Going out for a ride in the woods

On Tuesday, I took Heather out to the Southern Kettles for a little biking of the mountain sort. We had a little lunch and headed out for a total of 8 miles in the woods. Heather did very well, especially for being her first mountain bike ride this summer! Even on the intermediate trail she did very well with the hills and single track sections. We did stop a couple times along the way and in the process got eaten alive by mosquitoes, but never for anything too serious (except for her slowing to a stop and falling on her butt, then sitting and laughing for a while about it).
I'd say she was feeling pretty good after being out on the mountain bike.

-Andy

Air Show

Friday morning I was sitting in the apartment watching the tour before work. In the distance I hear a jet and think nothing of it until suddenly the apartment shakes and a loud boom echoes through the air. Over the next few minutes I hear the same thing over and over again. My first thoughts were 'what in the world is happening!' I look outside and see an F-15 circling the area and shooting off towards the lake shore. It was a pretty cool way to find out that Milwaukee was going to have an Air and Water show this weekend! Saturday morning before work I decided to stop down for a couple hours - Boy, was it worth it! I was able to see several stunt planes performing things I never thought an airplane could do (rolling tail over engine mid-flight).

I also got to see the F-15 that was making so much noise on Friday morning and plenty more!
On the schedule for the week is some more riding and getting things ready for my new roommate to move in.

-Andy

Sunburst/Update

So it has been a while again, so I'll start with a quick recap.
I was riding very consistently until just after Wausau, when I started having knee pain on the bike. Due to lack of time and a desire to let my knee recover I took a three week 'vacation.' Unfortunately, the vacation was from riding and not from work; quite the opposite in fact. I was (and still am) putting in a ton of hours at work. After a long recovery, I went back and took a good look at the measurements on both my mountain and road bike and found what I believed to be a good fit for the bike. I did a short 15 mile spin to test the new fit and thankfully I had no pain. The next day I put in a good 50 miles and felt even better. Subsequent rides came with some small pain, but more of the "I have not been riding" kind of pain. With less pain in my knee I picked up my training regime and started getting ready for Kewaskum with some good focused efforts (including some top secret training in the mountains of De Pere a.k.a. Scray's Hill).
As race day came nearer, I was nervous but feeling good about where I stood fitness-wise. Race day started well, I had a great warm up on the hilly roads in the area and in the start shoot I was feeling good. Not my best start from the line but after the short lead out, I was sitting near the front. I hit the climbs and I saw my 'secret training' take effect. I just put the power to the pedals and flew up the hills. I took a corner a little fast towards the end of the first lap, but otherwise nothing major. As the end of lap three came, I was feeling tired and worried that I was falling back, but I pushed through the pain and came through the finish without losing any ground. After cooling down, I got the good news - third place! Needles to say I am really excited about the result and looking forward to finishing the series strong.
Up next is the Alterra Coffee Bean Classic right here in Milwaukee!