Jay Richards

I finally got around to moving the 200 yards of fill stockpiled near the bmx track. Most of it going to backfilling around the candy store cabin. First things first I used some of it to build a couple new jumps and build up the berms. After bmx racing in town tonight, we hit the jumps. The recent rain helped things set up nicely. Jake was sticking the triple jump and I talked him into hitting the gap jump and he cleaned it almost perfectly. A few more runs and he had it dialed. His handling skills are coming around. I think on Sunday night of the Laddies Loppet weekend we will have to have a jumping show with Jake and the Benson bros from Canada who are planning on coming to race.

All the doping stuff hitting the fan now really stinks. Especially right before the tour is set to start. Seeing the fax to Haven Hamilton pretty much seals the deal on him being guilty in my opinion. I talked to a local racer who raced in Europe for a year about 8 years back and he had to get out because doping was accepted as the thing to do. I think the late 90s it was really bad in Europe. Dopers suck. There is basically no coverage in the Fargo Forum on cycling, only during the tour, but this Spanish investigation makes the paper and just a all around bad deal. The problem is really bad and I don't know what it will take to get things straightened out. Maybe what going on now will help. I guess if sponsors start pulling out maybe the testing will become more certain. How can someone like David Millar use EPO and never test positive for it. I think there is a lot of cover up. There will always be guys
doped that have a way to cover it up. I don't know. I have subsriptions to quite a few cycling mags and when all this doping stuff happens, I have a hard time reading about coverage and just want to ride and enjoy what I like most about cycling and that is being out on he road or on the trail enjoying the freedom.

Last night I was still a bit stiff from Sunday so I fired up the sauna and got all roasted until I couldn't take it anymore.... then jumped in the lake. There is nothing more relaxing. We had some hail earlier in the evening and the fog was rolling off the lake. Completely still, pitch dark except for some light coming from the cabins, loons, owls, fish jumping.....the mountains are beautiful but nothing beats the lakes in Minnesota!

Thursday morning Zigs and I are planning a four hour off road ride. We will probably do most of the point to point ride I have planned for a ride later in the year. I want to check out some new trails before making this ride official and Zigs found a new forest road that might cut out some pavement so we will head north to Pinehurst Resort and come back. If anyone is around the area by chance, come and join us. We will ride from 8am to noon.