Why Do JUST ONE THING?

 Trying a little bit of THIS

And a lot of THAT

Oh how they GROW

 

Gen 2008 Super Star

Gen 2022 Super Star

An obvious resemblance, don't you think?

Now THAT'S Progress!

 

HOW IT STARTED

HOW IT'S GOING

Going through old blog posts and I just couldn't resist!

Sometimes, We Live in a Hallmark Movie

 

Often, we look around at the area we live in and it feels like we live in a Hallmark movie. Not necessarily Affton, but the near-South City area.  Beautiful parks, bike paths, Frozen Custard stands, etc. Anyone who has ever lived in the Francis Park area can testify to the Hallmark-ish feeling around Candy Cane Lane. Tonight, the Beautiful Mrs. K talked Eli and I into going to Francis Park for the Christmas Tree lighting. The park has done it every year for like 33 years. There were hundreds of people there. Not one of them asked Eli if he was wearing pajama pants.

Hundreds. Old and young. Lots of kids running around, free hot chocolate, Santa and Mrs. Claus, the St. Louis City Mayor, Fred Bird and the Blues mascot (can't remember his name).  It was quite a scene. Eli and I were taking bets on which kid was going to do a faceplant into the mud puddle that was really close to the tree. Sadly, not one of them obliged. But the tree lighting was pretty spectacular, so we had that going for us.

I'm a Bad Blogger, But I Make the Effort

 

We have had very little time to breathe lately. Work, events, races, travel, etc. have put us onto the back foot for weeks on end. Things seem to be normalizing as the season winds down, and the weather and daylight go south. The Beautiful Mrs. K has worked tirelessly on keeping the Girls Night Out (GNO) rides rolling every Thursday, and they came to an end this past week. We're very thankful for all of the riders who've come out to enjoy the exercise, the weather, and the camaraderie (as well as the drinks!) with us each Thursday. Already looking forward to next year.

My faraway child Hanna has taken it upon herself to run a half-marathon in December. As I've said before, she does not play around with the fitness. She's either in the gym or on a run. The Beautiful Mrs. K and I are going down to Dallas to cheer her on. So exciting!

Eli wrapped up NICA season two weekends ago in Springfield. Super solid performances at every race in the 5-race series saw him on the podium 4 times. 

He managed 5th for the entire series in points in the Varsity class. That's a lot of progress and growth in just a year. I guess I'll have to race him in Cat 1 local races in 2023. I doubt he will take it easy on me.

Although I'm not one of the top riders in our area anymore, I don't intend to roll over and die. I raced today at Sylvan Springs in another CX race and pulled out a win. Very tough course, I thought, with wicked-leafy turns and no place to really open up.  But I did work on my tan.

Eli raced today, too.  In fact, he did two races.  He did the juniors race, and an hour later he did the Cat 4-5 race. He was on an actual cyclocross bike, as he flat out said last time he didn't want to ride Green Goblin (official name of the Green Sheet Bike). He actually won both! However....

It was not without extreme effort, as he collapsed after crossing the finish. He started the 4-5 race with his usual verve, and built a bit of a lead by the end of lap 1. Riding super solid laps, he was eventually joined by a big strong dude who made Eli WORK to stay ahead.  It came down to the last of 6 laps but Eli won by a couple of seconds.

After helping him sit up, he admitted that this was the deepest he'd gone yet in cycling. You can see here that I'm telling him dad jokes and promising him ice cream later. 

We wrangled the top three finishers from the 4-5 race to the podium for a pic. Worthy competitors, for sure. Collin was the 2nd place guy and certainly a powerhouse! 3rd place was none other than Mr. Beauvais, who has become quite a solid CX racer and has always been an awesome dude. I had to apologize for Eli, who, standing next to Mr. Beauvais on the starting line stated: "There sure are a lot of old guys in this race!"  Sorry again, Jay. He calls me old, too.

After the race, we got Fortel's pizza. And while I was busy cleaning the mud off of the CX bikes, Mrs. K finally was able to take off her cheerleaders outfit that she so dutifully wears at all of the races and put on her cycling kit. She got together with her crew for a fast and furious ride of their own. 

And yes.  Later, we got ice cream.