Birthday Girls

Slightly late post, but all the same, Happy Birthday to my lovely daughters. They celebrated by having several friends over for a sleepover last Friday and then we took them out to dinner on their actual birthday. Now 11years old. It's going much too fast.

Maddie during their fashion show.
Hannah perfecting her makeup and model kisses.

The gang (yes Katylnn has eye black on). She had just returned from softball.

Banner Ride Report

I had put out the call to ride Banner on Saturday morning. When Saturday came around, it was damp and dreary but since I had put out the offer, I figured that I better show. It was a good thing that I drove down as Zac had ridden down and was waiting for me in the parking lot.

I'm glad that I made the trip as the trails were in great shape and obviously hold up to the rain nicely. All of Coal Miner's Daughter was rideable and we didn't leave a trace. We then rode over to Riverside to see how it was holding up. Again, we were surprised to see it in good shape. The last 50 yards (after this photo of Zac) were sandy and then squishy/muddy. Surprisingly we didn't leave much of a track, but the tires picked up a lot of mud and leaves. We placed the bridge at the end of Riverside. One hour with 2-3 people would finish that section of trail work.

Speaking of trail work, someone had removed and tossed the bridge on the ridge line that is just after the twin bridges (over water). We were able to get it back in place, but it needs a shovel to set it better. If anyone else goes down there, bring a shovel and it could be fixed in 15minutes.

At the infamous Fuller's Drop, I was experimenting with new lines. If you carry a lot of speed through the drop and transition (before the log drop), then your line takes you higher than what we have built. If you click on these pictures, you might see the line that I was taking. I think that we should continue to ride this line and let an alternative track burn in.

The exit point sets you up perfectly for Fuller's Drop, which I took the next picture from. There is an eerie presence in those woods as this picture shows. When I shot the picture, it was just Zac at the transition. When I upload it onto my computer, then an image of Fuller's landing area appears. Maybe it is just the impression in the earth that he left :)
Overall, it was a great ride. Zac and I explored a few more ridges for additional singletrack and tried to figure out how CITA might run the race course. We never really had any rain until we were packing up at the car.

Zac, it was great riding with you.

Bonebender Recap

All I can say is that it could be a fun race (when the trails are dry). Due to the rain the morning of the race, it was just a decent 2hr workout before I gave up. We were told that the fast guys could lap this between 45-50 minutes. I believe that is possible on a dry course. As it was, I made it 2/3 of a lap in when I hit the two hour mark. All I saw was $$$ as I heard the mud grinding into the parts on the bike. I pulled the plug and headed to the pits for a shower. I'll let the pics tell the rest of the story (stolen from Cow Town Cycling).Dennis completing his 1st lap. Dennis doesn't have the sense to stop any endeavor (that's a compliment), so you know it is bad when you see this stare coming from him.

A random pic of someones drive train.

Another random shot. Check out how the crank and chainrings appear to be one solid piece of mud/metal.
Brian (Squirrel) after his finish. 4 laps in 6 hrs, 1st place overall, fastest lap, etc., etc. A great showing.

I'll have to go back for a dry race sometime. I think this course would suit me.

Bullet Point Blog Posting

1. I don't normally have problems but sometimes drivers can suck. Read this and then show up for a ride of support on Wednesday.


2. Related topic....some riders need to chill out and actually realize that by ignoring the laws, riding in large packs when holding up traffic and generally being self-serving is not helping our cause.


3. Maddie and I joined the PRC ride last week and she really enjoyed herself. I think that she was overwhelmed by actually talking and riding with the PRC ladies. Keely really went out of her way to talk to Maddie about her experiences. Thanks Keely!

4. Several work projects are coming to a head and the new job is getting more and more exciting. Good news was having a project move out of the way for....


5. Fruita/Moab trip is on!!! I had decided that it wouldn't work so I was surprised when it all fell together at the last minute. 5 Days of riding with friends in the desert, I'm certainly looking forward to it.


6. Realized that the Gary Fisher Sugar wasn't going to be used too much as a backup bike. Put it on Craigslist and sold it within 24hrs. It's a good thing, because I can now use that money on the above mentioned vacation.


7. I've been wanted to race most of the IORCA mountain bike races this year, however the 1st one would have been on this Sunday and forced me to miss Maddie's first soccer game. No big deal except the Fruita trip will have me miss another. Easy solution, find a different race. Hard consequences, it is a 3hr or 6hr race. I might as well go for 6 since I'll be riding in a car for 3 hrs to get there.

1st singletrack of 2009

With the Friday temps in the mid 50's, I left work a little early and took the girls on their 1st dirt ride of 2009. They were very excited to try out all of their new gear. After a lengthy loading process (which glasses go with this shirt?) we finally hit the road. We unloaded at Greenwood Park so they would have a short ride to reacquaint themselves to the bike before we hit the trails.

We enter the remnants of old J11 and the girls did just fine. As usual Madison broke off the front and I had to frequently call on her to wait. Hannah is a little more tentative, but does is just as capable.

We finished J11 and went into Denmans. At this point Maddie had a good lead on us and when I came tried to speed up to help her over the big log I was too late. She was heading for it herself. Leave it to her....she had enough speed to ride up and over, just a small dab on the other side.

We had a few crashes and a few tears but overall it was a good ride. We ran into several of the normal guys out on the trail and I think I heard a few "I can't wait until my kids are big enough to ride on these trails". That made the emotional breakdown that occurred on the way home all worth it.

CITA trailwork at Summerset State Park on Saturday. We had a great showing and almost finished the complete loop. I then did two laps and rode the beginners section. It is a very challenging trail and unlike anything that I've seen in Iowa.

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Friday Night at Denmans?

I did a commute to work on the road bike on Wednesday. I was working downtown for a few days and figured that I would ride home via the PRC Wednesday night ride. I was surprised to see many of the CITA Brothers all ready to ride dirt! Apparently the trails are in great shape and Taco Wednesday is back in full swing.

Although I was jealous of the guys riding the singletrack, I did get a good workout in on the pavement. The group rolled out slow, but still animated compared to normal. I think the fact that the Tuesday Night World Championship ride was too cold added a few more to the Wednesday ride. No problem, my goal was to bust a lung and hold on as long as possible for a good workout. Lap 1, I took too long of a pull at the front and blew up on a longer climb. I chased back as long as possible and reeled in a few others, but couldn't make further headway. Fortunately, the leaders had stopped to regroup and to see who wanted to do another lap. This time I paid more attention and stayed with a good group for the loop. My heart was in my throat for a good portion of the ride, so this was good.

I stopped by Giff's Tavern to see the dirt guys and then finished my commute home. All totaled I rode 61 miles for the day and a good portion was at a fast tempo. Finally, a good workout.

Anyway, the weather is looking good for a Friday evening ride. My girls are wanting to get on their bikes, so I'm thinking of hitting Denmans sometime between 5-6pm. Hope to see some of you out there.

Don't forget the CITA work day at Summerset/Banner State Park (towards Indianola). Oakley swag give-aways. Starts at 9am. If you need a ride, let me know. I'll be bringing the bike and gear to ride after the work and lunch.