Good Shit

I love this...check it out.

The Best Part...

No gut rot.
Yes I was happy to win. Yes I was happy with my fitness and my ability to recover. But not having gut rot for a few days after rules.

Lots of energy gels.
8 or so bottles of energy drink.
PowerBar PowerBites.
Regular Coke.
Sandwiches.
All kinds of processed sugar and still...
No Gut Rot.

This no drinking thing also rules!
Thanks for all the support and accolades.

Out.

8 Hours of Afton

All done. 8 hours is a long time to be on the bike. I went into the day with an initial goal of 8 laps. About half way into the first lap the field started to get pretty separated. I was sitting fourth. At the end of the lap I think I was in first. I felt I was making some ground on the other riders and feeling pretty good. I would get "gassed" on the hills but recovery quickly. I took a technical corner too fast and went down. In the process I "burped" my front tire and got a good size rock stuck between the tire and rim. I inflated the tire up, but it was still leaking. I was now back in fourth. At the start/finish I had to inflate it again, and asked Jen to get my other bike ready for the next lap. About two more laps and I was back in first. Jen was awesome getting me food and bottles. Well 8 laps turned into 9, then 10. At 10 I waited at the clock to see if any other riders would come in for another lap. Thank god no one did and I won with 1o laps!
I'm not too sure what the mileage was but if similar to past years I believe it was about 7-8 miles per lap. It was a hilly course, 1500 feet of climbing per lap...that's 15,000 feet of total climbing. Yeah, I'm quick with the math.
Thanks for Jeff and Matt for the good times.
Thanks to Dan for the help with my bikes.
Thanks to Jen for being there after every lap. There is no way I could do this without support. I don't think I will be doing a 12 hour solo race anytime soon.

Info here.
Later.

Not According To Plan

8 Hours of Afton starts tomorrow morning at 9 am...and I have still not packed. Things have not gone according to plan over the last 12 hours or so.
Last night we had a going away party for Josh. I thought we would get home around 9:30 or 10...nope 11. So no packing last night, just grumpy Ben stomping off to bed.
This morning I hoped to do the famous Cty Rd 8 loop to spin the legs. Currently it is sprinkling and thunder seems to be getting closer and closer. Ahh, the spin bikes at the gym, sweet.
On the bright side I got to see one of our new college neighbors puking in some bushes...very loudly too. As soon as he was done he lit up a cigarette and shuffled stocking footed back across the street. His Friday sucks way worse than mine!
So off to pack, make sandwiches, poop in 3D, spin the legs, work 4 hours, race home, pack some more, get picked up, set up camp, sleep, ride.
Sweet.

Later.

Events

There are a lot of upcoming "events" that I hope to take part in. Here is a list so you can join me.

August 29: 24 Hours of Afton...I will be doing the 8 hour solo category.

Sept. 19: Chequemegon

Sept. 26: Revolution Single Track Escape...I won't be racing but helping to run the race.

Sept. 27: Pork Chop Challenge cyclocross race. I will be working but hope to do the C race...my first cross race, ever.

October: Supposedly there is a 12 hour night race that Mike and I may do, but don't know the specifics yet.

October: Rumor has it the Boo Blast will be back at Monticello. My fingers are crossed.

November 7: Cyclocross Single Speed Championships.

Who knows if I do all of these or not, but that is the plan. I may do more cross too if the knee or knees hold up.

Later.

I Want...

I have lusted over a Surly Pugsley since they have come out. I keep coming back to the cost and how much will I "really" use it. Well I am determined this year to get one. I need to dump some stuff to make room and money so make me an offer on something! Riding the Mississippi in the winter sounds like a blast. Maybe I could ride to my in laws in Coon Rapids or my sister's in Bemidji. The possibilities are endless.

Out.

Trail Work

Last night a pretty decent group showed up for trail work. Our mission was to clear a new section of trail so it can be all "smoothed" out by our race on Sept. 26. Two chainsaws, 3 industrial weed whips, one brush mower, several clippers, two rakes, and about 22 hands couldn't finish the trail before dark and two million mosquitoes moved in. The Buckthorn was crazy thick in the beginning with lots of dead fall to remove. Forward progress was slow but we did get a lot done. I never realize how far we have gone till we stop and walk back on the newly completed trail...can't wait to ride it! One more night of work will be needed to finish it but is should be fast, since we are out of the Buckthorn forest.

I cleaned out the truck this morning for delivery to Brandl Motors. Jen will drive home in our new mini van. We used the truck for trail work for the last time. It's kind of nice having an old truck you don't care about. We have had that truck for 11+ years. Sad to see it go, but the ease of a mini van will be nice. But the best part will be having two vehicles that can transport kids. It gets kind of tough pulling the Burley through snow and 0 degree temps!

Later.

Sweet

This looks like it could be a real good time... I think I need to start practicing my dismounts and remounts. More or less to see if the 'ol knees will let me do it.

Go.

or check out this!

A Little Love

The one bike that has remained in my stable over the years and used, and used, and used is the Surly Pacer. It's the bike that I have the most miles on, most likely since I have kept it the longest and used the most. It has gone from a down tube shifting bike with moustache bars to a "normal", current road bike that has been relegated to the "shitty" weather or winter bike. I have not done much to it over the years but kept piling on the miles and it kept giving me ride after ride. I have been slowly building up a new arsenal of parts for the long overdue upgrade. Today I made the switch and gave it some love... I have to say I dig the outcome. Some may scoff at all the blue, but hell it beats the pink tape I've had for the past several years. Can't wait to get some more miles and rides on it.

Tomorrow morning some of us are heading up for a mtb ride before work. I did some final tuning before 8 hours of Afton next week.

SCSU students moved in today. On my way home from work I passed numerous parties and wandering students...ahh the good 'ol days.

Later.

Only A Week

Man, what a difference a week makes. Last week I almost hit 500 miles on the bike. This week I have one ride to my name and just the short rides to and from work. I guess we need the rain and I need the rest. I hope to get a good ride in both Saturday and Sunday. I'd like to ride MTB on Sunday to make sure everything is ready for 8 hours of Afton. Countdown is on, like donkey kong, with a Walkman on! Dork.

Out.

Shucks.

Procrastinating this morning...ride, gym, nothing...what to do, I found a cool new event: Heck of the North gravel event up in Duluth. Unfortunately it falls on our race weekend here in St. Cloud, so maybe next year, sounds like fun.

I opted to ride with Mike and Angela yesterday and forgo the Tuesday night ride. My legs or a bit tired and mentally I was not wanting to "drill" it for 3 hours.

Nature calls...later.

Stuff

Ugh...I think Facebook and Twitter have killed blogging. It is a lot easier to write and read a sentence or two. I still prefer blogging but maybe it's more of a winter thing. Well here's my update for all my "many" readers.

In preparation for my upcoming race, 8 hours of Afton, I have put a ton of miles on over the past week. From Saturday to Saturday I have about 500 road miles on. My legs feel pretty good, but did need sometime off the bike. On Saturday I biked 104 miles to my parent's cabin and could definitely could feel my legs. The biggest issues is my right ankle. It has gotten pretty tender with all the riding. My mtb shoes don't affect it so I should be good to go.
I hope to get some more mtb miles on this week. I feel pretty good about Afton but 8 hours is a long time on those hills so we will just have to see.

Summer is nearing it's end fast. We start closing out bikes at work to make room for the skis. We already have some new ski stuff in with a bunch more to show up this week! I'm not ready for that yet. But that also means cyclocross season is just around the corner! I don't race but I do love to watch. September 26-27 in St. Cloud is always a great weekend. First a mtb race then a cyclocross race. Good stuff.

Later...I hope!

Summer

I suck at updating.

I have shit to say just not much motivation to put it into words.

Soon.

Later.