Hardman? not so much...

Now I like the dude, he is a pretty fast sprinter, but he will never be the best. Garmin and Mr. V has put a ton of time and energy into him and has even spoken of his classics chances, green jersey chances, etc. etc...

Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news Mr. V...Its not going to happen, not ever...

You might be asking yourself. Why do you think this? JDoug, your an armature racer at best, you don't even race open in CX? Hell, you don't even race with those skinny tires on the road?

Its because of this!!!

Now I am not saying that hitting the deck in the middle of the Tour (I think it was the Tour anyway) does not hurt like hell.  I know your in a huge amount of pain at this point. But your crying dude! In the Tour!

Its that simple, time could prove me wrong, but it won't. I have never gotten this image out of my head since I first saw it. Hash? yes! Honest? Absolutely! Right? You betcha!

Hardmen make this sport so friggen awesome!!!! Now that you have seen this, you will need to go over to Big Ring Riding for a little while to Man up a bit before the weekend starts....

That is all... And no, he won't even be top 5 at San Remo....

Much better!

All this road/gravel training is getting to me... 

Owe how I enjoyed the single-track!!!

Big Wheels and Dirt = Awesome!!

Classics are Starting this Weekend!

I race MTB and CX, not road. Well, because I don't have a road bike.
Anyway, I love to watch and keep up with Pro roadies! Especially the spring classics!


There are two in Belgium this weekend... Here is a link to a preview of the races from my go to person to read about racing. 


Whit Yost , he used to be Pave but has moved over to Red Kite Prayer. 


Go here for the article.  Weekend Preview: The Omloop and K-B-K

As for local racing, good luck to all the folks I know racing this weekend... I need a road bike!!!!!

Article About Paleo Diet..

So I was walking out of Hy-Vee with my spinach salad for lunch and I ran into the city editor of our newspaper here in town. We began talking about healthy eating etc.. Come to find out he knew about, and eats a Paleo Diet. Only person I have ever met outside the cycling community who does. Well, next thing you know, I had a reporter call me that day asking if I would talk to her about this a little bit... Sure... 

The result of the conversation can be found over at the St. Joseph News-Press...

Owe ya, sporting my Twin Six Gear!

I have written a little about this over on the STJMTB blog,  if you are looking at the pros and cons of Paleo over other plans such as Race Weight for Athletes. At least the pros and cons as I see them, I have tired both.

***Disclaimer: I do not have any initials behind my name, I acknowledge that a registered dietitian has more formal education on the subject than I do.*** But I can read and even comprehend some of it.... With that being said;

After reading the article myself I did disagree a little with the registered dietitian they interviewed. In it she advises to approach it with "skepticism" and is wary of any meal plan that "eliminates whole food groups". Although I do approach most things with skepticism myself. I do not understand how a registered dietitian would not be supportive of people switching out their potatoes/pasta/etc for fresh fruit and vegetables. Especially with an epidemic of obesity in our country and in our own community. 

I did post a comment over on the online article about this. Since the article itself said that she was a long distance runner, the only true way we can test it is to challenged her to a month or two of Paleo for Athletes. 

If she accepts it and gives me an honest trial, I guarantee she will be putting up PR on her training runs. That is how much I think this works. I doubt anything will come of it and I am not sure what it would accomplish even if it does. I will keep you informed either way..

I do however think there should be an ongoing dialogue in our communities on eating habits. Just look around man, what has been going on for decades in the country is simply not working. Sometimes we need to look at things in a different angle, and if that is taking a food group out of our diet that everyone knows causes people to put on excess pounds. Then why not? Unused calories, especially starches and sugars when not used are turned into fat, its that simple. PALEO DIET IS NOT A LOW CARB DIET. It just suggests you should consume your carbohydrates from a different source.

Anyway, I am sure I have lost my 5 readers by now, hell this is like learning....

Also, real quick; I want to send out a special thanks to all the fast dudes who put the hurting on me last year! Without your reinforcement that I have to do something different to keep up, I might have never even bought the book and tried it out in the first place. You know who you are...

Report... There is nothing to report...

Man, other than training (not exciting either, but something I can focus on) this time of year is boring... In between seasons is getting old already... I have no races close enough to get excited for.

The pro roadies have not got into the full swing of things and are racing in the desert. The spring classics don't start for a couple of months... Crap!!!

I did do an interview with a local news reporter about eating a Paleo diet. This all came to be rather strangely, I will post about it when the time comes...

So what is going on???

Locally...

I did miss the latest Pirate CXC ride. That was probably a blast, the first one was...

Street Cred looks fun, I just don't have the motivation to drive an hour for it..

I read over on G's blog that he quit is job. Great! That's all we need, is more time for that fast mo-fo to train!

Both TDonn and Elwell are riding a rocket ship/full suspensions this year...

I have gotten some cool follwoers on my twitter account from Drunk Cyclists, 40Hands, Il Chat del Giorno & Mark from TwinSix!! Which means I am awesome!!! You should go and follow them and follow me too!!

Owe yah, UFD Schedule is out!!!! I am stoked for this year to start!
I am not sure if they are condensing the age groups for bigger fields (aka, the top dudes can win more money), but the Cat 1 field is looking to be super strong this year... Owe boy!!

Not Locally....

Boonen won the Tour of Qatar. Yes, I really don't care either, but his form is looking like the classics are going to be awesome again this year..

Contador given a ban for doping.. Yah, I really don't care about this much either. I do know keeping up with grand tours are more exciting when he does it have have the race in the bag with 2 weeks of racing left.

One of my all time favorite blogs, Pave is no longer. Now I have to go over to Red Kite Prayer.

I guess LA did well in a Tri yesterday. Yah, I don't care about this either, I ride bikes.

Anyway, that's all I got.... Well, you get what you pay for!

You Gotta Want It!!!

Go get your training on! MTB season is just round the corner!

Bone Bender Registration is Open! 

"Pain is a big fat creature riding on your back. The farther you pedal, the heavier he feels. The harder you push, the tighter he squeezes your chest. The steeper the climb, the deeper he digs his jagged, sharp claws into your muscles."
Scott Martin

Jensie digging DEEP...

Just embrace the pain dude...

To be a cyclist is to be a student of pain....at cycling's core lies pain, hard and bitter as the pit inside a juicy peach. It doesn't matter if you're sprinting for an Olympic medal, a town sign, a trailhead, or the rest stop with the homemade brownies. If you never confront pain, you're missing the essence of the sport. Without pain, there's no adversity. Without adversity, no challenge. Without challenge, no improvement. No improvement, no sense of accomplishment and no deep-down joy. Might as well be playing Tiddly-Winks.
Scott Martin

2012 UFD Schedule

2012 United Federation of Dirt Schedule

GAME ON!!!!!

United Federation of Dirt West Race Schedule
March 24 - God's Country MTB @ Lawrence River Trail (Chris Locke)
April 7 - Colavita Crocodile Rock @ Perry Lake State Park (Brett Shoffner)
April 22 – OMBA Caramba @ Sac River Trails (Ryan Meschke)
May 5/6 - Kansas Fat Tire Festival @ Wilson Lake (Doug Chambers)
May 20 – Kansas State Championship - Dirty Little Secret @ Fancy Creek State Park (Aaron Apel) 
May 26 - Robidoux Roundup @ Krug Park (Randy Tracy)
June 10 – Missouri State Championship - Down and Dirty @ Warsaw Lake (Mac Vorce) 
July 29 – Show Me State Games @ Rock Island State Park (Sarah Ashman)
September 9 - Tour de Lizard @ Camp Horizon (Bobby Smith)
September 30 – UFD Championship - Rhett's Run @ Cosmo Park (Andy Schuette) 

United Federation of Dirt Endurance Race Schedule
April 15 - BoneBender 3/6 hour @ Clinton Lake (Chris Locke)
June 2 - Dirty Kanza (Jim Cummings)
June 23 - Indian Camp Creek 3/6/12 hour (Todd Holtman)
July 21 – Rapture In the Midwest @ Perry Lake (Colavita/Ethos)
August 25 - Cruise the Blues @ the Farm (Doug Palen)
September 8 - Sac River 6/12 hour (Jason Feagans)
September 23 – Tall Oak Challenge @ Binder Lake (Team Red Wheel)
October 13 - Burning at the Bluff @ Council Bluffs Lake (John Farinella)
October 20 – Berryman Epic @ Bass River Resort (Scott Davis)

United Federation of Dirt East Race Schedule
March 25: Mesa Lost Valley Luau (Mesa/Matt James)
May 12: Greensfelder (DRJ Racing/Bob Arnold) 
May 20: Broemmelsiek Challenge (Mitch Johnson) 
June 17: Leadbelt XC. St. Joe Park (Mark Grumke) 
July: Dirt Crits Castlewood (Every Thursday) 
July 14: Castlewood (Pfoodman) 
August 19: Cyclewerx Crankfest. Cape Girardeau, MO (John Dodd) 
August 26: Lost Valley - St. Charles (Walter Davis/Mike Barro)
September 30: UFD Championship - Rhetts Run (Andy Shuette/CBC) 
October 6: Castlewood - St. Louis (Rich Pierce/ICCC)