Memorial Day was the first annual Lakeshore Tech College Crit.  Hopefully it won't be its last.  It was a really nice challenging course and really wasn't a Crit.  I think it was more of a short Circuit Race.  The race took place on the College's loop road which was closed to cars.  There wasn't much flat ground on this race, the back stretch was flat but had a chicane through a gate on it.  So this wasn't a typical race course.  I was thinking about doing two races today, but didn't feel like waking up early to hit the road.  I could have jumped in another race 10 minutes after my first, but said no way after finishing.  When I showed up they were hauling someone away in an ambulance, always a great way to start the racing day off.  There were some very fast corners on this course luckily everyone in my race were good bike handlers.  The Masters race I was in started off pretty chill with a little half lap warmup.  Then things started getting serious.  I think the BRFs started it off first with some breakaways.   People kept trying throughout the race but, I kinda decided that no breakaways were going to stick.  The course was hilly enough but, there was a strong head wind on the back straight which hurt anybodys chances of getting off the front.  There were only nine of us left with three laps to go  and one guy soloed off the front ending up with the win.  I didn't think he was going to stay away because we were slowly reeling him back but he made it.  I had decided on the last lap to be the first through the chicane.  Which I managed to do and I kept riding hard through the next two turns but was caught right after that.  I actually got a stitch in m side so I must have been going about as hard as I could.  I pretty much coasted in after that.  Finished eighth, at least I tried I guess.  It turns out the guy who won was a cat 1 so I don't feel so bad.  Good to see some of the BRFs and Andy Tegge was back tearing it up.  Hopefully I will do a few more road races this summer.  I definitely have the Troutman circled, though with it being a Wisport race the dynamic will completely different.  I looked for race results but couldn't find them.  -Later

Crystal Lake Classic

Not much to say about this race.  I wasn't expecting a lot this year even though I did pretty weel here last year.  I had my hardest back to back training days of the year on Wednesday and Thursday, and was feeling it on Friday.  Rested on Friday and hung out on the lake with my Family most of the day Saturday.  I prerode the course on Saturday and didn't really like the course changes.  I had a really nice long warmup and felt pretty good at the start, so I must have recovered somewhat.   The start for my wave was pretty chill.  I just grabbed a wheel and stuck on it.  He stayed up front for the first couple of corners then I jumped on two other guys that were making a move.  I felt pretty good riding with them and the three of us got a gap going into the singletrack.  We hit the first singletrack climb and they gapped me.  Still too fat I guess.  So I mostly rode by myself the first lap.  Had one washout on the first lap and banged my knee and lost my Bottle.  Luckily my Lovely Wife Christi was ther to do a great job with the handups.  The rain and small hail started the second lap, something I usually enjoy other than wrecking my bike.  I feel like I usually do well in a mud race.  This time the rain washed all my sweat into my eyes.  I rode for half a lap with my eyes burning and hardly able to see.  I ended up stopping and washing my eyes out with water at the second station.  The third lap went better for me as I felt more comfortable on the new course and the corners were tacky.  I ended up 3rd in age and 22nd overall, so not terrible.  My Teammates on the Elite side of things were really tearing it up.  With Jusin finishing 5th overall and Ben in 8th.  I don't think we could have gotten a better weekend even with the storms.  See ya outside...

Early Season Cross Training

Since I spent money on a new cross bike this spring Ihave to keep trying it out on diffrent rides. It really is a jack of all trades bike. Mostly I ahve taking it on my long tempo rides and trying to find some gravel roads to enjoy. I have occasionally taken it down the Mountain bay trail. Today I decided to ride it out to the Reforestration camp and do a lap. I really wasn't sure how well it would handle the singletrack. I gotta say I was pleasently suprised. Granted the Camp is nowhere near the roughest singletrack out there. But, the bike handled well on the roots, I never felt like the bike was about to wash out in the deep sand. Wish I could say I was going to race it for WORS but, have to get out of the saddle to float of the rough stuff just slows you down too much. It is much faster to sit and spin on my full suspension. I also noticed you need to ride in the drops, I felt like my hands were going to vibrate off the tops of the hoods. Ended up with a mostly easy 2:10. Shameless product plug alert. The Crux is an awesome bike and, it climbs like nobodys business. I am looking forward to embarressing myself on a cross course this fall. Another great turn out for the Hub ride on Thursday. The ride seems to be getting bigger and bigger and faster than before. The wind was out of the east which meant a super fast run into Wrightstown. A little more mellow on the way back into De Pere for some reason. As a group we weren't doing a good job riding two abrest. Not calling anyone out, I was guilty too. Just think we may ned to address that at the beginning of the ride. Guess I will see everybody at Iola in a few weeks. I was thinking of do a road race this year in madison but, just didn't feel like spending the money. Nothing is set in set in stone as far as races go. Just going to see what races I can make. I did get get into the cheq 40 again (thanks Jesse Sharp). That was just to get the Brisket at famous daves though. Hope everyone is enjoying our awesome spring.
-See Ya Outside

What I did on Saturday

I went and paid a visit to The Bike Hub of course. Finally pulled the trigger on a cross bike for training/racing. Not sure how serious I will be about racing cross but, I am willing to give it a try. When the bike comes in I plan on getting some fenders on it for early season riding. I also bought Some better Neoprene knee warmers and shoe covers to keep me warm. I wasn't sure how much I wanted to race this year but, I am riding like I want to be competitive. So I guess thats where my head is at. Thanks to Tom and Rebecca at The Bike Hub for answering all my questions.

Happy MLK jr Day

Had the day off from work. No compliants here, I felt like I needed a break after the last few weeks. I decided to go skiing today which quickly turned to a bike ride after realizing how nice it was outside. I headed down to Wrightstown and felt so good. I decided to ride all the way to Kaukauna. The sun was gently wapping me in the face thru the hazy January sky. It was a good day for a ride. The headwind was a little tougher than I thought it'd be but it wasn't bad. Toes and fingers started getting really cold. FYI if your toes go completely numb just get off and walk for 2 minutes. They perk right up. Got some good saddle time and more importantly outside enjoying the spring like weather. I have no complaints about the winter so far. I would like to ski more but, I haven't had to shovel much. Took the skiis up to Marquette last week for work and I might do so again next week. Lately just been spending more time with my Family. More than I would usually but, things have been a blessing in disguise. I have really enjoyed some of my visits. So what do you do if a Muskrat crosses the road in front of you? Take pictures of course! Thought those things hibernated? Hope life is treating everyone well.

Stump Farm Duathalon

This the Third year of this event and every year it seems to get a little bigger. It serves as a fundraiser for the local cross county ski club. It also has a little bit for everyone as there is also 5k run and a 10 mile run. The 5k run to start the duathalon is mostly flat with some pretty steep kickers in there. It follows a part of The Maples skiing loop. It just serves a warmup and some burning in your legs before you start the bike portion. It took me 22:30 for the run and felt ok at the Transition. For me it always seems to take a few minutes to sort out how hard I can push the peddles after the run. My legs just want to take it easy for awhile. Eventually I convinced them to start moving and started catching people. The nice thing about a Duathalon is even if a runner kicks your butt in the run, you will almost always catch them on the bike. Especially a mountain bike race where I know the trails pretty well. I managed to catch 3 or 4 people before the first section of singletrack. For some reason I went into the singletrack and just felt like I was on fire. Carving the corners better than I usually do. It was a good thing too because my legs really didn't have the power today. I was ok but, I was passed by at least two elite guys and I knew I wasn't going to be pulling them back In. The first lap went well and I was feeling ok starting the second lap. By about the middle of the second lap I was getting tired and my low back was almost shot. I rode with a guy to the last section of the singletrack and jumped into it just before him. i was able to ride away from him in the twisty stuff after that but, didn't get much of a gap. I kept pushing it in the the corners trying to increase my lead. I noticed that another rider had caught the guy I had passed and they both were about 75yards back. The very last section of singletrack had some wide sweeping turns I couldn't really make any time there, so the gap stayed the same. I knew as soon as I got out of the single track I had to go as hard as I could. It was about a mile to the finish and I went as fast as I thought I could maintain. I looked back and the new guy was catching me. I just put my head down and kept pounding. I got on the finishing straight and the guy was getting closer and closer. There was a short hill the finish line was on and I just stood up on the peddles and cranked as hard as I could. I felt like I was going turtle speed. I crossed the line and he came flying by me. I beat him by 5 feet or so, whatever .5 seconds is. I literally had gray lines at the corner of my eyes. That was the hardest I went on a bike this year. So I ended up with 6th place overall and 2nd in my age group. Pretty happy with the result since there was some pretty tough competition there. Won a sweet Bottle of Maple syrup and enjoyed a great post race baked potato. Results are here. So thats it for bike races this year. Next up is the Turkey Trot and off season cross training. My Teammate Tyson Schwiesow did great taking 2nd in the Team Division with his Daughter. Results for them are here. Some other Members of Bike Hub/Specialized were off doing Cross Races in other parts of the State. Shoemaker continued his domination of the Cat 4s with back to back races wins. Good luck to everyone doing the Iceman. See ya outside...

End of Season Shout Out

As my Season winds down, I just wanted to say Thank you to the Bike Hub/Specialized sponsors. The Bike Hub for all the Parts when I break my stuff. And especially Tom for being the best Mechanic in Wisconsin. Specialized for all the great parts that help me go fast and not crash. Tower Clock Eye Center for giving 20/20 vision. I visited them this season and the hooked me up with LASIK in September. Other than a little discomfort the first day, I think it was the best decision I ever made. Dr. Matt Thompson was very Professional and gave me all the facts to make my decision. The camp duathalon is coming up on Oct. 30th and that is probably the last bike race of the year for me. Lastly I have to say thanks to Don for putting on another great season of WORS. See ya outside...