I know I've stopped posting- here is why.

This is where I was at by the end of November and early December.

Here is the list of symptoms that have been strongly present since late September.

1.  weakness and fatigue.  I was winning bike races and riding 14-16 hours a week.  Now able to do zero exercise.  Sleeping 3-4 hours longer than previously if not woken up.  Find myself getting out of breath doing simple things like walking around.  My 10 mile bike commute to downtown is totally out of the question.

2.  Bowel issues-  not always diarrhea.  These symptoms are varied.  Generally stomach gets more and more upset as each day goes on.  90% of the time any meal prompts a bowel movement 20-60 minutes after.  On bad days sometimes will have 2-4 bowel movements after lunch and after dinner.  I have kept a food journal (actually have for most of last 3 years) and there does not seem to be much rhyme or reason.  Bowel movements range from almost pure water to a normal consistency.  They are never normal colored-  for a while they were very dark brown, then grey or light tan, recently a dark forest green.

3.  Aching back. It could be because of tightness in my stomach, maybe not?

4.  Exercise induced acid reflux?  Never realized I had this but prilosec and tums taken before exercise do seem to alleviate part of my symptoms (currently just leaving my achy and fatigued, where previously I felt even worse while exercising.  Previous symptoms included burning throat, aching that I thought came from glads under jaw, headaches).

5.  Minor weight loss.  The doctors don't think this is a big deal because it's only a couple of lbs.  I think it is because during the same time period I've also stopped riding a bike 14-16 hours a week and not watched my diet much.  My appetite has generally been good throughout but I have noticed that I feel full sooner than expected.  Often I'm hungry again relatively soon.  I've been snacking throughout the day more than eating in order to try to tame a lot of these symptoms and that has had mixed results.

I have also noticed other issues that may be related

1.  Difficulty sleeping.  Once awakened during the night my heart seems to race.  Feel panicky.  Can take over an hour to control this and get back to sleep.

2.  My beard is thinner (my hair has always been thinning).

3.  Knee pain has increased despite relative lack of use.  My left knee cap doesn't track right and there is some damage to cartilage in there.  This has flared up despite minimal use.

4. On a couple of occasions I have felt dizzy, foggy in the head etc.. pukey with no real reason.  I did have these symptoms very heavily one day where I was forced to leave work and go to bed around 8pm due to their severity but I think that was due to improperly washed quinoa (which I know sounds weird).

5.  Multiple cold sores.  I do not have a history of having cold sores.

6.  Sexual performance/drive is down (this correlates strongly with the days/weeks when I have worst stomach symptoms)

On a longer time line I've had these issues which may not be related

1.  Heat sensitivity.  Over the last 3 years I've gotten progressively less able to function athletically in warm weather.  I become fatigued easily, develop a terrible headach and basically shut down.  I am unable to keep up with the overall field in bike races, where in cooler weather against the same fields I win or podium.  Initially these symptoms only showed themselves in longer events with very high temperatures and humidity.  Last summer I had trouble even in the 80-85 degree temperature range.  I have basically quit mountain biking and reduced my road racing schedule due to this since most of those races are contested at such temperatures in the midwest.

2.  A sometimes painful bump between my anus and tail bone has developed along with fairly constant anal itching.  This has come and gone to a degree for 2 full years.  

Medical history this year-

I felt very strong this year until the middle of June when the temperature started to go up.  In July I was unable to finish any of the road races I entered due to heat symptoms.  Eventually I went in to the doctor and was given an antibiotic which seemed to help and I was able to train and race reasonably well late in August and the first 3 weeks of September.  I won a couple of races and had a good showing at a big CX race in Madison.

Starting in the final week of September things have just fallen apart.  At first I didn't see the pattern and just tried to rest more and skip some workouts.  Eventually I realized something real was going on as the bowel movements started to increase more and more.  In many of my cyclocross races I was only able to ride 5-10 minutes.  I had a hard time riding at all during the week.

I went to the doctor (Dr. Podein) at the end of October in Lake City.  I was given a general blood test, tested for mononucleosis etc. and then referred to a specialist here at Mayo. 

Dr. Nehra here at mayo met with me and then recommended a flexible sigmoidoscopy.  This found nothing.  I tried to press her for more information and more testing but got no where.  I used the internet to determine that all she had ruled out was ulcerative colitis?  Never did she tell me what she was testing me for or what I should be worried about.  I did not feel she took me seriously.  While there I had her check out the bump thing by my tail bone and she said it looked like a scratched pimple.  She also had no concern about the cold sores.  At that point I was sort of freaking out because I was (and am) afraid that I have crohn's and that those could be part of the larger picture.

I went back to Dr. Podein having exhausted my options with the specialist.  He ordered another general blood test and checked my thyroid levels.  Everything looked normal.  He was out of ideas and suggested I try omeprazole for two weeks.  

After ten days on 20mg of omeprazole each morning I felt about the same and came in last Monday to see a doctor Addissie in Rochester (Dr. Podein has left Lake City for a new job in Madison).  I explained my symptoms to him and he decided to perform an EBD.  I got the next available appointment and that procedure took place on Tuesday.  I expected results in 24-48 hours per the piece of paper that I was given.  I had heard nothing this morning so I called the appointment line and was told that Dr. Addissie was both in the office today and had received my results (but that the person on the phone couldn't tell me anything more).  She offered to send him a note to remind him to contact me.  At 3:30 today I still hadn't heard anything and I called again.  The conversation was an exact repeat of the 10am conversation and the results were the same.  

Now I have to wait until Monday for results and am finding that very stressful.  This weekend is also the state cyclocross championships which one of my main goals all year cycling wise besides the actual national championships next month.  I'm going crazy here.

Other notes-

I've been taking various probiotics throughout this time period as well as eating tons of yogurt

Immodium keeps me from having a bowel movement for a while but I haven't been taking it because my stomach still hurts and that just makes it hurt longer (no relief by pooping it out).

I stopped taking the Omeprazole and saw Dr. Addissie multiple additional times.  He even tested my heart (seriously-  if this had been my heart deteriorating that fast I would have been dead in a hurry!) with echocardiogram, event monitor and an exercise test. 

At that point I was told I could not get a referral to see Endocrinology (where a friend had talked to a doctor who had agreed to see me).  I realize that might have been a shot in the dark, but instead they told me to give it 6 weeks....  sent me on my way.

I know that is super long and all and probably not interesting for anyone to read.  For a while there I was searching for non-medical reasons as to what was going on.  Was I doing too much?  Was I not sleeping enough?  Did I just suck?  In the end none of those things really fit.  

I keep a lot of information about what I eat, when I sleep, how much and how hard I ride etc..  Some of my competitors/friends wanted to say I was overtrained (maybe they were even trying to be helpful) but I think that says more about them and their wanting to beat me/be stronger than me than anything else when I look at the data.

Anyways, I did start to feel better a bit and was able to ride about 11 hours a week on average for the last 8 or 9 weeks.  I felt I was getting stronger and I lost a bit of the weight I had put on while doing nothing.  Things were looking up.  Triple D didn't go as planned, but I had felt strong until dropping due to knee pain.  I was excited for the coming season.  I rode 80+ miles on the fatbike pretty strongly one day.  Was starting to feel strong when riding with my normal friends and riding partners.  I was still only riding about 10 hours a week, trying not to push it too much (and it's been sooooo cold).

Then over the course of the last 2-3 weeks the stomach symptoms have crept back.  I was dead beyond all reasonable belief at CIRREM.  Dropped by mile 12.  Nothing like the fitness I thought I was showing just 2 or 3 weeks ago.  In fact, less fitness than I would have expected to have if I had broken my leg the day after the Filthy 50 and literally not ridden a bike since.  

I made a new appointment to see the doctors here at Mayo.  This time with a new individual doctor.  I had become very frustrated with the fact that Dr. Addissie never responded with my test results in a timely manner during the late fall.  I had even requested to see another doctor once at the time, but when I showed up the appointment had been switched to see him.

At my appointment on Monday I explained the situation and why I was back.  We looked over my previous testing etc.. and then he started asking questions about my mental health.  Was I depressed, anxiety etc..  drug use?  alcohol problems?  It seemed he really wanted to give me some sort of depression drug?  Finally, he went and consulted with some other doctors and decided to rerun some of the same blood tests previously done and gave me a pamphlet on IBS and an appointment with a dietician.

I am losing it.  Doubting myself about everything now.  It's been so long since I've been able to compete or even to finish a bike race.  I know I shouldn't doubt that I'm actually sick here at this point and that there has to be something, but when I talk to the doctors I feel literally insane.  They don't seem to believe anything I say.  I know I don't look like the fittest guy in the world, nor am I the fastest but I was pretty fast last year before this all started, wasn't I?  I'm worried that I don't look fit enough for them to take seriously.  I'm worried they just don't even want to deal with it as it's become "difficult" (the doctor actually said "you've become difficult" to me on Monday).  I'm worried they just want to wear me out and have me go on my way.  What a mess to potentially have all these things there are no answers for, or not to have them.  Or not to really even know if I have them and just to question myself.

I'll share more as I find out, it's been hard to figure out how to.  I know this is disjointed and random, but I feel better having written it out.

Cannondale Khione Carbon Fatbike- 29er to Fat Conversion

There has been more information and will be further updates on this and all my other carbon fiber work at on facebook here and also on my website here.

Khione is the greek goddess of snow and yet, somehow, no one has given that most obvious name to a fatbike. My goal for this project is to showcase my carbon repair and customization business and to suggest that Cannondale considers entering the fatbike market. It's surprising Cannondale hasn't already entered this market. Actually, not just "entered" the market but built something up to the standard of their incredible mountain bikes. Many of the new entries in the fatbike segment have copy-cat, boring, middle of the road geometry and design. They seem to be coming out of the same mold from Asia.

The evolution of fatbikes has been an amazing and rapid process. Two years ago I combined a heavy, steel, Surly Pugsley rear triangle with a Colnago C40, threw some older, durable parts on it and thought it was pretty great. Things have evolved, more fat specific parts have become available and fatbike races have popped up everywhere. Fatbiking used to be all about snowmobile trails and riding on lakes but more and more the opportunity to ride and race real singletrack has become available. It became clear it was time to build a new bike to better take advantage of those opportunities.

This frame is a 2010 Flash Carbon in medium which was in rough shape. I repaired 3 stays and raced it for a season or so then it was shelved in favor of a 2012 Flash carbon EVO. In order to become fat the entire rear triangle of the frame was removed. A Paragon Frameworks Ti bottom bracket shell was fit through the stock BB30 interface. The stays were individually constructed. Due to my desire to use a 135mm offset rear end, and stay away from super costly hubs of dubious cost vs. reliability ratio, this made for a good amount of fabrication. Finally, the stays, seat cluster and bottom bracket area were all integrated. The frame weight is 1545 g with derailleur hanger, seatpost clamp and headset bearings/1 ⅛” adaptor in place. I love the handling characteristics of the stock Flash. The only major change to the geometry was a 1” lengthening of the rear end. The front has been pushed up a bit with the slightly longer fork but I will be able to run a lefty with virtually dead-on stock geometry when desired.

The current fork is a Carver O’Beast. I built my own fat fork for my previous bike, but can’t beat the O’Beast in quality so going with it when rigid. With the steerer cut I’m right around 2100g for the total, ready to build, frameset. Maybe not crazy, but it’s in line with the high end frames out there and I might have saved a bit with the 135mm hub.

Ben Witt of Milltown Cycles built both of my current wheelsets using vintage Coda branded DT Swiss hubs laced to Surly Marge Lite and Rolling Darryl rims with DT spokes and brass nipples. The Rolling Darryl’s are pictured on the bike with 26x4.0 Husker Du tires. The rest of the build consists mainly of a ‘poor man’s XX1 group’ with an X0 gripshifter, X9 type 2 rear derailleur, 11-36 shimano cassette and 34t narrow/wide chainring on E13 cranks. Brakes are the absolutely awesome Shimano SLX 675. A 42t add-on cassette cog is also on it’s way. The cockpit parts are a Ritchey mix other than a carbon specialized saddle that has been repaired and recovered.

I’ve ridden about 150 miles now and can’t wait for more. Hope Cannondale or any other new players in the fatbike market come out with their own bikes with similarly aggressive geometry. I would also hope others will see that old frames can be repurposed in order to extend their usefulness.

Lastly, after the snow melts I will be switching to a lefty for the summer. No surprise there. The interesting part will be the 29 x 75mm carbon rims I plan to use. Can’t say much more about that yet as I’ve only just begun the rim construction, but follow over the next couple months if you are interested.

Mountain Bike Action and my new build...

Kind of a surreal thing to see.  The bike is actually much further along now, but holding onto the pictures and information for now...

Stomach Flu

Riley had it early last week, Kim later in the week. My turn, laid up big time Saturday into Sunday.  No fun at all since it was family Christmas over in Wisconsin.  Putting me off my plan for riding, still feel like I'm in a bit of a fog!  Did get out for a hike last night through gamehaven to check out the uber cold, wish I'd brought my bike, but my hiking partner can't stay on the straight and narrow of winter singletrack real hot.

So, I had committed to 50 hours on the fatbike before Triple D and I'm admittedly almost there.  Partly, I'm ahead of the game because there is a whole extra week before Triple D than I'd thought when I made that plan (shows how loose my plans are, I guess).  I guess I'll have no problem getting that 50 in, probably more.

The question though...  do laid up with flu sick days count as rest?

Why I don't mind having a 10+ mile commute

I was previously wrong to say fatbikes aren't ideal for commuting.  I stand by the fact that my 700x42 nokians are better in the slushy mix left behind by cars, but I was also clearly wrong and it's obvious to me now.

I work in the tallest building WAY down there in some of those pictures.

This commute won't suck in the summer either.

2013 Untitled Information! March 1st and 2nd

A Free Viking Style Gran Fondo

Riding from Fat Willy's at 9 am each day.  Routes are as below:

Day 1: This is a link as well  food/rest potential at mile 27 (Chatfield), 49 (Dover Road Trip bar and grille), 56 (Kwik Trip) and Fat Willy's at 71. I'm thinking gas station at 27, soup at 49 Many ways to shortcut home if needed. This has some real climbing in the middle. 

Day 2:  Link   Bombing through the city for first 10 or so, THE HUDDLE at mile 39ish, Kwik Trip in Eyota at 52, Fat Willy's at the end. I plan on lunch at Huddle, Lunch at Fat Willy's.

Hope to see you.  There are some spots left to stay at my house overnight Saturday.  I'm assuming many will make one day or the other.  Locals feel free to meet up en route or cut off early etc..

Dickie Scramble 2014

go here...

http://dickiescramble.blogspot.com/2013/10/dickie-scramble-2014-75-miles-42014.html

Total lack of fun means no blog posts

As most of you know I've been sick.

I had some nasty symptoms and some nagging symptoms.  I wasn't able to ride much for a really long time. I couldn't even ride to work, but was still trying to race cyclocross.  I would get a ride to work from Kim with my bike on the roof and just hope that after work I'd feel well enough to ride it home...  but then be forced to call for a ride after spending hours on the toilet.  And this all took place right in the middle of my favorite part of my racing calendar.  Over the last two months I've been tested for everything from a thyroid disorder to ulcerative colitis to HIV.  They tested my heart.  I told them that if my heart was degenerating fast enough that it could explain my symptoms that they may as well not test it, that I was going to die...  they insisted.

They never found anything.  At this point I'm done with it.  I've said that a through times throughout this process.  Tried to flip a switch mentally and just GET BETTER, but this time I am done.  My stomach has calmed down to a great degree.  I've been able to ride the last two days with a more or less linear relationship between my effort level and how my body feels.

Expect more blog posts.

quinoa or saponin poisoning- what the hell?

So, I am making some diet changes in hopes of fixing some health issues that have come up this fall.  Not sure yet what is going on, but I've had some symptoms that may be affecting my bike racing and some symptoms that are definitely affecting my quality of life in general.  I won't go into more details for now since the point is just that I plan on trying a stripped down, home made only diet here for while.  Yesterday was day one of that effort and ironically? it didn't go very well.

Quinoa has been brought to everyone's attention the last few years as something healthy people 'in the know' are eating.  I've been eating it here and there for a while and usually in relatively small quantities.  I plan, at least initially here, to cut out wheat from my diet and figured a quinoa based stir-fry might be a good dish to try.

It turned out really good too!  I ate a small portion for lunch then headed to a doctors appointment before going into work.  I had a bit of a rumble in my stomach at the doctors, nothing new as it's the whole reason I was there anyways, and basically ignored it.  Around 6 I got hungry and ate a larger portion for dinner...

Around 6:45 I had a bad headache.  At 7 I was dizzy and my head was pounding to the point of keeping me from getting anything done.  By 7:40 I was laying down in a dark conference room at work trying to figure out how not to throw up while also somehow getting home.

I forced myself to drive home at 8 which cost me 3+ hours of PTO.  As soon as I got into my house I laid down on the bed in a fetal position and slept.  Around 1:30 am I felt a tiny bit better and finally felt able to lift up my head.  I googled a bit and realized I was having a somewhat common issue with the quinoa.  A reaction to a toxin called saponin that is naturally present.  I had rinsed it briefly in water (per the instructions on the container-  fwiw this was the red quinoa from trader joe's).  I obviously had not done enough, nor had I been aware of any danger.  I won't be eating any quinoa in the future, I guess.

toasted myself

I'm resting.  Had to DNS Sunday, should have DNS'd the entire week last week.  After a TIRED weekend down in STL (best finish was a 4th in SS) I was looking for answers.  Two were possible, one was that I've done too much...  that the combination of life and training had equaled too much.  The other option was that I needed to buckle down harder, that maybe the flu shot had hurt me or something else?  

I rode every day and I tried to ride hard. I felt off, but I knew I had Friday to rest.  My legs just didn't come around.

It became clear I may as well not even be racing pretty quickly Saturday.  I had to quit, had to start reversing my mistake.

I refuse to use being a parent as an excuse.  Or the new house and the work that is going along with it.  Or the stress at work.  None of that is a reason to ride poorly, it's simply that I need to do a better job of analyzing where I am at and rest when that's what I need.  Looking back now I've been on the absolute ragged edge since late September.  I look at my diary and there were commutes at least once a week where I had a hard time getting home.  I needed a full stop.  I took some prior to the Filthy 50 since I had a 13 day window with no CX, but it's been far too long since then without real recovery.  At the same time I was riding less than I rode last year, or in the spring, or etc...  but the point is that is only half or a third of the equation.  I had it in my head that I could take a bunch of rest before the season and then push and push.  I had a schedule with built in breaks but then when the breaks came I didn't take them.  

Next year I will do a better job of balancing this stuff-  it's new to me not to sleep 10 hours on my 'off' training days.  It's new that I have to not to something else in order to find time to work on my bikes.  I'll adapt.

This week I'm not throwing my leg over a bike until Thursday or Friday.  Maybe then I'll hop on the Pugnago and just cruise around.  I'll race one day this weekend only if I start feeling great-  great like I haven't felt since Wednesday the week after Trek CXC.  Otherwise I'll be letting it roll all the way into Jinglecross.  I'll be ready for Jinglecross.

Green Acres CX and early season CX

I somehow skipped blogging about a bunch of early season CX races.

The 2/3 race at trek cxc was super fun.  I had solid rides both days and finished around 10th despite going in with a pretty nasty head cold that had even required taking time off from work Thursday and Friday.  The course was one that suited me pretty well and the temperatures stayed down just enough for me to ride solidly.

The next few weeks after that, really all the way up to the Filthy 50 I battled the clock trying to squeeze in house work, unpacking, turning my garage into a shop, training etc. way too much vs. being ready to race.  This was ok as I was viewing it as the beginning of my training for the fall.  My season this year falls into 4 blocks of CX races with the rest period between blocks one and two being the Filthy 50 weekend.  I wanted to be as fast as possible early, but last year I feel I ran out of steam late and wasn't able to capitalize on my bike handling skills as much as I wanted to when it got muddy and snowy late.  A longer view for this year, then.

Metal Cross was a total disaster for me.  Crazy mechanicals the first day took me out of both the SS and the 1/2 race and then the temperature soared and I rode crappy on day 2.

Next was the Baker Orchard race.  I didn't go in with high expectations because my legs had been leaden all week but was bailed out by the weather.  The muddy conditions and relatively flat course put alot of emphasis on skills I do have and not on fitness that maybe wasn't there.  I was pleased to finish 7th with a strong field.

I headed to Green Acres on a bit of a high after winning on the road during my rest week.  Green Acres is a course I really enjoy and the conditions were looking excellent with cold temperatures and a bit of rain.  Saturday race started out solidly and I came back down the hill in the top 6 or 8 but then I had stupid problem with my chain and frustration with my new shoes and found myself out of it physically and mentally very early on.  I chose to ride on at a fun pace and get some practice riding the course but then to pull out prior to being lapped, already had an eye on Sunday.

Sunday's course was a bit of a change-up with some awesome singletrack downhill sections and an even steeper muddy climb that I could just barely ride.  The race started well but this time a rider right in front of me crashed at the top of the first hill and the lead pack of 6 was gone from the start.  I pressed a bit too much to get back into it and went head first into a tree too! By the time I got things sorted out I was 60+ seconds behind after just a lap and no where near where I wanted to be.  I caught and passed one rider each lap for a while.  Finally getting close to Fred...

Well, not close to him there yet at all.  He and Dominic both weren't caught up in that early crash.

There close to him and closing...

When I caught Fred he just took off!  but I caught him again and then we made like 5 laps like this...

Getting in a little duel with Fred was pretty fun.  Obviously we like to compete with each other, but we are also friendly enough that more things go than with most other riders.  What I mean, is that we were both really enjoying feeling each other out and sort of screwing with each other where if it had been someone else we might have played it a bit closer to the vest?  Anyways, I won this battle because of the lesson I learned last year at the same venue.  I may also have set Fred up a bit by dogging it up the hill with two and three laps to go because when I had the lungs to keep it pinned up top after riding the hill on the last lap I was able to open up almost 30 seconds between there and the finish.  I finished 7th against what was probably the strongest non-state chamionship field I think I've seen in MN.  Sort of interestingly Dominic was right in front of me for the second year in a row at Green Acres, maybe next year I will beat him there.  Trevor dominated the 35+ field both days!  They started 30 seconds behind the 1/2 field but he was easily top 10 overall despite the handicap both days and wasn't too far from catching me Sunday.  Always good to see him racing CX after the long WORS season. I thought these pictures of us were funny right after the race...

Filthy 50 2013 race recap

First, awesome to see so many people show up for this event.  It was very well run, organized, planned etc..  I'll be back next year if it fits my schedule at all!  Hope to see some more of these racers at next years Dickie Scramble.  Here is my overly detailed racey race report.

Twenty miles in and we were caught and I was tired.

My goal and plan had been to get off the front solo, which had failed despite 3 real efforts to do so and some great help from Rochester teammates.  I'd only succeeded in gaining two man moves-  first from mile 3 to 6 or so and then again from mile 13 to 20ish.  It was disappointing I hadn't gotten further clear.  I knew Franz had done what he could for me and it was appreciated.  The group that had caught up was very strong.  They were the reason I had planned and hoped to go solo.  I didn't like my odds against any of them late in the race heads up and they were all there yet but one (Nick).  My failed gamble had been that if I went before the group broke up I might gain more time than anyone was expecting.  There was little left to do but take my turns at the front and avoid being dropped.  The group was friendly and worked well together for the next 20 miles as we all anticipated getting back out of the valley.

On Nature rd Dominic  attacked and he and Pat gained a gap.  I sat back knowing the false flat would give time to pull things back together, which was true.  Wow, was I ever thankful we did not go up Oriole!  I noted that Pat's teammate Adam did take a couple turns with me to get us both back on term.  At that point we were over the only large bump and there were about 18 miles to the finish.  Surprisingly, with so far to go, the attacks, games, strategy started immediately.

Pat and Dominic appeared much stronger than Adam and I and Pat wanted clear.  I was dropped multiple times over the next couple of miles but always came back after the move was covered.  Simply unable to respond to either of their digs I was resigned to not even trying but instead staying steady and hoping.  Adam didn't appear to be doing much better either.  At one point Adam and I were 25 or 30 seconds back riding side by side both thinking that we were beat.  Once we were back on the other two were marking each other so hard that Adam and I both slipped clear, but I wasn't on terms with Adam and I needed to eat so I went back to the other two.  Adam opened up a 45-60 second gap as Dominic realized that for different reasons neither Pat nor I would really do any work. Over the next few miles Dominic put in a really strong effort and I did eventually take a couple of pulls.  I started to see that if we caught Adam he might be the only one of the three I could beat and as such I wanted to keep the gap reasonable.  Then again, when we caught him the whole thing would break open and I would probably be dropped, so no need to catch until the end.

At 3.5 miles to go nothing had changed for quite a while and Adam had 26 seconds.  I was hoping for a sprint.

At 3.2 miles to go we crossed hwy 30 and Dominic slowed and moved left marked by Pat.  They seemed to stop.  I was alone on the right side of the road and I must have had a hundred plus meters before they even reacted.  I was very very tired, constantly looking under my armpit for the next mile.  I wondered what had happened, how could they not be coming after me?  The gap was so big so fast, it felt like a gift.

Meanwhile Adam was 15-20 seconds ahead of me and I had no idea how he was feeling or if I could catch him solo but then he blew the last corner...

2 miles to go I was leading, riding 24+ mph down a gravel road I know well.  It was the solo ending I had hoped for.

It happened so fast I didn't even know what to think.  Again, like a gift.  Luck.  Wow!

Pat beat Dominic in a contested sprint.  Rochester teammates had solid rides in 5th and 6th.  Monika came in with a strong 11th on a flat tire.  Everyone seemed happy.  I won 12 pork chops...

The other thing of note...

Which was the right choice.  The frame and both wheels are cyclocarbon repairs.  I won't get into my thoughts on 'gravel bikes' any more than this...  expect to either see my on this setup or my tarmac with the same wheels and 27s.  I mostly went with this bike here because I was too lazy to change handlebars so I could run aero bars on the Tarmac at this time of the year.

And, Strava...

Just thought you should know: cat dumper

Coward.

On Wednesday night you drove out of Rochester with two kittens.  You had probably been trying to give them away for a few weeks.  You knew that they were your responsibility since you had been irresponsible enough not to spay your pet.  

I know this because Thursday morning when I woke up they were high in my trees, scared out of their minds.  They came down to see me with some coaxing.  The two of them were inseparable.  They followed me as I went about my outdoor chores and work.  Here they are-

I gave them food and water, starting trying to find a home willing to take them.  They were so friendly to me, happy to follow all over through the woods.  They always stayed close.

Sometime late last night the the one on the left was caught on the ground, spooked, chased and killed.  Most likely it was one of the neighbors dogs.  Really, it was you.  These were indoor cats that obviously had not learned to hunt, protect or defend themselves.  Is that the ending you had envisioned when you drove down my gravel road?  When you were too much of a coward to take care of her or even to have her put down?  What did you expect?

Of course the blame doesn't end there.  Paws and Claws...  did they call you and ask if you had room for these cats?  I don't know, but you would have been condescending and scoffed at the notion.  You would have acted like whoever was calling was an ignorant jerk who had let their animals breed.  They should have known you were too busy and full to help them solve the problem they had created.  I know this because this was the attitude you gave me when I called you today.  You raised millions in Rochester recently for your new building and yet you cop an attitude when someone needs you?  What are your priorities?   Full or not, finding home for many animals or not...  you need to realize the consequences of having an attitude.  You are the largest and most known shelter.  You are who people call.  If you simply turn them away and with an attitude that makes them feel hopeless...  what do you expect them to do?

Bike Lockers: Commuting Level II Unlocked

Lanier parking put those in the 3rd St. ramp last week.  I'd noticed the "bikespot" logo and the pump previously and thought it was a bit odd.  I mean it was just a sign on the wall and a couple tools.  Then one day I was on my way to the same bike rack I've been using for years...

The same one I've been complaining about fighting for space, the danger of theft, my light being stolen, the parking lot security car being parked in the way of, the stupid pink 'curb cancer' garbage cans infringing upon, my friends bikes being stolen etc..  On this night, I looked to the right and saw something different.  At first I wasn't sure what they were, but as I walked down the ramp and they became clearer I got really, really excited.  I had to have one.

On Monday I put down the $5 a month for the remainder of this years billing cycle.  I was able to ride my CX bike yesterday and go on a lunch hour training ride.  I have a place to leave my shoes so I can wear my cycling shoes to work then change.  A place to let my clothes dry while I'm at work.  All that stuff is nice but it's the overall impact that can't be understated, it's like in a driving simulator video game...  I've been driving the civic they make you drive initially and this locker has unlocked the supercars.  No longer do I have to ride what sort of works but also probably won't get stolen or wrecked in the rack.  I can't remember any single event ever increasing more how excited I was to ride my bikes.

I realize a lot of this stuff is old hat to many people, especially those from 'progressive' Minneapolis, Des Moines, Iowa City, Madison, Duluth, really anywhere but Rochester.  In fact, most of my readers probably assume that my employer would have long provided it's employees with 'secure' places to put bikes, places to change near where they work etc. etc..

Get yours before they are all gone.

Gravel Conspiracy 2013

I sat in the parking lot and waited. After a while it became "we".  Eventually more arrived and we had a few beers.  Some of us went inside the Casino/Hotel and showered only to wander back out.  It got late and everyone was hungry so we finished our beers and headed to the buffet...

We walked in the doors to employees putting up the closed signs. "Water on the floor of the kitchen".  We would later find out that the water was sewage back-up, and for the 3rd time this year alone.  Can you imagine working in a restaurant where sewage regularly backs up onto your floor?  We learned that the nearest other food option was 18 miles away.  Everyone had just ridden to Grand Portage from Grand Marais with thoughts of buffet, all you can eat crab legs, ice cream etc..  What did we do?

We descended upon the 'trading post'/gas station like Vikings pillaging.  Creating a potluck to be proud of despite the 3.2 beer.  That is what the gravel conspiracy is all about.

For me it's also a race and a training camp.  It marks the end of the heat and the beginning of fall.  I knew it would be cool and that I wanted to use it as a goal to encourage me to pile on the suffery miles in the heat during the summer.  As a chance to get some confidence back in my legs.  To get a hint of some form that never quite shows even on the cooler days of the summer.  This year I had not ridden nearly as much in August, nor had I ridden well in July and I wasn't sure what to expect.  I'll be honest that more than one of the other riders had me worried.  They had been piling up great results all summer while I snuck in rides after dark.  My plan or strategy was to ride the first day very hard.  I knew I could ride hard for 37 miles after the road first turned up off of highway 61, but had no idea how I would fare on the longer days.  Riding those 37 miles hard was something that I could control.

Maybe it had been a little too long since I felt like I had control of anything riding my bike.  It truly has been frustrating this summer.  I remember having so much excitement over my form in spring but had completely lost any connection to that feeling by late June and felt like a different person altogether by August. I put my head down and rode those 37 miles with some rhythm and it was damn fun.  The route climbed up and up away from the lake and then traversed beautiful terrain.  The roads just windy and technical enough to keep me honest but always begging for more pedaling and less brakes. Those 37 miles took me about 1:57.  

The next two stages were much the same.  Long, long but wonderful climbs, seriously rugged roads strewn with rocks and puddles, some fast open gravel descents.  Each stage following it's own way but generally fitting the pattern of a slow undulating climb to the midpoint far up and away from the lake and then a meandering back down.  Time to get completely lost.  I tried to explain to Josh what is so great about this.  How it's even better than just riding alone because I don't have to think at the event.  I just follow the purple line and lose everything else.  No need to think about where to turn, where water might be next etc..  No need to worry about using too much energy and not finding food.  Knowing just that I have to follow that line and that I can watch the miles count down and at the same time push my riding to so that when the miles say zero so do my legs.

The group was awesome.  Everyone seemed to be loving the ride and hanging out together after each day's ride.  Not much could have made it a better weekend.