more bike racing, gateway cup part three

the hill. the giro. it's always been THE race for me. never because i've won it or anything like that. i came in third in 1995, i think. it's THE race because everyone i know is always there. before i had a family, i would always arrive hours before my race so that i could see and talk to all the people. the crowds are awesome. the neighborhood is totally south city, and south city is really in my heart. since my family has grown, so has my crowd. i have more people rooting for me than anyone else out there. i'm sure it annoys some of the fast guys out there, and probably some of the slower guys like me, but it's the only reason i keep going as hard as i can the whole race to finish 75th place. it's just magic.


hanna and tyson are just soaking in the whole weekend of racing. they were just as serious today as they were friday night. they typically do very well at the hill, and having cousins in the races today was a big bonus. this is the obligatory alley photo, since the poor kids have to be corralled in the tight alley awaiting their call up to race.

cousin max was serious about racing today. he was sporting a thf racing jersey and those disco green pants. i think his success can be attributed to the green pants. he was one of the only older kids on a single speed bmx bike, and he spun that thing out halfway down the hill. next year, watch out.

hanna was cool as a cucumber on the line today. it was all girls again. they don't let us hold the kids anymore, but hanna and tyson have their standing start technique dialed. no need for dad or mom to hold. isn't she beautiful?? and such a stylish kit, too!

the beautiful mrs k, giving tyson his motivation speech. not like he needed it. he was focused on his race and had his gear selection down pat. another stylish kit!

since i couldn't be two places at once, i didn't see the finish, but i could be pretty sure she smoked in for another win. mcd shot this photo for us as she neared the line. if you blow it up, you can see that she actually has her eyes closed. she's probably dreaming about the endorsement contracts. a woman from the post dispatch interviewed her after the race, so we'll be looking for a story on the bike race in the coming days in the paper.

tyson had a great start, too, and hoofed it all the way down. he got another second place, getting nipped at the line by another strong rider. he's got a string of seconds going for the gateway cup weekend, so we're betting he's got something up his sleeve for the last day. thanks mcd, for the photo.

proof i was racing. if you blow this up, you can pretty much tell i am hurting here. i have to tell you, i suffered more this year than i did last. i spent a lot of time in the back half of the race, and it's no picnic back there. no one ever said racing was a picnic, though.

thf did win the race, despite my anonymous performance. colby took a flier and you can see in this mcd photo that he built a nice gap. dan sprinted against henk vogels for third. all in all, a great couple of days for thf...1st friday, 2nd saturday, 1st and 3rd sunday!

hanna held the little general tonight until he fell asleep on her shoulder. what a precious little duo those two are. he calls her sissy, just like me and my brother called our older sister sissy. eli didn't race today. he just woke up from his nap when we whisked him off to the hill, and he never got interested.

day three, in the books.