I will never sleep again.

I have to give a huge shout out to the ultra cool folks at Red Bull for the hook up today. Red Bull is the ultimate kick in the junk in the late hours of a 12 and 24 hour event. Hell, It's a good pick me up anytime of the day. I have been using their product since the day I first started enduro racing....going on 3 years now. If it didn't work, I sure as hell wouldn't use it. So, if you see me going psycho at 2 AM at a 24 hour event just blame it on the Red Bull.

Thanks Heather!!!!!

Jeff Kerkove said at 7:49 PM :: ::

Take'n 'er easy.

It's nice to just chill out for once. The rides the last 2 days have been super easy....about 120 HR and 2 hours on the saddle at a time. Work on the other hand is extreme chaos! Lots of bikes to build, lots of people coming in the door, and lots of new bikes being sold. Just hope it keeps going in this direction. Just think, the Tour hasn't even started, and we are busy! Wahooooooo!

Speaking of the Tour...
Our shop is turning into a "Tour Hang Out Spot". We have a whole section of the shop dedicated to road bikes, Discovery Channel team, and the Trek Lucky 7 Sweepstakes. We even have a DVD running the Road To Paris. It's pretty interesting to watch. It takes you behind the scenes to see how a Pro Tour team functions. I highly recommend it to any cycling fan.

In non bike related news...
I noticed on the way home from South Dakota that the steering wheel shakes a bit when cruising between 60 and 70 mph. Must have a tire out of alignment. So next Thursday I am taking it in to have it checked out. Hope it is nothing major.

Last night we had some crazy storms move through the area. On my ride today, I noticed a lot of the corn blown down. Plus, the ditches have like 5 feet of water in them. Even the bike trail in town is under water. This sucks! Now the blood sucking mosquitos are going to flurish.

That is all for now. Time to head off to the shop till 8 bells. Still trying to figure out what I am going to do on the 4th for a ride.

Jeff Kerkove said at 9:41 AM :: ::

A bit warm out.

We are in the grasp of a massive heat wave. The days since I left South Dakota have been nothing but 90 plus degrees with about the same humidity. Plus in the later hours of the day we are getting some crazy thunder storms. All the local rivers are flooded over. I went out this morning for my first bit of bike time since the race, and all the bridges I passed over looked like they were sitting right on top of the river. Better yet, today we are to reach almost 100 degrees. Oh joy!

The shop is nucking futs. Everything is out of control. We are behind. We are short staffed. Anyone need a job? So today, I will go in early....AGAIN. Need to get things in order and keep people happy.

Not much else going on. Bike time for the rest of the week will be sub 2 hour rides at a very easy pace. Looking to get a good ride in on the 4th. Not sure what I am going to do yet. Road ride? Mnt Bike ride? Anyone local have any ideas?

Next race is the 12 Hours of Winter on July 9th. After that it is the 24 Hours of 9 Mile at the end of July. All these races to get ready for one big race...WORLD'S!

My teammate, Sloane, raced the Cream Puff 100 this past weekend. Check out his BLOG for his recap. He was having an awesome race till a minor mechanical problem. That is just how it goes sometimes. Bummer!

I promise no more chamois cream application pictures. I swear!

Jeff Kerkove said at 8:00 AM :: ::

CAUTION: NUDITY

Here are some more pictures from the 12 Hours of Thunder.



Get'n ready to rock 'n roll.




This is the proper way to apply chamois cream. Ooooooo, that's cold!
Still trying to figure out why my Dad took this picture.




This is Tim.
This is Tim's race and land.
Tim has a gun.
A BIG gun.
Tim said that there would be 2 shots fired.
One to start the race.
And one to shoot that last person into the singletrack.
Thank God I was the 3rd person in.





Getting ready to do a bit of running. The guy in the neon green jersey is the eventual winner of the solo mens race.





Wahoo! 2nd place! I am cooked! Someone get me a chair!

Jeff Kerkove said at 6:36 AM :: ::

12 Hours of Thunder Recap.

Just got back from the 12 Hours of Thunder. Came away with 2nd overall in the Solo Mens field out of 11 starters. This course was a total death march. 2,000 feet of climbing per 10.5 mile lap on some of the harshest back country trails that the Black Hills has to offer. This race served as one thing....training event for World's. Below is the "official" race recap. Enjoy.

THURSDAY...


Left around 7 AM Thursday for the 8 hour drive to the western side of South Dakota.



Still driving. Just look at it as a form of training...endurance driving.

FRIDAY...

On Friday, to pass the time before the race course pre-ride, we took in the local sights. It was good to get out and walk around after being cramped in the car the day before.



Follow this car to a local endurance race near you!

SATURDAY IS RACE DAY...

The race started early...7 AM local time. So me and my Dad woke up at 4 AM and hit up breakfast at Perkins. I enjoyed a great pre-race beakfast....scrambled eggs, 3 small pancakes, hasbrowns, and a pot of the blackgoodness.

After a bit of fueling we headed to Wal-Mart to pick up ice and bug spray. Then it was off to the race site to set up.

Got to the race site plenty early. I had about 1.5 hours to set up. Put out all the needed tool to keep the body happy...ELETE, Hammer Products, Chamois Butter, and other top secret items. And just in case you are wondering....NO, those are not Pringles. It's just your imagination.

Anywho...
Here is a little bit about ther course. IT'S HARD!!!! 2000 feet of climbing per lap. 10.5 miles per lap. OUCH!!! The course was pretty technical also. Lots of rocks, roots, and drop offs. The views are like no place else in the world. There was no place to recover on this course. You were either climbing....riding thru rock gardens...or flying down a white knuckle descent.

So the race started at 7 AM with a shotgun start. Yep, a real shotgun. Hey, it's South Dakota. I was the 3rd person to my bike. I went into the singletrack in 3rd place. The other 2 guys were on teams. I set into my pace and just went with the flow. My "flow" for the race was to float around the 160 HR.

1/2 way thru the first lap I was cought by last year 2nd place finisher. He was raging hard! I exchanged a few words and let him go. I kept on maintaining my pace. I finished lap 1 in 2nd.

On lap 3 I was on my own riding in my own little world. Sing it with me..."Alllll by my self."

Lap 4 began with a some more refueling. Each lap I stopped for about 5-15 seconds to grab ELETE and water in my H20 bottles, and Perpetuem concentrated in a gel flask. About 4 miles into lap 4 I was caught by the 3rd place guy. He was a former SOBE-Cannondale pro rider. We rode together for about 4 miles, then he took off.

As I came in from lap 4 the 1st place guy was running backwards on the course back to his pit. He broke his chain. I saw this and made my pit short and sweet. I took off on laps 5 and 6 pushing the pace a bit harder. My HR went up 5 beats as I tried to make time. Now I was in 2nd and the SOBE rider was in 1st. Time passed by, but it was about 40 minutes later I was passed by the guy who broke his chain. Now I was back in 3rd. The dude was rage'n. He was in full on time trial mode. When he rode past me I thought he was going to pass out he was riding so hard.

I came in from lap 6, and my Dad informed me that the SOBE rider who was in 1st place, dropped out. So that means that I was now back in 2nd. I once again made my pit short in hopes of catching the first place guy. By this time, we were later in the afternoon, and the temps have sky rocketed. The race started at a nice 74 degress. Now it was a muggy 88 degrees. I made sure to consume more water, ELETE, and Hammer products.

I rode through on lap 7 feeling pretty drained. The course now has started to take its toll on me. There was lots of granny gearing going on. I just kept telling my self to keep moving forward. Eating and drinking was getting hard. If you do endurance racing, you know what I am talking about. I needed to eat and drink, but didn't want to barf it up. I finished lap 7 and to my surprise, the 1st place guy had stopped due to cramps. So now I was in 1st!

I went out on lap 8 and pushed the pace. BAD IDEA!!! I was all pumped to win this race, that I went too hard. I pulled off one of my slowest laps of the day. I was having a hard time finding power on the climbs, and the legs were just not there. DANG!

I came in from lap 8. My Dad told me that I had 8 minutes on the 2nd place guy. This guy also happened to be last years winner. I headed out on lap 9. I was cooked! Officially done. I had nothing. I was riding in 2x1 and 1x1. It felt like the big ring. I was pedaling squares. With about 4 miles to go on lap 9, I was cought by the 2nd place guy. We exchanged words and joked at the fact that we were so cooked. He went by and I just watched 1st place disappear. I had no gas to get on. The course had beat me into submission.

I came in after lap 9, and that was it. The race was over. I managed 2nd place overall. Not too bad for a flatlander from Iowa considering the course. This was one of the hardest races I have ever done. That includes 2002 and 2004 World's, and all the other 12 and 24 hour events. The course in bruttle. At this race, you don't battle the 12 hour time limit, but rather mother nature and the surroundings. Your body and equipment must be dialed in. If this race happens next year make sure you go. There will be a healthy dosage of suffering handed out.

Next race on my calander in the 12 Hours of Winter up in the north woods of Wisconsin on July 9th. Now it is time to recover and prepare for more training. Anyone up for a mnt bike ride on July 4th? Maybe Decorah or Sugarbottom?

Anyway...
Thanks to my Nutritional Distribution Manager (Dad) and my many fine sponsors for kick butt products!!!

Now it is time for a week of recovery and watching my limbs de-swell. Gotta love the kankles.

Jeff Kerkove said at 5:01 PM :: ::

Dang, an Flat!

Did the road group ride last night. Last night was the last bit of "raging" before the 12 hour race on Saturday. There was a small group last night....maybe 5 or 6. Must have been the heat. It was around 92 degrees with atleast 85% swamp ass. Oh yeah, good and moist.

So I headed out at 5 PM with the road bike....flask of Hammer Gel....and 3 bottles of ELETE. I spun around the park then hit up the ride at 6 PM. We head out of town West on the TT course. I started with an easy pull of 22 mph. I pulled off then all the sudden the riders a head signal that there is gravel in the road. I thought...."So? I have Maxxis Re-Fuse tires." You know, as in the tires "Refuse" to flat. Well, I rode through it. Then you heard....pst,pst,pst,pst. Damn! A flat! My first flat on the road in almost 3 years. The group acknowledged the flat, but I waved them on. It took me just a hair under 5 minutes to change. In that 5 minutes, I was asked by Jerry Green who was driving by for help....and the Dodd Tandem who was flying by at mach 4. THANKS FOR THE OFFERS GUYS!!!!!!!

No help was needed, as I got it fixed, and the tire pumped up to 100 PSI thanks to my Crank Bros. Power Pump. After I got the bike together, I went into TT mode to catch the group. I TT at 26 mph to the 'T' intersection...then south to Dike....then south to the Hudson left turn....then right to back track to Reinbeck to meet the group. I made it to Reinbeck and caught the group as they were pulling out of Casey's for a carbo loaded beverage.....which is about 10ish miles or so since the flat.

From there we headed back North and then to Hudson. It was a great ride. I got to open my legs up a bit...ride with some great guys....play in the heat....and get in 70 miles in some crazy heat. Good times....like band camp.

So today is work at the shop till 2 PM...come home and pack up stuff...drive home...then leave in the AM for the Black Hills.

This might be the last blog till after the 12 hour race in Sunday. But who knows, I might find a way to update.

Want to read a first hand account of what it takes to win one of the biggest 24 hour events in the USA? CLICK HERE!

Time to eat some oats yo!

Jeff Kerkove said at 4:30 AM :: ::

What kind of bike do you ride?

Not a whole lot going down. Just got back from a one hour mountain bike recovery ride. Nothing major. Just went out and spun the legs on the mnt bike on some dirt trails thru GW State Park. Threw in a short hard burst to make sure my heart was still working.

Work today from 8 AM till 4 PM. Trek President John Burke stopped by the shop to see how things are going out in the real world. That was pretty cool. Seems like a nice guy. Some how we got talking about my endurance racing. At one point in the conversation he asked me what bike I rode. I responded with..."Cough, cough, a Giant, cough, cough." He then replied...."Oh?!" That was priceless. Guitar Ted about lost it.

Got some new rubber from Maxxis today. Got me some mud rubber. And, some go fast rubber. Might give the go fast rubber a try this weekend in South Dakota if the course alows.

The great Dirtram UPS'd some Anti-Monkey Butt Powder to me and G-Ted. I am not sure what to say. Thanks? Now when I have dry ass riding my bike I will keep think'n about Dirtram. Not cool.

Make sure you keep following the Great Divide Mnt Bike Race. Yeah, people are racing from Canada to Mexico via the continental divide. Follow the racers at the blog the racers update.
GREAT DIVIDE BLOG

Tomorrow is getting the bikes dialed. Followed by work. Followed by the last bit of intensity before the 12 Hours of Thunder.

Time to stretch.

Jeff Kerkove said at 5:22 PM :: ::

Let the taper begin.

Time to chill out. The last 2 weeks on the bike were used to "over reach" on the miles and hours. Most of my ride were 3-7 hours in length and at a pretty high intensity. Now it is time to chill out and taper for the 12 Hours of Thunder. From today till the day of the event my rides will be 1-2 hours. Pretty much ever day will be pretty low intensity except for Tuesday, which I will attend the group ride and open up the legs a bit. Also this week, there will be lots of carbs consumed to build up the reserves in the body. Lots of pasta, gatorade, pretzels, oatmeal, etc. will be consumed on a regular basis. Also going to do some loading on ELETE Tablytes. This little product is an electolyte in pill form. Think of it as a multi-vitamin....but it's only electrolytes. One a day keeps the cramps away.

Other than getting ready for the race, I will be holding down the shop. Yesterday was busy. That is a good thing, as it makes the day go faster. Helped a guy that purchased 2 C-Dale's from us about a month ago. He is happy. He is so happy, that he gave me a $25 tip! Nice guy! He said...."Thanks for going out of your way and making us happy." I replied with...."Thanks, but I do this for everybody. It's part of the job." Well, I guess it pays to be nice. Afterall it is a bike shop. Why should a bicycle buying experience be like pulling teeth? Well, I guess it would if you shopped at that other shop in town that starts with an "S" and contains two "ee". Can you figure that one out?

What else...
Solo Goat (Ernesto) was winning the 24 Hours of Big Bear the last ime I looked at the live feed. He was many laps up on Cameron Chambers and Mark Hendershot. Go Goat Go! Check the live feed here.

Well, now it is time to get ready to go out and play on the NRS Air. I am heading to Greenbelt for some singletrack fun. Just going to ride to the end and back.

Here is my July race schedule...
July 9...12 Hours of Winter...LINK HERE
July 30-31...24 Hours of 9 Mile...LINK HERE
Both races are in Wisconsin, and offer a good helping of sufferage and pain.

OK, that is it. Time to ride...then to work...then work on RAGBRAI t-shirt designs for the great Slick Willy.

Almost forgot...
HAPPY FATHERS DAY!
Dad, you better be out logging huge miles on the Orbea, and not doing yard work, home decorating, or watching TV.

:-)

Jeff Kerkove said at 4:47 AM :: ::

Work'n it nice and slow.

Today was an easy day. Easy day at work, and an easy day on the bike. Got to work around 7:15 AM and cleaned up my primary Giant NRS race bike and threw on some Maxxis Ignitors. For those of you that own these tires know that they are skinny. Skinny like Tinker. Skinny like a pencil. Skinny like a road tire. Well, you ge the idea. Anywho...I took out the NRS this afternoon after work for an off road recovery ride. The skinny Maxxis Ignitor tires sure do like to fly on the hardpacked singletrack. I was flying thru GW State Park with hardly any effort. The railed corners really well, and rode over the roots and other trail items like that of a 2.1 tire. From the looks of these tires, they seem way tiny. But, get them in a dry hardpacked environment and you better hang on.

Work was work today. Nothing special. Assemble a tandem that some dude bought over Ebay. Yeah, he is going to kill himself with it. It's a dept. store tandem. Just think Wal-Mart bike built for 2. I like to reffer to it as the "Death Sled". I warned him of the trauma that might become of him. I hope he listened.

After that it was bike assembly after assembly. Also got to interact with some customers. Good times.

Did you know...
Did you know that about 70% of the people that walk into our bike shop don't know that there are different size bikes for different size people. Crazy!

That is all.

Good luck to all Solo Goat, Heather M., and Soiled Chamois at the 24 Hours of Big Bear out in West Virginia this weekend. Should be a rock'n good time. Really!

Bye!

Adios.

See ya.

Out.

Done.

Gone.

Jeff Kerkove said at 4:35 PM :: ::

Another 5

Wahoo! Got another 5 hours of high quality miles in after work. As stated in the earlier post, Me and JY rage'd on L.O. Park Hil from 6 AM till 7. Did a hand full of all out sprints in a huge gear...seated attacks from a rolling start.... and some tempo climbs. I think we got up that thing atleast 20 times. After one of the sprints, I asked JY..."Hey, I bet you want to kick me in the wiener." He replied with..."Yeah, but I can barely feel my legs." Oh yeah! Good times.

After work I got back on the bike. Did more race pace HR work....1 min on / 1 min off intervals....leg spead drills, and to top it off...the road group ride. It was a great ride tonight. Lots of pulling and attacking at speed abouve 26 mph. I am cooked!

Tomorrow was supposed to be my day off, but we are swamped with bikes to build and people coming in and out of the shop, so I will be working tomorrow. So, no Sugar Bottom for me. I will substitute that ride with some fat tire fury out at Greenbelt after the shop.

I am tired, and need to rub them legs down.

Out.

Jeff Kerkove said at 7:44 PM :: ::

Prepare to blow chunks.

Yep the time of this post is correct. I am a morning person. Anyway...

Right now I am getting ready to go and do some "vomit comet" sprints up Look Out Park Hill. Should be a great way to open up the legs this AM. JY will be there to spew the morning fluids with me. What might hit the pavement....coffee?....oatmeal?....Hammer Gel?...a Krispy Kreme donut with sprinkles....another foreign product that was ingested shortly before the workout? Just have to see.

The rest of the day is at the shop from 8 to 2, then it's home for a cat nap followed by the 6:00 road group ride.

Tomorrow I am planning to Sugar Bottom for a mountain bike endurance ride. Going to mess around with some new Maxxis rubber and play with different air pressures in the front and rear suspensions and I am also going to test different dosages of ELETE. Looks like it might be me, Noo-Noo, and Basso. Any others? I have room for 1 other if anyone from CF cares to ride down. Time is not set in stone, but I think I might leave here around 1 bells....get there around 2....ride till dark or shortly there after. Maybe even take the new lights down and do more testing.

T-Minus 1 hour till the "hill of doom"

G-Ted showed me this link at work....CLICK HERE...If you have a fast internet connection, WATCH IT! These guys will make you second guess your risk taking ability on the bike. I am not worthy.

12 Hours of Thunder in South Dakota is next weekend. Anyone else going? Kona Team?

So... I see that Squirrel rides/trains in bibs. No, not bib cycling shorts. But rather, ole farmer Jim-Bobs ratty old bibs. I wonder what the percentage of chaffing those things cause? Bet there is lots of bleeding. Ewwwwwww! Click here is you want to see Squirrel wearing bibs.

Time to go visit the porcelin god and cut some weight...if ya know what I mean. If ya don't...don't ask.

Jeff Kerkove said at 3:30 AM :: ::

Got Nut'n Else Better To Do?

Nothing to do this weekend...or how about nothing to do the next 4 weeks? Give THIS a shot. It might be a good time for the first few days. I think? Good luck to you freaks partaking in this huge helping of pain and suffering.

Jeff Kerkove said at 5:04 AM :: ::

Got Most Of It...

...in today. I am refering to my workout. Headed out at 1 PM for my scheduled 7 hours of bike time today. Thing is, that I only got in 5 of it due to the pouring rains that came at the start of the group ride. I was waiting for the group to show, but no one came. So, I came home. Here is a break down of my bike time today.

1 PM - 3 PM: 2 hours of tempo at 165 bpm HR. Was rained on for about 15 minutes. Could not see 50 yards in front of me. Nothing better than moist wet chamois stuck up your ass crack. Good times.

3 PM- 4 PM: 1 min sprints followed by 3 minutes recovery. No HR here. This is all out, till ya barf. Also chased down cars thru GW State Park. Got a few weird looks from drivers when you are sucking their bumper at 33 mph.

4 PM - 5 PM: Shared Look Out Park Hill with local running guru Joey Woody. I did 1 legged hill repeats, followed by sprinting up the hill in a huge gear. The huge gear was harder than normal. This is a power work out. Form is nothing. This is a very violent sprint using your arms, legs, back, butt, and any other muscle needed to make it up the freek'n hill.

5 PM - 6 PM: Spin around GW waiting till the group ride.

6 PM - 8 PM: Was supposed to be the group ride, but it was a NO GO. I was the only one there. Then the rain came again. Bummer. Oh well, had a good ride up to that.

That is all for now. Time to stretch and elevate the legs.

Out.

Jeff Kerkove said at 5:24 PM :: ::

Still Preping.

So, yesterday I didn't ride. My legs felt like lead pipes, so I just chilled out after work and walked to grocery store to pick up some bananas. This is the first time in like 2 weeks where I have not touched one of my bikes. Right now I feel pretty refreshed and ready to go for todays time in the saddle. Everything on my training schedule is revolving around the 12 Hours of Thunder in the Black Hills of South Dakota.


Photo of Black Hills from some dude on MTBR.com

The rumor floating around is that this event is an azzzzzz kicker. Well have to see. For today, I am putting in a partial day in a the shop on my day off, running to the post office to send some stuff off to Cateye. Then it's onto the road bike for some hill work and road group ride at 6:00 PM.

On Friday I am still planning on Sugar Bottom for some fun saddle time. Most likely won't get down there till 1:00-2:00. Noonan from the Kona Team is planning on meeting me for a bit of off road nirvana till he continues on to IL for one of those evil road races. I might stay late to do more testing with the new light from Cateye. So, if ya want in the "know" on the new light, you are going to have to show up and suffer with me.

That is all for now. Time to head to the shop...then the P.O.....then the bike.

Out.

Jeff Kerkove said at 6:07 AM :: ::

A Fast One!

Get'n ready to head to work for the day. So, I am going to make this quick.

Sunday: Went out in the AM with JY. Ride was supposed to be hard and fast, but JY's legs were not 100% recovered, so we tempo'd for 3 hours. After the ride I headed to work from Noon to 5. Shop was busy, and made up for a very sloooooooow Saturday.

Today: Work from 8 AM to 4 PM. Ride after work if the rain...hail...tornadoes hold off. Just have to wait and see.

In Other News: The Kona Enduro Team was attacked by altitude. I feel your pain. Just one of the small fact of living in the good 'ole Midwest. Don't sweat it, cause when the Westerners come here in July, they die in the heat and humidity.

For Anyone Interested: I have Friday off since I am working the entire weekend. Looking for long mnt bike ride at Sugar Bottom....6-8 hour range. Anyone care to join me? Either leave a comment or e-mail me.

Off to work.

Jeff Kerkove said at 6:06 AM :: ::

Pictures From Hill Workout.

Only 3 of us showed this AM for the hill workout...me, Reed, and Ed. Took a bunch of pictures when breathing and time allowed. Most didn't turn out due to low light conditions. Be some did survive. For a 1 hours total time of climbing, I got up and down that hill 26 times. Oh yeah, feel the burn...oh yeah.



Going up...



....yep, going up.



Reed, get'n on it.



Reed killing the pedals.


Reed about to summit. Can you "summit" Look Out Park Hill?

In other news...
The Kona Enduro Team is racing solo at the 24 Hours of Steamboat out in Colorado. Check out the SITE for live updates.

Out.

Jeff Kerkove said at 4:39 PM :: ::

Yawn....Goooooood Morning.

Here is an early one for ya. It's 4:30 AM, the suns just starting to come up. I am slamming down some liquid black jitter beans in anticipation for the 6:00 AM start time for Look Out Park HIll repeats. I might not be the only one. I send out a broadcast e-mail to all the local cycling freaks, and received a few replies back with some interests. After the intervals up the hill, it's off to work at the shop from 8:30 to 5. Oh, joy. So while I am doing hill repeats, I will be wishing I was in Durango like the Real Joey Thompson doing summit climbs against Tom Danielson and J. Sager

Speaking of Colorado...
When you get up tonight to go to the bathroom at 2:00 AM, just think in the back of you head that you could be like the Kona Boys out in Steamboat Spring, CO climbing up the side of a mountain...in the dark....at 9,000 ft....in 20 degree temps....with snow on the ground. They are out racing in the 24 Hours of Steamboat. Good times....like band camp. Check out the live cam!

G-Ted has pictures of the "thing" that landed at the shop yesterday. I touched it. Also, Ted is out wrenching for a "RAGBRAI like" kegger/ride event today. Look for pictures soon. Should be good.

OK, off to rage.

Out.

Jeff Kerkove said at 3:29 AM :: ::

Early AM Recovery Spin.

Last night was the road group ride. I headed out at 2:30 PM....did some hill work...intervals...more hills...then spun around the park. At 6:00 I hit up the road ride. We rode up thru Finchford...then Jeanesville...then back into Waterloo on Wagner Rd. It was a good ride. Not much attacking, but just taking pulls at 22-26 mph.

This morning was an early spn around on the trail with John and JY. There isn't much to write about on a recovery ride, so I snapped some pictures. Some blurry pictures. Must of been all the coffee this morning before the ride. Dang, I gots me the shakes.


Head'n to the ride on a warm and muggy Friday morning. You can see and feel the humidity in the air. Swamp ass conditions are at peak levels. Check out the new Cateye Enduro Team duds!


JY on the Left....John on the Right



Ride thru GW State Park on the road. Yep, I am still having a hard time holding the camera still.



Big Pimp'n. Jy knows people....who know people....who know other people. He is important. Pimp JY, pimp.

Get to go to work till 8 PM later. Tomorrow is hill work out at Look Out Park at 6 AM on the mnt bike. Be there if you care to get sweaty.

Out.

Jeff Kerkove said at 7:56 AM :: ::

Reason #2,849 Not to Shop at Scheels

Ok, now this is good. Here in Waterloo/CF we have 3 bike shops...Europa, Bike Tech, and Scheels. I really don't consider Scheels a bike shop, since they have the same guys selling guns and fishing poles selling you a bicycle. Weird.

Anyway, I went into Scheels yesterday before work, just to see what they had in stock. I was looking around when this guy came up to me and asked how I was doing. I said "OK" and that I was "Just looking at the goods." Scheels is a Trek and Fisher dealer. Any person that is a bike nut knows that Fisher pretty much put the 29 inch mnt bike on the map, and is the only "big company" offering 29ers as a stock bike out of the catalog.

After looking around for a 29er...and not seeing one...I asked the clerk if they had any 29ers. He looked at me with this blank stare. He then says..."the biggest frames we have a 22.5" I then say..."No, I mean 29 inch wheeled bikes." He then looks at me again with this dumb ass look. He then says...."Let me check." He walks away, and comes back in like 3 minutes. He then utters in a somewhat confident voice..."The only wheel sizes available are 26 inch and 700c. they used to make 27 in, but don't anymore." I then simply replied "OK" with out try to laugh in his face while point my finger at him.

My point being...
Gary Fisher makes a 29 in wheeled mnt bike. They are in the catalog. They are very popular. It is the latest craze in the mnt bike world. Scheels employees need to learn their product. Would you by a bike from a guy who sells fishing lures?

If you buy bikes in Waterloo/CF, please shop at either Europa or Bike Tech. Atleast we all ride and have a passion for the sport. I love bikes...not guns and camo.

Rant off.

Jeff Kerkove said at 6:07 AM :: ::

Sloane's 24 Hour National Race Report.

Here is my Cateye Enduro teammate, Sloane's, write up from his 2nd place finish at Nationals from the Memorial Day weekend. Enjoy!

At the start of the race on Saturday the temperature was near 90 degrees. For the first time in any of my 24-hour races I had two completely identical Giant NRS Air bikes. This was a good feeling knowing that the NRS Air is the perfect bike to have in a 24-hour race. The first and second laps went by in a blur as I completed them in 55 minutes each. This was a comfortably fast pace for me, one in which I could stay near the front but not over do it. It was working perfectly as I was feeling good and in 2nd place by the 5th lap, behind only Chris Eatough. Tinker Juarez had dropped out of the race apparently due to the heat and stomach issues. On the 6th lap Cameron Chamber had passed me and didn't look back. I kept my lap times consistant and my tempo pace steady for most of the first 6 hours. I began to slow down a little though as my energy level was getting low. For whatever reason, I stopped at the 1/2 way mark on lap 7 and threw up. Immediatley I felt much better, even better than before.

It was approaching night time and it was time to put the lights on the bikes. I used the new Cateye lights (which because they are so lightweight didn't even notice them on) for the first couple of hours and then switched to the Stadium 3 lights on the 2nd bike. Because of the weight and the water bottle cage battery of the Stadium 3, I wanted to have the new lights back on very quickly. I was having those charged and after 2.5 hours requested that I have those for the next lap setup. Next lap they were on and I was able to get over 3 hours of burn time out of them. I was using a helmet light as well only through some very technical sections. Otherwise the new light worked extremely well and provided plenty of light.

With my consistant lap times thoughout the night I learned that I was in 2nd place behind Cameron. The biggest his lead had reached was 45 minutes, but I kept trying to minimize that each lap. I had closed the gap to 30 minutes but could never get any closer than that. I also had my own battle going on with the rider in third place, Mario Desimore. He was within 40 minutes of me and trying to close that gap as well.

As Sunday morning arrived the temps were beginning to rise and making for a real battle to the finish. Mario had cut his deficit to 20 minutes and I was still 35 minutes behind Cameron. So far I had no mechanicals and was hoping not to have one now. With the conbination of using Maxxis super light tubes and the Ignitor tires I had nothing to worry about. There were a few sections on the course that was causing riders to flat; there were quite a bit of rocks in most sections. At the start of my final lap I was 45 minutes behind Cameron and only 11 minutes ahead of Mario. I knew I needed to have a fast lap and that's exactly what I did. I recorded a time of 1:11, my fastest lap in nearly 10 hours.

I finished in 2nd with 21 laps and a total of 296 miles in just over 24-hours.

Thanks to all my sponsors for the dependable and durable gear that keeps me comfortable for the entire 24-hours.

In other news...
The Global Championships are starting to look more appealing than World's. Why? Cause Global Championships are cheaper and closer. More money for the winners and high placers. Plus, if I do the Global Champ. I will be able to compete in more local 24 hour events....like 24 Hours of Afton. It's still up in the air. I need money. Sigh.

Ira Ryan...the winner of Trans-Iowa...has been interviewed by RIDE 4 24. CHECK IT OUT!

Tonight....GROUP RIDE! WAHOO!!!

Out.

Jeff Kerkove said at 4:46 AM :: ::

Spin around foiled by weather.

Yeah, so I was going to head out at 7:00 AM for a recovery ride. Well, this freak storm is about to unleash it's fury upon the Cedar Falls / Waterloo Metro area. Looks like I'll have to wait.


Yep, sure looks like it's going to rain and/or hail. The clouds are starting to move in on Cedar Falls. This is looking strait South.



I had to confirm it. Yep, it's coming!

Jeff Kerkove said at 6:15 AM :: ::

Where to go?

So do I go with...

OPTION 1

or

OPTION 2

What do you think? Both are sweet. Both are BIG. Both will bring fame and fortune.

Jeff Kerkove said at 5:10 AM :: ::

Can I get some Electrolytes please?

Holy crap-ola. I am cooked. I just got back about 45 minutes ago, and I look like a sugar cube. I had the day off from work, so I thought to myself...."Hey Dude, get out and suffer you fool." OK, so I did.

I left at 1:30ish all loaded up with nutrition and Hammer Endurolytes. Went out on the road bike. Did some race pace HR work into the 20+ mph south wind. Did some sprints up mother f'n Look Out Park Hill. I hate that dang hill now. I just wish it would die. Waaaaaaaa! All that took me till about 5:15. Then I headed to the shop to grab some food. After my case of the munchies was under control I headed to the road group ride.

I rode over to the ride and was feeling pretty good since I already had 4ish hours of riding in my legs. I was also "on" with my water consumption and Hammer Nutrition consumption. We left town on the TT course and were riding along very easy...17 mph. Once we got to the "T" intersection I started to get the chills. Ooooops, to late. I am dehydrated. I limped on towards Dike with the group, but made it half way cause the chills were getting worse. It was either turn around and ride 7 miles back home, or keep going on the route for another 20.

I turned around. I crawled home at a blistering 16 mph. Now I am here drinking Gatorade, and eating some rock'n grub. So I got in like 6 hours of riding in 93 degree heat with 80%+ humidity. So really it felt like 130 degree....I think?

Out.

Ummm....ahhh...yeah....this dude is way hardcore. CHECK IT OUT!!!

Hey Solo Goat! Results for 24 Hour Nationals are HERE.

Jeff Kerkove said at 6:51 PM :: ::

It's coming!

Should be raging in the new team threads later this week. I can't wait.

Jeff Kerkove said at 12:03 PM :: ::

Busy, busy, busy

Sorry for the lack of posts, but the other night I was abducted by aliens while out on a small ride. They pulled me into their space ship and was forced feed pork rinds while having to listen to Kenny G at a high volume. They were all wearing bicycle helmets that were waaaaaay too big and they kept repeating...."Get 'er done. Get 'er done. Get 'er done." in a nice Southern draw. Weird.

Well.....
Not really.

Actually I have been a shop rat since Friday. Working all day on Sat, Sun, and Mon. It has been super busy at the shop (insert cheering sound here). Today is finally a day off, so I am going to care for the road rocket this AM, then head out for some riding followed by the road group ride tonight at 6:00. Should be good riding today, since the highs are to be near 94 degrees with 80+ humidity. Oh yeah, I can feel it. The swamp ass meter is going to be thru the roof. Today is also a "Clothing Optional" day out at George Wyth State Park...if ya know what I mean.

Yesterday, before I went into work, I did some rode riding for the first time in a week and 1/2. Did 30 miles of tempo followed by 10 sets of one legged hill repeats at L.O. Park Hill. Felt really good, so that means the recovery process is now 100% complete from the last 12 hour.

Also, this past weekend the great Lorenz let my barrow and watch the movie Napoleon Dynamite. So I loaded it up on the Mac G5 and watched this flick on the 21 inch cinema display. F'n brilliant. I laughed so hard I had a gut ache. If you like movies that are stupid-funny, watch this movie. I lent the movie to G-Ted last night. He should enjoy it...I hope. Sweeeeeet. Sigh.

Let's see what else is there...
Looks like my 24 hour race schedule will go late in the year this year. Looking to get events under my belt in July, August, Sept., and Oct. If that is the case it appears to one race a month. That's it. Time to start looking for races.

Solo Goat shows the proper way to be a male model with his photo shoot. Check it out!

Oh...
Want a good 24 Hour event to try? Are you a endurance newbie? What to get a team together and race on a friendly course? Check into the 24-9. It's the largest 24 hour event east of them Rocky Mountains. You'll dig it.

Time to surf....drink coffee...work on road rocket....then ride.....ride....ride....ride...ride...ride...ride...rest.

Out.

Jeff Kerkove said at 5:10 AM :: ::

Track all those miles.

Need to keep track of all those miles on the mnt bike....or even the road rocket? Say hello to the newest addition to the Cateye computer line up. The Micro Wireless. This little gem takes the place of the former Wireless 7. This guy can be mounted on the stem of handle bar...BONUS! It has all the traditional functions. Plus, they have now added a back lit LED. So for you enduro freaks, just push the button, and presto!! You can see this thing at night while suffering on that 2 AM lap. Sweeeeeeeet!



I mounted the Micro Wireless to the stem to save room on the h'bar for lights and HR monitor.


Micro Wireless looks at home mounted to the TruVativ Team 31.8 stem.


The sensor mounts very easily to any fork with two simple zip ties.

So, if you are hunting for a new computer, check out the Micro Wireless from Cateye. You won't be disappointed. Really, have you ever had problems with any Cateye computer? That's what I thought.

Jeff Kerkove said at 8:57 AM :: ::

It's a bit moist out.

The weekend is here. For me I will spend all Saturday and Sunday at the shop. Not really a huge deal, since I really need the cash flow. The weather is starting to act a lot more like summer. The highs the last few days have been near or slightly above 80 degrees. Plus, through in a super high humidity and you have a perfect mixture for prime swamp ass conditions. With conditions like these, you also get the fun little thunder boomers that go along with it. As I type this, a thunder storm is rolling through. I just scoped out the radar, and it looks like it might rain for awhile. Bad thing about the rain is it might slow the shop down quite a bit. We'll just have to see.

Sunday before heading into the shop, I am planning on hitting up the local hill for some hill work. Need to work on some climbing specifics for the up coming 12 Hours of Thunder in the Black Hills. If you have never been to the Black Hills, just think of the terrain in the foothills of the Rockies around the Denver metro area. Let's just say, with almost 1800 feet of climbing per 10ish mile lap it won't be a cake walk. Training this time of year for enduros is not as time consuming. No longer am I doing long 5-8 hour rides, but rather 1-3 hour all out suffer fests. In other words....high intensity!

The next 2 weeks will be hard...and then the week leading up to the event I will start to chill out a bit. I am also going to be through in some heat acclimation training. Yep, you read that right. I will go out in the great Iowa heat in either a long sleeve base layer or a long sleeve jeresy. People look at you weird, but it works. You need to teach your body to adapt to the heat just like you teach it to adapt to lactic acid by doing sprints. Also during this time I am going to dial in my ELETE intake. They are sending me a bunch of product...so, if you see me at an event come up and ask about ELETE. I will have stuff for ya!

So there is today's blog. Hope you learned something. If not, I hope that the swamp ass conditions are low in your next of the woods.

Out.

Jeff Kerkove said at 6:03 AM :: ::

Recovery complete...almost.

I am just about fully recovered recovered from last Saturdays 12 hour race. Since Monday, I have been doing nothing but working and getting in 1 hour easy mnt bike rides in. Today, I went out for 2 hours on the mnt bike, then followed the road group ride out of town. My legs are finally starting to get their spunk back. Should be back to normal by either Saturday or Sunday.

My next race looks to be another 12 hour event. This time it's the 12 Hours of Thunder in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Rumor from the race director is that there is lots of rocky terrain, and almost 2000 ft of climbing per 10 mile lap. Sweeeeeet. Should be a good times. I hope.

I am really itching for a 24 hour event. But, they are all atleast a 1 day drive either West or East of the state of Iowa So, it looks like my first 24 hour event will be the 24-9 in Wisconsin at the end of July. Maybe I can find something else. Anyone got any suggestions?

So for training leading up to the 12 hour in SD I am looking at some longer mnt bike rides up in either Decorah or down at Sugar Bottom, hill work outs, mnt bike on the road group rides. And just for a change of pace I am going to be doing more night rides with the new light from Cateye.

OK, that is all. Time to much on some grub and read the new Velonews.

Out.

Jeff Kerkove said at 6:50 PM :: ::

Cateye Enduro 2nd at 24 Hour Nationals!

Sloane rage'n
Photo from Photoviewer.biz

My teammate, Sloane, finished 2nd overall in the solo mens race this past weekend in Spokane, WA. Stay tuned to his blog for a recap of the event.

Way to go Sloane!!!

Jeff Kerkove said at 5:05 PM :: ::

Everything Has To Work Just Right.

To prove my point that everything has to be dialed in...fitness, nutrition, equipment, good luck...to be successfull at endurance racing, just read THIS. The link is to Chris Eatough's race report from 24 Nationals. He fell into the same pit-o-doom I did at 24 Hours of Moab, by not balancing water and electrolyte intake. He ended up with the symptoms of hyponatrenia. Please read up on hyponatrenia using this LINK. It is a serious and life-threatening condition that can occur anytime there is prolonged exercise in hot weather. Know what you need to do to prevent this from happening, and just as important, learn how to recognize it in someone else and what action to take.

Mr. Eatough should'a slam down some ELETE to help solve this issue.

Thanks to Jason for the links listed above. Check out his SITE.

FYI...
As of today, this blog is 1 year old. Who would'a thunk?

Jeff Kerkove said at 4:54 AM :: ::