2008

First post.

Yeah, I'm having fun...

318 race. O I mean ride.

After waiting for the Pres. we took off at a nice clip. Little guy and I got dropped a little then made the break leaving nothing but Shame behind us. After awhile Matt's little fly catchers got cold so he stopped at the Dunns. Not one to leave a soldier behind I went back for him. After our 4th espresso shot we felt rejuvenated and decided to go around lake Minnatonka. After stopping at a fish house, shot gunning a Molsons and catching a Wallie (Think we didn't?) we powered it back to the cites.

Where were you guys?

POSERS!

Cold Sprints.

Let me tell you, Super-rookie and Grumpy's is really out doing itself with these things. I went only to watch then felt the need to race. Being a gear masher I didn't think I would make the top 16 cut but I did. I faced Tim W. (who is that?) On a bike that was to small... and lost.( Bikes have to have really long seat post with quick releases.) Get on it Tim. ;)

I would say about 99% of the bar crowd was there because of the sprint. It was packed and Tim said they raised a lot more money then last time. I think even Franz got into the spirit and took off his shirt for some lucky girls for ten bucks. I didn't get any money for taking of my shirt. :(

After feeling like an old hand after the night I have some suggestions for future CS champions.

- Before you even get there dress appropriately with nice fitting shoes (NOT Doc Martins) light pants/shorts and shirt.
- Arrive early and qualify. So that when you make the next round you'll be well rested.
- Have a couple of beers but don't over do it and for gods sake don't eat the taters.
- After your rounds find a chair to sit in and rest.
- Spin your legs off. Don't worry the crowd will ease the pain with ear splitting noise.
- Then become a living legion. Pose with podium girls.

Tim you should definitely crab a few girls out of the crowd! I don't think you would have a hard time finding them.

All and all this event is THE event. Even the President was there. Don't miss the next one.

No Pres. ride for me.

I don't have the body fat to pull it off.

I'm going back to sleep.

Too easy.

Wild 6 Rangers 3

All I have to say is WOW this game had it all. Thanks to Scott aka Scooter. I once again was able to see it in person and had a great time drinking beer and watching hockey.

Yo Shame, I hear Martin Skoula is looking for a new team.

Shame of the day.

Current GPA

4.0

Is that good?

RIP Willy

RIP Willy "Bird." He was a playful mutt all the way to the end. He was 13 years young.

Nothing like home.

It's good to be home. I went to CX nationals, blah blah blah got pulled after 2 laps and it looks like I was 2 laps down? I wasn't even lapped. my heart rate never got above 140-150... Thank you H-Wood for letting me use you bike again. I only crashed like 4 times a lap... It'll be cleaned by the time I get it to you. Thanks again.

Shame won last night 4-2! Mucker even scored, Off his shin pad.

Rumor has it...

A former Canadian Team pu$$y is going to throw aside his aluminum grandma walker for a Carbon Fuji.

Did hell freeze over?

It's like this.

Foreclosure $160,000
Paying back the Army $1,400
Tuition cost $2,700
Being 27 and getting through your first semester in college with out going to jail. Priceless.

I guess I still have a couple days left till I leave for winter break...

Dan I writes:

"Nice. How da heck did OK manage such a payout?!"
Here you go, SoundPony and Wild Turkey. Plus they care about their racers down here. The old guy got $750.00 for winning!!! Remember all the free hotels I stayed at earlier?

OK CX Championships.

I was going to write a report for BikeThrow.com but it's finals week and I don't want to. Anyway it was a guarantee pay-out of 15 deep for the "A" race. I was originally going to race the "B" race but when only 17 people signed up for the "A" race I put my number in the bucket. 60 min story short, Tilford won he lapped me twice and made fun of the gear I was pushing. The second time I waited for him at the line so I wouldn't have to do another lap... I got 12th and a nice pay out of 70 bones. Looks like I'll be able to eat this week. Here is some photos it was ALMOST EpiC.

My bike weighed like 40lbs... I wish I had a 36/18. If I didn't use my drops after awhile they would get covered with ice. My brakes didn't work AT ALL before the start... It was rainy and cold.

I'm cold. But my face is warm. :)

Trail poaching.

Thanks to our local government, they are now the biggest trail poachers EVER!

Read about it here.

I for one will NEVER pay for a round of Disk Golf or ride on an all volunteer based Mt. Bike trail.

Bikethrow get on this please!

Dear Santa,

I've been a good boy.

Deluxe Starter Set #2

Check this stuff out it's AWESOME!!! And not to much... I've been dorking out on this stuff for the last couple hours.

Microflight

Smithers or Bikethrow.com?

Which one will come out on top for your news source?

This is kind of like the Pioneer Press vs Star Tribune or FOX vs CNN.

Youngblood.

Can you believe I've never seen this movie till today, Shame on me... It's up there on my favorite list for hockey movies. Nothing like Canadian Junior Hockey and a little T and A.

Meanwhile in Texas...

SnOw!!

For those of you in MN, you know we're in the midst of a snow storm. For those of you in TX, this is what it currently looks like off of my balcony:

Charlie's not so keen about the snow in his older age. He used to love to run around in it when he was a kitten. At my old place in Dinkytown I had my own entrance, and he'd used to dart out to the parking lot in back and dive underneath car to car. He nearly gave my dad a heartattack doing that once while chasing him when I was out of town in the winter. We called it the Charlie Olympics. Old man's calming down :)

Bus

Why is there always that one guy who sits down next to me who takes up a seat and a half and then breathes really heavy like he's about to keel over? Does anyone else have this problem or do I just attract them?

Good stuff.

Cyclocross upgrade points from Verge sandbaggers.

An "IM" Circle.

I think this is called an "Instant Message Orgy." Can you believe they were not talking but instant messaging each other... Whats this world coming to?

WCP

Are the women models from a local modeling firm?

Some one has to know...

Big crash.

Let me make this perfectly clear to you all. SR beat me the second day at Jingle Cross Rock because of a big crash that I was caught up in.

Peace.

Good job Little Guy!

9:30pm

Where are you.

These guys are going to win a race tomorrow. Think the ain't?

Gobble! Gobble!!

It's snowing out. Lalla and I had been planning on going on our own Turkey Ride...so I made him get his ass dressed and out the door. It was my first time riding in the snow, and I loved ever minute of it!! I used to ski race (alpine) in high school, so the snow and winter are my domain. I love it. I wore plenty of layers and was surprisingly warm. We went down the trail towards the lakes, around Calhoun, and into Linden Hills where we made a pit stop at Dunn Bros for a little refreshment. Fun times were had. Now I'm going to eat turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes until I go into a very sleepy and happy comatose. Hope you all can say the same :)



Happy Thanksgiving! Have a fun and safe day!

kicks

over at the (dis)pencer, (dis) provided some excellent commentary and pictoral examples of the foot attire that those in the state cx were rockin'. however, he forgot to mention that he, himself, had on some pretty awesome kicks that day - so awesome I took a picture.

Find Skibby.

Where were you after the race? Did you make it to the after party?

MN State CX.

Man that was a good drive up. I did it in 13.5 hours, and that's a new record folks.

State CX was awesome. I finished back there aways but had a great time. This was by far the best CX race I've been to. I would say even better then JCR last year. The crowd was amazing numbering in the hundreds. There were whiskey shots (Where were you guys for the B1 wave?) fire crackers, and people bunny hopping the barriers. The beer was flowing, and I'm glad it ran out or else I don't know how Leslie and I would have got home.

Also, at the race was Grizz and Tracy who came home from China with a new baby! You can check out their story here: Red Thread to China

Thanks Leslie for the hand ups and Tim for the annoying cheering. It's good to be home.

H-Wood you truly set the bar on how a course and race should be put on.

Next weekend Jingle Cross, I can't wait!

Look over at Skinnyski.com for lots of photos.

7:30am

It's riding time.

It's like this almost every morning.

OKC.

I ended up behind a crash so I started in dead last. I raced most of the race alone till I made it up to the leaders with 3 or 2 to go. Then they stared attacking... I ended up 3rd. The 39/16 was perfect I only wished I have 175mm cranks and not 170s...

The Weekend.

Ride, beer, run(hash), beer, beer, go out, beer, beer, a shot, puke, sleep, get up, car trip to OKC, race, got 3rd, 1 more beer, car trip home, movie, night night time.



I'm F'in tired.

As Promised

Here are some pictures form the Grumpy's/Little Guy Racing Velodome CX. Enjoy!

This is how we roll.

We take two vans and a trailer when the rest of the peeps go. That guy on the middle of the door has a sweet gold tooth.

Velodrome CX

Cool fall temp, crisp air, and sunny skies made for a great turn-out at the Velodrome cross race today. I woke up and gathered all of my stuff together jumped in the car and headed to Blaine. I was told to be there by 9:30am to get things set up for registration. I got up there and the lot was empty. Thought I had perhaps beat the others there. I called Hotpinkevil! and Super-Rookie, and they said they were on their way. The gate was locked, so I couldn't get in nor did I have Tuffy's number. In the meantime, I went across the way to grab a cup of coffee. When I got back over, S-R & HPE had arrived. As we were setting up we were talking about how registration was starting at 10am which I mentioned was at that moment....except it wasn't. I had completely forgot about daylight savings!! Stupid stupid stupid! I could have slept for another hour. Oh well. At least TC did it too :)

Seeing how I was busy at the registration table (because of the fantastic turnout!), I couldn't really watch much of the C or B race, but since it ran behind where we were sitting I was still able to cheer a bit. Once registration was finished for the A race, HPE and I went straight over to the ditch to watch the muddy action. Really fun course to watch! I think everyone was just as curious as I was to see how things were going to be set-up. Little Guy did a great job constructing it! I was surprised at how much he was able to do with the space up there. Homme was given the microphone to commentate, however I think there were a few times when it ended up in the hands of Hollywood and Timmer...

Since the weather was so nice, not only did we get a great racer turn-out, we got a great spectator turn-out as well. Tyson and Jean from BCR came to cheer on Dan I. and Wiki as did the whole Wiken crew! Finley was really pumped about cheering dad on. Chuck from the wonderful shop at Behind Bars with his adorable daughter, Daisy, came to enjoy as well. Along with so many others! We had a few people who seemed to stumbled upon the race and decided to stick around and check out this Cyclo-cross thing which was cool. Thanks to everyone who came out!

I have some pictures from the A race that I will post soon.

**I know I said I was going to post my pictures (and I will still post a few), but I just took a look at Frye's pictures, and they're so much better. I'd recommend you go look at those.

Junior A

Tim can back me up here. 3 big ass Shiner Bock beers, 3 fights, 3 periods who would want more in life?


O yeah we aslo went to Mt. Scott but who the hell wants to see the power files?

Mission failed. :(

Shame on the son of gun who dumped these cute little dogs! Shame on you!

It's not uncommon to go on a ride and see a pack of feral dogs wondering around. With the temps as they are down here it's paradise to them. But clearly these little guys were dumped off and were not taking care of themselves. Adam B. (who is on the team) and I were going to try and save these little buggers. Let me tell you, even if a dog can barely stand they still have a lot of fight left. When we were doing the "rescue" another Mt. Biker rolled up, who saw them the other day and he brought cat food for them.

Tomorrow the team is going to Mt. Scott and after we'ar going save them.

I'll post a photo as soon as blogger lets me...

---

Update: Beer was more important. Sorry I'm human, Shame on me.

Elmo!

Giving a shout out to a friend who I haven't seen in a while. He's still playing that "kids" sport of competitive paintball. The dude is one of the coolest cats that still plays in MN. This looks like a photo from Kansas City. Jon when is the last time we had a beer? I think JT still owes me a few cases...


Your a man Elmo, your a man.

Sweet.

So I was playing around on usacycling.org trying to find my school rankings to see if I get a call up at nationals. I think I might be behind the starting line... I'm not sure.

Anyway it looks like I'm the Cat. 3 Road Race and Crit. leader in MN. Think I ain't? Also on top in the stage race category is Hoigaard's very own Mike B. Da bomber is also in the top 3 for the individual time trials.

I would like to think Hoigaard's CLR and LHB for a great year.

Thank you Uncle.

So I'm getting money... I just had a person tell me at the VA I shouldn't be getting money and another person tell me that I should and everything is going well. They even asked me on the phone if I should be getting the money? How the hell should I know? Can't these people do their jobs? Take a bulldozer to the current VA system and start over. If government employees worked in the real world they would all be fired.

Well the checks in the mail and I'm cashing the sucker. If I have to pay it back later "they" can rape my taxes, thank you Uncle Sam.

Every time I talk to the VA people I feel like I need to punch something.

Arggg, I feel better now.

Support your MSU cyclist.

T-shirts are $15.00 plus shipping. We have XL-Youth Large size. If you would like one or many contact me at lallamike@hotmail.com. All the proceeds from the shirt sale goes towards funding the cycling team throughout the collegiate season. Buy one and be the first on your block. If you buy one for a love one they will love you forever.*

You know what they say. If you can't be an athlete, you can at least be an athletic supporter.

Thanks for your support!

*This statement may not be true, Sorry. Jim R. you need to buy a lot more then a shirt. Maybe a T-shirt and 12 pack...

To: My best friend

It's been a while since I've wrote some rhymes.
So I figured it's about time.

This is for you, you know who you are.
The girl that's always by my arm.

We've dated that's no lie.
But friendship has worked better in our eyes.

We talk almost daily into the night.
We get into arguments, but really fight.

She hands me bottles when she there.
And support, when shes not near.

Shes loving and kind.
I must be a moron because I've declined.

One thing I know and Love.
Is her friendship, that I can't seem to get enough of.

Lets not let this stray.
Our friendship will always make my day.

The end.



I've had a few beers this is true.
Doesn't take a way the fact that I still miss you.

Really, I'm on the team.

Check the rest of the team out here


Michael Lalla

Hometown: Coon Rapids, Minnesota

Academics: Business

Up close: Michael returns to Wichita Falls as a student at Midwestern State after first living in the city several years ago while he was stationed at Sheppard Air Force Base. He trained and raced as part of the local cycling community then and that played a role in his decision to return for school.

Michael started racing on the road in 2002. He has a wide range of cycling experience in different disciplines, including cyclocross, mountain bike and track. He also has an interest in "Alley Cat" bike messenger races.

In his first few races in Texas, Michael has earned some impressive results in Category 3 and will be looking to upgrade early in the spring season.

---

Thats right Alley Cats... Maybe next year Tim? I'n not sure about early spring... I and the team want to have a good "Woell season" next year. ;)

Hillary 08

We love you down here in Texas.

Powderhorn in Pictures

Powderhorn was as fun an event as always today. Not quite as cold as it was last year, but it definitely started to chill during the A race. The course got changed this year, and a killer run-up was added (see below). To all who endured today's races: Way to go! You're much braver than I will ever be.

I hung out with Hotpinkevil! during the C Race and cheered on the crazies:

Barb and K-Wood showin the barrier who's boss.

Ray doing things his way

Killer run-up:

K-Wood kicking ass and taking names!

On his way to give the Mrs. a smooch. How sweet is that?!

I bet I could have helped to motivate Jim R. more so if I would have told him I was going to drink his beer. Hmm...must remember for next time.

I'm sorry to say that I do not have any pictures of the B Race, because I, myself, was drinking beer with K-Wood and friends. Thanks Hollywood for sharing the jug :) Homme even showed up when he said he wasn't going to (I think he's addicted to doing Bikethrow.com interviews)!

After a little beer and Pizza Luce, I went over to the feed zone to give hand-ups to Ed Alpasa, so there are few pictures of the A race. I was told by my sources that there were no butt cracks shown this year, and that the dollar bills were taped to the railing on the run-up.

Hollywood kicking ass and taking names just like his lovely lady.

The lead group consisted of Bjorn, Bergman, and Hareland. Bjorn went on to create a nice gap for himself and won with Bergman behind and then Aric.

Little Guy's Before & After shots (also in After pic is The Super-Rookie). I don't think he had any chain trouble today...Yay!

There ya have it. Powderhorn in pics.