St. Mary's 10K Nordic Ski Race - January 30, 2011 LifeTrek.Eroe.com

I participated in the St. Mary's 10K Nordic Skate Race yesterday.  Pictured with me to the left are Megan and Ryan Ping the winners of the overall Women's and Men's races.  Ryan is the brother of Garrett Ping who I skied with at the The Fridtjof Nansen Ski Race on January 16, 2011.  Both Megan and Ryan were members of the CXC Ski Master's Team last year and also have skied the American Birkebeiner seven times.

The conditions were great with temperatures around -4 C, a slight wind from the north, and as I have found each time I have skied on the St. Mary's Trails, excellent grooming.  A big thanks to Gary Borash the Outdoor Leadership Coordinator at Saint Mary's University for his leadership and organization of the race.  As can be seen from the race poster there was also a 10K Classic race held earlier in the day.

I had fast skis and felt fortunate as I had not re-waxed them from last week at the Birkie Tour where temperatures were between -20 and -16 C.  The reason I had not is because I have been under the weather for the last few days and was not sure if I was going to ski the race until the morning.  I still have something going on as I sneezed the whole way back from Winona to La Crosse but felt it was still worth getting outside and enjoying a wonderful Midwest winter day.  I am feeling a lot better today as the bug I had was probably moving into the respiratory phase yesterday anyhow or so I rationalize.

My Garmin did not record the course as I must not have hit the start button as I thought I had.  My official time was 54:58 for the 10K course which was a double loop around the main trails at St. Mary's.  To show you how fast the elite skiers are, they were finishing when I was near the turn for the second loop!  Garrett was with a group of four that finished very close together and well ahead of the rest of the field.  He was 4th overall.  Ryan's time was 25:43, Megan's 28:32, and Garrett's 25:51.

I still can not get over the beauty of La Crosse and the surrounding areas.  The drive up to Winona, Minnesota along the Mississippi is very scenic even on an overcast day like yesterday.  I did not have time to take pictures of the many folks who were out enjoying ice fishing.  I certainly can understand going out and fishing but not driving my vehicle out on the ice, especially on a river where there can be a strong current underneath.  But I am not an ice fishing or even regular fishing expert.

Finally, I wanted to provide a picture of the overall winners of the St. Mary's 10K Freestyle Race without the trail sweeper.  Congratulations Ryan and Megan!

BirkieTour II - January 22, 2011 LifeTrek.Eroe.com

Tim Burke and I participated in the BirkieTour II held on the American Birkebeiner Trail this past Saturday.  It was extremely cold with the temperature at -20 C at the start and -16 C at the end so dressing properly and having the right wax were challenges.  Both Tim and I were fine with both and then having a nice sunny day helped too!  The picture to the left was taken at the Fire Tower Turn Around about 10K into the tour.

The course was changed a few days before the tour so instead of starting at Telemark Lodge and ending at either Highway 00 for the short course and Hatchery Park for the long course the tour started at Highway 00.  See map at the left of the 20 K short course which went north on the Birkie Trail to Fire Tower Hill, the highest part of the trail, and then turned around and came back to Highway 00 on the new Birkie Classic Trail.  The trail was in great shape but because of such cold temperatures the snow was very slow.  I had perfectly waxed skis, however, so no complaints except with the change in courses, we were on some of the highest hills of the entire Birkie Trail the entire time.

I had wanted to go on and do the longer 42 K but with the cold was feeling the start of some frostbite on my face and then both of our toes were getting very cold too!  The map and stats for the tour are found at my Garmin which showed the course at 19.5 K.  Since this was a tour and not a race we stopped often to take in the beauty of the trail and especially the Classic Trail which we don't get to ski on very often.  Total time was 2:18:09.

Over 640 skiers pre-registered for this second annual event and with the cold temperatures the American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation was afraid it would keep people away.  Instead there were 50 new registrations on Friday night and Saturday morning.  The foundation also reported that skiers from as far away as Tennessee, Florida, Texas, and California in the United States and from Scotland, Russia and Canada participated in the event.  While that seems like a lot of skiers for a race it was much smaller than the American Birkebeiner race in February which attracts over 9,000 skiers for the various events.  What both Tim and I liked is that with the many up and downhills the course was not skied in with ruts that usually happen in the Birkie Race due to so many skiers.  Tim is pictured to the left at the Fire Tower turnaround.  I wanted to take more pictures but my hands got way too cold and it took me 2-3 K to get the feeling back in my finger tips.

After the tour Tim and I drove into Cable, Wisconsin and ate a late lunch / early dinner at The Rivers Eatery which is located in The Ideal Market.  Garrett Ping, who I skied with last weekend in Eau Claire recommended the restaurant and this will be sure to become a regular place for Birkie week too.  Wonderful stone oven pizza, salad, and plenty of good micro craft beer on tap all in a very nice atmosphere.  After lunch we visited John Kotar and his family at his cabin in Cable.  John is the founder of the Birchleggings Club and is a member of the American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation Board of Directors.  He did not participate in the BirkieTour but did get out for a couple of hours of skiing in the early afternoon because of the cold.

We stayed at the Lenroot Lodge in Seeley, Wisconsin and with the change in the BirkieTour couse we were very close to the start on Highway Double 00.  The lodge is owned by the same folks as the Sawmill Saloon, which is a mainstay of Seeley and a restaurant we have eaten at every year that we have been up for the American Birkebeiner ski race.  The Lenroot has very reasonable rates with nice rooms with a loft.  My only complaint is that the temperature could not be controlled so it was quite warm in the room.  All in all a great weekend with a one of my Birkie Buddies!  Tim will be meeting Mike Tarnow, our other Birkie Buddy, next weekend at the Noqueman Ski Marathon in Marquette, Michigan.  Too far for me to drive from La Crosse, Wisconsin.

The Fridtjof Nansen Ski Race - January 16, 2011 LifeTrek.Eroe.com

Yesterday I participated in The Fridtjof Nansen Ski Race at the Tower Ridge Ski Trails north of Eau Claire, Wisconsin.  It was a cold, clear, and crisp day with the temperature at the start at -14C and only warming up to -11C.  The Tower Ridge Ski Trails are very well maintained, wide, and perfect for skate skiing for both beginners and advanced skiers.  In fact there were junior and kids races as the trails only have a few steep hills with mostly flat and rolling terrain.  All are very scenic though the woods.  The picture to the left was taken just after I finished the race near the wonderful warming chalet that is located at the trails too.

I was curious about the name of the race and after only getting bits of information on the website and through asking people I did some research and found information at the Nobel Peace Prize website which I use here. The race is named after Fridtjof Nansen who was a Norwegian that was born in Oslo in 1861.  Growing up he became expert in skating, tumbling, and swimming, but it was his expertise in skiing that was to play such a large role in his life.  In school Nansen excelled in the sciences and in drawing and, upon entering the University of Oslo in 1881, decided to major in zoology. In the next fifteen years he united his athletic ability, his scientific interests, his yearning for adventure, and even his talent for drawing in a series of brilliant achievements that brought him international fame.

For a long time Nansen had been evolving a plan to cross Greenland, whose interior had never been explored. He decided to cross from the uninhabited east to the inhabited west.  The party of six survived temperatures of -45° C, climbed to 9,000 feet above sea level, mastered dangerous ice, exhaustion, and privation to emerge on the west coast early in October of 1888 after a trip of about two months, bringing with them important information about the interior.

Additionally, Nansen and one companion, with thirty days' rations for twenty-eight dogs, three sledges, two kayaks, and a hundred days' rations for themselves, had set out in March of 1895 on a 400-mile dash to the North Pole. In twenty-three days they traveled 140 miles over oceans of tumbled ice, getting closer to the Pole than anyone had previously been.

Nansen went on to work on several humanitarian projects including working with prisoners of war after WWI, directing relief for millions of Russians dying in the famine of 1921-1922, repatriating refugees from Greece and Turkey for the League of Nations, and in assisting to save the Armenian people from extinction.  He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1922 and died in 1930.

I drove up to the race with Garrett Ping who is a Chiropractor from Winona, Minnesota.  Garrett is an elite skier who has done several American Birkebeiner and other regional ski races.  He is also a road cyclist which is where I got to know him, through a post he had made on the listserv that he was going up to the race.  Garrett had never done the Fridtjof Nansen Ski Race either.  He is pictured to the left in red with Brant Wesolek.  Garrett came in second place overall with a time of 43:38.7 or only 4 tenths of a second behind Brant.  Garrett and Brant's best placement overall in the Birkie is 99th and 45th respectively.

My time was quite a bit behind the leaders but, like all the races I do, my main purpose is to have fun and just ski!  I had waxed a bit warm so my skis were sluggish but when things don't work out just right I just take in the beautiful scenery, work on technique, and be thankful that I am enjoying such a beautiful winter day in Wisconsin!

The race was advertised at 15.6 K but we were told that it was just over 14 K at the beginning of the race because of grooming in one of the areas.   My Garmin showed 14.69 K and my time was 1:26:18.  The map of the race is to the left.

Skiing at St. Mary's - January 9, 2011 LifeTrek.Eroe.com

Over the New Year's weekend we had a warm-up in the Midwest with rain and temperatures sometimes reaching into the 40's.  While we did not loose all of our snow it turned it very hard once the temperatures went back below freezing which made it difficult for skiing.  We have had a few more inches of snow but the skiing in La Crosse is still a bit challenging.  Saint Mary's University in Winona, however, has excellent grooming equipment and trails that are dedicated to skiing so they are not trampled over like the Hixon Forest trails.  This is quite a challenge to the volunteer Hixon Groomers here as there are a lot of walkers and snowshoeing.  The picture to the left is of St. Mary's in the distance taken from one of the trails.

 I was able to download the trail map off the St. Mary's website.  There are 16.7 kilometers of trails and what the map does not show is the elevation which is very nice as the trails are in the bluffs along the western side of the Mississippi River.   My Garmin map provides a much better map of the elevation.  My total distance was 14.62K.

It was not my best day today as I thought I was coming down with some type of stomach aliment last night but felt better in the morning.  I was very slow at first but picked up as I went along.  Also I had waxed for the high temperature of about -9 C but it did not warm up until much later.  When I started it was -14 C so I can use the excuse of my wax not being quite right too!

The picture to the left is of a nice wide section of the trail that has double tracks for classic and a nice wide area for skating.  Most of the trail system is single tracked with a skate lane but all of the trails are well groomed and taken care of which, with the hills, makes this a great spot to go for Birkie Training.  St. Mary's asks for a $2.00 donation which is very reasonable given the condition of the trail system.

I'm Not In Kansas Anymore - December 19, 2010 LifeTrek.Eroe.com

At St. Mary's University Trails

Last weekend we had 16.5 inches of snow here in La Crosse, Wisconsin on top of 5-7 inches that we received the prior weekend.  The snow was so deep last Sunday I could not get out on my Nordic skis but did try and then kicked myself for not bringing my snowshoes which would have worked perfectly.

This weekend I was able to get out for 30+K of skiing on both Saturday and Sunday by taking advantage of the trails here in La Crosse then driving up the Mississippi river for about 20 miles on the Minnesota side to ski in Winona.

Hixon Forest Trail Map

The trails in La Crosse are in the Hixon Forest which traces it roots to the founding of Grandad Bluff as a park.  The land was donated to the City of La Crosse in 1912.  The trails were a project of the Greater Area Chamber of Commerce and the La Crosse Park and Recreation Department.  A volunteer group, called the Hixon Groomers, provide grooming for both skating and classic skiing on some of the trails and the adjoining Forest Hills Golf Course. On Saturday I also saw several folks on snowshoes on some of the steeper narrow trails.  Great local place to ski!  My Garmin showed 15.58 K.

One of the Nice Hills at Saint Mary's

The trails in Winona are located at Saint Mary's University which I am told has a consistently good Nordic Ski Team.  With these nicely tucked away trails running through the bluffs I can see why!  Conditions were fabulous with mostly nice wide trails groomed for both skating and classic.  They were also quite challenging at times which makes for good American Birkebeiner training since that course is mainly all hills.  My Garmin showed 15.09K.

If you have never driven along the Mississippi River between Wisconsin and Minnesota you have to add it to your list.  Very pretty vistas with the river and then these very large bluffs that remind you of mountains!  I had never experienced the beauty of this area and had been coming to Wisconsin for 25 years prior to moving here to ski the Birkie. This picture was taken heading towards Winona on US Routes 14 and 61, which run together during this stretch.

Life on The Mississippi - October 23, 2010 LifeTrek.Eroe.com

I moved to La Crosse, Wisconsin at the beginning of October to take a position with the Gundersen Lutheran Health System as the Program Director for the MedLink AIR and Specialty Care critical care transport programs.  I feel very honored to be affiliated, not only with a great health system, but also with first class air and ground transport services.  The picture to the left is of the MedLink AIR Eurocopter EC-145 helicopter over the Gundersen Lutheran Hospital and Clinic in La Crosse.  To the west is the Mississippi River and Minnesota.

I have only been able to get out on four bicycle rides since arriving as I attended the Air Medical Transport Conference for part of one of the weeks in Florida and it has been raining this weekend.  La Crosse has a number of cyclists and Nordic skiers and I have been able to join the local listserv which is sponsored by the La Crosse Velo Club.  In general the cyclists I have met so far are in a class above my speed level of 16-18 MPH as they average 25-30 MPH.  This is especially hard as this area has some incredible hills with all the bluffs along both sides of the Mississippi River.  The picture to the left is on top of Granddad Bluff just to the east of La Crosse and to get up to it there is a mile long climb with a 13% grade at the start and then ranging from a 7-10% grade for the remainder of the hill.

The 600-ft high Granddad Bluff overlooks the Mississippi River Valley which includes the three states of Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa. Wisconsin Trails readers voted this "the most scenic view in the state" and I know from my first ride it was well worth the climb.  The picture to the left, looking east, is from Main Street which then turns into Bliss Road as it goes up the bluff.  Bliss Road is closed to cars because of heavy rains that washed out part of the side of the road but it is passable for hikers and cyclists.  My first two rides went up Granddad Bluff and can be viewed from my Garmin here for the Grandad Bluff La Crosse - October 7, 2010 41.9K Ride and here for the County Road YY MedLink - October 9, 2010 37.6K Ride.  On the October 7th ride I went out with Jen who is the leader on an organized ride and on October 9th I went out myself but ended up riding with another cyclist for part of the distance.

On October 16th I went out for a longer ride that started out with a large group of riders.  After the first mile long hill on County Road K, however, I could not keep up with the fast pace so I went on my own exploring the country side to the east and south of La Crosse.  It was a gorgeous sunny day with temperatures in mid 60's and a 5-6 MPH wind from the south.  There is beautiful farm land which includes both rolling hills and very lengthy climbs and descents.  The picture to the left is of a farm just to the southeast of Chaseburg, Wisconsin.

This area of Wisconsin has a number of Amish communities and during this ride I saw a number of covered wagons, farms, and furniture shops.  The picture to the left is from an Amish farm and you can tell by the way they bale their corn stalks.  After the forth mile long climb I came out of the bluffs at Genoa, Wisconsin which sits right on the Mississippi River and is about 17 miles south of La Crosse.  Unfortunately I had my 8th flat tire of the season with a steel pin going through my new Kevlar back tire on the last climb. With all my experience changing flats, however, I was again climbing the hill on Wisconsin Highway 56.

This picture was taken north of Genoa on Wisconsin Route 35.  The river is very scenic here and the highway includes a nice wide shoulder.  It was also a welcome relief to have some flat land and the wind at my back to finish the 92.4K ride.  The map from my Garmin can be viewed here Amish Country Ride - October 16, 2010.

On Sunday, October 17th I went out with Tom, who is cyclist I met on the Saturday ride and who also works at Gundersen Lutheran as an Ophthalmologist.   Tom, like me attended Michigan State University, and we went out for a late afternoon 54.2K ride.  Temperatures were cooler than Saturday in the high 50's without much wind and Tom showed me one of the regular routes that many cyclists do on County Road M.  The ride can be viewed from my Garmin here County Road M - October 17, 2010. 

Except for a few hearty souls the cycling season pretty much ends in La Crosse at the end of October which is when I usually switch over to roller skiing to get ready for the Nordic ski season anyhow.  Fortunately there are a number of Nordic skiers here in La Crosse so I look forward to training with them on roller skis and then actually skiing with a few local trails in the area.  Depending on snow levels, the best skiing will usually be found further north.

Tour de BBQ - October 2, 2010 LifeTrek.Eroe.com

The Quivira Park Bike Group joined the Tour de BBQ Ride which is the LIVESTRONG Army of Kansas City’s signature fundraising event on Saturday, October 2, 2010. The proceeds benefit the Lance Armstrong Foundation and The University of Kansas Cancer Center.  This was the 2nd year for the Tour de BBQ Ride and there were over 2,000 riders compared to over 400 in 2009, so quite a statement for the bicycling community in Kansas City.

All the events, including the start and finish were at the Power and Light District, which has become a premier dining, entertainment and shopping district in the heart of downtown Kansas City.  Attractions include the Midland Theater by AMC, The AMC Mainstreet Movie Theater, and the KC Live! Entertainment District. There are also more than 50 restaurants, bars, shops, and entertainment venues in this new nine-block neighborhood which links the Convention Center to the Sprint Arena. 

We had a good contingent of riders, friends, and spouses who showed up for the ride, which included 15, 35, and 62 mile distances to choose from.  Most of our group did the 62 mile course or a 100 kilometer Metric Century.  All the SAG stops were at famous BBQ restaurants in the Kansas City area so the course got a bit convoluted in areas especially when there was construction.  The volunteers and great food made up for this, however.  I did not personally eat any of the BBQ until the end, because first, I do not especially like BBQ and second, I like to eat just performance food while exercising.

Carlo and his wife completed the course on their tandem bike and were quite fast on the downhills and a bit slower on the uphills given the weight of the bike.  Picture of me is on College Boulevard in Olathe and this and many of the others were taken by Rob Rhodes.

The route can be viewed from my Garmin.  Total distance was 100.12K and average speed was fairly slow at 22.4 KPH given all the turns and stops, especially in the downtown urban areas.

After the ride Smash Mouth performed a number of their classic hits in the KC Live outdoor area, which made for a wonderful ending to a great ride.

Randy's Urban Ramble - September 29, 2010 LifeTrek.Eroe.com

Randy Rasa, webmaster for the Kansas Cyclist website and the co-producer of the Kansas Cyclist Podcast, and I went on a nice 83 kilometer ride in the late afternoon into the evening.  Randy wanted to hear David Herlihy read some passages from his book called The Lost Cyclist at the Kansas City Public Library Plaza Branch at 18:30.  The event was sponsored by Rainy Day Books.  I did not read the book or attend the reading since we got their late and we had heard that the library was not the safest place to leave our bikes even when locked.  So I caught up on some e-mail and RSS news on my iPhone while Randy joined about 25 others listening to David inside.

The pictures were taken on an old bridge on Kenneth Street and 151st Street that crosses the Blue River.  Randy likes to find old bridges.  It was a beautiful day with temperatures in the high 70's and then when coming back from The Plaza in the dark down to the high 60's.  I usually don't like to ride at night but with proper lighting it is amazing how much less traffic there were on roads that I cycle on all the time.

Another interesting part of the ride was riding down the Blue River Parkway in Missouri and then entering Swope Park in Kansas City.  The parkway is a wonderful ride as the pavement is smooth, there is not much traffic and it follows along the Blue River and also numerous mountain biking trails.  With all the recent rain there was a spot where the road was partially destroyed but it was no problem getting by on bicycles.  See picture to the left.  We did not have much time to explore Swope Park since we were late for the reading but it is an incredible place.  See link for more information.

A map of the ride is available from my Garmin.  Total distance was 83.11K and our average speed was 22.7 KPH.

Quivira Park Bike Group Ride 18 - September 11, 2010 LifeTrek.Eroe.com

For the Quivira Park Bike Group Ride 18 we rode the Lake Lenexa Route, which is a 38.7 mile course that includes the famous "Oh My Ogg Hill".  The weather was in the low 70's at the start and low 80's at the end of the ride with a fairly brisk wind from the northwest of about 8-10 MPH.  Humidity was in the mid-range so a very nice morning.

We had 18 riders and not pictured to the left is Joe who had to cut out early before the SAG stop at the Charles J. Stump Park, which is our usual SAG for this route.  The picture was taken at the children's playground at the park.  Notice the dinosaur!

Rob, our resident bicycle photographer and the Chief Photographer with KCTV-5 and KSMO-62 here in Kansas City, took a number of great pictures.  This one is of the group leaving Quivira Park.  Unfortunately a number of times we got so spread out we kept some of the faster riders waiting.  One wait was when Dan, a new rider, and I thought there were still some riders behind us before we made the turn onto College Road and so we backtracked only to find them at the Black Hoof Park, at Lake Lenexa one of our meet-up spots.

We also had a slight delay because Marshall had a flat soon after we started down 127th Street so we stopped at the Johnson County Library on Black Bob Road to change it out.  Thanks to the Quivira Park Bike Group Pit Crew we had him up and rolling again in about 15 minutes.  Joe also got to use his first CO2 cartridge!  I don't want to talk about how many I have used with all my flats this year.  Fortunately the new tires with Kevlar are working great!

This picture shows us going up Ogg Road on the "Oh My Ogg Hill".  It is hard to tell from this picture but the hill has about a 14 degrees rate of climb at this point and then keeps going up after the road turns to the right.  Lots of fun if you like hills!

The last picture shows Dan and Chris exhausted after the long climb up Ogg.  A map of the entire route can be uploaded from my Garmin and it includes the distance to and from my house.  Total distance was 72.09 kilometers and average speed was 23.6 KPH for my ride.

Quivira Park Bike Group Ride 17 - September 4, 2010 LifeTrek.Eroe.com

The Quivira Park Bike Group Ride 17 took the new Cleveland Route today.  It was an absolute gorgeous day with temperatures in the mid 50's at the start and low 70's at the end.  Best of all was there was very low humidity and zero wind - yes, zero wind!  Hard to believe in Kansas where it seems to be windy all the time.  This was probably the best day I have ever had cycling in Kansas and I heard the same from many of the riders.  Just a picture perfect day!

The Group in Cleveland, Missouri

This photograph was taken at the SAG stop in Cleveland, Missouri.  For more information on Cleveland see my blog post Cleveland Mapping Ride from August 19, 2010.


One of our riders, Tim, and his wife recently had a baby girl so his father, Brian (pictured in center with red and white shirt on) was visiting with his wife and so he joined us for the ride.  It turns out that Brian who is turning 60 put us all to shame as he is a super triathlete who has done triathlons in all 50 states and will be working during his 60th year by doing triathlons around the world.  He was pushing even our faster riders, who I know are 30 or more years younger, with speeds approaching 40 KPH on some of the flats.

Peloton in Missouri

We are fortunate to have Rob, who is the Chief Photographer with KCTV-5 and KSMO-62 here in Kansas City, as one of our group riders.   He took the next three shots from his handy camera by shooting while riding.  Notice the beautiful blue sky in the first two pictures.


A map of the ride is available from my Garmin.  My total mileage was 100 kilometers, which included a warm up ride and some extra kilometers after the ride to get to a Metric Century!  My speed was close to 26 KPH but I was actually one of the slower riders so the temperature and lack of wind really added to the speed.

Peloton in Missouri

Rob and Ed