All I Got

We went to Madison all last weekend, and all I got was this pitcher. OK, also a great visit to the UW Glass Lab, nice to see Laura (still doing great at school), an OK play and a family reunion. But the terrace is always nice. Perfect day.

Swagtacular

Craziness and Success!

Got to the Short and Fat start 1.5 hours early. There were about 20 rows of bikes parked in the start area ahead of me. Yikes. Wedged the Ax into a nice spot about row three, behind the preferred start section. If nobody yells at me, I’m in.

Rollout went great. My cyclocross bike just flew on the roughly paved, mile long start. I could roll up between the openings without too much effort. Counting the two(!) serious pile-ups in the first two miles, I must’ve passed 200 people.

It was amazing. On the forest road sections I could bridge the gaps up to the next set of riders pretty much at will. Hang back and draft for a bit, pick your spot for the move and then smoothly power to the next group. I have never been able to move like that. That must be how real athletes do it!

Then it became a game of holding my own in the single track sections. I felt a need for more finesse with the skinnier, lighter setup. Took great care in picking lines and finding the smoothest track while going cross-eyed.

At three miles out I smacked an unseen rock and CRACK!. Waiting for my front tire to flatten, or was that my carbon fork? Eventually I figured it was an old nemesis, the handlebars had slipped the grip of the stem by a cm or so. The excitement and hesitation had allowed three past, including the first two women. A second adjustment of the bars on a monster downhill encouraged an even more aero position and put the brakes a bit more out of reach. A good thing…I guess.

71 out of 801 and 3rd in age group. Only the second time I placed in this race!

Early start in Sunday’s Rough Stuff Rendezvous. I checked the map regularly, trying to avoid mistakes. No issues on the first control, always good to get your bearings. Gathered a crowd on the way to the second control. Politely dropped them on the way to the third and didn’t see another rider the rest of the way.

Successfully balanced caution (stopping to check the map) with self-doubt/confidence (must’ve missed it, am I lost, I’m going too far, it should be here). Chose the proper order, a near perfect route, no false turns. Don’t know how the winner put seven minutes into me. I’ll have to get a clipboard for next year.

Proper order? 4,3,6,1,5,2,7. 5th of 71 and 2nd in age group.

Two events, two trophies. Everything important basically happened between the rainstorms. Perfect.

Just arrived from Kentucky. “I rode all gravel through Wisconsin”.

Sharpen the Axis

Not in great shape for this weekend’s Chequamegon. I’ll try and get a techno edge with my cyclocross bike, Bianchi Axis. Put on new rubber and cleaned up the drive train. We’ll see how it goes.

Gone in 60 seconds

Well, 12 hours. We certainly don't need two cars in this town. Super clean, for $400 over the best blue book.

1990 Honda Accord EX TOP condition - $3300 (Stevens Point)

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Date: 2008-09-04, 9:32PM CDT One owner, only 78,000 miles. We love it, but don’t use it enough to keep it around. Our loss, your gain!
Truly in great condition. Basically looks, rides and performs like a new car. A sweet ride with a LOT of life left in her. Priced a bit above bluebook, but you have to see this car, it is new.
Meticulously maintained. Everything needed has been done. Good rubber, new brakes, etc.
- No rust, no accidents, excellent condition inside and out.
- 5-speed manual
- 30+ mpg combined city/hwy
- Midnight blue with Sun/moon roof, a/c, power windows and locks, alloy wheels, good rubber, new CD player

Palin be damned

Granted, we have a brewery that's older than Miller. Still, page one above the fold? Talk amongst yourselves.

Lost Souls

Took Mike up on his proposal to do some Labor Day exploring. The wilds of the upper Plover River. Higher than I new it went. Out of the county, past Shantytown and halfway into the next county.

Mike, Mike, Kurt, Ruth, Carol and Barb; Four kayaks and a canoe. All quiet at the put-in. Through the whole route they’ve made nice channel improvements. Ostensibly for the fish, it narrows and deepens the river and increases the flow. But good for paddlers too. After six weeks of almost no rain, we needed every nano of depth.

But it wasn’t long before depth was the least of our worries. Got a little past the “turn-back” point and LOTS of blow-downs blocking the channel. Haul the boats over, scratch them through, portage around. OK, let’s stop and scout this mess. Time for the big decision. Thankfully, we found that by flogging ourselves with stinging nettles down a muddy, rocky logging “road” for 100 yards we could attain a nice idyllic hunting cabin with a spring and a new launch spot.

From there, no issues. A few beaver dams, and plenty of riffles to thread through. After the blow-downs, a welcome relief.