Family Ride Time...

WORS #1 Iola Bump & Jump

What a weekend!  Two days after the first race of the 2012 WORS series and I'm still finding mud to chip off my poor mountain bike.  We all know now that the Iola course only absorbs a certain amount of rainfall before it turns into a soupy mud bog.  Too many people were optimistic that the sandy soil would handle anything that mother nature could throw at it over the weekend...we were all very wrong! 

Saturday's pre-ride was perfect with mid 50 temps, tacky dirt, and little sand.  I only rode a few laps as my legs were still feeling the Cohutta 100 from the previous weekend.  One lap was with my A212 teammates and the other was with Justin and Ben who I coach.  The traffic was unbelievable in a good way because of all the younger racers out on the course either by themselves or with adults.  Actually just about everyone is younger than me when it comes to racing mountain bikes these days!  Luckily I can still trick my old body into thinking that it's many years younger once in a great while when I toe a starting line.

Race day brought plenty of rain and I knew it might turn into a mudfest when they weren't allowing vehicles into the parking field.  After a short warm up I rolled up to the start line and decided that all I needed to do was have fun and to ijust ride my bike.  My start was midpack as I slipped, splashed, crashed, and ran through different sections of the four lap race.  In the end my race plan/attitude worked out pretty well as I rolled across the finish line in 21st out of 60 Pro/Elite finishers.  A great day overall with the muddy conditions!  I Felt comfortable from the start, had  excellent A212 team support (thanks Niki & Timster) and my Specialized Epic 29er performed flawlessly even though it weighed over 30lbs at the finish.  Despite the lousy weather, Team A212/Specialized placed four women (2nd-5th) and two men on the overall Pro/Elite podiums for the day.  Thanks again to all our sponsors this year that make racing possible and lots of fun!  Good luck cleaning bikes this week...

Cohutta Death March 100

Survived the Cohutta 100 this year with no mechanicals or thunderstorms to deal with!  Ended up 46th overall in the open field after a long, long day on the my mountain bike.  To sum it up, the middle of the race from mile 30 to 70 had me wondering, questioning and thinking about everything but climbing the damn Cohutta Mtn range.  If it wasn't for Chris Peariso's mechanical and his words as he rode with me to aid station 6, I never would have finished where I did or maybe not at all.  With a few uncontrollable body issues to deal with, I was in a very dark place mentally and very close to the edge of quitting looking like I wasn't coming out of it anytime soon.  Thanks to Chris's endless talking and his pleading for me to eat, I finally started to feel better as the darkness faded around mile 70.  A mix of bananas, Clif Bloks, and water settled my stomach and with some caution I actually started to pass racers again and never got caught by anyone all the way to the finish.  As always and we hear this often, always finish if you physically can which is a victory in itself!  Thanks again for a another great road trip with my Adventure 212 teammates and the Frazier's!  Pedal on...

A212 Team Tennessee bound...NUE Cohutta 100!

Ready to Roll!

Thanks Specialized, Truvativ, SRAM, Hostel Shoppe, and Adventure 212 for putting together an awesome race machine for 2012!

Just Pedal...

In less than two weeks I'll be standing at the Cohutta 100 starting line looking up at the paved 2-3 mile climb that kicks off the 2012 NUE MTB Series with my A212 teammates.  Time will tell if all the training time this past winter and spring will carry us to our best finishes.  Lots of factors play a part in these long races and a little luck doesn't hurt either.  My goal is to be mechanical free this year with Mother Nature smiling down upon us for a dry 100 miles. 

Today was our club's version of the "Hell of the North" with the Point du Nord Spring Classic training ride.  Not as wet as it could have been, but plenty of power robbing gravel to pedal through.  Picking good lines on these roads were crucial if you didn't want to get left off the back.  Five finished the original route while others chose alternate or shorter routes back to Point.  At least my old legs felt good today with less than a week of hard  training left before taper time starts for Cohutta. 

This coming week I'll be spending more time on my new 29er Epic as I try to get it dialed in before we head south.  I'm anxious to get it dirty finally with a road trip to 9-mile or Hartman's Creek!

Great Weekend!

Started my ride early on Saturday morning trying to log my birthday miles before work with one  challenge being the 33 degree temp and a steady mist.  The other was going to be time with only three hours to reach my goal number of 48 on my mountain bike.  A modified Green Circle Trail was my course with fast and slower sections thrown in for my entertainment.  I've never ridden the GC Trail in the same configuration twice.  I always find something new to spice the loop up with and in the end I rolled into work with 45 miles and frozen fingers.  The four mile commute home at days end would keep my birthday ride streak alive for another year...21 consecutive years now in the books!

On Sunday my brother Mark and I rode downtown to Emy J's for the first Spring Classic training ride of the year, the Milan San Rapids.  A record sized group, 35 people from my count started the ride as we cruised easily along in the low to mid 20mph range.   We were headed to Wisconsin Rapids to do the scenic 50 mile river loop.  There were only a few casualties with riders dropping off the main group after Rudolph, but for the most part everyone stayed together and we waited in downtown Rapids to regroup just after the halfway point which hasn't happened during past additions.  With the somewhat mellow pace and better organization, hopefully we will see a good number of yesterdays group at the upcoming Spring Classic rides this month.  A big thanks to Emy J's for opening their doors early so people could use the restrooms!  Pedal on...

SBCU Visit

Thanks to Brennan Marquez from SBCU for a great Specialized Bicycle clinic last night and pizza that Pete Esser provided for my hungry staff at the Hostel Shoppe! 

Killer Barry-Roubaix!

Sunny Sunday!

Ended the weekend with another great day on the road bikes with a trip to Powers Bluff and back.  Lots of sun with temps in the upper 70's and a strong south wind made the ride interesting for the five of us.  Great company and some new roads always make these rides less painful.  Next up this is the Barry-Roubaix Killer Gravel Road Race in Michigan on Saturday along with some family time!  Pedal on...

A212 Training Ride (Death Ride)

Sunday was a beautiful day to be out biking!  Near 70 degree temps and sunshine in early March. Can't beat that in Wisconsin!  I had a good start to the morning with a pre-ride latte and oatmeal.  What I did learn quickly was that you don't want to show up with cross tires when you get A212 teammates together for a long training ride.  Rolling resistance is important when working to stay with Jitters down a road as he's pulling the train at 450 watts. Getting introduced to hilly Tower Road for the first time when RKO and Jitters decided to play king of the hills doesn't make for much sightseeing.  Empty bottles and running low on food during the four hours is a big mistake.  I know better!  Riding the last hour into the wind with a totally blown teammate who toughed it out like a champ was motivating in a sick sort of way. Was the ride fun?  Yes!  Would I do it again?  Absolutely!  What doesn't kill us only makes us stronger both mentally and physically.  Thanks for the great ride Ryan, Myles, Chris, and Bryan!   Pedal on...

Fat Bike Racing - Sweaty Yeti

Lots of fun Saturday at Levis Mound thanks to Steve Muerett and all the others that helped to put on the Sweaty Yeti Race!  Fat Photos by Ryan Nanney.