Fall

Next week I'll be headed out to Minnesota for the Headwaters 100 bike ride/race and also a charity mountain bike race out at Rainbow Resorts. Yeah, I'm the guy that races a century on a Saturday and then races his singlespeed mountain bike on Sunday. Not too bright!

I'm looking forward to getting out to MN after a prolonged absence. Actually, I can't remember the last time I was out there, though I suppose it had something to do with RAAM.

Team Strong Heart is looking more vibrant than ever for 2009. I'm ecstatic to be a part of the team again next season. Of course, your support is more than encouraged, it's demanded! Drop me a line at tim@timcase.net if you'd like to get involved with our organization.

I'm hoping to bring a bit of excitement to the weekend events in Minnesota. This has been a crazy year and cycling season, with a bit more to come from yours truly. Since the conclusion of solo RAAM, I've been obsessively plotting the next year out and am pumped to get going! Yeah, I know we've only had about three months to recover and rest up from my epic journey, but the time to plan is now...

At some point my physiology got me back on track post-RAAM. I'm back with intervals, long, hard rides and some mountain biking thrown in for good measure. I love this time of year. Although I've learned to embrace the heat (think Congress, AZ with about 2600 miles to go), I'm a sucker for the cold, wet fall. A part of me is hoping for some crappy weather next weekend in northern Minnesota. I do well in that sort of crud. Wind, wet and cold. Yes!

Having ridden and raced in Minnesota for a bunch of years, I can well appreciate the riders who get out the door from their warm homes in the dead of winter, just to eek out a few miles on the bike. I vividly remember some rides with the Loonies or racers from Squadra where we would ride for 45 minutes, drink coffee at the Starbucks by the U of MN for 2 hours and then ride home. Those were the coldest and the best days.

Racers out in Colorado are good. When you see a rider out here wearing a Garmin Chipotle team kit, chances are that guy's on the team. Some of my teammates on Horizon Organic resemble little horse jockey fellows who were born climbers. There is more bling on the average roof rack out here than a bike industry trade show. Go get something to eat and there goes the Rock Racing guys. Grab a coffee in North Boulder and half the HealthNet team walks in for some pre-ride brew. But....and this is a big but....alot of the guys here in Colorado can't take the cold. They like their riding hot and fast and did I mention hot. A chilly day in Boulder (see also: 45 degrees Farenheit) might drag most riders back indoors for a yoga or pilates class, but those are the days where I get the real work done. Perspective is golden and you really haven't lived 'till you've had icicles hanging from your facial hair or the corners of your mouth. I have Minnesota to thank for that.

I've never put in more miles on the bike than I have this year. Easily I've ridden over 10k miles for the first time in my short life. I've done some crit racing, will try my hand again at mountain bike racing, will hit the cyclocross season after coming back from Minnesota and did I mention I soloed RAAM this year?

Despite all of this, or maybe because of this, I'm feeling stronger and more energized than I have in a very long time. Don't get me wrong, beer is starting to work its way back into my diet (thankyou Cutthroat Porter and anything else from Odell's Brewery)and yes, I think I will have a second piece of pie, thank you very much, but with the change of the season, my leaves are changing to a hot and bright shade of red...

Keep the rubber side down...

TC