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.

Almost One Minute Per Mile



Up until Thursday Sara was still contemplating doing Chequamegon. Thankfully she went to see the doctor on Friday afternoon and was told to steer clear of anything that causes symptoms to flair up. Essentially, that's work, exercise, reading, driving, screens, phones, etc. As difficult as it was for her, she knew competing was impossible. Hopefully her symptoms will clear soon so she can at least start riding the bike again.

I ended up having a clean start and getting into a good group: Eppens, Hall, Pattycakes, a couple others I didn't know, and eventually Jack Hinkens before Fire Tower. The pace felt perfect and I finally felt like I had my shot for a top 10 finish. I started cramping a little before Fire Tower and it was all I could do to limp to the finish. My quads and hamstrings were giving me serious grief and ended my hopes of a top finish. Looking at the finishing times, I gave up almost a minute per mile from Fire Tower to Telemark...

All in all it was a good day. It was the most fun I've had at Chequamegon even though I couldn't push hard to the finish. I don't think I went out too hard because I never was at my limit before cramping. I didn't drink much though and even gave up a bottle after OO because I didn't want to carry the extra weight.

Thanks to Gary and crew for year 29.

Maplelag/Seeley Recap


photo: Eve Stein






The Maplelag stage race is a must do mountain bike race. Jay, Jonelle and crew do an amazing job pulling off a gigantic amount of races, hosting hordes of folks at the resort, feeding the competitors, etc., etc. Sara and I felt bad about not bringing Kiera along but it made for a much easier race weekend than last year. In addition, we got to sleep in a little and could recover a little between races.

Sara came into the weekend really banged up. She shouldn't have raced but she didn't talk with the doc until Sunday evening on the way home. The good doctor Swank ordered her to stay off the bike and give her ailing brain a break. She hasn't been on the bike since Maplelag and Chequamegon is up in the air. It is a major bummer seeing how she is able to push the pedals pretty good right now...

Sara ended up winning all thee races at Maplelag but she did so very carefully. She said if felt like she was riding with bifocals and the more she rode the more difficult it was to stay focused. Thankfully she was on the Trek Top Fuel so she could let the bike do all the work.

I ended up having a good weekend as well. This place is my favorite spot to race. The short track course is amazing and the new cross-country loop is fantastic. Jay knows how to build tough single track and a technical sound rider does well on this course. One needs fitness, but fitness alone won't allow a racer to win this one. Brendan put on another clinic and easily beat us all. I was down 1:20 or so after the first of two laps so I knew I didn't have a chance. He is so powerful on the short, punchy climbs and his sound technical skills leave no chinks in the armor. I know his mind was elsewhere during the weekend but he was still able to win the overall title. Doug was flying in the short track and time trial (Sara said he looked ilke the "old Doug") but my second place finish coupled with a third in both the short track and time trial enabled me to snatch second overall on the weekend.

The Bontrager XR1s worked perfectly for the conditions as did the full suspension Trek.

Sara and I really enjoy staying at the lodge and hanging out with everyone. Even Dan Swanson showed up so it was just like the old days!


Quick Seeley re-cap: Sara crashed really hard in the single track. Of course she was feeling strong and riding fast when she wacked a tree with her shoulder. It stopped her dead, bruised some ribs and rattled her brain. She limped in for the win but she went downhill health wise the week prior to Maplelag.

I ended up twisting a link in my chain about three miles into the race and wasn't able to fully trust my drivetrain. I didn't know what was wrong at the time but the drivetrain made plenty of racket and did some phantom shifting so I had to be really careful. I'm impressed that it held together and I was able to finish the race in 6th. I'm really bummed I didn't get to race Adam and Patty in the single track. Maybe next year....

For once in my life I am excited about Chequamegon!

BORDER BATTLE

The White Tail Ridge mountain bike trails just keep getting better. Last year's course was great but this year's version was even better. The local club has really turned these trails into a top notch race course by adding another twisty, slightly technical descent and a technical rocky climb. Chad Sova lives 10 minutes from these trails and it is obvious that his input is invaluable when it comes to laying out the race course.

Sara sat this race out since Ore2Shore is such a long, brutal race and because we are racing the next two weekends in a row which would have had her racing six consecutive weeks. She also wants to do well at Chequamegon so it made sense to have a little break.

After crashing out at the start of last two races in a row, and having a still sore, slightly separated shoulder, I decided to lead the group most of the way up the opening climb. I cannot afford to fall and aggravate my shoulder so I had to put in a big effort at the start. I felt pretty good and settled in on the field leading into the single track. I made the mistake of following Rients into the single track and he let a gap open up. Jesse didn't bring his race legs and the added pressure of imminent fatherhood surely had something to do with this rare off day. That said, I was sitting in 6th and had to chase DB for the better part of the first lap before finally catching him and going by. DB happily sat on my wheel and recovered while I slowly reeled in Ben K. (Ben helped me quite a bit since he got off his bike a couple of times). We were a small group of three for most of the second and part of the third lap before I almost fell off one of the many bridges and got gapped.

I ended up riding alone for the rest of the race. Ben and Darrin passed a bonking Brian Eppen but I didn't have the legs to move up - probably because I went a little too hard at the start. I was busy gulping lots of Hammer Heed, Endurolytes and Vanilla Hammer Gel in hopes I could give one more push, but I couldn't muster up the energy to chase down Brian and ended up in 6th.

Like usual, the Trek Top Fuel did a terrific job and the Bontrager XR1 tires hooked up nicely. I think I would have had even better traction with a little wider tire than the 1.9 and 2.0s.

Sara did a great job getting Jesse, Ron Raymond and me feeds, cheering and taking a little video at the start. I'd upload it but our modem is shot and I can't make our wireless work.

Another great thing about this venue is that there is a daycare center on the course and it has a playground. Kiera, Luke and Ben (the Raymond boys) played after the race while Sara and Kathy (Ben and Luke's mom) went for a ride on all the single track White Tail has to offer.

Thanks to the Raymond family for letting us stay at their house and to Kathy for entertaining Kiera while Sara, Ron and I were at the race.

ORE2SHORE WIN NUMBER FOUR



Women's top 3 podium spots (Sara, Chloe and Kim)

I do enjoy watching Sara compete. The Ore2Shore is the one race I consistantly do hand-ups and play daddy day care (for the Raymond family) and it is a hoot. The day flies by because I have to rally the Eurovan to four viewing/hand-up spots and the third spot is always nip-and-tuck but I always seem to barely make it.

This year I didn't see Sara come by at the first view point and I thought she either went down in a crash or had a mechanical. I waited for an extra 15 minutes before venturing on hoping that I'd missed her. Sure enough, at the 16 or so mile mark I saw Chloe come through looking strong and Sara was next about 1:30 back. Obviously, I was relieved and a little bit surprised since I missed her at the first spot but saw all the other top women. At this point Chloe was in a small group of men and Sara was in a huge group (20 or so). As it is in mass start gender mixed races, the women's race is always played out at the mercy of men. Sara knew it was better to play it safe and try to stay in her group rather than try to move up on her own because it almost always spells disaster later in long races like this. A downside to the large group this year is that it was really dusty and guys were going down because they couldn't see what was happening and this caused Sara to stop/jump off the bike three times to avoid crashes. She also would get buggered up on techincal climbs a bit so she had to run more than she would have liked.

Chloe had a consistant 1:30 - 1:45 margin on Sara until the last feed spot at about six miles to go. I wasn't surprised to see Sara in the lead at this point but I was surprised that Chloe wasn't closer to her. Sara said she passed Chloe with twelve miles to go and by the time they came through with six to go Sara was about a minute up. It turns out Choe's stem loosed up (TJ??????) and she had to stop to tighten it up.

Sara rode a smart race to the finish and kept the gap a little over minute. Considering how she's been riding the past month, it doesn't surprise me a bit that she won. The women's field was stacked and it is too bad that Jenna got a flat while in third at around the 10 mile mark. Kim Eppen rounded out the top three, and our neighbor Diana McFadden had a great ride and nabbed the 4th spot for the second year in a row.

On a side note, Sara was able to keep the keep her legs from cramping, but I'm convinced part of the reason was the Trek Top Fuel 100. It is SO nice to have a super light weight, full suspension fast bike for marathon races. Another reason was downing plenty of Hammer Endurolytes and Hammer Head drink.




Another bonus of me not racing is that Kiera gets to join us. She has so much fun playing with Ben and Luke Raymond and hanging out with Ron and Kathy. She also enjoyed playing with Ellie Schouten at the playground and during the awards ceremony.