Penokee Range Bike Classic

This race was very misleading. It was a wonderful ride through the hills of northern Wisconsin and should have been a predictable ride, but while it was labelled as a 45 mile ride, it was in actuality almost 48 miles. This made it very hard to predict the final stretch of the race. I wish the coordinators had made this known. This race was my best finish ever in a bike race, as I finished 4th out of 81 riders with a time of 1:52:26.2. I was also first in my age group. I am the sixth guy from the left in the opening pack in the picture of this race. Definitely a very hilly course.

Turtle Lake Turtle Trot

The Turtle Lake Turtle Trot was a 5K and 10K race which was held in conjunction with the Intercounty Fair. It is a loop course which is composed of some rolling hills and much open countryside. I ran the 10K race and finished in 40:16 which was a 6:27 min/mile average and 9.30 mile/hour average. I finished second overall. They have a nice pancake breakfast sponsored by the Turtle Lake Lions Club following the event.

Chetek Fishy Four

This was my first 4 mile race. The Chetek Fishy Four is a four mile flat (and hence. . .fast) course which travels south of town and is held in conjunction with the Libertyfest. I ran a 25:06 which equates to about a 6:16.5 min/mile time. I was ninth overall out of 345 runners. I am the guy in the upper left in the orange shirt. I was second in my age group.

Grandma's Marathon

3:29:06 chip time
666th overall
3:29:33 gun time
559th male
284th division place
sex place 559/4408
pace 8:00 min/mile
10K 42:42 13.1 mile 1:31:39
20 mile 2:29:56
last 10K 59:11

Rice Lake Aquafest 10K

My wife and I participated in the Aquafest 10K tonight. Local runner Tim Miller picked up the pace from the start and held a lead throughout the race. He cruised to victory, while I finished a close second and was first overall in my age group (30-39). It was a well-attended event, but it was very warm as it tends to be with this event. My time was 42:24. Four days later I participated in Grandma's Marathon, so I didn't want to wear myself out too much for this event. Pictures were taken by Valerie Leair of the Chronotype.

Cloquet Criterium

This bike race was one of the more challenging I have done. It was a race with 1 mile laps and the goal was to stick with the lead pack as long as possible. The race goal was to go 30 minutes and then to finish one more lap. Obviously the goal was to go as fast as possible and drop people quickly and make up ground. I finished 5th with a time of 32:49. I really got whooped on the last lap, as the lead people finished in 32:19. I was 30 seconds back and 2nd in the 30-39 age group. It was great as there were fast 90 degree corners and awesome downhills. At times, speeds hit upper-30 to lower-40 mph on the downhills.

South Range Cycling Classic

This was my first bike race ever. I didn't know what to expect. It consisted of two loops in the hills of South Range, Wisconsin. The pace started off very slow. Nobody wanted to take the lead. I lead the race the last several miles prior to crossing the halfway point of the race. Somehow I got blocked out as we were ascending the big hill in the picture and could not catch a breakaway group of seven riders who took off. I made an attempt to catch the breakaway, but to no avail. I was able to string a few other riders along with me but as the pace settled into a comfortable rate for the other riders, no one wanted to lead the race the last few miles, making this fall on my shoulders. With the finish line in site and making a gamble that the other riders in my group were content with not pushing the pace harder than they were, I made the decision to try a breakaway and it worked. I gained a separation on the group and no one in the second pack could catch me. A little bit of glory was found in a day where I was disappointed to miss the opportunity to finish in the first pack. I finished 8th overall in a time of 1:35:43.0 on the 35 mile course. I was second in my age group and had an average speed of 21.9 mph.