Channel 4 News Interview - Stay Classy Wisconsin

Hello Folks, Champ Kind here from Channel 4 News sitting down with solo endurance mountain bike racer Justin Lund. I was able to ask him a few questions about the 2009 race season and get his thoughts on 2010 and the future.

Champ Kind: First of all, thank you for taking the time to sit down share you thoughts with the best news team in San Diego.

Justin Lund: Not sure what you're doing here in Wisconsin but you're very welcome and glad to have you here.

CK: Coming off of a great season in 2008 would you say you had high expectations going into this past season?

JL: Yes, I was very happy with the way 2008 turned out and really though I could carry that over into 2009 in which started with going West to the Sea Otter Classic.

CK: Did you enjoy your trip out West and what did you take away from visiting the West Coast?

JL: I did enjoy being out west. The landscape was fantastic, meeting the mastermind behind Evomo and some of the other teammates as well as our team sponsors such as Jeff and Sonya from Ergon, Greg from MotorTabs, everybody from Titec, Simbree, Tifosi and meeting some new contacts from Sigma and GT Bikes was an experience I can only describe as extraordinary.

CK: You did race out there right? How did you fare against the stiff competition?

JL: I started off super strong off the front and worked with a group including the eventual winner of the Golden Bike for 4 races or so. As I was about to make it around for lap 1 I ended up flatting and couldn't get it to seal up and was pretty dissapointed after a strong start and pulled the plug.

CK: Sorry to hear that. Do you have a beer?

JL: What? Can you do that on the job? Yes I have a beer (presents Champ with an underdown growler filled with the Red Eye Scarlet Seven and he appears quite pleased)

CK: So I heard the better portion of the race season was spent riding in rain and thick mud. Describe the beginning of the season and how things went.

JL: (takes a big gulp of beer) The season started at the WEMS Series Stump Farm 12 hour. I had big admirations for this race considering I was the defending champ from 2008, but just coming off the first of many illnesses to plague my season was just clearing away and what I found out later was that the chainring I was using needed to be replaced. I had a hard time and pulled plug early on It was raining but that course needed it and there was tons of good racing and great riders drilling it throughout the day. My bike issues would continue all the way till the WEMS race in Franklin and was starting to come around with a top 10 finish but not quite there. I also started feeling strong during the Wausau WORS race where I felt I was on the gas the entire time which was something I had been missing early on.

CK: Sounds like a rough start. Was there a point where you felt like you were at last seasons form?

JL: Yeah, I think just before 24 Hours of 9 Mile I was turning some fast laps specifically during the night hours which was a weak point for me in 2008.

CK: How did that work out for you?

JL: Not great I broke my frame on the first lap and re-injured my knee trying to run in bike shoes. I attempted to get on the singlespeed and grind it but then the pain got to be overwhelming and threw in the towel, definitely not a proud moment in history for me that's for certain.

CK: (Takes another drink of the Scarlet 7) Well slap my ass and call me Betsy. That doesn't sound like the outcome you were looking for. What happened from there?

JL: Well, with the injury and the new bike on the way I took some time off to heal and fit off being sick again. I got back on the bike again just before Cheqfat and was excited to do that race but not on the singlespeed.

CK: How did the Chequamegon 40 go for you?

JL: I thought it went well despite all of the previous illnesses and getting passed by almost everybody on the singlespeed at the start. I rode a 33x16 which worked pretty well on the ski trails but with about 6 miles left I really started to lose energy and cramp up, but that didn't dissapoint me as I still had a pretty good time. I plan to be much more competitive in 2010 if I get into that race via the lottery.

CK: I heard you faced some adversity for quite some time after that. Can you elaborate on that for me partner?

JL: Partner? (Takes another drink) Anyway, yeah, I got sick again after the cheqfat and had a hard time staying healthy between then and Underdown in fact the underdown race turned out to be my best finish of the year but the field wasn't as deep due to WORS re-scheduling a race for that weekend. I went to the doctor that following week and after x-rays, labs, and urine samples, they found I had Epestein Barr Virus which is a basically Mono. It explained my shallow breathing, weakened immune system, and ongoing fatigue. They put me on some antibiotics and it was crazy to get that kind of awakening without dumping redbull or monster into my system.

CK: Ouch! So that was basically the end of your season, is that safe to assume?

JL: Yeah that was it.

CK: In an down year like this, is there anything positive you got from it?

JL: Oh yeah, I would say taking time and going up to Bond Falls for the annual Tomahawk Cross Country camp and speaking to the kids about continuing to stay active after their cross country days are over and seeing how far the program has come over the course of the last decade. Also, going up to Hayward for the Cheqfat 40 was a blast in which I got to hang out with friends both new and old including the Colorado crew Scott D, Brett Ebben, Marni and Chris Plesko. Chris had some funny stories to share about the Great Divide MTB race.

CK: So I heard you had some Jungle Jooz up in Hayward, Did you know I own stock in that company. Anyway, what are your plans for 2010.

JL: Really? If I could sum up the taste of that stuff in one word it would be....butt. For 2010 I am planning to stay local as I am working with the city of Tomahawk to get some mtb trails built in the park so I will be spending a lot of the summer up there. I plan on opening up the season with a Colorado training camp in April. I plan on doing 24 hours of 7 oaks and the WEMS series as always. Plus I look forward to doing some of my favorite WORS races again as well. I will try to get into Cheqfat again, and of course the badger state winter games will be on the calendar. I will lace up my running shoes again to get the THS alumni the win next year and wont miss out on doing the stump farm duathalon either.

CK: Is there anyone you would like to thank?

JL: Of course. I would like to thank Brian at Evomo for bringing me out to California and the support from the team sponsors. I would also like to thank my wife for her support throughout the season and never letting up on me to get me to see the doctor as I am as about as stubborn as they come. I would also like to thank all of my sponsors both new for 2010 Hayes, Uvex, and QRotor, and for 2009 sponsors involved with Team Evomo.

CK: Well thank you for taking some time with us and good luck in 2010.

JL: Thanks

CK: Back to you Ron Burgundy

Ron Burgundy: Stay classy Wisconsin!

Tomahawk MTB Trail Layout

So I was able to get a layout planned and should get to work on it this upcoming weekend. It's about 5 miles in total length with only a little bit that needs to be added to complete the loop. Red is where I walked it last weekend and the white is how I want it to go. There is and will be a little climbing in this compact little area but it wont disappoint once completed.

New Sponsor for Team Redemption 2010

2010 is already in the works after some chest xrays, blood work, and doctors visits I will soon know what had ailed me during 2009 and with that all in the past it's time for redemption in 2010. I would like to thank all of my gracious sponsors who had stuck with me through this trying year. EVOMO, Simbree, Rocky Mountain Roastery, QRotor, MotorTabs, Fluid, Titec, Brave Soldier and Ergon, I would also like to Welcome Hayes Disc Brakes for their upcoming support during 2010. I've been lucky enough to have utilized my Manitou R7, Hayes Stroker Trail Brakes, and Answer Hyperlite Bar. I can't wait to see what else I can use to make me a better rider.

New Belgium at its finest

Shawano 100

Well I got one century out of the way this year...finally, and it didn't conclude without it's fair share of surprises. I decided to set out at around 11:30 and hit the mountain bay. This is a pretty nice trail and well maintained for a gravel grinder, but found that it doesn't stay gravel all the way to green bay and does in fact break up in shawano so about 3 hours and 53 miles into it I found a gas station close to downtown and refilled my camelback and found my way back to the trail. On the way back, I wasn't able to find where it connects but now at least I was able to put together a hassle free century route with no cars, but the downside is no hills. I felt good for the majority of the ride until the return route where the wind picked up and dropped my average speed quite drastically so I made another stop in Eland Wisconsin to hit up the bathroom and down some additional calories, from there I pushed as hard as I could and turned it into sign sprints for awhile. I still managed a 6:40 century on the dirt which wasn't too bad considering the recent illness, but my body did tell me to rest when I didn't wake up till close to 11am so I missed my ride at underdown with the coles to scout the Thunderdown race course which looks to be epic as usual.

So in a nutshell that's it, one more race at underdown and a duathalon at the camp in November then it's time to get some skate skiing goin on.

Fattire Weekend 2009

This would be the 2nd time I've been lucky enough to get into the 40 with the last time in 2007. Devils Lake Retreat would be our headquarters for the weekend. Jshoe and Jvog arrived here in Weston Friday morning to head up Hayward after converting my rigid redline ss into a 69er. A short stop in Trego for subs and we were just about there. The majority of the group had already arrived Luke and Sarah, Paul and Melinda, Nate and Kim and finally us. After a few calls back and forth between Brett and Nate, Jim and the Colorado Crew (Brett, Scott, Marni, and Chris) showed up and ready to head to registration. Surprisingly that whole process went pretty quickly and we were already on our way back. Jim "da chef" Parman cooked us a spectacular dinner consisting of grilled chicken, alfredo sauce and noodles, with brocolli while the rest of worked on bikes. Figured out staging and returning to the cabin after the race and before too much longer we went to bed for an early morning wake up.

At the butt crack of dawn or i

n this case earlier we set out to stage bikes and at the time we arrived it was already 15 or more rows a

nd around 400 bikes back. I wasn't too dissapointed only because I w

ould get shuffled to the rear afte

r the cannon blew anyway cause of the fact I was riding single speed. The bike of choice for the weekend was the Redline monocog with 33x16 gearing. Anyway, we all met up again at the cabin a few hours prior to the start for breakfast and headed over to Hayward for the start. The start to the race was uneventful, hell, the cannon didn't even blow off but we did have pirates yelling pirate like things little did I know it was national talk like a pirate day. The start was very controlled and slower than years past but really what did that matter I was on a friggen singlespeed I got dropped in a fashion comparable to contador during the opening mountain stages on le tour. So I pushed on spinning my nuts off trying to keep pace at 22mph as best as I could pedal, pedal, coast and repeat till rosie's field. I think I took it way too easy in the beginning because I was thinking ahead to fire tower. Still I came through OO in fair shape. I would try to find a group that was moving pretty fast but after I would catch a group I found it easy to drop them in which I think this was because the type of riders I would normally be with were 10 or more minutes ahead with JS

hoe and JVog. I would continue to pass swarms of riders on the climbs which I found quite strange. I couldn't understand the amount of riders that were not using the hills to their advantage on to roll up on them and move quietly along side and ride on by with a ring of the bell or two if I felt saucy.

This process would continue till just about fire tower where I pushed it down and tried to carry all the speed I could into it but as luck would have it and I know others have run into this as well where you're climbing and someone jumps off and it's a domino effect until you are running along with the herd. The climb consisted of 4 sections all marked with the signs listed to the left not sure on the length but it couldn't have been too bad. After the end of the fire tower climb it began to go down hill little by little, mile by mile. I started feeling my calfs twinge a little after we got back on the birkie trail and with 4 or 5 miles left I w

as in full cramp mode on the climbs only, luckily for me I had john

hirsch riding with me back and forth as he would gap me on flats and I would catch him on the climbs it was probably the greatest timing as I was ready to give up and spin it in but he encouraged me to keep pushing hard. He got me in the end but it was worth it and greatly appreciated. So the wrap up for the race goes as

a time of 2:48:27.2 So not too bad by my estimation. Afterwards some post race chatter it was back to the cabin and the brew would be flowing like water in a gentle stream. Seriously though we've had an extensive collection of beer being represented from coors (yuck) to point oktoberfest, fattire hoptober, etc. see image to the left (disregard the can of jungle joose as that should have come with a surgeon general warning to drink at own risk). From that point on we talked some trash, got drilled by paul on music trivia, and listened to some intriguing stories about the tour divide by Chris Plesko current singlespeed record holder beating the previous record by 4 days!!! some of the stuff he was telling us made nullified my own personal stories of riding a bike for 24 hours. This looks to be my inspiration going into the 2010 season. Something like whenever I feel like stopping in my pit or walking a hill I need to ask myself wwpd - What Would Plesko Do. In all seriousness though it was great to meet the Colorado Crew and visit with Brett again.

There would be more war stories shared and people turning in one by one until it was me, shoe, and luke left. It didn't last too much longer since we were subject to Coors Light after all of the good beer was gone so that was a good time to call it a night. Sunday was

pretty much as expected in that we all packed up and departed to home. Shortly after arriving I jumped on the Turner and did about an hour and a half at nine mile and then proceeded to become very ill for the better half of the week, but all in all I'll be set to go for a ride at underdown this weekend hopefully to pre ride before next weekends 12 hour solo. There isn't too much left of the racing season but the Stump Farm Off Road Duathalon sounds intriguing.

Found New Music to Jam While Shreddin the Gnar