Happy 16th Wedding Anniversary Carolynn!
I finally found some photos from our wedding. We sure did look like a couple of young fools in love..........
.....16 years later I Love You more than ever.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Happy Anniversary
I finally found some photos from our wedding. We sure did look like a couple of young fools in love..........
.....16 years later I Love You more than ever.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Smithville Cyclocross Awaits You
Round # 3 of the De Stad Cyclocross Van Kansas Series presented by Paceline Products is tomorrow. It is going to be a great day for cyclocross with a great course designed by the Cross Guru, an awesome venue at Sailboat Cove, a chilli extravaganza, and additional prizes added by The Wheel Cyclery, FSR, Tifosi, Hammer Nutrition, Raw Revolution and Hammer Nutrition. JET Performance Chiropractic will be on hand to help before and after your events. Complete info at www.kansascitycross.comThe course is already set for the Smithville Cyclocross Festival. It just shows you what can be done when a great group of people come together and volunteer their day to help you. Thanks to everyone who came up to help. I could not have done it without Dave Wathen, Mark Studnicki, Roger Harrison, Rich Anderson, Mark Krause, JP Brocket, Mark Kern, Heather and Dan Jordan and The Wheel Cycling Team.
Here are some photos from today and the course. Come out and enjoy her tomorrow. Current course conditions are perfect.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Boulevard Cup and Cross Courses.
As I got out of bed Sunday morning I knew I was in trouble for today race. My entire body was aching and at first I did not know why. I soon remembered all the work yesterday up up at Smithville and those torture devices know as a double edge weed blades and axes. I wish I would have had a Scythe. Those things are cool and are much more effective. I got my weed eater and chain saw working so Thursday's work day will go much better. Plus Dave is bringing is mower so we can mow the course. Right Dave?
Sunday morning was spent, dialing into the switch at work to do some maintenance, working in the garage, preparing some race supplies for the Smithville Cyclocross Festival (sign up here) and fixing Christopher's and Carolynn's mountain bikes so they could go for a MTB ride up at Smithville. I wanted to go with them, but was heading over to the Boulevard Cup cyclocross race. Thank you again Mike for the entry and a fun event. I wish I had the legs to earn that free beer, but it was not to be.
Not much to say about my race today other than I basically sucked. During my recon laps of the course I tried to get a good warm-up, but the desire to race hard and maybe visit the old House of Pain was not there. Heck, I did not even knock on the door. While I was out riding and everyone else was racing I was thinking "What the heck am I doing here". I still had fun and got in a good workout. Enjoyed the post race food and chatted with some friends. That is what cross should be about anyways. Results are nice, but not everything.
Some of Lyle's pics below. The rest HERE.
After the race Roger Harrison and I headed over to Riverside so I could show him what course the Cross Guru has in mind. I got a sneak preview on Friday when I went riding with the old guy. The Cross Guru has decided to add in a couple of longer running sections for this weekends Smithville Cyclocross Festival and the Vet Cross (aka Riverside Cycloross Festival). He is a little tired of all these short little run sections. Traditionally cross has more running because course conditions like mud require it. But with these fast dry courses that we have now, the run sections are short with just a barrier section and maybe a run-up. I for one am glad for this. Now if we could only add a swim portion I would be golden. Work on those shoulder carries this week :-)
Check out the Smithville course here: http://kansascitycross.blogspot.com/
Sunday morning was spent, dialing into the switch at work to do some maintenance, working in the garage, preparing some race supplies for the Smithville Cyclocross Festival (sign up here) and fixing Christopher's and Carolynn's mountain bikes so they could go for a MTB ride up at Smithville. I wanted to go with them, but was heading over to the Boulevard Cup cyclocross race. Thank you again Mike for the entry and a fun event. I wish I had the legs to earn that free beer, but it was not to be.
Not much to say about my race today other than I basically sucked. During my recon laps of the course I tried to get a good warm-up, but the desire to race hard and maybe visit the old House of Pain was not there. Heck, I did not even knock on the door. While I was out riding and everyone else was racing I was thinking "What the heck am I doing here". I still had fun and got in a good workout. Enjoyed the post race food and chatted with some friends. That is what cross should be about anyways. Results are nice, but not everything.
Some of Lyle's pics below. The rest HERE.
After the race Roger Harrison and I headed over to Riverside so I could show him what course the Cross Guru has in mind. I got a sneak preview on Friday when I went riding with the old guy. The Cross Guru has decided to add in a couple of longer running sections for this weekends Smithville Cyclocross Festival and the Vet Cross (aka Riverside Cycloross Festival). He is a little tired of all these short little run sections. Traditionally cross has more running because course conditions like mud require it. But with these fast dry courses that we have now, the run sections are short with just a barrier section and maybe a run-up. I for one am glad for this. Now if we could only add a swim portion I would be golden. Work on those shoulder carries this week :-)
Check out the Smithville course here: http://kansascitycross.blogspot.com/
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Smithville Cyclocross Course Workday #1
I spent the better part of the day out working on the course for next weekends Smithville Cyclocross Festival. It was Me, Myself and I out working so I did not get everything done that needed to be done. I will have to visit the course a few more times.
The course for round #3 of the De Stad Cyclocross Van Kansas Series presented by Paceline Products will be a nice one for sure. There will be several changes from last year, which are all for the better.
I am planning on racing tomorrows Boulevard Cup. That is if I can move tomorrow morning. The swing blade and ax kicked my butt today. I still tons of work to do including fixing a flat tire that I got today while checking out the Smithville single track. I had to bail on the course work because there was a wedding going on down by the lake. I could just hear the people that were setting up saying "I hope he stops riding before the wedding starts..." The parts of the trail I rode were dry. I guess I went a little too fast and pinched a tube. I wish I would have brought my MTB bike....
All this hard work over the last couple of weeks really makes you think why. Why am I out here busting my butt? Shouldn't I be enjoying myself riding/racing or spending more time with the family? Does anyone really appreciate all the sacrifices that it takes to put on events like this? It makes you think......I still wonder how I got myself into this gig.
Here are some photos of the work completed. The first two are before and after photos.
.
The course for round #3 of the De Stad Cyclocross Van Kansas Series presented by Paceline Products will be a nice one for sure. There will be several changes from last year, which are all for the better.
I am planning on racing tomorrows Boulevard Cup. That is if I can move tomorrow morning. The swing blade and ax kicked my butt today. I still tons of work to do including fixing a flat tire that I got today while checking out the Smithville single track. I had to bail on the course work because there was a wedding going on down by the lake. I could just hear the people that were setting up saying "I hope he stops riding before the wedding starts..." The parts of the trail I rode were dry. I guess I went a little too fast and pinched a tube. I wish I would have brought my MTB bike....
All this hard work over the last couple of weeks really makes you think why. Why am I out here busting my butt? Shouldn't I be enjoying myself riding/racing or spending more time with the family? Does anyone really appreciate all the sacrifices that it takes to put on events like this? It makes you think......I still wonder how I got myself into this gig.
Here are some photos of the work completed. The first two are before and after photos.
.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Chris Cross Race Report
I knew I was in trouble when Rich and I went out to design a new course for this years Chris Cross. Rich must like hills because he wanted to add a few to make the course harder. Well he got his wish.
Friday and Saturday were mostly spent helping Rich and getting ready for Sunday's Chris Cross Cyclocross. I was very tired going into Sunday from all work/stress of promoting, but I knew that going in so I can't complain to anyone but myself. I was hoping for some good legs and a podium spot. With any luck I could gain some points on Songer and move into the points lead for the De Stad series.
Sunday morning went very smooth. We had the course almost entirely ready to go on Saturday so we only had about 2 hours of set-up left. Heather had registration under control, Roger kept us warm with his heaters and the Cow Town crew was out in force putting the final touches on the course. All we had to do was wait for everyone to show up and race. I was a little concerned that the cold weather would discourage some riders from showing up. I think it did hurt our turnout some, but we still got over 200 entries.
Carolynn and Christopher lined up for their Noon race. Carolynn thinks the the cyclocross gods do not want her to race. Her first race she about died of heat exhaustion and today she is freezing to death. Christopher likes the cold and had no issues and looked like he enjoyed the course. I guess he likes to climb. Is he related to me? Both did very well in their races. Carolynn is improving with every ride on her cross bike. I think I even see a smile on her face.
My race was o.k. but I did not have my climbing legs on. I'm still not fully recovered and I did the best I could on this day. I railed the corners and downhills which is the only reason I was able to manage a 3rd place podium spot. We will have to see how the points stack up after this weekend. I think I should be in a tie for the lead with Theodore Fleming who took second on the day. Garet, who is 1/2 our age checked out on both of us early on. Results at www.kansascitycross.com
Rich Anderson did an awesome job with his first (and possibly last?) event. He got a ton of support from his friends and team Cow Town Cycling, but without all his hard work this event would not have happened. I think he already knew how much work goes into events, but now he knows first hand :-)
Cross Guru took some photos, but he forgot to bring the camera today do download the photos. So check back tomorrow for some cool photos. Check out www.kansascitycross.com for some great photos by Roger and Lyle.
Friday and Saturday were mostly spent helping Rich and getting ready for Sunday's Chris Cross Cyclocross. I was very tired going into Sunday from all work/stress of promoting, but I knew that going in so I can't complain to anyone but myself. I was hoping for some good legs and a podium spot. With any luck I could gain some points on Songer and move into the points lead for the De Stad series.
Sunday morning went very smooth. We had the course almost entirely ready to go on Saturday so we only had about 2 hours of set-up left. Heather had registration under control, Roger kept us warm with his heaters and the Cow Town crew was out in force putting the final touches on the course. All we had to do was wait for everyone to show up and race. I was a little concerned that the cold weather would discourage some riders from showing up. I think it did hurt our turnout some, but we still got over 200 entries.
Carolynn and Christopher lined up for their Noon race. Carolynn thinks the the cyclocross gods do not want her to race. Her first race she about died of heat exhaustion and today she is freezing to death. Christopher likes the cold and had no issues and looked like he enjoyed the course. I guess he likes to climb. Is he related to me? Both did very well in their races. Carolynn is improving with every ride on her cross bike. I think I even see a smile on her face.
My race was o.k. but I did not have my climbing legs on. I'm still not fully recovered and I did the best I could on this day. I railed the corners and downhills which is the only reason I was able to manage a 3rd place podium spot. We will have to see how the points stack up after this weekend. I think I should be in a tie for the lead with Theodore Fleming who took second on the day. Garet, who is 1/2 our age checked out on both of us early on. Results at www.kansascitycross.com
Rich Anderson did an awesome job with his first (and possibly last?) event. He got a ton of support from his friends and team Cow Town Cycling, but without all his hard work this event would not have happened. I think he already knew how much work goes into events, but now he knows first hand :-)Cross Guru took some photos, but he forgot to bring the camera today do download the photos. So check back tomorrow for some cool photos. Check out www.kansascitycross.com for some great photos by Roger and Lyle.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Cross Along the River.
This weekend I visited my old cyclocross stomping grounds down in Parkville along the Missouri River. I can still remember back in 2001 promoting my first cx race at English Landing Park. We had some good races back then at the Crosslogic Cyclocross Challenge. I learned a lot and somehow did not learn the lesson to quit while you are ahead. Nine years later and still at it...
This weekends races did not go so well for me. Just inside the top 10 both days in the Men's Cat 3 class. Legs still have not recovered from the Redman two weeks ago. I know I should have taken a couple of weeks of rest to recover, but cross season is here in full swing now so not much to do but ease myself back in. I did learn one thing this weekend, I need to hit the intervals big time. All my training over the summer was geared toward an Ironman distance event. These short hard efforts that are required for cross are just not in my body yet. Watch out for me come December. I will be flying :-)
Congratulations to Mark Cole for taking the win on Sunday, Michael Tarne had a good day also getting 2nd in the Juniors. Dave had a good weekend; looked good Saturday especially getting 11th even after some mishaps.
I thought I would share some old photos (from Lyle Renolds) from back them. Some good time for sure.
This weekends races did not go so well for me. Just inside the top 10 both days in the Men's Cat 3 class. Legs still have not recovered from the Redman two weeks ago. I know I should have taken a couple of weeks of rest to recover, but cross season is here in full swing now so not much to do but ease myself back in. I did learn one thing this weekend, I need to hit the intervals big time. All my training over the summer was geared toward an Ironman distance event. These short hard efforts that are required for cross are just not in my body yet. Watch out for me come December. I will be flying :-)
Congratulations to Mark Cole for taking the win on Sunday, Michael Tarne had a good day also getting 2nd in the Juniors. Dave had a good weekend; looked good Saturday especially getting 11th even after some mishaps.
I thought I would share some old photos (from Lyle Renolds) from back them. Some good time for sure.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Women's Shelter Donation Drive
The Forest Avenue Women's Shelter needs our help. Rich Anderson came to me with a great idea to help raise some much needed items for this very important shelter in Kansas City, Missouri at our next event - Chris Cross. The Forest Avenue Women's Shelter provides help for over 9000 women and children each year and is in need of items for the shelter. Housewares, personal care products and nonperishable food items are need.
Round #2 of the De Stad Cyclocross Van Kansas Series presented by Paceline Products will be holding a donation drive for the Forest Avenue Women's Shelter. Each person who brings in a donation will receive a raffle ticket for some sweet prizes including (but not limited) Crank Brothers Eggbeaters pedals donated by Cow Town Cycling, a Saris Bike Rack donated by The Wheel Cycling and numerous hats and shoe booties donated by Roger Harrison. We are adding to the list of prizes so if you have anything that you could donate please let us know.
For a complete list of items, please visit http://kansascitycross.blogspot.com
Round #2 of the De Stad Cyclocross Van Kansas Series presented by Paceline Products will be holding a donation drive for the Forest Avenue Women's Shelter. Each person who brings in a donation will receive a raffle ticket for some sweet prizes including (but not limited) Crank Brothers Eggbeaters pedals donated by Cow Town Cycling, a Saris Bike Rack donated by The Wheel Cycling and numerous hats and shoe booties donated by Roger Harrison. We are adding to the list of prizes so if you have anything that you could donate please let us know.
For a complete list of items, please visit http://kansascitycross.blogspot.com
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