Off Road

I got in a little off road training on Saturday. The weather was cool at the start but otherwise it was perfect for some mountain biking at Lake Elmo Park Reserve and other trail systems of the far east metro. The ride group included Jerry Engen, Lori Belz, Bill Stuber, Barry Torgerson, Mark Stolpe (in from Idaho) and John Wyland. We got in 20 miles. Today, I joined Jerry Engen, Jay Wenner, Ben Popp, Pete Thurmes and others for some rollerskiing in Afton. It was my first time out this season. I went up Trading Post two times and got in 1 1/2 hours.

The Routine

I got back to the usual after work routine with a 31 mile cruise of the Greenway, Cedar and Kenilworth Trails. There seems to be less people on the trail as summer winds down. It was a perfect day for a ride though.

TT PR

The Withrow Time Trial was the race of the evening on Tuesday. I set a personal record on the course with a time of 32:14 which was 25.13 miles per hour. I tied for 18th out of 115 racers. Among those finishing ahead of me were Timmer, Rick Christenson and Dave Ludwigson. Finishing behind me were Steve Knowlton, John Stamm, Ben Popp, Tom Bengel, John Fitzgerald, Michael Gotsche and Piotr Bednarski. Anyway, with the warm-up, race and cool-down, I got in 31 miles. Check out the picture taken by Bruce Adelsman of skinnyski.com.

My New Boat

I got in 107 miles the last four days which included a couple of trips through the U of M and across the Stone Arch Bridge mixed in with trips on the Greenway, Cedar and Kenilworth Trails. Today, Tom Bengel and I got in some more time trial training. On Saturday, I managed to play nine holes of golf. I shot 44 which included a triple on the last hole... Sunday, the after ride fun was fishing on one of my favorite east metro lakes. I had two northerns and a bass all spit the hook back at me... Anyway, check out my new boat...

Testosterone Fog...

Since it's been raining the last couple of days, I'll update the blog. Tom Bengel and I got in a big time trial training session Monday. We rode the Greenway, Cedar and Kenilworth Trails with five plus speed segments. We jacked the speed up to 24mph to 25mph and held it for a few miles. I think the speed sessions have really worked to get the time trial speed up. We got close to 32 miles. On Tuesday, I joined the Now Bikes ride to the west side of Saint Paul and into Bloomington and back through Fort Snelling. That was a hammer fest as a testosterone fog enveloped many of the riders. I did my best to hold on... We got in 31 1/2 miles.

Crusing

Another 31 miles on the famed and storied Greenway, Cedar and Kenilworth Trails. The ride started out sunny and ended up cloudy with a few rain drops. A lot of people were out on their bikes. Anyway, I rode with a steady tempo and didn't do any speed pick-ups.

Heading Downtown

The after work ride was 21 miles through Downtown Minneapolis via the Greenway, Cedar and Kenilworth Trails. They need to find a route for the bike trail through Downtown to where it picks up again by the Metrodome. As I said earlier, Saint Paul needs a system of trails like the ones across the river.

Blackdog A Go Go

When you do the Blackdog Time Trial, you better go fast! I set a PR tonight with a time of 16:14 but I was still 9th in the M 50+. It doesn't seem to matter if I'm thirty seconds slower, I'll still be 9th place... The usual supsects beat me including Dave Ludwigson, Gary Hrska and Rick Christiansen. I did get Steve Knowlton and John Stamm tonight. Tom Bengel was behind Stamm but also set a PR. The total miles were a little over 24.

In Synergy Now

I rode with the Now Bikes/Synergy guys tonight. It worked out well since the Saint Paul store is only a few blocks from our house. We rode out to Eagan and back with about a dozen riders. I got in 33 miles.

TTT

Time Trial Training. That's what Tom Bengel and I did after work today. We did a bunch of speed intervals on the Greenway, Cedar and Kenilworth Trails. The total miles were 31.

Between Storms

I got another ride in on the ________ Trail today. Go ahead, fill in the blank, you know which trail I rode. The total miles were 30 1/2 if that gives you a clue. Anyway, it rained in the morning so I held off until the afternoon. On the way back, a few blocks from home, the rain started up again... A few people were training on their time trial bikes but most were just cruising.

Framed

I went to the Minnecycle local frame builders show at the Vine Arts Center in south Minneapolis yesterday. Tom Bengel met me there after work. The show featured custom bikes from Curt Goodrich, Vincent Dominguez, Chris Kvale, Terry Osell, Capricorn, Clockwork, Freeman, Peacock Groove and Wyganowski. There were only about fifteen to twenty bikes there but it was pretty cool. Goodrich showed off a couple of his Team Issue cyclocross bikes. He's sponsoring a cross team this year. Erik Noreen of Peacock Groove had some really cool track bikes displayed plus a Pugsley sized mountain bike with a triple chain. Note, not a triple chain ring but a triple chain... Noreen gave Tommy and me a tour of his shop in the basement of the building. He's right next to Kvale. Wyganowski had a bike there with stainless steel lugs. It was a good show. Check out the picture of the Goodrich Team Issue cross bike and the Peacock drop out on one of the Noreen track bikes.

Predictable

Yeah, another day on the Greenway, Kenilworth and Cedar Trails. I think that's three rides in a row... If you want to do longer miles, it's pretty convenient. I got in 28 miles as I looped through downtown Minneapolis.

Gruenweg

Another day on the Greenway. I got in 31 miles on the fabulous Greenway, Kenilworth and Cedar Trails. As usual, there were a lot of other riders on the trails. Saint Paul could use a similar system. Right now, there's no easy way to get from south of I94 to the area north of the freeway and Saint Paul's north end.

Going Green

The after work ride was another 30 mile time trial training session on the Greenway and Cedar Trails. Lots of people were on the path.I came across Greg, one of the Endurance Athlete Trainers.

Stillwaters Run Deep

Bill Stuber and I rode out to Lake Elmo and met Rob Belz for a ride. We continued on to Stillwater and then took Stagecoach south to 10th which we followed all the way back to Saint Paul. The headwind on Stagecoach was huge so we took turns leading. There were a lot of other riders out in the area too. Rob's getting a lot of miles in as he prepares for the Leadville 100 in a few weeks. The total miles for the day were 44 1/2.

2000

I hit 2,000 miles for the year on Friday with a ride down to the U of M, north on West River Road, through downtown Minneapolis, over to the Cedar Trail and then the Greenway Trail home. That was a little 22 miler. The highlight of the day though was my trip to Lake... Wait a minute, I'll just say one of my favorite east metro lakes... I caught this big Northern Pike on a jig in about 10 feet of water. I should have gotten the tennis ball out of the picture so the fish would have looked bigger... On the other side of the lake I missed a big one about 1 hour later... Anyway, a Loon flew overhead, an Eagle dove down for a fish and a Great Blue Herron was standing on a dock.