Pork Chop Cyclocross Challenge

Sunday, September 25, 2005 - St. Cloud, Minnesota

True "Euro Cyclocross" weather conditions. We left Marshall in the morning in light rain and while the conditions did improve for a spell as we headed North to St. Cloud, (2.5 hour drive North and East), the rain never quit all day. This weekend's crowd wasn't deterred by the weather though. These ARE Minnesotans, and this IS the "cross season"

As Mike suited up and then warmed up, Sydney, Dave (Minnesota Dad) and I watched the B race and mingled with the competition. The club hosting the event was busy setting up a slew of different chilli's...(including a vegan option...even in Minnesota!), breads, cakes and of course, Pork Chops on the grill (even in the rain!) and coffee and beer.

The rain started to come down a bit harder by the time the A race was lining up to start. Not big rain drops. Just rain. Included in the start were Doug Swanson (Pro Mountain Biker for Trek/VW, fresh off of the Chequamagan win, and winner of the series last year), Jed Schneider, (Pro Cross racer from the Alan Factory), Jay "Hollywood" Henderson, and Aric Hareland (Salsa Team and 2nd in last year's series)as well as about 40-50 other fun-seekers in the day's mudfest.

Mike got a great start, consistantly riding between 8-10 seconds behind the leaders (Doug, Jed and then Aric) for the first few laps. By the middle of the race, he flew passed Aric and was quickly gaining time on the leaders. Where the barriers slow him down, he makes up time quickly with his power and catches up on the climbs like you can't believe.

Minnesota Dad, proudly says, "Well he looks good for third!". But I am so used to this darn sport of bike racing that I don't like to get too excited anymore. Sure enough, 2nd to the last lap (right before the bell lap), Mike comes ruinning up the hill with his bike. "I need a bike!" Hmm??? I didn't have a bike. "How about a couple of wheels?" "I NEED A BIKE!" Dumbfounded, I couldn't help. There was an official standing nearby with his bike. Mike said, "hey can I use your bike? Matt Anderson (the official) says "Sure". Off Mike went just as Aric (who he had passed earlier) rode by.

Mike took off on a bike built for a rider who was about 5'9" (think John Durso size), who had shimano clipless pedals. Mike's cleats were Time, so he not only was on a much too small bike, he couldn't click into the pedals....but with his power he held off the field ANYWAY! What a stud!

The winner was Doug Swanson, with Jed Schneider taking second. Aric Hareland took 3rd and Mike still got 4th...even though the bike change fiasco took at least 30 seconds! Now we have to get his bike fixed (Bent cable hanger and his rear derrailer is split in half!)

The good news is that with the points he got yesterday, he now leads the series----at least for now!

it's cold out there!

Woke up this morning to 40 degrees! Brrrrr! Hard to believe that two days ago it was 90 and humid here! Now it's freezing in just a matter of days. (Not a smile on this fair weather gal's face!) Sigh.

Yesterday, Mike's new Seven Sola Ti bicycle frame appeared at the Bike Shop. It's a custom 29er! We needed another bicycle like we need a hole in our head, but what can you do? When I found out Mike was talking to Seven again and was getting a spec ordered for a Verve 29er, I secretly emailed Zac and told him to go ahead and spec out the Verve, but to include a spec for the Sola as well. Not that the Verve wouldn't have been a great bike. It would have been. But with our bikes, we go Gold. (or I guess we go platinum titanium). Right now it's just artwork to hang. It'll be a late winter/early spring before we can afford to get it built up. (Not sure that Mike knows this yet...)

I thought it was cold yesterday, but that wind makes it colder than it really is. Today is even cooler, but I must admit that it is beautiful. Luckily whatever I lack in warm weather riding clothes, Mike has in quantity. I'm 60 lbs lighter, and over a foot shorter than he is...so the fit doesn't work so well though. He's been browsing through some of the new Santini line and said, "Hey, did you see the women's winter clothing line! Wow, it's very nice!" That's the good thing about being so supportive of a very expensive new ride. He's very supportive of me spending dough on the finest in winter riding wear. Assos here I come!!! (-:

We've got a busy weekend planned with the Gopher homecoming football game (against Purdue) in the Twin Cities on Saturday, and then the second (in the series) cross race in St. Cloud on Sunday. In any case, I guess it really is Fall now....

Have a great weekend!

Clash of the hot and the cold!

You guys are awesome! Thanks for paying such close attention to *my* weather forecasts and asking me if I am OK (lots of email). I was out riding my bike, at first in strong headwinds, that almost died down by the time I was returning home. (A calm before the storm kinda feel) It figures...if you struggle into a headwind for almost two hours, you kinda look forward to pay back with a tailwind. But I will take no-wind any and every day of the week.

The storms never really passed through Marshall at all. However, my Minnesota sister Sue (and family) and Aunt Sue looked to be in the path of the craziness (are you guys OK?) and this morning showed the result of the clash of the cold front meets the hot front, as roofs were ripped off homes, trees were down (BIG trees), power is out, and schools are closed.

Mike's first words when I was telling him about the closed schools and businesses due to the weather were, "Is USBank closed? Should their employees all stay home today and go for a bike ride?" No such luck.

Minnesota is a BIG state, and so the Taylor's are all safe and sound.

It looks like the Texas coastline is in for a big one though. Major weather drama. Sigh.

The cornfields are all plowed almost. Looks like Fall. Hey, it is Fall...officially...today. I've got to go get my door-locks fixed on my car as they spazzed-out yesterday when Mike tried to lock the car. Hopefully it won't break-the-bank to fix it as I need to get to Minneapolis on Tuesday to fly to Vegas. Not sure what I'll do. (No bus or train option that I know of...) Time's like these I really miss the convenience of inter-model transportation. Actually I miss San Francisco EVERY DAY. It's a city that you complain about when you're there, but there is NO place like it in the world.

Happy Fall!

State of Mind

My California Dad, when I am talking about the weather (when am I not?) reminds me "Joni, remember that the weather is a state of mind". And he's right. Further thinking of these words, I wonder, with all the wind in my "state of mind" weather, where does this leave me? A bit breezy? A windy air-head?

If you don't ride a bike, the wind factor is not so mind boggling. I took a day off the bike last weekend when I just couldn't muster up the courage to ride in the 25+ MPH winds plus gusts, and by Sunday I had fresh legs with a fresh attitude and a nice 50 mile ride. Sunday was also a rare and calm day with a slight 5 MPH East wind.

At first I thought that just having a rest day was the trick. But then yesterday the 'wind factor' was there, and it made me tired. Not physically really. Mentally. So, my Dad is right again. It's in my mind.

The thing is, that alot of folks who are reading me, are thinking, "Oh, she'll never last out there on the windy Prairie! She'll be back in California before you know it. Look how miserable she is!"

HA!! I may be complaining about the wind, the lack of terrain, the lack of riding buddies or people who have any kind of passion for the bicycle. But I am FAR from miserable. Indeed, I'm about as happy as I've ever been in my life. So while I still complain about the weather, I'm not complaining about my life.

Come to think about it, I complained all the time about the weather in the "Perfect Weather" state. It's too windy, cold, foggy, etc. I guess I complain about the weather, because I have nothing really in life to complain about. (Although, I could complain about the the lack of a Peet's coffee house but I get it delivered, the lack of a sushi bar, lack of diversity...but complaining about the weather stays out of politics, important issues, etc...it's a safe-to-complain-about subject...know what I mean?) Or I could complain about nothing...hmmm...what a concept!

Guess I'll go give myself a mental workout in the wind now. I am motor-pacing Mike this evening. Happy Tuesday.

Red River Cyclocross - Moorehead, MN

Saturday, September 17, 2005 - Red River Cyclocross Challenge

With a start time of 3:15 PM, Mike, Syd and I had plenty of time to make the long trek from Marshall to Moorehead (as in Fargo). Fargo is a way cooler and hipper town than I expected with 4 Universities making up a good part of the town. We easily found the park where the race was to be held (it is very easy to navigate in this part of the world), and Mike went to register while Syd and I checked out and introduced ourselves to "the competition".

We've been studying the racers (by name) from the Minnesota Cycling Federations homepage (like ncnca.org...only it's mcf.net), and the first guy Mike hooked up with, was last year's winner, Jacob Steckman. He (Jacob) races on the road for the Pro Team Subway. I saw him at Nature Valley. He's a big guy (like Justin Robinson) and he's good (Cross is his speciality and he does the UCI circuit).

The conditions were good. Overcast-ish...not too hot. All the things that make this part of Minnesota pretty though, also attract that dreaded mosquito. I have more bites today than I have since I moved here. My face, my back, the tops of my hands (for crying-out-loud!). These are tough little buggers that managed to bite me right through my 501 jeans. (A smart Minnesotan would have thought to wear bug-spray, but even my husband didn't think of it and he's a born-here-native!)

While Mike was out doing warm-up laps, I hung out with some other riders. "Hey, did you see that McGuire-Langdale rider? What's he doing here?" I chuckled. One of the promoters said, "Hey...this is Moorehead, we invited some of the BIG guys!"

To make a long story short (yeah...right), Mike was off the front right away (the first lap had a prime and Mike thought if nothing else...he'd take that). And he did! Feeding at cross races is awesome. You hand off the bottle and they take a sip and throw it....so you just keep handing off the same bottle for the whole race (1 hour plus three laps).

By lap two, the break had formed and it was Mike, Jacob and this kid from the "Hollywood Team", Pat, with the rest of the race more than 40 seconds back. (There was a pile up that shattered the field somewhat...it happened somewhere behind the lead group, I think at the first barrier). Somewhere along the backside, Jacob attacked the two other guys, and Mike, unfamiliar with who he was racing with, failed to bridge up and ended up working with Pat. There was another guy, Lance (7th in the series overall in 2004), who was about 10 seconds back, and the rest of the field was 40 seconds behind him. By the final bell lap, the race went by pretty much "status quo". Jacob came in first, and about 15-20 seconds back (they had reeled in some time), Mike waxed the other two guys for a decisive 2nd place finish. That guy Lance who was 10 seconds back, and bridged up to Mike's group so the three guys sprinted for 2nd, and Mike crushed em'!

He won a bunch of stuff, socks, t-shirt, case of water, a medal, a cool cow bell, and $70! We laughed on the way home. He's won $220 in the last two races. Not bad for a guy who's working 40 hours a week and hasn't done a cross race since 1999! Next week we head to St. Cloud for the Pork Chop Classic. Alot of the guys who were at the infamous Chequamagan (pronounced Shwamagen) this weekend, will be in St. Cloud next weekend. Thanks for reading!

"break" point

On the verge of a mental breakdown from the wind (20-30 MPH steady...no shelter on the "farmed out" Prairie), I opted for a mountain bike ride in Camden yesterday. I'm really just about at my wit's end. It's THAT windy. So I headed out to the park, looking forward to the quiet ride in the trees.

So here's the deal. I set out on the trail, engulfed in the trees and finally don't hear the roar of wind in my ears. As the first climb begins however, the wind is replaced by a different noise. A buzz. As in MOSQUITOS! Everywhere. There I was, climbing and swatting and trying to be cat-like, only to arrive at the top of the ridge to be welcomed by my arch nemesis, the WIND.

I was really getting aggravated. The rains from a few days ago had left the covered parts of Camden on the damp side. I like the trails that way in some regards because they're more grippy....but I'll take the dried-out trails over mosquitos any day of the week.

I decided quickly that today was NOT a riding day. I was either sheltered from the wind and subjected to being dinner for mosquitos, or else I was in the wind on the open ridges of the park, being blown around like a piece of paper. "Break point"!

Anyway, tomorrow we are heading to Fargo/Moorehead for the first in the series cross race. It's good to be racing again.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to SYDNEY today!!! She's 7!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY to DANIEL today!! He's (oh my gosh!) 12!!!!

Have a wonderful weekend!

little girls

What an absolutely gorgeous day we had yesterday! Sunny, light winds and in the low 70's. I rode in the morning and then came home and met Mike for lunch, and then he went back to work with his cross-bike (so he could go and train directly from his office) and I went to work the afternoon.

This young woman came in [to the bike shop] with her daughter about 15 minutes after I got there. The bolt had broken on her trail-a-bike and she needed a part. Cody was helping someone else, so I tried to find a replacement part...(I still don't know where to look to find stuff). I was chatting away to kill time while I looked through a bunch of "tool drawers", hoping I could keep her occupied until Cody was available. The little girl whispered something in her Mom's ear.

The Mom could see that I saw her do this, and so she smiled and said, "She said you're very pretty!" The little girl was very embarrassed that her Mom told me. "I TOLD you NOT to tell her", the little girl said! Her Mom said, when you have something nice to say, you should tell the person. I smiled and said "Yeah, especially since you just made my day!"

When Alli (the little girl) left with her Mom (I found the right part!), she asked her Mom if it was ok if she took my business card. I gave her my card, and a free "Trek" sticker. I think she was no more than 5 years old. I felt good the rest of the day.

Thank heavens for little girls!

Viva Las Vegas!

For years and years, early Fall has always included a few days where Mike packs his bags, leaves his bike at home, and flies the friendly skies to Las Vegas to meet and see all the newest gadgets and rides as the Bicycle Industry shows off their goods at the Nation's biggest Bike Show Extravaganza. Well, this year I'm the one heading to "Sin city". I am not really a "Vegas" kind of gal as a rule, but I'm very excited for the trip this year.

Ever since I got my Seven, my "I gotta get a new bike" bug has been gone. I don't think that it is possible for there to be a better bike for me and so seeing all the new bikes isn't really why I want to even go. I'm excited because all my old friends, bike racers, and vendors will be there and it'll be nice to see folks I haven't seen for awhile. And of course...to stay in the "network" and schmooze!

Anyway, the weather here has finally become very Fall like. I even had cold toes on my ride home yesterday evening. Northwest winds. We had huge storms the night before last with tornado warnings, hail warnings and flood warnings...you couldn't even see what was on TV as half the screen was used to issue the weather alerts. Lots of lightening too. Mike said, "Sweetie, I am bringing your pillow downstairs. We're sleeping in the basement tonight".

Oh, and we're racing again! Mike is gearing up for the Minnesota Cross series. The series gained some BIG sponsorship (even written up on cyclingnews!) so we're heading to Fargo (actually Moorehead, but it's kinda like Dallas/Ft. Worth or Minneapolis/St.Paul...same place) this Saturday for the first race!!

The subsiding winds have also been a nice change. My Minnesota Mom always says that the farmers need that wind to keep 'em cool when they work in the fields. When I'm out on my bike, hating that wind, I often think of her words and it helps make it easier as I pedal, knowing that someone (even if it isn't me) is saying thanks for the gale force breezes. She probably thought I wasn't even listening when I was complaining one day about the wind. Now she'll know that I not only listened, but use her words to comfort me every time I ride!

And (save the best news for last!) my California Mom just had the results back from her CATscan. She got an A+. No cancer. Just feeling very blessed today. I hope you are too!!!

cat like...

...hmmm. This concept of riding "cat-like" off road has intrigued this little, very inexperienced dirt-rider. Recently, Mike and I have spent Sundays together mountain biking at Camden. When the wind blows as hard as it has been, the sheltering trees are a cyclists only reprieve from getting blown over.

The first mile, I don't love riding off road. (That's how I felt about running.) I really have to get past that first mile before I can get a rhythm going, (as opposed to riding on the road, where you get rolling along almost instantly). Of course, the routes I ride include a steep climb about 100 meters in and so that might have something to do with it...perhaps a little warm-up might make things easier on me, huh?

Now that I am familiar with more of the park's trail system, Mike leaves me be and I just ride my own slow pace as I practice picking my lines up and down the rocky, old railroad-tied ascents and descents. Once alone in the trees, I roll along listening to the leaves crunching under my wheels, keeping my eyes out for pheasants, and trying to avoid riding over the many garter snakes that seem to enjoy sunbathing in my path. That's the cool, zen-part.

And yeah, I'm getting a little more "cat-like". Sorta like Garfield (the cat). If you can get a picture in your mind of how that comic-strip cat might take to mountain biking, you'd have a pretty good picture of me! But what the heck. I'm having fun with it, and Mike thinks it's great when I go mountain biking with him... To be honest, when I look at some of those climbs that I manage to get up and down, I think I'm superwoman. Until some 12 year old comes ripping up the trails past me, making sure my ego stays in tact. sigh...

Anyway, I guess the wind blew in the stormy weather, as I woke up to thunder and lightening and rain for my only day off this week. Oh well, as long as the wind subsides, it's fine with me. Happy Monday.

88F, winds from the south@ 26-40MPH!

Not a misprint. The Prairie outdid herself today with this weather forecast which was TRUE. 40MPH! That's insane! Just riding home from work this afternoon, I almost got blown over (literally) as I turned from heading directly South to the East. A simple left hand turn became a health hazard.

It's horrible. I know there are worse things. (I'm not dealing with hurricane damage, or flooding, or a bunch of other things that truly warrant some complaining) Still, this wind is a bear to deal with. I'm so numb to it that 20MPH doesn't seem like a big deal anymore and there was a time when 20MPH would equal a rest day off the bike.

I guess we're having an Indian Summer. I always loved that last surge before autumn in California. Those nice off-shore breezy days that were almost hand selected if you ride a bike and live in San Francisco or along the Peninsula. Here though it's hot, windy and humid, with a bunch of mosquito's who've been non-existent for months. Sigh...

I bet you guys are out enjoying a lovely Saturday. I'm inside doing jobs...(dusting, vacuuming, washing floors, cleaning bathrooms) watching everything but the kitchen sink blow passed me as I sulk looking out my windows.

I *really* wish we 'd have been able to make it out West for Amanda & Ken's wedding...(today).

Small world note: A gal came into the shop this morning looking for bike stuff. She is going to Southwest Minn State, but is originally from Springfield, MN. Jay Shiveley's hometown. So I asked her if she knew the Shiveley family, and she said she worked on a school project with Jake Shiveley (Jay's dad) last fall. Funny, huh?

Red Sumac and Highway Turtle Rescue

Here's something new. Now I have something to put on my list of things that I would sorely miss if I ever left Minnesota! The changing colors from Summer to Fall! You guys are gypped big time (on my beloved West coast)! Even the weeds on the side of the roads I ride everyday, have changed from green, to gold and RED! Not sorta red, or what I imagined a fall red would look. Bright Red. Unreal looking red. Like a crayon.

At first I was just seeing small bits and pieces of color in Camden....but now? It's looking more and more like someone who paints has been busy with a brush and has been changing the colors of the leaves at random! Not only red either. There is one tree around here who's leaves turn white! I thought it was a flower...but it's a leaf.

They're doing some roadwork on my normal-daily-ride-route, so now I ride on highway 23 for longer than I used to. Yesterday when I was heading home from West of Russell, and just as I was across from Brawner Lake (near Camden), I saw a big rock with two little rocks walking towards me. I didn't feel too much wind (the wind has been known to blow hard enough around here to move rocks...but it was not blowing hard at all at the time) , and thought maybe I needed to clean my glasses.

The closer I got to the walking rocks though, explained things. They were turtles. A BIG one and two small little baby turtles! They were I'm sure heading over to Brawner, as when Mike and I have gone canoeing there, I've seen these shelled creatures working on their suntans on the rocks and downed trees around the lake. Perhaps the storms from earlier in the day had misplaced these guys? I dunno. But they were sure to be turtle road kill if they were gonna try and cross the highway at this time of day!

So I hopped off my bike and wondered, "Do turtles bite?" I picked up the big one first and she hid inside her shell...then ran her across the highway and dropped her off. Then I ran back and got the two little guys (who also hid from me), and dropped them off with their Mom (Dad? I didn't get that close to check)...and they scurried (crawled faster than I thought they could, but they didn't go fast) into the weeds and towards the lake!

How about that?

Mountain Biking

With the wind blowing about a million miles an hour on Monday, and after two long days in the saddle two days prior, I was a bit out of sorts for a road ride in more wind on the last "day-off" before it was "back to the factory". After we finished cleaning up the house, and then being treated to breakfast "out" though, I wanted to ride. Mike left for Camden on his cross-bike and I decided to follow suit and meet him there with my sorely unused, but very cool mountain bike!

Camden is perfect for windy days as it is falls and rises around the Redwood river, with a plethora of cross country ski/hiking trails, sheltered from the wind by trees and river grades. When I finally got there, Mike was practicing his mounts and dismounts on the cross bike. He makes it look so easy and smooth; he hops off the bike, jumps over a barrier and hops back on. Even if I practiced and practiced, I would never be able to produce those kind of moves on a bike. It always looks so comical when I even try.

Mike said, "hey, want me to show you some good trails?" Well to be honest, I didn't. I just wanted to roll around a bit AND roll around on the easy stuff. "Come on, I'll take you on the (expert) mountainbike course we raced on last week!" He was so enthusiastic, that I agreed to try.

And like the very cool dude that he is, he waited for me at every fork in the trail to be sure I went the right way. I was avoiding using my granny gears and when it got steep and I was struggling, he'd say, "Why not use your easy gears? Cody used them in the race even on the steep parts" Whew! What a relief. I thought I was supposed to try and power over the stuff, but he said if you got em', use em'.

To be honest, getting up the hills isn't the part I don't like. I'm a chicken about going down though. "You're never gonna get good if you don't practice" I don't think I will ever "get good." There were a bunch of beat up wooden bridges and stair steps on one steep descent which sorta freaked me out. But for the first time ever on a mountain bike, I didn't walk my bike. I rode the entire course, up the rocky and rutted climbs and down them, attached to my two wheels and I stayed upright! And it was fun.

So there you go! We ended the long weekend with a fresh caught fish feast with Minnesota Mom and Dad. We ate indoors this time though and stayed out of the wind...

Bruce, South Dakota

Saturday, September 3, 2005/ Sunday, September 4, 2005 - Marshall, MN to Bruce, SD and back (150 miles by car....142 miles by bicycle round-trip)

We loaded up our sleeping bags, bug tent, food, etc. in the morning and dropped Sydney off with Kathy for the night, and then headed West on our bicycles! Supposedly, the wind was to blow SE, but for the first 12 miles, it was kinda in our faces @20 MPH! Once we were out passed Lynd though, we had a nice cross tailwind, and we watched some black clouds (carrying nothing but some cooler air) pass over us.

We stopped for a snack break in Arco...and while we were downing some PB & J sandwiches, I noticed some wild turkeys right near the old little chapel where we were eating. BIG turkeys, with little baby turkeys. As we got back on the road, there was a beautiful echelon of geese heading South in their graceful flight fashion...looking like cyclists! (Actually cyclists probably copy the geese!)

We rode until the road we were on became dirt...made a right hand turn on the last county road before the South Dakota border, and headed to MN 19, about 5 miles North. WITH THE WIND AT OUR BACKS! We flew! (20-25 MPH wind). As soon as we hit MN 19, we had maybe 3-5 miles to go until we crossed the border. Now we had a full on tail wind. Nice nice nice!

The areas we passed through were reminiscent of the infamous wind blown and barren VeloPromo races like Copperopolis, Patterson Pass, etc, including a 2 mile descent (which would be a 2 mile climb into the wind coming home!)

We were ready to be done riding and we didn't have good detail maps (not that you need one around here), and so the first sign to the Lakes that we saw, we took. The "tar road" quickly ended and we had about a 2 mile ride into the State Park in the dirt/gravel roads which are so common around here. (Think Leesville and you'll have an idea of the road quality).

We paid our $10, set up our tent and showered, before heading out to the "Beer Store". We'd hoped for some food too, but no such luck. Lucky we brought a couple of pounds of pasta and sauce. We did supplement our calorie depleted bodies with a large bag of Fritos.

We enjoyed a South Dakota critical mass bike ride of kids that rode their bikes around the camp. They had a lead car and a follow vehicle (Golf cart) which threw candy and such. (Dessert!)

Not very many campers in the tents only sites. Everyone had those Gucci camper-utility-vehicles..complete with TV and air conditioning (Why leave home?). Sigh. Anyway, it was nice for us roughing it types as there was all this room.

We slept at the foot of an ancient Indian burial mound, to the sound of low-humming bugs and a sky blazing with falling stars. We just have a see-thru bug tent, so it was breezy and cool once the sun set.

The wind never died down all night. We just hoped that the weatherguy forecasted accurately and that the wind would be at our backs going home. (Not a chance!) We drank Peet's, and ate Oatmeal and packed up to be on the road around 8:15AM. 25 -30 MPH HEAD/CROSSHEAD winds, for 71 miles all the way home. Sigh. This was hard work. My least-honed skills as a cyclist, right next to technical descending, is riding in the wind. I know there are some little riders who are good at this, but I just am not one of them. I need more power. At least mentally I am used to this now. (riding in the wind)

Anyway---I am LONG winded and instead of going into a play by play novel about how hard it was, know that it was hard, I made it home 15 minutes behind the power rider husband of mine (he waited for me at every corner...otherwise I would have been even further off the back!) we got home in time to read the cyclingnews action of the san Francisco race and un-packed and ate a bunch of food. The whole trip, including food and lodging and beer cost us $22.50! How cool is that!

I hope you had a nice Labor day weekend....

South Dakota bound...

...but not to the race. With all the current events taking place, the crisis along the Gulf Coast, etc., a trip to the Black Hills which entailed over 7 hours of driving each way seemed "off the hook". And while the race seemed epic (50 miles of single track!), it paled in comparison to the cost and time involved getting there and back, and to the waste of gas and resources that we just don't have.

What's funny is that while *my* reasons for not wanting to go are more of the "green variety" (the waste of gas, etc.), my dear husbands' reasons are also "green", as he doesn't like to waste dough! Hence, we arrive at the same end result, albeit with a different personal agenda. (There is a lesson there, I am sure).

But, hey, we are cyclist's! And we've enjoyed bike touring trips before....so we're loading up the BOB-trailer with sleeping bags, tent, pots n' pans and heading out of town (as planned)...but "on" our bikes instead of "with" our bikes!! No epic racing, but we both prefer riding out of town as opposed to driving out of town.

The "pulling of the BOB" will slow Mike down somewhat, making it easier for us to ride together. We'll head out of Minnesota via Ivanhoe and through White, South Dakota (where we've been told there are some hilly roads), and towards Oakwood Lake. On the map there are pictures of bicycles and tents at Oakwood. I need to do more research though. Otherwise we will head to Brookings and credit card it.

Have a fabulous Labor Day weekend. Go McGuire-Langdale in the San Francisco Grand Prix. And Burke (Seasilver, have a fabulous race!) And Ed Beamon---(Go Navigators!!) I can't believe I am not there for the race.

Love, Joni

Katrina...

...hard to write about meaningless stuff in my life when I am so overwhelmed by the devastation in New Orleans, Mississippi, and other unknown areas along the Gulf Coast. There are even a few people on my email list who live there and who I haven't heard from and I wonder, "Are they OK?" (Please respond to this if you are there!)

In any case, I've been riding, working, and enjoying the company of my husband and my small hound. Feeling very helpless. Praying for our troops in Iraq and now praying for the folks along the Gulf Coast of the USA. As my faith gets tested, I am comforted by small blessings. My biggest struggle is trying to forgive and love my President right now. But I will not get political in this forum.

In any case, every time I miss a few days sending email, I always get email asking me if I am OK...it's kinda funny. I miss you guys. It isn't that I don't like it where I am. I do. But I miss my family and friends more than I really knew I would.

Have a nice Thursday!