Form

So I never found a bike to ride in Portland! We did have a great time though, I can't believe the amount of bikes in that town, every block had 3-5 bikes riding in it. We spent alot of our time checking out the many brewpubs after long days in the saddle...oops, I mean car seats checking out the Pacific coast and then driving to Bend to see my friends' new baby and finally my uncle's clan in Sisters just up the road. This is the trip we've been wanting to do for awhile now and just haven't because racing takes precedent normally. Well since my form is blah I said "what the hey" and we just went, esp since work was paying my part of it. That is not the fun part but it pays the bills!



Pic courtesy of the WORS board??

Anyhow....so I busted out some LT's thursday before the Eau Claire WORS race...#'s are pretty crappy but oh well. EC is mostly flat so no biggie. I did it day of which means 7hrs of driving and 2 hrs of racing... Sager showed up, apparently just to win, oh and jinx my tire selection at the start! We got going well enough no crashes...for awhile at least. I was struggling a bit and settled in the top 10, then Nathan and Ted both took spills, I dangled off a group pulled by Le Bender. Eventually he got a small gap and I bridged up, then went to take over in the 1-track, the only place I knew I could get us a little time. This worked until I launched myself into the ravine at the top of the river crossing. While sliding on my chest down the trail I saw my bike flying 15 ft in the air into the bushes. Pretty spectacular according to Chops! I guess the Oriflammes aren't the best front tire after all. Well I got the bike back with twisted bars and along with my scraped limbs and bruised ego jumped back in minus a few spots. Shook it off and started to ride w Darren until I went thru the water handup...and my tire feeling like a gummy worm. F'ing rock garden! Stupid Oriflammers! Eh, might as well keep the pace up and get some training effect for my driving's worth right? Apparently that is NOT cool. Seems there is a cutoff after around 25-30 spots where people will get peeved if you actually make an effort to go fast. Weird.

LT's again last night, moving the needle a little and that's encouraging, maybe more w's tonight? Watching the Tour is good for at least 20w so I'm hoping for Spartacus power. That's all for now...

Flight

Here is a shot by Bubba of the jump on the WORS Cup course. We are also catching a flight to Portland OR for a business/fun trip this AM. Haven't been to Hipsterville in awhile so we are pretty excited; not quite sure what I'll do for saddle time but I'm sure I'll figure something out...

Summer Racing

Nice hot one today...I didn't have enough fitness to try to get up front so I just tried to maintain my spot for the day at the WORS Cup. Worked out well for 12th, good fun on the bike. Race report and pics when I get a chance...

WORS Wausau

Raced this weekend at the WORS Wausau race, managed to go a respectable speed for 2.5 laps and then opened the parachute. Due to the 50 degree temps and wetness I opted for kneewarmers to be on the safe side, so I never encountered any obvious pain. I still can't stand on the hills and I'm not doing 100% efforts yet so I would get get gapped on every small rise and on accelerations out of the woods. This I think eventually took it's toll, not to mention I haven't done a single intensity workout this year and didn't ride for a month. That said I performed about how I thought I would. Lots of work to do before the Triple Crown starts off at O2S. Haven't done this race yet so I'm motivated. That's about it for now, gonna try and and commute at least once during bike to work week! Thanks to the Peariso's for the hospitality and to everyone who made the weekend fun...

Riding Again...finally

Wow did it feel great to be out on the trails this weekend. Rode the Kettles with Tony on Sunday, it's been a couple years since that's happened so it was a good time. Babied the knee on the hills and avoided pain for the most part. Perfect temps and tacky singletrack made for a warm welcome back to the dirt, I only wished I could have rode longer but I need to ease back into it so I'm not off the bike for another month. Today I felt good so it was a spin over to Crystal Ridge for a couple laps and then home. I am still a little tender on hard accelerations but I ramped it up a little on the gravel hill with no tweaks so I don't think full recovery is far off. I plan on hitting Rhinelander this weekend just to get out and race. Might have to be on cruise control but it's better than missing another one...that's all for now. Got a little freelance work to help pay for all the damage in the kitchen!

The Hurt Locker

Sounds like Ty and Scanley have me beat in the injuries category after last nights wreck on the group ride, bummer dudes. Hopefully it's not too bad and they get to enjoy the rest of the season at some point, since as I can tell you it's frustrating missing even one race. My own ailment seems to be turning the corner finally, I rode around the block last night a few times to see if the pain was still there and for the first time in weeks it wasn't. I didn't push it, I can still feel it if I stand on the pedals but it's definitely less. Heading up to Door County this weekend for some non-race camping we've been meaning to do. Also some freelance design work lining up that will help offset the money pit that is our kitchen. Maybe my knee should stay sore for another week so I can get all this stuff off my plate???
That's all for now...

Still Out

Yeah so my knee is still being a little baby. Two weeks off the bike and it still hurts so no Iola for me this weekend, though I might show up to support the team. Hopefully I learn my lesson and take it easy when I start riding again, but probably not.