Cross has begun

The first foray into running and riding the bike was great fun this weekend. The CX race in Sun Prairie was made into a U.S. Grand Prix national event. Two days of tight twisty sprints through Angel Park, I was planning on only racing on Sat but after racing like a wuss I decided to go back for more on Sun. On Sat I started in 58 and finished 56 out of 108 riders. I t was muddy and slick and I was not very aggressive, so I figured I better try again the next day. On the other end of the spectrum Spencer started dead last in the race and finished fourth, just off the podium, and Bryan finished 17th. Sunday started out much drier and with a few changes to the course that I really liked. Since I did not preregister I started in the last row of 100 or so riders, I made it through half the pack in the first three corners and settled in to recover a bit, after that I only was able to pick off a couple of riders per lap and could not make a dent in the group just ahead of me. So I finished 56th again even though I rode much harder and attacked as much as I could. Spencer got on the podium with a third place finish and Bryan finished 33rd. All in all it was a good weekend for me, I wasn't last and I did not get pulled from my first national event. It was fun to see old friends and to watch the international field of pros tearing it up around the course. Jerry Long flew in from Idaho for the weekend and rode well, Ryan and Lisa were not able to race Sat due to illness but had a strong showing Sun.
On another note there is a possibility of me and Chasity getting in to the Iceman in Kalkaska MI for the Midwest Championships, cross your fingers we wont know for a couple of weeks.

Fall is here....

in more ways than one, falling leaves in the yard, falling in the standings, falling further behind in the training. Treadfest was great, just as fun and fast as I remembered. I did not see the chipmunk that got squashed but I still can hear the screams of pain as people were cramping up on such a hot day. I chose to not go out hard and just enjoy the trails, I have cramped up and blown up at the last couple of races and did not want to do it again this weekend. The plan worked even after spending Saturday night at a wedding reception (congrats Dani and Roger). Still looking forward to Sun Prairie in two weeks, maybe that will get me back in the mood to go fast, or at least try to go fast.

Kettles

On Sunday we spent a wonderful day at the Kettles. Monica rode 9 miles of the blue loop and only got off her bike a few times, she did some awesome riding. At the connector trail Monica and I headed back to the parking lot while the rest of the group rode on. Monica waited for me in the parking lot while I did the red, white, orange, and purple loops. I would ride for twenty minutes and stop back and check on her over and over. Chasity came back and Bryan and I headed out for one last 7 mile loop. Almost four hours and over 35 miles of single track.
Tonight I decided to get the cross bike tuned up for Sept 26th. To my dismay the chain was toast, so I called Wildside to see if they had any Campy ten speed chains. Brian said "No" apparently there has been a shortage of Campy chains in the U.S. this year. He informed me that a SRAM chain should work and luckily I had a spare in the basement. It worked OK and I headed of to Devils Lake. Need a few adjustments but I am looking forward to Sun Prairie. See yall at Treadfest.

Looks and legs can be deciving.

I cracked, like an egg. I felt so good and was riding so well, never pulled, never attacked, just sat in at the front. First lap 45 min, this is awesome, do not do any work. Second lap 50 min, wow I am going to crack the top 40 overall maybe 5th in age group, do not do any work. Third lap man this is getting hard, why can't I turn my peddles, and did 20 people just pass me? Oh man I just need to finish, I will check my computer and see how much farther. 6 MILES!!. Okay pull over take a breather and some water, you can finish, but do not do any work if possible. Was that Russel Jobs who just smacked me on my ass, this is bad. There's the finish and two more lost spots. I am done. Smoked Meat.

All the people in the picture eventually caught me and passed me. Looks can be deceiving.

Throwing it all away

Well I hurt me back on Monday, could barley walk when I got home. Lots of ice, heat, and rest and I am feeling a lot better. I was pretty bummed and cranky on Monday, thought the rest of the season had to be written off. Met up with the Sharks for a road ride this morning and I felt ok, wanted to ride for one hour and see how it felt before racing tomorrow. Everything went well and I will be in Saumico on Sunday.

The Dairy Air

I really enjoy riding in the farmlands of Suak County, but sometimes the smell of fresh manure can really be gut wrenching. We caught a pretty good whiff of it on Irish valley Rd on Sat. Other than that it was a beautiful weekend for riding. I went over to the Krayers in Denzer on Saturday to ride with them and the Fraziers, unfortunately Ryan was on call and the phone rang just as he was getting his stuff ready for the ride. We had to ride without him towards Spring Green and back up to Plain. The brat stand was a wonderful sight to see in Plain, being that this was one of the first rides I have ever brought money with me, I had a delicious sausage in a bun. Sunday brought the second ride of the weekend with a trip to the Railroad Inn in North Freedom on the Brefixt ride. We once again had a large diverse group with three first time brefixters. The Peariso's came down and a guy named Mike from Adams showed up, the ride is gaining notoriety. The breakfast was great but the ride, company, and views were even better. Unfortunately Chasity did not make the ride because of a bachelorette party. Looking forward to the next WORS race and started our party checklist for cross season with Brian and Niki. Afro wig, boom box, Schlitz, foam finger, Belgian flag... feel free to add to the list.

2:59:59

The goal this year was three hours. At 2:59:59 I crossed the line bloodied, bruised, and dirty, but I did it, putting your head down for a split second can have disastrous results. At about the 20 mile mark I was working with two other guys when after my pull I found myself getting dropped. Looked down to take a few hard pedal strokes to catch on and then I was in the back of them. That awful sound of tire on tire and then bam my head and shoulder augering into the gravel road. Nobody wants to be that guy, luckily I did not take any of the others down with me. I sat for a few dazed seconds and then I was back on and chasing the group I just crashed out of. After drilling it and not gaining I started to get caught from behind. It was nice to see Rick Walls and Russel Jobs just catching me at Misery Hill. We rode together until the road climb and I was off. I could see Rick and Russel sitting up to let me catch on but I just couldn't bridge on the climb. Then I was alone picking off a few riders on the way to the finish. I kept calculating in my head how fast I needed to keep driving to get to the finish in 3 hours but with 2 miles to go the cramps set in and I did not think I would make it. As the seconds ticked down a guy on a single speed came by me and pulled me to the line. Thank you whoever you were 2:59:59. 103rd overall.
We had a great weekend Chasity and Niki rode the Soft Rock and had a good race, Brian finished somewhere in the top 75 on his first attempt at the Hard Rock. Lisa and Ryan made the podium in the Hard Rock and Terry had a great first attempt at 156 overall. It was cool to see Monica do the Junior Rock for the first time, there were over 120 kids participating.
Next year top 100 for sure