Hillsided

A weekend of bikes and all in Black and White.  Sophia and I headed up to the Cites on saturday to meet up with a good number of Hollywood Cycles Team Members.  We all met up at the Murphy Harehan trail parking lot and geared up to ride.. The ride broke up into a his and hers rides, and the Pip was floating back and forth between the groups enjoying a new trail to ride. Fun ripping single track with teammates and new faces.

We stayed with the Bauer's which made it so it was not a three hour drive to the race on sunday.  We hug out and swapped stories and shared battle scars. Beers were drank and names were called,,,fun was had by all. Some dinner at the Burger Jones with the Woods. Great food and great people, perfect way to get ones self ready for racing the next day. 

Woke up sunday to rain showers...we have not seen any rain all summer and it always manages to rain on or near race day.  Knowing that the trails would shed water I was not to worried about the tires on my bike. Rolling in the to the parking lot first thoughts were that this is going to be sloppy, but after walking some of the trails I could see that it was going to be hero dirt. 

At the line Brendan, Jessie, and Michael were not present so I got to hit the line 1st. I had the spot that I wanted ......to help get off clean.. 

I did Paul Hanson went to the front followed by SKJ. Just before we hit the power line climb coming off the Road I heard a loud noise behind me.. Carbon and Aluminum were being ground into the dirt as Heath and Hollywood got tangled up and hit the ground.  With the bit of gap behind the three of us we hit the climb hard. Up around and back down to the road to the Single of section 3 to finish the prolog.  Lap one set up pretty standard as the first two pushed on,, I sat in knowing it was going to be a long race. Was able to open up a bit of a gap in lap 2 working with Sturgis Dave zipping and flying around the corners. Lap three was more of the same for the most part riding by my self with some chasing but never closing in. I could see Dave and Owen up a head but was not able to cut the time down.  Crossed the line with my best finish of the season 5th and 19 seconds behind Owen 3rd..

I was a great weekend and a really good race...I fell like things are going well for me a lot of hard work and practice is paying off. More racing on the way and many many more miles to go.

I am not a NuMbEr

It is all a numbers game,, miles ridden,,power,,and watts,,hours,,Calories,,heat rate,, and where you finish. 

I look at some of those numbers and ignore a lot of the other ones.  This week has been the smallest 

amount of miles since January. A bit of rest and time off the training program,,with back to back races and tons of heat.  I did get out on tuesday and for a max style effort 22.8 miles in 61 minutes. Good number, and good work for the heat of the day.. Other than that just some easy days and a nice road ride after work yesterday. 

A week or five days off the Mountain Bike,, due to the lack of brake pads which was the undoing of my race on sunday. But as always Magura came through and this afternoon I got my little Black Spot all back up and running. Now time to load up the racing bags and get ready for the weekend. 

Tood Bauer Photo

Going to head up to the Twin Cites tomorrow to ride with the Hollywood Crew for a little Black and White single track party before heading up to the race on sunday. 

I am hoping that I can finally put together a complete race and better my last few standing.. Their it is again Numbers.  Song #1 is not an FU song. 

HaRd On

I am hard on gear,,yep I said that.... When I was a kid my dad use to say it is not built well

unless it is devinproof.. I seemed to blow things out months if not years before 

they were supposed to break. It started with Sk8te boards and shoes,,damn I went through tons 

of skate shoes,,always had shoe goo around the house. Then came ski gear,, I was blowing out the tips on my Heat Freestyle skis sometimes twice a season, part due to being a hack and the other part growing up skiing on boiler-plate. 

Then along came bikes,,, for years I just dealt with gear being sub par, or just not working.. I had my Gary Fisher for only a few weeks back in 92 when I bent the fork at my first ever race at Highland Hills. Remember taking the bike back in to Ski Hut and Mike Z just laughing as he sold me a suspension fork to replace my bent rigid steel fork. 

In the 20 years that have pass I have burned through tons and tons of parts and tires, and no

longer knocking on the neighbors door seeing if their was any bit hanging out in the garage or storage shed. But or should I say butt i am still hard On my bib shorts. I have sat through or just worn a hole in more than my fair share of Bibs. Never really a tear in the fabric just the constant pressure of ass in saddle.

My wife reminds me that I spend more time in my shorts and in the saddle than maybe intended by deign. But more than a year would be awesome. Fabric wears gloves,,shorts,, liners of Helmets,,etc. 

Thankfully now in my cycling life I have some amazing sponsors that make sure that my gear is new and in

proper shape so I can worry about lining up and going fast, and not have to worry about where the next bit of gear is coming from.. Am I going to sew up my kit and keep rocking the most kick-ass-kit ever,,Yep you know it. 

Ass the boss would say Party On!

NFA

Buck Hill,, not only is it a Replacements song and a spot where I ski raced some twenty years ago.

It is also home of the Buck Hill Bump race part of the Minnesota Mountain Bike Series.  The locals race here every Thursday night during the summer and most of them can race this with their eyes closed.  I was able to get a pre ride in with the kid which was good as the course had changed ever so slightly from years past. Good flow and fast,,it was going to be some where between a 13 to 15 minute lap. Again had a great start hitting the single track in 4th/3rd to the climb and sat here through the first lap,, Then Owen came around on his One By,, kid is riding strong and I was able to stay with  him for a bit but by this point i was starting to have some stopper issues. 

Quick back story on this,,, I have needed some new brake pads for a few weeks but have been able to pump my levers to build pressure and stop and slow the way that I needed,, but as the race progressed I started to pull the lever to the bar and barley slow.. This made my approach more interesting as the twisty single track became harder to charge. 

That said I kept the hammer down and lap three Teammate Barry again on a single came around and I was able to stick with for a bit but was struggling in the single track to pass the lap traffic. Lap for Paul had recovered and came around I had nothing and was a bit overwhelmed by the heat but had to keep pushing on, Last lap and Heath was charging,,, I told him he is now the Shark once he smells blood he is on fire. I was able finish out the lap and come in 7th, good race ok result was having a good day and could have been better. The fitness is their and we have another one coming this weekend so need to keep things on track. 

Huge thanks to all my sponsors who make sure that I have the gear that I need and help power me on. 

And a huge thanks to my family and extend black and white family,,could not do it with out you all.

rAnDoM AcTs

It has been a bit of a tough week,, I think that I burned or suffered through the effects of burnout at the beginning of the week.  After overCooking my self last weekend and being just flat on tuesday it was a real up and down week.=

Todd @ the Almanzo 100

In the middle of the week we get the news that Hollywood Racer, Series Photographer, and all around Good Guy Todd Bauer  had a Hart Attack. He had gotten done riding with his boys last sunday in some good nasty heat and just never felt right. After going through some if not all the symptoms he made it to the ER to have a stint put in. He is recovering and on the single track back to good health. Just Freaking scary to see a young healthy strong man go down this way.  His boys Josh and Jake will be at the race tomorrow and flying for dad.

Tomorrow,, totally forgot about this.. Buck Hill is a small ski hill located in the southern burbs of the twin cities. This is the home to ski racing greats in the winter and legendary XC racing in the summer. I did not know about it growing up but they were racing there as early as the 1990's if not before.   It is 2.87 miles around and just under 350 feet of climbing every lap,,, I know this on paper does not sound like much,, but we do it 6 times at redline pace. Winning time will be around one hour, and for all the locals they race this every thursday in the summer.  It is short and it hurts and it is a lot of driving for such a short race.....But it is part of the series and classic, and will be a great bit of practice for the Subaru Cup.

The work is done and the bike is clean.. Time for some good dinner a bit of rest and the hope for fast legs. On this afternoons ride with Pip I realized that we have 4 races in the next 5 weeks. Lot more work will need to be done and being smart about rest will be important.

Now please get out and ride your bike and commit random acts of senseless KINDNESS to others!!

OverCooked

I think that I may have over cooked my self on sunday with my double up rides.

I did make sure that I was hydrated and have the best recovery products on the market from Pacific Health Labs. Even with all the fluids and an easy day yesterday due to extreme heat, I thought I would feel better than I did. At 5AM it was already 76 degrees out and I set off for what I hoped would be a good ride for me. I was able to generate some good power just could not sustain, and the numbers my HRM was show was telling me that a bit of relax time would be in order. 

I think that tomorrow will be nothing more than commuting to work,, that way I can watch the early coverage of the tour as they hit the Big Mountains.  Sunday at Buck is going to be hot and it is going to be red line racing from the start to the end.. Not my favorite being so short and violent,,but then add the heat and the fact that 99% of the guys racing race it every Thursday night in the summer.

Regardless it will be another good day of training/racing and then a short week with racing the following at Elk River.  Before I know it the Subaru Cup will be here and much pain will be will be felt.   

Anna is tough as nails and loves the heat she is out again tonight riding in the sweltering heat.. 

Not this guy some time on the floor stretching and to bed early. We may get cool enough tomorrow night to sleep with the windows open which would be a treat. 

SeVeNtEeN

Watched bike racing this morning while eating breakfast and drinking coffee. 

This years tour has been good but I am starting to loose interest.  I have a hard time believing that 

no one can take the yellow or pose a threat to Wiggo.  Is he going to hold it for two weeks?

This sitting behind the Sky Train and watching the race unfold is getting boring.

The big hills are coming again on Wednesday... I hope for fireworks. 

Kid turned 17 today,,

Crazy to me to think that she is that old and that I met her mother 

when she was 17,, This fall will be 20 years of me and Anna,,

All so crazy.

Pip had no interest in riding so I was all alone, for a good hard ride in the woods. 

I have been fighting a blister on my little toe on the right side,

It can make flying through the woods pretty hard. Any other toe minus the big one and it would

not be an issue, but the little ones do a lot of work in a shoe when riding the 1 track. 

When I got home it was almost hard to walk.  Got cleaned up and grabbed my back up Northwave shoes and felt how they fit.. Being less roomy in the toe box it felt somewhat better. 

So I made the decision to get back out on the road bike for a while.. Both bikes were cleaned so why not ride. Off to ride some hills in the neighbor hood.. 29 miles and 2200 feet of climbing in some 95+ heat.. Foot still not that happy but will have to work through,, Racing next weekend and then 

again the following weekend,, So blister or no blister I will just have to tell it to shut up.

If"n"

I have been enjoying all the tour coverage,, and from time to time I find

my self in customers homes and people that you would never think watching the big show. 

Most say they have no Idea what is going on they just like the views of the countryside, and then they fill my head with questions about Lance. So many questions about lance.. I have started to wounder 

if the by should not listen to Mike and the Bike any more. Only on the grounds that this guy that he falls a sleep to every night has to moral integrity. Maybe he does ,,, maybe all this in the press is 

false and maybe he is innocent,, That one is a hard one to believe. 

Missed out on the ride this morning was all dressed and ready to go,,,stepped outside to see dark clouds looming,, so I pulled the plug. My wife said it is unlike me to not ride in the rain,, think that it was an excuse to not ride,, was not really into it this morning. 

Had a great day on Wednesday with a  strong ride in the AM followed by a ride after dinner on

the single track.. Nothing like riding some dirt,, or Moon Dust here due to lack of rain,, to cleanse the soul,, or my Dark heart. 

Going to be a warm weekend and I am on call,, so it will be a trick to get in what I want to do.   

Dire Ride

I think that my energy is still zapped from last week and not the cool kind of Zapped like the 

great 80's movie with Charles in Charge and his dorky buddy. It is wednesday and all I want to do is get out on my Mountain Bike but for once we are busy enough at work that by the time I am home and dinner is made I am done. I did get out for the 5 AM train yesterday and for what ever reason instead of sitting in and just spinning I felt the need to push the pace,, I felt that for the rest of the day again just tired and needing to rest. I don't feel like i have been over doing it when it comes to riding my weekly totals are lower than normal,, Pretty sure it is a combo of out of whack sleep and again to beat a dead horse last weeks heat. 

But that is why we set goals and try to stick to them,, so today after all is done at the shop and here at the house I want to get on my little black spot and hit the woods even if it is only for an hour or so. 

I think that some good simple single track riding will make all better. 

In the meantime I am going to take the Road machine up the 30% grade through the quarry to 

get to work,, at least that will wake me up and get me ready for what every crap comes my 

way today in the broken down appliance world.   

Up

Some much needed relief from the oppressive heat came this weekend as the 

family and I took the house on wheels up to Duluth Mn for some R&R and some bike racing. 

We were in the grips of a heat wave all of last week,, then pile on the holiday and a visit from 

my folks who were displaced due to wild fires out west and once again the heat we were ready to get out of town. 

The drive up north on friday we watched the temps continue to drop,, by the time we made it up to

the campsite the temps had dropped 30+ degrees. Good food an great sleep got the kid and my self ready for a pre-ride and then a good hike along the north shore.

The new course was a good one and was going to send us up on a bunch of new single track with less ski trail which was good by me,, It was somewhat early on saturday when we rode and the trail was still a touch wet from rains the day before,,but the ground was soon to dry out. 

Race day brought almost perfect conditions with dry-tacky dirt and not a lick of mud to speak of.. The call ups were given and the local Duluth riders were licking their lips to whip up on us people from the south. 

Jessie took the lead up the road and I sat and waited for the jump from SKJ right at the start of the single track. The three up front had a gap and were gone in a blink..  My goal was to go as hard as I could and try to create some gaps behind me,,, as the end of the first lap came I could see that was not working well as 3 sat on my wheel waiting to pounce. At the start of lap two Olsen, Mcfadden and young Michael came around and fought back to get on some wheels.. I was able to bring Todd back but Trevor put in a surge and I just needed to sit and recover from the first lap. Nearing the top of lap 2 Luke Nelson as he has before this year was riding strong and came around I tried to stay with but to no avail. Lap 3 saw more of the same lots of climbing and wicked fun descents. Popping out on to ski trail on the last lap I saw young Michael and charged to get on his wheel. I rode with him hoping I could sit and jump when the time was right,, but got caught up in some lap traffic and lots the wheel.. 

I crossed the line in 7th place and missed 5th by only 30 some seconds,, I had a good ride and I know that I could go better.. Bike body and mind all rode well and thanks to my family and all the great sponsors that keep me moving,, these results will only get better. 

Hot like the sun

Woke this morning to hear that Armstrong's world is now spiraling more and more out of 

control. How is he going to say that he is innocent with the now with the  evidence, and the testimony from his former teammates.  Not sure if this is the smoking gun, but where there is smoke their are dopers. And we all know that Dopers Suck.. 

Hard to tell the kids here that the guy that they have idolized for years on end is/was a cheat. 

This is not going to end well if it ever ends. 

It has been stupid hot here in the heart land and it has been stressful on my pocket book with the 

damn air on so "F"ing much. 

I have been able to ride and thankfully this is a bike of a rest week before the race this weekend up in Duluth. Hoping for some fresh happy legs,, the kid and I  will get a chance to pre-ride on saturday

so we can have the course fresh in our heads. 

Should be cooler up by the big lake and we are going to a chance to play in the falls and water 

that is fresh and cool up there.

I am so ready to hang out in the camper chill by the fire and sleep the good sleep. 

Hope all had a safe and fun forth,, I did not get as many miles as I would have liked, and may take 

today off with the forecast of 107,,, Rest Strong Race hard and PARTY ON!!