Good Showing Tuesday Night....

There were 5 of us in the dark last night, it was a good group by any standards for any time of year. No mechanical problems, smooth riding, and nice trails. The leaves are starting to pack and form what I hope is a protective, regenerative layer over the trails. I guess we'll see next summer. I'm still convinced that leave blowing the trails last fall did more harm than good. Wish I would have never done that.

Beautiful Sunset last night...

Got a call from Randy. He said that he and Shawn have cut most of what has been marked on the Girl Scout Camp trail. Not sure of the mileage so far, but Randy claims the trails are pretty sweet so far. Can't wait to see them and start mapping them out for the site.

DON'T FORGET ABOUT THE TRAIL WORK DAY 01DEC2007!!!!!

TNR - Tuesday Nite Ride

Well, I need to be home by 7, so I have about one lap, maybe. If I'm not there by 6, don't wait.

Have a good ride if I don't see ya.

TRAIL WORK DAY!!!!

Time to get the Girl Scout Camp trail going again this winter. Randy and Shawn have been busy marking routes and will be ready for a builder crew to start making some headway.

Here are the pertinents:

1. Date: Saturday December 01, 2007


2. Time: 8:30 AM


3. Meeting Location: Bike Path Trail Head on the Parkway


4. Parking Location: Park along the road that connects the parkway with Karnes Rd.


5. What do we need?: We need at least 2 chainsaws ; 2-3 Polaskis, shovels, or heavy hoes ; 1 Weedwhacker ; Everyone should have a folding handsaw if you can get ahold of one.

A cooler of water will be available, and I'll get ahold of some sodas and beers for a couple post work refreshments.

We'll probably work till 2 PM or so. With a good group, we should be able to get through most of what is currently marked right now.

SEE YOU ALL THERE!!!!!

New Group Ride Format

We have been struggling with developing a ride format that is both fun and challenging for all riding levels and goals. So far I think our group rides may have discouraged and turned off some, either because they are too fast or too slow. This isn't the intent of the group rides, and our goal is to have 20, 30, or 40 people showing up, and everyone feeling like they got a good ride within their respective capabilities. Here is what we are thinking we can do to fulfill this desire and goal.

Each ride advertised on this site will abide by the following format:

1. Ride will begin within 10 minutes of the posted start time.
2. The first segment of the ride will be geared to keep everyone together. The "keep it together" part of the ride will be between 1/2 hour and 1 hour in length, and will be chosen based on the group that shows up.
3. At the end of the first ride segment, we will stop and make the decision on what's next.
4. If everyone wants to continue on at the same rate and pace, that's what we'll do.
5. If there are diverse riding abilities and goals present, riders may split. One group will continue to be geared for a cohesive group ride. The other group will be geared for higher speed and a more "race pace" type of ride. The higher speed group may hit several different trails and will not be as concerned with maintaining the group structure.

We'll give this methodology a try on Tuesday night. Hopefully lots of people will be able to make it out and we can try out the format.

See you all at Corby - start the "keep it together" ride at 6-ish.

Saturday AM

Jim and I will be meeting at Corby, 9AM, Saturday AM. All are welcome to join.

The tentative plan is to ride Corby South, North, Girl Scout, and Krug. Should be a nice ride, if not a little leafy. I'd like to keep a smooth steady pace, maybe do Krug twice if the mood strikes.

See ya in the AM.

LM

I do believe...

it's a ride night tonight. The light is on the charger, and I'm ready for some Corby fun in the dark. Anyone else cruising with me?

Cold, Burrrrr

Went out last night, but was late for the 6PM ride. Knew I would be, so I took the dogs with me. Looks like Jason rode, but we never crossed paths. It was a great night, and even though the wind blew like crazy on Monday, not much was on the trail in the way of branches and trash.

The dogs had a great run, and it's not quite as spooky going through there in the dark when you have two mouth fulls of fangs on your side. They made it two full laps before Wednesday was ready to give up. Lily was still raring for more, but 2/3s of us were cooked.

Rode by myself on Sunday. Jim was out at the same time, but I think we both figured we only had time for a quick ride - and neither of us planned ahead far enough to make contact. Ended up riding Krug - what a great park. Here is a shot over the fence row on the Power Line trail -

Fall Trails

Had a great time on a ride this morning with Randy, Rusty, and Jason. Awesome ride!

SS Madness

Now almost everyone has one! Ran into Spellman, he's riding a single speed. Rusty pulls one out of his trunk and starts ripping it up on one. Who's next?

Great ride. No pictures, but they would have just been black anyway.

Jason was ripping it up, getting faster every day (kind of scary). Jav and Rusty were in form as always. I only did one lap, but it was still a great night.

See you Thursday.

Not a Bad Ride

Rode with Javier, Rusty, and Joel on Saturday. It was great to be back on the bike after a week of just running. I felt kind of dull, but still had a great time. The fall colors are just starting to "pop" at Subridge and Krug. All of us maintained a steady pace, and even though Joel and Javier ran out of water, they still rode like a couple of champs. Rusty climbed the big hill at Sunbridge again. After three attempts I still couldn't make it, and I gave up. It is climbable, and doesn't look like it should be that hard. I just loose footing about 2/3 of the way up, then when the rear spins - I'm done.

Over all the trails at Krug and Sunbridge were in pretty good shape we had to stop a few times to clear down trees, but nothing that took more than 10 minutes to clear.

Saturday nite was the St. Joe Bike Club Night Ride. I opted to watch game 3 of the World Series instead - go Sox. Sounds like it was a fun ride with pretty good attendance.

Did a 2-hour Corby Ride Sunday Morning with the dogs. Pretty un-eventful. Fast and fun but not much interesting happened. One weird thing though. Kept seeing dead mice on the trail. Think I saw 7 or 8 in all. Not sure what that was about, was kind of strange though. The dogs sure enjoyed it.

Sounds like we will have a good turn out on Tuesday night. Make sure you have a light. Be there at 6:00 PM and we'll have a good ride.

Maine Is Sweet

I'm in Maine for work this week. Have never been here before, but if I could afford it would definitely consider the location. It is probably the most beautiful country I have ever seen.

Ran on the beach this morning before sunrise. It was awesome.

Watched the sunset on the ocean. It was awesome.

Crawled around on the rocks during low tide. It was awesome.

Sat through some training classes (no pictures, and not awesome), then went and had seafood. Food was awesome.

I'll be back and looking to ride on Saturday. Hope some folks are available.

WET and NIGHT

Well dark riding is here. Bring a light if you are coming out after about 4PM, cause you'll be seeing some twilight for sure. It was getting pretty dim about 7pm on Tuesday when I ran into Jason. He was out riding with Ryan, a guy I don't know. Jason is pretty new to the trails, but is improving quickly and I'm thinking he'll be out running me pretty soon. Keep it up buddy!
Just before dark I was enjoying all the crazy mushrooms and fungi that are blooming in the Corby areas right now. There is a whole different flora in Krug. This is one of my favorite times of year for hiking and riding for that very reason. Kind of makes me think of going to another planet or to the deep ocean some of the organisms are so big and exotic. Here's one with my bike in the foreground for scale.
Keep in mind those are 29" wheels, and these crappy photos don't do the fungus any justice. Still one of my favorites are the huge white ball mushrooms. I saw bigger ones last year, but there are definitely more numbers this year....
Pretty much since I finished riding on Tuesday, its been raining. The dogs have not been enjoying it (this is a picture I took when I got home from work to find two very wet dogs in the back yard). They have a dog house, but they aren't smart enough to go in there out of the rain. Apparently sitting in the downpour at the door is more comfortable. I'll tell you, these two are getting ready for some winter riding. If you think you can outrun these two on your bike, think again. They are also great for trail work, they've got backpacks, and the backpacks carry supplies (mostly beer). They've got to earn the right to run on my rides, and they're happy to oblige.

Hope for dry on Thurs. If so, I should be out around 6-6:30.

Have a good one.

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday

Ended up hiking the Riverbreaks trails Sunday AM. Did a 4.5 - 5 mile loop on the East Section of the area. It was great. There were some trails that would be really fun on a down hill bike. Looonnng down hills, wide open, I bet you could carry 35 mph without too much effort.

Afterward, met Rusty, Ray, and Randy (R^3) at Sunbridge. Things were a little wet, but not slippery or sticky. Rusty climbed the big hill that almost everyone walks. On a single speed, I don't think climbing it is even an option - but Rusty ripped up it on the gears. I even saw him stand up out of the saddle, almost didn't recognize him at first. Congratulations man, what a climb.

We also went looking for new trails at Sunbridge. Found some really overgrown stuff that required lots of hike-a-bike. Then we ended up climbing up the side of an old motor cycle climb, which was nearly straight up - tough with a bike slung over the shoulder. Definitely a challenge, but it was something different that kept things interesting.

Rain, Rain...

Kind of rainy today. I don't think many folks rode today. Usually when it rains I like to go hiking with the dogs, but ended up going to Pumpkinfest downtown with the family. It was a good day for it as the weather cleared in the afternoon.

Hoping that we can get a ride together in the AM. If its clear, lets try to meet at Corby Parking Lot around 8:30. Corby will be rideable by tomorrow AM. Krug will be a mess. The River will probably be okay, maybe we can check that out too...

Thursday Already?

Can't believe it's already thursday. After a lame attempt at a ride on Tuesday, I'm ready for some trails. Got the SS fixed up and I plan to be there around 6. Hope some others can join me.

Saturday is the Beer Ride in Lincoln. It's a blast, but not sure if I will go this year. It is the last weekend that bikes can be in the conservation areas for the winter (deer hunting time is here). Would like to do an epic on Saturday and hit Honey Creek, Riverbreaks, and maybe Sunbridge to round out the conservation area tri-fecta.

Any takers - don't want to do it alone. It will be a long day though, I guarantee. We're talking 30-some miles of trail with 50-some miles of dirt road and highway between. It will be worth it though, I can guarantee that too. Who's in?

It's Tuesday

It's Tuesday, the light is charging, I'll be at the newly paved Corby South Parking lot around 6:30 PM.

See you all there!

NEW MAP!!!

Check out the map of Honey Creek. Went and hiked most of the "A" loop on Sunday with the dogs and my daughter. Not the best mountain biking, but it is still challenging to ride. Can't complain about any form of trails.

Note that if you want to go ride these trails, bikes and horses are not allowed during the winter months, as the hunters kind of invade this area. October 15 is the last day to ride at Honey Creek.

There is about 20 miles of trails in this conservation area, maybe 30. It is a very well maintained area, and is beautiful. I like to ride out there on gravel roads. It is a ride with some of the best gravel hills, dirt shacks by the side of the road, wild packs of dogs, and even a couple of hollars along the way. With the "B" loop, the ride is about a 70 mile day.

Also, if you come back over Monkey Mountain you are in for a helluva climb. I broke a single speed frame climbing the hill that goes over Monkey Mountain. Still made it home, but twisted on it so hard a weld just popped.

With the dirt on the way there, the whole experience is a great ride! Check out the Map.

Saturday AM Ride

Had a great group ride this morning.

Rusty showed up early and took the Chainsaw to a couple of downers in south corby. Trail's all clear.

I showed up a little later and we rode (this is Rusty riding with his chainsaw) over to the North side and hacked out a couple more downers. Trail's all clear.

When we got back to the parking lot Randy was there and Brad was just showing up. We joked around for a bit then realized Spellman was out riding too and called him over.

It was a good ride. Everybody is in pretty good shape and the group held together nicely. It was a really nice ride, and I am looking forward to more of the same in the upcoming months.

We also did a lot of talking about what the new-new girl scout camp trails will look like. Sounds like everyone is getting geared up to get those chain saws spinnin and shovels chucking. Can't wait to have some more trails to ride. We're going to have to cut the next round real wide to minimize maintenance, as all the mileage is getting tough to keep up with as it is. Still, it's worth it though.

Total Ride was a South Corby lap, North Corby lap, Over to the GS Trail (out and back on that trail), North Corby backwards, South Corby backwards.

Dark Rid'n

Rusty and I hit the Corby trails in the dark last night. Good trails, decent lights, good times.

Looking forward to some good dark rid'n this winter.

Tuesday Ride

Met up with Rusty and was introduced to Jason for the first time last night. Weather was great, although there was a couple trees down at Corby. Rusty said he was going to get that chainsaw running this weekend.

Mud was pretty much under control, and even though it got pretty dark and we didn't have lights, the trails were still negotiable.

Made it home without getting run over, and made the decision that next time I will have a good light kick'n so the cars mistake me for a alien spaceship instead of a target.

Twilight Riding

It's Tuesday, and time for some twilight riding. We're talking one of the last evening rides where there is any light at all. So bring a light, and lets do a couple laps at Corby!

4-trails & a game

Hit Krug and Sunbridge with Rusty today. Pretty eventful ride. We both accidentally ran over a copperhead, one of Missouri's 5 venomous snakes. It was a really cool looking snake. We didn't kill it (that we know of anyway). Felt bad for hitting it, but just didn't see it in time. We also found some ruins on one of the Lower Sunbridge trails that neither of us had been on before. Pretty cool stuff.

At Krug we found a box turtle and stopped to play around with him for a few minutes. I am not in very good shape right now, so all these breaks were a welcome distraction from pushing that single speed up the hills.

Also said good-bye to a dear friend on this ride. While we were hacking a tree out from across a Krug trail, my trusty saw blade broke in two. This thing has cut down, out, and through countless trees and brush to clear new and old trails alike. It will be missed. Even so, crippled and bent we finished the job together and pressed on.



After leaving Rusty at Krug I hit the Girl Scout camp trails and Corby North on the way home. After doing Corby North backwards, I didn't have much more juice, so I headed for home.

Later I hit the second to last Royals home game of the season. Love the Royals, can't wait till games start again next year. There is nothing like sitting in the stands with a beer and a hotdog just taking it all in.

Wisdom from Albert Einstein:

"The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them."

Seems like this is a line of thinking I need to consider daily.

Been riding sporadically, but even still this is my favorite time of year to ride. Seems like there is so much more to see than at any other time. Ran into lots of different folks that I didn't know out riding tonight. Ran into 2 separate, unconnected groups of mtb riders in the corby south trails. Said hi, briefly conversed, but I needed to get home so pretty much did the anti-social thing and kept trucking. Also saw a number of hikers in the trails. It is good to see them being used. The only bad part is none of them knew where they were going because most of the arrows have now been ripped down. Too bad, I bet it has been more work ripping them down than it was for me to post them. I guess I don't give a rip, I know my way through the trails, just too bad for everyone that doesn't.

Ever feel like this guy? Ran into him at Krug.

This little dude hitched a ride with me for the better part of a day - nestled right there in my hair. That's right, I have spiders in my hair.

Well - just sort of kicking around doing a cyclo-cross race or two. Don't know for sure, can't really decide.... Details for the Nebraska series below. It's a lot of fun for sure.

info on the NE cyclo-cross series - if you haven't tried it, you should

2007 Nebraska Cyclo-cross Series

Omaha Weekend - Swanson Park
Saturday & Sunday, October 20-21

Lincoln Weekend - Pioneers Park
Saturday & Sunday, November 17-18*
(*Nebraska Cyclo-cross State Championship)

Complete details for both weekends of racing will be posted by October 1 on http://www.nebraskacyclingnews.com/

Weekend Ride

Anyone up for a group ride at Smithville or ?? Saturday or Sunday? Give me a call, I'm in the phone book.

Rain, rain

Been raining, hard. No ride tonight - working anyway, so wasn't going to ride in the first place.

Might go for a run with the dogs though. Been craving a run for some reason, which is weird cause usually I don't like to run. Oh well, the dogs do - and I guess that's enough.

Need to clear some of the cob-webs out, feeling a little edgy and dull.

Hmmmmm

Went for a ride at Corby last nite trying to clear my head. It worked for the most part.

Somebody hacked out a couple of the most problematic fallen trees out there. Thanks guys.

Unfortunately, with the wind yesterday another big one fell above the tennis courts - damn.

Also, somebody tore down every arrow that was posted off the main trail. Kind of pissed me off at first - but then I figured, what the hell I know my way through the trails. Stupid hill-billies.

I won't be out for the Tuesday Nite Ride this week, have some other stuff going on. Hopefully others will be out. The nights are beautiful, spiders are slowing down, and the under brush is dying back. Enjoy it.

Fall is coming...

Wednesday and Lily after running Corby N&S on Sat. AM. Said hey to JSpell on the N-side. Randy & Tom were out there too, but we didn't see them. Otherwise, all quiet. Only had time for one quick lap before taking off to Nebraska in the afternoon.


A little friend we met at Sunbridge on Sunday.

Beautiful rainy day in the hills...

New Krug Map

Haven't been riding, but took a few minutes at work to update the Krug map from the St. Joe Bike Club website. Check it out on the STJMTB Trails website.

Also, check out the new DirtDiva link. Ran across this page by accident, but have sort of become hooked. This girl is amazing. She's an ultrarunner, and does 100 mile races. 100 miles of trail on a bike is a real chore, I don't know how its even possible running. Kind of inspirational I guess.

No Ride Week

Another week of no riding because of work. Kind of a drag...

Here is a picture that I saw on Syd's site. This is some place in Texas. At first I thought Krug might have almost as many spider webs, but I suppose this place has it beat - by a little anyway.

Rides

Thursday night. Just me and Rusty. We took it easy - but it still kind of hurt. Think we were both a little tired from Tuesday night.

Saturday.

Lets do Krug, then Sunbridge on Saturday Afternoon. Start at 1:30 PM. Meet at the Krug parking lot at that time.

Call me if you will be there. 752-2025

Tuesday Niter

Went for a one lapper at Krug before meeting the group at Corby for the 6:30 ride on Tuesday. We took an easy lap on the south side first, then did a scortcher on the North side.

I'm not kidding when I say I was at max wattage output for the entire lap, and everyone was right in there.

It was a fun group; Rusty, Aaron, Shawn, and Randy.

Weekend Activities

Went to a Husker football game on Saturday. NE stomped Nevada, it was sad toward the end. Started out the day with Elkcreek Waters (a drink) at Sandy's (a bar in Lincoln). A neighboring table gave us their pitcher of pink drink (I think it was a porch crawler). Whatever it was, I gathered all my manhood together and drank that pink frilly drink with pinkies out; like a real man should.

On Sunday Rusty and I rode the full Corby loop (N&S), the Girl Scout Camp (4 times), and the Krug race loop, including most of the bridge trail. We cut a lot of trees off the trail, but all in all Krug was in pretty good shape.

We saw lots of cool stuff that we hadn't run across before. Ran across a big blacksnake, must have been at least 4' long. Also explored the cemetary behind the park, there's some old stones in that place. Finally, we checked out the maintence area. There is a lot of good bridge building material in storage (or disposal) there. I will give the parks contact guy a call in the next couple weeks to see what we can have.

Also, the mushrooms are back. There are "fairy rings" all over the place, and some of the shrooms are huge. Here was one of the average ones - about the size of my helmet.

On Monday I took a couple hours with the dogs and went out to get some bridge repair going. All bridges on the Bridge Trail are open and passable; except the one by the waterfall, which someone has moved down stream of the waterfall. I think it was punk kids, which I would really like to catch in the act of destroying stuff.

The bridges I fixed are no where near as good as the bridges that were there before, but it was all I could do by myself. This fall, lets get a group together and fix them right. For now, this should do though. I apologize for one of the bridges. There is no way it can or should be ridden at the moment, but it is better to walk the bridge than ford the stream.

wooooo fast thursday

damn, this picture of rusty doesn't just look fast, he is going fast.

i barely had time to turn around and get this on the north bridge.

i couldn't get one of javier, he was right up my ass the entire ride. fast fast fast.

the first lap was all cool and smooth, barely broke a sweat; then we decided we wanted one more full lap before dark. bam, we were off. at first i was just going tempo, but every turn rusty and jav were about buzzing my wheel, so i started picking it up. pretty soon i was going race pace, and i don't think we were ever spaced more than about 15-20 feet. fast fast fast.

love it. love those rides. thanks guys!

Thursday's Too?

Tuesday was a fun ride...and it was good to see a group show up. Two things were evident: 1) I'm out of shape from a lack of riding this summer; and, 2) It won't be long until we will need the lights to get in a good ride in the evenings.

I missed Wednesday night's ride...but do plan on heading out tonight. Probably will go to Corby again, but could be swayed in other directions if others think differently. I'll be there around 6 PM...

Tuesdays are Back!

Seems like everyone has been pretty busy with life this summer, but apparently schedules are starting to open up again. We had 6 riders last night! It was a good ride too, everyone was going pretty hard, especially on the North loop. Although it was an all out, full open, leg twister - I think everyone felt like they got a good deep breath or two. I know I was sweating pretty good.

Trails were in good condition. No major blockages, besides one reroute on the South trail. There is some small debri that needs to be kicked off on a hike, but nothing that will take you down if you are paying attention.

I'm thinking about Krug tonight. Any takers? Call if interested. 752-2025

You thought this shit was ugly before

But look at it now. That's right, we're going for the ugliest page on the web. Getting close, I don't know. Probably should have ridden tonight instead of screwing around with this piece of shit.

Spiders

After eating about a pound and a half of spiders on the Corby South Loop I ran into Dave, Randy, and Tom heading out for a Sunday AM ride. Stopped to chat for a bit as Randy fixed the cables that he previously put on Dave's bike, that were originally purchased from Tom. Confused? Me too, but I think the jist was that everyone in that little circle had screwed eachother in one way or another.

Here's a picture of Randy tuning up Dave's bike on the back of his car - while he tells me what a pussy I am for the previous posts this week. Excuse me for having feelings. Well, after a good cry and a group hug we hit the trails again. I had to peel off after a North lap but it sounded like the rest of the group was heading to the girlscout camp trails. Good times....

Hey Guys!

Ran into Mike and Jeff at Corby North this evening. It's fun to see those guys - and I love Jeff's teal Yeti, should have got a picture of it. They helped me cut out one of the trees that had dropped in the storms this week. Trails were generally in good shape on both sides of the parkway, and there were only about 4-5 trees that made the trail impassable. There was only two that required the saw.

The big rains have brought some opportunities for improvement to light on the South trails. There are a couple steep ups and downs that have become white water washouts. On one of them I added a diverter log to send water over the side of the trail and down the hill. Hopefully no one knocks it out of the way. The other trails will need something similar, I think the water just needs to spill off the edge of the trail periodically and it should be fine.

All in all it was a beautiful ride. There were some unpleasant challenges though. The flying ants were out and I think I must have had over 100 of them in my hair by the time I got home. That's okay though, all the spiders I ran into in the trails needed a snack anyway. I think I shook 3 spiders out of my hair and jersey when I got home. Nasty.... Starting to look forward to fall and the first deep freeze. Also looking forward to day hikes in the long slow drizzles on a 40 degree day. The woods are just a completely different world on those days, and they are one of the things I have come to love about Northern Missouri.

Saw mama deer and what looks like a brand new fawn. I thought August was a little late to have a wobbly legged fawn tripping through the woods, but what do I know. I guess practically living in backyards, they probably don't have to work too hard to survive in the winter, but I imagine things would get a little rough if doe and fawn were in a little more wild area. Good luck friends.

Mid-Summers Night Acoustic Prelude

Last night was like a sweet, warm cup of cappuccino. The woods were opening up, getting ready for the rain. Wildlife was also out getting ready for a good soaking. An olfactory potpourri from a thousand sources settled into the low areas and hung like fog over the river.

Everything seemed like it was in tune and on rhythm, the cicadas, birds, and crickets filled out the string and woodwind section. The adjacent neighborhood dogs provided the rhythmic brass, and 29" tires rumbling through a rigid frame provided the essential base line.

As acoustic as it gets..... Every season has its perfect ride - Last night was the one for this summer.

Weeks Off

It's not just updates that I haven't been doing. I haven't ridden or maintained trails either.

After painting the house, I went to New York for a whirlwind weekend. Got to drink some of the good stuff, and see some sights - but no riding.

Since I got back I have been working quite a bit. Pretty far behind still.

Did get a chance to ride Corby on Sunday. Spent most of the 2hrs cutting out downed trees and branches, and as far as I know - all trails are now clear. Looked like most of the trees and branches had been there since the last time I rode 2-3 weeks ago - even the small stuff. Com'on gang, at least kick off the small stuff - the wheel you save could be your own.

Hoping to get out a little this week, and will try to post here and there. Sorry for the lame post, and lamer pictures.

Paint Sucks

Been off the bike for over a week now. Knees are fully recovered, so that is good.

I am in the middle of painting my house, and have vowed not to ride until it is done. Hopefully I have not bitten off more than I want to chew here.

Group is riding the trails tonight. Call down to the shop if you want in. Should be a nice cruisin' group.

Have fun sweating like crazy and munchin' spiders guys.

P.S.
I have all the wood needed to get the bridges repaired at Krug. Will need some help hauling it down there and setting in place though. Any volunteers for later next week sometime?

Down hill Slide

Well the Laramie Enduro is out of the way for me. It was a mixed success. Finished about 40 minutes faster than two years ago (when I was on a full suspension geared bike vs. this year on a full rigid single speed). Even still, the field was faster and I finished 101st this year vs. 88th two years ago.

In the single speed division I locked up the 14th place, right in the middle of the pack. We started with the Pros andExperts, and I am reasonably certain that some of the ss guys were pros too. The guy that got 7th in the ss division last year came in way behind me, so I don't know what that means.

Anyway, weather was beautiful for the race, course was in good shape, and I had a great time.

My daughter made the trek with me and my mom and stepdad caravanned up too. We all visited some family afterward and that was cool too. It was a great road trip with my daughter though, we had so much fun.

Here are a couple pictures from the race. Do I look shot?

Since then I haven't ridden. Trying to get the house painted, and as usually happens it is a bigger project than I hoped or bargained for. See you when the paint is drying.

Saddle Time

No trail riding for me this weekend, all dirt roads. Did 4 hours and 50 miles yesterday. Went out by Honey Creek, around the Amazonia Levy, then up through the hills to Country Club Village. Seems like dirt road rides usually turn up something interesting, but this one was pretty dull apart from a lot of deer on the road, beside the road, and bounding through corn fields.

Only a couple days till Laramie. Anything else going on this weekend that the world should know about?

Itchy

Well I got into something nasty. Poison oak, poison sumak, poison ivy - don't know which, don't care. All I know is that I would like to cheese-grate myself to death. Uhhhggg.

Rode last night with Aaron (who is getting pretty darn fast), and Tyson who hasn't ridden much this year but is still riding well. Did 2.5 laps on the south side and 1 on the north at Corby. It was a good ride.

Will be doing sporadic riding this weekend, so if anyone wants company - give me a call.

Quiet

It was a quiet evening in the park last night. I did one lap at Corby and didn't see a soul.

Be careful near the Corby South enterance. There is a tree that is about to fall on the trail. I tried to bring it down, but didn't feel like I could do it safely with out some rope or something. The wind will probably take it in the next few days.

Tried to map the GPS stuff last night for Krug, Corby, and the Scout Camp. Just as I was finishing up there was a fatal program error and I lost the file. Guess I will have to start over on that one.

Another Ass-kicker

Winding up for the Laramie Enduro at the end of the month. Did two-furs today. 2-laps Corby South, 2-laps Corby North, 2-laps Girl Scout Camp, 2-laps Krug. I figure this was about 32 miles of trail at the end of the day. Bet I ate 250 spiders at Krug. Next time I'll get a picture of one of those little bastards, incase some of you don't know what I'm talking about.

Took along the GPS from Forces of Nature to get a map on some of the trails that haven't been mapped yet. Batteries died about half way through the journey, so I didn't have a solid read on what I had accomplished.

32 miles doesn't sound like much, but when you throw the single speed, rigid bike, and type of trail into it - I think it was a good training day. Total bike time was about 4 hours.

Ran into Lance on the parkway between trails, he was on his way to infect a youngster with mountain biking fever. Hope everything worked out on their ride.

Jim was going to race at Smithville Lake - how did that go man?

Long Day

Randy and I did an epic. It had a little bit of everything.

We met some folks on the river. We talked to a guy on the hiway. We wend through some woods. Hung out with an old guy on a 4-wheeler. Rode into the Honey Creek Conservation area. Had lunch in a bar in Amazonia.

Randy was having a heck of a time with cramps, and it was hot - but we made it. Went through some interesting terrain, saw some interesting stuff.

Thurs night

Rode Corby with Jim, Rusty, and Aaron last night. Great weather, although I got rained on riding home in the dark.

After Corby, Aaron peeled off and Rusty, Jim, and I rode the Girl Scout Camp trail a couple times. Coming out of the trail Jim ripped a sidewall, bummer. That trail is a lot of fun, and definitely a technical challenge. I have to put my foot down a couple times in the rocks, at least until a good line develops. I think it is a little tougher picking through that stuff with the big wheels.

Here's Jim racing up the parkway to get to the Scout Camp:

After the flat we all rode back to Corby where Rusty and I took another full lap in the twilight. Rusty and Jim are riding fast - put them in the lead for most of the ride, as I was just trying to keep up.

It was a good night.

Heavy Use

Great night last night. Went out for a couple laps at Corby and found myself in a relative mtb traffic jam. Ran into John, who I had ridden with once or twice last summer. We did a lap South and North. Ran into Rusty, and did a partial lap with him. Saw some teenage types out on mountain bikes. They were walking the hills, but it's a start - and any start is a good start. Saw a guy on a nice Cannondale. Rusty talked to him and I forgot his name.

Also saw a couple hikers on the South loop.

Weather was great, trail conditions are very dry, but good, and people are friendly. It is fun to see the trails being used. Hats off to Randy, Shawn, Brian, Brad, Lance, Jim, Rusty, Javier, David, the Boyscout Troop, and all the others not listed who have worked so hard making these trails a reality. This trail system is really becoming something you can be proud of.

BTW, if I forgot someone - sound off in the comments.

News Story

Yep, Made the news - see below

Driver injured after hitting treeSt. Joseph News-PressA one-vehicle accident on Corby Parkway sent one woman to the hospital and blocked traffic for more than an hour as workers cleared a fallen tree from the roadway Sunday afternoon.Laurel J. Grimm, 21, was driving southeast at 4:16 p.m. on Corby Parkway between Corby Pond and Ashland Avenue when she lost control of her 2003 Chevrolet S10 and veered off the right side of the road. The truck crashed into trees along the road, one of which fell and blocked traffic, according to Sgt. Richard Ketchem of the St. Joseph Police Department."By the time city yards employees arrived and got it all cleaned up, it was probably an hour to 90 minutes or better before we opened the road and traffic could come through," Mr. Ketchem said.Ms. Grimm was transported by ambulance to Heartland Regional Medical Center, where she was treated and released, according to a nursing supervisor.Ms. Grimm was issued citations for careless driving for failure to maintain control of her vehicle and for failure to provide insurance, according to police records.

Manawa Race

Well, it was really hot. Really hot.

The trails were in fast condition, even though they had sustained major flood damage earlier in the year. Poised between Lake Manawa on one side, and the river on the other, they didn't have much of a chance in those big rains. THOR (trails have our respect), the trail building group in Omaha, is awesome with good community support, good funding, and strong membership; they got the trails whipped into shape really quick.

For my part, I forgot just how flat the course was, and I have apparently forgotten how to gear for flat races. I spent about 1/3 of the race totally spun out. In the heat spinning like crazy blows energy quick. The rest of the 2/3 race was spent in very, very tight and twisty single track. This is the kind of trail that I have always preferred, and I was able to at least sort of hang on because of the single track part. I guess that's the cool thing for me about single speed, it is just as much about planning for the race as it is about riding during the race. I fell down on the planning part this time.

Regardless, it was a fun race. My mom, step-dad, and daughter also came to the race - so it was fun to have a fan base, even if I didn't perform like I deserved one. Here are the results -

Note that Woodman had almost 4.5 minutes on the next 3 of us. What an animal... And a helluva nice guy.

Next up - St. Joe trail building story. Went out for a Corby ride this afternoon. Was trying to map the south side for the website, but kept running into problems. The weirdest part: while starting the second lap I heard the snap of a tree falling, then constant honking for a few minutes. I was farting around with the GPS, so I wasn't paying much attention. Then after rolling into the trails, right before the rock bridge there was a yellow pick-up hanging part of the way across the trail. There was a very disoriented woman in the driver seat, and a few by-standers jumping around trying to figure out how to get her out of there. Luckly I had my saw in my pack, so I cut the trees that were pinching her doors shut, then cut a trail up to the road so they could pull her back to the road. Also cut out the trees that she had knocked onto the trails. By-standers and Paramedics thanked me, which was cool. The lady just staggered past without saying anything, might have been rattled, or drunk - not sure. At one point a cop asked if I had a permit to cut trees in the park. I just gave him a look and that was the end of it.

Anyway, it was an interesting ride. Ate a lot of spiders, so I guess it is that time of the year. All in all, I had fun - just wish I would have thought to get a photo of the truck on the trail, it was something else.

Race Saturday

For anyone interested, there is a race in Council Bluffs this weekend at Lake Manawa. It is part of the Nebraska Lottery Psycowpath race series (a well run, safe, fun series). Payouts and prizes are generally very good and the crowd is very cool.

The course is a lot of fun, and is great for beginning racers, as there is almost no elevation change. The course is very twisty/curvy through the trees on an approximate 7 mile loop. It will be a fast but fun race.

Here is the information - hope to see some of you there!

http://www.nebraskacyclingnews.com/content/view/728/190/

Krug Bridges

Repaired 3 bridges this weekend. Scabbed one together to make it at least rideable with out getting wet and muddy (will need help hauling the heavy bridge planks to really fix it). The final 3 crossings didn't have a bridge to start with, but I think we should try to build something across them.