Gut Rot at Camden

Let's catch up. Last saturday I headed down to Marshall, MN to ride/race the Camden Classic. Low key event that was lots of fun and for our group a lucrative one too. Before the race we or rather EVEL thought it would be "funny" to eat McDonalds before the race. It wasn't too funny after the first hill, a Quarter Pounder w/cheese doesn't taste too good the second time around. Then the gut rot set in, sorry to whom ever was behind me! I held it in check for the 2.5 hour ride home, my wife wasn't so lucky. Oh yeah, we ate at a local Mexican food joint before getting back into the car...talk about system overload. DJ Evel led us around the world of Heavy Metal...5 hours of loud music, fantastic. PinkFlash made it out to watch and had cold PBR's in hand after the race...a big thanks and good luck finding a house!

Sunday back in St. Cloud four of us hit up the local mtn. bike trails. We road 3 hours and all only 5 miles from my house! It's getting better and after trail work tonight it will only be that much more fun. During the ride we suffered one bee sting to the eye area, rendering in useless, a ripped jersey, ripped sock, sliced bicep, and two cases of poison ivy...gotta love MN mtn biking in the summer.
Yesterday, Kyia and I headed out to Warner Lake to do some 2 minute intervals on the mtn bikes. My fuel is still out of commission so it was the Monkey with one gear again. I had the most fun I've had while doing intervals.
That all I've got so,
Out.

Time to Saddle up on the Monkey

Saturday morning Kyia, Evel, Mike, and I are jumping in the big rig and rolling down to Marshall, MN to do the Camden Classic. I lived in Marshall for the first 15 years of my life. Bought my first mountain bike there, a sweet cherry red Cannondale. It had thumb shifters! My friends made fun of me for spending so much money on a bike when Shopko had them for under a $100. It took me two summers of picking rock, walking beans, and other farm labor to buy the bike. At the time Mtn Bikes were new so they were not cheap. My friends stopped laughing when we hit up some local trails and they were eating my proverbial "dust".
So I am going back to my roots...to where it all began. That Cannondale started my love affair with biking and I haven't looked back yet. I am bringing my Surly Karate Monkey, single style of course. I haven't been on a single speed for awhile, or a mountain bike of any sort (is that one word or two, Jen isn't here?). So...I am freakin out with what gear to use, what tires, should I run flat bars or risers, barends? I know, I know "run what ya brung". Stupid raod biking and heart rate monitors have turned me into one big bubbly weenie. Screw it...some lube and air is all the Monkey is getting. Me on the other hand, I need to figure out what I am going to wear! Does this make my butt look big? Uhm, Yes everything makes your butt look big. Good.
Out.

Now That's a Burger!

So maybe this is why I am unable to bike fast anymore! I don't care it tasted freakin great. Two all-beef patties encasing lots of blue cheese...not to forget the chipotle and peppercorn seasoning, yummy. I had my last check up at the Doc's today regarding my broken foot. All is good but they made me step on the scale...not so good. What can I say?

On a different note, we just finished a few more hours of trail work, and like last week I was a sweaty mess yet again. We made tremendous progress and am super excited to try the new trail. As I type this I am eating chips with a bean dip and washing it down with a Summit Extra Pale Ale, again: what can I say?

Out.

Floyd...My Hero, please send money.

100 Gallons of Sweat

Yesterday in St. Cloud it was thick, hot 'n humid. In the morning I headed out to the North Loop trails to clear some trees that had fallen during recent storms. Shower #1. After lunch I headed out for a couple hour ride, shower #2. In the afternoon I headed back out to the trails for some more trail work. This time we were clearing new trail for the upcoming mtn bike race in September. I was running the chainsaw pretty much non-stop for two hours. We made pretty good headway, more to be accomplished next week. Upon leaving the trail Kyia rolls up on a cruiser sportin some PBR in the baskets. That was the best beer I have ever had. I had a totally drenched t-shirt, Carhartts were drenched to the knees (no need to mention how wet my underwear was), and I had pools of sweat in my boots, shower #3.
Out.

It's Over!

The heat has finally left, at least for the time being. I do not do so well in warm temps. Ask my wife, she'll tell you! I tried riding 3 hours on Sunday but made it just under 2 hours. Bagged riding Monday and worked on bikes instead. Cleaned the road bike up, "gassed" the gears & rings (thanks Matt), new chain, and cleaned & trued the wheels. It was long overdue. Next up, the mtn bike. This is even more overdue. All the same stuff as the road bike but also need to replace a piston on the rear disc brake and bleed the brake. I love the feel of disc brakes, I just hate working on them. I need to get it done today so I can head up to Duluth with Schroden on Wednesday. We plan to mtn bike all day. So no more typing and down to the basement for some frustration. Where's Luby when you need him?
Out.