Time to Think - Happy New Year

Well 2008 is upon us and I've had some time yesterday while on my 4 hour ski conquest about the past year. What went right, what went wrong, and what do I want to do in 2008.

Well to begin with, I will NOT be going to 24 hour world championships. It's bad timing on their (their being 24 hours of adrenalin) part to schedule non usa cycling sanctioned self proclaimed world 24 solo championships not affiliated at all with the UCI in which Landis and Rasmussen could both compete if they wanted the weekend after 24 hour nats. I personally think this title will be settled and should be settled at Moab so I have naturally scheduled that one for 2008 as my version of the 24 solo world championships. USA Cycling once again designated 24 hours of 9 mile to be the home of the national championships on the same weekend the 24-9 race has always been. Following days later was the date of solo "worlds". Come on people (tostado, juarez, eatough, Hendershot, etc...) forget the passports and come to Wisconsin I'll personally hand you a bag of Cheese Curds myself and a Highlife after crossing the line for the finish.

Secondly, If I plan on doing well next season I can't express how important it is to me to NOT get hit by another car. What a nightmare, between the insurance dollars and the waiting and the mental stress, it took more out of me than I could ever have imagined. I don't wish for anyone I have ever met in the cycling community to go through that no matter how little damaged is involved...not fun.

I am looking forward to exploring the races outside of WORS this year such as Moab, lumberjack 100 and others on my schedule. Maybe I'll transition solely to one 24 hour race per month, 2 months whatever in various states, but for now I'll frequent my favorite WORS courses.

Finally, on a high note I was happy completing my first 24 solo event without any sleep, granted I didn't have the fitness I would have liked going into it and some strange heart burn thing going on didn't contribute any good to the cause, but I'll be back for more suffering next year and how great is that the scoletrain didn't hang up his 24 hour shoes.

I hope everybody has a great new year. Remember just over 4 months till the first race. Rasta Rally in Rhinelander....maybe.

This is why I live in Wisconsin

From weather.com: "WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO 6 PM CST SUNDAY... THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREEN BAY HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM WARNING...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO 6 PM CST SUNDAY. THE WINTER STORM WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT. SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 8 TO 12 INCHES ARE EXPECTED TONIGHT INTO SUNDAY... WITH THE HEAVIEST AMOUNTS ANTICIPATED IN VILAS COUNTY. IN ADDITION...WEST WINDS OF 20 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 40 MPH ARE EXPECTED ON SUNDAY...WHICH WILL GENERATE CONSIDERABLE BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW. A WINTER STORM WARNING MEANS SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW ARE EXPECTED. STRONG WINDS ARE ALSO POSSIBLE. THIS WILL MAKE TRAVEL VERY HAZARDOUS OR IMPOSSIBLE."

Weekend Happenings

So last Saturday after a meal at the local chinese restaraunt, I was too attempted to do one of these.

Niobium is damn good band based in the Twin Cities. Kirk, a long time hometown friend of mine is their front man. Awesome group, they have opened for some big acts like Powerman5000 and the like and are becoming a national talent. Not for everyone, but that's what I like about them.

Not only do these guys keep it metal on the stage, but they got a thing for entertainment as well.

What To Do, What To Do

I could fill this up and shoot film on....yes...a super 8 this was found in a garage why not use it! HEY PBR COASTERS!

When it's nice out we will be doing some of this!

When it's not so nice out side and after a few Point Specials, we will be doing a lot of this I sense a tournament coming on. Bring it swab!

BKB KILL EM' ALL

New Kit for 2008

EVOMO has come up with a great kit for next year. This kit is so tough that it along with the EVOMO squad is the sole reason why Waldo is hiding. I mean check out those glock 9's last time I saw guns that big I was watching Walker Texas Ranger.

I have accepted sponsorship with Manitou Suspension Products. This to me is great considering the fact that Manitou is the only suspension system other than the ligaments in my knees I've utilized since my first bike purchased in 1995...the Mongoose Sycamore. Its only fitting that I have oufit all of my bikes with Manitou including the R7 and yes even the Axel which came stock on my 2004 Rockhopper Comp. Yeah I am guessing Russell can expect to see more Jamison to come his way that is if I am not doing the lumberjack 100. Also, I would like to welcome Tunguska Blast Energy Drink, Sockguy, and Nuun Nutrtional Products to the list of great partners for the 2008 season. Nuun is going to be a key supporter in the hydration department. With 1 or 2 tablets depending on whether or not your using a Camelbak you have a drink all set which is great if you need something quick while on a ride and can't haul jugs of powder with you.

More night skiing at Nine Mile in prevention of being shot by hunters allows me to get some quality training for xc ski racing cause frankly the skate technique needs some work or i'll be racing in the classic class.

Random

What's with the bad rap 24 worlds is getting and what did I miss?

Am I going to do Iola or Tour De Dells Road and MTB?

After talking with people that are supposedly running a business lately it's no wonder the economy is crap. Office supplies isn't rocket science.

Finally, what class do I renew my usa cycling license in the xc category and will affect what class I race in at Moab, lumbjerjack, etc. Expert?

Tis Da Season

So now that my cross training has begun in the form of shoveling 7" of wet snow out of my driveway. I am now in the christmas spirit. Going to go check out 9-mile today hopefully to begin the xc portion of my year.

I pitty the foo

Mr. T's Rap Song

Posted Apr 18, 2005

Mr. T regales us with a hip hop ode to his mama.

2008 Schedule

Cross Country Skiing
January 19th - Snekkevik 12k XC Ski Race - Wausau WI
Febuarary 2nd - Badger State Games 21k XC Race - Wausau WI
Febuarary 3rd - Badger State Games Quadrathon - Wausau WI
(5k run, 5k mtb, 5k snowshoe, 5k XC Ski)

Mountain Biking
April 26th - Rasta Rally XC - Rhinelander WI
May 3rd - Tour De Dells Road/XC - Wisconsin Dells WI
May 4th - WORS #1 Iola Bump & Jump - Iola WI
May 18th - WORS #2 Treadfest - Lake Geneva WI
May 24th - WEMS 12 Hours of Gears - Kewaskum WI
June 1st - WORS #3 Big Ring Classic - Wausau WI
June 7th - NUE Mohican 100 Loudon OH / WEMS 12 Hours of John Muir - Madison WI
June 14th - NUE Lumberjack 100 - Manistee MI
June 28th - WEMS Levis Trow 100 - Neilsville WI
July 6th - WORS Chippewa Valley Firecracker - Eau Claire WI
July 19th - WEMS 12 Hours of Alterra - Franklin WI
August 2-3 - USA Cycling Mountain 24 Hour Nation Championships - Wausau WI
August 10th - Ore to Shore Hard Rock 48 - Marquette MI
August 24th - WORS #9 Border Battle - River Falls WI
August 30th - WEMS Stump Farm 12 - Green Bay WI
September 7th - WORS #10 Smokin Spoke - Rhinelander WI
September 13th - Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival 40 - Cable/Hayward WI
September 20th - 24 Hours of Landahl - Landahl MO
September 27th - WEMS 12 Hours of Underdown - Merrill WI
October 12th - 24 Hours of MOAB!!!!

WADA's New Testing Facilities

With all of the doping scandals going now days why aren't lesser known pros getting on these teams or any sort of publicity for these guys. Simple answer would be cause teams are welcoming back riders convicted in the past based on their word that they will not CHEAT again. Come on people Discovery couldn't land a major sponsor caused by basso and the general issues surround doping in our sport that we as cyclists strive to keep alive on a daily basis. What has to be done to keep this sport clean? What has to be done to keep the governing bodies honest instead of the witch hunt that has been taking place and not following correct procedures as instructed. Pretty soon there will be "agents" waiting in the porta johns ready for YOUR deposit. I guess I can be happy knowing that I progressed to this point 100% clean minus a few Point Specials here and there.

Positive Note: Ski Swap Saturday at Marathon Park!!!!!

Weekend Rides

Well I've been doing the commuting thing to work for a few weeks now and I needed to get some good ridin in somwhere other than the road to work. I packed up the singlespeed and headed East of Stevens Point to Standing Rocks County Park. This place was just what I needed what a trail system. For those of you in the know and after the posting of 1,2,13 and 14 being closed due to the burn, I started from the tower dr lot and hit section 6, 7, 8, 9, 10a,10b, 11a, 11b, then 12, 3, 4 and 5. I did this loop twice. I am glad to have had a chance to ride there. I will probably go next weekend if at all possible, but this system immediately gets added to my favorites. Looked like Scott, Mark, and Don were out there but must have just missed each other. Hopefully the snow will start soon so that I can get some xc skiing in and work towards 08.

Seasons Changin

Last weekend we ended up going to Stevens Point for the banquet. I met up with Nate, Brando, and Jesse and ended up going to Rusty's for some bloody marys, point special, and some good greasy food.

From there we went to the Point Brewery for a fantastic tour and samples of some of Wisconsin's finest beers and then back to Nates in preparation for the 2007 WORS Banquet. The banquet was a good time with a shrine of Point Special being erected on the table in the form of a beer-a-mid. I was awarded for my efforts in the Cliff Bar Comp Series placing 3rd in the 25-29 age group. I also scored some raffle goodies and needless to say I wont be running out of cliff shots or bars anytime soon as well as a nice commuter light from Sigma. Special thanks goes out to Don for running the dirt circus and the WORS Posse for getting things set up.

After the banquet we met up with landon and some other cyclists at Final Score in which many adults beverages were consumed. Landon had to do some cross racing sunday and headed home while the rest of us walked up town.

Sunday was hangover ride 07. After the consumption of mcd's breakfast we made the trip out to Neilsville for some awesome riding at Levis Mound. This was the first time out there and I was very impressed. Great views, awesome singletrack, and so many options to ride. I got out the Rockhopper Singlespeed with a 32x18 which handled most of the climbing pretty well.

Well I have some exciting events and tons of ideas of what I want to do for 2008. Definitely going to incorporate some travel to different states and venues, but more on that later.

Now just making the commute to work on the bike and some XC Skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, etc.... for the winter months.

Thunderdown (No Pun Intended) 6hr

Friday, weather called for only a 10% chance of storms. Saturday was the same. Again meteorologists were wrong as usual and I started the 6 hour solo event in the underdown forest. These guys spent a ton of time out there making some of the best singletrack I have ridden this season, but unfourtunately the rains came in.

At 1 pm I got off the start and rode strong on leadout keep 1st and 2nd within my sights and I noticed that one of the two were struggling on the climbs even as early as the first lap which played to my advantage considering that I pride my riding based on my ability to climb. Most of the course some 80-90% was of the singletrack variety which made things a struggle at times during the rains but nothing that I couldn't handle. So I came through on my first lap grabbed a bottle and went straight through passing for 2nd. The 2nd lap brought a light rain in which wasn't falling hard yet cause of the thickness of the forest I was able to get two clean laps in before it got serious. I continued on laps 3 and 4 with quick stops for bottles and hammergel only and I felt like I was riding out there alone and for the most part I was because most have thrown in the towel and called it a day, but I along with some of the 12 solo guys were still out there. On my 5th and final lap I was having some vision problems, but kept on pedaling and eventually caught the 1st rider and gapping him by a couple of minutes to take the win and the free growler fill at Hereford and Hopps I think the Oktoberfest may be the brew of choice for this one. I have gotta thanks the guys at Turner Bikes again for giving me a bike that outlasts any condition that mother nature can throw at it and propel me to yet another win this season.

Sheboygan next weekend and I will following up that race with a visit to Lambeau field to witness a stomping of the Bears via Favre and the Packers. Have a good week.

I was Tater Baked

With only 2 races left in the WORS series I was sitting in 4th place and excited to have a spot up front I was ready to make my attempt at another WORS podium. We got off the line with no incident and I knew right away I was not feeling good at all. My HR was maxed out legs felt heavy and my stomach was uneasy...that's right, the lingering effects of the flu. I was riding strong about 2 minutes behind Aaron for most of the first two laps but then I exploded and could notice that immediately on the climbs when I used the granny. I survived even though at times I thought of pulling out knowing full well I didn't have it in me that day, but I held on to get the points and will re-focus going into sheboygan. I have the 6 Hours in the Underdown on Saturday, but am really looking forward to wrapping up the season in Sheboygan and am wondering how the course is going to run with sections in reverse.

Chequamegon

What a ride what a weekend. Brett, Jim and I arrived to casa de Jasperson at around 5 on friday just in time to go and register. We ate a big dinner of mostocholi and watched "Off Road to Athens" for inspiration. Needless to say as it got closer to the cannon blowing off I was getting very nervous for this was the first time I made it into the 40. The cold air of friday night/saturday morning was enough to make me focus elsewhere like trying to keep warm.

The cannon goes off and right away we were spinning. I treated this as a warmup since I sat in the car the whole time up till about 15 minutes before the race...not a good idea... I managed to gain control over everything about 30 minutes into the race just past rosies field I decided to kick er down. I was killing it on the climbs and bombing the decents to carry momentum going up the next one and it worked I must have caught a lot of the field after "OO" cause soon I was riding alone and gapped a lot riders not strong on the climbs which is what most of the last 8 or so miles was, so a race like this benefits me the more climbing the better. I am pretty happy with how I did in my first attempt and will look to improve and enter the triple crown next year cause these mass point to point races are a blast.

Results for:Justin LundChequamegon 40

Bib #
1128
Age
26
Gender
M
City, State
Appleton, WI
Team Name:
fdl/osh cyclery/spy
Age Group
M 25-29Split Results
Split
Time
Pace
Hayward to OO
01:04:52.5
14.7 mph
00 to Telemark
01:35:46.2
16.2 mphFinish Results
Finish Time
02:40:38.8
Pace
15.2 mph
Overall Place
271 out of 1766 Chequamegon 40 finishers
Division Place
240 out of 1469 Chequamegon 40 Men finishers
Age Group Place
28 out of 105 M 25-29 finishers

I would also like to recognize a new partnership for 2008 Evomo. They will be covering me from head to toe in some quality threads and really exemplify the image of people who live to ride on the dirt. I would also like to thank Spy Optic, Twinsix, Turner Bikes, Crank Brothers, and Osiris Shoes for their support this season. There is only a few races left in my season then it's off to XC Skiing and Snowboarding.

Sunburst

Well another good race with another good result down at the Sunburst Ski Area. I got bad start and stuck with the leaders until the first climb where it was clear I was a much better climber and needed a better start so I didn't get held up on the first climb. I moved up quickly through our group but noticed I was caught easily on the downhills honestly for reasons I can't put my finger on. Lap 2 and 3 I felt much better, more fluid in my cadence, hammering on the climbs and my heart rate and breathing was finally under control. The last lap some fatigue set in but I put the chain up in the big ring and pushed through it. I think I had one of my best performances of the year and felt confident in my abilities, but still have some things to work on. Starts and Decending. Other than that I feel pretty good about my singletrack skills. I am very happy with my climbing ability. I am not that far off of where I need to be but like I've said a million times before. A 3rd place finish here and less than 10 minutes back overall which is nice cause I've been struggling in the overall in general this year.

A group of us are going up to chequamegon this weekend. For me this is my inagural trip to the fattire and I gotta tell ya I'm a bit nervous about the road race like start being so close to the competition for miles. Maybe this is the cure for my starts who knows. We'll see how this turns out.

Relocation Complete

Okay so Sam and I are finally in the new house. I am about 3 miles East of Rib Mountain State Park. I am extremely excited about the new location. Nice yard, bar with running water in the basement, garage, and a nice deck out back. I did get out for a short ride today and managed to get up to the peak of rib mountain 4 times. This is not bad considering the only information I had going into this ride was from Scott's blog a couple of days ago. What a gut buster, but this is way better than the 1/2 mile climb I had to go up 20 times in order to feel I got something accomplished. I am really looking forward to Kewaskum cause of the amount of climbing and it so happens I am a decent climber but am easily humbled knowing that Brett is out in Colorado climbing stuff that would make me want to pass out at the top, but I guess the point is you don't get better by doing stuff your already good at so with that being said I am going to go and ride some of my favorite singletrack sections at Nine Mile tommorow night. Later

Smokin Spoke

What a race! First of all, I have to say this was a great course and we only got to experience a small portion of it now all of you should come up in the spring and do the Rasta Rally. Thanks to the volunteers for a great event and venue. No complaints from this guy.

Not sure what the lap length was, nor do I want to know. I was much more concerned with conserving energy in the early going to make sure I did more passing than being passed in the closing laps and it paid off handsomely. I did place midpack overall, but that may have had something to do with the fact that I started in the rear and stayed there for a little while, but I had plenty of time in the upcoming 3+ hours to make up ground besides, I'm not the type of guy you're going to see wearing the sprinters jersey in the tour I'm more like a landis...wait no drugs....rasmussen....nope again drugs....just more likely to wear the king of the mountains jersey lets put it that way. I'll just call that my curse I'll live and die by it till I grow into a real cyclists body.

No real bottlenecks to report except for the plywood bridge on the first lap where someone brake checked me forcing me off the side before I even got on, but no worries got back on and didn't lose a single spot just kept hammering. I felt awesome on the climbs and even better on the flats, but my second lap was slower, not sure why, but could have been lapped traffic already, pulling on the roads for too long or simply backing off. The third lap greeted me with Don himself making a lap....seemed liked he was having fun out there, and another guy I think Loy was his name from Rhinelander latched onto my wheel and we rode together for the rest of the race.

Only a couple of mishaps. One was clipping a tree with my Ergon grip didn't cause a crash or damage but I was rockin it motocross style for 3.5 laps. Another was clipping a rock with my eggbeater pedal. Again, no damage but signs of cramping accelerated by my leg shooting violently behind me in which I felt it in my hamstring for about 30 seconds until I spun it out. Finally, there was the bridge incident but no damage and no spots lost. The Turner Nitrous once again rose to the occasion saving me from back pains on the rugged singletrack at camp tesomas.

I am very happy about my best result of the year (1st place in 25-29 age group with 2nd place being almost a full 7 minutes back) and a sign that things have gotten back to normal since the weird happenings of the summer. Confidence is high heading into on of my best courses of the series at Kewaskum in which I will work on getting that overall time gap down to a respectable level and make a push for the age group series overall. Congrats to Jesse and Marko once again for taking 1st and 3rd overall. You guys are tearing it up. And Scott, way to bounce back from that crash and bring home the hardware.

It's almost September and it's time to start thinking about next year. I need to answer some questions. Am I going to race, look for sponsorship opportunities, look for a reputable shop, furnish my new basement bar with Twin Six gear and fattire beer signage, how about national races, play some Madden, clean up the Sammy's Subs NFL Prediction Pool, race snocross. The answer is YES!!!! okay not the last one I will not do that again but will ride snowmobiles, XC Ski, bike to work, and snowboard all winter long.....that's right I said winter.

See you at Kewaskum!

Hodag Cometh

This weekend is the final marathon series race of the year. I don't have a chance of scoring in the marathon series since I didn't race in the first two, but I do plan on shaking up the overall and placing well since I've been feeling much better about how things have been going with training as of late and racing well in the conditions at the wors cup.

I am excited to have all of my WORS peeps come up in my stomping grounds and hope they all enjoy this challenging course. There is so much to offer in regards to overall trail layout that I am hoping to see a regular WORS race in the works for next year and utilize the great trail system that everybody worked so hard on over the years. Big thanks to the crew at Bikes-N-Boards in Rhinelander, R.A.S.T.A, and of course Wayne Fish and Chris Schotz for their hard work on other area trails i.e. Underdown.

I plan on riding out there tonight if it's not too sloppy I want to give my new Jagwire Ripcord Cables and new XT dual control shifters. I also picked up a Schwalbe Nobby Nic, but not sure if I need anything that aggressive this weekend.

Moving into the new house in Wausau on Labor Day weekend. Don't worry I still plan on doing the Stumpfarm 12 that saturday. Now the project begins in the new bar in the basement including anything I can find to furnish it with Twinsix gear....pictures soon.

See you saturday on the pre-ride.

WORS "Muddy" Cup

The WORS Cup has come and gone. Special thanks to Rox and Don for their support during the race and the hand up it was greatly appreciated.

The elites were welcomed to okay course conditions which continued 4 of the 5 laps and then things turned sloppy t-brown looked like he snapped a chain and matter had a flat. Jesse and Marko took 1st and 2nd, way to go!

The comp race was shortened to three laps and with good reason. The ruts were deep and completely wore my front disc brake pads down to nothing. The Nitrous did perform well, but did collect mud disabling my rear wheel from spinning, but this may have been the case for the better part of the field enduring the conditions. As I was coming through on lap 3 I merged with the start of the Sport race. I lost so much time and did a lot of unessesary walking, but I was still feeling quite strong picking off sport riders left and right and was also feeling strong on the climbs allowing me to catch a few more comp riders before the finish including the final climb. I crossed the finish just over 2 hours in 4th place 25-29 and 27th overall. Landon has also continued to retain the Cliff Bar Comp Leaders Jersey with his 2nd place performance. I am glad I finished

Short track and Super-D were both cancelled after the riders meeting Sunday morning which may have been for the better considering Saturday nights activities included some heavy carbo loading in the name of New Glarus and thanks to Justin at Gen-X for some shots of Jameson. It was a good time hanging out with both the Gen-X and Polska crew. It was a great time with some pretty good music. Despite the conditions I would consider the event a success Thanks to Don (Mr. WORS himself) and their volunteers for braving the elements so that we could destroy our rigs on a great course.

Now the rebuild and re-cabling begins for what the weather channel is predicting a nice weekend for once in Rhinelander for the final marathon series race. See ya then.

WORS Cup

This weekend will be my first race since 24/9. I think I am fully recovered and was able to put in some hard efforts within the last couple of weeks while battling the tendonitis, but it did get better day to day and am able to put down some force which will be much needed in a short track event. I do plan on doing the stage race this weekend but I will be attending solo with Brett living in Colorado now and Jim not doing nearly the amount of races as he did last year (I'm thinking early retirement). I am going to be in need of a hand up in the comp cross country race on Saturday let me know if you can help. Thanks and see everyone then.

It never ends

I've been skipping out on the racing scene in hopes that the tendonitis in my right knee subsides so I've been doing the ibuprofen thing to keep the swelling down, stretching more often before and after the ride as well as wearing an icepack on my knee till I go to sleep. The pain doesn't bother me I've been used to it from years past it's the fact that it doesn't allow me put down as much force as I would normally on the flats, but climbing is okay. Since regaining my focus on training I haven't missed a ride at all this week and things are seeming quite normal aerobically, but now it's time to work on my anerobic power, but only time and my knee will be the telling story of whether or not I am successful.

After taking a look at Scoletrain's pictures, I am REALLY looking forward to the WORS Cup and competing in all of the events minus the gravity stuff. I am going to really test the limits of the Nitrous. I am looking forward to a lot of climbing I am talking at least the amount of climbing that Devils Head had to offer, but not sure how much we would be climbing per lap compared to that of my previous favorite course at Devils Head. No rain would also be nice but I would love for it to be in the 80's or even do I dare say it....90's. I am all in for a sufferfest just no bike damage.

Anyway, I will be making the WORS Cup and the rest of the WORS season. I will also be doing Chequamegon, Stump Farm 12, 12 Hours of Thunderdown, I may even give cyclocross a shot this year if the wife allows me to build another bike. I've got bonus money coming from work and it's time to spend it. Definitely will get some of this and a new crank for the nitrous. May also do some XTR upgrading as well.

What's new

Well I have made an executive decision to not race this weekend or possibly not even next weekend. I am going to start over on my training get some quality rides in on my roadie cause like I said my training has been horrible over the last month and I need to gain some consistency again and put down so hard efforts. I am not a big fan of the Alterra course nor have I ever been so missing this one is not that much of a dissapointment I may do the levis trow 100, but I am not exactly sure about that either. I need to re-group and get some hard efforts in before the wors cup. So that's my course of action for now. I have some news about next year, but I need to take care of some scheduling details before I reveal them.

24-9 I've Got a Confession to Make

Going into this I wasn't sure how I was going to do or if I was going to even make it, but in my mind there was nothing that could get in the way of me crossing that line just after 10 am on Sunday morning.

Thursday I had set up the canopy that both myself and Jim were pitting out of and was pretty happy with the area we had. Friday was a different story. Since I actually have to work Monday through Friday with no vacation to speak of till September, I found myself camping along the WORS leadout which lead to a lot of hauling the supplies the next morning and setting up before 10 am on Saturday.

When the gun went off I was stuck behind some dude that obviously has never ran in a pack like this before and looked like his limbs were detached as he was flailing them all over and for what to walk through the chute with me right on his heels anyway as he struggles to catch his breath...all I could think is wow is this early to blow up. So as I get further down the racks of bikes I can't help but wonder where is my Nitrous? There has got to be some easy way of finding your bike at the beginning, but moving right along I jumped on and found a hard yet smooth pace and settled in right from the get go put down three clean laps and refueled. Did two more then the same and so on through the night laps. I ended up falling down to 22nd but knew at some point people were going to drop for various reasons, this kind of race will do that to you, but I really don't know where it came from, but I developed heartburn so to the point where I wasn't sure if I was going to puke, take the browns to the super bowl, or it will go away in time and of course after braggin about how cycling doesn't affect my pitella tendonitis, it came on strong during the first night lap, but as long as I kept the cadence up and didn't apply too much force all was well, but at any rate, a 20 minute nap was good enough to get rid of it and so I changed into some Twin Six gear and back out I went. I ended up doing 13 laps finishing in 18th place for a first timer not to bad and I know now that I can push a lot harder, but I have a confession to make. I have never done a ride longer than 70 miles nor have I been riding that much at all during the month of July. I've had my wedding all of the classes that you go through with the pastor and so on and so forth. So next year I will actually prepare for something like this and earn a better result. My goal is to earn a top 8 cause most strive for top five or top ten I figure lucky number is a great number and I know that level is in me I just need things to fall into place and direct focus more towards my goals now that the time will allow for it. 363 days and counting.

Words can't express how I felt when I crossed the line or when posner gives you props as your about to complete a lap. This isn't something I would have imagined doing even 2 years ago as a citizen rider racing with both number tags on the front and back of my shirt at Iola in basketball shorts. I hope that this is only the beginning of something much bigger and I have so many people to thank so here it goes.

Turner Bikes for the flawless Nitrous. I only used one rig the whole time and it was money all over the course.

TwinSix for the great gear that isn't for the everyday soccer mom. I love the fact that they support "individuals" and strive to be unique. Probably the one company I could blindly point at a order form and say "one of those" knowing full well that it will be cool.

Crank Brothers for some eggbeaters that wont quit.

Spy Optic for keeping my contacts from gluing themselves to my retnas from the sun.

DV8 Clothing in Tomahawk for some seriously comfortable threads

Sammy's Subs in Tomahawk for great sandwhiches

And most importantly my wife Samantha, without her support and attention to detail there would be no story here and without Toni's help Sam wouldn't have stayed awake.

Ride the Nitrous into the Dark

Hey Fellow Solo Freaks

I went to nine mile to get some more miles and abuse on the new bike and ride some of the sections of 24-9 I didn't feel strong on when I rode with the Cole brothers on Saturday ho chi minh and #6 to be specific, but that is all now cured. In all I spent about three hours riding all over the map and I finally got shifting, tire pressure and suspension adjustments out of the way. The geometry of the nitrous not only feels comfortable, but I felt more efficient and was turning a higher speed at a much higher cadence than ever before. For a race such as this it's hard to say i am prepared for it, but if I had to make a decision on whether or not I am I would have to say yes. I still have some last minute items to take care of, but will be ready by the time I set up friday afternoon. I have to say that although I am crazy for switching bikes a week before the race but with the Turner Nitrous I wouldn't have it any other way WHAT A RIDE!!!!! I absolutely love this bike. Thank you Turner Bikes for putting out in my oppinion the alpha male of full suspension frames.

I am down to two people for support at 24-9 but this should be okay I really only need one to be awake at a time during the night for food and fuel stops, but I am looking very much forward to this weekend.

I don't even know why I came into work at all this week I can't focus on anything but the 24 hours of 9 mile.

Misc Wedding Photos

Wedding Reception Photos (no humans nor animals were harmed during this production)

Wedding + 4 bottles of Champagne = This!!!

And this!!

Our Solution to saving all those starving kids in China our parents always told us when we didn't finish our dinner!

Proud of being the receipients for the Nobel Prize for excellence in Physics

Do not try this at home we are trained professionals

Oh the pride in being passed the Green Turtle Soup

Let's do the Time Warp Again!

Enjoy!!!

Bike Porn

Tieing the Knot

I was not at Green Bay this weekend, but that was fine cause I was busy tieing the knot with Samantha. We have been together for over 4 years now and finally all of the planning was done and time to celebrate and have a good time. We did the whole church thing and proceeded with the party where many drink were consumed (3 kegs of miller and 15 bottles of champagne) We even tried sending a little bit of beer in a pitcher to our friends across the city via 15 or so hellium baloons. What a good time I would like to thank everyone that showed up for coming and the gifts, but now it's time for progress on building the Nitrous and getting ready for 24-9 roughly a week away.

I got my Twinsix gear today so I am pumped to be wearing the gear. Happy riding guys I'm out.

Wedding, bikes, and Twinsix Oh my.

I've been getting in some good final rides in on the rockhopper at nine mile despite the weather and getting myself lost trying to follow the course. This bike is going to be converted to a singlespeed because it's time to start building my Turner Nitrous for 24-9. I need a few odds and ends (chain, seatpost, cables) and I am checking off items on my spreadsheet in preperation for the 24 hour race in Wausau.

Ordered my roadie that should be in my posession sometime next week as well in which will be in the form of a SCOTT frame.

I would like to thank Jarret and company at Turner Bikes for their excellent support and Sponsorship. It's great to have a good working relationship with a company that cares about the needs of each rider that orders a frame it was great talking with them and they certainly helped me with my frame selection of the Nitrous over the Flux merely based on the type of use. I also would like to give a shout out to the Twin Cities very own Twinsix for their support for the 2007 season. I went to college in the area and it's only fitting to work with a company that knows what riding in the Midwest is all about (Goooo Twinkies).

This weekend is my wedding so I wont be able to make it to Green Bay for the WORS Marathon race. Hopefully it doesn't go to the dogs!!! (insert wors board whining posts here)
On that note the wedding is up here in Tomahawk lots of friends and family coming from all over the country coming to party hopefully none of the hillbilly folk from the Hodag Country Music Festival show up cause I have no patience for voice cracking my wife left with my truck music loving toothless people. If you are one of these people that's your choice if you're coming to my wedding prepare for some Slayer or CKY or my personal favorite NoFx. Lots of beer to drink although I'll probably stay away from it for as long as I can, but it's going to be a good time most are quite excited.

Riding in the Heat!

Friday I went to nine mile (imagine that) to get in long day of riding the singletrack. I put in roughly 2 hours before Brett and Jim showed up and then did another 1:45 and then stopped a bit to setup lights, eat, and refill bottles. We then did some night riding and I dangled off the back for quite some time battling my left contact lens (wish I got lasik) and about 1:35 minutes later my light died in the pines singletrack where you would lap through in the wors race so I rode along side of jim and brett to the cars. It was a fun ride we had hit all of the single track out there minus the flower garden cause we couldn't find it at night strangely enough and not to mention some logging may have something to do with it. Saturday I attempted to go to Washburn lake and I was extremely dissapointed with the condition with the trail I guess I have to bring a leaf blower and rake anywhere I ride up there now so remind why we pay fees to ride at some of these places? I did however make it to hanson lake and those trails were confusing, but fun and in great shape.

Update to 5k results I did place 23rd but instead of 183 people there were 217....what a turnout.

Finally, I ordered my frame this morning and am excited to be riding such a quality frame in my favorite color plus the Fox rp23 is going to be a step up from the float r I had on my sugar. I have a few odds and ends before I build due to the different sizes on my current rides. I think I am going to keep the same components but next year get some of the new xt stuff.

No racing for me this weekend for it is my wedding. Wish me luck.

4th of July

Every year on the 4th of July since I was a Freshman at Tomahawk High School, I've been participating in the Pow-Wow Days 5k/10k fun run. This event has been growing year after year and finally this year we've had the largest turnout with roughly 350 runners from all over the country participating in the three divisions (5k, 10k, and 1 mile fun run). I've placed well throughout the years in preperation for some good ol' lumberjack conference cross country, but this year I got a little dose of reality. I started off in the 5k running a decent 5:18 first mile with the leaders but faded quickly some would look at it as if I bonked, but I looked at as though this was only the first time I raced in shoes that laced up instead of velcro straps. I dropped off the lead group and finished with a time of 20:58 and placing 23rd of 180 runners.

Fun night laps will be ridden at nine mile tommorw night with Jim and Brett. Saturday I think I am going to Hanson Lake in Rhinelander and Sunday I'm either going to explore some new ST at Underdown or back to nine mile. Interested???? Let me know.

Finally!

The dirt circus better known as WORS rolled through Eau Claire last weekend for the Chippewa Valley Firecracker. I absolutely love this course it could use a little more climbing, but if it meant changing the overall route, I'm fine with the way it is....fast.

Once again not having a call up got me into the second row alongside of Brett and Shawn. At the start Shawn ate after getting pinched by a couple of non-experienced riders according to his account. Brett and I kinda held off the back for a little while considering that the whole group was within seconds of each other so no reason to push to the front before the first little riser. It still baffles me how you can get to a little sketchy rocky downhill and everybody is stopped in their tracks. Keep in mind that I have my moments to out there to I've only been riding for 3 years, but most of the time I can handle the hardest terrain with little effort on way less expensive and not the most cutting edge equipment (that will soon change) I think the leaders opened a big gap from that early mess and cruised through a fast course. I think this will teach me to hang off the back and I really need to work on that. The first lap was fast as all hell I kept it in the big ring for about 75% of the lap and same with the second lap. The third lap the lower back issues started reaking havoc again but nothing like phillips (did I mention I hate that course?) At the start of the third lap I started catching some age group riders including tony, but I made my move way to early on the leadout and that allowed him to catch me after I popped and he got the placing ahead of me by about 20 or so seconds. I think I am still in a learning process about attacking and using other riders in the flats, but some things are coming together and it's showing some promise. It's good to be feeling well on the bike again after a poor showing at phillips just being frustrated with poor training from losing the roadie in a crash. Figuring a way to get the time in and speed workouts was an issue cause this is all new to me, but now that I have it under control things are coming full circle just in time for 24 solo at nine mile. I did manage 10th in age and 64th overall so roughly midpack all around which is better than previous races and will now get much better as it gets closer to my next race at 24-9. Jesse and Marko are continuing to build on their reign of terror shaking up the results at each and every wors race with a 1st and 3rd overall on flippin singlespeeds. Landon nailed down another comp overall win and Nate Dog Jasperson earned a top 5 sport overall and 1st in age group (comp is calling you buddy)

In other news I am going to receive the insurance money for the bike hopefully today and on Monday for other issues stemming from the accident so the shopping and purchasing a frame or two is about to go down. Issues are forming with parties in this transaction that's taking place and I am considering other options due to it. I've got some ideas, but you'll see what I have when I finally have them built.

Finnally, My cousin Steven was seriously hurt in a car accident on 6/6/07. We were all worried about the outcome, but after seeing how he was doing this weekend he'll definitely make a full recovery(rods, screws and staples) but it's going to be a long ride for him, but he's a very talented guitarist so he'll have plenty of time to perfect that art and make me look even worse I can't play 1/4 of the stuff he does. His dad is also in a band from Eau Claire called Contradiction and I haven't been able to catch a show yet, but heard they have no problems packing the bars full of people.

The wedding is in two weeks so you wont be seeing me at Green Bay, but that's fine I'll have plenty of time to ride that course when I do the 12 solo later on this season.

Okay so now that my long winded post is over time to celebrate the 4th of July. Nine Mile rides Saturday and Sunday any takers? Scott? Nate? TBS guys?

What a Weekend

Friday i ended up taking a trip to Appleton to gather the remainder of my things and turn in the keys. I got home around 1:30 Saturday morning just in time to get some sleep for the muchly anticipated bachelor party that was about to go down that night. We all met at the Bridge and continued to our 8pm dinner at the chinese restaraunt and from there proceeded to loaders and finally down to Wausau for some adult entertainment hehehehe. We finally got back to t-hawk around 1 am to meet up with the girls fresh off there scavenger hunt adventure and proceeded to consume beverages till last call.

Sunday Brett and I met up with Nate at 9 mile for a 3 hour jaunt in which we discovered some secret trails that were extremely technical and definitely not something you want to ride alone. I think we all came close to do some endos. I know I have completed one endo and nearly smashed the boys in another section. We hit up all of the popular destinations 1,2,3 and ho chi minh as well as the flower garden. It was a good ride to say the least I felt pretty good despite Saturdays debotchery.

I can't wait for the Eau Claire race this weekend. Great course lots of racer extras to enjoy and did I mention it's a great course.

Still putting in longer rides in prep for 24-9. I swear by the time I start my first lap everyone is going to be sick of me talking about it, but it's the only thing on my mind at this juncture of the season. I am doing 24 solo and I do plan on riding the whole time minus the obvious breaks of course. I am hoping for a good solo turnout and I am not looking to place ahead of the favorites, but I want to be as competitve as possible and have a lot of fun out there.

See ya at Eau Claire.

Panic?

Specialized Rockhopper Comp + Horrible Phillips Course = tons of back pain for Justin

Brett and I didn't know that we were going to start the race or not when the rain let up, but when they delayed it 15 minutes it was a decision to make a go of it, but didn't warm up very well. That really didn't matter cause I was feeling pretty loose with tons of energy, but then I got completely thrashed by the terrain of the course more specifically my lower back. Even as i stopped on the side of the trail to recooperate, I took off like a bat out of hell, but as soon as I got to that singletrack section with the roots, rocks, and other terrain generated bumps, I slowed back to citizen pace. I can't blame no one else but myself cause of my method of training. Averaging 160 bpm for 3 hours 5 days a week isn't going to make me fast and powerful, but I'll be able to ride for hours on end at a steady pace and I'm fine with that, but it does effect the results and that is always frustration mentally, and makes it difficult to focus on the big picture 24-9.

I am going to get some more speed work in and cut back the time for the firecracker cause that course really supports my riding style to get a good placing in before the 12 hour rodeo stampede in spooner, but I want to keep putting in the miles before 24-9. It seems as though you can't effectively train for both at the same time and judging by my efforts in phillips it more than confirms that the endurance is there I just need power, or do I. I don't want to risk going backwords on training for the 24 hours of nine mile. See how this is going circles? I am confused.

I Was Runnnning

I did my first Forrest Gump workout of the year in which I ran with my old cross country coach for about 5 miles and I didn't really have the legs for it since I rode 3 hours at nine mile on Sunday so the shins are a. I think that's all i've been riding lately is nine mile, but until i get the new roadie that's how it's going to be plus it's a great way to nail down tire and pressure that's going to be used at 24-9 (which is a month and a half away).

I finally got the quote back on the bike and it is a total loss so now after faxing the information to my insurance agent, he's going to do the leg work on getting the at fault driver's agent to cut the check for a new ride. So now I'll have some decisions to make cross bike or roadie and what kind to get in the price range I'm in.

Phillips this weekend and it looks like it's going to be hot again this year. Bring the water, gatorade, endurolytes, and anything you'll need to keep you hydrated. It'll be a fun course again this year, but I know the climbs in the heat are going to claim it's fair share of victims, I don't plan on being one of them.

Nine mile tonight (go figure) I'll be there around 4:30 or so and may leave around 8 depending how I recover from last nights run.

More Riding Please

Last week I was able to finally get some good quality rides in. 4 hours at nine mile including a night lap to test lights and get a good preview of the 24-9 course on Wednesday. Thursday I attempted to ride at Washburn Lake but did more trail maintainence than I would have liked to after the storms came through, but still managed 3 hours. Friday and Saturday I wasn't able to ride due to packing up the u-haul and Sunday it was back to nine mile for another 3 hours.

Some good weather = lots of hours to ride so I will be a nine mile quite a bit since it's the best trail to riding on without a whole lot of abuse on the body and the bike while I deal with this whole replacement of the road bike thing.

See everybody at Phillips.

Where are We?

Okay this is the kind of weather I would expect in March and April....not June. I am getting really sick of having to wash and tear down the bike every single fricken night. Can't ride the roadie most of you already know why that is. I did manage to get out to nine mile and do 4 hours worth of riding including a night lap to see how the lights are working and not too bad by my standards, but could use a little more power so I'll be looking for some more wattage.

I would also like to add that Crank Brothers will be supporting me for 2007. This is a great deal cause I have the eggbeaters and absolutely love them. Lightweight, rebuildable, and great with mud. I am looking forward to getting a new crank and bb setup.

That's it for now....Nine Mile Thursday @ 4:30 Rain or shine I just don't care anymore and need to ride before 24/9

Do not pass go, Do not collect $200

The first WORS marathon race was a complet joke to me I don't know what happened why it happened or where it came from, but I just said "screw it, it's not worth spending more money to fix the bike again after a muddy race" I was sitting in a very good spot ready to put it down on laps 2-4, but just started to let up and just developed a bad attitude in short I was not having fun and also it seemed like all of my frustation with not being able to log the miles on my roadie after the crash and having to deal with all of that stuff and also with the weather not cooperating just hit me at once and I just quit plain and simple.

I think I am going to start over and just focus on 24-9 specifically since the involuntary backing off of time on the bike as felt like an early peak to the season. I know, I know it's a lot of whining, but I never would have thought that the crash would have this kind of mental affect on me since the only thing injured was the bike apparently that's not the case.

A week off of racing should allow me to gather my thoughts and put down some serious ride time and finally have fun on the bike again since after all that's what this is all about.

Time to Work

Well today is my first day at work at the new job and I gotta tell ya that I am very much enjoying it. Great trainers, staff, and what a facility. I am currently in training right now, but pending any weather disasters I may go out to Nine Mile to ride some more of the course for the marathon race on Sunday.

I pre rode the course on Monday and wasn't too impressed cause i'm not one to hammer I'm more of a consistant rider over many hours at a time, but I will do what I can and hopefully get to be in a good group off the front. Anyway, I rode the proposed first lap and as I mentioned didn't like it, but I can't see 700 people on the course with 60% singletrack anyways, so I decided to ride some of the old race course and the #1 singletrack section which was super rocky and technical, but a lot of fun.

Can't wait to get out to Washburn Lake this week to ride hopefully the weather cooperates.

Later

12 Hours of Gears

Jim and I did the WEMS opener 12 Hour duo in New Fane. We got there a little late so there wasn't too much time to warm up in the morning chilled air, SS Earl and Team Pegasus were in attendance (along with some PBR). The race started @ 8 am so we didn't have to worry about doing a night lap, but I hit the course in the lemans start and got caught up in someones mess as I was trying to board my Rockhopper. This course was so wide open so I decided to run my Hutchinson 1.85's at around 45 psi since the single track was in short supply and soft. My lap times throughout were extremely consistent and was really happy about how I was feeling even towards the end of the race. To sum it up we ended up doing roughly 150 miles 31 laps (I did 16) climbed around 14,000 feet. We ended up finishing 2nd to team pegasus. I would have liked to have given them more of a fight but after it's all said in done they were more than happy to give us a couple of PBR's for our efforts.

I can't believe how well the Rockhopper performed today, I had nothing but back issues while using the Sugar in a comp race, but riding the Rockhopper over a 12 hour period only gave me the soreness you would expect from a race like this. I am impressed with this hardtail as at treadfest it performed like a champ in the mud and survived gears in extrordinary fashion.

Monday I plan on heading to Wausau to ride the marathon series course in which it sounds like Scott will be there so hopefully I can grab some kind of knowledge as to how this course is going to roll.

Hope everybody has a great Memorial Day and see everyone at Nine Mile this weekend.

Man Down

Going out for my usual ride south to Chilton with a little sprinkle of rain prompted me to turn on the lights. Now normally I wouldn't even bring the light with me, but since I started my 48 mile ride at 6 pm I decided to bring it and use it. Good thing I did cause I damn near got ran over by a lady in a Honda CRV.

Here's how it went down.
I was heading north at a pretty good clip. This lady pulls out along side of me to the point of almost being directly to my left I thought whew that was close and just as I thought that she got ahead of me and turned right in front of me without a blinker into the driveway where I nailed her front fender and I hit it so fricken hard it looks like someone took a baseball bat to it. I had busted up the front wheel, carbon fork, handlebars, and my chain ended up where my rear brake is. As far as I go, I'm here, I'm scratched up probably bruised a little, but had I been going a little faster I would have gotten smashed with serious injuries. Now what...I guess it's quality time on the mountainbike until this gets straightened out cause I am not rich by any means I can't just go and buy a new bike to ride tommorow. Like a great company is named, Cars-R-Coffins.

May the Specialized rest in peace!

Lack of Tread Fest WORS #2

Treadfest:

Got out for the pre-ride on Saturday with Jim and Brett and was pretty pumped about the layout with the amount of climbing, singletrack, and the rockgarden not to mention it flowed really well for being as loose as it was.

Sunday was a different story. Warmup and everything went well, but I showed up late to the line putting me in the back due to the lack of a call up. The exact second they let our group gooooooooo, the skies opened up and didn't hold back for quite some time, and I'm glad I made the decision to ditch the sugar and get the hardtail back together what timing that was for it made the difference between staying in the race and quiting or so it seemed as I saw many quite a few full suspension rigs on the side of the trails as I slid on by. The first time through the rockgarden someone brake checked me and that in turn made me use my brakes when I normally wouldn't, but the following laps were close to unrideable with no room for a mistake in that section. Laps 2 and most of 3 were very sloppy and at times you could not even run up the slop, but by the time I started lap 4 it started to tack up and I put down the hammer as best I could, but it was way too late as I found Landon was way off the front in what would be his best wors finish of the season. Jesse and Marko (thanks again for the bottles now all I need is a kit) definitely came to race today posting 2nd and 3rd overall on their ss 29er. Scott Cole posted an excellent 13th overall in the elite class despite a stage diving incident that took place after I hit the road. Mountaingoat took advantage of being on the rigid SS and rode to a good finish and after talking to Sarah afterwards she apparently ripped it up as well...litterally...As far as I'm concerned I grabbed 6th in age and 45th overall in comp so it's an improvement, but I've got a ways to go I've got nothing but time on my side and an Intense Spider 29er waiting to be tested on the WORS dirt circus I am very confident that I will continue to improve at a steady rate.

After a departure of my buddy Brett heading out to Colorado, the 24-9 team is disbanded. I am now going 24 solo on the Spider 29er with the Rockhopper waiting in the wings if I need a spare bike...you never know with these things.

This Weekend is the 12 hours of gears pending weather. I plan on also packing up some of the necesseties and moving up north to Tomahawk for a month until the residence in Wausau becomes open. Very excited to get back up north again to enjoy riding the trails within short driving distance especially Washburn Lake Trail.

Okay gotta do some packing

later

Race in the Middle of Nowhere

Saturday and Sunday was the Maplelag UCI Spring Opener up in Callaway Minnesota. There wasn't a big crowd for the weekend, but plenty of good weather and great racing greated those who attended. Some of the Midwest's top riders like Hall, Schouten, Kelli Emmit and Sarah Kylander-Johnson as well as Erik Tonkin and Megan Monroe showing up from out west made the pro venue. Kelli and Jeff took top spot and Tonkin bounced back from 6th to 3rd after a flat in the lakeside drops at the start of the 2nd lap.

There was definitely a good reason why there were two laps and total distance around 11 miles. To me, this is the toughest course I've ever put the knobbies on. In the first lap I managed to drop my chain into my cassette twice and crashed on a very steep decent trying to make the sharp left at the bottom. I did ride a strong and clean 2nd lap and managed to reel all but a couple back in, but I am happy to score the age win and top 10 overall.

Wisconsin had a good showing with Schouten 2nd in pro, Jesrin 2nd in semi-pro, and Sarah concurring the very difficult course. I don't think we'll see anything like this in WORS anytime soon.

This weekend is Treadfast in Lake Geneva and the Rockhopper is making it's comeback!!!!

Maplelag or Bust

Here's what it took to rid me of the illness in less than 48 hours

25 vitamin c drops
25 zinc/echineachea drops
300 oz of water
1/2 gallon of orange juice w/ vitamin D
6 shots of Nyquil
oh and 6 benadryl

Now if I could only stop being dizzy!

Onward to Maplelag

Excuses....Excuses

Well now everything is starting to fall into place. What I thought I was mainly allergies from tree pollen and such turned out to be a full blown head cold. This would explain the lack of sleep and cramping during the race as well as the zombie like feeling I had the entire race. This couldn't have come at a worse time, but this weekend is Maplelag and I've been looking forward to this since I received the brochure in the mail some three weeks ago. So I didn't ride on Monday and judging by the feeling I have now, I wont be riding tonight as well just so I don't prolong it so.....I've got about 5:40 pm right now so I am going to the store, stocking up on drugs (not of the BASSO kind) and go to bed. I am going to try and get out tommorow and Thursday.

Iola Recap

During the preride I was feeling pretty good, I was strong on the climbs fast in the track and solid on the decents. Overall feeling pretty loose, but if anybody knows racing there is such a thing as too loose. I wasn't nervous before the start nor was I pumped up ready to go which would be why my start was less than ideal.

I got around pretty good for the first 2 laps riding pretty fast and maintaining a rhythm, but then after the climb out of the bowl on the third lap, the cramps started. I didn't know what condition I was in cause it only affected me when I sat up straight. Too sweet of a drink maybe? Well I managed to finish, but not as strong as I would have liked. Again, I was super strong on the climbs and the real technical stuff (for once), but the killer instinct just wasn't there I didn't attack at all and I found that was odd, but 12th in age and around mid pack overall is okay, but the gap to the leaders really needs to go down and it will, just gotta have the right mindset, but that's just one of few things and good thing it's a long season.

That's about all i've got for now, I am definitely looking forward to Maplelag.

Rasta Rally Race Recap

I've been so busy with planning the move to Wausau that I never did get out a race recap of the Rasta Rally.

So you've seen the results (8th age 11th overall), but this is how it went down

We didn't get to the venue with a whole lot of time to get ready so the start was kinda shotty without a decent warm up and stretching, but hung in there mid pack for the long gravel leadout. I kept a few guys in my view since I struggling to warm up, but once I did I got three more people and started using the big ring and that felt much better copared to the granny gear riding I did on the first set of climbs in the single track. The course was about 15 miles long and most of it was decent singletrack that really didn't let up on ya. Throw in a couple of switchback climbs log bridge and some plywood bridging that at the end if you're not careful you'll shoot of the end and you have a fun and technical course. I held on that's really all I can say about, but now I know I need to get a good sweat going before I get to the line If I want to go fast from the get go. See you in 2 days at Iola.

On the Move

Well the time has finally come. I've been not so patiently waiting to move to Wausau for more reasons than I have time to list, but I have accepted a job offer and will be relocating in June. The one thing to me that stands out is the fact that I can Snowboard, XC Ski (day or night), and Mountain bike at one of the best trails in the Midwest, and not to mention great opportunities for long road rides.

This weekend is the Iola Bump & Jump the kickoff to the WORS Series. This is one of my favorite courses especially since last year since they've added a monster climb and to prepare for it 10 hill climbs at High Cliff. I swear everyone and their brother was out on such a nice day at least crossing paths with around 30 area cyclists and that's just at High Cliff State Park. I did pretty damn good last year placing 4th, but this year I'll be riding comp so the competition will definitely be there.

I have some photos I need to upload so keep on the lookout for those otherwise, see you at Iola.

Rasta Rally

I drove up early Saturday morning to Rhinelander (pit stop in Tomahawk for Dairy Queen of course) and met up with Justin Riebe to set up accomodations and go for a ride on the Hanson Lake Trail System. I gotta tell ya I miss living up there. even the newest and barely put together trails up there are better than most if not all in the Green Bay, Appleton, and Oshkosh areas combined. That makes it so much easier to pack up and move to Wausau. The single is confusing but it's fun and somewhat decent laps around 4.5 miles not too bad.

Sunday was a different story. This course was difficult lots of climbing and even some of it was on the difficult side, this was a great early season test especially now that I know I need to work on my lower back issues since I've been neglecting this area in the weight room.

Now to the good stuff Results and photos.

After a 4-5 year hiatus Justin Riebe grabbed 3 in his age group in the beginner/sport class and better than mid pack overall. Solid effort from him.

I ended up 8th out of 21 in my expert age group and 11th of 43 overall. So a decent effort, but I know what I need to work on. Can't wait for WORS next week. See ya there.

Later
Justin

Are you Ready for some singletrack?

It's getting closer and closer to race day. Tonight I'll get everything all packed up and run around trying to find my Gatorade Endurance Formula in powder form more and more places I think stopped carrying it but then again we are in Wisconsin where a majority of the people are not exactly "active" so sales may not be high enough to stock it for only myself to buy it, but if you want some deep fried chicken there's plenty of that so enjoy.

I am going to head up to the nort-woods Saturday morning and shack up with the parents for the night. Weather is supposed to be in the upper 70's all weekend so that definitely will be nice for a change since this race has a history of cold and rainy weather. I think Justin R. will be making a race debut this weekend. He used to race in the WORS series back before 2000, but recently getting back into it after a long layoff, he has a Fisher Hoo Koo E Koo (spelling) that's pretty old school but when I saw it last summer it was still in awesome shape.....good singlespeed conversion material....

I received my copy of 24 solo Wednesday and it is great story. Gordon destroyed himself trying to beat Chris. I love the opening scene with 24-9 what the hell were we all doing there I didn't realize how bad the weather really was.....but hey I wouldn't change anything about that weekend, what an experience...next year...2008 I will be going solo 24.

Add some fuel to the fire

I am beyond stoked for the race this weekend. It's been a very long winter and my MTB might be feeling quite neglected by now, but no worries I did manage to get it dialed in this weekend and she's ready to go.

I signed up for the race over in Minnesota in which it will be exciting to race on the same course as the pros like JHK, Geoff Kabush, Shonny Vanlandingham...etc....you get the picture. Those guys and gals race on Saturday so I'll be able to watch and take some snap shots and video. It's a UCI points race so it does mean something, but for me it's an opportunity to get out of Wisconsin and race on some different terrain well sort of it's still Minnesota.

Tonight I wasn't expecting a whole hell of a lot out of my ride considering yesterdays gale force winds, but I some how kept my pace at reasonable level over 37 miles. I don't think I left it all on the road either as I feel fresh and no muscle soreness to speak of, this ought to change after the 15 hill repeats I have planned for Wednesday.

Rasta Rally this weekend.....be there....even if you're not an avid cyclist that's why there is a citizen class. Get out there and ride! I better see some of you guys there. Mountaingoat has an excuse and I can except that, but you other suckas better find a way to get up there unless your doing the Rock Cut race down in Ill-noise.

So I leave you with this

Later

Crazier by the day!

Tuesday I went to do the hill repeats at high cliff again and ended up meeting Brett and Jim there as they were just finishing their workout. I finished just as it was getting dark again caught a nice shot of the sunset and decided to do a couple more. I only planned on doing 10, but by the time I uploaded the data from my Motionlingo ADEO GPS. It appears I did 13...this would explain why I was dead on Wednesday. The total workout was 48 miles only 20 were for the trip on the way out and back the rest was on the hill.

I couldn't believe how many deer were out and about after 7 its like happy hour or something and they all flock from everywhere and I was within punching distance if any of them wanted to try anything funny...

Rasta Rally is next weekend. I don't know what the Mountaingoat is doing, but I am all registered and ready to go. Hopefully I'll see some of you punks there.

Got this in the mail today.

Signing up for it tonight....I think I'll have to check the logistics and stuff, but looks like fun.

Is it time for WORS yet.

The Weekend

The end of the week gut feeling was to take it easy Friday and Saturday. So Sam and I took a trip up to Tomahawk so that she can get some wedding stuff done and so I can get away from the city for a couple of days and relax.

Friday:

Got off of work and cruised up North and stopped at one of the greatest establishments in town for burgers Dairy Queen. I wanted the the kit kat blizzard, but I had to keep the slender figure alive. We then ended up at Sam's parents house and just kicked it a bit before going to sleep

Saturday:

Got some Chineese at the Beking Restaraunt....Good Stuff. Nothing in Crappleton even comes close to this place...no joke and up to Rhinelander for some flower shopping...I had other plans. My front tire got punctured on my roadie so I dropped Sam and my mom off at Wal-mart and continued to Bikes-N-Boards to get said tire fixed. I then killed more time at Jake's Tatooing and got a rough idea of what my next piece is going to cost me and I am pretty excited about it hopefully this gets done in May or early June.

Sunday:

I had originally commited to doing about 100 miles, but that vanished when I woke with the headache from hell and cut the ride short at 43 miles. I did average 20mph over the 2 hour ride so the rest certainly paid off.

I'm tired time for bed. Exclusive pre-season interview on me coming up soon....be excited....very excited.

Later Player catch ya on the flip side.

Hola Me Llamo Justin

And I am a "Climbaholic" (latin: Climaholibus)

Nevermind the Spanish talk (lack of Oxygen to the brain as always)

After riding the trainer last night (first time in a while mountiangoat), I decided to do the workout I had originally planned and ride out to High Cliff State Park for some hill repeats and I was excited.

I must be sick in the head if this is something I actually enjoy, but there is just something about giving a good effort up a pretty decent climb and then doing it ten consecutive times (20 is my record so far on that climb). I am listening to my Ipod and nodding my head to the music as I go up. Last year at this time, it wouldn't have entered my mind that I could do this 3 times yet alone 10 and certainly not 20 repeats, but I gotta tell ya I feel like I am leaps and bounds ahead of where I was last year...only a race with all of the WORS heads will be the true test of that.

Also, while I have racing on the brain, good luck to everybody this year. I want to get that out of the way before I become an arrogant, stuck on myself, think I am better than everyone (which I am ooops started already) prick. Just kidding, I look forward to seeing everyone and with a possible move to Wausau I may have room for some guests, but I'll post more about that later on after Treadfast.

Later Player!

Another day another....Snowstorm

What the hell happend today now? For Example, I go out for lunch and when I go out to refill my water bottle it's a white out....You know something, with about 2 weeks away till Rasta Rally in Rhinelander there better be a warm spell coming on fast.

I decided to ride on the trainer tonight. Tonight was supposed to be the night where I go out to highcliff and do hill repeats followed by 6 minute sprints on the way home. Well I guess that's getting pushed back to Tuesday night. Weather isn't looking great, but who knows, maybe there will be a pleasant suprise.

Later

Think Spring!

Take a look at this sign and tell me you don't want to climb it.
(Washburn Lake Trail - Rhinelander, WI)

What's a guy to do?

I'll tell ya what. There are a bunch of races I should be doing this year, but virtually can't due to restrictions on budget from the wedding and a possible move to Wausau Wisconsin.

I would love to do some of the 24 Hours of Adrenalin Races, but there are none to speak of in Wisconsin and would require a rather lengthy road trip amongst other expenses. I also would love to do the Lumberjack 100 but a ferry ride across Lake Michigan is 209 bucks round trip. What's a guy to do. I want to compete against the best in the biz, but I can't get those kinds of funds together to do it.

The WEMS Series is going to be my main focus this year as WORS will always be on the schedule, but if there is an endurance race to be had well that where I am going.

In other news, Nike and Trek Bikes have severed ties going into 08' and rumor has it they may drop cycling all together. My thought, In Nike's eyes, Lance is gone and so is their cash cow. I guess we might as well leave it to the companies that contribute to the cycling community instead of strictly the pro teams cause it all starts in the grassroots of the sport.

More riding completed today and it wasn't very comfortable at all, but it was still on the bike and that's what matters. This season is going to be different. We are going to see who's been defying the odds and training in all conditions compared to those that whine and complain that they can't get out cause it's raining and 40 degrees. We'll see how this works out for ya in Iola punks!

Wisconsin Might as Well.....

Be known as the "Bullshit Weather State"

I mean come on, one week you're comfortable in 50 degree weather although not ideal, but withstandable and not 24 hours later your digging for your ice scrapper and winter jacket which you had already had put away and taken back out at least 3 or 4 times already this year.

With that being said it's hard to pick and choose your long times on the bike or doing any activity outside and makes it that much harder to train effectively, but still have to find a way to get out there and tough it out....I mean who cares about the 25-30mph head winds with rain beginning to fall right. I did manage to do about 3 hours on the trainer, but I was watching "Off Road to Athens" so that made me excited to get out there and race and also made those 3 hours fly by.

Saturday I managed to break down and do some shopping for cars again.....why does this process of paperwork and what not have to take sooooooo long? I mean they ran the credit, I found what I wanted, and put some $$$$ down, but after the 4 hour ordeal they say "the banks are not open on Saturdays and will have to wait till monday for it to go through" I could have easily filled out the paper work left for my saturday ride and came back later if that was the case....day waisted and I needed a nap.

I normally don't take naps but that changed yesterday. I got home around 4ish and slept till about 8. I think I was just beat down from a full week of work, riding, weight lifting at the YMCA.

Tommorow morning I will be riding to work lets not get by any cars shall we? Some people just have no respect for bike commuters, but hey all it takes is one lawsuit to make it come full circle.

Later,