A Koke aNd a Smile

Beating oneself into a pulp as a way to make them more better than before

has been my mantra for the past few months.

It is safe to say that I am a few weeks if not more behind the rest of the group 

when it comes to overall racing fitness.

Saturdays deep dig down in Iowa was a good test of where

I am and my bike handling skills at speed... In a sense I am having to relearn to trust 

my self with where I put my bike while flying through space and time. 

Last night was no different,, my goal was to see what my legs and brain thought of the 36x18 now that it is back on the drive train.. This is what I want to be able to push for the season opener at 

Buck Hill sunday.. For the most part I made the bike go up the hill good and fast,, but pain continued to creep into my brain,, and the over thinking started.. Nothing that will be climbed at sundays race will match the uphills that I rode last night,, but the fast guys are fast and the pace is going to be nuts.. and it is 6 laps up the Garbage Pile ski Hill.

For now this is the goal.. need to get the bike dialed in,, the Hoops need to have some nipples twisted and sounds as if the front break needs to have the pads cleaned or replaced as they are letting everyone in the immediate area know that I am slowing down.

But other than that it should be all systems go.. 

And what makes for a bester evening after Flogging ones self..

Going to the Roller Board Park with the Boy..

Safe to say that I am lucky in life.. 

Always moving and forever forward..

Krooked never lets the eyeballs down......

  

And this goes out to all the parents who I know read these words that 

I manically type out..

Do the world a favor,, don't buy your kid a Scooter,, or a Longboard..

get them a Sk8toy and the world will be a better

place.

Lost and Found

Getting lost and having to find your way back is something that I think most of us have had to deal with at one point in time... Like the time when you were a kid and your mom

said to stay close as you were in the department store,, only to lag behind to have

conversations with the mannequins,,, then realize that mom was no where to be found. 

As panic sets into the young mind relief is felt when over the PA system 

your name is heard telling you to come to the service desk to find a 

angry,, but happy mother,.. The felling of Lost is gone. 

It is safe to say that I have been waiting to hear my name over that PA system over the past few months.

This weekend was the first of many tests to see if I could find my old self and tow the line.

My red headed step child came down from the 612 for a weekend of bike riding and racing.

He myself and the Rocket loaded up the Rav and headed down to Iowa for the 25 running 

of the Decorah Time Trails. 

For a good while on friday the thought was we may just bail on the plan to race saturday 

due to the fact that it was raining all day in Iowa,, and I did not need my first race back 

from injury to be a sloppy mud fest.

But as breakfast was being made Saturday morning and with multiple weather

checks the decision was to head on down.. 

I love this race for many reasons,,,one of which it is only an hour from the house which almost never happens.  And it is always a good place to start the season with good competition,, hard trails and awesome people. 

The Boy was up first testing out his single speed on the Kids two or so mile course.. 

He was all smiles as he started and looked super comfortable on his new rig.   

I was the fifth to take off racing the same course as we have the past two years.. 

Choosing the single speed to make the day extra tough and that much more of a challenge. 

Getting an early start is nice not having to deal with passing people and being able to focus on the task at hand.

It did take me a bit to get my heart under control as the climbing starts right away,, and with a few of the steep nasty climbs being a touch wet the decision to get off and run/walk was made early

as to not loose much time. 

For the most part I raced pretty clean and for the first time in years I did not find my self on the ground due to pilot error..

I was about a minute slower than last year and slid down to eighth place overall 

but seeing how much time I have had on the bike and no high end work of any kind i'll take this all in and smile.. 

The Ginger went on to score a killer ride landing in Third and that is only being home from China for a week and not having spent anytime on his newly built up bike.. 

We filled our bellies at T-Bocks and headed home to rest and get ready for what was to come sunday..

Sunday was more bikes and this time under clear blue skies. 

The Bauer kid wanted two plus hours of riding dirt bikes and I was going to show him all the single track that our legs could handle.. 

We started behind the house doing a few laps on the newer to me trails then headed over to the 

Vista trail and on to HPT..

By the time we were done we had almost three hours thirty plus miles and over 3500 feet of single track climbing. 

It was a solid showing for bikes and fun in the land of the Driftless. 

Next up will be the first Minnesota race this sunday at Buck Hill,,

This will be the next test and the next place for me to see

if I can find that lost boy..

Head Down Chin Up and Legs Churning.

.

Sunspots

The Rain has gone away and the sun has come out,,

not super warm but sun none the less. 

Bikes and boards have been out and rolling and smiles have been growing. 

I got a text message from The Rocket yesterday while coming home from work 

asking if we could go for a bike ride??? 

I could not believe it,, but the boy is super excited about his new 

bike and silly stoke about the race this weekend on Saturday..

So we geared up and went out to the neighborhood trails and 

did a few laps,, it was awesome to see him climb up a hill full speed on his new

1x1.

I told him that he has two speeds on his one speed ... Stand up or Sit Down..

It will be a bit of a learning curve for him,, right now he is set up 34x21 and I think that I will 

get him a 32 narrow wide so if he ever wants me to put on 

gears I can.. I have told him over and over that i have a shifting set up if he wants.

After all that fun I took my shifter bike out and tried to see how my body 

would fell if I was racing.

My body said hey fat ass knock it off..

It was not all bad but it was hard work,,, and really when it comes down to 

it,,, I really enjoyed it.  The sun was shining and I was riding a bike really what could be better??

Finishing off the day with my fun little ripper on rollerboards at the

sk8park.

Sun Fun and wheels.. 

I think that maybe all these years I have been doing it all 

wrong..

It is not about Placing or Podiums it

is about People,, Fun..and Smiles,, 

the Journey the experience...

Oh all the Places that you will Go

..

 Now get out there and see what you will find 

where the Sidewalk Ends and the fun Begins.. 

Hatfield & Me

Ever since getting home late saturday night from the THC* Levis Mound Throw Down,,

the weather has gone to the crapper..

Woke up sunday did some stuff around the house,, and then followed that up with the 

boy and I getting into some supersuits ready to go ride bikes

when the skies turned grey and and started pissing rain. 

That has not stopped except for the fact that at times the rain 

turns to snow then back to rain then back to snow..

So we went  from perfect spring like warm weather back to early March

like weather.

This at times can be a soul crusher..

At this point and time of the year I am not ok with being trapped in the house. 

And to top that off we race bikes on 

Saturday for the first time and I am pretty sure that as 

of now I am a pretty sucky fast bike rider.?

It is going to hurt and put me in my place. 

So after a long stupid day of working and bouncing off the walls of the house 

the motivation finally struck to get the garage cleaned up so we could 

at least go out there and roll around. 

We jammed to some old school punk rock and gave the waxed step the beat down,

while working on some flat ground tricks ...

The young boy is dead set on learning kickflips and it 

is going to be a lot of work for him to get it all down. 

As I keep telling him,,,, Turn your brain off stop over thinking 

and it will come,, young grasshopper. 

Last Night was the release party for the first ever full length Vans skate movie..

They had a big Party out west to celebrate and all the who's who of 

the rollerboarding world were there to slap high fives and tell stories..

Earlier in the week they sent out a clip of 

some of their crew killing the Vans park in the OC..

And for more eyeball molestation you should look at some

classic 

Gonz.. 

So here is to better weather and faster legs,, it is going to be a brutal start to my
cycling season..
But people keep telling me that it is just like riding a bike..
Now if I can only remember how to go fast!..

April Showers

If you have ever been lost finding your way is back to where it is you came from or to where you need to be can a hard thing to do. 

After my wreck last fall it is easy to say that I have been lost

but I am not sure where it is that I need or want to be??

I can say that I am not looking for some sing or higher power to show me the way back,,
and I know that I am not looking for Peter Frampton help me out either..

I am going to search down every path possible and see if it gets me where 

I need to be,, and in that search I am going to go on 

many adventures and see new and old things. 

I may never get there,, and the Path may not be defined,, but the 

journey will be well worth it.

Since taking ownership of this OS Blackbuck last fall I have been dreaming about 

riding it at Levis Mound. Plans were to get some late fall riding as the leaves changed colors but again dreams were cut short due to using my head a stopping mechanism.

Hwood and some of the 612 crew were meeting up on Saturday to do some riding and 

being in my back yard I was game to come and play.

I left everything as is for the weekend not changing gear ratios wanting to see if 58 inches would be too much to push.. For the most part it was perfect until things got really steep or if traffic slowed things down to a crawl and momentum  was slowed. 

For the most part it was perfect and the 2.25 front tire on my Velocity Blunt SS work to perfection. 

I can't wait till the next time that I am back there tearing up the sandstone bluffs. 

Always good to ride with the Boss,, and always a good place to stop and check out the views..

This here spot not only can you look out across the valley to Bruce Mound you can 

also see that Hwood is letting me know my position on the team..

That is right #1..

I returned the favor as I Rolled through this here tight corner,,

but i let him know that he is #2.... or is that 11?

Regardless,, bikes were ridden and highfives were slapped,,

sun was soaked and legs were ripped off..

For me it was just another path on the journey to find what 

ever it is that I am looking for..

Factionless

The days come and go and I continue to live the life of a 

duel Action Sports super star..

I have to tell you at my advanced age it is getting harder and harder.

Not as much gas in the tank to keep the engine firing for as 

long as I want. In other words I and Tired...

Just this morning I fell asleep on the couch with my morning coffee only to 

be woken up by the sensation of burning liquid on my middle section.. 

But when push comes to shove it is worth it 

because I get to be out side riding wheels and slapping high fives...

Yesterday afternoon was another day of Flogging 

my self back into some for of racer guy shape.

Or at least that is what I keep telling my self.

Another lap of up the Dog shit trail to the local single track then back home. 

Not sure what to think of this new social forgiveness of  bags of dog crap 

being bagged up and left on the trails for all to see.

It is not like they are Chinese lanterns lighting the way so while riding at night

the tail is well defined.. 

After beating my self into submission I met my wife on the front

porch for a beer while watching all the soccer moms and dads rip up and down the street trying to find a place to park and drop off their future world cup striker..
I could only take so much of this,, some day someone is going to get hurt as
they have no regard to driving rules or fire plug placements.

So I grabbed this

And Him

And headed to the scooter park to work out some moves while rolling and sliding around

and dodging wayward Razor riders.

The boy continues to impress,, wanting more tricks and 

trying and getting back up after failure..  

My only wish is that their was a better crop of young kids his age to 

ride with.. Poor kid has to hang out with me

and that can't be that cool..

Anyhow tomorrow is the weekend and Bikes are to be ridden at the 

sight of SSUSA 2015.. The boss

and some of the Team are going to be meeting out there to ride and 

celebrate Special Tims bachelor party.

I am just in it for the pedaling because I am sacred of any tomfoolery that may 

happen their after.. I have seen the Hangover Movie I know what can 

happen..

SaMe as It EvEr waS

As of today it has been a week since I had to leave the desert, and return to the world of the working man.. This is a hard adjustment I know that i was only gone for six days but you get use to 

not having to wake up and go to work real quick.

Especially on a day like yesterday when I needed to be at the 

job site at five in the morning.. 

Regardless I have been 

making sure that I keep working on the base that was built while pedaling around in the south west..

With the nicer weather that we have been experiencing here I 

have been leaving the garage almost everyday

on a two wheeled toy, telling myself that I know what it is that I am doing..

Over the past four days I have been able to put together

some nice rides on the two of the one speed devices that I love so much to ride. 

The first two daze were a bit of a kick in the faces,, as spring in this area can 

mean some mean winds and they were telling me what they

though about me being a want-to-be cyclist.

Monday I went out with the mind set of going up the dirt hill as fast as I 

could which rendered up a felling in the back of 

my stomach that I had not felt in a long while.

Yesterday I even rode with another person and so learned that the trails had

opened up,, so once again we headed up the new trail out of town and did a lap of the upper 

trails smiling ear to ear the whole time.
The Blackbuck does not disappoint..

The topper to a killer afternoon on bikes was heading to the 

rollerboard park just as the sun was going down to find the crew knocking out

some bangers.. We proceeded to shred until the lights came on and the session just kept getting better.

Finally I had to call it a day this old man was getting tired and after nailing a nolie tail slide 

on the cement wall I was good.

I so much look forward to the time that I get to spend with my 

boy rolling around being punks and pushing our 

body's to the limit.

I leave you with 

some AZ boys who know how to get it done in a place they call

Pyramid Country..

Where is my MiNd

So the family and I loaded up some suitcases and headed off desert for much needed rest.

The weather was perfect and the sun was shining everyday.

We are spoiled to be able to go down and use Anna's parents place as a home base.. 

And that is just what we did..

Once the plane landed I assembled my bike and was out the door off to some single track

while Anna and James hit the Pool..

I went out to the McDowell competitive track thinking that this would be a good start for 

an out of shape guy..

I have been pedaling this trail for the past 17 years,, it was the first trail that I rode in AZ when 

we moving from the high country to the desert. 

Over the years as it has been ridden and ridden the trail has only gotten faster,, while still keeping it's

rocky technical personality.

One lap and my ass was kicked,, the dry air and the whipping wind along with the sun that  was beating down on me.

I was cooked and it was time for some pool time and sk8boarding..

This was the pattern for the next five days.

Ride bikes in the morning and Skate in the afternoon.. 

Followed up by pool time and beer..

We made a side trip up to Sedona, to soak in the Red Rocks and 

change our perspective.. 

Again I went first thing out for a spin on a trail that have ridden many times and 

have many fond memories.. 

Rode the Chicken Point Broken Arrow... trail... along with a few hundred other

people hiking,, jeeping,, and enduro riding. 

I loved the flashbacks of times gone by and really loved the way the trail rode,,

Then I found my self on a new section of trail that wrapped back to the trail head,, and it was empty of people and made smiles go from ear to ear.. 

After Checking in to the Hotel we soaked in the hot tub and talked to some others enjoying the beauty that is Sedona.

After soaking in enough vitamin D,, it was off to Flagtown to go and see an old 

Friend..

Steve was busy in his shop finishing up for the day,, we came with a twelver of one of his favorite Mexican beers.

High Fives were slapped and old stories of rides and general tomfoolery  were shared..

This man was a huge influence in my young life and helped teach me to suffer on 

a bicycle..

Stoked to hear that he will be coming to the 608 this summer and be staying at his inlaws just a few miles up the road.. 

Easter Morning brought one hell of a sunrise,, followed by yet again

more singletrack and skateboard riding..

I love Sedona.. and some day want to live there..

Back to the Valley for more of the same..

Bikes Beer and Sk8ing..

 I can't get enough of the sun can't get enough of time away from work..

And I really really want to go back..

I freaking just love these guys.. 

Now back to the grind...

Red Dirt Tan

Tomorrow at this time I will be on my way to my happy place..

I can call it that now,, because seventeen years ago when I first moved there I was not 

too happy about living there.

I was young,, I was ski bum... and now I was moving to the smack center of a 

huge desert. I had no idea of what I would be getting into and 

no idea of what I would find.. 

Now all these years removed and countless trips back to the Valley Of the Sun,,

I am always so happy to go back and always scheming of ways to never have to leave.

That being said last night at the Scooter Park,, I for the most part just rolled around 

and did not do much on the roller board. 

My legs were good and cooked from what was supposed to be an easy ride but turned out to be another ride into the wind... And to top it off with all my pains and aches I thought it would 

to keep it mellow and just watch the boy tear it up.. 

 Speaking of Tearing.. This kid had a good weekend..

Nice to see a Mid Western Boy firing on all cylinders.. He grew up skating the 3rd Layer and 

has moved on to California,, and managed to stomp it when it mattered..

Cool to see the park they competed in,, we may have to drive over and check it out.. 

Now here is a trail that I know that I wont be riding this weekend..

I know my limits and this is one that I will leave for the rad guys..

I will leave you with this,,, not sure who the people are in

this clip but it 

had some good shots of the Sedona sk8 park..

Can't wait going to be fun..