Losting

We moved here from the high country of colorado a little over seven years ago.

When we got here I was coming from a local race series and then the weekend series that is no longer up and running. 

I started off as a racer in the Sport class and moved up never winning anything but placing well. 

I was always afraid of the Wednesday night expert class, it was a Pro/expert class. 

About the time my son was going coming to this world I got my first single speed, bike and started racing the new single speed category.  In the Wednesday night races due to time restraints we raced the sport distance,, but on the weekend MSC series we raced the same distance as the experts, normally between 25-30 miles. 

I can remember doing three laps on Mount Crested Butte,, I can remember lining up along side of some of the top Pro's of the time T.Brown,, C.Frosley,,K.Bloomer,, and many more. 

I raced hard got better and pushed my self every time.

Fast forward our move to Wiscodisco,,, Coming off my first national race felling pretty strong 

I jumped into the Elite race of the WORS series.

I was shot ooooout the back and had no idea what I was getting into. 

Unlike the racing back home where you climbed and climbed then went down hill this was all out on punchy climbs for up to 120 minutes.  I had to scratch my head and decided what the hell I was doing racing a onexone against fast as hell geared racers. 

Looking to find my sea legs and more of a climbing race course I signed up for racing in MN. 

Sophia my daughter was going to start her midwest racing camping and was racing at nine in the morning. So instead of waiting till the one oclock race,, I raced the Single Speed Races. 

I did well learned how the ebb and flow of racing here in the mid west went. 

I won some races and by the Welch race I was winning the category. This day I was heckled by the guy that did timing,,,,, in front of my family he let me have it calling me a sandbager and   that I did not belong in the race that I was in.  As far as I knew I was racing a single speed bike in a single speed category.  I had never been put in a position like this and it sucked and at this point and time I left that series and went back to Wisconsin.  With the season winding down I raced a few races in the single speed cat and again did well sill learning how to gear for the courses and learning how to suffer.  The next season I moved up to Expert and started climbing the ladder,, again never winning but making some age group podiums. With some real hard work a change in thinking and then more hard work I was able to make my way up to a Pro upgrade,, at the ripe young age of 36. 

At this point I bought a nine speed shifter and a cassette ,, and derailleur and yet changed how I was going to race.  This was my racing life dream,, I wanted to be a Pro racer when I dropped out of college in 94 and moved to Colorado,, life got in the way and it just took some time. 

Point to this History lesson???

A teammate a friend and fellow father/racer ,, has come back to the Sunday racing.

He won a race and on the interwebs has been cut down left and right. 

I stuck up for him with carefully chosen words and with out calling any names or using any put downs. 

We are all out there for fun and to push our selves as hard as we can and for as long as we can. 

Validation from a medal a ribbon,,or a trinket can be what it takes to get you to the 

next level,,it can be that push that gets you to climb harder or dare I say Train more. 

There is very little money to be made in our sport most of us have to work 9-5 jobs and then come home and take care of our families. There is PTO,, Health Concerns and Band concerts. 

This bike racing riding reading tinkering is my life,, I have worked hard to get to where I am and even harder to get the Fine Company's to the Right here to support me and my family. 

Cycling has taken me all over the country and has now even helped send my daughter to College. 

Lets Ride Bikes and Slap Hands Drink Beers and Have FUN<<<< But can we stop calling 

people out that is not what it all about.

On another not this morning I lost a Fight with a Quarter Panel..,.,.

Now I have the need for a new CX Bike..

 

Party On to all and to all a Good Ride!

To call the last four days a whirl wind of a few days would be an understatement.

Here is the line up of what we were doing.. 

Thursday saw my Parents come to town and then right into Our Anniversary on 

Friday.. Then into the Boys birthday on Saturday and then the 

Queen stage of the weekend Pip's High School Graduation. 

Now it is Monday Cold Wet and I am shot. 

I have filtered more Hop flavored water through my system than I have in 

years, and yesterday saw more people in my house than I ever thought it could hold. 

We did try to ride mountain bikes today with part of The THC crew,,

but the clouds blew in and just made it so now I have to clean bikes yet again. 

The forecast for the week does not look too cycling friendly and our next test is Next Sunday. 

I will do like I always do and find the time to ride in-between rain clouds and when I am not sleeping.. But  I sure would like to do a lot of sleeping .. 

But for now I have get get some bikes cleaned up and Finnish all the beer that is left in the house. 

So glad this weekend is done!

Party On to all and to all a Good Ride!

I CoUld Smell It

The Hollywood Cycles Team went to a bike race on sunday and Cleaned House. 

Waking up sunday morning and looking at the weather maps and radar I was thinking the worst as

in was pounding rain up at the venue in St Croix Falls. 

To take my mind off this I watched the first World Cup MTB race of the season. 

I got to watch the last two laps of the Women's race and then the Whole of the Mens. 

With two laps to go for the women the rain had started and by the time the men started it was a slick mess. 

I loaded the bikes in the car and finished breakfast and coffee and was ready to roll. 

When we made it to the venue we were greeted by the whole team and even had our own section of the parking lot.

I was shocked to see that the course was dry and tacky and what is called Hero dirt. 

I grabbed Judy Butter and rode some sections of the race getting a feel for the corners and looking at

stuff that I did not get to ride last year after my crash. 

After call ups stood on the line with the fast guys and talked about what was to come.

Paul went off the front with Brendan and Hollywood pulling along. I sat in and waited. 

Coming off the paved bike trail and into the first section of windy single track I jumped on the Brendan's wheel and rode that into the woods. A small gap grew between us and the group, and I sat on this wheel before Brendan hit the after burners on his new 29er and I was on my own. 

For the next lap and a half I sat here in two with 2 chasing and Brendan riding off the front. 

Lap three the chasers and I starting riding together and worked pretty well, pushing the pace and

extending the gap.  I still found my self for the remainder of lap 3 riding on the front of this group the strong single speeder in the Brones Kit running a 37x17 took some pulls and kept charging. 

Lap four just before the first section of woody single track Paul came around and at this point I needed to work on recovering and let him pull away and soon Nate on his Oneby joined as I worked on not totally blowing up. 

Coming into the last section of the race the flat wide open gravel trail part I caught sight of the the two up the road and buried my self to get back on. 

I was bring them back in but my legs gave out with 100 yards to go and a face full of wind. 

I could not get on the wheel I needed and watched Paul and Nate sprint it out for 2-3..

I finished just 15ish seconds off the Podium but was all smiles knowing that I had my self a good strong race. 

The rest of the team did kick ass to with The Bavers getting 6th and Barry in  7th....Pip was 4th behind teammate Ali,,, the Chucker was 1st in Comp,, and even young Jake made it to the top step.

We cleaned House on what looks to be a great season of Racing. 

Up Next Makato and a whole lot of climbing,,,

Up over Down

Wednesday afternoon at the end of my work day I parked my truck and the skies were a bit soupy.. Their was no call for rain or if their was it was a low percentage.  I did my

paperwork and tied up some loose ends. 

After changing in to my super suit I headed out the door to deep blue skies and wall to wall sun.

The only odd thing was that the streets were soaking wet. 

If must have rained really hard for a few minutes then quit.

Determined to keep moving I headed to my afternoon Bliss felling the spray coming off my down tube. 

When I got to the climb up the bluff I was in and out of wet spots thanks to the tree cover. 

Getting to the top of the hill the roads were totally dry and the rest of the ride home was same old same old. 

With the first test of the Minnesota season coming fast I am doing all I can to make sure that I am ready. Riding before and after work seems to be the best thing for an old mans soul. 

But I am trying something different this year,, not worried so much about volume as I am quality. 

And also not totally freaking out about HR number and things of that nature. 

I am playing with the social media catch me if you can,,, app on my phone while riding 

and having some fun with kom's etc that exist there. 

I really like it because I can finally track the Kid and what it is that she is doing 

while she rides and trains. 

I am pretty sure that this whole family is happy that the sun and warmth is finally here,

and we continue to plod along the month of May. 

Two days left in Pip's High School life then on to the Bigger and better things that 

College will bring. 

For now for sanity's sake I will be holding on to the Handle Bars and watching the 

wheels spin round and round. 

I really love to watch them go!

Blowing in the

The sun comes up early this time of year and I just love it. 

I like to as much as possible be up with so I don't miss a single part of a day

and even though that I want to sleep on the weekends I know that I need to get up and embrace,, the day. 

Saturday I did just that loading up the minivan and driving the hour drive to Levis Mound for some more THC riding. The Pip and I were to meet the Bavers and some of his buds for what was sure to be a good day of single track shredding.  The parking lot was full of cars and Pip got to d

rive the last three miles to the trail head,, and even though the sun was out the wind was blowing making it seem a bit cooler than any would have liked. 

The Trails were in great shape and well taken care of minus the large deposits of leaves .,,., at times on some of the down hills it was like skiing on a powder day with leaves climbing up your legs. 

A solid day of riding and good bit of training as the race season finally approaches.

Sunday was mothers day and for once I did let my self sleep in a bit.. 

Still up before 8 and brewing coffee,, we were meeting Anna's family for brunch at 11 so it was by choice to just chill watch some bike racing and not eat just drink coffee. 

Again the sun was out but the temps were cool.. 

Momma sent me out riding after brunch and for me it was the first day of truly getting to ride the local trails. My goals were simple,,, hammer up the big climb to the trails and then from there 

just ease back and enjoy the ride. 

The trails were in great shape,, hero dirt along with my Geax tires made for a ripping good time. 

With some of the bike tweaks that i had done the day before the ride was sweet. 

Only a week until the first Minnesota race I would like to think that i am ready.. 

I wont know until push comes to shove and that is only meant figuratively ..

Rainy Day

Some mornings their just does not seem to be enough coffee. 

I was finding my self ready to doze off while driving to my first calls at work 

yesterday. I feel like I am going to end up dead someday in that damn work van. 

I am not sure if it was the lack of sleep or the calming sound of the rain pinging off the roof of my work coffin. 

I have moved this spring and winter through all kinds of moisture and yesterday was just another day in a rain cape. The big difference was it was a warm rain and with fenders and 

a bit of embro rolling to work and home was no big deal. 

The boy walk into the hose drenched and had a huge smile and announced to the world that he loved every minute of the commute home in the rain. I love it when he gets excited about riding his bike.

I took advantage of the rain and got some work done in the garage. 

I needed to pull some BB's and re-grease some threads,

I was shocked to see how much of Sedona was built up around the King bottom bracket. 

And with the help of the good folks at Feedback Sports the work in the 

garage gets done with great ease. 

Now if things can dry up a bit, the Pip and I are supposed to meet the ginger over at

Levis to do some fine Clark county laps. 

TGIF is the mantra of the day.. Time to get ready if not already ready for the first Minnesota race..

Wheres your head at?

NuMbErs#

Number plates have shown up and now the itch for lining up and questions of "are you ready for this"?

I skipped the road racing this weekend du to the fact that I am not sure that it is really what 

I need to be doing, and even skipped the gravel road ride on sunday needing to be closer to home if I was not going to be racing MTB's.

At this point it is all about perspective and making sure that hay is being made while the sun shines. 

Even though their was no racing for the family we were good and busy as the Pip had Prom and young Jake drove down on his way back to school. 

We figured that since it was a Team Hollywood Cycles Prom bikes should be involved in the picture taking.

Fun was had by all and bikes were ridden by all even got to get a bit of THC# training with the youngest segment of of the team.

The Rocket did a great job of riding considering how big this damn hill is. 

The boy has some skills in him and needs to keep the motivation rolling. 

My goal is to build him up a new bike and have feelers out in all directions for a frame or a complete bike that can take him to the next level. 

A lot is going on and May is going to be a crazy month.. Birthday, Anniversary, and Grauation.. I have been having some holy shit moments that Pip is not only done with High School but that she is off to school Aug 16th.  Whirlwind does not even being to scratch the surface. 

Before we know it ,,,, Ready Set GOOOOOO>>>>>>>>

The Jayhawk

Skinny Ski has some great shots of folks out skiing this early May,,or late winter snow. 

I think it was Tuesday or Wednesday
Nikolai Anikin put on a XC ski race up in the northwoods just because their was enough snow,, then they got 18inches of new snow up in Hayward. Groomers got out in their cats and 

made for some fun for these crazy kids.

No snow here please and thank you,, and while you are at making sure no snow falls how about some sun and some nice weather?? So happy that last weekend ended up the way that it did.. That vitamin D from the sun and the Vitamin IRT from the single track made me feel like a new man.. 

All mountain bike racing has been cancelled in the area. I was excited for the back to back weekends with races... A good way to start the season. Now the next event wont be unit the 19th so we have some time and with these new rad hair cuts we just have to wait.

What I can't wait for is finding the Rocket a new 26" wheeled bike. He has the seat on his 24"s maxed out on both height, and set back.. 

Goal is to find him a 13" frame and build it up with parts around the house.. Have most,, would want a rigid fork and a stout set of tubeless wheels... Working on it and hope it starts to come together...  Lot of promise in this one and he is ready for the next leap.. 

  Now if the sun could come out and we could get out and play..