b-matter.com

Ready - Action

2012-01-26T06:36:00.000-08:00

It's been non-stop down here in Tucson, but I'm loving it!!! When we rolled into town on Day #1 and saw about 50 cyclists on the road you couldn't help but smile. This town just has a vibe that you can't beat.

A great way to end the day!

Training Camp was awesome and the guys felt the same way. We hit up some amazing road riding, some mtb riding, and even got to see some of the best sprinters in the country take to the start line of a local crit.

one of the many scenic roads in Tucson

post ride power analysis

We also had our fair share of local cuisine!

Nothing beats the Cookie Cabin after the giant climb up Mt. Lemmon

All in all the camp was a huge success. Thanks to the Jeremiah Inn for awesome accomodations and PRO Bikes of Tucson for great service and the rental bikes.

After wrapping up the final details of camp on Monday it was off to the trails again for some fun! This time Andrea and I joined Bruce from Pro Gold Lubricants for some singletrack shredding! I didn't have a bike yet so I borrowed Bruce's Niner full suspension. It was fun, but man I felt like I was on a slow motion downhill bike...26 inch wheels for me please.

Tuesday after camp it was time to make my first journey into town to take care of some business with Trav @ Momentum Endurance headquarters and say Hi to the guys at Trek Bikes of Tucson. Lucky for me when I walked in the shop they smiled and said they had a brand new Top Fuel in the back!

Wednesday before I could get my bike built up I got a call from Tommy D for a ride. I was a little nervous at what he meant by a "long" "easy" ride. With my specific cross training the last 3 months, long for me was about 2 hours. I really haven't seen Tom since 2002 or 2003 when his mtb career was coming to an end and his road career was taking off. As juniors on the Devo team we were room mates at some of the races. It was pretty sweet to catch up on life, reminisce about the old days of mtb'ing and hear some good war stories from the peloton. Coolest part of the ride though was talking about Christian Vande Velde and our battle at Chequamegon! At the end of close to 90 miles I was smashed and Tom went out for another 60! Easy 150 miles???

I've got a few goodies down here that I need to sell. Check them out and let me know if you might be interested. The Top Fuel is almost finished...stay tuned for pictures!

Tucson & The Off season!

2012-01-18T07:25:00.000-08:00

It's been a busy start to the 2012 off season. After CX Nationals we took a day to get cleaned up and then we hit the road! I was pretty pumped to get out of town. I think we timed it perfectly w. the first snow storm of the year hitting 2 days after we left.

Rosco was the co-pilot!

Rosco, Andrea and I loaded up the Elantra Touring w/ Elicia in tow! We caravaned across the country, and shared hotels until we hit Albuquerque. We crashed one last night together and in the morning we went south and Elicia continued West to California.

We arrived Thursday afternoon and it felt like home! We took a quick spin to Saguaro National Park and then went out for our first Mexican feast at El Charro! I love the Carne Seca and it seems Tucson is the only place in the world that offers it up.

It felt a little busy getting settled in, hitting up 4 grocery stores, unpacking, and getting ready to race all one day one! Yep thats right! Racing after only one full day in town. Andrea had the itch so we slapped on a number plate and she let it rip.

The womens fielf took off w/ approximately 20 women in the first wave. Two of them were Pros including Chloe Forsman Woodruff. Andrea finished the race 3rd in the Cat 1 women and 5th overall with the 2 pros. She was nice enough to let me borrow her bike after the ride so I could hit the dirt a little too. I'm still waiting for my new Trek Top Fuel to arrive.

Chloe w/ the holeshot

Sunday was a quick ride to mile 14 of Mt. Lemmon where I hooked up with old team mate and Tour De France superstar Tommy D for a little training. We followed that up with a big bowl of chili and and some Sunday football. Two Sundays in a row w/ results that we didn't want.

Monday the Momentum Endurance Training Camp bikes started to roll in so I was busy building bikes and prepping for the arrival of the athletes. Tuesday was a meet and great and an easy spin to get things warmed up for the next 5 days of riding. Time to get hit the road!

Nationals

2012-01-09T13:38:00.000-08:00

A mixed bag of emotions on this one. In the end though I know its not what I wanted or its not what I'm capable of so I'm calling it a dissapointing race.

I am however happy that the season is over and I can call it one of my best. I feel I was very consistent and had better results than the any other season.

The race itself went down like this....an early departure from Sheboygan Sunday morning. A stress free drive and an early arrival to the race course. The conditions were a little different than Wednesday when I had pre-rode but I was expecting that...

I set up camp under the Trek tent thanks to my good buddy Demo Ken! He had prime real estate on the infield, close to the pits, and just past the finish line. He also had a nice warm trailer that I could stand up in a get changed!

I headed out for a pre-ride and felt pretty good. Not fantastic, but not horrible. I was hoping for a clean first lap and then I thought I would be good. I chilled out a little, pinned my numbers, and then headed out again after the womens race to see how much the course had changed as the temps were rising and the ground was thawing. I didn't think it chagned that much.

I swapped clothes did a little time on the trainer and headed to the start line. I was second row. GO and I was off...a good start! A little chaos in the first 4 corners but I made it unscathed. I was sitting in 8th or 9th at the top of the first climb. I finished up the lap and was sitting on Chris Jones wheel in 7th or 8th place. Perfect...I felt like Chris was going to be my free ride back to the top 5. I relaxed and as soon as I did I went down hard. I got up pretty quick, but I was a little rattled. I jumped back on the bike losing very little time, but in a cross race that early on I went from 8th to 14th in a split second and Jones was gone. I was now in a battle for the top 10.

I thought I was OK and planned to sit on, change bikes, and then get going again. I knew it was going to be a long hard race, but they legs never really go going. In fact it started to hurt more and more. I suffered to stay in contact with 9th and 10th, but I couldn't. Soon I was in 11th and 12th. I crashed again. Confidence was going out the window. I lowered the tire pressure, but it wasn't enough and I could never steer the bike like I could in Chicago.

45 minutes into the race I though we would have 2 to go, and when I saw three to go it crushed me. My energy was dissapearing fast and soon I was in 12th all alone. I started going slower and slower so I didn't crash again. It hurts. With 1/2 lap to go another guy caught me and I tried to drop him a few times, but I couldn't and he easily outsprinted me. 13th place at the finish.

This was not a course that you could hide on if you were having an off day. I was hoping to feel as good as I did in Chicago or better, but it didn't happen. There are a few reasons why I think this is the case and hopefully I can work on it and be better next year!

The fans were amazing. The pit crew of Tim, Elicia, and Andrea were awesome! I couldn't do it without the support of all my individual sponsors. Thanks everybody for a great season. Time for a vacation!

Pre - Race

2012-01-06T15:52:00.000-08:00

Well two days to go and the season is over. This weekend should be fun, but it is always a little hard to end the season...especially when your form is on the way up.

I took a few days off after Chicago because I was smashed. Two days of hard racing and two days of good recovery. By the time Wednesday rolled around I needed to get out and do some riding. I also had some other things to take care off...wheels from Cycle-Ops, wheels getting worked on from my homey Mike Heenan, wheels to drop off for the MWI team. My best option was to drive to Madison, take care of all my business including registration and pre-riding the course.

I dropped a wheel at Saris, I picked up my lucky #14 race bib, picked up and dropped of some wheels with Mike, then suited up to check out the National Championship course. There has been a lot of talk about this race course. Too easy, too icy, whatever it is it IS and I needed to check it out. I started out the ride w/ a 1 hour spin around Verona and then headed to the course for a lap between the Womens and Mens SS race. It was tough. Soggy false flats, mud covered ice, slippery off camber corners, and a hard hard ground that doesn't allow you to run too low of a tire pressure.

I got a lap in but I needed more, so I set up a trainer and spun for another 40 minutes while watching Tim rock the SS race. Then I headed out for two more laps. First at 22 psi and it was good for the mud, but too soft, then at 24 psi which was about perfect. Who knows how much it will change between now and then, but it sounds like its still muddy. The coolest part about the course preview though was running into one of my favorite sponsors HED Cycling...check this out! As I mtb'er I really hope to rock these next year!

HED's new disc specific Stinger 5

HED also had a disc hub laced to an Ardennes!

Today I spent chillin' and cleanin'. I cleaned the house so we can be ready to leave for Tucson as soon as possible! Again I can't wait for the Momentum Endurance Training Camp! Then I spent some time with the bikes. New cables and housing, cleaned and regreased the BB's and headsets, and then gave the bikes a good bath! They needed it after the CCCNYR.

the calm before the storm

8 degrees in December of '08 at Lambeau

Now its time for a dinner, a movie, and early to bed. A little warm up ride tomorrow followed by some football and another night at home in my own bed. Then Sunday morning I'll drive over set up shop and let it rip! I can't beleive the weather. 5 years ago we went to Brett Favre's last home regular season game at Lambeau..we need every possible item of clothing to stay warm. It was 8 that day. We are lucky! See you there!

4th & 1

2012-01-02T04:48:00.000-08:00

Two solid 4th place rides for me this weekend at the CCC NYR in Chicago; One To GO!

It was game on starting Friday. Fidea Cup from Leuven on the web at 8am. Training at 10am for 2 hours. Lunch, Nap, Bike Cleaning at 3pm - 6pm, dinner, laundry, pick up Gear Grinder van @ 8pm. Load van for an early departure 7:30am the next morning to Chicago.

I finally just caved in to the free Netflix trial. So far pretty awesome. We have the slowest high speed internet in the world, but no problem to watch a movie or a tv show. Sat night before bed I needed 30 minutes of spacing out so I watch the first episode of The Wonder Years! Gotta love that show.

We made it through Chicago traffic with no problems and arrived to the Indian Head resort. It was more like a groomed tractor pull! The bermuda grass of the golf course was more like a wet sponge, and if there were any dips in elevation it was a mud bog.

I felt good on Friday and I had been doing a lot of CX practice in the sand at the beach by my house. I immediately felt comfortable in the mud, my legs felt good, my HR was responding, and I knew it was going to be a good day! I just didn't know how good...

I had a good jump of the line and then pulled out of my pedal...luckily I was already up to speed and held a good position around the first few corners. I immediately felt good and moved up to Trebon's wheel. I even pulled through the start finish on Lap #1. I was feeling good so might as well go for it...

The first slight problem..in the middle of lap 3 Chris Jones crashed right after the pits...I tried to avoid it, but went down when I ran him over. Powers was going through the pits and was able to avoid the crash and Trebon was going off the front. Jones and I started to chase. A lap later half way through the race Jones stopped pedaling and told me we were getting to close to Powers. The Rapha team card had been played...oh well, I was riding better than Chris in the technical stuff and all I needed was for him to make another mistake. I pulled and entire lap. Starting the next lap I nailed a mud bog perfect and looked up and saw Powers....I knew I was bringing him back.

As I caught Powers, Chris was off the back a little because he has just went through the pits...I wanted to keep the pressure steady and hope for that mistake. No go. With one to go I pulled through the start/finish and the crowd was roaring...it was awesome.

I attacked then a couple of times and had some daylight, but never enough. Jones took one little flyer, but it didn't stick. Powers then went and I didn't want to get 1-2ed for an entire lap so I let him go thinking I had a better chance for the podium beating Chris one on one. Unfortunately when you pull a guy around a windy course for 30 minutes he has a little more in the tank at the end....I finished 4th, but was very happy with how I felt...I think I can still get a little fast this week!

Day 2 I was tired. I inspected the course and it seemed heavier so I wanted to save some energy for the race. That was my mistake. I didn't really rally it and when I started and hit the first section of mud I knew I was in trouble w/ too much air in the tires.

Half way through the race I went from holeshot to 7th or 8th place and then I crashed. Myerson crashed into the back of me and the lead group was going going gone. Lucky for me it was right in front of the pit, but the spare bike had the same pressure and I didn't have a chance to communicate w/ Tim that I needed lower pressure because I hadn't passed the pit yet.. Next lap I was able to do so and then next lap I finally got a bike w/ good air. 1/3 of the way through the race and I was finally dialed.

I was riding w/ Wicks and Lindine, but as soon as I changed bikes that lap I was on my own. I was the first guy to ride the hill when I finally got my tire pressure dialed, but it took a lot of energy. I settled in and started to watch Jones come back towards me. With 2 to go I was on my good bike...the other bike's valve cores were frozen and there was still a bit too much pressure. I put 16 seconds into his gap and I really did a smooth lap. I think he saw me coming though and started to go faster. I switched to my not so good bike and wasn't able to close the last 10 seconds...another 4th.

Another awesome weekend. Thanks to Andrea, Elicia, and Tim for helping in the pits and cleaning dirty clothes, thanks to Gear Grinder for the van and the tent, the superfans, and all my other sponsors who make it possible. Check out www.podiuminsight.com for more great pictures and full race recaps. See you in 6 days!

Happy Holidays!

2011-12-27T05:19:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since the last update. In fact it was about 2 weeks ago that I was smashed out of my mind staring blankly at this very screen thinking of what to write about the Bend, OR weekend.

The Bend trip put me over the limit. Unfortunately the 3 weeks before Bend I was over my limit again when I was getting sick and raced the weekend of North Carolina and then again raced the weekend of Jingle Cross. It's not good to be over the limit 2 times in a month at the end of a long season when the weather starts to get unpleasant. In all honesty it kind of feels like a month since I have been able to train even though I've raced 7 times.

The weekend after Bend I needed a break. I was healthy and I think there is a big difference taking some time off the bike when you are sick versus when you are healthy. We took a weekend trip to Eagle River and I left my bikes at home! It was nice to go for a few hikes w/ Andrea & Elicia and enjoy the peace and quiet of the north woods.

After the ER weekend I finally felt I was ready to start training again. In the past I would jump head first into things, but there was still 3 weeks left until nationals so I wanted to ease into it, 2 hours, cross practice, a day off, 2 hours, some intervals, 2 days off. I've felt better and better each day on the bike and hope to keep things going in that direction. As of right now we've been really lucky in WI with a mild start to winter. Let's hope it stays that way for Nationals in 12 days.

The 2 days off was to make sure I was still good and of course to enjoy the holidays. The last 3 Christmas' I have been in Belgium. It was great to finally be home and enjoy the time with the family. I have been watching all the big cross races on the internet, so its almost like being there. I do miss it a little, but I know I made the right decision to stay home this year.

I'm really looking forward to Tucson! 2 weeks and we are headed south again for the winter. 70 and sunny everyday in the 10 day forecast right now. I should have a brand new Top Fuel at Trek Bikes of Tucson when I arrive. I can't wait to put on some beefy tires and let it rip down the mountain! I also got this new toy for Christmas! Can't wait to try it out also!

A brand new 56cm Trek Madone 6.9SSL w/ H2 frame and Shimano DI2! I don't think it gets much better. I downgraded the bike a little for a Bontrager aluminum bar and stem and the RXL wheelset instead of all the carbon so I could test out the new electronic shifting. All the reviews so far are amazing and my initial thoughts are the same. They just salted the roads in Sheboygan so I might have to be a weenie and wait till I get to Tucson for the maiden voyage.

On the coaching side of things another reason I am looking forward to Tucson is our first Winter Training Camp! There is still time to sign up! I also have a few private camps set up with some of the athletes I am currently coaching. With the new year just around the corner I am looking to add 3-5 new clients for the 2012 season. Contact me at bmatter@momentumendurance.com if you might be interested.

Ben Dover

2011-12-14T09:35:00.000-08:00

OUCH OUCH OUCH -

I knew the trip was going to be a quick in and out, but I didn't think I was going to get kicked so many times during the process.

It all started with a brutal 24 hours travel to Bend, OR

Scheduled something like this.

3:30 am CST - Wake UP
4:00 am CST - Drive to Milwaukee
6:00 am CST - Depart MKE on an airplane
7:00 am MST - Start circling DIA in the air
8:00 am MST - Start to run low on gas
9:00 am MST - landing in Colorado Springs only to sit on the plane for 3 hours
12:00 am MST - landing back at DIA - what fog?
12:30pm MST - hurry to get denied stand-by flight to PDX - wait 4 hours

already blown out and only half way there

4:30 pm MST - get denied again to fly stand by to PDX - confirmed on the 6:00 flight
6:00 pm MST - flight delayed
7:00 pm MST - finally start boarding plane to PDX = 100 degrees on the plane w. a last row seat
starting to feel smashed three hours later we are finally in Portland
9:15 pm PST - arrive in Portland
10:00pm PST - bikes made it! rental car - check, lets start the drive to Bend.
10:30pm PST - Subway for dinner
1:30am - PST = 3:30am CST 24 hours later - arrive at La Quinta Bend, OR

OUCH #1

USGP Finals - Bend, OR Day 1

After a little sleep, building bikes, and grocery shopping for some lunch, we were off to the course. I lined up on the left and kind of got pinched around the first corner. With no momentum I lost another 10 spots = I got a bad start. I had decent legs, but missed all the groups I wanted to be with or ahead of. I finished 15th. Thanks to the crew at CXRACING.COM for the tent and pit support. Out to dinner at 7:00 and home by 9:30pm. Honestly though I don't think the travel affected my performance...just the bad start.

OUCH #2

USGP Finals - Bend OR Day 2

A slightly more relaxing morning. Off to the races only to get a flat tire on the warm up ride. $100 down the drain with another bad tubular and back to panic mode. Borrowing a nuetral wheel, swapping brake pads, adjusting brakes....hurried warm up. Dang it can't I catch a break this weekend. I lined up on the right this time...and finally a good start! On the tail end of the lead group for 2 laps, but my legs, lungs, and the yellow stars in my eyes were telling me the fatigue was setting in....I was so out of it at the end of lap 2 that when remounting my bike at the top of the stairs I missed the bike and tripped to the ground....there goes the lead group. I ended up riding w/ Sheppard for a bit...then finished 12th. Better result, better start, but way worse in the fatigue category. OK results this weekend w/ a 15th final spot in the USGP series.

OUCH #3

and it really wasn't even over yet.....back in the van after the race. 2.5 hour drive to Salem where we luckily had a nice place to stay w/ Tristan's team mate. 10:30pm boxing bikes in a garage. 5:30am wake up call and off to the airport. On the way home I didn't even care what was going to happen...but of course as always the way home was smooth sailing. I even got upgraded to Premium Seating...go figure! Extra thanks this week goes to Gear Grinder for the frequent flyer miles and the free plane ticket and to Clif Bar for the extra support to make it out to the last USGP. Next up is the New Years Resolution and then Nationals....happy I'm not on a plane again for a while!

Down but not out

2011-12-05T15:17:00.001-08:00

Well...I just got home from my ride...as I was riding away I remembered seeing the garage door opener (only method to get in and out of the garage) on the garage floor. That's not a good place for it....I though it would be OK because I was just going out for a 45 minute spin. When I got home Andrea was gone and the garage door was shut...I knew it....I was done for....locked out. Dang...So instead of new cable housing and chain on bike #2 I'm updating my blog w/ new cables housing and chain on bike #1 which is sitting outside the garage!

Also in the 'down, but not out' category was me...pretty much just had a good 2 weeks off of the bike. I didn't train at all between NCGP and Jingle Cross....hardly even touched a bike. Then I raced 3 days, with very little warm up and no cool down all three days. Then I didn't train again Monday - Fri.

All in all it was a pretty good break and much needed. I have raced every single weekend since Green Bay WORS at the end of August! When Saturday finally rolled around and it was time to get on the bike it was nasty outside...I should have manned up and went outside to face the elements, but I didn't. Which made it even tougher not to take just one more day of rest! However I do believe that up to a certain point rest and fatigue are all mental. I needed to flip the switch and tell myself it was time to go again. I managed to wait all day long until the last possibly minute to hop on the trainer....but a little Disco on the Ipod and half way through the intervals I knew I was back on track! It was almost easy to head out Sunday morning after watching the World Cup for day #2 of intervals...again mission accomplished followed by a Steelers W and a Packers W...rematch???

During my two weeks off(minus Jingle Cross) I spent a lot of time prepping for the Momentum Endurance Training Camp. It is going to be awesome....and I am more excited than ever to make it to Tucson this winter! Be sure to check out http://www.momentumendurance.com/winter-training-camp-january-2012/
for the details.

Jingle Jingle Jingle

2011-11-28T07:04:00.001-08:00

Three days of action packed fun compressed into one blog update! Here we go....

Day 1:

I almost opted to skip this race, but I'm glad I didn't. It turned out to be my best result! I was a little under the weather all week and hadn't ridden a bike since Sunday in North Carolina. I wasn't sure if being fresh was going to over power being sick. My plan was to blow out the bad stuff Friday night and then be ready to go for Saturday and Sunday...next thing you know I was mid way through the race almost closing the gap to the National Champ! I felt great! I had a good start and the shock factor was pretty high on the first 2 laps, but then I settled into a good rhythm. I was running Mt. Krumpet good, I was hitting my lines good, everything was firing...I couldn't believe it...as I was catching Todd, Troy and Matt Shriver were catching me....Todd saw a group of 3 catching him and picked up the pace...at about the same time Troy took a bad line in the mud that made the contact with Todd impossible. I ended up sitting on Troy for a lap before sprinting him for 5th!

After the race I had a full on coughing fit....I was really hoping that would be the end of it....

Day 2:

I was feeling pretty normal....a little tired like day 2 of any cross weekend. I didn't want to make the same mistake as I did in Ft. Collins...being afraid of getting dirty and cold....so I got in a few laps on the course. Everything was good. They said go and instantly I was in a world of pain....I kind of don't even remember the beginning of the race. I was struggling on the long climb up Mt. Krumpet and didn't have the snap that I had on Friday night. Shriver caught me midway through the race, but I dropped him a lap later on the off camber downhill section behind the bleachers. It was kind of a cold lonely race. 90% of the time I was solo...by the last lap I was catching Berden and Wicks, but I was out of time...7th place.

Day 3:

I felt like I had a little more motivation and snap today. I was a little better on the run up Mt. Krumpet and the climb after. The first half lap got me though....Tristan came out of his pedal 50 meters after the start and almost crashed with Berden...I had to do a major brake check not to pile into the back of them. I felt the right side of the race go by me....a pretty bad start....time to make up some spots....I started going good and then crashed on a U-Turn in the gravel. Oops. Had to pass all the guys again....By the time I was going up Mt. Krumpet for the first time I was in 9th with nobody in sight. After 2 laps I caught Barry Wicks and battled with him the rest of the race. Nobody else was even remotely close to us...I felt like I was stronger that Barry except after the first time through the pits and the descent off of Mt. Krumpit. Barry could put 15 seconds on me each time down the hill. Each time it would take me a half lap to close the gap. On the last lap Barry rocked me on the downhill and then stayed on the gas....I finished 9th...not really what I wanted.

Day 4:

And I'm spent....Iceman, L'Ville, NCGP, Jingle Cross.....thats a big month and a lot of miles in the car. I'm ready for a little time at home and a weekend off of racing! Time to chill.....I mean rake leaves! Huge thanks to Tim for all the support on the race weekends. Also thanks to T-Wag for the spare pedals and the extra help in the pits and of course Jessica and the MWI crew for their hospitality and the hot bowl of chilli post race Sunday and to PodiumInsight.com for the photos!

New & Old

2011-11-22T05:41:00.001-08:00

Hey Hey Hey....How 'bout a Hyundai!

The Tucson had plenty of room for the Ice Trophy

The Sonata - killer gas mileage

With Thanksgiving fast approaching its time to thank the rest of the sponsors. First up is one of the oldest and one of the best sponsors I have ever had. Not many people have sponsors from outside the bike industry any more, but I'm lucky to have one of the best. Hyundai! When I first started mtb racing every team was backed by a car company. Now I can only think of one major team...I wish I could do more for my local Sheboygan Van Horn Hyundai dealer, because they have done so much for me. 3 years of driving a Hyundai Tucson, 2 years of driving a Hyundai Sonata, and another 1 year of driving
my current car the Hyundai Elantra Touring. Probably the best vehicle yet for racing and traveling. Tons of space for wheels, bikes, and gear, and great gas mileage! 30 mpg's on the hwy.

Andrea's green grocey getter!

Without the help of Hyundai there would have been no way that over the last 6 or 7 years I would have been able to committ this much time to cycling. I would have had 2 car payments(we even got a killer deal on a car for Andrea) and had to work way more. Without that financial obligation I am able to work less, train more and continue to pursue my career as a professional cyclist. Thanks Hyundai....I've got my fingers crossed to keep this sponsor as long as possible...hopefully next up is the new 2012 40 MPG Hyundai Accent!

The Elantra Touring - the name is right on...

Thanks Hyundai...the best sponsor by far I have ever had....if you need a new or used car stop by Sheboygan Van Horn Hyundai and ask for Mike!

Next up is one of the newest sponsor I have....Pro Gold Lubricants. I have been using Pro-Link for the past 5 years. I love that chain lube....it works great and always keeps your drive line clean. When the owner of Pro Gold called me up one day I was pumped! Soon after a bunch of product showed up at my door, I couldn't beleive it... I honestly didn't even know they did more than just the Pro-Link. Then I tried the Pro-Link Extreme...it works great for those muddy cross races, and my new favoritre product that make cleaning up after a cross race 1000x easier is the Pro Gold Bike Wash.

You spray it on, wait 5 minutes, wash it off with a hose, and your bike is as clean as it was before the race. The stuff is awesome. I won't ever travel to another cross race without it...They also make some shop towells for cleaning your hands after working on your bike. Check them out...Thanks Pro-Gold

I've had many other individaul sponsors throughout my career, most from the bike industry Bell Helmets and some not, like MortgageBot who is a current sponsor of Gear Grinder and Billy G the Kangen Water guy. So many sponsors of the teams that I have raced for throughout the years, and so many individuals who have helped, sponsored, donated, and mentored. Its really awesome when you think back on all the people who have been there along the way... its where I get my motivation to keep training hard and keep winning races! Thanks to all, Happy Thanksgiving.

NCGP & Cross Supporters

2011-11-21T07:52:00.001-08:00

Best part of the weekend was definitely the Duct Tape wallet that was the prize from Day 1!!! Who doesn't need a duct tape wallet.

Back to the beginning of the week. After L'Ville I opted for the short drive to Athens, OH for some hang time and mom and dads. Travis and Chloe joined me for a week of training, brisket BBQ, and some soon to be announced Momentum Endurance coaching plans. It was pretty awesome!

Friday after a good ride in the AM we made the drive down to Hendersonville, NC. I was pretty pumped for my third trip to the NCGP.

Day one: A front row call up, a good start, and to the front of the field on the first pavement section. There was a pretty big group starting lap 2. Lap 2 I opted to ride the steps and it seemed pretty fast. The group was splitting and then reforming and I made sure to always be in the top 3. Soon Ben Berden put in a big move that shattered the field. I was right on his wheel and it was going to be a battle! Half way through the race I bobbled attempting to ride the steps again, Ben has been at it for a while and he is a smart racer. He was on the gas immediately. I was in chase mode and bridged the gap 1/2 lap later. We ended up going back and forth attacking each other the remainder of the race..cat and mouse, fast, and slow. We approached the wall the last lap and Ben took the lead w/ 400 meters. I was comfortable going onto the pavement for the sprint on his w heel, but didn't have the power to match his sprint. A solid 2nd place ride.

Day Two: A totally different race today. It was actually not that good for me....I wasn't feeling the best when I woke up, but once they said go I was ready. I was off the pavement in 6th or 7th position, but after the first three corners Ben looked back and hit it....1/2 lap later I was at the front and chasing, but the gap was already formed. A lap later and I had dropped the rest of the field and pretty much did a 50 minute solo cross race 20 seconds behind Ben. Not quite what I was hoping for, but I didn't have the same legs as Saturday.

Another cool thing about the NCGP is the excitement in the air of the end of the season. I'm not talking about hanging it up...I'm talking about going over to Belgium. It was in NC three years ago that I was planning my first trip to Belgium. This year it was cool to watch the GVA and the Superprestige the morning of the races, to race a Belgian, to talk with R. Knapp about going on his own, and to talk with Jake Wells about his first EuroCrossCamp...maybe even cooler though was learning about my Gear Grinder teammate Lionel who was selected to represent WI as a junior and head to his first EuroCross Camp....check this out and help him if you can. Lionel Rocheleau Supporters click here! The future of WI cycling!

The drive home was long, rainy, and foggy. Back home to mom and dads house by 10:30. I'll be here for another 2 days and then finish up the drive back to Sheboygan on Wed. Thursday Packers - Lions and then Jingle Cross weekend.

Lots of interviews and race highlights thanks to cyclingdirt go check 'em out.

To stick with the theme of Thanksgiving and being appreciative of all my opportunities and my cycling lifestyle, I'm going to skip the sponsors today and thank all the other people who give so much to the sport. The NCGP crew reminded me this weekend of how a small community can put on an awesome race...it got me to thinking of all the race promoters, Brent Walk from Fun Promotions, Don Edberg, from WORS, Steve Brown, Gary Crandall, Scott Tuma...without these guys and all their volunteers I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing. My family, Andrea, Mom, Dad, Hildebrands, Grandma...couldn't do it without the support. All the local bike shops that help out along the way, the fans, fellow racers...etc I'm really lucky to be where I'm at, I love it and I'll keep trying hard to get faster and faster!!!

More sponsors love tomorrow!

Feeling Good!

2011-11-19T05:29:00.001-08:00

Day #4 - Feeling Good.

One of the best sponsors a rider can get is from a food company. Clif Bar has been a huge supporter and each year they are stepping it up another notch. As a coach one of the most important things I stress is good recovery. Most people think of good recovery as the meal immediately after the ride. I start to think about recovery during the ride and that is where Clif Bar comes in....During each ride all season long I am constantly consuming calories. Clif Bars, Clif Shots, and my favorite Clif Bloks. Sometimes it is almost mind blowing how much I can eat on a ride. I am releived though knowing Clif's ingredients are all natural and organic. My new favorite is the Chocolate Almond Coconut MOJO Bar. You gotta taste this ASAP!

My next sponsor I need to thank is my newest sponsor and I have had a blast working with him to create a new line of embrocation. Tis the season and thanks to Joshua Tree Skincare. Another company that beleives in all natural organic products.

From Tea's to Lip Balm's to Embrocation, J-Tree is protecting your skin from the harshest elements. Here is where I come in.....David Lawrence, owner of J-Tree, grew up in Pinckney, MI. Dave was pumped on cycling back then and the same holds true today. Together we developed a line of Embrocations and have some of the best country's cyclists backing it up. Kelli Emmet with her Spicy Medium heat, Adam Craig, with his Zero heat Eucalyptus blend to protect against to moisture, and my Full Heat Citrus blend will cover all conditions this CX season. Check them out...there is nothing quite like the warm feeling on the legs after a hard ride and a hot shower! What I'm most excited about is J-Tree Winter Face Stick - can you say Cyclocross Nationals - this is going to be a must have!

Hopefully feeling good can contine today as I am in Hendersonville, NC for the UCI Cross races this weekend. Time to watch the GVA on the web and get ready for a battle! More sponsored stories soon.

Looking Good

2011-11-17T05:21:00.001-08:00

looking good? i'm not so sure

Day #3 - Looking Good. Not quite as important as the bikes, but definitely important is looking good. I struggle in this department most of the time, but thanks to a few of the sponsors I might at least get a 5 out of 10!

photo @ Amy Dykema - " whoa look at that outfit"
a favorite quote from superman 2

My title sponsor for the last 6 or 7 years has been a local team out of Wisconsin. I am very lucky to have such great support from a local team. It started out as the PCW/Hyundai team and has now morphed into the Gear Grinder Team. Even though I have been racing in the Gear Grinder jersey for the past 3 or 4 seasons I'm guessing most of you don't know what Gear Grinder is....take a minute and check it out...they do some pretty cool things for the cycling community in WI. Gear Grinder itself is a casual clothing company. They do t-shirts, shop shirts, podium apparel, & accessories for both men & women. My favorite is definitely the Podium Jacket and the Podium Pants. In the future they are leaning more and more towards the sustainable model and will be focusing on the recycled tubes for making the wallets, belts, messenger bags, and the new sandals...they are pretty cool.

The best thing about Gear Grinder is that the majority of the money goes right back into the program. Whether it is supporting me and the Junior Development Team, or promoting races like Tour of America's Dairyland and the Tour De Road America, Gear Grinder is in it for the right reasons and I couldn't do it without their support. THANKS

Looking good part 2 - Oakley. Any time the best of the best is on board as a sponsor you have to be pretty pumped. I have been rockin' the Oakleys since 1996 when I raced with the Rock Shox Jr. Development Team. Even back then I had full support from Oakley. They have style and more importantly in my book they have function. The best optics and the best eye protection out there....without your eyes you are not going to be fully confident to rip a downhill section at full speed ahead. Protect your eyes at all costs...

looking good in the Northwoods back in 07!

I love my Oakley flannel and loved RazorBlades....especially in the Northwoods....I think they would fit in pretty darn good in Athens, OH too...

Thanks to Gear Grinder and Oakley for keeping me looking good!

Pure Guts

2011-11-16T06:22:00.001-08:00

Day 2: The guts of the bikes...Shimano. How can you go wrong? I honestly beleive components on the bike are 100% personal preference. I prefer Shimano 100% of the time. On my mtb and on my cross bikes. I gave the others a chance, but I'm always switching back to the Shimano. The last few years I have been very fortunate to have IMO the best component company as a sponsor. Crisp, reliable, & light weight shifting and braking at my fingertips. On my cross bikes I chose to go with the favorite Dura Ace 7900. A 46t outer and 39t inner. 175 cranks, 11-25 cassette. It's the perfect combo for cross. I have recently ordered a new Project One road bike to give the DI2 a shot...I'm sure it will be top notch.

Pure Shimano Guts - does anybody remember this old school add?

To compliment those HED Ardennes that I love so much I am also pretty pumped about Shimano's new CX70 canti brakes. The most powerfull, yet simple cross brakes I have felt and super easy to adjust. I'm also fortunate enough to have Shimano's new custom fit M315 shoes. They fit like my bedroom slippers!

Speaking of old school - remember this Gutsy performance? Looks like Steve was rockin' the XTR...

The rest of the bike is laced with Bontrager bars, stem, saddle, and seatpost...nothing fancy just a solid compliment to a solid bike.

The last piece of the puzzle however has very little guts. It's the simple Crank Brothers Egg Beater 11's. I know its not Shimano, but again I beleive pedals are personal preference and again I am lucky enough to have the support from Crank Bros. They are the lightest, they are 4 sided so I can get in and out of them without even thinking, and now they come with a killer 5 year warranty. Gotta love 'em...stay tuned for more sponsorship Love!

Thank goodness!

2011-11-15T08:37:00.001-08:00

Thanks to HED Cycling & Trek Bicycles

I'm not really sure what this mustache thing is all about....I think I'd look pretty hideous in a mustache so I better stick with the traditional theme of November = Thanksgiving. So this month I'm going to dig a little deeper and really let you know about the equipment I'm racing, the sponsors who help me get to the races, and the people who support me.

Today I'm going to start with the bike & the wheels....maybe the most critical part of the equation.

The XO2 before my first trip to Belgium in 2008

This year I changed things up a bit and went back to a Trek bike. Now that Trek is using their very well know OCLV / Madone technology in a carbon cross bike I had to give it a try. At about the half way point in the season I'll tell you the Cronus CX doesn't dissapoint. The improvements from the XO2 that I was riding my first season in Belgium include the carbon frame, the E2 tapered headtube, and the BB90. This makes the bike lighter, stiffer, and gets rid of the dreaded brake chatter that so many of us have experienced on the older cross bikes. For my details on the new and improved bike check out http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/road/cyclocross/cronus_cx/cronus_cx_ultimate/#

The NEW CRONUS w/ E2 & BB90

Most noticable of the new features is the BB90. This bike accelerates! My favorite new feature is the internal cable routing...its a clean look and I hate being my own mechanic. The internal routing keeps the cables working like day 1 for a long time!

Next up on the list is HED Wheels! They definately add to the ability for the bike to accelerate. For the dry fast races I have Dugast Typhoon tires mounted up the the HED Stinger 5's, a full carbon tubular, with a 50mm deep rim w/ an extra wide raised rim bed so you are guaranteed a good glue job. The wheels are light and fast. This past weekend at the USGP in Louisville I was rocketing down the start stretch with a full blown cross tailwind thinking to my self these wheels rule! They also sliced through the sand like nobody's business. Depending on the course I also have some Stingers 5's front wheels mounted up with a slightly more aggresive front tire...the FMB Grippo. I have actually raced that set up more ofter than not. Pretty awesome that HED sent out 2 extra front wheels....awesome sponsors rule!

AL Ardennes SL from HED = stopping power!

My favorite part about my new partnership with HED Cycling though is, when the going gets tough and cross gets muddy, knowing that I have a new weapon. The HED Ardennes tubular. These wheels actually stop in the mud! Imagine that....They are light enough, they are stiff enough, and when it gets really nasty and when you really need to rely on your brakes to go as fast as possible you know the wheels will stop. I've done two nasty muddy races this year and with Jingle Cross on the horizon I know the Ardennes will come in handy. I have the Dugast Rhyno's mounted up to two sets of the best aluminum wheels I have ever used. They are way less expensive than carbon, they are light, and they really could be considered a great all around wheel for everyone to use in even the fast dry races. Check them out if you get a chance.

That's all for today so again a huge THANKS to Trek Bicycles and HED Cycling...check back soon for the rest of the details on the bike!

L'Ville

2011-11-14T08:42:00.001-08:00

USGP round number 3 is in the books. Similar to last weekend at the Iceman I am walking away from the weekend with mixed emotions. Half of me is pretty happy that I finished Sunday in 8th place, my best USGP result ever, the other half of me is pretty disappointed that I can't figure out how to race the first lap of a race and I start off with a 30 second disadvantage.

I started off the weekend with a slightly different strategy than in years past. I opted for the warm up ride at home(even though it was 30 degress) instead of traveling the 500 miles to Louisville and then riding the course. It worked out good...

After my ride Friday morning we loaded up the Gear Grinder van and headed south. Tristan, Tim, and I took the relaxed approach and after a stop for a mean Bison Burger in Columbia, IN at Papas Grill we arrived in Louisville.

Saturday morning I usually wait around at the hotel room and watch TV and screw off on the internet, but this time I opted for a little AM spin. I cruised down to the venue picked up my number and checked out the course.

A pretty good lunch and a coffee to wake me up a little(I was really sleepy all day FRI and SAT) and it was go time.

3rd row call up....not too thrilled, but hey...I had what felt like a bad start and never even saw the leaders. I kept my head down and by the end of the race I was catching Tristan and Zach and was sprinting for 9th....I was a little too gassed from chasing though and finished 11th.

Best part of the weekend was Spinellis Pizzeria...a new local joint w. mom, dad, T, T, Karew, Street Player and Wagner. Skull and Crossbones on the front door was a good sign and the pizza was killer.

Sunday was that exact same...I was a little less sleepy, but I still got the coffee from Panera. Somehow I managaed and even worse start from the 3rd row. I was watching the cyclingdirt.com videos and counted my self in approx 30th over the green monster on lap 1. That's bad because I passed a bunch of guys before that...I ended up riding w/ Trebon for a while. Towards the middle of the race a big group came together and I rode right through them thanks for some great advice from the Clif Bar super fans. Wow all the sudden I was inside the top 10. I bridged up to Tristan and we were 8th and 9th. Two WI homeys racing in the top 10. It's such a huge advantage to have a training partner who can also race in the top 10. I dropped T with a lap to go and started chasing down Driscoll and Johnson. I ran out of time....but the fitness was good and I finished 8th. Now I just need to have a good start. Thanks to all who have helped. Gear Grinder, Trek, Shimano, HED, Crank Bros, Clif Bar, Oakley, Hyundai, Bell Helmets....and of course the local Superfans. The cheeseheads got some love in Louisville.

After the race I drove home to Athens OH with my parents. Chloe and TJ are joining us for a week of riding, relaxing, and some Monday Night Football!!! Also going to be working on the Momentum Endurance Winter Training Camp plans. We went and cruised some ridges today and tomorrow we are going to hit up the mtb trails!

Stay tuned this week to the blog....planning on lots of updates...Thanksgiving is approaching so its time to give thanks to my sponsors!!!

Iceman 2011

2011-11-07T07:14:00.000-08:00

Well what can I say about Iceman 2011? Not the result that I wanted when I left home, but with the level of competition and the way that I race I am pertty content. Good thing is there is only 5 more days until I am on the start line again!

Andrea and I rolled out to Traverse City, MI on Thursday. It was an awesome drive along the northern shores of Lk Michigan. We arrived and instantly were hit up by the local TV station for the 10 o'clock news report! Good Sign. Then we were out to dinner with a bunch of old friends from Pinckney, MI including my youth soccer coaches, the fine folks who took me to my first ever race, and the owners of Joshua Tree.

Friday morning was pretty relaxing and I waited around for a nice pre-ride w/ Troy, Brady, and Russell. The course was in the best conditions I had ever seen. It was going to be a fast one. We had a low key dinner in the restaraunt after picking up the race packets and having an autograph session at the Clif Bar tent w/ womens World Champion Catharine Pendrel.

I'm not going to lie...I was nervous for this race....the most nervous I have ever been. I knew I had the ability to win. My training was perfect, I knew I was the strongest I have been in my life, and I really wanted to win. Saturday morning was a long wait before making it over to Kalkaska for the start.

Luckily the time passed and before I knew it we were off....I was positioned in the top five the entire race. I don't think I ever was further back....smart racing = step 1. Mistake number one though was heading into the first singletrack near Tornado Alley. I was 5th...which is good, but there were two riders between me and the strongest guy in the race.....Lu-Flu. On his wheel was Cole House...another guy who had the ability to win....so coming out of that singletrack and watching those 2 ride away was not good....Cole came off of Flu's wheel and I thought the race was over....I immediately started chasing....I was in no man land. After 5 minutes of full effort the gap remained the same at approx 15 seconds. 5 minutes in no mans land w/ 4 strong riders chasing me was not a good spot to be in for saving energy....I would have loved to been off the front and working with Lukas or sitting in and letting the others chase.

The four eventually caught me and then Troy, JB, Sam, and I started working together and closed the gap to Lukas. Tristan was tagged on the back. The race was then neurtalized....JB tried a counter attack, but it didn't get more that 5 seconds. We were they same way 15k later when the huge crowds at Williamsburg Rd. revived my spirits after the hard chase. The cheers for me were amazing...thanks everyone!

The race was going slower and slower and eventually Trav and Mike Phillips caught on making the lead group 8 strong(4 WORS riders!!!). Mistake #2 - letting the dollar signs flash in front of my eyes and thinking the difference in $ was pretty significant from 1st - 8th. We hit the Vasa Trail and continued to go slower and slower. I wasn't sure if everyone was afraid or everyone was tired, but I was starting to get cold and legs were starting to get tight from not riding hard enough...it seems this happens every year after the Wall.

So just like every year I had to do something....I pushed the pace up Anitas Hill to see if I could crack anybody...I think I might have lost Troy with a mechanical. Everyone let up so I tried my first attack....Lukas covered with what seemed like zero effort. Wow this guys is strong!

I tried another small move, but Lukas went back to the front and the race was neutral again. Lukas put in two or three World Cup style attacks, but it could not shatter the group. We approached singletrack number one...JB jumped and took the lead...I was 4th...we came up the IceBreaker and my legs were starting to feel better! We entered the venue for the first time.

As we exited the venue the pace slowed....I saw my golden opportunity. I jumped from 4th wheel to lead into the final singletrack w/ 1k to go. I led the group up the final wood chip climb, the sun was right in your eyes, the superfans were loud, I was going for it full gas. JB came up by my side and I accelerated to match his pace. We crested the hill, he was on my inside, we took the next right hander side by side w/ 800 meters to go and I went down. Race over...I did manage to get up and catch Tristan who had passed me just as I was getting on my bike. I had enough to left in the tank to sprint him in the final 100 meters....too bad I'll never know If I would have had enough for a 2nd Triple Crown had I not crashed.

The crash was completely my own fault. Mistake #3 - In races like the Ore To Shore, Chequamegon, and Iceman where the action is so fast, so tactical, and so intense there is no room for error. I think I managed to overcome the first 2 mistakes, but nodody in the world is going to overcome a mistake with less than a K to go. On the positive side of things...I would rather get 4th while going for the W any day over riding in 4th and not giving it a go......next year we'll all line up and do it again!

However disappointed I was you can't go away from the Iceman unhappy. Andrea raced and won. My dad raced for the first time in 12 years...thats a victory in my book. It is the single biggest race in the country and in my book the best race in the country. If you have never done the Iceman do yourself a favor and make the trip the Traverse City for the first Saturday next November.

Final Iceman facts: Ride of the Day goes to Mike Phillips.

Best part of the weekend for me was to see and talk with Jakub Malarz and his father who I haven't seen since Iceman 96 or so....Jakub and I had so many battles back in the glory days of junior racing in MI. I guess not only Jakub, but all the old MI friends, Frank and Matt from the Poto, Anhtony Bruley, Jim Colflesh....the list goes on and on....we finished the weekend like always at the Omlette Shoppe.

Thank you so much Steve Brown aka The ICEMAN for everything you do and your kind words ! Your event is a major part of my life and all 4800 riders owe you a lot!

For lots more Iceman action be sure to check out cyclingdirt....somebody ought to give Colt a lot of money so he can get some more cameras out there!

La la la la la

2011-10-31T07:21:00.000-07:00

Halloween Cross is always a good time! Thanks to my SIL Elicia I was able to pull off a last minute costume.

I've been training pretty hard for Iceman...I was pretty tired and Shriver was crushing it all day at the race.

He jumped me on every section of the course where I was strong to take away all my advantages.

Experience paid off though....I lost a sprint to Marko in this race last year...so I knew exactly where to start the sprint.

Good times and a great battle!

Sunday was a day of spectating for me....Zonhoven Superprestige, then I dressed up as a Belgian Superfan for the WCA, then I watched to Steelers take it to the Pat's! Day 1 of resting up for Iceman was a success!

The Local Scene

2011-10-24T06:01:00.000-07:00

Two new CX venues this weekend for me in WI. Both of them were pretty top notch! I'm pretty happy to see that the WI cyclocross race courses are much improved over the courses from 4 and 5 years ago!

Day 1 was at Doyne Park in Milwaukee...and any time there are giant cupcakes on the line you know I'll be brining my A game!

that's a scary foursome...wouldn't want to run into them on a golf course

Day 2 was in Sun Prairie at Sheehan Park, just down the road from the USGP course. I think this new place would actually be a better course than Angell Park Speedway.

photo @ djonnymac

There were fast sections, technical sections, climbs, descents, barriers and one super steep run/ride up. It has it all. I thought it flowed really really good and we even got a little rain half way through to make things interesting...it helps when you have great legs too. I felt 5 times as good on Sunday as I did at Doyne park on Saturday.

Tim @ CX the Domes

A big thanks to my buddy Tim for helping out so much this cross season! He races in the morning and then waits around all day and helps out whenever he can...its awesome!

I feel a little bad for missing the big WORS banquet, but I just couldn't justify the 6 hours of drive time to get to Stevens Point and back after racing in Milwaukee Saturday and then Sun Prairie Sunday. It would have been good to hang with everyone for one last time this year. I wonder what 2nd place overall prize was???

I'm off to Eagle River for the last of the Iceman preparation now! Can't wait, haven't been up there in a while.

Windy City Cross

2011-10-17T10:00:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I didn't have much of a game plan. For a very short time I tossed around the idea of going to Granogue for the UCI races in Delaware. When that plan didn't pan out I wasn't sore sure if I'd even race at all. I did have some local options though with Bardger Prairie Cross in WI and Psycho Cross in IL. I opened up google maps and when I realized it was a shorter drive to go to Chicago and race I decided I better head south of the border and check it out.

photo credit: Amy Dykema

The Windy City lived up to its name.....the course was laid out on a driving range of a golf course, which was pretty nice as far as lack of bumps. There wasn't a whole lot of elevation change except for the flyover, but it was frickin windy. The HED Stinger 5's sliced through the wind and were so easy to accelerate with even the slightest help from mother nature.

I opted to test out the Typhoons both front and rear on the course as it was more like a grass crit with fast turns and lots of drafting sections in the wind. I had been using the FMB Grippos on the front end of the bike all season. They are a little wider and knobbier and give me a lot more confidence cornering. I hadn't really felt there was a good course for the Typhoons in the front yet, and I really wanted to test the glue job.

The race started and I was staged 30th out of 30 based on my registration time! I was good with this because UCI points start over tomorrow and I'll be moving back....so I'll need the practice. I was pumped when I was 8th wheel out of the first 2 turns. 4 more corners and I wasn't so pumped....I'm not sure what happened , but I crashed hard! My chain was off in the front and the back, both levers were in, and both shoulders and my thigh were in pain...wow I'm lucky I didn't brake my bike or my body. Now I was in last place again and every body else pretty much had a huge head start.

I rode to the pits changed bikes and then started to chase. A lap later and the leaders were only 4 corners ahead of me. Another lap and I was there and started to pull away. I put it into hurt yourself mode for the next few laps and took home the W. I did get to practice a couple bike swaps and get in a little skills work with Tim who has been helping me in the pits this year.

Sunday I headed out for a good session of intervals with Bill Street. Then I chilled all day...pretty nice to be home on a Sunday and watch some football. Best part of the weekend was finding out 2 of the athletes I am coaching also scored big W's in there respective races!!!

Ft. & Back

2011-10-12T07:14:00.000-07:00

How to kick your ass in 5 days??? Hop in a van drive for two days straight. Race two USGP's and start driving home immediately after the second race. Finish it off with a 17 hour pull and you'll accomplish your mission of total destruction!

It started off Thursday morning. The goal was actually not to destroy ourselves, but I knew it was going to be tough. We left the driveway at about 10am. Stopped in Des Moines, IA 7 hours later for a nice spin and a stop for dinner and some halloween shopping! Another 3 hours in the car until 10:30 pm put us in Lincoln NE.

Friday morning was when the pain started to set in....one day not bad...two days starting to push the limit. 6 or 7 hours from Lincoln to DIA where we picked up Tristan and then drive up to Ft. Collins. Checked into the Comfort Inn suites and immediately left to ride the course. First impressions were, "I wish I had my Top Fuel!" Little did I know the course would change drastically along with the weather. It was 70 and sunny. After the pre-ride we went out for 45 more minutes of riding and try to loosen the legs from the drive. After the ride we watched the Brewers for 5 minutes and then headed to the numbers presentation. After that it was to Carrabas for some pasta. Home by 10:30 made for a long action packed day.

I was motivated to race, but Saturday morning I was blown out....the morning coffee wasn't doing the trick. Good thing I had until 4:00pm until we raced. We killed a little time at Safeway across the street getting some groceries and I did a little work on the laptop for Momentum Endurance.

We headed to the race course around 1:00 and it was nasty...completely different from the pre-ride. I swapped to the HED Ardennes wheel with the Rhyno's. I still love it that when the conditions get nasty I have full confidence in swapping the the aluminum rims with the positive braking action! They said go and I was off the pavement in about 10th position and immediately started going backwards. Uh-oh. Each wheel that was good that went by me I thought lets go, but I couldn't and proceeded to go backwards to about 35th position. 20 minutes into the race something clicked and I could go again....wow...maybe the drive finally shot out of the legs or the body cleared itself after not going hard for a while since Wednesday. Anyway I could go again and started moving forward fast. My A bike was awesome, but something was a little off on the B bike. With three to go I decided to stay on my A bike when I was working back towards the top 20. 2 to go and I was near top 15, but then I flatted. 1/2 lap until I could pit again back to the B bike. I think the A just had less tire pressure and thats why it felt better. Finished 19th. Not really what I wanted.

We were the last ones to leave the parking lot with a complete mess on our hands. We were back to the hotel at 6:30 and by the time we showered and finished cleaning the bikes we were heading out to find a laundromat at 8:30 at night. Unfortunately there was no way we were going to make it to Trav and Chloe's wedding. We hit up Big City Burritos and enjoyed dinner in the warmth of the laundromat. Back to the hotel by 10:00.

Day 2 was going to be better. We started off by watching the first round of the Superprestige on the laptop. We packed up the van and headed over to the course at about 1:00 again. This time the course was fast and dry and the mud from yesterday had smoothed out most of the bumps from Friday. The race started and I was inside the top 10 of the pavement, but this time I stayed there! I was feeling good and riding behind Ben Berden and Tristan. After the 2nd time through the pits on lap 1 I smashed a pothole and my bars made a horrible noise as they rotated down. It was so much that I couldn't ride good anymore. I lost contact with the lead group in the corners. The second group w/ Tim Johnson caught me as we were approaching the pits. I had to get off the bike with the bars pointing down. I swapped bikes and lost the 2nd group when I pitted. Back on the B bike that still wasn't feeling good. A lap later and I had to switch back onto the A bike after my awesome pit crew made the changes! Once on the A bike I started killing it....went from about 20th place to 13th. I was closing down on guys in front of me and doing lap times as fast as the top 10. Bad luck early on in a fast race is hard to overcome. Happy though that I felt strong and was racing good.

Sunday night after the races we stopped by my Uncle Steve's house in Potter NE for a short visit. We made it a little further and then had to stop for the night. That left us about 17 hours of drive time on Monday...ouch. I arrived home to a nice new present from my sponsors J-Tree...check it out!

I-80

2011-10-06T05:24:00.000-07:00

I-80 here we come! It's time to hit the open highway and head west! It was pretty darn nice that the first cross race of my season was only 75 miles away from home. Now it's time to load up the Gear Grinder 15 passenger van with wheels, water, food, bikes, etc, and head to Ft. Collins. I just got an e-mail from USGP to attend the numbers presentation Friday night! That means I'm in the top 10...it would be really sweet to have a front row call up at one of these races!

I finished off last weekend with my second victory at the River Hill Park Cross in Kewaskum...again super awesome that the race was less than 30 miles from home. Major props to the guys who put on the race too...they had a pretty small area to work with, but they managed to put together the best cross course on the WCA circuit! I felt great and the course was pretty tough which allowed me to have a pretty big gap at the end of the race.

ICEMAN Update - We are getting closer...coming up on 4 weeks to go. Do you have a plan of attack? I do...check it out...Momentum Endurance 4 week "get fast" Training Plan...Buy it today and have your best Iceman result ever!

PS - pretty pumped on post race party for Trav & Chloe! Congrats a little early!

Style - Points

2011-10-02T07:11:00.001-07:00

Staying home and crossing things up this weekend! Day One: Friday night Cyclocross Clinic w/ Crank Daddy's Bike Shop, My Wife Inc, and the WCA Cross Series Kisckoff party. It was a perfect turn out. Barriers, Training, Racing, Run Ups, Shouldering and even a small relay race that ended with a 2 up sprint in a tie! Thanks to all those who came out to the clinic!

air time: not so critical for cross, but fun!

Next on tap was WCA #1...Cross the Domes in Milwaukee....one of the best cross courses I have done in WI. Lots of transitions, pedaling sections, corners where it paid to be smooth, a forced run up, and a set of barriers. Shriver didn't make it easy for me to get my first win of the season and take home the big prize! I was too hungry after the race and didn't even get to take a photo of the GIANT cupcake before it was down the hatch. Check out the style points! I'm not talking about the new Trek Cronus, w/ Shimano Dura Ace, and HED wheels, and I'm not talking about the Oakley Radars or Bell Volt Eyeballs Helmet. I'm talking about hitting the skateboard ramps at the Domes during the warm up...Shriver was afraid...couldn't let him beat me after he was too scared to clear the gap.

Today I'm at it again at the new race course in Kewaskum. First off I better check out the cross race in Kalmthout Belgium on the internet! Also checking out the results from Gloucester....wondering if I should have made the trip to try for more UCI points??? I'm slipping further and further back the grid, but sticking with the theory of if your going good you're going good.

Double Time

2011-09-29T11:19:00.000-07:00

Cross season is here now for sure....double the fun on everything. Twice as many dirty clothes, twice as many bikes to clean, and double the amount of racing per weekend. No wonder everybody loves cross....more bang for your buck. This morning I spent a long time cleaning my bikes from this past weekend. It took me three full days before I had the energy to tackle the project. 14 wheels, 2 bikes, and Andrea conveniently rolled in from a rainy bike ride with her bike that needed a little love too as I was finishing. 3 bikes 16 wheels clean! Lacking motivation to go and dry them, lube them, and check them over.

If you want even more cross...tomorrow night I am hosting a cross clinic for the WCA! WCA cross season starts this weekend with the My Wife Inc race at the Domes in Milwaukee and a new venue at Riverside Park in Kewaskum. If you are interested in attending the clinic it is tomorrow night (Friday Sept. 30th) @ 4pm at Crank Daddy's in Milwaukee. Check it out here. or call Crank Daddy's - 414-347-5514 for more info

Also check this out...

The secret is out...and its been a secret in the making for a long time....back in 1995 after Jon 'Tons of Fun' Mesko won the Junior National Downhill Championship he turned into a major slacker! Jon was my nemesis and greatest competition as a junior cyclist growing up in MI. The first time I beat Jon he was overheard in a parking lot after the race threatening to attack me or my bike with a tire iron. We had a great rivalry, but like I said after Jon found fame in downhill racing his XC endurance went south. We then traveled the country together for the next 3 years racing the NORBA series, him dowhnill and me XC. However he always managed great results at the Iceman! He gave credit to his results to a 2 week get fast training plan. Over the years the plan has changed/adapted, but in some form or another I have always followed Mesko's plan and as you know it has brought me great success at the Iceman. Now the secret is out w/ a professional twist from Momentum Endurance & TJ Woodruff...click here for more info . For a 10% discount enter in Promo Coupon : bmatter

I am wearing the old Gyro helmet w/ Merlin jersey and purple long sleeve from Addison Oaks as base layer. Mesko is the tall dude next to me!

200 meters to the finish!

The last time Mesko ever beat me in a XC race!

jumpin head first into the mud

2011-09-26T07:55:00.000-07:00

Well I'm really glad that weekend is over with! It was a super hard mental transition going from Chequamegon to lining up behind Bart Wellens 6 days later. I had really only been on my cross bike 2 times off-road, I didn't get to do any local races beforehand, and I didn't really know how I was going to perform. Luckily it was awesome. A huge part of it was my sponsors allowed me to get my equipment super early this year. I knew my bikes were dialed and that relieved a lot of stress leading up to Chequamegon. Obviously Chequamegon went good, but then there is always a little mental let down after a huge goal for the season is checked off the list. Good thing my fitness is really good right now because that is what carried me through my first weekend of cross for the year. Now I can take a little mental brake and start to get ready for the next big push!

Day#1

phota @ Amy Dykema

I lined up on the inside and had a pretty good start. Nothing spectacular, but solid. I was probably 17th over the barriers 1/4 of the way through the first lap. Starting lap #2 I passed 3-4 guys and Kabush was just ahead of me. I missed the lead group. Zach McD was just dangling. A lap later we settled into a solid group w/ Kabush & Ben Berden from Belgium. A lap later we passed Page in the pits and he tagged on the back. Page slowly went to the front of our group and then surged to catch Zach. A lap later Christain Huele was coming back to us. It turned into a really solid chase group of 7th - 12th place. With 3 to go I took my turn at the front. I was losing air in my front tire, but couldn't afford to lose the group in the high speed pits. Huele took over with 2 to go. I almost crashed/rolled a tire and was gapped off. I chased back on for the next lap and w/ 1/2 lap to go Zach McD took a sweet inside line. Next straight away Huele, Zach, and Page attacked and Huele put Zach into Page and they took a crazy crash. Berden and Huele gapped Kabush and I after the crash. Kabush was too strong for me in the last 1/2 lap. 10th place!

Day #2

photo @ Mike Janikowski

First cross race under the belt yesterday, so now we better get the first mudder out of the way! It was perfect cross conditions. 60 and raining. Lots of mud. It was sweet to have supreme confidence in choosing my HED Ardennes aluminum rims with Dugast Rhyno tires. No doubts, No questions, I was all in and confident with my equipment. This time I lined up on the outside because I thought the outside line in the grass was faster. Wrong choice. The inside guys got the jump and when the hit the grass they went outside and I got pinched. It was muddy and slippery and I was a little rusty in the skills department. Another solid group was forming, but I was a little too far back. This time I could see Kabush, Troy Well, Berden and J Pow just 10-15 seconds ahead of me for half the race, but couldn't close it...I ended up battling with Zach Mcd and Yannick Eckman most of the race. A few too many blown corners didn't allow me to conserve energy throughout the race. I soft pedaled the last lap because nobody was in site and finished 13th.

photo @ D Marchewka photography

Time to clean up and rest up. Always awesome racing in front of a home crowd. Tons of CX superfans cheering me on!!! Another huge thanks to Tim, Tony, & the crew from MWI for the help in the pits.

Feelin' the Love in Madison!

2011-09-25T05:40:00.000-07:00

Awesome day at the USGP yesterday! Did you miss it??? Check it out here...the full one hour race here w/ lots of love from Colt. I wasn't sure what to expect, but things turned out good. Superfans were awesome especially the yahoo's from da UP! Started the day with a Trek Cronus/Bontrager photo shoot and then had the best cross of my career w/ a deep field! First try w/ the HED wheels were solid for the first CX of the year. Finished it off with a great dinner at the local burrito joint w/ Trav, Chloe, Tristan, Jamie, Street, and Tim who gets unsung hero of the day award! Who orders Chocolate Mile at a Mexican restaraunt anyway! More to come, but I have to go race again!

more photos @ podiuminsight.com

1Ryan Trebon (USA)0:58:59
2Bart Wellens (Bel) Telenet Fidea Cycling Team
3Jeremy Powers (USA) Rapha/Focus0:00:22
4Rob Peeters (Bel) Telenet Fidea Cycling Team0:00:39
5James Driscoll (USA) Cannondale pb CyclocrossWorld.com0:00:40
6Timothy Johnson (USA) Cannondale pb CyclocrossWorld.com0:00:59
7Ben Berden (Bel) Ops Ale-Clement
8Christian Heule (Sui) Cannondale pb CyclocrossWorld.com
9Geoff Kabush (Can) Team Maxxis / Rocky Mountain
10Brian Matter (USA) Gear Grinder / Clif Bar
11Jonathan Page(USA) Planet Bike
12Troy Wells(USA) Clif Bar

Transitioning

2011-09-21T07:10:00.000-07:00

A few final thoughts on Chequamegon...

According to Tilford's blog CVV was putting out 550 watts @ 51 kph down Boedecker Rd. Ouch...

Quote of the weekend goes something like this, "Yeah, I took a pull.....when I knew the camera man was right around the corner." It's not word for word, but it was frickin' funny...Trek Stores of Boulder has got to be proud of TJ Woodruff! Way to get those sponsors in the limelight!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

OK - Now its time to move on to next weekend. I am very happy I opted to skip out on tonight's race in St. Louis. After such a big mental focus on Chequamegon it would have been really tough to be ready to go good tonight. 6 days to get ready for the USGP w/ such a high level of competition is going to be tough enough as it is.

the drying rack

Cross season is here though. Yesterday I spent a good chunk of time gluing the last of my tires. I am really fortunate that HED hooked me up with even more Stingers 5's and Ardennes wheelsets so I can be prepared for any conditions possible!

aqualseal, mastik, and some jtreelife tea = a good night

Overall I feel really lucky. I don't have the support of a huge cyclocross team like Rapha or CXWorld, but I have so many individual sponsors & friends helping me. Three different shops around the country helped me get my tubulars...Crank Daddy's in Milwaukke, Boulder Cycle Sport, and Portland Bicycle Studio! Clif Bar has stepped up huge with financial support to cover entry fees.

plus all the Clif calories I can handle

HED wheels, Oakley, Crank Bros, Shimano w/ the Dura Ace components & shoes, Bell Helmets(gotta love the Eyeballs!),

can a helmet really be your secret weapon?

Trek w/ the new Cronus and of course Gear Grinder/Hyundai! Joshua Tree Skin Care has even come out with a new line of embrocations. Signature editions of proprietary blends from myself, Kelli Emmet, and Adam Craig! They will be available for purchase any day now and www.jtreelife.com

Tabasco on a Grapefruit?

See you in Madison - hopefully I don't need the FULL HEAT quite yet!

Tradition

2011-09-20T06:52:00.000-07:00

Chequamegon - what its really all about. The bike race is pretty cool, but its really about the tradition. Nothing beats the atmosphere of bike racing in the Northwoods. We started the trip like always, loading up the Hyundai Touring, heading north on Hwy 43, turning the Ipod to the 80's, and dodging Harley's on the highway. First stop Subway in Phillips. Usually we run into the Titletown crew, but this time around the Street Player had to do his hair in the morning so we missed them by 5 minutes. A cruise through Park Falls, Ruffed Grouse capital of the world, and home to Jesse and Marko!

The classic start shot!

We pull into Telemark Ski area around 2:30 and run into Mike Anderson. I am pumped as Mike is my favorite guy in the world to ride mountain bikes with. We head out for the standard pre-ride. Backwards on the course for 5 miles. Take the secret short cut to check out the Firetower climb and then finish out the course to plan the race strategy.

After the ride its mandatory to go say hi to Demo Ken at the Trek trailer and then hop in line at registration. The volunteer in line gives me a hard time about how many White Castle sliders are on the line if I win -vs- CVV. We get out of there in record time, rock some 90's on the Ipod on the drive to Hayward for the standard pre-race meal at Coops. Then we head over to the Northern Pine Inn, flip on the bad movie of the weekend(Fast and Furious) and settle in for a good nights sleep.

Happy that I don't have to wake up at 5am for this tradition!

We wake up and head over to Coopers for breakfast. Back to the room for final preparations. Luckily, and what might have been the game changer, Karate Kid is on TV for some extra motivation! We drive over to the secret parking lot. With no plans as to how to get bags, cars, or myself and my bike to and from the start/finish I am not stressed. I know the tradition of the race and I will either see the Woodruff's or the Sova's in the secret parking lot! And like clockwork there they were! All set with water hand ups and fresh clothes at the finish! Thanks!

At the finish my bags magically appear thanks to Woody! A slight change of tradition when I don't get to look for Andrea coming across the finish line :( . But a new tradition and possibly the new best part of Chequamegon race weekend. Post race Pizza from Rivers Eatery in Cable. If you haven't tried this place out you have to go there next year! It was delicious and we had great company!

Back to Hayward to pick up the car from the secret parking lot, showers, and more Karate Kid. The traditional phone call to the Sawmill Saloon for more pizza on the way to the Awards ceremony. The sharing of war stories, the slide show, and a late night drive while completely blown out watching for deer and bear back to the hotel in Hayward.

An early morning departure so we can be home to watch some football on a Sunday. From here on out Sundays are reserved for CX not football. A quick stop for breakfast at the Phillips Cafe. Once again Marilyn, the Bears fan, is our waitress and we sit at the bar. Street sleeps on the way home while I suffer to stay awake. Packers on the radio, home to pick up Rosco from the In-Laws and watch the second half of the game! Another Chequmegon in the books. Thanks to everyone who helped make it happen, sponsors, friends, racers, promoters, etc...everyone has there own tradition and its what makes Cheq Fat Tire 40 a great event.

Road Racin' on Mtb's!

2011-09-19T04:49:00.000-07:00

Chequamegon Fat Tire Time! 29 years of Fat Tire FUN!

Podium shot! photo @ Amy Dykema

I did it again! Smart racing and the best fitness of my life just won me my 4th trip to the top of the CHEQ FAT TIRE 40 podium and 3rd in a row! I wasn't sure how things would shake out with very elite competition in the field, but in the end they actually made it a little easier than normal.

photos @ cheqfattire.com

The start is always a little crazy at the Fat Tire 40

It was hard, don't get me wrong, and I had to suffer like a dog a couple times on the last section of the Birkie trail, but the high speeds just kept spitting riders off the back of the group. For the majority of the race my new eyeball Bell Volt helmet was locked onto the big red R on the back of Jason McCartney's jersey and the big white e on the back of Christian VandeVelde's speed suit.

I picked my favorite wheel right away!

Fortunately it is still a mtn bike race and skills and smarts came into play. First off I can't ever imagine doing a race like that on a hardtail. I was almost smiling to myself through the pain as I would effortlessly(not really and in the draft of a Tour De France rider) pedal down the hills and over the tops of the bumpy birkie watching them bounce all over the place. The Trek Top Fuel was huge in energy savings after 40 miles of whacking blind bumbs in the tall grass at 20mph's. To prove it....3 Trek Top Fuel's in the Top 6 overall. Most Impressive Ride of the Day goes to Matt Shriver(6th). Surprise Ride Of The Day goes to Travis Woodruff(4th)...both on Trek Top Fuels!

J-Mac from the Shack was gassin' it all day

Second - the skills. J-Mac & CVV were obviously strong, but they seemed to be slightly lacking in the confidence on the fast descents and the loose corners. This allowed me to float off the back, open a little gap, corner with speed, get back onto the wheel, and not accelerate. The new Bontrager XR1's were sweet. They mount up like a 2.2 with huge volume and low rolling resistance. I ran them at about 22psi and they were so solid underneath me the entire race.

still on my favorite wheel

Three - smarts. This race is all about positioning. Very rarely was I ever further back than 2nd wheel. Sometime I was 3rd wheel or maybe on a long road section if I took a drink or some Clif Shots I would drift back to 5th, but right away back to 2nd position in the next corner. Any further back than that and you are done for. The yo-yo affect of the birkie at high speeds can shatter you. Usually it shatters riders, but also those pulling so we all slow up and re-group. With J-Mac & CVV there was no slowing. We AVG'd 20.2 mph in a 40 mile slighly uphill mtb race. That's fast and positioning was key. I never had to work hard to make any of the splits by being in good position.

climbing the firetower : photo @ skinnyski.com

At the end I was suffereing...I went to the front on the Firetower so I wouldn't get dropped. J-Mac passed me after 2 of the big step ups and CVV was gapped!

Didn't think we'd gap CVV on the Firetower!

Coming down the back side Michael Olheiser and I dropped J-Mac. I knew that if I could make it up the Birkie I could win. It all came together with 8 to go so I attacked the final downhill before the Birkie in order to get another 100 meter gap and easily make it over the first two rollers. Olheiser attacked the third roller...it started to hurt. J Mac went hard and I almost cracked, but the eyeball lid was like a tractor beam on the back of CVV's jersey. The faster they went the easier it was to roll over the tops of the climbs. I was going to make it! CVV attacked on the last roller of the Birkie and J-Mac sits up. Am I getting tag teamed by Pro Tour riders? Olheiser gets gapped and CVV gets a 10 seconds gap. I figured I could close it in the next two corners. Corner number one and J-Mac goes slow. Long downhill dirt rode w/ tons of rocks...usually under water, but not this year. The next right hander is tough....I set up, look for my line and see CVV w/ a flat tire. One more spot for me....Immediately to the back to wait for Telemark road. 2 miles of downhill dirt road and a lead group of 3 rotating through. J-Mac starts rubbing the cramps in his legs and Olheiser does the same! WOW I CAN WIN!

the last descent

2 miles to go and J-Mac cautiously enters the Telemark Trail. As soon as possible I attack a descent and the next climb and open up another 100 meter gap! I gage my effort though knowing its a little far to go....hoping they completely crack, but they bridge. Last climb of the race I attack again and get another instant gap! I knew I had it as the roadies weren't going to catch me on the final two descents! It was close, but not nearly as close as the sprint with Cole 2 years ago or my first sprint win with Tilford in 04! Most wins ever at Chequamegon and in record time 2:00:59!

I was fired up!

Thanks to everyone! Too bad Andrea doesn't even know the results! She is in California w/ Elicia on a back pack trip!

just like wrestling a big ol black bear!

Tread

2011-09-12T08:12:00.000-07:00

Another WORS season in the books. With the CX season starting in 8 days I will not be making it to the last two WORS races. So its looking like a 2nd or 3rd overall. After a win yesterday Nathan G still has a chance to win the last 2 races and beat me with the extra 5 point bonus'.

photo: Niki Krayer Frazier

I wasn't sure how things were going to go at Treadfest. Usually I love the trails there and was hoping for a good time to rip the singletrack, but something was a little off. Not sure if it was my suspenstion pressure, tire pressure, or lack of tread on the rear tire, but I wasn't that comfortable in the singletrack. I was bouncing off of trees and couldn't hold a line for anything. Both shoulders and both forearms are missing skin this morning. I also wasn't the most motivated I've ever been on the start line with bigger goals on the horizon.

When Cole and Nathan attacked early I had to let them go to stay within myself. They were in sight for most of the first lap, but they pre-rode the course and Tristan and I didn't so in the last longer singletrack they were gone. I followed Tristan most of lap 1 and wasn't comfy at all. So I led going into lap 2 and pretty much stayed there the rest of the race. Cole eventually waited for us and starting the last lap it was a battle. Tristan attacked, Cole followed then crashed, I bridged to Tristan, I passed Tristan, Tristan passed me, Cole caught back on, Cole attacked and blew it apart. We all finished with 20 seconds and I was 3rd. I'll take it...

Now its time to rest up, refuel with an awesomely huge Cinnamon Roll special delivery from the UP, and get ready for the next 2 weekends of big racing in WI.

and the Winner is.....

2011-09-09T21:35:00.000-07:00

and the Winner is......The Packers! What a game and I was there to watch it!!! Amazing atmosphere....

With a little help from the new SONY I made this Panoramic Photo from the game!

Andrea and I met up with Michelle Peariso and her dad for the game. I was a little nervous when we got into the red zone(outside of Lambeau with a Kid Rock concert going and "a lot" of crazed Green and Gold Packer Backers) and the cell phones didn't work. Luckily we found each other at the last minute. The energy in Lambeau from the National Anthem through the first quarter all the way until the last play of the game was greater than any other game I have witnessed!

and the Winner is........Shimano. A couple days ago I went over to the local cyclocross park for a major testing session. With some tires glued up and the bikes ready to go it was time. Last year braking was my biggest problem/concern. So this year I wanted things to be dialed. Last weekend I spent some time in Eagle River resurfacing brake pads for some real fun!

You know your not BIG TIME when...

With HED wheels on board I knew I was going to be a lot better off with the Ardennes when the going got sloppy, but I still wanted the best braking control out there. Soon disc brakes will change the game, but until then I had to see what worked best for me. I tested the Shimano CX 70's vs the Avid Ultimates. Shimano was the big winner after every brake pad/rim surface combo imaginable. In the end I felt the Avid were stronger than the TRP's from last year, but the Shimano had the consistent power and reliability at all speeds with all pads and rims. I'm pretty pumped to have found a canti brake that feels as good as a V-Brake.

The best canti's I've ever used!

and the Winner is.......Sony! That's right Sony. I am doing this update on a new Sony Vaio Z Series laptop computer. Coaching is going awesome. I have great interaction with my clients and with cross season coming soon I needed a fast reliable way to stay on top of the job while on the road. I have been wanting a new laptop since the first year I went to Belgium and borrowed one from a friend. Now that I am working online everyday I had the perfect excuse to go and buy one. I have some serious power at my fingertips! Blue-Ray, LED HD screen, SSD, super thin, super light, super fast!

Sony Vaio Z Series!!!

and the Winner is.....??? WORS #10 for the series overall this weekend and its been a battle this year between Tristan and I. Some bad luck for me that cost me the WORS win in the Mt. Morris short track. A misjudged sprint for Tristan that cost him the win in Wausau. A roadie coming in late in the game and stealing a win from me in Green Bay. With a 10 point deficit, mathematically I have to win and Tristan has to DNF this Sunday. I'm not holding my breathe, but I'll do everything I can to go my part of the deal done. It will be my last race of the WORS season either way. Then its game time at Cheq and CX season!

UP North

2011-09-06T07:19:00.000-07:00

Labor Day weekend! Hopefully not, but it might be may last chance to go up to Eagle River before the chaos of cross season begins. So we took full advantage. Friday after Andrea finished work we loaded up the Hyundai(again) and made the 4 hour journey to the north woods. Saturday was a hard day of training for me and a trip into Eagle River for Andrea followed by what felt like the last summer meal. Burgers, corn on the cob, fresh garden veggie salad, and baked beans. We kind of transitioned into fall mode after the dinner by going outside (brrrrr) for a camp fire and some smores!

Michigan Youth Cycling's Jeff Buerman having a post race beer w/ Andrea

We awoke Sunday morning and figured if we are already this far north we might as well go a little more for some amazing trails and the company of some good friends! Destination; Copper Harbor Fat Tire Fetival! We pulled in the parking lot after a 3 hour drive of rain and 55 degrees and the rain stopped and the sun started peaking through the clouds. A mountain biking miracle! We parked right next to Buerman and the Michigan Youth Cycling crew.

Andrea after her WIN w/ Caleb from THE BIKE SHOP in Houghton

The race was started out casual, but instantly took a turn as we veered off the main road and headed up Brockway MTN! It was a real climb and a shock to the system! I was tired from the hard training and could feel it right away. Good thing we had an amazing 12 minute descent on the FLOW trail after the climb!!! At the bottom of the descent the lead group of 4 was established along with Pete K from Junior MTB camp. We were all having a blast ripping the descents together. C.P. was having fun hurting me on the climbs.

C.P. giving me shit for not knowing the finish line!

Andrea won her race by 4 minutes! She said the Top Fuel was the best bike shes ever ridden! On the last downhill of the mens race C.P. gave a look over his shoulder like its game time. I crushed it for a while, but then realized I wasn't exactly sure where the finish line was. Actually I had no clue at all where the finish line was. I kind of thought it was going to be on the pavement on the main drag where we started. We veered off the pavement around a 120 degree turn. CP took the inside line and before I knew it the race was over. Next year I'll know a little better! I was 2nd and Tyler G. from Culvers was 3rd. We all had a blast on the trails of Copper Harbor!

As soon as we headed for home the rain started again. We tried to hit up the Jeri Queen for some post race Ice Cream, but it was closed. Bummer. Next up Packers -vs- Saints & Lk. Geneva Treadfest!!!!!

Unfortunately it was closed....

Green Bay

2011-08-29T06:52:00.000-07:00

It's pretty funny that I was wearing my new #7 Steelers jersey the night before the race. In the morning without even thinking I was racing in 'Green Bay' home of the Packers, I almost just put the jersey on and wore it to the race. Then Claire and WORS Co. thought it would be funny to give me my prize money in a Packers Super Bowl Champ envelope....I really wish I would have gone with the Steelers jersey on the podium! Dang. The Steelers and Big Ben looked exceptionally sharp in the first half of the pre-season game against Atlanta. Keep your eyes on Antonio Brown....he might be the Steelers star of the future and he can dance!

The race was good, I almost went with the Elite 9.9, but so glad I chose the Top Fuel 9.9. it's got to be the best all around bike for the midwest! I had a hard week of training to get back into the game after some much deserved time off after O2S. The motivation to train was high, but the fatigue from training hard had me a little sleepy on the start line w. not so much motivation. Cole had more motivation to win on his home course and that was apparent when he was out of site after the first singletrack. Nobody would/could chase and I knew my chance at the WORS overall was slim to over unless I got a win. I started the chase, but not crazy hard. Went into the first singletrack not over my head and found a good rhythm. Came out of each singletrack with a 10ft gap between each guy behind me. It only takes so long before the elastic snaps as the chasing guys continue to close those gaps. I was feeling better and better and eventually caught Cole. We all came together and it slowed, but Cole realized everyone was at the limit. He went again and I was the only one who could follow. We were gone shortly after and it was a 2 man race. He tried to drop me the entire 2nd lap. I tried to drop him the entire 3rd lap, but the course was not selective enough. It came down to a sprint and if it weren't for his speed suit I would have beat him...who wears a skinsuit to a WORS race anyway??? I did race with one new secret weapon, but I guess they weren't as aero as a skinsuit, but they sure did feel awesome on my feet! They are my new shoes for this cross season, but I wanted to test them out before the first cross race of the year. Custom moldable shoes...thanks Shimano!

We finished up a good day with a commute on the new Cronus to the Sheboygan Highland House where tons of cyclists converged via bike for a Fat Tire beer party and dinner. We even got to hang a little bit with the team EXPO juniors from IL who stopped for some post race grub!

More hard training on tap w/ a possible trip to Copper country for the best mtb trails around over Labor Day weekend!

WELCOME

2011-08-19T07:51:00.001-07:00

This morning I woke to a gaggle of geese flying south. Cool temperatures and to the excitement of my first ride on the new cross bike! We even saw some leaves changing colors on the drive home from Marquette. Which means cross season is here! I can count the workouts remaining before the first cross race. The tires are stretched the gluing will commence soon.

The start of a new cross season also means the start of some new relations. After 3 good seasons riding Blue cross bikes I am moving forward to continue my great relationship with Trek Bicycles. As soon as Trek came out with the Cronus last year I was pumped. Unfortunately last year by the time the bikes were available I was already committed to Blue. Well this year TREK is in 100% in and I already have two identical Cronus CX Ultimates built and ready to rock. With the help of my friends at Shimano and some brand new Dura Ace 7900 parts these bikes are going to kick ass!

Another new sponsor who is on board with 100% support this year will be HED wheels. During my trip to Tucson last winter I had the chance to test out a few wheels on the road. A couple of months ago HED called me(which rarely happens in the sponsorship world) and offered full support in the wheel category. I am currently dialed with 2 sets of HED Stinger 5 carbon wheels for the fast and dry racing. Even more exciting is the opportunity to ride the Ardennes SL aluminum wheels when it gets a little nasty. The confidence from having a solid aluminum, consistent feeling braking will be huge. They even hooked my up with some Ardennes SL clinchers for training!

Last year I struggled in Euroland with my brakes/pads/wheels in the mud so I will be testing out a few different brake options along with the Ardennes wheels and I should be a lot more confident.

Enough with the BLOG...time to go ride!

Number One

2011-08-15T06:41:00.000-07:00

Ore To Shore! Another awesome weekend in Marquette is in the books. Triple Crown #1 was this past weekend and somehow I managed another win making it three in a row with last years FatTire40 and Iceman wins. More Rocks and more Bike Furniture! Grand total is now 10!

I'm still blown away because If I did the math I bet all 10 wins would have a total victory margin of less than 1:00. This race was no different coming across the line with maybe a bike length over a hard charging Cole House.

The race played out way different than in the past. Cole went hard up the luge climb. Lead group of 30. I went hard over the power lines. Lead group of 15. Tristan went hard before the Misery Hill. Lead Group of 15. I went hard up and after misery Hill followed by Tristan going hard. Lead group 13. WOW. 30 miles into a pretty hard race and the lead group still contains 10 guys that have the ability to win. I went through a wide array of emotions during the race. After misery hill we hit the long pavement section it was time to start making things happen. First things first though...a fresh bottle of water and a package of the Margarita flavored Clif Blok's. The new bridge shortened the race a little, but it was still a big enough climb to start launching some attacks and softening legs. Simonson, Tristan and I started things out by attacking on the pavement, but with such a big group nothing happened with 20 miles to go.

I went pretty good in the lead from approx 17 - 15 miles to go in some of the tighter fast two track. Simonson kept the pace high, but seemed to be struggling in the high speed corners. Mike Phillips finally blew the race apart. He never really pedaled faster, but he started ripping the corners. I went across the gap and Mike and I started riding away! I thought just maybe that was going to be the move! Tristan closed it in no time w/ Cole and Nathan and we were 5 strong w/ 8 or 9 miles to go.

Tristan launched the first serious attack and started to ride away. Mikey P took a nasty crash at the bottom of a descent. I was content to let Cole and Nathan do the work, but Derek Graham was catching back on. Cole finally decided to close the gap and did so pretty quickly which was enough to make sure Derek never made contact.

(photo from Marquette Mining Journal)

Now we were 4 strong w/ one of the best sprinters in the country....not good odds for winning and 1st place - 4th place $$$ is a big drop. I took the lead again down the big sand pit in hopes to put some time on somebody and maybe make it a group of 3. It didn't happen and I wasn't about to crush the woodchip climb, because every year we crush the woodchip climb and nothing really happens. Tristan passed me on the climb and pedaled hard over the top but Cole was glued to his wheel and nothing really happened. It was looking better and better for Cole and he was the guy to beat for sure. We hit the final singletrack and nothing happened. 2.5 miles to go mostly pavement with one flat woodchip section a 1/2 mile long in the middle. Tristan was at the front followed by NG and Cole. I was sitting in 4th waiting for something.

Last year I was in the same situation...I waited and I was 6th out of 6. Not good. This year I wasn't going to do the same thing and I told Andrea that before the start. I would attack and either win or lose trying. Tristan pulled off the front and I wanted to go as soon as the pace slowed w/ 1.25 miles to go, but there was nowhere to go. Tristan drifted back and jumped in line in front of me to get on Cole's wheel. As soon as the line to the right was opened I launched my suicide attack. The legs weren't happy. I saw Nathan jump at the front, but then hesitate. I had my gap. I hit the pavement with about a 50 meter gap and 3/4 of a mile to go. I thought they were going to completely sit up, but then Cole started going. He was like a freight train bearing

down on me. The gap was closing fast. I didn't want to crash on the paved corners and I'm sure Cole was taking better lines and risks and closed 10 meters in each corner. With one corner to go I was still scared and Cole was still coming fast. My HR was at 193 and I couldn't pedal any

harder even though I tried. I have been passed in the final 20 meters on more than one occasion at O2S and I thought it was going to happen again. I grit my teeth and pedaled 10 more times to win my 4th Hard Rock at the Ore To Shore! My bike was flawless and thanks to Demo Ken from Trek I had the fastest tires out there!

In the end it was the strongest 3 riders to cross the line first. I have a feeling Cole, Tristan and Nathan are going to be very motivated to beat me in 1 month.

Even cooler than my victory was hearing about Andrea's win just after I crossed the line! Andrea did her first race of the year on her brand new Top Fuel w/ the new 10spd XTR and won the Soft Rock by just over 1:00. She said the bike was flawless(that always good to hear as a mechanic). Trek Top Fuel also won the womens Hard Rock!!! Hmmmm do I see a pattern!

The best part of the weekend though is not even the racing any more. Its hanging out with friends. Dinner with Jamie, Tristan and Ellie Friday night and post race Pizza and Pasta on Lk Superior Saturday afternoon. Watching all the junior mtb campers pick up there awards and listening to their war stories. Dinner w/ the Adventure 212 crew after the awards Saturday night. Breakfast Sunday morning at the local cafe w/ our friend Bruce and reading the local paper, and of course following Mike Anderson down the Blue trail doing some of the most fun mtb riding you can do at Mqt Mountain. After close to 2 hours in the saddle Andrea, Mike and I couldn't resist to go out and do one more loop!

A huge thanks to all my family and sponsors who make it possible. Gear Grinder, Trek, Shimano, Hyundai and all the others who helped along the way. A special thanks to SKJ & Chase Sova for the water during the race and to Karl Hendrickse for lots of help leading up to to the race.

THE ROCK

2011-08-09T06:28:00.000-07:00

I didn't win the battle of Cam-Rock, but I'm ready to do battle for the big Rock next weekend!

Looks like T and I were pretty relaxed on the start line!

The Battle of Cam-Rock was actually a really cool race. I was ready to go to battle. Then the shock of chasing Shriver up the first climb hit me. I looked down to see HR 160, but it felt like a max effort. Ewww I needed a better warm up. I suffered for the first 10 minutes until the body got going. The pace settled after NG was off the front. I was content to recover a bit and get to know the course. Starting lap 2 it started to rain and it got slippery fast. I stopped going up a climb to take my glasses off and was gapped by about 3 seconds. No big deal....I come into the next singletrack section to see Mike P splayed across the trail. I checked up on the brakes and probably crashed identical to what Mike had just done. Tristan was gone. Mike got up and started going again as I was untangling my mess. My hammy cramped and I smashed my left ankle on something when I crashed...which then caused my left achilles to start cramping. I started going again....caught Mike P and went by him to start the chase. I put in a big effort and was closing on T the entire race. I think I scared him by the finish when the gap was getting close to 10 seconds! But it wasn't enough...another 2nd place. It's looking like T will be the first to get 4 WORS win.

After the race I hooked up with Shriver. It was cool to hang with him and get the insiders scoop on what goes down on Team Radio Shack during the tour. I also made it out to dinner with Pete and Meredith from Athens Bicycle. Everyone was in town for Trek World and it was pretty cool to hang with friends in Madison after the race. Monday morning I was off to the Madison airport to pick up some more friends who own a shop in SLO, CA. Then I hit the big show. Again it was great to see all my friends at TREK. After walking around the show a bit I cruised over to headquarters to hang with my buddy Demo Ken and score some new 2012 Bontrager rubber. The perfect new tread pattern for O2S! I hooked up with the Athens Bicycle crew one more time for a really fun spin on some '012 Fuel EX's....those things are so fun so ride. You can jump...land on anything and not even worry about it with the new DRCV technology in the front fork.

I also squared away all the final sponsorhip details for the upcoming cross season. I now have everything ready to build up 2 brand new TREK Cronus CX's. I can't wait to start training on the cross bike. First things first though...O2S in 4 days!

Tour De Fran-klin

2011-07-25T06:31:00.000-07:00

I really enjoyed watching the Tour this year. 3 guys who started off as mtb'ers in the top 10. Cadel, Tommy D in 9th, and JCP in 10th. Also pretty sweet that Tommy D and I were team mates back in the day on the DEVO. Even cooler than that though is the fact that in 2000 I outsprinted Cadel in a road race in Tucson called Collasal Caves. We both missed the 5 man break and in the end I outsprinted him for a 6th and Evans was 7th. At the time Cadel was winning World Cup mtb races so I was pretty pumped. I just looked for the training diary evidence, but couldn't find it....you'll have to trust me. So using common sense and logic though...if I beat Cadel back in 2000 I probably should have registered for the Tour this year! Oh wait...Tristan beat me yesterday...so he probably would have won the Tour, I would have been 2nd and Cadel would have rounded out the podium???

Back to reality...yesterday was the Alterra Coffee Bean Classic in Franklin. I was a little unsure after having three weekends in a row of major fatigue. It was the first race of the year that I didn't do a bigger ride the day before the race...so I was hoping to feel a little more fresh. I was so so in the warm up, but felt pretty good as we got going. I got the early jump for the KOM prime, but Nathan had a little too much speed for me to accelerate again 3/4 of the way up the hill. I had heard the course changed a bit at the beginning so wanted to sit in a little on the first lap. MP and NG also crashed each other and I was not sure what all the talk was about this new banked wooden bridge so I went into the singletrack 5th wheel.

It was a little too far back. At the first chance I went around DB, but the gap was set. Eppen surged by me on the climb, but I think the others were still putting time into him on the singletrack. Starting lap 2 I went to the front to start the chase. Each lap I put time into the leaders and eventually caught Mike and Nathan. I closed the gap the entire race and ended up 20 seconds behind Tristan at the finish. I was happy after too finish strong, but it would have been nice to be able to battle instead of ride a solo TT. I think the rain the previous day made things nice in the singletrack. A little slippery in some spots, but mostly tacky to rip the corners in most of the singletrack. It was the first time in a long time that I felt I had perfect tire pressure at Alterra. Next up....more intervals to prepare for Ore To Shore!

Flippin' the switch

2011-07-13T11:33:00.000-07:00

It was game on today with the first Power Test of the year! It's always a little tough to get back into the groove of things after taking a big rest week. I feel like I'm pretty good at steppin' away from the bike when I need to get some good recovery time in...I'm not afraid to completely stay off the bike for 2 or 3 days in a row. In fact I think it is good for you every once in a while.

This time around it seemed like it was going to be tough to get going again. I was kind of all over the map last weekend with the time spent in the car and the double race weekend. I knew my motivation wasn't in the right place going into WORS #5 and thats why I though maybe a warm up rae would be a good idea. It didn't work. I was still mentally on vacation. I was pretty happy with the way the first 3 months of training worked out, but it was a big mental push to finish it off after the Subaru Cup.

I guess I needed a full 8 or 9 days to be able to make the switch from base training to building. Today somehow like magic I was ready to go again. I took another 2 days off after the double weekend. I was still a little sore from a last lap mishap which caused a little cramping in Sundays race, but when I hit the lap button for my first 20 minute test of the year the mental focus was back immediately!

I finished off the test with an avg power of 359. My second 20 minute test was almost just as good at 353. I was pretty happy. Last year my best day of 2 *20's was 357 & 340. This morning and last year I weighed in at 148. Improvement and its only my first go!

I think I improved for a number of reasons. 1. This year is my opportunity to go for it...no job that I have to go to after training rides. 2. Mentally stronger knowing I need to take advantage of this opportunity. 3. A shorter off season. Time spent in Tucson allowed me to have fun on the bike and not loose as much fitness before official training started in April. 4. One of my biggest weakness is hydration. I'm working on that one in a major way after a friend introduced me to ionized water! Shoot me an e-mail if you are curious about this one - brimatter@hotmail.com 5. With working from home I can train 2 % more and recover 25% better. I think this will pay off huge dividends this fall! 6. Coaching. Now that I am coaching I have been doing a lot more reading and trying to learn as much as possible. It not only helps my clients but it helps me. I love the positive energy that is shared back and forth between myself and my athletes. 7. The taste of victory. After Iceman last year I proved to myself I can race with the best. Now I want to do it again...

Double or nothing...

2011-07-11T08:47:00.001-07:00

This was the weekend of GO BIG or stay home. I opted for GO BIG and have some fun. It started out with a big rest week after finishing my 3 months of base training. Lots of watching Tour De France and hanging with Rosco while Andrea was out of town. I jumped in the Wednesday night ride for a couple of hours in the middle of the week but that was about it for time on the bike.

Then it was decision time. What to do for the weekend. Andrea was flying home from California Saturday night and arrived in MKE at 11:00pm. It was out 6th wedding anniversary and I missed her after she had been gone a week. No matter what I was going to be at the airport.

So....should I race Saturday and stay at home Sunday. Should I stay home all weekend. Or should I skip Saturday and wake up early and do Eau Claire Sunday.... or how about both!

Andrea's new bike had just arrived to a shop up in Marquette, MI. I called the guys in Marquette and they mentioned they were going to the Miners Revenge on Saturday for the downhill race. Hmmmm Andrea had done that one before and said it was awesome. It's only an 1:30 from the cabin in Eagle River....I could pick up Andrea's new bike, race, and be home in time for a late night run to the airport! I instantly put the batteries on the charger. It's game on...

So I called up Street Player for a partner in crime and he was in. Rosco, Street, and I hit the road Friday night and made it to the cabin in E.R. by 11:00. The next morning it was off to the Adventure Mine for the coolest race of the year(sorry Gravel Rouser....but this one was pretty awesome).

It was super technical....brutally steep climps, technical muddy greasy rock drop root filled descents, bridges, flyovers, and did I mention the mine.....1/4 mile of a pitch dark mine that you had to ride through. It was pretty sweet and a little intimidating. Lights required for sure(good thing I have a sweet L & M Seca 900). You were in the mine for 3 - 4 minutes. The temp outside was 80+ and the temp in the mine was right around 45....as you approached the opening of the mine you could feel the cold air rushing out at you. It was misty, you were crushing through rocks and cold puddles, turning, and even dismounting in one section where the roof of the cave was only 4 ft high. After you emerged from the cave you hit a wall of humid 80 degree air and a drop that would rival the most technical trails at Mt. Snow VT or MSA Quebec! Another sweet thing about U.P. racing is you almost always get local TV coverage at the races....kind like Belgium!

It was worth the drive for sure. We grabbed Andrea's bike, swung by the cabin to get Rosco, clean the bike, and take a quick shower. We were back to Sheboygan by 9:30! Just in time to unpack and hop in the car again to MKE airport. Rosco looked at me like I was crazy when I told him we had to go back in the car!

We picked up Andrea at 11:30 and it was awesome to surprise her with a new Top Fuel and 6 colorful roses. One for each year of our marriage. She thought I forgot! The drive home went fast as we both had some good stories to share of our adventures apart.

5 hours later I was up again...this time not feeling quite as chipper, but I figured GO BIG or GO HOME. I had a good warm up ride at the Miner's Revenge so hopefully my legs wouldn't feel the shock of the rest week at the start of the WORS race.

Well....I don't know if that was the case or not, but it didn't go the greatest. I was hurting on lap 1 and could tell all the guys I was riding with were very familiar with the course. I think they all pre-rode and I hadn't done Eau Claire in 3 or 4 years. I was just hanging on for dear life and wanted to make it through the first lap. I was almost there when my front tire just went off the ledge on the switchback climb and I tipped over. 10 seconds. I chase hard for 1/2 lap to no avail. The harder I chased the more mistakes I made. I think I was within 5 seconds for a while, but as soon as we hit the singletrack again it was over. I went over the limit and with the high temps I had to recover. Lucky for me NG crashed so I slowed and waited for him...was hoping to recover, and start going again. NG dropped me promptly and I had to wait again. Another 1/2 lap of solid recovery and I was ready to go again when Chris P and Big D came up behind me holding hands. I think Chris was about as tired as I was but he was actually training hard....I was just having a rough go. We followed each other around until a half lap to go when we picked it up again, but like I thought...the first guy into the last singletrack before the finish would win the sprint....BIG D was that guy and I finshed 6th....6 year wedding anniversary...6th place finish....I'll take it....

It was a really long drive home...looking forward to lots of rest today and an early night to bed. Then its time to start some interval training!

Fireworks

2011-07-04T08:54:00.000-07:00

My firework show is over! 2 days of solo back to back 20 mph 100 mile 5 hours rides. I finished the week w/ 23 hours and 435 miles. Today I will be a dud! I watched the Tour this morning and have a movie to watch for tonight. I am going to be the best guy in the world at recovering today. A skill I have honed over the years! It makes it a little easier that Andrea is out of town in Cali visiting her sister!

Three months of official base training are in the books. It was a super solid effort and I'm really happy with the way things went. I mixed in 5 mtb races and jumped in one road race for some fast miles. I did 2 days of tempo riding early in the week of Junior MTB Camp because I wanted to get the KJ's up a little. This final week of training came directly after the Subaru Cup so the fatigue is very high right now. I am pretty excited to get a good week of rest now and let the body adapt. Next up will be some work trying to boost the LT and keep ramping up towards a strong fall campaign. Although I am seriously considering just riding base miles all season long because I feel really good and am racing pretty fast. I wonder what it would be like to do no intervals at all during training and only race at high intensity???

Andrea's new Top Fuel is here! I'm hoping to build it up while she is gone so we can go do some more riding like this!

3-2-1-Go

2011-06-27T06:29:00.000-07:00

1 - XC

With a 5th row call up and the course lay out I knew I had a tough challenge ahead of me at the start. A little luck would have gone a long way, but it went pretty standard. We started and I must have been around 40th position at the first pinch with my foot out standing still. Hopped on the bike again for 1 minute of climbing only to run into the back of more chaos. I did my best to use my cross skills and make some passes, but the leaders were already well out of sight. I stayed steady the entire race until one to go when I started to fade a little. Finished 18th.

Overall impressions...its really hard to be in a mind set of riding steady instead of racing and battling. I think I ended up having to work harder by staying steady, instead of racing hard and letting some speed carry me over some of the smaller climbs. I ended up pedaling way to much and was always afraid to go over the limit when I should have at select points in the course. AVG HR for the race was 179...pretty high! Would love to be able to start at the front with those guys and race with them instead of being 2:00 minutes down 1/2 way into the first lap. Not saying I would win and not complaining about the well known start procedure rules, just wishing I could give it a go at the front with them from the gun.

2 - Impreza Short Track

18th position call up...alright now I can race with those guys at the front because I'm not burried in the field. Legs were a little tired warming up, but once we started I knew I was good. I was top 15 after one lap. Each lap happened and guys would pop and I would move up. 1/3 of the way through the race I had made the lead group! I was pumped...the superfans were everywhere and my legs felt no pain. Then the course tape got ripped in the sand pit on the back half of the course. It was floating through the air in slow motion and I had the split second visual of it wrapping in my cassette. I look down and my cassette is clear! Sweet I pedal 2 more times and my back wheel stops...I look down again and the course tape is wrapped around my disc rotor 5 times and jammed in my caliper. I jump off my bike with some hope of spinning the wheel backwards to dislodge it, but no luck. I know my race is over, but I still try to take of the rear wheel and undo the mess...no luck the course tape had melted in the caliper...I got as much as possible out and jump back on the bike....I must have lost about 1 minute. Passed a few more guys in the next 3 rounds, but the course tape was still making my bike feel like I was pedaling through sand, while at the same time not allowing my back brake to function properly. END RESULT = RIM. It pretty much felt like this for you LOTR fans.

Overall - Majorly bummed out....I had the legs, I had the start, I was ready...guess I have to wait until Cross season to give it another go with the big boys...I'll be thinking about it on every training ride until then...

3 - Super D

After a long wait I think we were all hungry and sleepy. Carl 'Rocky' Decker was the only guy still warming up and I warned him not to bonk. We started with a 100m Le Man style run to the bikes. I was 3rd to the bike and 3rd into the woods behind an Australian guy and Decker. Decker made the pass half way through and put 2 seconds on the Aussie. 2 seconds in the super D is a lot...I passed the Aussie on the next pedaling section, but couldn't close the gap to Carl. 2nd place.

Overall - Wish I had a redo on the Short Track, but at least made up for it a little with some prize money and evened up the day with 200 points for the race within the race.

Final impressions. NORBA is still NORBA. With so few races to attend you have to be a supported pro to get UCI points and start in the front. There is no way I could afford to make 3 separate trips to Cali and one to TX to chase UCI points and have a shot at racing the guys in the front row. Plus why would I want to when I can attend WORS every other weekend and the triple crown races right in my back yard and race fast guys like TS, NG, and MP.

With cross racing the big races are in the midwest with OH, KY, WI, IA, IL, & WI again. There are plenty of opps for points and prize money(two or 3 a weekend). Once I get those points its worth it to travel because I am starting in the front and have a shot to race the big boys and win prize money to pay for the trip.

I think I have UCI mtb points now, probably not enough, but the next race is in ID...its tempting, but it would probably be a $1000 plus trip with no chance to win any prize money. Hmmm

Thanks to my sponsors to help me get to the best MTB scene around....the Midwest!

acronym racing

2011-06-21T18:40:00.000-07:00

KCD

The Keweenaw Chain Drive was this past Saturday. We hold the Jr. Camp in conjunction with the Chain Drive weekend to let the campers test out their new skills and knowledge in the race. It's a low key race with an awesome atmosphere. We took the campers out for a pre-ride on Saturday and the course was in great condition. Towards the end Pete(super fast camper) and I took the 32 mile split while all of the other campers and coaches continued on the 16 mile. We ripped the downhill section, crossed the river, and got in a few efforts on the way back up the mountain. Saturday morning I loaded up with a Belgian waffle, plenty of Nutella, some powedered sugar and a banana. I was ready to rock....excpet for the big slice in my front tire. Luckily Snuddy and Demo Ken hooked me up with some new rubber. I rolled to The Bike Shop and slapped on the new XR3 with some Stans and luckily it held.

The race was off with a controlled start down main street, across the lift bridge & over the canal, and then down the pavement for a few miles with a big tail wind before the KOM $50 prime up the climb to the cemetary. I wasn't really planning on going for it...but nobody really jumped that hard. Pete was crushing it down the pavement and led up the climb...I was content to sit on his wheel and was hoping he had a little more in the tank to jump the last 100 meters, but I sensed the others(MA, TG, & DB) getting ready to jump so I went around Pete and snagged the cash. Pete would have won it if he would have played it a little better before the base of the climb.

I sat up after the line and followed TG, MA, and DB into the singletrack. Immediately I knew I had too much tire pressure and the new 2.3 knobby tire was a little more aggressive than I was used to. It took me about 10 miles to get comfy. MA took over in the feed zone and TG was slowly gapped off. On the next climb Mike seemed to be going a little slow so I went to the front to keep up the pace. I guess it was enough to hurt Mike...I looked back a few miles later and saw Mike waving Darrin through....I thought he had flatted. I had about 10 feet on Darrin so I picked it up a little. Looked back again and had 20ft. Cruised the next singlerack - 30ft. Crushed the next two track super hard to be out of sight out of mind. Settled in for the next bit until I realized I was back on the part of the course we had pre-rode. Then I crushed it the last 10 miles. Ended up winning by 3+ minutes! The best part was seeing Andrea, Coach Joe, Coach John & 3 campers out on course and seeing the other campers as I was crossing the finish line! They were pumped and so was I. I think I got some pretty good cheers up on the podium!

Then I found out Pete won the overall 16 mile race. Nina won the overall womens 16 mile and Emily was 2nd! Moriah won her age. Keely, Emma, and Rachael swept their respective age podium. One of last years campers Parker was 2nd overall in the 16 mile mens. Ben & Curt were 4th and 5th in their age groups. What a great day of racing. Thanks a ton to the staff of the Chain Drive for a job well done!

TOAD

Home from the camp Sunday night and pinning on more race numbers Monday morning....this time it was a 80 mile road race in Greenbush. Needless to say I was a little tired, lacking motivation, lacking proper equipment & proper preparation. I don't have a road bike and haven't ridden one in 3 or so months. I've been on my cross bike, but the brakes are iffy at best on the road....so I borrowed Andrea's bike complete w/ compact crankset. I didn't have anybody to give me bottles(and I only own 2) so I rocked the Camelbak to the pelotons dismay.

I was out of sorts on lap 1 and was almost dropped 5 or 6 times....I wasted a lot of energy. Lap 2 started and there was a crash going up a climb at 6mph that took out close to 15 guys. A ha this is why I don't road race...it was raining, I was on the back, the pace was high, the break must have been going. 7 guys were up the road, one of them Tristan! Starting lap 3 I went to the front....ah Now I remember how to do this road racing thing! I jammed up the climb towards the upper parking lot of Greenbush. I was feeling good. 5 guys went by me and opened a little gap...Brian Schaning jumped(old school friend and team mate for the day)so I sat up and the chase group was formed. The peloton thinned by this point and continued to thin for the next 40 miles. I was feeling better and better throughout the race and crushed it up the first couple of climbs on the last lap. I think I softened up the field a little and around the next corner Tilly jumped. I waited a bit then jumped and the two of us were gone. We crushed the last lap together and started cathing the back of the shattering chase group. I jumped again after the last corner, but it was way too early and Tilford got me at the line. 13th! Not bad for my first road race in a year.

It was just what I needed to get back into the swing of things after a good race week and the jr. camp. Next up...

WORS - USPROXCT

calling all campers

2011-06-20T20:14:00.000-07:00

After a little WWF wrestling to get a hitch mount bike rack installed on the back of the Hyundai, camper #1 (Maja Holcomb) arrived in our driveway and we were off to da U.P.!!!

Jr. Mountain Bike Camp #2.

We arrived at 4:00pm on Wednesday night for check-in, orientation, and our first ride of the camp. It's crazy how light out it is in Houghton at 8:00pm. Andrea and I dropped off our stuff in out hotel style dorm room and hit the cafeteria for the first round of soft serve ice cream!

The camp this year was awesome. 10 girls and 4 boys. All of them had some good skills and good fitness. Even the youngest camper Blake who had only been on a bike 4 times could rip the descents.

Our first ride Friday night was pretty low key. We hit up the tech trails and everyone had a blast. From then on it was a jam packed itinerary! Breakfast Lunch and Dinner in the cafeteria. Presentations on goal setting, pro mountain biking, and a presentation from Dr. John Durocher from the Kinesiology Dept. The best though was the trails systems; Copper Harbor, the Tech Trails, and Churning Rapids.

All the campers who raced killed it! Multiple 1st place finishers in the overall and in the age categories! Trek Demo Bikes, Fireworks, Trips the the beach, and more soft serve. Highlights also included watching a dude do a backflip at the pine jumps and getting a little info session on trail building from Aaron Rodgers! We even saw Aaron Rodgers again in the race! The fun didn't end until after the last bike ride in the rain and the mud! Gotta get a little muddy at mountain bike camp!

Thanks to Joe Haggenmiller and the MTU Summer Camp Program for putting on an awesome camp! Thanks to all the campers...I had a blast. Watch out for the Pro Womens WORS field in 10 years....its going to be smoking fast! Andrea and I are both already really excited to do it again next year!

Battle Royale

2011-06-12T20:53:00.000-07:00

WOW -

I can't beleive another race at Wausau came down to a three man sprint and was decided less than 5 ft from the line.

Here is the photo sequence from last year. What's crazy is last year we soft pedaled the entire race. Nobody had great legs so we all came to the line together....this year...a different story.

I was coming off of a rest week. Sometimes you feel awesome, sometimes you feel stale. I thought I was feeling pretty good in the warm up, but as soon as we hit the first climb I went backwards....it was a shock to the system. Luckily there were still enough guys that I jumped in at the end of the train and made the first 5 man split. Mr. Tree was at it again...it seems like its always at Wausau that he is off in the woods taking down sapplings... he slowed things down for me when he was over the bars and into the woods on the first singletrack....next it was Eppen who was showing me a hole in his arm as we were starting lap 2. Then the fun and games stopped....

Tristan was ready to race and started attacking early in the 2nd lap. To make a long story short he must have attacked 15 - 20 times on slight climbs or steep climbs. He had the snap that I didn't have...must be all the crit racing he's doing....but I had the Top Fuel and closed the 15-20 attacks each time in the singletrack. Towards the end of the race I wanted to get to the singletrack first, but Tristan wanted to control even more and wouldn't let me lead. On two occasions I was able to pass him before the singletrack and came out with significant gaps, but didn't have the power to stay away. My max HR was 193! That is pretty high for an old man like me....T was hurting me for sure.

In the end it was a perfect mountain bike battle of skills vs fitness and it came down to a sprint that was decided by a bike throw and the fact that my tires were a little knobbier than his....and it helps that he attempted his bike throw with one hand in the air! Good thing I swapped to the DT XR Carbon again this year!

mike phillips deserves some good props, one because he made fun of my power balance bracelet and two because he might have been dropped by tristan more times than me, but still made it back every time and was there for the sprint at the end. nice racing old man!

Thanks again to all my sponsors...and now that its finally summer check out this new Gear Grinder product...made from recycled tubes and tire tread!

with a Cherry on top

2011-06-06T19:34:00.001-07:00

Finished up 2 months of base and realized if your birthday falls on a Monday and your good you can make a a "birthday weekend" and party for 3 days!

Ended w/ a 100 miler on Saturday and an early birthday celebration at Hildebrands. Filet Tendorloins on the grille and home made Strawberry Shortcake! It was good.

Resting up today w/ a massage and a pint of 'Fair Goodness Cake' Ben & Jerry's. Mmmm

Dad got me a Pittsburgh Pirates hawaiin shirt and then told me Don Cherry was the coach of the Bruins in the Cup Finals when I was born! Now watching the Cup Finals...only thing that could make this birthday weekend better would be if it was the Wings in the Finals. It was probably Don Cherry's Coach's Corner on CBC growing up in MI that got me hooked on being a hockey fan.

Lovin' the rest week!

Mileage

2011-06-03T07:08:00.000-07:00

I haven't thought about the blog in a while, figured a better do an update. I've been busy rolling on the bike and getting the coaching gig rolling.

Training has been going good. All on the road bike except for my recovery days when I get to ride the coolest/most comfy commuter bike ever. Now that I'm back on Shimano my 700C disc wheels fit on the mtb again!

I'm almost done with my second month of base miles. 17 hours last week and 20+ hours by the end of this week. I've been feeling really good and I'm in a really good routine of stretching and doing some pushups and situps after each ride! I think 20+ hours will be my biggest week since I lived down in Tucson back in 01 and 02. The biggest difference now though is that I am putting in 17-20 hours of pure quality on the bike. In the early years in Tucson I was just pluggin away miles in hopes to set new records of longest day on the bike, and most miles in a day. I wasn't training with any purpose or didn't have a goal behind all those miles.

Also rolling good with my first couple of clients at Momentum Endurance. The coaching has been awesome so far and I can't wait to see the positive results from the athletes in a few months. I just signed up for the Momentum Endurance newsletter and you should too.

Click here to sign up now

It's a great way to get all sorts of good quality information on diet, equipment, mental preparation, training, and racing.

I'm looking for just a few more clients before I reach my set limit for the season. If your interested in details shoot me an e-mail at bmatter@momentumendurance.com

After the weekend I'll be hanging up the road bike for a while and hitting the dirt. WORS #3, Jr. Mtn Bike Camp, and the Subaru Cup. Can't wait for this..

It's gonna be sweet! Don't drool on your keyboard watching the rest of the copper harbor videos on youtube.... Only 13 days till I'm there....if you know a young mtb'er they can still register today for the camp.

Walleye 4 the Win

2011-05-23T04:54:00.000-07:00

After Iola I knew I was in way better form than I had given myself credit for. So I didn't hesitate at all to spend the extra $20 right off the bat at Rhinelander and get my #4 plate for the 2011 WORS series!

The trip to Rhinelander started off on Friday. With some clean bikes we headed up to the cabin in Eagle River. A Qdoba in Green Bay and the best ice cream the northwoods has to offer in Carter made the driver a little shorter. We arrived at about 9:00pm just in time to see Mike(my father in-law) cast out into Seven Mile Lk and catch a 13"er and 19"er.

Saturday was an early morning road ride to avoid the rain w/ the 700c's on the Top Fuel. Followed by lots of time spent on the couch watching Universal Sports Giro coverage and a killer dinner with the best fresh fish I have ever eaten. Feeling inspired we went out again and caught an even bigger Walleye. This one was 21" and Mike said it was the biggest he had ever caught out of 7mile.

Unfortunately during the Sunday morning photo shoot of the lunker he took a dive, landed on the dock, and flopped into the water. Only one photo was taken before the escape artist got away and it was with a crappy cell phone camera...bummer

We loaded up the car again and made the 45 minute drive over to Rhinelander. The race started pretty standard down the dirt road. As soon as we got on the trail I felt fast. I was carrying much more speed than everyone else and made a few passes on the first fast descents to get into 3rd position behind NG and BE. Eppen looked to be struggling. I passed him and followed Guerras surges until the feed zone. I took over the lead for a while on lap 1, but wasn't familiar with the new shortened course.

By lap 2 I was feeling much more comfortable and the field was whittled down to 3. NG, Tristan and I. Guerra crushed the entire 2nd lap and was riding pretty good. I was struggling with the accordian effect in 3rd position, so Lap 3 I decided to go to the front. GO TIME....I crushed it in the singletrack and saw that I had gapped Tristan a litte, so I just went harded and harder. Eventually T was gone and it was just Nathan and I starting Lap 4. I needed a break after going so hard on Lap 3 so I sat on down the dirt road for a while. I was a little nervous T would be coming back....so I started to go again and eventually dropped NG. Soloed it in for the first W of the year!

Huge props to the Trek Top Fuel. The bike might have been hand designed just for that course at Rhinelander!

We had a safe drive home and now its back to the grindstone. 17 hours planned for the week along with a quick trip to Cleveland, OH to pick up a team car for Gear Grinder.

It finally showed up...so now it's even more official!

COACHING

2011-05-20T06:37:00.000-07:00

Exciting things happening right now for me. Most exciting(besides the fact that my computer is virus free) is a new opportunity to be working with Travis Woodruff at Momentum Endurance. Momentum Endurance is a performance oriented coaching serive company for cyclist. I will be working side be side with Travis to help athletes reach their full potential. About 2 weeks ago I completed the process of becoming an officially certified USA Cycling Coach! E-mail me bmatter@momentumendurance.com for more details or see the link to the left.

In other coaching news. I am very excited to be asked back to be a coach at the Michigan Tech Jr. Mountain Bike Camp! This years camp will be very similar to last years camp. 5 days of the best mountain biking the midwest has to offer, Fireworks, Trek Demo bicycles, Keewanaw Chain Drive racing, and of course all the cafeteria soft serve ice cream you can handle!!! June 15 - June 19th in Houghton, MI click here for more details and registration.

No Computer = No Blog

2011-05-16T07:36:00.001-07:00

I have been without a computer for about 2 weeks. Bummer! It's like the Stone Age again at my house! It started out with a trip to Eagle River for a solid 3 days of training after the race in Iola. I had a big week of training planned and needed some extra peace and quiet for the best possible recover after over extending a little at Iola. Eagle River was nice. I ended up with 18 hours on the bike for the week and discovered lots of new roads. A great way to end Base period 1.

Unfortunately it wasn't enough recover and I must have come in contact with some sort of bug when my immune system was beat down. I spent all of last week down and out sick as can be.....bummer. With our home computer getting a revamp I had no internet and didn't have the energy to make it to the in-laws for a little internet time. I'm feeling much better now! Bad news is I think I passed it on to Andrea.

Hopefully we both fully recover for WORS #2 this weekend in Rhinelander.

Andrea and I also added a new addition to the family. 18.5" 20lbs 14 oz w/ mud on the tires! I finished up the new Trek 9.9 Elite Hardtail complete w/ new Shimano XTR 10spd! That stuff is so nice. I think it will be the first time in my career that my hydraulic brake line is the proper length because the guys at Shimano even made it smooth as butter to bleed the brakes! Can't wait to get a little more time on the new ride! Still no computer at home so real pictures will have to come soon!

In other new and exciting news I will be joining forces w/ Travis Woodruff @ Momentum Endurance. In an attempt to spread some of my knowledge to others before I get too old and forget, I went through the process of becoming a certified USA CYCLING Coach! Travis and I have been working together for the last month and all the details and planning are almost finalized. Stay tuned for more info...

In the books!

2011-05-01T20:17:00.000-07:00

First race of the year in the books! 2nd place a couple of seconds behind Tristan. I kind of surprised myself! I knew I was in better shape than last year, but I wasn't thinking I had that amount in my legs.

The race started pretty good, smooth out of the gates and up the first few climbs. It never surged really hard until the start of lap 2 when Eppen crushed it out of the bowl and up the next few climbs. Tristan responded by crushing it even harder and I was in trouble. Lucky there was just enough of a let up before the last of the big climbs on the first half of the course. I went to the front to slow things down a little. Tristan was having none of it....he attacked me over the top of the hill and I knew that was the moment. I dug deep, the bike responded, the legs responded and I made it... Eppen was gone and Anderson dangled at 5 seconds for 1/4 of a lap, but then dissapeared. I followed Tristan the rest of lap 2 and 3. I led all of lap 4 and was feeling the fatigue setting in....

Tristan attacked starting the last lap and I didn't have it to go with him...I stayed steady and was slowly closing the gap the remainder of the lap, but didn't have the horsepower in the end.

Secrets to my success....1. the Top Fuel with the DT Swiss rear shock. It's so much better than the stock Fox w/ "Pro Pedal" Had to do a little funky cable routing to get it to work. Also a little challenge to manage the Fox remote lockout w. the cable pull of the DT, but where there is a will there is a way. The DT is like a hard tail when you step on it....then like a duely when you want to rip a downhill. 2. race smart...lots of wind on the course. hide as much as possible! 3. mentally fresh & well prepared. 4. new Oakley Radar's 5. New Team colors keeping it fresh 6. new Egg Beater 11's from Crank Bros! 7. The new formulated Clif Shot's...easy to get down the hatch even when its frickin' freezing.

I think overall I'm coming into this season with a little less lost fitness compared to last offseason. With a little more time on the bike in Tucson...mostly commuting to work and fun mtb rides w/ Andrea, Gravel Rouser and Barry Roubaix, I think I'm in a little better shape. I'm pretty happy about this as I'm only officially 2 weeks into the training plan...hopefully up up up from here.

Monster Flashback

2011-04-29T07:12:00.000-07:00

With the Tour of the Gila going on right now I can't help but to think back 10 years ago and crushing it on the road bike. It seemed 10 years ago the Gila was a road race where pro mountain bikers got their legs tuned up for the first Norba of the year in Big Bear. By the time the Gila is finished this sunday Norba season will be more than half way over and half the guys racing Norba don't even know where Big Bear is.....and I don't even think its called Norba anymore!

10 years ago; The 2001 Tour of the Gila....I was racing Cat 2 in probably one of the most stacked fields ever in a cat 2 race. I finished up the race with a sweet 6th place just ahead of T. Wells in the hardest road race 'THE GILA MONSTER' I have ever done. The result moved me to 11th after a horrible TT(no TT equipment whatsoever!) and a rough stage 2 finishing climb. JHK won the overall...he was a climbing machine.

In 2000 I also finished 11th 11:00 minutes behind Jason Toullous. Toullous was flying that season. My amigo Parki from Great Brittain was 5th and multi-world champ Walker Ferguson was 2nd.

In 2002 I was determined to WIN. I had the full support of Team Eclipse Racing. Scott Blanchard, Jason Karew, Jason Bache and a few others. The route for the final day of racing

changed and had us climbing up Emory Pass early on in the race. I think I was 2nd in the GC heading into the final day 1:00 minute back. I attacked on Emory Pass with 65 miles of racing to go. I had a good gap, but on the descent back down Emory Pass my team was coming up. The GC leader had flatted while I was off the front of the race. It was Carlos Vargas. He had caught back on before the long valley and the final climb up to Pinos Altos. I attacked multiple times on the final climb in an attempt to crack Carlos and it finally worked. I wasn't strong enough to win the stage (3rd) but I did gain my 1:00 min and took home the

overall! After each stage I drank a full bottle of Pedialyte and ate 2 meals a day at Wendy's! The host hotel was

right next door and I couldn't resist the $1.00 menu...I think it was the most fit I have ever been on the bike.

Here is a snapshot from the 01 Training Diary...

After the race I finished off the Ultimate Bucket at Cold Stone Creamery back in Tucson. Banana Ice Cream w/ Brownie, Oreos, Chocolate Chip, Walnuts, and Cookie Dough! The Ultimate Buckey is pretty big and I don't think I've had Banana Ice Cream since!

T-Minus 1 Week

2011-04-22T05:44:00.001-07:00

The time is here for sure even though mother nature doesn't think so...Official training is in full swing. New team clothing has arrived and its looking awesome. Great cyclocross colors! Pretty nice too for those crisp sunny mornings when it is 'cooler near the lake.' We'll see how it goes if we ever get one of those 100 degree scorchers....but by the looks out my front window those days are pretty far off.

I'm also building up a second mtn bike this season. I had the Elite 9.9 frameset from Iceman last year sitting in the basement. It was pretty happy after going 1 for 1, but I couldn't resist a little sponsorship from Shimano and a great deal on the rest of the parts from Trek. I'll race the new Elite 9.9 at select races this year including Subaru Cup, Ore To Shore,

and to try to defend the title at Iceman again.

The Top Fuel will be my primary bike though. It's just nice to have a spare with identical parts in case of last minute emergency. WORS #1 is next weekend and after only 2 weeks of training I don't think I'm in contention for the 'W' but I will be ready for battle. I might even test out the new hardtail if the new parts arrive so I can be faster up those first 4 climbs of the season!

The Man Show

2011-04-17T11:45:00.000-07:00

With Andrea out of town it was time to get down to work....unfortunately that's not training for bike racing quite yet. That starts tomorrow.

Andrea was off to Minneapolis for a weekend of hanging with her mom and cousins along with a 50km 4 man team trail run. I think they finished it up with muddy shoes in freezing temps...I was better off in the comfort of my home!

Sports, Saturdays, Saws, and Sundays: With the help of my father in-law Mike while watching the Red Wings on Saturday and Amstel Gold on Sunday we worked on the molding that has been missing in certain areas of the house. I also removed all the window shutters(painted over nails, rusted in for 30 years, and stripped out = not fun) and re-painted them in the basement over the weekend. They are looking a lot more fresh now and I will start to hang them back up this week.

Mike thinks I should be a carpenter when I'm done bike racing! Still have to tack on new quarter round along the floor of the entire house. The old stuff was just too nasty with multiple layers of old lead paint. That might be another have to happen in a different season though. We topped it all off with a trip to Home Depot and 4 plates each of grub at the Chinese Buffet! Go WINGS

just around the corner

2011-04-10T09:50:00.000-07:00

The time is approaching...my list of home improvement projects, although never ending, is getting smaller. Spring seems to be peeking out at every corner in Sheboygan. 2011 training is about to commence.

After Barry Roubaix a much needed 2 weeks off the bike was necessary. Just to be home and get some things done feels good. I started off with the removal of a cedar and spruce tree. The cedar was about 1 ft away from the front corner of the house...at about 60 ft tall, I'm sure the root system was getting ready to do some damage. My father in-law and I got out the old chain saw and had at it....I was a little surprised at the adrenalin rush from dropping a 60 footer! Next up was the spruce that was growing at 35 degree angle towards the back corner of the house. Then the clean up of the old birch that had died and ripped down the power line while I was in Belgium last winter. Chain sawing for hours makes your arms sore!

Next up was a look at what needs to be replaced...quotes for new water heaters, furnaces, and roofs are pouring in and now its time to count the pennies and see what takes priority.

The big project that is looming over my head is the molding and trim that has been absent from our house since we removed it all when we bough the place. Not looking forward to that one....but its got to get done.

With little left to do and better weather on the horizon its time to get at it on the bike....race season is just around the corner!

The Pig

2011-04-01T07:20:00.000-07:00

Barry Roubaix - a long time coming....

I suited up for my first official race this past weekend in MI. Billy Street and I started off the season with a trip to the other side of the lake. The Barry Roubaix is now in its 3rd year and has tons of potential. I wasn't the most motivated guy in the peloton and that was pretty apparent as I was dropped 4 times on the first lap. It also didn't help that I was riding a full suspension mtb on the finest dirt roads Southwest MI has to offer when everybody else was on CX bikes. I was planning to ride the CX bike, but a last minute flat tubular crushed any hopes of a podium appearance. By the time the second lap of the race rolled around I was nice and warmed up(it was 17 degrees F at the start) and I had a better lay of the land. I made the lead group of 8 after a big surge on the biggest climb of the day. At the 60 mile mark with 5 miles of mostly up hill pavement I was hurting at the Top Fuel wasn't rolling that great...I was done for and couldn't contest the sprint. Finished 8th!

After the race I did some time with the J-TREE crew and the MYC crew, both who are from my hometown of Pinckney. I decided to spend a little extra time in the great state of MI and booked a factory tour of the Joshua Tree Skin Care facilities for Tuesday. The factory tour was sweet...I learned how it all goes down and even got a few free samples! Thanks J-TREE I spent some quality time with high school friends Andy and Stevie P and even got in 2 great rides on the POTO Tuesday(JTREE/MYC Crew) and Wed(Bruce Leblanc). It wasn't all fun and games though as I spent chunk of time helping out Andy's dad rake leaves and chop down trees! I finished things off with a wrestling practice Wednesday night that rocked my world and an exciting drive home with a blown out tire going 70mph down the highway. My body is feeling the pain of the long dirt road race, the raking, and the wrestling so its time for some R & R. Eagle River here I come.

Wisconsin

2011-03-24T08:47:00.000-07:00

Andrea, Rosco, and I made it home Monday night! It was great to be home and sleep in my own bed after practically 5 months of being on the road. Only bad thing about it is that I am leaving already tomorrow to do Barry Roubaix and go visit friends in MI. It's not bad that I get to race and visit friends, just bad that I have to leave home again so fast. I can't believe we have already been in our house for 3 years.

This morning I was looking through old Gravel Rouser pictures and they all seemed to coincide with major household events. Buying the house and then turning around and leaving for Gravel Rouser was a classic 3 years ago. 2 years ago we were redoing our bathroom and last year when we returned from Gravel Rouser it was about a month spent in the attic doing vents and new insulation. As soon as I get home from Barry Roubaix its on again. 45 degree angles means its time to re-do all the molding in the house. There are still huge sections of the wall that don't have any molding at all. It should be a fun job! Our furnace is also on the way out so it might be time for a new one of those too.

Andrea was back to work yesterday and had an awesome day. It seems her boss at work is top notch. The nursing staff got Andrea a welcome back to work bouquet of flowers in a smiley face coffee mug...pretty sweet.

I was welcomed back with a crap ton of cheese, venison brats, and venison dogs from my good buddy Wally! I however will not be returning back to work. It's time for something new for me and in the mean time I'm going to give it a go as a stay at home dad for Rosco! I guess I'll also try to figure out how to be a faster bike racer too! Updating blog's doesn't make me fast so thats it for now...

Headin' Home?

2011-03-20T19:45:00.000-07:00

GRC 2011 is in the books. Again the crew from Athens put on a great show and we all had a blast rousin' the gravel and gettin' ready for spring....too bad Andrea and I are headed back to the great white north where its not going to be spring for another month or two.

Saturday we logged in a solid 55 miles of dirt roads and a singletrack race at Lake Hope. Highlight of the day was dad making his first journey out on the gravel for the year and his first stage of a Gravel Rouser. Local OU collegiate race Derek Bissett made me work pretty darn hard for the win....he had some serious skills on the descents and was pretty strong at the beginning....luckily for me he chose poorly with a single speed and suffered on the last few climbs towards the finish. We finished the day off with a GRC BBQ and then topped it off with some NCAA wrestling!

Sunday morning we were at it again for the best singletrack in the area. Sells Park / Strouds Run is amazing. A little soggy, but amazing. After, we said our goodbye's and headed home to bust out some laundry and clean some thrashed mtb's. We started a little packing and had one last good night hanging with mom and dad. Tomorrow morning we hit the road....

I haven't been home for more than 2 or 3 days in a row since Iceman! Pretty cool that I can pull that off...living the dream....but really looking forward to being home. I have a list of home improvement chores that is a mile long! Just so I don't get shell shocked I am going to take a little trip to Michigan for Barry Roubaix 4 days after I get home! I'll be on the road again before I know it....

Grabin' and Gettin' er done

2011-03-18T19:15:00.000-07:00

The Grab N Git was tonight....start at the shop. 5 unknown stops. Grab a map and git pedaling. I've been unsuccessful in this even multiple times, but this year I was ready! The Top Fuel was back in working order and with 6 years experience I felt I knew my way around town pretty good. I grabbed my map and had my route planned. I knew exactly where 4 out of the 5 stops were and I had a darn good idea of the location of the finish line.

I took off and I was right behind multiple time Grab N Git winner and local legend Jim Schulz. I followed him for a little bit before attacking him before the first big climb up to stop number 1. I got a gap but he knew a secret shortcut to stop number 2 and beat me there. I followed him to stop number three (which was by far the hardest to find) but the most fun with the random article of clothing! We worked together to find the stop with 2 sets of eyes being better than one. After that I knew the next 2 stops and the finish and tried to drop Jim as much as possible, but each time I veered off the path he would take a local shortcut and pop out ahead of me. Jim sucked my wheel all the way to the finish after the final stop. Rumor is I won, but nothing official yet! We pretty much tied at the finish line, but the real winner is determined by stop number 2's lucky or unlucky cork. Time bonus or time penalty can make or break your Grab N Git and usually end up doing just that!

ps - Jim was rocking the Portland w/ 700c's and I was on the Top Fuel 9.9

This morning I pedaled out to Lake Hope with Pete and marked the out and back route...rumor is the actual race course is going to be well marked this year, but I'm sure the locals are doing everything possible now to help me get lost out there! Whatever happens it'll be fun.

Rousin'

2011-03-17T19:19:00.000-07:00

Well it's that time of year again! Gravel Rouser 2011 is upon us...

We've been in Athens for about 10 days now. The weather is finally coming around just for the GR! I've done a few good road rides and a few good mtb rides until 2 days ago when I was riding the Thunderbunny trail and before I knew it my r. der. was upside down and ripped off of my bike. major bummer. Luckily the fine folks at Athens Bicycle have a brand new r. der on the way and in no time I'll be back on the horse.

Tonight was the St. Patty's Super D and without my trusty steed I had to turn to a familiar friend. Dad's old Top Fuel 98. It's been there before and has proven a worthy champion on more than one occasion at the Gravel Rouser. With a little TLC it was up for the task again tonight! Although the competition keeps gettin' a little closer. Tomorrow I'll be going for my first Grab N Git stage win.....wish me luck I'll need it!

ROAD TRIP

2011-03-05T08:28:00.000-08:00

OUCH - That hurt....we packed up Monday morning to leave Tucson. We arrived Friday night in Athens. 2,300 miles in 5 days. 5 days in the car was pretty brutal. Rosco was a trooper.

Our first stop was another section of the AZ trail for our last mtb adventure in the desert w/ the Buermans and Massey's. We crashed the Buerman's condo in Mesa for Ann's 50th birthday Monday night!!!

Tuesday morning we killed some time in the morning so we could go out to lunch with another friend from Pinckney who resides in AZ.....Brad Palumbo. From there it was up to Prescott to visit yet more friends from Pinckney. The Reeves just purchased a new house in Prescott, AZ and were happy to have us as guests. We went for a little hike and then went out to dinner for our last burrito in AZ.

The next morning we were off to the Grand Canyon - WOW!

After the trip through the Canyon we drove about 8 hours to Albuquerque, NM. Another 12.5 hours to Joplin NM the next day. Yesterday was the final day in the car....another 12.5 hours in the car and we made it to Athens. Next up Gravel Rouser followed to Barry Roubaix! Final thoughts.....another sweet vacation is coming to an end.

back to my roots

2011-02-26T07:35:00.000-08:00

We went to Tombstone last weekend...somewhere down the line I am supposedly related to Wyatt Earp!

Over the course of the last 2 weeks I have pretty much held true to my word and hung up the road bike for the remainder of my stay in Tucson. The only exception was about 200 miles of commuting back and forth to work, but thats communting, not riding or training. If I wasn't working I was hanging out on my Top Fuel! I think I have hit almost every trail system in Tucson. The only exception being the very top of Mt. Lemmon. It's a little too cold up there!

This past Tuesday Andrea and I went to Millie's Pancake House for the best pancakes in the world and then continued to the north side of town to the 50 year trail for the first time this season. It was pretty awesome. The upper loop was a little more technical than I remember, but still a pretty sweet ride. Check out this cactus Andrea hit....amazingly no flat tire....Stans at its best.

Wednesday was my last day at the shop and I stocked up on some goodies! Two new 70 oz Camelbak's and a couple pairs of new Racers Edge grips for the new bikes. Yep Andrea is buying a new Top Fuel too!

Thursday we had to do a good one with the new gear so we decided to ride up Mt. Lemmon and downhill mania the Bug Springs Trail.

Friday was the best day yet...we took a day trip up to Mesa for some new trails and good company. Red Mountain is beautiful and the Hawes trails were top notch. Even better was the fact that we had the company of some old MI friends. The Buerman's who brought me to my first race back in 1993 and the Massey's who were my middle school soccer coaches. We spent the day riding, hot tubbing, and sharing stories of bike racing adventures.

The trip up to the PHX area brought back memories of the many MBAA and road races I did while I lived in Tucson. We took a scenic drive after the mountain bike ride and next thing I know I was on Usery Pass. A place I raced often bright and early in the morning. We could see Fountain Hills and the McDowell Mtns from the top of the Hawes trails. So many times racing there at the Cactus Cup and so many times dodging crazy drivers on I-10 on the way home.

It's all about the mtb

2011-02-13T20:28:00.000-08:00

The other day we pretty much decided to head back to the midwest in 2 weeks. Ouch. It was at this point that I realized there is a ton of mtb trails in the area and I have a pretty sweet mtb. Then I came to the conclusion that I am no longer going to ride the road bike unless I am commuting to work.

Dear Top Fuel, get ready for some dirt.

After 3 long days of inventory (Mon = 8 hours Tues = 11 hour and Wed = 12

hours) at Trek Bikes of Tucson I was a little too wasted to jump head first into things. Plus I had two flat tires. Thursday was a day to sit around and lounge by the pool.

Friday I was feeling about the same until at 3:00pm when I realized if I didn't ride NOW I wasn't going to ride at all. So I hopped on the mtb and pedaled up to 6,000 ft on Mt. Lemmon. I wasn't just pedaling though...I was crushing it....if I didn't go good up the mountain I wasn't going to be able to ride the trail back down. It was getting chilly and I didn't want to flat and get stuck in the mountains on a trail I had never ridden before. Bug Springs! It was a pretty sweet 6 or 7 mile 45 - 50 minute descent down Mt. Lemmon to the trailhead at Molin Basin. The two longs Hike A Bike's were a bit rough, but my cross skills and walking with a bike weren't that rusty quite yet! 3:15 minutes

Saturday was another sweet ride at Star Pass on the west side of Tucson. The trails there keep getting better and better each time I ride on them! I still got lost but I did manage to navigate under the 6 foot tunnel to the other side of Ajo and hit some of the Robles trails. On the drive home I got my fix of my favorite type of Mexican food. The super duper authentic road side stand. Adobada and Pollo Taco's. Mmmmm 3:30 hours

Sunday: With no NFL on tap I had the entire day to soak up the AZ sun. I decided to hit a new trail I didn't even know existed when I lived here from 99 through 2003. The AZ trail supposedly runs from Canada to Mexico. We hopped on the trail on the East side of town at Pistol Hill Rd. and continued South under I-10 towards Patagonia. The only bad thing about such an epic trail is that without major planning it has to be an out and back kinda ride. We made it pretty far, but had to turn back without adequate water on a 80+ degree day in the desert. A couple times I thought I was going to see some cowboys and indians come riding up on horses. I felt like I was out there....2:50 hours

Now I'm spent....time for a little relaxation and a little work. Can't wait for the next mtb adventure!

It's all about the mailbox!

2011-01-29T16:01:00.001-08:00

Day after day its been an exciting trip out to the mailbox! Today was by far the best! Andrea's loving father sacrificed all things Packers to mail me my Franco Harris Steelers jersey! Now I'm ready for the big game. Andrea also received my Packers sweatshirt...so we are dialed for next weekend! Needless to say I'm looking forward to Super Sunday.

Also showing up in the mail was some love from the sponsors. A couple pairs of the new Crank Brothers Egg Beater Eleven pedals arrived two days ago. The pedals are redesigned for 2011 and now come with an amazing 5 year warranty. They are still super light and the quickest pedal I have ever clipped into. Yesterday was the arrival of the emergency Clif Bar stash! It was pretty brutal doing the shootout last weekend with 2 bottles of water and a banana for a 90 mile 70 degree suffer fest. The new Shots go down super smooth and taste even better. Gotta go out and try the new Citrus flavor! An occasional Clif Bar helps out while I'm constantly trying to replenish the calorie deficit from a long season.

It's also good to get a little $$$ in the mail too. Tax refunds. Of course its never enough! I had to go out and get a job last week. Its a good thing though. The crew at Trek Bikes of Tucson is good bunch of guys. I met Dave(owner) a few years ago through Tim Swift from Riverbrook. Dave's wife Candice raced jr mtb's with me back in the glory days. They are both super nice and its was awesome to be able to get a job and jump in head first and really feel like I'm able to be an asset to them in the short time I will be here. Stop by and say Hi if your in Tucson....I'll be there!

What's even cooler than working is commuting to work. It's a 15 mile ride one way. 90 miles on the commuter so far! It's all downhill on the way to work and its brisk in the morning so I don't arrive drenched in sweat. I can pretty much soft pedal and if I time the stop lights good I'm there in an hour. On the way home I can crush it if I want or I can enjoy the sunset. Just gotta be defensive in all the crazy Tucson traffic.

Did a couple of good MTB rides with Andrea this week. Wednesday we did Bug Springs to Prison Camp to Molino. Today we did Fantasy Island. It was brought back a lot of good memories riding out there especially after seeing the Jerry Hutchinson memorial. RIP Jerry we're still thinking about you.

Last night we went out for dinner for the first time since we have arrived. La Rua's. It was gooooood. Carne Seca Chimi followed by a Green Chile Tamale. The place claims to be the oldest Mexican joint in Tucson. 1922! They had the flavor category dialed after almost 90 years. Time to go fire up the grill for tonights dinner. Adios

settled

2011-01-16T17:43:00.000-08:00

It's settled - Steelers AFC Championship Game - Packers NFC Championship Game! I can't wait for football next weekend! If 'IT' happens I will be 100% Steelers.

Also settling in quite nicely in Tucson. After about 4 days of fighting off a cold I finally won. Zinc, Echinacea, Vit C, Garlic, Cold Eeeze, and some R & R was all I needed to start getting back on track. Friday morning we hopped on the mountain bikes and hit the Jesse Owens Park Farmers Market, where we purchased some killer Tamales, we hit Broadway Bicycles, the bank, and the library. Friday evening it was back on the bike to search for a good place for Rosco to play Kong. The church that is about 300 meters down the road was the big winner even though we pedaled close to 15 miles and searched out multiple schools and parks.

Saturday morning it was time to get back on the bike, but I wasn't quite ready to jump in head first. Everyone in town was up bright and early for the Shootout, but I was heading up Mt. Lemmon. I needed to see how bad it was going to hurt after 2 weeks off the bike, traveling half way around the world, and getting sick. It hurt....I made it to the 14 mile marker. Over 6,000 ft elevation, and it was windy. I only had a 23 tooth rear cassette which wasn't big enough. When I turned into the headwind sections I was wishin' for a 27. A 3 hour ride and I was limpin' home.

Saturday afternoon = 8 hours at Buffalo Wild Wings watching my 2 favorite teams. One Black and Bleu burger, One plate of Ultimate Nachos, 5 Sprites, and one Chicken Wing that was hot enough to last the night.

Sunday 3:45 on the mtb shaking it down. With TJ Woodruff and John Beck. Depart from Spanish Trail, Ride up Reddington to the AZ Trail and then back down Milagrosa. It was some of the most technical stuff I've seen in a long time. No way was I going to clear everything. Probably a good 3 sections where I was off and walking and a couple more dabs thrown in for good measure. It was sweet to test the limits of the new Fuel....or maybe it was my limits.

We have now been in Tucson for one week exactly...here is a photo from tonights Sunset.

Tucson

2011-01-11T06:24:00.000-08:00

It's been a bit of a whirlwind since returning from Belgium, but it could be worse. I was home for about 3 days and then we loaded up the Hyundai and headed south. The Touring was sweet. 4 bikes, tons of gear, full comfort and even room for Rosco.

He was guarding the Belgian Chocolate in the back seat. First stop

was in St. Louis. Second stop was in Amarillo, TX. Final destination was achieved on Sunday at about 7:00pm.

No IPODS, NO satellite radio, very little cell phones, but lots of AM radio. 4 NFL Wild Card games helped pass the time. Every single game came in crystal clear, except for the last 3 minutes of the Packers game....can you believe it?

We are shacking up in a guest house on the East side of town close to the base of Mt. Lemmon and Suagaro National Park. It is awesome here. A bunch of fellow Wisconsonites are staying at the main house on the property. Lots of good training rides in the future.

My first day in Tucson was spent building the new Trek Top Fuel 9.9 SSL. WOW. It's going to be sweet. Trek updated the frame with internal cable routing, BB90 Precision Fit Sockets, and a Net Molded tapered head tube! Its again stiffer and lighter! I can't believe they took the best bike I have ever raced and made it better!

Even more impressive is the new Shimano XTR Dyna-Sys. Crisp shifting, smooth brake action, and perfect gear combos. The bike is stocked with dual lockout FOX front and rear suspension.

I took it for a small spin after spending a solid 6 hours building her up, bleeding the brakes, and setting up the suspension. Again...WOW. I feel like I'm 'sitting on the toilet' when riding it and it feels a little heavy after spending so much time on the 14 pound cross bikes, but as soon as it hits the dirt she'll be right at home!

Now I just need to kick this little cold I've been fighting so I can enjoy the nice weather!

2010 - See ya - I'm out of here

2011-01-06T03:10:00.000-08:00

2010 is over and 2011 is under way. It's always nice to race Jan 1st and Jan 2nd so you can officially have your first race of the year under your belt without even thinking. Very soon I will be headed to Tucson to soak it all in, rest up, and start preparations for the new season. I've had some time the last couple of days to do some reflecting on the entire season.

The highlight of the season, without a doubt, was participating in the Jr.Mtn

Bike Camp at Michigan Tech. It was so rewarding to go to the UP and go riding with the juniors. Not only did I discover some great trail systems in Houghton and Copper Harbor, but I also made some good friends and had a blast doing so in the process. Plans for 2011 are in the making.

The racing was solid. 2 seconds away from another Triple Crown...lost the 6 man sprint at Ore To Shore, but won the 3 man battle at Chequamegon, and won my 3rd Iceman against the best in the country.

Cyclocross season was also solid...I won my first 2 UCI races, just missed out on a top 10 overall in the USGP, and had a solid euro campaign. Most importantly I finished the season in good physical and mental form. With the ultimate goal being Worlds in Louisville it was important for me to delay the start of my season. I sacrificed some early races and maybe even Ore To Shoe, but I was strong throughout the entire cross season and that was a big goal. For years I've been on the schedule of finishing my season at Iceman, so it will take a while to adjust to be in peak shape in late Jan 2012.

Again thanks to Gear Grinder and all my other sponsors for your support. Thanks to my family for all the sacrifices you make to help me reach my goals.

With the end of the season here I need to free up some space in the garage. New equipment is already arriving!

2 Blue Norcross SL's 56cm w/ full Dura Ace

3 sets of Easton wheels w/ tires

1 18.5" Trek Top Fuel 9.9 SSL w/ Sram XX

e-mail me if interested brimatter@hotmail.com

The Belgian Experience take 3

2011-01-05T12:49:00.000-08:00

This was my 3rd Euro campaign and I'd say the best yet. The first year the racing was way different. Everything was fast and frozen. Completely unlike Belgian Cyclocross. I never got lapped and I made the Worlds Team. Beginners Luck! The second season I was smoked. Mentally and physically. The racing was brutal. Mud, mud and more mud. I never wanted to see that much mud again....

Next things I know I was back at it again, but this time I struck out on my own. Eurocross Camp was amazing and without that experience I never could have done it on my own. This year there was a whole new set of challenges, but to my amazement everything worked out.

I scored the best possible accommodations at the Hof Ter Kommen. Gregory, Nele, and Chris were the best possible mechanics and support crew you could ask for. They went way above and beyond what I was expecting. So many people sent donations and so many Belgian fans cheered me along the way. Mark and I had things pretty dialed on the day to day life of training and racing. My sponsors had me dialed with the best possible equipment I could ask for and my family went so far as to buy plane tickets and come along for part of the journey. If not there in Belgium with me they were watching every morning on the internet.

The best word to describe it was perfect. I already miss it and wish I could race again tomorrow! I went for an easy ride yesterday after unpacking and building the bikes and took today off. It feels like 3 months since my last race, but its only been 3 days. I'm counting the hours before I can watch Nys, Albert, Wellens, Meeusen, Pauwels and Vantornout battle it out at the Belgian national championships. I had some good races, some medium races, some mechanical problems, and even had the worst race of my entire career, but thats bike racing and dealing with the adversity makes you stronger. Look at Nys, broken pedals, dropped chain, crash in the pits, but then he comes back to win on his home course.

Thanks to everyone who played a part in my trip to Belgium especially the photographers Tom Robertson, Lyne Lamoureux, and many other who captured the images and shared them with me...it was a huge part of my life that I'll never forget. I'm looking forward to applying all my new found knowledge from Belgium and having an even better 2011.

Home Sweet Home

2011-01-03T18:45:00.000-08:00

I'm home, but not for long...just need a few days to figure it out. How wasted am I? How wasted are my bikes? my gear? Do I have everything? What time zone is it? Do I have to race tomorrow? Where am I?

Oh yeah home....and it was about as smooth sailing as you can get. After partying pretty much all night long with the Packers live streaming on the net, I slept about 3 hours before the early alarm and the last trip with Gregory down the N40 towards Brussels. We arrived early...first one in line at Continental after a little discussion in half English half Flemish 'voila' no fee for bikes or bags on the plane....its a gosh darn miracle. Finally a good cup of coffee at Starbucks. On time flights, no motion sickness, bags arrived in Newark, and rechecked with no problems to ORD. A burrito. Another on time flight to O'Hare bikes and luggage arrived. No traffic from Chicago to Milwaukee(Thanks TIM) swapped cars at the laundromat on North Ave next to the Wendy's for a smooth ride all the way home. Rosco is pumped and so am I! Now I just hope I can sleep all night long!

Full Belgian experience recap coming soon!

Tervuren

2011-01-02T14:15:00.000-08:00

We finished our last race today in Tervuren. It was brutally hard. The hardest race yet. I felt like I was battling with different guys the entire race. I felt better each lap, but the Belgians are so much better in the mud. I've only done roughly 15 Belgian cross races. Sven Nys does 30 a year. That's a huge difference. I think I finished 36th today. All in all better results than last year. Better feelings, but I still think I can go harder or have more in the tank. Had I not been pulled today 6 guys were within range of passing.

Hopefully soon the race will be on youtube.

Anyway we finished up our last night here in Belgian at a Frituur shop. Frites and Burgers. Then we came home for a Leffe and packed up our bikes. What more could you ask for...the Packers game streaming live!!! Better get going...games on GO PACK GO

Flying home tomorrow! Next update from Sheboygan, Thanks for reading.

Baal

2011-01-01T10:27:00.001-08:00

I was scared as I was pinning on my number today...and thats not a good way to be at the start of a GVA. During the first warm up lap everything was good. Second time through a little faster in each line. On the final descent I started to go down and I started to go fast, but I couldn't stop and I kept gaining speed....I had to dismount at what felt like mock speed. The brakes, pads, and carbon rim combo just didn't have the power I needed ride at a comfortable speed on the descent in the wet and snow. I tried different pads and they didn't do the trick for me either. I was afraid of crashing....check out Boom on lap one. I figured if I lost 5 seconds per lap it would be better than breaking my collarbone.

Again this is not the mindset to be in at the start of a GVA. I was hoping once they blew the start whistle I would forget about it all, but I was still scared on lap one. On lap 2 I started going a little better, passing a few guys. Lap 3 I settled down a little and got in a good rhythm, but I was still losing too much valuable time running the descent. UCI RULE #59.C Disc Brakes are cool! I could have gone for some today for sure...or maybe some bigger cajones!

Mark and I pretty much raced together the entire race and finished 32nd and 33rd. It was brutally cold and hard. Deep mud, an iceberg field descent, a lung searing set of steps. Just what you want in a Belgium cross race. I can't help leaving the race course with a empty feeling though.

My legs don't feel like I put out a solid effort. Which means I can really crush it tomorrow and finish off the campaign with a really good result! I will be thinking of all the supporters, my Belgian Fan Club(who was there in full force today!), my Belgian support crew, and my family back home. Everyone has supported me so much and my last race will be a full effort to reward everyone with a good result!

Happy New Year

2010-12-31T09:09:00.000-08:00

We spent the last rest day in Belgium like many others. A cold, rainy, muddy day on our bikes. Cobblestones, cross bikes, and coffee(well the coffee wasn't that good again). Pete Webber came over to the house with a map of the Ronde Van Vlaanderen route. We did 3 of the classic cobbled climbs and many other narrow farm roads that were flowing with water and mud.

We attacked

climb 6: Koppenberg @ 182 km

climb 7: Steenbeekdries @ 187 km
climb 8: Taaienberg @ 190 km

I can't imagine the beating that the body takes racing Tour of Flanders or Paris Roubaix on these cobbles for 250 km's. The climbs are barely rideable on a cross bike. We did a short 25k ride at an easy pace. You can check out the map by clicking on the link below.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/61281894

After the ride we finished all of our laundry, cleaned up the house, and made our last trip to the Delhaize on the town bikes. We cooked up the last of our food and hopefully have leftovers for the next 2 nights. We squared up with the financials with the mechanic and there is nothing left to do except race as hard as possible the next 2 days and check the e-mail a few more times!

Tomorrows race is the GVA - GP Sven Nys in Baal; Nys' home town. We race at 3:00. www.sport.be if you want to watch it live. The Fidea Cup in Tervuren is the final race on Sunday. Then its back to the good ol' US of A!

Can't wait to hang out with Rosco!

Sylvestercross

2010-12-30T12:29:00.000-08:00

Today was a 'smaller' race in Bredene, Belgium. The Sylvester Cross. Gregory our mechanic started the morning out by saying, "today will be a good day." He could feel it in the air! We arrived to the small town near the coast 3+ hours before the race.

Where is inschriptjion? Ahhh of course go down the course take a left and into the cafe! Look for the Jupiler sign and the bikes. That is kind of like saying look for the house with the Packers flag in Sheboygan. After smoking about 20 second hand cigarettes we made our way to the back, back, back room of the pub to find a few UCI officials sitting at a table with about 50 Ham & Cheeses. By the time we registered the pile of Ham & Cheese was almost gone! I was number 15 and at the time the 4th guys on the list of participants with UCI points....hmmm maybe a front row....naaa no way. Not with Stybar, Albert, Nys, Dlask, Zlamilek, Vanthourenhout.

We head out onto the course...its like a WCA, flat, bumpy, and super fast. It'll be way different than any race we have done so far....hit the trainer and suit up..."Nys" "Albert" "Stybar" "Stybar" "Stybar" no Stybar...10 names later "Matter" I am consciously thinking better save that spot for Stybar, but unconsciously my bike steers itself to the last open spot in the front row! Photo Time! 30 Seconds....."whistle" I bump bars with Zlamilek for the second day in a row and I'm off the line first. Head down I'm going good...yes holeshot...first dude to the start finish! 150 meters later I'm 5th through the first corner with Nys, Stybar, and Albert!

In my book I could have called it a race right there and saved myself 59:45 of pain! I was already a winner as long as someone snapped the photo??? So I pedal through the first five corners and lose about 15 spots....whoa I'm not comfortable going this fast....another 5 corners and another 5 spots lost...I can't accelerate out of a corner....another 5

spots....ouch I'm hurting...I'm trying too hard...I start lap 2 with a 20 meter gap behind a big group and I suffer down the start finish stretch...I go through the first corner and realize I have way too much tire pressure...I go through the pits tell the mechanic to lower the pressure and change the rear wheel to a more aggressive tire. The course is getting more and more greasy. I lose 5 more spots during the next half lap and I'm counted in around 40th spot when I go through the pits and get ready to start lap 3....20 meters behind another group. I start lap 3 and get off the pavement and instantly can feel a difference. I start going forward! I start feeling better. I catch the group. I move through the group to the next group. I moved through that group and was really starting to hit the lines good. Man I can't beleive I bombed such a good start with too high of a tire pressure. Oh well keep racing and going forward. I raced smart from lap 3 to the finish. Moving forward in the technical sections and sitting in a recovering whenever possible! Finished up 23rd!

Next up...some much needed R&R....the past 5 days have been 4 of the hardest cross races in the world. We get a day of rest and then finish it up with 2 more races...Baal & Tervuren.

Thanks again to all for reading and supporting, special thanks to David Aukerman for donating.

Racing in Loenhout

2010-12-29T11:12:00.000-08:00

Today was good! Loenhout has to be the biggest stop on the Belgian Christmas Cross circuit. Tons of racers, tons of fans, and tons of mud. Today was by far the best I have felt racing over here this year. I had a good start and mentally I was ready to race instead of just ride in circles. With a huge amount of fans cheering for me it made it pretty easy to go out there and suffer in a good way. I couldn't beleive how many people were cheering for me.....not Jesus, but me. For whatever reason I have earned the respect of the Belgian fans! Around every corner I could here my name, but if they were not yelling my name they yelled for JC, Jesus, Santa, and even Osama!

This year with the new 80% rule in effect it is going to make it pretty difficult to finish on the lead lap, but I'm going to do my best. Today I was riding in a group of 5 with 2 laps to go. We were going pretty good and there was no way we were getting lapped. I was pumped to suffer even harder. Getting ready for the long pavement section I drift to 5th wheel to sit in and save some energy for the last lap and the final tractor pull section where I will make my move....

Then, 'tweet tweet' a super anticlimactic finish. 4 guys in front of me roll to the side of the course and I'm 5th. The officials take out some scissors cut the transponder out of the back of each of the 4 guys in front of me and then cut out my transponder. I wait another 30 seconds...still no sign of the leaders. I decide to pedal off towards the van and never even heard the roar of the crowd as Niels Albert took to the final stretch for his second victory in as many races. So I'm figuring at very very least 1:00 minute, but more likely 2:00 minutes before they would have caught me. All I had to do was ride another 100m and I could have started my last lap. I don't think it would have taken more than 10 seconds even if I was soft pedaling to make it to the start/finish. Not sure I quite like the rule on the last lap...on the other hand I do agree with the rule....if you are out of contention with 2 plus laps to go and you will be passed by the top 10 or 15 you should be pulled. Its not fun getting passed by 15 guys and its not fun for the 15 guys who are battling to pass you.

I'm not complaining by any means.....if anything more motivated to race faster....especially if all these folks are cheering for me!

Dagelijkse routine (The Daily Grind)

2010-12-28T00:52:00.000-08:00

We better start things out by saying the coffee in Belgium is not the same as the coffee back home. My first problem is I still can't figure out the coffee maker, so every morning starts of by boiling some water and pouring it through the top of the coffee filter to slowly drip into the pot. Not only does this take a huge effort on a groggy morning, but it leaves something to be desired in the taste of the coffee.

Next up is usually a little breakfast. Ham, Egg, & Cheese sandwich(you didn't think I was going to do this whole trip and not eat Ham & Cheese did you?) followed by a bowl of Mueslix and some honey.

On race days we usually make some Ham & Cheese, make some bottles, pack the race bag and head to the race course after breakfast. Gregory, Nele, and Chris our Belgian support crew usually show up 30 minutes before we depart. They have our bikes, hot water, tea, wheels, pretty much everything you need to race and be as comfortable as possible ready to rock for us.

We arrive to the races, somehow figure out inschrijption(registration, which is not always easy), while we do that Gregory and Chris set up our bikes and the tent with trainers, back to the van for a change of clothes, a sandwich, and then a quick inspection of the course. We figure out tire's, tire pressure, and the good lines. Back to the van to make any changes necessary to the equipment and then into the comfort of our folding chairs in the back of the van.

Sometimes its freezing back there, sometimes not so bad. Sometimes the condensation on the roof is dripping like a rain forest sometimes not so bad. We pin on our race numbers, talk about the course and start the mental preparations for the 1 hour of pain(or less). Maybe another Ham & Cheese, a Clif Bar, some Clif Bloks with extra caffeine and with 50 minutes before race start we are back outside for 20 minutes on the trainers. Once again Gregory and Chris have killed it and have our training bikes as clean as the day we got them and set up on the trainer with a slick rear wheel. With 30 minutes to go we are back in the van for a 15 minute superman session.

All wet clothes have to come off and all dry race clothes back on. Its nearly impossible not to get something that is suppose to stay dry soaking wet. You try to stay organized, but you favorite racing sock always goes missing. Just the left sock though. If not your socks, your gloves, your ear band, your left leg warmer....

With 15 minutes to go you eat your last bit of Belgian energy, check the tire pressure in all your wheels 4 more times, and then ride to the start line. Nele is there 3 minutes before they say go to take your jackets and then you are off. After the race she is the first person we see to return our jackets, open up the van, and pour us some hot tea. Once again to the back of the van for warmth, some recovery food, and a little reflection time of what just happend. We change again while Gregory and Chris once again shine our bikes so that we can do it again....all in all a dialed set up for a couple of Americans....

On non race days the mornings are much slower paced....e-mail, faceboook, e-mail facebook, podiuminsight, velonews, e-mail, facebook, cyclingnews, cxmagazine...etc

Laundry is in, shoes are on the Belgian drying rack(which leaves a quite unpleasant aroma in the house)clothes are re-organized. Blogs get updated, photos are downloaded. By 12:00 noon we are usually on our bikes for either a training ride or a recovery ride. Today a recovery ride....

After the ride we will be on the townies and head to the Delhaize for some groceries, the pharmacy for some ibuprofen and tiger balm, and a quick trip to the Chain Stay to visit the Canadians. While we do this Gregory will be dialing in the bikes on which we trained for the day. Usually another Ham & Cheese for lunch is thrown in there for some substenance, and dinner usually around 7:00.

After dinner is Belgian TV which is usually Discovery Channel, Dawsons Creek, or if we are really lucky the Simpsons. It only lasts for 10 minutes then we usually end up checking the e-mail, facebook, blogs, race results, youtube, e-mail, facebook etc...with a Belgain guy singing an old Disco song in Flemish on the TV. TV is on, but we are not watching, just some background noise. To Bed time around 11:00 for some Skype phone calls back home, one last e-mail check and some reading...then lights out.

Next up is the Azencross in Loenhout www.sport.be Thanks for reading and thanks to Joe Mathes and Brian Kingsbury for their donations.

Diegem is het beste!

2010-12-27T13:57:00.001-08:00

Diegem is my favorite stop on the Euro CX circuit hands down. Racing under the lights. A super cool course w/ steps, drops, sand, snow, mud, and pavement. A huge Discotech with a great party atmosphere. Tons of people watching. Lots of people cheering for the Americans and Jesus and the Matter Fan Club was on the back side of the course!!! I didn't get to talk to the guys, but I raced fast for them! At least a lot faster than Zolder. I still have more in me...

I didn't have a great start, which in the snow means you can't really have a good first lap or second lap for that matter. Everyone gets lined up on the one good line and goes single file, the gaps open, but you have to take a huge risk to get off of the good line to pass. Most of the time that risk results in a crash and then your further back in the line. By the time things opened up and you could pass I was in 48th.

I started moving forward pretty fast. Bridged up to the group of the Americans on lap 3. Went through the group and started to move forward again on lap 4. Caught a few more guys, but ran out of real estate. I was lapped again, but at least I was racing today. 35th position. No major problems with my pedals or shoes today, but still not the best clipping in...going to try to swap some things out and make some changes.

The coolest part of the day by far was an interview and photo shoot for cyclosprint.be! One of Belgians only CX magazines. It was like glamour shots, but at a cross race. Journalist Simon Lamon and photographer Kristof Ramon hooked it up big time. I can't wait to see the article and the photos!

4 races down 4 races to go. Tomorrow is a rest day and then the biggest cross race competitor wise of the year in Loenhout.

Zolder & Belgian Matter Supporters

2010-12-26T12:43:00.000-08:00

The highlight of the day. The start of the Belgian Matter Fan Club. These guys found me at the tent before the race, yelled at me in the race, and consoled me after the race. It was rad!

Today I got a World Class ass kickin'......not sure why really, but its super frustrating. I didn't even get to race really. I had a good start, then the normal chaos of the first 5 corners. I opted to run rather than risk a crash. Still in good position I

mounted my stead, but couldn't clip in....oh well another hill and more chaos....pass more guys running. 1:30 into the race it spreads out a little and you can start to race rather than battle for position. I still can't get clipped in...I make it to the pits where there is some pavement and manage to clip in my right foot. At least I can pedal a little now. Oh yeah I'm in last place. I make it to the end of the lap do the run up,(check out the picture of Danny The Nanny) it was steep, and again can't clip in with both feet.

Down the entire start/finish stretch which is quite long and I can't clip in??? Not only can I not clip in...I'm in last place...and I'm trying to pedal with balls of ice under my feet. Lap 2 was horrible, Each time I have to pedal hard when I think my right foot is in, it comes out and I smash my shin on my pedal, or knee on my stem. Not fun...start lap 3 and I knew it was over. Already 6 minutes down after 2 laps...why am i doing this??? Oh yeah its because these crazy Belgie's are yelling for me and I love this stuff..... My legs want to unleash some fury and tomorrow I just might have another chance! Diegem at http://superprestige.vt4.be/ live at 5:00pm EST which is 10:00am WI time and 11:00am Mich. time. Mark finished up in the top 50 in one of the toughest World Cup's of the year...only 29 guys finished on the lead lap.