ride.

The Fatties continue to be the way to go.....

2012-01-19T16:23:00.000-06:00

Had a good number of the Flyers out last weekend constructing a new loop for you guessed it.....fat bikes! A really nice loop that starts in the lower parking lot away from the ski trails, right around 2 miles for now with the hopes of more in the near future! One nice thing is that we spent the morning making the trail just wide enough for the snowmobile and groomer, so when it gets beat up we can come through and tidy up the surface! Stay tuned for the details....however it is open and rideable as of now, lower lot, northwest corner of the lot by the soda machine is where the trail starts. Enjoy.

On my own Fattie, I decided that I needed just a touch more traction in the rear. Going up a few smaller inclines at He Nis Ra I was constantly spinning out with the Endomorph, Steele had an extra Nate laying around after he decided not to stud a set.....so I bartered for one of them and I now have mucho traction back there.....sweet! I am very excited to hit the new loop Sunday morning and see what it has to offer.

Ride it.

NYD (eve) Ride and the Cross Nationals Report

2012-01-05T10:06:00.000-06:00

This year we had to do the New Years Day ride on the eve due to the Packer game on New Years Day....no big deal and the weather was great so the turnout was high! Normally we average about 15-20 riders.....this year we hit the jackpot with 36! We had a good tour of Green Bay and the surrounding area, may have went a little long but a great day and good times! Love the tradition and hope the ride continues to grow, great fun!

Not every day or year that we get a National Champ event in our own backyard.....so with the Cyclocross Nationals just outside of Madison in the town of Verona, had to go! So Steele and I drove down Wednesday morning and Davidson rode down with Q and Nate....so GB was represented on day 1.

My day almost ended as the start whistle blew? On the way to the start line I started to hear my hub making a ton of noise trying to engage the pawls.....fast forward......on the whistle I could not get the bike to go? I was only hitting 1 pawl every so often if felt like, not cool. I limped it off the way back of the start knowing the pits were not far away (1/4 mile in), I had planned to bag the race and watch Steele in disapointment. As I enter the pits ready to bag the race....the Shimano guy comes running towards me yelling, "hold your bike up......9 speed right?" Hell yeah I felt pro.....a Dura-Ace rear wheel and off I go!

Spent the rest of lap 1 chasing the crew thinking I had a chance to chase back on....kind of blew up trying to make contact, I did manage to catch a few but nothing significant. The fun part was taking a few more chances than I may normally have, one course marshall said to me on the 3rd time by that I was rocking that down hill section better than anyone, good thing he didn't know how scared I was a couple of times when my front wheel would slide out and somehow catch...loved it! I was able to climb all the hills at a decent pace and the stair climb was ok...may have been the toughest part for me, but the rest of the course flowed well and was a good course! May have have been better in snow?

Bottom line I take away from the day....a cool experience racing with the National Champ scaffolding, after getting the new wheel I still had a great time racing and felt really good on the bike, all that Fattie training I guess :)

Off-season.....or wait, fattie season.....give us some snow!

New Years Day Ride and looking ahead.....

2011-12-27T12:34:00.000-06:00

A quick look at what could be the loop for this years New Years Day ride.....somewhat the same as years past. One thing to keep in mind with the ride....it is a go no matter what the weather! So show up or face a full year of heckling for sitting home in your warm pj's. Dec. 31st at 9am from He-Nis-Ra Park on the west side of Green Bay. All and any style of bike welcome, best bet is mountain or cx....or.....FATTIE!

Looking ahead to next season.....I am thinking since I sold anything 29er to get a fat bike (worth it for sure!)....and I have not sold the Epic 26, I am thinking I will just ride the smaller wheels on the Epic. Kind of tired of trying to sell bikes to get new ones, I have a great road, cx, fat, and xc racer.....so I am happy with that and ready to roll with it.

As for the racing schedule....not really sure what to think right now? I am thinking this may be a very light year on the racing front? I will still hit the line for a handful of races, I do know for sure that it will not be the same number as years past. Maybe the 20 years of racing have a little to do with it, I know financially I need a year (or 2) away from the high dollar races, some of the big races are just getting way to high in entry fees, almost pricing themselves out of the running.....but still you have sellouts so someone is willing to pay the high fees?

Another thing is the need and desire to just hang and be with family, racing is very demanding with the training, travel.....just a lot goes into the sport to make it fun and competitve on the weekends. We'll see what the new season brings........?

Hmmmmm? Half of course!

Fat Sunday

2011-12-18T19:58:00.000-06:00

After a full day in the gym coaching both girls in their games, 5 games total, Sunday morning was time for some Fat Bike riding. Davidson, Skinkis, and myself loaded up the big bikes and drove over to Kewaunee to hit the beaches and shorelines of Lake Michigan. To sum it up.......incredible, what a blast!

Eveywhere and anywhere on the beaches you want to go, the Fat Bikes and the 4 inch tires go! A real quick little video for you to watch, not much but at least something. More Fat Biking to come....a possible night ride out there real soon!!! It is amazing riding out there all alone during the day....at night has to be awesome, should be a decent group with just fat bikes and headlights....more fat fun ahead!

Gonna be a good winter.

Jingle Cross.....the race version.

2011-11-28T10:02:00.000-06:00

As turkey time rolls around it also means time for JingleCross in Iowa City, 3 days of cross racing and good times! Headed down this year with Steele and Davidson for the full 3 days of racing, just a great atmosphere and some good racing.

Pic above is from Saturday, after a dry and somewhat balmy Friday night fo racing under the lights, we woke up Saturday morning to a steady rain that had been coming down all night......that was sure to mean an MUDFEST! Yes it was! Soft, squishy, mud everywhere.....lines were developing like a motocross course, some really deep soupy areas and some wheel sucking muck that required huge amounts of energy....but all great fun with out a doubt.

My Saturday race was decent, not the best start as the honorary starter hit the button a touch early. Off and running we went, I felt pretty strong and settled in to a pace that was probably too comfy.....I was able to finish in a decent place but should have pushed it a little harder but still happy with the result for day two. 31st out of close to 70ish, not bad. Friday was 42nd out of just under 80, still not too bad.

The huge bonus of signing up early for the weekend races.....front row starting spot for all 3 days!!!!!!!! Regardless of where we finished, it was nice to not have to jockey for position and work thru tons of traffic, very sweet to be up there and out of the mess, you could look back after the start and see a crazy long line of riders behind you.....big plus to register early!

A shot just leaving the spiral of death, a really fun obsatcle on the course, you wind yourself in and then wind yourself back out.....very cool indeed!

Sunday I needed a lot more technical and less of the wide open hammer stretches, the course had no technical and nothing but straight long speed segments? Would have loved to have gone up the big hill for the long technical descent.....Sunday was a roadie course, damn them! Also had an "out of my hands" incident, came around a corner by the pits and some guy is coming at us head on? Came to a complete stop within the first mile of the course? Race was pretty much over for the most part, tried to chase back but nope...still a good fun race, I think :)

Great weekend no doubt, great company with Steele and Davidson, and then the Fowler crew was down along with Street....good fun with the gang! Thanks to John Senkerik for the pics and the cheers, a good time and some good racing.

Most importantly....thanks to Kristin and the Girls for letting Dad go play in the mud all weekend, love you girls!

Riding on Water

2011-11-20T10:24:00.000-06:00

With the newest steed in the stable ready to roll....Steve and I decided to hit the beaches of Bay Beach for a little stroll Saturday morning. Way fun!

The crazy thing, if you stopped on the sand bars your shoes would sink in a couple of inches.....but the big 4 inch tires of the Fat Bikes would simply float right across the sand and not even leave much of a track. What a cool ride, had a blast riding around the beaches and riding from sand bar to sand bar, going across the open water in 3-4 inches of water.....a whole new experience!

Of course we also had to do a little bushwacking to get to the bay and really just found a few places in the tall weeds that were really fun to ride, a great day riding something completely different than ever before.

The verdict after an hour of Fat Fun......a very cool new form of riding on 2-wheels....good stuff!

I am officially......FAT!

2011-11-17T13:35:00.000-06:00

I took a call from one FAT Marc Steele yesterday....."hey, I am at JB and they have your Pug sitting here." So with all of the OT from the Monday night game I was able to sneak out and get over to the shop to grab it before all of the basketball practice kicked in for the night.

Fast forward to 10pm when we are home and the girls all in bed.....I think I will go downstairs and un pack the Pug.....maybe I will out this part of it together.....well I may as well throw this part on too....and put the brakes on......and cut the fork to length.....oh what the hell.....I will just be super tired tomorrow and finish it all :)

So......after a couple of hours and at 1230am.....one sweet FAT bike! Excited to get it out for a maiden shakedown voyage.....even the girls looked at it on the way out the door to school and said, "whoa....that think is cool!"

So now that I am officially FAT.....looking forward to some snow and sand and what ever type of ride, should be a good time to have that big ol' monster to play on for a while! The good news is all of the other guys that are getting them, we have close to or just over 10 riders on the team with Fatties....and another group in town that is close to 10 as well, lots of fat fun this winter in GB! On that same line, there are already 4-5 Fat Bike races popping up around the state. Hey, we have the winter....so rather than sit inside and suffer......get a Fat Bike and go play in the snow! Rivers, snowmobile trails, or just about any place is for sure a good time waiting with the big ol' Pugsley sitting in the garage!

Ride.

Join the revolution, for sure!

2011-11-10T21:43:00.000-06:00

Stopped by the shop tonight for a different meeting with a company rep and saw the floor Pug sitting there staring at me! I am getting more excited for the big fat tires.....going to be a great winter of riding the rivers and the snowmobile trails....pumped for it! I remember last winter one night when Steele and I were riding Duck Creek and trying to find a ride-able line, struggling like crazy. We both said that night.....we need snow bikes for next winter! Well.....a bunch of the Flyers are in the process of getting them as I write and you read....going to have to have a weekly fat bike ride this winter....in the dark of course! Maybe t-Montee will invite us up to Door county for a frozen beach ride with the Russell?

I was looking for a different color of grip tonight at the shop...have to make my Pug a little different than the rest right! I have a couple of pink bottle cages so I was looking that route...nothing matched? We'll see, have to add a little color, maybe blue?

By the way, the tires on that bad boy....as Buddy the Elf says, "gi-normous!"

Fat

2011-11-08T22:21:00.000-06:00

So the growing trend is the Fat Bike or sometimes called the snow bike......I'm in! I was able to sell one of my other mountain bikes for the price of a Surly Pugsley.....awesome! I am very excited to get the bike, get some snow....and have some fun! A good number of the Flyers are getting one or have one already, so the group is growing! Gonna be a good time. Get yours now before they are all gone.

From Shevegas to the TC....still turning the cranks.

2011-11-02T11:05:00.000-05:00

Last weekend was the final preps for the Iceman, I feel like I am in pretty decent shape....we shall see! A good size group hit the Camp for some double and single track riding and training, got a nice workout in and felt solid, so that gives me a decent amount of hope for the Iceman. I just have to have a good race, no more of the crap riding like last year, felt blaaaaah the whole race last year, so time will tell (3 days to be specific).

Nice shot from Gary at the Shevagas Cross race, on top of the mini-flyover/old floating pier, had a good time and could have maybe gone a little harder? Finished 12th and kept a few people of interest in site for the entire race....so that was a plus! The course was very rough in the grassy area, and then I also had to little air in the rear tire.....so every off camber corner I felt like the reat tire was rolling off the rim. May have been good traction but I could not accelerate out of those corner with the squishy tire. Good times as always, Kennedy went down with myself and Steele and his girls, a fun day with Kennedy there cheering me on!

Next up....the Iceman. Temps look to be ok for this year, I am thinking the same type of clothing layers for the Iceman as what I used last weekend. This year I am going with the 29er Hardtail for the first time in the Iceman....should be right on and fast!

Just have to get thru today and tomorrow of work and then off Friday for the 7 hour adventure with 19 Flyers....3-4 vehicles and a utility trailer for all the bikes.....east bound and down!

The Updated forecast is looking better.....

2011-10-28T09:07:00.002-05:00

WOW.....the updated Iceman forecast is looking pretty good! Yessss!

Iceman forecast.....

2011-10-25T14:09:00.000-05:00

A look ahead for the Traverse City area......shall we say Iceman Race forecast! I must say......looks like perfect race conditions!

F A T

2011-10-22T21:58:00.000-05:00

I will take the yellow one please. So a few of the team members are looking into a fat or snow bike for this winter, I made contact with the owner of 9 zero 7 fat bikes from Alaska and he is excited to team up with the Flyers and bring some 9 zero 7 bikes from one froszen tundra to another....very cool!

I need to sell some bikes people.....buy my bikes so I can get me yeller one like the photo. Listing my bikes on Craig's List Monday.....all in great shape so come and get em......cause I want a fat bike before the snow flies.

Time to sell some bikes!

2011-10-14T23:48:00.000-05:00

As the racing season winds down, that can only mean one thing.....time to sell some bikes! So take a look and see if you find anything you likey! titletownflyer@yahoo.com if you have any questions.....all at great prices and in great shape!

2011 Specialized Epic Elite. Ridden maybe 15 times max.....in great and new condition, size is XL, so if you are 6'1" or taller and looking for a great deal on a 26 inch wheeled full suspension bike......I garuntee you will not find a better deal on a great bike!

2011 Niner EMD 9, built up just as you see it.....Manitou Tower fork, SunRingle wheels with Chris King Hubset, XT/XTR components have a couple of seasons on them but still work great and flawless. Size large frame in a great color!

2008 Trek Top Fuel frame. Frame only raced in 2009 after getting it on warranty claim, one and only custom painted carbon fiber main triangle and aluminum rear triangle. Size is XL, nice shape and light weight......pink Chris King headset available if wanted!

Let me know if anyone is interested, well taken care of and always cleaned after rides.....lots of riding left in all of the bikes and all for a great price!

WORS be done......Iceman time!

2011-10-10T12:02:00.000-05:00

So the WORS season wrapped up yesterday in Sheboygan, a great weekend of great temps and great racing with great friends! Good stuff! The course was in perfect shape, fast and dry with good traction on all the corners......the Specialized Renegades were hooking up all day and the Epic was perfectly plush!

I was sort of planning to get out and go for the hole shot.....but got boxed in pretty good so I decided to just sit in and let things shake out? Not the best of starts into the singletrack....bottled up and I knew the leaders were pulling away. I fought through the traffic and then late lap 1 caught up to Anton....rode with him for quite a while before my chain came off the big ring, back on and then back chasing. I made the mistake of putting my water bottle on a pic nic table.....that was not right on the course? So lap 3 I had to vear off and go get my second bottle.....lost about 15 seconds so not bad. Lap 3 was fairly quick and I felt good.....time was slower than I thought it should be and placing was back a little further? Finished 7th in 40+ Clydes, would have been 2nd in the 39 and Under and right about the middle of age class.....so not a bad day. Always a good day on two wheels.

Next up..........

.......almost time for the annual trek up thru the U.P. and over to the Iceman in Traverse City.....always a good race and a great time with the team, sort of wraps up the season for us. We have a huge group going over this year, 18 riders from the team.....awesome!

I was looking back over my past 6 Iceman races......of course the year I was in top shape and down to just over 200 lbs. I had a great year and finished top 20 with a time of just over 2 hours! Last season was my second to worst time and I am still not happy about that....no more of that crap!

So beginning today.....it is Iceman training time. I plan to work hard to get some decent riding/training in and also I am going to hit the Iceman weighing not much over 200. So the eating right (no soda, no candy, no fast food.....time to get serious).....I will have a good Iceman this year.

This morning the number was 216.

Love this time of the year!

2011-10-04T15:30:00.000-05:00

Fall is a great time of the year, the leaves and the temps, football and then basketball on the horizon, and of course some of the best mountain bike races of the season along with the surge in cross racing......good stuff!

I was looking back over a few blog posts from years past at the Sheboygan post race reports on my own blog......really gets me fired up to get my buttocks back to the front and get in the mix again, tired of hanging out in the back and NEED to get back in the game! And I will. Steele needs a teammate or two up with him at this race, so I have to work my tail off to get up there and be a good help to him, hopefully I have that in me and can come thru for him! No matter what, it's time to be a racer again and throw down with everything I have inside me.....it's GOOOOOOOOO time.

Kennedy is doing great in Cross Country, she continues to move up and responds well to me challenging her each race.....her last race is Thursday so let's see if she cranks it up again......doing very well!

Ellie is still dancing like she loves to do, and doing a great job! I have to say I am happy that she decided this year that she is ready to try basketball.....and so far she is doing great and really seems to have a natural shot that is not bad at all......so more busy times for all of us as we are likely to have a double tourney schedule with 2 playing travel team this year!

So with a few race to go and only 1 WORS race, the team is locked into our 3rd straight WORS Unlimited Team Title......3 titles in 3 years of existance....not bad at all!

Hope to see our team with a huge turnout at the last race of the season, big team better have big numbers.....rideon and let's have a blast in Shevegas!

Found me some new wheels.....that don't break!

2011-09-21T10:39:00.000-05:00

From the first time I rode the Race Lite wheels back when I got my Madone......I had issues with them. So after a couple of warranty replacements going with the same wheel.....I finally asked to switch the replacement wheel to the Classics. A wheel that the Shack boys use in Spring training.....gotta be strong.

Going back to a traditionally laced wheel from the paired spoke deal is a much better move for a big fella like myself, just feels a lot more stiff and solid when rolling down the worse than pave streets of Green Bay. Now I may have to get a front to match, problem is that is that need the other rear that needs warranty for my cx bike? Either way, huge thanks to Snuddy from Trek for taking care of things, very much appreciated! And hey, I found my new wheel of choice....I think.

A sweet shot of the bikes all lined up after a day of battle with the Chequamegon National Forest.......good times for sure!

The race.....did the short version again this year and probably should have went with the 40, just was not confident in my fitness at the end of August and made the switch late this year. Start was fast and the tandems were rolling down the road weaving, always scares me a bit, the group punched it at the normal times so I was ready and expected it. All in all I thought the race went well, I had one little hiccup with the chain but still thought the race went well......actually thought it went a lot better than the final time and placing showed? Came in 105 out of 800-900 or something like that, not bad but I expected to be top 50 so.....not really sure how I lost that many places? I look back on the race and still don't see that many people getting in front of me, but.....it is what it is.

Best part of the weekend.......

.......sitting around the fire with Steele, Gantz, Hynes, and Kevin (Wausau)....relaxing with a PBR or 3, a bundle of firewood to burn.....just a good relaxing night in the northwoods with a great group of friends.

Up next, the Bear Paw WORS race this weekend. I was registered for the CX race in Madison this weekend but have a coaches clinic for basketball that I have to attend, no cx this weekend.

That does it for now.

Old school Chequamy

2011-09-16T00:08:00.000-05:00

As we get ready to pack up and head North for the big one.....the Chequamegon, thought I would pull a pic out from way back in the day. Looking very Pro, looking for a nice run in the short race, stay tuned and have a good weekend.

Feeling good on the bike......

2011-09-12T23:50:00.000-05:00

Been awhile since I have been able to hit the race course as a racer......last time was Cam-Rock, last race was our own Ramble. I have spent a decent amount of time running with Kennedy getting her ready for cross country season, so after a ride I would come home and go for a run with her, some good sleeping nights after those days!

Last weekend a few (8) of us Flyers went up to Door County to serve as bike patrol for the Door County Century.....really just a nice day on the bike making sure everyone was behaving and for us a chance to get a nice long ride in while taking in some great scenery. I ended up on the 70 mile route with DeMott.....great ride and felt great the whole way.

Up next is the Chequamegon....our annual trip up to the Northwoods for some Fat Tire fun and good friends around the camp fire. I am doing the shorter version because I simply do not care for the 40 course, just that simple!

And then after that and maybe another WORS race or two.......

.......it's cross season. Picture from practice last year......cross is just a another way to have some fun on the bike. I'm tired and it is bedtime! Ride on.

My those are some Big Wheels?

2011-09-03T01:04:00.000-05:00

Could this be the new steed, Hmmmmm? Find out at a race near you!

Chew some Fat

2011-08-17T23:48:00.000-05:00

Wow.....when the two wheel riders start talking Triple Crown.......you know the summer flew by! Hard to believe that the 40 is 1 month away, thought about staying home and cx racing that weekend.....nah.....got be up nort' with the rest of the peeps eh! Looks like Steele, Giesen, Fowler and Fowler, Gantz, and Hynes will be with me this year....sure to be a good ol' PBR like weekend!

Little change for yours turly.....I normally opt for the shorter version of the weekend, but figured no better way to get some long distance mileage in for the cx season training than to log 40 miles of dirt! Not 100% sure if I am going to try and race it or just train it.....I would prefer the training ride but we'll see....once on the bike you always have to gooooooo fast right! Need some long miles in the next couple weeks so planning some long rides on rec trails and such on board the big wheels, better to log time on that bike rather than the road bike in preps for the 40, that is the main reason I wanted a 29er.....for these fall classics that are mainly wide open forest roads!

In the meantime....got a little race to run up Green Bay way.....little more than a week till the Ramble! I think all is good to go, likely a few last minute surprises, hoping for a big turnout this year.....always a pleasure to work with my awesome teammates and give the racing community a little something different with the longer form Ramble. Takes a little more to put on a race with a 12 mile lap but we are getting things down and with the support from the team.....it's a great weekend of racing for sure!

On a much needed 5 day weekend.....much needed for sure....riding and family is the name of the game. Good luck to all as we whoop the Viqueen riders in the Border Battle this weekend and the see you all up our way for the Ramble!

Two-sixer.

2011-08-12T09:42:00.000-05:00

A little slow on the race report this time......a rough race for this guy.....and not really sure why? I felt great on the warm-up.....and then when Don yelled GOOO.....I could not? Rode the ol' big wheeled bike and felt pretty good on the pre-ride and before the race, but then when the race took off I just lacked power and the ability to hang with the leaders. Very frustrating to say the least, felt good all week and have had a few good training rides of late.....so there is no reason for the lack of power other than maybe overtrained? Anyway....that race is over with and time to move on.

So that race brings me to last nights ride and my thoughts on bike choice...........

TWO SIX.......I still just feel so much quicker and at home on the 26ers.....plain and simple. Rode the Camp last night with Wenzlick and felt much more nimble and snappier on the smaller wheels....felt at home on the Epic.

Ahhhhhh.

Just plugging along.......

2011-07-26T09:09:00.000-05:00

Kind of been the same ol' July of norm, a good amount of training and not much racing......with the racing being replaced by family trips and mini-vacations! I really enjoy taking the month of July and just hanging with the girls and getting some extra training miles in, as August rolls in the fall racing season is closing in on us and that is my favorite time of the year, season-wise and race wise.

Things also get a little busy with the Reforestation Ramble.....planning time kicks in full gear, good fun! Not too much else going on, getting ready to mix it up at the newest WORS venue in a couple of weeks, should be a good time and hoping for some good technical riding!

Other than that......ride your bike!

Subaru Cup ReCap

2011-06-28T23:27:00.001-05:00

What a crazy start to our wave at the Subaru Cup.....no one wanted to go? It was slow to the point where I knew I was not fit enough to win the race, but come on......the slowest start to a race I have ever been in....and this was race 149 of my career! So as you can see in the picture, I had had enough and went off the front, I built a decent gap but quickly backed off knowing this was going to be a long day on a very tough course! Ended up settling in a bit too much and then had a period towards late lap 1 where the legs tightened up and I had to spin them for awhile.

Legs came back and race went alright, I ended up 4th in the class but 2 Comps in there....so 2nd place among Sport Clydes 40+.....not to bad! I know I gave it a ton because I had a little tunnel vision in the left eye after the race and had to take a quick nap after the girls left.....felt better after the nap and was able to watch the Pro racing and work with the kid's race.

Kristin and the girls stayed down there with me Friday night and cheered me on and gave me bottle hand ups during the cross country race, the cheering section rocked and helped a ton, great job by the Hauser girls!

The second picture is from Sunday's Short Track race, about 10 minutes of pain, on the gas the entire time! I knew I did not have the speed for this but really wanted the interval like work out, so to the line I went......for a milestone non-the-less, race number 150 of my 20 year racing career.....lots of racing the past 20 years, still having a blast and loving every second of it! I got pulled towards the end of the 12 minutes, still had a good time and like the training that race gives a person. Finished in the mid-late pack as expected, good times!

That's a wrap, the team also took on the Kid's race for WORS. We designed and set up the course and then ran the event, went great and the kid's smiles and reactions were well worth the effort! Proud to have a great team to help out with the event, I have said it before.....the Flyers ROCK!

Thanks to Extreme Photography for the great photo's, please visit www.xtrphoto.com and support Gary for all your racing photo needs!

The Wausau Report

2011-06-14T15:47:00.000-05:00

Look at that pic.....givin' it everything I got? Who knew shortly after this photo I would win a finish sprint between a few other Clydes and then cramp up like no tomorrow! Cool photo!

Had a decent start as I moved up fairly well and thought I was in a good spot, the first climb came and I faded a lot faster than I expected? With the course being mostly wide open fire roads I knew I was going to have a tough time staying with the front group.....need more tight singletrack for my benefit? Really just kind of stayed in the same spot the whole race and rode with the same guys, passed a few and got passed by a few. As the 3rd and final lap came to a close, I knew a couple more were closing in and I also did some door slamming on a couple others. The last trip through the up and down high speed hills I shot around a couple of riders to get in the singletrack before they did, worked out and I was able to pull away from them failry quick.

As we came around towards the finish stretch I knew we were about to have a battle royale, 4 Clydes throwing down for some pride! I was able to hold them all off, Mark Szud from Team Extreme was pushing hard but I was able to get the line ahead of the group and snag a few places.

Snuck out a 4th.....felt like it was going to be a lot worse so given how I felt......I will take the 4th place. Now I need to work my tail off and get my speed and endurance back to where I know it can be.

Big Ring Time

2011-06-09T11:53:00.000-05:00

Looking at this shot from 2 years ago in Wausau makes me kringe a little.....ok, a lot! This was the race that made the pinched nerve reach it's worst point, or most painful point! I crashed a couple of times on the rock gardens and knew for sure something was not right! You can see in the picture I am trying to loosen up the neck before The Don says GOOOOOOO!

After two years I still get stiff and minor pain from time to time, I have be very conscious of it when riding and make myself stretch it out even when riding.....I am getting pumped to ride Wausau, great course and hopefully some good camping if the weather allows.....and it will :)

Girls are out of school for the summer and now we begin the basketball camps and strength classes, have to make those big gains in the off-season.....like I tell Kennedy, the Gold Balls are not won on the court in Madison.....they are won during the summer in the driveway and at open gyms and camps! Ellie is loving softball and doing pretty good for her first season, she even got to play Dad's favorite position last night....catcher!

Flat Tires......

2011-06-02T12:14:00.000-05:00

Was going to jump on the bike for a quick spin the other day.....Monday when we got back from the weekend......got about 5 miles into my ride and psssssssss. Ran over a construction staple and that was all for that tube. Now, lesson I knew and should have done.....replace the CO2 cartridge when I am back from previous ride containing a flat!

Kristin to the rescue, she brought me a pump, must have pinched the tube cause that one went flat as well......car ride home and ride is over.

Been getting a few rides in during the early morning, getting more frequent so we should be getting back to the grind and getting back into real racing shape.....I hope!

Softball for the girls and yard work on tap for the weekend......of course some training on the two wheeler as well.

Weekend Review......dance!

2011-05-24T13:10:00.000-05:00

Had a great weekend even without the WORS race, got to spend the weekend with Miss Ellie at the dance recital....all weekend! With Ellie dancing 5 shows and yours truly running the sound for all 5, we spent over 15 hours at the Meyer this past weekend.

I must say Ellie was amazing this weekend....so beautiful on the stage and I am so proud of her, awesome! With the end of the recitals comes the look into next season for dance, Ellie is going to be in a different troupe but unfortunately not the one with most of her current group and friends :( Knowing Ellie and her attitude she will be just fine and now is her chance to prove to all that she is indeed an amazing dancer.....she was sad at first but she has the heart to go after the new challenge and make the most of it......you rock Ellie!

Checking in to the Meyer.....

2011-05-20T16:49:00.000-05:00

So this is the annual Dance Recital weekend for Ellie's dance school.....I run the audio for the recitals (all 5)....so that means I will be at the Meyer for approx. 15 hours of dance. See you all Monday!

Marathon Weekend....and a little racing action on the dirt!

2011-05-13T16:36:00.000-05:00

Time for the annual Cellcom Green Bay Marathon.....and this year we will be racing the Stump Farm race on Saturday, lots of riding! Every year a bunch of the Flyers lead the elites in the Green Bay Marathon, basically a 26.2 mile ride with some good ol' banging around on the last mile? Last mile is the ride thru Lambeau field, my job is to get the elite overall leader thru the sea of people (all the 1/2 marathon finsihers)....much easier said than done!

I have said in the past, go to the mall at peak Christmas shopping time, get on your bike and have someone tell you to get the runner behind you thru the people as fast as you possibly can.....or even faster than that! Oh....and everyone is wearing headphones so they cannot hear you yelling for them to get out of the way.....awesome!

It is a good time and good fun, can be nerve racking.....but hey someone has to be the bull dozer!

Teaming up with Steele and his brother, and then his brother's friend for a 4 person team for the Stump Farm 100 or 12 hour race tomorrow at the Camp.....lots of riding this weekend!

Iola

2011-05-02T13:36:00.000-05:00

Race number 1 is in the books, went there not knowing how the fitness (lack of) would respond to the hills of Iola? Don says GOOOO and we were off, not my normal style of starting, got boxed in and bumped into the start banner on the side of the course as the guy in front of me bobbled.....dammit, had to unclip and straighten out then get going. Had to work pretty hard to to get back into the mix, made it fairly quick and back in the hunt.

Up the backside of the bowl and Schindel comes flying by, I know Steele is just up ahead, Lanser is just behind......after the hills things shook out. We shook Schindel and then it was down to the 3 of us, the x factor was that we did not know how many got away at the start? Normally I am the one who jets off and that way I know who is around the front.....not on this day.

The 3 of us Flyers just kept each other in sight and rode together at times, did that for most of the first two laps. Lanser got a gap on Steele and I towards the end of lap 3 and I tried to go after him, Steele was not with me but I could see Lanser was just up ahead. Fast forward......we all 3 bunched back up, Steele and I are ripping thru the pine singletrack and come up on a slower traffic, he got around and I was not able to right away. Game over.....he gapped my right there and I could not pull it back. Great move that I normally pull on others, especially at Iola.....nice job to the Clydes, made for a fun day of racing!

As for myself, felt a lot like I know I can feel on the bike. I am a little (ok, a lot) heavier than I would like to be. So when I lose some weight and get some real training in, should be all set. Very happy with the performance on race 1, 3rd place in age class is just fine to get the year rolling. My Specialized Epic was awesome, what a great ride.....the Brain shock was dialed and fast! SunRingle Wheelset was also right on, Specialized Renegade tires were rolling fast and hooked up big time! And of course I was powered by HoneyStinger!

And now for some training.....weather can cooperate any time!

Little damp here.....

2011-04-27T12:28:00.000-05:00

OK......been a little bit wet of late, OK wait, a lot wet lately! We should be good on the water for now so go ahead and turn it off so we can attempt to get in shape for this race season? As we get set for Iola.....wait again.....we will not be set.....but anyway, the race is likely to be the first time on the dirt for most everyone!
So unless you live way down south, this may be the first chance to hit the dirt and see where the fitness and the handling skills are.......should be OK though, just like riding a bike!

I had a decent weekend with family in Hillsboro and then LaCrosse, good times all weekend! Also got a few hill workouts in while down there, BIG hills! This is a shot looking up the road to Grand Dad's bluff, about 15-20 minute climb that was awesome for the legs and the overall fitness. I got two solid rides in on the big hills and also got to ride with sister in law Kari, she is just into the cycling thing and I thinl she'll do alright. We climbed up County Rd. FO, very steep at the end and she made it all the way to the top, a big accomplishment!

We continue to stay busy with the girls schedules, Ellie in dance and softball and Kennedy in Track, Softball, and AAU basketball.....never a dull night or weekend!

What the &%#@!

2011-04-18T16:33:00.000-05:00

Any chance I can get my Mukluk overnighted sooooooper fast! Gonna need it tomorrow, 6-10 inches on the way.....come on!

The weather........

2011-04-15T09:12:00.000-05:00

Is it almost Iceman time.........sure feels like it?

Really getting tough to pretend you are a bike racer when the weather just does not want you riding outside, getting frustrated with this crap! Iola is about 2 weeks away and I am so far behind training, which means....could be a rough race for the first outing of the season?

And with the crummy weather.....we all have the need to get outside SOON! I am for sure a Clydesdale as we head into the season, hopefully once the weather breaks the pounds will trim off and I can get back to riding a little quicker.

Props to our ol' fella Cole House.....kid is on a terror this season with the RealCyclist.com team, hmmmm.....BMC make a mistake? I guess all things are meant to happen and Cole is racing for who is supposed to be and where he is supposed to be....keep on the gas Cole!

Still busy of course!

2011-04-04T09:54:00.000-05:00

So as we hoped to be heading towards spring sometime in the last few weeks.......of course my training is suffering like no tomorrow, not cool! Tomorrow I MUST get out of bed and hit the bike at the early hour no matter what, yeah! Way behind the normal training of a normal year!

As you can tell by the picture, this is one thing that has been taking the majority of our weekends and even during the week, that is a good thing though....we all really enjoy traveling to tourneys and hanging with the other families on the team. It is nice to have girls from all over the area playing together, once rivals during the season, now coming together to play and play well! And, we also get to hang out at the hotel and have a drink with the families we normally sit across the gym from, good times for everyone!

So now I must get out and ride.....plain and simple! I am not a fan of the trainer, sitting in the basement going no where is just not in the cards for me! I would rather ski and snowshoe.....or hang out at the gym with Kennedy.....just not spin in circles staring at the tv.

Now it is work time and then more fun tonight, the girls team is coming over tonight to make shirts for the summer 3 on 3 season.....which starts this weekend with the big one in Seymour, so I will have to find some ride time at some point....no problem!

weather....blah blah

2011-03-28T09:00:00.000-05:00

So the crap weather is sticking around for most of the week, warmer (40's) by the weekend.....means a little of the white stuff will melt away?

Only cool thing with the 17.8 inches of snow we got.....this cool picture of the wiper on my work car.....looks bent as it is stopped in motion!

Otherwise we start another busy stretch with dance and basketball, Kennedy is on a bum wheel right now, sprained her ankle in basketball Sunday night and is limping on a somewhat swollen ankle. Lots of ice and rest for her this week to get her ready to play this weekend in their first tourney.

Got 1 ride in this weekend with Borst, cold and miserable, meeting at the Camp to discuss trails for the future......and then the GB women made it to the sweet 16 where they ran into the monster in the middle.....good season!

Off to work.

My Japan trip back in the day.

2011-03-15T15:05:00.000-05:00

Back in the late 90's I was very fortunate to spend 12 days in Japan, an amazing experience! This sand coin is in the park just on the outskirts of the town we spent the most time in, Kanonji.....located in the very south of the country.

With all of the devastation in Japan of late, it got me thinking about our time we spent over there and what I remember about the trip.....the biggest thing that sticks in my head is how great the people were! So warm and welcoming at every point in the trip, doing whatever they could to make our stay as perfect as it could possibly be.

Apparently Kanonji felt the quake at around a 1.0, not to much considering the north part if the country. I can also think back to the land and terrain and imagine that if something like the tsunami were to hit the Kanonji area......it would wipe out the little town as well as Ibuki Island, another place we visited. The only savior for the poeple would be on the edge of town about a mile from the coast are the small mountain/big hills that people could have gotten away and made it pretty easy to, and there are several roadways leading up to the hills.

Regardless, tough for the entire country to watch and now to see the radiation issues.....tough one to deal with for sure.

Of course I have to tie cycling into the post and the trip we took! We ended up being housed at the local Keirin track, they had a big dormitory and offered the lodging, food, showers, and really everything our big group needed. So I was pleasantly surprised to wake up the 1st morning there and see this, did go out and chat with the guys and hangout.....good fun! This is bigtime over there....everyone crowds in and bets lots and lots of yen....legally of course, the city owns the track and the rights to the sport.

Alright, time to work, have a good day!

Happy Birthday to my Ellie....the big 9 today!

still enjoying winter.....I think?

2011-02-28T12:19:00.000-06:00

Had a busy weekend, Saturday I was able to get outside for a ski, the trails at the Camp are still in excellent shape and the temps were not bad at all. Hoping to maybe get a ski in Tuesday night, Steve and the crew said they have been hitting the trails on Tuesday nights.....with Kennedy's basketball for the Jaguar team done (and my coaching the team).....we have a little more free time now. Kennedy does start her AAU team practice this weekend so she gets a week rest and then off on another team until mid-June! It is really cool to see a group of girls from all different schools come together and become friends and teammates and to see how good they are when every girl on the team is of starting caliber....no let down thru all 12 girls that's for sure!

We finished up our Jaguar season like I said, we really made some big gains and huge progress over the past two years....especially this year! We learned to compete this year and as a result we were in every game and won a lot more games than last year, girls found out what it is like to win and started to figure out how to get there......a great season for us! I am also proud of Kennedy, she continues to grow on the court and off....she is becoming an amazing young lady. I love her mental toughness, she can take a lot and responds to it very well, she knows when she makes mistakes and how to deal with Coach Dad when he gets on her case :)

Another great trait that she seems to have, rising to the occasion at hand, she tends to play very well when up against taller and very good competition. Maybe the thing to work on is playing that well against anyone, not just when the stakes rise.....either way she is coming along just fine and I love watching her play the game!

Now the dance season heats up....I think my Ellie is the dancer of the family, she says no way to hoops but yest to dance! All Dad asks is if you choose to do something.....do it 100%, so I hope to see her go after it like I know she can....and now she is liking softball! So we shall see how Miss Ellie does at softball :) Busy time all the time at the Hauser house....so let the dance season begin!

Racing next year.....the potential schedule?

2011-02-23T10:27:00.000-06:00

Looking ahead to the upcoming season, which will be season number 20 for me, that's a long time.....I may have to opt out of a few for the first time in a number of years? With the cost of races hitting $75-$80 and the potential of the Governor snagging a good chunk of the take home cash our family depends on each pay day.....may have to scale back a few races this season.

While the normal local and of course WORS races will for the most part remain on the schedule, looking at the big ones with a question mark on the mind? While I agree they are a blast and as a group we have a great time, just have to look at the family finances and say.....hmmmm! I guess time will tell, but with the dictator we have running the state....the Wisconsin economic outlook is not all that bright for anyone. Wait till he brings on the new budget.....with the cuts he is making even his supporters will be thinking twice.....all that leads to a down slide of the economy and will for sure play a role in everyone's life.

So for the new schedule......it may just be a wait and see type of season! For sure hoping for some road and no doubt a good number of cyclocross racing this season.

One last note.....man I would love to get to Ray's and get on my new Epic!!!!!!!!!!

Finally outside!

2011-02-16T14:20:00.000-06:00

So this past weekend I finally got outside....whew, I needed that in a big way! Towards the end of the skiing I could feel the snow getting wet and slowing the skis down, made for a little tougher going at the end of the loop.....and now a few days later the trails are closed! No more skiing till things freeze up and possibly get more snow?

Um....no thanks.....cause with the weather I got to do........

......a little of this on Monday! Broke out the cross bike for a spring road ride, got in a little over 22 miles at a snails pace, but still got out and enjoyed the weather and being backon two wheels! Good stuff! I had planned a trip to Ray's for Monday but Kristin needed to be at a union meeting to discuss the love doings of our Chief Idiot for the great state of Wisconsin....so Ray's trip is postponed for a while, although we are thinking about a late Sunday afternoon trip?

Still battling the remenants of a food poisoning or 24 hour flu......something dropped me hard core yesterday! I had to leave basketball practice Tuesday night after an hour and then got home and went straight to bed......only to wake up 12 1/2 hours later at 7am the next morning! Wow, still feel a little sluggish in the stomach and a small headache still.....but hopefully coming out of this whatever it was I had?

Excited for Friday night, Father-Daughter dance with Ellie at Southwest High, should be way cool!

Super Bowl Wrap Up

2011-02-10T10:26:00.000-06:00

So the long trip to icy cold Dallas is over.....thank goodness! Nothing like the last Super Bowl trip.....not near as fun and enjoyable, more like working long hours back in Green Bay.....just bad weather almost all week. We did actually manage a couple of decent days, ran out side the first Sunday in t-shirt and shorts, then the Saturday before the Super Bowl it was a decent day, otherwise it was blahhhh!

The pic above was our perch at Cowboys Stadium, up high off the ground and the stadium in the back drop of all live shots, spent a lot of time on the ol' scaffolding.

A quick glimpse into the roads we dealt with almost all week.....the only bonus to the whole weather thing that Texans stay home when the roads are bad....so traffic was somewhat low all week! Of course they have no idea how to treat and clear the roads, ice and snow just kept building up and up and up......a slippery mess! The squads used chains all week?

I was not the game shooter for this game, I shot back in 98 at the San Diego Super Bowl, so with my concourse and post game pass.....this is where I watched the first quarter and a half of the game, not bad seats! It was really kind of cool to sort of "be a fan" for the first part of the game.....before the work began!

The media workroom, keep in mind this was not the press box, just a work room.....there were something like 5000 media members credentialed for the game! This is where we ate and kept our gear during the game and the post game room was just on the other side of the blue curtain in the background....busy busy!

So with that I end the adventure of Super Bowl 45.....onto the family time and attempting to get back into shape for the upcoming season, man the Super Bowl can wipe out a portiopn of life....but a decent experience for sure (even with the weather).

And tomorrow it is........Kristin's 40th Birthday.....Happy Birthday my dear!

A tough job.......

2011-01-30T19:06:00.000-06:00

Spending the week in the little town of Dallas Texas.......ok, huge city! Everywhere you look around the city you see Packers or Steelers, this city is ready for the big week! We have had a busy two days already in big D, from hitting up the Honky Tonk bar to visiting South Fork Ranch where the TV show Dallas was filmed.....a lot so see and do stories on, to show the Green Bay area what the flavor of the SuperBowl is down here in Dallas.

The Honky Tonk Bar was great, on one side of the place was a country music concert of some big star.....Chris Cagle I think? Then at the other end of the place was an actual bull riding competition! I preferred hanging in the bull riding arena......that adrenaline rush thing you know! The GM of the place gave us the VIP tour and birds eye view of the launch pad for the bull riding.....awesome!!!

Today I had a shoot at South Fork ranch......the site of the TV show Dallas......very cool as well! I used to sit and watch that show when Mom had it on, so I recognized a lot of what I was seeing. The house is a lot smaller than you would think, I could totally remember seeing the different parts on the show......especially the pool and patio where they always ate breakfast. The picture above is myself standing in JR's bedroom.

So far we have been pretty busy, tonight we begin the live shots......for the next 6-7 days we are live in all 4 evening shows, let the busy days begin.

The weather, shorts the last two days......ran this morning in shorts and t-shirt, I hear Tuesday we are looking at low 30's and high winds with a chance of freezing rain.....little Wisco weather for us down south.

I will try to keep updated so you all can see what's going on down here in Dallas, later.

What's in the BOX!

2011-01-20T13:32:00.000-06:00

Got the email that I have been waiting for.....your bike is here! So after basketball practice I zoomed over to snag it.....yesssss! The excitement was building as we drove home, I wonder what it will look like and hoping the size was right.....I went with an XL Epic for the first time? I rode Epic's back a few years ago and always rode Large frames......but with the Top Fuel's of late being XL's, I thought let's give it a shot and see how it fits?

Out of the box and assembled, not tuned and dialed but put together and looking very nice! Actually thought to myself....wow, this thing looks better in person than the catalog or photo, very cool! I did alter the wheels already, they are red and had a white stripe going all the way around the outside of the rim......got rid of the white stripe so they are just straight up red rims, I think they look pretty good! Of course when we get to racing I will likely be running my SunRingle Charger's tubeless with the Renegade tires, fast! Also changed out the brakes, took off the Avids and put the Hayes Stroker Grams on, very nice brakes from the good folks at the Hayes Bicycle Group. Which means......Avid Elixir R sl's for sale?

Good to have the new ride in the basement so I can slowly get it ready to ride/race, hoping for a trip to Ray's sometime soon on it.....all depends on the Packers? If they win I have to follow them to Dallas.....so we shall see, that puts a lot of things on hold if I have to go south for the big game?

With that, big weekend of basketball and riding on the ice at the Gambler game, then of course the little foooootball game on Sunday afternoon.

Go Pack Go.

Getting close......

2011-01-14T09:15:00.000-06:00

Got word earlier this week that the Epic was here in the good ol' USA......which means it should not be too long before it is in my hands! Hmmm, might be a trip to Ray's to test it out in the near future! Once here I will have some new parts for sale, brakes for sure and maybe stem and bar? Gotta go with my trusty ol favorites on a few items!

Not to much going on lately, I seemed to have fell into a deep hibernation and cannot get the hell out of it? I set the alarm and of course the next morning.......shut it off and back to sleep for a little longer. At night, intend on going riding or running, nope.....fall asleep on the floor and wake up around 1am to stumble to bed. Dammit, have to break the deeeeeep hibernation this weekend, skiing on Sunday for sure!!!!!!!

One week to go until the Flyers hit the Ice at the Gambler hockey game, always a good time and something very different for the team to do.....good fun!

GO PACK GO.

It will be mine......oh yes, it will be mine?

2011-01-03T13:37:00.000-06:00

With the desire to get outside and play, to help fend off the stuck inside and hate the trainer blues......found this sweet ride on the web today! The Pugsley seems to be forever not-available, and of course I have yet to figure out if this is going to available any time soon? So maybe I sell the Pink Top Fuel and then snag one of these bad boys when they do become available! Ya.....that's sounds like a good plan!

We shall see, but it sure would be fun to have one of these in the stable!

6th Annual New Years Day Ride

2011-01-01T21:48:00.000-06:00

One of my favorite weekends of the year, on the eve we have a get together with a couple of families that are very special to us....long time friends and simply really great people! After the eve and a few PBR's, it's time to wake up and get ready for the annual New Years Day ride with the Flyers and whoever else shows....great ride every year.

A nice pre-ride shot of the crew, started out with about 6 of us one year and is now averging 25 or so, love to hit 30 one of these years! After Lanser stayed home due to the high winds howling around his place, Wenzlick and I are the only 2 left that have ridden each one of the 6 rides.....nice work pal!

The ride tends to head into a brutal head wind and then turn towards our annual coffee stop, warm up....ride more and then end up at Lambeau (Titletown Flyers.....it just works!), for pics and possible bathroom breaks. The pic.......

.......it's a traditional photo of course, just switch statue's every year. A nice looking crew?

Back to the ride, woke up and looked outside, no ice and the sun was peeking, hmmmm? OK, no need for the studded tires, fenders, blinking lights for fog.....quick switch to the cross bike still covered in JingleCross Mud......convince Borst that it is rather tropic outside (haha)....and we are off.

OK.....it was a rather chilly wind, freakin cold wind is more like it, wow. Once we met up with the crew, tv interviews done and we are off.....yep....still freakin cold and the wind......holy &#@%! Nasty wind out of the southwest, strong enough that Rookie lifted his hands off the bars and his bike was blow out from underneath him! A sweet walk out recovery and wah-lah!

Cole J takes first break away of the year honors, he had the All-Pro 3 speed dialed in and rolling f a s t ! Warm drinks hit the spot and it was in general a nice day to kick off the new season, thanks to all for riding and here is to a great year.

A few pics from the last year....

2010-12-31T09:57:00.000-06:00

Thought I would see what photos were laying around in my computer and take a quick look back on the year that was 2010. First up, in January I got to experience my first Ice Climbing excursion! What a blast, like nothing before and I left wanting to go do it again, hoping to in a couple of weeks....as long as the warm weather goes away! Thanks to Joe and Pascalle, great times!

Mmmmmm, Vingers pizza from back home.....like nothing on the planet!

Also hit the big lake for a little fishing one early morning......caught a tasty treat and had a nice morning on the lake, good fun and good to eat! Thanks Kevin.

Of course there was lots of bike racing, not as much as years past but still a decent amount.....after close to 20 years of racing, a slower year was kind of nice!!! Also the girls are getting to the age where we have a lot going on, so training and racing are not always priority one? Nice photo of me hanging on at the tail end of the long train at the UnNamed Epic, a new race in Southwest Wisconsin where I grew up.....thruly an Epic!

I tried the new thing that all the "cool" kids seem to be into....riding a 29er? After winning a frame and building it up.....racing it a few races this season.....I have come to the conclusion that it is just not for me. I do not like the handling and acceleration of the big wheels in a race setting, OK for just riding but really felt slow in the race setting.........so that brings me to the next photo!

I am currently waiting for my new ride to arrive, sold the Niner and ordered up an Epic Elite, nothing fancy but a good solid racing platform on 26 inch wheels. I have raced the Epic in the past, 5 seasons aboard this suspension set up, all good and excited to get back on one and get back to being a little more competitve than the last couple of seasons! Ever since winning the Sport Clyde division in 2008....I have had a couple of rough seasons the last two years.....time to get back to the level I know I can race at.....training begins 1-1-11.

Have a great New Year, we host a party at our house this year and then New Years Day is the 6th Annual New Years Day Ride, little chilly and icy weather on tap....all good!

New Years Day Ride.....2011 version.

2010-12-27T12:54:00.000-06:00

9am at He-Nis-Ra, Saturday the 1st....be there no matter the weather....be there for the 6th annual edition!

Under Armour mouth piece.....and the 1st ride of the year!

2010-12-16T09:33:00.001-06:00

As we sit in a slightly frozen weather pattern, it is somewhat of a time to think about what works and what did not work (too much did not work the last two seasons)......and that brings me to the mouth piece.

Have to first thank Pat for the opportunity to give this a try, and to Dr. Quandt and staff for helping with the fittings and gettting the mouth piece here and fit!
So did it work......I think in certain applications yes. The biggest and most noteworthy time for me was not during the endurance activity but rather after.....say a morning ride and then that evening when you would normally be a little bit tired and your legs feeling spent......there were times when that was not the case? I know a couple times it was kind of like.....wow, I really don't feel that ride in my legs, and I know it was a good solid training ride....hmmmm?

A quick wrap up, I will for sure continue to use it on the longer endurance type training rides, the shorter rides and WORS races, likely will not have it in and do not really feel the need or any difference in the shorter rides. I like the feel and fit, fairly easy to drink and take gels with, so not a bad little tool in the box to have while training for endurance racing.

Other than that......little slow on the bike front right now. Waiting for the new Specialized to come in, having sold the Niner early fall.....looking to get the new Epic, even if it will just be sitting in the basement for a few months.....just so perty to look at all winter, MOTIVATION!

After this super-terrific cold snap......should be some great ice on the rivers and creeks, once Christmas is over with we can get some good quality ice riding time.....after the New Years Day ride of course, if you are a serious and hard core cyclist.....you will be at the New Years Day ride.

Polar Bear Bike Ride

January One, Two Thousand Eleven at Nine AM.....He-Nis-ra Park on the plush west side of Green Bay, Wisconsin.....we roll no matter the weather. Bring whatever bike you think can handle riding the frozen tundra of Green Bay, WI.

Basketball, dance, basketball, dance......that is the Hauser way of life this time of the year!

For Sale......

2010-12-08T14:55:00.000-06:00

Yes.....the bike in this photo is for sale, buy it! A 2008 Trek Top Fuel 9.9sl.....sweet custom pink paint job along with custom built Chris King/Sun rim wheelset. XTR cranks and rear Derailluer, XT shifters and front Derailluer, carbon bar.....very well kept and maintained.....a very sweet ride! Size 21.5, XL. Let me know if you are interested and we can talk price!

Also for sale and pic coming tonight, 2008 Trek Madone 5.2 pro in 60cm. Blue and black color, full carbon frame and fork. Complete Ultegra group on the bike, Bonty Race Lite wheelset, rear is 2010 model. A great bike that was well maintain and used for training, again, we can talk price if there is interest.....come on, buy it!

Hoping this arrives real soon, the replacement for the Niner! Back to the 26er..ahhhhh, good to be home!

Now just waiting for it.......please hurry Specialized, so it can sit in the basement all winter?

Later.

Ice riding time.....

2010-12-07T10:06:00.002-06:00

Looks like Duck Creek is icing up nice.....should be able to ride soon.....stud up!

Eye Candy.......future reality?

2010-12-02T14:54:00.000-06:00

This frame.........

.......with these wheels?

Hmmmmmmmm!

The JingleCross Report

2010-11-28T21:01:00.000-06:00

So after wanting to get down to Iowa City sometime and partake in the weekend known as JingleCross.....I finally made it downt there. Steele and I met in Platteville after Turkey Day and made the 2 hour drive down, easy drive and we arrived in good time even after taking the scenic route thru Marion, Iowa!

The picture......me coming down the "flyover," a sweet obstacle that was towrds the end of the lap on Friday night and I am thinking a little towards mid-lap on Saturday.....the other side was some pretty steep and tall steps up, then you were up top and jumped on rolling down while attempting to get clipped back in, sweeeet! So we went up and over and under each lap, cool stuff!

Friday night the Cat 4 race started at 4pm, we got all checked in and over to the venue in plenty of time, good parking spot and we were on the course warming up. Fast course Friday night that took us thru a couple of barns, one was a sand pit and the other a cork screw like maze, then of course the flyover, the spiral of death......and a little ice here and there to keep things honest :) A nice mix with a lot of quick burst power needed.....a lot of that stuff!

The race......with 77 riders in the field all wanting the hole shot......ummm, ya! Bumping, elbows, tire rubs on the bike and body, 5 or 6 riders down......staying upright in the first 30 seconds was a win! Off we went through the crazy rough field, back along the side hill that was rough as hell, thru the bottom of the flyover and then weave through the grassy area into the sand pit barn, out on the windy (cold!) section and then back into the greasy and icey barn area, thru the large loose gravel section and the the twisty section of barn.....long straight away to the spiral and then up and over the top of the flyover......and again and again and again......FUN STUFF!

Friday night I had a few riders go down in the sand pit barn right in front of me and that kind of sealed fate.....still rode hard with the hopes that I was gaining back ground? Either way, it was cold, hard, and damn fun! After the race, shower and back to the venue to watch the pros kill it on the course....awesome to see them power the course!

The blurrrr on the left of the picture is Matter flying thru the barrier section, always good to watch him race and chat....a class guy all the way around! Yes, a few pros did the bunny hop over the barriers with a couple scoring a face plant!

This is a view atop good ol' Mt. Krumpit......crazy lighting from the company that does events like the X Games.....great lighting. You can see the fans lining the downhill section and then way down is the flyover and the section that zigzags thru the grassy field, great view of the venue.

Day 2 of racing......up and at em.....waffle on the iron and Dave and Kristin (JB Cycle Daughter) are down there eating, chat and eat and off to the venue. Temps on day 1 were mid 20's with a windchill closer to 8. Day 2 temps were again mid 20's with a windchill....still pretty chilly! A new course design with a hike a hill, steep and slippery, a couple of frozen water crossings that got deep mucky mid race, more barns and a super slippery loooong side hill that was much easier to run?

Again, the start was around 70 riders who all wanted to be first.....banging around and I think a few more crashes and tons o tire rubs! Off we go and I felt fine but if there was one thing I learned on the weekend.....cross racing is all about short burst power.....I needed more! Another mid-pack finish, had a good ride/race with Jack Schirpke of Team Extreme.....just a big ol' pile of fun racing cross....had a blast for sure!

Goals heading down there.....have fun, learn more about the sport, and just finish on the lead lap......nailed it all! I was very pleased to be on the lead lap and to be able to watch others get pulled as I rode on for two complete races.....a good first JC weekend and like I said, learned a little more about cross racing.....I'll be back. Steele used his monster strong legs to have to very decent days on the bike...thinking he may have found a new favorite discipline! Good times and a great experience.....nice event and kind of a cycling bucket list must do type of race.....good stuff!

Great to see all of the family as well, a fast weekend that we will do all over again around Christmas, back to that work thing tomorrow.....blahhhhh!

Still riding.....?

2010-11-18T12:54:00.000-06:00

So a while back I mentioned to Steele and Davisdson that we should go to JingleCross one of these years.....might know Steele goes and registers and now its on! OK....so it was a good thing, I have wanted to hit JC for a few years now, tada.....we are almost there.

Plans are set, girls will stay in Darlington and Steele and I (maybe Giesen) will head down early in the day Friday....race under the lights, sleep.....race Saturday morning and then hit the road back for Wisconsin. I am looking to just have a good time and get some cross racing in.....no plans to hit the podium or anything close, just looking for a great racing weekend and a chance to experience JingleCross! Thanks Steele :)

The new Tahoe is sweet, love the extra big size and the room is awesome....should be a nice time traveling for Turkey Day with all of the room! Busy weekend with the Packer game and all, more excited for this Saturday and the basketball games and then getting back from the trip on work Monday......work two days and then off for Turkey, family, and cross racing!

Have a good weekend and stay tuned.

Sweet new ride.....part 2??????

2010-11-13T21:38:00.000-06:00

Soooooo, while surfing the web and looking around for possible replacement for the old red Jeep......came across this sweet ride located a few blocks from my driveway! I have been wanting a Tahoe or Suburban for ohhhhh, a few years, just more room and better towing for the racing and camping season.

So long story short, come Monday I maybe driving around this here Tahoe? Have to see if the credit union and I agree on terms before we call it a final deal.....but all indications point to yes? Stay tuned......have to get the rack on top and get it race ready for next spring.....no hurry with winter about to start kicking our buttocks.....and ski's will fit nicely in the spacious hinder of the Tahoe.

As for gas mileage, should be about the same or slightly better than the old Grand Cherokee.....and oh the room!

So it is also official.....Steele and I are heading to JingleCross.....hotel and registration all booked, so sore knee or not....back on the bike for a few weeks......and PERFECT cross weather!

The Iceman Cameth

2010-11-07T21:56:00.000-06:00

You know the first weekend of November means the annual trek up thru the U.P. and then across the big bridge.....ending up in Traverse City for the Iceman Cometh mountain bike race.....always a great time!

The last couple of years have been rather mild, so knowing we were due.....this was the scene up in the Manistique area, our first sighting of snow for the season. The crazy thing is that it bothered no one, we all were just smiling and saying, "gonna be a real Iceman, cool!" We were all looking forward to the race no matter what the weather, so the nasty conditions make great stories in the future.....onward we rolled!

After the traditional stops in Escanaba, then gas and bathroom in St. Ignace before the big bridge (love this bridge)....we rolled into the Traverse City area to a nice sleet/snow mix.....are the bikes all set or should we still pre-ride, hmmmm? We pre-rode, its the Iceman! After that it was register, eat, and then off to bed.

A very COLD start to the race, right around 20 degrees or so when we left the Jeep and headed to the start, BRRRRRR! Off we go, roll out on the city streets.....the start was normal, just a little jockeying for position and then we were off on the course. The pick above is sort of a look at the course, this is the 16 mile mark where a ton of people are always screaming and yelling....it's awesome, great motivation up this climb. Here is the Pro leaders coming thru, ground thawed and turning mucky......for us, a good chunk of the race was spent on ice! Yep, a lot of ice all over the course for us early starters, I went down fast in the first singletrack, black ice on dirt! This was not the only ice, a long gravel road section was nothing but ice! I of course had horrible tires and was all over the place, honestly was quite concerned and actually backed off way too much.....as I look back on it?

The other issue I had that killed my momentum, frozen muck under my bottom bracket which meant frozen cables......ie.....no shifting. Hit the first decent climb and could not get the front derailluer to drop. Kicking it, pulling on the cable, trying everything.....I just needed a shift? So after battling that for way too long, I had to jump off and try to free it up, ended up having to kick the bike several times and then a big chunk of 1/4 thick ice and mud broke into a few pieces, work the cable and freedom, sort of, but much better.

Rolled on and just was not willing to take as much of a chance as I maybe should of on the ice? Looking back and as I finished ( no where near where I should have been), I had a ton left at the finish and no doubt could have dropped another 10-15 minutes off my time? Oh well, my fault and what can you do, ready to get training for next season (after a short break), need to have a better season in 2011, for sure.

On a whole, had a great time......a blast! Good bunch of guys and a great setting, nice way to end the mtb season.....thanks for the good times fellas! (more pics on the Flyers blog)

Will the Iceman Cometh.......

2010-11-04T15:07:00.000-05:00

Number plate from a few years back......maybe this year we will have this during the race......hmmmmm! Getting all the goods loaded up tonight and ready to roll, always a great race but it does indeed take a lot to get ready for it! Lots of clothing to pack, travel and lodging plans, who rides with who, how many bikes can we fit on each vehicle......all this and it should be the off-season right? Maybe......just maybe this is my last Iceman....might be time to retire from the late season race and then hit a few local cross races......or perhaps Kennedy will be into a few running races in the future?

Either way.......I am hoping for a good race and fun race, cause I am thinking this is the last Iceman for me.

Still some racing to do!

2010-10-29T14:30:00.000-05:00

A look into the next month or so and I still have a few races on the schedule, this weekend is the local Duathlon at the Camp.....got a fast guy from work to do the run so we should be set, just a really good training ride for the Iceman as well!

After that I may hit the Sun Prairie CX race, and then of course Steele and I are thinking about hitting Jingle Cross Turkey Day weekend in Iowa City. The late season races are nice because they give you a purpose to stay in shape and keep on the bike.....good motivation! Also throw in the Turkey Trot run on Turkey Day morning with Kennedy and all of the basketball practices and tourneys.....B U S Y!

Tomorrow is the annual Race Directors meeting with "The Don," followed by more hardware for the Flyers.....bringing home the double again this season! On that same note, it sure is great to be a part of one of the best teams in the state......rock on Flyers!

And now.....ride on, still some racing to do.....and waiting for the magical email or text from Pete saying the Epic has arrived.....not so sure it is going to make in tome for the Iceman? Onward Pinky!

4....12.....and me.

2010-10-26T15:26:00.000-05:00

So I went to a football game Sunday, after the game I was getting my picture taken and these two a-holes got in the shot....one is an OK guy the other.......you know how we all feel about him.

Great Weekend!

2010-10-17T23:09:00.000-05:00

Always hate to see the weekend come to an end......needs to be longer for sure. While it was here we all managed to have a good one! Saturday night was the annual Flyers season party at the big warehouse on the east side.....always a great time!

We had lots of food, lots of drink, and lots of chatter with team members.....ordered up some clothes and ate more food! Then we hit the time of the night when we had a little picture show, all good I thought.....and then the pictures were all of me at the start......Hmmmm? I started to think something might be going on here?

I was right, the team got together without me knowing and put a little slide show together....worked with Kristin and dug out some old pics of the days when this mtb obsession began, really cool to see all the years and races. After the slides they presented me with a really cool collage and a great book of all the pictures from all of the years......really cool! And of course a card with some gift cards to a couple of my favorite eating locations.......how great are the Titletown Flyers!

I just like to help provide a place and the needs for all to enjoy riding their two wheelers outside and staying in great health....all good times! I do have to say a huge thanks to all of the Flyers......as you saw when I got a little choked up.....that meant a lot to me....I really enjoy sharing the passion with all you :) So thank you very much for the gifts and the great times.

On to our favorite thing to do.....ride. Dennis is now commanding the SS Niner.....so on the way is what you see below.....I am very excited to get back on the 26 inch wheel and on the Epic platform.....I just hope that ship sails fast......love to have the Epic ready for the Iceman!

Have a great week.

Sheboygan

2010-10-11T12:53:00.000-05:00

The old WORS finale for 2010 was Sunday......always love to head down and end the season with this race, gives you a little bit of everything, and beats you up in the process!

I took the challenge given to myself and hit the Comp race, wooooosh! A pretty fast start, trailing off the back right away, caught back on to a few riders and pretty much hung there until the next wave came trucking thru. Russel and Gabrielson came on and we rode together for a while, until.......!

Lap 1 and we are just about ready to finish the lap, hit the first BIG sand drop in and over I go, when I landed I heard a pop and felt a pop in my left shoulder. So I layed on the ground looking up at Russell and Chris, ouch.

They took off after I said I would be fine, as a began riding I was wondering if I was going to have to pull off? Nawwwww, we be tough mountian bikers! The rough stuff certainly "tingled" a touch, it actually numbed for a while and that made it easier to ride. Fast forward to this morning and it is moveable but stiff and sore, I don't think it is anything serious.....just a hard shot to the shoulder? I can lift it about a third of normal, but I can still lift with it, long story short.....gonna be stiff and sore but I'll be back on the bike in the morning. Iceman training.

Should also know by Wednesday what type of bike I will be on for the Iceman and beyond, most likely the Epic Elite with 26 inch wheels, just like racing them a little better than 29.

So after finishing quite aways back in the Comp race, two conclusions drawn......I need to ride more and lose 10 pounds, and/or.......go back to racing Sport Clyde with the fellas? Training time (lack of) is the major factor, so all of the "sandbagger" calls and callers.......you may now shut the hell up and perhaps challenge yourself to move up and race Comp?

Good day.

26er......?

2010-10-02T23:01:00.000-05:00

Fired up the ol' 26er this afternoon and headed out to the Camp for a loop on the small wheels? After a couple of adjustments in position I was on my way to figure out if I was a fan of 29er or going to go back to 26?

After a full lap of hitting it pretty hard......I really think for me......I like the 26. Again, I like the 29er and understand the logic.....but for me, I just feel better and stronger on the smaller hoops? I will give it a race pace trial at Shevegas, after that we'll see what direction we go......what bike will I ride at the Iceman?????

minus 3 inches?

2010-09-29T09:33:00.001-05:00

Hmmmm, say what?

I have been riding and racing(?) 29 inch wheels locked onto a Niner Air 9 frame......the build is absolutely awesome and the bike rides incredible.....just a great bike! But..................I am just not sure it is for me? I have tried moving positions around and changing a few other things, but to be 100% honest, I just am not convinced it is right for me and my ways.

I have nothing but praise for the Niner frame and the components on the bike, it comes down to the simple fact that it just does not feel right for me? Plain and simple on that one, the Niner rides great and climbs like a mountain goat, rides well!

So I am going to fire up Pinky for the Shevegas race, just to make sure the 26er is right on for me.....you know, double check so I am sure in my own head :) Now should the 26er feel right.....that Epic Elite may just be the tool of the trade for me!

So with a potential and pretty sure buyer all set with the Niner (keeping it on the team!), the Trek is still available should anyone find themselves interested in an XL Top Fuel.....hint? A VERY sweet ride with a sweet spec!!!!!

Stay tuned as the study in progress rolls on, and yes....the manager of the Flyers may just finally be on a Specialized! Pete is smiling!

Get your cross on tonight (Wednesday) at He-Nis-Ra, 530pm.

What to do?

2010-09-24T10:55:00.002-05:00

What should I race this weekend? Hmmmmm? WORS race at Bear Paw or head down to Sun Prairie for a cross race? What to do.......could depend on how wet it is up at Bear Paw......and the fact that I am itching to race the cross bike?

Hmmmmmm.......

Chequamegon '10

2010-09-21T22:45:00.000-05:00

It's that time of the year......the annual trek up nort' for the big one! One of the best parts of the weekend is the drive and the scenery, always the first glimpse of the fall colors! This is south of Hayward, close to Couderay in the little township of New Post, why the hell are we in New Post.........

.......for this, premium lodging for the Flyers! A 3 bedroom home with a bunkhouse that sleeps 3......3 showers, kitchen.....oh ya! Good digs for the team and a ton of privacy!

Had to show you the view out the patio door.....nuff said! Oh, we raced as well, went alright and had a good time. I think the race did more to stoke up the 26 v. 29 debate in my head? Still not convinced either way, Hmmmmm?

Nice job to all the Flyers, race report coming eventually.

Tour de Weekend

2010-09-13T14:32:00.000-05:00

Had a weekend of tours.....the Fallen Timbers bike tour on a rainy Saturday morning, and then the team did some road patrol at the Door County Century on Sunday. Saturday I pretty much helped out in the lodge area setting up tents and such, then after the family ride hit the road I took to the bike and did a "sweep" of the trail from Fallen Timbers to Seymour.....just making sure everyone was doing alright.

Sunday.....a half dozen of the Flyers hit the road to Door County to do some road patrol of the course from Sturgeon Bay to Peninsula State Park.....all tallied we ended up with around 55 miles at a 20mph average....a decent day on the bike and we had a good time!

Up next.....a busy week of course....followed up by the annual visit to the Chequamegon National Forest for the big one......always a good time and you know fall is here when you see all of the fall colors on the drive. One of the best weekends of racing each and every year......great to be in the north woods with all of the other cyclists.

Basketball is getting close to starting as we begin our open gym schedule this week.....yep....we be busy already!

3 days of....

2010-09-06T17:16:00.000-05:00

.......nothing? OK, really I was on call for two.....got called in for a useless fire that happened four hours before the decided to call me.....that's called we missed it video. Oh well, still OT for me and not too bad for being on call....have to do it every so often so it's not so bad.

So with 3 days off and the need to stick around the house for the most part.....I had a goal of getting in 3 different disciplines of riding in the 3 days. So Saturday Steele and I hit the road and went south, after all said and done we had 30 miles in on the road.

Sunday rolled in and it was cross time, 6 of us showed up at Colburn Park where Kennedy and I set up a cx course saturday afternoon, I built up a couple of cross barriers from some pvc pipe.....the cross action light but rocking! We did two 30 minute efforts with the six of us, double barriers, steep climb and decent, stairs....a sweet little course!

Then today we had a good group of 10-12 riders at the Camp for a couple of laps, a solid effort made for a good workout.....only one wipe out but Rob is still on the bike so all is well. Good times and got the 3 disciplines in, a fun weekend of riding that was way good for the mind as we head back to work.

Also found some time to take the girls out for some fishing......we scored a big ol' skunk! Had fun and no one fell in this time :)

Got my new headset in the mail from my pal at Chris King.....how about that headset installation tool! Straight from Fleet Farm....does the job!

I leave you with my view on most of my training rides this time of the year.....pretty dark when I leave the house at 5am.....gotta do what you gotta do. I actually love riding at this time of the day....you get to watch the world wake up!

A busy week with Fantasy Football draft, open gym and 3 on 3 practice for Kennedy, bed delivered from Mom and Frank......and then the "Ride for the Timbers" this Saturday in Seymour, the Door County Century Sunday......all in a normal week!

Later.

UnNamed Epic

2010-08-30T14:58:00.000-05:00

About 2 weeks before the start, Steele and I decided to team up and hit the Epic as a team.....the smart move! I took the first leg due to myself having a ton of great cheering family and friends all over the course.....that is such a huge boost when you come on a group of family cheering for you....thanks to Mom, Jill, Garrett, Kamie, Bubby, Kate, Chadd, Maya, Ava, and of course my 3 girls....Kristin, Kennedy, and Ellie......they stood out there all day cheering on both Marc and I, not an easy task! Thanks again.

The above pic is about the 4 mile mark, heading back up the mining hill, 4 miles into the race and this is the 2nd steep climb with another doozy just after this.....HILLS!

Not just hills.....this is a shot of the leadout from Mineral Point to Dodgeville....it was a "just hang on to the pack and let it rip," I actually ran out of gears on this section...very fast! I heard some guy saying we were averaging just under 30mph? That is me hanging on at the back!

Many compliments and thanks from all different racers for these 5.....they were everywhere and they were loud.....all with cow bell in hand! The 5 superfans!

Marc bringing it home in Blue Mound, TOUGH riding when you are beat and have to negotiate sharp rocky singletrack! Marc ended up cutting his leg really bad, I was at the spot and saw it happen.....grabbed my bike and got our number plate acrossed the line.....9th place team.

That was a good time, a race that throws a lot of everything at you, pavement, loose gravel, dirt, single track, horse trails, rails to trails.....you name it....it was there! A nice race, we'll be back.

Ramble Report

2010-08-24T09:27:00.000-05:00

So the 4th edition of the Ramble is officially in the books! I will first off say a huge thanks to Dale and Ethan Lenss, we have been in this together for the entire 4 years and it gets better each year. Also this year we had Steve Davidson and Randy Borst play a good sized role along with Mike Giesen, brought them guys in for a little extra perspective on things....thanks guys! And of course the biggest thanks goes to my family.....Dad and his bike hobby with a Race Director twist thrown in there.....they don't see much of Dad in the evening leading up to the race, thanks Ladies!!!

As with every year, things come up and we make notes of them and try to correct them for next year, our goal is very simple.....to provide a great course with just the right amount of amenities to make the race enjoyable and competitve for all. I think we get pretty close every year, always a few things that pop up and you just have to roll with it and adapt as best you can.

Now for the 3rd year in a row, we have been given an extreme dose of heavy rains in the days leading up to the race, a little tweaking of the pre-ride times and the trails turned out great! Racing was fast and furious and the course did what it always does, saps the life and energy out of you.....lots of tired racers and a good amount of the leg cramps making their ugly appearance!

With all the positive comments I think the racers enjoyed the day, good race day weather....a full parking lot and roadway (sorry if you had to park a mile away), I am very happy with how the race went....thanks for coming up to Green Bay.

Now on to the UnNamed Epic! Steele and I are doing the 2 person team for the 75 miler, just not a lot of go in the legs after running the WORS race (ride time suffers during this planning and race time), should be a blast and I am riding with my good friend......good times!

Last thing.....a major thanks to my Titletown Flyer team!!!!!!!!! You all ROCK, we continue to have a great set up and tear down, we have a solid course that you all help ride in and mark......not a chance we could pull off this race with the help of the FLYERS! Thank you to all.

go ride.

Ramble week......

2010-08-16T10:08:00.000-05:00

So we spent this past weekend down in Hillsboro at our annual family re-union, we don't just get together for the afternoon.......we get together for 3 days of good times! All in all it was a good weekend, lots of rain Thursday night, enough to flood the lower parts of the town and cancel the big weekend tractor pulls.....I know all about the rain and dealing with it as an event promoter! Let's hope for a dry year at the Ramble!

Speaking of which, this weekend is the annual WORS race at the Camp......while it usually goes well......still gives me a lot of staying awake late nights during the week leading up to it!!! I have a great crew helping out so that makes it very easy and a little more relaxed, at this point I am pretty confident the Flyers crew can have a great event! I sure feel like everything is on track, but.....time to quadruple check things again!

See you on the course.

Up der in Crivitz eh!

2010-08-10T15:05:00.000-05:00

Just fresh off a little 4 day weekend up Nort......felt good to get away from the busy city and work life and retire to the woods! We spent a good chunk of time in the water, either at the beach or in the water falls. Saturday a bunch of us hit the local high school for a 5k run, Kennedy and I brought up the rear as she was having a stomach ache from the night before.....but hey she toughed it out and finished it!

The falls were like a spring fed, and ice cold bath......felt refreshingly shocking but oh so good! Overall a great time with good friends, we have been doing this camp weekend for years with the same families.....it is a great time every year!

The picture above is of the family on the edge of a rock out cropping....just look at the look of fear on the girls faces! They were not all that comfy on that edge!

Race time for us in Green Bay, that means busy time for me.....have to make sure all is in line for race weekend as we host the next round of WORS! Lots to do but I have a great group of people behind me!

Also bonus time here at work, we survived the bankruptcy period so we all get an extra check......mine equals tires on Kristin's Liberty.....wish it was a little yellow barking friend! Not so.....onward we go.....next up, family re-union, always a good time with lots of relatives!

Raaaaarrrrrrr....

2010-08-05T09:38:00.000-05:00

A family favorite pulled into town for a couple of shows so we had to hit it......Walking with Dinosaurs! A great show that is very real like and LOUD.....and very cool! The girls were sitting there once and T-Rex had already yelled and screamed a couple of times so she was just walking around looking around.....and then all of the sudden let out a crazy roar that had the whole place leaping out of their seats! Good stuff.

A decent riding time of late, Sunday we had a good group of Flyers hit the Ledgeview Escarpment ride in the Chilton area south of Green Bay. We had a good 8-9 riders that all decided to hit the 70 miler....and you know we are not just out for a tour, no chance with the Gantz boys up front all day.

Not 5 miles into the race, pssssss.....what the hell? So we fixed that up and get rolling, stop at the next rest stop and air up the rear, seems all good so let's hit it. A few more miles down the road and psssssss, oh come on. We get that fixed after a borrowed tube and air, alright back on the bike and we are off.

A good pace and a good time as we rolled along a few notches above tour pace :), the group broke up around mile 35-38, Steele and I were content at what we felt was a rather brisk pace......a short time later after the St. Anna rest stop Davidson decided he would be wise to hang back in the normal paced group! So the 3 of us had a great ride and really enjoyed the backroads of Calumet County, Gantz x2 and Larson threw down a crazy pace off the front while Q and Giesen dropped slightly off and had their own group.

One last thing, right around mile 62, pssssssss, for the 3rd time? We pull over and start getting ready to change and then our last air cylinder went off pre-mature and I was screwed. SAG truck back and the day was done, not a bad 62 miles but would have liked to finish off the 70, what can you do.

Bad rim strip was the issue, it is fixed.

4 day weekend starts after today......and not soon enough.

Rock Star!

2010-07-30T16:28:00.000-05:00

So apparently while covering the Shareholders meeting Thursday at Lambeau my leg became part of a photo op for a JS Photographer......the ink got some ink. Autographed copies available for a very large fee!

This weekend should be a fun and busy one, trail work at the Camp, riding at the Camp...movie at Lambeau, a tour ride (70 miles) and then more family time! Looks like a good weekend on tap, let's go!

it rained....

2010-07-28T09:26:00.000-05:00

Woke up this morning to wet pavement and a wet deck......just another day for us in Wisconsin! Been riding a decent amount of late and feeling pretty strong on the bike......looking to get to the Camp tonight for the team ride and the first mtb ride in close to a month? We'll see how work goes?

Busy as always and not much else, race meeting last night so planning is going on as planned.....please stop raining so we can have a dry weekend for the race this year????

Been too long since I raced....need to race! A possible road race in Mauston on Aug. 14th, lots of HILLS.....just have to sneak away from the family re-union for the morning without getting in trouble.....Mom, what do you think :)

A Great Weekend!

2010-07-19T14:14:00.000-05:00

I had last Friday off to head out of town for a small family get-a-away to the Windy City! We had lots planned and were all excited to get it going!

It all started with Friday being Kennedy's birthday, she was soooooo excited to go to the WNBA game, the Sky vs. the LA Sparks. We got to the game early and a member of the Sky staff brought her a bag of goodies, she was full of smiles, then at half they announced her birthday (1st name read).....again way cool. I know she totally enjoyed the game and watching how big and strong and of course good they were, then after the game she got passes for the meet and greet....which included 6'6" Sylvia Fowles.....she was in awe!

Saturday was the aquarium, awesome....then the Pier including the big Ferris Wheel.....awesome, and then we took a walk downtown to Michigan Ave. mainly so Ellie could hit the American Girl store. The girls got to ride in taxi's and eat hot dogs in Chicago.......just a ton of FUN!

Sunday....7 hours at Great America....more flags....more fun! We hit the water rides the hardest I would say, we were all soaked and had to change into dirty (but dry) clothes for the ride home.....what a blast!

All in all, one of the funnest weekends in while.....I am pretty sure we all had a blast.....great memories and a much needed family only weekend! Not being mean, but kind of nice to only talk to your own family for 3 days.......thanks for the fun girls!

Nice weekend....no racing?

2010-07-12T14:01:00.000-05:00

My weekend started extremely early....like 245am early? My good friend Kevin called mid week last week and asked if I was up for some Salmon fishing.....yep! The photo above is a shot of the biggest fish we caught, we brought in 8......which was a lot more than most of the boats. A huge thanks to Kevin for the invite and for knowing where the fish were and of course providing all of the equipment, I had a blast! And yes we had a great meal Saturday.....fresh Salmon that the girls liked, big bonus!

I was also able to get out on the bike a couple of times over the weekend, a nice couple of hours on Saturday and a great ride with Jesse on Sunday. Saturday I decided to mess with the weather Gods and ride south into the storm......with the plan being to ride until I felt like I could turn around and beat the storm back to town? I got down to Mid-Valley Golf Course and then the lightning kicked in...the sign to head back :) Hammer down......made it back to the Cormier area and it started to sprinkle.....hard rain by the time I got home......little wet but had a good time!

Sunday Shoe wanted to ride with some horsepower.....but he decided to ride with me instead, we took off and hit East DePere, down to GreenLeaf, and then over to Wrightstown and back up along the river.....a little more more than I planned but not really.....a great 3 hour ride at about 52+ miles, very nice!

Sunday we hit the movie, "Despicable Me," not too bad with some really funny parts......good stuff and the girls seemed to like it. Steak and then sleep to follow.

The Tour......all good, Lance will work his buttocks off for Levi.....I say Lance is more dangerous now than he was before.....Astana better keep a good strong eye on him now.

2010-07-09T09:56:00.000-05:00

First it was the torrential rains that came down and left this in the backyard......pond/lake? And then it rained even more after this.....crazy amounts of rain, 3 inches in our neighborhood in about 1 1/2 hours!

This is a shot the day after, during the rains I was out there building a makeshift levee to keep the water away from the basement window. After I got this built it seemed to keep the water away and help control the situation. We really only had minor water in the basement, my shop took the biggest hit as the initial rush in covered my shelves and then all of the boxes on it are now trashed (weekend project), my tool box was full of water so I have all of the tools laying on towels drying right now.....a little bit of a mess but we can deal with it no problem! Just have to get the window glass blocked in!!

All of the water in the ground led me to the next repair.....I knew but realized for sure that the front (we have 2) sump pump mini-sewer line to the street was cracked? So when we kicked pump #2 in.....water was bubbling up and running down the sidewalk and driveway. So I had to dig up the soft muddy spot and see what we had down there.....a big crack! I had to cut the bad section out and replace it with a couple of sections to make it easier on me and less stress on the pvc......so far so good, the test run was dry and the water will be flowing full bore in a few minutes!

No racing this weekend for me, I have a monster repair bill for the Jeep and then more clean up in the basement from the water, Kennedy has softball and we have to see the movie, "Indespicable!" Training for the late season races, my favorites!

Have a great weekend all!

Mid-Week Update

2010-07-07T10:14:00.000-05:00

Just a little mid-week update......no ride this morning with basketball camp going on before work, day off from riding. Looking to get my behind out of bed tomorrow morning and get a nice long ride in, be nice to get a 40 miler in before work?

Racing in Eau Claire this weekend is up in the air and leaning towards the no go.....my truck is getting some major work done and therefore......may not have the cash to travel across the state to race this weekend? We'll see, a great course so maybe a big ol' carpool may get it done?

Race planning meeting tomorrow night, never too early to get that underway.......brought a few new faces into the mix for planning purposes, just a few fresh ideas and of course the awesome ham radio guys.....priceless! Alright, time to get some work done.

Subaru Cup wrap.

2010-06-29T10:37:00.000-05:00

Sorry no pictures, couldn't find any to steal? The weekend started off all wrong when I was told I had to work Friday......my day 6 of the week, a day that I had made plans on? So with no luck getting down there on Friday morning and getting a pre-ride in, I was forced to hit the road after work and pulled in around 745pm I believe.....got the camper up and settled in for a little food and a quick repair on the Niner.

We hit the sack a little after 10pm or somewhere around that time.....and then just after midnight we were woke up by some crazy wind that was ripping thru the venue! Awnings and tents were flying around and getting flipped up onto the roofs of campers......we were up bunging cording the awning to my truck, and then right as the wind seemed to be settling down.....wham.....a big tree fell someplace not too far away.....wow!

Up we go at 6am for the early race, 8am and we were off! After the oatmeal breakfast, I rolled over and Don says gooooo and the race is on! Racing Comp Clyde for the first time this season, we were off the front right away.....I think all 5 CC guys were up front along with Steele. We get thru most of the first lap and just about to pop out onto the tall grass to head back towards the lap thru.......wheels go out from underneath me and I hit the ground rather hard......big purple bruise on the thigh.....instantly!

Back on the bike and knowing that I was pretty much stuck in the 5th spot.....I was happy just riding and having a blast on the Niner......those 29er wheels are freakin' awesome.....love the 29er! So riding with Schindel for a while and he throws down a little attack on me? Like I said, I was content and really honestly having a great time riding the 29er......by Schindel, all yours my friend, nice ride for Mark! I rolled across in 5th and was truly fine with it, a great day on the bike.

Sunday short track.....short version.....Goooooo, off we go, legs tight, oh here come the legs loosening up! I am passing people every lap and moving forward.......then the damn USA Cycling official blew his stinking whistle and pulled me....along with every other racer on the course?! Whatever, I understand the logic, but at least let us race a little.....kind of a wasted entry fee in the opinion of a lot of people........?

A good weekend on the whole, team riders did well and we had a good time camping! It was also great to see the Pro racers on the course, be nice to have a job that you love......for us amateurs....thanks for the show!

The CUP might be full.....of h2o?

2010-06-25T13:45:00.000-05:00

Time for the Cup......I was supposed to have Friday off to head down with the Girls early, get set up and then get a pre-ride in......not so fast. Found out Wednesday that I was getting the day off pulled and had to work, that shot the weekend right in the buttocks.

So right now my truck is getting the throttle positioning sensor replaced for the second time in a few months....not cool, and also the rear lift struts so I will not get crushed on the head any longer! Also had the guy check into a few other things in hopes of getting another decent chunk of mileage out of it? I was looking at a few different trucks but all would have been the same situation after a short time and then I would have had the loan hanging over top.......just seems logic to take care of the Jeep and go that route.

The Niner is ready for a mud bath.....forecast is not looking all that promising for the Subaru Cup.....rain all night and an early morning race could mean a wet and mucky race come 8am, yuk! Oh well, same course for everyone and I have raced well in the mud on this course, so we shall see! The Niner seems to be a sweet climbing machine, and no better course to test that out than Nordic Mountain. The Air 9 build up is really nice and lite-weight.....so I should be flying up the hills in the Comp Clyde class.....yep.....looks like Comp for me from this point on, we'll see how it goes!

Alright, time to figure if I am going to get out in time to get my truck or if Kristin needs to get it.....my girls have been running lots of errands for me this week, I really do appreciate it girls, thank you!!!!!

On that note......GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

The waiting game?

2010-06-21T22:24:00.000-05:00

Ahhhh......sweet ride! That is all you get to see, why......basically that is all I have for you, aside from the wheels and the fork (Manitou Minute 29er). Slower than I wanted but they are coming, hoping to have everything tomorrow so I can spend the evening building the complete bike Tuesday night.....please get here parts!!!!

Little rain on the way, good....been awhile since we had rain....right?

A look at the dead.....

2010-06-15T09:36:00.000-05:00

Race summary from Sunburst......I had NOTHING to give, damn! Just had no power in the engine Sunday, tried and no go, finally at the top of the climb on lap 2 I decided I better pull the plug.....done. The picture shows exactly how I felt, blahhhhh.

On the Niner front.....I think I am going with the Air 9? Putting the Trek up for sale and seeing what we can do with the Niner, just time for a change and the Niner frame is a great reason to make the change! Talking with Lenny at Hayes Group and our team Pro-Deals should allow for a fairly good priced build.....I hope? The goal is to not spend any money that the Trek will not provide, cannot afford to spend any extra money from the family fund.....we shall see?!

Maybe a Niner Air 9 frame with a Manitou Minute Pro, Sun Ringle wheelset, Chris King, Thomson Post, XT or X-9 drivetrain.....Mmmmm, good stuff! Hoping the Pro-deals balance out the frame upgrade!

Good day all.

A new ride......?!

2010-06-08T07:35:00.000-05:00

Why the Niner catalog with a race bib......Hmmmm!

Sunday was the re-scheduled Stump Farm race which made it possible for me to attend and attempt to race? So I rolled on up to the Camp and got all registered.....and that little blue ticket that I put my name on.....might just be a good one?

Off we went running down the trail to the bikes and we were off, well.....I found out right away that it was not to be for me, one of those powerless days. I salvaged a nice 30 mile training ride out of it....just no power in the legs on any part of the course, had a decent second lap but nothing fantastic, oh well?

As I rolled across the line I hear Melissa say something about a 29er or a Niner, I was not tired and did not hear correctly? A little further thru the chute and I hear other people telling me I won the frame! That's right....damn! I won a Niner EMD frame, how cool! While I still have to build it up, it is good timing.....I have been thinking for a couple of seasons now that I should switch to the big wheels being a taller rider.....now a little extra motivation!!!

Other than that...been busy with the girls schedules and getting school over with, Kennedy decided to play softball and is doing alright? I will try to keep this thing updated more....so keep checking for some great action packed reading!

of late......

2010-06-01T22:14:00.000-05:00

Been busy lately....as usual, and no sign of it letting up! Spent the last weekend on the Wisco-Ill border for a basketball tourney, Kennedy's AAU team played down there Saturday and Sunday.....they played well and just missed the final bracket by 4 points, but did finish the weekend with a solid win over a good team and they played awesome! Now softball starts.

Training has been going well, early mornings and then a nice 40 miler on Memorial Day.....I am hoping to get back racing this weekend and then at the Sunburst race......hoping? I feel strong on the bike and may have dropped below the 210 weight mark.....Comp is bad timing for family life so may have to jump in Sport Age Class.....we'll see what happens......I really have no idea.

Time to hit the sack......have a great day!

weekend wrap....

2010-05-24T07:35:00.001-05:00

Spent the weekend down south on family land, a little riding and a lot of relaxing......much needed! Riding in Sunday was a climbing session, lots of hills give me good preps for Sunburst. The scenery is awesome out there.....the Wild Flox is in full bloom, good background for the photo. No racing for me this weekend, we are heading to the Chicago area for a basketball tourney......the last one of the season! Kennedy has come along way this year, great to see her progress and get more into basketball, a little rest and then the Camps all get started.

Out on the roads this (Monday) morning, sporting the new "white" jersey of the Flyers! This was a request by the roadies but seems that all are interested in a different look.....only 12 of these bad boys out on the roads this season......sweet look!

Training with the Under Armour Mouth Piece.....going well! I honestly like it and miss it when I leave it at home.....every so often I will leave it and see what it feels like with out it? I notice more muscle endurance at times, I also like that it keeps me from clenching my teeth......it helps me catch myself and not clench.....so far so good I would say? The best test will come when I get back to racing in June.....so stay tuned!

Ready for the Euro peleton!

2010-05-17T13:41:00.000-05:00

With all of the other things going on lately......myself and a few other Flyers woke up bright and early and headed over to Lambeau. Seems the guy in the photo needed someone to give him a tour of Green Bay, I said sure thing.....with one condition? How about he runs and I ride my two-wheeler!

The Titletown Flyers have been doing this for a few seasons now, leading the elite runners of all four races thru the greater Green Bay area on the Cellcom Green Bay Marathon! This seems relatively easy at first.....and it is for the majority of the race, when we hit Lambeau for the lap thru the bowl.....wow!

The best and easiest explanation......imagine your local shopping mall at peak Christmas time, jam packed with shoppers wearing Ipods.....OK now grab an elite runner from Kenya? Now your job is to get him from one end of the mall to the other as fast as you can....you on the bike and him right off your rear wheel.....keeping in mind that very few people can hear you say, "on your right please, or....please move to your left, elite leader coming thru!" I know I banging into many people and actually hit 5-6 people with a hard shoulder blast from behind....sorry but I had to get him thru and honestly I barely made it thru several sections.....just a sea of people with very little room to get thru any place.

So if Tyler Farrar or Boonen needs a lead out rider, I am ready.....!

Other news, we had the big weekend of dance recitals at the Meyer this past weekend....5 shows in 3 days! As always the girls were awesome.....such a high level of talent and teaching, incredible shows all weekend! And yes we Dad's were awesome, brought down the house! This may have been Kennedy's last dance, we'll see......basketball and other sports is starting to pull very hard so time will tell?

Sort of a light week for us, and then.....camping!

Stuff.......

2010-05-07T10:11:00.000-05:00

Nice shot from Gary at Extreme Photography, a sponsor of the Titletown Flyers, go check out www.xtrphoto.com and buy some pics! One would have to think it is tough going for Gary of late, the WORS photo contest encourages people to take and share photos at the races, and now WORS is looking for a Photographer for certain shots at the races? Is XTR Photo not the "official" Photographer of WORS? Hmmmmm, support Gary this season.

On the riding front, 2nd ride with the Under Armour mouth piece.....I might have to say it does make a difference! Riding into the wind in both directions last night, I was about 20 miles into the 30 mile ride and I felt like my brain was thinking.....Ok, after the hill workout the night before you should be getting tired now??? I also had a few times where I felt like my cardio was going but my legs were still strong.....perhaps a little less Cortisol release led to strong legs thru the whole ride......either way and whatever the case I felt pretty good even in a constant head wind? Stay tuned as the test and trial period rolls on!

Also have to mention Dr. Quandt on the corner of Cormier and Holmgren, he is really into this mouthpiece and has studied other similar products and the reasoning behind them.....all goes back to that leather strap from the medieval warriors :)

Busy weekend ahead with the girls scheduled, dance and basketball all weekend......and of course Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all of my Mom's!

What's in your mouth on race day?

2010-05-05T14:19:00.001-05:00

Just picked up my new UnderArmour Performance Mouthpiece today, sweet little potential training and racing tool that I am very fortunate to have the opportunity to test and give some feedback on.....a cool opportunity! What does it do, basically prevents you from clenching your jaw and effecting your TMJ joint and prevents the release of Cortisol......a stress hormone that can zap your energy and make your muscles tired? At least that is a part of it, to find out more go to, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xi-OM2oHRsM, check out the video and see what it is all about!

Adrian Peterson, Brandon Jennings, and of course now me.....just a few high powered athletes wearing the new mouthpiece, stay tuned for some reports on the progress and first hand accounts of the mouth piece in action.

Nice pic from teammate Cole Jacobsen, taken on the switchback decent in Iola.....one of the better and really fun courses we race all season! Good early season climbing with a nice dose of singletrack, good race!

As Davidson pointed out......what the hell is Joe Gibbs following me for.....possible future contract in Nascar.....Hmmmm, I'm listening Coach!

Enjoy the wind tonight at the Camp, I'll join you all in June!

Iola report and a chilly morning today.

2010-05-04T07:35:00.003-05:00

Off to the races, 2010 begins! (bib #2815)

After throwing down a solo Fat Tire Saturday night and getting to bed later than planned......woke up Sunday morning and loaded up the Jeep, had my bowl of oatmeal and waited for Wiesner to arrive....not necessarily in that order!

A great day for racing, (anyone have a pic of me?) it was great to see everyone and all the racers that we don't get to see all winter and off-season. After shooting the breeze with a few riders it was time o head to registration......Hmmmmm.....what the hell class am I racing? I went with Sport for a few different reasons, the biggest being lack of training time! Also, the late race is not good with the girls and getting back late from races, training time.....I rode Sport.

After a solid warm-up I rolled to the line, Steele was there and I said we need to blast this start!!! We managed to roll thru a bunch of riders and I worked my way to the front row, right where I needed to be! Don said gooooooo and bam, like a rocket ship we hit the gas! My goal was to be first up the hill and I wanted to hit the first corner with the lead and out of traffic, on that loose gravel it gets tough in traffic......so I figured it was best to get out and away from all the other tires, bingo!

A few older fellas caught me on the hills after the bowl but I stayed right where I needed to be, for the rest of lap 1 and all of 2, Steele and I rode together with my start effort causing me to yo-yo a little bit.....I managed to stay with him thru 2. Then on lap 3 we caught the guy in 1st and I thought we could just stay in striking distance for most of lap 3 and get him at the end.....then it started looking like he was pulling away and I knew we had to chase him down and get on his wheel. I took off but Marc must not have been able to hold the pace, I started talking to him twice and he was not answering......I finally looked back and he was a little ways behind, sorry pal but I had to try to get the leader.....and I did?

The third time up the wall I climbed right past him, got to the top and made the error of backing off and letting him lead, the thought was to push him and make him tire himself out.....well he took off like crazy I got a couple of slower riders between us, I reeled him back in and just when I caught him again in the sandy singletrack, I washed out my front tire on a corner and had to unclip to catch myself and that was just enough for him to get away and stay away. 2nd place is not all bad, especially when I hoped to just stay in the top ten.

I am still stunned that I had that effort in me, totally blew me away that I had the start and the ability to keep on it.....I felt great and after last season where everything went wrong all season......it felt great to be on the bike and competitive again! A good first race and a good starting point for the season, no WORS racing till June for me now with the girls busy schedules.....good chance to build on that race effort and get ready for the possible jump up to Comp at Sunburst.....we'll see though, that later start is tough on the family?

After a day off on Monday I rolled out of the warm and comfy bed at 430am to hit the road, I thought I got to Steve's on time but the Posse already rolled out.....I chased them for a good 20 minutes as I could barely see them off in the distance ahead of me, then when I guessed at the direction they went.....I guessed wrong? Oh well, off to the hills I went for a great heavy racing legs workout.....little foggy and a touch cooler than I anticipated......still great to start the day off with 20+ miles of hills and sunrise!

Couple of nice rides of late.

2010-04-30T15:11:00.000-05:00

Been winning the battle of getting up early, 3 days this week I was up early and over to the Posse meeting spot.....the result was 3 decent 20+ mile rides this week! I figure with that much riding in one week a fella ought be ready to race......right. Still gonna hurt.

2 days till GOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

Almost GOOOOOOOOOO time?

2010-04-27T09:40:00.000-05:00

So Iola is about.....not many days away? Not good, I am somewhat committed to Comp and I truly don't have the miles in the legs to go that far and at the needed pace???? Sooooooo, niothing like racing into shape!

Still may do the first race at Sport level and then go Comp in June (next time I can race), we'll see.....may just man up and grab the Comp Clyde points right away......? I did get a training ride in this morning so I should be good right! Caught up to the Baumann and his posse around Thornberry and rode in with them, Paul and Matt drillin' it on the front on knobbies, nice!

If I man up to Comp then Russell better tow the Elite line, or at least Comp Clyde?

Of late....

2010-04-21T16:31:00.001-05:00

Last weekend was the big 41, thanks for the birthday wishes and to my girls for making it a great day! We spent the weekend in Elkhorn/Milwaukee area for a basketball tourney, so I woke up rather close to the Southern Kettles and of course.....had to go ride!

Got a couple of different loops in and felt rather well on the bike, I moved my cleats around on the new shoes and felt a ton better! It seems the cleats are actually way too far back, but they felt really good and the knee soreness was not present at all.

Training is tough to get in lately, the girls are busy and so am I, so it is kind of the take it as I can training mode.....Iola will hurt without a doubt! My plan is still to race Comp Clyde, the first race will for sure be a training ride, that is OK though.....be nice to crank up the heart rate and see how much work is still ahead. I plan to go hard for a couple laps and then back off for the 3rd to recover and then hit the 4th a little harder.....no expectations, just a good solid fun ride in a race setting.

Going to check out cell phone options tonight, my current phone is out of calendar memory....what the hell? Looking at the Hero, as long as it does not cost a fortune I may go for it.....just don't want to break the bank, but still need the calendar. Right now I have to use my Ipod Touch calendar, not cool to have to carry that around as well, so we shall see!

No ride today and the night is booked, tomorrow hopefully.

Been tooooo long?

2010-04-16T15:45:00.000-05:00

So a few days have passed since the last post.....whooooops! The news of the day is that I can see, picked up a batch of contacts Tuesday night and put them in Wednesday, blurred and fuzzy vision mostly in the left eye but at times both.....not good for driving and when you job is a News Photographer! Called the optical center today and after telling them what the problem was I was set to go in at 1.

I get there and they want to start a full on exam, ahhh.....no. I told them what the issue was, Doc says get on in here and we go from there. In the end, Doc says all looks fine in the eye, must be a bad box of contacts.....duh! I get new set from the Doc and YES, I can see again.

Not that I have the right perspective, but not being able to see the world clearly is a different experience, not easy in a lot of ways. So I take from the last 3 days, be damn thankful for your sight.....even having blurred vision makes the world a whole different place.

Have a good weekend and get some riding in, Iola is getting way tooooo close, see you at the Southern Kettles Sunday.

Going back in time!

2010-04-08T14:26:00.000-05:00

1991, the early days......glad it is tough to see, not pretty! Got my brand new Schwinn Sierra over my shoulder.....sold it to a guy that was way to short for the frame, whooops.

The Haro Extreme, did my first 40 on this bad boy! It is still in the Green Bay area somewhere.....love to get it back someday!

Ride on.....in the snow.

Weekend Update.....

2010-04-05T09:57:00.000-05:00

I had been planning on riding with the Russell Posse at the LBL on Saturday.....but with the workday coming up at the Camp and a text from a couple riders saying they were hitting the Camp at 8am Saturday morn.....I chose the Camp. Good to get in the dirt and also needed to see what the trails looked like before the big workday Saturday.....missions both accomplished! Trails are dried out nice, still some spots in need of work and with 20+ at the work day, we should be able to take care of things......and then ride of course :)

The weekend also brought the house project to about 99.5% completion......which translates to no more of this aisle at the local Home Depot! Spent way too much time and money standing in this spot for the past week and a half. All that really remains is touching up the paint on the ceiling and then caulking the new back splash, for the most part......DONE!

This week bring the beginning of busy times for us, basketball and dance will make up the majority of our time for the rest of the month, a good thing! Just have to train somewhere in between?

One of my favorite Spring Classics was yesterday, too bad George missed the attack of Cancellara and Boonen.....he had to know that was the one to go with and says he had great legs, dammit George! Up this weekend is Roubaix.....another favorite and time for George to get his win!

work.

Back in the saddle......after......

2010-04-02T11:12:00.000-05:00

So after a week or so of long days in the house.......I can say it is almost done, or done for the most part!!! We re-did the kitchen and dining room, a big task but we are extremely happy with the results, a lot of work but well worth it! Just a quick shot of the dining room, more when it is all complete! Floors, counter tops, paint every where, sink and faucet.....the whole shiiiii-bang!

And now back to the norm, trying to catch up on the training so I can be somewhat ready to suffer in the comp class at Iola.....should be interesting and I better start my super early secret training, that seemed to work a couple of years ago so let's see what happens? Glad to get the house done early so we can enjoy the summer!

Happy Easter.

been riding.....

2010-03-24T09:50:00.000-05:00

The girls have been at Grandma's, Kristin and I have been working on the house (kitchen redo), so after work the last two days I have been able to sneak out for some riding! Got the Madone dialed in and ready to go really fast.....hoping for rider to follow suit?

Off today to rip counter tops out, the new counter is supposed to be delivered today at some point.....so hoping tonight we can rip the old out and get ready for an attempted install in the morning???? Ceiling is painted, glass cabinet is out (thanks Dale!), now counter, floors, sink......hope it all gets done, fingers crossed!

I finally got word that the team clothing order is final and in the process.....amazing to think of the amount of clothing we have ordered in just the last two seasons, crazy amounts! Stay tuned for the new road team jerseys......the road Flyers will have a different look this season.....and likely to see a couple of guys sporting the "reverse" look on the dirt side?

Later.

little riding, kitchen re-model.....need more riding

2010-03-22T11:19:00.000-05:00

Wow, a busy weekend! All started out Saturday morning with the alledged team training camp to kick-off the season.....only 10 showed up.....? I guess the fact that the temps were in the upper 20's low 30's may have kept a few under the warm covers, sucks to be them, a good ride and the temps were great once we got rolling.

I still know for sure that I am not even close to being in shape yet....long road yet but I know what it takes and will hopefully get there eventually? After the ride I loaded up the girls and drove to Grandma's house, you know....over the river and thru the woods, a nice trip with dinner waiting! Stayed the night and drove back, after getting back to Green Bay we put some more time in on the kitchen redo. Bondo in the slot where the old cabinet used to be, done and looks great! Continued to remove staples form the floor and should be done today after work. So next up is painting the ceiling, counter top arrives Wednesday.....install Thursday morning.....the fun continues and is going to look great when all done! Then I can ride my two-wheeler.

Speaking of my two wheeler, got it all tuned up and ready to go, I have been training on the cross bike with road wheels to this point.....after the Saturday ride I need the lightweight carbon......and the pure power of the Madone :) Madone tonight I am hoping?

ride.

riding and ripping....

2010-03-18T14:09:00.000-05:00

Been an interesting week, spent Monday and Wednesday home with a sick little girl.....Ellie had pneumonia and was home for the first 3 days of the week. The good Doc gave her some meds and she is back at it, almost healed but clear for school.....the worst part was that she got sick on her birthday :(

On Monday and Wednesday, after Kristin got home of course I hopped on the bike for quick late afternoon spin.....so two days of riding for sure this week! This weekend is supposed to be the big kick-off weekend for the Flyers, looks like the weather is going to throw a big curve ball at us, we shall see who the tough guys are on the team with mid 30's and snow in the forecast!!!

Dale Lenss stopped over yesterday and helped me rip up the kitchen, we took out a big "trophy case" looking cabinet that seperated the kitchen and the dining room....totally opened up the house and makes you wonder why we waited so long? Excited to get to work and see the results.

Ride.

Test athlete!

2010-03-11T09:17:00.001-06:00

Today I go to the dental office for a good reason, I get to try out the new Under Armour Performance Mouth Piece! The idea is to open up your jaw when you normally clench down during athletic competition, to relax your jaw and also relieve stress on the TMJ joint, also does a little ditty with the release point of cortisol in your system.....meaning improved endurance???? We'll see how it all goes.....first fitting today.

Go check out this youtube video, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xi-OM2oHRsM.

Of course now I have to get back to my early morning training sessions......one must ride the bike to get in shape and see if this works.