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The letter of the day is
B
B as in BRRR it is cold.
It was a cold windy ride, but I found a new route through Waukesha that avoids
some nasty roads. 
Click on the photo below for the
Video.





24-9 race report
Saving the best for last
After every 24 hour solo race I’ve done, I’ve sworn never to do another. 
Then  some time goes by and I think,
“if I do this better, or that different it will go so much better.”, and I try it again. 
Well, this year I made the “never again” pledge BEFORE the race,
so I knew it would be my last solo 24 hour effort.  

What a great time to have my best race ever.
 

4th place in the non championship solo category may not sound that impressive,
but success for me in 24 hour solo races has never been about where I wound up at the finish line,
it was always about how I responded to what happened during the race.  
The goal was always to stay as mentally strong as I could no matter what the race threw at me. 
I usually did o.k.

This year I answered that call like I had been trying to do since 2003.

I felt great the whole race, I was riding sections that I usually walk,
and for the first time in all of my solo 24 efforts,
I actually enjoyed my night laps. 
I am usually so beat by the night laps that I am going to slow to get a good rhythm
in the singetrack, or I’m bouncing off every tree and root out there.  
This year I was picking great lines and flowing through the trees and having a blast.

I had some troubles. 
I had a flat and a major mechanical that cost me lots of time and my dual suspension ride,
but I was not going to let it get the best of me. 
I also had the best support from the whole EXPO crew, starting with my wonderful wife Deanna. 
 Aris Peters was like a formula 1 pit guy swapping parts
from one bike to another after the bike failure early in the night. 
Everyone helped out, it was a true team effort in the pits. 

On my last lap, I caught up with Gus doing his last lap. 
He had an escort from his brothers Aris and Theo. 
So I got to finish my last ever solo 24 hour lap with my teammates,
 one of which just won the singlespeed division,
one who just took second in the junior championship
and the other who made it possible for us to ride at all. 
Theo and Aris it was awesome having you guys on that lap. 

As you can imagine, all these factors got me pretty emotional by the finish line. 
So I guess this race, my last solo 24,
was about how I responded to what happened during the race,
but it also wound up being pretty important how I ended up at the finish.
Surrounded by my wife and my friends,
  after having done the 24 hour race I’ve been shooting for for years.
 


Tune Up Turns Into Beat Down
What was supposed to be a tune up for 24-9,
 turned into a beat down of epic proportions Saturday.
It was my first Blue Mounds race. 
I had ridden there a couple years ago, but had
forgotten what the trails were like. 
And then there was the heat... 
The heat and the technical trail did a tag team number that had
me off the bike too many times for me to count. 
I kept doing laps and the times kept getting longer,
but I kept going and ended up 6th. 
I couldn't have done it without my pit crew Deanna,
with help from all of team EXPO.
Thanks to Jeff Kerkove and Ergon. 
No numb hands on one of the toughest courses around.

This was at some point when I still felt ok, I think.



This is what the course left me with, and this is only one leg, the rest of the body looks about the same.
But I kept on going even when every fiber of my being was saying sit down take a break, which is what
I have to do at 24-9, so I guess it was both a tune up and a beat down... Just like 24-9 could be. 
I can't wait.


Fireworks, Lights, Wolves and Deer, Oh my!
Gus and I went out for a night ride to test our lights for 24-9 on Wednesday the Fourth of July.
We rode at one of the coolest places to watch 4th fireworks.  It's a ski hill so you can see almost every
display in the metro area at once.  We caught an occaisional peak as we ducked in and out of the singletrack.
The wolves from the nearby wolf conservations society were howling and the deer were jumping across the trails.
My homebrew lights worked as expected and Gus's HID lights worked like hollywood spotlights.  I love riding at night.
I'm looking forward to doing it again.  Here are the  homemade lights, more info on them later.


One long interval ride
Gus and I went for a 60+ mile ride Sunday, that was almost like an interval ride. Why,
well he was rocking a huge gear on the Medici fixed gear and was rolling a fast tire.


He had the tire off Johnny G's Madone, so he felt fast.  That meant that I had to try to keep up a
crazy pace at times, to keep up with his monster gear. 


I just watched as Gus sprinted up the hills. 
It was either sprint up in that huge gear or get off and walk.
Me, I had gears so I spun up the hills.
The ride was just what I needed.
It is always fun going fast and I haven't done nearly enough high intensity stuff lately.
And I can't believe I've put this online before Gus... I guess he's riding his bike.
ride movie 1
ride movie 2
ride movie 3


The Cote de Constantine
I went out to western Waukesha county today looking for the Cote de Constantine, also known as Price Ct. 
Gus, also known as Constantine told me about this hill that was good and steep.  He wasn't kidding.  Out of the saddle all the way up the hill.
About 50 miles total and a lot of impatient driverson the way to and from.
  Other than that and the 85 degree heat and high humidity,
a good day on the bike.  Sorry no pics today.  Maybe tomorrow.




Looking for license plates

Well not just any license plates.  DIfferent license plates.  As in, from different states.
That's right, it was the first interstate ride of the year.
It was Monday and I know it's Friday now, but hey I was riding my bike.
I went out monday on a yeah ride.   You know, when you go out and just ride and think shuold I
go this way, yeah.  Should I go that way, yeah.
Anyhow, I went south and decided to head for the border.  105 miles total.  What a great day on the bike.
I can't wait to do the route again.
here are the pictures.


me and my shadow on the way south



trying out some new shoes. so far so good.

I ran low on food and craved salt so, I got some chips but didn't have room on my jersey.

The jersey was full of other food and a carmera and phone.

The view in southern Racine county.  What a day!

I didn't take any pictures at the state line because there wasn't even a sign. Just a road that went from paved to
under construction.  Sounds about right for Illinois.  But the guy driving the steamroller was cool.
He didn't give me any grief for not knowing where the state line was. 
I'll be back across the border soon.