Salsa Frameset Contest

Salsa Cycles is the premier sponsor again this year at the Dirty Kanza 200. They are offering up a new frameset, either a Fargo or Vaya, in a contest titled "Why I Should Win A New Salsa Fargo Or Vaya Frameset". I would really like to get my hands on a Fargo, built up to my riding style it could be the perfect adventure bike. Below is my entry into the contest...wish me luck!!!

Pen And Paper

I guess I should write this down, some really good advice that is. I have heard this advice floating around for a long long time but I guess I forget about it until I do the opposite of the advice. Okay the tip is: Don't pee into the wind. I remember it as soon as I do it, so maybe I should just write it down. I told Molly my bibs were just really sweaty!!!

Saddle Up Partner!!!

Okay I have pretty much been riding by myself all year so far which is fine because I do a lot of endurance racing and I am out there by myself for several hours but training solo doesn't do nearly as much as interval training with a group of other riders (even if it's just one other person). I have an area I plan to train on whether I am riding with someone or just do this by myself but it is some good climbing and I plan to do so on my single speed to build up my legs for Lumberjack.

I have no idea what I weigh, I have been feeling pretty skinny until today (I only ate 2.5 dinners tonight so I'm not sure why I feel this way!!!). I'm not worried about it though because I know I have a lot of riding yet to come and my weight will take care of itself, as long as I don't let it get out of control.

I hope I am not falling off the back of the pack early in the year, if I do I will just have to work that much harder and I know I can. I sure am ready for Monday night rides to begin, even if we don't go real hard the first week or two it will be good to ride in a group (I am all over the road right now, probably should pedal with both eyes open).

This Is Making Me Hungry

Where is my training going? I feel good that I am getting in base miles but I am discouraged that I am not getting in many "Fast" miles. It is so tough to judge a lot of ride this time of year because it seems to be windy everyday. Don't get me wrong I love the wind, it can be your best training partner. In fact it is great training for the DK because wind is something you can pretty much count on in that race, better be ready for it.

Yesterday I had to cut my ride short due to time constraints but I was glad to get some riding in. Today was my 6t straight day of riding (although I don't feel like I am making much progress) and I cut it short again today. My legs were really feeling the fatigue from the start and the wind wasn't helping matters at all. The reason I decided to cut the ride short is I think my legs need a bit of rest, I think too many times we push too often and don't let ourselves really recover correctly. I still got a few miles in today but I didn't push very hard. I'm sure I need the rest but the racer in me is screaming cuss words at me right now. I am talking about rest but if I get the chance to ride tomorrow you can bet I will be back at it again.

I also think the lack of trail riding is affecting my speed of road riding right now, the more trail riding I do the faster I road ride. I'm trying not to get discouraged with where I am at right now, it is what it is. I will say that I am getting hungry to ride more and really ready for some group interval training. These base miles will pay off!!!

Easily Impressed

Well today we had to run to Independence to do some stuff and since the kids were out of school we took them with us. It seems that my kids are trained to have to go to the bathroom at Cameron and today was no exception. I went into the stall with Jonas and before he even went to the bathroom asked if he could flush the toilet yet. He finished up and then asked me if I needed to go potty, I told him I was going to go too. As he is pulling his pants up I hear the bathroom door open and close and notice the feet of another gentlemen in the stall next to us, then I step up to do my business. Jonas is watching me the whole time and then says "You have a BIG penis". I can only imagine the look on the other guys face, I didn't what to say so I didn't say anything. I did however wait for the guy to leave before we stepped out. I guess it doesn't take a lot to impress a 3 yr old.

I Couldn't Believe It

I went out and rode the Chula route yesterday but I wanted to add a few more miles so I rode through town North to 190 and took that to the connector to old 190 and back into town. While traveling some side streets through town I had something happen that if I didn't see it then it would be hard to believe. I was coming down a small hill and something caught my eye in a fast downward motion and then I heard a LOUD "Thud" on the street. It was a squirrel that fell out of the tree, it jumped up ran in a circle and then took off. I'm sure it was thinking "I hope nobody saw that" and then it saw me!!! I don't know how far he fell but it made a very loud noise, I had music in both ears and it was still a loud thud. Of course it landed only about 5 ft from me, pretty amazing.

It's A Win Win

I have to admit that I don't usually ride a lot of gravel roads (if I can't ride trail I usually am road riding), the main reason I have been doing more this year is because of the Green Hills Challenge. I find myself either riding pretty strong on some rides and then just getting saddle time on others, both have their benefits. The faster pace rides are when I am riding roads that I know but there is just something about going out on an adventure and finding roads that you personally have not ridden. I find myself not riding as fast on the adventure rides but they are so much fun to just get out and explore, besides I can ride them again later at a faster pace. I have to get an updated map though, I have already posted about one ride that had some unexpected areas. The other day my map failed me again, I was riding along and the gravel turned into pea size gravel and then into grass but I just kept riding. I saw a levee up ahead so I rode to it and saw a sign that said "Bridge Out". I thought I might be able to get across the creek and keep exploring....well I was wrong so I had to turn around and find a new route. It was a lot of fun, although I was waiting for a truck or something to track me down wanting to know why I was on their property!!!