Weekend recap

Well it was a fast weekend again that included one of our favorite things, bikes. Nate raced the WORS Big Ring classic on Sunday and faded at the end do to the heat and finished 6th. He over heated and was out of his 3rd bottle half way through his 3rd lap and just rolled it in. He said the finish had nothing to do with the course and that it was all heat. The course was not the same old fun course and I have to say that if it is the same weekend next year it will be a trip to the Snake Alley races in Iowa. We have blown these races off to do this race as it was a fun one and now it is not so road races it maybe next year. But enough on the WORS race. The weekend up there was a great weekend with all the EXPO Jr team and family. I have to say the best was building Jordan's race bike and having him race this weekend to a 2nd place finish. Also great job by all of the kids and the great finishes. The weekend was finished by a awesome ride today. The Ronsta Ramble was a blast and it was great riding for 8 hours with some of the best group of riders. Thanks Ron. Now I need to get my feet up and have a few drinks. Later..

Wausau pre

Nate, Riley and myself loaded the truck and headed to 9 Mile today for the WORS race tomorrow. There is so much sweet single track and roads to use and they have it backwards. They have a lot of roads and little single track this year. Maybe that is why this race will be called the Big Ring Classic. But good thing is I am not racing as I would be pissed to pay for what they set up. They have a lot of climbing witch is kind of cool but they took out most of the single track and it is just not the same. But I hope that everyone that is racing enjoys the race as I would not. But that is just me. Now we are sitting by Wade's enjoying a movie and relaxing before the big race. See you at the race. Later..

Too Busy

I have been busy with rolling therapy and PT which took up alot of my time. But the Beat Down last night was that and some as Fast Guy Joe was there and kept the miles ticking away at a rather brisk pace again. Not complaining but I was on the rivet many times and at a few keys times the lead group was stopped by a car and it let us grab back on. But as always the the pace was amped up and my tung was again on the front wheel. But in the end I was able to roll in with the lead group as the final tally was 37 miles in 1:34 and a pace in the upper 23mph range. Good times and the old group ride has now turned into a faster paced one instead. I will keep going till I get dropped before we leave the parking lot meaning I think I will be soon riding alot of it by myself if the pace stays this fast. Then today I had a project that Nate and I got done that I hope makes for a great weekend. I will give details when the time is right, till then it just remains a secret. Now I have to pack and get Nate's bike ready for the race this weekend. Later.

What's up?

Nate rolling the 29er single speed tonight at the Crystal ridge timed event. He liked the ride but I had the gear a little to tall so we will make it better next week. In all he liked the 29er and I guess I have to ride the Gunnar 26 inch now as he will take this bike from me to.
Last night was track racing again and Nate had a good night again. He is holding his own in the Jr cat and the Sr cat 3's. He also raced the Pro 1,2, 3 and finished 6th over all. Not bad as he was Jr geared again and no9w they told us we can up him to a Sr gear for the main event so we will do that next week. this weekend we are heading to the WORS race in Wausau on Sunday and then the Ronsta Ramble on Monday. It is going to be a awesome weekend. Oh yeah the pool water is up to 83 degrees and feels great after a ride. See you at the race and the Ronsta Ramble. Later..

Hot one

It is a warm one today and I think it caught up to me today at PT as when I stood up I got so dizzy that the therapist looked at me and asked if I was OK. I think she thought I was going to fall over. Just a little dehydrated I guess and as one knows they must breath when standing up. But I was OK and then left and went home and drank 2 bottles water and then went for a rolling therapy ride with Nate. All OK after the ride and then I jumped in the pool and that was awesome. The water temp was 78 today and that is up 20 degrees in the last 6 days. We will put the thermal cover back on tonight and with the warm weather and sun tomorrow the water may be in the 80's for sure. Now that will feel awesome to jump in when we get home from the track tomorrow night. But now I need to pay attention to the last episode of 24. Later..

Sussex Crit

Today Nate, Mitch, Gus and I loaded the the bikes on top of the car and headed to the Sussex crit. I have to say that the Cafe Hollander team put a nice race course together for a awesome up hill finish. But back tot the racing Nate, Mitch and Riley toed the line for the Jr race. It was a nice 24 racer field today and that meant more IS Corp racers to race against. Right at the start the race was fast as the IS Corp was trying to shell the others and it kind of worked as the others fell off the pack and Nate was there and chased the others down to be in the break of 4 for the last few laps of the race. Nate jumped early at the bottom of the hill and then popped big and rolled in for 4th. Mitch had a little trouble breathing as the air was hot and heavy and fell off the pack and rolled in to just finish. Riley did his first race and found out that the pace is fast and you need your big chain ring. He told us right before the start that he couldn't shift into the big ring and it was to late for Jeff to fix it as he would have had it done in 10 seconds. But now Riley knows that even the Jr road racing is not easy and he needs to ride more and race more.

Right after getting his bike rolled out for the Jr gearing he and Mitch toed the line for the Cat 4 race. Nate sat up in the front for a while and then about half way through the race Nate was looking like he was ready to throw in the towel and he told us after the race was over that he was telling himself just stay in and finish as he just wanted to quit. But he was sitting good the last 2 laps and when the race came into the final turn up the hill he was in 10th and just hit the gas and by the time he came to the top he was in 3rd for the finish. He looked good and I always think that it is cool that he is Jr geared and keeps up at the speeds that are over 30 mph as he is spun out big and still hangs in. Mitch again had the breathing issues and was down a lap and finished the race. By the time it was over is was at least 85 degrees and hot out. But another great weekend of racing in the books. See you at the track Tuesday.

Riley looking cooked after his first road race.
Nate in the middle of the cat 4 race.
Nate sitting the Cat 4's, and Sarah right inside of Nate.
Mitch rolling past for the finish of the cat 4's.
Nate coming across the line for his 3rd place finish in the cat 4 race.
Nate in the Jr break.
Mitch rolling on for the finish in the Jr race.
Nate coming in for the 4th place finish in the Jr race.
Nate and Mitch at the start of the cat 4 race.
Nate and Mitch at the start of the Cat 4 race.
Nate and Mitch getting ready to race.
Nate, Mitch and Riley at the start of the Jr race.
Getting ready for the Jr race. Nice size Jr field for once.
Nate on the first lap looking for the next person to try to take a flyer.
After the up hill Nate went on to close the gap and get into the break that held for the rest of the race.

Hartland Crit

Christie and Buckwheat enjoying the race.
Buckwheat taking a seat on Christie's lap.
Nate, Gus and Christie at the start line.
Nate and Peter fighting for 4th place. Nate got Peter by a bike length in the end.
Nate at the front trying to pull in the break.
Nate getting breather as every other lap he was trying to pull the break in.
Lap 1 after the IS Corp tried to get a guy off and Nate chased it down.
Nate at the Jr start line.
Nate coming across the line in 6th in the cat 4's
Nate sitting in the pack in the cat 4 race.
Russell ( fast guy Russell ) sitting in 2nd wheel in the cat 4 race.
Nate at the start of the cat 4 race.

Nate and I loaded his road bike and headed to Hartland for the WCA Crit. Nate toed the line for the Jr 16-18 race and he was 1 of the 3 that were not from the IS Corp team. When the race started the IS Corp team kept sending a rider off the front and Nate had to cover each one and then Leif tried swept across the front and almost took 3 racers down and they all had to hit the brakes and Leif got a gap with another racer for 4 laps. Nate closed the gap with to to go and then was in the sprint and took a 4th place in the end. Right after roll out he toed the line again and this time with the Sr 4's. In this race there was 44 racers and it was alot easier as he didn't have to chase all race. He sat in the pack and with 1 to go he moved to the front and was 2nd wheel going into turn 3 but was Jr geared and spun out so he was pulled in and finished 6th in the end. Good racing and Sussex tomorrow for some more crit racing. It was nice that Gus and Christie came out to watch Nate race today and tomorrow I will be taking Gus along as he enjoyed the races today. Well time to pull the grill out. Later..

Another Friday

Nate and I hit the road yesterday, Nate on the Stowe fixie and me on the Felt SS.

I can get used to always having Friday's but I know it will end one of these months. But as said it was Friday and the first day of finals for Nate and Maddie. I don't get it as they have finals next week Monday and Tuesday so why not have them all next week? What ever, but I had to pick them up at 11:30 today after they both had 3 finals. Monday Nate has none and Maddie has a couple and then Nate has 1 Tuesday and Maddie is done with school Monday. Holy cow did the school year go fast. Nate will be a Jr next year and Maddie a Sophomore.

So the chair of pain is gone. They picked it up today which is nice as I have not used it for a few weeks as the therapist said we were done with that phase of PT. I will not miss the chair but I have to say that it did help keep the shoulder more flexible after the surgery.

Then after getting the kids we got the chemicals for the pool and I shocked today and tested the water so it is swimmer ready once the water gets to a good temperature, it is presently at 64 degrees so a few more and the kids will be it it. Then it was a oil change for the car and now I am watching the Tour of California before going out for something to eat. Cece is at a dinner tonight so the rest of us are going to hit a nice little Italian place hidden on the south west part of the city. Then it is racing some crits for Nate tomorrow and Sunday. See you at the races. Later..

Random pictures from the last few days.

Nate closing the gap left by another rider in the 50 lap main.
Russell sucking Lenn's wheel. Again....
Nate going with the break in the 50 lap main. Man if wasn't Jr geared this would be easier to keep up. But nothing like spinning.
Russell again sucking Lenn's wheel.
Dan in the warm ups.
John taking off at the line in Rhinelander.
Kids will be kids.
Nate chill'n at the start line.
Nate thinking any time now Don.
Russell on his new machine. Maybe he will unload the car after racing and not leave it in the car at work with the keys in it to for someone to take. Bike looks nice though.

Here are some pictures from the WORS race and the night at the track on Tuesday. No real order just some shots at the races. Tonight Nate and I are thinking on trying a new ride for a chance of scenery so we may hit up the Alterra ride. Just have to get the details of where and time. Well off to some therapy. Later..

Wednesday Night

Tonight Nate and I headed to the first night of Wednesday night timed riding. As I figured after the night at the track he was tired but he was game for a ride in the woods. He was caught by Ben and then Ben flatted and Nate took the 1st place for the first race of the Wednesday night timed events. As you can see in the picture he is ready to race. Tomorrow is still up in the air to where we will ride as Nate has 4 crits to race this weekend. So here is to great riding weather. Later..

Track racing

Nate did some track racing tonight. Pictures and report to follow. Good Night. Later..

Rhinelander recap

4 out of 5 of the place finishers were EXPO Jr's . Caleb 1st, Nate 3rd, Mitch 4th and Myles 5th.
Nate and Myles get their call ups.
Riley getting a hand up from his Dad. He finished 6th on the day in sport 15-16.
Riley, Jordan and Brandon at the start. Riley 6th, Brandon 3rd in 15-16 sport, and Jordan after a crash finished and took a 5th in 14 and under sport. Brandon had a great race and I feel he is just getting going and more podium finishes in the future. Same with Riley once he gets his race legs I think that he to will be fighting for the box
The boys went for a swim in lake at the cabin. They are crazy as that water was so cold that they came out of the water shivering but refreshed so they said.

Well we went up on Friday night and it was a nice drive and we got to the cabin and relaxed the night before the pre ride on Saturday. We got to the race venue and all the EXPO Jr's went for a nice pre ride of the race course and then relaxed before Gus interviewed them. After that it was back to the cabin and Dan and I got dinner ready while the kids went for a ride on the 4 wheelers and then again after dinner before their swim. After that we relaxed and I made some homemade popcorn and after that they had some ice cream before heading to bed. We got to the races and then they all got on their game. Caleb lead the race from start to finish and then it was the pack of Nate, Myles, Mitch and Greg fighting for the rest. Caleb took the first place and then Greg with Nate 2 seconds behind. Nate was up with Caleb but his new Sun skewer on the front wheel loosened up and he had to stop to fix it causing him to fall back to the chase group where he settled in. Greg got into some single track ahead of them and then it was chase Greg and Nate just needed 10 more feet. So he finished 3rd and then it was a fight to the finish for Mitch and Myles with Mitch getting it with a bike throw for 4th and Myles 5th. Good racing and a great time at the cabin with the kids and Dan. I will post a few more pictures that I got later in the week. track starts tomorrow so see you at the velodrome. Later..

WORS pre ride

Took the kids to the race course for a pre ride and I the course is dry and well I think a little bumpy for me. The kids were on and they look ready and hopefully the are ready and prepared for a good ride. It was nice riding the course today but riding so slow and taking it easy so not to crash makes a different ride. It is really different when riding and not carrying any speed up hills and every thing make them tough. But it was nice riding in any case. It was real nice to sit for a while at Crystal lake with the Peters family at their camp site right on the water and talk to everyone. What an awesome day for a ride and it is supposed to be another great day tomorrow. After the pre ride it was off to Walmart for some people watching and as always it was a trip with some real gems. After getting dinner and laughing at the people it was back to the cabin. The kids rode the 4 wheelers and then they jumped in the lake, crazy as the water was cold as hell. Fun times and hopefully they are now rested and ready for tomorrow. See you at the race. Later..

Hodag Country

Well we made it to Hodag country and we are resting at the family compound. We got Nate, Mitch, Myles, Riley and Riley's dad Dan here this year. Now the kids are playing XBox and Dan and I are relaxing watching some TV before getting the kids to bed and then going to the race course for the pre ride. The weather is supposed to be great so it should be a awesome race this year. I may even take my mtn bike leave here to go for an easy lap tomorrow, just have to see how I feel and if the shoulder is OK with it. See you at the race. Later..

Beat up at the Beat Down

It was a windy night at the beat down tonight and it was a small group at the beat down to. Maybe about 15 took off and I noticed that a few cars were gone when we finished and that only means some took a short cut as the wind was brutal and so was Fast guy Joe. He was sick so it was a slow beat up till the hammer dropped going over the Fox River. Then there was small groups all over the place. Joe and Nate were off the front and we never seen them again. Then there was a group of 5 trailing those 2 and then Todd, myself and a Alterra rider. We kept a good pace and finished a few tics behind the others but the wind sure made it a interesting ride tonight. But I am glad the rain finally stopped and we got out to open the lungs and legs after a few days of rest. Plus Nate needed a good ride before the race Sunday. We are leaving tomorrow for Rhinelander to get there and relax on Saturday morning instead of driving up and having travel legs before the pre ride. We are staying at the cabin so that will be nice and relaxing for sure. Taking Nate, Mitch, Riley, Myles and Dan ( Ryley's Dad ) so it should be a fun time for sure. Well time to get a big bowl of ice cream. Later..

Made It

Well I made it another year. I get to the check the next box of 46-50 year old now. WOW I always thought that people this age were old when I was checking that 20 something box 20 some years ago. But another year gone by and I am still taking up some air.

I went with Jessica's school to the Brewer game today and it was nice till we left and they blew a tied game to lose like 9-2. What a bunch of goofs. I had a group of 5 girls and they were good and then a few other boys and girls went ever to far behind. It was fun as a few of the other kids were asking me to sit near them and one kid kept playing with my hair. Kind of weird but funny at the same time. Good kids and I didn't lose any so that was good, I think.

Then it was off to a BBQ at the new school Jessica is going to attend next year to meet a few of the staff and Principal. It is going to be a nice school and Jessica is really looking forward to going there and so are we. The school is building on and doing a lot of nice things to make the kids education better and I like to see that.

Last night I looked at the chair of pain and had enough of it and moved it to the front hallway and packed up the ice cooler. I have the living room back and it is nice looking after 2 1/2 months with the chair and cooler set up gone. I'm hoping that the Dr gives me the OK to get 3 to 4 days a week of PT after the visit next week. I want this to get going full speed ahead and I think more PT is the answer. I will keep my fingers crossed for the OK. Time to see why on my Birthday I am sitting alone as everyone is in different rooms. Hopefully the punks are doing home work as I know Jess has hers done. Later..

Rain Day

Another picture from Sam that he snapped of Nate over the weekend.

Great with all this rain I will be mowing the grass every day that it is not raining. Hell I may even have to bail it. But at least it is green and not a dry dusty brown mess. Mine is never that way anyhow as I water it to keep it a nice green all the time. But the rain is making the grass nice and green and my pocket book greener as I don't have to water it. With the rain it kept me indoors today and I got a bunch of chores done and rode the rollers to loosen up the stiff and achy body. My shoulder and hips were tight and stiff today and I think that the weather was the reason for it. But after the ride and then after folding all the laundry hips and shoulder were better. At PT though the shoulder wouldn't loosen up and we hooked up the electrodes and put some moist heat on it and now it feels a ton better. I asked Dana if I could get PT 3 or 4 times a week as 2 times doesn't seem to be enough for me. So after next week we are going to move to 3 and then maybe 4 times in a few weeks after that. I want this to get better faster and that is one of the ways for this to happen.

I will have to get out early tomorrow for a ride as I am going to the Brewer game with Jessica's school and 250 kids. It should be fun and I hope that they can win. Last time I went with the school I did catch a home run ball so maybe it can happen again. Well time to make some cookies. Later..