This year has been off to a slow start as a cyclist. Just over a thousand miles in, mostly road and gravel. I may have under 5 rides in on my Raijin since I changed it over to a single speed. Family and work have taken precedent. That is not a bad thing. Winter kind of sucked the motivation out of me this year.

I have just returned from a week on St. Thomas and am stoked to get back to a proper training plan, whatever that means for a guy with a three year old and a two year old, lol!


I need a plan and hoped to work on that while sitting on the sandy beaches, but a few too many Heineken slowed me down a bit mentally. That's okay though. I came up with a goal to try and get to 190 lbs and kiss the Clydesdale class goodbye. It's going to take a lot of work and mental dedication. 20 lbs seems like a lot, but just a few life adjustments could get me there. Only time will tell. Wish me luck and send positive vibes my way. Time to go to work!

Tall Oak 6hr (duo)

Rain on second half of first lap.
Did laps four and five back to back.
Total four laps in 6HR Duo, eight as a team

Greensfelder Challenge

So I thought I would try my hand at some more bike racing this year.  I signed up for the Cat 2 40-49 age group.  I did not know what to really expect when it came to going head to head with some of the guys I see on the trail all the time.  All I can say is I have left plenty of room for improvement.  First thing learned; don't show up for a race with a bike that is not race ready.  During my pre-ride early in the week I had dropped my chain around 7 times in two laps.  The race was two laps and I dropped my chain five times.  I also knocked off my stem captain with my daughters picture on it.  I spent some time looking for it, telling my self I was not going to leave the woods with out her.  The most frustrating thing  about the chain drop situation was that I had to pass the same group of riders so many times. 

The second thing I learned is that I am in no real "race" shape whatsoever.  Greensfelder is a tough course that will test all your skills.  I was up for it from the general bike handling aspect of things.  The trouble came in the ole high intensity aspect of racing.  A few time I felt the pain down in the gut that only a hard, to the limit effort can give you.  The feeling was both nice and worrisome, seeing that it came when I was trying to chase on the lead group half way through the first lap.  Nice because it had been a while since I had that feeling, but I was not sure if it was going to subside or not.  Not soon after the rock garden I began to feel better but it was really too late.  The race had already passed me by.

I went back out for my second lap and pushed hard.  I began to see many familiar faces and was glad to be back with such a good crowd racing my bike.  I ended up 8th out of 19 on the day.  I can't complain seeing that I probably posted higher in the results than I deserved with all the chain issues that I was having.  A great way to spend a Saturday afternoon with a bunch of like minded Jerks.

Spring has sprung?

Cut was closed by conservation dept.

Other than that, just been spinning around waiting on the warmer weather.

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.

Pics:

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

Pics:

December

I seemed to get a lot of riding in early this month. The night temperatures were mild and the lack of moisture and freeze/thaw taking place made for some hero dirt. New corridors in and around Busch have been accessed. Quite honestly, the riding early to mid-month was spectacular.

As of late it has been all work and no play. The lack of riding has put me up 7lbs. This is the time of year where I get few days off, the food I eat is horrible for me, and I don't hydrate near enough. I seriously can't wait for the New Year. I am planning at least two long rides a month all winter. The rides will either be Ozark Trail based or my supercross rides (as I like to call them).

Next year I will be pushing towards my 40th year on the earth. My goal is to be in the best shape of my life. I have a new baby on the way come June. I have one baby that is getting ready to turn one in February. Life really could not get much better. Finding time to be healthy will have to take a priority to other things in life. Maybe that post-ride beer will have to wait...

Here are some pics of the months activities:

Happy New Year

JRA

Just riding around. So in the last few weeks I have done quite a bit of just riding around. The Berryman Epic sent me on a 115 mile 'new bike' week. The new Raijin thrashed some serious singletrack. Trails encountered include the Berryman trail, the Courtois section of the Ozark Trail, Council Bluff, Johnson Mountain, Lost Valley and Matson Hill and don't forget to throw in some Busch Wildlife for good measure. Not bad for a weeks worth of sunsets. Then, after the time change, I logged about 50 miles of night riding on the new frame. Here are a few images of the festivities.