Still Racing Bikes, in Case you Forgot

The Super Prestige Cyclocross races in Alton are always a nice treat at the end of the road and mountain bike race seasons. There are still a couple events, particularly some of the endurance mountain bike races, but for the most part the start cyclocross signifies the switching off of the others. There are usually 3 amazing courses in the Alton series, and then starts the Bubba Series in the St. Louis area. Today was my favorite in the series, Rock Springs Park. Very technical, with plenty of places to open up. Pretty climb heavy, too. Although Anthony D flat out crushed me, I felt awesome and held off a few fast guys for second place. 

I was by far the oldest man in the race, but I never think about that until afterward. They don't give out awards for the old guy that whines about being old, do they? Nope. Thanks to the Cyclery and Old Man Tom for putting these on year after year. Hopefully, I'll get to do my second favorite course next weekend, Belk Park.

 

Labor Day Weekend Carries Weight Around Here

 

Labor Day weekend has always meant a lot to us. Deanna and I were married on Labor Day weekend 19 years ago. And our kids LOVED the Gateway Cup races, each of them winning quite a few of those Build A Bears. (Aren't Tyson and Hanna just so darn cute??)

It's still a special weekend for us. This time around, we were extra lucky. Not only did our baby boy come back for a quick visit from North Carolina, but he raced the Francis Park crit on Saturday.

Not only that, but Hanna is here on loan from Dallas. She is threatening to come back to St. Louis to stay. (Great smiles from everyone except me. I was eating Cheetos. Even had the bag stuffed in my back pocket for the photo)

If she does, we will work on avoiding the dreaded Cat 5 marks. And we will absolutely have another ride leader for GNO!

And Oh My Gosh, don't they STILL look cute? Labor Day weekend will always bring out the best in our quirky and chaotic household.

Pictures are Enough

Rare Life Opportunities

 It’s hard for parents and their kids to share things. Different generations find different things interesting. Grievances or misunderstandings keep distance between mother and daughter, father and son. 

I’m so lucky that I’ve had little to keep myself and my kids from enjoying each other. They’ve kept me young and I’ve shown them a thing or two about old people. 

Obvious things: riding bikes. I’ve not pushed bikes or biking on my kids. They’ve all come to it in various ways on their own. They enjoy it in their way, and it makes me happy. 

Eli has taken on biking and bike racing a lot like I have, but he’s still different. In a good way, I’ve had the extremely rare experience of competing head to head with him over the last two years in mountain bike racing. Not many dads can say that. And some of our races have been ferocious. He’s won more of them, and I’m proud of him, 

Tonight we raced our first criterium together, and we raced as a team. He made an attack with two to go, hoping that if we caught him I could counter attack. It all went to plan except i ran out of talent. But damn, it was a bike racing dad’s dream. Such an awesome experience.

I’ve ridden bikes with Hanna and Tyson, too. They may be equally talented as Eli. I would love to race something with them one day! Bucket list complete!! 

Even a Blind Squirrel....

I haven't raced a crit in a bit more than 6 years. Not having the time, and plain old fear have kept me from even bothering. But after watching Eli kill it in his first real attempt a few weeks ago, I knew I had to give it another shot.

Now I think we all know that the Tuesday night crits (TNW's for the cool kids) are not hard core criteriums like the big ones, but people go pretty hard anyway. I felt pretty good the whole time and I put myself in the right places (mostly) and I gutted out a 2nd place. I'm actually VERY happy about that. Like my old friend Dirk has always said: "Even a blind squirrel eventually finds a nut."

The Beautiful Mrs. K gathered up the 1st and 3rd finishers tonight for an ad-lib podium (with no actual podium). Chad Brown killed it, and Kellen got 3rd. I, looking like 10 pounds of shit in a 9 pound bag in my skinsuit, got 2nd. I like my socks better than their socks, though. And I'm 100% sure I'm 40 years older than they are. Bonus!
 

When a Sump Pump Creates more Problems than it's Worth

 

If you own a newer home with a basement, chances are you have a sump pump. We have one. The sump well has a trickle of water in it most of the time. When it rains really heavily, I'll hear the pump kick on for a few seconds and then I won't hear it for another hour. Maybe not until it rains heavily again. Since we've had a LOT of rain lately, the pump kicked on while I was lifting weights in the basement. I saw an awesome stream of water rocketing toward the wall and thought...that's not right. Sure enough, the check valve had sprung a leak. It's 20 years old, after all. After dousing myself in water after disconnecting the valve, I skipped off to Lowes for a replacement.

17 George Washingtons later, I had a new check valve, complete with new connector hoses! Bonus! "Not so fast!" the new check valve muttered. Upon connecting the new valve, I was again doused in fresh water because...drumroll please...the new valve was cracked all of the way around it's bolt-pattern. Leave it to Lowes to have a generic, faulty valve right there on the shelf for me to buy. And leave it to me to be the sucker that buys it.

It's Been a Lifetime

It was 20 years ago this month that I had the worst accident ever in cycling. Worst ever, period. I was hitting it hard at the front of the dirt crits at Castlewood. Ryan Pirtle was trading the lead with me, only a couple laps in. We left the field and went into the woods and BAM! 

I had hit a root sticking up pretty far out of the ground. Both my hands popped off of the bars, and I did a slow-motion Superman towards a fairly small tree. I hit the tree, arms outstretched, between my left arm and my head. I remember it sounding like a bag full of aluminum cans. I immediately sat up, searching for my bike. But no air. None. I had ceased to breathe. I crawled around on the ground, trying to get to any air that I could. There were people standing around. I actually reached out to one, but had nothing. I rolled onto my back. There were more people gathering. Still no air. But more people. 

After an excruciating ride to the hospital in an ambulance, I finally got to see Deanna. She was there, on one of our first few dates, watching the race. She was told by the other spectators that I had a crash. That was a lot for someone to handle, seeing your Thursday night date was in critical condition. But there she was. 

8 broken ribs in my back. Punctured lung. Broken coracoid process. 3rd degree Acromiclavicular separation. I slept upright in a chair for 5 weeks. My shoulder is still ugly. I never got it fixed. Never had surgery. Perhaps I should have, perhaps I should have completed the physical therapy, too. But the ambulance ride alone was $1000. We won't go into the physical and psychological costs.

But she was there. Bad date night or not. That's love.

 

Klaus Park UFD Mountain Bike Race

Oh, the joy of riding a mountain bike on fast, tricky trails! I've enjoyed Klaus Park for many years now, and it keeps getting better. Myself and two of the three South Side mountain biker boys ventured south to Cape Girardeau for the race there. It was hot but a nice breeze kept me from melting. I'd say that the camera angle was a little funny, because Eli and Brody look very fit, and I look like I have a beer gut. (Flannery Allison photo)

Regardless of my fondness for this trail, I wasn't that fast. FEELING fast and GOING fast are two completely different things. Man, I felt like I was flying! I felt like I had the trail totally dialed in. Weeeelllll.... (Flannery Allison photo)

Eli not only felt fast, he was fast. He hung on to Brody the Destroyer for about half of the race, and ultimately finished 2nd. Brody did his destroying for 1st place and beat out Eli for fasted lap of the day, too. Eli finished comfortably ahead of me, of course. When I say comfortably, it was a few minutes. I won't divulge the number of minutes. (Flannery Allison photo)

Although not completely OK with my finish, I'm always very happy for Eli. Just like Klaus Park, he keeps getting better and better. And he never makes fun of me. Onward and upward! (Flannery Allison photo)



 

FITFL Fitness in the Fast Lane!

 

If there ever was a person you should get to know, it would be Hanna. Of course I have a massive bias, being my daughter and all. But I don't think I'm off base here. I'm forever surprised by her thirst for knowledge and self-betterment. Very recently she's turned her health and fitness ideas into a business venture. It's pretty fresh and still evolving, so it's the perfect time to check it out.

Website: 

Fitness in the Fast Lane

Blog: (also clickable at the bottom of the landing page)

Blog

Lees-McRae Orientation

The Beautiful Mrs. K and I took Eli to North Carolina for orientation at Lees-McRae College. It's a long drive, but going to college is a big life event and something you don't want to miss.

This small school is tucked into the mountains. Like, RIGHT THERE in the mountains. It's got such old-world charm. And everywhere you look, there is something that makes you smile. We had parent orientation while Eli got acquainted with teachers, TA's, and the grounds. Deanna and I stayed in the AirBnB while Eli got his taste of dorm life for a few days. Such an impressive staff, very dedicated to the students.

And there was riding. Oh yes, very good riding. Besides visiting awesome restaurants and awesome coffee shops, we rode mountain bikes. On the school grounds, there is a gnarly set of trails that would turn a person into a mountain biker if they weren't already. And if your climbing isn't good, it will be after staying here a while. 

We all visited Beech Mountain to ride the trails there. Wow. Some moderate single track, but the bulk of the trails were absolutely gnarly. Drops, roots aplenty, sharp ups and downs, etc. We were hitting 200 ft. per mile climbing. At 5200 feet, the altitude was also a thing, at least for us dead-flat landers. When we we had our fill of the dirt, we climbed the last half mile or so on the pavement to the top of Beech to see the downhillers tackle the mountain. Right about this moment, Eli is putting the hammer down on the old man.

After riding, we ate lunch at the resort at the top. We were able to watch the riders riding the lifts up and blasting down the different courses. What a beautiful place to spend time. Mrs. K and I are quite jealous that Eli gets to spend the next few years here...hopefully getting a good education here on top of riding his bike.



 

Graduation Par Tay!

 

It's graduation time, folks. Eli is out of high school and off to college soon. The Beautiful Mrs. K threw him a not-soon-forgotten party at, where else? Francis Park. Cake, cupcakes, and friends and family galore. 

Uncle Jim, fresh from the fields. Tyson and Alex, soaking up some sun and grad snacks. Luckily we had shade during the hottest day of the year thus far. 

Of course Eli's South Side crew had to come. Beck somehow didn't know he was invited, but luckily he showed up anyway. River helped with set-up because she's awesome. Maeve recovered from her mountain bike ride this morning in time to class-up the party.

Wouldn't be any kind of party without a big chunk of NICA people showing up. Lots of love from this crew right here.

My brother and his wife joined us, too. My momma would have been so proud! Yes, Eli and Janet had their eyes closed. It happens.

These two. Just a couple of years ago we had Hanna's college graduation party in this exact spot. Lost her to Dallas. Losing him to North Carolina. Happiness and sadness are different sides of the same coin for sure.

More South Side characters. I keep telling Eli that there are always more people who care than he thinks. 

Never miss a chance to point out a person's positive traits, I always say.

Also, never forget that there are certain people who just bring out your best.

And lastly, remember that wisdom, support, and respect go both ways.

Congratulations, Eli! Onward and Upward!

Life Changes Coming Fast!

 

It's probably very natural, but kids tend to change places with their parents at some point. Instead of Eli being "TK's Kid", I'm now "Eli's Dad." Maybe it's natural, or maybe people just like him more. He's a lot more pleasant than I was as an 18 year old. And more talented, so there's that. Perhaps less fortuitous is his ability to grow hair VERY quickly. Sorry son, genetics can be a good AND bad thing.

Eli graduated from High School. A very big life change. College is on the horizon, so there will be somewhat of an empty nest here. Somewhat. We still have a very large hound dog.

Speaking of the hound dog, Remi came with us to Bentonville over Memorial Day weekend. First we attended a bicycle industry summit, then Bike Fest, then we rode bikes for a couple days. Then tornados came and ruined the fun. Here we see Remi inspecting the carnage outside of our AirBNB. Needless to say, we came home a day early.

Hanna had her contract at work in Dallas extended. And she works part-time at a gym there, too. All of which means she's not coming home to the 314 anytime soon. Be cooler if she did.

Some things don't change. Like me starting at the front of mountain bike races that I can't win. I did manage to stay in front of Eli for about 12 minutes, though. Thanks to Mark Hasler for the photos on Facebook. 

Instead of seeing me in post-race podium pics, now you see Eli. That's not a bad thing for me. Who wants to get all cleaned up for a photo after a muddy mountain bike race anyway?? Thanks again to Mark Hasler.

I'll end this post with an awesome selfie with the Selfie King himself, Matt Johnson. Life changes in the hair department effect some people more than others. I should have kept my helmet on. 

Springtime in our World

 

Springtime always means lots of birthdays for us. My birthday is in March, and both Tyson and Eli were born in April. We celebrated Tyson's birthday at a Japanese restaurant. That meant he had sake squirted directly into his mouth by a comedic chef. We were reminded of the antics from Mexico, missing only Hanna to complete the shenanigans.

Eli's birthday lacked fermented rice, but it did include an eclipse. It also included multiple attempts by me to get a birthday selfie with the Beautiful Mrs. K and the birthday boy. Notice that I didn't use any photos that I took. This photo of me taking a photo was much, much better. 

I remember calling Eli a chowderhead for doing his intervals in the cold rain, then dripping profusely on the laundry room floor. However.....

That's probably why he can get onto the podium at a Cat 1 race and I can't. These are hard lessons for an old cold-blooded man to learn.

But learn I do. I learned that changing a battery in a modern car is kind of like a puzzle. Only this one puzzle piece weighs 50 pounds and is surrounded by other puzzle pieces that are sharp and angry. 

Not at all angry is our quiet little friend who cruises the yard and surrounding areas at night. I used to be creeped out by these little guys. One nearly ate Rosco a number of years ago, too. But I read somewhere that possums eat ticks and other annoying insects, which instantly raised their status from creepy to backyard hero. Sometimes they walk in little groups across our driveway and across the street, only come back a short while later. It's as if they went to visit friends at a possum block party or something. 

And since possums are my new best friends, I was happy to see that the hound dog has no real interest in them. But it's springtime. Remi has much, much better things to do.