Well smack my a$$ and call me Sally!

.... yeah that's all I can say after seeing the below beauty!

I have found my next bike and it is still a Niner. Apparently being shipped to dealers by the end of the year. I'll be getting my order in ASAP! Hopefully, the strong relationship we've built with our Niner friends this year will help in these efforts.


Many guys on mtbr.com are complaining about the paint job, but I freaking love it!



Not sure about the brake mounts here and how reliable they will be. But I'm definitely not an engineer or someone that understands how strong carbon is!

The Pain Train

We had our own version of the pain train this weekend at the Rapture In Misery 6/12 Hour race on Saturday in Trenton, MO. I had planned to do the 6-hour but Karen was committed to the 12. So, how could I only do the 6?!?!?

We decided to do the festive thing and camp out with other racers at race HQ Friday night. Needless to say, there's a reason I don't like to camp - I like real beds!

We got into HQ about 9:30pm and setup our tent and canopy next to Mitch, Greg, and the Momentum boys. Good times were ready to be had. We got up the next morning and got the site race-ready.

Karen of course chose to ride her single-speed for the event - toughness!

The race started at noon on Sat in a Lemans start. We had to run about 100 yards up a double-track road which was very rough/rocky. I started way in the back and walked most of it. Given this was my first 12-hour mtb race, my plan was to start very slow and take it easy. The goal: Finish. I wound up walking up most of the hill with Mitch. Karen wasn't too far behind us.

After getting on the bikes and riding about 1 mile through some open grass fields we entered the singletrack. As promised by the race promoter, the next section called the "Boneyard" was heinous! It was very rocky. The kind of big rocks that stick up out of the trail causing end-o's, flats, and knock wheels out of true! I wound up riding behind Greg through the boneyard but we weren't riding much. With all the riders still so close together as one guy put his foot down it caused a ripple effect to everyone behind him.

The rest of the 9 mile loop was awesome! Plenty of flowing singletrack, nice climbs, fun downhills, and a little open field for hammering. The first lap took less than 55 mins. It was going to be a fun day!

The second lap went by quickly as I spent most of the time chatting it up with Zach Brace. He's a smooth roller through about everything! I stopped to change bottles and that was it through lap 3. I didn't know where karen was but I heard she was looking strong. I rolled through laps 4 and 5 feeling very strong! I started taking in some solid food, that helps keep me going.

Also at RIM representing the Lou were the Segal boys. I got to see Hoffmeyer and Grotthoff a few times and they were always in good spirits and looking strong.

Laps 6 & 7 were a little slower as I took an extra 5-10 mins to sit and take in more food. On lap 8 at about 7:30 it started to rain pretty good - worse than the sprinkles earlier. Half-way through the lap the trail was really starting to get wet and slick. It had gotten dark by this point and I hit a slick downhill which sent me to the mud! I quickly got back up but walked down the rest of the slick hill. I didn't realize at the time that I'd lost the battery to my main headlamp. By the time I realized it, I was at the bottom of the hill and didn't want to go back up. Figured I'd get it on the next lap.

As the rain picked up and the trail got muddier I regretted not going back to find my battery. Fortunately, one of the Momentum guys gave me his spare light before going out on lap 9. The rain really started coming down harder and most of the rocky sections were impossible to ride since the rocks were so slick. Then after 45 mins the borrowed headlamp went dead! the light on my helmet is good, but not nearly enough for those conditions. Zach Brace came by me on his 10th lap. At least he was the only one to lap me but I was keeping an eye out for Mitch to come by too.

On the final climb up to the finish I saw Karen ahead of me. It was hard to catch the girl! She was still powering up stuff with that one gear. The following section of trail was a new section so it wasn't packed down. You couldn't ride it and you couldn't even push your bike becausee the mud would get caked between your tires and frame/fork. So I practiced my cyclocross carry and kept moving.

Lap 9 took almost 2 hours! Given the trail conditions I had made the decision to call it a day. I saw no need to go back out for more of that hell. I rolled into the finish and to my delight they said the race had been called. I wasn't even tempted to change my mind. I waited there for Karen to come through a couple minutes later.

To both of our surprise, the race officials told karen and I that we'd both gotten 1st place!! She got 1st in the 12-hour solo Womens category and I got 1st in the Mens 40-49 12-hour solo.

At the awards ceremony we got some nice gifts for our efforts. Another surprise was that I placed 3rd overall in the mens 12-hour solo. Mitch took 2nd and Zach got 1st.

RIM is very well run event. They have fun with making sure you're enjoying yourself while you're out there riding the pain train!! Put it on your calendar for next year!

Womens 12-hour solo podium

Mens 40-49 12-hour solo podium

Overall mens 12-hour solo podium

Oops!

Guess I've done a really bad job at keeping all of you that read our blog up-to-date. Sorry mom!

It's a very busy racing season right now. There's been a race almost every weekend and August is one of the busiest.

If I had to highlight anything over the last couple of months it would be how awesome Casey is doing! The three of us took our Summer vacation in Colorado this year. We chose the mountains instead of the usual beach scene since Casey had never been and it gave us the opportunity to compete at the USA Cycling National Championships. All 3 of us qualified at the MO State championships just two weeks prior. I'll post some pictures from the trip at a later time.

Now back to my original point...

Since Nationals Casey has been lovin' the bike. She's been racing strong, bringing home hardware, and loving it. We're very proud of her.



Karen has continued to be super strong and consistent on her single-speed. The only race she hasn't raced on it was at Nationals. Since the race start was to climb a ski-slope I think she made a wise decision!

I had some good results in a couple races (2 - 5th place finishes) but have struggled to find my groove lately. Thinking it's a pre-race nutrition issue. Beer and eggs are good pre-race meals right!!?!?

Anyway, there's the update mom!