Barnyard Cross - Manhattan

8 inches of snow 2 days before raceday helped to create the funnest cross race of the year. The Bad Goats had blazed a 10-15 feet wide swath along the entire course running around the grounds of the Manhattan Area Technical College, but there was still enough of the white stuff on the course that it was the single biggest factor in how it rode. Temps were well below freezing for the SS race at noon, so it was hard and fast but icy around the corners. The singlespeed field of 7 riders started about 30 seconds behind the 4's, including good friend and Crackanooner, Dustan. I was able to grab the win ahead of mostly local riders- I think there was only one SS'er not from Manhattan.

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Then it was time to drink beer. Lots of beer. Barnyard beer... Granite City beer... Mickeys... more Barnyard...

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By the time the 3/4 race started at 3, the temps had climbed into the mid/upper 30s. The snow turned to water in some places, mud in others, and remained solid in others. A section of the course threaded through a wooded area where there was a considerable layer of old leaves, branches, wood chips, and even some abandoned cement blocks! All this debris combined with the snow made for a particular nasty section of trail. You can see Andy, above, navigating through this area. The mountain bikers definitely had the advantage for this one.

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The course looked so wet and nasty by the end of the 3/4s that I decided to have one more go at it and I entered the Open/1/2/3 race. 9 of us started at 4 and the temps had started back down towards the freezing mark again. By mid-race, small ice patches were forming and the whole 1.5 miles was an ever changing menagerie of mud, grass, ice, snow, sand and water- beautiful! I got some beer handups from T. Park and Michaela and was engaged in an ongoing snowball fight with John Waller and company. I rolled across the finish in 5th and nobody came in behind me. I guess the tandem mountain bike didn't work out too well for the Bad Goats. Others were probably more interested in getting back to more Barnyard brew.

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Big THANKS to Apel, Patterson, Stamper, and the rest of the Bad Goats for putting on a super cool race! This one's on the calendar for next year already.

random thoughts...

Admittedly, I was apprehensive about moving to KC. After all, I'd been in Manhattan since '95 and on my own in the sticks for the last 5 years. Well, I'm happy to report, I'm loving it. I'm not seeing Michaela as much as I'd thought- she works some hard hours to the tune of 12-hour overnight shifts- but it's working out. Suburbia? Not so bad. I've traded the gravel nets across the Flint Hills for farm roads and winding blacktops between Parkville and Smithville. I'm not missing work, however I am starting to fret a little over the lack of incoming finances. I've not started writing yet but I am thinking about it alot.

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The above photo shows the space afforded me in the basement to construct a workshop. I'm looking forward to the process of building it from the ground up with workbench, shelves, lighting and everything. As if I needed an excuse to spend more time with my bikes.

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I was thumbing through some notes I've kept over the years and came across this gem of a quote by Dana Catlett: "My pharmacist had to tell me my shrink had died". I remember jotting this down on the back of Ken Miner's business card after a debaucherous night of intoxicated bike riding many moons ago. A group of us were sitting in 75th Street Brewery after a Frank Tuesday event. We'd seen the Elevator Division that night at one of the bars we stopped at and... well, nevermind. It's amazing how much a square piece of paper can hold.

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14 is a good number.

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I'm thinking maybe I could create an exercise regimen that could be fun and, more importantly, marketable. I was inspired by Roberto's insistence that you don't need to buy a bunch of commercial exercise equipment to get a good workout. Additionally, I've been reading up on Yoga techniques lately. So, I've come up with a few exercises that anyone can do and everyone should do! It's basically a collection of physical movements that humans used to engage themselves in but no longer do because of technological advances. It's easy and cheap but you'll have to buy the book to find out what it's all about. Here's a teaser:

"Wash the Clothes"

It's basically a simulation of scrubbing clothes on a washboard then gathering them up and hanging them out to dry. Some folks won't know what a washboard is so they'll get an education as a bonus. There's some dance steps involved, but that's basically it. Yeah, that's money in the bank.

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When you were a kid and you got going on the swing, did you ever really think you just might go all the way around?