Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Cruising The North End

I rode Saint Paul's north end after work. As usual lately, I rode the Redline cyclocross bike and searched for some new trails. I kept riding trails I'd ridden before though... I got in 15 miles.

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Afton Cyclocross Race Report


What a great day for a cyclocross race! Too bad the course was at Afton Alps and there was a big hill to climb... Everyone knows how much I like hills... The good thing was, they split the B Race. The B Cat 3 guys went 45 minutes and then the 45+ men were grouped with the 123 women for another 45 minutes. Loon State was well represented with Jordan Cullen winning the C race. The B Men Cat 3 included Chad Macy, Russ, Dan Cleary, Tom Manderfeld, Rob Belz and Skibby. In my 45+ event, Greg Goblirsch got 2nd behind Paul Mckinney of the Gopher Wheelmen. Other Loons in my race were Dave Ludwigson, Dan Meyer, Mike Lyner and Tim Power. Anyway, this course was not made for me. The big hill climb really took its toll as did the five sets of barriers. I pretty much raced with Tim Power and Todd Trembley. They did a lot better going up the climb than I did but I managed to pull away from them on the road section. Trembley dropped off with a sideache. My plan was to stay on Tim's wheel until the road section on the last lap. However, Tim stumbled after a set of barriers and dropped back. I got 21st overall and 15th in the 45+ for and 12 1/2 miles. Others racing included Women's winner Linda Sone, Kristiwood, Mark Engen and then Dave Meyer, Sam Meier, CJ Faulkner, Dan Casper, Hollywood, Ezra and many more in the A event. Thanks to Rob Halverson for the picture of the B 45+ Start. I'm second from the right.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Crossing Saint Paul Trails

Tom Bengel and I rode some of the single track trail systems of Saint Paul's north end. We crossed the border into Roseville too. It was great cross training. We jumped barriers, rode up some steep hills and pushed the bikes up some even steeper hills as we got in 18 miles.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

More Cross Practice

I went to the park across the river and did some more cross training. Three times running up the hill and four times up the stairs. I got in 14 miles.

Monday, October 20, 2008

Trail Blazing...

I took the cross bike up into Roseville to ride some of the trail systems. While there, I checked an area where I thought there would be a trail. It was there! On the way back, I stopped at the Bicycle Chain. Tim was the only one working. I got in 16 miles.

Skating With The Oldies


Notice that was skating with the oldies and not skating to the oldies... I got the roller skis out Sunday and hit the roads of Lake Elmo with Jerry Engen and Barry Torgerson. Just another attempt to get in better shape for the ski season... How long will I keep making the effort? Since Kathleen had some stuff to do, I went to Lake DeMontreville with the 10 foot john boat equipped with the monster 6hp motor in the afternoon. I took the channel to Lake Olson and fished a while with out landing anything. Next, I trolled the weedline and caught a nice northern. I went back through the channel to DeMontreville and fished a while longer. I almost fell out of the boat and got my left arm wet but that's another story. I didn't catch any other fish but check out the picture of DeMontreville with the fall colors in the hills.

Ham Lake Cyclocross Report


I beat the main rival peeps at Ham Lake so I will mention their names... When they beat me on the hillier courses, of course (no pun intended), their names will not be mentioned... Yes it's true, I like the Ham Lake course. Flat, fast and a nice asphalt section where time trialing skills can be an asset. I was with a large pack hanging on to the back when we were slowed by lapped riders. A lot of the guys slowed down but I went around them on the left and found myself riding behind Maria Stewart at the front. A couple of turns later, I heard a loud crash. That was the end of the rest of the pack. It slowed them down enough that they were not a factor again. A lap later, I used a proven method to beat Rob Belz. I used to ride around on the course and wait for him to have a mechanical. He got the bike fixed so that forced me to go for option two, ride around until Rob gets into a crash... He did and that's when I passed him... Rob and Jeff Colbeth were involved in a crash caused by one of the younger riders. They were right in front of me. Well, actually, Maria Stewart was right in front of me. She got slowed down by the crash but I was able to go around it. I used the asphalt section to put distance between me and the chase group. At the line, I got 48th out of 70 finishers in the B Race. Rob wound up a few guys behind me and Tom Bengel was about ten guys back. Loons in front of me included old guys like Dan Meyer and Bill Kuster. The young Loons ahead of me were Alex Atherton, Dan Cleary, Chad Macy, Andy Frye and Tom Manderfeld. My fellow Loon State peeps placing behind me were the above mentioned Rob Belz, Tim ? and Tim Power. I got in 18 1/2 miles. Thanks to Rob Halvorson for the finish line pic...

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Redline 3 Shakedown Cruise



After building up the new Redline Conquest frame yesterday evening, I rode down to the cyclocross training park across the river with Tom Bengel. The bike worked good. All I did was swap everything out from the old frame on to the new one. Tommy and I ran up the hill three times and climbed various sets of stairs a total of four times. This is the third Redline frame I've owned along with a Diamondback Podium which gives me four cyclocross bikes in the same time Tom Bengel has had one. I've sold a few of the others to raise cash at various times... Anyway, I got in 15 miles. Pictured are the Podium and the '06 Conquest Pro.

Third Time's The Redline



I got home from work today and my new Redline cross frame was on the porch. The first thing I did was take it downstairs. Then, I opened the box and began to swap out the parts from the old Redline. I worked pretty fast and had the whole thing done in a couple of hours. Check out the pics...

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Cross Training

Tom Bengel and I went down to a local park across a river tonight where cyclocross training is done. No one was there but us... We rode, climbed stairs and carried the bike up a hill. I got in 12 miles but the main thing was the specific cross training which I need right now.

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Check The Bike First

I raced the Wirth Cyclocross event today. Well, I did two laps... Since I'm waiting for a new frame to arrive, I borrowed John Wyland's Specialized Tricross. Anyway, the gears started slipping right away... I rode one warm-up lap without a problem but then again, I didn't put any pressure on the pedals like I did during the race. Every gear slipped. The problem might have a chain that was too long. I dropped out after two laps... It's always good to have excuses.

The Outdoorsman...



My second ride of October took place on the 10th. It was another step toward cyclocross shape as I rode an impressive 15 miles after work. Saturday was off the bike and devoted to the outdoors. In the morning, it was pheasant hunting in the fields, sloughs, swamps and cornfields of the east metro. Heard a few but didn't get any shots off. I did help Jerry Engen get a couple of geese when I scared them off the pond. Jerry didn't return the favor though. He drove a cornfield and a wood line but no pheasants took to the air. Later in the day, I did manage to catch four northern pike on one of my favorite east metro lakes. Drifting across the lake while flipping a twister jig and spinner blade worked great. I released all of them. Anyway the one picture is the hunting land facing the pond and the other is the biggest northern pike I landed.

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Back On The Bike Again



I got back on the bike for the first time in almost two weeks... The ride of the day was only 14 miles on the Summit, River Blvd loop. I have to ease back into it and get in shape for the cross races... In other news, I made a big horsepower move today. I purchased a used Johnson 6hp outboard for my ten foot john boat. The motor belonged to a customer of mine. It needed a new fuel pump so I stopped at a marine dealer and bought one. I installed it in about 15 minutes... Anyway, it's a big boost from the 2.2hp Mercury I've got. Check out the pictures...

Sunday, October 5, 2008

What Training?

Yeah, I haven't been doing a lot of training lately. As my other post indicated, my father passed away today after two years of numerous ailments and tons of pain. I did manage to ride the cross bike once before cracking the bottom bracket cup... Bye bye cross frame... I also rollerskied three times. Maybe that will help me lose the extra pounds. As soon as I get another cross frame I'll be back at the races. Caught a bass and northern while fishing with John Wyland on Thursday and got skunked hunting grouse with Jerry Engen on Friday.

Bill Junior Leaves Us Behind


My father, William J Tegeder Jr died this evening at 7:15pm. Thankfully, after a two year battle with numerous ailments that left him wreaked with pain, the end came. My wife Kathleen and I had just left the hospice facility when my brother Mike called to give us the news. A World War II veteran, he survived the D Day landing at Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge in the Ardennes Forest of Belgium. He lived 88 years and did the best he could to live the post war American dream. Besides being survived by Kathleen and me, he is survived by his wife of 61 years, Mary and sons Mike and Tom (Dorothy) along with his daughter Kathryn (Keith) and granddaughters Megan and Alison. Bill is also survived by an older brother Roy and a younger sister, Mary Catherine and many nieces and nephews. He was the youngest of five boys who grew up in Northeast Minneapolis. The picture is of Bill along with Mary during happier times.