What has been going on.....

This past weekend Pam, my Dad and I headed up to Wisconsin for the Iola Bump and Jump mountain bike race. This is the first race of the WORS series. The course was dry and rough. It seemed like they cut the course only a few days before the race. This made it really rough on a rigid bike. I had a bad starting position, but worked my way up to about 15th place. I was feeling good until the second lap when my back blew up. I could not even get out of the saddle and all the bumps were killing me. I pulled out which I kind of regret but I was in too much pain and the race did not matter to much to me. Pam did awesome in her race. This was her first mtb race and she finished 2nd in beginner. Only her 4th time ever riding a mtb bike too. My dad got last but gave it everything he got and got the mtb itch back which is great.

Pam and I headed up to my place in Wisconsin after the race to relax for a week. We have been fishing a ton but not catching much. I have never seen the lakes so dead up here before, but I also have never been up here so early in the season. Weather has been great except for the wind which makes fishing in a row boat difficult when the wind is gusting more than 20mph.

Fly Fishing for Bluegill

Our Cabin

Elbow Lake

Sliver Lake

Trying to catch some trout. No Luck!

Today is our last day up here in Wisconsin. Off to Iowa tomorrow for snake alley and Quad cities. Should be a blast. Not looking forward to the 8 hour drive though.

Last night I was awaking by a text message from Alan Alderfer our Team sponsor about Issac. During the group ride up in Warsaw IN Issac's chain skipped during a fast sprint and was seriously hurt. He was taken to the hospital to get stitches in his face from a chainring. Hope he is doing better. We are all thinking about you Issac. Recover fast and smoothly!

JMSR Recap

Stage 1: 2.5mi Uphill TT/Freakin' hurt/Finished 115th/ With a time of 9:31/Rory did it in 8:03/Flatted 202 warming up.

Stage 2: 112mi Road Race 5000ft of climbing/Easy/ Crazy finished/ Spoke Came Loose on the Rear Reynolds/ Finished 56th with the group.

Stage 3: 92mi Road Race 6000ft of climbing/Hard as Hell/ Ouch hammered at the front all day/ Got dropped/Chased for 1:21 33 miles/ Did not get time cut/24min Down/ Legs were thrashed.

Stage 4: 90min Crit with big hill/Hard/Last 58min/ Got a GC spot/ Finished 88th/ 4o riders DNF/ Glad its over

GC: Finished 88th out of 88/ 165 starters/ Need to work on my climbing/ Had a great time.

I am heading up to Evanston today. Monsters on Saturday and Iola bump and Jump on Sunday. Week of fishing and riding in Northern Wisconsin then Iowa weekend.

Cinder Weekend

It is that time of year again. Oh yea Little 500. Usually I am worried about last minute stuff before the race. Not this year. I am a full time spectator. It is weird not being part of the race this year. Honestly I kind of enjoy it more not racing it. We will see how I feel when I actually go to the race. Here are some pictures from the past years.

Last Year.

Freshman Year

Sophmore Year.

WTF

Cereland Classic

This past weekend half of the team headed over to Columbus IN for the Cereland Classic. This course is an easy one corner circuit race with a little hill. We attacked from the gun and kept launching them. Isaac counter attacked when I got brought back, and he was gone. Then Chris soon bridged up to the break with a few more riders. The rest of the race was dedicated to covering moves and making sure the break did not lap. Isaac ended up just getting nipped at the line by buffer and Chris ended up 4th. Harry finished up 2nd in the field sprint with me right behind him and Tom 2 spots behind me. 5 in the top 10 is not bad, even though it was a small race. The field was still around 35-40. Good fun. The race on Sunday got cancelled because of rain. Oh well. Next race is Brown County RR. Day after Little 500. Now that should be fun!

Brown County

Yesterday I decided to hit up Brown County for some mountain biking. Weather was amazing so I hit the road in the late afternoon. Trails were almost perfect with a few muddy spots here and there. The creek crossing were full so I got a little wet, but hey that's what mountain biking is all about. I did not have to much time but got a solid 1.5 hours of shredding in. I really love it out there. All you Chicago guys, you gotta come down and hit up this trail system. Its worth the drive.

Rock Garden

The Bridge.

Trail shot

More Trail

Messing around with the Camera

Another Trail shot.

One of many creek crossings

Riding shot.

Before the Ride

Hillsboro Report

I Suck! Saturday was not my day. Going into the race I told myself just to sit in until the last lap, because last year I did a lot of work and blew my self up. So I am sitting in and hurting. I started cramping on the second lap. I am asking myself what the hell? What is going on? I kept eating and drinking hoping it would go away and it just kept getting worse. I was cramping in places I didn't know I could even cramp. Most of my teammates road really well on Saturday. I watched Will, Chris and Isaac do work up at the front while I was hurting in the middle of the pack. I made it longer than I did last year. Got popped with 8 miles too go. Oh well. Its only the first race of the year. Hope the legs come around soon. I have trained more this spring than I have ever trained in my racing career. And it showed for nothing this weekend.

Ended up 40th. Got 38th last year.

Saw the new fast and the Furious last night. Freakin Sweet!