Burglar?

What would you do if you saw a eight foot snowman outside your kitchen window if you wake up in the middle of the night? Well, I give you the update in the a.m. Angela, Danny, and myself went outside for a little midnight fun. Happy Holidays to everyone!

Going Green?

Now I thought that I could kill two birds with one stone today. I have to get my ride in and pick up a turkey. Not any old turkey though, one that is organically raised about 10 miles away. I mounted the winter road bike, hooked up the kid trailer, and off I went. I picked up the turkey, turned around and was blasted with the wind. Now that is what I call being GREEN!

My alarm clock..

I wanted to start the day off by throwing my alarm clock out the window. I think that my wife did also. She said to me at 5 a.m. somthing this morning, " I have heard it go off twice now, get up." Thanks, that is what I needed on this rainy morning. So instead of ditching the alarm clock, I threw my legs out from the covers and proceeded to start the day.
First up, I needed to get my coffee in. Then I had two little doggies pouncing on me to get their food. I would say that they are spoiled because they get to eat even before I get a sip of coffee.

Now it is time to tackle what I got up for so early. I am headed off in the dark for the first hour of my 2 hour ride this morning. Last nights ride was canceled do to the rain. It was kind of sad because I think there were a few that were really looking forward to the ride. I guess that flexiblity is key when it is above average temps nearly in December. Usually I could have gone skiing if biking was canceled for the night. Instead I changed the rest day up.

Time to go saddle up.

My alarm clock..

Mtb Monday!

Could this be the last Monday night ride? Word on the street is we are going to ride a new trail tonight. Exciting!
Snow is on the way and it is time to ski!!!

Cross training!

First day on roller skis for the year. Felt great the whole 18 miles. I am really looking forward to the real thing though. For me it great way to get a mental break from the bike.

Good night sleep tight!

View on my way. Tonight was a good ride.

2010-New Season

This morning I kick off to the 2010 season. I have taken a good three weeks off of training and my body is now feeling recharged. I had not taken a break since Angela and I went on our honeymoon in August of 2008 so it was great to take a little time off. My time was not spent on the couch of which I am sure would have felt great, but instead getting caught up on few things that I have let go.
My sponsor, Light and Motion, make amazing lights to light up the road or trail, however I am not going to start the first day off in the dark. With daylight savings, I thought it was supposed to be way lighter out by now. Come ON!!
My coffee is gone and my oatmel almost digested, time to get suited up and hit the trail. 'Til next time.

This is one fast bike and bike of my choice. Check it out!



The rainy weather is making me take a little time off. It is kind of scheduled so I am happy with that.Plus it gives me time to get caught up on house chores. I have also been working on a few things for next year, and I have to say that I am getting excited. Looks like second week in November training starts for 2010.

IMBA Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day

The title of this entry is somewhat incorrect, it should read, "Take a Group of Kids Mountain Biking." Last week I meet up with 7 kids and their group leader from the St. Cloud Childrens Home. We met over at the North Loop Mountain Bike Trails to meet and greet, do a little skills clinic and then hit the trail. For some this was the first time riding the trail and the excitement was there.


In the trail we stopped at some of the rock gardens, log drop and a few other areas so I could demonstrate how to approach and ride the obstacles. A few of the kids even tried some of them making a great effort. Even though they did not make it that day, I told them to keep on trying. Practice makes perfect! (At least that is what I tell myself when I get tangled up.)

Here is a picture that was taken at bridge two on Granny Hill.

I applauded the kids that overcame a little fear when approaching the bridges. We had a couple successes, a few that said next time I am going to do it, and one who crashed very hard off the bridge that said next time I will conquer it. At first I thought that the crash was going to end this person's day, but there is something to be said about getting bucked of and jumping right back on. This person did just that and I must say she is quite a trooper!!!

Wrapping the ride up I realized that it was just past 5 o'clock and time for them to get back. I asked one of them if they were going to still get dinner? He replied, "As long as I am having fun, I would miss dinner any night for this."

A few others asked when we are going to do this again? Sounds like this might happen more than once a year. Maybe once a month is in order next season?

Thank you Mary at WalkingBillboards for donating the custom T Shirts for the day. It brought upon many smiles!

Only just a litte sample. I must say it was a good night!

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ill prepared

Shame on me! I was not prepared for the first snow fall of the year. Skis are still in the bag with storage wax. If I was ready, I would have made a lap around the yard with the dogs.

Here are some pics that Angela captured

Pavlov waiting to come in the house!!!

Julius saying, "I am not ready for this snow!"

Here I sit...

Well, it is raining and I am supposed to get ready to go meet everyone for the night ride. Yes, the famous night rides have started on Monday nights at the North Loop. I sit here typing tonight because for the second time this year the ride has been canceled.

I can't believe that we are starting the first full week of October. The days are getting shorter and the temps are dropping. I think this means that winter is just around the corner. Even though the shop is getting dialed in for cross country skiing, give me another month of mountain biking and then I will be ready to ski.
Yesterday I took an early morning trip with Brian and Ben to Hillside Trails in Elk River. I had a blast. The crew there has done some incredible trail improvements over the summer.
September was here and gone before I knew it. Maybe that happened because Angela and I had a lot going on. A person could say that September was bike racing month for us though.

Recently the Mid Minnesota Cycling club had a huge weekend on September 26 & 27
Revolution Cycle and Ski sponsored the fourth annual Single Track Escape in St. Cloud. For a great recap of the race check out the summary on MTB racenews at http://www.mtbracenews.com/

The next day was followed up with the Mid Minnesota Cycling Club's Pork Chop Challenge Cyclocross Race. Now this is a fun event and for the first time I decided to participate in it. Yep, it hurt and is not as easy as it looks. Not that I thought it looked easy, but my legs seemed like they did not want to work properly jumping the barriers towards the end of the race. For the best highlight of the event check out this video.



Video credit to Quinn Williams

Photo credit Angela Schroden

The weekend of the 19th was the race that everyone waits for all year long. Oh yes, Chequamegon. For a race report on that one, scroll down and see my race report.

In the early part of September I had the opportunity to sit on the other side of competition. Angela had her last triathlon of the season and it was a good one. She placed 2nd in her age group(which is a tough group) at the Square Lake Triathlon in Stillwater, MN. She is currently working on her run to be faster next year. With her working on that to be combined with her bike and swim, she will be in contention to win some races.


Time for me to go watch some football. Will Farve survive tonight???

test

This is test. Can't find out how to get my voicemail, but I can try this out on the new phone.

Life is Good.

This past weekend was a hit for the Mid Minnesota Cycling Club. Thanks to all the volunteers for all their help. Participant numbers were up on both days and I think that is due to the excellent name we have built for ourselves. Way to go.

The weekend wrapped last night with the first weekly night ride. We had 6 total riders last night and I suspect that in nights to come the numbers will grow. What a perfect night it was.

Just a little reminder that the wine tasting to benefit the MMCC is happening tomorrow evening at Pioneer Place. If you already have tickets-great. If not, stop by the shop to purchase some and bring your friends.

See you all tomorrow evening.

Fat Tire Festival

This past weekend was what some call the big show. I would now consider the big show Interbike, but for racers Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival is. Here is my recap of the weekend.

Friday Angela and I headed out of town with the car filled to the brim with the dogs. We were able to arrive in Hayward in the late afternoon to get a leg stretcher on the bike and do a little reconnaissance out at Rosie's Field. After a nice little spin we headed to Telemark Resort to pick up the goodies and return to town for a dinner at the local pizza joint.

Can't believe it but it was the morning of the race already. It had een on the calendar for what seems like forever and it was here. Race time- less than 2 hours. I got suited up and checked the bike over one last time. All systems go except for me. I had some stomach issues in the morning and I thought that it passed but still did not feel great. Nothing that I could really do but tough it out and go race. Got a great warm up in for what I thought was going to be a race from the gun. I was wrong and it was a nice surprise. The roll out was very controlled until we hit the main highway. It was great not to hear any bikes and bodies sliding across the pavement.

This is where my reconnaissance on Friday helped. When the pace was getting really fast and you could tell the others were picking their spots for the entrance of the trail. I, too, was doing the same thing, but I went to the outside where everyone else went to the inside. My move proved to be a good one as I was able to accelerate past a group of racers to find myself placed in a group of fast riders. At the top of Rosie's Field I could see the leaders and I new that I was in good position. I settled in with the group of about 10 and we motored through the Birkie Trail what seemed to be pretty fast. I arrived at OO doing a little self check. Yes, I was working really hard and one problem was that I had not been drinking enough of my fluids. I got my fluid feed from Angela there and I soon crashed off the trail from another rider losing my position. It is tough seeing racers go by that you had passed when I thought they were out of sight. I think that I lost about 15 positions from taking a detour into the woods. Back on the gas to catch that group. Slowly but surely, I played my cards right and I kept picking riders off. Getting to about 8 miles left where there was more climbing, I could tell that my 12 hour endurance racing was paying off; I was fresh and my competitors were not. I accelerated a few more times and at this point I was watching the clock. I wanted to better my best time of 2:22 and I had to motor if I wanted to do that. I found my last gear that turned my body inside out and kept it that way for the last couple of miles.

I came rolling in at 2:19 in 61st overall. I was very pleased with the result. I had zero mechanicals and I left everything I had on the course. After the race I was feelling pretty yucky. I think that the lack of fluids throughout the race had left me dehydrated. I know that I have to drink but seems like there was not time. That was my own fault and I paid the price.

Others that had great races were Kyia-2nd place woman, Ben-PB time, Taggart, Matt, Jeff, Charlie, and John. Way to go!! I think that Cannondale Scalpels won the battle of the bikes for the day. I know that my Cannondale was super fast.

Darkness

Are you down with the darkness? I am not.
Currently I am sipping a lot of java waiting for sunrise so I can get out on the bike.
Somedays, like yesterday, are tough to get my training in when I don't ride in the morning. Check back later and I will post a few pics of projects that consume a little more of my time.
That is if I have time!

Deep Fried.

Last Friday Angela and I made our first trip together to the Minnesota State Fair. We both managed to eat unhealthy; Angela even ate a Pronto Pupp. I also ate a Pronto Pupp along with macaroni and cheese on a stick, deep fried pickles, cheese curds, pizza, scotch egg, french fries, and cookies. I learned my lesson with the cookies... go big or go home. We went to the fair with Angela's sister and her husband, which means that you can all stop thinking that I ate all of this by myself. In grade school I was taught to share, so share I did :)! The next day I felt tierd, but I would of felt much more than that had I eaten all that food on my own. The rest of the weekend flew by; I worked. We are approaching the last week of our Back 2 School bike sale, which meant that a lot of our customers couldn't hold out anymore. Ben, Jesrin and myself were very busy!I enjoyed my day off on Labor day with Angela. We went for a beautiful two hour road ride and then I added on another hour on my own. After riding it was time to get some chores done around the house. I got done with what I wanted, only to realize that our fridge is not keeping my refreshments cold. Yeah, the fridge is going out, which means that it is time to shop for a new one.Have a good start to a short week everyone. Chequamegon countdown: is less 2 weeks.

State Fair

This is where I am going today, the Minnesota State Fair.

It has been a few years since I have attended deep fried food on a stick convention so I thought it was time to check it out again. The word on the street is my wife is going to eat a Pronto Pupp. Who can resist a Pronto Pupp?

Transition Time

Life is all about transition. For my life, there are transitions all the time. Currently I am adjusting to a little different training to prepare for shorter much more intense races, getting ready for ski season which is not too far away (big store switch over), getting ready for the next bike season, and having a busy life (which everyone has). Balancing my wife's schedule and my own is transition all together. With Angela having 14 hour days at her clinic and a couple night classes, spending time together has been a little tricky lately with our combined schedules. So the time that I do get to spend with her, I love.

Last weekend we were able to sneak away for a little bit. I raced the Seeley Lions Pre Fat Mountain bike race to get some intensity on a course similar to the Chequamegon course. The race went well for me, considering that I have trained my body for a much different style of racing. I finished well and felt stronger towards the end of the race. From the result of the race and a little time spent on the trails, I feel I have gained some valuable insight to competing at this years Chequamegon Fat Tire 40.


Thanks to Angela for standing out in the cold, yes cold, for the length of the race. Not to mention it was drizzling too. Here we are together after the race.

After the race, we joined Kyia and Kris at a local brickoven pizza place in Cable, WI. The pizza was great and the beer was cold!!! Yippy.

From the race, we left town to drive to Carlton, MN where we met up with a bunch of friends at a cabin. It is always a great time to eat, drink, and laugh late into the night.

Today I had a great early morning ride and stopped at Great Harvest to pick up some awesome breakfast bread. I think I could eat the whole loaf, but I'm holding myself back. Time to get a couple things organized for the end of the week and then off to the shop.

Final Decision...

Welcome to the Home of the14th Anniversary Seeley Lions Club Pre Fat Mountain Bike Race


After a long week of going back and forth on if I was going to race this weekend, I am going. I am looking forward to an intense race to get ready for the big show in a couple of weeks. It will be interesting though as I feel my body currently is not in the correct form.

I am also using this weekend as a nice get-a-way with my wife. No, we are not just going to another bike race. We are headed to cabin to spend the evenning with friends and family. It will be a knarly time. (I might even use the stream to recover my legs; I have heard it is cold.)

Off to spin my legs and then to the truck I go.

Good Luck Ben!

WOW....It's about time!

Time has finally hit me straight on the top of the head. I can not believe that the race season is as far along as it is, our Back 2 School sale is going on right now, and my wife has started her internship. This all means one thing for me; summer is almost over. I know that I have not blogged much at all, and I can't use the excuse of not having time so I don't know what to say, but something is going to change. With all that I have to say, I would be here for a few hours and I don't have a few hours. I would also assume, reading would get too long, so I am going to do it magazine style (like myself, I look at the pictures first) and then I go read the article. So have at it...




12 hour race race in La Grange, WI. Finished 3rd overall.



Camping trip wit the Williams family in Wisconsin. Very fun vacation, looking forward to next year!






















I have really enjoyed cheering my wife on at the many triathlons that she has competed very well in this year. I must say, it is nice being on the spectator side occasionally. She has had a wonderful first year and looking forward to next year, I THINK.
(Recently took 2nd in her class at the last tri. Way to go.)





Most anticipated event of the summer for me, National 24 hours of Nine Mile competing in the 12 hour solo division.








--> After 12:54 hours of riding!!! Just a little tired.










Finished 2nd overall at Nine Mile. Completed 144 miles. Very pleased with the outcome and only a few minutes behind first. Next year, 24 hour solo division. Thanks to Angela and my parents for their support at this race. Over the summer, Angela has dialed in my nutrition for these events to make transitions very quick. With her assistance, it has allowed me more time on the bike and I would not be able to do it with out her. Thanks for sticking it out the entire time Angela!



Thats all for now, check back soon, and I do mean soon this time.

Month of May- Where???

It's June already and I can't believe it. Seems like not that long ago that the skis were put away to make the shop full on bike season. Well, it is here. Bike season has been great in many ways. The shop is doing very well and we are definitely keeping busy. As for myself, training continues and I am eagerly awaiting the next race.
I do have to say that I am pleased with how the first race went overall, and I can't believe that it has come and gone already. Like other things, it seems not that long ago that my wife and I planted the garden, but it shows signs of growth already. That is really exciting!!
With a little time to reflect on my first attempt at the solo 12 hour discipline, I must say that I did very well. The many hours of training put in over the last 8 months and the nutritional experiments have definitely paid off in the long run (I mean the long rides)! The first race took place at the Reforestation Camp in Green Bay, WI. It's a great trail that really suits my riding style. For the duration of the race which consisted of 11 hours and 20 minutes, I covered 139 miles to finish fourth on the day. I was pleased with my result, but most importantly I am focused on what I need to do next time to better my result.
My Cannondale Team Scalpel was superb and so was my Cannondale Taurine. I had to start on my Taurine set up for the wet conditions and as soon as the rain stopped, then I was able to move over to the Scalpel of which I stayed on for the rest of the day. I must say that the bikes were dialed and a special thanks to my dad for making sure that everything ran smooth during the race. Great Harvest Bread Company of Waite Park, MN and Powerbar Nutrition kept me fueled for the entire day. Thank you very much, the day would have been a lot harder without your generous support.
(I also used my secret concoction a few times, RB:H20, ask me if you want the details.)
Over the last couple of weeks I have been taking care of a little overused knee. I guess that's what happens when you turn the cranks over 57,000 times. I will be ready for the next race though, which is now only 11 days out.
Check back soon... more posts and pics to come.

Nice and Short

I had this weekend off and I was going to make the best of it. I wanted to get some stuff done around the house most importantly, but I also wanted to get a good ride in with a good friend.
I didn't get everything done around the house that I wanted to, but I made use of the nice weather by getting some raking out of the way. (I think that I used some muscles that are not used on the bike because I am a little sore.) Before I started out with the house chores, I made my way done to Elk River to meet Horkey for a little mountain bike action. Wow for two reasons, it was great to get on the mountain bike and there were tons of people out. The trail was in great shape and I always say that I am going to drive down there more often, but I don't really care for driving to ride. Problem solved-- the North Loop Mountain bike trail received a little TLC today and it is open and looking great.
See you all out on the trail.

We're Famous...

There are many ways in which you could call us famous. The first one is referring to the Midwest as, " We are famous for having the w0rst weather!" I am sick of the snow for the first time this year. I would have welcomed the snow like other times this year, but I am in full bike mode along with the rest of the fellow cyclists in the area. Time to clean up the roads and the trails to dry out. At least clean and dry roads. The trails are going to be wet for a long time this year.

The reason for my title of this blog is that my wife and I are pictured in this months issue of Minnesota Monthly. So if you are sick of the cold and are curled up inside reading, page through the issue to find Mr. & Mrs. Schroden.

Training has been going pretty good. I still have not had a consistant amount of time on the bike. I had been skiing a lot up till last weekend and the skiing was great. The one thing about not being on the bike the whole entire winter is that I am really excited to get on the bike finally.
The last five days on the bike have been really good so hopefully this snow melts quick and I can get back on the roads.

Til next time....

How Travel Changes....

I have to say that I have been in bike mode since the Vassaloppet in early February. That means that I have been out on the bike a fair amount and enjoying the dry streets as we have had a little snow melt.

With a little snow in the last week, it spured me on to dig the skis out again. I thought that it was pretty nice to have a variety of workouts this early in the season so I welcomed the snow. With having a solid four days on skis and seeing a bunch of wildlife out on the trails, I was ready to get back on the road.

Well, that only lasted for one day and it was a good one, but good things rapidly came to an abrupt hault. Today Central Minnesota was in a severe weather alert meaning that we were going to be pounded with snow.

I chose to walk to work this morning; one of the ways that my wife and I are cutting back on gas consumption. Walking to work has been something that I have actually taken a liking to. It gives me time to enjoy a little piece and quiet and better yet, my coffee!!!

With substantial snow on the ground this evenning leaving from work, I decided not to walk in my tennis shoes home, so I chose to use a different mode of transportation. Oh yes, I skied home on the streets. Ready to go...

I have been wanting to ski to work or either ski home for a long time and I thought there was not a better time than now.

With only one little accident on the way home, I would consider the trip to be a success.

I guess the bike is going to be put away for a little while and the skis are coming out for another week. With more snow, that means more work to ski...the trails need to be groomed and I get to go enhale exhaust from the machines.

Here is a final picture of my final destination...HOME!!!

The end of the Weekend Update...

I hope that everyone had a great Hallmark Holiday this weekend. My wife and I voted to stay in rather than battle the crowds this past Saturday evenning. We thought that it could be more enjoyable to cook at home since it is one of our favorite things to do together. Off to the store to get some food. On the menu was jumbo shrimp and scallops cooked together with a garlic cream sauce served with asparagus. We had a few slices of bread on the side and a little sushi. Everything was perfect.
Eat your heart out because I sure did.




For dessert we did the real deal...Cold Stone ice cream. Since we were also celebrating my birthday, I chose to get the Birthday Remix combo. It was really, really good. Good thing that I rode 3 hours in the frigid cold that day for all the calories that I consumed.

Speaking of riding, I am in bike mode... not ski mode. This morning I checked out the snowmobile trails and they look pretty good to ride with the winter mountain bike. I love riding those type of trails because I am never really sure where I am going to pop out.

Tomorrow is going to be an early morning on the bike and then lifting before I meet the fellas for a little business talk over coffee, so I am signing out.

Bang...It Has To Start Sometime

I know, I know, you have all been asking, "Where is the blog that you have been talking about?" Well here it is to document all the action from training, racing, and what it is like to pedal for an Ultra Marathon event. Now this is just the start and there will be more to come. I am not training tonight at staying up for 24 hours so I am off to bed.

Before I check out for the night, I will share a photo of what came the other day. Yep, that's right, it's my new race bike and I am excited to build it to go super fast.