Montana wins Portland

Bozeman's own Lisa Curry kicked some major ___ this past weekend in Portland. Other Montana players were also there representing their home state well. Good job all of you. Check out this montana cyclocross link for pictures and results.

http://montanacyclocross.blogspot.com/

It's ski season

http://www.bsfnordic.com/news/

As the season comes to a close

First of all thank you MBRA and all of the Montana Teams for putting on such a great cross season!!! Just wait for Mule Cross next year!

Now just a short re-cap of the past few weeks. We have been slacking on the website.

Montana Velo ‘Cross Helena High
This venue proved that you can have a cyclocross race anywhere. The whole race was confined into one city block on the grounds of Helena High. The flights and flights of stairs forced everybody to use their skills when mounting and dismounting. E- Rock, Hard Core Cory, Rich, Bill, and Julie represented Team Muleterro at this race. Bill gets credit for the athlete of the day since he raced hard and placed really well despite feeling really terrible and having mechanical issues.

Bobcat Classic
The closest thing to a true cyclocross race this year! Mud was like snot! Cory’s form looked fantastic! Sten pushed hard in masters A and seemed to have a great time. Julie took 10$ preem.

MBRA Cyclocross #7
Course was supposed to be muddy but ended up not too bad. The toiletswere a mile away and that was the big news. The main feature of thecourse was a irrigation ditch run where we went down into the ditchand up the other side. Pretty cool. Some really great competition came from Vertical Earth out of Washington I believe or maybe Idaho.

http://usacycling.org/results/index.php?permit=2008-2775
http://www.gascyclingteam.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=151:gas-riders-rock-missoula&catid=44:cx&Itemid=5
We met with team GAS at a Chinese restaurant and had a great banquet after.

Five Valley ‘Cross
The course was fast and fun. We met at the brewery fordinner after (funny that is all I remember, the food). We all met JimBrowns family.https://www.usacycling.org/results/index.php?permit=2008-2707
http://www.gascyclingteam.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=149:3-wins-for-gas-in-helena&catid=44:cx&Itemid=5

Muleterro headed to Kalispell for a double header . Oh, no we were one seat short in the van. We shared a lawn share in the back with the dogs. The weekend was beautiful and a dip in the hot tub was wonderful at Erik's brothers.

Herron Park
One of the best venues of the season!!! Drank beer with Missoula girls after the race. Were they hung over the next day?

Woodland Park
A long, long lap with not much forgiveness!!! If not for our religious beliefs about working on sat and sun we could have pushed harder and taken all top spots.

These fall races have been preseason warm-ups, as we will all be traveling to Peru for the upcoming road race season.

Mud Blood and Beer, Ohh WTF, and O/E

Team Muleterro Wins Hellgate Duathlon

Ben, Cory, Rich, Sten, Julie, Jen, and myself attended the 2008 Hellgate Duathlon in the Nine Mile Valley just outside Frenchtown Montana last Sunday October 19th. Cory and Rich registered as soloists while Ben and I signed up as a team (results). Sten committed himself to our sucess in the support department. Julie and Jen did extra recon to place themselfs in support positions as well.  The race was on!

Mule Train as we called ourselves took the overall win with an expert plan. Ben knew that I like to hunt down competators so he placed me right within view of all the leaders.  I put the pedal to the metal and handed off Ben a small advantage and he took it home for the overall win. We just missed the record time on a course that was slated to not be in the best of conditions for a record.  Next year ... we will see!

The real studs (can mules be studs?) are Cory and Rich who comming off a extreemly tough cross race the day before went out solo.  According to the results (dont know how accruate they are) Cory placed 3rd in his division and 25th overall while Rich pulled off a 7th in his cat and 42nd overall (results).

Jim and Rich at Rolling Thunder

Mule Crossing

Mule of the Week and Standings

Julie gets mule of the week due to her great form and for the simple fact that she has the best placing in todays release of the MBRA Cross Series Standings at 4th.  Julie posted a second at this weekends Big Sky Cross race in cold conditions. Check out the vids by the Stenster (or at least stensters camera)

New fowl Rich seen above lead out Muler ERock over the barriers but later was punished for his fine efforts with a flat.  Lesson learned is to have someone or at least a set of wheels in the in the pit area. I should of had my wheels waiting! Oh well.

In the Cat 4 standings we have Cory in 7th but was unable to make it to Big Sky due to a freak snow event here in Montana last weekend.  Erik showed up with massive atempts to stay warm and put in a 9th place for the race while in the standings is right behind Corey in 8th.

In the Master (or ... Gentlemans Group) Sten took it out strong and captured a second place which puts him in at 6th in the series.  Sten started out in front of myself as I took my usual back seat to the pelaton with my bucket of pop corn and Milk Duds. Soon I started feeling a little randy and worked my way up to 5th in the Mens A group.

This weekend is the Rolling Thunder as well as the Helgate Duathalon.  Stay tuned for last Sundays frolicks in the snow and Mule Cross. For me, back to the grind with a cross race tonight in Missoula.  Bill out!

Corey and Julie In 4th Place

I just got my hooves on the latest MBRA Cross Standings and our founding muler Cory is in 4th place (cat 4)! Check it out here!  

Also in a 4th place position is Julie which has a tough 9 women division. She also posted a 4th place this last weekend. Results here!

In 11th place for Cat 4 we have Erik (ERock) but with performances like last weekend should be movin on up.

In Cat 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/etc.  we have Me in 14th place far behind phenom John Curry.

In the "out to pasture" category we have Sten comming in at 8th in the Master A category. Rumors have it that he has committed to suffer big time this weekend at the two Bozeman cross races.  See you there! Bill out .....

Montana Velo Cyclocross Omnium

Best good times at racing!

3 races, uphill time trial prologue, cyclocross, dirt criterium.

Julie, Cory, Sten and Erik met up with bill in Helena.

All mules had great time, and did well.

Erik and Sten flatted at end of cyclocross.

Julie held on to Amy and Lisa till the last few laps.

Muleterro and Gas set aside their diferences and ate after race together.

Erik and Cory were destroyed by custom ultimate hot sauce.

UltraMule

Stenpy 4x4

Fastwomen

Sunday Ride....

Check out my report on last Sundays Portal to Porcupine ride for Montana mountain biking at it's best!

Lone Peak Revenge

Bill Martin here with my report from the mountain bike race in Big Sky this past weekend. For Montana it was a pretty good turn out and no one was disappointed as the course was the finest Montana has ever seen. The loop was perfect with a mixture of short steep and long grind climbs. The descents were technical and fast. It was a tremendous race, my hats off to the organizers. Its good enough for a National Series Race for sure.

In these photos are the team van, Sten talking to folks, and Cory having a spiritual moment. I didn't get any photos of myself because I lost my camera all day until I found it later.

I raced in the Expert/SP/Pro group and decided to keep check on my heart rate since I am gearing up for the 8 Hours of Labor this weekend. We dashed off and I hit the single track in 13th place. I kept the pace steady and really enjoyed the single track.

Soon enough racers slowed up and I started picking off the stragglers. I kept it in the zone and by the time the second lap started I had worked my way into 4th place where I finished. The last three laps were so much fun and was getting even more so as I got aquained with the trail. It was a fun time!

This weekend is the 8 Hours of Labor ... who is going?

Team Van at Lone Peak Revenge Race

Bridger Ridge Run

State Time Trial and Valley West Criterium

http://bozemandailychronicle.com/articles/2008/08/11/sports/000cycle.txt

2008 Butte 100 Ultra Marathon Mountain Bike Race

You've read it in the news, and now here is my official report. From the perspective of the Missoula Mule.

The Butte 100 is in it's second year and has improved drastically over last year's edition. In attendance was Sten Hertsens and myself William Martin. The changes this year were immediately apparent as I pulled into Butte and Sten announced that we get a free jersey just for signing up. What a great idea, I have had numerous committals already for next years edition just by wearing it around Missoula. I think I can speak for both of us and our team by saying how much we appreciate the efforts of Bob Waggoner, Gina Evans, and the rest of the Triple Ring Production staff. We would also like to thank all the volunteers that spent the entire day out in the woods receiving panic induced babble from the racers. Thanks Everyone!

Now for the results! In the end Sten placed 1st for the Masters 50 miler and 2nd overall while I was lucky enough to find the finish 1st in the 100 miler. I cant say what happened in the 50 but I could expand on what went down in the ultra main event. After reading please check out Triple Ring Productions video (click on high quality button) by Guy Vesco.

The preparation that goes into starting and racing in a 100 mile mountain bike race with 13,000 + feet of climbing is huge, well at least for me. I barely got all 20 water bottles, elixirs, magazines, toilet paper, and energy products organized and put into their specific bins. Just as I threw on the Muleterro jersey the gun went off and we were on our way. Ok, well maybe I didn't take any magazines, but I did take the other stuff.

As in every race there is a lot of posturing, chest pounding, and unnecessary expended energy. You would think everyone could just take a look at the big picture! So I sat in and let every get their mojo on. Soon there were just a group of us and we had pulled away in a big fashion. This was the front line warriors. In the group was Ben Parsons, Todd Tanner, and Matt Butterfield all from the Flathead. I knew right away their was some kind of plan. I mean why would we be pace lining down a stretch of road at like 30 miles per hour? I figured that I needed to stay with them. Looking back I would of been better off to just go my own pace and I would of finished the race at least a hour earlier.

At the first check station I stopped to grab another bottle while the trio just kept hammering on. I took off after them as we entered the Nez Perce Trail. This trail was magnificent and I would highly recommend going there to ride it. I tried to enjoy the great trail but the group I was with were all business and there was not much in the way of a great conversation. We had 80 miles to go and the pace was still dedicated to speed. Matt started to succumb to a reasonable pace so I passed by and went up to Ben. Ben and Todd had a great rhythm, Ben could climb and Todd (former world cup downhiller) was bombing the downhills.

They were bombing the downhills so fast I was losing serious ground to them. I was in my largest gear going anaerobic and I still could not catch them. Just before the second checkpoint at the end of the second leg a large rock smashed my rear deraileur and I could not shift. I stopped at the station and bent it back in line with my cog set. The cage was once a medium cage was now a short cage. The pulleys were only a inch apart and the chain was not willing to roll through it very well. Discouraged I set out and left the Ben and Todd at the station. My check point refuel plan was working well and I was out in front alone, but for how long. I only had two gears that worked and I had to be in the middle chain ring.

This 3rd leg was exposed and desert like. I grunted through the searing heat and sand. There were a lot of small hard climbs and I started to get dizzy. I was pushing too hard and my bike was malfunctioning. I started running the hills. By the time I got to aid station 3 I was fried. I grabbed my stuff and adjusted the deraileur again to where it started working again. As Ben and Todd rolled in I set out and to show good form I cranked out of there standing. I got around the corner and cramped up. I had pushed too hard and I was only 40 miles in!

I sucked down a hammer gel and walked, rode, walked, rode, walked, rode, walked, all the way to the Homestead Lodge (aid station 4). They worked at getting me back on my bike. They helped me with my water and fuel bag and one volunteer even ran to her car to get me extra Hammer Gels (I didn't start placing gels in my feed bins until aid station 5). Off I went with no one in sight. It seemed that I was not the only one getting punished from the fast start pace. Ride, walk, ride, walk, ride, walk!

I finally made a truce with my body and it agreed to not cramp if I kept my heart rate under 140. So I slowly granny geared the awesome switchbacks and coasted the intense downhill. The course was amazing and now I was on the Contential Divide Trail. I slowly started picking off aid stations and started to feel like I could finish the race at mile 60. Then a storm hit!

The sky went dark and the winds blew me off my bike. I had to keep one leg out to stand against the gusts. Then the rain, hail, and dogs. Don't know where the cats were. I came across a 50 miler and it was my friend Alden. The storm had passed but I was freezing cold. He asked how I was and I said, "getting sick". I felt awful. At the next aid station the volunteer/official had to hold me upright because had no balance. They helped me with getting new water and nutrition on board. Alden came along and sacrificed his Endurolites to my cause. I was still out in front. I wondered how long before Ben would catch me. Surely they were not going this slow.

I kept riding, riding, riding, walking, riding my way through some more aid stations. The trail turned harder and harder. I love this course! Just when you think your almost done another even tougher climb would come up to you and say, "take me if you can". I would just put my head down and keep a slow but consistent pace. My mind wondered and huge chunks of time were lost as my conscious went into hiding. At one time I looked up and I was in a field and realized I was off trail. To my left was a big white CDT sign, I regained the trail and continued on.

At each aid station I got encouragement and it was nice. Then I was back out there all alone, trudging on. Finally I hiked the last climb and bombed the last downhill. Butte was in sight.

Not so fast! The course went down the ATV trail in the borrow pit all the way back. Rolling whoopty dues, but no matter. I just put my head down and went back into a mental gray zone. I bid my time until I climbed up onto a road and saw the High Altitude Training center. I had made it. I held off all the others and overcame horrable cramping. My deraileur hang in there (quite literally). I crossed the line with my bike over my head. Then the second storm smashed down upon us.

Curly Lake

Members of Muleterro crossed team boundaries this weekend and rode the epic Curly Lake with a geezer (Masters Velo), a member of GAS, and an unattached but highly qualified endurance athlete.

2008 XTERRA Wild Horse Creek

Sunday, July 20, 2008 - Team Muleterro represented themselves well at the Xterra Wild Horse Creek triathlon held at Hyalite Reservoir in mule headquarters, Bozeman MT. Two relays in the Men's Team division 1) Caleb, Alex, Cory and 2) Seth, Erik, and Ben; and one soloist Julie, competed in the long course race which consisted of a 1200 yd swim, a 15 mile mountain bike, and a 6 mile run. With cool morning water temperatures in the mid 50s the swimmers apprehensively prepared for the race. After the race prayer - a team first - the race commenced at 8:30 AM sharp. Outfitted in their wetsuits, Caleb, Seth and Julie swam two laps around the buoys and completed the first portion of the triathlon. Seth and Caleb handed off to their bikers while Julie soldiered on in her solo expedition. Alex surged ahead during the bike by kicking his mule all the way. Erik encountered some problems with two flats but he was able to maintain composure and still finished strongly. Julie commented on her bike performance stating, "the first section was pretty muddy and slow going, but once I got to the climb I settled in and felt pretty good." The race finish had an exciting climax when Cory and a runner from one of the other relay teams found themselves a dead heat for first place. The alpha mule prevailed and won in a fighting finish. The other relay team finished 4th after Ben’s very fast run. Julie finished 4th in her age group. Cory's mule-appropriate comments on the race were featured in the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, further establishing Team Muleterro's unique reputation in the racing community. Read his interview and overall race commentary at:

http://bozemandailychronicle.com/articles/2008/07/21/sports/000tri.txt

Good job mules. Keep up the good work.

wild horse creek xterra triathlon

http://bozemandailychronicle.com/articles/2008/07/21/sports/000tri.txt

The Army Mascot

The Army Mascot

For the fourth Army-Navy football game in 1893, the U. S. Naval Academy adopted a live goat as its mascot. In 1899 an officer at the Philadelphia Quartermaster Depot decided that Army needed a mascot of their own for their upcoming game against Navy. An oversized white mule being used to pull an ice wagon was selected to be that mascot. After 1899 mules were frequently present at football games, but it was not until 1936 that Army adopted one mule as a regular mascot.

Mr. Jackson (1936-1948) – A former Army pack mule and the first mule to serve as a regular West Point mascot.
Poncho, a.k.a. Skippy (1939-1958) – A small burro donated by Ecuadorian Ambassador Colon Alfaro.
Hannibal I (1948-1964) – Originally named “Bud,” but renamed by the cadets.
K.C. Mo (1957-1969) – Came from Kansas City, MO (name pronounced “kay-se-moe”).
Trotter (1957-1972) – Earned his name by being able to maintain a trotting gait for 8 hours.
Hannibal II (1964-1980) – Donated by the Hannibal, MO Chamber of Commerce.
Buckshot (1964-1986) – A gift from the United States Air Force Academy and the only female mule to serve as mascot.
Spartacus, a.k.a. Frosty (1973-1994) – A gift from Missouri Governor Warren E. Hearns.
Ranger I (1978-1995) – A gift from the Ranger Association of World War II.
Black Jack (1985-1989) – A gift from then-Senator Albert E. Gore, Jr.
Traveler, a.k.a. Dan (1990-2002) – Named for his ability to do certain fancy steps, like sidestepping.
Trooper, a.k.a. Ernie (1990-2002) – A highly trained, saddle-type mule.
Raider (1995-present) – A gift from the Quincy Notre Dame Foundation of Quincy, IL.
Ranger II, a.k.a. George (2002-present) – Named in honor of the 75th Ranger Regiment.
General Scott, a.k.a. Scotty (2002-present) – Named in honor of Lieut. General Willard Scott, Jr., former USMA Superintendent.

from www.tennessee.gov/tsla/exhibits/mules/index.htm

24 Hrs of Rapelje

Team Muleterro departs this evening for Rapelje, Montana, for the annual 24 Hours of Rapelje mountain bike race. We will have a strong showing, with around 15 of us signing up for race. The Mule Train will be heading out full of ornery mules eager to kick ass!

Team Introduction and Contact Information

Team Muleterro is a multisport co-ed competitive racing team initiated with the goals of supporting athletes and the community. The specific goals of Team Muleterro are to 1) empower its members with the support base to excel as an athlete in their chosen sport and 2) support the community in a manner that team members find important ranging from volunteering with local non-profits in fundraising events to putting on local races.
Team Muleterro is recognized by the Gallatin Valley Bicycle Club, USA cycling, and the Montana Bicycle Racing Association. A majority of the current members are cyclists, however, the Team also has individuals who are triathletes, runners, and nordic skiers.
The team president has generously donated a van (pictures coming soon…) that we use to travel to races and other events. These events include weekend camping trips, hotspring exploration, and mountain biking adventures. This has been beneficial by minimizing cost to individuals and providing camaraderie amongst the Team.

We are encouraging people have never raced, but have always wanted to, or are looking for some people to get outside with to join Team Muleterro. We can give you a ride, support your active lifestyle, and won’t pressure you for results.

If you are interested in coming out with the Team on a training ride, traveling with us to a race, or just have some general questions please contact Julie Zickovich at zickovich@hotmail.com

We look forward to meeting you.

Pipestone Mission

Our Barnyard Buddies

Say hi to the goats!!!

Belt Creek Bicycle Race

Belt Creek Bicycle Race
A One-Day, Two-Stage Bicycle Race, Omnium Scoring
Saturday, May 10, 2008

Quote of The Day

Read, every day, something no one else is reading. Think, every day, something no one else is thinking. Do, every day, something no one else would be silly enough to do. It is bad for the mind to be always part of unanimity.
- Christopher Morley

Peaks to Praries Duathlon

Team Muleterro in larger numbers than ever before made its way to Red Lodge for the Peaks to Praries duathlon on Sunday April 27th. The morning was crisp and clear as we prepared ourselves for the race and for some fought off that hangover for just another few hours. The runners (Julie, Seth, and Stephanie) and solo duathletes (Sten and Cory) loaded the bus for the journey up the mountain while the bikers (Erik, Lincoln, and Serena) stayed at the transition area. We were given timing chips, stood in line to use the bathroom, then the gun went off (actually it didn’t, I think it was broken) and of course Cory was talking smack the whole time. The run was rolling hills with a general downhill into Red Lodge. Julie came in first, and sent Erik off with a quick change of a timing chip. Then Sten came and after a record long transition was off on the bike. Seth came in sending Lincoln off and then Stephanie sending off Serena. Cory was somewhere in the pack, but he must have been tired because none of us saw him. We found his shoes and coat later. The bikers had a grueling 42 mile ride to Laurel MT, however, they persevered and passed other racers the whole way pulling the Team up in the standings. At the finish in Laurel, MT the runners and bikers reconvened and made our way to Billings for some food and to watch the boaters of the triathlon finish. Our results were posted and once again Team Muleterro has proven themselves worthy. Julie and Erik finished 3rd in the mixed gender category. Lincoln and Seth finished 4th in the male team category, and Serena and Stephanie 5th in the womens team category. Good job Muleteers. As Sten would say we are digging ditches.

Rocky Mountain Roubaix Race in Frenchtown, Montana

The day started at 6:30 am. After harnessing Mules
from various dwellings it was off to breakfast. Our
first choice was Ruby's, a favorite watering hole for
the Mules. Ruby's doesn't open that early. That's one
to remember. Well alright then it's Bagel on Broadway.
Everyone filled up and then it was off to the race.
Today was a special day for Team Muleterro. This was
the unveiling of the new decked out Van. The decal job
that "Hands On" did turned out sweet. People were
checking out the Van upon arrival. It looks good! On
the day, I think the Van might have had the best
result of all. This being the first race for our Montana
Cycling season I think there were a few sloppy moves
made. Some crashes, close calls and a few injuries
happened. The weather was great, one of the warmest
lately. All in all it was great to have the season
underway and having fun. This being the first full
season for Team Muleterro we hope to have a very
productive year. Are new custom uniforms should be
here around May 16-23. That should increase are Mule
performance a notch or two. I think are next race is
the "Peaks to Prairies Race" from Red lodge to
Billings. So until then have a sweet day.

World Domination

The time has come.

The short bus is leaving my house at 2pm sat.

Soldiers reporting. E-rock, Julie, Sten-p, Stufiny, Captain Cory, L-train, Steth, Serina

Death and Distruction will rain apon your house.
Then end is near.

P.S. bring your ipod.....

Welcome!

Welcome to the debut of Blogeterro, the Team Muleterro blog. The Google Calendar embedment is running, but I still have to add links for all the events' info. I have all the MBRA races on there, a bunch of Idaho races. Leave more events in the comments if I am missing some that you want on there. If you click on the button in the lower right of the calendar box it will bring up full size calendar, much easier to read.