Reaching for Goals and Getting Them

First off, let me tell you how proud I am of my three kids. Tyson is in his last year of college at Fontbonne on a 100% baseball scholarship. Hanna has moved to Dallas for an amazing marketing job at WileyX Sunglasses, her first job straight of college. And the youngest, Eli, has set his sights on becoming a great mountain bike racer. It's not their accomplishments exactly that I'm proud of.  It's their drive. It's their tenacity. It's the idea that their lives are going to be better because of things they've worked hard for.

This weekend was the kickoff of the Missouri NICA race season for 2022 at St. Joe State Park. The school-age mountain bike racing organization keeps growing and growing. The Beautiful Mrs. K and I tagged along to watch Eli race in his first Varsity class race. At the end of last year's NICA season, Eli vowed that he would make the podium in 2022.  He's worked hard at this goal and has made incredible improvements in his riding.

As we've come to expect from NICA races, Sunday morning was buzzing with excitement and the crowds were huge. 400-ish kids, more teams than ever, and a big, big group of people hovering over the start line to see the Varsity kids take off. So encouraging to see this many people at 9am, when the racing would go on for the different classes for 6 more hours!

I actually struggled to get a shot of Eli in the starting chute, as the spectators lined the snow fencing. He had a third row start, which is not bad for him as he is a very fast starter. I held my breath for 18 minutes, waiting for his first lap to be over and he came through in great position. Two to go. After the second lap, he still had great position and was looking strong when I handed him a water bottle. One to go.

If there is anything I've learned about having kids, it's that hoping for the best for them is the most painful and glorious thing in life. My hope for my kids is that they reach whatever it is that they want the most. I stopped breathing again when I saw Eli swing out of the woods and onto the pavement for the run-in to the finish.  He had a very good rider just a few feet from his back wheel.  Eli is a super strong sprinter so when he flew onto the grass toward the finish, I yelled LIGHT IT UP ELI!!! and that's exactly what he did. His huge effort was enough for a solid 4th place. I could breathe again.

No words.

There are moments in life I won't forget. This podium shot is one of them.

Great job, Eli!

 

A Trip for Work with Some Fun Sprinkled In

After a VERY early morning flight Tuesday, we arrived in Salt Lake City before 10am. A quick UBER ride up through the mountains and we arrived at our hotel with an AMAZING view of the Park City mountains. This was from our balcony.  Imagine looking out at this every morning...

Obviously, with temps in the low 70's and almost no humidity, the Beautiful Mrs. K and I were completely energized! So we took a selfie. Actually, we took a lot of selfies.  

Yet another selfie. But that's not all we did. Even though we look like we're cute tourists enjoying the fresh mountain air, we were actually there for a reason: Work.

We were in Utah for The Big Gear Show. It's a trade show for outdoor brands, lots of which are bicycle-focused. We wanted to take a look at trends in the industry, as well as some specific brands that we were interested in. We had an eye on E-bikes, one of the fastest growing segments in cycling. It was an eye-opener, both for how good some of the new E-bikes are, and how bad some of them are. It's important to know the difference!

The NBDA (National Bicycle Dealers Association) were there and were a big part of the show. At one point they highlighted South Side Cyclery, and gave our store a 1-year membership as a scholarship award. We were flattered and humbled.  Thank you!

Once the two days of meetings and appointments at the show were over, we had a day and a half to ourselves. Obviously, we were going to make the most of this. I mean, like, Deer Valley and Park City? We're mountain bikers, right?? So we rented some bikes and bought lift tickets and off we went. Riding the lift up to Silver Lake, we caught some awesome trails below us. This photo is of a killer fast section into a berm that we actually rode THREE TIMES.  Oh yes, we rode the Green flow trails.  Imagine 4 miles downhill on a trail similar to the new Bluffview jump line and you kinda get the picture.

Halfway down one of our runs, the Beautiful Mrs. K was ALL SMILES.

We eventually made it around to checking out the more XC-oriented Mid-Mountain trail. It was more or less undulating, so it was flat-lander friendly but seriously overgrown.  You can tell where the heart and soul of mountain biking lies here, and it's not really XC.

One last look at the lift station and the beautiful surroundings before we headed back to Deer Valley.

Walking around Park City later in the day, we ran into a group of St. Louisans! Actually, half of this group now lives in the mountains of the west. We stopped for a drink and had a great time. They had a week of riding together and were talking about their last day to come. It was so nice to randomly run into people we knew 1500 miles from home!

A homage to the 2002 Winter Olympics was erected about 100 yards from our hotel.  Of course, we couldn't let this occasion pass us by. Of course, we took a selfie.

Friday was our last day in Utah.  Our plane didn't leave until quite late, so we took the awesome FREE public transportation and checked out the massive slide at the Park City resort. These goofy little carts are actually quite fun. No joke, you go downhill on these things at like 20 miles per hour for a couple minutes.  You have a funky brake handle that actually works, but Deanna and I told ourselves we wouldn't use it at all and let it fly. She got caught behind a total sandbagger, but I had a completely free run.  Probably good, as she tends to go a little overboard with things that go fast. We also strolled through old-town Park City, where they were setting up for a big art show before heading to the airport.

I think I'd like Lambert Airport a little more if the views were as good as those at Salt Lake.

Big Day Out, Missing a Little Somethin'

 Yesterday was a big day for me. Eli asked me to go on a long road ride with him.  Or maybe I asked if I could go with him? Not important :) But we did set out on an unusually cool morning, keeping a really good pace and hitting a few hills before coming home through the mean streets of the city. 47 miles later we were done.  He went way faster than me downhill (50mph!!!), and sprinted past me up Adams, so there's that. And you know, I was tired.  Had to do some chores around the house, too.  Then I noticed the sad face on the Beautiful Mrs. K.  I knew what that was about.  She didn't want to ride her mountain bike by herself.  I gathered myself up, drank a Monster Mean Bean, and said: "I'll go with you to Cliff Cave if you really want." The frown turned upside down and off we went.  Again, great weather, and the trail survived the weeks storms incredibly well. That was TWO rides in one day with TWO of my favorite riding partners....

But there was a little somethin' missing.

My other favorite riding partner has peaced out and now resides in Dallas.  I'm sure there are going to be tons of group rides that she can attend, hundreds and thousands of new people to meet, and countless adventures to be had. However, it would have been quite the TRIFECTA had I been able to ride with my THREE favorite riding partners yesterday.