Jump off that car and smile for the camera!

Good day fat tire freaks!

Holy Cow do my legs feel like foo! It's weird that I can go out and do a 6-10 hour endurance ride and get up the next day and still be able to go back out the next day and pedal at least one of my bikes. Tuesday night was a road group ride, and I have still not recovered from it. If you recall from my earlier blogs in the week, I was blow'n out the back while trying to hang with the group while going up hill at near 35 mph. Who rides up hill that fast? It must be a roadie thing. I wish I could pull that off at my endurance races :-)

Yesterday I went out and did some tempo work on the mountain bike. My legs felt pretty good doing that, but as soon as I started to rage, the dreaded BURN worked it's way back into my thighs. Oh well, I just need to chill out for awhile.

Yesterday after my ride I got to do my first "scheduled" photo shoot. How fun! I meet up with the photographer that works with the Writer that is working up my story for this Saturdays paper. It was pretty interesting. The Photographer was like...."Do this." "Do that." "Ride over that while looking over there." "Don't smile." "Ride over there, turn around, hop on 1 foot, pat your belly." "Huck off that shelter house." Well, you get the idea. And, NO, there was no hucking. Jeff does NOT huck!

I hope the pics turn out pretty cool, and I get some good exposure for the sport and my sponsors. Look for the story to run tomorrow at the following link.

www.wcfcourier.com

Today, is going to be a early A.M. recovery ride, then to work. Tomorrow I plan to a hilly gravel grinder to work on leg speed for climbing. Just alittle more prep for Whistler, cause we all know Whsitler ain't flat.

Out!

Jeff Kerkove said at 6:01 AM :: ::

Race food.....mmmmmmm!

OK, endurance racers. Here is a list of some of my favorite 12/24 hour race foods which can be picked up at your local grocery store.

1. Ramen Noodles
2. Ensure (it's not just for old people!)
3. Clif Bars
4. Balance Bars
5. Flour Totilla filled with PB, honey, and a banana (Oh Yeah!)
6. Coffee, a.k.a The Black Goodness
7. Red Bull
8. Kellogs Krave bar
9. PB and Jelly Sandwich
10. Cookies
11. Chicken Noodle soup
12. Vat O' Mustard (just kidding!)
13. Pasta and olive oil
14. Gummy Bears

This is just a short list of the "normal" foods I eat during longer races. I also use a wide variety of Hammer / E-Cap products.

My legs were shot from the fury of last nights ride, so I just went out for a 2 hour spin on the local bike path with the mountain bike. Tomorrow is another group ride. I hope i am ready for this one.

Jeff Kerkove said at 5:50 PM :: ::

I am NOT Worthy!

I official got my butt kick tonight on the road group ride. I'm not worthy! I'm not worthy! Uncle! Uncle!

I went out 2 hours before the group ride and did about 5 five mile lactate threshold intervals with the Cat.1 State Champion. That was painful, but again it's supposed to be. I survived the intervals, and was pumped for the group ride. We left town with a group of about 6 or us. All the riders in the pack were Cat 2 or higher. And then there was me, that guy whose rides his mountain bike for extreme amounts of time. And whats this.....he's on a road bike. Yep, thats right. I broke out the road rocket. The only thing, is that it wasn't a road rocket.

I survived the first 35 miles or so before I got throttled out the back while trying to hang on to the guy pulling up the hill at 32 MPH! Oh well, I would love to get all those guys into my element. They wouldn't stand a chance. I limped into town on my own, licking my wounds.

Tomorrow is a group mt. bike ride and Thursday is another road group ride. I will have to attempt to get sweet revenge

Keep you eye to the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier Newspaper this Saturday, cause the Cedar Valley is about to meet the "Super Freak"

www.wcfcourier.com

Rage On!!

Jeff Kerkove said at 7:42 PM :: ::

Odd bits of information.

It's Tuesday, and that means only one thing. ROAD GROUP RIDE!! I am pumped for this ride. I am planninig on going "Nutz" on the group tonight. I hope I can stick it to the pack.

In other news....I have posted pictures from the 12 Hours of Green in Duluth, MN on MTBR.com. Check out the link.

http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=38209

That's it for now. Check back later tonight for a recap of the group ride.

Jeff Kerkove said at 5:50 AM :: ::

It Buuuurrrrnnnns!

Wow! I just got back from a 5 hour hammer fest mountain bike ride. I drove down to Sugar Bottom, which is just North of Iowa City. My goal was to rage for 5 hours straight without stopping at a higher heartrate than my normal 12/24 hour pace . Mission Accomplished, but I won't be able to walk tomorrow.

I got down there around 7:00, and filled up the PolarPak, and loaded my pockets with a Clif Bar and Hammer Gel and off I went. I started cranking out lap after lap on the 10 mile loop. The course was in excellent shape so the speed was high. On lap 2 I about mowed down Bambi. On lap 3 I about mowed down the Trail Patrol, and on lap 4 I about took out a family of 4 on Hybrid bikes with NO helmets. Yes, I said Hybrid bikes. The trail is next to the campground, so some families venture into the unkown of the mountain bike world.

My bike worked flawless once again, and my leg felt pretty good. Not 100%, but good considering I put in a 3 and 4 hour days in on the road bike leading up to this ride. Tomorrow I will do a short recovery ride and get myself pumped for the bloody furry that is the Tuesday night road group ride.

Oh, I almost forgot. WAY TO GO POSTIES!

RAGE ON!!!

P.S. If one of you two super freaks from Green Man are reading this, I hope you 8-10 hour road ride was a treat!

Jeff Kerkove said at 3:38 PM :: ::

Top 10 Signs

Here are are my Top 10 signs that you are an endurance racer.

10. While grocery shopping, you pass the Mayo and think to yourself "I wonder if that could work as Chamois Cream?"

9. A 2 hour XC race never seemed so easy....."Was that the warm-up?"

8. 2 hour training rides are now 8+ hour training rides...."Sweet, the sunrise! Sweet the Sunset!"

7. What other style of bicycle racing allows you to stop mid race and eat a pizza?......."Can you scape off the meat? It won't digest fast enough."

6. You spend time reading this blog, and wonder if there will ever be "Cliff Notes" available for it

5. Instead of calling your name, people now just say "Hey freak!"

4. You are always in search of ways to make your bike as comfy as possible (a.k.a Lazy-Boy-On-Wheels)

3. You have 2 mountain bikes that are the same in everyway

2. You watch NASCAR to pick up some good pit strategies

1. You spend more time riding your bike than you do eating, sleeping and working. ......"All his riding sure is fun, I suppose I could go home and get some sleep for work tomorrow. Nah!"

Ok people. Let's see your Top 10 list.

Jeff Kerkove said at 9:03 AM :: ::

The Season Part II

Well, I couldn't hold out any longer. I hopped on my road bike this morning and threw the hammer down. I went out and did a 3 hour time trial, and ended up at about 68 miles. Not too shabby since the last time I sat on my bike was last Saturday at the 12 Hours of Green.

The first hour sucked! It hurt soooo bad. My legs were chunks of cement. I worked through it, and everything started to click over pretty good.

For the second part of the season, I have 3 major races. The 24 Hours of 9 Mile in Wausau, Wisconsin, The 24 Hour Solo World Championships in Whistler, British Columbia, and the 24 Hours of Moab. I am going to have to focus on some fat miles. 24 Hours of 9 Mile has a 15 mile loop, and when I did it 2 years ago I came just shy of 270 miles for the 24 hours. That was a treat for my first ever 24 hour race. Plus, Tinker was there and I had to attempt to keep up with him. I came out pretty good. He only beat me by one lap.

Well, it's time to check up on the Tour, and get ready for work.

Thanks for reading and keep on RAGE'N!

Jeff Kerkove said at 9:46 AM :: ::

Still Resting.....

Not much to talk about. I am still in mid-season recovery. It couldn't have come at a better time cause we are swamped at work, so i have been putting in longer hours. I might hop on the road bike tomorrow, but it's no big deal if I don't.

Well, It's back to resting. Ahhhhhh........

Jeff Kerkove said at 1:12 PM :: ::

Ahhhhhh...Rest and food!

There is nothing better than a mid-season break. It has been 3 days now since I have sat on any of my bikes. I wish I could go out and rage the group rides, but I know that if i want to do well and the 24 Hours of 9 Mile, World's in B.C., and the 24 Hours of Moab that I need to take a bit of a break. Remember Kid's....rest is just as important as training.

Other than relaxing I have been eating.....and eating, and eating, and eating. Did I mention eating? That shouldn't come to no suprise since 12 Hour Nationals was at a cut-throat pace. At my 24 hour race in Montana in June I spent just shy of 19,000 calories according to my Polar S210 HR monitor. At last Saturday's race which was half as long I used a whopping 15,000. That is only a 4,000 calorie difference for 12 hours. Good God! My average HR for 12 and 24 Hour events runs right around 160 BPM. Last weekend my average was 178. What the hell??? Oh well, there is nothing wrong with alittle suffering.

Today after work I was interview by the Waterloo/Cedar Falls Courier Newspaper. It was great to tell the reporter what I do and have him sit there with his mouth hangin off the table in disbelief. The look was priceless. Look for the story to run in the paper and website in the next few weeks.

www.wcfcourier.com

Well, that is about it. Tomorrow I am going to get out for a short road bike spin around, and think about a long mnt bike ride this weekend. I am hoping for a 8 hour ride at Sugar Bottom in IA City, provided the trails are open. Sugar Bottom has been closed so much this year. They must have some new strict Trail Nazi patroling down there. If anyone cares to join me this weekend for a long ride, just post or e-mail me.

If you work at a bike shop and are reading this, I have a great idea for a Tour advertisement for your local newspaper. It would go something like this......
Now Through July 25 it's the Jan Ullrich You Blow Sale. All floor pumps are 1/2 price. Stock up for next year!

Ok, I know that's mean, and I better be quiet.....hey, he does ride a sweet bike.

I am out!

Jeff Kerkove said at 4:31 PM :: ::

12 Hour National Recap.....and Mary-J?

Well I just returned from the suffer-fest that was the 12 Hours of Green National Championships in Duluth, MN. The race didn't end up how I had been thinking about it for the past few weeks, but I have nothing to complain about.

The race started at 7 AM with a short hill climb to spread out the field. The course was about 5.5 miles per lap. It had a mixture of everything: roots, rocks, pavement, singletrack, boulder fields, short steep climbs, pot smokers, etc. There was a small field of Solo riders (23 if your counting at home), but everyone of them had a very good shot at winning this race.

There was about 5 of us that got away from the rest of the race, and opened up a huge lead. About a mile later, one of the solo riders jumped off the front, one of the other solo riders who knew him said to let him go, so we did. This would be the last I would see of this rider till the end of the race. Anyway, The 4 of us rode together lap after lap, keeping the pace high enough so that no other solo rider would bridge up to us. On the 3 lap, we lost one of our pack riders. He fell off the back, and was never seen again. The 3 of us continued on, and the 3rd guy said to work together to catch the solo leader. No more than a 1/2 mile after he said that he flated with his tubless tires flying down this fireroad. It was his front tire, so he lost control and Superman'd into the grass. He was OK, and finished the race.

There was just 2 of us left to try to catch the solo leader(the 2 of us being myself, and the rider that beat me at 12 Hour of Green Bay earlier in the season). We road together till about the 7th lap, when I had to stop for chain lube, and some nutrition. He saw this an attacked. I tried to track him down, but it never came. During this time I had a 4 lap stretch where I felt like crap. I was fighting the bike,was un-smooth, and had no power to the pedals. At the end of the 7th lap I got back to my pit and slammed down a Red Bull, and it gave me wings! I was rage'n for like 5 laps, and manages to lap the guy that was riding with us earlier that had flatted. Now there were 3 of us on the lead lap

The solo leader dangling up front was caught and passed. He ended up second overall, and the rider that attacked me eventually went on to win.

As for me, I ended up 3rd overall. I have nothing to hang my head about. All my equipment worked flawlessly, and my nutrition work. I just had a few bad laps. That's just how it goes.


Are you wondering about Mary-J? Well, this race was run during the Green Man Sport and Music Festival. What this is, is a modern day Woodstock. The course actually went through the campground of this event. So during about 65% of the race there were always these wanna-be hippies standing by the course hooting and hollaring, drinking beer, peeing in the grass; all while trying to hide their chronic. It was funny cause you wouldn't know if you were coming up on the dust trail of the rider in front of you, or if it was pot smoke.

Oh, the joys of 12 hour racing.

Stay posted, cause I will post some photos and write up some more when I am not so beat.

Rage On!!!

NOTE TO READER: I am not responsible for spelling or grammer.....you try to write a race recap after racing for 12 hours!

Just Kidding!!! :-)

Jeff Kerkove said at 5:46 PM :: ::

48 hours and counting

Tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock......just about 48 hours left till I get to rage on my Giant NRS Air and attempt to capture my first national title. If you have been reading this blog on a regular basis, you would know that this weekend is the 12 National Championships at Spirit Mountain Ski Resort in Duluth, MN. I am so pumped, and I can't wait. I hope everything goes smooth in terms of diet, training, travel, and just getting to the start line on Saturday at 7:00 AM.

For today, I am going to do a short road ride, and pack. I have been packing this morning while doing laundry, surfing the net, drinking coffee, and writing this blog. A lot of people have been sending me e-mail asking about nutrition and training. That's awesome, and I always appreciate getting e-mail. Below I have included some of my more favorite links which deal with these issues. Enjoy!

ultracycling.com/index.html

www.e-caps.com/ (click on "Knowledge")

www.ride424.com/index.html

In other news......Are you following the Tour? Are you at work and wish you could watch it or listen to it? Check out this link, and get live radio broadcast right on your computer

www.eurosports.com

Well that's about it. This will be my last blog until Sunday night after I return from Duluth, MN.

Still Rage'n!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jeff Kerkove said at 4:59 AM :: ::

The time is drawing near.

I have some awesome news. After a early season mix-up with some clothing sponsorship for the Cateye Enduro Team, the new clothing will be here shortly!!!! We will be having the Euro clothing company called Agu print up the clothing.

www.agu.nl (it's in Dutch, but you can choose to have the site published in English)

They have done the team clothing for teams such as Rabobank, Phonak, etc. Should be some sweet stuff. I have a picture of the clothing, but it is TOP SECRET. The only thing I can tell you is that it is red, black, and white.

Today is an ultra short blog. I am going to go out and do an easy road ride on my road bike, then head to work from noon to 8.

Rage On!!!

Jeff Kerkove said at 5:29 AM :: ::

Road bikes are the "Dark Side"

Well, I had to ride my road bike on the road group ride instead of showing on the mountain bike. I just got both of my mountain bikes dialed in for 12 Hour Nationals this weekend in Duluth, MN. I don't understand how some of the guys just ride road bikes and never venture off road. Road riding is so stale, and mind numbing. Plus, you can't attack the group on the gravel shoulder with a road bike like you can with a mountain bike....they never see that one coming....heeeeee!

Tonights ride wasn't anything special. I set my HR monitor to beep at 165, to tell me to back off. I did this, so I don't fry my legs for this weekend. So, I rode as hard as I could with the group unitl the HR monitor went beep, beep , beep. There was a few times I got shot out the back, because i hit the 165 mark. But, Oh well.

I have put a new picture on my profile. This was taken by a gentlemen at the Green Bay 12 Hour Race. I hope to have a picture from the 24 Hour Montana race to post soon. I have to get that from my parents, and I won't see them till this weekend.

Well that's about it for today. I will leave you with some fine words of advice

The road bike is the true portal to hell, or if you're a Star Wars junkie, it's the Dark Side!

Rage On!!!!

p.s. I really didn't mean what I said about the road bikes, so you roadies out there that are reading this can call off your "Hits" on me now.

Jeff Kerkove said at 7:17 PM :: ::

Pimping the Sponsors!!!

Ok, it's time that I give Cateye Enduro's Sponsors their moment of glory. Below is a list of the products I am using this year, along with their websites. If you have any performance questions about any of them, just drop me a line.

Cateye
www.cateye.com
(Lights that are brighter than the sun!)

SRAM
www.sram.com
(Get rid of your Shimano rapidfires, and come over to the SRAM side. You won't be sorry)

Cole Products
www.coleproducts.com
(top secret wheels, not yet available in USA)

Agu
www.agu.nl
(Euro team clothing)

TruVativ
www.truvativ.com
(components that look great, and just plain work with no questions asked)

WTB
www.wtb.com
(saddles and rubber)

Hammer/E-Caps
www.e-caps.com
(the only nutrition I recommend for endurance racing. Send me an e-mail and I can save you %15 on your online purchases)

Giant Bicycles
www.giant-bicycles.com
(is there any other bike?)

Fox
www.foxracingshock.com
(So long Rock Shox and Manitou)

Nema
www.nema-usa.com
(Awesome cycling clothing for the "non-racer" in all of us)

Giro
www.giro.com
(Good enough for Lance, Good enough for Cateye Enduro)

Tifosi
www.tifosioptics.com
(sweet, inexpensive shades! About like Smith, but half the price.)

PolarPak
www.polarpak.com
(freeze the bladder, and you have atleast 4 hours of cold water. What's that you say Camelback? You can't freeze your bladder. Oh, that's toooooo bad!)

Sponsored by Mark
Website: N/A
(he buys some old gear, which help me pay rent and do laundry......THANKS MARK!)

Jeff Kerkove said at 5:22 AM :: ::

Sponsored by the letter "R"

Todays blog is being brought to you by the letter "R." Why "R" you ask? Well here is why....rocks, rough roads, and rain. Todays ride was my last long effort before 12 Hr Nationals next weekend in Duluth, MN. There were about 4 of us riding. We decided to do a gravel grinder (see Webster's Dict. defenition below) down south to Tama/Toledo (about 40-45 miles one-way). There was a 10 mph headwind. The guys I was riding with just wanted an easy ride, so I stayed up front and pulled them all the way. 2 of the guys had to be back early, so they turned around about 20 miles into the ride. Myself and the other guy kept riding. This is a good ride do to the amount of climbing and the roughness of the road. Plus, the rocks were really loose, so we were having a hard time controling the bikes.

GRAVEL GRINDER: (v.) An Iowan's substitute to fireroads, mountains, singletrack, and downhilling

We made it as far south as we were going to go, then turned a round. Behind us was what would soon be the "Great 40 Mile Down Pour" We started headding north, and the skies kept getting darker and darker. In a matter of 15 minutes after turning around, it began to pour. If you want to know what the riding was like, put on your cycling clothes, hop in the shower, and turn on the cold water on high. Then get a buddy to start throwing sand in your face. All I can say is "Good Times!!!!"

This continued all the freaking way to Waterloo. It finally let up once we were about 2 miles from home. Oh well, It was probably a sign of the conditions to come at either National's or World's. Either way, if it is I will be ready now.

Hope everyone else had a dry and painless ride today. Time to sit down to a nice big plate of whole wheat pasta. YUMMMM!

Keep an eye to www.Velonews.com. Today was UCI Marathon Worlds in Austria. Should be a good read!

Oh, by the way, todays ride was 5.5 hours for those of you keeping track

Rage On!!

Jeff Kerkove said at 12:09 PM :: ::

Are your udders smooth!

Good morning!

Todays blog is being brought to you inpart by "Udderly Smooth." White....creamy....soft....supple....Did I just say supple? Doh!
Anywho, Undderly Smooth is the cheap version of Chamois Butter. It can be picked up at Wally-World for less than 2 bills, and it keeps your bits nice and soft while your out logging the long miles. Give it a try. Your man-hood, and women-hood will thank you!

www.uddercream.com


If anyone out there is interested in saving 15% on Hammer Gel and/or E-Cap products, shoot me an e-mail that has your e-mail address, and I will send you an e-mail back that will allow you to pick and choose from their awesome products and save some cash!!!!

www.e-caps.com



Today I will be doing hill repeats. For this I will be riding up Lookout Park Hill in Cedar Falls 21 times. I do a hill repeat in every gear combination except for my "granny-gear." It sucks and it's very painful. I just think of the day when I will be able to power up this hill on my road bike in my big ring like Tony Kisch. That dude is a horse!

Well, it's time to suit up in my superman outfit and rage the hill. But first, I need to throttle down this last rich and delicious cup of the black-goodness.

As always, R-A-G-E O-N!

Jeff Kerkove said at 5:45 AM :: ::

Zero, Nope, Nada, Nothing

No riding today. My legs are sore, and I want to be able to put atleast a 10 hour day in on Sunday. I think I will just load up on food, and curl up with some back issues of Dirt Rag.

If anyone is interested in joining me for either all or part of my ride on Sunday, just e-mail me, or post on this site. I am planning on either Sugarbottom outside Iowa City or Decorah.

Jeff Kerkove said at 4:11 PM :: ::

Ahhhhh Recovery

After yesterdays near 10 hour day in the saddle, today was a well deserved recovery ride. I went out on the road bike for a little urban roll-a-round. I kept the heart rate at or below 120 bpm. I also stayed with in 2 clicks of my 39-23. Super easy gear, for super easy ridin. It felt awesome. It was like someone was giving my leg a rubdown.

I suppose I could fill you in on some more of the gear I am using this year as part of the Cateye Enduro Team. Our fork and rear suspension sponsor is FOX. Lets just say that the other suspension companies don't stand a chance against Fox if things keep going the way they are. This year I am riding the F80X and the F100X. Both of these shocks rock! They have the inertia valve in them kind of like the Specialized Brain shock on the Epic. The fork is locked out until you hit a bump. The cool thing is you can adjust how sensetive the fork will be to the bumps. The weight of the forks is a bit higher than a Manitou or rock Shox, but for what you gain it is worth the penalty. Also, the Fox forks are super stiff. I had been a Rock Shock SID user the past 3 years, and the first ride I could tell a huge difference. The Fox fork goes right where you point it. The only down fall to these forks is the price. To the "average joe" these forks can set you back about $750 each. OUCH! But, look at what your getting in terms of technology and company support. No other company can match it. Check out there website for more info.

www.foxracingshox.com

Off to work. Go Lance! Go Tyler! God, the Tour kicks major ass!

Rage On!

Jeff Kerkove said at 8:53 AM :: ::

Day Off Ride Part II

Ok, I am officialy cooked! You can stick a fork in me. Tonights ride came out to 4.5 hours. That's 9.5 hours for the day. The group ride was NOT nice. We had a newbie that was in town from Ft. Collins, CO. I think all the fast roadies wanted to give him a flat landers welcome. There was about a 15 mph head wind for the first 8 miles, which wasn't bad, cause it slowed the group down, but once we had the wind at our back, I could turn my 44T big ring fast enough to keep up with those guys and their 53's. I was shot out the back along with some of the Cat. 3,4, and 5's. I had to keep on it just to keep in contact. Needless to say, this has been one of my hardest training rides this year.

THANKS ROADIES!!!!!!

Tomorrow, its an 1 hr easy spin followed by work. I wish I could type more for you guys, but I am beat!

Rage On!

Jeff Kerkove said at 7:45 PM :: ::

Day off ride Part I

I just got back from a 5 hour mountain bike ride, in which I rode on-road with full knobbies. I felt pretty good. Once again, it took about 2 hours to get the leg ticking over in a good pace. Overall average heartrate was around 153 bpm. That's good, cause that is my 12/24 hour race pace.

Now, I am going to slurp down a liquid protein smoothie, and elevate the leg and maybe take a nap. After that it's back to the bike for the Tuesday night death march....I mean friendly road group ride.

Check back later.

Jeff Kerkove said at 12:39 PM :: ::

Day Off! Yahoo!!!

Happy Tuesday to all!

I have the day off today. That means no "wrenching" on dept. store bike or garage rot bikes. Those aren't the only bike that we get at the shop, but it's about 50% of them. I am happy to see that people are starting to realize that dept. store are not worth the money. So, they come to us and by a $190 Trek mountain bike instead of buying 5 dept. store bike within the month.

How many of you have been keeping tabs on the Great Divide Race? It was awesome to read and see Mike Curiak beat the tar out of the old record. I can't imagine how hard that is on the body. The longgest I have riden has been in my 24 Hour races. Eventhough the pace is higher, I am still toast afterwords for like a week. I am sure that Mike and the other riders will be in recovery mode for atleast a month. Congrats to Mike and the other riders just for trying this!

Check out the race recap with photos at the link below:
http://www.mtbr.com/gdr/

As for me, I plan to get some good bike time in today. I plan on hitting up the local road group ride. Tonights wepon of choice will once again be my Giant XTC hardtail. As for tires, I have gone to a bigger tire for more resistance. I was running a 26 x 1 Ritchey Tom Slick, this time I will be trying to rage on a 26 x 1.95 semi-slick. This will be my first group ride since my win at the Montana 24 Hour race. I hope that I can re-adapt to the intensity. As I like to say....I will bleed out my eyes. Bring the Pain!

Two weeks and counting until the 12 Hour National Championships in Duluth, Minnesota. This is the first 12 Hour Nationals that I am aware of. A lot of people have been posting on the race website asking what classifies this as a "National" race. As long as its USA Cycling sanctioned, I believe that is it. I hope they give out a Stars and Stripe jersy to the winner. That would be nice to put next to my 7 Iowa State NORBA Expert XC Titles.

Well, I am going to chug down the rest of this rich amd creamy pot of French Vanilla coffee, surf the net, and then hit up the bike for some high quality saddle time.

RAGE ON!

Jeff Kerkove said at 5:01 AM :: ::

6 Hours and 43 Minutes

Six hours and 43 minutes is how long it took me to do my gravel grinder training ride today. For those of you reading this that are familiar with Iowa, these are the towns that I passed either through or by:

Hudson
Holland
Steamboat Rock
Iowa Falls
Ackley
Aplington
Parkersburg
and finally New Hartford

I felt pretty good, I only had to outrun 4 dogs and one crazy old lady on her way to church. The crazy old lady was the worst. The funny thing is, she came up behind me, she didn't see me, and if i wouldn't have gone into a mad sprint she would have drove over me at about 25 MPH. Old people rock!

I think for the rest of this July 4th, I am going to recover from todays ride, by reading the latest issue of Velonews. Has anyone else notice that the last 2 issues of velonews have had a "pink" theme going on with there covers. Weird!
Surfing the net for Tour pictures and news is always a good time, and a good recovery tool. Maybe I might go out later and spin around the State Park. Either way, I need to get a 3 hour ride in before work tomorrow.

Well that's about it for today, I am going into recovery mode.

I almost forgot! Todays "Endurance Racer Tip of the Day" is get rid of your rubber handlebar grips and put on Gel Cork tape. It's super cush, and your palms and wrist will thank you.

RAGE ON!!

Jeff Kerkove said at 1:50 PM :: ::

Let the Tour begin!

Go Lance!

Go Tyler!

Go Levi!

Go Jeff!

Oh, wait a sec, I have to go to work to day......damn!

I am also wondering who is reading my website. If you have time please post where you are from and any other bits'o info you would care to share.

Rage on!

Jeff Kerkove said at 5:46 AM :: ::

High levels of Swamp Ass!!

I just got in from a 3.5 hour mountain bike ride on the road. It's a warm one today. I went out at 6:00 AM, and the humidity made it feel like 90 degrees, and I was riding in the middle of a swimming pool. On a scale of 1-10 (10 being the worst), todays "Swamp-Ass" conditions are at 8. It's one of those days that you need atleast a hand full of chamois butter. The ride went well. It took me about 1.5 hours to get my legs feeling good, once they started ticking, I felt really strong, and was going pretty good and keeping my HR low at about 150ish.

I have uploaded a new picture to my profile. This picture is from the Wisconsin Endurance Mountain Bike Series race that was held in Green Bay. The rider behind me is Nature Valley/Penn Cycle rider Ray Coyle. We road together for about 10 hours of the 12 hour race. On the 11th lap, my legs weren't feeling all that spunky, so I told him to go on by hemself so i wouldnt slow him down. He finished strong for a 1st place win, while I came in 2nd. We talked during the race, and he said that he was using these races to get ready for the Leadville 100. Good Luck to him!!

That's about it for today. I am do into work at noon, and need to run to the store quick to get some bananas. Thanks for reading

Jeff Kerkove said at 9:42 AM :: ::

It hurts so good!

Good morning world!

Just thought I would get a brief Blog in before I head off to work to clean up my bikes and help out the people of the Cedar Valley with all their bicycle needs.

I went out yesterday morning for a 2 hour spin around to see how the leg feel after the 24 hour race in Montana. The legs felt great, but my ass felt like someone was sticking me with a fork everytime I sat down on my saddle. My co-work (The-Chad) last night had the honor of listening to me talk about my ass pain. I bet he loved that! I guess riding the hard tail for 23 hours in the race was the smartest thing to do for my body. Oh well, I am sure i will heal.

Tonight is yet another Thursday night group road ride. I am going to show up on my Gaint XTC hardtail, so i can work on leg speed some more. I am really going to be pushing it pretty hard these next couple weeks , cause the 12 Hour National Champonships are coming up on July 16-17-18 in the mountain biking mecca of Duluth, Minnesota. Check out the link. Its a Sports and Music festival. Willie Nelson is supposed to be playing during the race. What a better way to suffer than to listen to Willie Nelson and ride for 12 hours. Ahhhhh....bicycles, and guitar playing pot smokers!

www.greenmanfestival.com

In other notes, 2 of my Cateye Enduro teammates had great results these past few weeks. Lou K., pulled off a 2 place in the womens race at the Cascade Creampuff 100 out in Oregon, and Eric W. raged to a win at the 12 Hours of Weaverville out in California.

http://www.cateye.com/news/enduro_team.html

This weekend is July 4th! Fireworks are not allowed in Iowa, but I am suer I will find some and blow stuff up. I can't think of any better way to celebrate the USA's freedom , than to blow off 3 of my fingers. I suppose i could go out and do a long mnt bike ride......fireworks, ride, fireworks, ride, fireworks, ride......? Ride it is! I am planning on heading down to Sugarbottom in Iowa City on Sunday for a 8-10 hour training ride.

Thanks for reading and have a exciting day!

Jeff Kerkove said at 5:24 AM :: ::