SKIPTOOTH

New art

2012-02-03T05:51:00.000-08:00

Shifters suck. Says the Jackalope. Single speed it.

Oak Groavel

2012-01-30T08:52:00.000-08:00

Tagged along with Todd P who discovered some new gravel out northeast of Oak Grove Mo. Lafayette County has some good hills. Lots of farm dogs - the friendly ones bark at you, but you have to watch for the silent Rottweiler - they're smart & don't give away their position until they're right on you. Great day on the bike.

Bike Art Book

2012-01-25T10:22:00.000-08:00

About a year ago, I was contacted by Greek street artist Kiriakos Iosifidis — of the Carpe Diem group in Athens — to be a part of their latest project, BIKE ART: Bicycles in Art Around the World. The Carpe Diem group works with municipalities to promote beautification through urban murals, festivals and exhibitions. Graffiti with permission, if you will. Anyway, Kiriakos had curated a couple mural books in the past, and was putting together this new bicycle-themed version that touched on all aspects of art and bike and design.
I thank Kiriakos for allowing me to be a part of this project - it's quite an honor to be among the talent exhibited in this volume. Check it out if you can - It makes a beautiful coffee table book, and by purchasing a copy you are supporting the printed page. Long live print! Stick your nose in and sniff in that ink. Can't get that on screen, but here are a few screen teasers of the contents. You've seen plenty of my work, so I've included some others. Enjoy.

Ride your bike!
Read your bike book!

Festivus got the bestivus

2011-12-24T06:51:00.000-08:00

...of me, anyway. Took the $150 Craigslist Univega tandem I got a couple years ago out for it's longest journey yet. Only a planned 25 miles. Weighed before I started was #49lbs... 11 miles in, main synch chain shatters a link and I'm SOL, until I realize I can slam my seatpost down, swivel around and do a Superman stretch by pedaling the rear crankset. Felt like I was on some sort of wheeled proctologist's table. Rode several miles toward home like that then stopped along the road, cracked a can of beer in the 17° wind chill to keep me company until my buddy came and picked me up. I GOT SOME PROBLEMS WITH YOU, BICYCLE!

Ride and air your grievances toward your bike. They can take it.

A good year

2011-12-16T10:02:00.000-08:00

I didn't race my bike in 2011, but I still feel like I'm standing atop the podium.

A ride for the rest of us

2011-12-06T17:22:00.000-08:00

Dust to dust

2011-11-27T14:07:00.000-08:00

That time of year again. So goes the cycle.

Ride yer bike (without going anywhere)!

Orphans

2011-11-17T19:39:00.000-08:00

Got lots of cool parts that still need to find a home on one of my bikes. This one is so adorable.

Acorns

2011-11-14T07:48:00.000-08:00

Collecting more than my share this Autumn. Unbelievable weather. Ride yer bike!

Full Moon Monty

2011-11-10T07:31:00.000-08:00

Nice weather (40°) for a little full moon (waxing gibbous, technically) gravel goodness on the Little Blue Trace last night. Pace was fast on the way out but Ye Olde Schwinn Limestoner kept pace with the 2 other guys up front. Rode easy and chatted more on the return. Pale Ales, lights, bikes, good times.

Ride yer bike in the dark!

Gunn City Grandeur

2011-10-24T15:29:00.000-07:00

Had fantastic weather and a fantastic group of 20 riders show up to wander around Cass county on a late October day. I had fun marking up the return home with some stencils to aid in the map and cue sheets I printed up for everyone. Small glitch in the cue sheet sent the Texans off course (sorry!) but they found their way back on relatively quickly and finished the course a few hours after the rest of us rolled in. The three Texans had just come off racing the Berryman Epic (50miler mtb race) the prior day so they rode their own pace and had a great time.

It's tough finding gravel close to the 'burbs and to KC as we started, but I managed to link together some dirt, rail trails, country gravel and singletrack to keep it interesting, I think. Hope to make this an annual event, if only to pay respects to the fallen Old Drum.

More Landahl goodness

2011-10-24T14:47:00.000-07:00

This trail and this weather just keep on giving. Not to be rude, I accept!

Find those acorns. Stuff those cheeks. Ride yer bike!

Gunn City Gravelrie

2011-10-02T14:55:00.000-07:00

details on FB

Crystalline

2011-09-25T19:10:00.000-07:00

Forgot my clear lenses that I usually ride with when cycling off road. Had some tinted cheap pair in the car but I decided to head out w/o eye protection. Not sure if it was the lack of lens glare or what, but I feel I had the best day ever out at Landahl park hitting everything technical - I could see everything so clearly. Hell, I was seeking new technical lines through trail I'd ridden 100 times through - just because I had the confidence to nail it. Huge wheelie-ups, wheelie drops, floating over roots & rocky embedded technical sections left a HUGE grin on my face all day long. Legs didn't even feel the effort until the very last climb out to the parking lot after 2.5 hours of hammering. Flow.

Days like this are bittersweet. Sweet for obvious reasons, but clearly it's gonna be so hard to beat.

Ride yer bike!

Floating in a most peculiar way

2011-09-23T13:26:00.000-07:00

Resurrwrecktion

2011-09-16T16:17:00.000-07:00

Getting nostalgic, thinking about building up the old Roadster again. Been sitting for over a year - moved parts over from my BMC after the wreck but it mostly saw trainer time. Now it's stripped and other parts went to the gravel bike. Might have enough scrap parts lying around to at least build up as a 1x9. This bike took me places. Some good places.

Ride yer bike!

Each of them.

Gotta have more cowbell

2011-09-13T12:54:00.000-07:00

Pinched the stays enough to fit 38c tight, 32c w/good clearance. No bottle bosses. They will hand you beers. Pure CX!

Laboring Day

2011-09-06T18:04:00.000-07:00

65 mile gravel recon east cass county. Battery died early, but snapped a couple. Accidently made my first crappy Youtube vid. Got home exhausted, drank some pickle juice, then family wanted to go ride bikes. Ride 'em!

Swope on a Rope

2011-09-04T07:14:00.000-07:00

Love this trail.

Treadroom

2011-09-04T07:05:00.000-07:00

Wanted to create a little more clearance for >35c tires on my Edwin cx frame, so I decided to get some tools out and gitrdone. Snagged a snipped link from the bottom of the bin at Home Depot's log chain center. Cut it. Shaped it. Line it up. Crank it. etc... Measure once, hammer until perfect! I'll post results once I finish.

$2

2011-08-28T18:32:00.001-07:00

There's a good Better Off Dead reference in here I'm sure.

Pleasant Hilling GG recon

2011-08-21T17:38:00.000-07:00

Did a little recon this morning for the Gravel Grinder ride I'll host this winter. Beautiful morning. 50 miles of goodness. Stumbled upon some of the Katy Trail extension that has yet to be opened to public use and decided to investigate/clear spiderwebs. Should be finished in 5 years.

Ride yer bike!

stuff

2011-08-07T18:52:00.000-07:00

in my garage

Pleasant Hills

2011-08-07T09:18:00.000-07:00

This morning was one of those elusive rides in which one is graced with tailwinds for the entire ride. Small storm to the north of us gave a gusty ride southeast to Pleasant Hill, then as it passed to the east we enjoyed a southeast breeze back home. Gravel+dirt+road+majestic sky. Love.

Baldknobbing

2011-08-06T10:17:00.000-07:00

Haven't been on a vacation for years, so my lady and I decided to drag our kids down to Branson in the 104° heat. Got a cozy little cabin with fridge and stove to save money on food. Great choice for $135 night. Jack got sick right after entering Silver Dollar City so we spent an hour in the first aid station then were fortunately refunded admission $... last day Jack was feeling better, overcast skies kept temps in the upper 80s/low 90s so we took a chance and headed back to SDC. Spent 12 hours there. Terrorized the kids permanently on a couple roller coasters. Toured Marvel Cave at 8pm. Drove back to KC and got home at 2:30am. Kids were troopers. All slept in until 11am. On a bike by 11:45am. Good times!

Gunn City Gravel

2011-07-31T18:12:00.000-07:00

Shortened the ride a bit so didn't quite make it south all the way to Gunn City, but it was still a shotgun blast. Hot.

Viva le Tour!

2011-07-21T09:11:00.001-07:00

Pee Hill

2011-07-20T13:19:00.000-07:00

Found a pleasant hill near Pleasant Hill to ride this morning. Camels in Missouri are good indication it's gonna be hot today.

4TFOUR

2011-07-12T10:23:00.000-07:00

My good friend Joe turned 44 today. So my gift to him? Get our asses up at 4am, roll out around 4:44am for a 44 mile sunrise ride before work. Fortunately, it wasn't 44°F... unfortunately, closer to 44°C. Not my birthday, but I feel spanked.

Ride yer bike! While I take a nap. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....

Freedoms

2011-07-04T21:26:00.000-07:00

I set another of my bicycles free today, and it returned the favor. Thanks to all the revolutionaries, emancipationaries, foreign warrionairies and current militaries that have fought and served this grand experiment of cultures that is the U S of A. Letting freedom ring sounds suspiciously like a bicycle bell. Be free.

Independence

2011-07-04T13:02:00.001-07:00

Don't lose any fingers.

Levee ride

2011-07-02T20:40:00.000-07:00

Rode from Lee's Summit with my buddy Joe up to check out some gravel I saw on Google maps. Metric century, °F a few shy of a century. The levee was cool but washboarded and beat the hell out of us. Rode it for 2 (of 5) miles and bailed into a corn field farm road. Hot day. Cool stuff. Go discover something.

New dirt

2011-07-01T08:19:00.000-07:00

There's a ~3 mile parkway extension in town that has yet to be wayed. I wish it would remain parked. I'll get in some traffic free packed dirt roads while it lasts... Saw upwards of 50 deer in 30 miles. 1.67 per mile.

Lots of riding planned for the 4th weekend. More gravel tomorrow, Clinton Lake mtb Sunday, roadie Monday. Give each bike some love.

Stay cool. Keep all your fingers. Ride yer bike!

Worth the wait

2011-06-09T07:29:00.000-07:00

Hard to believe it's been over a year since I posted about my new bike build - Edwin Cycles 29er SS. But this was in the shop getting assembled the same time I was in the hospital getting my elbow assembled after the crash, so a long summer off the bike, eased back into some CX grass trail (no singletrack) last fall, then a winter and wet spring of trainer/road/trainer/road/road and finally, FINALLY!!! - I got to take the Edwin out this morning for its virgin trail ride.

My buddy Joe and I saw a window of opportunity in the busy schedules and between rains. Alarms set for 4:30am - on the trail by 5:30! No better way to welcome the day! We hit Landahl Park at first light - could have used a light but decided to go on instinct and roll the less-technical Will's Wanderer trail to warm up as the day brightened. Right off the bat, the bike felt great. Light True Temper OX Platinum, smoother in the rear (as opposed to my previous AL frame) and the White Bros Magic fork helped absorb some of the stress on the elbow. I hate to use the cliché, but "everything felt in the right place". I love the way this bike looks and feels. Last night I finally took the time to apply the script logo I designed for Doug (Edwin)... careful alignment then just COMMIT. The green against the patina is simple and elegant. Kinda cool seeing my work on a bike I own, too! Forgot how good GOOD steel rode. Awesome bike, Doug!!! Hope to have many more years and dirt miles on this thing - even if I have to get up with the roosters to sneak in a ride before work.

Ride yer bike!

Katy Trailing

2011-05-28T06:02:00.000-07:00

Got out with best friends, old friends and new friends on a little Katy out-and-backer. Booneville>Jefferson City>Booneville

Just a photo dump for now, writeup to come...

cycling community

2011-05-14T09:48:00.000-07:00

It's an interwoven one.

Last year I did some pro-bono work for a local startup Groody Bros Bicycle Restoration Project. They do fine powdercoating to give life to your favorite old shoes (bikes). One of the Brothers day job is at a printing company and had extra room on another client's press run to print off a few of my past artworks. A thousand+ copies were donated to me and have sat in my storage, waiting for the right time to be paid forward.

Now's that time.

My current race team shop owner and all around damn fine man, Chris Smedley, has recently began chemotherapy after being diagnosed w/pancreatic cancer. If you can make it by The Bicycle Shack, please pick up a set of my prints and postcards for a small donation of $5, and 100% of donations raised will go to help Chris' family endure his fight. If you can't make it by the shop, I can arrange copies to be mailed - just contact me at (me at kevinnierman dot com) and I'll take care of you.

Chris has been a nurturer of cycling in the KC community for over 30 years. Chris is the best kind of people you would ever want to know. Thank you for the support.

Ride yer bike!

Music Friday

2011-04-08T13:10:00.000-07:00

The year is flying by - too much work, not enough cycling. At least the music is good.

Perceptions

2011-03-07T20:29:00.000-08:00

Few years back I was setting up my company's trade show booth up at McCormick Place in Chicago. Labor was showing up at 10am, so I got the early 8am start to make sure all my cords were corded and power was powered before carpet went down. Crates show up on time, check. Inventory, check... Then two guys with tools and ladders show a couple minutes early. So far the most problem-free start to booth setup yet... Hoping my normal twelve hour day will be cut to ten!

Things go nice and smooth then 2pm rolls around and the place goes on-break quiet again. I'm still riding a continental breakfast so I forego a trip to the in-house McD's and decide to string the lights I can reach standing on a chair while I wait for the guys to get back to do the ladder/16' tower work. A few moments later the electrician super comes by the booth for check, and starts busting on me about the lights being up, asking me who installed them (clip-on 50W halogens) and connected them. I told him I did because the two guys I got "helping" me have taken 3 breaks in 6 hours, and I want to get the fuck out of there and have a beer and a meal and a beer. He laid out the hall rules about electrical and what have you - which I completely understand union halls and liabilities - but he then ordered me to take them down so an official light-stringer could come over and do it. He informs me that he can send a guy over tonight (but it won't be until after 5pm that Friday) or try to get it ordered first thing Sat morning, but either way it's gonna be overtime. So I say get it done tonight because I am not missing a 10am flight back to KC.

So I figure I'll kill time and go grab McD's even though I'd planned to get something more med-rare and costly since this was the company's dime... Who knew McD's closed shortly after the 2pm break. Much like when you're stuck in traffic and have to piss really bad, then you make that turn down your street and start relaxing your bladder a little because you KNOW the moment of relief is RIGHT THERE. Well, my growling stomach turned violent after finding out it wasn't going to get the food I'd expected to relieve it with. The ten hour day I'd hoped for was knocking on eleven.

Over the next 2 hours, the electrical super cruises by my booth in his electrical cart a few times to see if I've been taken care of. I'm still not electrified, but I'm [ ] this close to telling him to get off his ass and plug my fucking lights in himself so I can eat. He then yells "Hey KC, you hungry? Follow me." Normally I would assess such a situation, but much like after a huge ride - where decision-making is obscured by the intense need to feed - I follow my gut. He leads me back to his office in the dark, back corner of the hall. A dank concrete cube with a single bare interrogation bulb dangling from the center of the room. Paper's piled up like my hoarding grandmother's sewing room. He tells me to have a seat then reaches between two boxes on the floor and out swang a mini fridge door. He pulls out a package of franks and pops two of them into the microwave that sits on the metal shelves behind him. Twenty seconds into it and I was sitting in Comiskey Park. Never before did a hot dog smell so fucking fantastic. He shoves some papers aside and sets down a can of CocaCola in front of me. Grabs the dogs out and nestles each one in a bun and I reach for that thing and cradled it like my first born being passed by the nurse. I'm three bites in before I notice poppy seeds on my bun (wtf?), and the thing looks quilted like a kaiser roll, which now seems odd but at the time was better than bacon sprinkles on a glazed donut. All I know is that it's 10:30pm, I'm finally eating my lunch and this was one of my best meals ever. Guy served up one thing and that one thing was magnificent.

Long story short, when in Rome...

Also, most people are good people despite whatever that perceived first-impression is. Trust them to change that impression by observing their good works, and never say no to a large man that wants to share his hot steaming weenie with you in a dark room.

Cheers

Coming soon... Maybe.

2011-01-15T13:04:00.001-08:00

Gravelicious

2011-01-11T18:30:00.000-08:00

Finally made it out to one of the organized local Gravel Grinder rides. So much fun, I forgot it was hovering around 20°F the entire ride with a stiff headwind. We rolled out of the beautiful riverside park by the Argosy Casino, headed west next to the MO upstream on levee gravel. Cut through some dirt fields which was actually a road (Rush Creek) and wound up in a little unincorporated town of Waldron. Three of my favorite things: Bicycles, trains and rivers. Got a flat and the other fellas waited up for me thankfully. Water bottle froze so I'll have to sort that out now that my riding gear accumulation and education has afforded me to ride in these lower temps.

Kill the trainer. There are outdoors outside.

Ride yer bike!

Early

2010-12-27T16:56:00.000-08:00

I'm usually late to everything. I need to change that. Just this past week, though, part of me has been early. Frequently. Not sure why I've developed a sudden PVC but I spent Christmas Eve afternoon in the ER 'cause it was concerning me. Had been fluttering for about a week and I'd never experienced them before (that I was aware of).

Anyway, they seem harmless enough. Go to see the Cardiologist in a week to get a specialist's POV.

On a positive note, my bloodwork while in the ER came back showing high levels of billirubin. I've had this every time and always wondered if my liver was bad, because if you've ever tasted liver it IS bad. But the ER doc mentioned Gilber't Syndrome. This explains so much. Now I have to search for other athletic individuals that have had the same muscle tightness problems post-exercise — likely due to my body's inability to filter out some of the sugars. I've been trying to figure this out going on 10 years now, and it looks like I may have stumbled on the answer thanks to a tired ticker.

Time to ride the trainer for an hour and taunt the heart some more!

Bed and Brunter stuff

2010-12-27T12:28:00.000-08:00

Although my creative outlet tends to be the paintings and cycling related design, I still enjoy the jobs that pay the bills to give the kids warm beds to sleep in. Here's a photo that the client wanted changed from the brick pavers to concrete. I printed off a copy of the original then ran outside and shot a few photos of my work's sidewalk at the closest angle I could. Made things easier, and made a quick few bucks. I think being an illustrator makes Photoshopping that much easier - you gotta keep shadows realistic and be aware of reflected light or your subjects will look "Photoshopped".

Riding music

2010-12-08T08:11:00.000-08:00

I don't ride with headphones for safety reasons, but mainly because nature's music is better than anything made in a studio. I do tend to have songs in my head, esp on solo rides. Beck's "Go it Alone" is a good default and the bass line sets a great tempo, but for some of those exploratory gravel adventures now and to come, I think I'll have a new (old) song in my head. A sad song, but a beautiful melody. No banjo in this live version (as was on REM's Fables of the Reconstruction recording), but beautiful all its own.

Halfassinit

2010-12-04T08:19:00.000-08:00

I'll never be a bumpersticker type, but if you can't - or just don't feel like giving 110% each day - be proud of giving at least 50%.

Dream Cycle

2010-11-29T12:33:00.000-08:00

Darren @ Dream Cycle in Vancouver is a cool guy with a cool dog and a cool shop that builds the coolest bicycles. Check out pics in the gallery. Not a lemon in that bunch! Stare at them for hours... Anyway, he builds his own frames now - the touring/commuting varieties with more to come I am sure - and wanted a head tube badge to adorn them. He already had the "Sedgwick" designed in an urban tag style from another artist, and wanted to go with a phoenix & wheel motif. I must have been on an art deco Chrysler Building. Rocketeer kick and came up with the following: I was impressed at the detail that the badge-maker was able to retain. Go buy one!!!

Here's a wicked (I already overused "cool" earlier) build video with a great custom track:

Gaulzetti Cicli

2010-11-29T12:09:00.000-08:00

My magazine artwork has afforded me exposure to many ambitious startups in the bicycle industry. I've enjoyed building relationships with each and every one, and continually am inspired by their passion and creativity. Craig Gaulzetti spent years racing in Europe and contacted me to design a logo inspired by the Wallonia rooster (French-speaking region of southern Belgium). Simple, sexy bicycles he makes. I'm rather fond of this one. Those are not decals - that is wet paint. My apologies to the painter and his Exacto-cramped hands More pics here.

See Jane Ride

2010-11-28T19:52:00.000-08:00

This original is a long time coming, part of a logo design I did for See Jane Ride Bicycle Tours. Fun stuff, finally coming together.

Fight or flight

2010-11-26T07:41:00.000-08:00

Calories, you will burn today... Time to hop on the bicycle for a couple hours and discover new trail.

Thanks

2010-11-25T12:38:00.000-08:00

I'm thankful for great family, friends and to all those that helped pave the way for us to afford the blessed lives we live today. Here's to the upkeep of that fresh pavement.

Babe

2010-11-24T14:08:00.000-08:00

Got another Dirt Rag cover under my belt. This was the first large painting I've attempted since my crash/surgery, and the arm hurts, but I have a backlog of projects and images in my head from those 6 months that need to get out. The final printed piece looks a bit different because the art director tweaked the color a bit. I don't mind it, but I like this better. Let's title it Babe

Pets

2010-10-01T20:19:00.000-07:00

Thinking it's time the kids get a pet of their own. No, not a Zhu Zhu POS - they played with that maybe 15 minutes. Something low budget and small. Fish are high maintenance, and I know I'll be the maintenancer... same with hamsters and gerbils which freak the Mrs out anyway... No, I think I'll get them a bird. Not the birds that will out live me and even them maybe - I mean a pigeon.

My older bro and I each had a pigeon as a pet as kids. My cousin raised them for what I don't know but we got them when young and they were our pets. They were "outside" birds. Mine used to land on my shoulder while I was mowing the lawn on Dad's old Sears rider. His name was Dusty. Our black cat, Coco -- the one with the limp, dead tail because it almost got cut off by the fan blade in the engine bay of the '65 Chevy 3/4T -- ate him.

Fear of Needles in Haystacks

2010-09-30T12:31:00.000-07:00

I once found somebody's contact lens in the gravel parking lot of the old high school. Another time, found a tiny eyeglasses screw dropped in the grass that somebody was looking for. I think it has to do with my ability to see detailed pictures in my head - and as I scan an area I can align the mental image transparency with the actual thing - so it stands out. Kinda like 3D movie glasses. Annette says it's a gift. I say it's a curse.

Almost Full

2010-09-14T12:13:00.000-07:00

It appears I've gotten my fill of this blogging thing. Somewhere I read most blogs never see their 100th post and mine, also, may very well become a statistic.

Meanwhile, I'll think of projects to post to get caught up on documenting crap. I'm not racing CX so there ain't much to talk about on the cycling side. It's been a busy summer and my lack of August post solidifies my belief that the entire month of August should just go away. 85° 6am rides, $350 electrical bills, no holidays, back-to-this and that... Enough already. Perhaps the decay of Autumn will fertilize some thoughts. Yeah.

Above's a pic I took w/an old 4MP camera, holding 8x binoculars in front of the lens and having a steady hand. You can see the crater Tycho and its rays pretty well.

Let the camping weather begin.

Just to get up that hill...

2010-07-31T14:46:00.000-07:00

A year ago this week I was on top of a couple mountains.

Colorado is calling again. No MTBing for a while (arm still healing) but I could knock out a few more 14ers, no problem.

Persistence

2010-07-14T10:09:00.000-07:00

These cardinals are setting a great example for me as I continue getting my arm strength and range back. This male and his lady friend are in a jihad against every window reflection on the back of our home. They are pissed, but persistent. One could say perpissedent. Starts at 5:20am until 9pm every day for the past couple weeks. Take time to reflect. Look in the mirror and ask if this is who you really want to be. Do whatever it is you know you need to do to become the person you want to see. Then go ride your bike!

temporary fixes

2010-07-04T16:45:00.000-07:00

Discovered my tire was injured the other day, so I did some physical therapy. Not quite through the radial yet but I can ride w/a little more confidence. Life's full of patches.

Lucky Charms™

2010-06-22T17:50:00.000-07:00

Despite my positive intake of pink hearts, yellow moons, blue diamonds, etc, I still managed to hit a squirrel on my second bicycle ride back from broken-elbow surgery. Squirrel and I both fled the scene with only emotional scars.

Ride yer brakes!

2010-06-17T20:13:00.000-07:00

I went for the first morning ride today since my accident. It was GRAND. Speaking of grand, here's a pic I took on a flight to Vegas. I will never grow tired of getting a crick in my neck from gawking out an airplane window like a ten year old boy.

Comeforths

2010-05-31T06:35:00.000-07:00

I'm not really sure if you can consider it a comeback if you never quite reached the back to come to, so I will call this chapter of life my "comeforth". I never attained my year's goal on the bike of category-ing up to 3s, but I must admit right before my deer accident I had been riding better than in all of my 15 years of amateur cycling. I gave racing a go in several of those early years - mainly mountain bike racing - but always experienced a minor setback with injury or time or money constraints. Then kids came along and energy was devoted to more important things. I'm lucky all my injuries were minor and after the hip bruise swelling subsided I am back on the trainer. Summertime trainer sessions have their pros & cons - yeah it's awesome to set up on the patio and feel the breeze and listen to birds and absorb some vitamin D, but it's still a trainer. Fortunately, no deer have jumped my fence. But I'm focused on my original goal again and just may have to do it a little later during the cyclocross season. I may have a new Edwin Cycles SS CX built up by then, or I'll use a Surly Cross Check frame I acquired. Those details are trivial to me now, I will just be glorified to be back on two wheels!

So whatever your personal goals are for the year, I wish you a successful comeforth.

Ride yer trainer!

New Bike Smell

2010-05-26T07:39:00.000-07:00

I've had this frame for everal months but not the means to build it up properly. As I was in the hospital, I got word that my Edwin Cycles Round Valley 29er SS was finished by the good folks at Bicycle Shack. Something to look forward to when I'm back up on two wheels! She's a beauty. Rust patina clearcoat mixes well with the green ano bits.

Slow the *(&% down

2010-05-25T14:05:00.000-07:00

A week ago today my life flashed before my eyes... so I smacked right into it.

My philosophy already tends to lean toward less being more, so I'm not the type that gets caught in the tail-chasing rut of working to keep up with the Joneses. Modest house; utilitarian cars; back yard staycations... No, my life was simply getting too busied with work projects, freelance I never can say NO to, kid activities, home repairs and trying to sneak as many bicycle rides in there as possible. Things were piling up. They're still piled up, but I've been given reprieve to step back and sort them so I can better tackle each one.

Last week my buddy Joe and I set out at 5:30am for one of our morning rides. A great 30 mi loop out around lakes Lakewood, Blue Springs & Jacomo. It had rained out several mornings before so we were anxious to get the miles in. About 16 miles in, heading down the hill to the west of Blue Springs Lake, she darted out across my path. A backlit brown blur was all I saw. A couple hoofclaps on the pavement was all I heard. I braced for impact turning in my right shoulder. A clanking mass of metal and man finally came to rest on the slope of asphalt. I did the "that f@©#!ng just happened" in my head as the pain quickly seeped in. Instinct for me is to hop up & walk it off - I laid there a moment to catch my wind and then stood up as Joe helped me and my pieces off the road. At first inventory check it appeared all my parts were there and all were good. I've never broken a bone before besides my nose, so I didn't really know what to expect but as my right elbow sprouted it's own spherical fruit I began to assume my arm might be broken. I think Joe called his neighbor to bring his truck to pick us up as I was deciding whether or not I needed emergency attention. Slipping into shivers & shock I told Joe we'd better call the ambulance. I ended up going to Centerpoint trauma center and xrays showed a busted elbow. Surgery needed to pin & screw all the loose pieces back together, but my hip scan and CT scans came back clear.

It could have been so much worse. So what - my race season is done, but I am not paralyzed and have been spared the gift of life. I'll be back on the bike soon enough, and the piles of stuff won't all go away, but things are a bit clearer now.

I needed this.

Dumbspringa

2010-05-24T08:44:00.000-07:00

Rumspringa (also Rumschpringe or Rumshpringa, derived from the Pennsylvania German term for "running around")[1] generally refers to a period of adolescence for some members of the Amish, a subsect of the Anabaptist Christian movement, that begins around the age of sixteen and ends when a youth chooses baptism within the Amish church or instead leaves the community.

As much as I wanted to believe Floyd Landis was innocent, I sensed the way in which he 'fought' allegations always seemed transparent that he was guilty. I first shrugged that sense off and credited his guilty conscience to his lack of PR skills, shyness & his general Amish-upbringing / yearn for privacy. But he was doped and fans were duped. Another great negative lead-up to another TDF. That won't keep my TV from suffering Versus logo burn-in again this July. I may still be recovering on the trainer at that point (story to follow).

Ride yer bike

Joseph Sheehan RR

2010-04-28T20:15:00.000-07:00

Been busy. Working a lot & getting a ride in when I can. Rides seem faster, work seems slower.

Anyway, Sunday was my first true road race since I did Froze Toes (30mi) one time back in 2000. The Joseph Sheehan RR up in Leavenworth KS (50mi)... I spent the past few weeks mentally preparing for this race, visualizing how it may go down, and it pretty much played out to my expectation. I knew from Spring Flings that I had decent enough legs to chase down most any attack, but not good enough legs to go on my own - knowing the Cat 4 competition. So the plan was to sit tight and hang on and be there w/the front runners when we hit the final long hill to the finish.

Let's back up to the start: It was cool & windy out of the NW, and our course fortunately headed west then north for the first 25 miles. In-A-Tub/Cycle City had 8-9ish riders in a field of 31, so I knew they'd pretty much control the race up front with any other given team only having 2-3 at most. Bicycle Shack had me, Kyle and Mike Saif. Knowing Kyle's stronger & been tearing up the hills & sprints, I liked our chances with the hill finish. In-A-Tub guys pulled most of the first half of the race. Once we made the turn, as expected one of them took off up the road with the aide of a 16mph tail wind. This stretched out the field nicely and busted a few off the back finally, but several were easily able to hang on until we hit Atcheson. Once we made the turn back to the South and started the long hill out of Atcheson, a couple SKC riders (a fast junior racer - Cameron Rex & teammate Tom Bondurant) mashed it up. I about lost it here, hurting bad, but knew (& hoped) there would be some sort of recovery point at the top. These guys had to be hurting too I hoped!!! Once we peaked it was down to six riders. Kyle, me, a Monster drink jersey, the two SKCs and one other. I can't believe no In-A-Tub guys made the break! I was sure they were saving one or two of their fast guys for the trip home.

After a couple rollers, Kyle got the group organized to work together to maintain our advantage, and we rode the last 20+ miles at a nice tailwind clip in a rotating paceline. Monster Energy guy sat out a couple pulls leading into the final stretch, so I was hoping for him to be tiring out, but figuring he was just saving up the legs. The final hill seemed to come up quick with the speed we carried back, and Kyle made the first move- a little early he admitted, since he thought the line was closer. But a strong jump nonetheless. This got me out of the saddle a little sooner than I wanted but I figured I sat up most the other climbs and I was hoping my standing-climb muscles still had a little reserve to get me up to the finish fast. Monster drink guy hopped on Kyle's wheel and they rode away as the hill steepened. I sat back down and found a gear I could motor at my pace since there was still a ways to the top. I hung in 3rd until 150yds or so and the two SKC guys came around me. I caught a wheel for a moment but cracked hard when I stood up to sprint again. I finished 5th & Kyle 3rd (Tom B of SKC took the win in a well-timed move). Great, fun race! I missed the money by one position, though.

My next planned race isn't until June so I know that I just need to work on hills & sprinting & hills and sprinting. Looking forward to back to back weekends of the Tour of KC and the Tour of Lawrence. Then it's cyclocross season!

Ride yer bike!

Perfect Storm

2010-04-05T14:51:00.000-07:00

Woke up at 5am this morning to ride. I texted my buddy late the night before so I didn't give much notice, but since I hadn't heard back I figured it was going to be a solo. Normally I pound the SNOOZE if I find out my option is solo... but I have another race on Saturday so I needed to get a good effort in.

I usually glance at temp and radar to know what to wear and what route best suits a return tailwind, but I skipped all that and just stepped out on the deck. 48°. A little haze over a half-moon waning. Dead calm. I could see two deer in the back field under a faint reflected city glow. Let's do this.

I headed out on the road and ramped up the effort pretty quick. Worked through the inevitable mile#4 gluteus tightening and then I was flying. Headed straight east to Lake Lotawana with only the 20+mph self-induced wind in my face. I looped down in and around the lake and attacked all our usual hills feeling good - but when I returned topside something had changed. For some odd reason I REALLY felt like I was flying back home, just knocking out each little rise like it was nothing. I could see w/o my lights at this point, but they remained on for safety. Looked unusually dark in front of my to the west, but I didn't think much of it since I'd ridden in the dark for 45 min already. Then I made a little jog back to the south and realized the source of my feelin-goodspeed. A whipping flag indicated at least a 10-15mph wind was at my back - now smacking me on the left. Turned out to be inflow from the fast approaching Tstorm to my west. She took a HUGE inhale that made my ride home sheer bliss! Not until I rolled home & cooled down a bit did I realize the storm - the front hit and her exhale switchymarooed to 45mph gusts from the west. Those COULD have been headwinds if I didn't time it just right.

It was a good ride.

Finishing Midas Touches...

2010-04-02T09:28:00.000-07:00

Doing some minor alterations to the golden Nishiki Olympic (1977?) dumpster mixte I rescued a couple years back. Some more chrome polishing, final bathe & some bar tape this afternoon... This will be my lovely wife's ride for tomorrow's Tweed Ride. It's going to be a smashingly glorious day for a stroll about town sipping wine & whiskey. :)

Friday!

2010-03-26T11:28:00.000-07:00

Another Spring Fling race tomorrow. Might be raining. I like rain. Some rainy music to get me in the mood here - this guy covers U2 better than the original. Definitely some Jeff Buckleyesque sound going on, too.

High Societweed - final(ly)

2010-03-22T10:59:00.000-07:00

Finally got this thing done. Now to get my & my lady's bicycles tuned up for the stroll about town on April 3rd! And some knickers...

No racing this weekend...

2010-03-20T13:34:00.000-07:00

Snow is coming down. I'm not on a bicycle, but I'm finishing up a few paintings along with painting some scrambled St Patrick's Easter eggs with the kids. I needed a Saturday like this.

Tweaser#3

2010-03-16T20:11:00.000-07:00

Crap! I need scissorhands...

Spring Fling Crit #2

2010-03-16T19:44:00.000-07:00

Made little gain from last week's 10th place effort. Legs felt real strong. It was cool (42°F) and windy again, so the field was a little smaller and the pace was quite slow. My legs were twitching and I headed up front on the first sprint lap but teammate Rick slapped the reality back in my and told me to save the energy. Good call! Not much action going on although there was enough strength in the group to cover each of Velotek Zach's attacks - I gotta give him most aggressive rider on the day because he tried several times to make something stick. A Colavita rider headed up for a couple laps to set a good tempo, but it was pretty much a Sunday ride until each sprint lap rolled around. Zach punched it one last time on the last lap into the wind with 1/2 lap to go and I was sitting 5th wheel in the group of 8 of us. Rick & Kyle were together and jumped up to match him, and I first intended to hop in front of them to bust the wind up, but my momentum had me going right past (I think Zach sat up after seeing Rick on his wheel) them all so I pinned it. I should've called out to the team as I went by so they didn't lose any momentum either, but the opportunity was there. Both Rick and Kyle have some great sprinting legs - probably the top in our category when looking at the first 3 weeks' results - and they were right on my tail in no time. I rounded the last turn and held it down for as long as possible, saw the others breaking around me again and watching Kyle time it perfectly for the win. His first sprint lap was perfect, too - just accelerating through everyone at the precise moment to cross that line first. Rick was in good form on the day, too, and took 4th overall.

I then lined up and raced ~14 laps of the 3/4 race... Got dropped after the first sprint lap (Lap 10?) and couldn't get back on. Legs just too shot from the earlier race. It was good practice and gave me a good sense of the next level. Had I not just raced, I may have been able to hang with the main pack (not the 6 that broke away), but I was pleased with getting out of there before the crampede* hit my legs.

I am addicted to this schidt! Next weekend looks snowy. WTF? Time for a 10:30pm trainer session...

*crampede: cråm-peed' — noun. (pl. charlie horse)

Order

2010-03-16T19:40:00.000-07:00

As an artist, I get paid to observe. I love to observe, so good for me. I rarely pick a side in a conflict because I usually see both sides. Perhaps I come off as a fence-setter, but I think I get my laid back pacifistic nature from my Father. Next to life, I can't think of a greater gift!

Anyway I was observing the other day on my way home from my bicycle race in Lawrence. I had noticed earlier in the week that I'd rolled 90,000 on my Ford Focus. I'd always wanted to capture the EXACT moment when a car turned 100K, so with this on my mind I started looking at the numbers on the odometer. It's been a year at least since I'd touched the trip odometer, but about 9 miles before this happened I did the math in my head and realized that my odo would reach a palindromic 90109 on the same mile my trip odo hit 899.8 .... The symmetry fascinated me, but what surprised me as I kept glancing at the dash so I wouldn't miss this event, it happened to roll 90106 and 896.8 - which on a digital readout were the same number flopflipped. Coincidence!?! I don't always think so. I think these things happen so often each day - call it alignment or synchronicity or flow or what have you - you just gotta be looking for it and it's always there. Fascinating!!!

Be still for a moment each day and open your eyes and take it all in. Then go ride yer bike!

Goats & Barley

2010-03-12T10:27:00.000-08:00

Probably not the best thing for the training table, but...

Another productive week of working, painting & training. Weather kept me indoors on the trainer but had a few good intense sessions in hopes to improve my sprint finishes. Gonna TRY to race tomorrow if workload allows, and if I do I'll try the Cat3/4 race after my 4s race for some extra exercise. Supposed to be cool and possibly rainy tomorrow so that'll keep the pace down on the corners at least. This may make the yo-yo effect even worse in a crit, I suspect, but I love riding in the rain! Bring it on, & GO FOR THE GUSTO!!!

Slow day...

2010-03-10T14:17:00.000-08:00

Timewise, anyway. Usually when I'm this busy the day flies by — but not today. Hoping to get on the bicycle and get some dead end sprints in this evening before the rains so I don't have to set up the trainer again. Of course, there's the 1/2 dozen design projects that need finished, too. Enough rambling, here's a picture of a worm, on a sidewalk, in the rain, on a Monday morning.

good inTENTHtions

2010-03-06T13:22:00.000-08:00

Just got back from my first Cat4 race of the year. Of ever, actually. I'd say things actually went better than planned despite my tenth-place finish. I met two of my new teammates before the race, Rick & Kyle. Great guys, and they had raced last week so they gave me a couple tips on how this field was sized up. Rick had placed 2nd in last week's race, and Kyle I think 8th, so I knew I needed to be around these guys if I wanted to at least finish in the pack. We shot off to a quick start, with a couple bunnies going up the road for a break in the first lap - too windy to make that stick and we reeled them back easily. Lap 6ish was a sprint lap (top 4 on sprint laps earn 4,3,2,1 points toward the series final standings) and the pace picked up considerably. Before that it was paced like your average brisk group ride. I stayed up in the top 10 coming around the final turn, and good legs got me up to fourth for the first sprint. A SPECS rider took first, with Rick & Kyle taking 2 & 3, so I was feeling good about being on this Bicycle Shack team! Second sprint was lap 12ish, and I wasn't in as good of position - I knew I couldn't cross the gap to the 2 guys vying for 4th, so I sat up and rolled across in sixth position. It was about this time when a lone rider seized on the others' efforts and decided to put a solo gap on the field. He kept pulling away for a few laps, gaining about a 15-20sec gap on us at his farthest, then the group realized that the high wind wasn't going to wear this guy out. So with about 4 laps left, the group began slowly reeling him back in, but nobody up front wanted to do any more work than they had to, so it wasn't enough in the end. with about a half lap to go, I looked back and saw Rick a wheel or two back & he & Kyle were looking fresh. I hopped up front hoping to stretch out the pack a bit, and hoping to close some of the now 10-seconds the dude out front had on us. I knew I couldn't hold that pace to the line and eventually the sprints would swallow me up, but I was hoping the stretched out leadout would clear things up for the other Shackers to make a move. 100yds from the line or so I blew — dead straight into a headwind and slightly uphill finish — and I didn't get a chance to pull to one side so I was stuck in the center as they started around me, but I saw Rick come around on my right to take the final sprint for 2nd place. Kyle took 4th. Rick went 2-2-2 for sprint laps; Kyle was 3-3-4 I think. I went 4-6-10, earning only the one point for starting and another for the 4th in the first sprint. It's all good! Fun clean SAFE race. Looking forward to next week.

I wanted to stay today and give the 3/4 race a go, but evening family plans called. Next week, I'm keeping an eye on the rider that broke away and stayed away, then letting some other teams lead out that final push to the sprint stretch.

Ride yer bike!

Why don't we take a ride

2010-03-04T11:49:00.000-08:00

...way up high through the neighborhood
up over the bilboards and the factories and smoke?

Tweaser #2

2010-03-03T13:09:00.000-08:00

Got her dress & bicycle nearly done last eve... rather this morning about 2am...

Tweaser

2010-03-01T19:23:00.000-08:00

Here's a teaser pic for the KC Tweed Ride painting that I should have finished by end week... I may just want to keep this one!

Cyclocross train-ing starts tomorrow

2010-02-26T13:11:00.000-08:00

Ha! First road race of the year tomorrow with the Spring Fling series. I have no idea about my level of fitness other than I know it could be better or could be worse. It's gonna be cold. It's gonna be fast. My plan is to hop the train & not work any more than I have to & feel out the Cat 4 field. Hopefully I'll have enough to reel in any break attempts and then save a few watts in the legs for the final stretch. Report to come...

EDIT: SCRATCH!

Don't know why these things always happen on a planned race day, but I was in the ER at 2am this morning with my boy watching some short track speed skating recast. He came up into our room whining and wanting to take his tshirt off and we discovered he was broke out in rash & hives all over. ER said it was likely the virus he's fighting & not anything topical or ingested, but we hadn't seen that before. So no big deal missing a race, Jack is doing well despite another breakout at 8am this morning. They go back down as fast as they pop up. I got lots of paintings to work on anyways... !

a long strange drip it's been...

2010-02-22T08:03:00.000-08:00

First race of the year coming up on Saturday, and my head is in slow radioactive muconium meltdown. Somehow up until last week I had avoided any sort of ailment since what seems like this time last year, while the rest of my family is on their 3rd or 4th crud each. That's a LONG time of blessed health despite being surrounded by sickies at home and work, so I count my blessings! Anyway, I was due, but just wish the timing wasn't as bad so near to my first race of the year. It is what it is, and at least it's just a head cold, but it sure made yesterday's trainer workout more miserable.

Cyclocross...

2010-02-21T17:54:00.000-08:00

should be a Winter Olympic sport!

Artchaeology...

2010-02-19T10:15:00.000-08:00

Digging through old CD archives for something else and came across these. These pieces were part of a series of originals I created for auction at my company's booth (fresh produce convention). No parameters, just had to be somehow produce-related. The "yellow band fever" had just struck (2004?) and we gave away 1000 Livestrong bands and donated all auction funds to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Some fun pieces...

Mixte-ing it up

2010-02-17T14:04:00.000-08:00

I've done several covers for Dirt Rag Magazine over the years, but my first cover for Bicycle Times hit the mail the other day. I think the art director did a fantastic job on text color (get your own copy to see the final!) — too many times with a light background we're tempted to use DARK text — but this is soft, still legible and allows the subject to "ride" out at you. Speaking of light background, the original was done a little darker in the 50% gray range. The art director and I discussed before hand how it would be nice to have the option of screening out the background to control levels, so I painted somewhere in the middle just in case it was decided on to go light or darker & stormy... I'm glad they went with this option.

April showers = May flowers. February frigidness = March madness. I'm about to lose it if I don't get outside soon and ride my bicycle.

High Societweed

2010-02-11T12:39:00.000-08:00

Early sketch of the painting I am creating for Kansas City's first annual Tweed Ride. Inspired blending from my olde painting Pedalmorphosis and my current project for See Jane Ride Bicycle Tours... Springtime. Bicycles. Dapper Lasses. Jolly times. Don't miss it!

Ticks that don't suck

2010-02-10T10:40:00.000-08:00

Lately I've been on a Deer Tick kick. Haven't had time to catch any music shows lately, but I may have to make time to head over to Lawrence in April to see them play th Jackpot Music Hall in Lawrence, KS.

Brushing Up(date)

2010-02-09T11:22:00.000-08:00

Now that the magazine is on the stands, here's the full version of the piece I did for Dirt Rag #147 (table of contents page). Lots of negative space up top was left for words. Go check it out, then go fer a bike ride.

Kumbikeya!

Jane

2010-02-08T08:37:00.000-08:00

Still finishing up a fun project for some bicycle tour entrepreneurs in central PA. Here's a sketch tease... of course she will be riding a bicycle. The goat, on the other hand, has a mind & dialogue of his own, and loves the taste of red Jandd panniers.

Also coming up FAST... Kansas City's version of the Tweed Ride. I'll be creating a painting that will become the poster! Quick turnaround on that project, but the ride's in April so promos have to get out soon. I scored my attire this weekend at John Knox Village's thrift store. A dandy jacket, vest & slacks (I'll convert to knickers), and a great pair of $2 leather oxfords that will match my Brooks saddle perfectly! I think I spent $15 total. Get to your local thrift store and stock up on $3 tweed jackets & ivy caps! More info to come on the ride...

As far as my training for race season goes, I finally got outside for a ride this weekend and worked on some sprintervals out on a dead end road near my home. No traffic also meant no snow removal services so I had to navigate a few lingering snow patches. I still found a good clean, slightly inclined stretch to get good 300yd sprints in. Legs are feeling great. Hopefully I'll start the season out finishing in the upper Cat4s so I can reach the 3s before end of season! First race is three weeks away, says the groundhog.

Go ride yer bike!

First Times

2010-01-28T22:12:00.000-08:00

My first cover for a particular magazine is due tomorrow. Today, actually, as I see it's quarter past midnight. I'm happy with this one — hope they are too.

Now to catch up on sleep that's been harder to catch than a field full of feral felines.

Splittens™

2010-01-18T19:28:00.000-08:00

My Christmas present to myself was a pair of winter gloves. Been riding serious for 15 years now, and I'm embarrassed to say it took me this long to "invest" in a pair. I still couldn't get myself to fork up $60+ for some Gore or Pearl Izumi, so I happened upon these on sale (+ another 20% off!). The Louis Garneau Magma split mitten (splittens!) does a fine job of keeping the digits toasty. I wish the liner (Thinsulate) was removable, because the hands tend to get too warm around 40°, but all in all I am pleased with them. Thumb still gets a little chilly since it's left out there by itself, but only when temps get down in the 20°s.

So two years ago, my buddy Joe & I originally had a rule that we'd roll out on our morning rides if it was 40° or above. Last winter we bumped that down gradually & by the end of winter it was 35° & we still ride. Perhaps when the streets dry off, we can move that down to 30°?

On second thought, I have a date w/my bike & trainer at 10pm tonight, get wound up for an hour and then go shower & read a bit of Blood Meridian.

Neglected maintenance

2010-01-18T07:26:00.000-08:00

Need to be a little better @ blog maintenance! Mostly it's just been busy and cold and cold. Finally got out on the wet roads yesterday for 25mi. Trainer time has kept me feeling somewhat ready for race season, so the pavement felt easy, but I know I need to work on sprints more if I want to prepare for the early Spring crits. Officially joined the Bicycle Shack Racing squad so I'll be sporting the blue & green for 2010. Most of the fast Tuesday & Saturday group rides done with these guys in the past assures me that I'm in with the right group if I want to get better. Faster.

Speaking of blog maintaining, I need to do the same for my road bikes. Esp getting my old Santa Cruz Roadster tuned up as a good backup for the season in case the BMC goes down.

Anxious to see where I can take my fitness level if I seriously devote the effort. Right now it's obviously not into this site!

Enjoy your ride!

Theory of Weatherelativity...

2009-12-12T14:13:00.000-08:00

...states that sequential days spent considerably below 32°F will condition the mind & body to believe that a subsequent windy, misty, 36° day suddenly seems like splendid conditions to go for a bicycle ride.

Brushing up

2009-12-11T19:56:00.000-08:00

Got some fun bicycle paintings in the works right now! Working with a few ladies that are starting up a mountain bike touring co. for women. The painting will become their logo & I thinks it's gonna be cool! Then another painting that's going in a shop down in Tucson AZ. Sketching some ideas for the next Bicycle Times cover and below is a sneeky peek at some inside art for the next issue of Dirt Rag. I wish I would have done this piece larger (now that I'm done), but when I look at the finished piece it still makes me smile real big. Success!

Gonna sit on the trainer tomorrow morning for 90 min. Yeah!!!

No train(er) / No gain

2009-12-05T11:12:00.000-08:00

...but what a pain.

Finally got the trainer out for the first time and it was all the suck I remember it to be. Actually, it wasn't THAT bad but it's just boring. I bought the movie Tropic Thunder at the HyVee pre-used DVD $3.99 bin so that should give me a better 1.5 hr workout next time! Basically it comes down to two choices for winter riding: Deal with the excitement-level shrinkage & ride the trainer indoors; or deal with the other shrinkage and go ride in the cold.

Here's to a mild winter!!!

A little Monday Music...

2009-11-30T11:39:00.000-08:00

Early resolution

2009-11-29T08:13:00.000-08:00

Of course this one is bike-related. Aside from learning web-design and other personal growth blah blah... I have a goal to become a Category 3-level in bicycle racing. I did a couple Cat5 races this summer, felt good & wanted to get more racing in to get my 10 mass-starts in so I can move up to Cat4 where I should be but weekends always seemed to get full of other more important activities. So next year, I will line up at my first races as a 4 and have to earn 20pts in order to make it to 3 before season ends. I think if I stay healthy and launch into spring in the same fitness levels I am ending November with, I'll be good. Been riding with a bunch of Bicycle Shack racers and from seeing their 2009 results it looks like they've been placing well in local races. Time to kick it up a notch and reach the 3s before I turn 40 in a couple years.

Here's me in my tshirt (left; yellow tire; forgot my jersey!) mixin' it up with some young cat fivers in the 2009 Tour of Lawrence campus circuit race. Stinkin' 6th that day because I ran off the road (actually a sidewalk) into the mud while attacking on the last climb. Went from first to sixth pretty fast. Legs felt really good that day, too. Learning experience!

2009-11-21T12:59:00.000-08:00

November, for the most part, is treating us very kindly. Got out & rode again this morning. Been getting around 100mi per week in and still haven't dusted off the dreaded trainer.

Resting? Don't mind if I do...

Loons

One of the reasons I get up early:

I shot a deer using a Canon SD1100

High Life indeed.

Forty One Morning Glories

2009-10-25T12:08:00.000-07:00

It's tough to get motivated on my own to get these pre-dawn (start time) rides in, so it's great to have a great friend & close neighbor that shares a similar obsession with cycling & fitness. Not sure what exactly happened as I rolled up to his house it was dark. No lights on. He's swung by my house too many mornings where he's witnessed the same — my alarm blaring & me sleeping through it — or completely forgetting to set it. Anyway I could tell Joe wouldn't be joining me this morn, so I could turn around and ride the mile back to my house and get some needed sleep or head out into the dark chill and get a few miles in.

In my head I planned a familiar route, but one we hadn't done in some time. 20-25mi loop around Longview Lake. Well, things felt good after the sun began to peek up. I went off route a bit to throw in a steep, long hill. Then another. Then instead of making a left I decided to go right. It was just so good to be out, the rising sun now beginning to radiate a bit of warmth on my clothes. Legs felt great! My cyclocomputer is fried so I have only in my head an estimate on miles I've put in, but I figured as I rolled close to home that it "felt" like about 30. Google-pedometered my route after I got home and it ended up a little more than 41.

Bikes fly when you're having fun. See you out there next time, Joe!

A few pics:

$0.00 fill-up!

road camouflage

treat!

Tunnel of love. More miles just like this, thankyouverymuch.

Stop & smell the guard rail:

Cometh the Grackles

2009-10-23T09:57:00.000-07:00

For the past 3 years, we've had an annual flock of thousands of grackles descend upon out back yard and completely pick clean every last crabapple from our little tree. They are swift and efficient and fantastically noisy... then on their way.

I think they'll be here soon.

I feel the grackles may be arriving in other aspects of my life as well. I sense a swooping change. Not sure if it's welcome change or something I may resist, but I have this premonition that things are going to get real noisy and real chaotic soon. As always, there will be opportunity within the maelstrom — if anything to just enjoy the spinning for a while. Maybe, like the grackle, I'll use this as a necessary refueling in order to reach another destination.

I'm sure I'll treat this like I always do, and just approach each challenge like a good squirrel would.

Life's short. Have fun with it.

Air & Space Strategery

2009-10-21T18:11:00.000-07:00

Took the family up to Omaha zoo a couple weekends ago and decided to swing by the Strategic Air & Space museum in nearby Ashland, NE. The kids were anxious to get out of the van after 3+ hours, and I, of course, am always excited to look at aircraft of any kind. Jack was impressed by the rockets on display outside the front entrance, then stopped and stared in awe at the SR-71 Blackbird on dramatic static (stratamic?) display immediately as you walk into the front atruim. I'll surely go on a little more about this when I have some time, but I figure I'd start small & work my way up.

There were some cool airfield dioramas that I found some interesting .75" high subjects:

...and continuing with my fascination for small, cute things, I found this little XF-85 Goblin (Parasite - quite a fitting name). It was under a wonderfully massive B-36. Learned a little about it at the museum but my daughter was ready to move on & get out of there. "Boring" was uttered several times. My boy Jack loved every second of it. Fascinating little plane.

> Some video of the Goblin <

Sarge!

More to come later...

Hit the Headwind.

2009-10-20T17:55:00.000-07:00

Love Autumn for its color. Its temperature. The lengthening shadows & contrast of the low sun angle. But warmish (71°F) days usually come at a price.

Wind.

I try to look at headwinds as an opportunity to "pretend" I'm doing a sustained climb, since we really don't have them in this terrain. Fortunately, there are plenty of roadside distractions to keep my mind off the wind & the lactic acid. Eventually we always get that massive tailwind and our load is dumped and we feel light as a feather. Maybe even get some good reading or thinking done in the meantime. Ahhhhhhh...

Enjoy your ride.

It is right to give Him thanks and glaze.

2009-10-20T17:43:00.000-07:00

When a day starts out like this, no subsequent events can ruin it.

Saw another rainbow on the way home. Magically delicious!