Not Good!

Well, I had a doctor appointment yesterday, he wanted to talk to me about my cat scan. He says not good, I said WHAT? He said that the bone on the ends don't look good and he thinks that the surgery didn't work. He also said that maybe it will get better as time goes on. So, what does this all mean? In the mean time I am in a soft removable cast like I had in the spring and started physical therapy yesterday. If I have pain after the physical therapy sessions, I may have to have a different surgery done. What the heck, I thought everything was going good? This SUCKS!

Anyways, training is going good and I am enjoying training certain zones for a certain length of time. The time flies by and am working harder than I did last year. Training with power is awesome and I am actually looking forward to my 20LT test at the end of the month.

Christmas is a week away and am looking forward to hanging out with family.

Oh, by the way here is another downer that I have had this week. My wife and I have been looking at houses and we finally found one that we both liked. So, we put an offer in last Friday (12-10-10) and then on Monday we were told that someone else is putting in an offer and we should put our best offer on the table. We already put our best offer on the table and it wasn't good enough! What the hell, everyone keeps telling us that there is a better house out there for you, and that it wasn't meant to be. Will be interesting to see what the house actually sold for and how much we lost it buy.

Till next time.

I don't always get what I want

Alright, I know it has been a while since my last post, but didn't really have anything going on.

Went to the doctor yesterday and I was hoping for a removable cast, didn't happen! I am at least into a short arm cast, which means that my elbow is free, so the cast covers my wrist and fore arm. Doctor says that it looks to be healing well and that I need to get a cat scan done in a week or two. This cast will probably be on till the end of December. How about a New Years resolution that I can't control-no cast January 1st, 2011. Oh, and I was able to get my pins removed yesterday as well. Well that the new news about my wrist.

I just started training with a coach (Jeff w/Cycling Form and Fitness) yesterday December 1st. I hope I can get some good results this next season to show that he can/does make a difference. Anyways, I am not going to tell you what he is having me do, but I can say that I am back on the bike and training with a purpose. Having a short arm cast should help my riding a bit, but don't know quite yet. Well, I guess that's all for now. Later!

Getting into a Routine

Let me start by saying that my doctor appointment on Wednesday didn't go as well as I had hoped. Had 4 appointments in two different facilities. I had my cast cut off again and had a bone scan done on my wrist. Doctor said it is doing good, but I still want you in a long arm cast for another 4 weeks. Are you kidding me? My next appointment is December 1st and then I should be into a fore-arm cast or maybe a soft cast.

Anyways I started riding my bike a little. I have rode three times this week, twice for a half hour and once for almost an hour. That hour was probably a bit long, my knees started to hurt a little. Do you know how hard it is to ride one handed the whole time? It sucks, good thing I have a stationary trainer and don't have to worry about balancing. I plan on riding Saturday and will try to push the one hour mark again. I have been training with Coach Troy videos for now and am looking to start me training with Jeff (Cycling Form and Fitness) December 1st.

My leg for the most part is healing well. I can actually walk normal and stairs are not a problem any more. I don't have full flexibility yet, but I am working on it. Physical therapy on my leg is only once a week and will be done early December, so hopefully I will be back to normal by then.

Till next time, see ya

Oh, It Has Been Too Long

It has been a long time since my last blog, but nothing has really been going on with me. This morning was a good morning, I manage to ride my bike on my trainer for 30 minutes. Wow, I am out shape! It went alright, knee is still tight, but it does loosen up a bit as I ride. I only rode for a short while because, I didn't want to push it too much. I will see how the knee feels as the day goes on and hopefully be able to start riding more often and longer. I hope I don't try to hard to quick.

What actually started me to ride was my physical therapist said I won't do any damage, that I will just make the knee made and it may swell up, so just need to ice it after wards. I have only had two therapy sessions, but they do help a ton.

I guess that is it for now and I will try to keep who ever does read this informed.

Forced Recovery

It has been a little while since my last post, but hey I stuck in the hospital for 3 1/2 days. Thats right I had my surgery, I was under the knife for @ 8hrs. Glad that is over with and now it is time to recover weather I want to or not, I don't have a choice.

I have a cast on my arm almost to my armpit and a cut from my knee to the upper part of my inner thigh. This had not been the most pleasureable experience, but am glad its over. I can't bend my leg a whole lot, but am able to get around without a crutch. I need to keep my arm and leg elavated for the most part.

I was home for one week and was bored out of my mind.

I am back to work now, which isn't the greatest, but I was sick of laying around watching TV.

I am thankful for those that came to visit me in the hospital and at home. I am also very lucky that my wife is so helpful and thoughtful. I am sure her hospital stay wasn't pleasant either.

I have also lost my grandpa who is now in Heavan with my grandma. I was in the hospital for the funeral, but I am going to be able to make the barrial this Saturday.

My birthday is right around the corner and is looking forward to hanging out with my brother and friends.

I miss my bicycle!

Ride the Rock Race Recap

Some of my fellow team mates thought that it would be a good idea to get together and do a Wisport race. Ok, I agree, it was a good idea and it gave us an opportunity to race together. Some of us that are in different age brackets and different categories could all race together. Wisport doesn't classify any of there racers besides by age, but everyone races together.

Weather was definitely less than pleasant! Temperatures were in the upper 50's and mist/rain. Roads were soaked and so were we. The field was small about 30 racers and 5 of them were Team Extremers. There was no talk about any race strategy, but I didn't plan on winning or anything. I have never done a Wisport race before and thought to give it a try.

Anyways onto the race. It was a 3 lap course 18 miles per lap equalling 54 miles with longer rolling hills that I am no used too. There was a break that went off the front right away. Some of those guys were involved in a crash, I don't know the whole story. I did a lot of work the first two laps and finally floated back to the back. Travis said to me, why don't you just hang out back here with me and we will do an OBC lead out. I thought, be lazy and try to win the field sprint, ahhhh, sounds good to me.

While hanging in the back doing nothing but drinking and being cold, I had to really pee. I couldn't stop and take a natural, so I decided what the heck, I will try to do it off the bike. I was the last person in the field and eventually was able to go. This is actually easier than you think, if you can get it to come out. Was nervous and had some stage frite going on, which made this peeing take a lot longer than needed. I was relieved though and now I could concentrate the task at hand.

Oh, by the way there was another group of guys that broke off the front, now there is a break away and a chase group and the pelaton. At this point I had no idea how many were actually out front.

With about 2-3 miles out Travis told me that we were going to go up to mid pack. I followed him up there and then with about 1 miles to go he was at the front with me glued to his wheel. Two guys tried to get off the front, but didn't make it very far. I had Bill on my wheel who by the way did a ton of pulling through out the whole race. He get a domestic award for sure. Anyways I told him to go give Travis a break and he looked at my like are you nuts. I have put in so much work already and now I am trying to recover and you tell me to do more work. Sorry, Bill, thanks for all your hard work. He was able to give Travis a short break and now we were coming close to the last 90 degree corner before the finish which would be about .2 of a mile up hill into a head wind. Travis put his down, down the hill and we were flying into the last corner and I was praying that my skinny little tires were going to hold to the wet pavement. Thank god we made it safely through that corner in front. I was yelling at Travis to go, not to speed up for me, but for him self. I had nothing left and I wanted him to get the field sprint. He told me to go that he nothing left, so I went and dug deep but only really sprinted for about 100 feet or so and then sat down and was going to give up and wait to be swallowed up by the field. I looked back and they were still really far back, so I had to keep muscling through the pain, I kept looking back to see not if, but when I was going to be swallowed. I felt like I was going at a snails pace, mashing the pedals trying as hard as I could to get past the finish line. I managed to get there first thanks to my team mates and Travis finished right behind me. That is got to be the longest, hardest finish for me this year. I finished in 10th place and Travis in 11th, and some other team mates not far behind. Overall a fun race and very challenging for myself.

That second break, need to give some props to Jim who tried to bridge the gap solo, got close but failed. Nice try and better luck next time. Would have been nice to have a team mate in the break.

Other news, is that I have one more race that I will do on Wednesday if the weather is good. OBC, some call it a training ride, but I call it a race. That will be the last one for me for this year before my surgery on Friday.

Next post will probably be after my surgery!

What September will bring

My surgery is finally scheduled! My pre-operation physical is scheduled for 9/7/10 and my surgery is scheduled for 9/17/10. I am a bit nervous, but hoping that this is going to work. What is involved in my surgery? They (surgeons) are going to take a bone graft from my knee that will have a blood supply and a put it into my wrist (scafoid bone) and hope that it will re-vascuralize and giving me 80 percent total movement in my wrist. I currently have about 40-50 percent and if you were to force it to move further it would really hurt.

What does this mean for the rest of the season? I normally ride outside as much as I can, trying to keep indoor training to a minimum. What I am hoping for is that I will be able to train inside on my rear wheel stationary trainer and stink up my cast. The cast will be on for 8-12 weeks and then physical therapy after. So, hoping to have the cast off by/in December will give me plenty of time for some good training. Hoping to be ready to do some early spring races with some decent form.

Now let me jump back to last nights training ride. I did my Tuesday night Jefferson hill repeats by myself. This week I went up two extra times than last week. So, I did ten times total, rotating between small ring and big ring per lap. This is the most repeats that I have done all year, so feeling pretty good about myself. On the last lap I had a very hard time getting to the top. I did it, but it definitely was not my best lap. Once I reached the top I was very happy to be done and have a nice easy ride back home.

Tonight is a OBC ride which starts at 5:30pm and makes it a little tougher for me to make it on time. Don't know if I will be going the weather calls for scattered rain showers. I will try to make it if the weather cooperates, but if it is raining then I will have to resort to the trainer. I am hoping that the weather cooperates, I only have three more weeks of riding with them for this year, before my surgery.

Thats it for now!

Later

OBC Race

Last night at OBC training ride that met in Cedarburg at 6pm. The route is called Rockfield and is 32.5 miles. Weather was perfect mid to lower 70's with some decent wind. This ride is more like a road race every week, a suvival of the fittest. I made sure to play the x factor a lot trying to hide out of the wind when possible. I felt pretty strong considering that I did hill repeats up Jefferson on Tuesday and this week I did it a total of 8 times. 4 small ring climbs, and 4 big ring climbs. I made sure to also climb the hills toward the front of the group. I feel that many of the OBC riders are getting stronger and faster. The lead group is around 10-15 riders instead of the 5 or so in the past.

We were missing some regulars, my guess is that they are starting cycecross pratice. I felt last nights group was a bit small, but was still very fast and hard. Still had some big legs out there killing the pace.

Like always, I like to try to win the sprint finish at the end of the ride/race. I was toward the front about 6 or so back. I was behind Brian P. and I could feel other people getting antsy and I was also boxed in. I yelled at him to GO and he was not in a good position either. Others in front of him were slowing down and he had no where to go. At this point Jeff M. was moving up the left side, so I snuck out and got behind him and waiting for my launching point...............I launched and launched hard passing everyone in front of me and pushing the pedals hard and increasing my speed little by little until the stop ahead sign. Wow, was that a hard effort and timed that out perfect. Felt really REALLY strong for that sprint. Nobody came around and when I looked back nobody was even on my wheel. But, half way through the sprint I thought someone was on my wheel, either nobody was on my wheel or they gave up.

Tonight is Pedal Moraine and this ride can be a fast one depending on group consensus on how hard we want to ride.

Have had some hard rides and now planning some longer easier stuff.

2010 Race Season is Over

Saturday August 21st was the last WCA race of the season. This was a criterium race that was held in Fond Du Lac in the Park off of Lake Winnebago. I had no expectations for this race, just go have some fun and gather some team point. My overall was already locked up. I had fun and finished 14th. Travis took 2nd place, huge congrats to him and he took 1st place in the WCA Category 3 overall.

Sunday was a early 5:50am start in Fond Du Lac for a race they call Race the Lake. This race is 90 miles and goes around Lake Winnebago. Weather couldn't have been better. Temperature was mid 60's to start and light winds. My goal was to hold on to the first group further than last year and beat my last years time. With these light winds it would have been hard not too. Last years time was 3hrs 41min. 22sec. and this years time was 3hrs 27min. 33sec. I also did stay with the lead group until the hill in High Cliff State Park. The group that I was settled into did not know how to pace line well with others. This was a bit frustrating, and we could have done better if we would have worked better together. I felt strong, just need to get stronger at climbing hills, but I have been saying that all year. I had 4 other team mates in my group and they helped me out a lot, especially at the end when I had 2 of them crushing it right at the end. I beat everyone in my group. I think this is one of the best races of the year. I finished 85th out of 1,331 and 14th in my age bracket.

So, this was the last race weekend for me for the year. Time to put in some saddle time, group rides and have fun.

Wattless

That is what my training is all about this week. Tonight I rode indoor on my trainer, yes you read the right INDOOR. I know it is August and should be outside, but I didn't want to exert myself in any way. It is very easy to control you watts inside on a trainer. So, I rode inside for a short 45 minutes just to spin a bit, to keep the legs in motion.

Tomorrows ride will be very easy to, but I will be headed outdoors. I am actually going to take my boss's kid and attempt to teach him how to corner for a criterium. He is 14 or 15yrs old and loves riding bicycles. He rides a lot with friends, mostly on his mountain bike looking for things to jump. I remember those days with my friends. Anyways, I asked him if he would be interested in doing a criterium race, and he said that he wasn't ready and then I told him that he would be racing kids his own age and then he was good with. I talked to his mother today and she said that he is super excited and nervous. I will ask him if he would like me to go with him to the race in Fond Du Lac to help him out. His father used to race, and would love to get back into it, but as of right now he will be working on Saturday. I will let you know how this all goes.

Thursdays ride, I am not riding from Pedal Moraine this week. I will possibly be riding with my wife and a team mate and his wife. Again, this is suppose to be a easy ride, and I hope my wife doesn't make me regret taking her out (just kidding). I know my wife like to hammer a bit, but she is only good for about 20 miles.

Friday, probably just a short easy spin back on the trainer.

Saturday, Fond Du Lac Criterium, which this is the last WCA race of the year. I am looking just to hold onto 3rd place in the overall standings, but really using this race to open up the legs for Sunday.

Sunday, Race the Lake, one of my most favorite races of last year. And, I didn't even come close to winning. Looking to beat my time from last year. Race the Lake is a 90 mile road race around Lake Winnebago. It is timed and you get an overall finish and an age bracket finish. Last year I was 44th overall and 9th in my age bracket.

That is all for know.

What It Takes

Training this week was a little different than what I normally do.

Monday- With my short honey to do list, I was able to go for a nice easy short ride.

Tuesday- I rode over to Jefferson St. and did some hill repeats on a one mile loop. I did this six times, three in the big ring and three in the small ring. I don't ever do hill repeats so I only did six, not to completely kill myself so I could still ride Wednesday. These went well for me, I met a team mate there and then saw some other friends also. Nice workout, I should do more of these.

Wednesday- Ok, I was dropped last week on the OBC ride, so this week I thought I would try something different. I hid in the pack as much as I could, just so I could keep up on the climbs. I almost puked, well actually I did puke, I could taste it my throat! I was able to recover from that and set myself up for the final sprint. I haven't done this in a while, and wanted to give it a go. When it came to the final stretch before the sprint, some of my team mates started lining up the Blue Train. When we get organized it is really impressive, well at least I think so. Because of my lead out I was able to rocket past my last lead out man and take the last sprint with flying colors. This was the only one that I went for, saving as much energy as possible for it.

Thursday- Pedal Moraine group ride, small group of four including myself. My legs were definitely fatigued and took a little while to loosen up. I had some good pulls and a couple of moderate/hard efforts, but tried to keep some what more low key. Nice ride and a bit short, but this worked out well for me.

Friday- Today, if I am lucky I can get a short recovery spin in to try to keep the legs loose for Saturday. I am going to be riding out of Pewaukee and Attitude Sports again and then head over and do Drop the Doc on Saturday. Sunday's ride will be determined last minute on the weather. My wife would like to ride if it isn't raining.

My Quarq crank is on its way and I should be getting it on Tuesday. Can't wait to be training on power. Getting really anxious and can't wait to start logging watts, not blogging watts, but yes, logging watts. Sorry no watts here!

Thanks for reading, till next time.

Keeping it Local

Well this past weekend I decided to stay local and group ride instead of heading to Elk Grove, Il.

Saturday morning I woke up at 5am and looked outside and saw the the roads were wet. I watched the weather and looked like that any rain was going to clear up. As I was loading the car it was drizzling a bit. I picked up another team mate and we proceeded to Pewaukee. I was raining on and off, but looked as if was going to clear. We arrived at Attitude and Brian (team mate) was already dressed and ready to go. Not to many people here to roll over to Bicycle Doctors, well maybe we will pick a bunch of people up on the way out, or there will be a bunch at Bicycle Doctors. Neither, this is probably the smallest group I have ever ridden with, but assuming that the weather had a big impact on the size of the group. Fair weather riders! Pace was a bit slower than normal, but still was a lot of fun. We never were rained on, but the roads were wet, so we were pretty wet and dirty.

I managed to miss a turn when leading the pack along with two other team mates, and everyone else made the turn. We had to chase our selves back on which we were able to do, but was a huge effort. Towards the end of the ride Ryan pinch flatted and said he would catch up. Like always, not knowing the route I thought the final sprint was coming so I attacked to a two man break off the front. I caught them, but they were pretty gassed and I was cooked from the effort. And the sprint wasn't near yet! Dang it all, I messed that one up again. Anyways the group came up and we were all together again. I was able to sit in and recover until the real sprint came. Brian came around the last corner leading it out and I managed to finish third in the sprint. I didn't know exactly were the final finish was, but I know now. Maybe I can get this weekend.

Sunday, Bakery Bikers ride, was very foggy. Nothing really happening here, just a nice Sunday morning stroll. Small group of 5 including my wife, but on ride managed to pick up 2 more. Nice ride, nice scenery.

This week I plan on riding Tuesday-short and easy, Wednesday-OBC, Thursday-Pedal Moraine, and Saturday-Attitude to Doc to Attitude, Sunday-Bakery Bikers.

Three weekends till Fond Du Lac Crit. and Race the Lake.

Blind Training

I have no idea how to train. I tend to do group rides and I just do the groups pace, or try to do the groups pace. This past Saturday I went and rode with a friend and we rode 70 miles at what I felt a pretty fast pace. I was starting to cramp up with about 10 miles to go. I took Sunday and Monday off, which was probably to much.

My wife and I have this 15 mile loop that we used to do together a couple years ago, and she went and rode it Tuesday morning by herself. She called me and told me what her average speed was and I told her that I was going to do it after work. I super stoked to put in this time trial effort, which I haven't done all year. Probably should do more of these, but they really don't excite me to much. Anyways I crushed her average speed by about 3mph faster. I haven't ridden that fast ever by myself, so this is probably a good thing, but don't think it is going to help my OBC Wednesday night ride.

Went to Cedarburg on Wednesday to ride the OBC Mayfield route. Start of the ride started out painfully slow so I went to the front and started pulling, trying to speed things up a little bit. I felt good, but before you knew it we were coming to a ascent and they ramped it up and I was struggling to hang on. There was a good cross wind too. I made it all the way to Western and Mayfield before I was shelled off. I finished that climb on the front, but when they started the descent I couldn't get back on and they kept pulling away. Note this isn't even the lead group at this point, this is group two. So, I am stuck in no mans land. I tried to take a little short cut and it was such a little short cut that this still didn't allow me catch back up to the lead group. At this point I am pretty sure that group 1 and 2 have combined. As, I was riding my own pace no able to see the group at all three riders have caught up to me and this helped me out tremendously. I was able to catch a break and work with these other three. We were working really well together. When we got the the last sprint, I said to myself that it doesn't pay to get out of the saddle and sprint, but I did put my head and pulled really hard hoping that someone would sprint off my lead out. I looked down and was doing 36 or 38mph, but nobody was on my wheel. Too bad, all that work for nothing.

Well, I am going to ride from Pedal Moraine tonight, with what will be probably 3 or 4 guys total. I am hoping for a nice mellow ride tonight and a recovery ride on Friday and then do the Drop the Doc ride on Saturday starting from Attitude in Pewaukee. I need to be very strong here, without any races this weekend it should be a very big group and very fast. Stay tuned for how it goes.

Thanks for reading my gibber jabber.

Whats Up

Well last time I blogged was before the T.o.A.D. series. How that went for me, NOT GOOD. Oh well back to training. Oh, I suppose you might want to know why? Tell you the honest truth, I don't know. I am just not as strong as my compitition is what it actually comes down to. I did enter all 10 races and was involved in two crashes, put a nice little hole in my Easton tubby. I managed not to hurt my wrist in any of the crashes. I wish their would have been video of the one at Elkhart Race track, that was pretty knarly.

On a positive note, I ordered a power meter and will be getting some coaching for next season. Hopefully make me a stronger racer. I won't be getting it for a month yet.

I am currently waiting for the nurse to call me to schedule the surgery date for my wrist. Not looking forward to it, but want it done.

I have really been enjoying hanging out with my wife too, not having to race every weekend. I will probably do the last two Superweek races (Humboldt and Whitefish Bay). This is not set in stone, but by then I may be itching to race.

I also started something a bit different with my training. I started getting my ass out of bed in the morning to ride for 45-60min. These workout are Coach Troy and Robbie Ventura videos. I should hopefully notice a difference in about a month.

Other up coming races would be the last WCA crit. race in Fond Du Lac and then Race the Lake. Both of these are in August.

Well thats it for now. Till next time.

Anticipation (T.o.A.D.)

It has been a little while since my last blog. But, anyways really haven't been up to anything. My last race was this past Sunday in Burlington, WI and didn't go well for me. The course was great but the field was super small with only 12 men and that is with combining M1,2,3's, Cat. 3's, and the 1,2's all together. Weather was cloudy to start, but tempatures comfortable to me being in the mid 60's. Started out well being able to hold my own until two Gear Grinder guys ramped it up and I had to try to bridge a gap. As I was bridging the gap and getting close saying to myself that I have this one crossed, just as I started to lighten up on the pedals a little they started pulling away and I couldn't get on. Two other riders caught back up to me and we were going to take it easy until lapped and then try to get back on. Another lap latter it started to rain, so I decided to quit. I have quit a lot of races this year.

New plan is not to upgrade to a 2 until they make me!

On a more positive note, Travis my team mate has locked up 1st place in the WCA Cat. 3 cup points, and I am hoping to hold onto 2nd. The team has locked up some other Categories too!

Tour of America's Dairyland is right around the corner now (3 days away) and I am getting excited for that. I am doing the whole thing and hoping to do well overall and hope to win one of the races. Travis is also doing the whole thing and I think he has a better chance at winning the overall. He just missed it last year in a different category by 1 point. I hope he can get it this year. He is riding super strong and feel he will do very well.

Till next time, thanks for reading.

Snake Alley/Melon City/Rock Island 2010

What a fun weekend with friends/team mates. Weather was very and I mean very HOT. Snake Alley didn't go well for me, I need to work on my climbing ALOT! I only did two laps before I quit. Had a lot of fun watching the rest of the race and cheering on Travis at the top of the SNAKE. He did GREAT, he is very strong and wish I could climb half as good as him. Anyways, was a blast to see and glad I gave it a shot, but don't know if I will ever do it again.

Melon City another HOT day with a course that had a climb that didn't suite me. I went into the race not to quit. Race started fast and I made it up the climb with the pack the first lap and then got dropped on the second lap and kept going. I was with one other guy and we were working together, but he quit a few laps later. I was lapped and jumped into the field and managed to make it up one more lap with the field and then was dropped the next lap. I quit this race too, like I said before I need to work on my climbing.

Rock Island was a flat 8 corner course and the temperature was a bit cooler. All I have to say is what a cool course. I started in the 4th row, kind of far back. I had a really hard time moving up. The pace was fast and we were always breaking in the corners. I tried many different line and tried to move up when I could. I was able to get toward the front once, but didn't stay there long. When it came down to the last lap I was able to avoid a crash, but right before the last corner I almost felt like puking, so I didn't have anything left for the sprint. Maybe Happy Joe's isn't the best idea for diner the night before a race. Would love to do this race again next year.

Thinking I would like to stay a Cat. 3 for at least another year.

I need to look at the schedule and figure out what race I want to do next.

Hartland/Sussex 5-22,23-10

Saturday in Hartland was a little warm but tollerable. The course was flat with one wide open 90 degree corner and the rest were sweepers. I raced with a brace on and was a bit worried about crashing and hurting myself even more. I was playing it safe giving myself lots of room between racers and giving myself escape routes. At one point of the race there was a 1 man break with no one wanting to catch him. There was an IS corp. guy that was doing a lot of work, but couldn't reel him in, so went to give him a hand. I pulled for over a lap and then he came back around me to help and we were getting close. I told him to slow it down a bit and let him dangle. He did and I thought being this close that someone else might come in the front to pull up to him. Didn't happen, but we did catch him before the finish. When it was time to sprint I had to go up the middle, which is something new for me, but worked out well. I was able to finish in 4th place.

Sunday in Sussex was very very HOT and humid. The course had one 90 degree corner and the rest were sweepers with one hill that wore into you after a while. I was drinking fluids like crazy to make sure that I was hydrated. The race was ok, but when it came time to sprint I didn't have it in me. I think I was heat exhausted, maybe if I would have had another bottle with plain water with ice cubes in it to dump over my head once in a while would have helped along with ice cubes in my OS drink. I will chalk this up as a learning expierience.

Still waiting for MRI results to take the next step with my wrist.

Team Extreme Clinic 5-14,15-10

The clinic was great! Tom and Robbie are amazing teachers. I did Fridays clinic along with the first part of Saturdays clinic. I did learn some new things and can't wait to use those new skills.

Anyways, I happen to fall on my bad wrist Saturday morning and ended ,y camp a bit short. On the way back to the hotel for lunch and a class room session, I couldn't hold my handlebar with my left hand. I ended up leaving after the class room and headed to Green Bay where my wife was staying. She ran a full marathon on Sunday and she finished in good spirits and very sore.

My wrist was not getting any better, so I decided to go to the Doctor. I have a broken bone in my wrist and am currently waiting for an MRI that is scheduled for tomorrow. The doctor is trying to decide if I will be consulting with a surgeon in West Bend or if I will have to go to Froedert. Wishing I could get this surgery done so I can be on my way to recovery.

I guess as of now my race season and goals for this year are over.

Matt Wittig Memorial 5/8/10

I have been here before! Much like last year the weather was kind of the same with cool temperatures and scattered rain. I had much help today with four other team mates. While warming up we talked some strategy. Jeff M. said that he would be willing to chase any breakaway and bring it back. I said, then I will hang out in the back and conserve energy. Rick said that he would be their for protection and help with a lead out if he had anything left and Brian P. said he would be the gate keeper.

We all know that plans don't always work, but when they do it is AWESOME!

So here is how it went down for me. I stayed in the back and watched some breaks and then saw Jeff chase them down and bring them back. I used Rick a bunch to block the wind. With one to go Jeff came past me on the inside and I then jumped on his wheel. I think at this point that there were a couple guys off the front. Jeff pulled me up towards the front and Travis snuck in there on the downhill. I followed those two until some others guys went sprinting which was way to soon. I chased hard and they were gassed early and I was on my own to sprint uphill to the finish. I rode hard and didn't give up. Someone was coming up on my left side and had to go a bit harder. I was getting tired and was spinning at a very low cadence and my legs were feeling like lumber logs. I shifted up two cogs to try to get some more spin and then had to do the bike throw for the win. I won by a half a wheel or so!

I would like to thank the team mates for all you hard work! THANK YOU GUYS!

Oh, and I went to check results a little later and they told me to stay in my kit and come back in about 10min. or so for pictures! They took pictures and then gave me the Matt Wittig cup! That thing is sweet!

Circuit of Sauk/La X

Circuit of Sauk I made it to the first hill with the pack and then was dropped about 3/4 way up and couldn't get back on. After riding basically the first lap by myself I decided to quit. Save the legs for La X.

La Crosse was better, felt better. This was a very fast race and I did lots of chasing to stay in a break if one would make it. Nothing stayed away. On the last lap I told Travis that I was behind him. On the backside he was kind of block and guys were coming around so I jumped on there wheels, but they faded fast and Travis was on a mission and blasted. I doubted Travis a little bit, especially since he finished the Circuit of Sauk. I should have stayed on Travis's wheel because he killed it. He finished 2nd and I finished 6th.

See what this weekend will bring.

Whitnall Park/ Fitchburg

Saturdays weather was wet, cool, but not to windy. The course is a great course, this hill/hills wore on me after awhile. My team mate Travis was able to put himself into a break.I didn't feel that strong and didn't have to go to the front to slow the pace down at. It was an 8 man break, so plenty of representation from other teams that helped slow things down. I did manage to muscle a 2nd place field sprint finishing 9th. Travis was able to hang in there and finish 7th.

Sunday was a bit dryer, but much windier and still cool temperatures. I managed to get into a break that wasn't working well together and two were able to ride away from us, but they were eventually brought back and we were all together for couple more laps. I think with 3 or 4 laps to go there were two that went off the front and they were able to make it. On the last lap Travis told me to get behind him and pulled his heart out trying to get me to the front. Thanks Travis, I was able to get 6th and he finished right behind me. Tough race, a lot of work! I have noticed that if you are not willing to chase, either is anyone else! Cat 3's don't work well with each other.

That's it for now, have a road race on Saturday that has some great hills and then a criterium on Sunday.

Menomonee Park/ GDVC #2, 2010

I am going to keep this short. Saturday at Menomonee Park, sunny skies, windy and mid to up 50's. Was there pretty much all day, but did have to leave immediately after my race. To the race, I felt good stayed protected and then with one lap to go I was ready. I waited to long to get into position and was behind a crash. I opted to go cycle crossing into a field to avoid going down. Not sure what place I was. Oh well, was happy to keep the rubber side down. Sorry to hear about everyone else misfortunes. Hope everyone (Scott, Ryan) have a fast recovery! Nice job everyone else that came out to race!

Sunday GDVC #2 I wanted revenge from the day before. Legs were feeling well! Talked to Grant and Travis and we had no set plans. I did do a bit more work than I wanted to, but wanted to stay towards the front to be able to react with others and keep my eye on anyone off the front. Last lap I was about 5th position with one person going off the front a bit. I was watching like a hawk but he wasn't getting away. We caught him on the uphill on the backside and I waited patiently for others to start charging. That happened very quickly and I went with it. In the last corner I took the inside with four guys still in front of me and went to work chasing and passing one by one. I managed to get passed everyone and win the race. Thanks for the Victory beer, sure did taste GREAT!

Looking forward to next weekend. Whitnall Park and Fitchburg

GDVC #1 4-11-10

First I would have to say, what a beautiful day! Temperatures around 70 and a bit breezy, but hell for April I will take it. I really wanted to watch the Masters 4/5 race, but was so occupied pied with my own stuff that I didn't get a chance to root them on. But, looking at the results, they men that did race did very well. I would also like to say congratulations to everyone that did race this past weekend and getting that first WCA race out of the way!

I parked in the same spot as last year and warmed up with Jeff M., Travis and Brian P. My plan was to sit in and wait for the sprint finish. Jeff M. did a fantastic job closing any threats. I was busting my a$$ just to stay on his wheel. I was always looking for protection from somebody, but team mates are always the best wheels.

I was almost involved in two crashes. The first one was about mid race and in corner one. Everyone was pushing to the inside and squeezing people into the curb. How nobody went down is way beyond me, maybe they all have better handling skills. The second one was on the last lap, I think and someone came up on the inside of me in the gutter. Rick was in front of me and that guy try to squeeze next to Rick, but he didn't have enough room and was rubbing his tires up against the curb and, but held it up right and nobody crashed.

I was so gassed on the last lap that I was going to throw in the towel on the last straight before the final straight. But, I told myself that the race wasn't over yet and stop being a pussy and get ready for the sprint. I took the inside line in the last corner and then went for it. I started probably about 15 or 20 and was able to finish in fifth. I don't know where the power comes from, but the sprint is something that I am well at. I could just imagine what it would have been like if I would have had a lead out train.

Great weather, great people, great team = GREAT FUN
Was a very hard race and was glad to make it through with the rubber side down.

Next up Menominee Park and GDVC #2

Burnham Race-South Beloit 3-27-10

The Burnham race in South Beloit was 55minutes, which is longest circuit race that I have ever done. I have done longer road races, but not circuit races. The weather was mostly cloudy and cool with temperatures in the mid 40's with probably 5-10 mile per hour winds.

I did a warm up lap and then they told me while I was in the staging area that I couldn't use my Catlike helmet and that it wasn't USAC certified. WTF? I don't get it, the pros are using them so why can't I? This didn't start me off on a good mood.

I had two team mates Brian and Travis, we had no plans for the race. This was Travis's first race of the year. He is looking very strong. There were a lot of breaks with a lot of chasing.

This race was held at Black Hawk Raceway, which is a race track and that was neat. I felt like the racers weren't riding very smooth. You had to constantly paying attention to who was around you. There was a lot of bunching up in the corners when the pace would slow down. The pace seemed to slow down more in the back section and then when we would get to the tailwind the pace would ramp up.

I did a no no! Travis was in a group with about 12 racers and I bridged my way up, but was pulling the whole field. I shouldn't have done that. I was catching that group at a good clip and then Travis went in the front to pull and he made me work really hard to bridge the gap. When I finally made it across I felt like pucking. It took me a while to recover from that. Sorry, Travis, I should have let it go and saw what would have happened.

Alright with 3 laps to go I was towards the back of the pack and needed to get my ass towards the front. I kept moving forward and on the last lap, I heard a guy talking to his team mate and he looked as if he was a strong sprinter. I stayed on his wheel, but he didn't have any help from his team mates, so just before the last corner he was done. Then there were other riders that came blasting around and I didn't chase at all. I simply gave up and sat up through the start line. By the way the finishing straight was over 500 meters, that is a long finishing straight. The season is long and it is still very early. The WCA cup series starts in two weeks and I will hopefully be able to do better. Travis finished in 6th, Brian 25th, and myself 27th.

Kenosha Crit. #2, March 21-10

Ah, number 2 race for me for the new season. I seem much better getting that first one out of the way last week. Organized that is, I went out the night before with one of my team mates and had a few brews. I was out later than normal, and had to sleep by myself. My wife went out with her sister and stayed the night by her.

Anyways lets get to the race. I was feeling a bit tired, not well rested and had put in a lot more miles and rides this past week. I had two team mates with me at this race Rick, and Brian. Rick's first race of the year on a new bike.

The plan was to sit in and hopefully have a finished field sprint. Rick mentioned while warming up that he may do something stupid, like go for a solo break but not really go for it. Just to keep the legs warm was his theory. Race started pretty mellow for a lap and then a solo man went on a break. He stayed in sight and never went anywhere. At this point Brian was pulling in the head wind and a low tempo and then I would pull in the tail wind. Just for fun I started to ramp it way up, looking as if I was going for a break away. I would just blast a little while get a gap and then sit up. I did that for two laps, on the second lap of doing that a Wheel & Sprocket rider (Jeff) looked at me and said do you want to go and I said no. He kept going and then shortly after one of my team mates (Rick) went after him and caught him, but then had 5 seconds on us or so. Brian and I stayed at the front controlling the pace. There were a couple of bridge attempts made by others but Brian and I would stick with it and wait for it to slow up and then get in front and tempo it again. We did let solo men go for it just not any groups.

Three laps to go I found myself in the front again and I didn't want to be their. Someone passed my with two laps to go and I stayed on his wheel for that lap. Then on the bell lap Brian came around and I went on his wheel and he ramped it up stringing out the field. He was flying, and I was loving it, but when he went through the last corner he pinched me off into the curb and I had to hesitate a bit which stopped any momentum and managed to get 10th. Brian finished 13th, and Rick finished 3rd. A job well done!

Next weekend will be at Blackhawk farms in South Beloit with some more team mates. See once what we can't do their. Later!

Kenosha Crit. #1-3-14-10

Well, the first race of the year has come and gone. I raced cat. 3 class and I had one other team mate with me. The weather was very windy, but the sun did come out in time for the race (at least my race).

It was a small field of about twenty racers. The race started out a bit fast, and jumped my heart rate up where it hasn't been in a long time. When I finally was comfortable with a steady high heart rate I felt pretty good. I wouldn't say that I felt really strong, but felt good.

There was a break early in the race, but that didn't last long. Brian and I were in the front of the group. Brian was leading (don't remember what lap) in the head wind and when we reached the cross wind before the tail wind I went in front of him and we ramped it up and was able to get off of the front. I think it started with just us two, but somebody might have been hiding out behind us. I think there was also another guy that bridged up to us and at one point we had four in the break. I would like to give big props to Brian for pulling into the head wind lap after lap. One of the guys in the break pulled with a tail wind and pulled so hard that it just killed me and Brian. We probably stayed away for about ten minutes and were eventually caught.

After we were caught Brian and I were still leading the group. This felt just like a M4/5 race with Extreme getting some press! What the heck! There was a one man break that Brian and I were not chasing down. I was hoping some other men would come to the front and do some work. With three laps to go there was a nasty crash, and I hope that everyone is okay. After the crash I ramped it up just a little bit and started getting a cramp in my left hamstring. I new my race was not going to finish very strong, but with two laps to go I found myself in front AGAIN, but I wasn't doing any work. I slowed the pace down to about thirteen to fifteen miles per hour hoping that someone else would come to the front, but no such luck. On the last lap like always it ramped way up and I could feel my hamstring on the edge of locking up, so I couldn't give it my all.

The one man break was able to stay away and win the race and on the last lap I stayed tucked in behind Brian's calves. I am glad I use these races for training and is a good kick start for the season. Brian placed 8th and I was 9th, I need to figure out why I am cramping! Good job to all the other team mates that raced in the juniors and 4/5 races. They did a great job. Team Extreme is going to be a force to reckon with again this year, hopefully in three classes (cat.4/5, M4/5, cat.3, M3/4).

Early outside group ride

Saturday March 6th there was a group ride in Cedarburg that I attended. I normally like to ride to Cedarburg and then ride with the group and then back home. But, this time I new being early season and a beautiful day I knew that the pace was going to be fast. I did see the planned route and there were a lot of decent hills that we had to climb. So, I drove and met the group of about 17, which I thought that there would have been more. As we headed out the pace was very mild and when we were climbing the hills there were people blasting up them. No king of the mountain points for me. I really need to work on my climbing. I was never the first one up any of the hills, come to think of it I don't think I was even in the top five. As we headed back and the route getting more flat the lead outs and the sprints were picking up. I worked on doing some lead outs, which seem to work, I managed to stretch the group out. Towards the end of the ride I was starting the get the muscle twitch that you get before a muscle cramp. I took a gel and that seem to help. I wanted to contest for the last sprint, which I was able to get a huge lead out starting with one of my team mates and then to tri guys that were flying. I snuck around the last try guy right by the sign. I have been feeling so so with my training, but I do feel that my form is coming back.

Sunday I met with one of my team mates in Cedarburg who was putting together a group ride, but nobody showed up. Very surprising considering the weather was perfect. Anyways I was on a time crunch so we rode light tempo and talked on the way towards Holly Hill and then when it was time to come back we kicked the tempo up a bit. We worked on our two man pace line and I felt pretty strong. We made great time back and I was able to make it home early.

This week we are not having such nice weather, a bit gloomy and wet. Saturday we are planning on doing a crit. practice and hopefully the weather will cooperate. Sunday is my first race down in Kenosha if the weather is okay. I will be blogging about my races for sure.

Northern Kettle Ride

Well before I get to writing about by Northern Kettles ride which I did on Sunday, Saturday I went to the shop and rode indoors because outside the roads were covered with a light heavy snow and the roads where very slippy, at least for a road bike.

Sunday while my wife was at the gym running 16 miles, I went for a ride. The wind was coming out of the NNE so I headed from my house to the norther Kettles. I played my ipod and went alone. I forgot that listening to music and riding by yourself can actually be enjoyable.

When I left the roads were dry for the most part and as I kept going north they were getting more damp along with some light flurries. The roads were very safe not icy at all. I rode up to Mauthe Lake and then went around Long Lake. The site seeing was good and saw a bunch of people ice fishing on Long Lake. The roads by Long Lake were completly wet and I was getting wet on the outside by staying dry on the inside except for the swet that I have produced.

When I started heading south with the wind to my back was awsome. I was able to kick my speeds up quite a bit and climb the hills better. My route for the most part was an out and back route, but went around Long Lake and took a little different way into West Bend to avoid some hills due to I was running out of time and had to get home by a certain time. All in all I felt I had a great ride still keeping my intensity down a little. Well thats all for now and we are only two weeks away till the first race (wheather permitting).

Belgium Ride in Wisconsin

I had a great weekend of riding this past weekend considering the weather. Saturday I rode 85 miles and my route went like this. I started from my house in West Bend with one of my team mates and then we headed towards Cedarburg to get together with some more teammates. It was flurries to light snow which made the roads very wet. Besides the roads being wet they were actually perfect. No ice on the roads, but very dirty with lots of salt.

We met two other teammates in Cedarburg and we were going to meet up with another group that was going out at a later time, but they cancelled their ride. So, we rode down to Altera by Bradford Beach in Milwaukee.

This was a very wet ride with temperatures in the mid to upper 30's. Stopping at Altera was a great idea, coffee and snack break along with a little warming up inside. The place was surprisingly busy, but I don't think that place is every slow. This is a very nice bicycle friendly community, but we still managed to get a lot of looks as if we were completely nuts!

After our little break we headed back. My feet were completely soaked and my toes were swimming and they became miserably cold. I kept wiggling them to try to keep blood flow in them to get them to warm up, but to much water in my shoes. I couldn't wait to get home to warm my feet up.

When we made it to Cedarburg we dropped on guy off and the other one proceeded with us back to West Bend and then he had to turn around and ride back to Cedarburg (what an animal). All in all was a great ride with great people with crappy weather, but what are you going to do? Sick of riding inside on the rollers. Can't winter be over?

On Sunday some of my teammates planned a ride, and I was going to pass on this one and clean my bike from the previous outing. At the last minuted I decided what the heck. My wife was running and had plans, so I had her gracious to go ride, so I went riding again.

I rode to Cedarburg to meet up with some teammates and then we rode to West Bend to ride with one of our sponsors. I managed to get in 55 miles with some of the best hills in Washington County.

The weather today was a bit better than Saturday's, but still a bit cold but bare able. No snow, but misty with the low clouds we had. Warm enough not to have ice on the roads, but cold enough that the moisture from the mist on my helmet turned into ice. My toes were perfect because they stayed dry. Still great to get outside and ride.

Extreme and P3

Well on Saturday morning I went to Extreme to ride with some of my teammates. I rode for two hours at a light to medium intensity. Brian and I were talking to a new teammate and giving him some pointers and answering any questions that he had. Nothing really too exciting that comes to mind.

After riding at Extreme, Brian and I went to P3 (Peak Performance Pros). This was on the computrainers and the session was for one hour and thirty minutes. We started one program and the coach didn't like it so he switched it. This was actually beneficial for me. This gave me a nice warm up until we started the new program/course. I was able to hang on Brian's wheel, but still busting my butt to keep up sometimes. The intensity for me was race pace, which I haven't done in a long time. I did feel good especially for already have ridden for two hours.

I will be putting in some more hard efforts now and again to start ram ping up for the race season that will be here before I know it!

Superbowl Sunday I wasn't able to ride. I needed to get some stuff done with my wife. We are in middle of remodeling our kitchen. Not a complete remodel, but painting the cabinets, window trim, floor trim, and walls. This is taking a little longer than anticipated but in the end will be worth it.

No sign of spring quite yet. We are expected to get ten to fourteen inches of snow. This would be great if I skied (cross country or skate skiing). That's all for now!

New WCA Rule

New rule posted by WCA and I am getting a lot of e-mails if I have seen the new rule. Yes I have and with the racing year I had last year I am not disgurished at all. Last year I won the overall WCA M4/5 class. My racing age was 30 and was allowed to race the masters class. Last year was my first year of racing!

This year I have had a lot of Masters teammates ask me which races I was going to focus on. Well, with this new rule there is no option but to try to do well in the Category 3 class. I am hoping that some of the Masters guys will come and give me some help, but if not I do understand.

Unfortunatly this takes away some of the doubling up that I could have done. Now, if I want to double up I have to also race with the 1,2's when they allow the 3's to race with them. Which I don't quit now if I am up to that challenge.

I do have another teammate that isn't old enough to be a masters also, so at least I will have him to race with for sure. I will take this as a positive outcome and it should only make me faster.

This rule also makes sense to me because, when you race the T.O.A.D. (tour of americas dairyland) their master class is 35+. This was another reason that this year I was going to race the Cat. 3 class, to help me get ready for T.O.A.D.

Getting Some Motivation

Well I am about one and half months away from the first race of the season. Motivation is starting to pick up and the days are getting longer. Yesterday I went to train with some of my teammates at the training center that we are allowed to use for free. We had a really good turn out, their must have been fifteen to twenty riders. This made for a good stinky sweat shop, but you don't notice it unless you leave the room and come back. I rode for two hours and had a lot of fun doing it. My workout was not structured except for one part when my teammate Grant was doing some short high wattage intervals. When he would go I would go, I thought of it as if we were in a race and he was getting ready to pull me for the last time for the sprint! This was really fun and enjoyed it a lot. I haven't put any effort in like that in a long time. I did feel really good though!

After I rode with the team I went and rode some more with the Washington County Bike Club. Which they have been holding one indoor ride at the end of each month. This was the first one that I was actually able to commit to. We watched an old bicycle race movie, but I don't know which one it was. I put in an hour and half and was definitely was feeling tight. But, all in all at least I am getting some more time in the saddle.

Today I am going to ride outside! It is going to be about 17 degrees when we start and maybe make its way up 25 degrees. I am meeting up with three other teammates, Brian Petted, Ryan Pokorny, Greg Geiger. Ryan and I rode towards Brian and Greg and than headed west. We had a strong cold wind that was coming out of the west @ twenty miles an hour, which made it very hard for me to get comfortably warm. We rode out to the gas station in Slinger for a bathroom break and then headed our way back. Coming back was much more pleasant I could have rode with the wind all day. We practiced a little easy effort pace line, Ryan and Greg were new to this. We took around about way back and went through Ridge Run Park which is always really cool. There was a couple of times that I put in bursts of power, but nothing to long. After Ridge Run we rode into West Bend where Brian and Greg split off and headed towards Cedarburg and Ryan and I went home. I put in two and half hours in the saddle, very easy effort nothing really exerting. All in all a lot of fun!

Winter Training Motivation

I can't seem to get motivated for training. It is cold and gloomy and keeps my mood down for riding my bicycle inside. I don't get what is going on with me. I decided fall of 08' that I was going to race in 09'. I trained my butt off all winter wanting to do really well in 09'. I don't have a coach, I don't have a workout program, but I do have a team. I weight train 3 times a week that is somewhat consistant, but I do that with a team mate. I can manage to ride indoors for an hour easy, but trying to squeeze out two hours by myself is really tough. When I get together at Extreme's Saturday morning indoor training, I am able to ride for two hours easy.

In a way I don't want a coach, because I don't want my training to be that structured. But at the same time if I had a coach than maybe I would be more motivated. I would be doing different things that a coach plans, keeping the workouts structured and will hopefully not overtrain.

I am 7 weeks away from the my first race of the season which is just a training race. I guess I will keep doing what I am doing and maybe when the time gets closer I will get more motivated to train. If not, I will see how this season ends up and maybe hire a coach to help me out. Its not like I am not doing anything, but I know I was training a lot harder last winter.

I have training videos, and ipod, but still isn't enough to keep me motivated. I don't think that I am the only one out there with this problem. Hopefully I can get some nice weather and be able to get outside and ride. I can always manage to find someone to ride outside with me and put in some great base mileage. If anyone has some advice, I am open minded.

2010 Memorial Race Weekend?

I am in a little bit of a decision dilehma. There are three races in Iowa that I would love to do, but there is also a new three race series that is going to be held in Elkhart Lake. I hear a lot of great things about racing in Iowa and would like to check out all the hype. But, at the same time Elkhart is a lot closer to home. Do not know exactly what I want to do, and I know what my wife would like me to do. I am going to check with some of my team mates and see what their thoughts are and where they would like to race for that weekend. I think I will talk to some other people that have raced the Iowa races and see what kind of feed back I get from them. If I stay locally I will be able to drive back and forth and sleep in my own bed and will also cost me less money. If I decide to go to Iowa than I will need to get hotel rooms and eating out more and a longer travel which will cost more money. I like racing with team mates a lot more than doing the races by myself, so I guess I will have to wait and see what they want to do. Will update when the time gets closer and I know what I am doing. Later

Wisconsin Dells-Snowflake Festival

Two of my friends and my wife went to Wisconsin Dells this past weekend, to check out some snow sculptures. It was completely different weather this year than in the previous years. This year was much warmer, Saturdays weather with mist and Sunday with rain. We have been there when it has been -35 degrees and -10 degrees. This was kind of a nice change, not having to dress like an Eskimo to walk outside and check out the sculptures.

We arrived Friday night and stayed in the hotel for the evening. Saturday we slept in and when my wife and I decided to get out of bed we had some coffee and then went to the hotel gym. I normally do a long training ride on Saturday, but I did not bring my bike and trainer with us. So, I had to use what they had provided. I started by using a stationary bike that was the recumbent style. I could only ride that for so long before some of the muscles that don't get used from riding a regular bike started to tighten up on me. I decided to do some weight training and then I moved to the elliptical. My workout was very unstructured, but at least I did something.

After the workout we went to the room and cleaned up and went to breakfast. After breakfast we went and checked out some really cool snow sculptures and then went shopping at Tanger Mall. After the mall we went to a movie then to the casino where I won six dollars. I don't like to gamble so as soon as I get ahead a little I cash out. I walked away with six dollars more than I started with. Then we went out to diner and then back to the hotel.

Sunday we didn't stay long, we went to breakfast and then drove home. We had a great weekend and now it will be back to work tomorrow. I guess that is enough bumbling about my weekend for now. Later

New for me.

Hi to all that would happen to come upon this and thought that you would read what I have to write. I am new to this and thought that this would be an interesting thing to do. Last night I weight lifted with a fellow team mate of mine, his name is Patrick. We did a full body light weight short workout, which required not over exherting the body. This is our active recovery week, to get ready for a harder training week.

I currently have been weight training about 3 times a week and riding my bicycle about 3 times a week. Unfortunately my workout for the most part are not very structured and hopefully I will be able to have a good race season this year, only time will tell.

I am not going to be riding my bike at all this weekend either because I will be go to the Wisconsin Dells with my wife and some friends. I will be doing some running though to get some sort of cardio workout in. Well, I guess that is it for now! Later