Another Birthday - This is getting Ridiculous!

Yep, there it is. My first pro number was 54.  And that's how old I am.  Seems a little fishy to me.  Every year, they just keep adding a number.  Is that ok?  Should that be a thing?  I'm going to look into it.

Just like every year, my family makes me feel like a superstar.  My in-laws brought us lunch at work and some tasty snacks.  Hanna had some sinful treats delivered via some exotic courier dude.  Then Deanna and Eli presented me with even more snacks and these awesome pop-up cards.  I just love pop-up cards.

This morning, I was lucky enough to break free from work and the pressing obligations of the day and do a really cool ride on the gravel roads around Steelville.  Honestly, the ride kicked my ass but I've been unable to ride much so I took my beating like a stud.

And because he really wanted to go, I took Eli to the Eureka MTB Park after I got home from the gravel ride.  Oh, trust me...I was so creaky and my now-54-year-old body really, really wanted to lay down.  But I can't really tell the dude no.  It was fun, and he finally got to use his GoPro camera.

There are worse things that can happen to a middle-aged dude.  I may be old, but I'm living a pretty good life.  Never grow up.  Never grow old.  Onward and upward.

 

Finally a Hike for 2021

 

We have been so busy for the last couple of months with the shop that we haven't had time to take a single hike.  We changed that today by taking a short hike at Strawberry Creek in Arnold.  Of course, the Hound Dog was ready to go, and we even coaxed Eli into it.

We were all excited to try out our new hiking kicks, too.  The Hound Dog stuck with his original equipment all-paw drive.

Remi is all over the place on hikes.  His extra sensitive sniffer takes him in all directions the entire time.  And now that he weighs in at 80 pounds, you kind of just have to go with it.

The otherwise blissful wilderness is interrupted by series of power line towers.  Which are kind of cool in their own way.  I continue to resist my compulsion to climb one.

The one thing I wanted to visit again on this hike was the small muddy pond.  Remi resisted the urge to jump in.  I'm very thankful for that.

Toward the end of the hike, Remi caught the scent of something.  He pulled poor Eli down the trail at a full run.  It was a deer, whose tracks we had just begun to see in the soft dirt.  Sorry big guy, we couldn't let you go after it.

And one last photo, a selfie, courtesy of a tree stump just close enough for me to set the timer.  Let's hope for more hiking days in 2021!

 

Eli and Me, Back to the Trails

Sunday was, of course, glorious.  The St. Louis version of Spring has landed and it was amazing.  Best of all, it's been dry enough for a few days that Eli and I were able to start hitting the trails together again.  He's not a fan of riding in cold weather.  What can I say, he's my son.  As such, he's not been off-road in two months.  He dove into the deep end with me at Greensfelder and we rode 11 miles of trails for 1100 feet of climbing.  His riding skills haven't diminished at all, but he was pretty knackered at the end.  I'm proud of him.

On a side note, he broke a spoke in the rear carbon wheel that I put on his bike.  I did note that I put nearly 1500 off-road miles on that wheel before handing it over to him.  He's actually a pretty smooth rider so it was just time for the wheel to give up.  I'll fully rebuild it when I get time off at work...which seems like it might be a LONG while.
 

First College Baseball Game is a Winner

 

Tyson has been playing for Fontbonne for two years now.  Well, not really.  Last season was canceled because of the plague, so this is his first official year.  And this weekend was the opening weekend.  Yesterday's game didn't go so well, but Tyson wasn't playing.  And we were having a huge day at the store so we couldn't get away for it.

He's a relief pitcher, and they don't pitch every game.  People that know baseball really well know these things.  I'm not putting myself in that category, but I have learned a few things over the years watching the boys play.  I am smart enough to know that Shaw Park has a pretty amazing facility.  It was raining the whole time we were there, but the games didn't get called.  The magic of turf!  And it was awful nice to have a place for him to warm up before he went in.

It was hard to watch the game, though.  There weren't many fans, but the ones that were there lined the fences and we weren't too keen on getting close to anyone.  The Beautiful Mrs K and I brought Remi along to get him out of the house, and he was very challenging today.  And muddy.  Grandma showed up, too, and she was smart enough to bring an umbrella! Not that any of that mattered, though.  Tyson went in when the team was behind and struggling, and he helped them pull out the win.  Awesome debut.  We are very proud of him!

One by one, everything in your house will eventually need replacing

Faucets. Water lines.  Garbage disposals.  Faucets.  Refrigerators.  Dishwashers.  The list is long.  Every one of these things will eventually fail.  Luckily, none of those failures have resulted in catastrophe for us.  But we've replaced all of that and more.  Today was a big day, as another pain in my ass has been kicked to the curb.  The toilet in the kid's bathroom has been a nightmare  The only thing going down without a fight in this thing was water.  I have plunged and snaked this thing so many times, I lost count.  I pulled that sucker out to replace it.  My curiosity got the best of me, and I did turn it over to look inside.  What, you ask, has been clogging this thing for 5 years?  A BIC pen.

It's always fascinating to see a gaping hole in the floor.  Good fortune was upon me and the ring was in good shape and holding solid in the floor.  Just needed new studs and a wax ring.

Viola.  A brand spanking new toilet, from stem to stern, water line included. Ah, the old plunger can rest easy for a while, until the next thing gets stuck.

Last year, the ceiling fan in Hanna's room literally began smoking.  Yes, smoking.  Cheap, cheap, cheap builders grade crap.  It lasted 15 years but the fan speed control broke years ago and only worked on hurricane-blast mode.  I replaced that today too with a much nicer looking, quieter, smoother, LED-lighted unit.  It's been a good Valentine's day!
 

My Baby turned 21 - Happy Birthday Hanna!

 

COVID has made social gatherings a real bummer over the past year.  But since we recently acquired a REALLY big gathering spot (South Side Cyclery has a big showroom!) we were able to get together for a momentous occasion: Hanna's 21st birthday!  The Beautiful Mrs. K built us quite a spread with a Mexican Food theme.

Not just a Mexican food theme.  But a little drink, too.

And a little tongue-in-cheek take on that virus, eh?

We had a small gathering in a big open space and celebrated this beautiful woman.  She's smart, she's kind, she's witty, and we are so proud of her.  I have no idea what the world has in store for her but I'm sure she's ready for it.

Oh, and there were cupcakes.  Forgot to mention the cupcakes.  Thank you, Flannery!

Rookie - Rookie - Rookie 53x21x19x18x.....

Since I haven't used a power meter in a number of years, and I work out on a dumb (not a Smart) trainer, I've had to rely on the knowledge of the gearing that I use on the trainer that I've used for years and years.  It may be an iffy assumption, but I assume that using the same gearing combinations on the same trainer will give me the same resistance year over year.  I have a cadence sensor so that is a known part of the equation as well. Throwing out the window the wear on the trainer, I've gone with this for years.

Things went wrong this year when I started my detailed workouts on the trainer.  I'm using a different bike this year than last, and the gearing is different.  Actually, every year over the last 10 I've used different bikes and I've done the math. Never mind, I thought, I'll compensate a bit this way and a bit that way and call it good.

That would have worked.  Actually, it did work.  But I've been suffering like a 300-pound cyclist in the Pyrenees.  That's because.... I didn't do the math.  When I actually counted the teeth on the cogs I was using, I concluded that I have been doing my hardest workouts to START with.  The bright side is that I have still been killing the workouts (and perhaps it's slowly killing me, too).

The bad news is that I am still capable of the biggest rookie mistakes.

2021 Adventure - We Bought a Bike Shop!

It's been a long time coming.  In reality, just about a lifetime.  I've thought about owning my own business for years and years, and so has Deanna. And on January 1st, the Beautiful Mrs K and I became the new owners of South Side Cyclery in St. Louis.  The truck came with it, too.

What started as a casual conversation nearly a year ago became reality after months and months of Covid-19 stress and chaos.  The family that had owned and managed South Side for 80+ years were ready to move on to an easier life, and we were anxious to do something bigger for ourselves.  With our amazing family behind us (our business partners among them), it finally happened.

Tony and Donna made the transition an incredible experience.  We came in a few days before the new year to begin mapping out some different displays and making room for inventory and found cards all over the store.

We knew right away that not only was this a good decision, but it was the only decision we could have made that made any sense at all.

We hope so.  We sure are going to make one helleva go at it!

One month in, and we are still smiling big!  Much of our life is on the back burner, and we haven't had a day off yet.  It's different, so says any business owner, when it's your own baby. Actions don't feel like sacrifices when the goal is so important.  And just so everyone knows, there is no way that I could do any of this alone.  As many years as I have in the bike business, I still don't have all of the skills.  Lucky for me I have this wonderful woman beside me and my beautiful family behind me.  Otherwise, it would just be another job.
 

2020 - Great Year for Being Outdoors

 

Although it's been a terrible year in a lot of ways, it's been a good year for people that sell bikes.  For me and my family, it's been a great year to ride bikes.  Not only did we ride bikes, but we were also outdoors so much and did so much exploring on walks and hikes.

This was the first year that I noted just how much I've done on the different bikes that I ride, and I was even able to document the hikes that we've done together.

Total Mileage on my bikes: 3305. Elevation: 248,000 feet! Hours: 304!

Mountain Bike mileage, 1461.  This blew me away.  Almost half of my riding mileage this year was on the mountain bikes.  This brings me great joy, and strains my wallet for new tires and chains!  But man, I love it.

Gravel Bike: 816.  This is actually on gravel, around town, bike paths, whatever.  Kind of generic riding.

Road Bike: 781.  Not at all impressive.  But rarely do I get on a road bike for cruising around.  On the road bike, it's seriously hard and almost always hilly.

BMX Bike: 253.  I love this!  Generally speaking, most people don't put many miles on a BMX bike.  But I ride it like my other bikes, albeit jumping curbs and bunnyhopping obstacles along the way.

Other highlights of riding this year were the places we went and getting Eli out on a mountain bike.

We rode our mountain bikes at Cliff Cave, Greensfelder, Lost Valley, Bluffview, Brommelslick, Indian Camp Creek, Forest City in St. James, Klaus Park in Cape, Route 66 in Litchfield, SIU, Castlewood, Eureka Mountain Bike Park, St. Charles Pump Track, Rhett's Run in Columbia, Council Bluff and Berryman.

Besides riding bikes, I also spent a lot of time outdoors with the Beautiful Mrs. K.  She and I started hiking and walking our Hound Dog just as the plague got underway.  We went for 15 hikes for a total of 35 miles. We hiked at Pickle Springs, Don Robinson, Hawn State Park, Rockbridge, Emmenegger Park, Whitecliff, Mastadon, Hickory Canyon, Strawberry Creek, and Valmeyer.

And for good measure, we kayaked on the Meramec and bought a bike shop.  In a couple of days, we will be the proud owners of South Side Cyclery in St. Louis.  

Onward and upward!

Hound Dog Christmas

Remi the Hound Dog's first Christmas was awesome.  He opened up a huge gift bag full of squeaky toys and bones and snacks. Oh, and he also received a snappy looking red bandana. 

About an hour and a half later, with almost all of his toys destroyed, he still had on the bandana.  

Visibly upset at his lack of squeakies, he also had another worry on his mind: we were leaving for Grandma and Grandpa's house to open presents.  No way Hound Dog was coming with us for that.

 He has a bad case of separation anxiety, so when he knows we're leaving, he gets moody.  Or he hides under the bed.  It's hard to resist this face, isn't it??  Not to worry, we were only gone a little while, and when we returned he had so much to do.  The college kids came home and played with him, he played with his girlfriend between the fence in the back, and he chewed up perfectly good household items that didn't belong to him.  Perfect Hound Dog Christmas.

Christmas Eve Mini-Adventure - Powder Valley

Despite the bone-chilling temps, the Beautiful Mrs. K and I were determined to get out and have a small adventure on Christmas Eve.  We've been working hard to prepare to take over South Side Cyclery and that hasn't left a lot of time for frivolity.  Knowing that we couldn't bring the Hound Dog with us, we chose Powder Valley in Sunset Hills. There are a couple of short trails there, just enough for a quick day out.

We were greeted with sunny skies and 23 degrees.  And...a fully paved path!  Whaaaat?  But this isn't just any paved path.  It's pretty narrow and STEEP.  There are switchbacks on this path that would be fun on your mountain bike, and I dare say the gradients would be super hard on any bike.

We were so happy to be out, we ignored the blustery winds and low temps and set off on the first trail.

Then we got cold.

The sun and hard climbing helped warm us a bit. It was truly a beautiful day out there.

It's hard to capture gradient on camera. But this pic might give you a better idea of what we were working with.

We finished Broken Ridge pretty quickly and walked across the lot to Hickory Ridge next.   It's a little longer and it has longer hills, too.

At the very lowest point of Hickory Ridge is a little creek and a lot of rock.  There were really well-made bridges to get us across the many ravines and creeks.  I would not have thought that a paved path would be so interesting, but it really was a lot of fun and a welcome break from our current busy schedule.

Hound Dog Hikes - Whitecliff and Laumeier

A really cool park close to our house is Whitecliff, technically in Crestwood.  Such a neat place tucked in between the subdivisions that grew up around it.  It has an old quarry that is now a pond, and the forest around it has a lot of interesting stuff.  Remi the Hound Dog has been driving us up the wall lately, and we've been quite busy, so we had to take an opportunity Friday to get him out.  Whitecliff offers a close and fun hike for him and for us.

I can never get enough of the remnants of the old quarry.

Curiously enough, our giant puppy-Hound Dog still had an enormous amount of jackass waiting to get out.  So much so, that the Saturday morning sun saw us driving to nearby Laumeier Sculpture park for a short hike.  Another hidden gem tucked in between subdivisions, Laumeier is a fun place for a dog walk.

Remi was in rare form this morning, repelling any attempts to have a smooth, relaxing hike.  Although it appears as though he's dragging the Beautiful Mrs K through one of the sculptures, she has his number.

I stopped and admired the wooden structure, carved with a chainsaw from a Redwood trunk.

The pool exhibit has always been my favorite at Laumeier.

Originally, this was a spring-fed pool from the 1920's.  It's ruins were built into an exhibit.  What a grand pool it would be if it were fully brough back to life, I always think. Remi is standing still at this moment.  Not a common sight.

At just about the lowest point on the trail, there is this little rock structure built around a small spring.  

Coming out of the woods and onto the main grounds, there are different art displays.  This one is industrial steel molded into a knot of what looks like pool noodles.  Curious.

And this young lady looks like she is cleared for take-off, having a lot of propellers at her disposal.

I bet you're wondering if we finally wore out the Hound Dog?  No.  We did not wear out the Hound Dog.  Not.  Even.  Close.