Ok, so it has been a few days since I have blogged, but it has been very busy! This is the time of year that my Bike Life starts to consume all areas of my life, but you have to just go with the flow! So, I posted some more pictures of my short stint in Colorado Springs hanging out with Cameron Chambers (check out his blog weekly, he is a machine these days, not like anything has really changed?) Cameron works at CTS , if you are not familiar with the racing world of cycling, CTS is one of the premier training and coaching groups in the United States. They put on some incredible Epic Training Camps. If you are ever interested in coaching or a training camp, check these guys out! You might even get a hold of Cameron on the phone if you call in??
Anyway, I had the experience of a personal tour of the facility and a few days of riding with Cameron and some of the CTS crew.When you enter the scene is pretty impressive. The walls are covered with some pretty impressive CTS athletes and of course some Epic Pictures and mural's of Lance. The training area is simple, but very effective! They were actually shooting a video interview with Carmichael the second day on my visit. Pretty cool to just listen in to some of the High Tech training techniques they were discussing. You will need to buy the video to learn more! I was sworn to be quite about that part of the experience. The treadmill's were incredible as well, if my wife would have been with me, we would be probably purchasing one of those for our house this Winter! The layout is very open and makes you feel comfortable. Not a huge facility, but perfect for some intimate group training and one on one coaching. Like I stated in another post, it is a Mecha for cycling in that area! Ton's of fun and plenty of family stuff to do post ride if you ever are thinking of a trip out West?
So, last weekend was Father's day and I spent it with my family at The Lake of the Ozarks. I love riding in that area! It is great for the short steep hard stuff that you encounter when racing in the Midwest. Never a moments rest riding in and around the lake! I took a photo of one of my favorite points of the route when I spend time in that area. It is actually better road riding in the area during the Fall and Spring. Much less traffic and very challenging! The Mountain Biking is pretty incredible in that area as well. The State Park offer's many trail options and there is some hidden trail off of HH Highway. Just Stop in at Oz Bike Shop off of Hwy 54 and sweet talk those guys a bit and they will spill their guts out about the hidden trails! Trust me it is worth it! I hope to race in late October on the trail system, we shall see?
This weekend is interesting. I am a bit frustrated about the timing of the races in this area. We have a great event called the Tour of KC. It starts tonite and goes through Sunday. Awesome Crits! All of which I would love to do! I have been riding some of the Tuesday Nite crits here and have felt pretty good. But, will not be able to test that out this weekend. Because, I live in Kansas and we have the State Age Group Road Race tomorrow and then on Sunday the State Mountain Bike Race. I am dedicated to our State Championship races this year. I know it is a personal Choice, but when you look at our race Calendar for Missouri and for Kansas concerning the Road Racing scene, it is Crickets from Mid July through the end of August! Why race the Tour of KC on the same weekend as the other races? It is weird that the promoters in this area do not work as well together as the promoters did in Florida. The Florida promoter's seem to git that a bit more. Even in cyclocross around here, the promoters seem to coordinate Missouri and Kansas events in a better fashion? I guess I am upset, because I want to race all of the events, but I am forced to make a choice. That is just Life! You gotta make a choice and go with it! So, I am racing my State Races this weekend. I hope to find the Podium at one or both events. I have been racing well on the road and on the Mountain Bike this year. It has been very tricky balancing that out. After this weekend, not many road events on my calendar, but I will be playing a lot more in the dirt and I look forward to having some Dirt Loving Good Times!
The Picture of the Bike is a SPIN! Promotion that is happening at the Lee Summit, Mo SPIN! location When you go and eat at that location from July, you have a chance to enter a raffle for this Specilized Bike provided by Bike Stop in Lee Summit. It is $1.00 for a ticket and you can purchase up to 10 tickets at a time. All the proceed's go to the Tour De BBQ Livestrong of KC foundation. We need to kick Cancer's Ass! Ever little bit helps!
Hope to see some of you out at a race or a SPIN! ride soon! Until then, keep the rubber side down and GO!
