CXC Elite Team Blog

Updates from brcook RSS Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

• brcook 10:52 pm on August 19, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

  Training update. 

  By: Bryan Cook

  Hey everybody, I wanted to let you know what I have been up to lately.  Summer always flies by so fast, but I have been able to get in a lot of diverse training.  My training has been going really well, and I am back living in Wisconsin!  Yup, I just moved down to Delafield, WI, and I am really excited for the upcoming Fall down there!

  

  Finally finished my cross bike!

  

  About to hammer on my brother’s new motocross bike! Great training.

  

  We have a singletrack motocross trail around my parent’s house in Rhinelander. Here are the pros.

  

  Happy Hodag!

  As you can see, I have been pretty busy!  I also have to thank Tom and Susan Brian of Farmer Q’s Market in Marquette, MI for the last four years of putting up with my crazy work schedule there.  If you are ever in town you have to stop there for the best produce around!
   

  Reply Cancel reply

  Required fields are marked *

  Name *

  Email *

  Website

  

  Notify me of follow-up comments via email.

• brcook 1:55 am on July 6, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

  Summertime. 

  By: Bryan Cook

  It is great to be back training, and this is what I have been up to so far this training season:

  

  The end of the awesome 32 mile Keweenaw Chain Drive in Houghton, MI. (brockit photo)

  

  A week later in the 24 mile Superior Bike Fest in Marquette, MI. (Dennis Loy photo)

  

  Always fun to race with my brother Chris--right behind me here. (Dennis Loy photo)

  Keep on ripping it up, and buying your produce from Farmer Q’s Market–one of my great personal sponsors–when you’re in Marquette, MI.
   

• brcook 9:05 pm on March 10, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

  Winding Down. 

  By: Bryan Cook

  It seems that after the Birkie the season always seems to start to wind down really fast.  This year after the Birkie the weather seemed to immediately change from Winter into Spring.  For the past two weeks I have not skied without it being over 40 degrees and sunny.  It really has been amazing, but at the same time it makes me want to hop on the bike more than train for the upcoming 50km skate National Championship in Fort Kent, ME.  However, I am really excited by the chance to become a National Champion so I am hammering out my training (minus getting a head cold this past weekend.)

  The trails here in Marquette are still really good despite the fact that they will not groom very often for some reason.  I do not understand why people think that if it gets warm they should no longer groom because they think they will lose more snow that way; when in fact grooming the snow makes it way more enjoyable to ski along with keeping the snow more compact so it will last longer.  I just finished an interval workout at Blueberry Ridge where they decided to groom and the trail was clean and fast.

  A really cool thing Maria and I were able to do last Friday was help with the new disabled program we have here in Marquette that is headed by Jodi Tervo and Andrew Rickauer .  CXC has sent a sitski here where they created an Opportunity Center for people with disabilities.  They have been meeting on most Friday’s at 5:30 at Suicide Bowl in Ishpeming.  There they can rent equipment if needed and they have a nice loop to ski.  The program already has youngsters with their eye’s on the next Paralympics.  I was able to ski with Dominic and his twin brother for about an hour and it was really fun.  Dominic is probably around six or eight years old and really enjoys being able to get out and ski despite having some balance and numbness issues in his lower body.  He was also really interested in why we could not just go and jump off the ski jumps?  It was really fun to see his excitement about everything outdoors.

  As for the rest of the season, Maria, Gus, and I are heading to Gus’ house in Vermont on the 16th where we will be doing some races at Craftsbury before heading to Maine to finish off the season with the 30/50km and the SuperTour finals.  It should be a really good time especially if the weather stays like this!

  

  I have been charging since West Yellowstone last November. (Ian Harvey Photo)
   

• brcook 9:50 pm on November 30, 2009 Permalink | Reply  

  Racing Season. 

  By: Bryan Cook

  The racing season has finally begun.  It felt great to put on a bib and race against some of the best racers from the U.S. and Canada.  It was also great to be able to ski all of the trails here in West, unlike last year when we could only ski up on the plateau.  The races went pretty well, but I am looking forward to some better performances later in the season.  We will be staying here in West until Wednesday when we head up to Bozeman where we will race a skate sprint and 15km classic race.  It is on.

   

  

  First race of the year, courtesy of Ian Harvey at Toko.

  

  15km skate, courtesy of Ian Harvey at Toko.
   

• brcook 8:52 pm on October 12, 2009 Permalink | Reply  

  Lake Placid 

  By: Bryan Cook

  Well, we made it back from our last camp in Lake Placid, NY without any problems.  We were able to do some pretty intense workouts on some serious hills which is always nice at this time of year.  We did all of our intervals uphill and took advantage of the OTC’s recovery center almost everyday.  They have a great ice tub, that is filled with around 50 degree water and can hold up to 6 people at once.

  As always, the second week of camp ended with the infamous Whiteface Rollerski race on Wednesday.  This race is about 5 miles of straight uphill skating with an average grade of around 8%.  This makes it very similar to a road bike race where you have to pace yourself right at the redline without going over because there is no recovery.  The race went much better for me this year as opposed to last year, which made me happy.  The U.S. Nordic Combined team was in town for the race, and they used their race rollerskis to get ready for their national championship races they had later in the week.  Needless to say, they put the hurt on all of us using our Marwe rollerskis.

  We then drove back to Marquette in time for the NMU cross-country running race where NMU’s Jenny Wiedmeyer pulled away to a convincing win in the 5km.  The men’s nordic team fared pretty well in the 7.5km as well.

  Then Maria, Gus, and I celebrated the 40th NMU Ski Team reunion on Saturday night at Marquette Mountain.  There was a great turnout and the band was awesome.  It was really fun to hear how the team started and all the stories from year’s past.  It was also great to reconnect with some of my past teammates that I have not seen in years.

  To finish out the week I raced the UP Cross race on Sunday at the Fit Strip here in Marquette.  I think the week had finally caught up with me because I did not have the legs to stay with the leaders.  I managed to sneak into the top ten despite rolling on a single speed, 69er courtesy of Rick Bagley at the Sports Rack.  I really could have used a few more gears on the high speed course.

  

  Tight finish of the UP Cross race on Sunday.

  
   

• brcook 1:11 am on September 19, 2009 Permalink | Reply  

  Back Home. 

  By: Bryan Cook

  Well, our last Hayward camp for the year has come and gone.  All around, the camp went really well.  The weather was really nice and we were able to get in a lot of solid training.  The intensity has really picked up in my training so it was nice to get to hammer with some other people.

  

  The start of the OO Time Trial in July

  The second week of camp included some time trials.  On Thursday we busted out a running and bounding TT around the trails at OO.  Then on Saturday we did the famous up to OO skate time trial.  I was able to PR in both time trials so that means that my training has been paying off.  I am looking forward to hammering with the Northern guys pretty soon here as well.

  First though, I have my first cyclocross race of the season this Sunday.  I am really looking forward to the race even if I have not been biking too much.  It will be a blast either way.  I am hoping that it is not a bad omen that I had the worst mountain bike crash of my life yesterday.  All I have to say is that I have been extremely sore since my digger yesterday while bombing down some sweet single-track on Marquette Mountain.  Remember to wear your helmets kids!

  

  The first race of the 2007 U.P. Cylcocross Series
   

• brcook 9:31 pm on August 4, 2009 Permalink | Reply  

  Colorado Training Camp 

  By: Bryan Cook

  There was an unofficial CXC Team Vertical Limit training camp held in Crested Butte, CO over this past weekend.  The players were myself, Maria Stuber, and Gus Kaeding.  However, it was not just  a training camp, but it was also my best-friend’s wedding.  Our former NMU Ski Team teammates James Letson and Kelly Ahern were married at the amazing Lazy F Bar Ranch in Crested Butte.  This place was unreal, and the weather for the wedding was perfect.

  

  James and Kelly

   

  If you have never been to Crested Butte you are really missing out.  The whole town was great for anything outdoor, as well as indoor, where we celebrated James’ bachelor party on Friday night.  We then hiked up Mount Crested Butte on Saturday until we cleared 10,000 feet.  The rehearsal dinner was on Saturday night, and then the wedding at 4 p.m. on Sunday.

  

  Crested Butte, CO

  Currently, Maria and I are still in Colorado for the rest of the week.  We are staying near Boulder with our good friend’s Tami Kochen and Shane Mundt of Mundt Arts.  We will be here training at altitude until Saturday when we will fly back to Milwaukee and go to Maria’s high school friend Nicole’s wedding.  Back-to-back wedding weekends are going to be pretty intense, but we are both really looking forward to it.  After that it is back to Marquette for some more working and training. 

  

  Colorado Living
   

• brcook 8:34 pm on June 23, 2009 Permalink | Reply  

  Summer time. 

  By: Bryan Cook

  Well, Summer time has officially landed; at least here in Pewaukee, WI.  Currently, it is about 94 degrees Fahrenheit with 75% humidity.  Yes, that is VERY hot!

  Maria and I are here in town staying with Bob and Mary Eloranta while we conduct high school as well as Master skier clinics this week.  We have high school clinics Monday through Friday for 1.5 hours starting at 4 p.m.  We also have a Women’s only clinic tonight from 6-8 p.m., and an open Master skier clinic on Thursday from 6-8 p.m. as well.  These clinics are a great way to give back to the area that made Maria into the elite skier that she is now.  I also enjoy doing the clinics because I spent a Summer down here working at the Bicycle Doctor and this area is great for training and has a really active and generous ski community.

  As far as my training and life has gone up until this point, I have been busy working at Farmer Q’s while home in Marquette.  I was able to sneak away for two consecutive weekends in May and race my mountain bike back in my hometown of Rhinelander at the RASTA Rally one weekend and the Crystal Lake Classic which is part of the WORS series the next.  Both races were really fun thanks to the Rhinelander area for putting on the races, and a big thanks to Wayne Fish who has pretty much single-handedly built all the amazing single track at the Camp Tesomas race venue.  I had one of my best mountain bike races at the 22 mile Crystal Lake Classic where I won my first WORS series medals for placing 3rd in the 19-29 age class.  I was having a REALLY good race until about two miles left where I blew up big time and lost about ten places overall.  I hope to keep the good bike form going this Sunday at the Superior Bike Fest up in Marquette where I will race the 24 mile mountain bike race.

  Stay tuned to find out how it goes.

  

  Doing running drills in Marine, MN at the CXC Youth day camp.
   

• brcook 9:42 pm on December 9, 2008 Permalink | Reply  

  Silver Star 15km Skate. 

  By Bryan Cook

  Today we raced here in Silver Star at the Sovereign Lake trails.  The races were a 10km and 15km interval start skate races.  The races went pretty well for the CXC team as Caitlin Compton came away with the victory in the women”s race.  Next was Kristina Owen in 20th and JoJo Winters in 23rd.  Heather Zimmerman is here but was sidelined with a 24 hour flu.  The top CXC man was Garrott in 8th, Brian Gregg in 14th, and myself in 19th.  My goal for the day was a top 20, as well as getting back to my normal pacing strategy of starting relaxed and finishing strong.  I felt much better than my last skate race in West which was a bonus.  Maria was on the sideline today cheering, but she is feeling better and will hopefully be racing some more soon.  The courses were in really great condition as it has been snowing the last few days.  The courses are also laid out really well and ski extremely nice.  It was a great day out for sure.

  On the racing side, we also found out the the races in Whistler were canceled and moved here!  That means we will be racing this Thursday, Friday, and Sunday.  I am looking forward to some more races to fine tune my form before Nationals in January.

  

  Sitting in the lodge before the race.
   

• brcook 1:36 pm on October 28, 2008 Permalink | Reply  

  Marquette Living. 

  By Bryan Cook

  Well,  we have been back in Marquette for quite awhile, but I cannot say that the time has gone really well for me.  Since returning from Placid I have been fighting yet another sinus infection.  It seems that whenever I get sick these days it always turns into a sinus infection.  There is good news though.  I am just about over my sickness and was able to train with the NMU crew this past Sunday.  The highlight of the OD was definitely afterward when Marquette resident, and NMU freshman, Tommy McFadden invited the team, and obviously alumni, to a great breakfast at his parent’s house.  The food was amazing thanks to his mother, and Tommy enjoyed his first cup of coffee ever, thanks to a little bit of encouragement by myself.  I think he enjoyed himself as well.

  More good news would have to be the fact that Gus is back in town and swimming like a champion.  The surgery went really well for him and he has been hitting the pool and gym just about every day.  I do not think he will take up swimming professionally, but from what I hear he has been swimming really fast with almost perfect technique.  I also think his swimming was good therapy for him after the Red Sox let him down this year.  I felt the same about the Brewers losing, but I am more used to it than him.

  Lastly, snow has finally dropped here in Marquette and tomorrow might be the first ski of the year for us.  You will have to check back and see how it went, or if it went.

  

  The new coffee drinker Tommy McFadden.