Looking forward to next season.

Well, my dad and I set off for Iowa on Saturday morning for the 24 Hours of Seven Oaks.

My goal? The $1,200 first prize in the solo category.
My concern? I suffered (and I do mean suffered) heat stroke 2 weeks prior. Weather for the race was set to be in the high 80's.

We got to the race with 2 hours to spare. Got everything set up and sat in the AC in the chalet to chill out before the start. My game plan was to attempt to stay cool until night fall.

The lemans start had me losing my bike briefly. After mounting the 69'er I found myself waaaaay back. The organisers had us going up a gravel hill just to break everything up and I ended up moving into 3rd overall without much effort. That is how I rode the first lap until a team racer passed me at the end. I ended that first lap with a gap of a couple of minutes.

My pits were taken easily. I would fuel up and try to cool off. My effort the entire time was controlled significantly as to keep the body temp from blowing up again. I was deeply worried about the heat. I would stop almost every lap in the middle of the course so that I could take my helmet off and cool off.

The second lap the chasers brought me in after I ripped open my tire. I would spend the next four hours following the top 3 guys as we were all within a minute of each other. My legs said they could go harder, but the heat and humidity did not. I was suffering from the heat, but looking forward to night fall.

On the fifth lap the temps seemed to cool some (about 5pm). I continued my same pace, but others seemed to slow down some. Withing 2 laps I had built up a 25 minute lead. Starting out for lap 8 I took time to change out of my soaked clothes and put on my lights.

The temps were still high, but the humidity seemed to sky rocket at the start of that lap. My body felt like it was on fire. I stopped and dosed my head with the ice water in my camelback. I significantly slowed my pace at that point. Eventually I layed down on the ground. I was seeing stars, I was disoriented, and shutting my eyes would cause my head to "swim". It was very scary. After a long period of laying down I saw Andrew Carney come by to move into first place (which he would keep until the end).

I got going again, but I could barely keep the tire on the trail. Every 20 feet saw me hit a tree or my front tire wash out. The odd thing was that my legs still felt great, but at this point I was very worried. Then I got a flat again. That process took a very long time and I saw the third place rider come by.

My day was done. I had clearly not recovered from my heat exhaustion in Lacrosse 2 weeks ago. My body was very prepared for this race except for the heat, but I was literally worried for my safety at that point.

When I have a race like this I like to focus my sights on the next one. With my first child ready to come out soon my plans for racing go to next year and Transiowa. I think I may be back to Iowa next year to give it another try.

Some notes:
-It is always interesting to watch solo riders at the beginning. I successfully picked out 2 riders that would suffer badly after several hours from the way they rode in the first couple of hours.
-The race was fun, and the organisers were cool.
-The course was about 8 miles long. Had about 1,800ft of climbing per lap. The number of switchbacks were immense.
-I had to dry out my tent and chairs from the race as the humidity had soaked them.
-Except sensitivity to the heat, I felt fine the next day. My body did not feel like it rode for close to 8 hours.
-My bike was awesome except for the tire.
-My dad was great in the pits.
-My wife is huge, um, I mean the baby is growing!
-You get paid to work, not blog surf.

Lacking the blogging skills.

Something is up with my computer so when I go to enter a post on the blog the window shuts down. It is very odd, but that is why the drought. This message is brought to you from the work computer.

Here are some brief highlights in the last couple of weeks,

-The kid is growing well if the wife's stomach is any indication.

-Raced 12 hours of the blufflands in Lacrosse. It went something like this; feeling great, build 25 minute gap, start feeling hot, feel really hot, suffer heat exhaustion with emptying of the stomach, rest and cool for 90 minutes, get mad, ride despite very nauseous and not able to eat much, move up into 3rd and almost overtake 2nd, get a mechanical, proper inflation missing, and body shuts down from lack of food. 5th out of 10. Good news is I rode strong when I was riding. Bad news was I could barely eat for 3 days.

-I went to Trek's dealer show which kicked butt. Got to talk with Travis Brown and ride awesome bikes (no lie, they were amazing). Mark fell down, banged up his ribs, and Gary Fisher fetched him some margaritas for the pain (no lie, Fisher was Mark's errand boy).

-Went to the cabin and did work with the old man. Raced the Pre Fat in Seely. I rode the hour there on back roads from the cabin and back. I left late so I actually had to TT it to the start to make it on time. My muscles pleaded for a warm up in the 50 degree weather, but I could not oblige. Got to the start with the field already lined up. I picked up my timing chip, used the bathroom, and pulled up to the start with a little over a minute to go. That was the time I could get a little stretching in. The start hurt a lot with the muscles so stiff, heck the whole race did. Four hours of riding with the first 3 at race pace. I ended up 19th out of 90 in the expert field, 2nd in my age group.


-I planning on racing the 24 Hours of 7 Oaks solo this weekend. I may or may not have support. Wish me luck.

Just a couple of pics.





Trek built up a sub 20 pound Top Fuel without getting too crazy with part spec.

Your boss appreciated the fact that you had nothing to read on my insignificant blog lately. Maybe you should get back to work.

See ya

I'm off to Trek World. So while you look for your red Swingline stapler and threaten to burn the building to thje ground, I'll be riding Trek's 2009 bikes in Madison for 3 days. Damn it feels good to be a gangsta.

A race, a vacation, and a race

Time for my belated recaps. By the way, thanks everyone for the words about the back. I have been stretching, working, massaging, and applying icy hot to my back. It finely is feeling good and I was able to crank out a harder 4+ hour ride today with no pain. Yes Dan, I hope to defend my title in Lacrosse. I have another 24 hour race in my sights so stay tuned (as if you really care).

Race #1 Duluth, Spirit Mountain

This was to be a last minute race a week before the big race at Nine Mile. I lined up at the front as it was either that or the way back. The race started at the base of the hill with NO lead up, and I went for it at the start. My first race at Spirit Mountain and I got the hole shot to the singletrack . Having never ridden here, all I knew is that the next section of trail would be singletrack and descending for the most part. The singletrack instead was a gnarly, rocky, no good line, rock'em sock'em trail. With my too hard of a start and getting whipped around I went backward fast. The race would be 2 laps and it took me the first 1/2 lap to recover. As a teammate said the descent was harder then the climb.

Second lap was going well. I had passed some guys on the main climb and I was feeling much more comfortable in the singletrack. A blow out of the front tire required a new tube so I flipped my bike over and went to work. Somehow I managed to drop the wheel and it rolled a good 20 feet down the hill. I did manage to find that comical at the time. When I hopped on the bike I found that I managed to leave my bottle open and the contents of said bottle were now hydrating plants. Oh well. I rode the last 3/4 of the lap with no water on a super hot day. Got a chance to talk with some guys and I rolled in for 25th place. Ben rocked it for his first MNSCS race. Now pics.

Move over suckas!



Who got the hole shot? I got the hole shot.

And a pic after I went backwards, hard.

Vacation

Front load and I headed up to the cabin in Cable for a week. Yeah, I did some riding at Rock Lake which is da bomb. Mostly we hiked, canoed, and chilled though. We had a blast and cannot wait to spend more time up there.

I believe the state park we went to was Granite falls. Nina liked the river.

Is someone tired?

Yeah, it was as fun as it looks.

Hmmm. Maybe you should NOT be looking at the candy. Picture taken at the candy shop in Hayward that has a crazy large selection. This picture was just the tip.

Stopped here in the middle of on canoe trip for lunch. Good stuff.

Beavers, geese, loons, and eagles (especially one huge bald one) were just part of the wildlife that greeted us on our canoe trips.

Oh, and begging little ducks as well.

24 hours of 9 Mile

I sorta gave my recap on this. I looked back at my lap times and was happy with what I saw. Thanks as always to the wife for coming out and crewing for me.

.

Do you really spend this much time reading blogs at work?

24-9 prereport race report.

Well the 24 hour national championships did not go as planned. I was having some unexplained problems with the muscles around my left knee the day before the event. During the event the muscle was tightening up. It got to the point where I was only getting about 50% power out of my left leg during the race and I was starting to have problems with my upper back. During the 3rd lap I stopped twice to stretch out the muscle. After the 3rd lap (in which I was running in the top 10 without over exerting myself) I pitted to massage out my muscle and to take a break from the increasing heat (my body doesn't do well in the heat). After that my upper back went haywire and the pain was too much to take anymore. I had to pull the plug. Even now as I type this my back is not in any shape to ride hard. I have been to the chiropractor (who was amazed out how messed up my body was), and I have been stretching. Hopefully I can get some redemption for my early dismissal.

Pictures and more to follow.

I work now.

Next stop Cable, then 24-9.

Alright, Front Load and I are headed up to the cabin for a little R & R for a week. Canoeing, biking, and hiking will all be enjoyed.

Sunday I'll be making my face known at the MNSCS race at Spirit Mountain. Then next weekend it is 9 mile (24 hour national championship). Wish me luck.

Just thought I would throw up some pics of my favorite bike EVER!


Ride it, don't hide it, 69 it.


Trek, 69ing, and Bontrager. Yeah, I dig it.

Hopefully I'll get to update our adventures while we are up there.

Now you work, and I'll vacation. Zooooooommmmmm.

Revving the engine in park.

Updating the blog, hmmm yeah that is a thought.

Let's see what I could fill everyone in on. This weekend saw "Front Load" and I traveling to the state of cheese and QB controversies for baby and bike stuff.

Becky's 1st of 2 baby showers went really well. Good food, good family and friends, and good fun. Her sister and mother threw her a great shower filled with lots-o-baby stuff. Somehow we were able to fit everything in the car for the trip back.

I was already to go for my second endurance race of the year. I felt good, but not great before the start. Get there and the rain that we were seeing caused a delay of an hour. Then they decided to delay it another hour, and then to cancel. I guess it is bad news when that course and moisture dance. I was looking forward to riding because I like it when the race gets tougher (as long as I don't have to get off the bike). I was fine with that as it meant I was still undefeated in my long races (1 for 1 is just so dang impressive), but I am now disappointed as that was going to be the last kick in the pants before 24 hours of 9 mile. I did get chance to meet Chris, a guy that is one to keep an eye on at these races.

Monday the wifey and I celebrated our 7th anniversary in the traditional way. We did beer bongs and shots of whiskey until one of us passed out.

How about some pictures....




Bling, bling baby style.


Everyone say hey!! HEEEEYYY!!! Everyone say ho! HOOOO!! Now scream! AHHHHHHHHH!

All packed and ready to rumble.

But rain and the Metro course spell trouble.

Seven years and going.

32 weeks and growing.

One side note. I love my Trek Top Fuel 69'er. I cannot find a single complaint with that bike. Nothing else that I wish for or would want to change. My only hope is that it is still in the Trek line up for '09. I'll find out here soon enough at Trek world I guess.

.

Now back to work for both of us.

I'll put sand in your stomach.

This last Saturday involved driving to a birthday party and then a wedding. Sunday was 5 hours on the bike with Tri Guy, then painting, then entertaining the folks. Here is some pics...


Happy 1st birthday Emma.


Front Load was more than happy to show Diana the "pizza cutter" at the party. What is the pizza cutter? Well, it is the cousin of "the credit card". Ask Becky, she'll show you. What a classy gal!

Front Load at 7 1/2 months pregnant. This is on the Mississippi at the spot we became girlfriend/boyfriend over 10 years ago. Now look at her.

Not much else to report. I have a 12 hour race this weekend along with Becky's baby shower. My mind is on something else these days though as well as a week that we'll be spending soon at cabin.

Time to shuffle off to work.

Fun times

Becky aka. "Front Load" and I spent the 4th up at the cabin. We met her sister, her sister's husband, and their 10 month old child. Camera was forgotten at home, so I will describe the pictures I would have taken.



Right here is where I would put the picture of the Jetta. I would point out that it has my 69'er Top Fuel on the back rack and a new canoe on top rack. Nina had to sit on top of things as we had much crap to haul inside the car, including a lawn mower. That thing was fully loaded.



The picture that would be displayed here is Nina running through the Namekagon River as we take take the canoe out for it's first paddle. She ran and swam in the river the entire time while we canoed.



This space would display Becky, her belly, her sister, and her niece in the pool at Telemark lodge after the 4th of July parade in cable. The fireworks that night were awesome.



I may have brought the camera for the two rides I was able to sneak away for. I spent a total of 4 1/2 hours in the rock lake trail system (rode to the trail head from the cabin) and it was fantastic. The legs seem recovered from last weekend, and I am anxious to get back up there again.





Well, that is it. I need to call some people and then get to work. I realized that 24 hours of nine mile is coming up on me, so I got to get ready.

The reasons I am sore today.

So this weekend saw me set out on one of the dumbest things I have ever done. Saturday would see me race in the Levis 100 mile mountain bike race. Sunday, I would compete in the Rochesterfest Triathlon. Why both? Well, I dig long mountain bike races, for one. Two, my baby's momma wanted to do the Triathlon. With a 7 month old fetus in her, I decided to do it for her. I will give two reports on the day.

Saturday-Levis 100

Woke up at 3am and we were on the road by 4am for the 3 hour drive. Got there, set up camp, and registered. Got a chance to talk to Chris Schotz (constant competitor at these races), Mike Minetti (strong rider from MN), and Dan Dettmer (strong endurance racer, new member of Velorochester this year). I figured this race would be one of the most competitive I have done.

They changed the course this year so we now did half the distance per lap (12.5 miles vs. 25 miles), but double the laps (8 vs. 4). The course change would also see a little more climbing and a lot more singletrack. The course was a mixture of very rooty tight singletrack, steep sandy and rocky climbs, and power dragging sand filled ski trails. The course was rough, technically very difficult in spots, and required a lot of power and finesse. It reminded my a lot of LaCrosse's course last year except not as much climbing and this seemed to beat you up more.

First lap I set out to hit the singletrack first, settle into a pace, and hopefully build a gap using my Trek Top Fuel 69'er to slice up the singletrack. I was able to do just that, but not without a couple of hiccups. There was a ribbon down that saw me lose about 30 seconds (it was fixed after the first lap), I lost air in the front tire which I had to pump up, and a nasty rooty section sent my right shoulder and thigh into a tree (very nice bruises today). I was feeling good, and probably going harder then I should have. Knocked out the first lap in about 1 hour, 10 minutes Second lap, I just tried to settle into a consistent pace. I would find out that I had about a 4 minute gap at the start of the second lap (all my splits would be over an hour old). Second lap was done in about 1 hour, 13 minutes.

Third lap saw me start to cramp. Not while riding, but if I had to put a foot down it caught my attention. After the forth lap I asked my fine wife for extra electrolytes in the bottle, and that seemed to cure the problem. Halfway through and my body was starting to tire, but 30 seconds after I left the start area the 50 miler riders started. I picked up the pace a little that 5th lap so that I was riding about 10th place with the 50 milers. The tight trails I could keep up with them easily, but I had a harder time on the climbs then their fresh legs.

The sixth lap, oh the sixth lap. My stomach had been bothering me much of the race, but it got really bad that lap. I stopped to dry heave, but nothing came out. I was getting tired, so tired. I closed my eyes at one moment and almost fell asleep!! The lack of sleep the previous 2 nights were catching up with me. All I could think about was not closing my eyes and getting back to camp for some caffeine. My confidence of finishing was diminishing. The rough course was taking its toll on my arms and lower back. I turned off the propedal on my rear shock and it made every bump feel much, much, much smaller. I got into the pit area after a long, dragged out lap. I drank down a Mountain Dew Amp Energy drink so that I maybe able to stay awake. Yeah, the trucker size. I took a longer pit than usual and set out. I had a 10 minute gap on Dan at the end of the 5th lap before(yeah, Velorochester!) and a huge gap (Becky's words) on third. I knew after the last lap I would have sacrificed much of that gap.

The seventh lap I rode at a hard pace that would give me a little extra for the end. I was feeling better, but the only food that my stomach liked was the bananas from the water stop on the course. Luckily we went by it twice and there was a guy there that hooked me up every time by. I rode well enough that I was assuming I did not give up any time to Dan on that 7th lap, but I did find out that he was only 4 minutes behind me at the end of the 6th lap. I knew Dan was getting those gaps in real time and was gunning for me.

At the start of the eighth lap, I dumped the camelback and took one large bottle. I needed to be light and fast(er). I kept doing the glance over the shoulder looking for my teammate, hoping to only see just ridden trail. The Amp Energy drink was wearing off a little and I was running on fumes. I knew that if Dan caught me it would be mentally disastrous as I had been out front all day. With only a mile left I realized that I was not going to see him. I rolled in to finish off my long day, 5 minutes up on Dan.

After 10 hours and 34 minutes I finished first in the 100 miler (woo hoo!). Velorochester went 1-2 (yeah booooyyy!!). Chris was third. Mike rolled in for forth, and CJ Faulkner followed in 5th (both MN boys).

A short lived dip in the lake near by, then a shower, and then a hot pocket (that was nasty, but warm) from the BP gas station next to the lake was my post race celebration.


Finishing up a lap.


My Baby's Momma hooking me up with some goodies. She was great all day. Yeah, I keep my jersey unzipped to get the David Hasselhoff look.

At the end of the 6th lap. Becky and myself were sure that Dan would catch me after this pit, but I wouldn't give it to him on a silver platter. Note the Amp drink in my hand.

Punching the clock after over 10 1/2 hours of rough mountain biking.

Side note: This race was dedicated to my crew from 24 Hours of Nine Mile last year where I ended early with bad physical problems. They were great and I was not that day, so here's to them (Becky, Richard, and Mark).
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Sunday- Rochesterfest Tri

Well, we got to sleep about midnight in our bed from the day before. I woke up at 6am an headed out to pick up my packet. A trip to McDonald's for a biscuit with egg, cheese, and bacon was needed as my metabolism was in overdrive. Got home at 6:30 and started my prerace planning. Hmmm, what do I need? Gotta find those new shoes Becky got me, where are some swimming goggles, I'll probably need a towel, hope I have everything I need, whoosh. At 7am I popped some ibuprofen and sport legs before riding to the course a mile away. I had to set up my bike before the transition shut down at 7:35.

.

Met up with the Baby's Momma just before the race (I let her sleep in). Stiff and sore I was not planning on anything except trying to finish.

.

The swim hurt hurt the most. My arms were exhausted from the day before so they were instantly acting up. If they had'em available I would have used a kickboard they hurt so bad. I alternated between the freestyle and breast stroke just trying to not swallow too much water. I found out I was REALLY SLOW in my swim time. It did not surprise me with how my arms felt out there. Did I mention it has been years since I have really swam?

.

The bike felt good. The swim helped to loosen up the muscles and I was able to go harder than I anticipated, but still not 100%. I passed loads of people with my forearms on the tops of my bars.

.

I hit the transition for the run and saw only 2 other bikes in my area. I was heading out in third place for my age group? Well, the run was spent just trying not to walk. My "stride" felt short and clumsy, my legs hurt from the day before's ride and bruise on my thigh, but I just tried to keep myself from walking. Did I mention I have not ran since December of last year? I ended up not walking except for 5 feet at the turn around.

.

I ended up 22nd out of 119 male starters and 3rd out of 28 in my age group. Much better than I anticipated (even if I was at full strength). The race was fun, but I have no plans to switch over to the tri's.

.

The race was especially fun as it was local and I knew a ton of people. Customers from the shop, members of Trirochester, and people from the shop made it it a fun time.

.

.

Me and the Baby's incubator before the start.

Looking fly. How many years has it been since I freestyled swim for more than 25 feet?

Out of of the water, looking for my bike.

I was in the 10th wave, my age is thirty. Triathlons like to "brand" people".

Back home for a 3 hour nap and then we headed over to party with the Trirochester group.

This was a long tiring weekend, but I am sore and happy. My first win of the year and an unexpected good result in the tri made things more enjoyable.

.

Hopefully some more pictures and times tommorrow.

.

Time to head off to work now....

Did I mention...

that I am doing a triathlon this Sunday? Yeah, 100 miles on the mountain bike on Saturday and then a Sprint Triathlon on Sunday. So far my prep for this race has including the following:

-Ride my bike alot
-Register
-Pick out what I should wear (I am wearing it right now to judge if I can run in it)

I hope the whole "swimming and running" don't get in the way of my bike split.

Your goal for today; earn your time off from work this weekend.

Me again

This last Saturday saw me head out for 3 hours on the gravel for tempo drills that tend to cook the legs. I came back and the Baby's Momma and I headed out for another hour of Essex Park shredding. She may be 7 months pregnant, but she has a new mountain bike this year and the itch to ride. Don't worry, she didn't go off any ledges over 4 feet high.

Sunday, I headed out for another 4 hours on my mountain bike to do a race paced gravel road ride. The day before had me limping a little on the hills, but I felt strong the rest of the time. I just wanted to test the legs for my first "big" race this weekend.

Yes, she is 7 months pregnant there. Yes, that is the Trek 69'er Top Fuel she is riding. Yes, I have that same bike. Yes, it kicks booty. Yes, we made Nina pose for the picture.

Notes:

-This week will be some recovery as the legs got worked over this last weekend.

-We turned the AC on for the first time last night.

-My sister is in Europe. One of my younger brothers is going to Ecuador. I am going to Cable for the 4th and getting jiggy on the sweet trails.

Time to get back to what you get paid for.

Karma bites back

So on my way to work this morning I hear the pleasant sound of a McDonald's bag full of crap hitting the pavement. The offending car had just passed me and went on like nothing had happened. A couple of small rollers later and said car is now off to the side of the road with one of our friendly boys in blue behind.


Me to the officer: "Hey, did you pull her over in the last 45 seconds?"

Officer: "Why yes", with a puzzled look.

Me: "She just got done tossing her McDonald's bag out the window. It is sitting right in the middle of the road back there"

Officer: With a big smile, "Well, I guess she will be going back to pick that up now isn't she?"

Me: "Cool, thanks"

Officer: "Thank You!"


Karma bites (including the tire variety).


Now, time for me (and you) to get back to work.

Pain in the rear.

So, updates have been lacking. Sorry about that. I feel bad. I will do better. Here is a small recap from the last couple of weeks.

Afton Alps Race
Eight days before this race I bruised my tailbone during an attempt to win a town sign sprint on a road ride (yes, I know setbacks have plagued me lately). It wasn't horrible, but I must of agitated it as it was very painful on race day. Every little bump sent pain to my da donka donk. With the saddle tittled up it was a little better, but I figured lining up in the back of the field was appropriate as I knew the day would not go well. I took the race at a the same pace I would in a 12 hour race because speed meant more bigger hits to the rear. Well, the first lap was painful and the second lap saw my pace stay the same while others were already starting to slow. A couple of hard shots at the beginning of the lap to the rear caused the pain to go beyond what I was willing to endure. That and fear of further damage caused me to pull the plug. I ended the day with some hill intervals out of the parking lot (pavement was fine on the rear) and watching Brendan clean up on the field. Everything feels good again.

Baby's Momma
Yeah, she is getting bigger. Looks like her stomach ( and only her stomach) took too many trips to the buffet line at OCB. She looks awfully cute though, right?

Wedding
We set off for Becky's brother's wedding on Friday. We found out there was a road closure on the interstate and set off on our own detour as to avoid the 10 miles of stop and go traffic just to get on the clogged designated detour. Well, my "short cut" had a detour because the road was closed. Then another. Almost 8 hours later we made it to Milwaukee. It only took us twice as long as it normally would. We were fine though as we did not have our home flooded like so many that we saw on our trip. The wedding was fun. The picture above is from the rehearsal dinner.

Training

I think training is going well. I feel like I have been riding strong lately and should be ready for 100 miles of mountain biking racing on the 28th in Levis Mounds. I have been doing secret intervals that should help me dominate the world.

That is it now for now. You and I both need to get to work.

Transmission works again.

Memorial day weekend.

-Got work done at one duplex
-Rode on the Lanesboro trail with "she who carrys the child".
-Had an impromptu bonfire at the house.
-Got in some other fun rides. One with Dab Man (Jon Finoff) and one with Tri Guy.
-Got the lawn ready to hopefully be green and lush.
-Got the garden ready and flowers planted.
-Hardly touched the "to do" list.



Anywho, my baby's momma is expanding daily and she is officially 6 months along. We are trying to get things ready to go soon here. She is still working out, but running is being phased out and swimming/elliptical are being phased in. Speaking of working out, I finally feel like my fifth gear works again (first time this year). After 2 CC races and 2 local mtb TT's, the legs are kicking strong again. Last night's mtb TT felt good and I finally feel like I have caught up in my fitness from the debacle that was my knee injury.
.

That is it for now, get back to work.

There is hope for our society.

Guess what very pregnant woman that I live with used to stand up at NKOTB concerts screaming her love for Joey?

8=0, the Kuske mantra for VR training camp

It came, it went, it rocked; the First Annual Velorochester Training Camp at the cabin. The goal for the weekend was to ride, race, and get ball'n up in the Cable, WI area. Also, this would also give me a chance to explore the trails up there for the first time.

.

Friday

Tri-Guy (Mark Carey), Kuske (Matt Kurke), and I meet up with Chris SL (Chris Fisher) and Sam-o (Sam Oftedahl, a guest member for the weekend) We decide to take off for a shake down ride before it got dark. We took off from the cabin and up the Esker trail (starts at the cabin). By the end of the trail, rain starts in. When we get on Spider Lake Road the wind is howling. A large falling pine tree almost stops the weekend short for many of us (you should have hard the thing crack). The weather calms when we get back and KC (Brendan Moore), Wenkster (Jason Wenk), and Dot Com (Paul Hanson, guest member) show up. Antics raged as the campfire burns.

.

Saturday

Someone gets everyone up at 6am to see the black bear in the field across the road. We get up, Kuske makes some flapjacks, and we roll out to the race. The cabin was perfectly situated between the start and the finish so we lessened our carbon footprint by riding to and fro. The training camp does well with Dot Com winning, KC in 3rd, Sam-o in 4th, Chris SL in 7th, and Kuske in 12th. Wenkster, Tri-Guy and I all had problems during the race. Wenkster felt like poo. I managed to stack it hard while riding behind Kuske down a fireroad halfway through and then run out of water for 8 miles. Tri-guy broke a chain and ran, yes he did run, 3 miles until getting it fixed. Kuske's burgers and munchin on Dot Com's pork made our bellys happy after the race. Tri-guy goes for a trail run afterwards and ends up hurting his hand, taking him out of the ride that night and the next day. The night ride planned for Saturday ends before it starts because of weather (and KC and Dot Com's sad puppy dog faces).

.

Sunday

Breakfast at the Cable Cafe saw KC signing the Fat Tire poster (check it out hanging behind their counter). Tri-Guy goes fishing while the rest of us head out again on the Esker trail. From there we did the Objibwe, and headed over on dirt roads for the Rock Lake trail. FUN, FUN, FUN trails!! We came back on the road where the headwind and speed were high. Almost a 4 hour ride that had all of us smiling and satisfied (that's what she said). We cleaned up the cabin and headed out.

.

.

Notes:

-Tri-Guy's hand is now very stiff and full of blood.

-Wenkster and Dot Com are not "officially" a couple, but we are happy for them both anyways.

-Top Chris SL can dig out a fire pit with a snow shovel.

-The cabin is a blast and open to rent for your own adventures.

-Pictures courtesy of Kuske.

-You need to get back to work.

Good morning

I gotta pack and such for this weekend, but needless to say the Cabin is about to get invaded by a bunch of mountain bikers.

Anyways, anybody catch The Office? As not to say to much; someone is gone, someone is pregnant, a couple got engaged, there is a new office love match, someone went to jail, someone is thought to be mentally handicapped, someone cheated on their partner, someone got promoted, and Darryl broke out his sweet synthesizer. All in all a decent episode.

Did I mention I got to feel the baby kick last night? Hopefully, the baby is mine and Becky did not go to a sperm bank (The Office reference).

Get back to work.

First race of the year.

Mother's day marked the first race of the year for me and pretty much the first hard effort. After taking care of my "I heart Mom" duties on Friday night I was clear for me time on the bike. The last month has seen me off the bike a lot (I like to say I was tapering). First, I had to let the knee recover which ended up taking over 2 weeks because I was impatient, and then a cold took out almost all riding for another 1 1/2 weeks. I came into this race well rested and thanks to my inability to restrain my hand to mouth actions during that time, a few pounds heavier. Needless to say, I was just hoping to get some intensity in and not embarrass myself too much.

I was in the second row at the MNSCS Expert start. A little small talk and making fun of others and their bikes as to get the upper mental edge was the game I was playing as my fun would end seconds later. Off we started, and I ended up soft pedaling for the first 70 feet as I was stuck behind some single speeder. A couple of corners and a small hill before the water tower bend saw me move up several spots in the prologue. I held back at the start as I knew I could easily blow up, but still hit the singletrack in 7th position behind Hollywood with a group of 4 just seconds up on us. I was feeling really good at that point and made a pass, to which Sam Oftedahl (Erik's brother) passed me. I held his wheel until the my internal power regulator prematurely started to turn down the dial. And that is what happened the rest of the race. I could not sustain a good power output as the dial kept getting turned down despite never feeling redlined. I steadily made my way backwards, and 1 hour and 41 minutes later, ended 26th for the day. Last year I was 13th and a couple of minutes faster. Now I just to get some time on my bike at high intensity to build on the base miles in the legs.

Picture courtesy of Ryan Isaacs off of the MNSCS page.

Some race notes:

-The course was dry and fast except for the mudhole that sucked in more than one front wheel. The rain the night before was shown who the boss is by the MORC race organizers.

-My bike is awesome. I love the way that things rides.

-There were several more team members out there from Velorochester this year which was great! Old Man Barlow took his age group in citizen, "Killer Calves" Moore took second overall in Expert, and Top Chris SL followed him in 8th. It is cool to see others rocking out some top places.

-It was good to get a race in the legs. The body feels like it woke back up and knows that it is time to get to some serious riding.

-Doug Swanson would have won by more had he put a 26" rear wheel on, but he had read the article and did not want to give it any acknowledgement by doing as such.

-Matt Kurke. No notes, just mentioning his name.

.

Some Non-race notes:

-My baby's momma is getting the kicks going on from the growth in her tummy. That is pretty sweet.

-The first ever Velorochester training camp is this next weekend. One thing is for sure, we will not be measuring saddle set backs. We are too cool for that.

-I have got a lot of painting to do today before the new tenant moves in this weekend.

-Rochester Cycling and Fitness is busy these days.

-You need to get back to work.

I made Velonews, kinda.

I was interviewed for this news article for a new feature in Velonews and was able to get a sneak peak before it gets published:

_________________________________________________________________
.
Big Wheelie Rolling



By Toby Flenderson



..
In a time where light weight seems to rule the course there is one rider that takes advantage of the new technology despite possible weight gain. Four years ago mountain bike racer Charly Tri remained ahead of the curve by joining and and then leading the 29" wheel revolution. "It just rides so much better. Better traction, a smoother ride, who wouldn't want that?", Charly explains.
.
It took several years, but top pros are now hearing Charly's calls. The results speak for themselves and now 29" wheels can be found all over. Professional Gary Fisher rider Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski had been one of those with his eye on Charly and his exploits on his big wheels. "I wouldn't say that Charly had any influence on my bike choice," a tight lipped JHK responded, "I mean, I may read his blog. Ok, sure, he made have had a large affect on my bike choice.". Doug Swanson was a pro mountain bike racer from MN that heard Charly's call, "He just seemed to make so much sense. He has convinced me to race on a Gary Fisher Superfly this year. I can only hope to get the same benefits on it that Jo Mama, a nickname of Charly's on the MN circuit, has reaped".
.
Well, Charly has a new trick up his sleeve this year. "Yeah, I am riding the Trek 69'er bikes for 2008. I just found that I got almost all of the benefits of the 29'er but better acceleration and handling with the 26" rear wheel," exclaimed an excited Charly. "To me, I just want to ride the best and I am lucky that I get to". Charly will be tackling the first MN race this weekend aboard his 69'er hardtail. As Charly says, "I truly believe this will be a faster bike, but I don't think my fitness will be there. I had to take a lot of time off to let me knee heal from a crash, and then I get sick. Frankly, it may be a very tough first race for me. I know I can't use the bike as an excuse though!!".
.
Both JHK and Doug Swanson were both approached about Charly's new bike choice for this year. We caught up with JHK at a Velonews photoshoot. After hearing the news of the 69'ers making it into Charly's stable a normally mellow JHK turned very upset. At first he was silent, but you could see his eyes water up, and then he unexpectedly through his carbon fiber Superfly 20 feet. After screaming several expletives, he locked himself in a dressing room where he could be heard crying.
.
Note:the information in the next paragraph is being relayed to you despite my lawyer's objections.
.
Our experience notifying Doug Swanson (or defendant #1 as he will be referred to soon in court) was dramatically different. It took us awhile to convince Doug that his 29'er was now "not good enough" for Charly's remarkable talent. When Swanson realized could be riding at a deficit the interview turned ugly quickly. He first started yelling, "Do you know who I am? I hold the fastest time at Chequamgon! I win road races at will! He can't do this to me! Do you know who I am?". Doug then got right into this reporter's face. He took his index finger, and while poking me in the chest, he demanded that Charly not be able to ride his new found secret. It was then that I noticed that Dan, his brother, was on all fours behind me. With a large push from Doug I was on the ground. Doug and Dan then both hopped on their 29'ers and repeatedly rode over me. Later, they would claim they not could distinguish the fact that they they were riding over my limp body because their big wheels smooth out the ride so much. My pleas for help were only met with yelps of ,"Grandstay mafia rules".
.
As you can see, riders are very picky and emotional when it comes to choosing their bikes. I saw the look of fear, anger, and sadness from top racing professionals when they realized that their bike may not be the best out there. With endurance races at the top of his racing schedule, Chary is excited to start the season. It is with baited breath that the world waits to see what "Jo Mama" can conquer on his 69'er this year.
______________________________________________________________

Blogger's note: I may have made all of this up, maybe.