Revised scan post

Scan says I do have a.............................brain. Sorry for the partial post. I had just left the doctors office and I was in a hurry to get back to the shop when I hit the wrong button on my phone. The bottom line of all the tests is that I am not going to blow a gasket in my brain. There is a blockage in my sinuses and another issue with my ear. After consulting with a ENT specialist my doc prescribed a pretty powerful cocktail of drugs that should take care of the problem. We will see if it works in 14 days.

Right now we are in Lincoln to hang out with some friends and check out the cross races. I'm taking the weekend off from racing to let my body heal, on top of the head issues I've got a slight AC joint separation and a slight tear in a tendon behind my knee. Right now it's cold and I'm working up the motivation to get out and ride on the road. More from the races later.

Looking for answers.......

USGP Ft Collins

What would a trip across Western Kansas be without a picture of the wind turbine farm. The fact that when the blade went to the top it would be obscured by the low cloud deck gave us a clue as to what the weather would be like for the trip. Hit a little rain on the way but the real clue was the falling temps.

We arrived at the venue in plenty of time to get our spot for the trailer and get the tents up before the course opened up. We had a prime spot where the course went right by the tent and the pit was just on the other side. Sure makes shuttling bikes much easier. The pre -ride had me a little worried. With a bit of snow on the course and a prediction of above freezing temps it was going to get muddy. The other issue was the climbing, lots of climbing. We got out on the course and got some laps in and then a few of us decided to ride back to our host house. Pretty amusing ride. With sunlight fading we rode off with sketchy directions...........and each one of us thought the other had a phone, DUH! Naturally we got lost and ended up begging a high school girl to use her phone to call Logan for directions.

Saturday arrived and we found the course to be loaded with frozen ruts and with the rising temps, a bit of slimy mud on top. Just like the Louisville USGP I was going into the weekend hoping for a miracle. The knee was better but a bout with vertigo/head pain the past week had kept me off the bike and on the bed/couch for a week. Warming up I was pretty flat and just had a hard time getting the legs going. After a good start I was running in the top 5 when I got cross rutted and went sailing over the bars and through the tape. Hit my head and was pretty dazed but I also jacked up my knee and shoulder......again. It took a lap to get back up to speed but I worked my way back into the top 5 before crashing again. Trying to make up time on the leaders when the course is muddy, rutted, and frozen is rough and I think I fell 6 times, hard to tell, it's difficult to keep count after a while. By the last lap I had worked my way back to the front of the race and passed 3 guys at once to slide into 3rd, only to fall near the end of the lap and give the positions back. Ended up 6th and feeling pretty rough. A little fuzzy in the head, a knee that wouldn't straighten, and another shoulder injury. Then it was time to get to work for the rest of team in the pits and prepping bikes.














Shadd on the course Sunday.

Sunday, for me the day dawned with a killer headache, a really sore shoulder, and a improving knee. The organizers had made some changes to the course and as I pre-rode it seemed to suit my riding style a little better than Saturdays course. More of a bike handlers course that rewarded line selection. Off the start I slotted in 6th or 7th coming off the pavement. In the first turn the the leader crashed and took out 2nd place. A few turns later the new leader fell and slowed the other riders ahead of me so I jumped and got into the lead. From there on out I just focused on riding smooth as I knew I couldn't afford to fall on my shoulder. With just one slow speed crash and consistent lap times I managed to pull away for the win. It's nice to win and I needed it. I had dropped to 3rd in the overall series after Saturdays race and the win put me back in 2nd.














After my race it was time to get to work and get the guys ready for the 35+ race. We had 5 riders in the race I figured it was going to busy in the pits. As it turned out we didn't have much action as the race as course conditions had improved. The race itself was pretty fun to watch. From the pits we could see that Shadd was battling for a spot in the top five for most of the race and in the last 2 laps was catching 3rd place. In the last lap the battle was on for 3rd place and with a well planned attack Shadd rode away to take the place!

Shadd standing on the podium with a current and former National Champions, could this be the year?

Unfortunately, the weekend ended up on a bit of a bummer note. In the Elite/U-23 race Joe crashed and hit his head hard. Pretty scary moment and the decision to take the ambulance ride to the hospital was a good one. In the end in was determined that he had a serious concussion but was able to travel back with us.

Overall the weekend was a success for the whole team. The riders rode well in challenging conditions and everybody pitched in help when it was needed. I really have to thank my teammate Logan. He's off the bike after hand surgery but he was the go to guy for everything. In the muddy conditions he was our key guy getting bikes washed and ready for the next exchange so I could focus on keeping track of the riders. On top of all the work he did for the team he also let us set up camp at his house for the weekend. I can't tell you how nice it is to be able to have the whole crew in the same place where we can cook, hang out, and generally do whatever we want.

Last but not least. I want to say thanks to all of the former and present folks from Neb/Kansas who were out cheering at the races. I had a great time catching up with all the folks that have moved to the Denver/Ft Collins area. It race had a bit a hometown feel to it with all of the familiar voices in the crowd.

So now it's a week off to heal and then Jingle Cross, Portland, and Nationals!

Busted again!

Poor Andy Schleck, this is the 2nd time he's been caught looking. Oh to be young and dumb!

USGP this weekend in Ft Collins. At this point I'm still going but I'm not sure why. Good news is it's not the knee, bad news is that it's something else. Hope to find out more today.

Back to the doc

Another day, another doctor! The way this weeks been going for me you would of thought it was me in the doctors office. Instead it was JoBro's turn. The kid got pinkeye that just would not go away, then the incident with the door, then he had a vision test at school that showed something wrong in his eye. After a few tests we found out that there was no major damage but a viral infection that is clouding his vision. Should be easy to cure and that's quite a relief to us.

Other than that it's been a boring week, still injured this week so no racing this weekend. Looks like I'll be hanging out at the Cub Scout picnic tomorrow. At least it's at Swope so maybe JoBro and I can can get a lap or two during the day.

USGP Ft Collins Flyover

Check that out! Yes, you can ride this flyover and hang out Ft Collins. In 2 weeks the rolling road show that is the USGP comes to Ft Collins CO. Don't miss you chance to check it out!

The flyover for the Ft.Collins USGP is complete. It looks like it will be much easier to deal with than the "Green Monster" at the Louisville USGP. More stairs will make it much easier on the knee for this old man. I saw a video of the venue and it looks a lot like the KC nationals the 2nd year. Kind of on a hillside so there will be lots of elevation change. I bet it will be very interesting if it snows.

Boss Cross 3 & Cross Bikes and wheels for sale

What to say about Boss Cross 3. Let's just say that the day started off bad when JoBro came home from a sleepover with a bright red line running down the side of his face. Seems his accidents are continuing. He was playing swat teams at a sleepover and was on the wrong side of a door when his buddies kicked the door. Ouch! Came home with his face swelling and tears in the eyes. I was a bit worried when he said he was a bit dizzy so no cross racing for him today. After a bit of indecision the whole clan piled into the van and headed to the races.

Got to the venue, got set up, and pre rode the course. Once again Jeremy and Joe produced a very balanced course that was going to be pretty fun. Only problem for me was the 2 long sand pit runs, that was going to be hard on the knee. I made my way over to the start area along with all the other Open and cat 3 riders and eventually got on the narrow start line in the front row. That is until a group of riders rolled up and placed themselves in front of the front row. Now I'm in the 2nd row behind a known slow starter. Time for a could of/should of......... I think I was tied for 3rd in the series so I could of parked myself in front row and moved somebody back but that's not how I work. So the start goes and as expected I'm way back in the field. I can see the fast guys at the front and if I can't get there quick they will be gone. I tried a few aggressive moves(sorry Doug), but all that did was bring on a crash in a corner. So with the chain off and the shifter broken it was time to call it a day. Frustrating.

I saw a quote in a magazine from Cadel Evans that made me think. Talking about what he learned in his last season with Davitamon-Lotto he said,"Be a little more selfish, and look after myself. I wouldn't apply that to life itself but when there are people around you trying to take advantage of you, it's how you have to be." The past 2 weeks have sucked and it's time to take care of myself.

On a better note I've got some cyclocross equipment to sell at a great price! Actually I have one road bike in there as well but it's all like new stuff.















Bontrager Carbon Aero Wheelset. Barely ridden, I got these from a buddy and only rode them once. Here's the specs; Bontrager Carbon Aero wheelset, Challenge Grifo Tubular tires, SRAM 12-26 cassette. Ready to roll, $650.00















Two matching X-O2's
















The only difference between the two is the updated Bontrager fork on one.

Here's the story on these bikes. I rode the frames for 2 cross seasons and they hung on the hook in the garage all summer. Stripped the bikes down to bare frames and then rebuilt them with brand new Bontrager forks, and all of the parts off of my new Scott bikes. What you have is used frames that are in excellent shape with a brand new, unused, parts.

The build kit goes like this: SRP Brakes, Shimano Ultegra Shifters/Ders, FSA Gossamer Cranks, DT Swiss Wheels, Scott bar/stem/saddle, Thompson Seatpost, Schwalbe Tires, Bontrager Forks.

Both frames are 56cm.

$950.00,

Fisher Arc Pro, Bontrager Race Lite wheels, SRAM Rival cranks, shifters, ders, brakes, Bontrager bars, stem, seatpost, and saddle. This one is a 55cm frame. $950.00

If you know anybody that would be interested give me a shout on the blog or e-mail @ twp521@everestkc.net.