sprayer bike

This is what happens when two engineers start hanging around with a farm kid who has a broad knowledge of of weed control. The possibilities are endless. As a note this will never be used for evil....only good like applying 2-4,D to control poison ivy on local trails.

The texture of victory

Is pretty gritty.

First I want to say thanks to all the folks that I got to ride with throughout the race. I suck at names but I remember everybody and maybe I will get names and faces straight. I think this is sorta humorous cuz the race promoters seemed to know everybody there except me, which is understandable as I really have never done any of their events since I moved to KS a year ago. Anyhow much fun and many thanks to all the heartland crew and the supporters that were out there. I really did not know any of the other SS'ers as most of them were from Nebraska and had those purveyors of anarchy jerseys on. I was a little intimidated. I also think I saw Dustin Burghart (sp?) a fellow SS'er from out near Great Bend. We rode together for a lap at cruise the blues last year. However I failed to say hello, I am a scumbag when it comes to making acquaintances. back to the matter at hand.

Ok, first Dirty Kanza is an example of a well organized and challenging event that showcases parts of Kansas that most people will never see. My race bike was my IRO Rob Roy that I geared 42:18 and was rolling on IRC Mythos 35’s. I was a little bit intimidated when I saw how wide of tires everyone else was rolling. Most folks were rolling 42c up to 2.0 mtn bike tires. Pinch flatting would later play a large role for me cuz I was sloppy in minding my pressure. The race started at 6 am Saturday morning, with a prerace riders meeting at 5:45 am. The organizers were considering pushing back the start cuz of a large thunderstorm with large hail. Our first leg was supposed to be southerly so we were not sure if we would hit it. The directors decided to go ahead and start us, and we rolled out to a neutral start until we hit the gravel. Once we hit the gravel Dan Hughes and the crew from High Gear started leading us south toward Madison. After about 10 miles it readily became apperent that this was gonna be a race between Dan Hughes and Cameron Chambers. Several other Cycle City riders hung out at the front until they developed flats. Joe and I were riding together and Joe said that it was decision time, you could either try to hang on to the front pack or start pacing. I knew that there was no keepin up with the pace that was being set at the front (I spin out 42:18 at 21.5 mph), so I started riding with a few guys that came off the front.

They were all geared and kept up a pretty decent pace. One was a math teacher from Iowa, a guy on a Orbea 29er who was from SW Kansas, and the other was Dwayne Goskioski(sp?) from KC. My biggest mistake of the day was not drinking enough early, and I think that this affected a lot of folks other than myself. I hung with these geared guys until we got to Madison 50 miles later. Up till Madison I had been averaging about 17.5 mph according to my computer. From Madison we headed west across the flint ridges (as I call them) through the oil fields. It really is mind boggling how big Kansas is, and how Kansas is most definitely NOT flat. Once you got up onto of these ridges you could see for miles. This section from mile 50-100 was, in my mind, the most technically demanding due to the extremely coarse surface and terrain. I had a series of pinch flats that used up all my extra tubes. So on my last tube I got the pressure up as high as I could stand (about 65 psi) and this proved to work well. By the time I hit Cottonwood springs I was felling pretty rough. I had ran out of water at about mile 90 and had to stop and ask a lady if I could use her water hose. So I laid down and had a sandwich and tried to camel up as much as I could. I had Alison work on my legs for about 10 minutes and contemplated not leaving.

While I was the first single speeder to come into cottonwood fall, two other single speeders had already gone out ahead of me (the guy on the soul craft was in and out really quickly). But I packed my camelback full of ice and refilled my bottles with half strength Gatorade and started rolling south and west. Miles 100-150 was a loop that started and ended in cottonwood falls. The going south sections really sucked as this meant that you were bucking the wind. The westward sections sucked cuz you knew that soon you would be into the wind again. I ended up catching the SS’er on the soulcraft at about mile 120. I said hello and kept trucking up a hill, and about 2 miles later a rancher and his wife came up behind me and asked if I was going in the right direction. Apperently the Soulcraft rider had turned around and headed back. This meant (or so I thought) that there was only one SS’er still out in front of me. It was also right about here that to course turned and started heading north so that the wind was at my back. This did wonders for my spirits. I managed to chase down a couple of more geared riders before I turned back east towards Cottonwood falls. Ata the 150 mile mark I stopped at Casey’s General store to eat some greasy pizza, have a coke and advil, and buy ice to re pack my camelback. My teammates John Waller and Andrew Slater had called it quits at 100, and Brandon Bundy had a mechanical at 113 so they were all hangin out with Big Al when I picked up my map for the last section. I was also informed that I was the first place SS’er. It turns out that the other SS’er that I thought was in front of me after my long break at the half way point had taken an even longer break at Casey’s. As I rolled out to finish the last 50 miles I have to admit that I felt really good! Probably better mentally than at any other point in the race, but I still had intermittent cramps in my inner thigh from using that muscle to power through return (or upward) pedal strokes when climbing. As a result I walked a couple big hills. I also saw the guy from SW KS that I had ridden with earlier, at the dam of kahola lake. I stopped and inflated his tires with some of my CO₂ as he was trying to pump up a 29er tire. He admitted that he was feeling pretty wasted and was having cramping problems. After I crossed the dam and went over that big “dam” hill I saw Dennis Grelk of Badger cycles patching a tube for like the 4^th time. I still had two extra tubes so I offered him one and got him aired up. One thing that I learned is that no matter what hand pumps suck, and that air cartridges are where its at. Dennis and I had leapfrogged earlier in the race with flat tires, and he led for me for the next 15 miles. After we got through Americus and made the turn to go south we both took the wrong road. Dennis was out of site before I realized what had happened, so I turned around and back tracked. Dennis would finish almost an hour later than I did after what he described as a scenic but frustrating tour Americus….again. He really had some rotten luck. I finished the last 10 miles at a pretty good clip and managed to catch one rider that had gotten off coarse earlier with a couple miles to go. I managed to finish in 14:45, fifteen minutes under my finishing time goal, and win the SS class. After having something to drink and eat I rejoined my Cycle City compatriots outside to rings cowbells for the finishers. We were pretty proud of how we did as a team. Joe Fox finished in about 15:15, and seemed really pleased with that. The big gun for Cycle City Racing though, was Kristen High.

Kristen is only the second woman ever to finish this race and set the new women’s record, beating the old record by several hours. We were all really impressed by her positive attitude no matter what the circumstances. Way to Go Kristen! Cody Mathias and his dad, John, would finish next. They did this race as a “training” ride for the Leadville 100 race. The Mathias family was always ready to offer assistance and encouragement throughout the race. What a great group!

I really enjoyed this race and the challenges that it presented. I got to meet some really awesome people and see some great country with all the flora and fauna. I was especially perplexed by the dung beetles that I would see rolling little balls of poo across the road. I saw a nature show about dung beetles when I was a kid but never imagined that I would encounter one. I thought that they were confined to Africa or something.

Q: Why did the dung beetle cross the road?

A: To get his ball of poo to the other side…..stupid. This is what happens to your mind after 170 miles.

All in all the Cycle City team made a great showing and we definitely had a blast! Looking forward to DK version 4.0!

Dirty kanza prep

So I am fixin to head south. Last night I did a gravel night ride to make sure that my lights worked
and to spin the kinks out. I was really surprised at how many Pheasants I jumped. I chased a Tom for a good 200 yoards and it took me a while to realize what it was was. I was sorta scared of it at first because I had disturbed a skunk earlier in the evening. I did not want to have to ride in the back of the truck all weekend.
I am pretty stoked that the wind is only suposed to be 5 mph so That will be nice. anyhow I will do a long post with pictures on sunday. stay tuned.

I finally made it home the to pick up my washer/dryer, watch my brother get married, shake the kids, and hit the trails in the southern Appalachian (ap-uh-latch-un) mountains that I have always called home.
Big Al and I drove all night to make the 18 hour trip so that we could have plenty of time to spend with family. We drove through some serious storms on the way out there but as day break saw us into my ol kentucky home of Berea the skys were clear
I got to go ride the Scales trail in The Grayson Highlands State park . This is mostly up and down mountain double track consisting of rocks the size of softballs . I think I shook some fillings loose. I would have hit some of the other stuff in that region but was pushed for time (stupid brother getting married) anyhow Joel got married, saw lots of family, wore a tux ate cake, blah blah.
But I did get a chance to play with the track hoe that dad has been using to clear ground for the new tree crop. I think that I need a track hoe



After the wedding Al and I met her family at Dark mountain in Wilkesboro were they had been camping. The overmountain Victory trail is here. This trail is only a few years old but is a true blast to ride. It is very intensely managed with LOTS of highly bermed turns so it is extremely fast. It was a little wet when I rode but when its dry there is nothing like it. Imagine a BMX/pump track that is 10 miles long and totally in the woods.....its sick! Afterwards we went to Johnson City to visit with the Matney family. I also took this opportunity to ride Buffalo Mountain. Now, up until I came to KS I had never really ridden SS gearing greater than 32-20, and after turning 32-18 for all of this riding I realized why. If I was not such a proud person I would have walked a few spots. I think that a 19 tooth cog is in order for my next trip.
Anyhow I rode from Sara and Brads up to the Fire road access (brad and I usually drive this) Then started to long arduous climb to the top and then accessed the ATV trails. I took these to the uber-secret MTB trails that are unmarked and marginal in quality, but very steep......downhill..... for a long way. I actually had to put on a jacket for the descent. It was good.
Then my ma in law took us to Bojangles (my favorite sketchy fast food joint). It makes life worth living.

Sign of the times

I really get made fun of by other runners. But I did have a glorious gravel ride on saturday sunny, no wind. I guess its my cross to bear.

my love/hate relationship with KS

My opinion of this state really varies wildly according on what the weather is like. Kansas has some really weird weather, and I knew this coming out here but I had no inclinations it would be like this. I got to looking at the climate data for manhattan and the weather data for the upper mountain research station in laurel Springs, NC. the mtn top wind meter records wind speeds that are not all that much less than wind averages here. So whats the big difference?
Well in the mountains you have enough sense to get to the other side of the mountain or down into the holler to get out of the wind (hollers are where all the moonshine and inbreedin happens in case you were wondering)
I went out for a trot this morning and took some new unexplored cowpaths across the prairie north of Manhattan to get my mileage in, see some new ground, and rock out some hills (this is a source of much mocking from my cycling friends that do not approve of my running. They seem to think cycling is a more manly sport. what with shaved legs and socks that match your outfit?).
I loved climbing hills back home both running and cycling, cuz you can always look forward to long descents and easy cruising. There are several long rides in Pisgah that are literally 11 miles of climbing to do a life altering 5 mile descent that is so steep your fore arms will start to cramp from hanging onto the brake levers and steam will come off your rotor when you cross the creek at the bottom (Black mountain, Squirell gap, Clawhammer)
anyway this morning I was really grinding it out up this long hill to get to the top only to be blasted backwards by a 30 mph wind. Getting to the top of a hill around here just means that your gonna get pelted by the wind. So in the midst of my ill fated trot I conceived a new motto for the state of Kansas:

Kansas: It Blows
I have to say that when the weather is good here it is incredible, low humidity, lots of sunshine, and the people are so awesome, but when the weather is bad it can rain like piss pouring out of a boot. I will contact Gov. Sebelius and get this legislation rolling immediately.

SS mediocrity and our brew to brew stew

So it was a big weekend for racing and running here in KS. We hosted the first of the NCCCC road weekends, and saturday morning was the road race consisting of the carnahan creek loop north and east of manhattan. I gazed upon the mass of shiny aluminum and carbon bicycles that were present this cold and windy morning, and thought to my self, "Self, just stay with them until the hills". Well that was easy to do since the first half of the race saw us (the D's) bucking a 30mph headwind. Which created some interesting pack riding (its always interesting riding in a cat 5 pack so I am told). But I was surrounded by a few like minded folks like Josh Patterson, Brian snyder, and John waller (the only other person on a steel frame), and we made it our jobs to be in the outer fringes of the pack. Coming out of the first turn you knew it was gonna be sketchy when you immediately heard the shriek of tires on tires and then the sickening crack of a helmet hitting asphalt. Multiple riders went down, and scott Smchercheck(sp?) split open a brand new LAS helmet, but everyone seemed to be ok. That crash took out our ND boys (Andy, David, and Chad) I think that Mario escaped unscathed. Nick Gruesel also went down, but bounced back up and was able to chase down the pack immediatley. You could always tell when Nick was near you in the packs cuz you could the erratic shifting of his bent Dérailleur and the cursing that followed. Every once in a while a few riders would surge to the front in a attack only to be beaten back by the wind. The group might have done 18mph for the first half of the race.
How do I know that?
cuz I can spin out my 42-18 SS at 21 mph and my cadence stayed relatively low (under 110) most of the ride. But as soon as we turned out of the wind it was on. The leaders shot off and up the hills of carnahan creek. Those kids from Saint Cloud were really hauling. Towards the end Andy from ND caught me, after having gone down in the pack calamity earlier. He was looking bloody but awfully determined. I was really under geared at 42-18 and could have easily turned a 16 and perhaps even a 14 up those hills. But even then I lost so much ground on the backside of the hills it would not have mattered what I had geared. I had a good time and got some cheers from a few. and will try riding a geared bike next weekend.
After a burrito with Brian Snyder, Big Al and I worked the TTT at the turn around point in the afternoon and made fun of lots of stuff while we sat in the KS sunshine. It was really enjoyable.
That evening I made dinner for the ND team and then we went to aggieville to checkout the crit course and indulge in a beverage at the Kathouse lounge to see the KU/UNC game (I always hesitate to tell people that go to a place called the cathouse lounge....it sorta sounds like a strip club)
KU laid the beatdown on UNC!

We were up early the next morning to pick up our Brew 2 Brew team of Josh Patterson, Paul Bassel, Eric Barten, myself and our team driver/coach/DD/eye candy, Alison 'big Al' Stamper.
Patterson had been out reveling in the victory of his team the previous night but appeared bright eyed and bushy tailed and ready to bust out the first leg of our adventure. Which was more than what could be said for me. It became obvious early on that our main competition was gonna be a bunch of yahoos that were one short of a six pack. There were five to our four (Pale Ale, Porter, Wheat, Irish ale, and a Stout) We yo-yo'ed back and forth throughout the race. and Eric (our fastest runner) really smoked the Pale Ale on his last and our next to last lap. Paul was running his third leg as our anchor leg, but he was unable to hold off their "Stout" over the levy section leading to the finish. It was a valiant effort on Pauls part, but those beers just had a little more "hop" in their step than we did. We also found out that Eric Is moving to Portland, OR and has an interview with Nike. We are gonna miss him. Good luck Eric!
We had a great time and were really challenged by the mileage aspect of this race cuz the mileage for each leg was really inaccurate and erratic. You would think that you had a 5 mile leg and it would only be 2.3 miles. That made it hard on you mentally and physically to set pace. Would do it again though!


Notice in this picture Josh and I made Paul and Eric stand downhill on the levy so we did not look so short. We are crafty like that.