Sunday Maplelag Ride

Trent and I went out to Maplelag again yesterday morning. Man was it chilly. It had to be 40 degrees or colder. There was steam coming off the lake it was so cold. Eventhough it was misty and cold, the trails were in perfect condition. They are nice and buffed from the race last weekend. We only got one lap in, but it was the fastest lap of the season so far. Must have been Trent's new Top Fuel. He was flying! That is one sweet bike. I want one bad. Full suspension and I think it's lighter than my hardtail. Anyway it was a good ride and here is a few pictures I snapped. Enjoy.

Should've went for a swim. The water looked very inviting : )

One less rock to worry about.

Trent's new machine. Is that keys in his pocket, or is he that happy about the new bike : )

Absolutely flying!

Ray Way

After reading about Ray-Way quilts on Dave Nice's blog, I couldn't wait to get one and try my hand at sewing. First I had to find a sewing machine. Mr. Sears helped me out there. Thanks Dave! Then I had to learn how to use it. Thanks to my mother-in-law for that. It took me about 10 hours total to finish it. I just did a little here and a little there. Not sure the exact weight yet. Just a little over a pound if I go by what it says on the Ray-Way site. I think it will be pretty warm. They claim a 40 degree rating. I'll have to test it out and see how low it'll go. Should be good for a couple bike camping trips this summer. Here are a few pictures.

Went up to Grand Forks today instead of going to Maplelag for the xc race. Andy Hampsten was in town for a dedication ceremony. The city is naming the bike trail system after him. He grew up in GF then went on to be a very successful pro cyclist. There was a group road ride at 9:00am. About 30-40 poeple showed up to ride with Mr. Hampsten. It was a great ride. Started off slow through town. Then a few faster guys started to crank it up. I'm definitely not used to going that fast. It was fun though. I'm glad I went. Here's a couple pictures. Enjoy.

Sears brought the TCR out of retirement for the day : )

Terry getting an autograph. He was grinning from ear to ear : )

Some of the Ski and Bike Shop crew. Best in the biz.

The End.

What do you think Brown Bears : )

24 Solo

I recently received my copy of the new movie from Gripped Films, 24 Solo. They are the guys who made Off Road To Athens which is also a great movie. Today I finally sat down and watched it. What an awesome show. It follows Chris Eatough through last season up until the 24 World Championships. I remember them filming at the 24 Hour Nationals last year in Wausau, WI. I thought they would show more of that footage considering the weather that rolled through there during the race. Most of the movie focuses on the World Championships in Georgia. The story that unfolds there is unbelievable. I don't want to spoil it for anyone, so get yourself a copy of this film at www.24-solo.com, or if your in the area I'll borrow you mine. Well worth the money in my opinion. Two thumbs way up! I can't wait for Nine Mile : )

Sunday Maplelag Ride

Trent "Lumberjack" Litchy and I went out to Maplelag Resort yesterday morning. What a great ride. The trails were in perfect shape. They are all marked and blown off for the UCI race on May 12th and 13th. The temps were close to the 80's with a slight breeze, sunny and there were no bugs. Just a beautiful morning. We did two laps of the expert course. Trent cleaned all of the lakeside drops for the first time ever. He was very excited about that. Way to go Trent! After cleaning all the drops he let his guard down on a small log bridge for just a split second. Next thing you know, over the bars trying to chop logs with his head. Luckily he was just fine. Nothing hurt except his helmet that totally saved his noggin. I ended up taking the Pugsley out there since I'm having my fork on the 8000 serviced right now. I ran about 20psi in the Endomorphs and had little trouble with the rocks and roots on the course. Although with that low of pressure it wanted to track in a straight line and took some effort to turn in the tight corners. I think it would be a great choice if the course is slick and muddy. Tons of traction for a small weight penalty. I did miss having a shock though. The rigid fork gave me a few blisters even with the bouncy tires. Overall we had an excellent time, and can't wait to get back out there. If you haven't been to Maplelag yet you are seriously missing out on the best singletrack in the area. There's a link to the right in the cycling links section. Check it out. In the mean time here are a few pictures and a video of "Lumberjack" Litchy mastering the lake side drops. Enjoy.

I thought I saw Papa Smurf chasing Smurfette through these flowers : )

Smurf pictures from www.bluebuddies.com

I stopped in the Ski and Bike Shop on Saturday afternoon. Man were they busy. Way to go guys and gals. Chuck Linder was even there. Hi Chuck. Luckily Dave Sears found the time to install a pair of fenders and a second layer of bar tape on the Poprad. Fenders for commuting in the rain, and more bar tape for those long gravel grinders this summer. He did a really nice job on the tape. I'm trying out some of Salsa's Goma tape in a loud orange color. It seems more durable than regular gel tape. As for the fenders I took Kent Peterson's advice on getting the Planet Bike Cascadia fenders. They really cover the wheel. I should be streak free for sure. At least on the outside of my shorts : ) Thanks to PW for getting me those parts and Thanks again to Dave for going above and beyond, as usual. Here's a few pictures of the Poprad. Jen calls it the "Ernie Bike". Enjoy.

Our family has doubled in size over the weekend. Say hello to Jax and Jersey. Jax is the striped boy and Jersey is the black and white girl.

Climbing Songs My blogging and biking have been non-exsistent lately. Earlier this week we got over six inches of snow and it's turned cold again. I think I'll take this year off of the bike if this keeps up. Don't get me wrong. I like the snow and cold, but everything has it's place. I want summer to get here fast. Big game for the Sioux hockey team tonight at the Frozen Four. Brian will be there. Hopefully he can give a rink side perspective of their win tomorrow. Go Sioux! The Fat Cyclist and Dave Nice recently posted about their favorite climbing tunes. Here's a few of mine. Not that there is any climbing in the eastern part of North Dakota. Unless you count highway overpasses : ) I like to think of these as hard interval songs. Enjoy. - Defy You / The Offspring - No Breaks / The Offspring - Move Along / All American Rejects - Down With the Sickness / Disturbed - Can't Stop / Red Hot Chili Peppers - One / Metallica - The Road / Tenacious D - Danger Zone / Kenny Loggins (this one's for Greg aka-TopGun) - Jesus Built My Hotrod / Ministry Anyone else want to post theirs. Think of this as another game of tag. If your reading this. Your it.

I went on a two hour bike ride today followed by a mile jog. I felt pretty good. Still a long way to go though. It felt good to get outside in the sun and get the blood pumping. So good that when I got back I decided to play bike mechanic and cut up my handlebars. On the Poprad whenever I stand to go faster I end up hitting my knees on the ends of the drops. I hardly ever use that hand position. So I cut off the bar tape, gel pads and 1.75 inches of aluminum. I made a valiant attempt to rewrap the bars afterwards, but I'll need to get one of the nice guys at the ski and bike shop to do a proper wrap job. As well as add a second layer of bar tape. Here are a few pictures of my hack job. No pun intended : )

Pre-hacked bars. I think that is blood from my knee on the bar end plug.

Bars minus tape and gel pads.

I went to the hardware store and got this sweet pipe cutter for the low price of $6.95

The cutter worked great. I cleaned up the rough edges with some emery cloth.

One of these drops is not like the other.

All done. I think they turned out pretty good. I'll have to test ride them tomorrow.

Jogging "Oop... I almost forgot. I won't be able to make it, fellas. Veronica and I trying this new fad called, uh, jogging. I believe it's 'jogging' or 'yogging.' it might be a soft j. I'm not sure but apparently you just run for an extended period of time. It's supposed to be wild." - Ron Burgundy (Anchorman) I tried jogging today as well. It went pretty good. I'm back on the road to becoming physically fit : ) Later. I also see that my check for the Chequamegon 40 got cashed today. You know what that means. We're in!

300

I went and saw the movie "300" this weekend. What a great show. One of the opening scenes is how I imagine an encounter with a wolf would be on the Arrowhead Trail. At least that's what I was thinking when I saw it. Watch out you blood thirsty canines at next year's Arrowhead 135 : ) I knew I could fit in something cycling related into this post. I highly recommend it to any movie fan. Great special effects. Great characters. And it even has a love story. Bonus : )

I've only been on a bike once since the Arrowhead race. Starting to feel out of shape. But I'm okay with that. Almost all of the snow has melted here. So I'm sure I'll get the urge to ride soon enough. I think I'll have to start training for a trip up to Winnipeg in June : ) That's all for now.

I figure it's time for a new post. I have nothing new to talk about, but I don't want to end up in Brooks' blogs of shame. I've been obsessed with trying to figure out ways to improve the Pugsley for next year's Arrowhead 135. I've got some good ideas so far. While searching MTBR for inspiration I found this picture that I thought was very post worthy. Dave Gray from Surly posted it on one of the Pugsley threads. Very cool.

TBB Jerseys

The jersey design for Team Brown Bear is finally posted. I can't wait to get my hands on them. They look really furocious. Check it out. Thanks Tonia, Brian and Brooks!

Red Ass 300 The registration is open for the Red Ass 300 up in Manitoba. 300 miles in 36 hours on June 9th and 10th. Anyone thinking of going? I know I am. It's so close it would be stupid not to do it. How about it GF guys? Sound off.

First Podium

My first podium ever! Thanks to the cold temps at the Arrowhead last week. I won the weekly stage in the WCRS. Complete with podium girls and a yellow jersey. Thanks Gary. You are a very talented photo shopper. Those poor girls froze their lips off : )

Also I wanted to answer Dave Byers question as to what I would change for next year, if anything.

I need to get my clothing dialed in a little better. What I wore this year definitely kept me warm, but maybe too warm. There is a fine line there somewhere that I need to find.

I want to come up with a better packing system other than a backpack. The pack held in too much heat and it just wore on my shoulder and back muscles after a few hours. Also, trying to mess with buckles and zippers in the cold is no fun. I want to find something simpler that I can get into with big mitts on if I have to. I just might buy an old sewing machine and mess with making my own bags or have my wonderful mother-in-law sew me up some : )

More water carrying capacity. Two liters just wasn't enough in that cold. Also, I really like the idea of a small thermos with hot coffee or soup inside. I think it would be worth the weight if it's that cold again next year.

Other than that I just need to try and lighten everything up even more. Maybe a Salsaesque drill job on the Large Marges. Along with an Evingson or Surly non-offset fork and front hub.

Any other ideas out there?