Successful Wisport Weekend

Jordan and I did the Greenwood Dairy Days Road Race on Saturday, followed by the Stanley Time Trial on Sunday.



I forgot how tough these short Wisport Road Races are. I was all by myself against a couple tough teams: Brone's Bike Shop & Eau Claire Bike & Sport. GP also had Mairs, Piche, and Bernet. Brone's kept sending guys off, and forced the rest of us to chase. I bridged a couple times, only to be brought back. Nothing stuck. With about 15 miles to go, I countered as we caught a small group off the front, and got a good gap. No one came with me, so I rode hard, but not 100%, knowing I wouldn't hold them off solo, and hoping someone would bridge up. No dice.

After they caught me, I sat in and recovered, and didn't feel real good. I had gone through all my Gel, and both water bottles. Man, was it hot. The finish was a 1K long flat fast straight with a tailwind. I knew people would go too early, so I went into the final corner with about a dozen riders in front of me. The sprint was completely disorganized, and I came up the left side. With about 400 meters to go, I saw someone coming up the right side, and I gunned it. As I approached the finish, I looked back to see I had a gap, and threw my arms up as I crossed the line in victory. I don't know what came over me. I think it's kind of cocky and lame when people do that, but it happened nonetheless. I think I've done it maybe one other time.

Jordan won the juniors under 14 against 3 others. He didn't drink enough, and bonked pretty good. I had a heck of a time getting him to drink and eat post race.

Greenwood Dairy Days Results



Another hot day greeted us at Stanley. There was a saving grace in the form of a west wind. I had tough competition in Lance Niles, Mark Brone, and Brian Abery, among others. Lately Abery's had my number, so I was hoping I could pop a good one.

No such luck. I ended up 5th, just 2 seconds behind Suntken and Abery. The result was satisfying, being that I was that close to Abery.

There were 6 juniors under 14. What a turnout. Jordan had an unbelievable race. He won by 5 minutes over Will Metza, son of powerhouse Dave Metza. He improved his time from last year by over 15 minutes. He improved from 55:44 last year, to 40:34 this year.



You can view the overall results below:

Posted Results @ CVCC

Another Win for P-slim. Donimator Brakes Frame.

P-slim (aka Dr. P, aka Patrick Horrigan) knocked out another huge win at Hopkins in the Cat 3's. Donimator managed to break his Trek Madone 6.2 with 4 to go, when he hit a manhole. Not sure what the weight limit is on that frame, but I think he needs something a bit beefier.

French Extra Credit

Baker came over for one final ride before we go to France. The plan was to go out for 3 hours, and take in a couple hills. We hammered in the tailwind all the way to Trimbelle, knowing there would be a price to pay at the end of the ride. We hit the sequence of 4 climbs in the bluffs between Cty O, Cty OO, and Hwy 35. We hit 57mph on the OO descent, a new record.

On our way back, we decided to take in the "Triplets of Beldenville", which are a series of 3 climbs near the town of Beldenville, WI. These wore both of us out. I pretty much bonked headed into River Falls. Gatorade and a snickers was no answer to the 5000 calories I had burned. The heat definitely got the best of me. Thankfully, Baker towed me back to Hudson. We ended up with almost 4 hours with 8 tough climbs. More than we planned, but it will pay back in spades in France.

Even as I type this, my appetite is still missing. I'm drinking as much as I can, but I haven't been able to eat enough. I definitely can't let this happen in France.

Below is a shot of Painman, Baker, and I climbing together at the Horribly Hilly 200K. What a crew.

Northfield Crit Recap

Jordan won the Juniors Under 15 at Northfield today. Only 4 kids showed up, and he lapped 2 of them. Carla, Maren, his Grandmother and Aunt were there to see him race. That makes him 7 for 7 in ROY events this year, sealing his 1st place in the Juniors Under 15 ROY Category. Congrats buddy.

Northfield is always a great venue for a race. It is great for racers and spectators alike. My family had a great time watching the race. People kept coming up to us and asking questions about the race, and how it worked. I love to talk about my favorite subject. A lady with some kids from a group home came over and introduced herself to us. One of the kids, named Steve, was blind, and wanted to meet me and Jordan. I told him about tandem racing with blind stokers, and he was fascinated.



My goal was to finish the race, without crashing, with t-minus 1 week till we leave for France. I did just that. I rode the front for the first 15 minutes or so, until the field sorted itself out a bit. Then I went to the back, and spent the rest of the race following Scott Flanders around. Scott had already won the Masters 50+ race, right before ours. I knew he was a nice safe wheel to follow, and the whip effect on the Northfield course is minimal. I planned to move up through the field when Scott moved up for the finish, but I didn't quite commit all the way. I rolled across in 14th.

Charlie Jacobs got away with John Redmond with a few laps to go, and Charlie won. Nice job fellas. Pmax had a small gap on the last lap, and just held off the field. I didn't even know anyone had gotten away, and frankly, I didn't really care. I just wanted a safe race. Having those 2 up the road kept the swarming in the final laps to a minimum, so that was nice. You can see the Masters 35+ results in the photo below:

DOMS Big Time

I got DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) big time today, from yesterday's running race. It not as bad as I thought it would be, but it's still pretty bad. I can ride, but walking is a problem, especially up and down stairs.

Jordan, Waataja, and I did an easy 2 hour ride yesterday, and another one today. It seems to help a little, but in the absence of a massage, it's simply going to take time to heal.

I bumped into Doug Swanson and his wife at the Chocolate Ox (local candy/ice cream shop). I felt less guilty about having the Paul Bunyan Cone, once I saw Doug indulging his sweet tooth too.

Hey, I can still run, but at what cost

I did my first running race since college today. Grandpa's Run for the Walleye 5K in Crosslake, MN. Actually, our whole family did it, including Carla, Jordan, Maren, and my brother's family too. Mike Waataja was up at his lake place, and joined us too. Carla and Maren have been training the past few weeks leading up to the race. I ran once, 3mi on Father's Day, with Maren and Jordan, and I couldn't keep up with them. My expectations were very low.

A huge highlight was watching my 2 nieces, ages 2 and 5, run the kids fun race. They had a blast.

I figured Maren and Jordan would wax my butt, but when I pin on a number, I just gotta go. I ran way too hard, and knew I was going to pay for it big time afterwards. Nonetheless, I ended up 1st in the Masters, and 9th overall in 20:48. Waataja kicked my butt, as expected, and finished 5th in 19 minutes and change. Nice job. Jordan finished in 22:28, and Maren in 25:20. My bro did it in 30:28, Carla in 37:25, and my sister-in-law finished in around 47 minutes. What a fun day. Carla's average HR was 171, with a max 184. Wow! I'm proud of how hard she, and everyone else pushed themselves.

For 1st place, I won 2 rounds of 18 holes at the local golf course. We also scored some shwag in the raffle afterwards. After everything was done and we headed back to the cabin, it was still only 10:30AM.

Jordan, Waataja, and I are headed out for a ride after lunch. We're definitely loving life up at the lake.

French Final Exam

Left to Right - Rusty, Stamm, Baker, JimmerC, Painman. Not Pictured - Treb (busy scoring bonus miles on us all)



For the first time, all 6 of us headed to France got together for a ride. I call it the final exam because I don't plan to do any more long rides until we head to France.

We hit the hills very hard, thanks to Painman and Baker. Treb continues to impress us with his ability to ride hard, on much less training than the rest of us. It looks like the 6 of us are going to match up well. We hit every hill we could find, similar to last thursday. We scored 4400ft in 70 miles.



This is a shot of Painman showing us all the proper bike mounting technique.

Black Dog Recap

Results Posted



The juniors 14&under boys.

Perfect night for the Dog. Dr. P showed up and rode stock. Timmer is still flying, with Casper a close second. I managed a 15:00, which I am happy with, given my current state of training (I expect to be a little tired). Dr. P put up a 15:55 stock. Very nice.

Overall:
Timmer - 14:16
Casper - 14:21
Joe Johnson - 14:44
Brian Abery - 14:51
Alec Kloss - 14:59
Jim Cullen - 15:00
John Shishilla - 15:02
Matt Stein - 15:12
Brent Binkowski - 15:15

In the ballyhooed rivalry between Kristy Kreme, Lunatic Biker, and Jordan:
Jordan - 18:14 (33 second improvement over 2 weeks ago)
Ray - 19:07 (Huge improvement, Hollywood set his bike up nicely)
Kristy Kreme - 19:12 (1 second improvement 1 day after her birthday ride around Lake Pepin)

On Hollywood's recommendation, I lowered Jordan's bars over an inch about 15 minutes before the start of the TT. Apparently, it made a difference.

Youthful Enthusiasm

Jordan has been bugging me for weeks to ride to afton alps, and go up and down the ski hill climb as many times as he can. I finally decided tonight was the night. Each member of the family made bets on how many times he'd do it:

Maren - 3
Jim - 4
Carla - 5
Jordan - 20

I even challenged him, saying I'll do one more than him. I also said if he clips out on the climb, it's game over.

We made our way down to the climb, and started our reps. I asked Jordan to take it easy on the early ones, to save energy for later reps. The climb itself is 230ft of vertical over 0.4miles. That's an average gradient of 10.9%. The base of the climb is the steepest at around 17%. The middle is around 9-10% with a final kick around 14%.



Jordan did the first climb in 3:50. He rattled off a couple more without any trouble. I rode the 4th one pretty hard, and he climbed at his own pace. By the 5th rep, I was getting concerned about him bonking, and started to try to convince him that was enough. After the 6th, I told him the 7th would be the last, and he was pretty disappointed. I told him if he could do the 7th in under 5 minutes, he could do 10. He attacked the hill as if it was his first rep. He paid for his effort at the top, but still did it in 3:45! Dang, now I had to do 3 more.

Each of the final 3 reps sucked. I kept reminding Jordan about the fact that we still had to ride home, plus we were doing Black Dog on Wednesday. He didn't care. He was doing 10 no matter what. I stayed behind Jordan on the 10 rep, and he kept me at bay, then sprinted at the top. He ended up doing the last rep in 4:10. Unbelievable. Exhausted at that point, I didn't remind Jordan I'd do one more than him.



Afterwards, I had to stop at the Afton Bean for dinner. Baker had a Turkey Panini yesterday, that I was dying to try. It was great. Jordan was poking fun at me for being tired. I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Looks like Dr. P Stole his Bike

Dr. P is so friggin tall, he makes it look like he's riding Jordan's bike.

Treb, you've really let yourself go.

I finally got Treb back on the bike, albeit, a little late. Treb, Baker, Rusty and I hit the hills of Diamond Bluff big time. I started out the ride hard, as usual. Baker quipped to Treb that I was trying to get him back in shape in just 1 day.

We stopped in Trembelle for water, only to end up invading a Harley Rally. Talk about fish out of water. What are we going to do, die of thirst, or at the hands of the Hells Angels. One dude offers us water, goes and grabs it from his cooler, and it's in a Vodka bottle. At that point, we were desperate, and didn't dare refuse his hospitality. Besides, water is water, right? He had 3 bottles of bloody mary mix on his table, which Treb and Rusty thought looked pretty good at that point in the ride, but intelligently refrained.

Next, we headed south on one of our favorite roads in the area, County O. It runs along the Trembelle River Valley, is quiet, and just plain beautiful. Then we hit a sequence of 5 climbs that I linked together between the Trembelle Valley, County OO Valley, and St. Croix River Valley. We ended up hitting those 5, plus 2 more on Hwy 35 back to Prescott, for a total of 7 tough climbs in about 20 miles.

On the first climb, Treb impressed us by climbing on the front. We're all thinking, this is rediculus. How does he do it. Then he attacked and took the Diamond Bluff prime. WTF? Well, his dominance was short lived. On the second climb, Baker heard Treb wheezing, and dropped the hammer. Baker's leading on a climb. It's like an episode from Twilight Zone. Baker was on fire on each of the rest of the climbs. Treb was able to keep pace just behind Rusty on climbs 2-4, but finally folded over backwards on the 5th.

I nursed Treb a bit on the 2 Hwy 35 climbs headed back to Prescott, and he recovered enough to ride tempo into the Prescott Prime, which Baker took handily. From Prescott, Treb and Rusty had to head home, while we headed for some lunch at the Afton Bean.

Then Jordan met us in Lakeland, and we rode up to Stillwater to watch the Pros race. We saw a ton of Loons including Dr P. and the Red Lantern. Red Lantern managed to crash into the haybails in t-minus 3 days till he leaves for France. Luckily, he just scraped up his hand and arm.

The Stillwater is an awesome race to watch, between high speed corners on the downhill, to the crank bending climb. After the race, Stamm joined Jordan, Baker, and I for a climb up Chillicoot, and then home to Hudson. What a great day.

Jordan's Longest Ride

Perfect weather for a ride Saturday. Jordan and I headed for my brother's birthday party in Maple Grove. Jordan's longest ride up to this point, was a ride from my brother's to Hudson. I knew we could simply meander a bit, and improve on the old mark of 63 miles.

Right off the bat, I get a complete front tire blowout, right in downtown Hudson. The bead must not have been seated correctly, because one side slipped out, causing the tire to blow like a gunshot. I fixed it quickly, and we were on our way.

I decided to head for Newport to get our extra mileage. I stumbled upon the bike trail along the east side of 61. I didn't even know about it. It made for a nice safe comfortable route up to Werner/Shepard Road. On to East River Road all the way to the UofMN. A quick stop downtown to refuel, and then to the Cedar Lake Commuter Trail. Construction near the new Twins Stadium Site resulted in a clumsy detour, but we made it. We saw Mean Dawg headed the opposite direction.

Through St. Louis Park, Minnetonka, Wayzata, Plymouth, and finally Maple Grove. On West Fish Lake Road, someone in a Jeep Cherokee honked and waved like they knew us, but I didn't know who it was. Maybe they thought we were someone else. 66 miles in the end. Point to Point rides are always a treat.

French Homework

Baker joined me for a ride Thursday evening, and we hit every hill we could find in the area (I counted at least 14). Afton, Prescott, and River Falls. 3 of the climbs simply looped around at the top, and we came right back down. We're definitely developing our climbing muscles, at least as best we can, without any mountains nearby.

We bumped into Charlie and Sherry during the ride. They were working the hills also. Baker and I were talking about how amazing the roads and terrain are, considering how close we are to the cities. I love living in the St. Croix river valley.

Nature Valley Grand Prix - Stage One

Jordan and I rode from Hudson to St. Paul to watch Stage 1 of the Nature Valley Grand Prix. Carla and Maren met us there. Jordan and I just missed seeing Teresa Moriarty take 3rd place in the women's race. Nice job Teresa!

We ran into tons of cyclists, including all the LSC guys on the Stone Arch ride. The race was fun to watch with several locals representing MN well. It looked really hard, and I couldn't believe how fast they were completing each lap. There were over 150 guys which stretched through 2 turns on the fast course. I can't imagine what the whip effect felt like in the back. All the top domestic pro teams were there in force. What was amazing was seeing the field roll around at well over 30mph, with guys still able to get small gaps off the front.

In the end, Toyota United set it up for Ivan Stevic, and he delivered. A few of the local boys made it to the end. Anyone who survived for 30 of the 60 minutes gets to continue racing tomorrow, which most of the local boys met. Nice job guys.

Jordan's First, Timmer Dials It In, Tour Winner Present

The conditions for last night's TNT were tough for some, fast for others. Relatively stiff headwind on the way out, with a good push on the way back. The temperature was mild also.

The highlight of the night was seeing Greg Lemond. He was there watching his son race. I stopped briefly, shook his hand, introduced Jordan, and spoke with him. His reputation as an approachable guy is spot on. What a nice guy.

Jordan tried out his first TNT. He rolled to a 31:23, averaging just over 21mph on the rolling 11 mile course. The only other junior there, Kody McKracken, rode 45 seconds faster than Jordan. However, Kody rode 2:20 faster over 20K at the State TT. Jordan appears to be gaining.

Timmer finally got the ride he was capable of at TNT, scorching a 23:18. It was good enough for a 2 second beat of Casper (redemption for Wrenshall?). He has been rocking the TT's, as of late. Cheers to you Timmer. My teammate, Paul Rennert lowered his time another 30 seconds, to ride a fast 24:29. Excellent improvement. Painman made an appearance, but without aerobars.

I myself rode to a respectable 24:16, about the same as 2 weeks ago. I'm content with it, having rode 144 miles 3 days ago, and 137 a week ago. I don't expect anything special out of my legs during this buildup to our France trip.

Results Posted

Happy Birthday Jordan

It's not for a few more weeks, but I scored this sweet, lightly used, cyclocross bike off ebay for Jordan's 12th Birthday (Yep, he already knows). Detailed Specs

Horribly Hilly 200K Recap

4 of the 6 of us headed to France this July, braved Horribly Hilly 200K: Painman, Baker, Rusty, and myself. After doing the longest ride of our lives last Sunday, we furthered the mark just one week later.

It started out with running into Loecken and Olson at breakfast. They suggested riding to the start, rather than driving. I talked our group into it, so we rode the 4 miles to the start. I'd regret it later in the day.

A very diverse crowd of cyclists with lots of triathletes and aerobars. We tried to find the Ritz brothers, with no luck (they slept in). I took one last look around, only to miss the 7AM start. I had to work my way through all the riders to get back up to my group. It didn't take long, and once I caught them, I just kept going. I wanted to get in front of as many riders as possible so going up the first climb wasn't crowded. This worked out perfect, and our first climb was unhampered.

The first leg had some tough climbs, before the first rest stop at about 30 miles. The climbs were very similar to pitch and length of last weekend. We all learned our lesson last week about eating and hydrating as much as possible. We didn't make that mistake today. If anything, we overdid it.

The second leg had a tough climb at the start, and then mostly rollers. Then we returned to the same rest stop for a second time after about 50 miles, and it was slim pickings. We continued onto the third section, knowing it was relatively easy compared to the 4th and 5th sections. We rode it pretty hard and arrived at the 3rd rest stop in Black Earth at about 75 miles. This rest stop had tons of good stuff to eat, and we took advantage.

The 4th leg was tough as expected, with more long steep climbs. Painman and I hit 56.5mph on one of the downhills. We started hitting the intermediate water stops to keep hydrated. By the time we got to the last rest stop, we were at 110 miles. We knew that construction forced a course change, which added 6 miles, making the total course distance approx 130 miles. We figured the final 20 miles would be tough, but no problem.

Well, it was more like 28 miles, with a couple killer climbs, and the gruelling final 910ft climb to the finish. Painman and I did the final climb together, and a 27-tooth cog was not even close to enough gear. We battled our bikes all the way to the top. Rusty and Baker followed close behind.

The food at the finish was great. A very well run event. However, this is where I would come to regret the decision to ride from the hotel. The guys were desperate for a clean change of clothes. Fortunately, the ride back to the hotel served as an excellent cool down, to loosen our legs up for the long drive home.

Sunday is Father's Day, and I am looking forward to spending it with my family. Happy Dad's day to you all.

Those aerobars really do make a difference.

Results Posted

Black Dog Photos Link - Full resolution pics e-mailed for $1.99 each.

I decided to mount Jordan up with Aerobars for tonight's Black Dog. I was a little nervous, since he'd never ridden them, but I figured he's got to learn somehow. Turns out, he was just as stable in the aerobars as he is in the drops. No worries.

Jordan was ready to accept the challenge from Kristy Kreme and Ray. Jordan threw down a 18:47. That is a 38 second improvement on his previous best. Kristy Kreme improved to 19:13 and Ray improved to 20:15. Congratulations to all 3 in this productive rivalry.

Jordan's progression at Black Dog:
6/29/06 - 23:20
6/12/06 - 22:48
8/09/06 - 21:56
8/23/06 - 20:39

5/02/07 - 19:44
5/16/07 - 19:25
5/30/07 - 19:32
6/13/07 - 18:47


I myself rode a slowish 15:04, on a night were everyone else seemed to ride faster. Timmer had to remind me about the 137 miles I rode on Sunday, as a simple explanation. I've been focused so much on racing lately, I forget that my number 1 objective this season is to prepare for our France Trip.

Doug Swanson returned to the Dog, and simply lit it up. He rode 13:50 (actually 13:49.9 by Doug's watch). So close to the course record 13:49, set by Nick Robertson in 2004. Timmer improved to 14:24. Casper recovered exceptionally well from his 164 mile odyssey on Sunday to ride a 14:30. Abery rode his fastest time in a couple years, a 14:58. Doig scored a 15:05, and Waataja improved his PR to 15:10. Nice rides all.

"6/13/07 Unofficial Overall Black Dog Results"
1. Doug Swanson - 13:50
2. Timmer Mulrooney - 14:24
3. Casper the Ghost - 14:30
4. Brian Abery - 14:58
5. JimmerC - 15:04
6. Chris Doig - 15:05
7. Mike Waataja - 15:10

Jordan, the Gaines brothers, and I went for a nice cool down after our race. Then Hollywood ordered pizza again, and we had a great post-dog evening, sharing stories and shooting the bull. What a great event, and fun people.

He's Earned the Aerobars

From the front page of skinnyski.com. It's a shot of Jordan towards the end of the Frederick TT this past weekend. He's been bugging me about aerobars, and I actually have a pair for him. I wanted him to get lots of experience before adding them. Black Dog tonight may be his last TT without them.

Prep Ride for Horribly Hilly Hundreds & France

With all the racing the past 2 months, I haven't been able to get in any long rides. I should have been out on the boat with my family (can you say, dog house?), but instead, I opted for the longest ride of my life (137 miles), with Painman, Horrigan, and Baker (It was the longest ride for all of them too). Not to be outdone, Casper joined us en route from Northfield, and trumped us with 164 miles.

Of course, longest ride alone wasn't enough. Jordan and I went reconnoitering down near Maiden Rock in search of the nastiest hills I could find. I was not disappointed. I put together a 50 mile loop starting in Hagar City that had no less than 7 nasty steep, long climbs. The gradients on most of them averaged over 10%, with ramps up to 17%. Our cumulative vertical for the ride was over 8300ft. Good prep work for the Horribly Hilly 200K next weekend, as well as our France Trip.



Luckily, we got all our problems out of the way at the start of the ride. We were supposed to start at about 9AM, and we actually left right around that time. We were to meet Casper in Prescott. Right away, I had a tire rubbing on my frame, and I went home to fix it, while the guys waited in downtown Hudson. Once I rejoined, a big group of GP riders with John Redmond and Casebeer rolled through. They stopped downtown, while we kept going with Redmond.

On the other side of the I94 bridge, Painman had to stop to fix a chain problem. It was skipping on the lower derailleur pulley. After messing with it for 15 minutes, we decided to go back to my house and try a new chain. New chain, same problem. Finally, we figure out the lower pulley had a split in one of the teeth, causing the chain to ride up and skip. Luckily, I had a spare pulley. After the fix, Painman said his bike had never run so smooth. We finally got going again at about 10AM.

As we headed out again, I stated we probably won't be back until around 6PM. The others were like, "Whatever". They knew I had morphed the day's ride route into a tough one. Little did they know.

We saw Pmax and a couple others in Afton. We also bumped into Tony Carter. Lots of guys out riding. We finally caught up with Casper right in front of Afton Alps on St. Croix Trail. He already had nearly 40 miles in. We took it pretty easy on the climbs in MN, knowing it was going to be a long day. However, we did tempo it a bit in the flats down to Prescott.

After a quick stop in Prescott, the plan was to ride straight down 35 to Hagar City. There are 2 good climbs on 35, and the guys just couldn't contain themselves. Casper decided to push it, and Painman and Dr. P couldn't resist. Baker and I hung back and conserved. We had 50 miles in by Hagar City. We refueled, and headed out for the tough 50 mile loop.

The first climb was particularly brutal, and the same 3 pushed it, with Baker and I continuing to conserve. The descents were twisty and awesome. We stopped in Maiden Rock about 15 miles into the loop. I warned them the next 35 miles were going to be even more brutal.

I suffered on every climb. The gradients were just too steep for me. Thankfully, I had a 27-tooth cog, which I still struggled in at times. We all battled our mental demons from miles 80-100, with the exception of Casper. Everyone, except Baker ran out of fluids. Man was it hot out. Finally, we made it back to Hagar City, knowing we still had nearly 40 miles to ride home.

We were all pretty wrecked, except Casper. He was simply a machine, pushing every climb, roller, and flat section. Our stomach's were all completely messed up, that eating, and even drinking, was difficult. We just sat on the step of the Gas Station and stared at our food, wishing we could simply absorb it, rather than eat it.

After what seemed an eternity, we reluctantly headed for home, while Casper headed back to Northfield, via Red Wing, on the Cannon Valley Trail. Every mile was a mental challenge. Not much talking, except to say things like "Can we back off a little?". We limped into my driveway just before 7PM. 137 miles in 7:40. Definitely the toughest ride I've ever done.

So I took 4 days off this week, did 2 time trials, and my longest ride ever. Does that count as rest?

3 Days Rest, and Another Sub-Par TT Performance

Results Posted

After 3 days rest, another race. Jordan and I did the Frederick TT. The course was tough, with a few sustained climbs and wind to boot. I tried starting easy for once, and it didn't pay off. I ramped my HR up slowly, only to hit the big climb, and go anaerobic. After that, in the cross-tail wind, and downhill, I just couldn't push the bike. My HR dropped down 10 beats, and my legs seemed soft. I'm clearly still fatigued.

I rode just under 1:07 for the 27.63mi course, with 1400feet of climbing. Ave HR was low @ 166, and ave speed was 24.8mph. Timmer had an absolutely unbelievably fast ride in 1:00:52. Casper rode 1:03 and change, and Brian Abery bested me by 30 seconds too.

I was 4 seconds behind Timmer this past Tuesday, and over 6 minutes behind him today. Ouch! As Timmer flew past one guy, the guy yelled "You better be fast". Apparently the dude had never been passed by someone going that fast before.

Jordan rode a 1:31:59, and was the only 13&under that raced the challenging course. He loves TT's. Afterwards we grabbed a bite in Frederick with Dan and Linda. Always a pleasure.

TNT Recap

Just a quick recap this time. Started :30 behind Waataja. Perfect rabbit. Caught him on the way back. He repassed me once, and motivated me to bury myself. Finished in about 24:14, which was good enough for 4th place (1. Wood, 2. Casper, 3. Mulrooney). Slower than 2 weeks ago, but on par compared to others. It felt a bit slow, maybe because the wind died, making it feel like a headwind on the way out, but no tailwind on the way back. Ave HR 172, Max 183. Results Posted

This was my 7th race day in the past 11 days. I'm taking 3 days rest. I'll be shaking and sweating by Thursday from the withdrawal.

Oh yeah, I won these, sort of ...

I stumbled onto the silent auction today at the State Crit, and saw these babies. I had absolutely no need, whatsoever for more wheels, but I just couldn't resist bidding $160 for such a nice set. Sure enough, I won them. They are listed as 1520grams/set. Jordan is drooling over them, as if his Zipps aren't good enough.

State Crit Recap

Results Posted
Patrick Horrigan scored a win in the Cat 3's by a huge margin. He started his sprint from the front headed into the finish hill, and simply pulled away from the rest. The picture shows just how far ahead he was, as he starts his victory salute. Way to go Patrick. Bro Loecken scored a bronze in the M4/5's. Nice job Bryan.

I registered for the Cat 1/2's, but opted to skip it in favor of saving what legs I still had for the Masters 35+ later in the day. It was a good decision. The field was pretty stacked, and they were just flying around the course. There were breakaways here and there, but it kept coming back together. Then, the field was coming through the start/finish area, chasing a group of 3, and we heard that dreaded sound. It turns out the balloons on the barriers (see photo above), blew into one of the bikes, which pulled the barriers into the road, and several folks in the back of the group went down hard. Tone Coughlin ended up breaking his shoulder, and they stopped the race for a few minutes, while the ambulance tended to the wounded. They restarted, and another group of 4 got a gap, and it looked pretty good. With a couple laps to go, the group of 4 grew to 10, and we saw Aric and Timmer bridge the small gap. They were all strung out, but essentially back together as they got the bell. Timmer took a massive pull during the last lap to lead Aric out for the win. Dan Swanson was 2nd, with tenacious Scott Flanders 3rd. What a great race to watch. I felt pretty bad about Tone's bad luck after all the great work he did last weekend. I hope everyone heals fast.

Finally, after sitting around for 8 hours, the Masters 35+ race was on. It was a fairly stacked field, and racing started right from the gun. I rode in the front for the first 5 laps or so, but my legs were still pretty messed up. I ended up getting pushed to the back during the middle of the race, as groups went up the road with no LSC representation. Macy and Golblirsh were forced to chase without my help. With about 6 laps to go, I started to feel better, so I moved to the front. With 4 to go, I decided to string it out and hold it as long as I could. With Painman on my wheel, I rode the front for 3 laps, until I finally cracked at the bell. Painman tried, but couldn't hang on for the finish (In fairness, he's been sick for several weeks). Brian Koeneman ended up taking the win. I was fine with the results, because I knew my legs had no snap for the sprint anyway. I think it is time for a rest. Good timing too, since there aren't any weekend races till July.

Double State Champion

Jordan scored not one, but two gold medals this state championship weekend. After yesterday's MN State TT win, today he won the MN State Criterium. Today's race was a nail biter for Carla and I, as Jordan had a one-on-one battle with Kody McCracken, a 13 year old who beat him by over 2 minutes in the 20K TT yesterday. Jordan rode aggressively on the front most of the time, and out sprinted Kody to win the Juniors under 15. Michael and Brian Gaines, from the Gaines quadruplets, sprinted it out for 3rd and 4th, with Michael just edging out Brian.

State TT - Humble Pie

Results Posted

I've been so happy with my results so far this season, I guess I was due for a bad day. Today was it. I felt good, my HR was where I wanted it, but my performance just didn't match up with my results from Wrenshall or Bike Club. It must just be simple fatigue from all the racing this past week.

I didn't stick around for the results, but I ended up with a 52:52 for the 23.14mi course (shortened due to construction). My average speed was 26.3mph with an Ave HR of 169. That put me 28th overall, 2nd in the Age 40-44 class to John Redmond (51:11). John Shishilla also smoked me in 50:35). Ian Stanford had the fastest time again this year (48:43). Dale Sedgewick was 2nd (49:56), Gordy Paulson was 2nd (50:02), and Timmer was a close 4th (50:04).

On a positive note, Jordan did great. He won the 20K juniors 10-12 class in 38:17. There was another under 15 junior named Kody McKracken (who also does the TNT TT) that beat Jordan, but he was in the 13-14 class.

The funny thing is I have a history of sub-par performances at the State TT. My first State TT ever was in 1997, back when it was in Santiago. I rode a 57:29 as a Cat 4. You would think that was fast enough to win the Cat 4's, but another Cat 4, by the name of Chris Flood, bested me with a 56:31. I had a bad day in 1998 and ended up 4th in the cat 3's. In 1999, I had a good day, but still ended up 2nd in the Cat 1/2's to Kyle Butkiewicz. In 2000, the race organizers neglected to get to the turn around before I got there, resulting in a DNF. In 2001, I had another bad day. I did my first St. Peter State TT in 2003, and got beat by 10 seconds by Dave Mercer in the Masters 35+.

State TT Results Summary:
1997 - Santiago - 57:29 - 2nd Cat 4
1998 - Santiago - 58:32 - 4th Cat 3
1999 - Santiago - 55:27 - 2nd Cat 1/2
2000 - Santiago - DNF
2001 - Santiago - 57:34 - 7th Cat 1/2
2003 - St. Peter - 56:13 - 2nd Masters 35+

I rode the tandem with Jordan in 2005 and 2006, and took 1st both years (no other tandems in 2006). So I do have 2 state championship time-trial gold medals, thanks to Jordan.

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.