family outing, bike racing weekend

after two hectic days at the store, the beautiful mrs k and i were very happy to be driving off to the lake again saturday night. this was a little different than last weekend, however.

first off, tyson and eli were going with us to the lake. second, we weren't going to the lake for recreation, we were going because it's closer to the jeff city mountain bike race. and lastly, sparky was going along with us. sparky is the bright-eyed, bushy tailed mechanic at ghisallo, and he also races mountain bikes. we invited him to stay with us at the lake and go to the race, too. he was smart, though, and followed along in his own car, the very manly new beetle. well, at least it's a turbo....

we couldn't even leave town on time. we had to eat. the rough day at the store sapped our will to move forward, so we drove 1 mile and stopped at IHOP to gorge on breakfast goodness. then we drove 1 more mile to stock up on snacks and water to amuse the kids (and me) while we drove. finally, we drove west.

I-70 is a most God forsaken highway. busy, dangerous, hilly, full of trucks, pickups pulling boats, and general mayhem. but we got to the lake in one piece, stopping at piggly wiggly (hyvee, actually) to stock up for breakfast.

God bless mrs k. eli didn't want to sleep. ever. he tossed and turned and squealed and cried and made our lives hell, but mrs k took him in the other room so i could sleep for 'the big day.' i feel guilty about it, because it's just another bike race, but she really wants me to do my best. eli kept me up quite a bit, but kept her up most of the night.

we made the race with no real trouble, only a brief stop at a gas station to grab cold water, which resulted in me smelling like smoke for the next hour.

we pulled up and immediately saw the kaiser there getting ready. there were plenty of people racing and warming up, so i got the butterflies pretty bad. deanna set up camp right at the shady start/finish area, and i went to warm up. the jeff city course is a killer single track extravaganza. no real climbing, but not one yard of flat ground. total single track. i don't know how long it is, but at full tilt it takes 29 minutes for me. i took a full warm up lap, not intending to but i didn't want to get off the trail. i finished up just in time to change into a dry jersey and get to the start line. oh, and a kiss from the family for good luck.

and, i won. it wasn't a very big field, but the fast guy in my class, who whooped my butt last year, was there, so it was nice to get vindication. and i nearly caught the first place guy in the younger age class, who started 2 minutes before me, too. so i got the fastest time of the day! yee haw. deanna and tyson handed me water all day, and they said eli really enjoyed the show. and sparky? he dnf'd his first sport race. ah, the new bike racer. so much to learn. the kaiser wasn't too happy with his race, but it was blazing hot and he isn't a fan of the heat, so i was proud that he finished. for me, the bmc performed flawlessly. who says long travel bikes are for freeriding?

afterward, we all hit wendy's (those are all closed in st.louis, you know) and chowed down. i was eyeing the kaisers chili/salad/salsa thing, but all i could get down was some chicken salad and some yogurt. we bid sparky and the kaiser goodbye and braved I-70 again. there were 3 accidents that we witnessed, but luckily the family truckster stayed out of trouble. (and i averaged 23mpg with 4 people and 200lbs of family travelin' cargo!)