Finally got a 100 miler in

Yep the 1st century ride this year was Sun.It was a beautiful day for a ride and we felt good on the bike.We did the first 70 or so miles avg just over 20mph.I'm doing better on the flats right now than on the hills but thats good because the rest of the races are mostly flat.At about 10 miles to go both me and Sam were totally wasted.I don't think we could have done one more hill.We didn't bonk or nothing, our legs were just out of juice.Our time was 5:30 hrs-106 miles.My calorie counter read 4800 calories.
Sat we went to the fair and walked around a while.I liked the very nice trucks on display the best.I'll post some pics in my album along with the 24 hrs of Afton race.After the fair we headed over to Afton to check on the racers.It was the final hrs and everyone was feeling it. Chris,Brendon,Ben M,and Ben P put in a good race and came in 2nd behind the all pro team of Penn Cycle which included Dano,Jesse Rients,Ian Stanford,and Andy Minor.Penn almost lapped them but they held them off by putting in some good efforts at the end.Chris's light went out at the top of shady lane and that cost them alot of time,and Ben P.had to do a double lap due to radio difficulty.Good job though to everyone who suffered through and finished.
Yesterday I had to run the partner saw all day cutting concrete out of the sidewalks at the Metrodome.Man what a drag,and being all hunched over, my back and hamstrings are in need of some waterjets, so I'm off to the hot tub to soak.See ya

I found a sweet finishing shot. 

Double header part 2

Spirit Mt was very different this year. Sarah and Scott Kylander-Johnson did alot of trail building,and it was all slow.I didn't know how my body would react to doing two races.Two very hard races at that.My Legs were feeling crummy when I would try to punch it.Mike told us to just ride into the race.He was right, on the start I found myself getting passed on both sides.I felt better when we came to a stop at the top of the hill going into the singletrack.Jeff messed up and caused a big backup. Dang that singletrack was slow.Me and Sam found ourselves winding through the woods with Charlie Farrow keeping up.One spot I had to almost do a trackstand,turn my wheel, then take the corner. It was that tight.
Once we hit the original course I could put the hammer down on the flats.Then it was down into the 4 wheeler trails riding the berms and as Charlie put it "You feel like your in Star Wars".Going up the "Puker" on the first lap, Sam had his climbing legs on and pulled a gap.My legs were stiff and my back was on the verge of cramping so I just rode my own pace.Going into the second lap I was riding a bit with Josh and I eventually caught Dano.I don't get it,he would make little mistakes on the slow singletrack and I passed him,but he would absolutely bomb the rocky downhill with the speed of a mongoose and cat like reflexes.Yes ,he almost put me over the bars by passing me on the nastiest section.But I put a gap back on him in the 15 min climb to the top and took 18th place for the day.I guess it wasn't too bad.Get this though, Ore-to-shore was 48miles and it took 2:47.Spirit was 24 miles and it took 2:33. Thats how slow it was.Or thats how slow I was. Oh well,It was a good learning experience and I enjoyed both races
My boss is in Vegas this whole week and I'm on my own at Unisys.Its alot slower working alone but I'm getting things done.I have to put in a new entry wall and I'm walking around up in the ceiling on duct work and pipe racks.I kind of like it, and I'm the only one that can fit up there.
This weekend is full yet again.I want to make it to Afton to watch some of the 24hr race,and maybe catch some of the State Fair. Sunday is the harvest ride which starts in the town of Hudson Wis. We missed it last year and its one of our favorite century rides.Afterwards is Apple pie and ice cream, mmmm.Later

Double header part 1

Yep,the big duo was this weekend. It turned out to be a supper fun weekend despite all the driving and hecticness of doing everything nessisary for the races.Friday we met up with Mike and Jeff at Spirit Mt to preride the course.You could only see 50yards in front of you because of the fog.It was wet and dreary.After an hour ride we headed out to Michigan.
Sat morning we woke up to rain and cool temps.I was disapointed but it soon cleared up and was fine.I lined up on the front row and on the outside for the first corner( I learned my lesson on that one).Off the start I stuck behind Jay Richards but as soon as we hit the first hill everyone pulled away and I started to see the more familiar faces that I can keep up with.Out of the 1000 riders you always find yourself riding with people you know.Sam kept me in his sights for the first part of the race.Which was the hardest.The sandpits and bumpy trails are borderline ridiculous.A little bit before the middle of the race we hit these sandy hills that most people couldn't climb .I ended up getting off and Sarah Kylander Johnson comes around me and makes it up.Sam caught up at this point and we all kind of grouped together along with Cole House.Shortly after the sand climb I looked up the trail and saw this like 100 yard hill with every biker on it walking.It was steep and it had large rocks mixed with sand so it was even hard to walk it,let alone when your calves start pinging from the change of activity.After two of those hills me and Sam dropped back and decided to take it easy for a bit.We weren't even halfway there and it feels like we've been racing forever.After a couple min. of sitting up, Ron Raymond (Bill Raymonds brother, for those of you who know who I'm talking about) comes buy us with a couple of guys.We hopped on the train gave it another go.We caught back up to Sarah and our other previous group.Sarah was glad because she told me that they weren't working good together untill me,Sam,and Ron came in.There was a nice road section that we were starting to feel better on ,and me and Sam paced up the hills while Ron came around when it flattened out.Cole somehow pulled away with a guy and I never saw him again.Ron was the strongest of the day.He took some monster pulls for a long time.When it came down to the last 5 miles Sarah dropped back a bit due to some cramping and our group was down to about 6. Ron let another guy go to the front and told me not to pull through .I don't know if it was the right thing to do, but I was pretending to suffer on a couple of the climbs when I'd come along side of him.If I went on a breakaway It would have been hard to make it stick since most of the end is either flat or down.Ron went down in a huge downhill sandpit and our group fell to 3 or 4.But he eventually caught back up for the last mile which was flat and a road finish.I was leading prior to the one mile marker . I let Sam take the lead so I could recover for a sprint.With a half mile to go Ron went to the front with another guy followed by Sam then me.Sam said he wouldn't have anything for a sprint.I was feeling primed though and wanted a go at it.In the last 100 yards I slammed my gears and went for it.It was a perfect photo finish.We all surged our bikes out like a road race.The spectators were amazing.Its fun to go down the finishing stretch with hundreds of people cheering you on.
I have to give props to Caleb for taking 20th,Sarah for only being 30 seconds back and taking the womens win,Jay Richards took 11th,Ron who by far did most of the work,and of course Jeff, though looking for a win got isolated by Matter and Tristan to take 4th overall.And what about the Eppins taking the overall win on a tandem!Whats up with that.But good job to all the MN's who took the trip and put in a good effort for a grueling race.
Time-2:47,29th overall,Sam-32nd overall

Made the headlines again!

Dude,I won the sprint!

me in the start roll out.
John Thompson rolled up in my driveway this afternoon and gave me Michigan's newspaper that they saw someone reading at Micy d's the day after the race. And guess who made it in the best picture in it? Yours truly,twice.Man, thats the 3rd paper I've been in so far.I'll write details latter. I've still got to catch up on other stuff first.

Turtleman tri weekend

Eric Thompson showing the tri guys what mountain bikers can do.
Angela showing off the swim cap.Come on, put it on for the camera!
Yesterday me and Chris went riding at Lebennon.It was going good,we went at a pace that we could still talk and just rode for a good time.Then 2 dogs started chasing us through the woods on what was suppost to be our cool down loop near the parking lot.Dude the adrenaline was flowing full force.Chris slowed down and said "GO!".One dog stoped to harass Chris while the other one continued to chase me.I was hallin so fast through the woods,weaving through the trees and ripping through the corners.That dog was right on my wheel and I didn't want to give him a chance to nip at my leg.I was yelling to the lady to call her dog but he wouldn't listen.I finally got to the parking lot.,after about a 1/4 mile sprint through the woods when the dog finally got tired.I went straight to the truck to get my mace but it never came back.I was so pissed off at that dog,man I wanted to teach him a lesson he wouldn't forget.People train your dogs to listen to you or they don't deserve to live! The funny thing is I would have had that mace with me on the trail because its on my pack which I was going to take with for the helmet cam,but I couldn't get it to record.Murphys law I guess. After that Me,my mom,and Sam went down to the Dakota county fair to watch the demo derby with my long time teacher and principal. There weren't many cars this year and they seemed to be holding back on the big hits which is a bummer.
Today was our hometown triathlon the "Turtleman".I don't know why but I have been in the race for the past two years and decided not to do it this year.The first year I found out I made it in the day before the race and I quickly learned I can't swim. Especially for 1 mile! The second year I was on a relay team.Angela (pic above) swam,Sam rode the bike,and I ran.We got like 7th or 11th in the co-ed division. Today Me,Sam,and Chris cheered on Angela and Eric Thompson before our ride of the day.Eric's team took 2nd in the co-ed division with their oldest member being 17 years old! He also won the whole Spinnervals dvd training set at the schwag give away.
Tomarrow is a sit and relax day for me.I need to plan for next weekends grueling races. Ore-to Shore's 48 mile point to point mtb race,followed by Spirit Mt's Powder Monkey race the next day.This will be unarguably be the toughest weekend this year for us.
I went and got my new trailer today and will be picking up my dirtbike on mon. I'm thinking about bringing it with on the trips where I might be able to ride it.See ya out there.

About time!

Yep,I finally put one together and accomplished one of my goals this year-finish in a cash spot.It was a long time comming and it all worked out.I can't tell you what a mental booster this was for me, especially after such a tough couple of months.I could tell on the warm up my legs were feeling better and I was going to tell Mike but I didn't want to jinx myself by telling anyone.Off the start I stuck with Sam and Chris,but everyone messed up by not taking a turn for a prolouge lap So the last 3/4 of the field had to slow up to let the leaders come down a hill and back up to the front.They didn't string the tape right and didn't have anyone to direct the riders.It's a good thing some poeple prerode the course and yelled to go the right way.Through the first lap I was hanging with Sam and we kept Chris within 5-10 seconds in front of us.On the second half of the main climb on the second lap we closed the gap and passed him.I was feeling better so I took the front for the next lap or so because Sam wasn't feeling it.Then on the next lap Sam turned on just like that and I was struggling for a bit just to keep his wheel.We had perfect teamwork going.It seemed when he felt a surge I would have a valley and vice-versa.So we were pretty much even for this race and rode the whole thing together.At the end Sam pulled me up the last two climbs and let me take the lead for the final descent,being I needed the points more than him.We ended up comming in together.Me taking 7th and Sam 8th.I just made the payout too.Sam's been making the money lately at the races so like I said its about time for me to put my hand in the pot.
I did change alot of things this week,training,diet,and the workout the day before the race.Hopefully I found my formula and it works for the races comming up.Its hard to believe but we only have 4 races left in the season.Man,the season went fast.The nice thing is we have a week of recovery in between the rest of the races.I am so relieved I'm back on the upswing though.And I know I can feel even better for the next race.
P.S I posted some new pics too in my race photos link

Training is a science.I'm still trying to figure out my body and how to change the training throughout the year.You can't do the same thing you did in the beginning of the year.After sat's long ride I took 2 days off then 1 day really easy for an hr, a 2hr ride,a 2 hr mtb ride,then today 45 min easy.I am feeling a bit better.Tempo is no problem but my top end is whats hurting.Mike is a big help because he was in the same boat as me when he was racing.( having a laborous job and all) Bottom line is I have the fitness already from all the racing.I just need more recovery time.I might back down to riding 5 days a week with only 1 day of intensity.Like I say its a science I just need to find out what works for me in certain times of the season.
Work has been very good lately.I got spoiled working 4 miles from home in air conditioning most of the time.The last 2 days I was working in the day care center.Its kind of wierd working around the little kids asking you questions.Some kids you just wanted to take home and some you just wanted to spank.I don't know how those people can take care of all those kids. They would drive me nuts.But its all good and the Bethel project is almost over.Now I'm spending some time at a bank in Wayzeta.O'well it was nice while it lasted.

Throttle twister?

Yes, I've been looking at getting a dirt bike lately.Right now I'm looking at a 2003 Kowi KX125.It's a sweet looking thing with lots of upgrades.What gets me is how cheap you can pick one up for.The one I'm looking at, he's asking $2100.Thats less then what I paid for my road bike!I'ts crazy.Even accessories are as much as the pedaling breed.I'm excited to go up to our cabin this fall and ride that thing around on the trails.It will be like old times when we used to go up north with our cousins and ride on our little four wheelers.zoom,zoom! My plan latter on is to get my motorcycle liscence so I can get an enduro.Then I can ride to work or find some dirt roads to cruise on around home.