Since I’m in such a hole, I decided to drive North to Bromont’s playground up in the Chequamegon National Forest. The highs are only in the upper 70’s and it’s only in the 40’s at night. I stopped on the way back from Downer’s Grove at the Iowa State Fair. I think it’s the biggest state fair in the country, but I may be wrong. There are over 100,000 people a day going through the gates. A gang from Kansas is up in Cable with me. We didn’t get up here until nearly 4 am last night, so it was a short night. We suited up and rode the whole Chequamegon 40 course this afternoon. Hayward to Telemark. It only took us 2:45, so we weren’t going too slow. I haven’t ridden my MTB bike in a while and am going to be pretty sore tomorrow. I’m staying up here until next weekend’s racing. A change of pace.

Group shot, my bike only-Jeff Bradley, Catherine Walberg, Drew Holbrook, Lynne Cecil, Bill Stolte and Keith Walberg. In this group there is a Birkie winner, a Tour de France rider, and numerous times Chequamegon winners.

Slideshow of the fair. My favorite is of the “dirty” girl with her sheep.

I only brought my MTB bike up to Wisconsin. It is very infrequent when I don’t have a road bike or ride a road bike for such a long period. I’ve ridden the Chequamengon course two out of the last three days. Today I rode with Bill from Hayward to the finish in 2:25. 20 minutes faster than a couple days ago. It was a lot harder. The winning time this year is going to be under 2:10. I’d better get going a lot better in the next three weeks. My plan is to use 6 criteriums the next two weeks to get some speed back in my legs. If that doesn’t work, then it’s going to be a long day up here in a few weeks.

I think MTB riding is super cross training for road racing. It sure uses a ton of different muscles than riding on the road. And everyone of them is sore. On top of all my broken/separated body parts, somehow I decided to learn to water ski after these Chequamegon training days. Maybe not the best choice. 3-4 hours on a MTB in the morning and then out in the boat in the afternoon. On choppy water. It really works your legs, arms, neck and back. Especially on the rough stuff. But it’s a blast.

I’ve been off antibiotics for nearly a week now and don’t feel a bit better riding. Maybe worse. A lot of you have suggested probiotics. I’ve eaten a ton of yogurt the last few weeks, but that isn’t working that great. I’ll let you know how the probiotics work. Anyone know how long it takes?

Not as good as the Angry Minnow in Hayward, but this brewery has a awesome logo.