This my first attempt at a blog, so here goes...hmm, a little about myself.

Family: Beautiful Wife, Jennifer; 2 cats, I am not a cat person but Jen loves em, Roli (named after the MN Wild goaly) and Madison (named after the city we lived in when Jen got the cat)
Home: Shakopee, MN
Occupation: Product Engineer for Seagate Technology
Hobbies: cycling, hockey, camping, watching basically any sport, running...I could go on but won't

Most people who read this probably want to hear mostly about cycling, i.e. racing, training, equipment, and just riding in general. So here goes on one of those topics.
Racing:
I started racing 4 years ago. My athletic background is a little bit different than most cyclists. I never did track, cross country, xc skiing, or any other endurance sport. I played baseball and football through high school and a little amateur baseball beyond that. In fact, I remember complaining when the coach made us run 3 laps around a football field=)
Anyway, my first season, 2002, I did 2 races...on Murphy Hanrehan short race (hardly counts) and one called the Blockhouse Roll in Platteville, WI.
The next season I did 2 weekend races, Spring Cup and Blockhouse again, along with a couple Buck Hill races all at a comp level.
In 2004, I debated before the season about expert or comp. I ended up forking over the $50 for a NORBA license so I could try expert. It ended up being a better season than expected with a 5th place overall in the Expert/Elite class for the Minnesota State Championship Series. At that point, I was granted an upgrade to semi-pro.
The 2005 season was another step in the right direction. I had a list compiled of the my results so I just pasted them here.
2-Apr Oxbow Spring Classic 10th (road race on my dual suspension mountain/road bike=)
29-Apr Hillside Blast 3rd
7-May Spring Cup at Buck 7th
29-May Buck Thurs 2nd
2-Jun Buck Thurs 3rd
9-Jun Buck Thurs 2nd
12-Jun Afton Avalanche 5th
16-Jun Buck Thurs 1st
23-Jun Buck Thurs 3rd
26-Jun Dirtspanker Classic- Mont Du Lac 5th
30-Jun Buck Thurs 3rd
10-Jul Mankato 6th
14-Jul Buck Thurs 1st
17-Jul Lebanon Hills TT 1st
21-Jul Buck Thurs 1st
24-Jul Muddy River RR - Red Wing 4th
28-Jul Buck Thurs 1st
7-Aug Welch Jam 3rd
21-Aug Spirit Mt Powder Monkey 6th
25-Aug 24 Hours of Afton Team Competition 2nd
17-Sep Chequamegon 15th

The long and short of it is that I haven't been racing long and am still learning. We will see what this year brings.
Look for future posts on how I train, what equipment I use, and 2 sweet training trips I have planned for spring.

peace