Battle in the North Woods

This could possibly the most anticipated race in the midwest of the summer. Being the second of the Triple Crown races the big guns have had a taste of what everyone else has been doing this summer. I have had mixed results here, the first year I didn't really know what was going on and just went hard bringing me in 44th. The next year I felt awesome, had a perfectly timed peak and only let 16 riders finish ahead of me. Last year I had a rough start and my legs didn't show up untill just after county 00. From there I felt great but could only manage to pull my self back up to 31st. This year I have been riding alot better. I don't feel unhumanly strong but have had my moments...hopefully one of them will show up tomorrow morning oh say about 10:15am (after the leadout).

Cathy is giving the 40 her first shot. She is nerviously excited, not ever riding off road this far yet this year. It is a fast race though and the miles tick off pretty quick. She is in prime condition right now so I think she will surprise herself my prediction puts her in around 350-400 spot - seems like a ways down but remember there are over 2000 people lining up for this one!!

The forcast is calling for rain and thunder. Personally I am excited for that, I had one of my best runs at 24-9 in the rain and it keeps my typically over heated body a little cooler.

WORS #10 Sunburst Showdown

Last year this became the muddiest race I have ever race or even seen for that matter! The skies opened up just before the Expert race, we were all scrambling for mud tires and it became a race of willing yourself to finish.
This year threatened to be the same. Rain was forecasted all week and when we woke up Sunday morning it was doing just that...raining. I quickly got on the phone for weather forecasts and conditions reports from a few of our teammates that were camping. Everyone was saying that it was going to be cloudy but no rain, so we loaded up with no additional gear and took our chances.
When we pulled in the temp was hovering around 52 degrees, I was wishing I brought more than just a sweatshirt to warm up with. We headed out to try and get our blood defrosted and start flowing. I got a good call up sitting 13th followed by Cathy getting a 9th position call up. Once on the course I knew this was going to be a fast race. We shot up the first climb like it wasn't even there. Next thing I know bamm we are at the bottom of the hill for the 3rd time. Wow this race was going fast! I really liked the layout of the course this year. It opened up nicely to get around traffic but still had enough single track to keep it fun. I was starting to pass quite a few women and still no Cathy. At last about half way through my 5th lap I passed her in the open field. She wasn't having the best race but was still throwing down with everything she could muster. Last time up the hill attacks were starting to get more significant. I was trying to hang with my group but traffic was really stringing us out. I took a glance over my shoulder coming up on the final time accross the hill only to see Jerry Long charging hard. I pushed the pace hoping my gap would hold him off. I checked one more time just before we headed down and around the ski lift and he was on my wheel. I sprinted and took the inside line a little too tight and hit the fence post with the edge of my bars. That sent me flying, I landed it ok but hurd a super loud BANG!! Here I had blown my rear tire completely off the rim! I jumped off and ran in with Jerry just sneaking by - yeah that might have been dirty but I would have done the same thing - that's racing!
This week it is raining again, we are supposed to get rain all week and then friday it is supposed to get nice down here but start raining in Hayward! I have never done the 40 during a slop fest but I can only imagine it isn't pretty.

New York Weekend

This past weekend our adventures took us out to New York City. My bro and his wife needed a car to drive all their stuff out so we decided to fly out to see them and then drive the car home.
The weekend started with me frantically finishing a project at work before it had to go for a show that afternoon. We cruised over to the airport just in time to catch our plane. Flying is so much faster but as of recent so indirect. We had a 3 hour layover in Atlanta GA. before finally getting to NY.

Saturday we slept in a little and then headed out to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Hurricane Ernesto was making for some really windy and rainy weather. Despite being totally soaked it was really cool reading about all the people that came to America and some of the stories. After spending a few hours there we headed back into the city. We hit up Time Square and the Rockefellor Plaza. It was really cool seeing all the lights and just how busy everything was. It was cool to visit but I think it would be overwhelming to live that way! We wanted to eat sushi for supper and literally just happened on a sushi bar buffet!! It was like heaven literally 50 ft. of sushi! After 30 pieces I figured I had my money's worth and we rolled out and called it a night.

Did I mention it was really windy!?!

How can a food that looks this good hurt sooooo bad!!

Sunday we got going a little earlier and headed out to a Yankees vs. Twins game. We quickly learned not to cheer for the visiting team when Torii Hunter knocked one out of the park! I have never been booded and threatened so much at a game! The rest of the game didn't go so well and we snuck out in the 8th inning. From there we headed down to Central Park and really seen New Yorks "better" side! Because it was labor day weekend they had all kinds of things going on, it was pretty cool seeing all the DIFFERENT people out and about. From there we ended up back down town, checked out a few shops and then caught a cab over to supper.
Monday morning we packed up and started the journey home. The drive wasn't so bad but after 10 hours we were to the point of comparing how much our ankles were swollen - I definitely won that one! My ankle looked worse then when I broke it. The trip was a lot of fun and it was really nice to get away from the everyday life for a weekend. The next few weeks are going to be busy with traveling and finishing up the race season. I can't believe how fast this summer went. The days are already getting significanlty shorter and the mornings have that cool smell to them.

Pictures from this weekend.

Cathy really starting to pick up speed on the downhill sections!

Even though the race was really spread out it seemed like there was always a battle going on.

This section was alot smoother during the XC race than it was Saturday morning for the Super D.

The sticky conditions made pedaling hard but made the single track just killer fast.

Just before this as I was crossing the big mud hole my rear wheel washed out. Thomas Bender caught me just as I was getting back on the bike and it was a sprint finish.

On the Podium!!

Cathy has really made short work of moving up through the Expert field this year. On only her 5th race as an elite she had broken into the top 10 and this past weekend was standing on the podium with a 6th overall and 3rd in her age!! The race really played into her favor, lots of climbing and not overly technical single track. She started out sitting mid pack for the first climb and first decent. Then as early as the second climb on the first lap she started making her moves. On the second lap she hooked up with a comp rider and paced off him for the rest of the race. I seen her a few times and was getting reports from the sidelines that she was having a really good race. Finally about 1 mile from the finish I passed her and she was riding strong. Then just as she was finishing two Elite riders came into a corner way to hot and tangled handle bars. They went down HARD and Cathy had to do everything she could to keep from getting tangled up in it. She was really happy with her finish and really felt like she was racing instead of just surviving.

My weekend was a little longer. I did the full stage race which started out at 11 on Saturday. The days before the race were really wet and Saturday morning was about 120% humidity. We literally couldn't see more than 100 ft in front of us as we rode up to the start line. Everyone was second guessing their tire choice, some were running semi-slicks, some had skinny mud tires, and I was running a wide dry tire. Turned out handling would trump tire choice. The trails were just grease so if you were ok with riding forward/sideways/backwards, you would do ok. I caught my minute man about 3/4 way through and really felt like I had a good run. When it all shook out I came out 17 seconds off the win! It was a tough 20 minute flat out sprint so my legs were pretty tired. We ran into town to get some lunch and just chill out before the Short track that afternoon. I ran my 9.8 with the rigid fork set up with a 42 tooth gear up front. We took off and I moved to the front. I was pushing but felt good and on the second lap had opened up a gap on the field. Then I dropped my chain, I got it on as the main field was going by. Then again it dropped. Now I was chasing. Just as I caught back on it dropped again and then one last time just for a nice even 4 times!! I pulled in a couple stragglers but was way off the pace I was hoping for. The final race in the Stage was the XC main event. The course had really dried out by Sunday and went from greasy slop to sticky peanut butter. Carlos and I had a good race going until he crashed really hard on the second to last lap. I was definitely feeling the first two events as I climbed the hill for the last time. As we came in for the finish my rear tire washed out in huge mud hole sending me over the bars. I quickly jumped up and seen another Expert rider coming hard. I jumped on the bike and we bumped elbows just hardly holding him off through the finish.
Sorry for the sparatic report Mondays are tough enough and I don't think this one is going to go any better!
On a course that most people love to hate both Cathy and I walked away really enjoying the weekend. I managed to pull off 4 in the Stage race and broke even on the weekend and Cathy walked away with her first Expert medal.

Maxxis Tire Review

I called up Maxxis for some extra stickers and they sent me a truck load!! Anyone that wants some let me know!

This is my second year rolling on Maxxis tires. This year they did away with the Larson MiMo. The new tire that was replacing the void is the CrossMark. This tire has a little of everything. An almost solid ramped center tread that rolls like a road tire on hard pack. When the trail gets rough or loose then the square spaced tread like on the Larson TT takes over. If you get your self in a bind and need to get around a tree in a hurry then the late MiMo round tread pulls you to safety. Because of it's high air volume I am able to run it tubesless (with Stan's) at about 28 psi. I don't have a computer on the bike so I don't know the exact mileage but the tires haver really lasted well. I was going to rotate the tires front and rear but the front got a hole worn in it from my trunk rack...kinda weird. I threw a new tire on the rear and put the rear on the front. This year has been pretty dry so these have been a perfect choice. I have rode them in wet conditions a couple times and even though they can hold there own they are by no means a Medusa!!

Next weekend is the WORS Devils Head Stage Race. The weekend starts off with the Super D which is a XC version of downhill. The trails around Devils Head are all generally hardpack littered with rocks. I plan on running a wide 2.35" Larson TT tire. The TT is a very fast rolling tire and the extra volume will offer insurance at speed over all the rocks. I have never done a Super D before so I hope this is the right choice...I guess there is only one way to find out!

A little break from the races

Well this is a change, no racing last weekend and nothing planned for this weekend! The past two weeks have been easy at the beginning of the week the hard weekend rides. I feels good to have a few days of easy riding/rest days. Cathy is working early hours the past two weeks so I have been commuting into work from her office. It is a really nice 30 minute ride to wake up the system. The morning weather has been absolutely PERFECT!!
So this past weekend we headed up to Minnesota for my cousin's wedding. It was good getting to see everyone again. Anyone who knows me knows I am not a shrimp, but when I get around the Swanson family I am by far the shortest one...even out of all the girls!!!
This weekend my parents are bringing my bro and his wife down. My mom got a new bike, and Jenny got a new bike so we are going to hit the Madison trails and try them out.