Fat Forty dirt race.

Made it through another! I can just sum it up as fast! There were several small attacks from several riders that kept the pace high and the number of riders who had a legitimate shot at winning this year made for a fun time on a bicycle. For myself I had a mental breakdown for 15 seconds at firetower, when a pack of riders caught the lead group, that allowed a group of 5 get a way from me. I did the best I could up the berkie section to bring them back in but it is hard to get anytime back when the game is on. I did bring back Ryan, Bjorn, and then when we crested the top I saw Mikey so I set up and let someone else take responsibility for the pace so that I did not chase down my teammate. At that time Dewey Dickey took over and pulled us down the road and was just motoring. We ended up entering the last 2 miles with 9 people in the group and the top 3 up the road about 30 seconds. I for some reason thought that we were racing for 10 th and not 4th so I just picked riders off as it made sense and then outsprinted Mike Olheiser for 7th.

Here is a good shot of Mikey and I coming up to take over control of the lead group. (skinnyski.com photo) Mikey ended up finishing 12th overall after giving a good go to stay with the lead group up over the birkie climbs and then had the dreaded shutdown with something like 6 miles to go, TJ showed good poise and did not let an off day get in his head and stayed with the chase group that came up to the leaders at firetower and ended up coming in for 13th overall on the day. Darrin's first Chequamegon did not go as plan as someone decided to come up from the non preferred start area and take out 3 of his spokes on the road section. It was awesome to see him get a new wheel though and still finish the course with a grin from ear to ear. He ended up cruising in and feeling like superman passing people all day. Scott had an good result and rolled in for 42nd overall and 4th in his age group.

Michelle also raced for the 3rd week in a row and ended up 7th overall and won her age group in the Short and Fat. Overall it was a good weekend!!

Sweet hardware!

Not sure if I should let this secret out of the bag, but Copper Harbor has some of the coolest trophies of any race that I have ever been a part of!! In my opinion the wheel even tops the mining cart at leadville!! Either way our group cleaned house and enjoyed the weekend.

Good Team Weekend....

Need to give a shout out to TJ for winning the MNSCS stage race at Maplelag this past weekend. When i talked to him last night he said it was a hard fought win for him after needing to chase back onto the leaders to take the XC win. He also started the weekend with a 2nd in the opening TT and STXC. Nice work!!

Also here is a good shot of Darrin and I negotiating Pauls Plunge this weekend. It was awesome, we entered with 7 people from the 1 lap race in front of us and came out the other side with one still standing, a young kid, maybe 12 years old on a 24 inch bike! Sweet!!!!

First time tie for me.....

Just seemed fitting. We were both there to have fun and did not make sense to either of us to continue driving each other into the ground!! I think Darrin and I were both thankful for the game off about half way through the second lap since we were blaming each other for the fast pace. They said we had 7 minutes after the first lap so we put it into cruise control and just enjoyed the ride. For those who have never been to Copper Harbor to ride the trails, they are just awesome!! Our course for the day had 4000 ft of climbing and it made for some fast and technical descents. In the end we decided to take the 26 inch wheel made out of birds eye maple, and laced to a shimano hub using copper spokes and hang it in 212 to let everyone see what we do. Will make for a good conversation piece and will hopefully get people interested. Here is the newspaper article: Mining Gazette

For the rest of the team, Michelle took 2nd in the one lap race by less than 60 seconds. Also Di took another win in the long race, with Todd (T.S.P.) taking 3rd and Scott fell to 7th after riding in 5th most of the day until flatting at the bottom of Paul's Plunge.

Back in the saddle?

Well it is true, you are only as good as your last race! This weekend proved that I do have some fitness left despite turning 35 this year. It was a fun day to race in the lead train even though I had to work hard a couple times to chase it back dow nto be there!! When the dust settled I finished 4th on the day with teammates in 5th, 6th, 7th, and 13th! Awesome showing! Here is our podium split:

We are there every weeekend but just cant get that topstep! Still some racing left so we will keep going for it.

Also I have to give a shout out to the Little Col for completing her 2nd ironman down in Lousville, she came in with a time of 15:04!! Nice work!

Rabid Bees.............

Wanted Dead:

Please kill any that you find! I have been stung on the bike 4 times in the last week. Today was another great adventure as one flew into my helmet and ended up stinging me on the forehead!

To add to my adventure today I also flatted. Sweet!

Good times.......'bout time!

So with the week starting out just horrible, the weekend actually went well. I am going to skip the bad and move onto the fun. Started out Saturday morning when the Little Colonel came over to ride with Michelle and drink some coffee. Always entertaining and this time was no different. I followed Michelle and Kim out on their ride as a warm up to mine. We got about 6 miles from home on a nice downhill section and kim blew out her front wheel with a shotgun boom!! If it is possible, it actually happened at a good time cause we had a dog that was just coming out to chase us and when the tire blew it scared the dog so bad that it took off with its tail between its leg. Hopefully it thinks twice before chasing the next time. Back to the tire, it blew so bad that it peeled the sidewall off from the bead and left a hole about 3 inches long. I ended up stuffing a gu packet in there and slowly riding it home to get another wheel.

After a good 3 hr ride, we then headed off to Lambeau field insearch of Matters secret training. I think I found it in the form of too many beers and bad food. Sweet!

After the game Michelle and I drove dow nto near the Dells to stay at her parents house for the evening. At first I was not happy with the late night drive but the next day activities made everything worth it. We ended up hooking up with the Krayers for them to show us around Baraboo. It was a good time meeting 15 other cyclists for a breakfast ride. It was tons of fun! After Breakfast, Ryan, Spencer and I headed out into the country side to make sure we had sore legs and enough of an appetite for some beer and pizza at the end. We ended up being successful and at the end we had 80 miles in!! Loads of fun and it was just what I needed to keep me going with my training. I forgot how much fun a good group ride can be!! This is my first one in almost 2 years, minus race warm ups!

See everyone in GB!

The meaning of 212....

Well the real meaning of 212? For the Adventure 212 name, it has to do with the boiling point of water and pushing the extra degree to achieve the transformation, because you can do so much more with steam than you can water. Here is a little motivational movie on it http://www.212movie.com/

As for me I am thinking 212 is now the number of things that have gone wrong this year. They seem to just keep piling up and I think I am in a death spiral cause you stop paying attention so that you can decrease the dissapointment! Anyway, more freak bad luck when someone rode into the back of me, when I was stopping for a crash in front of me at the start and bent my rear rotor. I had no clue till I was working like a dog to climb any hill and then when I went to use my brakes on the 2nd lap they were completely toast! Oh well, another donation to Don with no result for myself.

Anyway, onto the positives! The team is looking good going into the later part of the season and the top step of the podium is going to be in the near future. This weekend we had Mikey and TJ rocketing around the course with a select few riders, the LaLondes and Brendan Moore. The one thing about sitting out was I was able to watch it all go down. From the post race stories sounds like everything happened on the last climb with TJ and Marko getting away, Mikey playing some team tactics making Brendan chase till Mikey was able to get rid of him in the open field section. After that, sounded like the gaps were formed and with the lap traffic it was difficult to close any gaps. In the end TJ ended up 2nd with Mikey rolling in for 3rd. The new kid on the block, Darrin, rolled in for a respectable 14th place finish after taking 2 weeks off the bike. Scott today struggled on the bike and ended up riding the course, having fun, and displaying the team colors for the entire 5 laps. Nice work to all!!

Next up is a weekend off from racing. Should be able to get some good training in before a nice 4 week block of racing that starts with the WORS marathon race in Green Bay and ends with Chequamegon. I love fall racing!

Put down the voodoo doll!

I am completely floored! There is obviously someone out there that does not want me riding a bike. Tonight was interesting and I am sure I will be dealing with it for months to come! What a joy!!!

Miles and miles of squares......

We have all been there at some point and if you haven't then your time will come. The time in the season where motivation went to an all time low and the urge to ride a bike is no longer at the top of your priority list. I seem to hit this every year in July. This year was the worst I can ever remember and I think the mental and physical stress associated with the BC bike race is what really pushed me over the edge. Now that I am back from vacation, addicted to beer and caffeine, 8 pounds overweight, and still not completely there mentally; I have started spinning the squares on the bike! I have a lot of work to get into form with my next big goal of the year being Chequamegon. I am extremelly excited with taking our team up there and would love to get one of the team members onto the top step of the podium. Last year we had 2 in the top 5, and 4 of us in the top 10. Now we have added Darrin to the mix as well so it should be good.

Before then, we have Ore to Shore. I meet Mikey tomorrow and then catch up with TJ in Marquette. Since I am just getting back in the grove I would just be happy to hang on and help TJ and Mikey. I do have the bike ready and I am rolling on a new rear wheel after the other one came unlaced at the Levi Trow 100. The new set up is a bit heavier but is also much stiffer so it should balance out nicely. Hope to see everyone up in Marquette for a good weekend of bike riding!

Leaving on a jet plane.....

Headed outta here! Should be enjoyable with a 16hr flight to get back into Madison followed by a 2hr drive. Better hit the 3 lattes and skip the afternoon beers!!

Nice job to the team this weekend at Crystal Ridge! 3rd for Mikey, 4th for Darrin, and 31st for Scott after a struggle with some local brush and a crash.

Congrats to Nathan on the win. It is nice to see courses that offer different racing conditions and can offer others with the chance for a win. Now all we need is a race to come back in similar to the days of Bluebird or Wilmot!

See everyone on the flip side!

Nothing to see here, just keep moving......

That was the name of the game in Slovakia. We just cruised through without stopping. We are now in Budapest and will remain here till Tuesday. The town is seperated by the river and actually used to be to seperast cities, Buda and Pest. I did finally ride a bike yesterday though! Here is Michelle in front of me as we cruise along on the ship bikes!

Notice the dedictaed bike lanes! They were everywhere over here and like everyone rides bikes!! Sweet!!

As for the intervention, forget it! I am set in my ways now and feel that I no longer have an issue! 3 lattes by noon and then followed by beer till I fall asleep. I am scared to step on the scale, good thing Ore to Shore is all down hill so maybe the extra weight will help me! That is assuming I come home, I found the storage facility for the Travelocity gnomes so if each one represents a free week of vacation then I will see everyone in a couple years!!

If this does not work then I found a nice fix me upper in Austria, yeah it needs work but the views are nice!!

Out of all the stops I think I liked Austria the best. It was pretty cool and all the towns we went to were very unique.

Back to bikes, I think I am finally starting to round the corner with my melt down and have a little itch to get back on the bike. Unfortunately I have a cold that has settled into my chest that I hope goes away before our flight on Tuesday. See everyone this next weekend at Ore to Shore and Good luck to the team in Franklin!

Cat needs a good home....

So our cat is in need of a good home. It meows a lot, and I mean a lot, if it is moving it is meowing. It sheds and is very attention demanding. This is where my new pet comes in. We have devided to name him Melk, after the town he was discovered in, Melk, Austria. He lays around a lot, does not eat, and I do not have to clean up after him! Sweet.

I am not sure what breed of dog he is though??

Anyway, we are in Austria today and I noticed that it is 4:30 am at home and 11:30 AM here. I am 2 lattes in and about to have lunch on the boat. We are on our way to Vienna tonight where Michelle and I are going out on the town and will be seeing a concert. Should be fun. Here's Michelle enjoying our daily ritual. She thought today that we should start taking pictures at each of our coffee stops.

Sorry that there has not been much about cycling on here lately. I am in that decision point on weather to just retire and move on with life or continue plugging forward. Nothing to rush yet, still have another week of floating to figure it out. This weekend the team will have Mikey, Darrin, and Scott in Franklin. Good luck to all. After that we will have TJ, Mikey, and maybe myself up at the Ore to Shore. I have not done this race since like 2002 and it has the honor of being the only race that I have ever broken anything, besides bike parts. Back then I got taken out by a tandem, which I feel do not belong in the preferred start area, and broke my wrist.

Well I hope all is good back home!

Austria bound, intervention needed.....

So our last night in Germany was spent at a local restaurant. If you are looking to get free alcohol just sit at the bar of a restaurant. They have lines on the beer glasses that require the beer to be poured at this line and then must have a head on it from there to the top of the glass. The problem is if the waitress/waiter does not pick it up in time then it is no longer accepatble to serve. This is where the sitting at the bar comes in, they will give it away before pouring it out! Sweet!!

This morning Michelle and I hiked up this path for about 30 minutes to an old abbey. It was straight up but it was pretty cool at the top.

We then hit this singletrack descent with numerous switchbacks that had me thinking about shredding on the MTB. It has been 2 weeks since I last touched a bike!! That is a good thing though cause besides this cold I have, I have been struggling with a pain in the right side of my chest for about a week that feels like I have broken ribs or something!

Today on our walk around Passau I found the secret German training ground. I guess Sabine Spitz has been seen her on numerous ocassions during her youth! I guess the goal is the last one left wins:

Also I found a sneak peek of an upcoming bike. This was my favorite and I have called it the Euro response to 29ers! Notice the belt drive!

It is now 11:30 in the morning and I am 2 lattes in. I am lovign the european culture. It is completelly acceptable to have ice cream, beer, or coffee at any time of the day! Speaking of, time for my 3rd latte!! Jitters out!

I'm on a boat......

That is for boss man that keeps me fast throughout the year! If you have not seen it, make sure that you are not somewhere that inappropriate language is unacceptable and look for , I'm on a boat, youtube!

Other than that, lattes and beer are still my daily diet! I am losing count on the total number of these Also loosing count on the beer as well. We have now boarded the boat and have been cruising through Germany. Our room is pretty nice, what ya think?

There is also a sauna, or steam cooker depending how warm it gets!

They also gave us a pet. I like this one better than the cat at home. It is quiet, does not move unless I move it, and when I get hungry its eyes are made of chocolate!! Also I am not sure why Michelle picked the upper dack, we barely fit under the bridges and I am wating for the captain to have too much wine at dinner and give us a moon roof! Some fo the bridges are so close they take the chairs off from the upper deck and all the rails down!!

Today we also found our first bike shop. Had some nice Belgium bikes with 26" hardtails everywhere. I think I know why though, the Germans ride cobbles on a daily bases so they are used to getting bounced around. There are bikes everywhere and they are out commuting to where they need to go rain or shine! Awesome! So today I also found my favorite bike sign, bike free!

Also while at the bike shop we found some design ideas for next years jersey. If you are interested in joining the team to get one of these hot kits let me know!!

Kind of looks like a garbage bag. Other than that lots of walking, no riding, although we are thinking about it for tomorrow. We are in Austria tomorrow and only like 30K from the alps I guess. Unfortunatelly I caught a cold so I will have to wait and see. Hope everyone is enjoying home!!