lawrence

Rode the river trail last night for awhile. I would guess that over the past few years I've put as many laps in as anyone. We are pretty lucky to have two good trails to ride that are within riding distance from the house. come winter they are a great way to stay warm while getting in long rides.

Lost the Wheel

If anyone sees a front wheel to a road bike rolling around in Olathe somewheres. its mine. Now I have to ride wheelies at all times. Luckily Katie has allowed me use of her wheel for the time being. The darkness is coming next week anyways, so that means lights and the mtb or pulling out the trainer if im really desperate. Tomorrow night is Race Across the Sky at the theatre. last year I came home all pumped up and signed up for Leadville 100. This year im not wasting my money on the "lottery". We just booked an adventue in Costa Rica so I better start packing my backpack.

break

After a couple weeks of no bike riding things are firing back up. Rides in Manhattan, kc, and Lawrence last week. Maybe some cross racing this weekend and gravel riding in Emporia. Road bike is even being put to use for the first time in months. 2011 here we come!!

The red trail at Clinton has a few rocks.

busy

Rode my bike over for the ksu v. Ku game. Awesome night. You can really beat traffic when pedaling home. Now we are in TX for a wedding before a few days at home and a trip to cali. Whew.

24hr Nats

are in progress right now. ive been watching online every now and again. wish i was there now that it has started. im sure ill be happy to be sleeping in my own bed though tonight.

cam is leading so far, though its really early.


http://www.grannygear.com/realtime/public/class.php?display_standings_flag=1&class=1M

After MTB

I love courses that dont require me to get off the bike. Riverside park Cx is one of my favorites.

Tour De BBQ after party with Katie.

Pre Tour de BBQ with Andrew and the Darnalls.

Since the mountain bike season has ended it has been a busy offseason. KSU football is keeping us busy and the I decided to go cross racing. First up was Manions Cross in Wyandotte. I went there with an old bike that didnt really shift, low motivation, and having not really trained in quite awhile. The course was hard and I ended up 7th and way off the pace. So a week of some real cyclocross training which included picking up my fancy new bike at High Gear and a 50 miles of gravel with the Emporia crew had me ready to try again.

First up though was the Tour De BBQ in KC. I had plans on doing the charity ride and then heading to Boss Cross #1 but it didnt work out. So we had a great time eating bbq and pedaling our bikes through KC.

On Sunday I got up and thought I would not race, and would go to the 100 mi gravel ride that was taking off up the street. Well, we overslept and couldnt make it so cross racing it was. I found my spot on the second row of starters and the gun went off. I qucikly found my way onto Josh Johnsons wheel in about 5th or 6th and was happy to just sit on as long as possible. Then we entered the sand pit and the KCCX crew was all over the place taking everyone out and I found myself instantly in 2nd. I had no business leading the chase of Jeff Winkler who had a pretty nice gap, but I went ahead and pushed on. I led the group for a solid lap until I decided it wasnt smart because I actually wanted to finish the race. I began fading backwards. At one point I was half waiting for Tom Price to catch up thinking I would just sit on his wheels as long as possible and have a good finish, but as soon as he caught me I slammed down on my seat and the nose of the saddl took a dive. I jumped on the back and it then pointed straight up. Back and forth the rest of the race and I got passed by one other feller. 8th place I think. Much better legs though. One more chance next weekend and then im taking a few weeks off for some R&R and a few weddings.

End of Season

Been slow to update but it was a good weekend last weekend. Spent Saturday at Arrowhead watching the WildCats beat up on the Cyclones. Went home, washed cow dung off the Top Fuel from South Dakota and oiled the chain for the KC Cup mtb race at Swope Park. Went for a ride on the 29er and it rained the entire time so i figured it was going to be muddy come sunday.

Sunday morning we headed back to KC and Swope Park. Ive never ridden the trails there but had heard lots of good things. I figured that any race put on by Craig and Scott of Heartland fame was bound to be pretty good. Did a practice lap with Travis Donn and had a hard time keeping it upright and a harder time keeping up with Travis. Headed to the starting line and lined up on the back row of the Cat1 race with the elder statesmen. The course had a pretty long road climb so I wasnt too worried, plus I felt pretty bad anyways. By the time we reached the singletrack I was in 5th or 6th and content to just follow wheels as long as they stayed upright. At the first double track section I pushed the pace a bit and rode up to third. Followed some more wheels and at the next doubletrack section moved to 2nd behind Travis. From this point Travis lost all riding ability and was all over the place. Eventually he let me by as he was having a hard time keeping it on the course. I picked up the pace and found some good legs and my mud/root/rock riding abilities started coming back. Shortly into the second lap I decided to beat the first lap time by a few minutes and started really cranking. Went around a corner hard and rolled the front tire clean off the rim. Crashed pretty well and now my shoulder hurts. Ahhh. Put in a tube and riders started coming by. Worked my way back towards the front into 2nd by the end of the lap. About a third of the way into the 3rd and last lap I caught the leader and set about getting to the finish line. This is when my rear tire started spraying sealant. I stop and do the shaking thing, it stops leaking. I ride some more and it leaks some more, I shake some more and add air. Repeat. Decide im going to ride it to the finish and make it there with about a minute lead. Great payout for the win and a good end of the season.

Now its time to derust the cross bike, cut down on the rideing, and try to stay midpack for a few cross races until I get bored with that and decide to call it a bike racing season. 2011 schedule is already out so motivation isnt too far away.