DIRT RIDER

At it again

2012-01-28T14:31:00.001-06:00

Riding 4 weeks in a row, not bad for January. Steven and I did about 37 miles today. Weather wasn't that bad either.

Up early for this ride.

Meeting place Hope Church. I need to wash my bike.

Quick pit stop. Steven is zipping his coat if you're wondering.

Layered up for this ride. We stopped once to walk for a bit to warm up the feet and that was about it. Not a bad morning for January.

Saturday

2012-01-16T08:12:00.001-06:00

Little dirt, little gravel and little road time for my Saturday morning. About 35 miles of fun.

Cold

2012-01-09T16:36:00.001-06:00

Pit stop for coffee. It was a cold early ride. 30 miles of gravel to start the year out.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-02T09:55:00.001-06:00

Not a bad way to end the year. Early morning ride with Harp at area 7, OC with the fam for lunch, and hanging with the Harpsters drinking good beer to end the year out. HELLO 2012.

I'm thinking of growing the beard out one more month. Maybe 2.

I can't wait to start this project this year.

Post ride drink.

CX racing

2011-10-19T22:31:00.001-05:00

Trey helping dad.

Rick tearing it up.

Bikes, Family, Football, and Beer

2011-09-12T10:39:00.000-05:00

Early morning gravel ride with Trent

Stopped train, ended up with about 40 miles for the morning.

My ladies waiting for my return

Trey's first football game. He did awesome and even made it to the 4th quarter.

Hop tasting at Harps. He really went all out on this. Good times!

Three day weekend!

2011-09-06T12:06:00.002-05:00

Now that it's nice outside the fam and I are spending lots of time making smores and just enjoying the cool weather outside. The only bad thing about smores is that the kids love making them but not eating them. So guess who gets to eat them all. It's all good.

Sunday met up with teammates Brandon, Lee V., and Steven for some hot laps at Van Dorn Park. The CX course is looking good right now. I don't have a cx bike but I still plan on doing the Wednesday night races with my Jet 9. Should be interesting.

The end of summer is coming.

2011-08-19T15:14:00.002-05:00

Well the kids are heading out today for one last swim. It might be warm out but that pool is COLD, but the kids don't care. I'm thinking this is the weekend to close the pool or maybe next.

Saturday is looking like a day of some gravel love. Hopefully this guy and this guy can make it.

2011 State Games

2011-07-25T10:36:00.004-05:00

Not a bad weekend for racing. I tried out the expert division for the first time and what I learned from that is I'm not even close to being ready for cat 1 racing. In my age group I got the silver medal but I think we only had 3 0r 4 riders in our age group. The total expert riders I think was about 8 and I think I was either 7 or 6. It was the real cat 1 guys in the front and us cat 2 guys trying out cat 1 for the first time in the back. Well except for Steven. He was up front with the fast guys. Anyway I still had a blast and realized that I really like my marathon racing. I'm in no hurry to get back to cat 2.

Congrats to teammates Steven(Gold) Lee(Silver) and Greg(Bronze)

Mondays.....

2011-07-18T14:58:00.002-05:00

SUCK!

This morning I really could of used a punching bag. I could put one in the storage room next door. Hmmmmm.

Summer Fun

2011-07-11T09:58:00.001-05:00

Trying out the new camera and the underwater feature is really cool.

Happy 4th

2011-07-05T11:26:00.003-05:00

Oh how I hate horses. Why is it that horses have to be ridden the day after it rains a bunch.

AREA 7

2011-07-02T17:08:00.002-05:00

First time on my bike in over 2 weeks. I had some back problems that kept me off my bike. So far I feel fine but we'll have to see what the morning brings. Ice tonight and hopefully all good in the morning. Oh and I also rode area 7 for the first time this year. Next week I might try the weight room again but I don't want to push my luck. I need to remember baby steps.

WHAT UP!

2011-06-24T10:06:00.011-05:00

Well this is going to be a picture heavy post. I'd rather post pictures then type stuff anyways. Its been a busy couple months but its been a good time. Took Trey to his first baseball game(which we didn't really watch because they had a bounce house and other fun stuff to do). The fam and I headed out to Colorado again to hang with family and friends and I was able to do a little racing in Colorado too. Other than that its been hanging outdoors with the kids at home and trying to ride my bike when I can. Pool is open so I'm sure we'll be doing a lot of swimming with summer starting now.

Colorado Trip:

We had a full load going out to CO. Six of us going to CO and 7 coming back.

Teammate Jesse before the start of the Ridgline Rampage near Castle Rock. He was 1st in the XC cat. Good job man.

It was nice to have the fam at the race too. They usually don't come to my races but it worked out this time. Here's Payton after the race. She won a cap too. I have pictures of that but there all on my other camera. Sorry this blog usually gets the pictures that I take with my phone.

So I had to take a picture of this on the way home from the race. I ride Sram so I thought this was cool.

So I guess I should talk about the race. This Ridgline Rampage was the first time racing in Colorado for me. It was in the foothills which was still 5000 ft of elevation higher then Nebraska. They had one long climb that I really noticed the elevation change but most of the race I was fine. I had a blast doing this race. I lost a lot of time on the down hill sections of the course so maybe a top 10 could of happened if I just let go of the brakes. Oh well I ended up 13th out of 25 so I was happy with that. I ended up doing the 30 mile race instead of the 60 which I'm glad I did. Maybe the 60 next year. Actually next year I want to race in the mountains. Maybe the Breck 100 or something.

Ute Valley Park

So on the last day in Colorado Jackie was going to see a friend in Colorado Springs so I thought I'd check out some trails in the area. She dropped me off at Ute Valley Park. This was a small loop but it had a lot. At first I ventured out onto some trails away from the normal loop and found some cool stuff but that turned into me walking a lot so back to the main trail I went. It was fun with lots of rocks(which I love to ride now) climbing and some good down hill section for me to work on. I got about 2 hours in before Jackie and the kids picked me up. Next time when I'm looking for a quick loop to ride this will be the place. Oh and no bears this time unlike my experience with Falcon Trail.

Ute Valley

Ponca and the Mighty MO River

Well I thought this looked bad until I got back to work and saw photos of the rest of the flooding. This is nothing.

Now back to racing Nebraska, thanks to my lovely wife and family for letting me head up to Ponca with Brandon to do the State Championship race. I didn't have high expectations for this race, it was raining the whole way up and it also rained all night. Ponca is about 3 hours away so who knows what the trails will be like. Actually I was hoping they called it off because I was not feeling like racing that day, OK let me rephrase that, I wanted to race just not Ponca. Last time I did Ponca was 2 years ago and I sucked it up bad that day. I did the cat 2 xc which is 3 laps and I suffered during every one of them. This place has lots of climbing and lots of down hills. After the race in Colorado Jesse gave me some tips on riding DH so it came in handy for this race. Still I was not the best on those sections but I felt I did better. Last year I wasn't in any shape for racing so I didn't do this race and this year I still didn't want to race it. I know man up but after I raced Ponca 2 years ago I wanted to quick racing it was that bad. On top of it I was doing the 3 hour so instead of 3 laps it was going to be at least 6. Well I was hoping for 6. Well to sum it up(and I don't want to type anymore) the race went well. I ended up doing 8 laps....what 8? I still can't believe I did 8 at PONCA! A small victory for me for sure. I also ended up 5th so that means pay day for me. So after being haunted by this place for 2 years I remember sitting on my cooler after the race with Brandon(not on the cooler with me) and thinking to myself MAN that was fun. It's been that kind of year for me.

Yes that is me next to the podium guys.

The only other racing I did was the 12 hour at Wagon Train. I wish I had photos of this one but no luck. Oh and I ended up 1st place with 25 laps in the 12 hour cat. Like I said its been that kind of year for me. My goals for this one was to beat last year lap total(15) and make the whole night. I did both. Now how am I going to top 25 next year?

Now the not so good news. Back in May I screwed up my back lifting weights and for the most part I could handle the pain. Well Monday it was to much. So now I decided to take some time off. Just when things are going well and I want to increase my taining I have to wait and do nothing. I'm going to take this week off and see what happens next week. I might have to stick to smoother stuff like gravel or pavement for training. Will see.

GARDEN TIME

2011-05-03T10:05:00.003-05:00

This year we decided to start a garden at out house. Hopefully I'll be posting updates on all that good produce growing in our garden and not posting about animals and water killing it. Now we need to start figuring out how to freeze and can stuff.

Happy Easter

2011-04-23T14:57:00.002-05:00

Bone Bender v3

2011-04-21T12:19:00.006-05:00

(Photo by Heather Wolff)

If I have time I'll post a race reports soon, but to sum up Bone Bender at Clinton State Park....really ROCKY and really fun, plus a 7th place finish in my cat. Oh and Brandon had to get 5 stitches in his knee. Good times!

(photo by Chris Dean)

Gravel Time

2011-04-09T08:51:00.004-05:00

The start of the morning is looking good.

Have to update Facebook and twitter in Cortland.

This one is for John. I really need shades too.

Loving the scenery.

Not a bad way to start the weekend. 55 miles of gravel goodness with Harp.

Hanging in Cortland with my Jet 9 and an EMD demo bike from BP.

WNWC and Big Wheels

2011-04-07T11:12:00.005-05:00

Yes it is nice to ride for about 3 hours on a weekday. It doesn't happen much but I think the Wednesday Night World Cup rides at Wagon Train will help with that. Brandon and I rode out from the south TSC store, did a few laps with the rest of the team and rode back. Not bad for a Wednesday night. The plan is to do this every Wednesday night if I can make it work. The only other day I have for 3+ hours is early Saturday mornings. In other big news someone has big wheels on his mind. Guess who?

River City Shootout 2011

2011-04-05T08:53:00.005-05:00

Photo taken by Heather Wolff

First MTB race is in the books. Brandon and I headed out to Swanson Park to race the River City Shootout. I did the 3 hour marathon version again and he did the Cat 1. Since the race is on a Sunday the start time for me was 12 instead of 10. So plenty of time to get ready and have everything setup before race time. I think this race I felt the most relaxed before any race. I think the last time I felt like that was the state games in 09 with Harp, Sean, and Rick. Anyway the race started quick and I ended up about mid pack going into the trees. Usually I try to hold back a little and not try to go to hard right away to save myself for the 3 hours of racing, but i was feeling good so I decided to go a little harder then usual. I was able to get around about 6-7 guys on that first lap and then for the rest of the race the only passing I did was around guys with bike troubles or lap traffic. I has a couple guys in sight for about 4-5 laps but then I was slowing down a little on lap 6 and 7 due to my legs cramping up. That was frustrating because I know I had more in me. My heart rate was fine and I wanted to go faster but my legs said NO. Oh well.

New kits this year. Photo taken by Heather Wolff

In the end I ended up 9th out of 27. My teammate Greg who also raced all day on Saturday in the TT and STXC came in 10th. Not bad for the start of the year. This race was also the first time I raced my Jet 9 and WOW did that bike do great. I love the way that bike handles and the FS feels so good on the rough section of the course. All the thanks to Bike Pedalers for setting me up with this great bike and as always I have to thank my fam for letting me do this crazy hobby. The plan was to have them at this race but Hayden was coming down with something so we decided to maybe wait for another race. Next race on the schedule is 6 hours at Bone Bender with Brandon. I've been wanting to do this race the last two years but never worked out. Well my entry fee is paid for so no turning back now. I really hope it doesn't rain. Two years ago they ran that race in the mud and I really hope that doesn't happen this year.

As for the rest of FWCT at Swanson Brandon, Sean, and John raced in cat 1 and finished strong and new teammate Steven came in 4th in cat2 open, also racing with Steven in cat 2 was Jason and Jesse. Not a bad weekend for FWCT.

More trail time

2011-03-23T17:17:00.005-05:00

Not a bad couple of days of riding. Yesterday Jackie wanted to ride Wilderness for a birthday ride which I was all about and then today I made some time for Wagon Train again. Talking cold and rain the next few days so I wanted to get as much dirt time as I could.

Wagon Train

2011-03-22T08:14:00.001-05:00

THE JET IS HOME!

2011-03-18T20:24:00.002-05:00

I can't wait to see what it does on the trail. I might get a chance tomorrow to check it out if the rain stays away.

IT"S ALMOST DONE!

2011-03-17T10:25:00.000-05:00

Panama Enduro 2011

2011-03-14T14:01:00.002-05:00

Well this was my third attemp at this race and probably my best. I'm not sure how I finished but I have to say I sure felt good during the race and hopefully that's a sign of good things to come. I have to give a shout out to bike pedalers for letting me ride a very nice BH cross bike for this race. A cross bike is really nice to have on gravel races like this. My MTB should be ready this week. I hope.
Anyway the race went well up until I missed the last turn into town. So I added about another mile to my route. Oh well its all about training anyways. I think I was in the top 10 before that happen and I know for sure one guy slip by me before I could get back to the right road. I still had a blast and hopefully I can keep up the training now and see what kind of a year I can have.

THANKS BOSS MAN!

2011-02-18T10:50:00.004-06:00

Finally was able to get out and ride some sweet gravel. The wind was crazy but still a good time. Hopefully I can get out again on Saturday before the cold comes back. (left pic is Bluestem Lake)

Since I was off by noon I was also able to hang with the kids outside for the afternoon. This picture is of us walking back from the bus.

THE JET PART 1

2010-12-24T15:35:00.003-06:00

2010-12-18T16:52:00.003-06:00

Little bro working hard.

2010-12-17T20:13:00.002-06:00

Trey and Dad

2010-12-10T17:02:00.001-06:00

2010-12-09T10:41:00.001-06:00

2010-12-08T09:14:00.001-06:00

FWD:

2010-12-06T14:31:00.001-06:00

DATE NIGHT!

2010-11-21T11:46:00.001-06:00

2010-10-30T13:32:00.001-05:00

2010-10-22T18:18:00.000-05:00

2010-10-08T16:04:00.001-05:00

Ride home from the bus.

2010-10-06T18:49:00.001-05:00

2010-10-05T22:27:00.001-05:00

2010-10-03T18:02:00.001-05:00

Road Block

2010-09-19T08:09:00.002-05:00

This time at Area 7.

Speaking of area 7, the trails are awesome right now. Brandon and I headed out for a few laps on Saturday. I needed some good laps after riding Wagon Train on Wednesday. The trails are hurting right now at WT. The park ranger won't let us do anything to keep them up. You know its a big park I don't understand why MTB riders and runners can't have at least one corner of the park for us to use and keep up. Hopefully they don't do this to area 7.

2010-08-27T17:29:00.001-05:00

Rapture In Misery update

2010-08-27T11:54:00.003-05:00

Yes I have been racing. Two weekends ago Brandon and I headed out of town to Trenton Missouri for the Rapture In Misery 12 hour race. We did the duo version which was a blast. I did a solo 12 hour back in the spring which was a good time too but having that break every other lap was nice. Anyway we came close to taking third spot in our division up until the last hour of the race. Two flats and a crappy night lap from me did us in. Oh well it still was fun and we'll be back next year. The course was great. The rock section(bone yard) was tough. My first three laps I was doing a lot of walking in that section then finally my fourth lap I was able to ride that entire section only clipping out once. I was so pumped after that. I kept getting passed by 4th place in that area and then on the last big climb I'd pass him back. I didn't have to worry about that on lap 4 and I was able to improve our time over 4th because of it. The key is to stay on your bike.
Anyway we had fun and my Felt Nine Elite handled great on this course. I would have to say racing this course was the most fun I had on my 29 since I got it. They had a lot of rocks, logs, and roots that I had no problem riding over.
Next up for me is the Maskenthine race near Stanton. I plan on doing the 3 hour again since that's been kind of my thing this year. I'm really having fun with the longer races. Now I need to get better so I can compete with some of the big boys in that category.

Flyleaf

2010-08-20T13:59:00.002-05:00

Some new songs I'll be rocking on the ipod soon.

2010-08-18T11:42:00.002-05:00

Yes she is eating real food. She's going to be like Trey, anything with potatoes in it and chicken nuggets.

R.I.M.

2010-08-12T20:47:00.004-05:00

So I was looking for a song to get me ready for Saturday's race.

Heading down to Crowder State Park near Trenton Missouri for the R.I.M 6/12 hour race with Brandon this weekend. We're going to team up for the 12 hour and plan on having a good time. Sounds like a few others from Nebraska might be making the trip. Really my main goal for this weekend is to have fun and come back injured free.

Tranquility

2010-08-10T10:55:00.004-05:00

Normally when you go to a Psycowpath race you race. Well on Sunday the heat index was about 110 and I did a lot of riding rather than racing. I was able to get 5 laps in and finished 10th out of 17. I could have tried to chase down 9th on my last lap but with the heat I decided to just worry about finishing my last lap without passing out. All in all it was a good day for what I had to ride in.

NHRA Denver/Burnout

2010-07-30T08:12:00.002-05:00

Platte

2010-07-17T12:20:00.002-05:00

Road block.

2010-07-14T21:11:00.003-05:00

It was a little warm today on my ride home from work today. Just a little. Nothing like a good swim after my ride to cool down. Oh and then the rain. Who needs to ride dirt anyways. It's SOOOO overrated. J/k I need my dirt fix. Bad.

2010-07-04T16:26:00.003-05:00

Platte

2010-07-03T12:04:00.003-05:00

Another early ride with Brandon at Platte. What a great way to start out the weekend.

2010-06-29T08:51:00.002-05:00

Back at area 7 for an early ride this morning. Hopefully I can make it out early to Platte this week too.

50 Miles

2010-06-20T10:36:00.007-05:00

Finally I got my 50 in. The ride was a combination of highway, gravel and singletrack. I rode out to Wagon Train from my house yesterday mainly because I didn't know if the trails would be dry enough to ride. Riding out to the trail gives me some riding in if its wet. Anyway trails were dry but with the wet grass me and my bike were covered in mud. Not a bad ride. Usually I do this ride with Harp but he was tearing it up at Ponca this weekend. I would of rather been racing in Ponca but I had to many thing going on at home so I had to skip it this year. Its a bummer because I really like that park.

2010-06-19T12:44:00.001-05:00

Early AM ride.

Falcon Trail

2010-06-07T07:59:00.011-05:00

(single track riding on Falcon Trail)

This past weekend the fam and I went out to Colorado for vacation and to visit family. Everyone had a great time. The kids had fun hanging with there cousins playing at parks and hiking on trails. Jackie and I even had a date night without kids at seven falls. It was a great week and I can't wait to go back.

Above are pictures from my Falcon Trail ride. I was only able to get in single track once on our trip and luckly it was a good one. I even saw a bear coming my way on the trail I was on. I thought I'd take a long detour instead of seeing what happens when he sees me. He might of ran away but I really didn't want to find out. The trail had lots of rocks(mostly small ones) and loose gravel/sand. The plan was to ride Ute Valley Trail on Friday but I ended up waking up early to a coughing Hayden. She's doing fine but for some reason she had a good cough in the mornings. After that I decided to help pack up for home. Ute Valley will have to wait till next year.

12hour/Crits/Trainnig

2010-05-25T11:39:00.025-05:00

Well I'm finally getting to post on my racing over the last two weeks. Two weekends ago I did the 12 hour at Wagon Train and last week I did some crit racing during the Flatwater Cycling weekend.

The 12 hour at Wagon Train was a blast. I can't wait to do it again next year. We need two of these a year. One in the Spring and one in the fall or something like that. Anyway I went out and raced the solo division with about 38 other riders plus about 10 teams. So lots of riders on the trail. Jackie and the kids even made it out for the start of the race. It was nice to hear them cheering for dad at the start. They even got to meet some new people. Fellow rider Will Wolf's fam. Will is the guy I've been trying to keep up with in the 3 hour marathons in the Psycowpath series. I'm not having much luck with that. Will did well during the 12 hour he got 22 laps in.

(pic from Heather Wolff/start of the 12 hour)

Anyway, at the start my goal was to get as many laps as I could before dark. Then sit in and keep pedaling all night long. Well I ended up with 6 laps before dark. If I would of planned right with my water and food I think I could have gotten 7 in. I decided instead of dragging everything to the start finish line I'd keep my stuff in my car figuring I have 12 hours to ride so taking a minute or two to ride to my car wouldn't hurt anything. So as I'm downing water like crazy I had to go get more after 4 laps. Then I decided since I was at the car I would eat a sandwich and a banana before going back out. Again if I would have just grabbed an extra bottle and some energy bars I could have save some time. After the next two laps I was back at the car setting up my lights. For the rest of the night that was my routine. Go out for one laps and stop for a few seconds to down water and a gel and back off I went. Then after two is was back at the car for a sandwich(peanut butter and honey) or banana and filling up bottles of water. Next year I need to find more bottles to use also.

Now the trail first of all was in excellent condition. After all the rain in the begging of the week I thought there was no way this race would go on. If it did it was going to be a messy one. To my surprise it was almost 100% dry. I can only think of one spot that really got you muddy. And as the night went on the trail got better and better.

(pic from Heather Wolff/lap 1 at 12 hour)

This race was also the first time I ever used lights on trails. It was a whole new trail after dark. It was fun. I was able to barrow a set of night riders from my teammate John for this race. Two lights and batteries. I only used one light so I could have a backup battery. The batteries only lasted about 3 hours on the mid range setting. I hooked up my little light on my bars just for a little bit more light. It helped a little, but later it was all I had for about 1/2 of the trail. About lap 12 I went out on the trail thinking I need to replace this battery after this lap. Well I was about halfway through the trail when the light went from mid to low range. I knew i was in trouble so I kicked it up a gear and tried to do as much and I could before it went out. To late, the light went out with about a 1/4 of the trail left to go. Luckily I had my other light but its a small little light that's used more for town at night so people see you coming. It was better than nothing. So the last 1/4 of the trail took me forever to get through. Finally I was able to follow someone out and back to the car to replace my battery. Note to self again. When they say 3 hours of light they mean it. So after the new battery I went out for two more laps and decided to take a break for about an hour. It was about 2:30 at this time. I was by myself most of the night and that is not good. I wanted to get out for one more lap to make it 15 for the night. Well before falling asleep I went out and did one more lap. I tried to find someone to hang with but either they were sleeping or gone. It was about 4 at this time and my bed at home was starting to sound good at this time. So I loaded up and told the guys I'm done. I asked how many I did and he said 16. I think I courted wrong around lap 9. Anyway at that time I was happy with that until I got home and the sun started to come up. I really wanted to ride all night and I should have stayed and rode two more laps. the problem was I was alone to much after 2:30 so it was easy for me to call it. Oh well another lesson learned.

(pic from Heather Wolff)

In the end I had a bast. riding at night is fun as long as you have a good set of lights. Another item I can add to the list. Thanks again to John for letting me use his lights, Brandon for his pump and letting me try out some stinger bars that I will be using now, and to the guys at the shop for getting my taco tire ready from my crash at Swanson and for letting me try out some of the stinger chews. I think I'm now a full 100% stinger guy. The stuff works well and taste great too. Finally to my Fam for letting me do this crazy stuff and coming out to watch. Its always fun to see them out at the races.

Crit

This last weekend was my first real Crit race. I did a training one about over a month ago. Anyway since I don't have a road bike Brandon let me use his for this race. We had 6 guys from Flatwater in cat 5 so the odds were good for a podium spot. As we took off I had my normal problem it seems. Getting clipped in. So from front to back I went right off the start. Now it was all about dodging traffic and not getting taken out. I came close once. A rider came across the front of me hard and into the curb he went. I felt ok for the race. I should of tried going harder or something. I need to stop saving it and just go and see what happens. I ended up 9th out of 20 some riders. Flatwater finished with Lee in first, Nick 4th, Jason and Rick 7th and 8th and Myself and Jesse 9th and 10th. Lee and I crossed the line at the same time. Except I was a lap behind.

(pic from Brandon Harpster/final lap with Jon)

Now this was a two day event with races on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday was behind the Capital on a flat course and Sunday was at Pioneers Park with hills. I really don't want to talk about Sunday. The whole morning was rush, rush, rush, and then to the starting line I went. No pre ride or anything. Since our team is setting up the race we have to get everything ready before he cat 5 race goes off. Now I didn't get far with the race. I crashed hard right off the start and I was done. If I'm going to keep doing these races i need to get my own bike and not worry about using someone elses. thanks again Brandon for letting me use your bike and I'll pay for the torn tape and anything else that was wrong with it. the more I think about it the more frustrated I get. I saw the video on the crash today which didn't help things. So that's two crashes to the year. Not a good start for the first half of the season. Next up is Ponca and the state games. I was going to try a race in Colorado but now I might just ride trails instead of worrying about racing. With the elevation and everything else to worry about maybe I'll wait and do another time. Or try a something like a 50 mile marathon race instead of a quick XC. Will see.

Well I might as well keep adding to this post.

Training at Area 7 and Wagon Train

This last week I finally got some good riding in. May has been a crappy month it seems. The riding I've been doing was week and I was only in the gym twice the whole month. I didn't really notice it during the crit race but last Thursday I could tell it during our training series race at area 7. I just felt like I lost a lot of strength specially in the climbs. Something I hope will get better before Ponca. But it was nice to go out at a race pace to get some good training in. I didn't do well I finished second to last and I know I can do better then what I did. the last lap I felt better and almost got Jason at the end and then another usual problem I have was cramping calves. I was out of water and no way I was going to go any harder at that point.

(area 7 ride on Saturday)

Saturday and Monday was two early start rides with Brandon. We started riding area 7 around 6 and rode till about 10 on Saturday. Jason and new teammate Jesse made it out for a couple of laps later that morning. I was able to get about 5 laps in which was much needed. Rob even made it out for a couple laps so a good turnout at the trails on Saturday. Monday was Brandon and I again taking off from the shop to Wagon Train at 6. It was about 13 mile out and then we did about 14 miles of trails and then back to the shop. Its a good ride. Wagon Train doesn't have to much for climbing so its nice to have that ride home with plenty of hills to climb. The early morning rides are great. I can get about 3 plus hours of riding in and still be home by 10 and have the rest of the day to do things. Usually my house don't get moving until after 10 so its nice to get my riding out of the way early.

(rideing back from Wagon Train w/ Harp)

So now I think I'm done with this post. The fam and I are heading to Colorado for some vacation time and to visit family. Hopefully it works out for some early rides on some good trails. Hopefully ones with lots of climbing. I need the work before Ponca. The plan for that week is to do a lot of outdoor stuff. Biking, hiking, and whatever else we can find outdoors.

12 Hour

2010-05-16T05:29:00.002-05:00

more to come

Gravel and Wii

2010-05-09T16:39:00.004-05:00

Not a bad weekend. Started out with an early ride with Brandon on Saturday. He put in over 50 and i was at about 45. I was not feeling it but it was still a good time. Later it was back to Howells to see fam and mom for mothers days. Today Jackie got a Wii for mothers day so tonight will be game night. Next weekend 12 hour.

Thursday night ride.

2010-05-06T19:09:00.002-05:00

Not a bad night last night for riding. I rode with Jim Craig and company at Wagon Train for about 3 hours. Then it was off to Wilderness to ride with Jackie. Now that's how you spend your Thursday night. I even ran into a Howells alum at Wagon Train. I did a TT yesturday with Lefler at the trail with about 7 others which was fun. This weekend no Platte for me. We have family stuff going on which is fine I plan on doing the 12 hour next weekend and then CCC after that. Crazy month.

2010-04-23T19:43:00.001-05:00

Getting out.

2010-04-21T13:10:00.004-05:00

Little Sunday after church fishing while Mom and Hayden naps. I can handle doing this every Sunday. Now if we can only catch some fish.

So last year we sat in the house most of the year. This year its all about not sitting in the house. Last weekend the fam came out and watch me suck it up at the TTT at BO. The team got 5th out of 10. Not bad. I'm just glad Rick raced. Afterwards the kids played on the swings and slide. Not a bad day and everyone got to see me race.

Sunday and Monday was bike day at out house. Kids got new rides on Sunday and Jackie got her sweet Marin on Monday from Bike Pedalers. This bike works out so much better for her then her last bike. She even took it out for a little gravel ride last night after I got done with my ride.(pics below).

My ride last night started out on dusty gravel roads, then wilderness from highway 77 to Pioneers, then I rode over to Pioneer park over to Vandorn and down the highway to SW 56 for more gravel fun. Lots of loose gravel right now. Then a little fam photo when I got home. I have to show a little Ergon love too.

Jewell TT update

2010-04-05T09:43:00.003-05:00

I don't have any updates on the TT. I wasn't able to make the trip to Omaha on Saturday but I had a good reason why. Hayden had gotten sick on Friday and had a little trouble breathing. So we took her in and a few breathing treatments later and a couple nights at Bryan she was better. Still has the cold but is doing much better then before. Racing is fun and all but nothing is more important than family. I think this little one is going to give me a heart attack before I'm 35.

Next up for me is Swanson. Tour De Husker is also this month so I might try another crit race. Will see.

2010-04-02T12:37:00.002-05:00

Pre race meal #1. Not sure about #2 tonight. Something with carbs.

Thursday

2010-04-02T10:49:00.002-05:00

The mini gully at area 7

Hard to find beer. I was able to find it in a little store in Malcom.

First Crit

2010-03-27T22:59:00.007-05:00

Well Saturday was my first crit race ever. I had a great time racing and I think I got a top 10 finish. We didn't keep track of who placed where so its hard to tell. I was a able to stay in front for the first 3-4 laps but then a group of 5 pulled away. Hopefully I can get a few more crits in this year but will have to see. Thanks again to Brandon for letting me use his bike for the race. I always said my next bike would be a cross bike but now I'm not sure. Still thinking cross but will see after this year.

The course

Lefler setting up

FWCT tent

I finally passed this guy on the last lap but he got me at the end with a sprint finish(that I sucked at) with him beating me by half a tire length.

WOW! I look like a rookie. Below Brandon got a video of my best lap. The first one.

Area 7 is looking good.

2010-03-25T22:09:00.003-05:00

WOW two outdoor rides in one week. That's a record. Tonight I headed out to area 7 to meet John for some training and to check on the trail for Sunday's training race. Right now the trail is perfect. They added some new stuff today and we'll need to do some mowing or something so people know where to ride. They have flags up but its a little hard to follow. Outside of that the trail is great.

Stagecoach and FT 7

2010-03-23T19:32:00.006-05:00

Headed out to Stagecoach Lake with Brandon to check on the new trails. Of course they're still wet. Hopefully next week. A quick photo op at the lake and cemetery and then back to the shop. The wind was crazy on the way back. Great ride though.

Well before I posted a Timex HR watch. I wasn't having any luck with getting one in stock so I had the guys at the shop set me up with a Polar FT 7 watch. Took like 2 days to come in. I should of went with this two months ago. Thanks again guys for setting me up. So far I like it. Its easy to use and affordable.

Panama 2010

2010-03-18T11:03:00.004-05:00

Well the race season is in full swing now. Headed out to Panama with Brandon for my second try at this race. Last year was kind of rough but this year I felt much better. I was able to hang with a group for most of the race which helped a lot in the windy section of the course. About over half way I hit a pot hole that kept me off my seat for a few miles. So here I am wanting to catch up but trying to bike standing doesn't help on the level. But after a couple miles I started to feel better and was able to catch a couple guys who passed me before. Last year my last three miles was rough. This year I was able to go strong to the end. I think by the pictures I came in about 7th in the MTB category and 13th overall. If you can believe it I was really pumped on sitting on the trainer this week after this race. I still have a lot of work to do but so far I feel a lot better then I did last year at this time. Now will have to see how I do on the singletrack.

Little Sunday Fun

2010-02-22T15:37:00.003-06:00

Just call me the ACE of Cakes.

2010-02-14T13:01:00.005-06:00

OK maybe not. Jackie and Payton got the stomach flu last night and so Trey, Hayden and I had to step up and bake the Valentine's cake ourselves. I'm a big fan of Ace of Cakes and Cake Boss so of course after watching the shows I had to try baking one. I think if the cake stayed together after taking it out of the pan it would of looked a little better. Maybe not. Payton like it and that's all that matters.

As for the bike. Its still hasn't seen outside this year. All trainer time so far. Right now Jackie is buying me some new songs on line for me to listen to when I train. As I said before once I get my HR monitor I'll start my program I have. I've been listening to the same music for sometime now so it will be nice to have some new tunes to listen too.

HR

2010-02-11T10:53:00.002-06:00

Well I finally did it. I ordered myself a HR monitor for my training. I've been wanting one for sometime now but didn't have the funds for it. Thanks to Brandon for doing a little research for me when he was working at the shop. He found me this Timex HR watch. I'm a big fan of Ironman watches and didn't even think about looking at them for HR stuff. The plan is after I get it I'm going to do my heart rate test right away and then get on my training plan that I want to try. I was hoping this week for that but still no watch. It didn't matter anyways I got the bug from the kids and I've been out for the last three days. Last week I had one of my best weeks of training at 6-1/2 hours. This week I'm lucky to get 3. First race is just around the corner and I need to get going.

Other then that not much new with me. Hayden is doing much better after her last surgery. No more oxygen or feeding tube and I was told yesterday no more heart monitor at night either. Now if she would only take a bottle. But that's another story. Payton is still loving school and Trey is doing well with out big sis around. As long as he has his dinos and cars he's a happy boy. Man I can't wait for Spring. Now that Hayden is doing better we have big plans this year. I think the main goal is not to be in the house at all. Lots of trips to the Zoo and museums, a week in Colorado Springs and a few trips to Howells. Hopefully it all works out and I'll be racing during the Colorado trip and riding trails in Jon's area when we go back to Howells. But I need to just take it one day at a time. Over the last two years our plans usually didn't go to plan. Fingers cross for 2010.

Trey and Rexy

2010-01-21T12:59:00.003-06:00

Hanging with Trey and Rexy today at Morrill Hall. Its been over 20 years since I've last checked this place out. It was fun and well worth the 5 bucks.

It's going to be a long day.

2010-01-15T09:28:00.003-06:00

Hayden before surgery. Jackie has updates on the care page and facebook. She explains things better then I do.

(My wife's update)

Hayden did pretty well last night, slept most of the night between Mama and Daddy. :) She was given a med this morning to help with the transition from my arms to the nurses arms. She was pretty loopy and funny and did great. Dr. Hammel came and talked with us after her echo to confirm everything going on and how things looked. One of her arteries needed to connect to bypass was smaller than should be so it sounds like they'll need to make an incision in her groin or neck (or both) to get on bypass another way or at least have another option. Please pray this goes well it's one of the riskiest parts of surgery. He also explained to us the different areas he's repairing. We got a call from the nurse a little after 8 letting us know that they had no trouble getting her IV lines in and that they had started. We will post more when we know more. We do know it will be a long day for her today as it takes a long time to carefully get to the areas that need repaired and then repair them all. We appreciate all of your continued prayers today!!

Hayden's care page: https://www.carepages.com/carepages/HaydenFaith

WarHeads

2010-01-01T20:49:00.004-06:00

The kids and I tried to see a movie last night but with long lines outside and a cold wind with a BITE, we decided to head home and try something on Saturday. On the way home we stopped by Rocket Fizz and picked up some pop and candy. I know kids don't need that stuff but I felt bad that the movie didn't work out so I thought candy would cheer them up. It did. I'm a big fan of sour stuff too so I thought I'd get some WarHeads sour candy for me and the kids to try. Payton likes sour stuff but as we found out last night the warheads are a little to sour. It was fun watching the kids expressions after trying some. I got a good pic of Trey after his first try. So even though the movie was a bust we still had a good time.

Winter Storm of 2009

2009-12-26T09:59:00.002-06:00

Man I'm thankful for my wife's uncle Gordon. He let us have his old snow blower since he was going to get new one. We live on an acreage so we have lots of snow to move. The blower is 20 years old but is works like a new one. My wife's brother and family was stuck at out house for the last three days so once the roads were cleared we went in and pushed snowed at his house. And I was worried that I wasn't going to get a workout in this weekend. Now its time for a Fat Tire and football.

More 2010 dates

2009-12-18T19:25:00.002-06:00

More race info from the Kansas area. Hopefully I can make the Bone Bender next year.

2010 KC CUP

2009-12-10T12:15:00.003-06:00

Check out the HSP site for more race updates in the Kansas area. Sounds like they might have more to offer next year. I wouldn't mind a race in the St Joe area. Closer the better.

Blizzard of 09

2009-12-09T10:06:00.001-06:00

SUUUUUUUUHHH!!!!!!

2009-12-07T16:50:00.004-06:00

I had to post this one. Some good words from Texas fans about Suh. I had to laugh at this one.

"I had a nightmare that Suh was chasing me, and I woke up in a sweat. In the bathroom I was splashing water on my face to cool off, looked up into the mirror and saw Suh behind me. Right as I gasped a deep breath of terror, his hand covered my mouth as I tried to scream. That is a bad, bad man. "

This from a Texas forum.

2009-12-05T18:40:00.002-06:00

Today's game turn into a holiday feast. After today I'm back to my cycling diet. By the way the ribs turned out good. And no I'm not at the game my brother sent me this pic from Dallas. I hate him. GO BIG RED!

Game Day = Smoker Day

2009-12-05T12:24:00.002-06:00

Today I'm finally going to try some ribs on the smoker. Wish me luck.

Platte and Wilderness

2009-11-28T14:26:00.004-06:00

Great weather for some riding this week. An early cold Friday ride at Platte with Harp and a casual ride w/ Dan, Jason and Ryan at Wilderness. Found some new stuff at Wilderness today and of course Platte is always worth the drive. Tomorrow Tim from work wants to ride but trying to get three days in a row of riding from Jackie might be a stretch.

Ryan, Dan, and Jason

Brandon stopped by a coon.

2009-11-23T10:38:00.002-06:00

Cain

BIG BUCKS

2009-11-19T10:25:00.002-06:00

I started riding through Wilderness last night and came across this big buck. As I looked back I saw another big one. I rode past the tree I was standing next to and 5 more big bucks. I don't think I ever saw that many in one area before. These guys know where to hide this time of year.

Ride was good last night. I had to make it short but I tried my best to get the most out of it.

One more to go for #8.

2009-11-17T11:26:00.003-06:00

Howells (my alma mater) will be playing for another title next Monday so check them out on PBS. Wait...... I forgot the schedule is different this year because of the K-State game and Thanksgiving. They play at 2:30 so you might want to DVR it.

2009-11-08T10:33:00.001-06:00

GAME DAY RIDE

2009-11-07T12:22:00.003-06:00

Well today I got out for a good 30+ mile ride. The route was a little of Jamaica, Wilderness, and gravel. Brett from work tagged along for some of the ride. Now its time to hang with kids and get ready to head down to the game. I can't wait. GO BIG RED!

Coler riding the Jamaica with me for a few miles. Thanks again for tagging along.

Fifteen years ago that was my job. Man do I miss it.

Below pics from Wednesday's ride. The plan was to ride Wagon Train but with hunters in the area I decided to head to the Jamaica trail. Even saw a bobcat near Roca and lots of deer. It was a cold but good night.

Wilderness was a little muddy so I only rode just a little bit of the trail.

deer

Its winter gear time.

Next week I hope to get close to 40 in. Anyone want to join me let me know.

Finally!

2009-11-01T19:19:00.002-06:00

Today I finally got on the bike for a nice 2 hour gravel ride. It felt great. Well until the last 2 miles. Legs were a little tight. But still a must needed ride. Now to keep it up. I have to say I really like gravel rides. Of course when its dry single track is the place to be but for a quick ride from the house gravel isn't bad.

(above) heading down van dorn. Most of Van Dorn felt like a highway surface. I was only chased by six dogs on this road. Only one really came close.

Oh yes my legs are in off season form. Hopefully Sean don't see this.

Trey got a kick out of this pic.

Hopefully everyone got out for a ride. It was a great day for one. Not sure how many more of these are left this year.

I think its trying to say RIDE ME NOW!!!

2009-10-31T12:04:00.003-05:00

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T09:08:00.001-05:00

60's

2009-10-29T21:34:00.003-05:00

Looks like a good weekend for some riding. Anyone in for some gravel? I might be able to ride later on Saturday or Sunday. Heck maybe both.......wait I forgot its Halloween on Saturday(need to take the kids out when its light out). Looks like Sunday might be the only day that works for me.

oh how I hate leaves

2009-10-28T07:10:00.003-05:00

but the kids sure enjoy them.

I think Payton found her sport.

2009-10-19T08:52:00.001-05:00

The end result

2009-10-11T19:32:00.004-05:00

I figured when I started this project it would only take a couple of hours. Just take the old one out and put the new one in. WRONG. I had to cut the opening bigger and all my tools I need to use all had dead batteries so I spent most of the day charging my batteries. Anyway after jumping on the web for some help a few times everything ended up coming together. Now the real question is will it leak? I'll find out tonight when I finish hooking up the water.

2009-10-11T12:15:00.001-05:00

My project for Sunday. This should only take a couple hours.

Hockey night

2009-10-09T18:33:00.002-05:00

I took Payton to her first hockey game this past Friday. I was little worried that we would be going home after the first period but she was a trooper and made it through the entire game. It was a good game we won 3-2 and Payton said she had a great time. Now I need to take Trey and see how he does. He's only 3 and he might not make it all 3 periods but I told him I would take him soon.

2009-10-09T18:29:00.002-05:00

First hockey game.

2009-09-30T18:22:00.002-05:00

2009-09-27T13:06:00.001-05:00