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!

WORS #2: Rhinelander

This past weekend was pretty busy, but things went really well. I put on some good mileage (on the car) heading to see Heather back home from Ireland, to Green Bay on Saturday to get the fork on my bike for the race, to Rhinelander for the actual race, and then to Prairie du Sac for a surprise 50th birthday party for Heather's mom.
I was happy enough to just get my rebuilt fork back on the bike and still arrive in Rhinelander with enough time to get a ride in on Saturday. Ryan, Scott, and I headed out for a quick lap on the course though I ended up taking a solo lap as Scott's chain was not playing nice with his cassette. I felt really good for the first half of my lap, though as the miles passed, my legs just did not seem to have the power they had on Monday at the camp. I decided to finish the lap and focus on recovering for Sunday's race. Sunday morning came quickly and I felt good (both mentally and physically). I packed up some of my gear and then set out for a warm up. I was amazed at how many flyers jerseys I saw during my warm up and as I entered the staging area. Seeing that many people at the race really got me excited for this season!
19-24 was the first group to set out on the course, and in it were myself, Ryan, Scott, and Ethan. I felt great on the lead out, sitting in the top 10-15. As we headed out, I narrowly escaped a crash that took out Ryan and was able to stay with the lead group. As the race went on, I could really feel my training in effect and I was feeling great! I just kept on the pedals and did not lose sight of the guys in front of me. Things were going really well. I must say that over the years I have seen some strange things in mountain biking, but never before have I seen or heard of this... As I am riding along I feel a strange sensation in my right eye. Suddenly, my eye tears up and as I blink, my contact falls right out! Thankfully, my glasses kept hold of the lens and I was able to pull off the trail and get the contact back in. The disappointing part was watching as five or six riders shoot on by as I realize that I am going to need to make up some ground. Again, my training paid off, as I was able to get back in the race and keep going. Going into lap two, I was still feeling good and moving quickly through the course. That is, until my eye got that funny feeling again. Once again, my contact popped out and I needed to pull off the trail and get it back in again. After this second time, I really did not have any more problems-other than the fact that the guys I had worked to pass were just in front of me. As I neared the last part of the lap I heard noises behind me and began to panic as I feared more guys from my age group were nearing. I was partially right. Among the riders back, I faintly saw a Flyers jersey with a bright helmet. I knew it was Ryan. Immediately I panicked and tried my best to put riders between me and him in the single track. Soon enough, Ryan was on my wheel and passed by. I swallowed my pride, and took his wheel as we both were now fighting to get to the front of the race. I pushed harder on the last few miles of this race than I have ever done before working to get back with Ryan and finish the race strong. I knew that not more than 30 seconds in front of me sat the top 5 in my age class and I just could not catch them. The race finish was bittersweet. I was mad that something as simple as a contact could hold me back in the race and that Ryan caught me, but at the same time, I saw that Ryan got his legs back and that I was able to push so hard in a race an still feel so good afterwards.
The results show the whole story with Ryan in 6th, me 20 seconds back in 7th and only about a minute spread between 3rd and 7th place! With WORS #2 in the books, it is time for me to rest up and little and then gear up for another great race in Wausau this weekend!

-Andy

A Busy Weekend in Green Bay

This weekend I was able to finally get back to Green Bay for some time with family and friends. Sunday was spent working on the bike and later at Celebration in De Pere with some old friends. Monday, I frantically put the bike together with a fork from another bike (because my good fork was still in the shop) so I could get out to the camp for a couple laps with Ryan. Running an hour late, I was able to meet up with Ryan and we did two laps at the camp. Being my first ride on the mountain bike for the season I was not sure what to expect, but I quickly got into a rythm and we both put in two good laps. With less than a week until Rhinelander, I am feeling pretty good about my fitness level and am now more concerned about getting the correct fork on my bike in time for the race on Sunday. Hopefully, I can get in one more good ride before the weekend and then it is "Goooooooo" time!

-Andy

Great Ride Tonight

I got out this evening for a good 40 miles and it felt great! Yes, I did have a headwind/crosswind most of the way, but somehow I just hammered through it all. I think my average was near 20! Not bad for feeling terrible just over a week ago. It looks like I will have a day or so off to get back to Green Bay this Sunday through Tuesday Morning. Hopefully I can get the bike together and ready to ride for the following weekend and better yet - get in a ride at the camp. In the meantime, I think I am going to eat a good recovery dinner and clean up! Give me a call if you want to ride at the camp this Monday!

-Andy

It's Official: School is out!

As a student, the last exam is sort of like the end of the semester. Suddenly, there are no more commitments such as studying and working, but there is still a cloud lingering overhead as if it really is not all over. This metaphorical cloud is of course the grades from the semester. I seem to check every day until each grade appears in the table for the semester. When they finally come in, I can relax and know that everything is in the books. Most of my grades came in quickly, but as luck would have it, I had to wait the longest for the grade I was most concerned about. I could have predicted all of my grades (except for this one) weeks before they were in, the problem was my finance class. This semester I had the pleasure of being taught finance between 5:30 and 8:15 one night each week by an adjunct professor (a person hired for one semester to teach a class - i.e. not a true university professor). To say the least, I sat by as a good class went from bad to worse. I will spare the gory details, but at the end of the semester I found myself fighting just to pass the class. After a long semester and after taking all the exams, I had to sit and wait just a little longer to see what the damage would be. After more than a week, I had the answer. I watched as my cumulative GPA slid nearly 2 tenths of a point from one class. The good news is that my other grades helped to keep my GPA up and hopefully still on the Dean's List.
Better yet, school is now officially over and I can focus 100% on racing this summer. I think I may just celebrate by doing a good 40 miles tonight after work!

-Andy