Field of Dreams

Growing up for me was a life wrapped around baseball. Playing it, watching it, listening to it, talking about it, and dreaming about being great at it. My father was a good player and continued playing baseball up until I was the age of 4 or 5. I can recall traveling with him to games and marveling at how anyone could become as good at a sport as he was. I followed in his footsteps and became a decent player, but made a decision to stop playing during high school. Something involving a dispute with my coach helped me in my decision. However, baseball still holds a special place in my heart. As a former catcher, I can still recall the smells of the leather on the mask, the leather of the glove, or even the dirt, itself. Certain things take me back. The movie Field of Dreams takes me back to all of those same places. If you didn't grow up in a 'baseball' house like mine, perhaps it doesn't hold the same meaning for you. The movie stirs all of those emotions in me.

So how does this parallel biking? I don't really know other than biking now occupies the same focus for me in this stage of my life that baseball once did. The playing it, watching it, talking about it, etc. Heck at the ripe old age of 42, I'm even competing in it. Problem is, I'm not nearly as good at it as I want to be. I keep thinking I'm progressing well, then I ride with stronger riders and see just how much I need to learn.

Now, the clicking of the cleats into the pedals or the smell of my helmet, replace the older sensations I had for baseball. Perhaps, mountain biking is my new baseball and any trailhead is my Field of Dreams.

The world isn't flat!

Let's recap my last half dozen mountain bike rides. SIUE, flat tire. Greensfelder, flat tire. Castlewood, 2 flat tires. Queeny Park hill intervals, no flats. Al Foster with my son, flat tire (no spares and rode the rim for 4 miles.) Cape race, NO FLATS!!!

What is the trick? Who knows? maybe it was just bad karma. I don't really know. I do know that I pinch flatted 3 times, had a valve stem tear off on another, punctured a tire and tube, too. All in, only the pinch flats seems avoidable. Seeking the wisdom from the 'net, I tried a couple of experiments. I added more pressure to my tires and I also tossed in a little talc between the tire and the tube. The theory in this is that the talc allows the tube to not rub as tightly against the inside of the tire wall. I don't know if it really serves that purpose, but I didn't flat at Cape, so the feedback is positive so far. And besides, it smells nice and who doesn't want their tires smelling nice??

I've also been running the Kenda Karma 1.9's on the Gunnar. In preparation for the rocky terrain of Greensfelder, yesterday I tossed on a Maxxis Ignitor on the front and a Schwalbe Little Albert on the back. Mikey from the shop is running the same set-up and he seems to like it. Earlier this summer, I was running the Ignitor in front with a NanoRaptor on the rear and I think that set-up was killer. I chose the Little Albert this time because it has a slightly beefier tread pattern and I think the Greensfelder course will be perfect for that design. For the season finale at Spanish Lake, I've heard that I should consider road tires, as the course is fairly devoid of the technical parts. I've always wondered about running a set of 'cross tires on the Gunnar for a race. Maybe I should?? Although with my luck, I'd most likely discover the world is flat!

3rd race, 3rd place

Photos borrowed from Bob Arnold at www.drj-Racing.com


(Start of race: Riders L-R unknown, Zak Hafner, Andy Stewart, me.)

23 years ago. at the ripe old age of 20, Cape Girardeau was where I attended my freshman year of college. A little more than 23 years ago, it was also where I learned firsthand that fat, drunk, and stupid was no way to go through life. Little did I know that it would take another 22 years to realize I could fix two of the three! (The reader may decide which two.) Feeling in a little better shape that when I left 23 years ago, I returned to Cape with a little unfinished business.

The day was hot, but tolerable, and the singletrack was dusty, but quick. I arrived just as the expert race was lining up. They had a good turnout and Chris Ploch was successful in holding off Travis Thrower and Tim Kakouris. Chris looked really strong and once he broke Travis and TK, it was off to the races and the victory.

I continued to talk smack with Aggro Jo and he dished it right back. It was all good and we were both pumped up for a good race. Little did we know there was a local snake lying in the grass ready to strike both of us. Jo has been training hard and it shows, but Sunday, Andy Stewart (local guy from Cape) reigned supreme. All in we had a good race and finished Andy, Jo, and me going 1st, 2nd, and 3rd.

I felt good most of the day, but got gapped right near the start of the race. My pre-race plan of picking riders off through the first climb sort of blew up in my face. Aggro and Andy stayed near the front of the pack, but I still had several riders between us when I got caught between a rider who clogged up a hairpin right at the top of a short climb. That short time loss was all Andy and Jo needed to ride free and dual it out for the top spot. During the second climb, I could see Aggro and Andy halfway up the hill and briefly considered trying to bridge the gap. However, I figured it wouldn't be worth the effort, as they were riding very strong and would have dropped me as soon as I caught them. I then turned to see no one in sight behind me and decided to put it into cruise control and crank out for the final podium spot.

Overall, my goal before the race was to podium and I achieved my goal. Next up will be Greensfelder on 9/8 and I am shooting for another podium spot there. We'll see how it unfolds. Three races and finishing spots of 6th, 2nd, and 3rd. I need to work harder.


(First climb and I'm riding 4th from the back but not for long. The next time up this climb, I was in 3rd.)

Put up or shut up!

I love cycling! Specifically, competitive cycling. The pre-race prep of focus, diet, workouts, and my favorite smack talk!

The only problem with talking smack is that you have to back it up. Yeah, I'm a noob at this competitve cycling crap, but an old pro at talking smack. Always have been, always will be. However, I seem to have met my match with someone who shall remain nameless. Well, let me give you some hints...

He works for SIU-E
He has a blog called "Dammit Kate" at http://www.dammitkate.blogspot.com/
He is a damn good racer in the Beginner class
His handle is Aggro_Jo
His real name is Jo Wottowa.

Apparently he's quite a photoshop pro, too.

I guess it's time to put up or shut up?

Guns don't kill people...

Cats do!!!

Not as bad as this clown

"The Duct Tape" bandit. What an idiot. I guess he's never felt the pain of ripping an extremely large patch of hair out via tape, but he soon will. He attempted to rob a liquor store in this get up and when the worker tackled him he claimed they had the wrong guy. Again, what an idiot.

Last night, I had some dumb moments, but nothing even close to our above guest. I hooked up with Aggro Jo, Dick Racer, and Ricky Bobby for "Wednesday night with the Retards" at SIUE. We rolled out at 5pm and by 5:30pm, I had done 1 endo following a bad log jump and then snapped my chain trying to climb over some logs. All patched and ready to rock on, I flatted another 30 minutes later. The night was nothing extreme, but a good deal of smack talk and some good flowing and tempo riding. We headed onto campus to chill a little and watch Bobby clear a good 2 foot hop up while Dick tossed a tube into his tubeless, but flat, rear tire.

Back in the trail, I took a body slam while cruising along with Aggro and Bobby which left me a little dazed and confused. (More than normal.) The culprit was a small tree limb hiding in the shadows of some trailside plants. The limb grabbed my right pedal like an arresting cable on an aircraft carrier. Dusted off and vision cleared, we rolled on to our final obstacle of the night, a large log jump, which Bobby cleared in "Big Stud" fashion. I wish we had pics, because it was proper in every way.

All in 22 miles, 106 degree heat, in roughly 2 1/2 hours with 2 real hours of riding time. It does seem appropriate to count the real riding time because with this group, there's a lot of time spent jumping stuff multiple times, pretending to be Hans Rey, or sitting around talking smack while the rookie fat guy pieces his chain back together, fixes a flat, or dusts himself off from stupid mistakes. Albeit, mistakes not as stupid as wrapping his head in duct tape.

Sliders are for wimps!

My son, Collin; his friend, Grant; and me enjoying burgers at Cheeburger Cheeburger in Chesterfield for Collin's 10th birthday. Collin and Grant are enjoying the 1/2 pound burgers while yours truly is laying down the truth to a 20 oz. burger! Yes, I had a cherry milkshake and some french fries, to boot!

Cheeburger Cheeburger originally opened in Sanibel Island, Florida roughly 20 years ago. My wife and I ate there several times and loved it. (Perhaps too much.) On a recent return to the island, we took the kids there and while it wasn't in the original shack location, it was still on the island and it was still as good as I remembered. The kids loved it as much as we did on our first visits. Little did I know the restaurant is now franchised and can be found in some 25 odd places throughout the US and as close to home as Chesterfield Mall.

The place is gimmicky, but the burgers are darn good. If you're going to tackle something, give the 20 oz. a shot. I guess after cooking, it's an honest 1 pound burger. Let me say this, it's large and it's tough to eat. However, being a recovering fat guy, I still have some talents.

Besides, if you eat it all they take your picture for the wall of fame (or shame).

Gave it a run

This morning I rolled out with Aggro Jo for the Beer 'N' Brat century. The plan was to take it somewhat easy and get in a good ride. That plan last about as long as the first 10 or so miles. We hooked up with several riders after missing a turn and cranked along at 21-22mph for several miles. During a nature break, we were unceremoniously dropped from the pack and spent the next hour busting our butts trying to bridge the gap to our pack. Aggro and I traded turns pulling (I think he was making stronger pulls) and eventually got back into the back of the pack. Brother, that was a welcome relief.

Unfortunately for me, during a quick water stop around 45 miles, my knee felt like it locked up. I stretched it out a little on the remaining miles back to the start, but it didn't last long. I was dropped from Jo's group around 50 miles and worked to sort out my knee pain. After spinning an easier gear, it felt better and I then pulled a very strong effort to recaputure the group just outside of Freeburg. However the success was short-lived as the pain returned and I was relegated to riding back to my car with my painful knee.

Coming off of two weeks of rest in Europe, I had hoped to come back feeling refreshed. Unfortunately, my knee began bothering me while in Europe and it really seems to be getting worse. What I'm finding is that any time I've got my knee bent, it hurts. Sitting is painful and driving is not good either.

I retired after 67 miles and bid Jo well on his final miles for the day. He's in good shape and should do quite well in the remaining mountain bike races this season. If I can get rid of the pains in my knee, I'll be satisfied finishing with second or third place finishes, because Jo will certainly be on top.

29er vs. 26ers

Who gives a crap? Ride your bike. If you ride a 29er with better results, ride it like you stole it! If the 26er provides your zen-like experience, ride on baby. For the gang who'd rather argue versus ride... get a life. Blah, blah, blah, blah, puke!