Tonight...

Night Vision...

It was 9 p.m. and I headed down the hill-of-pain to my usual trails. It's was a bit chilly and seemed really quiet and tranquil. For some reason I was feeling uneasy, like I was a prime target for a mountain lion or sex offender. I turned off the pavement and into the dirt single track and immediately had a black rabbit cross my path, stop in the woods beyond and stare at me as I peddled by. I feared this an omen as I had never seen a black rabbit in the wild.

During the ride I had planned to hit random rogue trails of varied difficulty, some gravel road, paved trail and groomed single track. After the first bit of single track, which was fast and flowy, smooth and blissful, I popped out onto a gravel road section. I noticed the moon, though not full, was producing a grand light. I proceeded to go sans headlamp from here and see what I could do with my night vision; rabbits can see pretty well in the dark so maybe this is what I was supposed to be doing?

The gravel glowed bright under the moon, and I found myself floating down the road. An occasional critter would run across my path and send my nerves jumping for a moment. It was the large Buck that really got my blood pressure to rise. Usually Deer are not alone, and I had visions of another crossing just in time to hit me. I did not want to crash and/or get kicked to death while all alone in the woods. I was still feeling quite nervous.

My riding plan changed as I continued on. With my light off, and depending only on the moon, I could not see trail features; just a vague openness in the woods. I would ride light on the front wheel and just hope for the best. I was feeling good about the riding, but still nervous as a kid about some monster or ghost coming to get me. Totally weird, totally not me. I have done this ride a hundred times and never once felt uneasy.

I decided instead of dirt that I'd hit the pavement and ride fast, like the wind, escaping the evil that I felt was chasing me. I kept hearing "Hey" or other voices as I focused on just staying on the trail. I still had my light off, I was still in the woods, I was still feeling very small and alone.

I'm not really sure where I am going with this story, but I was scared. And that rabbit? WTF?

Cam-a-sutra...

You know him, you love him; it's that pesky kid from the middle-of-nowhere Kansas...Cameron Chambers - The 2010 24-Hour Solo Singlespeed National Champ. Congrats!

You can read all about it HERE

Got Skills?...

Open invite to KC Locals. Come over and ride my backyard skills trail, anytime! Just comment to this post and I'll get back to you with directions! Here are a few photos of my Bro Turbo and the fun to be had...

 Lightning Bolt Skinny.

 Right Fork of the Dragon with the Small Drop and Rock Skinny in the background.

 The Y Chromosome with the Rock Skinny in the background.

 The Dragon with the Log Skinny in the background.

Midway through the Dragon.

Late Edit...I was just reminded of this old video that Shoffner put together from last year. Fun stuff, come ride!

Mad Dash...

Bomber weather + Good Friends = Awesome Weekend.

Jane and Bryan came into town from OKC for a weekend of relaxation and beer drinking. We succeeded! I'm going to sum it up with the following incomlete sentences. Good Food. Great Beer. Climbing. Walks in the Park. Playground. Hot tub. Camp Fire. Smores. Slackline. Bike Ride. More Food. More Beer. It was a good time!

Little Big Man even got in some riding!

I got in a good and quick ride from my casa to Shawnee Mission Park in perfect condiditons. I think it's funny how I have to ride my Fixie when hauling a$$ down the road on my way to the singletrack. I just can't pedal at 3,162 rpm, so I have to put my feet up on the fork and let the crank just spin like a mixxer. Yeah its super dangerous, but it's fun! I'm getting more dialed-in to this bike...finally. Feels good!

Rain today...Hope for dry weather again so I can go and ride a bunch of sweet trail while the leaves are in full autumn colors. This is my favorate part of the year!

NightRider...

"Twas late one fall night, only possums in sight, and Nick and Sean went on a grand cycling adventure. We traveled down hills, and up mighty rocks; I was so very frightened, I pee'd in my socks (not really). The ride was quite fun, and when we were done, it was beers and hot tubbin, talkin shit until near dawn."

Horse shoes & Hand grenades...

Made it out to BURP on Sunday, yep like church. Prayed to the dirt gods and had a swell time with my bro Andre. We did our standard hammer-down lap of all that is good, or great as it turned out. With all the hype about Swope as of late, I had almost forgotten what great trails are a few minutes away, and what a great burn I was missing. BURP has it all, well not everything...it can't all be a groomed slope of perfection like Swope. I don't like the groomers anyway...really. I like the thugged-out, brutal rock gardens and horse stompped trails that make a man a man. Get you some!

KC Cup...

8th place off the couch on a fixed gear isn't too shabby I suppose...