Crytal Ridge

First Race back after TR3 and I felt good. Despite the 92 degree hot and very sunny day, things went well. I felt strong again on the bike and I was climbing well too. The start to this race is on an up hill that usually gets me a little winded, but I took off and had no problems giving it an extra push to the single track. This put me in a good spot for the rest of the race.

On the first lap we had a shortened lap (commonly called a prologue) that had very limited single track then right into another long climb (For Wisconsin). I felt great going up that as well. I just keep the gas on the entire race, I decided not to pace at all and give it 100% in hopes not to blow up before the end.

I ended up in 5th, the guy in 4th place was always in my sights and he even told me after the race that he was keeping an eye on me and every time he thought I dropped he would see me coming. I saw him up ahead and I was working hard to pull him in but just didn't have the gas on Sunday. Maybe next race.

Off to the Sawtooth mountains to get away this weekend, can't wait!

See yeah.

Home and Well

Stayed tuned for a full report on the entire TR3 Experience next week. It was a Great time.

Transportation over the continental

Long day.

5:18 hour in the saddle and a lot of climbing. Jess is making some dinner and I may just pass out afterwards. Today was much more fun then yesterday. Better tires, less mud and the climbs were longer but not as hard.

Couldn't wait for one of these!

It was a long hard race today. It rained all night and was still raining when I started at 10:20 this morning. The mud on flat sections were harder then the climbing today. Might go get some different tires.

Sexy!!

If that doesn't say sexy what does?

The Views from our Hostel

Fernie BC is very beautiful here mountains surrounds the town. We are just relaxing today, get registered for the race and may go check out the first climb on the first stage.

Breakfast in North Dakota

First off, I would like to send out a HUGE thanks to all of you who have supported the Endurance Trust this year on my behalf.

You can follow along the big event for 2010. Tomorrow, Jess Kruchoski (one of my Endurance Trust teammates) and I are driving to Fernie, British Columbia to compete in the three-day TransRockies stage race. The event courses through the Canadian Rockies starting Sunday and will finish on Tuesday. Each day, we will complete a separate stage that will eventually bring us over the continental divide.

One of our team product sponsors is a company called “SPOT.” They make GPS transmitters that send signals to some satellite in outer space. The satellite then sends the signal back to a web-page in real time so that at any moment, you can tell where the receiver is. (A lot of wives have thought about sneaking one of these into their husband’s golf bag). Still…I thought since many of you personally supported the phenomenal cause that we are racing for, I would send out the link so that you can “check in” to see if Mark and I survive this madness. We’ll be driving straight to Fernie, leaving tomorrow evening and our first survival will be making it to Canada in 24 straight hours. Second, since the race organizers sent out a mandatory requirement for all athletes to have a can of bear spray with them during the event, this race may have a few nuances I am not used to. If you see the locater beacon moving erratically through the woods, I am either in the jaws of a grizzly or just hypoxic. The transponder will show where we are on a rolling 24 hours. I’ll shut it off when we are sitting still but will throw it in my pocket when we are on the move. Fun huh? The start time for Sunday’s initial stage is yet to be determined but the stage on Monday and Tuesday will start at 9 AM Mountain Standard Time.

Here’s the link:

http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0UqVllG1XuPMekTU35hluOqESSmHQRNrX

Again…thanks for your support in 2010 and wish us luck. If you have any interest in supporting the Endurance Trust or learning a little about the non-for-profit organization we race for, the link is below. Take care.

http://www.firstgiving.com/markbalkenende

Meaning for the last Picture

The picture of the bear holding bear spray is because the race in Canada we have to carry bear spray with us on the coarse. So, I have visions of bears fighting back, they don't want to be sprayed any more then we do, they don't even want to eat us, they just want to be left alone. Let's hope we don't need it!

Fighting Back