Mustache Thursday

In case you missed it.

OP '08

Sufferfest 2008 is in the books. I know it is only February but the combination of weather, lack of fitness, and just doing a 24hr race will be hard to beat for the rest of the year.

Thursday. I head to Chicago with Amy to drop me off at the airport. My 4 pm flight was delayed. We board the flight and a mechanical sends us all off to wait some more. By now I will have missed my connecting flight in Dallas. I get with customer service and they get me on a different flight and I get into Tucson late.

Friday. I wake up to rain. Chris and I try to wait it out but weatherman says it is going to be a while. We head to the race site and if you don’t have 4 wheel drive, good luck getting in or out.

It is muck everywhere. We set up camp in a break and when it starts to rain again we sit huddled up in our tent trying to stay warm.

The rain turns to sleet and then snow.

We have no shelter until another teammate shows with a tarp that is rigged behind his truck.

We have a limited supply of firewood and burn the box it came in. It was cold.

Saturday. I wake to cold and snow left on the ground.

I wipe the snow that has accumulated on my bike and seat.

It will be time to ride soon. With a high of 58, I put on all the cold weather cloth I brought which I will wear for every lap. Lap 1 goes off. Legs don’t feel terrible. Lap time didn’t completely suck. I didn’t cramp or have a mechanical so I figure round one a success. Lap 2 is somewhere around 10:30pm, it is dark and cold. I actually get too warm and remove my stocking cap from under my helmet and take off my 2nd layer of gloves. Night laps are interesting. I couldn’t describe it but if you have ridden one you know. You feel like you are flying but being cautious at the same time. Lap ends positive as I dread the final climb less than taking my cloth off in the cold at camp. Lap 3, 3am. Oooooohhhh this sucks. I didn’t think it could get any colder. Famous last words. When I tried to get something out of the car it was covered in a solid sheet of ice. If water freezes at 32 degrees it was a lot colder than that. My thoughts were it didn’t get colder so I left without the extra gloves or a hat. I was wrong and really cold. Every part of my body was freezing. When I got back and took off my helmet I brushed ice from my hair. The thing was is there was no way to get warm. You just had to sufer through it. Lap 4 and the sun just came out. I can actually get away with a sweatshirt. Last lap is the victory lap. Reinvigorated with the sunshine, I enjoy the last lap like I had anticipated they all would be like before I left. Race over.

We did pretty well. 35th out of 140ish teams. That isn’t bad for a bunch of out of shape, snowed in, racing in February guys with 2 24hr rookies, up against guys with tan shaved legs. Everyone took their turn, rode the best they could, took care of their own business, and kept a positive attitude which wasn’t easy considering the weather. That is the best way to do a race and having great teammates like that makes it all worth it.

So my first race of '08 is in the books, and what a race it was.

Side note- My moment to remember from the race, I got a “on your left” request to pass, I moved and girl (Kona team rider) went by. Before she stood and rode away from me on her singlespeed, she turned and blew a huge snot rocket and then took off. I was speechless.

Gone Riding

Shocking News

I was cruising some websites about Arizona in preparation for my trip this weekend and I stumbled across this article in the local Phoenix, AZ newspaper. It is shocking to say the least.

Working on an anonymous tip, immigration officials from Phoenix conducted a raid at the Junipine Resort in Sedona, AZ. There had been speculation for years that there were many illegal immigrants working at the resort but the crafty resort manager was always one step ahead of the government.

This time, with the help of an informant, he would have no such luck. Officials raided the resort at 6am Saturday morning. While it seemed that most of the resort workers were tipped off or not working yet, two employees were apprehended hiding in the woods. With both people in custody and neither being able to provide any identification to prove citizenship, officials felt they finally had the proof they needed to arrest the resort manager.

Armed with an arrest warrant, a motorcade of law enforcement officials containing local, county, state, and federal agents proceeded to a house in Flagstaff, AZ where the Resort Manager Chris Bosselman lives. While only 10am, officials felt they had the element of surprise on their side. Unfortunately, they were too late. Chris's wife "D" told officials he was gone and "out on a bike ride". An all points bulletin was rescinded after they learned by bike ride he was actually on a bicycle. The residence was staked out for 20 minutes and with no suspect in sight the wife was arrested for obstruction of justice since she refused to provide any more information than "he is on a bike ride". When the 20 minutes had passed officials felt this was a lie since who would ride a bicycle for more than 20 minutes?

The suspect didn't return to the house for another 2 hours and upon arrival undercover agents were ready to arrest him. "He must have been tipped off because he was indeed on a bike and wearing Spandex.", the undercover agent reported. "No normal person goes for a bike ride in the morning for 2 1/2 hours. He is either really smart or down right crazy."

Mr. Bosselman was taken to the Sedona Police Department where he was questioned about all illegal activity specifically the two "employees" in custody. He immediately responded it was not unusual to hire minorities for resort work but they must prove citizenship. As a further act of in-your-face-edness, he told officials he makes a photo copy of ID's in case he ever runs into a situation like this. After transporting him back to the resort he provided this single ID for the 2 suspects in custody.

Obviously this wasn't legal.

Once the laughter stopped, tears were wiped from the eyes, and coffee launched from a burst of laughter was cleaned up Federal Agent Chip McDivot told Mr. Bosselman he was "going away for a very long time, and did he have anything to say for himself?"

Mr Bosselman calmly replied, "In just under a year John McCain (R-AZ) is going to be president. When he is, he is going to revolutionize immigration laws as we know it. I am just just getting ahead of the times and setting myself up for the future. If you try to prosecute me, by the time you get a case together based on fact not speculation, it will be at least late fall. If it does go to trial then I will just appeal sending this case into next year. When Johnny Mac is president, and you know he will be, what I will be defending myself against will essentially be legal at that time thus making prosecution impossible. So if you want to spend the time, resources, and money into prosecuting me go ahead but you know it will be a waste."

After conferring with the District Attorney it was concluded that Mr. Bosselman was probably right and to save the time, money, and department image all charges against Mr. Bosselman and his wife were subsequently dropped.

Looking For Love

Read it.

Saturday Plans

It is Thursday. Yeah!!!

Ha, you thought that was the end of it.

This weekend I am going fishing on 15" of Lake Winnebago ice. Saturday temps look like it will be a decent day. It is supposed to be about 20. Enough to keep the beer cold. Technically I am not fishing, neither is anyone else. This weekend starts the Sturgeon spearing weekend. I have always wanted to check that out. My friend T-bone has a shack that will be out and I am going to hang out with him. If anyone wants to meet me I will be in Fond du Lac around 8am and spending a good part of the day on the ice.

Blessed Celebration

I suck at etiquette. Actually I don't have to be good at it because I am a Dude. So here goes. I am giving advance notice, invitations to come at a later date, but our (Amy and I) reception/party is in Marquette on Saturday, April 26th. We have reserved a lodge on lake for a Saturday afternoon party. The plan calls for apps, Pasties, Pizza, Desserts, and Bells. Rooms are being looked into and plans are being finalized but I wanted to get notice out for any interest since it is a bit of a haul.

Things to do. Party with us and friends. Besides all the hiking, biking, sight seeing, and brewerys in the area it would make a great excuse to get away for a weekend. Everyone who reads this is invited. So mark you calendars.

More of the Same

The weekend went as planned. Amy got her haircut and to my surprise she also came out blonde. Wow, that is different but I like it. Mine, still long.

We got to go ride Marquette Mt. I hadn't been on my snowboard in a long time. Once in the last 3 years to be exact. I was bit sketchy the first few runs but we both managed to stay upright and had a really good time.

We did some driving and had our blow out Super Bowl party at the apt. Like I said, Papa Murphys, Dorito's, and I did break down for some Bells.

I got my bike back from the shop all loaded up. They made it a point to tell me how difficult it was pack. I would think packing a LG 29'er would be difficult but it came in a box right. It should go back in one. Chris is just going to have to pay close attention when he unpacks it so he can get it back together.

Yesterday we got more snow followed by freezing rain. Today, foggy with freezing rain and snow. The rest of the week it is supposed to snow. Sunday is the only day not forecasted to snow but with a high temp of 10 I don't think I will be doing much outside. So that is it. AZ next week and not one single ride outside. Woohoo!!!

Important Info Read Below

I got out for my second computrainer ride last night. That should be enough for Pueblo. I might scale it back a bit from here so I don't burn myself out.

This weekend Amy and I are heading to Marquette, MI. It is time for her haircut. I am planning on packing and using the snowboard for the first time this year so we will see if I am in a cast come Monday.

We have a raging Super Bowl party lined up. Papa Murphy's, Dorito's, and water. I am in training so I don't think booze is a good idea right now.

The mountain bike went to get boxed up last night. That is a rather pointless comment.

It is still cold but at least it is not -40. How is that for pointless?

Even better, my hair is long. Ha.

I will make you all go back to work.

Sorry this sucked. (not really)

Happy Friday.