Lament.

There's absolutely no reason apart from sheer %&^$# laziness for me not to ride my bike to work today.

Fortunately, it's enough reason.

phase II

two more turns to build. mother nature is watering and getting the dirt to pack. i'm shooting for a november 5th finish date. looking for more dirt though, so if anyone knows of a place looking to get rid of some, please let me know!

Phase I Complete

I started work on the pump track in the backyard this week. So far, I have the layout and jumps marked. I'm hoping to add dirt after our next round of rain, so that it packs well. Here are some shots of the layout...oh yeah and my daughter will be monitoring heart rate levels and if anyone falls below 80% of the MHr, they will be delt several bashing with a wiffle ball bat! lol...kidding...

man.....

i know this platform is for bicycle stuff, however there are ties with bicycles and the unfortunate closing of a couple of businesses that have occurred over the last month. RIP Fitness Zone and soon the Finish Line.

i loved the fitness zone, because it WAS NOT a phoo phoo, stand around and look pretty gym. i loved it for the fact you went there to sweat and hurt!!! sad to see it go.

the Finish Line is a bummer because there had been times when i was in a pinch and they were able to bail me out with goggles, or something that transferred over from MX to BMX...

well, i've been sick for 3 weeks now. don't know what in the world is wrong with me, but i'm about to go nuts, because i haven't been able to smell or taste anything for about a week now. you just don't know how much you love the smell of things, until it's taken away. definitely an under rated sense.....lol....

have a good week!!!

2x4

Pump Track!

Got the approval to put in a pump track in the backyard today! Psyched!!!

ugh!

Upper Respiratory Infection is killing me! The weather is amazing today! Make the most of it!

Photo: Tucked and rollin' during the NBL Grands. HRP Photo

NBL Grands Photos

My team mate Jeremy Thompson and I during the 30 and over open motos. JT went on to capture the #1 35 and over expert title...

You can view more of the photos at http://www.idcbmx2.com/

2007 NBL Grands

The 2007 NBL Grands are in the books and I had a decent weekend. Saturday started off well, but then later in the 2nd round, my gate start became an issue. I made it through both rounds and then started off suckin’ in the gate again Sunday morning. Once I made it through the motos, I had a long talk with myself and said, “Dude, this is it, pull your head out of your butt and let’s take care of business.” So I go up for my 1/4 final in class and complete unclipped down the first straight. I try getting back in and make up points, but it was way too late for me. Down to 2 classes now, cruiser and 30 and over open. I hit the cruiser and FINALLY my gate is back and I scoot on into the semis. I was thinking of skipping my open moto and just save it all for cruiser, but I was like, “what the hell?!” and gave it a go. Gate drops and I destroy the gate and take the lead down the first straight. Mind you I have the current world champ and #1 Vet Pro in the moto. I finish that lap and that did wonders for my confidence! In the semi of the open moto I get another killer start and fall in behind Jason Carnes. Into the 2nd turn, big Shawn Diprite rolls by me, so I’m chillin’ in third. Down the last straight, Big Daddy Eric Rupe gets by us, then Shawn is slowing down and on our out side, we get passed by Domingos Lamogllia!!! 3rd to 5th….done in open.
Cruiser was left and I made the main for this one. 4 people are up for the title. Myself included. Gates drops….and I’m on the gas. Lead into the 2nd turn and all of the sudden I see blue and yellow! It scarred the crap out of me! So I follow Scott Moreland and try to make the move down the last straight, but didn’t have anything for him. So I end up 2nd and ranked #2 in the U.S. for the season.
Scott won the title and I’m glad it was him that beat me for it. Nothing against the other riders, because they are deserving too, but Scott has been almost like a big brother of sorts to me and I have the utmost respect for him.
Heard there were some roadies out there checking it out. Hoped they enjoyed it. Other locals jammed too and we have several young me and women that deserve a big pat on the back for their hard work.
The volunteers of Derby City BMX. Amazing!!! Absolutely the best team of volunteers that I have encountered in my 25 years of racing there! Not enough can be said of their work!
I hope to get some photos and maybe a link to some vids….
2×4

NBL Grand National

This weekend is the National Bicycle League's Grand National. Tons of people will be decending on Louisville from all over the world. They will be going on out at E.P. "Tom" Saywer State Park all weekend long. Friday night will be the UCI Pro Spectacular.

Here's an article done in the Indiana Weekly..

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070829/NEWS0201/708290731/1026

Videos of the century ride

Okay I'm going to do my first try of embedding videos into a blog. Wish me luck and cover me, I'm going in!

At 89 miles!


Debbie gets demanding. You can hear me yell at Melissa or John to please just talk and say something. Geez, I'm riding at 15 mph, looking backwards filming for gosh sakes!!!



Finally, I reach 100 miles. But there's a slight problem...

Derby City BMX Marathon Weekend

We had a barn-burner of a race for $500 buck-a-roos!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHpRk0MUEGU

Where have I been?

Why training

for my first century of course. :) Just did it today. My husband, daughter and I went up to Kokomo this weekend and did the "Sizzlin' Century" ride. Yeah, we went to Kokomo on purpose because we didn't want any killer hills! But we've been training all summer in the Southern Indiana Knobs/Louisville area so we've had plenty of hill riding. What fun. I was even able to ride my bike and take pictures and

videos with my little digital camera. I have some videos up on youtube and I'm going to see if I can put up some images. Never tried that before.

I'm putting up one of us at the start and right when we finished.

A Bicycle In Church? Go on. Yeah, This Sunday.

    Somebody asked me to put together a service and I'm bringing my bike.  

   At 11 a.m. this Sunday, August 19, I'll have the pulpit at First Unitarian Church of Louisville, 809 S. Fourth St. (Across from the Louisville Free Public Library at York Street).  

   No, I am not an ordained minister, but Unitarians are open-minded and pretty relaxed about this stuff.  I'll be using my 880-mile bike trip to Niagara Falls this Spring as a metaphor in a talk touching on journeys, pilgrimage, and some of what we learn from life when in pursuit of an ideal.

  There's also a free coffee social afterwards if you feel like coming, on your bike or not, for a service out of the ordinary.  Some great local musicians (Gary Falk, sax, Jim Schweickert and Will Plummer on piano and New Albany's Tiffany Taylor, vocals) will also perform in the service.

Entry to the church is not on Fourth St, but off Library Alley at the back. 

I would usually offer to ride back to New Albany afterwards, but this week have to stay for a youth group meeting.

"Chips" Cronin Remembered; Sharrows dedicated on 2d Street Bridge

Hot day, hot pavement, gratitude for the wind.

I joined an estimated 2,300 cyclists on the Second Street Bridge at 2 p.m. today to celebrate the new "sharrows" and signage urging motorists to share the respective north- and southbound right lanes and to yield to bicyclists. 

While the Louisville Bicycle Club had been at work with the city to improve safety on the bridge, it was the death of Cronin (by an "inattentive" driver) that clearly fast-tracked getting the new signs and lane markings up.    In half an hour of pre-ride speeches to the choir, Cronin's brother-in-law, Ed Tonini, who is also head of advocacy for the LBC, said the Federal Highway Commission is allowing the new lane markings as a "pilot" program since they are not part of the existing signage inventory.

Mayor Abramson, made only a few brief remarks, the most significant perhaps being that he wants to make Louisville as cyclist-friendly a city as Portland, and in less time than it took Portland to accomplish its current status as a national leader.

Unfortunately, today was no demonstration as the entire bridge was closed to motorized traffic for the inaugural ride.  Cycling clubs and racing teams from both sides of the river went off first to do a lycra-rich, three miler over and back.  Many others followed, including families with children, people of all abilities, etc.  I even met a couple from St. Louis who had rented neat looking adult trykes at the concession near Joe's Crab Shack (at $10/hour) to join the ride.

A similarly large group broke off on the other side, I with them, to head out to Utica for a 20 or 30 mile loop.  It was a delight getting into a nice rhythm in a long stretched out line heading east on Utica Pike.  

I split off just past the Port to head up Utica-Sellersburg Road, get on Highway 62 and book it out to Charlestown where I was meeting family and friends at a pool party.  About 20 miles, hot pavement, and a bottle each of water and Gatorade to stay hydrated.

The bridge signage is an important event on the long road to raising awareness and safety while developing a "share the road" attitude around here.  Each of us should appreciate other's efforts to make progress and do what we can to support and extend it.

 

Seems like old times.

Popped a spoke on the way to work.

I almost miss that gentle "ping," but not quite.

UCI World BMX Championships

What a very long week! My bid to win the title for my class came to an end in the semi-finals on Sunday afternoon. Our class had 55 of the worlds best riders and I guess I should take some comfort in making it to the final 16.

My motos were awesome, with me riding right behind the current world champion. I was feeling awesome and felt that things were heading in the right direction and when it came time for my semi-final, I just blew my gate. I beat myself I guess. I can't tell you how much it hurt to come up short, especially with all the support I received.

I hope to have some video of the races soon and will post them.

Victoria, BC is b e a u t i f u l!!!! Bike lanes and bike shops everywhere!!! The obesity rate up there is pretty much opposite of what ours is here in the USA. The weather...perfect! Jackets at night, shorts for the day. Oh..and if you ever wondered where all the friendly customer service went....it's up in Canada!

I'll post more later...

2x4

NAC posting on attitudes toward bicycling.

New Albany could use a "positive spirit" enlargement pill when it comes to attitudes toward bicycling, but don't hold your breath.

NBL E. Moline National

Last weekend, I used the NBL's stop in E. Moline, IL. to warm-up for the Worlds. The moto count was very low for the race. Usually it's around 120ish and this weekend it was 75 for the first day and 68 for day two...bummer.

Day 1 was interesting, especially with a really bad cross wind that blew your bike from underneath you! I'm luck to have not eaten crap, because there were several times where I felt I was about to crash. I was able to score the win in the main, but dropped a perfect (winning all motos and main) due to hitting a roller and coming to a stopped and my buddy passing me. It's all good, I dropped one point, no biggie really...

Day 2 was picture perfect racing weather! Cool start, clear skies and most of NO WIND! Scored a perfect on day 2. That's all I can really say about the weekend.

I'm happy with my conditioning going into the Worlds and I feel that I've done my part as for training and being prepared physically, now it's just the game of not letting my head take me out of the it! I had a bought of doubt yesterday....the nerves just kicked in and it's a usually thing here....

Hope everyone had a good weekend!

Tommy

A Proposed Response to George Cronin's Death on the Second St. Bridge

Go to the "Advocacy" link at www.bikedepot.org/cbdcourier/ and then hit the tab for "A Cyclist's Death" at the top of the page.

It provides a detailed review of facts and the law related to George "Chips" Cronin getting hit and killed by a van while crossing the Second St. Bridge.  

It's worth a read by anyone disturbed by the fact no motorist who precipitates an "accident" has been charged in a pedestrian or cyclist death in Metro Louisville in the last couple years.   

If you support the proposed plan of action, you can email your support.

Beat Summer Heat with "8 o'clockers" -- 33.3 miles

Summer heat can sap your desire for a long ride or a workout.  So, I find myself tending towards "8 o'clockers", either early in the morning or later in the evening, to enjoy myself in these peak summer months.  Getting out early this past weekend meant temperatures in the 60's up here in western Floyd County and good summer riding.

Saturday, going solo, I combined two of my favorite loops from my home two miles west of Floyd Central H.S. for a nice 33.3 mile ride.

SOUTH SKYLINE LOOP

I first headed east on Old Vincennes Road up to the Luther Road stop sign, hung a left to go east and continued to cross U.S. 150 and on down to Paoli Pike were a right takes you to the light at Scottsville Road.  The Hobknobb Roasting company is a good stop there, but I was only 5 miles out and looked forward to a fresh cup when I was circling back about 10 miles later.

Turning left, go up to the next stop sign, St. Mary Road, and go right for a delicious, curvy roll along the base of Spickert and Moser Knobs.  It's shaded in the mornings and traffic is usually light unless its rush hour or school is just starting or getting out.  St. Mary's of the Knobs church is a nice place to stop, stretch and drink some water if you, or the less experienced riders with you need a short break.  The cemetery also has headstones from many older area families, some dating back to the early 19th century.

At the church, take a right to get on Campion Road and continue a meandering ride along the creek bed until you come to the marked intersection where Atkins Road goes north, Moser Knob Road, to your right, heads northeast straight up hill and So. Skyline Drive, also to your right, curves back right and southward.  

Atkins Road is the easiest way to get up on top of the knobs and, after a right turn at Von Allman a couple miles later,  makes for a sweet ride along the ridge crest on North Skyline back to Moser Knob where you can hapilly come down the hill back to Campion.  If you want a few more miles, take it;  it's great. 

But today, I wanted to do a figure eight that included some of the western part of the county and one of the sweetest creekside rides out here, Hamby Road.  So, I turned up South Skyline, which starts level but in about a third of a mile turns into a good uphill climb to get your heart and lungs pumping.  Once on top, it's an easy ride and, once past some extravagant subdivisions and antenna farms, turns lovely as you follow curving rollers through a mostly wooded ridge crest back to Spickert Knob Road (it comes up the knob on your left) and on a gentle grade downhill back to St. Mary.  At Scottsville Road, watch for traffic as you turn left and book it back to Paoli Pike.  Now might be a good time for a coffee and bagel or morning muffin.  They roast locally, so the brew will be good.

From here, you backtrack west on Paoli Pike, just after the Post Office turn left on E. Luther Road and follow it back uphill to U.S. 150 and onward to Old Vincennes where you take a right and can enjoy a gleefully quick downhill back to Floyd Central H.S.  If you start here, you've done a good 15 miles or so, with lots of aerobic sections, hill climbs and shady country road down hills to put you in a good mood.

GREENVILLE/HAMBY ROAD LOOP

 If you want a bit more, about 17 miles more, keep heading due west on Old Vincennes.  Go straight through the stop sign in half a mile at Edwardsville-Galena Rd., and in about 150 yards go straight again (despite the yellow line curving left to John Pectol Rd.) to stay on Old Vincennes.  There's a testy little rise .4 miles ahead, but once up and over, it's smooth sailing.

After Featheringill, you pass a horse farm and ride over some rollers into a gentle downhill into the Indian Creek basin.  At early morning or evening dusk you might see a Great Blue Heron or deer along the creek before climbing out and up for a mile to Buttontown Road.  On your left is the old Greenville cemetery worth a check if you need to stretch after climb.

Turn right at Buttontown and you're heading due north towards Greenville.  Just after passing the park and before getting to U.S. 150, take a left on an unmarked street along a chain link fence.  It will bring you through the backside of Greenville where in less than a mile, you will come to Georgetown-Greenville Road.   On your left will be the neat-as-a-pin, beautiful, white United Methodist Church, which is celebrating its 108th anniversary this year.  If you need some drinks or a sandwich, the Greenville Mini-Mart is one block to your left and worthy of your patronage.

Turning left, you enjoy a gradual downhill ride southward out of town.  After passing some pretty cattle farms, the road turns right and quickly climbs up a rise, but it's not too bad.  Keep going and enjoy the better direction of the rollers that will take you down to Richland Creek, which you generally follow for a few more miles before the road ends at a T where you'll turn left. This is about 10 miles out from the high school.

As you continue along Georgetown-Greenville a couple more miles, you'll see the classic suburban fringe:  new single family homes along the county road like punctuating active farm fields of handsome corn and soy beans as you get back into the Indian Creek watershed.  After crossing the creek, keep a look out for Cooks Mill Road on your left, it appears quickly.  Take it and in only a third of a mile take another left onto Hamby Road and gear down to climb your last hill.  It's short and the last one of the day other than climbing back up to the Floyd Central

parking lot.

You'll quickly leave the soybean covered hilltop and start down.  BE CAREFUL, there is a wicked switchback to the right which you have to take s-l-o-w-l-y.  Once around it, let it go and enjoy one of the sweetest stretches in the county.  You follow the cooler air of wooded creek bed, see more farming, break out into the sun as you cross the creek bottom and re-enter the woods as the road ends in about 1.5 miles at Buttontown Road to your left and John Pectol to the right.  Turn right, cross the one-lane, wood plank bridge, and continue along similar shaded road (without the creek) about three  more miles back to Old Vincennes Road where you curve to the right and go .8 miles back to the high school.  

While the elevation changes sum up the same, this loop to me seems easier to do counterclockwise.  Maybe it's where they occur in the route, but the climb up from Indian Creek over the hill into Richland Creek drainage and the climbs up rollers back into Greenville seem more challenging.  So, on those days you need more pepper in your ride, take the loop clockwise.

Now's a good time for us all to be posting what we think are "best rides".