More London

Top: Queen's Guard, Windsor Castle
2nd Top: Big Ben from Westminster Bridge
2nd Bottom: St. George's Cathedral, Windsor Castle
Bottom: Round Tower, Windsor Castle

London

Top: Tower Bridge, taken from Tower of London.
Middle: Temple Church (built by Knight's Templar in 12th century).
Bottom: Somerset House. Cool palace off Strand with giant central courtyard. Had it all to ourselves.

London, Day 2

Slept in, which felt great. Headed up the street to a little corner cafe for breakfast, then hopped the Tube to the Tower of London. We followed one of the Yeoman Warders for bit, then went on our own. The place is massive and I can only imagine how miserable the conditions must have been for prisoners. They still torture people there today, making them go up and down the never-ending spiral stairways. I'm still dizzy.

From the Tower, we walked across Tower Bridge and along the Thames. Had lunch at a cool French cafe, then made our way down to the Tate Modern. I could spend a week here alone, but really came for the Rodchenko exhibit (constructivsm and Soviet posters and graphic design). It was pretty awesome to see his cut and paste collages from an inch away. You can see the glue, the white-out and the imperfections of artwork done by hand, not on a Mac. Up on the 5th floor, there were some cool Picassos, Mondrians, and an entire room of gigantic Soviet propaganda posters. That made the visit for me right there.

We hopped on the river shuttle and floated up the Thames toward Parliament. By the time we made it to Westminster Abbey it was closed, which sucked. Got a few photos, then walked around Parliament and Big Ben for the madatory photo ops. We walked up to Trafalgar Square for a few more photos, then back on the Tube to the hotel.

We're meeting Mark and Verena tonight and heading to the Blue Elephant in Fulham for some Thai. Should be great. Tomorrow, strolling along Kensington Palace/Notting Hill Gate in the morning, then getting the local non-tourist insider tour of the "real" London from Mark.

London, Day 1

We booked an earlier connecting flight out of MSP to avoid the bizzard. Got out on time with plenty to spare at Detroit. Board the plane for London then sit on the tarmac for 2.5 hours while they fixed a door. Of course. Got into Heathrow and went to baggage claim, where my suitcase was the first one on the carousel. That never happens. After wandering around trying to find the pickup point for the cab we called, we gave up and took a different service out to Windsor, home of Windsor Castle. Place is ginormous and pretty cool. (I forgot to pack my USB cable for the camera, so until I find a computer store near the hotel, no photos.) They don't allow photos inside, which kind of sucks because the chapel and some other rooms were really cool. In the chapel I was able to find the Knights of the Order of the Garter coat of arms for the Duke of Buckingham, who is like my 15th great grandfather or something like that (if my research is correct). Walked a bit in town and headed back to Heathrow, then to our hotel in Kensington.

Met Mark for some fish & chips, a few proper pints and some Champions League football at the Greyhound Pub. The room with the Man U game on was packed, so we were at a table with the Arsenal match. When Man U scored the place erupted, which was cool, as I was afraid London would be full of haters. I was a bit confused as to how many Arsenal fans were there, considering we were just up the road from Stamford Bridge. Oh well. Good night out, especially with the Red Devils advancing.

So...here's where it got really interesting...

I thought it would be fun before we went to London if I did a little family history research. I knew my mom's maternal grandfather was either English or Irish. So I started looking into the Pickett family. I found a website where someone had already done the homework for a lot of the family. I followed my mother's direct line as far back as I could; to some dude named Zerubbabel Pickett from Kent, England in 1591. That was cool. Then, for some reason I started looking at the wives of my great grandfathers and was amazed to find how far back I could follow the various branches. Suddenly, I'm seeing kings and queens from England, Scotland, Germany, France, Spain, Norway, Sweden, Holy Roman Empire, Denmark. I followed one branch all the way back to 6 freaking AD. Go to familysearch.org and have some fun exploring your history. Apparently, my great grandfathers knew how to marry up.

F Word

February is my new "f-word". Last weekend there was hardly any snow, mild temps and I got about 50 miles in on the road bike. I even got out for an hour after work last night and did some tempo and hills. Woke up this morning to a fresh blanket of white and ice. The next 6 weeks or so are my least favorite time of year. It's sunny and 50 one day, slushy and 20 the next. Wake me up when it's June. Winter can go February itself.

Theo

Hit Theo yesterday morning. It was another cold Minnesota day with temps hovering around the zero mark. The windchill wasn't much of a factor since I was in the woods. Somebody must have been out on Pugsley's that morning, because there were fresh tracks and the trail was groomed to near perfection. Everything was rideable, including the skinnies (although the expert loop at the beginning was pretty choppy and kind of tough with normal mtb tires). Theo is the perfect singlespeed trail in the summer, and in the winter it's even better. Those little ups become more challenging at slower speeds and with less traction, providing a good workout. Got 3 laps in and headed back to the parking lot, where I ran into the legendary John Schmidt. He claims to be in his early sixties, but I need to check his driver's license because he skis and rides like a man in his thirties. Good guy and a hell of an endurance athlete.

Another January Ride

Got out for about an hour and a half today, despite the Wind Chill Advisory. It was a balmy -2 with -20 to -30 windchills. I was a bit chilly starting out, but once I hit the unplowed section of Rice Creek I warmed up in a hurry. The path was covered by about a foot of super-compressed, choppy hardpack, making it feel almost like riding the singletrack at Leb. Riding the singlespeed meant keeping a high cadence and lots of weight shifting to maintain forward momentum. On the way back I saw this family of deer resting by the creek. Cool. My feet got a little cold towards the end of the ride, but the hands were super toasty with the ATV handlebar mitts. Best $20 I've spent in a while.

Winter Riding

Since the rain stopped in November and the cold and snow moved in, I've been riding outdoors 2-4 times a week. Here are a few things I have learned about riding outdoors in the Minnesota winter...

Bike Paths Don't Suck as Much (but they still suck)
In the summer, they suck. The only thing worse than riding on a bike path would be having to do it while watching the Rachel Ray show. They are filled with people like "takes up the entire width of the path rollerblader guy", "innattentive dog walker couple" and "iPod cranked so loud he can't hear your repeated shouts of 'on your left' and then yells at you when you pass for not warning him guy". Again, bike paths suck. But, in winter, they are mostly deserted, and provide an excellent route free of drunk drivers (but not necessarily free of drunks) and all that road salt and sand. String together a few trail systems and connector loops and you can get hours of traffic-free riding that won't destroy your drivetrain or components. Be aware that not all cities clear the paths of snow. You can be cruising along having a great ride only to run into an impassable suburban glacier. Have alternate routes planned, just in case. Studded tires are a good idea.

Your Favorite Summer Trail Probably Still Kicks Ass in the Winter
I've hit Lebanon Hills about 5 times this winter. 4 out of 5 times were absolutely killer. The last time out not so much, due to a pretty sizable snowfall. Riding on the paved paths or roads is ok to a point for fitness-purposes, but nothing feels as good as singletrack. When it's packed down just right, it's as fast and fun as summer. You get more of a workout due to the extra weight of your winter gear, plus the extra energy you have to put into body position and handling. Also a great way to work on balance and core strength. Bring a lunch -- you're gonna burn some calories. For the most part, no special gear is needed. Studded tires are great if you have 'em, but regular knobbies with low pressure work just fine. Bring a pair of snowshoes with as your backup plan if there's been a recent snowfall. If you can't ride you can go pack down the trail with the shoes to help get it in better riding condition. Good workout and good karma.

Your Summer Cycling Shoes Are No Match for Old Man Winter
For temps below freezing you can pretty much forget about it. If you want to keep all of your toes you're gonna need to invest in some SPD winter boots, or wear regular boots and run platform pedals. If buying SPD boots, get them a size larger than normal to accommodate a thicker sock. I picked up a pair of the old-style Lake boots for $50. Smart wool socks for near-freezing temps work fine. Rag wool for temps in the teens and 20's, and for the nasty stuff I'll also wear neoprene booties. Keep your fingers functional with lobster mitts and removable liners. For those truly arctic days I bought a pair of ATV handlebar mitts at Fleet Farm for $20. They even have pockets for chemical warmers if you need 'em. I've ridden a few times in -5 to -10 air temps with windchills in the -30 to -40 range with this setup, and I was fine.

More info on clothing in the next issue. Go ride.

Subzero singlespeed tempo ride

-6° with -20° windchill when I left the house. Went with an extra layer of shoe cover, but it wasn't enough. About 40 minutes in my feet were frozen. My hands were getting cold as well, but started to come around. The pogies are working well. Almost got t-boned by a deer, scared the crap out of me. Managed about an hour ride before heading home for a hot shower and some Guinness stew.

Saturday Leb Hills ride

Hit Leb at noon on Saturday. Temps were mid-teens and sunny, so not too bad weather-wise. Rode the singlespeed (32x16) and had a blast. Ran into Janet and friends at the start of the second section. I went up ahead and could see and hear them along the switchbacks, but after waiting for a while at the start of the next section I kept riding to stay warm. I was riding pretty well, grinding it out on some of the climbs, but riding everything. I decided to hit the X and XX loops, and was glad I did. The trail pack was about half as wide here as on the outer loop, but still 100% rideable. Most of the rock gardens were buried, so they were pretty easy to ride. Even Tedman's Curve was no problem. The only trouble spots were the log ladder climb and the stupid gnome tree. Exit loop was fast and fun. Got to the parking lot, grabbed a gel and did another lap (outer loop only this time).

Second time around fatigue and calorie deficit were setting in. Not nearly as smooth as first lap. I kept straying off the hardpack into the snow. Just about went OTB on the Exit Loop, but somehow saved it (but smacked the top of my thigh into the top tube repeatedly, making for a nice bruise). All in all, about 2-1/2 hours of riding and another trainer-free day.

Cold Bear

With a -4 air temp, -25 windchills and zero sleep from another night of screaming baby boy, it was a perfect day to race. Got to Hillside just in time to register and get the pre-race 411. I signed up for the advanced class which meant 2-laps. There were 3 of us, everyone else was on Pugsley's or doing sport (1-lap).

The pirate flag dropped and we made our way to the singletrack from the parking lot. As soon as I hit the trail I knew it was going to be brutal. I rode Leb yesterday and it was super packed down and very easy to ride. No such luck today -- very loose, deep snow the whole way. I stopped about 2 minutes in and let out as much air from my tires as I could. Even with studs it didn't do much good. Riding the singlespeed (32x16) wasn't the best idea either. So, I did a LOT of walking. Pretty much any incline meant hopping off and hoofing it.

Did I mention it was -4? About a quarter of the way through Lap 1 my fingers were stinging from the cold. I sat for a minute and thought about calling it a day. My Camelback was frozen solid, my fingers were frozen solid and this had turned into a long walk that was briefly interrupted by occasional bursts of biking. The part of my brain responsible for reasoning was frozen, so I continued the slog. My hands suddenly felt better, and now I was roasting. I finally made it to the pay lot and Section 1, meaning I was halfway back to the start/finish. Lots more hike-a-bike, then into Section 2, which I was able to ride most of. If the whole race had been like this it wouldn't have been so bad. I got to the lap/exit sign and looked at my watch. What would be about a 40 minute lap in the summer was today about an hour and 45 minutes. I took the exit and downgraded to sport (which was an option presented in the pre-race meeting). The reasoning part of brain must have thawed, because I did not have the energy, desire or need for a 4-hour day on the bike (well, mostly on my feet). Saw one of the other advanced riders I started with throw in the towel after attempting a second lap.

Next time I need better gearing on my singlespeed or a geared bike. Otherwise, it's not a lot of fun. Think I finished 5th or something like that, but my overall concern was just to finish one lap, and keep all my fingers and toes. Managed that much.

Ice Ride

It got up to the 40's the other day, so everything melted and then froze. I would have been better off with hockey skates than a bike today. Definitely could have used studded tires. Only went down once but man that hurt. Tried out some new "pogies" today. Bought some ATV handlebar mitts at Fleet Farm for $18.99. Wore my lobster mitts underneath and was toasty warm. We'll see how well they do when the mercury drops again (low 20's today, not too bad). Anyhoo...I managed to slide around for about an hour and 20 minutes or so. Sketchy, but good to be outside.

Solstice Singlespeed Slog

It was the shortest day of the year, and maybe the shortest ride of the year as well. It was -7° with 25mph winds making it feel like -35°. I decided to change tires after I was about 90% dressed, so I was cooking by the time I got out the door. I got to the bike path and found it tough going. Parts had been cleared but the highway was plowed afterwards, creating several stretches of hub-deep, thick and choppy snow. Riding downhill in this stuff felt like riding uphill. Then, I'd hit some packed down snow and ice which felt like riding on greased-up rollers. Before too long, being cold was not an issue as I became a rolling Cannondale sauna. Dropping my balaclava below my chin helped cool me down a bit, but it was so cold I could only do that in spurts or my face would start to freeze (literally). I had planned on doing a couple of laps around the park, but the portions near the road were impassable. I was on borrowed time with my lights so I didn't dare ride on the road. I headed for home, back UP the section that was a struggle going down, and around the block to cool down. That's right -- -35° wind chill and I needed to cool down after a 40-minute ride. It was worth it. I got a "thumbs-up" from a hiker and with my red-tinted goggles on, the sunset was awesome. And once again, I successfully avoided the trainer...

Nightride

Got out for an hour tonight on the singlespeed. It was a balmy zero degrees with a negative 15 wind chill. The homemade pogies aren't sewn yet so I didn't get a chance to test those out. Instead I layered as follows:

Feet: wicking bike socks, wool socks, Lake MTB boots, 5mm neoprene booties
Legs: fleece long underwear, Cannondale windproof winter tights (old school), Castelli Y-Pro shorts
Core: wicking long-sleeve base, Castelli Zone 2 winter jacket, thermal race jacket
Hands: Gore-Tex mittens, Burton snowboard mittens with fleece liner
Head: Gore-Tex balaclava, Giro snowboard helmet, Smith goggles

I think my clothing outweighed my bike, but even in the driving snow and cold, I was pretty toasty. The snowboard helmet and goggle made a huge difference. Only bad part came when my glasses fogged up inside my goggles. Took the goggles off to get the glasses off and the goggles fogged too. So, I rode with neither -- a little blind and a little painful getting pelted by the frozen snow, Next time I'm wearing contacts.

Sun Dogs

Photos taken with my crappy phone, but you can see the sun dogs. It was -11 this morning when I woke up. Supposed to get to -20 overnight. Why do I live here? I guess it will be good conditions to test out the handmade pogies.

Ninja ride

Went for a night ride without lights last night (still waiting to get my NiteRider's back from the factory). First of all, the only time I was on the street was for about half a block to get to the path, so no need for safety lectures. There was enough ambient light (or light pollution, depending on how you see it) for me to see just fine.

I hit the new section of paved trail through the old Twin Cities Army Ammo Plant and the loop across County I. This would be super boring any other time of year, but when it's single digit air temps with below zero wind chills, it's a nice loop with no traffic that I can spin on the singlespeed. I can do laps to get the miles in without getting more than a mile or so away from home. So, when I get frozen solid I can just bail and go home, instead of being stuck somewhere in BFE with a 45-minute death march to warmth. Plus, being 99% paved path, I don't have to deal with the road salt (which by the looks of things, Ramsey County must have gotten a KILLER deal on this year. I think they began salting the roads back in September).

Riding the singlespeed is already pretty quiet and stealthy, doing it after dark with no lights is ninja-like. I rode to within arms length of several deer that were chilling by the side of the path, which was pretty cool. The tires make a sweet, soft crunching sound when they run over snow and then hit blacktop. Other than that, it's quiet. No joggers, dogwalkers or rollerbladers. It's far from a perfect summer day, but it beats the holy hell out riding the trainer. I'm trying to ride outside at least 2-3 days a week this winter. We'll see how it goes. So far so good.

Hillside Snow Ride

Hit Hillside in Elk River on Sunday with Clayton. Fresh layer of snow and temps in the 20's would provide ideal testing conditions for the Lake Boots. We did two full laps, and I was toasty warm. I only ate it once when I hit a pile of leaves buried in the snow on a fast corner. The bike and the boots faired well. It's amazing how fast the fitness disappears. Lap 1 felt good, but by the end of Lap 2 I was dragging.

Rich and the DirtWirx crew have done a phenomenal job on this trail. It's open 24/7, 365, thanks to their nonstop work. Go check it out.

MNSCS Awards

Saturday night was the MNSCS Awards Party at Quality Bicycle Products. That place is ginormous, and very, very cool. The Peace Coffee crew grabbed a lot of hardware: several riders winning or in the top 3 in their age group and class, plus we Comp racers got second place in the team standings. I squeeked out second place for the season by 2 points, finally finishing in the top 3. We got a sweet Park multi-tool and a nice framed photo from superstar photographer Dana Schoppe for our awards. It was nice to see everybody one more time before the annual winter hibernation.

Cool invention idea

Somebody needs to integrate Playstation controls into a bike handlebar (that idea ©2008 Chris Van Ert). How cool would that be? Some sort of funky STI shifter/hood configuration. Anything to kill the boredom of indoor trainer riding.

Weekend riding

Got out with the "Friday Night Lights" group and hit Theo. My new lights weren't working for some reason so I borrowed a backup set. That was my first night ride in a couple of years, and I forgot how much fun it is. The hard stuff gets easy because you don't see it until you're right on it and your brain doesn't have time to tell you to freak out, so you just let the bike ride right over it without thinking about it. The easy stuff gets harder when the shadows start playing tricks on you. Hopefully the weather cooperates and I'll be able to get out for a few more in the coming weeks.

Saturday I hit Battle Creek with Ton, Kevin, Andy, Jamison and Mario. Ton must have saved all of his training for this ride because he was setting a very painful pace from the moment we left the parking lot. We hit the upper section, down and back up the sand and across the road to the middle section. Down the Wall of Death and over to the section by the lower lot. Ton skipped the hard climb to the top and took us to the switchbacks and down to the abandoned road. The new Overlook Trail is pretty sweet. When you go from the bottom up, there's some good technical climbs and sharp turns. There's also a nice "skinny" feature towards the end consisting of a foot-wide, elevated concrete wall that zig-zags for about 50 yards or so. Nice painful climb up to the overlook. Checked out some other trails, then headed back. Rode for about an hour-and-a-half but if felt longer than that with the fast pace. My legs are still sore today. The post-ride carbo load at the Black Dog hit the spot.

Saturday Ride

Saturday looks stellar, who wants to ride? Lebanon Hills, Murphy, Red Wing?? Let me know.

Wirth

Snuck in two laps after work at Theo last night. It's the first time I've ridden there all year and maybe the third time ever. Nothing really technical -- just fast, twisty, flowy singletrack. The first lap was a little sketchy with the setting sun flashing through the autumn leaves, creating a strobe light effect in certain spots, and making for a few close encounters with some trees. Second lap was fast and fun. Near perfect trail conditions. Good times.

Murphy, redux

Hit Murphy again on Saturday. Weather really could not have been better. My race fitness is definitely fading fast, but I was able to hang with Jamison for 2 laps. Other than the fact that it's almost an hour away, this is fast becoming my favorite trail. It flows like butter. Good stuff.

McBain Waylon

Ever have one of those nights where you can't sleep because your mind is racing with all sorts of crazy, random thoughts? Well, this is one of the things that popped into my head at about 3:00 am. I'm thinking of printing some yard signs and bumper stickers.

Murphy's Law

So, I had a pretty decent time at Murphy and on my second lap decided to hit the "61 Skinny". I made it about 3/4 of the way across this thing, then had to eject. I ended up killing my XTR rear-wheel, but managed to grab a tree on the way down which kept me from going to the ER. Good times. Photos from MORC.

End of season

It's that time of year when I have absolutely ZERO motivation to train anymore. I was going to buy a cyclocross bike and try racing this fall, but can't justify spending that kind of money with the economy in freefall. So, right now my riding pretty much consists of one or two 45-minute rides after work, the occasional ride towing Owen in the trailer and a weekend mtb ride if it's not raining. There's a mtb race in Red Wing on Sunday, but it's at 9:00 am, meaning I need to leave my house around 6:30. It's a fun course, but I'm not sure it's worth getting up at 5:30 on a Sunday. We'll see.

What do you do to stay motivated in the shoulder seasons?

Economy

$700,000,000,000
That's a lot of zeroes. That's $2,317.88 per man, woman and child in America. If that kind of jing is going to be handed out, it should be in the form of a loan, and all 301 million of us should get quarterly interest payments equal to or greater than the rate I have to pay on my unsubsidized student loans.

Expiration Date: Jan. 20, 2009 12 p.m.

First, there was an immediate threat to our nation, and if we didn't give Bush all the power he needed to invade Iraq our country would be in grave peril. That turned out well. Now, there's an immediate threat to our nation's economy, and if we don't let Bush give Wall Street a blank check (with no oversight, regulations or auditing) our economy will collapse. Sounds like a great idea. What could possibly go wrong with giving Bush more unchecked power? By the way, if Wall Street got into this mess by being grossly overleveraged, what would you call expanding our nation's already morbidly obese debt by 1 trillion dollars? It's an election year, so you know that taxes won't be raised to pay for it. Instead, we'll keep digging a bigger hole to China (literally) with my kid left holding the shovel. And, in true Bush "You're doing a heckuva job, Brownie" fashion, the CEO's responsible for this gaping craphole still get their golden parachutes. They don't need the parachutes -- their fall will be gently cushioned by the backs millions of American middle-class taxpayers. Maybe W will award them Presidential Medals of Freedom, too. That would be Compassionate Conservatism in action.

I agree something needs to be done, but something doesn't mean putting blind faith in someone who only weeks ago said our economy was fundamentally sound, and that Freddie and Fannie were fine, etc. Is throwing $700 billion onto the fire going to douse the flames, or fuel the fire? I'm sure Sarah Palin has the answer. She has a checking account, so therefore she has economic experience. Maybe she can shoot at the bad corporate debt from a helicopter.

I'm just a public university educated moron who lives on "Main Street", and I approve this message.

Second

It's official -- my consistent mediocrity was good enough (barely) for second in my age group. Let the lucrative endorsement deals commence. Seriously, I'm happy to finally finish on the podium as I've been chasing that goal for the past several years and always just missed it. Also cool that Peace Coffee took the top two spots in Comp 30-34 and 35-39. Big shout outs to Kevin, Matt and Jamison for dominating all year long.

End of Mountain Bike Season

Singletrack Escape was Saturday, marking the end of another MNSCS season. My number one mission was to finish this race -- any mechanicals or a DNF would kill my series standings, so I was more conservative than a McCain-Palin rally in a Texas church full of oil lobbyists. I wanted to ride just fast enough to get the points I needed to hold off Rich and Brandt. Well, I finished 7th. But, Rich won and Brandt came in 4th. D'oh! Not looking good (proving that it's much better to be progressive than conservative).

When I first tallied up the points it looked like Rich ended up second overall by ONE POINT. Then I remembered the bonus points. Ah, the bonus points. I did nine races to Rich's seven. With ten races in the series, you get 5 bonus points for each race beyond the seven that are required. Even though I had mechanicals and DNFed two races, I still get the 5 points for each one. Meaning, by my rusty math, that I ended up second overall by two points. I'll have to wait for the official results to be sure, but if it stands I'll take it. Here's what I got, somebody else check my math:

1 Kevin Supple 950
2 Chris Van Ert 899
3 Rich Omdahl 897
4 Brandt Elson 883
5 Eric LeBow 855

However it all shakes out, it fun racing with y'all for another year. Looking forward to more suffering in 2009.

Down to the Wire

One race to go and I've still got a chance at Top 3 despite two DNFs. The Jail Trail is probably my least favorite trail in the series: flat, tight and twisty. Pretty much a dirt crit/time trial. We'll see how it goes. Looks like Kevin has first locked up in 35-39. Matt has first locked up in 30-35, and Jamison is in a dogfight for 2nd. It would be sweet for Peace Coffee to nab the top two spots in both age groups. If that happens, beers are on me.

Did the R&G ride last night -- 30 miles of high-speed cruise intervals. Didn't have the power I had 2 months ago, but was able to hang just fine. Put the mtb skills to work when the pavement ended and everyone else hit the brakes. Rode the 1/2 mile gravel washboard section with another crafty veteran at full-speed while the rest of the pack tiptoed through. C'mon guys, it's only dirt and rocks...

Vote

It's only a primary, but it's all part of the process. You know, that process you learned about way back in school. Democr-something? Go vote.

Annual fall burnout

Really struggling to find motivation to train right now. I've got one mtb race left and maybe will try some cyclocross this fall, but right now the last thing I want to do is cruise intervals. I did get down to Lebanon Hills for a couple of laps on Saturday. Managed to bend my front brake rotor on a rock, but otherwise had a good ride. The new exit section is fun. The big berms remind me a little of the original trail exit from 10-15 years ago.

Chicago?

75 hits on the blog from Chicago yesterday. Barack, is that you?

Laddie's Loppet (or, what a difference a week makes)

This course used to give me nightmares. Came up on Saturday and prerode with Jamison. Glad I did. I took my time and rerode a few sections to get them dialed in. We ended up clearing everything, which gave me a big boost of confidence for Sunday. Everyone talks about the "Lakeside Drops" (see above), but there are many, many spots on the course that are way more difficult. But, none of those spots is 10 inches from the lake, where if anyone crashes, they go into the drink.

Race day hit with temps in the high 80's and wicked humidity. My plan was to not go out too strong at the start and then try to bring it on the last lap. Well, I should have gone faster, because it got really, really jammed up in the first section of singletrack. I had to get off and run several times due to people in front of me falling (not a complaint, just an observation, I ate it right in front of someone later on). This really broke my rhythm and spiked my heart rate. I made it through all of the drops and sketchy singletrack in one piece and came around to start Lap 2. By now the heat and humidity were really doing a number on me. I grabbed a bottle from Jen and drained most of it before I hit the singletrack. Then, I started getting the chills and feeling like a full-body cramp was coming on. I eased way off the gas and just focused on riding smoothly and getting through the race. I noticed lots of other guys were cooking as well, so I just tried to keep it going and hoped I would recover. It was pretty slow going for a while, and all the punchy climbs were just killing me. But, at about mile 4 I saw Zilla and thought I had a chance to at least keep him in sight (I need to finish higher than him for the Series Overall). Well, I was finally able to catch and pass him, but he's got mad skills on the technical stuff, especially descents, and I knew he'd be tough to shake. He was behind me on the last steep climb up to the big boulder. I didn't have enough power to clear the boulder and went down right in front of him (again, sorry about that Zilla!). I was able to get back on and I gave it everything I had from there on out. I saw the 1k to go sign and popped it in the big ring and just went for it. I didn't look back until I got within sight of the finish. There was nobody behind me, so I rolled across the line, quite happy to just finish.

Ended up 2nd in my group, which was my best MNSCS finish ever. Not sure how that happened considering how close I was to a total bonk. Peace Coffee had a pretty good day. Jamison got second in his group, Clayton smoked me for the first time all year, and Bryan just missed the Top 10 overall in his first Comp race. I think the "dream" is still alive for a top 3 overall spot for me, but I'll have to see how the results shake out and who else is still in it. Big props to everyone at Maplelag Resort for making this the coolest race every year.

"Lakeside Drop" photo from Skinnyski.com

The Derailleur and the Damage Done

The good news is I only damaged one or two spokes. The XTR rear deraillieur is shot, as is the hangar. So, new XTR (not the Shadow, that thing is almost $400) derailleur, some wheel truing and brake adjusting and that should hopefully do it.

Snap (again)

First WORS race. I even got a callup to the starting line as one of the points leaders for MNSCS. Cool. I got a fairly good start, but was having trouble breathing with all of the dust. I entered the first section of singletrack in the top 10-15. First lap was fast. Second lap there was a train of about 10 riders going up the singletrack climb to the rock garden. That's the first time I can recall recovering on a climb. It was so slow that it was hard to ride without falling over. Third lap I had settled in and was getting into a good rhythm. Final lap, I'm feeling good, just passed some people in the last clearing and can see teammate and age-group leader Kevin Supple about 1o yards ahead of me. Pop it in the big ring and fly towards the singletrack. Must have hit the 90 degree turn a little hot, because I hit the deck hard. Dropped my chain, took forever to get it running. Got back on and managed to catch the two guys who passed me. Get through the downhill and to the switchback climb. I shift gears and SNAP, my rear derailleur is broken. Race over, season over (I won't have enough races for series points now). To say I'm bummed is an understatement. I was riding well, feeling surprisingly well. I had a couple of minutes on Rich Omdahl, somehow managed to pass and drop Walters and had the most difficult sections behind me, with nothing but fast flowing singletrack and the finish line ahead of me. Wasn't meant to be I guess.

So, today I get to go to the shop and assess the damage. New XTR rear derailleur for sure, hopefully the XTR wheel isn't toast as well. I've got some serious trail rash and bruising on my hip, knee, and arm. And I'm pretty sure my goal of a podium spot for the series is shot. No Maplelag this weekend, since the repair bill will be $$$. Could have been worse.

(I've decided to delete my rant about a certain rider and let it go.)

White Tail Ridge

"Raced" WTR last night. It's fun to ride but it's definitely not my type of course for racing. It's pretty flat and on the one or two climbs where I could make up some time there's no place to pass. Last night I got stuck behind 2-3 guys on the climb to the rock garden, then got behind someone who didn't clear the rock garden. By the time I got out to the field to pass, the next guy up was already heading into the next section of singletrack. Game over a few minutes into lap 1. Doesn't bode well for Sunday when there will be a ton of racers. That holeshot is going to hurt...

On the road again

Finally able to ride again after being sick for 2 weeks. Got 40 in on Tuesday and another 40 miles last night. Finally found a decent northern route that isn't a narrow no-shoulder road, hillbilly jamboree.

Distance: 40 miles
Average Watts: 200
Average Speed: 20 mph
Calories burned: 1550

No Race

This cold is an ass-kicker. I've been sick for a week with no real signs of improvement. Just mowing the lawn killed me on Saturday so I decided to not even bother thinking about racing at Buck. Went for a 45 minute spin yesterday just to get one ride in for the week and not lose too much fitness. Hope this crap goes away soon.

Cold

Summer colds suck. 85 degrees and sunny outside and you can't go out and play. For two months I've been putting in some serious overtime on this catalog, and I think those 16 hour workdays have finally kicked my ass. No riding this week, hopefully I can race on Sunday. Not sure that's gonna happen.

MNSCS Standings

I know it won't look this way in a few weeks, so I'm going to enjoy it while I can.

Powder Monkey

This was a favorite spot for the vultures, I mean spectators. Bottom of the expert course, sick rock garden at the bottom of a pretty nasty drop. I survived it twice, and from the look on my face thoroughly enjoyed it. Dana's photos continue to kick ass.

Bike Survey

Questions sent to me by Janet. Here goes...

If you could have any one — and only one — bike in the world, what would it be?
Easy, a cyclocross rig. Road, dirt, mud, snow. Bring it on.

Do you already have that coveted dream bike? If so, is it everything you hoped it would be? If not, are you working toward getting it? If you’re not working toward getting it, why not?
You never have the dream bike because once you do you want the next one. That being said, my KHS Team XC is pretty fly. And the ladies love my 1972 Schwinn Stingray.

If you had to choose one — and only one — bike route to do every day for the rest of your life, what would it be, and why?
I'd start at the Slickrock Cafe after breakfast (Hungry Biker + lots of coffee), head down Main St and up towards Slickrock to Porcupine Rim. Rock the PR all the way down to the highway and follow the river back to Moab. Lather, Rinse, Repeat.

What kind of sick person would force another person to ride one and only one bike ride to to do for the rest of her / his life?
I'll have to say, Yo Momma.

Do you ride both road and mountain bikes? If both, which do you prefer and why? If only one or the other, why are you so narrowminded.
Both. I prefer road bikes on the road and mountain bikes off road. I'm funny like that. Both have their own unique vibe, and doing both makes you appreciate the other even more. Either way, you're not on the couch or in a car, so it's all good.

Have you ever ridden a recumbent? If so, why? If not, describe the circumstances under which you would ride a recumbent?
No, no, and Hell No. I also do not make eye contact with or acknowledge the existence of anyone riding a R-Word.

Have you ever raced a triathlon? If so, have you also ever tried strangling yourself with dental floss?
I only run when being chased by someone trying to take my lunch money. Although I do look good in my Fishnet Speedo Junior...

Suppose you were forced to either give up ice cream or bicycles for the rest of your life. Which would you give up, and why.
Ice cream, because bikes don't give me brain freeze.

What is a question you think this questionnaire should have asked, but has not? Also, answer it.
If a train leaves Chicago at 9:30am traveling west at 60 mph and another train leaves Seattle at 10:30am traveling east at 50 mph, what is the name of the passenger sitting in the 3rd seat of the dining car on the eastbound train? Answer: Yo Momma.

What do you drink during the post-ride social? Beer or wine?
Water. Endurox R4. Heineken or Fat Tire Pale. Not necessarily in that order.

You’re riding your bike in the wilderness (if you’re a roadie, you’re on a road, but otherwise the surroundings are quite wilderness-like) and you see a bear. The bear sees you. What do you do?
If I'm on the road, I sit in and draft off the bear. If I'm on the mtb I slow down to see if he really does shit in the woods.

Powder Monkey

This race has destroyed my bike the last two years in a row: wheel in 2006, and a snapped rear derailleur last year. So, goal number one was to finish. This course was a beast in the Sport class, and the upgrade to Comp/Expert makes it epic. I can't think of a harder, more technical trail in Minnesota. Rocks everywhere, from babyheads to bus-sized boulders. Tight, twisty, tree-lined singletrack with lots of punchy, technical climbs. Climbs, climbing and more climbing, broken up by more climbing sections. Brutal (but in a good way).

Comp did one full expert lap, plus a half-lap. We started just up from the chalet, climbed to the top and made our way towards the bottom of Spirit Mountain (somehow climbing during the entire descent). Rode everything pretty well considering the expert sections were all new to me. I made the sketchy rock garden downhill at the bottom both laps, disappointing the spectators who were lined up waiting for carnage. Then we climbed back up to the top for what seemed like an hour. Wicked, technical uphill insanity. I made it through all but one section where the rise was so steep I didn't see anyone even attempt to ride it (walking it was a challenge). Just when I could hear traffic and see cars and thought we were at the parking lot we plunged down for more singletrack and more climbing. I was suffering like a dog, but could see some of the group leaders around me, so I figured either they were hurting just as much or I was doing okay.

Made it back to the start/finish for the final half-lap. Was doing fine until I clipped a tree with my handlebar and got launched over the bars and about 10 feet down the side of the hill. Smacked my calf and thigh on the frame, lost about 2 minutes in the process of climbing back up to the trail and got passed for 2 places. Rode with Kevin until the fireroad and then he lost me. Nice recovery, Kevin! I felt good enough to floor it near the parking lot climb but had major chainsuck which took a bit of time to fix. Got it rolling and hit the line for 5th in my group. The crash probably cost me a podium spot (missed 3rd by about 45 seconds), but considering I had to DNF the last two years, I'll take it.

Red Wing

The bottom of the Quarry at Red Wing. You careen down the bluff in a narrow ravine, around and over rocks, between trees, lots of tight turns. At the bottom there's a sharp right turn with rocks to negotiate before a drop (you can get a sense of the steepness and direction change by looking at the two guys standing in the top of the photo. The trail goes right through there, then switches back where I'm riding). Big rocks cushion your fall if you miss the turn (see Dana's photos for some nasty crashes). The full-suspension has saved my bacon on more than one occasion. This is a prime example. On the hardtail, I'd have to find a line around the rocks or risk getting bounced off my line. On the KHS, I can plow right over. Thank you, technology. Thanks to Gus and Company for making this one of the best trails anywhere.

Red Wing haiku

Hot humid pukey
Stupid rock must go to hell
Threw up in my mouth

Where am I ??

Not too hard to guess, but do you know where I was today?
BTW, totally did not expect to find a fixie from the 1800's with wooden wheels and tubulars here. I only wish I had a camera other than the one in my phone for this bad boy. Now THAT'S retro!

Ricco not so sauve

I always thought he was an arrogant jerk, and now we have confirmation. It takes a real special kind of d-bag to talk that much trash while cheating the entire time.

Red Wing

Hit Memorial Bluff yesterday for a good 2 hour ride. Trails were in great shape, as usual. A few downed trees from Friday's storm, but I'm guessing those will be taken care of by race day. I've ridden here so many times I didn't really need the preride, but it's such a fun trail that it's worth the drive. I mainly worked on the Stairway to Heaven climb and the climb out of the Quarry. Got Stairway dialed, had one crap ride out of the Quarry but got it dialed so that I cleaned it 3 out of 4 times. The trick will be not getting stuck behind someone who can't ride either one during the race. That, and getting into the singletrack ahead of the traffic jam at the start. I'll be following Clayton "Holeshot" McLagan for the lead out.

Tour de France thoughts

I could really care less about this year's Tour. The doping scandals were bad enough, but when you exclude the best riders and arguably the strongest team (Astana), what are we left to watch? The French haven't had a winner since Hinault and the Tour organizers have gone out of their way the past few years to stack the deck in hopes of dumbing down the race enough to give themselves a chance. They've eliminated the Team Time Trial (arguably one of the most entertaining and exciting days of the Tour) because they've had their asses handed to them. When Lance and the Disco squad dominated the mountains, they changed the route year after year to try to take away the advantage. Cancellara grabbed the Maillot Jaune in the Prologue last year and held it for far too long for French liking, so this year, no Prologue for the first time in decades. Oh yeah, no time bonuses this year either. They should rename this the Tour de Lowest Hanging Fruit.

Adding to the lack of quality on the road is the further decline of broadcasting standards by Versus. Al Troutwig used to annoy the bejeezus out of me because he clearly knew nothing about cycling but had the American sportscaster vibe, so they brought him in, presumably to appeal to Joe Sixpack sports guy. Craig Hummer is so terrible that I've become president of the Al Troutwig fan club. At least Troutwig was a broadcasting professional who knew how to speak in something other than a whiny, droning monotone for 3 hours. Hummer was barely tolerable when he was doing 3-minute interviews, how the hell did he get this gig? Next year will it be Frankie Andreu and Craig Hummer? That would be a freaking Dream Team. Secondly, I'm all for the American teams and riders, but I don't need to see the same pieces on Garmin-Chipotle and Columbia everyday. Considering there are only 4 American riders in the tour, that is a very disproportionate amount of coverage for a European event. Is there nothing interesting going on with any of the other teams? Apparently not. The most exciting thing so far in this year's Tour was Jonathan Vaughters dropping an F-Bomb on live TV while driving the team car in the TT. Finally, the media buyer at Versus must have the greatest job on the planet. All you need to do is buy one ad for Bacardi, another for Saab, slap together a Tour promo spot and your work is done for the year. It makes me want to "do the Mojito" in a Saab "that recycles exhaust into energy" right over the edge of L'Alpe d'Huez, while singing, "I'm gonna get my head straight".

I think I just took the Black Jersey for points leader in ranting.

Afton Gravelfest

route map here

Had a flat before I even started riding. Hole in the tire had to be booted, first tube didn't hold air. Frantic search for another tube. Fast group leaves while I'm fixing tire. Roll out with the second group. I'm on the front pretty much the entire way down Lake Elmo, feeling ok. We roll towards Afton and the Afton Hills climb. I stand at the base of the climb to drop the hammer only to discover they have just tarred and graveled the road, and my bike slides out from under me. Luckily I didn't hit the deck, but it kind of put a damper on the climb. (Note to Afton lovers: gravel EVERYWHERE) Halfway up the fast group is on their way down, so I pull a 180 and latch on. We roll through Afton and hit the Coulee. I sit about 5th wheel, and for once I fight the urge to attack from the very start of the climb. It stays together until the first false flat, then someone attacks. I see John T move to attack him and I react. I follow John and we crush it the rest of the way up, attacking and counterattacking until we reach 50th street. First test of the day, and I got an A- (would've been A+ but John rolled by me at the very end).

Up 50th to Trading Post and more gravel. Detour out to Neal with craters and pavement the consistency of a cheese grater. Luckily, we're all experienced riders and no one makes any foolish moves. 20mph tailwind down Valley Creek to Stagecoach and I'm spinning out in my biggest gear. Super strong head/crosswind the rest of the way back, but we've got a very organized paceline of about 7-8 guys, and it's smoother than Billy Dee Williams. 350-450 watt turns on the front the rest of the way home with a few attacks at the end. Brian and I led the charge for the last few miles, trading pulls back to the parking lot. Rolled in just behind Brian for the "finish". Second and most important test of the day, not getting dropped, and I boost my GPA with another A, with extra credit for a strong finish. (It would have been great to be able to grade myself like this when I was in school.)

GREAT ride. I was hanging on for dear life after the Coulee, but recovered and found enough power to keep everyone honest. I need to find a way to translate this to mountain biking. On a road bike I can "reach deep into my suitcase of pain" as Paul Sherwin would say, but haven't been able to do the same thing on the mtb consistently. Some day...

Training

Had 4 days off the bike last week. Went for a spin Thursday, felt okay. A couple of laps at Hillside on Saturday in the hot, hot heat, felt pretty good. 2 hours on the road bike yesterday in the even hotter, hot heat, not so good. I'm sure the Fat Tire Ale from Saturday night didn't help the hydration in the 90 degree heat. Just didn't have much power in the legs, especially into the wind coming home. Flatted and cooked in the sun changing the tube. 50 mile hilly hammerfest to Afton on Tuesday. Hopefully the legs make a comeback.

Snap

As in: the legs have no snap.
As in: my chain just snapped.

Warming up for Mankato I could tell I just didn't have the energy for a good race. Start was poor, but passed a lot on the first climb. I tried to keep the speed up to maintain my position and was sitting top 20 after first lap. First half of Lap 2 I was just trying to recover. Then about halfway up the Staircase climb my chain seized, then it snapped. Game over. Oh well. 3-4 weeks until next race and I'm glad. I need some time to recover and train.

Mud Spanker

First photo: dry trail, shades. Second photo: grease trap, and contact lenses being dried onto my corneas. I think I was telling Dana (thanks for the photos and encouragement during the race) to get a shot of me falling on my ass.

Dirt Spanker

Working 10-14 hour days for the last 3 weeks then being sick the last 3 days didn't bode well for the Dirt Spanker. But, I raced anyway. Last year was super hot, this year it was cloudy, mid-70's with off and on rain. So, temperature-wise it was perfect. Trail-wise, not so much. The race starts at the bottom of the ski hill and shoots you all the way up with no warm up. A quick bomber descent then a super steep, rooty climb and you're in the singletrack. Or in this case, the grease. I had zero traction and was sliding all over the place. Every corner, root or log was an extreme effort to stay upright. Nothing like putting all your energy into staying upright instead of moving forward. The brand new trail was the worst. Several times I just about ate it. Then it started raining and it only got worse.

I was riding sideways as much as forward and I heard someone behind me and let them pass. It was Longley. D'oh! He kicked my ass pretty much every race last year and I was determined not to let it happen today without a fight. I did what I could to keep him in sight, and on the climb out at the end of the lap, I gave it some gas and passed him. One small victory for the day. Second lap went a bit better, still no trust in the tires though. Third lap I was feeling fairly good all things considered. I caught up to a Kenwood guy and used him as a rabbit. We caught up to about 3 other guys by the downhill, and I was praying that we could get around them. Instead, it was brakeville all the way down. Plan B was to sit on until the climb and go for it. All of the sudden I'm on my frigging back with my bike on top of me. My front wheel caught some grease in a corner, turned 90 degrees and launched me over the bars into the woods. I smacked the inside of both knees on the bike (I think) in the process. It was one of those deals where you don't even have time to check to see if your bike is still in one piece (or if you are in one piece), you just get on, ride and hope everything works. My knees were killing me and I just lost 3 places. I struggled up the climb one last time, survived the slip-and-slide downhill finish and was done.

4th in my age group, 23rd or something overall. Not bad considering I pretty much flipped a coin as to whether or not to race while sick. I had ice on my knees the whole drive home and still could not move by the time I went to bed. Mankato may not happen next Sunday. We'll see how mobile I am.

Props to Kevin for winning our group and 2nd overall. Jamison continues to rock. Big props to CJ for riding with the experts today (it's like his 3rd race or something ridiculous like that).

Rest Week Recap

After last Sunday's Afton race, I was supposed to have a week off the bike. That lasted until Tuesday, when I put in 70 miles. I stayed off the bike again until Saturday, mostly because I felt like crap. Saturday I still felt lousy, but it was my only chance to go to Mankato and preride the course before the race. So, I packed up and headed south.

The comp/expert course has at least 2 sections that aren't in sport. I've ridden "Mad Squirrel" before, which consists of a rutted, rooty downhill with some wicked switchbacks. I hadn't ridden "Quick Release" before. Yikes. The pictures on MORC don't really do it justice. SUPER steep, with tight turns covered with roots, meaning you've got to keep your fingers off the brakes and let it roll. The bottom drops out to the base of the ski hill with a big pile of loose dirt at the bottom to get through at high speed. 4 times through this outta be fun. If somebody in front of you doesn't make it you're screwed, because I don't know that you can walk this section. I'm hoping to not be that guy. I cleaned it both times I rode it, but decided not to push my luck any further since I was the only person out riding.

Yesterday, no ride, just a long walk with the family. No ride today, hills tomorrow.

Afton, again...

Rode into work yesterday morning to try to wake the legs up since I was still feeling pretty tired from Sunday's race. I'm supposed to be in a transition week, which means no riding. So what do I do? A 60+ mile ride from the Birchwood to Afton and back. See map and elevation profile here. Over 70 miles total yesterday. Ouch.

Afton

Brutal. 2 hours, 11 minutes of suffering. Prologue ran us through a rim-deep bog (see 1st photo above), which bunched everyone back together right before the singletrack. Of course that meant a big traffic jam. After getting out of that mess I gave it some gas to try to get in a good position for the Bridge Loop climb, where there are always people getting caught in the wrong gear and stalling out right in front of you. Gave it some more gas up the Shady Lane climb, passing some people and tried to settle into a rhythm. Made it through the technical sections and was feeling okay. The sun came out just in time for the Manhandler/Whistler climb, and I cooked. The last technical loop was cut out because of the rain, so there was a big bomber downhill instead, leading to the start/finish. 2nd lap I was just trying to maintain my position and not blow up. All the short technical climbs were wearing me down. 3rd lap I was dying. Running out of gas and the legs were on the verge of cramping and total shutdown. Played leapfrog the entire lap with rockstar singlespeeder Ben. Don't know how the hell you can ride Afton with one gear. I granny geared Shady and Manhandler, not sure if my legs were going to function in the middle-ring. Popped it in the middle for Whistler and passed 2-3 guys, putting a nice little gap on them. Gave it what little I had left and rolled into the finish. My left leg totally cramped when I stopped to take off my timing chip (still cramping this morning). Tough race. Loving my bike more and more each time I ride it. New tires did quite well in the grease. 4th place in my age group, 21st overall.

Had our team pot luck: burgers, brats, beer. It was great to see a lot of people still hanging out at the end of the comp/expert race. This is why I joined PCR: bad-ass riders who have as much fun suffering on the bike as they do hanging out together off the bike.

Photos courtesy of Skinnyski.com

Recovery products

NY Times has an interesting article on recovery products and energy drinks/food.

I think it makes sense for the average Joe who only does a short, low-intensity workout a few times a week. But, and maybe it's just a placebo effect, I can definitely tell the difference in the hours and day after an intense workout or race if I don't take Endurox right after the event. Especially if I've got another hard effort that following day. It's also much more convenient to have a bottle of R4 ready to go right after a race than it is to have an actual meal.

Or, you could use Gary's preferred recovery drink: Heineken.

Afton

Hit Afton for a couple of laps Sunday afternoon. Saw quite a few others out doing top-secret training. Low 80's and sunny, pretty much like most race days there. Manhandler/Whistler was brutal, baking in the direct sun all the way up. Trail was mostly dry, except for start area and the gravel road. 2 days of potato salad and beer didn't bode well for training.

Looks like rain all week and severe weather forecast for Sunday. Good times.

Como

Fun studies for another day with a better camera and morning or evening light. I could spend all day in the Japanese Garden.

Stillwater ride

Original plan was to roll with the slow group and use this as a slow burner. Of course that didn't happen. I rolled with the fast group, which consisted of more new faces than familiar ones. The first 15 miles were relatively flat, but everyone was taking flyers, trying to split things up. I knew the big climb out of Stillwater on 11 would splinter everything so I saved my matches for later.

We caught the slow group right at the base of the climb, so we had to weave our way through 20 people and up the first part of the climb. This thinned things out a bit, but the faster guys came back together before the big hill. I decided to try keeping it in the big ring and sprinting up the climb. So, I stood up and went. Stayed standing all the way to the top (that was some good pain), looked back and I had about a 100-150 meter gap. Didn't get caught until Stonebridge (stupid stop sign), but by then we had shelled all but 6 guys.

The newbies didn't quite grasp the whole rotating paceline concept. When they got to the front they would hit the gas and fly off the front, instead of keeping the same pace and letting the guy who just did all the work catch a break. After a little coaching things smoothed out and we were flying between 25-30 mph through the rollers. I took one more flyer on the final hill, staying away until the descent. Then the cat and mouse for the sprint started. I thought I was finally in a good spot, about 4th wheel with 1,000 meters to go. Then 2 guys sat up and I was in the worst position possible. If I took a short pull and sat up I'd get attacked. So, of course, I went for it with about 600 meters to go. Legs were burning, got caught at about 100 meters to go but managed to catch a wheel. Was still in it but got boxed in for about 4th place.

Overall, legs felt pretty good. If the temp ever gets above 70 I may be able to breathe and we'll see how things improve then. Hopefully no repeats of last weeks total body shutdown (I'll be working on recovery the next few days).

Max Watts: 957
Average Watts: 210 (next ride I will try to hit the interval button to get more accurate averages, excluding the warm-up and cool-down parts)
Average Speed: 22.5 mph
Distance: 40.34 miles
Calories burned: 1575

Recovery Ride

Took an easy morning spin yesterday to keep the legs alive. Turned into a harder effort coming back into the wind, but not a hammerfest. Tonight we hit the hills by Stillwater for 40 miles. Can't decide if I'm gonna sit in with the slow guys and just get some miles in or if I'm gonna do the usual race effort.

Holy close call, Batman

We just missed the tornado by about 10 minutes. We were at Home Depot in Blaine and the sky was doing funky things so we headed home. By the time I turned on the tv the tornado warnings were out. Missed us by about 5 miles. Funny thing is it didn't even rain here until the second storm rolled through. Going outside now to see how much hail damage we have.

Where were the sirens? They didn't go off until the storm was well past us.

Lebanon Hills

I took it easy, skipped the Afton ride, and went to Leb instead. Did two full laps plus the warm-up loop for a cool down. Cleaned the entire Tedman's Curve section for the first time, so that was nice. I rode the whole trail with a bit more confidence on the new rig. It's nice having a bike that fits and that has full-suspension. I took some lines in the xx loop I never would have dreamed of on a hardtail, and the boing-boing saved my bacon in the rocks a few times. Perfect day for riding, hopefully the energy levels return to normal soon.

Obey the recovery week

I think I'm paying the price for overtraining. Yesterday morning I woke up and felt horrible. Super weak, nauseous and out of it. It took everything I had to get Owen to daycare and get back home. I crawled into bed to rest for a minute. I woke up 4-1/2 hours later. Better today, but still super tired. Hoping to ride this weekend, but will definitely take it easy.

Aw yeah

I hate penalty shoot outs, it's kind of like deciding the outcome on a coin toss. But, I guess you've still got to put the ball in the back of the net. Man Utd are Premier League and Champions League champs. Awesome.
In the "This could only happen to me" department: I set the TiVo for the match and Jen and I are watching the highlights. I fast forward to the penalty shootout. Good stuff. Even though I knew what was coming it was still nerve racking to watch. Hargreaves makes his penalty kick, then the TiVo cuts out. Thank God for the internet, where I found some video from Australia posted to Youtube.

Nason Hill

Super windy and I got gutterballed about 5 miles in (literally, blown off the road into the gravel). I latched back onto the pack, but as I was doing that there was a break of 6 guys at the front. We started chasing but only me and 2 other guys would pull through. I got frustrated and went for it, trying to bridge up. Didn't work. Sat up, waited for the chasers. Same deal for the next 15 miles: 3 people out of 8-9 took turns pulling, and if anyone else did pull through they went way too fast for anyone to follow (after they'd been sitting in forever).

Well, I put up with this until the big climb, Nason Hill. Dropped the hammer and shelled the dead weight. Passed lots of shredded riders from the original escape. Eventually, the stronger, cooperative riders from the previous chase group caught me. But, the 5 of us got a smooth paceline going and drilled it for the next 20 miles. I felt great on the hills and took a few monster turns on the front. Legs were absolutely screaming for me to stop, but I was able to ignore it for once (holy crap am I paying for that now. Ouch). Took one more big pull up the last twisty hill on 7 before the sprint. Dwight gave me the secret sign to follow his lead out for the sprint, but that was game over for me. Sat up and watched the sprint unfold. Good times. Great ride. This is what was missing from my training last year.

Max Watts: 795
Ave Watts: 225
Miles: 43.36
Calories burned: 1654

So much for my recovery week...

I was only supposed to ride 3-1/2 hours this week, all short recovery rides with a 40 minute TT today. I did a 40 mile hammer ride on Tuesday and a 3-hour leg ripper on the mtb at Afton today (including 5 times up Manhandler). I'm feeling pretty cooked, but it was a fun week. I'll take it easy tomorrow...

Fun facts from today's ride:

Guy sitting next to his bike on the switchback climbs, smoking a cigarette yells "You guys are ANIMALS!" as we ride by. He was in flavor country.

Some other dude was out riding with a cat. Yes, a cat. As in fluffy, litter box using, Meow Mix eating feline.

We got road raged by a guy in a golf cart.

Commute

I drove Owen to daycare, then went home and grabbed my bike and rode to work. It took me about 2-1/2 minutes longer to ride in at a recovery pace than it does to drive. It's only 3 miles each way, but with the extra trip home and back for lunch, I can get in 40-60 minutes of spinning every day and stick it to the man.

I certainly needed the spin, I'm feeling Wednesday's ride today worse than yesterday. Do you experience the 2-day lag? For me, the second day after a big race or a bad night's sleep is always worse than the day after.

Hey there legs, welcome back!

Did the R&G hammer ride last night. 40 miles from White Bear Lake north to Hugo, up and around Big Marine Lake, then back on the rollers via Norell and 7. I was able to hang with the fast group and actually put in some attacks on a few hills. Made the mistake of taking a huge flyer with John Thompson and burned a bunch of matches, almost got dropped, but recovered before the first climb. I didn't get dropped by the Oftedahl brothers (although I'm guessing this was a recovery ride for them) and had enough left in the tank for a long lead-out at the end.

I miss the group ride. There's nothing quite like a smooth paceline slicing through the wind at high speed. When I was taking my turn at the front the watts were in the 300-375 range on the flats. A few times even when I was sitting 3rd or 4th wheel I was ticking over 275-300 watts (my threshold is about 260). We caught the first group right before Big Marine and blew by them like they were standing still. I think Mealhouse was the only one to latch on and I think he fell off after the hill. Good times. Great night. Hopefully the fitness is coming around. Even if it's not, that was my best ride of the year so far.

The Stats (including warm up and cool down)
Max watts: 805
Average watts: 205
Calories burned: 1355
Average speed: 22.9 mph
Max speed: 38.75 mph
Distance: 40.68 miles