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.

It's a VERY Hanna kind of Day

Since Hanna is such a fitness buff, it made sense that she eventually decided to do a Triathlon.  I mean, she runs, she bikes, she works out. Every. Single. Day. After some scheduling conflicts, she signed up for the sprint triathlon in Kirkwood.  A great choice for beginners. She convinced a few of her GNO riding partners to do it also, and a couple more were already planning on it.

But you know what she doesn't do much? Swim.  Here she is, resplendent in her tri-suit, nervously waiting for her turn in the water. How much does she ride and run? Every day. How much did she swim before this event? Umm....

Splash into that water she did! Good form! Powerful strokes! Refreshing water! Go Hanna!

Quite a while later, she emerged from the water. Like, a long time later. Still smiling here, she said "I'm not a very strong swimmer!" I said, "I know! Now get on that bike and do what your best at!"

She jumped onto the Hellcat and blazed the course. She was the 2nd or 3rd fastest woman on the bike segment. No surprise to anyone who has ridden with her.

A very fast transition to the run, I could barely make it to the run segment to catch this photo.  "I'm not a very strong swimmer!" she told me again.  "I know!" I said. "Go tear up this run course!!"

That she did.  She made up a great deal of time on the bike, and more time with a solid run. Guzzling a cold bottle of water, she said, gasping, "I'm not a very strong swimmer!" And again, I said, "I know. But you did very well and we're very proud!"

The entire crew finished strong and had very few hiccups. It was awesome cheering for them. Hanna's mom and grandmother were there cheering, too. Family support in sports is so important, and we had a lot of that today. 

After the triathlon, we had a party planned for Hanna's graduation from Mizzou.  Not that the weather really cares about our party plans. As it turns out, it was also a going-away party.  She's taken a job in Texas with a sunglass company, WileyX. Great for her, but it's going to be hard without her around.

The woman of the hour, making me look good.

She chose a Carrot cake from her favorite St. Louis Bakery.

We had the get-together at Rockwell Beer Garden in Francis Park.  The Beautiful Mrs. K made the arrangements and tons of people showed up to wish Hanna well. 

So talented, she can even cut carrot cake with a flimsy plastic knife.  And yes, that's her participant number, written on her arm with a sharpie.  That's hard to get off in the shower. 

We were so happy to have her Girls Night Out friends show up for the party. Such a fun-loving crew who will miss her huge smile (and her dating advice).  Hey, who's the Chippendales model in the front??

Eli has shot way past Hanna in height, but these two have grown very close over the last year and Eli is very sad to see her go. Tyson had to miss the party as he was in a baseball tournament.  I wish he had been able to make it, and I wish I had a current picture of them all together.

I was able to get these three together! Hanna has so many people in her corner that love and support her. Lots of blended families are a mess, but we are all so fortunate that this one is not. She has moms, dads, grandmas, grandpas, aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers...all of them love this girl to the moon. I wish my girl the best of luck and hope for the best that life has to offer.  But it doesn't mean I'm not super sad to see her leave.

Thank you for all that cheered her on at todays event, thank you for all that came to wish her well, and a big thank you to the Beautiful Mrs. K for putting together a wonderful party.

Love you, HGK.

 

Riding Bikes, Having Fun, and Proving things ACTUALLY HAPPENED

It does my heart a lot of good to see two of my goobers mixing it up out there with other cyclists. Both Hanna and Eli have frequented the fast ride on the Thursday GNO rides.  Of course, that's my selfie queen herself, giving us an amazing shot of their ride downtown tonight.

This might be the coolest shot of these two that I have.  I love seeing them enjoy cycling together.

And who can argue that this enormous Hound Dog isn't the cutest hunk of clumsy canine around??

With all of the good going on lately, there are bound to be sharp, pokey things that try to crush my groove. Pokey thing removed, tire repaired, ride completed anyway.  I didn't get screwed!

And all of this (except for the Hound Dog) gets recorded on Strava.  Because Hanna knows, if t's not on Strava, it didn't happen.
 

Father's Day and Stuff

The Beautiful Mrs. K always makes a big deal out of Father's day.  She knows I don't like gifts, so she just told me to do whatever I wanted.  Like, really?  That's a pretty awesome gift! We did go to dinner with Eli and Hanna, and Tyson was our server at Aya Sophia. The food there is so so good and Tyson treats us like...well...family! Then Eli gave me a $50 gift card to Dairy Queen, so how amazing is that??

What did I want to do for Father's day, you ask? I wanted to ride my mountain bike. I drove to St. James to ride Forest City.  I had the whole place to myself.  I put in almost 25 miles on the killer single-track trails, redemption from the awful race that I had there two weeks ago. I was faster for the same amount of mileage with zero cramps. I call that a win. Father's day: managed!

Speaking of riding, the Girls Night Out ride from the shop on Thursday nights has been incredible. Even in the heat, so many people have been showing up.  I've made certain to have water and alcohol available for them when they return.  If it keeps being so hot, I may have to provide popsicles. 

So you say you haven't been seeing many spray painted bike frames on this notoriously bizarre blog lately? Well I'm glad you've stopped by because you get a sneak peek at my oldest shit bike frame, resplendent in Rustoleum Cobalt Blue Metallic. See all those sparkles?? You don't get sparkles from just any old rattle can. This baby is going to be lapping the cyclocross courses in just a few short months!

I mentioned heat earlier. Since I don't like riding in the crazy hot temps we've had lately, I've taken to riding my bike at night.  I've been getting all of my stuff ready to rock at 9pm.  I've had some great rides, too. Knowing full well that iPhone's take awful photos of the moon (I'll blame the phone), I took this one the other night as I embarked upon a raid of South City.

 I don't know why I found this so funny, but when the Beautiful Mrs. K and I stopped by to eat at Super Smokers the other night I had to get a picture.  And oh hell yes...that door is HARD to open.

Mountain Bike Racing can be HARD

Today we made the trip to St. James to race one of my favorite courses.  Forest City Trail is a gem.  There are so many kick-ass aspects to it, from rock gardens to drop-offs and pine sections. Eli opted to do the Juniors race, which I kind of figured was below his potential but he's still not convinced that he's capable of doing the category classes.  He won his class, and his time suggests that he should have been in the Category 2 race, which is not only filled with great riders but it's a longer race by a factor of two.  I think he will do that from now on.  Proud of him!!

I also may have raced in the wrong race. I've been racing mountain bikes since the Spring of 1988, overwhelmingly in the XC Expert/Cat 1 category.  Lately we've done a couple of races with different formats, like the St. Joe Last Miner and Wolf Creek in Poplar Bluff.  I had a blast at both.  So I decided to do the Marathon race at Forest City instead of Cat 1. It was the biggest class of the day, with 24 people. I felt things were going really well for the first 10 miles or so, but then not so much.  The photo above is a pic of my Strava file, which showed that my body thought it was extremely hard. (I have only scored higher one time, in the off-road half-marathon that I ran in 2018.) I started cramping very early, which is odd since I felt like I was going at a moderate pace. It went downhill from there. The object of the Marathon class is to do as many laps as possible in 3 hours.  I pulled the plug at the end of my 3rd lap, having gone just a few minutes under 3 hours. I think I got 6th or 7th place? I'll chalk it up to a bad day.  I've had so much hip pain over the last couple weeks that I'm getting very little sleep, which can make for a bad race day, but your guess is as good as mine.

The beautiful Mrs. K was nowhere to be found this weekend.  At least not around here.  She went to a NICA thing in Steelville for the weekend.  Don't worry about me, though.  I still had plenty of company.