Say it ain't So?!?

Another One Bites The Dust huh! WT to the motha F!! I mean come on...

I might as well post about crappy races as well as the ones in which I excell in, so as to front an image of being human. This weekend up to Spooner to chill wit the SovaBros. Put on a new chainring (which later would be my undoing) and went out for a chilax sight seeing ride around Spooner... After we had some killa 'za and watched Fun with Dick and Jane (good flick). In the morning drove crazy fast to Phillips, arriving there early enough to watch the Sport start...crazy.

My race went down like this, went to the front on the road leadout. Hit the first gravel climb, slammed it in reverse (basically) as I fell off the back. Lungs seering, legs not firing, and brain out for lunch. Phillips is a series of short steep ma-f'in climbs and with my new middle chain ring on I thought I'd be good. First steep climb my chain violently jumps ship and drops, and would continue to do so the rest of my race. New chain, ok cassette, new chainring-wt to the f. Anyways so I was eating dust like 20th and some guy from the wave behind me caught me, and so when I saw Chase on the side of the trail with a flat saying that it happened while he was attacking Mitch, I lent him my wheel for a totally Euro flat fix. DNFing feels like shit I have to say, and almost worst DNFing by choice is pretty damn fuckin weak. Maybe I should start training during the weeks as opposed to my usual sit around and wait till I feel like riding.

Anyways enough sulking. Throwing some photos out there cause I have nothing better to do...
Pee break, back country style.
Chad wondering if he can still race into the Third Trimester?!?
A random fav of me and my bro chillin' at his old place.

Hmmm....back to school sale?

Peanut Butter and Honey hmm hmm!

This mid-week post is brought to you by the p.b.h. sandwich, "who knew life could taste so sweet!?!"

Just making a quickie before the weekend mayham starts. Basically the story I'm going to tell is for all friends of the two-wheeled pain machine.

I was riding the other day with Craig and we were doing some intervals and during one rest period he told me he felt like shit to which I retorted, rather bluntly, that it was all in his head. At that moment I decided to get a little inspirational as a story I remembered from a late 90s movie Gataca popped into my head.

Background of the movie is that it takes place in the future at the point where scientists have unlocked the genome and can basically 'manufacture' a baby for the parents. The parents can choose whether they want a kid that's athletic or smart or musical or all of the above.

Now the main character was concieved naturally and wasn't given much chance, by the scientists estimates, to live past his mid 30s. The parents where kind of bummed so they had another kid 'manufactured' to be an All-American type. The two kids obviously competed against each other as brothers do. How they would compete is by swimming out into the ocean side by side and whoever turned around first would obviously loose. One day when they were 30-ish they got together and felt inspired to give it a go, and the natural kid was so driven that he started to swim away from his 'msrp' bro. The MSRP dude could think of going any farther, but the Nat dude kept going. The MSRP dude, while half drowning half treading water asks the Nat brother, "how are you doing this? I don't understand" which the Nat bro responds, "I never save anything for the way back," and swims to his bro's rescue.

Just throwing some inspiration for you'all out there who are racing or otherwise. At some point the numbers, the science, the bike, the plan-don't mean shit. It's all about your mental state. Keep'er Real!

photo : AFP in VeloNews

Doin' A Little Crotch-Pot Cookin'

As all of you who even glanced at a US weather map this past weekend knew that it was hot-as-ballz with the moisture to compliment. I decided to bum-out of work on Friday and chill out at my sisters and bro-in-law's place for an extended weekend. After a brief stop in Mad-town to shoot the shit with Hannah, Em, and fam (who were simply awesome) I continued to the home of Miller. Joe and I went out for some steak, then out to the Powerplant and the Mino for some PBR with Al. Saturday Joe and I went to Bestile Days downtown had some Gator-on-a-Stick and watched the air show. 3 preride with Chad, Matt, Jez, Aj--hot, slightly muddy. Had the boyz over for dinner, which was pretty crazy. Joe, Al, and I went shopping at Groppi's and Joe kept on asking about portion sizes, something to the degree of, "are you sure we need 4 pounds of pasta and two whole chickens?" "Of course!!" We started cooking up a storm--class 5 hurricane... There were doubts, but 5 hungry cyclists came through in fine style, decimating the lot of it and having a lot of laughs while we were at it.

Race Day, well my stomach had been feeling uneasy since the rare steak on Friday, and while warming up it wasn't changing too much, but once Don yelled goooooooooo all that trepidation went out the window as we sprinted up the hill. On the one hand I can say that I had a good race citing accomplishments as getting 1st in my age and 11th overall, and feeling pretty well within my limits, but there's always the pessimistic other hand that looks at my inability to stay with Mitch's tenacious and aggressive passing that lead to me loosing him. In the end it didn't really feel like I was racing cause the singletrack really didn't lend well to passing so I was chillin' most of the time in the singletrack behind old guys. That didn't stop me from rallying the hills though...Or being owned by the heat...All in all a good weekend. Now, as always on Monday/Tuesday, it's time to pick up the pieces and go back to work. Adios!

The Euro-Trash Dirt Road Ride

Craig and I had this brain fart one day while riding and it smelled something like this-put a ride together based on a route that linked up all of the dirt roads that we know off, make sure it's long and ride like we were in a crazy mountain stage in the Giro. So Craig worked out the details of the route and because we weren't going to Mankato to race this weekend today was the inaugural day of the Euro-Trash Dirt Road Ride (ETDRR for the initiated). The one not so euro part of the ordeal was that yes sadly enough we had to drive about 25 miles south of town to get to the start. We got rolling about 11 and almost immediately we start climbing paved hills, but really the one 3 minute paved climb was going to be only one of 4 of the whole day filled with climbing. I thought about giving you'all a play-by-play but honestly there were just too many sick gravel climbs and honestly I can't remember them all so I'll hit you up with the highlights.

-Almost died going down the first gravel hill we climbed, nothing like two wheel drifting at 25+ mph

-Craig's cross bike hadn't been riding since...well cross season and the front derailleur's limit was all messed up and we didn't have any tools--the fix: used a pop tab from a Milwaukee's Best Light can on the side of the road to screw out the lower limit screw

-Did crazy 7 minute sick steep gravel climb that took us to Montana Ridge Rd, only to shoot of on a gravel equivalent that was about as narrow as a car and had corn growing right up to the road

-We were cruizing along on top of the ridge and there began to have grass in the middle of the road and soon opened up to a great view and started going down. I said to Craig, "Great view sketchy descent huh" of which he didn't heed at first until bad went to worse. You know when cars break on gravel the road develops these washboard humps in them (for all ya Wisconsinites with gravel/dirt driveways you know what I"m talking about) well as we were descending down this steep twisting loose gravel road, the road started to have the worst case of these 'washboard' bumps in it. And rightly so, because this was a STEEP DECENT one which, if paved, I would probably be riding the brakes cause of the twists and turns. So I start hittin' the brakes and hanging on for dear life. The last hundred meters of the descent was washed out and I could barely see this as I was barreling towards the end, and honestly I thought then and there I was going down. By all rights and means I probably should've. Long and short that was the sketchiest descent that I've ever done on a cross bike, and I was thanking Craig for the suggestion of doing this ride with cross tires, cause that decent would not have been possible if i was sporting the 23s.

-More gravel climbs, paved descents (thank God), finally three hours in we find ourselves in a valley trying to get to Waummandie cause we're out of water and food. Tough head wind.

-We cruize into Waummandie and find the only store in the 50 person hamlet is closed, but there is a soda machine, so Craig and I sat around slamming a 20 oz Pepsi.

-Decided to go to the local bar (the only other commercial establishment in 20 miles) for water. Sit at the bar while bikers (the motor kind) stare us down and laugh. Got the barkeep to hook us up with ice water and I order a Red Bull and Snickers and Craig had another Pepsi.

-Saw a naked man in a barn as we were cruizing along Montana Ridge Rd....totally random, both Craig and I were like, was that...did you just see...no that...yep that was... ... ... laugh

-Finished out in fine form 5 hours after our departure, 154 average heart rate, about 8 or so climbs over 5 minutes at 180+ bpm. Outside of my legs cramping, being dehydrated, having a sore ass, hungry, and sunburned sitting in the car I couldn't'of thought of a better way to spend my day.

Photo time.

Craig up the first climb of the day, derailleur limit screwed up and everything. Corn growing right up until the road starts...I think next time we do this ride we should start taking actual farmers access road double tracks over the passes-yes! Craig going up a crazy 8 minute climb that we did previously on road bikes last epic ride. After getting to the top we were both like, "how the F(*I#k did we get up that without nobs?!?"I figured if we're going to try and be euro might as well take the helmet off while climbing another 7 minute gravel climb...and being that it was 34 degrees celsius I found out it was a great way to keep the bird's nest cool!

Craig and I chillin' outside of the General Store in Waummandie sippin on some Pepsi. Craig said that the look on my face was that of a child who's puppy just got killed when we found out they weren't open. Yes notice that Craig's feet don't touch the ground.

Well that's it for now...recovery is the name of the game I guess. If anyone's interested, or man/woman enough to come on the ETDRR drop me a line...I'm thinking in the fall. Peace!

Mid-week Weekend Update!

So this weekend was the 5th race of the WORS mtb series hosted here at EC, and I was going to be sure as shit no one came into my house and beat me. Saturday I road the course, welcomed Chad, Chase, TJ, Matt, and Mark into Murray for the night, ate out at Cancun (awesome Don Burrito), and watched a crappy 'scary' movie.

Sunday woke up made a shit ton of pancakes and eggs for the crew, b.s'ed, and watched the Tour de France coverage. Got to the race course and it was hot as balls, not a cloud in the sky, but luckily a little breeze. I got my call up, and lined up next to Mitch (who I respect, because he's wicked fast and like 17). We got under way and I just stuck to Mitch's wheel like it was my lifeline. After hammering out a lap we start the second lap and while rallying some singletrack, Mitch ahead of me, Mitch I'm guessing didn't see, or judged a corner too close, and wound up plowing into a tree. He went down for the count and I kept riding (such is racing). The rest of the race I was on my own in the lead, numero uno, and catching elite riders that were let out minutes before our wave. On the final lap after putting in hard efforts the whole race, the heat, the pace, the physical demands of the course started to take it's toll. Everytime that I'd get out of the saddle my quads would cramp up, and to make matters worse I caught a glimpse of a dude from my comp-wave catching up. I tried to fend him off till the singletrack (where I could easily compete, if not loose him) but to no avail. He caught me said some encouraging words informing me that we weren't in the same age group and dropped me; I was in no condition to respond. I managed to hang on with what I had left and finished 1st in my age group and 4th overall--easily my best finish ever!

After the race I wanted to die, my body was completely done and for the rest of the night I was still feeling spent. Even in my condition, I did end up grilling out at Owen Park with Hannah, her roommate, and friends. After dinner we cruized down the river on some tubes (first time doing that) which was a great relaxing way to end the day--floating lackadaisically down the Chip in the waning hours of day drinking a Leinie's Sunset Wheat--fuckin' A!