And so it begins

Last year on this very day I weighed in at 232lbs. After a lot of mediocre work I whittled myself down to a svelte 206 by the time I raced Ore to Shore. Well after a six week hiatus from the bike I started running yesterday and rode the trainer today. After scaling myself this morning I have gained 6 pounds since the Iceman Cometh. Now the challenge is to get carving the fat and get down under 200 for the 2010 racing campaign. Looks like all our sponsors will be back again next season and we are hoping to pick up a few more. Still trying to convince Pete that Spencer needs every other Sunday off for the WORS series, we will see what happens. So now the work begins on the bike and off the bike to be a better rider. Hope to see you at the New Years Day Ride.

The rest period

Well I have not been on the bike since Iceman and it feels good. It was strange taking the roof-rack off the car for the drive to Muskegon for Thanksgiving, but it did improve gas mileage to 33.9 mpg for the trip. Its funny how I drive like I race, the car has real time gas mileage updates, so I always stay in the draft of larger vehicles until the very last moment before the pass. Had a great time with friends and family, had the best Chili Dogs ever, and drank more beer in three days then I did all year. Looking forward to just doing the maintenance on the bikes in the next couple of weeks then back to the trainer and DVDs of past pro races or college basketball. Hope to lose another 20 pounds over the winter like last year. Heck the way work is looking I may have a lot of time on my hands. Our team dinner is next weekend and hopefully we will be able to ride the MTB trails in the Dells before tearing into the worlds best pizza and beer.

Had a good birthday weekend. Watched my Alma Mater get spanked by the Budgers, and enjoyed some delicious PBR afterwards with Niki, Bryan, and Chasity. Got up the next morning and went to help Ryan just in time for him to be done cutting wood for the day.

Iceman and Chron's Cometh

What a great race, all you Iceman haters and naysayers can take a step back, no other point to point race that I have done has been this interesting or had single-track, yeah it had some sand but it also had character. The start was somewhat relaxed and I sat fourth wheel trying to do no work and just sit in. The guy in first attacked as soon as we hit the trail and steadily built his lead. Okay so I am probably not going to win but maybe I can be top five. I sat and went with every move the now three guys in front of me made. I remember a guy at the start telling me that the last 6-7 miles have lots of climbs and to pace myself for it. I just tried to ride my race and then to my surprise single track, this is awesome 4000 racers and single track? Well it was a little clogged up so I just started yelling left, left, left, and they all moved over and let me through. By this point we must have been at about the 4-5 mile mark and I looked around an there were only five of us from my age group within sight. When we hit about the 10 mile mark the attacks from the small group started and I got left behind and now figured I could be top ten. I started passing people laying all over the trail, people shedding winter riding gear, cramped up, or just hanging out eating. This is were it kinda got weird, I was passing people who started over an hour ahead of me. People with huge backpacks with food and clothes and tools, people with baskets on their bikes full of who knows what, and the weirdest was a guy with a big bag of dog food strapped to his back. When the hills started coming in waves in the last five miles I started to get passed by a few age groupers and was struggling, with 2 to go I could see that the barn doors were open and wanted to head for home. Made a few age group passes in the last mile and stood and hammered the last two climbs to finish 10th in age group out of 150. Not bad for having my first bout with the old Chron's Disease of the year this weekend, almost made it the whole racing season but it popped up Thursday. The Shedmaster was there to high five me in the finishing chute, and Cupcake won his age group along with some cash to take home.
Chasity had a good race. No cramping or crashing. After not riding her bike since the middle of Sept she decided to do the race anyway and had a great time. Ended up 24 out of about 50 and thought it was a great event also. We will definitely be back, but will have to make it a four day weekend next time instead of three so we can enjoy the great scene at the finish and have some delicious beer and pizza.
It was great to be back home in MI and see some friendly faces from WORS and the hometown of Muskegon. Greg and Jen hope to see you at O2S next year

Paper or plastic

Now that the banquet is done the season should be over, but with a few more cross races to go and the Iceman in two weeks there is a lot of racing yet to be finished. I have wanted to attend this race for awhile now and am happy to have the chance to represent WI in my home state of MI. Even though I will always be a wolverine, I hope WI does well and wish all my fellow WORS racers luck at the race. So I have been vacillating over the idea of racing the resurrected Comp Clyde class next year or to continue on my goal of not being a clyde anymore. I think I will shoot for 190lbs and see what spring brings hopefully it won't be as hard of a choice as paper or plastic.

My pink bike was cooler than yours

I have been busy riding, racing, and working. First of all another season of WORS is in the bag. Sheboygan is always a great way to finish the series. I made it up the equalizer every lap except the first when a guy decided to dismount half way up, and through me off my line. They were out of cash by the time I made it around for the second lap. It felt like I was having a good race until the last lap when I felt like I was going to puke any moment. Maybe I should not have chugged the rest of that Coors Light at the top of the climb. Spencer raced Comp and finishd16th overall, not bad for his first mountain bike race. I fell to 4th in the overall standings for my age group, which is more than I had expected for the year. The only goal not met this year was to finish in the top 5 in my age group at one of the races 6th was as close as I got.

In other news Chasity and I will be going to the Iceman to represent WI in the Midwest Regional Championships. We both qualified second in our age class, Chasity for beginner and myself in sport, but both first place racers declined the spot. The Fraziers will also be attending since Niki also got a spot.

Cross season is keeping me busy racing. This weekend is Verona and then Cam-Rock. Verona was tough today, lots of climbing in my opinion. Had a horrible start and worked my way up to mid pack again. Hopefully Cam-Rock will be better. I have been forgetting my camera for the races and rides so I dug up this photo of the local paperboys from 86-87 I had a pink bike before it was cool

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

Rain Rain go away...

And it did. Thursday at Devils Head was almost washed out but the last storm stayed to the south and we got almost 2 hours of riding in. Chasity is riding out there twice a week and getting faster every week. It was a small turnout due to the weather but I got to ride with a World Champ and a Texan. Thanks to Terry, Cody, and Kurt for the work they have been doing on the trails, they would be un-ridable without you.
Sunday was another fine Brefixt ride. We had 12 riders this time which seems to be about average. The route took us into Loganville to the Upfront Cafe. Everything seemed fine until after 1:45 we started to wonder where our food was. I tried to cancel my order and just grab something from the Cenex but they "just put it on the grill, and they could make it to go". WTF, at least the company was good and it was a beautiful day to be on the bike

Goundhogs Day

A grassy ski hill? I never have liked Sunburst and I never will. Since I will miss race number 7 I felt compelled to go to Westbend and race on a freshly mowed hill. Niki said it best, "it feels like that movie Groundhogs Day when you are out in the fields". I had a terrible start ( fell to fifth overall so no call-up) after Don said gooooooo a guy flatted at the front and as he was trying to get out of the way the rider behind him into him and then I hit him, 12-15 people go by us and the chase is on. I only managed to pass 4-5 people before the single track climb and got stuck in the traffic. Oh well I did what I could from there and worked my way forward as best I could. The top 30 still remains elusive to me, it seems like 3 minutes is not that long but when you stand in one spot and wait for another person for three minutes it is an eternity. I will keep driving and striving and going for speed. The main goal this year is Ore to Shore, hoping to get close to the three hour mark. Last time I did the race (2005) my time was 3:23.

Call Up

This race course is AWESOME. I finally have enough points to get a call up to the starting line. So I am sitting there wondering what I should do, go all out and try to win the race to the single track or sit third wheel and let someone else do the work. Well the adrenaline was pumping and I took off for the lead. That was dumb, I made it to the grassy field still at the front but by the time we hit the first section of twisty stuff I was in fourth. I tried to recover for a bit and lost some ground. By this time I was maybe in tenth. I felt really good and kept hammering every time we hit the double track. Thanks to Chasity,Brian, Niki, Terry, Mark, John, and various other people on the course it seemed like I had a fan at every section of the trail yelling "GO MEAT". It was awesome. Then mile number 21 of 24 hit me like a ton of bricks, the legs started to lock up and then I dropped my chain. I think maybe 10-12 people passed me, there went my hopes of my first top 40 overall in Comp. I did manage to get back four of those spots including one in my age group in the finishing sprint. Ended up 8th in age group and 41st overall. I guess I just need to get faster. Oh yeah the citizen racers were piled up like cord wood.

They are stacked up like cord wood

The Firecracker is in three days now. I remember watching the Citizen race a few years ago as they started the single-track. They kept falling of the edge of an off-camber downhill turn and piling up on each other. Ryan said "they look like they are stacked up like cord wood". I fell pretty good after my rest week, but I am sure I will be disappointed with my results Sunday. You just never know how the legs will react. Devils Head was awesome tonight no dust, tacky, nice and cool outside, sure am glad the trails are open again.

Time for a haircut

Well I guess since I finished second in the Super D I will count that as a top ten finish. At least I did not have to wait as long for this haircut as I did for my very first one (3 years). That would not look good on me now and it is debatable if it looked good in 1975.









No these are not pictures of my sister.

Stage Race Madness

Well it has been a few weeks since the last post. We had a lovely Brefixt ride with about 20 people in attendance. Most people still have not mastered the slow pace yet, but it was a great meal at Martha's in Lyndon Station. The WORS Suburu Cup Stage Race was pretty fun, I went in to Saturday feeling good about my chances but my legs just did not respond for the cross-country race, I felt like I was stuck in reverse and grinding all day. Sunday was the Super D and short track. After pre-riding the Super D I was really excited for that event, 65% downhill with a Le Mans start, whats not to love? I was sprinting for my bike when two guys crossed over in front of me and ran into each other, then as I reached for my bike some guy started yelling at another "you have my bike" and "bring me my bike back", through the chaos I made it into the woods in fourth place. Jesse Bell was second wheel and I could see he was being held up. I made it into third in the bottom single track and then second place bobbled and then I tried to catch Jesse. After he got the lead he was gone but I did mange my first (and probably last) podium of the year. I was feeling great after the Super D so I thought I might be able to hang in the Short Track. Don said GOOOOOOOOOOOOO and I was in reverse again. 5th, 10th, 18th, Ryan kept yelling at me "STAND UP MEAT" , finally the legs kicked in and I was in 15th, 12th, 10th, 9th and then it was over. Not bad for the weekend I finished in a three way tie for 4th overall in my age group. On to the Firecracker.

Wausau

Another WORS race in the bag, even with all the rain it did not turn out to be very muddy. It was more of a slime on top of the rocks than anything else. The Small Block Eights hooked up real well and I managed to stay upright the whole race. The trails at Nine Mile are awesome flowing single track, gravel double track, and some fire road thrown in to keep the pace high. I was able to catch up in the single track but would get left behind when we hit the big ring stuff. Times are improving and I am getting closer to the top, hopefully I can pull off a top five finish in my age group soon. I told Ryan I wouldn't cut my hair until I did.

Graduation

The last week or so has gone by darn fast, almost as fast as the last 17 years. Julia is now a High School Grad. Congratulations, honor grad we are proud of you.

There were some great rides over the Memorial Day weekend. First was the newly started Brefixt Ride, a nice easy ride for all abilities finished off with brefixt at the Rail Road Inn in North Freedom. I still can not believe Brad ate the whole 1x6 breakfast, next time he has to try the 2x6. The next day was the fifth annual Meats Memorable Memorial Day Ride. We ride from Baraboo to Wisc Dells and then follow the river along Cty O to Paquette Park in Portage. After fighting a head wind and a refueling with the Tahitian Treat we headed back to Baraboo and finished up with a total of 58 miles. Ryan continued on so he could get a century in, it must be hard to squeeze in 17 hours of riding per week. There was a good turnout for both days and a grand time was had by all. Rhinelander is off our schedule this year but we will be at Wausau for the Bing Ring. Hope to see you there.

Iola I-O-L-A Iooolaaaa

What a spectacular day. I really like riding my mountain bike with my friends and family. You know that feeling of a warm soft blanket right out of the dryer, that is how it makes me feel. Is it the total beat down of my body at the end, the smell of the pine needles, the flow of the single track, or all of the above? Whatever it is I like it. Why is it that I am always later than I want to be? It would be nice to be on time and be able to relax before the first race of the day, but as usual it was a mad dash to get Monica and Chasity registered and ready to race. I had my numbers on my tires aired up, and was just about to get dressed but something was just not right. I had forgot to register myself to race. As always the start was like being shot out of cannon except I was just the packing as the projectile launched out ahead of me. I slowly worked my way back up through the pack and found a guy in my age group that I was pretty evenly matched with. We kept moving forward every lap, and it felt really good to keep catching people instead of being passed. In the end I beat my time from last year by almost twenty minutes. On another note congrats to everyone else on the team Monica, Chasity, Niki, Lisa, Helmy, Brad, Todd, Ryan, Jordan, Zack, Kyle, Bryan, and Kurt. Thanks to Julia for taking the photos.

Larue Denzer Larue

Another fine day of road racing. I decided to try the double again, racing today and again tomorrow at Iola. The last time I did this, Iola was not very fun for me, but I have a lot more miles in my legs than last time and I did not blow my self up today. The new road race was a killer with over 2300' of climbing in 32 miles. I managed to stay on for the first mile or so and then we hit Freedom road and started climbing. I watched my zones and stayed were I needed to stay as the main group rode away. A small pack of us formed and stayed together most of the race until the final climb up Denzer Rd. I did not have anyone catching me and no-one ahead I could catch, so I started my cool down on the way back into Larue. We will see what happens at Iola, hopefully I do not fall flat on my face.

Circuit of Sauk

Saturday turned out to be a wonderful spring day of biking. We arrived at the Circuit of Sauk and were greeted with familiar faces and warm sunshine. Chasity raced first in the women's Cat 4 event. This was only her second road race and by far the harder of the two. I raced in the Masters 30+ cat. and managed to stay in the second pack over the first climb. On the back side of the course I went to the front on Shortcut and down Pinebluff. That was dumb because when we came around for the second lap the attacks started. Brad Tennis and I worked together to stay on but just dangled of the back of the second pack after the Golf Course climb. I never got back on but I did finish 21st overall, much better than last place a year ago. On a positive note I broke all my power records during the race, so I must be getting faster.

He's all over his machine right now

I finally have my new machine put together. I have always liked when Phil Ligget says " He is all over his machine right now!" He also likes to say, " He is an excellent bike rider." Does he mean the the rider can handle his bike well, that he has a big engine to turn the pedals, or both? I hope that if he was commenting on one of my races that he would call me an "excellent bike rider". The bike has been an 8 month process since breaking my frame at Sunburst in Kewaskum. Pete at Wildside Adventure Store worked some magic to replace my Zigarut with a Superfly. I had to wait until we had our sponsors lined up before I could order all of the parts. Thanks to SRAM, Bontrager, Rock Shox, and Truvativ I was able to put together a nice ride at a reasonable price. Now the hard part will be to do the bike some justice and get it on the podium. I think I have made some good progress with my training and weight loss so far this season, but the truth will come out on race day because there is always somebody else working harder than you. The Hi-Fi is Chasity's new bike. She has been riding her Schwinn Homegrown for about 10 years, so it was time for an upgrade. She really likes it so far but I have to swap out a few parts for her. Hope to see some of you at the Circuit of Sauk this coming weekend.

The chase has begun.

Saturday was the start of the 2009 racing season for me. I signed up for the cat 5 and the Masters 4/5 races at the Gregg Bednorski Memorial Crit in Madison. It was also Bryan's first crit ever so I gave him the little bit of advice I could and we came up with a plan of staying out of trouble and keeping the rubber on the road. After we finished warming up we started a warm up lap to get familiar with the course, as we came around to the start/finish line there was one person laying in the road unconscious and EMS on the way. I stopped by my family, who were sitting by the finish line, to give them my water bottle and I could tell by the look on Monica's face that she was not only worried about the guy laying there but about her Dad going out to race next. This is the one thing I hate about road racing, the pavement must really hurt when you hit the deck at 30+ mph. Luckily I have not had that experience but as the saying goes "there are those who have crashed and those who will crash". The cat 5 race was just as sketchy as in years past, people not holding there lines and lots of weaving in the pack. Bryan and I stayed with the pack the whole race, but with two laps to go and the whole group still together I decided to go for it. I broke free of the group as we crossed the start finish line, after making it stick for half a lap my legs were failing. Just then a rider appeared on my right and gave me a small pull. I pulled through again and then we were caught with one lap to go. After the peleton passed I sat up and rode around to the finish off the back. Two guys crashed in the sprint to the finish and that was the end of race one. The Masters race was a bit more relaxed in the accelerations, it was a faster race but more even in the pace. With four laps to go I did not think I was going to stay on but I found a nice spot in the middle of the group to recover for a lap. On the penultimate lap I tried to move to the front just like everyone else and with one lap to go I was able to get to the front third and sprint my way past about ten more people at the finish, I do not know my results from either race but I had a really good time. It was nice to finally start some competition after all the winter training. Next up is the Circut of Sauk Road Race in two weeks.

Easter Mountain Biking

Yesterday was a nice ride of the Circuit of Sauk racecourse. It was a nice mix of juniors and seniors. I have ridden with Mark Meier more already this year than all of 2008. The first lap was pretty relaxed as the juniors did their first complete lap of the course, after that Ryan kept the pace pretty high. I had to try and chase him down numerous occasions, but the legs only have so many of those efforts in them. I cant believe how far Brian has come since starting riding just last year. I think his goal of beating Ryan in an Elite race will be obtainable for him. Today I got Chasity's new bike ready for her and we went to the Dells course to get in some mountain biking. After getting her shocks and seat height dialed in we went out for a couple of laps. She really liked the disc brakes, hopefully at the next race in the mud she will be able to ride her bike instead of drag it around with lots of mud stuck in the v-brakes. Next up my 20 minute test to see if this round of training has made me any faster and then the crits in Madison.

Vets Camp

This was my second year at the Sharks Vet Camp in Tennessee. We had some great riding and some really good food at Pucketts. I still have not mastered the self photo while riding. The rain on Wednesday was coming down so hard at times that it hurt. But after that we had clear skies for the rest of the week. It was nice to be able to ride outside without a jacket and tights. Nothing to exciting happened, no dogs, no crashes, and no-one yelling "why don't you yankee queers go home".

I am no longer obese.

With the elimination of Comp Clydesdale for the 2009 season in WORS, I had a decision to make. Either lose weight and get faster to race my age group in Comp or drop down to Sport. I decided that I would put in the work and lose the weight. With the help of a used Powertap from the King of Denzer and the training plan set up by Lisa Krayer I have had some good results since the first of the year. Losing the weight has been nice on the climbs and my bike.