Back in the Day

WNR report: The weather was far from cooperative last night, and I think that had something to do with a low rider turnout. It was in the upper 40's and raining steadily when six of us set out on the Loop just after six last night. It was like a blast from the past in some respects with Sarge, Marcus, Scott, and Mike in the group. I can't remember the last time the five of us rode together, but I know it's been a number of years. Hugh was the sixth rider to join us in the rain. Going out for a ride in the rain is always tough mentally, but once you get started it almost always turns out to be a good ride. It's not like you're going to melt or anything. All things considered we had a good ride (even if it was getting a little to dark to see by the end). At least another dozen people showed up for the post-ride festivities and to catch up with Sarge. A special thanks goes out to Hugh for putting in my new headset and fork before the ride. It was nice to get back on the singlespeed with a fork that has more than 2mm of travel. I'm loving 80mm now, thanks. Got the wedding in two days, and so far the weather looks good. No rain and a high of 55 for Saturday. Then it's off to Asheville for a little vacation. Hope everyone has a good weekend. Thanks for reading.

Back in the Saddle

Got back on the bike yesterday after a seven day hiatus, and it felt pretty damn good. Taking the time off was so hard psychologically, but knowing that it was only a week made it tolerable. I know now that I will never be able to quit biking. It's like I was able to stay off smack for a whole week before finally surrendering to the craving. I felt like a junkie yesterday morning getting ready for my ride. Mixing my bottles and checking tire pressure was exciting. Getting dressed for the ride was much the same. Once I actually clipped into my pedals and started to roll down the driveway.....forget about it. I had every intention of making it a nice easy ride, but that intention vanished about five minutes in. I felt great, and so I decided a 25 mile ride with a buch of hills sounded like more fun than dodging leaf peepers on 119. It was. Also, new max. speed for Pete: 48.7mph. Anyway, I'm back on track and ready for some good riding this week. Sarge and Mike are both confirmed for the ride this week, and hopefully Marcus will be able to make it out as well. Remember: The road to success is always under construction. Take care.

Bring It On Home

I busted out the camera last night to capture a little WNR magic for posterity. This little video is of Scott, Hugh, and Matt finishing up the Loop. Sarah and I rounded out the small crew, but we should have a much larger group next week. We'll be riding at headquarters again, and we're hoping everyone can make it out to ride/hang out with Sarge. He'll be making a guest appearance along with Mike Bodt. I'm looking to get back on the bike for some easy road riding tomorrow or the next day. I think this little break was just what I needed. My legs feel better today than they have in a while, and the idea of a nice easy ride actually sounds like fun.

End of the Road

My mountain bike racing season is now over. I'll be skipping the race this weekend for a variety of reasons (excuses). The fact that my knuckle is still bleeding a little is top of the list by far. I'd really like for that to heal up so that I can ride with my boys coming into town for the wedding next week, and racing three laps at Boyne seems like a bad way to help the healing process. Aside from that I'm just downright tired. My legs have been so sore for the last few weeks, and now my hands and feet are beginning to join in the protest as well. A couple of days ago my teeth even started to hurt. I've been sleeping a ton and taking naps, but I'm still tired. So, today marks day three of no biking. I am sitting around waiting for my yoga class to start this morning, but I'm operating under the assumption that this will help get me back on track. I've never quite felt like this before, but I'm going to try figure out what happened in order to avoid a repeat. I'll do short little ride on the cyclocross bike tomorrow night (WNR at Team Headquarters this week and next), but then I'm planning on not riding until the weekend. That will be the longest break I've had in I don't know how long. Hopefully that'll do the trick, and I can start getting ready for the honeymoon riding and cross season. Take care and be good.

WNR(un)

I managed to take a large a chunk out of the knuckle of my right hand at work on Tuesday. This means I will be unable to bend it for a few days so that it stops bleeding....i.e. no mountain biking. I went for a run last night instead, and as scary as this sounds it went really well. I'd rather be riding, but it is one hell of a workout. I'm going to try out the road bike tomorrow and see how that goes with the immobile digit. A little birdie told me that Marcus was planning on making a surprise visit last night. Sorry to have missed you Marcus, we'll have to hook up for a ride once I'm done bleeding. We'll see how I'm doing next week as far as the WNR goes. Until then I'll be running and road biking. Everybody be careful of sharp things (like electric slicers) this weekend, and we'll see you later. Thanks for reading.

Wilderness State Park

Had the rare treat of two days off in a row this Sunday and Monday so I decided to take a little mini vacation up to Wilderness State Park. I figured that was close enough for Sarah to be able to drive to work on Monday while I went out to explore some new mountain bike trails. I'd always heard great things about the rustic cabins that are for rent up there, and everything turned out to be true. They're rustic, isolated, and damn near perfect for us. It's a a great old log cabin with two sets of bunkbeds and a woodstove (we didn't really need that since it's still pretty warm out). Outside is a hand pump well, an outhouse, and a firepit. I don't really need anymore than that as it turns out. It's a little wierd not to have electricity (no way to charge the laptop). But at the same time it's amazing how quiet it can be without the usual sounds of home: stereo/tv, dehumidifier, washer/dryer, dishwasher, etc. We had a great time with a little too much wine and beer, but what are you going to do when you're on "vacation".



My ride on Monday was pretty nice. I rode some old trails I'd ridden before, but I also found some sweet new singletrack that I can't wait to ride again. I could certainly have explored a little more, but it was damn hot out. So 1hr45min and 18 miles was enough for me. I'm really hoping to come out of this riding funk soon. I just haven't felt good on the bike for a couple of weeks now, and it's really starting to piss me off. I'm trying to take it a little easier, and I've even dusted off my geared mountain bike to help me keep the pace down. We'll just have to wait and see. WNR at Boyne again this week. Be there or be square.

1/2 Century on the Singlespeed

With the way my legs were feeling last week and Hugh bailing out to go to Marquette (I wish I could have gone too), I was not optimistic about the big ride yesterday. Tim F. agreed to meet me for part of the day, but that would be my only riding partner. At least I was out in the woods, and the weather was terrific. I think I've found out how to show a link to my GPS people so you can view the ride on a map with all the numbers. In case it doesn't work: 52.84 miles in 6 hours, just shy of 7,000 vertical. Funny, almost the same time as last Sunday with almost the same vertical, but half the distance...what that mean? WNR at Boyne this week. Hope to see everyone there.

New Post Old Video

Well I guess the video isn't that old. Matt took this clip of a unicycle finishing up the Ore to Shore back in August. I think he only did the 28 miler, but that's still pretty badass. I wasn't really motivated to get out training this week, and I felt like crap on the WNR. I'm thinking it had something to do with H100. Anyway, I took the last two days off in preparation for the big ride tomorrow. I'll report back on Monday. Take care, and have a good weekend.

Hugh's Humongous 100

Hugh had a new course option this year for completing your 100 miles. A 4.8 mile loop containg the brutal Wasson's Grade climb is the new offering. If you ride it 21 times you get your 100 miles. I was the only rider that thought this sounded like fun, and so I set off alone at about 7:45 yesterday morning. I put a bag at the end of my driveway (which just so happens to lie along the new route), it was stocked with 8 fresh bottles full of Perpeteum and Heed along with a wide assortment of easy to consume foodstuffs. I was hoping to use the ride to develop a long term pacing strategy. My current strategy of riding really fast until I get tired and then slowing way down doesn't seem to work in 100 mile mountain bike racing. So my goal for the day was to ride consistent laps with enough left over to really hammer the last 2 or 3. I also tried to eat and drink steadily. It must have been a good plan because I still felt good enough at the end to put in two of my fastest laps. I know this won't translate directly to 100 miles of dirt, but I felt good all the same: 100.2 miles in 6hr12min with 7,088 ft. of climbing. I anticipate much more pain and suffering next weekend when I go for the 100 miles of mountain biking on the singlespeed. WNR at Kipp this weeek so bring your climbing legs.

Changing Gears

I'm in the process of changing quite a few gears right now. First and foremost has to be that Sarah and I will be getting married in a little over a month. A close second is that I recently made my singlespeed a couple of gears harder. Rounding out the top three is the end of mountain bike racing for the year. My last race will be the state championships at Boyne Mountain on Oct. 6th (only six days before the hitching so I'll be extra careful). It's time to start getting ready for my first cyclocross season. Towards that end, I've entered into a very light trail running regiment to prepare me for the runups. It's crazy I know. I've got to get back to work....more updates to follow after Hugh's Humongous 100 this Sunday. Until then, take care and ride like the wind.