RUSSELL WENT TO THE ICEMAN AND ALL I GOT WAS THIS LOUSY T-SHIRT
Oh and a menu too. So I ordered some take-out under Russell's name.
Thanks Russell by the way.

The now abandoned ELF line.

My blind......The deer would have had to have been blind not to see me.

Shoot it!!!!!!!!!!!

Nature lover Bubba..........


Sponsored by nobody.

I DON'T EAT VENISON ANYWAY..........

But..........If anybody has a nice recipe for porcupine, please shoot me an e-mail.

So another deer hunting trip is in the books and I did not even get to see a buck. I did see lots of other pretty cool game including a bear, grouse, porcupines, and an otter. Saturday morning before first light, I heard something in the woods behind me that sounded like two tigers fighting over a fresh kill. Scared the shit out of me. That night when I immitated the sound for my neighbor Scott, he said " That's a fisher....I used to trap them and they made the same sound" Sounded pretty bad-ass for something so small and relatively harmless looking(reminded me of someone I know, but I won't mention any names MG)......"I used to trap them"......can you say HICK?

We stayed at Scott's summer home on the east fork of the Chippewa river just north of Winter, Wisconsin. It's a geat place with all the comforts of home. Scott is an interesting guy. He makes hand-made violins and violas for a living. Many professionals are playing his violins in symphony orchestras throughout the country. You would think someone with that type of career would be a pretty refined guy, but he is a total Clampet. He does, however get liquored up on red wine like there is no tomorrow........if that's refined???

I hunt on an ELF line (interesting article) on the southern most part of the Chequamegon national forest with Scott's brother Steve. The ELF line is wide open and provides for long range shooting..(or napping in my case). Steve has killed deer from over 250 yards while hunting on the ELF line. He has taken over 35 deer, and 2 bear from that exact spot over the last 22 years. Steve is even a bigger Clampet than Scott. Two years ago while driving to a tavern to watch the Packer game, Steve decided to do a little grouse hunting with the grill of his pick up. He swerved, hit the grouse, flipped down the tailgate, cleaned it, threw it in a freezer bag and still got served his Old Milwaukee Lite before kick-off. Now that's a hillbilly...I don't care who you are.

In between naps, I was able to read up on my wife's digital camera and experiment a little bit. I will post some pics. later.

HI-HO-DA-MERRY-O...

As pathetic as my blog entries have been lately, I'm sure y'all can get by without me for a few days. My apologies....
I'll be back by Tuesday and looking for a local night ride....weather permitting.

RANDY.....................................

Was the first thing that entered my mind when I saw this picture too. You?????

WORD ASSOCIATION.................HAULIN'

OOOOHHHHH....THE PRESSURE...

I have not up-dated in a while and now I'm feeling the pressure to post something good. Truth is I really got nuthin'. Bloggin' these days is tougher than a steak at Ponderosa.

I will be racing a new bike next year. Some guys say they are "working on a new project", but I can't say that with any credibility. Fact is, I'm a really lame bike mechanic. I'm pretty good at the very basic stuff and keep my bikes clean and lubed, but far,far from what one would call "a wrench". Soooo...I beg guys like Russell and Randy when I get to the advanced stuff. This is the main reason I am going away from full suspension. The fact that I am having an absoulute blast on my now full rigid Fisher Rig is another reason I feel confident a hardtail is the bike for me. Let me go on record and say those rigid carbon forks are really sweet. I would say they are in between rigid and suspension. I shall post some pics. of my project soon.

BUCK OFF....

Julie spotted this dude in front of The Casa yesterday afternoon. Said he was lookin' for directions to a funeral. I think he was casing the place.

Next week I'm going to the Chequamegon national forest....5 hour drive to sit in the woods and freeze my ass off all day for three days straight and never see anything near this big when I could have shot this prick from a lawnchair in my garage.

To "rub it in" he takes a leisurely stroll down my brand new trails. I'm re-thinking my deer hunting plans.

KEITH'S GOING FOR A RIDE

Or is it a wake??.....or maybe Keith is riding to his own wake?? In any event it should be a super night to ride(or pay your respects).

I've added a bunch of new links......bubble gum for the brain.

I DID..............DID YOU?

WAKE UP

I've had this in my truck for a while now. The last few days I've been playing it on my way to work with the volume jacked to 10.

I'll bet it works just as good as those "double-mocha-latte'-creme-chino-fluff-buzz-whatever from Starbucks." Only I can't hear a fricken' thing.

Let me state for the record, I like my coffee like I like my women.

GOING ONCE....GOING TWICE
I won this in the raffle at the awards banquet. It says it's a Fox F-100R. It's disc brake-only. I don't have use for it. It looks pretty nice. It's brand new, but the steerer tube has been cut to 7inches.
Anyone interested???

IT'S A GOOD THING THIS BLOG DOES NOT RECOGNIZE LOSER OF THE WEEK


At least the dog was wearing depends as a precautionary measure because this guy fed him a bunch of re-fried beans. I don't know what Russell's excuse was.

Who is this??....Jerry Lewis??

FINALLY

Blogger has had me on the ropes since Sunday trying to load pics.
Taking nice pictures is not easy. Many more duds than decent ones.
Tosacrosser looking good while feelin' s#1tty.

Looks like a dance move to me.

Smokin' camels

Check out the look on The Goats face when I suggested he cash in his chips and take a "quick right".

Benderrrrrrrrrrrrrr........................

THUGS IN WASHINGTON PARK


Scout master Creepy taking Gary-Gameface and a few of the kids out for their cycling merit badge.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JULIE.....................................

PUNK

Meg told me she'd never speak to me again if I posted these pictures. She's sooo mad that if I'm lucky, I bought 48 hours until she asks me for money.

PRE-BANQUET RECOGNITION

The girls in my office made a trophy for me all on thier own. They're so good to me.

REMEMBERING MY HIGH SCHOOL HOMECOMMING

I was thinking about bustin' this out for the awards banquet. The suit.......not the date.

Meg went to her homecomming with TFBBOWA (The Future Beer Baron of West Allis). They both cleaned up pretty well and had a nice time. Meg tried to tell me that the late night social activities on Saturday contributed to her lack-luster results at Sheboygan on Sunday. I don't buy it.

Tough bloggin' lately....I really got nuthin', but I figured I need to post something 'cause Mountaingoat will drop you like a fart in a mexican resturant if you don't keep your blog fresh. It doesn't have to be any good.....just updated.

Anybody doing the Birchwwod race this weekend? I lost the flyer and need some info.

If you think this blog is bad.

LIVIN' LARGE

Ladies and gents....Your Wisconsin night race champion. Congrats to Mike for adding another win to his stellar 06 season.

Thanks to Russell and crew (Marty, Al Brunner, etc.) for putting together the first night race in the area. It should become a tradition as a fund raiser for the development of trails in the Milwaukee area.

MORE TRAILS...GOOOOOD.

I'M THINKING ABOUT A NEW HAIR STYLE

I think it would look better on this guy. Or, how about my 2nd choice?

SNOOOOOOP-DOGG

Jack-shit wanted y'all to know.

KEITH WAS ROCKIN'

I finally won a race..........................and not a minute too soon.

As Sheboygan is in the books, so is the 06 WORS season. The weather was perfect and the race course, even better. The absence of big hills combined with the rooty sections and flowing singletrack suit my style of riding just fine. Hell...I even got some dispatch work done on the climbs, so I must have been feeling pretty good. *I also put my worries to rest that I would be the only loser at Casa de Bubba, since Jamie, Meg, and finally me have now locked up our series overalls. I even picked up tickets to the awards banquet. Havn't been to one of those yet.

Hoist a cold one to all the sport clydes in both age groups for making the race season a total blast.What fun John Holcomb and I had sluggin' the crap out of each other all season and taking it right down to the wire...you-da-man John.

If you're just not ready to quit racin' yet, don't forget The Friday -the 13th night race at Crystal Ridge put on by Tool Fool Productions. Show up and have fun 'cause there ain't no complaint department or suggestion box.

* Another freebie......I'm makin' it easy on you guys.

ARE THESE MADE IN TAIWAN??

I've demolished 2 of these on my single speed this summer. *Cheezzzy spindle or BIG TIME power??? You tell me.

* Another freebie

POISON IVY UP THE ASS

Not literally, but I've got the shit just about everywhere else. What a drag.... I can't sleep..... THIS SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!

The good news (for all of you) is......I got this wilst putting in some really cool new stuff on the trails in front of La Casa. Some re-routing has been done to higher ground and will insure the trails dry faster after wet weather. It's a work in progress, but should provide some new fun when the night rides get under way soon.

NEW RIDE

I must admit.....I'm really liking the feel of steel. This baby should prove to be quite a versatile ride. Heck...I may even try a cross race or two.

KEITH COULD USE A LITTLE HELP

If I've done the math correctly, my opponent must finish in the top 2 spots at Sheboygan to be the champ. If he does, then I must beat him to win the overall. This will be the first time I have ever had to race for anything. Not that it is a huge deal......but I guess it is........not really.......but kinda. I'm more worried about ruining the"hat trick" for Casa de Bubba as these two will be winning thier series age groups.
Either way it ends, John is a great guy and we will surely drink beer afterward knowing we pushed eachother pretty hard this season(winner buys John??). He knows the course as well as anyone and has the support of this powerhouse. However, I too know a few fast guys like you, you, you, especially you and others. So, wadda ya' say boys???? It could be your racing tip that puts me over the top.

ANOTHER IMPOSTER

I put this clown into the ditch lickity-split. My truck was bigger than his...GIT-R-DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

IF THIS IS YOUR VIEW, YOUR DAY CAN ONLY GET BETTER

Good news.... I was only 45 seconds away from winning the whole sport clyde race(both age groups) riding the rigid singlespeed.


Bad news......As this guy says, That makes me the first loser.....I was edged out by the only guy I could not afford to lose to.

Now I must battle with Holcomb for the series overall on his home course. He has had input on the layout of the course as well........Should be interesting.

IMPOSTER!!!!

I can assure you if this were my party, you all would have been invited.

DA-SUG HAS A FUNNY WAY OF DOIN' STUFF

PRODUCT TESTING

So I break my frame and the Fisher folks send me a new frame, eccentric (ik-sen-trik) and one of these "fancy-shmancy" carbon forks. I just assumed they needed a crash test dummy for some product testing. Now...I'm quite sure these two can put the Switchblade fork through the paces big-time, but unless they are riding with one on the others shoulders or have a full keg strapped to their backs(I think example 2 is more likely) they are not leaning as much tonnage on it as I can. So it was off to Chequamegon for my first real "taste" of rigid singlespeeding.

Thursday was my first ride on the new set up. We rode the Ojibwa trail right next to the Hayes guy's condo. I must agree with Jay ......This is quality singletrack...Pretty darn bumpy, and the fork was really cool. Friday was a short easy pre-ride on a section of the 40 course and an early crash(bed that is)to prepare for Saturday's events.

The 40 came and went in 03:23:40.8 shaving 5 minutes off last year's time. Da Monsta and The Darkness(congrats to both) finished just a few minutes ahead of me robbing me of my podium spot, but I'll live............and I am happy to report that the bike,the fork and the Bubba are all in one piece and no worse for the wear.

I'm still trying to find out if these forks have a weight limit and I'm just lucky to be alive,or are they rated "Bubba-tough"??

Thanks to the Hayes guys for the post-race beers and hospitality.

Killn' it

40....OFF TO DA NORTWOODS EY'

Leaving at 6am Thurs. to get in some riding on the Rock lake trails. I know you will all be patiently awaiting the 2nd worst race report of all time.

Check here for the worst one.

I'M AT A DIS-ADVANTAGE.......

The fast guy's always have cool race reports. How can I write an interesting one like this guy, this guy, or this guy???? I can't..... However, now that Iv'e started and refuse to DNF, here goes.

The day started with a few of my fellow sport clydes bustin' my chops because they did not see my name on the weigh-in sheet. I forgot. So off I go to registration to weigh in. As I was about to step on the scale, I asked Minigoat (who was volunteering) if I looked like I lost 42 lbs. in the last couple days??? I don't remember her response. NOPE....gained 2.

Don yells gooooooooooooo and I'm feelin' pretty good on the lead out. Did not even notice my new 2 lbs. until we hit the hill climb. I was sufferin' at a turtle's pace all the way to the top. Once at the top, I turned my 244 lbs of rolling momentum to the desents, "gutterballing" almost out of control trying to make up the time lost inching up the climbs.

This was repeated the final 2 laps and wound up being good enough for second place and 1 step closer to winning my series overall, but the fat................................................tires and beer guy is going to battle until the bitter end.

If I get a new rig, and am able to keep it in 1 piece....I intend to finish the year singlespeeding. Someday I will find the stones to race SS on a ski hill .

5 BUCKS.....AND I BET I CAN'T BREAK IT

My wife scored this beauty at a rummage sale in Rhinelander last weekend. The chick who sold it to her must have needed a cocktail or a pack of smokes real bad because she originally wanted 15 dollars, but took 5. Julie actually made me take it for a test-drive to see if I thought it was worth the money. She bought it for Russell's 4th of July "Crappy Bike Ride". Now she better get training because she got dropped this year and that thing is a tank.

CAN YOU SEE MY CRACK???

Yep....That's the 3rd frame this year. In fact I was dropping this off and picking up my waranteed Sugar at the same time. Both Rigs cracked in the exact same place. One Memorial Day weekend and one Labor Day weekend.
Here is a better look.
Glad I have the Surly now because I'm registered for Chequamegon as a SS'er.

I have taken the liberty to post Mountaingoat's comment for him.

NEW RIDE

One less skeleton in Da Monsta's closet and a new winter bike for me. I was able to put gears back on my old Specialized and sell it to my buddy Billy at work.I then turned the cash over to Ron and put the SS parts on.........Presto

GET A LIFE

That's what my wife and Coop told me after listening to me whine and sulk about my complete meltdown at Devil's Head last week. I'm over it and better days are to come.
Thursday, Julie and I ditched the knuckleheads for a short trip to the nortwoods hey! We started in Rhinelander, the home of my cousin Amy and her boyfriend Terry. They turned me on to the Smokin' Spoke trails. A local bike shop puts on an early season race there and if you have not ridin them, it is definately worth a try. If fact we ran into WORS Don there on Friday riding with the potential race director who is trying to get it as a replacment for one of the races that will be lost after this season.
I ran into Don again Saturday at the WEMS race at Stump farm and he admitted he was checking out both places as possible replacment venues. I talked to him about it briefly and wish I could tell you I had some kind of inside scoop, but Don is not really one to "show his cards."
I think both of these courses would make for great WORS races to replace Kewaunee and Calumet. He actually mentioned that he may need to find 3 new race venues, but did not say which other one may be out.??..??

Alright.... enough business and on to some of what has made this blog what it is today.........LAME-ASS........
I did my first 6 hour solo race at the Stump Farm on Saturday. O.K...so I show up with a gallon of gatorade, 2 salted nut rolls, and a box of cheez-its. Ronsta and Coooop just shook their heads really putting a dent in my fragile self-asteem. So I ask them for a little advice as this was my first race of this kind.
Ron advised me to eat and drink from start to finish to avoid the big bonk. Easy enough.....I've eaten and drank for 6 straight hours plenty of times before. Coooop suggested wearing 2pair of shorts to keep the "grumpy-ass" to a minimum.
I knew I could count on these guys. My wife ran to the store and got me some decent food and I had no problems with the backside whatsoever.