Time for the Classics

It has been 7 years since my visit to the cobbles and it still seems like it was only yesterday. We rode Flanders, and Paris Roubaix the day before each event. The Belgian cobbles were short sections of very steep and slippery stones, that if you did not stay seated, your tires lost traction and you ended up with the embarrassing hike a bike to the top. The French cobbles were punishing in a different way, long straight stretches that you had to turn you big ring and hold on for the ride. I was not much into road racing when I made the trip, I bought my first road bike only three months prior to the trip, and then punished it for 7 days all over Belgium. Hopefully we will go back in the next few years. Need to go to L-B-L and Amstel next time.

Big Air and Big Smiles

Made it out to Ray's Indoor Mountain Bike Park this weekend and had a blast. Spence, Cheston, and Steve were already on site for three hours when Chasity, Bryan and I rolled in. After registering and renting our Trek Mullets we strapped on the safety gear and rolled out. Bryan immediately hit the hard wood with his shin and got the first blood drawn of the day. After that it was 3 hours of pump track, big jumps and XC fun. Chasity conquered the whole loop and made some laps without dismounting and we had a great time. Definitely will be going back for round two. I will go bigger over the tabletops next time and hopefully get in rhythm to clear all the jumps of the Expert loop.

Back in the saddle again

Okay it has been a long time, since then I have shattered my collarbone, had surgery, recovered, gained 12 pounds, started riding and running again, hired a new coach, and lost 5 pounds. Training for 2011 is three weeks in and I am ready to get outside and ride.

Busy busy

I can't believe it has been over a month since my last post, since then I have switched back to Comp Clyde and competed in the Subaru Cup in that category. I was leading the XC race when my master link came apart on a rock strewn downhill. I dug around in my camel back looking for that master link that is supposed to be in there and it was nowhere to be found. So I pulled the chain out after Bob Phelps passed me and started to run it in. luckily it was my last lap and I only had 2.5 miles to go. I kept looking over my shoulder for any of the other clydes but I did not see any. After coasting down the last section of single track I ran through the finish for second place. Third was still another 3 minutes behind me. On Sunday was the short track and Super D. I was in the last wave of the Cat 2 races and lined up in the front row for the start of the hurricane of pain. When Don said goooooooooo I new I had to drill it for the first 4-5 laps and stay at the front. I managed to stay in third then fourth spot for the first 4 laps and started to fade a bit. When my teammate Bryan caught and passed me I dug in a little deeper and closed the gap. By this time half of our wave had been pulled form the course because they were about to get lapped and I was fading fast, but managed to finish the entire race and took 1st in my group and 8th overall for my wave. Finally it was time for the Super D. The organizers did away with the Lemans start and were lining us up in waves of 10-12 racers. I got on the bottom of the list and had to line up in row two, not a good place to start when you have a 75 yard sprint to the trail. I lined up behind a fast sprinter and elbowed my way to third just before the woods. The first guy bit it in turn one and was on his back headed for the trees. I kept half wheeling the guy who was now in first but could not get around him in the downhill single track. When I broke out in to double track at the bottom he put in a little attack and had about a 30ft lead. Then as I was making my last ditch effort he looked back and attacked again. We crossed the line with him beating me by .2 seconds. Not a bad weekend of racing

Half a Chicken

Another Sunday, another long ride. Met up with Ryan and Bryan in Denzer and headed out for a three hour ride in southwest Sauk County. We were being circled by ominous clouds all morning but managed to stay dry. Made a pit stop in Plain to check out a possible Brefixt Ride spot but they are not open on Sunday, oh well I guess it is back to Marthas in Lyndon Station. We finished up the ride with a great chicken dinner at the Denzer town Hall.

The Double

Wausau, race number three on the WORS schedule. After a ten day rest week I was finally feeling good about riding my bike again and was going to try a new approach to the race. the day started as usual with Monica heading out for the Citizen Youth race. after not seeing her come through the finish and waiting forever I finally saw her in the woods heading our direction. There were three possibilities as to why she was so far back, one-she had a mechanical, two she got off course, or three-she crashed. When she came by I shouted my usual words of encouragement and then I saw the muddy tears and the blood running from her knee to her ankle. Usually the dust and dirt crusts over the wound fast in a mountain bike race, but she was still bleeding. I would like to thank Rick Walls and John Holcomb for getting her to the finish line, after discussing how to get back to the chalet they told her the fastest way was to finish the race, and that she did. When I got her to the first aid we found that her shorts were full of sand and gravel, she had gravel rash from her shin to her hip and a puncture wound to her knee and palm of her hand. She said she cried for about 5 seconds and stopped because someone might see her. She is one tough cookie.
Then Chasity went out and cut 21 minutes off of her time from last year and finished ninth, by this time it was about 90 F out and getting hotter. I decided to take a measured effort to the race this time and not go out so hard at the start. Everything was working as planned as I made my way through the field. I was taking turns working with Russel Jobs and was feeling good, on the tail end of the second of three laps I got slightly off line in the rocky single track and hit a razor sharp rock that was pointed at me. Psssh there goes the front tire, psssh there goes the back tire. The double flat, as far into the 8 mile lap as I could get. It took me 35 minutes to get back to the finish and register my first and hopefully last DNF for the year.

The Double

Well the first WORS race of the year was fast and fun as always, I do not think I was mentally or physically ready for it though. After doing the Circut of Sauk road race the day before I did not have enough left in the tank. I should have just did one race instead of two if I wanted a good result at either, but it is hard to turn down a race that is only 15 minutes away. I think I will try the double again next weekend with LDL Saturday and Rhinelander Sunday, just won't expect great results at either of them. The Wildside Velo team had a great turnout for Iola with 14 racers competing and it was good to reconnect with all the other racers after the winter lay off.

Another Fine Weekend

Got in almost 6 hours of riding this weekend. Saturday was 45 miles and 4000' of elevation. The hills seem a lot bigger at this time of year but riding with the group sure makes it a lot more fun. Made it up Freedom, Denzer, and a few others before turning back for home, had a party to attend for Dog Boy not smoking for four years. Monica got to ride her boy Milky way for 1 1/2 hours, funny how he has bucked five people, but when his girl shows up to ride him he is like a big Lab. Sunday was a nice relaxing tour of the flats around the Muck Farms and Levee road, made it through the Dells and over to Mirror Lake before heading for the barn doors, got a few extra miles in, riding with B-Rad home and then headed back south. Finished up with a mighty fine steak at Outback Steakhouse.
Even though it is early you still have to make a big effort for those stop ahead sign sprints.

A Little Mud on the Tire

Two days of mountain biking in a row. The Dells trails are open and clear, Brad even had a new trail to deal with the new construction. Saturday we had 6 riders for about 1:30, it started to rain just as we got back to the cars and we finished up with Black Betty and BBQ Pizza at Moosejaw. On Sunday we were going to head out to the Kettles but decided to try Blue Mounds for the first time. Spencer, Chasity, and myself rode the trails while Monica and Julia hiked. Definitely not for the beginner, very technical. We did most of the loops, the only trail we missed was Holy Schist, I guess we had to save something for the next time. After 2 hours of riding Spencer and I arrived at the car with a few rain drops on our backs, loaded up and headed for the Grumpy Troll in Mount Horeb. Another delicious ending to some delicious trails.

Christmas in March

The Kenda and Crank Bros orders arrived today. Not free, but pretty darn cheap through the rider support programs.

Been a while.

Finished the Shamrock Shuffle with Bryan in record time for me this year. Also ran with Chris Pitts and Chris Lemke. Legs were sore for three days. The Tuesday night rides have begun. They are not the leg burners that will be coming in the next month but they are a lot of fun. Monica has her new ride put together and went for her first ride of the year tonight. Can't wait until we start hitting the mountain bike trails

In the basement

Been spending time with the mill and the trainer in the basement, and trying to line up new sponsors for the team. We scored another local bar, Captain Bradys' Showboat Saloon and Kenda has the team on the Rider Support Program for 2010. Moosejaw Pizza and Dells Brewing Company are still on board. Mark has been supporting the team since he owned Pump House Brewery, that makes this year number 12 for him and his business. Pete and the guys at Wildside Adventure Store are title sponsors again and we hope to win more shiny plaques to hang in the shop this year.
So far I am ahead in my training from last year. The watts are up and the weight is down, unfortunately I am still a clyde. Have two more months of hard work before I stop worrying about the weight and focus more on the racing. Signed up for my first event, 10K Shamrock Shuffle, still up in the air about Berry Roubaix.

Shot Time

The first real road ride of the year and I definitely can feel it in the legs. Managed to get three full hours in and see a bit of the Sauk County country side. I have been offered a shot during rides before but this was a first for a non pub crawl ride. We were about 5-6 miles from finishing up at the Krayers when some nice fella stuck his head out of the door of a bar and yelled " do you want a shot of peppermint?" I think he was kind of shocked when we all turned around and said "heck yeah". He proceeded to get a bottle of peppermint schnapps and glasses. He was just as equally surprised to find out that the lycra clad bike riders Ryan and Lisa were his neighbors. What a great ride, I hope offers of food and beverage keep coming as we pass through the little towns and villages of the state this year.

Snow biking

For the second Sunday in a row I have ventured out on the snowmobile trails of Sauk County. We start at the Krayer's and ride from their home in Denzer to the trail that is just down the road. The first week it was through Leland and west of there. This rout had a fair amount of elevation change and we ended up on a high ridge overlooking the Leland area. This week it was towards Sauk City and the recent snow made for a lot of work, this ride was a bit harder than week one. We would hit areas that were drifted over and not as packed in as the rest and the bikes and riders had a hard time negotiating the trail. We only cover about 7-8 miles of trail each way so we do not get a lot of mileage but it is made up in effort. We have started sprinting for the stop ahead signs just like our summer road rides but you can't get much of a sprint on with 10lbs of air in the tires and three inches of fresh snow. It has been a blast and reminds me of the days in Houghton/Hancock of riding on the trails with Matt and Jeff. Oh to be a college student with not much in the way of responsibilities again. The local people on there snow machines have given mixed but slightly positive reactions. No one has yelled but the waves or thumbs up are outranked by no response 10-1. Hopefully we will be back out again on Sunday, it beats the heck out of the basement trainer.

Ringing in the new year

The annual New Years Day ride was a pleasant 15 mile ride on the snow covered roads today. It was a small turnout this year compared to last, but the weather always plays a roll in the amount of people that show up. If the temp is below 20 it cuts the number in half just by itself. The eight of us ventured out at 2:00 p.m. sharp and road for about an hour. It seems that every year we have grand plans to ride every weekend in the winter, we will see what happens on Sunday when we are supposed to hit the Sauk County snowmobile trails.

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