Recent Happenings

A lot has gone on over the last few weeks.  Biggest and best of all is my son, Nathaniel Thomas entered the world on June 13, 2013. 

I started to ride again in June also.  I competed in my first endurance race.  Indian Camp Creek 9hr duo.  Keith Weinkein and I took second place to the jerks that are Eddie Klein and Jason Zoll.

 For the Fourth of July I sat in on BJ Keane's Independence Day ride and mashed out 76 miles in honor 1776. 

Summertime is heating up and I plan on trying to catch up on all miles I have lost this spring due to time off the bike and physical therapy. 

Nice ramble with a couple of friends

After work yesterday I met up with a couple of buds and hit a little ramble action around Busch Wildlife down the Hamburg to the KATY. Stuck mainly to bike trails in Busch, they are grading many of the roads and they need to be beat down a bit by the autos.  Keith and I met Sarge Stitz at the social log and turned the pedals to the tune of 30 mixed surface miles.  I love my cross bike because of its versatility.  The KATY had seem some flood waters from the Mighty Missouri.  She had deposited some mud and sand on course so we had stretches of bumpy surface but all tree damage was cleaned up.  Temps were great and it was nice to be in the saddle for a couple hours with some company for a change.

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Nothing new to Report

No ride again today. Rain by the time I got home for work. Maybe in the morning? Weather this year has been a bit disappointing from a cycling perspective. Rain or cold most of this spring. Summer is officially almost two weeks out. My total mileage for the year is beyond minimal. Lost Valley Luau is this weekend but I will probably sit it out. We are busy waiting on a new baby boy to join us. Maybe ICC 9 hour duo? Who really knows? Leg still gives me fits as I have yet been able to find some kind of rhythm.  I have been, more or less just cruising, or rambling as I call it, around my 'hood.  I never want to be to far from home in case the boy plans on arriving sooner than later. Had a nice night ramble with Davis the other night over to Dad's Bottle Shop in LSL and then cruised all LSL and watched the lake waterfall over the spillway. Good times on two wheels. 

Morning Ramble

Went on a ramble this morning through Busch Wildlife.  The cut is pretty good. The entrance near the bridge is the worst spot, well, under the bridge it is the worst spot. The grass is just tall and encroaching while the mid under the bridge is a little peanut butter like. Oh well. Here are a few pics

3 Flats, One Crash, A wheel swap with Sarge Stitz.

New Year

The New Year is here and I could not be happier for that. Time to start fresh with new goals and plans for 2013. I did not make it down to the Ranch Ride this year. The temps of high of 25 degrees scared me away. Those temps for winter riding are quite excellent, but for me the problem is in the facts of having to get my gear ready while standing next to the car in those temps. By the time I get ready to ride I would have been too cold to enjoy the use of my hands. Last time I checked, hands are a very important part of mountain biking. So I choose option two. Busch. Living so close to Busch gives me the luxury of standing in my house until I am ready to clip in.

Last year I bought some bar mitts. These things work wonders. There are many different styles and kinds. I went to an atv/moto shop and bought mine for under $25. I have seen bike specific ones on the net for considerably more. They are a little large and bulky but I have found that I can use them on both my straight bars for mTb or my drop bars for my cross bike.

The snowy was crunchy but easy enough to break through with out having to mash your brains out. Don't get me wrong though. The places where no one had hiked or driven put a little stress on the heart and legs. The roads were super packed from the car traffic and actually seemed smoother than just the normal gravel. I spent an hour and a half just cruising the gravel and off-beaten tracks around Busch. I saw a lot of orange. I did not know that many folks found it so much fun to walk around on New Year's Day a blasting things.

I also took some time to look at next years race schedule. I have a few ideas of what I will be doing up and through May. June is a big question mark for me now. The baby will come sometime in June so I doubt u will be doing any traveling. I hope all had a great New Year and wish you the best in 2013.

Happy New Year

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