Big Shark West

i am pleased to announce that i will be working at the new Big Shark Bicycle WEST location in CHESTERFIELD VALLEY. the doors will open within days on airport road and i'm pleased as punch about that. there will also be a Big Shark URBAN store opening in the downtown area, at 10th and Locust, so keep your eyes peeled for that exciting venture as well.

i would guess that some of you remember when i announced that i would be working for another store that used to be in the valley a number of years ago. that adventure had it's ups and downs, but i wouldn't trade that experience for the world, as i think it really focused my career in the bike biz.

mike (the owner and mastermind behind big shark) and i go way back to the touring cyclist days. then i worked for him at 'big shark one' from 1995 to 1997, 'big shark two' from 1997 to 2003, and 'big shark three', the current delmar location, from 2003 until 2006. i started working part time at the delmar store again in 2010 while i was playing more mr. mom.

i'm proud of my association with big shark, and i'm glad i will be able to work with a bunch of customers that i now call friends in chesterfield again.

attack of the snow balls

this is what i saw at the back door last night. almost like an abominable snow yorkie.
this happens every time his fur is long and the snow is heavy. it balls up on his legs.
i had to take him to the bathroom and rinse them off. it was very dense stuff. he's outside right now so i imagine i'll be doing the same thing in a few minutes.

baller mtb ride

my flash is faster, sheriff rosco.

not really. but, i did get out to castlewood this morning before the rain hit. i did 4 big laps of the 2009 race course. i just love that route. two hours total, and i sort of buried myself. i'm loving the flash, too. it handles like a dream, and even though it's a 29'er it's the lightest mtb i've ever owned.

god, i love mountain biking.

volleyball for the princess

the girls huddle with the coaches for a few words of encouragement.
hanna was a line judge for a couple of the games.

it was a tough tournament. the girls didn't seem to find their game at all. there was one game out of eight that they seemed to come on line, but then it went south again. this is the first year for all of them, so it's going to take some time and commitment. i felt for them.

a dog's life

while rocky was away having his kidney stones removed (for the third time), rosco was really beside himself. he was exhibiting separation anxiety and he was moping around like he had just lost his best friend. i felt so sorry for him. he perked right up when rocky came strolling in the front door the other night. dogs aren't very much different from people, you know.

south loop

i did one of my favorite rides today, the old "sunset south" loop. it has a lot of killer little climbs, especially those on weber hill road, heintz road and christopher. seemed like a perfect day to get out, too. i was beaten down a bit by the combination of the wind and the hills, though.

on the way back home, i passed "orange-t-shirt-no-helmet" guy. he was spinning the cranks furiously on his specialized road bike whilst blazing down telegraph, blowing stop lights. i detoured through sylvan springs and jefferson barracks, and came back out on broadway...sure enough, i saw orange-t-shirt-no-helmet guy again. again i passed him as he was still blowing stop lights. i thought i might say something to him, but i decided to make it a preach-free day and mind my own business. it was too nice of a day and i was in too good of a mood.

my legs are a little wobbly, so it must have been a good ride.

a trip to nevada

the beautiful mrs k took me along with her on a business meeting to las vegas this past week. we actually stayed in henderson, nevada, which is a lot less 'vegas' than las vegas proper. the hotel was spectacular.
cool "beach" that led into the pool.
walkway over the upper section of the pool.
more of the outdoor area. on the left is the fitness center, which we visited. it was deluxe.
i rented a really nice carbon giant road bike and headed out three days in a row. this was one of my trips on the river mountains trail loop, a 35 mile asphalt path that runs alongside lake mead for quite a ways.
the asphalt trail was no joke. four mile climbs, plus these 20% gut busters. there were two sections of switchbacks that were every bit as tight as off-road switchbacks. imagine the forest park trail on steroids, then multiply it by six. the trail was totally manicured, with middle striping that mimicked a regular road.
the trail went under one of the highway crossings via this corrugated metal tunnel. there were five or six tunnels along the way.
again the path, this time looking out over mead. the solid yellow line meant "do not pass", because although the photo doesn't show it, this was quite steep downhill. i really had to be on the brakes in these corners.
a ravine cut by rain water just off the trail.
the river mountains are riddled with mines. i thought this abandoned mine was a cool shot.
i love the desert. the scenery is always so dramatic.

all told, i spent about 8 hours on the bike over three days. not nearly what the good riders do, but i'll take it for march. thanks for the mini-vacation, honey!

three peas in a pod

eli seems to be saying "seriously?"
i think tyson is trying to figure out if the cookie is made of gold.
hanna is practicing her new modeling smiles.