Cyclocross at St. Vincent Park - Revenge for 2013

 "Why am I going to go so fast from the gun...AGAIN?"

 Pulling up for the ditch reminded me of riding my BMX bike.

 At times, I felt almost as fast as this photo makes me look.  Almost.

St. Vincent Park is a crap shoot.  It's been hot and dusty and cold, icy, and muddy.  Regardless, it's always one of the more technical and mountain bike friendly courses.  In December of 2013, I broke my leg on the icy stuff.  Huge bummer.  Yesterday, however, it was only cold and a little damp.  The course held true to it's technical nature and I pulled a solid 3rd out of the deal.  There was some attrition, so I'm not kidding myself that I could have very well ended up 6th instead, but I had a fighting chance with the more difficult course.  I was going flat in the front tire region for the last lap and a half, and the rain was falling harder, so it was even more satisfying.  Without doing the state championship race next weekend in Columbia, Missouri, I am solidly in the top ten point standings for the Bubba series.  I will probably get knocked out since I'm not going, but it's nice to be there at this point in the season anyway.

Thanks to Mike Dawson for standing in the damp and cold to take photos of the weekend warriors!

Thanksgiving Day 2015 - Chubb Trail with a Cannondale Habit

 To my surprise, I awoke today to sunny skies and 60 degree temps.  After getting caught out at Castlewood yesterday in a deluge, I was shocked.  Could the stars have aligned, for once, so that I could actually ride a demo bike on a cool trail in great conditions? 

 The answer was certainly, YES!

 The Cannondale Habit is a lineup of 27.5 trail bikes with 120mm of travel and fun packed into every millimeter of carbon goodness. 

 The one I was gifted is close to the top.  It's (gulp) $7000-ish dollars.  But never once did I feel like I needed to be careful with this investment that wasn't mine.  On the contrary.

 The trail was incredible and so was the bike.  So much control, so much speed, so much climbing fun.  The grip when scrambling up the technical shelves and rock croppings was a huge surprise. This, folks, is the modern day "trail bike".  Blurred, almost obliterated, are the lines between racing bikes and trail bikes.

I haven't been feeling too hot lately, really worn down and tired.  I kept riding as hard as I could anyway, not wanting to give this day up.  And the Habit was like a damn puppy, always trying to keep me jumping and moving.  Shoot, more like 101 Dalmaitans. I got tons of compliments out on the trail from the throngs of people that were thinking exactly as I was.  It looked GOOD on the back of my car, too.

Bubba Cyclocross Race at Suson Park

 At first I'm like - BRRRRAAAAAAP!

 Then I'm like - GRRRRRRRRR!

 Then I'm like - ZZZZOOOOOOOMMMM!

At last I'm like - HEYWHEREDIDEVERYONE GO?

Thank you to Mike Dawson for capturing every important moment in my quest for another 8th place in the Bubba series.  It was cold for me to be out on a bike, but I was so glad I went.  The course was hard, hard, hard.  Surprisingly, there was NO MUD.  A little soft in spots, though, which made for some tough going.  Over a thousand feet of climbing, too.

Two races to go, the last of which is at St. Vincent Park.

The Holly Mighty Demon Needs a Rebuild

 It's mighty big, alright.  The Holly Mighty Demon on the Cobra replica is a 750cfm monster.  It runs really rich and leaks a lot of gas.  It's time for a rebuild.

It was harder to pull the tool box from the trunk of my car than to pull the carb from the intake.  I love old tech.  I wish I had the time and patience to rebuild the carb myself, but I think it deserves a professional job.  I'll have it back on the Cobra in less than a week.  Then we can see how this beast runs with a full set of lungs.

Hair Cut

 About every other time, the Beautiful Mrs K will cut Eli's hair instead of taking him to the salon.  It saves money.  And she's pretty good at it.

Look at all that hair!  And that's only half of what I swept up when she was through cutting.

Car Watching - Ferrari FF

 Behold, the Ferrari FF.  It's an odd duck, mostly because of it's semi-hatch back shape.

 Above the menacing quad exhaust tips is a sight that stirs memories of the BMW M coupe, only not as cool.

 But it is a Ferrari, and as such it's a high performance tour de force.  See those brake calipers? See those rotors?

 It's called the FF, short for Fast Four...meaning it has four seats.  So four people can enjoy being thrust down the road by 651 horsepower from the 6.3 liter V12.

In fact, Ferrari says it will make it past the 200mph mark.  Awesome.  Really awesome.  It's hard to argue with that sort of performance.  But maybe with that sort of speed, no one will notice the ugly butt on this thing. 

Queeny Park Cyclocross, Part Two

 We visited Queeny Park for the second time this year in the Bubba series on Sunday.  However, it was not the same course, or even in the same part of the park.  It was a power course, which I have no business on.  The above photo, taken by the renowned Mike Dawson, makes me look fast and intense.  In fact, this was a point in the race that I was intensely going backward.

The laps were extremely fast, and the only slow part was this steep hill that we mashed up 10 times.  It was my saving grace.  I managed 10th place out of 23, actually not bad considering the course.  Onward and upward, as next weekend houses the infamous Concordia Seminary course.

Car Watching - 1974 AMC Gremlin X

 Yes indeed, this Gremlin is thought of as one of the ugliest cars to come out of the 70's.  But, I don't think so.  Yes, it's got a strange "hit in the back by a large truck" look, but many of the hatchbacks that came to the states from Japan and Europe had similar profiles.  This beauty is a 1974 Gremlin X, and it's go a mean V8 under the hood.

 The X was just an appearance package, but it gave the car a sportier look.  The body and brilliant blue paint are a real eye-catcher.

 The bumpers had not grown too large on AMC cars by 74.  And the little bulge in the hood makes it look like something's going on under there.

 Sporty wheels with chrome trim rings are cool, too.  I wish I had gotten a good picture of the interior, which was awesome in it's 70's austerity. 

About what was under that hood....the cool chrome pipes that stuck out of both sides of the car just in front of the rear wheels were a nice tip off.  Gremlin's came with a LOT of six cylinder ho-hum.  After all, the Gremlin was supposed to be an economy car that went up against imports.  But some Gremlin's came with 304 V8's. This one?  It's got a healthy 343 from an AMX, the owner himself said so.  It sounded glorious as he rumbled away from the store.

Cyclocross Racing - Sylvan Springs

 Fun, fast race course at Sylvan Springs this past Sunday.  I thought for sure that I would be off the back. So I decided....to start fast.

 Quickly relegated to third behind Chris Harre and a charging Josh Johnson, I started to wonder why I had chosen to wear a long sleeve.  Hey, I was cold when I started.

 I unzipped a little every lap, usually after I was passed by someone.  However, the fast course kept the wind in my hair.  Actually, on my scalp.  My Gateway Cycling socks, courtesy of Justin M are looking good here!

I didn't unzip this far to keep my female fan base satisfied.  But I did manage a 7th place, better than I ever have at Sylvan.  Pretty close to 6th, but I ran out of talent.

Thanks to Mike Dawson for again providing proof that I was there.

Cyclocross Racing - Bubba in Chesterfield

 Another 'cross race, another fast start for me.  I was actually not first going into the first obstacles, but that changed in a few seconds.  I was really having a great time on the flowly, extremely bumpy course that circled the lake.  Felt great leading the group of 24 strong.

Then, I looked up and realized I was riding a mountain bike in a cyclocross race.

Sixth place was the best I could do this week.  I did have a small battle going on for fifth but the younger man took the last paying spot.

Thanks again to Mike Dawson for taking cool photos of weekend warriors!

The Newest Area Mountain Bike Trails

Way, way back off of the Al Foster Trail, way, way back from Castlewood you'll find two of the finest mountain biking trails that we have available in the St. Louis Area.  Rock Hollow (or Zombie to those that know the old wives' tales) and Bluffview are amazing little trails.

I say little because they are still fairly short, only a couple of miles each.  Those couple of miles are action packed, though.  Consider Rock Hollow as sort of Greensfelder-like, and Bluffview similar with a little less rock.  Both are out-and-back for now, but there are plans for extensions that a lot of us are eagerly awaiting.

Actually, the trails don't have to be hard to access.  Lots of people go to Castlewood proper and ride all the way back, but you can get there pretty easily by parking at the lovely parking lot off of Old State road or park at Sherman Beach and ride a mile or two of Al Foster.

It's worth your time.

Queeny Park Bubba Cyclocross Race

 It's been more than a year since I've raced cyclocross.  I wisely chose Queeny Park and the Bubba series to make a return.  Great course for me.  And I'm not looking too bad here with my Giant helmet, gloves, and sunglasses, eh? It pays to show up to the dealer camps, I tell you! (Mike Dawson photo credit)

 Naturally, I started fast.  Naturally, Josh started slow.  That part played out pretty much as it always does, but I was able to dig a 4th place finish out of it. (Mike Dawson photo credit)

Who can resist racing on a day like this?  It was wonderful.  (Barry Bean photo credit)

Car Watching - 1967 Ford Fairlane 500

 I'm a Ford guy, and this Fairlane is one of my unicorns.  I have always been blown away by the stacked headlights, the fastback roofline, and the sort of "7/8 Galaxie" sizing.  This is a 1967 Ford Fairlane 500, and it's owner has taken such good care of this baby.

 It's hard to find a bad angle on the '67, and the body on this one is so delicious.  I like the personalized plate (curiously, only on the front??).

 A little exhaust pipe action peeking out from below the fender just behind the rear wheel.  No gaudy big dual pipes here, just classy.  There are dual pipes, just understated.

 Right click the photo to get a full-sized look.  You can see the gravel reflected in the chrome. 

 There's that other pipe peeking out.  See the body and paint on this thing??  Damn fine work.

There's my stacked headlights.  And that "289" emblem.  The Fairlane had similar engine choices to the Mustang, as were transmission choices.  This was probably a normal 2V engine from the factory, but I would not doubt if somewhere along the way it has been beefed up.  Even so, it would have had 200 horsepower (gross) from the factory with it's 3-speed Cruise-o-Matic automatic transmission.  There were fire-breathing Fairlanes, such as the "R" code 427's, but that's collector stuff and this one is such a perfect every day car.  The interior was fine, too, but those photos turned out badly.

I'm in lust with a green Fairlane and I can't do anything about it.  I hope this one, which is for sale, goes to a wonderful new owner who cares for it as much as this owner has.

Car Watching - Ferrari 360 Spider

 What did my eyes spy one evening last week ?  Why, it's a Ferrari, of course.  A 360 Spider.  Hard to believe that this car is 10+ years old.

 This gorgeous 400 horsepower attention-getter can go 180mph...just what you need to dry your hair with the top down.  The owner of this beauty has a 1980's sense of humor, too.  Where are Crockett and Tubbs when you need them??

I had to get another shot of Ferrari's V8 car with Big Shark's V8 in the background....because both are incredible chick magnets!

Council Bluff and the Spiders

 I took the chance on the beautiful Friday to drive down to Council Bluff Lake to ride the trails.  I arrived a bit before 11am and it was pretty much a ghost town.

 This time, I remembered cash and payed my fee with dollars instead of change, like last time.

The trail itself was in much better shape and I knocked off more than 5 minutes from my Burnin' Race Loop time versus last time I was here.  Look closely at this photo, though.  You'll see my huge frustration with this trip:  spiders.  Well, not exactly the spiders themselves.  The webs.  If I told you I had a thousand webs cover my face while I was riding, it's probably low-balling the total.  There were more spider webs than I have ever encountered riding mountain bike trails.  I must say at times there were spiders hanging from my helmet, my arms, my clothes, and my legs.  Now...I'm not particularly bugged by spiders, but I am not a big fan of them.  And no-way-no-how am I a fan of them hanging all over my body while I'm trying to negotiate rocks and logs and turns.  I was so creeped out and itchy when I got done that I took a bit of a shower at one of the faucets at the camp site.