Fading Light

Trying to get it all together and make it all work..

The plan as of now is to go to the local CX race this saturday as it is a new thing and it is great to see that people are trying to get racing going in this area. I'll

line up for the 1/2 race and give it a go,, not sure who will show.

After that my plan is to go up to the Cities to the Velo Cross race Sunday.

In Years past I would head up for the Midwestregionalsinglespeedworldchampionship.

But this year it is at weird time and the 1/2 race is going to be a big deal both days.

The catch is trying to make it all work out $$wise.. So if I can make my entry fee on saturday I will for sure head on up. I want to line up with the fast guys and make my eyes bleed for 60 minutes. 

Have put in some good work,, over the weekend I was able to break out the MTB and ride

single track... and the past few days after work hammering some tempo style intervals to the point of spinning out,, and doing cross style work outs in the local park.

I will be interested to if on saturday,, if people will/would be into some cross racing in the area. 

We have a lot of good parks and other venues that could make for good racing,, just need the bodies.

The Kid just got back late monday night after being in North Carolina for Collegiate Mountain Bike Nationals.

The team got out almost a week early for some R&R some acclamation and prep for the racing at hand.

The days leading up to the big event was nothing but great weather and good fun of single track riding and eating and no school.  They did have a mishap of one of the star riders crashing while pre-riding so the cards were stacked for the Team being one rider down. 

They woke up on friday the day of the short track to find an inch of snow and temps in the 30's with cold wind...  Pip dropped a chain and struggled to get it back on only to get pulled,,, she was place but beyond pissed and ready for more.  

Saturday was the XC race and the weather was not that much better,, but the kid was,,

She uncorked a great ride and found her self cross the line in 6th place,, just a few minutes off the podium.... This made her hungry for more and realizing that she could race this bike,,,,,even in foul weather.

The podium finally showed up for the Red Hawks on Sunday as the Team lined up for the First ever Team Relay.  The kids had a good ride and found the last step,,,fifth place..

They had ups and down and got to experience so hard racing and some stiff competition.

Up next will be Cyclocross racing and another chance to race for the Stars and Bars.    

Smell the Glove

I find my self Tired and rundown. Not sure if it from the lack of sunlight and the long days of work,,

Or is it just the leftovers from my weekend Trip to Colorado and last weekends

Cross Racing Fun. 

What ever it is I am looking forward to this coming weekend.

A weekend of staying home and getting shit done around the house and sleeping.

Yes yes Yes I would love to be up in the 612 this weekend for the 

Fall Fest or even Red Barn which is one of my favorite CX races,,

But this old man needs to Chill.

After this cool down weekend their are two back to back weekends coming 

with a good bit of travel wrapped up in them. 

Would I like to go to Iowa for the Jingle Cross,, yea sure but I am not that invested in spending that much money and time in the car. 

As of right now I am all about riding the New Bike and racing it when I can.

Speaking of new Bike..

 

This thing is super Rad and this weekend put it to the true Test. 

The Frame is what I always wanted in a Cross Bike,,  A Soft yet Forgiving ride, that Feels like a stick of butter over rough terrain but Stiff and Snappy out of the Corners.

The wheels even though they have tubes in them for now with their wide profile 

allowing me to run low pressure and carve through the apex of a curve. 

I found having the brake cable route through the frame not only made for easy grabbing over barriers but also made for a quick clean up when it was covered in mud. 

The Rig is rounded out with Precision moving parts From Chris King and Stem and Seat Post, were Provided by Thomson. As I always say not having to worry about those parts failing,, just doing their job... makes mine easier.

Hollywood put it all together and did it up right,, sized me, fit me,, and made it all Tight..

If you live in the area and have not been a Trip to Hollywood Cycles is a must,, it will only make  you a faster Rider. 

Jeff @ All-City set me up straight, and MD and Velocity has made sure that  my wheels are True.

Kyle with King and David @Thomson, Have stood behind the Old Man Dreams that keep me moving.

So far so good been enjoying the time in the woods and more Cross is to come.

It was a long Mountain Bike season and the true off season is coming in about 5-6 weeks.. And 8 weeks from today the calender will turn again and the light will begin to return and then Spring will be on it's way.

Until then I will continue to ride and beat the snot out of my self. I do enjoy watching the wheels go round and round,.,., now to make them go faster. 

Party ON!

What the ?

I was a new bike High kind of week,, and I took every chance that 

I could to get out and ride it.

With plans over the weekend to race my first cross races of the season

I wanted to get used to the rig as fast as I could.

Mornings were spent going up the quarry and home through single track,

found my self carving through city parks and using trees as objects to carve around.

Saturday morning we had the car loaded and the whole fam minus the Pip were up to the 

Twin Cities.

The forecast for the weekend is for moisture and maybe some snow.

The saturday race just brings us cool temps and some wet ground from the rain that has already fallen.

We line up and it is a 100 yard sprint to the bottom of the gravel road climb.

I was not as aggressive as I may have should have been, and was to the 

top rubbing elbows as we hit the corn field,,, this was one of the more sketchy

spots on course as  everyone was fighting for the clean line.

I pushed it hard for 45 minutes having fun and almost clearing the fly over on the last lap. 

My wife and teammates said that I almost crashed it but I say na.

Sunday was a completely different story.

Cold maybe 37 and drizzle rain,, the course was really wet and they had changed it just enough to make it interesting.

Another tangle going up the hill pulled me back and I hit the corn field not where I wanted to be.. 

Sloppy sloppy mud was the call of the day,,

and bike handling skills were what was needed.

Now as the race went on the the mud got thicker which made the pedaling easier, but again I could not fight through it to get to the front. 

All in all lots of fun,, hard with the Body felling like crap due to the cold that i am fighting,,

but I see some potential for the next few races. 

 

Did not totally trash the bike,, did find the back 

wheel a bit sprung and need to swing by the 

shop to see it can come straight.

No racing this weekend,, just more riding and more riding. 

Now time to finish this coffee..

Maybepartying Willhelp

I got in last night at 10:05 and woke up at 5:15 to get ready for work.

And it was all worth it. 

Their is no hiding the fact that my forth century is soon upon me, and my loving wife 

wanted to do something special for me.  It has been a touch 

over a year since I lost my Grandma, and my Grandad is
all alone. 

Yes he has family around him and his friends almost all women who have lost their husbands,, but still alone,, with out Grandma.

So as a Birthday gift a few months early she sent me out to Colorado to go and see him and watch some football. 

I got in late Thursday night and was picked up by an old friend.. Dinner and catching up, with a few beers, and after a long day I was wrecked...

I Had a bike all lined up through a buddy who had recently left the county for the greener pastures  of the front range.

Dirt Rag Dan was off at the Rampage in Utah,, but when I entered Adrenalin Sports the guys took good care of me. Got the pedals slapped on that I had brought with me and sag adjusted and I was ready to go rip up some Colorado Trail Goodness
.
The bike with the Lefty was fun as hell,, and I rode that thing like it wasn't mine. Charging the decent and  hammering the climbs. All the years that I lived out there I never had
rode the burned out area of Buffalo Creek.. It was gooder than I expected, and after a few hours of single track surfing I was in heaven.
The weekend was followed up by more old friends and beer and pigskin and family.
It was a whirlwind of a trip and one that I will remember for years to come,, that is if I can remember anything now in my old age.
Their is a lot that I miss about Colorado but a lot that I can do with out.
I am really luck to be able to land get a bike and ride. Have friends and family to hang out with
and spend some real quality time.
Now I have to get back to normal life .,.,.,.,the life or appliance repair and bike racing.
The new All City rig is going to be a beast when I line it up..,., and this weekend it all gets started.
Thanks to all that came out and played this weekend.. it wont be the last time
that I can't remember much of what happened..
That is When we Party On

!

Pricedout

I made a comment last not on the facebook about racing and cross racing in Boulder.

I am going to be on a whirlwind trip this weekend starting tonight to see my 

grandfather and some other friends and family and thought that I would take a look at what is going on race wise.

I was shocked when I saw that it was 40 buck per-registered and  fifty for day of.

I find this a bit out of control. I know that it takes money to put on a race and am not saying that these races should be free. 

I my self pay up to 30 race fees a year if you add in the kids when they race. 

I also travel all over to hell and back to line up and pin on a number.

I enjoy racing and kind of think of it as my thing that i do. 

But when a master 35+ or even a 1,2,3/Elite race is 50 bucks is outrageous.

I just see this pricing the joe six pack race out of the market. 

I got my start racing cross in these same races and remember paying only 20-25 bucks to line up....Yes this was eight to nine years ago but to see that large of an increase in nutz. 

This is the same area used to have awesome weekend mountain bike racing the Mountain States Cup,,, that by the time that it ended due to lack of participation and cost to put on the races was charging 70+ for a cross country race.

Will these Cross Races fill up this weekend and will people come and see them yes,, is Bike racing in the front range as popular as ever,,,yes...

But you can not provide an argument that excuses a dollar a minute for a bike race.

More CowBell?

Circles

My front wheel made it back from across the pond,,,Lake Michigan monday afternoon. 

It needed to be rebuilt after my second crash in the last race of the season two weeks ago.

MD and the crew at Velocity have been taking good care of my wheel needs keeping them built up and strong. This front hub of mine has been a work horse. This Chris King 24mm is as smooth as the day that it was built and now has lived in four different wheels. The Maverick forks that it connects to have never let me down, even after the company has since gone out of business. The hope is for next year Magura gets one of their suspension forks under me and then all I have to do is swap out the 24mm axle with a 15mm. 

Regardless it  a solid stiff system, and I so thankful and happy that CD all those years ago took me into the King family. 

After spending monday night in the Garage getting the front wheel back up

and running with rotor and sealant in the tires I was excited to get out

and ride some single track on the way to work. 

Yes that means lights if I want to leave the house before 6;30 as these shorter days

start to steal the sunlight from my world.. But with some loud punk rock and a belly full of coffee i was out the door.

It was nice ride getting to shift and slide through the woods blocking out all the noise that tends to 

fill my head during the work day.

Following what was another test of my mental fortitude I had just enough time to hit some more dirt on the way home only to find that between all the rain and wind the trail

up the bluff was in tough shape,, it has always been noting more than a drainage ditch but even worse now after the large amounts of rain friday night. 

The bike did not let me down such a simple way to get from there to here and here to there.. More of the same today keeping the wheels moving and keeping smiles growing. 

Now fingers are crossed for good weather as I head out to Colorado tomorrow to see my 96 year old 

Grandpa and get to ride bikes with some old friends. 

Keep the wheels Spinning..,

Colored Grass

Well the rain moved in and it unloaded a tidal wave of  h20. Anywhere from 2-6 inches fell from the heavens as we all tried to sleep.

Anna and I were leaving the Popcorn Tavern and walked into a wall of water,,

after watching some kickass bluegrass music..

I was pretty sure that as the rain came down that the 

Race the 29nSingle Gang was putting on would be canceled.

And sure nuff with mudslides and road closings the plug was pulled and all the sudden I had the day off of racing. 

All I had lined up was coffee drinking and nap taking. 

Motivation was shot,,, blown up,,, just not there..

I did manage to convince my self to get out for a nice spin, but still deep down inside the desire to pin on a number plate and stand on a start line. 

That should all change soon,,

Cross bike will be built and all ready to ride when I get back from Colorado,,next week.

The Green Acres Race should be start  of what I am going to call Cross Season.

A double it up weekend,, and I am going to take the boy and see what kind of trouble we can get into with Sk8te Boards. 

Until then I will cheer,, watch and enjoy seeing everyone else rip it up on two wheels...

One of Which is the Pip,,

She is down in Kentucky and 

scored 2nd in short track with her team sweeping the woman's A's podium,,

and then won the DS race.

Tomorrow if it is not canceled to due to 

weather she'll be racing Cross Country in the morning and then Downhill in the afternoon.

Keep kicking ass Pip!

Drenched?

I killed a bird yesterday,, Not like I meant to or anything but dead it is.

Coming home from work yesterday I did some up hill mountain biking and then headed through the quarry to home.

Descending the steep-ass-quarry-hill I came across a flock of birds... They were not big ones and thankfully not turkeys, I thought that I felt something 

but did not stop to see, due to the 40+ mph. 

Going to work this morning climbing up said hill I saw what looked to be a dead Robin in the same area of the incident. 

Wanted to stop and snap a photo but stopping on a hill with a 20% grade and road shoes stopping is not always the best idea.

I am getting super darn close to getting to put all of these shiny 

bits together and make one hell of kick ass CX Rig..

Just a few more things need to trickle this way and I will be crushing it.

I do look forward to having something different to ride to work, and this time of year riding the HPT single track on 35's is a blast. 

It is all coming together.

Now if this rain that they say is coming would stay away until sunday that 

would be awesomer.

The 29andSingle* Holzinger Hot Lap is on saturday

and if it gets wet and sloppy fun on two wheels will not be had.

So that being said I am going to get the Lemond all set up with fenders and ride it to work the next few days and see if I can ward off the dark clouds.. 

Here is to hoping cuz that is a whole lota fun. 

The Kid saw rain and a whole bunch last week in the Show-Me-State....

Fingers are crossed for her that they stay dry in

Kentucky this up coming weekend,, nationals are coming up fast now that it is October and I would love it if her bike did not get trashed,,

A Clean bike is a HappyBike!