5 hours in the saddle today

Luke K and I went big today. We rode pavement/gravel/snow/mud all over in the hills. Mostly between 5,000 and 6,000 feet once we got up there. 30mph wind sucked but helped me from getting dropped by Luke. Luke has two broken wrists and fell off once. His right hand swelled up fierce. Black and blue...brutal. I said dude...you should start running for a few months.

First Spring Semi Classic of the Season Today

No pictures available yet so here's me in Glacier, sorry.


Dwars door Vlaanderen: 200 kilometers through the center of Flanders in the Belgian semi classic... the weather is cold and rain has started with attacks and an escape off the front...
Live coverage: Dwars door VlaanderenThe Wednesday after Milano-SanRemo is traditionally the Belgium semi classic Dwars door Vlaanderen. This race is 200 km long in distance through the centre of Flanders. During this race the riders have to do twelve climbs of the local cobbled bergs - some that are included in the other Spring Classics.
Chavanel ImpressiveChavanel did a great ride today. attacking with Nuyens on the Oude Kwaremont, bridging up to the break, involved in every break after they showed up in front and then attacked just before the chasers were able to come back and rounded off his efforts in an impressive way.
If this is a preview of what we have in store for the Spring Classics this year it's going to an exciting season.
The top 10 Results (Provisional) 1. Sylvain Chavanel2. Steven de Jongh3. Nico Eeckhout4. Andreas Klier5. Allan Johansen6. Gorik Gardeyn7. Martin Elmiger8. Guennadi Mikhailov9. Joost Posthuma10. Nick Nuyens

The South Dakota Way

I'm going hunting on Friday at a game preserve outside of Rapid. Hunting season here ended Jan 31st but you can hunt year round on a game preserve. My friend Chad is taking me. This was a nice take on Allison's father's ranch last October.

Why yes, that is a 1952 Belgian made Browning double automatic. My grandfather bought that new in '52 and hunted it, he passed it to my father and now I use it. It's a nice firearm.

My new ride

Here's a picture of my new car I bought....no not really. I rented it in Germany. It was fast. I drove 260 kph from Bavaria to Munich. Here we are in Garmish; a town in the German Alps.

Early Season Cross Rides

I got out today and made some deposits in my pain account out on the road bank. I wish I could get a better rate of return, oh well... 60 miles between 0% and 15% grades all between 3K and 6K ft. (Why do they build roads that are so steep here?) Should have been a three hour ride on a road bike. It took me 4 on the cross bike with a backpack full of crap. I felt like I had cement in my legs. I never stood but for a second to let some blood flow into my little buddy. I'm reading "The Rider" by T Krabbe so it's motivating me.