On Sat. we will be doing the Tour de Sebastian Joe's ride. The route will be aprox. 55 miles, and will take us into SW Minneapolis where we will make a pit stop for coffee at Sebastian Joe's at 44th and Upton. This will be an easier tempo ride. Start time 7am, ride at 7:15 sharp.

We have a good one on tap for tomorrow. The Ravena Trail route going counter-clockwise for 55 mi. See you at 7am ride at 7:15. The ride will also include a shorter version.

The Tip of the Week is all about ride etiquette. What I mean by this is all group rides experience new riders that show up and ride like they have something to prove as far as their speed and aggressive riding. As recently as last Wed. on the fast Penn Cycle ride, this happened and PO'd a few people. Even Paul Inkala's ride is a group ride in which he tries his hardest to make it enjoyable for everyone including group up spots on the route and stopping for flats. So here's a helpful tip that will keep you out of hot water when riding other group rides. Leave your Superman Cape behind and check your ego. There is an old school saying that goes like this: Do As They Do, Not As You Do!

Last weekend on the Minnesota Grand Fondo we had 2 riders that finished the 100 miles in 10th and 13th place. Bob Ashton @ 5:03 and Alain Crosfield @ 5:06. Congrat's to you both.

Scot McCabe and Bob Cumming's have been missing in action so far. Scot with his knee issues and Bob with his stroke issues and being on blood thinners. Both of these are a short term issue. Also, heal up Scott Hebel after crashing out at the Tues. Night World's last week in Minnetonka.

We have met our fund raising goal for Rosemount Cycling and paying for the expensive website. We have a large amounts of hits on this website every year that benefit you and others that are unknown. So again thanks for all you do, and also patronizing our sponsor Grand Performance. You keep Dan Casebeer smiling.

I've contacted the riders who ordered a new kit. I'm sure you'll be happy with the quality and $. For next year we might have to do a reorder.

See You Tomorrow

Lots of info. this week. Tomorrow we will be doing the Orchard Lk. route counter-clockwise. You have your choice of either 35 mi. or 53 mi. Hope to get out today and add a couple more sprints on CR 66 between Hwy.3 and CR. 81. Supposed to rain Sun.,so lets have a good showing.

The Tip this week is all about climbing. This simple tip which I have mentioned before deserves it again. Most every rider has a weakness in all 3 riding disciplines. Time trialing, sprinting or climbing. You all have been in the position of being the last rider to get to the top of a climb at one time or another, only to be gaped when that heart of yours at between 150-180 bpm's says please stop. And of course catching back up to the group at this point is nearly impossible. So, I've got the remedy that can help. Before you get to the climb position yourself if not at the front, close to it. That way as you drift back being passed by other riders hopefully you won't be at the back when the climb ends. For steeper ascents try and not look at the top. Concentrate on what's 10-30 ft. in front of you. Also standing if possible as long as you can, and keeping a smaller gear vs. a larger and higher rpm's will also help you improve this weakness. Practice, practice when you are out on a solo ride!

For those of you who ordered another kit, got some good news. They are in the mail right now. I'll be contacting you about picking them up.

The Giro d' Italia starts this weekend. Most of the televised parts will be on Universal Sports. Check it out at universalsports.com. Also there will be the Tour of Calif. preview show Sunday on NBCSports from 3-4pm. Always remember to set your recorders to go longer than what the network says.

A couple great articles in the paper today. Check out James Lileks article. He has got to be the best writer on the staff as far as unique writing and sense of humor. Also on the same page, Federal funding for bike routes pays off in the twin cities.

See you tomorrow at 7am.

We'll keep them all crossed and hope for no rain. Sat. looks like this. The Orchard Lk. route going counter-clockwise for 37 mi. Once we get to Farmington and Hwy.3 there will be the option of another 18 miles going east on CR 66 to CR 81 north to CR 46 west back to Rosemount. For the last 18 miles it will anything goes as far as speed, tactics and the 2 sprints.

The wind is the topic for the Tip of the Week. I've mentioned this in the past, but needs it again for your survival in windy conditions. Either the wind can be your friend or foe. Even the Pro's can misjudge the effects it can have in a race from time to time. The name of the game is conserving energy. That's what I do on the Wed. night Penn Cycle rides which usually average 22-23 mph. Knowing which direction it is from, and getting into position especially prior to taking turns that can quickly change a tailwind into a severe crosswind is paramount to surviving til the end. On our rides that's why you might here me say ride further to the right or left in order to benefit everyone in back of the lead rider. Keep this tip on your mind all the time and you to will be a better more accomplished rider because of it.

Hope you are watching NBCSports if you have it. The Tour de Romandie finishes up this Sunday and as of right now it's a stage race that is very tight on GC ( General Classification). Hope these races inspire you all to get out and ride more often.

Ride time is 7:00am

Looks like we will luck out between the rain. Start time is 7am, leave at 7:15 sharp. The route we will ride will be the Cannon Falls ride going clock-wise for aprox. 58 miles. Just like last week there will be an early turnaround for those of you looking for less.

Hope you enjoyed Paris-Roubaix last week." Tom the Terrific" did it again. Although the chasing group should have helped out the 4 Sky riders early in the race to close the gap, or tried to close the gap on Boonen. A little negative racing in my opion.

See you tomorrow

This Sat. we will start our ride at 7 am. Hopefully we won't get wet. I'm planning on doing a long one with a shorter version heading back aprox. 20 miles short of the long one. The route is the Meisville route that's on our web page. It's a 70 miler. So that's the plan right now, although it might change due to the weather.

Had a fantastic time in Encinitas, CA. thanks to Charlie Townsend and his wife Sherry. 9 days and aprox 400 mi. One of the highlights was a 70 mile ride with Pete Penseyres who was the Race Across America aka RAAM winner in 1984 & 86. Was very curious about his training program leading up to his victories and this is what he said. He commuted 70 miles to and from work 5 days a week. On the weekends he did a double century on Sat. and also on Sunday. for a total of about 900 per week. He did that for 7 weeks straight. Oh, not to mention that he slept a mere hour and a half every 24 hrs. Ya, this is not a typo! The ride with him was 7,000 ft. of climbing in 70 miles. In other words, 100 ft. every mile. And these guys were mostly in their 60's. If you ever get a chance to ride in what I call Gods Country for athlete's give it a try. My wife and I are planning on it for our winters in 2 years.

If you click here you will be able to download the 2012 club membership application. Please fill it out and get it back to me either by mail or on Sat. I hope you agree that for $20 you get a lot of bang for your buck. Thanks to Joel Wiens for updating our blog every year for which he deserves to be paid.

I'll be in sunny Calif. for 9 days of riding the next 2 Saturday's. Never thought I'd say I have to go southwest for some cooler weather. Anyway, Don Dilla will lead next Sat. at 8am. Not sure about who leads the following Sat., but that will also be a 8am start.

Starting 3/25 on NBC Sports is the start of the major races to be aired.
The Criterium International is 3/25 at 11pm.
Tour of Flanders is 4/1 at 8:30am
Paris Roubaix is 4/8 at 9am
Fleche Wallone is 4/21 at 12:30 am
Remember to set your recording with an extra hour to be on the safe side. Go to www.nbcsports.com for more.

Everyone needs new water bottles to start the new season. I'm impressed with my Purist bottle that has a valve that opens and closes like a heart valve when under pressure by squeezing. No drips from that sweet concoction to get on your frame. My opinion is it beats the Camelback type.

This Sat. we will meet at 8 am for the Northfield route. This is a 60 miler with a turn around for those looking for less. Will be making a pit stop at the Ole' Store if they are open. Otherwise the Blue Moon on Main St. You are experiencing a once in a lifetime winter and spring at least in my 40 yrs. of riding.

We all knew this was coming at some point. At least we made up for a wet and cold spring over the last month. No, we are not riding on Sat. From this point on I will email you if there is a chance of getting in a ride on the weekend even if it is a Sat. or Sun. afternoon and the temp is in the 40+ range.

This Sat. is the State Cyclocross Championship in Golden Valley. Looks like perfect CX weather like they would have in Belgium. For more info go to www.mcf.net and click on the calendar. Womens race begins at 1:00 followed by the men. If you happen to see me and I have a big smile on my face that's because I have a bottle of blackberry brandy in my pocket.

Are we riding tomorrow you ask? Is a 40 pound robin fat? Start time 8:00. High of 58, low of 33. The route is Orchard Lake going counter-clockwise for 40 mi. Next week temps return to or below normal. See you tomorrow which could be the last ride of the year.

Happy Veterans Day!

To start with we will be back to a 8:00 am start this Sat. because of the warmer start conditions. Last Sat. as you know we started at 9 instead. I think that will be the format when the temp is in the lower 30's. Had nooo complaints from anyone about the 9 start last week. As of right now I'm not sure of the route. It will be in the 40-45 mi. neiborhood. Whatever route we take I'm sure you agree with me that anything outside this time of the year is a +!

Some of you will welcome a 9am start time on Sat. and some of you are thinking that Gary is really getting to be a "wimp". I've always been a wimp when the temp is 32. So that said, we will be riding the Orchard Lk. route clock-wise for a short ride of just 37 mi. That way we'll be back at Starbucks at aprox. 11:15. Enough time so you won't get into trouble with you know who about "The List!".

Yea, we'll take it! High 60, Low 42. Can't get much better than that. Just a slightly different route for a change. CR 46 east to CR 81 south to CR 66, west to CR 79, south to CR 47, north to Hampton and continuing to Hasting's and back to CR 46. From their we will do our usual route past the lock and dam where we will have a quick pit stop and down an energy bar and a couple gels if needed to keep up with the "anything goes" part of the ride at CR 85 and Hwy. 55. This is not on map my ride but, am guessing our usual 50 miles.

A new start time of 8 am will take effect for riders to get to Starbucks without being lit up like a Christmas tree. Ride at 8:15 sharp!!!

Yes, our Saturday's together are coming to an end soon. Seems as though I repeated those same words 6 months ago instead of 12. The route we'll be riding on Sat. is the Cannon Falls loop going counter-clockwise with a short pit stop in C.F.

Tempo riding is the format we always use on these rides. For us tempo means aprox. 80-85% of your effort. On a flat road with no wind it is 20-22 mph. Throw in a 15 mph cross wind and that will be less. I hope that all of you especially the "strong legged" riders understand why this is so important. No one in the group will complain if you want to take a long pull at the front and get a better workout than in the draft. Or, sit off the back of the group a few seconds like Bob McEnaney used to do. So pay attention to your bike computer and everyone will have a safe workout. On the second half of the ride on Sat. the "hammer goes down" at CR 62 and CR 85. At that point everyone should know where they are, and the pace can go from hard to extremely hard. Please show up on time for the 7:45 leave time.

Here's a heart warming story about Max Johnson who is the son of Dean and Maria Johnson a few houses south of me. Max and I have been riding together on Wed. am's for 2 mo's now. He is home schooled so can ride at that time. Just like alot of you who have young kids I enjoy passing along riding tips to Max. A week ago we were riding north on Hwy. 3 up the 3 rollers north of Farmington. We had a slight tail wind so I told Max to hold onto my rear wheel. I slowly wanted to put the heat on him to see what would happen. At 22 mph he held onto me for all 3. At the top of number 3 I asked him if he was doing 100%. His reply, 80%! He reconsidered at 90%. Last Wed. we got caught in the rain so I told him to hang in the draft as long as possible because of the cold rain and wind in the last 5 miles. I always turn my head and ask how he's doing on a semi hard effort. His reply was a hesitant ok when it's great most of the time. So here's the best part of this story. Max ran a 5:30 mile 2 days before our wet ride. His ride is a mountain bike with the knobby tires making that gentle hum and weighing at least 30lbs. until he grows into his road machine next year. I forgot to mention that Max will be 13 soon. Stories like Max's and Dylan Knutson's who went from a junior to a Cat. 2 in one year is what Rosemount Cycling is all about. Of course with your own personal story!

Thanks to Dave Pramann who led the 50 miler last week. Dave and I have been friends for 30 years now and has many accomplishments on the bike besides winning a lot of races. He is now the coordinater of the Arrowhead 135 which is held in January in northern Minn. He won that event 2 times and got 3rd two times. He also does Cheqmegon on his Pugsley with 17lbs of air in the tires in a time of 2:30-2:44. He's looking for riders this year for the Arrowhead 135 where it was 40 below zero last year on the trail. "Any Takers?".

Autumnal juxtaposition of harvest and color, this Sat we leave from Lakeville Starbucks (corner of Co. rd. 46 and I-35 next to Fitness19). ~50 miles circumnavigating Orchard, Cleary, Cedar and multiple small Minnesota lakes, traversing suburban McMansions and rural splendor. No primes, no prizes just October riding. Going rain or shine, riding by 7:45am and back a little after 10am.

This Sat. we will be doing the Ravena Trail route clock-wise for aprox. 55 mi. Hope to have a good turnout since our Saturday's for nice weather are coming to an end soon. Meet time 7:30, leave at 7:45. High of 66, low of 43.

On Sat. 10/9 Dave Pramann will be leading the ride out of Burnsville. He's sending me ride info. next week. Said it will be aprox. 50 mi. going S.W. I'll pass it on as soon as I can.

If you haven't seen a Cyclocross race here's your chance. Yes, riding, running, jumping and of course falling all with a bike attached to you in some way. Go to mcf.net for more info. I'm looking forward to it.

Looks like a great day shaping up. Lets hope for no wind. More in a couple days on the ride.

Here's a subject that is the most important tip yet. Assuming can be a very dangerous word. No matter how long we ride I'm sure you have all said to yourselves at one time or another, "what a stupid move" on my part. To avoid being carried away in an ambulance keep these few tips in mind all the time. After all, a big percentage of bike accidents is due to rider error.

1. Never assume that the car on your left while approaching an intersection will go straight instead of taking a right turn in front of you. A lot of drivers have no idea how fast we are riding. So if that car starts to slow down it's better to let them pass by you.


2. Eye to eye contact with drivers is a "biggie" especially at intersections. Or you can also watch to see if there wheels start to move. I try to cover my brakes at all intersections just in case.


3. Never assume that the parked car on the side of the road with a head behind the wheel will not open the drivers door in front of you. his is more important if you live in a big city like Mpls., or St. Paul. In this case, did you know that it is illegal to open up your drivers door? Cleve Peterson found that out on the Parkway in Mpls. a long time ago.


4. Never assume that a driver will not cross over the fog line into the shoulder. A lot of drivers I see on Hwy. 3 have no idea that it is illegal to cross over a solid white or yellow line. So don't hug that line.


5. Always ride as far to the right as you can when there is that binding rising or setting sun. That happened to us just last week on the Penn ride. If you can't see, they can't also.


6. Never assume that a car with it's turn signal on will turn.


7. If you commute when it's still dark outside ride as though you are invisable even though you have a headlight and a taillight.


8. Practice being a defensive rider all the time and you will benefit from it at one time or another.

This Saturday we will be doing the Orchard Lk. route going counter-clockwise. As usual when we get into Farmington on Hwy.3 you will have a choice to add another 15 miles by going east on CR 66 to CR 81 north back to CR 46 west to make it a total of aprox. 48 mi. There are 2 sprints on 81, and 2 on CR 46. Remember the start time is at 7:30.

Next Sat. will be the Tour de Pepin which I mentioned last week. Meet at McDonalds on Hwy 61 just west of downtown Red Wing at 7:30. We will more than likely be riding clock-wise this year. There is a long climb on the Wisc. side and 3 on the Minnesota side. This is a tempo ride going a little slower to take in all the scenery, but you will still get a good workout on the climbs. The distance is 90 miles. If there is any doubt in your mind about wheather you can do this mileage with the climbs please consider if you can do this ride without slowing everyone up. There will more than likely a few riders showing up at Starbucks instead because of the long time commitment of about 5 1/2 hrs. for the 90. Please email me if you are showing up at Starbucks and I will pass it on to you next week at this time. Remember also that if there is a chance of rain on Sat., Sunday will be the ride day. Don't want to get wet in these temps. I'll send out an email about 5:30 Sat. if it is cancelled until Sun. which will be the same time.

GOOD LUCK to those of you doing Chequamegon this weekend! Keep your eyes on Jeff Wyrens if you can and don't loose his wheel. Jeff always finishes very fast!!

This Sat. we will do the Cannon Falls ride counter-clock wise. It's a 57 miler that can be found here. We'll have the same ride format which is a tempo ride of 20-22 mph on the flats. Coming back to Rosemount at the intersection of CR 85 and CR 62 will be the anything goes ride. This will give the strong legs aprox. 15 miles of "hammering". By the way we will have a new start time of 7:30, ride at 7:45 sharp!

Now for the good stuff. On Sat. Sept 24th with the 25th used in case of rain on the 24th, we will do our Tour de Pepin ride. This is a 90 miler which will also be a tempo ride of 20-22 mph on the flats. There are 4 climbs of a mile or slightly more at 6% that you can hammer up. We will all group up at the top on all 4. We will meet in Red Wing at the McDonalds just a couple mi. west of downtown on Hwy. 61 at 7:30 and leave there at 7:45 to park our cars just 1 mile east off the sevice road at the parking lot for the Cannon Valley Trail. I checked out the dates of the Flood Run for the motor bikes and it is the week before so our ears won't be ringing from all the exhaust noise from the Harleys like we had 2 years ago. Bring power bars etc. and plenty to drink because we will only be stopping at the Eagles Nest coffee shop in Wabasha which is the half way point. Make sure you have a couple long rides in before this ride to make it more enjoyable for everyone and also so we won't have to wait for riders who don't have the fitness.

We will be doing the Northfield route on Sat. See you at Starbucks at 7:00.

Fritz has had some positive response to Cannon Falls and possibly Welch on Labor Day. Satarbucks at 7:00. We'll talk more about it tomorrow.

Bob McEnaney is recovering from hip surgery at Lakeview Hosp. in Stillwater. This has been affecting him for quite a while now and he finally decided it was time to have it corrected. It was a hip resurfacing that was done on Wednesday. Knowing Bob he'll be on the stationary bike soon! More when I talk to him.

Charlie Townsend and his wife Sherry are in Bend, Ore. competing in the National Championships. Last year they won Gold in the Tandem T.T. This year they lost the gold medal by "10 seconds". Silver is great, but I'm sure they will both be asking each other about the 10 revolutions of the crank that made the difference. I know because I lost the State T.T. by 7 seconds 20 years ago. Would have rather loose by 30 sec. or more. Charlie and Sherry ride with us once or twice a year, the last being mid June down to Hasting's when we all got very wet. GOOD LUCK in the criterium.

See you tomorrow!

Doing a turn around for a change. This tip can be sooo important yet, it is seldom practiced on a weekly basis. SPRINTING if practiced a couple times a week can greatly improve your riding ability in a couple ways that will help you on our rides as well as racing. Everyone wants to know more about your body and what it can do right? Sprinting will tell you if you have "fast twitch or slow twitch muscle fiber". It will also help you develope quick speed that will help you close a gap between riders in a moments notice that can make the difference between winning a race or simply finishing the coffee ride with the lead group when the hammer goes down! And this is how easy it is. All of you come home from a training ride on the same road in the same direction at least once a week. Try and use a flat section of the road. Pick out a reference point like a sign off to the side or say a Rosemount city limits sign otherwise known as a "prime" to us old guys. The usual distance is about the 200 meter mark depending on the wind and if it's an uphill sprint then it would be closer. So, here's the best thing about these drills. They can show you how you're improving after just a few times. Your first bench mark should be 30 mph. With more practice winding your bike up to speed just before you make a jump out of the saddle, staying low, pulling up with your right hand while in the drops as your right leg is in the power stroke, and acurate shifting at the right time will make you a different more confidant rider. After the first sprint let your heart rate come down and recover before you try it again. These are "sprint intervals." Don't get discouraged though if your max. speed seems to hit a plateau once you get up to say 32 mph.When I was racing I could constantly hit 36-37 mph but seldom 38, and never 39 on the flats. So, I'm challenging all of you to give this type of training a try. And with all the sprint marks I've painted on our roads we ride a lot you have no excuses.

Sept. 24th is our annual Tour de Pepin with Sun. being a backup if it's raining. More on this ride later so, put it on your calendar.

This Sat. it is Northfield here we come. More on this and Fritz's Monday ride later.

Another great day for Saturday's ride. We did this route last year about this time and everyone seemed to like it. We will ride into Mpls. and hook up with the Greenway Trail just off the west River Rd. Go around Lk. Calhoun to Sebastian Joe's for Java. From there we will be heading back via the west Parkway around the airport on the service road, cross over the river on the 494 bridge to Hwy 13, hook up with Johnny Cake Rd where the "anything goes" part of the ride begins. Up until that point it will be our usual tempo ride where everyone stays together. Total distance will be aprox. 50 miles and will take a little longer to ride 50 out here because of the stop signs. Sorry I can't be specific about all the left and right turns until I update map my ride next year.

Most of you already know about the 1st annual stage race in Colorado going on right now. This is being broadcast on Versus along with I believe is the Tour of Spain. I just got home from being out of town for the past 4 days so am out of the loop. You can also see stage video of the stages on velonews.com.

Just noticed on the front page of the twin cities part of the Star Tribune that the city of Mpls. is hiring a bike coordinator. This is coming from Mayor R.T. Ryak's office. The position will earn between 61,000-84,000 a year. The money for the position comes from unfilled part-time positions in public works, said public works director Steve Kotke. I knew Steve when I was a young foreman who worked with him when he was an enginer for the city 20 years ago. That said, if you need a referal I might be able to help out. I'd be applying if I were 15 years younger.

See you Sat. at 7:00.

Another nice day on tap for tomorrow. You will have the option of riding two distances. The longer of the two will be a 70 miler down to Ravena Tr. to Treasure Island, up to Hwy. 61 to Meisville and back to Rosemount. The shorter version which I will be doing because of the lack of miles on my legs will be to go north on Ravena Tr. instead of south. This shorter route will be aprox. 50 miles in length. The longer route is posted on our web site under the 50+ miles with Meisville on it. For those of you who have never been on this route it is a favorite of a lot of riders, but is a time consuming ride of at least 4 hrs. with a pit stop in Meisville before heading back. We will sort things out as far as what you want when we get to Ravena Trail.

See you at Starbucks at 7:00.

Tomorrow we will be doing the Hastings route clock-wise with a quick pit stop at the lock and dam. As usual we will be going N.W. at the intersection of CR 46 and CR 47. We'll decide at that point if the ride will go to CR 62 or put a few more miles on and go to Hampton. For those of you wanting only 35 miles you have a choice at the 46, 47 point to stay on 46 back to Rosemount.

For those of you who have Scram components, did you know that instead of using Scram you have a second choice of using Shimano's Dura Ace or Ultegra for your chain and cogset choice? This info. came to my from Fritz. Could save you some bucks.

Just remember now that the setting sun in the west is getting to that "blinding" stage where you have trouble seeing, remember not to get caught on a road with no shoulder. The cars coming up on you from behind also have problems seeing like you do.

Finally I'll be there tomorrow for the ride. 7:00 meet, 7:15 ride.

Sat. looks to be a good one weather wise. It's been awhile since we did the Northfield loop so, that's what on tap. We will ride clock-wise. We will keep it under 60 miles by going south on Hwy. 3 to CR. 66 east to CR 47 into Northfield. We will use the usual route from there back to Rosemount. The route can be found here.

Jeff wanted me to mention his sprint training rides again. So if you ever have a Monday off of work and would like to join him for some very informational rides give him a call at 952 432-8773. Give it a try because this time of the year a lot of us should be looking for something a little different and challenging. Thanks again Jeff!

It's been a while since I've given you a Tip of the Week. This is a simple one that you might want to use the next time you clean your bike. My bike has 28 of these and most of them are 4mm in size. From time to time these bolts can loosen up without you know it. By the way, don't forget the 2 that hold your brakes on the bars.

Thanks again Scott for some new roads last Sat. out of Prior Lk. Nothing planned away from Starbucks until Sept. 24th when I hope to do the Tour of Lake Pepin. Dave Pramann will do one on Oct. 8th. See You Sat. at 7:00.

For anyone wanting to ride out of Starbucks tomorrow, Matt Mclean said he would be there at 7:00.

Meet at 7am at Edelweiss Bakery in Downtown Prior Lake. Parking at the bakery is limited so I would park a block away and ride to the bakery, the Prior Lake Farmers Market is from 8-noon as well in the same area. Route is rolling hills with two long climbs about a mile long. I will have a sprint at the top of one of the climbs and near Mystic Lake Casino at the end. I'm working on some prizes for the sprints.

http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/43564240/

This Sat. Scott Hebel is leading a ride from downtown Prior Lk. He is riding the route as we speak to make sure there are no surprises such as road construction. The question I have for you is that Scott's ride will be aprox. 60 mi. Some of you can't get away for that much time so am wondering if any of you are interested in showing up at Starbucks for your own ride at 7:00. Email if you are interested so I can pass it on to others looking for a shorter less time consuming ride. Trying to make everyone happy.

Now that the Tour is fresh in your mind, there is a great article by Robert Millar at cyclingnews.com that will help educate you especially about what happened from a Pro's point of view in the last week of racing. It's a good one!!

Hope to be back on the bike soon. Have been suffering with swollen and sore ankles and wrists for the last 6 weeks and is getting better. 2011 as you know has not been good to me. But yes, my bottle of beer is half full and hope to see you soon.

I remember my last issue of Velo News. On the cover dressed in yellow from last year was a picture of Andy Schleck. The caption under the picture said: Schleck," Unfinished Business." Hope you got a chance to see today's stage. Maybe you're watching right now.

On Sat. we will do the Orchard Lk. route going counter-clockwise. As usual when getting into Farmington there is an additional loop going east on CR 66 off of Hwy. 3 going east to CR 81 north back to CR 46 west. Those of you who want 34 miles will ride north on Hwy.3 from Farmington. The extra loop on 66 will add an extra 15 mi. to the short loop.

Looking ahead to 7/30, Scott Hebel will be leading a ride from downtown Prior Lake. The ride will be 50-60 miles in length. I'm sure as Scot McCabe's ride a couple weeks ago all of you will enjoy some new roads for a change. I'll pass more info. onto you as soon as Scott sends it to me.

I'm starting to wonder if Alberto Conador wishes he would have skipped the Giro even though he won. There is a reason why both Greg LeMond and Lance focused only on the TdF.

Ride time on Sat. at 7:15 sharp!

Scott McCabe will be leading the ride this week.

Location: Caribou Coffee Lakeville location at the NE corner of 185th Street and I 35 (18444 Kenrick Avenue Lakeville, MN 55044). This is in the small shopping plaza near Applebee’s, in front of the Target/Best Buy stores

Time: Meet at 7:00am depart by 7:15am

Route: The route will follow familiar roads of the beginning and end of the Ironman Ride, along with a portion of the Scott County 50 held on July 4th. We will head south on the I 35 service road (Kenrick) then west on credit river road. We will shift south to CR 8 west past the Minnesota Hunt Club and HWY 13 before the final South leg on Redwing Rd. Once we hit HWY 2, we will turn back East to New Market (about 30 mile pt) where we will take a short stop at the convenience store in town to refuel. We will leave New market to HWY 91 going North and work our way back into Lakeville. The route is about 52 miles, and is rolling with some longer uphill sections. Generally low traffic on all of the route, except HWY 2 which has a good shoulder and moderate traffic.

The TdF is getting more interesting by the day. Because of Contador's loosing time because of the crash, he'll be looking for even the smallest gap to put time on his competition. Of course, that is if he can because of his Giro win that might have left him less rested. I believe there are only 2 or 3 riders that have won both the Giro and TdF in the same year. It will also be interesting to see who will have the legs to be the leader on Radio Shack and how the team will handle Levi's lose of time in today's stage. Chris Horner who won the Tour of Calif. was quoted that no one can drop him but Alberto. He's my guy for the G.C. (general classification. He just might be the "dark horse" rider at the age of 39 to be able to climb with the best.The 1st big test will come next Thurs., Fri. and Sat. when the real race begins.

See You Sat. in Lakeville at 7:00.

Looks like a good one for Sat. It's been a few weeks since we were in Cannon Falls so, lets do it again going clock-wise this time. We'll have a short pit stop in town. Distance is 55 mi. There will be a turn-around for those who want less mileage.

Now that it's getting close to TdF time here are a few facts from Velo News:

1.1985 was the last year a French rider won. That was Bernard Hinault with Greg LeMond as his teammate.
2.Only 450,000 Euros for prize money for the winner. The winner gives all this $ to the entire team and support staff.
3.Most number of career stage victories was 34 by Eddy (the cannibal) Merckx.
4.The fastest road stage was 50.355 kph, won by Mario Cipollini. in 1999.
5.The fastest T.T. over 20 km is still held by Greg LeMond. Can't recall the speed.

Looks like we finally get a nice ride in tomorrow. We have not used the Ravena Trail route yet this year. It is listed under longer Hasting's route on our web site. It's a 56 miler with no pit stops other than a corn field if necessary until we get to Hasting's at the 38 mi. mark. We'll be going counter-clockwise.

The Tip of the Week is all about flat tires. If you use a CO2 cartridge make sure it is a 16 gram to get you up to 100 lbs. And the most important part is to make sure you have 2 of them along with 2 tubes. Nothing can be more frustrating than to be out on a solo ride and have a flat right away, and then being a victim of circumstances and have another one and you're at least 20 miles from home. At this point you're thinking "what if ?", could it possibly happen? A 3rd flat can be a big problem with no one at home to rescue you. Of course, this happening to you is a very rare occurrence, but things do happen beyond our control once in a while.

Scot McCabe and Scott Hebel will be leading a ride this month starting with Scot M on the 9th, and Scott H. on the 30th. Both rides will start in a different location than Rosemount. More on these rides later.

Looks like we luck out again for Sat. Every year I do a Mystery Ride. That said, tomorrow we will be doing an aprox. 55 miler going north. There will be a lot of left turns, right turns yelled out by me. For some of you this means roads that you have never been on before. There will be some nice climbs now that your legs are finally getting into shape. This ride will take more time to ride than a 55 miler out here in Dakota Co. Start time 7:00, ride at 7:15.

The Nature Valley Grand Prix rolls into town on Wed. We are very fortunate to have an event like this that has something for everyone including kids races. Check out the video by on the main page by going to nature valley grand prix.

This weekend the stage race Criterium du Dauphine Libre goes into the mountains. This race is a dress rehearsal for the upcoming TdF to see who's form is starting to take shape.

Dale Sedgwick is doing a great job in answering your questions. Did I mention that you can see all the questions and answers by clicking on Ask A Pro on our home page.

Sure is nice to think we can not only ride on Sat., but leave the arm and leg warmers behind. The route will be the Orchard Lk. route which we will do counter-clockwise. When we get into Farmington you have the choice of going north on Hwy. 3 for aprox. 35 mi. Usually we will add another 15 mi. to this and go east on CR 66 to CR 81 and north back to CR 46. From Farmington the ride will be an anything goes as far as speed for those of you who want a harder workout. 7:00 am at Starbucks, ride at 7:15. Low of 63, High of 83.

All of you know how fast Jeff Thompson can sprint and climb. He started a mini clinic on how to improve your riding skills last year with a few of you joining him. This year he is doing the same on Monday am's for those interested. Will send the email he sent me on this with more info.

The Tip Of The Week is on what the pro's call the "Valley of Death". If you have been watching the pro's race this spring you might have seen some of the riders crash because they got their wheels caught in the large crack in the middle of the road. With the road conditions here being the worse I've ever seen, we have our own Valley of Death on some of the stretches of roads that we use. So here's the trick in avoiding a crash if this happens to you. First of all don't panic, and don"t try and steer your way out of it. Simply reduce your speed, ride it out, and get ready to unclip if necessary. The riders behind you in this situation will appreciate your riding skill if this ever happens.

What wind? Just think of the wind out here as being resistance training. More energy used and more calories burned up. In normal years it starts to slow down after mid June. That of course could be normal for longer this year.

Thanks Again to those of you who have sent me application forms and $20.

Yes, guess we might get lucky tomorrow. Have not had all the riders together yet on a Sat. Don't know about you, but both my legs resemble what they would look like after having a cast removed after 8 weeks. Last year at this time we were all sporting a "farmers tan".

So here's the scoop. Northfield route going counter-clockwise for a 60 miler. There will be a shorter version for those who need it. Starbucks at 7:00, leave at 7:15. We will make a pit stop at the Ole Store in town.

Look for a question from Scott Hebel to Dale Sedgwick in our Ask A Pro series. Check out what he has to say about power meters.

My Tip for this week is another one about tires. This spring I noticed a little bit of an uncomfortable ride with the combination of a semi-stiff frame and wheel set. This of course is partly due to a rougher road than normal because of our wicked winter. For years I have chosen Continental Grand Prix 700x23c's as my preference. This spring I made a change to the same tire but a 700x25c and this did the trick. With a wider and higher tire profile it makes for a comfortable ride. And with my wheels which are Hed Ardennes I can also ride with less air pressure at 90-95 lbs. vs 110-120. Actually, there has been tests with different tire manufacturer's with proof that there is less rolling resistance with less air pressure. How is that possible? I have no idea, but seems to work for me.

Nature Valley Grand Prix is happening soon!

See You Tomorrow

I hate to use the word iffy again especially since it backfired last week. Yes, does not look good for tomorrow. I'll be up at 5:30 to check it out. Keep Sunday open for a ride at 7:00 from Starbucks in the 55 mile range if we don't ride Sat.

The "Ask a Pro" questions/answers have been added to their own page. The link is on the left side of the screen. Thanks Fritz for the question and answer from Dale Sedgwick. I'm sure you agree that Dale's response the last 2 questions have been "right on". The next question will be from Jeff Thompson. Put on your thinking caps and send me brief questions and I'll do my best to use them all.

The Domestic racing begins with the Tour of Calif. and will be broadcast on Versus on Sunday from 4:00-6:30 pm. Levi couldn't keep his win streak of 3 going last year and I'm sure will be hungry for number 4 and so will his teammates.

This Sat. we will be starting at 7:00 from Starbucks. Ride time 7:15 sharp. The weather again looks a little iffy. If it's dry at the start time and there is no rain coming our way on the radar screen I plan on either Cannon Falls or the Northfield route for a mileage of aprox. 55. Again for those wanting a little less there will be an early turnaround that I'll mention Sat. If the weather wins out and 1pm that day looks better I'll send a group email.

I was not in town last Sunday, but I'm guessing that there were no speed or time records set. Depending on how far you went and with whom am guessing in the range of 13-18 mph. Even though a lot of you were "licking your wounds" later that day, at least your legs are stronger.

The club membership forms have been coming in and want to say THANKS!! The link to the form is on the left side of your screen.

Q: On stage 15 of the 2010 TDF Alberto Contador attacked Andy Schleck with 2 kilos to go to the finish after Andy had drive train problems. On the podium dressed in yellow some of the crowd booed Alberto. This is a tough question, but in your opinion was this move unsportsmanlike?

A: This is a tough call. I've seen a lot of unsportsmanlike riding in my days- mostly in the US and Mexico. Mexico was ridiculous: whenever a rider flatted or crashed, all the other teams would go to the front and drive the pace as hard as they could. I would sit in and shake my head in disbelief. I've seen it go both ways in the US- I've seen attacking after crashes, and I've seen the whole pack wait after a crash. I've also seen a lot of so-called pros in the US swinging their bikes around at the front of the pack too. That said, nobody would think of attacking while Lance was stopped for a flat or a pee break.

Races in Europe waited more for big crashes, and even had go-slows called by the riders if cars weren't controlled well enough. But, nobody is going to slow down once the race is on! The last hour or so of racing is full on no matter what countries unwritten rules you're racing under. In my opinion, Contador had every right to attack Schleck. My opinion would be the opposite if Schleck jammed his chain or crashed in a feed zone 100ks from the finish. In the 1996 Tour du Pont, Lance didn't think at all about slowing down when Rominger and about 5 other rivals crashed 5ks from the finish. Quick-Step didn't wait when McEwan flatted with about 10ks to go in a Tour de France stage a few years back (McEwan still won). In Lance's famous musette crash in the 2003 TdF, Ullrich and others didn't want to wait. Hamilton had to yell at them quite a bit before they slowed up for Lance- and then they didn't slow up too much.

People shouldn't boo Contador for racing near the end of a race(maybe for other things though), and Contador shouldn't have come up with his "I didn't see it" story. He should have said that riders can't afford to wait near the end of a race.

Cycling is also becoming much, much more competitive on the equipment front as well- nearly as much as motor sports. When I first started racing, everyone was on steel bikes with 32 spoke wheels with Mavic rims. Bikes were pretty much equal. Equipment makers today are spending big bucks on R&D and advertising. Everyone is trying to develop the newest must-have part or clothing item. This is great for the sport and is changing the sports' codes as well. There is a lot of equipment development riding on the backs of ProTour teams. F1 has constructor's championships as well as driver's, and I think cycling is moving in this direction a bit. If Schlecks' equipment and/or mechanic is not up to snuff then something needs to be changed.

That's my opinion

Are your indoor trainers getting a good workout these days? The weather for Sat. at 8:00 looks very iffy again. If you are not doing the IM on Sunday and it is not raining or going to rain at 8 there will probably be a few showing up. I'm out of town.

The weather looks better on Sunday for the Ironman. Our riders usually show up at 7:00 and ride at 7:30, so look for some familiar faces. New for the 1st time is the Grand Fondo element that if entered a chip attached to your bike will track you and accurately give you your finishing time. It is supposed to be an event not a race. I'll be interested in how everything works out joining different skill levels of riders in a mass start. About 20 years ago I used to do the ride with others that race. The organizers had so many crashes due to riders trying to hang onto the racers wheels that mistakes were made by the less experienced riders. The American Youth Hostels, (AYH) suggested that the Minnesota Cycling Federation, (MCF) put on their own event to avoid these problems. That race today is known as the Kenny Woods Memorial Road Race. Do you get my drift here?? Be careful out there and give as much room between you and others especially when passing. It is a bit of a defensive ride!

A lot of you have sent me your club registration with $20. Just a reminder.

Hopefully we'll be starting the Sat. rides at 7:00 a week from this Sat.

Lets keep the start time at 8:00 because of the threat of left over rain from Fri. night. If it is still raining I'll do my best to get the message out about a later start. The way this spring is going it's hard to predict anything. We'll extend the mileage to 57 or so with the Cannon Falls route. For you new riders, it will make things easier for you if you familiarize yourself with our ride routes. Most of them are posted under Ride Routes over there on the left side of the screen.

I believe you all got the email I sent about Dale Sedgwick (if not, you can see his bio below) and all his accomplishments racing domestically and over in Europe. I've known him since he was a junior racing in my State Fair Criteriums in the early 80's and will always look forward to shootin' the bull about his Pro life and anything cycling. This is why I created the subject "Ask A Pro". So I'm depending on you to send me a question that is short in length and I'll forward it to him and in return send his reply to you. To make things easier so I'm not overwhelmed with questions I hope, please only the riders that have been riding with us for the last 6 yrs. ask first. Then if it's a success I'll open the questions up to the rest of you. Just remember keep it brief. I'm going to be working on him to come out and join us for a ride later on this summer.

This Sunday race coverage does not begin on Versus until 11:30 pm - 1:30 am. This is not a typo.

See you Sat., and have a great Easter !

Dale's bio:

• Started cycling at 12 - 13 years old. First organized ride that I did was 1981 MN Ironman 100 (did the 100k) where I met the world famous Gary Johnson!
• Moved to Cat. 2 in 1983. (15 years old)
• Coached by Eddie B. at Olympic Training Center. (1984-1985)
• 18th place at National TT Chmps as a 1st year senior. 56:03 40k (no aero equipment)
• Coached by David Mayer-Oakes at OTC in early 90s.
• 20th place 1992 US Olympic Trials
• 12th place 1993 Korbel Cup (National Racing Calendar- year long competition)
• Rode US pro circuit in 1994 while based in Pennsylvania for a small PA team (Christiana Cycling)
• 1994 6th place US National RR Chmps (pros could compete then) Seattle
• Team Plymouth/America West 1995-1996. This is where I really learned bike racing from Brian Smith-now Cycling.tv/Eurosport cycling commentator.
• 1997 VC Evreux Renault. (France)
• 1998 Team One Plus (Professional) Competed in Italy- Giro d'Abruzzo
• 1999 Moved back to MPLS and rode for Now Sports-went back to school. Placed 8th in US National RR- Cincinnati. Won 1st ed. of Nature Valley (was a crit.)
• 2000 Joined GP. Top 10 overall at Superweek. Went back to France for Sept.-Oct. (Euro season ends last week of Oct.)

Been with GP since. Coached/led: Adam Bergman, Ben Raby, Pat Lemieux, Eric Marcotte, Cole House, Paul Ellis, Big-Bird- can't think of his real name! (all had/have pro careers)

Highlight has to be meeting Gary!

Most of you can read my mind right now. It's so small that you shouldn't have any trouble anyway. It does not look good right now with a low: 32, and a snow rain mix at starting time. I'll do another email tomorrow if it looks better for us. Last Sat. we had about 23 riders. How did it feel to be riding on our own Fabian Cancellara's wheel. Bennett is a top rated Tri-Guy who always shows up this time of year to show us how fast he can punch a hole in the wind. I was 1st wheel behind him on CR 46 for about 4 miles and decided this isn't for me this early. By the time the overpass at Hwy. 52 came up he had burned off everyone but 4 riders. And he was nice about it because I asked him to ride as far left as he could with a 9 o'clock wind. He's getting married in May, but sure that won't make a difference.

Almost forgot about the New Rider Program that St. Paul Bicycle Racing Club is doing. For those of you who don't know, they are sponsored by Grand Performance. I believe you have to register by the end of the day today. Find out more at spbrc.org. They have been doing this program for a number of years now with great success. Check It Out!

New for this year at Rosemount Cycling are:
1. More different rides every 5 weeks or so leaving from another location than Starbucks starting in May.
2. More Sprint locations for the sprinters on routes we often use.
3. Jeff Thompson's Monday morning workouts. They start after the Ironman and will include coaching from Jeff that will include hill repeats and sprinting. More on this later on.
4. A new idea I stole from Velo News: Ask A Pro. Dale Sedgwick will be answering questions you have about Professional racing. I'm forwarding a bio of himself after this email. By the way, don't believe what he says about me when mentioning my name. He tends to exaggerate a little.
5. A registration form for our club. It's on the left side of the screen. Just down load it and send it off to me. This is to cover mainly the cost of our website.

Thanks to all of you for making Rosemount Cycling successful.

This Sat. we are meeting at Starbucks at 8:45 and riding at 9:00 sharp. Probably the Orchard Lk. route which is 38 mi. with some leg burners on Judicial Rd. Looking at 2 different weather reports saying low: 28-33, high: 48-52. The reason for the late start is so everyone can ride without 4 layers on.

This Sunday on Versus is the Tour of Flanders. It is Belgium's biggest one day event. Nothing in cycling matches the raw intensity of Europes's spring classics says Velo News. With unpredictable weather, narrow cobbled roads, climbs like the Koppenberg and the Mur de Grammont with grades in the 20 percent range add to the excitement. Check it out on Versus from 3-5pm.

Just a reminder that tonight is the night! Stop by GP and check it out from 5-9. Thanks Fritz for reminding me about the email I just sent regarding using a personal check for getting the best discount. Retailers typically have to pay about 4% for a credit card transaction. Dan also will gladly except cash.

On Sat. only the bravest of you will show up for a 37 miler doing the Orchard Lk. route. At least that's what the plan is right now. It will be a bootie, toe warmer, 3 layers on top ride that is supposed to be around 31 for a low, and 50 for a high. Start time 8am.

Another helpful tip on a day like Sat. is to use something in black for the 3rd layer. There is a very good reason why most arm and leg warmers are black. The darker the color means more of the suns rays will be absorbed directly to your main core, and it is a very noticeable effect as some of you know!

See you at Grand Performance tonight, and bring your checkbook.

The ride on Sat. will be a little challenging depending on the wind and the temp. Low of 33, high of 48. The route will be decided on Sat. depending on the wind direction. This time of the year we usually keep the distance at about 40 mi. Start time 8:00.

Just a reminder of Grand Performances Open House for us on Nov. 4th from 6-9pm. Need more info? Call and talk to Dan @ 651 699-2640.

The Tip Of The Week is all about keeping hands and toes warm and comfortable. Using those little chemical shake and heat packs before a ride can make your ride a lot more comfortable. In the past I have bought these at my local Ace Hardware store. They are endorsed by the National Ski Team. The ones I like are the ones that are good up to 8 hrs. of warmth. Simply take the pack out of the package and shake it up 15 minutes before your ride. I tape the pack to the top of my shoes over my toes and then put my booties on over that. The nice thing about the 8 hr. pack is that after the ride I put the pack into a ziplock baggie to cut off the air supply. That way you can usually reuse it a second time. You can use these in your Lobster gloves also. Just remember that you create a colder wind chill the faster you ride in cold conditions.

Yes, this is the time of year where all of you know what's on the horizon as far as Saturdays go. A year ago last Wed. the high was 36 and we had 21/2 inches of snow. So appreciate tomorrow like it is the last ride of the year even though we might get lucky for a couple more. For those of you who are new to our group right now you might be asking yourselves, how long into the cold do we ride??? For me in the past I've always told riders that for me it has to be 32% and rising at ride time. Everyone except for a couple "die-hards" agree with me. In other words, if it is colder you are probably on your own.

Randy stopped by my house last Sat. for a little bragging rights. Randy and Paul were the only 2 riders from our group to join Cleve. There were 3 other riders that I know who also showed up that ride for different clubs. Just short of 7 hrs. in the saddle and 5,000 ft of climbing was on the menu. They lucked out which made the ride easier coming back from Elmwood in that they had an wind that was out of the east. This type of situation is very rare because usually an east wind only happens before a rain storm. Randy must be carrying a rabbits foot in his jersey pocket for good luck because the 1st time he did the Paul Bunyan double century the riders had calm winds going north, and then at the halfway mark the wind started to blow out of the northwest.

I want to thank some of you for listening to my warnings about trying a ride like this if you have done so. Didn't mean to discourage you from trying it but, next summer we will try a Wisc ride which Cleve will also lead but, to start will be in the 75-80 mile range so you can judge for yourself if you can handle it. All those rollers, with a couple 18% climbs and a head wind coming back on the second half can make it a real challenge.

I'm out of order here a little. The ride tomorrow will be going to Cannon Falls lead by Don and Fritz. It's a 58 miler that should have you back to Rosemount about 11:15 because of a pit stop at the Burley Coffee Shop in CF. Meet time is 7:30, on the bike at 7:45. If needed there will be an early turn-around for those who need it.

Just a reminder about the Open House at Grand Performance on Nov. 4th from 6-9pm. Dan Casebeer is looking forward to meeting you and so am I.

Sure am missin' the rides with you on Sat. Things are getting better!

Tomorrow Don will be leading the ride out of Starbucks that will be a shorter one as far as what we usually do. Don will do the Hastings route which is only 37 mi. If you want more don can give you a longer version. Meet time is 7:30, on the bike at 7:45. I'll be at the coffee shop at 10:00 to hand out the kits which came on Wed.

Now for the important stuff. The Prescott-Elmwood Wisc. is a go. Cleve Petersen who is, and always will be a long distance rider is leading the ride. Cleve rode the 100 mi. course earlier this week to make sure the route will be a 100 miler. Over there a simple road closure could mean the ride will turn into 120 mi., and that's if you know the roads as well as Cleve does.

This ride is going to be a challenge for some of you, and by the end of the ride you will learn much more about yourself. Just like the Twins are learning about who is the better ball club. The challenges for you are going to be the temperature. Who thought it was going to be a 83 degree day in Oct. That is why I planned the ride for Oct. Besides spending 7 hrs. in the saddle on this 8 hr. ride you will need to bring: 2 Lg. water bottles, plenty of gels and energy bars, make sure your tires are in great shape with 2 tubes and a way to inflate them, and air them up to the max before riding. Also bring a cell phone and let your wife know what type of a ride this is and, if in case of a problem where you will need a "life line". This has happened before even on a Flanders ride with riders who race a lot. There will be 6 climbs, a couple of which are 10 % ers. Save your energy on ascending these as well as descending. There will be a pit stop at the 50 mi. mark but, don't expect anything besides water. I've always had this saying that I want you to remember about this ride and others that are new to you. "Do As They Do, Not As You Do". So follow Cleve's lead on this one.

On Hwy. 10 going toward Prescott just before going over the metal grate bridge into to town is a parking lot and park on the river. This is where you will be meeting. Also make sure you use some form of chamois butter before the ride on your shorts before the ride.

Your destination will be Elmwood Wisc. which is a very interesting little town. It is the UFO capital of the world, yes world. A famous case involved Elmwood police officer George Wheeler who was knocked unconscious when a "blue beam" from a UFO hit his squad car in 1976. If you pay attention you will see signs out in the countryside telling about a sighting and when. Google Elwood Wisc. and check it out! You'll experience the last 25 mi. of this ride to be the most challenging so conserve your energy. Cleve will be carrying his cell phone and his number is 612 716 4629 if you need it. Also not sure about the cell phone service out there. Finally, enjoy this ride and the beautiful country side which I describe as "Gods Country". From our group the riders going are: Randy, Matt McCann, Mike Brask, Paul Arsenault and Doug Blomker. There also might be a couple Grand Performance riders also. Have a good one and make sure you thank Cleve for all his time putting this together.

So far 21 of you said you can definitely make it to the open house at Grand Performance. Need A Few More!!!! Haven't done a Tip Of The Week for a while. Here's one that you will enjoy and learn from. Check out velonews.com and click on Lennard Zinn's Tech Answers. Cyclingnews.com is another good site for technical questions.

Don Dilla will be leading the ride on Sat. Will be doing the Northfield route that was not used last Sat because of rain. An early turn around will be on the route for those who can't do the 60 miler. Don, make sure you take the riders through the downtown area and over the Cannon River to check out the high water.

Here we go again! In today's Mpls. paper in the sports section headlines read. Contador suspended after failed Tour test. He tested positive for a banned steroid during this yrs. race and has been suspended by cycling's governing body. A lab in Germany found clenbuterol in his urine sample on July 21st at the TDF. The amount was tiny but showed up in both samples.

The Kits have been shipped finally yesterday. I won't be at Starbucks on Sat. because am checking out the new stadium on the U of M and hopefully the Gophers can put one in the W box. Will Get in touch with those who ordered kits as soon as they arrive.

Sure do miss the rides!!! Start time is 7:30.

If it's like this tomorrow better have a 60 tooth for the big ring cause it would be a 45 mph to Northfield and a 5 mph on the way back. Don Dilla is leading you to Northfield probably going counter-clock wise. CR 46 east to CR 47 (Northfield Blvd.) and SW to NF.aprox. 57 mi. Start time of 7:30, leave 7:45 sharp.

5 riders so far have said yes to Cleve's Wisc. ride Oct. 9th. Just want to inform you that this is a 6 hr. in the saddle ride. With the roads over there not being flat at all for the entire 100 mi., which would equate to 150 mi. on flat roads as far as energy burned, no early turn arounds, and windy conditions, this is a ride on a scale of 1-10 being a 10 and the Ironman in April being an 8 under the same conditions. I'm just looking after you and want to have an enjoyable ride for every one going without experiencing the "Super Bonk". Make sure your tires are in good condition with 2 tubes, and bring that cell phone and plenty of energy bars and gels. Now if the weather co-operates you should have a great ride. More later on this one.

The 6 new Rosemount kits from Squadra will be here next week.

The dirt and dust was just flying off of the tires last weekend at the Chequamegon's Fat Tire race race last weekend. Local riders that ride with us Scott Hebel and Dave (thunder thighs) Pramann did a 74th and a 260th overall respectfully. Any body else out there with bragging rights? Or don't you want anyone to know you were there!!!

For those of you who ride at night check out geomangear.com. There is a night rider light that puts out 900 lumens for $90. This is a great deal for the $$.

Finally, if you want some "falling out of you chair onto the floor humor" check out Hitler's stand on the 26 vs 29er debate. You'll probably want to check that out at home.

On Sat. Don Dilla will be leading the ride using the Crystal and Orchard Lake route going in the counter-clockwise direction. After 30 miles the ride will be at Hwy. 3 in Farmington. Usually some riders looking for less mi. will continue on 3 back to Rosemount. For the riders wanting another 17mi. the ride will go east on CR66 to CR81 then north to CR46 and west back to Rosemount. The "Hammer" will go down at 66 and 81 which you all know the speeds will go into the "Red Zone" for the remainder of the ride. For this week we will keep the starting time at 7:00 but will change a week from tomorrow to 7:30 so the riders coming from home won't have to use lights hopefully.

Thanks to Scott McCabe who sent me an email telling me about the life of your chain. In the past I gave you info. that I change mine out every 2,000 mi. That mileage still works for me now that I'm not racing and riding less aggressively and cleaning my chain and keeping it well lubricated at least once a week. So if you keep track of your computer mileage and write it down when you make the change it will help you avoid more costlier expenses to your front chain rings and cassettes. Scott, who is an aggressive rider and puts a lot of torque on the cranks mentioned that Dan Casebeer suggested to him every 1,500 mi. which is true for his style of riding. And also remember that the more cogs on your cassette means the side plates on the chain have to be thinner resulting in more chain stretch. The next time you are at the bike shop buy an inexpensive tool that measures chain stretch if you are undecided about when to make the change.

After doing Northfield, Cannon Falls and Hastings recently, I decided this Saturday we'll go up to St. Paul and do some hills. Diamond Path to Johnny Cake Ridge Rd to Blackhawk and Hwy 13. Then down through Lillydale to climb up Ohio St. and down the High Bridge. We'll then do Ramsey Hill once (or twice?), then a break at the gas station at the bottom of Ramsey. After that the group goes down to Shepard Rd up toward East River Rd. and Highland Park. We'll then drop down into Hidden Falls Park, and go up a short steep hill out of the park, coming out by the Ford plant in Highland Park. After that, it's over the Ford bridge, past the VA home and over the Mendota Bridge and home via Hwy 13, Blackhawk, Johnny Cake and Diamond Path. Maybe one more hill in there. A guess at about 45-50 miles, shorter than usual, but quality hill climbing.

Should be a good day for biking and drinking coffee. See you all Saturday.

On Sat. we will do Northfield again. Pit stop at the Ole' Store for caffeine. I believe we went clockwise last time so do the opposite. Early turnoffs for those who need it. Total of 60 miles in the much cooler air.

A week from Sat. will be Cannon Falls in the clockwise direction for 58 miles.

Nice full page story on x-country skiing in the Mpls. Sports Extra section (the article is here). It mentions Chris Parr and Andy Dobbs who both ride with us.

Check out the south wall at Starbucks on Sat. The group picture of us should be up on the wall by then.

Have any of you heard about the "Lemming Effect?" A lemming is a small rodent that is known for following all the others in front of them even to the point of falling to their deaths off the edge of the landscape. What is Gary's point you may ask? Last Sat. on our return trip from Mpls. around the frontage road going around the airport the speed increased and almost the entire group was riding out in the road blocking the small amount of car traffic with an entirely empty 8 ft shoulder. Then on Hwy 13 when we wanted to take a left turn onto Blackhawk there was a car in the turn lane waiting for the arrow to go from red to green. A couple riders took a left turn on the red on the left side of the car that could have gotten the green at any moment. Almost everyone followed while hearing the driver yell out the window red arrow! Can you envision what could have happened in a split second? I have seen it before on a couple occasions when mistakes were made that would turn out to be very unhealthy. So thanks for reading my friendly criticism and don't take it personally. Rosemount Cycling looks professional going down the road 99% of the time, and I'm very proud of all your new found riding skills!

For this Sat. most of us will be doing the Stillwater-Osceola ride that will be 65mi. in length and led by Fred Storti of Grand Performance. The format will be a "no drop" tempo ride, meaning no body will be dropped along the entire ride. So take advantage of some great new roads and plenty of great scenery. This is why I have Fred do this ride for us. We will make a pit stop at a great coffee shop in Osceola before the second half begins. Make sure you bring a couple Lg bottles because the weather is supposed to be heating up. Meeting at the Bikery just west of downtown at 7:30. I'm picking up Dylan Knutsen and am allowing 1hr to get there from Rosemount.

Chris Endres and Mike Biegel e-mailed me saying that they were riding out of Starbucks at the regular time of 7:15. I'm sure a few others will too. It's up to you to decide the route.

I'm back in town after missing the last 2 Saturdays. The route that we will use this Sat. is the annual "Mystery Route" that we do once every summer. I'm sworn to secrecy by myself. The only thing to tell you is that it is a LSD ( Long Slow Distance) ride and  will be 50-55 mi. and will be on roads that a lot of you have never been on. So the ride time will be aprox. 31/2-4 hrs. riding time. There will be an early turnaround for those who need it.

See you at Starbucks at 7.

Tomorrow we will do a route that we have never done but, will be on roads we have been over many times. Hwy. 3 south to CR 66 to Vermillion where 66 turns into CR 62. Continue east to CR 47 that goes into Hastings. From there we will go to the lock and dam where a pit stop will be made. Leaving Hastings on CR42 to Hwy. 55 and across the road onto CR 85. 85 to Cr 46. At this point everyone will know where they are when the "anything goes" as far as speed and tactics going west back to Rosemount. There is a sprint for the Biscayne sign just east of Hwy 3 a mile or so. This route will be aprox. 50-55 mi.

The Tour is living up to be most unusual. Check out yesterdays sprint finish. Helmets are also good in not getting a concussion while still be up right! The real battle begins on Sun. stage 14 with an HC climb and a cat. 1 climb back to back. 15, 16, and 17 are in Phil Liggetts words, absolute brutes. I still continue to think that Alberto hasn't shown himself at 100%. In yesterdays stage the cameras were on Andy and Alberto riding side by side smiling and joking with each other. Nice to see etiquette like this between the two rivals.

This weeks Tip of the Week is an easy one to remember hopefully. After Dylan's bike grew legs, I thought that we are lucky this sort of theft does not happen more often. It is very easy out here to become complacent thinking that this could never happen to me. Being a Mpls. kid for most of my life I learned from the mistake of others to safe guard my bike all the time. If you are ever in the position of leaving it unattended even for a minute here's what I used to do in Mpls. Open up your rear quick release, and for added protection take the chain riding half way off the front chain ring. This will prevent someone coming up to it and riding off immediately. Ask me about a great story that happened to me in the early 80's.

The ride starts at 7:15 sharp.

So what do you think about stage 3? Almost as much action as "Do You Think You Can Dance." All of the cycling web sites will be experiencing record setting hits after yesterday. Any doubt to Lance's fitness was put to rest when his main man Yaroslav Popovych couldn't close the gap to the next main group fast enough for him forcing him to go it alone. I kept on saying to myself, "Just When You Think You've Seen It All."

I do believe that there will be some kind of a protest from the riders in some way to get the attention of the organizers to think more about the safety of the riders vs all the hype and drama before there will be a life ending crash to someone. Protests by the riders has happened before in the Tour like, riding along at 20 mph instead of race speeds to make their point. So we'll wait and see.

On Sat. we will be visiting Northfield and the Ole' Store again. This time we will take a clockwise direction going east on CR 46 to CR 85 south to CR 47 into Northfield and a pit stop for some caffeine. CR 23, Cedar Ave, CR 78, Aikin Ave and Pilot Knob back to Rosemount for aprox. 60 miles.

Which Tour rider still holds the record for the fastest TT longer than 20 km in Tour history? Greg Le Mond in 1989 with a speed of 54.545 kph for 24.5 km.

Will send you pictures from Ramsey Hill taken by Don Dilla separate from this email. Will be emailing Joel about posting these with names on our blog.

The TOTW is a simple one that will only take a couple minutes but ,could save you big time out on the road. Check to see that all the main bolts on your bike have not loosened up!

The next major stages on the Tour will start Sat. stage 7,8,9 and 10 all in the mountains. Stage 7and 8 being mountain top finishes. Enjoy!

Cannon Falls here we come again. Without going over to Wisconsin, if you were to ask our riders which 2 routes are their fav's it would be C.F. and Northfield. Can't remember which direction we did last but, it will come to me. The Burley coffee shop is always glad to see us!

Now for the challenging part of predicting who will win this years TDF, and where Lance will be after stage 21. For starters, stage 3's 213 km flat stage with seven section of cobbles that total 13.2 km could possibly be the most important for the general classification (GC) riders especially if the course is wet. Thinking back 33 years of following this race, I can't remember a single stage so early in the race that could have a bigger impact at the end of July. Just like the Paris Roubaix in the spring, all the top contenders will want to enter the cobbles at or near the front of the peleton. This stage does not sit well with a lot of the riders, and they have let the organizers know about it.

Of course the Lance, Alberto hype will be at the highest now that both riders are on different teams. Versus loves a match up of this nature even more than last year. I'm sure that the crowds, especially on the climbs are certain to create record setting numbers. The fact is, Alberto has won his last 4 grand tours and is his race to win even though his team is not as experienced. Look for Alexander Vinokourov, Alberto's teammate to be a factor with his surprise attacks. I believe he wants to show the world he can be a very aggressive rider after his 2 year doping suspension.

Lance is now 38 years young, and still has the power to mess with the minds of his contenders by posting a great ride in the time trail. But lately his TT seems to be slowing as witnessed in the Tour of Switzerland where he posted 15th place. Could Lance be playing possum like he's done before? And he knows all too well, never let your opponent know what he is thinking! Last year he had trouble closing a few gaps to his rivals in key situations like when Alberto, Frank and Andy Schleck went on the attack on one of the major climbs. The only other rider to answer the bell was Andrea's Kloden who is riding for Lance this year. So has last years 3rd place given extra confidence to Lance? The cameras are going to be on Alberto and Lance. Personally I'm playing closer attention to Lance than I ever have before trying my best to figure out what he is thinking and how he reacts when the road goes up. Hopefully he will still be in contention when stage 14, 15,16 and 17 come around. I'm certain that if he is in contention Alberto will try and isolate him from his teammates which will make him more vulnerable to loosing more time. I also believe that Alberto still has "an axe to grind" with Lance after their relationship last year which can easily add fuel to the fire. The other podium candidates are Ivan Basso who also wants to vindicate himself from his doping suspension and has by winning the Giro d' Italia. Cadel Evans who won last years World Championship. The Schleck brothers, Bradley Wiggins who was only 6 minutes behind last year. And Christian Vande Velde who was 12:04 behind.

Of course you need some luck especially during the first week of the Tour when there tends to be a lot of crashes. That's what makes Lance's 7 victories even more remarkable. There is talk that this will be Lance's last shot at the Tour before taking up Triathalons again next year. But, do I believe one word of it? Maybe.

I'm going to predict:
Alberto Contador
Ivan Basso
Bradley Wiggins
Andy Schleck
Cadel Evans
Lance Armstrong
as being 1-5.

See you Sat. at 7:00

Tomorrow turned into today if you can make sense of that. Tomorrow we will be doing some climbing along with another Photo OP. Hwy. 13 out of Mendota Heights, Ramsey Hill at least once, State St. off of Concord and Akron. Fritz and Don are bringing their cameras because we need some more pictures of riders going up Ramsey for the web site which Fritz did for us 2 yrs. ago. This will make the ride mileage 40-45.

Mark Parr emailed me about a possible rain tomorrow. As always I will email you about 5:45 if the 7:00 am ride will be delayed for an hour or two.

Waiting for someone to claim the 6th kit before I can order. Cory Wagner said he could use another bib if any of you want another jersey.

Not much success on organizing the Tues. night ride although a couple of you are interested. Is there another night that would work for you? Talk to me!!!!!!

Next week I'm going to give my Lance vs Alberto predictions, and why I feel that Lance won't be on the podium at the end of July. Don't get me wrong, Lance is great for our sport but, this might be the last year we see him.

Again congrats to Randy, Bob and Eric!! Over the years riders have asked me to give it a go. After experiencing the "Super Bonk" on a Flanders ride from Mpls. that went to Prescott, River Falls and Stillwater with a strong southerly wind for the last 40 mi., and in the 70's we had no energy bars of any kind. But wait a minute, I would do it on a tandem with a strong partner behind me that is a message therapist and chiropractor. Oh, and also a battery driven vibrating saddle might guarantee a successful ride.

Hope to see you at 7:00, and bring your climbing legs.

Here's the deal on Sat. We are going long using the Ravena Trial, Treasure Island, Meisville route which is a 70 miler. A friend of mine that was a fantastic time trialer is in town and I want to show him the best of our routes. Of course there will be at least one place along the way where you can make it shorter.

Randy and I hooked up at the St. Paul crit last night and rode home in the dark. It was well worth it because of the atmosphere of the race. Not to take any thing away from St. Paul but, the Uptown race on Fri. night is the best possible course that can be used. The extra fast 6/10ths of a mile course gives it a 3 thumbs up. Remember there are lots of free goodies given away to use on your next ride, and trick bike riding that will get the attention of your kids. I do feel sympathetic for the races tonight in Cannon Falls if this wind keeps up. Even though it is just a 65 miler I'm guessing that at least half of the field will be out of contention after 30 miles.

See you Sat. at 7:00

This can't happen again with the rain can it? We will use the route into St. Paul that we were going to do last Sat. for a 50-55 miler. Here's the scoop on a prediction of rain on Saturdays. I'm awake and will do a 5:45 email to you if the starting time changes from 7am. So if your email goes to work well, you get the picture. Last Sat. about 8 of you showed up only go back home except for Bob Cummings who did over 100 in training for I think the P.B. double century. Mark Parr wanted me to say if we do get rained out on Sat., there will be one on Sun. at 8am.

Speaking about the Paul Bunyan 200 on 6/19, there is talk about Scott McCabe, and Randy Twito joining Bob Cummings. Also just talked to Bob McEnaney who was planning on the Horribly Hilly 100 but, might change his mind. Randy did this ride 2 yrs. ago with perfect conditions. Calm in the am, with a north wind for the 2nd half which in June hardly ever happens. This is a ride to be taken very seriously to avoid "bonking" with 75 mi. to go and a 15 mph. and above wind out of the south. Get the picture? Email me if you are seriously thinking about this and I will pass it on to the others so they know what to expect. Google Paul Bunyan 200 and check it out. It's been in existence for 42 yrs.

Again the Nature Valley Grand Prix is coming to town next week. Fun for the entire family! I'll be at the St. Paul and Uptown Mpls. criteriums. Hope to see you there!!!

Tomorrows ride will take us north for a change. Hwy. 13 Mendota Heights, into St. Paul past Grand Performance, east River Rd., Ft. Snelling across Mendota Bridge and back to Rosemount. Do not have this route posted but, should be 50-55 mi. range.

Brian emailed me and told me that he has a torn meniscus that will need surgery. This is from the fall he took on Hwy3 when he hit that steel pipe. Get Well Soon Brian!

Last Sat. when the "Hammer" went down with 10 mi. to go, we found out why Bennett was 7th out of 1,500 competitors in his last triathlon. 25-26 mph against an 11 o'clock headwind for at least 5 mi. was impressive!

Again don't forget about Monday at 7:00 for picture day. As I mentioned before you don't need to have a Rosemount kit for this. So feel free to show up if you are a "pickle green" Flat City rider or a Silver Cycling rider. I'm talking to the local Sun Paper that comes out once a week to do a story on us. Hopefully they will.

Didn't get the response in order to get a good deal on the tires from Grand Performance. Thanks to those who did. Guess I have to do this earlier in the spring.

We are good to go again. On Sat. we will do a loop that takes us east on CR 66 all the way to Hwy 61 south of Hastings. From there we will ride north on Hwy 61 to town and do the rest of the loop that takes us to the lock and dam. CR 42 to CR 85 to CR 46 and back to Rosemount. I do not have this on our web site but, it will be aprox 50-55 mi. As always there will be a short version if you have a time conflict.

I talked to my neighbor Mike Hukka who will be taking the group picture. Monday June 7th at 7:00 pm works into his schedule. So I urge everyone who has a kit and even the riders who do not to put this on your calendar and show up. A short ride will take place after the picture. Everyone will have the chance to get a copy in one form or another. A copy of this picture will also be going up in Starbucks for everyone to see.

Bob and Don have been doing some Minnesota Cycling Federation races this year. Bob has two 2nd place finishes so far in the road races. With his sprint it's just a matter of time before the other 2nd place finisher will be staring at his rear wheel at the finish line. Don Dilla has been doing the Opus criteriums in Minnetonka and has scored a few points in a every three laps is a sprint for points format at a uphill finish format. This is one of the reasons why Rosemount Cycling exists, to get those of you who are interested in giving racing a try. So, ask them how they like it!

The Nature Valley Grand Prix will be held June 16th-20th. I also urge you to be a spectator at one of the three criteriums for a real eye opening experience. They also need volunteers, so if you can donate a little of your time they would appreciate it. Visit them at www.naturevalleybicyclefestival.com.

This Tuesday at 6:00 pm we will try another group ride leaving from Starbucks. So if you can show up for a shorter version of our Sat. ride.

This will be an experiment to see if it works or not. A week from tomorrow we'll try a ride from Starbucks at 5:30, ride at 5:45 on Tuesdays. 4-5 of you said you'd be interested on Sat. So add this to your calendar, and if another day would work better let me know. This new ride will be aprox. 40 mi.

Please get back to me if interested in the tire, tube and CO2's.

Don't forget about the Memorial Day ride of Fritz's from Stillwater.

I currently have 5 of the 6 kits spoken for. So if you would like another one or, if any of the new riders would like one let me know. They will be $160.-165 if Squadra's price has not gone up. I have had a lot of positive feedback on how well they feel and the quality. It will more than likely be 2 yrs. before we do this order again!

Nice ride on Sat. Someone said we had 25 riders.

We'll do the Memorial Day ride again starting from Stillwater, through the hills nearby and stop in Marine on St. Croix for a break, then back for coffee in Stillwater. Total distance 45-50 miles. New route, more hills, beautiful roads and vistas. Join us and take in some of the best biking I know of near the Twin Cities. We'll begin in the parking lot on the river, at the bottom of Myrtle Street. Take highway 36 East to Stillwater and proceed down the main drag to Myrtle, then right turn to the parking lot. Approx. driving time 30-40 minutes from Eagan/Rosemount. Meet at 7:30 AM, ride begins 7:45 AM.

This Sat. we'll be doing Cannon Falls for a 57 miler. There will be a turn around that will give you about 40 for those wanting less. Start time from now on will be 7:00, ride at 7:15 sharp.

Dan Casebeer is offering us a tire deal on Continental Grand Prix's again. I'll be handling the order to keep it simple. Dan said he can offer these at $45. per tire if an order of 40 can be made. These are $62.+ retail. You have heard me brag that I get 2,200 mi. on a rear in the past. Email me if interested and include the size 700x23 or 25c and the color of tread. He is also offering tubes at $3.50 and CO2 cartridges 16 gram threaded at $2. For most of you 3 tires, 4 tubes and 4 cartridges will get you through the riding season. I'll keep a list of what you want and keep you posted. So, don't hesitate and email me sooner than later.

I'm always thinking about how to improve Rosemount Cycling. I know a lot of you ride alone during the week, and would welcome another group ride from Starbucks on a say, Tues. night for a 40 miler now that we have the day light til 8:30. So give me an idea on what day works best for you, and hopefully we can add this to our ride calendar. Also tell me what you want for a format. All suggestions will be considered. This one could be a little more aggressive!

Check out the latest on Floyd Landis which just surfaced yesterday. WARNING, don't if you contributed to his legal fees in anyway!

Thanks to Scott McCabe for coming up with a different route last Sat. And to Fritz who spends extra time organizing the Memorial Day ride

So, hows your weekly mileage doing? On Sat. we will try and make up the 10% of lost fitness. Cannon Falls here we come. The direction of the route will be decided on Sat. at 7:00am. 

Keep it on your calendar about Fritz's Memorial Day ride out of Stillwater. Great scenery and roads. More when Fritz sends it.
 
The Tour of Calif. is May 16-23. Most of the viewing times here are at 4-6pm. Riders will have an extra 2+ months of miles on their legs than in the past. Levi Leipheimer has won 3 out of the last 4 years and will be the GC (General Classification) guy with support from Lance and the rest of the Radio Shack team. I believe that it will be televised in HD on VersusHD. Lots to read about including the Giro d' Italia at versus.com.

Now that I have a new ride under me that is all paint over Carbon Fiber instead of Titanium, this is what I do to give the frame and fork an extra great look. Lemon Pledge. Scott Flanders showed me this a long long time ago and it works great! Take a soft cloth and spray the Lemon Pledge on it and simply wipe down the frame set with it. Let it dry, and wipe it off. This simple tip will have your bike looking like you ride on a pro team, maybe better.

For Sat. we will cut back the mileage to 40, and instead of a 7am start we'll do a 8am start and maybe the temp. will be closer to 40. Right now I'm thinking of the Orchard Lk., Crystal Lk. route going clockwise this time. Of course, the route is always subject to change.

If you have not clicked on versus.com for awhile, there is a lot of cycling and related stories posted about the upcoming Tour of Calif. and Giro. So check it out.

After Brian Abery went down last week in a very unusual crash that was unpreventable because of the circumstances, he still managed to avoid a broken collar bone which is the most broken bone to cyclists. He avoided it by keeping his arms in close to his body and rolled so the impact was confined to his right side and hip area. Some coaches suggest keeping your hands on the bars in a case like this. The reaction to extending your arm to brace your fall wins out even in the pro races. You have just a split second to react in this case but, it could make a difference between being off the bike for 4-6 wks. and in Brian's case being able to ride away.