need to be riding strong by late April. For those that don't know, the race is held in Iowa and consists of about 330 miles of gravel riding. There is little to no outside support. I will not sleep during the 24+ hours of riding.

Also, I will be training for ünathlons. Hear me out here. I have friends that are into the Triathlon thing and they are always talking about their Ironman's and such. Well, I tried running, but the knees are not cool with it. Swimming blows. So, instead of multisport events I am focusing on single sport events. Thus the ünathlons. I believe the event I will concentrate on is cycling, but I am not sure yet. I believe this new sport will spread like wildfire.

Thanksgiving was fun, but Saturday and Sunday brought physical demands. Just under 3 hours of riding each morning with the Velorochester guys and then spending the rest of the daylight hours moving huge amounts of gravel and dirt. My body is tired, primarily the back.

One of the goals this year is to limit my trainer time. Oh, and to dominate every event I enter by astronomical margins.

Did I mention I am trying to acquire a cabin up north? I'll find out if it will happen soon, but hundreds of miles of mountain bike trails will be out the back door, literally.

Baby news!
-Saw Becky's sister's baby again this weekend

-Got to meet my brother's daughter for the first time which was really really nice.

-J No's wife (Lori) is getting huger everyday with the twins wrestling for room in her tummy. Did I mention that twins run in my family? Ok, maybe not.

-Cory "Corky" Gross and his wife Sabrina are also new parents!! They popped out a baby boy that I am excited to go see.

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This is a picture of last winter. Nina going nuts for the Frisbee in fresh powder.

Snow is coming.

Yeah, I know it is hard after the holiday, but you should get to work.

Bikes for sale

Anyone interested in a cool full suspension 29'er? I have 2 almost identical ones for sale. Not stock at all btw.

Frame: 17.5" Gary Fisher Supercaliber Race Day w/ lock out. 80 mm of travel.

Fork: Rockshox Reba race with remote lockout. 100mm of travel

Wheels: Bontrager Race 29'er disc

Brakes: Hayes Mag Brakes (better than the HFX 9's that everyone has)

Shifters: Shimano XT

R. Der: Shimano XTR low normal

Ft. Der: Shimano LX

Crankset: Shimano XTR

Tires: Bontrager ACX 2.25

Pedals: N/A

Handlebar: Bontrager Race Lite Big Sweep

Stem: Bontrager Race Lite

Seatpost: Bontrager Race X Lite Carbon

Seat: Bontrager Race Lite

Grips: Bar tape

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Both bikes are in great shape!!

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Bike #1 going for $1,900 obo.

Bike #2 going for $1,825 obo. It is identical except it has a XT rear der and most of the decals on the fork are removed.

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Don't go back to work, figure out how to buy one of these sweet bikes!!

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charlytri@yahoo.com

Shake and Bake

Just some notes.

What happened to Jeff Hall's site (see link right). MAN DOWN! MAN DOWN!!
...and Sugardaddy's (rumor is he will be riding a bike again soon enough)
...and Ben's (although he is guest blogging??)
...I need to update my links.

It is cold.

The new ride will be coming soon. It says Trek, it likes to 69, and bounce up and down.

I have never owned a Trek branded mountain bike before.

Need to sell the Supercaliber's now. Anyone interested in a decked out 29'er? Maybe two? Specs to folllow soon.

Saw Blades of Glory last night. Heard it was funnier than The Ballard of Ricki Bobby, a movie that will blow your mind. It is not. Like most Will Ferrel movies I thought it sucked.

Got an e-mail from Frank. He takes pictures. Cool pictures. He took a bunch at the last cross race in Ham Lake. His website is here. Ignore the little girls in tutu's. I think he had on pink ear warmers at the race, cool.

This kid can kick your butt.


A pic of the start of the Ham Lake CX. Guy in blue helmet in middle is A. Birr. I stand to his right (your left). Talk about a sweet action shot.

Shake and Bake. You see that, that just happened!!

Get to work.

Double crossing (in more ways than one).

This post is dedicated to Chris "do as I say, not as I do" Fisher. You see, our team got second in the MNSCS expert series after a tie breaker. Chris "d.a.i.s.n.a.i.d." Fisher decided that it was my fault as I had only shown up for the first 2 races in the series (the only 2 that I had planned on). Chris on the other hand neglects to point out that if he had only finished 1 of the races he DNF'd in the series it would have been won.

What is that? Oh yeah, I was going to race this Sunday, but Chris "d.a.i.s.n.a.i.d." Fisher said, "Hey, come to the race on Saturday instead. Brendan and I are going to be there and we can all hang out." I thought that was cool, so I changed plans. Needless to say Chris "d.a.i.s.n.a.i.d" Fisher was a no show at the race. Hmmmmm. Brendan said he was at some event with his fiance, Jen "big smiles" Meyer. I am guessing they toured the factory were they make the American Girls. That would fit the profile.

So this is for you Chris. Big smiles, big smiles.

Crossing at Ham Lake

I decided to do the A (60 minutes) and B (45 minutes) races as to try to jump start any fitness that is left. I have not been on the bike that much, and with the A race only costing an extra $5 I figured it was more ride time.

Lined up for the B race with Adam Birr of the team. He told me of how the course was a glorified dirt crit, and he was right. 2 barriers and no run up, a loooong paved section, and almost no climbing was not my idea of a fun cross race (note, I am not complaining, just stating). We took off at the start were it narrows down dramtiacally in the first 30 feet. I got into the woods in second and proceeded to try to warm up. The legs were so-so as I settled in with the top 6 paceline. At some point I was with 2 others as we approached a lapped rider and a barrier at the same time. The lap rider went in the middle, one guy went to pass on the left, the other guy and I went to pass on the right. Well, the lapped rider went sideways, the guy with me took him down, and I came to a dead stop. Hopped on the bike with a banged up knee, skinned shin, and knowledge that they weren't badly hurt. Ended up passing 2 guys on the last lap that bobbled to bring home 6th out of 80 overall, or 3rd out of 34ish in the Cat 3's (depends how you want to look at it). I was happy with that.

Then I lined up for the A race 10 minutes later. Talked to Brendan, but no Chris. What, no Chris? I knew that I was not going to be blowing anyones doors off, so I purposely let everyone go into the woods first. My first lap was allright, then my legs left me. I was cashed. My only thought was to keep riding until I got lapped and then pulled. Oh, here comes the top 3, a little trash talking from me and they were off. They must have ceramic bearings in their wheels. Looked forward to getting pulled at the finish, but nope. They don't pull riders (CRAP!!!). Kept riding. Slowing more and more each lap to a pathetic crawl. Ended getting lapped by Doug and company 3 times.

Now I blog, sip coffee, and get ready (mentally) for work.

Happy Halloween!!

I thought I would celebrate Halloween with some pictures of everyone in their costumes.


L to R: Brendan M., Ben M., Chris "I'm engaged" Fisher, and Myself.

My newly baptised niece.

J-No (Since 2000), attempting to win the "Sexiest Costume" award for the third year in a row.

L to R: Deb L. (Queen Bee), Tiffany W. (T-bone), and Becky (My Baby's Momma) representing the WOW contingent.

Matt H (Big Head) and Linda H (Mrs. Big Head) getting ready to score some rad candy.

I hope everyone has a good Halloween. Watch out for the Snickers with razor blades in'em.

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Back to work!