My office has moved from a 50 min ride to 70min one-way. What other city could I do this and still be on bike path 90% of the time?

Its been years since I last owned a road bike, but this Minnesota winter has been so mild and the spring so early that I not quite ready to jump on the mountain bike. I am lucky enough to be able to ride to work and this last year I have hardly missed a week. So it only seemed natural to look for a road bike. And here it is, the 900.

The frame is beautiful, with its smooth strong lines and seamless carbon form. Todays was its maiden trip to Ohio street hill. Three local lads joined me in the 3 hour round trip, A Pinarello, a Ridley and a BMC.

The bike seemed stable on the turns, stiff when out of the seat and comfortable on the rough roads.

Its still spring, and four laps felt about right. Plenty of time to build that number up before the first race.

One more bit of news, my check for the Chequamegon Fat 40 cashed, so looks like I am in for my 12th year. I have done the 40 on 26 (to small), a full suspension (over kill), a 29er and a cross bike twice (perfect once, rotten the second) but this will be my first on a single speed (rigid). The good part of registering in the SS class is my start line position dons’t matter. As crazy as it sounds, I plan to just get up early and drive to the start line by 9am.

Well, for Cyclocross it’s considered the off-season. I thought I was doing pretty good, too. Got Mark Farmer whipping me… er, coaching me. Getting to ride a bit more consistantly. Got a plan this year. Thought I was doing OK and then, one of my nemesis went back to road racing this year. Gasp. But I’m still putting the work in. For a while, that was.

Then we’ve had some health issues in the family. Something pretty drastic, really. Drastic enough to make you say “The rest of this bike-riding crap can wait.”

It doesn’t mean I’ve stopped riding. I just don’t get to ride as often as originally planned. Not a big deal. Family is a much much bigger deal.

So instead of a hard 2 hour hard training ride, I may go for a 2 1/2 hour ride on the bike path through the metroparks with my bride. For example, last Saturday evening when we went by a couple ponds the peepers – frogs – were so loud it was astounding. We get around a bend in the path and she counts a baker’s dozen of whitetail in the meadow.

A couple of weeks ago I was in Marietta, OH for a week. The temperatures in Ohio have gotten to what we normally see in June, not the beginning of March. It was interesting to ride around and find pockets of temperature differences. A breeze may blow in and it felt like the temp would drop 10 degrees F. Or I’d make it to the top of a long steep climb and you could feel the temp get warmer and drier where the sun had been beating down on the pavement all day.

So I don’t get to ride as often as some of my competitors nor is every ride a full-on training ride. But on and off the bike, I’m going for more memorable moments. I hope you do as as well.

Thanks for reading.

Looks like racing season is not quite over. “Really?”, you say. Yep. I’m headed down to Louisville tomorrow morning to the UCI Cyclocross Masters World Championships. It’s a big name and sounds pretty impressive, doesn’t it?

I wish I could say I’d show up and post some impressive results but the reality is I probably won’t be top twenty. Not trying to run myself down. I know, I should be more positive with myself and abilities. Self-reinforcing behavior and all that. But I’m trying to be a realist here. I did pretty good in the regular season given how much (or little, really) I got to train. I have been getting after it more in the past two weeks. The motor is there, the skills are coming along, but I didn’t spend enough time with the wrench tuning the engine in the prior year.

So why am I doing it? Long answer: At first, good friend and racing nemesis Chris Freter was talking with me about it and said “It’s the first time it’s been on U.S. soil, it probably won’t happen again any time soon. Might as well.” Good point. Then we raced the USGP in Louisville and saw about where we stacked up in our age group. Because it cost a fair amount extra to get an International racing license (as opposed to a regular domestic license) and the cost of entry we both figured it wasn’t worth the cost to get shelled in the elimination round. And then… and then… I was talking with my father shortly after his surgery and his statement was “Why not?” It is a once-in-a-lifetime event for me (I doubt I’ll be flying to Europe even if I do get phenomenally faster) and his thought was there’s little reason to not actually race in Worlds. Consulted with several other friends as well and Dad wins out. So packing up our bags and moving to Beverly… er, Louisville. For a short time, that is.

What’s the plan? I already said I don’t think I’ll be top twenty. My smart-aleck answer is “not last”. I am hoping to make the top 40  going in to Championship round. That’s the main goal for now. If I don’t make it, I’ll probably be in the consolation round. But top 40 is the goal for now.

Then what? Take a few weeks off. Look at the mountain bike schedule. Probably the Muskingum Mayhem as I did last year. I’d like to hit the Mohican 100 this year. I’d like to do the Pan Ohio Hope Ride with my brother as well. And of course there’s the next cyclocross season that I need to start tuning the engine for.

To all the Crossniacs who are coming to Worlds, I look forward to seeing you there and heckling… er, I mean, cheering you on.

Thanks for reading.