Well sooner or later it was bound to happen. No matter how tough you are, sooner or later you are going to have to use your trainer at some point during the winter. Depending on weather conditions, some years you only have to use it a few times, and other years you will have to use it more that you would like.
My philosophy is this: If the roads are dry, I have enough clothes to suffer through a ride, but, if the roads are snowy and icy then you go inside and use the trainer for safety purposes.
I really try to stay away from the trainer as much as possible for a couple of reasons. First, if you do it enough you get cabin fever, and it will drive you crazy. Second, even though you are able to maintain some cardio fitness, it is not the same as being outside.
When you are outside you have to deal with the wind, hills and all of those natural elements where as on the trainer, you are not able to truly simulate the experience. It is always shocking to people that spend a lot of time on the trainer, to come outside in the spring. They are SO amazed at how different it is. If you are able to stay outside most of the winter you have an advantage over other going into the next race season.
This past week I was able to get outside a couple of times, but old man winter moved in a couple of days ago, and for the past three days we have had snow/ice on the ground, and the temperature has been below zero. So, for a few days I am forced inside to my trainer. As soon as the streets melt and dry up I will return outside. But until then, I am forced into the basement, creating big pools of sweat dripping off of my fingers, and getting my but kicked by training videos that I have in the DVD library.
I will let you all go for now. Check back next week for the newest 411, and until then stay warm and safe!
Peace out!
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Friday, December 4, 2009
Coming Soon!
Got a lot of information for everyone this week. Thanks to Matt down at the bike shop, the stable is once again full! I finally got both bikes repaired and at home at the same time. It is a wonderful feeling to have everything in order. At times I don't know what I would do without his help.
On the training front, I have been getting in some good quality miles, and have begun adding in some extra lifting in the weight room. For this time of the year, things are going pretty well, and pretty much on schedule.
On another note, the weather has taken a turn for the worst in the past couple of days. For my rides, the temperatures have been in the single digits. It is going to take a little getting use to, but I have been able to get in about two quality hours a day in without freezing solid.
Their has been quite a bit of news beginning to be released about the upcoming season. First off, their was some news that came out of Missouri. It appears that the Heartland series and Midwest series are going to merge into a HUGE regional series. I am excited to hear more of the details as they are made available! The news read like this:
On another front, the Dirty Kanza is gearing up once again. It sounds like they also have big plans for this year. Check out the 411 that I got just yesterday:
That's it for today, I will try to update this site weekly during the winter. Check back to see what is new, and until then train hard and keep warm.
Peace Out!
On the training front, I have been getting in some good quality miles, and have begun adding in some extra lifting in the weight room. For this time of the year, things are going pretty well, and pretty much on schedule.
On another note, the weather has taken a turn for the worst in the past couple of days. For my rides, the temperatures have been in the single digits. It is going to take a little getting use to, but I have been able to get in about two quality hours a day in without freezing solid.
Their has been quite a bit of news beginning to be released about the upcoming season. First off, their was some news that came out of Missouri. It appears that the Heartland series and Midwest series are going to merge into a HUGE regional series. I am excited to hear more of the details as they are made available! The news read like this:
- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -
9 A.M. CST,
November 25, 2009
NEW MOUNTAIN BIKE SERIES PROMISES BIG THINGS TO COME!
COLUMBIA, MO: A newly formed group of seasoned mountain bike promoters
is proud to announce its intentions to promote a down and dirty
mountain bike series in 2010. The groups will be named United
Federation of Dirt. Included in this impressive group are some of the
region's most experienced race promoters dedicated to delivering
racers a series that is all about fun and grassroots racing. This
collaboration will deliver a true Regional series that will include
races from Cape Girardeau, MO all the way to Perry, KS. Full Details
will be available shortly but expect great things and great
locations across Missouri and Kansas. We are finalizing the details shortly
but one thing can be guaranteed - fun in the dirt is what it is all about!
On another front, the Dirty Kanza is gearing up once again. It sounds like they also have big plans for this year. Check out the 411 that I got just yesterday:
Greetings from Jim and Joel, your Co-Promoters for The Dirty Kanza 200. We have been hard at work on next year's event, and we are confident that 2010 will prove to be a banner year for The Dirty Kanza 200. Numerous "tweaks" and "refinements" are in the works, designed to bring you a truly life-enriching cycling experience. Our Vision... that The Dirty Kanza 200 will become North America's premier annual ultra-endurance gravel road cycling challenge. Exciting things are happening. Keep reading... we share the "Huge News" at the end of this email.
Emails and phone calls have been pouring into the illustrious DK office, asking when registration will open. So we thought we would throw together a few details that should help you in your planning for the 2010 running of The Dirty Kanza 200. Here you go...
Race Date:
Saturday, June 5th, 2010
(Sign-In and Packet Pick-Up, Friday, June 4th, 2010.)
Registration:
Will open Sunday, January 10, 2010, and will once again be conducted online at BikeReg.com
Field Limit:
We will expand our field limit this year to 150 participants. Note... Last year's limit of 100 participants was filled in just four days of registration. Mark you calendars now for January 10th. You won't want to wait too long, if you plan to race in 2010. (We will send you a reminder right after the first of the year.)
Classes:
Open Men
Open Women
Single Speed
Masters Men
(50+) This class is new for 2010.
"Auxilary Events":
We are woking with The Emporia (KS) Convention and Visitors Bureau to create numerous activities for your support crew members and family members to enjoy throughout the weekend. So bring your spouse, significant other, kids, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and friends. More information on these activities will be coming in the next few weeks and months.
Dirty Kanza Blog:
Joel and his lovely wife Michelle are hard at work making significant upgrades to our blog site. It is a little "rough" right now. However, in the next week (or so) you should see huge changes. Go ahead and bookmark it now. http://www.dirtykanza200.wordpress.com/) Check it regularly. And please provide your comments and suggestions on how we can continue to improve the site.
Dirty Kanza 200 Video:
For those of you who have not yet seen the Dirty Kanza 200 video, there is a link on our blog site. The video was produced by the folks at IM Design Group, in Emporia, Kansas. We think they did a fantastic job.
And now for the Huge News... drum roll please...
Salsa Cycles has come on board and will be the "Premier Sponsor" for the 2010 running of The
Dirty Kanza 200. Joel and I are both absolutely giddy with excitement over this development. When we very first began discussing plans for 2010, one of our primary objectives was to identify a company within the cycling industry with which we could create a long-term partnership. Salsa Cycles was the first company we thought of, and throughout all of our planning discussions remaind at the top of a very short list of candidates. Due to their company philosophy, their fantastic products and their great people, Salsa Cycles is the PERFECT sponsor for The Dirty Kanza 200. Salsa has stepped up to the plate in a major way. The winner of each of our four classes (Open Men, Open Women, Single-Speed and Masters Men) will receive a complete 3-piece "Salsa Upgrade Kit", which will include that rider's choice of a Salsa Stem, Salsa Handlebar and Salsa Skewer Set. In addition, one lucky participant will go home with a brand new Salsa Fargo Frameset. Salsa's support of The Dirty Kanza 200 goes even further,
including water bottles, hats and T-Shirts. You can check out all of their great products here... www.salsacycles.com While you are there, drop them an email and let them know how much you appreciate their support of The Dirty Kanza 200.
That's it for now. More details will follow soon. Until then, stay safe, train hard... and Get Your Gravel On. We look forward to seeing each of you in Emporia, Kansas the first weekend in June.
That's it for today, I will try to update this site weekly during the winter. Check back to see what is new, and until then train hard and keep warm.
Peace Out!
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
NEWS FLASH
Greetings! A lot has happened since the last post. I would like to start by giving a shout out to our team sponsors for this next summer. Their are so many cool sponsors that I could not do them justice at this time, so I have made a list of them to your right, and linked their logo's to their web sites. Please take the time to check them out If you are in need, please visit them and take advantage of there awesome businesses.
Next, I got the cross bike back and have been putting on some good miles on it. It is such a pleasure to be back on it. It is truly a hot rod! The Trek XO1 is the weapon of choice to rack up the big winter miles. It can handle BIG miles with minimal maintenance and repair.
The HiFi should be back in my hands an day! I spoke to Matt Brown down at High Gear and he said that they will have no problem replacing the wheel under warranty. Bontrager is awesome! They are so quick to replace anything that seems to go wrong, and that does not happen very often.
This past weekend I went to Lendsborg Ks, with team mates Jim Cummins, Garret Seacat and Tim Mohn for the Coronado Challenge. It was a really fun race. It is centered around this old castle that was build by Coronado himself when he came up this way from Mexico looking for gold. I can't say enough about how wonderful the people were that put on this race. They put a lot of effort into it, and it showed. It was extremely well organized.
I would also like to thank Matt Brown down at High Gear for lending me a rear wheel so that I could go to the race. If it were not for him I would have missed out on all of the fun. Matt is truly a great guy, and such a pleasure to race for. He always goes out of his way to make sure that we are all well taken care of, no matter what it takes. It is comforting to know that Matt is in your corner!
As for the race itself, it got off to a rough start. From the beginning, I ran into quite a bit of difficulty through out the first lap. Since I had not been in a race for a little while I thought that I would hang back a little and not mix it up right away. After all, it was to be a four hour race. This would prove to be a crucial mistake. About 500 yards into the race, there was a group of us that were shoulder to shoulder. All of the sudden, some guy rubbed wheels with me, and the two of us, and about five others went down.
After getting up I attempted to get going as quickly as possible. As I started to peddle away, my bike shifted down into the small ring in the front. I did not think much of it at first, but I could not get it to shift up to a larger ring.
As I began to climb, I tryed to check over my bike to see what was going on. About the time I got to the top of the first climb, I figured out that the housing and cable for the front derailleur blew out. I spent the remainder of the first lap in the small ring, and the bike kept shifting itself off of the small ring, so I had to stop 5-6 times to put my chain back on.
When I got back to the pit area, I found a screw driver, and adjusted the front derailleur so that I could ride in the middle ring for the remainder of the day, until I could get the bike back to the shop to have a new cable put on.
By time the repair was done my race was pretty much over, so I decided to just turn the day into a fun four hour trail ride. For the rest of the day, I backed off of the pace just a little and enjoyed the ride.
As the day went on, a few of the hills got a little tough, and I was wishing for that small ring, but it was still fun, and the legs got a really good workout. When it was all said and done, I am not sure exactly what place I finished in, but it was some where in the middle of the pack. I would like to congratulate my teammate Garret Seacat though. He rode tough, and put in a good showing, ending the day in 5th place in the open men division.
Well, this is a lot of 411 for today. I will let you go, and check back soon to see the latest happenings! Until then, check our our sponsor links. These company's are really cool.
Peace out!
Monday, November 9, 2009
Like a captain without a ship!
So much has happened, it is had to know where to start. I will keep it short and simple for this post. Geico insurance is pretty cool. They took care of me, and paid off quickly to fix the bike from the accident.
On November 1, Matt Garret, Tim, Chris, Jed and myself went for a long afternoon training ride north of town. Rode gravel, rails to trails, toured an abandoned missile silo, gravel and more rails to trails. I then blew up my rear derailleur at about 45-47 miles into the ride, had to turn the bike into a single speed and ride into a 30 mile headwind on some pretty good hills.
The cross bike went into the shop the next week for repairs so it is the mountain bike for a while. Rode that bike two days, got sick with the flu and did not ride for 2 days, rode trails the next two days, just to have my rear rim explode on Saturday afternoon.
Took the mountain bike into the shop today, and am now running this week!!!!!!!!! What a life. Broke 2 bikes and had the flu all in six days. Who Say's I have a boring life?
The good news, Matt Brown is the man! He said that he should have both bikes to me by the end of the week. The rear wheel of the mountain bike will be repaired under warranty. Lets pray that things will turn around and the bad luck is over. I heard that they travel in three's, and by my count this was the third disaster.
I will be heading up north a little ways with some of the guys on Sunday for a little recon for the next dirty kanza. Check back to see if I survive! Until next time, keep cool!
Peace out,
Mike
On November 1, Matt Garret, Tim, Chris, Jed and myself went for a long afternoon training ride north of town. Rode gravel, rails to trails, toured an abandoned missile silo, gravel and more rails to trails. I then blew up my rear derailleur at about 45-47 miles into the ride, had to turn the bike into a single speed and ride into a 30 mile headwind on some pretty good hills.
The cross bike went into the shop the next week for repairs so it is the mountain bike for a while. Rode that bike two days, got sick with the flu and did not ride for 2 days, rode trails the next two days, just to have my rear rim explode on Saturday afternoon.
Took the mountain bike into the shop today, and am now running this week!!!!!!!!! What a life. Broke 2 bikes and had the flu all in six days. Who Say's I have a boring life?
The good news, Matt Brown is the man! He said that he should have both bikes to me by the end of the week. The rear wheel of the mountain bike will be repaired under warranty. Lets pray that things will turn around and the bad luck is over. I heard that they travel in three's, and by my count this was the third disaster.
I will be heading up north a little ways with some of the guys on Sunday for a little recon for the next dirty kanza. Check back to see if I survive! Until next time, keep cool!
Peace out,
Mike
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Return of the nightmare!
Well, since my last post a few things have happened. Last Thursday (October 15) I was on my way out of town for the daily training ride. It was cold and wet, and I was not particularly excited to brave another frozen ride. I was about 3 miles in, at the intersection of 24th and Prairie headed north on Prairie. I was on one of my usual wet weather 50 milers. As I was approaching the intersection, I saw a lady coming up to the corner and slowing to stop. As I was entering the intersection, I was keeping an eye on her. Just as I was directly in front of her, she pressed the gas and was headed directly into me! I tried to punch it, but she was turning the corner to go into the same direction that I was going.
She first began to make contact with me on the back half of the rear wheel. I could feel the wheel beginning to give. As she turned and accelerate I could feel the wheel bending under the pressure, and finally their was enough pressure and damage to throw me from the bike. As I was going down, one of the first things that came into my head was "oh no, not again". It was one year and one month ago that I was hit by another car, which totaled my bike.
After I got up off of the ground I checked myself and the bike. Fortunately I was uninjured except a little road rash on my left elbow and left hip. The winter riding clothes saved a little skin. I then checked out the bike. The rear wheel was severely bent, and pushed into and kind of around the frame. We called the police, and reported what had happened.
The officer told us that because their was no damage to her car, that we should just exchange information. To me this did not seem quite right. She hits me with her car, and doesn't even get a ticket?!?!?! After information was exchanged, the officer gave me a ride home, since the bike was broken. I took the bike down to High Gear bike shop to have Matt Brown check it out.
Matt IS the man. He has got me back on the road quickly! He got me a replacement wheel, exactly like the one that was damaged, and got everything back in order in less than a week! A BIG shout out to Matt and his awesome service!!! This is where things get interesting! Now that I got the bike finished today, I went to call the lady that ran into me, and when I called the number, the number was not in service!!! We had an agreement that she wanted to fix it without dealing with the insurance company, but since I was unable to contact her, I called her insurance company today, and filed a claim for her, with the information that I got from the officer.
Now, it is the wait, call, follow up, bug, follow up and see if they are going to settle. Thanks Emporia police department! The insurance company SEEMED to be very helpful. We will see how it goes. I hope that it goes quickly, and easily.
In other news, since the cross bike has been out of commission this week, I have spent some quality time on the mountain bike! This week has got me to fall in love with the HiFi all over again! That in one SWEET bike. I have had a blast this week on it. I think that I am going to have to use it a little more often this winter, and not just stay on the cross bike all winter.
This week when I was down at the shop, I was talking to a couple of teammates, and we have decided that we were going to do the Coronado Challenge on November 22. This should help to not get so bored with the winter training. It is nice to throw a little fun in once and a while!
Also, I have begun to think about some of the events that I would like to do next year. I have started a wish list which will serve as a working list. Will I do all of the races on the list? I would like to, but in all likelihood, probably not. Some races might be added. Some races may be removed. As the season progresses I will use the list to post the result of that particular race. Thought that this would be a helpful addition to the blog. You can fine the list in the right hand column.
I have rambled on enough for now, so I will let you go. Thanks for hanging in their and reading this lengthy post! Remember, always wear a helmet when out riding. You never know what will happen. If you don't have one, go down to the High Gear Bike Shop and my buddy Matt brown will hook you up. He has some pretty cool lids down their. Until next time, keep the rubber side down!
Peace Out!
She first began to make contact with me on the back half of the rear wheel. I could feel the wheel beginning to give. As she turned and accelerate I could feel the wheel bending under the pressure, and finally their was enough pressure and damage to throw me from the bike. As I was going down, one of the first things that came into my head was "oh no, not again". It was one year and one month ago that I was hit by another car, which totaled my bike.
After I got up off of the ground I checked myself and the bike. Fortunately I was uninjured except a little road rash on my left elbow and left hip. The winter riding clothes saved a little skin. I then checked out the bike. The rear wheel was severely bent, and pushed into and kind of around the frame. We called the police, and reported what had happened.
The officer told us that because their was no damage to her car, that we should just exchange information. To me this did not seem quite right. She hits me with her car, and doesn't even get a ticket?!?!?! After information was exchanged, the officer gave me a ride home, since the bike was broken. I took the bike down to High Gear bike shop to have Matt Brown check it out.
Matt IS the man. He has got me back on the road quickly! He got me a replacement wheel, exactly like the one that was damaged, and got everything back in order in less than a week! A BIG shout out to Matt and his awesome service!!! This is where things get interesting! Now that I got the bike finished today, I went to call the lady that ran into me, and when I called the number, the number was not in service!!! We had an agreement that she wanted to fix it without dealing with the insurance company, but since I was unable to contact her, I called her insurance company today, and filed a claim for her, with the information that I got from the officer.
Now, it is the wait, call, follow up, bug, follow up and see if they are going to settle. Thanks Emporia police department! The insurance company SEEMED to be very helpful. We will see how it goes. I hope that it goes quickly, and easily.
In other news, since the cross bike has been out of commission this week, I have spent some quality time on the mountain bike! This week has got me to fall in love with the HiFi all over again! That in one SWEET bike. I have had a blast this week on it. I think that I am going to have to use it a little more often this winter, and not just stay on the cross bike all winter.
This week when I was down at the shop, I was talking to a couple of teammates, and we have decided that we were going to do the Coronado Challenge on November 22. This should help to not get so bored with the winter training. It is nice to throw a little fun in once and a while!
Also, I have begun to think about some of the events that I would like to do next year. I have started a wish list which will serve as a working list. Will I do all of the races on the list? I would like to, but in all likelihood, probably not. Some races might be added. Some races may be removed. As the season progresses I will use the list to post the result of that particular race. Thought that this would be a helpful addition to the blog. You can fine the list in the right hand column.
I have rambled on enough for now, so I will let you go. Thanks for hanging in their and reading this lengthy post! Remember, always wear a helmet when out riding. You never know what will happen. If you don't have one, go down to the High Gear Bike Shop and my buddy Matt brown will hook you up. He has some pretty cool lids down their. Until next time, keep the rubber side down!
Peace Out!
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
New Video's
Well, Their is not much to report this week. The training is consistent, and I am getting in real regular miles. The weight room is a little slow, but it is still early, and their is a long winter still ahead.
This past weekend was the wife unit's birthday. We had a lot of fun. On Saturday we went to Kansas City to the Renaissance festival and then dinner at Abuelo's! On Sunday our son came down from Topeka and we went to the pumpkin patch and zoo the the grandson's, and then BBQ for dinner! A fun time was had by all.
Since their is a lack of action I thought that I would post a few videos for your entertainment. They are from a few events that I took part in this past year. Enjoy, and check back next time for more 411!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lr5cEVeZdEw
Dirty Kanza 200
http://vimeo.com/6349519
Dirty Kanza 200
http://vimeo.com/6085808
cRamp Alexander
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ew2Qfll5ZHk&feature=player_embedded
KC Cup Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOViq3DOYag&feature=related
KC Cup Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0WUFTZAkRw&feature=related
KC Cup Part 3
Peace Out!
This past weekend was the wife unit's birthday. We had a lot of fun. On Saturday we went to Kansas City to the Renaissance festival and then dinner at Abuelo's! On Sunday our son came down from Topeka and we went to the pumpkin patch and zoo the the grandson's, and then BBQ for dinner! A fun time was had by all.
Since their is a lack of action I thought that I would post a few videos for your entertainment. They are from a few events that I took part in this past year. Enjoy, and check back next time for more 411!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lr5cEVeZdEw
Dirty Kanza 200
http://vimeo.com/6349519
Dirty Kanza 200
http://vimeo.com/6085808
cRamp Alexander
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ew2Qfll5ZHk&feature=player_embedded
KC Cup Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOViq3DOYag&feature=related
KC Cup Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0WUFTZAkRw&feature=related
KC Cup Part 3
Peace Out!
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
And.....it's over.
Well, this past week I was all dressed up and had no place to go. I had trained pretty good the past couple of weeks to prepare for the Kansas City Cup. That was to be the last mountain bike race on the schedule for this year. I felt like I was in decent shape. Not quite where I was before the injury, but close.
It would have been fun to race this past weekend, and missed being their with the guys, but those things happen on occasion. The HiFi has not got it's new part yet, so I had no bike to race.
Since the season is now officially over, I have backed off a little this week, and have begun some base training on the bike, and am returning to the weight room. Soon, since it is really beginning to cool down, I will mess around with a little running to mix it up a little.
Who knows, since I am putting most of the time in on the cross bike, maybe I will toy with the idea of doing a couple of cross races so that I don't get too bored! Check back later for some more updates on life!!!
Peace out!
It would have been fun to race this past weekend, and missed being their with the guys, but those things happen on occasion. The HiFi has not got it's new part yet, so I had no bike to race.
Since the season is now officially over, I have backed off a little this week, and have begun some base training on the bike, and am returning to the weight room. Soon, since it is really beginning to cool down, I will mess around with a little running to mix it up a little.
Who knows, since I am putting most of the time in on the cross bike, maybe I will toy with the idea of doing a couple of cross races so that I don't get too bored! Check back later for some more updates on life!!!
Peace out!
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