Drank too much coffee.

Ate too much food.

Didn't do a darn thing.

Updated my Mac OS X.

Time to go to work.

Going to ride tomorrow.

Today is H'ween.

No candy being distibuted here.

Might put a sign on the front door that simply reads...
"You knock on this door and request goodies I will rip off your head and dance in the blood while singing Mary Had A Little Lamb."

OK, bad idea.

Time for work.

I am not ready yet to get off the bike. Riding this time of year is just too much fun. The trails around here are finally clear of weeds, so pretty much every single ounce of trail in the area is ride'ble. Now, with this talk of an endurance race taking place within the city limits of Waterloo there is some new trail rearing its head. Is a race of this nature possible? Yep. There is plenty of fast singletrack. Keep enough trail in the event and you could have about 40 minute laps. In my mind...as a solo racer...keep the laps between 40 and 60 minutes long and you'll keep the interest of the people racing.

This AM The Swiss National Champ....er...Carl and myself hit up a lot of the trail in George Wyth State Park. From what he showed me, and with a bit more man power, there could be one sweet loop to race on for this proposed enduro event. JY, I am willing to help cut some trail. Now is the time of the year. So, contact me fool.

Our ride was pretty simple. 2 hours of riding to ride. Felt good. Carl should have some pictures up on his site. We even came across a deer that had a drinking problem. I think this deer habit may have led him to do the unthinkable. Carl should have a picture up. Check it out.

Time for work.

I thought we as humans were supposed to rest on Sunday, or atleast not go to work and spend the entire day sitting around. Or atleast in my case...riding a bike

Ok, so how come I am not seeing a check every 2 weeks?


OK, I am heading out for some fun in the woods with Carl. Check back later on both our sites for pictures and a indepth analysis on how to be a slacker bike racer in the off season.

If you can read this, then you know what food and drink to give me when.
These are the instructions for whom ever might be giving me nutrition when I come in from a lap.

So, my ISP went retarded sometime Thursday. As of this moment, blogging will suffer a wee bit. No posting from home...only from work. Hope they get it sorted out here on Saturday.

Also, when I got to work today, there was a CD from the guys at Cateye in Osaka. On this CD is a bunch of pictures from the Japan 24. Hope to get those posted up here in the next few days.

Shhhhhhh. Don't tell anyone, but I went for a 2 hour mnt bike ride yesterday. I might do the same tonight and on Sunday. Shhhhhhh

Stay Tuned.

I want to ramp it up, but I need to chill out. This is the hardest part of the year. The transition between 2005 race season and the start of the 2006 offseason training. But as we all know, it is a smart move to take some time off to let the body rebuild, and to let the brain matter get back to a normal thickness. So to pass the time I am still messing with the Trans Iowa V.2 planning. Right now, I am just waiting to hear back from the guys in Decorah as the set date for the T.T. When that date is set...T.I. will be set.

So in the mean time I have my offseason weight lifting planned out. The first phase will be the AA phase. This phase has one simple goal...get the body ready for what's to come in the next months. Think of it as training the body to train. It goes a little someting like this...

Duration: November - Dec (M, W, F)
Warm Up: stair master for 30 min.
Stretch
Set & Reps: 3 Sets, 20 reps
Lift Speed: SLOW
Recovery between Sets: 1.5 min

1. Hip Extension (Leg Press with single leg)
2. Lat Pull Down
3. Hip Extension (Squats)
4. Calf Raises
5. Chest Press
6. Seated Row
7. Back Crunches
8. Standing Row
9. Sit Up (w/ twist)

Stretch!

This is the basic work out order. If I told you how much weight I am lifting I would have to kill you. So, don't ask.

Rest of the day will be working at Europa. Yesterday, I started assembling the bicycle equivalent to satan. Say hello to the Raleigh Retro Glide. Nice bike. Fun bike. But the fenders suck! Everytime I put the fenders on the tires wouldn't fit. This went on...and on...and on....and on. Till I got to the point where I wanted to splatter it with parts-cleaner and throw a match to it. Sorry guys, no fire or small explosion. I just walked away from it to come back to it later today.

Today, the local Red Bull rep is to stop by to hammer out the Trans-Iowa details. Red Bull rocks!

That's it. Time to download more music for the offseason rage sessions. Here is what I have so far to just wet my whistle...


Oh geez, I almost forgot! The 12 Hours of Sugar Creek...a.k.a. Holy Crap there is some sweet climbing and s'track in Wisconsin 12 Hour Race...will be on May 13, 2006. Count me in. This is the best local endurance course. HANDS DOWN! Check it out, along with the rest of the races in the WEM Series.

Yesterday was a busy day, even though all I did was stay home...walk to work...work at work...and walk home. It's the stuff that took place while doing these things that took some time.

Lets start with the AM.
Tuesday morning I started the underground marketing for Trans-Iowa V.2. Yep, I said underground. The voice in a public forum is very powerful. So with that in mind I hit up some of the more popular internet forums on MTBR and Dirt Rag. I gave people a brief taste of what the event is all about. Then I left it up to them to further their interests by going to the T.I. website. Lets just say that the counter on the T.I. website is off the hook! People are interested. I have the e-mails from yesterday to prove it. V.2 is going to be epic this year.

Later in the morning I started working on a sponsorship proposal to send to different industry insiders to send out via e-mail. Last year we had more than enough prizing to give out. The industry likes to be associated with odd-ball event that gain attention. And T.I. is that and more. Once we have the dates set in stone, I am going to flood industry insiders e-mail boxes with an event that will make their heads spin.

In the afternoon it was off to work. Not much goiing on in a bike/ski shop in Iowa in October. Too cold to ride, no snow to ski. So what do we do? Strip apart an old schwinn tandem and start to restore it. Lots of cleaning and inhailing of fumes. There is only so much of that a person can take. Thank God the phone rang....

...On the phone was Boris. Who is Boris? Boris is the mastermind behind the E100 Series in Park City, UT. I heard of Boris at Interbike from my ELETE booth partner Gardie Jackson. Well, yeasterday, Boris called me at work and we talked about his races and some other items related to endurance racing. Super nice guy. I was thinking of his 12 hour race in June. We'll just have to see how the season pans out for 2006.

The rest of the evening was slow. I am not even sure why we stay open past 6 PM. Once the sun goes down, the last thing people in Iowa think of is riding a bike...little own leaving the house. So at 8 PM when we closed I headed home via foot power. I swung by Hy-Vee to grab some of the importants: milk, bananas, and THESE. These soup mixes rock! Good for ya, and easy to cook up! I had a very deep conversation with the high school age clerk about them that almost led to finding out who really killed JFK. It went something like this...

Clerk: Are these good?
Me: Oh yeah.
Clerk: Looks like ramen noodles.
Me: Close, but better for ya.
Clerk: What's so special about these versus Ramen?
Me: These won't kill you like Ramen will if you eat lots of it.
Clerk: Ramen will kill you? [insert puzzled look here]
Me: Yep [insert evil smile here]

It was at that point I want to break down into a nutritional nazi and try to help this guy understand how to read that white label on the back of the package. But, I took my change and walked home.

Once at home I found the couch and watched the greatest movie known to man. The movie whom I model my life after. The movie that makes me get out of bed every day. That movie would be Rambo: First Blood.

One final note:
I would so get hurt doing this.

There is talk of a T.I. like event to go down in May of 2006. Guitar Ted sort of spills the beans.

It has begun! Trans-Iowa V.2 is officially in full force. I am starting to get things lined up. Contact Hawarden....CHECK! Contact Decorah....CHECK! Prepare the sponsorship proposals for the event....CHECK! Oh, Joy. The fun that goes along with putting on a race of such epic status. I sure hope more than 9 freeks finish this death march come the end of April. Do you think you have the metal to suck it up and finish? Check out the website over the next few months as things become a bit more...clear.

What else is there...
I am finally over this cold for the most part. There is no longer the need to stuff meds down my pie hole to help with the symptoms. Pretty much all that resides within my body is a bit of a stuffy nose. Oh well, I can deal with that. I think I can finally get back to walking to work.

Had a brief phone call with Sloane last night. I say brief, cause as soon as I started talking with him it got busy at the shop. So I had to break it off early. Sorry Sloane! We chatted about next year and a few other top secret items. Next year should be interesting for the team.

Speaking of next season...
I am currently in my transition between seasons. Little to no riding till I start becoming a gym rat in early to mid-November. Once I am in the gym I will start with my 1st phase of weight lifting and non-bike cardio. Hard to believe that the roller sessions will begin in about 2 months. The racer culture here in CF/Waterloo is pretty lucky cause we had indoor structured group roller workouts twice a week till the snow melts. Once April comes around the 2006 season will begin.

Time to get back to working on Trans-Iowa.

So, my entire weekend was ruined by this stupid cold. Nothing but sitting around drinking OJ, green tea, and some soup here and there. I ended up going to work on Sunday which was a wise decision, cause after about an hour there I started to feel a bit better. Now, as I type this I can breathe out my nose and have some energy. I still feel a bit weird, so I will take it easy for a while longer and hopefully get rid of the sickness 100%. I have been off the bike since Tuesday. I am such a lazy bum. I really, really need to get out and ride.

I was sent a teaser of some of the pictures taken at the Japan 24 hour race from early October. The rest of the pictures are coming via CD. Here are the 2 pictures that were sent.

The podium interview. Note to self: Learn Japanese.


Playing in the woods. This is me heading out for another lap early in the race. The reason I say this is early in the race, is because I am not covered in mud yet. Also, I like this picture. So much so, that I made it into a new header.

This weekend while I was stuck in the apartment with the sickness, I took the time to get all "grunge" on the Trans Iowa V.2 header. I like. If you look really close at the picture you can see gravel blowing across the road, and a few farm animals blowing around in the back ground. Well...not really, but geez it was freek'n windy last year. Maybe if we are luckey it will rain this year. [insert thumbs down here]

The rest of my Monday will be pretty low key. Design work followed by at evening at Europa Cycle and Ski. Good times! I was over at JY's site and he mentioned two very important numbers on his Monday post...6 and12. What does he have up his sleeve? Check it out!

Still sick. Not going to work. Feel like crap. Lots of crap in my throat and nose. Can't breathe. Blowing nose way too much. Hoping these will help. All I want to do is sleep. Really want to ride my bike and get out of the apartment. No energy. Ugggggghhhhhh.

Here is a great place to waste time.

Here is a list of some events that have me lick'n my chops.

WEMS (9 race endurance series in Wisconsin)
12 Hours of the E100 in Park City, UT
24 Hour NORBA Nationals in Spokane, WA
Spoke Pony Showdown 12 Hour in Missouri
Burn 24 Hour Challenge in North Carolina ( I have seen great things about this race!)
TransAlps or Trans Rockies?
24 Hours of Afton in Minnesota (great freek'n course!)
24 Hours of Soldier Hollow in UT (I wanna ride with A. Lis!)
24 Hours in the Sage in CO ( I will beat altitude dang it.)

There was a rumor of a Trans-Kansas to be happening in May. Is this still going down? Toot your horn epic racers of Kansas.

OK, I need to give this a rest. I am sure this list will change a billion times between now and April. I just can't wait to see what events pop up this year.

If you need to get your "schedule on" check out your one stop endurance race listing at RIDE 424

1. Finish New Mart Team kits.
2. Finish and submit to Verge the Milltown Cycles kit.
3. Call Sloane.
4. Get rid of this sickness that has invaded my body.
5. Go to Carl's "I Graduated from College...Finally" Party.
6. Get a winter membership to the YMCA.
7. Recover from sickness to go on Sunday AM mnt bike ride with JY
8. Send off more '06 sponsorship proposals. I am looking for a shoe sponsor and someone to help with travel and fees.
9. Do some more planning for Trans-Iowa V.2

Speaking of Trans-Iowa...
If you want the side-bar promo that is on display to your right, just E-MAIL me and I'll send you the code.

Feeling a bit under the weather here. Seems like the sickness is going around. Plus throw in the messed up schedule the last two weeks with flying and time changes, and you have a perfect equation for a Fall cold. Right now, my body aches a bit and I am feeling weak. Hope this doesn't last too long, cause it is a total downer.

So for the time being, I am going hash out these kit designs for those of you that are waiting. I currently have 2 paying customers and 1 I have donated my services to. So, I have some work to do for the next week or so.

Speaking of work...
We are now a Tifosi dealer at Europa Cycle and Ski. We have a huge selection...30 + pairs or so in stock! I dig the Tifosi's, cause the price point is way low...$29.99-$59.99. And that includes glasses with interchangeable lenses. CRAZY!!! Plus, there is no lenses distortion...BONUS!!!







That is about all here. Time to work on some design stuff, and think more about Trans-Iowa. Really hope to get rid of this sickness soon.

Guitar Ted and Myself are currently in full-on Trans-Iowa V.2 mode. We are planning and hashing out the fine details. The website is being updated as of this moment. We are looking for industry support in the form of product. If you are interested in helping out with the event, either by donating your time, or offering product support for prizing, please e-mail me.

Stay Tuned!

The NEW Hammer Bar : The ultimate energy bar is here!

What's that saying - "If it's worth having, it's worth waiting for?" Well, if you're talking about energy bars, then the new Hammer Bar fits that saying to a "T."

Let's be honest. Most energy bars are nothing more than glorified candy bars, loaded with refined sugars, saturated fats, preservatives, and other ingredients that do nothing to support enhanced athletic performance or overall health. Finally, a healthier and delicious alternative is available to you. The Hammer Bar is here! Though it looks like another energy bar, calling it a mere energy bar just doesn't do it justice; we're offering a health and energy bar. Here's what we mean; compare any bar-type product you might be using to these specs:

- The Hammer Bar is rich in healthy ingredients, such as phyto-nutrient dense sprouts and other superfoods in a base of easily digestible, alkaline forming protein, essential fats, and complex carbohydrates.

- All ingredients in the chocolate chip Hammer Bar are USDA Certified Organic and non-dairy Certified Kosher.

- All ingredients in the almond raisin Hammer Bar are also USDA Certified Organic and non-dairy Certified Kosher, and are Certified Vegan as well.

- Both flavors of the Hammer Bar are gluten-free and GMO-free.

- The Hammer Bar is made fresh in small lots and stored at room temperature to preserve the natural qualities and enzyme activity of the ingredients.

- The Hammer Bar is sweetened only with whole-food sweeteners, including organic dates, organic raisins, and low Glycemic Index organic agave nectar to support stable blood sugar levels. What Makes Hammer Bars Unique? (and why you should be eating them!)

Alkalizing Protein - From whole food sources, alkalizing protein is crucial for reducing the acidity in the body that occurs from sustained energy output. This translates into potentially greater endurance, reduced joint and muscle soreness, and faster recovery.

Healthy Carbohydrates - A look at the list of ingredients shows only healthy carbohydrate sources... NO REFINED SUGAR! The Hammer Bar provides your body with the highest quality carbohydrates for consistent, reliable, and long-lasting energy.

Healthy Fats - Also called Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs), these are important for enhanced endurance, cardiovascular health, immunity, mental clarity, and hormone balance. Rich in ultra-healthy EFAs, phytosterols, and sterolins, the Hammer Bar is a deliciously easy way to supply your body with these all-important nutrients.

Phyto-nutrients - For supporting overall health, immunity, and resistance to disease, there's probably nothing better than Nature's superfoods. The Hammer Bar is packed with a variety of them, including sprouted flax and quinoa, Hawaiian spirulina, and wheat and barley grass juice...all organic, of course.

Enzymes - The Hammer Bar is cold processed-produced, which preserves the naturally occurring enzymes, vital for aiding in the digestion and utilization of the nutrients at a cellular level.

Taste - Whoever said healthy food doesn't taste great never tried the Hammer Bar! The taste and texture of the Hammer Bar will pleasantly surprise you. They are delicious!

Price - Even with ALL the healthy ingredients that make up the Hammer Bar, it's still very reasonably priced. A good deal at $2.49, but you won't find a higher quality energy/food bar at any price.

The Hammer Bar makes an ideal energy bar, but don't let its shape fool you... it's so much more than a mere energy bar! Eating a Hammer Bar for breakfast, lunch, or dinner provides your body with some of the highest quality food you can consume, supplying complex carbohydrates, high quality vegetable protein, healthy fats (no trans fatty acids!), nature's own phyto-nutrients, and enzymes. Whether using the Hammer Bar to help fuel your long distance workouts and races or as a meal replacement, you can be assured that you're giving your body the very best nutrition possible.

The Hammer Bar comes in two delicious flavors: Almond Raisin and Chocolate Chip.
Order your supply today!

Just another Fall day. Nothing overly exciting going on here. Temps were a bit chilly...43 degrees...when I saddled up to go out for some fat tire madness with Carl. We put in about 2 hours, but nothing overly high intensity. Feels great to just go out and ride with no set work out to follow. It sucks to think that in about a month and a half there could be about a foot of snow on the ground. Right now, it's nothing but leaves. Which, I might add, make riding the single track a bit challenging at high rates of speed. Yesterday, I went out and raged the single track at GW State Park. The Maxxis Ignitors were getting their "drift on" in some of the corners. Lucky for me, I kept in upright.

For the rest of the day, here is what I have on tap...

• Walk into work at 4 PM
• Work on some cycling kit designs...Noonan, do you guys have more changes? I sent you a proof the other day.
• Send in more sponsorship proposals to non-Cateye Enduro sponsors
• Take a nap.

One final note:
I let Guitar Ted barrow a Triple Shot last night. You can read his review HERE.

Oh, how I want thee.

Finally got some love on the Cateye site. Check it out.
And on the Europa website. See it! Thanks Carl!!!

Speaking of love...
Have you see the new heartrate monitors from Cateye?

The price point on these guys is a lot happier than Polar. These are about $80 and $100 dollars. Not to shaby. Stay tuned as more info comes out. Till then, check out the Cyclingnews article.

Also added endurance race results from the last 2 years to the bottom of the sidebar. I will keep updating this as results become available.

For the past 2 years I have been lucky enough to get my hands on some great products/tools to enhance my racing. Below is a list of those products that have caught my eye for the 2005 season.

Cateye Triple and Double Shot
Cateye produced the first HID light. Now, they have produced the first LED light set up that is all about fast off road riding. With 3-5 hour run times, and a lower price point, LED light technology is where the industry is heading.

Ergon Grips
Holy Cow! The most break through product I have used since disc brakes and front suspension! These grips off the rider a platform for their hands. Because of this grip fatigue is offset in your hands, arms, and shoulders. This is the first year that I have completed a solo 24 hour event and NOT had sore hands or knuckles.

ELETE
It's electrolyte ingestion made simple. No more need to slam pills or drink gallons of high sugar electrolyte drinks mixtures. Just add a few drops of ELETE to your current drink and you are off and running with all the electrlytes you need to sustain normal body functions.

Hayes El Camino Disc Brakes
Yeah, there has been hydro disc brakes around for awhile now, but nothing like these! These brakes allow the rider to adjust the way the brake acts on the fly. 2 simple knobs allow for lever reach to be adjusted, and another dial allows for the "power" to be adjusted. So, when your hands get tired during a race or you don't feel like squeezing as hard anymore to stop...just turn the knobs on the fly. BRILLIANT!

Hammer Nutrition Bar
Granted this product is not out yet, I had a chance to sample it at Interbike. It is about the size of a Clif Bar. It is softer and more moist than any other bar on the market. It taste great and goes down with out much chewing effort. This will be a great product that will change the sports nutrtition market in 2006. Keep an eye out for it. Hammer stated it wouold be out in late October. I can't wait!!!

Giant Anthem
The NRS has been a staple in Giant's line for XC racing for about 5 years. In 2006 it will be no more. They are replacing it with the Anthem. The Anthem will use the Maestro suspension system that was introduced last year. One other noted change is a longer top-tube on all sizes. Thanks to Adam Craig for suggesting that. Check out the full Anthem line up for 2006.

So there you have it. My top products of 2005. Stay tuned for new 2006 products as they arrive. I am really looking forward to the new Ergon grips and Cole Carbon mnt bike wheels.

Also, have more Japan 24 race pictures coming.

Here are a few pictures from the Japan race that were taken by some of the kind folks that help me out in the pits. Check THIS out and THIS for more pictures.


Pictures that were taken by Cateye are coming. Should be up really soon. If you want to see more pictures, check out the links at the top of this post.

Also...
I added a new link! It's the site of Alex Dolpp. Who is Alex Dolpp you ask? Well, he is one of the 9 super freaks that finished Trans-Iowa last year. Stop over and check it!

Not much going on. I have the weekend shift at the shop. We are currently having a bit of a break in the action so I thought I would fill you in on the latest and greatest activities of the last few days.

This weekend Guitar Ted is out mapping and checking out course options for the 2006 running of Trans-Iowa. I think he mentioned that his estimations on his new course would make the course around 30 miles longer. He also had mentioned something about some killer off-gravel sections. It's going to be interesting to see what he digs up on Monday.

The jet-lag from the trip to Japan is starting to officially suck. I have not had a decent nights sleep since I have been back. I am tired at 2 pm. Go to bed at 9 PM. Up at 2 AM. Back to sleep at 5 AM. Up at 7 AM for work. Geez. I hope this gets straightened out soon.

Last night, I went out for a killer night ride with some of the guys from the Bike Tech Team. We hit up about 2 hours of local trails including the Greenbelt witch is hella fast right now. Lots of big ring action to be had in the 'belt till it rains again. Might go back out on Sunday in the AM before work.

This time of year is the time to start searching for sponsors for the 2006 season. The Cateye Enduro team is going to be one more season for sure. While in Japan, I learned of some new products that Cateye has coming out that will need product testing. Also, I am hunting for personal sponsors that are not part of the Cateye team. For example: shoes. There are some other items I am going to go after that I feel are great products and can benefit my racing. Stay tuned for more to come on those items.

Lastly, Good luck to those yahoo's racing out in Moab. They include...Sloane, and A Lis. As of this post, they should be about 1.5 hours into the 24 hours of pure enjoyment.

Time to get back to work.

Well, here it is. The last race report for 2005 for me. What better way to end a successful season than by winning a 24 hour race in Japan. That's right...Japan! I was given the opportunity to take part in Japan's one and only 24 hour event. So with out further hesitation, here is a brief recap of the final race of the year for me.

Race: The 13th Annual Might Duro 24
Date: October 8-10, 2005
Location: Mountains outside Suwa, Japan

Saturday:
The race weekend officially started on Saturday. Myself, DA, and another from Cateye loaded up the Cateye van and headed North out of Osaka to the race venue. The venue was held in the mountains just outside the town of Suwa. The venue was 6 hours from Osaka, so we had some driving to do. During the drive it gave me time to focus on the task and hand....and get lost. Yep, we got lost while raging thru the mnts looking for the venue. We needed to get there around 3 pm for the individual TT that would decide the starting grid for the event. I don't think we got to the venue till like 5 pm or so. Since I was the only one in the van racing solo, I had to do the TT. So when we arrived, I quickly hopped out of the van...suited up...did a brief warm up...and then did the 1.5 mile TT. I ended up 5th overall out off all the teams and solos. This gave me a good spot for the start of the event. After the TT, I hung out with the 2 other Cateye rekay teams, and took in a bit of Japanese culture via some odd ball food dishes. No pasta and chicken for this pre race meal. Rather it was fish, grilled veggies, rice, rice, and more rice. I made sure to eat the foods which would help me the most in the next 24 hours. After the meal it was to bed at 8 PM for a good solid 12 hours of sleep. Oh, I forgot to mention it has been raining since we left for this race. I was told that the weather would most likely be dry. WRONG! It rained all the way to the race...and the night before the race....and then during the race. The rain and elements would make this race truely epic.

Sunday:
Sunday, I woke up to light rain and a flooded pit area from the down pour at night. The temps were about 50-55 degrees with constant rain/mist. It was foggy and looked like we were about to race thru the clouds. Regardless of the weather I still had to suit up and get ready. I threw on my Cateye kit with an added Craft longsleeve base layer to keep the chills away. At 9 I started my pre race routine...music and a warm up. At 10 it was race time. I got in my starting place and took off following the top 2 team riders. My goal for the race was to lap all the solo riders and then do damage control for the rest of the event. I knew this would be difficult cause the field included last years winner. He also had won the event the last 11 years! This guy had some talent, and I need to push him. The first 3 laps were hard for me. The laps were short, and with all the brief power climbs and twist and turns it was hard to get into a smooth pace. So I went into XC pace for a few hours. The rain from the days before had made the course a mud pit. It was like riding thru peanut butter. The tires that I brought along to race on...Maxxis MiMo's...were NOT mud tires, but I stuck with them and got pretty good hook up. I pushed on lap after lap trying to get into a groove. The wet conditions were making the course slick and this led to a few unintentional dismounts. Finally after about 5 hours I started to "tick." I was turning smooth laps with out making any un needed energy wasting moves. During this time I started to lap part of the solo field. Also at this time I wsa informed that I was 3rd overall out of all the solo and teams. Every lap I stopped at the pit and grabbed a bit of food. It ranged from Power Bar bits to fine Japanese eats. Eating ever 40 minutes or so made sure that I was fueled all the time and strong. After 7 hours of riding I finally caught the 2nd place rider and officially put me a lap up on the field. Form here out it was damage control. Lap after lap...after lap...after lap...after lap. The sun finally went down around 6 PM. That meant 12 hours of darkness. The night was tough at times. I had no Red Bull since it was not available in Japan, so I had to gut it out. I was often talking to my self and doing short 30 second burst to keep myself awake. All this while riding thru mud, fog, and rain. Speaking of the fog...there was a few times where the fog was so thick that the lights didn't do a whole lot for me. It looked like I was riding into a wall.

Monday:
Midnight came around and I was in good spirits. My back was a little sore so I put on the ThermaCare heat wrap to help the issue. This did the trick till the end of the race. I pushed on thru the rest of the night. There was more fog and more mist. I was also putting on more laps to some of the solo riders, often catching a few every lap. The funny thing was that I was never seeing the 2nd place guy. He was only a lap back, so I had to keep pushing somewhat hard. I did a bunch more laps, and then saw him at his pit. I wondered how long he had been there. Did I have more laps on him? How was he feeling? Unsure of his lap count back, I still kept the pace high. By early morning it had begun to rain again. It was really making the course bad! It got to a point where it was like riding on ice. Somehow I managed to keep the MiMo's tracking in the right direction and never did lay it down anymore during the event. To keep the chills at bay I ended up putting on my Craft rain jacket. As the morning went on the rain lessened each hour. With only 3 hours left to go, I passed the 2nd place rider agian. I now know that I have 2 laps on him. So I pushed on till 9:45. I got to the pit and waited till shortly after 10 AM, then crossed the finish line for yet another 24 hour victory. I ended up with 42 laps and a 4 lap lead over the solo field.

So there it is. The last recap of the season. Thanks to Cateye and the other sponsors for the products that in my mind "work to perfection." It great to go into an event and not have to worry about equipment. I am looking forward to next year all ready. There are some greater things to come.

I hope to have pictures soon from the event.

Here are a few pics that I snapped during the trip. All race oriented pictures are coming to me from Cateye, so when I get them I will post them along with the race report. It should be soon.

So for the time being...

I am now back in Waterloo. I need to get things back in order around here, so a race report should be up in the next 24 hours. Stay tuned.

I am sitting in Kansai Airport getting ready to get my fly on again for 14 hours of pure numb ass. For those of you not aware of Kansai Airport...its 100% man made. It sits in the ocean...they hauled in all the dirt...filled the bay...and built a freekn airport on top of the dirt. These Japanese are so clever.

Anywho...
Yesterday, myself and DA hit up the town. Went to all the shopping/hot spots to take in the Osaka vibe. Cool thing about Japan is you dont need a car. There are trains, buses, bikes, scooters, and other forms of getting from A to B. And, YES, there are Starbucks on every darn corner of this place.

In bike related news...
The hot bikes here are super high end Cannondales. *sigh*
Viva la Giant Bicycles!!!!!

In food news...
You can buy squid in the conv. stores like you can buy Frito Lays back in the States. Awesome!

For the folks at Europa...
A bag of Japanese snacking goods will be making its way to the break room table. Sorry, no squid.

Time to catch plane.
14 hrs to Chicago. 1 hr to Cedar Rapids. 1 hr car drive to Waterloo. YAHOOOOOO!

Oh, the local time is 4:20 pm

Got to the race on Saturday night.

Did an individual TT do decide starting placement...no le mans run in Japan.

I got 5th overall after just getting out of the car.

Rained all day Saturday...and Sunday...and Monday....and now even Tuesday.

Course was a mud bog...think peanut butter.

Course was like 4.5 miles per lap.

Little climbing. Bunch of short power climbs. Mud was the worst part.

Had to switch bikes every 2 laps

There was like 7 or so solo racers and a bunch of teams.

The same guy has won like 11 straight years. (this was the 13 year of the event)

Not this year.

I BEAT HIM!

I got first with 42 laps of mud bogging fun.

I think I won by like 4 laps.

Right now I feel pretty good, and am not too sore.

Will pack up bikes today and take in some sights.

Tomorrow I fly home.

In depth post to come when I am back in the States.

I still can`t read, speak, or understand a word of Japanese

Made it! But with out some hassles and good times. My flight was to leave Cedar Rapids at 10:10...but did not leave till 10:40. The flight to Chicago is 40 minutes. My connecting flight to Japan left at noon. You do the math on that one.

Anyway, I got to the airport in CR at like 8:45 so the baggage nazi could rip thru my bike boxes. And they did. Yep, there was bikes in there, just like I told them. AFter the bike check in it was to Security, where they x-rayed my bag which had clothes, helmet, lights, and powder nutrition. Sure enough, they x-rayed the helmet and lights like 7 times just to make sure. Geez, what a mess.

After that I was notified that the plane was late getting in and I would not leave till 10:40. I was pacing and wondering if I would make my connecting flight. We took off from CR at 11:10 and busted ass to Chcago. The plane got in at 11:40. I then sprinted off the plane and ran all the way across the airport to get to my plane at 11:58 just as the docking bay door was closing. I was a sweaty heap and made it just in time to my seat. That was too close!

Finally, I cooled down and we departed Chicago at like 12:20 after sittin gon the run-way in line. I would then sit in a plane for 14 hours of pure enjoyment. The plane staff kept us fed well, and each seat had a flatscreen, so the flight wasnt too bad. I was able to get up and walk around a few times to keep the blood flowing. A few times I sat and stared out the window in the back of the plane as we flew over parts of Alaska and Russia. Very cool.

Now I am in Osaka, at my team managers crib. Tomorrow we drive 6 hours inland to the mountains for the race which is on Sunday and Monday. Saturday is a TT to determine the start grid.

So that is all for now. The food is ready, and I have tons more to chat about but it will have to wait. I also have some pics.

Stay tuned.

Everything is packed. I put as much as I could into the bike boxes. Which happens to be about everything but for the stuff that looks like bombs. The only things I am carrying on the plane is... me, my civilian clothing, helmet, and lights-n-batteries.

I hope everything goes smoothing in terms of getting everything on the plane. The last thing I want to do is rip apart a bike box in the middle of O'Hare airport.

So this is it. The last post till after the flight. The flight leave at 10 AM tomorrow. Then I have 15 hours of airplane ass to deal with. Atleast the plane ride to Japan shouldn't be too bad since I am flying in a Boeing 777. It's HUGE!

Thanks for all the well wishes and good lucks.

Oh, and a special thanks to G-Ted for getting the stuck seatpost out of my back up NRS Air. I owe you buddy!

Can you repeat that?

Out.

Get'n things in gear. Got plenty of clothing. Spare batteries. Double and Triple Shot LED lights. Chamois butter. Tifosi shades. Shoes. Helmet. Nutrition. Cold weather gear. Wet weather gear. Gloves. 4 H20 bottles. Socks-o-plenty. Etc, etc, etc.

I am going to need to get as much of this in my bike cases as possible. The Hammer Nutrition that is in powder form and the batteries will be carried on the plane cause I am sure they will want to check those out. I can see a big fuss coming about because of the Sustained Energy mix which looks like cocaine. Oh, there could be some good times.

Time to get ready for work.

Talk about scrambling. Pack, pack, pack. Sleep. Throw in a training ride. Pack, pack, pack. Work. Sleep. Double check the list. Ect, ect, ect. I am not cool with packing lite. I like to go to a 24 hour event will all my gear so I am prepared for just about any situation that may arise. All clothes. All spare tires. All spare parts. Tools. 2 Helmets. 2 sets of shoes. All sorts of nutrition. I am going to pack lite with the civilian clothes, and take more race clothes. I would rather wear the same shorts and t-shirt for a week than miss a chance at a podium at this event. Yeah, that is gross in most peoples mind, but who cares. [raise fist in the air] Viva la Stinky Body!!!!!



So where am I going? I am flying into Kansai Int. Airport near Osaka. It's indicated by the red dot on the map above. From there I am chill'n with my team manager till the race which is this weekend. Going to take in some of the sights. Grab some goodies to bring back for friends and family. I am sorry to report that I will avoid the sushi. Tried it at I-Bike, and it is just not my thing. I hope I am able to get my normal pre-race foods in Japan. Must consume eggs, pasta, pancakes, ect, ect.

Ok, I need to go out and get in one last ride before my flight tomorrow. I am going to get in some AM hill sprints. I have to work all afternoon at the John Deere Health Fair for the shop. Yes, you read that right. I said John Deere. John Deere is based out of Waterloo. The green flows like a fine wine in this part of the USA. After the fair at 5 it's pack, pack, pack.

More posts to come.

I think I am back into my normal day to day ways of life. Today was the first time in like 5 days that I have not eaten at a buffet. I like being able to eat normal size portions of food. Feeling like I have to get my moneys worth sucks. Yesterday, I got home around 10:30. I checked e-mail, and ate a little grub. I laid down in bed to scope the new Giant and Maxxis Catalogs. 5 minutes later I was sleeping. I slept till 6 pm. I woke up. Ate a hummus sandwich. At 7:00 I fell back to sleep and woke up today at 7 AM. Whoa! That's a lot of Zzzzzz's. Thing is, I feel like a million bucks now.

This AM I went for a 2.5 hour mnt bike ride. I hit up all the singletrack in the Waterloo/Cedar Falls city limits. I was gun'n pretty hard. The legs felt good, so I pushed it. I need to get some more rides in on Monday and Tuesday. Cause on Wednesday I fly out for Japan for the 24 hour event.


Today I had to work. It was pretty slow. My day was made when I got to work, and my new shoes from Salomon finally showed up. These shoes rock! Will be great for the winter commute via la human power...and maybe some dirty trail running.



Remember how I said that I hung out with the guys from Blue Collar. Yeah, here is a picture from the Vegas airport of Tim and myself. God, we both look tired. Rock-n-Roll forever? Buddy?

People have been asing about the Endurance Meeting that took place during Interbike. Well, there was like 6 of us...Mike Curiak and his friend, Myself, Chris Kostman who runs the Furnace Creek 508, Mathew Lee, and Ride 424 creator Karl Etzel. Not as much went down as you would think. We discussed Trans-Iowa. I threw out the ideas G-Ted presented to me. THey were all pumped. Mike Curiak said that in 2006 he will have 2 races...the Kokopeli Race and The Grand Loop. The Grand Loop is a remote wilderness race that is 350 miles. We also, came to a group conclusion that Karl's Ride 424 is going to be the go to place for anything endurance racing. The site is going to become huge and more like a data base. Kostman owns a bunch of web space and he is planning on using it to make Ride424 a MTBR like site. It will have lots of info and specs on just about any endurnace race in the world.

Question for all of you out there....
Can CO2 and Chain lube fly on a plane? Just curious if I need to pack these items, or pick them up in the land of the Rising Sun.

Anywho...
The rest of the week will be short and go alittle something like this...work, ride, sleep, pack, drive, fly.

More to come.

I flew from Cedar Rapids, IA to Chicago...then to Vegas. This is waiting to take off from O'Hare. Out of the picture is the bagage nazi slamming bags into the bottom of the plane. Thank god my bags are in the over head compartment.





It was a full flight. I had an Italian couple from Chicago heading to Vegas for the first time sitting next to me. They were prepared, cause they had the "Unofficial Guide to Vegas" with them, and a book of "The Must Visit Buffets"





Once I got to Vegas I was meeted by Val of ELETE (black shirt). He is one of the master minds behind this stellar product. Also a super nice guy.





This is Gardie Jackson from Park City, UT. He is on a pro road team that is sponsored by ELETE. I think the name of the team was soomething like Heathy Choice ELETE Cycling Team. This dude is full of crazy energy. He is non-stop go go go. Also one of the coolest and nicest guys on the planet. He has an addiction to the Boston Red Sox. He needs therapy. It's a sickness. He told me not to do this, but I am going to....nice hair pretty boy!
Sager, if you read this blog, he wants to hook up to pound some miles.





I roomed with Gardie during the duration of my time in Vegas. Here is the kick ass view out our 6 floor window. It takes my breath away.





While the show was going on we would work in 3 hour shifts. 3 hours on...3 hours off. There were a bunch off different atheletes working. Endurance racer Sandra Tomlinson from the East Coast and members of the womens Bicycle John's Team out of Cali. The booth for ELETE was 10 x 10. Next year it will be huge...maybe 20 x 20. Why? Cause so many people stopped by that used the product and where praising it...then placing orders. Lots of international distributor swung by and want to start carrying the product.





When I wasn't at the booth I was out talking to sponsors. Giving them thanks, and seeing what is new for '06. Here is a so-so picture of the 100% carbon rim on the new disc mnt bike wheels from Cole. Cole wheels where HOT at the show this year. You might start seeing them on 2006 and 2007 model year bikes. For example...Ellsworth.





Another so-so picture.





The new Ergon twist shift grip. Ergon is planning on some new products in late 2006 and early 2007.





Just for Carl...It's Jan's bikes!
Sorry, buddy, they wouldn't fit in my Timbuk 2 bag.





Later was the Giant Bicycle Happy Hour. Beer and Red Bull was flowing like a fine wine. And Communications Manager Andrew Juskaitis was pump'n out the tunes.





Met this guy from San Fran, CA. He's cool. He was a tri-geek and he's trying to back into it. He and his bud are getting readdy to open a bike shop. He told me that he drank beer with Metallica back in the day. Can this guy be any cooler?





Monkeytron even stopped by. Tara insisted that she sign the monkey. Here is her quote..."I have never sign'd anyones monkey before." That got a lot of guys to look over her way. Behold the power of the monkey.





Adam Craig and Monkeytron got alittle weird. It was all good.
I saw Tom Danielson wandering around the show floor. He was always tied up with folks. A Monkeytron picture would have been great. The Real Joey Thompson would have dug it.





To top it off, Monkeytron hung out with the King himself!

So that was Vegas in a nut shell. More to come later when I feel like sitting in front of the computer. Right now I need some bike time, and some design work finished up.

Oh! Thanks to the guys at Blue Collar for getting me and G-Ted T's. I hung out with them in the Vegas airport for like 2 hours shoot'n the breeze before we had to catch our flights. You guys rock!

This week will be fast and furious. On the 5th I fly to Japan for a 24 hour race. The last of the year. Then it is time to start focusing on the 2006 season.

Yipee!!