Borrowed from Coach Troy Jacobson @ www.coachtroy.com
Coach Troy's Radio Show: Interview with Todd Juhlin
Sometimes you just know when you meet a good person who is kind-hearted and genuine. In this episode of COACH TROY'S RADIO show, the coach interviews Todd Juhlin of Iowa, an experienced triathlete, road cyclist and oral surgeon. Learn about how a successful surgeon balances training and family with his work obligations.
Hear the Complete Interview
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Thursday, September 20, 2007
WAY TO GO, DWIGHT!
Several members of North Iowa SPIN participated in the Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival mountain bike races on September 15 & 16 in Cable and Hayward, WI. This was the 25th Anniversary Festival and included the Chequamegon 40 mile off-road race and the Short & Fat, a 16 mile off-road race on Saturday, as well as the Cable Criterium on Sunday. Among the 2624 participants in the Saturday races was Greg LeMond, a previous winner of the Cheq 40 as well as winner of another famous race, the Tour de France. This year’s event was nearly 100 times the number of riders in the first Fat Tire Festival in 1983. There were 1766 riders in the Cheq 40, 858 in the Short & Fat, and 69 in the Cable Criterium. The conditions were cool and crisp for the start, but the day quickly warmed up to a beautiful, warm fall afternoon, the news of the Iowa State victory put a chill on the afternoon for several of the riders. (Quit messin' with this blog, T.)The best finisher for NI SPIN was Dwight Beavers of Mason City, who placed first in the Men 70-79 bracket in both the Cheq 40 and the Cable Criterium. Other SPIN riders in the Cheq 40 were Dave Delperdang, Clear Lake, 35th in the M50-54 and 724th overall (with a time of 3:04:28.8); Tim Putnam, Mason City, 166th in M40-44 and 855th overall (3:10:26.8); Eric Rust, Forest City, 116th in M45-49 and 856th overall (3:10:29.1); Steve Younker, Mason City, 181st in M40-44 and 929th overall (3:1:35.3); Robert Polking, 92nd in M50-54 and 1240th overall (3:32:25.1); Barry Trump, Mason City, 47th in M55-59 and 1484th overall (3:54:12.5 – followed by a scheduled total knee placement on Tuesday, 9/19); and Joe Creedon, Woodbury, MN, 52nd in M55-59 and 1558th overall (4:05:03.5) . In the Short & Fat race, Steve Schurtz, Mason City, was 21st in M55-59 and 541st overall (1:33:28.2).
Plans are in progress and training has started for the Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival 2008!
The win by Jesse Lalonde on a single speed ranks as one of the most impressive displays of mastery of a bicycle... Read More:
Midwest MTB Racing Recap - Chequamegon
Off the Coach: LaLonde talks about his singlespeed shocker
Cheqwammy Photos
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
MAAH DAAH HEY
by Earl Hill
On August 31, 2007, six riders met at the Trapper’s Kettle in Belfield, ND. The destination was the Maah Daah Hey Trail—a 96 mile single track, passing over grass and clay, that connects the North and South Units of Theodore Roosevelt National Park in the Badlands of North Dakota.
Following supper, we car pooled to the CCC Campground (separated from the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park by the Little Missouri River) where we pitched our tents.
(Click photo for more pictures)
On Saturday morning, following a pre-dawn shower, three riders (Jack Ryan, Erik Laine and Jamie Rethamel) headed down the trail. The rest of the group (Earl Hill, Justin Hill and Heidi Pierce) was in charge of moving equipment and vehicles to the next campsite and enjoying shorter out and back rides.
Saturday night we camped at Bennett Creek. This campsite is barren of shade of any character. We erected an insta-clip Screen House by Coleman[1] to give some protection against the sun. The tent collapsed that evening in the 35 mph wind gusts. We then erected a pop up tent that survived—but not without sustaining some damage.
Sunday, the second day, was uneventful. However Monday provided an opportunity to: (1) have pictures taken on table rock: An incident that endeared Jamie in the hearts of the other riders occurred just before reaching the Little Missouri River on Monday afternoon.
In the flood plane east of the Little Missouri River, the beavers have historically dropped at least one tree across the trail annually. Each year the rangers remove the tree only to have the little engineers drop another.
As we descended from table rock and entered the flood plane, I yelled to Erik, who was in the lead, to watch for downed trees. A few minutes later, he pulled up and stopped. In past years, earlier cyclists have worn a path around the tree. The felling of this tree had occurred so recently that no path had yet been created around it.
Erik, Heidi and I lifted our bikes over the tree. Erik and Heidi continued on to the river, but I remained behind to warn the others.
Jamie came over a little rise, assessed the situation and yelled, "stand back." The tree was a good two feet in diameter and probably 2 or 3 inches off the ground. With a 100 yard head start Jamie pulled his front wheel up and over the log. His large chain ring clipped the log, while his rear wheel remained a couple of inches below the top of the log. At the moment his rear wheel came in contact with the log, Jamie stomped on the pedals. The rear wheel caught and pulled him up and over. He grabbed some air and landed upright, hauling on down the trail.
Jack, Justin and I were appropriately impressed.
The weather was unusually hot and windy.
In one sense everyone was ready to leave the trail Monday afternoon; but in an another sense, everyone was sad to see the ride come to an end.
[1] This proved to be a piece of junk.
On August 31, 2007, six riders met at the Trapper’s Kettle in Belfield, ND. The destination was the Maah Daah Hey Trail—a 96 mile single track, passing over grass and clay, that connects the North and South Units of Theodore Roosevelt National Park in the Badlands of North Dakota.
Following supper, we car pooled to the CCC Campground (separated from the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park by the Little Missouri River) where we pitched our tents.
(Click photo for more pictures)
On Saturday morning, following a pre-dawn shower, three riders (Jack Ryan, Erik Laine and Jamie Rethamel) headed down the trail. The rest of the group (Earl Hill, Justin Hill and Heidi Pierce) was in charge of moving equipment and vehicles to the next campsite and enjoying shorter out and back rides.
Saturday night we camped at Bennett Creek. This campsite is barren of shade of any character. We erected an insta-clip Screen House by Coleman[1] to give some protection against the sun. The tent collapsed that evening in the 35 mph wind gusts. We then erected a pop up tent that survived—but not without sustaining some damage.
Sunday, the second day, was uneventful. However Monday provided an opportunity to: (1) have pictures taken on table rock: An incident that endeared Jamie in the hearts of the other riders occurred just before reaching the Little Missouri River on Monday afternoon.
In the flood plane east of the Little Missouri River, the beavers have historically dropped at least one tree across the trail annually. Each year the rangers remove the tree only to have the little engineers drop another.
As we descended from table rock and entered the flood plane, I yelled to Erik, who was in the lead, to watch for downed trees. A few minutes later, he pulled up and stopped. In past years, earlier cyclists have worn a path around the tree. The felling of this tree had occurred so recently that no path had yet been created around it.
Erik, Heidi and I lifted our bikes over the tree. Erik and Heidi continued on to the river, but I remained behind to warn the others.
Jamie came over a little rise, assessed the situation and yelled, "stand back." The tree was a good two feet in diameter and probably 2 or 3 inches off the ground. With a 100 yard head start Jamie pulled his front wheel up and over the log. His large chain ring clipped the log, while his rear wheel remained a couple of inches below the top of the log. At the moment his rear wheel came in contact with the log, Jamie stomped on the pedals. The rear wheel caught and pulled him up and over. He grabbed some air and landed upright, hauling on down the trail.
Jack, Justin and I were appropriately impressed.
The weather was unusually hot and windy.
In one sense everyone was ready to leave the trail Monday afternoon; but in an another sense, everyone was sad to see the ride come to an end.
[1] This proved to be a piece of junk.
Monday, September 17, 2007
How many ways can you put a chain on a bike?
Well, according to Mark Dix there are at least two….the correct way, and the way he reinstalled his chain. Way to get creative Mark!!! Dave Delperdang let him work just long enough to get greasy and then he came to the rescue.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Mission Madison
by Evan Peterson
On Sunday morning, September 1 at six o’clock, Matt Curtis, Andy Johnson, and Evan Peterson headed out on a mission. Mission Madison. Yes, that is right. We were about to attempt a bicycle ride from Mason City, Iowa, to Madison, Wisconsin, in one day. The conditions were great with a tail wind from the west to help push us along. The first stop was in Charles City where we emptied the morning coffee. I don’t know about the other guys, but I was wondering what kind of suicide mission I had signed up for. We pushed on and started to get bored, so we started to play “sprint like you’re not going to ride over 200 miles” for the city limit signs. We hammered across northeastern Iowa into the Turkey River Valley. There are three river valleys in the Turkey River valley. Andy was a little upset with Matt and me after all that climbing. We managed to get to Prairie Du Chien where we stopped to eat with Heather and Andrea. With a full stomach we pressed on through a long boring ride in a river valley that had a sweet bar and shooting range combo. I wonder if you bought so many beers, you would get free clay pigeons or something. Mile 175 rolled around, and that’s where I found this little thing called pain. Weird, huh? It was like we were sprinting at every town. Around mile 210, it started to get dark, or at least I think that’s what it was. We were all so fatigued that I’m sure none of us could have walked in a straight line. Up until this point I believe we had about a 20.7 average speed. A bicycle trip is not complete without Andy crashing. After a stop about 5 miles from Madison, Andy didn’t clip in and hit the pavement. After a good laugh by Matt and me, we finally wobbled our way in around 8:30 or 9, with about 230 total miles. Mission Madison complete!
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
25 Years of the Fat Tire!
A twenty five year anniversary only comes around once and quicker than a 1983 blink here comes the Chequamegon's silver celebration. The race headquarters is a frantic display of multi-tasking as all areas of event planning are coming together for the September 14-16 weekends.
Greg LeMond is coming to the twenty-fifth. Gary Fisher is coming to the twenty-fifth. Travis Brown is coming to the twenty-fifth. You are coming to the twenty-fifth. It can't get any better than that. Now if Floyd and Lance would come we could really see some mud slinging!
Myslef and Steve Younker have been attending the Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival for 12 years and we've been able to introduce Cheqwammy Fat to a long list of other bike enthusiast. Lately it's become more about the pre and post activities then the race itself. But the Cheqwammy 40 keeps us coming back for more.
North Iowa Racers this year include:
Fat Tire 40
Tim Putnam
Steve Younker
Eric Rust
Dwight Beaver
Robert Polking
Barry Trump
Short and Fat 16
Steve Schurtz
Here's to another 12 years of racing Cheqwammy
Story: Chequamegon Silver Anniversary!
Official Web Site: Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival
Greg LeMond is coming to the twenty-fifth. Gary Fisher is coming to the twenty-fifth. Travis Brown is coming to the twenty-fifth. You are coming to the twenty-fifth. It can't get any better than that. Now if Floyd and Lance would come we could really see some mud slinging!
Myslef and Steve Younker have been attending the Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival for 12 years and we've been able to introduce Cheqwammy Fat to a long list of other bike enthusiast. Lately it's become more about the pre and post activities then the race itself. But the Cheqwammy 40 keeps us coming back for more.
North Iowa Racers this year include:
Fat Tire 40
Tim Putnam
Steve Younker
Eric Rust
Dwight Beaver
Robert Polking
Barry Trump
Short and Fat 16
Steve Schurtz
Here's to another 12 years of racing Cheqwammy
Story: Chequamegon Silver Anniversary!
Official Web Site: Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival
Breaking the law?
By Steve Reuscher
I read with interest the letter to the editor in the Clear Lake Mirror Reporter stating that drivers and cyclists need to begin obeying the rules of the road before someone gets hurt or killed. I had thought about this every time I rode, particularly when with a group.
A few weeks later, there was an article in which the Clear Lake police department stated that they were going to begin educating and enforcing laws on cyclists in an attempt to educate the public for everyone’s benefit. Excellent. I was all for this.
A group of us were on our last leg of a Saturday morning ride, heading east down Main Street in Clear Lake. I was in the rear, struggling to hang on as always, when I heard a booming voice over a loudspeaker. My first thought was, “I can’t believe I am probably going to be the first person ticketed in this enforcement I was all for.” The officer gave us a verbal warning for riding three abreast, and we were on our way again.
To my shock and disbelief, in less than one mile, we were stopped again; this time for riding two abreast and not being completely in the bike lane. The first few minutes of this conversation were heated with both sides stating their version of the law, and I knew a ticket or worse was imminent. As the conversation continued, things began to cool down as both parties realized no one fully knew the laws or their enforcement. Whew, no ticket!
This encounter made us all realize that we need to become active together in educating cyclists, drivers, and police on the law and safety aspects of bikes sharing the road with cars. I think a lot of cyclists don’t realize there are many laws that apply to them, and a lot of drivers don’t realize cyclists have the right to be on the road. The laws regarding riding a bike on the road should be as ingrained and second nature as it is while driving a car. With adherence to the law, safety will follow.
I want cycling to grow whether for health, recreation, competition, and tourism. If we can get everyone working together, it will. North Iowa Spin as a local club needs and intends to become active in this, and we could use your help.
I read with interest the letter to the editor in the Clear Lake Mirror Reporter stating that drivers and cyclists need to begin obeying the rules of the road before someone gets hurt or killed. I had thought about this every time I rode, particularly when with a group.
A few weeks later, there was an article in which the Clear Lake police department stated that they were going to begin educating and enforcing laws on cyclists in an attempt to educate the public for everyone’s benefit. Excellent. I was all for this.
A group of us were on our last leg of a Saturday morning ride, heading east down Main Street in Clear Lake. I was in the rear, struggling to hang on as always, when I heard a booming voice over a loudspeaker. My first thought was, “I can’t believe I am probably going to be the first person ticketed in this enforcement I was all for.” The officer gave us a verbal warning for riding three abreast, and we were on our way again.
To my shock and disbelief, in less than one mile, we were stopped again; this time for riding two abreast and not being completely in the bike lane. The first few minutes of this conversation were heated with both sides stating their version of the law, and I knew a ticket or worse was imminent. As the conversation continued, things began to cool down as both parties realized no one fully knew the laws or their enforcement. Whew, no ticket!
This encounter made us all realize that we need to become active together in educating cyclists, drivers, and police on the law and safety aspects of bikes sharing the road with cars. I think a lot of cyclists don’t realize there are many laws that apply to them, and a lot of drivers don’t realize cyclists have the right to be on the road. The laws regarding riding a bike on the road should be as ingrained and second nature as it is while driving a car. With adherence to the law, safety will follow.
I want cycling to grow whether for health, recreation, competition, and tourism. If we can get everyone working together, it will. North Iowa Spin as a local club needs and intends to become active in this, and we could use your help.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
32 MPH Green Machine
USA Professional Time Trial Championships,32.4 km, September 1, 2007
Tom is back turning the pedals and turning them fast. Tom just missed a podium spot by only 7 seconds. According to my math this comes out to 32 MPH! ...WOW
More Photo's ...
Results
1 David Zabriske (USA) Team CSC 9.34
2 Danny Pate (USA) Team Slipstream 0.01
3 Timothy Duggan (USA) Team Slipstream 0.08
4 Tom Zirbel (USA) Priority Health 0.15
5 Bobby Julich (USA) Team CSC 0.49
6 Tyler Hamilton (USA) Tinkoff Credit Systems
7 Michael Creed (USA) Team Slipstream 0.56
8 Christopher Baldwin (USA) Toyota - United Pro 0.59
9 Michael Friedman (USA) Team Slipstream 1.02
10 Ben Jacques-Maynes (USA) Priority Health
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