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.