rhetts run.

That was awesome. Now i-70 is a parking lot.

This message has been sent using the picture and Video service from Verizon Wireless!

To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture.

Note: To play video messages sent to email, Quicktime@ 6.5 or higher is required.

This week

First thing that got done this week was registering to race at Lance's house at the end of the month. The last time I did a race in Texas was quite a few years ago. Was probably the Supernationals above as those were the last Uniforms I had as part of S&S Racing out of Texas. Was probably in 6th or 7th grade. Got me thinking I should find my old bmx mini. It was a custom Ti job based on a FreeAgent Jr. Im sure its floating around Topeka somewhere and we need another bike in the garage.

Next was reading Joe Parkin's latest book "come and gone". Its interesting, I think I like it better than the first book "a dog in a hat". Mainly because he talks about MTB racing.

Somewhere in there was riding in the rain. I tried to ride the trainer during the thunderstorm yesterday, but after 45 minutes I decided I would rather be wet from rain than sweat, so I headed outside. I dont know how Katie can ride the trainer when its not winter, I just cant do it.

With all this rain im sure the Rhetts Run in Columbia will be cancelled. Im thinking of finding a backup plan...

Roubadouix Roundup

Friday night I had thought I would drive up to Nebraska for the Platte River race, but learned that it had been cancelled due to weather. This seems to always be the case with Nebraska races for me. I was pretty happy about this though, as it meant a much shorter drive to St. Joe for the next round of the UFD series. I did think it would be muddy in St. Joe, so I traded out my race wheels for my heavy duty training wheels and tires so I would have some grip in the mud. Those tires are beasts that weigh something like 800 grams each, instead of my usual 400 grams each.

The race started at the bottom of the park, which meant a long road climb up to the trail head. Travis took the lead as nobody really wanted to pull the whole group up the climb. Halfway up Jeffrey Winkler went to the front and picked up the tempo a bit. I slid in behind and went by closer to the top. I turned around close to the top to see a long string of single file riders, so we must have been going hard enough. Entering the trail I had a bit of a gap. The trail was a series of short steep climbs and short descents. Non-stop either going up or down. It was in perfect shape. The course kept doing U-turns and switchbacks so you could always gauge the riders behind, and it was hard to get completely out of sight. Halfway through the first lap I had opened up a nice gap, but wasnt feeling great and wasnt able to really get away. The second half the lap saw some longer climbs which meant I had to switch out of the big ring. When I did this I found the rear derailleur not to be working quite right. It was bugging me more than really affecting the riding but I stopped to try and work it out. Winkler came by pretty quickly and I didnt want to mess with it too long. I jumped back on and tried to ride back up to Jeff but I must have been stopped longer than I thought as he was out of sight. Plus he's fast. At the end of the first lap I was getting closer and put in a bigger effort to catch back up. My second lap went well as I passed Winkler and put some time on him. I got out of sight which was nice, but I kept getting distacted and not really focusing until I would hear him creaping back up again. Towards the end of the last lap some motivation came back, mainly from not wanting a sprint finish and I cruised in with maybe a minute lead.

All and all it was a fun day of trail riding. It was about a two hour race but didnt seem that long which was good because Im starting to get tired. The last 3 weeks have been my biggest weeks of the year and ive got the biggest one yet and a race in Columbia before some well deserved rest. Im hoping I dont get completely exhausted before then.

Racing close to home is great. Slept in, raced, ate dinner, motorcycle ride, and now watching a movie. Plus tomorrow is Sunday which is perfect for a long bicycle ride and a mother's day. Once again thanks to Matt Brown and High Gear for being out in full force, especially for doing some bike adjustments for the second week in a row for me.

MidWest Fattire Fest Video

Because I cant figure out how to get the video directly on the blog, you will have to click on the picture to go to watch it. Video courtesy of Bob Arnold who made the trip from St. Louis and according to the USA cycling official seemed to be breaking some USA cycling rule by wearing a helmet cam.

Midwest Fattire Fest

Spent the weekend at Lake Wilson, KS. The Midwest Fattire Festival put on by Golden Belt Bicycles was a great event. Headed that direction Saturday morning under cloudy skies, but shortly outside Topeka everything cleared up and it turned into a beautiful weekend. I arrived at the trailhead just after lunch to find Matt and Stephanie Brown and the Chambers family getting ready for the weekend. We quickly headed out to preride the course. Those are some of the best trails in KS. A great 17 mile loop that is fun from start to finish.

After some preriding it was time to line up for the uphill TT. It was a little over 2 minute climb to the top of one of the higher hills around the lake. I was the 4th starter and put in a time of 2:10, which turned out to be the fastest of the day. My lungs were burning by the end, but it was time for some more trailriding fun. Cam led a group of us around another part of the loop and it was obvious that keeping up with him on the technical rocky sections was going to be a challenge.

Sunday was the main race. It was sure to be a long XC race, well over 2 hrs. Pretty much the entire HighGear team was on the starting line which was cool to see. At the start I slotted in behind Cameron Chambers and the two of us quickly got a gap on the rest of the field. Then I found myself falling further and further behind as my feet seemed to be on the ground as much as on the pedals through the rocky slickrock sections and the loose turns. After regrouping I started to get the handle of things and began working my way back up. About 2/3 of the way around the first of two laps I caught Cam and followed him for awhile. I was thinking that I needed to get a gap on him before the slickrock sections on the next lap when he let me by. I picked up the pace and rode the rest of the way by myself. Cameron would suffer cramping and his Ethos team would have to be picked up by Travis Donn who finished second. The race was around 2:15 but it didnt seem like we were out there nearly that long. Great day of riding.

KC Racing

Hopefully a lot of people are planning on heading out to the race next weekend. Im sure it will be a good time. Ive been planning on going for the last few years, but things keep getting in the way. This year everything is clear to make the journey west.

Speaking of making the journey west...this race will be everyones last shot at our local national champion (and on his home trails) before he and amber motor on to higher elevation. This means that KC has now lost the two fastest mtb racers to "the springs" this spring with Shad being out there as well. Looks like trips to nebraska or St. Louis might be in the cards as the fastest group in the Western Division will now be the 40+. I dont know if its sandbagging to race in an older class or not, but with Studnicki, Price, and Winkler all being of that mature age it will be the fastest overall race. Used to be/should be that the U29 class was the fastest and everyone moved down ages to race in it but I think the U29 class only had two starters at the last race. Not very motivating. Its much more fun to race when there is a group to push each other. The MSC 's gain is definitely our loss.

Video.