you can expect content like this since outside riding season is probably over...🤔

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2024 cycling goals

Goals keep you motivated and excited about the future which beats the constant feeling of doom in these days of continual aging, often unexpected but always interesting health issues, creeping governmental authoritarianism and the inevitable climate apocalypse. 

Here are my cycling goals for the coming year! :

• Unbound Gravel 100 miles in less than 8 hours - That's ride time and not elapsed time and this may be out of my control depending upon the weather so we will see about this. Ultimately finishing this event without destroying a bike or myself will be enough for me.

• 13 century rides - The most I have ever done in one year is 12 and that was in the pandemic year of 2020. Should be possible. 

• Bring back Fondo Smithers ride from Minneapolis to Duluth. Need to pick the right day for weather and wind direction, this ride goes nearly 100% north. 175 to 200 miles depending upon the route. I have done this ride 5 times and all but once has been the first week of June. We'll see how the fitness looks in the spring. I rode it alone in 2020 but it would be fun to have company this year. 

• Minneapolis to Elkhart Lake Wisconsin. 170 miles or so for 2 consecutive days. That's a loooong way, I don't know. I have wanted to take this on for a few years now. Maybe 2024 will be the year for this. 🤔

Check back this time next year to see how many of these goals were accomplished. Really though, if I have another year in 2024 like I did in 2023 I will be plenty happy with that. 👍

Top 10 rides of 2023

2023 was a wonderful year on the bike for me. Following all the troubles of the previous year it was nice to have a cycling season devoid of issues. There were lots of great days on the bike and plenty of memorable miles ridden but these are my personal top 10 rides of the year.

#10    WI    Sept 30    111.95 miles
There were 8 century+ rides for me this year and this was the last of them. This was a top ten ride due to that fact and that I totally miscalculated the weather and distance and was unprepared for both. Temps got close to 90F during the ride and I was horribly dehydrated for the last 10 miles. I was able to get all the way back home after leaving my buddy Steve's carcass by the side of the road at the 90 mile marker. The savage legs cramps the last 30 minutes on the bike and the next few hours once back home made this day one for the memory book. 

#9    120JK 127    July 23    127.08 miles
Another ride with Steve. Long time pal Scott joined for the first 45 miles and was then smart enough to turn around and head back home. Steve and I continued for a tour of the god awful northern suburb roads that I grew up riding on and turns out did not miss at all. This was a good ride to remind myself not to try this route ever again. Good times and quite memorable. 

#8    The Mike Smink fond memories ride    April 20    35.68 miles
Mike was a colleague of mine for a few years and still a friend to this day. He and I rode parts of this route a number of years ago. Not big distance but it's always a beautiful route around Monterey California and 17 Mile Drive. I try and get this ride in whenever I am at the Sea Otter Bicycle Festival.

#7    Gravel WORLDS 74    August 26    79.43 miles
The short version of Gravel Worlds in Lincoln NE. My first gravel event since Almanzo 2018. I spent all day with my friend and colleague Nick Legan and it was one of those perfect days on the bike.

#6    Zone 2    September 2    150.35 miles
My 6th longest ride ever and the 2nd longest solo ride. A day with nothing else to do other than just cruise along. No one to have to keep up with. No one to wait for or to have to wait for me. A day on the bike. I love this route because once you reach the shore of Lake Michigan the temperature drops 10 degrees and you are completely refreshed for the rest of the ride. Looking forward to duplicating this route again next year. 

#5    Micro Ronde van Vlaanderen    October 29    34.81 miles
I first rode in Belgium in 1991 and have been fortunate to have a number of opportunities to ride these roads since then. Any chance to ride the bergs of Flanders should be taken advantage of. Plus the rain held off until the last 30 minutes of the ride which is a special treat in Belgium. 

#4    Paris-Roubaix sectors 19->12    October 28    52.73 miles
My goal was to ride from Arenberg to the finish at the velodrome but I was not durable enough to go the distance that day. Regardless it was my first experience on the cobbles of northern France and a memorable ride. Not much more I could really ask for.

#3    82 JK    May 21    102.84 miles
The first of the JK rides this year. I told Steve it would be 82 miles and that's what he was planning for but it ended up being over a century. It was a nice day on the bike with friends but the best part is the memory of how frustrated Steve was when we got close to 80 miles and were still in Woodbury. Haha.

#2    Pescadero Day 2    April 17    46.28 miles
A beautiful ride in the mountains west of San Jose. I have done this loop before but this time was really special after being sick the previous year. Spectacular scenery and good friends. Not just a great ride in 2023 but one of the best rides ever for me. 

#1    been a minute    March 24    37.11 miles
Pretty tough to top my first ride outside since May 15 2022. There were times I seriously wondered if I was ever going to be able to get out and ride again. This simple ride around town on roads I have been on countless times was a joy in every possible way. 

That's a wrap for 2023 riding season. I am already looking forward to 2024 and another year of amazing rides

2010 Minnesota Cyclocross State Championship

Here is the start of the 2010 Elite Men's Minnesota Cyclocross State Championship race.

I was on the team of promoters that organized the race. I am also seen starting this event. I am just to the left of the lead rider, Hollywood Jay Henderson in the black and white kit, in the blue helmet and black kit. I did not finish this race.

The promoter team arrived at the venue before 6am. The course was clear and dry with green grass in the park fields. Within an hour it started snowing. At the start of this race, the last race of the day, there was nearly 6 inches of snow on the ground. 

There was no way that we were going to be able to clear the snow before the races were set to start. We hoped that the course would get "ridden in" as the day went along but the snow came too fast and nothing more than a 12" single track strip was rideable for much of the circuit. There were a few sections protected from the weather where it was possible to pass. But the most part it was just single file riding along behind the person in front of you until you reached one of those open sections. 

I did not appreciate it at the time but it was one of the most absurd and entertaining days of bike racing that I can remember. You can see more images from this race online here. The image below really captured the day. 

Racing Cyclocross

No one in the picture, 2012

I have been fortunate enough to be able to spend this summer back on the bike, getting in some really great rides and regaining fitness after a year of medical issues. I have been asked more than a few times if I have any interest in going back to cyclocross racing.

Nope.

Watching the muddy races in Niel this morning was just one more reminder of why.

Never mind the fact that I sold off all my cyclocross gear following my wreck at the last race I took part in, 30 seconds of the January 2018 USA Cycling Masters National Championship. I still keenly recall the amount of work that goes into this discipline, especially when conditions are at their worst. I loved racing in the wet and mud but I simply do not have the energy for it any longer. I am not referring to the training that it takes to be competitive in cyclocross. I am referring to everything else.

The days before the race going over both of your bikes to make sure any mechanical issues that occurred the previous weekend are resolved. Spending a few days scrambling to get them resolved before the next weekend.

The day before the race getting both bikes and spare wheels prepped for the race. Packing all the gear that will be needed for the next day. Warm up clothes, race clothes, cool down clothes, shoes (check the cleats), spare shoes (check those too), bottles (pre-hydration, race hydration, post hydration), tools, trainer, bike cleaning brushes and bucket. Jeez...so much stuff. Maybe pack all that stuff in the car so you won't have to bother the next morning.

Pack all that stuff in the car if you did not have the energy to do it the previous evening.

Drive to the race venue. Always at least 90 minutes away. Pre-hydrate.

Register for the race. Unless you pre-registered so you could get the pre-registration discount.

Take a quick look at the course conditions to decide which tire tread to use for warm up laps.

Dress in your warm up clothes, get both your bikes put together. Decide which of your two bikes you are going to trash during the warm up laps.

Warm up laps. Test course lines. Test tire treads. Test tire pressure. Try not to damage your bike too much so it will be available for use in the race if need be which it will be if the course is already trashing your bike during warm up laps.

Clean (and repair?) your warm up bike so it's ready for use in the race. Try not to panic as the minutes slip by and your pre-race schedule is starting to fall apart.

Get out the trainer and warm up some more. Try not to panic about feeling like crap during the warm up.

Hydrate.

Pin your race number to your skinsuit if you have not done so already.

Finish warm up and put on your final race clothes. Get second bike to the pit. Ride to the start.

Second guess all of your decisions and choices...from your entire life.

Race your race and try to make equipment decisions based upon what will deliver the best race result and not what will make for the easiest clean up and repair after the race.

Following the race change into your cool down clothes, put the most functional of your two trashed bikes on the trainer and cool down. Focus on the good things in life.

Go to the podium and collect your bag of apples, which you are excited about because you can actually do something with them (apple pie).

Pack up all your trashed equipment into the car trying not to trash your car interior.

Re-hydrate. Eat the banana you brought for post race recovery. Embrace your healthy lifestyle.

Stop at the gas station to fill up the car and buy a coke, cool ranch Doritos and a king size Milky War bar because you deserve it.

Drive home. Now 2 hours minimum for some reason.

Try to convince yourself that all this trashed gear can wait until tomorrow for clean up but you know that it will be even more work to clean up all this stuff once the mud dries. So, with your legs and back and shoulders screeching at you, unpack all your gear and methodically clean it all up so you can spend tomorrow actually identifying what needs to be repaired or replaced.

Get stain remover on all your warm up and race clothes and get them into the washing machine because if you wait the mud stains will never ever ever come out and you will be wearing those stains on the start line for the rest of the season (not #pro).

Take a shower. Cry if necessary. It will make you feel better, I promise.

Greet your family who are all waiting for you to stop fucking around and make dinner.

Like I said, I simply do not have the energy for this, much less the training, and I can't afford to pay someone to do all this work for me.

And to what end anyway? To go race 30 seconds of the USA Cycling Masters National Championships? I already did that.

I need to save my energy to make dinner.

Micro Ronde van Vlaanderen

After my adventure riding some of the Paris-Roubaix course I took advantage of the local riding opportunity and spent Sunday morning on the famous roads used in the Ronde van Vlaanderen. 

The morning looked to be dry after the previous night of rain so I did not waste much time at the Hotel Leopold all you can eat breakfast buffet. I mean, I took full advantage of the buffet. I just ate fast so I was able to get out on the roads before the rain was scheduled to start up again in the afternoon.

I love riding around Belgium. The roads are fun. Traffic is not too bad and, for the most part, drivers are patient with cyclists. These photos don't show it but there were lots of people out Sunday morning hiking, walking, running and cycling. Lots of activity going on and I waved and said hello to lots of people. some of which waved and said hello back!

I crossed the river Scheldt on the south side of Oudenaarde and made my way to the bike path that runs towards Kluisbergen. From here you turn south and head towards the famous cobbled climb Oude Kwaremont. Oude Kwaremont is Flemish (which is not Dutch I have been told) for Old Kwaremont and this is the original road that runs from Kluisbergen to the village of Kwaremont. Oudenaarde is Flemish for Old Naarde and I don't know, nor want to know, what that is all about. 🤔

I am not sure when this began but these roads are now a part of, and marked with a designation from the Flandrien Challenge. 

The Flandrien Challenge is a cycling challenge where digital and physical worlds collide. It visualizes the digital STRAVA segments on the road surface of numerous storied climbs and cobbled roads in Flanders. This is a unique physical manifestation of cycling's most popular digital experience.

More details on their website.

The inclusion in the Flandrien Challenge means a Strava segment start and finish line along the road so you know when it's time to go all out and try and get the KOM. I did not attempt to do this. All the climbs for the day are part of the Flandrien Challenge with the accompanying Strava segment start and finish lines.

Kwaremont was my first cobbled climb of the day and was the first of the Flanders bergs that I ever rode back in 1991. 2.2km with a maximum gradient of 11% the Oude Kwaremont is a pleasant way to start a ride in Flanders.

Above is a photo I took the morning of my ride, October 29 2023. Below is a photo I took near this same spot in July of 1991 after navigating my way to this location from Ghent using a Michelin map. In the days before GPS and smartphones I don't know how anyone got anywhere but somehow I made it down there to take this photo, ride the climb and get back to Ghent without getting too lost. 

At the top of the Oude Kwaremont you ride across the Ronse Baan N36 and than can make your way along the Ronde van Vlaanderenstraat. All the past winners of the Ronde van Vlaanderen are listed along the roadway as you ride along. 

Less than 2 miles from the top of the Kwaremont you take a hard right and find the start of the Paterberg climb. 

The Paterberg is a bit of a brute, short and steep, but it's a fun road to ride. 400 meters with a maximum gradient of 20%. It was just a dirt farm road until the farmer decided that he wanted the Ronde to pass by his house and put down the cobbles in 1986. It's akin to building a track and fully expecting to see a Formula 1 race in your backyard next year. Obviously that's just how things work in Belgium I guess.

It's about 3 miles from the top of the Paterberg to the base of the Koppenberg. This climb is a real Flandrien challenge, 600 meters with a max grade of 22%. It was made most famous at the 1987 Ronde van Vlaanderen when the race commissaire vehicle knocked Jesper Skibby off his bike and ran over his rear wheel in a panic to get out of the way ahead of a hard charging chase group. 

The Koppenberg was promptly removed from the Ronde until it was reincluded in 2002 after being widened and repaved. 

On this morning the Koppenberg was a buzz of activity with some kind of running challenge going on. Halfway up the climb looking towards the right I saw the preparations being made for the Koppenbergcross scheduled to be taking place three days later. 

Once you reach the top of the Koppenberg you turn right on the Ronseweg N60 and left to a descent that turns to cobbles. This is the Steenbeekdries that feels most like a secteur from Paris-Roubaix. Downhill at speed on the cobbles and then a flat section before a climb and a railroad crossing. One more flat section of cobbles and then a turn back onto tarmac for about a mile before starting the Taaienberg. 800 meters with a max grade of 18% despite what the road marker has to say.

Tom Boonen made the Taaienberg his most favorite climb in Flanders and he used this berg to launch an attack four of the five times that he won the E3 Harelbeke race. His face is there at the start of the cobbles to inspire you to similar greatness.

Over the Taaienberg its onto the Eikenberg. My route shows that I rode up the Eikenberg but I have no memory of doing so and took no photos. I think I might have been looking forward to the Molenberg which was another four miles away.

On the way to the Molenberg.

The Molenberg is a great climb. 463 meters, fairly steep with a max grade of 14.2% and a rough road surface. Narrow like someone's driveway it just appears out of nowhere by the side of the road. I nearly rode past it before making the right turn up the cobbles.

Here I am halfway up the climb.

From the top of the Molenberg it was four miles back to the river and then the bike path on the north side of the Scheldt 6 miles to Oudenaarde. A couple miles outside of town it started raining a bit so I had timed the ride perfectly.

Here is my Strava upload for the day.

Once back to the hotel I got cleaned up and walked over to the Centrum Ronde van Vlaanderen for a sandwich and to see if there were any cool souvenirs I wanted. 

Ronse 88 Worlds Mural

From Cycling In Flanders:

The mural was made by painter Jos Peeters on the occasion of the World Championship in Ronse in 1988. Both the 1963 and 1988 World Championships had a rather dramatic outcome. The world championship for professional riders 1963 in their own country had to be crowned by super favorite Rik Van Looy. The Emperor of Herentals was able to win the world title for the third time. When Van Looy broke away from the spurting group at 250 meters from the finish, the goal was within reach. However, a modest servant and teammate decided differently. Against all team appointments Benoni Beheyt remounted his leader, passed over and knocked him half a wheel. Rik Van Looy was second and the Dutchman Jo De Haan completed the stage that plunged the entire Belgian cycling world into mourning. Ronse immediately became a household name for cycling enthusiasts.

Perhaps even more dramatic and much closer is the World Championship for pros in 1988. The Walloon regional cyclist Claude Criquielion seemed in a spurt with three well on his way to fulfill his favorite role and on the flank of the Kruisberg a second world title behind his name. At 175 meters from the finish line he dived into the gap between the Canadian Steve Bauer and the nadar barrier. His front wheel hit the concrete support base, Criquielion went head over. and the unknown Italian Maurizio Fondriest became world champion. Ronse again became an item for (sports) world news.

Here is a photograph I took of this mural while I was standing by the side of the road watching the Belgian National Road Championships in 1991.

Here is a photo I took of this mural last week.

Two points.

I think I like the version from 32 years ago better.

Steve Bauer should have won that race.