Podcast Noob...

Made it through my first podcast thanks to Bill Koepke, Mr Team Early AF!

Listen by clicking the link below:

Episode 91: Fitness For Life w/ Scott Cole

A Tough Month Ahead...

Stressing a bit with my fat bike race coming up in 7 short days at Iola!  Just picked up some race course supplies and the big speakers for Snow Bully from Mr WORS Don Edberg.  Dropped the big items off at the Iola Winter Sports and had a meeting with Master trail groomer Phil Johnsrud about my crazy race course ideas and tying up any loose ends for a smooth night of fat bike racing.  Also, I'm praying for the weather Gods to be nice on the evening of January 31st.  After the Snow Bully it's time to do some body work that is badly needed on this old man  to make my life better.  Scared about having to rely on family and friends for a good 4 to 6 weeks, but looking forward to being in a better place physically when everything is over. 

We've got snow in central WIsconsin!  Get outside and enjoy your favorite winter activities...

Pedal on,

Scott

James Bembeneck @ Stevens Point Country Club 1/19/20 Sunday Morning Fat

Iola Snow Bully Fat Bike Race

Don't miss the 6th Annual Iola Snow Bully Fat Bike Race on Friday night January 31st "Under the Lights" at the Iola Winter Sports Club.  Register Here: https://www.bikereg.com/iola-snow-bully-fat-bike-race2020

Back to Blogging

I've decided that it's finally time to restore and update my blog after a very long absence.  To start off, I'm going to promote the two biking events that I'm putting on in 2020.  The 6th Annual Iola Snow Bully Fat Bike Race is on January 31st and new for 2020 is a WEMS Mountain Bike Race at Standing Rocks County Park in Amherst, WI.  The WEMS event is going to see mountain bike racing return to Standing Rocks for the first time since the mid 90's when the WORS Series held races there. Below is the WEMS schedule for 2020 along with event links here for the 6th Annual Iola Snow Bully Fat Bike Race & Registration page info. Just Ride...

The Bull Blogs Better than the Bull...

Good luck to my Wausau 12hr teammate April Morgan this weekend as she takes on the Leadville 100 in Colorado!!!  Below is the link to her blog write up from our 12hr win that makes my post seem rather boring. ;-)
Pedal on...

http://april--morgan.blogspot.com/2015/08/wausau-12-hour-bull-and-old-beast.html

So Long Ago...

Hard to believe this race, the 2006 24Hr Solo World's in Conyers, GA was almost 10 years ago.  It was quite the adventure racing on the 1996 Olympic Mtn Bike course and lots of fun with Mark, Steve, and Kyle being my pit support.

Wausau 24 Weekend

First, I need to send our condolences to the family of Rob "Sugs" Hoffman.  You are all in our thoughts and prayers.  We all ride and race our bikes because people like Rob always made it about being fun first!  Pedal on Rob... 

The Wausau 24 was a great return to racing for me after over a month off nursing my sore shoulder back to an acceptable level of pain tolerance.  April Morgan and I teamed up in the 12 Hour Duo Coed category under our team name, "The Bull and the Old Beast."  The weekend started off good with being pitted together with Danielle Musto and her crew from Grand Rapids, MI.  This year I managed to survive the LeMans Run by only stiff arming only one fellow competitor to put in a strong first lap tagging off to my duo teammate April(the Bull), in 3rd place overall.  We did battle for over half the race with another fast Duo from the Milwaukee, Leia & Marty along with the Barden's, Jen & Gary who eventually took 2nd, before gaining a good cushion going into the dusk & night laps.  A consistent pace of just flowing and limiting mistakes were the keys to our victory, plus having fun.  Surprisingly, we were fast enough to take 2nd overall even among the men's duo teams missing the overall by less than 6 minutes.  Thanks again to my amazing teammate April and race support from her husband Tom Tom!!!  

Thanks also to Gary Smits & Extreme Photography for all the Photos!

KO'd

Sometimes you are the hammer, sometimes you are the nail.  This past weekend at the WORS race at 9-Mile County Forest I was the nail.  A bad stomach early on along with getting stung on lap 2 was the beginning to the end of my race.  Even with thoughts of returning to the race course after taking some Benadryl, I was stopped cold again after getting stung a second time at the back of our van.  The 2nd bee sting was what ended my day for good as I have a history of allergic reactions and carry Benadryl and/or EpiPen with me religiously these days.  Not the result I wanted on what I consider my home course, but nothing to get real down about either.  This weekend is another race and I'll go into it with a positive and fun attitude again in CAMBA Land in northern Wisco.  I feel blessed that I can ride a mountain bike the way I do at my age and still enjoy riding a bike the way I did as a kid over 40 years ago.  Just ride...

  Photo Credit: Todd Bauer :-)

Having Fun!

On Sunday, I made a big race day decision just after starting the  "Battle of Camrock" WORS race.  I was going to ride comfortably, enjoy the great course, and have fun.  It's been a long time since I've had a race where I just rode and took in the race.  More than not, I'm usually stressed and worried about where I would place, who I'm ahead or behind, etc. At the finish I felt like I had another good lap left in my legs and honestly feel that I left a lot out on the course once I rolled to a stop in the finish chute. It's been a few years since I've had this feeling.  I'll take my 30th overall out of 63ish finishers in the Pro/Elite class and give my medal to my son to wear on the drive home. The reward is seeing how proud he is to have my medal hanging around his neck when I get on the podium like I did at Camrock in the "45 til death" age category.  Having fun, riding a safe race, and being around lots of great people at the WORS races is what continues to keep me and my family coming back to the races.  Lately I've realized that I can't race mountain bikes at the level  when I was a few years younger and also do other things in my life that are important to me as my children get involved in more activities.   Maybe this season is my own personal victory tour?  Who knows, as I'm the only person able to answer this question correctly by the time the IceMan Cometh rolls around again in November.  Pedal on...

River Cruise

Lately it's been all about my mountain bike.  My new Epic 29er is hard to park in the garage in favor of the pavement and my road bikes.  With multiple days of rain and high winds, I've been commuting to work and wandering around on our sheltered Green Circle Trail looking to find & explore new routes.  Round number 3 of the WORS Series is this weekend at the "Battle of Camrock" in southern Wisconsin.  Our A212 Racing team will have a larger representation with the "Mike & Mike" show coming across the border from Chicago to add some excitement to the front of the Pro/Elite pack.  I'm looking forward to hanging out with friends, good weather, and a fun course!    

Blogger Reborn!

The new WORS season has started and so far I'm well ahead of last years health issues that took the fun out of riding or racing my bike. A podium finish in the 45 til death Cat 1 age group at Iola was a surprise and this last weekend just finishing was reward enough for this old racer. What I'm looking forward to most this summer is coaching and mentoring these two fast racers pictured below achieve their goals for the season while keeping it fun and fresh. Make sure and cheer on Justin and Hanna this season as they travel around the Midwest collecting podium finishes. Thanks to our sponsors and partners for the 2015 race season: #iamspecialized #sram #A212racing #Adventure212 #hostelshoppe #podiumwear #twinsix #esigrips #keen Pedal on...

Back on the Starting Line

Finally back on my blog after my shortened mtb racing season is almost over. Not a lot of racing news since I've been dealing with a health issue most of the summer. Only one WORS finish at Rhinelander along with a DNF at Wausau trying to race through the issue. Pedaled comfortably behind our fast A212 women at the Chequamegon 100k on the fun CAMBA trails and ended up breaking a rear spoke at the Wausau 24 on the first lap that was unrepairable. This past weekend was a new start to my 2014 season with a 19th overall and an age group 2nd place stump at the Bell's Beer Copper Harbor Trails Festival in the long XC race. Still not 100%, but was breathing comfortably during hard efforts and had lots of fun on some tough trails. The best part of the weekend was watching my son participate in his first mountain bike race. Sebastian got through the 3 mile race just fine with me nervously hoping he had a great experience, which he did. He's now hooked on mountain bike racing! Next big decision is to race the Chequamegon 40 or ride Marquette single track??? Pedal on...