Home Ownership Rules!

Rules? Like Yeah this rules...or like rules to live by...

1. Don't buy a house or start a remodeling job at the beginning of bike season....

1. Buying your own house after paying rent for 10 years is pretty sweet....

2. Don't argue with your spouse over paint colors...just paint...

2. Ordering a pizza and watching some basketball after hard days work on your own house...

3. Don't eat too much easter candy when not riding your bike a lot....

3. Eat lots of easter candy to ward off the bonk from sniffing paint all day...

Yeah in the end everything has been blending together...this past week after Gravel Rouser has been crazy...leaving the old house at 7am and not returning until after 9pm. Packing three sets of clothes just to leave for the day. Once again I have acheived blown out status, but I am having fun and we are making good progress on the house. More pictures soon.

I did manage to ride 3 times this week and hoping for a 4th ride tomorrow before the final painting push. Until next post...I hope you are riding more than me...

Gravel Rouser Epic

Yesterday was the Gravel Rouser! Shouldn't that mean Spring Time is officially here. Maybe in OH, but today we are driving back to Wisco where old man winter might linger for another month or two...always a little depressing going home after vacation...even more so with fresh snow on the ground.

The Gravel Rouser Lake Hope Epic was another for the record books. We gathered at the W. State St. ball fields for the 20+ mile dirt road ride out to Lake Hope. Right off the bat Duncan w/ his rockin' mullet jumped out to the lead in the road kill points competition. The ride out was great and we even took some local short cuts.

The points competition heated up when Mike Boyes tied things up with this sweet score...

When everyone arrived at Lake Hope it was time for the real racing to begin. 8 miles of the best singletrack in the midwest. I started off 3 wheels back and slowly made my way to the front. On one of the climbs I pushed the pace and only Ryan Curtis could hang. Ryan took the lead like any local would and pointed me in the long way around an option section! I bided my time and followed him on the technical descent until he took a corner a little too hot and the wet leaves unhooked his back wheel. I cruised it on in for my second stage win of the 08 Rouser. More photos & GPS route to come soon.

Finished off the 4.5 hour day in some rain with Joey and Mike hoping to score some last minute roadkill and win the weasel, but it looks like this is the closest it will ever make it to Sheboygan...

Bunny Ears

Day Two: Gravel Rouser Grab & Git City Scramble

Earlier today we suited up for stage 2....Elmer Fudd and the wabbits was our theme of the day. Operation goal; Kill The Wabbit....

We started off at Athens Bicycle and at 5:00pm sharp maps were handed out and the scrambling begun. Just like a scared rabbit we were off to the first of 5 check points. Andrea, Elicia and I decided to stick together and work as a team. Andres is very directionally challenged and it was a necessity, if I ever wanted to see my wife again, that I made sure she stayed nearby....Elicia is not that much better. We struggled a bit with the first two stops, but after that it was smooth sailing. Stops 3, 4, 5, nailed down, no wrong turns, and a couple of shortcuts. In the end it was a massive 6 up field sprint to the house....I managed to be the 2nd to arrive, followed by Duncan, and Elicia....Corey, Kevin, and Andrea did some Hockey fighting no blood was spilled. Mr Fast even had time for a beer before winning stage 2. In the end after time bonuses and time penalties I finished 7th. Elicia won the womens race and Andrea was 5th. One day a cheesehead will win the Grab & Git....

All eyes on this prize for tomorrows epic stage to Lake Hope!

Thunder Bunny

Gravel Rouser 08....Lovin' the Easter Bunny

















The 2008 version of the Rouser kicked off last night with the Thunder Bunny Time Trial. A 2.5 mile off road tt that truly tested your handling skills. As I was riding my dads Trek Fuel 98 I realized it was the first time on a mountain bike since 100ft past the finish line of the Iceman. With 2 days of rain and massive flooding in all of Ohio I was ready for a muddy day on the bike. The crew down in Athens does amazing work on there trails and it could have been a lot worse. I was the 2nd rider off and instantly the HR was pegged as I was climbing the muddy switchbacks. The Bontrager Revolts were not the tire of choice, so I dropped the psi to about 20 and started to let 'em rip on the descents. My time was just shy of 15 minutes and it was pretty painful at some points, but I was able to pull out my first win of the season for team Gear Grinder. No new team clothes yet, so I had to go Athens style with the Hunter jersey and the clear Oakley Radar shooting glasses.

Tonight is the Grab & Git...a scavenger hunt around town and inside scoop is that race promoters did all they could to take away the local advantage...

Rain

We made it to OH! Only to be greeted by rain and flooding! Good thing I brought the rain jacket! With double fenders, double booties, and the double visor we managed two 3 hour days. The first was slightly painful w/ temps in the 40's and a hurling wind. Day 2 was much nicer as the temp increased to the mid 50's and the wind died down. The riding here is still amazing with all the climbing and the endless number of different routes.

After Tuesdays ride we had a homemade pizza and then cruised down to Ohio University for a Bobcats B-Ball game. Just what I needed to get in the mood for March Madness. Gravel Rouser starts tonight....it's going to be muddy.

Forget the Baby Steps

Go Big or Go Home....

We bought the new house on Friday and are leaving for a week vaction later today....bad timing I know, but its Gravel Rouser and warmer weather.

So with one weekend to work on the new house we had to go pretty big. The muscles are feeling it today.

Now it's off to OH for Gravel Rouser 08...can't wait to see the number plates!

It's On

Day One: One Key To Rule Them All

Before: 1950's White Shag!

During: Thanks for the help Rosco!

2 More Days

2 Days and counting until we close on the house! If anyone wants to work for free don't hesitate to call me! We have carpet to rip up, furniture to move, and plenty more elbow work, so really call me. We took the final walk through the house yesterday. I am pumped. Now that the personal property of the seller is gone the house looks a lot nicer. We also discovered all hardwood floors under the carpet.

Eagle River was a pretty well timed relaxing weekend. We stopped by the warming hut on day number 1 to feed the birds. I skied all three days including a 40k day on Saturday. That's all for today....need to start making more phone calls...todays agenda is switching over the electric and gas, calling a floor restoration guy, and going for a bike ride!

All Of The Above

8 Days and counting until we close on the new house. My brain has been scrambled lately. Yesterday Andrea and I went and looked at paint and flooring samples. Mind boggling to say the least. Then they tell you how much it is going to cost! Lets just say winning the triple crown doesn't cover stuff like that...

Anyway I am pretty excited about moving into the new house, but at the same time I just want to bust it out, get in there, and start to focus on riding my bike. We are taking a little breather this weekend to forget about things and heading up to Eagle River. We haven't made it up there at all this winter.

This photo was taken back in 2003!

I remember when I headed up for the first time with new skate skis. I had no idea what I was doing and Andrea put the hammer down on me with her classical skis. The next year I went up there with Schaning and we skiied 35 or 40 k and I was blown out. After 5 years I think I finally nailed it down. Now if I could just muster up some motivation to wax those things I would be Rockin' like Dokken.

Rosco is pumped to go to E.R. It has been a long winter for the little guy.

The Dog

Big Ring or Chicago Style?

The fitting seminar ended up on a great note....but we better start at the beginning.

Back to the Pie!

Mmmmm

Day 1 like I said was Anatomy and Tooling...

Day 2 was more hands on and we learned how to test some flexibility. Hamstrings and hips were the main determing flexibility factors with position on the bike. We did some angles from the torso to the humorous and the angle of the sacrum. All very interesting....it really boils down to how each body works on the persons bike.

Then it got good when all the students left and the big guns AOM and T-DA flexed their muscles and started some custom fitting.....

T-DA probably imporoved his position more than anyone during the entire 2 days...check it out

Watch out WORS 08!

I pulled out of the parking garage just in time for some food.....a true Chicago Style Hot Dog!

With motivation high after a newly found saddle postition I did the breakfast ride this morning and felt awesome. We finished up the ride through Black River to check this out....

I wonder if Tristan thinks he's moving into our new basement?