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Grit. Grime. A Good Time. Another gravel hundo.

Another gravel grinder on my schedule for the 2012 season. I think this will be the last event I commit to, the rest will have to be spontaneous. This one is a bit less intimidating than the Almonzo, but it won't be easy either. It's west of the metro, so it's bound to be less hills and more open space. This could be as much a problem as the hills, it can get windy out there. And the chance of any shade is doubtful. So a gravel hundo in mid June should be a worthy challenge. Registration was through the post again, here's a pic of my thrifty/lame postcard. 

I'm pretty stoked to be a part of these events, I like what they stand for and how they are being run. There is a whole race series built around them now that I have been internet spying on. Lots of the other riders have blogs that I check on, mostly about their training and gear, some pics. It only gets me more excited to ride.
Yesterday The Beav and I got out for about 20 miles around town. It wasn't warm. We made it almost two hours before stopping for coffee, then bolting home to see the Super Bowl. Yeah right, I didn't watch a single minute. Really, I couldn't care any less about it or any other football match. Anyway, Beav and I had a good time. We always do. He showed me where the Ohio st. hill is and we climbed it once. I see a few more trips up that one in my near training future. Did I mention I'm doing two gravel century races? Sheesh.

Fat Tire 40

Well, since I haven't been able to get out much these days, I guess I'll keep talking about the past. Ugh, things have been so busy lately around home that there hasn't been really any time for my wife or I to get out and stretch our legs, so to speak. Yes, we did get to go to a wedding last weekend, and it was fun, free beer, dancing, etc. But thats not the same as what I'm thinking of.
What I am referring to, however, was this last summer's Fat40 event. Team "My Bike is A Spaceship" showed up and totally rocked the house. Sure, I didn't have my own bike to ride, but that didn't slow me down. What may have slowed me down was all the beers I drank in "training" and the few the night before. And maybe that shot that the "Pirates" were dishing out on Firetower Hill, of course I needed that! We had a great Team Manager, Micah, he brought a great enthusiasm to the group, and he took serious his job of getting the beers to the finish line and then finding us amongst the thousands of other exhausted and dry-mouthed jockeys. Another thing that he did really well was try to "drift" Ginger's Jeep on what only passes for a road in Wisconsin on our way to what turned out to be an epic BBQ with Barry and Ali after the race. Wow. Ginger, relax, this things "Trail Rated!"
The whole weekend was a great time. I caught a ride with my neighbor and co-owner of CyclovaXC to his store in St. Croix Falls, where I met up with The Beav and Micah. We had an early start and got to town in time to pick up our packets, check in to the room, and head out for a ride. I was especially eager to ride since I was embarking on the longest race of my life on a borrowed bike. It didn't take long to put any concern to rest. That bike was pretty awesome. It showed in my riding in the race, it made up for my lack of fitness more times than I care to admit. Point and pedal, the bike took care of the rest. Thanks again Micah. At any rate, Ginger and I stuck out the last half of the ride together. The first half we yo-yo-ed a bunch, then dug in and found a good pace. Somewhere around the 30 mile mark I started to notice that it was not going to end well for me. I know the feeling, and I could start to see it coming. It wasn't until after Firetower that it really bit into me, I couldn't eat and drink enough to keep the cramps away unless I dialed it back. Even that pace wasn't bad, but it was frustrating as both Ginger and I knew that my fitness was there to finish stronger. Even still, I'm happy with the results, especially knowing I could realistically go back, and I will, and target a sub-3 hour finish. In my mind it would only take a better placed start to make up the difference if I could have stayed hydrated and fueled. Beav bested us with a stellar finish a few minutes under 3 hours, what an animal.
Unfortunately, I only have a picture of us at the finish. Rock on team. Shortly after the picture was taken Gingers whole weekend was ruined by making eye contact with some old balls in the shower tent! Ha ha!

Inaugural Southside Sprint

One day while my lovely wife and I were out and actually able to enjoy a breakfast in peace together at the local Turtle Bread bakery I caught a glimpse of something awesome, a poster for a criterium bike race that was going to happen right in our neighborhood! I was stoked, I took down the info and hoped for the best in terms of my schedule. I had in the back of my mind that the race was frightfully close to when we were expecting our new baby to make an appearance.
Well, the day before the race I took a chance and registered for the Cat5/Citizen race. As luck would have it, according to me and very clearly not my wife, the baby was still cool with the womb so I headed to the race. My category was the first race of the day so I had to head out pretty early, I think the gun fired at 8:30 for our 11 lap race of the ~1.0 mile circuit. The course was really fun, going all out in the city on a closed circuit is something you can't do all the time. True to my amateur status, I failed to warm up properly and found myself in a tough place about half way through the second or third lap. The leaders were clearly much more experienced than I, and that fact proved to be true as many of them went on to not only line up but also be competitive in the Cat4 race that followed. At any rate, I had a blast and hobbled away truly winded and humbled. I was definitely not in proper form for a race like that. Nonetheless, I look forward to the next time I can line up for a crit.

As part of the festivities they held a race for the kiddos, check out the pic of my girl in her first bike race!

Gravel. Hundo.

As you can see in the crappy picture below, I sent my postcard in for entry to the Almonzo 100. This is a big deal to me. Last spring as I was digging around in he webosphere I came across a blog entry referring to this hundred mile sufferfest on gravel roads in southern Minnesota. I thought to myself, what the hell is this? Why would anyone want to do this, what's wrong with pavement, or dirt for that matter? Having grown up in or near the country gravel roads elicit a special sort of anxiety. It makes your stuff dirty, it's always rough, it chips paint, it's dusty or it's muddy. The reasons to NOT seek these roads out and to find a better way from A to B goes on and on. All very practical reasons. This practical concern didn't last long, I read a few more related blogs, Googled a bit more and became increasingly intrigued by the challenge and what the event really was. It seemed real to me. I was attracted to it for what is wasn't. I know, cliche right? Well, I'm sick of shelling out a hundred or more bucks just to register and go home with a shitty bag of useless crap. But even more I was in to how the race was born and what it stands for. This is a race for riders, not for uppity elites. Sure, it's competitive but in the right way, the fun way.
A free 100 mile gravel race. Unsupported, rain or shine, ride what you brought. I can't wait...

Status check

Well, here's a picture of my bike computer showing my total mileage for the year. I was able to do a fair amount of riding, and took a few outstanding trips. My overall season goal was to reach 3000 miles. Well I obviously didn't do that. I was distracted, in so many ways:  house renovation projects, my pregnant wife, a cranky but super fun toddler, new baby, walks to the beach, camping, trips to the cabin, walks to the park, neighborhood BBQs, extreme heat. You get the picture, fitting a ride in just isn't that easy anymore. So the fact that I logged as many, and the quality of miles as I did makes me pretty happy. Having kids is so much fun, and my wife rocks! So much of the time I used to have to ride is spent at the park or beach, making laps around the block, having snacks, changing diapers, or whatever else you do as a dad/husband/homeowner. I can't say I'm disappointed about not reaching my goal. My time was was spent in any case.

I've got 'adventure' on my mind

I've mentioned my friend Frank before. Well, one of our first conversations was about an adventure he embarked upon with a friend, more specifically it was via bike. It totally flipped a switch in my brain. Now, that coupled with the relentless Googling I've done since to see where and how I can get some adventuring in my own little world just bounces around in the back of my head most days.
Anyway, that's what I'm thinking about in most of my free time. What does adventure mean to me? How can I get some? Is it even tangible, or is it a state of mind, or can it be predicted or expected? I think what I've decided to believe, and these words are not entirely my own, is that "adventure is holding your breathe for that extra three seconds." I have begun to try and keep that thought front of mind, and it has come in handy on many occasions already. For example, the million or so times that my son wakes up in the night and I'm exhaustedly rocking him back to sleep, that situation could go in a lot of directions, many of which aren't good. So I tell myself, hang in there for a few more swings, you'll live to tell about, and I do. I can sleepily tell my coworkers why I didn't shower and I'm wearing almost the same thing as yesterday. Adventures in parenting. Another place I apply this thought is at the gym, in spin class. Step it up a few RPM, or actually hang on for the final 3 counts of the interval. Those actions take me places too, because then I think of how those are the efforts that will really power me in a race some day.
The last place I'll mention I've incorporated this way of thinking is in my job. I can use it as a tool to help me be more deliberate in my strategies because what I find to be very difficult these days is the planning components that are necessary for me to perform well. So I keep in mind now that if I can see in my mind all the steps necessary to get me to the next milestone, then I'm ready to take action. And that takes a considerable amount of effort; the reward is worth it.
So there you have it, my thoughts on adventuring.

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