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June 30, 2008

Need a little patience, yeah

Cobra broke out in song on Sunday afternoon in my new theme song: Patience - by G 'n R. To give a bit of context, I was co-promoting the GrandStay St. Cloud Crit and was not planning on racing, but I had brought my bike along anyway just in case I got the chance. Not know how the volunteer side of things would unfold, I was not keeping my fingers crossed. However, as it turned out we had enough volunteers to let me sneak away for 40 minutes and race.

From the gun, Jens lit things up with a flyer off the front. It made everyone work and was a great move considering he was just coming off a crash a few weeks ago at the State Fair. I had raced Birchwood the day before and was not sure what my form would be like today. With 5 Loons in the group, I decided I would attack as soon as the group caught Jens. I wanted to keep the pressure on. I stayed out for 4 or 5 laps and at one point had almost a 1/2 a lap on the group. I won a prime (Applebee's) and started to ease up knowing I should go back into the group and see if I could help out one of my team mates for the win. With Frye in the mix, I assumed I could recover and lead him out. The next 15 laps or so were pretty calm. A few attacks, but nothing serious. As we went round and round I figured I could jump early and lead out for a full lap keeping the group strung out. So as we entered into the last lap I heard Andy yell go at any time, so I went from the first corner.

As we entered the second corner, I came in hot and almost went right into the curb. At this point I think Andy started ease off, but I just went harder. I looked back to see if anyone was with me and I had a gap, so I put my head down and went again. Third corner was fine and I was still gaining speed coming into the slight downhill into the 4th corner. As I came through the corner I glanced back to see that I had a great gap and I was a shoe in for the win. I then went to stand up and pedal and the next thing I knew I was skidding out across the pavement watching the whole group whiz by and my win go down the toilet.

I was too impatient. I had come into the 4th corner very fast and laid the back over hard to come around the corner. I had not righted myself enough when I started to pedal so I clipped my pedal and poof... I was down. The carnage is 3 stiches to my right pinky knuckle, 2 to my elbow and road rash from my shoulder to my hand and from my arse to my ankle all on my right side. I look like a mummy!

It is hard to believe how stupid I was. I did not need to come into the corner so fast, and I should have known better than to pedal at that point. I thought I had my second win of the year, but lady luck said not so fast. Now I am out for at least a week or two in racing. I am going to miss Northfield which I was really looking forward too. I have to say a huge thank you to all of those who attended to me on Sunday, to Madonna for driving me to the ER, and to the St. Cloud Hospital for scrubbing my wounds clean.

On Saturday, I raced Birchwood. It was a great race as I loved the course. Nason hill was not too much of a factor as no one pushed the pace too hard. No breaks were successful and we ended up coming in for a bunch sprint. I found myself having to lead out the sprint, so I went at 400M. I died at about 25M to go and ended up 6th. I have to say I am having a hell of a year and it is too bad a stupid crash is going to screw it up a bit.

I have not even gone and looked at my bike yet, I am slightly afraid too.

Posted by kermisch at 8:36 PM

June 26, 2008

Priorities

I was reading some local cycling blogs and came across a post about Priorities. It got me thinking quiet a bit because I know exactly where this cyclist is coming from. The year my daughter was born I was training 20 hours a week for Triathlons and having some great personal success. As my life started to change with the responsibilities of Fatherhood and the changes children make in a marriage my ability to train at that level started to suffer. From being sick constantly due to the bugs my daughter would bring home to the sleepless nights every new parent experiences, I had a very hard time adjusting to not training. At one point I just gave up, right around the time she was six months old.

I had a new role at work, I was battling a cold, and I was getting burned out training morning, noon, and night while trying to balance being a Dad, Husband, and Son. What I started to realize is that once you have trained to the point of being a competitive athlete, it is very hard to return to being a guy who exercised just to stay in shape. I yearned for the form and performances that it afforded me. I waned to be at the front of a pack, to be the envy of those "Recreational" athletes, and experience the pure thrill of competition. I gave up triathlons and decided to focus on my true love of cycling thinking it would simplify my life. I was wrong, the same urges to train 20 hours a week still lingered. Consistency was my biggest issue. My old training habits of 3 - 4 hour blocks at a time were not feasible. I gave up over and over again, but I still found myself at races, suffering and pushing myself to the brink. I wondered how many of the other cyclists out there with kids seemed to be in better shape than I. I beat myself up for not finding a way to balance my life and have it all.

It has taken me years to figure out the simple fact that I am a better Dad, Husband, and Son when cycling is a big part of my life. I needed to find a way to make it work, as the bike lets me get rid of all that frustration that builds up in life. I could return home calm and knew I was a better person for it. Better for my daughter and my wife. This past year I decided I was going to make things work. I knew that I would have to be very focused on planning my training in order to bring balance to my life and family. I learned that consistency was often more important than anything else in my training. So I started small, a 1/2 hour at a time. I put the bike on the trainer and learned that I could get great work outs in that took 45 minutes instead of an hour it would take on the road. I got up early or rode the bike late so I could maximize my time with my family. I did not fret when I could not ride due to family or work obligations. I worked with my family in the off-season to plan my racing calendar so we could all maximize our time together and apart so everyone got what they needed. I stopped riding junk miles and adopted a better training regimen. I also built a strong base in the off-season that I knew I could leverage throughout the year.

I also recognized that I did not have the time to try and achieve reaching the level of a cat 1/2 at this time in my life. I even evaluated what it took to be a Cat 3 and realized that it might even be a stretch to be competitive at that level. So I decided to stay a Cat 4 knowing I could compete there, stay challenged and maybe if I was lucky realize some success.

In the end I have achieved more success this year on the bike with fewer hours of training and more time with my family than ever before. I see that I can be competitive in the 3/4 categories, but certainly not the 1/2/3 categories. With that said, I can more than satisfy my need for competition. I see that I can involve my family in my cycling lifestyle and that I can change my lifestyle to stay involved in my family. I don't feel like I have given up anything, nor do I feel that I have put undue burden on my family. In the end it is different for everyone, but I believe that giving up something you love will just increase resentment that could be directed at those you love. Every day is a challenge to balance family, cycling, and work but I refuse to stop trying to make it work. I love the fact that my daughter knows that when I put on my cycling kit I am heading out to ride my bike. I love that when she comes to races and screams in her tiny voice " Go Daddy Go!". I love that she will watch cycling with me on T.V. and knows the names of professional cyclists. I love that she asks to ride her bike with me.

I don't believe that you have to make that choice to stop being competitive to be a good dad or husband. I do think you have to be more focused to be successful and at the same time be flexible. Now maybe you can't be a cat 1/2 anymore, but that does not mean you can't still be competitive, that you have to be stop being an athlete.

Posted by kermisch at 8:30 PM

June 24, 2008

Summit / Hollywood Crit Take 1

Tonight was the first Summit / Hollywood Crit. I have not done this race before and was looking forward to it, especially since it was a closed course. I was not feeling great today as I think I am coming down with a bit of a cold (my family is sick too!), but I was pounding fluids all day. I decided to race both the Masters 3/4/5 and the Open 3/4/5 races, I figured if I did not feel well I might as well suffer some more. No seriously, Rosemount is a far drive for me and I wanted to maximize the opportunities.

The first race was the Masters 3/4/5 race, we had 28 in the field. There was a big group from Silver and GS. From the whistle things were pretty fast. The back side of the course was pretty technical and the field struggled to get through the corners efficiently the first few times. Around the 2 lap or so a small group had gotten off the front and no was chasing. They were only a few hundred meters out in front of the group so I punched it to bridge up to them. Andy, Ben, and another GS guy came along with me and there were now 6 of us off the front.

We had 2 Loons, 2 Silver, and 2 GS guys in the break and we worked well together for a few laps. When the prime lap came around Andy, a Silver guy and a GS guy went for it. After the prime the Silver and GS guy were off the front and Andy drifted back to us. So now it was 2 Loons, a GS, and a Silver chasing the 1st break and the group chasing us. The GS guy in our group did a great job disturbing the chase effort. He never worked and constantly was on second wheel. Ben, Andy and I worked well together despite the GS disturbance. As we got close and closer to the lead two, our GS tag along jumped hard to try and bridge up. Andy yelled go and I dug hard to catch his wheel. He sat up just short and I continued the chase until we caught the lead group. We had expected our GS guy to counter attack but all of the sudden we sat up. It was a good thing in a way as I was way off the rivet and totally cross eyed. We slowly got caught on the final lap. As we neared the small hill on the back side a GS guy jumped again. I grabbed his wheel and we had a small gap. He pulled aside and stopped working so I eased up, but I found myself in the lead which is never good going into a group sprint.

I did get to go through the most technical corners on the front and picked my own lines. As we neared the final corner I was spinning an easy gear waiting for someone to jump. Again, the two GS guys that were in the break jumped. I was able to grab their wheels and was sitting third going into the final turn. As we came through the turn, the two GS guys swung a bit wide and I was able to come in through the inside for the win!

This was my first win ever as a racer and I am damn excited. I have to thank my team and especially Andy for helping out tonight.

The Open 3/4/5 race was right after the Masters race. I knew I could not really contest the race, but I could at least ride for Alex. In the second lap again a break started to form so I moved to the front of the group and disrupted the chase. I then played that role for the rest of the race. The break stayed away and Alex was able to contest the sprint so I felt good about that.

All in all, it was a great night of racing!

Posted by kermisch at 10:25 PM

June 22, 2008

Richmond Roller Road Race

I was pretty psyched to race this past weekend as I have been going pretty well the last couple of weeks. I had taken it easier in the week and knew that I would be able to muster good legs. Cleary, Tim, Cobra, Rolle, and I were all heading up, which meant lots of teammates to help out. However, the day did not turn out like I had planned. I left the house at 12 PM thinking that Richmond was south of St. Cloud. Not the case. I was cutting it close and as I neared Richmond my watch read 1:09 PM. The race was off at 1:30 PM sharp. I was also completely lost. The direction indicated that the race venue was off of County Road 23. Well I was on HWY 23, but not Count Road 23... I literally pulled into the race venue at 1:27 PM and quickly changed, threw my front wheel on the bike (not my race wheels mind you), and ran to get my number. Luckily things were a bit behind and I was able to line-up just as we were getting ready to roll out. I was flustered and did not have any chance to even pump up my tires. My numbers were poorly pinned, and I hoped that I would be able to refocus for this race.

The field was small, but lots of familiar faces. We had a 1 mile neutral roll out and then we turned right on the long 2 mile hill. The hill was not as bad as I had thought it would be as it stair stepped up. However the last 1/2 K was steep and you had to battle a pretty nasty head wind. I was feeling good, but you could sense the pack was a bit nervous as riders were already fighting for position. I was following a wheel, not really watching out too much when I found myself riding through a series of pot holes. About 30 seconds later, my rear tire went flat. This is my first flat all year and it happened only 3 miles into the damn race. I stood on my pedals and rolled up the start finish line at the top of the hill hoping that someone would have a spare wheel. That was not to be the case. I was the 1st DNF of the race and might ticked off.

I looked up the road and saw what looked like Rolle off his bike and another rider. I road up to them to learn that there had been a crash at the top of the hill and Rolle had taken the brunt of the damage. His bike was unrideable and he had a nasty bruise forming on his right leg. As I was starting to ride back to grab my car for Rolle, I bumped into Jim Bell who was able to loan me a rear wheel (where was he before I DNF'd?) and I was able to get back to my car quickly and grab Rolle. After I saw him off, I swapped out to my race wheels and went for a training ride. I was pissed off still and took out my anger on the bike. I rode the course in reverse and got to see all of the action upfront. In my race, there were two guys off the front and the group seemed to be going well, but not closing the gap all that fast. As I stopped to watch them finish the race, there were 4 guys off the front as they hit the 1K to go sign. They all rolled in in order and Cobra took the sprint for 5th with Cleary taking 9th.

I was mad I did not get to race and even more mad that I had driven 2 hours for a training ride. As they say that is bike racing, but at least I got to see some of my teammates racing and cheer them on.

Sunday I headed out for a big ring, low cadence ride through Excelsior with a planned coffee stop in Wayzata. It was a great morning and the wind was not too bad. That ride certainly made up for yesterday's race.

Posted by kermisch at 9:58 PM

June 18, 2008

State Fair Affair Crit #3

Last night was the final State Fair Crit. My goals going into the night was to achieve a top 3 finish. I knew where I needed to attack and that for me it would be a race of patience. I met up at Jens' house as usual and we headed over to the fair grounds. We both felt good and had chatted about where and when to attack.

As Jens and I warmed up my legs started to feel a bit sluggish. I knew once I got going I would forget about them, but it gave me a bit of doubt. However, once the whistle blew and I successfully clipped into my pedals i knew the night was already a good one!

The pace did not start out to hard. We had 52 racers in the pack tonight and it felt a bit nervous. The group knew who had won the last two races and they were definitely marked. A few guys went on the attack, but nothing was sticking. The prime laps things ramped up as usual and on the second prime or so Frye took the growler.

I was biding my time in the pack and just following wheels. about 1/2 through I saw Jens move up on my right on the back side. I could see the gap he was going for and also saw it start to close down. Jens got caught out and his front wheel went in the rear derailer of the guy in front. He could not move anywhere and his front wheel literally gave out. He then launched off the front of his bike and literally slide for 10 feet or so on his chest. He looked like superman flying through the sky with his arms extended and his head up. All I could think about was how much that must of hurt. I was extra cautious moving through the pack at that point.

As we entered into the last 3 laps, the speed amped up and I started to move up to about mid pack. Holding my position was a bit of a challenge. As we entered into the final lap I wanted the inside line. I was able to grab that and as soon as we came around turn 4 and onto the back stretch I shifted down, put my head down and went for it. As I passed Wally I yelled at him to go and get on my wheel, but he just did not have my speed. As I came towards the front, Adam Gorski was leading the pack. I knew I had to beat him to the 5th corner. I came into that corner hot and on the inside, but I was first. As I came around the 6th corner I struggle to get my pedals turning. When I came out of the corner I heard some one yell I had a gap and I just kept pedaling. I was all over my bike and struggling. As I approached the line, I saw Adam come up my right side and take the win and I ended up second. Goal accomplished, top 3 finish. I was very happy. I started my sprint with over 1/2 a lap to go and was able to hold off the majority of the field. It was my best finish to date this season.

After the race I sought out Jens to see how he was doing. He was up and moving around. He had some bad road rash on his hands, knees and elbow. Miraculously his Loon jersey acted a bit like Teflon and his chest was not to badly scrapped. I hope he heals fast.

Posted by kermisch at 9:35 PM

June 15, 2008

NVGP, Lot's of Miles, Tons of Wind

This past week has been a great week for getting miles in. After racing on Tuesday, Wednesday I headed down to the NVGP St. Paul Crit with a friend from work. It was an easy 25 miles there and back and we got to see an interesting race at best. The race itself was chaotic with the weather and all. A moto crashed and the race was stopped 1/2 way through. The most interesting thing to me was that after the moto crashed and took out one rider, everyone seemed more interested in the damage to the moto vs. the potential injury of the bike rider. Everyone was fine, but it just added to the confusion.

I then took Friday off with the goal of riding from my house down to the St. Paul time trial to watch the pro's tackle the Ohio Street climb. This is about a 1K climb at 20%. The pro's just rocked the climb and made it look easy. The crowds were light, but we got an up close seat to see the action. On the way down, I picked up Kris and we road over together. On the way home we rode a bit with Cleary and Frye. I think Cleary was eyeing me strangely as he saw Kris and I in matching kits that were not Loon State. Though he looked like a pseudo bike messenger, but I could still see he was sporting the lycra underneath those ultra hip shorts!

Friday night the whole family headed down to Minneapolis to catch the NVGP crit. I just love that atmosphere. There is nothing like thousands of people watching a bike race in an urban setting. The women's and men's races were awesome. The pure speed of these events is just insane.

Sunday was another 2 + hours in the saddle with Jeff from Loon. Jeff is just starting out in bike racing and already is showing a lot of fitness. Get a few more races under his belt and build his confidence and he will be mixing it up with the rest of us.

All in all Sunday to Sunday I banked 300 + Miles, a great week of riding for me. This week I plan to taper a bit with the State Fair Crit on Tuesday and the Richmond RR on Saturday.

Posted by kermisch at 9:57 PM

June 13, 2008

St. Cloud Crit - June 29th

Entry Fees Juniors $15 Seniors and Masters $30 2nd Race $5 3rd race FREE

SAVE $$$$$ by Pre-Registering Juniors $10 Seniors and Masters $25
By Mail: Send completed USAC release form with payment to Loon State Cyclists, 9842 Alvarado Lane North, Maple Grove, MN 55311.
Make checks payable to: Loon State Cyclists On Line: www.SportsBaseOnline.com

-  GrandStay Criterium is held under USAC permit (pending), all USAC rules apply.

-  You must have a valid USAC license to race. Unlicensed riders must purchase an one day license at registration or annual on-line at www.USACycling.org . Registration begins at 8AM and ends 15 minutes prior the start of your race.
-  We reserve the right to cancel or combine fields.

This is a Minnesota ROY event. The Cat 3/ 4 race will be used to score ROY points separately for both 3’s and 4’s.

Recently added to the MWCMR race series for the Cat 4 women.

Race is part of the Granite City Days celebration in St Cloud and surrounding communities

Course: ~1.0 kilometer per lap…this is a new course due to the bridge closing in St. Cloud. 2nd St S, 12th Avenue S, 7th St S, 13th Avenue S.

Directions: From I94 from the Twin Cities take first St Cloud exit. Go right at bottom
of ramp, now on 75/Roosevelt Rd to Washington Memorial Rd turn right
then right on 10th St S to 12th Avenue S turn left, follow signs to parking.

Info: E-mail Mike Delaney , www.LOONSTATE.org , www.MCF.net

Posted by kermisch at 11:22 PM

June 11, 2008

State Fair Affair Crit #2

Yesterday morning I woke up and had a great feeling about tonight's crit. All day I had butterflies in my stomach and dreams of exactly where I would try and break away and go for the win... By the end of my work day, my mental state had tarnished a bit, but I was giddy like a little boy to race. I headed over to Jens' house and we rolled off to the fair grounds. All day the rain clouds had been hovering around the cities, but the rain held off. The temperature was good, and with dry roads it would be a fast race. The field was maybe a bit smaller than last week, but not by much.

My goal for the race was to stay near the front, stay up right and save my energy for the finale. As the race started, for the second time in a row, I had trouble getting my foot in my pedal and immediately found myself at the back having to move through the field. I felt more comfortable on the corners and was able to hold my speed better. About 1/2 way through the race, Jens took a flyer off the front with a goal to get a prime. The rest of the team blocked and marked moves. All the sudden on the back of the course, Wally from Silver rolls by and yells for me to get on his wheel. Not knowing what he was doing, I jumped and we had a gap on the field. Wally pulled me pretty much all the way up to Jens and then faded. i rolled by Jens and asked if he could grab my wheel and he said no... So I sat up and waited for the field to come through. I sneaked back in relaxed.

Another lap later, as we rolled through the start/finish line Andy asked me what lap we were on. As we were talking through the s-curves we both lost a bit of concentration and my front wheel got caught up in his shoe/rear derailer. I could immediately see that my wheel was out of true pretty bad, but it was holding. At this point, we had about 8 laps to go. I wanted to stay up front and try and watch Will (Grand Performance) and try to grab his wheel if he went early.

As we rolled into the final lap, I was two bike lengths back from Will and I started to see him move up, so I followed. I found myself squeezing between two Flanders guys and as we bumped, we came close to locking handle bars. I tapped on the brakes a bit, and avoided a crash. However, all of the sudden I heard a crash behind me... It has to be one of the worst sounds, to hear crunching metal, carbon, and bodies colliding.

Anyway, at that point I just put my head down and rejoined the front. There were about 10 of us pushing the pace and we were all strung out the final lap. Going into the final two turns, the pace was high and I found myself coming up on the inside (not where I wanted to be). I lost some speed going through the corners and again, started to crunch gears as I opened up my sprint. was too far back to contest the win, but ended up 8th. I was happy, I improved my placing by 3 spots, raced smart and feel like I know what I can improve on next week. I really believe that I have to take the final corners on the outside, as I can keep my speed better. I also feel that I should just pound it to try and get off the front or on the front before the final corners. I think that if we can keep your speed and then just put your head down and go for it.

Andy and Alex got caught up in the crash and Andy seemed to have take the worst of it. I hope they both have a fast recovery. For the night the average on my computer was 26.2 MPH (which has to be on of my fastest races ever).

Posted by kermisch at 10:32 PM

June 4, 2008

Ninja Primes

Last night was the first State Fair Crit. I was really looking forward to this race for the following reasons:

1. It was a 3/4's race which enabled me to race up a category, enabling to test my fitness but also have more team mates to work with and for.


2. It was a flat, technical course which typically plays to my strengths


3. The duration of the crit was longer

We had 54 entrants to the 3/4's field last night and the racing was fast from the gun. From the Loons we had Frye, Chris, Alex, Cobra, Jens, and Kent. With 6 turns in the course one super tight right / left turn the course there was a lot of position fighting going into the corners. The group communicated pretty well as people were calling out their position to let you know where they were. For me the start of the race could have gone a bit better. I had trouble clicking into my pedals which meant I was on the back, the first corner a guy skids his back wheel out, causing the group to just get nervous, the 3rd corner I got put into the curb, but kept the bike up right, then for two laps I was chasing to move up in the pack.

Once I got settled, I started to learn two things: first, take the inside outside line through the corners vs. the inside inside line. Flowing with the pack was more efficient and safe then trying to take the corners tight. Second, spinning through the corners minimized the effort to accelerate coming out of the corners which conserved a lot of energy for me.

The crit had for announced primes and two ninja primes. For those who don't what a ninja prime is (I did not until last night), it occurs when a guys in mask plays a riff on his guitar just as who ever is first in the pack crosses the start / finish line .There is no sprinting for a ninja prime, it just happens. I had just happened to move up to the front of the pack to mainly try and control a bit of the pace as they second ninja prime occurred. It was cool, and I won a growler of beer for the lack of effort.

The rest of the race simply played out very fast. The average speed was like 25.6 MPH for 40 minutes. The Hoigard's team was very active, but also every time one of their guys got a way they would all move the front and simply soft pedal, forcing the group to come around them and chase. I like tactics in a bike race, but I prefer them to be safe. At times when the Hoigards guys would move to the front and slow down they would do it the corners, the least safe place to be. This was an issue in general where lot's of guys would be going backwards through the corners or just after them, forcing guys to avoid them and change their lines at just about the worse time possible.

There was one crash, which as usual I was behind it, but able to come around with no issues. I saw the poor biker later and it looks like he took his free lap and rejoined to finish the race.

Coming into the final two laps, a couple of guys got off the front and the group struggled to bring them back (me included). Coming in to the final turns, I knew I would have to open my sprint up right out of the last corner. I was late in opening it up and had to slow down due to traffic around the last two corners. I pushed hard, but only ended up 11th. My legs did not feel very snappy last night, and I am thinking it is due to my hard efforts over the prior weekend and maybe some lack of rest/recovery time. I am actually very pleased with my result though. Being in the 3/4's field and such a large field 11th to me is pretty damn good. I learned about the flow of the course and what I think I need to do next time. It was also very hard to communicate to your teammates during the race due to the speed and the constant corners. Thus, I think we need to do a bit more planning prior to the race.

Hats off to the Category 6 club for such a great race, great atmosphere, and awesome course. I love the pre-registration and the pre-waiver process. Can't wait until next week.

Posted by kermisch at 9:35 AM

June 1, 2008

A Great Day

I think I had one of my best days on a bike this past Saturday. Cleary, Jon and I met at the Hopkins Depot at 7 AM and headed out. Saturday was supposed to have some sketchy weather, but at 7 AM it was 60 degrees, sunny, with little wind. After a quick double shot of espresso, we were off. We headed out west through Wayzata and mirrored some of my daily training routes. We ended up on 6 heading towards Watertown. About 2 hours into the ride, Jon pulls a flat. As he was pumping up the tire, it immediately blew again. We inspected the tire and found the sidewall was blown out. Jon rummaged through his pockets and found a card that he inserted into the tire to give it some strength. We successfully got the tire and tube to hold, but turned around and headed towards Gear West with the intention of replacing the tire. When we got there, we were about 30 minutes early for their 10 AM opening. As luck would have it, Trent pulled on his bike just then and let us in early to purchase the tire. Thanks Trent and Gear West for keeping us on track.

From there, we headed out towards St. Bonnie and Waconia. I had not made it out that far before and was really enjoying the roads. We were constantly either going up or down as tackled the rolling course that Cleary sent us on. A quick stop in Waconia and again in Chaska for some refueling did the body good. It was not until the last 10 miles or so as we headed back towards the Hopkins Depot that my legs started to feel heavy. The wind kicked up as we came through Eden Prairie and into Minnetonka. Cleary pealed off and headed home and Jon and I put our heads down as we pushed it back to Hopkins.

As we pulled into the Depot, I knew I was going to be a bit short on my 100 mile goal. Both Jon and Cleary had ridden to the start point and had about 10 miles on me. Sure enough I was at 91 miles. So I headed down the Green way trails with Jon as he headed home. About 1/2 back for Jon, I turned around and headed back to record my first 100 of the season (which is hard to believe as I thought I would have hit this at spring camp, but I never quiet got there).

The weather was perfect, the riding hard enough and the company great. Thanks guys for a great ride.

Sunday was a modest recovery ride and now I can look forward to the State Fair Crit on Tuesday.

Posted by kermisch at 10:33 PM