Mountain Bike Racing - Fun or Hard or ?

Creve Coeur is such a pleasant place to ride a mountain bike.  The trails are swoopy, the turns are fun, the hills are short, and it is generally a great place to just enjoy riding.  Racing there is quite a different story.  Sunday was the "Heartbreaker" mountain bike race at Creve Coeur, and it was a hot one.  Eli had 12 juniors to race with, and he came in with another 3rd place.  Tough, tough day on what is normally a fun trail to ride.  Pay no attention to the "Risky Business" vibe he's putting off here, he was pretty pleased with his race, although he was hot and tired.

It was a bit hotter by the time I raced at 11am.  True, most of the course is in the woods, but you could cut the humidity with a knife.  The Cat 1 class was surprisingly small, but the speed never disappoints.  Guess what I did?  Yes, I led out the race, putting my health and heart rate at risk but YOLO or something like that.  I was passed (you already knew that) by 3 guys at the end of the first lap and it pretty much stayed like that until the end.  The long...bitter...end.  We did 6 laps totaling just under 30 miles. And I got stung by something very hateful at the start of the 2nd lap.  It felt like someone threw a rock at me, so that evil little thing was coming in hot for the triple lindy sting. My eye was feeling puffy and sure enough it kind of still is.  

I have to say I have very few "HISTORIC" designations on Strava, but I would say this race applies.  

My poor heart.  It really does try it's best.  I'm sure if I could sit down and have a good long talk with my heart, it would certainly complain about the working conditions.  I'm always thinking about giving it a vacation or sending it nice gifts or even a get-well card now and then, but I doubt it would make things better. But just like all task-masters, I have a job to do and the only way to get it done is to ask the heart to do it's best work.  Today, even though I was beaten down by 3 very fast guys, I did give my absolute best (I even averaged 13 freaking miles per hour!!) which means so did my fluttering, pathetic heart.  Way to go, dude! I'll get you that vacation soon. Promise.  Really.
 

We Do a Lot of Bike Riding Around Here

Hanna has been coming to the Girls Night Out rides for a few weeks now and has really come along well with her riding.  She rides with the "A" crowd and really loves it.  She already runs quite a bit for general fitness, so adding a little swimming comes next because she's contemplating doing a triathlon in the future...very excited for her!

The weather cooperated with us this past weekend so we could race the Klaus Park mountain bike race in Cape.  It's a crazy, twisty-turning course with never a place to rest.  Eli raced the juniors.  Not one to enjoy photos very much, he paused briefly so we could see him in his ever-stylish South Side kit before his race.

He finished 3rd overall in the juniors, and since they started behind the Marathon class as well as the Category 3 class, he had a lot of traffic to pass through.  And these three guys passed a LOT of the field en route to their finish.  Very proud of him!

I sported the new kit as well, and Eli was comforting me before I had to line up for the Category 1 race.  The weather was beautiful and the trail was fantastic.

I wish I was fantastic.  I started off very strong (not a surprise) and had a pretty good first lap.  My second lap was slightly slower (not a surprise), but my third lap kinda sucked (only a little surprising).  I just faded after that, and the most I could muster was 6th place.  I'm unhappy about that, but I knew better than to have high hopes after being so tired.  Too much work, too much stress, not enough sleep. I can't really expect to be up front with the big boys if I'm not doing the right things in my real life.

 I will say that I was feeling pretty good (after another hectic day at the shop) about a recovery ride tonight with the Beautiful Mrs. K.  She's coming back very well from her titanium adventure, so we had a nice ride around the neighborhood. Also very pleasant was riding this bike, my 1998 Schwinn Predator.  It has the closest feel to the old school BMX bikes that I rode and raced in my youth.  Love this old turd.

Creating a Work-Life Balance, Even if it Kills Me

We were pretty bummed about the weather last weekend in Farmington.  It put the kibosh on the race for us.  I had Friday morning off, so I drove back down to St. Joe State Park to hit the trail hard, for three laps, just like the race would have been for me.  Well, it was still pretty soft.  I didn't let it bum me out, I just went hard and had fun and got a good workout.  I even took the hardtail shit bike and it was perfectly awesome. Then I drove home and went to the shop to work.

Although I don't have photographic evidence, I have been riding with a certain someone to get them back onto the bike after an injury.  Perhaps a few days before they have gotten the okey-dokey from the doctor to do so.  Life happens!  So I did get a photo of the ceiling fan that I installed.  3 down, 3 to go!

I do have photographic evidence of my oldest baby and me going for a kick-ass road ride.  She's done a few miles lately with the Girls Night Out crew from the shop, and she's getting into it.  I took her out to Wildwood and started at Greensfelder and did some great roads.  She's quite the natural, and she loves to remind me that she was a multiple winner of the Gateway Cup kids races...

 ...and our first attempt at a selfie went a little wrong and we took full advantage of it!

Bad Blogger - I will Make the Excuse that I'm Busy

I really am busy.  It's a pretty lame excuse, but the shop takes up so much time.  The Beautiful Mrs. K and I have very little free time these days and it takes a lot of effort to sit down and write these wonderfully crafted posts... :)  Anyway, this is a perfect time to show off my amazing firstborn child, Hanna.  She's recently become our social media person for the shop, and of course, she is our styling coordinator as well. Now, she's riding in our Girls Night Out (GNO) rides.  Since Mrs. K's bike has been available, she's riding that and having a good time.  She calls road bikes "curly bar bikes", so you know she is serious.

I was able to get down to St. Joe State Park last week, in anticipation of the race there.  The course was super fun and fast.  Alas, Farmington experienced a Noah's Ark-type flood the morning of the race and we bailed out after only driving a few miles down highway 55.  So, we turned around and headed north.

North into Illinois, to Litchfield and the Route 66 trails at Lake Lou Yaeger park.  It was Eli's idea, and it turned out to be a good one.  We had visited these trails about 6 months ago, and were happy to see they had added more.  It was a blast.  Best thing:  we arrived about 9:30am and there was no one there.  Really, just a few walkers and two riders!  Even the lake was lonely.  By the time we left, there were a few more people but very surprisingly, it was wide open for us.

 I had to strike a pose with the new, more colorful SSC kit.  I had thought that the black kit would be my favorite.  But it turns out, color is cool.  Eli and I both sported our new duds, but he declothed to quickly for me to take a pic of him.

Handyman Stuff

Although I did get a couple ceiling fans in the kids' rooms replaced recently, I am way behind on my handyman stuff at home.  This kitchen faucet, which I replaced in 2016, has been a thorn in my side for years.  It has shuddered and leaked and at times just stopped dispensing water.  Good riddance.  

It doesn't take long, nor does it take a ton of skill to put in a new faucet.  But it does take a bit of contortionism.  The new faucet works....for now.

 Perhaps contortionism is not my forte.  I zigged when I should have zagged and the door hinge on the cabinet under the sink let me know that it was a bad idea.

But the faucet works!

Happy Father's Day to Me!

My Father's Day started with a hard solo bike ride.  It was hot and sticky, but I got out early enough to avoid the hottest part of the day. Hard to ask for anything more than that.

But wait!  There's more! After a nice early dinner at Deanna's parents' house, Hanna invited us to swim in the pool with her at the apartment she is watching for the summer. Still quite hot outside, this sounded like a great idea.  Hanna also gifted the Beautiful Mrs. K and me tickets to the drive-in (plus popcorn!). Such a thoughtful little one!

Tyson had to work so he couldn't join us at the pool. But he was also super thoughtful and brought home Iskender from Aya Sophia, my favorite.  My stomach is alive with happiness.

Not to be outdone, Eli knows how to ensure that he will be in my last will and testament. 

 

Miscellaneous Ramblings of an Actual Madman

People need playtime.  Hound Dogs need playtime, too.  Remi brings his tattered, deflated ball up to the door and flings it at the door until someone comes out to play with him.  It's adorable and pathetic at the same time.

The Hound Dog also has his own way of stalking the yard.  If you'll remember, Rosco and Rex stalked the yard...but they never sat their asses down on the top step like a human.  Mind you, Remi doesn't spend much time sitting like this.  He is usually bouncing across the yard like a deer.  Yes, a deer.  One day I will get a video.

In other news, I have 50 days straight of more than 10,000 steps.  I consider that pretty significant.

Also in other news, we have a cool sticker for your car.  Now would be the time to peel off the old political bumper stickers or the student parking decal you've had since the 90's and replace them with an honest-to-goodness South Side Cyclery sticker!  While supplies last. Specifications subject to change without notice.  Not available for sale in Honduras.  Retail value 1/10 of 1 cent.
 

Team Kakouris goes to the Races

Sunday dawned and it was time to load up and head out to the UFD Mountain Bike Race at the Forest City Trails in St. James.  Eli and I were signed up to race, but since he's been at football practice all week, he was sore and crabby and didn't race. But he came along anyway, and that made it possible to bring along everyone's favorite Hound Dog, Remi.  Remi loves car rides. And Remi has his favorite spot, which is on top of Eli. These two are so precious together!

We all know that I cannot control myself when it comes to the start of a mountain bike race.  And today proved to be no different than my very first race in 1988.  The Beautiful Mrs. K snapped this pic of me doing what I do...shooting out of the barrel of a gun when the starter says GO!  I love the Forest City Trails, as they are super-duper-tight and technical. As such, I didn't want to go into the woods behind anyone.  And I didn't.

But I did come out of the woods behind a few guys.  The Cat 1 mountain bike races are small but very dense with talent, so in a 16-man field there are 10 guys that have won races.  I led the first lap but my own talent ran thin and I finished 6th.  I checked my lap times from 2019 on the identical course and I was spot-on.  I have a grimaced smile going on here, happy to be somewhat competitive with the competition, but also bummed that I couldn't do more.

Races over, the crew was hungry and ready to go home.  There was a big back-up on highway 44, so we tooled into lovely downtown St. James for a bite to eat and to wait out whatever was blocking the highway.

The Hound Dog had a great time at the races.  He's still a bit of a spaz when it comes to people and people on bikes, but he got the hang of greeting folks properly.  Most fall in love with this big, sweet monster.

We rewarded Remi with his own Sonic Burger.  He was a bit tentative at first because we rarely let him eat such things.  But after he realized he was given a chance at an honest-to-goodness people burger, he laid into it!

Highway clear and stomachs full, we headed home. And although the trip was a bit stop and go for a while, Eli and Remi found their comfy spots in the back seats.  It was a fine outing for Team Kakouris!
 

Wonderful Memorial Day Weekend

I can't really rattle off all of the things the Beautiful Mrs. K and I did for our two days off in a row.  The weather was glorious, so we took a hike.  Since her bionic shoulder is still healing we couldn't bring the Hound Dog...he pulls too much and is still too wild.  Couldn't risk him pulling her down.  We chose Don Robinson again because it's so amazing and it's close.

Spring is in full effect and the lush greenery added to the beauty of the State Park.

The giant crevice is still one of my all-time favorite views.  I wish the camera could do it justice.

Sunday, we had a chance to get the kids together and go out to eat in a nice outdoor setting.  Our plan was to eat dinner and then go visit my dad's gravesite at Jefferson Barracks Cemetery.

Look at these fine people. This is what I work for.

The cemetery was closed by the time we got done eating.  Not a really big deal, as I normally don't visit on Memorial Day because it's just too busy.  We will choose a weekday or something less hectic like we usually do.  Instead, I changed out the light fixture for the backyard.  We had a very homely fixture with old-fashioned spot lights.  This new one is LED and it will blind you.  Very good for spotting the Hound Dog doing something crazy in the backyard at night.
 

The Hound Dog is a Big Softie after All

My big ol' Hound Dog.  He was not a very affectionate dog.  We were worried he'd always just be a spaz, knocking everything over, chewing everything up, but never warming up to us.  Things have begun to change lately.  

He's been laying on top of us when we lay down to read or watch tv.  This is something Rex would jump at the chance to do, but Remi never has.  Remi is a bit bigger than Rex, at least 80 pounds, so it's very noticeable when he flops on top of you!

He also gives me some love when he's in the mood.  I'm a sucker for this big behemoth.

Here he is, getting ready to lay a big, sloppy Hound Dog kiss on me.  Either that, or he's trying to figure out what I had for dinner.
 

Mountain Biking and Driving Go Hand in Hand

The beautiful Mrs. K and Eli are my main mountain biking crew (Team Kakouris!) these days.  Just last Sunday Eli and I drove to St. James to ride the Route 66/Forest City course.  We've driven tons and tons of miles over the last couple of years to ride in our favorite places, as well as explore new ones.  Kind of ironic that something as healthy and pollution-free as riding a bike takes driving a smoggy car to get to the cool places to ride.  

This brings me to my point.  I live 2 miles from work these days, so the only real mileage my car gets is driving to places to mountain bike.  This also means it's been quite some time since I've had to change the oil.  After Eli and I got back from our extremely enjoyable ride on the Forest City trails, it was time for an oil change. I still brag when I don't spill a single drop of oil.  So I'm bragging.  72,000 miles on the Focus, and I want to make sure it's still running well for Eli when he comes of age next year.

Since it's been a while between oil changes, I decided to put in a new air filter as well.  Good thing.  The old one looked as though it was well on it's way to having black lung.  And can I just say that modern air filters are a BITCH to install??  Whatever happened to serviceability?? Nevertheless, it's changed.  I was still not completely exhausted, so I went ahead and rotated the tires as well.  My smartwatch said 25,000 steps that day, and I believe it. 
 

Ever wonder where your Weekend goes? I sure do.

My first Saturday off since we bought South Side.  It's been a looooong run.  So it was extra awesome that I was able to spend it with Eli at Broemmelsiek for the practice race weekend that the NICA organization put on.  There were tons of people from all over the metro area.  Not sure why Eli is giving me "the face" in this pic.

After a learning lap with the South City team, I was asked to help the kids with the starting line antics.  It's never easy to line up with a bunch of snarling, competitive people and have someone say "GO!" The team has come a long way and it's nice to see how much they love to ride their mountain bikes.

After a few mock starts, Eli and I did another slightly hotter lap on the full course.  I'm impressed with his improvements over the last year.

The second day of the NICA event was canceled due to the forecast.  It was supposed to rain cats and dogs.  When it didn't, I suited up and did some hot laps of my own at Greensfelder.  Yep, it was that kind of day.

When I got home, the Beautiful Mrs K was ready to start her recovery.  She's suffered quite a bit with her injury.  Her surgery last week put in a titanium metal plate and nine screws where her plain old clavicle used to be.  Yikes.  But she is no whiner and onto the trainer she went. Go baby, go!

What did Remi the Hound Dog think of all of this?  He thinks we ought to be throwing the frisbee for him, of course.