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

110 what????

Tonights ride took us to Albertville and back. This is a great ride - and super fun when the wind is from the west or north west - cuz all the way home is blistering fast. The stretch from Albertville to Otsego was at 30 mph - and it wasnt that hard to hold it with the tail wind....and Bernie out front.

Thanks to a missed turn in Otsego - we missed the main group and then Brian got stuck at a light...so I waited up and we two-upped all the way back. The weather was great and everyone was quick. I was glad to hold off Bloomington Dave for the Albertville prime....but b/c Brian and I were back - way back - I have no idea who won the overall...either way - the weather was perfect...just not enough daylight.

I have been riding the mt bike so much at 27psi that I forgot what it was like to ride on 110psi - i tad different to say the least. Cheq is close - I have lost some weight and have been putting on some solid miles...i thought i was in shape and ready until Hogeland shows up on his mt.bike and does the entire ride on it....show off ... talk about a guy that is dialed in...geez.

well - great group - a bit blown apart and still it was okay.

ac

ironic

i finally plan to ride on the road - got the front derail working and it rains...LOL. guess we will see what happens. i might just have to fly on the mt bike instead....

Leprechaun

Some pics from this morning's ride with the kids...the posy of ninja cyclists ready to roll out (above)

Ninja Pete leading out to bridge to David (above)

Maria in the lead peleton - enjoying being in front of the boys (above)

Maria enjoying the spoils of hard effort - energy depletion (above)

Heading home - a quick pic of the 4 rowdy bikers (above)

(training ride this afternoon) Thats right - I was zippin through the sticks in my "very loud" green Leprechaun kit today. It got the looks alright...I mean - what do you think when all you see is a big leprechaun comin at cha? It happens to be the most comfortable kit I have - no pain at all. NONE...and that means I will wear it and be happy knowing me arse wont go south in Cheq.

My goal was to get close to 3 hours of riding or 35 miles - either one would work. I forgot to check the clock but google pedometer was clear - 35 miles (give or take a few tenths here and there...) I modified the route that Dahl has set up and added in the trail (up and back) to the Chalet...I think that makes the loop 6.7 miles instead of 4 miles. So I had 3.5 loops and the getting there and going home on the horse trails. I did get stopped by a very nice lady on a 4-wheeler - trail patrol. I knew i was on a hiking trail that specifically said NO BIKES about 10 feet back so I spun around hopped on the bike part - did about half a lap and headed home.

It was hot today - I went through lots of water today and I was amazed that many people dont ride without water...heck...there was this runner on the MTB TT course that was totally spent - sitting in the shade and she looked really bad - I handed off a spare bottle I had and said I would be back around in a bit - hope she is okay - she had 10 miles to go to get home...geez - dehydration is literally a killer. Salt for thought - on the hot century days - we would go through about a gallon and half of liquid - that is close to 15 lbs of fluid lost in 5-6 hours on days like today.

the bike is rather dialed in right now - a few tweaks here and there - and I am ready for the showdown to beat 2:59....goals this week are to ramp up 300 miles ( or hours equivalent) and then spin light with a taper prior to the race.

So today - 12 with the kids and 35 at fast spin interval training....with 3 super-prime hill repeats at the end....that should somewhat tell me that cheq should be okay.... cuz once you add in race day adrenaline - the ability to chase down riders instead of chipmunks - and the faster hard pack of that course (Lord willing) I think i am ready....maybe...lol

now that is green

home made colnago head-tube logo...

shortened handle bars - by three inches

troopers

gearing up the kids for a lap in the park - a pit stop at culvers in the mix - pics to come - I love these days!

Nightswimming

Have had a great time with old friends as of late...no not bikes but actual people rather. I was reminded of REM's Nightswimming song and it brought back memories for sure....like most music does.

I headed to the park for about 12 miles tonight on and off road. The off road part is fun in the dark with a light - it was peaceful and beautiful. this was an evening of bliss and contemplation! To quote Neil - it was a 100% #1 face except when the deer ran out in front of me off road - for a moment it was the #3.... I took it easy and spun light - taking my time....no rush and no need to miss this moment.


ac

18 teeth

Headed to the new super voodoo secret 4 mile MTB loop and met up with Wolk for some laps. we did 4 together and then hit the n.lights loop to finish his ride. he was on his single and me on the 36x18 with the new tires. Much easier and the tires are great - grip and light weight. good stuff. I ended up with one more lap and then biked home for 30 miles today on the faux-colnago.

it was good to ride in the morning and it was a phenomenal day to say the least. All I can say is thank God for good friends and cell phones.

Cant wait for the race - this will be a good one.


Andrew

As a Pancake

That's right...I was flat today...Bob said he was flat in the legs too but I was flatter...I won the pancake contest no problem. I would thus call it the bruised banana contest. Okay, weird how the body works b/c Tuesday I rode 30 then did 22 or so on the trails and I felt 100% better then. So whats the deal? I guess we all have days where nothing goes as planned. I began to search the bike - issues there? Except for heavy tires - nothing wrong so I had to accept the fact that my body wanted to rest while my brain said "go more, you have a race in a few weeks."

I guess resting is a good thing but it seems with taking literally two months off of riding - thank you mr. lower lumbar back problem - I am not where I was last year...in fact 2000 miles off track to be exact. Excuses will harbor determination so I will keep on doing the best I can - but I must remember that I am not a pro....cant be a pro....so why worry about it this much...its cuz I am sitting alone in front of the computer thinking about the day.

So my goals for Cheq - again - finish, finish alive, and I will leave it at finish at least 1 min faster than last year. If I claim a 10 min advance over last year - I will be very happy. I was talking with Bob about gearing and we have been toying with 36x17 and today's events lead us to believe that maybe the 2:1 ratio would be better - still like 58 gear inches and that would be acceptable. I really dont know how Jesse did it with 36x16 and then take Ez Taylor who rides a road gear on his 26"....these guys are monsters to say the least.

Enough of the pitty....on with the events and let the beer caps fall where they may.


ac

thursday - August 28th

going to ride on the trails if anyone is interested in getting their game on for Cheq...it is just around the corner.

i will be at the shop and trying to leave there by 530 or 6 pm...i have to install some new crossmark tires - stans - and it is annoying so it might take a bit of pixy dust to make it work.

andy

maxxis

crossmarks to be added soon - saving a pound of rolling weight.

What about Bob?

So, some of you may ask...heck some dont care [mexican dinner] about "where is the elusive Bob Dahl?" Well, I found this rather hard to find pro-stock phenom. Amidst the clutter of fallen leaves and torn up dirt....there you will find Bob and his single speed.

The day started with my son, Peter, practicing his Judo moves in the living room at 6 am - sound effects and all. With the occasional smack of his hand on something hard - followed with a quiet wince and "wow - that hurt", I kinda found some funny early in the morning. So with him going on for about 15 min, I walked out a bit sleepy and was smacked by what seemed to be our own live in Kato - from the Pink Panther if you are wondering. Seeing that he barely weighs 55 pounds, I was able to man-handle this beast from the nether-regions to the ground and just about tickle the pee right out of him.

He helped me get the bike stuff ready for the commute to work...filled the camel pack, got some goo for the ride and he handed me my helmet as I walked out. Got the high five and the traditional thumbs up from the ninja. Pete told me that he was proud of me and that he tells his friends that "My Dad rides his bike to work - he's a racer." Cute but I am not a racer but I will take the props where I can and I will also soak up the super-dad motif as long as I can.

So I ponied up the single speed Monocog (aka Colnago "Sudden Discomfort") and started down the 15 mile path to work. It seemed more difficult than I remembered over the weekend - I felt like I was pushing steel through my veins....keep going, no time to worry, look at it later. Soaked and sore, I walked into work demolished. Spent the day doing my deal - saving the world I guess - and remembered that Mr. Dahl had asked about riding on the trails tonight. A bit of back and forth and we had it set to meet near territorial and fernbrook about 6 pm. It was a date with mother nature and one gear.

430 rolls around I load up the camel pack, didnt check the bike for the super-slow down, geared up the Irish National Green get-up and headed back to the shop. It seems automatic to always stop at the shop - even if there is no reason. Well, as fate would have it, I did have a reason once I got there - I turned off the headphones to hear my brakes making noise. The front caliper was jammed against the pad - so 25 miles I was pushing the brakes. Quick adjust and it was free of undo friction. By the time I got to territorial I figured I was at about 30 miles and Bob was no where to be found....quick call and he was already heading down the trail so he doubled back. We met, shared stories about the bikes - both Redlines but his is the fancy one (flight model) and the coooool looking blue. I shared the story about the colnago crap and that also I had received some flak for it already at the shop - someone I didnt know - in that "he didnt like it and that I was a poser for doing what I did..." LOL - ROFL - Are you kidding me? were my thoughts...my goodness, its just a bike and its not like Colnago would EVER build such a bike anyway - I guess he was serious so it seems....to each there own. All I can say and I should have said "revert to Rule #6 and chill out - doorknob. "

Back to what really mattered....So Bob and I head to a 4 mile loop that was perfect for training on Cheq...impressive. we ended up doing 4 laps and then about 1 mile of the 5th and I headed home from the MTB TT loop.... I am guessing at 53 miles or so for the day on the mt bike....and Bob doesnt ride slow. He will do well in Cheq this year on his single.

Eggs and toast for recovery, apple as well and some electrolytes for dessert. Once again a great day. Thanks Bob for emerging from the sacred training grounds to let the newbie roll which-ya.

andy (aka the Poser)

For Neil - as you would appreciate this humor..as would most...enjoy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KF5vlT01JNc

Sudden Discomfort

The Master himself and my fresh rig

Applying the stuff

Done

Riding down Cty N - to Coon Valley - spectacular!

Riding back up - spectacular in a different way

At the top on the way home - looking back

Next morning at Pete's shop - Bluedog cycle

Pete helping out with my bike

Ready to ride....

At the base of Sadi Hallow

At the top of south side of Sadi

Weekend in LaCrosse.

I had plans for this monster epic ride of 100 plus...and thanks to various obligations, time crunches and not enough hours in the day - I was limited to a few rides. Friday I got off work and headed to Terry Osells place to pick up the newly painted Monocog - even Terry was skeptical but when it was done - he was impressed with the color. I was too - it looked good as is and when I showed him the things I was going to try - he was excited. His shop is impressive - certainly a one of a kind.

After talking over coffee with Terry and killing about an hour sitting on his shop floor talking about bikes, wives, favorite jokes and other foolhardy topics - I headed to LaCrosse. Got in late and started work on the application of signage to the new bike. I was a bit nervous b/c I had only one shot with the Colnago stuff - but it worked and I was getting excited. Once that was done I headed to bed to get a jump on an early morning ride up the valley south of town - Irish Hill we call it. 630 i was out the door and by 7am I was at the hill making my way up...I forgot how stiff of a climb that hill is. Then I proceeded to go to Coon Valley by way of Cty Rd N - which is a 8-10% drop into that city...that was fast...then I headed due east of Coon Valley and up the coulee again - and that hill trumped Irish hill...spun around and reversed the ride. LOTS of climbing that day and it was max heart rate the whole way. I pushed and did well and was glad to see the fitness was there.

Once home - we took the family to Rudy's Drive-In for lunch, got home and I headed to Viroqua to build the bike at Bluedog Cycles...3 hours and 5 beers later, the bike was done - we had to work around customers and such. Met Chris Jackson and his brother there - Chris owns Borah and lives 6 miles away - he was buying a bike from Pete...super nice guy. Headed home late and then headed back in the morning for some rather intense single track in Sadi Hallow. I have never really done single track and nothing like this before. It was scary - the fitness was there but the wits were not - I wiped a few times and about shat myself too. We did 3.5 hours of single track and about 3000 feet of climbing on my single. Once done there - hit Culvers and then spent some time with Pete and his family.

All in all - great weekend...road miles about 60 and mtbike miles...I have no idea...all big hills.

Lots of pics - wasnt going to play around with uploading all of them.


Andy