Did You Know...

...That the Sunbridge Hills have magical powers. Sometimes when you can not find peace, you can go there and peace will find you. When you cry out for guidance, something hears you and provides you with clues to what the right path might be.

As you move up the trail and the Liliger Cemetry rises to meet you, the sun moves behind the small plot. You see a hawk soar over head as you stop to pay a quick respect to those who have passed.

The dogs run ahead, but the animals aren't scared of them today - and you see a racoon staring into your soul from his perch in a tree. What does he see?

A vista opens up at the top of the hill on the overlook point. You can see for miles, to the bluffs on the other side of the river, far away. Things are quiet for a moment, the hawk still circles high above. He calls out and you hear him clearly.

Time to move off the trail and feel the wild earth beneath your boots.

Loose your footing and fall from a cliff. Not a long drop but enough to rattle you. Sit in the rocks for a moment and collect your bearings. Silence falls through the woods again till the dogs come back in to check things out.

Notice some beauty as you sit and think about what nearly happened as you hurtled toward the earth, totally out of control. Would you have seen this flower had you not fallen? Did you fall for a reason?

Keep moving out, back on the trail now. The sun is beginning to fall behind the rocks. Shadows cast long and the woods take on a pink hue. Every thing is soft and gentle. A groundhog peeks out its head and peers at me as I move past.


The sun sets over the far hills. The change in shifts begins. The hawk is gone now, but an owl swoops overhead and announces the shift change. His call is an affirmation that you have stayed too long - but you are not ready to leave.


It's getting dark now. The moon is out. You question your steps at times, but your boots know the trail, and the dogs are surefooted. Just follow their sounds, you will be back at the car soon, but you are not ready to leave even still.

You feel the energy of this place. It has at least partially recharged you for now.... Until the next time.

GSC This Weekend

Rode GSC this weekend a couple times. It was great. Went at kind of a weird time on Saturday and missed the group. Sorry guys. On Sunday, hooked up with Jason and cruised through the camp.

Saw some interesting bugs. First a Katydid - Then a Walking Stick in my spokes. Weird, huh.

Wrecked my bike and took some dirt on the chin. Too fast, too rocky, too off camber, too little skill for the conditions - then I bit it.

heartland race for next year

I spoke to Craig at Heartland Race he says that they are pumped to have us next year. We next talked about what kind of race, enduro or XC we are throwing it around. I talked to Cameron Chambers who said he wanted to come up and ride the new trails.  

Tree down & Saturday Ride

Four of us went riding together and took the tree in GSC the rest of the way down... since it was kind of a hazard.   Craig H. happened to have a saw so him & Rusty trimmed branches just enough for Craig to jump over it... see picture below.  No one else would try it and I won't till after it's gone.   ;0)-

The fourth rider is a new guy in town & to mtb by the name of Sean Gaulter.  He has a sweet new ride and did great hanging with Craig, Rusty and I at a steady pace.  It's only his third mtb ride and hope he catches the fever like Jason and others.

Just spoke with Lansen and both girls (Mom & baby) are doing great and expect to be released and back in town on Thursday.  So Lasen, expect a visit on Saturday and I'll try to steal you for a ride then... say around 11 AM in case anyone else is interested.

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.