Tour of Lawrence--"Africa Hot"

Tour of Lawrence circuit race was this weekend.  This race is on a great course that goes through the campus and is HILLY. 

When I got out of the car it was 98 degrees with a heat index of infinity.  It was "Africa hot."

This ended up being a race of attrition.  Every lap we lost more and more people--riders would just pop on the sunflower hill and lose contact.  We started with around 40-50 riders and with three to go there were less than 20 riders left in the group.  I was feeling fine and under no real pressure....then the heat hit me like a ton of bricks.  Suddenly, with about a lap and a half to go, I found myself dangling on the back of the group.  By this time there were about 15 riders left in the group.

With a lap to go I began to lose contact on the sunflower hill.  I reached down in my "suitcase of courage" and realized I'd only packed a "man-purse of mediocrity."  The group of 15 riders road away from me.  I road the last lap solo and finished 17th.  By that time, I was ready to get the hell out of the heat and out of Lawrence.  Such is racing.  I should have packed two more water bottles full of ice water to spray on myself and keep my body temperature regulated--that would have helped.  Hardest race of the year but fun.  Highlight of the race was soaking in the fountain on campus post race.

Tour of KC- Day 2

Tour of KC day 2/3 was held at the Kansas City Police Academy.  Although Steve Guttenberg failed to make an appearance, it was nonetheless a chance to bring out the big guns--"Tackleberry-style:"

The course was pretty fun.  It had lots of sweeping, fast turns on a closed driver training course.  I felt great the entire race and never really felt stressed.  I was in one short break away that only stayed away for about a lap and I still didn't feel like I got into the red zone.  Unfortunately, a lot of other people were feeling good as well and the last lap was a struggle to get into the right position.  I was about 5 or 6 wheels too far back and didn't get a chance to contest for the win.  Instead, I sprinted past four or five people and ended 7th.  After Friday's disastrous last lap and feeling pretty cooked from Friday's heat, I was pretty happy with my finish.  Guttenberg would be proud...

Tour of KC- Day 1

Friday night the Tour of KC kicked off at the Longview lake course.  The course is more of a circuit than a crit course.  The course has three technical turns--one that is especially nasty-- a long slow false flat, and a short punchy hill after a 90 degree turn. 

I hate this course.  It seemed like I constantly was out of the saddle closing gaps.  Plus, I (stupidly) cleaned up my rims prior to the weekend so my brakes were extra "grabby."  That was stupid and didn't help my cause.  With about three laps to go my calves were cramping up and I was just hoping to sit in and salvage an okay sprint.  Unfortunately with about a half lap to go I got pushed to the shoulder and had to lock up my back wheel to avoid a crash.  A small gap opened up that I never really managed to close up to the lead group of about 10 guys.  I finished 11th about 30 yards behind the lead group and one spot out of the money.  So it goes. 

Best Ride of 2011

I played hookie for the last hour of work and got in an unusually long weekday ride for a Thursday (almost 50 miles in all).  The weather was perfect.  The air was crisp, but not hot, the sun was shining and there was little to no wind.  The route was perfect, it was mostly low traffic country-ish roads that passed numerous lakes, rivers, ponds, climbs, descents, etc.  Rides like this are why I ride bikes.  I've ridden longer routes this year and faster rides this year (average was only 19 mph), but for whatever reason, I thoroughly enjoyed every second of this ride--just being out on the road by myself was awesome. 

This was almost the "perfect" ride--if not for a near miss that would have made this perfect.  I was feeling pretty good and going at a pretty good clip down a long descent on 139th Street in a tucked position.  I looked down and saw that I was going 43mph.  All of a sudden I looked to my right and saw a cop hiding on a side street shooting his radar gun....YES! I thought.  Finally a chance to get a speeding ticket on a bike--the crown jewel of cycling dork-dum!  That would have made this the best ride of all time.  I'm not sure what the speed limit is there (maybe 25 or 35 mph), but I probably was speeding.  Unfortunately, Barney Fife didn't budge.  Still was the best ride of the year, but would have been icing on the cake to get my first speeding ticket on a bike...maybe next time.

Current River 5/14-5/15; Crane Creek 5/16

Fantastic fishing trip last weekend on the Current River.  The Current is quickly becoming one of my favorite rivers for several reasons: (1) its a large river, yet not so big that you can't wade any section; (2) there is enough water that even on days were its "crowded" you can go hours without seeing other people; (3) the fish always seem willing to cooperate.   I already want to return.

The trip itself turned out to be surprisingly good, given the potential conditions would could have faced.  Although it rained all Friday night on the way down, the rest of the weekend the weather was great and, surprisingly, the river was not blown out.  It was cold and overcast all weekend, but at least the river was in good shape.  We fished the Tan Vat access Saturday morning and in Montauk park Saturday evening.  As is the norm, I forgot my camera in the tent and didn't take any pictures.  We had a good day fishing picking up quite a few fish throughout the day.  At some point during the day I caught fish on just about everything I had in the box: steamers, nymphs, emergers, and dry flies.  

Sunday we fished the tan vat access up towards the park.  I started off slow but then picked up a bunch swinging streamers.  Lots of fun. 

I was able to cap off the weekend with a Monday work/fish combo.  Work took me to Cassville, Missouri for a morning hearing that was finished by 10am.  So I got to fish a third day in a row. I hit Crane Creek and had a great afternoon. 

The contrast between the Current and Crane is dramatic.  Crane is a small Creek that is narrow enough to jump across in some spots.  The creek holds wild, genetically pure McLeod rainbow trout.  Trout in this river survive by being skittish.  If you approach to quickly or cast a shadow near the river, they bolt.  Decent size trout in this river are like ghosts.  They are present but not seen, they're always hiding in cover.

This was my third time fishing Crane and I finally think I'm figuring it out.  The key is patience and stealth.  You literally have to crawl to some holes on your hands and knees not to spook fish.  Fishing this way is fun.  It slows you down.  Instead of just heaving flies at good looking water, you have to spend ten or fifteen minutes approaching a hole and really evaluate your approach, ie where your first cast needs to be, where your shadow will hit, etc.  Fishing this way is lots of fun, it definitely makes you more connected to the stream because you've really got to absorb your surroundings and if you don't take the time to do so, you won't be successful.  I managed to pick up 4 and had three more on that I lost.  This is a very rewarding style of fishing.

The "Dragon Slayer"

Great race report, from a great guy. 

The best thing about sport is setting a goal and making it happen--even if it seems impossible.   I can't imagine anything more ridiculous ambitious then 320 miles on gravel roads.  That's a major achievement.

When life gives you lemons...go trout fishing

After a particularly hectic couple weeks, I was looking forward to a weekend on the river.  In fact, weather permitting, I had even planned on a multi-day fly fishing extravaganza.  Weather did not permit.  Nor did practically anything else for that matter.

Early in the week the forecast called for heavy storms Sunday, so the fly fishing extravaganza was quickly downgraded to a one day excursion on the niangua-- the red headed step-child of a "fishing extravaganza."

Then, to top off this turd sandwich, my car decided to break down 30 minutes before I planned on hitting the road.  Normally I think I would have bailed on the trip and dismissed it as bad luck.  For whatever reason though, I was determined to get in some river time....so, thanks to the generosity of others, I was able to burrow a car to get out of town.  Unfortunately, I didn't make it to my destination until 2am due to the logistics of locating a car.

The fishing was tough---make that VERY tough.  I even tried to pretend I knew what I was doing by looking around for bugs. I found this golden stonefly that was about a size 14 under a rock (as well as a some fresh water scuds and some other small nymphs). 

I tried matching some flies to these bugs but nothing seemed to work that well.  In all, I landed 5 trout, all on either rubber legs or streamers.

The wind gusted all morning just hard enough to make casting nearly impossible.  Nonetheless, it was still nice to get on the river.  Though it would have been about 200% more relaxing if I wasn't working on 4 hours of sleep and I didn't have to immediately head back to return the loaner car.  Se la vie.