Thursday, May 19, 2011

Several miles later...



Shame on me for losing many opportunities to update my blog. I have had a pretty good spring thus far. I started commuting to work again, this time, much earlier in the spring than I ever have before. We did get quite the load of snow this winter, then a good dose of spring. The last few weeks have been rather cool however, and quite a bit of flooding. One of the makeshift bridges that I use to avoid the highway during my morning commute has washed away.






This spring, I missed my annual trip out west to rendezvous with the guys in Utah/Idaho. This is the first time in 7 years that I did not make the trip. It was due to lack of interest and commitment from my group here. I had the hardest time getting a group committed, and in the end, half of them backed out, and I couldn't afford to make the trip with the gas price as it is. It's tough when you are counting on others to make your trip possible, but that's the way it has always been for me. Sadly, we were supposed to meet up in Fruita Colorado this time around instead of Moab. There's always next year.






I am currently working on a boy scout bike trip for July. I have a group of about 10 14-15 year old boys that I am taking on the Katy trail, a 225 mile Rails-to-Trails trail across Missouri. We have been doing some training rides to help us get ready including rides during the floods, which was quite an adventure (see the pic) The boys are very enthusiastic, and I am definitely seeing them get excited about biking. I refuse to let any of them have a bad experience by riding something less than decent for such a ride. NO WALMART TRASH on our ride.

Finish of race in Kansas 2004