Look who's coming to town!

And read the rest of the story about his big bundle of joy! He's ready to race and take on all that's ready for a challenge!

Tom Zirbel - Priority Health

I think she has the bug!

By John Johnson

Last year, after the Bikes, Blues & BBQ race Madi informed me that she wanted to try a triathlon the next summer. When I saw that Hy-Vee was putting on a triathlon in Des Moines and had a youth race I asked her if she wanted to sign up. She gave me the enthusiastic “yup, sounds fun”. At this point I thought it would be a bunch of kids from Iowa, some with mountain bikes, some not really very good swimmers. As Madi has been in the Mason City Swim Club since age 7, ran cross county the last two years and is a solid biker I thought she would do well.

We connected with Amy Rowe at Splash Multisport and she was GREAT! She helped us get Madi into a properly fitting Tri-suite and other essential gear. With her HED wheels and tri-suit Madi announced that at a minimum she would “look intimidating”.

As I periodically checked the start list I noticed there was only one other girl from Iowa. I saw girls from California, Texas, Colorado, Arkansas, Hawaii, and Illinois. What had I gotten Madi into! Getting her into a serious training schedule was proving difficult. You see, she has a social life that takes priority. But she was in the summer swimming program getting ready for her Freshmen year swimming for Coach Hugo and the Mohawks. I got her out on her bike whenever possible and she was getting in the occasional run.

Friday arrived and we packed the car, loaded her bike and set out for Des Moines. The weather report was predicting a very hot day Saturday so early Friday we had her start hydrating. At every opportunity Joy and I both told her to DRINK! At the mandatory pre-race briefing on Friday afternoon reality hit and it hit hard. It was at this point that we discovered how BIG of a deal this was. This event was the Youth Nationals (age 13 – 15) and a World Cup qualifying event for the Juniors (age 16 – 19). There were teams, there were coaches, there were trainers, and there was a team bus from Colorado for crying out loud! And there were participants not speaking English. There were 25 girls in her class with only three from Iowa. We learned there were two girls from Puerto Rico and one from Peru, and in his opening comments the race director mentioned how happy he was to see some of these same kids from the race he put on in Sydney, Australia. As we walked out of the briefing Madi turned to Joy and me and asked, “do you think we could have started with something a little smaller?”.

I got up Saturday and went for an early ride with some old friends from Mason City. By 9:00 it was already 85 and I knew it was going to be a bad day for the athletes. After lunch we set out and had to stage her running gear at the transition point in front of the Capital. They had individual bike stands for each of the participants with their names on the stands and individual baskets for their bike gear. The bleachers along the transition / finish area were massive and they had carpeted the street! At the end of both the Youth and Juniors race the view down this area with nearly 150 bikes lined up in the stands was very cool. Then we had to get her to Grays Lake to check in her bike and get marked. As we were walking to the check-in tent I saw 13 – 15 year old girls wheeling in unbelievable bikes. Cervelo and Pinarello TT bikes with Zipp or HED wheels were the norm! And most of them were in team tri-suits. Okay, throw out the intimidation factor mentioned earlier! At this transition point each participant again had a name plaque by their bike stand and basket for their swim gear and the path from the water to their bikes was carpeted. They were having the kids use the same facilities and transition areas as the pros. They did get the royal treatment.

By 2:00 it had reached 93 degrees and they had all the girls in the athletes’ tent with fans, ice packs and ice water. At the start area they brought the girls out in the order of their ranking and they announced the names of the ranked athletes - 14 of them were nationally ranked. They started from the pontoon built out over the lake. Being used to the start of a swim race and not a triathlon Madi had a bad start and was one of the last girls in the water. When she hit the water she was on top of another girl and had to swim over her. She recovered and came out of the water in 15^th place and had a great transition into biking (thanks Amy and Eric!). During the ride she moved up to 13^th place. At this point she started to hit the wall. Her transition to the run was slow and it was at this point she had her first drink of water (big trouble on a HOT day), and had completely forgotten the Sport Beans. She had a tough run but finished in 19^th place but she was the top Iowa finisher.

After she crossed the finish line several of the girls that finished ahead of her pulled her aside and poured water over her and down her back. She then disappeared into the athlete’s tent. After 15 minutes and no sign of Madi I became concerned and talked my way through security. I was able to have one of the EMTs go in and check on her condition. She appeared with a bag of ice hanging around her neck, a bottle of cold water, a banana and a huge grin on her face and proceeded to ask me, “What’s up?”. She let me know she was fine but she wanted to get back inside the tent where it was cool and the volunteers were waiting on them hand and foot. But she also commented that she definitely wanted to do the Iowa Games triathlon and that she was going to start training. And she also let me know there was a Juniors race in Hawaii next year according to the girls from Colorado.

I think she has the bug! And I was right, she did well!!

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2007 HyVee Triathlon

By Steve Schurtz

The 2007 HyVee Triathlon in Des Moines was a great event. It is amazing how much work and money must have gone into organizing it. The mandatory prerace briefing and packet pick-up was held on Saturday at the Polk County Convention Center. Mandatory bike check-in followed that at Gray's Lake. It was a fair hike in intense heat from the parking at Waterworks Park to the transition area. Basically, it took all Saturday afternoon to get ready for the race.

The conditions for the race on Sunday morning were nearly ideal. Transition opened at 4:30AM (!), and Hunter Callanan and I were not even close to the first ones there at 4:15. The air temperature was just a little cool after the warmup swim, but the water temperature was 80, just a bit warm. Wetsuits were not allowed. Waves started three minutes apart, so there was some traffic at each of the 5 buoys. Mike Haberman and I met on the beach before the start, and Jerry Juhlin showed up just minutes before our wave. He got caught in the spectator traffic. Hunter and Mike each had a great swim.

The bike course was pretty flat, especially the middle section out to and back from Jordan Creek Mall. There were a few gentle hills on Grand, and a very scary downhill and tough uphill climb at the west end of Grand. The DMPD and WDMPD, as well as hundreds of volunteers, controlled every intersection and major driveway. The volunteer brigade was amazing.

The run course took us on a bike path along the river, past Principal Park/Sec Taylor Stadium, to downtown, where we did 2 1/2 laps on Locust and Walnut. By this time, it had warmed up a bit, but each of the seven times we crossed the river, we were cooled by a gentle breeze. The final part of the run was a 450 meter climb up to the State Capital. That was very cruel! After the first steep part of the hill, we turned onto the blue carpet with viewing stands (the stands from the Masters Golf Tournament in Augusta, GA) to the finish line. It was quite a feeling to finish in front of that large a crowd with so much cheering support. Just about every spectator along the whole route was very supportive.

The elite women raced at 1PM, and the men at 4:30PM. By that time, it was over 90 degrees with a 25 MPH wind. They had to do the climb up to the Capitol several times in the run and on the bike. Their swim was 2 loops of an out-and-back course off a platform. It was fun to see them come out of the water, run up the chute, and dive back in off the platform.

The triathlon was managed quite well. There didn't seem to be any major glitches, although vehicle traffic flow could use some improvement. It's a challenge to have the transition area several miles from the finish.

I had several people recognize "Wayne's Ski & Cycle" on my trisuit. One Gatorade station volunteer said, "Hey, I grew up in Mason City." Just at that time, another runner beside me said, "I'm from Mason City, too." His name is Mark Kerber. As we were runnning together, I told him the names of the others from Mason City and Clear Lake in the event, and he said, "And there's someone named Schurtz doing it, too." Even during the climb up Grand Avenue on the bike, I heard someone on the side say, "Wayne's....."

Mike, Hunter, and Trish Cobb, also from Mason City, did very well. Maddie Johnson did well in the Youth Elite race on Saturday afternoon, in very hot, windy conditions. I was quite pleased with my race, although the run is an ongoing opportunity for improvement for me. I was just thrilled to finish a few minutes under my goal. This was my first Olympic distance triathlon, only having done Sprint distance events previously. Last December, Gary Ficken had sent my Chris Carmichael's article about setting your goals for 2007 and telling someone about them rather than just internalizing them. I set this goal and was glad to achieve it. The support of my family and friends helped me do that. I'm already looking forward to the 2008 HyVee Triathlon and looking at other Olympic distance events for this summer.

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2007 Iowa Senior Olympics

By Earl Hill

The Iowa Senior Olympics were held this past weekend (June 7-10, 2007). This is an Olympic-style sports festival for men and women age 50 or older. The Iowa Senior Olympics are affiliated with the National Senior Games.

These games offer opportunities to compete for medals in 17 sports and various skill competitions in 10 age categories.

Connie French and I (Earl Hill) participated in the time trial portion of the event held at Elkhart, Iowa, at 7:00 on June 10. Connie took a second place in the Women’s 60-64 age group and I took a third in the men’s 60-64 age group. However, the most important issue for me was the improvement over last year. Under similar weather conditions, I cut one minute and forty-two seconds from my time. I credit this to hard training, an excellent spin class this past winter and the patience of my coach.

According to Dave Ertle, referee, the men’s 60-64 age group was the largest field and the most competitive of the event. Unfortunately, the times are not yet posted, so it is impossible to actually make any comparisons.

In any event, it is an excellent race for those who qualify and I strongly recommend your participation.

The Death of a Greenie...

By Seth Bell

Big climbs and high temps greeted the hundreds of racers that made the trip to MNSCS race #3, the Afton Avalanche, held at the Afton Alps Ski Area, about 30 minutes southeast of the Twin Cities. NI Spin racer Seth Bell ventured up for the day to enjoy a race at Afton that’s not 24 hours long.

The race course at Afton Alps is probably one of the most physically demanding race courses in the Midwest, with a nice selection of short and steep climbs, technical single track, momentum killing switchbacks, and some gut wrenching sustained climbs. The high temperatures contributed to the already grueling climbs, making it a real cooker, and hydration was of the utmost importance.

The Sport class (think Cat. 4 in road racing) was 15 miles long and had a total of 133 racers finish, which were released in waves according to age. The overall standings were figured by time after all of the racers had finished; chip timers were worn by all racers around the left ankle.

Seth rode a successful first lap, picking through the large pack of riders during the first single track section, which also involved two steep, loose climbs, rubber erosion bars and a bridge. At the end of the first lap, Seth was in 3^rd position, but suffered a front flat tire soon after starting the second lap, causing a small wipe out and cut tire sidewall. After repairing the flat tire, Seth got back under way to attempt to make up the few minutes lost during the mechanical problem. The rest of the race went without incident, and Seth’s familiarity with the race course from seven past years of racing the 24 Hours of Afton was an advantage in making good time through well known sections of trail. At the end of the race, Seth finished with a respectable 3^rd out of 15 in the Single Speed class, and 11^th out of 133 in the Overall Sport class. Seth now has a couple weeks off of racing to mourn the loss of his beloved, out of production, greenie Michelin tires.

More Photos...

Afton Avalanche Coverage, results and photos from Skinnyski.com

The New and Improved BBBQ Race!

The 2007 Bicycle, Blues and Bike Race is set and the final race flyer is complete.

We have several highlights for this years race and we are hoping for a great turnout from from racers in Iowa and Minnesota!

New for this year:
+ 2,900 in cash payouts with 8 paid categories.

+ $1,400: Pro.1.2 will be racing for $800 paying 8 deep and Cat 3's will be racing for $600 paying 7 deep.

+ Closed Road Finish: We have approval from the county to have a closed road for the finish line and extra caution will be taken to ensure no vehicles enter the course. Only the final 1/2 mile will be closed and this will be well marked.

+ Improved Finish Line: Being a point to point road race many racers will not have had an opportunity to scout the finish line. This year the finish line will be well marked and racers will be able to see the finish from a distance.

+ No Waiting for Awards: Awards this year will take place at the finish line 30 minutes after results are posted (we hope and will do our best).

+ Parking at Finish: We will have more parking available at the Clear lake Water Works parking lot, but please carpool as space is still limited.

+ Refreshments and food will be available at the finish for the racers.

+++ Have we mentioned the HED. JET Wheel Set give away for one lucky racer who pre-registers?

Looking forward to seeing everyone in July!
T-

MINNESOTA STATE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES #2

Seth Bell of North Iowa SPIN Single Speeds to Victory!

After a week of on and off rain storms in the Midwest, the MNSCS #2: Rochester Steeple Chase mountain bike race course turned out to be in optimal conditions, and the event was well attended by all classes. North Iowa Spin racer Seth Bell made this his first Minnesota mountain bike race of the season, complete with the newly delivered team jersey and short kit.

The race was held at the Steeple Chase Ski Area, about 20 minutes north of Rochester, MN. The course included a bumpy, grassy “prologue” section of around a half mile at the start to string the racers out before reaching the tight and technical single track. Most of the trails consisted of tricky single track, with a few mildly slippery bridges, log obstacles and plenty of twists and turns, making passing difficult. Despite the previous couple days of rain, the single track was in beautiful condition, although the roots and rocks were still very slick and gave a few racers an unexpected trip to the dirt; two racers were taken away from the venue in ambulances due to crashes in the first half of the lap; fortunately none of the injuries were serious. Being at a ski area there were a couple good climbs on the course, along with some bumpy, fast sections along the bottom of the valley.

The Sport class (think Cat. 4 in road racing) was 12 miles long and had a total of 90 racers, which were released in waves according to age. The overall standings were figured by time after all of the racers had finished; chip timers were worn by all racers around the left ankle.

After a very close first lap and a half, trailing the leader by 5-15 seconds and having to take a brief pit-stop to re-attach a seat bag, Seth was able to squeak by Devin Curran of Onalaska, WI on a climb, and keep the lead to the finish, 52 seconds ahead of Curran. Seth took the Single Speed class win, as well as the Overall Sport class victory, with Curran finishing second in both classes, respectively. Both racers were racing on bikes with only one gear and no suspension, proving yet again that the combined weight savings of fewer parts and many less brain cells can be advantageous.

Also of honorable mention from Mason City, Wayne’s Ski and Cycle employee Kyle “Krazy Karl” Lucas placed 3^rd in his age group and 26^th overall out of a total of 48 racers in the 7.6 mile Citizen class.

NI SPIN at the PIGMAN!

Pigman Sprint Race Report provided by Steve Schurtz

"It was a dark and stormy night" ... Anyway, it was raining in the morning on the way out to the race, but by the time we got to the park, the rain had stopped. The sun came out just before the race started, so I switched to colored lens swim goggles. There wasn't much wind at all during the entire event. The weather remained beautiful for the entire race, but as the awards were being presented, dark clouds returned. Just as the last "door prise" was being drawn (a QR frame set), the rain started again as everyone ran for their cars.

Pigman was offering an extra $500 to the first person crossing the finish line, in addition to the regular prize money. So, they started the elite women about9 minutes before the elite men. The first finisher was a T.J. Tolliksos from Des MOines in a record pace of 1:01.

The race went well for me, better than any of the previous 4 times I'd done Pigman Sprint. I felt very comfortable in the water and really feel that the Total Immersion clinic I attended in February in Minneapolis helped me a lot.



The bike leg also went well, and I felt the benefit of the winter's training at spin class and the benefit of rides this spring, as well as good advise and
support from friends. The course is very flat, except for one good hill which you end up riding up both sides. The entrance to the park is at the top of the hill. I was able to maintain a good cadence without high pedal pressure and without standing on both climbs. I was actually able to pass several riders on each climb (although they were heavy riders on cross-bikes). I tried to not stand, as to decrease the chance of leg cramps on the run.

Fortunately, I had only minimal cramps during the run. I had concentrated on hydration and nutrition with Accelerade, Endurolytes, and gels. EnduranceandNutrition.com is a great resourse. (The new Gel Bot from Wayne's
is great. It holds two gel packets as well as fluid. By sucking with the cap down, you get gel; with the plunger up, you get fluid.) I was able to run the whole course continuously, an accomplishment for this poor runner.

Transitions went well, also. I felt more calm and less flustered during each transition. Also, I had no prerace jitters on the beach before the start. All in all, I was very happy with how I did. It doesn't look that great on paper, but it felt pretty good inside.

Hunter Callanan from Clear Lake, Curtis Vais (NIACC coach) from Charles City, and Jana Severson from West Des Moines (originally from MC) also participated. This was Hunter's first triathlon, and she did great. She came out of the water first in her age group. She's now a triathlete! Hunter had been hit by a car (actually she ran into a car that had pulled right in front of her by the seawall) in Clear Lake on Thursday, but she only got a thigh bruise and a liver contusion.

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