24 - 9

24 Hours of 9 Mile.....24 more hours of pain after the brutal effort...it started like this and one of the many good things that happened was I was not the one doing a 500 meter dash in cycling shoes.

The team consisted of Marko, Jesse, and Doug...we killed it for 24 hours

Marko preparing for the night....

Crazy Karl getting the lights set

Doug feeling the Big Hurt after lap 6

Myself getting ready for lap 6

Chris Shaw Trek Team Manager & Duece

Blown out team support after 24 hours

The podium...

The prestige of the Matt Kenseth Nascar Pez Dispensor award

The crew and a huge thanks to the Trek Crew, Karl Hendickse, and the ladies who helped us out all night long....Happy Anniversary to Doug and Anne

PS - Congratulations to A. Matter official winner of the Bike N Ski Tour De France Points Competition!!!!!!!!

Super Weak!

I did it, proof is in the pudding on the fron page of the sports section in the Sheboygan Press. Enough to make a show for the home crowd for about 40 minutes before the torrential rains came and I pulled the plug. After the race I did have to ask myself was that worth buying a USCF license and a $37 entry fee? The race pretty much confirmed why I like mtbing a lot better than crit racing. The coolest part of the race was medical control at the finish line. We'll see if anything crazy comes up....Bergman won it last night and he was busted for EPO a few years back....he also swiped a pair of wheels from me at the Waterloo road race when I was up the road he bridged to me and the two of us rode away from the field....later on he attacked me twice my speed to take the victory and the wheels while on the juice. It's OK though I'm still using my Trek Team Duffle Bag that I won for 2nd place. The race was a perfect warm up for the weekend. Hopefully a good update will follow....

DAMN DANE

I Like the mtb'ers but this is getting crazy.....

More points calculations to come soon....

Needles and Narc's

After the big tour scandal a lot has chagned in the BNS TDF Points.......



























There has been no disqualifacations in our competition as of now. Although I thought about the disqualifaction of Justin N. as he pretty much fully relied on Astana for his picks. I had regained the lead until Rasmussen lost the KOM jersey today...bummer I need something good to happen because I am slipping down the ranks as the riders approach France.

Tomorrow I am going to test out my left hand cornering ability in the Sheboygan Superweek race, and then Karl H and I are going back up to Wausau for more "Caffeine and Nicotine"
Looking forward to another 24 hour suffer fest w/ little to no sleep. We'll see what sort of competition shows up....

Firefly Lk

Camping was awesome...relaxing yet able to get in some killer training rides. We came home a day early to go down to Waukesha and watch Elicia do a Superweek race...no ER! It was a killer stage a the Tour de France today. Lots of excitement and lots of GC shake ups....A.Matter is still holding a slim lead over Justin Nagode. Dittrich and ER are tied for 3rd and I am in 4th. We'll see what happens after the Pyrennes. Congrats to Mike Phillips for winning the Stars and Stripes....hopefully we (Darkness, Jesse, and Doug) can do the same next weekend in Wausau. Tomorrow I am out for a 4 hour training ride and then back to work to see what sort of havoc took place at Bike N Ski while I was gone???

Brew Moon

Quick update from the Brew Moon Coffee House in Eagle River...we are on the way to the Firefly Lake campground for the week after a crazy party last night....After the Wors Marathon victory yesterday we celebrated big time at Perkins...then we drove North to the cabin....unpacked and went to the Hideaway Bar.....first time I closed down the bar in a while.... we put a few drinks back watched and the tour with the locals....

After the big GC shakeup yesterday it still looks like A. Matter is in the lead of the BNS points competition as she is the only one who chose Rasmussen to finish in the top 5 overall...we'll see if he can finish it out...

Thanks to PCW Trek Hyundai Crank Bros Oakley Momentum Endurance and Don E. & WORS and special thanks to Chloe and Scott KJ for the feeds in the long race...

2 YEARS!

I can't believe it has been 2 years since Andrea and I tied the knot...We decided to spend the weekend up north to celebrate. Eagle River and the Hildebrand cabin is becoming one of my favorite places in the world. We had an awesome weekend....relaxing, eating good food, and mingling with the locals at the Hideway(the local tavern). Last time I was there was during the Pittsburgh Steelers Superbowl run. This time it was to watch the Tour. Unfortunately after Stage 1 I lost the lead in the BNS points competition to Andrea. She picked McEwen and I had Hushovd. After todays stage 4 I slipped yet another position although a lot will change in the Green Jersey Competition. Here are the current standings.

A. Matter - 12 points



M. Verhagen - 8 Points



B. Matter - 6 Points



A. Biwan - 6 Points



Justin N - 5 Points



Bill Street - 4 Points



T. Wagner - 4 Points



E. Hildebrand - 3 Points



Josh N. - 2 Points



D. Dittrich - 2 Points



Rob Boldt - 2 Points




After a week off of the bike it was good to get rocking again Tuesday and Wednesday with some solid efforts. I hit some really high HR numbers and feel really fresh. We'll see how things go this weekend in Suamico.

BNS TDF Update

Current Point Leader calling Cancellara for Victory w/ 4 Points

Rob Boldt Late Entry - also has 1 point

THE TOUR

I figured with the Tour De France on the horizon I should take a rest week....So after Eau Claire it has been pretty much chill. Now after so much rest it's time for vacation. Off to Eagle River after work today! Here is what went down last week....




























We started Monday night w/ some in house surgery...NURSE MOM and ER Hildebrand were at it again....no passing out this time though...bummer




























We followed that up w/ Beavis & Butthead Do America...



4th of July started w/ a cruise to Bike N Ski to pick up the LIME bikes so we could check out the Parade in style...then it was over to the bike corrall to put in some volunteer time and safeguard some of Sheboygan's finest bicycles. A classic 4th of July cookout w/ corn on the cob, watermelon, grilled chicken...mmmmmm































We also went out to see some of Sheboygan's finest in action at the Fireworks Display....Dudeism was at the top of the food chain that night at Shooting Park....classic quote of the night..."Low IQ + PBR + Firworks = Trouble" As the firework tipped on its side pointed right at our group and exploded ino our ear drums, it was time to move to a new location.


Now it's time for the TOUR and the BIKE N SKI Points Competition.....8 or 9 of us have picked riders in the Tour in these catergories....Top 3 in Prolouge, Top 5 Overall, Top 3 Green, Top 3 Polka, Top White, w/ stage 13 and 19 being the tie breaker....what's on the line is pictured below!

It's on and I'm hoping the MTB'ers do me good....off to Eagle River! FFFLLLLOOOOYYYYDDD!

Mullet Update

Fireworks?

This picture I was flying...then,

yes I blew up like a firework yesterday at the Firecracker in Eau Claire. I consciously made the decision after lap 1 as I was starting to feel the pain that I was going to go for it no matter what. Mike Phillips singlehandedly caused me to explode like there was no tomorrow. I tried to respond to Jesse as he attacked me like it was Lance Armstrong vs my little sister....and I don't even have a little sister. I thought maybe chill for a while and latch onto the 2nd group....that worked for about a half lap and then it was over....no power, no fluids, and no chance of survival...it was full detonation. I did what I could to ride the last two laps...but it was really slow going on the climbs....and there wasn't really even any climbs out there....So I finished. After the race Tim and I went out to dinner with a friend from High School who lives in Hudson....it was pretty cool to get bike racing off of my mind for an hour after the rough race.