Wednesday....


59 degrees and sunny this morning. The definitive perfect day! Who wants to bet that it won't stay this way? Oh well, take it while you can.

Peace out, yo!

It's Hot Outside!!!

Landon with Judy's new Teddy Bear....

Saturday evening in Kensett, Iowa. Yes, he rode his bike to the bar and parked it in an appropriate diagonal parking space in the street....

The left side of the table....

The right side of the table....

It was warm in Hudson this afternoon....

New socks! Pretty pimpin', eh?

Kayaking at Gateway....

Hydration pack on mountain bike at Big Woods Lake.

Good thinkin' Bubba....

Saturday was Judy's birthday so I took her to Village Inn for breakfast after we'd said good-bye to Jackal and The Cheese Queen when they left for the races in Nebraska. The weather didn't look great around here so we decided to drive to Cabela's in Owatonna to find a birthday present for Judy rather than going for a bicycle ride. (Her idea, not mine. I bought some fly tying hooks and some dubbing.... That's it!) She found some shirts that she liked and some fudge and I picked out this year's birthday Teddy Bear for her then we headed a couple of miles north to the Medford outlet mall. She found a couple pairs of pants and a couple books that she liked so we bought them and headed back south. Stopped in Kensett, Iowa to visit the cemetary where many of my relatives are buried then headed back to Waterloo. All in all, a good trip!

Sunday found us trying to find out how The Twins had done in Nebraska. I finally left a message for Jackal on his cell and he called me back while I was walking through Hartman North. They podiumed again! Woohoo! Kerkove in 1st and Jackal in 3rd! The only two Cannondales at the race (like last time!) and both on the podium! You'll have to check their blogs for recaps. Congratulations to both of them!

Later Sunday afternoon we grilled out in the driveway and had Jackal and Moo, Ren and Heather, and Adam and Krystal over for burgers and dogs and the fixin's. No burned chubs this week!

Left to ride at about 11 this morning into a headwind and heat! Went to Hudson then west to the roadside park where I turned around and came back to Waterloo by way of the Ranchero Road trail. Rode the trail through the intersections of death and then over to Pfeiffer and out through Gateway to Big Woods Lake and back. About 40 miles in the heat! Getting ready to head out to the cemetary for awhile and to run some errands. That's it for now.

Peace out, yo!

Off to Nebraskee.....

Got the Smurf on the window......

The bikes on top....

Ready to go....

Jackal and The Cheese Queen are meeting Kerkove this morning and then they're off to the races. Good luck guys! Kick some Ass in Nebrakee!

Today is Judy's birthday so I'm going to take her out for breakfast to get the day started. How old is she? Well, I'll put it this way.... She isn't much older than me. Gotta go!

Peace out, yo!

Greenbelt TT, Volume II....

Kerkove digging for, well, something....

(Perhaps the red licorice that he lost at Ferryville?)

The Crew....

Jeremy, Rob W., The Twins, some old fat guy.....

Swiss National Champ....

Post Race. (The Winner)

Another fun night. We had some serious rain in parts of Waterloo before the TT and the course was a little bit wet in places, but not bad. It was a blast! Check the Bike Tech website for finishers times. HAPPY FRIDAY! WOOHOO!

The Twins and The Cheese Queen will be heading to Nebraska in the Morning for their 2nd 12 hour race of the season. 22 minutes in the Greenbelt kicked my ass so I can't imagine 12 hours of that sort of suffering. Oh well. Whatever trips your trigger. Good luck guys. Have fun and be safe.

Happy Memorial Day weekend to everyone.

Peace out, yo!

Well....

Making magic....

Shy guy....

Those gloves still scare me....

Plenty of room for a cyclist to pass....

Maximizing use of the trail....

Sweet ride!

Peace out, yo!

The Cookout....

Jackal....
The Cheese Queen....
Brother of Jackal and his boss....
Grandson Jacob....
Oh yeah! mmmmm....
Jackal said the chubs were overcooked.... Not so! They were yummy!
Where are you, Helmet Nazi?
Do I pass on the left or on the right?

The cookout was at our house on Saturday afternoon. Brats and burgers with a couple of weiners thrown in for good measure. Add the fixins' and it was all very yummy, even if the dog and I ate the brats. Burned? Not!

Went riding this afternoon cuz I need to work on my gut. It started out with a woman and a guy and 3 kids stopped in the middle of Kreig's Crossing just to chat and only got worse from there. They seemed upset that I wanted to pass... Must've disturbed their conversation. People walk and ride 2 and 3 abreast on the trails and seem pissed when you want to get by them. Mom and dad and 2 or 3 youngsters all out of control and not paying attention to anything. I'm convinced that the trails are more dangerous than the highway! Don't you think it would be perfect opportunity for the parents to teach some trail ettiquete? Hmmmmm.....

I met a group of kids numbering about 20 on the bridge across the river on Main Street. There were 2 women in charge of the group riding at the rear and an older girl riding up front. Single file, smiling and saying hi. Warning the kids behind them that there was a cyclist ahead. See how easy it is?

From there I went out around Big Woods Lake and then up to Dunkerton Road and over to old 218. I rode north to Janesville then over to Union Road and headed back toward CF. Today must be Graduation Day at CFHS. The Rotary Reserve was packed and it seemed that every SUV and Lexus, BMW, etc. that was leaving the parking lot was trying to kill me! It only got worse when I got down to Skyline and had to deal with the Yukons and Cherokees leaving Beaver Hills. Have you ever noticed that the larger and more expensive the vehicle, the less they like to share the road? What's the correlation? Oh well, hit me. I hope your insurance is up to date. (I wonder if alcohol led to diminished thinking ability? Cell phones?)

Ok, I'm done ranting. It's all good! 34 plus miles and I made it home alive!

I'm done.

Peace out, yo!

A perfect day for riding.....

Guardian of the Colnago....
Welcome to Hudson....
Wind out of the SW helped with the climbs on 27th st....
Seems like it's a mile uphill....
Oh yeah, I fell over in the parking lot at the Mtb TT the other night. I was duly embarrassed.... Glad Kerkove didn't see it happen.....
Corn fields are ready to plant....

What a beautiful day! Wind out of the SW at 10 to 20 so I headed to Hudson for the first leg of the trip. From there it was west over to the Dike-New Hartford blacktop and north to Dike. Got passed by a former Europa employee just outside of Hudson by the cemetary. Clint must've been doing 20mph into the wind. He was long gone in just a short amount of time..... Hmmmmm.....

From Dike it was north to 27th street and then east back to the University. Cruised across campus then took College Street to Sartori where I hung a right then a left and took 2nd to Franklin. Cottage Row Trail to Claire and then out around Big Woods Lake and over to Gateway and on through GW to the Hwy 218 bridge. Back down the bike trail to Pfeiffer where a young lady from "The Runner's Flat" in CF gave me a fresh bottle of water. Thanks! Up Grand to River Hills School and back down Rainbow to the house.

I met or passed a lot of people in GW today. Kinda busy out there. Saw a "biker" and his family and nearly had to take the grass to avoid an "entanglement" with them. He was wearing his black jeans and black leather vest with his bandana and "biker boots" on his mountain bike with the little lady and 5 kids tagging along behind. The last person in the group was a girl about 15 or so with her cell phone cradled between her shoulder and ear paying attention to nothing and weaving all over the trail. Some people must not feel obligated to share the trail with others. "Just riding along"....

A little over 54 miles today and feelin' pretty good. Jackal told me last night that I need to get my ass out and get more miles on the bike so that my gut will disappear.... Is that how it works? Oh well, we'll see....

That's it for now. I think we're going to grill out with Jackal and Moo this evening up at their place. Yummmm.... I hope we have some Chubs!

Peace out, yo!

How did I do that?


How did I post yesterday's blog twice? Well, it actually looks like 1 1/2 times.... Whatever. Hmmmmm..... Oh well. It's all good!

Peace out, yo!

It was a BLAST!!!!

Getting ready....
The racers.....
Ron Saul....
Kerkove pimpin'
K erkove in the start area. John Adamson has complete control....
Jeff Slade stylin'....
The Deerslayer....
Guardian of the Jetta....

It was a BLAST!!!!

Getting ready....
The racers.....
Ron Saul....
Kerkove pimpin'
K erkove in the start area. John Adamson has complete control....
Jeff Slade....
The Deerslayer....
Guardian of the Jetta....
Guardians of The Shop....
Jackal's hardware.... Bling Bling....
Guess who? Those gloves scare the hell out of me....

My fist MTB race... The Greenbelt Time Trial, volume one. It was great! Even though I embarrased myself by falling over in the parking lot prior to the start, I still had fun. Rode out to the Greenbelt area and pre-rode the course. Ran into John, Rob, and Ron laying out the course at mile one, said "hey" and moved on. The course was in great shape with plenty of traction and well marked to everyone but Kerkove. (see his blog...)

I started next to last and finished in the same position. I think by the end of the race it was proven that it was the right place for my old slow ass to start! Oh well, I can only get better, right? :) While pre-riding the course I ran into Jeff Slade on his SS. I hadn't seen him in awhile and it was good! About 3/4 of the way through the pre-ride I heard a familiar voice yelling at me, asking if I could ride any slower. Had to be Kerkove! Anyway, the race was fun. A great place for a beginner like me to start. I think I'll go back next week and give it another shot. My thanks to John and Rob and the rest of the crew that set it up and ran it. You all did good! (y'all?)

Peace out, yo!

A wonderful day in Muddville.....

The Cheese Queen....
Is that Kerkove?
The Twins chillin' on Friday....
Real Wisconsin mud....
It sticks to everything....
Does it hurt yet?
Peace out, yo!
"The Climb"
Kerkove Ragin'
Single speed. Ouch!
It was a bit muddy....
Jackal climbing....
Kerkove rippin' through the woods....
Jackal crossing the creekbed.....
The Twins on Saturday....
The Winner!!!!!

I'm speechless. Wow! I saw it with my own eyes....

One of The Twins will post all of the pics sometime soon.

Gotta get to work.

Peace out, yo!

Camp Ingawanis Bicycle Race.....

Jackal, your Race Director....

Young Mr. Bidwell....

Jeremy Bidwell ragin'

Kerkove being Kerkove....

John Adamson says "It's all good...."

The Deerslayer takes the inside line through the sand....

The Deerslayer flying.....

Fast downhill with sandy corner at bottom....

Landon Beachy takin' care of business....

Casey Dean talking with the racers....

Post race.....

Hangin' out after the race....

Jackal stirring things up....

Oh yeah! It was a great race!

Things didn't go exactly as planned for me on Sunday morning but in the end it was all good. I left for Camp Ingawanis at a few minutes after 6 on the yellow bike with the intention of racing in the beginner class for my first ever mountain bike race. I pulled into camp and Jackal told me he needed a huge favor.... He'd left a box of prizes in his basement and wanted to know if I'd hurry back into town to get them. Well, I figured that if I moved right along in The Jetta I might be able to get back in time to participate so I jumped into the car and took off. I picked up the prizes and flew back to the camp and watched the beginners as they took off from the starting line.... Oh well, the prizes were a pretty important part of the race so I felt fine with what had happened. There will be another race somewhere.....

I had the great pleasure of working as a Course Marshall at the bottom of Suicide Hill with Ron Saul. The weather was absolutely perfect, there was a lot of action, and the company was good. I really enjoyed myself! It was a good vantage point from which to watch the race up close and personal. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves and having a lot of fun. I heard many comments about the quality of the course and the great organization of the race. Judging from the comments from riders coming down that hill at high speed then making the 100 degree corner in the sand, I'd say that mountain bikers are, well, different. Different in a good (I think) kind of way. Perhaps a little crazy? That seems to be a prerequisite. :)

After the race I was treated to pasta provided by Chuck Landau from the Waterloo Brown Bottle and other culinary delights. Gave me plenty of energy for my "into the wind" ride back to Waterloo!

Great job of running the race and lining up sponsorships! I know that Jackal, Kerkove, Casey, Moo and a lot of others put in tons of work to make it happen. You guys did a super-fantastic job!

Peace out, yo!