Street Player

New Years Racing

2012-01-02T21:04:00.002-06:00

What did you do for New Years? Another solid race with a little love from the the camera on the run-up. Sweet race and worth coming back to.

New Year's Resolutions - CX Bike Race from Kyle Bainter on Vimeo.

Spot on

2011-12-03T20:49:00.001-06:00

Excuse the profanity but it's true.

Down but not out

2011-10-29T08:47:00.007-05:00

A sprained thumb while warming up at the first cross race of the year is a little bit of a physical blow and a pretty big mental blow. Sadly this is what happened to me at the USGP in Madison about 6 weeks ago today. My fitness up until that point was decent and starting to ramp up for cross season. The funny thing is it was a routine corner I washed out in and just by reaction I put my hand out to break by fall. When it broke it all right! It felt like I destroyed all the tendons and ligaments in my right thumb to the point where I couldn't hold a water bottle with that hand and have it not feel like it was 50lbs and ovular in shape. The medical tent attempted to wrap it so I could attempt to race on it but the tape job was anything but good enough and the pain was anything but dull enough to ride. It only took 2 more practice laps after wrapping the thumb to know the racing for the day was over and quite possibly the next couple weeks.

Although I was down mentally with the thumb I made myself useful and worked the pits that day for Tristan. It's a totally new perspective not racing even though you want to so badly but still being in the middle of the race and watching it unfold. The guys in the pits are pretty hilarious and are some of the best hecklers out there. They not only rip on every rider that is not there own but also the other guys in the pits to keep themselves entertained. I'm glad I helped in the pits just to keep my mind off the thumb and help out Tristan a little along the way.

The next 3 weeks were some of the hardest for me mentally trying not to freak out not racing and trying to train and do workouts as much as possible with the thumb permitting. 3 weeks doesn't seem like that long of a time but when you can barely hold onto the bars of the your bike to ride its an eternity! Slow but sure the thumb was healing and I could actually hold onto the bar rather than lifting my hand off for every little bump. By the end of week 2 I was gutting through through intervals on the road where the pain in the thumb was more than in the legs. One day at a time the thumb was getting it's range of movement back and starting to get better.

It wasn't until last weekend that I was able to do a cross race.... 5 weeks after nearly breaking my thumb off of my hand! The good news is my legs hurt a lot more than my thumb did that day. The bad news is my legs hurt a lot more than my thumb did that day lol. It wasn't my best race by any means but that's for many other reasons and leaves lots of room for improvement. 6 weeks ago today is when it all went down and now I feel like it's healthy enough (85-90%) to resume any type of workout and racing I can thrown at it.

Next up is the annual Halloween cross race at Washington Park in Milwaukee. I'm still not sure if I'll have a costume or not but I'm there will be plenty of other people wearing them.

Legs

2011-10-17T13:36:00.001-05:00

Brian Matter's training plan for the last couple days.

Late Alterra Recap

2011-08-03T22:40:00.005-05:00

Now that it's been well over a week since the race I'm going to attempt an update before it gets too late.

WORS #6 Franklin has always been a hard race for myself. To me it seems like there is a little too much single track in any one sitting that twists and turns so hard and fast you never really know where you are or what's coming next much less any passing lanes. If I rode the course more than once or twice a year I'm sure I would have a different perspective on the course but that hasn't been the case until now.

The start is always super crucial for positioning into the single track and can make or break your race in the first 4 minutes. Having this knowledge and some pretty awesome start legs I was able to power my way past my slow 2nd row start position into 4th wheel over the top of the start climb and kept the gas on down the double track along the road. 2 minutes later the 4 of us have a pretty big gap for the start of race and keep the pace high leading into the single track to distance ourselves further. The first two riders gaped us right away and it was too late for me to catch them once I finally got around the dude and into 3rd place. Riding alone for almost an entire lap is a little weird, more mentally than anything else knowing that there are 100 guys behind you somewhere.

At the end of the 1st lap of 3 I was joined by Ryan K. who rides in the same age group and definitely knows how to kill it in a race. I knew he was able to ride the single a little smoother and faster than me so I was leading as long as possible to prolong the inevitable. Ryan went around me somewhere in the middle of the 2nd lap and that was the last time I saw him too. This is the point in the race that I knew I had to start using my skills and put down the power by myself to keep the rest of the field off my back. Knowing exactly where I was in the field my goal of a top 10 overall was mine to lose. I've been gunning for this goal since the first race of the season and have know I'm more than capable of the result and just need to put it all together and ride within myself. Having come so close on a number of occasions I reminded myself that today was the day and I was not going to let it slip now no matter how hard it hurt.

A couple guys were crossing the gap that I had built up with the lap traffic and with a half lap to go I knew it was going to be a battle royal in the last couple miles. Pulls were exchanged once they made contact and I knew I had to lead into the 2nd to last climb all the way up the ski hill before a technical decent, some single and the final monster climb to the finish. I dug pretty deep to get over the top of the climb ahead of the Polska rider with my heart still inside of my chest but beating so hard it was trying to get out! Skills were put to work and gave me a little gap on the decent and through the little bit of single before the last wall of a climb. A quick look over my shoulder at the bottom showed my gap was still there but not a whole lot. Spinning was all the legs could do at this point unless I wanted a complete locking cramp in both legs. With a little over 100 feet to go Polska made contact and gave just enough of an attack that I couldn't cover it. The battle was over and I was rolling in for 8th overall on the day and my first top 10 of the season! Mission (goal) accomplished and just in time for a rest week. A big thanks to Renee Elizabeth for the picture tags from the race.

The rest week is now over and the training has been ramped back up into full swing. The last little push in training is in effect right now before Ore to Shore and the first A race of the season. Before O2S though there is one more WORS race. I'm looking forward to it and hoping to improve on my placing from the last race after some rest. Next stop Camrock, WI.... I hope to see you all there.

Super (with lots of randoms) Post

2011-07-19T20:23:00.006-05:00

Since my last update I have partially started at least 4 posts and managed to not upload a single one. So now that I have a few minutes tonight I decided to post them all. It may be a little random at points but you'll get the idea.

Iola:

Yea i'm "The Other Guy" which isn't so bad. Not the worst company to roll to a race with or get training advice from.

Managed a solid early season result and haven't been looking back ever since. This is probably my best start to a season in a few years which is a good sign of things to come.

I remember it was not all that long ago that I was super pumped to be graduating college and starting my first real job. School was beginning to drag on feeling tiresome and I was ready to move on and join the "Real World". Well my initial thoughts on how great the real world would be were a little skewed and at times I really miss the good ole days of school. Honestly I am very thankful for my job and am not trying to complain but merely explain my current thoughts. The mandatory minimum of 50 hours a week at work is the new tiresome act I find myself completing for the last couple months.

Time is more precious then ever before and must be managed carefully. Cycling is one of the few things that truly keeps me motivated and going day in and day out. I never realized the abundance of time I had in college until now when I could go for a training ride pretty much whenever I wanted. It's probably safe to say those days are going to be few and far between from here on out. Long story short I have to try to be smart about my time spent training given it's limited nature. Consistency is the key to success this season and I feel I'm off to a decent start even when it feels like my world is spinning at 100 mph to try to get all the things I want to do done.

One the 1st of June I pulled the trigger and signed up for professional coaching. Over the last couple years I have been getting help and advice here and there from my good friend and who I often call "Coach" Brian Matter. Since he has now made it official and joined forces with the all wise and talented T.J. Woodruff as a coach I have also taken the next step in my endeavors and decided to step it up to the next level with "Official" coaching. It's been less than 2 months and I can tell the difference in my overall preparedness and fitness improvements. I am very happy with my results so far and am on track to meet and hopefully exceed my goals for the season. If you are interested in being coach by one of the most knowledgeable people I know don't hesitate to email him (bmatter@momentumendurance.com) and see what it's all about.

As for the last couple weeks and races they have all gone pretty well. WORS #3 was Wausau and I proved to myself more than anyone else that I was in fact in half decent shape and my result at Iola wasn't a fluke. WORS #4 was the Subaru Cup and proved to be a tough weekend of racing in the CAT 1 field but still solid. Which brings us to last weekends races. Miners Revenge was a VERY last minute decision to race on Saturday. I was beyond impressed with the course and how technical it was. I can compare it to Mount Snow, Vermont and chalk it up as one of the most technical trails and races I have ever done. Did I mention we got to ride through an abandoned mine.... yea it was sweet.

I did my best to take it easy knowing I had another race the next day which proved easier said than done. The steep climbs and drops were just to fun to not rip them in a few sections and left me a little tired.

Matter and myself spent more than a few hours driving over the weekend, som

ewhere just over 20 hours by the time we went to the UP, back home and then to Eau Claire and back. Some how I managed to recover quite well and after a nice warmup I was ready to crush another days worth of racing. After about 60 seconds of racing I knew the legs were feeling GOOD. I managed to move from my 3rd row start position to 3rd place in the leadout and stayed there for the next 2 laps. I knew I was feeling good and also knew it wouldn't last forever with the previous days efforts. At the start of the 3rd lap the sweltering heat was really starting to take its toll and I had to go into survival mode and salvage my good start and placing as best possible. I was fading pretty good but managed to finish reasonably strong and put the icing on the cake from a great weekend of racing.

The coach really dialed up the training this last week with the most L.T. work I can ever remember doing. I'm still alive and can't wait to see what kind of new fitness I am going to get out of this last training block.

Next up WORS#6

New Season, New Team

2011-04-17T12:46:00.006-05:00

With the start of the mtb season all but 2 weeks away it has been long enough and I should probably make it known that I have found a new team to ride for in 2011.

KUHL is the name of the new team and if the last couple weeks of interacting with the new team are anything like the how this season will be.... well then I'm stoked!!!! From what I can tell everyone is super chill yet an adrenaline junkie in some way or another. The team is more than just riding mountain bikes but wide variety of sports including rock climbing and bouldering, literally climbing mountains, road, triathlon and mountain biking, skiing, snowboarding and the list goes on and on. A little pun is necessary at this point.... How cool is that! I feel very fortunate to not only have found a new team but a team that is so very diverse. The team is based out of Utah but has now looked to expand into the Midwest to further promote and expand their awesome products. Thanks to Tom Bender (former WORS elite racer) for orchestrating the new

Midwest Team!

I will be riding with a few local faces you may know this season which include Sarah and Scott Kylander Johnson, Dallas, Brad from CarboRocket, and a few others.

The last couple weeks have been super busy trying to finalize a last minute bike deal and hopefully get the new rig and new kits just in time for the season opener. I'm crossing my fingers but it looks like we will make it. Thanks to Trek Bikes for continuing to support our top athletes on one of the best bikes made on the planet; and it doesn't hurt that they are hand made right here in Wisco.

Here is a pic of my new ride for 2011 minus a few sweet upgrades.

I can't wait to get the new bike and FINALLY ride some dirt this year. It's been way to long and a little too close to the first mtb race of the season for my liking. The first race might be a little rough but the skills should come back quickly.

Pictures of the new ride and kits will be posted as soon as they show up. Till then keep the rubber side down and the training miles rolling.

Barry Roubaix recap

2011-03-27T14:41:00.002-05:00

I just want to start by saying this race was HARDER than I expected and its name lived up to it's title. Being the first race of the year you have to see where your fitness is at and what better way then by going way too hard in the early goings of the race and having the suffer for the next 45 miles of racing. All in all it was a sweet race and worth coming back to.

Watch more video of Barry-Roubaix: The Killer Gravel Road Race on cyclingdirt.org

By the end of the race my legs started to come around again to tough out the last couple climbs and catch a few people in front of me. The last lap was spent riding pretty much alone so racing wasn't really happening anymore and it turned into a decent training ride. I did manage to use the powertap and get some sweet data. For a months worth of riding again I'm happy. The normalized power was 263 for 4 hours which surprised even me. The steady wind and what seemed like never ending climbs at times played a small part into that number lol. There is a long way to go in terms of fitness but this last weekend wasn't a bad start. The next post should bring the last couple months up to speed as a lot as changed in my life on so many different fronts. Till then keep the rubber side down and your spirits up for warmer weather.

Trying something new

2011-03-10T22:09:00.007-06:00

There is a lot that has changed for me since my last post and I promise to elaborate more about it soon. For now I'm back in the swing of training and looking forward to the first "race" of the year which is just around the corner.

Barry Roubaix looks pretty sweet to me and I've decided to try a few new races-events this year to keep things interested. I figure I can't go wrong with a slogan that has has Killer, Roubaix, and Gravel all in the race title.

Did I mention it's 65 miles of a killer gravel road race? Even better! I hope I get enough miles logged between now and then to survive this bad boy. Expect MORE soon and a race report for this one for sure! Till then..... Peace Out

Street Player

Chuck Norris has nothing on Jens Voigt

2011-01-08T22:18:00.002-06:00

http://www.jensvoigtfacts.com/

Iceman 2010

2010-11-08T11:30:00.005-06:00

Another Iceman is in the books! Overall a great weekend with plenty of fun both on and off the bike. The drive is about 8 hours from Sheboygan to Traverse City so the plan was to leave Friday morning at 7am. Normally I'm the one heckled about being a little behind schedule when we wanna leave....NOT this year, not even close! Wally Kunstman decided to be 45 minutes behind schedule because his little girl didn't want him to go. It's not like we were in a super hurry to get there but the daylight was going to be lacking when we got there.

Finally at Timber Ridge with daylight falling fast we suited up for a ride of the last 8-9 miles of the course. 33 degrees and a inch of snow on most of the course made for an interesting warmup. I didn't have a problem and surprisingly felt great but the rest of the crew was slipping, sliding and shivering their way around the course. With the legs feeling better than I anticipated and ready to kill it we took care of the last couple items of the day.... eating, registration and a good nights sleep. A last minute ice-cream snack before bed completed the pre-race rituals :)

Saturday morning came early and everything was going smoothly. A short but solid warmup came and went being in the 3rd wave of the day. With the countdown lacking a little enthusiasm compared to the all famous GOOOOOOOOOOOOO from Don Edburg the race was off and I knew instantly it was going to be a great day! Up the right side straight into the front 3 riders in less than 10 seconds. Years of cross racing balls to the wall left me wondering why the pace wasn't at least 5 mph faster and I had all I could do to contain myself from drilling it by myself like the year before. I played my cards perfect and just sat in the top 5 guys through the entire lead out and into the woods. There were a few surges in speed as fresh legs tried to make their way to the front but soon found they couldn't handle their own pace and fell back just as quick as they came. I stayed calm and focused on the 2-3 guys in front of me just following wheels and closing the small gaps that opened when they attacked. The miles ticked by pretty fast.... the first mile marker I saw was 27 to go and the next couple were 22, 18 and 16. The pace was perfect and I only really felt red lined once as I had to close a decent gap around the 17 to go marker. That effort left me a little queasy but a couple deep breaths got the heart rate back down and settled in.

Somewhere around 15 or 14 miles to go I was at the front setting the pace and bobbled over a little icy log pile that forced me off the bike. I quickly ran the hill after the log and did a smooth cross mount to catch back on to the back of the group I was riding with. This effort and the attack that followed put me on the edge again as I yo-yo'd my way to the group. It seemed like the group was just in front of me but the gap never really got smaller or bigger for the next couple miles. By Williamsburg Road I could still see the main group in the not to far distance as I desperately tried to get into a rhythm and close the gap. I looked down at the Garmin and saw I was more than half way there in 51 minutes! This put me on track to finish around 1:45 and crush my best time. By this point my back was starting to get pretty tight and uncomfortable for some reason unknown to me and making it more and more difficult to pedal hard like I had been for the last hour. I was trying not to panic but knew the pain was getting pretty bad fast and crippling my ability to pedal hard or fast. I knew I hadn't gone out to hard and had plenty left in the tank to keep the pace at that level. It was becoming a helpless feeling as I watched what I'm quite confident was my best Iceman and season result taken away from me with nothing I could do about it! I tried to reassure myself the pain wasn't that bad and I should quit being a sally and crush it for the less than 10 miles of racing ahead of me. This thinking only worked for so long and the only relief in pain came when I was out of the saddle. Again this lasted for only so long and soon I was unable to ride up the steep climbs. My pace and heart rate were falling fast and soon I wasn't able to stay with the big groups that were passing me. The damage was done and I was going backwards fast!

The last 5 miles were the worst and found myself diminished to walking almost every hill in a feeling of helplessness. The root of the problem is still unknown but I'm guessing a pinched nerve that I've been battling with this entire season from time to time. I managed to limp my way to the finish and complete the race in a disappointing 2:06. Some how I finished 8th in my age group out of 83 to give myself a little reassurance it was not as bad of a race as it felt. Congrats to Brian Matter for his 3rd Iceman victory in 6 years! His success never ceases to amaze me and helped me to forget about my sub-par race.

No Iceman is complete without an appearance at the Bells MTB Team end of the season party! As usual it was a great time with plenty of stories from the season. Next up is late season training block to keep the fitness up for the last couple cross races. 4-5 weekends left with a couple local races, state championships, Jingle Cross and last but least Cross Nationals in Bend, OR.

Thank You

2010-10-28T22:18:00.007-05:00

I just wanted to take this time between races to thank a few of my sponsors.

Powerbar for the amazing fuel to keep my going and help me recover after races. The long hours of training are that much more enjoyable when you don't have to suffer on the bike and suffer to eat something. Powerbar has done a great job of making products that actually taste good and replenish the calories and nutrients you use while training.

Easton for the FAST wheels and fork that take a beating day in and day out during cross season and hold up strong.

Sisu for the great bikes that much like the wheels are abused on regular basis and keep on ticking.

Thank you so much for the stellar products and your support in my cycling endeavors and goals now and in the future!

Collegiate Mtb Nationals

2010-10-20T11:03:00.011-05:00

Sweet view from the place we stayed.... everything is bigger out west.

I'll do a formal write up soon when I'm finally caught up with hw and life in general.... till then here are a couple sweet pics from collegiate mountain bike nationals in Truckee, CA.

Your Toast hahaha!Finally using my little ring for the first time!

Short Track rocking the downhill ahead of a Fort Lewis rider

Northstar Resort short track

Wisco homies at awards

Awards

Group ride after short track with a couple guys from the conference

Everything is big out west

Four Cross course

UCI3 Day 2 and 3

2010-10-12T09:01:00.006-05:00

Overall this was a great weekend of racing and a confidence booster for the rest of the season. I got a taste of some good luck and my true abilities form wise. There is a night and day difference in my form from last year and I finally feel like I can be a little bit competitive within the elite class.

Day 2's start was my best without a doubt this year as I managed to file into the top 20 with the hole-shot and maintain it for a solid lap. The course has a little bit of everything including a ton of tight u-turn corners to put the mtb skills to good use again and get a little bit of recovery time. As the race progressed my placings in the race started to fall off a little and I drifted my way back a little bit every lap. I can't say if it was the lack of sleep or just not my day because I managed to find the back portion of the race by the end and finished 40th overall. The good news is I raced a full hour and finished with 1 lap to go in the race for the first time ever on an elite level. The one time I really hope for Trebon and Powers to lap me and relieve me of a my racing duties they don't show up and leave me to suffer like a dog haha. In hind sight I'm glad they didn't catch me until the last lap and gave me a chance to really dig deep for a whole hour.

Day 3 was another ridiculously hot day with temps in the 80's again and a scorching fast dry-dusty course. 2 days in a row I managed to avoid the crashes in the hole-shot and file into a good position some where in the 20's for the first lap. I thought for sure my legs would be toast asking them to race 3 cross races in a row but they decided to show up and surprisingly not control my pace for the day. I was able to push them as hard as I could and leave it all out there for 2 days in a row. Jason Karew was my carrot for the day and gave me a good run for my money as we rode together for the majority of the race. Jason gapped me with 3 to go and I gave up mentally for a little bit until I realized I was giving up to easily and should probably go catch him again. The gap started to come down and he was back within sight a lap later when I bombed a steep downhill section too hard and punctured my from tubular.....game over. I ended up finishing with 1 lap to go and in 35th place in the weekends premier C1 race. The calendar is marked and I'm definitely going to race the UCI3 Cincinnati weekend next year!!!

Next up is Collegiate Mountain Bike Nationals in Truckee, CA this coming weekend.

Cincinnati Cross Day 1

2010-10-09T10:14:00.009-05:00

Day 1 is in the books. 28th was the final result which just so happened to be the bib number they gave me for the weekend. It's pretty sweet having your name on your bib number.

This race goes down as one of the bumpiest cross races I have ever done! I would have gladly ridden my full suspension Trek Top Fuel if I could have. Not only was the course bumpy but lacking a flat section for more than a couple hundred feet leaving for an up or down feeling the whole race. Surprisingly my legs weren't wasted from the 3:30am wakeup call and 8 hours in the car but never really felt good enough to really push the pace. Mountain bike skills definitely came into play today and worked to my advantage to make up for the bla legs. Thanks to the new Easton wheels and Tufo tires which got glued less than 48 hours earlier I would say the race went pretty well.

Dinner was quick at a place called the Spagetti Factory and back to the hotel to rest up. 2 hours into recovery mode Brian is fine one minute and the next he is saying he doesn't feel good at all. All SHIT BROKE LOOSE and he was running for the bathroom. A little scare and a trip over to the ER we were back in the hotel room. The doctor still doesn't really know what happened....maybe food poisoning or an allergic reaction. It's too bad I thought I was going to be one spot better in the race today lol jk. Brian seems fine today and should be back on the bike without a hitch.

Hopefully today goes a little better than yesterday and nothing to crazy afterwards.

Welcome Back

2010-09-30T09:23:00.000-05:00

It's time to dust off the keys and start blogging again!

Welcome back and what better way to start it off then with a little diddy by Mase.

Lots of entries to follow but for now enjoy the song and check back soon.

Street Player

Jingle Cross Night Race Video

2009-12-03T12:19:00.002-06:00

I wish I could do this every day!

Jingle Cross Days 2 & 3

2009-12-01T11:06:00.004-06:00

Day 2 and 3 of racing were a lot like Friday night... mud, mud and some more mud for good measures. By Sunday the course was dry in most spots with the exception of Mt. Krumpet. I found these couple videos to show how crazy the course really was as well as how fast Todd Wells was really going compared to everyone else. When 2nd place is minutes down on him you know someone not as "Pro" like me is going to be in for a world of pain to keep from getting lapped. Surprisingly I was able to make it a little longer every day before getting pulled including Sunday when I made it to 2 laps to go! The final results from the weekend are 25th, 29th and 32nd with some heavy hitters like the Wells brothers, Planet Bike's elite squad, The Legend Ned Overend and many more. A shout out to the promoters, spectators and even a few serious superfans to making this one of the best weekends of racing year in and year out! I would also like to give a big thanks to Tim from Half Acres for being an awesome pit man all weekend and getting me a clean bike when it counted the most.

It looks like Jingle Cross is going to be my last big weekend of racing for the year sadly. My plan of going out to Bend, OR for Nationals has now fallen through. UW Milwaukee was going to foot most of the bill for my trip to represent our school. It seems there are too many rules and too few of funds to really make it happen now. I'm not going to lie I'm extremely disappointed right now and if it wasn't a 30+ hour drive one way and the week of finals I would man up and drive it! There is one more race in Chicago that might be worth hitting up this weekend to finish up another year of racing. I'll post more pictures and videos from this last weekend as they come along.

Jingle Cross Day 1- Under the Lights

2009-11-28T08:55:00.006-06:00

Last night was my first ever cross race at night under lights and it was awesome! I was pretty pumped and for some reason found myself with a jitter or two before the start. The venue had giant spot lights brought in that did a great job of lighting the course as bright as day where it was shinning. A few spots were hard to see which made for some interesting racing to go along with the slip and slide mud covering the course. As usual Mt. Krumpit was a brutally long and steep run up to keep things interesting.

Telling your body its going to race at 7:30 at night in the dark through the mud and cold is not too easy. It helped to see the carnage from the previous races with countless derailleurs being ripped off and bikes hiding under layers of mud to get the blood flowing and adrenaline pumping. I can't explain it but I absolutely love and live for racing in nasty slick mud! The number of starts was in the 40's and looked to be some respectable competition. I decided to try something different and started a little easier to see if I could hang with a group through the whole race. This proved to work a little better and I was sitting in with a group all the way to the bottom of Mt. Krumpet. Dialing tire pressure was a problem again with sections of hard fast pavement and slow slick mud. After a bike change things were going a lot faster again and I was able to catch back on and pass a couple dudes. All said and done I finished 25th and in the money!

USGP Jersey 3

2009-11-25T11:28:00.007-06:00

Getting everything to come together on race day seems to be a problem for me lately. I find myself being able to start pretty well, even when I toe the line with the pros. By no means am I taking the hole shot but I'm finding myself still able to move up within the field for the first half of a lap. This is where putting it all together comes into play and I seem to fall apart for the next 2 laps. Obviously cross is all about running red line and being anaerobic for the majority of the race. My problem seems to be able to continue or closely maintain my position in the race from the end of the first lap for the next 2 or so laps. If I could solve this problem I truly believe I would go from one of the last scored finisher in USGP races to a good 10-15 places higher. Day 1 of racing in Jersey was a lot like last year with inches of peanut butter mud across the entire course. Running for 40% of a lap is no exaggeration, especially after a pile up in the first corner of the race leaving the leaders long gone and the guys in the back doomed to start running. A pre-ride of the course should have been taken but I opted not to for some dumb reason.

If you know anything about cross making the right choice with tires and tire pressure is beyond crucial, it literally can make or break your race. I asked a couple people that took a pre-ride lap or two what they thought and made my decision based upon their information... bad idea. Of the 3 different sets of tires I had to choose from I probably picked the worst one possible. Slipping and sliding my way through an entire lap was the deciding factor in my race and left me OTB quickly. I would like to thank my sponsors for the ability to have 2 identical bikes for situations just like this. I grabbed my B bike from the pits and with no exaggeration was going a couple miles per hour faster just about everywhere on the course! Sections of the course that were unridable the first lap were now ridable with the simple change of a bike with different tires on it. I powered my way around the course for the next couple laps trying to make contact with people only to find them pulling out. The time I lost on the first lap is hard to estimate but I wouldn't be surprised if it was almost a half lap. Trebon was on a mission and that was to relieve me of my duties bringing up the rear with 3 laps to go. Oh well... clean up the bikes and get ready to do it all over again the next day.

Day 2 of racing brought a different course and different style of racing. The course was more technical and dried out to allow for a little faster of riding and lap times. I wasn't going to make the same mistake twice so I got a little bit of time on the course and was able to make the right tire choice. The start seemed slower than normal or I just had good legs because I was able to make my way from the 7th row all the way into the top 30 through the first couple corners. Its a shame to be able to have such a good start only to watch it slip through your grasp. As I elaborated on before I can start really well but some how fall apart for the next 2 laps until I'm able to get it going again. Going from the top 30 to the back of the field is a pretty big mental blow but I am not one to quite and did my best to keep it going. Like clock work I started feeling better a lap or 2 later and was able to start picking guys off one by one. If it wasn't for Johnson setting a blistering pace around the course I might have been able to catch and pass a couple more guys. I don't know what my problem is with fading after good starts only to kick it in a couple laps later but I'm determined to figure it out before the end of the season.

USGP Jersey 2

2009-11-20T13:01:00.012-06:00

Here are more pics from the trip home and a stop in Cleveland.

Baby Bobcat

Killing time at the Natural History Museum hanging out with the otter.

Monday Night Football action

USGP Jersey 1

2009-11-17T15:54:00.012-06:00

I'll post a bunch of pics from the trip to New York first

Ground Zero and the construction of the Freedom Tower

Wall Street Grand Central Station (The picture doesn't do the size of the station justice)

Time Square trying to find Ben Baily and the Cash Cab.

Rockefeller Center and the tree going up.

Amazing pizza at Lombari's in Little Italy

Cool mural in one of the subways

Iceman 2009

2009-11-14T10:54:00.003-06:00

The funny thing about this picture is I didn't know they were behind me. I was in the front row on the line just focusing on the start.... apparently they were too haha. The gun sounded and I was off and surprised how slow the group was going for a start. Maybe I've been doing to many cross races with the pros because I felt it just wasn't fast enough to make my head spin and legs scream so I took the whole shot pretty much from the start. My pull was probably for a good mile or so until I decided to let someone else pull a little and sit in and recover. Jesse Bell took over with the pace making and I followed 3rd wheel until right before the first section of dirt. Two guys attacked on both sides and turned up the pace a notch for about 20 more yards. This is where my great start was wasted as the two guys who attacked bumped each other and caused my buddy Matt to crash right in front of me! Needless to say I was pissed and left running down the middle of the trail trying to get my chain back on going from 1st to 100th place after 5 minutes of racing.

The rest of my race was spent trying to make up the lost places. This is where the shoulda coulda woulda took over in my head as I drilled it for the next 20 miles. Somewhere around Williamsburg road I knew I was getting close to the front of the race and could see little groups not far up the trail. I tried with everything I had to bridge the last couple gaps to the groups but found the match book running out of matches. The fuel tank levels were dropping fast and the chase ended with 6 miles to go and turned into salvage mode. My goal of 1:45 was falling by the wayside and as the miles ticked by slower and slower so did the goal. 1st twice or 11th in my age group was the final result. Overall I'm still pretty happy because I knew I felt as good as I have racing in a long time and I was able to almost get back to the front. I may have over done it in the chase by myself and payed the price in the last 6 miles but it was worth the efforts and I would do it exactly the same again. Congrats to Brian for the 3rd place finish and almost the repeat on the 3peat.... Triple Crown!

The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing and enjoying the company of new and old friends. The annual party downtown was crazy as usual including the party bus. Breakfast the next morning was the now tradition of The Omelet Shop, and amazing as always. Iceman is always one of my favorite race weekends of the season and I can't wait until next year.

Quick Iceman update

2009-11-08T19:10:00.008-06:00

Just rolled in from the long drive home so I'm gonna make this short for now.

My 4th Iceman Cometh Challenge is in the books. Not quite the result or finish I was hoping for but overall still pretty happy. Finished #1 twice as Russel and myself like to joke about or 11th depending upon how you look at it. Time wise I was about the same as last year with a little longer course. I'll leave you with a couple pictures and do a formal write up soon.

Pre Part Bus action at the finish
Score for the weekend.... Brand new super cheap wheel bags!!!

RECAP 1 Grafton cross and WORS #12

2009-10-30T15:00:00.006-05:00

This is going to be the first super update to bring myself current in my recent endeavors. Let's start with the weekend of the last WORS race of the season.

The day before the last WORS race of the season I decided to get a nice little warm up in by doing the cross race in Grafton. The course looked pretty good with one really steep climb towards the end of the lap. An important side note is the fact that I was doing my first race on my new custom SISU ti cross frame I finally got in but 2 days earlier. I managed to throw the bike together just in time for the race to test it out. The start of the race proved to be more trouble than I would have liked getting myself pushed to the outside of the first corner and almost in the back of the field before I could ever really get going. My work was cut out for me at this point so I did what needed to be done... start working my way back to the front. The field by and large stayed together for the first 3 laps, just really strung out. I was making up ground and picking off guys one by one as the time ticked by. The rather large hill I mentioned earlier was a deciding factor in the race and would prove to be my undoing soon enough. The first lap up the hill I could hear my rear derailleur trying to bobble between gears as I hammered up the hill with the large group. The same thing happened on lap 2 so I did my best to keep it smooth and steady. Lap 3 seemed as if the problem had gone away which eased my worries that I had something wrong with my last minute build of the bike. Lap 4 was go time and I was finally starting to feel good after a crappy start. I was closing in on Kip and decided to push the steep hill a little harder to try to make up some ground. Coming into the bottom of the hill full speed ahead and right out of the saddle left me on the rivet. No more than a quarter of the way up the hill the bobbling sound was back and worse than ever! I tried to keep it smooth and steady again until the feeling of no pressure on the pedals and the sound of defeat echoed through my mind and body. Game over, broken chain! I was pretty bummed to be done so quick but things got a little better after someone handed me a beer from the heckling section of the hill. Oh well hopefully this was a good enough warm up for the big race the next day.

It wasn't enough time racing to give a thorough assessment of the new frame but enough to know I was definitely pleased. Snappy response and great handling qualities not to mention a nicely damped ride from the full titanium frame and carbon fork to eat up the bumps. Definitely the best cross bike I have ever owned!

The next day was the last WORS race of the season on my local trails here in Sheboygan. The quarry and Evergreen Park is where it all started for me 8 years earlier almost to the day! I did my first ever bike race in the citizen class during the Wigwam Ultimax Challenge. Needless to say I have managed to learn the trails for the race inside and out. After a poor race the day before and honestly a poor WORS season all together, this was my last chance. I felt it was my time to shine and finally put the doubt out of my head on being able to race for a win in the comp class. If there was any course to do it on this was the one; home field advantage if you will.

The start was crazy as usual and left me chasing hard after the guy in front of me missed his pedal. By the hole shot across the parking lot I had worked my way into the top 15 and close to the top 10 by the first section of single track. Someone manged to stack it up in the first single track allowing me to pass a couple guys and into the top 10 where I belonged. I did a little count in the switchbacks and found myself in 7th place, sweet! I kept the gas on and managed to pass a guy or two in the next 3 laps and closing in on Brian Schwaller. Local spectators were giving me time splits to Brian and I was definitely closing the gap. By the end of lap 3 I had caught him as he was pulling out of the race on the equalizer. We later joked about how he was in 5th and decided to pull out of the race haha. Lap 4 was crucial, no mistakes to be made! The pain of cramps was starting to set in so it was damage control time while keeping the gas on as much as possible. I was running out of people in front of me in my wave and knew it was my race to take if I could hold off all the people behind me. It wasn't until 2 miles to go in the race that I caught the guy in 4th and layed down what I hoped to be a serious attack to distance myself from him in the closing miles. As soon as I knew I had dropped the guy in 4th I found another guy from my wave was breathing down my neck. Full tilt from the equalizer until the bride overpass proved to do little to shake the dude. There was less than 3oo meters from the bridge to the finish line so it was now or never. One last attack across the grass and into the little section of single track before the finish was just enough to hold him off! In my mind I knew I did pretty well and was in the top 5 in my wave but totally unaware of 4th overall in the race.

I honestly didn't know I was in 4th overall until I had changed and came back to look at the results board. Staring at the results board a little blankly and double checking what I was reading until it clicked, yes indeed I was 4th overall in the race. By best finish in a WORS comp race and by and large my best result of the season to date was the perfect ending to a WORS mountain bike season!

Podium time

2009-10-11T20:57:00.003-05:00

This is a real brief post before calling it a night. I finally put it all together today like I knew I could and finished today's WORS comp race 2nd in age and 4th overall 2.5 minutes down on the all famous W! This is the best result this season and my best comp finish ever. Not the greatest quality pic but it was a camera phone last second.

I'll do a formal write up hopefully tomorrow to let you know how it all went down. Peace out!

USGP Madison

2009-09-29T13:11:00.004-05:00

The first cross of the season is always a little bit of a shock to the system, especially when you haven't done it for the last 8+ months and it's part of the UPGP national series. I knew it was going to be hard and I soon found I was going into it with the wrong mental mindset so Saturdays race was a little rough but I survived. Jeremy Powers the race winner from Saturdays race was turning blistering lap times of 5 minutes flat on the 1.7 mile course leaving my race to be cut short when he lapped me. Only having to drive 2 hours and have so many friends and family there to support my cause made it worth the pain and suffering. I'm convinced their cheers helped me drag my carcase around the course and remind me what cross is really all about.

Here is a quick snapshot from Saturdays race. The blur of the picture is how my head felt trying to keep up.

I took my new found perspective after a peep talk or two and applied it to Sundays round two of the course; a mental reset if you will. Between the mental reset and the little bit of rain before the start my race went considerably better on day 2. I was able to make it to 3 laps to go and 15 more minutes into the race compared to the day before. Course conditions were a little greasy to begin with requiring more handling skills to better suite my abilities. The power in the legs felt restored and twice what it was the day before allowing me to actually sprint down the straightaways and keep the gas on through the technical sections unlike 24 hours prior. Positive feedback from people and my improvement on my result are signs of my early season fitness starting to return and providing fuel for the training fire.

Next up for big cross races in the 3 days of UCI races in Cincinnati in 2 weeks!

Lake Geneva and Chequamegon recap

2009-09-15T12:05:00.005-05:00

The last 2 race weekends have been a little bit of a roller coaster but nothing I didn't already expect. I'm going to call both weekends a sucess on the road back to my early season fitness and speed. The month of August was lack luster at best in the riding department so the last 2 race weekends probably hurt more than they should have. Wors #10 Lake Geneva was really good for the first 2 laps. Awsome start in the top 15 and moving up into the top 10 and staying there for the first 2 laps left me pretty pumped and knowing I still have some snap. It was the next 2 laps that it fell apart by missing a feed and not eating enough. I was determined to keep it going even though I knew I was pretty dehydrated and feeling an awsome bonk looming. It didn't take but half a lap for both to pretty much hit me all at once and slowed my pace to what felt like a crawl. I can honestly say I have not pushed myself that hard after feeling the bonk coming in a couple years and I'm glad I did. It's good to feel where your limits are and be able to mentally and physically keep pushing. Needless to say I did not finish in the top 15 much less 30 but pushed my way to the finish slow but sure.

Yesterday was the Chequamegon Fat 40 which proved to be another roller coaster of a race. I warmed up Friday afternoon with Tristan and Brian after making the 5 hour trek. My legs felt surprisingly good and only got better as we rode. I'm not sure how to explain how your legs can feel amazing one day and so flat the next. Another awsome start in the top 40 across rosies field only to watch my placing slowly drop as the clock ticked away. The feeling of never being able to get rolling or being able to push it was what happened. I'd be able to ride with a group for a couple minutes and then I'd have no snap to hang on when an acceleration came. The time I posted was actually within my goal range but far from where I wanted to place. All in all I still had fun and managed to finish with a smile. Congrats to Brian for notching another win in his belt for this year and keeping the hopes of a triple crown repeat alive!

Next up is some serious switching of gears. USGP Madison this coming weekend. It's a real shame I'm going to missout on riding this by a matter of days!

Especially considering I have all of these to put on the bike!

starting fresh

2009-09-06T23:20:00.002-05:00

I promise I'm not dead. There has been so much going on in the last month it's crazy. There will be lots of news to write about soon with cross season on the horizon! I have cross frames finally ordered and being built. To go with the new frames I found myself a nice Easton Tempest II carbon wheelset with some Dugast Typhoon tires already mounted. There are still a lot of things to be figured out yet but the season is starting to fall into place nicely. Being pre-registered for just about all of the races before the season even starts is a great feeling too. I'll post some pictures as soon as I get some of the new toys in!

Ore to Shore recap

2009-08-11T10:55:00.010-05:00

Year number 5 is in the books and goes down as the best year to date. All in all the race went really well. I did have to stop twice to try and fix my non compliant derailleur with no such luck. It gets a little frustrating when you feel really good and want to push a really big gear but cant due to your jazzed derailleur, oh well. I managed to ride almost the entire race with cupcake and the tool shed. We all did our fair share of work at some point and kept our group going strong the whole time. You know your group is going well when your catching other groups and spitting them out within a couple miles. I managed to get myself spit out for awhile but caught back on with 1 to go to beat Russel and prevent the heckling for another year. 48 miles is a good day on a mtb, racing 48 miles in under 3 hours is an even better day. My goal was to finally finish under 3 hours.... mission accomplished at 2:56:20 beating last years time by 12 minutes! I finally got the chance to stick around a little longer on Sunday to ride some of the amazing trails I keep hearing about in the area. Matt from Sisu and a few of my new teammates showed me around and left me wanting more; I can't wait to go back. At the risk of sounding like an add I think Marquette is one of the coolest cities I have ever had the pleasure of frequenting. A cool little college town with good food and plenty of things to do. Amazing and what seems to be never ending trails not to mention the locals are beyond polite. If you ever get a chance check it out! Next on the race calender is the Border Battle this coming weekend.

pre ore to shore

2009-08-07T17:03:00.000-05:00

Routine is the name of the game! This is my 5th year doing this race and I like to think I have it figured out finally. Roll out early, pre ride the last 10 or so miles as soon as we get here. This is really important, grab dinner at the pasta shop... So good! Head over to registration to get the number plates and ankle chips. Try not to stay too long talking to everyone we see which is easier said than done. Grab some ice cream and call it a night. If you can follow these few simple tasks you'll be in pretty good shape.

So far I have followed the rountine to the t and am feeling pretty good. The weather is awsome to top things off. Hopefully tomorrow goes as well as today did.

Sunburst, Superweek and Sisu

2009-07-28T09:19:00.011-05:00

Training and racing has been going pretty well since the last update. I had the superfly barely 2 days before I decided to truly test it out in a race. Sunburst was the first mtb race in 5 weeks so I didn't know what to expect. My start was sub par and I was farther back on the first climb than I was hoping. It took me a little bit to get the body used to going hard again. Once this happened it was all systems go... superfly = superfast! Overall I had a good race, my only complaint was my seatpost shifting if I hit a big bump or sat down a little to hard. I'm sure I would have finished 2-3 minutes faster had I not had to stop half a dozen times to fix my seat.
Wednesday was the Superweek Lakefront Long course in Milwaukee. The car left early with Brian, Bennett, Tristan and myself packed from top to bottom with bags, bikes and coolers. The big boys were suiting up for 94 miles while I had a shorter 70 miles to race in the 3's. I'd never done the course so I didn't know what to expect. Brian was telling me how it used to be the national road race course a number of years back so I knew it wasn't going to be easy. 2 climbs, 1 switchback decent, 2 good straightaways and lots of crosswind off the lake. This was the perfect test of my endurance with Ore to Shore fast approaching. The first half of my race was somewhat slow and boring. I don't know what caused the change at the half way point but the guys decided they actually wanted to race for the rest of the day. After racing but 2 days earlier my legs felt good all day and were able to respond to every acceleration and even do a little work to bring back the numerous breaks. A late break went so the field was sprinting for 9th or 10th which is always a bummer. I finished with the field and a sense that my fitness is where it should be with the first major race of the season coming up. What better way to end a hard week of training and racing?...with a little relaxation time camping and tubing down a river. Never jump in without your floaties.
Myself and about 25 other people made the trek up to Iron Mountain, MI but not before I made a quick stop in Marquette. I had a meeting with the owner of Sisu custom cycles about the possibility of sponsorship for this falls cross season. The meeting went well and I am officially a proud new member of the Sisu Cycling Team! I will keep updating about this new endeavour as more info comes into play.

I made a hole in one!

The rest of the weekend was a blast spent camping and tubing down the Menomonie River. The rain that was on and off did little to stop us from fully enjoying the experience. Swimming for the last hour or so made for some good cross training too. The training plan called for some hill repeats over the weekend so I did a little scouting and found the perfect spot, Norway Mountain. Winding paved road with a step effect to the climb was more than long and steep enough. I wish Norway wasn't so far away or I'd always do my repeats there. All in all a great week and weekend! Next up is the Alterra mtb race in Milwaukee.

MTB, CX and everything in between

2009-07-16T13:27:00.011-05:00

I never would have thought it would be easier to update during the school year when things seem more busy than the summer months, I guess I was wrong. A lot has happened since the last lame update. My new mtb should be here tomorrow hopefully. It's a little change of pace going back to a hardtail after 4 years but shouldn't be too rough with this bad boy. I'm also starting to line up some sponsorship for cross season already; bikes, wheels, tires, the works. I've never been so motivated for cross and it's over 2 months before the first race!

So what happened the last couple weeks you might ask. Finished up 2 summer classes successfully. I'm glad that's out of the way cuz they were a huge time suck. Only 12 classes left till graduation! Gears have shifted from school to work now for the remainder of the summer. Trying to bank as much money as possible to pay for my rather large cross campaign. The good news is I love my job; can't really complain about working in beautiful Door County doing construction on a cottage. I took some time off the bike after the Tour of Americas Dairyland to rest up and enjoy a little bit of my summer vacation. Last weekend was spent in the dells for a volleyball tourney which was a lot of fun. Jet boats are pretty sweet, especially doing 360's at the tip of a hat.

Training is ramping up again. Sunburst is next on the schedule along with a little superweek hopefully. Here is a picture of me at Sunburst in 2004 for one of my first races.

TOAD day 7

2009-06-25T18:29:00.000-05:00

I'm gonna try a mobile update while corner marshaling here in sheboygan. My legs are starting to come around nicely finally. Managed to break even on entry fees with prime money. Still can't find my sprinting legs for the finish though. The team is starting to work together nicely as mark is sitting 3rd overall in the 3s. Greenbush road race tomorrow should be interesting as its the same course as we use for our collegiate race every year. The goal is to finish in the top 20 overall for the series. Ill post some pictures as soon as I get them from Gary at extreme photography.

Death on the Nile

2009-06-16T09:49:00.008-05:00

No I'm not dead. Yes I'm still riding my bikes. I promise to keep a post coming at least once a week from here on out. On that note.... what's new? Gotta get a ride in before class so I'm gonna make this quick and bullet this post.

-Summer school is half over and going good. It's been consuming almost all of my time and most likely will continue too until the 4th of July when I'm done.
- Went scuba diving for the first time ever....crazy cool!
- Learned to skeet and trap shoot
- I went against my better judgement and tried to play a game of golf with some friends. Let's just say I'll stick with cycling.
-Found 15 on 15 off intervals really suck
- Tour of Americas Dairyland starts in 2 days!!

Iola Bump and Jump

2009-05-16T13:07:00.005-05:00

Sorry for the delay on this write up. This being my 1 week of true summer vacation before summer classes I should have lots of time. Lots of time to do every other project on the never ending list that is.

The first mtb race of the season is in the books and can be put behind me finally. I put a lot of pressure on myself to perform and was more interested in a result than anything else. I was hoping to either win the comp race or finish in the top 10. I've decided this is the year that I want to stick to a training regiment and see where I can take my racing while still in school. My base training is complete and I would consider it my best and most complete base to date. I'm a little disappointed with my overall result from Sunday but my time back wasn't too bad. I know what I have to work on now and will definitely rebound for the next race.

I lined it up front row on the right side with Matt Muraski and we went 1-2 over the top of the lead out climb with a couple second gap. We kept the gas on and went 1-2 over the top of the climb after the bowl too. I felt really good and was thinking to myself this was going really well. It was at this point that Matt blew up pretty hard and 1 guy caught and passed us on the flats. I had to leave Matt and tried to chase but didn't want to blow up too early. The rest of the race went a lot like this with 1 or 2 guys passing me after I put in a hard effort and unable to latch on to a wheel. I felt fast on the flats and a little dogish on the power climbs where it seemed I was always on the rivet by the top. All in all a good first race to a long season. My average and peak heart rate numbers are a little higher than years past which is progress. See you all at Rhinelander, be ready to thrown down!

Thanks to Mountain Goat for the picture.

New....

2009-05-06T12:31:00.002-05:00

Riding new roads in the kettles is awesome! I've always come close but never ridden all the way to Kewauskum until today. We threw in New Fane and New Prospect for good measures. Today goes down as one of those good days. I felt pretty solid the whole ride from mile 1 to mile 80, not bad for a little over 4 hours in the saddle. Considering I felt pretty blown on Monday and was able to bust this out today is a good sign. Last but least some how I got more tan lines out of the ride today even with it being overcast. T-minus 11 days!!!

A little bit of everything

2009-05-04T11:49:00.011-05:00

This last week has been jam packed with midterm exams, a brewers game, concerts and some solid weekend riding. I would have to say this has been the best recovery week ever. It all started with some serious stress as my entire semester was hanging on my 2 midterms Tuesday morning. There's nothing like making or breaking 16 weeks worth of work in a matter of 3 hours. After feeling my blood pressure jump drastically I figured it was time to relax for the rest of the week. Wednesday was the Franz Ferdinand concert at the Rave. Not to sound to so-cal but the concert was sick and off the hook; great live concert. If you ever get the chance go see them!

Thursday was an easy recovery ride around town. There was nothing exciting about the ride other than the weird weather in the area. I was riding along the lake and ducking in and out of huge pockets of fog. One minute you couldn’t see 5 feet in front of your face and the next it’s clear as day for 200 yards. It was kind of cool so I snapped a couple pictures.

Friday was the grand opening of Sheboygan Bicycle Company. The place was packed and the register was ringing all day. It's good to see both old and new faces coming in to support the new shop. With Brian having to manage the new shop Saturday morning we had to ride kind of early. It's pretty nice having 3.5 hours in before 11. The rest of Saturday was spent tailgating and going to the brewers game with 16 friends. The weather was amazing, the beer was cold, enough food to induce a coma and the company was great. What more can a person really ask for?

Sunday was the first day of riding trails in Wisco this year. Wally, Brian and I decided to check out the new trails in Greenbush to get some practice in before Iola. Overall the trails are top notch with only one real complaint. Being new they need to be broken in. Even on full suspension we were getting it handed to us with all the loose rocks and pot holes. 2.5 hours of trial riding and sprinting B-Matter on the road home made for a perfect ending to a rest week. The skills are still there and should be ready to go in 2 weeks for the season opener!

Rollin on a new dubs

2009-04-27T10:01:00.008-05:00

FINALLY after a good month of waiting I have a new road bike. It showed up at the new shop on Friday and I was not going to go another day without putting it together and riding it. I don't know if it's sad to say but my new bike coming in was probably the highlight of my week up until that point. My choice of bikes has been pretty partial for the last couple of years but that's because Trek is just that good, especially the new Madones. Don't get me wrong I loved my cross bike and would totally recommend buying one for training (especially winter), but my first ride on the new 5.2 Pro Madone was a world of a difference. The amazing smoothness of the ride and the direct transfer of power from the pedals to the wheels was almost disgusting how much of a difference there was from the cross bike to the Madone. I'll ease up on my excitement and talk about the bike before it starts to sound like a Trek commercial. The point is the new Madones are SICK!

The training front has been going well and some definite progress is being seen. Last weekend was our chance to host a collegiate race out in Greenbush. 80 miles of riding with the likes of these guys is tiring but a lot of fun.

This was the last of my base 3 this week and what better way to end a long training block than to put in one last effort in the form of a race. I rode with Brian on Saturday for the weekly breakfast ride for a couple hours in the rain. Funny thing is it ended up being just Brian and myself, everyone else bailed or was busy making cupcakes. Sundays attendance was a little better for the rainy race here in Sheboygan at Evergreen Park. The course is made up of a small section of pavement that loops through the park for about a mile with one steep hill right before the finish. I managed to find a few familiar faces to race with in the 3's which always makes things more interesting. Timmy P. was crushing it as usual and the rest of us attempted to follow for the first half of the race until he and another guy rolled off the front. I had a laps of mental toughness for a lap and found myself off the back pretty far before I knew what really happened. I knew this was unacceptable and proceeded to put my head down and drill it for the next 3 laps until I managed to catch back on. If my memory serves me correctly this is the first time I have been dropped in a race and been able to catch back on, I even surprised myself. The little mental boost I got from catching back on had me ready to keep going and ride off the front but I knew that was not an option. I played my cards smart and sat in for the rest of the race until the last time up the hill for the finish. The new bike worked flawlessly as I hammered on the pedals and clicked through the gears as I hung it all out there to make it over the top first. I created a little separation from the group to make it over the top first to surprise myself twice in one race. The problem was I couldn't really sprint for the last 50 meters due to a loose handlebar. I did keep the gas on and held on for 5th place and my best road finish to date! Perfect ending to this training block and a great way to start a rest week.

2009-04-12T20:08:00.004-05:00

I've been logging some decent training hours lately, quality more than quantity but I have plenty of that too. Nothing good from the camera lately or things to really write about. If your not busy this weekend we still need volunteers for our collegiate race in Greenbush. We'll feed you for your troubles and right now the weather looks really good too.

1 MONTH until the first real race of the year!

Don't forget I have a couple bikes for sale. Cross bike and Mountain bike.

24 years young

2009-04-08T15:45:00.003-05:00

Not to much to report as of late. I turned 24 since my last post. It was a good birthday celebrated with friends and family. A year older and a year wiser, at least I hope. Started another training block this week which looks to be pretty good. I did my first VO2 intervals on Tuesday and Wednesday. My very first one on Tuesday probably hurt more than anything else I've done in a long time. It felt like my lungs were seriously seered and ready to jump out of my chest. I don't know if it was just a poor warm up or what but they progressively hurt less which was good.

Next week Saturday UW Milwaukee is hosting our collegiate race weekend out in Greenbush. If your not busy you should come check it out. It's an awsome 10 mile loop through the Kettle Moraine Forest with plenty of places to cheer for all the racers. Sunday is UW Madisons crit around the Capital building which is also a great race to be a spectator at.

In other news Sheboygan Bicycle Company is making some great progress with renovating their new shop. I've been in the place a couple times now and the new paint on the walls looks pretty sweet.

Pick One!

2009-03-30T23:19:00.005-05:00

Not a whole lot to write about in the last week. Took some time off the bike to recover from break and catch up on some projects. I did manage to get a massage which is always a good thing. I was fully decided on a road bike for this year but that may have changed. I'm exploring the possibility of a totally different ride. What better gift for ones self than a bike for their birthday!

Post Break

2009-03-23T09:58:00.013-05:00

I'm finally back home after 2200 miles of driving, 2 races, 22 sandwiches, 1 go kart race and 400+ miles of training. This is going down as my best spring break ever! I'll try to summarize the last couple days of break.

Tuesday was the first MTB ride of the year. It's so nice to ride on dirt again!

Wednesday was Cherohala Skyway- 100 miles. Logged the first century of the year with almost 9000 feet of climbing in a little under 6 hours. I don't know if it was my brain not fully functioning from it's lack of oxygen but I got the bright idea to roll back home for the last 30 or so miles with the "Pain Train". I once again survived and managed to stick with the group with the exception of the 2 major climbs. My legs were getting pretty tired but managed to keep spinning. Wednesday night was Guayabitos; our one meal out as a group. The margaritas were pretty good and the special dinner was enough to feed a small horse. There was a mustache contest over break which was hilarious with Cassey "the man beast" winning of course. Thunderdome was after dinner and off the hook as usual. I managed to not be challenged so I got to sit back and enjoy the matches.

Thursday was another MTB ride for a couple hours. I rode solo for most of the ride to take it all in and have a little alone time. I really wish we had trails like that back home here! It was good to get one last ride in on ole blue before I sell her. Friday was a travel day to Notre Dame for some racing action. Seth, Addison and myself rolled out at noon and managed to turn a 10 hour drive into a 12. We stopped to race some go-karts, eat 3 times and anything else along the way that looked interesting. Saturday was the first race of the year. 70 miles on a 10 mile loop with a couple sections of road with holes big enough to swallow a bike whole. I suited up with the Men's A field to give it a go after a long week of training. The legs felt ok and I sat in for 2 laps. I forgot my brain once again and didn't play it smart tactically towards the end of lap 2. To make a long story short I managed to make a break, and then ride myself right out of the race right after haha. Addison, Seth and myself proceeded to tour every campus in South Bend (7 or so) in the car and eat more Chinese food then we thought we could (16 plates and ice cream).

Sunday was the crit with no corners and 2 rollers. I surprised myself and finished with the pack after 70 minutes of constant attacking between the Lindsey Wilson and Marian teams. I stayed up front and out of trouble and even contributed a little work to a few of the chases.

All in all this spring break was nothing short of amazing and I would do it all over again tomorrow if I could. Now it's time to make the last push in the semester for 7 weeks.

It's also time to sell off a few bikes to make room for new ones! My cross bike and mountain bike are both for sale at this point in time. I'm asking $1500 for the cross bike and $2200 for the mountain OBO for both.

Spring Break-NC day 7

2009-03-20T10:22:00.007-05:00

A lot has happened since my last update. Logged the first century of the year and a coupe awesome mountain bike rides. I have so much to write about but The car is packed and we’re moving shop from NC to South Bend, IN also home of the Fighting Irish. There is a collegiate race this weekend so what better way to end a long week of training with a little racing action. I’ll post a formal write up from the last couple days soon. It’s a long drive between here and there so I’m going to cut this short and leave you with some pictures from the last couple days.

Spring Break day 2

2009-03-15T21:45:00.004-05:00

Today was another soggy day in the saddle. I manned up and decided to ride the Freshy Steve “Pain Train” ride to Fontana Dam and back. The estimated mileage was 75-80 and 5 hours. It’s been awhile since I’ve done a 5 hour ride so I wasn’t sure how the legs were going to feel. The other fact I forgot to mention about the “Pain Train” ride was that the people who generally go are the fittest and fastest people who come on break. I knew I had a rest day tomorrow so I thought I would test my fitness with the best of the best on a pretty serious ride. About 10 of us rolled out together after breakfast in a light drizzle. The pace wasn’t too bad in my opinion for the overall ride. Either I’m actually gaining some fitness or the ride has lost a little bit of its edge. I was a little uneasy for the first little bit thinking to myself I was riding with some heavy hitters until I reminded myself I was very capable and deserved to be on the ride.

The gradient on most of the climbs was below 7% with a couple 15+% climbs thrown in randomly to keep you honest. By no means am I calling myself a climber but I feel a lot more comfortable and confident in my abilities compared to this time last year. To top things off I’m doing it on an aluminum cross bike while just about everyone else is on a carbon road bike.

The miles ticked by rather easily up until the 3 hour mark. I just started actually base training a month ago so there haven’t been too many rides over 3 hours. There was a little discomfort in my legs at this point but nothing out of the ordinary. The group stopped at a gas station around the 3 hour mark before the last leg of the day. Tuskegee was the last major climb of the day with over 1000 vertical feet of climbing in less than 2 miles. The rest of the ride home was smaller climbs by comparison and some serious rollers for about 25 miles. I’ll admit I was a little intimidated by the description so I took option B. Dallas and Julio were going to take the EASIER route (if there is such a word in the mountains) home because Julio was suffering pretty badly the whole day. We rolled through Robbinsville and gradually climbed our way out of the valley back home. Along the way on a false flat an arrow came sailing over my head just barely missing me and my front tire and landed in the grass right next to the road. I had to look twice to make sure I just saw what really happened. I snapped my head to the left where the arrow came from and found 2 little kids about 1oo yards away with bows and arrows all over their lawn. I flipped it and grabbed the arrow for our story time/meeting held every night otherwise it’s just another embellished story. I’m glad the kids missed me because it would have been hard to explain to a doctor much less my family what really happened. All said and done the ride was 85 miles and 5 hours with a little under 6000 vertical feet of climbing. Even after stuffing my pockets with food I was still starving for the last couple miles back home. As soon as I got back I went to the fridge and made this! Sorry the pictures are scarce, didn't want to flood the camera.

I’m pretty happy with my form so far over break and hope things keep rolling along this nicely. Enough typing for one day it’s time for bed. I’ll try to update every day so check back often.

Spring Break-NC day 1

2009-03-14T21:16:00.002-05:00

Battery is almost dead so this is short. Made it to NC with only a few delays. Rode today for little over 3 hours and almost 60 miles with some respectable climbs. Riding tomorrow for 75 miles to Fontana Dam and back. The shenanigans have already begun which was to be expects. I will post some pictures tomorrow after the ride. Peace out!

Keeping it real since 85'

Street Player

Saved the day

2009-03-09T23:52:00.003-05:00

Another weekend was spent working on the cottage in Door County. Brendan, my dad and myself left Friday morning early to get a jump start on things. The very things we left early to get a jump start on would have to wait. To make a long story short some other matters came up that involved pushing and pulling with a bobcat, truck and some shear muscles. As soon as the first distraction was finished another came to our attention. The last of the movie being shot up there ran into some trouble. They needed to shoot the last 2 scenes during dusk with a borrowed truck. The crew couldn't get the truck started and stay running on top of being scheduled to fly out later that night yet. The small crew and the 3 of us managed to get the beast running long enough to drive it down to the set and finish the last 2 scenes. We literally saved the day and the movie. It's pretty cool to say we helped in the making of a movie and I'm pretty pumped to see the trailer of the movie online soon. When it's online I'll try to post a link or small video. Ok enough about the movie lets talk cycling.

Nothing to exciting lately. Logged some decent hours over the weekend. 3 days of school and 1 midterm before spring break and some real riding. Who's going to win Paris-Nice? My bet is Frank Schleck in the last couple days.

Pre-Break #1

2009-03-04T14:00:00.007-06:00

As promised here are a couple pictures of 2008's adventures. I'm getting pretty pumped!

T minus 8 days!

Dizzy Izzy

2009-03-02T21:59:00.005-06:00

Busy is the name of the game! Just finished up my biggest training week for this block. I think I need a little chaos in my life but this might be pushing it. The good news is my rest week couldn't have happened at a better time. Midterms are in full swing with a couple labs and a big project thrown in for good measures.

T minus 10 days till spring break and only 5 days till more training time!

Had an eventful weekend. Brendan and myself went up to the cottage in Door County to get some work done on it. I forgot how much "fun" drywalling can be. Things are even crazy up in quiet Door County right now. Tony Shalhoub is one of our next door neighbors and is shooting a movie up there; there's an extra 50-100 people running around right now. The film crew was shooting farther back on the property when we were leaving so I just snapped a quick pic of some of the cars from the road.

The cottage is coming along rather nicely and I can't wait for the green grass and cool lake breeze to go along with my favorite place to take a nap after a long ride; the hammock.

Bikes, Break and Cross on the brain!

2009-02-23T22:37:00.008-06:00

Training goes so much faster riding indoors when you have the TOC to watch and ride along to. I thoroughly enjoyed watching Levi kill it from the start along with the whole Astana team. Logged some decent saddle hours over the weekend. Skied for 2 hours Sunday with these guys.

Rode a couple more hours Sunday during the Tours final stage.

Made some of these to help bring the glucose levels back to normal.

Found out I'm in! I'm going to North Carolina for spring break with the Madison cycling team in less than 3 weeks. Should make for some serious training with some not so serious people. This will be just a small glimpse of what break is like. I'll post more pictures as we get closer.

Stellar news! You can never start planning to far in advance.

Lastly I'm ordering a new steed this week. Either this one or this one but wouldn't mind this one.

Food + Training = Metabolism

2009-02-15T16:09:00.006-06:00

How much food can a person training really eat? It seems like mounds compared to just a week ago. Metabolism is a crazy thing, especially when training. I'm probably going to go eat some more as I watch the Tour of California coverage right now! Burritos as big as our heads to begin with. I think Jon is winning. Remember don't eat too much at once or you'll get a food baby like this and you'll have to lay down for a bit. Bring on the green grass.

The beginning of the end

2009-02-11T10:56:00.004-06:00

It's official the off season is over! Base training is under way and going to be bigger and better than ever before. I sat down with Brian to discuss 09's goals and determine how much work would have to go into accomplishing them. It's not going to be easy with the bar being raised as high as it is but I'm up for the challenge!

I just want to say I give anyone who gets up early before work or school to train a lot of credit. I forgot how hard it can be to get up early to get in a decent training ride before classes. Thursday morning was the first of hopefully many early rides which started at 6am. I managed to coordinate with Bender so I had a training buddy for the early ride. The pace was a little higher than I wanted for a base ride but totally worth it. A couple more rides like that and I'll be flying come May.

One week till the big event. It's going to be weird driving up for a race other than Chequamegon much less skiing bawards on the course. Should be fun.

Super weekend, Super Sick

2009-02-02T16:50:00.005-06:00

I started to write this post on Monday only to get Super sick by Tuesday. I've been laying on the couch for the last 2 days with what I'm guessing is the flu. Who doesn't love the hot cold swings and complete body ache. Being sick is something out of the norm for myself, but when it happens it's almost always brutal. I'm just glad I'm able to walk around this morning and punch a couple keys on the keyboard to finish some homework.

This past weekend had a little bit of everything going on. Cyclocross world championships, major skiing, super bowl party, heatwave to ride outside. There's more to the list but these cover the "super" aspects from the weekend. I've fully committed to doing the Kortelopet and have been putting in some decent time on the skis lately. This last Saturday I decided to go big and raise the bar so to speak. For those of you who don't ski it doesn't translate into the same amount of work as cycling. I skied for 2 hours with an average heart rate of 168 to put in 12.5 miles, and that's on easier trails. Lets just say I was a little tired after but felt pretty good.

The alarm clock went off early Sunday morning to watch Brian race at Cyclocross World Championships in the Netherlands. The Euro's really love their cross, to the point of having in on tv and live feeds. The way I understand it cross worlds to them is like the Superbowl to people in the states. It was pretty hard to see Brian or anyone else from team USA for any longer than a split second. The cameras fixated on the leader and the first chase group pretty much the entire race. It was still totally worth it to be able to cheer for someone you know racing on a world class level.

Weather overall for the weekend was stellar compared to weeks past. I saw the sun and it was above freezing two days in a row!!! The weatherman told me it was the first time it was above freezing since January 4th. Nothing like having almost an entire month below freezing. It felt like a heatwave to me so I suited up Sunday after watching Worlds for a little recovery spin from the skiing the day before. I went against my better judgement and wore knee warmers thinking it was 55 rather than 35. It wasn't that bad but not the best idea I've had, lesson learned. It's good to ride outside again!

The last "super" part of the weekend was the Superbowl. Emily hosted the party and there was enough food to feed the 10 of us for 3 days. I cheered for the Cards the whole way and ate myself into a food comma.

Sorry nothing good was taken picture wise from the "super" weekend. I tried to snap a picture of the Worlds race but that didn't turn out. I should have snapped one of the food baby I had Sunday night. I promise to snap more for the next post.

Street Player

2009-01-29T00:44:00.006-06:00

Base training is just around the corner. This means making new training mixes for the mp3 player. I owe B-Matter the credit for the nick name "Street Player". I'm still not sure why but it seems to have stuck. Watch the video and tell me it's not sweet! A must on your up coming training rides.

Post San Fran

2009-01-26T13:17:00.014-06:00

Sorry for the lack of posts from California, my laptops internet capabilities kinda died. The rest of the trip was pretty sweet. Walking through Chinatown during the Chinese New Year was almost epic, getting around at least. Another trip down to Fishermans Wharf to let Brendan check out a couple more ships and what not. Driving around just about all of downtown with Ben navigating from the passenger seat. "Oh I want you to turn left here " while I'm sitting in the middle lane. Lets just say a few traffic laws were broken that night. To broaden our food horizons we ate some REAL sushi, the way it's suppose to be prepared and taste. The sushi was on little boats that floated around the sitting area and you could grab whatever you wanted off the boats. We were planning on spending our last night out on the town but Ben wasn't feeling the greatest so we called it a night. We went home and watched "Triplets of Belleville" which was a pretty cool cartoon movie about cycling. All in all it was an awesome trip to relax and clear the mind before another semester of school.

I did manage to ride my bike while I was in Cali so I didn't feel like a complete slug. The plan was to wait for Ben to get done with work and go for a ride later in the evening but he started to feel sick. I suited up knowing I would be soaked by the time I got back even with a rain jacket. It was getting dark fast to keep things interesting too. I rode down the back side of the mountain and around the little national park to come close to 2 hours. Descending in the dark with a small HID light in the rain was actually a lot of fun once I got used to it. I have a video of the road I went down that I took the next day to give an idea of how sick the road is. Climbing back to Ben's crib was a lot easier than I thought it would be; I felt really smooth in my cadence and had a low HR most of the way. Core training seems to be paying off big time. I did manage to get a little lost on my way back in town which was fine by me. Riding up the front side of the mountain was a lot steeper and had more switchbacks to top off a sick ride. It's too bad we don't have climbs like that here in Wisco!

Now it's back to the Arctic weather here in Sheboygan and another semester of school. Hopefully we get some fresh snow soon so I can get in some quality skiing for Birkie training. Here's more pics from San Fran and Cali to remind us there is sunshine and warmer weather to come eventually.

Post Office in the middle of the woods on the backside of the mountain.

San Francisco Day 1

2009-01-23T16:16:00.012-06:00

The awesome adventures of Bill and Brendan loose in San Francisco have begun! So far the trip has been “off the hook” in Cali terms. We barely made it to the airport after having to change cars last minute. To top off having to change cars we got pulled over for speeding on the way and let off with a warning. The flight in Milwaukee was delayed a half hour due to some maintenance issues leaving us with an even shorter layover time. We literally sprinted across 3 concourses in O’Hare and boarded the plane 3 minutes before they closed the doors. Waiting at the baggage claim had us worried for a little bit but our luggage made both flights to keep the streak alive.
The first thing you should do when you get to San Francisco is enjoy a bowl of chowder down on Fisherman’s Wharf.

Brendan and I spent the next couple hours checking out the wharf and all the museums around the area. The authentic chocolate waffle cone and ice cream from Ghirardelli’s was nothing short of stellar. Treasure Island and Berkley’s campus made for some pretty sweet sightseeing. AT&T Stadium (home of the Giants) was pretty cool to walk around, especially when the sun was finally starting to break through the rain covering the Bay Area. The entire Bay Area’s topography is a cyclists dream or nightmare depending upon how you look at it. Roads go from slightly rising to 20+ % in a matter of a couple feet. My friend Ben’s house is located in the “hills” of Oakland. I can’t wait to see what they call a mountain out here if a super tight switchback covering well over 1000 vertical feet is just a hill. I think I’m going to find out what I’m really made of when I go for a ride later today with Ben around the area. The camera has been getting a work out too so I’ll leave you with some of its work.

I’ll try to post again later tonight with more pictures and stories from day.

Falling into place

2009-01-12T11:10:00.004-06:00

The last couple of days have been busy with a little bit of everything going on . Plans for 2009 have been coming along rather nicely, almost falling into place on there own. I managed to ski 4 times in a 5 day span. This may not sound like a lot but to me it was considering it included my first time out this season and my 2nd time skiing ever. Sliding around on two pieces of wood and fiberglass is starting to grow on me. I skied Saturday at Zillmer for the first time which was a little hilly but a blast. I checked out the race and clinic in Greenbush the next day to get some help with my technique too. It's amazing how far a lesson and a few pointers will go. Too bad the weather is bitter cold here in Wisconsin for the next couple days. I guess I'll have to settle for trainer time. The good news is I won't have to ride the trainer for too long, it's suppose to warm up again by weeks end.

Monday I was talking with Brian at the shop about his being selected for cyclocross worlds at the end of the month and some possible new sponsorship deals. He has a few things in the works and I remembered our old teammate in California who has made some really good contacts out there. I gave Ben a call to catch up and see if he knew anyone who could help the team out for the 2009 campaign. There is nothing set but a few more promising things in the works for 2009! He said Cali is great and I should come out and visit. Just for kicks I looked into flights out to San Francisco and found some pretty cheap flights right now. What better way to cap off a winter break then to spend some time in Cali in warm weather riding outside again? I'm going to Cali next week for a couple days!!!! I've never really traveled west before so California sounds like a good start. The idea of riding in short sleeves and shorts has me pretty jacked up right now. I'll leave you with a few pictures from skiing over the weekend.

Picture overlooking the kettles from the trails. Emily taking a little break at the top.

Picture of the sweet old school general store in New Prospect. They had everything!

Put me in coach

2009-01-08T10:49:00.002-06:00

Sunday was my first time back on the bike in 3 weeks. It may not sound like a long time but to some it's a lifetime. I was growing rather restless not riding on two wheels and couldn't take it anymore. 3 weeks of next to no real activity left me feeling like I was on the bench all season. 2009 cross training is in full swing, I rode the rollers for an hour and a half to start things off right.

Along with training comes eating right. I had the privilege of eating some amazing home made Thai food right after with some new friends. I could get used to eating like that all the time. The entire group of people I ate with are signed up for some form or another of the Birkie in February. With all the talk of skiing and the Birke I picked up some skate skis from the shop to give it a whirl. Brian and myself went skiing Wednesday morning for about an hour to get used to the motions again. It was a little rough for the first lap till I got my legs under me. I actually felt pretty good the second lap and managed to keep it upright for the rest of the outing. I would say pretty good for my 3rd time skiing ever. I thought wearing a HR monitor might be kinda cool to get some numbers for my first time out skiing, lets just say some of the numbers were through the roof! Skiing could prove to be a better workout than I originally thought which is fine by me. I had enough fun to go out again later that night for another hour with the Nagodes and Doc Ries. I don't know if I'm going to take Doc's words of encouragement and do the full Birke but I might get stupid enough to do the Kortelopet. To top things off I'm not in a world of pain today, in fact I am only a little sore for skiing over 2 hours my first time out this year. Who know this Kortelopet thing might actually be doable.

Happy New Year

2008-12-31T20:47:00.002-06:00

I would like to thank all my sponsors, family and friends who helped support me in my cycling and life endeavours this year. I wouldn't have been able to accomplish the things that I have with out your help!

Here's to the off season, 2009 and a happy new year! Cheers

Cross Nationals

2008-12-21T16:42:00.014-06:00

I forgot how much fun collegiate racing could be until last weekend in Kansas City. Although my result wasn't quite what I was hoping for I still had a blast trying. It was the perfect way to end a long season.

A couple stops for gas and lots of Iowa country side in the middle of the night makes for a pretty uneventful drive down. I rolled into Kansas City around 7am Saturday morning just in time for the sun to come up. Took a quick nap in the car before some breakfast and checking out the course. The venue looked pretty good with a little bit of mud, some technical turns to keep things interesting and a gradual climb across the back of the course leading to the run up. I watched a race or two before finally getting on the open course at noon for some warm-up laps. I managed to score (free) some sweet new Challenge Grifo tires with the help of an old teammate Patty from the Planet Bike team. I was pretty pumped and decided to run them for my race. Everything looked good and felt dialed so it was off to the hotel to relax until the big race.

You know it's windy outside when it wakes you up the next morning. The good news was it was windy but warm out side, upwards of 65 degrees that morning. I knew I packed my sandal for a reason; one last chance to wear them this year outside.

I should have known the whole sandal thing was too good to be true! Just getting back from a little spin is when the cold front took away my joy of warmth and reminded me it was cross season and mid December. In a matter of a couple minutes it went from 65 to 30 something. I wish I had a video of all the people scrambling in the parking lot diving into their bags to find knee warmers and thermal jackets. I felt bad for the collegiate women; they were standing on the start grid when the front hit so no one had a chance to change into warmer cloths.

Starting in the second row is awesome. Pissing away a second row start is not so much. I shouldn't have been surprised when just about everyone was bashing and chopping wheels on every corner for the first lap. Let's just say I wasted a stellar call up position and found myself pretty far back by the half way point of the first lap. I did my best to claw my way back up to the front but the leaders were already long gone. It took a lap or two but I got settled into a rhythm and started to pick people off one by one. The cold front was bringing the possibility of rain and snow so I let some air out of my tires in anticipation on the start grid. No bananas on the rain or snow left me riding too soft in the rear. It's rather frustrating knowing you are capable of going quite a bit faster on the entire course and rallying every corner but not being able to because you might roll a tire. I pushed my luck as much as possible on every corner and thought I was going down a couple times but I kept it up. With 4 laps to go I found myself in no mans land with no one in sight ahead or behind me. Something was wrong at this point as I felt like I was riding in a bog and everything was rather sluggish. I debated with myself every time I came close to the pits about grabbing a different rear wheel but decided not to with the fear of being caught. The lap cards slowly turned over one by one as I keep riding as fast as possible. I tried to catch the guy in front of me and came close a couple times but ended up getting gaped out of every technical corner. I ended up finishing in 38th place on the day; short of my goal of a top 25. Although I didn't make my goal I had fun trying. It wasn't until after the race that I noticed what my part of my sluggish feeling was caused by. My rear tire had about 2 inches of the bead come out of the rim and created a small bulge that my brake was rubbing against every turn. I'm not saying they were bad tires, in fact the tires were awesome and felt really good when they had the right amount of air in them. I'm sure if they were some cheap injected molded tires and not quality tires that are hand made they would have surely rolled off. This goes to show you should thoroughly test your new equipment before racing it.

Just because my race season was officially over doesn't mean everyone Else's was. I put on some warm cloths and watched the elite mens race to cap off an awesome season. I was a little disappointed in the super fan turnout, but the few that did were impressive. Running around crazy with next to nothing on in 20 degrees with biting winds is super fan worthy if you ask me.

Honestly, one of the best races I have ever watched. There was always something going on in the race and not just at the front either. I was kinda bummed I wasn't in there racing with them for a little bit after racing with most of them at some point or another this cross season. It was pretty amazing to watch some of our nations young talent duke it out with the best of the best. Mad props to Jamie Driscoll and Jesse Anthony, they'll surely be wearing the stars and stripes jersey in the years coming.

Trebon killing it.

Wells and Page duking it out

Ryan and Jamie at the finish.

FYI: Cross season isn't over yet! Don't forget about Matter who's racing in Europe for at least two more weeks.

What now? I'm thinking I'm going to try skate skiing again this winter along with hopefully learning to either snowboard or downhill ski. Anyone want to teach me? I'd be a fool not to try learning some form of winter sport with over a 18 inches of snow on the ground already and more coming this week. It'll surely be a white Christmas. Happy holidays!

Finals

2008-12-20T13:21:00.002-06:00

I will update soon I promise! One more final in a couple hours to get out of the way before I can enjoy my winter break. Nationals went ok with the lack of riding in the last couple weeks. I'll write all about it tomorrow.

Coming to a close

2008-12-07T20:42:00.007-06:00

Wisconsin weather can be a real test of ones patience. I have yet to ride outside this week with the unseasonably cold conditions. Highs in the teens without the wind is just not a good idea leaving the trainer and rollers as the last resort. I actually dusted them off from their last use sometime in March. I'm glad the season is over after Nationals because I don't want to have to log too many hours sweating profusely on the trainer. Ski season is almost here!

I'm going to make this post short with the pile of homework not getting any smaller on it's own. The last week of classes always brings mixed feelings of joy to be almost done and frustration with the amount of last minute work to be done in every class. Here's a couple more pictures from Jingle Cross and a video I found from USGP Jersey that I'm in.

Next Stop Kansas City, Kansas for Nationals

Jingle Cross Day 2- PAY DAY

2008-12-01T11:24:00.010-06:00

After my last post Brian, Jesse and myself headed out for some dinner. I was told the place to go for authentic pizza was Paglia's in downtown Iowa City. The rumors were true and the pizza was some of the best I've ever had. We saw quit a few other racers coming in as we were finishing up. Word travels fast when it's something good to be had.

The 3 of us rolled back to the hotel to watch a little college ball and re-pin numbers for Sunday's race. The forecast was calling for true cross conditions of high 20's and blowing snow. Here's a picture out the hotel window in the morning.

Day 2 of racing was a new course that runs backwards up Mount Krumpet letting us ride up the back side and descend the really steep section. I don't know what people were complaining about, I was having a blast ripping down the hill barely touching the brakes. The Grinch was even having fun on the decent, check out the end of the video.

Did a couple warm up laps with Brian and found the conditions to be Belgium worthy with slip-n-slide mud, off camber corners, spectators cheering in the worst of conditions and plenty of running. I was pumped and felt like I was able to ride just about everything. The only problem before the start was trying to stay warm and dry. You would think starting in the 3rd row on the far left side would be a pretty good spot right? I was thinking thinking this until the guy in front of me started at about 4 mph and left the entire field pass us! Upon getting around him I was sprinting behind two guys who were trying to lock handlebars and headbutting each other. Needless to say the start was a little sketch in the back. I worked my way up into the top 20 after the first barrier and kept the gas on until Mount Krumpet for the long sloppy run. Running seems to be my weakness this year as I watched the group of 5 I was with gap me by a little more every lap. Closing the gap started to get harder and harder until I couldn't do it anymore. I got passed and gaped by Kyle J. on the run up on my last lap before getting pulled. At first I didn't worry about it knowing I was riding better everywhere else on the course until I looked back and saw the leader Todd Wells was not that far behind. I sprinted through the start/finish area hoping to catch Kyle and praying they would let me go for one more lap to pass Kyle back, but I got pulled with 2 to go. I was pretty bummed because I still felt good and was having a blast . Here's a couple post race shots.

It wasn't until Brian and myself were cleaned up and ready to leave that I saw Kyle again. He was also about to leave and mentioned I had made the payout. At first I thought he was messing with me until he said I was 24th. Let's just say I was a little excited and probably looked like a fool as I was jumping around in the parking lot. My first elite payout! Brian had to hear about it for the next 2 hours in the car too.

I'm still pretty pumped from yesterdays race and have some new motivation to train hard for the next 2 weeks till nationals. This race was just what I needed after a couple disappointing races. I'll post more pictures as I find them from the race. Next stop Nationals!

Congtrats to Brian for being selected for Euro Cross Camp. Help him out if you can as his trip is going to be pretty spendy.

Jingle Cross Day 1

2008-11-29T20:15:00.007-06:00

Brian and myself made the drive down to Iowa early this morning after crashing at Elicia's house in Madison. We stopped after an hour or so for a little local cuisine at Marilyn's Cafe. The sign looked OK but the food was awesome, especially the pecan pie.

Shortly after hitting the road we noticed a bunch of birds in the field next to us. It looked like turkey vultures at first until we noticed they all had white heads and tails. The farmer must have put a carcase in the field because there were upwards of 50 bald eagles. I know it's hard to believe so I put up a picture to back it up. Check out the tree with them all sitting in it!

We rolled into the race 2 hours early to scope it out and get a decent warm up in. The start was a little sketch with the normal countdown going from 1 minute to start to go 10 seconds later. This caught a lot of people off guard including myself. I got things rolling and was able to work into a decent position by the first barrier. Things got pretty hairy right after that up the first climb. The rider in 2nd place crashed in the off camber mud and caused a huge pile up and left the two Wells brothers to roll away from everyone else for the 1-2 finish. I wish I could say my race went as well as Todd and Troy but that's just not the case. The run up was called Mount Krumpet and it felt like a mountain each and every time up it. Between the actual sloppy run and the additional vertical riding after it proved to take its toll in the form of lost time and energy. My lack of running and the Wells brother's gap from the early pile up caused my race to end a little sooner than I had hoped. Hopefully tomorrow is a little better which is hard to say with a forecast of 20 something and snow. Could be another Jersey?

Somethings missing

2008-11-24T09:59:00.003-06:00

The drive home from Jersey took an unexpected toll on me. It left me feeling kinda sick and not very motivated to ride in the cold weather. I managed to ride the bike a couple times during the week but felt like crap after every ride. Saturday rolled around and now it was time to make a decision; race feeling like crap or take a weekend off and miss the state championships. Now that it's Monday morning I think I made the right decision by not racing. Looking back I've been gone racing every weekend for the last 10 weeks for sure. Sometimes rest is the most important training. I'm definitely feeling more motivated to ride this week with the holidays and jingle cross this weekend. Sorry no pictures this time, I gotta study for a huge Materials exam. I'll put a couple up from today's first snow soon.

USGP Jersey

2008-11-19T19:19:00.015-06:00

Mark and myself left town around 6 on Friday night for the long haul to Jersey. 14.5 hours later we rolled into the rainy race venue. The first race of the day was already done and the CAT 2-3 race was going on when rolled in. The easiest way to describe the course was completely trashed after one race. The grass was just about non existent already and what was left was disappearing fast. My wish had come true, the first muddy race of year.

Riding a lap with Brian before the start of the women's race left us off the bike just as much as on it. It didn't pay to bash and chop wheels to make up 3 or 4 spots considering everyone was off the bike and running after the 2nd corner. The first muddy ditch on the course proved to be my undoing as I came out of it with the front tire leaking air fast. I ran the bike to the pits and grabbed a wheel from neutral support to start the chase. I barely got out of the pits when I realized my rear tire was going soft too. It took a lot of running and lost time to get back to the pits for another wheel. My race was cut short getting pulled with 2 laps to go.

After a decent nights sleep the 3 of us headed back to the venue to scope out the hopefully new course. After a quick look around we found the course unchanged with the exception of more mud. I did my best to mentally prepare for another long day of running through the quagmire. The bike held up better than expected in the mud and I managed to keep air in the tires. A few spectators were getting into it by cheering and sticking money in the mud through one of the worst sections of the course. It wasn't super fan worthy but getting there with a few people even doing beer hand ups for a little extra motivation. I did my best to collect some toll money for the long drive home with a beer hand up for good measures.

The overall weekends results were far from stellar racing the best of the best but still worth the trip. 4 weeks till nationals still leaves time to get faster.

After cleaning the bikes once last time we packed up the car and started the drive home. We grabbed a hotel in Hershey, PA to check out the chocolate capital of the world. The place is pretty crazy with Hershey kiss street lights and a giant amusement park right in the middle of the city. Although we didn't stay at the Hershey Hotel just walking around it we could see it was an architectural feat nothing short of remarkable. The pictures don't do it justice.

While driving through Hershey I happened to glance over and notice a rather intriguing sign. Beer Zoo? Of course I stopped and picked up some Yuengling which is only sold on the east coast. The trip wouldn't complete without a stop at the all famous Tim Hortons for an Icecap and some fruit explosion muffins to bring home.
Next race is the Wisconsin State Championships this Sunday.

Determination

2008-11-12T20:32:00.009-06:00

So it's already Thursday, the weeks more than half over and I still haven't updated from Iceman. Things have been kinda crazy this week with an exam Monday and 2 quizzes thrown in for good measures. Going to school to be an engineer can be a real treat sometimes. Anyways, ICEMAN 2008.

Left Friday morning at 7am with Brian to make the trip around the top of the lake. Arrived in Traverse City with plenty of time to get a good warm up ride in. Saw quite a few familiar faces, one being TJ. He was rocking the pink Ferrous showing that it's OK to wear and or ride pink. Busted out a quick ride with Brian who was hacking and sniffling the entire drive. I was just hoping he didn't get me sick. Dinner was pretty good at Traviso's which has turned out to be the annual pre-dinner spot for half the racers! The place was packed and the wait was long but the food was worth the wait. Finished up some accounting homework before heading to bed for the early start.

Rolled out a little late with Mikey and Heidi leaving little time for a warm up. I had enough time to suite up and spin around the lot a few times before having to jump in the start shoot. My start wasn't the greatest getting caught behind a few people leaving me to chase. Sitting in the 20's was too far back on the first sandy downhill. Of course someone stacks it and causes the first major pileup of the day. I had no where to go but on top of the pile which happened to be a really soft landing. Jump off the pile, run up the hill while trying to pedal the bike to get the chain back on is easier said than done. I didn't loose too much time but enough that left me chasing the front group the rest of the race. Never feeling too good at any particular point in the race left the perception of never really moving fast. Breakfast was a little to much and was sitting like a rock in my stomach. My goal was to finish in under 1:50 and I was watching my watch pretty close to try to stay on track. With 3 miles to go I had about 11 minutes to make my goal so I was freaking a little but still determined. The watch showed 7 minutes with 2 miles to go and a little over 3 minutes with 1 to go. I don't know how I did it but I finished in 1:49:45 just making it!

My race was over but Brian's was still to come as we drove back to Kalkaska for the pro start and met up with Dallas and Sarah to complete the team for the weekend. Brian got a good start grabbing JB's wheel right from the line. After a quick drive back to the finish we waited patiently for them to finish. The crowd's noise signalled us they were close and we watched intently from the finish as Bishop sprinted around the corner for the win. Brian was just off his wheel finishing 6 or so seconds back. Not bad for sounding like he was about to hack up a lung at the start.

Grabbed dinner with some friends after the awards ceremony before heading to the all famous party bus. Brian was pretty close to right when he said you needed a pro license to get on the bus. The who's who of biking was there ripping it up. Not one but both ice trophies ended up on the bus being used as the sweetest shot glass know to man. JHK was playing bartender for a little bit pouring the shots of Jack into the trophy.

The music was bumping and the people were dancing so hard the bus was lucky not to fall over or apart! Brian even did a shot out of the trophy after a little coaxing from the crowd. We bailed before 1 so we could get some sleep before omelets in the morning.

The snow started to fly in the morning leaving us the decision of driving around the top and risking the bridge being closed or driving around the bottom and risking Chicago traffic and a longer drive. We flipped a coin and heading north. White out conditions almost had a turn around but it cleared up and left smooth sailing for the rest of the trip putting us back in Sheboygan in a little over 7 hours. Another Iceman in the books with everyone coming home happy.

I'm leaving tomorrow for the long drive to Jersey in the team car!! USGP should prove to be another great mental and physical test racing the best of the best. The goal is to make it to 2 laps to go before getting pulled which could be hard starting in the back.

Iceman 2008

2008-11-08T19:39:00.002-06:00

Another Icmean in the books. Finished in 1:49:32 for my best time to date which was over 15 minutes faster than last year! The goal was to beat the 1:50 mark and I just made it. Didn't feel the greatest through out the race and never really got it going at in particular point but I still posted a decent time that I'm happy with. Brian finished 2nd 4 seconds back from Bishop which is pretty amazing considering he was sicker than a dog even at the start line! I'm updating from the Grand Traverse Lodge computer so no pics this time around. I'll post them when I get back to Wisco with a little better update from the weekend. It's time for a little dinner and then off to the Bells Party for a little party bus action!!!

My first Iceman

2008-11-06T16:40:00.017-06:00

2008 will mark my 3rd time racing the Iceman in the last 4 years. It all started in 2005 driving the trusty Hyundai Santa Fe team car around the the top of Lake Michigan to Traverse City, Michigan. I made the trip with Tristan and Brian leaving relatively early for the 8 hour drive. Being the rookie at the time I really had no clue what I was about to get myself into. This was my first year of racing the Triple Crown races and was still new to racing against 2000 people all at the same time. I stayed pretty quiet for the drive listening to Brian talk about the race and how many years he's raced there. We made it to Kalkaska where the race starts just in time to get a little pre-ride in on the course before dark. It wasn't much but it was better than nothing as we rode around pretty much in the dark.

After the ride we loaded up the car and drove over to Traverse Bay where we were staying in a friend's lake house. Brian was driving the car up to what we thought was the house we were staying in right on the bay when he drives off the gravel road onto the sandy beach. The car didn't have a chance and dug in instantly!

After a couple attempts to dig the car out we had to call Triple A to pull us out. Not the greatest start to the weekend but the house was right there. Around 11 we finally get a look at the house. The place looked exactly like an IKEA store with all the designer furniture and appliances. After a quick look around the place it was off to bed for my early start. Brian and Tristan were racing the Pro race later in the afternoon so they got to sleep in.

I woke up early and made myself some breakfast before driving over to Kalkaska again. 8am starts blow as I soon came to find out. A quick warm up before lining up on the start line in the first wave of the day.

Here's a picture of me early in the race. I was not looking this happy at the end to say the least but I survived my first Iceman. Shortly after I finished I drove back to the start to catch Brian and Tristan's start. Here is a picture of them at the finish showing the stacked field of local and National talent. Tristan had a good day and finished on the podium with Doug Swanson and Adam Craig taking the win.

After the awards banquet it was off to the bars. The Bells Beer team hosts an annual end of the year party somewhere in downtown Traverse City. I heard Brian and Tristan talking about some sort of party bus that shows up to the party and was a little intrigued by this point. Adam Craig showed up to the bar with the famous ice trophy that's chiseled every year and the party was on! Beer was consumed, memories were shared and ridiculous dancing was done by all. The party bus lived up to its name with a built in bar and stereo system rocking out in the alley next to the bar.

2007's Iceman proved to be much of the same with Brian winning the race this time around and another sweet party bus appearance. Next post comes from 2008's Iceman!!!

Coming Soon!

2008-11-03T22:16:00.000-06:00

Coming Soon- A semi consistent blog about my life adventures as a college student on and off the bike.

in the mean time...

Preparing for Iceman USGP State Championships and Nationals

Maybe I'll see these guys again this weekend on the party bus!