Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Alternative plans
Racing in circles was substituted with hill repeats at Red Rocks last night as the police were practicing catching bad guys on the circuit.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Sunday, May 20, 2007
From the Sidelines
I cheered from the sidelines this weekend and it was a great place to be. Fallon ran her heart out for a mile and Rene knocked out a marathon.
It was our Porcelain Anniversary today! - 18 years
It was our Porcelain Anniversary today! - 18 years
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Heatin' up
I raced this past weekend at Wheels of Blunder, it turned out okay as the legs were lacking the high end but managed to finish with the pack. When I was cooling down some guy thought it his place to come and yell at me about the bike handling skills of my teammates. I kept calm but wanted to scream back at him - F***ing upgrade you stupid f***ing whinning bastard!!! I ride in a group contains developing older riders and riders like me that quite can't break the top 7 for upgrade points but have been riding/racing for years. I get frustrated because I am just happy to be racing my bike. I am just glad that all the TI riders were friendly, helpful and nice.
On a positive note, I was able to get the kids out riding their bikes. Fallon has been scared of her bike since her illness and didn't want a thing to do with riding. She has made great strides in the past year re-learning how to walk and talk. With one quick session, she is no longer afraid and ready to tackle more - I guess you never forget how to ride a bike. Keagan did great but was distracted by other interesting things at the park. We will continue throughout the summer in hopes of family rides sans trailer and tandem.
I am going to miss riding this weekend at Dirty Kanza, Rene is runnning in the Colfax marathon and Fallon is doing the Marathons Kids race. DK is on the calendar for next year.
Summer is around the corner which means less words and more pictures.
On a positive note, I was able to get the kids out riding their bikes. Fallon has been scared of her bike since her illness and didn't want a thing to do with riding. She has made great strides in the past year re-learning how to walk and talk. With one quick session, she is no longer afraid and ready to tackle more - I guess you never forget how to ride a bike. Keagan did great but was distracted by other interesting things at the park. We will continue throughout the summer in hopes of family rides sans trailer and tandem.
I am going to miss riding this weekend at Dirty Kanza, Rene is runnning in the Colfax marathon and Fallon is doing the Marathons Kids race. DK is on the calendar for next year.
Summer is around the corner which means less words and more pictures.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Meridian Mid-Week Race Series #1
I am working the registration table tonight for the race and dragging Fallon and Keagan along. They are less than thrilled to go watch racers go around in circles - it is better than TV.
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
I'm still twenty-something?
"Your old and you need to rest" - Rene'
I have been at this bike riding thing for a few years and still have a hard time resting, so she is correct and that is what I have been doing. Granted I have only taken one day off the bike since returning home, the (slow) commutes to/from school with the kids have been most enjoyabe!
I have been at this bike riding thing for a few years and still have a hard time resting, so she is correct and that is what I have been doing. Granted I have only taken one day off the bike since returning home, the (slow) commutes to/from school with the kids have been most enjoyabe!
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Trans Iowa - the written word
The brain has been out of sorts lately, which means that the meager write up from TI has been slow. Hopefully the events are close to being in the order they happened and the names resemble those of the people I actually saw on the ride. If not, it’s my story and I am sticking to it.
First I need to thank Mark, Jeff, the volunteers and their family members that made this possible.
The first leg of the journey was the long drive which gave me the opportunity to spend many hours in the van with Mr. Nice. 11 hours to M’town with another 3 hours scouting the roads south of the ‘Loo up towards Decorah. It was blind luck that I picked some gravel to drive on that was on the TI route into Independence. We met up with my Brother Matt and Chris Friday afternoon before pizza and the meeting.
I woke early Saturday morning is a cold sweat and a throbbing head (which I had lingering for over a week). Needless to say I was worried with the outcome. The crew (Pivvay, Snot, Bro, and I) from room 106 stumbled around pulling the last minute items together and trying to cram some food down our throats. We rolled to the start at 3:30 am giving us plenty of time.
After the start I quickly found myself blanketed in darkness, the light was my only guide and the tell-tale signs of flashing red ahead. I wasn’t feeling so hot but kept telling myself to keep the pedals turning over and keep eating/drinking. The sun came up but the spirits were not improving. Rode with some of the Folks from Lincoln (Jeff, Butch, & ?) which help the mental side of things. I was seriously thinking this was not my day. Another rider rolled up and we seemed to just roll along with our own thoughts. The FfL took a break and I rolled on ahead thinking they would soon be catching me. I meet up with Mike Meister at my first break in Postville, we ended up riding the rest of the way to Decorah together.
This next section was the absolute worse for me, I wanted to stop and cry in the ditch more than once. My head was aching, my mind was far from focused and my body didn’t feel like pedaling. I kept telling myself to push on but the head winds sucked all life out of me. We hit Stanley only to find out that no services were there, another moral blow. (My Brother did stop in Stanley at the closed looking old service station which was a completely stocked convenient store.) I had barely enough liquid to get to Independence, I pushed on. I ran out of water a mile or so out of town and thought this is the end or my race. Limped into Independence and pulled right in a store and slammed a Gatorade and bought 2 gallons of water (under the premise that a gallon contained 64 ounces – I was wrong). I ate tons of food before heading to the Fairway for Mike to pick up some Ensure. At this point we had been joined by Steve McQuire.
I was in no mood to continue on to Brandon, but the two others were heading out and I decided I could make it to the checkpoint. I would make a decision there. Remarkably that section to Brandon had a slight tail wind and my energy levels were rising. I drank and ate lots during this stretch since I was starting to feel better. I guess a century in the legs will clear the mind.
We hit Brandon at 3:15 pm and saw Corey Heintz relaxing in the grass. I did a quick refill of the bottles at the store before heading on down the path to La Porte City. The energy was quickly coming back and mentally I was as sharp I could be. We hit La Porte City and were joined by Corey. Another quick stop was made before heading out to the first B-road section. At this point I was feeling slow and methodical in my riding but I had no doubt that the finish was obtainable. Corey and Steve rode a bit faster pace than Mike and I. The four of us road into Traer where we ran into a group of riders, I can’t remember who they were. With some more food in us we headed out in search of Dike, a nice long section of B-road the group split up leaving Mike and I plodding along. Steve waited up as darkness was about to fall. The winds seemed to have faded and shifted pushing us north to Dike. A 14 mile stretch found Snob, B.J. aka Travis, and Corey catching us. At this point in the evening the body felt good but my concentration on riding overrode any attempt at verbal communications. Another fuel up in Dike with Red Bull and bananas, Snob was there with the Folks from Lincoln taking pictures. We headed out first only to take a wrong turn on – we should have gone right but instead took a left, oh well. A short detour back to the route found Snob and crew at the corner we missed. Soon after we ran into Fixie Ken, Cale, and others and they were moving right along. The only thing that seemed to slow that group up was wrong turns and water. We caught back up with them at the first low water crossing, we stripped our shoes and waded across. The water was cold and gave a good jolt of adrenaline to the system. Off to Janesville for the last late night stop.
By the time we got to Janesville, my body was on autopilot, I felt okay on the bike but once off I was a wobbly mess. Most of the usual suspects were in Janesville at this point. A Red Bull and brownie (ahh sugar!) then attempt to get warmed back up and the temps seemed to be hitting the low for the day. I donned my wool shirt and leg warmers before heading back out. A slight type/error on the cue sheets brought us to a grinding halt, Steve called Mark to clarify the correct turn. Fixie Ken and crew were blasting from the dark looking for the correct turn as Snob rolled up. We got the right directions and that was the last I saw of the others until Decorah. Steve, Mike, and I worked our way through dawn calculating the possibility of finishing this thing under the time limit. We arrived at the second water crossing and I just plow right on through soaking my feet and leg warmers. My feet were wet but the sun was coming out and all was going to be okay, I did pop a No-Doze sometime around sunrise as the eyes were beginning to get heavy. We rode to Hawkeye for the last stop before Decorah.
In Hawkeye I dumped everything from crumpled up cue sheets to the homemade energy bars I started with. I reloaded with oatmeal crème pies and Gatorade, it was good to have a change in the diet. The three of us didn’t waste much time getting back on the bikes as we realized that we were going to finish. The last bit of riding for me was tough because my mind wanted Decorah to be around the next corner and the knees were screaming for mercy. The sun beating down felt good but I could feel the skin burning as suntan lotion was applied some 30 hrs previous. It is always an ominous sign when your reading the cue sheet and it says turn on Haugan Hill Road, it was the steepest thing ridden to that point. I hunkered down and tried to power up it, but to no avail I resorted to switch backing the climb. Steve, who was running some super moto tyres, quickly lost traction and walked the hill. Thinking that was the last off the hills we made the fast descent into Decorah. We turned onto some pavement and only one last turn to the cemetery, my mind was thinking no more hills but there was one more. I didn’t even try to power up it, I just started switch backing it until the flat where Mike and Steve waited to cross the finish line together.
My brother was standing there to greet me, which was just awesome. Snob sacrificed himself and gave me the last beer – thanks!!! He also gave me some wipes to cleanse 32h 48m of gravel grime off my face.
More thought later.
First I need to thank Mark, Jeff, the volunteers and their family members that made this possible.
The first leg of the journey was the long drive which gave me the opportunity to spend many hours in the van with Mr. Nice. 11 hours to M’town with another 3 hours scouting the roads south of the ‘Loo up towards Decorah. It was blind luck that I picked some gravel to drive on that was on the TI route into Independence. We met up with my Brother Matt and Chris Friday afternoon before pizza and the meeting.
I woke early Saturday morning is a cold sweat and a throbbing head (which I had lingering for over a week). Needless to say I was worried with the outcome. The crew (Pivvay, Snot, Bro, and I) from room 106 stumbled around pulling the last minute items together and trying to cram some food down our throats. We rolled to the start at 3:30 am giving us plenty of time.
After the start I quickly found myself blanketed in darkness, the light was my only guide and the tell-tale signs of flashing red ahead. I wasn’t feeling so hot but kept telling myself to keep the pedals turning over and keep eating/drinking. The sun came up but the spirits were not improving. Rode with some of the Folks from Lincoln (Jeff, Butch, & ?) which help the mental side of things. I was seriously thinking this was not my day. Another rider rolled up and we seemed to just roll along with our own thoughts. The FfL took a break and I rolled on ahead thinking they would soon be catching me. I meet up with Mike Meister at my first break in Postville, we ended up riding the rest of the way to Decorah together.
This next section was the absolute worse for me, I wanted to stop and cry in the ditch more than once. My head was aching, my mind was far from focused and my body didn’t feel like pedaling. I kept telling myself to push on but the head winds sucked all life out of me. We hit Stanley only to find out that no services were there, another moral blow. (My Brother did stop in Stanley at the closed looking old service station which was a completely stocked convenient store.) I had barely enough liquid to get to Independence, I pushed on. I ran out of water a mile or so out of town and thought this is the end or my race. Limped into Independence and pulled right in a store and slammed a Gatorade and bought 2 gallons of water (under the premise that a gallon contained 64 ounces – I was wrong). I ate tons of food before heading to the Fairway for Mike to pick up some Ensure. At this point we had been joined by Steve McQuire.
I was in no mood to continue on to Brandon, but the two others were heading out and I decided I could make it to the checkpoint. I would make a decision there. Remarkably that section to Brandon had a slight tail wind and my energy levels were rising. I drank and ate lots during this stretch since I was starting to feel better. I guess a century in the legs will clear the mind.
We hit Brandon at 3:15 pm and saw Corey Heintz relaxing in the grass. I did a quick refill of the bottles at the store before heading on down the path to La Porte City. The energy was quickly coming back and mentally I was as sharp I could be. We hit La Porte City and were joined by Corey. Another quick stop was made before heading out to the first B-road section. At this point I was feeling slow and methodical in my riding but I had no doubt that the finish was obtainable. Corey and Steve rode a bit faster pace than Mike and I. The four of us road into Traer where we ran into a group of riders, I can’t remember who they were. With some more food in us we headed out in search of Dike, a nice long section of B-road the group split up leaving Mike and I plodding along. Steve waited up as darkness was about to fall. The winds seemed to have faded and shifted pushing us north to Dike. A 14 mile stretch found Snob, B.J. aka Travis, and Corey catching us. At this point in the evening the body felt good but my concentration on riding overrode any attempt at verbal communications. Another fuel up in Dike with Red Bull and bananas, Snob was there with the Folks from Lincoln taking pictures. We headed out first only to take a wrong turn on – we should have gone right but instead took a left, oh well. A short detour back to the route found Snob and crew at the corner we missed. Soon after we ran into Fixie Ken, Cale, and others and they were moving right along. The only thing that seemed to slow that group up was wrong turns and water. We caught back up with them at the first low water crossing, we stripped our shoes and waded across. The water was cold and gave a good jolt of adrenaline to the system. Off to Janesville for the last late night stop.
By the time we got to Janesville, my body was on autopilot, I felt okay on the bike but once off I was a wobbly mess. Most of the usual suspects were in Janesville at this point. A Red Bull and brownie (ahh sugar!) then attempt to get warmed back up and the temps seemed to be hitting the low for the day. I donned my wool shirt and leg warmers before heading back out. A slight type/error on the cue sheets brought us to a grinding halt, Steve called Mark to clarify the correct turn. Fixie Ken and crew were blasting from the dark looking for the correct turn as Snob rolled up. We got the right directions and that was the last I saw of the others until Decorah. Steve, Mike, and I worked our way through dawn calculating the possibility of finishing this thing under the time limit. We arrived at the second water crossing and I just plow right on through soaking my feet and leg warmers. My feet were wet but the sun was coming out and all was going to be okay, I did pop a No-Doze sometime around sunrise as the eyes were beginning to get heavy. We rode to Hawkeye for the last stop before Decorah.
In Hawkeye I dumped everything from crumpled up cue sheets to the homemade energy bars I started with. I reloaded with oatmeal crème pies and Gatorade, it was good to have a change in the diet. The three of us didn’t waste much time getting back on the bikes as we realized that we were going to finish. The last bit of riding for me was tough because my mind wanted Decorah to be around the next corner and the knees were screaming for mercy. The sun beating down felt good but I could feel the skin burning as suntan lotion was applied some 30 hrs previous. It is always an ominous sign when your reading the cue sheet and it says turn on Haugan Hill Road, it was the steepest thing ridden to that point. I hunkered down and tried to power up it, but to no avail I resorted to switch backing the climb. Steve, who was running some super moto tyres, quickly lost traction and walked the hill. Thinking that was the last off the hills we made the fast descent into Decorah. We turned onto some pavement and only one last turn to the cemetery, my mind was thinking no more hills but there was one more. I didn’t even try to power up it, I just started switch backing it until the flat where Mike and Steve waited to cross the finish line together.
My brother was standing there to greet me, which was just awesome. Snob sacrificed himself and gave me the last beer – thanks!!! He also gave me some wipes to cleanse 32h 48m of gravel grime off my face.
More thought later.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
T minus ?
Well I am about to embark on another adventure in Iowa for a race of epic proportion, TransIowa. This race is approximately 324 miles on the gravel roads in Northeastern Iowa around the city of Decorah. We have only 34 hours to complete the race which starts at 4am Saturday, April 28th and the official end time is Sunday, April 29th at 2pm. The interesting aspect of this race is that we will not know the first half the route until Friday night with the second set of cues cards handed out at the mid-race check point at mile 127. The race will consist of about 100 riders from all over the US and even some from Canada, most of those will brave this event with the use of a derailluer while the select group of riders like myself will do it on singlespeed. I'll be running my Waltworks 29er with 38c cross tyres and pushing a 32x14 (~63 gear inches).
You may ask yourself why? My answer is that I am a freak that has been cycling/racing for a long time and now I need to push my body beyond pre-conceived limits. I have dug deep many times at the tail end of a 1hr crit or 4hr ride but I have never had to do it at 3am with more that 200 miles in my legs, it is time to make that happen. Mentally and physically I am prepared as most attempting this feat but what lies waiting around the next corner is the wildcard. The weather last year played havoc with the event as no one finished, I made it 63 miles and pulled the plug. The contingency for this year envolves bar hopping all the way back to Decorah ~ the plan does stand firm to finish.
The race director (GTed) will do his best to update the world on Ride424 with real time reports on the race.
Here is my post from last year:
Iowa and Bikes (reposted from April 2006)
You may ask yourself why? My answer is that I am a freak that has been cycling/racing for a long time and now I need to push my body beyond pre-conceived limits. I have dug deep many times at the tail end of a 1hr crit or 4hr ride but I have never had to do it at 3am with more that 200 miles in my legs, it is time to make that happen. Mentally and physically I am prepared as most attempting this feat but what lies waiting around the next corner is the wildcard. The weather last year played havoc with the event as no one finished, I made it 63 miles and pulled the plug. The contingency for this year envolves bar hopping all the way back to Decorah ~ the plan does stand firm to finish.
The race director (GTed) will do his best to update the world on Ride424 with real time reports on the race.
Here is my post from last year:
Iowa and Bikes (reposted from April 2006)
When I first started riding a bike, I lived in the small suburb of Chicago called Carol Stream. We would ride from morning to night without worries of cars or anything else for that matter. This began my obsession with bikes. I would rebuild them, swap out parts, and even have derbies in the driveway. This little neighborhood had a street called Iowa Court which amazingly enough is where I lived. Through this period of my life I rode often with friends and more importantly with my father. Upon graduating from High School, I headed away from the influences of my friends to Iowa State University. My first roommate was from the town of Mallard, which is a TIv2 pass thru town, and spent many a weekend learning about rural farm life. Spending five years in Ames I frequented Michael’s Cyclery a bit. They built up a great set of wheels for my campus bike and gave me a glimpse into a cycling lifestyle. There was a guy called Scooter on my dorm floor who was a racer and I was always in awe at his dedication to the sport. He would be on the trainer as we headed out to the bars. I have become that dedicate person.From Ames I moved to Marshalltown, where my wonderful wife is from. She had done Ragbrai five times and I thought she was the coolest. I still do even though she is more of a marathoner now. I ventured back to Michael’s Cyclery to purchase my first bike, a touring Schwinn. From there I added another bike, this time more of a racing one with indexing downtube shifting. The touring bike turned into the around town bike and the other was one I headed out in the fields of Iowa. Having lived in Marshalltown for a year it was time to marry and move on.This brought us to the great State of Texas! Lived in Houston for awhile and held tight to the Iowa roots I had planted by becoming involved with the alumni association. Here my passion for bike could not be quelled by the looming chemical industry or the mass of cars. I hooked up with West End Cycles and started racing mountain bikes. We traveled all over the state to attend races, from Lajitas to Tyler. I was a great time to race as it was more about the hanging out drinking beer and riding than anything else. During this period we traveled to Austin a lot. One trip was to watch the Tour of Texas. A college roommate came down to watch his brother race in Zilker Park. Finally, we moved to Austin. I got a job with the electric utility and quickly got caught up in the road racing scene. One of the first rides I showed up on my Borthwick, which was handmade in Marshalltown, and many of the riders asked if I knew Porky. Porky was the son of the frame builder and the black sheep of the family. Some of these guys would head to Iowa for Ragbrai and then to Super Week. Also, I met a few Iowa transplants who came to Austin to race. After a great stint in what I consider my favorite city, it was time to move on.We ended up in the mountains of Colorado. Here life took a drastic change. No job other than keeping up with one child, who is an Austinite! We added another for good measure and to make sure I was getting enough on the bike strength work hauling them around. One of the new neighbors happens to have grown up in Mallard, Iowa and knows my first college roommate.
Now as my life ebbs and flows, I will go back to Iowa to finish up some business that looms. The initial plan was not to do TI again until the timing worked out better. I am missing my daughters 7th birthday and her first sleepover party (though 6 girls spending the night wasn't looking like much fun for me). I will be a time again to reacquaint with fellow riders and make new friendships.
No plans to post until next week, so please take some time to enjoy your days!
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Days and Counting
The time seems to be flying by in the days approaching TI, I have my crap spread all over the house with lists of lists keeping me on task. The plan as it stands is to head from Denver early on Thursday morning, drive to Mtown for the night. Get some good sleep have a big farmers breakfast before heading to Decorah Friday. Then meet up with my brother and head for pizza at Mabe's prior to the TI meeting.
The head is spinning with details that keep me less than concern about the event it's self.
The head is spinning with details that keep me less than concern about the event it's self.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Monday, April 16, 2007
Sunday Ride
With some sore legs I headed out on the last big ride before TIv3. About halfway into the ride I started feeling good, then the winds kicked up.
Lookout Mountain Looms
Climbing out of the valley
Lookout Mountain Looms
Vernon Gravel
Blurrrry Gravel through the trees
The divide covered in snow
Climbing out of the valleyBoulder-Roubaix
Another great day for racing only to be squander with so-so legs in wrong place at the wrong time. The race start fast as a couple teams put the hammer down early, as DT would say "It's on like Donkey Kong!" I hung tight for a bit but being small in stature racing with giants I got shoved around more than usual, I tried to be assertive but end up on a bad line thru the gravel washboard. I drifted towards the back with hopes of making it up on the climbs, before I knew it the group was strung out for as far as I could see. Worked my way toward the front on the finishing straight climb only to get ridden off the back. Ended up in the second chase group working pretty well together trying like mad to get the group ahead. To no avail, ended up with a disappointing 31st. Did find out later that my saddle was 3 cm lower than normal, no wonder I couldn't generate any power and my legs were sore afterwards. Brian (teammate) and I rode up to Jamestown after the race then I headed home for a hike up Green Moutain.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Snow day
Looks like Denver is preparing to get hit with another round of bad weather. The weekend will be sandwiched in between two fronts. 
The plan is to race Boulder-Roubaix this Saturday with the new bar/stem combo on the DeRosa. 
The plan is to race Boulder-Roubaix this Saturday with the new bar/stem combo on the DeRosa. 
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Final push
Need to maintain some momentum over the few weeks which will mean a continuous dose of saddle time. The WaltWorks is ready and will be running a 32x14 with some 35c Conti Speed King Cross (if they arrive in time).
TIv3 Information: There is a chance to pass through the Little Switzerland of Iowa on the way to an undisclosed check point. Will we head to the bohemian alps? Over towards M'town?
TIv3 Information: There is a chance to pass through the Little Switzerland of Iowa on the way to an undisclosed check point. Will we head to the bohemian alps? Over towards M'town?
Monday, April 09, 2007
Quote
Found this in the local paper -
".., a lot of mountain bikers do use foul language on trails and drink a lot of beer."
".., a lot of mountain bikers do use foul language on trails and drink a lot of beer."
Monday, April 02, 2007
Spring Break over
I spent some great time with the kids last week, taking a nice tandem ride (~40miles without much complaining!), skiing, and hanging out. It was a great break for me to refresh and prepare for the end of April.
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