Bubba Cyclocross at Simpson

Thanks again to Mike Dawson for the fine photos!

The Bubba series started Sunday at the fine little place in Valley Park known as Simpson Park.  I didn't have high hopes because frankly, the course was too fast for my skill set, especially since the Bubba races are Open and not masters.  But after 9 or 10 laps (I have no idea how many laps we did) my attitude had changed.  The dusty switchback corners had become more treacherous and bike handling did come into play enough to make my race pretty solid.  I ended up 9th out of 25.  Not exactly dicing it out for the win, but I did get to spar with some good guys along the way.

And afterward, there was no resting allowed.  I had promised Eli that I would take him to the little skate park in Webster.  So off we went, two boys and their BMX bikes.  As tired as I was, it was pretty fun.  Eli is getting much better on his bike and he was having fun.  It was cool to play around on the various boxes and ramps and such.  All around, a great day!

Car Watching: Porsche Turbo

Strolling over to get some coffee in a clear cup, I happened upon this gem.  Yes, it's the Turbo.

Car Watching: Viper

 I was talking on the phone when this drove up the other day.  I handed my cell to a trusty, bearded coworker and told him to snap some shots for me.  This is a relatively modern Dodge Viper.  I think the drop top versions used to be called RT/10's, but I don't know that to be the case anymore.

 The rear is not nearly as cool as the profile photo.

This car "shines" in profile.  It screams FAST.

October 13: Remembering Rudy and Rosco

 Rudy was born on October 13, 1998.  Such a soft hearted little guy.  He loved other dogs,  he loved to chew on things, and he loved sleep.  If he was happy to see you, he would sit on his hind legs and wave a front paw at you and make this long growling noise.  Rudy lived to be a robust 9 years old.

Rosco died one year today, at the ripe old age of 13.  For most of his eventful life, he soaked it all in every day.  Up before dawn, up a couple times during the night, chasing squirrels and rabbit, barking at the wind, getting into the trash...you get the picture.  The dog with the largest ear-length to body-length ratio in history is still on my mind every day.

Pedal the Cause

 Pedal the Cause is one of Big Shark's biggest events of the year....and we put on a lot of events.  It doesn't happen without lots of help and lots of volunteers.  After my 'cross race today, I met the clean up crew for the event downtown.  You would not believe how much stuff there is.  And I'm just talking about our stuff, let alone all of the other vendors and organizations that attend the event.  This is a photo of our Sprinter van after a couple of hours of clean up.  Those are folding tables stacked on top of two "coffin like" boxes.  There are two of those boxes, about three feet wide by six feet long.  With metal bike rack poles inside of them, we estimated them to be between 400 and 500 pounds each.  Yep, it was all loaded by hand.  Hats off to the Big Shark crew.  Oh...and there were many other vehicles chocked full of things, not the least of which was the start/finish structure...and we took that down, too.

Eli was having a grand old time with this weekend.  Yesterday, he did the kids event to raise money for PTC.  And today, he was a dynamo as he helped us tear down.  In the background, you can see the beautiful Mrs. K talking to cousin Max, as he helped with the heavy lifting tonight, too.

Gordon Moore Superprestige CX Race

 Thanks again to Mike Dawson for the great photos!

I absolutely love racing the Superprestige CX races put on by Wild Trak Bikes.  This year I missed the first race, but did La Vista and caught the final race at Gordon Moore today.  Since I have been doing so well in the Masters races lately, I felt big in my britches today and went out on a mission.  The GM course suits me the least out of the Alton courses, with it's long, fast straights and easy turns.  I did get to bunnyhop another barrier every lap again this week, so there's that to be happy with.  I fought it out with two fast guys and never quite shook them off.  I shouldn't have raced like that.  Too much leading, too many small attacks that didn't get me anywhere, and underestimating the other riders' strengths.  I ended up second.

Onward and upward.

DeTomaso Pantera, right before my eyes

 It's not every day that I get to see a Pantera.  In fact, I don't know if I have ever seen one outside of a car show.  On this day at work, an extremely fine example parked right in front of the store.  It was a beauty.

The rear view is my favorite.  In person, the car is so flat, so wide, and the dual twin exhaust tips rise so dramatically from the underside that it looks like a caricature of a super car.  I was excited about it for the rest of the day.

Tyson and the Masi

Even though Tyson is a very good mountain biker, he seems to have a thing for road bikes.  After he rode his first Junior Criterium, he's been wanting one.  Not in the budget, but with a generous gesture from friends Tyson is riding a very storied bike.  Thank you, he loves it.

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.....  :)