Fall Fun & Home Improvement Time

Lots has been going on after the USGP last weekend. First off all we chopped down a huge, half dead, maple tree in our front yard that was hangin half over the house. It was pretty crazy watching the guy 100ft up in the air swinging around on ropes like Tarzan with the entire house shaking as piece by piece of the tree hit the ground.

After the tree was down it was up to me to stack the wood and clean up the mess. Each of the logs had to weigh close to 80 lbs and my biceps are still burning as a I type. And yes that stack of wood is 4ft deep by 6ft tall by 8ft wide w. just a few smaller logs in front.

A couple hard training rides thrown into the mix. Plus an awesome Wednesday night Trek Mountain Co-Op group ride to preview the WORS race course. The ride was awesome with about 30-35 people in attendance. The Papa Johns pizza and home made brew afterwards topped off a perfect fall bike ride. Thanks Trek.

Thursday morning I decided I needed to head out for a longer ride to get better aquanted with my new Norcross. It was the best day of the year for riding. The leaves were changing colors, the temps were perfect, and the legs felt great.

Now I'm off the Nyhoff Custom Gutter & Aluminum in Oostburg to check out new vinyl siding for the house! Gotta love it...

USGP

As Tristan likes to say, "Your only as fast as your last race."

I wasn't super motivated to do a post race USGP blog update because I was a little disappointed with Sundays result and according the T's theory I was still #1 in the blogosphere with my Chequamegon update!

Day one at the USGP. I wasn't sure

what to expect. I hadn't done a cross race in 9 months. I had only been over a home made rope barrier during one day of training. I had only been on the new Norcross SL a handful of times.

I opted for a conservative star

t. I think at the end of lap one I was near 30th position. I started feeling good a

nd easily moved through the field. Midway through the race I had just bridged a huge gap to Barry Wicks. Unfortunately there was not a sole in site when I caught Barry. I was pretty gassed by the time I made con

tact. In the last half of the race Barry and I caught Ryan Knapp. I attacked with 2 to go trying to reel in Troy who was sitting 10th. I ran out of pop and finished 13th last in our group, but in the UCI points.

I was the luckiest cross racer of the weekend after the race when I rolled back to Elicia's house about 4 miles away from the course. Andrea made me an awesome dinner and Elicia hooked me up with a little back rub! I was ready for day 2.

Day 2 started a little early w/ some SuperFan action watching some friends, Bruce & Wally, Elicia, and Mike kill it in their respective races. A little lunch and next thing you know I was on the start line again.

I started much better and was in the mix over the barriers on lap

1. A half lap later the race went bad. Luke K missed a pedal at the top of the run just ahead of me and a 4 second gap opened. 12 guys were up the road and I chased for an entire lap with the gap at 4 seconds. Luke K was winning the U-23 race and had no interest in helping chase the big boys. Ryan Knapp was there, but not strong enough on day 2 to help. The elastic snapped. I was in no mans land and pretty dissapointed. A couple laps later solo I had to sit up and wait for the next big group to catch. Once again it was Barry bridging up with Luke Keogh & Ryan Knapp, Van Nuffel and McGrath. As soon as they caught I went hard again only to put 20 feet on the group. I was feeling strong, but I missed the race on lap 1. With one to go I attacked and shattered our group. At the end only Sean was able to sit on my wheel and he got me on the last run up. 14th place

All in all a good weekend of racing, but I know I have more in me. The bikes were awesome and with a little fine tuning of seat position & bar position I should be ready to go for the UCI3 in 2 weeks. Thanks to all who helped in the pits, all who cheered, and all who took photos. It's going to be a good season!

Monday morning we dropped a big tree in our front yard....it was almost as intense as the GP!

This morning I stacked 80 lb tree logs. My biceps hurt!

Thanks for reading and huge props to Colt from WWW.CYCLINGDIRT.ORG for making it real!

Fat Tire Repeat

At the end of last week I thought for sure I was going to ride all mtb season long with a #1 plate and not defend any of my titles from last year. Something clicked mid week though. Some encouraging e-mails, a solid workout, and the leaves changing colors made me remember what Chequamegon is all about!

We pulled out of the driveway early Friday morning. It was a smooth drive up. Stopped in Phillips for our annual Subway lunch w/ the Ttown Flyers. Pulled into Telemark Lodge around 3:00 ready for a re-ride. Everything was good, legs good, bike good, the sun started peaking out. Then with 5 miles to go in the pre-ride I put a really good 1" slice in my rear tire. I fixed the flat in record time, but then blew out the tube because I was an amatuer and didn't check my tire. I thought I was going to lose all my blood from the mosquitos, I thought I was going to have to walk 5 miles, I thought my race was over...Tristan or Bill didn't have air and T's spares tube had a hole in it....also amatuers! Luckily a fellow rider stopped with some assistance and my Clif Bar wrapper helped the slice stay closed tand I nursed the tire back to the finish line.

Demo Ken was the next hero of the day when he suggested the rugged Bontrager XR2 TLR for a repalcement tire. It reminded me of an old school Tioga Farmer John, but it was going to have to do the job. The Ttown Flyer crew pulled through with some Stans and a CO2 to help the tire get set up tubeless. It was a little stressful to say the least with white crap pouring out of your untested tire the night before the biggest mtb race in WI. We left Telemark 3.5 hours later with full doubts in my head and a dirty bike. Andrea and I went for dinner w/ Sager and Tristan...little did we know that everyone at the dinner table was going to kill it the next day! At 10pm I pulled out of the car wash and headed for bed.

The morning arrived and it was brisk. Not quite as cold as a few years ago when there was a full frost, but it was cold. I still had white stuff coming out of my wheels. I was afraid to let air out of the tires. I rolled down Hwy 77 with a tailwind for my warm up thinking I feel OK. Went through Rosies field thinking I need to let air out of the tires....I did. Back on the road towards the start with Dirk Rettig, headwind, legs cold and not feeling good.

The start was standard and seemed a little safer to me than in years past. I was at the front and was the first guy off the pavement in to Rosies field(not counting the guy on the cross bike and Mike Anderson who drafted the ATV half way down Hwy 77). I kept it cool and let Doug, Tilford and Tristan roll by and settled in. I was warm for about two seconds and pushed down the arm warmers and un zipped the jersey. Then the pace settled...the lead group was 20 strong and nobody was going anywhere. Why are my legs so cold? Mike Anderson was strong, Tilford was strong, Tristan was strong, Doug was up there, Sager was there. I attacked multiple times to see if anyone would come with me, but really was just trying to warm up my legs.

At hwy OO the group was a little smaller, Tilford had flatted and my legs were still cold. Doug drilled it for a while on his 26" fully suspended bike...just like old times....we dropped a few more riders. Then it went down. Mike Andersone was at the front. He must have pre-rode the whole course because at the biggest puddle he found a sweet line around in some singletrack to the right, then another to the left. I peaked over my right shoulder in the first singletrack and I saw Doug going through the puddle. His front tire was out of sight, the wave from the ATV almost covered his bars, he was skateboarding his bike knee deep in the water, while Mike, Tristan, Sager, and I were riding away.

We came out onto the long dirt road section w/ a gap and instantly started rotating. We were gone and one of use was not going to make the podium???

As we approached the Fire Tower all I could think about was why are my legs so cold? I was feeling good, but Sager was feeling better. He crushed it up the climb as my legs started to twinge. He went over the top 5 seconds ahead of Tristan and I was another 5 seconds back. Mike was about 10 behind me....I could tell he was hurting. It all came together on the descent. My legs were cold....heading towards the last section of the Birkie I tried to take a pull to warm up the legs, but they started cramping. I was thinking to myself I just need to out suffer Mike and get 3rd. Sager attacked and my legs cramped. I pushed through the first part of the climb where I had attacked last year and followed Tristans wheel. Sager was riding away with the win. Tristan was pulling me up the Birkie, but it seemed he could only climb as fast as I could. We started trading pulls and worked together the next 6 miles to catch Sager with 2 miles to go.

Tristan went to the front I followed into second postion thinking - One of us has to win -If Tristan goes at least Sager will have to go around me- Tristan made his move, it was not enough, but it did hurt Sager and right then I knew I was going to win. One more climb and I attacked and pedaled over the top. 10 second gap instantlly. I was seeing stars and my vision was horrible, the legs were cold but not cramping. I knew I had just won my 3rd Fat Tire and it was the first time I had enough of a gap to cross the finish line with my hands in the air.

The best part of the day was after the podium presentation when I saw Andrea cross the finish line. I was so excited to see her! She had an awesome race...she thought for sure she had just finish in 10th place. Her best finish ever. She was so excited she almost had an asthma attack(actaully she did have a little asthma attack and I had to repeatedly tell her to calm down). She ended up 11th(a little bummer than she wasn't top 10), but it was by far her best Chequamegon ever. She was less than 40 seconds away from 8th place. As her mechanic I was happy her bike worked....you can ask SKJ, as a husband/mechanic its not fun when your wifes bike doesn't work.

After the race we cleaned up had some burgers and hung at the Muskie Museum w/ the Schoutens.

Then it was party time, but that's a different story.

A huge thanks to everyone who helped out with my flat tire(let me know if I owe you tubes or C02'S???) on Friday, who cheered, who sent me messages on facebook, and to Rachael my team mate who gave up her warm long sleeve jersey so I could look good on the podium! Thanks to Gear Grinder and Trek for all the help during all 3 Chequamegon Championships!

Shreddin'

Treadfest has come and gone....it was a strange race for me. I had a horrible ride on Saturday for a warm up. I figured I better warm up extra good on Sunday morning before the race, but again I felt horrible. Uh oh - 5 minutes into the race the leaders were gone. The top ten was out of sight, but then something clicked.

I ripped a corner. I nailed a line. The Top Fuel started performing like the trail was nobodies business. I was racing on sweet trails. I started passing guys, and the faster I rode the smoother I felt. I caught the chase group of Eppen, McCartney, and Adv. 212. 3/4 of the way through the 1st lap. I was back in the game.

We started lap 2 and it was me and McCartney. He killed it up the climb and gapped me a little at the very top, but I knew I would catch him in the singletrack. I did and I followed him for a 1/4 lap. It was like doing intervals....not fun ones. He would struggle in the singletrack, but then crush it like it was his last race ever when he got out into the open. I finally passed him and one corner later he was gone. Each lap I put about 30 seconds on him and he would have no problem closing that gap on the

start climb!

He was strong, but his skills were rough. I love it when you can beat someone in a race because your skills are better than theirs! I heard he crashed on the last lap rock section and lost about 1/2 of each of his 4 front teeth????

I finished about 2 minutes down on Tristan, but had to have lost at least half of that in the first lap when I was still sleeping. The mental motivation was lacking, but with Chequamegon this weekend it back. I had a killer workout yesterday. The bike got a few upgrades and is ready to rock. Tomorrow morning we load up the Hyundai and head north! I wonder if the leaves are changing colors yet? I also wonder what Doug's thinking? How did he win by 8 minutes in 03? It was also 03 that Tristan last won a triple crown event? I'm pumped!

After Chequamegon, its full on CX season with only one mtb race left this year...Iceman. The cross bikes are dialed. I have ridden both of them....the mud tires and glued and mounted. The dry tires are glued and will be mounted by Sunday evening. Just got the last pieces of the puzzle today. Some new Bontrager Evoke saddles. Hats off to Bontrager for making some huge improvements in the saddle department. Andrea loves her new Affinity RXL WSD!

ps. Testing out some new J-Tree Embrocation and healing cream!!! Stay Tuned

...and it's Steelers colors!

CROSS SEASON IS HERE

There's talk all over the net about cross. Building bikes, gluing tires, Wednesday cross practices, and even races. The buzz about cross is still growing louder and the season seems to be getting longer each year!

I'm doing the same. Aquasealin', Gluin', Buildin', waiting for the UPS truck to come around the corner in his big brown truck for the final pieces of the puzzle! The NORCROSS SL framesets arrived yesterday along with all my wheels from EASTON. The bikes are superlight! The wheels are just as sweet as last year! It was a late night in the shop last night cuttin' steerer tubes and pressing BB30 adapters. Good thing the Hyundai Elantra Touring has a ton of cargo room to bring all the stuff home!

Then the fun switched to my basement. I slapped on the new Shimano components, the PRO bar, stem, and post, along with the TRP's. I spent some time in the basement and didn't see any bats! Being in the basement preparing for cross made me think of Matt Kelly training for worlds in his basement. Don't think I could ride in my basement though...ceilings too low. Hoping to have at least one of the bikes ready to ride for an easy commute to work tomorrow!

Can't wait to get muddy! First chance is in Madison at the USGP. Second chance and more likely to get muddy is at the UCI3 in Cincinnati. Its worth the drive. 3 races, beer tents, superfans, and the best bbq ribs in the world!

Coffee Classic

It was another scorcher at Alterrra....it seems every year at this place is rained out then re- scheduled for the hottest day of the year. The sun bakes you on the climbs and then you get lost in the maze of never ending singletrack...unless you use the force.

I used the force alright, but it was only enough to propel me to the top of the course on the prologue lap for the $100 King of the Mountain. As soon as I got into the first singletrack my 15 +/- second gap disappeared. We lapped through on the prologue lap 15 minutes into the race.

The three of us(D.B. and N.G.) headed out into the start of the 2nd lap together. I was fine until the gap opened to 1 second. 2 seconds...3 seconds...I better close that gap....oops too fast into that corner and too big of a gear to go 364 degrees around that tree then up a hill...oops 10 second gap can't see them anymore...try harder....bomb more corners....35 seconds by the end of the singletrack and race is over.

Starting the 3rd lap Mike Phillips caught me and almost did the same thing to me in the singletrack...I was suffering and paying for a million small mistakes. We came out of the never ending singletrack and I suffered up the clim, but recovered as Mike was have shifting/chain problems up the steepest part of the climb. He flicked me through on the flat section and I told him I was hurting too...I went really slow through the upper portion of singletrack, but then started to feel better riding my own pace(slow).

Starting the climb on the fourth lap I had a small gap over Mike, so I stood up and went...I didn't take much and he was gone. I rode horrible once again through the singletrack by myself, but felt pretty good finishing the race on the last two climbs.

Cross bike arriving and built by the end of the week! No more road bike! Vegas or no Vegas??

This weekend is MTB WORLDS in Mte. Ste. Anne! I went to Mte. Ste. Anne back in 1998 for Worlds. I was a student at Washtenaw Community College along with training partner Skyler Reeves. I ran into him after one of my classes the day before the races and said hey what do you think. After class we loaded up the car and a tarp and headed to Canada. I remember arriving late at night with no place to stay and we ended up crashing under our tarp on a helicopter landing pad. The next morning we ran into Klement Capliar who was out chanterelle mushroom hunting. He let us crash his place, fed us some amazing fresh wild mushroom soup and then later that year invited us to Tucson where it all started for real. We watched the race and cheered on the doped up Euros to victory. It's funny now to look back at MTB WORLD'S......it makes you think...

The countdown's on

CX season is quickly approaching! New sponsorhsip lined up with Shimano & TRP!

Tires ordered and being shipped!

Dura Ace components arrived!

Euro X Mag's here!

Smell of glue in the basement! Blue Norcross SL's any day now!

Can't wait for some mud! I think I forgot how painful it really is....

The Bay

Another WORS race in the books this past weekend. This one was held near the new ZOO in Green Bay. Andrea decided to take the weekend off so I hit the road with the next best thing!

Although many people thought it was Andrea and I...it was actually Elicia. We rolled in to the last parking lot on the road. I think it was 2 miles from registration. Got suited up and discovered the course was being run backwards....Oops I was really hoping for the flat long lead out. Instead we

started off right through the mud and my lack of warm up had me suffering from the start. Guerra was using his Jedi Knight skills to rip the singletrack. Half way through the lap a group of 6 was established. I was getting gapped out of each singletrack section, but it was ok because the pace was pertty herky jerky. I would easily close the gap going in to the next section. Starting lap 2 I had to test the legs a little...I was feeling stale and didn't really want to sit on the entire race. I went hard for about 10 minutes and the only thing I accomplished besides making the group 5 strong was almost getting dropped when Nathan finally came around me. It took me a good 20 minutes to recover. Mike Anderson lasted a little longer but was gone in the middle of the race.

Starting lap 3 I was feeling a little better but also feeling the legs startin

g to twinge. Tristan drilled it the entire lap...dropped Nathan and then there was three. I was suffering, but feeling better and better. Tristan finally snapped the elastic with 2 miles to go. We went into the singletrack behind some lapped riders and D.B. hit the brakes and made a full recovery before the final sprint. I made a rookie mistake....didn't even know where the finish line was so my sprint was half hearted and crampy.

I was hoping this guy was going to bring me good luck...I found him in my shoe the morning of the race.....I cried like a baby...Andrea saved me.

Another WORS race this weekend in Alterra.

The SHORE & MORE

Just back from Ore To Shore after a post race sweet vacation of dirt riding in the UP.

Ore To Shore -

6th place, 2 seconds away from the victory. It always hurts a little to be so close, but yet so far away. The sacrifices, the dedication, and all the hard work to fall 2 seconds short....but then again I've won the race on 3 different occasions the exact same way....with my closest competitor 2 seconds back....

The race started on Friday morning tracking down the UPS guy so I could get my new Oakley Custom Jawbones w/ Photochromic lens. The driver was pumped and so was I to have some new shades(replacements for the ones I lost in the attic earlier this year).

We arrived and I had a good pre-ride on the course. The Fuel felt solid on the bumpy course and the legs were rearin' to go.

Saturday morning brought perfect race day weather and before I knew it we were off. Early in the race on the luge climb and the power line climbs I was in perfect position. I knew if

something were to go it would be one of those 2 spots. After that I relaxed a little and then I think I fell apart. I wasn't ready for the 3 foot deep river we rode through and I was in a bad position. I suffered when I shouldn't have....I was also suffering a little before misery hill when the race was blowing apart, but I found one great line and was back to the leaders...watching and waiting. Nathan was strong and Simonson was strong.

With 6 miles to go the race really started when Simonson threw down a massive attack. I was tracking down a water bottle and the gap was opening. Tristan was struggling and I did a lot of work on the dirt road waiting for some help. TJ pulled through and I was back at the front again...flicked the elbow at the crest of a climb and Derek Graham almost popped me when he came through. In retrospect I should have attacked the group there and split it up instead of trying to work with the guys to bring back Simonson.

Eventually we all came back together....a sprint...I've won a few of these this year...I line up in Simonson's wheel. We realax when we hit the pavement. We shuffle. Guerra attacks everyone responds, except my legs...the cramp so bad I almost buck myself over the bars....I'm pedaling as hard as I can but can't make the legs go in cirlces...I round the corner and know that TJ has the WIN. Congrats to him...he played it perfect.

Andrea and Elicia also raced. Andrea had a rough go of it after crashing multiple times early on in the race with or because of other male racers. She finished with cables and housing flopping in the wind not connected to her bike. Elicia killed it in the short race finishing second and taking home just as much $$$ as me!

After the race we hit stuck to tradition and hit up Main Street Pizza and chowed down in the hotel room with Jamie Tristan and Ellie followed by a trip to meet up with all our friends and share war stories at the awards ceremony.

Then it was vacation time...I needed a break from training, but that doesn't mean no riding. In fact I was on my bike the next three days in a row riding the best MTB trails in the country. Sunday morning we did the new trails at Marquette Mtn with Mike Anderson and his dad, the Adventure 212 team, and a local guide. After that Andrea and I drove Houghton and rode the Tech Trails early Monday morning, and after that we drove up the Keewanaw for a sweet ride at Copper Harbor on Tuesday. We were hoping for more Wednesday at the trails in Swedetown, but we woke up to rain and 60 degrees. We both realized we were blown out so we headed home.

Next up...Andrea is signing up for some college courses, and I'm getting ready for cross season. Time to start going good w/ races the next 3 weekends in a row!

Huge thanks to Andrea for all the support leading up to Ore To Shore, Gear Grinder, and all the other sponsors!

Lull in the Action

There has not been much to write about lately...just the normal routine of training, resting, and then going to work and selling bikes. Andrea had been with her family at the 50 year anniversary of Firefly Lk. I've been living the bachelor life with Rocso!

I was really hoping to get to race at Alterra just to test the fitness after completing the base miles. Now its looking like I might not race the entire month of July....that would mean no racing all the way up to Ore To Shore....not so sure if I like that idea or not...

I did do a Superweek race the other day, but I'm not sure if that counts....half way through the race 10 guys up, 2 guys went down. You can guess the rest of the story from there....it was the Lake Front Road race and on the s-turn descent there was some run off water running down the road. The 3rd guy went down and the domino effect had started...by the time I went down I had slowed significantly so the road rash was minimal. The water was like ice in the winter....it was pretty crazy how fast my tires went out from under me once they hit that water. Oh well...I sat out a lap and then jumped back in for some training.

I have started my interval training and its refreshing....its nice to go and ride hard for 2 hours and then have extra recovery time....its like a whole new season mentally. All is on track for a good race at Ore To Shore and then hopefully be going even better for the first 2 USGP's.

In other news I have re-signed a contract w/ Blue and will be riding the all new NORCROSS for the 10-11 cross season. I'm really excited to keep working with a great company like Blue. There bikes are top notch.....

Speaking of which....now that 2 new bikes are on the way I really need to get rid of last years. Check it out and let your friends know.

My Sony camera took a dive the other day(hence the lack of pictures on the blog)but luckily it was still under warranty. I got it back yesterday!

SlaCKING

It's been a while since the last blog update. After the race in Mt. Morris I spent a lot of time on the bike. Between work and huge amount of times on the bikes there was no time left for blogging...or more like no brain power. After my last big week of base miles it ws time for a week of recovery. I spent the week screwing around on my mtb and having fun! Now Ore To Shore is a month away. The base miles are in the legs.....the big question is how fast can I get in a month??? Looking forward to the first test this weekend in Franklin.

Lovin' the TDF action. I think today Contador proved why the public generally doesn't like him. I hope charma nails him on the next big climb.

NORBA's

I'm not sure if it's a curse, but the last time I did a NORBA I crashed and separated my shoulder. This time it was OTB, but luckily no serious injuries. I'm not sure if I had a slow leak in my front tire, but I was pretty low on air. I was having a hard time descending with low tire pressure. In the heat of the moment with tons of superfans on lap 2 it happened. I was coming in a little hot, I rolled my tire a little on the log and it was just enough to throw off my balance and my line.....next thing I know I was going face first for a large pile of rocks. The crash itself wasn't so bad, but off the bike 2 times after to straighten the bars caused me to lose a lot of time and the group I was with. All in all I think I would have had a solid result without the crash. 27th with the crash was OK.

The short track was a tough course. Starting in the back didn't help at all, but I raced a strong race considering I haven't done an interval all year. 17th place. I ended battling with Darrin on the last half lap for the #1 WORS spot, but I think I spent too much time in the MILTY WILTY FUN HOUSE then night before.

Or maybe I didn't eat enough ICE CREAM....

The SUPER D was a blast as always, but the course seemed a little less technical this year, and it was much shorter. I was feeling the fatigue and didn't have it in the pedaling sections. Carl Decker won my heat.

The good news for me is only another 1.5 weeks of base training. Eau Claire is up in the air as I'd like to finish the base training with a really big week instead of blowing myself out at a race. After that it will be nice to show up fresh at a race instead of blown out after a ton of miles or feeling flat after a rest week.

Big weekend plans with a couple of 4 hour rides. the start of the Tour, 4th of July, and the celebration of A & E's Birthday.

PS HUGE THANKS TO THE PERSON WHO FOUND ANDREA'S OAKLEY'S ON THE SIDE OF THE TRAIL AND TURNED THEM IN TO LOST AND FOUND!

how not to go fast

Racin' Campin' & Turnin' left

Even though I'm not quite finished with the building of the base miles, this week is filled with lots of races. It started last Wednesday with a trip up to Houghton, MI for a JR mtn bike camp. Doing the camp was the best decision of my season so far. I had a blast and we rode some awesome trails at Michigan Tech and in Copper Harbor. The campers also had a blast, learned a lot in the lectures and killed it in the race. Some of the juniors had better bike handling skills than me! I really hope to do it again next year. The area is perfect with 4 major trails systems in the immediate area, and the lodging in the dorms at MI Tech. The cafeteria food on the other hand leaves little to be desired....

All except 2 campers participated in the Keewenaw Chain Dr race including myself. It turned out to be another battle royale with another sprint finish! This time I think it was even closer than Wausau with my ankle chip timer crossing just ahead of Mike Andersons ankle chip.....the chip time was actually identical in the results and it was sooo close that I actually might have got the 'W' because the 'B' in Brian comes before the 'M' in Mike in the alphabet.

The race course was amazing, but it was a shock to the system to race full speed ahead at the end of a rest week and after cruising around pretty slow all week working with the jr's more on skills than fitness. It took me more than half the race for the shock to subside as I hung on to Mike's wheel for dear life. He was killing the fast technical singletrack and I could tell he had ridden there many times before. Once I hit the last 10 miles I was much more confident as I had pre-rode that section of trail with the JR the previous day. With 6 to go there was a huge descent to a slippery river crossing....Mike took a bad line, I took over on the climb out of the river bed then crushed the 2 track for the next 4 miles, I couldn't drop Mike though and I didn't really like my odds in the up hill paved sprint. We came out on the pavement...I gave Mike a few words of advice and then bit down...the rest was history.

Saturday night after the race we watched some fireworks in downtown Houghton to celebrate a succesful camp. I came home Sunday night blown out after one last ride with the Jr. campers. Monday was a busy day at work preparing for the downtown Sheboygan TOAD race. Tuesday was an even busier day with lots of racers stopping by the shop for last minute repairs and the regular customers who were buying bikes for the summer. At the last minute I decided to jump into the race and help out my old buddy Jonny Sundt and his team mates on the Kenda pb GearGrinder Team regain the yellow jersey....I think I turned left over 200 times. The Fisher Cronus killed it and with the Easton Wheels it must have weighed in right around 14 lbs!

This weekend is the NORBA at Nordic MTN...can't wait to see some old hommies....last time I did a NORBA was 2004!

Showdown

I'm always a little bummed when I can't be part of a good battle. I know that Barry showing up to a WORS race is a good opportunity to race against another fast guy. Tristan and Barry were battling it out and I could only watch from 6 switchbacks away. I know that I'm on track with my training and I wasn't expecting much after my final week of Base 2 riding, but you always want to battle and always want to win every race you start, but you can't. I'm keeping my sights set on the big picture.

I had enough gas to stay with the guys on the first lap, but over the top of the climb on lap 2, in the energy sapping mud, I went over the limit....

After that there was nothing I could do....I had reached the end of my energy tanks for the month, and Sunburst is not a course where you can fake it....

I tried to recover and stay steady, but I was only going steadily slower and slower as the race progressed. Nathan G finally dropped my on the start of the last lap and then I rolled it in for 5th. One more month of base riding and then hopefully I can show up to some races feeling fresh!

Andrea just finished her base training and is now ready to start killing some intervals. Elicia did her first mtb race of her life and killed it in the sport class! Watch out she might get really fast if she can tune up her technical skills.

I'm really pumped to have a rest week, and really pumped that half of the week I don't have to work, and I'm going to the UP for some fun trail riding and a JR camp.

ATTENTION JR's you can still sign up today and tomorrow. CLICK HERE for info

Time for a massage...

UPDATE

Lots going on in the past week. First off, I'm now 32 years old. Spent an awesome birthday weekend last week with Mom, Dad, Andrea, Rosco, Elicia, Bennett, and my Uncle Ted and his condo in Clear Lake Indiana. Lots of riding and relaxing!

The Gary Fisher Cronus is racking up the miles and is awesome. 18 hours in the last 6 days. Just shy of 400 miles. The best part about the bike...besides the super stiff headset and BB has to be the old school Flight Ti saddle that I found in the basement....fits like a glove!

When I got home from Indiana I picked up the new Gear Grinder team car. The 2010 Hyundai Elantra Touring. This is the perfect car for cyclists. Its not super expensive, gets 30 mpg on the hwy, and you can fit a ton of stuff in the back. I can't wait to take her on the maiden voyage.

Speaking of trips, next Wed 16th - Sunday June 20th I am hosting a JR. Mountain Bike Camp in Houghton MI along with the athletic staff at Mighigan Tech University. It's going to be awesome! I can't wait. There is still time to sign up, so check out this link if you or any other aspiring JR mtb'ers want to rip up some UP singletrack next week and you also have the opportunity to participate in the Keewanaw Chain Drive Race the same weekend.

Other than that I am trying to glue up some tubulars on the new Easton SL's for TOAD and cutting down the steerer on the new ROCK SHOX SID CARBON WORLD CUP!!! Thanks ROCK SHOX! Then I have to fix the flat from Wausau(haven't touched the bike since I took it off the bike rack after the race) Sunburst this weekend might be a spongy one!