Hit the Dirt!!

Guess I'm Old

2012-01-23T10:58:00.000-08:00

I managed to put a kink in my neck through a really intelligent series of events, so it's been a week since I've been pumping iron at the gym because this is "bad pain" vs. the "good, enjoyable pain" that we cyclists normally crave. Luckily I feel fine on the bike and have been splitting hours between lunch rides on the trainer here at work and slogging it out on the cold slushy roads north of Chi-town. It feels like the old days with my bike one big icicle and all appendages soaked and numb (well most of them anyway) by the end of the ride. This translates into a fast spring in my experience though so it's well worth the minor discomfort.

I have also taken up a couple new hobbies, we'll see if they last. Guitar being one, and Dirigible construction being the other. Guitar I won't get into until I feel it's going to stick...When in Germany for Eurobike we visited the Zeppelin museum in Fredrichshafen, where this incredibly inefficient mode of transpo was invented. 600 feet long and carries a whopping 20 passengers plus crew. For some reason I wanted to have my very own, if only slightly smaller, airship so I picked up this neat little paper model and just got into it last night while watching a movie

Ironically Chimene picked a movie in Spanish w/subtitles which was funny because A. she never watches subtitled movies and B. I was looking at the model and not the TV so I missed half of what was going on, but it was amusing anyway. Well that's about it, I'll keep you updated on the progress of the mini-Graf over the coming weeks, and maybe even a YouTube video of my acoustic rendition of Stairway to Heaven once I get all the bugs worked out..

Huge

2012-01-18T06:28:00.000-08:00

That's right I'm a monster after 1 day of lifting iron. Really, no. Just feels good to build some strength again after a year w/out lifting. Plus it gets me out of the house at night instead of doing 12oz curls at home. The gym is the real deal, tons of pictures of muscle bound freaks on the walls making you feel like a wuss for squatting only 135lbs, everything is very well used and the entire place has a great 70's feel to it. And did I mention only 1 block from my house?

Found It

2012-01-16T06:51:00.000-08:00

My motivation that is. Starting small with a pair of painless spins, no powermeter and no HR with the goal of finding the spark to get the fire going again. Checked out a gym 1 block from my house, it's Rocky style in the basement, pretty serious, no frills, perfect. Even w/out Joe C to motivate me I'll be there 2-3 days a week getting huge and easing back into some kind of form, 2 months earlier than last year in hopes of a strong spring. I'm thinking it will be faster than usual with the mild winter more people are out training, but that's just my guess. New kits and new bikes on the way should help complete the shift of focus back to cycling. Looking forward to another season of fun and danger with the 212 crew...

Winter Project #1

2011-12-14T08:12:00.001-08:00

Re-foaming my vintage set of Advent speakers. The age combined with loud fuzz rock had completely blown the foam surrounds and has them sounding less than spectacular. Enter new surrounds and my first shot at re-foaming speakers. Cut the old foam out, peel back the dust covers to reveal and center the voice coil w/ paper shims, and glue the new surround to the cone. Next step tonight is gluing the surround to the basket and then it's back to rocking out.

All In

2011-07-27T03:34:00.000-07:00

There's that old saying in cycling, sometimes you're the hammer and sometimes you're the nail. This past weekend I played both parts in the same race at the WORS Alterra race. I went into it feeling confident in my form, and coming off a rest week thought if if did a solid ride mid-week I wouldn't be feeling too flat come Sunday. I was up last weekend riding laps in the heat and felt my lap time of 28min could open a gap on the first lap if I went for broke; I talked with Big D and planned on attacking after the field going into the woods. Nathan won the start climb prime, and I struggled to get back up front for the drag race around the field. Big D got up the to break it up a bit and then I made my move, D slingshotting me up to Nate and Tristan. Nate saw me coming though and moved on my line a bit and we tangled bars, I thought for sure we were going down but I got by at the last second and Tristan followed me around the wood berm and into the woods. I got a small gap right away and tried to maintain that for the 1st lap like at Eau Claire, but they were not having it. I could see Tristan and Nate only around 10 sec back and I kept trying to open it up but to no avail. What's more is that I was riding over my limit, I still hadn't recovered from the efforts at the start and I kept seeing 187 on the HR monitor, not good. I managed to keep a small gap until the steep climb up the ski hill, and then they were back on my wheel.

Going into lap 2 I went around Tristan to lead again in the woods, but no gap was happening and I had no punch on the climbs after going hard every where else, and on the climb going into lap 3 Nate attacked hard on the start climb. I dug deep and closed the gap by the top but the damage was done. I yo-yo'd for half a lap and then felt the life go out of my legs, game over. Waving Tristan and then Matter by I contemplated quitting as my HR was flat lining at 150, I stopped a few times but for some reason kept getting back on my bike to finish 11th. A reality check is always painful but necessary, and goes to show that a win at a WORS race is always fought tooth and nail at the front!

Before the race I had decided to go "all-in" and attack again from the start, as I felt if I could ride laps at my pace that would be the only chance for a win. Otherwise I would have to ride slow in the woods and super hard on the climbs, not the way I like to race. In hindsight this was my mistake, I could have salgaved a top 5 had I been more conservative, but I really wanted to try for another win. One other factor I think was my attempt to lose a few lbs going into this race, I race and recover well at 158 but tried to get down to 155-6 for Franklin the week before, and I just had no reserves as the race went on. SO I at least got to spend last week stuffing my face, gaining weight is super fun!

Anyway, back to training this week and prep for Ore 2 Shore, I'm hoping for a good result so Cam Rock this weekend should be a good test, I don't think I will be going for the gold on the start though!

Fired Up

2011-07-19T04:12:00.000-07:00

Photo by Troy Meives

I'm always amazed at the time it takes to reach good form. You think along the way that you're riding well but when that top end comes around and the leash comes off it is an awesome feeling. After some solid weeks of racing and training, and the strength I had in my legs at the Subaru Cup, I knew the Firecracker race was my best shot for a win this season. It is the perfect course to suit my strengths - short power climbs and tons of fast, technical singletrack. I was excited to see how the Epic 29 handled it and was not disappointed, it cornered and carried its speed to the point that I felt it was a substantial advantage. However in the pre-race I came in hot on the switchback decent and slid out on some flagstones into the briar patch, raking my legs and arms and came out looking like I was attacked by a pack of wild cats for the rest of the weekend. Seems like after riding road all week I always have a few of these spills until my body relaxes in the corners and allows the bike to do its thing. After the 3rd lap I felt I had the course committed to memory and knew the speed to carry into each corner w/out having the scrub off speed and waste energy. Speaking of Scrub, the rotors are finally broken in and stopping with almost the same power as the XX, but with a huge weight savings. Anyway, with the pre-race down I had a solid dinner and managed to not stuff myself like I normally do, it's funny I eat less in preparation for hard blocks of 4 hour rides than I do for a 2000 kj or less race so I need to keep that in mind.

On to the race itself. It was ridiculously hot and the track was fun so we did our warmup on the first shady singletrack section, we stayed cool and got to get the feel for the corners again right before the race. I actually wore my HR monitor this time and my hr was very steady even in the heat, I knew it would be a good day if I stayed hydrated and ate enough gels.

At the start I did the usual pedal whif and then hammered up near the front, and when we hit the road section went up to lead it out. My thinking for the day was stay in the front and get to the singletrack first, I felt I could gain time there and then recover if they caught me. I slowed slightly on the dirt road outbound and took a look back, expecting 10 people ready to pass. The pace must've been high enough as no one did, so I pushed on and found myself in the lead in the 1-track. I kept the gas on the entire lap, I could see Tristan and Eppen about 10-20 seconds back so I just tried to see if I could maintain that. When I came around through the feed zone It had grown to maybe 30 seconds, I was glad I had remembered to put ice in my cooler when Lynn handed me up a fresh bottle as it kept the core cool and the hr from climbing.

Photo by Niki Frazier

Going out on lap two I wanted to be out of sight, so again I kept the gas down. Without many hills I was able to keep the pace high without spiking the HR, as long as did not go 100% anywhere. I concentrated on keeping it nice and steady and on controlling my breathing to find that sweet spot to ride in. Mentally I was really enjoying the course, Craig Manthe and crew did an amazing job, all the burms and wood bridges are super fun to ride made you want to go faster so hats off to them. That helps take your mind off the pain in your body. The next two laps I kept thinking I saw them catching me since the course loops back on itself so much. I kept the pace up, at this point however I was not hitting the hills as hard and getting some recovery here and there. Still enjoying the course though!

Photo by Amy Dykema

On the last lap there was some traffic, and again I couldn't tell when I saw someone behind me if it was someone closing the gap or if it was someone I had just passed, so I had to stay on it for the most part. Going up the last switchback climb though I knew I had it so I could roll into the finish and enjoy the moment, always a great feeling! I've been close a couple times here and I'm stoked to add this to my short but (hopefully) growing list of wins. I have to thank the 212 team for all their support, especially Chris for taking the time to work out a plan for me. It's obviously working!

Photo by Amy Dykema

Up next is Alterra, which I'm sure will be tough and hot as usual - a proper showdown. Stay tuned...

Closing the Gap

2011-07-11T03:57:00.000-07:00

A quick belated update on the WORS Cup/ Pro XCT and the past couple of weeks. It's been busy and I've been dropped from the blog peloton with all this training, traveling and Tour/ MTB World Cup watchin'.

Leading in to the XCT I felt some good form coming on and was hoping for top 20's in both XC and STXC events, and possibly a podium in Super D. I'll do a Matter style report and break it into three.

Photo by Heather Marty

XC - Started a few rows back behind North America's best. I was concerned about the bottleneck going into the woods at the top of the climb so I decided to give'r and see how far up I could make it and then try to maintain position. I made it up into the top 15 and felt strong coming down through the woods, and settled in for the 1st lap. Towards the end a rider without tech skills crashed on one of the downhills and I was following too close and went down as well. It was quick but a couple guys got by and worse, my bars were turned about 20 degrees. No time to fix I just jumped on and rode it out for another lap, making the rock drops alot more interesting. Oddly enough by the time I got annoyed enough by it going into lap 2 I I stopped at the top of the start switchbacks to turn it back and it felt weird since I had gotten used to it being misaligned. Anyway Matter went by here so I jumped on his wheel and we proceeded to move up steadily through the field. His pace was just right so I thought I had a top 20 locked down. Going over the top into the last downhill I attacked 3 guys we had caught and tried to open a gap, but soon after I heard a loud rattling coming from the rear end of my bike. I had to stop eventually to check it out, letting the guys I passed pass me back. I finger tightened the loose bolt as best I could and got going again, but it kept loosening up and I had to keep stopping so the thing didn't go flying into my wheel and end my race for good. Every time I stopped a couple more riders would pass me and I was getting really frustrated, since I usually carry a tool. I made a mental check to check every bolt before a race from then on. I finally got to the "tech zone" and borrowed a tool to get it locked down, now sitting in the mid 20's. Nathan went by and I jumped on his wheel, and started to catch back some riders. I got a little carried away attacking on the start climb and cracked a little, Nate went by me and countered and it took me forever to recover. I battled back and forth with a Tokyo Joes rider but the 20's were out of reach even going full gas on the final lap and fending off some cramps. Finished 22nd a bit peeved about the events in the race but with short track the next day there was an opportunity to try again. We headed back to the Peariso's for another tasty 212 team dinner by Michelle and crew and hit the hay early.

STXC - A better callup today in the 3rd row, I lined up left. We went off and the whole field went left; oops, blew that. I got around the traffic jam and started moving up, feeling good. I was sitting maybe top 15 again and then came around and made the mistake of looking at the clock thinking we were almost done. Nope, only 16min in. I started cracking and going backwards quick, trying to recover. Luckily the Epic 29 was flying the downhill section and I maintained position and eventually came back to life after a lap or so. I started riding back up the next few groups and riding through them, I was hurting pretty bad but managed to work back up to 18th with the help of some friends on the course cheering me on. I felt I rode a good race and got the top 20 I wanted so I felt satisfied and spun out to get ready for Super D.

Super D - This is one of my favorite events, a fun Chinese downhill through the woods to finish of the weekend of racing and remember why MTB racing is way more fun that road racing. The course was awesome and we did multiple hot laps to get it dialed. The Epic 29 was just amazing and I thought I could get on the podium if I could get through the LeMans start. After some delay we were finally lined up down the hill for the run up to our bikes. Legs completely trashed and being a lousy runner, I made it up and over in about 7th wheel, passed up Ronsta before the singletrack and settled in behind Nathan and Tristan. I could see Matter up ahead with Carl Decker and another visiting Pro. They were getting away though and I couldn't get by Nate and Tristan until we came out at the bottom. I attacked hard around the lake and caught up to 4th wheel, then attacked again going into the finish chute to grab 3rd. 2 out of 3 goals for the weekend ain't bad.

All in all it is pretty amazing that we have a Norba level event here as part of our WORS series. Don and crew put on a well-oiled weekend on an awesome course and with the super fun course and awesome fans I think this race really captures the spirit of MTB racing. Nice work!

Photo by TJ Harron

July 4th Weekend Chimene and I headed up north of Green Bay for a long weekend at a friend's cabin. I was in the middle of a big intensity block and had some hours to put in on the bike, but they were shortish 3hr rides so the rest of time was spent relaxing and enjoying the perfect weather that we get this time of year in the midwest. We were right on a small lake so after getting off the bike I would get a bite to eat, then it was out for some floating and soaking action on the water.

At night we cooked brats and pudgie-pies on the fire, drank New Glarus beer and ate s'mores. That right there is about all a man needs to re-charge the batteries. Chimene was stoked to be outdoors and not having our time revolve around racing so in the future I need to make more time for trips like these.

Oddly enough I think I've spent 90% of my weekends so far in Wisconsin this summer, though I don't mind the driving as I think the WORS Series offers the best competition in the region. And now we have a National caliber UCI-1 event to measure our talent against the best without having to spend the time and money flying all over the country. A little driving is not much to ask.

Up next, WORS Firecracker report...finally a "W" on my favorite course!

Go WORS!!!

2011-06-27T08:37:00.000-07:00

All I can say was what an amazing weekend, thanks Don and the WORS crew for putting on such a smooth running, action packed event!

This picture pretty much sums it up, hardcore MTB racing is alive and well in the midwest!

Full race report to follow...

The Green Machine

2011-06-24T05:08:00.001-07:00

Thanks to Chris, Scott and Pete I was able to get my Specialized S-Works Epic 29er built up in time for Mt Morris. Size Large, fits me so much better than the medium it's like a whole new world of riding. I admit the larger wheels have their adavantages, but I wanted to make sure the main disadvantage (more weight) was minimized in this build.

The color scheme was not my first choice, but when it arrived I actually like it, it's loud and obnoxious like a '70 Cuda!

Cockpit is reduced to the minimum with Truvativ's Noir stem and wide bar (thanks BB!) and no front shifter or remote lockout.
Avid XX WC brakes are about as light as you can get and look sexy too! Nice work Feverstein and 4bes...

Drivetrain reduced to a dedicated singlespeed Truvativ 38T front ring for all around, 36 and 39 rings for hillier and flatter courses, minimized weight with no shifting ramps. I actually helped design this ring so it's cool to ride something you worked on! OEM Specialized chain guide bolts right to the FD Direct Mount for a nice clean look and simple adjustment, and the XO singlespeed spider is minimized and sets up a really nice chainline. Bolted on to the already light SRAM XO BB30 crankset it comes in at only 565g. Further weight savings from the Crankbrothers 11 pedals.

Working on breaking in the Scrub rotors we recently recieved. Crazy light at 40g (R) and 54g (F). I will let you know how they work after this weekend, there are plenty of downhills at Mt Morris so they will be put to the test. RockShox Reba brain with Specialized carbon crown keeps the weight down up front.

Of course the lightest drivetrain in the rear, SRAM XX 11-36T cassette, XX RD, and hollow pin chain. Still the best. More lightness courtesy of the 1400g carbon Roval S-Works wheels and 440g Renegade S-Works 1.9 tires. Theses things hook up great and roll fast, while the carbon rims track straighter than anything I've ever ridden. All clamped tightly together with a 12mm thru axle, providing a super stiff rear end.

All in all a pretty solid build without much risk, coming in a full pound lighter than expected at 21lbs.

I am pretty amazed at the amount of advancement that continually happens in this industry. Two years ago we were stoked to have 21lb 26" FS bikes, now we're doing it with the 29 platform. So now that I have no excuses lets see how all this weight weenie-ing translates into speed on the trail, and remember, in the end we're all in this for the fun!

Gathering Speed

2011-06-21T04:37:00.000-07:00

The last week or so was spent in search of some top end speed. Sprint intervals, a fast group ride w as many attacks as my legs would allow, and some steady state with sprints sprinkled in like your favorite spice. As Chris would say I think the spring is pushed all the way down so we'll see if it plays out this weekend. I am stoked to be racing with the nations best mtb's on one of our home courses at the Subaru Cup Pro XCT at Mt Morris, especially after missing it this past year. I feel stronger on the bike than I have in a long time and if I can keep my weight down it should equal a solid result. It's tough with co-workers who bring in awesome treats like this:

However, after a big ride a table filled with cupcakes is fair game, don't you think?

The wedding that provided the cupcakes took place in a converted barn. The silo was the bar and the roof a skylight, making for an interesting space:

In the downtime we went and saw one of my favorite bands from the 90's, Swervedriver for free at Taste of Randolph:

And of course the weekly 7am rain shower; lightning was striking the Hancock building but it wouldn't do it while I had my camera out. I got this pic instead:

Ok that's all for now. Got some work to do on the equipment side...

WORS Big Ring Classic

2011-06-14T16:00:00.000-07:00

I love this course, because it's fast and because the single track is super fun. Oh, and because there is not alot of climbing. After five weeks or so of not racing, I was chomping at the bit to get going and see if all the riding (training) has done the trick. Saturday's pre-ride felt good, we tried our damnedest not to turn it into the pre-race, and were successful for the most part. Ryan was making fun of how my little bike was making me look fat, then he threw his bad self on the ground because he felt bad. Hey it's not my fault the big S had to go messin' with the geometry that has worked for me for 5 years or so. Well since I was thinking of getting a frame that didn't make me look fat I thought why not give the Epic 29 a try since they have wheels and tires that don't weigh 87lbs and they are in fact pretty fun to ride. Unluckily for Scott but luckily for me he also threw himself on the ground last week and was still feeling the effects of that, and was nice enough to let me ride his oh-so-sweet Epic 29 in the race. Having ridden it once before I knew they had matched the feel almost exactly to that of my tried and true 26, but with magic ground sticking capabilities and a built in tailwind. Well that's stretching it but it is cool to try something new after 10 years of racing.

We went off and after my usual struggle to find my pedal I was pleasantly surprised there were no crashes in the first few sketchy turns.

Photo-Niki Frazier

The first half of the lap was chaotic but eventually there was a gap with 5 of us, I had sat in the whole time so I went up front to have some fun in the singletrack. I got a small gap but never really went anywhere and was reeled in before going into lap two. In the old days I would have buried myself and then got caught and dropped, but I like to think I'm smarter with my efforts now.

Photo-Niki Frazier

I was really digging the handling of Scott's bike and was just really having a fun time on the 9-Mile singletrack.

Photo-Niki Frazier

Then it was 4 of us, I figured there was no reason to attack if I would just be chased down by the other 3, so I sat in and did some work here and there at tempo, then Tristan would launch one of 15 or so blistering attacks and I would struggle to get back on his and Brian's wheel. I finally realized he was riding the singletrack pretty slow on his hardtail so I stopped panicking when he went and rode steadily back up. In hindsight I should have at least tried to counter and see if I could get away later in the race, but I played it conservative and tried to save my energy to respond to the attacks and the inevitable sprint finish. I mainly had trouble with the punchy hills and the accelerations, so I need to be working on that going into the Subaru Cup in 2 weeks...

Photo-Amy Dykema

Going into the finish I was sitting comfortable 3rd wheel while Tristan and Brian attacked each other. I wanted to wait until the right moment to try to get around if I had the legs...but I didn't. It was fun to watch them duke it out though!

Photo-Amy Dykema

Mandatory podium shot

Photo-Amy Dykema

So it's official, retirement is boring, racing is fun, and 29ers are pretty cool except for all the hype.

Time to get skinny for the Pro XCT...

Cooked.

2011-06-07T07:50:00.000-07:00

After getting punished by Big D at John Muir on Sunday the legs were not having any of the intervals I wanted to get in this AM. So the three of us sat down for a nice pic and then rolled in to work early. If not today then tomorrow right?

Hipstamatic

2011-06-03T06:35:00.000-07:00

I think the hipstamatic is a pretty cool ap so this post will be hipstamatic pics only. Sorry no riding pics!

Not much going on since Iola but lots of bike riding and enjoying the warm weather that has finally arrived. Race #1 went well and I think with all the training I've done since should keep the trend going as there have been no bum knees, moving, etc to get in the way of the miles. One thing I am missing however is my MTB. I haven't ridden it since Iola so I am really craving some singletrack, and will be hitting the Kettles this Sunday with Tyrine, Big D and anyone else that wants to join. Also seeing Chimp's sister's band Moon Curse at Cactus Saturday night, stop by and say HI. And finally, good luck to Chris tomorrow at the Mohican 100, and props on his shout-out in CN's preview for the race. He's been working hard and deserves a good result. OK that's it for now, looking foward to racing at 9-mile, should be fast and fun as usual!

Some images of life over the past month...

Memorial Day beach party. Sunburn and heatstroke, summer's here! Tunes courtesy of the StrongBad radio.

Two-person dance party / dj ping-pong

Laundry and relaxing in the backyard

Found our local pizza joint after much searching

Tha Kills

Still Unretired

2011-04-30T04:46:00.000-07:00

This looks like racing to me..

My eye is back to normal, so I won't need my custom eyepatch

Don't forget your SportLegs. Yes, they work.

Good luck to Chris and Scott today the Cohutta!

Seriously.

2011-04-26T03:46:00.000-07:00

It's 5:45am, dark and raining outside, my eye is just feeing better after being probed by a needle yesterday., and my rear wheel is breaking spokes daily, resembling a wavy Ruffles potato chip in side view. There are, however, VO2's on deck. Obsession? Dedication? Release. Time to ride!

Random

2011-04-22T13:58:00.000-07:00

Hills?

2011-03-22T06:13:00.000-07:00

Nope but boy do we have headwinds!

Hi Wisco

2011-03-20T11:03:00.001-07:00

I did a longish ride yesterday with the nice weather, and saw I was a few miles from the border when I was getting ready to swing around, and made the effort to go say hi to my former home state.

Later on we went to a fundraiser for Chimenes' school at the Cultural Center downtown. They have a giant stained glass dome and chandeliers done by Tiffany back in the day. It's pretty impressive...

Made a good dent in the calorie replenishment at this table.

Procrastinating today with the crappy weather. This might take a couple espressos, I think I will break out the Bialletti, thanks Sanjay and Anna :)

Stached

2011-03-18T06:25:00.000-07:00

Burly

Magnum

Creepy

Thirsty

Tubby

Wizard

Spring Training

2011-03-03T07:38:00.000-08:00

Extended lunch ride yesterday at a relentless pace, 30 miles and 2600 ft of climbing, followed by a jaunt up the Incline early this AM. The Incline a retired train bed formerly used for hauling supplies straight up the front of a mountain below Pikes Peak. 2000 feet of climbing rail ties on foot in 32 minutes, then ran the trails all the way down. I see some hobbling around in my future..

SNOWPOCALYPSE 2011

2011-02-02T14:05:00.000-08:00

A Proper Iceman

2010-11-15T10:43:00.000-08:00

Racing is just too much fun. Case in point: Iceman 2010. Bombing through snowy, muddy, sandy singletrack with some of the nations fastest riders.

Follow along video (check it out at 6:30ish, I squeeze my way into the frame for a sec):

Visit cyclingdirt.org for more Videos

Thanks to the ADV 212 team for all the support :)

Fall

2010-10-20T06:53:00.000-07:00

Having a good time as a retired racer...

Pic courtesy of Luke Seemann

CX

2010-10-01T15:50:00.000-07:00

Domes cross tomorrow!

Cheq 40

2010-09-21T16:47:00.001-07:00

Hey Ryan, can YOU PASS ME THOSE SUN CHIPS PLEASE!? Ahh good times.

Oh yah we raced too! More fun.

Lightweight?

2010-08-30T10:42:00.000-07:00

I kept telling DB he needed to lose more weight...now he's just floating away in the middle of the races.

Lookout!

2010-08-26T05:57:00.001-07:00

Echos

2010-08-25T13:35:00.001-07:00

Rewind

2010-08-24T06:29:00.001-07:00

It's Been Fun

2010-05-02T07:37:00.000-07:00

The time has come to focus on things other than racing. I've met so many great people and had so many amazing experiences it's difficult to describe in words so I'll let the pictures do the talking.

Thank You everyone who has helped, supported, and/or tolerated me and this obsession for the past 10 years. Without you all this wouldn't have possible. See you on the trails.

Back in the USA

2010-04-13T06:25:00.000-07:00

Better start training or I'm going to look like the red bus on the Iola start line!

Uphill Both Ways

2010-03-29T05:36:00.000-07:00

After some plymetric excercises and weights w/ Joe on Friday the legs were a bit sore for Saturday's ride. I still managed 45mn of solid Tempo, after which I turned around into a stubborn headwind. I started to notice a problem with my rear derailleur taking more cable to upshift, thinking it was a result of a grimy drivetrain. Until the next upshift snapped the cable leaving me in the 42x11 for the remainder of the ride. Lots of standing on the pedals @ 15mph after that...

Not Riding = Bummer

2010-03-22T16:52:00.000-07:00

I didn't get to ride yesterday. I've been blowing off life for the last 10 years to train and race and it was time to put the bike aside for change. Hoping to get a couple more sesh's of Tempo in this week so my legs don't forget about the upcoming season. Like I said...bummer

s-NO

2010-03-20T18:41:00.000-07:00

Well we were spoiled this week with the weather and paid with the inevitable snowfall this AM. Oh well. At least it's almost over, the sun is on it's way! Only had time for 2.5 hrs today, though 45min of Tempo and making the rest of the minutes count left me feeling fulfilled. Power is rising like it should, and the knee pain is fading, so hopefully 3hrs tomorrow with another 45 of T and call it a weekend. How 'bout Freire winning Milan San Remo for the 3rd time! Boonen did not look happy. First loser...that's all for now

Clogger

2010-03-16T17:32:00.001-07:00

It took three hours to get the sink unplugged. Needless to say the darkness arrived before I could get on the bike. So this is how it happens...

Zoned Out

2010-03-14T15:28:00.000-07:00

Another jaunt up N today for a few hrs, and another .5 hr of Tempo with less knee pain. What I love most about training is the noticeable improvement with hard work, I think that's why I like the power meter so much because you can see the numbers improve week to week and really focus in on specific zones. I don't even have heart rate right now because for some reason PowerTap can't seem to figure out how to make theirs work for more than a week and I'm too lazy to call and get a new strap or whatever is not working. So I'm really just enjoying training by feel, my zones are too easy, good, kinda crappy, really crappy, and get me off this damn bike! The last zone I'm not sure if it is worth doing cuz you get plenty of that in racing. Anyhew, two posts in one day is making me hungry. And thirsty...that's all for now.

Rolling

2010-03-14T07:43:00.000-07:00

Here is a rare spy shot of me on a bike, Chimene won't let me bring the camera anymore since I dropped and broke the last one so she took this of me on the way out yesterday. Gloomy but warm, and a serious headwind up the coast made for great conditions to work on some Tempo. Put in a good half hour, legs felt good but the knee is still holding me back. Almost pushed on for 45min and thought better of it, it's a long season and no reason to ruin the first half of it again. More Tempo into the N wind today, hoping the knee is feelign better. Chimene's parents are coming for dinner tonight so I need to go help tidy up...that's all for now.

Beat

2010-03-09T04:14:00.001-08:00

After the 100 on Saturday, I thought I would crank out 60 on Sunday at a harder pace, but the legs were pretty beat and the knee was giving me the stinkeye, so I settled for a more moderate 60. I got hungry in Brown Deer and hit the Pic and Save there cuz I didn't feel like waiting for a gas station; one King Size Snickers and 420 calories later I was was back on the road. Great weather again and home in time for dinner. Last night I went to Joe's Gym and dragged myself thru the strong man routine. I think this will be my last week of max strength, I'm only 10lbs from my goal for squats and deadlifts so after that I want to try some more explosive stuff to prep for intervals and speed work this spring. For now I will bring the ride times down a bit and try to start working on mid-range power w/out aggravating the knee too much. BTW the team is my main motivator, these guys are not messing around and I don't want to dissapoint. I can't wait to see the results! That's it for now...

Spring!

2010-03-06T17:56:00.000-08:00

Gotta love the sunshine and 40 degrees. I didn't bring my camera today so this pic is from a 2004 trip to Bend, Oregon. Great riding out there, today reminded me of it with the snow melt and colors starting to come out from underneath. All kinds of people coming out of hibernation to feel the warmish South wind, a welcome change from the chiller N wind for sure. Not riding all week has it's advantages, that being you feel awesome come Saturday which is why I decided to go for the 100 miler, tailwind all the way up the Lake Michigan coast, and a non-nether region freezing headwind on the way back. The route is flat and I was back in 5hrs and change, a great day on the bike with the miles just ticking away. I even cleaned it before the ride so there was no gravel scraping sound when braking and shifting. Chimene had to work at Discovery World tonight for her school's spaghetti feast, I guess I should have gone since she still isn't home yet? Ah yes...the downside of training, the fuzzy brain. Or was that from last night? Anyhow, that's it for now...more pedaling tomorrow.

Magic Wind

2010-02-28T16:35:00.000-08:00

What is with the headwinds in Wisco that seem to always be in your face? I rode up to and beyond Port Washington today with a nice stiff N wind in my face, I thought it would be the normal midwest version of riding hills (headwind up, tailwind down) but nope, still seemed to be a headwind on the way back. Or maybe I was just losing steam. Well anyway I got in a solid 140 this weekend in 8 hrs, if I count my gyming I might be around 12 total so that's not too far off, not anywhere near Darrin and Chris's 47 hour weeks but those guys are nuts so I don't factor that into my equation. With the light earlier and later now I might even try to start commuting a couple days a week. Well I'm feeling like a 90 year old man right now, that means it's couch time...

Bonk...No Bonk

2010-02-21T16:48:00.000-08:00

I chased the bonk away in the 3rd hour with a can of Red Bull and a powerbar from the gas station. A solid 70 in 4hrs, I'll take it. And in 30 degrees w/dry roads even! Knee gremlins are lurking around so I went for a lower wattage and a longer ride to reduce the stress and it seemed to work. No reason to get carried away with the season so far out. That's all for now, time to surf the couch...

Bonkers

2010-02-20T14:09:00.000-08:00

Nothing like a good bonk at the end of your ride. I think tomorrow I will try to eat enough to avoid another since it seems to be happening a little too frequently. Other than that the form is coming along well, the lifting also. Max this month then next I want to do some explosive workouts, plyometrics etc that Joe has in mind. Besides training we have been planning our trip to Paris with my Dad & Denise, Chimene is learning some French while I am deciding which wine tour to go on. We have Champagne tour set up, but we prefer red wines so I asked my wine conniseur buddy where to tour for those. He said he would give one of his left n___s to do the champagne tour, that the process is really cool, and that I should stop acting like a spoiled American. Plus red wine country is in southern France, far from Paris, while Champagne is in Reims just N of Paris. So that pretty much solves that dilemna. So the only thing that I am still slightly bummed about is that we come back to the states THE DAY BEFORE PARIS-ROUBAIX. Yup. My favorite race of all time. Maybe I will see some of it from the plane?!? I tried to justify the extra vacation and cost to stay, but realized that I was being a spoiled brat and need to be thankful to D&D that we are going in the first place!

Anyway...that's all I got for ya. No bonks tomorrow!

Olympic Fever

2010-02-14T15:13:00.001-08:00

Wow. I am actually enjoying the Olympics this year, I can't wait to watch the downhill skiing, those guys are insane! Digging the 10km skate skiing action today, 3Mericanos in the top 6, maybe next winter I will finally cave and get a setup. For now it's just classical on my old clunkers...Darrin and I did a few laps at Whitnall yesterday, the weather was just perfect but my knee was bugging me so I had to pull the plug. Good thing, cuz today was just as nice and I got out for a solid 3hr ride at a good pace so things are coming along. It's tough to be patient and wait for the form, especially when you have trouble finishing a ride you'd knock out no prob mid season, but that's the way it goes. Been tying up alot of loose ends, basically simplifying my life and getting alot of stuff off my plate that I don't really need to be spending time on. I'm hoping that means more time for training in the next couple months. Anyhew, back to the couch for more Olympics and then a nice V-day dinner to cap off the weekend. That's all for now...

Seriously Though...

2010-02-06T14:23:00.000-08:00

I need to start training. It's true that I've been getting huge at the gym lately, but that's really not a substitute for riding a bike. So I dug out the Spaceballs musical helmet and ventured out into the cold. 2hrs sounded like a good time at the power I want to do base at this winter, and I ran out of juice right at the end of the ride. Actually I ran out when I rode by the Lakefront Alterra and had to duck in for a Cowboy cookie, after which I felt gr8 and made it home OK. Do it again tommorrow, then bump it up .5hrs next week, simple math really. Watch for knee pain, ignore it when it appears....Oops I mean stop riding and rest. That's right I learned my lesson last year.

New Kittage

2010-02-01T17:29:00.000-08:00

Fresh off the monitor. Expect good things this season...

Ramping it Up

2010-02-01T04:18:00.000-08:00

Man this week was crazy on the bike; starting with 1.5 hrs last week, I decided to bump it up to 2 and see what happens. I made it through but it was tough...might go for 3 hrs this week, we'll see if the body holds up!

Fashun

2010-01-30T11:59:00.000-08:00

Does designing the new team kits count towards training time?? I dunno but it sure beats riding outside today in the 10 degrees, wind, and snow. Maybe I will dust off the trainer and get some faux-miles in....maybe.

Ridin'

2010-01-24T14:39:00.000-08:00

The season was unofficially kicked off today with an easy 1.5 hr spin in the mild 35 degree weather. A couple months away from the bike has been refreshing, but I don't plan on any long cold rides- as soon as the snow flies again I will be skiing until spring. It did however feel great to turn the pedals, you almost forget just how satisfying it is, especially early in the season when there are no training expectations. Hopefully the weather will allow for enough riding to get me to spring. Time to noodle on the team kit design update for the evening. Maybe I will even start to update this blog again! That's all for now..

For Sale

2009-11-29T06:30:00.000-08:00

My 2009 S-Works Epic is now for sale...pics and specs up soon.

Iceman, 2010 On Deck

2009-11-09T03:01:00.000-08:00

Now that the Niceman is over so is our season; ADV 212 had a good day finishing 17th (MP), 20th(CP), and 21st(DB). Not exactly dominating but still a solid finish after a long hard season. Looking forward to 2010 and a return to normalcy after an overbooked 2009. We will still be rocking the Specialized and some new members will be flying the red and orange...Let's hope for a mild winter! That's all for now..

Iceman Etc

2009-11-03T03:53:00.000-08:00

After this past weekend I found out you can't not ride for 3 weeks and then jump into a race without feeling awful. Heading to Iceman this wknd, now just for fun as I realize the fitness I did have has eroded to the point where I'm not sure the emercency VO2's I have planned for tonight will do much good. However; the kitchen is coming together and T-day might actually go off as planned. I always need a deadline or I'll just keep adding to and/or refining what I've already done.

Here are some before and after pics...still have a few things to do, like install new trim:

Before

After:

That's all for now...

For Sale

2009-11-01T08:37:00.000-08:00

Got a set of Bontrager 29r wheels to unload, brand new RXL Race X Lite TLR tubeless ready. Check em out here. Retail is $899, Asking $500. I'll be posting them on ebay in the next day or so if there's no local interest. Also have a set of Bonty 29.3 EXP tires to go with them, brand new, here's a review on em, with the wheels asking $50 and separate will be $75.

Email me at mik_phil@yahoo.com w/questions...

Kickstart

2009-08-22T04:35:00.000-07:00

Ok, so this blog has stalled a bit..time for a virtual espresso. Rine said I had to update so here goes:

Roll back to Ore 2 Shore, my first attempt at this race had me somewhat anxious, but I figured it would be a good gauge of my fitness on the way to Chequamegon. After a preview of the last 20 miles I felt good about my chances as there are no major climbs, ha. In hindsight maybe I should have ridden the first 10 as well? Anyway, I ended up in the front row for the start, and I dislike these mass road starts so I prefer to get out of there as quick as possible. The Bells guy next to me said we "just sprint up to the stop sign", so that's what I did, alone. Whoops. After a couple min Chris rolled up and told me to get off the front. That was good timing, as the pace quickly ramped up after that. Once we got to the dirt there was an attack on the first climb, making me wish I hadn't hero'd the start. I held on and we regrouped for a bit. Next attack came from Mike Anderson, and on a longish climb he got a gap that Matter bridged alone. I was a hurtin' unit behind Swanson, but at the top I went up to do some work to bring them back. Off we went...in the wrong direction. It didn't feel right but no one said anything, I kept looking back for confirmation. Over the next hill I looked back and I was alone. How depressing. After turning back and getting to the top of the hill, I could see my chase companions (Doug, Marko, Hall, etc) getting back on the course off in the distance. Racers were streaming by in packs of 20 as I made my way back to the course. Rest of the race was spent passing. Once we arrived at Misery hill I was able to see the chase group nearing the top, motivating me. From then on I was in TT mode, slowly closing the gap. I figured if I could get within 20 sec I could bridge on the last 20 miles of dirt. Doug and TJ seemed to be doing all the work from my view off the back; in the singletrack I saw TJ with another flat and he said they were right there, so I pushed the pace. Finally I was on them, then we caught Lummis and Ted H, the last riders between us and the leaders. I recovered for a bit, and then made a move to the front for the last 5 miles or so, with Doug cheering me on to go faster. I was cramping up but I did feel a little bad for taking the wrong turn so I motored on, knowing he would attack me at the finish for the final podium. "You owe me Mikey!" I supppooooossse....I was pretty stoked to be feeling so good and it was fun making it back up front for 4th after my bumbling. I just can't believe I've never done this race before?! Afterwards it was some awesome Pizza with the team...and then...my favorite, the Bells team party! Lummis kept us supplied at the awards with a mini keg of Oberon, and hooked up the dangerous passes and free drink tix. Needless to say it was a long ride home the next day. Thanks as always to Chris and Michelle at Adventure 212 for the great support!

So after a week of hard training it was back in the auto for another long drive to River Falls, this time for the WORS Border Battle, where all the fast WI and MN guys get together and beat up on each other. This report will be brief, since I have cabinets to stain and a moped to follow later 2day. Basically my legs were tired and I managed to make it thru the first 2 laps with the lead 5, consisting of TJ, Brendan Moore, Jesse, Marko and myself. We had a 6th Beatle in there for a bit in the shape of Nate G, but he fed the dirt corner some Stans and had to check out early w/ a mushy tire (but he was killing it b4 that!) Anyhew...I recovered and then magically I could go up the start hill fast for lap 4...what the hell. I attacked, not so much for the big W but just cuz it's fun, as well as to prevent the guys from resting too much before the bell lap. I knew TJ would attack so it would be better for him if everyone was tired. SOooooo...I wrapped it up mid lap and rested so as not to get dropped when the fireworks went off, which they did on the start hill going into lap 5. TJ and Marko passed a bunch of Comp guys and then dissapeared into the woods. I let Brendan chase like a good teammate. He was riding strong, but I wanted to try Matters' move from last year that bumped me to 4th, so in the last open section I punched it and rolled in behind TJ. I am trying to be a more aggressive rider, even attacking mercilessly for 3rd place. So, that be it. The cabinets are calling me...oh and here are some pics from the WORS race courtesy of skinnyski.com, I can't find any free O2S images...

LATRON (that's a robotic "Later Dude")

Not So Fast

2009-08-03T04:23:00.000-07:00

You always have to throw it up on the wall and see if it sticks; yesterday Nathan pulled it off while I came up a bit short. He did his normal World Cup assault start of Crystal Ridge with Macjei, Matter and I in tow. The twisty trails allowed them a small gap, so I took over and went chasing. I had Nate in my sights for the prime climb but he was smoking the hill and I was only keeping up about 15 secs down.

It stayed this way for the first two laps give or take, then I felt the leash pull tight around my neck. Next up on the detonation agenda: leg cramps! My favorite. When you have power this course is a blast, but as Clint E said..."a man's got to know his limitations". Mine? Climbing. Big ringing the climb on laps 1&2 caught up w/me. I let Matter by at some point and went on cruise control. If you look close at my face here you can see the thought..."are we almost done?"

I managed to hold on for 3rd with big D breathing down my neck. I'm hoping this opened up the legs for O2S next week, it's my 1st time so I dunno what to expect but I know it will be fast! Chris will be back soon from floating around Europe, he should be dying to race but I bet his resting heart rate is pushing 165 after his daily menu of 3 lattes a day!

That's all for now...

Lost and Found

2009-07-23T20:22:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics from Sunburst courtesy of the WORS board; I actually had a good race after I made it thru the 1st lap and my legs finally woke up. I spent Saturday pulling shrubs out around the house so my back was not too happy and I wasn't expecting much. Ended up 4th after chasing Tristan around all day with his teammate Marko on my wheel, seems it's his turn for pre-wedding legs? Darrin had his best yet coming in next for 5th.

So last week wrapped up a month-long assault on my LT, which I have stubbornly worked back up to last springs levels. I've been fast in spring for a few years and it will be fun instead to have legs for the latter half of the season. Speaking of which I am doing Ore 2 Shore for the first time, so that should be a good time. Really though it is all about Chequamegon which means August will be secret training time, it's so secret that I don't even know what it is yet!

That's all for now...

Form

2009-07-09T04:20:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-26T02:22:00.001-07:00

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

2009-06-20T17:26:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-09T03:52:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-25T17:21:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-22T04:31:00.001-07:00

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

2009-05-13T03:52:00.000-07:00

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.

Weakend

2009-05-02T16:22:00.000-07:00

So I have a rest week, that's good because I trashed my knee riding in the cold rain last weekend and can't ride hard anyway. Went to see Joe yesterday and he said I have some tendonitus and some other bad thing behind my kneecap that's inflamed and that's why it hurts when I press down. So I have only ridden a few times this week and slow. That's fine I have lots of projects in the kitchen; I decided to strip all the woodwork and restain it darker so I have my work cut out for me. Also I'm putting can lights in the ceiling so it's brighter. Every week I think of more stuff to do and so the completion date keeps moving farther away. That's fine gotta enjoy life too. This morning we had Rikki and Jason over and I made some killer whole wheat blueberry pancakes w/ veggie eggs, we stuffed ourselves silly and then we were set for the day. Now we're hungry again but we're waiting on TyRine so we can go to Riviera Maya for some Mexifood, then Shug's for some cold ones. In the meantime I'm bringing you this awesome blog post! I meant to take pics of the new bike but got lazy so here's some from our Honeymoon in Kaua'i, these are from this old Tiki bar Tahiti Nui on the north shore in Hanalei, they had these guys playing and they found out we just got married and so they had us come up for a song. Pretty fun place, a local favorite since the 50's. The real Deal!

Here's our dance

Sweet carved stools. Pretty much how our basement bar is gonna look!

Well that oughtta do it, time to grub!

Recap

2009-04-28T03:48:00.000-07:00

These days Chris is writing more than me on the new Team blog, check it out. It seems we have changed positions, now I am the one squeezing in rides around housework! Well I did manage to get 20 hours in last week, including 8 of them this past weekend in the pouring rain. I guess my long base blocks always end with crappy weather even in April. I can't imagine what could happen if I did base in August but I'm sure Mother Nature would find a little something for me, maybe a tornado or electrical storm. Anyway, I decided on 20 becuz Matter went for 18 and I figure I should do more just to keep him in sight now that he's a world champ racer and all. So the whole team is gonna race Iola, should a be a good time. Chris just raced the Cohutta 100 so he will have endurance for days, Bender is riding well and TJ is even making the trip. I still have yet to ride my new bike, I managed to order the wrong size shoes, oops sorry Scott! I think I have been breathing too much drywall dust. Last night I cleaned out the ceiling fan vent over the stove for the first time in 50 years, all I can say is what were they eating (buttered road kill??) and what did their arteries look like? Waaaaaay worse than any bike gunk I've ever seen.

Well that's all for now, time for the grind..

Ain't it Great

2009-04-17T03:57:00.000-07:00

This will be a bullet style post for efficiency:

* Riding lotsa miles, to work and back with extra at night. Starting to feel fast again

* New bike is here, have note ridden it yet waiting for shoes. Thanks Chris!

* WOW is it lite, about 20lbs without trying too hard!

* Kitchen is coming along, almost ready for paint and wood stain

* Team is @ Sea Otter this weekend, I opted to stay home and train, save money etc.
Good luck guys! Everyone's pretty fast right now, check the results after the race

* Time to get ready for the commute, the weekend's here!

That's all for now...

Lake Michigan?

2009-04-08T03:38:00.000-07:00

It's not exactly the South Pacific. And riding a bike around bares little resemblance to the ancient sport of wave riding. Still I find myself having the same moments of exhilaration and release; one could be considered to be more work and dedication, but I suppose it's all how you look at it. Waking up at 5:30 am to ride to work is similar to waking up to ride some waves, but I can't say sitting in traffic with a backpack on is the better of the two. Waiting for a set to come along in the cold water can get old as well though. What am I trying to say here? I dunno. I guess you have to get thru the tedium to get to the good ride, the long rolling open road where you can rise above the day to day and feel like you are actually living in your body.

Burner

2009-04-06T04:21:00.000-07:00

Ok I exaggerated...

2009-04-03T15:25:00.001-07:00

I felt pretty good last night.

Who turned out the lights?

2009-04-01T18:56:00.000-07:00

So we got back from Kaua'i Saturday and it was an amazing trip, I'll post pics once I sort thru them and take out all the offensive ones. The house is a mess but it's ours and all our stuff is here, so the hard part is over. Holbus got the tile done before we left and he did an awesome job, if you ever need work done on your house he's the man. To top it all off Chimp's mom ripped off the rest of that nasty Hee-Haw Kountry Kitchen wallpaper while we were gone so all we have to do is paint and put the trim back on and take a break. Well there is the issue of all the craters left in the basement stairwell wall when the Mr Fixit's paneling was evicted but that can be overlooked while I try to coax some life out of these sedentary legs. Yahhhhhh....these legs. I must say it's been a long time since I felt this pathetic on the bike. After a few false starts, some XC skiing, lots of gyming, I had to put my ambitions aside and concentrate on the move and then fully immerse myself in our trip. We did lots of hiking and swimming, but as we all know that equates to zilch on the bike and so now I have the chance to ride lots when it's actually warm out. Rode 3.5 hrs tonight and managed to bonk 1/2 way thru, that's when you know you're really getting things accomplished. I stopped at Bruggers and had a tasty hummus bagel and then Scanley stopped for a bit and gave me some of his water while I was chillin on the bench. He's movin' on up to Elite, he'll do well I think with the natural power he has. I was thinking it's awesome to have new goals to be excited about and motivate you. Not that I've conquered the Pro MTB world by any means but it's the not knowing of the new pro, that anticipation that gets you thru those long rides in the snow. That's OK, as the bonks fade away and the strength comes back I can enjoy hours of junk miles, hammering away knowing I'll never have to make a living riding my bike. I hear Sugar Maple has Alpha King on the firkin tonight...that's tough to resist...

Whirlwind

2009-03-16T07:27:00.000-07:00

We had just been in the house long enough to find the floor when it was time to head to Cincinatti for Chris's wedding. Held at the only Zaha Hadid building in North America, it was definitely one of the swankier weddings I've been to.

Afterwards I had to bring it down a notch in prep for our upcoming honeymoon- good thing they had $9.99 Baha Jackets at this Indiana gas stop! I filled my own tank with some "Appalachia's Best" and a bag of heart stoppers. What a great state...to drive straight thru at 85mph.

Only 18hrs via plane separates us from this

See ya later!

Home Sweet Home

2009-03-05T03:52:00.000-08:00

We signed our lives away for the second time this year on Friday. We started working on the kitchen immediately so we could move in this weekend, so I spent Friday ripping out the subfloor in prep for the tile. 3 layers of linoleum and two layers of plywood lay on the ground when I was finished, while Chimene and her parents spent the evening scraping wallpaper. The rest of the house needs no immediate work. Well at least I thought at the time..

Laying new plywood (pay no attention to the Bosch radio...)

The basement is an interesting trip back the 70's, when wood paneling and DIY kits were the cat's ass. As you descend the stairs you can almost smell the poker chips and cigar smoke...

This guy (who I refer to as Mr Fixit) installed his own stereo system right in the wall, complete with pull out record player. Check out the sweet screen door handle- now that's a nice touch. Unfortunately Jon there is no intercom so you can't call upstairs for another beer from the card table...

No man cave would be complete without a lava rock fireplace at the bottom of the stairs

And when you're chillin' in your Barcalounger watching Hee-Haw who wants to go upstairs and adjust the TV antenna to get better reception? That's why you have your fancy AUTOMATIC antenna control right in the wood paneled wall.

Seriously though, I decided to see just what was under all that drop ceiling and faux pine and took a peek above the ceiling.

I shined the light up and found perfectly good drywall; seems Mr Fixit had something against color and space and had to cover that up with a low ceiling and dingy paneling. It was Sawzall time! If Mr Fixit had zero taste, he made up for it in thoroughness. Every panel was naled to stripping that was nailed and anchored to the drywall, so when I ripped it out it left big craters everywhere. So it looks like there is a bunch of plaster filling in my future...

Found my ipod...

2009-02-23T03:55:00.001-08:00

But I still didn't get out and ride! Snowstorm, putting things into boxes (packing) and looking at tile are my excuses. We did have a good time sitting at Cactus on Saturday while Roach was bartending, listening to metal for a few hours with Matt. You know, that good old 70's stuff that sounds like it's played from cardboard speakers with a couple pillows over 'em for good measure. Downloaded some Roky Erickson, thought about buying some on vinyl but the turntable is packed and doesn't work anyway. So now I have some good tracks to ride with but no time (or motivation) to get on the bike. I am realizing that for me it's all or nothing...either it's 3 hrs or no hours. To be honest I didn't miss having my hands and feet go completely numb. I missed the first 2 hrs of any winter ride, those being the good part before you get bonky and hypothermic and have to put it on autopilot to get home, no thinking just pedal. I didn't miss that at all!
So how many other people will be doing base miles in April?

3hrs

2009-02-16T04:04:00.000-08:00

Is better than no hours...and why did I have to lose my ipod. Riding metal-less in the winter really sucks.

Yessir

2009-02-13T11:32:00.001-08:00

Nothing like nonstop Maiden to get you thru a Friday. 'Specially the 13th. Just look at those badass graphics.

Any?

2009-02-12T06:28:00.000-08:00

Anyone have a van or truck I can borrow for a few hours this Saturday morning? Gotta pick something up.

Moving Along

2009-02-10T03:58:00.000-08:00

Chimene was out of town this weekend so I got a couple good rides in, about 7hrs total. Watts aren't where I want them to be so I just pedal what I want until I can't anymore and then suffer the rest of the ride. Pretty easy formula. The graph is going downhill right now but I expect it to flatten out in a few more rides, then it will be time for some LT's. Wow this is the easiest plan ever! Oh yeah, I'm not doing any trainer rides, and I'm not riding below 15 degrees. The XC skiing was a great diversion for awhile and really helped the scraping-the-mud off the bottom part of my pedal stroke. My back was really bothering me tho so I had to go back to the bike, luckily the weather has been kind to us lately, not that that's going to last. I am looking forward to racing this year, I just don't think I will be rip-roaring in April like the last couple years, with the house and honeymoon coming up in March. That's OK I will be the team domestique for awhile, go till I blow...oh wait that's how I always race. Maybe I will give my teammates the remote control for awhile?

So yeah, the house...the major hurdles have been cleared, but I'll be able to relax once the 27th gets here and I have the keys. It will be stressful moving before we go on our trip but then we won't have that big project waiting for us when we get back. Well not any project that I can't put off for a few months anyway...

Joe just informed me last night that Katie is dead-lifting as much as me, so I still have some more work to do. That girl is going to rip legs off this season. Maybe mine at this rate!

That's all for now...

Sweatpants Sunday

2009-02-01T09:39:00.000-08:00

While others are preparing for the Super Bowl today, I am sitting here in my sweats trying to gather the motivation for a nice 3hr ride. The temperature has finally risen to a reasonable level and my back is killing me from the XC skiing. I need to get out and ride my bike. Our offer on the house has been accepted and we close at the end of this month, a month earlier than expected. Until then it's alot of waiting, so I have no excuse to not ride. I made a new header image and looking thru last season's race photos inspired me. I am a little bummed that I lost my ipod last month, I never used to ride with music but last season it was a necessity to block out the crappy weather. I think I will be OK today though, it's warm and sunny (well it's 30 degrees, that's the equivalent of a winter heatwave in Wisco). Jason and Rikki's margarita party last night might have something to do with my sluggish movements and brain function. I am starting the motivational music with some St Vitus, nice and sludgy Sabbath-ish metal; if the ipod magically appeared I would follow that up with some Fu or Hot Snakes blasting thru the Spaceballs helmet. Oh well. If I get cold I can always sing some Hawaiian melodies and think of where I'll be next month, on the beach, on a volcano, in the ocean, on a cliff, on a trail, etc. Hmmm this New Bomb Turks song is helping. OK I'm gonna go get ready to roll. Until next time.....

Growing Pains

2009-01-26T10:29:00.000-08:00

Just when I think I can get serious about training another major project commands my attention. That's fine, I've been putting off alot of things I shouldn't have for years now, and to be honest I don't really have the desire to be riding outside in this weather anymore. Actually I'm looking forward to put in some big miles in the spring, after the past few years having to be in shape for March saw lots of miles in Jan-Feb but already tapering off by the time the weather became enjoyable. It will be great not being burnt out and apathetic in the fall! Anyway, after the honeymoon planning it became apparent that our plan to rent and save for another year was not going to work out. It would be either move, rent, then buy and move again, or just dive in and buy now. The first option isn't even an option as far as I'm concerned, moving sucks! So I've been putting my energy into this new project, if that's what you can call it. Risky? Yes. Update to follow...

XC Tyme

2009-01-11T17:40:00.000-08:00

Made it out on the snow finally this weekend with Chimene. Nothing crazy, just trying to get out and enjoy winter instead of sitting around hating it the whole time. We headed over to Whitnall Park today after a test run Saturday at the lake parks. The weather was perfect, 30 degrees, sunny, and plenty of fresh snow. Lots of people out enjoying it as well.

We made a few laps around the place, for once I enjoyed a golf course instead of thinking they are a total waste of space..

Nothing as perty as sun on fresh snow..

I tried to remember some technique from my youth, as I haven't skied in years. When I found something that worked I tried to show Chimene, with varying results. I'm a bad teacher because I can't remember what it feels like to not know how to do something.

We were't too worried about being awesome, just enjoying the day and expending a few calories in the process.

It's extremely enjoyable when you get a rhythm going, once I lose the new muscle soreness it's something I could do for hours and not get bored. Although the times I went off the trail in the fresh snow had me waxing nostalgic for snowboard powder days of years past...

In the downtime we've been planning our honeymoon, somewhere warm and surrounded by lots of water, recession be damned. We never wanted a McMansion anyway!

I'm Back

2009-01-02T07:15:00.000-08:00

I said I would start riding by the 1st...almost didn't happen but I finally peeled myself off the couch at about 4 and managed almost 2hrs in the dark. Aided by the cozy BarMitts, I felt good for about an hour and then not so much. But with all the new team talk, I'm ready to get serious. We've selected a bike sponsor, got a new teammate, and have some rough idea of what the season will look like. I will be starting a little later than in years past so I'm not too worried about being fast in March. For now it's just getting back in the swing of things and feeling good on the bike again, go from there. Hope everyone had a good holiday!

Ooops

2008-12-10T04:03:00.000-08:00

Another week of no riding just went by...oh well. Looking at the new US Cup schedule there's not much to be excited about unless you live on one of the coasts. I talked to Chris and it looks like a full WORS series with a couple of the better Cups thrown in for fun, and a heavy fall schedule that doesn't include being burnt out from riding all winter. One thing I DO need to do is call Joe C and get him to crack the whip on me in the weight room so I can start getting HUGE again. I just read Matter's blog and he's going racing in Belgium, I figure I can drag my sorry carcass to the gym or even out on some skiis at least. Maybe it's time to visit my Dad in Cali.....

Sloth

2008-12-03T05:21:00.000-08:00

Must.....get...some..excercise..

This taking a break thing is starting to get old. I was shooting for a month and it's been a little more than 2 weeks and I feel like a slug. Not that the weather is exactly begging me to come out and enjoy it, unless I get a pair of XC skiis and start training for the Birky (yes I agreed to do it late night after the 40). NOW that might be interesting! OK that's all I have for the moment.

What Bike?

2008-11-14T04:20:00.000-08:00

So I guess somewhere between this morning and last Saturday I decided I am done racing for the season. Haven't touched a bike since! I might muster up the motivation for one more CX race this weekend but I doubt it. I am enjoying the life of a semi-normal person lately, making dinner for my wife, cranking out new tools at work, and hitting all the thrift shops on a regular basis in hopes of finding cool forgotten gear. For awhile now I've been on the lookout for a nice vintage receiver to go with an old set of Bose 901's I put together. Our newer one won't work with them because they require this wacky EQ and it doesn't have the necessary hookups. I've made do by running the CD player thru the EQ but then we can't play records. So the hunt began. Many times when I am looking for a particular thing they just sort of fall out of the sky; maybe it's because I patiently (compulsively might be a better word) scour the earth both via online and old school thrifting. Whichever the route I find what I want eventually. Such is the case with my new toy, a '77 Pioneer SX-1050.

I stopped by one of our local thrift shops and found this giant silver/wood receiver, $30 As Is. I plugged it in and connected some speakers, and it made no sound. I was going to leave it but decided to look up the model # on ebay on my phone and see if it was worth fixing up. First listing I saw was for $300 so I turned around and snagged it; I figured cosmetically it was in good condition except for some scratches on on the wood and the remnants of a big sticker on one side, but I could deal w/ that and have a Pro figure out the tough stuff. Of course the line at the checkout was long and I had to stand there with this very heavy object for a good 5 min! After sitting in my trunk for a couple days I finally brought it down to the basement to fiddle around and see if I could get some sound out of the thing. Nothing. OK...it sits a couple more days, then my wife was out of town last night and I went down to see if I could get a CD player to work on it. Plug that in, nothing at first, then fiddled with some more dials, a couple light "Fonzie" taps to the side of the machine (that is the extent of my electronic knowledge), and sound magically comes out. Bingo! I brought it upstairs from ProjectLand to connect it to the Bose spkrs.

Cleaned all the dials and the face, got the sticker off the side, oiled the wood, and hoisted the behemoth onto the stereo cabinet. Success!

The only problem is I can only play it on Vol 1 or 2 - @ 120w per channel it's too loud! No "eleven" here. Now if I could just find a nice old record player....

Iceman V1

2008-11-09T17:25:00.000-08:00

16th for my first try, riding blind on a bike I've never ridden before. Seriously fast pace! I think I'm hooked, might actually have to train for it next year, but alot of fun regardless. Full report when I get motivated again after that epic drive...

More 'Cross!

2008-11-03T04:05:00.000-08:00

Day one saw the 1/2's tear up Kletsch Park here in Milwaukee; the Polska team did a great job with the course again for this 2nd year event. The weather was perfect fall temps. With Friday night being Halloween I wasn't expecting too much, the races were only one of many fun times to be had over the weekend. Chimene and I arrived in time for a warmup, then we lined up and did our thing. I won the start into the first turn and then proceeded to lead for a lap or two.

The long runup gave me some trouble despite all the running I've been doing.

I didn't feel very fast. Plus I'm holding my bike with two hands like I'm afraid 'm going to drop it! -2 style points

On the 2nd lap Marko started racing, then Matter went. They went on the hill so that was it for me

I chased for a bit then I got tired and LaLonde Jr caught me, followed my Matt. James was having a good day and rode away, while Matt and I battled it out for the rest of the race. I ended up getting by him on the last set of barriers to squeeze out a 4th place.

Sunday saw us enjoying great weather once again, so I opted to ride up to the race at Estabrook Park for a few extra miles. I was feeling tired from more festivities and I had to bust out the Bialetti espresso press that Sanjay and Anna got us for the wedding. That thing is sweet! A couple shots and I was ready to rock for at least 45 minutes. We had a smaller field than Saturday but plenty of fast guys, just no Marko or Matter.

Kyle J led it out this time and it felt like we were racing a Tuesday night Miss 'n' Out race..

After bunny hopping the single barrier I got overconfident and tried doing the double set. Unfortunately I lost it on the second one and landed off camber, rolling both tires and laying down for a brief rest until the others were safely by. I jumped back up and the adrenaline kicked in for the chase back on..

At the back before the runup..

This barrier wasn't the issue.

Somehow I weasled my way back to the front by the end of the lap. I prolly should have rested and waited, but that would be employing tactics and that goes against my philosophy for 'cross, which is to go hard the whole time.

Of course I got dropped a little later by Steve Scholzen, who went on to win by almost a minute. I tried to catch back him for a bit but then I was getting caught and not catching anymore. I eased up a bit to avoid getting passed at light speed by Kyle and James

Kyle checked into the pit with a soft tire, so it was down to James and I for the rest of the race. We attacked back and forth for a few laps

Going into the finish I tried to stay in front on the hill and then through the last turns..

Tasted breakfast going over the finish line for 2nd so you know it was a good race! I love these races, even when we have a small field everyone just goes for it.

So I am finally going to head over to Michigan for the Iceman, not expecting anything but I want to see what it's all about. Can't ditch work so I'll have to get there late Friday and race it blind. Oh well, it's sponsored by Bell's so there should be a good post race party regardless of the results!

That's all for now...

Requisite Wedding Photo

2008-10-31T04:19:00.000-07:00

Since we haven't got our pics yet this will have to suffice, though I don't expect them to be nearly as good

Trocadero Halloween CX

2008-10-27T03:55:00.000-07:00

I dressed up as a ball of fire apparently...Is this what Matter meant when he was defining the term "SuperFan"?!?!

Photo by Jeff Frings

Still fast here..

A little slower here

The Final CountDown

2008-10-06T05:21:00.001-07:00

This past week was BUSY. Talk about a bad time for work to kick into high gear! I haven't ridden my bike since last Tuesday's Miss 'N Out race at Estabrook...nope, been spending my time in CAD land building brain muscles. Luckily I like what I do so it wasn't bad, except for the part where I had no time for anything else. The one advantage of CAD-ing from home is that you can drink beer while you're doing it so it doesn't feel so much like work. I did manage to get a run in Friday before the MSOE Food Slam event, but that was only so I could stuff my face and not feel too guilty. It was lots of fun and I would upload some pics but I lost the cord to my new fake iphone so you'll just have to make do with another boring PowerTap screen shot of the Tuesday night CX race. I didn't know how Miss N Out races worked, well to be more precise I didn't pay attention (imaging that) when Andy was explaining. I guess they yelled my name after leading for 4 laps, then some LaLonde guy attacked. I thought I was still winning and countered a bit later and they let me go, I guess I was out at this point. Whoops my bad! Well at least I got in some good intensity, just want to maintain any amount of form I can so I don't get TOO slaughtered when I make my big comeback after this weekend's wedding!

Oh yeah the wedding...things are going good, everyone's helping out which is GREAT. So thanks to those who are. Friday night we have a schoolbus/rolling keg so that should be interesting. My little bro was requesting the keg to be filled with ZIMA but I had to go with the Riverwest Stein to keep it real. Otherwise it's pretty much buying lots of stuff lately. My Epic sold on ebay, of course to some guy in Spain who speaks broken English and is trying to find a way to pay for it since he won the auction. Why does my life always resemble the intro to MacGyver where he just makes the slide under the closing door? Oh yeah, it's because I wait till the last minute to do eveything. How many times have I said "we have tons of time left"?? Too many apparently. Well I always said I work better under pressure, let's see if that's true of not!

Anyway, those who are coming to the big day, see you then; everyone else have fun at Sheboygan, wish I could make it! Can't wait to get back on the CX bike for some racing.

That's all for now....

For Sale

2008-09-23T05:23:00.000-07:00

OK it's time to sell my 08 Epic, weddings are expensive! I need to take some pics but here it is in action:

Selling with the CrankBrothers 4ti's, MaxxLite 310's (mounted tubeless on the Rovals not the Reynolds wheels), Manitou R7, Stan's aluminum rotors, Hayes Strokers w/ti hardware, Easton EC70 flat bar, XTR and XO drivetrain etc. Built up like this it weighs in around 21.5 lbs. Asking $3500.

Email me at mik_phil@yahoo.com if you're interested and I can give more details/pics, otherwise it's going on eBay and then probably to Australia or someplace else where the US dollar is worth about $0.35

That's all for now!

Ouch

2008-09-22T07:12:00.000-07:00

More CX practice over the weekend since I didn't go down to Chicago and race. Saturday I set up a couple barriers from some branches, it was pretty sweet. I had a course with a little hill and everything, did some 5x5's with lots of accelerations instead of a steady pace like I normally do. It makes for a lower avg power but you get the spikes like you do in a race situation. There was a family picnic nearby and they were looking at me kinda funny as I was racing around the park by myself jumping over some sticks. Another funny thing happened during my third effort, I was looping around the backside of my course and when I came back towards the barriers some dude on a mt bike is heading for my barriers and proceeds to try bunny hopping them. He cleared the first one but knocked over the 2nd one and is in the process of putting it back up as I am coming thru so I had to skip it that lap. Why would someone do that?? Anyhow I finished up and rode the grass for an hour or so, then did some hill runups with the bike for good measure. I am using the Reynolds clinchers until I get my tubie setup so I have the PowerTap file:

Sunday I did some core excercises, then for good measure a 30 min run. After that I jumped on the bike for some LT training, 3x20min OverUnders to simulate a 60 min CX effort with lots of accelerations. Suprisingly I had some decent power, averaging 350w for the first one even after the running nonsense.

Today I woke up a little sore but nothing like last week so I went out for a 30 min run before work. Running late and sweating into my work clothes I forgot my work ID on the dresser and had to go back and get it. THAT was pretty annoying. Almost as annoying as some moron knocking over your ghetto barriers in the middle of an interval...

In wedding news we finally found someone to marry us, which was a relief. 3 more weeks, man does that come up quick!

Cross Practice

2008-09-18T14:29:00.000-07:00

Three days this week and my legs are SORE! My technique has gone from terrible to only slightly awfull...at least I didn't trip over the barriers this time though.

Chequamegon 08!

2008-09-15T06:08:00.000-07:00

This year's Chequamegon was just like year's past in that I was targeting it as my last big "A" race of the season. The full week off the bike a month earlier had me much more motivated to knock out a big training block in the weeks leading up to Wisconsin's own Hell of the North. I even had a massage a few days before the race! Anyway, I headed up from work Thursday night to stay over at Peariso's in Stevens Point before making the rest of the journey up to Cable with them Friday morning. We met the McFaddens at the cafe in town and then headed out to Firetower Hill to ride in to the finish. Chris and I were both running some lightweight tires and wanted to see what condition the course was in before committing. There was alot of standing water but suprisingly little mud; in fact, it seemed to have packed down and even added traction by making it more tacky. If I stayed centered in the slick spots I decided I could get away with the 310's. My bike handling skills usually aren't an issue, it's my shoddy climbing that always gets me in trouble! With these tires I can knock a lb off the Epic and end up at around 21.5 lbs. Not bad for a full suspension bike!

Anyhow, I stayed with Anna and Sanjay and her parents' cabin not far from the finish line, they've been coming up for something like 19 years in a row! They put together an awesome race night dinner, I stuffed myself silly for the long day ahead. I hit the hay at 9pm as I wanted to be up early to eat and have time to get things together. 6am was there in a flash and I headed to Chris's room for some tasty pancakes courtesy of Michelle and Di, thanks ladies! With full bellies we packed up and headed to Hayward for the start.

We met up with Bender for the warmup, he finally pulled the Reynolds/Dugast tubie setup from the vault and had even me doing a double take! Man those are some purty wheels. Lots of people had to stop and ask questions. Anyway, we backed it in at what seemed like a reasonable time, a quick look around revealed no shortage of horsepower at this year's event. Jonathan Page was sure to make his presence known, not to mention the long list of the Midwest's big guns; Rad Ross Schnell even made the trip.

Finally, with the shot of the cannon, the waiting was over and we took off down Main St, all 1800 of us. This is the most stressfull part of the race with so many antsy mtb'ers not used to riding in big groups. I managed to stay near the front, luckily since I heard a nasty crash just behind me before turning on Hwy 77.

That seemed to get things going because before I know it the 4 wheelers are speeding up and the group is stretching out. I make it up behind Doug and Cole who are motorpacing the lead motos; all of a sudden one takes off and there goes Cole! Within about 3 seconds he's a 1/2 mile down the road with his road gearing, meanwhile we're all spun out in our 44x11's. Then the 2nd 4 wheeler takes off leaving me on the front, oops! I look over at the Eppens next to me and they seem to be thinking the same thing; I didn't want to drop back and lose my position, so I end up hitting Rosie's field redlining it behind Matter.

Everyone gets in a line and Chris yells at me to get in so I do, I know it's going to get really fast as soon as we hit the Birkie trail so I'm trying to recover from the road effort.

I spend the next hour gluing myself the the back of the train, which is pretty big - like 25 riders, trying to get my breathing under control. Chris is up front with Swanson obviously feeling good, TJ is there, Matter, Hall, Page, Landon, Bender, etc. Basically lots of fast guys! The pace is really hard for me, every hill seems like 100% effort; I wanted to have more go so I could contend up front but I can't find the power so I just play it conservative. After the feed zone Cole launches an attack so I help close that down. Next thing I know Bender goes zipping by on a flyer! I'm thinking maybe Chris had him go but he says it was all the kid's doing. Turning into Martel's Pothole we skid the corner, now it's Hall's turn to take off! This one might stick...

Everyone starts chasing and soon we pick Bender back up...it's getting really sloppy now and I have to choose my line carefully with the weight weenie 310 tire. Doug, forever at the front...

Page...following

At this point I'm wishing I had some knobbies! The 212 train

On the road after Martels it seems nobody wants to chase Hall going into Firetower, which is understandable. Who wants to hit that hill redlining with 10 guys behind you?!

So we cruise into it, and TJ goes up the thing like he's on a dirtbike!

I'm following Landon and Doug, but Chris, Brian and TJ have made it over with a gap so I have to dig deep to get over and start chasing back on.

Chris seems to be smiling even on that last crappy steep section of the Firetower climb...

Bender calling on the Power of The Chops to stay on Doug's wheel..hey are those TUBIES?! Almost Euro, they don't do 29" over there though.

So Landon works for a bit, then I take over and soon we're back on for the next Birkie section. About 2 seconds later Page takes off and it's bye-bye 2nd Place. Now it's down to TJ, Chris, Matter, Landon, and myself. I'm starting to cramp up pretty good on the hills, dangling off the back and getting back on the dips. Finally we get to the flat road section, we're just cruising and I figure 6th is better than getting caught by the next group so I go to the front to pull, maybe Chris could go for that last podium. When we get to the final section of trail TJ guns it with 1 mile to go and they're off, I am just hanging on at this point. I briefly try to get in front of Landon, then he counters and is off. Then I see Brian dismount with a mechanical, but I'm just thinking about dropping into that bowl and getting over the finish line. Soon it's over, Chris is 5th, me 6th, Swanson 7th, then Bender comes in for 8th. Not too shabby getting all 3 of the 212 Amigos (as Matter put it) in the Top Ten! Definitely one to remember.

After the race I fit a whole weekend's worth of partying into one night, finishing off with a damp, smoky fire and some sore legs. We stuck around Sunday to watch some Funday races and then headed home for some much needed rest. Another MTB season in the books, I think I might have to wait another year to retire, but that's another story. I have a wedding to think about!

That's all for now...

Thanks to SkinnySki for the great pics!

Fall

2008-09-08T17:49:00.000-07:00

A good way to wrap up my WORS season. I thought Chris or TJ were going to do the rabbit chasing yesterday at the Smokin Spoke, but a big rock had other plans for TJ and a really sharp rock decided Chris's fate. I was still feeling the effects of the Labor Day blowout, had some good steam but not much punch. Jesse put in a good dig on the road leadout and I bridged up, then put in a pull myself just long enough to get gapped on the first sandy climb. I moved back up for the singletrack behind Chris who seemed to have wings. I was still recovering and in difficulty when I heard his tire leaking, after which I had the displeasure of informing him that his race just hit the pause button. So now I'm in front, what else do you do but go fast? Being up there just does that for you. I found my rhythm and made the most of it, soon it was down to Jesse, Marko, and Matter; I swung off so Jesse could share in the fun. After a few clicks he appeared to tire of me buzzing his wheel and slowed up a bit, no one else came around so I figured what the hell. Rode fast for a bit and got gapped on the same damn hill as the lap before but made it back on, Jesse smelled blood and pushed harder, I said enough and rode a more steady pace about 20 secs back while Brian went by to get back on. I could see them up ahead, then I was just seeing Matter and eventually I caught up up to him. He seemed a bit gassed so I did some work till the end of the lap hearing the gap was around 30 secs. Next thing I know Don's waving us in, race is over early due to a storm; repeat of last race? Brian seems as interested in sprinting as I do and we cruise in 3rd and 4th. Sort of anticlimatic but I don't think the finish would have changed all that much with a 3rd lap. Anyway, after doing this racing thing for awhile I feel the clouds are about to clear from the legs and the snap will be back for the big 40 this Saturday with a bit of rest. I know everyone's as excited as I am, maybe even more than for the first Packer game tonight!
Now, if I could just decide on what tires to run.....

Wisconsin

2008-09-02T03:27:00.000-07:00

There were a bunch of races last weekend and I didn't do any of them. Instead I went to a sweet party Friday night in the sticks to watch some friends rock outdoors. There was the usual firework mischief, skateboarding (which I skipped this time), and a giant bonfire even the bravest drunkard failed to make the leap over, though I left early at 1:30am. It could easily happened after that, though I'm not sure I would be as impressed since the size would have been considerably less at that point.

?? forgot their name

Roach's sludgy metal band

The rest of the weekend was spent torching the legs; 3hrs w/ 2x20 over-unders Saturday, 3hrs w/ 4 hot laps of Emma F on Sunday, followed by the Holy Hill ride Monday at 5.5 hrs made worse by Bender crushing the hills. The fridge is stocked so to speak, and after this Sunday's test of the legs at the Rhinelander WORS it will be time for the final exam up in Hayward. The big Cheq! After that it's 'Cross till it's too cold. Much easier to get the wedding off that way. That's all for now..

Road Warrior

2008-08-26T10:14:00.000-07:00

I think this weekend's 9 hrs of solo driving ate into any commuting points I've earned riding to work the past couple weeks. I tried to find any excuse not to go, but even the weather was looking better for the River Falls WORS, race than staying home and doing the WEMS race 10 min from my house. Really the only reason I drove was for the competition, it being the Border Battle and all. It's always good to line up with the MN boys and throw down before Chequamegon and see how it plays out. Personally I wasn't expecting much not racing in a few weeks, plus lots of miles were making my legs heavy. Making things easier was the sweet house Tyrine and the Scanleys rented, Cam and I crashed there and it was only 1 mile from the course. Thanks Alterra crew!

First there was bike prep, and there were lots of 'em

We all threw in for a tasty race dinner, enjoying the fading summer. Regina and Bill found the place after some backtracking and a preride. The weather lately has been perfecto! Check out the two bald guys chatting it up; like Larry David says we need to stick together! Man I need a haircut..serious watermark going on there.

OK on to the race; I actually had good legs and made it to the lead group until Jesse rode away from TJ, Fisher, and myself. The course was pretty dope though, they even made this rad wood slat burm Northshore style!

At the end of the first Sam O was gaining on us, I used my Jedi singletrack skills to open it back up for me and TJ, Jesse was moving on towards another win....did I mention the course was really fun? Log jumps at speed

Anyway, I got dropped on the 3rd, lost some time, and then Matter started shadowing me. I was bummed cuz I had to turn the gas back on, too late though as he caught and passed me a mile from the finish and we even sprinted it out, but the real sprint happened when he passed me though because A) there's no room at the finish for sprinting, and B) I had no legs. So I got 4th, still pretty good. A little more work and Cheq should be a good race.

Rewards. I indulged too much and had to sleep for a bit, got up at 3am and made it to work by 8:00, even after stopping home for a shower and work threads! I94 is way better at night anyway, I put it on cruise at 85 and passed like 10 cars the whole time. For once I made thru the Dells without the endless line of monster trucks and minivans going 25mph. Seeing all of eastern WI on their way into work was amusing too. Oh and french press in the car in a standard mug...not recommended.

Copper Harbor race this weekend possibly, wanted to do the Maplelag race but that drive....ouch.

Thanks to Rine and Goat for the sweet pics!

Ketchup

2008-08-07T17:31:00.000-07:00

It started before we left for Nationals...the serious urge to just chill. I got a little in with the taper before the big race, but you can never really relax with your A race on the horizon. We gave it a shot anyway though..

The dogs were happy to see us back in NY

Got some more horizontal time on the drive up to VT

I had a great support team

Can't seem to get away from these guys

In spite of all the preparation, I still couldn't seem to ride fast, which in itself is demotivating. I decided to just put it on cruise so I could finish for everyone who came to watch.

Chimene helped me keep things in perspective.

Mom and Mike, who made the whole trip possible

Gained some self respect back in the Short Track

All in all it was a good trip.

After the Alterra WORS race I took a week off, boy did that go fast! Printed the wedding invites, made dinner at home (that's a luxury) and went camping. No biking. Chomping at the bit to ride I went out feeling great Monday and hammered out 3hrs, which considering I was fighting a cold wasn't such a good idea. Tuesday I blew my nose approximately 327 times, and with typical illogical cyclists' rationalization I went out for some intervals after work. Got one 20min session in and then the lights started to dim. Crawled home at 150w and took Wednesday off except for the spin to pick up the rest of the invites. Thursday I gave commuting a shot, I've been wanting to try to ride the Tosa trails as they come out right by Harley and that's only a mile from The Red Zone (Milwaukee Tool). So I rallied my $7k race bike thru the shadier sections of the city, hit the dirt in Tosa and singletracked my way to cubicle land (they are the short walls, don't feel too bad for me). I had my backpack on and kept nailing trees, it was good balance training though; now I know how the clydes feel! I also turned the brain off on the rear shock for super-comfy mode. With the R7 back to full travel up front I felt like I was on a rolling couch. I managed to bonk on the way home and had to hit Walgreens for some Clif bars, I wolfed 2 of 'em and headed back through no-man's land. No incidents on this commute save for the guy at the bus stop at 24th and National who for some reason felt the need to express his desire to see me "get a flat." Despite the broken glass equivalent of 3,000 High Lifes, I did not fulfill his wish. Chimene had dinner and a open bottle of vino waiting and that was as much as I could ask for.

Anyhew, not sure about the Sunburst race as my nose is still producing green slime, but I guess I'll decide the day of. Maybe I'll commute to the race from Milwaukee by bike. That's all for now...

Breakin'

2008-08-04T04:11:00.000-07:00

The vacation from the bike has been great, not sure how it will affect fitness but it was worth it. I picked a good time to do it as there were plenty of opportunities for non-bike related fun. I did get out on the Greenbush trails Sunday, though it was 1:30am, on foot, and in a not-exactly race ready state of mind. Now it's time for some miles...and an adjusted outlook for the remainder of the season.

Retribution

2008-07-28T05:46:00.000-07:00

Good legs and home course advantage led to another 3rd place at the Alterra race yesterday; attempted to put some big ring pressure on Jesse and the 'Stache but they gapped me on the climb and held it. I was just happy to feel strong again after sputtering at Mt Snow. Maybe all the pizza and beer this week did some good after all..

Chaos going to the top on Lap 1

Strung out on Lap 2

The course was a blast, tons of singletrack and dried out just in time for the race. Nice work Captain Candy and the rest of the Alterra team!

Pics courtesy of Bubba and Goat. Now it's time for some rest...

Pack Fill

2008-07-21T08:48:00.000-07:00

So it's official, I either peaked too early this year or messed up my peak depending on how you look at it. Sitting in the Syracuse airport on the way back to Wisco, catching up on some work and wondering what went wrong. I finished 37th in the XC, started a little too fast and suffered the rest of the race. Just could not get into a good rhythm on the climbs. I would make time on the descent and lose it all again on the climb, really frustrating. Sunday's ST went a little better, had some steam in the legs but I was in the 4th row and was too timid on the start, spending the race trying to move up though the field. Ended up getting pulled after only 13min for 32nd, guess I should have buried it! Ah well. I'll do some light riding this week, race the Alterra WORS race, and then off the bike for a full week. A midseason break is something I haven't tried, and with the heavy spring raceload I've been doing the past two years I think it will help with the fall races and the 'cross season. The idea is to race longer into the fall and start training later in the winter, then maybe next year I will make it to Nationals with some legs.

That's all for now, pics up later..got some fun SolidWorks

Nationals

2008-07-17T02:47:00.001-07:00

A quick update before the 7am flight to NY....everything's been going well with the training, bike is set, tires decided, lbs have been shed; must be time for Mt Snow! Chimene and I are flying into Syracuse to stay at my folks place tonight, then heading up tomorrow with the fam to pre-ride the course. There are people showing up from all over, Fizz is even making the trip, one of the first guys I ever rode mtb's with...even he is riding a 29r , no more GT LTS. That was a sweet bike though.

This year we are skipping the "Slanty Shanty" in favor of a condo at the resort, complete with kitchen! Should make a big difference and alot less driving around. Thanks Mom for setting that up.

Alex is coming again so we'll have someone to take out the trash

With all this support it will be tough not to have a fun weekend, and even some good results? Let's just say I will be somewhere behind these guys

That's all for now...