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2023 Running year in review

2023 ended up not being quite the year I had planned when it came to running. I had some goals that I set at the beginning of the year, and unfortunately, only a few of them were accomplished in the way that I wanted. I had set a goal of three gravel trail based races for the year. The first being Sugar Badger 50K. I had enjoyed this race a few years prior, and set a PR, and wanted to go back…

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2023 Biking year in review

It’s time once again for my annual review of how I did in the biking and running endeavors that I do, and first up is a review of my year in biking. After completing the Tuscobia 80 on foot last New Year’s Eve, I took a break from all workouts. It was nice to let the body recover and not be constantly in a training plan. However, that didn’t mean I wasn’t dreaming of getting out there. In…

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Exploring bike paths in my home town

Over the past few years the suburb that I live in, Fridley, MN, has slowly been adding more and more infrastructure for biking. The past three years has seen a large increase in the number of miles of bike paths available to people, and it’s been wonderful to start to see more amenities that don’t require a car. Just last week the latest addition to this infrastructure was completed connecting…

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A DIY iPhone StandBy Stand

With the release of iOS 17 came a new fun feature to my trusty iPhone, StandBy Mode. When you turn your phone sideways, and it’s charging, you get a new horizontal display mode that you can set to be a variety of fun options. I was very intrigued by this for one particular reason… for the past 6 months we haven’t had a digital alarm clock in our bedroom after our previous one died (it was over 20…

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Moving over to Subaru

October was a busy month for us, made busier by starting the month with our VW Tiguan getting totaled in an accident. We we’re the ones driving it at the time, and no one was hurt, but it did leave us with only one vehicle until we could get through the insurance process, as well as a ton of other things going on (like putting on a race and traveling to other states). As we contemplated what to…

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Some quick life updates

It’s been a couple months since I posted here, and so I thought it was about time for a general life update post. August through October is always a crazy time in our lives with the fall running and biking calendar packed with activities. Between heat in the summer and cold in the winter, some of the most packed times for events to take place is during our shoulder seasons where things can be a…

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Adventure Van turns 150!…thousand

This week I glanced down at the odometer of our Dodge Grand Caravan (Adventure Van) and noticed it said 149,992. As I was heading to work, and that journey is 10 miles, I knew I’d be witnessing the big turnover to 150,000 on my commute. Sure enough after getting my breakfast and starting the drive down East River Road I saw the digits flip to a big round number. I was coming to a stop at an…

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Race Report: Badger 100 DNF

As I start writing this race report, I’m still not 100% sure how it’s going to end up. I have a lot of thoughts running through my head right now about how the Badger 100 went for me. Perhaps some catharsis will happen as I process everything onto the written page? There’s a lot of emotions going on as well, but perhaps the best place to start is with the facts. How it went My training block…

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It's race week!

On Saturday I line up for my second 100 mile running attempt at the Badger 100 down south of Madison, WI. This is a rail-trail race, meaning that the course is almost entirely flat gravel path for the entirety. We start at the far end of the course and run to the race HQ in Belleville, WI, run past the HQ a few miles to a bar, and then turn around and run all the way back to Orangeville, IL,…

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Freedhem 46 2023 - a race post-mortem

Last year I did my first gravel race at Freedhem 46, and I decided to return this year to see what I could do. My wife was also racing and so we packed up the car early and did the hour and forty minute drive to the tiny general store in Freedhem, MN. This year I was riding my new Otso Fenrir Ti bike and was excited to put it through its paces at a gravel event. I’ll talk more about the bike in…

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Altra Torin 7 review: Why are you trying to be HOKA??

Dear Altra, I’ve been a fan of your shoes since the Timp 1.5 (2020) and have discovered a great lineup of running footwear that meshes with my biomechanical and comfort needs. Yet, in the past few years you’ve decided to slowly strip away everything that made Altra unique, and instead try and emulate that “other brand”, for some unknown reason. Please understand that many of us fell in love with…

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Exploring Limits: Mountain Biking in the Southwest

My experience with singletrack has come in three areas. My first exposure to singletrack has come through trail running. One of the main parks where I run has a nicely groomed singletrack area and we would often run there for a change of pace from our standard horse trail loop. It was here that I was first introduced to the sharp turns and undulating terrain that makes up traditional mountain…

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My year of gravel

As I thought about what I wanted to accomplish in 2023 for running and biking events, I ended up landing on a theme. In addition to doing another 100 mile trail race this year, I wanted to incorporate some biking events. As I started to investigate what events appealed to me, a pattern developed, so I decided to just lean in. The result is 5 events that all revolve around gravel. When people…

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Shoe Review: Altra Outroad

Ever since Altra made changes to my beloved Timp trail shoes, I’ve been shopping around a bit more. I still wear Timp 4s (finally settled on size 9), and they’re fine, but I figured this was a good opportunity to check out what else is out there, both inside and outside of Altra. The biggest issue for me is that zero drop really works well on my body, particularly my knees. I tried some Hoka’s…

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Surly Ghost Grappler - the 400 mile review

When the Surly Ghost Grappler was announced in February of 2022 I was intrigued. It was a weird mix of mountain bike, gravel bike, and… something else. The geometry was strange and foreign to me, but the chonky tires screamed “THIS BIKE IS FUN!” Billed as a “drop bar mountain bike” I just wasn’t sure what to make of the bike, and after reading some reviews I decided that it probably wasn’t a bike…

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Race Report: Tuscobia 80 Winter Ultra

Race Report: Tuscobia 80 Winter Ultra

As friends and family are aware, I’ve been trying to finish the Tuscobia 80 Winter Ultra for 3 years. After two failures in 2019 and 2021, this was the year I committed that it would happen no matter what. I knew I could do this race. I knew it was within my limits. I just needed to execute, and finally this year I felt more ready than I ever had before. For the uninitiated, the Tuscobia 80 is a…

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2022 Biking year in review

2022 Biking year in review

This year was another great year for me when it came to biking. Although I had to take a break in the middle, due to my surgery, I still managed to have a solid year of riding. The year started out with some riding in the desert as we brought our bikes down to Nevada for a couple weeks in February. I got to do some awesome rides like the Hoover Dam trail and the River Mountains Loop. Had a solid…