Wind: Good for Some...

As the afternoon came, so did some warmer temps. So I decided to get out and put in a few more miles. As usual I headed North on Lake Dr. and turned around at the lions to head back south. The weather reports I read before I left said 3 MPH Winds... Yeah Right. Nothing like a pure headwind to greet the return journey. I knew that this happens every time so I just bit the bullet, hit the drops, and hammered. It was nice to see all of the other cyclists gliding along with the wind as I pushed as hard as I could up the hills. If anything the wind has helped me with some strength training. I have been pretty surprised what regular riding can do for the legs. As I came back into town, I took a turn through Lake Park and Down to Lincoln Memorial Dr. As I took the right turn onto Lincoln Memorial, it was like someone put the blowers on full. The wind coming from the lake was intense. About a mile down the road there is a beach and out on the water were five or six sails way up in the air.
As I neared the beach, I could see wind boarders (Or whatever it is called) out on the lake. The wind may suck for me but for them it was perfect.
So I pulled into the parking lot and decided to take a quick break and a few photos. It is really amazing to look at how much air these guys get. One by one, they took turns blasting towards the shore and catching some huge air. From where I was it looked as some of these guys were getting 3-5 feet out of the water.
So after I get sick of riding (Yeah Right!) I will take up wind boarding!

A Nice Day for a Ride

Today, in an attempt to keep on the bike, I got out for a beautiful 22.2 mile ride on Lake Dr and Lincoln Memorial Dr right off of Lake Michigan. The sun was out and shining, the wind was calm, and the temp was a little cool at 61, but that is perfect riding weather in my book. The legs are feeling really good. I think the break after Sheboygan was just enough to let my body recover. I am sure not having a strong head/side wind helped too, but I think it is mostly the recovery. For the ride itself I headed down Lake Dr to the lions and then back in towards the apartment, but I felt really good, so I headed in through the Lake Park entrance and cut down onto Lincoln Memorial Dr. That was probably the best move I have made yet. There was a bit of a wind from the lake, but otherwise the sun was shining bright and the view was awesome! So, I rode around a little bit and headed back home.

Hopefully, I can get another ride in on thursday too, the forcast looks a lot like today's and the week is looking to be a lot less stressful than last week. No Midterms and only One Paper due!

2007 is in the books (Officially)

This Saturday was the WORS Banquet, the official end to the season. Heather and I headed up to Steven's Point to the fine Sentry World Golf and Conference Center for a buffet style dinner, awards galore, and of course the huge raffle! A bunch of the guys from the team showed up for a good time and good eats. We had a good number of top overall places in both the marathon series and the cross-country series as well. The team ended up second in the team points and competition this year, but now it is on for next season. Also a huge shout out to Mr. Devroy taking an overall in his first year of racing!

Busy with school but still on the bike

School has been pretty crazy since Sheboygan, but alas I had some time today for a short ride and to get around to updating the blog. I guess I should mention the last race of the WORS season...

Sheboygan went pretty well. I went in with about 100 miles of training and feeling decent other than feeling a little sick. I found out just a little bit ago that the Banquet Pot Pies were recalled for salmonella, so I am putting two and two together and linking my nausea to the little pies that I ate that weekend.















At the start line I was feeling pretty good, as usual I was surrounded by day racers and the top 3 guys in my age class decided to hang out too... At the Goooooooo! I was to the front half of the group and stayed about there to let the others battle it out for the 20, 10, and 5. As we came through more of the course my predictions were correct, most of the guys killed themselves, and I mean Killed themselves. As I passed a few more riders I caught a glimpse of what could be my chance at a podium for the first time in sport... one of the top riders, had dropped out of the race with a technical. and a little ways ahead were the other two I was worried about. So I grabbed a wheel and hung on pretty easily. I could tell right away that I was in great shape for this race, and if there was a chance of getting on the podium this year, this was it. The equilizer did its magic on the first time around. I was set to climb it, but everyone else was not, so I took the bike and ran it. I got back on the bike and caught back up with one of the guys in my class. The second lap went pretty well, caught plenty of guys and was still feeling great. Came up on the equilizer this time and got most of the way, but just could'nt find that extra push I needed so I hopped off and ran again. Going into lap three, I was still feeling great. I was still right behind one of the guys in my class, but I was starting to get the feeling that I could be doing a lot more. I held off for a little while and then up ahead was a good opprotunity to try and put him behind me. I got set and looked for just enough room in the single track and put it in high gear. I came around from the back and passed 5 guys like nothing even happened and took off as quickly as possible. I shot through the creek crossing and came around the sharp turn and then I catch a glimpse of the guy I was trying to loose. As we left the single track he was gone. I was feeling a little tired from that last attack, but I pushed hard and caught another wheel. As we neared the equilizer I knew I would have to really push it to get ahead in this last leg. I gave whatever I had and hammered up to the equilizer. I sped about halfway up the equilizer and ran. At the top I did one of my best running mounts ever and struggled to get back in the race. To my disappointment I saw that another 19-24 guy was just in front of me. The race was on. I heard the Fat Cats guy yelling 4 minutes to go and I knew it was now or never. I gave it everything I had left and held onto to the wheel in front of me all the way through the finish line.
Final race results show that I was 9th place in my age group, only 6:45 behind the winners (about 3 day racers). I am definetly happy with the result though. I think with a few better move I would have done a little better, but that is for next year.

As far as overalls I am locked in at 7th place which is pretty awesome, especially given my schedule this year.

After Sheboygan things got pretty nuts for school. Suddenly I was facing a two-day midterm, 5 papers to turn in for various classes, and a calculus exam too. Needless to say I got on the bike for the first time today since the race (about 1.5 weeks if you were counting).

The ride was a nice and needed break from studies. Yesterday was the momentary end to my stress. Today was a little rainy at first but the weather got really nice just in time for me to head out. I was aiming for a short ride so I went out on Lake Dr. and turned around at the Lions (which mark the end of Lake Dr.). Heading back I found that the wind had shifted, giving me a full on headwind. The gusts were so powerful I thought I was coming off the bike a few times. I managed to keep the rubber side down and got back to the apartment which made for about 19 miles, so not bad at all.

Now It is back to work and waiting for the drive to Stevens Point, Saturday for the WORS Banquet.

Getting There...

Yesterday was pretty rainy, and this morning the fog was pretty bad, but it got a little better this afternoon, so I thought I would get a ride in. Pretty straight forward normally right. Well today my tire seems to have shed some fibers which punctured my innertube, so I got that done using my spare. Now I have learned that it is ALWAYS a good idea to have that extra tube, so I headed down to one of the shops to pick up a couple tubes (for my pack and another spare for the apt). Apparently... Long stem tubes run more expensive than standard stem tubes. Two Dollars more to be exact! Expecting to pay $6 a tube I brought $14 with me. Well they guy at the shop told me that these long stem tubes are more $$$. Deciding not to argue, I pay the $8 for One 48mm Presta Valve Tube. And set out for the ride.

The fog from the morning decided to stay and the temp was a little chilly, especially near the lake, but still tolerable. I decided to head north on Lake Dr. again and try to do the Concordia loop again, with some 30/30 intervals on the way. On the way out everything was really nice and things went by pretty quickly. As I hit Mequon Rd. I was starting to feel my legs and decided to start back south. Suddenly, I realized why it was so nice and easy to get this far out... the wind was mostly to my back. I don't have wind altering powers so I just bit the bullet and finished my last few sets of intervals and made the best of what I had. Luckily I had plenty of food to get me back feeling good. As I hit Silver Spring Dr. I found my second wind and hammered back home.
Not a bad ride overall though, about 31 more miles bringing my cumulative total to about 100 for the last three rides. I think I am going to do a bit of a recovery ride Thursday afternoon and then on to Sheboygan for the Biggest Race of the Season!