Thanksgiving Success: Beef Jerky, Rootbeer, and trophies

While most people sit down to watch football on Thanksgiving, Digga and I took a quick trip down to Kansas City to participate in a friendly cyclocross race.  It started out rough, which I will get to in a moment, but on the way home I bought Digga a piece of beef jerky and a root beer (with sugar).

He said to me "Dad, this is the greatest Thanksgiving ever."  I asked him to explain and he said "I won a trophy, I got beef jerky and a root beer, and I got to spend time with you."  How can you argue with that?

So here is how it went down, Digga and I go to a tuesday night cyclocross practice in Leavenworth, KS.  One of the guys asked if we were doing this event.  I hadn't heard of it so I looked it up and it took some digging since it was an unsanctioned event.  As it turns out, there is a nice park along the Kansas River that is home to a cyclocross training course.

It was chilly, high teens/low twenties depending on the breeze but not a deal killer at all.  I told Digga that I wanted him to leave his pajama bottoms on under his wind pants so that he would have a little extra layering.  He informed me that this would not be acceptable.  Appearently no self respecting dude wears pjs under his pants.  I brought them just in case and off we went.

Finding the location was not hard but it was deceiving and I always worry about getting lost in the middle of nowhere along a river (I watched the deliverance at a very young age and it has pretty much scarred me for life).  Funny thing is that as I left I noticed he had spray painted arrows at the intersections....whatever.

Upon arrival, Digga jumped on his bike and began riding through fields while I got my stuff ready.  I grabbed my stuff out of the back of the Suburban and shut the tailgate at which point I heard a familiar "beep-beep."  I looked around and noticed that I had the only Chevy in the lot and instantly grabbed each door handle with desperation.  My car, which is designed to not lock with the keys in it turned on me.  The lady in the car next to me offered some wire hangers but cars these days don't really do that well, everything is rounded so you can't get a wire around anything.  Of course someone had to ask "you have on-star right?"  Come on man.....I am too cheap for that crap.

So I borrowed a phone and called my wife.  In the mean time I had what was needed to race.  The lady that let me use her phone warned against it...it was cold and what would I do after I got hot and sweaty and stopped in the cold.

My response was simple and from the heart.  I said "Ma'am, I am an idiot.  Because of this, I have to be stronger than the rest, it is an evolutionary trait."  She laughed, though I don't think she took it seriously.  I am dead serious.

I went to put on my biking shoes and bam, they were in the car.  So I angrily walked over to the course with Digga.  In the end it worked out because some of the obstacles and run ups would have made it impossible for the boy.  So I ran around to cheer and support.  Here is a run down in photos.

Digga at the Start, he showed no signs of intimidation around all of the adults.

                 I think it is fun to see his little bike and body crank away amongst the crowd.

I was probably shouting for him to change gears.  This is something I cannot get across to my kids.

I don't care who you are, this is a painful event.  He makes it look effortless even with small wheels and scrawny legs!

To say the run ups were a challenge was an understatement.  I carried his bike and he is jumping back on!

He makes it look easy!

He got second in the youth category.  There was one other kid in his early teens who got first.  Vance was stoked (I didn't tell him he was the only other kid).  Besides, I doubt there were many kids his age getting up at 0630 to go race cyclocross in the freezing cold.

By that time my darling wife showed up with the keys.  I was glad she didn't get lost, that may have made her grouchy.  At that point I was able to grab my shoes and hustle down for the relay.  Digga and I were going to rock it!  As you look at these photos I ask that you don't judge, I look nowhere as suave and debonaire as Digga.  In fact I look pretty pathetic.

About half way through, I had snot pouring out of my nose.  Stay Classy KC!

These photos don't do the run ups justice.  

I am terrible at mounting the bike.

As memory serves, that log was about twice that size.  I thought the camera was supposed to add to the size.  Again, no grace on my part.

Coming in for the handoff.

Our mouths are gaping open, his is joy while mine is pain.  Keep in mind, this was my first lap and he had already finished the first race.

I quickly ran over to meet Digga at the first obstacle, these drops were steep and loose so I helped him a little.  

At the end of the day we walked a way with the P award.  As in we came, we raced, and we lost....I have never been so happy to receive a participation award!  Digga summed it all up, Thanksgiving was a success; trophies, beef jerky, root beer (with sugar), and spending time together!  It doesn't get better than that.

Busy

I am currently in a professional school and unlike college, I am getting paid.  Because of this I feel compelled to apply myself, again, this is unlike college.  The result is that I am spending many hours a night reading, writing, and studying for exams.  So in my free time I have to make some choices; I can ride my bike, spend time with family, study, or write on this blog.  You guessed it, the blog gets neglected.  The great thing is, I have been working hard on cycling.

Since I am an introvert and borderline anti-social, I typically ride alone.  However, I have changed that up a little bit.  The LBS, Santa Fe Trail Bikes has well organized group rides.  This has forced me  to challenge myself.  My style of riding is push it when I feel like it, slow down when I feel like it, stop when I feel like it......I think you get the point.  However, when I am around this group I feel compelled to push myself, even to the point of racing.  Many of the riders are genuinely fast and I work hard to keep up with them and by the end of the 25 mile rides I am done in.

While pushing it that hard is not my style it has helped me a lot.  Additionally, I entered a cycle-cross race.  I have never officially raced before that, mainly because I don't see the point of paying a whole bunch of money to lose.  I obviously take the Ricky Bobby approach "if you ain't first, your last" since I don't win anything to make the entry fee worth while.  Anyway, I decided to challenge myself and do it anyway.  More on that another day!

In Pain!

I have also been enjoying the vast amount of gravel roads that Kansas/Missouri has to offer.  I had to back out of one great looking event because of the large amount of studying I have.  However, I also entered a ride called Gravelicous.  That was a challenge, more on that another day!

Look at the size of my Quads (in an attempt to get you to look away from the dumb look on my face)!  BTW, that look is pain.        

Overall, I have less time to tinker with bikes and ride, but I have been making the most of the opportunities I have.

Nothing Changes but the Road Kill: Sometimes that doesn't change much!

A while ago a friend of mine and I were talking when I said that although I missed Montana, it was really becoming homogenized in the sense that all of the cities are the same as any other city in the U.S. with the orange glow of the Home Depot and neon lights of Applebee's and Chili's.  His response was that he drove his son to college on the other side of the continent and that all that really changed from state to state was the road kill.  I love and use it when people ask about moving all the time "Nothing changes but the roadkill" I say.  While it is clearly an understatement; obviously some places are greener or more mountainous, it is very true nothing changes too much.

Hiking in Missouri.  Diga and Nater love to hike.  I love this picture, it makes me wish I were a better photographer.

Well, we have moved again and though it seems that we haven't since the roadkill consists mainly of raccoons and opossum in Iowa/Illinois/Kansas/Missouri, bicycling opportunities have definitely changed.   Dramatic changes.  While the Quad Cities is not my favorite place ever it was an amazing bicycling community.  The hundreds of miles of well maintained bike paths and delightful mountain bike parks seem to have vanished into thin air.  As with my beloved LBS Bike and Hike, Rock Island, IL.

Don't get me wrong, Kansas has an amazing bicycling element;  there are mountain bike parks, Dirty Kanza, some great rail to trail opportunities, and from what I can tell a healthy cyclocross scene.......Just not where I am.  There is one bike shop, the jury is still out on that.  Silly me, I asked them if there  were any bike paths around and they all stopped what they were doing and stared at me as if I was I was the glowing green and holding a sign that said "dumbest guy on earth."  I have been in several times and they act like it my first every time I walk through the door.  It is not like I am some famous guy, but does it hurt to pretend!

The Irish Tsunami all strung out while exploring some new hiking and biking opportunities.  

The best part of moving is exploring new places.  I have been on a few shop rides (they see me riding with them though they act like they don't know me when I walk in the shop) and the landscape is beautiful.  Rolling hills with some steeper and longer climbs than I am used to.  Less corn, more hay and trees.  It is nice.  My big issue is that the nearest MTB park is 30 miles away.  With soaring gas prices I may be focusing on road riding.  It is too bad I am mountain bike heavy and have neglected the road stuff for a while.  This is exactly why I have an arsenal of bikes.  I can do just about anything just about anywhere.  They make moving a challenge but it is worth it.

OGRE + LAS CRUCES + ANTHEM X29er + BASSO + MUKLUK= Go anywhere, do anything!

  

I am pleased: for now anyway.

I am pleased, definitely less sad than the last post. For the record, I will always be kind of sad until world hunger is eradicated and the BMX movie RAD is finally released on DVD (my VHS copy wore out years ago).

But since neither of those will ever happen, I will always have some level of sadness.  

In the mean time I am excited for this season's riding opportunities.  The first piece of exciting news is that I have signed up for RAGBRAI. That should be a great week and a number of co-workers are participating so I will have company.  My only challenge is determining which arrow to pull from the quiver. Right now it is old faithful, the "Dreamcicle" orange Salsa Las Cruces.  

For those of you that are not fluent in Spanish, the translation is "the cruces".

This bike has been the most reliable and issue free bike I have ever owned and with the gearing I think it would be great for the relaxing ride across Iowa.  

The next piece of exciting news is the announcement my newly arrived Surly Ogre frame.  It took a while to get and it has a few features that were not originally advertised.  The frame has room for three water bottle and the option for the Salsa Anything Cage.  I am going to run it with rim brakes and use some wheels I already have.  It also has a some crazy features for trailers and internal geared hubs. 

The fork also allows for an Anything cage on each of the blades.

I am excited to get it assembled, it may not be as satisfying as ending world hunger or watching RAD, but only time will tell.  

Tailwind Century

Based on my amazing performance at the Heartland Century, I decided that the Tailwind Century would be a great idea. You can read about it here. Based on the website it sounded like a fun ride. The ride organizers determine which way the wind is blowing. You put your bike on a truck. You get on a bus. One hundred or so miles later you get off and ride back. In this case we started in Byron, IL. Here is the cue sheet. Please take a look at it and imagine trying to decipher this while pedaling down the highway.

My preperation strategy was the same as before.

1. Ride as much as possible: The Heartland was on 10 September. The Tailwind was 1 October. I did not ride a bike more than about 10 miles during that time period. This ride as much as possible strategy doesn't really work when trying for pain free riding!

2. Get a good set of tires: Used my Gatorskin tires by Continental.

3. Drink a bunch of water: having learned from the last century drank at least 32 ounces of water in addition to Diet Coke. I might learn someday

4. Shove my jersey pockets as full of Jelly Belly Caffeine Sports Beans and Pearson's Salted Nut Rolls: This time I made it to the bike shop to purchase Jelly Belly Caffeine Sports Beans. After several hours of riding, these help with a little extra brain boost. I do not like to put Gatorade in my water bottles because green stuff eventually grows in them. I went out to the garage where I keep a big box of Salted Nut Rolls. To my dismay, it was empty. Turns out the kids like them after swim team practices. It also turns out that my body stores many of the candy bars I eat, however, that does me little good when I am a.) hungry, b.) trying to fit in spandex, and c.) spending 6+ hours on a little seat. I would also like to add that I watched a guy eat one on the bus, which goes to show that my theory about them is correct.

As you can see, my preperation was terrible, which is how I felt about 30 miles in. The ride was great. We started at Byron, Illinois which is on the Rock River and is home to this:

One of the more challenging aspects of this ride was deciding on clothing. The temperature was about 45 degrees at the start, if you figure in shady areas and wind chill, it was very cool, however, the afternoon high was 60 degrees. I wore arm and leg warmers which peel off easily (and it never really warmed up enough for those to come off) and a light hat under my helmet.

The group was hesitant to start, I guess nobody wanted to be the first to misread the cue sheet. We quickly headed down the road, 104 miles home. My main concern was getting lost, in the middle of Illinois so I found a group that was going at a comfortable pace. I stayed with them until one of them threw a chain on hill. I then began to crank hard to catch the group in front of me.

They were too fast for me and worked a paceline well. I didn't stand a chance.  I ended riding with two others that were familiar with the route.  


All was well until I left my water bottles at the SAG stop.  It just so happened that this was the section with no convenient stores for 30 miles.  I basically rode on the 8 oz mountain dew I drank at the SAG.  At the end of the day, was ready to be done.  I am not sure if we got a lot of assistance from the wind.  It certainly didn't feel like it.  


Notes for the future:
1.  Eat breakfast
2.  Drink water before the ride (don't leave bottles during the ride)
3.  Ride a little before a century.

The High Cost of Riding Bikes: Money and Pride

It has been a rough and fairly expensive week of riding. It started with a weekend mountain bike ride. Though not great for long distances, Sunderbruch Park provides some technical riding with some decent climbs. Great for busting lungs and chains. I was cranking hard up a steep climb when I heard a metallic ping sound and the sudden spin of cranks with no resistance. The side plats had come right off the rivet. I have broken chains in the past but usually part of the chain goes flying. I was close to a walking path and decided to coast back to the car vs. spend 1/2 hour fixing a chain that wouldn't shift right because it would be short. I went to the LBS and it was determined that the best fix would be mediocre and since the Anthem X 29er is such a nice ride it would be sad to spoil it. It turns out that there is no such thing as an affordable option for a 10 speed chain. The best price I could find was $50.

Monday I took the Basso down Duck Creek Parkway with a nice addition of Wisconsin Ave, which is a nice stretch winding through corn fields for a total of 27 miles.

Tuesday morning brought a major thunder storm. It dumped rain so I decided to take good old reliable out for a spin that afternoon. I bought the Salsa Las Cruces (Spanish for "The Cruces") while I was in Iraq and it has been the most carefree bike I have ever owned.

I have ridden thousands of miles on it and all I have had to replace are tires, tubes, a seat, and the handlebar tape. I rode from the house to Duck Creek Parkway. The bike was a good choice because some sections had close to a foot of water on it. There was some mud on the asphalt in some places where dirt had washed off slopes so I took it pretty easy. There are a few places where the bike path intersects roads which have crosswalks and lights that change on demand. I had just crossed the road when a couple approached to front of me, I moved to the right to give them a little room when my front tire slid off the bike path. The slight drop coupled with the soft earth caused my tire to slide and I felt my body skid across the asphalt.

At this point I would like to briefly discuss Lycra. It has pros and cons.

Pros: Less wind resistance and does not flap in the breeze on long rides. Helps keep you cool by allowing for quick drying.

Cons: Not flattering unless you are sculpted out of the finest Italian marble. Tends to draw negative attention from small town hics and Southern rednecks.

I would suggest however, that it is very practical material and that athletes from many disciplines wear Lycra for its benefits. Here are a few:

Speed Skating

Swimming

The Skeleton

And of course the most manly sport ever, football

However, there are some times when Lycra is not practical. Mainly when your upper thigh/lower buttocks are skipping across the pavement. I felt my entire left side become one with the ground as I heard the scrapping of my bike (still attached to my feet) for about 6 feet. Now, this is certainly not as bad as pulling a "Coop" or Hoogerland, but it still hurt. I quickly sprung to my feet, looking to my left an old lady nicely asked if I was "ok." The same came from the couple. Holding back tears I said in my most manly voice "nothing hurt but pride!"

But that was not true, the entire left side of my body hurt. I looked down and saw the redness of my shin. I was afraid to look at my thigh/buttock for fear of what I would find. My ankle was on fire and bleeding. I knew if I stopped for long I would stiffen up, so I made the climb home.

The cost:

1. My left Crank Brothers Candy, which was probably due for an overhaul anyway. Aside from the cosmetic damage, it doesn't like to spin and has a squeak. It may just need to be retired.

2. A shredded Salsa "Rasta" sock from 2006 (x-mas gift from Coop)

3. A scraped up Salsa "Rasta" rear skewer (brand new, never ridden before) which Salsa doesn't make anymore. I think it is just cosmetic but no one likes scratched up skewers.

4. A raging case of road rash on the upper thigh/buttock region. I will not show you a picture of that.

5. Pride. I don't have much left.

While it was a bad day for the Salsa Cycles Rasta motif, my Pearl Izumi Lycra survived unscathed (which is weird considering my flesh was not). My Specialized shoes got a small scuff, they won't die! If only my body was made out of the same stuff as my Specialized shoes.

I am going to ride the Great River Trail on Saturday to get some miles in. Hopefully I don't have the same problems.