down with the sickness

yup - i got some weird head cold bug...at least i got it now instead of feb...knock on wood. went for 10 miles today - planned on more but with a headache the size of king kong - i was in no position to push it. took the golden boy on the ride and I was impressed with full carbon - pretty nimble and smooth. with that - my set up in the basement is done - and i will be spending more hours in front of a tv than i have ever done before. the rat bike is now set up as a six speed and that should be good enough for winter riding and commuting if need be. thats about it as i sit here waiting for nyquil to take affect.

is it possible i am back in the market for a bike with gears???

sure.

found myself...

riding in some slippery spots today. left the house at 2 pm - walked in the door at 5 pm. Rain, no rain, standing water, standing mud - lots of wet leaves and absolutely beautiful in the woods today. I had a lower gear today and went for high heart rate at extended intervals. well worth the ride - totally covered in mud - worse than Cheq - man, it was so cool. In fact, it was so muddy, it was not easy to tell what jersey I had on - well, it didnt matter the clothes I wore - what mattered is that I was out today. Rain Rain Go Away.....????? No way - rain rain come my way and give me another reason to get on the bike today.... hope you had a chance to ride today as it was worth every second.

ac

5 hours in the park

Crazy Lady Maria and scared David (above)

Maria and David (above)

Peter on the trail (above)

No discomfort today - perfect day with the kids!

Headed out with the kids today about noon with the bikes on the rack...thanks Ed and yes you will get the rack back. Took off from the north end parking lot and headed counter clock-wise around the park with all three. It was interesting to say the least and exciting above all that the kids were having such a blast. Made our way around the outer loop to the warming house and then took the N.Lights trail to the playground...then headed to Culvers for lunch and then to the bike shop for a quick repair on Pete's seat so that he was not in pain anymore...headed back with various stops throughout the ride...back home about 5:15.....it was a good day and the kids were wiped out.

What a PERFECT day to be out riding. FLAWLESS! it was the slowest 20 miles i had ridden in a long time but soooooo worth it. Pete and Maria had my jersey's on and were loving each second - Dave was way out front. We took some mt bike paths here and there to mix it up. the kids did so well.

that was my Saturday!

proud moments....

Last night at the boy scout court of honor - David earned his Tenderfoot badge and a host of other awards - oh, and a few merit badges... mom in law, David and me. Great moment I will remember forever....

To Do List....

Okay - well with so much to look forward to this next year, I felt the overwhelming desire to really focus on a few major issues that have plagued my soul as of recent....house projects. Today was a good day in that we were able to accomplish a few of the biggies..... patio sliding door - replace/install etc.....remove rotten drywall in shower - add dura-rock and re-tile.....pull window on lower level and rebuild the wood frame - reinstall. All done today. Next is to repaint the non-stucco portions of my house prior to snow fall. We will see on this one as it appears to be lots of prep...heck, if i can do what i did today, I should be able to paint.

Biking? who has time for it? Well, i guess a few did over the weekend. I trust the Headwaters went well. I got a text from JayT that he singled it in just over 4 hours. Way to go Duke....i guess the 45.16 was the charm.

I did walk past my bike about 20 times today in working on the house....I did pull my mt.bike apart last week and the parts are still lined up on the floor.....so I can be happy that I did at least think about biking today....

RAAM - June 09 - now the fun starts

so the word is yes from those that decide. 8 person raam is in my future...there is something about the 4 person that has me excited as well but if the 8 person is the way to go next year - I am in....less costs up front. 12-14 hours of biking a week, strength training every week...9 months of concerted effort and this will hopefully put me in contention to do well.

Crap, I sold my bianchi a few months ago for a single speed mt bike and a washing machine...my cost for this RAAM just went up....onto craigs list I go...unless someone is willing to rent out a bike...lol. I think Justin still has his Kabuki - LOL....just kidding..kind of.

I was told no single speeds - what kind of race is this? man, i am really excited...crap, I wont be able to sleep.

or work.

various rides when I can

Pulled the Mt Bike apart to find water living comfortably in my tubes...love it. Prior to this - I spent some quality time with the Cheq bike over the weekend - putting on 30 off road. felt great to ride more...not sick of the bike...thanks to not riding that much this summer.

Once the mt bike was apart - I got on the blue bike and started to get comfortable on this. noticed my seat was off a bit and it was causing some nice back pain. Corrected and happy. In my quest to stay on course with averaging at least 25 miles a day I was on course up to today. With lights on the bike - i am good. With good warm weather, I was happy.

I was able to harness the average still above 21 mph on each ride and felt fresh. I guess the trainer is going to get a work out this year. Spin class, gym, winter riding....all in an effort to springboard into spring /summer and all that may come my way.

so, bring it on. i have the desire and the full support of the family for excessive training this winter....now if i can cut back on eating fast food...that is my next epic span to cross.

ac

wow - training starts now? Okay.

commitment to next year in many different aspects means not letting this winter slow me down. I fully expect the few that read this to keep me accountable until my proper habbits are formed - needs about 28 days...maybe longer with the cold weather. why? b/c living outside of fitness sucks.... there are some things that have caught my eye for next year and instead of waiting - start now....

food, training, mind set, setting aside vices....sounds icky but the plus side is I am happier........

why we do this? because we are tested... that's why.

the moment i realized i beat my time...final sprint to finish.

Pre ride on Rosey's Field - heading to the main Berkie Trail

pre- ride 3miles into the trails - fast drop...it was raining by this time

Ted and I walking to cure the nerves

Pink is the new black

The line up - crazy

over 1700 bikers start at once...yikes

AK - the rig waits to be driven hard

All lined up - waiting to start - nervous

Matt and I ready to rumble

not in order - waiting to get prepped to ride -

after the finish - going to clean bike - icky/fun

My good friend Pete Taylor and I showing that friendships can last from 2nd grade to age 36 without any issues - we starting riding together in middle school. this is priceless -

Cheq weekend (fat tire pics)
2hours 53 min - finished 161 places better than last year...sucess
Great weekend - where do I begin? I knew a bit more this time - turns, climbs, nerves etc....I was excited to try out the new bike of course but more excited to just have fun. Fun it was - RAIN on the course. Neil - you would have just loved it. It really was classic. Peter Tayor mentioned that it was a Roubaix weekend. I agree.

Pre ride was 5 miles in - 5 miles back from Rosey's. perfect day to say the least. The buzz was all about people saying how they were going to attack the hills, best lines etc....hell, just ride it. with 1500 plus people - your plans meaning nothing - ride.

Up early to the start line - good start - 5 rows back. the cannon shot and we are cruzin through hayward enjoying the sights but trying to find the best line. Hogeland was the dare-devil whizzing in and out of people getting up front (he did really well). Single speed folk kinda filter back - Jesse and Marko's brother passed me on the roll out - he was flying. Hit the trails and began gaging my strength....my lack of riding this year was easy to see right away. my overall fitness wasnt quite there but i felt good. Then the rain...it was soothing of course but it made me wonder - is this going to be easy or hard....in some ways it was easy - the mud said it wasnt.

By "OO" i was cramped pretty bad - my abs were torn and i felt like sitting up - I kinda did while i tried to work out the cramp...gut cramps suck. I came into the OO feed zone and missed the water cup and splashed the water in the kids face...missed the second on and splash that on the nice lady......the last person had the bananna - he ran with me and i got a bite of food...to only throw it up upon swallowing...it was funny. The guy behind me said " well, you dont see that everyday - that was the funniest thing I have ever seen.." well, i am glad he found humor.

after the cramp went away - i felt like super man but unfortunately i lost my chance to catch up to Jay or Bob....well, i have feeling they were way out....and hell, was I really going to catch up to them or keep up with them? NO. so thus begun the picking off of people - one at a time. I hung with 4 single speeders all running 61 gear inches and we helped each other. it was cool. our own team - of single speed fools. I dismounted 3 times only and i was happy with that. lots of speed and the low tire pressure helped a lot...i was surprised with my daring on this ride. parts of the ride were not friendly - most of the course was really wet...the grass was fast the mud was not.

I had a blast hunting down the next rider. once the 10 miles to go sign passed - i figured i was with who i was going to finish with....then as we hit flats - i ramped up the rpms....trying to recover from the hills..it wasnt easy...my miles were low this year yet i was happy with how i was riding. i felt vomit surfacing every now and then so i can say that I was riding "just below puke" the whole ride. I left nothing on the table saturday.

Fire tower hill is a walk-fest anyway so i was not upset to have to walk it. i admire ANYONE that rides up that frickin wall. Once up top we started on the berkie rollers - these suck after the FT hill. My calf muscles were cramped walking up that hill....i hung in with the same SS guys and I noticed that the group of 10-15 around me were the same from mile 20. The cramps then went away and I felt great - i hammered the best i could and gapped some of them - i had no issues with traction - the crossmark tires are perfect. I ran with 25 psi and it was the best. I just need to ride more to keep the cardio and resp fitness up there.

with about 4 miles to go i had to drop my sunglasses - had issues with finding my back pocket and then while i slowed down, about 15 people passed me up. I got back on it and hammered to catch up - the last 2 miles were really fast. I burried my head and watched the sweat drip from my nose and as i caught the group i noticed that many were blown off the back. the drop into Telmark was great - I saw the 8 people left ahead of me - i stood up and pushed hard - passing in the tall grass - a quick break check had the group hesitate as i swung to the right side and passed them on the first turn into the shoot. I stood, sprinted as I heard someone yell my name, that gave me what i needed to pass the last single speeder of the group to cross the line by myself - 6 mins faster than last year....i was jazzed considering the course this year.... then there was Peter - with the high five and a hug.

Cheq this year? it was well....wonderful. I will remember this day.

and I'm Leaving....on a

Suburban.....heading north by north east.....

SHould have some great pics to follow this weekend....Chequamegon....friends.....all around good times.


see ya later..


andy

interesting weekend.....

Looks a bit - well - wet this weekend....

Built in Sauna

Yup - I have my own hot room in my house and I have neglected its use for so many years. The other day....week actually....my bathroom exhaust fan opted to break - fan blades or motor - either way it was not working. So, take some measurements and try to find the same size housing - no such luck. Today was the day so I had to do something. The one I got was a bit bigger with more options...which meant going into my attic of doom to replace the main unit.

This place is not scary - just FRICKIN hot. Trying to move around up there is interesting. you cant see the rafter location under the rolled and blown insulation so it was like wondering if I was going to bust through the ceiling like in Christmas Vacation. I was nimble and thought about feathers - all is good....except that the fan unit was out near the edge so that meant NO room and also re wiring the unit b/c the entry point for the wires was on the other side of the new unit - and not enough wire to reach - added a junction box ran more wire and made it work.

Had to cut the opening about 2 inches more each way, rework the ductwork to meet code and so it actually flowed okay and all within the confines of no room to work. It was not fun but check off that SOB from the list - Tina better like this new - "whisper" quiet model. It cost good money and really pissed me off while installing.

What was funny was while i was toiling and swearing under my breath...and over....i could hear Christmas music playing and the kids singing. They also fired up the EZ Bake oven and were making cookies and passing every other one up through the hole more me to eat...it was cute despite me being upset.

oh, did i mention the fiberglass in the skin deal? fun with home projects.

Semisonic - couldnt resist and no this is not easy...

All About Chemistry

My list of crap to get done around the house is growing....first things first....crazy time with family. I headed to Home Depot this morning with Pete to get a new bathroom fan/light combo, switches and wire for a lighting project in a closet and of course hot dogs ... all at the depot. Get home and Pete takes off with the family to go to a friends birthday party - gone all day. I head out for a ride in the park and did about 20 on the mtb. Got home as the rest of the family - Tina, Maria and Dave - drive up. So, I take Dave on a 15 mile ride - the two of us - and we have a blast. I took Dave on various paved trails, streets and Mtb trails - i took three pics of him climbing a steep grade....he was - IS - the king.




A full day with the kids...and also a full day on the bike...all at once. whoda thunk it could happen? Did get caught in some very cold rain however going back home with David. I am not ready for cold just yet. Not at all.


Drew

why work kicks....

Jordan with the perfect form. Golfing on a friday in the office....priceless.

Northern Lights Hill Repeat

I will plan to hill repeat from the swimming pond - to the ski hut thing as many times as I can tonight. Each pass to the hut has two major climbs. lets see how close to puking i can really get....LOL. yikes - i am actually serious...if you are out there and you see an orange bike with a passed-out rider laying next to it- just give a call to "home" on my cell phone and let Tina know that I might be a bit late in getting back.

talk of big dreams....

had a great ride tonight. i cruised home to get the rig and hustle to the park for some miles in the woods. i headed up pineview - into freedom. my trip to the mtb loop was great - cool breeze...good tunes.... check out my new fav band.... Safetysuit....pick a song - enjoy. on that note - why i almost forgot about Semisonic is beyond me.... that should launch you into the youtube vortex for a good 1/2 hour or so.

did 3 - maybe 4 laps with Bob and Kenny...they did more before i got there. my body said "go steady and easy." my boss told me to listen to reason and do what your body is telling you. Good advice. I then headed home and then did 5 hill repeats on the backside of superprime....and that really hurt at the top of #5. My ride home from superprime is easy...feeling great....releasing my troubles of the day. I can say i left my troubles on the road tonight.

Praise the Lord for bikes and the cool breezes that followed me all night. Bob - is going to KILL cheq this year...geez, he has some serious skilz on that ss. Bob - dont ever disagree when I say you are a strong rider. If I can hang on your wheel at Chq I will be surprised.

I chalked it up as 30 miles tonight - some of them easy and some not so easy.....hill repeats the rest of the week. easy rider next week.


ac

ironic

after reading some blogs last night - i caught up on some funny stories...boy, some people really know how to write to the point where you are drawn in for hours. i call it the blog-vortex. sucked into this vortex - late nights - not sure of the time - you get the idea. Then when driving to work this morning - a quick look in the mirror for a lane change and I started to laugh because I was wearing this hat - i won it as a door prize at True Value hardware....and it reminded me of that funny story i heard on the blog.

Funny how the little things make you laugh - no one will really get this - maybe one person.

andy

Just Too Funny

Last night while riding with the guys....we were talking about training and some of the ridiculous things we do to prep for a race...in this case Cheq. Dave calmly says " yeah, ya know you kinda have to ride that race 'just a little bit below puke' and then you will do fine."

I think we have all been there where you sustain this almost sickening in the stomach, thinking you are the only one who is feeling it...believe me....they all are riding with thoughts of puking on their minds.

Great quote Dave

daily lunch special

Started the day right on track - everything in order...except for the fact that I left my wallet at home. Good work Andy. I was very lucky in that I brought 3 microwave mini-tubs of Progresso Beef Soup. Now - these are basically all water and over 1500mg of sodium PER tub. I figure - okay - i can do this. I ended up having all three. with no breakfast this morning - three of these things which i am not going to eat again for a while - no supper...I had a total of450 calories to eat today...i am including the goo thing on the bike ride...oh there was an apple...not sure how many that is. So for basic argument - 450 cal in. I spent 1500 cal for breathing and existing and about what 1500 cal biking....so working on a 2550 cal deficit - i was cookin the excess shmuts.

I got home from saving the world today and headed straight to the 4 mile loop deal to meet Dave, Bob and Jay. Spun around and he hammered the trail for what? 2 hours or so....sprint the hills - blast the flats...it was fun and was doing just fine - all things considered. the new gear ratio is great - i will pre-ride the course next friday and hope to get a feel for the climbs again and maybe i might kick up the gear ... tough to say.

On the way home I did 4 hill repeats on super prime and met the Wed night group on my last downhill as they were on their way up. I was tired so I am sorry for not really saying hello... Thanks guys for lettin me ride with you tonight - it was rather fun!

Andy