A little of this....and that

Weekends are usually busy for myself and my family. We are constantly on the go...and this weekend was no different. Saturday I got up bright and early and headed to Fort Custer for a lap with Jay. Even though there was a trail day we figured we would ride and remove what we could while out to cover more ground. We saw the beast of a tree in the trenches right away and called it in. Everything else we pulled off the trail as we went. Got a nice upper body work out in while riding...so that is good.

Big tree down...calling in reinforcments

After riding Jay and I headed to the Custer Cyclery Niner Demo. It was going from 10-3 and we offered to help. Bill, Brian, Doug, Lisa, Jay and I all did our turns signing people in and swapping out pedals. I want to say about 30 people test rode the different offerings. One guy didn't have a good ride as he broke his collar bone shortly down the trail. Possibly will need surgery. Yikes.

Niner Demo day!

Around 2pm we were slowing down and I finally couldn't take it anymore. Mark M. from the other side of the state had driven over to ride so I threw some pedals on a RIP 9 RDO fitted with XX1 and we went out for a lap. I will tell you this much...the bike was sweet. I don't think I would want to race on it because of the 125mm of travel but the bike is quick. Keep in mind that I ride a 26" wheeled bike, my first real 29er experience was this $6500 beauty. We rode most of the Red loop at Fort Custer and I was able to power up some climbs easier once I got the wheels rolling. The longer wheel base took me a second to get used to but Mark said I looked comfortable on the bike a few miles in. I really like the XX1 and if I ever win the lottery that will be my drivetrain for sure.

Niner RIP 9 RDO 5 Star build

Overall it was a good weekend. Busy as usual but I got to ride and see some friends then spend good time with Izzy before shipping her off to camp for a week. Things are going good....because I choose to find the positive and try to let the negative go. Thanks to Mark for making the trip over to ride. Thanks to Niner and Dan at Custer Cyclery for the demo day. Thanks to the SWMMBA for the hard work clearing the trail. Thanks to my team for your continued support!

Ride on.

Determination

I know it has been a while again since my last post, things are crazy busy as usual. Not an excuse....a FACT JACK! ha. So....if I have been so busy.....here is a recap of what I have done since my last post....

Yankee Springs:
Finally got there for a lap. I managed to clear every hill out there and only put a foot down once because of sand in a nasty corner...but I never stopped. I dabbed and pushed off one time then kept moving. I was feeling awesome. Managed to be faster than my race time from 2 years ago, and I am 15 pounds heavier. Starting to learn how to pace myself a bit. Fun lap.

TK Lawless:
Headed down there again since I flatted and had to walk out the last time I rode...er....walked....er...hiked out of the woods. Lisa P, Bill K, Kevin V and I met for a few laps. First one was brutal. TK is so tight and twisty that I got spit out right away but we would regroup and I would watch them disappear yet again. First lap was ok, but the second lap was much better. I paced myself again. I told the others that I was heading out and that I was sure they would catch me. I made it further than expected before I got reeled in but my lap time was much faster and I was feeling really good.

Last week I went to a Scentsy Family reunion with my wife. I had been training for the 5K that was being done but I strained my calf and was unable to run for almost 2 weeks. Knowing I wanted to run my first ever 5K I gutted it out and ran the entire thing minus stopping for some water at the aid station. Just under 42 minutes. Not bad for a 260 pound guy. I just plodded along and hit my goal!

Kal-Haven:
We got back Saturday and I had a 70+ mile ride planned with some friends on Sunday morning. Jeff and I loaded up and got the trailhead a little before 7. Jay, Brian, Lisa and a few others were there to make us a group of 8. The pace was fast on the way over.....right around 2 hours to the light house. The pace back was more tolerable as we finished with 71 miles in under 5 hours. 14.9 moving average. Nice. That is what I have been up to!


Now....maybe you are wondering what a "Scentsy Family Reunion" is. Well, my wife is a business owner in the Scentsy family. She has three product lines with various products ranging from warmers with wax all the way to fondue warmers with chocolate and cheese. The reunion we went to packed a lot of information into a few days and allowed us to have some fun as well. We saw Kelly Clarkson in concert and Mo$aic (a band that does music without insturments) was there as well. It was a fun time with a lot of fun people. They announced that the Scentsy family will be able to sell in Australia and Mexico. I generally don't use my blog for this kind of thing...but if you happen to read this and want to get in on the ground floor give me and my wife a shout. I will list her websites below so you can look around at the products. But let me tell you this, if you were to start your own business in Australia or Mexico and be one of the first consultants in that country your chances of being successful are super high! Here are her sites:

For Scentsy (aromatic warmers, lotions and buddies)
For Grace Adele (purses, clutches, wallets)
For Velata (fondue warmers with cheese and chocolate)

I am pretty fired up for our futures so I want to be able to share this anyone reading it!