Dirt Dobber

Mini Review: Komanndo 29er MTB Tire

2012-01-26T10:18:00.000-08:00

For the past year I have been riding/testing the Kenda Komanndo cyclocross tire (my current personal favorite for both gravel and cross) so when I saw that Kenda was coming out with a MTB version in a 29er I knew that I wanted to get a set. Specs are 29 x 2.20, 120 TPI, DCT compound, folding bead and 660 gram weight. The tire has ramped center knobs for speed and aggressive knobs for traction. This is a dual direction tire - mount on way for hard pack and the reverse for muddy/wet conditions.

I mounted the Komanndo's on the new Crank Brothers colb alt 2 29er wheelset. The colbalt wheelset is tubeless, but the tire are not. Installation of the tires was very easy. Just add a couple of scoops of Stans and air up. I did notice some leaking around the bead and it took a couple of shakes and flips to seal them up. I would suggest a layer a tape on the rims to tighten the seal.

Overall first impression is I am just as impressed with the MTB version of the Kommando. It is a very meaty tire but also is light. It offers plenty of grip and rolls very well thanks to the ramped center knobs. We tested the tires out on the 2012 Bone Bender 3/6 Hour course, which has a mix of terrain including single track, dirt trails exhibiting rocks, tree roots, creek crossings, loose rocky sections, tight turns, off camber sections, fast flowy trails. In other words the perfect trails :-) The tires offered plenty of grip and gave me confidence to clear some sections that I have never been able to. I was especially impressed with the ability to climb the rocky/rooty sections. The knobs were spaced wide enough to grip the rocks/roots and offer great traction.

A note on air pressure. Kenda recommends a minimum of 40 psi. I was able to run 28 to 32 psi very comfortably and with no issues. I did try to drop down to under 25 psi, but ended up burping the rear tire some and the feel was not good. A quick increase in pressure to above 30 and I was back enjoying the days ride with plenty of traction and speed. I plan to place a layer of tape on my wheels this weekend and again try lower pressure just to see how they feel.

Check back for a long term test and updates.

Monkey Mountain Orienteering Report

2012-01-22T15:15:00.000-08:00

It is off-season for cyclist here in the Midwest. Time to put in those base miles and work on some cross training to keep the fitness up. One of the things I like to do during the winter is to participate in some Orienteering meets. The Possum Trot Orienteering Club hosted a round Sunday out a Monkey Mountain Park in Grain Valley. A nice park with a good combination of dense woods, open fields, rolling hills, creeks, valleys and such.

I normally do these solo, but I really want to get an Adventure Race team together so I invited Sean Gaulter, Mark Krause, Chris Love out to the event. Mark brought his friend Steven out and Chris's girl friend Cynthia Twibell joined in the fun.

Mr. Love was so kind as to give the first timers in our group a crash course in Orienteering. Both Chris and Cynthia helped get our maps all marked with our first course of the day- the white course. We split up in two teams with All Ready Lost (Love/Twibell) and Gravel Grinders (Mark, Sean, Steven & Me) The White course was a short 1.9 kilometers long but still offered a challenge as even our instructor of the day got lost once :-) The Gravel Grinders did what they do best and grinded along at a steady pace and hit all the controls without getting lost. Well, we got a little off track trying to find control #2, but we will not mention who (cough ...Sean) lead us a stray. Once back on track we used a lot of team work and kept up the pace well enough to finish with the quickest time of the day (1st out of 5 teams) for the White course. Not bad for three beginners and and old fart like myself.

After a short break we decided to run the 3.8 kilometer Orange course. This time Chris and Cynthia joined the Gravel Grinders as a team. The Orange course was double the distance and the controls were at a lot harder locations to find. Again we worked as a team and was able to stay on track and my encouragement keep the pace high enough to stay a top the leader board with a time of 42:18 We we left for the day were were 1st out of 10 teams for the Orange course. I will check back tomorrow to make sure we stayed there and hopefully we did. It is official. We kicked butt - Monkey Mountain Results

With 1, and possibly 2 wins, this season is already starting off better than last. Some pictures from the day posted below.

2012 Mountain Biking Events

2012-01-21T06:36:00.000-08:00

Finally, we are one big happy family - Unified Federation of Dirt.

I have always been an advocate of having one organization/series. I am also excited that we are all finally using USA Cycling to permit/insure events. In my opinion, having different organizations/series (Midwest Fat Tire Championship Series, Heartland, St. Louis, Individual) wasn't good for our sport, nor did it support our national governing body. We are a niche sport as it is, and working against each other simply wasn't good. I would like to see us become a local chapter with USA Cycling or develop into something like WORS. Of course this would take a lot of work and a group of dedicated people to organize it. I believe we are on great path now and I see good things ahead for mountain biking, especially seeing the tremendous growth on the endurance side and gravel adventures.

The 2012 Unified Federation of Dirt Mountain Bike Series:

East Series

March 25: (Sun) Mesa Lost Valley Luau (Mesa/Matt James) XC (Maybe even push back into April? )
May 12: (Sat) Greensfelder (DRJ Racing/Bob Arnold) XC
May 20: (Sun) Broemmelsiek Challenge (Mitch Johnson) XC
June 17 (Sun) Leadbelt XC. St. Joe Park (Mark Grumke) XC
July Dirt Crits Castlewood (Every Thursday) Dirt Crits
July 14: (Sat) Castlewood (Ballwin Cycles/Pfoodman) XC
Aug 19: (Sun) Cyclewerx Crankfest. Cape Girardeau, MO (Cyclewerx/John Dodd) XC
Aug 26 (Sun) Matson Hill - St. Charles (Walter Davis/Mike Barro - Momentum) XC
September 30: (Sun) Rhetts Run (Andy Shuette/CBC) XC
October 6 (Sat): Castlewood Race - St. Louis (Rich Pierce/ICCC) XC

West Series
March 24 & 25 - God's Country Fat Tire Festival @ Lawrence River Trail (Chris Locke)
April 7 - Team Colavita Mountain Bike Races @ Perry Lake Trails (Brett Shoffner)
April 22 - OMBA Caramba- Springfield, MO (Ryan Meschke)
May 5 and 6 - Kansas Fat Tire Festival @ Wilson Lake (Doug Chambers)
May 20 - Dirty Little Secret @ Fancy Creek State Park (Aaron Apel)
May 26 - Robidoux Roundup @ Krug Park (Randy Tracy)
June 10 - Down and Dirty @ Warsaw, MO (Mac Vorce)
July 29 - Show Me State Games @ Rock Island State Park (Sarah Ashman)
September 9 - Tour de Lizard @ Camp Horizon (Bobby Smith)
September 30 - Rhett's Run @ Cosmo Park (Andy Schuette)

Endurance Series
April 15 Bone Bender 3/6 Hour MTB Odyssey @Lawrence, Kansas (Cow Town/Chris Locke)
June 2 - Dirty Kanza (Jim Cummings)
June 23: (Sat) Indian Camp Creek 3/6/12 @ St.Charles (Off the Front/Todd Holtman)
July 21 - Rapture in the Midwest @ Perry Lake (Colavita/Ethos)
August 25 - Cruise the Blues @ the Farm (Doug Palen)
September 8 - Sac River 6/12 hour (Jason Feagans)
September 23 - Tall Oak Challenge @ Binder Lake (Jeff City, MO)
Oct 13 (Sat) Burnin at the Bluff 2011 Endurance @ Potosi, MO (Mesa Cycles/John Farinella)
Oct 20 (Sat) BT EPIC (Springfield Bikes / Scott Davis)

How to Start Bone Bender?

2012-01-18T17:54:00.000-08:00

Update....

First, Thank you to everyone who voted over the last 24 hours. I really value your opinion.

Here are some results from the first 100 votes. I personally was a little surprised with the results. As you can see it is about divided between starting on your bike and a Le Mans start. I plan to close the voting once we reach 200 votes and then make a decision.

Please help me sleep tonight by helping me answer this question. Visit the Bone Bender blog link below and answer the question - How should we start this years Bone Bender?

http://bonebender.blogspot.com/2012/01/bone-bender-start-options.html

Thank you!

Paraskevidekatriaphobia Night Ride

2012-01-11T07:10:00.000-08:00

What: Friday the 13th Night Ride
When: Friday, January 13, 2012, 6:00 pm
Where: Smithville, MO
Why: To ride at night and to cure yourself of the dreaded aliment known as paraskevidekatriaphobia

Ride starts at Smoke N Davey Trailhead off of W Highway. All skill levels welcome. Lights needed. Helmets required.

Route depends on trail conditions. MTB trails if dry/frozen, gravel/paved trail if not. Maybe a nice night time snow ride?

Report:

Thanks for coming out Steve and Tim. Small turnout, but a great ride. I guess everyone else that said they were coming was either afraid or is a candy ass.....Temps were great and the trails were in awesome condition. Just a small amount of snow to keep things interesting. We got in 1 1/2 laps and hit every trail the Smithville has to offer.

Tip of the day: I reduced the pressure in my Kenda Nevagals (26 x 2.1 UST) to 20 psi for added traction. I usually run about 28 to 30 psi in them. I was very impressed with the feel and traction that they provided in some of the slick spots. I am liking less pressure more and more as I try to find the optimal psi.

Do you have the Desire?

2012-01-06T12:56:00.000-08:00

It is that time of year again. Time for News Years resolutions and new goals for the year. I personally really enjoy this time of year. I get to wipe the slate clean and forget about last years shortcomings (which there were many for me this year).

I am basically a really goal oriented person. I need something to work towards to keep myself motivated. Over the years I have had some very great years where I reached all my goals. Other years not so much. Why is that you ask? I believe it come down to one thing. Desire and how bad do you want it?

I have helped some of my friends with their training programs over the years. When we get to setting goals for the year most of the time their goals are really lofty. I ask them do they realize what it is going to take to reach those goals. The sacrifices that are going to have to be made. I believe most goals can be reached but you have to have that one thing to reach them. The dirty little secret about reaching goals isn’t a complex secret: Those who succeed do not know the word quit. They want to taste success and are willing to do anything to taste it.

Setting goals for 2012 is my next task at hand. I am almost done and feel good about most of them. However, some of them are a little far reaching and I keep asking myself "Do you have the desire you work for these goals and make the necessary sacrifices?" As I get older the advice my mother once gave to me comes up more and more - "you only have one body and you better take care of it and not abuse it". Early in my life I did not heed this advice very well. I now wish I would have now because my body tells me every morning that I should have. My advice to you is just realize that anything is possible, but there is a price to pay. You just have to be willing to pay that price for what could be the rest of your life.

Good luck with your goals for 2012. I have many of them and believe this year is going to be a good one.

LMBC New Years Day Ride

2012-01-01T15:24:00.000-08:00

The annual Lawrence Mountain Bike Clubs New Years Day ride was held today. A great turnout with 50+ riders. Heck, there might have been over 60. We always come out for this ride if we are in town. This years ride was blessed with great weather which is usually not the case.

Trail conditions were awesome. I was testing out some new tires from Kenda. The Slant Six tires so far have been very nice in a variety of terrain including Swope, Landahl and LRT. Look for a complete write-up soon including my impressions at various air pressures.

Some pictures from the day:

The video of the start:

Video of a group of riders including Carolynn in the back section:

Line Creek Trail

2011-12-27T17:59:00.000-08:00

Carolynn and I took advantage of this crazy warm weather we are having here in Kansas City and went for a little ride down to the newly opened Line Creek Trail. This trail is part of the Northland Trails Vision Plan. Eventually we will be able to ride all the way to Parkville on a trail network.

Check out the the tools and pump. Very nice touch. Now I know where to send the neighborhood kids when they ask for tools and a pump to work on their bikes :-)

The trail is very scenic and includes a sweet bridge crossing Line Creek. Only a couple of miles are open so far, but it is a very promising start and should be finished some time in 2012.

Dreams

2011-12-25T13:59:00.000-08:00

I found the following while cleaning up during xmas break. I was looking at some old photo albums and came upon an envelope with this poem. I wrote this about 20 years ago when I finally realized that my dream of becoming a professional motocross racer was never going to happen. My little brother John had just gotten injured and while I tried to ride and race again I knew deep down inside that it was over. My DREAM was over and part of me died.

The good news is I got an A+ and won First place in the Poetry contest that I later entered with it :-)

DREAMS

Fill the air with your dreams
Let the world know who you are
You are your dreams
What am I?

Everyday I wait for my dreams
Everyday I work for my dreams
I am a dreamer

Dreams fill my sail
They fill me with inspiration
They give me energy
I must have my dreams

My dream in not true yet
One day it makes me want to live
The next day I want to die
Damn a dream Damn a dream

Upcoming events: God's Country & BB36

2011-12-16T12:00:00.000-08:00

During my self imposed break from training, I have been keeping myself busy with my teams 3 events that we will produce in the Spring. Our first event will be the God's Country Fat Tire Festival - a two day affair featuring a cross country race on Saturday and the 10th Annual God's Country Off-road Duathlon on Sunday. I have decided to bring back the long course for the duathlon. Long course will be 2 mile run/18 Mile MTB/2 or 3 mile final run. Short course will be 2 mile run and 9 mile bike. Final course distances will be announced after I get an accurate measurement of one lap at the River Trials. Info: www.fattireduathlon.com

The other event is a little event called the Bone Bender 3/6 Hour MTB Odyssey. My goal when creating this event was to develop a premier endurance off-road race that the community could use to help raise money for local trails. Success is measured in many ways. One could be attendance, one could be community awareness and still another could be proceeds raised. I would really like to reach the $10,000.00 raised mark this year and feel very confident that we will. It will take another well attended event and of course your support. Keeping expenses in check is also important, but my first goal is to produce a top notch event. This year we will again have some sweet custom awards, new classes, t-shirts, a large cash payout and food. Info: www.bonebendermtb.com

Registration will open in January for both events. We plan to offer a nice sized discount if you register early so stay tuned.

Festivus of Nights

2011-12-10T07:18:00.000-08:00

Time to Hang up the Wheels?

2011-12-06T08:36:00.000-08:00

This past weekend was prime conditions for a cyclocross race and we had two events on the calendar - BS #4 on Saturday and the Missouri State Cyclocross Championships held on Sunday. Both events were held at the Ray Town BMX . They did not use the BMX course, but instead used the fields next to the facility and did one loop around the outside of the course. Lots of rain on Saturday made the course just a little soupy. Sunday's race was a little more muddy with the course drying (I use this word loosely) up some causing clearance problems for some as the mud stuck to frames..

Plenty of great albums out there: Phil Peter's Saturday, Phil Peter's Sunday, John Peck's Saturday, John Peck's Sunday, Patrick Kirkes, Saturday, Jason Watkins Sunday.

Typically I would really enjoy this type of race, but as luck would have it I was not able to attend on Saturday and felt like crap on Sunday. Friday night I was eating my pre-race meal which included some homemade soup that Carolynn made. Everything was great and we went to bed as usual. About 1:30 am I awake because I was having trouble swallowing and breathing. Apparently I was having an allergic reaction to something I had eaten. My tongue, face, mouth and throat were all swollen. I felt like I had a large cow tongue and had to keep my mouth open and stick my tongue out so I could breath. Carolynn got up and helped me and we drove to the ER to get treatment for my Swollen Tongue. On the way we decided to stopped by a Wal-Mart and got an antihistamines to see if that would help. After a short period it appeared it would. We ended up heading back home and taking 2 more and resting. I was finally able to get back to sleep by about 0600. It was not until about 1:00 pm on Saturday that I was finally able to eat something. Needless to say no racing for me today. And in hindsight I should not of ridden on Sunday either.

Sunday came and I decided to go ahead and see what the day would bring me. I usually ride mud really well. But that was not the case as I had nothing in the legs to do anything. It is my off-season and really should not expect to have any, but Sunday was really bad. Still unsure way. Anyways, I rode around in the mud for 50 minutes, got lapped by most of the field, got my pit bike all muddy (I decided to use it because during warm-up I could tell my legs were dead and I did not want to damage my bike - we all know what a muddy race can do to a bike) and ended up getting DFL in the Masters 45 + class. That is pretty bad for me, especially in a muddy race.

On the way home I really contemplated quitting cycling. I am tired of embarrassing myself at races. If I can not even compete at a local level I do believe it is time to hang up my wheels. But I do realize that this year has been riddled with injuries and I really should not have been out racing anyways at this time of year, especially when I am not focusing cross as many other are.

It is time to take an extended break and ease back into things. If I do not have some good sensations this winter during training there will be about a dozen wheelsets for sale.....

Sweet 16

2011-12-04T12:11:00.000-08:00

My little boy is not longer such. He has reach 16 and as the card says above does not ride bicycles much anymore. His passion for the last couple of years has been guns.You always hear people say "kids grow up fast" so spend as much time with them as possible. You really don't think much about it when they are youngsters, but damn it is so true. Christopher is now 5' 11" and I will soon have to look up to him I guess.

We got Christopher a new Ruger .22 Mark III pistol and she is a beauty.
We spend the afternoon at the Parma Woods Shooting Range dialing her in. He really enjoys shooting and I do also. Is competitive shooting in our future?

Turkey Rides

2011-11-23T15:50:00.000-08:00

I really enjoy this time of year especially the holiday rides that we get to attend. Great to see old friends and meet new ones. Two rides are planned over the Thanksgiving day holidays that are always fun to do.

Ride # 1: Come join our traditional Turkey Day Ride at Clinton Lake State Park. Break away from the in-laws and warm up your appetite on the single track at Clinton Lake. This is a 2-3 hour ride depending on your desires. All ability levels welcome. The Lawrence Mountain Bike Club host this annual event.

When: Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 2011
Where: Clinton Lake State Park, Corps of Engineers parking lot
Time: 9:00 A.M. till you are done.

Ride # 2: Our annual gravel ride called the Gobbler Grinder. This years event will be held on a new route. I usually hold this ride out of Riverside, but had to move it due to flood damaged trails. Dave and I rolled the new course out of Platte City today and it was awesome. Come out on Sunday for our little adventure. Our route is 41 miles, but we have two shorter routes that anyone can enjoy. Come info at http://gravelgrinders.blogspot.com Map and cue sheet below...

XCX Cross Country Extreme Run

2011-11-19T16:09:00.000-08:00

One of my focuses this off-season is my running. I really enjoy running off-road especially and have always wanted to to the XCX - Cross Country Extreme run, but either cross or MTB season prevented that. This fall it is all about fun times so off Carolynn and I went to Truck Stop Missouri and the spectacle known as a Deranged Cross Country Run.

A very fun 4 mile obstacle course run awaited us. It was more of a party than a competitive run. I dressed as a Cow using Christopher's old Halloween costume. It fit well, but I was not ready for all the comments from the fellow runners. I had two ladies offer to "milk my utters" to get a drink. One drunken team of dalmatians offered to "suck me dry" I quickly got the heck out of the muddy creek crossing at the time and proceeded to complete the run.

The obstacles included a rope ladder that took what seemed like forever to get through. Some of the ladies in costumes could hardly make it over and after several minutes of trying were exhausted. Other obstacles included mud pits, numerous muddy creek crossings, chain link fences, balancing beams, large bales of hay and rope climbs. I got tired of waiting in line at the obstacles so I took the "no aid" route and used roots and such to make it up the muddy walls. Fun times for sure.

Below are some pictures that Carolynn and I took. I hope you enjoy em'....

XCX Cross Country Xtreme Run

Veterans Cross

2011-11-13T10:03:00.000-08:00

This weekend was was a double header for me (triple if you count Sunday's post race swim) Saturday wast 3 hours of gravel fun at Tim's Gardner Wind Howler. Sunday was 30 minutes of cyclocross pain. Two very different disciplines for sure and one might ask why I would do both. I am still asking myself that very same thing as I post up some pictures that Carolynn took. Not much racing going on for me. More like riding around.

Roger used a new venue for this years addition of his Veterans Cross. I wish he could have used University of Saint Mary because that is the best venue in our area for a cyclocross race and it is in his back yard. The V.A. Park was one hilly ass bastard. When I look at this park I see an great location for a motocross course. Some big hills out there for sure. I could have used a triple myself and I felt pity for the single speeder later in the day. Hopefully they brought some smaller gearing.

I lined up with the Master's today. The start was the last the last I saw of many of them. I think I got second to last in my group today. Good to see some old friends that I have not seen in awhile. Plus, I am happy that my shoulder is just about 100 % healed. I can ride with no pain and my confidence is coming back. You would not have noticed that today because I did not take any chances on the course. Plenty of pot holes, branches and nuts out there in the corners and I was just not going to risk anything.

Like I mentioned before the course was very hilly and painful especially when you have done no LT training. I am working on my schedule and training plan for next season. Still unsure if cross will be apart of it next year. I do know that if it is that I need to focus training for these short hard efforts. There are plenty of CX specialist out there and you really can not compete against them if you do not focus your training. For this year I will continue to use cross as just "time on the bike" and see if I even enjoy the sport anymore. I have a great time riding/racing my mountain bike and going on fun gravel grinders. Cross not some much anymore but why. I do know that it is not fun for me if I can not be competitive.

Pay It Forward

2011-11-06T15:52:00.000-08:00

Update 11/10/11

This weekend I got a chance to work around the house and catch up on some projects. One such project was to clean my attic and basement. I found a lot of bike stuff that I no longer use. Some old, some only used a couple of times. I thought about selling on CL, but decided it would be better to Pay it Forward. All items are free.

Brett is taking one set...1 set of 26 x 1.7 Kenda Kwick tires. Nearly new. I think I used them in one cross race a few years ago on my old MTB. If you only have a MTB w/26" tires and need a narrower tire this is for you. Also have 1 set of 26 x 1.5 tires that would also work. Great for gravel grinding and CX.

1 Sun-Ringle' front wheel. 0-XC rim. Good shape and true. Rim brake only. I have the rear wheel somewhere. Still looking.

1 29er White Brothers CX-1 fork. V-brake only.

1 Cloud Nine rear shock. Lightest shock I have ever seen. Which it would fit my Giant, but it doesn't. Maybe it will fit your bike?

All have found a new home...6 sets of cyclocross tires. 700 x 35. Plenty of life left in the tread. These would be great for both cyclocross and gravel grinders.

One set left....4 sets of 26 x 2.0/2.1 mountain bike tires. One of the Ritchey's are brand new and the other only rode in one event. Two of the sets are Maxxis tires.

Gone...1 set Tufo road tires 700 x 23.

1 Salsa road bar. Used once. 38 cm wide.

Both have found a new home....2 women's specific saddles. A nearly new Serfas and older Terry

3 are left....6 stems. All 1" quill style.

I believe both have been spoken for...2 wheel sets. Both 26" with rim brakes.

More to come.

Xterra Epic Race Report

2011-11-01T03:28:00.001-07:00

Ten months ago I was sitting in my living room recovering from one of my many injuries. Many things go through ones mind when in this state (drug induced and depressed). Would I ever be able to swim again? Ride my mountain bike? Was it time to stop this "silly racing stuff" as my mom once said. Is it time to take up drinking?

Well I did not take up drinking other than the occasional wine at dinner or a post ride beer. One thing I did do was decide that if I was able to recovery fully that I was only going to do events that were fun for me and offered an occasional challenge to stimulate my soul. The Xterra Epic - Iron Mountain (1 mile lake swim / 34 mile mountain bike / 9.6 mile trail run) was one such challenge. This distance off-road is basically a half ironman and the finishing times should be about the same. I would be happy to finish in 6 hours. 5 hrs 30 min if everything went as planned and maybe a podium spot.

Carolynn, my soulmate and support crew, arrived early and had plenty of time to pre-ride the Iron Mountain course. We both really enjoyed the trails. My best description of them would be the Lawrence River Trails on steroids with a few small rock gardens and some elevation change. I wish the trails were a bit more technical to give me a better advantage, but then again, it was most likely best they were easy so I would have less chance of crashing :-)

After the ride it was time for a nice lunch and double check everything on the bike. I went with the Kenda Nevegals for my tires. Ran them at 30 psi. My bike was a Giant Anthem X supplied by The Wheel Cyclery. Pedals were the new Crank Brother Candy 3's . All systems check in O.K.

Plenty Ironman finisher shirts around packet pickup and some big names including Xterra Champion Kyle Grieser and even local pro Benjamin Schloegel from KC. The athletes participating in long distance off-road triathlons are what race director Fred Phillips calls the "pioneers of the sport". Long distance off-road triathlons are a newer sport with limited events to participate in. I remember being in this same small group over 20 years ago when I did my first Ironman distance triathlon in Florida. When the The Great Floridian was created not many people knew about triathlons ... now just look at the sport. Ironman distance events are selling out. I see long distance Xterra events growing in years to come.

Race morning brought an eerie view of the area. As we crossed the dam, the valley was covered by fog. Needless to say the water looked cold as hell. I had been up for several hours with a mild migraine. It was getting worse as the race start approached. Carolynn gave me some Excedrin Migraine medicine which helped a lot.

Morning temps were in the low 40's. Water temp was 65 degrees. As many of you know I do not do well in cold water. Yes I know 65 degrees really isn't that cold, but for some reason as of late my body just does not respond well in it. As we all entered the lake for the start the water actually felt warmer. But as we waited, I started to get very cold and I freaked out every time I put my face in the water. I just could not breathe. Cold water effects everyone differently as Cold Water Survival explains. Before I knew it the event had begun. As I started to swim, I was surprised at how well I felt. That feeling sure was short lived. About 1 minute in to the 1 mile swim, I was having difficulty breathing and started to freakout. I rolled onto my back and started to backstroke which helped some. At least now I could breath. The one thing I could not do was navigate. I tried to stay on course by using the guy behind me who also was having trouble (he later was rescued from the water and did not finish). But when the guy behind you is swimming off-course and toward the rescue boat this does not help. I finally navigated to a buoy and stopped to regain myself. I was very cold, fearful and mad at myself. As I watched everyone swim away I was just about to call for a rescue myself. Something inside of me said to at least try. I gave it one last shot and soon my body/mind came around. I began to exhale like normal underwater and really focused on rotating my body so I could breath well. This helped so much and soon I found myself feeling much better and actually catching up to other swimmers. My first lap took me 25 minutes. On the second lap I kept on course and was able to catch 3 groups of swimmers. I was passing them with ease and as I approached the finish I realized my swim time for the 2nd lap was 16 minutes. With two laps like that I would have gotten out with the leaders but as it was I finished in 41 minutes with the mid-pack swimmers.

I was happy to get out of the water and onto the bike. The course was so much fun especially the first lap. I was catching and passing riders at a steady clip. My first 11 mile lap was done in 58 minutes which was actually the fastest in my age-group for the day! I backed it down for lap 2 to a 1:01 because I didn't want to blow up. The pace didn't seem fast, but I know all too well that your effort can be deceiving and before you know it you hit the wall. I focused on refueling during the entire bike and felt I did well. It appeared I was digesting everything well and I rolled into T2 after the 3rd lap I was ready for the biggest challenge of all. Well, except for that damn swim. If they would have asked me after my 3 laps on the bike do you want to do another 3 laps, swim again or tackle this run course, you bet my answer would have been there isn't enough money in the world to get me in that water again...

Fred told us before the event that the swim was going to be easy, the bike fun and the run HELL. Well he was sort of right. The swim would have been easy if the temps were warm. The Bike was indeed very fun and I would soon find out the run was indeed hellish.

After a quick T2 I was off running. I was in 2nd place in the 45-49 age group behind early leader Michael Grote out of Austin, TX. Mike is a solid runner so I had no thoughts of catching him, but after the first mile I was feeling very good and confident that I might just indeed finish in my 5:30 goal and be in the hunt for one of those sweet custom awards. I hit the John Delaughter Memorial Trail with spring in my steps. Damn I was feeling good. Then as I approached the first aid station I got a serious cramp in my right hamstring. Shit! A fellow racer gave me some Hammer Endurolytes which did eventually help. I started a jog/walk ritual that kept my cramps at bay, but did not allow for much a running pace. At about mile 3 the leading womea Karen Robertson passed me and I gave her some words of encouragement. She told me "great bike" which made me feel good. Now if I could only run as well as I bike. The run course was hard. Some of the hills required walking which was fine by me. So I walked, jogged and watched as others passed me by. Some of the guys passing me were the leaders who were now on their 2nd lap of the run. They all had these wrist bands on that signaled to the race personnel they had completed the entire run course and could proceed to the finish. I tired to buy the band of off the leader, but he said "you do not have enough money". I then offered one guy a "flash" from my wife who was on top of the hill, but Carolynn would not do it so off he went. I was just kidding with those guys as I would not had accepted the bands. I was going to finish! Sure I was not going to meet my goal time, but I was going to finish none the less. Finishing should always be ones first and most important goal.

End result was 27th out 45 finishers (51 registered participants) and 5th in my age-group. Time to chill out for the winter, heal up fully, and get 100% rested. I am looking forward to a break. I plan to ride some gravel grinders, do some orienteering and I will hit a cross race or two if the course is fun and the event is well put on. One thing is for sure, I will have fun at anything that I do. It is good to be alive, pain free and happy.

Xterra Epic Pictures

2011-10-30T18:10:00.000-07:00

A few photos from this weekends Xterra Epic and our pre-ride on Friday. If you ever get a chance to ride Iron Mountain do it. It is a very fun trail system down in Arkadelphia, AR and worth the trip.

Xterra Epic - Iron Mountain

Xterra, Tapering and Gravel

2011-10-19T09:25:00.000-07:00

One of my focuses next year is the Xterra series. It appears I am not the only one attracted to them. None other than Lance Armstrong is taking the series by storm - A Whole New World for Xterra

I will not be a the World Championships this year. I doubt I could ever quality, but you never know. Instead I am heading south to the compete in my first long distance off-road triathlon. Better know as the Xterra Iron Mountain. This new bred of Xterra that is gaining steam. I think the distances equate to a half Ironman distance triathlon on the road. Look to see a few more on the calendar next year for those of us who just don't have that speed anymore and enjoy a longer distance challenge.

Two weeks to go so it is taper time. After many years of competing in events the "Art of Tapering" has never been a forte' of mine. I am usually a coaches worst nightmare when it come to putting the final touches on hard months of training. I know better now and hopefully will listen to myself over the next two weeks and will have a peak performance.

Backing down your training is always hard to do. You know you need to, but you feel compelled to get your butt out there and continue to train so you do not lose any fitness. You feel like you need that one more hard workout to be truly ready. I am got that feeling last night when I went over the course details for next weekends Iron Mountain. This will be my first long course off-road triathlon. My last Xterra was the Red River event which was about 1/3 the distance of the Iron Mountain. So basically I am doing 3 Xterra events in a row. When you think of it like that it seems kind of hard. It makes me feel not ready. Like I need to do a couple more hard runs to harden up my legs.

The next 10 days I plan to cut my training in 1/2 but keep the intensity. Not that it was all that hard to begin with. My only distance I have planned is Sunday's Gunn City Gravelrie The pace will be moderate and the weather is looking fabulous. Cue sheet for Sunday's ride. I hope to see many of you out there to kick off the Gravel Grinding season. The list of attendees is growing daily. Should be fun.

Cross Out Cancer v2

2011-10-09T18:31:00.000-07:00

The 2nd Annual Cross Out Cancer race was held again at Shawnee Mission Park. A very similar course as last years. One needed to have a good set of tires, the ability to duck around the many low limbs/trees on the course and the ability to stay out of the caution tape (due mainly to a very narrow course that doubled back on itself my times). Low tire pressure was a must with the dry bumpy course. I ran my Kenda Kommando's at 29 psi and my back was happy for it.

The Livestrong Arm team did a good job all around and hosted a well organized event. Last years affair raised over $3,000.00 to help fund cancer. Most of the money's stay local. This one reason why I came out and supported the event despite earlier stance that I would not race any more "summer cross" events with temps in the 80's. 199 other races came out as I did to support the event. Down about 20% from last year. A recent trend in the KC cross races that have been held so far this year. I told many of my friends that there would be decreased numbers this year. Why? I will get more into this in a later post, but it is one of the reasons I decided to take a hiatus from cyclocross promotion at the end of last year. Instead I decided to just focus on MTB and Duathlon event promotion.

Today (and yesterday for that matter with a couple of hours spent at Swope) was a good training day for me as I prepare for the Xterra Epic at the end of the month. I got in a solid swim, a nice short run and even got to ride one of my favorite sports - cyclocross. Prior to the event I was talking to Mr. Doug Long and we discuss a couple of things including recovering from injuries, dealing with lack luster results and poor form. His thought was you basically get out what you put into it. You now who has been training hard and putting in the time. If you are not where you want to be you know what has to be done. You have been there before. How true.

Below photos by Roger Harrison.

Cross Off Cancer Results

The masters 45+ are off. I think there were 24 in the field. I was rolling in 10th for the day.

Pushing the pace early on after a poor start. Here I'm leading eventual 6th place finisher Telford Crisco. Telford has improved greatly over the last couple of years, especially in MTB. I look forward to racing with him in the Cat 1 class next year once he cat's up.
Doug Long and I ride the "mini barriers" towards the end of the race. I think Doug has better form than me. I look like I am out for a Sunday stroll. No wait that is the below picture.

Gunn City Gravelrie

2011-10-02T18:36:00.000-07:00

Complete info at http://gravelgrinders.blogspot.com/

Sedalia Duathlon - Pushing New Limits.

2011-09-26T10:19:00.000-07:00

"What a great day for our race". I could not agree with you more I said as I picked up my packet for the 2011 edition of the Sedalia Duathlon. Morning temps were in the 40's which is perfect for racing. I have come to really enjoy the duathlons over in Sedalia. Jeff and Maria Mittelhouser do a great job of hosting these very fun events. For a small entry fee of $25 you get a t-shirt, bike racks for the transition area, food (this time pizza), a safe well marked course, fast results, awards and loads of hospitality.

My goals going in were to basically do the best I could at both the bike and run. I wanted quick transitions and lastly I wanted to really put out an 100% effort and get out of my "comfort zone". I think I have become really "soft" as of late and have not pushed myself. Today was mainly about reaching a new pain threshold mentally. Like Roger Bannister said "The man who can drive himself further once the effort gets painful is the man who will win."
A record turnout was on hand for this years event. A good crowd with a mix if athletes from Kansas City, St. Louis, Columbia, Springfield and of course Sedalia. We had a choice of long course and short course today. I would say the field was evenly split. Short course started off with a 2 mile run. Long course had a 5 K run to allow a little longer to warm-up before the bike leg.

The lead runners were long gone before I even reached the turn around on the run. My plan was to pace myself and save something for the bike and final run. It is all about averages in multi-sport events I kept telling myself, but with the lead I gave everyone on the first run I had my doubts that I would ever bridge up.
After a quick transition it was "hammer time"..... Some crazy chick came out along side of me (she is actually head of me to the right out of view) in the transition and actually proceeded gap me during the first 1/2 mile before we turned right and started to climb. I was like damn, I am in poor shape. Turns out she did not know the cardinal rule of pacing in a duathlon and soon blew up big time on that first climb out of town.....I had a solid bike and passed a few dozen running specialist to make my way up to 3rd overall. The field was really starting to spread out, but I could see Kirk Decker who was in 2nd not far ahead. The leader, Tony Rigdon, had checked out on the run (6:10 mile splits) and was about 2 minutes ahead. Time to test that new pain threshold.

I put in a very solid 2nd half of the bike leg setting the fastest bike split w/22:26 and came into T2 with a 30 second lead on Kirk. On the first run leg he was about 1 min faster per mile so I knew I was in trouble. I kept telling myself that Kirk also had tired legs and that it would come down to who was able to suffer the most. The question was can I still suffer? At the turn around he had bridged up to me and I wanted to quit. But I remembered what George Sheehan once said "It's very hard to understand in the beginning that the whole idea is not to beat the other runners. Eventually you learn that the competition is against the little voice inside you that wants to quit."

The final 1/2 mile was an all out effort for me. I made the decision to run until I dropped. Hopefully I would reach the finish line before I did, but at that point I did not care about that nor about the runner who was gaining on me. It was all about pushing myself and finding the ability to push past my current pain threshold. I reached the finish with nothing left and a great burning in my lungs and legs. Finish time was 46:35. I was able to stay ahead taking 2nd overall and earning the 1st Overall Male Maser award. Most importantly I did not give up and pushed myself to a new limit or I should say returning a little bit to my old limit.

Some pictures from the event: Sedalia Duathlon Pictures.

Friday Night Cross

2011-09-24T13:53:00.000-07:00

Fall is a great time for all things on wheels - mountain biking, tours, cyclo-cross, duathlons and motocross. This week 3 events were on the schedule. Friday night was the Buffalo Bill Cross race, Saturday would be my 11th Annual Rapture in Misery and Sunday the Sedalia Duathlon.

Big news hit the mountain bike community by surprise last week. The 6h/12hr mountain bike event Rapture in Misery was being canceled. Why I raced RIM. Still unsure why. I believe they would have had a great turn out despite other events being held on the same weekend. Event had been permitted with USA Cycling, trails were trim as a Brazilian Wax, volunteers were in place and most importantly the MTB community was ready for the 11th Annual R.I.M. I know I was just like I had been the preceding 10 years. I do know that it is very hard to stop promoting an event that has been going on for many years, especially if you put your heart and sole into it. It was hard for me to stop promoting cyclocross, but I did finally. I am sure Doug had his reasons just like I did and I support him on his decision.

On to the Buffalo Bill Cross race report. Damian Almanza and I had planned to team-up at RIM again like we have before with great success, but now "Mr. Leavenworth" could focus on Friday's cross race and not save anything. My new name for Damian is Mr Leavenworth. Why? He always seems to win in the downtown. At the final Doing Time in Leavenworth Criterium several years ago Damian won his first criterium race and last night he again won taking 1st place in the Master's 35+ division.

I headed out from work early yesterday and picked up David Wathen. We discussed our progress with our training and were ready for a good training event. Neither of us are in any kind of cross specific shape, but we wanted to support Brendan and Damian if we could. Damian did not need any help from us as he used some great late season form to take a convincing win running away from the field.

For me I got in a good workout and had fun. I rode around mid-pack and event put in a little charge after a very slow start and had my eyes on a podium if I could have kept the effort going. The back part of the course had a down hill that was off camber and had some gofer holes hidden away. I kept thinking about last years crash at Manions on that hilly course and just could not ride with any pace. I took it way to easy which allowed everyone to get a big gap on me on the first lap. My shoulder is feeling really good right now and I am just not going to take any chances.

Race Myself into Form?

2011-09-21T11:28:00.000-07:00

I find myself in a difficult place right now. That being totally out of race shape form. I can not recall being this slow before in all my life. This year so far has been very bad for me from an athletic standpoint. The question is why? Injuries from this year? Diet? One year older? Lack of training? Lack of racing? To much yoga?

While I have not been racing as much as I used to, I have been training. One thing I have noticed is all my "bench mark" workouts have resulted in much slower times. The effort is the same, but output is much less. Again why?

One event in particular that I actually trained well for was the Wakarusa Off-Road Challenge. My goal going into the event was a top 3 overall. My normal run/cycle times were well within range to run/cycle with the leaders. I knew I would be slower on the kayak leg, but figured I would be far enough ahead after the bike to still be able to step up on the box. Well I was wrong. Wrong about my form and terribly wrong about my kayaking ability - who knew there were sand bars and current on the Kansas River???

Here is a short summary of how my day at the Lawrence River Trails went.....my trusty Ford Ranger (w/298,267 miles on her) did not make it to the event. Darn front tire just about came off and we had to hitch a ride with Sean.....I line up at the front of the 150+ racer field and proceed to just have my ego crushed as nearly 1/2 the field passes me on the first 2.2 mile run. I am running my butt off, but I am not going very fast....Bile leg one was actually good and I passed dozens of people to work my way up to top 10 with a 31 min lap. Second lap on bike was a different story. Still o.k., but I could not hold my pace and ended up being 4 minutes slower on the second lap. Just no energy.....I hit the 4.2 mile kayak leg in about 5 overall. I did know that my kayak would not be one of the fastest boats on the KAW that day, but I did not know it would be one of the slowest. I was a dog in the water and got passed by dozens of boats. The saddest part was running up on a sand bar and having to get out of my boat. One guy in one of those speedy racing kayaks comes by and informs me that "you might want to stay off the sand bars and get in the current with the rest of us" No shit......The final 4.4 mile run was one of my slowest ever. I tried to run, but could not get my legs to turn over. I questioned myself for a long time trying to figure out why my energy level is so low.

What to do next? I am kind of a simple man and the only thing I can think of doing is try to race myself into form. So I head over to Hermann, MO for the start of the 2011 cyclocross season and the Dog Fish Cross.

I was fortunate enough to hitch a ride over with JP Brocket. During the trip over, we talked a lot about diet and the type of foods that I eat. I try to eat well and have even lost about 15 pounds over the last 3 months by watching the foods I consume. Could it just be what I eat?

Day 1 of the Dog Fish Cross can best be summarized by the picture on the right. JP beat me one handed. One of my worst outings in a cross race ever. Enough said about that event.

Day 2 brought in some rain and a much better course for me. Still did not have much power in the legs, but at least I could keep pace better and actually raced earning a podium spot.

I still have to try and find a way to improve. Can I race myself into form or is it time to quit?

Wakarusa on Film

2011-09-11T07:16:00.000-07:00

Pictures from the 2nd Annual Wakarusa Off-Road Challenge are below. Carolynn Locke took about 400 photos yesterday. If you want find a photo you like and want a higher res image let us know.

Pot Pie Cross

2011-08-31T19:18:00.000-07:00

Today was the first cross practice over at Penn Valley Park. Mr. John Williams got everything organized with the help of the good folks at KCBC. I called this first practice the Pot Pie Cross because just like a good Pot Pie it was piping hot out there. But also like a tasty Chicken Pot Pie it was all good.....

Here are some pictures.

Pot Pie Cross Practice

Stay tuned for more information about the next CX practice session. We will post info up on Cow Town Cycling and of course on John's site.

It Has Been A Long Time

2011-08-28T16:21:00.000-07:00

Carolynn and I (and 11,000 fans) ventured out for a rare concert last night. The last concert we attended was Bruce Springsteen several years ago. A great show and maybe one that can not be bested. This time out it was the tour of Heart and Def Leppard. Heart, especially 61 year old Ann Wilson, was great and sounded better than they did the last time I saw them.....

Why I love this band:

Heart opened with "It has been a long time". Which it sure has been. The last time I saw Heart was in Tampa, FL back in 1987. My girlfriend at the time knew I was a big fan and wanted to do something "really special for me".

I can still remember back then. I was going to the University of South Florida as a Junior. Believe it or not, I was attending the College of Medicin e. Yes, I was going to be Doc Locke. As you know, sometimes things just don't go as planned.....It was a great evening with the Wilson sisters and the members of Heart. We spent about an hour with them enjoying dinner and then we were escorted to the front row for the show. It was after the show that my life took a turn. Somehow it came up where she got the tickets. She had bought the tickets and backstage passes from her co-worker, who had won them from a radio station, for roughly $500.00. At the time, I was a college student, a motocross nut trying to race with little money, and working part-time. You could imagine I was on a seriously tight budget. I about freaked when she told me this and I immediately blurted out "I would have never done that for you". She took this the wrong way and the next day when I came home from class she had moved out. This event sparked off a chain of events that changed me life.

Here is that concert series back in 1987. I loved the 80's and the music it has given us.

The next couple of weeks I hit the books and also put in some hard racing up at Dade City Raceway. There were a couple of big money races with a nice cash payout in Open Money class and an upcoming round of the Florida Gold Cup. I was leading the series and need some extra cash to help pay the rent due to my lose of roommate. I was riding with a lot of anger and built up emotions. They only way I knew to deal with it was ride really hard.

My friend Tom had a better way to deal with it - drink heavily. So I did both - parted with Tom and rode my butt off at the races. I did both really well for several weeks earning some big payoffs with overall wins two weeks in a row at Dade City. But then excess caught up with me. I had told Tom that Sunday was a big race for me and that I could not got to this big party over in Temple Terrace. Somehow he talked me into going and I did not get home until very late with one too many Jack Daniels in me.

The next day I made my way up to the race feeling really sick. I actually had an o.k. first moto where I battled with Suzuki factory support rider Vince Devane in the 125 Expert class. He got the better of me but I still gained points on the rest of the field. Second moto was a different story. Between moto's I got sick a couple of times from my prior night excess and could not keep anything down. I still lined up of course and actually got a good start. A couple of laps into the moto I was having a hard time keeping up and making a couple of the harder doubles on the course. The last thing I remember was taking an outside line in this one turn so I could make this triple jump. They said I somehow drifted to the outside while I was in the air and as I started to land I taped the rear brake so I could land on the downward side of the far jump. Only thing is the outside of this jump had not been worn down and it was basically a drop off.

I awoke two days later in the Dade City Hospital with sever head injuries including broken nose, two broken eye sockets, detached retina, skull broken in several places, brain swelling and bleeding. I was left alone in the hospital with no way to get home and no one to call. There was no way I was going to call my parents as they hated the fact that I raced motocross.

I was never the same person or rider after that. I had to drop some of my classes because I could not really comprehend the subject mater well enough. A year later I was back in South Florida attending Florida Atlantic University where I was now studying finance and working towards my B.B.A. Funny how life works out sometimes....

UltraCross

2011-08-15T06:36:00.001-07:00

This past weekend I was working on a fall race schedule. Still trying to finalize one based on my current fitness level, recovery rate and motivation level (it is hard to get motivated when your form sucks :-(). I came across an interesting series call the American Ultracross Championship Series. Basically a long distance mix of cyclocross, gravel grinding and mountain biking. I have always wanted to do the Iron Cross. Maybe this is the year.

I have an idea for a unique event that would fit in line with this Ultracross series. Who knows, maybe we can get a round of the series here in KC.

Kansas City Warrior Dash

2011-08-03T06:40:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I participated in the latest phenomenon to swept the country - an Extreme Running race called the Warrior Dash. Essentially it was a hilly ass 5K run with a few obstacles thrown in to good measure. Some of the obstacles that we had to navigate were barricades, stacks of hay, rope ladders, tire fields, small creek crossings, slightly muddy trial, logs of fire and a mud pit. Some of the advertised obstacles were not included which is a shame. Maybe it would have changed my view of the event.

The event starts by corralling 500 wave starters together like cattle. You stand there for 30 minutes in xtreme heat listening to bad loud music. Finally we enter the course and escape the music only to find it is just a long stretch of endless sun baked hills. After about a mile you come upon the first obstacle. A few jumps and crawls later and you past the barricades. More endless hills but now finally we get to some double track. A short balancing beam section and a field of tires follow. It is really hot and the shallow water crossing, while not hard were very welcomed. I almost just sat down in them to take a break, but I proceed to one of three rope ladders. For some reason they put in multiple sets instead of some of the advertised mud slides. Plenty of hills and some muddy trail sections followed. We ended with a jump over some fire and a short crawl through the mud pit. Then it was off to wait in line for an hour to try and get rinsed off.

After participating in this event I am really asking myself why the sudden interest in these races. Are runners that bored of a normal 5k run? Do they like standing for hour just to get stinking mud hosed off them? Have they ever tried one of the local Trail Nerds events? Because the Warrior Dash was just a pimped up trail run. It was diffidently not "The Craziest Frickin' Day Of Your Life" like they advertised. Maybe the other events like the Tough Mudder, which is more extreme, would make them more fun and more of a challenge. Maybe the "average Joe" coming off the couch would consider this an extreme event, but a good muddy off-road triathlon/duathlon or cyclocross race is way more extreme and fun than this event.

Some pictures (more coming...)

Remembering John.....

2011-08-01T12:35:00.000-07:00

Brother

If There Are Roses In Heaven
Will You Send One Just For Me
So I Can Hold It Close To My Heart
Where You Will Always Be
I Will Lay It On My Pillow Each Night
As The Angels Tuck Me In
I Will Know That You Are Near Me
And Feel Your Presence Once Again
I Am Thankful For All The Years
You Were There To Help Me Through
I Will Always Remember “My Little Brother”
Whose Love Was Honest And True!

In Loving Memory Of John J. Locke

Life has never been the same since you got injured. Part of me died that summers night so many years ago. I can still remember all the fun times we had - like they were yesterday. Vivid memories that can be a blessing and yet a curse at the same time.
3 years ago you left us going to hopefully a peaceful place. One day I will join you and be at peace with myself.

A few pictures from the past....

Tri-ing to Get Back into Shape

2011-07-25T19:03:00.000-07:00

First a little update. This has been a very trying year for me. It started with recovering from a nasty MTB crash were I injured my leg and my shoulder. Leg healed slowly, but shoulder never did so I finally went in to see a specialist which lead to my shoulder surgery for a torn rotator cuff

Just as I was healing from my shoulder surgery, I came down with some "gut" issues. Still waiting on the biopsy results from my recent colonoscopy. In the meantime the Doctor put me on meds for an infection.

I have written off this summer and possibly the year for any serious training. I have been training a couple hours a week - mostly rehab on my shoulder in addition to some swimming, biking and running. I decided to go ahead an participate in the 5th Annual Crossroads Triathlon this past Saturday as a training event. This event has grown to over 200 racers and has a nice small hometown feel to it. And besides, I always seem to run into old friends like Allyn Smith at these events.

My new main sport....I have been spending most of my training time in the pool. I enjoy swimming especially this time of year with triple digit temps. I think the meds I have been taking caused me to be even more sensitive to the heat. Anyway, all this time in the water has really improved my swim. Carolynn always makes fun of me saying I look like I am not really trying and that I have a very slow turn-over compared to the other swimmers. Well my "lethargic swimming style" earned me the 3rd fastest swim split of the day! The two others that beat me are members of the swim team, so I must be doing something right. Perhaps swimming is my new calling?

I can still spin the pedals in anger sometimes.... After a rather slow T1 (lack of focus on my part) it was time for the bike leg. Only an 8 mile course for today's event. Heat, rolling hills, rough roads , wind and 200 others to beat. I had not been on my Orbea TT bike since the Frisco Triathlon over a month ago. Position and legs felt good for the trip out to the turn around. I put in a very hard effort passing up to 3rd place (I started 18th) on the road which meant I made up about 3 min. I could see the two lead riders cresting the last hill of the day and decided I should back off some and save it for the run. My legs were feeling it and in hind site I should have just kept it pegged. As they say "once you got it up, keep it up". Once I backed down the heat and effort just over took me. I spun some of the lactic acid out of my legs and and cruised into T2 with the 2nd fastest bike split of the day. My good friend Allyn Smith took that top honor.

Medication and heat do not mix well.... A good T2 and off running. Well, jogging. Pace was very lethargic, especially from mile .5 to 2. No focus and I just kept asking myself why I was even out here if I could not put out a solid effort over the entire event. The heat hit me quickly and hard. It is funny how quickly an event can turn around. It got worse when a few runners passed me - the ones I usually beat in a triathlon. Luckily this was a sprint triathlon and the event was over and I was enjoying a nice ice cold water over my head. In the end I still finished 2nd in my age-group and 8th overall out of close to 200 racers.

Summer Vacation

2011-07-24T15:05:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from our recent trip back home to Florida. This time we headed to the Panhandle and spend a week on the beach, fishing, riding and wrestling goats....

4th of July Trip to Florida

Ready to Return to Motorcross?

2011-07-17T07:28:00.000-07:00

This years MX season has been great. Very close racing among the top guys. During the season I always think about getting another bike (one with a motor) and race motocross again. It sometimes seems that was the only think I was ever good at. During yesterday's round I lost my current itch to get back into motocross racing.

Kansas State MTB Championships

2011-06-26T17:12:00.000-07:00

Sean and I headed over to the Crocodile Rock MTB race today. This years event held on those sweet Perry Lake trails doubled as the Kansas State Mountain Bike championships. Lyle had a very fast 6 mile loop laided out for us. Trail conditions were very good despite some rain on Saturday - only a slick sections in the rocks.

This past week I started getting some abdominal pains with some stomach bloating and a small amount of bleeding. I am thinking my Colitis was coming back. I thought about just heading out to the race and take pictures/hike the trails, but really did not feel that bad by the time Sean showed up so I went ahead and loaded up my bike. I like the Perry trails and wanted to get some saddle time in and support the local MTB events.

The approaching storm clouds only brought some relief from the heat. I was not really looking forward to 4 laps in 90+ degree heat. My recent "gut" problems only affirmed my decision to abide by Carolynn's wishes and stop racing at the first sign of trouble.

A good start for me as I followed Omaha's Ryan Feaga n into the single track. My teammate Damian was in 3rd behind me and I quickly let him by so he would have the best chance at Kansas State championship in the Men's Cat 1 40 - 49 division. Damian would go on the not only win the state title but took 2nd overall behind Ryan on the day. Less than a mile into the event and I was not really feeling good and I did feel confident going fast in the corners due to my shoulder. I backed off the pace and soon just about the entire Cat 1 field was by me. I stayed close for the entire first lap and even caught back up on the slick rocky sections. I came in just behind the eventual 2nd place finisher and financial coach Brendan Jenks just ahead. On the second lap my gut was really starting to hurt so I backed her down even more and put it on cruise control. By the third lap I had to stop several time to let the pain and bloating subside. I figured I would just wait to get lapped and finish. Turns out according to HSP you do not finish on the leaders lap and they put me down for a DNF :-)

I plan to take a month off from racing and of course pay my doctor a visit. This has been one hell of a year for injuries and set backs. It is hard to keep motivated in times like these. Hopefully some tome off to finish up healing will help.

Congratulation to Damian Almanza and Tim Greene (Marathon) for bringing home 2011 Kansas State Mountain Bikes Championships to the out Cow Town family.

Some pictures from the days activities including the longest awards ceremony ever...

Kansas State MTB Championships

Frisco Runaway Triathlon v3

2011-06-18T17:11:00.000-07:00

My first triathlon of the year was today - the 3rd Annual Frisco Runaway Triathlon. Last year I really enjoyed the event and decided that I would again use the event as the start of my triathlon season. It has been a long road trying to get back into form after my shoulder surgery and this would be a good test for me.

After a rough day at work I decided that I would just drive down to Willard, MO (2 hour 40 min drive) in the morning. My legs felt like crap and I really did not want to waste the $$$ on a room and have a crappy showing. Recent results have not given me much confidence.

I awoke @ 3:30 am to pouring rain in KC and a sore back. I almost turned off the alarm and went back to bed, but my legs felt kind of good. On the road by 4:00 am and hoping I made it to the event in time. Luckily I was going solo because if Carolynn coming with me we would have never had made it due to all the bathroom breaks. I arrived about 5 min before the transition closed and all but one spot was taken. I did not get a good transition spot, but at least I got one.

Race began with a 300 yard pool swim. This year lap lanes were added which greatly improved the event. I still remember last years spectacle. I have been swimming some and gaining a lot of flexibility in my shoulder. We were asked to position ourselves based on our estimated time. I thought I could do it in 5:30 with my current fitness and lined up accordingly. My pace was no where near last years 4:38 time, but I almost reached my goal time - one second off. A 5:31 swim time was good enough for 11th overall and also allowed me to keep my heart rate down and to focus on a quick transition. A much better transition this year as I was in/out in 38 seconds. It pays to practice :-) A very tough 12 mile bike leg was up next. I actually like most of the course outside of Willard except for two nasty climbs. I settled into TT position and steadily worked my way toward the front of the field. The goal was to pace myself and not go into the red to much and allow for a good run leg. My legs felt good on the first half of the bike course and I really excelled on the downhills. My rig was rolling very well. I tried a higher pressure (130 psi) in the Kenda Volare tubular tires. Damn that thing rolled well. That was until the the return trip back and that first climb. I soon found myself being passed by several of the guys that I had just gotten by and wishing that i had a larger gear than a 23 (a 27 would have been nice). About midway up the climb I say the hell with this and decided to just give it everything I had. After the past two weeks I really needed a good results and if suffering was needed so be it. Once I got the the top of the climb another nice fast downhill awaited. I really powered down that hill and got by and left all the guys behind me. I could see the lead police car up ahead so I knew I was toward the front of the pack. This mad the suffering a little more tolerable (but not much..) as I tried to bridge up to the leader. The final mile I decided to take it a little easy and spin some to remove all the lactic acid in my legs. Ended up with a 33 min time/21.5 mph average. Good enough for the 2nd fastest bike split of the day and 1 min faster than last years time.

Another good transition in the 30 second range and I was off for a 5 K run down the Frisco Highline Trial . First mile was very good for me. I settled in behind a younger triathlete and felt like I was running well. I was in the top 5 overall and if I had a good run could stay there. I always aim for top 10% overall in a triathlon and of course a podium position in my age-group. Both was in sight. The run felt a little to easy and I soon realized why - heavy objects travel fast downhill. We hit the 1.5 mile marker and turned around and headed back all up hill. Not a steep hill, but just enough to drag you down. My nice 95 rpm leg turnover was reduced to a 75 rpm. A heavy weight settled in and I really struggled. A few guys got by me but I just kept focusing on my run and tried not to let it get me down. Not that this helped much with my run split. A poor 24 min run split (2 min slower than last year) was the end result. However, a solid swim, good transitions and a strong bike earned me 1st place in the Male 45 - 49 division in a time of 1:04:34.
Looks like I have a lot of work to do in the run. Reducing my weight by about 10 lbs (which is my goal) will definitely help. Track work will also. I need to find a local club that has track workouts that I can join. The run has always be my downfall in triathlon and it is about time I focus on it. Overall I am happy to finally be on top of the box again. Hopefully I can get back up on the top step a few more time this year.

Kansas City Cup Race Report

2011-06-14T05:27:00.000-07:00

Sunday was the Kansas City Cup and a return to racing at Landahl. It has been several years since we raced there and I do miss it. A great trail system with a little bit of everything. I hope the event raised enough money and sparked a continued desire to have move races out there. Hopefully by the next event I will be able to actually ride at my ability level...

Riding like a little girl... The past weeks training went well. I felt good on the mountain bike and my shoulder is getting strong enough that I can even ride technical sections without too much pain - still some but not bad. After Thursday's pre-ride of the course with Rich I was pumped about racing the KC Cup on one of my favorite trail systems.....then mother nature sheds a few tears and turns our once perfect course into a slick little bastard. Usually I ride well on wet courses, but not the slick rocks of Rim Job. I was hoping by race time the course would dry out and most of it did. Rim Job did not and this was my undoing.....Doug Long called us to the line and I was surprised to get on the front row with my teammate Damian. Damian and I had just got back from pre-riding parts of the course and I felt good so I stayed there not really knowing if I had the form to keep up with the front runners. The question was answered very quickly as the horn was blown. The race was on and I sprinted along with everyone else to the first section of single track. Only my current sprinting pace is not at an "Expert" level. I quickly fell towards the rear but still kept the effort high enough to keep attached to the last rider. The experts were going 3 laps and my plan was to run consistent lap times and hopefully end the day well. Most everyone else did not have the same plan as I and soon there was a gap and a pack of riders behind me. After several minutes one of the riders yelled out "can we get by Cow Town?" No problem was my answer and soon a small group of riders including eventual overall winner Aaron Elwell went flying by. I settled down into my pace and even passed back several riders. In reality I was not riding that bad and as we exited Wills and heading up the double track I could see a dozen riders that I was hoping to catch up once we hit Rim Job. I usually fare very well there and was optimistic. That was until I hit that first slick ass rock on Rim Job and about busted my butt. I quickly have visions of another shoulder surgery if I was to crash. This caused me to ride really tight. My teammate Ashley Blum, who would go on to win his age division and the Missouri State Championship title, caught up to me at the end of Rim Job and said I was "riding like a little girl" and to relax. Let if flow he said has he went by on the way to victory. As for me, I continued to ride like that little girl and finished the day safely. Better to arrive safely and live to fight anther day.

Everyone likes to be in pictures....Carolynn took some pictures of the days action. Here finger was still hurting so she only took a limited amount.

KC Cup

Sedalia Spring into Summer Duathlon

2011-06-05T04:35:00.000-07:00

Carolynn I headed over to Sedalia for the Sedalia Spring into Summer Duathlon again this year. Last year we both had a good time. I won the Short Course division in the duathlon and Carolynn had a great ride on the Katy Trial. This year not so much....

You crashed on what?.... Carolynn was thinking about doing the short course this year, but decided that she did not want to experience any pain today (lack of run training) and would just take some pictures and enjoy a nice ride on the Katy. The race begins with a 2 mile run out of Cloverdell Park, goes down 1 mile and then returns via the Katy Trail to the East end of the park. Carolynn proceeds to head down to where the runners will be entering the park. There is this really smooth grass road that is part of the course. She heads down there, but does not get there early enough and the front runners have already passed. I am next and come running by and she missing taking a picture of me. She decided to get on her bike and catch me before I enter the transition area. Somehow she manages to find the only rough section of the grass trail and ends up loosing the front end and getting thrown off the bike. Bike was all twisted up but not as bad as Carolynn's arm and hand. One of her fingers appeared to be dislocated - it is just hanging down. When finished the race I did not really know what to do with a dislocation other than pull it really hard and hope it goes back in. Apparently this worked.

Update on the finger/shoulder: Carolynn poor little finger is still not straight. Bruised and swollen. Shoulder is killer her. I sure hope she did not tear anything like I did. Maybe it is time for the Locke's to retire?

Not ready to race just yet....As for me my day did not go so well either. My training had been going good, so good that I actually had the goal of winning the Masters 40+ Overall award. But race days can bring you many things including a pair of dead legs....First 2 mile run started off o.k. as I wanted to pace myself, but not at a pathetic 7:30 min mile pace. I could not believe the splits times that they were calling out. No wonder the leaders looked like they were a mile ahead - they where. I had good transition and was looking forward to a fast bike leg and gaining some ground. First 5 miles or so when good. I caught a dozen or so riders and was making up time fast. My new Speed Weapon was rolling good. (I loved the Kenda Tubular tires by the way). Then we hit some rollers and I just had no power. I actually had to get down in the small chain ring to keep my cadence up. The next 4 miles were really rough. Some of the guys that I had passed got back by me. I kept telling myself not the let heat get to you and push it more. This helped and I picked up the pass on the finishing stretch and was rolling along quickly with the aid of a tail wind. I finished the 12 mile bike strong and by a later calculation was in 1st in my age-group. The final 2 mile leg turned out to be my undoing. I guess I drank to much on the bike because when I tried to run all that water just sloshed around in my stomach. This happens to me a lot when it is hot out. I kept trying to will my legs to turn over quickly, but they would not respond. I got passed by 3 people on the run. All of them were in my age-group :-(.....turns out I still have a lot of work to do before I can expect good results.

Speed Weapon

2011-06-01T17:55:00.001-07:00

Speed is the name of the game and here is my new weapon of choice for Tri's/Du's and TT's.

Well, mostly updated than new... I will again use my Orbea Aletta frame. I added a Ritchey Logic seat post with a normal set back this year. I liked the 76 degree seat angle of the Orbea last year, but when I resumed training this year I felt "out of sorts" on the bike and my TT position was causing pain in my shoulder. After many adjustments I found I felt more balanced and comfortable when I positioned my saddle more to the rear. This took a lot of weight off my shoulder and as a added bonus I climbed a lot better. So far the more relaxed geometry did not deter a good run - at least during my recent brick workouts.

One obvious new addition is a set of Williams 58 carbon tubular wheels. I was very afraid of going back to sew-ups (disclaimer: only road sew-ups for one year about 15 years ago). But Dave offered this wheel set as a trade and I decided I could not go wrong. I will not go into details due to time constraints , but after my experience with gluing on a new set of tires this will be my last set of tubulars. That is unless the "ride" is that much better like some say. Hopefully my new Kenda Volare perform as expected.

The final addition is a new Rudy Project Syton TT helmet. It is their older design TT helmet, but the price was right and I liked the way if fit more.

First test of my new speed weapons will be this weekend at the Sedalia Spring Into Summer Duathlon. Wish me luck.

Beware of Barefoot Running

2011-05-27T06:04:00.000-07:00

Pictures from Lake Tahoe Trip

2011-05-19T08:09:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from my little visit to the frozen North West. I had great time and have much to say in a follow-up post...

Lake Tahoe Trip - Tour of CA

California Here I Come

2011-05-06T09:57:00.000-07:00

Heading to California next week - Bella Vita Italian Vacations to be exact. My friends Mark & Kristine Studnicki invited me out for their Amgen Tour of California - Lake Tahoe Trip.

It has been 5 years since my last visit to good ole California and I must tell you I am looking forward to it. On my last visit Carolynn and I went out to the 2006 NORBA National MTB Championships held in Sonoma, CA. That was the year they we were suppose to be held at Mammonth Mountain, but got moved due to heavy snow. That is one event I would like to soon forget but can not....things started off great that year with both Carolynn and I winning the Missouri State MTB championship in our class and earning a chance to line-up for a National Championship - not that either of us actually thought we would hang with those guys. I was all pumped to head up to Mammonth Mounatin, but then the record snow fall and USA Cycling moved the event to a venue that had about 300 yards of single track. The rest of the course was held on the rolling sun backed hills of Infineon Speedway. I am not lying when I say that about 1/2 the course was on dirt roads that are used for parking spectators that come to the speedway. There was little to no skill need for this course. All you needed was the ability to climb fast and you were in the $$$. Add to it the fact that Sonoma was in the middle of a heat wave and this kid does not have a chance in hell. I raced the best I could, suffered like a dog, about succumbed to heat stroke and just did break into the top 20. Poor ole Carolynn did not even start her race. After the pre-riding the course (I should say dirt parking lot) the day prior to the Championship and the 100+ degree heat she said "there is no way in hell that you are going to get me out there". She is the smart one in the family for sure. We still enjoyed our stay out west and looked forward to a return soon especially the wine. Looks like I am the only one going this time around. Don't worry honey, I will bring you back some wine :-)

Back to my upcoming trip....At last check-in with Mark, it looks like road riding only due to guess what, damn Snow again. I though California was a sunny state. Besides riding the roads up in Lake Tahoe and the surrounding mountains we get to see the big guys race in the Amgen Tour of California. Looks like it is going to be a great event and watching the top riders ride is always fun, yet humbling..... I am really looking forward to this trip. California, here I come...

Finding my Way

2011-05-03T10:25:00.000-07:00

I have competed in a little over a dozen adventure races. When things worked out right and my team did not get lost we usually won. For example, when the Hi-tek Adventure Race Series was going on I teamed up with my Friends Joel Leffler and Scott Hayford and we took a hard fought win at the Oleta round in 1997. Another example Mike Classen and I (pictured above) in route to 1st place overall several years ago at the Smithville Adventure race. When things went wrong, like when we would get lost or a team mate thought he could ride a mountain bike, it turned into a very disappointing day.

Well I decided that I want to return to adventure racing and this time I am going to be prepared. My biggest weakness is navigation and when I noticed that the Johnson County was hosting a Map and Compass: Orienteering Workshop I signed Carolynn and myself up and invited several of my teammates that are also interested in getting into AR racing to join me. A good turnout including Tige Lamb and his son Griffin, Bob Tarne, Sean Gaulter, Chad Harvey, Carolynn and myself.

The Possum Trot Orienteering Club actually put on the class and did a great job. It is amazing how simple it actually is to use a baseplate compass an orienteering map, and control card to find your way. I knew about 1/2 what was taught this weekend, which is where my problem came in when I participated in adventure races that required a lot of navigation and the few orienteering meets that entered. As soon as the terrain got hard and I got lost. Well, after this weekends class I feel a lot more confident that I can now find my way......

Stay tuned for more info about our new adventure racing team....

Some photos:

Orienteering 101

Just Testing Her Out

2011-04-24T17:08:00.000-07:00

Finally an off week. Time to recharge the old body, get back to a normal routine and do some testing. Sunday I headed to one of the few dry trails in the area - good ole Clinton Lake State Park. I did my own little BB36 and got in just over 30 miles of riding. Trails were in awesome shape once again. Hats off to everyone that has helped build and maintain these trails. IMO, the Clinton trails are the best in our area right now.

First test up was my shoulder. I have hit the physical therapy very hard over the last month and it shows. My strength is improving daily and I can just about ride pain free now. I feel it the next morning for sure, but I am making progress. I would say my shoulder is at 75 - 80%. I am not ready to return to MTB racing - just do not want to risk crashing and re-injuring it. My fitness is improving and hope to start some higher tempo rides soon.

Giant Anthem X Test: Next test on the day was my new Anthem X that I got from The Wheel Cyclery. This only marks the 3rd ride on her, but today was the first time I felt strong enough to push it some and really see how she would respond. On the first fast decent she carved a very confident line around Clinton Lake Trails and put a big smile to my face. Next up was a test of the suspension on some rocks. The Anthem X passed with flying colors, but my shoulder is another story. Over the next 30 miles I enjoyed my new rig as she handled every rock, root, downhill, uphill, creek crossing and turn that North Shore trails threw at her. A very balanced and predictable ride the inspires confidence - something I need right now for sure..... The build on the X1 is the new Shimano XT 10 spd. Shifting was very crisp and precise. I went with the 3x10 even though the trend is going toward a 2x10 set-up. I used just about every gear out there at Clinton which just about sums up why I still believe a triple up front is the way to go. Sure I could have powered up a few of the steeper climbs in the middle chain ring (and would have if I was racing), but it sure was nice to spin up these climbs in the small chain ring and keep the HR/Power level at a good OD training level. I even found the big ring, which is a 42 now, a few times. The 42/32/24 with a 11x36 cassette offers just about every gear ratio that you could want. I plan on using them all, especially on some trips to mountains....... My only complaint about the bike are the brakes (Avid Elixir R) and saddle (Fizik Tundra2). With the brakes they are plenty strong, but the clearance is next to nothing and I experienced some vibration under heaving braking. With the saddle I am just not a Fizik man (or I should say my ass is not....)..... Bottom line is I am very satisfied with my new Anthem X1 and I am happy I went with a proven performer (Aluminum framed Maestro Suspension) that will last for many years to come.

Crank Brothers Pedal Test: I have been testing the new Crank Brothers X3 Eggbeaters even before my shoulder surgery. All I can say is they Kick Ass. I have tried every pedal out there over the years and the X3 rocks. I really like the new cartridge bearings and the craftsman ship is very nice. Entry/exit is effortless and once you are in you stay in. The pedals have just the right amount of float for me to keep my knees happy. I personally set mine up with the Shoe Shield and like the extra "float" and ease of entry. Bottom line, plain and simple they just work. These babies have a 5 year warranty and the way they are build should last that long easily.

Baggie/Saddle Test: Final test was my set of Endura baggie shorts that I received from Kenda Tires. To be honest with you, I have never been a fan of "baggies". My reasoning was why would anyone want to wear em in the first place. I first tried a pair this past winter. Mostly because of the added clothing layer that it added - nothing worse than a frozen member while riding. My first ride back after surgery I decided to try them again on my new MTB rig. On that first ride I really did not focus on the shorts, but instead was trying to get used to the Fizik saddle that came on the Giant. Shorts were o.k. but saddle was not. I switched out the saddle for Ritchey Logic Mar athon saddle. I have used these over the last 3 years with great comfort. As usual, I also put on a liberal amount of Chamois Butt'r. End result was 3+ hours of comfort. Overall I enjoyed the Endura Baggies, but did notice that they pulled on the tops of my leg some, limited my movement when I had to dismount and they caught my saddle a few times while navigating some technical areas. For their intended purpose they are great and do offer an added layer of protection in case of a fall. Overall good training short and I will also use them to commute to work in or during a fun ride/tour.

Bone Bender Rocks Clinton

2011-04-17T19:30:00.000-07:00

The 3rd Annual Bone Bender 3/6 Hour MTB Odyssey is complete. It was a lot of hard work, but it appeared most everyone enjoyed themselves. Well, except for that run up from the beach :-)

It takes a lot of help to hold top notch events and our crew did awesome. Heather and crew rocked the registration and results. Thanks to the Cow Town Cycling Team, The Wheel Cyclery, Lawrence Mountain Bike Club, Mountain Bike Patrol and the Kansas Trails Council/Clinton Lake State Park for allowing us to host our event on their trails.

What did you guys think of those trails? I wish I was able to race. They looked perfect. Thanks to Jeff Arnaud for designing such a killer course.

I really want to thank the cycling community for all their support. Without all of you events like the BB36 would not happen. Thank you to everyone who came out and supported mountain biking and our trails.

The last person I want to thank is my wife Carolynn. She busted her butt for several days getting ready to feed 300+ people. She did a great job I think. Also Thanks to Art King and Ann Pai for helping serve up the food all day long.

Results

Some pictures from today's BB36.

Bone Bender v3

Turns out Mountain Bikers Can Run

2011-04-10T15:43:00.000-07:00

Another God's Country Off-Road Duathlon is in the books. Perfect day for a very fun race. I just wish I could have been out racing also.

I was happy to see a lot of mountain bikers out given my favorite sport a try. Turns out MTB riders can run, just ask Aaron Elwell. He took top honors today with a very strong bike leg us course, but he also put in a solid run. Some other folks that can run that I never know are Chris Hersey, Dennis Grelk, Nick Valdes, John Wagner and Craig Myers.

Results are up: 2011 God's Country Off-Road Duathlon

Some pictures that I took while being depressed that I could not race...

2011 God's Country Duathlon

Learning to Ride Again

2011-03-27T07:36:00.000-07:00

Just a little update....

Physical Therapy at ARC has been going well. I am up to 2 lbs of resistance. Doesn't sound like much, but after a couple sets the muscles (what's left of them) can really feel it. The range of motions is coming back. Every visit I get a few more degrees and a hell of a lot of pain. The ratio of pain for effort is currently not justified. Hopefully this will change soon.

During this down time I have done some alternative sports with Christopher. Recently he talked me into a special form of physical therapy he developed using a hand clay target thrower. His plan was to have me get some strength back in my shoulder by throwing some clays. This did not work out too well as you can see.

I am back on the bike again attempting to get my fat ass back in shape. The road to recovery looks like it is a very hard one. It is like I am learning to ride all over again. My first ride on the bike was a short one down to Parkville, MO. I could not believe all the pot holes out on the road and the pain they caused. Normally I just bunny hop the these things but that is not an option currently. I decided that I would ride my MTB bike the next ride to smooth things out. I also felt out of my element with all the traffic. It has been awhile since I rode in traffic and darn if those cars did not feel like they were going to run me over. This normally never bothered me, but I guess I just need to get used to it or get the city to make more bike lanes....

The doctor said I could ride my bike, but I don't know if he meant off-road. I decided to test my shoulder on the new Anthem X and its plush suspension. Pre-rides of the Bone Bender 3/6 Hour MTB Odyssey have started out at Clinton. Jeff has designed a great course with a good combination of trails. My first ride back on the mountain bike was on this course. Things went o.k. except for the fact that my son kicked my ass. I guess it had to happen some time. Christopher and Jeff just walked away from me on every trail. I felt like I had never ridden off-road before. Even on what I normally consider easy trails I was hitting the brakes and getting off walking every time I saw a rocky downhill.

God's Country "Fat Tire" Duathlon

2011-03-15T11:03:00.000-07:00

The Cow Town Cycling Team and Jewel Cartoons would like to invite you to the God’s Country Off-Road Duathlon. For 10 years this event has been offering up “Fat Tire” fun from beginners to experts alike. Come join in the fun on April 10, 2011 at the Lawrence River Trails and start your multisport season off with us.

This year we are focusing on a well-organized fun event that anyone can do and will not break the bank. For an entry fee of only $30.00 you get a multi-sport event with chip timing. Where else can you find that? Entry fee includes one-day license, custom awards, post-race refreshments/food and a delightful course that any ability level will enjoy.

Early entry discount ends April 1, 2011. Please visit http://www.active.com/triathlon/lawrence-ks/gods-country-offroad-duathlon-2011 to register today.

Event Details:

2.5 Mile trail run / 11 Mile Off-road bike

Awards 3 deep in both M/F age-groups.

Packet pickup/Registration opens at 8:00a.m. and closes at 10:30 am

Mass start at 11:00 am (new time for 2011)

Event Website: http://www.fattireduathlon.com/go/

Online Registration: http://www.active.com/triathlon/lawrence-ks/gods-country-offroad-duathlon-2011

Race Director: Gerard Arantowicz - jewelcartoons@yahoo.com

Official Timing Service: Raceday Timing Solutions

Other stuff you may or may not need to know:

This event would not take place if not for the Lawrence Mountain Bike Club & Patrol, our wonderful event volunteers and the countless volunteers that help maintain the trail systems.

Thousands of athletes have entered Fat Tire Duathlon events and every one of them have finished with a smile on their face.

The trails are hybrid/cross bike friendly.

The UFD MTB season opens on April 9 at the same great location.

Distances are approximate an may change slightly due to course conditions

Trails shoes are suggested, but not necessary to have fun.

Weather and course will be perfect

Tige, Laura and Damian are not racing so anyone can now win.

Cool awards for the top 3 in each age-group, but in our eyes everyone is a winner.

Individual and Team divisions are available.

Part of the bike course will route you up on the levee to allow ample passing.

Helmets are required at all times on the bike.

I hope to see many of you out at the Lawrence River Trails next month.

Yours Truly,

Chris Locke

Motivation to Keep Going

2011-03-12T14:31:00.000-08:00

The trails are drying locally here, but I still can't ride off-road yet. I need some motivation to keep up with all this physical therapy and suffer through the pain.

Now I feel better....

Racing Begins...

2011-03-09T05:24:00.000-08:00

...without me :-(.

One of my favorite events got the ole racing blood stirring last weekend. CIRREM was held up in Iowa. Over 60 miles of snowy gravel goodness and I was not even allowed to participate. A couple of my Cow Town teammates made the venture up with John Williams breaking into the top 10 with an 8th. Results and some pictures of the gravel fun.

The Swope Short track series got underway with Columbia's Jonathan Schottler taking the win over our own JP Brocket. Brett wants to know where the hell everyone was. I would have been there dude, but you do not have a class for a trike. If you did, I would be there...

Spring Flings began on Saturday. Results are in. I remember hitting this training criteriums over in Lawrence between 2001 - 2004. Some fun times if you have the early season fitness and like riding around in circles. This year marks the 16th year of these events. I don't know how Jim has kept his motivation to promote all these years. I am going on 11 years of event promotion and find it harder every year to put on events. Jim sent me the picture on the right once and said this is why he promotes - so guys like me and Adrian can race in the rain, suffer like dogs and then sprint for the win.

My second favorite sport kicked off on Sunday. The Forward Motion Hare Scrambles Championship round # 1 was over in Collins, MO. A nice course and a solid turnout as you can see in this video

Perry Road race series also kicked off this past weekend. If you like to climb then this is the place for you. The results show 151 starters with 49 Cat 5's. That is good for a training road race series. I even see some mountain bikers in the results including Life of LeLan. All the trails must be wet....

The UFD East series kicks off Sunday with the Leadbelt XC race down in Park Hills, MO. I hope to be back riding by the time the West series kicks off in Lawrence.

Long Road Back

2011-03-04T15:27:00.000-08:00

I guess you can say I am on the road to recovery, but it sure as heck does not feel like it. Before I begin I want to thank my wonderful wife Carolynn for helping me get through this past month and being my "right arm".

Part I of the recovery was the first couple of weeks after surgery. Not much to do here but take pain killers and not move your injured arm and get some quality rest. Taking drugs was the easy part, trying not to move your arm and getting rest was not so easy.

Going from a very active person to a couch potato is one of the hardest things to do. Speaking of hard things to do, I have found it very hard to do some basic things with one hand. Part of the problem is I am right handed and it was my right shoulder which was injured, the other part is keeping the injured limb from moving.

Top 10 things that are hard to do with one hand:

Go to the bathroom
Clipping your fingernails
Cutting food (especially steak)
Tying your shoes
Folding clothes
Taking a shower
Getting dressed (just try it)
Flossing your teeth (finally found these)
A tune-up on a bike
Driving a manual transmission

Part II of the recovery is going to physical therapy. As of now just doing pendulum and passive range of motion exercises. So far 3 times a week at the clinic and then 3 to 4 times a day at home. The first couple times were rough, but now my range of motion has greatly improved.

Part III of the recovery will be paying for all of this. Just got the bill today from the doctor and hospital. A total of $27,573.66 so far. Looks like I will be in the poor house for awhile....

The final part of the recovery will be hitting the road/trails again. I am a lot closer to this goal thanks to Dennis Grelk and Brain @ GamJams Midwest. Dennis hooked me up with a trike so I can start start riding and Brian sent me some sweet wool socks to keep my feet warm during what looks like a wet spring. Thanks again guys.

Fun in the Sun

2011-02-23T10:18:00.000-08:00

I hoped everyone enjoyed the great weather here in KC while we were gone. As expected, a heat wave hit here while we were in sunny South Florida. I think two of the days it was actually warmer here than down at the beach. It never fails (11 years running) that when we make reservations for a trip to escape the bitter cold temperatures in the Midwest that a warm front makes it way up to the Central part of the U.S.

While everyone here in KC was enjoying some great riding weather, we had a fun short trip visiting places like Deerfield beach where they were celebrating Founder's Day, Tradewinds Park was also attended where we went to Butterfly World and tried to ride some ponies. And what is a trip to Miami with a stop at Haulover Beach. No need to worry about tan lines there...

I did miss not going swimming and kayaking like we usually do, but this left more time to spend with my parents and sister Jackie. Also got to ride the gator with Christopher and actually pedal a bike. Sure it was a beach cruiser, but it still felt good to turn some circles.

Here are some pictures from our little weekend:

Winter Florida Vacation

Surgery update

2011-02-12T13:51:00.000-08:00

Just a little update on my surgery. 6 weeks. This is the new updated minimum amount of time that I will be out of commission and wearing my new fancy Ultrasling III.

Friday I visited Dr. Rhoades for my 7 day followup. He checked me out and went over the surgery that they performed on me last Friday. Now I know why my shoulder is currently killing me. Turns out my shoulder was much worse than the MRI revealed and I ended up having a torn rotator cuff on top of the the other injuries. Dr. Rhoades had to reattach it with two screws, removing a piece of bone that caused the tear along with some calcium buildup. As some of you mentioned, the rotator cuff takes a long time to heal you have to wear a sling for 6 weeks. That is just the start. After that then rehab and gaining strength.

I asked about what I can do to stay in shape and my doctor gave me this advice "it is only 6 weeks, read a book..." Obviously this means I will have to rethink my 2011 season. The good thing is I will not come into the season over trained like I usually do :-)

Thank you to everyone who emailed/called wishing me good luck and a quick recovery.

Below are some pictures from my surgery. Enjoy.

Glenoid Labrum Tear

2011-02-02T08:21:00.000-08:00

Injuries, I have had my fair share over the years. Some have been very bad head traumas, some life changing, some left cool scars like the one on the right and then there are just the nagging ones like my most recent.

My newest injury has actually been bothering me for several months. A little get off while I was out mountain biking late last year resulted in me dislocating my shoulder (again) and tearing my shoulder socket or better known as a Glenoid Labrum Tear.

I have had problems with this same shoulder for many years (minor dislocations are common) and was caused by a very bad dislocation that was a result of a first crash in which I was taken out by another rider. While I was tumbling on the ground another rider ran me over or to be more precise, his front wheel of his YZ 250 wedged in between my arm and side (armpit) and forced my arm out of its socket in a bad way - like behind my back. That was by far the most painful trip in an ambulance I have ever taken. O.K. enough of that old bad memory....

I usually heal quickly, but this time I kept having problems especially when I swim or mountain bike. I finally broke down and went to my Orthopaedic surgeon for a visit. He sent me to what I refer as the hell hole. I hate MRI scans like nothing else. See claustrophobic and you will see my name as a reference. I had a really hard time and almost walked out but the technician finally gave me some cool glasses with mirrors which allowed me to see outside the hell hole chamber and view my feet.

Looks like it is time for a little break from training. I didn't do much research on the surgery that will be performed on me on Friday, but it turns out I need to wear a sling for 3 to 4 weeks. We will have to see about that. I could go crazy in that amount of time.

Klondike Snow Tire Test

2011-01-27T04:09:00.000-08:00

My friends at Kenda tires were kind enough to send me a set of studded tires to test over this winter. I have both the Klondike Wide and Skinny tires. This past weekend I got to hit the snow packed gravel roads to test the Skinny version.

Description: 100 carbide tipped studded tire, designed for long life in the harshest of conditions. Great for use as a winter cyclocross tire or for use with a trekking or commuter bicycle. Features snow shedding directional tread design. My 700 x 35 weighted in at just over 780 grams (w/studs).

Mounting: This might just have been the hardest and most dangerous tires I have ever mounted. Well I take that back. My Brother Joey and I about killed ourselves trying to remove and mount an old truck tire on one of our fleets Kenworth W900's. Sometimes a truck tire would not air up and we would have to spray starter fluid inside the tire then apply air and throw a lighted match at the same time. The results varied, but if you were good (and we were) you survived and you had an inflated/sealed tire. Back to bike tires.... the Klondikes are very solidly built. The sidewalls are very stiff and combined with very sharp studs I would strongly suggest a pair of gloves and some soapy water to help with mounting. I have to use 3 tire irons to mount them, but mounted they were. I normally try not to mount tire with irons, but sometimes you just need a helping hand. In the end you have a sweet set of snow tires ready for action.

First impressions: A quick little ride around the neighborhood streets resulted in a smile on my face. I hit all the icy sections that I could see and had no problems with slipping. The real result would be the Smithville Gravel Grinder or Snow Grinder as some have suggested. Conditions on Sunday's little snow ride were varied - snow packed ruts to deep snow. The first few miles were on snow covered roads that were very slick due to the inch or so of snow that fell overnight. No problems here, but we were not really going fast. We hit the snow covered gravel soon and the Klondikes came alive. The aggressive knobs really hooked up and provided plenty of traction. On the hills during the route I felt the weight of the tires, but on the downhills they were great and I was routinely out leading the way. There were not very many icy sections during the ride, but plenty of snow. I plan to test some more during the week, but my first impressions are very good. I would highly recommend a set of them. Now we just need a few more snow storms here so I can put them to good use.

Here are a few pics of the slick conditions and of riders who did not have the same Kenda Klondikes as I:

Here is a video of me waiting for everyone else that did not have Kenda studded tires :-)

Yea It is Winter Time.

2011-01-22T17:39:00.000-08:00

As a native Floridian I must tell you that for the most part winter sucks. We almost did not make the move to South Florida when I was a little kid. My dad and mom almost moved us to Michigan, but after one too many trip on the truck with holes on the floor board my Dad say F*** this and moved to the warmest place he could find - good ole sunny South Florida. On a couple of rides lately I have gotten this same feeling. Funny how the mind works when you are freezing and body aches from the cold.

Carolynn and I both tired of the cold already and looking forward to our little trip back home to Florida next month. There are some good things about snow (see below), but for the most part it sucks. Hikes like this keep me sane this time of year.

One really good thing about winter and the snow is we get some cool rides in. For some reason I really like riding in the snow. Once you get the proper equipment it can be very fun and makes the winter time go very quickly. One new item I have been wanting to get for the past several years is a set of snow tires. I finally got a two sets of Kenda Klondike tires - one for the mountain bike and one for my cross bike. Plan to break in the cross bike one tomorrow morning during the Smithville Gravel Grinder. Looks to be great conditions for them. Just check out those studs.
Speaking of equipment, I got a few new toys. One is a nice new Anthem X. She finally arrived at the Wheel Cyclery earlier this week and I can not wait to try her out. Below are some pics. Very sexy rig. This beauty is equipped with XT groupo (do you really need anything else?), Hugi wheels, Fizik saddle and Fox shock/fork. I opted for the 3 x10 set-up. You do not really need a small chain ring around here, but I am planning on some trips to the mountains and that 22 is much appreciated climbing those darn hills. With the 36 our back I will be able to climb just about anything. I will report back as soon soon with a complete report.

Between the Lakes Gravel Grinder

2011-01-15T14:36:00.000-08:00

Brett hosted today's gravel grinder from his home town Lawrence, Kansas. We are lucky the Between the Lakes Gravel Grinder happened at all with Brett's premature celebration of his 25 birthday. But the trooper he is the ride carried on with a hangover and all.

Things started out late due to forgotten items like shoes. See above for the reason. Our first crash of the day happened before we even started rolling - Tim needs to add ice screws to his shoes. Once we got going things quickly a little sketchy when we passed through Burcham Park. The path was snow covered with some deep snow. More of the snow was encountered on the way back into town when we hit the levee. Things settled down after that with a long section of pave' until the fun started and the sweet gravel was upon us.

A good 45 mile ride with some good guys. Fun time.

Pictures below and some short movies. I will have to work on my movies. Darn camera was cutting out after a few seconds.

View all

Get your own

The Speed Equaliser

2011-01-13T10:47:00.000-08:00

I know what I am getting Carolynn for Valentines day. Now there is no need to get that new tandem (not that tandems are gay or anything). Just get a "Speed Equaliser"

Indoor MTB Park

2011-01-11T04:59:00.001-08:00

I wonder if there is enough demand in Kansas City to build one of these parks?

Gravel Grinders are in Season

2011-01-06T09:26:00.000-08:00

The gravel grinders are in season. Time to burn off the excesses of the holiday season and put is some fun miles to get ready for a successful 2011.

January is full of gravel grinding fun with events in Riverside, Lawrence, Smithville and Belton. Check out Guru's Gravel Grinders from more information.

The fun begins on Saturday with the Riverside-Waldron Gravel Grinder. A perfect opportunity for newbies and experienced riders alike. Route is flat and fun. Notice I did not say fast. That is because these events are designed to be fun and social. You will not see the face to the right during this ride. The added benefit, besides not having to look at my face, is you will get some great base miles in and you all will thank me come race season.

Course map is below. I marked some short-cuts if you need them.

New Years Day MTB Ride

2011-01-01T18:05:00.000-08:00

The annual New Years Day Mountain Bike ride out at the Lawrence River Trails was well attended today with over 40 riders. The trails were in great shape and super fun. I really like the new re-routes in the back. Hats off to the LMBC trail crew for building and maintaining these fine trails.

The best news of this year is that Carolynn is back on the bike. She had no problems riding. Well, I should rephrase that. She had no back problems. The 20 degree temps did cause her some pain.

Some photos from the days ride.

New Years Day MTB

A Redneck Christmas

2010-12-30T19:05:00.000-08:00

The families plan to go snow skiing in Colorado during the holidays were postponed due to Carolynn's back injury. She is starting to feel better which is great news. Hopefully she will be back to normal in a month or two. I know from personal experience that back injuries can take a long time to heal, especially in some of the areas of the lower back with limited blood flow.

We then made plans to head south to Arkansas, but Christopher wasn't really motivated and I did not want to go alone so the decision was made to stay home and catch up on some projects, get in some long MTB rides here locally and chill out and enjoy a week with the family without too many worries.

Christopher called this Christmas a Redneck one. I kind of agree with him. Especially with his new toy - Mossberg 12 gauge pump action shotgun. I must admit that the kid is very good with guns, which is kind of scary when you think about it. But seriously, he handles them extremely well and has a tremendous amount of respect for firearms. He certainly knows they aren't toys!

Got in some very solid rides this week and learned some valuable lessons. Most importantly is that what would be warm enough on single track will not provide the same level of warmth when you have 20+ mph winds on a very cold day on the open road. I already knew this but it hit home hard on Christmas day when I went for a 3 hour ride. I had to bail into a QT (thank goodness it was open) to warm up. I think I actually saw Santa Clause in there or at least a fellow who looked liked a very tired Santa. I always enjoying riding on Christmas day because there is hardly any traffic and you really get to enjoy the ride. Well, at least until you start to freeze to death. For a moment there, I feared that I would end up like the little squirrel I saw on the way home.

Great MX Memories.

2010-12-24T20:14:00.000-08:00

After a very wet and cold ride this afternoon working on those Festive 500 miles, I spent the better half of the day cleaning the basement. Found some old news paper clippings. Man I have been doing this racing stuff way too long. I remember racing against some top guys including 2 time super cross champion Jeff Stanton. I mention him because he will be in the 2011 Supercross special on Sunday night. I can not wait until round #1 of the Supercross season to start.

Some very fond memories from these pictures. I remember having to step-up my game when I moved to the Pro/Expert class in 85. At times I could run with just about anyone. Funny thing is fitness was my weak point. I tired to put in the time, but there were so many family conflicts back then that really prevented me from reaching my potential. I always tell Christopher that he is very lucky that he has my support in anything he does. I sure wish I had the same growing up. My brothers and I did the best we could in MX and we have several state championships to prove it along with a lifetime of memories. Some great battles with these two riders. Old Glenn was a nut case and kept it pinned the entire way around the track on his Cagiva . Tom Rice was a very talented rider that came from New York and raced in Florida to stay warm I now realize :-)
I am right behind Tommy Watts in this photo. Working it hard trying to stay with Stanton. Man that guy was a work horse and could ride a steady speed all moto long.

I will throw in one bicycle pic just because I won on this day :-)

Hard to tell it's me because I was wearing a mustache - third from the left sucking some wheel back in the day racing the Great Coconut Grove Bicycle Race. I can remember getting in a three person break with two other riders who did not speak English. I think they were pros from Cuba that had defected. They had legs the size of my chest. They would try to kill you to win a messily $150.00 prize for 1st place. I good part is I showed em how it was done on that day taking the win.

Festivus of Nights.

2010-12-22T20:31:00.000-08:00

Tonight was the annual Festivus of Nights Gravel Grinder. Rich Anderson hosted our ride on the Little Blue Trace trail which is just about perfect for night rides, especially when you have a group and need to stay together.

We ended up doing all 29 miles of the trails (out-back). The new section that leads to Lee's Summit Road is not completely open yet, but we still some how managed to make it to the end without hurting ourselves.

A very fun night of riding and perfect to burn some of those holiday calories off. Looks like there are several fun rides coming up over the holiday break. I plan to be riding everyday and am looking forward the snow that is in the forecast.

Pictures from tonight's ride

Festivus of Nights Gravel Grinder

500 Christmas Kilometers

2010-12-16T10:33:00.001-08:00

Finding motivation to train this time of year is hard. But I just came across an interesting challenge that just might help.

Ralph Performance Roadwear has come up with the The Festive 500 which takes place during December 23 - 30. Their premise is "rather than let the holidays get the better of you, they want to see riders worldwide taking up the challenge and joining us to ride 500km in a week".

Sounds good to me. Let's just hope the weather around the Midwest cooperates

CIRREM - Hell Yea!

2010-12-15T13:22:00.000-08:00

First objective of the year is CIRREM. I am registered and will begin my GG training this weekend....

This Christmas season, give someone you love (or don't love) the gift that
keeps on giving: 62 miles of unpredictable weather, potentially horrible
road conditions & hill-after-hill-after-hill-

induced suffering. Really,
what's better than the sense of accomplishment that comes after 62 miles of
Madison County gravel, chasing after Jerome (big guys can't climb?) & some
dude from Minnesota for 4+ hours, then sitting down in a
gravel-filth-covered haze to free beer and a sandwich with some fellow
smelly, dirty, exhausted cyclists at a local dive bar? On second thought,
don't answer that...

So give the gift of the memory of one of the *(pick your adjective)* bike
experiences of the year. Your loved one will grow to love you again a few
weeks after the event. Trust me. I'm sure the secret to marital bliss lies
in learning to forgive each other's misguided gifts. And we have the
coolest hats ever, so you'll get one of those, which is nice. Coolest.
Hat. Ever.

Merry Friggin' Christmas!

*CIRREM 2011: Race it. Ride it. Love it.*

Jed & Kent
Des Moines

*CIRREM registration is up!* go here & click *"buy now"*
http://cirrem.blogspot.com/

What Am I Really Good At?

2010-12-14T18:10:00.000-08:00

The race/event calendar for 2011 is starting to fill up. One of my "must do" events is the Ouachita Challenge. I have done this event for the past 4 years and even thought I have never had a great race down there something always calls me back to do it again and makes me get up at 1:15 in the morning to register before the event sells out (which it did in record time).

This year Christopher is planning on participating in the Ouachita Challenge with me. He was on the fence for a few days and kept asking if the course was harder than the Dakota 50 which we both raced in during the summer. I could not answer his question because they are both very different events/courses. I think he will enjoy the event and if he puts in some saddle time should be able to finish the OC before the cut-off times.

I am still working on building a program for 2011. Doing some fitness testing and bike fitting right now. The problem for me is I like to do some many things that I end of being a "jack of all trades and master of none" and we all no that in today's world you must specialize to succeed. The problem is what should I specialize in???

Saturday I had to be at work mid-morning so I was not able to partake in the Gardner Gravel Grinder. Bummer because I always enjoy a ride in hard conditions which I hear they encountered on Saturday.

I did have time to race in the Kris Kringle 5K run out at Swope Park. A little 5K race held at the new Southeast Community Center. A very nice center which the city of Kansas City should be proud off. One of the reasons I signed up was to support the center the other was to do some fitness testing with my run - my biggest weakness in the past. I wore my little Garmin 305 and raced barefoot. Well not really barefoot, but I did wear my Vibrams. I feel my time was a little slow running in the uneven fields of Swope Park, but still good enough for 2nd in my age-group. I do not think I will be racing the the Vibrams anytime soon. 3 days later and my calf's are still killing me and I ran slower in them than my normal trail shoes. I actually thought I would be faster but I was wrong.

Pics and Garmin Connect info below:

I guess the real question is what am I really good at anymore? Do I still have the ability to succeed in cycling or triathlons? Should I put myself out to pasture and become an adventure racer. I have never been able to excel in any one sport (well, except Motocross :-)) and that is why I think I do better in triathlons than any other sport I do. I guess my results will let me know for sure or maybe I should just do what I enjoy and do not worry about it results?

Tip of the Day - Zone Training

2010-12-10T11:04:00.000-08:00

I have decided that I am going to use a more systematic training method for 2011. My training plan for this past year did not work very well. Once of my worst seasons ever, but I will get to that later. Why didn't it work? Basically because I had no plan. I just did what I felt like doing at the time. I had no real measurable goals nor objectives, no schedule, no workouts focusing on my weaknesses and my biggest mistake was always training outside of my "zone". End result was becoming totally over trained and never getting enough rest.

Below is one of the best "Zone" descriptions I have seen in awhile. Training comes up often, especially when riding with someone new. I always talk about training, workloads and training in the zone.

So when you go flying by me this winter you will know that I am in "My Zone" and working on achieving my goals in 2011.

Zone 1: Barely above normal. Light and relaxed
Zone 2: Deep steady relaxed breathing. That’s your aerobic, endurance-training zone. It’s an Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) of 3 to 4.
Zone 3: Slightly labored. This is a steady “tempo” pace, where you’re working just a hair above your endurance comfort zone. It’s where you’d be if you were riding with someone just slightly faster than you. RPE 5 to 6
Zone 4: Short, quick rhythmic breathing. This is your lactate threshold zone. Right where you’re hitting your sustainable upper limits. Also known as race pace It’s an RPE of 6 to 8
Zone 5: Hard, gasping-for-breath breathing. This is your VO2 max training zone, which is a fancy way of saying, the top of your limits, as hard as you can go. It’s an RPE of 9 to 10.

Follow Your Own Path

2010-12-05T15:42:00.000-08:00

Today was the annual Possum Trot XIV. What is such a thing? Well it is the big annual orienteering event put on by the Possum Trot Orienteering Club and is held at the Heartland Presbyterian Center out in Parkville, Missouri. It is a mass start event and covers about 15 Kilometers of some rugged terrain.

Part of my off-season training is to better my navigation skills and running skills. I will need both for the planned adventure racing in 2011. It has been nearly two years since my last orienteering event. Over the time period I forgot everything I learned on that day and was basically starting over. The Possum Trot is a mass start which you would think would make it easier. Well for the first three controls it is. Until you lose your pace setter :-)
Today I got to try out my new Rudy Project Rx glasses that Carolynn bought me. I got the new Magster model with transition lenses. With age my eye sight has gotten so bad that I just can not ride off-road anymore and see the trail - this is part of the reason crashed last month. And yes the chops are coming in nicely.

Here is the course we had to do. Let me tell you there are a lot of hills on this thing and a heck of a lot of briars and thorny plants. No I know why most everyone was wearing these funky things on their legs.
Before the start I was looking for anyone who might have earned their Orienteering Merit Badge. I did find this one guy who had a nice Cow Town hat that I need to get. He was having nothing of my offer to buy it. Eventually I did find one and once the gun sounded I was on his heels. In hind sight I should have followed my own path and used today's event to actually learn something. Well, I got all competitive and decide I would just follow this youngster. Like I mentioned above this worked for the first three controls. By the time I left control 24 I lost my young merit badge winner and was lost in the woods. I got my trusty compass out and tried to use it, but gave up once I saw a couple of my fellow participants. It just seemed easier to follow someone who knows where they are going. This only lasted for two more controls until we all got lost. I soon realized that I just needed to settle down and follow my own path.

I found control 30 on my own and felt good about myself. I then used my compass (based on my limited knowledge of said device) and plotted a path to 31. Things appeared to be going well and I gain felt a sense of accomplishment t when I spotted another control. Only problem was it was not the control I was looking for. After wondering around for about 15 minutes I decided to head up to a clearing and find a location on the map (like a pond) that I could reference. Being down in a frozen creek bed was just not working for me. After just about giving up hope and deciding to give up I finally found a reference point. A large cross out in the middle of a field. A quick look on the map sure enough there was cross - I had found the holly grail.

I took my time and 2 hours 15 minutes later I finally reached the finish line. I learned several good lessons today namely that you should always Follow Your Own Path in life and in Orienteering events...

The Possum Trot club put on a very nice event. Great vibe at the event, plenty of hot food and I for one am looking forward to the next event - Shawnee Mission Park 1 Hour Score O. Until then plenty of Gravel Grinding to do and of course some more map reading practice.

Gravel Grinder Season

2010-12-01T10:05:00.000-08:00

This time of year is one of one of my favorites. Why? There is no more pressure from events (either racing or promoting), the holidays are upon us, easier days at work, we get to spend some more quality time with the family and we get to go do things like ride our bikes on frozen gravel roads. Over the past several years riding gravel roads has become my favorite type of riding.

This years gravel grinder calendar is filling up fast. Check out http://gravelgrinders.blogspot.com for complete info on local rides. The first weekly ride starts with Brett's. We have weekly gravel rides out of Stilwell every Wednesday evening. These are night rides and will require a light and rear flashing light. If you would like to add a gravel grinder yourself to our calendar please us know - email Chris.

Here is a little more information and tips for our gravel grinders this year.

Ride pace will be announced prior to the ride. The majority of our rides will be a moderate pace to allow proper "winter training" (i.e. Long Slow Distance). We will use a fat, old, out-of-form guy as a pacer (me).
A cross bike is the preferred weapon of choice but we get plenty of MTB and road bikes out on our rides.
Ride terrain will include: gravel roads, double track, levees, easy single track, hills (big ones) paved trails and tarmac among other things.
Ride time will be between 2 to 4 hours depending on conditions and terrain. We are planning some longer ones which will be announced to allow for training for events like Trans Iowa.
Rides are self supported and you ride at your own risk.
Details on rides will be posted on our Gravel Grinder site.
Ride start time is 9:00 a.m (unless posted otherwise for longer or shorter routes).
We usually eat lunch after the ride and enjoy some food and adult beverages.
We ride in all kinds of weather but when temps get below 0 degrees we usually hit the MTB trails and stay out of the wind instead. I say we, but it is usually just me when temps get that cold :-)
Dress in layers and use embrocation for an enjoyable ride in the cold.
Keep those feet warm with a pair of winter cycling shoes - trust me they are worth it!
Another thing to keep warm is your head hands. You loose a lot of heat out of your head so you can also keep a lot in with a nice skull cap. I sometimes bring a lighter cap (or ear covers) in case I heat up and need remove my thicker cap.
Tip of the day: Frozen water bottles a problem? Use insulated water bottles and fill with hot water. My water bottle stays "none frozen" for most of my long winter riders when filled with hot water (or the beverage of your choice). If you use a camelback beware of frozen tubes/bit valves - keep under your clothing close to your body to keep the bit valve from freezing.
One last thing, do not over dress. I see this all the time. Riders show up with thick baklava's and winter coats and can hardly pedal or breath. Just wear what I do and you will be fine :-)

Bike vs. Motorcycle

2010-11-30T11:58:00.000-08:00

Can a bicycle go downhill faster than a motorcycle? After watching the 2006 National Downhill Championships a few years ago I am not surprised by the results of this race.

The Road to Recovery.

2010-11-24T08:36:00.000-08:00

The 2010 Cyclocross season has ended for me. A little crash at the start of the month caused a premature closure to the season. Most likely for the best because my form this fall has been crap.

It has been 21 days since my little fall out at Landahl and I am still not recovered. Turns out the cut was a lot deeper into the muscle than we first thought and I have a nice bone bruise to go along with it. A follow up visit to the ER to remove the stitches resulted in a dose of antibiotics to help with the little infection and swelling that I had going. Things started to look better a week later so I ventured out for a ride last weekend. While at the visiting the the Wheel Cyclery to order a new MTB rig (11' Anthem X w/Fox Fork and XT) I noticed some bleeding again. When I got home I started to clean up my cut and noticed it felt very swollen and had a lot of fluid build up. I pressed on it and out comes this thick black blood. It did not hurt coming out so I just squeezed it all out of the part of the cut that had not closed up yet. Carolynn was not impressed (actually she got a little sick) but at least my leg felt better. I feel I am on to the road to Recovery.

Fast forward a few more days and I think it is time to get started working on the 2011 season. Things start slowly with tomorrow's Gobbler Ride. We meet at 9:00 a.m. out at Clinton Lake State Park. I talked to Gerard and he does not believe this little dampness we got going today will cause us much problems. With overnight temps at 18 degrees things should freeze up anyway. We should be able to get in a good 2 hour or so before things heat up. Worst case we head over to the River Trails....

This past month has really put life into perspective. Most of the time we take our health for granted, but things can change at anytime. Just a little reminder that we need to live life to the fullest and enjoy every day. The journey to 2011 begins now.....

De Stad Cross Cup Report and Pictures

2010-11-14T18:31:00.000-08:00

Where do I begin? Well lets begin by thanking everyone who made the De Stad Cross Cup possible. The Cow Town Cycling Team, The Wheel Cyclery, Pot Pie, Breakaway Consulting, Santa Fe Trails Bike, Heather Jordan, Roger Harrison, Dan Oldehoeft, Scott Bikes, the University of Saint Mary, our sponsors and all the great volunteers - especially guys like Mark Krause who is always there to lend a helping hand without even being asked. I know I forgot a few and will add once I get my wits about me. It goes without saying that none of this would have been possible without my wonderful wife Carolynn and my son. They both worked hard as usual this weekend and had to do double duty because they had to put up with me.

I would also like to thank all the racer and their families who came out and supported us. It has been a long season so far with dozens of races and I really appreciate your support.

I hope everyone enjoyed the course. Sorry it was a little long. I think the evil Cross Guru got a little carried away when he made everyone come back up and do that devilish climb up from the ball fields.

Well I am off to get some rest and heal up. Hopefully I can get back to racing soon myself and join in all the fun. Today's event got my motivation going big time.

Some photos from the Cross Guru. If anyone wants a higher res pictures just let me know.

De Stad Cross Cup

Some vids from Michael Ruder:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvmUZ7xqnMM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-B0VVeF0fl0

Cross Training

2010-11-07T17:56:00.001-08:00

First a disclaimer: I am not the best self coached athlete out there. In fact, I may be the worst as I sit here all sore, bruised, cut and tired from a week of my style of cross training.....

After a couple of days off I got back to training with a MTB ride at Landahl. My plan was for an easy ride with my teammates (Tige, Rich, Ashley and Roger). This easy ride turned into a pain train down the single track of Landahl and lead to a trip to the emergency room for me. It turns out I forgot how to ride my mountain bike and ended up crashing on the easy section of the trail. I still think Ashley tagged my rear tire, but he says "I did no such thing..."

After a couple days off my leg starts to feel better so I come up with the bright idea to go ahead and run the 5 mile Wilderness Trail Run. I signed up for it several weeks ago and have always wanted to run it (Cross promotion for the past 10 years has always kept me from it) Carolynn advised me against such a feat as well as all my co-workers. But what could it hurt? If my stitches broke or my leg started to bleed heavily, I would stop. Besides, I have all but given up on this years cross season and basically am now just training for next triathlon season. I need to start my run base which Saturday's run did. I ran the 5+ mile off-road event is a blistering 42.58 which was good enough for 6th in my age-group and 48th overall out of 236. Yea I know I need to focus on my run for next season. Running is my weakness and I hope to improve for next year.

Sunday was Roger's Veterans Cross race on a new venue (private land). Like I mentioned above, my season is all but over and I am basically just using any race events to stay fit and do something over the winter months. Which is what cyclocross was originally designed for - training.

The course was in an open field with part of the course on a hillside that lead down to a pond. It is a perfect location to raise cattle or grow crops. After yesterdays run I should have stayed home and just worked getting ready for next weekends De Stad Cross Cup, but like I said, I am not the best self coach. I basically rode around for 30 minutes and came up with this brilliant idea - full suspension cyclocross bikes. I know what you are thinking, but with the latest crop of cyclocross courses one could really use a FS CX bike. I know I needed one today.

It was nice to ride the bike today and hang out with some friends. Even if it is not at the level I would like, I still have fun riding and racing. I hope to see a lot of my friends next Sunday at the De Stad Cross Cup. It is going to be a great day for cross on the University of Saint Mary campus.

De Stad Cross Cup Course

2010-11-07T04:11:00.000-08:00

The course for this years De Stad Cross Cup is just about finalized. I was out yesterday working on the course with Cross Guru and my son, Christopher yesterday. Some cool new features have come into play due to some recent construction on the USM campus. By combining these new features and some classics from years past, I do believe this will be the best course yet and that says alot. The long term forecast does has some cooler cross like weather coming to us and who knows, maybe even a repeat of last years classic.

This years course features: Cobbles, dirt roads, double track, gravel roads, steep run-ups, climbs, flowing corners, grass and a little mud.

2010 De Stad Cross Cup Course:

More information about the De Stad Cross Cup can be found at www.kansascitycross.com

Bad Karma?

2010-11-04T07:42:00.000-07:00

You ever get that feeling that you should just go home? Well yesterday I had such a feeling. Not because I did not feel like riding, but because it was my lovely wife's birthday and a nice evening out was awaiting the family.

But fall is such a great time to ride mountain bikes and our local trails are in awesome shape. Besides, Carolynn was o.k. with me riding as long as I was home in time to head out to dinner. But was she? After receiving 5 stitches last night in the ER, I am thinking she voodooed me or something. Or maybe it was just bad karma and next time don't plan anything on the wife's birthday.....

Last night was an very restless evening to say the least. Bled all night long and I am not looking forward to removing the dressing and cleaning the injury this evening. The only good thing about last night was I got to pee in a jug while lying in bed (did not want to drip blood all over the carpet...). I just remembered that I forgot to empty that jug......

Happy Anniversary!

2010-10-30T05:22:00.000-07:00

Happy Anniversary Carolynn. The last 17 years have been wonderful. I am looking forward to many more.....I still remember the first day I saw you and have been in love ever since.

Smithville Cyclocross Challenge Report/Pictures

2010-10-24T18:03:00.001-07:00

The Smithville Cyclocross is one of my favorite events. Great venue, awesome course (that has a good mix of everything, including a beach) the food, coffee and homemade baked goods always make for a pretty good time. I was jealous that I wasn't out there racing with all of you. I chose to make it a work day as I heal up - both physically and mentally.

I especially want to thank everyone who helped out. It is always a humbling experience to have good folks go out of their way to help you. You guys make all the hard work worth it! I also want to thank everyone who came out and supported the Smithville Cyclocross Challenge. I know there were other events on this day, which is why I sincerely appreciate the riders, their families and the spectators who chose to support us.

Here are some photos from the day. I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed taking them.

Smithville Cyclocross Challenge

2010-10-14T07:56:00.000-07:00

It is time for the ever popular Smithville Cyclocross Challenge. Sunday, October 24th is the date. The beautiful Sailboat Cove in Paradise, Missouri is the location. I do not think you can get much better of a location with the views of Smithville Lake, the sweet cyclocross specific course (designed by Cross Guru himself).

Things get started in the morning with a cross clinic and a race for first times. If you new to the fast pasted action of cyclocross or have been wanting to try it out for yourself this is your chance. A class just for you. There are plenty of prizes, custom awards, free food and a very nice payout in the Men's 1/2/3. Get all the information at www.kansascitycross.com. Here is the event flyer - Smithville Cyclocross Challenge

Here is the course map:

This course has a little bit of everything. You have your sand beach, your run-up, nice flowing course along the tree line, smooth flowing corners, legal size barriers, a money tree, plenty of pavement, and some very cool switch back features.

Here are some pics from past events:

Cross Me Out

2010-10-10T16:41:00.000-07:00

You ever have one of those weekends when deep down you know you should have just stayed in front of the TV and been a couch potato? Well, this weekend was one of those...

After a week off from riding/racing due to a little virus I was looking forward to getting back on the bike. But things started going south on Friday when I found out I had to work on Saturday and would miss Gerard's P rairie Spirits Gravel Grinder. Then things really dive bombed when I started working on the old John Deere tractor later in the afternoon. I needed to get her ready to prepare the courses for the upcoming Smithville Cyclocross Challenge (you will love the changes that in store for Smithville btw..) and the De Stad Cross Cup. The dated tires were leaking air really bad and a new set was in order. Seems easy enough. Take the wheels off and get a new set of tires mounted. The right side tire came off easy. The left wheel was, for a lack of a better word, possessed. Darn thing was welded on or something. I tried every trick in the book (except heat - I knew I should have gone and bought a torch....) to get the wheel off to no avail. Time to bring out the ole' sledge hammer. I really wish Carolynn saw me heading down to the shed to get the beast because she knows the combination is a disaster just waiting to happen. After about 30 minutes of tapping/beating the wheel I accidentalyl hit the edge of the rim and bent it. This caused me to go berserk and just start hitting the wheel with all my force. The force of one of the hits actually pulled the axle out of the transmission and caused the case to split. Needless to say I totally lost it at this point. My tractor was ruined along with my back.

Fast forward to Sunday's Cross Out Cancer event. I pre-registered earlier in the week so I went ahead and ventured out to see how my back would hold up. Carolynn worked on my back and I iced it and it actually felt o.k. enough that I thought it would be alright. I think it would have, but the course was very rough.

Long story short I went from the front to steadily falling back for about 3 laps until I pulled out. If I could have stayed up front I most likely would have suffered and finished. As it was, it was just not worth it.

It was nice to hang out with some of my teammates and see some faces that I have not seen in awhile. Time to take break and heal up. Hopefully I can get back in the saddle soon and get to racing. Maybe with some luck we can actually have some nice cross weather later in the season.

Bike Stuff 4 Sale

2010-09-29T12:08:00.000-07:00

It is time for a fall bike sale. I will be adding several items to this post. If you are interested email me (chrisdlocke at gmail.com). I am open to offers and trades. Some of the items on the bottom are even free. Currently looking for a Large size full suspension MTB and/or a 56/57 cm cyclocross frame.
SOLD - Christopher's cyclo-cross frameset. A Scattante XRL, 7005 aluminum, carbon fork, intergrated headset, size 48cm. This frame builds up very light and is great for a junior or smaller adult. Condition is very good. Asking $145.00 obo - SOLD

First up is a Giant Anthem 2 frame. Size is XS (14.5 in). This is Carolynn's old frame so it is in excellent condition. Actually looks very close to new with only a small blemish on the chain stays.
SOLD - Next up is a Giant Anthem 3 frame. Size is XS (14.5) . This is Christopher old frame is in good condition structurally . Bearings have been replace. This frame does have some scratches and show wear that you might expect from a 11 year old. Comes with Manitou shock which is not pictured, but included. I will get a new pic up soon.

Hayes Nine Hydraulic Disk Brake set. Carbon Levels. I just had these serviced with new oil and pistons. Rotors are 6"
SOLD - TruVativ Rouleur Crankset with GXP gigapipe BB. 175MM length.
Shimano Ultegra Crankset. 172.5 length and 53/39 chain rings.

Two pairs of shoes free to the first good home. On the left we have a pair of Scott MTB Comp shoes, size 42. On the right we have a pair of purple (purple was "in" back then...) Adidas road shoes size 44.

More to come tonight...

I Guess I will Never Learn

2010-09-26T17:12:00.000-07:00

Some days you should just stay home. Today was one of those days....

Short recap of my week. I started getting a cold on Wednesday. Felt like crap for a couple of days and was going to miss Saturday's Night Gravel Grinder. My teammate Tim Greene was leading the ride and I really didn't want to let him down and not show up. After all, I talked him into hosting it :-). I also had the spare lights that 3 of my teammates needed to borrow which was another reason to not skip it. I started to feel a little better on Friday but my throat was very sore and I still had some congestion but decided to charge the lights and go ahead and join in the fun. I figured since the pace was going to be relatively easy maybe a long easy ride will loosen up the phlegm problem I was having.

The ride was really fun. A little longer than I should be going this time of year, but fun none the less. During the ride we talked about racing the Manion's Cross event on Sunday. Dan was over earlier in the week to borrow some race course equipment and I was still undecided if I should attend. My body was telling me I needed to rest, the coach inside of me was telling me to rest, but I decided to wait and make the decision Sunday morning.

Needless to say, I decided to go ahead and attend today's cyclocross race. Despite feeling lousy, I wanted to support Dan's O race. Turns out they had a great turnout and didn't need my support. I should have saved myself the $20.00 entry fee and stayed home and rested which is why I say I will never learn.

The course was hillier than hell. Add to that a damp energy sapping virgin course and you have a course that is best suited for fly weights and those with a VO2 much higher than mine. I knew I was in trouble on the warm-up lap. I came up to the section of the course that had a little creek crossing/ravine that you had to ride over. I think this was intended to be a dismount, but I think just about everyone was riding it. Some better than others. For whatever reason I did not like this section. About the only section I did like was at the bottom of the course where there was a little tricky switch back leading to a cool little section that included a sharp run-up/ride-up. I rode it about every time except for the 3rd or 4th lap and on that lap I crashed hard trying a new line leading up to my one and only favorite section :-(. The rest of the course was just a plane ole' sufferfest.

The start of the event went perfect for me. I got the hole shot and lead up until the barriers. For about 1 min there I actually thought I belonged out there on the course racing today. Then reality set in and I quickly fell back. I think I was passed by about 10 riders on the first lap alone. I was coughing up phlegm every 30 seconds or so. By the 3rd lap I felt like pulling off especially after going down hard. I never like quitting a race so I rode on doing the best I could on this day.

I basically sucked and really embarrassed myself being out there. The only good thing that came about from today I learned a valuable lesson (even if I don't ever use it) and I finally cleaned out my lungs and got rid of about 1/2 pound of phlegm.

Night Gravel Grinder

2010-09-24T05:26:00.000-07:00

Update after ride: Great time last night. Weather cooperated for most of the evening with only a brief mist for about 30 min. By the end of the ride the temps were perfect for riding. Some great view of the moon when it was out.

Here are some pictures from the evening:

Night Gravel Grinder

This morning ride into work reminded me of tomorrow's Achluopobia Gravel Grinder and how much fun it is to ride at night. I am not afraid of the dark (just spiders) and really enjoy night riding. Thanks to Tim Greene for organizing tomorrow ride. Complete details with course map can be found at http://gravelgrinders.blogspot.com

Rode across the new bicycle and pedestrian path on Heart of America Bridge. This is really going to help with us Northlander's commute in. The grand opening is on October 1st at 2:00 pm.

Bicycle Exhaust System

2010-09-20T12:29:00.000-07:00

I will have one of these by the next cross race....

Get yours here http://www.turbospoke.com

KC Cup Cyclocross Race Report

2010-09-18T16:33:00.000-07:00

Today's KC Cup CX was the start my fall racing season. I think I should have stuck with my plan to hold off starting until October. Not the result that I was hoping for, but I was not really expecting much if the temps were hot. Unless it rained and we had ourselves a real cross race. Then I might have a chance. But the rain held off until after the races were over which I am very upset at :-(

Today's course featured a good bit of single track. You would think I would like this, but it kind of sucked when you got behind someone and basically had to follow them until the end. But on the other hand it allowed a good chance to recover some which is good. The top part of the course had a lot of twisty turns and a long section of road that had a gentle climb. Unlike the bastard of a climb at the start. That climb really hurt. One set of miniature barriers that you could ride over. Short barriers like that are actually dangerous (in my opinion) because it allows riders to try and bunny hop them. Plenty of crashes out there on the barriers and I witnessed Craig Piburn take a nice header. Luckily he was not seriously hurt. That was one of the better ones that I have seen Craig. Overall a good course that is unique to our local cross schedule.

My event....Where is the start? "Down the hill past the finish line" I finally found the start but I arrived a little late. Actually really late and lined up in the rear of the Cat 1/2/3 and Cat 3 fields. Not where you want to be with all that single track. We received our final instruction including the new rule on hand ups which with temps close to 90 (feel like temps were 96 degrees) we were going to need em. At this point I was just hoping for the approaching rain to cool things off, but those showers never came until several hours later. I am watching the radar as I write this and Swope is getting some good showers - looks like a muddy MTB race tomorrow.

I settled into my current race pace after a poor start and did my best to stay in contact with the front group. The long road section did me in after only the second lap. I suffered every lap on that section. The heat was also a big factor. I personally vote to have cross season officially start in October. Who is with me????

I did not stay around to see what I got. Most likely around mid-pack. Lots of work to do over the next several months. The good thing is I have plenty of room for improvements. I plan to stick closely to Mark's training plan when I can train and with any luck my form will improve.

Update: Results are final in for the KC Cup Cross race. Earn 6th on the day out of 24 which is better than I thought. KC-Cup-CX Results

Ready for Cross?

2010-09-17T06:55:00.000-07:00

Cross season fires up full swing this weekend. Locally we have the KC Cup CX. I missed this event last year because I was participating in the REDMAN Triathlon. I am not ready physically for racing cross, but I will be there get my ass handed to me. The motivation to push myself after working long hours is just not there. I am trying to implement Stud's training program and hopefully I can get some good rest and maybe find some form later in the season.

Regionally the ever popular Hermann Cross weekend is taking place. The fields look stacked according to the pre-reg roster. The cyclocross community over in St. Louis has really grown over the past two years due in a great part to Jeff's hard work. Look for record turnouts over there this year.

Late last night I was preparing my old Jake the Snake CX bike for Saturday's event. I looked into buying a new rig, but decided that she could make it another season, especially since I most likely will be racing an abbreviated season anyway. I am trying something new this year - tubeless. I finally was able to get a set of tire all set-up tubeless via Stans NoTubes. I need to do some more testing before I race em, but things look promising.

Next week there are two events on the calendar. The Achluophobia Gravel Grinder on Saturday night and then the hilly Manions Cross event on Sunday. Bring your climbing legs for this one.

Dakota Five-O Race Report

2010-09-07T15:17:00.000-07:00

What a way to spend the Labor Day weekend! I don't think we could have crammed one more thing into the past 4 days and I am for sure that we could not have ridden nicer single track!!

Friday we headed out for the long drive to Spearfish, South Dakota. When I say we, I mean all of us. Due to Carolynn's injury, Christopher decided that he would give the Dakota Five-O a try. He hasn't ridden much this year other than a few local MTB rides and riding during our Colorado vacation. I setup my old Giant Anthem for him and I was left riding the Bandersnatch. By the looks of it he will be switching rigs with me soon if he keeps growing...

Saturday Carolynn and I headed out to pre-ride some of the course and check out the the rest areas. Carolynn is not the best with directions due to the fact that I do not think they taught map reading in the Pennsylvania school systems. This meant that I had to take her to the trail/aid stations out in the Black Hills National Forest. We rode the first section of trail that leads to aid station #1. The Tinton Trail was a delight. Going out was mostly uphill. I went ahead of Carolynn and enjoyed a couple of hours of riding. I did not want to stop, but Carolynn's hip was starting to hurt and it was time to get back for packet pickup.

The little town of Spearfish was bustling with riders of all sorts. We spent the afternoon eating, visiting the D.C. Booth Historic National Fish Hatcher and waiting in line for a couple of hours. The entire event was first class except for the packet pickup. They had 3 people trying to run packet pickup for over 500 riders. We didn't getback to our hotel until after 8:30 pm. Maybe next year we can have pre-assigned numbers and divide them into groups based on last name - A-G, H-L, etc... Just a suggestion :-)

Race morning came early. A pre-race meal at Perkins was the order of the day. Soon we were getting ready for our little challenge. I was somewhat worried about Christopher. 50 miles and over 7,000 feet of climbing may not seem like a lot to most of you, but for someone that has not trained much, it can become an all day experience. Adding to it was some reports of the new section along the Dakota Ridge. It was technical and several thousand feet up. One mistake while riding tired could be costly. Christopher seems a little nervous with all the riders so I decided to start in the back of the field with him. Normally the Pros/Experts start in the front rows, followed by Sport, Beginners, Tour riders and then anyone else who is just in for the ride. A little past 7:30 am Smokey the Bear started us all off. The start was supposed to be a neutral start through town until we hit the gravel road (Hill Road) and climbed up to the single track. I guess a neutral start in SD is Full On Gas. Before you knew it, we were nearly spun out in the big chain ring. That was the last I saw of Christopher for the ride.

One quick look up the road and I came to the realization that it was going to be a long day of passing riders. The lead riders were nearly a mile up the road as I hit the first gravel climb. I settled into a fast pace near my AT and was soon passing riders in bunches. Even with passing several dozens of riders I made little progress toward the front. It was going to be a long day in the saddle with plenty of practice passing. I would soon find out that I would end up passing most riders twice on the day....

First trail section up was the twisty Tinton Trail. I knew this section well from yesterday, but did not get to really enjoy the ride up today due to heavy traffic. We must have come to a complete stop 3 times waiting for the congestion to clear. By this time I had resided that my race had turned into a tour ride and was out for a joy ride with 500 others. Aid station #1 soon came and after a quick F1 type hand off from Carolynn I was soon off and gaining some motivation. The field was getting tired and thinning out. Passing became very easy and soon I hooked up with two other riders from Iowa and Nebraska. We hit the Big Hills Trails section with some serious speed and made up all kinds of time. Of course all good things must come to an end. At the end of one fast downhill gravel road section I made the pass on another rider taking a line that I would not have normally taken. Well, you can guess what happened. A nice side wall tear due to a large unseen rock. My thin walled 29er tires were no match (why did I switch from a 26er UST equipped bike again???). A nice finger wide hole spewed Stans like the Gulf Oil disaster.....

Only one thing to do. Fix it or quit. I do not do well with quitting so I started searching for a patch that would allow me to finish. I had some duct tape and small card board pieces, but it was not enough. After looking around for what seemed like hours I found a small piece of plastic. I combined this with the cardboard and duct tape to make a suitable patch for the side wall. After over 30 minutes I was back rolling. I had hoped Christopher would have caught up by now, but he was not one of the hundred or so riders who had ridden past when I was fixing my tire. I rolled on climbing Cardiac Climb with a little motivation, but quickly set myself right while on Recovery Ridge and the RimRocks Trails. I rolled into aid #2 and asked Carolynn to go get my spare tubes. She brings back every tool and part that I had brought. The funny part is that once I left she takes the $20.00 Stans rim strip that I set by the tools/parts bin and deposits it the trash. Ugh! God Bless her.

After a quick update on Christopher I was off to tackle Old Baldly West, Crangle Connection and Taco Alley. Some very sweet single track on all these sections and they were mostly downhill for the most part. Only problem was the darn dust. It was like an early 1900's dust bowl out there. I got behind two guys on this one section and was afraid to pass (did not want another side wall tear) so I just sucked up about 1 pound of dust until I finally found my way around at the base.

From aid #3 to #4 it was again mostly down hill, but then plenty of climbing awaited us on 2-track-attack. That was some pain. I was over 4 hours into the ride and all I wanted was some bacon and beer at the Bacon Station. Yes I said Bacon Station. 37 pounds of bacon and ice cold PBR beer awaited. I downed a beer and said good bye to all the cheering folk at BS and headed toward the Dakota Ridge. After about only 5 min the beer kicked in and I was having all kinds of trouble up on the ridge. Half of me was laughing and the other half was fearful of falling off the side of the mountain. Then some serious cramps set in and there was still one long section of climbing to be done before the end trip down Tinton Trail. I fought off the cramps and enjoyed one of the nicest last 7 miles of a ride/race that I have ever experienced. I flew down Tinton Trail catching 8 other riders on the final stretch. I was having so much fun I did not even care if I crashed or cut another tire.

In the end I finished in over 5 1/2 hours. My goal was 4:59 or less. Still waiting on my age-group placing. When you take into account my mechanical, my starting position and all the riders I had to wait to pass I would call it a success. I had a very fun time and the trails were awesome - some of the best I have ever ridden. We will be back next year with a front row start and a Full Suspension 26er with UST tires :-)

One Step Back

2010-08-24T09:41:00.000-07:00

I write this with a heavy heart....

Over the last month we have been preparing for the 2010/11 Cyclocross season. Last year's De Stad Cyclocross Van Kansas Series was a great success. It was a lot of hard work and required help from dozens of teammates and friends. In the end everything worked out and we set record attendance levels and received some wonderful "Thank You Letters".

As the start of the CX season nears I am already feeling overwhelmed and we haven't even gotten to the first race. Last week we hit a few road blocks, which is normal in any endeavor. This year is a little different however. My work load at my "normal job" just about doubled this past year and included plenty of nights and weekend work. This leaves little time for myself and my family let alone trying to promote events. I had full intention of making the 2010 season the best ever, but I have come to the realization that I just do not have the physical nor mental ability to continue - at least at the level that I want to and demand of myself. Several other "life events" have also surfaced which have forced me to make the decision of not continuing on with a cyclocross series this year.

Sometimes in life you have to take a step back to go two steps forward. That is what my family and I have decided to do. Take a step back this fall, re-energize our bodies and souls and move forward with renewed passion.

In looking at the local/regional calendar it looks like there are plenty of cyclocross events, gravel grinders and clinics including Mike B's and Jef's . My team and I are going forward with one event this year - The De Stad Cross Cup. With all our energy focused on one event, expect big things. I know The Wheel Cyclery is going forward with the successful Smithville Cyclocross Festival. Several new events on the calendar including Rob's (Livestrong Army) new event at Shawnee Mission that I am looking forward to and Dan O's event in Kansas City. Curtis' Lawrence event is always fun - the Clinton course that we used for Chris Cross was one of my favorites. Heck, I might even have some form later in the year for one of Mark's frozen delights.....

Upcoming Gravel Grinders

2010-08-23T13:21:00.000-07:00

It is getting time to add some more fun Gravel Grinder riders. Several are being planned thanks to some good friends.

Look for more information soon on...

Night Gravel Grinder - 9/5/10 (Tenative). Lights will be required for this ride.

Smithville Gravel Grinder - 9/12/10. Starting/Ending at Smoke'n Davy Trailhead off W hwy. Free water bottles and Butt'r for everyone who comes out for this one.

Prairie Spirits Trail Bike Ride - 10/9/10 (See Attached flyer)

Dakota 50

2010-08-18T19:14:00.000-07:00

Carolynn and I are heading up soon for this...

2010 Rapture in Misery Race Report

2010-08-16T03:51:00.000-07:00

Another Rapture in Misery in the books. I have done every RIM that has been held. It all started back in Weston on the "Ski Hill". Damn that was a fun course that was hard as hell. That first 12 hour solo event was very hard and I was happy be on top of the podium. Back then the event was a 12/24 hour event. Well, they tried to make it a 24 hours - some violent weather rolled in on that night and they called the race at Midnight. I still remember that night lap in the mud. Fun times for sure....

Then RIM was moved to Blue Springs. The Landahl events were all very fun and usually put an end to the MTB season. Several more class wins and podium finishes were earned in subsequent years. I was also on the overall winning team for two years and won two fastest night laps (also tied one year for the fastest night lap). Yea I liked the event when it was held in early Fall. Some fun times.

Last year RIM moved to Crowder State Park and Doug Long took over the event. Both years the event was held in August and hot as hell. I vote we move RIM back to September. Who is with me?? Participation numbers were down this year especially in the 12 hour divisions. I personally think it was the heat/weather and why I advocate having endurance events in the early spring or early fall. But that is me, I could be wrong.

Last year my stomach stopped working on me during the 12 hour solo race - yea heat and me do not like each other. I have decided no more hot solo events for me during the heat of the day. This old man just can not take it anymore. This year I teamed up with Gearad and Jenny Brack (Two Bull's and a Diva) in the Co-ed 12 Hour Division. A proven team with Gearard just finishing another Wilderness 101 last week and Jenny being very strong rider.

Cow Town had several several teams in both the 6 hour and 12 hour divisions. We all did good with one 1st and two 2nd's on the team. Tim Greene enjoyed 6hours in the solo division and had a solid event with a 9th place finish in the 40+ solo division

The Two Bull's and a Diva team of earned a win (we were the only team in the class :-)). We still had fun and enjoyed the event. I rode steady laps and really put no pressure on myself and just wanted to get through the day without getting sick from the heat. Mission accomplished. I was feeling good on my night lap and tried to go for the fastest time of the day. I had it for awhile but Craig Stoeltzing ended up with the award. Pace was good, but I needed to attack the climbs and ended up with a 54 min time. I believe Craig posted a time in the 51 range. My pacing during the first 1/2 of the course was not a good strategy :-)

Here are is the 2010 RIM Photo's that Carolynn took.

Results are up 2010 RIM Results

Bob Hannah Tells it Like it is...

2010-08-11T12:57:00.000-07:00

One of my all time favorite MX riders and roll models growing up was Bob Hannah. Total Bad ASS. And he always tells it like it is. No BS from the Hurricane. I used to love it when he would come down to Florida during the Florida Winter-AM Series.

I can upon this speech at a Roast that I found very entertaining. Maybe you will also:

http://hannahracingproducts.com/hannah-tized/

Gravel Grinders are Back!

2010-08-04T20:15:00.000-07:00

Time to bring back the gravel grinders. MTB season is about over, especially after my poor showing at Crocodile Rock (might be time to just retire from XC racing all together, but that is a different post...). Cross is in the air and it is time to break out the old hibernating cross bike.

Sunday is the Riverside - Weston Gravel Grinder. Long course is 75 miles. Short course will be about 42 miles. There are several places you can make the course a little shorter if desired.

Complete information can be found at http://gravelgrinders.blogspot.com/

Remembering John

2010-08-01T18:04:00.000-07:00

It has been two years since we lost John. During this time I have thought a lot about the past and have tried to figure out why things happen the way they do.

There has been hardship in my family; more than most will ever know. There have been many deaths and tragedies that we all have dealt with. Life was hard and very stressful at times. Everyone deals with stuff like this in their own way. Mom, Dad, Joey, Jackie, John and myself all figured out a way to work through life. This is what I am doing now, figuring out how to move on and look toward the future.

I hope that you are at peace now John. I miss you and wish that you could be here with us.

Colorado Springs Vacation

2010-07-31T20:17:00.000-07:00

The family ventured over to Colorado Springs, Colorado for a short vacation this past week. We had a great time riding and site seeing.

I love riding at new locations and while in Colorado Springs we got to ride Falcon Trail (my favorite btw...), Cheyenne Mountain State Park, Santa Fe Trail and Red Rock Canyon.

We ventured out each day after we rode to places like Pikes Peak, Garden of the Gods and Seven Falls.

Some pictures of our week in Colorado...

Colorado Springs