I HAVE RETURNED!

Well....I finally regained some level of testosterone, and decided to return. Since the last post I have done the Dirty Kanza again, or should I say have attempted the Dirty Kanza. That's right, I was unable to finish the race this year. To me this is a humbling experience. For the first time in my life, I did not finish a race that I started. This was a true kick to the nut sack.

To make a long story short, when I woke the morning of the race it was already 70 degrees at 5:00am, and 15 mile an hour winds. The forecast for the day......record highs and 20 mile per hour south winds. The course was, 35-40 miles south, 100 miles north, and then 65 miles south. The plan for the day if I wanted a chance to win.....go out a little harder than I normally would until we turn and go north, then back off some to recover for a while. This would have put me in a good spot.

What happened......Went out pretty hard to the spot when we were to turn and go north. I was in a good spot at this point (3rd place), but this is where things turned horribly wrong. As we were reaching the turning spot, the wind shifted!....To the NORTH!!!!.....At this point I knew that my plan was out the window, and I was in for a great deal of pain.....Then, at mile 43 or 44, a flat tire. This was a mental blow. Finally got the tire repaired, and chased for a while. Passed a few people and entered the first check point of 3 in fair position, some where in the top ten.

Got my map and filled my water and headed out again.....in a 30-35 mile per hour head wind......in 93 degree temperatures.......ran out of water.......got cramps.....couldn't bring the old ticker down......Pulled the plug at mile 100....TOASTED!!!!! The one thing that made me feel better about the day was that about 90 people started, and only 15 finished. The Dirty Kanza this year dished out a good old fashion butt kickin.

Since then I have been busy catching up, and helping around the house. Doing things that I had been putting off while I have been training. The rides have been somewhere around 2 hours long, but higher intensity.......with lots of hills. Been trying to get the legs ready for the Fire Cracker 50. I will do a couple of longer rides this week, and then we are headed off to Colorado. It will really be nice to take the family with me. We are turning it into a family vacation. At the end of the vacation will be the 4th of July......Breckenridge.....Fire Cracker 50......the wife unit will do a 10K. While we are their we will do some fun things also, like white water rafting.

Before I leave you, I want to tell you all about the race coming up here in Emporia. It will be on July 19th, out at Camp Alexander. This is really exciting! To have a race on the home course will be cool. Info can be found here http://crampalexanderrace.blogspot.com

Until the next time.....Keep the rubber side down!

Peace Out