Big Sky and Yellowstone

Lone Mountain is just as impressive in the Summer as it is in the Winter.

Chillin, watching Old Faithful erupt.

A seriously amazing ride through Yellowstone.

Leg one of Western Road Trip Complete

Drove from Hudson, WI to Timber Creek, MT on Wednesday.
Drove from Timber Creek, MT to Boise,ID on Thursday.

Thursday we did some sight seeing. Drove up to Lone Mountain to see what Big Sky looks like in the summer. Pretty cool.

The highlight was going to Yellowstone, and seeing Old Faithful erupt. The boys (Jordan and Dylan Knutson) got the opportunity of a lifetime to ride their bikes in Yellowstone. They'll never forget that.

1600 miles, 23 hours of driving.

Tour of Idaho starts today.

Junior Nationals Bound

Starting our trip today to Junior Nationals next week in Bend, Oregon. Jordan is doing the Tour of Idaho in Boise, Idaho on the way out. Local junior Dylan Knutson is travelling with us.

Jordan's TT Rig - HED Stinger Disc Rear, HED3C Front
Jordan's Road Rig - HED Ardennes
Thanks to Timmer and HED for equipping Jordan with Wheels for Junior Nationals.

Jordan takes 2nd win at Superweek

Jordan won the Juniors 10-14 Schlitz Park Criterium at Superweek. He soloed away early in the race and lapped the entire field except for the rider who finished 2nd. Congratulations Jordan.

Jordan wins at Superweek

Jordan won the Cat 4/5 Tour of Holy Hill Road Race at Superweek in Milwaukee, WI Friday. It came down to a field sprint, which he won by a bikethrow.

The name of the race led me to believe it was a difficult circuit. It was not easy, but certainly not hard. Apparently the race used to go up "Holy Hill" which was a serious challenge, but no more.

The wind was a factor. On the tailwind stretch, Jordan said he would start on the front, and by the end, he was all the way at the back. Tough to spin the 52x14 up to 40mph. On the crosswinds, Jordan would attack and gutter it at the center line, and the entire field was across the center line.

Jordan attacked right from the gun, and was solo for a few miles, then another XXX racing rider bridged, but couldn't help Jordan much, so they were caught. Jordan said he attacked like 20 times, but they didn't give him any leash at all.

Coming into the finish, Jordan was up front coming into the final turn with 300m to the finish. With a cross wind on the finish stretch, I thought he went to early, but only 2 other guys were able to draw alongside him, with Jordan holding them off with a bike throw. The video showed it was a matter of an inch or two. Huge congrats are in order Jordan.

In the parking lot after the race, I kept hearing other Cat 4/5 racers talking about Jordan, and how they couldn't believe how aggressive he was, and then won the race. I kidded them about talking about my kid, and one guy said "Is he your son? I was sure to get his name, so I'll remember it for the future."

New PR at Black Dog

14:33 is my new milestone at Black Dog, breaking my old PR from last year of 14:35. To put in perspective, that is an average speed of 27.9mph. Conditions were my favorite: Light cross wind on the way out, with a light push on the way back. My time at the turn around was 6:58, returned to the finish line in 13:35 (21 seconds faster on the return) and 14:33 at the finish (58 seconds for the last section). Ave HR 171bpm, Ave Cadence 91rpm.

Jordan continues to find the 15 minute barrier a challenge to break, recording another close time of 15:04. He was happy with his ride, and knows it's just a matter of time.

Top 10 Times of the night:
Jonathan Toftoy - 14:23
Dan Casper - 14:24(fixie)
Tim Mulrooney - 14:24(fixie)
Jim Cullen - 14:33
Andy Toftoy - 14:45
Nick Vetter - 14:45
Jordan Cullen - 15:04
Hollywood Henderson - 15:04
Greg Kostik - 15:07
Jeff Ingham - 15:13

A New TIME in my life

My replacement ride is ready to go for Superweek.

Thanks to the Flanders Bike Shop for helping me get a new ride so quickly.

Boy that was a sweet ride.

Thanks to Zuni Sturla for the great action shot from St. Cloud.

Hopkins Crit

Jordan and I both doubled up at the Hopkins Crit. Jordan won the Juniors 10-14, and finished in the pack in the Cat 4/5. I played a teammate support role in the Masters 35+ and Cat 1/2.

The Masters 35+ race was fast and hard. Every time the pace relaxed at all, there was an attack. I spent many a lap riding soft tempo of the front of the field, with teammates ahead in breakaways. I got in a break with Sedgewick and Binkowski, but didn't get far. Skarpohl and Townsend has a good gap late in the race, but were also caught. The race was too fast, and the field was too strong for a break to stick. Hanna took the win, with teammates Woller and Scott Flanders 4th, and 5th. I had the average speed of the Masters race at 27mph.

The Cat 1/2 race was even harder. The averages speed was in the mid 28mph range. Groups tried to get away, and some lasted longer than others, but it kept coming back together. With about 10 laps to go, coming out of turn 4, a bunch of riders in the tail of the group got pinched by a curb, and several guys went down, me included. I was OK but my bike was broken in half. Everyone else seemed be able to walk away as well. In the end, Teammate Woell gave teammate Zim an awesome lead out on the backside in the last lap, and Zim took the win. His second year in a row winning the race. Woell held on for 6th. Well done Zim, and way to go team Flanders!

Death of a Beauty

It was a beautiful bike, but no longer. A late crash in the Cat 1/2 race at Hopkins ended her life. She sacrificed her life for me, as I came out almost unscathed. A small scrape on my knee. She'll be hard to replace.

Pursuits

Got up to the track for the Wednesday Timed Events last night. No fixed gear bike, so I rode my road bike. The key to doing a good pursuit on a road bike is to pick a gear, and ride it. Shifting just screws up your rhythm which is critical in a pursuit. I opted to do a 2K and 3K. The events were run 1-up rather than pursuit style, since they could only manage 1 timing strip. Conditions were less than ideal, with a brisk ESE wind.

2km pursuit:
Chose the 54x15, or 96 inch gear. I made the common mistake of going out too hard, and the gear was on the small side for me. I rode a 2:37 for an avg speed of 28.5mph.

3km pursuit:
Decided to move up to the 54x14, or 103 inch gear. That's a large gear for a pursuit. I started more sensibly, and held a fairly steady rhythm throughout. I rode a 3:52 for an avg speed of 28.9mph.

While waiting to ride at the track, most people ride their trainers while they chat away. Carla was with me too. I must have been on the trainer for nearly 2 hours.

Colton Barrett is National Champion.

Local junior racer, Colton Barrett, won a National Championship in the Match Sprint. Congrats Colton! He also made the podium in the Points race, finishing 4th. Junior Track Nationals were held July 2-5 in Los Angeles, CA.

Northfield Recap

Jordan in the Cat 4's

Jordan won the juniors 10-14, and finished 8th in the Cat 4/5's. Northfield was Jordan's very first race ever (2006). He said they were banging shoulders quite a bit in the Cat 4/5 race, and the light rain didn't help things either. It came down to a field sprint of about 30 riders, which was new to Jordan, so great experience. He got a little taste of field sprints at quad cities this year, but it's still pretty foreign to him.

I did the Masters 35+ and Cat 1/2 races. In the Masters, I planned to ride in support of teammates Scott Flanders and Jay Woller. All 3 of us got into breaks that never stuck, but Scott and Dan Casper got in a 2 separate breaks that stayed away for several laps each. In the end in came down to a field sprint, taken by Scott Flanders, helped by a strong last lap pull on the front from Casper, who finished 3rd himself. Koeneman was 3rd. A huge congrats to Scott for scoring the win in a very tough race.

Only 1 of my teammates started the Cat 1/2 race with me (Yorgos). I tail gunned most of the race with a couple exceptions where I moved clear once for a prime, and bridged up to a break that contained Casper and Brabbit. Casper and Yorgos got away late in the race, and looked like they might pull it off, but they were caught on the hill in the last lap. Dan Swanson won the field sprint, followed by Tony Olson, then Ian Stanford.

I took a look at my Garmin data from the race, and both the Masters 35+ and Cat 1/2 races clicked off about the same lap times. Average speed around 26mph for both races.

Northfield Crit Results

Stories of the day:
Dan Swanson bagged his first Northfield crit win since 2006.
Dan Casper was hands down, most aggressive rider, in both the Masters 35+ and Cat 1/2.
The Flanders ladies took it up a notch from last week, taking the top 5 spots in the women's open race.
Hollywood is by far, the best announcer around.
Jake Boyce and Milltown Cycles put on a class event.

Diane Ostenso National Criterium Champion

Way to go Diane! Gordy finished a close 2nd in the Men 55-59.

Locals at Masters Nationals TT

Dan Casper finishing.

Gerry Finken came within 0.4secs of a national championship, finishing runner up in the Men 50-54 Time Trial. Ian Stanford was also a runner-up in the Men 35-39. Gordy Paulson and wife, Diane Ostenso both made the podium, each finishing 5th in their 55-59 categories. Charlie Townsend and Sherry Berde-Townsend finished 3rd in the 90-99 Mixed Tandem division.

Local Results:
25.8Km:
Ian Stanford - 2nd, 35-39 - 30:02
Dan Casper - 7th, 40-44 - 31:01
James Parker - 16th, 45-49 - 31:56
Mark Brone - 15th, 40-44 - 32:03
Tim Mulrooney - 20th, 40-44 - 32:36
Dale Sedgewick - 23rd, 40-44 - 32:49
Gordy Paulson - 5th, 55-59 - 32:49
Mike Suntgen - 19th, 30-34 - 33:02
Todd Kinart - 28th, 40-44 - 33:20
Townsend/Berde - 2nd, Tandem 90-99 - 33:32

20Km:
Gary Brone - 6th, 65-69 - 31:29
Diane Ostenso - 5th, 55-59 - 33:23

Click here for results.

Black Dog #5

120 starters at Black Dog #5. Conditions were on the cool side with a moderate NNE wind which made for a tough return leg. Many of the fasties are at Masters Nationals.

Fastest Times:
Jonathan Toftoy - 14:27
Nick Vetter - 14:40
Jim Cullen - 14:49
Jeremy Sartain - 14:56
Greg Kostik - 14:58
Jordan Cullen - 15:04
Drew Toftoy - 15:06

St Cloud Times - MN State Crit Coverage

Photo credit:jwachter@stcloudtimes.com

Great local press coverage of the MN State Critierium Presented by GrandStay.

Congrats Dan Casper - Masters Nationals Runner-up

Congrats to Dan Casper finishing runner-up in the Masters National 40-44 Road Race.

Excerpt from USACycling.org:
"Just over 100 riders took to the line in the 40-44 men’s road race making it the largest field of the competition. Mid-way through the 10-lap affair four riders, Roger Aspholm (Haworth, N.J./Westwood Velo), Nico Toutenhoofd (Boulder, Colo./Excelsports.com), David Harward (South Jordan, Utah/Porcupine-Specialized Racing) and David Henderson (Columbia, Mo.) were able to gain time on the field. As the contest moved into the final laps, a small group of chasers formed including Craig Romer (St. Helena, Calif./Team Specialized Racing), Stephen Spanbauer (Louisville, Ky./Calistoga Racing), Stephen Ferretti (Crestline, Calif./Sho-air-Sonace) and Daniel Casper (Northfield, Minn./Grandstay Hotels). They began slowly closing the gap but were unable to catch the leaders until some confusion ensued with the front group missing the turn into the finish. Tootenhoofd and Harward were able to quickly get turned around, but the chase group was surging. In the kick to the line Romer, Casper and Ferretti grabbed the medals in one of the event’s most interesting finishes. An officials’ jury was quickly formed and after thorough investigation, the results were deemed to stand as each rider crossed the line."

Get well Erik Dahl

Erik Dahl looks like he might make it in this shot, but not quite. Broken Radius of the wrist. Lance lost quite a bit of skin too. Heal fast guys.

A Win Feels Good - State Champion or NOT

I won my first crit in 8 years, and my first race of 2009, on Sunday at the MN State Criterium Championships in St. Cloud, MN. In fact, I'd be the 2009 MN State Masters 35+ Criterium Champion if I didn't live in Wisconsin. I knew it going in, so the victory is just as sweet.

Instead, the State Championship went to my breakaway partner, James Tainter (Silver Cycling). The two of us got away 5 laps into the race, when I countered an attack by Jay "Hollywood" Henderson. I didn't expect it to stick, but the strong wind was a factor. Our gap was small at first, but we kept our heads down, and slowly pulled away. At one point, it looked like we were going to lap the field, but it was not to be. Tainter is a National Champion on the track, and made for excellent company. Congratulations James.


Coincidentally, Scott Flanders managed to get in a 2-man breakaway with Silver Cyclist, Dave Pramann in the Masters 50+. Scott won the race, and took home his 1600th MN State Championship (embellishment).


The Ladies of Flanders dominated the Women's race, sweeping the podium (Moriarty 1st, Sone 2nd, Morse 3rd). Congrats, you gals earned it.


Jordan was also NOT MN State Champion, finishing 3rd overall in the Juniors, 1st 10-14. Alex Meyer attacked off the line, and only Colton Barrett and Jordan were able to reel him in. Everyone else in the race got lapped at least once by the leading trio. Colton took home the Junior State Championship, with Alex Meyer 2nd, Jordan 3rd. Nils Boberg was the official MN Juniors 10-14 State Criterium Champion. Congrats guys.

Jordan also did the Cat 3/4 race, and finished a respectable 9th.

Happy the race is over.

County Cycles TT

Heard about the County Cycles TT on Thursday, and made a quick decision to do it since the training plan called for intensity.

The course is identical to the "20K" loop of the Synergy TT. It measured 13.5 mi on the button. The starting order went Jordan, Me, Timmer, and Casper. Casper was riding his fixie, while the 3 of us were on gears.

Conditions were ideal. A light NW wind and warm, but not miserable. The event is pretty low key, no holder at the start, and no corner marshalls, but not really an issue as long as you know the course.

I had what I thought was a good start, making up some time on Jordan. Then, at about 4mi, Timmer catches me. Ouch. Wasn't counting on that. From there, I gave him a gap, and stole pace of him, as we chased after Jordan.

And a chase it was. Jordan was determined to stay away. For several miles, Timmer was several bike lengths behind Jordan, and I was the same behind Timmer. Jordan was able to hold Timmer off until just before the turn to the finish. He was still able to hold me off, as I was only able to make up 15 secs on him.

The results, as expected, showed a reverse of the start order for the 4 of us.

The $5 race entry include post race brats. Very nice.