My Week So Far

On Sunday I went looking for a few peaceful moments at GSC. I found them. It was a nice couple hours in the woods.

Looking for redemption -

Found a quiet moment and stopped for a few minutes -

Monday, we had a baby. Ivy Elle. She's great. Wonderful, happy, healthy little girl. I'm very lucky.

Have a great week. I plan to be back on the bike on Saturday or Sunday. Maybe both if I'm lucky.

Need for Speed

Got to go ridin with Rusty and Allyn yesterday.  We let Allyn lead on Corby North and he was flyin... so I'd say he's definitely getting back into his mtb groove after a 5 year break.  Of course that got Rusty and I all excited so we finished the ride by blasting through Corby South with Rusty leading the way.  He was smokin as well... so much that I began to question his sanity.  He was going so fast through one of the down hill turns that all of a sudden I just saw his front wheel slide from under him and he and the bike went tumblin.  When I came upon him and asked if he was alright, he was already getting back on and with a BIG grin on his face simply said... "yeah, I LOVE to go fast!"

So we all really enjoy flyin through trails and all three agree that Corby North is our favorite place to do so in the woods!

For those of you whom also like flyin, don't forget that MWSU has those wood chip trails.... and right now they are in excellent conditions... cause they haven't put down a new layer of the chips yet.  I rode the loop today... and keep beating my personal best.

Sunday AM Ride????

Anyone up for a sunday am ride? I would kind of like to roll at 8:30. I would kind of like to do some dirt roads, but could be talked into doing the trails too.

Let me know. All I have is a geared mtb and a geared cross bike, so I guess I'll be switch'n gears while we roll.

Hopefully someone is up for a ride....

great link for q&a for 650b

It looks like Javier is having fun with the 650b front wheel I built, I plan on building another front for people to ride to give it a try. I found a link which has a great article on this new wheel size. http://www.bikelugs.com/about/index.php?strWebAction=article_detail&intResourceID=79

Autumn is here!

That's right boys & girls... yesterday was the first day of Fall.  And you know what that means.... those pesky bugs' days are numbered!

Thought you'd appreciate the news Lansen, since you hate spiders.

Tuesday Night Ride

Hey guys. Thanks to those of you who called me to ride yesterday. It was a busy day at work and I didn't get away till late, so sorry if I did not get back to you.

I plan to ride at 5:30 tonight from Corby. Maybe I'll see you there.

Lansen

Watch Out?!

It's nice to be posting once again after my road riding hiatus this summer.  I had a wonderful first racing season but now getting excited about making the transition back to mtb and riding with ya'll.

I had the pleasure of riding the VERY well groomed trails along all of the parkway between Corby & Krug.  I must say I am impressed with how they are and more so with the news that they've been like that all summer.  Now if you guys can just get rid of all the pestering bugs... you might see me make some appearances throughout summers.

Although I have introduced Rusty to the road racin scene... resistance over to the good side of the force was futile once he got a taste... I also have reintroduced Allyn Smith to mtb... he's already ridden twice and very excited about the new trails.  Rusty and I were talking about how wonderful it's been to see more and more unfamiliar faces to the trails.  If we can simply ride smart & safely as Jim posted earlier, I see no surmountable obstacle to keep the trails & interest growing.

I've also heard that the more recent new comers to mtb have been improving their mtb skills and that is wonderful to hear... rapid continuous improvement is what I wish for everyone.  I look forward to having Jason showing me his latest skilz!  Just don't count us older folks out as we still have plenty left... just look at what Rusty did to me today (see pic below) when I got too slow for him and he ran over me instead of passing around!   LOL

Jokin aside, this poor fellow did take the brunt of Rusty's wrath today.  ;0)-

Ouch

You guys put the hurt on me today. Thanks for the ride. Craig probably needs to slow down a little bit, because my ego can't handle too many whippings like that. Just kidding - keep going faster, maybe I'll catch you someday.

It was fun watching Randy go apeshit on that log at Krug. I should have got a picture, but wasn't thinking. Next time....

Thanks again guys!

LM

Avoiding Trouble

I don't know how many of you noticed this in todays paper in the "bitch and moan section" where readers call in. There was a person complaining about bikers on the sidewalk going really fast and how dangerous it is. This has a potential to be a major problem for all of us. We need to be sure we are being courteous and respectful to the people walking. I know it is annoying when they are bopping along with an i-pod and a dog on the leash on a designated "bike path", but we stand to lose a lot if we are not careful. If you see someone doing something they shouldn't please say something to them. We all need to be careful and police ourselves, before someone else does it for us.

Back in Town

Well I'm back. Anybody miss me? Okay that's alright. Anyone up for a ride Tuesday after work? I should be able to get out there by 6:00. That should allow an hour and a half of riding before dark. Meet at Corby if you can. Might have to take it easy on me. My fitness sucks in a special kind of way right now.

Lansen

650b oh yeah!!

When you aren't tall enough to ride a 29er or you have already invested in 26 in bikes try a 650b wheel set. The 650b wheel falls inbetween 26 and 29 wheel sizes and has the added roll over factor. In addition to that the other advantage is for longer travel suspension bikes to have correct wheel bases and geomerty, thats why you don't see many 29er full suspension long travel bikes.  The wheels will fit into my Marin frame and Fox fork. This will be an upgrade for anyone with a 26 in fox fork to upgrade to a larger front wheel size. Check out www.650bpalace.com  to check out the blog site. Don't throw away your 26in stuff just try upgrading to a larger wheel that fits. Greg and I are building our first 650 wheel set next week to give it a try. Everyone is welcome to borrow the wheels to give them a spin. 

A little mud on the tires

Went for a road ride and wound up with mud on the tires! Rode through Corby north and most of South. Trails were in good shape. There are several trees down on south that will require a chain saw and one on north that 2 people might be able to move. I removed a bunch of large branches off both sides. My tire choice might of hindered my climbing a little (1-1/4" road tires)but is was all good! Get out there and ride. Oh, one other thing, there were lots of nuts on the trails (no, not the big wheeled single speeders!) we have a bumper crop of acorns, walnuts and other nuts.

I Can't Take It Anymore!!

I have ridden once in about a week and a half.. This rain is getting ridiculous…
Anyone up for a ride tomorrow eve? WEDNESDAY..
Tour of MO was pretty damn cool.. Almost made me want to ride a road bike for a second or two… Then I came to my senses and wanted to get dirty on the trails again..
No offence to a few confused MTB's I know.. I won’t mention any names, you know who you are…. Even the infamous trail hippy aint callin to ride… Sad times I tell ya..

I would have posted a pic of Lansen falling on his ass but I can't figure out how to do that yet.... sorry..

This is BS!

This is BS! This darn rain! Hey JDOUG, I wanted you to know that I posted on my blog again! Please refrain from using dirty language tho! Anyone who wants to check it out be my guest, this last post has something to do with the good ole people of St. Joe! Well, hope to see most of you guys this weekend, except for that gay blade the "trail hippe"!

Funny Stuff

Rode with Jason today. After two weeks of no riding, then two days in a row of actually being on the bike, I was kind of tired. That's cool, it felt good. Jason apparently was tired too, he wanted to stop and put the stretching station to use.

I did a little stretching as well, but was too lazy to get off the bike.

Trails are in great shape right now, thanks to all the guys that have been hitting them with the gas power tools. I know Randy and Craig have been out there sweating and grooving with the trimmers. Thanks again guys.

Speaking of Craig, I been hearing he's fast these days. Pretty exciting to see some of the fast guys coming out of hiding this year. First I've seen of it since I moved here. Keep riding guys, it's great to see the rides rockin' and rollin'.

Oh yeah, here's one of Randy giving the two ball salute before the Landahl race. Looks like we got a money shot of Shawn in this one too. How often do you get a gem like this to post on a blog? Sorry guys.... Get one of me like this, and I fully expect for it to be posted the next day!

tour and trimming

Randy and Craig Hoppe Trimmed Corby South and the Missionaries from my church trimmed Part of North today and will finish more soon. If I could have an informal count of who plans to guide or ride the mtb tours for the 6&7th please comment on this post. We might even get some KC people up for this. We have camping in the race field for the entire weekend. What does everyone want to do? I propose a big cookout with dogs and everything for all the mtb crew in stj. Make that a potluck because I'm poor, later in the afternoon then maybe a ride-night ride and just hang out to celebrate all the hard work we have done this year to put STJ on the MTB map. Maybe a fun bike skills challenge thrown in there somewhere. Sean from the Conservation Dept. will be leading a tour to Sun Bridge to promote the reopening of that area to biking. and don't forget the swap meet Sat. and Sun. at the civic park. Marin has donated a Hamilton 29 single to the Mark Reynolds fund to be raffled, only $5 a ticket to get a chance to win a sweat 29er.

Landahl Pictures

Landahl and Trail stuff

Props to Lansen and Shaun for showin us how to do it on Saturday. I was cryin like a little girl about how much I was cramping (prob meunstral) and just generally whining like a bitch when Shaun came in after doing 5 laps to my 4 and all he really had to say was that he was hungry! He did Bogart 4 of the pb&j sandwiches beforehand however. I bet this was the reason for his 38th bowel movement of the day coming back through Platte City that night. Lansen did great again, but I think the BB5's held him back. He said something about flats, but we all know the truth about the performance loss of having mechanical disc brakes that only adjust on one side! It was a great time for all of us and I'm glad I went. Winning those inner tubes was well worth the extra 20 bones in the raffle.

Some scoundrel has been doing some weedeating and chainsaw work on the 1st part of GSC recently, and did a helluva job. Props to that person or people...you know who you are.

I'll be weedeating Corby South from 7am to 10am on Sat morning and till noon on Sunday if it doesn't get done Sat. Shaun has 2 working weedeaters that are available and that sling the heavy string. Someone can walk with a blower even if they want to. Peace, RT

Rapture In Misery....

A good name for this event.

Randy, Brad, Shawn, Jason, and I all headed down south for the race. We all did the 6 hour solo. The weather was perfect for racing, dry and relatively cool for this time of year.

There were more flat tires on this race than any other I had ever seen. 3 for me during the race, one during the last lap. Even still, I felt pretty good the whole time; except for the last part of the last lap when I ran out of food and water and had to limp it in. Finished off 6 laps before it was all over, and felt okay about that.

Gotta rip out a big thanks to Shawn and Forces of Nature for keeping us all running during that race. I think nearly every one of us had at least one flat during the race. I would have been out for sure if Shawn wouldn't have been fully stocked and handing out supplies.

Afterward we all hung out for a bit and watched Randy win hundreds of dollars in raffle prizes. Gotta say a big thanks to the Heartland Race guys. Those guys really know how to put on a good race - and a nice event. I think everyone there had a good time. As always, it was a smooth running, professional, and still light hearted event. Also want to throw out some props to the Earth Riders. Nice job keeping those trails in awesome riding condition.

So anyway, I feel like I have a new respect for Landahl. I also have a helluva respect for the guys doing the solo 12 hour event. With how sore my ass was after 6, I don't even want to think of what 12 would have done on those rocky trails. However, I would like to think that I would be riding something other than a full rigid single speed in a 12 hour event...

Landahl 6/12!

I know we've talked about it, but are we going to do it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm definitely in! I would like to get a 4 man team together to limit the pain. All I need to get is a good quality light. Does anyone have one that I can borrow or even buy( not you Shawn) for a reasonable price. If anyone is interested, lets do this!

trail tours and stuff and wood

Well I'm back from touring/fixing house for new wife. It is time to hit it hard on trails/bridges and get ready for the trail tour. New GPS maps would be great to help with people wanting to look at our trails before they come up. I need volenters to lead the trail tours both days. Please give me your input on how we should proceed on organizing this event. We are thinking about doing camping around Noise school in the field we want to make it a festive atmosphere with lots to do. I have wood lots of wood especially in my back room that i would like to get rid of. We have lots of bridge material that needs to be used lets set a trail day or two to get all this wood out of here.

Will someone please GPS the GSC

I have some heavy f'in planks for the bridges-2-b at the GSC and don't want to have to carry them any further than needed, as they weigh more than some riders I know. I'm still not quite sure in my mind which ravine leads where, when up top on the sidewalk. The planks are just too damn heavy to be moving any way other than downhill. If anyone has a burro or any other load-bearing animal out there holler. I was thinking that I heard that the gps thing was done but not yet downloaded. We be needing to get that done so the bridges can be ready by the September tour and guided rides. It also just needs to be done...you know it and I know it. And for chrissakes will somebody clear out the spiders?! I just go through, knock em down, and they come back twice as thick and strong. See what you can do. RT

What??

What the hell is this thing? It looks like some kind of sweating fungus. Weird stuff. Saw it along the bike path between corby north and south. Got some funny looks as I took pictures of this thing.

Also saw this big old moth. Looked just like a leaf, but it caught my eye and I stopped.

Rode this AM with Randy, Jason, and Brad. Hot, wet, and slippery. Randy seemed to like it - sicko.

I ran into a tree on a downhill at Sunbridge. Looks like it's time for some new tires, that's two wrecks in one week. That's too many.

Wednesday Nite

Met up with Randy, Jason, and Jim after work to do some good riding. We ripped through the Corby South Trails, then Jim took off (I think he had been riding for awhile). The rest of us continued on through the North side. Coming out of Corby North Jason drilled one of those bollard posts on the bridge with his knee. Looked like it really, really hurt; and if what it looked like wasn't enough, the sound it made made my stomach churn. That didn't stop us from laughing at him though.

Karma is a funny one though. She got me back good. In the Brownie trails it was all good. Then, in GSC I hit one of the cross trail logs just right and went over the handlebars. Faceplated beautifully, complete with chunks of mud in the helmet and everything. Jason and Randy were tickled. I think this might have been the first time I did that in their company.

Even still, it was a good ride; we were lucky to be out.

Wednesday Nite Ride

Planning on being at Corby around 5:30PM for a fast ride - bring your game face. I think Randy and Jason are showing up too.

Rode Monday with Randy, Jason, and Mikey. Pretty fast at first and very warm. Felt great.

Mikey went down in Corby North. Going too fast around a corner and washed out. I was glad, he was starting to make me feel inadequate.

Should be a good night tonight, if the spiders aren't too agressive.

buggy and fast

rolled through the corbies and gscs this afternoon. temp was 98 when i left the house. spiders were pretty bad at gsc, but i didn't really care. rode as hard as i could maintain and felt pretty good. got the chills a couple of times, which always makes me smile. figure it means i'm skating the edge, which is a good place to visit every now and again.

trails are in good shape, and gsc is starting to smooth out. can't wait till it's ice smooth like the corbies. i remember 2 years ago when they were bumpy like that. funny how over the course of a year or so the trails just smooth out and a person forgets how they were at the start. regardless of kind of a rough ride, they are some pretty fast trails.

i'd like to get out tomorrow night again. hopefully it will be hot. it's good to soak it up while it lasts. everybody is fast right now. hopefully some folks will post and meet me out there. so monday night - lets shoot for 5:30 at corby. post if you can do it....

Trail Conditions

GSC, Brownie, Corby North are all in excellent condition. Hard pack, cut wide, and very fast.

Corby South is a little more dense, but is not hanging over the trail and is not annoying to ride. It is also hard pack and fast.

Krug is still overgrown and blocked by trees. It will have to be a winter project to clear and re-route.

Sunbridge is clear, but is overgrown in on some trails. It needs a good cut on the upper trails. The lower trails are still in pretty good shape.

These guys are making trails too. Yuck.

Smithville ride on thursday!

Is anyone racing this weekend in smithville? Jim and I had talked about going out sometime this week to get an early look at the race loop. Thurday is going to be the only day that I can go and that will be after work. Jim, let me know if that works for you and anyone else that wants to go just let us know!

Took My Medicine Today

100 degrees heat index, they said today. Started Corby and the GSC at about 12:30 for a solo re-connect day. Balanced the line between sustainable riding and heat stroke for the entire time. No stops except to cut out two trees, but I wasn't looking to rest on those pauses. On the way home unzipped the jersey and let the wind hit me in the chest. You know what I mean when I say it's at that moment that life's demons kind of clear away, vision gets clearer, and things start making sense again - cause that clarity has been earned. I'll be on the bike more now, and that's the way it needs to be. May have lost my way there for a while.

To all of you, early July and the trails look as good as I have seen them at this time of year. It ain't easy to keep up, I know. I've been trying to do my part with a handsaw, but that's not enough and I'm sorry. Might try to get out with Randy for some power tool work this week, if I can.

Got this new toy from my mom for Father's day. Should help after the next big storm when there is a bunch of trees down. It's the perfect size for a chainsaw and a can of gas.

Saw some alarming signs in the GSC today too. Was seeing what looked like horse hoof prints, but couldn't be sure while I was moving. Finally stopped to move a tree and was able to identify some horse pooh right by some hoof prints. Not super fresh, it had been laid before the last rain, but alarming none the less. I don't expect those trails would handle horse traffic well. We would do well to redirect them back to Krug if we run across equestrians on the GSC trails.

Anyway - happy riding. I plan to be out some this week. Hope to see you all on the trails!

A Big Thanx and a group ride Fri morn

Huge gracias to whomever cut the big tree outta the GSC trail...Stanton, I would guess. The spiders are back out in force. Also, Bradbob suggested a group ride Fri morning at Corby at 8:30 am. He figured most peeps would be off work and be able to ride for awhile. I hadn't remembered how hard riding all the trails backwords from normal wastil till I rode em that way last night. Damn! RT

Ideas for tour and need for help

Well the lawn service.... I mean bike shop is hopping. We are getting lots of new commuter beginner riders. I'm still poor so no raking me over the coals. I have got some great discounts from Marin on Road and Mt. frames. Well enough trying to sell everyone stuff. Tommey Dwyer made the suggestion to have a swap meet because everyone has stuff they want to get rid of. I'm thinking of the weekend before the tour of Mo. I will NOT be having a Mt. bike race before the tour there is not enough time for me to get everything done, we will just have to wait till next year. We will be having guided tour rides of the trails before the tour, I will need volenteers to help lead them and clear them. We might put together a camping feastival/camping at Corby at the race field the weekend before the tour.

My most humble apology to all

I rode the local trails Mon night with Jason and had an epiphany. The trails are overgrown and in poor repair, as was stated in earlier posts. It just hit me that Mr. Force is probably running a lawn service with all the equipment that he bought with donated money from various businesses around town. I noticed last Saturday at the shop that Greg was very evasive as to Mr. Force's whereabouts, stating he was procuring consumables from the local Hispanic fast-food establishment. I'm theorizing he was really out making some bank with the "trail working" equipment. Please be comforted by the fact that I am seeking out each of the "sponsors" and informing them of Mr. Force's shenanigans. We will put a stop to his capitalizing on use of the equipment bought strictly for trail work. This being said, please realize it is theory and there is no hard evidence to back it up. The strongest argument I have is the belief that none of the people that ride our local trails would allow them to degrade to their present state if free access was available for the right tools allowing the proper maintenance to be done. I simply have to conclude that people are wanting to use the tools, and Mr. Force is turning them away. Thank you for your time and I again apologize for not keeping closer tabs on Mr. Force's activities. Sincerely yours, Clyde S. Dale

Good Trails

So the camera on this phone sucks. I can never get a good picture - not that this one was going to be much to look at anyway, but they are all blurry all the time. Need to figure out how to hold still.

Trails are in decent shape. Some trees continue to fall, but it looks like folks have been pulling branches off to the side when they do. I came tearing around a corner on a super quick cheater ride before dark last night and just about nailed a downed tree just down trail of the first clearing at Corby South. Nearly scared a turd out of me. Stopped and pulled it off the trail, must have been hollow, cause it wasn't very heavy for how big it was.

Should be a good night tonight. Might try to make it out for a little while - hope to see some folks there????

Saturday Ride

So - because my contractors kick ass, we are on schedule and I get the weekend off. I'll be at Corby at 8AM to do some riding. I'm in crap shape, I've put on weight, and I can't remember where I left my bike - but I'd love some company.

I have to be home by 11:30, but I figure if we keep it steady and there's not too much trail damage we can get through most of trails in that time.

Call if you want....

752-2025

Lansen

On-Going Maintenance...

Well guys - with the monsoon season upon us, we all need to be a little vigilant while out riding. Everyone should have a folding hand saw on them during a ride. Also, if everyone kicks a few branches off the trail everytime they ride, no one has to spend their entire ride time cleaning up the trails.

By the end of the night on Tuesday, the Corbies were in good shape. I'm sure with the storms last night things are a mess again. No one needs to be a super hero, everyone just needs to stop and do a little on each ride.

This is the folding Corona Hand Saw. $20 at Lowes. It is the fastest cutting, lightest, best saw I have found. The blades do break sometimes though.

Lansen

Tree Down!

Hey all! I noticed tonight that there is a tree down on Corby north. Its down just before the bridge if you are heading south. Corby south , GSC and the brownie are all clear with a few greasy spots but it is all 100% ridable! Two people can definitely move the downed tree , but there is some weed wacking and trimming that needs to be done. Can we set aside a day for all of us to set our bikes aside and knock it all out? Everyone leave some comments so we can get an idea of when we can all get together!

bike patrol and race pics

Sorry i didn't let everyone know sooner but training for the bike patrol is tomorrow night at the police station at 6:30 pm. I've been a little busy with the race. I'm sure there is another time to train if you can't make this one. We have shirts being made for the patrol. It is a moisture wicking T-shirt so no front zip or pockets but it keep you cool.
Craig at Heartland racing says he was got tons of calls telling him how great the trails and race was. We have had an over whelming response to what we have got done. We are shooting for another race the week before tour of Missouri in September. Even though this won't be a heartland race they will support us by announcing it on their site. I would like to race the GS trail, I would like to have input in planning it, so just let me know. We need to use the wood donated to us by OE woods and Garfield to build some bridges!! Lets also keep up the idea of the 501c status for us we can get more donations that way.

Robidoux Roundup... wrapped up

What a wonderful day for a mtb race!... temp at start of registration was 59 degrees but felt very comfortable and there was just enough breeze to keep the bugs at bay all day.

As you can see from this picture... we had a wonderful turnout.  I'm going to say we had easily around 100 participants and quite a few spectators cheering us on.  Thanks by the way to all of those whom yelled my name in encouragement... it was heard & appreciated.  There were also quite a few supporters from the road biking community and even people I have not riden with in quite some time.  It was also fabulous to see several of the participant's families there.

I originally was thinking it was going to be closer to 7 mile laps and that sport would have to do 3 of them.  So that's what I came prepared to do... race but at the same time finish at my pace, strong, & having fun... and that's just what I did.  As a bonus, there was a few little pieces of trail that would have made for bottlenecks and which they closed off and I think the course was more fun & flowed better because of it.  Then doing only two laps was fine by me.  I'm going to venture to say that all the yocals thought the course was wonderful and I also spoke to several out-of-town participants that thought the same.

St. Joe was very well represented in multiple divisions... and sorry in advance if I get some names wrong.  Here is a shot of Rusty and I in Sport 30-39 at start of the race.  I had such a big grin that my tongue was even sticking out.  It's always a pleasure to watch Rusty kick it in turbo (he's one of the fastest sprinters I've met)... as you can see from how he started behind me and was starting to pass me.  By the way, the guy in the solid red & black jersey was the winner and I came in a close second... and ironically we are both 39 & last year in this competitive division.  I was having so much fun that when ever he and I would go by each other on a turn we'd smile and I even waved a couple of times.  Rusty finished third and not far behind me.  It was also awesome to see other yocals do really well... such as Señor Jim Spellman & Greg Goat whom won their respective divisions... way to go guys!  Russ and Randy also did very well and podiumed in their beginner divisions.  Of course, Randy also finished strong in his clydesdale division.  There were others yocals such as Jason & Tim whom did their first mtb race today and after speaking to them, think they enjoyed themselves... at least for the first lap.  ;0)

My son, Manuel, also raced and although there were no other competitors for his division, he pushed super hard and finished two short laps in just five minutes... even after a little wipe out in the woods!

Of course Lansen was missed... dude you would have loved the venue, people, & weather!

NUB AND STICKS

Randy and I trimmed everything and blew south Corby today. Randy will blow north tomorrow and we will be done with the major stuff. Jim was out de-nubbing north today also. I need help moving sticks brush and other objects out of the race path. The course looks good but we can do one better. Nubs need to be hand sawed too. All this can done from a bike.

Departing help and trail report

Elder Bradley (the crazy weed wacker with the look in his eye) is leaving today to go back to Utah. He has trimmed his fair share of trails and will be missed especially on trail day. The bridge side of North Corby would be a good place to start trimming for anyone wanting to help. I have equipment here to use, just come get it. The blower died today RIP but John from the Hi- Ho bought us a new one today so go down there and get smashed to show your appreciation.

We got some work to do

We all know the big race is this Sunday. Shaun and I ran the weedeaters for a spell on Corby South. We did the lower trail by the pond, around the tennis courts, and the stuff directly on the other side of the bridge. We found some pop can sized mushrooms above the tennis court and my wife fried em up last night...a great source of pre-race energy (or so I'm told). Shaun is chainsawing some big stuff today the little handsaws wouldn't make it through. He has 2 big weedeaters that are ready to rock. It's pretty crazy what those bastards will chew through with that thick line. Kinda makes my old curved shaft Stihl look puny! We need to pitch in and get this stuff done. Saturday needs to be for rest and not for sweating our 'nads trying to do the shit work at the last minute. There are some stinging nettles above the downhill on North that are 4 feet tall that need a new home. If they get much bigger, we may have to break out the chainsaws.

People from other places have ridden the GSC trail and are raving about it. Let's show em how good a trail can be and spiff ours up to its' best.

As you know, this trail work is like prison love...it's gonna happen whether you want it to or not, so you might as well enjoy it. RT

Whew.

Pretty long day of riding for me. Felt good.

Started doing a pre-lap with Jim at N.Corby, then Rusty showed and we did N.Corby again. We headed over to GSC, did that, did Brownie Trail, then GSC again. Then headed back to Corby and met up with Jason O. Did S.N.Corby race loop. Troy showed up and Rusty took off, so Troy, Jason, and I did another race loop. By this time I was starting to feel it a little bit, so I went home. I think Oz and Tbone went over to GSC, I hope so - that trail was in good shape today. In fact, even some of the a-seepage spots weren't as bad as they have been.

None of the trails were "muddy" but every thing was tacky. Pretty good for having an inch and a half of rain 24 hours before the ride.

It has pretty much rained the entire day since I finished riding. Not that we needed it, but it should be good for the shroom hunters. BTW, ran into some shroom hunters at N.Corby - they had 15 or 20 of the biggest mushrooms I have ever seen. No one will believe this, but the heads on these things were nearly as big as a baseball. Should have got a picture...

Here's Rusty looking for mushrooms. We never did find anyway.

Saturday Ride

I plan on being at Corby around 9am.

Sounds like the Columbians will be there a little later - closer to noon. I plan to still be on the bike.

Everyone, or anyone else who wants to ride - give me a call around 9am.

Trails should be in good shape - don't let the rain Thursday night and Friday morning scare you, Corby will be fine.

Lansen
816-752-2025

Swanson Park in Omaha

Hello Guys, here is a picture from one of the Omaha trails. Lansen needs to talk a group into coming up for a long weekend of riding sometime.

Rick

Sunday Racing

Well, I sucked hind tit. Lined up at the front like I had business being there - held on for the first lap, then ate ass for the rest of the race. That's it, it's nothing but hard riding for me until I'm back in shape.

Here's a picture of me trying not to puke up a lung. I haven't felt like that for a long time. I don't think I came in last, but it had to be close in the ss class.

Oh well - aside from the butt performance on my part, the day of racing was great. The Swanson trails were in great shape and were wide, fast, flowy, and relatively smooth.

I think Jason enjoyed himself too, even though he completely destroyed his bike.... Sorry dude, hopefully that der. hanger replaces easily with no other broken parts.

Saw lots of old friends, some new ones, and got passed by a bunch of folks I've never met. If that's not enough motivation, I don't know what is.

Lots of people are looking forward to the STJ race. I think we better consider incorporating both sides of Corby. Both the experts and the sports are really fast this year. Guaranteed, south side will not be enough for them alone.

New toys and article

I just bought a chain saw and a trimmer for the new club. We need to start thinking about starting Corby soon for the race. Anyone who wants to use the new equipment let me know. The article was nice in the paper, but it did refer to me as a ring leader so that must make the rest of you guys a gang of bikers.

A Big Day

We had a big day of riding. Corby South, Corby North, Brownie Trail, GSC, part of Krug, and Sunbridge.

After finishing Corby South we stopped at Rusty's car and dumped some clothes. It warmed up nicely.

Stopped at the end of Corby North and cleaned up that mud hole. Looks good now.

At GSC we cleaned up a bunch of the wet spots. We also re-routed one of the worst sections. Randy and I pulled out the hand saws and let loose. Rusty helped too, although we weren't sure what he was doing at the time (see photo).....

Sunbridge was beautiful! This picture does nothing for what the view actually was, but it was near perfection.

Back at Corby to get our clothes out of Rusty's car and guzzle a diet Mountain Dew.

Great day - Thanks guys!

All that Preparation....

For nothing.

I was ready to race today. Had myself in a winning mood by watching the Royals whip the Jays last night.

Stayed up too late, but what's racing a single speed with out a little sleep depravation?

Hydrated all night long - although I don't feel very hydrated right now... Feels about right for racing a single speed.

It rained all night long. I guess even after all that preparation, it just wasn't meant to be.

You know, it's kind of funny. In the dead of winter while cross country skiing with Big Randy, we ran into Jav while he was out snow shoeing. He was telling us about his plan to whoop my ass this year, and he had already figured it all out. He was going to come out swinging at the "first race of the year", and be the fastest guy in town. I said sounds good, but Corby isn't even close to being the first race of the year. Jav says "It will be, the others will be cancelled or postponed, I guarantee it". I thought it was a reasonable scenario, but not very likely that all the races up to Corby would be cancelled. Now... Here we are - the prophecy has come to pass. Corby will be the first race, and since you can ride that course in the rain and not hardly get dirty, I think it will go. Jav is strong, fast, and ready to serve it up.

Well - think I'll ride the STJ trails today. We know they drain. Start on Corby at around 9:30AM. Probably wrap that up and head over to GSC. Assuming that looks good we'll wrap that up and cruise over to the River. Should be a good day.

You know - when the whole midwest is under water, all you out of towners are welcome to come ride our sweet, drainable trails. Any time....

Canceled

According to the Heartland website the race at Perry is canceled! That Stinks!!
http://heartlandrace.com

Perry Race Update for Sunday!!

Geared up to 33x18 last night, looks like it was not in-vane. Not feeling super strong or windy, but should be able to finish with some self respect.

See below for the race update from the Heartland guys...

<<>>
04.25.2008
KANSAS CITY, MO.
Perry Lake Crocodile Rock,
Sunday April 27th
http://www.heartlandrace.com

The latest dirt on course conditions:Lyle Riedy, the race director for this Sunday's 7th Annual Crocodile Rock , just informed us that the course is in great shape. Tacky with just a few small wet spots. Looks like moisture the past several days missed the trails.IMPORTANT info for racers travel west on I-70 from KC:There is an IRL race this Sunday at the Kansas Speedway. Please allow for extra travel time to Crocodile Rock due to the increased traffic heading to the speedway.

All the details on the 7th Annual Crocodile Rock, can be here:http://www.heartlandrace.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=16&Itemid=33

New trail and other stuff

Well the GS trail is looking good, it is riding in quite nicely. We are having problems with drainage and large patches of mud due to a spring. We have wood being donated by O E Wood by Chris and maybe Garfield lumber. We plan to build ladder bridges to span the wet areas. Randy Greg and I moved some of the lumber from the tree house at Krug to the GS trail to try to fix some of the problem. Everyone missed out on hauling 20 foot long very heavy planks. I would still like to form the 501c for HBFK, any luck Bob on getting paper work? I brought my training coach along for a ride yesterday. She said we have to go to the park after the ride.

Ahhhhhhhhh!

Man did I need that...

Jim and I rolled through Corby North and South, then headed over to GSC. Did the Brownies section then knocked out the GSC trail, then the Brownies one more time.

Jim headed for home and I cruised over and did Corby S & N one more time.

Needed some time on the bike to clear my head. Feeling a little more lucid now. I'm hoping to spend a few hours on two wheels this week. Then, with a little luck maybe racing Perry on Sunday.

"Serendipity. Look for something, find something else, and realize that what you've found is more suited to your needs than what you thought you were looking for." Lawrence Block

It's funny where you find what you need to keep it all together. What's funnier is that the lynch pin holding it all together may seem to have nothing to do with all the pieces involved. I Serendipitously was reminded of this truth today - sadly, it seems I had forgotten.

Sunday??

Anyone riding on Sunday? I have some time and would like to spend a few hours on the bike.

Lansen

"Wonderful Trails"

Yep, those are the words from a lady sitting on a big log and enjoying the GS North trails as Joel & I rode by. She also said how she'd like to write a Thank You letter and I told her I knew the people involved and would inform... so this is it... "Thank You!" We also saw other joggers/hikers using the trails and one Jogger was very impressed. In short, everyone involved should be very content in knowing that there are many people from different venues that are enjoying them!

On our way back I saw a large (biggest I've seen in St. Joe in my 3 years riding) group of mtb riders and just had to go over. Once again saw some new faces and very familiar faces, specially Rusty & Lansen.... it sure was fun to ride with ya.

Oh almost forgot... trail report: Both North & south GS trails are 97.6401% dry & packed. The was only .0143% that was really muddy and they were short sections at the bottom of the final & new finished sections on north side by Karnes road. According to Rusty, there is probably a spring going through there so we'll just have to live with it for now. And yes, Rusty was the one that did the # crunching for me.

One last bit & for the record, YES... I did get muddy. ;0) So Joel, when are ya coming over to clean my bike? LOL

Randy says 8:00 or else

Randy wants to start @ 8:00 @ the GS trail. Dr. Adam said he was coming too. Lets get it done.

Let's finish the GSC Trail Saturday!

As the Crowder race is postponed, this would be a perfect time to get the trail roughed in. I spoke with BradBob and Don and they said they could help. Tell your friends! Get permission from your parents! Powertools are great fun! Getting this trail done will be even greater fun.
I'll spring for pizza and beverages at 1pm or so. Betherebetherebethere! RT

Postponed!

Just got and email from Heartland race series. The Crowder race has been postponed due to rain and flooding issues.

Knocking it out!

Randy, Greg, the missionaries, and I worked this morning in the GS trail. There has been lots of progress made over the last week or so. I would estimate that we are on the last mile or so till the end. We are trying to get $$$ for the race in May. I'm using most of the money raised for buying trail equipment. I want everyone to have access to good trail equipment and have an Earthriders type trail group here. Any business or personal donations would be welcomed.

Four New Riders!

Maybe it's just cause this was my second time hitting the trails this year, but on Sunday I ran into four riders I had not met before. I also got to ride a bit with Jim S. It was a lot of fun showing the new folks ALL of the trails along the parkway... just when I was getting ready to quit, I'd meet someone else... about 30 miles later, I finally went home. One guy was from KC just visiting for the weekend and he was very impressed with the trails.

And by the way, all the trails were wonderfully dry. I'd say we easily have more than double the amount than we did a year ago, so thanks a lot.

Trail watch needed

I have been speaking with the police department about patrolling my neighborhood. They are looking for a volenter bike patrol for the parkway and other areas. let me know if you are interested.

trim blow ride

Get your mind out of the gutter I'm talking about trail work. We finished prep on the top of the north GS trail. All that is left is to ride it down and some clean up here and there. The missionaries from my church are out working on the trail now a little extra help never hurts. Randy is making headway on rough cutting and one more time and he will will be finished with the loop. Then we will need to trim and blow the rest of it down the hill. We are to the grave yard on the east side, if anyone wants to break out the trimer. The top of the North side is getting beat in nice, keep riding.

GSC trailwork Sat morn...come one, come all!

I'll be there at 7:30 am with Shaun. He'll be there till 10 or so. We may not get fully done with the rough cut, but almost. RT

Speaking of Big Girl Panties...

Jason was gunning for me today. Great ride with some good attacks on a couple nasty hills. At one ride or less per week over the last couple months for me, it was definitely a challenge! Dirt roads were a little sloppy at times, but not so bad that it made a complete mess. Temps were okay, but once again, we got home just in time to see the snow start flying. It's like a rain dance.

I was actually imagining a longer ride, but the 2.5 hours we were out was more than enough for me. It's just after 8 and I'm already thinking about bed.

Saturday is supp. to be shitty...Let's knock out the GSC!

It's gonna be great weather all week up until Sat. Let's get the camp rough cuttin done and over with while it's snowin/rainin/whatever the hell it's supposed to do that day. Get your ridin in this week, grab your gloves, pull up your Big Girl Panties, and let's do it! RT

Just In Time Delivery

Okay, so we were a couple minutes late. But we had from 1-3 and I think Jason must have got home at like 3:03. Not bad for making it out past Amazonia via the 102 river route.

Jason was riding strong, which was good - cause the hills were steep and the wind was stiff. We went out with the wind, so coming back was that much more exciting. Dirt roads were pretty good for the most part, but there were a few muddy spots.

I heard this morning the the National Weather Service has a flood warning for the the 102 river. I believe it - there was a ton of ice flow and all of the fields were running off pretty briskly. I'm sure the rain last night helped that situation.

Anyway, I got home just as it started to rain. Perfect timing.

I won't be able to ride till next Sunday - so all you guys get some good training in this week so you can mop the floor with me next weekend!

Sunday Ride

Looks like I will be able to ride Sunday afternoon at around 1PM. Is anyone else into it?



Maybe dirt roads will be passable with all the sun and wind today.

Lansen

Trailwork Saturday anyone...Buehler?

The Crookster and I will be finishing up the roughing in of the Girlscout camp trail this Saturday. It'll be a little slushy, but nothing will be frozen to the ground. I have Sunday and Monday off as well, if anyone is up for clearing stuff at Krug. Come on...show up and do some work like you got a pair! Thank you for your continued support, RT

P.S. It's not a fer-shur yet, but the race Sunday will likely be cancelled because of the thawing conditions. Yay...trailwork for everyone!

Trail Conditions

Well I tried! North Corby anyway. Crusty crunchy snow, no tracks other than the animals.
It really was not very good. It was ride fifty feet walk twenty. I think I made about 1/4 mile before jumping on the bike path and riding for a while. Tomorrow, maybe a road ride with knobbies.

Trail clearing at the river

The Crookster and I did about 5 hours at the river today with 2 chainsaws and alot of wet snow. We parked his car at the Highland/Waterworks intersection and went to the Sunbridge parking lot in my truck. That saved walking back to the parking lot after busting hump all day. The trail is free of brush and deadfalls all the way down now. The 1st 3 hours was kinda fun...the 2nd half of our adventure blew monkey balls but we just wanted to get it done. There was alot more work to be done than I thought. Doing that section when it's dry out with a BOB trailer behind a bike would prob be the best plan of attack. My feet hurt and I'm going to bed. RT

Team logo

This is our team's new logo. We might change it once we get in better shape. RT

Crusty snow today

Jason, Dave, and I tried the trails today. All we got was crusty snow this morning. Tough ass riding to be sure. We ended up riding the road behind Krug, going across 229, and going over to the river from the casino area to the old casino area and back to Corby. It was a great day to be outside even though trail riding wasn't in the cards. Spellman said more stuff was down in old Corby that needs to be hit with the chainsaws. We have alot of work ahead...getting our fat asses in racing shape for some of us and trailwork for all of us.

I hope everyone will show on March 2nd for the first Heartland series race at Landahl. Give it some serious thought. Racing isn't live or die type shit, but it is serious fun! Peace, RT