TIME + MILES = FUN

This past week was pretty good! I put in a lot of Time relaxin' by campfires and sleeping under the stars.

I put in a lot of Time hanging with family.

I put a lot of miles on the car and even a few miles on dad's new kayak.

Kayaking works for Adam Craig right?

Even better was not a lot of time at work and the perfect amount of miles and time on the bike. Mission accomplished in training prep for O2S and even did a few intervals in Cali for some icing on the cake. Here's the favorite photo from the week! Notice the smile contradicting the "Life is Crap" t-shirt!

See you in Marquette!

Quiche

Quick update following the WORS race yesterday at Alterra. I finished 5th and Andrea was 6th. My race was pretty good! I had a good start and was following Jesse on lap 1. On the climb a few guys passed me. A small gap opened in the last singletrack and going through the start/finish I was in no mans land. Coming off a rest week I didn't have the gas to jump across so I set a good tempo and cruised in for my best WORS race of the year.

In other news Bennet Vandergenugten won the BNS Tour De France point competition...then he did a sweet blog update...check it out!







Now we are off for some secret training for the week at Firefly Lk...next up O2S!!!

BNS TDF Points Competition

In the 2nd annual BNS TDF points competition its all coming down to the final TT. After TT#1 it was EVIL E Hildebrand. After Rest Day #1 I took a commanding lead. After rest day #2 it was Mike Ver who took charge. After todays queen stage the reigning champion took charge and holds a solid two point lead over the rest of the field. After picking todays winner I moved into a 2nd place stranglehold with BVDG Can Andrea hold on for her second consecutive win? Saturdays TT will hold all the answers. Stay tuned......

All aboard!

Check out 1 WORLD 2 Wheels and do it for real!

Also check out the all new live Gear-Grinder Website and buy some new clothing. I was lucky enough to get some free samples and the stuff is awesome. Recycled cotton and recycled bamboo t-shirts, and recycled bicycle tubes for wallets and belts. Do it for real!

Also help IMBA save some sweet singletrack. Do it for real!

I'm gonna!

Can't take the heat...get out of the KITCHEN

Busy at it...but sweet to take a day off of work.

"It's a Jelly"

A quote from Strange Brew one of my all-time fav's. Really when thinking about this blog update I was going to title it jealousy, but that's not the right word.

About 1 month ago I entertained the idea of going back to the East Coast for some NMBS action. Yesterday I talked with TJ after the race and it made me think a little. The last time I did a Norba was 2004. I crashed out of the race at Mt. Snow with a separated shoulder and then had to watch the Short Track from the sidelines the next day. That's not really how I wanted to end my Norba career, but I followed up that crash with some rest and with a W at Ore To Shore and the rest is history.

One of these days I will head out for another national level race, but the timing wasn't right this year. With the purchase of our new home, and a late start to the season, I needed these two weeks to complete a good training build. I also had to paint the kitchen! Today I got some new shades that will be enough motivation for this week of hard training and the Holy Hill road race on Monday.

I hope the WI crew rips it up in VT.

Fact: I have done the NORBA in VT 10 times~ I still know the race course like the back of my hand. I have only done the nude crit in VT 3 times. It's not quite as technical.

It's all good!

As my good buddy Glenner the UPS man would say, "It's All Good!" That's what I was thinking as I was driving home from Eau Claire last night. I was not thinking that as I was descending towards the small river crossing in the race and very quickly losing tire pressure. I rode as far as I could hoping it would seal and looking for a place to pull off the lengthy singletrack section that would not impede other racers. I quickly attempted a shot of big air in hopes the bead would seal, but no go again. So I went for the tube, poored stans all over my front rotor, and was off and running again. Needless to say I was pretty far back being so early in the race and needless to say my front brake was not the best with a liquid latex coating. Anyway I knew I needed to race to I put on the game face and made the best of my situation. I raced hard the entire race, had high HR numbers, and finished in the money. Take away the 3 or so minutes it took to fix the flat and I could have been racing for a top 5.

Andrea killed it! Once again she made the podium and brought home more money that I did!

I'm not liking the view from the podium way over here, but I'm confident the fitness is getting there and the training is going good. Good luck to the top 5 who are heading east this week for some national racing.

Hangin' @LT

With no race last weekend I have had some time to do some quality training. Lots of 20 min LT intervals. Yesterdays session almost ended in a blaze of glory as I finished in a crazy lightning storm with power lines shooting sparks like it was the 4th a few days early. Not cool.

I also had a little time to relax and finally got to watch KLUNKERZ in full. It was sweet and brought back some of my old school memories...first one was this....Sport Overall Champion 1994 w/ the man himself.
















Or the days of racing in T-Shirts against Mesko...
















Or my first World Cup in 95 Helen, GA...



















Can you name the top 3?


On the homeowner front it goes like this: Painted a kitchen ceiling, mosquitoes, raked a small pile of leaves, mosquitoes, thought about mowing the lawn(didn't), and more mosquitoes.

New Gear Grinder apparel is almost ready along with the website...soon to be seen on a podium near you! Off to Eagle River for the holiday weekend and then over to WORS for the Firecracker!

As spoken by HB himself, "LATER DUDE"

SBF The SAGA Continues

So Superior Bike Fest went down again and it was just as action packed as last year! Not quite as much road rash and blood and not quite as much prize money won, but we still did pretty good. The main characters making a return include:

Brian (no mullet this year) Matter, Andrea (Nurse Mom) Matter and Elicia (ER) Hildebrand

New to this years edition were

Tristan & Jamie (we just got hitched) Schouten

It started off really bad as I was two miles from the cabin we rented for the weekend and the 5.0 was rolling behind me....luckily the officer let me go with a warning....

Then the real speeding began as the Twilight Criterium was off in full force. The first 3 laps were possibly the hardest effort of my life as my lungs were crying for relief and I thought the break would go...but it didn't. A few more hard solo efforts off the front and I was rewarded with 6th place(one spot out of the money). Tristan was 9th. ER used her mad skills and didn't high side it like last year . She pulled off a top 5.

The night went south when at 12:00am the 5.0 was rollin' again! This time it was 62 in a 45 and there was no respite. $100 down the drain and its a loosing money day. We went even further South when we missed our turn and started driving back towards Sheboygan. Now it was really late and I was a little bummed. 100 miles was sounding like pain the next morning!

Bring the pain was the motto for Saturdays race. Elicia brought too much and ended up back at the ER after a bad crash took out half the womens field. She was able to get up and finish 5th, but after seeing a local chiropracter decided to head in for some X-Rays. Sore neck and bloody elbow didn't allow her to race on Sunday. Tristan and I missed out on the road race when a group of 6 rolled away on the first climb and it was game over...lame road racing tactics were the name of the game for the rest of the race as 2 and three riders skirted away at a time. Tristan was 9th and I was 13th. Andrea and Jamie spent the day cooking, handing up bottles, looking good, and getting ready for day #3!

SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY: The day to bring the pain....

And the pain started when I stepped out of bed...

After breakfast we loaded up the road bikes and the mtn bikes and headed to MQT Mtn..the home of the best trails in the Midwest. We started and it was pretty much a three man race. Mike Anderson, Tristan and I. Half way through I launched an attack that I thought was sure to win me the race, but Mike was ablbe to gain time using my old Fuel on the long technical descents while I was aboard the rigid Superfly. It came down to a sprint and Mike got me on the line...breaking the one rule I had when I sold him the bike....

We waited about 10 minutes to watch Andrea come in for her first victory of the year and then it was off to race number 2. The SBF Circuit race. I was nice and warmed up from the MTB race so I launched on corner 1 of the race and drove the break for the first lap. 6 or 7 guys made the group and the gap was instantly huge. With 3 to go the moves started coming and people stopped cooperating in the break...so it was time to check out...along with a Priority Health rider we rode away with 3 laps to go and split a $100 prime. He was stronger and took the win...I was content with another 2nd. With the result I moved up the 5th overall in the omnium.

We tossed around the idea of heading home to Sheboygan for the trifecta, but passed as soon as the pain settled in...we finished off the weekend with a Lk Superior Ice Bath and a relaxing drive home.

Once again Andrea showed up the rest of us with the big W. Thanks again to all the folks who helped...Oakley, Trek, Gear Grinder, Hyundai, Crank Bros...and huge thanks to the Superior Bike Fest and the people of Marquette....and of course Ishpeming...those sandwiches were good!

WET COLD HOT DRY?

WET:

Friday the 13th: I wake up to 6" of water in the basement. Not cool. With all the rain the Black River was pretty high and the water was coming up through the basement floor. I first noticed when my Planet Bike pump floated by the bottom of the steps. Lots of trips the the rental store to get pumps and supplies. The bad luck of the superstitious day didn't stop there...at 2:00am I woke up the check on the water pumping process. Like Cassius Clay I found myself bobbing and weaving instantly as a friendly flying mammal was doing a crit around my head. 30 minutes later I looked like Roman and Chester trying to catch or kill it....the bat disappeared and 15 minutes later I was asleep! The basement is still WET Arghhhhh

COLD:

Mt Morris Subaru Cup Cross Country. Bad start. Bad Mental. Bad bike choice for the course for me. Bad Hydration. Bad Day. Finished up the day a little better with a COLD ice cream from Culvers! Mmmmm

Hot:

Mt Morris Super D and Short Track. Super D, Heat # 2 Le mans style start. Wholeshot on the bike, maybe a little conservative on the descent and then let 'er rip on the slight climb to the finish. Good enough for 1st in the heat and 5th overall. STXC, First Victory of the year! Good start, hot line on lap #2 to open up a small gap...Tristan bridged and we were gone. Gapped Tristan w/ 2.5 laps remaining and held on for the W. I came away with a sunburn and filled up afterwards with a Spicy Chicken sandwich and some HOT fries from Wendys. Mmmmm

Dry:

I wonder when the basement will be DRY Hmmmmmmm?

Next up Superior Bike Fest Marquette MI! Thanks to the guys at CLIF for being at the race and handing out free calories all weekend. Thanks to DON for the best ever WORS Short Track course and Thanks to all my sponsors.

Crazy Week

Last week was a long and busy week. We had some good times and some bad times.

Sadly Andrea's Grandpa Eugene Koenig passed away last Monday 2 days after his 92nd birthday. He will be missed greatly by our family. Fortunately lots of family and friends were in town last week to help celebrate his long life and recall many of his adventures.

On Friday I celebrated my 30th birthday(2 days after I watched the WINGS win their 4th CUP in the last 11 years!) with a Poop cake from the Dodgeville Bakery. Mmmmm

I was pumped when shortly after dinner my parents rolled into the driveway for a surprise visit!

Sunday Tristan and I along with my parents braved the weather and headed down to the road race state championships. I managed a top 5 after getting rolled out of the break by the IScorp Team on lap 1. A few laps later I let 'er rip again to go off the front with another guy and finish 5th. The new Madone was sweet with a Tubeless Dura Ace Wheelset.

I also crammed in a few home improvement projects. The fun never stops.

Double Trouble

2 was the magic number yesterday

2nd race of the year at Wausau

2 flat tires

2 Lalonde Brothers who are unstopable

$200 for a new rear wheel :(

but there was only one Sidney Crosby look-a-like

and one true winner on the day for rocking the mustache!

actually 2 winners in my book!

Andrea was the only racer from the team car to not get a flat! And she finished 7th...not too shabby for the 1st race of the year.

GO WINGS!

Showtime

I think this weekend is going to be a big showdown at WORS Wausau. No Norba's all the fast guys should be there. Tristan and I headed out to Greenbush to shake down the full suspension bikes to get ready for the weekend. I had a great ride and the new trails out there are darn nice. I joined IMBA! You should do it to if you ride MTB's. I have been on IMBA trails for a long time and figured it was my turn to give back. In other news Detroit has been killing the playoffs. Wings are looking good and the Pistons need a big win tomorrow night. Go Detroit~.

Thinking about doing a Norba in NY in July along with National Championships at Mt. Snow the following weekend. Why you ask? I figured I would head to the city in between races and catch a game at Yankee Stadium before it gets imploded at the end of the season. What other reasons are there to do a Norba? Do they pay out prize money? If the entry fee is much more than $20 I might seriously consider Superweek instead! But I do miss the good old days!

Secret Training Tips

Secret Training Tip # 7

Eat and drink LOTS while on long training rides!

This morning I did a solo 4 hour road ride. Over 1,000 CLIF calories injested and close to 100 oz of fluids. I feel like a champ! Thanks to my man G Heitman.

G and I go way back. He taught me a lot of Secret Traing Tips including my favorite interval workout that is guaranteed to make you race fast. Here is a photo of G, Beth H and I after 1996 WORLDS on the Great Barrier Reef.

Secret Training Tip #15 Always have fun!

Thanks G

Discipline

It was tough to skip this weekends WORS race, but in the long run I think it was the right thing to do. I needed to get another solid month of training under my belt and if I raced it had the potential to interrupt 2 weeks. So instead of the race I spent Sunday on my road bike discovering new roads out in the kettles. 4. 5 hours later I was in the reclinerw/ Rosco watching the CAVS and Celtics. I'll be ready for Wausau!

I also discovered some more hardwood floor in the kitchen underneath about 4 layers of linoleum and subfloor....I had nightmares about the orbital sander.

Friday nights fountain park Bike To Work Week party was sweet. Free Brats! I am officially a Sheboyganite after grilling over 100 Brats in a single day!

Finished off Bike and Walk to Work Week w/ 0 miles on the car and 5 days commuting including the ride home from Klunkerz at11:00pm Friday night.

OLD SCHOOL - NEW SCHOOL

Before

After

U SHOULD BIKE TO WORK 2

$1.33 and the scenery is not half bad.
















Thats how much I save each time I ride my bike to and from work. Doesn't sound like much, but that doesn't count the benefits to my heart, the environment and saving the wear and tear on my car. Three times commuting saves me a gallon of gas!















Word on the street is over 75 people showed up to the morning commuter station at Fountain Park in Sheboygan this morning for the free coffee. Friday night finishes off the week with yours truly grillin' brats She Vegas style 6:30pm also at Fountain Park.

Get on your bike and ride!

IOLA

I was pretty busy at work the other day and didn't have time for a proper update....now I'm waiting for a pizza at a new place in town so here goes....

Iola: It was a last minute decision and I almost didn't even make it to the start line. Drankus called and told me he was leaving at 9:30am for the race. I was still in Sheboygan at 10:30 getting some new 29er Hutchinson Python rubbers(with tubes).

I used the full power of the new Hyundai Sonata and made good time to Iola. 1:45 from Sheboygan not too shabby.

First race of the year. Not really motivated with a late start to training. Wanted to get more miles in the legs before giving it a whirl, but with near perfect weather I had to do it.

With less than 10 minutes warm up I was called to the front row after last year overall performance. I knew I wasn't ready for the pace on the first few climbs so I settled into 11th or 12th position on the first 4 climbs.

At the end of lap 1 I had moved inside the top 10 and by lap 2 I had latched onto the wheel of Tom Bender and the Flying French Canadian.

And that's the end of the story as I sat in comfortably for the next 3 laps. We dropped Bender and the F.F.C. was kiling it on the last lap and we almost caught Eppen in 3rd place.

Overall very happy. Good HR Numbers, Consistent Lap Times, and a solid finish.

The bike: Gary Fisher Superfly w/ Carbon Switchblade 21lbs

Superfly was nice...slow on the accelerations and there were a lot of them. I felt like I was taking bad lines the first 2 laps and it took a while to get used to the big wheels. No problems with the rigid Bontrager Carbon Switchblade. It's true suspension is not necessary with the big wheels. I was always overgeared coming out of the corners. Maybe if the wheels were lighter(no tubes) I could have accelerated faster. This was the first time I have raced with tubes in 7 years!

Who still rides with a CamelBak? Wasn't that like 7 years ago?

Next time I will be on this bike!!!!!

The 2008 Top Fuel weighing in at 24lbs.

What Race?

That's how good I feel today! Legs feel great, confidence is high and motivation is in full force.

5th place 2 minutes down on the leader. Debut on the rigid 29er Superfly! A little different than the fuel. Probably would have preffered the Fuel with all the accelerations and save the 29er for the long fast races. What happened between Dec 2nd the last cross race and April 7th when I started training? Not much but I didn't seem to lose too much fitness. Another month and I'll be a contender! Thanks Don for holding another great race, Rusty for some more fantastic photos, and all my sponsors for allowing me keep the dream alive.