crossmadness

This and that

2009-02-05T19:40:00.002-06:00

First a little 'cross commentary regarding worlds: Congratulations to a certain B. Matter for making the team and representing Wisco. Cool indeed. That's just about all that was cool about worlds though as the race itself turned out to be pretty boring. Now, if it was me in a race that won nearly from the start, that wouldn't be boring a'tall but that's not likely to happen.

Second a short team update: we had our first of the year Cafe Hollander team meeting on Monday evening at Headquarters. Lots of excitement is building for the upcoming season as we have some fresh Masters blood and have started a women's team. There is new kit on the way too, which I must say is very "pro" looking. We even have matching gloves and shoe covers this year to go with an already impressive amount of clothing. I can't wait to roll out as a team with twenty of us two by two.

Be sure to check out our website in the coming months as we have a new webmaster who promises to update it (not me.....). Also, in case you haven't heard, June will bring the opening of the new Cafe Hollander in Wauwatosa. The plans are for outdoor seating on the bridge across from Noodles. The restaurant will be in the building that now houses Zimmerman Architectural Group next to the Chancery. Eric and Mike plan to gut remodel the interior of the building and add a fountain out front where the sculpture is now.

Third is my dilemma over a new road bike this year. My business is still going strong, but the daily doses of nasty economic news have me pretty nervous. We have a sweetheart of a team deal from Specialized that I would love to take advantage of but I think I'd better hold off. I would guess that I'm not the only one in this boat...

See you on the road

Proud to be an American

2009-01-20T22:08:00.002-06:00

I have never been, am not now, and will never be a nationalist or a big hoo rah rah the US is the best type of person. That said, I am today proud to be an American. 'Nuf said.

It's good

2009-01-19T19:48:00.003-06:00

Those of you who know, know: it sure feels good to be back on a bike after an extended break. A few times on the trainer in the last week, one eventful roller ride that reminded me just how mad skilled I'm not, and a nice winter ride with the Shedmaster. The latter (yesterday) was thoroughly enjoyable and reminded me that I can sweat my butt off even though it's only 15 degrees.

So I have this Bosnian guy that works for me, and whenever I ask him a question of any kind, he answers "it's good". Doesn't matter whether I'm asking how he is feeling, if he wants a donut, or if he would like it if I kick him in the shin, the answer is always the same: "It's good". I think it's going to be my new motto.

Mad Men?

2009-01-15T22:25:00.003-06:00

So last Friday night my friend Dean had a "Mad Men" party. Don't know what th at is? I didn't either. It's a show about an ad agency in the early 60's in Manhattan. Check out my appetizer in the pic below: FLAMING CABBAGE! Does it get any better than that?

The host with the most posing with Jackie O

Yours truly having some "back seat time" with Jackie. Now I know what Jack saw in her.

The host. See this look? He lives it.

Oh yeah, flaming cabbage. The sterno in the middle is for cooking your weenie! (the olive is so you don't burn your fingers when you're drunk and mistake them for the business end of affairs.)

Blowing off the cobwebs of this blog

2009-01-10T22:29:00.002-06:00

Hello? Anyone ever stop here anymore? Besides the Sugs I highly doubt it... and that includes me. If anyone gives a rip, I'll recap the last six months in a few sentences. I gave up the blog pretty much the way I gave up cycling after the fun in summer, but maybe I'll approach this blog with a little of the renewed enthusiasm that I have for cycling and life in general.

Anyway, here goes:

July: back in Froedtert for a week. More bad news after another, larger stroke took my left leg out from under me.

August: rare adverse reaction to the drugs left me with only one option which was to go on an injectable anticoagualant. Didn't figure that would be too bad as it would only be for a month or so.

September: another angiogram and more bad news. Sorry pal, another four months of drugs and restrictions, racing is over before it started. Just to fu*k with my not-so-bad-ol-self even further I decided to try a case of Shingles on for size. If you ever had it you'll know what fun it is.

October: blah, blah, blah. I couldn't even haul my sorry ass to watch my team mates race. My attitude sucked.

November: just for a good measure, my brain misfired and gave me a scare but another MRI showed no further damage so the docs figured it was residual affect from previous damage. Whew.

December 23rd: Merry Christmas to me! Angiogram showed clean artery and I went off the drugs. Time for my pincushion to heal. Can't imagine how type 1 diabetics feel.

January: now it's time to get back to business. I've got 15 pounds to drop and some serious catching up to do. It's gonna be a great '09.

Postscript: Thanks to Steve Roeder and Hollander for sticking by and for everyone's support; I needed it. I figure that the only direction I can go now is up! I learned some valuable lessons in the whole process that I will not soon forget and that is the bright side to the year.

See you on the road...

Oops, I forgot...

2008-06-26T13:48:00.002-06:00

The long term prognosis is that the brain will work around these dead spots. My doc told me that I dodged eleven bullets to the brain, and to consider myself more than lucky. I do.

My list of restrictions includes: no racing, no roller coasters, and NO chiropractors. He also said no tackle football and no getting so drunk that I'd fall down.

Over and out, amigos.

The end of the story

2008-06-25T09:45:00.002-06:00

So, to pick up where I left off, eventually they figured out what was going on with this whole stroke business. The MRI showed eleven separate events; five more major, six less so. The five more major ones showed brain tissue death of areas ranging from the size of a large pea, to the largest at the size of a marble. The smaller ones ranged from the size of a bb to the size of a small pea.

Here's what happened: Somehow I developed a dissection, or small tear, in the right side carotid artery going from the heart to the brain. As near as I can tell, it may have happened when Cece jumped on my back at the same time I was standing up. Apparently, it doesn't take much force in a certain way to cause injury to the artery. Anyway, this little tear started to allow blood clots to form, which then would break off, float up into my brain, and get stuck there, causing the strokes. In the investigation of why this was happening, they asked me a series of questions looking for the cause. The first was asking whether I had been in an accident recently, but the second question threw me: had I been to a chiropractor? The answer was no, why? The neurologist explained that this type of artery injury, while not exactly common, can be caused by upper neck manipulation. Hmm, I think I'll stay away.

In the end, the prescription for fixing this problem is to thin my blood long enough for the dissection to heal. That means a few weeks of twice daily Lovenox injections while the regular stuff, Coumadin, gets normalized in my system. Every third day, I have to go to Froedtert for a blood test for the Coumadin until the dosing is nailed down.

All of this goes back to why I can't race this summer: thin blood. I actually rode with my doc yesterday and he said as long as I was riding with him he'd be able to plug the leaks if I crashed, but that he'd much prefer I didn't do that. It would be difficult to plug a leak inside my skull...

So try not to crash me on the Beat Down as I'll blame it on you if I bleed out.

Been a looooong time

2008-06-21T12:21:00.003-06:00

I wish I had a good reason why it has been so long since I posted, but if anyone is still checking this page, and still cares to read it, I actually have some stuff to say today.

Spring and summer have been good for me cycling-wise. I have more miles at this time this year than in years past, the weight that I lost over winter and early spring has stayed off, and I feel like I'm riding at a pretty high level. Sometimes I can actually keep up with Aaron and Jeff...

I should (was) at this time be looking forward to Superweek and racing with my Hollander teammates, but I had a bit of a set back. A little background is in order: four weeks ago, the day after the bone ride, which, by the way, was totally cool, I had what I thought was kind of a weird neurological event where my left hand fell asleep in an instant, and I couldn't speak. I couldn't even form words at all. It was bizarre, but I just chalked it up to the stress of the bone ride and a heavy work schedule.

A week later, it happened again, in pretty much the same way as the week before. This time, I decided not to say anything to anyone and just hope for the best as I felt a bit pestered after the first time. In short order, I forgot all about it and everything was alright until last week Wednesday when it happened yet again. At that point I finally decided to call a doctor just to make sure there wasn't something seriously wrong.

Interspersed throughout these "events" as I have come to call them, I was having bouts of vision problems that came with mild dizzy spells. Those I figured were nothing more than low blood sugar ebbs, as it seemed as though if I drank some soda or had a bite to eat, they would stop. Little did I know that they had nothing to do with low blood sugar...

Anyway, back to the timeline; the one that occurred last Wednesday afternoon was followed by another on Wednesday evening during a meeting. That time, my hand fell asleep and stayed asleep; worrisome to say the least. I had to get up and leave the meeting as I was getting a bit freaked out. As soon as I got home, I called a friend who is an internist at Froedtert/MCW. She called back later that night, and while I was talking with her, I had another event where the left side of my face went numb, and I couldn't form words properly, like when you have Novacaine in your mouth.

She urged me to go to the ER, but being the stubborn Kraut that I am, I refused and instead opted for her to set something up in the morning. On Thursday morning, she called to say that she had set up an appointment for me for that afternoon with another doctor in her department, but that she had also ordered a CT scan and blood work in the meanwhile.

By the time I saw the doc, the results of the CT were back and were inconclusive. The worry was a possible brain tumor or something, but nothing showed up. He discussed the possibility of seizures brought about by stress, but ordered an MRI for Monday morning as a precaution. Little did he know how prescient that was.

My six am MRI went fine, so off to work I went. I took an easy ride at midday, and on the way back to work from the ride, my phone rang. It was another doc from the internal medicine clinic. She told me, in no uncertain terms, that I was to drive directly to the hospital, do not pass go, do not collect two hundred dollars. Why? The MRI showed that I had had a stroke. WTF? I thought, me? a stroke? As I would come to learn later, It wasn't just one stroke, but eleven distinct events; five that were worse and six not so. I assumed that they were just what is known as TIA's, no big deal. The docs knew otherwise.

After being admitted immediately, the process of finding out why started. I got hooked up and dialed in with all kinds of pipes and wires to keep track of my sh*t, and bring me back should I decide to disappear momentarily. Here's the list of tests that I remember: EKG, EEG, echocardiogram, CT angiogram and 18, yes 18 vials of blood. Vampires I say. I called the girl taking my blood that and she told me if I wasn't nice to her, she would just let me bleed out right there.

As anyone who has spent any time in a hospital knows, they're no place to be sick, much less well, and they're certainly no place to get any sleep. After reciting my story to no less than 387 doctors, nurses, med students, orderlies and anyone else who wandered into my room, I was finally allowed to get some sleep. That is between hourly visits from other various and assorted people wanting to poke and prod me. Why do they feel compelled to do that crap in the middle of the night? I think it's just because they have to be awake, so you may as well be too. Misery loves company.

Who knew that there were so many people interested in my well being? All in, there were no less than four neurologists and three internists working on my case, not to mention a few radiologists and at least one cardiologist for good measure. Ah, the advantages of a major teaching hospital. the place may not be the Taj Mahal of hospitals, but I feel certain that there is no place I would have rather been hospital-wise. I digress though, and this story is already getting too long for the attention span challenged, so I'll quit here and pick it up in the next post. Before I end this one though, I am ok. A few less brain cells, and considerably thinner blood than before but otherwise ok.

Oh yeah, The Shedmaster has a new nickname for me: Stroker Ace. Thanks Rascal.

The Po-lice is your friend, or the case of an enraged motorist.

2008-03-30T07:59:00.003-06:00

Newsflash: MPD officer stands up for cyclist' rights to ride two abreast!

Now here's the dope. Fearless leader Steve and I, having been summarily dropped by our teammates and left to fend for ourselves, found out the hard way that some people just don't like cyclists. We were riding along on Lake Drive just minding our own business when by what chance we happened upon another rider of the opposite sex. Having noticed our flash new team kit, said rider of opposite sex felt compelled to inquire of our very handsome selves. As it happens, the woman was freshly installed in our fair city from where else but Amsterdam. You know, that cool city in Holland, as in Cafe Hollander... So it wasn't really our handsome selves she was inquiring after, but her desire to find out more about this Cafe Hollander place we were advertising.

Being the helpful, sponsor mindful and all around swell guys that we are, we were more than happy to ride along with her and tell her all about this wonderful Cafe Hollander place. Besides, what's better than riding along the lakefront on a lovely day talking with an attractive Dutch girl? Too bad it was about to turn as ugly as a hatfull of arseholes. The setup was that I was on the inside, nice Dutch girl was in the middle, and Fearless Leader Steve was on the outside. As Fearless Leader Steve was riding just on the lane line, a car coming up from behind decided to slow down before passing us. This all happened on the stretch of Lake Drive across from Lake Park where there is a full curb lane as well as a full traffic lane- just so you get the story straight. Anyway, as soon as the car slowed down to pass us, the next car, a Ford Explorer XLT, Wisconsin licsense plate 646435 as it happens, started to lay on the horn. He was apparently in a big ole' hurry to get to the golf store. How do I know that, you ask? 'cuz he was wearing a hat that said PING, which is crap for the world's most useless "sport".

Mr. PING, as he will now forever be known, felt it his duty to inform Fearless Leader and myself about the "rules of the road". Mr. PING was EXTREMELY sure that cyclists MUST ride single file no matter what, and clearly was EXTTREMELY upset by the fact that we were not actually riding single file. Being the informative guys that we are, we tried to explain to Mr. PING that this was not the case, and that Wisconsin Law allows us to ride two abreast so long as we are not impeding traffic. Mr. PING reeeeeeally didn't like being told this. In a flurry of invective, he gunned the accelarator, and turned on to Park Street where he promptly gunned the brake pedal as he decided he wasn't done telling us about the "Rules of the Road" yet. I'm still unclear on what rules he was trying to get across by screaming, as loud as he could in Steve's face, spit flying, that we were IGNORANT. Ignorant !@$%^& (*&%# (&^$#9! And that we were all dressed up gay like in our tight colorful clothes. Of course we know that. Duh.

Mr. PING was by this time so upset that it appeared his head might just explode if he kept screaming. Or maybe his heart would give up seeing as how his "sport" is golf which means his heart just doesn't get much of a workout. Except maybe when he screaming about the golf cart ahead of him or something, but I digress. Mr. PING then gunned the accelorator again, nearly clipping my wheel; now I was gonna get upset and whipped out my phone to threaten to call 911. Mr. PING didn't like that prospect ONE BIT, and, I'm not making this up here, slammed on the brakes, threw his truck in reverse and aimed directly for us. Thanks to my cat-like reflexes, I was able to jump out of the way before becoming one with the Explorer, as was Fearless Leader. Now it was time to call 911 for real.

As I was speaking with the 911 dispatcher, Mr. PING must have concluded that indeed he was STILL not done explaining the "Rules of the Road" to us, and showed up again. I just held out my phone so that the dispatcher could have a nice listen to Mr. PING. Admittedly he was calmer by this time, but clearly still upset. I invited him to stick around and have a chat with us until the police arrived but he though the better of that idea, jumped back into his car, and gunned the accelorator once again. I think he used up about ten gallons of gas repeatedly doing this.

After a short time, Officer Friendly arrived on the scene to investigate the altercation. This is where the news flash comes in. The first thing he said to us, after hearing a brief description of what happened, is that WE HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO RIDE TWO ABREAST WHERE WE WERE. Ooooh, vindication feels so good. He obviously had better things to be doing, but appreciated us taking the time to call in. He promised to have a nice chat with Mr. PING and perhaps direct him to some anger management classes. Or maybe to play a real sport which would no doubt help with his issues as well. At some point in the conversation with Officer Friendly, who really was friendly, we got to talking about an officer's right to use lethal force. I asked him whether Mr. PING's vehicle qualified as a deadly weapon, and he assured me that it did. I then asked whether it would have been OK for me to whip out my Glock 9mm from my jersey pocket and shoot the f*cker dead. He was amused, but told me that he just didn't want to write up a report for that today.

Oh, and the Dutch girl? I think she decided take her bike right back to where she bought it, and grab the next flight back to Amsterdam where this kind of stuff JUST DOESN'T HAPPEN.

Spring is Sprung

2008-03-15T21:51:00.003-06:00

It just keeps getting better.

This week:

154 lbs

215 miles

12.5 hours of saddle time

All outdoors.

Life is good.

Some solo, some with the new team and some with aspiring pro Sam S. and the Shedmaster. You gotta love the first days of spring for dialing up the saddle time and stretching the legs.

My number one observation this year compared to years past is what a difference starting out the season 15 pounds lighter can make. It takes a whole lot less watts to hump up the hills at 154 than it does at 169.

I'm looking forward to a great year.

Long time coming

2008-02-12T16:10:00.000-06:00

158.

Not since 2004.

Back feels better.

Clothes fit.

Ab definition.

Life is good.

Should have done this a long time ago, but lifestyle is hard to change sometimes. I finally had to admit that I'm only getting older and I've got to work harder than ever to achieve/maintain what was taken for granted years ago. Better late than never as they say.

R.I.P. Sheldon Brown

2008-02-07T17:04:00.000-06:00

A truly helpful person and all around master of all things bicycle. You know that he loved what he did- a vocation as well as an avocation. (kind of like Russell...)

A nifty web site

2008-01-31T18:34:00.000-06:00

It is not my intention to get political on my blog right now, but I came across a site that I feel compelled to post. Actually, I don't think it's even political, but deals with political figures.

Draw your own conclusions.

Iraq: The War Card

winter so far

2008-01-21T19:40:00.000-06:00

So, I am now fully entrenched in my winter/ off season fun. I'm on the trainer/rollers 4 days a week but not with much intensity. In my last post, I noted that I have some goals: flexibility, core strength, weight loss and making my back feel better. I am actually being successful in three of the four goals, and am really psyched to keep seeing more progress.

Flexibility: The main problem has been my hamstrings, an I am happy to report that with my foot up on a table, I can alllllmost touch my toes now. Don't laugh your beer out your nose- I couldn't get within 4 inches when I started.

Core strength: This has been cool. The gains are quick and evident. At the start, I couldn't hold a plank for 30 seconds, and I can hold one for 4 minutes now. I also feel like my posture is getting better with stronger muscles to support my torso and I think I can start to see some muscle definition (under the rest of the spare tire anyway :))

Weight loss: With the exception of the party boat episode, I have been diligent at restricting my intake. Chief among the restrictions has been alcohol, which after the holidays and my brother's visit, has not been hard to cut back on. Starting weight: 169, now 164.5. Good progress by all accounts. Not quite like this guy, but hey, he's a lot yunker than me...

Back pain: So far, this has been a disappointment. I thought for sure that it would be feeling better now, what with the progress in the other areas, but no avail. Worse yet, I seem to have developed a case of mild sciatica. Bummer. I will keep going though, in hopes that it just hasn't been a long enough period of time yet.

OK, enough of that stuff. For Christmas, Santa brought Sam a real snowboard. I provided a pair of boots and goggles and he was off and running (or sliding). We went to the sledding hill a few times but all that did was make him want to try a 'real' hill, so off to Sunburst we went a few weeks ago. He had a lesson, and picked up the moves quickly. His passion over the summer/fall was skateboarding which translated well to the snowboard.

As a kid, I lived for skiing. Just the mild threat in August of skiing sanctions for being a punk had me back on the straight and narrow, that's how much I loved it. As soon as the weather started to turn crisp in the fall, I was dreaming of skiing night after night. Suffice to say, after my college years and on into dad-hood, I left it go, but always had it in the back of my mind that I would return to it someday. I think you can guess the rest!

I rented some of the new parabolic skis and wow! what a difference from my old boards. At a whopping 5'9" I was on 205's, now I'm on 165's! they are great fun and make me feel like I never left the sport they're so easy to ski. It didn't take long before a nice pair of Atomics with some new Solomon boots were in my possession. After that first night, I figured I would be sore for a week, but I didn't have any after effects at all. Except wanting to go again and again. The great thing is that I can do it with Sam, instead of just watching him. Now Maddie wants to get in on the action, but she wants to ski not board so I will take her for lessons as well. It's a good thing that business is good, because it's an expensive hobby. At least the season is relatively short.

That's it from the home front. Enjoy the winter wonderland.

A Good Time

2008-01-13T15:51:00.000-06:00

The 2007 WCA cyclocross banquet was held last night at the Fitchburg Community Center in beautiful Fitchburg Wisconsin. There was an armed policeman type posted outside the door to our hall the whole time. I'm quite sure that it had something to do with Cale, Andy and the rest of the Pegusussy crew. They was just itch'in fer trouble and Johnny Law was gonna be there to bust heads if need be.

Renee Callaway and J.P. Ericsson really put on a great event from the super tasty fajita bar to the fresh kegs of beer. There was a nice presentation by Ben Turner of Cycle-Smart and the Clif Bar Development Team. He had some great ideas about making our events more environmentally friendly and about bringing more kids into cx racing. I'm pretty sure Jay was zoning out bad during the "green" stuff. Damn tree huggers :)

Other notables in attendance were the proprietors of the Rusty Tool Shed and The Darkness himself. Representing Team Polska was a trio of ne'er do wells by the names of Maciej, Marcin and Abby. The Pegasussies threatened to blow our ears out with a cowbell and flugle horn orchestra. Kind of like being at a race except it was colder in the hall we were in. Someone forgot to tell the Fitchburgers to turn up the heat. Don't they know a bunch of bike racers don't have the extra layer of blubber to keep warm in winter?

I got this cool life-size trophy to take home. Had to strap it to the top of the car. I'm not sure where to put it at home though as my trophy room is getting too full for something this big. Oh well, such problems to have.

As you can see, Russell was starting to question his choice of seating. I'm glad he was between me and the obviously deranged Pole.

back to normal

2008-01-06T22:31:00.001-06:00

So now the holidays are finally over, I weigh another extra five pounds and it's definitely time to get back to it.

So first some news: After flying the Hayes colors for five years, I'm moving on. I have joined the Cafe Hollander Racing Team for '08 and beyond. Just so there's no misunderstanding, I have nothing against the Hayes Team, or any of the people involved with it. I appreciate the opportunity that the team gave me to race for them, and they are a good bunch of guys. Why then the move, you ask? Well, in the first place, Hollander is much more of a road and 'cross team, whereas Hayes is mostly a track and mtb team. Being that my racing interests lie in road and 'cross, that was the first draw. Secondly, they are more involved with the local racing scene, and also get involved with bike advocacy and the Urban Playground Foundation. Any hey, who wouldn't want to race for a team whose sponsor is known for their beer and french fries??

So, I do have some goals for this year. They are few, and simple: 1) Get down to optimal weight. This used to be an easy thing to do; of course that was before I turned 40. Now it is hard to do, but is something that I must achieve. Goal weight by spring:159. Weight now:172. 2) Strrrrrretch. Stretching is an activity that I start every winter, and then leave behind as summer approaches. Not this year, no sir. 3) Strengthen my core. This, I think, is imperative to having a better season. Perhaps all of the above directly relate to the lower back pain that has bothered me for most of the past year. It is never bad enough to stop me from activities, but it is a day to day limiter on my overall performance and physical well being. So that's it. Simple, eh?

2008 is off to a good start:

48 miles with the Shedmaster today in the fog. We hit Elm Grove, Pewaukee (where's the lake?) Lake, Hartland, Delafield and almost Nashotah. We ran into new teammate and current master's 40/4 cx champion Tim T. on the way back too. Something tells me that he thought we were nuts for going nearly 50 miles on January 6th. Russell is doing Trans-Iowa so he'll be doing lots of early season long rides. Just what I need for burning off those pesky extra pounds...

MONTROSE

2007-12-07T23:44:00.000-06:00

YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO. YOU CAN TELL HER THAT 'NO REALLY, THIS THE LAST, LAST RACE FOR THE SEASON. PLEEEEEEEZE??

Sunday, December 9, 2007MONTROSE PARK CROSS –RACE No. 6
ILLINOIS STATE CHAMPIONSHIP RACES
*The Chicago Cross Cup reserves the right to change prize amounts based on factors like attendance. USCF permit pending.
COURSE DESCRIPTION-Course will offer a variety of surfaces, pavement, gravel, grass, and sand combined with off camber sections, hills and multiple dismounts. REGISTRATION-Race day registration opens at 8:30AM. Entry fees are cash or check made out to T.B.S. All riders must fill out and sign USCF rider release forms. LICENSES-All races will be held under USCF permit. Those without USCF/NORBA licenses will be required to purchase a 1-day license for $10. 1-year and renewals will also be available at registration. Helmets required. All USCF rules apply.CATEGORY DESCRIPTIONBeginners: All first-year racers and one-day licenses must race Category 4 or Masters: Please check your 2007 USA Cycling license. If you disagree with your new category, apply for an upgrade at www.usacycling.org. Please check website for description of Cat. 4 A & B events.DIRECTIONS TO MONTROSE PARK IN CHICAGO-The park is located East of Lake shore Drive off Montrose Avenuein Chicago.From 90 or 94 take the Irving Park Road Exit and go Eastbound toLake Shore drive. Go North on the Drive to the Montrose Exit. Follow Montrose as it goes East and the course will be on the north side of the road near the Sled Hill.For more info: www.ChiCrossCup.comJuniors race for free thanks to the generous sponsorship provided by: EJ’sPlace10027 Skokie BoulevardSkokie, ILTel: 847-933-9800
SERIES SPONSORSCYCLE CYCLE SMITHYSMITHY773-281-0444
*2ndRace is only $10Race TimeEventDurationPrizesCost
10:00 AM HincapieSportswear MASTERS 30+ 45 min $150 -5 Deep$25
11:00 AM HincapieSportswear MASTERS 40+ 45 min $150 -5 Deep$25
12:00 PM Blue Competition Cycles WOMENS 1-2-3 45 min $100 -5 Deep$25
12:02 PM Sun Ringle WOMENS 4 30 min Product 3 Deep$20
12:04 PM Lake Shoes/EJ'sPlace JUNIORS 30 min Product 3 DeepFREE
1:00 PMBlue Competition Cycles MENS 1-2 60 min $200 -5 Deep$25
1:02 PMSun Ringle MENS 3 45 min $150 -5 Deep$25
2:15 PMHincapieSportswear MENS 4 Group A 30 min $75 -3 deep $20
3:00 PM MENS 4 Group B - (Beginners) 30 min Product 3 Deep$20 HINCAPIESPORTSWEAR

EPIC

2007-12-04T21:38:00.001-06:00

So by now you've read the others' reports of this day but I'm here to give you the inside story of the 2007 Wisconsin Cyclocross Championships.

The course was designed primarily by Bob Schueler of Hampshire Cycling Club. On a normal day, it would have been a course for the power rider- not very technical, a longish hill and some fast straights. Sunday? fugedaboutit. For the first race of the day (and I'm sure subsequent races) it was about nothing more than keeping the pedals turning. You could ride full speed (5mph?) up to the barriers and jump off 3 inches away and not stack it. The deal was, that if you stopped pedaling for even a moment, you simply lost all forward momentum instantly. It was so slow that technical skills just didn't come into play even though it was 3 inches of snow cone slop.

Being that this was The Championships, and I have more of a story to tell, I'm going to have longer than a 1ROSRR today. But first, the prelude; last Sunday, after Devil Take The Hindmost V.2, which no one knew about due to my apparently posting about it in some kind of weird code, I started to feel a little punk. By night time, I knew I was in for a good one. By the time Monday morning rolled around, I was full on sick- sore throat, body aches, chills, the whole drill. My one thought (besides wanting to be summarily executed) was F*CK! This is no time to get sick! Why oh why can't this be NEXT week AFTER the championship race?? Suffice it to say, my week went from bad to worse. In my mind I had no intention of even showing up on Sunday much less racing. But....

Being the hard headed Kraut that I am, I just couldn't not show up to the race. Even while getting dressed at the venue, I was doubting whether I should race until I saw my friend Rich who told me that if I didn't race I would have wasted his time coming out to watch me. That was enough to convince me. Lewis and I headed out on course to pre-ride and discovered a few things right away. One, the course wasn't marked yet (!) and two, the conditions SUCKED. Don't get me wrong, I love it crappy and I've no doubt that under any other conditions, I would have loved the course. Oh well, it just meant a whole lot more running as I didn't have a low enough gear to slog it up the long hill.

As we warmed up, the multicolor squiz was working it's way out of my lungs and I was heating up like it was a summer day- except for my toesies as they were soaked and cold. The race was delayed about 20 minutes so that they could finish course marking before they called us to the line. All the usual suspects were there, plus a few new faces but no Tom Hooyer. His absence would turn out to mean a lot to me in the end, but I'm getting ahead of myself. On the line, I informed Tim T. that of he failed to win, he would be off the team. I was there for pack fodder, no more. At the whistle, we humped it off the line in slo-mo. The first obstacle was a sand pit that I hadn't actually seen before and quickly claimed me as a victim. I lost a good four spots right there and then a few more for good measure down the front straightaway. By the middle of the first lap, I was sitting maybe tenth, well behind my competitors on a normal day, but this wasn't a normal day. After talking myself out of quitting for the 99th time, I finally settled in to a rhythm and, wonder of wonders, started picking people off one by one; Russell, Lewis, Richard et al. I managed to not only limit my losses but make up enough ground to finish 4th- podium! Ahead of me were, of course, the aforementioned Tim T. who heeded my warning and won the race (and the overall), Mark Burkholtz, aka Army Guy, and Chris Berge, my nemesis. Tim had a real fight on his hands as Mark surged on the second lap and took the lead from him for a short time.

In the photo above, I pipped that guy on the line by a half a wheel. Until last night, I had no idea how much that would mean. A fourth place finish is worth 15 points, a fifth place is worth 14. That one point was enough to put me on the podium for the overalls! Now you know why it ended up being important to me that Tom was not there as he would have finished ahead of me and I would not have gained third place- one point ahead of Tom!!

Thanks to Bob and Jerry and the rest of the HCC guys for all of their effort in putting on this race. It had to be tough to do but that's the spirit of cyclocross.

As a footnote, my dad asked me what it would take to cancel a race. Cancel? Yeah right. I told him that if the snow was too deep to ride, we'd just have to run the whole damn course.....

DEVIL TAKE THE HINDMOST v.2

2007-11-20T22:33:00.000-06:00

Don't miss it again, muchachos.

That's right, we're running version 2 of the best non-sanctioned 'cross race you can do in these parts. Same bat time (10am Sunday), same bat channel (Washington Park), same bat format (miss 'n out).

Keep up your fitness and your mad skeelz in preparation for the state champs in two weeks. We may even get lucky and have some sweet 'cross conditions to deal with, so be a real man (or wo-man) and try your luck at beatin' the devil hisself.

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday....... Be Therrrrrrrrrre!

SAY IT WITH ME:

2007-11-18T14:54:00.000-06:00

Pathetic. \pə-ˈthe-tik\ : pitifully inferior or inadequate.

I officially sucked today. J.P. Ericsson and the Brazen Hussies put together a difficult race course and I was not up to the challenge. There were some cool sections and some not-so-cool sections, but all in it was a good, hard course with plenty for everyone. I liked: the whoop-d-doos behind the bleachers, the fast two pack of barriers on the south side, the track and the beer hall. I disliked: the run up, the stair/gravel section and the nasty downhill, off camber turn into the tree.

The day started cold and overcast, but the sun came out part way through our race to warm things up a bit. The course was bone dry, and the fast sections were very fast. The corners were no problem with my switch of rear tires to a Michelin Mud2 from a Jet. I had a problem on half a dozen occasions that I have not experienced before: slipping in my rear cassette. It definitely kept me out of a fourth place finish. That's something I'll have to look into and soon. The cassette body on my Krsyriums has at lest 20k on it so I wouldn't be surprised if it was wearing out.

It has been brought to my attention that the "one fragmented sentence race report" title is actually a misnomer and that what it really is a long "one run on sentence race report". My bad. So, without further ado, the 1ROSRR: On the line we wait, shivering until the plastic horn signals go, hit the barriers in 5th behind Lewis, pass Lewis, keep on with Tim, Chris and the re-emerged Tom Hooyer, Chris punches it, gaps form, I'm riding Tom's wheel when he decides enough is enough and guns it to catch Tim and Chris, I get passed by ?, now 5th, about to pass back, cassette slip, then again, Tom takes Tim last lap, I roll in for 5th. Back to my usual spot in the scheme of things....

With motivation to train hard starting to wane with the short days, I feel like I need to conserve rather than put out; until I started racing 'cross, the fall months were for going bike path easy and doing night rides. Intensity, inschmensity. With 'cross, I have to keep on it, keep up the intensity and work even harder. A tough thing to work out sometimes.

Congratulations to Chris, Tim and Tom for great finishes and many thanks, once again, to J.P. Ericsson and the Brazen Hussies for all of their time and effort to make racing 'cross in Wisconsin something to remember.

DEVIL TAKE THE HINDMOST

2007-11-11T21:54:00.001-06:00

First things first: If you aren't in this picture, YOU MISSED IT! Ten guys, a case a PBR and bikes. What better a way to spend your Sunday morning?

Steve R. set up a sweet, short course in Washington Park that used part of the Halloween course, some of it backwards and some new stuff. One of the benefits of a sanctioned by nobody race is that you get to do whatever you want. Like going full speed down the big hill straight at a tree, and having a concrete path dismount with a concrete stair run up.

The set up: Two 3 lap heats, five guys each. At the end of laps one and two, the last rider gets pulled leaving three to duke it out for the finish. The winner moves on to the 'angel' race, the 2nd and 3rd place riders move on to the 'mere mortal' race and the pulled riders move on to the 'devil' race. Next heats work the same way with pulled riders on laps 1 and 2, and the remaining riders fighting for the finish, except the angel race which only had two riders.

Not being an 'official race', we couldn't exactly close the course. This led to an interesting situation of cars driving on the walking paths throughout the time we were there. WTF is up with that? I can't say I've seen that before....

I won't give a 1FSRR except to say that Tim and I went on to the angel race and he whupped me again. That's ok, by now I'm used to it. The PBR was cold and it was a fun day all in all. It gives me some ideas for next season.

Thanks again to Steve for setting this up. I think some of the attendees were pretty happy to be able to race in an unofficial event for their first race ever, and for the rest of us who race regularly, it was a good way to stay in shape on an off weekend.

Stay tuned to this site for future race announcements. Pic compliments of Phillip who came and did his very first cross race.

EVER THE BRIDESMAID PART 2

2007-11-04T21:27:00.000-06:00

Estabrook.

How many people did I tell recently that all Estabrook is is a drag race? A few turns, a little bit of chicanes and a small run up. Really. Until Jerry Pearce decided that the course needed to be twice as long in the same amount of space! The result was about 427 twists and turns on grass that hadn't been ridden before now. NOT that I'm complaining mind you. It's just not my favorite kind of course. I feel like we went from the best to (almost) the worst in two days. Maybe I've just ridden there all too often.

Driving to the race, I'm my same old nerve addled self. Seriously, I HATE race day mornings. My stomach is all in knots, my legs feel leaden and I usually feel like going back home. The day and night before I am excited to race the next day, but when morning comes.... So, just as I was turning onto the parkway, the first itty, bitty raindrops fell. Rain? huh? where'd that come from? By race time, it was raining steady, the wind had picked up and it was feeling like some true CX weather for a change. This is gonna be good, I thought.

Now for the 1FSRR. Start line and the hiss of air being released from tires all around me as the rain continues to fall, GO!, Lewis slams the hole shot, me 2nd, others behind, Lewis tows, Tim comes around, Chris comes around, turn up the heat, down to three, cruise control, trade pulls, just before the bell Tim's front mech turns to shit, I attack, Tim says NO WAY and brings Chris back to me, get small gap on Chris , punch it!, last chicanes, I'm in Tim's rear view mirror 'til the line. Shit, bridesmaid again, but at least I was the maiden of honor. Chris rolled in for 3rd and Lewis for an outstanding 4th.

For the first time this season, I felt that tactics may play a role in the race with three of us off the front and working together. It seemed to be anyone's race to win for most of the race and I had to think of the possible outcomes and results of my actions. That was pretty cool.

As has become my usual Sunday routine, I jumped into the 4s race right away with Lewis, Chris and Richard (also of Brazen Hussies). Lewis and I rolled and yakked for the better part of three laps until we decided to get serious and show the youngsters how it's done. From that time, we probably passed 15 guys. The course had tacked up nicely and you could rail most corners full speed. Lewis pipped me on the line. I told him that's the only time I'm letting that happen. Yeah right, famous last words. I dig doing the second race as it feels like I got a hell of a workout on the day.

With apologies to Hampshire Cycle Club, I think it's hard to keep the Estabrook course feeling fresh year after year. There just isn't much you can do with it given the geographic restrictions. Perhaps it's time to move it to a new venue next year. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate all of the effort that goes in to staging a race, but sometimes change is good...

EVER THE BRIDESMAID PART 1

2007-11-04T17:09:00.000-06:00

Or, The Team Polska Cyclocross Classic 2007 edition.

I am compelled to start this post by stating that this course is my new all-time favorite. Huge props go out to Majiec and Marcin Nowak and the rest of the Polska team for putting together what I think could easily be a championship course. They worked on course design for nearly a year and it shows; great use of terrain, off cambers, singletrack and of course The Hill. If you were there, you know why I capped that.

To set the stage, it was yet another beautiful fall day in Wisco. Frost on the pumpkins cool at the start but it warmed up nicely as the day wore on. Polska fired up the grills early to give you a a little incentive to finish as fast as possible with the scent of kielbasa wafting over the course (ok, so it was hot dogs, but so what, it was still sausage. Sort of.). I'd have liked maybe a high school drum corps pounding out some rhythm to get it all started but that would probably be too much to ask (for now).

Now on to the One Fragmented Sentence Race Report. Riders ready? Go! pound it up the hill into the singletrack, sitting maybe 8th, wind around, hit The Hill, pass like most of the riders in front of me (Lewis, you should have ridden it), sit in for around 4th, watch Tim T. get a gap, pass a tiring "quit yer cryin'- it won't do you no good" Russell, work, work, work to catch Tim, Chris nearly catches me, flubs a dismount and pinwheels over the barriers, I roll in for a nice 2nd. Man, that felt good. My legs felt super all race and I feel like I just pounded up the hill. For my efforts, I went home with a 6 pack, a pair of Twin Six socks, a water bottle and a tube. Sweet. That's more shwag than the rest of the season combined.

What changed to get to be the maiden of honor instead of just a run-of-the-mill bridesmaid? Easy answer: on Wednesday, I realized that a couple of things had happened to affect my riding. 1) My cleats had slipped all the forward so I was pedaling with my toes. 2) My seat had slipped back 1 1/2 cm. 3) My seat post had slipped down about 5mm. That's a whole lot of power robbing misadjustments. Add 'em up and the effect, I think, was pretty major.

Allow me to digress (it's my blog after all). In talking with Tim and Steve from Hollander, we think that Wisco CX could be much, much better. Why can't we bring a little Belgian flavor to the events? A little extra advertising, some better awards ceremonies for the riders, some networking to get more people out... Cross is a great spectator sport and we really never get anyone other than racers and spouses out for the events. We're not going to get non-bike people out for races in the middle of nowhere, but we could definitely bring 'em out for the Milwaukee races. Anywho, we have some things to work on for next year to step the series up a notch or two.

HALLOWEEN PSYCHO-CROSS

2007-10-28T20:57:00.000-06:00

And there were some truly scary folks about today. Russell in his schoolgirl outfit, diaper boy, Pegasus-Speedo racer to name a few. Ahhh, Washington Park. What a perfect day for a bike race, 40s-50s and sunny with a nice cool breeze. The Trocaderos always seem to get the nice days for their race. Four years I've raced there and four years of great conditions. Well, it could have been a bit better with a little rain or snow but I'll take this anyway.

40+ 4s for my first race of the day. I figured if I mugged with this guy I'd get some good mojo going and maybe place higher than my usual 4th or 5th.

'Twas a nice thought. Here's the one fragmented sentence race report: Official says go, I blast off for the hole shot up the hill, keep the momentum for about two thirds of the first lap when Tim Mr. Get-the-f*ck-out-of-my-way Theobald and his posse of neer do wells comes by me like I was having a picnic in the park, shit!, push, push, push, I'm never going to catch them but I'll keep trying and at least not let Lewis catch me, do some nice full speed bunny hops, have some fun and roll it for 5th. Again. man, I'm gettin' a little tired of 4th and 5th place. One of these races I'm gonna make it to that de-lux podium in the sky-i-i. Or something like that.

I should have mugged with this guy before the start as that would have been some good mojo indeed.

The man was on a mission. Wasn't nooooo one catching Mr. Tim today. As for the rest of the miscreants, Russell was nowhere to be seen and neither was Steve R. I'm thinking that the costumes just added a bit too much drag to catch those who were, as Randy says, haulllllllin.

Not to be content with just one ass-whupping, I jumped into the 4s race with the aforementioned Lewis shortly after the end of the 40s. Better to not cool down too much, ya know. Lewis and I rode around and heckled each other for most of 3 1/2 laps before deciding to throw down and show those young whippersnappers what us old guys were made of. Didn't quite end up showing anybody anything but it was a good time after all. I think my best lap all day was the 5th lap of the 4s race; I railed every corner and actually felt pretty strong. Of course I did my best to hack up both lungs after finishing. Something about extra effort and a cool, dry day that does a real number on my old, tar encrusted lungs.

Next up Kletch and Estabrook. I think that the Kletch course is a super top secret Polska training ground 'cuz I haven't been able to find it. Rumor has it that Maciej has put together a tough course- I'll believe the rumors. Estabrook is always a good time and a sheer power course as there's no elevation gain to speak of. Lewis suggested doing a quad day: 40+4s, 4s, 30+ and 40+. Either he's been hitting the wacky tobaccy or he just bought stock in Amgen. Or maybe both. I could see mayyyybe doing the triple with the regular 40+ but the quad? I jes don tink so, Lew-ees.

Props go out to Casey, Patrick and the rest of the Velo Trocadero team for yet another fine edition of the Halloween race. Nice decorations this year too. This next bit is going to seem a bit odd, but I have to give credit where credit is due and that is to the officials this year. Whatever new system Heidi has put in place is actually working. Results are posted quickly and I haven't heard of any disputes this season. It's great compared to previous years where you'd wait around for an hour and the results would still be all ef'd up.

How could I forget?

2007-10-21T20:46:00.000-06:00

I forgot to mention in my Gibbs Lake report the best part of the day: in the 4's race on the second lap, I managed to drop my wheel into a hole trying to remount after the second set of barriers. My end over end roll, with my bike, was pretty impressive if I do say so myself. Even the official standing there agreed that it was rather elegant. Too bad Renee wasn't there to record it.

Make mine a double please

2007-10-21T20:09:00.000-06:00

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday, beeeee therrrrrrre. Gibbs lake that is.

I have to start this report with the following question: what happened to fall? Damned if we didn't have a nicer weekend than any in recent memory. Now I like my rainy/cold/muddy races as much as the next guy but there is something to be said for 65 and sunny. When we finally do get seasonal weather, I'm afraid my system won't know how to react.

On to the one fragmented sentence race report for those short of attention span: Go!, hit the first turn in second spot behind Lewis, sucky corners, lose spots, cool tree barrier, settle in, Russell catches and motors on up the hill, nice, groove on, enjoy the colors, see Lewis on the side WTF?, catch Tim T, oh crap drop chain, roll in for 5th again.

Since it was such a nice day and I was feeling energetic I decided to jump into the 4's race too 10 minutes after my 40's finish. I won't do a race report except to say that by the time I climbed that hill at race pace for the 8th time my legs were starting to get noodle-y. I had a good time heckling some other riders and got a great workout on the day. Considering I had done 4 laps of the course in warmup, that made for 12 laps total. A good day.

My hope is that I am racing into form. There's nothing like racing to get you into race shape. If nothing else, I've thus far been consistent, but I feel like I'm getting better. Hmm, everyone else must be too....

Thanks to Michaels Cycles for a great course and a well organized event. Thanks again to Renee Callaway of Madcross.org for pics and video- check her site often for updates.

Whitewater CX

2007-10-21T19:51:00.000-06:00

I've been wondering where to go with the one fragmented sentence race report for this race and I think I've got it: Rich says 'go' and off goes a line of 20 some guys all heading for the same chute, I get in top five, fast barriers, bu-bu-bu-bumpy ride hang on tight, nice downhill/shoulder/run, get passed by then drop the Brazen Hussies guys, ride around in no-man's-land, hold off Russell, wonder when the hell they're going to post laps??, all the sudden it's the bell, cruise in for my by now familiar 4th place finish. Eight laps in all I think.

So last year this was the most pathetic race and course, and as noted elsewhere it costs more than the other races for some reason but I scored a nice seat bag so that's ok. All the other dudes complained about the course this year but I had to remind them of some of the redeeming qualities like the fast dismount barriers and the nice barrier/run/barrier section. A race like this probably favors my strengths though so maybe that's why I liked it. What strengths? I can hear you saying.... Well, the get in the groove and motor type since my technical riding skills are severely lacking and there weren't many needed for this race. F*ck the rest of 'em; I had fun, besides, what would I rather be doing on a beautiful fall day?

It's all good aka Badger Cross

2007-10-14T14:04:00.000-06:00

That's right peeps, it's all good. All good at Badger Cross that is. The Shedmaster and my bad self took another cruise to the land of liberalism today. Well, a bit south of there but close enough for me to feel good about it.

A quick trip in The People's Chrysler and Badger Prairie Park popped into view. I saw Renee Callaway of Madcross.org on the way in and thanked her for ordering some good CX weather for a change. It's about time. Many course changes this year made the new course one of the best I've ever raced. If you weren't going uphill or running barriers, you were negotiating off camber downhill slaloms that were getting muddier and slipperier by the lap. As the punks say: man, that sh*t was DOPE.

40+ 4s again today. Here's the one fragmented sentence recap: 16 guys, fast start up the pavement, dive into the course, Lewis crashed, took over 2nd spot, got tired, lost spots, Lewis passed me, he laid down for another rest, Tim from Hollander passed me, The Shedmaster passed me, he laid down for a rest, no gain for me, rolled in for a 5th, Russell a 4th.

A few other notes on the day are in order: I suck at cornering and used the WRONG tires. It was raining the whole time, perfect for CX but BAD for me and my poor choice of rubber. Lesson learned.

Next week Whitewater; in a word, yuk. I asked JP Ericsson to give them some help in course design. He said it was hopeless. Sunday brings the second edition of the Janesville race which I missed last year but am excited to race this year.

Thanks to Renee, JP and Capitol Velo Club for a great, well organized race on a fantastic course. Who'd a thunk a bunch a Madison chicks could put on such a great race?

Still alive.... barely

2007-10-13T16:41:00.000-06:00

Cam Rock CX today. Raced the 40+ 4s with the Shedmaster hisself. Go ahead and make fun of the category but I'll take it any day over the two alternatives: 40+ regular where I get shellacked and 4s regular where there were about 295 racers. The 23 in my race sounded lots better; besides, we race first so we get rock star parking. That's worth the price of admission for me.

Anyway, I won't bore you with the race report details, just a quick recap cuz I know you all (well, all one of you- thanks for reading mom) have short attention spans. Got in the top 3 at the start, passed by Russell, passed Russell back when he was resting in the dirt, crashed Russell and he busted up his shit, got passed by a Hollander guy, and hung on for 4th place. Out of the money but respectable enough considering I've raced a bike precisely once since last CX season, which if you were paying attention was a complete disaster.

Thanks to Paul Roltgen, Lewis Clark, John Ericsson and the rest of the Brazen Hussies Krew for a great race. Next up, Badger Prairie and Madison vegetarian extraordinare Renee Callaway's big party at the park. Mmmm, burgers made of veggies; with enough free beer, I could grow to like something like that.

Stuff, Stuff and More stuff

2007-09-06T22:01:00.000-06:00

So we did a little cross practice last night at Estabrook. Some day I will learn that I cannot completely neglect whole muscle groups for months on end and then go running around like a teenager. I'm sore.

Note to self: The Beat Down will not be any fun the day after the first cross practice. On a better note, I am very happy that some of the mad skeelz (such as they are) seem to have stuck around from last year. I didn't hesitate to go full speed into the barriers and re-mount without stutter stepping. Gotta work on cornering and off cambers and the like but that's no surprise. A few good rides on the mtb trails with the Gunnar and some polish (not Polish) ought to come back to those skeelz.

In other CX news, Russell and I talked to Bob Schueler from Hampshire Cycle Club and we will get to have some input into the state championship course for this year, being held at a new venue; Hales Corners Park. Sun Prairie is still on the schedule but not as the championships. I'm psyched for a new venue.

It's going to be a perfect fall weekend so grab your OFF! and head to TosaFest for some good music and cold beer. Friday night brings Paul Cebar and the Milwaukeeans from 8:30-11:00 and guitar legend and Tosa native Greg Koch and the Tone Controls will be playing Saturday night from 8:30-11:00. that's some decent talent for little old Wauwatosa.

Cross Practice

2007-09-04T20:56:00.000-06:00

Tuesday evenings, 5:00 until dusk at the south parking lot in Greenfield Park. That's the lot just east of 124th street off of Lincoln Ave in Worst Allis. We'll have barriers and a short course set up.This is mostly for skills work so get your workout in before or after. The first race is September 29th at Lapham Peak. Click HERE for the complete schedule.

There will also be practices at Estabrook Park on Wednesdays starting at 5:00 as well. Estabrook is east of Port Washington Rd and south of Hampton Ave. These practices are put on by Hampshire Cycle Club and they will have the full race course set up and in use.

We have ten races in the series this year (eat your shorts, Chi-Town, you only have five!). What's even better than having 10 races in our series? NO TRAVEL. No whole weekends eaten up by driving and pre-riding and yada, yada, yada. The farthest races are Janesville and the Madison area, so come out for some lung searing fun.

cece

2007-08-12T10:56:00.000-06:00

Remember, you heard it here first...

2007-08-09T15:00:00.000-06:00

As reported in Velonews.com yesterday:

Kashechkin tests positive, suspended

By VeloNews.com

Filed: August 8, 2007

The Astana cycling team announced Wednesday that Kazakh Andrey Kashechkin tested positive for homologous blood doping following an out-of-competition test in Belek, Turkey on August 1.

Kashechkin was suspended by the team pending the outcome of his B sample, should he request that the follow-up test be conducted. Kashechkin's teammate, Alexander Vinokourov was suspended following his own positive for homologous blood doping - the use of a donor's red blood cells to enhance endurance - during the Tour de France.

"The positive test by Kasheckin is another blow to the credibility of this team," said an Astana spokesperson. "This new blow will only embolden us to impose even more draconian measures for a clean sport."

My money says that home boys Andrey and Alex got their bags-o-blood mixed up so now they both get busted for homologous blood doping when what they really meant to do was autologous blood doping.

Fess up boys......

Interesting racing

2007-06-20T06:06:00.000-06:00

These pics are from a bike race that my brother was at in a small town in the south of Holland. It was a 10 hour race with four man teams like our WEMS races, but criterium style instead of MTB. I suppose that a town needs to let some traffic through in the course of ten hours of racing....

H.U.S.H. Eisner Museum

2007-05-06T21:18:00.000-06:00

Camp

2007-04-23T19:46:00.000-06:00

Mr. Bicycle himself (and yours truly)

2007-04-18T16:48:00.000-06:00

water park fun

2007-04-17T22:14:00.000-06:00

Tri-clinic selected pics

2007-03-11T08:32:00.000-06:00

FG Sam not being elusive (for a change).

Future FG Skylar with girl of the hour Amber.

Need I caption?

David being elusive, hiding behind this bike.

FG Sam. I had to use the old mirror trick.

The clinic and fundraiser were a great success. As usual, Dave imparted way more wisdom than anyone could process at one time. Jeff Senn was in attendance and blushing from all of the accolades; genetic freak anyone? The biggest lesson to be taken away from the clinic? technique and form, perfected, offer what is essentially free power. Use all of the quadriceps muscles, the hip flexors, the back and glute muscles through good form first and THEN worry about power and strength.

Over the years, Dave has told me all of these things, but when I'm out there on the road, I tend to forget them and revert to my same old bad habits. My late New Year's resolution is to make good form the cornerstone of my riding this year.

pic of the day, snow #2

2007-02-16T09:15:00.000-06:00

Click the pic for the full size file

M. river parkway- pic of the day

2007-02-15T15:37:00.000-06:00

more b&w- camp anokijig

2007-02-14T18:33:00.000-06:00

Live Music

2007-01-28T21:16:00.000-06:00

Andrea and the Mods II

2007-01-28T20:10:00.000-06:00

Andrea and the Mods

2007-01-28T20:08:00.000-06:00

Pony up punks

2007-01-13T08:06:00.000-06:00

The following is from Renee's site. I will put in $25. Can the rest of you commit to a few clams? Maybe we can hit a $100 from the fine viewers of Crossmadness. If you commit, I'll pay it and collect from you later.

Support Tristan's trip to CX Worlds

Being selected to represent the United States at the Cyclocross World Championships in Hooglede-gits, Belgium is a huge honor for Wisconsin racer Tristan Schouten. However, that honor comes with a $1500 price tag. Let's show Tristan that Wisconsin supports him by helping defray those costs.

There are many ways you can help Tristan. You can donate directly to Tristan at his Paypal account via credit card This is very fast, easy and secure. He has an account set up and you can send a donation tthrough your own paypal account if you have one to Tschouten@gmail.com Check Tristan's blog for the most current info on donating.

Madcross.org will also be helping to raise funds for Tristan a number of ways. You can purchase a 2007 Cyclocross calendar, poster or other item from the MadCross store and all profits will go directly to Tristan. You can also make a donation and receive a 2006 Wisconsin Cyclocross DVD with all funds donated going directly to Tristan.

Stay tuned for other information on fundraising.

Brotherly good times

2007-01-08T16:44:00.000-06:00

Holiday cheer part 2

2006-12-18T22:30:00.000-06:00

Our fearless leader and some schmoozing schmoe.

I finally figured out why Lenny like going to this place.

Cooop looking like, well, Cooop.

I think Danny stuck his tongue in Kyle's ear just after I took this picture. That's what too many Captain and Cokes and no wife does to Danny.

Holiday cheer

2006-12-18T22:21:00.000-06:00

What you're missing if your not lucky enough to ride for Hayes....

Jay trying to get a little from the better half of Coooop

The money man's daughter with our fearless leader's wife.

I promise Russell, next time we're in Racine.....

B-Dog needs a little blue pill. Or three.

Slow guy and fast guy. Do you know which is which? Not too hard to tell is it?

Excuses

2006-12-07T22:17:00.001-06:00

I finally have some validation for my crappy cross season. After weeks and weeks of feeling crummy, I broke down and went to see my doc yesterday. The last time I saw him was in September, after weeks and weeks of feeling crummy. He put his stethoscope on my back and after about two seconds says "why didn't you come to see me sooner?" My answer: "even though I like you, I don't like to see you, ya know". Next thing he asks is how have I been feeling since I saw him in September and I say well, now that you mention it, not so good.

Long story short, the bug I had in September settled in for the long haul and managed to turn into a nice case of mycoplasma pneumonia. Top that with a nasty sinus infection that won't go away and I'm just a walking bacteria farm. No fu**ing wonder my fall sucked so bad.

I walked out with a fresh scrip for the super-duper, end all, ain't no better stuff, Azithromycin. I really hope it does the trick and kills this stuff so my life can get back to normal.

Chicago cross style

2006-12-03T18:57:00.000-06:00

Where to start? I guess with how my day started: in a word, crappy. Was supposed to be at Dave's at 6:45; woke up at 6:55. A bit hard to make it there 10 minutes before I woke up. Had to bust ass to get the Bikeracemobile loaded,gassed and going but all's well that ends well when I made it to Montrose harbor just after 9. That's plenty of time for registration and warm up by 10. Anyway, they had to put registration back together after the tornado ripped the tents down.

It was a balmy 13 degrees with some pretty stiff west winds at the start. I had warmer packs in my shoes to keep my toesies warm and on my wrists to try to keep my fingies warm. Try is the operative work but I didn't get frost bite so they must have worked okay. The course, on any other day would have been pretty lame but with two inches of icy popcorn snow and a howling wind it was definitely challenging. Most off camber and uphill areas that would have been ridable normally I just jumped off and ran (if you could call it running...).

It turned out to be seven laps total. I asked if they could please ring the bell when I came through on my first lap but they wouldn't do it. Fibs. I settled into a groove after the second lap, and stopped thinking about DNFing. Tried to tow Fast Girl around but all she wanted to do was lay down in the snow. I'll have to talk to her dad about that, that's no way to win races. I oughta know. So in the end there were a few positives to the race: I didn't DNF, I didn't get lapped, I wasn't last, and I didn't fall down. If your goals are low, it's easy to be pleased. Someone's got to make sure no one escapes off the back.

On the way out it was time for chow. Wrigleyville Dogs baby. Lips and a$$holes on a bun. They make them a bit different than traditional Chicago dogs by using gardinera instead of sport peppers but I'll forgive 'em. They were still mighty tasty.

All in all, I'm glad I went. With the crappy conditions and cold temps, the turnout was low so i get to say I was tough enough to have raced today when the rest of the boys were sitting down to pee (so sayeth Russell).

The elusive Fast Girl. Loves the paparazzi.

Big Eddie from Sram/Rock Shox. the man knows how to eat. Brats and bacon. Mmm

Does it look cold? It was. Believe it or not, this hill was hard to ride up.

Rewards.

Can you guess where this is near to?

The road less traveled part 12. Almost the end.

2006-11-25T19:14:00.000-06:00

Day 12, Bingen to Koblenz. We weren't 2km out of Bingen when it started to rain. Hard, then even harder. Fortunately, I had my rain gear out of my bags and ready to put on as the skies were pretty dark when we got up. My dad and brother weren't so smart... Being that we knew it was our last day of riding, it didn't seem so bad if we just bailed out and jumped on a train bound for Koblenz. We rode all morning in the rain, stopped for lunch, (mmm, sausage salad again) and then kept riding after lunch because the sun had come out. Not for long, though so we hopped on a ferry to St. Goar and took the first train out.

I don’t know what it could mean,
that I’m so sad: I find,
A fairy-tale, from times unseen,
Won’t vanish from my mind.

The air is cool and it darkens,
And quiet flows the Rhine:
The tops of the mountains sparkle,
In evening’s after-shine.

The loveliest of maidens,
She’s wonderful, sits there,
Her golden jewels glisten,
She combs her golden hair.

She combs it with a comb of gold,
And sings a song as well:
Its strangeness too is old
And casts a powerful spell.

It grips the boatman in his boat
With a wild pang of woe:
He only looks up to the heights,
Can’t see the rocks below.

I believe the waves swallowed
The boat and its boatman,
That’s what, by her singing,
The Lorelei has done.

My brother and I standing high above the Rhine on top of the Lorelei. The folklore gives the name both to the maiden and to the rock we're standing on. This was one of the few moments of the day when it wasn't raining.

This fortress looking building was a toll collector's house. When a boat would come along, they would stretch a big chain across the river and collect the toll for the local baron before letting the ship pass. note to Jim: see, taxes aren't a modern liberal idea :)

View from the top of the Lorelei.

Three lonely looking steeds on the ferry to St. Goar. I love my bike but not enough to stand out in the rain with it.....

State Championships

2006-11-22T22:56:00.000-06:00

Loading up the trusty, rusty Race-mobile on Sunday morning at the Rusty Tool Shed. 3 guys, 3 bikes, 6 sets of wheels.... noooo problem.

When Russell, The Boy and I arrived at Sun Prairie for the race, we ran into ace photog and all around swell person Renee from Madcross who congratulated me on my comeback to racing. Some comeback. 20th place in the fours race. Better than this guy though. He got himself a shiny new cross bike this year. I think he should just give it back if he's not going to ride it....

Truly an enjoyable course. JP Ericsson and the Brazen Dropouts team put together another tough course for states. Wisconsin cyclocross is a top notch series thanks in part to this club and all the others who work hard to put on the races.

Seems like only a few weeks ago we were planning for the cx season and now it's over. Well, there's Chicago yet but that's just an excuse to overindulge in Chicago's best culinary creation after the race.

Next up: season recap.

Need painting?

2006-11-13T18:27:00.000-06:00

This is a blatant plug for a good friend of mine, Mike from Colorwheel Painting. He's been working on my house for so long that he needs some paying work pronto. If you know anyone who needs paint work done before the holidays, he's your man. I can personally vouch for the quality of his work and of his crew. Contact him at 414-501-1991 or check out his website here.

That's one good lookin'.....

2006-11-12T22:59:00.000-06:00

.....BIKE

I think it makes Mike look so good that he should own it. First $1100 takes it (the bike that is).

What I won't be doing today

2006-11-11T11:06:00.000-06:00

Many thanks to Renee Callaway at Madcross.org for the great pics. I think I look alot better than I felt in these.

Estabrook

2006-11-06T22:20:00.000-06:00

What a waste of time on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. 1 1/2 laps. My first ever DNF in a race of any kind. Got a super start, first to the turn off onto the grass. Lost a few places to the strong guys over the rest of the lap and then, BOOM, no more legs. Hamstrings felt like overstretched piano wire and I was done. I don't know what I did the week before last that was so bad but it's haunting me now to the point where I don't know whether I should try to finish the season or just cash it in and recover. What a drag.

Painful

2006-11-03T19:54:00.000-06:00

No, not my muscles anymore, just my wounded pride in posting about my meager race results last weekend at Washington Park. It was, as usual, a well organized event and a fun course. Props to Velo Trocadero for another great race this year except for handing out PBR instead if French cigarettes for primes- maybe I'd have ridden better.

I'm getting old(er), or, a story of inadequate recovery; that's my leadup to the race. Saturday: race Whitewater, Sunday: race Cam Rock, Monday: easy ride, Tuesday: ass kicking, nausea inducing workout, Wednesday: medium ride, Thursday: another ass kicker even harder than Tuesday's, Friday: off, Saturday: medium ride. By the time Sunday rolled around, I was just cooked. Spent. Useless. So what do I do? Yeah, sign up for not one, but two races. I know, I know, the depth of my intelligence is astounding.

Half a lap into warmup and I'm on the ground trying desperately to work the kinks out of my hamstrings. Another half a lap and I know one thing for sure: today is going to suck. Bad. I don't need a double race day, I need a double rest day. First up is the 4's race, which I won last year at Washington Park. The race starts and I'm in trouble by the first set of barriers. No repeat on this one... By the second lap, I'm getting passed by guys I beat with one leg tied behind back. It was all I could do to just hang on 'til the end. 12th place. Wow.

By now you're thinking, "ok smarty, you at least bailed on the second race, right?" Wrong. It so happened that my wife and kids and my dad were going to be on hand for this race, the only one which any of them will get to see this whole season. No skipping this one, no matter how much I wanted to. If I thought my result in the 4's race was sub-par, this one was downright pathetic. Russell even commented that I was an embarassment to my three year old daughter who was cheering. Word. One bright spot is that at least I wasn't DFL. Nor did I get lapped- my only goal besides finishing this damn race. 19th place. Yippee.

So after the race my dad comes up and says "hey kid, you're not a kid anymore, you need decent recovery". What a genius. Now I know where my big smarts come from. So this week's training plan looks a little different than last week's. Monday: no ride, Tuesday: no ride, Wednesday: 45min easy, Thursday: no ride, Friday: one hour easy, Saturday: one hour easy. My hamstrings are still a bit sore but nothing like Sunday. Estabrook is a fast course and looks to have extra barriers this year- a plus for me. The weather looks to be an un-cross like 50 and sunny but I'll survive it. Give me 40 and rainy, it weeds out the wimps.

Next up after Estabrook is Janesville. It's a new venue and I hope it's better than our other new venue this year, Whitewater. After that it's the championships in Sun Prairie. That is always a fun and challenging course by John Ericsson and the Brazen Dropouts crew. Don't forget to put December 3rd on your calendars. It is the date for the Illinois State Championships at Montrose Harbor in Chicago. Last year this race was held in the snow- truly memorable.

Now that's more like it!

2006-10-22T19:51:00.000-06:00

Cam Rock baby! First I want to send out props to the Brazen Dropouts crew for putting on a great race. From registration to an outstanding course they do a great job and know what it takes to put on a first class race. This is one of the best courses we race all season, what I imagine to be more of a "true" cross course with a good mix of grass, single track, hills and run ups.

On to the race report. I definitely dig the later start times of the masters races. I can sleep in and still help get the kids where they have to go before heading out. It makes life a little less stressful. As I was leaving home, Rascal called me to let me know there was snow on the ground and it was a bit nipply out so I threw my mud wheels and warmer clothes in the car just in case. By the time I eluded the Cambridge po-lice and made it to the course, it was warming up nicely to at least 35 degrees. Today was perfect cross conditions. Cold, windy, muddy; feels like Belgium or the Netherlands.

By the time we went off, the course was pretty dug up but it was NOTHING like Whitewater. With the exception of the grassy areas, this race was held on established trails. That means mud, but two inches of it not eight inches! After the first lap, I got the hang of just bombing the corners and letting the depth of the mud keep me upright. I think I gained time on my chasers with every muddy corner. I actually hit the single track on the first lap ahead of Trekie, strong racer and all-around-good-guy Damon Rinard but he was going to have none of this me before him business and quickly put me in his rear view. I spent the first 3 laps with a small group before finally shaking them all off and riding solo for the entire rest of the race. It was kind of nice to just put my head down and go as hard as I could maintain for a few laps without worrying about being passed. The best part was that the course conditions improved with each lap, making for an even more enjoyable race. My only scare came when I dropped my chain right after the barriers near the registration shack on the bell lap. Luckily, I was able to get it back on right away. I don't think I lost any places as there was a guy overtaking me anyway but I don't think he was in the 40+ cat.

Thanks to the Polska crew, Jay and Rascal, and Patrick from Trocadero for giving me some serious encouragement around the course- it always helps to hear someone hollering your name.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot, I kicked it up another placing to 8th loser today. If I keep it up, maybe I can win a water bottle or something by the end of the series. Damon talked me in to doing the double at Washington Park next week: 40+ then right into the 30+. Should be fun as the Trocaderos always put on a good event. They are another crew that knows what it takes and they make the best of the park every year.

Whitewater

2006-10-21T21:16:00.000-06:00

Am I glad to get that race behind me. Pop quiz time. Question: what do you get when you take a seldom used field, mow a strip through it and add a few inches of rain? Answer: a suffer fest for the hardy souls who show up to try to race through it.

I have to admit, that was the hardest race I've ever done. It was a fairly short loop mowed through a field with some barriers here and there. On a dry day, it probably would have been good for 10+ fast laps but add all the rain and it turned 70% of the course to mud. Wheel sucking, energy sapping, ooey gooey mud. When the 4's race was in progress some Trocaderos and I were standing around talking about how slow they were going. Little did we know, from our vantage point at the finish line, just how quickly we were to find out WHY they were going so slow.

My race went off at 11:45 after the 4's and the juniors had already raced. The course was by then beyond reason. I rode the first 4 laps entirely, more than once getting passed by somebody running. That's pretty sad. On the 5th lap, I ran the whole back section of the course just to try to give my legs a break. The mud was so deep that stopping pedaling for even a moment forced you to either dismount or fall over so there was no place to ever give my legs a rest from the 40rpm grind in my lowest gear. I was happy as hell to get lapped by the 3's leader with 3 to go as I then only had 1 to go next time through the start/finish. I'm not too proud to say that.

In my last post, I said I was starting to feel better as the fall progresses. My goal was/is to start placing top 10 in my field so I made my goal today by finishing 9th loser. I am looking forward to Camrock tomorrow and usually I like a 2nd race in a weekend but today was so brutal that I hope I have the legs to do well tomorrow too. The only consolation is that everyone else today had to race the same thing as me.

Congratulation to The Boy for winning his age again today. That kid sure gets alot of bling for his efforts. Of course I heard that his dad sells it all on ebay to make up for his entry fees....

Movin' on up....

2006-10-15T21:10:00.000-06:00

....to the (middle of the pack) to a de-luxe finish at the ra-a-aace. OK, enough Jeffersons theme song. Had a great race and improved on my 15th loser placing of Badger Prairie to 11th loser this week at Lapham Peak. Given my complete lack of technical skills, LP was a good course for me as none were needed. That probably explains the better finish. It was about as nice a day as one could have for racing, unless of course you prefer Belgian-stayle cross in the cold and snow. Generally I like the adverse conditions but I have to admit that today was nice at 55 and sunny.

I started the race DFL as I was yakking with Danny and Bald Erich at the start and paying no attention to what was happening. Mind you, I probably still would have started DFL even if I had been paying attention but whatever. I battled back and forth a few times with Bald Erich and some others before finally getting free of them on lap 4 on the back straightaway. It helps that Erich was on a single speed but hey, I'll take whatever advantage I can get. Anyway, one guy made it back on to my wheel but I had a good run up and dropped him for good. There was just too much distance to the next guy and I couldn't make any closer than about 25 feet by the finish line.

The viral infection I have had for now five weeks is almost gone. Still some hacking and stuff but way better. I also raced Sheboygan WORS last weekend- my only mtb race of the year- and had a better finish than I thought I would; 8th in sport single speed. Today makes three race weekends in a row and if I can manage to get in some good training during the week, I think that consistent top 10 finishes could be a reality in the remaining six Wisconsin and three Illinois cross races. Maybe even better than top 10 in the Illinois series as the competition, at least in years past, has not been quite as strong as Wisconsin's. Speaking of which, the competition in the 40+ masters field is pretty strong here. Jay asked why I didn't just race 4's instead but if I did that I don't think that I would improve as much as racing with the faster guys in masters.

Next week is Whitewater on saturday and CamRock on sunday. I love double race weekends. The second day's race feels great for some reason, however CamRock is a much more technical course so I'll have to see how that goes; I'm looking forward to it anyway.

So, today was a high note to cap off a week of very low notes from pissed off clients to a burglary at my shop. If someone pops the trunk on thier '79 Eldo to sell you some nice power tools cheap, just remember that they probably were stolen from someone like me.

15th loser

2006-10-02T08:15:00.000-06:00

As Russell would say. So, for anyone who actually checks in here once in a while, sorry for the lack of posts. Blah, blah, I have no real excuses. Now that the first cross race is in the bag, I can start posting about all things cross.

Firstly, I'm racing the Orange One again this year as my primary machine. The feel of it is great, no matter the terrain and when a bike feels good that's half the battle. It might not be the lightest machine around but then again neither am I.

I picked up the Bianchi San Jose this spring with the intention of using it as my pit bike and for racing in the SS category in the Chicago Cyclocross Cup series. It's kind of turned into my everyday kid hauler with a baby seat and everything though. If I was half the man this guy is I would race it in the WI series. The Ronsta showed that if you got it, you got it, no matter what you're riding. Congrats on showing 'em who's boss Ron.

Two weeks ago a Bianchi Cross Veloce showed up in my stable. It's a nice cushy ride but has the smallest handlebars for some reason. It doesn't feel anything like my Gunnar and I'm looking forward to swapping out some of the parts on it to make it more similar. Primarily a set of these.

Ok, so on to the race report, such as it is. First, having a wicked case of strep for two weeks before the first race the season really effed me up but good. My legs were dead 30 seconds in and my lungs were on fire the whole time. I raced the Masters 40 category, a tough group by any measure. I had a good start, making the barriers in 7th place, rounded the tree and into the field. By the time we came off of the gravel path I was getting passed by nearly the whole field as my body was just shutting it down. I figure that there is an upside though: it can only get better from here! Seriously, with such a crappy race and fitness how can I help but get better? I have no illusions that I'll be placing in the money by the end of the season, but I do believe that I can be placing solid in the top 10 within a few weeks.

Congrats to Nathan for taking his race by minutes over the next kid. The kid sure loves to race bikes and it shows.

BMX Crystal Ridge style

2006-09-07T13:05:00.000-06:00

So I took the cretins to the new track at Crystal Ridge for the first time last night. They had one word for it: cool. It's been since February since they've been on a track and they loved it. It's probably 2 1/2 times as long as Elkhorn and laid out really well. If they can build up some stamina and skills on this track, Elkhorn should be fun this winter.

It was Hayes/Sun Ringle night at the track. All kinds of characters associated either by employment, racing or whatnot. I hope that the powers that be at the track start some weekend practices too as that would only help the kids before indoor starts.

Here are some of the best shots:

The Rocket and The Boy wheel to wheel. Thanks Nate.

Ooooh, big air from the Big Daddy Jay-doh.

Super Russell showing us how it's done.

The Boy showing some good racing form.

Concentration.

Vacation part 3- fun with digital

2006-09-06T15:40:00.000-06:00

Vacation part 2

2006-08-23T21:31:00.000-06:00

A great time so far. Except for the sunburn.

Fiiiiiish

2006-08-22T17:15:00.000-06:00

The perfect recovery food after a soggy beat down. Bubba should have bought this for me for dragging his ass back to Hells Corners in the dark and rain.

Potato salad, sushi bar style. Notice the personal chopsticks, they don't hand them out just any old poser.

Special roll. Boston roll. Spicy scallop roll. Wasabi Tobiko. Big ass Sapporo.

One very happy patron. Thanks for din-din Ru-double S-e-double L.

Vacation

2006-08-21T19:33:00.000-06:00

It seems a bit odd to me, but that's Julie smiling at 5:00 in the morning on Sunday. The alarm went off at 4:00. We had loaded the car Saturday night, but still had to load the bikes, food and kids. The smiles weren't to last very long, but more on that in a minute. We rented a cottage in Saugatuck, MI for a week. It's a cool place with it's own beach on a nice little lake about 5 minutes from lake Michigan. Saugatuck is a resort town so it has lots of restaurants and shops and stuff and it is also close to all kinds of other things to do.

This is just before we hit the road to head down to the dock to board the Lake Express.

I'll be the first to admit that this is one happenin' boat. It is a twin hull catamaran style vessel with four 3000hp diesels powering it. It cruises at a land speed of 40mph. Anyone familiar with boating knows that that's pretty fast, especially for a boat this big.

My brother and his family took it last week for short vacation in MI and they really liked it. They must have had smooth sailing.....

We did NOT have smooth sailing. Apparently, a front had come through during they night, and had kicked up some serious wave action. The boat is meant to cut through waves at a right angle no problem but the front had kicked up the waves in a NE-SW direction. Imagine 2 1/2 hours of the riding an out of control roller coaster. This thing was pitching and yawing god only knows how many feet. There were 220 some passengers on board and I'd bet that 90% of then were puking. Even people who had taken Dramamine were puking it was so bad. For our family, Maddie was the first to go and I was the last. That was the first time in probably 15 years that I have ralphed. Brutal. I had to laugh, thinking about the big group of rough and tough (looking) Harley riders waiting to get on the boat when we docked in Muskegon. The thought of them hunched over barf bags was amusing to me.

All's well that ends well however. The resort is even better that we expected. Hey, they have shuffleboard! What more can you ask for? Except a high speed wi-fi connection for free. Oh yeah, they have that too...

If you weren't there...

2006-08-16T19:03:00.000-06:00

...then you missed it. Sunday evening/night at Alpha and Crystal. My first night ride of the season. Now I remember what I like about mountain bikes. Did some laps while it was light and while it was dark. Checked out the Ross lodge trails and did Alpha and Crystal backwards. Talk about being lost. In attendance: Rascal, The Alderman, Danny, Sti..., I mean Danielle, Harold and some new guys who mooched The Alderman's beer.

This is what people look like after you do some laps on an empty stomach and drink a bunch of beer. Even though it was only Corona near beer.

Getting ready for round two. After some big ole' sausages and potato salad, compliments of Marty. Oh yeah, and beer.

Danielle after getting busted by Ranger Rick for having fire in the park. She pleaded ignorance. and then blamed it on Alderperson Marty who's tight with the guy's boss, Sue Black. That made the parkie leave right quick. Or maybe that didn't happen.

Danny showing off his mad skeelz.

Mark your calendars

2006-08-06T09:46:00.000-06:00

October 1, Badger Prairie

October 15, Lapham Peak

October 21, UW Whitewater

October 22, Cam Rock

October 29, Washington Park

November 5, Estabrook Park

November 11, Janesville

November 19, Sun Prairie (state championships)

Even if you don't want to race, come out and ring your cowbells, drink beer and holler at us.

Would be champions...

2006-07-11T21:48:00.000-06:00

make sure to watch THIS.

The road less traveled part 11

2006-07-08T20:41:00.000-06:00

Day 10, The Middle Of Nowhere to Bingen am Rhein. Without knowing it, this was to be our last full day of riding. Passed through some groovy places today as you'll see. This was our last day on the Nahe River as well. Bingen is where it flows into the Rhein river. We stayed in Bingen on our last Germany tour and tried to stay in the same hotel to no avail. All the good hotels were booked so we ended up in a less than stellar place.

We started out the day climbing to the top of these vineyards. If you look close you can see my dad way down the road in the distance. It was a fun downhill. Good thing the Bianchi San Jose is a solid descender.

The first town of any size we came to was Bad Munster. It is known for these bizzarre salt water walls. They pump salt spring water up from underground and drip it through these huge assemblies shown above. You are supposed to gain some health benefits from "taking the air" by these things. All I did was cough for the next two hours....

You can barely make out the trees at the top of this wall. I can't do it justice in a photo.

Bad Kreuznach. These houses were built on the bridge. Had a great lunch here of brats and fries and a raw beef and onion sandwich for dessert. Mmmm, health food.

What's a day without copius amounts of beer? Oh, and Ouzo to top it off. We went to a Greek restaurant for a little change of pace. Wasn't like any Greek joint here.

The road less traveled part 10

2006-07-06T13:33:00.000-06:00

Day 9, Idar-Oberstein to The Middle Of Nowhere. What started off as a cool and rainy day quickly turned into another dazzler. You may be thinking that yet another day of perfect weather and beautiful scenery would get a bit boring. You would be wrong. On a cycling tour, it's all about that. Riding in the rain on your road bike on a hot summer day when a shower hits can be fun. Racing cyclocross in wind, rain and sleet is definitely fun. Touring in anything other than perfect weather isn't.

Nearing the end of the day, we were feeling a bit like we would be skunked for rooms after checking in three or four different towns. Then, lo and behold, what to out wondering eyes should appear (apologies to Clement Clarke Moore), but a veritable oasis in the middle of nowhere. Arguably our best accomodations of the trip with the owner of the inn cooking us primo meals and all. And of course the beer was ice cold!

Idar-Oberstein in the morning from our hotel veranda.

My brother and I hiked up to this castle above the town. It was mostly off limits but interesting anyway. There was a cafe there where the waitress turned out to be from Texas and had run away from a violent marriage. Long way to run.

It doesn't get much better...

....than this.

Ahhhhhhhh

The road less traveled part 9

2006-06-30T15:18:00.000-06:00

Day 8, Obertal to Idar-Oberstein. Our hotelier decided that, being Americans, we should be served an "American" breakfast this morning. 2 eggs sunny side up, toast and a pile of undercooked bacon. Recall the 17 beers from the night before? Thanks for the gut bomb meal- Webbs it wasn't. Anyway, we started the day riding to the start of the Nahe River, or Nahequelle. It turned out literally to be a 1" pipe sticking out of a hillside in the middle of nowhere. For some reason the Germans found this an interesting site to visit. The riding was awesome today- some of the best of the tour. Lots of hills and varied terrain- dirt paths to paved lanes. Lots of little towns in between.

Idar-Oberstein is a center for the gem trade and has scads of gem and precious stone shops- indeed of little interest to us. A nice place to stay anyway.

Over the river and through the woods....

Scenic vistas galore.

A church built in to the cliffside above our hotel.

We called these "drinking huts".

And now you know why.

The road less traveled part 8

2006-06-14T21:36:00.000-06:00

Day 7, Metlach to Oberthal. A sweet cruise down the Saar River today to the thriving metropolis of Merzig where we caught a train to the equally thriving metropolis of Saint Wendel. Rode on to Oberthal and got rooms at the only place in town. As we were having a malt beverage and talking about where to go for dinner, some big ole thunderstorms came through. That made that decision easy- we'll eat at our hotel.

Had words with this dude early in the morning. He's about 40 feet tall. Not sure what he was all about tho'- he wouldn't say.

Zur Cloef. Translated litterally: the cliff. See the pictures below for the view from the top of this monstrosity.

Worth the hike.

Just a cool pic of my bro.

This is what happens when there are 17 beers on your tab at the end of the night. We was ef'd up but good. Nearly had a hangover the next day but by this time my beer metabolizing system was in prime form so nooooo problemo.

The road less traveled part 7

2006-06-11T20:31:00.000-06:00

Day 6, Luxembourg City to Metlach, Germany. Cycle touring just isn't about cities so we split from Lux City first thing. We were soon on the hill down that we had come up the day before. 40mph for miles on a loaded touring bike- what a gas. At the bottom of the long run down we ran into (not literally) Frank Schleck of Team CSC out for a training ride. I think he can go up faster than we can go down. We stayed the night in Metlach, the HQ for the china company Villeroy and Bach. Lots of factory stores and stuff we weren't interested in but the beer was cold and the room was comfy and clean....

View from my balcony early in the morning. The hotel was called The Hotel Shintgen. We quickly renamed it the Hotel Shithole. Oh well, it was cheap.

We went overland at this point to reach the Saar River shown here.

A bit confusing looking. Check out all the bike route signs.

This was taken at the top of a 2.4km climb. I was feeling groovy. It got so steep in places that I almost fell over.

Instead of the typical beer shot I have to show my dinner. It was called sausagesalat. Julienned bologna, dill pickles and sweet onions in a vinegar dressing with roasted taters. Sound gross? I'm here to tell you it's one happenin' dish. Wash it all down with a few ice cold regional pilsners and you've got a great meal.

The road less traveled part 6

2006-06-07T21:19:00.000-06:00

Day 5, Remish, Luxembourg to Luxembourg City. A short day mileage-wise but lots of climbing. I would say that from the river valley at Remish to Lux City, it is mostly uphill. I really felt the single speed this day and wasn't at all sorry to have a short day. It started out cool, 55 and misty bu tturned out to be a nice day afetr all.

We have this thing about taking each other's picture out hotel room windows. Don't ask.

Definitely uphill from the river...... After 1km, the road turned straight up into a 12% climb for 3km. What a workout- one of the few times I almost got off and walked the bike. This climb was switchbacked and I can attest to the outside of the hairpin being slightly less steep than the inside. I even had to ride side to side on the road at times in order to stay upright.

What do amorous cows have to do with cycle touring? I don't know, but I like the shot.

Mmmm, lunch. There was a fest going on in the main square of Lux City when we got there. How can you pass up foot-long brats with piles of kraut and mustard? (and of course buckets of fries with mayonnaise and spiced ketchup)

Beeeeeeeeer

Cece

2006-06-06T21:35:00.000-06:00

I know you're looking for podium girls and supermates but Cece is as close as you'll get on this blog. This series is from a shoot about a month ago. The second one down is my personal favorite. The little files you get to see on the blog just don't do the originals justice.

The road less traveled part 5

2006-06-05T20:37:00.000-06:00

Day 4, Lewein, Germany to Remich, Luxembourg. Our first day of cooler temps and a little rain but not too bad all in all. Of interest this day was what we had for lunch: Doner Kebap; I can only describe it as the tastiest lunch I ever had. It's made of spit roasted mutton (?) shaved off and served in a pita with tahini sauce and veggies. I am sure that it's extra healthy...... Anyway, lest you forget, cycle touring is about riding to eat and drink, and eat and drink we did. With abandon. Daily.

Early in the day we came across this lock and dam with a cruise boat about to go through. Pretty cool process.

This was the second of six ferry crossings we had to make as part of the trip. It would generally only cost around $1.50 for person and bike to cross.

A cool shot of my dad and bro cruising along a river pathway.

Welcome to Luxembourg. It was like entering another country. Um, oh yeah, it was another country.... Strangely, the language, customs and architecture were all French rather than German. I suppose it shares a much longer border with France but the region has been fought over, conquered, divided, rejoined, etc. etc. for millenia so who knows. I can say this: after having toured in France, and now Luxembourg, the food and acconodations are way better in Germany.

OK, so the food wasn't that bad. If you know and appreciate a good salad nicoise, you know what the above picture is all about. And yes, it goes with beer. Perfectly well.

The road less traveled part 4

2006-05-31T15:26:00.000-06:00

Day 3 on tour Bullay to Lewein. Another picture perfect day on the Moselle river. The river was so twisty on this day that our mileage of 48.3 was fully three times the mileage as the crow flies.

What a sight first thing in the morning in the center of the village!

Just after setting out we crossed over a bridge to climb up to monastery above the river and the vineyards. I don't know how they work these vines it's so steep.

We came across this thing called a fusbath, or foot bath, at the towm we stayed the night in. It was filled knee deep with ice cold water that you walked around in like my dad is doing here. You were supposed to lift your foot all the way out of the water each time you stepped. My brother, who for some reason knows about these things, siad that the locals believe they have theraputic value. Included as a bonus was a smaller waist high tank for your arms. I have to admit that after a long day of riding it felt really good.

This is the view from my hotel room.

Another fine day capped off with our favorite ritual.

The road less traveled part 3

2006-05-30T14:28:00.000-06:00

Day two we rode from Lof to Bullay. The name of this series of posts is "The Road less traveled" because we mostly went from village to village along small cycle paths and dirt roads in the middle of nowhere. The really cool part is that all of this is actually signposted for bikes so it's hard to get lost even though it's very rural. Day two saw 80 and sunny so the beer tasted extra good at night. My personal name for this tour is Beer & Brats 2. I did Beer & Brats 1 in May of 2004 touring the Rhine River valley in Germany.

This is what we woke up to at 6 am the next day. We heard this loud oom-pah music and looked out the window to see this big group of oldsters doing morning exercises. It was a tour group from the Netherlands that had stayed at the same hotel as us and I think had gone to bed after we did!

Before too long, we were riding through dirt trails in the forest. They were more like MTB trails than anyting but it was totally cool to be riding them on loaded touring bikes. Notice the sign pointing to the next village. And this is on an MTB path!

This is the castle called Burg Eltz. I half expected to see damsels and knights in shining armor when we got to the gate. Call me morbid, but I wondered how many people died building this place......

Late in the day cycling long a railroad access path. Very pleasant riding.

Every day ended with this same ritual so I'll end each blog post with that day's pic of it. Dinner was pretty typical: bratwurst with salad, roasted potatos and sauer kraut. I never did get tired of that meal.

The road less traveled part 2

2006-05-30T13:04:00.000-06:00

The first day of the trip was spent for the most part on the trains. Four seperate ones to get where we were going, but pretty efficient anyway. We had great weather, 75 and sunny.

One of the four stations we were in.

The first days were spent riding through the vineyards of the Moselle river valley. They plant the vines up the eastern and southern banks of the river.

End of day one in the village of Lof. My dad is 78 years old and holding his own.

The road less traveled

2006-05-29T21:00:00.000-06:00

Ok, so it's been a long, long time since I posted to this shi!!y blog and if you're reading this it means you probably don't have enough to do in life.

As most, if not all, of you know, I just returned from 16 days in Europe on a cycling vacation with my brother and my dad. My bro lives in Amsterdam with his wife and kids so it gives us a good starting and ending point for cycle tours.

Smiling and well rested at O'hare prior to the 8 hours in a flying sardine tin. In order to make a nickel (or not) the airlines flying the trans atlantic routes pack as many as humanly possible into the planes. We flew on 747's each way with 3/5/3 seating and about six inches of leg room. Oh well, it's affordable to go that way. Last I checked, passage on the QE2 was somewhere around $4000 so the $850 for KLM ain't bad.

I decided that in order to not lose what miniscule amount of fitness I had, I would take the Bianchi San Jose single speed cross bike. That way, any hill would have me humping the 55 pounds of bike and bags with no option of shifting. That turned out to be some serious workouts as a result, with more than a few hills of anywhere from a 1/4 mile to several miles in length. You learn how to muscle the bike with your upper body pretty good.

In case there are any doubts as to what cycle touring is really all about, let me lay them to rest. It's about doing one thing so that you can do two others with relative abandon: ride miles to eat and drink beer. I'm sure you're all shocked at the admission, but it's true. It doesn't even matter what kind of beer it is (as if you have any choice- more on that later).

We started out the tour with a train trip to Koblenz Germany leaving from Amsterdam's Centraal Station. You'll never see more bikes in one place in your life. It borders on silly. The pic above doesn't even do it justice. There are probably 10 times that many bikes parked in and around the Station.

This pic is of us leaving my brother's on the first day, heading for the station. Look in the background at the street. There are way more bikes than cars parked. Notice the lack of helmets on my bro and me; with rare exception, I have never felt the need to wear one while cycling in Amsterdam. Drivers naturally give bikes extra room and the traffic laws favor bikes over cars to a large degree.

More tomorrow.....

Mr. Cool

2006-04-22T19:01:00.000-06:00

So I've got a cheapo all-in-one scanner and about a million old photos. This one is circa 1993 when I still inhaled 2 packs a day and thought I was the sh!t with my cheesy mustache. Of course I traded one addiction for another when I took up cycling after quitting the butts five years ago. I dunno, which one is worse?
Now I know I'm not the sh!t. Just getting older, and in anyone's viewpoint, less cool. Shaved legs and lycra? yeah, that's really cool alright.....

Marriage

2006-04-21T14:28:00.000-06:00

So I understand that there are some in our little cycling/ blogging community who are considering the act of matrimoany. Ok boys, study this picture very carefully. Notice the expressions. Notice the postures and body language.

Any questions?

A few from the festivities

2006-04-19T22:04:00.000-06:00

Brian n' da main ho (not fa sale)

Sugs n' da main ho (fa sale)

Rick n' da main ho (just ask)

Anyone care to guess?

Damn, this is what I get

We will now resume normal programming

2006-04-12T21:45:00.000-06:00

Whew! It's over. As any of you who attended Saturday night's festivities can attest, I was a busy boy getting ready for the shindig. In the span of nine days I accomplished the following: re-drywalling the front hall; repairing the walls in the the foyer, front and back stairs and upstairs hall; installing new bedroom doors; installing new bathroom door; refinishing foyer floor; painting foyer, front and back stairs and upstairs hall; installing the 12 channel sound system as well as all the regular stuff to get ready for a party that included 145 people.

Thanks to all the fellow bloggers for the nice comments. We had an absolute blast and consider the bash a resounding success. A few stats for those of you who like them: 50+ GALLONS of beer (no WONDER I was so godawful hungover Sunday!!), 37 bottles of wine, 80 chicken breasts, 16 pounds pork roast, 20 pounds shrimp, 9 pounds smoked salmon, 6 pounds cheese, 10 boxes crackers, 6 pounds artichoke dip, 12 baguettes, and piles upon piles of veggies, dip, hot canapes etc etc.

Man, 40 is starting out good..... except maybe for the riding. If you think I haven't updated my blog in awhile, you should see my cycle log. There just hasn't been anything to add. Photos should return this week to Crossmadness. I have some good material from the party plus soccer started this week for Sam and Maddie and I've got a new long lens to put to work.

Yeah, I know I'm not supposed to be writing on this blog but sometimes I've gotta break the rules. I can do that. It's my POS blog after all.

Images from Amsterdam

2006-03-28T15:44:00.000-06:00

An entire museum devoted to the bicycle

Bikes have thier own traffic signals

How the h&ll would you know which one was yours?

Cece

2006-03-18T13:30:00.000-06:00

Is it soccer time already?

2006-03-10T14:22:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday Erich

2006-03-05T20:22:00.000-06:00

I missed the big bash but it sounded like a good one. Russell drinkin' 40's; what a sight.

I told you so Randy

2006-03-05T16:42:00.000-06:00

This is what you get for not updating.....

Evolution

2006-03-05T16:12:00.000-06:00

Some black and white favorites

2006-03-01T15:33:00.000-06:00

Winter

2006-02-26T21:15:00.000-06:00

I don't know who's bright idea it was to road ride today but there's five extra sets of burnt out lungs tonight, including Russell who may or may not make it through the night. Of course the Mormons are a prayin' for him so maybe he will make it after all. I saw Mikey in the grocery store tonight and we coughed up a greeting to each other. Bubba, Russell, Mikey G, Coooop, Big Jim and myself set out for a nice little two hour cruise from Bubba's hut at about 12:30. Within approximately twelve seconds we all realized that it was going to suck riding into the west wind on a sub-freezing day so we made strongman Russell pull all the way out BurlIves to Brookfield where Big Jim decided that last night's fun just wasn't agreeing with this afternoon's folly. He left part of his soul on BurlIves just west of Pilgrim road and promptly turned tail and headed for home mumbling something about Russell's relentless pace and it being only February for chrissakes.

After that bit-o-fun the rest of the ride was kind of boring in comparison. We pit stopped in Pew!-aukee and turned back east again. That was kind of fun boppin' along at 23+ mph without really trying. North ave hill was looming and Cooop wasn't all too happy about the idea of going up it. Turns out he had good reason for his sentiment as he was stuck in the big ring. Oops. What the f*ck was he doing in the big ring in the first place? It is February after all. Just ask Big Jim.

And so it goes. Ride number four for the year is in the books and I'm starting to feel the enthusiasm coming back. After last year's racing ending on December 4th I wanted to take some time off and start (training) a little later this year. I'm a good six weeks behind the last few years and I hope that that translates into a stronger cross season later in the year. I'll be racing with the old (read fast) guys this year in Masters 40 and I'd like to put up a good fight.

Interbike 04- better late than never

2006-02-21T20:41:00.000-06:00

With my pal Eddy. Can you see how thrilled he was to pose with me? Best buds I'll tell you.

The man Phil hisself. Truly a nice guy to sip chanpagne with. Life's rough huh?

Big Magnus Backstedt. The biggest rider in the pro peloton. Even bigger than Russell.

Speaking of the major dookie himself. Some of you may have heard the story about Russell abusing a little four wheeler until the axle twisted. Yeah, this is the evidence.

If you're a true bike geek you'll know who this dude is.

More PS work

2006-02-19T23:37:00.000-06:00

Me, Estabrook CX 2005

Some cool PS stuff

2006-02-19T23:08:00.000-06:00

The Rocket

The Goat

Forgot to post this one

2006-02-19T22:45:00.000-06:00

This is where we found Bubba when we rolled up to the ride last weekend. Laying on the ground seems to be his habit. Or maybe he was just trying to imitate Jack. Hmm.

Ridin' the snowy trails

2006-02-11T15:53:00.000-06:00

You missed it if you're not in these pics

2006-02-11T15:43:00.000-06:00

Da Sug

Bubba holding up a tree. Nice guy.

Mrs. Sug on her shiny new 29er SS. Sweet.

Yours truly.

Trying to catch snowflakes like when he was a kid. Ok, he's still a kid.