Monthly Archives: September 2011

Misc

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Yesterday went from cold to colder. Bill and I went from a ride when we got back from Duluth and ended up riding in a sheet of sleet and then rain in the 30’s. That is close to 60 degrees colder than when we drove up here a couple days ago. Man, does the 30’s feel cold. My hands were almost as cold as Cross Nationals in Bend. Stupid cold/numb. Luckily, Dennis has a jacuzzi and we sort of thawed out in it while it rained. I love sitting outside in a jacuzzi when it’s 30 degrees and raining. It seems decadent.

Trudi is beat from working. She went to bed at 9 and slept forever. It usually takes a week or so for her to transition back to “normal” life.

Skinny Ski has a write up on the favorites for Chequamegon. It is a pretty extensive list of both men and women. Here is the link.

The rest of the Kansas gang is showing up later today. Catherine is driving up here on her own. The Matt Gillhausen, Brian Jensen and a couple others are coming Friday morning. It is lucky that Dennis has so much room in his compound.

My throat is jacked up, but I’m not going to worry about it because I can’t do anything about it. I went to an eye doctor in Duluth yesterday and thought this I have eye infection might have something to do with my sinus/throat thing, but the Dr. said no. He gave me a prescription for an antibiotic ointment and when I went by Walgreen’s, the tube, which is the size smaller than a jellybean, cost $180. That was way out of my budget. I have some at home and will be back there on Sunday night or Monday.

Today we’re going to ride the 2nd half of the course. Katie and Kent Eriksen are showing up this morning, so that should be fun. Kent doesn’t hold back much riding, so it might be too hard for me. I really don’t have any idea what I need to do, rest or ride, but I like riding, so that is what I’m going to do. I’m riding a fully ridgid, ti, Eriksen 29’r, but it seems pretty bumpy. I’m going to try a little less pressure today in bigger tires and see if that smooths the ride out some.

I’d better move. Jeff Bradley showed up last night. He and his girlfriend, Deb Wood, bought a house 200 meteres through the woods from Dennis’. Deb is making huevos rancheros for breakfast. I don’t want to miss out.

The sleet fell so hard that it acclumulated here on Dennis' porch.

We ate lunch in Duluth at Grandma's. This guy was in the lobby. Every grocery store in Topeka used to have them when I was a kid. Now they look so ancient.

Trudi and Bromont on the drive back to Cable.

Deb making breakfast. Chap, Tennessee import, in the background.

Chap brought a case of Tennessee moonshine here. This is an example of a Jeff sip for tasting. This is going to put a whole new spin on the after race wood cutting party.

This is Z, Dennis' brother's, Doug, dog. I was playing with him after breakfast. He wore me out with his concentration.

You know it's a bad sign when there is still snow on the roof when it is approaching noon.

T-1 Day until Race

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Friday before this race usually disappears before it even happens. Today is not going to be any different. There is too much stuff to do.

If you’ve been reading this, you’d know I’ve been having a wheel/tire quandary. I call Scott Daubert at Trek and he got back to me last night. Turns out he sent a pair of his personal wheels up to the race with Matt Shiver. Matt took over the job of Team Liason between Trek and the RadioShack/Livestrong teams. It is a hard job. And if you watched the movie Race Across the Sky, Matt was prominent, finishing 3rd on the day after setting tempo all day.

I’m going to try to track Matt down pretty soon. The wheels are about a pound and a half lighter than the wheels I have, but the tires might been too light. They are 50mm Dugast MTB tires. I’ll test them out this afternoon. I’m not sure if I need to take a risk to try to win. I used to take a bunch of mechanical risks in important MTB races, Worlds, etc. because I needed to take risk to optimize my places. I’m on the fence here.

On paper, this field might be the best ever. Christian Vande Velde, Garmin, Jason McCartney, RadioShack, plus the normal players of Brian Matter, Tristan, Doug Swanson, etc. Brian Jensen from my TradeWind Energy team is going to make an appearance today sometime. This should be really interesting. I’m thinking Brian Matter is the favorite, but you never know. I haven’t been following his results this season, but he is always good here and here is where we’re at.

Okay. I’d better go track down those wheels and get the day going.


When we got to Telemark yesterday, Gary was there and always ended up migrating to talking to the girls.

Katie's shock was low and she had a muti tool that had a shock pump on it. That was nuts.

Keith didn't get enough riding, so he decided to detail Dennis's garages.

Deb Wood came bearing gifts from the Haywad Bakery. These didn't make it a day.

Here's a nice photo that Keith took of Kent Eriksen.