Tuesday night I hit the road with my neighbor Carlos. The last time we tried to ride he had 2 flats in less than a mile and a 3rd once we got home. This ride happened to go a lot smoother! We were strapped for daylight, so we tried to get a good workout and ride around 35 miles. We decided to head to St. Paul via the river road and hit the path along the river after the University and then hit the river road on the opposite side.
The weather was perfect - cool and a slight breeze. Our legs were feeling good and we tried to keep the pace high. There wer LOTS of bikers out. I always get a kick out of seeing others riding. I should start keeping track of how many people wave back to me though. It didn't seem like very many last night. Haters.
At one point near the end Carlos mentioned that he was dead, so I tried to ease up a bit when I was up front. Each time that I did that he came around me. I guess he wasn't as dead as he thought. He also managed to catch me off guard on 2 city signs! I'll get my revenge...
Here's our route:
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Border Battle Recap
This past weekend's race was the first Border Battle between the hugely succesful WORS and the seemingly tiny MNSCS series.
The course was new - Whitetail Ridge in Riverfalls, WI.
I wasn't expecting much as I had been on vacation in Door County all week and was no where near racing form. The previous week was spent relaxing near the water, kayaking, wine tasting, drinking beers in the afternoon, bonfires, beers in the evening and eating constantly.
Still, I needed the points to be counted in the overall, so I registered.
The course was awesome. Mostly singletrack and not that much climbing. It flowed very well and was a nice mix of bumps, elevation changes and some technical spots. There were fields for passing and even giant "PASSING LANE AHEAD" signs. It felt like I was heading up to Lutsen.
The weather was perfect - mid 70s and sunny. We did 4 laps and I didn't try to do much due to my vacation condition. Still, I managed to hang with some groups, pass people (in the fields even!) and finish. It wasn't great and I wasn't expecting anything much more, but I did a little better than I thought I would. I managed to not cut anyone off - although I did leave the course due to an accident directly in front of me and I heard someone behind say that I cut the course. Right.
Overall the race was awesome. People were mostly friendly on and off the course. One thing that stuck with me as I called out a pass was the comment of "BURN IT! BURN IT!"
Right before the start there was someone's tent that went flying due to the wind. Now, normally you'd think that's kinda normal, but this thing was WAY up in the air, maybe 50ft up and it flew across the field the event was in, probably 250ft before crashing down. From where we were it appeared noone got hit as it wasn't your small sleeping tent. It was of the EZ UP style. Yikes.
If you get a chance, point your bike towards River Falls and hit this trail - it's a blast!
I'll be skipping Laddie's Loppet this year (sad) so my last race will be in St. Cloud. I'll have to see if I can work off the extra 5 or 6 pounds I accrued from vacation to do well at the Jail Trail.
The course was new - Whitetail Ridge in Riverfalls, WI.
I wasn't expecting much as I had been on vacation in Door County all week and was no where near racing form. The previous week was spent relaxing near the water, kayaking, wine tasting, drinking beers in the afternoon, bonfires, beers in the evening and eating constantly.
Still, I needed the points to be counted in the overall, so I registered.
The course was awesome. Mostly singletrack and not that much climbing. It flowed very well and was a nice mix of bumps, elevation changes and some technical spots. There were fields for passing and even giant "PASSING LANE AHEAD" signs. It felt like I was heading up to Lutsen.
The weather was perfect - mid 70s and sunny. We did 4 laps and I didn't try to do much due to my vacation condition. Still, I managed to hang with some groups, pass people (in the fields even!) and finish. It wasn't great and I wasn't expecting anything much more, but I did a little better than I thought I would. I managed to not cut anyone off - although I did leave the course due to an accident directly in front of me and I heard someone behind say that I cut the course. Right.
Overall the race was awesome. People were mostly friendly on and off the course. One thing that stuck with me as I called out a pass was the comment of "BURN IT! BURN IT!"
Right before the start there was someone's tent that went flying due to the wind. Now, normally you'd think that's kinda normal, but this thing was WAY up in the air, maybe 50ft up and it flew across the field the event was in, probably 250ft before crashing down. From where we were it appeared noone got hit as it wasn't your small sleeping tent. It was of the EZ UP style. Yikes.
If you get a chance, point your bike towards River Falls and hit this trail - it's a blast!
I'll be skipping Laddie's Loppet this year (sad) so my last race will be in St. Cloud. I'll have to see if I can work off the extra 5 or 6 pounds I accrued from vacation to do well at the Jail Trail.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Saturday, August 16, 2008
We're almost off
We'll be spending the next week on vacation in Door County, WI. We're staying with some friends we met while in China. Their daughter Lily and Charlotte will have all sorts of time to play and hang out. One whole week of doing nuthin! I'm excited. Of course, when we get back there's the Border Battle to attend to....
Updates will be sparce while I'm gone. Have a good week everyone!
Updates will be sparce while I'm gone. Have a good week everyone!
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