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.