Today is Monday September 21 2026 and last weekend i rode my bike outdoors, twice.
It's all king of a blur... but it was good.
Saturday i did 61 miles on my cx bike and Sunday i did 23 miles on my cx bike.
This upcoming Saturday i'm hoping to do the 55 miles distance at the Steve Tilford Foundation Epic gravel race in Lawrence, KS so i figured i'd better spend some quality time on the cx bike first.
Saturday i was up early and i had to be very quiet because the not so little man had a few friends sleeping over and they were in the back living room right off the kitchen with no door between them and the rest of the house. i prepped the night before so i could quickly and quietly get out the door, it worked and i was pedaling by 6am.
Temperature at departure was 77 and it felt glorious. i did the Rocky route (i think i pushed hard, its a blur) and then happened upon the Bike MS ride going thru midtown so i hooked up with them for a bit. i ended up crossing the Bike MS route again and this time joined them for maybe 45 minutes complete with an aid station and official photos!
Ultimately i ended up close to Avila University before turning around for home. On the way home Andre from One Star Bicycle passed me so i turned around and rode with him and his wife for a few minutes before turning around again and truly going home.
With the exception of red lights and stop signs i didn't stop on this ride. No water stops, no bathroom stops, no coffee stops. Okay, technically i briefly stopped at the Bike MS aid station but once that official photographer took my picture i was out of there!
Riding unobstructed rural roads would i'm sure have served me better as prep for a 55 mile gravel race... but at least i didn't stop.
(i took no pictures of the ms ride or of Andre, but i swear they really happened.)
Later that day i saw a cool butterfly while walking the dog.
Sunday i was out the door around 8:30 am for a quick ride to Crown Center and back.
A cold front blew thru overnight and i started the ride with a wind jacket but that quickly came off because the dew point was still pretty high. Later in the ride it started misting and just like that it felt like fall. We had a very hot and very extended end of summer here in KC so hopefully that's done for the year.
My legs were tired on this ride but there was still power to be had, it felt like the floor of my fitness had been raised and i could push one or two gears harder than normal.
Later that day i cooked some steaks on the grill and watched the Chiefs win in OT.
The Little Sugar mountain bike race is close, my fitness is good, i'm getting nervous!
Saturday...
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