Flying up the hills

Sutcliffe, Zwettler, Pinnacle, Roelke, Reeve and Midland.
360 Modena minding its own business at the ride.

Oh, yeah. You know it. Like my ass is on fire and the water is at the top.

Right.

I had one brief moment of pride when a skinny focker tried passing me on Zwettler in his 39x24. I was seated in my 39x19 in a nice tempo at a raging 5 mph. He got 6 or so bike lengths ahead and I decided to get on his wheel. It hurt like hell but I got out of the saddle and passed him before the crest and didn't look back. Which was good for my ego, because he'd stopped to wait for the rest of his group...

Earlier I set a new downhill PR for a descent not part of an actual mountain range. 54 mph was the recorded max, I looked down at 51 and thought that I'd be better off looking down the road instead of at my Avocet 40.



Dammit.
A few weeks ago I tried going for a ride on Donna, the bike on loan from Russell. I got to the bike path and the rear wheel made a noise and acted like I'd broken a spoke. I was close, I'd broken the hub. Oops. So she's wearing the Bullseye hub wheel now.

After the Black Earth WNBR a rider returned to his shiny red car. Despite all the coolness of owning a Ferrari he had to have a friend with a station wagon carry his off the rack Trek to and from the ride. Some people just don't get it.

Just a V-8 in the back.

No room for junk in the trunk. But there is room for the beer cooler, helmet and shoes.


I wonder, are speed bumps a problem?


I was shaking the camera. It may have gotten my pulse up higher than the climb up Pinnacle Road.

Sunday I heard this Ferrari two blocks away. I thought it was going faster than it was.


I'm not sure what it was, but it was Red.Okay, I'll admit a hand crafted sports car is cool. Still, if you cough up $150,000 for a Ferrari you can have your friend bring a custom bike of your choosing to the ride. 'Cuz if you're happy with that off the rack Trek (not even a Madone!) I'll let you have my Jetta and I'll take the Ferrari off your hands.

Y'all ain't from around here, is ya?

No, this isn't northern Italy, it is southern Mazomanie.If you're in western Dane County I highly recommend riding this route. The climbing is plenty long enough 

The faces of Dr Jekyl & Mr Hyde

Photos by Velogrrl

It's a dog eat, um, er...

With the wrist on the mend and the legs stiff from crashing in the "Mr Hyde" section of the EC trail I took Monday off from football (antpa-s). 

Wednesday night was the usual journey west for the WNBR group ride with Liz, Dan, Woody, Steve and about 150 others. We departed Brigham County Park and were enjoying a benign route during the first 10 miles. At the top of a climb I found myself alone So I pulled the cue sheet and route map from my jersey and hooked a U-turn to wait for Karen. The whole time there was this obviously agitated and drunk woman with two dogs in her front yard berating and yelling obscenities at the riders as they passed. I tuned her out and referenced the map while rolling. As I did this I failed to notice a black dog run up behind me. Next thing I know I've been bit just below the left knee and I'm bleeding from the wound.
Fangs for the MemoriesOddly, I wasn't pissed off. I wasn't thrilled, but the owner's behavior warranted action. I had forgotten my cell phone so I borrowed another rider's and called 911. After reporting the bite and requesting a Deputy respond I whipped out the camera and set it to video and began recording. Once I can edit it down from the almost 30 minutes I'll post it up. It's mildly entertaining.

Me at the Dr Jekylphoto by Liz Braun

After waiting an eternity for the Deputy to show I sent the group ahead while I finished with the Deputy. I took a short cut which resulted in two steeper climbs but I was able to come out just behind the group.  It was after 9 pm when we returned to the park. So it took 3+ hours to ride 25 miles. Some dog's people.
Sunset over Western Dane County

An "Innie"

An "Outie"

Shock Stall

I suppose I should do a race report. I have done some racing, but nothing exceptional or even average. So here's what I've done so far.

May 31st- Rhinelander/Crystal Lake Classic
DNF in Open SS. With no real training I shouldn't have expected to finish. My lower back was giving me grief so I pulled the plug halfway through the first lap.

June 20th/21st- Mt Morris/Subaru Cup
DNF in Open SS XC. My back was fine, but my legs were dead. I wanted to suffer through anyway but the Fe+ had other ideas. A bent pin in the rear brake resulted in a pad dropping every few bumps. At first it was just noisy but it began to cause friction and literally a drag. As this is going on my rear tire pressure was too low resulting in burping of the tire. About halfway through the first lap I hit a corner and burped about half my 30 psi. The combination of the two had my mind made up to DNF. As I rolled around the corner to turn in my back tag at the finish chute the remaining pressure burped and I was on my rim.

4th in Open SS Super D. Not as grand as it sounds, there were only 4, still 90% of most things involve just showing up. Even then I showed up late. Don put me in with a later wave and I let them get in front of me so I wouldn't harsh their ride. 2/3rds of the way down my grip/hand/brake caught a tree and I shoulder planted into the ground. It mostly knocked the wind out of me but it took a minute to catch my breath. Oh yea, and somewhere on the trail I broke a spoke on the rear wheel. I didn't notice it until later that evening when I was unpacking the bike.

4th in Open SS Short track. Same as before but I showed up on time. I really like the course and I look forward to being in shape the next time I do Mt Morris.

July 5th- Eau Claire Firecracker
17th in Open SS XC. The heat wasn't a factor, my back was fine, I had a good gearing but I lacked conditioning. I hung onto the back of the field for most of the first lap and then I landed on my wrist in the Dr Jekyl & Mr Hyde section. It was fine for the rest of the race but it's swollen now and a bit stiff. No pain though. Half a lap later my legs bailed and I decided to survive the lack of strength and consider it a training ride. After looking at the results there was at least one person having as bad a day as me and he was on a multispeed roughly 2 minutes behind me. Still, he finished too.

Thanks to Kid Rock for fixing my brake. Thanks to Russell for counting laps. Thanks to Cupcake for saving a spot for the camper. Thanks to TmonT for the camaraderie. Thanks to lots of others for lots of other things.

I needed to get up anyway

7:05 and my OCD neighbor across the street is running his weed whacker, mower and leaf blower.

10 more days 'til Bastille Day!

I love Independence Day, too bad it's half way through the month. The Bonjour's will be back from Colorado so we'll do it right. Fireworks, a mock storming of the county jail, and beheading a few Barbies.

Tomorrow I'll be headed up to the Eau Claire version of Don's Flying Circus. I'm bringing the grill, brats and pork chops that have been marinating in Sprecher Root Beer BBQ Sawse and some other "hotter & spicier" BBQ sawse. If'n others want something else grilled for their dietary needs ya'll'd better bring it for a cook out Saturday evening. Afterwards the plan is to head into Eau Claire to the Cold Stone Creamery for dessert. Then back to camp for the movie and viewing of EC's fireworks.

Beat-down?

Or is it simply "beat down?"


Monday's football game was painful. We were a step behind Madison United all 90 minutes. I saw limited time, but when I was on the field I was barely able to keep up with whichever Forward while they had the ball. They're idea of fitness is a few levels above mine and most of my team's. We kept it close most of the match but in the end we lost 5-3.

Running isn't so bad, I need to drop some mass if I'm to gain a step. It should help with cycling as well.

Ah, cycling. I did some of that this week. Wednesday evening was the group ride from Mt Horeb. Everything south of town is hilly so I wasn't disappointed. Most of the people who attend aren't racers so I took off when I was ready and rode solo again. While last week was in the low 90's for temp, this week Canada had an influence on the temps. It was 62 when I left in my sleeveless jersey and bibs. Everyone else, and I do mean everyone, had their spring riding gear on in an effort to stay warm. Tights, arm warmers, jackets and even thermal caps. Wimps. On the outer edge of the "long loop" I took a side trip for an interesting grind up a grade slightly longer than a mile. I had been refraining from dropping the chain any further up the cassette than the 3rd cog (I think that's a 21 or a 19t) and my legs were complaining by the time I hit 30 miles. I noodle'd in just as Liz and Dan were getting a picnic table set up to celebrate their friend Steve's birthday. They shared a burger and cake and had a good post-ride relaxation.