This weekend we were down in South Kettle Moraine for the Fall Color Festival. The 'timed event' course was changed from last year to include 10 miles on the connector and with two blue Muir loops and an additional part of the red loop the race was about 35 miles long. Scott tried out some tires that he had not tried before. They are very fast and similar to the 'crows', or as I call them 'lucky charms' (which are not so lucky as if it is slick at all - there is big risk of going down - right Charlie?) The course must have had a heavy dew, or rain the days leading up to this saturday. There were a few big mud puddles with difficulty in some spots getting around them.

Doug, Scott, and Tristan did the 30 mile race - along with about 50 other people. I rode two + loops (about 25 miles)before volunteering out with the women's clinic. I had a blast. There were 20 enthusiastic women looking to improve their bike skills. It was fun to work with the other women. I would definitely do that again! I got in about 35 miles of riding, despite having to 'work'. That was great. My legs were a bit tired from the previous day's ride in Eau Claire with Doug and Scott. They were flying through the single track while I attempted to keep up. It was really fun!

Scott didn't have a very good day - as he crashed twice due to his tire selection and caught himself about eight more times from going down. Doug won with his 1x9 combination. He was pretty fired up about it. We had a good trip down and back. We had excellent accommodations and good dinner the night before.

This past Sunday Scott, our friend Joe and I headed to Iola to race. The about 5 hr drive was pretty uneventful. I was a bit nervous to test out my legs as I had not been on my bike in a week. My legs felt really bad after (and during) Cheq, so I took the week off and just walked and hiked instead. The fall colors are near peak and I love hiking in the woods with the leaves on the trail. McFaddens have joined us a few times, including little Bodee.

I had a nice chat with Lori S. that improved my spirits prior to warming up. The women got to start 15 sec again behind the men. I really like that format! We caught up to tail end of the men at the top of the first climb. I did not pre-ride the course and there was more sand than I remember earlier this year. The first long downhill was full of bumps and it was difficult to get around some of the men. One guy was trying to fight me for position, would get ahead of me, then slow down on the downhills. I tried to be a bit patient and finally stayed ahead of him not even half way into a lap. The singletrack was really fun and I felt I could go pretty hard on the ski trail. I was not climbing as well as I would have liked - it was like the long season was catching up with me on the climbs. Another week or two of rest should help. I led from the start of the race and was never challenged, adding a minute to my lead each lap. It was fun to race a shorter race. Michelle P. was very nice to agree to do hand-ups for Scott and I. I was so lucky that I got enough cytomax during the race as I got really not the third lap. Duluth has not been so warm lately and the upper 70s temp was a bit of a shock.

There was one section in the trail that was particularily sandy in the singletrack while riding uphill that it just sucked the life out of my legs for about 20 seconds. I almost went down once as I got too close to a sandy ledge along the singletrack, but saved myself from going down by riding sideways for a few seconds. The guy behind me was impressed. There is so much less congestion starting where the women start, which is really nice. No more fighting with comp men to let us pass.

Scott had a good ride, but chose too easy of a gear on the singlespeed. He rode a 34x19; he should have had a 34x17. He lost a few spots by not being able to go as fast as he would have liked on the ski trail portions of the racecourse. His next project is turning that bike into a 1x9.

Next off this weekend is the Fall Color Festival. Scott and my teammates will be racing. I'll be helping with the women's clinic and women's ride. I'm fired up. Should be a good time. I heard they changed the trails there some and made them even better. Should be good to see.

To answer CP Farrow's comment - Scott is fired up to race Bushy's single speed 29er tomorrow at Iola. His back and hamstrings have gotten worked over this past week, but the ride is worth it. Scott already has a little tatoo to boot - that little kokapelli biker guy on his left ankle. I don't think he'll be converted to a single speed for good, but his Kelly 29er is going up for sale.

The Chequamemgon is over. Today I skipped the criterium to test ride a Trek 69er instead. I had so much fun! Scott and I rode the Ojibwe trail. The 69er was a blast. I could go fast on the corners and over roots and rocks. If anyone gets a chance to ride one, I highly recommend it! It'd be a great bike for WORS courses.

At the start of the Cheq 40 on Saturday, it was around 40 degrees. It took my body a while to get warm while warming up. My toes were cold until the gun went off - then I forgot to think about them anymore. I had a really good position on the paved lead-out and once we hit 77 the lead four-wheelers let the race start - so the speeds were higher on the pavement than in past years. There was a crash after about a mile on the pavement to my right and just behind me. I was in very good position going into and then out of Rosie's Field, probably the best start ever. I didn't know where the other women were until Sue Haywood passed me and then Jenna. All three of us went back and forth for the next 20 miles. It was fun and fast. We were in kinda a weird group of guys that didn't get that we women were racing against each other for the overall. They would cut us off, make bad turns and then crash, ride straight through these big mud puddles when there was a nice dry line around, but mostly not realize that we were racing against each other and not them.

For some reason with about 16 miles to go I got dropped on a road section. I was just feeling bad at that particular time and lost my group. Sue and Jenna probably put a minute on me in the next mile. I took some gel, cytomax and kept trying to push, but it was like I was breathing hard and going no where. My legs were protesting. I didn't start too fast and I kept thinking I'll start to feel better again. Then Lea Davison passed me. I was trying to stay in it and still hoping to work my way back to the lead group and the podium. I'd try to latch on to guys that were passing me. I caught up with my teammate Doug and he tried to pull me up to the next group, but I could not hang on. I just felt bad. Then Kyia passed me going fast. I kept trying to push, but the legs wouldn't go and I couldn't make myself work any harder. Kinda like bonking, but not really. It felt like my HR just dropped and wouldn't get back up to race pace again.

So I finished fifth. My worst place ever, but 'only' 3 minutes down from first. I was sure I lost at least five minutes with how slow I was going those last 15 miles or so. I guess I should feel lucky that I finished at all. It is hard not to be a bit bummed as I would have liked to feel better. I just like to race fast and did, but for only 1/2 the race. I don't have to tell anyone how hard it is to win the Chequamegon. There are so many things that have to go right and many other things not to go wrong. It is a long race and anything can happen.

It was good to hang out with all the Trek people - we have a really good group - along with the midwest racers. Scott was in heaven as Telemark Lodge has a Ms. Pacman video game that he, Doug, and Dan were trying to conquer. I think the game won this round.

By the way if anyone is looking to buy a certificate for a new Thule multipurpose roof rack system AND one 517 Peloton Bike Carrier. Retail price roughly $300. Sale price: 1/2 of new (roughly $150 or B.O.)

I have been trying to get rested up these past few weeks. My legs felt pretty bad for about two weeks after the Seeley/Rhinelander double-header weekend. I would have one good day, and then several bad ones or days where I didn't want to ride, which is quite unusual. Work has been really busy and my days kinda long that combined with the decrease in daylight has been a bit of a bummer. I had to ride the trainer last night for the first time since last winter. I ride very little on the trainer during the winter and never in the summer, but sometimes I just have to do what I have to do to get my legs moving. The fall is getting really cold, we have had days with lows in the 30s commonly and highs in 50s to low 60s this week. It's been a bit of a shock. In Duluth every fall the mice like to find a nice warm house to occupy once it starts getting cold. I found mouse droppings in our bathroom vanity drawer a few days ago. The next morning our cats has a nice little dead 'gift' for us when we woke up. Our girl cat went over to the dead mouse picked it up with her teeth and shook it around one more time to emphasize the superiority of her mousing skills. She is probably the one that actually made the kill, as our boy cat just likes to chase them and then will get bored if the mouse stops moving.

The next few weekends will be busy. This weekend is the Cheq and then there are races every weekend thereafter for about a month. Then the Iceman in early Nov. I am hoping to keep my race shape through the fall and hope the weather warms up a bit. CX season starts soon and I have a Trek OX2 just waiting for me to race. My OX2 is my first choice to ride in the spring with the addition of fenders. I am looking forward to racing again this weekend as I have taken a few weekends off. I need racing to keep me motivated and honest about my training. Otherwise, I would probably just ride as much as I wanted all the time and maybe torch myself. I love riding my bike.

Happy Labor Day everyone! For those of us that return to the classroom, our labor is about to begin! Teaching is full-on once the semester starts. I will be taking one graduate class while teaching this fall. I like it already (of course I had to get a head start reading due to the long weekend).

Yesterday my parents threw a 65th birthday party for my Uncle from California. It was great to see my cousins, aunts and uncles along with my siblings and their children. I am the 6th of 7 children, so it was quite a party. Scott stayed home. He recently found out he has giardia. He'll start on antibiotics tomorrow. No wonder his racing DNF rate is over 50% this year. That little bug is taking all his energy! He was planning on heading to the Maplelag MNSCS race this past weekend, but decided with how he was feeling he'd probably DNF. It is too bad that neither of us could do the race. We both love that race and racecourse!

Last week I took quite a few days off from the bike. My legs felt aweful after racing two races last weekend. I finally got back on the bike on Thurs, then had to take Friday off (went for a little hike instead) and then felt pretty good on Sat and fine on Sun riding easy. The racing season takes its toll and I still have four or more races left, depending upon CX. Duluth hosts its CX race Oct 13th, so we'll both probably do that. We'll see. Today we plan on riding with an old high school friend from my XC ski racing days and owner of one of my WORS series Gary Fisher bikes (prize for the overall). The trails are in really good shape. We have gotten a bit of rain so they are no longer dusty, but rather setting up very nicely.

My guess is that the fall colors will peak early due to the dry weather. Hopefully, my tomato's will ripen before the fall thaw. I have a ton of green tomato's right now. My green peppers are producing, they are very little - about a 1/4 size of those in the store, and taste so much better. Hopefully, next year we will have even a bigger garden and more berry plants. We should have quite the little produce farm to replace our lawn! The neighbor put up a fence partially cuz I think they were tired of looking at our 8' high deer netting with fluorescent flaggin on it around our garden. It does camoflauge it nicely from their view.

Should be a pretty busy week getting used to a new schedule, learning all the new student's names and riding when I can.

Last Friday we headed down to Seeley, WI to stay with M&M the night before the Seeley Prefat race. We got there later than we had planned, but had a nice dinner and chat with our friends. Their hospitatilty is always outstanding.

We rode our bikes to the start of the race Saturday AM. I didn't get as much of a warm-up as I would have liked, but I guess that was OK. We could ride a combination of pavement and gravel to the start and it wasn't far away by bike. We met Scott's dad and brother at the start, both of which were doing the race.

The start of the race was a little sketchy this year. The start was pretty slow. Scott's brother Brad just rode off the front. Pretty characteristic of him while the pack stayed together. Some guy started leaning into me during a straight stretch on the pavement lead out. I held my line, so that was fine. Good thing this wasn't my first mass start as one of us, or both, could have easily gone down. We hit the first uphill and I felt like I was going backward. My legs didn't respond. I went from front to midpack. Then we hit the first trail uphill and I was still barely moving. I worked my way up slowly to the pack of guys I settled in with - it was a group of fellow Trek rider and Ski Hut guys. Good group as we worked together well. We were all together until the first section on singletrack. I got around on guy ahead of me and then was second in the line going through the singletrack. By the time myself and the guy ahead of me got out we had a huge gap on the rest of the group. I knew I had to race the next day, so I was trying to conserve some energy and we rode the ski trail and stayed together. I lost him on the last section of singletrack I think mostly to me trying to conserve for tomorrow's race knowing that I was ahead of the next woman by some time. The race was between 25-28 miles long. I finished first for the women and 12th in the overall results. Scott was 6th and his brother 7th. Scott felt pretty bad during his race, but hung in there to finish it off and get a bit of prize money. I won this really cool wall hanging that has a hygrometer, thermometer and barometer made out of wood, complete with tree bark and a roof. My friend and hostess, Michelle, was second. Good job, Michelle!

Scott and I discussed prior to the race that I should not race due to the WORS marathon on Sunday of the same weekend. But, we both love the race course, like to support local race organizers and Tom Gaier does a great job pulling this race together. His son won the men's race over Jeff Hall and TJ Woodruff in the sprint.

So, on Sunday M& M, Scott and I jumped into the van and headed to Rhinelander for the WORS marathon. We got there a little later than anticipated and got a short warm-up before a long, 42 mile race. I was cursing myself during the first two laps for racing the previous day. My legs and body was very tired. The start of the woman's race was pretty slow, but I realized my legs were not climbing well, so I hung back with the pack until the first section of singletrack. I got to the front, never looked back, and had a considerable gap by the end of that first section. The singletrack was really bummpy. My triceps and back got a bit sore. Had I known it was so bummy I would have softened by suspension a bit more. I felt bad for those riding fully rigid and hardtails. It must have been kinda brutal in sections for those riders. The full-suspension made a big difference. I got passed by two groups of comp riders during the second lap, which was quite a bit earlier than normal. I finally could hang on to the third group and stuck with them for the last two laps. They were riding better on the uphills and flats, but I catch back on on the downhills and singletrack. I started to actually feel better the last lap where I felt like I was racing. I wish I would have kept track of my lap times, I am sure my last lap was the fastest. Scott felt really bad during the first lap of his race, and decided to call it a day. Luckily, I got a bottle of Cytomax from him as I was running out. I perked up quite a bit and I attibute my being able to race that last lap to his hand-up. I won this race and the Marathon Series overall.

This past week I have focused on getting my legs recovered and back to their normal energetic state. I also started teaching again, so I am getting used to a new schedule. I am also going back to school to get my transitional DPT degree at St. Scholastica, where I teach, so it should be a pretty busy school year.

So it was off to Mount Morris last Friday (a week ago - yeah, I am really bad at updating sometimes!). I couldn't find anyone from Duluth that wanted to go and I couldn't talk my teammate, Doug, into changing his plans which is completely understandable. I'd want to be where my loved one was too. Speaking of such, Scott stayed home to race at Spirit Mtn, so I got to drive alone which wasn't so bad. It was pretty quiet except for my Ipod. I can't remember the last time I went to a race by myself. It is not nearly as much fun without Scott! I tell Scott all the time that if he stops racing, maybe I would too. Although, he is THE BEST water boy so as long as he would still be up to the task and want to come along I would probably still race. I want to be like Scott's dad, Irv, when I get older. He is 68 and still racing. He did the Spirit Mtn race this weekend and ended up second in his class of 50 and older. The guy that beat him is 'only' 60. Pretty cool. Irv doesn't really care to race fast, he just likes to go downhill and through the technical stuff fast and then 'get the uphills over with'. Guess I would feel the same at almost 70.

So I got to the race venue after 5 hrs in the car. The course is brand-new. Don, from WORS, saide 300 volunteer hrs went into making the course and he hopes to bring the race back each year and build upon what they did this year. It is a 4.8 mile loop. Kinda interesting trail in that it cloverleaf's in, out and near the start so that spectators can see the racers often throughout the race. The start is a pretty slow uphill. Then there is a lot of switchbacks both up and downhill through rocky and smooth singletrack. There were a few roots, but not bad and the course slowly climbs the downhill with plenty of opportunity to pass other riders as the course goes in and out of the woods. It also had some flat sections and then an infamous bridge over this tree about 10 feet into the air. Thankfully, there was a trail around it as I still avoid bridges when I can - probably due to Scott's accident a few year's back.

I was a little sad on my pre-ride cuz I was riding alone, but things perked up on race day when I started to run into fellow racers, our team manager Chris, and teammate Tristan. Tristan was back racing. Chris brought the infamous Travis Brown with him and along with the Lalonde brothers, we had quite a nice group. It was overcast while I was getting ready and once I started my warm-up it started sprinkling. I wasn't worried about rain cuz Duluth hasn't seen much rain all summer (we're in a drought) and I just didn't think it would rain.

The men's race started and 5 min later the women's race started. I was expecting to see a few more Pro women there, but Sue Juedes showed up along with the rest of the WORS regulars. We had a nice and pretty big group of women! It was really good to see Sue - she's looking really fit. Our race started in a light rain, but I didn't think it would continue to rain. The course was slippery as some (most?) of the corners are on a downhill slant and along with the grass and powdery dirt that turned to slippery topsoil once saturated enough, the course got more slippery each lap. The first two laps we OK, but the third lap I went down on this steep right hand turn due to the off-camber nature and the soaked grass. I didn't make that mistake twice. I rode at the front from the start and was never seriously challenged, although with the nature of the course, it looked the the other racers were closer than they were. My legs felt a bit tired yet from the Ore to Shore, but I was pleased with my effort for the day. I finished almost 6 minutes up on the second place women.

It rained the rest of the day through the Comp, Sport and Citizen races with the course deteriorating with each lap. Luckily, Wendy needed a warm place to sleep and DJ was nice enough for me to help him change my tires to mud tires for the expected races on sunday. Wendy and I had a great chat and nice dinner at the bar of the hotel with our choice of either 'pizza or cheese sticks'. Pretty funny that was it on the menu. But it was late and we needed to get to bed. DJ hung back at the race venue to sleep with the dogs.

We showed up the next morning - after finding the biggest cup of coffee I have ever had - for the time trial and short track. After the race meeting with Don and the other racers, the course had not recovered enough from the previous day's race to allow us to race! Bummer. So by 9 AM that morning I was back in the car and heading towards home. Dj and Wendy hooked me up with some homegrown tomotoes (which are great on salty pizza and omletes) and nice Clif bar parting gifts. If I got back in time I would get to see part of Scott's race. It was pouring rain at times on the way home. At times it felt like I was in a waterfall mist - it was so white all around. I had not seen it rain like this since last spring! By the time I got to Spooner it had let up and by the time I got home, the ground was still dry and dusty. I got to see Scott race his last lap at Spirit (the race was 2.5 laps long). He was in a group of 5 guys coming around his last lap. I was really hoping he'd he'd come through first of the group up the last singletrack climb, but he started cramping and by the time he hit the finish, lost about 2 minutes to his group. It was fun to watch him race! Jeff Hall loved the course and would really like it if we hosted a NORBA national. This is his type of course and I think he could podium on this course.

So, it is off to Seeley for the Pre-fat and then to Rhinelander for the last of the WORS marathon races.

This week I have been focusing on recovering from the Ore to Shore. I rode easy on Monday and then due to work and poor sleep was not able to get back on my bike until today. I rode the Spirit Mountain race course for the race happening this Sunday as part of the MNSCS series. The course is fantastic! It has two new switchbacks - one going uphill in the pines (instead of a steep climb that 99% of riders had to run anyway) and one downhill to prevent erosion. The side of the hill that was disappearing has been re-bench cut with a nice retaining wall. The noteable "Puker" uphill has been replaced by a singletrack uphill that courses along the creek. It is a fantastic uphill, in the shade and challenging in spots - much more exciting than the long grind up the gravel uphill. The course will then take riders to a section of trail that has not been part of the race course previously. It will cross a creek several times. The course should be a 2/3 loop followed by two full loops. A nice change from the five laps the Elite class normally gets to enjoy. Spirit Mountain is a real mountain bikers course. Full of roots and rocks, fast descents, switchbacks, tricky climbs and downhills and fantastic scenery (not that you'll have time to enjoy it during the race). I wish I could race it, but our regional team has the WORS cup this weekend instead. Good luck to all the riders this weekend!

Scott, my teammate Doug, and I packed ourselves, along with all three bikes, inside the car and left for Marquette Friday morning for the Ore to Shore 48 mile Saturday. Doug stayed at our house the night before and got to experience the natural air conditioning of our basement spare bedroom accommodations. Little did he know he would miss that on the drive over. Once we got to Marquette, we did a quick pre-ride and then headed to dinner with the Eppens and Chris Shaw.

Neither Scott nor I got any sleep that night. Our hotel was really loud and our room was next to the laundry room - we could hear the washer and dryer running part of the night. Our room was too hot, then too cold. I got up twice to adjust the temperature. I am still not sure if I slept at all. I was trying to not get worked up while trying to sleep that night and reminded myself that I am still laying down and resting, even though sleep escaped me.

Scott went out for breakfast as I always bring my own from home and brought me back a coffee. Not the best coffee, but a nice way to start the day after a sleepless night. We joined Doug and Chris and headed over to the race start. Luckily, it was not hot. I was really nervous, but was trying not to get wigged out. I had not raced in a month, took a whole week off the bike during that time, and I cannot remember the last time I have done an interval. I was wondering if I could go fast at all. During the warmup my legs felt a little sluggish, but I wasn't expecting them to feel like rock stars. I did a few hard efforts to test things out and spun my legs out before awaiting the start.

I lined up second row and got a pretty good position. The lead-out car kept everyone tight and I was suprised that the start wasn't faster. The race truely started once the lead car pulled off the road and the race proceeded onto two track. Kyia was ahead of me on the paved sections, but I was only two riders behind her. Gabor passed me on the road as well. I was sitting in third going into the two track. I got in front of Gabor, but I didn't actually see her as I passed and then slowly pulled in Kyia. I got by her just before the first climb and could hear her breathing behind me as we climbed up the steepest part of the hill and as the course turns left, then right and then I couldn't hear her anymore. I didn't look back. I kept passing guys as I climbed to the top and then was chasing the guys in front of me to get into a good group. I was working my way up through the pack when Ron Raymond, now riding a Gary Fisher complete with kit, comes by me and yells for me to 'hang on'. I hung on the best I could for as long as I could. We cat and moused a little bit due to the deep sandy sections and the climbs. I'd catch back up on the technical descents and then try to hang on during the flat sections. Ron was a great alli to have out there. There was another guy that was working with us and then our group tended to work together, then break up a bit, then come back together. Later in the race some guys caught us and then didn't want to do any work; pulling the old person card. Ron dropped us all then and just started flying with about 8 miles to go. I was starting to feel my legs want to cramp wirh about 13 miles to go so I forced myself to slow down a bit, drink more, and just hold onto the lead while avoiding full-blown cramping. My right quad partially seized for a bit and thankfully let go.

Scott and Chris were instrumental during the race, providing both Doug and I with handups. I ran out of Cytomax about 5 miles before the first handup and started to suffer a bit. I got my hand-up and ran out again. I was forcing myself to drink everything. I had to get two bottles for the third hand-up and downed one while Scott was running next to me up the blacktop hill in order to get the bottle when I was done. Climbing, sucking down gel, and drinking as fast as I can so I don't lose my group and get dropped on the hill. I ran out again before the last hand-up and again had to grab a bottle, drink part of a second bottle while Scott ran alongside in order to get when I was done. I had to get enough fluids to prevent full-blown cramping that happened the first two times I raced this race. I was impressed with the Fuel and how it ran in the sand. I kinda like the sand as it is the only type of technical riding where I have any chance at passing Scott during a training ride. It was incredibly dusty on the trail and according to locals, Marquette hadn't had rain in three weeks! They were having an unusual dry summer. Much dryer than last year. The conditions showed it. I don't remember riding in that much sand for long stretches of time. My time was slower than last year and last year I felt really bad during the entire race.

This is a really long, tough race. There are so many things that have to go right, and not go wrong that it could be anyone's day. Kyia is a tough competitor and I know I am always going to have to ride fast when she shows up. I have to bring my 'A' game to these big races and I was nervous that I would not be able to go fast due to some of the races I have had this year where I have felt just terrible. I am lucky that I was able to go fast enough during this race to win. Doug didn't have such a good race as he took a wrong turn and lost a ton of time. I am sure his blog will have an interesting race recap.

With the awards not until 6:30pm, Scott still got a ride in at the Mount Marquette (South) Trails. They are full of fantastic singletrack and start behind the Nordic Bad Lodge. Our friend, Michelle, joined him as she DNF'd due to flat. Not much of a birthday present for her, as I am sure she would have been on the podium.

We got home at 1 am after the race. Some fellow racers had hit a deer, losing one headlight, so we escorted them as far as Duluth. They were headed to St. Cloud and can't believe they were continuing on. It was early in the morning! Unfortunately, I didn't sleep in very long and have been in a fog all day. I must be overtired as I have been unable to fall asleep after several attempts at a nap. No riding for me today. My head is so tired I would probably hit a tree, or worse.

Scott and I took a week off from riding and got back on the bikes last Monday with the ski hut ride. That ride is always fun cuz we just chat with our friends and get to know any newcomers. We both also had to go back to work last week, which I was surprisingly ok with. It is nice to have a break, but it also nice to feel productive. I am battling a little poison ivy - for the third time this year. It is on my back and I didn't realize what itched so bad for about a week. I can't reach the area to scratch it or tell what it was. I thought I got bit by a bug while gardening, but evidently I must have gotten it on my bike jersey or shorts somehow during our vacation. I tried to ignore it until finally I asked Scott to put some Tecnu on it. A few more applications and it should be gone.

I have been just riding easy this week and taking rest days when needed. I am feeling really tired today. Sundays are not usually rest days, but my energy levels are so low that I will focus on training tomorrow instead. The Ore to Shore is coming up and I want to feel fresh. I have found that I tend to overdo my training, so I am trying to err on the other side of the spectrum instead. My legs have been feeling the best they have in months. Granted I am just riding easy, but I have had problems with my legs burning evening during easy rides prior to taking some time off. I am feeling much better. It can be a challenge balancing work and training and I think most people try to cram it all in and forget to get proper rest. I try to remind myself that training should make myself faster...not just tired, and not overly tired making getting through a regular day tough. I've been there during my XC ski days at NMU. Dragging my butt through training, school and having zero social life as I didn't have energy for anything else. That sucked! Doug plans on riding over with us to Marquette, so the ride should go pretty quickly. He can be pretty entertaining.

Scott watched a Twins game with Dan S and Jesse R the other night and also scoped out the I-35W bridge collapse. They couldn't get very close to the site due to the police guarding a large area surrounding the bridge. Scott's brother lives only 5-6 blocks from the bridge, so we were pretty thankful he was at work during the time the bridge fell. It is so sad the people that have died.

I have not been blogging much due to not riding much, but also due to building huge gardens in our lawn. We are working to get rid of our lawn. We plan on growing berries and vegetables and prevent using our gas lawn mower. We hope to have so little lawn left that we can use our reel (human-powered only) mower for the entire lawn. We no longer have much of a front or south side lawn. Our back lawn is also in the process of conversion and then we have a huge field we'll convert next year. I love garden work, although I am not very good at it. The deer also really appreciate my efforts, so this year I put up an eight foot deer fence. Now the bunnies and the chippies seem to still get in. I don't want to poison them, so I'll have to find another solution to that problem.

From Houghton/Hancock area Scott and I drove north to copper harbor to check out the trails. We rode some of the trails that are part of the race course September 1st or 2nd this fall. We were told to ride Paul's Plunge, but rode most everything else before we had to call it a day. The singletrack is fun - full of roots and rocks. The rocks were really loose; more like riding out west than the midwest. Copper Harbor has a really active bike community and they are in the process of making more singletrack. We rode some new stuff that was a little sketchy with the bench cut into the side of a hill with a revine to fall into if one is unfortunate. I was off on my skills that day, so I got a nice little hike through some of those sections.

We rode into the tip of the keewenaw penisula the second day on gravel roads and two track. It was really nice and we were able to ride close to the lake on parts and follow the map we purchased at the local (and only) bike shop. We cooled off (and cleaned up) in the lake with a public beach. It was really nice to hang out, ride our bikes and read on this vacation. This is what we needed to do, and unfortunately it came at the time when we were planning on doing big races instead. I need time off from racing for a few weeks as the most important races are the second half of the season. I don't feel I have raced well in roughly a month, so I am working to get back on track. We got home on sunday and neither of us has ridden our bikes since. I am taking time off until I feel like riding, which it usually sooner than later, but it has been four days already. As a distraction, I am building gardens in my front lawn. That is digging up my front lawn with a spade - by hand. I am sure my neighbors think I am nuts. I am feeling that my yard needs to produce vegetables rather than grass and weeds. I have been reading Mother Earth News and getting lots of ideas. I am working on convincing Scott that we need chickens, amonst other furry creatures. He's a tough sell.

Other good things: Cytomax came in the mail while I was gone. I really like the pink lemonade cytomax drink and the evopro and muscle milk drink mixes. The evopro vanilla tastes awesome in a berry smoothy with plain yoghurt.

My Oakley sunglasses are working great! I really like the flak jacket - the lenses are fantastic that allow enough coverage so I don't get extra air going in to produce tears as I am flying downhills.

Scott and I are currently hanging out at Cyber Cafe in Houghton, MI. Our trip to VT took a detour to the U.P. We were in Marquette for the majority of the week, poping our van top up at Tourist Park and mostly riding from there. We rode the South trail system and met a guy (thanks Tom!) that took us around on some of the trails and found some others on our own. We then headed to little preque isle/sugarload/harlow lake area to ride. Really nice singletrack there as well. We rode quite a bit each day and somehow managed to find our way back to the park from harlow lake via backroads making a nice big loop, instead of taking 550? back to town. We rode some other various trails the next day and watched the new Harry Potter movie. Good flick. The trails in Marquette are fantastic and we cannot say enough about how good they are and how much there is. I would have never thought there would bew that much. There are also supposedly good riding near munising and ishpehming, but we didn't ride there. Maybe next time.

Another gem we rode witht the Down Wind Sport's ride was in Gwinn. We rode about 1/2 of a 27 mile singeltrack loop. My previous teammate at NMU, Jeff and part-owner of Down Wind, got us connected with the ride. It is always good to see him and his wife, Melanie again. We just slept in a random spot that night and then headed up to Houghton/Hancock to ride the Maasto Hiito/Churning Rapids trails. We rode almost 4 hrs, got a bit turned around, but finally made it back with some water and energy left. Great trail system and home of the Chain Drive race.

The best cup of coffee in Houghton is here at the Cyber Cafe. Good food at The Library. The best cup of coffee we could find in Marquette was at The Bagel Shop on third street. One of the best places to eat is the Casa, but also Nordic Bay. The south trail system is located behind Nordic Bay, making it very accessible if one were to stay there.

Scott has kept me posted on the US Nationals races. Congrats to Kyia and Jenna on fine finishes. From some of the pictures, looked like it was 'a little' muddy. Reminded us of West Virginia a few years back. I am a little sad we didn't go, but I also know that the easy riding and relaxing we are doing is the smart thing to do at this point in the season.

Brutal. That about sums up yesterday's race in Suamica, WI; the second WORS marathon race. The course was pretty flat and it took about 15 minutes of riding to hit the first of three sections of singletrack. The women started 1' after the men. Four laps of 11.5 miles.

I felt bad from the start. I wasn't breathing hard, but my legs were killing me. They just hurt and never recovered at any point in the race. It was like trying to get logs to turn the peddals over. Not sure what is going on or why, but something is wrong. I have had about four races this year where I just feel bad the whole race. I don't recover after uphills and I have zero power. I wanted to be done with the race after the first lap. I saw Scott sitting in the grass (he started in the men's group a minute ahead of the women) and I knew he felt bad. He won't keep riding if he can't race hard. He was suffering going slow, so he pulled the plug on his race. I wanted to be done, but tried to keep the lead each lap so I could win our entry fee money back. Kind of a lame reason.

I caught up to a few expert riders in my first lap and after passing two guys that decided to race again, we had a nice group for about 1.5 laps until the single speed guy crashed in front of me in the singletrack and the geared bike guy got a gap on me. After a good effort I caught back on to him and rode another lap with him, but I was suffering already. I could do very little work for the group of us two. He got ahead of me before the end of the third lap and I almost caught back on before the end of the single track, but then a group of comp riders needed to get by and I let them pass, opening the gap. Going into the final lap I had to time trial it through most of the lap, not lose my lead, and keep my bike upright. I got really dizzy numerous times while riding. I would take more water, some more quick sugar - I had a total of a bottle of Cytomax, a camelback full of water (2 liters), and 4 gels during the race, but yet I would still get dizzy off and on. I started cramping on the last lap with about a half lap to go. My right Hamstring cramped after I passed a gal in the singletrack. I finally got that to settle down when my right quad started to quiver, then my left, then my left adductors. Another group of comp riders caught me and I jumped in the back of their group. I couldn't believe how much easier it was and my cramping subsided. I finished with the tail-end of the group - which included our good friend and Scott's summer boss, Mike Haag.

I was very happy to be done and all I could do after is lay down. I was so tired.

Scott and I stayed with M&M's good friend from G.Bay. Really nice couple and fun to hang out with.

No racing this past weekend. We needed the weekend off. I read Kyia's blog about her race and Jenna's crash. I hope she is OK. I hate crashing. Sounded pretty bad for her to have to rest for a while before getting back on the bike.

Scott, Narum, Big Daddy, Todd, Bushey and I went for a longer ride on trails on sunday. We had a great ride. Fantastic trails and only saw probably two cars as we crossed roads to get to other sections of trail. I had to tape up Scott's wrist (otherwise his hand goes numb) and Narum's shoulder (AC separation) prior to heading out. I got another chance to further my taping skills last night at The Monday Night Ride. Dr. Mougeon took a spill landing on his shoulder; another likely AC separation. Luckily, he is Dr. and has a bag full of different types of tape. We got him taped up as well and hopefully he followed through with the X-ray to rule out a fracture. I think most of us mountain bikers know what it feels like to have to go to work wounded. I have worked with a sprained wrist on several occassions after falling on my bike. Scott separated his R AC joint and had to relearn how to write on the chalk board while babying his R shoulder. It's kinda like a rite of passage, so to speak. You prove your toughness and worthy to get back on the bike.

Doug and Anne Swanson stopped by on their way through back from the North Shore to home on Sunday. It is always great to see those two. I did a little diagnosing and treatment regimen for some knee pain that Doug has going on since the NVGP. They enjoyed the brownies I made (they must have had ESP cuz the brownies came out just as they arrived; sorry Ski Hut you didn't quite get all of them as Doug had to take a few for the road). I don't crave chocolate like I used to (which is fantastic!) since going to see Dr. Mougeon.

Today we are planning to head out to Mont du Lac for a trail ride. I love the trail out there, full of really good technical singletrack. Tuesday nights are the only night of the week we are allowed to ride there, as it is privately owned. It is really nice of the owner to let COGGS host a weekly ride there. It is a free ride if you are a COGGS member, or $5 if you are not a member. With membership you get a really cool bike hat that fits under your helmet for colder rides. The hat was designed by Kate, the Emperor's girlfriend and loyal COGGS member, and Kyia Malenkovich managed our order through the company she works for and did a great job for us!

Next on our agenda is deciding to stay with our decision and head out East for nationals, or go to Colorado instead to just ride. I am torn between the two as I have a really bad start position for nationals.

I am finally feeling better. Yesterday I had the first ride where I felt normal in two weeks. I actually felt good. I took this recovery mix Dr. Greg put together for us after my ride today. It tastes kinda like sweet 'greens'. I like the taste. We need to get out today before it thunderstorms. The weather has been fantastic lately. Sunny, hot; it's summer! There are tons of tourists in Duluth. Makes it hard for Duluthians to avoid them. Scott and I took the motorcycle to dinner last night. It was so warm. Duluth usually has cool air going that fast, but yesterday it was sweltering. We had to sleep in the spare room in the basement. It is fantastically cool down there.

Last week I finally felt well enough to get back in my garden. There are some things growing. The critters somehow got inside my fencing, but I brought in reinforcements, planted a few more things and am hoping for the best. The McFaddens have a ton of woodchips for me to put to good use in my garden. I am not much of a green thumb - but it gives me something to do and we get some produce out of it.

I am reading a great book by Elizabeth Vliet. "Screeming to be heard, hormone connections women suspect...and dr's still ignore. The author is a physician specializing in women's health. She goes into great detail on topics such as PMS, peripmenopause and menopause, thyroid disorders, among other topics. I studies endocrinology in college to some extent, so her review of information is nice, plus all the interconnectedness between hormones and how the brain and body works (and potential irritating symptoms). I have a couple other books by her that have been revised with the latest information.

Scott is torched from helping our construction friend, Mike out these past few weeks. He has not been riding cuz when he gets done at the job site, all he can do is lay on the couch.

The littlest McFadden is getting bigger. He's almost back up to birthweight. He is so tiny. We went over the other night with some fresh strawberries picked at the local strawberry farm (Finke's), and shortcake fixings to share. We really like having the McFadden's as neighbors! We went and picked more strawberries yesterday, so now we have a freezerfull for the rest of the year. Raspberries and blueberries are next!

On our way back from Eau Claire, Mike was driving and he and Charlie were deep in conversation. Scott and I were lounging in the back seat of the van - overly tired from our days efforts, when we see this deer headed for the mid section of our van from the driver's side. A half second later we hear a 'THUNK' against the side of our van, we look back and see the deer toppeling into the ditch, take a few efforts to recompose itself and then run into the woods. Mike stops the van and we all jump out to assess the damange. No dents in the van, luckily. Then we look at Charlie and Mike's bikes on the rack out back. Mike's is fine, but the above photo notes the damage done to Charlie's bike. For the photo, Charlie added the helmet he pulled out of his bag right before race time to find it crushed. It's a little hard to tell from the photo, but the back half is squished that Charlie can barely get that thing on his head. The van has an extra helmet that Charlie used for the race, on the condition it would come back unscathed.

I have felt really bad the past three days. I should not have raced. I have been hot and cold from saturday until monday, and then just feeling horrible since. I went into see Dr. Greg on Monday, so I know that things should get better soon. I am so tired that I can't do anything. I took Monday off from riding and tried to ride yesterday. If we would have gone any slower, we would have fallen over. I tried to encourage Scott to head on his own while I slogged home, but I guess it wasn't that bad of a pace for him. I have no desire to do much of anything, even ride, which is really odd for me. I hope I feel better soon as it is a beautiful day outside.

Scott and I loaded up the van and pickup up Charlie and Mike to head to the Wors race in Eau Claire yesterday. I almost didn't jump in the van and if I had to drive I would not have gone. Saturday my stomach was bad and I spent most of the day on the couch curled up with the cats. Not sure if they like it too much when I infringe on their space. I still felt pretty crappy on race day, but decided to show up to try regardless. I have had good races in the past not feeling very well and since the van was going anyway....

Charlie and Mike met us at Beaner's in west Duluth. Much to their disappointment, Beaner's had not yet opened for the day. Charlie was in shambles not knowing where his cup of jo would come from for the day. I like to think that drinking caffeine is all mental, but there are physiological benefits (and detriments - I once had a pt that told me she had to discontinue drinking coffee because the daily 32 cups...you read that right 32 - was giving her heart palpatations.)

Off in the van ... riding in comfort. I tried to get some sleep, but Charlie was a little chatty. I introduced him to the book I am reading, "Screeming to be heard" by Elizabeth Vliet. This book goes into detail about various hormonal and other problems women have that most doctors overlook. If anyone has gone to the Dr, got some obscure explanation and felt not listened to or taken seriously then this is a good book to read. We really have to advocate for ourselves, but I'll save that for another day.

After about 10 trips to the bathroom, getting all 'kitted' up for the day, Megan Anderson, the legendary Harry Anderson's wife, agreed to give up water bottle hand-ups,we started our preride. Kudo's to Megan! She saved us all. Preride went fine, but I could have easily stayed home and been on the couch. My legs felt fine to go slow and spin. I did one pick-up; that was enough.

Kyia and Jenna showed up, so knowing I was not feeling that well, my goal was for top three. I got a good start, but went straight where everyone went left, but it wasn't a big deal I still was third behind Jenna and Anne down the two track. I could barely see Jenna from all the dust kicked up from the men's pack that started 15 seconds ahead of us. I got around Anne and was on Jenna's wheel for a little while, when Kyia came flying around to take the lead. We all stayed together in a line until I looked up and saw a line of guys waiting to get into the singletrack. Kyia and Jenna went off to the left. The course turned right into the woods, so I rode through the tall grass on the right and got pass about 10 or so men. At another congested area I got by a few more. This was the best my race would get. I stunk it up in the singletrack. Kyia caught back on and got pass me. She was on fire on the two track, but I stayed with her for a lap. Then got gapped on the singletrack and lost her on the two track. She caught on to a group of guys and held on...I was not able to get back on to the group and rode best I could for the day. My legs felt flat, had zero turn-over, and as Charlie stated later in the van, I did not have the racing 'eye of the tiger'. I stayed in the race regardless cuz if Jenna, Kyia and I finished we would get fantastic Norba points. I didn't know that Jenna had crashed early in the first lap and then called it a day. I wondered why she had not caught me during the race, I was not going that fast. Kudos to Kyia she raced well and fast. Good to see her race well.

I have not raced in a race on that fast of a race course in a long time. Nor as dusty. I had way too much air in my tires for a course that dusty and loose around the corners. Scott had a really challenging day. We forgot to tape his wrist so his right hand went numb throughout the race. After the first rocky descent about a mile or two into the race, he blew his fork. He couldn't ride singletrack and thought he was just having an 'off' day until he realized it was his fork that was diving as he would go through turns, etc. He endo'd and fell three times the last lap and more during the previous laps. His bike has never got through that kind of test in the past. Scott took his fork off this morning and is off to get it sent in. We have a big trip to VT coming up and he needs his fork to work. VT has a very technical descent, similar to riding at Spirit Mtn.

On our way home, we stopped by to meet the newest McFadden. He is so tiny! He is about 6# and they named him Bode. It is fun to see our friends holding and taking care of such a tiny little baby. Diana and Todd are already good parents and they have only had four days of practice. I hope I get to babysit. He is very precious!

This past week has been super busy. Tristan was up from Sunday to Thurs. Can't say I have ever cooked that much for Scott and our house guest. Tristan was really easy to have as a house guest. I had a few extra days off from work so that was really nice. Scott and I were able to do some things we normally don't get to do during the work week - like hang out at Beaner's, our local coffee shop. We went there today as well. On days I work I struggle to get on the bike. Yesterday I just couldn't get my legs to push my pedals and was going painfully slow. I let Scott ride by himself and turned home. Days I don't work I find I have so much more energy to ride and do other things as well.

Today we took the motorcycle out to watch the Duluth Duathlon. There were a lot of Ski Hut MTB team and triathlon team members competing. Scott said the temps were in the mid-50's while we were watching. My good friend from College, Amy, and her husband Al stayed at our house last night before the big race. Al did the race while the rest of us watched. It's always good to see Amy. We skied at NMU together and she makes me laugh. I have a picture of us together on the podium from the 1992 Korteloppet hanging on our wall. I love that photo - we look so young.

Tomorrow we are planning on heading down to Eau Claire. I am pretty tired so I plan on laying low today, riding at some point and then heading to a friend of our's house for a BBQ party. Todd and Diana had their first baby this past thursday and hopefully we'll get a chance to meet the little guy today or tomorrow. I love other people's babies. Especially if the babies are not crying.

Tristan is up staying with us for a few days seeing the new Doctor in town, Dr. Greg. He's trying to get his health back so he can race fast again before the end of the season. He joined us on The Ski Hut ride last night. There was a group of 20 plus riders. A few women showed up, which was great! One gal is only in Duluth for a few months and she did incredibly well as the trails are not easy. There are quite a few bridges that make me nervous cuz you'd land in a revine if you fall off the bridge. No casualties last night, thankfully. Ever humbled, my 69 y/o father-in-law rode a bridge that I dismounted and walked across. He's amazing. The trail also has roots and rocks and some pretty tricky uphills. Ever since getting my contacts put in my correct eyeballs, my technical skills have been returning to their former level. I realized riding with Dan and Scott that something was wrong. I couldn't get over any log piles or anything tricky. I switched contacts and its like a whole new world unfolded. Nice to not feel like I am looking through coke bottles.

Scott's brother Brad, could not find a ride from Duluth back to mpls after the Mont du Lac race. He decided to leave at 9 PM and ride home. Scott gave him a ride to Carlton, he rode to Moose Lake in the dark (he wouldn't take the light we offered). He had to stop cuz he couldn't see. He slept on a park bench until 3 AM when he awoke because his thin sweatshirt couldn't keep him cozy (he didn't have anything with except bike clothes and a sweatshirt). He wouldn't take the bars I offered, regretting his choice as he awoke starving. He made it to Pine City by 7 AM and then home around noon. 12 hour ride on his mountain bike with knobby tires. It usually takes him between 8-9 hrs to go the entire distance to our house on his road bike. He said he won't ride again anytime soon from Duluth on his MTB, ride in the dark and not take food with him. Crazy nut.

On another note, I was witness to a motorcycle accident the other week. I was riding my motorcycle and this guy in a trunk from the other direction was waiting for me to pass before he turned left, when I saw a motorcycle come up behind him and failed to stop. The motorcyclist hit the trucks rear left bumper and fell right into my lane. It was like watching a slow-motion endo on a mountain bike, onto pavement. The dolt wasn't wearing a helmet, but had gloves and some good boots that probably prevented him from braking his ankle. He was wearing short sleeves, so he got some nice road rash to commemorate the day. Luckily, I had slowed down enough to avoid running the guy over. I stopped and was shaking. It's usually the moto that gets smucked by the car, not the other way around!