Kuat Innovations
Specialized Bicycles
Matt and I went out and road the Boone-Doggle loop Sunday. It was one of the better rides I've been on in a wile. I managed to snap a few photos along the ride.
Met Matt at the river Acc.
We were tell'n stories about Berry.
Not a cloud in the sky or a car on the road.
The roads were in great shape.
River bottom roads
One quick stop for food before we rolled back into town.
We're lucky to have this much great gravel right outside our back door.
Beginning this thursday night, I'll be doing some sort of gravel ride every thursday night in preparation for the Dirty Kanza. I realize most of us all have jobs/families/drinking problems, but I think commiting one night a week to some "team action" is pretty reasonable.
We can make it a group thing or every-man-for-himself. I don't give a shit. One thing I do know is that I'm a lot more motivated to ride when I know my friends will be there too, whether they're beside me or 2 miles ahead.
This week I'm hitting the Katy at about 815 and riding to Hartsburg and back. It's only 20 miles and if the Hartsburg bar is open..I will most likely eat a fried pickle or two. It'd sure be nice if I didn't have to go alone.
(That's right kids, The Cedar Cross is gonna be giving away some serious prizes. Below is an upate concerning our sponsorships.)
When you put a race together hoping for 5-10 riders, it's easy to promise free beer and food at the finish line. But when 60+ people register... you check your wallet and suddenly it's difficult to control your bowels. I'm in waaay over my head, so I started looking for sponsors.
Enter, Backcountry Research:
Bricks were shat and my pants were ruined when I heard from the president of BackCountry Research. For those who don't know, Backcountry Research is the company that brought us the Awesome Strap, (among other things). He thinks the Cedar Cross is "legit" and has pledged to "hook us up awesomely". I can't even begin to tell you how proud I am to say that The Cedar Cross is officially listed on BCR's race calendar. Please go to their website and buy something right now. Seriously, do it. I did.
Did I mention we're also sponsored by Foosh? I guess I've been using Foosh mints for about a year now, and I love them. Jason Kensey is the fonder of the Foosh empire, and I'm happy to say he's a supporter of the Cedar Cross and Team Virtus. Everyone I know that's tried Foosh has loved it, so you're probably no different. Foosh is like an Altoid mint with more caffeine than a Monster or a Red Bull. Yep, they're awesome.
My buddy Nick Smith, (owner of RedWheel Bike shop), was also quick to lend a hand. Not only will he be racing in the Cedar Cross, he's also giving me a STEEP discount on one of these babies to raffle off on raceday:
Is your mind blown yet? It damn well better be. But wait, there's more...
I also landed a pretty sweet discount on some Chamois Butt'r. 200 of the sample size 'butter packs' were sold to me for $60. So, everyone should be able to go home with a minimal amount of taint destruction. No need to thank me.
As if all of this wasn't already overwhelming enough, I recently received an email from the Jefferson City Convention and Visitors Bureau. It seems they've heard the buzz surrounding Cedar Cross and they want to help out. I'm pleased to officially announce that the Cedar Cross will Start and Finish at the North Jefferson Commuter Lot/Paved Pavilion. This will be VERY convenient for you out-of-towners.
I've got a meeting with these fine people on Feb 3rd, and I'm really hoping they decide to let us use the pavilion for free. There is also talk of discount rates at local hotels and I'll have more on that after the meeting.
I guess that's all of our sponsors for now, but I hope to announce many more in the future. If you know anyone who wants to help make this a better event, please let me know. I think it'd be great if everyone could take home some kind of souvenir.
This will be an AWESOME RACE!!! I can't wait for May 6th.
I had a great Christmas break, and got in some miles around Jeff. I am really looking forward to Kanza this year, and scheduled this semester of classes accordingly... No class on tuesdays or thursdays. Today was the first day of many training days to come. This weather continues to be awesome, and made for a great day on the bike.
i had to ride a little blacktop to leave the confines of Rolla, and set out for a nice easy ride. I am trying to stick to a training schedule my dad made up for me from "The cyclist's training bible". It called for a low inensity ride that lasted for a couple hours. I figure i might as well give it a shot. Regardless of pace, it felt great to be on the bike and away from class. After loosening up my legs a little, i had a little motivation to kick it in gear...
for those of you that have poor eyesight or just can't count, there are six dogs in this picture. So after nearly getting mauled by a pack of dogs, i continued out into the country. Not too far from here, i came upon a horse (if you call it that) that i couldn't help but imagine Jenkins riding...
Thinking i already had several nice suprises for the day, i hopped back on the ole' singlespeed and made my way further down the road. This is where i met a really nice farmer that was sitting out to keep watch over a controlled burn (although i don't know how controlled it was).
He asked me what roads i had ridden to get out there and then looked at my handwritten que sheet to see where i was headed. He talked about being retired from the military and how he loved seeing other people out excercising. He then told me that if i ever was out his way and "broke down" that he would be glad to give me a ride where i needed to go or help in any way he could. It's was awesome getting to talk to this guy for a little bit before i continued.
Not too much further down the road from the kind farmer, i happened across something that i assume is an old forest service road. I couldn't help but ride it and figure out where it lead.
i followed this trail down to a gravel road that i wandered down until i found an old cemetary with a few tombstones. I went back to the forest road and back to the road since i didn't know where i was outside of the que sheet i came with. I saw several more service roads that looked very similar to the one in the above picture, but didn't take time to explore them (i do plan to get back out to them soon though). After passing another old cemetary that looked really cool, i came to a pretty sweet low water crossing.
By this time i was pretty well in route back to Rolla. I again came across a group of dogs that were hungry for an afternoon snack.
I stopped in at beaver creek conservation area and rode a couple short trails they had and continued back toward Rolla. I ran across a mean green machine that i like to think is slightly less intimidating than the one i ride on.
At this point i was pretty much home and finished off the ride with a smile on my face. The ride turned out to be just under 40 miles long, but was packed with scenery and some pretty sweet trails too. I hope to have the energy and will to keep training once the cold weather really hits. If anybody is near Rolla tuesdays or thursdays (or if you have an awesome ride that i would want to drive to meet you for) let me know.
Registration for Diry Kanza and Syllamo's Revenge are this week. Both of these events filled up in a few hours last year so be sure to set your alarm clocks.
Syllamo registration starts at 6am on Thursday, January 12. Go here to register.
Dirty Kanza 200 registration starts at 5am on Saturday, January 14. Go here to register. If you are signing up for the team division, start looking for a partner now. We also need to reserve some hotel rooms once we find out who is going.
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