Setting Sail on the RA300 - a sail would've been perfect for this race : )

There was a good article in this month's Adventure Cyclist. It was about how when you are young and have few responsibilities. How easy it is to just pick up and go for a long ride or tour. But, as you get older and have more to worry about. How challenging it can be to leave home. This article rang true for me as Rick, Gabby and myself left Grand Forks on Friday. It was very hard to leave my new son and wife to go do a race in another country. But as we got closer to Portage La Prarie I was thinking more and more about the monster that is the Red Assiniboine 300.

Last year at this race I made it to the halfway mark, and after leaving on the second half, I was caught in a nasty thunderstorm that had me lying in a ditch hoping I wouldn't be hit by lightning. As we got to the hotel this year it was pouring rain, and the wind was howling. Not a good sign before a race that is challenging enough without mother nature adding to it. Fortunately on Saturday morning the sun was shining, but the wind was still doing it's thing.

The race started just after 8:00am with Lindsay leading everyone out in his van. I stayed near the back of the group. I didn't want to get caught up in trying to hang on to Blair Saunders and the other fast guys like last year. I told myself to just go my own pace and see what happens. After about 50km I was competing for the course sweeper position. I wasn't feeling very fast at all. The mind was starting to play the "Let's quit, what's the point in riding this far anyway" game. That's when I caught up to Nathan Barten around Rathwell. I was pretty sure I was done for the day, and had Rick been there with the van, I would've called it quits. Thankfully Rick had gone futher up the course, so Nathan and I decided to stop for a double cheeseburger with fries and gravy at the Diner just off course. It was sooooo delicious. Nathan talked me into at least riding to the first checkpoint in La Riviere. We took off for the checkpoint. The rolling hills started, and the wind was relentless. Nathan rode off ahead on his super lightweight fixie. I caught up to Mike Harrison just before a wind farm. We yo-yo'd a little bit, and even stopped to take some pictures of the impressive wind turbines. Then I rode on ahead into the headwind alone. Somewhere along the way Nathan had gotten off course a little and I passed him in the process. Just before getting to La Riviere, there is an impressive section of gravel road. It runs along the Pembina Valley. Beautiful country in Canada. I had to stop and take a couple pictures. I always kick myself for not stopping to take pictures during races, so I didn't pass this opportunity up. I rolled into La Riviere around 5:30pm I think. Rick's daughter, Gabby, signed me in, and Lindsay bought me supper. Another hot meal in the belly. Mmmmmm. I spent about two hours there eating, talking and trying to come up with a good excuse to call it a day. But, Lindsay said I looked strong and wouldn't have any of it. So with a little encouragement I headed out to the second checkpoint at Rock Lake.

I had to stop and take a picture of what must have been Lindsay's school back in the day : )

Mike Harrison and the wind farm.

Pembina Valley just before La Riviere.

Climbing out of the Pembina Gorge towards Rock Lake I started to feel pretty good. The wind had also died down which I'm sure had a lot to do with me feeling better. I put the hammer down "Vino style" and flew into Crystal City stopping only long enough to get a Coke from a pop machine. I downed the Coke and headed out just as fast as I came into town. The sun was starting to set, and there was a good sized thunderstorm on the horizon. As it started to get dark I went to turn on my light, but it didn't work. So I just kept riding. Making sure to have my rear tail lights on and stay way to the side of the road when a car would come. Not to long after total darkness I could see a red blinky in the distance. I gave chase as fast as I could go in the dark. Eventually I got close enough to see it was three riders, and they were just turning on to a steep downhill. I turned on the jets and came flying up to them just at the bottom of the hill. They hadn't seen me behind them since I didn't have a headlight, so they were pretty startled. It was Cory Smith, Tomec Jasiakiewicz and Jay Hawranik. We all rode into the Rock Lake checkpoint together at 11:35pm. Blair Saunders and John Hawranik were still there. The checkpoint was at Kenny's lakeside cabin. What a guy! He had chili on the stove and enough Coke to open a convenience store. It was great! Lindsay was there as well, and was really happy to see the other three guys I rode in with. It seems they went 20km off course with the wind, all down hill. After realizing their mistake they had to ride back uphill into the wind those same 20km. Ouch! Tomec and Jay decided to pack it in at Rock Lake after that mishap. Cory and I packed up, reloaded with food and batteries for my light (THANKS JAY!!!!), and headed out for the remaining kilometers at around 12:30am.

Cory and I rode very well together. Keeping a fast pace, and stopping at each turn to make sure we were still on course. The night was cold with very little wind. The valleys were filled with bone chilling air and fog, but the climbs out of them warmed me up quickly. Just around sunrise I started fading, and Cory rode ahead. I was getting the same sore shoulders and neck I had at the Arrowhead. I slowed way down, and even walked for a short while. Finally I was close to Portage La Prairie again and just went as fast as I could back to the finish at Don Sisson's farm. It was 8:20am. Just over 24 hours for the "regular" course. I was very happy to be done. Don gave me a ride to the hotel and I had a little breakfast and took a nap before the awards BBQ.

What a great event. Lindsay put together one heck of a course. The volunteers and checkpoints were spectacular. Thanks to everyone involved!!! I highly recommend checking this race out next year. And hopefully I'll see Lindsay and Dallas at the Arrowhead in February.

When I got home I was checking my e-mail. I get these quotes of the day from the Foundation for a Better Life. The quote from this weekend was very fitting and reminded me why I love to do these types of races.

"A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for"
-William G.T. Shedd (1820-1894)

Heading to the RedAss 300

(pictures from official 300 website)

Follow along here.

Trent and the Dike (a dirty little tale)

Trent and I went on a brutal gravel grinder this morning. Fresh off his late night training sessions in the Twin Cities with Brian last weekend, I knew I was in for one helluva ride. Trent has been instrumental in my preparation for the RA300 next weekend. This was the last chance to get in a good workout before the taper. We headed west on a gravel road not too far from my house. Into a slight headwind we pushed on for what seemed forever. Then we turned south for a few miles until we found a rutted up minimum maintenance road. We plowed through the muck dodging four wheeler ruts and shotgun shells. Finally we came to a dike that brought us back home. It was super soft from the recent thunderstorms, and full of horse hoof holes. Trent was happy he broke in his new ride with some mud and horse poo : ) We ended up back at my place for some much needed coffee. Great ride Trent! I'm ready to tackle the Manitoba wild next weekend. Here are a few pictures from the ride.

THE END

Random thoughts

It's official. I registered for the Red Ass 300 on Sunday. Registration closes on the 31st so Trent and Brian better get moving : ) I wonder how their Minneapolis ride went? The RA300 should be a ton of fun again this year. I can't wait.

After that I'm looking forward to Nine Mile and Afton. Gonna keep the schedule pretty light this year again.

Putting in some sod on Saturday. That should be fun. Not to mention good upper body training. Hopefully it doesn't rain as forecasted. After that I just have to talk Trent into building me a deck : )

Henry is growing up fast. Dallas should have a little one not to far behind. Good luck on becoming a daddy Dallas! Are we going to see you at RA300?

Here's a picture for all those requesting one. This is Henry's "poop face"

Sunday morning coffee rides have begun! 35 miler with Top Gun and Trenty. Good ride guys.

Maverick

You've got a bogie on your tail!

Highway to the Danger Zone!

24 Hours of Labor

My wife is the new 24 hour champion of my world! Over 24 hours of labor on Friday night through Saturday night into the wee hours of Sunday morning. Henry David Simmons was born at 12:47am on Sunday April 6th of 2008. He is 8lbs 5oz and 21 1/4 inches. Jen and Henry are both doing great. Later.

No baby yet! I'm gonna try and rub some ankles and feed Jen some spicy Squez food. If nothing happens after that..... I'm going in : ) I'll keep you posted. Later.

Bench Building

Trent came over yesterday and helped me build a work bench for the garage. Now I can play shop mechanic and really mess up my bikes : ) Oh well. I'll just have to have Fox Cycle Repair fix my mistakes when he comes through town. The bench was fairly easy to make. Especially since Trent did most of the work. He let me touch his tools a couple of times, and then said I need to get my own : ) Thanks to Trent for all the help. Thanks to Brian for the plans. Here are a some pictures of the project.

In other home improvement news. The baby room is pretty much ready. He's due for arrival on Thursday, but maybe we'll have an Easter baby. You never know. Here's some more pictures for the soon to be Grandmas.

Bike shops and Baby rooms

I was thinking of building a work bench right below where the bikes are now. It's a two stall garage, and we only have one car. So, there's lots of room for a home bike shop. I need to finish insulating and dry walling it though.

The baby room is almost complete. We got the crib all cozied up, and built a bouncy chair, swing, stroller and play pen this weekend.

New House

The house and proud new owners.

Jax exploring his new fun house.

I actually put this crib together myself. I'll have to have Brian or Foxy check my bolt tightness though : )

Prepping the baby's new room for painting.

All painted. The color was lighter than we thought it would be. It looks a little green in these pictures, but it is actually a lighter tan color.

That's all for now. More to come. Any requests?

Riding with my heroes Sorry for the late race report. We've been busy moving and getting settled into the new house. I finally have internet again! Not sure I have too much different to say then all the other reports out there already, but here's my tale. I finally finished the Arrowhead race this year. Third time is a charm I guess. It was by far the hardest thing I have ever done. By a long shot. The Mangan and I headed up a day early this year on Saturday instead of Sunday. I think that helped calm the nerves, and gave us more time to make last minute changes. There were quite a few early arrivals. We spent a lot of the day checking out everyone's gear and bikes. Rick was like a kid in the candy store, snapping over 500 pictures over the course of the race. Lots of great ideas and gear this year. My favorite was the Epic Designs fat bike bling. I'm definitely getting some of that for next year. Sunday was more of the same. Checking out everyone's bikes and gear, and hanging out with all the interesting characters that make the Arrowhead so much fun. The race started on Monday morning. Charlie and I got to the start right when Dave Pramann and Greg Pattison did. We all started together and had a relatively fast pace line going with Dave P doing the majority of the work. We stayed together for most of the 18 mile out and back. The trail was great on this first section. Once we hit the trail on the other side of the highway, Dave P didn't stop his insane pace until the end of the race. He missed beating his course record by three minutes! Finishing in an impressive 15 hours 48 minutes! I think he should have to do the Arrowhead 270 out and back course next year : ) I was dropped instantly by the others as the trail was pretty soft. It was one of the highlights of my race to ride so fast with those guys. Lots of fun! I decided to slow down and go my own pace. I got to the first checkpoint at the Gateway store and only stayed long enough to have a sandwich and refill my liquids. Not much exciting happened on the trail to the second checkpoint at MelGeorge's Resort. When I got there I was pretty tired. They had a new cabin this year with a bunch of great volunteers offering grilled cheese, spaghetti and burgers. I ate them all and they were spectacular! I tried to relax and sleep a little, but couldn't settle down. Dave Gray was heading out and asked if I wanted to go with. I hesitated, but then decided I would try and get a good chunck of trail out of the way before sun up. It was about 11:00pm when we headed out. We rode together for a good 5 miles. Then Dave stopped to refuel and I kept going. I was surprised that I didn't see his head lights behind me. At about 3:00am I saw a snowmobile coming and stopped to chat. It was a volunteer checking on us. He said there was about 10 miles of hills left, and that there was a rider bivying a couple miles ahead at one of the trailside shelters. I thanked him for the update and headed down the trail. I came up to the shelter and decided to stop and see who was staying there. It was Chemical Ali himself, Charlie Farrow. I asked if he was alright, and he said he was. I thought I would hang out and eat and drink a little before heading back out. I made the mistake of not putting on my down jacket while I ate and chatted. I got cold pretty fast. I had to make a quick decision between getting in my sleeping bag or start riding again to get warm. I chose the sleeping bag. I found a comfy spot right outside the shelter in some snow. I made another mistake of not taking off my wet layers before getting inside. I fell asleep pretty quickly. Dave Gray stopped to check on us. Once he left I couldn't get back to sleep and was pretty cold and wet. I was pretty miserable and kind of worried, but Charlie told me to just do some situps and go to sleep. That worked, and I finally warmed up enough to fall asleep. The sun started to come up, and Charlie said he was going to get going. I layed around a little longer and then got my stuff together and gave chase. Charlie and I rode together until the non stop hills got the best of me and I had to slow down. My neck and shoulder muscles were kiling me. They were sore and falling asleep. Soon the hills ended, and the 20 mile flat section started. I would soon be wishing for the hills. This flat section is never ending and wears on the mind. At least with hills you have to focus on getting up them and then have a fun ride down the other side. My neck and shoulders were really starting to worry me. I've never been in that much pain. A snowmobile came up behind me towards the end. It was Don Clark and Terry Branick I think? I had no idea how much farther I had to go. When they told me 10 miles. I was crushed. I was ready quit right there. I didn't think I could go any further. I wanted to ask for a ride so bad, but Don told me to just get off and walk for a while. Then they took off down the trail with ease. Next year I think I'll buy a snowmobile and volunteer as a support person : ) Just kidding!! I walked for a while. Then I sat down on the side of the trail and sulked. Finally I pulled myself together and started riding again. I was seeing animals and snowmobiles on the trail that weren't there. It was weird. I started talking to myself and kept telling my legs to just ride. I decided to give it all I had and put the hammer down. Pretty soon I saw the sign for Bayview Lodge at the end of the course. Only two miles to go! I climbed one last hill and coasted to the finish cabin. 29 hours and 13 minutes after I started. I was never so happy to be off my bike. I vowed to sell it when I got home. That didn't last very long though. I was greeted by all the other riders that had already finished and the voluteers. I got a photo taken with a Arrowhead trophy, and then had a big plate of spaghetti with Chuck Lindner who finished right after me. Way to finish on your first try Chuck! Very impressive. Hope to see you at Nine Mile and Afton this year! I'm glad to have finally completed this great event, and to have ridden with and met so many wonderful people along the way. Maybe I'll try and walk it next year : ) A big THANK YOU to Pierre and Cheryl Ostor for putting on this great event and making it better and better each year! Another big thanks to all the volunteers! You guys and gals are the best! Thanks to all who helped get me and my bike ready for this race. Especially Terry, Monty, Pat and Brian at the Ski and Bike Shop in Grand Forks, ND. My bontrager connection, Brian in Wisco. All the other Arrowheaders and bloggers out there who inspire me to do crazy races like this. And last but definitely not least, Rick "The Mangan" for our weekly phone calls, training rides and all your great ideas. Good luck to Pierre and Alaska Jill out on the Iditarod Trail. Pierre is going all the way to Nome this year. 1100 miles! GO Pierre GO!

Irons in the Fire (a special post for Trent, hi Trent : )

Lots of irons in the fire lately. I'm gonna need them to stay warm at the Arrowhead.

The bike is all upgraded for the big dance in a little over a week. I can't say too much about it for fear of giving an advantage to the wily Charlie Farrow. Just kidding here are a couple of pictures. I'm gonna be at the back of the pack anyway : )

In other news Jen is doing great with the little guy kicking stronger and stronger everyday. I think he might be a cyclist with those strong legs : ) Time will tell. That's for him to decide anyways. As for Jen she has a huge beer belly going on right now : ) March 27th can't come soon enough. I've been watching plenty of Snoop Dogg's Fatherhood to prepare : )

As if a winter ultramarathon and a baby weren't enough. We decided to buy our first house as well. We are closing on February 8th. Right after getting home from the Arrowhead. Then it's lot's of painting, moving and getting the baby's room ready for his arrival. Too much fun. I should have lots to blog about though. So stay tuned. I'll try and post again before the Arrowhead, but if not follow all the action on the Arrowhead Forum. Later.

Go Elf Yourself Here's this year's Team Brown Bear crew from 24-9 spreading some holiday cheer : ) Make sure to have your sound on. Enjoy! http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1471407658

Updates

I apologize for the lack of blogging lately. Work has been crazy busy with the holidays approaching. One good piece of news from work is that I finally got the time off for the Arrowhead race. I've registered and am on the 2008 race roster. Very excited about that! Training has commenced on the weekends. Rides with pw, Jim and "The Mangan" are all helping to get into prime Arrowhead racing fitness. We have over a foot of snow on the ground here and it looks like International Falls has even more. The course should be perfect this year. Hopefully the cold temps we've been having will stick around. It was -27F the last two nights up in Grand Forks. I went out for a three hour ride yesterday afternoon up there. It was between 0F and -10F. Great trails have been made along the Red River by the snowmobiles. There is also a great groomed trail throughout lincoln park and golf course. Good stuff. I'll have to go explore around Fargo this week and see what I can find down here. I took a couple of pictures and videos yesterday. Here they are.

Rick has his winter gear testing lab all set up.

In other news Jen and I found out that we are going to be having a baby boy on March 27 2008. Any suggestions on names? I was thinking Bear. Like Bear Grylls. That guy is crazy!