From 75 and Sun to 25 and Blizzard

I've been getting a lot of emails and calls wondering if I'm dead, NO, just really busy. Between my internship, PQ training and KP time...I've been booked. The weather in Rapid has the town in lock down giving me time to post. It's nice to have a day off after last weeks 18 hours of training...I'm tired. Look below to see some of the fun stuff I've been up to.

BEAR BUTTE

I've been lured to run up this lava plug since I first saw it in October. From the parking lot it's a 2 mile assent, up 1000ft. This photo is taken from the south side, the north side was ice and snow packed, but it was runnable. At a good pace it took 12 minutes to get to the top. This WILL be my hill repeat course.

FIRST FLAT

Bombing down St. Martins...they have sharp rocks here!

MAN CAVE

The garage is ready to roll. I've been "working from home" for Tim at ACME bikes. This is a big help since I can't make it to the shop during his business hours. Dudes...it's really nice having a MAN CAVE.

TEAM SD GOES CAVING

Caving is the craziest shit I've ever done. Now, without question, I'm the craziest guy Tostin knows. The only way in and out of this cave was to rapell and climb. We and our guide Dano spent 6 hours in Reeds Cave, a private cave that I'm told is one like the one we will be going into during PQ. Most of the time we were doing strange contorsion positions, & we rarely stood tall. There was one section that I had to completely exhale all the air in my lungs to squeeze through. I have the scars on my back to prove it.

15+

After the great riding with the Big Fish during the week and some long hours with the team this weekend, the ol' calander showed a 15.45 week. I haven't done this many hours since OMA about 2 years ago. This is a little scary...the weeks are only going to get longer!

Today will be a day off; filled with bike cleaning, unpacking and oh yeah...first day at work=)

These Creeps Can Roll, Man.

The Big Fish, younger bro Seb and I rolled into Rapid on Monday. My car, their van, and a uhual trailer was fairly full, but but the trip went well at only 9 hours in the seats. Paps set the trip. before we left and showed 601 miles door-to-door. There is something irronic about this...that is the distance that I will be covering this summer during PQ. Strange?

Dad and I got our first road miles outside this season on Tuesday. 55 degrees, light wind, 2 hours, at the Badlands Loop. We were only passed by three (3) cars the entire ride. The first of the three wasn't seen until 50 minutes into the ride. I have a feeling I will be training there a lot...or until the tourist roll in.

Fun With Training...

I've officially started running with a backpack. During PQ I"ll have about 25-30lbs strapped to my back...so there is no better time to start. Today there was only 6.5lbs of randomness carried (couple pairs of pants, books, avid bb7's) and I can feel the extra weight in my legs, abs and lower back. It's safe to say that I'll be doing extra crunches and back extensions at the gym tonight. Soon, look for me on the cover of QR Magazine with a "ripped" six pack =)

What's the Worst That Could Happen...

Primal Quest '09, huh? Yeah that's right...Randy sent a call my way yesterday saying, "Bad news, you're in." Now, I'm officially apart of Team South Dakota. Although it's important to note that I'm not the teams first choice. What is joy and elation for me is devastation and sadness for another. Dan, one of the original members, is dealing with one of my biggest fears. His wife has recently been diagnosed with brain cancer...because of this he has with drawn from the race. I grinned ear to ear when I got the call from Randy, but I can't help but feel terrible. But this will be my and the teams motivation. No matter how bad our feet hurt, no matter how hard the course is and no matter how hungry we get...our pain is short and much less painful than chemo or radiation.

Dan...I promise...I will have to be close to death before I think about throwing in the towel.

As the address suggests...

Flew in to Rapid on Friday...I brought a secret. It took her by surprise and she said yes. We have not set a date as of yet, but stay tuned, more events might be on the horizon.

Really Lance Armstrong?

You have Oakley in your front pocket and you choose those shades?