Yep...

The blog-o-sphere is a funny thing. Doing a little blogsurfing/procrastination before going out to suffer in the wind and cold for a training ride and came across this post, with the title "From Sublime to Silly"...



That is My Wife Inc rider, Dr. Giggles, at the Washington Park Halloween race. Photo caption courtesy of Gweilli, he lives in New England somewhere so I am not sure where the actual photo came from, funny how a picture taken in Wisconsin on Sunday finds it's way to a blog in New England on Wednesday. Anyway they were throwing gas on the small leaf fire that was burning on the "Bunny Hop or Die" barrier! I kind of thought the same thing as I was going over the barrier - nothing like tubular glue, dangling costumes, and drinking superfans and an open flame.

Alright enough procrastinating time for 1 1/2 hours of over/under intervals.

..enjoy the flame, I mean ride!

Whoville Whirl...

It looks like we may get to navigate something like this at Jingle Cross this year...



Check out the course map for day one. Better start practicing your tight turns now! I know we don't get a lot of small radius turns up here in Wisconsin, so this should be a ton of fun!!

If you haven't registered for this race yet or you are on the fence - you should go it is one of the most fun races in the Midwest. All the folks that organize/volunteer at the Jingle Cross Rock race are awesome, the course is brutally fun, and what else are you going to do on Thanksgiving weekend, eat leftovers and battle the malls. I'll take battling Mt. Krumpit and eating mini cupcakes! Yep the Wives are making mini cupcakes and will be doing cupcake hand-ups so keep an eye out for them - they shouldn't be too hard to spot ;)

Missing...

I want them back - no questions asked! Perhaps I foolishly left them in KC, or they may have been taken, or maybe just maybe it is an elaborate plot by Crusty to exact his revenge for the flogging he received. No matter the reason they are gone and I need them back. The season is approaching its apex and now is not the time to be without that fleeting feeling, the whisper in your ear, the spark just when you are in need - I have lost my legs and need to find them again soon!

I went from one of my best races of the year a week ago, mentally at least, to an almost complete implosion! I didn't quit yesterday but I sure wanted to - in fact I was so far off the back that I took my first beer hand up ever. I heard something to the effect of "When you are sucking this bad you don't have a choice you must take the hand up!" I don't think those were his exact words, but that is what I heard. Yep total suckage! I was never in it mentally or physically. I never got in the right mind set from the start, last week after a forced bike change I stayed motivated and found a rhythm. This week I went for another bike change but was just deflated - and couldn't chase. I was clumsy yesterday - riding off the course, running into the tape, bouncing all over, sloppy remounts. It felt like I had inherited Crusty's anchor from last week - no snap in the legs and they were just worked by the third lap.

Sucking off the back...

Next weekend is a double header and a chance for redemption.

And if you see my legs out there on the side of the road tell them come home I miss them and want them back, I've got some nice Qoleum waiting for them!

Turkeys,weddings,and racing...

It was a long one this past weekend. No racin' in Wisconsin for me, my sister was getting married in KC, so the fam made the trip down for a long wedding weekend and a little cross racing KC style on Sunday. Crusty offered up his new casa for us to homebase out of - thanks! The trip down was uneventful, stopped at the largest truck stop in the world - it's really not that cool if you aren't a trucker looking for chrome.

Did a little shake down ride with Crusty on Friday afternoon. We saw 8 wild turkeys chillin in some one's front yard - what a day to forget my camera. You have to love the KC suburbs, very little traffic and an abundance of wildlife. Next time I will remember my camera and Crusty better offer up some gravel roads - I miss them so!

The wedding and reception was nice. LeBam had a wonderful time and was a beautiful flower girl!

SUNDAY, SUNDAY, SOMEDAY!!
Crusty v. Heenan Round 2

The race was at the same venue as last years nationals, but a different part of the park. The rumor is that the park was not properly rehabilitated and no one is allowed back to that spot again - hence new venue for nationals this year. Luckily the park is huge and offers up some other nice race spots. What do you get when the team putting on the race is sponsored by a local brewery? - a live bluegrass band, free food, and free Boulevard Beer! Not to mention a totally fun course - pavement start and finish (Thank You) the rest was all grass. Off camber turns, 3 sets of barriers, two little run-ups, fast sections, power sections, and technical sections - the course was very well rounded and a BLAST.

Lined up a little late (I am noticing a disturbing trend), but worked my way up to Crusty and squeezed my way into a second row start spot. I knew that Crusty would punch it from the start and move up fast so on the whistle I gassed it and he came around. We both hit the little left hand downhill grass transition in the top five or so. I felt the rear squirm a bit on the turn - and started worrying about my pressure. Less than hundred meters later I was FLAT and going backwards fast, this being the second round of my battle with Crusty I was pissed and rode as fast as possible on a totally flat tubular to the pit, switched bikes and began what would be a 5 lap chase to catch Crusty. photo: the wife aka the sponsor

I found a nice rhythm and starting picking guys off one and two at a time, as the laps ticked off I was getting faster and gaining ground on Crusty. With 3 1/2 laps to go I made the catch and got on his wheel. He said something like "It's about time you caught me!" I replied "Yeah I forgot to take my pre-race poo and had to stop." As we went around the course I was looking for a spot that I could attack on the next lap around. When we approached the finishing straight our friend Mike had just turned off the pavement into the grass. I glanced over a Crusty as he settled into his hoods for a tempo chase - I went to my drops, stood up and lit the fuse! BAM I was gone and caught Mike right before the run-up and let him pull me into the headwind before coming around and leaving him behind for a solid 15th on the day.

Not my best result of the year thus far, but I feel it was my best race of the year. I was motivated to chase after flatting at the start, instead of mentally checking out. I raced smart and efficient, getting on wheels in the wind and coming around on the flats. I caught Crusty recovered and attacked when he wasn't expecting and went on to catch a couple of more guys. Even though it was one of the "what if" races - what if I hadn't flatted, what if I had chased a little harder and faster... I am very pleased with the race, just looking at the results seldom paints the entire picture! Crusty's version he has a few more pics.

Crusty 0 - Me 2

photo: the sponsor
At least he looks good.

Rounds 3 and 4 are set for November at JingleCross in Iowa - neutral ground, will Crusty be ready?

Racin' for fun...

With no WCA races on the schedule this weekend, I signed on to help a friend with his Chicago CX Cup race. We rolled down on Saturday to help with course set-up, eat some Chinese food, and watch action movies.

Sunday was "race" day...

wait, what were already lining(ed) up?

Yep, not really and A race for me. Let's see no warm up and got the the start late. I decided to just have fun and ride my bike. Ross had a good start and I had a crappy one, so I sat on some wheels and let him use his engine to pull away. I got onto the wheels of a couple of guys sitting in the top 10 of the Chicago series and thought for sure they would be motivated to do some work resulting in pulling me up to my teammate. Well that never happened, I got onto the wrong wheel on the approach to the hill, he bobbled and we were both gapped. They must not run for training in Chicago, because everyone was complaining about "The Hill"

You rode up the far side , then back down, then ran up the middle, and finally back down. It really wasn't that bad ( I passed 4 guys on the first lap run-up) and it is good practice for this race.

I caught up to another top 10 series guys and stayed on his wheel for a lap or two, and decided I would promote good border relations and told him I wouldn't go for it at the line so he could get his maximum points for the local series. I knew I could take him and really whats the point in sprinting when it is 9th and 10th place? In the end neither Ross or myself really pushed it resulting in Ross finishing 6th, one place out of the money, and me playing nice guy.

"Rock Fist" kind of day.

Its sweet to go out and have a good time without worrying about warming up, starting position, results, or the other racing stuff that sometimes gets in the way of a nice ride in the grass.


Next weekend is game on for round two versus Crusty - "The Beatdown in the Hometown!"

Race Day...

+=

Cold and wet Sunday = GOOD TIMES!

Boom Box Crew...

photo- Kris Ugarriza

Found the photo in this article. Boom Box Crew getting me pumped, maybe this week I can feed off them to just push that little bit harder.

Little white crutch...

I was thinking about the last couple of race weekends and my apparent inability to push myself during the race. Over/Under intervals, Lactate Threshold intervals, Power intervals all lasting an hour or more are no problem during training - so what's the deal. Then it hit me...

...the little white crutch

I am so used to training with one ear plugged in. The music distracts me from the pain, the intensity, the time, and helps motivate me. I realized at the JP Cup in Madison that every time I came around the course to where the "Boom Box Crew" was camped out playing old school heavy metal I would pick up the pace and put in a hard effort. Then once I was out of earshot and the surge had wained I would settle the pace back down and repeat again when I hit the BBC spot again.

So today I went cold turkey - no more iPod on training rides! 1 1/2 hours of Over/Unders unaided by the little white crutch, it was actually a good session after I got over the initial "Oh Crap 1 1/2 hours of distraction free pain" I realized that I can push myself for that long with only my thoughts and internal motivation. I actually found I was pushing harder on the last interval than I normally do - perhaps it was my imagination but it sure felt like I was pushing harder.

So the quest for what hold me back continues...

...enjoy the ride.