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Crank Brother pedals rock!!

Oakley

For the last ten years I have been supported with SMITH optics and have had zero complaints with the optics. Yes, some fit better than others, but overall, it was a good relationship but change was needed. Change is what happened.
Somewhat late in the year to make a major change with what I know that works, but I could not pass on this opportunity. Oakley is the new sponsor for me and Oakley products will soon be available at the store.

Based on how the glasses felt once I first tried them on, it was love at first sight!

The technology behind the lenses, the overall fit and functionality are remarkable. I have been testing the photochromatic lense for the last couple of weeks and report that it is ideal in many situations. No more need to have a full drawer of lenses to search through.

With the ventilation of the frame and lenses, there have been no problems with the lenses fogging over with these climate changing mornings. Awesome products. A great start to a great relationship.

Countdown is approaching fast

Colorado Springs, CO is the new host to the U. S. A. 24 Hour Mountain Bike Championships for 2011.
For more information on the race, please follow the link to official website by clicking on the logo.
Yes, I will be attending as preparation for this race has been a long time counting; over three years to be exact . Departure from MN in 1 week.

Tuesday night group ride

No the gravel nights have not started on Tuesdays and nor has the mountain bike night started and been moved to Tuesdays. Jimmy just thought it would be nice to rock a minimum maintenance road on road bikes. Bring it on, I guess.

Wausau24

The Wausau24 is a race that has a format that starts at 10am and goes till the next morning. I prefer this format as the day gets long, the nights get longer, and I get faster as time goes on. This is the first race of the season for me and it is being used as a preparation race for the upcoming U. S. National Championships. Having it been a while since I have raced, I was rearing to go. The race started with the usual lemond running start. Not my specialty. Rolling with the plan of having the first three laps pretty fast, the racers and the riders were going to be seperated early. Moving up continuously through the first three laps, I was ridining is fourth. On lap four, the pace was still being held fast and picking off one more rider and seeing the race leaders in the singletrack, I was feeling pretty good. Lap four complete and onto "FIVE" The was getting closer at this point with the leaders about two minutes ahead. Two minutes is nothing in a 24 hour race unless Mother Nature has anything to say about it. With the lap nearing completion, the skies opened up and down came the rain. Not just a gentle rain, but one like the Midwest ohas experienced numerous of times this summer. Along with rain, thunder and lightning, the race was going to continue I thought. Unknown to me, the weather rules stated by the race director stating the race will cease if lightning is present. What seem unfair and still a weighted issue that will pass, my fifth lap did not count because of the lightning. That is a huge blow so early on in a 24 hour race and the harder blow was that the timing area was not closed yet when the two riders ahead of me had their laps count. Not fair.


Race on hold for 1.5 hrs.

At the restart, feeling deafed only hours into a race and having 17 hours still to go was a mind challenge. Knowing that I was an hour and a full lap behind on great competition, I knew the race may have been lost there. I stayed focused at the restart to pursue my own goals in preparation of Colorado Springs.

I rode very strong through the entirety of the race. Taking a maximum of 1 minute 45 seconds between laps help keep my legs loose to keep turning the pedals over and over. Moving through the night, nutrition played the biggest factor so I would stay fueled for the long night. 4a.m. was the toughest point for me. I felt like I was intoxicated and I came a few points where I was hallucinating. Made it through that lap and it got easier as day broke.

I finished the Wausau24 in fourth place. I was a little disappointed in the end placing, but I did come away with some very valuable information. I totaled about 220 miles in just less than 22 hours. I could not do this if it was not for my sponsors and providing me with the best bikes and equipment to keep me rolling. A huge special thanks to my wife, Angela. She is the back bone of the support crew taking care of everything while I am on the bike. Even being 28 weeks pregnant, she is a trooper. Also thanks to Ryan Horkey for assistance through the night.

Up next is 24 Hour U.S. National Championships. Stay tuned.

A view of a quick year!!

June 2010, Parry Sound, Ontario.

3rd Place, 24 hours of Summer Solstice. Great race and great competition.

On our way home with a little run on the beach. Well, a run for Angela and Pavlov. Both of them were my awesome support crew.

One month later, it was time to tackle another 24 hour race. This time we were in WI for Wausau 24 at Nine Mile Forest.

Seems to me, 3rd place was going to be the story of the year.

A little break in the action for me, but now it was time for Angela to do her thing. Chicago Olympic Triatlon. She had fun, and did an amazing job. I was a nervous wreck watching the bike portion. Biking on a highway, coned off from traffic and potholes everywhere; not a good scenario.

She finished and did a great good in overcoming the heat. It was like 103 degrees on the pavement that day.

Time for the last event on the year. 24 hours of Seven Oaks.

I had a solid finish for second place. I had to put everything I had into finishing there. I was still exhausted from the entire season and the course was the toughest of the year.


In October, Angela and I moved into our first new home.




And yes, in February, I turned 30.

For my birthday, I decided to treat myself to a royal punishment and ski the Mora Vassaloppet 58km skate race. Tough year being as warm as it was.

Before the craziness of spring rolled around the corner, Angela and I ducked out to a long weekend in Puerto Vallarta. Great time and I would go back in a heart beat in the winter time.

More to come as it is May and bike racing has begun and I am already behind. More pics of life and bikes to come.

St. Cloud Times Article

(Mike Schroden maneuvers the rocks on a training ride in Quarry Park and Nature Preserve. Shroden is training for another 24-hour off-road bike race. (Jason Wachter, jwachter@stcloudtimes.com))

Cyclist pushes himself to extremes
BY KELLY SUTER • KSUTER@STCLOUDTIMES.COM • JULY 18, 2010


Through mud and muck, over roots and rocks, Mike Schroden conquered the elements in his first crack at an event most cyclists won't even attempt in their lifetime.
The 29-year-old St. Cloud resident finished third in the 24 Hours of Summer Solstice off-road mountain biking race June 26-27 in Toronto, Ontario.
Yes, 24 hours.
"Know what I'd like? To be top five," Schroden said, recalling his thoughts before the race in Toronto. "I thought, realistically? Is this realistic? Maybe I'll learn experience, but the area was unfamiliar and I knew that it could be strong competition."
For the last two years, Schroden has trained — physically and mentally — for this and other 24-hour off-road mountain biking races in hopes of adequately preparing himself for the USA Cycling 24-Hour Mountain Bike National Championships that will be held Oct. 9-10 in Moab, Utah.
In Toronto, Schroden went shoulder-to-shoulder with strong competition — but not strong enough to keep him from surpassing his goal.
"There was definitely quite a bit of traffic," said Schroden, who co-owns Revolution Cycle and Ski in St. Cloud along with friends Ben Doom and Harry Forsyth.
He also has committed time to creating and supporting the Dutri Club, a club organized to support duathlon and triathlon athletes in the St. Cloud area.
The 24-hour race featured 2,200 riders. There were four-person teams, two-person teams and solo riders. Schroden was one of 100 solo riders in the 40-and-under age division.
To place third, Schroden completed 17 10.5-mile laps of the course from noon June 26 to noon June 27. In front of him were two individuals who each completed 19 laps, one faster than the other.
But the journey to third wasn't simple.
A long ride
Before becoming involved with 24-hour mountain bike racing, Schroden participated in cross country racing, longer point-to-point bike racing and long-distance mountain bike races. Cross country is shorter two-hour racing and road racing and the other events were 40-, 60- and 100-mile races.
But 24-hour races brought Schroden's cycling to a whole new level.
"He's done really well and in the biggest (24-hour race) in North America, he got third," Doom said. "He loves the endurance events: The longer the better."
Schroden's training program had to be adjusted significantly.
"Basically, I had to restructure my whole training program and how my body works," said Schroden, who was sponsored by Cannondale Factory Racing. "I had to get my body to go and go and go like the Energizer Bunny."
Schroden had to train himself to overcome issues with nutrition, exhaustion and physical elements.
"Obviously, the main goal is to stay on your bike and stay awake during that period," Schroden said. "You travel as many miles as you can in the most efficient way."
In order to prepare for 24-hour races, Schroden has taken it to the next level with training.
"The time spent training has increased over the last two years," said wife Angela Schroden. "(Before) he would ride his bike two to three hours a day and now he progressed to eight-hour training."
In addition to increased time on the bike, Schroden also pays careful attention to his diet and sleeping habits.
"I experiment with different foods," Schroden said. "(I've used) energy gels, some other foods easier to eat on the bike and foods that digest fairly easy to not upset my stomach."
Fatigue factor
Although Schroden doesn't alter his sleeping habits to prepare for the 24-hour races, other factors affecting his energy are taken into account.
"Ten days prior (to the race) I was monitoring my sleep," Schroden said. "I limited the amount of caffeine I took in. I was eating extremely well and mentally I knew what I was getting into."
Thirteen hours into the race, Schroden's mental and physical training paid off.
"At that point I wasn't riding as smooth," Schroden said. "I wasn't staying focused. At one point I clipped a tree... I just noticed there wasn't something right and I actually started talking to myself."
Within 35 minutes, deprivation was solved
"(It) was all I needed," Schroden said. "It was like a full night's sleep, pretty much."
After regaining energy, Schroden was back on track with quicker lap times, increasing his speed as time passed.
Schroden's wife contributed significantly to his success.
"He needs food made, beverages available, his bike cleaned, emotional support," Angela Schroden said. "I did all those things at the race and realized that it's not just a one-person job."
Staying awake for the entire 24 hours, Schroden and his wife stayed in contact while she constantly kept tabs on his progress throughout the race.
On lap five, Schroden was informed he was in fourth place. By the next lap, it was third.
"It was really motivating to get that response from her," Schroden said. "From there, I kept on plugging along and mentally stuck with it. That kept me on the pace I needed to be."
The road ahead
The race in Toronto established a foundation for Schroden's future races.
"Besides getting third, I gained valuable award in knowing what I need to do in the future as far as nutrition and bike setup," Schroden said.
"(I know) changes as far as what I need to do and keep time limited when I come into the pit and what I can expect to happen 13, 14, 15 hours in."
Schroden will participate in two more races before competing in the national championships. He will be competing in the Wausau (Wis.) 24, and the 24 Hours of Seven Oaks race in Boon, Iowa.
About 5,000 racers will attend the national championships, some solo and others with two- and four-person teams.
"I hope to have a top-10 finish out there. That would be excellent," Schroden said. "I think it's realistic, but it's a pretty high goal.
"I know the competition will be tough and there's a lot of people that train for that particular race all year long. I'm figuring things out still, but I'm figuring them out pretty quick."
Training for and participating in 24 hour races only scratches the surface of Schroden's involvement and passion for biking.
"He's a hard worker," Angela Schroden said. "Owning (Revolution Cycle and Ski) takes a lot of work — mentally and physically. His heart is into his shop that comes first, before his training, and his training is very important as well.
"He has to be aware of his time spent and how to organize. He gets up at 5 in the morning, does his training and works 10 hours."
Doom, who frequently bikes alongside Schroden, puts it simply.
"His drive helps him," Doom said. "It's easy to say, 'I'm not going to ride today.' He's able to control his mind so well. (He has) overall drive and ability to control his brain.
"(It's) his overall attitude. He's always positive on the bike. He's a fun guy to ride with because of that."
While placing third in one of North America's largest 24-hour mountain biking races was a particularly rewarding feat for Schroden, it's only the beginning of his endeavors.
"It was a valuable learning experience ending in a good result, too." Schroden said.