another road trip down...

Saturday Night - Topeka Heartland Park. This is a rare night race for us, under the lights at the famous dragstrip venue. Actually we race right next to the strip utilizing the dirt track oval. Topeka local/racer/gas man Jeff Unruh did a great job putting this on, again. To make this work he brings in big portable lights to illuminate any areas that the standard track lighting doesn't cover. A ton of fun for the racers. As we drove into the venue he's announcing "Nebraska in the house!" over the track PA & then proceeded to allow us rock star parking to set up tents & our base camp right next to the action. Thanks man! We'll always be back & spread the word.

The racing - fast! Multiple long straight away runs on hard pack. Fast! Wood-man jumped to the lead group on lap one & maintained a gap to us chasers for a solid 5th, the last $ spot. Sweet. I hung around finishing in 9th, ok I guess.

Back to TP's around 10:30pm & in bed by Midnight. I'm old, that's late. Thanks guys for a being such generous hosts. Home away from home is an understatement.

Up at 6:30am, next stop Leavenworth for Veterans CX at St. Mary's College. Great venue they just started using at the end of last year. Chris Locke & Roger laid out yet another great course. Plenty of uphill to make it a tough day.

I ended up in a group of three for the whole race. Me, the spider monkey, & the young Mr. Edwards. Adam I would have put a link to your blog but I got a warning it contained malware from Brad Huff's blog. My two cohorts plan, both being from the KCCX squad, was work over the old guy until he cracks. The good news is I answered every attack. Bad news is I answered every attack except for the final one. I ended up 7th. Last $ spot. Sweet. Amazing how a $15 dollar payout can brighten your afternoon. Battling lap after lap like that is what makes this sport so much fun.

Maybe back to this same venue next Sunday for a day trip? Unsure. We've got our race the following weekend & I've got to get the house ready for my parents lengthy stay (their staying here with the dogs while were at nationals).

Less than 2 weeks until Lincoln CX. Looking forward to it!

later, TK

dirt trackin' under the lights...

Heading for Topeka...

See ya down there,

TK

poop suit...

With Boulder out the window, what did I get up to? Craigio was already going to Spooky in the Des Moines area so I hopped in with him for the 3rd annual Spooky CX. Snow in CO, rain in KC, & rain in IA...it really didn't matter what direction I headed I was figuring I would probably find some sort of sloppy conditions.

I was surprised to find Saturday's venue basically dry, albeit soft, with the exception of a section with standing water. I was the first to pre-ride this section & at the time it was just clear water that had collected in a low spot. Well...get a herd of bikes churning through this portion, lap after lap, and you've got a bona fide mud hole. It got deeper & deeper, expanded, lengthened, got soupier, sloppier, & so on & so on.

This was the 3rd annual Spooky. I've been to all three now. I can't even begin to describe how fun, challenging, & brutal these courses are that Tony & JJ dream up. I was hooked after the first year & they just keep changing it up every year, even each day, to make it better & more painful than the last.

Spooky '07 - must have deleted my blog post from this historic year, here's last year's post: Spooky '08.

These are not CX courses for the faint of heart. These are not your traditional CX courses. There's plenty of traditional stuff but its everything else that makes it fun & different. Gnarly climbs, long run ups, & fast descents to name a few. All this takes place on the grounds of the Living History Farm. I call this weekend an adventure, I'm always surprised by what Tony cooks up. Show up here expecting anything, but expect it to be a challenge for sure & above all FUN!

This is the only race weekend that I ever double up. Two reasons...payout is good & I'm a fool.

Saturday 45+ - 1st

Saturday 1/2/3's - 4th

Sunday Masters Open (35+ I guess you'd call it) - 1st

Sunday 1/2/3's - 4th

Saturday's 1/2/3 - I had 3rd going for me but was hunted down by a young local, Nate Kullbom (think that's how you spell it). He bobbled on the first lap & worked his butt off to get back in it the whole race. Nice work dude. Sunday's 1/2/3 - this was my fourth race of the weekend. Yet another new course full of torturous bits. All the racing was catching up with me. I still had some juice left in the tank but the power switched off with 2 to go. I had a persistent Cam (the IA version) stalking me. I found just enough to to stay ahead of him. I'm going to go out on a limb here...those final 3 laps of Saturday's 1/2/3 were the deepest I have ever dug in a CX race. When I crossed the line I rolled to a stop, utterly exhausted, slightly shaking. Man that was fun!?

Oh yeah, the poop suit. Warming up for the Masters on Sunday I noticed I had dog poop on my right glove. How did I know it was dog crap? I've got 2 dogs & it looked & smelled like dog crap. More importantly, I'm a poop magnet, if there's errant poop in a park or at a race venue I'll find it. I'm not exaggerating. So I figured I must have rolled through it & it kicked up onto my glove. End of story...nope. First lap of the Masters race I get to the run-up, shoulder my bike & start running, I get to the top, set my bike down, jump on & notice that I've got a big smear of crap on my right sleeve just above the wrist. So not only did I find the poop, but I had a good amount on the underside of my downtube. By the end of the race it was off my downtube & dried on my sleeve. Oh well:) Another day in the life of a poop magnet.

Tony & JJ - well done, thank you! I'll be back & I'll always spread the word.

BTW - JJ was recently crowned age group World Triathlon Champion over in Australia. Damn, that's huge!

IA CX scene: big & getting bigger. Vibe was awesome. Paul great to see you as always, Gilly see you at Jingle CX.

Craigio - thanks for the lift!

Topeka Saturday night & KC Sunday(or is it Leavenworth?) next weeeknd.

Pictures later if I see any.

I'm cooked.

later,

TK

merde sandwich v.2...

v.1

the plug has been pulled...

Best case scenario, the roads eventually open & are crappy as hell. How long will it take to get there? who knows, plug has been pulled. I started to go down the "get there at any cost" mentality which is probably not the best way to look at a road trip with the wife & dogs, plug has been pulled.

What is the hardest to swallow is I didn't go to the USGP in Louisville last weekend because I was going to Boulder this weekend. I saw pix from last weekend & they were racing in short sleeve skin suits. Boulder...who knows? Mud, cold, wet...would have been great! I don't mind racing in mud & cold just hate the clean up & punishment the equipment takes.

Now what? Just have to get over the disappointment of not getting to do the Boulder races, best weekend of the year. Hard pill to swallow.

Probably head to Spooky.

later,

t-bummer:(

the pilgrimage...

10-30-09 5:40 am

Packed & ready to leave for the Blue Sky Velo Cup & Boulder Cup, but...80 closed from North Platte West, Plan B...70 open but Blizzard warning @ Goodland, KS & all roads East & North of Denver are closed. At best these roads may open later today but how crappy are they going to be?

Not looking good:(

t-bummed

Madison County CX...

Didn't know what to expect while preparing for yesterday's race at Skyview park in Norfolk. Norfolk not only had a bunch of rain this past week but also a couple inches of snow Thursday night. Actually, I was preparing for mud or at least sloppy conditions in some way, shape, or form. What kind of course would these guys put together? How many folks would make the 2+ hour drive from Lincoln, Omaha, or from points beyond?

Well...the park took all that water really well, unbelievably well to be honest. I had set up both my bikes with Michelin Mud tires & ended up running Grifo's with 30 psi at go time. I guess it makes sense to arrive early & test out what you've got.

The course...for not doing this before, the Elkhorn Valley Cycling Club "nailed it" as far as I'm concerned. Sure you could tweak this or that but basically it was a sweet layout. Really tough. Not many spots to rest & a good amount of climbing, all on semi-soft power sapping grass.

The race...I believe we only had 7 at the line. I was guessing we might have 10 so I was close. This race is new & a little off the beaten path but with word of mouth & a little time hopefully it will grow. I'm coming back. I ended up 2nd. Not much "racing" when a small field strings out over a big course...just keep the hammer down, work on technique, & have fun!

Editorial comment: I've been down south a few times to race this fall & the 1/2/3 races have been 50 minutes? What's up with that? As a matter of fact some of the cat 3 crits down there were only 50? Is cutting 10 minutes off of race times a sign of the times? Am I complaining...I guess so. We're only racing 5 more minutes (or so) than the lower category races. I want to suffer for 60 minutes:) IMHO - If a fast cat 3 cx'er is considering moving up to the 1/2/3's it should not only be a jump in level of competition but also a jump in race time. Racing the 1/2/3's for 50 or so minutes is still hard as hell, I'm just pointing out it used to be 60 minutes of suffering & I respectfully believe it should return to that standard of pain. You know the old expression: "be careful you might get what you wish for". Final comment: I appreciate all the hard work that each & every promoter puts into making racing happen, thank you!

I'm still up here in Norfolk so won't be making it to Smithville today. Wish I could. Like I said the other day...can't do it all.

Give 'em hell in Louisville guys! Coach...good luck today in Maui!

Later,

TK

can't do it all...

Before the CX season I had this clandestine notion about the USGP. I knew I could make it up to round 1 in Wisconsin & from there I would play it by ear. If round 1 went well I would consider Louisville, KY (round 2) which is just a little further but still do-able. Well...Wisco went real well so I had to make a decision. Here's my theory...if a person could make it to 3 of 4 stops of the USGP & place high at each stop that person could podium and/or possibly win the series. So...if Louisville went well I would have an even bigger decision to make because I would have to travel to NJ for round 3. Portland (round 4), although the weekend before Nationals, was out because I can't miss a week+ of work. I decided a couple weeks ago that rather than put myself in a torturous dilemma of trying to figure out how to get to NJ after Louisville that I would pull the plug on the USGP secret plan. Now I have a new plan...it involves TP. Dude, take my plan & go for it. I think you stand a really good chance of completing my scenario by making KY, NJ, & Portland ! Below: helmet on the podium, classy:)

Don't feel sorry for me, not that you were, because I'm still heading to Boulder next weekend for the Blue Sky Cup on Saturday & Boulder Cup on Sunday. My annual pilgrimage of suffering. This will be my third year traveling for this weekend, wouldn't miss it. Can't wait to throw down with CO's best in the 35+ Open both days. Love it...love it! I'm old enough to do the 45's now but I'm not ready to move on.

Bummed I'm missing this: http://spookycross.org/ Somehow this race never conflicted with Boulder until this year. I've been down the last 2 years & we still talk about how awesome these courses are. JJ & Tony are two really creative guys & their courses need to be experienced. Below: Spooky CX '07...historic.

This Saturday I'll be here: http://nebraskacyclingnews.com/events/details/28-norfolk-cyclocross. My wife's from the Norfolk area so its kind of like a hometown race, sort of. Looking forward to it.

Three cheers for Coach KB!!! Dude not only qualified for Xterra nationals in UT a few weeks ago but also got the nod to world's in Maui this weekend. So take my USGP conundrum & throw that out the window...try to figure out how to swing getting yourself, your wife, & your 2 kids over to Hawaii on short notice. Well done my friend. Good luck this weekend, have fun!

done rambling...

Later,

TK