Beaches and Bikes

Our winter vacation has been going well. It has been nice to visit my family and catch up with some friends. I am glad I decided to bring my DEAN down with me. I usually borrow a bike, but having your own bike that fits is sure nice. It is also nice to be riding in 80 degree weather and feel that warm sunshine and cool Florida breezes....

Our next beach we visited was Deerfield Beach. . One of the local favorites. It has a good mixture of surf, sand and fine dining. ..Just as we found a spot on the beach Christopher started to head into the water to begin enjoying the day. Within minutes a large crowd started to gather. Someone said they saw a shark. Sure enough as I observe the breaking waves I saw a 6 foot Lemon Shark. Shortly after the life guards starting yelling for everyone to exit the water. Some swimmers did not want to leave the water. All I know is when I see a life guard waving his arms and blowing a whistle my butt' is heading to shore ASAP.....Christopher and I ventured about 1 mile South and decided to check out the waves. They were just too temping to pass up. We had a blast and really enjoyed the day.

Saturday I met Joel and Moe on one of their morning training rides. They are on Team zMotion based out of South Florida. Today's ride was about 70 miles long with an out-back on A1A up to Palm Beach. I don't know if it's the free buffet breakfast that is served after the ride, the beautiful ocean view or the team motor scooter that paced the group, but over 50 riders showed up for a nice early morning ride. It was nice to get in some good quality miles and the ride brought back some fond memories of when I called South Florida home.

Monday we headed to the Florida Keys for 2 days of snorkeling and sea kayaking. We got a nice room at Key Largo Resort at Manatee Bay. It is only 500 yards from John Pennekamp State Park which is a great place for snorkeling and kayaking among the mangrove trails. We tried to go today, but the park was completely full so we headed down south to find a local beach. Much needed testing was needed on our equipment. We finally did find a beach, if you want to call it that. Harry Harris Park was a site to see. It was like a miniature little island with a lagoon. We made sure our masks and snorkels were in good working order. We saw some very cool looking fish and a few lobsters. Carolynn had a little accident on the way down to the water. Those rocks were a little slippery.

Merry Christmas!

This Christmas we decided to head back home to Florida to see the family and enjoy two weeks of sunshine and a much needed vacation. Getting here this year was a little challenging. I guess flying on Christmas Eve and bad weather will do that. After a 6+ hour delay, we finally got in to Ft Lauderdale a little after 2:00 a.m. That is really late for me. I am just not a night person. Neither is Carolynn. Christopher on the other hand seems to be able to stay up all night long.

Here are some photos from today. Check out my redneck bike rack. Drivers down here in Florida are crazy and I just did not want to take any chances.

Speaking of drivers. I sure do not miss riding down here. Even with light holiday traffic, it is just crazy. Some guy nearly attacked me because I actually made him slow down and wait to go into the turn lane. When we got to the light he started to scream at me and get out of his SUV. Luckily, the light changed and I told him "Merry Christmas to you to" and proceeded to ride. I am just glad he did not chase me down. I hate when drivers yell at me and beep their horns. I usually just ignore them and all ends well. I don't want to give cyclist a bad name....

One Last Ride

Got in one last ride before we leave for two weeks in Florida. One to two inches of fresh snow fell overnight up at Smithville. Trials were in good condition for the most part. Anyone out there that is looking for some sweet trails that are a blast to ride in the snow head up to Smithville. After tonight's regular Wednesday ride they will be that much better - packed and ready for you.

I made some adjustments to my new SS rig. Joshua and Mark recommended lowering my tire pressure. I rode today at 25 psi and it was much better. Also moved my seat back in the rails some and added a spacer to my handle bar height (yes Mark I am now more upright than ever...) These three adjustments made a world of difference. I also rode at a faster tempo for most of the ride to stay on top of the snow and the Mary seemed to come alive at speed.

Off to work on my tan lines....

First Winter Ride

I finally got to hit the trails for my first winter ride in the snow. I planned to meet a couple of my teammates at Landahl for a couple of hours of fun, but I was the only one to show up.....

Today was also my first ride on my new Mary SS. She sure does look perty and smooth, but she rides like an old broken down mule. Even with the soft snow I was getting beat up. Maybe it was just me or I had too much tire pressure. I will give her another go tomorrow morning. Got in 2 1/2 hours before my toes started to go numb.

29er??? Not so sure about this either. I guess I need to get used to it. All I know is that my Giant Anthem sure seems to ride a lot smoother than these big old things...

Maxxis Ardent Tires. One word - SWEET. They hooked up very well in the snow. I can't wait to try them in some other types of terrain.

Bone Bender 3/6 Hour

I have been wanting to promote an endurance MTB race for several years. Well, It is official.

Big time racing returns to KC! Mark your calendars because you will not want to miss it.


Bone Bender 3/6 Hour MTB Race
March 14th, 2009
Smithville, Missouri.

Come enjoy some of the sweetest trails in the Midwest. Party with your friends and just have a grand old time.

Official website (for now) at http://bonebender.blogspot.com

2009 Fat Tire Duathlon Series

It is back on!

I loved the Black Locust Duathlon so much last year that I invited them to be part of the Fat Tire Duathlon series. Things are looking sweet.

Devil's Revenge
March 7th, 2009
Clinton Lake State park, Lawrence, Kansas

Black Locust
March, 29th, 2009
SAC River Trails, Springfield, Missouri

God's Country
April 25th, 2009
Lawrence River Trials, Lawrence, Kansas

Series Website: http://www.fattireduathlon.com/

Volunteers and coordinators are needed. Please email chrisdlocke@gmail.com These events can not take place without your help.

Sponsorship packages are still available

Info on a new exciting "Epic" event in the Metro area and a new MTB Series will follow shortly

Elite Men/Women Cyclocross Championship Pictures

2008 Cyclocross Championships - Day 4

My favorite class was up today. About 90 of my single speed freaks were on hand for today's fun. I say fun because I actually had fun riding today. Except that hill...

I got an o.k. start from the 4th row. I guess I had more fun because I was actually able to race some instead of just getting blown away. For some reason I always seem to ride my single speed bike better and harder than my geared bike. I almost made the complete race, but the leaders just got by me and I ended up 1 lap down. Those guys were hauling butt as they passed me. They also all seemed to be 20 years younger than I :-)

Thanks to everyone out there who cheered me on. It was really cool. It seems like every corner I had someone cheering for me.

Here are some pictures that Carolynn took today.



Off to watch the big boys and girls...

2008 Cyclocross Championships - Day 3

Masters Men 40-44 today. Another stacked field of riders from all across the USA. I just hope I can keep from getting lapped. My starting spot for today is not very good. By the time I hit the first corner I will be at least 2 min behind the leaders.

The course was basically dry today. A few damp spots that you had to watch out for, but otherwise a vast improvement from Thursday's mud. Of course, I kind of wish there was some more mud. At least something to take some power away from the other riders. Today's course was all about fitness and speed. Both of which I have none of....

We got to the course early to watch Tige race in the 35-39 division. On the first lap I was shocked to see that he was near the tail end of the pack. This has been where I spent the entire day. Turns out he went down with some other riders and started near dead last.

Not much to say about my race. I just had nothing in the tank. I was near empty at the start with very little energy or motivation. Every time the course went up or you needed some power, I had nothing for it. I got lapped and they pulled me after 4 laps. I was actually glad they did. It is embarrassing for me to be that far back in the pack. What a humbling experience. Those top guys are just so fast and strong. They just motored on passed me and were gone.

We stayed a bit after my race to watch the 50-54 division and the legend Ned Overland. That dude is just incredible. Henry Kramer bridged up to him about 1/2 way through the race. As soon as he did, Ned attacked right after the climb up on top. You could see the look in his eyes as he just put it down - he was after another championship jersey.

Here are some pictures that Carolynn and I took (mine are the good ones...).

2008 Cyclocross Championships - Day 1 Report

Men's 40+ B class was held today. As I lined up I saw a lot of Cat 2 riders. Darn Sandbaggers....

I lined up in the 7th row which put me just around a 60th place start. There were over a 100 riders signed up. Luckily it was not that cold today and the long wait to start was actually pleasant compared to last year. As we waited the last 60 seconds before the start, I was just hoping that no one would tangle their bars and crash on the starting straight. The first 50 yards of the start was clean then someone tangled on the left of me and went down causing several others to crash. I got out clean, but my position left me on the inside of the first turn which was a slimy mess. I remember Tige (who got 4th today) telling me to take the outside of the corners because the insides were just too slow. The first couple of corners were very nerve racking and caused me to ride very tense as riders kept crashing and bumping into me. On the first climb things started to spread out some. This was only good for everyone else as with my present form I am climbing very poorly. I think I got passed by 10 riders on the first trip up the hillside. I tried to keep positive and relax on the way down, but I was just not flowing very well. I did pick off some riders on the way back down the hill. Especially in the turns. But those same guys would pass me back on the way up. You get the point. 45 minutes later I finished in about the same place I started - 66th place. At least I did not get lapped by the Sandbagger Cat 2's up front :-)

Here are some pictures Carolynn took.

3 More to Go!

It is hard finding motivation to line up for tomorrow's Cyclocross National Championships. If the event was not in KC I would not be toeing the line for sure, but because the race venue is only 10 miles from my house I really don't have a good excuse not to race.

I rode the course last weekend and let's say that I was less than impressed. Perhaps it snowed enough yesterday to make the course more interesting. It seems that if it snows and the course conditions are muddy/icy that's all it takes to make a "great event" or a "great course".

Packet pickup was today. I foolishly signed up for 3 classes earlier in the year. B Men 40+ Thursday, Master Men 40-44 Saturday and Single Speed on Sunday. On the way home I recalled how "festive" packet pickups are for events like the Ironman Kansas and even at the MTB National Championships that I went to a couple of years ago out in Sonoma, CA. The events made you feel like something special was taking place. Today's packet pickup had some tables and boxes....


Goals? Only two. Have some fun during the last cyclocross race of the year and not get lapped...

Should I Quit?

Should I quit racing or promoting? I cannot do both. After today's mid-pack finish in the Missouri State Cyclocross Championships I have decided that one has to go. By promoting the De Stad series this year I basically lost 3 months of quality training. Sure I got some training in, but not enough to get me on the box on a weekly basis. And that is what I desire to get. I am just not happy getting mid-pack....

Today Carolynn and I headed East to Hermann for the 2008 Missouri State Cyclocross Championship. Goal was to get top 3 in the Men's Master 40+ class. I knew if I had a very good day I could. When I was applying my Embrocation cream prior to the race Carolynn finally noticed the nice bruise that I got from last weekends crash in the first turn of the muddy Platte City race. I guess I hit it really good because I usually don't bruise easily.

Conditions for the 2.1 mile course were good. A little slimy on top in some corners, but the 25 degree temps kept most of the course on the lower sections frozen. Otherwise they would have been a lot more muddy. Course was a good solid design except for it being a little long (bad for spectators) and getting silly with too many twisty turns on a hillside at the far end of the course - two would have been fine, but 5 was.... After a short, but sufficient warm up I went to the line to start my 45 min event. Legs felt good. Back was not hurting. Motivation level was high. All things looked good for a strong race.

I got a good start and was 7th overall (Masters 30, 35, 40, 45 and 50 all raced together). The plan was to ride at a very hard race pace, but not do a first lap burnout. Only problem was my race pace was slower than the top guys. I slowly fell back a place or two each lap. After reviewing my Heart rate data, I was only able to reach a HR of 168. I usually race with a HR in the low 180's. I just don't know why I can't get my HR up to that level anymore. Like I said at the beginning, something has to go - racing or promoting. I just can not do both anymore.....

Complete results HERE.

Carolynn took some pictures:



The first lap of the Men's Cat 3 class over the barriers:

2009 National Ultra Endurance Series

I might do up to three 100 milers this year. Plan on racing my new Single Speed. Heck, at Cohutta I was in one gear most of the time anyway. I want to earn a few more finishing mugs :-_

From Cycling News...

The National Ultra Endurance (NUE) series, a popular American series of 100-mile mountain bike races, will return for its third season in 2009. Organizers announced the complete schedule, again with eight events as in 2008.

Winners will be tallied from the best four event results compiled by each racer. Ties will be broken at the finale in California.

Unlike some events and teams which are facing sponsorship shortages for 2009, the NUE will carry forward its current support. "All 2008 sponsors are returning in 2009," said one of the co-organizers, Ryan O'Dell, who also promotes the Mohican 100 in Ohio.

Jeff Schalk and Cheryl Sornson (both of Trek / VW) won the men's and women's categories of the series in 2008.

NUE Series for 2009
Saturday, April 25: Cohutta 100 (Tennessee)
Saturday, May 30: Mohican 100 (Ohio)
Saturday, June 20: Lumberjack 100 (Michigan)
Saturday, July 18: Breckenridge 100 (Colorado)
Saturday, August 1: Wilderness 101 (Pennsylvania)
Saturday, August 15: Fool's Gold 100 (Georgia)
Sunday, September 6: Shenandoah Mountain 100 (Virginia)
Saturday, September 12: Tahoe-Sierra 100 (California)

Boss Cross Race Report

I decided to head up to Boss Cross #2 today and actually race. I was not going to because John Harter worked me to near death yesterday on the Smithville trails. But I needed a good training ride and knew that the only way I would get one would be if I raced. The weather here in KC is taking a turn for the worse.

I lined up in the combined Men's 3/4 and Single Speed event. I did not really want to race the single speed due to a nagging left knee injury, but because I have not repaired the Colnago I had no other option. Start was uphill which sucked with the gearing I had. The top muddy section was a run for sure for me. I got a top 10 start, but quickly crashed on the way back down. I had not ridden the muddy course yet, which was a big mistake. It took me about 2 laps to get dialed in and by then I was in the back. I slowly worked my way up and into the lead of the SS division. I actually felt good after the first two laps were over and the only real problem, besides a sore/tired back from yesterday's trail work, was I could not get clipped into my pedals due to my shoes getting packed in with ice/frozen mud. Other than that I was happy with the way I rode and look forward to next weekends Missouri State Cyclocross Championships in Hermann.

Carolynn took some pictures from today's race.

Neale's Trail Opens

I finally got enough free time to head up to one of the Smithville Trail workdays. Trail building/repair is one tough job. Especially in cold drizzly conditions we worked in today.

Today's was extra special because we also opened up a new sweet section of trail. Neale Trail is named after Neale Shour who has put in countless hours of work to make the Smithville Trail system what it is today. Thanks to John Harter and everyone else who made this new section possible. It has taken over 2 years, but all their hard work was worth it when they announced the new trail to Neale.

Some pics below:

http://picasaweb.google.com/cowtowncycling/SmithvilleWorkDay#slideshow

My New Girl - Mary SS

It is time to take a little break and rest up for my last two cyclocross races of the year. This weekend I am spending some quality time with the family for Thanksgiving. Then it is back to cross. First up is the Missouri State Cyclocross Championships and then the USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships.

During my little break I hope to get my new girl built up. I got a Mary SS frame last month. Since then I have been busy with promoting cross and racing which has left little time to complete this project. I do have all the parts and have been slowly getting it all together. Check out the below pictures which include my sweet new wheel set that Josh Patterson built up for me. Thank you again Josh.

2008 Nebraska Cyclocross Championships

The Nebraska State Cyclocross Championship were on the schedule for this weekend. I was not sure if racing with tired legs/body/mind was a good idea, but decided to head up North to support the Lincoln crew and guys like Nate Woodman. Nate was sponsoring the Single Speed class and promised goodies for all.

Mark and I were running a little late for my 2:00 pm start time so I got dressed in the back seat of the Equinox. It is times like these when I miss the old Ford Aerostar. With no lines for registration I actually ended up having plenty of time. All that worrying for nothing....

After a short warm-up the Men's Cat 3/4 and Single Speed classes were called to the line. Only got in one lap of the course so I was decided to start in the second row. No need being up with the front runner's (or at least trying) when you don't have the course dialed in. Still got a good start and actually led the SS class for the first lap or so. Eventual winner Rick Thompson soon passed and check out with an easy race win. I had my usual mid-race collapse and had to fight hard just to get back on the podium. I was a little over geared on my SS for the top end of the course by Hooligans Hill. It was all I could do to keep my momentum on the climbs. I started to come back with two laps to go, but could not catch up to Keith for 2nd. I ended the race hoping Sunday's state championship would be a stronger showing. The SS winners got some sweet prizes from Monkey Wrench Cycles. Thank you Nate!

Sunday was much the same for me. Course was run in reverse direction, but still had the climbing that was just killing my with my 18 gear in the back. If I had fresh legs it would have been fine, but with tired legs and body it was hard. I decided to start in the back and work my way up. By the end of the first lap I had worked my way past several 3/4 guys and up to 2nd in the single speed. Theodore Fleming was having a good ride (and had a larger gear for the road sections) and passed me on the road section on lap 2. Rick Thompson was up front again checking out. (Just a side note for Rick, Cat up dude :-)). I was trying to pace myself and keep Fleming close enough to try and bridge up for the final 2 laps. I knew I could push myself hard for at least two laps and had the speed to close the 10 sec gap that he had. Keith and few of the other SS riders were not far behind me. I kept using the Cat 3/4 guys on the road sections and then hit the Hooligan Hill section hard to slowly pass riders. I hit it hard with two laps to go and distanced myself from the chasing pack and passed a few more 3/4 guys to take another 3rd place and even more prizes from Nate. This time I got a nice "girly' shirt for Carolynn.

Decided to put in some extra training time and signed up for the Men's 1/2/3 event. Even earned $6.00 on Hooligan's Hill. It sometimes pays to be on a leisure training ride and have the time to pickup some cash.

Some pictures I took are below. I only had my cheap camera so they are not the best.....

De Stad Cross Cup Race Report

Good news to report. I have retained my Single Speed championship! Bring it on Shadd.....

I have never been so happy in all my life. This De Stad Cross series is finally over. Well, I take that back. The birth of my son was my most happy moment of my life, but you get my point. It is time to relax some and not have to worry about promoting and setting up an event. Hopefully I will have a few good races before my season ends in 3 weeks. Then it is off to Florida...

I decided to race both the Men's 3/4 and Single Speed today. I did not have time to fix my Colnago after last weekends big get off so I had to use my SS for both classes today. Let's just say that 75 minutes on this course with a single speed was hard. I basically rode tempo today during the 3/4 event. Setting up the course this morning was really nerve racking and I needed to ride some. What better way than to race right? Ended up in 16th place and got too good of a warmup. I was toast as I lined up for my second race with just 10 minutes rest.

I talked the officials into separting the 4's and the SS riders. I felt is was a lot safer for us at least. I got a jump on the 16 rider field and for a second I thought I would make it to the first turn in the lead. But a few seconds later Shad Smith, in his first single speed appearance of the series, quickly passed and was gone. I guess his 44 x 19 gear came in handy on the long start straight.

Here is a video from Scott

Veterans Cross Race Report

I was still feeling the affects from Saturday's crash over at the University of St. Mary. A trip over the bars when you do not expect it will do that to you. Today I just lined up and and basically rode a comfortable pace not to exert myself. At least that was the plan....

We Single Speeders lined up behind the 58 Cat 4 men riders and were instructed to begin our race 10 seconds after theirs. My streak of starts came to an end has I was DFL coming into the first turn. That first turn was all mayhem as most of the Cat 4 Men were still there in a bottle neck. So much for the separating the two classes to allow fairer racing....

Here is Scott Schmidt video



I found a good line and quickly passed about a dozen riders in that first turn and for a second got out of my planned "take it easy and protect your head pace". I heard Gerard yelling at me and quickly backed it down a bit. Even with a "tempo" pace I started working my way through the field with the other Single Speeders. I could see Monkey Wrench's Rich Thompson and my teammate Mark Cole out front on one of the long straights (thanks to our red numbers). I had no goal of catching them, but wanted to bridge up to 360's Keith Walberg and Bike Tek's Justin Griest. Bill Anderson is behind me in points so I also had to keep an eye out for him. I was basically out there trying to earn enough points to win the Championship at next weeks final round - De Stad Cross Cup.

On the last lap I opened her up and passed Justin for 4th place. Keith was up there about 10 seconds and I tried to catch him, but I left it one lap to late. I will take 4th place points and head into the final round with a secure points lead. If I earn a top 10 placing, I'll be set.

It was great to see another good size junior field. We had 9 juniors. We are hopeful that some day we will have field of 30 to 40 juniors. Bring those kids out....Christopher rounded out the top three by taking the last podium spot with a strong 3rd place finish behind Epic Bike's Aaron Stull and Bicycle Shack Racing's Joey Todd. This last event of the day was crazy long for beginners and juniors. Christopher was out there nearly 45 min and started to bonk. He was getting mad at me because I kept telling him he only had one more lap. 4 laps latter.....

I still don't remember much from Saturday after the crash. I need to head out to the University this week and finalize the course. I broke my helmet cam and Garmin 305 in the crash so I don't have the course to download.

De Stad Cross Cup Preview

The course for the final round of the De Stad Cyclocross Van Kansas Series is complete. An awesome course has been designed by none other than the Cross Guru himself. Check out the pictures below. Features such as the Mound of Mercy and the Little Red Brick road will make this one great event.

I will forgo everyone the pain I went through today and take out a rather nasty downhill section that had an old land mine. It must have been a land mine because when I went over it my Colnago and I went air born with me landed on my head/back. Don't remember much other than thinking "this is a good reason not to have Dura-ace on your cross bike...." Shifters are totaled, but at least I walked away. I'll have to order a new Rudy Project helmet as mine has a small crack. Today's helmets do their job, but one good hit and it is time to replace. Might have to sit out tomorrows Veterans Cross. My neck and back are killing me.

De Stad Cross Cup / Kansas State Cyclocross Championships
November 16th, 2008
University of St. Mary, Leavenworth, Kansas.

ZERO traction

ZERO traction is a 67 minute cyclocross film set to release this fall. Zt was shot entirely in high definition over four days in December of 2007 at the Cyclocross National Championships in Kansas City.

Zt gives you the real feel of what it is like to experience hard-core cyclocross racing in extreme weather conditions including driving snow, mud, ice and frozen mud. Zt features racing action shot in slow motion, alowing you to see details you never see with the naked eye. You’ll also see interviews from Steve Tilford, Ned Overend and elite men’s champion Tim Johnson. The film features action from 30 races cut to high energy music culminating with the exciting elite women's and men's championships.

The ZEROtraction world premiere will be Wednesday November 19th at Liberty Hall in Lawrence Kansas. Be among the first to see the first ever documentary on the entire four-day event that is the USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships.

Smithville Trails Work Days

15 Wonderful Years!

A little over 15 years ago I sat in my bedroom in Parkland, Florida looking at a class schedule for ATC. I needed to take a specific computer class to learn a program that was required for a job I wanted to get within Huffy Bicycles (my current employer back then). There were several class times available so I just flipped a coin and let fate pick it for me. Well, lady luck was on my side because on the first day of that class I met the most wonderful woman I had ever met. 8 months later Carolynn and I got married in a small church in Boca Raton, Florida. I can honestly say that the past 15 years have been so very wonderful thanks to my wonderful wife Carolynn.

Smithville Cyclocross Festival Day 2 Report

Totally exhausted. That is how both Carolynn I felt this morning upon awaking. This might be the last two day festival event for us.

Race today went better for me. I almost did not race because I was just totally spent from setting up the course this morning and stressing over race management details. The decision was made and I got ready and planned to just race for series points. I am leading the Single Speed division, which by the way had a nice 13 rider turnout yesterday, and needed to finish in the top 10 to keep a gap on second place Bill Anderson.

As I line up next to Rich Anderson and the rest of the combined 53 rider Single Speed/Men's Cat 4 field, I had no energy and just knew that my streak of hole shots was going to come to an end. As the USAC officials do their thing and send us off, I roll away and settle into an easy pace up to the first turn. Somehow I find myself out front again. Either no one likes to lead or I just have way to may fast twitch muscle fibers :-) To the left is a nice pic that Cameron took of me while leading. Do I look fat?

Rich was behind me about 1/2 through the first lap and I wanted him to come around and lead and hopefully get a gap on the other Cat 4's. I settled into my race not really expecting much. I only had one speed today and planned to keep it at a steady temp and just gain points. I got passed by Andrew Coe on the first lap and knew I could not keep up with him. Just yesterday he got 5th in the Men's Elite 1/2/3 class. Today he decided to race with us Single Speeders on his new Specialized rig which is cool and make it hard on us old fat guys :-). By the end of the second lap Kyle Shour took over second place in the SS class and I was a solid third, but Dan Oldehoeft from team Crackanoon was fast closing in. On the last lap I was on the edge and put in one last effort to try and stay out front. The effort brought me up to Rich and a couple of the top 4 guys. I went past them and actually felt like I was "racing". Over the barriers and back on the bike. A quick look over to my left I see Dan right there. This going to be close. I hear Rich yelling encouragement. The legs start to go. I dig deep but still Dan bridges up to me. I decide to let him lead into the wind in hopes that I could somehow recover enough over the next 1/2 mile to be able to sprint past him at the finish. But it was not to be. He opened up enough of a gap on the final climb to the "Wall" to take the final podium spot. Still a good day for me given that I wasn't going to race 45 min prior to the event.

Christopher had a great day today. He rode much better than yesterday and looked really well against a solid junior field. Just like his dad he got the hole shot and I think lead until the same spot I has I did. I guess, as people often say, he takes after me. Joey Todd got by him on the first lap and never looked back. It is good to see a junior with so much enthusiasm for cycling. Joey put in two solid rides to win both days of the festival. About 20 minutes into the race he looked rough and was backing off the pace big time. I saw 3rd and 4th place catching fast and ran out to try and motivate him. I know first hand what he was going through and knew that he needed some help. I ran around the course trying to motivate him without making him upset. It seemed to work because he rode very well the last lap and put in some distance on 3rd.

Smithville Cyclocross Festival Day 1 Report

Man I have to stop starting so fast. It is going to kill me one day...... Got another hole shot today. I think that makes every cyclocross race this year I have either got the start or lead during the first lap. We need to start adding a hole shot award or something. I know I can win that for sure.

Felt good for nearly the whole first lap leading then I decided I need to take it easy to conserve some energy. I was already tired from setting up the course/event for the past two days and did not want to blow up. I backed it down about 15% which was not a good idea. I was soon getting passed and fell back about 5 spots. When I tried to pick up the pace to keep up with my teammates Rich Anderson and Mark Cole, my legs said "are you kidding me??" I tried my best to keep a steady effort and motivate myself to try and bridge back up. I know I have the speed to do it, but not today. Lesson learned - Once you got it up, keep it up.

I slowly fell back to 4th in the Single Speed class. On the last lap I made one last effort to catch back up to 3rd in my class. Even tried to get old Doug Stone to help me bridge up. But he was also tired from helping to set up the course. Pounding stakes does that to you :-) I will take the 4th place points and try again for the podium tomorrow. The course will be super fast and packed down nicely.

Christopher had a bad day today. He was not feeling like his normal cheerful self. He felt very sleepy and his legs just working. He basically just rode around today and finished up in second place. Hopefully he will feel better tomorrow. It was nice seeing a good turnout of junior riders. Especially two new junior girls.

Smithville Cyclocross Festival

This weekend is the big Smithville Cyclocross Festival. A lot of man hours have been put into this event to make it the best possible. Thank you to everyone who has helped.

I hope to see many of my friends this weekend. Everything is looking great for two days of cyclocross fun.



Flyer and more info at www.kansascitycross.com

Doing Too Much..Again!

I hit the breaking point again this week. Complete breakdown. I have way too many things on my plate right now. Something has to go. Yesterday I planned to race the Capital Cup in Topeka, but as I sat down Friday night listing my To Do List for next week and beyond, I came to the realization that I am again doing too much in my life. My body is getting really tired and I am not enjoying anything in life as it passes by.

Here are some of my responsibilities:

• Take care of my family first - Carolynn my soul mate and my wonderful son Christopher.
  
• Maintain homestead, vehicles, bikes, yard, etc.
  
• Systems Administrator for the Stowers Institute for Medical Research
• Studying for Nortel Engineering certification
• Series Director for the De Stad Cyclocross Van Kansas Series
• President of MultiSport Marking LLC
• President of Cow Town Cycling Team
• Vice President of the Mid-America Nortel User Group
  
• Treasurer and Board member for the Kansas Cycling Association
• Maintain/Administer 3 websites
• Design and build 6 cyclocross courses
• Maintain equipment/supplies for events
• Planning for next springs Fat Tire Duathlon series
• Working on finding sponsors for team and events
• Bicycle Racer / MultiSport Athlete (or at least I try to be...)

There is more, but I am getting tired. Something has to go, but what?

Off to mow and clear the course for new weekend's big Smithville Cycloross Festival.

TransRockies Challenge

Wanted: Teammate for the 2009 TransRockies Challenge.

Event info: TransRockies Challenge

Interested individuals contact chrisdlocke at gmail.com

Chris Cross Race Report

That was fun. I always enjoy the Chris Cross course and this one was the best yet. And it is not just because I designed it :-)

Another great turnout for the De Stad series. 199 entries for today. I hope to see 300 entries on a normal basis in two years. If we continue to put on good races it will happen.

As for my race, I got the start and lead SKC Racing's Andrew Coe (Andrew also won the Men's 3/4 today - he is fast) for the first lap. I looked back about 1/2 through the 2nd lap and noticed we had a nice gap on 3rd. I really wanted to win today, but knew I was at my limit and if I tried to keep up with Andrew I would blow up and on this course that could cost you a lot of time. The top riders from the Cat 4 race were slowly reeling me in (Single Speeds were started first). With 2 laps to go Mark Cole got by and I stayed with him. I was still in 2nd in the Single Speed division so I was not to concerned about Paul Webb and Doug Stone closing in on me during the last lap. I was done with a 1/2 lap to go and just put her on cruise control knowing that I had 2nd locked up.

I think I found out I do better with 2 days rest before an event (if you call working your arse off promoting a race and setting up a course all day Saturday rest). For the rest of the cross season I am only going to train 4 days a week and rest for 3. With age, I seem to need more rest with the stress of racing and work.

Not Fast Enough

Headed up to Omaha with Mark Studnicki for what was supposed to be the first two rounds of the Nebraska Cyclocross Series, but found out earlier in the week that there is no official series this year. Just two stand alone race weekends. The Omaha rounds and then the Lincoln rounds in late November.

I decided to just race the Men's Cat 1/2/3 class instead of the Masters or Cat 3/4 class so Mark would not have to wait around for 2 - 3 hours doing nothing waiting for his race. Well let me tell you, next time we will wait around and/or get up extra early so I don't have to suffer for an hour embarrassing myself. I am just not fast enough to ride with the 1/2/3's.

The Swanson Park course just does not agree with me. I have raced there the past three years and have never ever felt good or had a good race there. That place just does not like me.

Saturday I felt o.k. but still only managed 9th out of 15 riders. Here are the complete results My bike set-up was not very good. I chose to run a set of Ritchey SpeedMax tires. I think the main problem was they were 700 x 32's. However, they measured somewhere close to 700 x 28's. Those things just did not hook up well on the dry course. They worked well in the mud and roll really well, but they do not corner well on a dry course. I was sliding in the corners and felt all out of control. I just rode a fast tempo and hoped that my pace was fast enough not to get lapped and stay ahead of the guys I was in front of. My goal of not getting lapped was not met as Mark lapped me on his way to the win.

Update: Found out what was wrong with the tires. Several sections of the sidewall are torn by the bead. This is why it felt like the tires were going to come off the rims. Because they just about were. Now I know why poor Christopher could not ride this same set of wheels/tires at last year's nationals. He kept telling me that there was something wrong with the tires and they they felt weird to him. I guess I need to start double checking my equipment...

Sunday was one of my worst days ever. I went down during the warm-up and on the first lap in the same location. Never got going during this race and actually stopped for a lap trying to fix the shifting on my bike as I bent the derailleur hanger when I went down on a dry slick corner. End result was 9th out of only 10 riders. I must be getting old or something. I only have a small scrape on my leg, but my knee is killing me today. Must of twisted it a little when I went down and now some swelling has taken place. I wish it was my left knee. At least then I would be balanced out with injuries. As of now, my right shoulder is killing me and my right knee. Nothing a little time and ice will not heal.

Diamond Blackfan Cyclocross Challenge Race Report

Today was round #1 of the De Stad Cyclocross Van Kansas series which I am promoting. Earlier in the year I asked Tige Lamb if he wanted to help promote and that we could use it as a fundraiser for the Diamond Blackfan Anemia foundation (Tige's daughter has DBA). Hence the name of our first event. The event was a huge success with 223 race entries on the day. I think that is a record in our area for a cyclocross race (except for Nationals of course).

The team really came out to help at this event! We set-up most of the course on Saturday and then got to the race site at 0530 to complete everything. It was very hard, but we got her built and the event went smoothly for the most part. Some scoring issues due to some lappers and slow protest periods. We will definitely work on this for the next round - Chris Cross.

Christopher returned to racing his bicycle today. After taking the summer off to become an expert at Halo, he decided he would come out of an early retirement to defend his Junior championship from last year. He did great today and had some good competition from a junior from the Bike Shack team. He lead for most of the first lap until a dropped chain over the barriers cost him too much time to make up. I was very proud that he did not give up. He finished in 2nd place and brought home the silver medal.

As I said before, I am running the Single Speed class in the De Stad series. We had a great turnout in the class with 16 riders. I almost changed my goal before the race of getting on the podium with the likes of Brad Sullivan and Graham Aldredge on the line, but decided despite being exhausted that I could still get up there if I really tried.

I got a call-up for being last years Single Speed Champion and this helped with my start has I settled into 2nd place with a good position leading up to Tige's Tantrum. The guy in front could not hold his speed through the section and I soon found myself in the lead. We started to catch the Men's Cat 4's after about a 1/4 lap and this cause me to lose one place to Brad Sullivan. I stayed on Sullivan's wheel for the first lap, but he was finding his way through the 60+ rider Cat 4 field a little quicker than I . I was feeling really good for most of the race. About 1/2 way Aldridge got by but I kept him in sight and at one point passed him back for 2nd, but he has youth on his side (I am more that twice his age) and did not have to pound 1,000 stakes :-) Both Sullivan and Aldridge are very strong riders so I was happy to be in 3rd.

In the end I held on to 3rd place and made it on the podium . Even won a pair of cool Tifosi glasses and foot booties for the effort. Is a promoter allowed to win awards? I might have to do some re-gifting at the next round.

Jacqueline M. Locke, Esq.

We got some really great news yesterday and wanted to share it with all our friends! My sister Jackie, a recent graduate of Mercer University School of Law, passed the Florida Bar. Carolynn and I are so very proud of her as this is really a huge accomplishment. It's rare to pass the Bar Exam the first time it's taken. As a qualifier for the FL Bar, she had to pass the MPRE which is the ethics portion of the exam with a score of 80. The highest required score for any jurisdiction is 85 ......... she scored 120! Jackie was a regular on the Dean's list so it was no surprise to us that she would ace the exam. Congratulations!!
Now go get a job....

Hermann Cross Under the Lights

First race of the season is finished. Glad to get this one behind me. Not a good result for me at all. Just did not have the legs nor did I have the mental focus to suffer for 30 min....

Start went really well for me. I was happy to get the jump on the other 55 riders. I opened up a little gap on the field and was really putting the hammer down. I had one other guy with me as we hit the sand pit. We both got through the 100 yard mud pit running well. As we hit the road section I tried to stay on his wheel, but was at my limit. I backed it down some knowing that I had gone out too hard for my present fitness level. I soon found myself getting passed and finished the first lap in around 5th. I had a rough 2nd lap and fell way back in the field. It was very depressing and I had a hard time regaining focus (and desire) to get the old heart rate back up. The 4th and 5th laps were better for me has I started to bring some guys back. Got by my teammate Rich Anderson in the "stinking" mud pit and actually worked my way back up into the top 20. Last lap I fell apart, mainly from lack of focus, and ended up in 24th with most of the riders that I had just passed the previous two laps getting back by. I will take this result and try and build on it next race - Diamond Blackfan Cyclocross Challenge.

Jeff and his crew did a great job. Live music was nice. Course set-up was first class and was very well marked. Most of the course flowed well except for those really tight turns by the wheel pit. Chip timing was very cool and we got quick results. Only negative would be the stinking 100 yard long mud pit. I love muddy races, but not when the mud stinks from flooding and what smelled like fecal matter.

Here some pics:

Let the Cow Bells Begin to Ring

It has finally arrived. The 2008 Cyclocross season begins this weekend for me over in Hermann, MO. On tap are 20 races (actually more with doubling up at some events). For the De Stad series I will race in the Single Speed class and try and defend my 2007 series championship. At other events I will either race Cat 1/2/3 or Masters 35+ (or both :-))

This is the best shape for cyclocross season I have been in since 2001. Feeling really fresh and ready for the Pure Sweet Hell that is about to begin and the sweet sounds of cow bells a ringing.

Here is my schedule:

9/20 - Cross Under the Lights
9/28 - Diamond Blackfan Cyclocross Challenge
10/4 - Omaha Cyclocross Weekend Day 1
10/5 - Omaha Cyclocross Weekend Day 2
10/12 - Chris Cross
10/18 - Capital Cup
10/19 - Butthead Cyclocross Smackdown.
10/25 - Smithville Cyclocross Festival Day 1
10/26 - Smithville Cyclocross Festival Day 2
10/30 - Celebrate 15 wonderful years with Carolynn Locke
11/9 - Veterans Cross
11/16 - De Stad Cross Cup (KS State CX Championships)
11/22 - Nebraska Sobe No Fear Cyclocross
11/23 - Nebraska State Cyclocross Championships
11/29 - Jingle Cross Rock #1
11/30 - Jingle Cross Rock #2
12/6 - Bubba Cross #7
12/7 - Missouri State Cyclocross Championships
12/11 - USA Cycling National Cyclocross Championships - Men's B 40+
12/13 - USA Cycling National Cyclocross Championships - Masters 40 -44
12/14 - USA Cycling National Cyclocross Championships - Single Speed

DZ-Nuts

I have to get me some DZ Nuts.

View and comment on David Zabriskie talks chamois

I Finally Made it to a Cat 1

Yes! After 20 years of cycling, I have finally made it to a Category 1 racer. In 2009 I will be a Cat 1 Mountain Biker :-)

Colorado Springs, Colo. (September 12, 2008)—USA Cycling announced today the development and implementation of a new mountain bike category system set to take effect for the 2009 season......

USA Cycling MTB Category Changes.

MTB Home Page

Tour of Missouri

Updated with Pics....

The 2nd Annual Tour of Missouri has finally arrived. A lot of the teams are staying in hotels around KCI in the Northland. We have been seeing their team cars all week long. Today Carolynn saw one of BMC riders in the local Wal-Mart. He was with Trudie and they were looking for something in the health section. Carolynn was being a smart @#$ and said that he may have gotten a little saddle sore from riding in all the rain we've had. She almost recommended that he pick up some Boudreaux's Butt Paste if that was the problem.

I rode over to Joe Fox's Cycle City store this morning for a little ride with the Health Net Pro Cycling Team. Being a Cannondale dealer has it privileges...For most of the ride I rode behind last year's National Cyclocross champion Tim Johnson and his teammates. We headed North along the our normal route that brings us to the very popular Interurban road. The Health Net boys only wanted to ride for a little over an hour so we turned around just short of the water tower. One the return trip I peeled off from the ride to complete my interval routine that Studnicki has layed out for me. Got in a good 2 hour ride including a very hard interval session. Mark you would have been proud of me.

Day 1 of the TOM started with some heavy rains and some cool weather. As Carolynn and I headed up to St. Joseph for the start the rain started to clear out. It turned out to be a great day to race with the cool weather. With lower crowds in St. Joseph we were able to get really close to all of the riders. Carolynn even got to take her picture with 3 time TT Champion David Zabriskie and Johnathan Vaughters. Below is our slide show of the start, the first sprint in Platte City and then the finishing circuit in Kansas City.

What is Cyclocross?

What is cyclocross to me? Pure Sweet Hell!

****Check out www.kansascitycross.com ****

Smithville Spider Fest Ride

Surf's Up!

I finally got a morning that I could head to the beach. I have been down in South Florida visiting my parents and sister Jackie. My mom has been keeping me busy with a long "mother do" list. And I thought Carolynn's "honey do" list was long....

I hit one of the Boca Raton beaches first - Red Reef Park. As I entered the beach area there was a big sign that said "No Swimming". Apparently the rip currents were really bad due to the hurricanes and tropical storms that are out there. Yesterday 3 swimmers died down in Ft. Lauderdale. I ended up just walking south to watch all the surfers on the south end of the beach. They allow surfing when there are high surf conditions, but not swimming. What's up with that? Well, at least the surfing conditions were great today. There must have be 30+ surfers out there having a blast. One came by yelling "Surf Up!" It was fun to watch them all. Some were actually really good.

I decided to head North to one of my favorite beaches to do some running and maybe swim. Spanish River Park is a nice park that offers a good location to train and is the site of the annual FAU Triathlon. I spent many days at this beach when I was going to Florida Atlantic University. Good memories for sure. The waves were not as big here so I decided to go for a swim in spite the rip current warnings. What a blast! It was so much fun battling the surf and I was getting one heck of a workout. I got caught in one rip current, but kept my cool and swam along the shoreline until I was out of it. Just when I decided that I better return to shore I got hit hard by a large wave. As luck would have it another wave hit me again just as I surfaced. I was tumbling along the ocean floor and thought I would never come up. I almost started to panic, but knew that I just had to ride it out. I was really glad when I came up and I quickly made my way to the shore.

My next stop was Deerfield Beach. This place has changed a lot during the last 10 years. Now this was the place to be, as the beach here was packed with 100's of surfers, volleyball players and packed full of sun worshipers. I spent about an hour there enjoying the sites. That was until a older man walked by in a G String. When I saw that I knew it was time to head home.

Vote for Me!

Speed Vest

I got to get me one of these Speed Vest. I can just see myself passing all those cars on the Broadway Bridge now has they are stuck in traffic. I come by with a big ole 40 on my back....

Bruce Springsteen Rocks!

Carolynn and I attended the Kansas City stop of The Magic tour at the new Sprint Center last night. What a show Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band puts on. Over 3 hours of kick ass rock 'n' roll. And I thought Leroy from the Shatto Milk Company worked hard. I was tired after 3 hours of listening. Now I know how some musicians are so thin - nightly marathon sessions of singing and dancing.

It was funny to see all the different types of folks and ages. There were young kids with their parents all the way up to fans in their 70's+. You had some fans like me who mostly sat their enjoying the show. Then you have the fans drunk off their ass's dancing and singing along. Some can't last the entire show as the guy 3 seats down from us passed out after about 12 large beers and missed the last hour of the show.

One cool thing about Bruce is he interacts with the fans so well. He had us singing along all night long. The folks on the front row really got to interact as a couple of times he actually laid out on top of them as they supported him with their arms. Here is Timothy Finn's review.

One of my favorite songs from the Boss:

Shatto Milk Tour

The family headed up to visit the Shatto Milk Company on Saturday for a tour. They are a potential sponsors for Cow Town Cycling and the De Stad Cyclocross Van Kansas Series. We meet Damian, Anita, Lindsey and Aidan to enjoy in the fun. After listening to how the dairy farm operates, (including starting at a very early 3:30 a.m. everyday), we got to milk a cow and taste all the great products they have including their new ice cream. Man that is good stuff.

VO2 Max Testing

Dave Wathen and I headed to Performance Plus Rehabilitation Center last night to get a current fitness assessment before we begin our serious training for cyclocross. My friend Dr. Allyn Smith was kind enough make us both suffer to the point that I questioned why I do this..

The last time my VO2 Max was tested was about 6 years ago when I volunteered my body for a scientific experiment at University of Kansas . I guess I forgot how much fun (not) this testing was. At least this time I did not have to have a muscle biopsy. That was painful.

I got some good data last night and will use it along with my training plan from my new coach Mark Studnicki. It is time to get serious about cross!

Here is Dave having some fun:

RIM 6/12 Race Report

Another great Rapture in Misery 6/12 hour event. Trails were in awesome shape and as always the events by Heartland are well organized and fun. And for the first time my wife Carolynn raced on my team. This morning before we left I watched This Video. Yes, I am ready for another 12 hours of Ecstatic Exhaustion.

Things started off well for our team with me leading the way to the first corner. My teammate Brent passed me on the way back to the bikes with a very strong run. As we approached to get our bikes I remembered last year that Cow Town also lead at the start only it was Tige and Shad. Neither Brent nor I are in the same league as them and we were both soon passed for the lead on the climb up to the Family Trail. I kept within myself knowing that I would have to ride double duty at night since Carolynn was opting out of the night legs. I fell back outside the top 10 for awhile, but once we started to approach the Wills Wonder and Rim Job sections of the course I picked up the pace. I settled in on Rim Job with Matt Brown, Matt Keevan of Mesa Cycles and newly crowned MTB National Champion Doug Long. On the way up to Tasty Goodness I passed both Doug and Matt and really put it down with only 2 miles to go to finish on my first lap. As we approached the Tasty on some very tight twisty stuff Doug went down and I could hear him cussing. Man that dude takes his racing serious :-). Ended up finishing the first lap in 52 min (5 th place) coming in along side Matt Brown (who was also our main competition in the 12hr 3 Person COED division). Jeff Winkler laid down the fastest first/overall lap with a 49 min time. Man that dude has really taken to mountain biking this year and lead the solo's for most of race before being passed by eventually 6 hour solo winner Matt Keevan.

Gerard took over for the 2nd lap duties and put in a good ride on his vintage Schwinn S10. We fell a few minutes back and sat in 2nd place in the COED division. This was Carolynn's first time riding at RIM and she was a little nervous due to the technical nature of the course. She did great to finish safely and hand off to me for my 2nd lap. I knew after my second lap that we were not going to be able to close the gap to the first place team from High Gear Cyclery. I decided then that I would take it easy the rest of the day and save my legs at an attempt at the fastest night lap and all the accolades that come with that special award :-)

Official night laps start counting after 8:00pm. Gerard went out for his 3rd lap a little around 7:30 pm which would mean my night lap would be in the dead of night - as it should be. I set out at 8:35 pm and quickly started pushing the pace and catching riders. As I approached riders I kind of scared them due to the quickness in which I caught them. This was good because most of them got the heck out of my way. Those that did not suffered a severe cussing as I passed :-). I was flowing really well and was very close to my day lap speeds. If you have ever ridden at night you know this is hard to do and makes for an exciting time. As I listened to Guns-N-Roses on my ipod I was feeling really confident that I was going to post the fastest night lap. By the end the lap I was spent but was happy with my 53 min time. In the end I beat out Matt Brown for the fastest night lap - The 2nd of my career.

We got plenty of awards for winning the fastest night lap and taking 2nd place in the COED 12 hour division. One item that was highly appreciated was a new Blackburn lighting system. Carolynn broke mine last Tuesday at the River trails during a crash. I was just saying that it would be cool if we got one. Funny how things happen when you put it out there.