DROPPED

Nothing can be more frustrating then rushing to get out of work, chasing downtown through traffic, showing up on time for the Alterra group ride and then getting dropped after struggling to motor pace up front. Yes, I suck it up, and yes I know you have to have group ride tactics, blah, blah, blah... Unfortunately the Alterra ride invites everybody to our rides and sometimes it is dictated by testosterone and they just let it RIP! If you don't play your cards right, your F*****!
Don't let the picture above fool you, there were more guys that jumped on later in the ride to add to the Thursday night pleasure.

So any way I got frustrated trying to chase a group that never looked back. I had a good ride back to the coffee shop and met up with Ty on the way. I stopped to reflect the beauty of Lake Michigan to remind me there is more to life than Thursday night Alterra testosterone rides. By the way this one hung on like usual, I think she has super MAN legs :-)

I got home and got a few messages from Alterra peeps that Roger Eckes crashed just shortly afterwards and broke his collar bone. Thank GOD he is OK and it was not too serious. I wish him a speedy recovery. Silly boys, they should learn not to drop the Nurse Practitioner :-)




Maybe next time I'll join this group ride.

Soaked

There is nothing more irritating then looking forward to riding and then getting soaked. I got home at a decent time from work, checked the weather map and it said 40% chance of showers by 8:00PM. The radar map on the other hand, demonstrated showers moving more south of us and it looked like I would be good to go as long as I was back by 8ish. I made sure I ate well through out the day and kept up with hydration so I could put in a good ride. I hit the road a little before 6ish and the sky was getting dark to the west but also had an open sunny sky wedged in the middle making you second guess your departure. After a discussion with the hubby I headed out behind him and we were off. It was drizzling a bit but it felt good to be on the bike spinning so I did not mind. I hit the New Berlin Rec Trails after a nice warm up ready to go and then a loud crack of bright lightening screeched across the sky down the path I was taking and I nearly crapped my pants. The NB trail is lined for miles with electrical towers and is not the safest place to ride during a storm unless your an idiot. So I turned around and decided to head home instead of becoming a piece of toast. I hauled it for a bit to scathe the storm but ended up getting caught in the rain anyway which was a bit refreshing if it was not lightening out. Bummer.

Sunburst Fun

Photo courtesy of RUSTY

Four laps of nice rolling grassy terrain with one big wicked heart pounding climb equals a really super fast course for practicing my cornering skills. Loved it! Kudos's to you chicks who did Ore to Shore and then showed up at the Kewaskum start, nice work!

Photo courtesy of NACHOBAR

What was going on at the Alterra tent? I never saw so many peeps cheering on our team. They must of been giving out free beer ;-) Thanks Greg for the hand ups and the spank! No doubt about it Team Alterra Rocks!

Kewaskum pics up

Sport starts and Comp Elite awards here

Feels good to have the SLR and a new 4 g chip :-) enjoy!

WORS attracts Pro Women racers

As we roll in to the last half of WORS 2008 race season the natives start to get restless. This weekends race at Kewaskum ski hill will sure to put down the hurt with it's wide open hammer sections and switch back climbing into the tight single track. Season after season there are always mixed emotions about this race but in the end it always turns up to be a great challenge and fun event.

Pics here from last years event

The course definitely is spectator friendly as you get the opportunity to view almost all areas of the course. Racers too can get a birds eye view of their competitors at most sections of this course which makes it even more fun to keep the pressure on.

Even more exciting is I hear from a reliable source that Pro U23 National Mountain Bike Champ two years in a row, Chloe Forsman from team LUNA will maybe join the elite girls at the start line this weekend at Sunburst Showdown. I hear she is in town to do Ore to Shore and may swing on down to try a WORS race, how cool is that!

I think it's exciting that us girls will get to test our fitness against such an amazing athlete and it makes looking forward to this weekends event all the more fun.

Laughter is the best medicine!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gjxnxKmaVQ


I stumbled across this last night and was just rolling in laughter. I tried to embed this but for some reason I am having problems up loading YOU TUBE to Blogger. Anyway...George Costanza Tribute is really funny. enjoy!

Saving money at the deli counter

Last week I was at Whole Foods and tried some scrumptious vegan deli counter dishes. I tried the Sesame Tofu and it was delicious but very expensive per pound, 5.99 I think. Luckily they stick the label on after weighing it and I was excited to see that every ingredient was listed. I then roamed around the store picking up a few things so that I can recreate these dishes at home. No recipe to follow just the ingredients and I think I winged it pretty good and they both turned out yummy.

Quinoa sweet potato salad

ingredients:

Quinoa

sweet potato

fresh spinach

slivered toasted almonds

fresh chives

white wine vinegar

sesame oil

honey

turmeric

salt

ginger

fresh squeezed orange

Baked Sesame Tofu

ingredients:

Firm Tofu

honey

rice vinegar

sesame oil

stone ground mustard

apple cider vinegar

apple juice

sun ripened grain (i could not find this one)

water

salt

mustard seed

garlic

chili powder

crushed red pepper

sesame seeds

scallions

Girls group ride

Even though many of the girls were out racing 24/9 this weekend we still managed to get a few peeps out on the Kettle Trails for a good ride on Sunday. Regina, Michelle, Amelia, Sonni and I had a great time sweating it out on the trails. Claire showed up fashionably late but with purpose, she was with company and headed out to cupid mountain for her own adventure. The trails were dry and fast with a few new trees down off the blue loop. Emma is getting more slippery on the gravel climbs as to where it is no fun since you just spin out. I hear that they are planning on fixing up Emma this year and expanding the connector trail. That will be a welcome treat to climb those hills without sliding backwards:)

After our ride, us girls had a few lake front beers to cool off. Bender, TJ, Claire and Matt joined in as well as Coop and his lovely wife to say hi. Off to the General Store for samiches to replenish our depleted calories. It was a very relaxing and fun afternoon and I hope we can get in a few more rides this year with the girls. So if your not on the group e-mail list drop Regina or myself a line so we can add you to the GIRLS GROUP RIDE list.

E for effort

pic courtesy of AMY D

Pic courtesy of Ty

A busy week before the race so I really had no expectations. I pre-road the "newly designed" course only once and found backwards O'Mally's woods and Kevin's Heaven to be the toughest to slither through. Before the start, I did a few practice drills on a small hill and decided to lock out the rear shock for the climbs. When will I ever learn? Sure it's great for climbing but oh how I forget after a few laps of jarring what it does to my back, GRRRRR. So I finally nail it at the start and get on the train out on the cap. The train seemed slow but then broke up as speeds increase. I sat on Sarah's wheel for a bit and then got restless knowing the single track was two corners away. I was feeling great, passed a girl or two and entered the woods in good position just behind a few others. My heart rate dropped and I thought real hard about the next four laps and my strategy.

pic courtesy of the GOAT

Nothing spectacular just efficient climbing I think. It was so fricken hot in the sun but who's complaining it's better then mud. Did anyone feel that cool breeze out there? I have no idea how you peeps ride a single speed. Those climbs dehydrated me so much I did not pee for a day.

pic courtesy of NACHOBAR

Feeling great going into the third lap.

pic courtesy of Rusty

Having fun on the descents which are my favorite.

Still in shock that I was even that close to Martha in this race and even a head of her for a few laps. The two of us went back and forth on the second half of the third lap going into the fourth. I was only within seconds of her at the finish and that is a mile stone for me since she used to kick ass in Sport and smoke me and most of the other girls for many years.

Thank You Deanna for the water hand-ups and Amy D for the sweet cooler, Colleen For the nice cold water splashes and all the other peeps who helped cooled all of us racers off. That squirt gun idea was brilliant:)

Cooling off

Wow, that went by fast! Feels good to sit back now and cool off a bit. A big thanks to the Alterra Crew for putting on a successful event this weekend! I stayed out of my husbands hair this past few weeks and it will be good to have him back. Ty did a fantastic job as race director and we look forward to hearing about every one's race stories.

Alterra pics here

Alterra Course Updates

Remember this day?

Ty wanted me to let everyone know that Sport will be doing the switchback climb and Citizen is the only group doing craters of the moon.

Looks like some fantastic weather this weekend and we look forward to everyone enjoying the race!

See you there!

Tweaking the Alterra course

Ty is happy to be finished with trail work for the evening and looking forward to some final clean up today. He appreciates everyone's input and will be working hard all day today on the Crystal Ridge Trails. If you have nothing to do today, stop by and lend him a hand or try to persuade him on the lay out of the Sport Course.

Ty will not have the switch back descent in any of the races. The reason is that come pre-ride we can't have two groups going both ways on the switch backs. As far as the Sport race, he is still undecided about having them go up the switch back climb due to passing issues. He will be out on the course all day today working on improving some sections of the course.

Everyone who was out riding the course had nothing but great comments last night. So get ready to race and have fun and make sure your brakes are in good working condition! Pretty soon before you know it we will be knee deep in snow.

Alterra course updates

I have received numerous e-mails in regards to this weekends race so I will try to answer some of your questions regarding how this weekends race will be routed. This is preliminary and may be subject to change for the Sport course. Team Alterra will be out riding the course tonight to check out flow of the course and tweak a few things out. Last minute changes were made, and late yesterday evening, Ty was told that he can not run any racers down the golf course. So, Ty was up very late last night cutting a new trail to get down the hill, UGH!

CITIZEN
They will do the same as last years course with the exception of the switchback descent and take the new path downhill.

SPORT
Probably same as last years course but no switchback descent. Not sure if Sport will ride switch back climb or do craters. Some input from Sport riders would be appreciated. Some think that riding up the switch back corners are tough and could cause a bottleneck.

COMP/ELITE
Sufferoramma, from the bottom of the switchback all the way to the top of Crystal Ridge Ski Hill where the shed is in place:)

Again, subject to change. Alpha Trails will not be used.

Ty plans on having the course pretty much marked by the end of Friday. You are welcome to ride the course which is partially marked at this time. Please respect those working on the trails and stay out of areas or sections that are muddy. Remember to wash your bike at home after riding Crystal Ridge to remove non-native invasive plant species garlic mustard and buckthorn and to prevent further spreading.

Thanks for your cooperation!

Getting the job done Alterra Style

Working late every day to get the job done for all you WORS peeps so you can all have fun this Sunday July 27th at Crystal Ridge for the fantastic Alterra Coffee Bean Classic Race!

Only Crystal Ridge can put out such fantastic sunsets that are on top of this world

Hard Hats required to pave the way to an exciting adventure of racing to come...

just a glimpse...

for those who dare to challenge their skills

Top notch design and architecture went into every detail

Dry, fast, tight single track guaranteed to wet your whistle

All just for you!

stay tuned for more!

A sneak peak here

Birthday SHOUT OUT

Always entertaining everyone!

Happy Birthday Brittany!

IN THE NEWS

The most exciting thing going on this weekend besides the Tour De France...


Mount Snow National Mountain Biking Championship


Good luck to all the Wisconsin peeps racing this weekend!

sweat it out!

sample image

Sometimes a little bit of fire is all I need to get going and put that pent up energy about the frickin mattress to the pedals. I put out some serious sweat last night and thought I was going to suffocate.

Sealy Mattresses SUCK!

RANT

Sealy Mattresses SUCK!

We purchased a King sized Sealy Mattress from American in Waukesha December of 2003. Slowly over time the mattress has been developing a sag in the middle and it is getting very uncomfortable to sleep. I continue to edge over to the far corner of the bed every night just to fight from sinking in the middle. We originally had the “Sealy bed Frame” that came with the mattress, that they recommend and it still sags. So I went out and bought a brand new, solid oak bed frame thinking this may help the mattress from sagging. I could put the mattress on a cement floor and it still sags. So I called American to see if they still warranty this and it is covered under Sealy for 10 years. The girl tells me they have to have a service guy come out and examine the bed before they can put in a claim for a warranty and it will cost $50.00 for the service call. So I agree to have them come take an assessment of the mattress. The service guy calls me before he makes his visit what he will be looking for sagging greater than 1 ½ inches, bulging sides etc… he did not mention any thing else. He arrives minutes after his call and as soon as he looks at the mattress he tells me it is not covered under warranty because the manufactures hazard tags were removed, before he even assessed the mattress. So it was like, there goes $50.00 down the drain for him to tell me that. Then he measures with a piece of thread and paper clip from one ends of the bed to the other and takes a ruler in the center to find it sags 1 3/8 inches. He continues to state that Sealy will not cover the warranty unless that hazard tag is on. I told him the original Sealy emblem is on and perfectly intact stating the manufacture, so why do you need the hazard tag? Hmmm…. Then he sees a small purple stain on the side of the mattress from when I accidentally splashed a glass of wine and I could not get out the stain. He told me they will not return the mattress with the stain. Then he tells me to maybe put some sheets of particle board under the mattress for support, WTF! So now I am really mad because I have the receipt, warranty in hand, paid over a 1000.00 for this latex crap pillow top bed that retains body heat. Top it off that they won’t accept a bed with a stain, what do they do with the mattress, re sell them?! Hmmmm. So what do we do? Call them next year when the bed has sagged past 1 ½? I think the company re issues those beds to other people like myself and are turning huge profits on consumers. My advice to you, DON’T BUY ANY SEALY CRAP NOR ANYTHING FORM AMERICAN TV, NEITHER STANDS BY THEIR WARRANTY!

I tried calling Sealy several times and no answer. Just a bunch of automated run around and then they want my claim number which I don't have! What really pisses me off is that the service guy kept giving me advice on how to make the mattress more firm in the middle by rigging it. I just bought a new BED, HELLO! There are no warped boards underneath for support, the shit is all brand new. He told me I should try putting another leg under the bed in the center for more support. Give me a F***** break!

I had a VERLO mattress when I was single and it was the best! I am checking into buying another but I just hate the fact that we will spend another $1000.00 for a mattress. And I am NEVER, EVER, buying a mattress with LATEX in it. I don't care what the F*** they say, the shit retains heat and it SUCKS!

Birthday Party was a hit!

Ty's cousin Troy made the beautiful chocolate cake.

Saturday's July Birthday celebration was a hit! Forty plus friends and family gathered for the festivities. I think the kids had a great time and I love to see their eyes light up when you mention we are going to sing Happy Birthday. We catered Mexican food from El Ray's and it was delicious. We ordered steak and chicken fajitas, rice , frijoles, guacamole, pico de gallo and plenty of tortillas. No one walked away hungry and we had plenty left over for seconds and thirds.

Sunday morning I texted a bunch of peeps to see if anyone wanted to ride the Kettles the weather was perfect and the trails were open after the rain we had earlier in the week. Holly was the only one to respond, I guess everyone was busy or could not make it last minute. We got out on the trails by noon and pretty much had the trails to our self until we hit the connector where we chased and played tag with a few boys.

Monday back to work after a nice long week of vacation. It feels good to be back to the swing of things and on a schedule. Somehow I am more productive when I am busy compared to having too much free time.

Next in the plans, maybe WEMS this weekend. Also looking at where we are going to stay in River Falls for the August 24th WORS race.

Dear John Letter

Yup, that's about it. NO Chequamegon Fat Tire Race for me this year. I just got the letter posted for July 15th stating:

Greetings

Thank you for your submission to the "50 Ways to Ride the Chequamegon" essay contest.

The nearly 200 contest submissions were scored on a diverse list of items weighted to give everyone for what ever reason an equal chance at being chosen as a winner. based on the results of the scoring, your submission was not selected as one of the contest winners.

As always the contest submissions were plentiful and the competition keen for the fifty reserved spots that were awarded. All of the submissions were very good reading or listening or watching depending on the format of your submission. Thanks for your participation. It was rewarding to read the many creative, humorous and passionate reasons why people want to ride in the Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival.

We invite you to consider participating in this year's Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival as a spectator (ha ha), volunteer (double ha ha), or support crew ( to dig the nail harder) for others who entered. Thank you for understanding the reasons for our limited registration and for not riding the event as an unregistered participant.


I guess I did not suck it up enough. Well I just saved myself a few hundred bucks anyway to stimulate the economy up Nordt there.



PLAN B: Maybe 24/9 looks good after all.