finally, wheels built

the flash did crazy things to the white decals on the rol race sl wheels. i finally got the rear wheel built using my new wireless powertap. the wheels are beautiful black, and i have no wires!

hannamania

for the first time in a couple of years, i took off work to go to a school function at hanna's school. i miss out on a lot of cool stuff because she lives out of town and i work weekdays. well, today was lunch with the parents, and i couldn't pass up cafeteria spaghetti.

hanna was so happy to see me, which gave me this extremely warm, fuzzy feeling. it's so fun to see her in her school environment. she's such the popular girl. we finished up a project in class (she suggested i draw a bike on construction paper and cut it out for the "town of the future" project they were doing) and rushed to the lunch room to beat the crowds. it was funny standing in line, getting junior sized plates, telling the nice ladies behind the counter what we wanted. not that there was much choice. spaghetti? yes. corn? sure. fruit cocktail or peaches? ummm... roll? yes! chocolate milk, white milk, or water? chocolate milk, of course! it really took me back.

after lunch, we played in the gym a little. since she's off school tomorrow, i decided that she should just come home with me. i'd just have to turn around and get her tomorrow anyway. she was soooo excited. so was i. we listened to disney rocks on the way home, ate pizza for dinner, and read a goosebumps book before bed.

time to come clean

it's not like i forgot to post a synopsis of my race sunday. oh, no. i didn't forget. i couldn't. i am still pretty mad about it, but up until now, i was mad enough to pretend it didn't happen.

why? what makes it so important that it's such a sore subject? because i care.

i have had a great winter of training. i got torpedoed by pneumonia a month ago, and i've been struggling to get my level of fitness back with the bad weather. i had decided that the muddy conditions that were sure to be present sunday were no place to take my sorry butt. but my ego got the best of me and i said, what the hell, i'm racing.

first off let me say that i am still a rookie. i went pretty unprepared. we had the trivia night until late on saturday, and i just plain forgot gu and food and i didn't prep the old homegrown very well. actually, the old girl was performing very well. except...

i started hard because i didn't want to dice with guys in the mud. i wanted to get out there and pound my way through until i could get into a groove. dave breslin and i were at the front, with chris ploch behind us. we were going ok, i thought, until dave fell and chris passed me. i was hurtin'. i kept mashing the pedals through all that slow mud, but i got passed again by an out of town guy, then two drj guys. i was still in 5th and feeling pretty good about it. i wasn't happy, but i thought i could maintain the pace and, with it being a long race, i thought i could make up ground. i could still see 3rd and 4th right in front of me.

then i flatted. yes, a flat. i didn't put on the A team tires, i left the B team tires on that i had been on all winter. they were beat up, tears here and there, and i just didn't do it. add to the fact that i probably hit stuff that i shouldn't have hit because i was tired, and there you go.

i sat there for a minute, marveling at the fact that, even though i felt pretty damn bad, i was still going ok, and my own rookie behavior took me out. no one to blame but me. no one to blame but my muddy, tired, broken down bike riding self.

sigh.

so i cussed and spit and kicked for a little while, then rode my bent crossmax wheel with the nearly bald tire on a flat about 2 miles on the paved path back to the start finish area and straight to the car.

there. i came clean. i'm a rookie. an angry 41 year old expert rookie. all the more reason to win one of these mountain bike races this year. the best reason i can think of.

driving in the snow

by now we've all been beaten to death by the 'round the clock coverage of the little winter storm we got today. besides driving my suicidal tendencies closer to the surface, the snow served to point out a very basic fact...

driving in the snow is rocket science for most st. louisans.

that's not to say that i believe that i am any type of good driver. anyone who witnessed my wedding day folly will attest to my own driving issues. but, after sitting in traffic for 2 and a half hours today on the way to work, i sure as hell think i'm better than these jokers.

facts:

1. snow will make drivers of every other type of vehicle very familiar with mustangs and camaros.

2. if you are sitting in traffic behind a long line of cars, the cause of your wait will make you a believer in fact #1.

3. suv's with 4wd/awd are very adept at going forward in snow.

4. the laws of physics still apply and cannot be repealed for drivers in suv's.

5. suv drivers sliding into other cars or careening into ditches wish that fact #3 hadn't lulled them into a false sense of security causing them to forget about fact #4.

6. squinting does not improve visibility while driving a car with one gun slit chopped out of the ice on the windshield, removing more ice will.

7. if the car doesn't go forward when you give it gas, giving it more gas and sawing at the steering wheel like a lumberjack won't help matters. but, it will land you in the ditch faster.

8. 18 wheelers carrying tons of heavy equipment don't get up (or down!) the hills on hwy 40 very well.

9. traction control does not automatically make a car a great snow car. it controls traction, and to control traction you have to have SOME traction.

10. snow plows can't plow the snow from the road WHILE YOU ARE SITTING IN A TRAFFIC JAM, ON TOP OF THE ROAD THEY ARE TRYING TO PLOW.

i'm just a mean guy

when rosco gets excited, he runs for his little furry squeaky toy and starts chomping on it really hard. it squeaks and squeaks and he growls and comes right down to your feet to get you to play with him. eli thinks this is hilarious. so yesterday rosco gets all wound up because i'm tickling eli, so i got down on the ground and grabbed the squeaky toy with my mouth and began playing tug of war with him. eli goes crazy with laughter, and rosco it growling at me like mad. just as mrs k gets the camera, rosco stops cold. i knew that i must have yanked too hard...that always makes rosco pout, sort of like saying "hey, you're being too rough, dad!' so mrs k only got a shot of me consoling rosco...but eli was still laughing.

yeah, yeah...a cheap comic will do anything for a laugh. that's me.

it's always better to nap with a friend

since elijah hasn't slept much in the last, oh, month maybe, the rare morning that he does sleep in is a great morning indeed. the beautiful mrs k was snoring away yesterday and rosco kept digging in next to her. it was so cute, i had to take a photo. he sure can keep you warm, giving clarity to the age old term "three dog night." if there were three roscos, you'd have to turn the a/c on.

parents can be so cruel

i hate to say this, but i had such a great time laughing at poor little elijah yesterday. the little guy has a major temper. (he gets that from mrs k....really....) he was trying to put this batters helmet, while trying to keep these glasses on. well, the helmet would fall down in his face or off completely, and the glasses just don't fit his little head at all. he would start to cry, then he would throw a fit and fling the glasses. he'd try it again, and the glasses would come down over his mouth. then the hat would tip off onto the floor again. i was laughing and he would throw another tantrum.

i should have gotten it on film. nah, that would be too cruel.

trivia night

last night was the trivia event at the store. there were tons of people! it was pretty amazing.

i rode my bike out to the store, not wanting to lose the opportunity to get out in the nice weather. it was windy, but warm enough to not make much difference. it's the first time i had been outside in 3 or 4 WEEKS! the trainer is a nice tool, but it just doesn't translate into much strength, regardless of how hard i work.

anyway, the folks started filing in about 6:30. some of the ghisallo club members came to help set up, which was fun. all said, there must have been over a 100 people there! some tables (i won't mention which ones) brought enough food to feed an army. unbelievable. and even though i leave quite a bit to be desired as far as my microphone skills are concerned, i only messed up a few of the questions, and was only threatened with being stoned once. (sorry about that rest stop question...i didn't make up the questions, really!!)

we raised a lot of money for the athlete fund and had a blast doing it. it never ceases to amaze me when i see what kind of great crowd we have as customers and friends and family. thanks to all of you who came. we appreciate it.

cartoons in the morning

the boys got up early this morning and i found them watching playhouse disney. they were quiet as mice. maybe mickey was on.

man, oh man

this kid is even crabby when he's sleeping. he crashed into our room last night. he knows how to open closed doors, and he always swings them open really hard, bashing the door onto the stops. normally, it's at 1:30-2:00 in the a.m. it's quite a wake up call. last night, though, we were still awake at 11pm and he crabbed and shuffled over to me, so i picked him up. he crabbed and pointed at mommy on the bed, so i laid him down there and he crabbed himself into an almost sleep. he crabbed more until i went downstairs to get him some milk....and then he kept mrs k and i up most of the night....good thing i had intervals to do this morning. love doing those on 2-3 hours of sleep.

spring MUST be out there somewhere

the weathermen (and women, for the pc among you) say that the next couple of days will not be as bad as the last month has been. i'm hoping they're right. my seasonal depression is pegged right now. that little burst of sunshine this afternoon really put a spring in my step, though, and the promise of more is getting my attention.

my indoor workout tonight was a hard one. i think i'll be feeling it tomorrow when i do another hard workout...which i'll probably feel friday. maybe i'll just take some aspirin right now as sort of a preemptive strike.

mrs k is starting to think like a cyclist now. she's been checking out the race schedules and emailing the girls to see if she can get some teamwork for hillsboro. no sense in doing anything small, right? just jump in with both feet!

i wouldn't have expected anything less, to be honest. i don't guess she can be truly happy unless she is doing too much. why let anything like the half-marathon training get in your way of doing bike races? just do both!

oh, to be in 90 degree weather, on a dusty trail, sweating, thirsty, squinting through the bright sun, hoping for a breeze...that's what i'm talking about!

Orbea Occam

the simple answer is the best solution...all things being equal, of course. the orbea occam.

it has more travel than a cross country racing bike should have. 115mm in the rear with a travel adjust talas in the front (100/120/140) sounds much more like a marathon bike, but i'm not really worried about that. it still came in under 25 pounds with real tires and real parts, nothing to leave me stranded on the side of the trail.

and i really do love me some travel!

bike crisis solved, start to season iffy

i've figured out my off-road racing bike for this season, although i'm pretty sure my season won't start this weekend.

it's no surprise that i don't like cold, wet, or muddy conditions. primarily, i ride and race because it's fun, and i don't find those conditions fun. so with the month or so of crappy weather, it is highly doubtful in my mind that it could be anything but a slop fest. the five days of the freeze/thaw cycle that will ensue between now and then is not going to make a great course out of the muck, regardless of the amount of vigor and excitement that the race promoter will be pumping.

i've been an outstanding critic concerning the early start to the race seasons that we seem to push here in the st. louis area. there is so much good weather late in the fall, yet the road racing really comes to a halt after the gateway cup, and the mountain bike races usually end mid october...no wonder everyone is chomping at the bit to start racing in march when it's still winter and wintery. the cross races are proof to me that we stop racing other disciplines too soon...cross has thrived the last few years, and has enjoyed 4 to 5 weeks of fantastic weather most of those years as it moves into the late fall.

no one really listens to me, and i'm sure plenty of people don't care one way or another if it's cold or warm or wet or dry. that's understandable. but i've stopped feeling bad about it; no more guilt, no more worry, no pressure from those that say "you gotta race!" i've raced enough races in my life to know what gets my motor running, gets the juices flowing, gets my heart racing...and it's not what's being offered up this coming sunday.

dirty rental cars

a couple of weeks ago, my sister-in-law backed into the freestyle with her minivan. i've been reluctant to even say anything about it because i know how it is when you make a mistake with your car, and there is nothing to gain by making someone feel bad about it. even though her husband jim has been pushing me to make the most of this situation, i still don't believe in rubbing any salt in the wounds. the beautiful mrs k backed into her brother's car in the same driveway last year...it wasn't pretty. let's just blame the tight driveway and leave it at that.

so a dented door and fender meant that the freestyle once again had to go under the knife. you may recall last years trip to the body shop when a wayward man bashed the rear bumper whilst we were on our way to the movies. it seems the freestyle's body is a magnet for trouble. anyway, we dropped the star crossed minivan surrogate off at the body shop and went to enterprise to pick up a compact sedan to use during the rebuilding.

enterprise, although they may pick you up, doesn't clean up. as in clean up their cars. my rental was the stylish 2007 pontiac g6 four door gt. i've always liked the lines of the car; smooth, flowing, with tidy dimensions. after driving a couple of them, though, the gm of old comes through with fisher price interiors and turned me off. so, i wasn't expecting too much out of the silver rental. but, i got more than i expected. trash. dirt. the stench of cigarettes. no washer fluid. service engine soon light ablaze. only 28,000 miles, and it's kind of beat.

well, at least it doesn't cost much.

it is fun to drive, i think. it's got the 221hp 3.5 in it, so it gets out of the way quick. and it handles pretty good, although it has a healthy amount of torque steer. actually, i like driving it. i wouldn't want to live with it forever, but it's easy to overlook the cheap interior once underway.

now, if enterprise could just take care of their cars a little.....

a different kind of racing

i had decided wednesday or thursday that i really wasn't motivated to race in the cold and wet of columbia, but i left myself a little wiggle room just in case i changed my mind. my mind was made up for me on friday when i got ill again. very feverish, very weak, a little sick to my stomach...what, the flu again?? i hoped into bed for 12 hours or so friday night and i was much better on saturday.

but the beautiful mrs k had caught the bug (not the flu, the race bug) and questioned whether or not she could do the race. i was a little surprised, but i just said let's go, i'll be the director sportif and she could be the team.

so after olivia got to the house to be the little monster's foreman for the day, deanna and i hightailed it to the store to get her bike. i swapped on my rol wheels with durable tires (which turned out to be THE ticket today) and took her expensive, ultralight r-sys wheels off. no sense in getting those wheels wet when the rols can, well, roll along for a quarter of the money.

i put the freestyle into hyperdrive and hit columbia about 11:30. i dropped deanna off at the door for registration (she's a USCF woman now!) and i wedged the beast into a parking space so close to karl stover that he and i could swap grey poupon quite easily. i got the diva ready (deanna's bike, not deanna), gave it a test ride, set up the trainer, and pinned on the numbers.

mrs k was quite nervous. i told her i know the feeling, and have known it for 29 years. she said she was sick to her stomach with nervousness, and i told her i was so sick for my first race that i couldn't eat for a day. there were THIRTY FIVE (yes, 35) cat 4 women. wow. that rocked. i gave mrs k a good luck kiss and off she went.

i drove backward on the course to the halfway point. i was pretty wigged out by the whole thing, hoping she wouldn't get hurt or crash. she had her phone with her, and i had mine out on the dash just in case. as i was waiting, our friendly neighborhood trek rep flatted right in front of where i was parked. i told him to get in and get warm and play director sportif with me. we cheered all the people on and when the girls came along, we cheered harder. deanna was doing great, having dropped the back 2/3's of the field after getting dropped by the first 8 or 9 girls. she was pulling along the juniors and a couple of old guys. it was pretty funny to watch her grunt on the front while this big, 6-4 guy sat behind her.

this situation lasted until the outer road, where she grouped with more women and it seemed like she would take it to them on the hills. she had already given me an earful about being cold (i suggested the days clothing, my bad) so it didn't surprise me when she fell back a little. chattin and i hung out the window and heckled her to go faster, stopping short of given her professional assistance from the motor vehicle. i jammed back to the finish area to watch her cross the line in fine form. she was cold and pretty crabby, but she finished 16th out of the 35 women. not bad at all for a first race! i told her that it would have helped had she not ran the 8 miles the day before...silly runners, this is a bikers world!

great day, makes me think of my first road race at froze toes, 18 years ago! (not as cold, and believe it or not, about half the riders that she had!) i'm very proud of her.