Fat and Single

My Pugsley has seen some neglect this year.  It has been sitting idle since the Almanzo.  I borrowed some parts from it creating A-No's build.  Last week I took some time and put it back together.  Saturday I rode the horse trail for 3 hours with it and had a blast.

Keeping it simple on the back end.

Bars are on loan from Tri.  I have never tried anything with a sweep before, but I am liking it so far.

Not much else is new.  Trying to finish up some projects in the yard before the weather gets cold.

Have a good week.

J-No

Guest Poster: Introducing A-No

I'd like to take a minute to introduce my ten year old offspring, A-No.  He will be giving a ride report of his latest ride down in Mason city Iowa.

This is A-No. I did a 22 mile bike ride with Bompa (Duane) last weekend. We left Friday night. It was funny when we stopped at Kwik Trip and I went to the bathroom and a lady walked into the boy’s bathroom!  We got there at 9:30 and went to bed right away.

The start:

 The next morning we left for the ride and temperature was around 30 degrees. All I had on was shorts, leg warmers, a long sleeve shirt, a jersey, ear warmers under a hat, and two pairs of gloves. The ride was cold and windy the entire time and my feet and hands were freezing.  We ended up not turning around when we were supposed to and did 34 miles. That is the most I have done by myself so felt good about that.  I did hit a rock on the last two mile stretch and did face plant to the ground. Luckily I only got a busted lip rather than a broken tooth.

I spent the rest of the day hauling wood at the lake house. We went to Denny’s for dinner that night and we thought it was really funny that a lady there was picking her nose! The next day we hung out and watched football. Then later we left for home.

            It was a fun ride though and I for sure will be doing the 50 next year. Bompa and I  had a great time.

 Thanks for reading.

A-No

Thanks for the words A-No and strong work on the ride.

2013 Almanzo Gentleman's Ride

The Gentleman's ride is the same 100 course as the Almanzo, just more "gentlemanly".  Billed as a large group ride we intended to ride it as advertised.  My team consisted of Rosane, Pieper, and Sam F(a former coworker who now lives in St Cloud), and yours truly.

Pieper

 Sam F

 Rosane

The start was cold and windy, temps were probably in the high 30's. There were several familiar faces at the start.  Had a chance to chat with Mark Skarpohl, a former teammate and long time road stud here in MN.  We rolled out and Pieper was soon in trouble stopping to throw up within the first ten miles.  The theme would continue for him all day.  Some kind of bug that is apparently going around. 

We made it to Preston in pretty good time and fueled up for the next leg. The climb out of Preston and the never ending wind made the going tough.  Pieper continued to feel under the weather but bravely chose to march on.  There were several climbs that I did not remember.  It was a different than the 90deg+ day in May.  

Top of Jay Rd climb:

We pushed on and stopped to refill at our drop spot.  A bit later we stopped again at the Almanzo tent and were able to chat with Almanzo himself. (+ me with a mouthful of cookies)

Mile 75 saw us hit the busy city of Cherry Grove.  After 6.5 hours the wheels on the Pieper bus fell off.  He hands down won the hardman award of the day.  After making sure he had adequate provisions,  we developed a plan of riding back on the gravel/road the 15 miles to Spring Valley. We would then come back for him(this was a gentleman's ride after all).  The wind had picked up and was in our face all the way to SV.  I was short of breath most of the way back, partly due to trading monster pulls with Sam F and partly from laughing at Rosane.  We agreed to ride into town in the "missing man" formation and give our fallen comrade the honorary town sign sprint.

It was unfortunate that one of us fell ill, but I still had a great time riding (I hope the others did as well).  Thanks to my team for a good ride.  Congrats to Pieper for toughing it out as long as he did.  I would have turned back right away.

Sunday we went to Eau Claire to see some good friends.  Z-Flo did a kid's tri.  A good time was had by all.

Lila

Violet

Later this week I will have a guest poster.  A-No will share his ride report from the weekend.

J-No

Divide and Conquer

Three generations of Novak's riding this weekend.

The Novak crew is dividing forces this weekend.  I am going to ride the Almanzo Gentleman's ride with some friends/coworkers.
The generations on either side of me (Andrew and my Dad) will be doing the St John's Classic down in Mason City.  Good luck to them.

Looks to be a bit chilly at the start, but warming up nicely.  Plans on Sunday to visit some friends in Eau Claire.  There is a kid's tri that Zoei may enter.  Twins and Mom will be cheerleaders.

A-No

Z-No

Not much riding this week.  Rode 4 hrs with Rosane/Peiper last weekend.  My bike was pretty beat up after the Conspiracy.  Garmin is still not working.

Have a good weekend.

J-No



Gravel Conspiracy

(This post was written last week, but blogspot keeps locking my computer)

This past weekend I headed to the North Shore to ride the 3 day Gravel Conspiracy.  The ride started in Grand Marais on Friday afternoon with about a 50 mile ride to East Bearskin Lake.  Saturday's stage was 125miles to Ely, followed by a 115 mile ride back to Grand Marais on Sunday.

There were around 50? starters on Friday and I was able to see some old friends as well as make some new ones.  The ride started off pretty fast with a 24mph jaunt up hwy 61 for a half hour or so.  We then took a left and hit the gravel.  I popped off the group at this point and rode my own pace.  I was able to hook up with Robin Bennett of Benett's cycle in Mason City, Iowa as well as Frank from CyclovaXC for a while.  I eventually tagged on to another group with Tri and a few others and finished the stage.  At Bearskin Lake we stayed in the lodge via a late invite from JoshP.  Josh, Ted Loosen, Tri, Grelk, Wilson, and myself became roomates for the night.  A soak in the hot tub, grilling out (shortened by rain), and some interesting conversation followed before calling it a night.

Sat was overcast and rainy with temps in the 50's.  Started off my with new roomates until about mile 35.  Ted, Grelk and Drew rolled off the front just as I was rolling off the back.  Ted soon had a flat and we were all together again minus Drew, who was forging on ahead.  We picked up Robin and Aaron and had a lot of fun riding together. Just after mile 100 there was a mix up on the directions. GPS route was off and we spent some quality time riding/hiking though the bush.  We ended up in Ely at dusk.  A lengthy meal at the Ely Steakhouse and we found our gear and were in the hotel by 10pm.

Some pics:

One of the many cool roads we were on:

Eddie

 Josh

 Ted

Tri

No riding pics of Drew/Grelk as I was trying too hard to keep up at that point!!

Day 3 started with a waffle at the hotel and then a slight delay getting going.  Tri and I ended up having an extra cup of coffee with new friend Casey Martin of Clear Lake, IA.  I look forward to riding with the Cleak Lake peeps in the future. 

The usual crew took off with the addition of Eddie Karow (see pic), a beast of a man riding a single speed.  We were in awe of his biceps and the choice of a single speed.  Word around the campfire is that he does not own a shirt with sleeves.  115 miles of beautiful weather, rolling gravel, and sketchy ATV trail.  My poor bike handling skills were showcased on the ATV trail.  My mtn biking bretheren were kind enough to wait for me, thanks guys.  A couple of large climbs around miles 70-90 tested our weary legs.  One of them was called Heartbreak Hill and we were again in awe of Eddie who was the first one at the top.  He celebrated his climb by whipping out his toothbrush and giving his choppers a good brushing.  I see a Colgate/Crest sponsorship in his future.  A quick tethter ball game broke out at a romote watering hole called the Trestle Inn.  The rest of the ride went quickly.  We caught a few early starters on the way back into town.  The last several miles were downhill and we covered them in a paceline at over 30mph.

It was a great weekend.  Thanks to Josh Stamper and all of the sponsors.  It was one of the cooler rides I have done.  Kind of like transiowa meets Ragbrai on the north shore.  I have to give a shout out to my roomates/riding partners, thanks for not dropping me and making me laugh.  Also to the people from my adopted home town, Clear Lake, IA.  Frank from CyclovaXC, and a few guys I rode with from from Grand Rapids--Coach, Kid, and Aaron (poopy pants).

I rode my Van Dessel CX Gin and Trombones with 32c tires.  The tires were too narrow, but no flats.  The 28T cog in the back was a bit steep, but with Eddie riding a 44x17 SS I will not complain.  No mechanicals, although I did lose 2 chainring bolts at some point.  There is a creaking in my BB that was not there before as well.  My Garmin started acting up (and I lost all of my data), but a quick phone call hopefully resolved everything.

Thanks for reading.  Next up is the Almanzo Gent's ride with some friends/coworkers.  Should be another good ride.

J-No

Set Point Theory

In medicine, the term set point refers to any one of a number of quantities (e.g. body weight, body temperature) which the body tries to keep at a particular value. This concept is relevant to practices of physiology and psychology, among others. Example quantities with set points are body weight and happiness, both believed to have values that are difficult to change.  (Wikipedia)

My frequency of posting seems to have a set point of about every 2 months.  I wish I had something cool to blog about.

I recently purchased a Garmin 800.  I did not get cadence, HR, or power as I never use those anyway.  It has been interesting to see some of the data that it spits out.  The mapping feature is nice.  It really works well when I an traveling on strange roads.  I do not have a  mount for every bike, so sometimes it goes into my pocket and I just use to log the ride.  I never keep a training log, but this keeps track of it for me.  No surprise, but my set point for training happens to be riding 3 days per week. Each session has been about and hour and a half, although I have been able to do a 100 mile ride every month since March. That is a change from years past.

We just got back from a week in Clear Lake, Iowa.  I had intentions to ride every day, but ended up with 3 times (my set point again).  We had a great time and spent a lot of time on the water.  A few pics...

Lila

Violet

Andrew and Zoei

Little Girls

A friend was getting married down there as well, so we did not have to travel far.  I'm convinced that wedding dances are for little kids and young single adults.

Back to real life on Mon.  As far as events coming up, I am thinking about doing the Dairyland Dare, and I'm signed up for the Gravel Conspiracy and Almanzo Gentleman's ride.

J-No

2012 Almanzo 100

2012 marks the 4th time I have done the Almanzo 100.  Chris puts on an A+ event and each has been memorable.  2009 was the last year it staged out of Rochester and was known for the killer winds out of the north.  I did it on my Cross Check fixed (42x16) and it was one of the hardest things I had done.  2010 was perfect weather wise and I did it with my father, me on my Pugsley and he on a mtn bike.  2011 was the year of the cold and rain.  My Cross Check again served me and I added 9 gears.  2012 turned out to be memorable as well.  Here is the story...

I originally planned to do the event with my 10 year old on a tandem.  I soon realized that this would be way too long for the boy (and dangerous).  A month out I talked to my Dad (referred to as Dewey for the rest of this post) who was up for doing it again.  I had recently acquired a new Fatback, and he wanted to do it on my Pugsley.  A plan was made, bikes adjusted/tuned up and I continued my usual 3 days/week training schedule.

--Brief History--
Dewey and I have been riding/racing together for the last 25-27 years.  I took a 10 year break around 1995, but was drawn back in 2005.  20 years ago was my last season of sanctioned racing (then USCF).  Dewey was no stranger to racing, having been a Cat 2 Master's racer who placed 5th in the Master's National time trial when he was my age now (40K in the low 50 minute range).  Back to the story...

We showed up in Spring Valley with plenty to time to get ready.  As mentioned we did this together in 2010, so we knew what to expect.  We planned on a long day in the saddle and started near the back.  Many familiar faces were there, and we were able to chat with Dave "The Legend" Pramann at the start.  Dewey, Dave and I all raced for the Gopher Wheelmen back in 1988 (Dirk Rettig, winner of the 2012 Almanzo 100, was also a teammate in 1988).

The first 40 miles were uneventful and took about 3 hours.  A stop in Preston to refill the tank (previously stashed cooler) and we started off again.  A few miles out we ran into the Legend heading the opposite direction.  He was not feeling well, but turned and continued with us in a fatbike paceline.  At mile 43 we turned onto Jay Road and started climbing.  All momentum was lost.  The wind and heat continued to take the toll.  There was a 13 mile stretch that took us 2 hours.  Dewey was having foot problems, but occasional stops and Tylenol/Ibu allowed him to push on.  The miles kept ticking off.
A stop in Forrestville to refill the camelbak and we set in for the last 35 miles.  The clouds came out and provided some relief.  Oriole road  at mile 90 was the last major climb.  By this time it had cooled off some, but we were both running low on water.  We finished about 7pm and shook hands with Chris at the finish. 

A few pics...these were emailed to me so I apologize for not giving credit to the photographer.  Leave a comment if they are your photos and I will be happy to credit you.

That was then...(2010 Almanzo)

This is now...(2012 Almanzo)

60 year old Dewey (2012)

Near 40 year old J-No (2012)



10 year old A-No (2012) training for future Almanzo

 

Thanks to Chris for once again putting on a stellar event.  Everything was top notch.  I hope to one day have 3 generations of Novaks' riding in the Almanzo.

J-No