Trying to Balance Being A Kid and an Adult

The Trans Iowa Experience

2009-05-09T06:09:00.000-07:00

EDIT WOW! MAYBE I SHOULD TRY PROOF READING BEFORE I POST SOMETHING! SORRY!

I have waited a week to write my report for Trans Iowa as I felt I really needed some time for it to soak in and to also let my feelings about finishing die down a bit. I will admit, after finishing Trans Iowa (after three failed attempts and one near miss where I pulled the plug at mile 200!) I got a bit of a big head. I am typically a pretty modest guy, but finishing this beast made me feel like I had really accomplished something. I certainly didn't want to write something that sounded pompous as that just isn't me.

Finishing Trans Iowa, even dead last, has really challenged my thinking about some things. You see, in 2001 I wrote my masters thesis on a topic called Locus of Control. Essentially, one's Locus of Control is the place that a person puts responsibility. Do people take personal responsibility for what happens in their life, or is it other people or luck that determine what happens in their life. Is it because of what I do that determines my success, or is it what others do to me that determines my success or failure? I have preached to my students during my whole career that they need to take 100% responsibility for what happens to them and they will ultimately succeed. I took this approach to TI doing everything I could to finish.

There are many life lessons to be learned about finishing something like Trans Iowa and I may be taking this little weekend a bit too serious, but this is how I feel. In life, there are people that dream big. There are people that tend to really believe they can do things and they reach for the stars. People may think they are strange, different, or odd, but something about them makes them want to achieve things that are out there. I make a living instilling this attitude in my students. I want them to feel that what is down the road for them is beyond their wildest dreams. That if they focus their work and goals they can achieve the impossible. We should not put limits on what we can do! We need to be around people that we can travel the journey together. I have had people such as Skip Cronin, Mark Stevenson, Jeff Kerkove, Jon Billman, Jim McGuire, Matt Maxwell and Patrick Humenny befriend me and show me what it is all about to go after huge goals, and through several failures, finally finish the task at hand.

Completing Trans Iowa Version 5, no matter cheesy it may seem, is something that ensured that I am the person I am longing to be. It was a gut check and I passed.

What has challenged my thinking so much was the fact that being successful at Trans Iowa depends so much on factors that we have little or no control over. Number one is the weather! Without perfect conditions I had no chance at finishing Trans Iowa. None! Also, when it comes down to it, I had something that I do not believe in happen to me, LUCK. I was incredibly lucky during Trans Iowa and now I have to admit that I have changed my tune just a bit on the concept of LUCK. You see, during Trans Iowa my body worked like it has never before. God must have been tired of my many prays for strength and just granted it. For whatever reason, my body felt like a machine for once. I never got tired (sleepy yes!), for whatever reason I was able to just go. It was probably a once in a lifetime feeling.

For the months leading up to TI I ran and ran and got into great running shape. I was only biking maybe 3-6 hours a week and some weeks none at all! Then, in February I started getting pretty serious and put in a couple of centuries, a handful of metrics and was commuting into Ames quite a bit. I have always believed that the key to finishing TI was to be a commuter. My good friend Jon Billman rode about 2 miles to work and back for six months, rode a handful of 20-30 milers and then went on to finish the Great Divide Race! Yes, that is right! I have watched in amazement just how fast Matt Maxwell is and the guy really just commutes everywhere (including to his parents house 120 miles way!) and he is a very strong rider! So, I decided to commute into Ames a lot more. I donate plasma on the south side of Ames and I think it was in December that I had decided to ride the 9 miles to and from Biolife Plasma Services twice a week until TI. I rode every time, but once. Also, I tend to believe that riding after donating 800 ml of essentially electrolytes was probably teaching my body on how to ride at with low levels of electrolytes. Call it blood doping if you want. I think it may have helped.

Then, in March I made a goal to ride 25 25 milers in about 34 days or so. This was the kicker! I swear this is what helped me finish. I will admit, I only got to 18 out of the 25, but I also had about 6 or so 15-18 milers. When Trans Iowa came I just focused on twenty five miles at a time! I know that helped a ton!

On to the report:
Jim, Gary and I were up at 2:39 on Saturday morning (I could hear that the guys one floor above us were up so I had to get up as well!). I ate two PB sandwiches, a Boost (swear by it!), one cup of coffee and a Clif Bar (love them!). Once we got to the start I ate two more PB sandwiches and someone was passing around Clif Bars so I ate another one.

We got to the 40 mile check point easily and which was my goal. Get to the first check point like you had just started. Goal met. I will admit, I did take longer at this checkpoint than I wanted (20 minutes?), but we had gotten there around 7 so I wasn't concerned. The plan was to go just the right speed to make the checkpoints as we had 12 hours to complete the last 100 miles of the race which should be pretty doable. I hit the bathroom and decided to take 100 ounces with me just in case. I took off with Andy Stockman (7th place finisher!), Steve Fuller, and Ron Saul. It wasn't long and Steve started pulling away and Andy went with him. Ron and I stuck together and we both admitted that we were seriously missing our morning coffee! We were making decent enough time, but we were in a funk. Suddenly I came upon Andy standing alongside the rode and he wanted to ride with me. He admitted that he had taken off too fast and needed to slow down a bit. I asked him were Steve was and he told me that Steve was in front of him and he decided not to go with him. Andy and I rolled into North English and stopped at the Casey's General Store. This was great as I grabbed some chicken strips, my Dirty Kanza favorite, potato wedges, and RED BULL! Honestly, I have never had Red Bull other than with a Jagger Bomb or two so I had no idea what to expect. All I can say is my lack of coffee funk was gone!

Andy and I were now motoring for the checkpoint knowing we were going to be kinda close. We kept on riding and riding. I was now getting a flat so we pumped it up. Then just 10-20 miles down the road I tried pumping again and broke the stem connection of the tube. New tube and some pumping (15-20 minutes!) and we were off. We now were getting a little too close for comfort to the cut off time so we pushed it a bit. Andy had almost run out of water so we stopped at the truck stop on the interstate for all of 1 minute and then were off again. We took off and were determined to get to the checkpoint in time.

When it came down to it I think we made the checkpoint by 20 minutes or so. I waited patiently for my friends Jim and Gary and talked with some other riders. Jim and Gary made the checkpoint with about 5 minutes to spare. We ate and rested. Around 7:40 or so I was very ready to get the ball rolling again (Andy took off about 20-30 minutes earlier with another group thus his 7th place finish!). I waited until 8 when Gary and Jim were ready and we took off together. I knew I had 6 hours to ride 67 miles and since I was averaging about 10 miles per hour with stops then I was off the pace I needed so at this point I needed to push just a bit. Not really push, but I had to stay on the bike. I am not fast so I had to make sure that any stop was going to be very short. Within just seconds of leaving the gas station Jim and Gary were off my wheel so I decided I needed to just keep going or I was not going to make my goal.

Jim and I have known each other since about 1977 when I was a little tike and he was often my doctor. In 1994 we became climbing buddies and in 2005 watching TI V.1 I was absolutely blown away and had to buy a bike! The rest is history! We had a talk the night before TI and I told him this, "Jim, there are two things that make TI very difficult, one is the distance, and the second is leaving a good friend behind." He promised me that he would not have any bad feelings if I continued on without him if he was safe. You know me.... worried about how people feel. I decided to keep pushing.

Between checkpoint 2 and 3 I ended up having to go to the bathroom twice and so those were my only stops (a few minutes at most)! It was maybe 11:30 or so and I got a call from my new friend Warran Wiebe from Kansas. He asked if I was still going and I asked him where he was. He was only about four or so miles away. He said he would soft pedal so I could catch him. This gave me even more motivation to keep going strong. I caught Warran after about 6-7 miles and he was freezing. We were right by the town of Garwin (I believe) and he decided to bail and to get picked up. I was once again alone. I continued on my way. I saw 1:50 AM on my computer when I got to a T intersection right outside of Traer. I was confused. I suddenly saw the gray tape sign that GT and DP made that pointed down a B road of sorts. I took it as it was going into town and I thought it had to be it. I rode into town and found Ken Yokanovich and Skip Cronin waving their arms in the air! I had made it at 1:53! I had just made the cut off by 7 minutes!

I said something to the effect, "What town is this? Toledo?" Ken says with a bit of shock and concern, " No, this is Traer!". "TRAER?" I say. This town had some memories from TI V.3. Actually, it was about 30-35 miles from after going through Traer in V.3 that I pulled the plug. I got a bit of fire in my belly thinking, "NOT THIS TIME!". I will admit though, with those guys about to take off from the checkpoint, as it closed at 2:00 AM, I was thinking about quitting for a couple of seconds, but I was sitting next to two past finishers and I really respect these guys. I had to get moving. I was pretty bummed that the gas station was closed as I was really looking forward to some kick ass coffee, and a bunch of other junk. A roller dog would have really hit the spot! But, no!
"So, Ken, how far is the next town?" I honestly was thinking it had to be just down the road. It had to be. "It is 57 miles Paul." "Fifty seven miles?" That didn't make me too happy as I had just ridden 67 miles without a stop. Well, back on the bike with cheers behind me! Damn I felt good!

This portion of the course I was in damage control. The second I had gotten back on the bike it was as if the finish (97 miles away) was right around the corner. I can not explain that feeling. I have bonked on 30 mile rides, trust me, but at this point, at mile 217 looking at another 100 just didn't seem like that big of a deal. This is how I wanted to feel when I quit at mile 200 of V.3, but I gave in. This time was different. I continued on my way. The gravel wasn't always the best, but I kept going. I had always believed that the night would be horribly long, but it was crazy fast for me. The sun was coming up and I felt like I had just left the checkpoint. Craziness. I made it to the town of Belle Plaine around 8:30 or so. I honestly do not know when exactly. I ate two donuts (mistake!) and a chocolate milk. Some guys talked to me in the gas station and they wanted to hear all about the race as a group had just left an hour ahead of me or so and they had watched them hangout and then leave. This actually helped me get a grasp of what I was doing. I was exactly where I had dreamt about many, many times. I had about 40 miles to go.

I took off and called my wife. Tammy was at home and I had learned at checkpoint two that I was going to need a ride back to Gilbert from Williamsburg. I didn't hear the part that my ride was going onto Davenport after the finish. I called Tammy and she was coming to get me. She usually takes an hour to get ready (she had just gotten out of the shower) and it is a two hour drive to Williamsburg. I sat up and enjoyed the ride. I took it easy as I knew I had it licked. I was feeling really good (ok, my brain was fuzzy!) and I felt incredible knowing I was going to do it. BUT!!!! It was around mile 290 or so that Dave Pals put the hurt on me! To me, we went through some of the steepest hills of the ride and some hairy terrain. I didn't feel so good at this point and those donuts were killing my gut. I actually had a few thoughts that if I cramp up I could be finished. I took in some nutrition and 3 Endurolytes (swear by them!) and hoped for the best. We then had some miles of pavement along the Iowa River and this flat section really helped a ton. I was rejuvenated at this point. I was on the phone with several friends and family telling them that I was finally finishing Trans Iowa! Did I mention my mother called me every two hours from 10 pm until when I finished! The poor thing. %^)

I rolled into the finish and felt like Superman. It was incredible. I had riders I had looked up to shaking my hand and giving me hugs. You see, if you google Paul Jacobson and cycling you will not see many results. I am not much of a cyclist. I am just a guy that had Trans Iowa on the brain and had to train for four years to finish it. I think my final time was around 32 hours and 30 minutes or so which was good for 11th place. I will take it!

I was very fortunate to win the Vassago Fisticuff frame for coming into checkpoint three in last place and still finish. I am one lucky guy! That is right..... LUCKY!

Next up.... Dirty Kanza 200! This will be by third time down there and hopefully I will become one of the few three time finishers! And.... 200 miles is so much smarter! :)

Happy training.

Trans Iowa V.5

2009-05-05T18:03:00.000-07:00

I have been trying to put into words how I feel about Trans Iowa V.5, but it is hard to do. It is very hard to explain to people unless you (like many of the people that will be reading this!) have set a goal and had that be one of the top goals you have for a year. And fail at meeting that goal for three years in a row until you finally succeed. I will start at the beginning and will be as modest as one can be after finally feeling like Trans Iowa. :^)

In 2005 I was a support person for Jim McGuire and Gary Cale. Jim actually was my doctor at times during my childhood and stitched up my leg in the ER after a bike accident during my freshman or sophomore year in high school! I guess I owned him! The first person I met at TI V.1 was Mike Curiak. Jim went up to him to talk and Jim was obviously star struck. Jim later told me something to the effect, "That is the Michael Jordan of endurance mountain biking." At the time I didn't get it!

I watched the start that year (HECK! I think the start was at 8 AM that year! How is that fair?) and drove the van around the course and watched in total amazement. I thought I was watching what was the edge of human possibility. I had rode RAGBRAI in high school and thought that was an accomplishment. To almost ride across the state in a day on gravel and B roads was just out of this world. It was only a few months later and I bought my first mountain bike.

That winter I signed up for Trans Iowa V.2 and was completely addicted. I was riding like crazy in all kinds of conditions. I had the support of several good riders telling me I was doing well. The race came and we all know how horrible those conditions where! I literally went into a mild depression I swear. I was so bummed that I had put hundreds of hours into training and actually got off course at mile 35 and quit in a town at mile 50. I was devastated.

The training for TI V.3 was not quite as intense, but was still pretty solid. I was still riding my 500 dollar 26 in mountain bike. We had IDEAL conditions for TI V.3 and I really had a shot at finishing. I was feeling strong and got to the first and only checkpoint at mile 135 or so with plenty of time. We got to the next town of La Porte City and we sat around a little Dairy Sweet for a good hour and a half sharing stories and eating a ton. We took off and I quit with a friend named Dwight Beavers at mile 200. At the time Dwight was out of fluids as he crashed and his bottles came open and spilled! We went into a town to see if there was a bar open at 1:45 in the morning and there was nothing. We called in supports and that was it. Ever since that day I have fought with my morals on whether I should have stayed with my friend Dwight or if I should have gone on. I have battled this demon for a bit actually. I am a bit selfish with this and I am normally not this way, but I have invested so much into wanting to finish TI it has been a bit of a mental struggle. I know I did the right thing in staying with Dwight that night. I was the better man for it.

Then came TI V.4. My training was a bit less than the previous year, but I had a better bike. I had a Redline Monocog Flight, had some lightweight rims built up and put some Kenda Small Block 8 cross tires (35's) on. This made bike noticeably lighter, faster and I was able to coast quite a bit more. I was feeling pretty good about TI. Well, let's say it actually snowed the day of TI V.4 and the winds were in the 30 mph range with larger gusts. I actually saw a very strong young lady get blown right off her bike the wind was so strong. Well, barely anyone made the checkpoint (I quit at mile 96 as I was going too slow to make the cut off) and only a handful left the checkpoint. I can honestly say this didn't bother me much as this particular time I was a bit more sane about it all.

Then came Trans Iowa Version 5. TI V.5 totally over took my thinking much like it did in during my training for V.2. I was a running machine during the winter months and was riding single speed all winter. I wasn't riding a ton in the winter, maybe 5-8 hours a week tops. I had some weeks where I didn't ride at all. Over the winter I started commuting into Ames at least twice a week which is usually a 15-20 mile round trip ride. I threw in some rides with friends Paul Varnum, Matt Maxwell, Stephen Carney, and Nick Wethington. All of these guys really pushed me. I had down two centuries and 4 or so metric centuries before TI. One key workout was a metric starting at 6 on a Friday night and then waking up around 5:30 on Saturday morning to ride a full century. This was a very good indicator as I rode the metric very hard and still finish the century with quite a bit of gas in the tank. I really felt I had pretty fitness going into TI V.5. But, what I think made the most difference was my plan to ride 25 25 milers in just over 30 days. After work I would ride nearly every night and this REALLY made the difference. Riding the gravel at night by myself always trying to get to 25 really helped at TI. I broke Trans Iowa into 25 mile chunks and it actually made TI feel shorter if that makes sense.

Ok. Time for bed. I will write about the specifics of the ride tomorrow or Thursday!

Happy training.

What an incredible experience

2009-05-03T18:19:00.000-07:00

I will write more in the next couple of days, but I wanted to let you know that I, after 3 other attempts, have complete the Trans Iowa bicycle race! Plus, I won this for being the last person to make the last check point at mile 217 and to still finish (in other words, I got last place!):

2009-05-03T10:22:00.001-07:00

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2009-05-03T10:20:00.001-07:00

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2009-05-02T07:27:00.001-07:00

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2009-05-01T19:17:00.001-07:00

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2009-04-29T22:06:00.001-07:00

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2009-04-29T21:53:00.001-07:00

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Trans Iowa thoughts

2009-04-26T08:13:00.000-07:00

Once again I am in the Trans Iowa funk. This time of year work gets CRAZY busy and I have to stay focused as TI is on the brain! This is the time where I am doing my last minute brainstorming and trying to decide what to bring, etc. Obviously weather has a lot to do with it. Being my four TI I have learned that having nice weather is kind of like winning the lottery. VERY unlikely to say the least!

Here the plan of action of what I am bringing along:

1. Two 24 ounce bottles on the bike. One water, one GuO2.
2. 25-50 ounces in the CamelBack Mule depending on heat of the day and distance between towns.
3. About 8-10 Carbboom Gels (One about every 3 hours)
4. About 8 or so Sport Beans with Caffiene (One about every 3 hours)
5. About 5-6 Clif Block packages. (One about every 3 hours)
6. About 4 to 5 Cliff Bars. (One about every 4 hours)
7. Four to five 8 ounce Boost drinks. (One every 50 miles)
8. At gas stations I will eat pork tenderlions, brats, pizza, I would love to eat a 1/3 lb burger at a Hardees! Small bags of peanuts and maybe a Snickers or two. Definitely a Snickers ice cream bar!
8.5 All food will go in Mule and this frame bag.
9. Elete Water put in my GuO2.
10. Two spare tubes and a patch kit
11. About 20 Hammer Endurolytes.
12. Arm and Leg warmers
13. Cannondale water/windproof socks
14. Two chemical warmers
15. Grey Tape
16. Tire lever
17. Pump
18. Chain splitter
19. Map of Iowa or maybe the copies of these maps for the route that I think TI will take.
20. Rain coat and pants.
21. Cell phone and camera
22. Cue sheet holder.
23. Helmet light and bar mount light.

As you can see, I love to eat!

Plans of action for the day:
1. Be realistic and not over confident. This means ride at a reasonable pace that will get me as far as possible.
2. I plan on riding with a group of at least 4-5 people. This includes Steve Fuller, Jim McGuire, Gary Cale, Dwight Beavers and hopefully Ron Saul. It would be would be great to have a few others.
3. Depending on the conditions of the day I want to get to the first check point at mile 40 feeling as if I have barely even started. I am doing to do my best to start reasonably. One thing I have learned is not to go out hard unless you don't have a choice (Version 2!!!!!)
4. I am not going to care where the other riders are. My number one goal is to last as long as possible!
5.Eat and have fun.
6. Make sure that I am not pulling all the time. I need to do a better job of drafting.
7. Have fun.
8. Don't charge the hills.
9. Coast.
10. Ride in 25 miles chunks. Do NOT focus on the distance. Ride 25 miles and then do it again. If I am riding 25 miles in 2.5 hours during the toughest sections I am doing great! Keep at it.
11. Don't get selfish.
12. Get to the 2nd check point and leave ASAP. Never stay in one place for long. Stay on the bike (thus the food!).
13. Listen to music at night.
14. Never, ever give up. Rest for a few minutes if I want to quit and force myself to get back on the bike.
15. Have fun. If I am suffering at times it will be better down the road.
16. Encourage my friends.
17. Call people on the phone. Free minutes baby!
18. The goal is to finish so I never have to do it again!

Okay, so there are some thoughts. If you have any advice let me know.

Paul

My guess to Trans Iowa V.5

2009-04-19T20:15:00.001-07:00

2nd guess for Ti V.5

Share your bike routes @ Bikely.com

What's been going on?

2009-04-19T13:11:00.000-07:00

Sorry for anyone that reads this. I haven't been posting again, but here are some updates:

Since my last post Matt Maxwell, Nick Wethington and I completed a century ride in some windy conditions. Over all I was bonking a bit at the end, but that is mainly because I rode this pretty darn hard trying to keep up with these freaks of nature! This was a few weeks ago. Then, last weekend I completed a metric century on a Friday night finishing around 11 at night and then got up and rode at 6:30 and completed a full century. For the past month I have been riding about 25 miles four to five days week. I am really feeling good about Trans Iowa and the Dirty Kanza. I feel more prepared than the last couple of years so we shall see. We now have less than two weeks to go until TI so it should be interesting. I can't wait!

Happy training.

It's coming!

2009-03-24T19:57:00.001-07:00

This past week I was in southern Missouri for four days so I didn't get any riding in, but I did get a nice 6 mile run in. It was incredible as it was on a series of one tenth of a mile to one mile rollers and some of them were at an estimated 15-20 percent grade. I am sure a 85 VW Rabbit wouldn't have made it up some of these hills. I was happy to have averaged 8 minute pace on this run. I will admit though, my calves were not prepared for such steep hills so I felt it for a few days!

On Monday I got my 2nd of 25 25 milers in on the bike. It was windy with gusts up to 40 mph so it was a bit exciting. I will admit, half the ride was in Ames so I really can't say I battled the wind for the whole 25. Tonight, Tuesday, I got out for a nice 10 mile run. This felt great. I took it nice and easy running 9:30-10:00 pace and closed with a 6:50 last mile. I just wanted to get the distance in and took it easy.

I have gotten into that "manic" state again for my training so I am very anxious to see where I am at come Trans Iowa time on May 2!

Happy training.

The past couple of weeks!

2009-03-18T18:30:00.000-07:00

Sorry, I have been training! I just haven't spent the time to post. Sorry.

On the last update I wrote that I was having some troubles with my shin. I am feeling 100 percent again and am back in marathon training. I won't be running the best marathon ever, but that is ok.

Also, in the last post I talked about a gravel race near Winterset. Let's just say it was 35 degrees and raining and sleeting. I bailed at the halfway point with about 10 other guys. It wasn't worth it for me! I was sick for a good week after that!

This past weekend I did a metric century with Stephen Carney. I converted the Monocog Flight over to a 1 X 8 for Trans Iowa and it rocked! I feel I have about the ideal bike for me for Trans Iowa. We averaged over 14 mph which is good for me! I took Sunday off the bike, but did do a run of 6 miles. On Monday, Tuesday and now today on Wednesday I rode for 25-35 miles each day and ran another 5 today.

I have set a new goal for training for Trans Iowa. Starting today I set a goal of riding 25 miles on 25 different days until the day of the race (May 2). Of course, I will be getting some longer rides in for sure, but one thing I have learned about Trans Iowa is that the guys that commute seem to do really well at Trans Iowa. So, I essentially have 25 of 43 days that I need to ride 25 miles or more. That is a pretty big goal for myself. I will have my work cut out for me! But.... the dividends may be priceless!

March running calendar
March 20 = 7 miles
March 22 = 10 miles
March 24 = 7 miles
March 26 = 7 miles
March 29 = 14 miles
March 31 = 5 miles

If I can keep this up I should be in the best shape of my life come June.

Now... if I could only lose about 7 lbs or so!

What I have been up to!

2009-03-07T07:26:00.000-08:00

WORK!

Since my last post I have been working a ton! In a week and a half I put in 6 14-15 hour days. In between those days I went snowmobiling in the UP of Michigan for three days. This does not lend itself to training! Doh! So, here is the run down.

Since the last post I went for a 5 mile run and had a good one along with a 25 mile ride afterwords. Two days later I ran another 5 and did another 25 mile ride. After the run I was feeling the effects of a stress reaction in my left shin. I have had two stress fractures in my shins before and knew I had to take a break from the running. I then took a week off from the running and then came the week from hell for work hours so I have only run once in two weeks. My plan of running the marathon may be going out the window. I need to get running if I am going to do it. I think I may be healed though so that is good. We will see.

On the riding front, I have been doing ok, but need to be riding more now that my work hours have calmed down. Two weekends ago now I went for a metric century ride with Nick and Matt. We had about 20 mph winds from the north and we rode HARD for 25 miles straight into it. This is when riding a single speed really works you over! I felt pretty strong considering and felt good. The ride back with the wind was nice, but it was still some work spinning out trying to keep up. I finished the ride being right on the edge of bonkville as I wasn't taking in many calories which was the goal. I am trying to do more rides with just water and less calories for now trying to teach my body to just run on my bodies own energy stores so that when I do eat it will be as efficient as possible. I don't know if that will work, but I am trying it.

After that ride I did another 25 miler two days later, but then took off 10 days! Last night I went for a ride for an hour. I was happy to have averaged 14.5 mph on the gravel. With gears I think I would have been in the mid 15's as I was spinning out for half the ride. Today I will be getting some miles in and tomorrow I have a metric century gravel race in the hills around Winterset. Since it will likely be raining I will get worked over for sure, but that is ok. I certainly won't be racing, but will just be riding hard to have some fun.

I should be riding quite a bit now that work has calmed down.... but I have said that before!

Happy training.

Sunday ride!

2009-02-19T19:55:00.000-08:00

I am looking at going out for a nice long ride on Sunday around noon! If you would like to join me leave a comment or give me a call!

This week.

2009-02-15T18:22:00.000-08:00

Well, the training has really begun now for my cycling events coming up in the coming months. This week I ran 5 miles on Tuesday followed by a 20 mile ride, same for Thursday. On Saturday I ran 10 miles and then today, Sunday rode just under 50 miles of wonderful gravel. Here is how it went today.

Paul Varnum, Matt Maxwell, Stephen Carney, and Nick Wethington met at my place for what was to be 30-40 miles. It was about 18 degrees with a 5 mph wind from the north, sunny skies and PERFECT gravel. Why is it that frozen gravel is so nice to ride on? We headed north and after about 10 miles Paul took off for home as the pace was just a bit fast. I know I was working to keep up. I ride a single speed with 32 X 16 gearing so 14-15 mph is about my max unless I am getting pushed by the wind. So I was pushing hard to keep up with Matt and Nick on their skinny tired cross bikes and Stephen had his SUPER sweet Cannondale Scalpel that he bought from professional racer, Sonya Looney. I think it is 22-23 lbs for a full suspension.

What I loved about this ride so far was that I was feeling pretty good even though I was having to push somewhat hard to keep up. Nick was leading the way most of the time and I am sure he was just cruising at a casual pace. He just finished the Arrowhead Ultra 135 so he is in top form right now and it showed. We felt good so we just kept on going up to Stanhope, Iowa. We took a break and I had fried potatoes and chicken strips for lunch! Yummee salt!

We took off for home as I was a little late. As in, I was already suppose to be home to eat the awesome lunch my wife was making. Opps. It was REALLY good once I got home though! We were trucking it home, but being tired I lost ground occasionally with Matt, Nick, and Stephen, but these guys are studs so I didn't feel so bad only losing a 1/4 to a half a mile to them.

I got home and Tammy wasn't upset as it was such as awesome day. I have a great wife! And.... her soup really hit the spot!

I loved today as I got worked over real well. Exactly what I needed!

I guess we will see what this week brings on the training front! I will likely only be updating this blog on Sundays. I am a member of facebook and that takes up some of my computer time, but I am trying to be training instead of being on the computer!

Happy training!

Yikes!

2009-02-10T20:15:00.001-08:00

I am sorry for the lack of posting. I haven't had much time. Here is a quick note on what has been up!

Went to CO to go skiing for a week! I had the time of my life! Got back and had 220 emails at work and was VERY busy catching up! I didn't run or ride for two weeks. I went and ran a 5k. I wanted 21:30, but the lack of two weeks off led to 22:30. Pretty depressing as it wasn't that long ago I ran a half marathon at that pace! That isn't bragging that is ripping on my 5K!!! BUT, it was very good for me as it showed me that I can't take time off and expect much and that I have to be consistent. After the race I went on a 15 mile gravel grinder. This past Sunday I did another 15 miler. Gravel is awesome, but wet.

Today, Tuesday, I ran 4 miles and then followed through on my promise. I donate plasma for extra cash once or twice a week so I promised myself that if I wanted the money from donating plasma then I had to commute. So, after my run I rode the 9 miles to the plasma center and back. It is a great commute of 3 miles of gravel, side walks, trails, and lonely city streets.

I hope to get out for a ride on Saturday or Sunday morning. Likely Sunday morning. If you want to join in on the fun I am looking at 35-45 miles of gravel.

Happy training!

Vacation

2009-01-22T20:09:00.000-08:00

I will be on vacation for a week in Colorado so I will not be posting for a bit.

Happy training!

Keeping at it.

2009-01-18T10:43:00.000-08:00

This past week has been crazy! We didn't have school this past Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday due to the very cold temps. My computer was reading -28 on Thursday and that is without the windchill! Crazy!

On Friday, Tammy and I hit up the gym together. It is wonderful having a wife that works out more than me! Today was a great work out. I still have a long ways to go to get to where I want to be, but I am slowly getting in better shape. I have even lost a couple of pounds of fat!

I always start off with a .1 mile walk on the treadmill and them run 10 minute pace and gain speed up to 8:30 pace until I get to half a mile and then I stretch just a bit. Then I start the treadmill on random again on setting 3 and start around 9 minute pace or so. I finished the next two miles slowly increasing my speed to 8 min pace. Pathetic for a lot of runners, but since I am a very average Joe I am ok with it. I then did three miles at 7:40 pace. After the 45 minutes I finished at about 5.5 miles. Then my typical .4-.5 cool down.

Today, Tammy and I went in again. This was to be just a nice comfortable run for an hour. I again did the .5 warm up and stretch then set the treadmill for 60 minutes and ran about 7.2 miles or so. I think it is around 8:15 pace. I felt really good today and the pace was comfortable.

Happy training!

A good run, but wimpy.

2009-01-14T16:03:00.000-08:00

Today warmed up with 2.5 miles and then the plan was 3 X 1 mile at 6:30 pace with the setting of the treadmill on level ground. The first mile repeat was good, but I could feel the last .1-.2. I then walked for 5 minutes at a very easy pace to completely rest. Then came repeat number two just a bit tougher and was wanting it be done around the .75 mark. Complete rest again and then went for number three. I was starting to feel it a bit at .4-.5 and was starting to work. I quit at .85. What a loser. I could have made it to 1.00, but I just didn't. Mentally weak and that is all there is to it! I attribute it to not running at that pace for that long in nearly 4 years when I ran that pace for a 5k! I have a ways to go, but it is coming.

I finished with 30 minutes at an easy pace on the bike.

Happy training.

Today's run.

2009-01-12T15:28:00.001-08:00

Well, today was a great run. I went to the gym with Tammy after getting out of school early. Was planning on a long run and ran 7 miles in 58 minutes or around 8:20 pace. On a treadmill I get bored pretty easily so I mix things up. As I have stated earlier I run with the treadmill set on Random so it is always climbing up hill. I had been running at the number 1 setting out of 20 (which is something crazy like a 15 percent grade!) the last week I have set it at three so it goes up to about a 3.5 percent grade I believe on the highest hills during the run. So, they are huge, but they can last 1-3 minutes before dropping down to 2.5 or 1 percent. I can definitely feel that I am getting stronger as the hills really aren't bad anymore unless I am at a fast pace.

Today I started at 8:56 pace and slowly got faster. Each .25 of a mile I would up the pace about 8 seconds a mile or so until I got to 2 miles and then I would up it about 8 seconds a mile each tenth. I worked my way up to about 7:20 pace and then worked my way back down until I got to 8:30 pace. Once I hit 6 miles then I went from 8:30 up to 6:45 increasing each .10 of a mile until I hit seven miles in 58 miles. I did my cool down to finish the last couple of minutes so that I had an hour. So with the warm up and cool down I was just under 8 miles.

The plan for the rest of this week is to run two 45 minute runs along with a hour and ten minute run. I will do that for the following week as well. Again I will have one session as a repeat session running .25 at 5:30-6:00 pace and then .25 with rest with a couple mile warm up and cool down. Then another run as a fartlek running from 7:15-30 for .5-1 miles with a little rest in between the repeats. I am going to Colorado the week of Jan 24-31 to go skiing so I doubt I will run much. If I can get in a 2 mile run a couple of times that would be awesome, but I will be skiing so my legs will be getting a workout and a good rest from running! Once I get back I will continue with the running, but I will have a 5k the following Saturday so that is exiting. It will be my first 5k in nearly 4 years so I am excited!

Now, for the biking! I have a goal in mind. I hope to start riding to work! Unfortunately, work is only about 4-5 blocks away! So, I plan on bringing some riding clothes and if I have the time I will ride a 8 to 12 mile loop of gravel to get home. One thing I have found with Trans Iowa and other major distance events is the people that commute really have a huge advantage! I would say even a bigger advantage than people that actually really train hard for those events. So, we will see how that goes!

Good news on the riding front! I registered for the Dirty Kanza 200 for May 30th! This gravel grinder in Kansas is a race I have had the privilege of riding twice. I have also finished twice. I love this race and was really bummed to miss it last year and can't wait to make it back this year!

Also, my great friend Jim McGuire has told me he is wanting to sign up for the Breck 68 that will be in July! I really want to do that race and who knows.... I just might have a new bike???? %^)

Happy training!

A great week!

2009-01-10T16:33:00.000-08:00

Update: I just got registered for the Dirty Kanza 200! This is one of the best gravel grinders ever! Consider it!

Sorry for the lack of posts to you few readers out there! This has been a very productive week really! I have been back to work this week and have been incredibly busy. That is good though.

As for my running things are coming together. My right knee is a bit sore, but not from running. You see, I have this horrible habit of having my legs in weird positions while I sit. This has led to many problems for me and my running over the years. Here are a couple of examples. Since you are probably reading this while seated look down at your heals. Now put your heals on the legs or the base of the chair. You will see that your achilles tendon shortens as your heal rises. This is very bad! After having all kinds of calf and achilles problems I walked into my favorite physical therapist's office in the world and he saw me sitting in the waiting room. He said, "So you are having achilles and calf pain?" I said, "Yes I am! It sucks!" He said, "Well, it is the way you are sitting." I didn't have a clue what he was talking about. He showed me what I was doing and then asked me to put my feet flat on the floor in front of me while sitting and then slide my heals back until the heal wants to lift up off the floor. So, while seated at my desk I would change how I put my feet on the floor and within a week I was back to 100 percent. Of course, this advice cost me a $100, but it was worth every cent!

Now I am dealing with my patellar tendon hurting. It isn't runners knee, it is how I have my lower legs positioned while working. You see, last Sunday I put in a 14 hour day barely taking a break while sitting at my desk. I kept putting my right foot angled off to the side putting stress on the inside of the patella tendon. Fortunately, my physical therapist (which I haven't had to go to now for four years!) has taught me to be aware of the little things that I do that lead to injuries. So, I have been very careful to notice how I am sitting this week and I am definitely getting better.

So, this week I have put in about 19 miles or so. Obviously not a lot, but all of it has been quality. This is what I have been doing.

Day 1. Run 7-7.5 miles within 60 minutes all with the treadmill set at random. What this does is randomly select the angle of the hill your climbing, which means I am running up hill the whole run. I run these as fartlek's so I am going from 9:30 pace at the beginning to warm up to 8 minute to 7:30 pace and back to 8:30 pace and so forth.

Day 2. I run around 6 miles with 2 miles as a warm up and then run a quarter of a mile repeat at 6 minute pace with a slow run cool down (10 min. pace)for another .25 miles. This week I did two .25 X 6 min. pace, then 2 X 5:45 and then 1 X 5:30 pace. Then another 2 mile cool down. Six minute pace is feeling reasonable for a mile now so that is exiting. Gone are the days of high school were I could run a 5 minute mile!

Day 3. Run around 6 miles with a 2 mile warm up at around 9:30 pace. Then I would run .50 miles at 7:00-7:20 pace with a .50 miles at 8:30 pace. This tempo run works great and I will continue to lengthen the 7:00-7:20 distance.

All of these are run on the random setting. By running up hill consistently it helps to make the pace on level ground that much easier!

I feel I am on my way to my goal of running a 5:45 mile for the Presidential Fitness Award that my high school students are trying to achieve. I have to prove to the PE teacher that even I can do this!

I will be biking more and more now that we are in January. Be on the look out for updates on this.

Happy training.

Still running

2009-01-03T11:16:00.000-08:00

Went to the gym today. I was hoping to get over to Cedar Falls to ride with GT, but with this weather it just didn't happen. At the gym I ran 5.5 miles. I did .5 miles at ten minute pace to warm up, 4.75 in 40 minutes then a half a mile cool down. Finished with 20 minutes on the bike. Nothing major, just trying to get a workout in.

It appears that the weather should be good during this next week. Hopefully I can get some riding in. Four months until Trans Iowa!

Happy training.

A beautiful ride.

2008-12-30T15:08:00.000-08:00

Took off with Paul Varnum this morning and rode a total of 30 miles. It had been two weeks since I had rode so it was a very welcome ride. I took my very muddy bike out of the garage to look over things since my muddy ride with Stephen Carney. Now I know why I was hurting so bad during that ride. My cranks were all but locked up with all the sludge. So, I will probably be looking at a bottom bracket overhaul!

Today's ride went very well. Now to just keep plugging along!

Christmas Break

2008-12-29T19:25:00.000-08:00

During the break I ran 3-4 miles every other day on a old treadmill of my mother-in-laws. It pretty much sucked, but it was something. I continued with my push ups, sit ups, pull ups, and squats. Today, I weighed the most I every have. This was after supper and drinking about 20 ounces and was fully clothed, but it still sucked. I need to lose a bit of weight.

Today was a 5.8 mile run. I did a nice warm up of .5 miles then ran 4.9 miles in 40 minutes. This consisted of running 8:30 pace for .5 miles then 7:15-7:30 pace for .5 miles and going back to the 8:30 pace. I did this for 4.9 miles then did a .4 mile cool down. I do all my runs on the random mode so it is completely up hill for the entire run, but nothing very steep. Just four years ago I run a half marathon (13.1 miles) at 7:20 pace. I have a ways to go to get in that kind of shape again.

Paul Varnum and I are going for a ride tomorrow. I am also looking at a ride on Saturday and hope to do the BRR ride this year!

Breckenridge is under four weeks away! I can't wait!

It should be easy!

2008-12-24T07:54:00.000-08:00

I have some choices to make and it surprising how greedy I can be sometimes. Here is my dilemma: I really want to get the bike below, and I think I can get a pretty darn good deal on it, but I also want to refinance on my house. If I refinance I would more than likely go to a 15 year mortgage at less than 5%! In order to get that I will have to put a bit of money down (closing costs and to get a bit more equity in my house) so there goes the bike (I think!). Of course, I want both, and maybe that can happen, but this has been the problem with our society of late. We want everything. I am trying to be smart here. It should be so easy, but I also want the bike. I sound stupid don't it?!!? So, I have decided, I have to get the refi done and then see where I stand. If we get refi to workout then I deserve that bike right? %^)

It is still a lot of money!

Sunday Training

2008-12-21T13:40:00.000-08:00

Nothing outside today! Is -3 with -25 to-30 windchills. Not for this cat!

I went to the gym and ran 7.2 miles in 60 minutes and then road the stationary bike for 30 minutes at an easy pace. Another tempo or repeat run on Tuesday and then easy for the rest of the week. This has been a good couple of weeks of running and I am feeling pretty decent.

What I really want right now:

Happy training.

Sunday Ride

2008-12-19T15:25:00.000-08:00

Anyone up for a Sunday ride? Not far, maybe 30-40 miles? Let me know.

Training

2008-12-17T15:38:00.000-08:00

I still haven't been biking consistently, but that will come. I have been running about 15-20 miles a week. Yesterday I ran 2.5 miles as a warm up at about 9 minute pace. Then did 4 X .25 mile at 5:45-6:00 pace with .25 mile cool down at 10 minute pace. I then did a mile cool down. One Sunday I did 6 miles at 7:30-8:00 pace and I think it was this past Friday I did 5-6 miles at with every other mile at 7:15-30. My running has continued to improve. The biking will come later.

I still have been doing my pull ups for the challenge the PE teacher gave me. I have decided to try for the Presidential Fitness Award as an 18 year old. It should be interesting. I need to crank out 55 situps in a minute, 13 pull ups, a 5:55 mile, a sit and reach of I don't know what, and pretty damn fast shuttle run. It should be interesting!

Happy training!

Sweet Ride

2008-12-13T17:17:00.000-08:00

Stephen Carney and I took off for a wonderful ride today. It was about 40 degrees or so and the gravel was very soupy as it was covered in ice for the past week. Poor Stephan was on an old Fuji road bike set up fixed with platform pedals! Of course, the guy is an animal so he had no problems. He tried to make me feel better as our closing miles were into the 20-25 mph winds telling me he was tired. Yeah right, he also said his pulse was 140! I am sure mine was at least 165-170 and I had an easier gear than him!

We ended up riding 32 miles, unless of course, Stephen went out for another lap!

I can't wait for another ride! Christmas break (two weeks this year!) is going to be amazing!

I can't decide if I should run tomorrow or not. I will let you know.

Happy training.

Facebook

2008-12-11T17:31:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago now I joined Facebook. It has been fun, but is pretty addictive. You should join in the fun. I resisted for years, but am glad I finally did it and am glad I did.

I will be going for a ride with Stephen Carney on Saturday morning at 10:30. Let me know if you want to go. I am sure it will be 30-40 miles or so.

Happy training.

Sunday night ride?

2008-11-29T16:21:00.000-08:00

Anyone up for a 30-35 or so mile ride leaving from my house? 6:00 pm?
Leave a comment if you want to go along.

What a beautiful morning

2008-11-28T05:35:00.000-08:00

I am sitting here at my inlaws and I woke up before the sun rose. To see these beautiful mornings like this morning makes me wondering why and the heck I don't ride in the morning more often. Crisp and cool. I love it.

Well, I have been thinking about a new bike and really do I deserve to buy myself a new bike if I am not riding as much as I should be? Absolutely not. I am just in that stage of fitness where it is hard to get into a rythem. Once there I will be fine, but I need to get into the groove. I bet you readers are tired of hearing this from me. I guess I am human.

Happy training.

The snow is fun!

2008-11-22T09:42:00.000-08:00

Went out for little jaunt today. I rode the Monocog Flight with 32 X 16 gearing. This is about perfect for me right now in my current fitness, which is very little! I did a clockwise loop out of Gilbert. Things were going well until the last 5-6 miles against the wind and I lost all power it seemed. I was rolling at maybe 8mph pushing against the 25 plus mph winds. My legs had had enough. I am really out of shape right now, but hopefully it should come back if I can stay consistent. Key word... consistent.

Happy training.

Ride Announcement

2008-11-19T20:02:00.001-08:00

Saturday morning I will be going on a 40-50 mile ride and am wondering if anyone out there would like to go. I have two possible routes in mind. We would leave between 8-9 in the morning and get back about 4-5 hours later. Let me know if you are interested.

Paul

How did I get so lucky?

2008-11-17T19:16:00.000-08:00

Hopefully I haven't jinxed myself!

Tammy and I finally feel that we are starting to get a handle on everything. What a relief. The last several months have been pretty stressful in some ways. I don't know if it was the election, the economy, our debts, or our income, but I was getting into just a little bit of a funk. Saying that, if you had asked I would have said everything was perfect, but underlying that I had just this little bit of uneasiness. Now that the election is over, I know what my paycheck will be each month (it was unclear in September as Gov. Culver helped out the educators in Iowa!), and we have some very clear goals. I know exactly where I am going now.

This all might sound crazy as I would probably say I have always felt this way, but now I am cranked up to 11. Tammy and I have been monitoring our spending habits very closely the last few months. We have looked at our investments, retirement accounts, debts, and goals. What became astonishingly clear was that we needed to tweak a couple of things to make our goals happen. Like a lot of people we live paycheck to paycheck. That tends to happen a bit more when you only get paid once a month! Goal one was to rid ourselves of all small debts (small credit card balances), two, save more in liquid savings, three, refinance to 15 or 20 year mortgages. If I want to retire in 18 years this must happen.

This probably sounds stupid to y'all. Overall, on a happiness scale of 1 to 100 I normally am about a 99. Right now, I am pushing 99.9.

Now onto stranger things. Being on the list for Trans Iowa is really going to help me set some fitness goals so I can get out there and get training. I plan on reporting back to this blog on a very regular basis now so I can keep you all informed.

Now.... keep me accountable to my goals! %^)

Happy training.

Time to get going!

2008-11-16T16:30:00.000-08:00

Well, I am now on the Trans Iowa roster so I better get my rear in gear. I started with a run this morning and then hit up a local bar to watch football with the guys. That counts right?

I hope to get back to making many more updates in my goal towards completing the nearly impossible Trans Iowa bike ride! I hope to be posting about some upcoming rides so hopefully some of us can get together soon!

Happy training.

I don't know about you guys but,

2008-10-22T14:46:00.000-07:00

I just don't know what is going on. For some reason, I just don't have much passion about riding. I was doing pretty good this past spring and summer and then..... nothing. I have been running, but I am not even jazzed about that. Work? Yeah that is going well, but am I ridiculously obsessed about it? No. I probably have more passion about paying off my debt than ever before. This economy business and the election sucks. What is wrong with our country when we are constantly being so negative. Don't we learn in elementary school to be respectful and to treat others the way we want to be treated? Where is the character in our leaders?

All I know is that I need to get out on the bike. Obviously!

Where I have been and what I have been doing.

2008-09-30T18:26:00.000-07:00

I don't know if anybody ever checks this thing anymore, but I thought I would write up a quick note on what has been going on.

After bruising my ribs in Vail I didn't ride for a month. Looking back, I was a wuss. I could have rode some, especially on the road and not on the gravel or single track, but it was sore breathing harder than at rest so I didn't do it. Then, I decided to ride on a team at the 12 hours of Iowa at Seven Oaks. I am very familiar with the trails so I felt pretty good about TRYING it out. My first lap was pretty slow as I was all of a sudden scared to crash with my sore ribs. After the first lap was done I then was feeling much better, but also was very out of shape. I had NO power at all and was riding a good 5-10 minutes slower per lap than normal. BUT, I was riding nearly pain free.

After the race I was tender for a few days after putting in the 5 laps (someday I will be in shape for this race!). School has begun and I am working my ass off. I have a secretary this year, the first time ever, so I am loving it as I am more productive, but it does take some time to prepare and train her too. Fortunately, I absolutely love my job and I have been extremely dedicated to that, going to my daughter's volleyball game, organizing my Students Against Destructive Decisions weekend bashes, and RUNNING! Yes, I am actually back running and am currently much more excited about that than getting back on the bike (at the moment).

During the times I am grilling I have converted my Monocog Flight back into a single speed and put my Ibex back together. I also sold two of my old bikes. One was a Park Pre from the mid nineties, and my old Panasonic from 1985. I sold the Panasonic for 25 dollars less than what I paid for it!

Anyway, things are going very well, I just haven't felt like riding or writing. I am still checking people's blogs and everything. I just haven't had much to say on the blog lately.

Happy training.

I am it.

2008-09-04T18:55:00.000-07:00

I got tagged by Andrew and Cory so I better step up!

Where was I ten years ago?

I was just starting my second year as a high school guidance counselor at Colo-NESCO High School in Colo, Iowa. I was 27 years old and loving life. I was an avid rock climber and had just climbed some great routes at Devils Tower, Wyoming. At the time I was living in Nevada, Iowa. My daughter, Paula, was entering the 1st grade and I was thinking that she would be in high school in no time as it was seeming that time was flying! She is currently a sophomore!

What are 5 non work related items on your list today?
1. Walk 3-4 miles with my wife.
2. Pack for camping trip for Friday night.
3. Check blogs.
4. Check on my fantasy football team.
5. Go to my daughter's volleyball game.

Snacks I enjoy.

1. Mixed nuts
2. Movie popcorn
3. Reese's PB Cup Blizzards
4. Fat Tire
5. Fruit
6. Chips sometimes.

Things I would do if I was a billionaire:

1. I would take care of all of my extended family so that they would never have to worry about money again unless they wasted what I gave them.

2. I would set up a scholarship fund for all students from Forest City High School (my alma mater), Colo-NESCO High School (my first guidance counselor job was here) and Gilbert High School. My current employer. I ensure that at least half of the tuition was paid for for every year a student wanted to go to college. This is one of the easiest ways to make a huge impact in the future of our kids in my opinion.

3. I would have the high school hire at least another counselor and I would see what I could do to have a flexible schedule so I could take a vacation whenever I wanted, but I would keep my same job. I feel like I have won the lottery with my job anyway.

4. I would buy homes throughout the world and I would let all of my friends and family stay there as much as they wanted.

5. I would set up a training school for all students that dropped out of high school who truly realized that they need to make a change in their life. I would do everything I could to make this happen.

6. I would make my money work for me so that I could help even more people out.

Places I have lived

Forest City, Iowa
Mason City, Iowa
Cedar Falls, Iowa
Nevada, Iowa
Colo, Iowa
Gilbert, Iowa

Places I have worked
Growing up I had three different paper routes. Two of them at the same time for a six year period.
I walked beans and rode a bean bar for many years as a child.
I detasselled corn for 14 years in a row.
I made pizza and delivered pizza.
I worked at a gas station for two weeks and got fired when I disagreed with the owner on how they were taxing people for food they were not suppose to.
I worked in food service at college for 6 months before getting a job as a youth counselor at a children's psychiatric hospital. I did this for a year and a half before moving to Cedar Falls.
I worked at UPS in Cedar Falls.
I taught seventh grade science, taught chemistry and physics labs and was an at risk teacher for four years.
I have been a high school guidance counselor for 10 years. I just started on my 11th year.
But, job number one is being a husband and father.

Steve and Mark, you are it.

Instead of riding....

2008-08-17T12:24:00.000-07:00

Feeling a bit better.

2008-08-11T20:39:00.000-07:00

I woke up with very little pain and rolled out of bed MUCH better than I have since hurting my ribs. I actually rode the 3 blocks to work today and felt 100%. I will continue to ride just a bit around town through this week and then go from there. Phew!

Huge congrats goes out to my pals Jim McGuire and Gary Cale on their VERY successful rides at the Leadville 100! Great job guys!

Happy training.

Sore Ribs Suck

2008-08-09T17:09:00.000-07:00

It has now been a week and a half since my little crash. My ribs are still hurting pretty bad. As of this past Monday, they were doing a little better until I watched a Robin Williams DVD and then I was pretty sore the next morning from all the laughing (if you have had bruised or broken ribs you know exactly what I am talking about). Then on Wednesday I mowed the lawn. BIG mistake. I ended up mowing the second half of it with one hand and the jarring from the handle was rattling my ribs like crazy. Since then I have been very sore. I don't sleep well at all and getting in and out of bed is horrible. I hope to be back riding in a couple of weeks, but as of right now things are not looking good for the Seven Oaks 12 hour. I certainly will not be in good shape even if I am pain free. This sucks.

But, I did see that there will be a Trans Iowa V.5! Sweet!

Vail, CO

2008-08-03T18:07:00.000-07:00

This past week I was at Vail, Colorado. I brought my Redline 29er (geared!) and I borrowed a Cannondale Rush from Skunk River Cycles. We arrived on Friday afternoon and on Saturday morning I was off for my first ride up Meadow Mountain. This was a 9 mile mile ride that became 18 after I got off course a bit near the end. It began with a 2000 foot climb in just under 5 miles. We don't find climbs like that in Iowa! It took me an hour!

On top with the big wheels.

Now for the ride down. Riding a 29er fully rigid beat the hell out of me, but it sure was fun.

Why ride in Colorado? This is why!

Near the end of the trail the trail literally fell into someone's future basement. I crawled up to the road and rode another 8 miles trying to find the right way back. After over an hour of exploring strange single track I rode into a town and took the highway back to my car. Strange. I actually had a cute girl ride up to me in town, rode to my car with me and then asked me to ride Meadow Mountain with her. I declined. In 18 years of marriage (as of July 28th) I think that was the first time I have ever been hit on. Tammy seems to be hit on weekly if not daily. I guess I am the lucky one huh!??! %^)

On Sunday, I rode with the fellow Mobsters, Andrew and Stephan Carney up Vail Mountain via the gravel rode. I think this was something like 3000 in 7 miles. It didn't seem steep, but we nearly granny geared it all the way. Of course, I was holding those two super freak of natures back!

Once on top we rode the Grand Traverse. This was a 4-5 mile climb of about 1000 or so feet. Then we turned around and rode the most incredible single track of my life. I was smiling ear to ear and couldn't stop. There is nothing like riding waving single track for miles. It was incredible. We only stopped to take pictures. If you are ever in the Vail area you must ride this. It is not hard at all, just pure perfection. Here are some photos.

Once we topped out we rode some single track about half way down the mountain until it started raining. We got completely soaked and it was a cold ride down, but still tons of fun! Once on bottom they even had hoses to wash off the bikes.

On Monday, it was rest day. Tammy, Paula, and my brother and sister in law, Tim and Angie, along with their kids went shopping in Lionshead and Vail Village. Vail is pretty cool to hang out in. We ate some great food and just chilled. We also took the gondola up the mountain and had a ball. I then called Paragliding Adventures out of Glenwood Springs so Paula could have the trip of a lifetime.

Paula about to take off. Her instructions were to run as fast as she could TOWARDS the edge of the mountain.

Making the leap of her life!

And they are off!

Enjoying a tour of Glenwood Springs

A picture from the ground

Paula right after she landed. She had a ball.

We then headed back towards Vail and saw a sign for Hanging Lake. We decided to pull off and to check it out. It was one of the highlights of the trip. If you ever are near Glenwood Springs make sure you stop. After a 1.2 mile hike...

You get to this

And this. This is a picture of my brother and sister in law and their kids, but in the background you can see two waterfalls that come shooting out holes in the cliff. Pretty awesome.

What a great day.

The plan for Wednesday was to ride down Vail Pass. Our time share unit has all kinds of activities each day and on Wednesday they would drive you 16 miles up the road to ride the bike path back to Vail. This was all down hill!

On Thursday I had planned on driving over to Breckenridge to ride Loop 2 of the B 68
route as my good friend Jim McGuire had ridden it just the week before and had a blast, also Andrew Carney was raving about the course.

But...... on Wednesday afternoon, my brother in law, Tim and I decided to go for a ride. We rode up the rode on Vail Mountain for a ways until we saw some single track. We rode just a bit until we realized that we were going the wrong way. Since both Tim and I love Aspens we decided to take some pictures. I broke cardinal rule number one and asked Tim to take a picture of me riding the single track. Well, first off, we were on a black diamond (downhill protection highly recommended) route that I didn't realize until it was too late, but then I also had Tim taking pictures of me going down steep single track while standing on the trail. I ran the bike up the hill, rode down just fine, but then had to stop. Obviously, going over large rocks and roots galore and then stopping on a steep downhill wasn't smart. I endoed at about 4-5 mph, but in doing so, I drove the end of the handlebar into my ribs. I was fine at the time except I felt like a redneck telling my brother in law, "Hey, watch this!". Dumbass of the month award for me. We rode home (still having fun, but feeling like a showoff that deserved what he got). After getting home my chest really started hurting and I wondered if I broke a rib or two. I pretty much knew my riding was over for the week at this point. I woke up on Thursday morning in a lot of pain and took it easy the whole day. I was REALLY upset that I couldn't ride more, but was also happy that I wasn't in the hospital. At this point (on Sunday) I am feeling much better. I think I just bruised my ribs. They hurt, but are a lot better than yesterday when I thought my riding will be delayed a few weeks. I should be riding this week now!

Tim took some great pictures of my endo so stay tuned!

On Thursday we took some time to drive up to Piney Lake. This was about 45 minutes up a dirt road from Vail. There are tons riding opportunities up here and someday I hope to be back!

Now let's see if I can get some racing in in the next month or so!

Happy training.

The endo in pictures!

So far, so good, until I need to stop as Tim in on the trail. I probably am watching Tim more than I am watching ahead of me and as I slow down (those hydraulics sure have some power!).....

And my ribs still hurt! I was feeling really good until I watched a Robin Williams stand up routine tonight and now they are hurting again. Hopefully they will be better tomorrow!

The Grand Traverse

2008-07-27T20:45:00.000-07:00

Met up with Andrew and Stephen Carney this morning for a ride. We took the gravel road up Vail Mountain to ride the Grand Traverse (see video below). We climbed about 4000 feet to get to the top, but it certainly was worth it. The Grand Traverse was the best single track of my life. While Meadow Mountain had the aspen trees the Grand Traverse had several miles of very fast single track. The trail was the perfect angle as we barely had to touch our breaks and flew down 6 inch wide, buff single track. We made a stop and I felt like I had a smile on my face that just wouldn't stop. I was chuckling like a school girl I was so happy. I have had so much fun riding.... ever.

Once Andrew, Stephen and I finished up the Grand Traverse we then had nearly a 3000 foot decend into the Vail Valley. We took the road for parts of it, but also rode some great single track on the way down. We ended up getting rained on with about 4 miles or so to go to get back to the condo. It was a cold and muddy ride, but we were still feeling great about the ride!

Pics to come next week.

Happy training.

Vail, CO!

2008-07-26T14:49:00.000-07:00

Rode Meadow Mountain this morning. After a 4.9 mile 2000 foot climb ( I granny geared it nearly the whole way! Coming from 1000 feet of elevation sucks!). I made it to the cabin in an hour or so. Took some pics and then took off. Suddenly, riding my fully rigid Monocog Flight wasn't the brightest idea. I got the crap kicked out of me on the way down, but was grinning ear to ear. This is one amazing trail!

Over all, this was one sweet ride!

And yes.... the aspens were awesome! Everything I dream about while back in Iowa!

Pics to come once I get home.

Colorado.... here I come!

2008-07-24T09:03:00.000-07:00

Will be in Vail for the next week. The great guys at Skunk River Cycles have let me take a $2500 Cannondale Rush. Thanks guys!

The Graid route is complete.

2008-07-17T17:58:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the day to finish up with the GRAID. The GRAID was this idea I conceived up this past spring. It was a 270 route across Iowa in a day. Dennis Grelk, Steve Fuller, Matt Maxwell, and I started in Lamoni, Iowa on the southern border and made it to Ames around 10 at night, roughly 14 hours and 157 miles total. Dennis and I left Ames around 12:30 after eating and chilling (mistake!) and when we rolled within a block of my house in Gilbert it was just too easy to quit so we called it a night.

Yesterday was the day to finish up the last 113 miles. I took off from Gilbert at 6:00 AM sharp and made it to Belmond at mile 62 at 10:30. There was NO wind at all so it was easy going. I made it to Garner at mile 83 around 12:00 where I took a 45 minute break to rest up and eat a big ol' burger at Hardees. I continued on and made it to Emmons, Mn. at 3:25. Nine hours and 25 minutes for 115 miles (took a wrong turn and went an extra 2 miles. That certainly is the fastest I have ever gone that distance. Why can't Trans Iowa have conditions like that? I think my average speed while on the bike was 14.3 which is very good for me on the gravel. I will admit, for the last couple of hours I did have a 10 mile per hour tail wind.

Once in Emmons, I turned around and head back southwest to Forest City for a 28 mile ride to my parents house. I will admit, I took this very easy and did not push at all. It was more of a tour of unridden roads. I stopped in Lake Mills for a chocolate malt (there is nothing better when it is 90 degrees and humid!) and some down time. I stopped at my mom's place in Leland and then continued on to my dad's house about 4 miles down the road. I was home by 6:30 pm. So, 143.6 miles in 12.5 hours. Not too bad for me.

I hope to get some more riding in before heading to Vail. Hopefully I can get some riding in there. I can't wait.

Happy training.

Been riding

2008-07-15T14:32:00.000-07:00

I have been riding, but not tons. Several 30-50 milers with a metric century thrown in. Will be going to Vail in another week. Finishing up the last 113 miles of the GRAID route tomorrow along with riding back to my parents for roughly 150 mile trip.

I hope to be doing some of this very, very soon!

Time for an update

2008-07-02T17:24:00.000-07:00

I have been back from vacation now for about a week and a half so I will try for a bit of a recap.

On Thursday the 19th I took my brother in law up to Maplelag in northwestern Minnesota. It was about an hour from our cabin on Ottertail Lake so it wasn't too far. If you ever get a chance to go to Maplelag it is AMAZING. Their single track is good, but the resort is what is a amazing. If I liked to cross country ski it would be worth the 8 hour drive to stay there for a long weekend. It was voted the best cross country ski resort in the country and I can believe it. It is beautiful! There cabins are awesome and their meeting center and dining hall has room to feed well over a 1000 and they have a professional kitchen that would make any restaurant owner drool. Next year when we are "Up North" I will take off for Maplelag again for sure.

Check out Doug Swanson ripping it up at Maplelag:

When the weekend came I was still game for going to Levis Trow. But, then on Monday I got word that a couple of the guys I was trying to recruit were not going to be able to go. Plus, my daughter was leaving for Challenge 08 in Salt Lake City on Saturday, the day of the race. I just couldn't see myself not saying good bye and being selfish being way at a race. Also, being over 5 hours away I decided not to make the trip by myself. I only biked maybe 30 miles during the week. I was bummed, but relieved at the same time.

After this weekend I talked with my friend Jim McGuire and with all the training he is doing for Leadville and possibly the B-63 at Breckenridge I decided to get my butt going again. So, I have been a commuting like a mad man lately. So far this week I have been putting in 30+ mile days. In the next couple of weeks I hope to make the trip up to the border of Minnesota to finish off the GRAID route. I hope to do a race or two in August, but man the calendar is full!

One July 24th I will be leaving for Vail, Co. and I the bike, and MAYBE a rented Cannondale Rush will be making the trip! I can't wait to hit up some serious single track!

We will see what happens in the coming weeks. I am off work for 3 weeks starting July 12. I can't wait!

Happy training.

Vacation Time

2008-06-18T09:02:00.000-07:00

We are up at Ottertail Lake in northwestern Minnesota this week. On Sunday I rode a metric century to Inspiration Point and back. This is Minnesota's second highest point and was a great ride. Ottertail County literally has a 1000 lakes and so there is hardly a straight road any where so it was a ton of fun. Yesterday I rode some new singletrack just outside of Wadena. This single track was ok, but is pretty new so there is a lot of branches that need to be trimmed and weeds to be mowed, but it has potential. There must have been about 6 miles worth. Hopefully I will be going to Maplelag tomorrow, but we will have to see. I am with 80 of my inlaws so getting away isn't always easy.

Happy training.

One the best in months!

2008-06-11T20:06:00.000-07:00

A friend of Dennis Grelk's, named Steve Jones, emailed me last week about getting together for a ride as he was in town for a class. I called up OP and Alex to see if they could come, but Paul was working on his basement (I completely understand as that was me two summers ago!), but Alex could get away. We took off shortly after 6:00 pm on Tuesday and planned on a route a little over 30 or so miles. We took off at a fast pace that I didn't know if I could hold, but I thought I would be willing to suffer the consequences of going out too hard. We were trucking down the gravel at 15-18 or so. Through some hills and on perfect gravel we were having a ball riding with the wind in perfect conditions. We continued the "fast" pace and knew that we were having to turn against the wind up ahead. We started heading south and low and behold, the wind must have died. At this point we had covered something like 23 miles in about an hour and 20 minutes so we were flying (for me!). We continued south and we kind of started letting up a bit. As we headed up the hill by Varnum's house the legs could start to feel the now nearly 30 mile push. We got into McFarland Park to some very wet grass so now we were down to about 6-7 so that we didn't get coated with mud. We left McFarland to hit the two rollers outside of Peterson Pits and I decided, since I had rode all of the ride (but about 30 feet) in 32 X 16 or higher that I would push up these hills in 32 X 16. These hills are probably 8 percent grade so I had to keep the cadence up which was pretty tough at that angle, but it worked out. We made it home safely spinning in at a nice and easy pace. I finished with an average of 15.3 on the computer which is very good for me. I remember last year, before the 29er, that if I could average 13.4 I was doing good. What a difference a bike can make. Don't let anyone tell you that it isn't about the bike because last year I was riding a nearly 30 pound hardtail that just didn't want to go!

Steve and I hit up Brewers in Ames and talked until nearly mid night. Unfortunately, I was up at 4:15 to bake egg bake for the Lions Club meeting this morning. Yes, I was a hurting unit today as I had a hard time staying awake.

I really appreciate Steve emailing me. We had a blast and he is a great guy. This is what riding is all about.

I may have Matt and Alex talked into Levis Trow. Anyone else?

Happy training.

Commuting is getting to be fun.

2008-06-09T20:25:00.000-07:00

On Saturaday I rode about 30 some miles around Gilbert and into Ames, but man was it humid! Just crazy humid! Heck, I don't know if you could even see two miles way it was so bad! I took Sunday off and did all kinds of work around the house and then went over to my friend Benji's house and took out his kitchen cabinets. What an adventure!

This afternoon I rode into Ames again to Biolife and what a beautiful night it was! Low humidity, cool temps, beautiful sunset! Amazing. After "donating" I rode around Ames exploring some of the side streets that I never drive on. I made some loops around Moore Park since I hadn't ever ridden those trails before and then headed over to Ada Hayden for a loop. Rode back into Ames a bit and then home. Just over 30 miles total.

Got a call from a friend of Dennis Grelk named Steve Jones. Steve is taking a class all week in Ames and wants to go for a ride tomorrow night. Any friend of Dennis's is a friend of mine so a tour of the local gravel is what he will get. Hopefully that will mean another 30 plus tomorrow. Things are coming together! Now if it would only dry up!

God Bless all the Iowans that are being flooded right now. What a disaster!

Levis Trow anyone? June 28th. I am driving and can take three other riders?

Commuting and stuff

2008-06-06T10:14:00.001-07:00

Rode over 20 miles yesterday commuting. It was extremely humid yesterday so I am sure I didn't smell the best once I got to the plasma center, but why spend 5 bucks in gas to make 20 bucks when I can just ride there for free and have fun doing it. Heck, it only takes me about 35-40 minutes to ride and about 20 minutes to drive so it is worth it to me.

Anyone up for a Saturday morning gravel grinder? I am thinking of riding 40-50 starting at 8:00. How about Gilbert to Zearing and back? Click for an optional route.

On Saturday, June 28 I am planning on racing the Levis Trow Mound 50. This is in central Wisconsin about 5 hours away. Would anyone want to go? I have room for four bikes. I am planning, as of right now, going up on Friday morning to camp and then racing from 1pm to 7pm and then coming home that night. Let me know if you are interested. Here is the info on the race. They have a 25 mile version and a 100 mile version if the 50 isn't for you. Leave a comment if interested.

Happy training.

Grind and the City

2008-06-04T18:51:00.000-07:00

The last couple of days I have been riding about 10 miles a day just cruising around Gilbert and a few of the gravel roads just around town. Tonight I decided to try a mash session for fun. This probably isn't a good form of training, but it is riding. I ran 32 X 11 and mashed away. This was a lot of fun as it did force me to stand quite a bit which was fun to go fast while standing. I am not a roadie and have ridden a road bike twice since 2001 so I don't get a lot of fast mashing going on. I put in two hours and about 20-25 miles riding to Ames, around campus, down through Main Street, down to Target, back through campus and back to Gilbert. What fun. If it isn't raining tomorrow I will be riding to Ames for my plasma appointment. Hopefully this time I won't bonk! %^)

A brief ride report.

2008-06-02T21:47:00.000-07:00

I learned a good lesson on Saturday and here is the tale.

To fund my hobbies I "donate" plasma at Biolife in Ames. This gives me approximately 20-60 dollars a week for fun. Well, I paid the piper this time. You see, your plasma is largely electrolytes. What I found out is it probably isn't a good idea to rid your body of 690 millileters of electrolytes before going on a 50 miles ride.

Paul V and I took off for what was to be a 50 mile ride or so. We rode to Colo, about 25 miles from Gilbert, so I could check on the duplex I own since we have been seriously flooded in this part of the state. We made the 21 mile trip (from Paul's house) in about an hour and 15 minutes so we were doing well. Of course, we did have about a 5 mph wind pushing us. I could tell, once we got to Colo that things weren't quite right. I had just ridden 25 miles with the wind and I was feeling it. I thought it was because I hadn't eat much at all. We went to Casey's and I ate a huge Snickers ice cream bar and a Dr. Pepper (damn caffeine addiction). We were on our way and I was feeling better, but still just didn't have the snap I like to have.

We rolled into Nevada after about 9 miles or so and I was wanting to stop. I drank a bunch of my fluids that I had and then bought a 32 ounce Gatorade. Nothing I could do was giving me any energy. We left Nevada and I was about 2 miles per hour slower than I should have. I just couldn't push the gear. Heck, we only had about 12 miles to go to Paul's house and I was hoping to get there soon! We were bucking the now 10-15 mph wind and I was toast. With 3.5 or so miles to go some dogs came out of their yard and I pushed hard on the pedals to end up in a heap of cramps so bad I could barely move. I unclipped my right leg and pedaled with one leg to get away from the dogs at about 8 mph. It sucked. I was in pain for the next mile and ended up having to get off my bike. This meant putting my full body weight onto my legs and I was locked up worse than ever. If I even tried to walk my steps would have only been an inch or two. Total melt down. After resting for a few minutes (Paul was up the road being incredibly patient!) I got back on, but that only lasted a mile or so until I had to go through the whole process again. Total lock up. I finally pedaled into Paul's house at about 4-6 mph and in incredible pain. Paul ended up driving me the 4.5 miles to my house I was in such bad shape.

This was one of those humbling experiences that makes you realize how a person can die riding out in the desert or any place in the wilderness. No matter what my desire was, I was not moving. After eating and resting later in the day I was a lot better. I even went down to Des Moines just an hour after getting home and went with my buddies to a Barnstormers game. I felt 100 percent again.

Sunday, I rode for about 10 miles and today again about 10 miles just to stretch out the legs. They are still a bit sore.

Reminder. Do not donate plasma before a long ride!

Thanks Paul for being there. I appreciate it!

Whoa! Double post today! I guess it is vacation!

2008-05-26T18:55:00.000-07:00

After going out for a late lunch with some friends for a B-Day party I decided to hit up Seven Oaks. My goal was three laps in three hours. I started my first lap at 3:35. It wasn't long (the first 100 feet of trail!) I realized that it was going to be a slimy day at Seven Oaks. If you have ever ridden at Seven Oaks when it is wet you know exactly what I am talking about. Your tires feel like they are on glass covered with vaseline, especially on the clay portions of the trail. I rode slow and cautious and still has having some troubles in the off camber parts. I was having fun, but it was slow. I finished the first lap in 59 minutes (only one crash! GT, remember that somersault last year? Yeah, I got a 10 at least in the same spot!). I called the wife and to let her know I was still alive and going for lap two. After working out some dish network issues on the phone and then fixing a flat I was off for lap two.

This time the trail was slowly drying, but it was still slick. It was muddy enough that your tires were filling my chain stays so it certainly wasn't DRY that is for sure, but getting better. I realized that I may need to throw on a front derailler for my 1 X 8 set up as going over the bumps my chain would come off (only about 5 times per lap! %^( I finished this lap in 55 minutes. Another call home and I was off.

The third lap was getting quite a bit drier. I was able to make some of the climbs and turns I couldn't in the previous laps. I finished the third lap, once again, after a pretty good crash on a turn I normally make, in 55 minutes. So, 2:49 total so I met my goal. Kinda! It actually took me almost 4 hours total. It is strange, I don't feel like I stopped for an hour and 10 minutes, but those phone calls, stopping to put my chain back on, etc. really took up more time than I thought it would.

Wednesday night will be a trip to the Center trail in Des Moines (more than likely, unless the weather is bad!). We will leave Gilbert around 5:00 unless someone needs to leave a little after that to be able to come with us. Leave a comment if you are game.

Happy training.

Finally

2008-05-26T07:35:00.000-07:00

Well, we had the whole gang at our place on Saturday and now my wife is a bit more sane! We finished with all the honey do's and graduation was on Sunday so hopefully I can get back on the bike a bit more now! It looks like rain this afternoon, but maybe tonight I can get in some miles.

With gas very near $4.00 I have been commuting more than ever into Ames. It usually is a 15-20 mile round trip so it has been great. Now I just need to keep it up!

I am hoping for a Wednesday ride down to the center trails in Des Moines leaving around 5:00. Leave a comment if you want to come.

Race on Saturday in Council Bluffs? We will have to see.

Happy training.

Repeats

2008-05-21T19:40:00.000-07:00

I did a bit of a rare workout tonight. I am normally the time of guy that just rides. I don't necessarily ride hard unless I have to due to the wind or the terrain, but tonight was a bit different. My wife has had more honey does the past few weeks I practically have a new house now so riding has been pretty sporadic, plus, I have been running in the morning so I haven't been riding much. At least I will pretty much be done with my students on June 3rd so I should get some more riding in!

Tonight I went over to Soper's Mill outside of Gilbert and did some repeats on a .67 mile section of the trail that has one hill on it and then some tight twisty trail leading to a downhill. I did this in three repeats of 4:24, 4:25, 4:25, and 4:18. Now I just need to get out there once a week to try to get that down to 4:00 or so. That should be doable.

More riding to come... I hope.

Happy training.

Seven Oaks

2008-05-18T20:02:00.000-07:00

Alex, Matt, Ian, Sal and I headed out to Seven Oaks today. The weather was perfect and the trails were in GREAT shape. There were a few muddy spots, but nothing horrible. I was loving the new rims and the geared set up. I think I may change it to a 30 up front and a 11-34 in the back. I can spin a bit more with that set up than the 32 X 11-32. I hope to either single speed it or to take out the Ibex next time to try something different! We will have to see!

Here are a few pics.

Ok. Back at it!

2008-05-16T19:20:00.000-07:00

I haven't ridden since this past Monday and I am going nuts! My wife and I are working diligently on our kitchen. We should be done tomorrow. We removed everything from our living room and had Lowes put in new carpet on Thursday. I should have everything (stereo, tv, etc.) back in order tomorrow. I started painting our shed tonight and hope to get that finished up by Sunday. We are driving to Forest City tomorrow morning at 7:00 to pick up a car we bought and then I have about 10 graduation parties to hit up on Saturday and another 10 on Sunday. It has been crazy.

Worst of all I have been way too lazy in the morning. Tammy gets up before 5:00 and puts in her 5-6 miles of running while I lay in bed. She gets back around 6 and I just sit around pushing snooze. What a waste of time.

One of these days I will become a real rider!

Attention!!!!! Sunday morning there will be a bunch of guys going out to Seven Oaks just outside of Boone. We are leaving Ames at 9:00 so you can could on us being there between 9:30-9:45. It looks like a bunch of guys from Des Moines will be there between 7-9 as well! The trail should be well ridden by noon!

Happy not so much training.

Wednesday is out for me!

2008-05-06T20:14:00.001-07:00

Sorry guys. I am sanding and painting our kitchen cabinets and if I want any chance of racing this weekend I have to get these things painted.

Paul

Ok. I am getting to it. %^)

2008-05-05T19:22:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, Paul Varnum and I headed to the Ingawanis mountain race just outside of Waverly. We got there almost two hours early so we had time to ride a lap before the race got started. I loved the trail. It was the perfect difficulty for me as it wasn't overly technical, it had great flow and I could really keep moving. There were only a couple of climbs that really worked you over so it wasn't bad. Much easier than Seven Oaks in my opinion.

Anyway, there were sixty plus riders so that was good. There was almost always someone out in front or behind you that you could see once in a while so that was fun.

I decided to ride single speed and it was obvious after the race that I have a long ways to go in the strength department before I can compete in a cross country race on a single speed. I ended up getting 8th out of 9 riders and the guy I beat has won several races so I guess it was tough competition. At least it felt that way to me. Now I know to enter into my age group as they don't automatically give out age group awards like running races do. Being my first xc race I have a lot to learn that is for sure. I felt like I had the right gear for the course at 32 X 18. I would have died with 32 X 16. I wonder now though if I would have been faster with 32 X 20. I know I would have been faster with my new rims and 8 more gears. Next time.

Here is how it played out. I started very close to the back of the pack which was a mistake. I think this cost me at least a minute. In small town Iowa running races I love to start in the back and pick people off. I just love doing that. This doesn't work in a cross country race. We had a 1/4 of a mile climb up a gravel road and I was probably about 30th place, but I am guessing. Right way I passed a couple of riders that must not have ridden much single track as they couldn't make the first switch back turn. This would suck as I am sure everyone and their grandma tried to pass them before they were able to get back on their bikes! Within another 100 yards or so I passed another guy and then I joined into a group of four riders or so. The guys in front of me now were long gone, other than the four, and we were losing the group behind us. During this first lap I passed the four people ahead of me. It wasn't until I was about a quarter of the way into the 2nd of the 3 laps that I caught up to the next couple of riders. I got by them and then continued on my way. I then caught another group of four riders. About 2/3 of the way through the 2nd lap I passed fellow MOBster Chris Hansen. I continued on my way keeping Chris behind me. Chris was running 32 X 16 which would be a pretty tall gear on a 29er for most folks. I know I walked a few hills on my 32 X 18. The third lap sucked. I was tired and I started hearing people coming up on me like I was standing still. Luckily, they were in the expert class so I didn't feel so bad! In the end, I didn't get passed by anyone, except for the starting gravel hill so I am very happy with that. I was able to make up some good ground throughout the race. Now, I just need to start off faster so that I am not trapped in a slow bottle neck. This makes me very excited for the next race!

I can't wait to get out there and ride at Ingawanis again! Thanks to Jeremy Bidwell and Casey Dean for a great race! I can't wait to do it all again!

As for a Wednesday ride this week. We are going to have to watch the weather. I will plan on being at Peterson Pits beach at 6:00, but again, if it is rainy then we will not ride the single track. If it has rained, but isn't at night we can always go on a gravel grinder. Leave a comment if you are interested.

Say hi to my brother Mark here.

The Luckiest Guy in the World.

2008-05-03T10:04:00.000-07:00

Sometimes we need a reminder of just how fortunate we are. While there are times that I am a very positive, happy-go-lucky guy that feels he has life figured out, then there are certainly times that I feel like things just don't workout like they should and that life is tough. Today, I watched Into the Wild for the third time. Each time I watch it I am reminded of some very, very important things.

From my days as a college student going on climbing adventures with my wife and brother I have always wanted to just quit my job and be a climbing bum in Yosemite. I have gone on many climbing trips with my great friend Jim McGuire. Each time we go to Colorado we talk about it for weeks or months and count down the days until we leave. We almost always plan on a weeks worth of climbing. We call our wives and talk with our daughters daily. Nearly every time we are on the road back to Iowa by the fifth day dying to see our family again.

In watching Into the Wild I get this HUGE urge to realize yet again the importance of family and friendships, that life doesn't always have to be an adventure, the unimportance and unsatisfaction money and things bring us, and that everyday we need to love doing what we are doing or what is the purpose of it all.

I have been blessed. Very blessed. I have a wonderful, wonderful wife and daughter.
I have great parents and great brothers. I have a job where I can help teenagers make the most of their high school years and to help parents be the best parents they can be. I am VERY lucky. I have a good income, a nice house, and stuff, but...... what really makes me happy everyday is having my wife and daughter with me. Hearing from my brother Mark, spending time with my dad, having my mom call me everyday (twice by noon today!) and spending time with my friends.

I was given some excellent advice by a teacher I was replacing when I got my first teaching job. He had just gone through a nasty divorce and I really looked up to him as he had a heart for kids and was an excellent teacher. He told me on the first day of school, "Paul, you can be married to your job or you can be married to your wife. You need to decide right now." This REALLY hit home to me and I will never forget it. I also heard this comment a long time ago, but I don't remember where, "You don't ever hear someone on their death bed wish they had put in more hours at work."

If you haven't seen Into the Wild yet you should check it out. It is an amazing movie. I can relate with Chris McCandless pretty well, and am fortunate that I didn't have to learn the hard way to appreciate the fact that good times are much, much better when shared with other people.

Thank you guys for being good friends.

Paul

Wednesday single track

2008-04-28T19:00:00.000-07:00

I would love to go down to the Center Trails in DM on Wednesday? I can leave by 5:00. Anyone interested in going. I can take four bikes (including my own) and I will drive?

Leave a comment if interested. We can leave from my place or we can meet in Ames.

Paul

What to say? Sappy post ahead.

2008-04-27T17:21:00.000-07:00

On any given day I love spending time reading blogs and writing my thoughts and feelings into this journal. All day I have put it off because I am speechless. Really... I really don't know what to say. What I do know is that I am a more appreciative, patient, and wise person than I was on Friday. I hope these feelings continue and will not go away.

Like I tell my students at school; going after goals, reaching towards goals that seem unsurmountable, whether the goals are attained or not, make you a better person. This year's Trans Iowa pretty much sums up this experience for me.

I had many feelings towards Trans Iowa: Anger, frustration, excitement, despair, regret and on and on. While about three weeks or so ago these feelings were really peaking and it soon became apparent what I could control and what I couldn't. This made me just feel appreciation for having the opportunity of riding Trans Iowa and to have a good time doing so!

Here is the report: This year I decided to take Friday and Monday (tomorrow) off from work so I could get to Decorah early and I could sleep on Monday if I had stayed up all night on Saturday. On Friday morning Steve Fuller picked up Cory and I and we were off for Decorah by 10:00. We got there early in the afternoon and rode around and were at T Bocks by 3:00. We talked with GT and just chilled. Before we knew it it was 5:30 and the prerace meeting was getting started. Seriously, meeting up with the Yazoo guys, Ken Y., the Lincoln crew, among many others, was a blast. I couldn't stop laughing! We headed back to the hotel and got prepared to ride.

I walked around the room in a complete daze. I couldn't seem to get things together. For whatever reason, I just wasn't thinking straight. This continued on through out Saturday as well, but that is another story told a bit later.

At three in the morning we were up and at them and ready to go. Once at the start we tried to stay warm in the 30 degree temps with wind chill being much colder in the 25-30 mph winds. We took off and I was literally between two groups. I believe (I couldn't see them!) the lead group had 15 or so riders, then there were small groups of 2-3 people that I could see ahead, and then what must have been a group of 20 riders behind me. I was making good time and reeling in pairs of riders. This was until I continued straight ahead at mile 13 or so instead of turning left. I cranked up a huge hill to all of a sudden be at a T intersection on HWY 9. I looked behind me and the pair of riders that were about 1/4 of a mile behind me just a couple of miles ago were gone and I didn't see anyone around me. I figured I messed up and I turned around. When I got back to the correct intersection I had found the group of 20 or so riders. I joined in the fun finding my friends Gary and Jim. I rode to the front and pulled away bringing with me a few people. I continued pulling away until all of a sudden Joe Frost Jr. (TI V.3 finisher) came up on me out of no where pulling 4-5 riders with him. I joined in on the fun, but it wasn't for a couple of miles until they stopped for some food. I continued on my way (remember, my goal was to stay on the bike!) and rode alone much of the time. I was happy to have caught the pairs of riders that I had around miles 6-10 so I had gained my time back more than likely by not stopping and just going fast enough to try to make the checkpoint in time. I got to Cresco just before 8 I believe to find Cory waiting for me. He waited for me for about 15 minutes! What a guy! I took a bit longer than I wanted refilling my bottles, putting gray tape on my shoes to protect my now numb toes, and throwing some bags over my feet. No need for frostbite! Cory and I took off with a young lady named Kristin.

We rode to the south edge of Cresco and hit a T intersection and the cue sheets were not very clear here. We made a wrong turn and lost about 10 minutes. This would be the second time I went the wrong way! Wait, just a few miles later would come the third wrong turn. While watching for the reroute we completely missed it and went 2-3 miles too far and then were stopped by a group coming up from the flooded road. We turned around and finally found the reroute flags. We continued riding in a group and I was having a blast. There were at least three TI finishers in this group so I was feeling good. Tired, but I really was having fun. We continued on our way being blasted by the wind. It was around mile 68 where we stopped at a shelter in a small town. Half the group took off. My friend Jim talked with our friend Gary on the phone. Gary had been riding with a friend that had gotten sick so he was about an hour behind us and suffering by himself. After the conversation Jim, Cory, Dwight Beavers (the 71 year old guy that I bailed with last year)and I took off. We ended up getting off route again and went another 2 miles out of the way! But, wait! There is one more! Just before West Union we missed another turn and ended up riding into the south side of West Union to get back on course. Yes, I was in a daze and I am sure the other guys were as well as we all missed the turns!

We stopped at West Union with about 24 miles to the checkpoint. It was suppose to be mile 85 and I had 96.4 on my computer. Mistakes cost me any chance of making the cut off so we bailed at 1:00 in West Union. There is a very small part of me that thinks that if I hadn't missed those turns that we could have made the cut off, but I am very positive that I would have quit at the checkpoint and I was very cooked by West Union. We ate Hardees where I had a half pound burger and Cory, a vegetarian, ate a 1/3 pound burger in less than 30 seconds I swear!

We were able to get a ride to the check point where Steve was volunteering. We got there to see a bunch of guys laying around. We heard that something like 18-19 riders took off from the checkpoint, but it wasn't just 3 hours later and it seemed that there were only about 5 riders left in the race. We took off for the second check point and once there I decided to ride a bit more so I could turn in my century for the Cup of Dirt. With 96.4 miles on the computer I didn't have far to go. After riding 2 miles around the very small town of Spillville I headed west into the wind on a gravel road for a mile and then turned around to get back to the check point. I had told Cory not more than an hour earlier that I was done with TI and I wouldn't be back. I got back after that 4 mile ride with a smile on my face and was loving riding again! That didn't take much to change my mind! I will be back for TI V.5 if they have it. I know I have the bike dialed and am ready to go!

I learned to appreciate being able to ride my bike for long distances, the friendships that I have through riding, and to not get so bent out of shape about things. Sometimes life is tough and we just have to roll with the punches (or the wind in this case!).

Today, I feel about 98 percent. My legs feel perfect, but my upper back, near my shoulder blades, are somewhat sore. I guess that is from holding on for dear life to my handlebars so I wouldn't fly off the bike due to the wind. Seriously, I mean that!

Happy training.

2008-04-26T09:35:00.001-07:00

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2008-04-24T15:56:00.001-07:00

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2008-04-24T15:40:00.001-07:00

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Feeling ready to go for TI.

2008-04-22T19:51:00.000-07:00

Wow. I just had one of those rides. Now hopefully I didn't over do it.

Paula had a track meet 15 miles up the route via the GRAID route in Jewell. I decided to ride there and was feeling good. I actually saw a biker a mile ahead of me and worked against the 10 mile per hour wind to catch him at mile 8. We then road together into Jewell. I was very happy to average 14.3 mph into the wind. After the meet and after dark I took off for home. It was perfectly calm and not a cloud in the sky. A perfect night to ride. I was flying (for me!) without having to work to hard even though I did push a bit up the hills to keep my speed up. Admittedly, I had 1 mile of pavement each way, but on the way home I averaged 17.3 on the gravel for the 15 miles. For the guy that usually is the slowest guy at TI that isn't bad. I finally feel that I have everything in order to complete TI if we have good conditions. Now it is time to take a ice bath and rest. Didn't I say that on Saturday?!!!? I mean it this time!

Happy training.

A little ride today.

2008-04-19T16:09:00.000-07:00

I had noticed on Steve's blog that he had TWO group rides planned today. I met Steve when we did the GRAID ride and he is a great guy to ride with and we seem to have similar interests in riding. I do have to live vicariously through his awesome fleet of bikes though! Paula had to work this morning at Panera at 9:00, and Tammy had to be left off at a friends at 8:45 in order to go shopping in Iowa City (remember, we just have 1 car!). So I headed down to the Saturn dealership in order to get some service done to it. The Annual Mayor's Ride was starting at 10:00 and I was just not getting my girls out the door early enough to make it. I got down to Saturn at 9:30 and took off. I tried to find the riders, but didn't have a good idea of the route and I was guessing based on Steve's description of what he believed was the route. This ride had 100's of people, maybe even a 1000 people. It was crazy, there were bikers everywhere once I found the action. This really opened my eyes of why RAGBRAI is the way it is. This was more or less a "party" ride.

I met up with Steve at the finish and we chatted a bit before I headed off to the start of another group ride. This started a few miles away and it was at an east side bar. This ride was to be, I believe 10-15 miles in 5 hours with a lot of bar stops on the way. Clothing was optional. I rolled up and saw 50 dollar Walmart bikes to several thousand dollar trikes. I saw several bob trailers with coolers beer and coolers with built in car stereo's. Being a gravel endurance type of guy I really didn't feel like I fit in too well. I am kinda quiet so I didn't introduce myself to all the people that did seem to know each other. I guess that is the eccentric side of me. With a couple of beers I would have fit right in, but today wasn't the day. Within about a half an hour, I took off for the west side of Des Moines again to pick up my car. With out knowing the entrances to the trails and being blocked into neighborhoods due to railroad tracks and dead ends I put in quite a few miles that I didn't need to, but it sure was fun.

I think I totaled 40-50 miles easily, and maybe a bit more (odometer wasn't working! Gotta fix that!). I was at about 5.5 hours of riding and since a lot of this was on bike paths and being lost, but going in the right direction some of the time!, I certainly didn't take the quickest path. I sure had fun! I don't do urban riding ever so it was a totally new experience.

Time to rest up. TI is coming up!

Happy training!

Awesome!

2008-04-17T16:42:00.000-07:00

I rode into Ames yesterday to Skunk River Cycles. I picked up a new product that I hadn't seen before. I have seen the Sports Beans before, but not the caffeinated version! So I had to pick up six packets for the upcoming Trans Iowa.
I then picked up two presta tubes for my Ignitors as my new rims are presta while the rims that came with my Flight are schrader. I then rode to Petersen Pits to ride the single track. I was to meet Paul Varnum there IF he could make it. While waiting for a few minutes along came Greg. I can be horrible with names and I even called Greg by the name of Jeff a couple of times. Once again, I am the idiot of the month! It was awesome that Greg came over.

He hit up the trails and within 20 minutes we ran into Alex on his Kona Kola 29 (SWEET!). We did a bit of riding and made our way over to Casa De Varnum's house. A nice cold one went down MIGHTY fine that is for sure! Thanks Paul!

While sitting at Paul's, Will from Skunk River rode up! It was getting dark so we headed back through the trails back to Petersen's. These guys smoked me while I was on the single speed! I was maxing out my heart rate just keeping up with these speed demons and I had a blast doing it! We decided that we need to start having a Wednesday night ride so keep watching the blogs for more info!

Just over a week until TI!

Awesome!

2008-04-15T17:10:00.000-07:00

I just got the okay to go to the WEMS Levis Trow race on the weekend of June 28. I can't wait! It seems that they have a 25 mile, 50 mile and 100 mile race. I am sure I will be signing up for the 50 mile. I am not fast enough to ride 100 miles of single track in 12 hours so I think it will be the 50 mile!

Thanks Squidbuzz for the info!

First Single Track of the Year!

2008-04-13T18:47:00.001-07:00

I took off for a few hour ride this afternoon. I rode the single track in Petersen Pits and McFarland and had a ball! I did end up getting a flat and ended up walking to Paul Varnum's house about a mile away. All winter long I took my pump along and today I didn't! Serves me right! The single track was in the best shape I have seen yet!

So... On Wednesday night I would like to meet up with any area riders that would like to ride at Petersens and McFarland single track. We will meet at the beach at 6:00! Alex? Paul (notice the day change!)? Matt? Emily?

Happy training.

Running and biking

2008-04-12T07:18:00.001-07:00

I woke up to a good inch of snow on the ground this morning. Wow. I can't remember it snowing this late in the year, but I am sure it has.

Went to the gym today with Tammy. I rode the exercise bike for an hour and ran for 35 minutes. I hadn't run for a long time and it felt great. I started slow (9 min pace), but kept jacking it up every 2-5 minutes and ended at 6:45 pace. Man, I love to run. Like cycling, I am not fast, but I sure love it.

So, today I want to do some research on some good single track races. I am not really a XC type of guy, but I would do one or two. I would really like to do some 6hr and 12 hr or century races. Any suggestions? Anyone do the Laramie Enduro?

Happy training.

Just not for me!

2008-04-11T20:09:00.000-07:00

This past week the weather has been absolutely shitty or I have been busy (mom had surgery on Wednesday!). So, no riding for me. While I could be out riding in 30 mph winds with a driving rain, I have thought better of it. I have done it before and it has cost me brakes on a century ride and $100 worth of drive train parts in the past. Not doing it this close to TI.

I am REALLY looking forward to TI. It will be a great challenge and I am very excited for it! And, in all honestly, even though I have been a crab this year, I really think I have what it is going to take. I have gotten stronger, even though I am still weak!, and I have most of all gotten smarter about all of this stuff. My plan is still to go lightweight. It will depend on the cue sheets we get on Friday night and the weather, but I will be carrying two 24 ounce bottles and two 32 ounce bottles, a Mountainsmith lumbar pack with a coat, arm and leg warmers and a pair of wind and waterproof socks, and food. I am not going to bring a bunch of clothes and I am only going to be carrying about 60 ounces of fluid with me except when the distance to the next stop is 60 miles or further. I drink just over 1 oz per mile while riding gravel during cooler weather so I will plan on stopping for a refill every 50 or so miles when I can. At night, I will fill up the bottles, and go.

I also have a frame bag (AWESOME!) and a stem bag for food. I have found that this is the way to go! It is so nice just to have everything right there. I will also have my cell phone and camera in the frame bag.

I am going as light as I can. I will have to weigh my bike, but I am guessing it is around 24-25 pounds with my barends on. As some of you know, I run my barends on the center of my handlebars. They act much like aerobars, but do not have the elbow pads. When going into the wind, these REALLY help. They have been a great addition.

If only my dad still had his Puch. I would ride that for TI!

BTW, I got an email today from a guy that whizzed by me at Dirty Kanza last year and he will also be up in Decorah for Trans Iowa. He actually thanked me for writing this blog. I had a good laugh. Thanks though.

Trans Iowa

2008-04-09T16:56:00.000-07:00

Yes, Trans Iowa is hard, but more on that later!

Some great things about Trans Iowa this year:

1. Lots of hills means tons of fun! I would much rather be doing some climbing than riding 300 miles of flatness. BORING!

2. The friends! Blogging and riding have been great avenues in meeting wonderful people. Friday night will be a great time.

3. 345 miles of gravelly goodness. Plus, TI has been longer than stated every year (well, who knows about v.2) so this has to be the year that it is actually shorter than stated! Yeah right.

4. So far, we have had a pretty dry spring (until this week)! Let's hope it stays that way!

5. Hardly any 24 hour gas stations. No wasting time this year means lots of time on the bike!

6. One of the best things about TI this year? TWO CHECK POINTS! This will really help! This year the first check point is the shortest distance from the start ever! Then, just a lowly 102 miles later is check point two! This will be HUGE this year. For me, to put this race into three segments will help me, and I am sure a lot of riders, to keep things into prospective. We won't have to focus on the 200 miles to go from the check point (V.3!)

Happy training!

Saturday's ride

2008-04-07T21:24:00.000-07:00

I plan on doing the following loop and hope to do it under 4 hours. If so, I will be happy. If you want to join me I will likely be leaving around 7 on Saturday morning from my house. I know it is a bit early, but I have a busy day planned!

I switched to Bikely instead of Routeslip and it rocks!

Y Camp loop

Share your bike routes @ Bikely.com

Basketball Shape? I think not!

2008-04-06T17:48:00.000-07:00

I went back to Forest City this weekend to play in the annual alumni basketball tournament. I hadn't played for the last two years as I didn't want to risk getting injured before Trans Iowa. Well, this year I decided to play. It had been three years since I had played basketball. While my heart and lungs are in good shape, my legs are wasted. I have felt better after running a marathon. I can barely walk after 4 games of basketball on Saturday. Talk about a kick in the junk. I guess biking shape is a bit (a lot!) different than basketball shape.

Speaking of having a kick in the junk. Paddy Humenny used to have a quote under his sign in name on mtbr.com that said, "Ask me about kicking you in the junk!" or something to that effect. Well, on Friday I had to give myself a heapful of Paddy's prescription! I will admit, when reading GT's info on Trans Iowa came out about it being the longest and hardest Trans Iowa yet I was more than upset. Personally I looked at what was expected in order to make the cut off's, fulling knowing Iowa weather, and realized very quickly that this would be on the very edge of my ability, if that. So, I was pretty angry, but then again, I am probably one of the slowest guys that will be at TI so I guess I probably am not fit for this race, but after Paddy's prescription I feel a lot better! %^)

So, I have a better attitude. Hey, who doesn't want to say that they finished the longest and hardest TI yet? Well, I do. I don't want some dumb down version do I (maybe? %^) So, I am going after making those cut offs! It may be a bit risky, but I am going for broke. I am going to go as lightweight as I can, given the conditions, and will do my best to stay on the bike as much as possible. Time off the bike will absolutely kill my chances of making the cut offs so I will have to push!

Watch for my next installment of what makes Trans Iowa so hard. One thing that I will say is the mental side of it. Even before the start date comes! GT is well known for changing his mind continually of what is expected and this version certainly isn't an exception. First he says 10 mph average will be expected and then changes it to 11. Well, for the average Joe like me, that is a huge freaking difference, BUT, I am going for it! Again, I just need to make sure I am not spending much time off the bike!

Happy training.

Enough said

2008-04-03T21:10:00.001-07:00

THE GRAID REPORT

2008-04-01T17:54:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the delay. I just got out of bed! No seriously, I think I came down with something as I wasn't feeling good at all yesterday. I am feeling much better now! So here is the report.

Matt and I drove down to Steve Fuller's to get picked up by Dennis and his parents. We put our bikes in Dennis' awesome trailer and were headed down the road. We got to the hotel and then ate "The Best Pizza in Iowa" in Lamoni! We hit the sack pretty quickly after eating. Our plans were to eat at 6:30 in the morning and then take off.

This started our epic adventure. We were ready to go eat, but the restaurant didn't open at 6:30, but at 7:00. I had called the restaurant on Thursday and they told me 6:30. I guess locals never know anything about their own town! So, we asked the nice couple and the hotel manager about the restaurant uptown. They said it opened at 6:00. We road the mile and a half into town to find that the restaurant was for sale and not even open for business! Damn. I was pretty pissed as I am a pretty detail orientated person and here I was messing up and we hadn't even started! So, we decided on riding to the Iowa/Missouri border and then eating at the restaurant that opened at 7:00. Down the road we went to get to the border!

After leaving the border in 4 short miles we were back at the restaurant and we all had a great breakfast! I think we left the restaurant around 8:15-8:30. Looking back I wish we could have eaten at 6:00 and been on the road by 6:30. That could have made a big difference in our future plans. Anyway, we took off down the road and it wasn't more than 4 miles and we missed a turn. WARNING! DO NOT TRUST WWW.ROUTESLIP.COM! Seriously, routeslip is awesome, but it doesn't tell you what the road signs really say! So we missed a turn here or there. Yes, I felt like the dumbass of the month, but we probably only went an extra 5-7 miles overall. Not so bad, but bad enough that it still pisses me off a bit. Like Dennis said, "That is why they call it being on an adventure!" We made Murray within 2.5 hours or so and I was already hungry again. So, we stopped for a bit and ate. Yes, all of us ate!

We then cruised the 40 or so miles to Winterset. We were really in a groove during this section and flying pretty good. We made the 80 miles to Winterset in a little over 7 hours total I believe. We headed out of Winterset and made it to Adel, but decided to keep riding to Dallas Center. It was here that Steve told me that he was done. I was totally shocked as he had been riding strong all day. BUT, I also understand how that feeling can creep up on a person as well. He had about 15-20 miles to ride home against the wind. It was great having Steve along and I wouldn't doubt he will give this ride another go down the road! Thanks Steve for everything.

We donned our lights (with some help of some zip ties! Thanks Matt!)

BTW, I love the Princeton Tec Apex light. Thanks Dave!

So, we headed north on the flat roads of central Iowa! The only problem was the 15 or so miles into the wind that was coming up! I had been dreading this all day! We finally got to the pavement and I got on Dennis' wheel. He was pushing and I wasn't exactly in his draft as I would have had to ride out in the middle of the lane at night so I just stayed on the white line. Dennis is much more powerful than me so it was hard staying with him for these few miles until one of the climbs out of the Des Moines River valley where I let him go. My achilles tendons were on fire and I had to take it easy. We headed north for a few miles to Ledges State Park where we took a bit of a break knowing the the next 11 miles were going to be hell going into the 20-25 mph winds. We took off within 10 minutes. I had told Dennis that I had to pace myself during this time as I didn't want to fry my achilles. I stayed within a half of a mile of him, but I am sure he was going easy. I think I was going 9-10 mph down the gravel. We finally made State Street in Ames.

This is where we (I) ultimately made some mistakes that led to our decision not to finish the ride. I learned a lot in Ames that I will NOT repeat at TI. First off, we stopped at Matt's house and put away the bikes and then walked about a 1/2 mile to Pizza Pit. We ate and took our time and then walked back. We loaded up the food, etc and then took off from Matt's. We made it to Ames at around the 145-150 mile mark by 10:20 (about 14 hours after the start)so in my mind we were making good time even with all of our stops. Dennis and I did very little talking during this time. It was like I was just pushing the pedals and was tired. We hit the three miles of gravel that connects Ames and Gilbert and it was pretty soft. This sucked. I couldn't get the thought out of my head of what the gravel north of Gilbert must have been like with 6 inches of snow just two days before followed by 50 degree temps. I am sure it would have been pretty soft and possibly muddy.

We rolled into Gilbert and I asked Dennis how he was feeling. He told me that he had plenty of energy, but was very sleepy. I was as well. It was just before 1:00am at this time. We had been biking for over 18 hours. Dennis refused to make the call so I did. I wanted to take a hot shower and to sleep with my wife. I am sure Dennis wanted a bed as well! So, we left 115 or so miles on the map to be done on another day. Could we have finished, no doubt about it. I had the energy and if I did Dennis surely did. But, sometimes it is just smarter to sleep! I think we finished with about 157 miles including the ride down to the border, in an estimated 16 hours. Not bad for the breaks we took!

We will see what happens at Trans Iowa this year!

Check out the route here and pictures here. Make sure to check out Dennis's page and Steve's page.

Happy training!

More tomorrow....

2008-03-30T18:56:00.000-07:00

About the GRAID:

Matt Maxwell, Steve Fuller, Dennis Grelkand myself started in Lamoni, Iowa on Saturday with the hopes of riding to Emmons, Minnesota roughly 265 miles down the road.

Steve decided to bail after 100 miles or so and then rode 20 miles to his house. Matt stopped in Ames. Both guys did awesome!

Dennis and I left Ames with the intention of going to the border. Four miles down the road, once in Gilbert (where I live!), we decided that a warm bed and hot shower sounded better than the next 65-70 miles to the next town. I think we ended with around 157 miles. I will take it. Especially considering that Dennis and I stopped with energy in the tank, just wanting to sleep more than our desire to ride.

I am very happy with the ride. The bike was flawless and efficient. The ESE wind helped as will!

More tomorrow folks. I am still tired.

Happy training.

Hold on a minute

2008-03-25T20:01:00.000-07:00

I am going to have to postpone my Trans Iowa thread for a few days. I have gotten too busy to think about it.

I picked up a new light tonight. Dave Nice has been using it and loves it so it must be good! It is the Princeton Tec Apex headlamp.

I took it out just for about 10 minutes and so far so good. The light is very bright, especially compared to the lights I am using now. On high I would feel pretty comfortable riding single track I am sure. I need to order a handle bar mount from Princeton Tec (Dave?) as wearing it with the strap is kind of funky, but surprisingly not that uncomfortable!

I threw on the 36 tooth Salsa ring tonight. I will go for a ride tomorrow to see how it feels on the gravel. The lowest gear on the cogset is 36 X 32. I would think that would be low enough as I have climbed the Des Moines river valley hills on 32 X 17 before.

Well, the GRAID is going to happen on Saturday, but the forecast has been up in the air a bit with the wind direction. So far it appears that we will have an excellent day, we just need to figure out which way the wind will be coming from. As of right now Accuweather is calling for SE wind, which would be perfect if we left from the south, but not from the north (DUH!). I am making the call on Thursday afternoon. Hopefully things won't change too much from Thursday to Saturday!

Rode for roughly two hours tonight around Ames. I am sure loving my new rims and tires!

Happy training!

What Makes Trans Iowa So Damn Difficult - According to Paul! Part 1

2008-03-20T18:02:00.000-07:00

Warning... long post.

First a bit of history.

In 1999, at my 10 year high school reunion a buddy of mine asked if I wanted to run the Chicago Marathon. We had 8 weeks before the race and I hadn't run most of the summer. About 10 sheets to the wind I said that I would love to run it with him. Eight weeks later I ran the Chicago Marathon. Throughout the years to 2004 I ran a marathon or three a year. I realized, while not fast, endurance was my thing.

In April of 2005 one of my best friends, Jim McGuire, talked to me about the Trans Iowa bike race. In high school I rode quite a bit (and I still have that 1985 Panasonic Sport just waiting to become a fixie some day!). This really interested me so I offered to be support just in case Jim and his buddy Gary Cale had to bail off of the 305 mile route. I met up with Jim and Gary late on Friday night before the race and I was as giddy as a school girl. I am sure Gary was hating me! I met Mike Curiak at the hotel. Jim said something to the effect, "Hey, that is Mike Curiak!" as if he was talking about Michael Jordan or something. Jim introduced himself and I followed. I had no clue who Mike Curiak was and it was just a strange meeting. Here Jim has excited to shake is hand and at the time it was just like anyone else (well, I guess he is just like everyone else, but not!).

Fast forward to the pre race meeting. All of a sudden there were new rules put on the riders that they didn't have a clue about. One was that they had to be in Algona, approximately 127 miles away within 10 hours. You do the math: 12.7 mph average on gravel (including stops and B roads!) is not exactly easy for most riders especially with gusts of wind up to 35 mph!). So, that was a huge blow for a lot of people I think. Mentally, all of a sudden this was not going to be a slug across the great state of Iowa, but people had to really be on their toes and likely change their mindset of how they had been planning on accomplishing this great feat. Well, it became apparent very quickly that TI was going to eat up a lot of people. I had the luxury of driving ahead about every 15-20 miles and watching all the riders. While I knew that Curiak and Jeff Kerkove had to be up front when I was in Orange City around mile 25 or so four riders on cross bikes flew by. It seems like they were going 20 plus. I about crapped my pants.

I waited and waited. I think I waited at least 30 minutes before the last riders came through and that was mile 25! I then drove to Primghar which was about mile 45 or so I think. I went for a 4 mile run and waited. What do you know, after my run here came the leaders on their cross bikes. Again, I couldn't believe their speed with another 250 miles to go! A lot of people stopped in Primghar, and a quite a few didn't and probably paid the price with dehydration later on. I waited and waited. It must have been nearly 2 hours before the back of the back came through. People were already dropping out. I couldn't believe it. After saying good bye to Jim and Gary I drove along the course (I had copied their cue sheets onto a tablet of paper). I probably drove for an hour (I think I was about 20-30 miles out of Emmetsburg when I stopped?) I still couldn't catch the leaders! I parked right on top of this hill that was going north to south. The riders were making their way up the hill against the 25-35 mph winds. They were really feeling that hill! The look of fun and agony on their faces were priceless. After I met up with Jim and Gary I drove up to Emmetsburg. I went to Pizza Hut and ate lunch and then went to the edge of town to watch the riders come in. Now at least half the field were gone and riders would trickle in every 10-20 minutes, maybe 30 minutes between riders. People had bailed out and people were loading up their bikes to call it a day. Then, Jim and Gary came and they were doing great, but the goal of making it to Algona in 10 hours was about out of reach as they had rode through some really thick and rough gravel.

We chatted a bit and I drove to the checkpoint in Algona. Very few people were coming in (it was probably about 4:00pm when I got there). There were famished riders hanging out and I believe I had heard, if memory serves, about 11-12 people took off for the finish from Algona. I was in awe. The talk around 6 pm was that there were still riders coming in and the cut off time of 10 hours to get to Algona was being extended. I think they into the checkpoint at about 6:50 or so. They didn't seem to care that it was extended even though there was some gas still left in the tank. Mentally, they were finished. After eating a bit we drove up the course to Forest City where Jim and I are from. Just north of Britt and before Forest City we started catching some of the riders. We were all in awe! We drove out to Pilot Knob State Park where my buddy Tony was camping for the night (the guy that asked me to run the Chicago Marathon!). We put out lawn chairs at the east entrance and FINALLY I had caught the leaders. Guys were flying through the down hill section of the park at 25 miles per hour and when they came to us they were a bit lost as they were suppose to ride a mile of single track, but had missed it. So, Tony and I pointed them in the right direction. I couldn't believe how fresh those guys seemed. Like I told Jim the next day, they sounded like they had just started about 5 minutes ago and hadn't just rode 200 miles with horrendous winds. Unbelievable.

It was about a week or so later I learned of Paddy Humenny. He finished TI V.1 on a mountain bike single speed with 44 X 16 gearing, approximately 71.5 gear inches. That is sick. What is super cool is that Paddy was very encouraging of me for TI V.2 and I will never forget it.

After months of saving, in November of 2005 I bought my first mountain bike.

Part 2 probably won't be until Monday. Going to Missouri for the weekend (without the bike!)

Today was the first day in a month with NO pain. I rode for an hour. The Flight is now a 1 X 8 and I think I need to put the 36 tooth chain ring back on as 32 just is too easy (I say that now!).

Happy training.

A Week and a Half Until the GRAID!

2008-03-19T07:22:00.000-07:00

Over the last month or so I have been suffering from some sore achilles. It is strange, sometimes during the day they are sore and other times they are 100%. Now as I type this I am feeling 100%, but in another hour I may go through a phase where they are sore. I am finding now that the longer I sit, unless I keep moving my feet into different positions every once in a while they start getting sore. The more I walk around the better. When do they hurt the most? While driving. Having my feet resting on the heel is when they ache the most. Strange.

The plan is to do a lot of resting between now and the GRAID. I am certainly not going to gain any fitness doing anything extravagant that is for sure! I am just going to bike a few minutes every 2-3 days. Today, I will be commuting into Ames again so I will be getting 1.5-2 hours in, but it will be all nice and easy riding.

The mandatory cup of coffee in THE CUP

Gary has finally gotten his blog started again!

Here is the bike ready to go get its derailer. Paddy, don't hate me!

What you get for donating plasma 15 times!

2008-03-18T09:12:00.000-07:00

Salsa Del Gado Race 29er
DMR Revolver Hubs
DT Swiss Super Comp Spokes
DT Swiss Aluminium Nipples routlette theme
Kenda Small Block 8 700 X 35.

SWEET!

2008-03-15T15:40:00.000-07:00

Paul Varnum and I took off for a sweet ride at 9:00 AM this morning. Paul planned on joining me for one lap of the 36 mile loop I had created. This loop ended up being a pretty good route as it took roughly three hours to complete given the conditions today.

Paul with a mouthful of the dozen donuts he brought along! This is a joke as anyone that knows Paul well knows he takes his health vey serious.

We took off with temps around 30-35 with a N changing to a NW wind at 15. You know me and wind! I can't stand it as I have stated many, many times, but then again that is part of cycling. We hit our first gravel road going south and were riding 14-15 with hardly pushing the pedals. We continued our way towards Boone County and were finding the fresh laid gravel was less than ideal! Fortunately, we only had a 5 mile trip directly into the wind and Paul pulled be through a tough uphill mile. I told Paul, "Man! I have forgotten how easy this is!" He probably didn't appreciate that!

We then hit a couple of miles of "scenic" miles. We concluded that a scenic gravel road in Iowa just needs a curve in it and it is considered scenic! If you have ridden Iowa gravel I am sure you can appreciate that statement!

We continued our miles and miles of bobbing and weaving all over the road like a couple of drunkards trying desperately to find a line. We could occasionally find one, but it would die out in 50 feet only to be riding in 2-3 inches of sand again. We eventually made it back to Paul's and I was really feeling good. Certainly a lot better than last week! I downed a Boost, which I swear by!, and I was off. About 8 miles later I made it home and warmed up some Casey's pizza (you regular readers will know how much I like pizza!). I was out the door within about 25 minutes and going for lap two.

This time I decided to ride the loop in the opposite direction. This was working great until I hit the north section! I was missing Paul pulling me along! %^) This started the 10 mile per hour sand pit ride! I have been dreaming of a sandy beach all winter, but this didn't quite fit the bill! The gravel was between 2-3 inches deep and was incredibly slow. Since my achilles have been hurting a bit I decided to spin and not mash so I was pretty slow. Once I turned west I quickly figured out the wind had turned to more of a northwesterly wind compared to when Paul and I were out. I even threw grass up in the air like I did in my golfing days just to prove it. I did take a couple of breaks in this section. Going up any incline at all and I was down to 8 mph. I thought, "I can run at a faster pace! This sucks!" But, my heart rate was probably in the 150's (guessing based on feel) so I just kept on spinning.

Finally, I turned south and had the wind pushing me again for 5 miles! I was cruising again at 12-14 depending on if I could find a line in the gravel. I wouldn't be surprised if I rode an extra mile or more just with all the weaving all over the road! I made my turn back to the east and it was confirmed that the wind was coming from the NW as I continued to get pushed home.

With about 7-8 miles to go this "park" is found. All I can say is it is very strange. I wonder if people actually came to see this back in the day?

A very nice final few miles got me home in 7 hours with 6:15 of riding time. Certainly not fast, but I got home feeling great. I never really got overly tired or bonkish feeling. I feel pretty good about the ride considering the amount of resting I have been doing with my foot. So, now I just need to rest up and see how my achilles feels over the next few days. I am sure they will be sore, but they felt pretty darn good during the ride so we will see!

The GRAID is on depending on the weather and the conditions!

Today's weapon of choice 2005 Ibex Alpine 550

What?

2008-03-13T20:07:00.000-07:00

Well, this morning I woke up and felt great. Took my 3 Aleve, went to work and everything went well. I was a bit sore after driving my bus (I have to extend my foot forward and have to press the brake straight down with my toes) and I have many stops and starts so I was a bit tender after that. Came home, jumped on the bike for 8 miles of gravel. After the ride I was feeling pretty good. I took a few more Aleve after that and now that it is 5 hours after the ride I am feeling great. Probably 90-95 percent. MUCH better than last night that is for sure. I guess we will see what happens!

Saturday morning ride at my place starting at 9:00 AM. Thirty-five to seventy miles on a 35 mile loop around Gilbert. It should be good. Leave a message if your in!

Here is a map to my place in Gilbert.

View Larger Map

Ouch!

2008-03-12T19:08:00.000-07:00

Well, call me a wimp, but my achilles on my right foot is killing me. I hasn't been too bad except for the last couple of days. I have been standing and walking all day at work when I am normally sitting 90 percent of the time. I think this has continued to strain my achilles and it is REALLY getting old. I haven't ridden since Saturday. I think that I will the next day, but my pain hasn't improved and at times it feels even worse. That is after taking three Aleve twice a day. So, I am going to ride some on Saturday and if I don't feel better VERY soon, I am going to have to post pone the GRAID ride. The last thing I want to do is cause problems that become chronic problems. So, more rest I guess. The GRAID will always be there right?

Happy resting.

A Day of Rest

2008-03-09T17:27:00.000-07:00

After yesterday's ride I decided to take a day of rest today. My ankle is feeling good thank God! I hopefully can start upping the time on the bike now and hope to put in 70+ miles this weekend. I will plan on riding the route below twice, and who knows, maybe three times. I am looking at getting going around 9:00 AM so if you would like to join me for 1 or both laps that would be awesome!

Happy training.
Three laps to a hundy
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Ugh!

2008-03-08T15:35:00.000-08:00

I got my ass handed to me today!

I headed over to Paul Varnum's house and we took off for a 2 hour ride. I could tell within the first mile or two that I was a bit off. I was having to work somewhat hard to stay with Paul and we usually are of the same ability. I got to our 1 hour turn around and within about 15 minutes I was really starting to wear down. I just couldn't hold the moderate pace of 12-13 miles per hour on the gravel. Then with about 8 miles to go to his house I was getting dizzy and felt like puking my guts out. I just felt like total shit. Bonkville all the way. I was losing ground to Paul and we were only going about 10 at this point! I was forced to take a break at Paul's place for a drink and a gel. I took off about a half an hour later and I could tell the gel helped, but it was short lived as about a mile from home I was dizzy and nauseated again. I just didn't have it today.

Two hours and 55 minutes with something around 35 miles. I don't think it is my fitness as I should easily be able to ride for that long at an easy pace. I wonder if I am coming down with something or didn't eat enough or something. It was just one of those rides.

The good news? No ankle pain during the ride. I am a bit tender now, but no pain. I will probably just do an hour easy tomorrow and then hit it again on Monday for a couple of hours.

Happy training!

Why wait until tomorrow

2008-03-07T18:39:00.000-08:00

I am planning on riding with Paul V. tomorrow and I could just as easily written this after that ride, but I couldn't wait.

I am starting to enjoy commuting to Ames. Tonight I had to ride down to the south side of Ames so it was about 9 miles taking the most direct route. After my appointment I headed back home. For the 18 miles it took me 1:24. Not setting any records by any means. I took it very easy as I just want to get some time on the bike without pushing my achilles too far. Today I would say it was about 90 percent or so. Hardly any discomfort, no pain, but it is tender and weak feeling. Of course, this certainly could be psychological as well.

I have been riding my Ibex hardtail with gears. I am missing the single speed, but right now I think this is a wise choice. I am falling in love with this bike again as well. Ibex makes some kick ass bikes for a good price that is for sure. Don't knock them unless you have tried one. I haven't met an unhappy Ibex owner yet.

Well, the achilles held up well during the ride. No pain, just a bit of tenderness. I plan on riding 2.5-3 hours tomorrow with Paul at a nice and easy pace so we will see how it goes.

More tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Happy training.

A bit of a commute

2008-03-06T18:03:00.000-08:00

While many of you commute everyday to work I live about three blocks from work so I just walk. But, now that the weather is turning a bit nicer (nicer = warmer than 10 degrees! %^) I have decided to commute into Ames when I am making a quick trip. Tonight I needed to take some money to the bank so I rode there, then stopped at Skunk River Cycles to warm up the toes, and then headed home. One hour and 20 minutes for the 15 mile commute with the stops. I rode the Ibex, which is geared, so I spun a lot since my achilles has been bothering me a bit. It was starting to get a bit tender near the end, but is feeling fine now. The pain actually has moved a bit off of the achilles and is now closer to the bone that bulges outon the inside of my ankle. I am going to continue with the Aleve and the rest to see how it goes. If I am feeling fine tomorrow I will likely be riding back into Ames. We will see about the weekend. For right now I am going to take a bit of a break from the single speed.

I received my Small Block 8 cross tires a couple of days ago. I haven't gotten a chance to ride them yet, but I am amazed at how awesome they are! They are very light (340 grams) and the tread is much less agressive than any pictures I have seen. The tread literally isn't any higher than an 1/8 of an inch, if that. It should prove to be a fast rolling tire.

I need to heal up so I can be able to ride for a very long time at TI. Things aren't looking too go from the GRAID right now, but we will see. I will be making a decision on that soon. There are only a couple of other people interested in riding it and they are flexible so that is good.... I guess.

Happy training.

Okay I am cheating

2008-03-03T20:36:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I promised no internet until I had put in an hour of riding or 4 miles of running. I had another 14 hour day so I just squeezed in 30 minutes.

My right achilles heal is killing me. I have now switched to my geared bike and am spun nice and easy tonight on the streets of Gilbert. Here is my theory, I think I need to drop my seat a few millimeters on the Flight, change to an easier gear, and stop using my winter shoes as I can not move the cleats back any further. I know that I am ankling on the Flight so I am going to give it up for a bit to try to heal up. Seriously, it my achilles literally feels like it is burning.

Weird.

Happy training.

The Tour of Lames

2008-03-01T15:48:00.000-08:00

I got out for 5 hours of riding around Ames, Iowa. Yes, I road city bike paths and city streets for 5 hours today. I actually was on the bike for about 4:15. I put in around 45 miles. Yes, 45 miles in AMES. Now, if that isn't mental training I don't know what is!

I have made a new rule until after Trans Iowa. No internet unless I have run over 4 miles or have ridden for over an hour. I am sticking to it!

Happy training!

More excuses ahead

2008-02-29T07:48:00.000-08:00

Well, what a crappy week for riding. Monday, we have horrible weather and get out of school by 11:00. Rain, then snow equals too much ice to want to ride! Wednesday and Thursday I put in 14 hour days = no riding. Yesterday morning I had awesome plans for a ride down by Winterset to do some recon work for the GRAID, but at 9:15 am I get a call from a parent at school and her husband had just tragically had a heart attack and passed away. Her two sons left for school that morning with their loving father at home. Two hours later they get called into my office to have their mother give them the news. What a tragedy!

So, last night my plans went out the window. I am now home (day off!) with my 15 year old daughter while my wife is at work. Yes, I could be riding today, but you know, today is a pretty darn good day just to spend some time with my kid. I may get out for a little tonight after the ice starts melting. We will see.

Family first.

Nothing long

2008-02-24T18:11:00.001-08:00

I took off for another short ride to see how my achilles was feeling. I spend the morning cleaning my bike (which I had to do again!) and I also threw on a new Salsa 36 chain ring and put on a 16 tooth cog in the back. I was running 32 X 17 and felt like it was about right. Well, the first few pedal revolutions I was already in love with the tougher and faster gearing. On the flats it was perfect. I was riding at 14.5-16 mph over the slight peanut butter and the bike just wanted to go. It was a very fun feeling. I am still picking the sand out of my teeth! %^) Now, I have a very long ways to go to ride this gear over a long ride, but I will be giving it a shot very soon. I did have to stand on most every climb, but I could also climb faster as well. I loved it! Against the wind I was able to go just a bit faster than with 32 X 17, but I don't know if I really was having to work all that much harder. I rode 18.5 miles in 1:25 which is 13 mph. I felt good about that given the muddy conditions and the hills I rode today. I can't wait to ride it again.

Most of all, I feel my achilles is 99%. No pain what so ever. So, more riding this week.

Happy training!

hilly route around the interstate
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Saturday ride

2008-02-23T14:07:00.000-08:00

Well, my plans got a bit of an ax today. I was hoping for around 50 miles or so starting at 11:00 with Alex and hopefully a couple more guys, but Tammy told me of her shopping plans in Des Moines around 9:30 so I had to cut the ride short. Tammy was leaving for shopping with her friends at 1:00 so I had to get back so that my daughter Paula (15 years old) wasn't home alone. Her boyfriend of over a year lives about 3 blocks away and the last thing I want is for her to be home alone knowing Tammy is in Des Moines and I am in the middle of no where on a ride. So, we had to make it short.

I took off from the house around 10:15 to meet up with Alex at Ada Hayden at 10:30. We chatted for a bit and then took off. Within 3-4 minutes I was getting text message after text message from my daughter about afternoon plans. I was seemly stopping every tenth of a mile to get my message and text back. I had these thoughts of, "Dad, can RJ come over?" and if I didn't reply she would just assume it was ok! If you have a teenage daughter you know the feeling! Then my wife called. I am sure Alex was quite thrilled with our incredible pace of stopping every tenth of a mile to get my messages or phone calls!

Finally we made it to a gravel road I wanted to show Alex as it is a great road just outside of Ames. Unfortunately, it was covered in ice. On an earlier gravel road I took a minor spill, but on this skating rink I took another minor spill and then a third, harder, wipe out sliding down the road a bit. Nice. Talk about grace! Well, we finally got out of Ames and took off east and then north creating a loop back to Gilbert.

Riding with Alex is always a blast. I really enjoy talking with him about his job and bike parts. Being a mechanical engineer he looks at parts in a different, very interesting way. Being a bit of a nerd I get into that for some reason. Also, Alex is a strong rider, riding a 44 X 20 single speed Cross Check. He obviously doesn't have to work at all while riding with my fat tire, 32 X 17, mountain bike being ridden by a weakling. But, I think we did ok. We rode roughly 25 miles in 2 hours with a bunch of stops for my text messages and phone calls. We must have averaged around 14 which is pretty decent for my current conditioning. I was happy that my achilles didn't seem to bother. I could feel it, but it didn't really effect me at all. I will try to get into another similar ride tomorrow and keep building up my biking fitness.

Only 5 weeks until the GRAID. Not much time that is for sure! I am praying for a north wind at 15 that day!

I really missed out on the Des Moines guys ride. I have been getting emails from these guys and they seem like a blast to be around. Hopefully I can join in on their fun soon.
Route up around the interstate
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Happy training.

Riding

2008-02-20T20:01:00.000-08:00

Went to the gym on Tuesday morning for an hour ride on the exercise bike set on hills. I took it pretty easy. The main goal was to get some time pedaling. I will back tomorrow morning for another hour. It has been crazy, my achilles, while burning a bit during the last hour or so of last Saturday's ride, has been fine EXCEPT while driving. For whatever reason, pushing the gas pedal down and pushing on the brake it gets to be sore again. I will decide on my riding plans for the weekend depending on how tomorrow's ride goes.

The Des Moines crew is planning another hundy this weekend. And I think only one of them, Dennis Grelk (who isn't actually from DM) is signed up for Trans Iowa.

I did order a derailleur hanger for the Flight so I can put gears on it. Also, a friend is giving me a free mtb cassette. I will probably take the derailleur and shifters off of my other mountain bike for just a bit. I want to set up the Flight as a 1 X 9 to see how I like that for my long rides.

I also just ordered some Kenda Small Block 8 700c X 35 cross tires. With those tires and my new rims I will be losing over a pound per wheel. I would think that would help!

Has anyone ever tried these attachments onto their mtb handle bars? On my Flight I sit up more than I would like and am wondering how these would work on the long gravel rides I do. Any experience with these?

Happy training.