Johnnys Ride...

Today is Thursday August 27 2026 and last night i did the Johnny's group ride.

i felt great until i didn't and then i got dropped.

After getting dropped i chased very hard for the remainder of the ride. My calves were cramping by the end. The first part of the chase was done in tandem with a cool guy on a tt bike, we worked well together and almost caught the group several times but the traffic lights were just barely working against us. Eventually he turned of and i finished the ride solo.

A trend has appeared on these group rides, i'm getting dropped on the long uninterrupted pedaling sections. So now i'm googling "cycling best way to improve my sustained power". TBD on if i will seriously attempt to put into practice the results of that google search.

i'm constantly re-evaluating what i want from cycling. i want to get faster and be at or towards the front of group rides and races but i don't want to do riding that doesn't appeal to me. Riding hard appeals to me but riding smart continues to elude me and i appear to have reached the point where riding smart is necessary to unlock the next level or riding hard.

Coming to terms with your mental and physical limits is a trip!

Life is a journey!

Weekend Bike Rides... 115 miles worth

Today is Monday August 24 2026 and i rode my bike outdoors twice over the weekend.

It was pretty amazing.

On Saturday i did 67 miles on the road bike and on Sunday i did 48 miles on the mountain bike (on pavement).

X is making good progress as she recovers from her bike crash / dislocated elbow but she's still weeks away from really exercising... which means i have a little more free time if i play my cards right. And playing my cards right means getting up early on Saturday and Sunday because that's where the best free time is.

Saturday morning i pedaled towards Lawrence but stopped and turned around about 5 miles out when i noticed storm clouds dead ahead. It caught me off guard. Either i hadn't been paying attention or they came out of nowhere. i raced the storm back home but it caught me and i got pretty wet.

Later that day the not so little man (whose basically 100% recovered from his sprained wrist) and i went to the Spirit Halloween store, one of our favorite places.

Sunday i was up early again for a sweet urban mountain bike adventure which culminated with the Old Leawood North loop. The temps finally dropped and i had to start that ride with a wind jacket, which was awesome. Fall is coming

This was a very encouraging weekend. i felt pretty great on both rides.

My loose plan all year was to be fast (or at least less slow) in the fall and its looking like i may actually pull that off. Now i need to start thinking about what a successful fall will look like. the Little Sugar mountain bike race is fast approaching but prior to that i see two other mountain bike races i could do plus a gravel race. All are in close proximity meaning i've got a real shot at participating.

Hopefully i can do at least 3 of those 4 races and if i can do well in 2 of those 3 then i'll be happy. i'll hold of on defining what "doing well" entails until i'm in the process of trying to do it.

X and the not so little man are again coming with me to the Little Sugar race, we're going down on Thursday and the race is on Sunday. Last year i emptied the tank prior to race day which meant my performance was underwhelming. This year i'd like to avoid that plus i'm pretty sure i'm in much better shape so not taking advantage of that would be a bummer.

i think with a bit of planning and foresight i can manage a short family vacation which concludes with a bike race. 

Things are happening!

Saturday Ride...

Sunday Ride...

Johnny's Ride... i've abandoned my boy!

Today is Thursday August 20 2026 and last night i did the Johnny's ride.

It was pretty great.

Although like Daniel Plainview in the bad a*s movie There Will Be Blood i did have to abandon my boy to make it happen. i also had to abandon my wife.

But only for one hour and forty five minutes. 

Plus both of them are showing real signs of improvement from their recent injuries and by golly they can survive on their own for less than 2 hours.

The ride was sweet. i stayed with the group all the way to the end which is maybe only the third time that's happened. The pace was probably slower than usual and i avoided the wind like the plague... but i'll take it.

The Little Sugar mountain bike race is about 7 weeks away and i see a few other races before that that might be able to do.

And then cyclo-cross?

Bicycles!

Water Fountain Loop

Today is Wednesday August 19 2026 and last night i did the water fountain loop.

It was pretty bad a*s.

i did feel bad leaving X at home since she's still in bad shape from her hard bike crash on Sunday. Plus to make matters worse the not so little man now has a badly sprained wrist and he's needed almost as much special care as X.

i've been pulling triple duty taking care of everyone since Monday afternoon so i determined some personal time was needed...  around 6pm i threw on the The Lord of the Rings The Fellowship of the Ring movie, got everybody fed, medicated, and settled on the couch, and then i headed out.

One hour and twenty seven minutes later i arrived home after an amazing single speed bike ride to crown center and back. 

It was awesome. i felt good. i didn't have much out of the saddle umph but i crushed some climbs while seated.

i'm hoping to abandon my family again this evening to do the Wednesday Johnny's ride (i've earned it, right? :-) but i put the odds at 50 - 50.

Weekend Bike Rides... X in the ER version

Today is Monday August 17 2026 and i rode my bike outdoors on Saturday and Sunday.

On Saturday i did 56 miles on the road bike and on Sunday i did maybe 15 miles on the mountain bike but that ride changed drastically when X called mid ride to say she had crashed her bike and needed immediate help. She was on a separate ride, riding solo, and she slid out on some wet leaves on the Indian Creek paved trail at Corporate Woods. Thankfully other trail users showed up quickly to help her out. 

911 was called and she took an ambulance to the hospital and i met her there.

She had a dislocated elbow which was causing some pretty intense pain, plus a fracture in that elbow, a small puncture wound in her wrist that needed two stitches, and then just general bruises and scrapes. i think the pain from the elbow sent her into shock because it sounds like she almost passed out shortly after crashing.

She was very banged up (a hard bicycle crash in your mid 40's is no joke!) but it appears serious injury was avoided.

i feel terrible that she had to go thru that alone. She was panicking when she initially called. Her Apple watch sent out a 'hard fall sos' emergency notification to 5 people and that was a huge help. 

Once she got to the ER and they got the elbow back in place (they put her under for that) things got a lot better but she still spent 5 hours there while they checked everything over. 

Hopefully today she can see a specialist for the elbow fracture and we'll understand the full extent of the damage.

Despite appearing to avoid serious injury it's still a real bummer for her because she's in great shape right now and was planning to do another roller skating marathon in Duluth Minnesota in a month... i assume there's no way in hell that's happening anymore.

But such is life. And until she gets better the not so little man and i are ready to wait on her hand and foot.

In the meantime... watch those slippery corners!

Saturday Ride...

Saturday Night Bonus picture... X setting the skip-it record at 400 at a Jock Jam's themed birthday party. A fitness high water mark if ever there was one!

Sunday Ride and ER Trip....