Hardcore.....

Wanna see some crazy, hardcore riding? Check out Citron Rob (Deerslayer) on Jackal's blog. Whoaaaaa.....

Ride safe.

Peace out, yo!

Tuesday....


Another great day today. Not as warm as the last two, but still shorts and short sleeve weather. I rode to Hudson again this afternoon with a breeze out of the northeast. Piece of cake! I really like the new Northwave shoes. They have a wide enough toebox for my feet and are really comfortable after the minor cleat adjustment that I made today. It's very easy to adjust the cleats so that they are the same on both shoes because of the more than adequate markings on the soles for that purpose. Super! Cork footbed and 3 easily adjustable straps. What more could you ask for?

In a couple more weeks it should be light outside long enough to get in some longer rides after work. I can hardly wait!

That's it for now.

Ride safe.

Peace out, yo!

Still windy....

Hey Eduardo! They glow!
They need some minor cleat adjustments....

The thermometer says 75 F....

Downtown Hudson....

....though only half as strong as yesterday. Dead out of the south at 15 - 17.

Rode to Hudson then a couple of miles west on the Zaneta blacktop where I made a small adjustment to my saddle and headed back to Waterloo. 75 F today. Super! 26 miles and home before dark.

When I got back home Judy had lasagna and bread sticks along with some green beans ready for supper. Yummmm..... Moo and Baby Rhea are here. Jackal will be here soon since the shop closed a few minutes ago. It's all good!

That's it for now.

Ride safe.

Peace out, yo!

Windy....

Beautiful day!

Black Hawk Creek....

Cody + Kelsey....

Lunch....

My Sweetie....

I headed out to Hudson yesterday morning and averaged 10.1 mph for my efforts. Godddd!!! 25-30 mph headwind dead out of the south. Met Kerkove on his Six-13 on my way back, just south of Waterloo. At that point I was doing 25mph with the tailwind and stopped for a minute to talk to him. Said he was out working on his tan. Sounds like he had a pretty good sufferfest going on. He and Jackal are getting ready for next weekend's Ouachita Challenge down in Arkansas. Good luck guys!

At least it was in the 70s. Beautiful day!

The Colnago comes off the trainer this week and hits the road. It's gotta happen!

Jackal went out and did the New Hartford loop on his Six-13 at about the same time. Whoaaaaa! He said he had the same kind of averages into the wind as I had. (more hills out that way!) It was killer. He met Super Saul out on 27th when he was returning to town. Like Kerkove said.... In the midwest, the wind is our mountains.

Went to lunch with Jackal and Moo along with Baby Rhea. Lot's of cyclists out and about downtown but not so many out in the country. I wonder why?

Watched Milan-San Remo on the tube then watched Valentino school the field at Jerez. A pretty good Sunday. My gophers are done with the NCAA hockey tournament after a defeat to the UND Fighting Sioux yesterday. Go Black Bears!!!!

That's it for now.

Ride safe.

Peace out, yo!

Water....

Water and fog this morning. I had to go to the plant this morning since I had crews working at opposite ends of the building, and decided to check the status of the Cedar on my way to work. Boys and girls.... the river is up and rising!

It had been receding the last couple of days but I suspect that the warm weather up north is causing some more melting. Funny how that works, eh?

Jackal dropped by last night and said that the paved trail was under water in 4 different places out at Wyth Park which means that the dirt trails will be unridable without scuba gear. The pics above are from North Hacket this morning and, as those of you familiar with the area can see, the trails will be under water here too.

A bunch of the guys were working out at Ulrich this morning to get the trails ready for Eduardo's run in two weeks time. I don't think that the rising water will effect that area much.

That's it for now. I came home to an empty house at about 11:30 and need to get some type of ride in today or I'll lose my mind. Fog and light rain out there right now. The temp is up around 60 so it's not so bad.

Ride safe.

Peace out, yo!

A new shot.....

Kerkove at the shop tonight. "The stress is getting to me"

Shoes....

We all know how important the shoe is to the cycling experience. They can make your ride totally enjoyable or totally miserable.

I have worn many different shoes over the years but never found the "perfect" shoe for my moderately wide, high arched foot. Some shoes worked better for me than others but I was still looking for that "perfect" shoe.

I own a pair of "special limited edition" Northwave shoes that are still sitting in their wooden box and are taken out to be looked at from time to time but I can never quite bring myself to clip them into a pair of pedals and buggar them up. They fit like a glove and are well made so I started looking for a pair of new Northwave road shoes to keep my feet happy. After some research I had decided that I wanted to try their Aerators, since that is what I use for my mtb shoe, so I started my search. I found the new road shoes at The Cycle Loft in Boston. The people that I dealt with on the phone were knowledgeable, helpful, and professional which made it a totally positive experience. Their response to my initial email was almost instant. (They even asked if I'd worn Northwave shoes in the past because they size their shoes a little bit different than most other shoe manufacturers. IE: if you normally wear a 43 in other brands and you order a 43 Northwave, you'll probably be disappointed. You'll want a 42 or 42.5) The price was right and they shipped them quick! They arrived yesterday and I knew as soon as I opened the box that they would do what I want them to do. The toe box is noticably wider than most cycling shoes and there is plenty of adjustment to accomodate high arches. The super stiff carbon sole and cork footbed should help eliminate any "hot spots". I tried them on right away and they felt like they were custom made for my foot! Thanks guys!

Jackal is going to use some of his newly acquired knowledge regarding the fitting of people to bicycles to help me position the cleats just right. (He and Kerkove have both been "professionally fitted" in the last couple of weeks and both say that the difference is immediate and noticable.) I'm looking forward to riding in them!

That's it for now.

Ride safe.

Peace out, yo!

What happens.......

when all the snow from an entire winter melts in just a few days? You get flooding! Ah well, all the snow is gone now so I suspect the high water will only last a few days. It's all good!

I'm thinking that I'll take the Colnago out for awhile this afternoon. It's 29 F right now but is supposed to get up into the mid 40s today. That doesn't sound too bad.

Jackal had a "professional fit" done for him on his Cannondale Six-13 yesterday. Clay Bertram (Dirtram) was down from LaCrosse and did the fitting at Bike Tech in Cedar Falls. Carl said that they made quite a few "small" changes that he feels will make a "big" difference. I'm interested in seeing the results.

I spent most of the day yesterday up in Readlyn rewiring my middle son's garage. He had an old 2 circuit fuse box, one outlet, and two overhead lamps when we started and a new 100 amp panel, 14 outlets, and six overhead lamps when we finished. We need to wire for an air compressor and a welder before he starts putting up sheet rock to finish off the inside of his garage. FYI.... He's a car nut.

That's it for now.

Ride safe.

Peace out, yo!

R a n d o m .......

My respect for politicans has dwindled to an all time low.

My respect for politicians who cannot decide or comment on any issue prior to consulting the most recent opinion poll is near zero.

My respect for politicians who cannot decide or comment on any issue prior to consulting the most recent opinion poll, and then changing his or her mind on any stand taken regarding said issue once the next, conflicting, opinon poll is released, is below zero.

The only thing that I feel for the politician who says what he or she truly feels, and then apologizes for saying it when he or she is accused of being controversial, is contempt.

We deserve better.

That's it. Rant off.

Have a great weekend. Ride (or ski) safe.

Peace out, yo!

NICE!!!!

Yes, 71 F on the 13th of March....

The pretty pink legs and the Northwave shoes....

I had planned to be out of the plant at 4:30 and heading for the bike. "The best laid plans" don't always work out the way you'd hoped.... I was out by 5:30 and on the bike at 6 for a short but sweet ride in this beautiful weather! I met Mr. Saul on Grand at Park.... He was finishing his ride as I was starting mine. I knew I didn't have a lot of time tonight so I kept mostly to the trails with a little bit of road riding on Cottage Row Road and of course Grand and Rainbow. There is still quite a bit of ice and slush on the paved trails in the shaded areas but it was still good! Woohoo! MORE of this weather, please. Ah well, I'm afraid that it isn't going to happen that way. 50 for a high tomorrow and back into the upper 30s and lower 40s for the next few days after that. I suspect that I'll still be riding anyway. It'll be tights or knickers and long sleeves, but that's alright. It was good to get out in shorts today. :)

Thinking of G-Ted riding his bike down in Texas this week. Hope you're having fun! The "other" blue Colnago is still hanging in your stand at the shop, waiting for your return.

That's it.

Ride safe.

Peace out, yo!

What a day!!!!

" Where's lunch?"

"This is MY mom!"

Light lunch....

"I love you G'pa...."

Super Saul and Jackal.

Jackal is doing his own personal gravel grinder....

Fields flooded along Black Hawk Creek

near Hudson....

Jackal bridging the gap....

We went to lunch with Jackal and Moo and Baby Rhea at 11 so that Jackal and I could ride at 1. Lunch was good and the ride was good. We picked up Super Saul near his house and headed out 12th and then up across campus and out 27th. South into the wind to Dike from the end of 27th then 5 more miles south to the Zanetta blacktop. From there it was east into Hudson where we hit the Ho Chi Minh Trail back to Waterloo. (Saul hadn't ridden the Zanetta blacktop before and wanted to know if we'd climbed Mother F##ker hill yet. Ouch! He's an animal!) A nice 43 miler....

Met Jeff Slade riding his bike back toward Hudson. I thought it was Kerkove for a minute, all dressed in black.... I'm betting he was out training today and that he had bricks in his bags to add weight.... Triathletes are funny that way ya know....

The new Northwave shoes are still super comfy. Super stiff carbon soles and NO hotspots. Woohoo!

Thanks to Jackal and Ron..... You guys didn't have to wait for me.

I need to lose about 30 pounds!

That's it for now.

Ride safe. Watch out for those cars out there! They certainly aren't watching for you.

Peace out, yo!

Uh huh :)

:)

West on 27th....

Dike, Iowa....

The new bike....

Waiting.....

:)

Got a nice ride in today. It was in the upper 30's when I left and in the mid 40's when I got back. 36 miles on the Cannondale. I like it! The new Northwave Aerator MTB shoes are sweet! No hot spots! No heel slip.

Jackal, Kerkove, and Super Saul did the Shell Rock loop today on mountin bikes. Well, Jackal and Kerkove were on MTBs but Super was on his CX bike. Jackal tells me that it was brutal. A 52 mle road ride on MTBs. Hmmmm..... I guess that Jeff wants to ride to Dysart tomorrow....

That's it for now. Get out and ride in this beautiful weather! Be safe!

Peace out, yo!

Cold....


It looks like our friends out east are getting the cold weather we'd been having. Brrrr....... Try to stay warm guys! Warmer weather is on the way!

Ride safe.

Peace out, yo!

Things....

Kerkove and the Swiss National Champ....

Yes, Kerkove (pre-Ergon....) is riding a mountain bike on a road ride.

He does things like that.

Blue's bike and the Swiss National Champ....

Is that Bob Roll and the Belgian National Champ....?

Ummmmmm....

Shake your booty....

Squirrel....

I love my trainer....

Yes, I know all about the nose....

It got in the way of a flying rubber object. 'nuf said....

Rode the trainer for an hour tonight. Did a few 30 second intervals. As usual, it sucked....

Outside later this week. I'm sure of it.

Ride safe.

Peace out, yo!

It's coming....

I think that spring is just around the corner. Warmer temps forecast for the coming week. You'll hear no complaints from me!

Went walking last night. I was afraid to take my bike out on the roads with the weak job that the city did with the plows last week. Scary! I'd be a bug on someone's windshield. Walking was pretty good until I got back on Rainbow Drive for the last 3/4 of a mile home. People haven't shoveled and there is about an inch or so of ice on the walks. Shona turned me on to some cleats for your shoes. I think I may give them a try. I figure if studs work on the Surly, these should work on my shoes. Thanks, Shona!

I need to get back on the bike in the basement starting tonight. It's been about a week or so since I've ridden it and the Good Friday ride is coming up in 4 weeks. Oh yeah!

That's it for now. Be safe.

Peace out, yo!

Weather....


The weather map this morning shows crap all over northeast Iowa. Everywhere other than Black Hawk County. Could it miss us? Wouldn't that be nice? Warnings for blizzards, freezing rain, floods, snow, and high winds. I think it's the second coming....... We'll see what happens.

Ride safe.

Peace out, yo!