Since my last post I've been doing my normal road riding during the week, and either doing mtb or cyclocross on the weekends. This month I've competed in two cross races, and ended up finishing 4th in both. I purchased the new gt cxi cross bike, it's the bomb. At the last race I had alot of people stop by and check it out. This weekend coming up is the state championships in Tallahasse. I will have pics and results posted next week. I have more pics that I will post on blog when I can get my wife to download them. Ride safe

October 11th we raced at alifia state park. The temps that day were in the low 90's. I rode to hard the day before on the cycle haus road ride, and ended up finishing 7th at the race. The following weekend we had a race in tallahassee at tom brown park. Temps for the start of our race which went off at 9:30 were 42 degrees, talk about going from one extreme to another. Another weekend with not a great finish, 9th place. In between races I've been road riding and started doing some cyclocross training, getting ready for a race on Nov. 8th. Time to cook some dinner then hit the rack.

Labor Day weekend we raced in the 8 hours of San Felasco in the two man category and finished in 3rd place. We were riding singlespeeds. Our competition were riding geared bikes, plus half my age. Sept.13 the florida state series started in gainesville. The pre ride on saturday was wet and muddy as it rained must of the day. The race on sunday the weather was sunny and very humid. I ended up finishing in 5th place. This past sunday we participated in 6 gap century in Georgia. I had a rough day in the saddle. My gearing for the 11,250ft. of climbing was wrong at 39x25. A compact up front with a 28 in the rear would have made a huge difference. I ended up bailing at the 70 mile mark. Our next florida state race is on oct.11 at alifia. Hope to have a great race, home course. RIDE ON.

Aug,13th-25th Race season is just around the corner, so the training for the last few weeks has been pretty intense. The group rides lately have been great with attacks start to finish. The off road rides have been great also, besides the rain. This past weekend we rode alifia and the conditions were good besides the erosion in a few areas. It made it a little more challenging. And then comes the rain. It took about 5 hours to log 23 miles in. Tonight at the Venice road ride we were able to dodge the rain and had a fast ride with a 23mph avg. I know it does'nt seem that fast but ther was a 15-20 breeze for most of the ride, hill training in Florida. 8hours of labor mtb race sept.5th. Teaming up with KH for a 2man team. Hope to have a great race. I will post results and should have some pics on next post. Ride hard ride fast.

It's been an interesting last couple of weeks with mtb rides along with road rides and intervals. It seems every time during the week when I went out on the mountain bike, during the ride it would pour buckets of rain. Still the riding was good due to being sand based. We have had some good saturday morning rides out of Cycle Haus, with lots of attacks and numerous sprints. The intervals and bridge repeats have been tough, although in the long run hopefully they will help me reach my goals for the season. This past sunday a few of us went to boyette for a mtb ride. It was a real hot day with a heat index of 102 degrees, never the less we went through 2 gallons each of water in the 50 miles we rode. Hopefully this weekend I won't forget my camera and take some pics. Tom our gt rep was in yesterday showing us some of the 2010 bike line. Hats off guys the bikes are eye catching with great color choices. Keep up the great work. Until next time ride hard ride fast and RIDE A GT.

Over the last 11 days I've increased my mileage and intensity, getting ready for our race season that begins the second week of September. Most of my riding has been on the road with some off road thrown in to stay up on my skills. For the next month my training gets to the point where it becomes painfull, but in the long run hopefully it will put me in the overall top 5 for the Florida State Championship. They say no pain no gain. My gt marathon pro I can't say enough about it. Anyone that my read this blog, if you don't have one you don't no what your missing. Try one out and you'll be hooked! Until next time ride on ride safe.

The past 10 days I've been continuing on base miles. Most mileage has been done on the road, although some has been done off road. This past week I've put in 300 miles. This monday the fun begins with 2 days of intervals per week for the next 6 weeks until our season begins. Hopefully all the base and intervals will put me in the top 5 overall for the Florida State series. It will be tough moving up a class, going from 40 sport to 40 expert. Tomorrow morning will be fun,it's the sat. morning cycle haus ride where the attacks will start a mile into the ride. Ron I hope you eat your wheaties because your going to need them!

Since my last post I've had some real great rides, both offroad and road. This past week was very exciting.While out on a road ride tuesday morning I was buzzed by a Toyota SUV. I took my fist and hit his side window to let him know how close he was, and also gave him the 1 finger wave. He didn't stop so I chased him at about 30mph, and followed him into a gated community, and let him know about the 3 foot law. This guy was an idiot. I left and told him he can deal with the police. I filed a report, and the officer said he would understand the law when he was done with him. Saturday I rode a century with Art and Glenn out to Boca Grande. Sunday I rode offroad with Russ at Croom. Our buddy Kevin was supposed to go but stayed out too late on the 4th. To make a long story short Kevin has a gps on his bike, which means that if he showed up we would'nt have got lost and almost died of dehydration. Thanks Kev. Until next time ride on.

June12-23. Total of 400 miles, mix of road and atb. Rode century with Art out to boca, easy pace around 17mph average. The water color was that of a tropical island. This past saturday morning was cycle haus ride.I attacked a mile into ride. Rob bridged the gap and we stayed away and took the first spint. Sunday rode mtb at boyette. The heat index at 7am was already at 95 degrees. Ended up riding a little over 30 miles. Hope to have some pics posted with in next few days. Hopefully the temps drop a few degrees, it's been hot! Until next time, ride on.

Since my last post I have been very busy. I had to fly to Colorado and fly back with my son who needed to have surgery at the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa. He is doing well, and I am trying to get back into my normal riding routine. I recently bought a new GT Peace 9er single speed. I've done two off roads rides on it for a total of 80 miles. The bike's a bomb! Another great GT bike for anyone who is looking for a 29er single speed. I was able to get in a century road ride recently with Kevin and Connie. We rode out Manasota Key and Boca Grande. It was a very scenic ride.

Here are some pics from the Hammerhead 50 & 100 at Santos on May 17th. I rode the 50 and finished 6th out of approx. 60. I was feeling really good and riding in 3rd for the first 25 mile loop. However, I faded after that and ended up in 6th.

April 23- May 11

I've been continuing with riding 100 miles off road and 100 mile road rides each week. Yesterday we rode at Santos on the course for the upcoming Hammer Head 100 which is this coming Sunday. It's a 25 mile loop with 900 ft. of climbing per lap. Hopefully we get some rain this week so the race course will be less sandy for the race. I will post my results and pictures sometime next week.

April 7th- April 22nd

I've been really busy at work which is great for the shop but not so great for my training schedule. I have managed to ride about 100 miles off road and 100 miles on the road each week. I still cannot say enough about my new GT Marathon Pro. I would recommend it to anyone who does endurance or cross country racing. Hats off to GT! I hope to post some new pictures soon...

Last week was kind of a slow week. I rode 50 on the road and 100 off road. Yesterday I rode at Alva with Russ & Rob. Rob pulled the first lap which we rode at a comfortable pace. When it was Russ' turn to pull, he took off like a house of fire. I stayed on his wheel, and we dropped Rob somewhere along the trail. I took my turn pulling on the 3rd lap. This time Russ ended up falling off the pace. By the fourth lap, I was so tired I had all that I could do to keep up with Connie an Expert female rider. So we decided we were done for the day!

It's been a busy week, so I am catching you all up on my last few days of training.
Tuesday- rode on the road for 25 miles at 22-24 miles per hour.
Wednesday- 2 hr. MTB ride in North Port with the guys. Fortunately, the big gator was hiding this week!
Thursday- 35 mile MTB ride at Alva with my friend Rob. He showed me the new trail they just cut. It was riding really nice considering the very dry conditions.
Friday- day of rest!
Saturday- 25 mile road ride- went to meet the Cycle Haus guys. They went by me-I got on the back of the pack. Their pace was 30-31 miles per hr. so I backed off as my hard day for riding is Sunday in the woods.
Yesterday- After the rain stopped, I met Russ at Boyette. We rode for 2 1/2 hrs. off road. The trail conditions were a little bit sloppy but rideable. Some of the quadrant trails were in great shape as they are sand based. It was a fun ride. We had the pace cranked up for most of the ride. Some of the turns were sketchy due to the wet conditions, but we came out in one piece!
Today- 45 minute recovery road ride. I did notice the traffic is terrible now due to spring break!

Boy was I excited when my new GT Bike was delivered on Saturday. I bugged my wife a few times by calling her to see if FedEx had come yet. Then, I made her bring it to the shop so I could get it ready to ride. On Sunday I rode at Alafia. What a sweet ride-the bike is incredible! The ride is fast and plush. It's hard to find both in one bike. I will post a picture of me with my new ride soon. Thanks GT Dirt Coalition!

Went out for a 1 hour road ride this morning. My intention was to average 20-22 miles per hour. While in the zone, I was carried away by music on my ipod. I was startled when a Pit Bull chased me down Estates Road until I dropped him. Lucky for me!

Yesterday I rode for two hours in North Port checking out new trails that have been cut recently. As I came around a sharp corner, my heart rate was raised quite a bit as I spotted a 7-8 ft. gator. I don't know who was more surprised! I rode for 2 hours on these very technical trails with lots of Palmetto routes. We turned our lights on when it got dark and eventually made our way home.

Sunday Kevin, Neal, and I went for a 65 mile recovery road ride from North Port to Boca Grande. On the way to Boca we rode at a leisurely pace of 16-18 miles per hour. It was a nice sunny day with a little wind. On the way home, Neal received a phone call that he was needed at home. So, we rode like bats out of hell at 24-30 miles per hour to get home quickly. Thank god for a tail wind,and so much for a recovery ride!!!

Last Saturday I competed in the Squiggy Classic 6 hour race in Tampa. My friend Art and I competed as a two person advanced team. The course was flat, sandy in spots, and fast. We finished second. We both rode four 10 mile laps with an average lap time of time of 42 minutes.

My friend Kevin and I in North Carolina last Summer. We went up to race at Tsali and had a great time.

ROCK BAND

One of my favorite hobbies when I am not riding is singing lead in the Rock Band video game. This picture was taken with my son and nephew when my wife and I visited them in Colorado last Winter. And yes, I am the one in the funny hat!