Triple D, Iowa Spring Classics Colfax and Cumming, riding and just an overdue update

I never properly wrote up Triple D.  I haven't decided how to approach it.  I had a really fun weekend. It was awesome to see so many of my friends and to meet some new people.  Kim finished a half marathon on snow too and I'm proud of her for it. I probably picked the wrong bike.  It was probably the wrong time on my calendar and I might have been right at that time to not be in better shape for such an event (one week after my last CX race).  It was also close on the heals of the birth of my daughter.  In the end, I wasn't as ready as I could have been and also did not do a good job of racing, eating, drinking anything.  Then my issues were totally compounded when I got a freezing cold flat and I lost it mentally and basically slunk to the finish rather than doing the honorable thing and really trying to drill back the gap and fight even if it likely could have only possibly resulted in 2nd or 3rd overall.

Since Triple D I have put in about 120 hours on my bike.  That does not include my commutes.  A lot of it was really really slow on studded nokian 240s SS.  I've never ridden so much.  Part of it has been that I've been the healthiest I've been in years (knock on wood), part of it may be a natural progression but certainly part of it was just hating that feeling of not being ready.

I went to Colfax ten days ago now.  The Iowa Spring Classic races are always awesome.  I've said a lot about them before-  in short, great vibe and fun opportunity.

Everyone getting a police escort to the real start

I spent most of the day just barely hanging on!

me, in blue, just barely hanging on

Somewhere around the 2.5 laps to go mark I started feeling better though, or maybe others started feeling worse.  I knew the strongest rider in the field was Michael Sencenbaugh and he had fallen on a snow covered section the lap before.  That section was very much into the wind and the group was taking it easy.  When another strong rider reached for a water bottle I decided to give things a go.  I stayed on the gas for a few seconds too long though and 2-3 miles later I was dropped by the small group I had formed.  Three riders went up the road without me.  I settled in and held the gap.  The group split and Sencenbaugh rode away alone.  I was tired but the other two let up and somehow I was now much stronger comparatively than I had been earlier.  Wound up getting second.

me coming to the finish line chased by William (3rd place)


This past weekend was another of the I.S.C. races, this time in Cumming Iowa.  Decided to drive down Saturday with Kim and the two dogs and spend the night at the Super 8.  Had a nice dinner with Steve and his wife.  Got up in the am and drove out to Cumming to find the front door of the Cumming Tap locked.  Was tempted to hop on my bike and ride 5 laps of the course...  post it to Strava, just to prove some misguided point.  Instead headed toward home such that the roads would be less dangerous before I rode.  Got my 3+ hours of riding in by riding in the Albert Lea area.  The 35 mph winds and freezing rain were a bonus.

With all this snow a lot of my riding has wound up looking "epic"

My adventures with artisinal fatherhood started today since Riley's mom is now back to work full-time.  I will get to spend a lot more time with Riley!  That said, as this really relates to this blog, I've got a lot of support from my loved ones for my riding so don't expect any major changes there.  Nor will I start sharing tons of kiddie pictures.  I share a lot of stuff here about what I'm thinking on the bike, but it isn't the venue for what I consider to be private.