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!

Rollin on a new dubs

FINALLY after a good month of waiting I have a new road bike. It showed up at the new shop on Friday and I was not going to go another day without putting it together and riding it. I don't know if it's sad to say but my new bike coming in was probably the highlight of my week up until that point. My choice of bikes has been pretty partial for the last couple of years but that's because Trek is just that good, especially the new Madones. Don't get me wrong I loved my cross bike and would totally recommend buying one for training (especially winter), but my first ride on the new 5.2 Pro Madone was a world of a difference. The amazing smoothness of the ride and the direct transfer of power from the pedals to the wheels was almost disgusting how much of a difference there was from the cross bike to the Madone. I'll ease up on my excitement and talk about the bike before it starts to sound like a Trek commercial. The point is the new Madones are SICK!

The training front has been going well and some definite progress is being seen. Last weekend was our chance to host a collegiate race out in Greenbush. 80 miles of riding with the likes of these guys is tiring but a lot of fun.

This was the last of my base 3 this week and what better way to end a long training block than to put in one last effort in the form of a race. I rode with Brian on Saturday for the weekly breakfast ride for a couple hours in the rain. Funny thing is it ended up being just Brian and myself, everyone else bailed or was busy making cupcakes. Sundays attendance was a little better for the rainy race here in Sheboygan at Evergreen Park. The course is made up of a small section of pavement that loops through the park for about a mile with one steep hill right before the finish. I managed to find a few familiar faces to race with in the 3's which always makes things more interesting. Timmy P. was crushing it as usual and the rest of us attempted to follow for the first half of the race until he and another guy rolled off the front. I had a laps of mental toughness for a lap and found myself off the back pretty far before I knew what really happened. I knew this was unacceptable and proceeded to put my head down and drill it for the next 3 laps until I managed to catch back on. If my memory serves me correctly this is the first time I have been dropped in a race and been able to catch back on, I even surprised myself. The little mental boost I got from catching back on had me ready to keep going and ride off the front but I knew that was not an option. I played my cards smart and sat in for the rest of the race until the last time up the hill for the finish. The new bike worked flawlessly as I hammered on the pedals and clicked through the gears as I hung it all out there to make it over the top first. I created a little separation from the group to make it over the top first to surprise myself twice in one race. The problem was I couldn't really sprint for the last 50 meters due to a loose handlebar. I did keep the gas on and held on for 5th place and my best road finish to date! Perfect ending to this training block and a great way to start a rest week.

I've been logging some decent training hours lately, quality more than quantity but I have plenty of that too. Nothing good from the camera lately or things to really write about. If your not busy this weekend we still need volunteers for our collegiate race in Greenbush. We'll feed you for your troubles and right now the weather looks really good too.

1 MONTH until the first real race of the year!


Don't forget I have a couple bikes for sale. Cross bike and Mountain bike.

24 years young

Not to much to report as of late. I turned 24 since my last post. It was a good birthday celebrated with friends and family. A year older and a year wiser, at least I hope. Started another training block this week which looks to be pretty good. I did my first VO2 intervals on Tuesday and Wednesday. My very first one on Tuesday probably hurt more than anything else I've done in a long time. It felt like my lungs were seriously seered and ready to jump out of my chest. I don't know if it was just a poor warm up or what but they progressively hurt less which was good.

Next week Saturday UW Milwaukee is hosting our collegiate race weekend out in Greenbush. If your not busy you should come check it out. It's an awsome 10 mile loop through the Kettle Moraine Forest with plenty of places to cheer for all the racers. Sunday is UW Madisons crit around the Capital building which is also a great race to be a spectator at.

In other news Sheboygan Bicycle Company is making some great progress with renovating their new shop. I've been in the place a couple times now and the new paint on the walls looks pretty sweet.

Pick One!

Not a whole lot to write about in the last week. Took some time off the bike to recover from break and catch up on some projects. I did manage to get a massage which is always a good thing. I was fully decided on a road bike for this year but that may have changed. I'm exploring the possibility of a totally different ride. What better gift for ones self than a bike for their birthday!