Jay Richards

Over the weekend we picked up two Border Collie pups. They are a hoot!! With rain steady the past four days they are a mess but the kids have been having fun, running through puddles and zipping all over the place. (if it doesn't stop raining soon, Jonell is going to go crazy with all the mud and what not getting tracked in) Tonight my mom and dad were over for dessert and we decided on the names. The smaller one to the right will be named Jib and the one jumping on Jens will be named Fly. I think my dad is just as excited as the kids. They have been out with him while he has been planting trees. Jake made the proclomation that Jens was the strangest 3 year old in the world right now. He was outside, in the rain, underwear on backwards, green crocks and two different gloves on pushing his truck through the mud puddles. Good thing we don't have any neighbors!

Although it rained over the weekend I still managed to get some good hard riding in. Friday and Saturday I kept them short and sweet since we had people at the lodge. Early Saturday morning while the LL course was fairly dry I did some speed work on the singletrack. I started doing this a few years ago. Basically I attack and go all out on the uphills and then after cresting the hills, I try to keep the speed for a minute or so spinning like mad. It really is good for bike handling and dealing with fast speeds in the singletrack, esp. for races like Red Wing and Spirit Mountain. Yesterday I rode to Park Rapids from Maplelag to hook up with Jonell and the boys who left the same time i did. A 3 hour ride into the wind and rain. It was a grind but the pod helped kill the time. I still had fun despite getting gunked up with sand and I felt good at the end. Plus, Jonell's mom made a big meatball dinner with mashed potatoes and I gobbled up nicely. Working on a season preview for the mtb season. Be sure to check out skinnyski on Wed or Thurs!!