B.. E.. A.. U.. T.. FULL

Posted by joel on June 3, 2011

This post will won’t be very involved. Perhaps this will be my ride for 2012…

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Black Hills South Dakota 2011

Posted by joel on May 29, 2011

I haven’t blogged on a race yet this year but I did some rides in the Black Hills of South Dakota and thought it would be a worthy blog entry. The trip is an annual event for a small group of guys from Wausau, WI. I had the pleasure of joining the group this year that consisted of Pete Norrbom, John Budzynski, and Pete Kohlmoos. The trip consisted of a seven days with two days travel and five days riding. Windshield time from Wausau to Rapid City SD is roughly twelve hours with stops. A few of the venues we rode include: M Hill, sections of the Centennial Trail, and sections of the Dakota Five-O.

The local shop we frequented for our needs is called Acme Bicycles [ http://www.acmebicycles.com/ ] owned and operated by Tim Rangitsch. He and his staff did a great job providing us with great products and support.

The last day we were in Rapid City was the start of the Black Hills Fat Tire Festival [ http://www.bhfattirefestival.com/ ] which consists of downhill, XC race, and Cowboy Hill Sprint Climb to name a few.

Photo Day 4 – taken by Pete K. – we call it the rock-star pose.

Day 3 – Pactola Lake Trailhead.

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IceMan 2010

Posted by joel on November 9, 2010

2010 marked my first attempt at competing in the [Iceman]. This race consists of a 30 mile point to point race between Kalkaska and Traverse City, MI. This particular event has intrigued me for a couple years because its one of the three major races in the Midwest – the other two being Ore-to-Shore and Chequamegon. Since I had a mechanical at Chequamegon, I had more motivation to enter and perform well for IceMan.

The trip over to Traverse City encompassed driving from Wausau to Green Bay to meet up with a number of TitleTown Flyers, then proceeding north to the Upper Peninsula, then east across the UP, and finally south to Traverse City, whew! The entire windshield time, one way, was roughly seven hours. Our fearless TitleTown Flyer leader, Shawn, coordinated the lodging and as usual worked out great.

The morning of race-day saw the temperatures hovering around the upper 30′s. Add to that a small amount of snow the day before made for a slick course. My start time saw a slight improvement in conditions but the west facing hills were still pretty slick. I was part of wave 29 which went off at 10:30am. At gun time, the race started off pretty tame, with about three guys in my wave maintaining the front. I noticed the pace was too tame for my taste, so shortly into the race I pulled off the front and was able to maintain that for most of the race. Since the organizers changed the format to wave format for un-ranked riders, I was at the mercy of 28 previous waves, this made for a lot of congestion in the single track.

After the first 20ish miles I was feeling really strong and continued to keep the pace up. I came into a downhill and hadn’t experienced much ice so I didn’t see much need to be cautious. As the saying goes, hind sight is always 20-20. I should have backed off a touch and been more cautious because I went down at about 30mph on an aggressive downhill that was covered in ice. After the bail, I did a quick inventory, straightened the bar, and got back up to start pedaling. I finished the remainder of the race and still have a swollen and sore knee. My finishing time ended up being 2 hours and 5 minutes. Not bad considering the crash and congestion!

Photos taken:

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Chequamegon 40 – 2010

Posted by joel on September 20, 2010

This year was my first attempt at competing in the [Chequamegon 40] which is a point to point race From Hayward WI to Cable WI. Most of the course is double track, fields, mud, and small rocks mixed in with about 2,500 feet of vertical climbing. After reviewing guys I’ve raced against in the past I kind of had the thought of placing 100 for a first attempt. Leading up to the race I was able to stay with the Titletown Flyers group from Green Bay and crash at a cabin on Ct Hwy CC in the middle of nowhere.

The start of the race was a mass-start where 1700 riders were paced out about a mile at which point the four wheelers leading us out pulled off and we could then put the hammer down. I started out about 30 rows back from the non-preferred start. The beginning of the lead out I made every effort to move up in the ranks. By Rosie’s Field (the first non-asphalt section) I had made up quite a few places. Thanks to a tip from Matt B. I made the left onto another asphalt section before heading into a large ditch. By waiting until the last moment to cut into the ditch I was able to make up another 25 spots!

Up to Seely Fire Tower Rd I continued to have a good, strong race picking off riders. As I came into Seely Fire Tower, I estimate I was running in about 55^th. A rider I was pacing with suggested the next right turn was a large descent; I’m not sure if he was kidding or just putting in mis-direction but I was actually the start of the biggest climb of the day. Sufficed to say, I didn’t much appreciate the comment and had to leave him in the dust – albeit a slow pace up Seely Fire Tower Rd.

The next few miles after Seely Fire Tower Rd there were numerous climbs that definitely taxed the body. After about mile 34, I had the tell-tale sign of a flat starting on the rear wheel – talk about a big disappointment! I ended up stopping, popped a CO2 in, thinking maybe that was all it needed – wrong! Of the three CO2’s I had, I emptied the second being ever more hopeful – no avail. Next, I stopped, pulled the wheel, put a road tube in the 29er wheel and went to use the last CO2. 3rd CO2 = fail. Finally, I had to wait for a pity CO2 from someone – I asked about 20 different riders and finally gave up until I actually knew someone. Thank goodness for teammates. Matt B had a CO2 which gave me the ability to start riding again. I think the entire process took about 10-15 minutes .

After the flat tire debacle, the last six miles were taken at a slightly slower pace since my finish results were to be diminished anyway. Once I hit the last down-hill the flat-fix failed again and I ended up running the last quarter mile across the finish. All told, I came in at 2:47, for a 305^th overall finish.

Other successful finishers of note include:

Scott Cole – 22^nd Adventure 212 – ironically, his bib number matched his finish.

Dallas Fowler – 52^nd – Titletown Flyers

Chad Hildebrand – 62^nd – Polska

Isaac Neff – 82^nd

Mark Lewis – 137th

Matt Block – 273^rd – Bikeman.com

Quentin Gniot – 551^st – Titletown Flyers

Rich Wenborne -1762^nd Titletown Flyers

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2010 Wausau24 – 12 Solo – 3rd Place

Posted by joel on August 2, 2010

The [ Wausau24 ] event for 2010 was “inaugural” in name only. For those of you that don’t know, in years past, the event went by “24 / 9″. After changing ownership twice in the past two years, newest management understands the proper way of running this event; start with local support and keep a grass roots feel.

The Wausau24 is a focal point on my schedule every year. I enjoy the venue, atmosphere, course, pretty much everything about it. This year’s course was a deviation over years past in that it was shortened by a about three to five miles. In my opinion, having a slightly shorter course works to a riders advantage in timing water, eating, pitting, etc.

This year, my goal was to ride 12 hour solo and obtain a podium position. Using the WEMS Series as a training mechanism for mileage and duration, I felt my goal was obtainable considering I placed 2nd and 7th in the WEMS races leading up to the Wausau24.

The race started at 10am and I rode the first three laps and felt Ok. After the third lap, Beth and Gavin showed up and had to hang out in the pits for a while. Most of this pit time was to help Gavin ring the cow bell as riders went by. It is amazing how a little pick-me-up like that helps to motivate during a long race. The riders passing him smiled and thanked him on numerous occasions. One rider gave him a high five as he passed!

As the race progressed I dropped to fourth place for while as I enjoyed family time in the pits. After spending a good part of the afternoon in the pits, Beth and Gavin went home. Though, after hearing the results at the next split I knew it was time to get back to the business at hand. I proceeded to get my 3rd place spot back and maintained it for the remainder of the day.

In late afternoon my dad stopped by to help support me the remainder of the day. Any and all help was much appreciated!

After wrapping up my day with 12 laps (one off the lead), 3rd place, and 132 miles, I felt I had a great day.

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