the guys and the ride

Had the privilege of riding some of the greatest guys tonight out in Elm Creek. Billy V, Dahl, Hogland, JayT, Audi TT Matt were there to tear up some double track in the ongoing quest to prep for Cheq...I am most impressed with Dahl's superfly single...I want one of those for sure but alas i have a colnago...wait...a Fauxnalgo as it has been renamed.

We met at 530 or 600 and rode for 2.5 hours mixing in the hills and trails and hill repeats and more hills. Three of us had singles the rest gears and we all hung in pretty good. I tried out the 36x16 ratio which is about 4 or 5 gear inches more than the 17t rear and on that terrain, i felt really good on the steep climbs so i will keep it on for now and see how it rides out over the next few weeks. the psi on the tubeless was about 27 or there abouts and that seemed to be good for my weight and do i ever love that carbon rigid fork...amazing.

It was great to have someone to ride with out there as usually its just me and my mp3's...its also great to have some people to chase down here and there so as to not get lazy...but i kinda like the meandering rides out there - very reflective to say the least.

Not sure about the miles but some were very hard efforts and some were casual - mix in a stop here or there for some water and we had a BLAST...so it seems that every wed at 6 we ride from the chalet until further notice.

Thanks guys for the great ride and Jay, nice to see that mt bike again..... :)

Andrew

choices and options

trying the larger of the two this evening

Time Trial on Dirt

missed getting to the TT course on the road so I did a lap in the park on the ss mt bike and mixed in the DIYTT Mt Bike course with the 36x17 single. I was able to drop 22 sec off my best time on the 2.something mile course. I was happy. I will try the 36x16 next to see what happens.

where i have been mentally....the vortex of raam

In Talking With Brett

One of the best things about RAAM are the friends you take for a lifetime. I am sure that many who go through such an event feel the same way about the people they shared it with - but this was something that stirred deep inside. This RAAM thing was a compilation of excessive planning and a tight-wire balancing act of emotions, family time and personal readiness. With all of that jazz and sooo many stories to be told and things I wish I could just let go, I am blessed with the people I shared my time with pre, during and now in the present.

Thanks to blogs, facebook, emails and the marvel of cell phones...I have been able to keep tabs on the lives of those that mean so much to me and I would guess that many feel this who are part of the many years of Team Strong Heart.

I have found I still talk often with Tim and Brett and it seems every time I am at the bike shop........so is Steve. Go figure. A big kudos to Brett on the GC overall win on the 3 day stage race in NH. I have been mainly on the mt bike these days with a few days of road riding to mix it up a bit. Chequamagon Fat Tire Festival is soon to be had and it is a blast at the same time it hurts but the fellowship with good friends is what it is all about.

This blog posting is really going nowhere so I will cut it short - just some thoughts buzzing in my head that needed an outlet.

The ride tonight was dark and in the rain and was almost too perfect. Its amazing how gutsy you are when you cant see the trail that well ahead. If it were light out I would have taken it a bit slower but I didnt know better.

see yall later.


ac

perfect day

got out with the kids all day on the bike...well, most of the day. left at 11am got home at 5pm...good stuff. we took our time getting through 21 miles with stops for lunch, bike shop, mc donalds for the brownie melt, rest stops here and there and so on...but to have this time with the three kiddo's is perfect. did another 20 this evening on the single - bit faster - and called it a day.

ac

workin my way down...

spent time with friends on the TT course tonight. with the winds between 18-27 mph I was not expecting all to be that responsive to riding - but hey, 8 showed up for a brute-fest and all did a GREAT job. That turn into the head winds was a bit unnerving but the pain didnt last that long...

i was able to drop some time on my last time which was great considering the wind. What i have learned from RAAM is that nutrition is a key factor to performance every day, min or second. so with that said, e-caps, perpetuem and water were my staples today. Tiagra (the new name for my bike for obvious reasons) carried me through the wind and i really miss aero bars. I figured i started without them on this TT thing so I will continue to do so through the summer/fall to be honest with myself on times.

Thank you all for coming out and thank you Amy and Melinda for tracking the times!

Andrew

amazing yet again...Danny is nuts and fun to watch

first road ride in a while...

it was nice to get on the road bike tonight. it hasnt happened in a while since raam but once I was on the bike...it seemed all to familiar. I was getting comfy with the mt bike...which is good as the geometry is a bit different and cheq is right around the corner.

like neil said, no rain and i was fully expecting rain. it looked like we rode right in the midst of two super-cells with some sun even. i was so used to riding in raam with the expectation of maintaining a lead or chasing down some team - day/night. it was nice to get out without the pressure to perform at some level but push it when i wanted to or when others took off. we ended up doing a series of wind-sprints here and there. we all joined in the sprints and practiced a bit of bridging...eventually the group split for a while here and there but we all finished together just fine. rumor has it that there is a four person team time trial coming up in wisconsin - perfect time to lay down some efforts prior to cooling down prior to the ride.

the cannondale did a good job tonight but i do miss the full carbon bike - there is a difference but the cannondale will never leave me - it is a trusted friend. great to see friends tonight and to spend time with erik afterward was a treat...talk and laughs...food and drink...relax and rest...it was a great night with all the things that make a day great!

andy

more on the mt bike

got home in time to mow the grass...the slightly brown grass. Noticed the creeping charlie has worked his way into my yard more and more. I guess its time to some how convince the moles in my yard to tunnel just under the creeping charlie so it dies off. I hate spraying all the needed weed killer (of only one that i know of that kills that stuff) when i have kids on summer vacation. we have enough chemicals in our lives that adding to the grass - then drinking it later from the well - just messes with my mind. anyhoo. did the normal off road loop tonight in the dark and forgot to tighten the chain on the single and it was loose enough on bumpy downhills to pop off a few times - i hate that and I hate that I didnt check it first.

I do appreciate good lighting on a bike as it allows for taking advantage of the dark hours allowing for me being home when the family is up. As of late - the riding has almost taken a spiritual turn for me. I think everyone can say that cycling is spiritual so say I took it a few steps further than before. Without sounding all spooky, it [cycling] has allowed me to breath deep and assess the issues in my life. you know these issues, the ones we normally dont broadcast at all to anyone but keep deep inside until it tears you apart from time to time. Maybe that is why I loved RAAM so much b/c it forced me to disassociate completely from everything BUT cycling and moving forward. I think the only time I had time to think about these issues was early on while moving through monument valley at like mindnight. Struck by the silence of the night and the inspiring display of stars [no equal in my mind], I found myelf talking through my dysfunctionalism.

Tonight was no different. Since RAAM, I have found a way to deluge myself into cycling within minuets of being on the road - almost catotaonic in seconds. It almost sounds new-age but not really - its just a focus that is found quickly. What I love about it is that I can just "be" and not "do" anything but ramp up my efforts for the hills, flats or whatever is just ahead. It isnt about that rider or their bike or anything - me and the bike alone with God.

So when yesterdays wipe out happened - i guess it didnt really bother me too much. Yeah walking home 4 miles was a drag in cycling shoes but the time alone was needed and maybe that accident - or lack of single track ability - was just what the doctor ordered. Tonight was a treat - short though it became - as it was fast and smooth, racing in the dark, no competition except my accelerated heart rate and sewing machine type cadence.

I am glad I have and hope others will find a way to escape the day when needed...be it a book or music, a walk or a bike ride, sitting alone or with friends...the escape allows us to not be locked into the rat race without end.

ac

pickin blackberries...resting on a perfect day of kids bikes and sunshine!

takin a break myself while the kids pick blackberries at elm creek.

Feeling the drag....

I recognize that many people that we have hired to work in hazardous places have felt a rush in the work they do...and with that they find themselves lost when they leave said dangerous places of the world - craving to go back over and over again. In a way - our experience in RAAM this year was similar to the brain as how one gets used to the chaos and when its over...adjustment cant take place without concentrated effort.

How do you make that jump? Where do you go for inspiration when the open road is outside of the glass windows I sit behind all day? How can I draw from the recent past to make light and focused work in my career? Well, I am getting there but it sure isn't easy. RAAM is a drug that allows you to clear all aspects of life for a week - all aspects. When its you, your bike, that hill, that team, the finish line, another 1000 miles, another 100 feet, another loop of songs on the ipod, the rain, the friends, no bills, no worries, the views...you get the idea...Hewey Lewis had his song about a new drug...if I could bottle up RAAM and sell it on the street then one could find this ease of life. Seeing that I cannot - then others looking in will have to experience RAAM on their own to really know what you go through. The aftermath has been easy and has presented new challenges thus allowing me to think of things I have never had to before.

When I look at what has to be done in life - I am basically seeing these issues through RAAM colored glasses - and it seems clear then. I have to associate my efforts still running in my brain to the here and now (easier said than done). Nothing could have prepared me more for the next years of my life than to be part of RAAM "a self induced coma of biking and focus".

So if you see me gazing into a wall - don't worry...I am just somewhere between Cali and Flagstaff, lost in Missouri, getting wet in Ohio, scared for my life in West VA or sitting on the dock in MD...Ill be fine but that is where I am from time to time.

It was a blessing to be with those that now mean so much to me - as Brett said, " we came together as strangers and left as brothers." I cant say it better than that. That is how RAAM has affected me - I now have family in places that were once occupied by strangers - thank you.

the happy wrencher of bikes

speaking of Lar-dog...(neil's last or recent post)...i was surprised to find larry so happy to be helping out once again...then again, maybe not so surprised. See, Larry has a unique feature that only a few in this world have....a heart of gold that shines bright. thanks Larry for helping big boys and girls live like kids again. btw Larry, i got permission from Pam to steal you away for some mt bike rides, road rides etc...

i think its time to let the open road re-fuel the reasons why you love cycling so much. give me a call and get the mt bike ready!

andy