Crazy Hair Day at Eli's School

The kids have all kinds of cool special days at school these days.  Today was Crazy Hair day for Eli.  The beautiful Mrs. K did his hair up all wild and crazy-like.  I was impressed.

Sylvan Springs Bubba Cyclocross Race

Thanks to Mike Dawson for the great photo!

I have raced at Sylvan Springs 3 times now, twice last year and once this past Sunday.  I love that place.  The elevation change in that little park makes for some fun races and very interesting courses. 

I'd say this past Sunday was the best course yet.  Hard, yes.  But fun and challenging as well.

And, I pretty much sucked.  I finished 12th out of 25 guys.  I felt like I was going pretty well, but I just couldn't crack the top ten.  But as I always say: It's better to look marvelous than it is to feel marvelous! 

Alright!  Gateway Cross Cup is Sunday and there is a masters class there.  It will be a hard masters class, but at least it will be all old guys and I can see what it's like to race a big 'cross race.

Onward and upward!

Rex and my Pillow

Not sure why he has a bandana on.  That aside, every time I walk into my bedroom, Rex is on my small pillow.  He must like the way I smell.  Hmmm, is that a good thing?

Kids make Halloween more fun

Harry Potter and his beautiful sidekick at a Halloween thing with Chilli.  What more could someone want?

Simpson Park Cyclocross: Chip Asher Photos

 My long time friend and riding partner is also a pretty good photographer.  He wasted his Sunday last week at Simpson Park, taking photos of the A race.  First photo above, and you can see me foolishly sprinting out in the front of the big field of riders.  I will pay for that later. (Right-click on the photos and open in a new tab if you want to see them full-size!)

 Still in the lead, my long time peer and fellow mountain bike rider Sam Moore and I are kicking it!

 Later in the race, I'm no longer in the lead.  But doesn't that Gateway Cycling kit look great with the fall colors??

 Struggling to stay fast on the asphalt.  I can see Rock Wamsley back there, and he is going to pass me.

 Battling it out over the barriers with Matt Davidson.  The whole race I was saying "I can't be beat by a triathlete!" and he was saying "I can't get beat by a mountain biker!"

 I included this one because if you look closely, you can see my body is in mid-air.  Great shot!

And I am glad that's over!  9th place and that's all, folks! Thanks for the great photos.

Car Watching: 1969 Chevrolet Camaro SS

It's hard not to like this car.  I mean, it's a piece of automotive history.  This first generation of Camaro has gathered more followers than any other model.  The SS 396 was a real beast, too.  This one was being trailered through Missouri to some unknown destination.  It was in fantastic shape.  Only a true Camaro freak would be able to tell what is concourse correct and what is not, but to my untrained eye, it was perfect.

Car Watching: Lotus Exige

 Car watching in Chesterfield is always exciting.  This little beauty has always attracted me.

It's a Lotus Exige, although I know there are specific models and this one might be something other than strictly an Exige.    The interior is pretty cool, but I didn't feel like I could stick my camera in there without incurring the wrath of the owner.

Bubba Cyclocross at Simpson

Thanks again to Mike Dawson for the fine photos!

The Bubba series started Sunday at the fine little place in Valley Park known as Simpson Park.  I didn't have high hopes because frankly, the course was too fast for my skill set, especially since the Bubba races are Open and not masters.  But after 9 or 10 laps (I have no idea how many laps we did) my attitude had changed.  The dusty switchback corners had become more treacherous and bike handling did come into play enough to make my race pretty solid.  I ended up 9th out of 25.  Not exactly dicing it out for the win, but I did get to spar with some good guys along the way.

And afterward, there was no resting allowed.  I had promised Eli that I would take him to the little skate park in Webster.  So off we went, two boys and their BMX bikes.  As tired as I was, it was pretty fun.  Eli is getting much better on his bike and he was having fun.  It was cool to play around on the various boxes and ramps and such.  All around, a great day!

Car Watching: Porsche Turbo

Strolling over to get some coffee in a clear cup, I happened upon this gem.  Yes, it's the Turbo.

Car Watching: Viper

 I was talking on the phone when this drove up the other day.  I handed my cell to a trusty, bearded coworker and told him to snap some shots for me.  This is a relatively modern Dodge Viper.  I think the drop top versions used to be called RT/10's, but I don't know that to be the case anymore.

 The rear is not nearly as cool as the profile photo.

This car "shines" in profile.  It screams FAST.

October 13: Remembering Rudy and Rosco

 Rudy was born on October 13, 1998.  Such a soft hearted little guy.  He loved other dogs,  he loved to chew on things, and he loved sleep.  If he was happy to see you, he would sit on his hind legs and wave a front paw at you and make this long growling noise.  Rudy lived to be a robust 9 years old.

Rosco died one year today, at the ripe old age of 13.  For most of his eventful life, he soaked it all in every day.  Up before dawn, up a couple times during the night, chasing squirrels and rabbit, barking at the wind, getting into the trash...you get the picture.  The dog with the largest ear-length to body-length ratio in history is still on my mind every day.

Pedal the Cause

 Pedal the Cause is one of Big Shark's biggest events of the year....and we put on a lot of events.  It doesn't happen without lots of help and lots of volunteers.  After my 'cross race today, I met the clean up crew for the event downtown.  You would not believe how much stuff there is.  And I'm just talking about our stuff, let alone all of the other vendors and organizations that attend the event.  This is a photo of our Sprinter van after a couple of hours of clean up.  Those are folding tables stacked on top of two "coffin like" boxes.  There are two of those boxes, about three feet wide by six feet long.  With metal bike rack poles inside of them, we estimated them to be between 400 and 500 pounds each.  Yep, it was all loaded by hand.  Hats off to the Big Shark crew.  Oh...and there were many other vehicles chocked full of things, not the least of which was the start/finish structure...and we took that down, too.

Eli was having a grand old time with this weekend.  Yesterday, he did the kids event to raise money for PTC.  And today, he was a dynamo as he helped us tear down.  In the background, you can see the beautiful Mrs. K talking to cousin Max, as he helped with the heavy lifting tonight, too.

Gordon Moore Superprestige CX Race

 Thanks again to Mike Dawson for the great photos!

I absolutely love racing the Superprestige CX races put on by Wild Trak Bikes.  This year I missed the first race, but did La Vista and caught the final race at Gordon Moore today.  Since I have been doing so well in the Masters races lately, I felt big in my britches today and went out on a mission.  The GM course suits me the least out of the Alton courses, with it's long, fast straights and easy turns.  I did get to bunnyhop another barrier every lap again this week, so there's that to be happy with.  I fought it out with two fast guys and never quite shook them off.  I shouldn't have raced like that.  Too much leading, too many small attacks that didn't get me anywhere, and underestimating the other riders' strengths.  I ended up second.

Onward and upward.

DeTomaso Pantera, right before my eyes

 It's not every day that I get to see a Pantera.  In fact, I don't know if I have ever seen one outside of a car show.  On this day at work, an extremely fine example parked right in front of the store.  It was a beauty.

The rear view is my favorite.  In person, the car is so flat, so wide, and the dual twin exhaust tips rise so dramatically from the underside that it looks like a caricature of a super car.  I was excited about it for the rest of the day.

Tyson and the Masi

Even though Tyson is a very good mountain biker, he seems to have a thing for road bikes.  After he rode his first Junior Criterium, he's been wanting one.  Not in the budget, but with a generous gesture from friends Tyson is riding a very storied bike.  Thank you, he loves it.