FLOOD RELIEF

After a weekend of basement flooding, I needed a release. I found it on the Surly at my "secret" training grounds. Just like the rest of the mid-west, they were a tad soggy, but that just seemed to add to the fun factor. Still in some terrible shape, but now I have tan lines! Ty

FLOODING....JUST ANOTHER FORM OF CROSS TRAINING

Not fun, but could have been worse.

Thank God for the invention of the "wet vac"!

I pray that everyone that has been affected by the mid-west flooding is hanging in there and finally drying out. Living on the Mississippi and the Rock rivers all my life, I still am amazed at how quickly "water" can change lives! Our household felt the effects of how just a little water can put your day to day life on hold. Water started filling our basement on Friday night. Anything that was planned for the weekend, and for this weeks vacation were lost. Every waking moment for the last several days, were spent dealing with getting rid of water, or moving things away from the water. Early in the week, I had some great training rides. This all came to a halt. I haven't been on the bike since Thursday. 4 days of amazing sunshine, but all we've seen is a wet basement! Our flooding was a mild inconvenience and yet it took several days of our lives. I can only imagine the hardship of those in Cedar Rapids or Iowa City who may have lost everything. So everyone stay safe, and grab a sandbag or two. Building levee's is great cross training...... Ty

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES

115 miles, 8+hrs in saddle, memories for a lifetime

"Perfect timing" Tommy blew a tire just as we pulled up to the parking lot. Thanks to the bike gods.

Never underestimate the power of the ju-ju to get you over the big hills!

Still smiling after 2 hard days in the saddle.

After the first rain storm. 2 to go.

A little soggy, but a century is still a century.

My "dad quit screwing around" look!



Still smiling on Sunday morining , before the skies opened up.

Not moving very well on Sunday morning.


Friends from Muscatine, IA at dinner.

Explain why college is so cool again?




This cheeseburger in Galena was amazing. A few hills later, not so much!

First rest stop, still fresh.

The best place to start is by saying THANK YOU to all the riders who passed by with encouraging words. Things like "nice job young man", " you pulling your dad to Dubuque" or my favorite, and the one i'm most proud of "I wish my son would do this with me"! There are not enough words for me to describe how proud I am of Thomas on this Monday morning. At 10 yrs old he had no clue of the hardship of riding 115 miles in 2 days, over challenging terrain, in some of the worst weather that I have ever ridden a bicycle in. My hope in the beginning was to have an experience that we could share. Time has a way of getting past us all. With challenging schedules, it is easy to just go day to day, and the next thing you know your kid is 10 and it scares the hell out of you as to where the time went. I also didn't want the experience to be so grueling, that he would never want to ride a bike again! Needless to say, he was one tired kid last night, and so was I. The stress of watching over him, especially on the steep and wet downhills, removed a few more hairs from my receding hair line. His lines on the uphills were a little squirley also as he put all he had into moving forward. But everyone was courteous to this fact, (except one pro kit dude out of place). This guy could have taken a page out of Brian Moritz's "nice guy"book! Here is a guy having a great race season. He could have just blown by us an said "on your left". But he took the time to slow down, say hey, and even take a photo of me and Tommy. A+ on the cool guy scale! Team Izzy will be rooting for ya at the next race. To conclude the weekend, my wife told me late last night after talking to our son about his experience. He told her that he had a great time with dad, and can't wait till next year! Or something like that, at least that's what I heard............. Ty

DOWN TO MY LAST DOLLAR

Told ya a while back, that while camping I went for a single speed ride on the back roads around our camp site. I take the single speed because I never know how the roads or trails are. Gravel, paved, dirt, the SS tackles them all. As i've explained numerous times on this blog, my mechanical skills are sub-par at best. I do carry a spare tube, and a mini pump, but dread the thought of having to actually use them on the open road. Well it finally happened in a big way! I was 15 miles and 20 turns down a gravel road away from the campsite. I did have my cell phone, but had no way of explaining to my wife how to come get me. So with no other choices left, I was going to have to save myself, or walk. Pulled the rear wheel off to find that this was more than a flat it was a blow out..... I had a pinkie size hole in my tire, and with 15 miles of gravel between me and my camper, there was no way just changing the tube was going to last. The only other thing I had left in my seat bag, was a single dollar bill. Why not! I stuffed it in there, put the new tube in, and with not too much fuss (for me), was heading "gingerly" home. McGyver eat your heart out! Thanks to Arnold's bike shop in Thompson, IL for hooking me up with a new rear wheel and another spare tube. I was back in business later that afternoon. Believe me, a 7 and a 10 year old in a small pull behind camper all weekend.........A couple hour ride is Heaven! Ty

OUCH!!!

My "pre-pop" off the back face!

Don't trip,Don't trip,Don't trip

June is here, no races under my belt, so what do I do? Yup get the cross bike out! I figured that if i'm not gunna race all summer, at least I can start getting ready for fall. So today I pulled the PVC practice barriers out of the garage rafters, aired up the tires to "35"psi and headed to the park. The plan was to tempo for about 1 1/2 hrs. A nice run up, barriers, and 15 yard run through the mulch jungle gym area, gave me 3 on and off the bike practices per 6 minute lap. Temps in the 80's, and I was drenched by the second lap. The wet grass felt like ice. The run up felt 2 miles long. The mulch felt 2 feet deep. The barriers felt waist high. My tempo ride became a survival ride for an hour. I was at my limit way too quickly for my liking, and the realization of the work ahead heavy on my shoulders. But there is time, and it felt great hopping on and off the bike again. Posted some pictures to remind myself why my legs will feel like lead tomorrow! 3 1/2 months till cross season................Ty