Jay Richards

The past few days we have been working on the bike course, trying to get caught up on clearing all the deadfall and what not. We changed the course a bit for the Sport, Comp and Expert loops, adding "Dougs favorite section" and eliminating some ski trail from the UCI loop. Jake and I rode laps tonight and the distance checks in at 6.3 miles per lap. Four laps Expert is the plan for now, 3 comp and 2 for sport. We aren't using some of the singletrack we cut last year. The thinking is to have the riders come through the lakeside drops more often as people like to watch there. Anyways, the Citizen course will be the same as the UCI beginner course this spring. We finally got all the trees cleared out (until the next wind anyways). It has been hot, muggy, buggy and just about as miserable as you can get for working in the woods. But the kids have been good and fun to have in the woods as we always get into some critters and what not. Today the mosquitoes were absolutely insane. After 3 hours, the kids were ready to go home as Jake and I marked the last intersection. It was crazy. I told them it makes them tougher but they weren't buying it. I'm such a mean Dad. We survived and when we got home I asked Jonell if the kids told them about the skeeters and she said no so they my guess is they aren't scarred for life.

Jack was the smart one wearing long sleeves and pants. He was wet with sweat when we went out.


This white oak took about a hour and a half to cut up and clear and 1 1/2 tanks of gas. Of course it would fall straight down the trail. Some good firewood but I think we have enough firewood for a while now.

Cut this popple up, Jake blew out the track and ends up we cuta short new section to make the loop we wanted. There was a huge spider that came crawling out that was kind of creepy. Creepyfriendly?!?!?!
And for now the cheezy picture of the week. Can do a lot of things with Picasa. Things were a bit soft and fuzzy after one fresh squeezed orange, two fresh squeezed limes, couple splashes of 100% pure cranberry, and Grey Goose. Shake with ice. About as pure as you can get. I think I got a good recipe now. But thats just it, they are different every time.
I picked up a couple pair of the hot tyres of the year. The Kenda Small block 8. At Afton EO set up Jake with them and he really liked them and Brendan raved about them to me at Afton and Mon Du Lac so I thought I would try a pair. I put a 2.1 on the front and a 1.95 on the rear. They worked great tonight on the Maplelag course. It had rained maybe a tenth of an inch this afternoon so a little slippery in spots but the tires connected nicely and they accelerate right on, for sure. Tomorrow morning I am riding the Resort route again to meet Jonell and the kids at the lake for the Fourth so look forward to testing them out on those trails over there. Have a safe and happy Fourth!!