Mountain Bike Racing in Puerto Rico

As much as I hate to travel, I wasn't going to miss a chance to see Eli and a couple of the other XC Devo kids race there. We landed in San Juan, and drove to the south of the island to our Air BnB. This was the view driving down the treacherous path to the race venue, which only 12 minutes away.

I didn't actually get any pics of the house itself, but suffice to say it was gorgeous. The Beautiful Mrs. K takes a lot of time scouting places for us to stay on these race trips, and so far this one take the cake. Fantastic sunsets every night. 

Puerto Rico is a hot and humid place. It's like Florida on human growth hormone. Lucky for us it was February and not July. But the Missouri boys suited up anyway and did some recon laps of the brutal course. Lots of climbing, and a tricky course with tons of loose-over-hardpack trail surface. Here, Cade, Eli and Carson are going out for another lap in full South Side XC Devo kit. 

Cade and Carson did the first race of the week, which was the short track race. Fast, fast, fast. I caught Cade going Mach 5 into the big flyover.

Our house was gated, so we always had to stop at the base of the property to open the gate and drive out. Of course, I skewered my knee on this spikey man-eating plant. 

Turns out, the minivan was the perfect rental car for mountain bikes. We must've gone back and forth to the race venue 10 times. 

We visited the Castillo San Filipe Del Morro in San Juan on one of the off days. It was a hot one, but we had to do some tourist stuff. Amazing place, built in the 1500's.

It's built right on the sea, made to protect PR from invaders at the entrance to the Caribbean sea. This iguana owned this particular section of the fort. 

And yes, there are other critters that inhabit the island. We saw our first tarantula on one day, then another one, dead in the wading pool, the next day. I scooped him out and set him down so I could judge his size. Yep, about the size of a baseball. 

Back to the racing. The course was littered with cool features. The boys were excited about the jump line on the way down from the highest point. Eli did a good job of keeping it low. I actually used his bike to do a test loop of the course, and of course, I stayed low too. 

The racing was freaking intense. There were many, many riders from the U.S. mainland, as well as riders from central and South America. Eli got in two XC races, the last one was a lot better than his first. Lessons learned.

After a week, we were ready to come home. One last stop in San Juan before going to the airport. 

Of course it was hot, so naturally Eli hung out on the edge of the beach like a good American with his hiking boots on and his shirt off. We did a lot more hanging around at the San Juan airport, as they cancelled our flight while we were waiting to board. After getting flown around the country, we got home nearly 12 hours later than expected and being awake for 24 hours. Puerto Rico was awesome. Frontier Airlines, not so much. 











 

Happy 26th Birthday Power Girl!

Eli came up with a scheme this morning to get together with Hanna for her 26th birthday. It's not that hard, as she's always down for some good coffee and excellent breakfast food. Sadly, Tyson nor the Beautiful Mrs. K could make it, but word on the street is that there is another "girls only" event tonight for this momentous occasion. Happy birthday, Hanna! You make everyone's day brighter. 
 

Snow Notwithstanding, Things are Heating up

While this might not be big news to everyone, to me it's pretty significant. My road bike, which I've been using on the trainer a LOT lately, has a power meter that measures left/right power differences. And I must say I have a near EQUAL power stroke right now. And I have spare parts in the right leg! I'm happy with how things have progressed. 

In recent years, we've been terrible about eating out so much. Busy lifestyle and all that. So the Beautiful Mrs. K has made a huge push for us to eat more at home. It's been working really well. This was from Saturday night, chicken burgers, rice and avocado. And as I write this, I'm eating lasagna. Bonus!

And this. Someone posted this the other day on one of the Facebook BMX groups. It's all vintage stuff and old racing photos and very nostalgic. In the category of stuff I wish that I hadn't done, I wrote this letter to the editor of the biggest BMX racing magazine of the era. And they published it. It was during a time when I was absolutely sure that I was better than anyone would give me credit for. I had been passed over for a prestigious idea called "The Terrible Ten". The idea was simple: If there was a track big enough for the entire amateur BMX community to race on, who would be the first ten to finish? I was actually interviewed for it, and when the publication came out, I wasn't on the list. It was almost more than my fragile ego could stand. Believe it or not, a few months later...I wrote another letter. And they published that one, too. Some people just don't learn. 

 

Describe an Almost Perfect Day in Black and White

Thanks to my Fitness in the Fastlane crew and the Beautiful Mrs. K, I blasted the mountain bike trails on Christmas Day. You are allowed to be dubious of the term 'blasted.' 

Kind of like most days, I played frisbee with the giant Hound Dog. His Christmas gifts were pretty normal: dog bones and Nerf Frisbees. However, he's still attached to the chewed up old one, and opted not to chew up the new ones. Until the 26th, that is.

I usually get Christmas day pics with my favorite daughter. This time, I convinced her not to take a really bad picture of me, Plus a bonus gremlin. 

In perhaps the most surprising development of the day, the youngsters in the family were quickly and painlessly organized for a group photo. Except Laura. I have no idea how she was able to hide behind the shortest kid, so you'll have to imagine that she is there. Or just trust me. 

 

The Waiting Game is Killing Me

Waiting around for my body to get acquainted with the replacement parts is killing me. But Strava sends me a cheerleading message every year about this time and at least it's truly encouraging. This is the most mileage I've ever recorded, along with the most hours. And what is not included in those numbers is trainer time.

Meanwhile, in our basement when it's 15 degrees outside...

Being in the house with a very motivated 19-year-old cyclist is not helping my anxiety over losing the fitness I had during the last 6 months. I mean, I was so excited to follow my program. I was obsessing actually. And it felt awesome. Now besides Eli, the Beautiful Mrs. K is starting to ramp up her riding. Oh, and the kids on the Devo team are banging out 8 to 12 hours a week in preparation for the 2026 season which I look at every day on Training Peaks. Give me a break! 

But things just aren't ready yet. I'm walking, lifting with my upper body, doing physical therapy with my lower body...can't ride yet. I have to occupy my prodigious amounts of free time with other projects. Like new seals for the mountain bike fork. 

Wow. Yeah, that was like, what, an hour of my day? Then I messed with the cranks, headset, and dropper cable. Yep, that was another hour. Sixteen more waking hours in the day to fill. 

I'm dying over here. 

 

Who Knew?

Who knew that they actually put happiness in a large plastic tub?

 

Post Hip Installation: Better than a poke in the Eye with a Sharp Stick

  

Man, the hip replacement went incredibly well. I woke up talking about all kinds of goofy stuff, as most people who've had anesthesia will attest. In an hour, the fine folks at the hospital had me doing stair club. Not really stair club, but you get the picture. 

And...30 seconds later there was drama, something about passing out, low blood pressure, yada yada. I had to spend the night at the hospital instead of heading home. What a raw deal. I was doing so well until that point. Some people just wake up from anesthesia better than others. 

For my theatrics, I was treated to a special arm band. Oh, the humiliations. 

Once home from the hospital, the real work started. Pretty tough getting around for a day or two. Straight to the physical therapists on day three. Luckily, I found many uses for my borrowed walker. 

I did have a pre-op x-ray. My right hip (left side in the photo) has an awful lot of white at the connection point. "Crunchy. Angry. Bad." My left hip still has space. "Good."

And for the great unveiling: I give you "New Hip Goodness." State of the Art 3d printed Titanium. Ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene plastic is the material between. This bad boy should last between 15 and 40 years. A big spread, I know. Onward and upward. 
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That's a Wrap!

Isn't this a cute pic of Hanna and I??

Today wrapped up a 3 month heavy training block for me. No, really, it's legit. Over the last 15-20 years I've ridden hard and fast, but my volume is always low and I've not put much time on the bike. My usual ride time in any given week is 5-6 hours, and every now and then I've hit 9 hours.

After the State Championship race at ICC, I knew I had a limited time to ride. For 4 years, I've lived with a lot of pain in my right hip. The situation really deteriorated this year and I'd finally had enough. Pedaling was great but everyday life had become impossible in some aspects. I consulted a surgeon and scheduled replacement surgery for November 11. But that left me with quite a bit of time, with no races to do and bikes begging to be ridden. I asked Eli if he would create a block of real training for me...training like modern cyclist would engage in. He accepted, and we used Training Peaks and targeted November 11 as the goal date.

It was an eye-opener. Lots of zone 2 riding, lots of varied intervals (quite different from my all-out preferences), and more hours and miles than I have ever recorded. The weeks piled on and turned into months, and the hours piled up. I definitely didn't want to stop...ever. 

Today marked the longest (in miles and hours) week that I've ever recorded. I know it doesn't sound like much to today's high mileage freaks, but 14 hours is crazy high for me. And 212 miles? I haven't broken 200 miles EVER until the last few weeks. And total miles for the year is right at 4800, 1500 miles more than I've EVER recorded. Plus, I recorded my highest 20-minute power ever. (I didn't have power meters in my youth so let's say over the last 20 years.)

But the writing has been on the wall for a while. For years, my left/right balance has been practically 50/50. I've watched it closely as my mobility has diminished since mid-year. Ride after ride, it's crept apart. As my fitness grew from the miles and targeted intervals, my right leg signaled it's impending demise. We couldn't quite make it to 11/11. I'm sure the extra wear and tear hastened my need to stop the serious riding and just cruise in to the surgery date. 

Even though I'm a bit unhappy with myself for not following a solid training plan over all of these years, I'm grateful to Eli for taking the time to craft one just for me. I'm grateful to the Beautiful Mrs. K for encouraging me to try it, and for giving me the extra time it's taken to log the miles. 

Onward and upward. Never grow up. Never grow old (if you can get titanium replacement parts, that is).

September Blog! It's a miracle!

I'm not surprised anymore by the things my kids can do. They just make their minds up and do stuff. Good stuff. If you follow her at all, you've been seeing the feats of strength, the running, the riding, the cooking, etc. Quite a bit of awesomeness going on there. On Monday, she did her first 100 mile ride. I haven't done a 100 mile ride since the summer of 1994. Way to go, Power Girl. 

Tyson had some crappy things happen lately but he seems to be able to turn things around. Someone broke into the storage locker in his apartment building and stole his carbon e-mountain bike. Then he was on a boat at the Lake of the Ozarks and someone knocked his phone into the water (the location app still showed it in the water a week later). But he braved the insurance company and got paid for the bike, which we know is harder than it should be. Then he got the phone-dropper to pony up for a new phone. Can't wait to see what new bike he comes up with.

Eli had a hell of a race at the State Mountain Bike Championship. He took second overall and the win in the 19-29 Category 1 class. Yes, he beat me. And John can't seem to come to grips with what's going on here. 

By my reaction here, you'd think that I just won. No, I was 6th overall at the State Mountain Bike Championship. But I felt like I won. It was a stacked race and man, it felt like a win. I held off some hard-charging riders and I felt damn good about it!

A day before the Beautiful Mrs. K's birthday. We may have to celebrate early because I'm not going out in public with a walker. 



 

South Side XC Devo - 2025 Season in the Books!

It may have been a huge lift, but we finished our first season with the 2025 South Side XC Devo team. It was just an idea last year, but as it snowballed, it became apparent the not only was it needed, it was completely possible. We started the year in Fayettville, Arkansas with the US Pro Cup and ended today at the ICC Challenge Missouri State Championship.

The idea was simple: take the gobs and gobs of young, talented kids flowing out of NICA and give them a pathway to higher levels of racing. But that takes coaching, logistics, sponsors, and money. 

The coaching came from Eric Frazier, Chris Mileski, John Rines, Jay Thomas, and myself. The wrenching came from Brian Gainer. The fits came from James Caudright. We had a board that consisted of Josh Clark, Karen Melton, Kellie Gavin, and Deanna Kakouris. Without these people, XC Devo didn't happen. 

What also made it happen: Sponsors. We had a lot of people rooting for us, and laying down in-kind or big cash. Extreme Electrical. Lou Fusz Subaru. Roots MTB. Ignite Fit Studio. Fitness in the Fast Lane. Yomo. Westwood Catering. Equilibrium Mental Health. Neurodivergent Designs. Hincapie Sports Wear. Carbs Fuel. 

And we can't finish this post without the driving force behind it all: The Beautiful Mrs. K. Yes, Deanna is the hurricane at the front of (and behind) the scenes, of this whole endeavor. A special shout out to Nathan Goff, the man behind Extreme Electrical, for being game for whatever and whenever to get the team off the ground and produce the ICC Challenge, a race the Midwest mountain bike community has wholeheartedly embraced. 

A big thanks to all. A big shout out to the athletes who put their hearts and hard work into this first season. 

2026 starts today.

 

It's been a Busy Week!

What sort of blogger would I be if I didn't post this? Eli dragged Power Girl out for a leg-shattering long ride last week. She was spent. Tapped. Exhausted. Pooped. And so much better for it.

And by better for it, I submit just one of her recent Strava trophies. This was a nice hill in the area and we were flying up that baby! I was with her on this one and I can tell you it was awesome. Proud of you, Power Girl!

This one is actually bigger news. But I have to say, I didn't get this photo the normal way. I stole it from Tyson's Instagram. He's not one to have his photo taken, nor is he one to share photos. So I'm taking a flyer here so that I can have a picture to go along with his engagement. Congratulations and if you really don't like this photo posting, I can post a picture of Remi sleeping on the couch instead.

A pretty big deal here. Our South Side XC Devo kids are rockin' it. On the top step is Isaac, who's had a great streak of wins going. And on the 3rd step is none other than Eli, who is on a huge upward swing. This was from Creve Coeur today, just before the skies opened up to run us out of the park. 

And lest you thought there is only good news around here, you can see something that is anything but. For those who like to make fun of old men, here is your golden opportunity. There must come a reckoning, and it most likely involves titanium.




 

South Side XC Devo Team be Rollin' Up the Wins!

 

That headline might have fooled you into thinking that I took one of those wins, but NOPE. I did get this pretty cool photo, though!

We raced in Cape Girardeau today, at a wonderful little park called Klaus. I've raced there quite a few times over the years and it never disappoints. So twisty, so flowy, and quite a bit of elevation but you might never know it. The ups and downs are meshed together pretty well so it never seems like you climb very long. 

The Devo's were devastating today, taking 1st, 2nd, 5th and 6th in Cat 1. Then 1st, 2nd, 4th, 8th and 9th in Cat 2. The Marathoners saw 3rd and 4th go to our team. The Women's Cat 2 race had a Devo win as well as 3rd, 4th, and 5th place finishes.

Wow! It was awesome to see 18 riders in the white, red, and black Devo kits. 

Exceeding your own Expectations

I think a lot of athletes pick out that one moment in their athletic career that feels like it was their "best". The kind of moment that most other moments are measured by. 

I'm super lucky. I've had many experiences on my bike that were beyond my own expectations. Maybe that's a better point, that exceeding your own expectations actually defines "best" more appropriately.

Aside from my own tendency to dwell on every failure I've ever had, I do have a lot of incredible mental snapshots from BMX racing, mountain bike racing, road racing, and even duathlon and running races. 46 years of competition contains a LOT of memories.

Arguably, the photo above is on paper head and shoulders above my other cycling achievements. That is the 1985 World Cup in Nashville, Tennessee. I've probably never been better in any of my athletic pursuits than that very moment. But I have many, many more "lesser" achievements that stand out stronger. 

One example, and usually the one that comes to mind when I go down the ol' memory lane: I was 13 years old in 1980. My dad had been taking me to the races for a few months and I was still a "Novice", not yet upgraded to "Expert". The hot local track was Supercross, which was on Missouri Bottom road (there is a paintball course there now). It was a week night and I was the only 13 Novice to show up, so they slotted me in with the 13 experts. I won. I was as surprised as the Experts. When we got home my dad, who rarely spoke, announced to my mom: "Well honey, Timmy beat the Experts tonight".  He said it like the United States Olympic Committee was going to show up in a few minutes and give me a medal. 

I know in the world today that winning big at the highest level of sports is the only thing that matters to so many people. Don't get me wrong, that level of physical excellence is amazing and the effort necessary to get there is almost unbelievable. But I've been taking stock of a lot of things lately, like what I've achieved, what I didn't quite achieve, etc. I keep coming back to the idea of exceeding my own expectations. 

(I'm not sure who to give photo credit to for the photo I've included. If it is your photo, please let me know so I can give credit or compensation. Thanks.)

 

A little Fight left in the Old Man Yet

Rhett's Run mountain bike course in Columbia, Missouri is quite a piece of work. It's about as technical as you can get. And every time I race there, it seems to be more climb-heavy than the year before. It's actually a pretty ancient race, as I can remember racing there 20+ years ago.

This time it went really well, despite the scorching heat which caused the race director to shorten the race by a lap. Still, an hour and a half of mountain bike racing on such a technical course can take it out of a guy.

I kept a good pace and fought off heat stroke to find myself in 5th overall, and first guy over 50. This, despite a ridiculous 1mph high-side crash in an UPHILL switchback and smashing my elbow into the gravelly ground. 

The SSXC Devo team did great, and we had a win on the female side and podiums in the other classes, too. Onward and upward, race fans!