Iola Bump and Jump

Sorry for the delay on this write up. This being my 1 week of true summer vacation before summer classes I should have lots of time. Lots of time to do every other project on the never ending list that is.

The first mtb race of the season is in the books and can be put behind me finally. I put a lot of pressure on myself to perform and was more interested in a result than anything else. I was hoping to either win the comp race or finish in the top 10. I've decided this is the year that I want to stick to a training regiment and see where I can take my racing while still in school. My base training is complete and I would consider it my best and most complete base to date. I'm a little disappointed with my overall result from Sunday but my time back wasn't too bad. I know what I have to work on now and will definitely rebound for the next race.

I lined it up front row on the right side with Matt Muraski and we went 1-2 over the top of the lead out climb with a couple second gap. We kept the gas on and went 1-2 over the top of the climb after the bowl too. I felt really good and was thinking to myself this was going really well. It was at this point that Matt blew up pretty hard and 1 guy caught and passed us on the flats. I had to leave Matt and tried to chase but didn't want to blow up too early. The rest of the race went a lot like this with 1 or 2 guys passing me after I put in a hard effort and unable to latch on to a wheel. I felt fast on the flats and a little dogish on the power climbs where it seemed I was always on the rivet by the top. All in all a good first race to a long season. My average and peak heart rate numbers are a little higher than years past which is progress. See you all at Rhinelander, be ready to thrown down!

Thanks to Mountain Goat for the picture.

New....

Riding new roads in the kettles is awesome! I've always come close but never ridden all the way to Kewauskum until today. We threw in New Fane and New Prospect for good measures. Today goes down as one of those good days. I felt pretty solid the whole ride from mile 1 to mile 80, not bad for a little over 4 hours in the saddle. Considering I felt pretty blown on Monday and was able to bust this out today is a good sign. Last but least some how I got more tan lines out of the ride today even with it being overcast. T-minus 11 days!!!

A little bit of everything

This last week has been jam packed with midterm exams, a brewers game, concerts and some solid weekend riding. I would have to say this has been the best recovery week ever. It all started with some serious stress as my entire semester was hanging on my 2 midterms Tuesday morning. There's nothing like making or breaking 16 weeks worth of work in a matter of 3 hours. After feeling my blood pressure jump drastically I figured it was time to relax for the rest of the week. Wednesday was the Franz Ferdinand concert at the Rave. Not to sound to so-cal but the concert was sick and off the hook; great live concert. If you ever get the chance go see them!

Thursday was an easy recovery ride around town. There was nothing exciting about the ride other than the weird weather in the area. I was riding along the lake and ducking in and out of huge pockets of fog. One minute you couldn’t see 5 feet in front of your face and the next it’s clear as day for 200 yards. It was kind of cool so I snapped a couple pictures.

Friday was the grand opening of Sheboygan Bicycle Company. The place was packed and the register was ringing all day. It's good to see both old and new faces coming in to support the new shop. With Brian having to manage the new shop Saturday morning we had to ride kind of early. It's pretty nice having 3.5 hours in before 11. The rest of Saturday was spent tailgating and going to the brewers game with 16 friends. The weather was amazing, the beer was cold, enough food to induce a coma and the company was great. What more can a person really ask for?

Sunday was the first day of riding trails in Wisco this year. Wally, Brian and I decided to check out the new trails in Greenbush to get some practice in before Iola. Overall the trails are top notch with only one real complaint. Being new they need to be broken in. Even on full suspension we were getting it handed to us with all the loose rocks and pot holes. 2.5 hours of trial riding and sprinting B-Matter on the road home made for a perfect ending to a rest week. The skills are still there and should be ready to go in 2 weeks for the season opener!