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