WNR #3

Weather: Sunny and breezy, about 62 degrees.

Trail Conditions: Good to excellent from the field to the back end of Bishop's trail. Beyond that, conditions are marginal at best.

Attendance: Sarah, Sherry, Doug, Matt, Benson, Seth, and I.

Next two WNR's will be at the HQ. Have a happy wednesday.

Long Cold Sunday

I had a long cold ride yesterday. By the end, I couldn't feel my feet. But the legs felt pretty good, so I should be able to go quite a bit longer next sunday providing we get some decent weather. Yesterday was 36 degrees with a vicious wind out of the southeast. Check it out:



WNR @ Boyne this week. See you there.

SBYC In April

Got up to the SBYC for dinner last night a little earlier in the year than usual. But temps. were in the 70's so we went for it. I got in a good hour road ride when I got home from work in the afternoon. I packed up the car while Sarah got ready to bike up. The weather held up great, and it was really nice to be back on the beach after the long winter. Over and out.

WN...I mean TNR Report

It didn't turn out to be as warm as we expected last night, but we got out for the ride just the same. Only Sarah and Benson joined me for the second official group ride of the season, and we all had a good spin on the NCT off of Larks Lake Road. There were still a couple patches of snow to wade through and a couple of downed trees to climb over; but I'd say overall, the trail conditions are pretty good. Benson was giving his new steed the first shakedown on the singletrack, and I think he's pretty happy so far. This is Benson's first mountain bike with the big wheels. Welcome to the club.



Next weeks WNR @ Boyne (and it really will be on wednesday). Roll out will be at 6:30. Have a good weekend.

C.S.I. Team Terpening

Shortly after noticing the missing money last week I found a pristine pack of cigarettes behind the house next to the woodpile. We're pretty sure that they had only been there a short amount of time since the cigarettes were dry, the pack had no dirt on it, and the dogs hadn't chewed them up yet. It is an obscure type of cigarette, but that really didn't get us any closer to figuring out the crime. We only have a small number of friends that smoke, and those that do certainly don't smoke ultra light menthols. We were still scratching our heads up until a couple of days ago when Sarah and I found some butts out by the shop below a recently melted pile of snow. They were a perfect match. Since I blew all the leaves (or cigarette butts) off the driveway this fall, and two of the butts were found in a discarded orange pop can that I would have picked up in the fall as well, I've narrowed down the likely ultra light menthol smoker to one of three individuals that did some work on my shop a couple of months ago. I called the deputy handling the case this morning to pass along the information; and while I'm still not real optimistic about anything happening to the person who robbed us, it's nice to be fairly certain it's not someone we know and hang out with.

In more happy bike related news: Matt and Jess came out on sunday to help Sarah and I start getting the trail ready behind the house. We worked for about an hour and got about 80% of the singletrack raked and cleared. I rode the Loop on my singlespeed yesterday, and it was wonderful. Thanks for helping out guys.

WNR is TNR this week. See you there.

WNR REVISED

Hey Riders:
This is Sarah and I would love to mt bike this week, but Wednesday just looks crappy. So how about this week, since MOST of us are just starting to ride, we go for a nice day and ride Thursday the 23rd at 6:30 at Larks Lake.
I am pretty sure that if you still want to ride on Wed, Pete will be up for it.
Sarah

Ride Reports

Friday: No ride. I finished the interior of the new shop with Hugh before work, and then I moved some bikes in after work.

Saturday: I felt cold all day at work, and everyone was commenting on how warm it was. I took off from home after work on my road bike, and I felt cold immediately. I ended up with just over an hour in the saddle.

Sunday: I have my long rides of this four week build period scheduled for Sunday (yesterday was the end of week one). I was hoping to get in four hours; but considering the miserable weather, I was happy to roll in with 3:42. There was a steady drizzle most of the ride, and the temperature hovered right around the 40 degree mark. However, there was a vicious wind out of the south east that made it feel more like 34 degrees. At least that's what the weather people were saying, and I concur. Check out the ride below:



I'm shooting for five hours next Sunday if anyone wants to join me. WNR @ Lark's Lk. NCT Trailhead 6:30. Be there or be square. That is all.

P.S. Stay tuned for another installment of C.S.I. Terpening Station wednesday. We's got some clues.

WNR Report

Hugh, Sarah, and I hit up a variation on the Loop last night in wonderful, balmy temperatures. My first ride up north with shorts and short sleeves. We rode up to the top of the 95 acres before heading over to Hugh's domicile where we sampled some of his new singletrack. He's put in a really fun loop of just under a mile, and he's been talking about hosting a little time trial/party sometime later in the spring. Next weeks WNR is still up in the air. I'm going to wait and see what trails are open and rideable after the weekend. Here's a little Paris/Roubaix goodness in case you missed the coverage on Versus over the weekend.




P.S. Today is our first official day of "operation lockdown" at HQ. It sucks, but at least the sh** bag thieves of the world will now have to physically break into our home to rob us.

Ride 2 Work Monday

Today marked my first bike ride into the office this year. I only had to put some air in the tires, and the old LeMond was ready to roll. Temps. were a bit on the chilly side, but it still felt great to leave the car behind for a day. Last year I put just shy of 1,000 miles on the commuter, and I didn't start up until early June. Starting this early in the spring, I'm hoping to maybe double that number this season. In other riding news: I'll be ready to go for the first WNR of the season this week @ Headquarters. I'll plan on starting at 6:00 (unless someone is firmly committed to coming and can't make it until 6:30, in which case let me know and we'll wait for you). I'm not sure if all the singletrack will be rideable, but I'm sure we'll be able to piece together a good hour loop in the neighborhood. Speaking of the neighborhood, ours is apparently going to heck a hand basket. To make a long story short, Sarah and I are going to have to start locking our doors. While I was gone on my trip, some a**hole entered our home without permission and stole a rather substantial amount of money from us. I've lived in this house for over ten years now, and I've never once felt that I had to lock the doors. All that changes today when I get home from work and install a new doorknob with a lock. It is my sincere hope that whomever robbed us suffers severe misery and pain for the rest of their days on earth. That is all. Over and out.

Goodbye Mulberry Gap

I'm on the way back to Michigan after another stay at the wonderful Mulberry Gap Mountain Bike Lodge and Bunkhouse. In case you missed it the last time, click on the link and check it out. If you're too busy right now to do so, rest assured it's been added to my permanent list of links over there on the right. They moved right to the top because they're just that good. I'm still having a hard time putting into words what a wonderful thing these fine folks have been able to put together in such a short amount of time (two or three years I think), so bear with me. It is without a doubt, one of the top vacation/lodging experiences I've ever had. The only thing that could have made it better would have been to have my wife there to experience it with me. Needless to say, she'll be experiencing it soon enough. I can't wait to go back. So go check out their website with this in mind: It will all be ten times better in person. The food was unbelievable. The cabins were cozy and snug; and while I only scratched the surface of the mountain bike trails in the area, the ones I rode are among the best I've ever ridden. But the best part of it all was the warm and friendly hospitality extended by Ginnie, Andrew, and Diane. Everything about my stay exceeded my expectations by leaps and bounds. I'll see you again soon.