Mo. State Cyclocross Championships.....

Two things I figured out this weekend.......bikes need maintenance and Im taking a little time off from the partaking of cold beer.
I came home from Iowa last weekend and threw my bike into the corner and didnt touch it. Next issue.....cold beer is the culprit of the 8 lbs I have gained......this does not make me happy. Long story short.....my chain came off twice in the 1st lap while running 2nd and I called it quits. I have learned my lesson.....the training started the minute I walked into the house by spending 45 mins on the trainer. Im not even in the mood to discuss it. Until im in a better mood......OUT!!!

Mt. Fukthat....Jingle Rock Cross

I loaded up Friday evening and headed north for Iowa City, IA to attend my 1st ever Jingle Rock Cross race.....I pulled into the race venue at 8pm and immediately cracked open a cold one. I wasnt racing on Friday night so I was intending to partake in adult beverage......after walking up to the course and seeing this huge mountain in front of me that was very muddy, I decided I may need a few more. Screw it....I was there to have fun, so dont judge me!!! This place was going crazy with spectators, I thought I had stumbled upon a damn rock concert. People screaming, people throwing back some sweet Ale.....I had made the right choice, I was all smiles at this point and to top it off I got to ride my bike....Hell yaa!!!! I met up with Coach and Dean Parker who were gracious enough to give me a place to lay my head for the weekend. We grabbed a quick bite to eat, added a couple Fat Tires then it was off to bed. I was racing at 9am Saturday morning so I wanted a good nights rest.
The morning came quickly and I was ready for the task. They had fortunately changed the course from Friday night. Instead of descending the long steep section of downhill on Mt. Krumpet they had us run up the backside threw a very slick, muddy, steep section.....once we got to the top the quick descend was very slick, people wrecking everywhere and tearing the hell out their bikes. Brakes do more harm in situations like that and it took several wrecks for some morons to figure this out. Oh well. I didnt pre-register so you guessed it.....I had the honor of starting behind 50+ riders. FUN, FUN. We took off fast as usual and I passed several people in the 1st lap. I rode well considering and ended up 12th overall and was unusually happy with that. I was having fun and thats all that mattered. I got all cleaned up grabbed me a few cold ones and headed for Mt Krumpet.....I renamed this hill more appropriately.....MT Fukthatcuzimtired!!!!! I watched Coach finishing a very impressive 1st place in his class.....he rocked that course. We drank all the beer we had with us and started buying the $4 cans of gold aka Fat Tire. This was not good......then a little bird flew by and said....."Hey dumbasses...there is a keg at the top of Mt Fukthatcuzimtired if you want to walk up there." Bee lined my ass to the top and was absolutely stunned when I got up there. 100's of people, keg of beer, big ass stereo system was rocking. This was the party of the year....and I was attending almost forgetting that I had to race again Sunday morning at 9am. We watched the rest of the races from the top....absolutely a blast. We all loaded up and headed for the hotel around 4pm that afternoon to grab showers before dinner.....we were trying to find out where we could watch MU/ku game......scored!!!! Big screen!!!!! Ate dinner, finished watching MU kick the shit out of KU......by a last second field goal, then headed downtown to meet up with all the other cycling crazies. Finally shut down the beer spichets around 930 or 10pm that night. Things were not looking good at this point for Sunday after 11 hrs of power drinking. Time to pass out. I woke up around 1am with one of the worst headaches I've ever experienced.....so i go out to the truck and grab the Ibuprofen and take my usual 100mg for every hour of drinking......You do the math!!!! This is going to be a long night.....I would rather be kicked repeatedly in the nuts than to have another headache like this. 30 minutes of my "fix all" hot shower and I was ready to pass back out. 7 hrs to kickoff!!
Sunday morning alarm came way to soon. Jumped up and headed for the shitter......got another shower and damn near puked while brushing my teeth. No problems, this was going to be a piece of cake.
They changed the course around for today and I needed to get in a pre-ride. I actually at this time was not feeling to bad...took a couple extra headache killers then went back to the warm truck. Samething today...no preregister, no front row start. Looking at the asses of 50+ riders at the starting line was not fun. I was looking around to see if anyone else was feeling as rough as I was......BINGO. This dude a few rows up looked worse than me......I now had a chance of not finishing last. The race started with its usual "I want to throw up" pace, but today that had a special meaning all of its own!!!! I got a great start and was passing people left and right. I climbed into the top 10 and was feeling surprisingly good. The course was not to bad and I just pedalled as hard as I could.....sometimes cycling is not that simple. We came into the last lap and I was sitting 9th. Nearing the end I spotted a guy about 50 yds in front of me that was not doing well, so I set my sights on him. We were coming to the last open section before the end and I knew I needed to pass him before we got to the tight area. I hammered it and when I passed him I was at my top speed. Dude did not look good....Im guessing he must have not went to bed Saturday night, he looked like warmed over death. I smiled as I crossed the line in 8th. Not to shabby for a old guy with a hangover. The racing had finally ended....i was exhausted but already trying to figure out what the dates were for next years race.
Headed to the Missouri State Cross Championships on Sunday, then its rest time for about a week. Im looking forward to getting started training for next seasons Mountain bike season....its right around the corner!!!! OUT

Lincoln, NE Cyclocross rulesssss!!!!

Had a long week as I get a phone call last Wednesday night from my sister saying that Baby D had been born but was just sent to ICU. Not good, so I jump in the truck at 10PM and make a trip to Wichita....roughly 5 hrs away. After many stops for coffee and rest I finally got there. Had to wait till 1230pm on Thursday to see him. That afternoon they finally took him off the oxygen and he was doing much better. Headed for home around 3pm and went in to work Friday. Found out I didnt have to work Saturday so I started making the arrangements to race in Nebraska Sat and Sun. Man was I glad that all worked out!!! It was awesome and the crowds were rowdy. From what I understand that drinking was not allowed in this certain park....this is totally abnormal for Cross races, it seems that Cross and alcohol go together from what I have learned. They do have an understanding with the police that as long as the alcohol is not visible (coolie cups, wrapped up in a napkin, etc.) they would let it go for the weekend. I have never raced in front of as rowdy of crowd as this. They have a large hill called hulligan hill that we had to climb carrying our bikes. This hill was lined up and down both sides with people screaming, ringing cowbells and yelling encouragements. At the top was a group that had a fire pit, bbq going, all the beer you could imagine and was absolutely partying down. This one freak was actually trying to hand off hotdogs to us as we came by!!! LOL. It was a f'n blast!!! A racer from Lincoln pinned several $1 bills to his jersey and everytime he got to the hill the guys would yank off a bill and give him a shove!!! It was so much entertainment, so of course when I wasnt racing I hung out at hulligan hill!!!!! Scored a couple free cowbells for future races that they were handing out.

We had so much fun that the competition side of it was just icing on the cake. I raced on of my best races Saturday in the Cat 4 open class......no age groups here baby.....you line up and go for it. I took the lead from the beginning and held on thru majority of the 1st lap. A guy from Wyoming jumped past me coming back on the pavement to finish our 1st lap. I jumped on and held his wheel to draft and let him pull me threw the wind....saving energy is a must when your racing against young energetic fellows, So I was letting him do the work. My ego got the best of me and wouldnt allow me to ride in 2nd for long. I decided to make a move....I tried to gap him but couldnt, now he was drafting me. We did this for the whole 5 laps. The last run up he gapped me and I couldnt get back. He took the win with me finishing a close 2nd. The rest of the field was not ever close.....we dropped them the 1st lap. I was happy with my best finish in the open class and had a chance of winning til the last half mile. The old legs just went south on me.....but im working on fixing that. Sunday was much of the same....I lead the race for awhile, got passed early on. This guy was fast.....didnt hurt that he didnt race Saturday and had fresh legs....but thats just part of it. I ran 2nd the whole race til I dropped my chain on the last lap and got passed by 2 guys putting me in 4th. The 3rd place guy was tired and I tried to chase him down.....just didnt happen. I petered out and settled for 4th...just off the podium.

All in all I had a blast and will definetly be back next year.........next its off to Iowa City this Saturday and Sunday. OUT!!!

My first Epic cyclocross race!!!!

The weekend started out good as we headed out of Chilli Saturday afternoon headed for Leavenworth, Ks. We arrive in Leavenworth around 5:30 and start scoping out the hotel scene. It appears we have the choice of a Super 8, Super 8 oooorrrrr a Super 8. We decide on the Super 8......as we're walking in 2 Spanish speaking Americans yell "hey girls" to my 11 yr old daughter and my wife....Nice!!!! Im met at the counter by Osama bin Laden Jr. as he gets us all setup with a room.....we had to use sign language to communicate but in the end it all worked out. We enter the room and I quickly realize the best part of the room was the frigde that would keep my beer cold. Thank you Bin Laden Jr. for my bed that felt like I was sleeping on a slate of rock.....appreciate it. Decide to go eat at the High Noon Restaurant and Brewery.....excellent choice. Got the blood thinned down with a 32 oz Annies Amber Ale...silver medalist at the world beer taste competition. It rocked. Filled the belly with the roast beef and mashed potatoes dinner along with some green beans. It rocked.
Woke up early Sunday morning to some rain....this is what I had been hoping for. Had a couple of cups of coffee brewed by none other than bin Laden Jr. himself......dude pulled an all nighter. Got the group rallied up and headed for the race venue. I take off on a warmup stretch down the paved road to get the blood pumping...its a steady rain by now. Its slick as hell and I lay it down in the middle of the road.....this is shaping up to be a painful day. I decide to hit the course for a quick pre-ride to see what its like. At this point its not to bad....still had alot of grass and traction. Boy did that change. There was 2 races before mine and the course got destroyed, by the time I raced it was pretty much pure fucking mud. The temps had dropped to around 39 degrees and still raining. I headed for the starting line and had already stripped down to race gear. The race officials come to the starting line and announce that there would be a slight delay as they re-routed a dangerous section of the course.....all the roadies thanked them, all the mountain bikers said "fuck it, lets race." After a 10 min. delay we finally get the call up whistle....I was so fucking cold that I was in total body shiverfest!!!!! Of course all of the goons that pre-registered got to start at the front....nice!!!! I get a great 3rd row starting spot (sarcasm)......we take off on the cobblestone road for about a 1/4 mile stretch to thin us out a bit before we hit the course. I hit the course and actually make it up to 2nd place quickly. The leader was throwing mud and water directly into my eyes. I made a pass on him at after the 1st climb and started the separation from the pack. I was riding strong and handling the technicals suprising easy. The 2nd and 3rd place riders were catching me in the long road like stretches but as soon as we hit the mud and tight cornering areas I'd pull back away from them. Just middle way through the 2nd of 3 laps I make a mistake and get tangled up in the course marking tape....2nd and 3rd close in on me, 2nd place guy passes me while we are riding up the long cobblestone area toward the finish line.....putting me in 2nd place with 1 lap to go. I had put some distance between me and 3rd place. I try to put a run on the leader through the tight techinal areas and was gaining on him when disaster struck. I came into a muddy corner way to fast and went down hard.....Im talking I looked like Michael Phelps doing the backstroke down a Slip-n-Slide after he had smoked a couple fatties!!!!! It wasnt pretty......to say the least. I was covered in mud from head to toe. I quickly jumped back on the bike.....fuck.....chained had came off and was all gummed up with mud. Did I mention that it was 39 degrees and raining????? My fingers were frozen and numb....couldnt get them to function and had one hell of a time getting my chain back on. I had screwed up severely....during this whole nightmare 2 more riders pass me putting me into 4th place.....1 spot off the podium!!!! I made a couple of attempts to catch 3rd place but just couldnt pull it off. I guess as I look back and think maybe in those course conditions I should have held back and settled for 2nd instead of making that last ditch effort to win......then I say "fuck that!!!" I went to win and thats what I was trying to do......given the same set of circumstances......I'd do it the same way!!!!!!
"whoever says its alright to lose.....loses alot!!!"
OUT.