Has it really been that long?

Yeah, I guess it has. Well a lot has happened since the end of July. August was a busy month for Katie and me.

The first weekend of August was 24 hours of Nine mile.
Last year I did a 12 hour solo race. This year I neglected to sign up in time for the cheaper race entry so I decided to bag the race and support Katie and her all lady team. I had a great time with the girls watching them choke around and enjoy themselves and their bikes. I also spent a lot of time rideing around the course visiting with all of my friends who were racing.

The following weekend was a weekend off. I am sure I did some mountain biking but there was not traveling or racing.

August 16.
Katie and I headed north to Bluefin Bay where we spent the weekend with the Doom's and celebrated the marriage of one of my best friends Mike Schroden and his new wifeAngela. It was a great weekend with great weather, great scenery and great company.

Mike and Angela at their bachelor/bachelorette party.

August 22. The Double Centry.
Friday August 22 mark a big mile stone for me. My first double centry. That weekend was the QBP retreat and historically there has been a group of people who have road their bikes from Mpls to the Cable, Wi. area for the retreat. This year was Joe and my year to do the ride. Friday morning I left the house at 5:40 am and rode to Joes for a cup of coffee and at 6am we hit the road. Riding through the morning wathcing the sun rise was awesome. In fact the first 120 miles were great. We really only got turned around twice the whole ride. We took a little unexpected detour in Wi. and wound up at a Sunset Saloon around for lunch where we had one of the best Bacon Cheese burgers ever.

Parking sign at the Sunrise Saloon, Awesome!

In all the ride took us around 14 hours to go 205 mile, 12 hours of actual ride time. The ride was amazing, it was full of highs and lows, a lot singing and a lot silence but definately a lot memories. I don't know if I said this after the ride, but if I didn't "Thanks for the ride Joe".

Labor Day weekend. The Dakota 50.
I came into the 50 feeling really good and I really wanted to win the SS class this year. For the past 3 years I had been on the podium but for one reason or another I could get the top step.
This year I was really prepared for the race and want to win in a bad way. Saturday I decided to go out with a group to spin the legs out after the long drive and preride the course. The first 3 miles of up hill road felt good my legs were fresh and I was looking forward to getting into the single track. About a mile into the single track I was pumping into a corner when my wheel washed out from under me I went down hard banging my knee and elbow and I taco'd my front wheel on a tree. The reason I crashed, I had been commuting on my SS and I didn't let pressure out of my tires before the off road ride, stupid me. Only 28 minutes into the ride and I thought my weekend was over. My knee was sore but not bleeding too badly, I had to slam my wheel on the ground so it woudl roll through my fork when I nursed it downt the hill into town.

The whole ride down I thought to my self about the racing the next day. my body hurt and I didn't know if I was going to have it in me on Sunday. I pedaled into camp and decided if the local shop could fix my wheel. If they could I would race. If they couldn't, Oh well, I tried and it wasn't meant to be. They fixed my wheel, with only a little hop in it.

To keep a long story from being any longer, I finished the race. My knee hurt when I had to stand on the bike but if I stayed seated I could still give'er. My time was a couple minutes slower than last year, but I still managed to get 3rd in the SS. class. I am really happy with the outcome and will not complain. I am lucky I didn't seriously hurt myself on the preride b/c I fell hard.

Aug 12. Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival.
Well, I got into the race again because of a free entry given to me from Timmy at New Moon andI also got a preferred start; this means I will be "racing". After last years fall, I didn't think I wanted to go all out for this race again. but a year has passed and I feel different about the race.

Post ride accident picture

This year I am riding my single speed and I hope I can ride a strong race and stay out of the trouble. The weather may be rainy and I am looking forward to the ride, although my knee is still a bit stiff from last week. I'll see how it goes. Hopefully I can give a full report next week.
Enjoy your weekend everyone.



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