If I was going to be one of the Seven Dwarves, it would definitely be Sleepy… In case you don’t remember, or you think Sleepy was slow… he was the only dwarf to figure out that the Evil Queen had Snow White… Sleepy rides again this weekend. Iola, Northern Wisco.
P.S. If you’re in Iola, and you see me napping on the side of the trail… Well, you’ll know what to do.
At this point, the plan was to be talking about road trips and bike racing on big wheels. It’s seems though that the common theme here is a long winter and wet spring that just won’t quit. This past weekend we were slated to head south to Topeka where the HMBCS boys were to be putting on a brilliant little event known as the Crocodile Rock. The higher ups at Midwest Cycling were kind enough to give us sprinter van usage and come Sunday morning we were loaded up and making the pick-up rounds. That was until Steve comes out in his Pajamas. “Race is cancelled, it poured last night from nine until one.” Race number 2, canned. April is, literally, a wash.
So what are you to do? A third of an inch of rain had fallen in Omaha too, maybe the trails are dry enough. We held out until late afternoon and sure enough, perfectly tacky trails. Time to fly.
I wouldn’t have thought my first race would be taking place in May. Unfortunately again, the rains seem to be rolling in on Thusday’s and Friday’s. Third times a charm, right?
I just sat. I looked at my boxes. I could see no breath, for if it was cold it would be warm but it was warm not cold, either way…it was like all life was sucked out of me, my breath was gone. The handicap man at the store, the oversize lady at the bank, or Jeremy the autistic kid who walks around my block bouncing a ball every few steps always remembers my name, “Your name is DAN”; these people don’t ride bikes. The breadth and width of these boxes in my family room, in my foyer… More »
A week of ups and downs for sure. The biggest downer has to be the fact that old man winter just won’t go away. Monday and Tuesday were thwarted. The window was cracked ever so slightly on Wednesday, only to be slammed shut with equipment woes. My season opener was subsequently postponed, waking Saturday to a dusting of snow, all along the way having three of my 1st Amendment rights challenged.
On the positive side of the karma swing I got a sweet new kit (thanks Travis), was named dealer of the month for 1W2W (Thanks Rebecca). For which I recieved this absolutely bad ass Ag bag. It’s made from recycled tubes and seat belts. The 76 refers to the percentage of recycled materials used. Staying on the subject of 1W2W, check out 2 Mile Challenge. What can you access in your 2 miles? If it wasn’t for commutting this winter the eight ball would be even bigger than it already is. It’s only April though right?
So now it’s 2 more weeks before the legs will truly be tested. 2 more weeks hopefully of attacking singletrack, and warmer weather. Mother Nature be kind…please?
Stuff. You got it. I got it. They got it. Who gets it? All the stuff you have accumulated throughout life. I once subscribed to the motto, “If all my earthly possessions don’t fit in my 1996 Sable station wagon, then I am too heavy.” These damn Jimmy’s Cookies have me 5 pounds heavy this time of year but that is okay it was snowing. Just in April. In Michigan. That’s right. Passion not profit is what drives my 5 pounds – Ullrich I am, 15 pounds heavy here (in photo). Today I have these visions of finishing 2 or 3 in an Elite level cross country race here in Michigan and screaming as I cross the line, “I love Jimmy’s Cookies…Walnut Chocolate Chip.” They use butter and I swear there is passion somewhere in there. $3.29 and I am lit up like Life magazine. Before my time a poster sized journal of stories were read by Americans from coast to coast regularly in the name of one Life magazine. I remember seeing them in my grandparent’s basement. More »
My sister had her second kid about a week ago, a boy. His name is Dylan Jay (sweet.. DJ) the pic is of my nice Tara. She is finally big enough to fit a bike so I didn’t hesitate to promptly swoop over to visit the new nephew and bring what every kid wants… a shiny new bike all their own. The sweet Mystic 12, in pink, complete with basket, flowers and Dragonflies.
**insert warm fuzzy feeling here**
This last weekend was a fantastic one for riding. I managed to get out Sat before work for an hour and a half but Sunday was the biggie. 132 km 4:45 and lots of climbing with a low gear of 42X25… ouch. I do most of my training on a road bike. I had planned on a big ride but not as big as it turned out to be and got my $$ worth. I rode with Brad and Marc and we rode strong (3 man pace-line) pretty much the whole way.
The ride started at the bridge and took the usual route up to Fairfax over White’s and More »
10″ of snow = Driveway Derby! What else are you gonna do with a fresh 10″ of snow at the end of March? The second best thing about the Derby (after the riding of course) was my six year old explaining, “Dad can’t shovel the driveway, that’ll wreck the course.” Ahh…. Precious. He even convinced the neighbors not to shovel theirs… I did see my neighbor Jason give a bit of a fist pump cause he was stoked to be heading back inside for more coffee.
Well, it’s official. I received an email from Travis Ott telling me that I was on the Gary Fisher 29er Crew Mountain Bike Team. Pretty cool.
The good news is that I get a new bike. I’ve placed an order for a SuperFly. The bad news is that I have to sell two bikes. I guess I could have bigger problems. If you know anyone that needs a geared Trek 69er, let me know! After I receive my SuperFly and get some rides on it, I’ll let everyone know the difference between the two bikes.
Being accepted on the Fisher 29er team has me pretty motivated. I’ve been riding well early in the season and feel stronger this year than I did at the same time last year.
I Cat’d up to to a 3 on the road last year. My road racing goal was always to get to Cat 3. I made it so this year I’m going to focus more on mountain bike racing. I’ll still do some road races, but will be participating in some larger mountain bike races.
I’ll be keeping the blog updated as much as possible. I hope you all enjoy the ride – I know I will!
Another custom graphics job.. this one.. not done by Mike. I’ve had this ride for a month or so and only two rides on it due to the weather. G2 is fabulous!
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Fisher 29ers |
