redkow97

For my own reference, and anyone else's information: the original course was taking the leaders in the cat 3/4 race 12 minutes a lap. I did preride the entire original course, including the completely swampy woods section that was cut out for my race. (they cut it to be nice to us, and because it's only a 30 minute race. 2 laps didn't sound like much fun) I completed 3 laps. Most of the field completed 4. Also (and I can't believe I'm going to type this) I got beat by an old guy wearing a turkey costume. He was gracious in his victory.

Now that i'm back in front of a keyboard, and not trying to post from my iPad... I already want to do this again, but I wish I had more time to train and practice. The next race is Sunday, and I'm almost definitely going to be too hung over to make that happen. But I can register the day of the event if I'm wrong. This course was pretty epic. It was 100% natural obstacles. I am very familiar with the host site (the Broadview Heights soccer/baseball fields), because my dad was the commissioner of the youth soccer league when I was a kid, and then I worked for the rec department when I was 16. I knew there would be a couple of serious hills. I was right. I got there early, got my race number, and was notified that they were 15 mins behind. Okay - no big deal. I checked out the course and watched some people who actually know what they're doing. Then my friend Matt showed up and offered to preride with me. Definitely a good call, but his 'relaxed' pace was about all I could handled. My bike also decided that it no longer wanted to down-shift. I did the entire race in 7th and 8th gear. (the derailleur worked ONCE the entire race when I tried to drop a gear out of habit). I'm going to rely on that pretty hard as a future excuse :-P The course layout was challenging. VERY muddy in some places. Mostly on cambered descents. People were walking their bikes down the hill. I rode through on principle. I only dismounted the bike in 2 spots: a staircase and steep climb that everyone was running, and an extremely soupy section where I would have liked a lower gear. My cardio and general pedaling strength is garbage. That was a disappointment. Not because I didn't expect it, but because a couple years ago I could run 8+ miles at a respectable pace. My kids have ruined me! I'm pretty much on a mission to get a lot better quickly. We'll see if I do.

That was humbling. Fun, but humbling. I will do better next time.

I may have to go pick that up. Was hoping to support my local guy, and pick it up during lunch, or after work. Hard to get away from the kids and wife on weekends.

what are you looking to get out of it?

I have my local gun shop looking for one. Hard to find.

Glad this went to a good home, and also glad I no longer have to buy it Now someone find me a 9mm carbine for under $500...

it's a 30 minute race. My hydration system is to drink water until 11:00, and then race at noon. Plus I can stop on the course and get sips of water from my dad... I'm not going to be competing for a win, so a 10 second stop is no big deal.

The brakes are in good shape. I have to stop myself plus a toddler and a bike trailer from 20mph pretty regularly :-) i replaced one one tube in the spring, but I can't remember which one...

Then you better make it up to Ridgeville before I do ;-)

As a first-timer with a one-day license, I'm only allowed to do the cat 5/4 race, and I can zip-tie the deraileurs (or however the hell you snobby European cycling types spell it) if I want to do the single-speed race later in the day. I don't think my dad can stick around long enough to watch my daughter, so probably just the one race. I'm resigned to coming in dead last. My goal is simply to finish, and hopefully have some fun. Get a good workout in. Maybe crash in spectacular fashion and mug for some pictures. The guy who 'convinced' me to sign up is the 2015 points champion for the cat 1 class... I knew he posted a lot of podium pictures. I did not know he was pretty much THE guy to beat in this region. Super humble. I've chatted with him about cycling before, and he plays it off like, "yeah, I'm okay at riding, I guess." I did a 30 minute "hills plus" interval workout on the stationary bike at the gym yesterday. at "level 15" (whatever that means), it was challenging, but I never fell below 60 RPM, nor did I adjust the difficulty down. I actually went from level 10 to level 15 after the warm up. I had no idea the "hills" would get larger as the workout progressed... I'm a little sore today, but my joints aren't screaming. That would not have been the case if I'd run for half an hour. This is highly encouraging. I may take GoPro footage of the race. Thinking I'll have to helmet-mount the camera though. Handlebars would be too bouncy.

fuck. my 'gun money' is currently set aside for a 9mm carbine, but 22 pistol was next on the list. I can't make it out this weekend, and next weekend is thanksgiving aftermath... If you still have this in December, I'll come get it.

platform pedals. 26" tires. They won't hose it down. I know the venue very well. There isn't a water source. It may GET muddy though. Why would my MTB tires not do as well as CX tires?

Back at the gym. Again. Having 2 kids makes me feel pretty guilty about not going straight home after work. Registered for a cyclocross race on Sunday (see thread in the cycling forum). That should be humbling, but having a competitive reason to train for something helps me be more consistent at the gym. There's another race the Sunday after Thanksgiving. Wife and I booked a weekend trip in March. Nowhere fancy, but it's with a lot of people we haven't seen in several years, and there's a hot tub. the last time these people saw me I was 185 and worked out 5+ days a week. Currently at 175, and nearing "dad bod" status. I'm still a little too young for that shit.

The worst project is the one you didn't know you were buying...

I'm a casual cyclist at best. I mostly tow my daughter around the neighborhood or through the metroparks. I'm also always looking for fun new hobbies I don't have time for. Long story short, a guy at another law firm is hardcore into cyclocross and convinced me to enter in a race on Sunday. I'm riding a borrowed 90's Trek 850 (sponsored by Anderson Door Racing!) with intermediate tires (i wouldn't say knobby, but definitely not 'hybrid' either). I own a helmet, and will be dressing more for the weather than for 'cycling' per se. How fucked am I for Sunday?

what's the charge time on this 100 mile highway bike? I think I could run a cord out my office window, or hell, without fumes or potential fluid leaks, I might be able to bring an electric bike into my office...

Don't think of it as GF not being supportive, think of it as a fiscal conscience My wife reigns me in and keeps me from making impulsive buys. It's annoying, but beneficial. As for the bike, the Panigales look awesome and perform at least as well. With that said, I find it increasingly hilarious that Ducati's "middleweight" bike is now over 950cc. Ten years ago their "superbike" was a 999!

A friend of mine recently launched this company: https://www.mykomae.com/ It's a time-sharing app for child care. The website will explain it better than I can... It's not stupid. And like I mentioned in my long post, it's not quite as 'bleak' as I made it sound. Wife and I went to the Cavs game last night and stayed out in hopes of celebrating a world series win. That didn't really go as planned, but we had my parents watching the kids, and free reign to "stay out as late as you want, if the Indians win." the negative reality of that though is that I left for work at 7:00 yesterday morning and didn't get home until 11:30. My oldest never laid eyes on me yesterday. I checked on her and kissed her goodnight when I got home, but she didn't wake up. As far as she's concerned, I have been gone since bed time on Monday, and I won't be home before 6:00 on Wednesday. I would be shocked if her 2.6 yr old brain comprehends that, but it bothers me. Our newborn was wide awake when we got home, so I held her for a minute. 8-week appointment yesterday. She got shots. was NOT super happy with the soreness, so she was up more than usual over night.

I'm counting down the days until I can trust my oldest to supervise herself while I'm on the track... God willing, she'll be riding her own bike by then, but i WILL NOT turn into "pit-bitch dad" who plays mechanic and support staff all day, but doesn't get any laps in himself. I'll cut it back to 1 race class, but I'm lapping my kid during practice until she can keep up. For her sake, I hope she's quicker than her old man.

is the S10 complete, or still waiting on the engine to drop in? What kind of power will it make? any performance goals?

I'll try to remember to update this thread when I finally start digging. right now i have a wood pile stacked on top of the headstone, but I'm going to try to save money for the shed project this winter, frame out the walls and roof joists in the garage in the spring, and then dig and pour the footer supports when I'm relatively confident the ground will remain thawed. It's possible that I could keep the floor joists above the level of the grave, and just fill in between them with gravel, so i'm less likely to get animals living under the shed... Local ordinances say the shed can't be taller than 11'. It doesn't say I can't set it on a 1' tall deck.

I don't. I'm gone 11 hrs/day for work and see the kids for 2-3 hours between the time I get home and the time they go to sleep. That's not counting the newborn who really only sleeps when we're driving, or during the middle of the day. Your first kid is a life-changer, but you'll get the hang of it. A second is harder... I look at the newborn and think "she's so easy. Her sister is the one making things impossible right now. If we JUST had the baby, this would be a cakewalk." With that in mind, I do my best to get our 2 yr old out of the house when I get home. The wife may not be able to nap, but she will get the dishes done and a load of laundry in, and then get 20 minutes to sit down at least... Weekends are pretty similar right now. I wake up at 7:30 with our toddler and we eat breakfast together while wife and newborn 'sleep in.' Wife feeds newborn and brings her down to me. I watch both kids while wife eats, and maybe showers. Toddler has swim lessons at 10:00. I stay home with newborn and wife goes to swim lessons, then takes toddler to brunch/lunch if she puts her head under water without freaking out. We're all together for lunch. Wife may take newborn on an errand, or go out with her mom or sister. Otherwise I take toddler on a bike ride, or we go to teh park, or we play in the yard so wife gets a break from her. Spending 8+ hours a day with a 2-yr-old is no picnic, so I try to give her some semblance of a weekend. I was still riding (racing) 1-2 Saturdays a month before we had the second baby. Now I have to take the toddler (and a babysitter) to the track with me. Luckily my sister lives near the track, and values time with her niece. I'm dramatizing things a bit, but parenting leaves very little time for yourself, or time to spend with your wife/girlfriend. It's a lot of helping each other survive and giving each other breaks so neither of you lose your shit. We're lucky enough to have grandparents and aunts in town who will take our kids so we can go out.

right back at ya. Ours was born 8/31. I was urging my wife to hold off for midnight so her birthday could be 9/1. Better race number than 831

I may have watched Barret-Jackson one too many times, but if you get some blue over-spray on those white valve covers, people will think it's original That's a nice S10, which isn't something you'll hear me say very often. It's almost TOO nice. I would like it as much or better if it looked like every other S10 on the road, but then had the LS under the hood to surprise people :-D