Eli at the skate park

Eli has been bugging us to take he and his bike to the little skate park at the Webster Community Center since he saw kids riding there on the 4th of July.  So today, being an absolutely stellar day, was the day.  He was zooming around on the metal structures and he really liked it.  I was sweating it a bit, but he never fell and he did pretty good.  There is another skate park at Silvan Springs that I want to take him to next time.

Don't know why the photos turned out so crazy weird. 

Vans - What's Old is New

Apparently, Vans shoes are a hot item again.  I'm always taken back to 1980 when I got my first pair for bmx racing.  There were so many crazy designs to choose from, but I usually chose basic black.  Today, there are exponentially more choices, some of which have Marvel characters on them as well as Hello Kitty.  Today we were shopping for Hanna a new pair....thirty five years later.  Who would have thought?

Car Watching Again

Again, Chesterfield Valley comes through with a great oldie.  This time, the second generation Ford Ranchero caught my eye.  This is the most tidy of the Ranchero body styles, from 1960 to 1965.  I just love this little thing.  Wish I would have had a chance to look inside, but I felt the owner was giving me the evil eye as I was photographing it.

Chesterfield...it's good for car watchers

 I wish I had my phone ready to take photos all of the time.  It's amazing how many cool cars come through Chesterfield every day.  Take this second generation Corvette (a C2, as 'vette people say).  It's one of my favorites.

But this is the view that blows my mind with this one.  Is there a more beautiful rear end on a car?  Ever?  Well, that's up for debate, but this has to be in the top ten.

LaVista 'Cross race goes well

Thanks to Mike Dawson for the fabulous photo from LaVista!

Last year, I gushed about how well-suited the LaVista course was for my...ahem...strengths.  LaVista is a permanent 'cross course in Godfrey, Illinois.  It's a course with short straights, many corners, and lots of ways to get out of sight.  Last year I raced in the open class with the fast guys and got third.

This year, continuing my reality training, I raced with the masters.  Since the master's race starts one minute behind the Open field, I figured I could race guys my age and still see how close I could come to competing with the faster, younger crowd.  It worked out pretty well, as I was able to get a pretty good lead on the old guys and move up a bit into the Open field.  But only just.   I caught just a few of the Open guys, and it looked like I would have gotten a whoopin' from at least 5 of guys leading that race.

Oh well.  Even though the course was bumpy, I still consider it a must-do on the race calendar.  And the barriers were perfect for bunny hopping!

Onward and upward.

Hermann Cyclocross Race!

I have taken some real beatings at the Hermann cyclocross races over the last 5+ years.  There have been some good races there, for sure.  But I don't often come home excited about my placing.

Tonight, I raced the Masters 40+ class instead of the Pro/1/2.  And I won.  Go figure.  As much as I wish that I could compete for the win in a faster P12 race like Hermann, it's much more realistic for me to just admit that I'm not that good and race with guys like me.  It was fun, it was a really competitive race, and I loved it.

Love the city of Hermann, and I really love this race.  I'm very happy that I was finally able to put together a nice podium finish to round out my enthusiasm for the event.

I can barely contain my enthusiasm for my night as I stood on the podium with the leader's jersey on.  Hanna, the horns are for you!  I gave the leader's jersey back because I'm not racing tomorrow's event.  It was perfect just to wear one for once in my life.

Tyson's First Junior Race on The Hill

 Tyson, second from right, with black jersey and my blue and silver helmet

After 8 years of doing the short sprint races at the Gateway Cup, Tyson finished his first actual Juniors race today.  On a borrowed road bike (and using my helmet), he experienced a real deal crit on the Hill.  There were 20 or so juniors, ranging in age from 11 to 16.  His race lasted 20+ minutes, and he hung in there.  Best of all, he LOVED it.  That's the part I can't believe.  Looks like I'll dip into his college savings for a road bike.....  :)