Quick update on some action the southern most
Jackalope has been up to. My early summers are totally focused on
crit racing and getting those good sensations of speed and power so it won't hurt so bad once 'cross efforts drop on me. Like most of us, all these events are simply lead ups to 'cross and definitely not a focus or hold any expectations of glory... but I wouldn't pass it up if presented - HA!
As Crusty posted some time back he and I hit the Tour of KC (Breakthrough Tour is it's name now I think) on a Friday tough course and I took on 'Cliff Drive' (Pain City) Circuit the following day. I felt solid on each, but lacked a finishing punch to make higher placings; I attribute most of it to being off late spring with my broken wing and trying to play catchup the rest of the spring/early summer. Skipped the last day as I knew when enough was enough.
Next up was the
KU Campus circuit race of the Tour of Lawrence (a mother of a course) in which I had a solid result, but not stellar. Why the heck I show up to these up and down courses in beyond me as I am no goat...
As I do every year I took most of July and first part of August off from any formalized training/activities and did a bunch of 'playing' on the bikes. Heat/humidity and I are bitter enemies so I lay low until I can't stand it anymore knowing 'cross is just around the corner and if you experienced our summer than you know it's been brutally hot/humid.
Shifted the Blue to a full on 'cross bike again (I race
crits and road on it with set of road tires and a bigger
chainring combo - works like a charm) and she is a beaut! I love the ride/feel of this rig so much more than anything else I have ridden and it looks so freaking cool (and yes, the bottle cage comes off for training and races)! Still loving the
Sram components and really looking forward to mounting the white (that's right, white - as Keller in Colorado would put it "white sex") Challenge
XS's for the fast dry courses of early 'cross in MO/KS. Our new kits get tons of attention at the events, but I do love sporting last year's black SS; folks absolutely love the way they look.
Most August mornings have found me back on the 'cross bike at a local university which has three
cx courses I laid out with each working a different aspect of 'cross. This month has me simply doing a bunch of bike driving getting back in the flow of corners and up, corners and up, corners... you know the drill. I smile every time I cut that first track through dew covered grass in the early AM hours... just the sound of gears clicking and the beating in my chest; these are the mornings my race license may say I'm 42, but I feel 19! I fit in some lite running (mostly hills and stadium steps) and swimming (best total body/core workouts) weekly to
supplement focused time in the saddle.
Springfield (30minutes to my south) has finally started getting a 'racing' scene going with the implantation of an 8 race dirt
crit series every Tuesday night running till the end of September and 2 road races (for now - look for many next year) worked in between the dirt
crits with the 'A' race 33 miles in length (3 laps of 11m). I have taken full advantage of these as my mid-week effort sessions and I am feeling them do their jobs even though I am not going 100% race pace (still way too early). Here's my results so far:
Waffle Race #1 - 5
th (A race)
Dirt
Crit #1 - 4
th (A race)
Dirt
Crit #2 - 3rd (A race)
Waffle Race #2 - 5
th (A race
Dirt
Crit #3 - 3rd (A race)
My first
CX begins on Sept 18/19 at Hermann Under the Lights in central Missouri and after that is pretty much full on racing every weekend somewhere (mostly in KC and
STL) till mid-December.
Well, that's about it from the southern tip of
MWI. Everyone be safe and ride the heck out your rig every chance you get!
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