...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!

BIG RING BLOW by BLOW

After a close sprint finish in Rhinelander I was pretty motivated and had pretty high confidence of my form after only a month of training. I was tired, but able to hang with the leaders...I needed a rest week and then I was going to kill it to prepare for Wausau. The motivation was high and I did 3 pretty hard training rides coming off of the rest week the Tues,Wed,Thurs before Wausau...I was maybe a little too motivated though because those three rides took it out of me and I wasn't feeling nearly as good as I wanted to be for the Big Ring....

I showed up to the race after a really rough warm up ride Sat. A quick trip to say Hi to Don, get registered, and hear a few things about the course. Upon arrival to my car....another frickin' flat tire....this time it was the bungee cord cutting a hole in the sidewall after bouncing up and down the highway for 3 hours on the way to Wausau....unbeleivable....not happy....then my old school MI training friend Jim Colflesh stopped by to say HI...it was sweet to see him...

I put in a tube and then had to reset. Back into the car for some ac and a break from the heat. A quick warm up and off to the course. I wasn't confident at all with my tires once again....too much air pressure with a tube to go around the loose gravel corners. Couldn't let any more air out because 2 years ago I double flatted in the rocks.

We started and right off the bat the Adventure 212 duo was at it again. Chris was off the front while D. Braun was opening the gap. Nathan G closed it only to flat in the first section of single track. The lead group was formed and about 6 of us where there. A lap later I realized that this was going to be a long funny race. Lots of tactics, nobody had a really great day to split the group and the course allowed for lots of drafting. The heat didn't allow for fast racing and many times throughout the race I found myself below HR 150. I also found myself in between two team mates the majority of the race. I asked Marko if he could help out, but he said he could only hang on. I had to close a bunch of gaps as Chris was taking every advantage he could to open them up. The thing that was weird was Chris took a wrong turn, crashed, and flatted, but nobody had the energy to take advantage of his mishaps. It was like I was in slow motion. I tried one attack on the final lap, but didn't have the legs...I was cramping with 15 minutes to go.....luckily I pedaled for another 15 minutes to the finish line and the legs loosened up just enough for one final effort. Another Wausau victory....it was an ugly one, but I'm gonna take it...

My motivation is still higher for training than racing right now....another 6 weeks of base training, and then I can start up some intervals and be well rested for the races!

Thanks for reading, thanks to all the superfans who were yelling as we came through the finish, and thanks to Christine for the awesome photo sequence!

ps the Trek Top Fuel sprints like a road bike w/ that DT Carbon rear suspension!!!

"W"ausau

It wasn't pretty, but I got my first win of the season!

CRONUS

Nothing like preparing for a mountain bike race by spending the week building up a new road bike. In all honesty I had my heart set of the new Madone w/ the DI2 from Shimano. I ended up with the next best thing. A Gary Fisher Cronus Ultimate w/ full SRAM RED. It's super light, super stiff, and ready for some action. I took it for it first spin on Friday. Everything seemed pretty good. I might go with a slightly smaller stem...good thing the Top Fuel needs a slightly longer stem! All set to head up to Wausau tomorrow and then enjoy a Monday of recovery!

The new road bike is set up with a 53-39 175mm crankset and a standard 11-23 10spd RED dome cassette. The bike has a super beefy BB and a 1.5" headset which should make my sprint even faster!



















I did make it out on the MTB last weekend and took 'er for a good warm up ride today. I think the tires are finally set, in another month I should be ready for some full speed ahead racing! Maybe I'll even make an appearance at a road race or two during T.O.A.D.???

crystal clear

A lot of thoughts were going through my head during the race this past weekend....

I wish I would have had more to drink....
I'm getting dropped right now...Lap 1, Lap2, & Lap 3
Lucky for me I'm riding a Top Fuel and Tristan is on a hardtail....
Jesse and Marko can kill the singletrack like no others, wish they were here...maybe not cause then i'd be dropped for sure...
I hope Barry does a WORS race later in the year when I'm a little better prepared so I can battle him...

Things started with a trip to Madison for Elicia's graduation from UW. We finished it all of with a pretty intense wiffle ball game. The best new rule we made up was being able to throw the ball at the base runner to get them out!

Sunday morning we made the long drive up to Rhinelander. Fatigue was beyond normal. I was at the end of a big base period and slept like crap for about 5 nights in a row. Andrea was in the same boat. Lucky for me I spotted a lg Red Bull out of the corner of my eye in the gas station about an hour out of Rhinelander. I told Tristan about my secret weapon and he laughed telling me my HR was going to spike to 190 and then stay there.....exactly what I was hoping for...otherwise I would have been suffering not being able to get the HR above 150.

The race started good and I filed into the singletrack about 5th wheel. I was loving the bike and felt like I was riding smoother than everybody else. I moved into 3rd wheel only to get a stick caught between the chainring and bb and almost got dropped when I had to dismount to get it out. Again I used the Fuel on the descents to bridge the gap.

Starting lap 2 the race blew apart....I felt pretty good and made one good effort to catch Barry as he was attacking, but it only last about a mintue.....and it was the beginning of the end for me. 15 minutes later the cramps started. I was way behind the hydration game.

Lap 3 was almost comical for me....I had to use every ounce of energy I had, every bit of experience I learned over the past 15 years, and I used every ounce of performance the Top Fuel had to offer. I suffered like a dog and I wondered what I was doing out there. I sat 3rd wheel behind Tristan and Chris P. Getting dropped on every little climb....legs twinging, but then risking it all on the descents to close the gap. I don't think the others could see that they were gapping me over the top. My hands even started to cramp half way through the lap. Chris went to the front a couple times and started to gap Tristan and I thought it was over, but he wasn't strong enough on the climbs to match T's fitness. Tristan would go back to the front and I would close the gaps on the descent and the suffer over the climbs with what had to be the worst pedaling form ever, trying to use the muscles that weren't about to go into a serious fit.

I somehow survived and thought to myself I might as well give it a whirl in the sprint. I timed the jump perfect but had to go to the outside...I had no power and my legs where fully cramped...Tristan came by on the inside, but I had timed it good enough to just get Chris on the line. All in all a sweet race...best on the WORS circuit.

This morning I couldn't straighten the legs where they had cramped when I got out of bed.....am I getting to old for this stuff? All I know is that Red Bull saved the day.

Eatin' Worms and havin' Flashbacks

Just finished up 18 hours on the bike in the past 6 days. Today was 3 hours of sideways rain and 40 degree temps. My trainer failed after 20 minutes so it was to the closet for double booties, tights, and rain jackets. I haven't worn that much clothing outside since Belgium. Good thing I decided to delay my training for nice weather!!!

The crummy weather decided my route for me....stay close to the lake and cruise due south to Harrington Beach State Park, then west to Belgium, and home on the new bike path with a little shelter from the trees.

I was feeling pretty good and thinking of my times in Belgium. I was only in the house for a total of 5-6 weeks, but it will be a 5-6 week time frame in my life I will never forget. I will always be able to draw on the experience for motivation.

So as I'm riding down the road w/ cow crap splashing off of my helmet and worms stuck to my glasses a vision pops into my head......

I'm cuddled in bed, nice and warm, dreaming of Ben & Jerry's, and winning bike races, when all of the sudden I get jarred awake. A door slams, and a foreign voice yells, 'WAKE UP' 'IT SNOWED' 'WE LEAVE IN 2 HOURS' then I here Troy Wells reply with some smart ass comment. I look out the window to see a fresh inch of snow covering the roads. I think to myself this is nothing compared to WI. I think to myself, are my bikes even on this continent. I think to myself, back to bed....

10 minutes later I'm making a Ham and Chesse and enjoying a fine cup of Belgian Coffee. 3 sugars and lots of cream is the only way I can get it down the hatch. Soon the bags are packed and I'm on my way to Kalmthout. My bikes have been lost for the past 4 days, maybe still in Chicago, maybe in London, or maybe at the race. I show to the race, my bikes arrived, a miracle, I don't have to ride J-POWS 1999 ragged out Salsa. My wheels are missing however and after a rough translation we determine they were left back in Izegem....one of the JR's moved them. Next up is Inschription, I'm in my blue jeans, and Sven is on the course, a quick half lap on the course, some warming cream, some cigarette smoke, a last row call up, freezing cold, no brakes down the start stretch, and then onto the course for one of the most epic cross races ever...too bad I ended up 1 lap down....

Then a car splashes me...I snap back to reality, look down at my computer and realize I still have to go for another hour, I'm going to be late for work, I'm tired, and I just want to go back to bed. I grit my teeth and finish the ride....

Racing this weekend is up in the air as of now. Andrea's sister Elicia is graduating from UW Madison.....we'll do a little partying and see what happens.

Thanks CLIF

As a cyclist you have to love base miles. You also have to love to consume a ton of calories at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. On the bike it is necessary to do the same during those long lonely base miles. Thanks to CLIF BAR I can take in all the calories I need(and more) and still be healthy. As a health conscious person you have to love Clif and there philosophies. When you look at the label you can pronounce all the ingredients, its mostly Organic, and it tastesdelicious!

I need to go ride so I can taste another new flavor.....

On Track

I woke up Sunday morning with 2 flat tires. I thought all my preparation was complete. The guys even came and installed the gutters this past Friday so all home improvement projects are finished for the season!



















I spent quite some time Friday tuning up Andreas Top Fuel w/ new cables, housing, chains, and some new rubber. My bike was mostly ready to go, but I had to get back on the DT XR Carbon rear suspension. The FOX was just too squishy....


After a while I thought I had everything set, went for a good ride and all air held....of course Sunday morning my tires were flat. So I did something I haven't done in a long time...raced with tubes....


Iola 2010....I'm not in race shape that's for sure...I could only hang with the leaders for approx 7 minutes...I think Tristan went extra hard at the start just to drop me! After a solid 3 weeks riding in Tucson, it was back to Sheboygan for 6 weeks before the first race. The first 5 weeks was spent doing one run per week and one ride per week. Leading up to Iola was my first block of training. Tue, Wed, Thurs, I finally got some good solid rides in and by Thursday I wasn't bonking at the 1:40 mark.


The race was exactly what I thought would happen....get blown out by the top guys and hang with the second group and battle to the end. I was just hoping to stay with the top guys more than 7 minutes!

















It was great to see all the familiar WORS faces and even better to see a few MATTER SUPPORTER T-Shirts in the crowd...Thanks for cheering Superfans! Next time I'll have some more miles and be ready for at least 14 minutes w/ the leaders...that would mean I'm twice as fast right?


Check out the post race interview here.