Morning Ride

I got up nice and early this morning and hit 'the loop' with Dan Knudsvig. He is 1/2 related on the Knud side of the family ;) What a perfect morning. It was 71 and sunny at 5:45am on May 25th. Beautiful. I think I did about 18 miles. I need a cycle computer...

Josh posted some more pictures of the race at Salem. A couple of goofy ones too. http://www.flickr.com/photos/31854552@N07/sets/72157624006750555/

Racing Goals

These are lofty goals for this year, but it is something to work towards...
If I keep them to myself, I will have nothing to live up to.


1. Minimum of (1) top 25 finish in Sport Class


2. Minimum of (1) top 10 finish in Sport Class


3. Minimum of (1) podium finish

4. Race in a minimum of (7) MNMBS events

5. Top 10 overall in age group

Dirty Fun

A nice picture of the muddy situation.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/grizzlyadam/4634401434/

Freewheel Frolic

First race of the year was fun, but messy. After a 2 hour delay due to rain the race was one of the muddiest experiences I have ever had. I already cleaned the bike twice and I am now considering pulling some things apart. There is grit everywhere. I think it was best described by another rider, 'it was like riding through peanut butter'.

This was my first sport race since entering my 30's and it felt natural. I ended the day with a 4th place finish in my age group, and 44th/160 riders. I don't think this was a good measure of my performance, as there were a lot of riders who didn't finish the race (or start for that matter). It will be interesting to see if any new names show up as front runners at the next race (Afton). Here are the results for my age group: http://assets.ngin.com/attachments/document/0011/5518/MNMBS1-AgeGroupResults.pdf

Hammer Time

I got out for a good ride last night. I rode my typical Wednesday night route from last year (route map http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=112190094690078853123.0004706589e2521d532e9&ll=44.94609,-93.34774&spn=0.135347,0.373192&t=h&z=12 ). It is a 10 mile ride to Theodore Wirth, two laps on the trails and back home. My focus this week is to work on my recovery. I have been very slow to recover from hard rides this Spring, and my legs were still heavy from last Sunday. I started with a good warmup, and worked on race pace to and from the trail. Put a couple of intervals in the ride for good measure. Total mileage was 27. I need to put a computer on the bike so I can start gauging performance.

Apple and Cinnamon - Racing at Elk River

Sunday was a bit of a struggle for me. I wasn't quite prepared for the distance/time in regards to water and fuel. I decided to ride the Advanced race and felt pretty good at the start. It is early in the season though, and I knew that I have been training too hard leading up to the race. I made it through the first lap in good position, but I didn't drink enough along the way. I found it very difficult to drink on this course, and would have used a camelback if I had to do it over. Not to mention, I lost one of my water bottles about midway through the first lap. On the second lap I was making a concerted effort to drink. It was too late. By the end of the expert section I was out of water and needed to go through 3 more sections to finish. By the end of section 2, I wasn't feeling well. I was moving at a crawl through section 3 not only out of water, but was bonking pretty hard. At the end of section 3 I decided to pull out of the race. I was really bummed, because I don't like to quit. I thought it was the best thing to do, because I wanted to be ready for the real race next Sunday. I met Josh back at the car, and decided that if I got some water I could go back to section 4 and finish the race. With all the drama and dicking around, I was prbably one of the last guys to roll across the finish. Not what I was expecting, but definitely a good experience to build on. With the longer races, I will have to be more in tune with eating and drinking. I thought I could push through to the end, but I was very wrong.

On a good note, I tried the apple and cinnamon hammer gel. Damn they are good.

Rain, Rain, Go-Away

It has been about a week since I built up the 96er, and I still haven't been able to get out on the road/trail. At this point, I am really tired of spin classes, but it is all I have to get the miles in. There is the possibility that I will get out and race Buck Hill this Thursday, but it will depend on what the weather looks like. Josh and I are planning on riding Salem this Sunday to get a feel for the course prior to the Freewheel Frolic. Others are welcome to join us...

I Wanted To Poke Stan's Eye Out

I picked up the new 29" wheel from Freewheel last night. I was so excited that I brought it home and immediately began preparing it for installation. I went with standard Velox for a rim strip, because I am planning on using a tube for now (yeah, doesn't make a lot of sense). Velox didn't appear to be the best choice for this type of rim, but it seems to work.

A little note on the wheel build. I built up the Chris King hub with a standard three cross spoke pattern. The spokes are 14/16 double-butted with standard brass nipples. The rim is a Stan's ZTR 355 in white.

Now, back to why I wanted to poke Stan's eye out. The tire I am putting up front is a Maxxis Crossmark. The first bead went on with some difficulty, but I was finally able to seat it in the rim. I then inserted the tube, and proceeded to seat the other bead. With the Velox, the bead can't sit as deep in the inner channel, thus leaving alot of tension on the bead. I have never worked so hard to get that last bit of bead seated in the rim. I was sweating, cursing, and throwing shit across the room. Jenny came into the room during the struggle, and I almost bit her head off (sorry Jen). I dug deep and was finally able to hear that last "snap" as the bead dropped into the rim. Dripping with sweat and severly wounded (from stabbing myself in the hand an number of times with the tire lever) I raise the tire above my head in victory!

I mounted the wheel on the bike and rode it around the neighborhood. Everything works great, and should be ready for Thursdays first ride. If I can only get over the emotional strain...

First Dirt Baptism For Homegrown

I got out for my first dirt ride this year. I am a little bummed that it had to wait until May 2nd, but it is still a month ahead of last year's 'first-dirt'. Sunday's ride has been one of my favorite training routes. I ride from my house to the greenway, to cedar lake, to Theodor Wirth, and onto the trail. The distance is typically around 30 miles, with about 7 miles of singletrack thrown in the middle.

I felt really good and fast on the single track. This was also the first time out on the fully rigid Schwinn (but with a 26" tire up front). I have to say that the carbon fork in da-bomb. It was a little rough, but that was balanced out with how it railed the corners and felt snappy on the climbs. I don't regret changing out with the Fox Talus. The carbon absorbed a good deal of the abuse, but didn't feel like it flexed too much.

The new Schwinn weighs in at 21.5lbs on the fish scale. This is with a heavy 26" wheel up front. When I get the 29" wheel, I bet it won't add more than a pound. Unfortunately, I never weight the bike before I removed the old fork. All I can say is that I feels a lot lighter. Later this spring, I will probably rebuild the rear wheel with a lighter rim. I am running the Ryno-lite in the back, and could drop 180grams if I go to the ZTR 355. Only if I have some money burning a hole in my pocket...

I pick up the new 29" wheel on Wednesday. I plan on bringing it back out to Theo for a comparison ride. I am particularly interested in how the larger wheel will handle the rock and log piles. The 26" tire did fine, but there is room for improvement.

With a few weeks until the first race, I am feeling better prepared for the start of the season. I am down another 11#s to 189, and still feeling strong. I guess I can't race cydsdale anymore...