Life has been moving fast and the summer months dart effortlessly along. “Living in the moment with the friends I love” is one way these months need to be habituated. Breaking up my bike practice is a key to keeping me from drifting into a dotty state of mind.

A sixty miler on Tuesday and swift trail ride yesterday opens the soul and readies the legs for this and this one too. The great experiences of Wisconsin right out my backdoor.

The void between practice days was spent celebrating our 1st anniversary. It was a good celebration! A trip to my parents place on the lake indulging in some summer rest and relaxation is a great place to celebrate. Its been a great first year of marriage and we count our blessings each and everyday. Now we are counting down the days till we hear our baby’s heart beat. Our baby is no longer considered an embryo but is now our little fetus. Oh yea…and on a side note, last week seemed to be Nikole’s worst week for morning sickness. Well, its butt hole was forming and a friend of ours plainly stated, “that’s why she felt crappy!” Who would of thought…

Sunday we connected with some friends of ours at the Jack Johnson concert! If you look at he pic above you will notice we ended up just feet from Jack. On our way into the concert he made an unannounced visit at the “Get-Out-And-Vote” booth and sang a couple songs. Pretty sweet if I may add!

Race Saturday – I keep you posted on Monday.

Single Swizzle Ya’ll

Sturgie

Life has been honey since my last insertion of randomness. After the Big Ring Classic I’ve managed, accidentally or not, to take a breather from training. My motivation has been in dearth lately and I have only been able to muster an oh so little amount of trail time over the past week.

In this case, the medication for the lacking comes in the form of bygone days that seem so near. Nate landed the perfect summer job teaching summer school in the Eau Claire school district. The practice rides got a well timed and much needed booster shot! We will bushwhack when we can and add tread to the summer asphalt on Tuesdays. Its easier to train and throw bull with a friend than with the voices in your head when your alone.

We are officially 10 weeks into the “parents to be” episode. We had our first appointment back on June 2nd. No real biggie other than deciding if we go the doctor route or midwife route. The coin is still spinning on the table for that decision. July 7th, though, is a day of days for us as we will listen for the heartbeat and get a better idea of how our pregnancy is going!

We are nearing the end of our first trimester and Nikole can’t wait. To tell you that it has been a cakewalk for her would be comically mendacious. Not dive into great detail, but let’s just say Nikole doesn’t think she will be able to eat movie style buttery popcorn again and the budget theater does not want her back. Most of the time what goes in feels like its going to come back out shortly and when in theaters, it seems to.

As a husband I don’t try to grin and bear it…instead I’m trying the sympathy pains. I tell her that I’m feeling fat and my ankles are the size of grapefruit. I sometimes will feel nauseous with her and I will easily need to take a four hour nap. The first tri is fun…yippee! But in all seriousness, keep us in your prayers as we come to an end of the first twelve weeks. We are hopefully and blessed!

Up next is Levis Trow 100 on the 28th.

Babaganoosh -

Sturgie

Photo Credit: Rusty

WORS (Wisconsin Off-Road Series) races are always tough races, and Wausau’s Big Ring Classic was no different. It seems that the competition at these particular ones are always a step up from the norm. I especially hate the starts. They are extremely fast, hectic, chaotic, physical, and did I mention extremely fast.

Lap one allowed me to get a feel for the course. I hung on with a guy from Team Polska and Allterra Coffee. We traded pulls and were gaining on riders through the single track sections.

Lap two was spent dialing in on the riders in front, weaving through traffic, and not bonking. The single track sections during lap two became more complicated. But I managed to hold my own, passing more riders than having riders pass me. That, for me, a middle of the pack racer, is key!

By lap three many riders, including my team mate BJ, were falling victim to flat tires in the rock garden section. I was finding it harder to pedal over the rocks and longer to recover. About midway through lap three I began to feel the twinges in my legs. Knowing that the cramps were beginning to set in, I backed off, willing to give in a little to have strong finish!

The finish line couldn’t come any sooner. I rode to a 51st place finish, my best in a WORS race so far. But for some reason I believe I can do better. That will have to wait till the next one! I’s also noting that I out sprinted a gentleman at the finish who was riding on a single speed bike (no gears to shift in and out of). Come to find out it probably wasn’t a classy move to out sprint a single speeder! Thanks for the heads up BJ (single speeder himself)!

Thanks to my super fan, Nikole, for the water bottle exchanges and to the “rents” and in-laws for the personal cheering section. Hope you enjoyed watching the race and seeing me in my outlandish spandex outfit. Attractive eh…?

Single Swizzle

Sturgie