M35+ Cloquet Crit - A story in pictures

A whopping 13 starters.

The break establishing.

The break established.

The sprint finish.

Black Dog TT Recap - "You must be Skibby"

First things first, the laugh of the night. After his TT, Skibby spots Scott Flanders, and rides over to tell him he has their money from Opus. He stops, fails to clip out of his fixed gear, and goes down, lying on his back with the bike in the air. Scott quips "You must be Skibby." To top it off, his truck is such a mess, he couldn't find their money anyway. Classic.

The weather could have been better, but could have been worse. It didn't start coming down hard until just before 6PM. Turn-out was light, as expected, but a few notables were there, likely as a warm-up for Saturday's State TT. Doug Swanson, Scott Flanders, and David Zimmerman were among the new faces.

I decided to move from my normal parking spot to under the Cedar Ave bridge for shelter from the rain. I parked next to Waataja, which is always an experience in itself. I took my time getting our bikes ready, as the rain continued to pour down. As I'm finally mounting my trainer, Mike reminds me that they've already started. I had a 7PM start in my head from TNT, where BD starts a 6:30. Thanks to Mike's reminder, we quickly headed to the start, with a few minutes to spare. Whew.

Just as Jordan's about to start, there is lightening, and the officials call a 10min delay. Then more lightening, and another delay. This is actually good, because I had zero warm-up. I got on the trainer for 10 minutes to loosen my legs up, and we headed back to the start.

Now the rain has stopped, the wind was down, and the sun is even peeking through the clouds. With the delay, I knew I'd have no one to pass, except Jordan. I like to have a few people to pass, but having an open road in front of me was good too. I rode more towards the middle of the road, knowing the were no riders coming the opposite direction forcing traffic into the middle of the road. As I approached the turn around, they were just placing the cones back down. They must have figured the night was done, since no one had come for several minutes. That was a close one. My turn around was terrible, but safe. From there on, I felt good. My HR was up, but so was my speed. I was spinning an easier gear, and every time I went one bigger, my speed dropped, so I just stuck with the easier one.

Coming into the start area, a slow car was in front of me, and I had to scoot by them in the corner under the bridge. I hate when that happens, especially with slippery roads, but I don't think I lost any time because of it. I finished in a time of 14:51. Ave speed was 27.5mph, ave HR was 170, and max HR 185. 1 second faster than my best time last year, and my new best time for the current course length.

Doug ripped a 14:19. Cripes. 1st TT of the year. How does he do it? Casper improved greatly to 14:25, and Timmer rode a respectable 14:35. Scott Flanders popped a 14:51 to match my effort. Zimmerman rode a 14:57, but the results don't show it due to a flat and missed start. Dobbertin improved to 15:06. Jordan rode a 19:32, 7 seconds off his PR from 2 weeks ago. He can live with it since it was his 5th race in as many days. Nice rides by all. The State TT is going to be great. See you all in St. Peter.

A huge thanks to Tone and LSCC

Tone and the small crew from LSCC pulled off a great 3 day race weekend. Your efforts are greatly appreciated. Unfortunately, the fields were small, but everyone who showed up loved it. The officiating was spot on, and results were posted incredibly fast. Even the weather was better than predicted. Don't miss it next year.

Cloquet Crit Juniors Recap

Jordan did 2 races today. He raced the WISPORT crit in the morning, and the Juniors in the afternoon. He was the only junior in the WISPORT race, but rode hard, and even lapped a couple of riders. Once again, the older and younger juniors all started together, but he had his younger junior competition back in Nora, Jake, Brian, and Michael. Once again, Jordan rode hard, and even stayed with the older juniors for a couple laps. His win capped a perfect holiday/cycling weekend. We spent most of our non-racing time with Linda Sone and Dan Casper. They are really great people, and a good influence on Jordan. Below is a shot of the crew at Dan and Linda's favorite joint in Duluth, Sammy's Pizza.

Cloquet Crit Recap - "Cullen, you talk too much"

Only 13 starters in the Masters 35+ crit. The holiday weekend, the distance from the cities, plus some storm clouds kept people away. Too bad, because it is an awesome course. It was like Opus with 4 corners, only the finish was at the bottom of the hill, and into a headwind.

The start was fast, and Matt Muyres attacked on the hill. I reeled him back in, only to have Jason Snide attack the next time up the hill. I followed with Brian Koeneman in tow. We had a small gap, so we pressed on. The next time up the hill, Mike Johnson bridged across, and we were 4 strong. From that point it was like a 4-man team time trial. We worked well together and put time into the field. Anyone who has raced with me knows that I talk a lot during the race, especially in a break away. Mostly words of encouragement and strategy, which some may take the wrong way, but it actually helps me work harder. The officials threw several primes at us, which I typically have no interest in, in favor of keeping us working smoothly together.

As we got down to the last couple laps, I figured that Snides would probably attack, where Brian and Mike would probably be willing to leave it too the sprint. True to form, Snides attacked 2 or 3 times, but was quickly covered. We went down the hill the last time with Snides in front, followed by Koeneman, Johnson, then me. I figured I had the perfect position for the headwind sprint. Unfortunately, I hesitated just a second to late, and missed Brian's jump, which Mike timed perfectly. Mike came around Brian, I was only able to follow Brian in. I was happy with the result, but I know I could have timed my sprint better. No shame in getting beat by those 2 superstars.



The 1/2/3's Crit started right after the Masters 35+. Perfect warm-up right? I felt pretty good, and decided to ride aggresively, since I really didn't have any expectations for the race. Silver Cycling dominated the field with Hareland, Timmer, and company in full force. They kept launching attack after attack, which I and others kept reeling back in while Aric guarded the front, and Timmer sat and waited patiently. About 40 minutes in, I decided to go for a prime (dummy), and got it, but was wasted going into the hill, and got dropped. A lap or 2 later, Rod Raymond attacked and was covered by Aric. Timmer joined them to make a break of 3, and they were gone. Ryan Hebert and Dan Casper got away a couple laps later. Timmer won the sprint, followed by Aric, then Rocket Rod. Ryan came in 4th, and Casper 5th. The field sprint was won by Chia Kung, followed by my LSC teammate Patrick Horrigan.

South Range Road Race Recap

Only 20 or so starters for the Cat 1/2/3 105 mile road race. I knew at the start that I probably wouldn't go the distance, and save some for Monday. However, I didn't plan to sit in either.

After the neutral start, it was pretty laid back. Kruiser took off solo about 1/2 way through the first lap. Mike Johnson attacked right at the start of the 2nd lap, but was reeled in. Then Ryan Hebert drilled it up the hill, and strung us out. Then Mike Johnson attacked again, and Dan Casper joined him. From that point on, Grandstay was in control. Rod Raymond, I, and some others would dial it up once and a while, but Mike and Dan pulled a 5 minute lead in a matter of a couple laps. They caught Kruiser, who stayed with them a while, but then was dropped.

After the 3rd lap, I saw I had 60 miles and 3 hours on my legs, and I figured that was enough. I dropped off in the feedzone during the 4th lap, and headed back to the truck to check on Jordan.

Shortly after that, the field caught Krusier. Casper started cramping on lap 5, and ended up stopping after 5 laps. This left Mike Johnson to ride over a lap by himself, which he did in impressive fashion. He pretty much held his gap over the field. The field sprint for 2nd was won by Chia Kung followed by Ryan Herbert and then Brian Koeneman.

Dag Selander asked the juniors to ride together for the 1st lap of their race, and then roll the dice on the second lap. Jordan said he had a great time riding with everyone, doing a rotating paceline, etc. Apparently Colton Barrett was making comments along the way, and had the group laughing. During the last lap, Colton, Alex, and Raymond took off, and Jordan decided not to chase since he was the only younger junior in the race. He and Peter Gehrety were riding together when Peter accidentally crossed his front wheel on Jordan's rear, and crashed. Dag was following the group, and stopped to help Peter to his feet and finish. Turns out he was OK. Jordan ended up 4th overall, and 1st younger junior.

Wrenshall TT Data

TT Results

Distance = 16.2mi
Ave Speed = 26.3mph (41.0 max)
Ave HR = 168 (175 max)

Wrenshall TT Recap

Sorry, can't download the Garmin data till I get home.

Conditions were cold and windy. Headwind start, then crosstail, then crosshead. I started 1:00 behind Casper who kidded me I'd catch him for payback from TNT 2 weeks ago. Fat chance. Kruiser started 30 seconds in front of me, a perfect rabbit. Jordan started :30 behind me, and Timmer started 3:00 behind me, so I figured that was a safe gap, and didn't think about it.

I started hard as usual, and got my heartrate up around 170 right away. I caught Krusier just after the turn into the crosstail wind. From that point until the next turn, it was mostly a slight downhill, with just a couple rollers. I kept turning my 56-12 as much as possible, and it felt pretty good. I caught Mike Lyner for 2:00 at about the halfway, so I was pretty sure I was on a good ride. Then it started to rain. That kind of sucked, but it wasn't that bad.

I took the turn into the crosshead wind, and it hurt. I was wet, the road was rough, and it was a false flat most of the way home. I kept jumping between a gear that was too easy, and the next which was too hard. I just ground it out until I saw John Stamm ahead. He started 3:30 ahead, and I knew if I caught him, I was definitely on a good day. The last mile was deadpan flat, and I buried it as much as I could. I couldn't get my heartrate over about 175, so I was pretty wasted. I finished in 37:03 for an average speed of 26.3mph. Ave HR was 168.

Casper scored the overall win in a super fast 35:16, just 3 seconds ahead of Timmer. Great job guys. My time was actually good enough for 1st in the Masters 35+, and 3rd overall. Whoo-hoo! I got paid twice! I was only 1 second ahead of Mike Johnson and Matt McDonough. My teammate Paul Rennert got second in the Masters 35+ for a Loon State 1,2.

Jordan won the younger juniors by 17 minutes. Another job well done. Pretty soon, I'll have to think about putting clip-on aerobars on his bike. Not just yet though. He's fast enough.

Wrenshall TT Start List

TT Start List

TNT Recap

Lite turnout tonight. No Casper, no Timmer, no Morey? The threatening weather must be to blame. It rained for about 5 minutes just before the start, and that was about it. I heard it rained pretty hard in other areas, especially the east side of town. I hope the conditions at Opus were all right.

Anyway, with most of the roadie fasties missing, and the Gear West fasties doing the TTT, my time of 23:59 was good enough for 1st place. 43 seconds faster than 2 weeks ago, and just 1 second slower than by PR from last year. After posting a fast 15:00 at Black Dog last week, ex-triathlete Josh Riff rode a 24:11, and Shishilla improved from 2 weeks ago to run a 24:18.

I'm not sure why TT's are going so much better for me in the last couple weeks, but I am definitely happy about it. I'm sure if Casper and Timmer would have showed up, they would have served me a piece of humble pie.

05/22/07 Results

WISPORT Rib Falls TT

Results Posted


Jordan and I drove to Rib Falls, WI (near Wausau) this morning to do a rolling 25 mile WISPORT TT. We did it last year on the tandem, and it was tough. This year, we rode solo. Riders started 1 minute apart, so we had over 2 hours to prepare and warm-up, for our 11:40 start time. I wish we would have slept another hour. It was sunny and hot, with light SW winds. Better conditions than last year.

The start is at the top of a rise, and goes slightly down hill to start followed by a long grinder, into the crosswind. From there, the course turns north, and rolls quite a bit. This section was very fast this year, with brand new pavement, and a tailwind. I fought with the bike a lot, trying to push bigger gears, rather than spin. The crosswind was moderate, but mostly it was the endless rollers that wore on me. Then it started raining. Not hard, but enough to get us wet, and covered in "Farmers Mud". The finish is at a lower elevation than the start, and is mostly downhill for the last couple miles. I finished the 25.25mi course in a time of 59:00 which was good enough for 1st overall, and I was very pleased. Jeff Overby rode 59:46 for 2nd place. Last year, Gordy rode 59:05 in tougher conditions than this year (strong West wind). Jordan rode 1:21:12, averaging 18.7mph on the challenging course. Way to go buddy.

Tomorrow, my daughter Maren is getting confirmed. It doesn't seem that long ago I was confirmed. Man, is time flying by.

A German Loon?

Did Alex join Loon State. Nope, he's just cold and needed a jacket. I forgot to ask him if he felt faster wearing the jacket.

Afton Hill Interval Ride

Baker joined me for the 3M club ride in Afton tonight, with the intention of going hard up all the climbs. We met Stamm, Ludwigson, and Vanderwiel en route, and hit the hills hard. To top it off, we even did the 3 sprints. It was just what the doctor ordered.

Hollywood scores at Paris-Roubaix

Pages 14-15 of this months Cycle Sport Magazine. Hollywood is living the dream.

Vindication at Black Dog

Definite vindication tonight vs. 2 weeks ago. I rode a 14:57, which is 5 seconds off my PR of 14:52 from last year (and 32 seconds faster than 2 weeks ago). 29mph on the way out, 26mph on the way back (average speed 27.3mph). Average HR was right on at 169. I'd like to say it was my new position, or my form is coming around, but I'm pretty sure it all boils down to the exceptional job by Timmer of pinning on my number. Timmer improved his time to 14:30 and Casper rode a 14:47.

Jordan improved his best time by another 19 seconds to 19:25. He and Kristy Kreme have developed a little rivalry. Kristy beat him at the Bike Club TT by 29 seconds, but Jordan got his revenge tonight, besting Kristy by 5 seconds. They both continue to improve by leaps and bounds. A perfect rivalry.

We stuck around and enjoyed pizza with Hollywood and the Silver Crew. Gotta love the Dog.

3M Club Ride

I decided to skip Opus tonight, in favor of a long ride with Jordan and the 3M club. It was a good group. Stamm, Dan and Dave Meyer, Russ V., Dave H., and Steve Green. Jordan was at a disadvantage in the downhills, but other than that, he kept up great. Towards the end of the ride, he lost touch, due to a sprint. I waited up for him and asked if he wanted to start heading home. He said no, but I explained to him we probably couldn't catch back up. He took that as a challenge, and started working to catch up. He actually pulled them back all by himself. It was like an "American Flyers" moment.

You can go lower Painman

Position is everything in a TT, just ask Timmer.

Get well Camilla

Word is Camilla Schmitz suffered a fractured collarbone, a compression fracture in her spine, and a ton of road rash as a result of her collision with a 5 year old girl that stepped out in front of her at the Bike Club TT. Don't know much about the young girl other than she is home, and OK. Our thoughts are with you Camilla, as well as the young girl.

Happy Mother's Day Carla.

We went for a morning drive into Minneapolis this morning, and had lunch at Grandmas on the West Bank. They have the absolute best Monte Cristo sandwich.

Then we went for a walk around the U of MN East Bank. CLA graduation ceremonies had just ended. It was pretty cool to see all the new grads and their ear to ear smiles. We even stopped by the Oak Street Fire Station to see if Linda was working. We didn't see any activity, so we didn't go in.

We capped the afternoon off with a trip to Sebastian Joes in Uptown for ice cream. Perfect Mother's day. Thanks for making the other 364 days ours Carla. You're the greatest.

Bike Club TT Recap

Results Posted on SkinnySki.com.

After 3 years of rain and cold, we finally got a sunny day for this event. The ESE winds were relatively light, and the times were fast.

According to my GPS, it was exactly 25.8 miles (41.52km). Timmer smoked the course and everyone else with a 55:36. Congrats Timmer, you earned it. He says the $200 is going for Tubulars. The top 5 were:

Tim Mulrooney - 55:36
Dan Casper - 56:48
Aric Hareland - 57:21
Gordy Paulson - 57:21
Curt Wood - 58:12

Linda Sone won the women's 40K in 1:08:32. Nice job Linda. Jordan won the Juniors < 15 by over 10 minutes in 41:55. Way to go buddy. He won a pair of Tifosi sunglasses from Now Sports for his effort.

After a couple of disappointments on the TT bike this year, I had a good ride. I ended up 6th overall in 58:21 and 1st in the Masters 35+. They paid the top 5 overall. I hate when that happens. My Masters 35+ teammates, Goblirsch, Rennert, and Baker ended up 8th, 9th, and 12th in our category. Nice work guys. Several other Loons rode well including Horrigan, Ludwigson, Hailstone, Lyner, Rotach, Frye, Loecken, Tegeder, Silbernick, Paidosh, and Xu.

Jordan won a pair of Castelli Ergo shorts & Jersey in the Raffle. Super Rookie won the Hed Bastone Wheelset, lucky bastard. Silbernick won a Shimano Wheelset for taking 5th from last in the women (I have the gift certificate Melinda). Diane Ostenso won a single speed bike. Congrats.

The free Brat, Chips, Beer, and Soda was a nice touch. The 40K results took forever to post, but it was a perfect day to sit outside and catch up with everyone. Jordan loves hanging with the bike crowd, especially Hollywood.

Unfortunately, there was an incident at the finish. I didn't witness it but it sounds like a young child stepped out in front of a women racer (Camilla from Birchwood), and they collided. I heard she was pretty banged up. I don't know about the child. Sorry, that's all I know.

Bike Club TT Pre-Ride

I rode up to recon this weekend's Bike Club TT course with Jordan. I've ridden the course many times, but I wanted Jordan to get a feel for it.

We got a late start, and it was further than I thought. The NW wind picked up significantly, and slowed us a bit. It was already 8:30PM when we got back to Stillwater. I thought about calling Carla to come get us, but we already played that card once this year. So we just kept going. It wasn't dark until we got to the 94 bridge. Then the dreaded call came. "Are you guys close?" I knew I was in trouble now. We rode home on the sidewalks since we didn't have lights. We rolled in just after 9PM. Carla gave me the deserved "Shame on you." I know, my bad.

First Boat Ride of the Season

Finally got the boat out on the river today. I took a half day vacation, and Carla, Gulliver (our Golden), and I ran from Hudson to Prescott, back up to Stillwater and home. We stopped at the beach in Prescott to let Gulliver swim. The water is not too bad. $40 in gas for the trip. Thank god I don't have a bigger boat.

Jordan's Finish at Gluek

Pretty well equipped for an 11 year old, eh? The sad thing is he knows what all the high test gear is from the ads in Cycle Sport. Basically if Team CSC rides it, he wants it.

TNT Time Trial - UPDATED

Turns out the results were a little messed up. I was a little suspicious. Several people including myself (24:42) were slower than originally posted. Turns out Casper only beat me by 1:12 like I thought. However, I took a 4 second beating by both Peter Morey and Charlie Jacobs. Ouch.

Painman, Baker, and I did the first TNT time trial tonight. May is full of time trials, and I need the practice.

Conditions were favorable. Light wind, dry, and warm. I started :30 ahead of Baker, and 1:00 ahead of Casper. I figured a minute would be just enough of a gap to hold Dan off.

I got a great warm-up in. 1 lap on the course solo, and one lap with Baker. My start was good, my HR looked good, and my speed seemed good. By the turn around, Casper was bearing down on me. Dang. I pressed hard up the hill in a vain effort to avoid the capture, but to no avail. I did my best to hold him after the catch, but it wasn't in the Cards. He pulled another 12 seconds out of me. I finished in 24:42. Casper was 23:30, which was the winning time (no consolation to me though). Excellent job Dan. Morey and Jacobs both beat me 4 seconds. Dang. Nice ride guys.


The chart looks good to me. My HR was steady right around 170. My HR didn't elevate at the end like normal, which tells me I must be a bit fatigued from the weekend. 3 races in 4 days has to wear on the legs. My PR is 23:58, and my previous slowest time was 24:13. I have to say I am a bit disappointed, but this is why I did the TT instead of Opus. I definitely need to get dialed into my TT bike.

Attempted Doping?

Whatever. I'm so sick of the sensationalism around doping in cycling. I have no compassion for cheaters, and even worse cheaters that deny it when they are caught. I think the cheaters who confess should receive a lesser penalty than compared to the cheaters that don't confess, until undeniable proof is provided. Something like a 2 year ban for cheaters who confess, and a 4 year ban for those who don't, but are proven guilty. No waiting for the B sample either, just confess. A few lab screw-ups, and 'tainted supplements' aside, chances are pretty high that your guilty if you test positive.

I know there are a few pros out there dealing with suspensions due to missing the call to doping control. Something definitely has to change there. How can you be expected to report to doping control, if you don't know where it is, or where to inquire who has to report? That's ridiculous.

I'm still going to love watching the tour live, in person, this summer. It's looking to be an even more open race than last year.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

Went out tonight and ignored the dark clouds to the west. Didn't start raining until about an hour in, but then it just poured. We had an option of cutting it short, but Treb wasn't having it. Neither was Jordan, so I sucked it up and continued. At least it wasn't cold out.

Shout out to my LSC homies

I have to say, I'm proud to be a part of Loon State Cyclists. EPO, Skibby, Bell, and the rest of the Grandstay/LSC crew put on a great road race at Marty, in nasty conditions. Skibby and EPO have been doing a great job at Opus too, with excellent help from the team.

As an added bonus, our team has been putting in some exceptional performances at the races. Good results in the Cat 3-5, Masters 4/5's, Masters 50+, and Masters 35+. Great to see the team riding well and having fun. We even have points in the 1/2/3's at Opus.

Wear your jersey proud, and don't hesitate to introduce yourself to a teammate you don't recognize. Or maybe you know who they are, but haven't met them. The only one you have to be careful of is Skibby, for obvious reasons (j/k).

Charity Black Dog TT Recap

Battled the wind for a second day this weekend at the Charity TT on the standard Black Dog course. It started raining as soon as we arrived, but promptly quit. We waited a bit to register, but Painman arrived, and it wasn't raining, so we figured we'd get it over with.

Given the strong crosswind, I decided not to ride my rear disc for the first time ever in a TT. I kept the front tri-spoke, but went with a standard spoked wheel in back. I put standard wheels on Jordan's bike too, for obvious reasons. I loaned painman my front Zipp.

Painman and I did a warm-up lap to assess the course and wind. I was getting blown around a little, while Painman was getting tossed around quite a bit more. Hey, he weighs 50lbs less than I do.

Got back to the start with about 10min to spare. Perfect. Got Jordan ready to go, and reported to the start. I knew based on Wednesday that Pete Morey was going to be the one to beat today in the M35+. Pete started 1:30 in front of me, with Jordan :30 in front of me. My start was solid. I put on a 13-25 in the back with matched up well with my 56T in front. Starting in a 56-23 is much easier than a 56-19.

I caught Jordan as we approached the power plant, and he had already overtaken his :30 man (another younger junior). I noticed right away that my HR was a good 10-15 bpm low. Clearly fatigue from yesterday's road race. I tried to gauge my gap to Morey at the turn around, and it looked like I was holding him. My turn was pretty good, and then I fought the crosswind back. The gusts forced you to keep your upper body tense. I was able to keep a fairly straight line, but it was definitely a struggle.

As I pass through the start area, I came up on a Ford Explorer caught behind a racer in front of me. I gave a quick yell, and zipped around them. I think it actually helped me speed up if anything. The headwind finish was as tough as I can remember. I was only able to get my max HR up to 176 compared to 181 on Wednesday, ave HR was 159 compared to 170.

My time was 15:37. I figured that was pretty good, since it was pretty close to Wed's time. When the results were posted, the harsh reality of a 2 second beat by Pete Morey set in. He rode a 15:35. Nice job Pete. PMax rode a high 15 for 3rd and B2B was a low 16, for 4th. Nice rides boys, especially considering the hard racing yesterday.

Jordan rode an impressive 21:17, which was 4-5 minutes faster than the other younger juniors. I'm proud of you for pushing it that hard buddy.

Ian Stanford showed us all how to ride, posting a ridiculously fast 14:40. Casper was next fastest in 15:13. Greg Brandt 15:36, Doig 15:36, and Dan Swanson 15:40.

Gluek RR Recap

Gotta say it. Epic. Definitely worthy of the term. Photo courtesy of Skinnyski.com.

Bagley didn't race today, but Scott Flanders and Mike Anderson did. For those few who don't know, Scott is a legend in these here parts, and almost always races Cat 1/2, except in crits, where he can double up. Mike Anderson is a legend in his own right, dominating the local racing scene back in the early 90's. I guess Baker coming out of retirement wasn't enough for the Masters 35+ group. Sure makes for great racing.

The start was dry, but plenty windy. Tailwind start to 5 12-mile laps. Things rolled out nice and civilized, and then I decided to open it up. As expected, I got to stretch my legs, but that's it. The racing was much different than last week up front. Lots of gutterball in the crosswind. Thankfully, those sections were short. The headwind section (with the hill) was quite subdued, in my opinion. The same people were constantly on the front. Bell and Goblirsh were major contributors to the pace.

On the second lap, Mike Anderson (Flanders) attacked in the tailwind, and Baker (Loon State), Coyle (Grandstay), and Jim Parker (GP) join to make it a break of 4. It looked good, except Birchwood missed the move. Binkowski and Maxwell move to the front, with some help from Brick (in town from Phoenix) and Verhulst. They have no friends, but Maxwell makes a huge dent in the gap in the crosswind, with the entire field in the gutter. Very impressive. The gap grows a little in the headwind, up the hill, but they are still close. Verhulst and Maxwell drive the front like machines and pull them almost all the way back in the tailwind section on the 3rd lap. They finally closed them down turning into the headwind. Unbelievable.

On the capture, Scott Flanders, Baker, Bell, and I try a counter, but it doesn't work. Then the storm rolled in. The rain felt like hail at first, but thankfully lightened up. Pretty subdued from that point forward. A few attacks here and there, but the tempo was fairly steady, with more gutterball in the crosswinds.

As we approach the hill for the last time, all of a sudden Treb pulls through to the front. Yes. Just what we needed. But where was he all day? Turns out he got dropped at some point in the gutterball, and had just caught back on. Straight to the front. What a teammate.

The climb was hard, but not nasty. So it was to be a field sprint. As we passed the 1K to go sign, I was 3rd or 4th wheel, with Anderson and Scott Flanders on the front. Goblirsh was right there too. I kept looking around for Baker and Macy, but couldn't see them. Just before 200m to go, Mike jumped to lead out Scott. I was on their left, and jumped. I left room on my right to allow Goblirsch and hopefully Macy and Baker room to come through. Next thing I know, Goblirsh goes down, and I hear a bunch go down behind me. I looked back to see it was going to be up to me to try and win. I switched over behind Scott, and drove hard. Mike pulled off, and Scott looked to me like he might have it. But I had time and room, so I dug deep. I ever so slowly pulled along side on his left, and just nipped him at the line. Dobbertin 3rd, Cragle 4th, Anderson 5th, Baker 6th.

Everyone survived the crash, minus some skin. No broken bones thankfully. Apparently Hollywood launched spectacularly into the farm field. Charlie Townsend also went impressively airborne. Mlinar got some facial cuts. Definitely could have been worse.

After we were done, I got to drive behind Jordan with Carla. There were only 4 older and 4 younger juniors. Jordan won the younger juniors. It was fun watching him battle the wind. I swear he was at a 30 degree angle some of the times.

Black Dog Recap

Jordan rode a 19:44, his fastest time by almost a minute. Wouldn't it be awesome if we could all see that kind of improvement, even just once and a while?

I rode a 15:29. My slowest time since 1999. I can come up with a ton of excuses, but bottom line is I didn't have it tonight. The profile of the chart looks good to me in terms of heart rate vs. speed. I'm not sure about the speed blip at the end. I think the GPS lost signal under the bridge.

Hanna came out on top in the throwdown with a 15:30. Donimator rode a 16:06. Times in general were slower than normal, likely due to the East wind. Mulrooney scored the win with a 14:43, with Casper 2nd in 14:47. Nobody else broke 15:00. Congrats Timmer.

Treb and I rode the Tandem after our solo efforts. We completely missed our start time. It was the first ride on the tandem this year, and the first time Treb had ridden as stoker. His position is ackward, since I couldn't raise the seat enough, and the shifting was off a bit, since I just replaced the cables. Nonetheless, we managed a 14:20, which got recorded as a 19:57 due to our missed start.

To add insult to injury, I blew my Tufo Clincher Tubular on my new Renn disc during the warm-down. $80 down the drain. At least it didn't happen during the race. I'm unimpressed with the Tufo, and am switching to a standard clincher tire.

Times gone by...

This is a shot from the Kids Fun Race at the 2000 Norstan Crit in St. Paul. It was one of Maren's first rides without training wheels. It seems so long ago.