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.

The End of the Beginning

It's been getting closer and closer to the right feelings to officially start training for the season. For the last month I have done approximately 1 ride per week and 1 run per week. The majority of my time has been spent getting the house fixed up with new attic insulation, attic venting, gutters, and a central dehumidifier. We also found some new home owners and car insurance along with refinancing. Right now the guys are blowing in the new insulation, tomorrow morning we close on the refi, and tomorrow afternoon the new gutters and gutter helmets should be working in fine fashion. It was exhausting and I'm glad its done.

Andrea and I are taking a quick weekend trip up to Eagle River for a little mtb skillz practice, and some major relaxation. Upon return everything should be in order to start the season with no distractions. I'm figurin' I better start with a fitness test at Iola! Nothing like racing into shape....

I'll leave you with a few good pics from the brick and mortar removal and time spent in the attic...

Father In Law Of The Year

My Father In Law is once again in the running for F.I.L. of the Year Award. Right now he is up in the attic pounding away at some brick and mortar attempting to open some access to the soffit's. For some odd reason the builders completely closed off the attic with tar paper and brick and mortar.

Yesterday I knocked out the brick and mortar between every other floor joist in the front. I basically crammed myself into the corner and with all my power held up a hammer drill and attempted to break things up. Then I switched to a crowbar and regular hammer to finish the job. Only if it was as easy at that sounds. I only hit my head in the corner of the attic on 15-16 nails. My ribs are bruised, my forearms are slivered and I'm in some serious pain everywhere else. This morning before work I went and did 1/3 of the back side of the house. It's not fun work......

I did manage one bike ride thursday morning. 2 hours with Bill Street Player. Hopefully I'll finish the attic this weekend and start riding on a regular basis. The insulation guys are scheduled for a Wednesday blow in, the gutters should be installed shortly after that, and then we are ready to sign the papers for the refi closing of the house. Then all projects come to a halt until 2011 and I'll drop the tools and pick up the bike.

FOR SALE: RACE FACE CARBON RISER BAR $50 taken off of the new Top Fuel

FOR SALE: 2010 Fox Float RP-23 w/boost valve, rebound, new "Race Cam" Pro Pedal; 6.5x1.5" $300 taken off of the new Top Fuel

Back 2 Work

Busy is the name of the game these days. I'm trying to get faster on my bike by watching Fabian Cancellera crush the competition week after week......plus Roger Hammond got 4th at Roubaix today and I beat him at the cross race in Baal in 2009....so that means I'm ready to race right?

The past 2 weeks has consisted of refinancing our house, getting an appraisal, switching car and home owners insurance, getting new gutters, central dehumidifier, venting for the attick and of course new insulation. After about a million phone calls I think everything is lined up to happen this week. Hopefully when its all over I can start riding my bike. Today was frickin' awesome outside but I spent the majority of the day bent in half removing the old insulation. The pink stuff was easy to get out....it was the vermiculite w/ asbestos that I was not having fun with. Anybody have any suggestions on how to get rid of that pile of crap on the side of the house?

I did manage to sneak in a 1:30 ride over to Evergreen Park for a little time on the MTB....and last weekend Tristan kicked my ass for 4 hours on the road......so that at least counts for 2 rides in the last 3 weeks!

On top of all that other crap mentioned above the bike shop has been killing it with the big Trek Fest Spring Sale. The boss man says the sale must go on...so if you want a screaming deal stop in before Wednesday.

My back is killing me....and now I have to lug the shop vac in here and suck out the rest...wish me luck.

takin' it home

We finished up the Gravel Rouser last Sunday. Only 13 riders showed for the 4th and final stage, the Strouds Run Death Loop, after 3 days of racing we all had some tired legs. The trails at Strouds Run are amazing and we had another day of awesome weather. The crew at Athens Bicycle has done an amazing job over the years developing the trail system in town. So we all met in the parking lot, did a group warm up, and then ripped some singletrack. The climbs in Athens are steep....here is a good photo of Andrea showing the guys how to climb to the top of the hill.

After the days race I squeaked in one more ride with dad. Monday morning was the painful drive back home. Its amazing how 30 hours out to Tucson went by in the blink of an eye, but the 9 hours from Athens to Sheboygan seemed like an eternity.

So we've been home for a little under a week. Its taken a little time to get settled in....a week off the bike was definitely in order. I needed a little time to organize new gutters, new attic venting and insulation, and possibly a new central dehumidifier. Also needed little time to get back into the swing of things at the shop too. I'm looking forward to getting the bikes dialed next week and coming up with a master plan for training and the race season. Pretty soon its time to let the games begin for 2010.

Thanks to the Fat Kats mtb club for one final donation for last years cross campaign and thanks to the boss man at SBC for letting me take some time away from work to straighten out after a long, long season in 09.

2010 looks like its going to be a good one though with our first trophy proudly displayed over the new fireplace!

Rousin'

Another double victory for Team Matter....throw in a little road kill and ya win a duck!

The weather was beautiful in Athens today.....couldn't have asked for a better day of riding with a bunch of great people. Thanks Athens Bicycle

Rumble in the Jungle

The 2010 season kicked off last night at the Gravel Rouser Classic. Stage 1 was the Rumble in the Jungle downhill TT. If ever there was a course where there was a local home field advantage this was it.....

The course was 1 mile in length and started slightly above 1000 ft elevation and finished just below 600ft. The course had an old school feel to it.....it started straight down the fall line of the hill.....a muddy, leaf filled, eroded rut, with lots of blind drops off rocks and roots, the locals call the drop 'the mean and nasty'. Then the trail traversed the mountain in a much more imba friendly fashion, only to drop once more down to the finish. Andrea and I both came home with our first victory of the season!!! The Top Fuel was the bike of choice to be able to take the big hits, yet still pedal with efficiency on the traverse.

Tonight is the Grab & Git.....visit Athens Bicycle for details and full race results or check them out on Facebook for photos.

Before the big race I got in a solid warm up ride w/ dad on his new Steelers themed Madone.

the drive

We finished up our last two days in Tucson this past weekend with a bunch of time in the dirt....luckily we hooked up with a high school buddy, Jason Massey and his dad Dennis(former soccer coach) for a good ride on Saturday. I also hooked up with Kevin Clegg for a sweet ride earlier in the morning that same day. On Sunday Andrea and I squeezed in one final ride on the Sweetwater trails before loading up the car and heading back home.

30+ hours and 2,000 + miles.....it's always tougher heading back to the Midwest rather than heading out west. And little did we know.....

8 hours into the drive we cruised through Albuquerque NM. It was 8 pm and I was ready for another 2 hours of driving before finding our first dive of a motel. Unfortunately things were about to take a turn for the worse...

As we were leaving Albuquerque we saw a highway sign that read 'Winter Driving Conditions Ahead'. Being from WI it didn't really phase us....an hour later we were slowed to 10mph by the worst road conditions I had ever seen. 3 inches of snow = 2 inches of choppy ice on the HWY.....the snow removal techniques in WI are far superior than NM.

We pushed on for another hour at 10mph until we saw the brake lights. 2 or 3 cars in the ditch and 2 jackknifed semis on the West bound side of I-40. Then traffic came to a halt. We were at a stop for a good 45 minutes. Once they finally cleared the truck on the East bound side we tried to get off the road in Moriarity NM. Every hotel was full, every parking spot taken. It's now 11:30 and we pull back on to the HWY....another 20 minutes of driving at 10mph with semi's shredding the hwy at 60+ mph almost blowing us off the road. These guys must have been watching Ice Truckers on the History channel, but clearly didn't have the skills. By midnight we were stopped again....by 1:00am we turned off the car and tried to sleep. Freezing temps and 30mph winds kept the car rocking back and forth and kept Andrea from going outside to pee. She used her resources and turned to the dog dish. At about 3:30am an officer knocked on the window and we fired up the car. Another 10 minutes down the road we arrived in Clives Corners.....along with 200 other vehicles we battled for 100 parking spots and finally settled in for the night.

So there we were....4 bikes, Andrea, Rosco and myself crammed into the 2 door Hyundai Accent w/ 4 weeks worth of gear and 3 bags full of groceries. Luckily we also had a full tank of gas to keep us warm. It continued to snow and by 6:30am we were awaken by the sound of rumbling trucks and honking horns.

By 8:00am my inner WI lumberjack had arrived and one by one had to start pushing cars singlehandedly out of the parking lot, just so we could make an attempt ourselves. After I cleared out 2 or 3 cars, Andrea had a go at it with the green machine....great success. I wanted to hit the road, but stranded women and children were still stuck. Another 2 or 3 cars clear and we were down the road. I was soaked, cold and wet......one lady was in a puddle of water 6 inches deep, and the other lady really wanted to be heavy on the gas and managed to spin herself 2 inches deep in the ice...in the process soaking me and my clothes with wet snow.

Mind you I had just left from Tucson and was wearing shorts and t-shirt.....you know how men and women have distinct body temp differences....well Andrea likes to wear her jeans in the car along with a sweatshirt and down jacket even though it is 80 degrees in Tucson and I am getting blasted by the sun sweating like crazy....thankfully she let me borrow her jacket that cold morning. I had no way of getting to my clothes or camera as they were buried in the back of the car.....yep...no photos to document the epic night...just memories.

That day on the hill in Clives Corners will go down in history....

One more week

The time has been flying now that I have a mtn bike here in Tucson. The riding opportunities are endless....I need to stay longer! We have 6 more days in Tucson and are going to try to cram in as much time on the bikes as possible. Last week I ended up with over 18 hours on the bike! I wasn't even trying....just out riding and having fun. I'm hurting today though....

This morning was 46 and raining and I spent most of the morning in bed drinking coffee and surfing the net....I'm close to finishing a really good book called Of Tigers and Men; Entering the Age of Extinction. As soon as the rain clears up we are off to the park to play with Rosco. He has had the week off with a thorn in his paw that he won't really let us pull out. Yesterday we finally got it....now he is feeling frisky again!

I spent the majority of the weekend on the mtn bike, testing out the new XX, and riding the new trails on the west side of Tucson. Saturday after a 3 hour ride on the road with Andrea I hopped on the Fuel and went to explore some new trails off of Sweetwater Rd. I could hardly wipe the smile off of my face.....perfect desert singletrack, beautiful scenery, and just technical enough to keep you on your toes.

Sunday I went out for another 3 hours on the Fuel w. TJ and Chloe. This time we headed over to Star Pass, but quickly cruised over to the other side of Ajo Hwy(Tucson Mtn???) The trails here were quite a bit more technical. One loop in particular was really good, but wasn't finished so it was an out an back...TJ had recently run into the trail builder whose goal was to only have 10 guys in the area clean the trail! The Fuel and Trav's new Superfly 100 were able to clear everything except 1 tricky uphill turn with a huge boulder in the middle. With a little practice we both could have done it.....

As far as the XX goes...I'm liking it...last years Fuel was spec'd with XTR and an FSA carbon crankset.....the front shifting never seemed quite right....the XX is perfect and the gearing seems really good(42-28)(11-36). In the big, big the chain line is the best I've ever ridden. The testing will continue this week....I'm still trying to dial in Fox's RP23 with 'pro-pedal'....I really liked the carbon DT rear shock on last years fuel that made the bike feel like a hardtail. The new FOX F1 seems to stack up pretty good against last years Rock Shox World Cup, but I was really wanting to try that new hydraullic lock out. More trail riding to come and more testing is in the really near future! Until then I'm hiding from the rain...

Fantasy Time

Things in the desert are going great. I really needed a little mental break to recover from last season, all the work on the house, and then the skin cancer. It is pretty darn nice to hang out and enjoy life. I have been riding a lot, but not training, playing with Rosco at the local soccer fields in the afternoons, and then spending some quality time eating good food and watching movies with Andrea.


















On Monday we took a trip into town to visit Dave at Trek Bicycles of Tucson. My new Trek Top Fuel 9.9 SSL arrived!!! It's sweet. I'm not too sure about the Sram XX stuff, but I'm going to test it out today. I think I'd rather ride Shimano, but we'll see. I'm most pumped about the super light weight Bontrager XXX carbon wheelset. Andrea and I are heading over to Fantasy Island for the first true off-road ride of the year soon.

It's been a long time since I have been on a mtb(Iceman) and even longer on anything technical(Vermont 2004). We'll see how rusty the skills really are.

I'm still waiting patiently for my photo opp with a coyote. I got a good one of a road runner the other day.

Tonight we might try to hit up Cafe Poca Cosa for the best Carne Seca Burrito in town!

Fun in the Sun???

As most of you know I am down in AZ enjoying a little time away from the Wisconsin winter. However I just spent the last hour with nurse Andrea pulling stitches out of my head. The Arizona sun isn't always the best for you. About a month ago I went to the doctor and he noticed an odd spot of skin on my face. Long story short it was a small spot of skin cancer. A couple days later I was on the operating table as the doc was cutting a nickel size hole in the side of my head. There are three types of skin cancer and luckily for me I had the least damaging type. All of the cancer was removed and now I'll have a solid 2 inch scar as a reminder.



















The first thing that came to mind was this article in Velonews a while back. The doctor told me that most likely the damage to the skin was done between the ages of 10 - 20 years old. When I was a Jr. and the next few season of traveling the country racing in the mini-van it was more important to become a bronzed god than to race fast! I guess I was young....over the past 5 or 6 years I have been very very aware of the sun intake while training, but it was too late. Lesson learned....SPF 45 is your friend.

So here I am back in the sun, but this time around I'm being extremely cautious. We left Wisconsin 8 days ago and spent 3 full days in the car and 2 nights in some shady hotels. Rosco, 3 bikes, and some food all loaded into the little Hyundai Accent 3 door! The only bummer was the lack of cruise control.

We rolled into town last Friday evening to the sounds of Coyotes howling and some snorting Javelinas in our backyard. The next morning we headed out for a ride and saw a Bobcat within 15 minutes of leaving the driveway...pretty awesome.

I only have my cross bike down here right now, but its getting the job done. I've got in 5 solid rides, the new Bontrager Classics w/ Saris Powertap can pretty solid and am having fun studying the power data! Yesterday I found out my new Fuel 9.9 SSL is available and its shipping to Trek Store of Tucson! Can't wait to build 'er up and rip some desert singletrack.

We are planning on staying another 2 weeks and then heading over to visit mom and dad and partake in the Gravel Rouser Classic! Until then we'll be enjoying the sun with plenty of SPF 45.

Rainbow Colors

I wonder why the Olympic Rings and the Rainbow Jersey stripes are the same colors? Looking forward to opening cermonies and some XC Skiing!

Plans are slowly coming together for the Tucson trip. It looks like we finally found a good place on the west side of town off of Silverbell Rd. I can't wait...the first year (back in 99) I was in Tucson I trained on the west side with the guys from Slovakia and The Czech Republic. I bet they were pretty pumped on Stybar winning!

This is a pretty sweet video you should check out....

I've been doing a little more skate skiing, should hit up the breakfast ride this weekend, doing some Yoga, and before I know it should be in Tucson clocking some miles on the new Bontrager Classics wheelset laced up with a Saris Powertap Hub!

The Dungeon

Well the work on our basement has almost come to an end. It was pretty much a 4 step process. Scrape the old paint / calcium deposits off with a wire brush, scrub the walls with an Etching solution, patch the wholes and cracks, and finally paint. After 3 weeks straight of at least 2 hours in the basement we have 2 coats of paint applied. I'm happy to be almost finished, but I think its going to need a third coat...now that the basement is pure white it looks more like a looney bin than a dungeon.

I started doing a little cross training after a month off. 2 times out to Greenbush for some skate skiing, a couple runs, and some yoga. Nothing serious....I like to ease into things! It's looking like less than a week and we head to Tucson! Things are not busy enough at the shop, so I figured I'd head south for some spring training.

I just finished a batch of my famous Guacomole so its time to go find the recliner and watch the big game. My call....Colts in a half. I'll be fast asleep before the halftime show is over...

WORLDS

Are you ready for the WORLDS? I am...although this time around I'll be riding the couch! I'm a little bummed not to be racing this year, but the US team is the strongest ever and the best 5 riders are representin'. I was pretty well spent by the end of the season and am definitely enjoying a little time off the bike.

I am however looking forward to next season. I'm already got a new Saris Power Tap SL +. I'm dialing up new sponsors, and dialing in a place for some spring training. A new Madone 6.5 Project One has been ordered, a new Top Fuel 9.9 is on the way, and the motivation is starting to come around.

First we better finish off this past season with some predictions.

Elite Men:

1. Nys

2. Stybar

3. Vantornout

Elite Women:

1. Nash

2. Compton

3. Vos

U23:

1. Meeusen

2. Jouffroy

3. Szczepaniak

Jr.

1. Boros

2. Van Der Poele

3. Lasak

Super Sunday 2 weeks in a row for me!

Keepin' Busy

More time in the basement scraping the old paint and efloresence off of the cement block walls and full time at the shop doesn't leave much time for anything else. Thankfully I didn't have to work this weekend, but I was still busy as can be...

Saturday morning breakfast ride on the commuter cross bike in 37 degrees and a light mist. It was the first time I have been on the bike since the race in St. Niklaas. That's three weeks off the bike and the legs were feeling it for sure.

After the ride it was Granpa Hildebrands 90th birthday party! The entire Hildebrand clan was there in full force to celebrate. After the party we hit up Lakeshore Lanes for a Bacon Cheeseburger and the big after party.....7:00pm. We bowled 2 games and I rolled a 140 and a 146! Andrea rolled a 97. Much better than in Izegem!

This morning was an early trip over to the in-laws so I could watch Hoogerheide WC live. It was an awesome race and after Prince Niels got the W, next weekends Worlds is wide open.

This afternoon might be a little more work down in the basement......but I think I'd rather ride the couch and watch some football......I'm catching a slight wiff of Belgian Waffles with the last of the Belgian Chocolate so I better head downstairs!