TreadFest - Lake Geneva

Well, I was really hoping for a strong race at LG this past Sunday because I am in a close battle with the guy in 4th place in my age group in the Comp Class. I think I really needed to beat him today and on the last race of the year.

I started feeling strong but about 2 miles in my stomach started to turn and I felt sick to my stomach. I think I drank to much sports drink before the race. I suffered like this for 2 laps before I could get some water instead of sports drink. By the time my stomach felt better I was very far behind and my legs started to cramp up. It was a disaster for sure.

I came in 9th place, two spots behind the dude I need to beat and a huge 17 minutes back from the leader. I hope I have a better last race, but for now it looks like I am in 5th place for Comp this year.

Crystal Ridge

Well, all I can say for myself this past weekend was I was the product of traffic jams in the race. I felt great, I put good tires on and I never went down because of the tires (or at all)! The bike was working good, I was climbing great. So how did I finish 7th and 8 minutes back???

I just couldn't get around slower riders on trail in the single track sections which made up about 5 miles of the 7 mile loop. I was constantly waiting for any kind of opening to get around slower riders! I was actually wanting to get to the climbs because I could pass people, I NEVER LOOK FORWARD to a CLIMB!!!!

Oh well, still feel like I am getting stronger, now I just need to be in the right spot at the beginning of the race so I don't have to wait for slower people..

Check out the News Coverage from Milwaukee Station FOX 6

Well, I was so close to a metal today, so close that when they first posted the results I was in 4th just getting on the podium, but when the gave out the metals I wasn't called up so I had to go look and find out I was bumped to 5th! Still a great results, could have been better but I went down again today. Time for some new tires, these are just not cutting it on race day!

I am getting much better and faster, now I just need to keep both wheels on the ground!

(Road race was to tough, didn't finish but I am racing next Saturday morning so we'll see if I get better results)

Getting ready!

Time for some road racing & here is my number for super week races. Course is challenging Up hill on the front side and fast down hill on the backside right into a hard left turn. We'll see!

First SuperWeek Race

Road race this morning then off to pre ride MTB Course

Fire Cracker!

Well, all I can say about the race this weekend is "Pre-Ride"! There is something to be said about the pre-ride, because you know what to expect and where to expect it. On the first lap, I was taking a corner that turned out to be much sharper then I thought and I washed out on my side and the guy behind me rode over my arm and face. Luckily I was OK for the most part, but, the bike wasn't so good. The rear derailleur was pushed all the way into my spokes. So, I did the only thing you can do out on the trail, I grabbed it and bent it back out and tried to get it as straight as I could, but this is a huge gamble because you can easily brake the hanger off the bike. So, I didn't want to try and get to straight. But I did get it good enough to ride and find a couple gears to ride.

I lost several spots messing around with the bike, but once I found the right gears I started cranking. I started to pass people in the final lap and I was feeling strong. But with the major time loss of the crash, I came in at 11th in my age group and 57th overall.

Fitness

So, it's always good to see progress while working hard on something. This week, I rode in the group ride from the Alberto's bike shop in Highland Park, which I do frequently on Tuesday nights because it's a good measure against other riders that are much stronger then me.



The last couple times in May that I rode on the Alberto's ride, I could not keep up (I was "Dropped") as they powered up a long inclining road call St Marys RD. This week, after a race weekend, I was half expecting the same, to get dropped. However, I attended the ride anyway in hopes I would feel good. Well, I felt great!



I stayed in the group, I even bridged some gaps for dudes in front of me dropping off the pace. I was able to get up front and do some work, I stayed with the pack during hard fast sprints. I wasn't at all tired or winded. Damn that feels great!

No rain but it's wet and cold. Feels like feb

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Race # 2 For Me

Well, lets see if I can pull another good finish out this Sunday. I had a good week of training which means I am a little tired. I will rest up tomorrow and get plenty of sleep before the race. The plan is to drive up to a friends house early Sunday morning in Milwaukee area then ride to the race from there with him. (Save some gas money)

Not expecting huge results yet this early but we'll see what happens. I will update Sunday after the race.

First race in the books!

7th place & I felt good.

First Race - Iola

Well, the first race is upon us and I am not %100 ready but I will be there by the start of June. With my training plan this year this is a very early race and I am giving this one very low priority. That means I am going to show up at Iola and just ride a hard training ride and hopefully get some points for the team.

I will let you know how it goes!

Iowa City Road Race

Well, it was a long cold race weekend in Iowa City this past weekend. Saturday was a wet cold rainy road race. The morning got started out with some poor directions provided for the race start location. We showed up about 20minutes before my race started, thanks to Paula and Aimee, I successfully got on the start line prior to the whistle sounding, wouldn't have made it without them. The race started out easy, I stayed back in the pack to let my legs get warmed up. The race was two laps 13 miles each. On the start of the second lap the pack accelerated a little and dropped the four guys directly in front of me, I tried to get around and make the gap back but never made the bridge. The second 13 miles was a lonely solo ride to the finish at 25th place.

Sunday was calling for Rain so I have a few beers thinking I would not be racing. (7 to be exact) Sunday morning was some what dry when we woke up so I put on the race gear and headed out to the Crit. As I was getting warmed up it down poored for about 10 minutes, just enough to completely soak the pavement. I reluctantly started the race, wet pavement is very dangerous conditions for a Crit style race, people are very likely to crash on corners. And as always on the second lap 3 guys went down in front of me and I had to come to almost a complete stop, the lead pack was gone by the time I cleared the carnage. So no finish posted for Sunday as the lapped me and pulled me.

Aimee's a Climber!

Watch out boys.... just got back from my first ride with Aimee and she can climb!! She was breaking on the climbs because I was going to Slow!

Bikes are all Ready

Question is which one should I ride and will I be ready?!

It's Looking Like a.....

Bike!

Looks like 15th place

The second race was just as cold as the first. Not bad for early season race.

First Race of the day

13th place in race number one for the day!

If the weather holds I race again @ 12:10

First Planned Road Race (Crit)

2nd Annual BURNHAM RACING - SPRING SUPER CRITERIUM

Presented by

Burnham Racing

South Beloit, IL

Saturday, March 28, 2009

If the weather is dry I am racing 2 races this Saturday in Beloit, which is about an hour from home, maybe a little more. These are test races to get a feel how I match to others and how I feel in Race pace. It's still very early so I don't have very high expectation.

The two races are Clif Bar Men's 4/5 Killer B's & Goose Island Masters 30+ Men 4/5. The difference is the race with "Masters" is for only 30+ age group, so no little youngsters to cause crashes, (that's an unfair stereo type) which means the one that doesn't say "Masters" will include ages 17 and up. The other difference is the youngsters take off a lot faster then the masters. At the word GO they are going at 110% of their fastest. Much harder pace to keep up. Masters we start out at 80% of our fastest (usually) and build through out the race.

Hope for good weather!

2009 Jerseys

Testing the Blog from the

Testing the Blog from the phone. Then I can post results from the phone

Last Week of Base

When training for endurance sports, a common method is called periodization where the training is broken into specific time periods (usually weeks) that focus on different levels of volume and intensity of the workouts.

Typically the first period is called "Base" which you build a base fitness. The Base period is about higher volume of riding with lower intensity. The Base period can last from 8-12 weeks. This week is my last week and next week is a rest and recover week to get ready for the next period.

The next period is the "Build" period where you start adding higher intensity work outs. During the Build period I will be increasing my fitness level to be as strong and fit leading into early May time frame. Build period leads into "Race" Period and ultimately the "Peak" Period of the season.

Thanks SRAM and the Grass Roots Program

Thanks to Aaron for getting the team hooked up with the SRAM Grass Roots program this year. I took full advantage of the program. SRAM is the best MTB Components for sale in the industry (in my opinion).

My 2009 project is a 29er hardtail. As a reminder to those that know more about bikes then me, this Blog is meant for my family that are not "Bike Nerds". Most Mountain Bikes are build for wheels that are 26 inches in diameter, a new fade is to use 29 inch wheels. 29ers are suppose to be a faster and smoother ride. Also a 29er is suppose to be good for the taller riders like myself.
Stan's NoTube custom wheels with DT Swiss hubs. I am doing my part for the economy!

The Competition

If you can't beat them then try and fat'en up a little to even the playing field!

Hold a Party so that he eats junk or go to a Black Hawks game and get a burger that will add 2 LBS to him the next day!

2009 Season Not Far Away

March is half over and the training is in full swing. I road 6 plus hours between Saturday and Sunday this past weekend, and Next weekend calls for the same.

I have decided not to race road for the Endeavour Team, I am going to race unattached, meaning I will not give my points to anyone. I am planning on still racing on the road this year, and am working on moving from a category 5 to category 4 maybe a 3.

For the Mountain Bike racing I have decided to race another year on the Guinness Bike team. The team is being lead by yet a different person this year. I wasn't sure if I wanted to stick with them mostly because the team is being managed by a guy in Peoria that I don't know very well. A few of the guys I know and train with are still on the team so I will stay. I was again tough, because I still get a lot of support from my good friends out of Green Bay, and I was leaning to going back to Shawn's team this year.

I am also building a new Mountain Bike for racing this year. I am going to go back to racing a hardtail (no rear shock) this year. Last year my two strongest races were on my old hardtail. I have also decide to go with the new 29er type of bike. (Will explain more later).

I want to update my blog more often for everyone this year so stay toned.

Here is to a good year!