Back from "out East".

So, last week I had 5 days to get in 7 days of riding in what should be my biggest volume week of the year. I increased my previous max weekly training hours in one week by over 25%, and that is with 2 less days to play with. I was tired. Knee bothered me some, back just a little, but I cranked out some big hours on the bike.

Friday saw me fly out to Maine to see my brother, Sam. After being under threat of being snowed in, a stop at deicing was needed before taking off. I was thankful for the fact I had a direct flight as cancellations and delayed flights seemed plentiful.

Sam picked me up from the Boston airport and we headed North to Biddeford, Maine via the coast. Got to see some cool old towns and George H. Bush's "summer" home. Met Sam's girlfriend. I can't remember her name, so I'll just call her Sam's girlfriend. She is cool for a girl.

The next day saw us head out to Bethel for some mountain action and XC sking. Little did we know that the world's largest SnowWoman lived there. We skied a bunch, I slept a bunch, Sam watched the NCAA tournament a bunch. It was all good. I definitely had a lot of fun in the only state with one syllable.

Now, I am back. Grinding out repairs at the shop and getting ready for this coming weekend. Me, the folks, and my baby's momma are going up at the cabin for more work.

For now, I am still a little tired.



W's dad owns this place. The picture only gets about 2/3rd's of it. It was impressive.


Me, Sam's gangsta girlfriend, and Sam.

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A "pick" of us heading to Bethel; where the players play. Get it? "Pick"?

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Yo, we're here.

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Well, you can read the sign.

We could see this as we drove into town and had to check out what it was. Look at the people at the base, and note the trees that are the arms. Skis made up the eyelashes, and car tires the smile.

If you think this picture is lame, then you are lamer for looking at it.

We ended up on a trail that was not groomed. It was...ahhhh...interesting skiing.

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Sam fall down go, "ouch".

Yeah, I picked myself off of the ground more than once as well. This time, I could not make not sharp corner.

Check out the mountains in the background, yo. Me on the left, Sam on the right.

Sweet action shot. We were classical skiing, for the record.

Oh, the poor golf carts don't like the winter. Poor, poor golf carts.

Sunday night Sam took me onto campus to do some work on me. I took the liberty to take this pic of Sam's closet friend. Sam, thanks for the "cracking".

Well, that is it. I had oodles of fun, but I am glad to be back and see my woman at the same time.

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Now for some bike time, some work time, and clobbering time.

Back online!!

Finally got our computer hooked up again. Sanding floors, staining, and applying protective coats caused the electronic box to be unplugged and stashed away in the dining room for the week.

I sit here now with a bag of ice on my knee. I have to hit the trainer and get some big hours in before heading to Maine this Friday to see my little brother, Sam.

I am finally not as groggy. We are taking the "trouble maker" greyhound to the kennel until it's owners come back. We have 2 of their skinny sprinters, but the male has made it a priority to wreck stuff, pee on stuff repeatedly, on "#2" all over. The female is much better.

I like to sit down and post pictures of my worldly adventures, but I barely have time to type this crap.

I gots to go. Work it.

Jusst when I thought I was healthy...

Wednesday I fell down hard on my kneecap while out riding around on the ice. As soon as I stopped my knee was hurting bad. I worked on coating the hardwood floors.

Thursday, more hurt, more floor work, no bike.

Friday, see Thursday.

Friday night. Go to sleep. Deal with whiny greyhound we are watching from 2am to 5:30am.

Sat, groggy. We finally have time, so we go meet with the Grandfolks to tell them of what Becky has cooking in the oven. No bike. Knee starting to feel better.

Sunday, groggy still, rock out on gravel. Start out with a painful knee and a 30 pound bike. Knee pain becomes a little more tolerable at about 2 hours in, just in time for the laces on my right Lake winter boot to break. Rode North to Hammond, then North on some paved road I didn't know was there. A right on some gravel found me in Millville. Took more gravel East to Plainview. Then headed south past Elgin and back west into town.

6 hour ride yesterday=knee hurts more today.

We got our crib ordered with dresser from the Amish store. Seems like that is about the only place you can find a crib that is NOT made in China.

I have to call Lake shoes now.

You gotta get back to work.

Yes, I am serious.

"Just as you are planting the beet seed in the ground, I am planting my seed in you," a quote from my favorite assistant to the manager.

Not sure how to say this so here it goes....I got my wife knocked up. Yup, she has a bun in the oven. She is preggers. Baby on board. My spawn. The fruit of my loins. Future knee biter. The circle of life.
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Oh yeah, it's all in there.

So here are some answers to the most common questions:

-No, we are not finding out the sex. We are waiting until it gets into puberty for that.

-She/he is due Sept 16, so she/he is almost 13 weeks along. No Cheq fat tire for me this year, and we had just gotten the cabin too!

-Yes, there is only one in there

-As far as I know it is mine. If questions pop up about that later, Maury Povich will help sort them out.

-We weren't necessarily trying or preventing. Let's say that we had pulled the goalie, but had not tried to take a shot on goal yet.

-We have seen 3 ultrasounds already. You can see the fingernails and everything.

-Yes, my boys can swim.

-I would prefer a boy, but would be just as happy with a girl. As the cliche goes, "I just want it to be healthy."

So there you go. Have fun at work.

Hydration...

...will be important in this race as it will be in this "tune up" race I just got in to.

So far this year I have planned gravel endurance races, road crits, mountain endurance races, mountain XC races, local road TT's, local mountain TT's, and some cross thrown in for good measure. Should keep the riding a little "fresh" this year.

I have been back training and things are looking good. Because of time and weather, I have been on the trainer a lot. Saturday will see the trainer and then sanding floors. Hopefully, this Sunday will see me destroying the local gravel on the Karate Monkey.

Now, I want you to step away from the Internet and get back to work. Go ahead, you can do it. Trust me, it will feel really rewarding.

Whhhhat?

Alright, I sit here trying to not make noise as the women are asleep. Bored I was playing around on youtube and found a video with my name in the description. Here it is, and no I don't understand it either.



Don't blame me, you looked at it.

Live Strong pt.2

Oh, my back. I'm back. The back is almost there again. Back to riding. I am bringing sexy back. I am going back to this race.

In-laws are here. I am waiting right now for everyone to get up so that we can meet my parents for breakfast. Baby's momma seems like the last to start the awaking process.

We still have the three dogs. They'll be gone tommorrow when their newly tanned and rested parents get back from Cabo (those bastards).

Seems like I got a LOT of stuff to do. Oh well, it is better that than dead.

Sometimes I feel like this guy, but without the wristband. Who am I kidding, sometimes?

Looks like the wifey woke her but up and is in the shower. Exciting huh?

I am going to breakfast now. Gotta entertain the old people.

Arrrrgggghhhhh.

My back is messed up.

Got a massage.

Going in for the fourth chiropractic appointment tonight (2nd at my REALLY good guy).

This weekend was a constant state of pain.

I am going to be off of the bike for at least 1 1/2 weeks.

No lifting over 25 pds.

It sucks.

In other news I need to take pics of the new rides. They are done for the most part.

Meanwhile, the Careys are in Cabo. Their pets are here. Here is a pic of Nina hanging with her girls. Just a bunch of lazy "female dogs". Get it, get it?

Hey you, your boss is coming.

Just another day, but with presents.

****Warning, lots 'o' pictures****

Well, last Saturday I turned the big 3-0. Friday night I came home to people in my house and a poorly timed shout of "surprise"! It was then a free for all of drunken debauchery. People making out in the hallways, lampshades on the heads, and all around fun.

Saturday morning saw my Old Man and I driving to the cabin to do more work. Good times all weekend.

Before we get to the pics, I want to give a shout out to a couple of people. Word is Mr. Corky (Father of Corky and Corkette) is not feeling so hot.

Also, it turns out that I am an Uncle again. My brother and his wife had another baby, or so I heard through the grapevine. I wish them the best, although I may never get to see Olivia, their baby girl. Good news and unfortunate circumstances wrapped up into one.

And now, pictures....


Surprise!!!


I blow!

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I changed into my party outfit and we were off. MC and I were trying some of the food as Mr. T-Bone enjoyed the minty taste of Palmolive.

The girls were getting crazy. Here they hoist a drunken T-Bone. Nuts, just nuts.

Hey Kurke, did you get the message about how old I am? Thanks dude.

My Baby's Momma and Matt's have huge bunny ears. I never noticed until now.

Can you guess who's forehead this is?

Leaving the next morning at the *** crack of dawn.

Unbelievable action shots. I will probably submit this to some photography competition.

Yep, the cat came with.

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I spend too much money here. I have haven't shopped at one in WI before though. Pretty much the same stuff in Rice Lake as there is in Rochester.

My dad stole a Pimp's safety glasses.

Looking better and better. Needs some more material, and trim work.

Went hiking on the Camba trail right behind the cabin on Sunday morning

I figure I see the tracks of a moose, deer, bear, elk, eel, and land shark in this pic.

I FOUND BIGFOOT TRACKS TOO!!!!!!!

The picture answers the following question: how do snowmobilers attract a suitable mate while drunk at Telemark lodge?

And now, off to work..........................................................................

A Jo Mama PSA

Remember to tell the person you care about that you love them. Do it everyday, don't wait for Hallmark to tell you when.
Oh, and get back to work.

Live Strong

Got my ride on yesterday after a 1 1/2 weeks of nothing. Between the cabin and bad back pain I needed to head out for a ride. Hopped on the monkey and met up with 5 other locals to get our ride on. MC, CF, JS, DG, Old Man Palmer, and I headed out for pavement and gravel exploration. MC and I headed back a wie early as he had not had much time on the bike and my legs were twitching from lack of riding as well. Did I mention that MC started the Rochester chapter of the Charly Tri fan club. Check it out at http://www.trirochester.com/. All in all a good ride. I ended up with almost 3 hours for the day. I feel like I "woke" the legs up from their slumber and I can get back to normal riding again.

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Oh, what else is going on in my life? Hmmmmmm.

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I am building up the Trek race rigs for mountain bike races. They are gonna be FAST! Hopefully, I will not slow them down too much. I gotta get some more parts and finish those off.

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I am still looking for someone to fill Augie's Cabin for birkie this year.

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I am headed up there this next weekend with my Dad. Our wives may be joining us as well.

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I still find it odd when I find out people have found this blog (or as I like to say, my online drivel). Even odder when they say they read it regularly. I don't "advertise" it to people. In fact, I consider it like a "man diary" or "man scrapbooking". Sometimes I forget that there are people out there avoiding work to read the crap I write.

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Oh, well. Maybe you should get back to work.

Working Up Nort

So, my dad and I headed up North with a bunch of supplies, a bed, and a desire to make our new cabin "pretty". Thursday we loaded the van and J-No's brother's trailer, and proceeded to get really bad gas mileage for the next 4 hours on our way to Cable, WI.
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Our goals were simple: Change the decor upstairs from cardboard and paper sacks (yes that is what was on the walls) to something more appropriate, install insulation to increase the "R-value", and have a "man" weekend. Goals were accomplished for the most part. Left Thursday, got back Sunday, and worked in between.


Hauling the trailer. We were ridin' dirty.

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Yeah, my dad has interesting taste in dashboard accesories. It "dances" by the way.
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My dad has odd hours at work that mess with his sleep schedule, so it makes him tired and loopy. Here he is seeing if he can stick his head outside for 1 mile at 65mph and 30 degrees. He did do it. I guess we all have things we are good at.

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Then he took a nap.

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Although most of the owls had been removed before we closed we did get to keep some including 2 owl lamps. BLING, BLING!!!

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Yeah, the upstairs loft area looked a lot like this. Scary stuff.

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First we thought about leaving our newly installed insulation and making it a "moon" room.

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When we thought about it our wives would not like the moon room, so we started to install female approved wall treatments. The loft is quickly going from the eyesore of the cabin to the coolest area. **Editors Note: What you see is beadboard, not plain plywood. There are grooves spaced about 1 1/2" apart just like wainscoating, but it is hard to see in the picture.**

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There is plenty of wildlife in the area, including these deer we saw out the window. FYI, that is Dale Voight's cabin. He is one of the children of Augie, grew up in the cabin, sold us the place, and is an all around nice guy. The shorcut to the trail system is between our cabins to the left.

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We did not get to to see ALL of the wildlife. There have been sightings of this guy near Seely. According to police reports, the furry guy wears Sorels.

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Well, that is all for now. I used this week as a rest week and I am back into "training" now. I have some goodies on the way that will help me in my '08 cycling campaign. I will post some pics of that soon.

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I plan on going up to the cabin again this weekend to get more work done. This time I will bring a bike and get some riding in. My father will not be joining me. If you would care to join me you are welcome. The plan is to do some more construction and ride. Seriously, let me know if interested.

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For now though, I will get to work. There is a bunch of construction at the shop as well.

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.