Cheq in!

Yeah baby! My check cleared too! So it looks like I made it in to the 2006 Chequamegon 40.

Dogwood Classic Recap

The race was awesome. Super suffer fest. I've never seen so many hills. The weather was perfect 40* at the start and 50* by the end. I did really well for myself. Stayed with the lead group the whole way until the last 10 miles. Got dropped twice and was able to fight like hell to get back on. After the third time I was cooked. Came in a few minutes after the lead group. All in all I was quite please with my performance. Clocked a top speed of 46 mph. More to come later. I'm dead!

*Here is a link to some pics of the race.
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/kaotosenyin/album?.dir=ef0c&.src=ph
Still waiting for results.

'On the Road Again'

Finally got outside for some real miles. Didn't clock a ton but it's a lot more and earlier than any year to date. I'll try to get some more in before I head down to the Dogwood Classic next Friday.

It's Back On!

After a week and a half off due to my training facilities being in an upheaval, and a bad cold, I'm back training. Boy does it feel good to be back on the bike. I was going crazy. I only have a week until the Missouri race. I think I might be a little behind schedule, which is ok, so I'll more than likely ride for the Minnesota contingent. Should be a good time.

So now that I finally got back on the bike maybe I'll go skiing tomorrow?...

FLOYD

First ToCA and now a great showing at Paris-Nice. I've got to say I'm not too surprised Floyd's doing as well as he is. All of Lance's disciples are doing really well. Well, except for Tyler. Though it seems riding for the 7 time Tdf champ has left a bad taste in their mouths to ride for anyone nowadays. Wouldn't it be nice to see an all American team. Don't get me wrong I was all for Team 7 Eleven back in the day, but we really have some great talent coming out of the states now. I know it's no secret, it's just fun to imagine how we'd crush EVERYONE!

Photo: www.velonews.com

INDOOR TRAINING

Well the first solid month of training is almost in the books. It's actually been kinda fun this year. Heck, when you can have the tube tuned into the Olympics, the lappy on www.cycling.tv and the iPod on shuffle, you can't lose. Although it's been fun I'm really excited fo the up coming weather. Looks like upper 30's for a while. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for this weekend. Of course we'll still get nailed with a dump of snow in March. Maybe I'll be able to bust the skis out for a little XC'n.

Back to the training. I'm feeling pretty good so far. Probably better than ever! The true test will be the road race in Springfield, Missouri. It's about a 10 hour drive down so having to race the next day will be a little of a challenge. Which will be fine since I won't be going for the win. Like I'd get it anyway. Ha ha! I'm really looking forward to testing out my top secret weapon. That's why my first race has to be far enough away so no one around here will be ready when I unleash it. It's going to be awesome!

I just hope that all the hype from everyone expecting me to win a couple races doesn't get to me. I don't want to Bode things up. Honestly, cut the guy some slack. He kicked butt on the World Cup and just because he couldn't be on during the Olympics everyone's down on him. How many people out of all the critics know anything about down hill ski racing? Not too many of them. As far as him partying at night, come on. That's what we're known for. I can say that because I raced for a little bit and skied for over 20 years. Oh yeah, and I'm sure she'll read this blog, Picabo, Shut it! You're retired and no one wants to hear from you. Let the girls have their fun.

Sorry for the rant. Had to be done.

ToCA needs more TV coverage! Way to go Floyd. Too bad Tyler. Nice first race Toyota United. Anyone want to give me a new 80mm black Manitou R7 just for fun?

Look who has the ToCA lead...

I just had to post this for Andy since he can't stand George. He happens to be one of my favorite riders. And I think he's quite underrated.

What do you think?





www.velonews.com

1st. Race of the season

Looks like I might be heading down to Branson, MO or a little early season road race. The In-laws are going there to vacation and get some golf in. So, we decided to go with and I thought it would be a great opportunity to start the season with. That leaves me with a little more than a month to get ready. Sure am glad I already started training.

I'm really looking forward to a good season of racing. This year I decided to move up to B1's for cross and had a pretty decent year. I averaged about 15th place and ended the season at the Hudson Cross, GREAT RACE, in 7th. I believe. I addition to that I started training earlier than last year. So I should have a pretty good base and now that I have a bike that actually fits me... Who knows. It may be biting off more than I can chew but I would like to actually win an MTB race this year. I haven't done so since the 1991 Star of the North Games in the beginner class. It would be nice to taste victory again. I mean why go through all this training and pain if you don't hope to win one of these things. It may not come to fruition but it's worth a shot.

So how do we get there? Not 100% sure but I plan on using some strategically placed RR's as tune-ups for the dirt. Here's the tentative schedule:

March 25th RR Springfield, MO
April 15th Oxbow Classic
April 22nd Durand RR
April 29th Kenwoods Memorial RR
April 30th Iron man 100 mile
May 2nd Opus
May 9th Opus
May 20th Spring Cup
May ??th Tour of 10k Lakes (Afton course, my back yard)
June 18th Afton MTB
June 25th Waconia Triathlon
July 9th Mt. Kato
July 16th Muddy River Rock n' Roll
August 13th Welch (WWW?)
August 20th Powder Monkey
August 27th St. Paul Circuit Race
September 10th St. Paul Classic Hill Climb Challenge
Mixed in with all this I'll try to hit some of Penn's Thursday night races @ Buck
Hopefully I can get a spot for Chequamegon
Then... the cross season

And we start all over again!

Who's Hungry

I don't know about you all, but when the training season hits I always find myself in front of the fridge. Our fridge isn't stocked that well right now but keep opening it as if a meal would magically appear. Kinda like the Jetson's food processor. I always used to get crap from my buddy who thought I had a tapeworm. I've always been able to eat a lot and stay around the same weight. Poor Marc I know. Don't get me wrong, I'm definitely not complaining. But, I do think it has an affect on my ability to maintain necessary energy levels while competing. For example, I burn through 5 energy gels in 1 hour and a half long mtb race. Is that typical? How many do you go through?

United Pro Cycling Team

What a great model for a domestic team. Check this link to Velo News for the skinny:

http://www.velonews.com/race/dom/articles/9465.0.html

Winter Transfers

Some interesting trasfers over the winter:

http://www.eurosport.com/cycling/uci-protour/2005/teamtransfert.shtml

Horner or Joker?

Seriously. This guy loves to ride his bike. He's always smiling. I wonder if I look as happy when I'm racing?




www.velonews.com

Nothing to report!

I've gotten some pressure to update my blog lately, I won't use any names. I think some people think that because they have no life and can always come up with things to write that everyone else can too. Well, I never saw the rules that stated I had to write with any frequency. Besides, I never had a diary as a kid. Maybe my life is a little too boring or maybe I don't have much time to sit in front of this box and brag about my numbers and how hard I'm training. Who really wants to hear about that? And do I really want to disclose that information? They call it the off season for a reason.

2006 Pre Season Training:

Weights
Base miles

There! Ya happy?
You know who you are...

Happy New Year!

Celebrated New Years at home with Christine and Fin. For $45 we feasted on a Lobster dinner from Kowalski's which included twice baked potato, green beans, salad and a wicked turtle brownie. Mmmmm! Since the little guy isn't of age to drink just yet we welcomed the new year with a sparkling pear apple juice toast. Of course I got my rear handed to me in our traditional game of Trivial Pursuit. All-in-all 2005 was a pretty good year. Moved into our new home, had a pretty good season of racing, too many really to mention but the best of all, my Mom beat cancer(she's one tough lady). With that said it's been a great year!

Looking forward into 2006

Guess this is the part where I make all my New Year's Resolutions. I don't care for that exercise very much so I'll just call them goals. Compete in enough races to be a contender for the MNSCS, do another triathlon, some more road races, and really try to excel at cyclocross. Oh yeah I almost forgot. This is the year I will win at Welch(WWW)!

Good luck to all in '06!

Hudson CX

What a freakin' awesome race. This was the one of the year. 7th overall and 5th for B1's. I got me some points. What a way to end the year. I hope they keep it this late in the season next year. The snow was a real treat.

More to come later. I need to go eat some chilli and drink some beer. I have some pics and video I'll post later.

I love this sport!

BCR Team Survey

Please take some time to fill out this quick survey. Your feedback will help us make the team better for all. Please read each question carefully and rate them according to the instructions for each. If you have any questions please ask them separately here on my blog.



1. How would you rate your overall experience with BCR this year? (1-10, 10 being the best)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

2. Please rate your interest level for each cycling discipline. (1-10, 10 being the best)

a. MTB 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
b. Road 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
c. CX 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
d. Other 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
e. Other 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
f. Please list in order:__________________
__________________________________

3. What do you prefer? Just getting out and riding or racing?

Must Race--Some Racing--Either/or--Just ride--I don't need no stinkin' race
-3 -2 -1 0 +1 +2 +3 (spectrum, 0 being middle of the road, use #'s +/-)

4. How important are team rides? (1-10, 10 being the best)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

5. Do you feel that the team would ride at a pace you could handle?
a)Yes b)No, too fast c)No, too slow

6. Did you take advantage of any of our sponsors? If so, what was your experience? Do you like having product sponsors?





7. Do you think BCR should put on other events besides the Leb TT? If yes, what kind of events?








8. Please use the space below to list or comment on things we could do better, more of, or less of. Remember these comments are anonymous so do your thing:







A big thanks to all who came out for BCR this season. We’ll be working hard this fall/winter so we can provide you with a fun, rider focused team for 2006. Not to mention DOMINATING! So have a great off-season and we’ll see you all in the spring.

Ham Lake

Not so just in:

Cooler temps so I was forced to break out the leg-warmers. Again with the bad start. At least I'm clipping in with no problem. I can't believe I actually admit to that. Ham Lake is always a tricky start. You get funneled into a thin line right off the start but this year they added a chicane to stretch things out even more. Once we hit the road I popped it into the big ring, grabbed the drops, tucked my head and went all out. I knew I had to make up some serious time if I wanted to ensure a top 20 spot. I was successful in passing a ton of riders only to find myself soloing the rest of the race. I may never stick with the lead group but I always have a blast. Ended up 18th overall.



This weekend will have me up in Taylors Falls and not at Buck (I think?). Too bad 'cause the Grizz is going to give the cross thing a try but has to work on Saturday so I'll miss his maiden voyage into Cyclocross heaven. There's always next year?

Lake Rebecca Recap

What a great race. The start was a little hairy, didn't get the hole shot I was looking for. Dan and I should have been a little more agressive and butted our way in line before the start. Oh well. I too had a little problem getting blocked out on the first run-up only to lose my chain bouncing up the hill. That kinda blew my chances of bridging the main group. Next time maybe I'll think to check it before I try to remount. It did however make for some fun reeling in. I eventually found myself battling with Mettler,I think, and some other guys from Alan and Birchwood. We just kept going back and forth. I'd blow them away on the barriers and hills but they'd always catch up and eventually pass me. The finish:I got up the final hill looked back and saw no one. After lining up the slight downhill into the finish and grabbing my big ring, I made one last look back. Crap! I had picked up a bogie. I picked up the pace a little only to looked back to see him gaining ever so slightly. He looked to be a little stocky so a didn't want to lead him up to the line only to get smoked. It was now or never. "Bridge to engine room, FULL POWER!" I just ducked my head and cranked. I took off like the Millenium Falcon making the jump to lightspeed. I was able to hold him off only to find my legs on the verge of blowing up like the Death Star. Wow, what a great finish. It could have been for second to last place and it would have been just as exciting. It's always awesome to have a sprint finish even if you lose out in the end. At least for now.I have to leave for Chicago this Sunday at 4:45pm. Not sure if I'll make it to Boom Island. We'll see.

Orono CX

Turned out to be pretty nice conditions. The field was rather large, 65 riders I think. Started off strong staying with the lead pack again for the first lap and a half. Pulled out ahead of Dan only to get reeled back in. After getting reeled in I started to fade missing a break that Dan took full advantage of and that was the last I saw of him. So, I managed to latch on to a group of two and sucked wheel for a while. Soon I realized they were moving too slow so I decided to make a break for it. Was successful dropping one of the guys but the other one from Birchwood was too strong. It came down to just he and I at the finish and one lap around the track. this is the part I love. Just like what you see in all the pro races. I knew I had enough to do battle but unfortunately do to my inexperience when he decided to wind up for the sprint I couldn't shift into my big ring. So he gapped me a little. But I caught up to him as we exited the turn. I could have made a play at the line but like an idiot I dropped down into a lower gear and spun out(gear wise). Anyway, it was a great race,better than last week, and an exciting finish.

Next up, Lake Rebecca

Impostor!!!

Not sure what to think of this one. It's quite Freaky really.

http://www.hrwiki.org/index.php/Main_Page