Sedalia Saturday Night

I love racing at night. I don't know what it is about flying around a course in the dark with 100 or so other crazies but it's fun. Sedalia is a warm up for next weeks Gateway Cup race on Friday night. I guess this year I'll be racing when it's still daylight which is kind of a bummer, but it will still be fun to watch the Pro Men and Women race. Heck, after the 3's performance last night I might have to warm up my camera and watch the 3's race. Seriously, I can't believe how many crashes there were in that race. Lot's of torn kits and busted bikes in that one. You may wonder if a certain local team was involved. All I can say is that I saw 1 on the bottom of one pile of bodies and bikes and I don't think any of them finished the race.


The bummer about watching all of this crashing is I think it spooked me a bit. The course had changed and went in the opposite direction from the past few years. Then there was the issue of some dark corners, really dark. I knew we had an issue when the official making the pre-race announcement stated that, "all of the holes and sunken manhole covers had been painted...........but now it's dark so you can't see them anyway". It actually wasn't that bad and in a Pro, 123 race most of the guys know how to avoid hazards.



The race started and I got a terrible start, ended up way back in the field. The pace was fast from the start and it was tough to move up. It was made even tougher with the inexperienced riders jumping on the brakes in the dark corners and creating gaps. I think I spent the first 30 minutes of the race just getting to the front. Once I got there I was feeling pretty comfortable. Hmmm, comfortable.......the race was hard with all of the attacks and chases but I think I just got satisfied with being safe in the front part of the field. Kind of odd, looking back now I think I could of went with some breaks but never even tried. Could have something to do with the 2hr tempo ride in the morning, who knows. In any case I just rode it in on the last lap, 5 guys up the road, and 5 places for the group for money. I was totally out of position with 5 laps to go so I just finished.


Kind of weird, no pictures to share but what can I say, it was dark!

I do have this pic. Got home from Sedalia and into bed around 1am. Got up at 6am to get the family up in time to ride the Tour of Shawnee. Pinky rode it last year and was totally wasted. This year he did it and rode much better. We even had Mathgeek and Curly with us this year. Nice ride that the shop supports and I heard they had over 500 riders this year. Pretty sweet when you can roll through Shawnee on closed roads with police on every corner waving you through!

So now I'm really tired. Time to rest up for Gateway Cup, but first there is the final Tue KC Crit and the final Gardner TT on Thursday. Yahooooooo what a way to end the road season!

New and Goofy stuff, ie "the call of the day"

Fall soccer has now started so we now have 8 weeks of games and practices. Only Pinky decided to play Fall soccer this year so only 1 set of dates to keep track of. Curly is a real runner so I'm sure he will continue to help me with my cross training ( even if he has to wait for me).
















Tonight was the kickoff party for the Tour of Missouri. Kind of forgot about the date and we had a conflict with Back to School Night at the kids school. This is the night that is parents only so Mathgeek went and I stayed home with the kids.

Happy Meals!!!!!!

While moms away the boys and I will play!

So the shop had had a run of goofy calls in the past few weeks, I mean really goofy, like the cycling public had lost all common sense. So........they call us and ask. Today had to be one of the best, someone called and asked,"is there any bike racing on TV today?" HUH?????? Not kidding, ask Sean.

For all you cross racers out there check this out, 3 days of cross in Cincinnati. Looks good to me but if you're going sign up soon. Same line up procedures as Nationals.

Tue KC Crit and Cross Bikes

New Cross bike from Redline in the shop! Even one for the kids!






















Tuesday KC Crit:

To some the season has ended but to some there is still some races left to score some points. Tonight's race was a fast one, Brian was there again so there were plenty of attacks and long chases to bring them back. More than a few people were overheard saying that it was "fast tonight". I think the average was near 27mph and in the end nothing got away so the race ended in a field sprint. Interesting time of the year as far as training goes. Some are training for cross, some like me are looking foreword to Sedalia this Saturday and then off for the last road event, the 4 days of Gateway Cup. Then there's Bill and Andy, Andy is training for the Military World Championships in Ireland. He was out training with Bill before the race and 10 minutes into the race Bill said, "I just hit 100 miles for the day", ouch.

Felt pretty good tonight, decided to work a little harder and not worry about the sprint. I'll see if it helps. One more week to go for the Tue Crit. Maybe there will be a Tue Cross Worlds to take it's place, maybe.........

Tue Crit Results:

1. David Hedjuk
2. Mark Cole
3. Brian
4. Nick Coil
5. Bill Marshall

Overall Points 8/25/09:

Shadd Smith 92
David Hejduk 36
Phil Gronniger 27
Brian Jensen 24
Mark Cole 23
Brian Bradley 20
Tom Price 17
Chris Hall 15
Joe Schmalz 13
Bill Marshall 12
Adam Mills 10
Adam Miller 7
Paul Fancher 6
Nick Coil 6
Stefan Rothe 5
Matt Ankeney 4
Jason Knight 4
Lawrence Simonson 3
Steve Songer 3
John Sieczkowski 3
Phil Mann 3
Lyle Reynolds 2
Marlin ? 2
Andy Lucas 2
John Pahlman 2
Jeff Winkler 1
Patrick Angell 1
Jeremy Pych 1
Andrew Coe 1
Doug Plummer 1

Training for Cross

Seems like every body's talking cross this time of year and the cross specific training is underway. I've been reading Adams blog lately and and the information that he shared about Shadd was made a lot of sense. In the Tue crits I can stay with Shadd on the first attack, usually teh second, but I'm toast by the third. I know I've felt the effect of Shadds 1000+ Watt repeat efforts but it it's interesting to see it in print.

Check out Adams blog for for some info on Joe's training plans for the upcoming cross season. As for me, the cross schedule is close to being written and the corresponding training schedule as well. It's going to be a long cross season and it's going to be very interesting to see how it all works out.

If you're interested in some coaching for cross the crew at Source Endurance is running a Cross Special. Check it out at their website.

Cross Toys are Rolling In

It's true, Cross season is just 5 weeks away. That's right, 5 weeks, but first a little road action in Sedalia and Gateway Cup. With 5 weeks to go the new cross toys are really beginning to roll into the shop.

Today Shadd showed up in the shop with this little gem. It's going to to be super light when it's done.

For my bikes it's more about stripping off old parts and building up with new. At least I have them now instead of waiting to order at the last minute. Still doesn't mean that I'll have the bikes finished before the first race. We will just have to see, right now I'm more into taking the old parts and building up a bike for Pinky, his first full size bike!

Cross, Cross, Cross........that's all I hear, and that's ok. I'm getting pretty excited to work with the KCCX crew at some of the bigger UCI races. Might even get a chance to race out of the area which is all ways nice.

So much to do, so little time............ bring me the glue.

New cross video from Keith!

YaHoooo, a new cross video is in the works for release by mid season. Check it out!

With the road season winding down there are fewer riders at the Tuesday crit but that doesn't mean it's slowing down. Tonight's race was probably one of the fastest races all year, 27.6 mph average for the 45 min race. Tonight Brian J was there along with Joe S and the usual suspects. Brian lit it up on the first lap and it really never slowed down. Attack was the plan for the night and people went over and over until the a break of 3 finally rolled away with 3 to go. Made it up to the original break just as the 3 went up the road. Oh well, I was gassed by then so it was all I could do. Full results below:

















Scott's smiling now, Not so much earlier when he spent a few laps away with Brian.

Results:

1. Shadd Smith
2. Chris Hall
3. Joe Schmalz
4. Brian Jensen
5. Adam Miller

Overall Points as of 8/18/09

Shadd Smith 92
David Hejduk 31
Phil Gronniger 27
Brian Jensen 21
Brian Bradley 20
Mark Cole 19
Tom Price 17
Chris Hall 15
Joe Schmalz 13
Bill Marshall 11
Adam Mills 10
Adam Miller 7
Paul Fancher 6
Stefan Rothe 5
Matt Ankeney 4
Nick Coil 4
Jason Knight 4
Lawrence Simonson 3
Steve Songer 3
John Sieczkowski 3
Phil Mann 3
Lyle Reynolds 2
Marlin ? 2
Andy Lucas 2
John Pahlman 2
Jeff Winkler 1
Patrick Angell 1
Jeremy Pych 1
Andrew Coe 1
Doug Plummer 1

MTB + mountains = FUN!

So many trails..........so little time! It took around an hour climb up to mid mountain and then you can climb a little higher to get to the prime singletrack or go up another hour and climb to the top of the mountain. Then it was a 30-45 min ripping decent to the bottom. Ton's of fun!!!

Last time I was here this corner was fast but a little dicey, if you overshot the turn it was a long way down. Now they built this giant berm and made it ridiculously fast. There were a few of these on the lower part of the mountain.

Yep, that temp is for real. Sunday morning as we were heading for home. 34 was the temp in Steamboat, at the top of Rabbit Ears pass it was 26 degrees. Yikes!

Talk about cross weather. I got my taste of the cold weather on Saturdays ride. It started sprinkling on the climb up the mountain. No big deal, just a afternoon mountain shower, it will pass soon. So I kept climbing, up past mid mountain it began to get a little dicey, the wind changed and as I looked across the valley it was not good, I'm above 9,000ft and it's getting really dark, and it's starting to pour down rain. Time to bail, I start to head for the bottom when the cold front blows in, now I'm soaking wet, descending a mountain , and the air temp is about 30 degrees. Made it to bottom OK but it was tough with wet, frozen hands. Once I got to the condo I was treated to one of those post ride showers you take in the middle of the winter, you know, where your hands and feet sting because they were so cold. Brrrrrrr, took a few hours for my hands to finally warm back up.

Friday I chose something a bit less challenging. Curly and I were ripping it up before he bounced me off. After we were done and the rest of the crew got done ripping up the Alpine Slide I went for a ride down in town on Emerald Mountain. Pretty sweet low altitude trails. I'll have to go back next time I'm in Steamboat for more exploring.

No trip would be complete without a fishing expedition to Dumont Lake. Didn't catch anything but it was nice to be out with the boys where the loudest thing you hear is the sound of Curly's voice.

Stopped off in Denver to pick up a Honda Odessey Van that was Mathgeeks fathers. We are going to keep the van as part of the estate settlement but her brother drove it out to Denver first with some of the things he wanted to keep. Problem is........while it was parked in Denver they had a hailstorm. Not just a small storm, no, more of the epic variety, the poor van now has more dimples in it than a golf ball. Oh well, at least it was insured.

We saw the above sculpture near a coffee shop in Denver, much needed coffee for the rest of the drive home.

So we got back last night around 8:30, and today school starts. Where has the summer gone?

Revised Points from Tue crit

Here's what I have for the finish according to various sources..........most who wish to remain anonymous.

1. Shadd Smith
2. Paul Fancher
3. Phil Mann
4. John Sieczkowski
5. unknown

Total Points as of 8/11/09

Shadd Smith 87
David Hejduk 31
Phil Gronniger 27
Brian Bradley 20
Mark Cole 19
Brian Jensen 17
Tom Price 17
Chris Hall 11
Bill Marshall 11
Joe Schmalz 10
Adam Mills 9
Adam Miller 7
Stefan Rothe 6
Matt Ankeney 4
Nick Coil 4
Jason Knight 4
Lawrence Simonson 3
Steve Songer 3
Lyle Reynolds 3
Marlin ? 3
Paul Fancher 3
John Sieczkowski 3
Phil Mann 3
Andy Lucas 2
John Pahlman 2
Jeff Winkler 2
Patrick Angell 1
Jeremy Pych 1
Andrew Coe 1
Doug Plummer 1

Tue Crit and misc pics

Tonight's crowd at the crit was much smaller than most of the summer. That's not much of a surprise since quite a few people end their road season with the Tour of KC. Strange since there are a few good weekends on the road left. Sedalia and The Gateway Cup races come to mind among a few others. For me these last few crits are a chance to bring the form back after a slow July. Cross is definitely on the horizon but there are a few more Road/MTB events to do before then.

I'm not quite sure what to do about the points for tonight's race. Chris was so busy watching the sprint that he missed the rest of the places. Since I don't have most of the places I think I'll just not score tonights points. If you have the actual places let me know and I'll do the points.
















Another win for the Kelly Benefits team on the new Fisher carbon bike. Very cool!
















Then there's Lance winning the Colorado State Champs. Pretty cool bike, new SRAM XX parts on the TREK frame. Too bad it's not a 29'er! Pirated this picture from MTB Shadd's blog. He was out there ripping up the mountians too, 2nd in the Cat 1's.

On that note...........the mountains of Colorado are calling me.............and I'm going to answer.

Tour of KC, Part 2

One of these days I've got to try the pace car gig. These two sure looked like they were having fun!

The course changed direction this year and at first I was worried, but it turned out to be a good change.

Steve and Andy blasting into the turn on a typical blazing hot tour of KC afternoon.

Cat 3's on the line! Scott mentioned that the 3's made it through Saturdays race with no crashes. So today they made up for it and crashed a bunch! Looked like the 4's were a bit gravitationally challenged as well.

Scott and Chet were both in the 3's race and were in good position going into the last lap but a crash put them back too far for a good place.

As for me, the weekend was good and bad. Saturday I just wasn't ready to race and even though I had good position with a half lap to go but just wasn't motivated to finish strong. Today was better, made the break of 5 and hung on for the rest of the race to finish 5th. The form is not as bad as I though it was and I know what's slowing me down. Nothing a week long vacation in Colorado won't cure.

Since the last post...... Crit points

Now that the trips to Lincoln are over it's time to get cracking on dealing with all of the stuff we brought back. Started planning to build some shelves in a few places to up the storage space. I still have not put the floor down in the living room/dining room so I'll add it
to the list. In the mean time I had a few days solo with Curly as Mathgeek was off at scout camp with Pinky. That's how you end up with a pic of Curly in Cookout heaven. Kids sure love smores!










Right after Mathgeek and Pinkey returned from camp my Dad and Carolyn arrived. Nice to be able to spend a few days with them before they return to Orlando. Really good timing considering recent events.
















While my dad was here he bought a remembrance tree for Mathgeeks parents. We got a stone that has writing that you can't read in the picture. A few bags of chip and it will look really nice. Yep.....chips, add that to the list.















I did get out for a ride with the 360 boys last weekend. Good ride but I was a little out of place without a matching kit. Then again there was one other oddball in the group, missed the memo Walt?

Then there's this..........I'm just not sure what to say. Dean did the Gardner TT on a fixed gear last week. Pretty sweet ride and look at that chainline!


Tuesday KC Crit results:

1. Shadd Smith


2. David Hedjuk


3. Steve Songer


4. John Pahlman


5. Mark Cole

Points total as of 8/4/09:
Shadd Smith 82
David Hejduk 31
Phil Gronniger 27
Brian Bradley 20
Mark Cole 19
Brian Jensen 17
Tom Price 17
Chris Hall 11
Bill Marshall 11
Joe Schmalz 10
Adam Mills 9
Adam Miller 7
Stefan Rothe 5
Matt Ankeney 4
Nick Coil 4
Jason Knight 4
Lawrence Simonson 3
Steve Songer 3
Lyle Reynolds 2
Marlin ? 2
Paul Fancher 2
Andy Lucas 2
John Pahlman 2
Patrick Angell 1
Jeff Winkler 1
Jeremy Pych 1
Andrew Coe 1
John Sieczkowski 1
Doug Plummer 1