puttin' the hammer down...

Well my early am viewing worked out, no problems. Dude was way off the front, race was for 2nd. Chase group teased a few times but never got there. Luke Keough hung out in that chase group for most of the race but ended up in a 3rd group & finished 13th! Zach McDonald 19th!

Never saw Chris, his dad said last row start, but still managed a 28th!!! I hope he's happy with his whole experience.

That course was a bit boring. Road racer's delight with it as dry as it was. I kept trying to picture sections if they were all mudded out, totally different race. I didn't even notice where the pits were. Anyway, looked super-fast.

CX ain't over yet...

In an attempt to see a glimpse of all around good guy Chris Wallace compete in the CX Worlds Juniors race, I'll be tuning in here at 4:15 am tomorrow morning.

http://www.sporza.be/cm/sporza.be/sporza%2Bonline

No problem, I get up that early everyday. Even the weekend, sick. Even if I wanted to sleep in the dogs have me trained to get up & feed them.

This link was suggested by an anonymous source, so don't blame me if things don't work out. I'll be tuning in though.

GO CHRIS!

a matter of degrees

A month ago or so I commented how I was out of cold weather gravel shape. Apparently that feeling is behind me because I felt pretty darn good yesterday & today felt warm compared to yesterday. No crashes today, not by me at least. Mr. Blake made it out today, as did Craigio, & the Dark Knight. Another nearly 3 hour adventure. Not a lot of miles or hard efforts but it's great to just get out. We spent most of our journey hiding out in Wilderness. An inch of snow last night was no problem since we had discovered most of the ice the day before & knew where to be careful today.

Have a great week! Later,

TK

No Wind, No Problem

Can't let a little cold weather keep us off our bikes. I showed up for the Saturday ride at Cornbread's a little before 8:00 this morning, lights on, porch door locked. Uh Oh, too cold to ride? Can't be, I don't believe it. No problem, DK locked it outta habit, let me in & business as usual, or was it. Cornbread was up & drinking coffee but in his pj's. He was thinking none of us fools would show. I grabbed a cuppa', sat down & in rolled MW & pool n' spa. That brought our number to five. Like I said, no wind...no problem. Below zero w/ no wind sure feels a lot better than below zero with the wind blowing, twisted logic at its best.

We did manage to brave nearly 3 hours. Out through Wilderness laying down first tracks, then hopped on the Jamaica to Saltillo, turned around & rode the Jamaica back into town.

All but MW hit the deck at least once due to hidden ice under the snow in Wilderness. More snow forecast for tonight. Same time, same place tomorrow if you want to join us. Well...lets see what happens overnight. Yeah I'm stupid, but to a point.

Road season looms...

Later,

TK

CX Worlds Question.....

Shout out to anyone that knows...what's my best bet to watch world's next weekend. Last year I paid $4.99 & watched the action on wcsn.

sunday

add another 50+, I'm cooked...

day before sunday ride

Coach, Darin, Paul, Mark, Cornbread & myself had a gravel adventure today. Below is somewhere between Lincoln & Valpo & back again. New territory for me North of Raymond, big rollers & a pretty stiff headwind. Ended up with 60+, not bad. Good company.

Saturday beard follow-up

I thought it looked great. We (me & the Saturday beard) made it through to Monday morning but not without some negative Saturday beard energy thrown in here & there. So Monday morn I shave off the mustache & leave a real nice base for a sweet looking goatee. Got mixed reviews at work & at home that night I was greeted with "I thought you were getting rid of that Saturday beard!" Holly was referring to it as the Saturday beard because that's how I sold it to her in the first place.
The facial hair rules have been established...a full beard is tolerable or should I say tolerated. I've always referred to my full beard as seasonal, cross season. What I call a Van Dyke is also tolerated, this is goatee & mustache, but connected. No north & south, one cohesive unit. What am I sporting right now? The soul patch. Tried & true, easy to maintain, understated. A splash of hair under the lower lip, a tuft if you will. Some refer to it as the "flavor savor" but that's an insult to this simple, proud statement. Soul patch gives it some attitude, style.

Anyway...enough about my beard.

I signed up for the Dirty Kanza. I better start training.

Later,

TK

Saturday Beard

Its Saturday and its cold, so I rolled out the Balbo. You have to come up with some reason(s) to justify to your wife that your going to rock a moustache. If you don't see me this weekend, this is probably all you'll ever see of it...or is it?

The plan was to head out at 8:00am from D Street. That was the plan. With windchills at or below zero, I didn't make it. I guarantee there were some that did though. Nails.

I waited until it warmed up at noon. 20 degrees & NW wind blowing when I rolled out to collect Craig at his. In our favor...we had full sun. 3+ hours of gravel goodness. Pit stop at Conestoga to snap a few pix & check out the frozen lake, North towards Malcolm, & home. 25 degrees when I got home, balmy. Good day.
See you out there tomorrow. Later, TK

hopping the barriers...always a crowd pleaser

nat ross above & t-brown below from my Boulder Cup collection. That beard is money.

winter meltdown...you had to be there

This is what my day looked like. At this point I didn't have glasses on because of the mist, but this is also what everything looked like when I had my glasses on because they were covered with the previously mentioned mist.

Mopac is rideable?

4+ hours of mopac & gravel. I'm out of cold weather gravel shape. I can fix that...just ride more cold weather gravel. Great ride today, I'm shelled. Good crew, good times.