RAAM...and so much more

I hope you had a chance to meet these guys - really a class act. AND if you were smart enough to get your lazy butt out of bed last Sat to ride with them - kudos to you. Neil - you raced the entire breadth of this nation to come home and reach another goal - 20 on Sat Morning ride!!!!

That's right - we had 20 riders - including some RAAM guys. We also had a bad spill that caused some $erious bucks - I hope all is okay. The 7 am ride was a simple loop out west of town. Perfect weather was around us and perfect company beside us. We opted to not take 144 back - by the way, I think they are done with that road - it still sucks but I road it in the dark tonight and it seemed okay. The Fletcher prime was close...I thought - again I say thought - I had it after Greg lead out up the preceding hill...he has some legs on him. Bernie and I bridged the breakaway and passed Greg and that sprint up the hill was too much for me and with Bernie at the top of his game - smiled as he snatched the sign...That was FUN. I did win the last prime - the ever elusive Brooklyn Park prime by the shop. I will say it is the uber-cheese prime but it did say "welcome to Brooklyn Park" - so it counts....not really.

The 9 am ride was cool - Evan with his mid 70s Merckx super corsa / up to date Campy was really cool. With Neils Colnago and the Merckx - we were riding in style. Down to Dunn Bros in Mpls was once again very cool. The funny story of the day was the fact that 4 guys about 800 miles each and they only had one flat....to mpls and back I think we had 4.

I think it was just over 80 miles for the day. With me riding to the shop and a lap in the park I had 107 for the day. Very nice indeed - group rides like that make cycling worth it. Lets keep it up.

Enjoy the week!

By the way - taking a look at the finishing riders in solo RAAM - how about John Spurgeon - he finished with a single speed. I mean holy crap, he had some focus and sore legs I bet.


zuko

Goal - I did it!

For anyone with a family - job - expectations - to do lists - not to do lists - friends - sleep....you get the idea....it is a tough balance to find the needed time to train or ride. If you are looking to really put miles in the bank - you can almost forget it with all the stuff you need to do during the week. Well, fate has a way of putting two and two together. This week my car - the trusty VW Jeta - i call it the Jedi Knight...no comments...decided to take a nap whilst i was driving - my alternator went to lunch. Easy enough to change - I hate spending money on that thing however. I have 220,000 miles on it - runs GREAT but the $129 alternator just about trumps the value of the car - but it is better to buy the part than make payments on the most depreciating thing on the planet.

So with my new found inability to drive that beast, the bike became my ONLY form of transportation - except family night out for dinner. To work every day - 4 big rides after work and some mt bike rides mixed in. Goal was first to hit 250 which isn't that bad - good goal but I hit that at the end of Friday and heck - I HAD to ride to Dunn Bros on Sat morning - no one should miss a ride into the cities on sat morning - Bernie - I had their last Rhubarb bar in honor of you...then I had Jay H's cheesecake bar too...then Jorge and I stuffed our Voodoo Iced Cooler Dante's Mocha Espressos into the water bottles and headed to people watch at Stone Arch - perfect day, perfect company. Thanks guys.

Got home just in time to try out the new tensioner on the mt bike - and new chain but the thing skips like its missing cog teeth under extreme load - not sure what i need to do there. So with a complete loop and then some - I checked the running total and 305 for the week. I promised NO RIDING on Sunday - the kids rejoiced. My wife then promised to tear up the divorce papers.

thursday night ride in Elk River...

i felt like a trator.... not riding with TH group but it was with a former Loon - actually like the first Loon from when it was first formed - Dave Lunde....name is spelled wrong for sure. We headed out of Ramsey Cycle to Elk River for Hill Repeat night - I had never done this ride before so why not take the single speed.

The 10-15 mile ride to ER was great - we had nice rodes, low winds, lots of sun and great fellowship - of course I had to ask alot about Dave's World Champion Track history - yes he has the rainbow jersey to prove it. Very cool - super conversation - great tips and above all friends out for a ride.

The hill just outside ER proper is good climb - I am guessing just under a mile??? Two false flats ending on an extended straight climb....we ended up doing it 5 times. We had a preem set on the top of each climb then would loop down and around and do it all over again from a dead stop. It was a blast! Totally worth doing that ride once or twice a week.

GO STRONGHEART!!!!!!! glad to see that all is well.

tuesday night ride....hey, i didnt bonk

last time i did the Neilerator, I was on the Blue Thunder Super Sport....and with speeds reaching mach 2.5 - i had no more pedal and I bonked. There is a limit to the speed which you can go - but no limit on the pain you feel. So....in honor of RAAM but not to compare...I am riding into work every day along with the rides and then some. Since Sunday I am currently at 151 miles and last night was a blast. Neilerator, 90 degs, pounding south wind and a fast crew. Had a major mechanical at St.Michael....Hollys crank almost came all the way off...interesting.

Jay, Holly and I then headed back on our own over the rollers and it was quick. Hey, I didn't bonk! It is fun when you don't bonk.

okay, back to work.


andy

i caught myelf here...

thinking about how crappy its going to be biking home in this heat. in 10 min, RAAM is kicking off for the team event and they will be riding through the Mojave Dessert - and with that I have nothing to complain about. I will be watching this more than the Tour - for sure....cuz we know these guys and it takes alot more to do this than to take a stage win....and for many better reasons. the kids, the camp, the families....need i go on? Average joes and janes taking on the impossible and going forward believing...despite pain, illnes (neil) and hallucinations....making dreams and lives possible for kids - i cant think of a more noble cause.

6 mins and counting.....

my new favorite site - I cannot stop laughing

http://chainstainstakeoncucknorris.blogspot.com/

thanks phoneix

STONE ARCH

This ride is so cool. I have to admit - riding in the countryside is mucho bettero - hows my bilingual skills? This was the first time for me driving to stone arch and riding from there. Much easier. So its what....35-36 miles in the city? Big hills - fast breaks....especially when Patrick is drafting a Volvo at 39 mph....Don't worry Pat - you really are that fast anyway - in fact I thought I saw the Volvo drafting behind your rainbow jersey. I was happy with how I rode - I was freaked out cuz with names like Red Lantern, Painman, Hailstone....how does one compete with excellence? I was awarded a few names yesterday - JayT latched onto Fluffy, Cleary looking into his crystal ball and came up with Pinto....Skibby insisted on Zuko - for a pic I had with a curly cue hair style. I was happy - after a blistering ride on Tuesday, I had no idea how wed was going to turn out - felt good - feeling better every ride.

I must say it was nice to meet so many Loon state riders that I have never seen before. 12 or 15????? If I met you, trust me, I forgot your name about 10 sec after we met. I played around with the micro wave too much as a kid - messing things up.... My computer on the bike showed just over 20mph - give or take - average and for the amount of hills on that ride - i think that is good. Thanks for the great ride guys -- even though most of you will never read this blog..lol.

Holy.....

There are times when a ride takes your breath away....and then it really hurts and you feel like you are going to pop. Then...there are times when you are done and you reflect back on the ride...and then it takes your breath away. Tonight was a bit of both but more the latter. Low winds, sun in the face, large group, everyone strong, 50 some miles, puffy clouds in the sky...need I say more? It was the best example of a group ride that I have seen - keeping everyone together the entire ride. Slow? Not at all! We had in 50 plus miles strong interval training, hill workouts, pace lines, bridging the gaps and with most of the group hanging in there even at 30 mph...IMPRESSIVE! I am stunned by the level of fitness everyone is at. Everyone seems to have some serious goals ahead...well, when you have TSH you cant help but elevate your level of fitness. These guys are really good...After leaving Curvey Martin in the dust Bernie and Neil still had the power to take super preem - I wasn't up there with them but I am sure they had smiles on there face - heck - I bet they were even playing rock, paper, scissors while we were ready to throw up. Yeah, top 10 rides for me - it was perfect and I will count it a blessing to have a group like that to ride with again.


andy

Note to Self...

Take your chain tool on your ride with you. I should have today - I got a really nice 5 mile walk in the park whilst pushing my bike....in the rain...in cycling shoes...etc... Also - make sure to zip up the under the seat pack...that is a whole different story and amazingly found everything. okay - here's the story.

I took off through the horse trails on the mt bike in the rain. really messy. Chain breaks during a climb. start walking, my phone battery dead, no chain tool...no one else on the trails. Of course, its raining. Make it home and my feet are sore. Fix chain and head out again....not zipping up my saddle pack. By the time i hit the top of super preeme and then into that trail...I look down to see my tube fall out of the pack. I start walking back up the trail. tire iron here and there, tube, another 100 feet the hex wrenches, at the shoulder of the road a CO2 for inflation but no nozzle to inject the air. I was mad at myself. So, I ride the 20 miles and when I get back home there is the Genuine Innovations thingy right at the end of my driveway - nothing lost. Funny.

So note to self again - charge battery in cell phone prior to ride. take a chain tool. zip up bag. oh, almost forgot - have FUN. The mud was DEEP and thick today and well worth the ride.