Heat Wave, I'm not making this stuff up.

Earlier today, weatherunderground.com was forecasting some ridiculous temps for us in the next couple of days.  109 was Friday's forecast.  I started to dismiss it as hyperbole, but now even weather.com is posting some ridiculous stuff.  105 Thursday, 104 Friday?  Yikes.  Better ride tomorrow morning!

Let's try not to complain.  It'll be winter before we know it and we'll be longing for hot days.

Indian Camp Creek 3/6/12 Hour Endurance Race

 Normally, I have about 2 hours of racing in my bones before I fall apart.  And Saturday's race at Indian Camp Creek really hit that nail on the head.  Here I am (717 in the blue Big Shark stuff) starting the 3 hour race with the hordes of riders in all of the categories.

 I swore I was just going to follow wheels for the mile or so of asphalt and gravel road before the single track started.  As you can see, I fell back into old patterns and hit the front and never looked back.  You can see Sam Moore, Jeremy Bock, and Andy Hunsaker in hot pursuit. 

 Minutes into the trail, we formed a 4 man group and went away.  Myself, Sam, Jeremy, and Justin Bowen turned it into a cross country race pretty quickly.  The trail was delicious single track.  And dusty, too.

 Jeremy and Sam took off from me right about the time I figured it would happen...at the two hour mark.  After that point, I was just surviving.  The course was perfect for me, though, and I nursed it in for 2nd place overall.  Sam went on to get 2nd place in the 6 hour.  I was so glad I was not going any longer than 3 hours!!

On the podium with Jeremy and Brad Brown, another great rider from Cape Girardeau.  Like last year, the trophies were really cool, plus there were great raffle prizes as well as a nice cash payout.

Put this race on your calendar for next year.  It's a quality event.  Thanks to Darla Chilton and Karena for the photos!

Hanna on the swings

She's such a beauty.  Photo of her on the swings at the Ballwin Days Carnival.

St. Joe State Park MTB Race and Father's Day

 We took the family wagon down to Farmington for the St. Joe MTB race.  Hanna, the good pre-teen that she is, took full advantage of electronic entertainment.

 It was hot, but not nearly as bad as Saturday.  Rain really cooled it off and settled the course nicely.  Quite a few Experts lined up.

 Is that a Deciduous or a Conifer type tree?

 Is that my lip that I see?

My race was going pretty well for 1 and a 1/2 laps.  I was trying to keep Chris Ploch in sight for 2nd place and I flatted.  It was the longest flat fix of my life.  Seriously, it took more than 10 minutes.  My thru-axle was caked in dirt and I didn't realize it.  I'll say it again:  My rookie errors, after 33 years of racing, still amaze me.  But, I did finish the race.  Oh, how I wanted to quit and pack up and go home.  I have done that too many times, and it's time to set a better example for my children. 

And later, we ate a nice dinner at Grandma's for Father's Day!

Father's Day? Every day is Rosco Day

Down stairs, working on the bikes, and who is always by my side? Rosco.  It's always Rosco day.  This was yesterday, and it was HOT.  While he is usually on the other side of the work stand laying on a soft carpet, he wisely chose to lay on the cool basement floor.  Sort of an odd spot, but it always puts a smile on my face to see him close by.

Grizzly's Baseball at GCS

 For getting good grades in school, Eli's baseball adventures continued.  He scored us free tickets to the Grizzly's baseball game across the river at GCS Ballpark.  Here, Hanna, her bff Casie, Eli, and the beautiful Mrs K cheese for the camera on a beautiful evening.  Doesn't Mrs K look stunning in this photo??

The Frontier League of Professional Baseball has everything that the big league's have...except horrible crowds and crushing concession costs.  This place was rockin'. 

Just a wonderful facility.  The atmosphere was amazing.  Super kid-friendly.  Free parking.  And the baseball was very good.  Our seats were about 30 feet from behind home plate.  Great stuff.

Affton Athletic Association's 50th Anniversary at Busch Stadium

 Eli scored free tickets to the Cards/Indians game at Busch on Sunday as part of the Affton Athletic Association's 50th anniversary.  Man, the field sure is big from down here.  And it's MUCH warmer, too!

 Eli and his crew walking around the field.  He's #6.

 Tyson joined in a photo with the little guys.

After the game (Cards lost!), the kids got to run around the bases!  Super cool day.

Laundry Day is Awesome!

Rosco just loves laundry day.  I imagine if I was walking along and saw a nice, soft, super-pile of comforters and blankets, I'd jump in and lay down, too.

The good ol' days have nothing on Modern Muscle

Take a look.  A long look.  Remember the muscle cars of the 60's?  Or, better yet, do you remember the folk lore?  It's got nuthin' on the new generation.  The Mustang and Camaro are officially supercars.  Autoblog posted an article the other day (here) showing the Mustang putting down almost 600 horses...to the wheels.  And it'll go OVER 200 miles per hour.  Gulp.

A little Eli medley

 That must be one fantastic snow cone!  He dropped his first one, so he's probably making sure this one goes straight to his belly.

 Here, he's showing off for his bff Sydney.  Atta boy, Eli.  And below, it appears that someone has gotten into the super stiff hair gel.  He looks cool, though!

Ballwin Days Cross Race

 Absolutely killer course at Ballwin's Vlasis park.  Hanna took a shot of me while I was busy taking the win.  I'm bummed that there were not more people.

Great tight turns, a couple of sand pits, some fun stairs and a few climbs.  This is on the backside of the course.  I must say that I NEVER noticed the little lake.

I am SO looking forward to 'cross this fall.