World Crossing

The world is coming to the USA and a mass Exodus of Skinny Nobie Freaks are heading to 

Kentucky..   I am not one and wish that I was,, I have not seen a race of this

caliber since I got to see the Mountain Bike World Championships in Vail back in 1994.. That was a long time ago..

As I have mentioned the weather has been wild here and through out the rest of the mid west. 

We had rain and thunder yesterday and today we got a few inches of 

Pavedmag.com

snow and tons of wind.  The venue for the CX Worlds was hit with nasty weather tornado watches and lot of rain. Took this from Tilford's site... Next up is going to be the temps dropping and maybe even some snow.. So all this water is going to get thick and slick ,, we call it ice here in Wisco.. All those that raced the Nationals race should have had some good practice from the slop of that week..

As for this here guy just sticking to the plan more and more work getting done preparing for the season and enjoying the ride to and from work.. 

 May have to get the boy back out and do some more knee drop skiing and wait for the roads
to dry out more. I don't mind riding on snow pack and or wet sandy roads..,..But when it comes to
the mash potato snow not a big fan.. The kind of snow that grabs your front wheel and says you are going this way.. I was amazed by all the bad drivers this morning and how easy and peaceful my ride in was. One of the best parts was getting to weave through traffic and pass a fender bender or in this case a fender in the middle of the road,,, I gave it a quick bunny hop and just carried on..

Life on two wheels is not a bad one.
The snow commuter pig here.....not a pretty one but gets the job done and fun can be found while moving..

To all those heading to worlds drive safe and enjoy the party.

Sticks

This winter is going down as one of the strangest for weather that I can remember since moving here to the midwest. After starting off with some good snow pack and the ability to xc ski,, then the 

heat wave came and roads cleared out and the pavement was in play. Last week cabin fever set in as we went sub zero for the whole week. 

I have tried twice this winter to ride on the rollers and have lasted about 10 minutes each time.

Just board,, I have more outside miles than in years past and feel spoiled due to that and 

riding indoors is tough. I am sticking with my indoor heavy item moving program and riding when I can. 

Took the boy out to the Mound for another day of down hill sliding. Sun was out and the corduroy was fresh and the boy was really having fun and turning well. 

We spent a good amount of time riding the poma lift up to the terrain park. It is not much a rail and then a 10 foot gap followed by a 20 foot gap. Both jumps are built well even though I was finding speed hard to judge. 

James started hitting them and you could see it in his face as he left the ground that this was something he could grow to like. 

His old man was having fun as I am pretty sure I saw a few 360's get landed.

Ready for the Spring and things are moving around in the Garage.... Time to start Planning all that is to come.
 

Dazed

This old dog is tired... but a good kind of tired from moving around in Space. 

I survived the commute to and from work today with some nasty windchill and cement legs. 

I suffer from not knowing when to just chill and not move, and mondays are a 

optional day off of bike practice, and as for now I think that I am going to 

exercise that option. 

The past fourteen days have netted threehundredandfifty miles of outside singlespeed fun. 

I know that is not as much as the folks in the southern climates but January is shaping up 

nicely and the recent block should reap dividends for Feb

Saturday saw temps well into the 40's and I was able to climb up and then ride 

dirt/gravel that by the third time around turned into a quagmire, only adding 

to the enjoyment of the day.

And only once did I have someone yell some dumb Lance Armstrong comment at me while driving by.

Not going to waste my time with them or him as all that has been said has been and more is needed to clean up the sport. 

But what I do want to know is why or maybe what is the effect people in cars get by revving their engines as they pass 

cyclist,, is it a hey check me out as I pass by thing??

Had one this afternoon as I came off the bike path and onto the bike lane.. Some kid down shifted and made his car gargle at me? What is that?

  Changed these pads last week front and back,, the last time was back in late October Racing the Green Archers CX event.. All the Sand salt and Gravely bits are doing a number on pads and 

rims. Needless to say I remembered real quick the next morning heading to work that I had done this and almost found the ejection button approaching the first stop sign.  

Going to be cold again tomorrow but then temps come

up to the tolerable level for more than just commuting.

upsideout.blogspot.com

I just keep my eyes on the prize of warmer daze!!

Used Rugs

Still in a fog from the weekend of Cowbells, Beer and Yelling at Lycra-clad Freaks. 

It was neat to see so many people excited about bike racing..... The Teams and their support...Parents and other family members working the pits,,noise makers and crazy costumes. 

And all of this being done on a cold day in January. 

For some who raced it was step in the right direction,,some may have even got to put on the Stars and Bars.. Others found them selves back to the drawing board. 

I got to slap palms of Sponsors and even run into old friends from my younger years that I only seem to run into at bike races.

D2 Winner

None of the photos that I took seem to due any justice to the event that it was ...

Someones photos that paint a great picture is this Guy found him over at 

Stevil's site. 

I wont be making to Worlds even though it is not that far away... I need to get my ducks in a row for the season to come,, and dollars are becoming a high priority and in short supply. 

We are going to be heading down to the Desert at the end of March and I am trying to round up 

a couple of Bikes for me and the kid to ride while there. This will be a chance for us to get some early season single track and some good work before the race season starts. 

One bike on a plane would not wreck my pocket book but for the two of us that is 300+ dollars 

and that cuts deep into the race funds. 

I am fired up and can't wait miles and miles to go before vacation but it will come and it will be good then it will be spring and time ride all the time which is not that different from life now just warmer. 

Eyes Crossed Shut

Bike racing in January and in Wisconsin can make for some interesting conditions. 

 The week leading up to the Big Show this weekend brought warm temps rain and tons of mud. 

Watching Saturdays races the temps started to drop but not so much to freeze the mud. The whole venue was nothing but a huge mud pit and if you were not careful you would find yourself on your ass. 

We got to the races in time to watch the U23 race and one of the Ripon Red Hawks hammer through the mud. Casey was mashing the one by one and with the thick mud it looked like a ton of work. 

The next big race was the 35-39 with Both Barry of Hollywood Fame and Ryan Carlson one of the creators of Twin Six racing.

By this time of the day the temps were dropping and the mud seem to be along for the ride.. Bikes were getting coated and the ruts were starting to hold their shape. 

Family was cold and we saw what we came to see so it was off to the Hotel and time to swim and get warm.

A good night for chilling as the Hotel was hopping with bike races some hockey kids and lots of football. Both saturday games ended in crappy ways,, but that is football. 

What we needed was rest because Sunday was going to be a long one and going to be Cold.

We got to Verona just as the D1 kids were getting finished. 

The sun was out and wind was blowing. Most important was that the mud was now frozen and change the landscape of the course.

Walking around staying warm we cheered on the women as the blew the front end of the race up. 

KFC was off the front and never looked back.

We rang the cowbell for 

Georgia who had a bad start but motored through to a 4th place finish.

Then it was time to watch our young teammate Josh Bavers. 

The kid is in his first year of racing cross and after winning the 

state champ in the 3's has been moved up to the 2's and his first race in this cat saw him 

at the back of the start grid at the National Championships. 

The kid did great,, lots of pressure racing in these conditions and against this field. 

It was a long weekend and even though I did not race I sure feel like I did.. 

Now it is time to get back to reality and back to work, going to be 

cold ,,cold and cold for the ride in this morning,,, a nice kick in the ass to start the week.

Thawed

We have been going through the January Thaw,, my mother-in-law says that it 

happens every year but I have to say that this one has been more pronounced.

Temps in the mid to upper thirties and yesterday we saw low 40's and rain.. Yep rain. 

It has been raining all night and as far north as Duluth MN. 

With the mild weather I have been making the most of it. 

Getting out and spinning my wheels, making the SSCX work for me. 

Roads are clear enough to ride the shifter bike but again the residue on the 

roads could or would start to beat up the Steel frame. 

I like to think that riding on the wonspeed this time of year is only a 

benefit for later,, when you head out to do Tempo the bike lets you know what that 

tempo is going to be and all you can do is just hold on. 

With the skiing that I got over the weekend I have 10+ hours of work in which for this 

time of the year is good. All of this will change as a cold front is moving in,, no snow just cold so it is time to pad the wardrobe with some more layers,,to keep the work moving. 

Going to head to Madtown to watch the weekends racing,, words from yesterday is that 

the course is starting to become almost unridable. 

Tilford managed to win his Champion race again but hit the deck and wrecked his shoulder pretty darn good. 

Should be  fun to watch the CX freaks slide around on the ice rink that is the CX Natz.

New Norm

The weather man is being a jerk,,,,well not totally his fault but in this day and age we kill the messenger. Already this morning it is 30 degrees and tomorrow they are calling for mid 40's and rain. 

Call it the January thaw or just shit, don't get me wrong the roads have been free of snow and very passable on the SSCX bike. But it is the first month of the year and it would be nice to be able to continue to ski. 

The 9to5 let me out a touch early yesterday due to a long one on monday so I slid around and over the bluff. Felt great even if the climb up bliss brought an afternoon hurtsdoughnut.

The wheels that are on the CX bike now are going to be done by the time this winter season is over,, they are getting clobbered by the sand and grit on the roads.. I try to clean them off and keep the bike well lubed but with all the stuff that is on the pavement it is a tough job. 

I am not racing the CX nationals but we are going to be loading up the whole fam and heading over to Madtown to watch what could be racing in epic conditions. After this warm rain comes through the bottom is going to fall out for the weekend and what was once wet should be a frozen mess. 

This will make for some fun yelling and cheering for some of the best racer here in the USA>>>

Pulled these photos off of Tilfords site..

He says that all is rideable even if it is a bit slick in some spots.. The fun kicks off today and then this afternoon is the Single Speed race. Should be a good one with some big GUNS on the line.. 

Fast is the New Norm?!

Nice Grooming

They say make hay while the sun shines,, and that is true but sometimes you need to 

get after it while the moonshines. 

After a short long week of work the friday night ski has been a great way for me 

to get out and burn off some aggression.  The xc ski trails here in Lax are 

starting to get beat up. Even though the city has invested a good number of dollars in 

grooming equipment they have done noting to enforce the people that walk on the trails. That being said the trails look in places the surface of the moon garnished with dog turds. 

Regardless of  conditions I managed a good ski and felt great after. 

Saturday brought another day of lift access skiing, again hoping to have a great day on the slopes 

with the boy. We had our moments with some different ideas of what he should be able to ski down. At one point I was having flashbacks of skiing with his sister when she was this age. 

We parted ways and I went to see what the area had to offer.  This is the run that they call Damnation and from what I understand they blow snow and leave it like this for a while then will drive a few cats down it and smooth it all out. Steep Icy and snow mounds over your head. 

By the time it was all said and done the boy and I skied for over four hours and I do  believe we had fun. 

I got home and wanted more and since I had noticed that the roads for the most part were clean and clear... I jumped on the cxss rig and headed out for a hilly ride through the back roads of coulee country.. 

After this bit of work I was cracked and loving it. 

Dinner ,, Packers then Bed!!

Rounded out the weekend with a 

drive up to Winona and SMU for some fresh groomed skate skiing. 

This was the first time all season that I got to ski anything that resembled a groomed track.  For a bit of time I was able to pace behind the groomer and was smiling from ear to ear. 

My goal was to ski my self into the ground and did just that.

An hour and a half and a titch under 14 miles of vertical skiing. Sliding at St Marys means that you are going to go up hill and go up hill a lot. 

So I do feel like I made some hay and got the work done now I get to head in to the 9-5 and deal with some 25+ mph winds blowing right in my face.. Bring on next weekend..!!

Sadden

When I saw the news that Burry Stander was killed while out training

it was hard to believe. But we have seen it before and I hate saying it will happen again. 

Photo Velo News

Cyclist get hit by car all too often and it is a risk that we take every time that we get out on the road. 

I think of a time back about eleven years ago and we were still living in Flagstaff 

Dave G, Sue King and Chris Etheridge came down for some AZ riding.. 

I took them all over flagtown,,showing them the kick ass single track that I was now calling home.. It was Awesome to have some old friends come down away from the "people's republic of Colorado"..

Shortly after they left and headed back home ,, I got a phone call that Chris was struck and Killed as he was doing a training ride up one of the canyons..

 He was hit head on as a driver crossed the yellow line came into his lane and that was it he never

had a chance. 

With the coverage of the world cup races this summer we got to see a lot of Burry and he was 

fun to watch, he was a great story and will be missed by many. 

I my self much like most of you spend some time on the road and don't want to have to worry every time that we clip in.....but you never know. 

Ride hard ,,Ride long ,, Suffer,, Enjoy,,

Keep the wheels Spinning and the Grin will Keep on Winning..

Questions

Surfing the web yesterday I came across this article from 

Velonews.com,,, 

Not sure what to make of it other than Racers here in the USA can not race in non USA cycling sanctioned races if they hold a Pro License?

It all stems from a number of Pros going and racing the 

Teva games in Vail this past summer and then the governing body coming back and

saying that this is a no no. 

As race fee's go up and the fields get diluted due to the number of races,, and at times having 

the overall experience go down this is only stifling the growth of the sport.

Their are may great races that are put on that are not USA cycling races and 

as the years go by more and more are getting added to the calender.

With all that has happened to the sport this year with the uncovering of massive doping and the cover-ups etc,. now more than ever I believe that things need to change from the top down.

As racers we are all doing our part paying or race fees and buying an annual license.

The main reason that I wont be racing Cross Nats.. next week is the money factor. 

I need to renew my License for 2013= 150$ and then the cost of the 45-60 minute race 65-110$ depending on when you sign up. And the question here is why?

I will still ride every day and approach each race the same,, The Sport needs to grow and not contract.