MO State MTB Champs; If It Ain't Broke...

...the classic 'Ain't Broke Don't Fix It' phase was perfect for this past weekend's Down and Dirty race in Warsaw, MO (also the MO State MTB Champs).   Mac and the Truman Bike crew always put their heart and souls into each of the mtb events they host and this was a typical A+ rating for them.  Weeks leading to this the Midwest received a constant dosing of rain, but the 5.8 mile section of trail they selected was not only super fast, but also incredibly dry and mud free.

So back up a couple weeks and I started thinking about throwing gears on the Trek Rig for some upcoming marathon races.  Nice thing about the Rig is the ease of moving from SS to gears and back.  So I switched up and did a handful of gravel rides on the gears and all worked well; even got 1 short trail ride at Sac and except for one chain drop it worked well.  Got the chain catcher dialed in a little better (so I thought) after Sac and figured I was ready for racing.

Sunday morning did the short drive up to Warsaw (1:10hr drive is as local as it gets for us) on a nice cool and dry morning.  Met up with fellow 360 Racing teammates Doug, Terry, Dale, Lyle, and Emily who were all racing their respective age/category events while I toed the line for the marathon.

Pretty small field, but not light on talent.  Long and short: felt pretty good fitness wise in the first lap, but two dropped chains and a Crank Bro Egg Beater pedal crushed on a rock had me chasing hard.  Figured on a five lap race for a little over 3+ hours so settled into a good rhythm for the haul.  Was in forth 1/4 way into the 2nd lap and chain drop number 3 and chain catcher jammed into ring had me simply call it a day; frustrated...

Three years I have raced various SS, open, and marathon events in single speed mode and have had decent success without one single mechanical, so why the heck did I change something up when it wasn't necessary?!?!?!?  Got home, threw all the geared stuff in a box and got the Rig back in SS mode for the upcoming races.  I am a decent mtb'er and love using it to hone handling skills and building base for 'cross, but have never had visions of grandeur so maybe I got caught up in wanting to try and be a 'fast guy' racing instead of riding the way I enjoy (SS).  Oh well, plenty more events coming up.

On the home front, the Saturday before the State race was Darion's 'Gotcha Day'; three years since he walked into our home and hearts.  Deb was with Ian at a basketball tourney in Arkansas (went 2-2) so Jake and I snagged the young man for a fun day.  Started off at D's favorite eat place - IHOP (have no idea why he loves it so), then off to indoor mini-golf, then to Sequiota Park for a huge game of Hide-n-Seek and trail wandering, and wrapped it up with a long bike ride in Bolivar.  It was a great day and D and I loved having Jake with us.

Always funny to see what he chooses to wear next.

Standard breakfast for him when at IHOP; big
question is which to start first...



The kid loves the TRX and it strong for
being pint sized

The night before Ian's Arkansas tourney he played in a three game shoot out with his school team (who are not the most talented group) so to ease the pain I took he and a teammate to Hurts Donut on the way home.  They were impressed with the 'whopper'.

Killing Time...

 

...until mid-July; that's when a true training schedule starts and focus is made.  Been riding consistent, but nothing of significant intensity.  Lately its been raining just enough to keep our local trails wet so most everything is on the road or Frisco.  Also, the humidity is cranking up... ugh!!!!

 

 

Meanwhile the Jones crew has been plenty busy with sports.  Darion is full into baseball, finished basketball camp and is also in summer school.

 

Little D is 2nd row 2nd from the left.  He played great

Ian is skipping summer school.  Basketball is in full flight as his travel team (the Ambush) has recently won a couple tourneys and also playing well at The Courts.  This month he is playing several shootouts with his school team and looks like he'll play with the high school JV (he's going into 8th grade) at a couple of their shoot outs. 

Pic of tourney champs with Anthony Tolivar - local
kid playing in the NBA

Jake is home for the summer and is riding with me from time to time along with working his JOB.  Fun having him on the bike.

Tons of work on the house and yard fills my days and weekends.  We put in a sidewalk on the back of the house from the driveway to the back door.  Happy with how it turned out.  Several other smaller projects always seem to need attention...  I love yard work (no joke, I really do).

Threw down grass seed and straw today; hopefully
filled in by the end of July

Backyard court is getting full attention as it seems most nights either Ian is out there shooting, he and I are playing 2 on 2 with the neighbors, or high school/college kids are playing.  Fortunate to have this and putting it to good use.

Race wise:  this weekend is the MO State race at Warsaw, will do either St. James (66 Rumble) or St. Joe the following weekend, then the KS State mtb race in Lawrence, KS after that (all marathon class).  That will wrap us base riding before two weeks laying low then full on 'cross.  Can't wait, so ready!

Wilson Lake was...

...way outside of my expectations!  Leading up to it teammates and those who raced/ridden these mtb trails raven on and on about not missing the Kansas Fat Tire Festival so with a couple choices for the past weekend (Velotek GP in Lawrence) how could I pass it up. 

Met up with 360 Racing teammate Doug Long and his friend Wes Watkins Saturday morning in the KC area and headed west of Wilson Lake (past Salina and just short of Hays, KS).  Driving into the state park all you see is a lake and tons (and I mean tons) of single track carved in all over the place.    Met up with Lyle (another teammate), set up camp and hopped on the bikes to explore a little and loosen the legs.

I decided to race the marathon event Saturday evening and then 'race' Sunday's XC also.  Since I knew I would not contend for a podium spot on Sunday with the big boys (who come to find out have big toy HAULERS) I was there to get in more base mileage so double it up was on tap.

Lined up in a pretty light marathon field on a 12 mile course and was really hoping to only have to do three laps.  I rode the Trek Rig single speed with a 32/18 and it worked out pretty good.  I led for most of the 1st lap riding a fairly easy tempo in the 85*+ temps knowing I did not want to burn up early and this allowed a group of four of us to stay together.  By the end of lap 1 I was about 30 seconds behind the leader, but the bad news was we were going quite a bit below an hour per lap so 4 laps (48 miles) was on tap.  Half way through the second lap I passed the leader and as I got more familiar with the loop I also physically was going stronger.  Continued to ride steady and by the end I won with a pretty decent gap.  Day one finished.

Had a great night sleep under the stars and woke ready for day two (25 mile XC).  Legs felt like I had raced the night before and a little cooked from the temps.  Relaxing morning chatting with the crew and then it was time to line up.

Sunday's course took in a ton more trail then the Saturday race and was WAY more technical.  Temps with in the low 90's, but a light breeze kept it manageable

Jumped in the Cat 1 Masters 35-49 event with some fast folks riding the SS again.  Felt pretty good for the first 30 minutes then the prior day's race set in.  I knew it would and was neither frustrated or worried about it.  Had an absolute blast riding a great trail and ended up either 4th or 5th (didn't check results) and over 70 miles of racing for the weekend. 

Teammates Doug, Terry, Lyle, and Emily rode great and several saw the podium. 

I'll be back as this place is now a staple on my race calendar.

That wraps up a great three week block of training/racing and am enjoying a relaxed lounge week of recovery/rest.  Really like where I am at prepping for the 'cross season; strength, weight, bike handling are all ahead of the years past.  This is going to be fun...

OMBA - Nice to Race Close

I can't tell you how nice it is drive twenty minutes to a race start.  The reason I bring this up is it only happens a couple times for us SWMO folks a year.

This past weekend the OMBA was held on Saturday which worked great as Ian had a two day basketball tourney in Carthage, MO and his first game wasn't until that afternoon.

Lot's of regional races going on so the fields were lighter than typical, but a decent bunch of guys showed up for the marathon event.  360 Racing teammate Doug Long and local mtb guru Mark Gullett were on hand and would make for a good race. 

Three hours on a 5.7 mile loop (the smoothest sections of Sac were used) had me guessing we'd easily knock out six laps (and we did).  After a good start I led into the woods, but pulled over letting Mark take the lead as he is so much smoother on single track and I was holding him up a bunch.

Course was wet (not good on the tons of roots and rocks) for the first half then dried as the sun came out making it a much faster and way less technical.  At the end of three laps Mark was gone up front and was told Doug wasn't too far behind.  I felt better and smoother the longer the race went and at the start of the sixth lap the folks at the start/finish line said Mark was only 45 seconds up; time to ramp it up even more.  The last lap was the hardest I've ridden in quite a while and with about 1.5 miles to go I caught Mark.  I jumped around him on a short punchy climb and buried myself for the next minute opening a huge gap.  I was fortunate to hold that gap to the finish and snag 1st place.  Mark came in shortly after followed by Doug. 

Once again I had a blast on the ol' SS hardtail as it was perfect for that course. 



Jumped to the front prior to the single track; shortly
after I yielded that position to Mark

Cale and the Mercy-Kuat crew got us up on off the podium in record time and I immediately hit the road to meet up with Deb and D to catch Ian's games. 



Always fun getting an 'envelop' at the end of a race...

Fun weekend watching ball and spending a ton of time with D in the hotel pool.  Ian's crew finished the tourney in 2nd; losing in the Championship game by 1pt. 

Trying to decide between the 5.5hr drive to Lake Wilson in Kansas for the Kansas Fat Tire Festival (Saturday afternoon marathon race and Sunday a 29 mile Open XC race) or put on the 'skinny tires' and race the 2 day 3 event VeloTek GP in Lawrence (2.75 hours).  Pros and cons to each.  Probably decide on Wednesday or Thursday...



April Means...

Time to pin some numbers on here and there and actually ride with a little focus.

For me this is the time of year when I start looking for a handful of 3+ mtb races in order to get some good base miles while working to improve bike handling.  Once again I am riding the 30lbs (I have no idea, just feels that way compared to what I see around the start lines...) Trek Rig in full single speed mode.  Every year I think I should get something sexy and maybe even with gears then I go ride/race, have tons of fun on the 'girlfriend' I got, and simply pedal.

Up first was last weekend's Feel The Burn endurance race in Warsaw, MO.  Race was 40+ miles and going into it I knew my legs had around 3hrs of solid riding and on top of that I really needed to get back home early on race day.  So, after 3 laps and just a hair under 3 hrs I pulled up the officials and told them I was out and heading home.  They let me know I was in 2nd place in the Cat 1 40+ class, but that was not of concern as I got a solid workout and was heading home.

Fun day, rough course, little muddy here and there with more climbing then I remembers from years before.  Big fans of Mac and his crew at Truman Lake Bikes.

Good turnout

It's hard to get a good spot into single track when the start
is on an open downhill and I was riding a SS (me in 2nd wheel)

 

 

 

Up next was this past weekend's Bone Bender in Lawrence, KS.  Not much elevation, but plenty of rocks and open asphalt (which the later is never fun on a SS).  Temps were warm, but overly hot and with a new 37 miles course (no longer 3hr/6hr) I was thankful for a light breeze and some cloud cover. 

 

Good attendance and great bunch of guys (and gals).  Chris Locke and crew do a great job on this and other events. 

 

Rode pretty well and by day's end I was 2nd in the SS class on 14th or 15th overall.  The kid who won the SS from Ethos is a brutal machine (very impressive).  Fun 3hr 23min day.

 

Loving the new 360 kit (and team)

G Hamilton (winner) is a monster on the SS

 

So after the race it was time to meet the 360 Racing team at a little 'kick off' shindig in KC.  Great bunch of folks and super stoked for the upcoming 'cross season, but in the meantime I'll look for some more mtb and a handful of road (no crits this year) races to build up some fitness.

Little Trip to China

The other day my brother asked if I wanted to tag along on a business trip he had in Beijing, China; took about 1/2 second for me to answer 'yes' (and that was twice as long as it took Deb to give me the go ahead). 

So, two Friday's ago we headed off and after a flight over the Polar Cap we landed and a little adventure began.  Nice people, clean city, horrible smog, and good food. 

Below is a little photo dump:



Flying over the Polar Cap

Lama Temple (slightly disappointed not to see an actual lama - ha)

Entrance to Forbidden City (Palace Museum)

Tiananmen Square and Forbidden City

Temple of Heaven

The Great Wall is one of the most impressive things
I've seen in my life

 

'13 Recap

Quick little recap of our 2013 family and racing highlights: 

First and foremost is the addition (adoption in February) of my youngest son Darion.  Incredible how over the past 2.5 years we have meshed perfectly into each others lives.  Lots of folk comment how fortunate he is to have us, but I mainly see it as we are the fortunate ones.

 

 

Ian played a ton of basketball and they finished the season 37-8.  I coached and we had a lot of fun.  Ian was an instant fan of sushi after his introduction this year.

 

 

 

Jumped in a couple road and mtb events, but not nearly as many as the years before as rehab on my back was a slow process (but successful by 'cross).

 

 

Early summer got crazy busy for us as we took the boys to Disney right after purchasing a new (to us) home.  Started moving not long after returning from Florida. 

 

 

 

 

Jake started his Junior year at SBU studying middle school math education and continued a relationship with a quality girlfriend (we like her lots).

 



 

With a healed up back it was time to get my 'cross on and it was by far the most fun I've had in years.  I embraced each start with a smile just happy being back competing after a year off.  Two significant injuries (quad and thighs) just weeks before the first races set me back a bit at the beginning, but once it got going the season went pretty well as I won a handful of local events and podiumed at several others.  Topped it off with a State Championship before calling it a season.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Deb and I hopped on a boat for a week in 80's (temps) while most of the Midwest was in the 20's. 

Christmas in the new house was great.
 

 

 

What's 2014 gonna look like?  For starters I was fortunate to join 360* Racing (also BikeSource), which for years I have I have respected as a competitive, classy, and well supported crew.  Motivation level is higher than ever for a season riding in support on the road, mixing it up on the SS mtb, which will all build toward another strong season of 'cross.