Maplelag Spring Opener

Jay Richards and family do a fantastic job pulling off a race. Where else can you race (for $10, mind you), have a lunch included and pay out three deep? Nowhere around these parts. Furthermore, the course was voted the best in the Minnesota Series last year.

Sara, Kiera and I showed up Friday and Sara was able to get in part of a loop. She snapped her seat binder bolt and thankfully I always carry a spare since this has happened before and put us in a spot of bother. We ended up running out of time since we had to meet Doug, Anne and Stella for some cabin time. Anne and her mother Mary had an amazing dinner waiting so once we were able to wrestle the girls to the table, we dug in. The girls played hard and we finally got them to bed around 9:30. Late for Stella but Kiera's normal bedtime in the summer.

Saturday morning was cloudy and cool, just the way I like it. Sara, Doug and I arrived about 45 minutes before start time and got in a brief warm up on the tacky trails. Perfect conditions. 2.2 XR 1s on the Superfly for me and the same set up for Sara on the Top Fuel. Doug punched it from the start and I was able to hang for a bit. I know he was trying to shed me early since he continually glanced back... He did and after a while Jake caught me, rode behind for awhile and then took over. He briefly got a gap and then we both had our issues with bike problems and ended up riding together for the almost the entire race. I sucked off his wheel down the ski trail and jumped by for second on the day about 30 seconds behind Doug who had some trail navigation issues
(now I know why he always races with the Garmin even though it didn't help him this time :) Jake ended up third, Kevin Ishaug forth and Jay Richards rounded out the podium. It sure is great to see Jay beating Lyme's Disease and riding fast again.

Sara rode a steady pace, enjoyed the technical practice and chalked up another win. Maplelag is always a tough course for her but she enjoys the challenge. Her concussion symptoms continue to slowly improve and she is seeing less "floaties" and has fewer tough days. A familar competitor, Kyia Anderson also made an appearance, pulling off second place(it was nice to see Kyia's husband Kris and 8 month old baby Aunders since we haven't seen them since last September).

After the race we rode a good chunk of another lap before heading back for lunch and awards. Next up was the drive back to the cabin to relieve Anne and Mary and jump into the lake. Stella and Kiera played hard all day and a good part of the night. Kiera ASKED to go to bed (this has happed once or twice in her 3 and 1/2 years) so Stella did a great job wearing her out. A big THANKS to the Swansons for a great weekend.

Up next: Mankato.

8th Cable-Off Road Classic Win for Sara

80s and sun at the CORC? I'm a fan of snow and rain early on but it sure was nice to warm up, cool down, and finally sit around in shorts and short sleeves after a race in May. I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn't in Kansas. The folks in Cable continue to make improvements on the course each year and I'd have to say this was the best course yet. There was a little more singletrack to go along with the old stuff and it has just enough rocks and roots to make it interesting. It is always fun to see the race crowd again after a long off-season. Gary Crandall, Fat Tire Festival director, was on hand taking pictures and chatting it up. A healthy Duluth crowd attended along with the usual suspects. Sara was a little apprehensive about how it would go since she hasn't raced since realizing she had a nasty concussion in late August. To her surprise she felt good and was able to pick up where she left off last year. In fact, she rode strong enough to place 18th overall. Usually, she sees little "floaties" dancing around in her eyes but they have been diminishing as of late thanks to some new homoeopathy medicine. The Trek worked flawlessly and it seems we have it dialed in pretty nicely. She didn't ever ride over her head and stayed on her best behavior so she didn't fall. She certainly doesn't want to go down and bump her head (or stop quickly from hitting a tree with a shoulder and "rattling" her brain like the August injury). Congrats to our neighbor Diana McFadden for finishing in second and Rebecca Sauber in third to round out the podium. We are both glad to get the first race out of the way. I'm just happy I was able to draft off neighbor Todd McFadden and C.J. Faulkner once Tyler Gaunthier and Chad Sova rode us off their wheels around the 15 mile to go mark. I'm always bummed when I get dropped on this course because it suits me nicely even if I'm not on my A game. Congrats to Tyler on the win, Chad in second, and the sprint of the day had C.J. nipping Todd at the line for third. It sure would have been nice to be able contest the sprint but there was none of that on this day. A huge thanks to Kathy Raymond for watching Kiera so Sara and I could race. Usually my mom or dad watch her but since Kathy offered and Kiera adores Ron and Kathy's boys, Ben and Luke, it was an easy decision to bring her with. Furthermore, it enabled my dad to sign up for the short race. It was a highlight to ride by him during the race and see him having fun pedaling his bike at 72 years of age.

April Snow

Two weeks in a row we've had snow in April. We couldn't buy a flake in early December/January/February but now it's decided to come along with plenty of rain. I read that we've got 4 inches or so in April. I also noticed that almost all the snow has melted from Spirit Mountain and it isn't even May. Weird. These pictures are from my ride in to The Ski Hut this morning to get new Sram brake pads. After putting in set in the front and rear both wheels have a serious amount of brake drag. Great for training, bad for racing. Thanks to Reynolds and KUHL for the wheels. I can't wait to get the brakes dialed in to see how responsive the wheels are.

MOAB 2012



The Eurovan is the way to travel with a 3 year old. Kiera is a great traveler when she knows there is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. The pool and playground (along with the hopes of lots of other kids) put her in a great traveling mood. She barely fussed the entire way out and back even though she had a pretty nasty cold (which Sara and I now have). The old van also got over 20 miles to a gallon most of the way out and back!



Morning walk down Main Street



Our morning walk is one of the favorite things about vacation for Sara and me. We don't have to move the van once we arrive and it is great to get some active recovery before a long ride.



Once we finish our breakfast we then walk to coffee. In the pic above it is pretty clear that I need coffee badly! Our favorite coffee spot is the Moab Creamery, although Sara really likes Wicked Brew, it is one of the drive-through spots so it's impossible to sit, read and enjoy if it is 40 degrees and windy. The Creamery also sits next to a used bookstore so we have plenty of reading material at our disposal. Boppy is happily reading while I wrestle Kiera.



This is one of our favorite rides because the climb up Sand Flats road is really long and steep at times and the single track back down to Porcupine Rim feels like a WORS course in spots (which is really rare out here because it is usually quite rocky, rough and full of drop-offs). We are at the top of the sweet stuff in this picture. If we had more time on this ride we could have done the Burrito Pass loop for the first time since the La Sal Mountains didn't have the usual amount of snow.



Here's another view of the La Sals.



Sara rode her new Fuel and I opted for the Superfly. My skills are taxed a bit more riding a skinny tire (BONTRAGER XR 1'S WITH NO FLATS!!!) hardtail and I have to think more when it comes to tricky drops or multi-step climbs. I get to work on my finesse a lot more and the overall challenge is a good way to work on skills.

Sara can't believe how nice the new Fuel is, and for the first time ever, she didn't take a tumble in Moab. She knows she cannot afford to fall but she was still able to ride pretty darn fast down some tricky singletrack loaded with drops, random rocks strewn about and sand hiding around/in corners.

A couple of new trails that are must rides: Magnificent Seven linked to the Portal (my pick) or Poison Spider (Sara's pick), Pipe Dream (all single track nestled in the canyon wall west of town - about a three minute ride to the trailhead from our campground), and a trail that has been around for a few of years now, Rock Stacker (to Jackson Trail). All of these trails have some really tricky sections and a couple of mandatory walk spots unless you've got a death wish or like taking chances and evac rides on helicopters.

We also managed to get in a ride at Fruita, CO on the way out and stayed in Vail at a buddy's house (a former Duluthian, Sean O'Brien, who also met up with us for some rides in Moab).

My dad accompanied us on the trip along with Bill Schwalbe. Kieara absolutely adores both and she wouldn't let Bill out of her sight very often. For the first time ever, the weather was fantastic the entire trip and I only carried arm warmers twice during the seven days of riding. We met up with Bushey and his wife Jody for a few days along with Aaron and Jess, an extremely kind couple from Whitefish, Mt. Aaron grew up on Esko, MN so it is always nice to catch up with old friends on trips like this.

Racing is just around the corner for us. It looks like the WORS race at Iola will be the first one for us this year unless this unrelenting cold decides to take hold and not let go.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Scott and I mention each year since Kiera has been born, how much more we enjoy the holiday season. She has enjoyed learning Christmas songs, dancing to Christmas music, wearing her new princess dresses and taking care of her new babies, including giving them a ride in her new stroller. Today she and one of her babies were in a basket to emulate baby Moses in the Nile. We enjoyed visiting with family and it is especially fun to see Kiera and all the cousins play together!

I want to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers since falling off my bike in August. God answers prayers! I had such horrible photosensitivity and motion sickness that took quite a bit longer to get over than we expected. Scott has been very supportive and patient. Kiera is an incredibly understanding child. She would ask me everyday, "Is mommy's concussion all better?" Boppy, Scott's dad, is a Godsend; he watched Kiera while I rested and was my chauffer to and from appointments and my first week back to work in early November. I was allowed to work limited hours at first, but gradually returned to normal. The people, other than my family, that have helped me the most seemed to materialize just at the right time.(Thank you, Lord!) Dr. Pradhan, from India, got me started on homeopathy that finally helped me turn the corner and see some improvement after spending the first two weeks at home confined to darkness. Dr. Audette, a chiropractor, administered frequency specific microcurrent, to heal specific parts of my brain. My neck feels better than it has in years (thank you, Geri!) and I no longer have to do my vestibular ocular reflex exercises (thank you, Andrea!)

My first bike ride was on Thanksgiving day (how appropriate) with Scott. I have been able to run for several weeks now. I feel incredibly fortunate! I have to be a bit careful yet not to overdo, but each week I am still making gains and in some ways feel better than I have in years.

http://www.publichealthalert.org/Bio%20agent%20vaccines%20Tina%20Garcia.pdf

This article is well worth your time reading..... The website is full of information you may not get from mainstream media or your health care providers.

A WIN AT THE SINGLE TRACK ESCAPE


(Photo Jay Richards - skinnyski.com)

I finally notched a win in a Minnesota Series race. The only thing that would have made it better is if Sara would have also won the women's race. As it is, she is still nursing a concussion that keeps her on her back most of the day with her eyes closed. She is able to go for short walks on occasion, but she has to be very careful not to overdo it. This is the most time she's been off the bike since she started riding in 2002.

The St. Cloud race sarted pretty mellow with Barry T. taking the lead on his fully rigid singlespeed. I was content following his wheel until he pulled over and then continued a fairly mellow pace. Even though Brendan won the MN Singlespeed Championship earlier in the day, he was antsy following and decided to lead going into the singletrack. I shadowed him while Josh Tesch followed me. We rode together until the rock section on the first lap where Brendan and I established a little gap. Brendan was content to lead for a little over half the race and then I went to the front. I'm not sure I could have ridden the course any fast than I did because it seemed we were at the terminal velocity for the tight, twisty singletrack.


(photo by Jay Richards - skinnyski.com) Final section of two track

That said, I had to go pretty hard on each of the cross-country ski trail sections because whoever had the lead going into the last section of singletrack would be at a huge advantage for the sprint finish. I was able to hold the lead and outsprint Brendan for the win.

Josh ended up holding down third, Lance B. got fourth and Jake Richards had another impressive race, nailing down the fifth spot.

The Trek Top Fuel worked flawlessly once again and the Bontrager XR1's had great grip. I made sure to drink plenty of Hammer Heed, gulp down some vanilla Hammer Gel and pop some RACE CAPS before the start since I cramped so badly at Chequamegon.

Thanks to the St. Cloud crew for putting together a great course and a smooth running event.

Trek Mountain Bike Demo October 1 & 2

Savage, MN

Sat & Sun Oct 1st & 2nd, 2011 @ 10:00 am—3:00 pm

Your Twin Cities Trek, Gary Fisher Collection and Bontrager Dealers will be the host of this demo at Murphy. The new MTB trail is a ribbon of dirt cut through the beautiful woods and prairies of Murphy-Hanrehan Park, traveling up and down ridges, around small knolls, and across drainages and marshes. The trail is not super twisty and has fairly long sightlines. The goal here was flow. At almost 10 miles, it is one of the longer metro trails and has some great views from the top of the big ridge on the advanced loop. On a clear day you can see the skyline of downtown Minneapolis through the trees. More info can be found at http://www.morcmtb.org/ Please note if weather conditions threaten health, safety, conditions of the trails and participants we reserve the right to cancel the event. Thanks for understanding!

For more details visit: http://www.trekfactorydemo.com/region.php?region_id=3

Location:
Murphy-Hanrehan
CR-75/Murphy Lake Blvd
Savage, MN 55378
Directions:
Murphy-Hanrehan Park Reserve is located just south of Savage, not too far from the Burnsville Center mall. The easiest way to get to the area is Interstate 35 (35W or 35E). Take the County Road 42 exit. Go west on CR-42, past all the malls and down the long hill. After roughly 2 miles on 42, take a left onto West Burnsville Pkwy. Shortly after Cam Ram Park, W. Burnsville Pkwy turns into Hanrehan Lake Blvd. Continue down Hanrehan Lake Blvd until Murphy Lake Road - the gravel road heading up into the prairie on your left. The trailhead parking is a short distance up Murphy Lake Road on the left.