v e l o t r o c a d e r o

Crushing it

2012-01-14T10:18:00.001-06:00

SpeedZone style.

Double Birkie Recap

2012-01-02T08:43:00.000-06:00

Given the lack of snow all across the Midwest, the opportunity to get some skiing in was a much welcome deviation from the intermittent roller ski sessions and the endless conversations about how much we are looking forward to skiing. Despite the incredible effort that would be required to ski the length of the Birkie trail twice, Patrick and I committed to giving it a shot.

We drove up to Hayward after work on Tuesday and checked into the Northern Pine Inn around 10 p.m. Had we known earlier that the route would be modified to address the numerous bare spots at the south end of the trail, we would have preferred to stay at the glorious Telemark resort. But alas, the Northern Pine was where we landed. The promise of using the pool, hot tub, and sauna post-ski was enticing, but it wasn't meant to be. Most of the motel was shuttered, including the water features, which seemed reasonable considering there was only one other car in the parking lot aside from ours. Nevertheless, we each had our own bed and got some good sleep.

We found our way to the 'OO' trail head and warming house by 7:30 a.m. Wednesday morning. The cars quickly started rolling in and it was evident that the Double Birkie was definitely on. Mr. Tom Schuler and his brother-in-law Pete were the Masters of Ceremony and gave a little background history on the event. As with the Bone Ride, the Double Birkie was thought up in an attempt for Schuler to get 1,000 hours of training in before the Birkie ski race. 1,000 hours?!?

Before long, we were heading south on the Birkie trail from OO towards Hayward. The plan was to ski as far as we could before we started hitting bare spots. That turned out to be about 8k, so we got 16k in before we ended up back at the OO warming house. As predicted, some guys/gals started really hot and the group got split up pretty quickly. We all regrouped at OO before heading north to Telemark and there was already a bit of grumbling about how it was a bad idea to ski the Double Birkie the very first time on skis for the year. Present company included. Even the experienced Schuler took a few Ks to get his snow legs under him and, in one of his famous NASCAR-like downhill moves, he crashed himself out and split his chin on the ice-like snow.

After departing OO on our way to Telemark, we ended up splitting up into smaller groups again. Patrick and myself ended up with Pete, a local who knew where all the best snow was. We took a circuitous route up to Telemark and ended up shaving off a few Ks of thinly-covered trail. Telemark made arrangements to have staff on hand to feed us lunch, which was much needed. Since there isn't any skiable snow in any of the major cities around upper MN and WI, many of the high school ski teams were at Telemark to take advantage of the great trails. It was really great to see hundreds of people milling around Telemark during the middle of the week. That place is great and I hope it continues to hang on for decades to come.

After lunch, we hit the trail and headed south toward OO. Pete was again our guide and took us back on a route that used mainly the Classic trail. The change of scenery was great and I really enjoyed seeing more of the trail network, which was highlighted by a side trip to the tippy tippy top of Firetower Hill. Flashbacks of many a Fat Tire 40s started to haunt me until Pete reminded me of the Little Debbie hand-ups he has been doling out for the past several years. That thought combined with the fact that we'd be skiing downhill for the next few Ks brought a smile to my face.

The view from the top of Firetower Hill

We got after it for one last leg of skiing and arrived at OO around 3:30 p.m. to beautifully soft snow and a bright, setting sun. Patrick rolled in with a dazed and somewhat maniacal expression. Needless to say, we were both insanely happy to be done.

A trip back to the Northern Pine Inn to clean up preceded a great night at the Seeley Sawmill with a mix of new and old friends. I think we'll definitely be going up for the Double Birkie again, but hopefully we get some skiing in beforehand. The Lenroot Lodge or Telemark will be our crash pad and I hope more of the Trocadero guys make the trip. Until then, keep your fingers crossed for some snow locally!

Lots of flare hanging from the ceilings at the Sawmill

2011 In Short Review

2011-12-31T21:09:00.003-06:00

2011 has flown by. One year ago I was contemplating my future in business and trying to join Velo Trocadero. The first worked out fine along with the second. I did have to prove my metal though to the 'Troc crew through Speedzone.

Speedzone for you peeps is an approximate 2 hour training session indoors with the majority done on trainers along with strength and agility exercises. I knew I could not miss one (2 each week, 30 trainer miles) to gain some favor. Long story short, I sent my request to join and was lovingly accepted. Oh did I not know what was coming.

My biggest problem was learning that in the 80's you just rode miles and that was it. If you got dropped in a race you hadn't rode enough. Well times have changed; unfortunately it took me until August to get it.

Thanks guys for the warm welcome, and as promised the "Zman Review of our Awesome Squad". Not in any particular order just random.

Jay LaBonne. Jay is the eternal optimist. Only 4 years younger than the "Z", Jay is actually 10 years younger than the "Z".

Willie LaBonne. I really have to be careful here! Willie , Jay's wife, is our trainer along with Jay. Wait a minute, Willie is our trainer :). I will just say these 2 things that stand out in my mind and will be forever burned in my mind. The first day I thought she was some Eastern Block coach like we seen in the 80s. The 2nd was after a day of a workout for TOAD, Luke called me up and wanted to do a small ring ride for an hour after he got home for work. I did and when I got home and was having dinner I got a text from Willie ... I got CHILLS!

Todd. I think he is close to my age. I believe he is the only Democrat on the team but since he was one of the original members that's ok. Todd I think is the funniest in the group. What stands out is (seeing that I don't drink anymore) is the effect Belgian beer can have on a high metabolism. And the crash story.

Patrick. Simply the most powerful scrawny guy I have ever seen! He must have stretch marks on his hip flexors. Also a great photographer.

Casey. STRONG, Mentally, Physically. Tough choice between Casey and Luke for MVP! Don't fuck with Zman and definitively don't fuck with Casey!

Corey. A Peterbuilt Semi made of Carbon Fibre! Best legs on the team ladies! Totally aloof at the same time being right on it. Awesome to ride next to or behind.

Don. Well thanks to Don I am on this Team. Great guy, hidden endurance and power. Look out in 2012, he weighs less than me. If you want to work on your surges in the pack, ride Dons wheel on a team ride! Sorry Don, I luv ya! :)

Keith. WCA watch out! Zero end to possibilities on a bike. Totally a virgin tho!

Aaron. Awesome. Just a great guy. I only wish he was out racing more, there is a big engine in there. Also is great at fading back and bringing me back up! Thanks again Aaron. My best memory of the year was at the picnic sitting at a table with Luke doing twitter play by play of the US Pro in which his brother won!

Craig. Aarons dad and new member of our team. A Diesel. Locomotive. Congrats on a great year! Best memory, the top of Hi Cliff in Race the Lake. Craig comes by me at the top and says "Come on Barry! Lets get going!"

Paul. Silent but deadly. Again big engine in there!!!! Thanks for fixin' me up Doc after I French kissed the log at the cross race.

Chris. If we had a Thomas Volkler on the team here it is. Good looks, strong as a bull. Great motivator of the "Z". Loose those hi recovery socks tho!

Ted. Well what can you say. Team humorist. Team workhorse. I hope to see more of him this year. Best memory, pacing Brad back on a team ride on a cold ass Tuesday night. As we got close to the base of North Av. hill Brad and I caught Ted and I did not look back. 3/4ths up I looked back and frickn' Ted was on my wheel not Brad!

Brad. If your out there get a hold of us we miss you. Very hard worker. Eternal Optimist.

Miles. Kilometers is a new member who will be in front. Experienced, nice guy and does not ride a Trek either! I can't wait to see him race!

Jack. Awesome guy. Edgey like the "Z". Not afraid to call a Douche Bag a Douche Bag in public. On the comeback trail it is rumored. Very fun to hang with. Dangerous combination, Todd, Jack and Zman.

Luke. Ah Luke. I know you skipped everyone else first to read this you know it! Luke was the along with Jay, the Zmans mentor. Both gave me the info and watched me hang myself when I didn't listen and praised me when I did. Quietly focused keenly on our sport along with all that is wrong in our world. Luke special thanks to helping me along. I wish I was 25 tho!

If I missed you consider it a good thing! Happy New Years fellas, lets kick some ass this year.

Double Birkie - DONE!

2011-12-28T17:06:00.001-06:00

Well, it wasn't pretty, but we made it. Patrick crawled up a couple of the final hills, but his mood brightened when Schuler announced that the first round of brews is on him.

Caption Contest:

2011-12-12T20:29:00.001-06:00

Badger CX-One Cold Mo Fo

2011-12-12T14:32:00.004-06:00

My Night With My Heros

2011-11-19T19:42:00.003-06:00

Last Saturday night I attended a very special event. The event was the 2011 Saris Gayla held in Madison, WI. at the Saris headquarters. This event is held every year and benefits the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin with proceeds from the event and auction going to the Bike Fed.

This years draw was a very,very special one for me. Members of the 1986 7-Eleven Tour de France team would be in attendance. When I happened across this email a few months ago my heart actually did skip.

Back in the Summer of 1981 I was just starting to ride and can remember a ride from my home in Waukesha down to the Lakefront of Milwaukee to watch my hero Eric Heiden racing. That I believe is when I began to fall in love with this sport.

My brother at the time lived and worked in Madison for Yellow Jersey bike shop. At the time that was where you went for the good trick stuff, Campy, Bianchi, ect. In 1982 he helped me out and gave me a deal on a Peugeot PSV road bike so I could at least ride something decent.

The economy was really trashed, I was layed off from a local motorcycle dealership where I was a mechanic and just rode. I hooked up with a friend from high school, Mitch Nettesheim who had raced some and I was in.

Back then, God I hate this statement, there was no internet, barely good cable, and the only way to find anything on bicycle racing was Winning Magazine, Velonews, or a fledgling newspaper called USA Today. I would order VHS crappy videos from the Tour in French and watch them over and over.

711 was somewhat based in Pewaukee at the home of Jim Ochowicz on Hyw SS. Now sometimes on our Tuesday night training rides I lament as we turn right by there about seeing that 711 van or the Caprice wagon sitting in the drive way. My how times have changed.

The Tour in 1986 was a showdown between Bernard Hinault and Greg LeMond. Many now do not realize the other big historical events that also occurred at that tour. CBS Sports was covering the event and I had no idea of the happenings. As I sat there in my living room I watched my local heroes in the greatest event in my world. 711 was the first American team to compete full time in Europe and the Tour.

On the second stage, a dual race day, Canadian Alex Stieda rode off solo from the peloton in a 60 mile stage. Alex stayed away through all the sprint points and tho was caught in the last kilometer, had enough time to take ALL the jerseys. Well the picture above is of myself and Alex. I jumped and cried like a baby that day in the Summer of 1986. Thanks Team 711 for the show. Zman.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

2011-11-16T13:56:00.006-06:00

With cyclocross season coming to a close there's lots of talk floating around the Velo Trocadero team about cross country skiing-i.e. Ski specific strength training, roller skiing, hitt'in the PX90, The Birkie!!Oh yah! So unlike most folks in this part of Wisconsin we on the Troc team are praying for snow, and soon. So here's a few pics to get your blood flowing even more for CX skiing!!

Esta

2011-11-08T09:06:00.002-06:00

THE FACE OF CX

2011-10-31T17:07:00.002-05:00

It's not CX, it's not VeloTrocadero CX...until someone's bleeding!!!

It's coming!

2011-10-21T07:50:00.000-05:00

Cyclecross so far!

2011-10-17T20:12:00.003-05:00

For me, it all started one year ago when I went with a friend to the Halloween cyclecross race at Washington Park. I considered myself a fairly strong rider. I did a lot of bicycle commuting over the past few years but I had never seen much in the way of bike racing until then! I remember seeing all the super cool bikes and the guys riding them and asked myself what does it take to get there? About 6 months later, when the road season started up, I found out that I needed to ride ride ride if I wanted to race and be competitive! So thats what I did, I showed up at every beat down and showed up every Tuesday at Cafe Hollander with Luke, Chris, Casey, Patrick and the crew and rode. That's where I learned that I was not as strong a rider as I thought and that I had only seen the tip of the iceberg! So through some extreme hard work and some long hard rides, I started to learn and soon fell in love with the sport. I did only 3 road crits and RTL over the summer. Then came cx season and I did 3 races in two weeks and it was a blast! So I'm going to keep on and hope that next year I will be even stronger! I've learned a lot from the guys on the team and made some friends. It's been a good year for me riding my bicycle! Thanks, Keith!

Hey Chicago Cross!! Love to be your pack fill.

2011-10-16T16:54:00.007-05:00

The Chicago Cross Cup race on saturday was the "Psycho Cross"; I thought it was a pretty fun challenging course. It has a little of everthing, zig zag corners, wide open speed strips, thick grass sections, dirt berms (which I found were actually really slow to use), a flyover, off-camber (and wet) sections, but only one set of barriers. The wind was kicking at about 30mph with no place to hide-the entire course is in the open.

Sporting the new Troc speed suit, which is a bitch to pin your number on when your running late, I lined up for the 40+ open. Then, they start call-ups, ok pretty normal I guess; and they keep calling, and calling and calling; 33 of the 52 racing got call ups! Really? 33. Shit. Not that it really matters anyhow I guess, my only goal was to better my place from last year, 40th, not hard to do; ended up 32nd, there was no prize for 32nd. Anyhow the course was great and a good fill in for next weekends double header with WCA.

This was the first race I've done where they give goodie bags! Yes, a shirt, hat, stickers (who wouldn't want six "sock guy" stickers) and two Chamios Butt'r samples given in a backpack, cool; but I dont know what I'm gonna do with any of it.

Last but not least I have renewed respect for those of you racing an hour; my races are usually only 30 mins (which feel hard), the psycho cross was 45 mins, I really felt the added 15 mins.

When did I miss this hot pic?

2011-10-06T20:04:00.001-05:00

The Domes & Kewaskum Cross

2011-10-04T08:11:00.002-05:00

After not having a road season I was a little nervous about starting cross. I have not done any VO2 work to speak of and was 12lbs overweight. So I did something about the weight and got a few cross w/o's in.
First lap of domes hurt alot, I had totally forgotten the pain of cross races; the typical burning lungs and feeling like puking. I fell off the lead guys on the 2nd lap but handling felt pretty good; I'm more comfortable on technical courses vs. speed courses, this one is a little of both. On the last lap I thought I'd try pulling a wheelie into the sand pits in hopes of smoothly landing half way through the pit- at least thats the visulization that went through my oxygen depleted brain-yah right! what the hell was I thinking! I tried this while half dismounted standing on one pedal- it didn't work. I face planted immediately. Its a good course though and I had a good time.
As I hit the venue at Kewaskum I felt almost sick to my stomach (nerves probably), no energy and wondered if I wasted the drive and entry fee. Feeling like that I positioned myself at the start further back than usual-not smart. I don't understand the body sometimes cause as soon as the Ref said "Go" I felt like I was primed to race and everything went smooth & I felt strong. I worked my way up to forth which felt pretty good to do. I started off much slower then on Sat which helped alot. The course is very technical-I was loving the tubulars with all the off-camber; with low pressure they grab well. I couldn't ride the big hill, just too steep for me. All in all it was actually a great race for me.
So I guess feeling like shit at the start of a cross race is a good thing.
Kudos to Luker who said he road that 90 degree hill 7/10 times, holy shit that takes some power!
J

Chequamegon

2011-09-18T19:11:00.002-05:00

Rosie's Field (me at bottom)

The Mythical Kriete Monster

Going up Firetower

Decent just before finish

Mudded out

Pics blatantly taken from skinnyski.com and gallery.cheqfattire.com. Lots of hot shots; check it out!

reaping rewards

2011-09-12T19:19:00.000-05:00

Rambling

2011-09-03T20:39:00.002-05:00

A ramble about the Ramble

2011-08-29T09:03:00.002-05:00

I am not 100% sure I can say this was my very first WORS race. I think I've done one in the past, but, I can't exactly recall. Either way, it is the first one I have done in quite some time. It was the first one I've done since I have owned a mountain bike myself, that would be the best way to put it.

The race is very non-technical, which was good for me. I am not that great at riding technical mountain bike terrain, most who have ever ridden with me know that to be the case. The race was no different. The race starts out on a fire road/cross country ski trail. I think all the wide open stuff we rode was a cross country ski trail. It would be really great XC skiing. Eventually the race goes to single track. The way the course transitioned from single track to double track was fantastic. I was very impressed.

In any case, my no-technical abilities came shining through pretty rapidly as I was passed by pretty much everyone who started behind me. I would catch all of them on the wide open sections again, but, then would get passed again on the single track. It is quite amazing at how must time one can lose in single track sections.

At the beginning of the third lap I began to stuffer some awesome cramps. I am not sure what the story is, but, it is been a consistent problem this entire year. I always get cramps on the inside of my quads, right above my knee. This race was no different. So, I started drinking a lot more water and eventually felt better. I rode out the rest of the race at a decent rate. I had a few mechanical issues the last lap and may or may not have placed my bike in the woods Bjarnie Riis, Tour de France, style.

All in all, I had a good time. It was a good way to get a decent workout in and I don't think we could have asked for a nicer day.

Now on to dog sitting a friend's lab and trying to train our 4 month old puppy. Thus far, it has been extremely difficult!

The Ramble

2011-08-28T17:27:00.000-05:00

Great day. Not only was this Aaron's first WORS race, but the ramble might just take the #1 spot on this year's WORS race list. The single track was just fantastic.

Maneating Orange Cones, Reverse Polarity and Zman's RTL

2011-08-26T11:42:00.008-05:00

I must begin by clearing up some misnomers. I was not up in Fondy fo 4 days prior. Also, I do hate techno and me and Casey are cool atlthough I did punch a sighn after dinner. That being said, here is the Zman's account of the weekend we refer to as RTL.

For those who are not familiar with the RTL, it stands for Race The Lake. 1500 cyclists sighn up to ride or in our case race around Lake Winnebago starting and ending in the moderen metropolis that is Fon du Lac.

When we the Troc boyz began chirping about the RTL deep down I felt a long solo time trial coming on. Neverless, I sighned on and to make sure I made the cutoff, sent my money in and I was in. Little did I know we were going to sighn up as a team.

In the RTL you estimate your fitness and me being a puss, put down 21 mph average. That put me in the 8th wave! So while my team mates would start at 5:50 am, yours truly would start sometime around Monday morning after the recumbents and before rush hour.

Luke, our top guy, DS and our Supreme Leader fixed said problem by having me switch with fellow team mate Patrick and his dad and problem 1 was solved. Parick gave up his #1 badge for my #8 so he and his father could ride together. Totally cool and much thanks

Shortly after we checked into the hotel, we kitted up and under our DS, rode the 5 miles into town and rode the last 3 miles which was a long decent into a town named after Fred Flintstone's daughter, Peebles or was it Pebbles, who cares, it would be a awesome hill at the end. We then rode back, in our small ring as not to overcook thr gams and went to dinner at Fondy's best, Applebee's. Table humour was provided by Craig Busche, yes that Busche. Awesome pre constitutional rights police activity in the 80's.

Post dinner at the hotel, a viewing of 2011 Paris-Roubaix to motivate, and off to sleep, 8 guy's in 2 adjoing hotel rooms on a Saturday night in FonduLac, WI. I know your thinking awesome right, what better way to spend a Saturday night, single?

Morning came quick. 0430am from the Iphone (how did we survive with out one) and we began to kit up, pack up and head out. We drove to the start, parked and quick air'd the rubber, and headed to the line.

The first wave we were in had some fast players, among them was Rahsaan Bahati, the past US Criterium Champ and well known National Pro. Approximently 200 of us took off at 5:50 am and we were off. For those of you uncool folks who have no clue about our sport, just picture the Tour de France on TV and that big pack rolling down the road.

About 16 miles in I began to relax @ 30 mph, and I looked over to my close right and there was Rahsaan! Now I know that because RB friend-ed me on Facebook, that does not mean were blood, but I am also a cycling, training and political right star on Facebook so he should know me right? We started rapping for about 10 minutes and when he scurried up to the front after a exchange of good lucks, I felt like that kid with Joe Greene and the Coke ads in the 70's.

Soon the miles were flying by, 20, 25, 40. When we got to Oshkosh-Neenah that is where the shit started to hit the fan. Bam! Right then left thru town. Big accelerations, I had to stay on. Willie would kill me if I get dropped was all I thought. My coach, Willie Labonne had written and I performed a 3 week program leading up and I worked my ass off! Hot, wet, windy, whatever, I did the work. 50, then 100 followed by 80 mile day's twice during that time. Ice baths, (I could not find any coconut's in Shorewood) hydration, diet, the whole deal. I was ready and I am NOT losing that wheel!

My goal was to make it past Neenah to Hi Cliff Park where a 2k climb would blast the bunch. As we left Neenah we were directed on to HYW 10. We as a bunch were confined to 1 lane that was separated by big Orange hi-way cones. These suddenly became mortal weapons as dudes were pegging them and the cones started to fly into the field. WAM!!! 5 guy's slam. Chase back, relax, WAM!!! 10 guy's slam. Bad stuff, I got on the right shoulder and would hit the brakes if someone farted!!!

On the right I see a sign coming, 2k to the King of the Hill. I made it I thought. Little did I know the Man with The Hammer was to see me later! We hit the climb and I went into my own world. People were cheering you on, it was cool, only 2 k I thought, not too bad. I got over the top and joined up with Craig at the top. We hooked up in a 10 guy chase group, Jay with us we paced along for about 20 miles.

The only regret I have was being naive to the terrain after Hi Cliff. Next year I will be ready for the rollers, head and cross winds. With about 17 miles to go I started to feel some cramps coming. When I cramp it either is light and I pace them out of my legs or I become a potential wheelchair racer they hurt so bad sometimes for day's. I wicked it down and came upon the Wind Farms.

The Wind Farms actually took my mind off the pain. You see I would look at them and was actually bitching at them because I thought they were operating backwards! I thought the motor should be on the other side and rationalled that the wind should not be a headwind based on the way they were facing. I know, f'd up thinking but I was tired.

The end would come when I began to recognize my surroundings due to our recon Saturday. Thanks Luke! I suddenly had a ton of energy, probably due to sucking down 4 gels in the last 10 miles, and jammed it in and rode to town. The result.........3:35 in 90 miles. Now I can't stroke it on the team rides!

Thanks To Willie and Jay, Luke, Patrick, Casey(what a job), Keith, Dan, Pat's Dad, Brad, Craig and Mike the mechanic. Awesome weekend and I can't wait till next season. Zman

Eating babies ...

2011-08-25T07:57:00.001-05:00

... and taking names.

RTL

2011-08-22T10:23:00.002-05:00

Race the Lake was a great experience- in a few words, fun, fear, exhilaration, fast speeds, and leg cramps the last half, uh, yah.

It always becomes a battle with my head to finish long races. Back off, these cramps really hurt! No cause that puts me on the course longer, stop whinning everyone's hurting. Shit, when's the last time I drank? Am I going to crash out 20 riders if I eat me clif blocks right now? Why does this triathlete keep trying to crash me out when pulling off the front? (I never say him in the hills though) Why does everyone but me look fresh? My kit feels tighter then ever. This is my wheel to follow!! find your own. I wonder how Casey is feeling right now (3-hrs into the race), he's been napping like everyplace but Applebees. I wonder if Keith is listening to Luke and Casey? I should have done some longer rides.

All in all it was really fun- with enough Coconut water and "Sport Leg" tabs I made it through. What was REALLY cool was watching the mile markers fly by in the first half of the race as your being pulled along in the pack.
Best news is that all teammembers stayed upright, Casey and Barry didn't get in a fight and I beat a tandum at the finish- good job guys and thank you for your great support.

RtL pics

2011-08-22T08:30:00.000-05:00

RtL 2011

2011-08-22T07:56:00.000-05:00

Pretty great weekend up in Fon Du Lac this weekend for Race the Lake.

After waiting an extra hour at the park & ride for Patrick (Junior) to show up on time, we made our way up to registration and then back to the hotels. Arriving at the Hotel, we met up with Barry who'd been in FdL for 4 days in prep for the race. His BMW was bumping with euro beats, but as soon as we arrived he emerged with a freshly shaved head and was ready to go.

We rode back to registration and then the last few miles of the course including up and then back down the decent. Was a nice afternoon, I think everyone was pretty happy to loosen up legs after the car ride up.

After a dinner filled with entertaining cop stories we again retired back to the hotel, packed for the am, watched a little telly, and crashed for the night. The room was great, but I'm pretty sure I slept for 30 minutes maybe twice the entire night … 4:30 amcomes quickly.

The race itself started a little slower this year than the last few. As usual, it's a huge mass start citizens race. With no 'selection' points for the first 2 hours, there are a lot of riders who creep in & out of the pack. There were very, very few accelerations in the first 2 hours with the only increase in pace comingwhen the wave 2 triathletes decided to come to the front and pound it. I'm alwaysdumbfounded how hard they ride in the beginning and then come and pull everyone along until high cliff, then we never see them again.

High Cliff came and went. It was anticlimactic and easier than years past. I was in a smallgroup of ten after the first big bump, and there was another group of 10 in front of us. By the time we leveled off, we all met up and I couldn't believe that we were soon back to a group of 50+. Almost immediately a GDVC rider attacked and I jumped on his wheel. Soon there were 4 of us in a break and we started going. We settled in a pacelined for maybe 20 minutes before 4 more riders bridged up. We lost two and had a group of 6.

The break itself worked relatively well. Going south we had nice tailwinds, the most problematic sections were east where we encountered decent head and cross wind. The rollers leading into the long decent were also difficult as they were exposed to the wind, and also steep and short enough to cause a little trouble. The decent into the last section was pretty hot, Bahatti was prettymotivating to keep up the pace up and we made it to the bottom, past the BP, around the final corner, and down the stretch.

I had no sprint, ended up taking 5^th. Was marginally annoyed that 4^th place was the dude who sat out a majority of the pace line pulls, but whatever. Was a great finish none the less.

Looking forward to Chequamegon in a month. Last year the Unnamed Epic was a great tune up, but this year RtL is going to make a nice alternative. Suamico this weekend will be fun!

Sent from my iPhone

Old Timers

2011-08-19T08:54:00.000-05:00

4 original team members.

KC Update

2011-08-10T15:31:00.001-05:00

They confirmed that it is viral meningitis, so there's not much they can do other than give him fluids and help to manage the pain. He feels pretty terrible and has lost a lot of weight so I think the cyclocross season may be a bit of a challenge this year. He will likely be in the hospital for a couple more days, since he still hasn't been able to eat. He has not felt up to talking to anyone other than me, and even then he doesn't talk much, but he appreciates everyone's concern and we're hoping he turns a corner soon!

Erin

Never To Late To Make A Change

2011-07-17T18:50:00.015-05:00

Well, I guess I must be making some gains in my team mates eyes for I have been invited to blog. After a short google on paragraphing, I will give it my best. From the first meeting at our lovely indoor twice a week Speedzone torture sessions to our Tuesday team rides and racing, it has been a awesome experience.I truly am in love with the sport of cycling.

I am 47 years old and will be 48 in August and can clearly remember my first awaking into this great sport. It was a Saturday afternoon in the summer of 1982. On the TV was a The Tour de France with the story of Phil Anderson taking yellow. Yes before the internet we had to wait until Le Tour arrived in our living room. Just a small nibble but little did I know, I was bitten.

In 1983 at 20, I began to ride and train and dream through the pages of Winning Magazine, the sport of cycling. I road for a local bike store that I worked as a mechanic with another mechanic, we raced a few races and the fever developed into a passion for everything cycling. We, my mother and I, had a VCR, that's a type of video recorder you hooked up to the TV for you youngsters. I would tape all cycling and watch it over and over. Lemond's rise, the great Hinault (my favorite), Fignon and 7-Eleven, all was my motivation. I still can see those images burned in my brain, like Hinault's fall at St. Etiene and his finish in front of his people, his face covered in blood.

After 1986 I drifted away from the sport, lack of money, personal issues set my mind elsewhere. Little did I know it would be a long messy 22 years later until I would truly find the bike again along with finding the true me. Over that period I slowly became a functioning alcoholic, recreational drug user AND for 16 years a pack to a pack and a half cigarette smoker, MARLBOROUGH RED's!

In the summer of 2007 I hit the bottom. A DWI and a night in the slammer was enough. That was my last drink, smoking followed New Years Eve 2007. I went to a lengthy counseling period, bought in and have been clean since.

Cycling came back to me in the early spring of 2008. I had been lifting weights into bodybuilding since 2002 and had went from 160 lbs to a maximum of 230 lbs. NO ROID'S just hard work. The story is I came home one day and watched a program on athletes with George Hincapie as the subject. I had honestly totally forgot the sport! After what I call a 24 hour cooling off period, I bought a Bianchi.

Since then I have been riding and rediscovered the drive and passion of cycling. Some racing in the 2009 early spring was a eye opener. Too big, not yet Z man, the man with the big red hammer awoke me to a different sport.

In December of 2010 my team mate Don from Wheel & Sprocket, introduced me to Team Velo Trocadero. I am not being a dork here but these team mates, their friends and family are a through back to GOOD people. With their help I am inching my way to my dream I had riding the roads in the 80's. I started on January 6th at 196 lbs, now I am at 176 @ 12%. Still too big for these Marlborough Red lungs, but inching forward. My goal is to be at the front and hopefully next season I will be there.

Thank You Team Velo Trocadero, Willie LaBonne, Trocadero Gastrobar, Wheel & Sprocket, Brookstone Homes, and Children Hospital Orthopedic Center for your very appreciated support.

I hope if you are questioning if you can, remember it is never to late to make a change. Zman

Mt Boarh Kits

2011-07-16T14:07:00.002-05:00

We started working with Mt Borah this year. Kits look super good and the ordering process was mind-boggling simply. Pretty neat video below ...

Sponsor Appreciation

2011-07-16T11:56:00.002-05:00

Big old thanks to Wheel & Sprocket this week. They provided excellent customer service to me and continue to support the team.

Last week's WORS race was not nice on the Top Fuel. The stick pictured above somehow managed to shear off both of the chain stays at the pivot. Not quite sure what happened, but obviously a picture is worth many words.

Wheel not only fixed the bike within 36 hours (!!!) of taking it in, but also made sure that it was covered under warranty. Mike & Andy in the shop are saviors. Had me back up and riding in no time, thanks!

Trek Leopard's 11th man

2011-07-05T10:10:00.006-05:00

I finally made it to the TOUR!! Sort of...

Trek - 2011 from Aurum Design on Vimeo.

WORS #4 and weekend wrap up

2011-06-28T10:31:00.000-05:00

So I get a text message on Monday morning that reads like this:

"I need a wheelchair."

Not a single other word, just as reads above. There could be various reasons for needing a wheelchair, so let me provide the context.

About seven days ago, Luker and I (Chris) decided to do the WORS race instead of the Downer classic, a riveting stop on the TofAD series. The WORS race was Subaru Cup Pro XCT. Literally all the big name mountain bikers from across the country come to town to race. I've been a bit hesitant to do many road races this year for safety reasons. I figure at least I have more control over my risk in MTB races. Even closer to the point, if Casey thinks a race is dangerous and says he's not doing anymore, then that tells me something.

the weekend started with a 7:30 roll out to Mount Morris on Saturday. Absolutely perfect day and a really nice drive. We get to the racecourse, the Nordic Mountain ski hill, parking lot full like always, because WORS is very very well attended.

As we we're registering, we started to get little tidbits about the course. Some comparing it a World cup course. Ronsta stated that this course makes all of the other WORS courses seem easy. There are also a couple of A and B lines, where A line is dangerous, and B line is safe. Casey would have took the A line, no doubt. Also lots of climbing. Lots and lots of climbing.

We get the wisconsin famous send off from Don and start hammering the first climb. Big race equals big field, huge field actually, probably 110 riders. The only gripe I had the whole weekend, is that there wasn't a lot of space before the first singletrack. Huge bottleneck. Literally sat unclipped for 2 minutes waiting to get in the singletrack.

The race went really well, the one lesson I gleaned from this race? I am not much of a climber. There was literally 100 meters of flat on the whole entire 6500 meter course. That's 1/65th, not a good thing for me. Don't get me wrong, there are some big guys (180 plus) like me that race these races, but most are smaller, much smaller. In the end, I beat a few guys, though most of the guys beat me.

That was my day of racing, how does this tie into "I need a wheelchair?" Luker had a different experience completely. He was a couple rows ahead of me at the start, got a better hole shot, got stuck at the same bottleneck, unclipped, waited to get in the singletrack when BOOM! some iscorp dude, yeah, i know, nailed his rear derailleur and dropped his chain. So Luker, being the nice guy that he is, stated "thanks for pounding my derailleur, can I give you my position on the course and give you a pat on the back for being helpful?" I made that part up. I didn't make up the part about having a bent derailleur hanger and not having your top four gears on a course that demands it. Three more chain drops later, and Luker calls it a race after one lap. Smart choice, no reason to wreck a bike completely.

Obviously, the DNF pushed a few of Luke's buttons because he is compelled to do the Downer Classic. So hear is the situation:

Drive 2.5 hours to Mount Morris
Warm up for 45 minutes
Race for 25 minutes
Cool down and eat brats for 2 hours
Drive 2.0 hours to Milwaukee (fastest average speed ever achieved in Luker's car when you don't count that time Jimmy Stemper drove it home from a race. Which Luke claims is also the only time his car has averaged under 30 MPG. The benefits of a light foot!)
Warm up for 45 minutes
Race Downer Ave for 105 minutes
Hang out at Hollander for 2 hours post race.
Wake up, send text to Chris "I need a wheelchair"

Tough day for sure.
Now he has to make it past the team ride!

Downer 2/3's

2011-06-26T10:06:00.002-05:00

Patrick & Corey hitting it hard on the front.

More picks from Jonathan here. Thanks!

Tour of America's Dairyland - Thiensville - Men's 2/3

2011-06-17T20:30:00.000-05:00

Although today is technically day #2 of the 2011 Tour of America's Dairyland (ToAD), it was the first day of racing for the Category 2/3 field. Prior to today's race, the only Cat 2/3 race I've ever done was about 5 years ago at the Tour of Elk Grove in IL. I didn't remember the race being too difficult (2nd place to Mike Sherer thanks to a massive Mantel leadout), but I was racing a lot more back then. I didn't know exactly what to expect from the 2/3s race, but I suspected it would be easier than the Pro/1/2 races that I'm used to. And for me, easier is always better. Or so I thought.

Upon arriving to the charming little town of Thiensville, I was immediately greeted by the top-notch organization that is the ToAD. Perfect directions, plenty of close parking, and an event that was running right on schedule. After changing out my wheels and warming up for a bit, I rolled to the line to meet up with Donny, Aaron, and Corey. They were a little hard to track down, though, considering the 2/3 field had about 100 racers waiting to start. After exchaning our pleasantries and quickly discussing strategy, the race started.

My notion of things being easier in the 2/3s was quickly dismissed, as the first few laps were 30+ mph. I don't exactly know who was driving the pace, but they had it strung out real good - just the way it should be a 6 corner crit course with narrow roads. The pace inevitably slowed, though, and things started getting dicey. Unlike the Pro races where attacks start early and don't stop until a break gets away, there wasn't much in the way of aggressive racing. The pace was just fast enough to discourage a lot of attacking, but not fast enough to keep the field from trying to pass on both the inside and outside of every corner. The guys at the front slow down a bit to take a line through the corner and the accordion effect makes its way through the field, causing everybody behind to slow down. It is of course easier for the guys at the back to swing around and pass a ton of people before diving wildly into the corner and pushing everybody around them off their line, but that doesn't mean they should do it.

About 4 laps into the race, an absolutely enormous pileup took out about 10 riders. The sound of carbon hitting tarmac made it's way up to me where I was cautiously riding towards the sharp end just to stay out of trouble. "Phew," I thought, "now that there has been a gnarly crash, everybody is going to chill out and stop diving in on the corners." No such luck.

No less than five big more crashes plagued our field. Donny got stuck behind one early on and gapped from the field. Corey had his bars hooked by a dude on the Manitoba team and went down. Hard. Broken helmet, broken front wheel, and some road rash were his prizes. Luckily the SRAM pit crew got his bike refitted with a sweet Zipp replacement wheel and he made his way back to the front.

Aaron took a monster pull on the front for what felt like two laps to bring back the one serious move of the day. With 10 laps to go, it looked like a field sprint was inevitable. I figured the bigger teams with a lot of guys would take over the work and keep the pace high, but it never happened. Instead, fighting for position at the front was fruitless. Everytime I thought I was in a great spot sitting in Corey's draft at the front, some rookies would swarm up the inside and blow everybody off their line as they pushed their way in at the corner. Another big last lap crash blew it apart even worse. Corey and I got seperated when another swarm came and that pretty much sealed our fate. Positioning for the sprint was key on this course, and we didn't have it. Corey got a good jump out of the last turn and wound it up for 6th. I got stuck behind a rider who opened a gap in front of me and could only manage a 13th place finish. Definitely not what we were hoping for, but we made it out alive.

Two more days of racing in the 2/3s before it's time to assess the situation and figure out whether or not it's worth sticking in it. If we can contend for the overall, I think we'll be there everyday. But with such a squirrely bunch of riders, anything could happen. The quality of riding is pretty rotten compared to the Pro/1/2 races and there are definitely a lot of younger guys still cutting their teeth in the 2/3 field. Riding as pack filler in the Pro race may not be so bad afterall...

Bike Blitzing

2011-06-05T10:36:00.001-05:00

Great morning of fixing bikes at Washington Park. Thanks to Wheel & Sprocket for providing tools, parts, and lots of tires!!!

Da Bone

2011-05-19T08:00:00.002-05:00

The "Penguin Summer" we all seem to be enjoying at present didn't disappoint Wed morning. Woke up to 45 deg and rain, steady rain. Luker blows me up right around 6. He's out. KC says if I do it he is in...what the hell. What am I gonna do? Sit in the tub and drink coffee all day (with Luke)?

Rolled over to Schuler's with KC and was a bit surprised to see ah, about 6 people. Slowly more and more peeps rolled up and not the usual bus load of Chicoagoans. Donny, Dan, Pat Callahan all rolled in. Thankfully, no Frank Pipp, Cole House, (insert pro rider). Still raining slightly we rolled out around 8:30 with under 100. I was soaked by Brookfield. Talking to KC we nailed the clothing tho, my rain cape kept me pretty cozy. This year we dialed it by having a complete, except for dry shoes, dry kit waiting to change into after lunch.

We picked up about another 50 in Pewaukee, the rain (which we were chasing as it moved west) petered out in Oconomowoc. A few teams got on the front out the first group and really kept a nice high pace almost all the way to Madison. Gone were the surges, tri guys, 7 foot amazonian women, recumbents, neo pros and doctors on $7k bikes from Emery. After the rain, it was a pleasant 20mph avg all the way to Madison. No crashes and only 1-2 flats. Upon reaching city limits it only took a few nut jobs to insight riot all the way into State street.

Now the moment I had been waiting for since liftoff...crawled in the back of the Wheel and Sprocket Rocket fudge bus and changed out all my soaked clothing for dry, warm duds. I can't even explain the satisfaction of actually making a "good" decision like that for such a crappy way to start the ride. But it made all the difference, as we pulled outta Madison. FYI, Donny tried in vain to leave me high and dry as payback, even after I bought that fkr lunch!!

Again, teams went to the front KC included and kept a sensible, steady pace, no BOOOOOOOOONE RIDES!! No attacks and therefore, no N**DLES laying in a park in Johnson Creek. That lasted to Oconomowoc where 5 dudes, KC included no surprise, drilled it outta town which blew apart the first group and basically created the smaller front group. I knew there was a stop sign and left hand turn coming up so I dodged the shelled riders and closed a gap or two so I could regroup. After that, it was a pretty small group of 20 or so that pacelined all the way in...KC encouraged the pace several times, but having hindsight and also paying Dan Ajer $5 to shut him down, crisis averted. Hell, the sun even came out rolling thru Pewaukee!!

Rolled into Schuler's around 5:30, mission accomplished, for real. Someone handed me an Anchor Steam and all pain was erased.

Perfect Day synopsis:

Shit start-only got better

Didn't get blown apart and lay in a park

WARM CHANGE OF CLOTHES

Beer upon completion

9:30pm, desperation run to Hollander for a burger/bacon

Beer at the bar

Death metal on 91.7 on the way home.

Almanzo 100

2011-05-15T18:07:00.005-05:00

Time: 7:07:55
Distance: 102.33 mi
Elevation Gain: 5,319 ft
Avg Temperature: 44.2 °F

Cold, wet and gravel. More pictures here.

Tosa Trails

2011-05-10T06:38:00.003-05:00

Deliberate Omission

2011-04-26T08:42:00.002-05:00

*My dad rode the first 15 miles to High Cliff State Park with me and made it up 95% of the climb in the park (Post knee replacement) but due to the fact that he just got a new car I am starting to omit him from my life in protest for spending my inheritance.

The A-Town Express

2011-04-26T07:02:00.010-05:00

Decided enough was enough and disregarded the 40% chance of rain and rode from Appleton to Milwaukee. I was rewarded with sun and 66. There are really great roads all the way to West Bend, then you have to really dance around a bit to get a direct route south...thankfully, TK was able to meet me at about the 70 mile mark and help me bring it home. I now have the route dialed for best roads, including the leg snapping "7 hills road" which believe me is actually 12 or 14 and comes about halfway. I have done the route 3 times now, once north, twice south including Jimmy and Jack hungover after Mantel's wedding.

107 miles

7 Hours

17.4 mph avg, 38.5 mph max

153 HR avg, 188 HR max

Crisp start

Start of 7 Hills Road

Looking Back 1/2 way

Ah, yeah...tell me about it.

Like a Choo Choo...

After a quick break, back on it...

Did I mention sun?

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh

Riding Home

2011-04-25T11:20:00.001-05:00

Easter at John Muir

2011-04-24T18:00:00.000-05:00

Keep Your Friends Close, Enemies Closer and Don't Let Teammates Out of Your Site!!

2011-04-19T15:43:00.002-05:00

Why cameras should be allowed in every race Timmy, I mean KC is in...

Race Recap

2011-04-10T08:45:00.001-05:00

Thanks Peloton Pix

It's On, Like Donkey Kong!!

2011-04-10T08:05:00.013-05:00

the weather would turn this frown upside down as the day went on...Let's get it on...Tongue wag is actually more aero

Let the dogs bark, yo!Ef the pain

Get off the course!! Oh, the humanity...

Yep, pretty niiiiiiiiiiiice.
Not bad. Think there is a Boooooooonnnneeee Riddddde in the worx
ouch.
CB
Luker
KC, 4th with the stretch
"Haven't heard of me?! Really?! TK, State Champ."

Zman
Daddy said his bike was broke...
T to the K
Pre upside down cake.
That's right.
Pauly.

Callin out allll you suckas...
Who needs a 2 stroke pace bike??

Obviously.

Eye of the tiger?

Rejection; Year Three

2011-04-06T19:41:00.000-05:00

Hail Mary

2011-04-03T13:04:00.000-05:00

An inch of pea sized hail in about 5 minutes was not on today's agenda. So close to home too!

JDRF Indoor Time Trial

2011-03-13T17:17:00.003-05:00

Some of the guys participated in the JDRF indoor time trial at CrankDaddy's on Saturday. It was a fun afternoon competing on the computrainers and was for a good cause too.

Birkie 2011

2011-03-01T06:53:00.002-06:00

Wave 4 start thru Power Lines...

Canned Heat

2011-02-27T17:09:00.002-06:00

Menomonee Park Criterium 2011

2011-02-19T11:56:00.006-06:00

It's coming! Be sure to mark your weekend for the 2011 WCA opener at Menomonee Park. And while you're at it, go ahead and preregister. Save yourself $5!

Flyer. Preregistration. 2010 Peloton-Pix.com Pictures.

Classic

2011-02-13T17:01:00.001-06:00

Lapham

2011-02-05T10:51:00.001-06:00

Tis the season ...

2011-02-05T10:38:00.003-06:00

Blizzard 2011

2011-02-02T17:03:00.002-06:00

You Can't Make This Up

2011-01-26T20:22:00.000-06:00

SpeedZone

2011-01-15T18:09:00.003-06:00

Rampage Start

2010-12-11T10:32:00.000-06:00

Wax Bench

2010-12-05T16:41:00.000-06:00

Little home brew wax bench.

Winter Weight

2010-12-01T07:55:00.000-06:00

Is here.

Cyclocross Over

2010-11-23T10:13:00.000-06:00

Congrats to VeloTrocadero riders Tim Pacholski and Luke Holtan for their strong finishes in WCA cyclocross cup. Timmy wound up 2nd overall in the cat 2. Luke ended up 7th and missed sixth by ONE point. So close. Great work fellas!

Cycling offseason has officially begun. Its time to break out the XC skis and do some cross training.

So, Ole bought a bike ...

2010-11-14T18:05:00.000-06:00

Estabrook CX

2010-11-07T10:34:00.003-06:00

Love

2010-11-07T08:43:00.001-06:00

Wash Park CX

2010-10-31T22:11:00.002-05:00

"Brains, Brains...and carbon deep dish tubulars!"
Jordan gets jammed:
"Everybody was Kung Fu Fightin!" While they were actually racing...
Boyz in Da Hood
Ebony and Ivory

Mo Pix

2010-10-31T21:51:00.005-05:00

We call it the "tootsie roll!!"

I reckon:T-Pain
RONSTA!!

pix

2010-10-31T21:36:00.004-05:00

spoils of war:Paul Aggro:
No bunny hopping:
Who else?
We mean Bidness:

Twofer

2010-10-28T10:21:00.000-05:00

Sh*t gets serious when it's put up on the calendar.

Coffins R Done!!

2010-10-26T12:33:00.004-05:00

Get your coffin-hopping skills in order for Saturday. And make sure to run your best carbon wheelset!

More Cam Rock

2010-10-25T15:58:00.003-05:00

Photos from djonnymac's flickr stream ...

Cam Rock CX

2010-10-25T08:34:00.000-05:00

It was muddy. Enough said.

Halloween CX in T-7 days!

2010-10-22T08:24:00.001-05:00

<<IMG_8446.jpg>>

Flyer Here

Preregistration Here

Halloween CX

2010-10-20T07:59:00.000-05:00

10 days to go, are you ready?!?!?

Pumpkin Cross

2010-10-10T08:10:00.001-05:00

A to the B

2010-10-06T12:39:00.000-05:00

WP

2010-10-04T19:24:00.000-05:00

The WP was lonely tonight.

2010 Cross the Domes

2010-10-02T17:38:00.003-05:00

That's all the video I got.

Congrats to Mike Froh on his Masters 4/5 win, Tracy Mather in the women's race, and Todd and Patrick in the masters 1/2/3.

MWI put on a pretty stellar race today; looking forward to more great races!

Epic Unicycles

2010-09-29T20:05:00.002-05:00

Post Epic Shin-dig

2010-09-28T18:56:00.000-05:00

USGP

2010-09-27T09:20:00.000-05:00

It was a pretty great weekend of cyclocross racing at the USGP events near Madison. The weather was just unbelievably good, and the event and course is always well run.

Saturday: I rolled into Sunny P around 8:15, registered, watched some racing, did a little course recon, etc. At somepoint during the warmup my front shifter locked up. It was under complete tension and could not get to drop down. Cale was nice enough to look at it with me, and then we cut the cable off. 1x9 baby. We lined up about 15 minutes early, it was cold, but I had a second row start and was pretty pumped. I think there were 95 (?) guys in the 2/3 race, lots of familiar faces. Gun shot start, I was maybe 10^th into the first corner and held that position for the most of the first lap. I had a little trouble in the turns on the backside, overcooked quite a few, but otherwise did well. I help my position for most of the race, took 12^th overall … 10 spots better than last year. Most encouraging part of the race is that the legs were perfect, I think I’ll be good to go once I find my cx lungs.

Sunday: Sort of the same. Legs felt REALLY good once we got moving. Was top 7 for the first lap and feeling fast. On the second remount I came down a little hard and rolled the rear tubular off the rim. I stood there and looked at it. And looked at it. And then I quit the race. And then I looked at it some more, could roll it right back on and kept riding. I rode the second lap super conservative; had no idea how much pressure this tire could take. It actually rolled great so I kept on racing. Laps 4 and 6 I slid out on the off camber stuff just before the finish. I don’t know why this was so hard, but whatever. Laps 5 & 6 saw me roll the rear tire … again. It wasn’t frustrating to put the tire back on, it was frustrating to chase back and pass the guys who had passed you the last time you were fixing your bike. Finished relatively strong; was being chased down by a friend on the last lap, so that was a little motivation to get into top gear. Haven’t seen the finish results, Maybe 20^th?

Not a bad first weekend of CX. Really looking forward to the Domes race this weekend. Have no idea how I’m going to get through 60min races when 40min was hard enough!

The first one always hurts ...

2010-09-25T14:38:00.003-05:00

USGP day 1

2010-09-25T13:38:00.000-05:00

You gotta love a run-up with free quarters to those brave enough to pick em up!

Best swag ever?

2010-09-23T09:20:00.000-05:00

Halloween Cross

2010-09-21T20:05:00.003-05:00

CX PRACTICE

2010-09-21T11:13:00.001-05:00

WEDNESDAYS, 5:30PM

WASHINGTON PARK

HOT LAPS UNTIL DARK

Never Count Billy Mitchell Out

2010-09-21T07:33:00.003-05:00

Changin it up this year...new digs, new game plan and KC brought the cx bikes to warm up on...righteous. Because you have to lay your bike in the road at 6 am, unless you wanna go for a run, there isn't anyway for the serfs to warm up. (your straight up crazy if you think Jack or Mr. Awesome is gonna let you ride their "preferred start" rides).

KC was indeed waiting at his car, but before that he laid it down, 6:15 am..."I am leaving in 5 min." Mantel proceeded to continually ask him "Is your car full?" KC would respond cooly, "I am leaving in 5 min." It was Yankees vs. Red Sox, Armstrong vs. Ullrich, Lady Gaga vs. Seinfeld. I knew it was goin to be a good day.

Everyone, save for Todd smashed into KC's little Saab, like clowns at a circus. Todd n I were able to make out, finish our coffee and clean up n lock doors. Ah, I didn't really know where the hell the race was. Thankfully, Todd used his wonder twin powers in the shape of a fox and we were able to find the start.

Coffee, muffins and a crossword later. We lubed up (glad to see peeps are seeing things my way with the embro, bro) and rode the first 4 miles of the course. CX bikes felt fast. Probably not a good thing as I couldn't replicate the watts when the race actually started. Tried to stay with Luker n KC...pffft. Once the right hander onto the highway hit...carnage. The main group hit hyper space and I was left back with the wookies and space junk. Single speeders were spinning at easily 200 rpms...Tried to save it for Rosie's Field, so much for changing it up and not blowing up before we even hit trail. Mantel's sage advice of staying on the trail worked really well, you wanna pass people, wanna go when you feel good, but those energy sapping moves make you pay.

Actually rode most of Fire Tower, put the foot down to run right at the beg. around some traffic and glanced up....an elevator of riders rolling up the right side as far as I could see. Got a coke hand up from Schuler's bro in law and felt like a million bux for the descent. Never really popped and never really able to sustain a crushing pace, just waffled in limbo most of the day. The downhills were rocky with huge ponds at the bottom, some you couldn't avoid, so mud caked instead of dusted like last year. The uphills were kinda soft n spongey, sapping your lungs and towards the end, really taxing the legs, at least mine. Dudes were flying by several times when I was little screaming like a little girl at the top of some of the last rollers. Nothing to do but let em go. Every year I think that they will blow themselves up later, but really I never catch anybody. Just like the Epic, you end up playing little mind games with yourself to keep going.

Pretty good finish, chilled in the sun, then spent 1.5 hours getting our cars back from the finish...ouch. No puking the next morn, (despite our best attempts Todd). Gonna go for the "W" next year.

Bacon tastes good.

N88ds

Chequamegon 2010

2010-09-20T08:36:00.001-05:00

Another awesome showing from the team, and a great weekend.

The caravan left on Friday am. We got 10 minutes away and turned around to go back and get registration cards. Business as usual. The trip up was fine, lots of talking, stories and bullsh*tting … and that was just Patrick.

The squad stayed at Lake Woods this year due to Telemark’s uncertain future. We hit some of the gravel road and CAMBA trail right outside the hotel as a Friday warm-up. The single track that we rode was pretty sweet; it’d be fun to make a weekend out of just those trails. There must be miles after miles of them.

Registration was in the ‘big Chequamegon tent’ this year instead of inside Telemark. It worked out really well, was quick and organized. I hope that the race had a contingency plan; it worked out perfect, but would have been a disaster if it was rainy or cold. Afterwards, a quick stop at the grocery and then a bunch of dudes attempted to act domesticated and cook dinner. It turned out great and was much better than the traditional fish fry the night before the race.

Saturday am rolled around and the alarm on the iPhone didn’t go off as planned. I had set it for 6am instead of 5am. Luckily, I was ready for it and realized it wasn’t going off until around 5:25, so we really only slept in an extra 25 minutes. I punished myself for this mistake by not blaring Rude Boy as everyone’s wakeup. Breakfast was had by all, moans and groans about how early it was came from Mantel, and Casey was sitting in the car waiting for everyone because he was rolling out at 6am (whether Mantel was in the car or not.)

By the time we got to Hayward and unloaded bikes, there were hundreds of bikes already set up. We arrived around 6:30 and supposedly bikes were not to be set out until 7am. Fat chance. Casey and I could fit our bikes into pretty good spots near the front and also squeezed Patrick in a little later. It was totally legal. We were good to go and retreated back to the car where it was warm.

The start of the race was pandemonium as usual. Casey took about 3 moves to move himself up 50 wheels in the first 10 seconds of the race. I didn’t see him again for almost 10 miles. The highway was brutally fast as usual. I was at the tail of the main group and did my best not to make up wheels. I sat in the draft and spun out knowing that the race was long and that it sucks to hit Rosie’s field at ‘Richter’ like I have in the past.

Rosie’s field was ok; I was in a pretty good group that wasn’t going nuts. I stayed in the rut and took Chris and Casey’s advice to not chase up hills and just let the attrition rate do its job. So many people would chase up hills through the thick grass that the next time a hill came up they were toast. I did lose one of my bottles and had already thrown away my roadie, so 4 miles into the race I was down to 1 bottle.

I finally caught up to Mantel and Casey after Gravel Pit road. I had hooked onto the end of a train that was flying, people were blowing up left and right as they took their pull and then retired. I didn’t pull once until the very end when I saw the only chance to keep moving was to bridge up to the next group. I rode with Chris and Casey through OO, but then moved ahead of them on Janet and Bodecker. Again, I was in a new group of riders who were flying down the gravel roads, it was total road race style to the point that I just let them ride away. I was worried that 10 miles of that riding would trash my legs for the final Birkie trail sections.

The section from Lake Helane to Firetower was probably my low section of the race. I was starting to get tired, and there was no one around to ride with. I did my best to keep an even pace, but even that was hard. I slammed a few gels and made my way to Firetower Hill. The hill itself was tolerable (my Garmin said I averaged 3.8mph up it!) My biggest worry was the single speeder 10 yards in front of my. He was grinding up the hill so slow, I was waiting for him to dismount and ruin my line as well. I made it up all 4 tiers of the hill, wasn’t too gassed, and rolled over the top in good shape. I was looking for the dude who usually hands out snickers at the top of the hill, but he was no where to be seen.

The section of Birkie trails that comes next is, to me, the roughest part of the race. Tired, hungry, and all of a sudden you have these rollers that come one after another. For the first time in three years, this section was no problem. I would should down low at the bottom of each hill and just grind it up. In past years I would attempt to power over each hill, but this would just fry my legs. I was up and over each hill comfortably and kept moving; calculating in my mind how many minutes of this race was left (a lot.)

The last section of Telemark Rd was super easy and crazy fast. I was probably passed by 20 people on this road, but they went flying by at Mach speed and it would have taken a Herculean effort to latch onto the back of them. I kept riding my pace; eventually caught a few dudes who I could draft off of and made it to the last trail section. I don’t know why, but these hills were by far the hardest part of the race for me. My legs were toast, and I was starting to get mentally tired. I was also frustrated at the rate at which people were passing me. How were they so fresh at this point!

The finish came and went uneventfully. I took 80^th in the Men’s division, 10 women and tandem riders also finished ahead of me. I was surprised that my time was 2 minutes slower than last year, but considering the trail conditions I think that was a huge improvement. All the Trocadero guys rolled in in good time, Jack first, myself, then Mantel, Patrick, Casey and Todd. T-Pain finished as well; I think we are all impressed that he finished strong considering his post-Epic ride time was 0:00:00.

I’ve got some pictures that I will post later.

Also the smartest team around.

2010-09-19T10:15:00.000-05:00

Only took 6 of us an hour.

A good start...

2010-09-17T11:27:00.000-05:00

... to every bike weekend starts with a red thong on Ted's backseat. More to come.

More Unnamed Epic

2010-08-30T17:46:00.003-05:00


Distance:	69.10 mi
Elevation Gain:	5,145 ft

Taming the beast

2010-08-30T09:59:00.002-05:00

Pre epic training: 1hr on the XO2, on 8/26/10 nothing else in august except a run here and there.

Mistake.

My intentions going into the race were this: skip gov dodge state park, skip the loop off highway k, get to blue mounds state park. only one goal was met.

I didnt even know i rode through gov dodge until i was through it.
I forgot i was gonna skip the hwyK bypass until i was careening down the hill at 38mph. (fyi, that means there is an equivalently large hill to ascend.)

I did make it blue mounds state park, in one piece. it was long hard and hot, and many breaks were taken, and many course marshalls spoken to, but overall the final time was:

49.5 miles in 4:38 at about 10 or so mph.

The plus side was that I remember looking at the garmin when it said 39 miles and thought, "holy, chequamegon would be over right now, and I dont feel like absolute death yet."

Gonna log some good hours and get ready for the cheq, ive gotta beat my time from last year.

T-P

The Unnamed Epic

2010-08-30T08:21:00.001-05:00

Saturday was a long day.

First, thanks to Jack and the Team Sports gang for the event. It was awesome. I’ve heard lots of good things.

Next, big shout outs out Chris, Casey, Jay, Paul, Patrick, Todd, T-PAIN, and the Boo-Shay’s. We all did varying distances, but not a single person got a free ride.

The race started in Mineral point and followed the roads for a few miles. It strung out quickly and up the first hill I thought to myself what Chris said out loud “I’m already richter!” (which for the unacquainted means red zone.) It was important not to let the rubber band snap with the lead group, so soon a group of 20-25 of us was out ahead and rolling. I think it took the first grassy hill, or maybe it was the gravel section in Mineral point to establish a first group of 15, and second group of 15. Luke, Chris, Casey, and Paul were in the second and we started our ride.

The first hour or so was pavement and gravel. We were in a decent group with a group of guys who really wanted to pull hard. Into the wind. On mountain bikes. We all sat in for nearly an hour, got free rides, and just went along. I, personally, was concerned that the pace was too fast; I mean seriously, there was at least another 4 hours to go at this point and I knew what Blue Mounds had in store for us.

Governor Dodge was the first real sections of single and double track. At this point the group we were in blew up pretty quick and we were down to 10. Governor Dodge was pretty cool, it was very similar to Chequamegon double track with lots of rolling hills and a serious climb or two. I know our group walked the one loose gravel climb. It may have been rideable, but I was sure to crash myself out on the slow hair pin corner which ensured that we all walked. You’re welcome guys. At each hill we would loose a few more riders here and there. We left the park in a group of 10-12, picking up riders from the lead group.

After Gov Dodge we shifted into HYPER-MACH-SPEED for a good half hour into the transition area; water, food, bathroom (Sorry AB, I think I was swearing at you. Nothing but love.) Chris and I got separated by the group, Casey and Paul stayed ahead. So we just rode a good pace for awhile, caught a group of 6, dropped them, and continued at good speed to Blue Mounds. I actually felt really great at this point, the food and water at the transition took care of the lack of energy I was having.

We turned into the Blue Mounds area and had to climb the long paved section. This was the first chance for us to see the original group we had been part of (probably positions 10-20 overall.) Chris and I could catch them by the time the paved sections started, but I was pretty strung out at this point. I had to dig pretty deep to catch Casey and Paul; I didn’t want a gap before the single track.

The Blue Mounds single track. What’s to say about it? It’s hard, rocky, hilly, rough, etc. I wish I would have stopped at this point and let some air outta my tires, but I kept rolling; had to stay on Mantel’s wheel. The first few sections were ok, the decent into the valley was fine, and the first uphill climbs were good. Absolute granny gear, but was tolerable. At some point around here, Chris mentioned his leg was cramping a few times. I eventually looked at his leg and all I saw was BULGE and TWIST, he was done. He had to pull over and rub it out, didn’t look like fun. Happy he finished.

The hill that came next I had to run both times. It had to have been at least 100 yards long, it was steep and loose. Pushing a bike up this hill was rough!

Casey, Paul and I continued on through some single track and out into the prairie. I’m not sure why, but the uphill prairie section was some of the hardest of the day. It was hot in the full sun and the mowed prairie was incredibly bumpy; hard on the back and just grueling overall. Back out of the prairie, down some downhill’s, then over a little bridge and back up. This is the section that is terribly steep; you had to be in the perfect gear and keep pedaling no matter what. The twin trees halfway up and especially tough b/c you need to through in a quick sprint to get up and over them.

Anyway, more single track on Over Lode, I lost Casey and Paul around this time, then long sections of double track that went uphill forever and ever and ever. Not terribly steep but long. The last section of single track before the 2^nd Lap/Finish lap split was difficult for me. Tight rocks and a sore back and tired legs did not help. I had to walk about 30 yards each time.

2^nd Lap --- read everything above, multiply tiredness/hunger/heat/etc by two. The hills were fine, but the single track sections became more difficult and my back was really really sore from the bumps. I had apparently lost my sunglasses on lap 1, saw them on lap 2, and continued riding because I thought it was too much work to stop, dismount, bend over, remount, and start riding again. That tired. Soldiered on and made my way up the last gravel road to the finish.

Coming into the finish was pretty good, but my back was absolutely locked up. I couldn’t get full breaths in, so I was doing quick little half breaths. Crossed the finish line, laid on the ground, and was done. I think next years needs at least another 25mi to even it out.

Again, just a great race overall. Thanks again to the promoters. I’ll be back with some pictures, gps info, etc.

John Muir Time Lapse

2010-08-07T17:11:00.004-05:00

gun show

2010-08-07T15:31:00.000-05:00

Camera Man

2010-08-07T07:47:00.000-05:00

Johnny Muir, here we come.

2010-08-07T07:33:00.000-05:00

Post ride update to follow ...

Johnny Mosquito

2010-08-01T16:02:00.003-05:00

It's August and good to be back.

N88dles spilled some of his pb&j jelly on his legs. Supposed to look 'tough' and all.

Little mtb at Johnny Muir w Jay, Aaron, and N88ds. The trails were greasy and muddy in spots, but definitely rideable. 3 full hours was good prep for the upcoming Unnamed Epic. For anyone going out there soon, I recommend bug spray. Lots of it. Like soak in a tub of it before you ride.

madone rebuild

2010-07-27T19:54:00.002-05:00

Haley vs. Haley 2.0 "Don't call it a comeback, ok, I won't!!"

2010-07-27T14:58:00.003-05:00

t minus 3 hours...just did some push ups, side bends and hit the Nordic track for an hour or so to get warmed up. Drank some raw quail eggs n motor oil. shaved my entire body, eyebrows, who needs em, I need less resistance!

Old man, what you got?! Hmmm, lemme guess.

1) fell asleep in your ez chair watchin Wopner

2) forgot to put your teeth in this morning

3) Depends don't hold as much as you would like em to, do they?

4) Did you remember where you put my "old" bike?

5) Nine years, damn, that is a long time to be around before me...

not even EPO can help you now...

n88ds