Team Kakouris goes to the Races

Sunday dawned and it was time to load up and head out to the UFD Mountain Bike Race at the Forest City Trails in St. James.  Eli and I were signed up to race, but since he's been at football practice all week, he was sore and crabby and didn't race. But he came along anyway, and that made it possible to bring along everyone's favorite Hound Dog, Remi.  Remi loves car rides. And Remi has his favorite spot, which is on top of Eli. These two are so precious together!

We all know that I cannot control myself when it comes to the start of a mountain bike race.  And today proved to be no different than my very first race in 1988.  The Beautiful Mrs. K snapped this pic of me doing what I do...shooting out of the barrel of a gun when the starter says GO!  I love the Forest City Trails, as they are super-duper-tight and technical. As such, I didn't want to go into the woods behind anyone.  And I didn't.

But I did come out of the woods behind a few guys.  The Cat 1 mountain bike races are small but very dense with talent, so in a 16-man field there are 10 guys that have won races.  I led the first lap but my own talent ran thin and I finished 6th.  I checked my lap times from 2019 on the identical course and I was spot-on.  I have a grimaced smile going on here, happy to be somewhat competitive with the competition, but also bummed that I couldn't do more.

Races over, the crew was hungry and ready to go home.  There was a big back-up on highway 44, so we tooled into lovely downtown St. James for a bite to eat and to wait out whatever was blocking the highway.

The Hound Dog had a great time at the races.  He's still a bit of a spaz when it comes to people and people on bikes, but he got the hang of greeting folks properly.  Most fall in love with this big, sweet monster.

We rewarded Remi with his own Sonic Burger.  He was a bit tentative at first because we rarely let him eat such things.  But after he realized he was given a chance at an honest-to-goodness people burger, he laid into it!

Highway clear and stomachs full, we headed home. And although the trip was a bit stop and go for a while, Eli and Remi found their comfy spots in the back seats.  It was a fine outing for Team Kakouris!
 

Wonderful Memorial Day Weekend

I can't really rattle off all of the things the Beautiful Mrs. K and I did for our two days off in a row.  The weather was glorious, so we took a hike.  Since her bionic shoulder is still healing we couldn't bring the Hound Dog...he pulls too much and is still too wild.  Couldn't risk him pulling her down.  We chose Don Robinson again because it's so amazing and it's close.

Spring is in full effect and the lush greenery added to the beauty of the State Park.

The giant crevice is still one of my all-time favorite views.  I wish the camera could do it justice.

Sunday, we had a chance to get the kids together and go out to eat in a nice outdoor setting.  Our plan was to eat dinner and then go visit my dad's gravesite at Jefferson Barracks Cemetery.

Look at these fine people. This is what I work for.

The cemetery was closed by the time we got done eating.  Not a really big deal, as I normally don't visit on Memorial Day because it's just too busy.  We will choose a weekday or something less hectic like we usually do.  Instead, I changed out the light fixture for the backyard.  We had a very homely fixture with old-fashioned spot lights.  This new one is LED and it will blind you.  Very good for spotting the Hound Dog doing something crazy in the backyard at night.
 

The Hound Dog is a Big Softie after All

My big ol' Hound Dog.  He was not a very affectionate dog.  We were worried he'd always just be a spaz, knocking everything over, chewing everything up, but never warming up to us.  Things have begun to change lately.  

He's been laying on top of us when we lay down to read or watch tv.  This is something Rex would jump at the chance to do, but Remi never has.  Remi is a bit bigger than Rex, at least 80 pounds, so it's very noticeable when he flops on top of you!

He also gives me some love when he's in the mood.  I'm a sucker for this big behemoth.

Here he is, getting ready to lay a big, sloppy Hound Dog kiss on me.  Either that, or he's trying to figure out what I had for dinner.
 

Mountain Biking and Driving Go Hand in Hand

The beautiful Mrs. K and Eli are my main mountain biking crew (Team Kakouris!) these days.  Just last Sunday Eli and I drove to St. James to ride the Route 66/Forest City course.  We've driven tons and tons of miles over the last couple of years to ride in our favorite places, as well as explore new ones.  Kind of ironic that something as healthy and pollution-free as riding a bike takes driving a smoggy car to get to the cool places to ride.  

This brings me to my point.  I live 2 miles from work these days, so the only real mileage my car gets is driving to places to mountain bike.  This also means it's been quite some time since I've had to change the oil.  After Eli and I got back from our extremely enjoyable ride on the Forest City trails, it was time for an oil change. I still brag when I don't spill a single drop of oil.  So I'm bragging.  72,000 miles on the Focus, and I want to make sure it's still running well for Eli when he comes of age next year.

Since it's been a while between oil changes, I decided to put in a new air filter as well.  Good thing.  The old one looked as though it was well on it's way to having black lung.  And can I just say that modern air filters are a BITCH to install??  Whatever happened to serviceability?? Nevertheless, it's changed.  I was still not completely exhausted, so I went ahead and rotated the tires as well.  My smartwatch said 25,000 steps that day, and I believe it. 
 

Ever wonder where your Weekend goes? I sure do.

My first Saturday off since we bought South Side.  It's been a looooong run.  So it was extra awesome that I was able to spend it with Eli at Broemmelsiek for the practice race weekend that the NICA organization put on.  There were tons of people from all over the metro area.  Not sure why Eli is giving me "the face" in this pic.

After a learning lap with the South City team, I was asked to help the kids with the starting line antics.  It's never easy to line up with a bunch of snarling, competitive people and have someone say "GO!" The team has come a long way and it's nice to see how much they love to ride their mountain bikes.

After a few mock starts, Eli and I did another slightly hotter lap on the full course.  I'm impressed with his improvements over the last year.

The second day of the NICA event was canceled due to the forecast.  It was supposed to rain cats and dogs.  When it didn't, I suited up and did some hot laps of my own at Greensfelder.  Yep, it was that kind of day.

When I got home, the Beautiful Mrs K was ready to start her recovery.  She's suffered quite a bit with her injury.  Her surgery last week put in a titanium metal plate and nine screws where her plain old clavicle used to be.  Yikes.  But she is no whiner and onto the trainer she went. Go baby, go!

What did Remi the Hound Dog think of all of this?  He thinks we ought to be throwing the frisbee for him, of course.
 

Greensfelder Mountain Bike Race

Greensfelder is near and dear to my heart, as most of my friends and family know.  It was the scene of my very first mountain bike race in 1988.  And today, the Greensfelder Challenge (hosted by DRJ and GORC Trails) was Eli's first race, too!  He's much younger than I was when I started, 15 years old and in the Junior class.  He is a fantastic bike rider and he can ride pretty much any trail.  We are incredibly proud of him.  He's #359 in the center of this photo.

And I was pretty happy myself, snagging 4th overall and 1st in the Old Man's class. I haven't raced in a couple of years, so I'm just as surprised as you are.  The course was fantastic and the racing was top notch.  Kudos to Bob Arnold, his DRJ crew, and GORC Trails for a wonderful event.

Since we had to splash through 4 creeks at the bottom of the course, I had to get the bikes cleaned up when we got home.  Eli laid down for a nap, poor guy.  But the bikes are buffed and they are ready for our next adventure.  Thanks also to the Beautiful Mrs. K for dragging herself out to the races even though she's obviously not feeling great after her shoulder surgery!
 

Another Birthday - This is getting Ridiculous!

Yep, there it is. My first pro number was 54.  And that's how old I am.  Seems a little fishy to me.  Every year, they just keep adding a number.  Is that ok?  Should that be a thing?  I'm going to look into it.

Just like every year, my family makes me feel like a superstar.  My in-laws brought us lunch at work and some tasty snacks.  Hanna had some sinful treats delivered via some exotic courier dude.  Then Deanna and Eli presented me with even more snacks and these awesome pop-up cards.  I just love pop-up cards.

This morning, I was lucky enough to break free from work and the pressing obligations of the day and do a really cool ride on the gravel roads around Steelville.  Honestly, the ride kicked my ass but I've been unable to ride much so I took my beating like a stud.

And because he really wanted to go, I took Eli to the Eureka MTB Park after I got home from the gravel ride.  Oh, trust me...I was so creaky and my now-54-year-old body really, really wanted to lay down.  But I can't really tell the dude no.  It was fun, and he finally got to use his GoPro camera.

There are worse things that can happen to a middle-aged dude.  I may be old, but I'm living a pretty good life.  Never grow up.  Never grow old.  Onward and upward.

 

Finally a Hike for 2021

 

We have been so busy for the last couple of months with the shop that we haven't had time to take a single hike.  We changed that today by taking a short hike at Strawberry Creek in Arnold.  Of course, the Hound Dog was ready to go, and we even coaxed Eli into it.

We were all excited to try out our new hiking kicks, too.  The Hound Dog stuck with his original equipment all-paw drive.

Remi is all over the place on hikes.  His extra sensitive sniffer takes him in all directions the entire time.  And now that he weighs in at 80 pounds, you kind of just have to go with it.

The otherwise blissful wilderness is interrupted by series of power line towers.  Which are kind of cool in their own way.  I continue to resist my compulsion to climb one.

The one thing I wanted to visit again on this hike was the small muddy pond.  Remi resisted the urge to jump in.  I'm very thankful for that.

Toward the end of the hike, Remi caught the scent of something.  He pulled poor Eli down the trail at a full run.  It was a deer, whose tracks we had just begun to see in the soft dirt.  Sorry big guy, we couldn't let you go after it.

And one last photo, a selfie, courtesy of a tree stump just close enough for me to set the timer.  Let's hope for more hiking days in 2021!

 

Eli and Me, Back to the Trails

Sunday was, of course, glorious.  The St. Louis version of Spring has landed and it was amazing.  Best of all, it's been dry enough for a few days that Eli and I were able to start hitting the trails together again.  He's not a fan of riding in cold weather.  What can I say, he's my son.  As such, he's not been off-road in two months.  He dove into the deep end with me at Greensfelder and we rode 11 miles of trails for 1100 feet of climbing.  His riding skills haven't diminished at all, but he was pretty knackered at the end.  I'm proud of him.

On a side note, he broke a spoke in the rear carbon wheel that I put on his bike.  I did note that I put nearly 1500 off-road miles on that wheel before handing it over to him.  He's actually a pretty smooth rider so it was just time for the wheel to give up.  I'll fully rebuild it when I get time off at work...which seems like it might be a LONG while.
 

First College Baseball Game is a Winner

 

Tyson has been playing for Fontbonne for two years now.  Well, not really.  Last season was canceled because of the plague, so this is his first official year.  And this weekend was the opening weekend.  Yesterday's game didn't go so well, but Tyson wasn't playing.  And we were having a huge day at the store so we couldn't get away for it.

He's a relief pitcher, and they don't pitch every game.  People that know baseball really well know these things.  I'm not putting myself in that category, but I have learned a few things over the years watching the boys play.  I am smart enough to know that Shaw Park has a pretty amazing facility.  It was raining the whole time we were there, but the games didn't get called.  The magic of turf!  And it was awful nice to have a place for him to warm up before he went in.

It was hard to watch the game, though.  There weren't many fans, but the ones that were there lined the fences and we weren't too keen on getting close to anyone.  The Beautiful Mrs K and I brought Remi along to get him out of the house, and he was very challenging today.  And muddy.  Grandma showed up, too, and she was smart enough to bring an umbrella! Not that any of that mattered, though.  Tyson went in when the team was behind and struggling, and he helped them pull out the win.  Awesome debut.  We are very proud of him!

One by one, everything in your house will eventually need replacing

Faucets. Water lines.  Garbage disposals.  Faucets.  Refrigerators.  Dishwashers.  The list is long.  Every one of these things will eventually fail.  Luckily, none of those failures have resulted in catastrophe for us.  But we've replaced all of that and more.  Today was a big day, as another pain in my ass has been kicked to the curb.  The toilet in the kid's bathroom has been a nightmare  The only thing going down without a fight in this thing was water.  I have plunged and snaked this thing so many times, I lost count.  I pulled that sucker out to replace it.  My curiosity got the best of me, and I did turn it over to look inside.  What, you ask, has been clogging this thing for 5 years?  A BIC pen.

It's always fascinating to see a gaping hole in the floor.  Good fortune was upon me and the ring was in good shape and holding solid in the floor.  Just needed new studs and a wax ring.

Viola.  A brand spanking new toilet, from stem to stern, water line included. Ah, the old plunger can rest easy for a while, until the next thing gets stuck.

Last year, the ceiling fan in Hanna's room literally began smoking.  Yes, smoking.  Cheap, cheap, cheap builders grade crap.  It lasted 15 years but the fan speed control broke years ago and only worked on hurricane-blast mode.  I replaced that today too with a much nicer looking, quieter, smoother, LED-lighted unit.  It's been a good Valentine's day!
 

My Baby turned 21 - Happy Birthday Hanna!

 

COVID has made social gatherings a real bummer over the past year.  But since we recently acquired a REALLY big gathering spot (South Side Cyclery has a big showroom!) we were able to get together for a momentous occasion: Hanna's 21st birthday!  The Beautiful Mrs. K built us quite a spread with a Mexican Food theme.

Not just a Mexican food theme.  But a little drink, too.

And a little tongue-in-cheek take on that virus, eh?

We had a small gathering in a big open space and celebrated this beautiful woman.  She's smart, she's kind, she's witty, and we are so proud of her.  I have no idea what the world has in store for her but I'm sure she's ready for it.

Oh, and there were cupcakes.  Forgot to mention the cupcakes.  Thank you, Flannery!