Been pretty dull as of late. Rain has kept us off the trails the last couple weeks. Pics of new trail we put in at Tranq. Very challenging, very fun. Can't wait till they get packed in and settled. Section is gonna rock!

booooring....

finally got rain, so i snuck out to tranq for a bit Wed. Rode the hilly field side doing big gear low rpm grinders. My knees are killin me, but it is good strength work. Need to get on my a-game before the season is over. Actually, this season is a write off but i'd like to have some fitness going into winter so i don't suck in the spring...

Race prep went well. Ran out there last week and was railing.

Got to the race Saturday and decided to not get to serious. Big mistake. Who ever says that the start doesn't matter is on crack. I rolled out in last in no hurry and picked a couple peeps off on the first climb. Got stuck behind a guy that hadn't pre-rode and was struggling with the trail. By time we got by the leaders were long gone and there was a conga line forming behind him. Feel bad tho, someone passed him and immediately crashed and took him out. Once i got open trail i tried to see how many spots i could grab. The trail was kinda greasy due to no rain and a dusty trail. I got some people on the climbs and more on the descents. Got caught by the guy from earlier and we traded spots thru the race. Realized i lost my 2nd water bottle 1/2 way thru the 2nd lap and ran the rest of the race with no water. I backed it down and held my spot. Mid pack finish is ok in my book.

Ran Platte wed night and had a good time. Quasi's didn't hook as well as hoped but it was more rider error than tire issues. I need to ride out there more often to get the pucker factor down and just let it flow. Need to force a bigger gear too. I could have rode several laps at the pace we were running without any worry. Having gears is kinda nice at times....

busy, busy...

Trailwork at tranq is aboot whooped. Got a few things to touch up tomorrow and might head to Manawa for some work if needed. I'd really rather ride tho. Got the flat bars and longer stem on the Sycip last week and gave them a whirl at Schram. Worked very well climbing and on the flats. Descending isn't bad, just have to on your game. Got the quasi-motos mounted today and am anxious to try them out. Race is a week from today and i'm really not ready. Might just do it to support the scene and cruise the race. Who knows, my competitive side probably won't let that happen...

Wonder how the bro is doing at the Tour of KC...

another fun day...

Got up early and headed to tranq to get a jumpstart on trail day. Got a couple hours in before the crew got there and ended up working till 11:30. Tried to get a lap in but had nasty arm cramps and gave up after a 1/2 lap. Might go in tomorrow and finish a few things up we didn't get to. Dunno, it is midnight and still 90+ degrees with no relief till Tues. Got 2 weeks before the race. Riding might be more important at this time but i don't know if i'm going to race or not. I'm going to work the beginner/junior race so i can cheer Kaylie on and get some pics. Ugh, wish M would get done with her babysitting gig so i can pick her up. I'm shelled....

busy week...

Got in a buncha laps at Schram with the bike way guys wed night. Went out Thursday night and rode with Dale and some of the local pro's. Actually hung in with them for a 1/2 lap and then got spit out the back. Rode another lap after with Dale and got to chat a bit. That dude is so wicked on his fixie. It is truly jedi the way he clears logs and rails descents with that thing.

Tomorrow morn is the tranq work day. Going to head out early and try and fix a few things that the trail workers don't need to deal with. It's going to take some time as it is to get the couple sections benched in. Wanna get stuff done now before the 110 heat index Sunday....

sweet, brought the kids car home and wanted to have the truck home as well, so i grabbed the bike a rode to work to pick it up. 30 minute commute on a bike just cruising. Not too shabby. Only one freak tried to kill me, so not a bad ride. Rolled to tranq and rode half a lap afterwards. Saw some tweaking that needed to be done on the downhill. Parked the bike and grabbed the mcleod to fix things up. Soft, damp dirt moves so much better than the concrete that i usually try to dig. Rode it to test and it rails. It is a true, no brakes section now. Some more tweaking to be done and we will be good to go...

Time to get the punk from work. Can't wait for him to get his license. Then i can commute more!

funagain..funapalooza..funigin..whateva...

Hot, ick, more liquids! Finished the downhill at Tranq tonight. Hot, sticky, buggy. Got to chat with Dale for a bit. Trail is close to being done. A little more left for the trail day. Ought to be short and sweet and get some riding in.

more fun...

Got out to tranq early to get some work done before the heat got bad. 4 hours of benching and shaping later, i was cooked. Got alot done but still needed to finish the downhill. Came home, cleaned up and took the kids over to the ex's. Loaded the bike and mcleod thinking i would touch up a bit and head out for a ride. A couple of hours of working on the downhill and i was spent from the heat. Figured i'd roll a lap, wrong. Half way thru i started cramping and my body was fried from swinging that mcleod for 6 hours. Duh, should have just rode this afternoon but things need to get done before the race. Still have more to do but it is going to have to wait till the heat backs off a bit.

Punks car runs. Going to finish it up tomorrow and start driving it. Hope his drum set and everything else we haul fits in it. Pretty nice lil rig for what i've got in it. 3 weeks till school starts. He really needs to get his license soon!

fun, fun, fun...

Swung by Tranq Thursday night to check things out and do a bit of weed eating and tree trimming. Parked on the iceplex side and wandered out. All done...damn, Doug is good. Went to the other side and ran into the man himself. I guess someone got hurt on a off trail rut last week so he asked me to fix it. Ended up re-benching the last downhill. Going to head out tomorrow and finish that mess up and start on some bench work in the prairie section. Trying to get things ready for the race in a couple of weeks. Should be getting me ready but gotta give the home trail some love. Hope we get more riders out of it. It is hands down the best maintained trail in town this summer.

Honda parts finally showed up today. Can't believe it took a week to get rings/bearings for a d16. Got her built and running today. Going to go in tomorrow aft and finish it up so we can start driving it next week. Little bugger runs pretty good. Gotta get better mileage than the short bus....

it's engine building time! Bought the punk a civic with a blown engine last week. Got the engine pulled and it is killed. Rod thru the pan. Replacements are $1000+ for worn out 100k mile engines. Found out all the d16 honda engines use the same short block. Pulled the vtec head off the old engine, replaced the bent valves and did a valve job on 'er. Bought a non vtec engine for $300 and pulled it down. Slapping new rings/bearings in tomorrow and hopefully have time to assemble everything and get it back in the car. $850 for a fresh engine isn't too shabby considering what the used junk is going for. Might try and sell the old non vtec stuff and make a little change back. Dang engine from the boneyard is spotless. Says alot for honda quality. Pretty sweet when a 170K engine looks like a 10K engine inside. I'll take the camera in tomorrow and take some pics of the progress. Like anyone cares, but atleast this way maybe the punk will see how much work is going into getting his car running.

Wanna get close tomorrow so i can ride Wed! The Bike Way ride at Schram. Ugh, that place freakin sucks. They don't wanna go to platte because they have some newbs coming along...

got out today at Manawa to try and measure up some stuff for a new skills area i'm writing a proposal for. Totally unrideable. Gotta give the trail crew credit. They are getting stuff chopped up but leaving the trail blocked to try and keep people off of it. After 45 minutes of trying to get back where i wanted to be, i said screw it and left.

Headed over to Swanson to continue tweaking the bike to get it where i want to be. First lap with low pressures sucked, to much drag. Decided to go back for a fresh bottle and decided to flip the stem and bump up the tire pressures. Holy crap, sooo much better. Climbing, handling and turning are all very much improved. Gotta try some different gloves or something. Hands and wrists are really taking a beating on a rigid bike. Either way, got some laps in and feel better about the bike again.

This week will be spent building the engine for my kids car and getting it going. Gotta get him driving again so he can finally get his license. Feel bad for him but he needs to learn to drive whatever, not just small cars. I'm sure it will come with time...

Rode Swanson Sunday but wasn't feeling it. Rode a lap with lead legs and gave up. Hit Tranq later and kept plowing the front end everywhere i went. Playing with tire pressures helped some on the traction issues but felt like someone strapped a 10lb weight on the bars. Gotta find the happy medium between traction and rolling resistance. Think i am going to try the quasi-motos tubeless and see it is any better. I could do the super knee dragging turns on the 29er, just can't do it here. I'm nervous laying it over deep in the turns because i can hear the tires sliding before i can dive in. Might try a longer stem and see if it helps. Really wondering if it is the rigid thing too. Maybe the reba gave me enough bounce in the corners to dig in instead of skipping across the bumps. I hate to mess with it too much. The bike rails the straights, climbs like a scalding monkey on crack and can be flicked around like a bmxer. Maybe i just suck too. Time to grow a set and quit farting around....

woo, got some laps in @ tranq Wed. Tried riding the Sycip like an SS and ripped off some better times. Played with tire pressures and got better hook in the turns. Going to keep playing till i can get a good balance of grip and rolling resistance. That and i need to quit being a puss and ride that sucker into the corners. Can't afford to screw up the body again has me not pushing it into the corners like i used to. Need a new helmet, shoes n gloves. Everything is cracked, broken or just worn out. Either way, got 2 laps in at a decent pace and without stopping. Probably hit Platte for the trail day this weekend...

Permission to ride granted!!!!!!!!!

No more than one lap, in the easiest 2 gears i have. Then i can either start adding laps or using harder gears. Rode a 3/4 lap Wed. Got a full lap in this morning @ tranq and a 3/4 lap in this evening before fireworks. Hit my g-out waaay to fast tonight and about bought it. I wasn't ready and tried to choke up right before the jump. About went over the bars big time... I tossed it into warp mode the rest of the way down the hill. Holy crap, that bike is a hoot with a 36X12 spun out. Fastest i've been on a bike in forever...

wooo...i'm must be ready to croak. 166lbs this morning. Can't eat, makes me sick. Last day of the meds yesterday. Hope my body clears itself quickly. I wanna freakin ride!!!!!!!!!

Finally got power back on after 3 days. Had to toss everything in the fridge/freezer. Didn't really miss the power tho. I need some new books to read. Wish Dan Brown would come out with another book. I like his stuff but it isn't much the 2nd time around.

I wanted to do a bit of trail work today, but my gut won't let me. Can't get more than a 1/2 hour between bathroom breaks. Wonder how Tranq is doing after the storms. Hope i can get out there and ride next week...

one good thing about being sick, weight loss!! Down to 172 lbs this morning from 188. Guess having the scoots 30 times a day is paying off. Off the meds Sat, hoping to ride easy on Sunday. If that goes ok, then it is time to ease into some milage and start commuting a bit. Really can't wait to hit Swanson and Tranq on the Sycip and see how she really goes without killing myself.

what happened to cheap cars? looking for a beater for the kid and can't find anything. A 15 yr old, 130K+ miled car for 3 grand? WTF? I wouldn't have paid 500 bux for this junk years ago and now it is gold. Where was this big money when i was selling my cars? Hope i can dig up something by time he gets his license...

yay, back in the Er again. They aren't sure what i have but they gave the monster drugs to try and kill what ever it is. If this doesn't work in the next 8 days then it is cat scans on sinus and some more tests on the lungs. I guess the scarring from the flu last time left my lungs such a mess that the x-rays aren't working out. If this doesn't pan out, i get a series of shots and iv meds followed by a month of shots and drugs. Doc is kinda getting freaked out that he can't kill what's making me sick. Nothing shows up in blood, strep, whooping cough or any other test they run. If i was a horse, i'd have been shot long ago.... Can't wait for this series of bills to roll in. I'm already 6K in debt from this cold, what's next....