Buckmaster

I was out in Saratoga Springs on vacation all last week visiting my wife's relatives. On the agenda was golf, beer, ice cream and cheeseburgers... I did manage to climb Buck Mountain with former Reliable Racing Nordic Manager Dave Matthews on Wednesday the 16th. The Buck Mountain climb starts at Lake George at 320 feet above sea level and climbs to 2,346 feet in 3 miles. I don't know why I can't climb on the bike (could be the extra pounds) but I can hike up a mountain faster than just about anyone. Notice I said hike. Running hurts my flat feet too much but hiking isn't so bad. I waited up for Dave a few times but we still blasted up the climb in one continuous push. Check out the picture from the top at over 2,000 feet above the lake. If only we had mountains like that here...

More Hills

Today was the third straight day of rides with hill climbs. Yesterday's TCBC hammer-fest had my legs pretty stiff. I managed to climb a few hills and push some big gears on my 16 mile cruise through parts of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. One of the hills I climbed was Ramsey. I was in my 39 x 25 and really had to hang on... A big SPBRC group ride was out on Summit.

Off The Front

I joined Rob and Lori Belz and Barry Torgerson on the TCBC Acapulco ride out of Stillwater. The route goes down to Afton and back and includes some of the big hills there. Rob and I rode with the first pack. A couple of the guys hammered... I barely made it up the hills and was always the last one in line... Toward the end of the ride though, I dropped most of them on the flat sections... We got in 39 miles.

Climbing

I need to work on my hill climbing... Today I rode up Ohio from the bottom to the top twice and also went up the High Bridge/Smith Avenue. Lastly, I climbed Irvine on the way back to Summit and home. There were other guys riding Ohio too. I got in 17 miles.

Party'n On The Fourth Of July Weekend...

We had the big and annual Fourth of July Party on Friday, July 4th! Bike peeps having a good time were Jerry Engen, Lori Belz, Tom and Lee Bengel, Rob Belz, John Wyland and Bill Stuber. Malted beverages were served as were the usual 4th fares. I got in 19 miles earlier in the day on the Summit, River Blvd loop. Saturday, I saved myself for Sunday's Firecracker MTB Race in Eau Claire. So, I got in 9 holes of golf at the famed and storied Phalen track in Saint Paul. Today, I drove over to Eau Claire with Bill Stuber for the said Firecracker MTB Race. I got 7th in the Sport 50-54 Category. I thought the race was three laps so I saved a little for the last lap only to find out with a 1/4 mile to go that it was only two laps... I was glad to be done anyway... Tom Bengel caught and passed me before the last hill so I stayed right on his wheel. Until the hill that is... He pulled away. Tommy, Jerry Engen, Rob Belz and Lori Belz all placed in their categories and got hardware. Lee Bengel, Stubes and I did not... Shane Kullman and Dave Hoagland did the Expert event. I got in 17 1/2 miles.

Ten...

I got in a whopping 10 miles on Wednesday. I was too busy, as I have been lately, so my miles have been down the last two weeks. I did manage to get in a couple of hill climbs though...

Cruising The Lakes

The first day of July got me out for a spin around the lakes. The route was my Owasso loop which took me past Gervais Lake, Lakes Owasso and Wabasso and lastly, Como Lake. You were probably expecting the Minneapolis lakes but why fight the traffic and the lousy road surface (especially around Lake of the Isles (thanks RT Rybak...)) when you can ride the less congested roads of Ramsey County... I got in 24 miles.