From Bummer, To Bad, To Worse

OK, so the title is the overall gist of how I am feeling this late Sunday evening, but honestly there was tons of good mixed in...

Early in the office Friday morning then Ira and I got in a good 2hrs on the Frisco. Weather was still nice. Friday afternoon we shut down the office and headed to SPR for two games at The Courts; my bro jumped in with us to check out Ian in action. My dad and mom, Cheri, Alexandra, and my grandma all showed up.

BUMMER - First game the boys looked a shade off and lost (to a team we easily beat earlier) by 1. Second game the kids looked way tired and ended up losing by 4. Tough night for all of us as I feel I let the little guys (and parents) down in the way I managed our game. Deb reassures me all was good and that always is good to hear from her as she shoots me straight (most of the time). Knocked out some McAlister's afterwards with the group then headed home.

Saturday morning Dale and I got in a nice 2:30hr road ride in the crisp early air. Got home and prepped the bike and gear for a run to STL. Jake threw in some running gear and he was quasi interested in the Bubba running race held at each Bubba 'cross race and seeing with what swag he could walk away.

BAD - First things first as the trip started off with another game at The Courts. The boys played great and for the life of them could not get a shot to fall (great shots, just didn't go in). I really need to emphasise how many GREAT shots we had and how the basket was CLOSED tight! We ended up losing this one by 6 or 7, which is still amazing to me as they played so well.

So on the road we are up I44 and around 5:30 or so we pull into Mandee's house (Deb's sister) in Wildwood. Deb's mom and dad are visiting Mandee (and crew) this week so it was a houseful of Appleby blood. Mandee whipped up some great White Chicken Chili and fixings. After dinner Jake hooked up with Mandee's nephews (Jake loves hanging out with them) for some hot wings and SNL. The adults didn't move from the table the rest of the evening as the conversation and laughter continued. Later on a little Texas Hold'em broke out and the end had Deb taking me out for the overall win (seriously, DEB?!?!?!?). Turned in close to 1am and was hoping for a late wake up.

Sunday morning gets started around 8am (nice sleep in) and after a brief conversation with Jake (who was 7/8th still asleep) it was decided he would skip the run and I would race the A event as it was the last event of the Bubba day and that way it gained maxi um time with Deb's family. Deb and her sis jumped on their bikes and got in a good hour in the cool morning air. Coffee and various breakfast items were taken in while good conversation was had. Around noon we loaded up the gear and crew and headed to Mt. Pleasant Winery in Augusta, MO for Bubba #8 (and my first of the year).

Mt. P is an incredible place as Deb and I commented several times that we are coming back to that community for a do-nothing weekend of lounging and riding some Katy Trail. Alright enough of our plans; the venue was super cool and the course layout was super tough. Climbing, off-camber (everything), and riding through an indoor bar was the highlights. Nice turnout for a beautiful day.

I did the quick registration and course preview and caught Ira as he just finished the C race. I think he was 9th overall and all he kept saying was "Crap that was tough!". I kitted up while the crew made their way to a good viewing spot and I got out on the side roads for a little warm up. Ran into JY on the course and we chatted for a bit (super nice guy if you haven't met him yet) and then it was time to toe the line. I had no expectations other than getting in a solid hour of hard racing and fully understood I would be lapped, but hopefully not twice in 1 hour (which is 20 minutes longer than what I race in the KC area).

WORSE - Gun goes off and get a decent start and around the 2nd turn of the first lap my foot slides out of the pedal. I loose momentum and reach my foot to reconnect and it is not happening. I quickly dismount and see that there is only a pedal axle/spindle and no pedal body. I take a quick step back to get a better grasp on what the heck just happened and find the pedal body is still connected to my shoe. My day is done... Just a goofball thing that I hadn't checked in some time (I will let you know tonight I went over every bolt on the rig and everything is snugged up nicely). Screw on the end of Crank Bros. Egg Beater simple backed out and needed to be re-inserted and tightened - simple fix, bad timing. I shouldered the bike, got the crew's attention, loaded up, and got the heck out of Bubba-land. Here are a couple clips from the Bubba #8 to give a glimpse of the course layout; the first is (provider unknown) from youtube of a C racer doing his start lap and the second from JY of an awesome crash (1/2 through):



I was super disappointed (not mad, just disappointed as this is only a hobby) as I was on the end of a great rest/recovery week and an hour of intensity was just what I was looking for to start off a couple week block 'til state.

All in all it was a great trip to STL; Jake hung out with his crew, fun visit with family, the youngsters had fun together, and it just happened to end with a bummer. On the way home I thought I would get in a good hour run and some type of exertion, but after a 3 1/2 hr drive I simply lost the motivation and settled for a maintenance session with the Blue. Monday will be the start of what I expect to be a 10 day stretch of good workouts.