Ready?

Well we went over the list and we think everything is ready for Nate to go to Jr Road Development camp. The good thing is that he went last year and we know what is needed and what is just a bag filler. We got the bike all tuned up thanks to Jim at Ben's and have the SRAM Force ready to rock. Now all we have to do is drive him to LaCrosse for the camp and let Nate ride and learn. We had thought about going to the BMX State Qualifier race in Centerville which is just up the road from the camp but we did not want to take any chances of a crash or anything and ruin Nate's camp so we are skipping it. Also with the rain this morning we skipped the Elk Grove race to avoid any chances of crashing before the camp. Oh well just had to play it safe so we rode to River West to catch some of the 24 hour race there. Let's just say that it was very interesting and the riders and the bikes were a sight to see. Now it is time to get the last of the stuff in the bag and head out in the morning. Also we are following the Wausau 24-9 race on line and the EXPO kids are kicking some butt. Also Ron and Joe are leading the solo categories respectively. The EXPO Jr team is also leading the Jr category. Keep up the great work Guys. Later..

Get'n it done

Got up this morning and the running began right away. Go to the bank, gas up the car for Cece to take to Racine tonight for girls night out. Go for some rolling therapy, mow the lawn, go to Sam's Club, Ben's Cycle, San Dong for dinner and then help pack Nate's clothes and kits for the Jr National road camp. It seems like I would have never got it all done today but it all fit in and now I can sit back and read the new BMXer magazine. Tomorrow is a easy ride for Nate and then get ready to leave for camp in the morning on Sunday. Boy the summer has passed by super fast. The shoulder is still stiff and it has been all day so there still must be some rain on the way. Oh well Time to get the feet up. Later..

Thursday ride

Today was a nice ride compared to the rainy nasty one last week. The group was large and usually after the Super Week races are done the group is small but not tonight 30 plus. The the pace was steady and at times kind of choppy but a good one. There was still a few areas that we had to ride in water that was covering the entire road from the rain last week but it was still a fun one. The weather was perfect and while riding I was thinking man it would be great if the day never ended as the temperature was perfect and there was no wind, just perfect all around. Then we got home and Cece, Jess and Nate ran to the store to get a few things for Nate to take to the Jr National Road camp. Now tomorrow we have to go over his list and get his bag together and get the last few things from Ben's. Man the summer is flying by. Well time to get more ice cream. Later..

Birthday ride

Cece and Jess with Nate sucking their wheel.

Nate wanted to take the lead and Jess didn't care who was driving the Tandem.

Taking a few laps at the park before taking the tandem to the road.

Have wish Cece a happy Birthday and I won't tell you her age as I want to make it to my next Birthday. But we went for a ride and I have to thank Jerry for the use of his tandem for the Chequamegon so meant that Cece and Jess could take it for a ride today. Once I get on it and we make the final adjustments for me it is going to be a fun ride. After that it was a little time in the pool and then to get a present for Cece and hit Ben's. We got lucky as Brett was there and he did a quick fit on the Tarmac and now he is set for the road camp. Then it was home to grill dinner and enjoy the evening. Now we need to watch someone blow out a whole bunch of candles. Yeah I have the fire dept. on speed dial just in case the house goes up in flames. Later..

What to do?

It felt kind of different this morning as Nate and I were not getting ready for a race for once in a long time. But that didn't mean that we deal with a bike though. After my PT I picked up Nate and dropped him and his cross bike ( he has out grown ) and the Tarmac. He wanted the SRAM Force off the cross bike put onto the Tarmac and the Ultegra put onto the cross bike. So then it was a total tear down and rebuild as after the 2 rain races it needed it. Also when switching the groupo we found a crack in the carbon bars so new bars are on too. Not to mention a few other new goodies also went on. Now the bike is ready for more racing and Jr Road camp. I also had a Dr appointment in the afternoon and the Dr wants more strength work at PT to be done before I go back to work so the next chance for that is another 4 weeks away. Then it was run my new computer back to Best Buy as the hard drive puked after just having it for 2 months. They have to end it back to HP and that will take up to 2 weeks, good thing for having a lap top. After leaving a little pissed it was of to the World Market for some goodies and then finally of to KOPPS for a burger with Cece, Nate and Jess. Just a ton of stuff that had to get done and just enough time to do it. Tomorrow it is more of the same and then down to the track for the Bob Pfarr Classic 150 lap points race. See you at the races. Later..

Whitefish Bay Crit

Nate, Joe and Aris at the start line.

Joe on the top box, like the no shirt but the officials didn't. Lighten up guys would you...

Nate moving up in the field.

Nate and Aris going into turn 1.

Nate on Joe's wheel. Thanks Joe.

Aris, Joe and then Nate was on Joe's wheel right out of the picture.

Today was the last Superweek race of the series. Nate was able to race the last 5 races and placed well in them all to end up 4th in the overall standings at the end. Today Aris and Joe raced again so it was nice as Nate had some friends to race with. Today Nate took a 4th place finish which was the first time he was not on the podium in the race series, but it was good as he was in the money. Aris was the man today as he sat 2nd wheel for the last part of the race and then lead Joe and Nate out. Joe won the race and Nate took his 4th place with Aris still holding on for 7th and then Ben finishing strong for 10th. Nate did say his legs were tired today and that he was lucky to finish 4th. I guess 6 days of racing will do that as he raced on the track Tuesday night to. Now it is relax and do the 150 lap track race Tuesday and then taper off as Nate goes to Jr National Road camp next Sunday thru Friday. Still alot of riding to do this summer for Nate. Later..

Humboldt park crit

Nate at the finish line.

The EXPO fans talking after the race.

Nate and Aris in the middle of the action.

Aris pulling Nate into the 1st turn.

Today was the Humboldt Park crit which is nice as it is just 2 minutes from the house. This morning Cece woke me up and said it raining and I thought great 3 days in a row of racing in the rain. But as we got ready the rain stopped and the roads started to dry up and the course was perfect. Aris, Nate, and Mitch toed the line for the race and it was nice to see more EXPO family racing the road again. The race went off and the guys just stayed together for most of the race as Mitch dropped off the pace about 3/4 of the way through and Aris and Nate stayed near the front for the rest of the race. Aris gave Nate a lead out up the hill and then Nate tried to go for the win but a downhill finish and Jr gears left him short and he settled for 3rd on the day. Not bad as he has been on the podium every race so far. Aris was 16th and Mitch was 18th. Nate moved up to 5th overall and he has only done 4 races of the 16. If he did a few more I think he would have run away with the overall. Now we are getting ready to head to the Downer Ave race to watch the pro's. Tomorrow is the the Whitefish Bay race and that is always a fun day there to. See you at the races. Later..

Kenosha crit

Today Nate and Mitch raced the crit in Kenosha. Again it was raining during their race making the field a little afraid to go into the corners. Nate took off at the start of the race and did a hot lap and that cut the field into pieces and it stayed that way for the rest of the race. There was a crash in the break and then they got their free lap and one of the guys that got back on stayed in the back of the field and went unnoticed. Well at bell lap he took off and everyone thought he was a lapped rider but was not and he won the race. Mitch took 2nd and Nate took 3rd. In all a good race and good results. Tomorrow is the Humboldt Park race. We have to do that race as it is only a few blocks form home. I am so glad that the WORS race was called off as we were on the fence about which race to do on Sunday, the mtn bike, bmx Nationals or the road. We ruled out the bmx as Nate has not raced the bmx but a handful of times since the end of the indoor season. But to race mtn bike or road on Sunday was getting to be tough and we were thinking do both as the times were far enough apart, but now we know so thank you mother nature. Now I need to go over Nate's road bike and get the laundry switched. Later..

Racine Crit

Nate on the boxes today at the Racine Crit.

Nate and the last guy left in the break with 2 to go.

Today was the Super week race in Racine. Nate and Mitch toed the line and it was raining right from the start. The was kind of different and that made for some new plans for the race. Right at the start Chris took off and Nate was on his wheel. They kept the pace high for 3 laps and that took a toll on the field and left 8 in the main race. Right when Chris popped Nate sat up and let the field catch and then hit the gas again and got 2 to go with him. They stayed away and then with 5 to go Mitch got a front flat and that took him out for the 4th place finish so that sucked. But he got back in and chased and still got 8th overall. While Nate and his group went on one of the guys in the break went down in a wet corner and that left just Nate and 1 other. As they came up the finish Nate just couldn't get around him and settled for 2nd. A great race and really a great race in the rain. Tomorrow is the Kenosha crit. Oh yeah I did the beat down and got caught in the rain, lighting, thunder, tornado sirens with 4 others. It was a blast. Later..

Things going on.

Myles coming across the line in the Super D. He finished 23rd after a crash.

Myles after his crash and eating a ton of dirt.
Nate on the wheel of the motor for the cat 3 Keiren qualifier.

Lenn on the motor for the Keirin qualifier #2.

Nate and Lenn on the motor and they finished 2nd and 3rd in the main.

Emily coming across the line in the Super D on Sunday. She finished 9th.
Liz coming across the finish line for the Super D on Sunday, she finished 6th.

Been busy for the last few days racing and driving. First was the Super D on Sunday and then the long drive home. We got to North Platte on Sunday and then we finished the drive on Monday getting home at 8pm and unloaded and got to sleep in our own beds. Yesterday Nate raced at the track. It was another Keirin night at track so Nate toed the line and raced it. He made it to the main and took a 3rd in the cat 3's and a and 2nd in the Jr unknown race and a 4th in the cat 3 and Jr snowball races. He did not race the Madison last night as he is racing the road race in the Superweek series this morning. So we have to get going to get to the lake front for the race. Later..

HOME

WE got home safe and I will post the last race finish pictures soon. I need to sleep in my own bed. Later..

Pic's from July 17th

Gage at the finish.
Gage on the start hill.
Brenda on the start hill and in the end she took a 3rd.
Emily ahead of me on the Super D course.
TJ racing to the end for his 15th place.

Today Gage raced in the single speed open. He took off and held a steady pace and finished a strong from what we counted 25th. He was hurting after the race as he raced it on a rigid bike and fork. He had blisters and torn skin on the palm of his hands and looked like he was cooked. After his race Myles, Liz, Emily and I rode up the mountain and then rode the Super D course. Now that is one tough course and hopefully Myles gets a good start as it is a Le mans style start. then we rode home and got the rest of the kids and went back and watched the pro men race. It was a good race as Todd Wells won the race and we got to cheer TJ Woodruff on to a 15th place finish. Now we are packing and getting ready to leave right after the Super D is done or after the awards if needed to attend. Right now we have to attend to a few things and get the racers ready for tomorrow. Later..

Pic's from July 16th

Today was a long day again as we had 4 racers on course today. First was Liz at 8am in the cat 1 girls 15 16. Liz fired off the start and then settled in for the rest of the race and finished 6th. It was a long race and she left nothing out there and looked good and smiled along at the line.

Next was Kyle and he had a large field that toed the line today. He was flying up the hill and settled in to and went back and forth and then when the dust settled he finished 25th. It was a fast gang of racers and Kyle was on the gas the entire race and was still all smiles in the end.

Then it was Jordan toeing the line for the Jr 13-14. He was called up in the last row and had his work cut out for himself during his race. He moved up through out the race and just kept it pinned to the finish and finished a strong 11th. I have to say it was the hardest I have ever seen him race and I was impressed with his effort and result.

Then it was Andy who toed the line for the jr 10 and under. He had a strong start and kept the leader in sight through out the race. The guy behind Andy passed him on the pancake single track and then Andy was in 3rd. He stopped on the top after a hard effort and then 1 more passed him and he had to fight for the 3rd place with a .10 of a second difference at the line.

It was a long day at the course as we spent time there from 7:30 till 8:00 pm and I am fried and done. Now the kids are playing Cadoo and it is funny as heck. Now I am going to settle in and relax before going to bed to catch some sleep before Gage's Single Speed race tomorrow. Later..