We headed towards Kahola lake and had unusually cool weather for a Kansas August last Sunday. We didn’t have any racers with us, so it was a pretty chilled ride, just what I needed. With the move, we’ve been trying to get situated in our new house and my cycling miles have gone down considerably. My mood has taken a dive too, so I need to get back on the bike for sure.

Shawn rode his singlespeed. I rode the Fargo.

Shawn wrote a few articles in Issue One and is an avid cyclist. He is the reason I bought my first real bike back in 1990. He is very busy as the co-owner of IM Design and the father of two boys, but still finds time to ride on a weekly basis. If you are in or near Emporia, the Thursday Night Ride meets at his house at 6:30 at 15th and Sherwood. Anyway, good for Shawn for finding the time to ride with life going on all around him. That’s not always easy. I know if I don’t ride, I get very cranky and feel miserable mentally. It is very much like medication for me.

Here’s a few pictures of the birthday boy balancing in my shot. He looks pretty good for an old man, wouldn’t you say?

Good thing John brought that spare tire in case one of us has a flat or something. I have been riding with Shawn and John for years. There’s nothing like riding with old friends, or new friends for that matter. I am itching for a multi-day bike tour. I need to get some ultralight gear. I hope I can do something like that, maybe even this year if all the stars and planets align just right…

We hit plenty of hills on this ride. It was nice being able to motor up the hills ahead of everyone but Shawn on his singlespeed. Shawn has always had the endurance of a madman. I am always last when I ride with the racers, so this was a nice change. I am definitely not fast, but have gotten a lot stronger on the bike in the past year or so.

Who can guess what’s happening here? Check out Rick wearing the OLD SCHOOL bikeworks tee.

Yeah, there’s something wrong with this bike. It doesn’t have any gears.

I am going to have to borrow a singlespeed to ride on an entire bike ride to see what I think. I don’t know if I am tough enough to muscle it up all the hills or not. I gotta find out though. This was a great ride. Happy Birthday Shawn! I can’t think of a better way to celebrate.

Feed Your Monkey!
Eric

Share this:

There were so many reasons why a guy like me not only shouldn’t have entered that race but also should never have finished.

But I did.

How?

• I made the decision to do something incredible. The simple act of making and committing to a decision may be the most important step in greatness.
• I researched and asked questions on how to prepare for such an event
• I worked very hard to train, no matter what. There is no substitute for hard work. There are no shortcuts to real success in this life. Nothing worth doing is easy. Get it? Great accomplishments take great effort.
• I did my best to believe in myself, stay positive, not listen to the naysayers and I asked for much divine help and guidance.
• When the going got tough and then painful on race day, I kept pedaling. One pedal stroke at a time finally led to 205 miles.

 As I finished that race, I left the negative reasons why I can’t do something in the dust of the Flint Hills. There’s no reason why I can’t accomplish great things anymore. If a short, goofy, not very athletic guy like me can do it, there’s hope for you. Just get off the couch and do something!

With the DK200 behind me, I figured I should also complete the Flint Hills Death Ride, mainly to say that I did it. I entered well before things got crazy at home.

Packing my belongings in many boxes, trying to help Jen make decisions about all kinds of things and just the stress of moving all took their toll on any training I may have done for the Death Ride. I got in about one ride a week for quite a few weeks before the Death Ride. It should be OK, right?

I have found that lack of sleep, stress and bad diet make for a terrible combination on the bike. That about sets the stage for my Death Ride experience.

Robert and Kevin crashed at my house the night before the ride. We all looked south that evening towards Madison, Kansas, the location of the Death Ride. The dark clouds looked very ominous. Madison was getting pounded with rain. I don’t have very good luck riding in the mud, and we were thinking they would cancel the ride. We decided to show up and see what happens. Maybe we would just pick up our t-shirt and go home. I read on their website that they ride rain or shine, but I didn’t want to pay for a new derailleur again, so I was skeptical about completing this one. I gotta say, I hate riding in mud unless I have a gasoline powered motor to get through it.

Here we are before leaving to tackle the Flint Hills Death Ride. Not sure about the placement of that spout in front of me there. And yes, Kevin is oddly tall and hairless.

Madison, Kansas It was pretty dark and the sensor on my point and shoot didn’t like it (noisey!)

At the starting line. I was thinking I would be able to get this 80 mile ride done pretty quick. I had some packing to do.

Kevin was trying to psyche himself up. I think I had him pretty nervous. The guy only rides like 800 miles a week or something.

Robert, bringing some culture and straight up coolness to the small town of Madison, Kansas

No, I’m not sure what Kevin is doing behind me there. I am ready to roll out into the steamy Flint Hills. The air was so thick I could chew it.

Kevin and I rode together for a short while and soon made it up to the front of the pack. I was feeling good and decided to ride hard. That lasted for a while.

Dirty Kanza riders may recall this tower now poking into the low clouds and mist. It didn’t take long for my glasses to become unusable. I had to slide them down my nose to see, a nice look I’m sure. At this point, I was still treating this ride as a race and I was doing quite well. I wasn’t feeling that great, but not bad overall. The roads were sticky, but not unbearable. Kevin is no longer in my sights. I think he was going for the gold medal. Oh wait, everyone gets one on this ride.

I felt strong. Then I hit this hill after a long stretch of muddy, sticky roads. They weren’t unridable, but it took a lot more effort. I had only stopped at one SAG stop for a water refill and was doing quite well on time. My attitude was, “let’s get this thing over with.” Not the best attitude to have. It’s called the Flint HIlls Death Ride, not Race after all. Things have been a bit stressful and what I really needed was a nice leisure ride with my Fargo to help me relax.

Pedaling hard to make it up this hill, I cramped up and had to get off the bike and push. I didn’t feel too bad because others were doing the same. I was a little worried about another day full of cramping though.

I had no excuse this time. I was good on electrolytes and water and food, but after that hill, I pedaled hard again and a cramp started in my thigh. Ouch. I tried to stretch quick and start pedaling again, but every time I relaxed my leg on the up stroke, my thigh cramped up to a painful ball of thick muscle.

Then I finally looked around me. I mean really looked around me. That’s when I was reminded of the gift of seeing that I have. I was ignoring this gift trying to be like Matt Gersib or something. Jeez, I don’t know if I could even keep up with Jason Mahokey let alone Gersib or even Wintle for that matter. I don’t think racing and competition are bad, it’s quite fun actualy, and I do hope I get over these cramps and become a decent cyclist, but even in my description of myself (thanks Gnat), I am a photographer that fell in love with cycling. I want to inspire people to get outside and experience the grandeur of God’s creation – the earth and our amazing bodies. I took out the camera and shot a few pictures. “This is what I should be doing,” I thought. “Don’t forget that.”

At this point I decided to ride up to the point before I would cramp. That meant just a little slower on the climbs. I did notice something on this ride even at this point of my day. I was crushing people up the hills. That’s good. Not that I could crush a seasoned racer, but among us normal people, I was doing pretty good. I am getting better. 

After the cramps, I noticed something else. I was tired. No, I was exhausted. A lot has been going on these past few weeks and it all caught up to me at around 40 miles into this ride. Then I hit this downhill full of big chunky rocks, sharp flint rocks, a washed out ravine on the side followed by a steep ditch followed by an ambulance ride home. I laid on the rear brake and after it dried off a bit it almost was able to stop me. I finally had to pull my foot out of the pedal before the ravine and I became intimate with each other. I decided I should take a shot of where I almost died on the Death Ride.

The one great thing about this ride, is that it is in beautiful country. If you want to see it, let me know, I’ll lead you through it for free. Oh wait don’t forget about the first Adventure Monkey Flint Hills photo-cycling tour on the weekend of September 10 through the 12. It will happen for sure, details to be announced soon so clear your calenders. Any ability of cyclist and photographer is welcome, but not every tire will survive. Fun will be had by all. Now back to the Death Ride.

The course for this ride was pretty nice, I must say. There was more challenge than the past couple of years I heard and it was pretty challenging for me too. Not that I am a stud (I am), but I do most of my cycling in the Flint Hills. The vast prairie was green and beautiful and the clouds were a perfect touch, not to mention they kept it a bit cooler. The humidity was hard to take as usual.

Somewhere after this point I was all alone pedaling in the thick Kansas humidity. I looked a the speedometer. It didn’t seem to be moving. It seemed like hitting 50 miles would never happen. Then I heard the worst sound ever, maybe even worse than Mikey’s whining voice as he screams at Melissa. It was my chain. The mud had dried it out and coated it with gunk. It was not only squeaking, I could hear it grinding. I was cranking hard up hills listening to the chain making nasty squealing and grinding noises that I could also feel in my pedals. All of this was playing havoc on my mental state. I still haven’t hit 50 miles. All then sudden, I no longer wanted to be on my bike. I was exhausted both physically and mentally. I had pushed hard for 40 miles and zapped my energy. But there’s no way I was going to finish the Dirty Kanza and NOT finish this ride, no way. I kept pedaling and thinking.

I thoughts turned to my day job and how I like the actual type of work that I do, but I hate the job. The ride had become just like that. I love to ride my bike, but now all I wanted to do was get off the bike and lay down in some air conditioning. I stopped to stretch, looking behind me I saw no one. I was lonely and not having fun anymore.

There were only three ways I could solve my problem.

• keep pedaling and finish this damn thing, it would be over soon enough
• get rescued by a support vehicle
• die

No support vehicles came to resue me. I have a feeling no one will magically “discover” me and rescue me from my job either. I did not die and I probably won’t escape my job that easily either. Once again, bicycle riding parallels life. Keep pedaling and this trial too will end soon enough. I feel my job is the same. I am learning and honing my skills. Keep at it and it will be over soon enough. There are no shortcuts to greatness. Keep pedaling and soon enough a new adventure will begin where this one ends.

Something great did happen though. I made it to the next SAG stop. Seriously, thank God. I was in a dark lonely place on the road. I asked for chain lube to quiet that demon that wouldn’t stop screaming at me for the past number of hours. After some work, they found some lube. That killed the demon of the groaning chain. Then to my surprise, my friend Sam Tovar showed up as I was getting more water and cooling down. A friend to ride with. Normally I am a lone cyclist, but I was really happy to have someone to ride with now. We started off after a little more cooling down and we rode off towards more hills. My body was exhausted, but the cramping only tried to come back on one other hill. We rode in strong and had a good, but tough time.

We hit another sag stop. I ate some pickles and a banana and made a little small talk with the volunteers. We were only 13 miles from the finish. Let’s do this!

This hill was steep. My legs were no longer able. I tried, but ended up walking up the hill.

There’s me, walking up my second hill of the day.

We made pretty good time and then came to a green marker. That means to turn left. We did. It felt wrong. It was. I wasn’t too happy, but at least I shared the experience with a friend so it was much easier to take. Here is a shot of Sam and a random cyclist trying to figure out why that marker said left. It was just a wrong marker. Great, we added what seemed like 10 miles on the ride but I think it was only three. When you are that tired, extra miles are not really what you want to deal with, especially because of a marker that was wrong. We should have went with our gut and looked a little closer at the map. The guy in yellow seemed a little madder than me, which I actually found kind of funny, so things weren’t too bad, we were almost there anyway, nothing to worry about right?

Then we hit another left. We checked the map. No questions asked, it was a left here for sure. When we started the race, the promoter said they’d reroute if it was too muddy to ride. Cool.

Then pedaling was no longer an option. I was trapped in a mile long stretch of mud so deep it enveloped my shoes.

It was so bad, I could no longer push the bike and the weeds were too thick to walk through on the side of the road. Happiness was now far from me. I was very unhappy. My light cross bike with muddy tires was getting pretty damn heavy. I had to set the bike down a few times to make it through the longest mile I have ever experienced. Man, I am really earning this t-shirt. There I am in the mud. Nice picture from Sam’s phone huh?

Yes, I finished and now I must thoroughly clean my bike, but I am moving too, and we have a bit of remodeling to do in the new house. Magazine number three has to get started too, Oh, and the online store…

If you are on facebook, it looks like there are plenty of goofy pictures of me, the new spokesperson for butt butter. The only picture needed to end this day was at Sam’s house with a cold one (or two).

Feed Your Monkey!
Eric

Share this:

Posts are far and few between these days as we are packing and getting ready to move all of our belongings to another house. Why do we have all this stuff? Moving is tiring and stressful. This is a great move for us as we are downsizing. This will allow us to live much more simply and adventurously for sure. What’s the use of having a nice house if you can’t do anything?

The Storm

Mikey and I had to make a trip to Wal-Mart (yuck) to get some more packing tape. That’s when I saw the front moving in towards Emporia. I tuned the radio to the local station and they were talking about the storm. Mikey is a momma’s boy, big time and hasn’t spent much time doing “adventures” with Dad. The one thing I remember from the radio announcer was,

“Folks this is not a Kodak moment. Do not go outside…”

As Mikey was repeating things the radio DJ was saying to me in his over the top loud, shrill, four year old voice, we hurried home and I ran inside to grab my camera. I knew this could be a good one. Jen was busy, so Mikey was coming with me. He was a little scared since Momma doesn’t like storms.

I was “ye hawing” trying to get Mikey excited about the storm. He was scared. He wanted to go home and get in the basement. This may sound like child abuse, but I have lived in Kansas and haved watched storms since I was in second grade. My family was in a tornado when I was three or four. I have been chasing them since college. This storm just looked like rain, nothing too crazy. I can’t explain my fascination, but I love a good storm.

The lightning was amazing as we drove just outside of town. I found a spot and we watched the cold front roll in from the confines of the Corolla. It went from the mid 90s to the mid 70s (mid 30s to 20′s for my Canadian friends) in a matter of minutes. I had my window down and the camera pointed out the window. It was only around 7 p.m. and it was getting dark. I had to move the ISO up to 400, but I didn’t want to go too high because of the noise that it would produce in the shadows of the clouds. I hand held the camera at the ready and waited for lighting. My shutter speed was set pretty slow (around a 15th or 30th of a sec) so I could capture the lightning and let the sensor soak in as much light as possible for the ground and clouds. My f-stop was wide open to soak in as much light as I could too. I focused where I thought the lightning would strike in the distance. I had to stay as steady as possible and wait. I tried to get the lightning streaking through the sky many times and kept missing. Mikey was getting into it screaming excitedly at the lightning like at fourth of July fireworks and then he’d ask me if I got that one. Nope, missed it again!

Finally I got one. Not as spectacular as some of the lightning we were seeing, but I will take what I can get! I got one more shot with lightning before the rain really started coming down and we had to head home.

My wife asked how I got the purple color in the lightning. I didn’t. That is the actual color. I used Adobe LR and PS to enhance the contrast and color balance, but that’s it.

That was a nice break. Time to get back to packing…

Feed Your Monkey!
Eric

Share this:

Our house sold!

We needed to downsize. Before my Adventure Monkey awoke within me, I thought I was trapped in my job and I bought a new house to begin dying settle down and plant roots. That may be the “American Dream,” but it didn’t fit me. Mortgage payments and other debts imprison you to a job. I am more interested in freedom. Maybe not as free as Wonderous Mountain, but a level of freedom that will allow me to Feed My Monkey is what I need.

Moving sucks. I need to start packing, as the buyers want us out by the end of the month! Luckily we did find a new house that I believe is perfect for us. The garage is huge and even has a bathroom! Bike shop and hang out area is what I am thinking. I am pretty sure the house has bedrooms and a kitchen too, but who cares with a garage as sweet as that?

I am featured in an incredible magazine!

Quit reading and go HERE to check it out. XXC magazine did a special edition on the Dirty Kanza 200! I am honored, humbled and in disbelief that I am in an endurance cycling magazine! A little over a year ago I couldn’t ride 30 miles without crying about it. See? If you just get started on something who knows were you will be a year from today. In my opinion, the hardest part of doing anything is getting started. Any long trip begins with a single pedal stroke (unless you are not on a bike, then that doesn’t make sense). Before you know it, you are writing for XXC Magazine. Go buy one, Jason doesn’t have a “real ” job, he actually likes what he does (wait, can a real job be enjoyable?).

Issue Two of Adventure Monkey Magazine is out

For crying out loud, if you haven’t read it go HERE and download the free pdf. If you want a hard copy go HERE and buy a beautifully printed magazine. This magazine exceeded my expectations. I am currently making $0 with it, but I want to get it “out there.” If you want to help, spread the word to all your Internet friends about the magazine and send them the link to it! If you are feeling more generous, buy a copy and give it to your local bike shop, sporting good store or whatever. This is a grassroots magazine that I don’t want the big corporate block heads to taint. SPREAD THE WORD, please. Thank you.

Flint Hills Death Ride

Want to experience a challenging Flint Hills ride but aren’t quite ready for 200+ miles of unsupported goodness of the Dirty Kanza 200? Then the Death Ride is perfect for you. Yeah it sounds scary, but it is supported with SAG stops with food and drinks and is only 70 to 80 miles or so. I will be there too. Not sure how that makes it better, but trust me, if you do crash, throw up or start to cry I will be there to take your picture and put you on the blog for everyone to see. Register NOW before it’s too late! It will be fun.

The First Adventure Monkey Photo-Cycling Tour Is Scheduled

September 10 through the 12 is when this will happen. Mark your calenders. It is our first go at this and things may not be perfect, but I guarantee it will be fun and challenging and you may even learn something about photography. Other details will be published very soon but the date is set in stone. My friend and co-planner of this event is moving back to Kansas the end of this month, when I will be moving, so after that details will decided upon and made available to you. What could be better than a weekend in the Flint Hills with your bicycle and camera? A weekend with Lelan and I, that’s what! Here’s just a taste of what you will experience:

The main building at Camp Wood. This will be a great place for the photography classes. There's also nice cabins to sleep in and it's all surrounded by the beautiful and rugged Flint HIlls

You will be able to register soon, but make the time available NOW. Feel free to e-mail me with questions or comments!

Tour de France

Yeah, it’s happening now. I have no time to watch it and don’t own a DVR to record it. I watch just a few minutes here and there, but that’s it. Looks like my buddy Lance Armstrong is not going to win.

Those guys are pretty amazing. I get tired climbing hills in Kansas let alone mountains in France. Lance needs to forget that wimpy road riding stuff anyway and enter the Dirty Kanza. If you know him, let him know I said that. Since he will be retired, he’ll probabaly need some help with travel and lodging, so I guess my family will sacrifice and let him crash at my place next year. If someone could give him a ride from Austin that would be cool. Lance, we will hook you up!

So that’s it for now. Wish me luck on the move, my marriage needs it!

Feed Your Monkey!
Eric

Share this:

There were a few more cyclists, but I already put my camera away. Looks like I was the fastest one, but to be honest, I didn’t wait up at the corner for the others. I wanted to get up to the top to shoot some pictures and yell at the climbers to pedal harder. Nothing like acting like the climb was a cinch to get on people’s nerves. I was the youngest child and still get a kick out being a nudge.

Coming back towards town I set a pretty good pace in the front of the group. When I feel that good, I gotta go with it. I knew Tim, the giant in the picture above, would soon catch me. He did and said, “Setting a mad pace up here.” He’s a cycling stud, and I was a little giddy that he said that to me but I also knew the pace would quicken. I tried to explain that I wanted to get a good workout in since it was a short ride. I’m not sure he heard as he exhaled a cloud of cigarette smoke and picked up the pace even faster. Finally, my little legs couldn’t keep up any more. I did hang with him for just a bit though. OK, he wasn’t smoking, but he didn’t seem to be breathing any harder than a fat man with a cigar on a lazy boy recliner clicking past the Tour de France to watch Nascar.

I get stuffed up and congested and sometimes short of breath when I ride or run outside. Exercise enduced asthma? I am not sure, but many times I start to wheez and feel short of breath. Anyone else deal with this and have a solution?

We cut the ride short, and I was still feeling great. I couldn’t waste it, so I broke off from the group and kept going. I tried to keep pedaling hard enough to feel the burn, but not burn out. It ended up being a great workout. I felt great on the bike again. I had my eye on the clock to make sure I would get home in time to shower, eat and look for houses. Our house finally sold after around two years of trying. The bad thing is they want us out in 20 days from last weekend. It’s all good. I wanted to downsize in order to have more money to put towards Adventure Monkey. Keep your eye on the monkey, because things will be picking up soon. I might be able to leave the cubicle wasteland behind. Fingers are crossed, prayers are said every morning as I commute to work with that feeling in the pit of my stomach. Time to be a Lichpin. Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?

Some of you hate Trek. Here’s a picture for you of my beloved Trek.

Feed Your Monkey!
Eric

Share this:

The Fargo doesn’t have a speedometer since it’s on the cross bike now. That drove me crazy at first, but the Fargo, in my humble opinion, doesn’t need one. It’s the kind of bike that makes it fun to just pedal and not worry about current and average speeds and instead just take in the scenery and fresh air. Believe me, I do like to now how far I have gone and in the Flint Hills it helps me to navigate since I have a non-smart phone and no gps.

I sure do enjoy the speed and comfort (yes I said comfort) of the cross bike, but there is a whole different feeling and comfort level to the longer Fargo. I do enjoy riding it quite a bit, especially since all this cycling has gotten my legs in such good shape. Not too long ago a long ride was in the 30 mile range.

Cycling is a great activity where gains can be seen quickly if you stick to it. Not only do you get in shape, but you fully experience a region on a bike. It brings you closer to being a “whole” person. By whole I mean, you get a real appreciation and connectedness for the land you are traveling through and for your body that is powering the transport. I eat better, sleep better and appreciate my body and the areas I ride through more that I ever have. Once again, the power of a bicycle is far reaching and life changing.

On this ride I was experimenting with my electrolyte levels and Enduralytes again. I didn’t want to cramp and I am trying to figure out what my body needs. I took three pills as I ate breakfast and I took a long time to finally get on the bike, since I wanted to have a relaxed day. I took two more pills before I left. I brought nuun enhanced water (I can only do triberry flavor btw) in my backpack and had two water bottles with plain water. I was trying to push it to see what too much electrolytes felt like. I am my own guinea pig.

It was a beautiful day with wispy clouds. I love riding my bike.

I used to hate hills and like the ease of riding pavement. Now, the exact opposite is true. Pavement is boring and gravel is where its at. Add the hills and low maintenance roads of the Flint Hills and a great ride is bound to happen.

Since Lance is going to retire again, I’d like to see him try the DK200 next year. I may have to make this a campaign of mine. I think it will take a lot more posts of making fun of pavement and the Tour de France before he will show up. How fast do you think he’d ride these 200+ miles of Flint Hills gravel? I don’t know if he can even handle it. For crying out loud, he hasn’t ridden self supported in awhile and the cows won’t even care how many Tours he has won. Bring it Lance, the DK 200 is waiting. You can crash at my place.

So here is a picture of me, thirsty. I found out what an excess of electrolytes feels like. I was drinking the nuun-water and then had to switch to my old fashioned water because I was just plain thirsty and it was hot. In this picture, you can see the salt in the creases of my face. That’s a headsweats headband on my head there and it’s not mine. I have taken Dustin’s headsweats headband hostage. Sorry Dustin, I’m gonna have to get you a new one, hopefully with the AM logo.

Soon I was out of plain water and I wanted nothing to do with the enhanced water. Uh, Oh.

I cut the ride a bit short and headed to Randy’s house, the cyclist’s paradise, No one was home, but I filled up with water and made it home without any problems. Thanks Randy! It was a great ride.

My friends, turn off the TV, get outside this week and enjoy.

Feed Your Monkey!
Eric

Share this:

A week ago today, some of us went on a ride to bid Jim Cummings a farewell. A great career opportunity has come up for him. He is a packaging engineer and I will be thinking of him next time I eat one of my very favorite candies. It had been a while since I had ridden with the racers and I was looking forward to a great ride. Let’s just say, I started out strong and feeling good until they started.

Leg Cramps.

Yeah, they suck so bad, they get their own paragraph. I just don’t want to be near them so I’ll leave them hanging up there by themselves and let spellcheck tell me it may be an incomplete sentence. I hate you leg cramps.

It could have been the lack of sleep, the afternoon cup of coffee or just being so hurried when I got home because my carpooler was late getting out of work, resulting in me being rushed and running around the house getting ready to ride that I forgot to eat a banana, pack any food or drink any electrolyte drink before I left, not to mention forgetting to bring my headlight. I was worried about missing out on the ride as I rushed out the door and rode over to the house of Tim Mohn.

To make a long story short, I was keeping up fine until my leg started screaming at me. The group waited for me at a couple of places and when I got there I got the shameful question: 

“You feeling OK?”

I felt miserable, and the question of shame makes it even worse. It’s much better to be on the other end of that. Feeling sorry for their slow, short friend I was given Accel gels, a Cliff bar and finally some Cliff Shot Blocks. Coming back towards town and after the shot blocks, I felt great. When the ride was over, I felt like I was ready to ride. I definitely need to get the whole electrolyte thing figured out for sure. Leg cramps suck.

I kept up just fine in the beginning and took a few pictures before the pain set in. Pretty sure I’d be a decent cyclist if I could get the cramps to disappear. Of course, I’d also be an excellent basketball player if I wasn’t five foot six.

Then we had another predicament. Jim, one of the founders of the DK 200 and gravel rider extraordinaire, had a flat. No, make that four or five flats, I lost track. He was riding his shiny new red Salsa Cross bike but didn’t have the tire situation set up yet. The Flint Hills gravel ate those tires up. That slowed the ride down quite a bit. I felt fine in the end and the breaks probably helped. Everyone made fun of the skinny tired cross bike. Just so you know, I haven’t had any flats yet on my cross bike set up with a Bontrager XR1 on the front and a Kenda Kwest on the rear with somewhere around 1000+ miles of Flint Hills gravel under them. (The Kenda Kommados look interesting too)

This calf was checking us out as we waited for the rest of the guys to show up. I had ridden the hills back towards Emporia at a fairly good pace. This stretch of gravel was very rough with lots of loose rock and big downhills. I was having a good time going fast and thought I was really fast since no one was behind me, but they were changing flats.

Hey look, lucky #7. The Browns and I waited for the group. Matt decided to go find them and went back. I was more concerned about keeping the leg cramps away and thought the break may do me some good. This is when Stephanie let me have half a pack of shot blocks and I had no more cramps after this short rest. And here she is, the better looking half of the Brown Duo.

Well, the rest was longer as another flat happened as the sun was going down. Jim didn’t seem too cheerful when I jokingly asked him if this was his first time in the Flint Hills.

The last flat that occurred was on nice downhill coming out of the Flint Hills. I should say it’s a fast downhill and it’s a good thing Jim controlled his bike and didn’t wreck. I gave him my last tube and we were off. All I had was my helmet light with low batteries. I turned it on and then the racers turned on their lights. They were super bright and made me and my little Coleman light feel a little inferior. I may have rode a little faster at the end of the DK 200 if I could have seen on those dark, low maintenance roads, Ah who am I kidding?

We hit pavement on the way home and lined up and pedaled hard. Our paceline would have rivaled any at the Tour de France, I’m almost sure of it. That was fun, as my cramps were gone and I owe everyone for helping me out.

We finished the night off with some food and beer and wished Jim good luck and farewell. He promised to see us all in June of 2011 for the next Dirty Kanza 200.

Good Luck Jim. Tear it up in Pennsylvania.

Feed Your Monkey!
Eric

Share this:

Since the 4th of July fell on a Sunday and I get every Friday off from cubicle world, last weekend turned out to be a nice long four day break. I was looking forward to getting some miles in, but Mother Nature had other plans. I think it’s time to get some rain gear.

For crying out loud, I did ride in negative digits and snow through the winter, but the rain creates mush on the gravel and crazy drivers on paved rainy roads don’t sound much better, although being outside is better than being indoors on rollers. Rain gear for me and fenders for the Fargo should do the trick.

I did get a bit of time in the saddle though. I left early on Friday, maybe Saturday morning (the whole weekend is a blur to me now and if you read the rest of this week’s posts, you will understand why). I wanted to get a ride in before the family was moving around too much. The air was muggy as could be, but the temperature was in the 70′s. The clouds were promising rain. I hoped I could hit the gravel of the Flint Hills for a nice 30 mile loop before the rains started. I almost made it.

For those of you that rode the Dirty Kanza 200, These roads should bring back a few memories. I live pretty close to that route and I can do a nice 30 mile loop with hills and gravel any time. I may not live close to a Super Target or nice restaurant, but I do have the Flint Hills in my backyard.

It felt as if Mother Nature was scowling at me for riding that morning. I prayed for the rain to hold off for a few hours. Yeah, it was that important for me to get in a ride. If it started raining on these roads, I’d be in big trouble.

Enough about me and my bike, let’s dicuss more important things. I shaved my beard last weekend. I was trying to trim it up to look cool, but it didn’t work out, so I shaved it all off. Here’s the important question: Beard or No beard? What do you think? I think I look younger, but don’t know if that’s the look I need as CEO of Adventure Monkey. My wife likes the beard (which may be most important right?) So here’s a couple of shots.

The ride was nice. I love riding in the moring. I was going to go a little farther, but the dark clouds in the distance were getting closer. I turned and headed back home.

I took a different road home, then spotted a low maintenance road I had never ridden before. It looked interesting. Before I knew it, I was led to the middle of a field that had no way out. The shot below is me turning around to get back on an actual road. Backtracking is not my favorite thing to do, but backtrack I did. This added at least 35 minutes to the ride. I made it to gravel when it started to sprinkle. Luckily by the time the rain really started falling, I was on a paved road with only a short stretch of gravel to ride before I would have pavement the rest of the way. Remember, our clay filled mud is like riding through cement. It’s terrible on bike components and a pain to clean. Riding in the rain was actually kinda fun and the looks from the dry car people were priceless. More reason to get some rain gear and fenders.

I made it home, almost slipping into a Tour de France type of wreck turning into my neighborhood on the slick pavement. Luckily for me and my bike, I came out of the skid and missed the curb by an inch coming out of the mangled turn I was attempting. That was a good ride.

Checking the computer, it looked like a cyclist was making his way to California and was going to be in Emporia the next day. He found me on warmshowers.org and wanted to know if he could crash at my place. Little did I know but I was in for an adventure with this one. More on this later this week…

Feed Your Monkey!
Eric

Share this:

That was Lelan’s question to me about a new and exciting project for Adventure Monkey called Adventure Monkey Touring, or Adventure Monkey Flint Hills Tours, or Adventure Monkey Photo-Cycling Tours or maybe just Adventure Monkey Flint Hills Photo-Cycling Tours – AMFHPCT for short. OK, so we may need some help on the name. But here’s the concept:

• Set up a base camp in a nice facility located in the heart of the Flint Hills (site found)
• Invite a small niche of people that love adventure, photography and cycling
• Plan a weekend full of cycling through the beautiful Flint Hills, shooting pictures and generally bonding with other like minded people
• Add some time for photography discussion and classroom time with somebody that knows a little bit about that sort of thing (I know a guy)
• Make it so good that people will want a memento, like an Adventure Monkey T-shirt or something

Does this sound appealing to anyone out there? Please let me know by email. The other thing is that date, the 10th – 12th of September. The base camp site is open that weekend, but it is the weekend after Labor Day Weekend. Would anyone want to travel to the Flint Hills to attend the first AMFHPCT? Again let me know, we must begin our diabolical plan. This first one will be in the beta stage, so if it sucks (impossible!) you won’t get a refund, but will give us a full critique so we can make this a remarkable, rewarding weekend for future AMFHPCT attendees. The weekend price will reflect the Beta stage too.

Issue Two (finally)

The magazines arrived yesterday and my shipping department (thanks Jen) will be getting those to the contributors today. That means official release will happen NEXT WEEK! I know, it IS exciting! It is a beautiful magazine with stories that will inspire, entertain and generally make the earth a better place to live. Yeah, I’m not just saying that.

I can’t print 10,000 copies to get the price down to $3 to $5 a copy just yet, but it will be offered by Magcloud.com for much more than that ($10.20) and I will have a free pdf for your downloading pleasure on this site. I knocked off any profit for myself and put a Magcloud ad on the back cover to knock 25% off the magazine price to try and keep the price as low as I could for you all. It is important at this stage to just get the magazine out to the world. If you have excess money laying around at your place and want to help out after seeing Issue Two, buy some magazines and distribute them to your local bike shops, sporting goods stores, coffee shops or any other place you think would be good. If you aren’t that motivated, but do have that money laying around, just let me know and I can do the distribution. Yeah, I’m fishing here since I am still trying to break even on Adventure Monkey expenses. I’ve never believed in something I’ve been involved with professionally as much as Adventure Monkey though. Big things are going to happen for sure.

Thanks again to all the contributors in Issue Two.  

Maybe you have a story to tell. Let me know. This magazine is a grassroots adventure magazine about normal people like you and I, that have done adventurous and wonderful things with our lives. We will sprinkle in super heroes like Matt Brown and Lance Armstrong too, of course, to sweeten it up.

So be ready for the official release next week and let me know what you think about the Adventure Monkey Flint Hills Photo-Cycling Tours. Thanks.

Feed Your Monkey!
Eric

Share this:

“When would I get in a good bike ride?”

I still don’t have a bike rack for the car, and I can’t fit the bike into the Corolla along with two kids and overnight clothes. I probably could have called one of my Wichita friends to ride and borrow a bike, but we didn’t plan well and our dog and Melissa’s Wonderlizard were at home, so it was just easier to go home until the first game on Saturday morning. Friday was open for a big bike ride.

Jen and I spending quality time on the way to Wichita

I started out early in the morning on Friday to try and beat the heat. I was planning on doing about 80 miles, had a route in mind, but didn’t map it out to see the true mileage. I wanted to do the first leg of the Dirty Kanza 200 2010 edition and then wrap around Lake Kahola and head home. Seemed like a good plan. I packed up water, extra tubes, jen’s point and shoot (since I’d be on the cross bike), tools and some Perpetuem for fuel. I didn’t bring real food, as I figured I’d ride this route without stopping and eat a big lunch when I got home. I swear I don’t make these mistakes just for good blog material, but as it turns out, coming close to death is more fun to write about than a calm, relaxing bike ride.

That morning it was quite muggy, but cloudy and somewhat cool. If you’ve never done much outdoor activity in 80%+ humidity, it’s draining. I haven’t ridden much in this kind of humidity yet this year, so I haven’t acclimated to it quite yet. I didn’t worry about it, because I have been riding so much, freaking finished the DK200 and felt unstoppable. I guess I needed another lesson in humility.

I stopped twenty-some miles in to look at all the pretty horses. They came to check me out. As I took a few shots, I realized how hot and humid it was, as the sweat was dripping off me at an incredible rate without the wind cooling me down.

I can  never ride this route again without thinking of my DK 200 experience. I did leg one, passed the 13 mile mark where I felt my first cramp and hit the 32 mile mark were the full-on cramps began in my thighs. None today though, I was feeling great. I had to pull over on a low maintenance road because a semi trailer truck was coming my way and there wasn’t any room for me on the little road. This was the first time I had seem a big truck on these roads. As I stopped I looked down at my tire and noticed a tiny rock stuck into the tire. The point and shoot wouldn’t focus close enough and the sweat was running down my face so the ground is in focus and not the piece of flint stuck in my tire. I hoped it wouldn’t puncture my tube. Pretty good though, I have put 100′s of miles on this Kenda Kwest in the Flint Hills with no incident until this ride. It wouldn’t some out, so I just left it in.

I finally turned and headed north to Cottonwood Falls with the wind. I had ridden against the wind to this point and although it made riding a bit slower, it kept me cool. Soon after I turned to ride with the wind, the sun had burned away all the cloud cover I had before and it was HOT. I started to feel the heat riding to Cottonwood Falls and even considered cutting the ride short. The heat was zapping my energy levels.

I made it to Cottonwood Falls, headed to Casey’s after looking fondly at the park where checkpoint one was in the DK 200. I refilled my water and added ice to my hydration pack. I was feeling worn out already, but decided to go ahead and head towards Kahola Lake. There was another road that I could turn into a shortcut home if I still felt like bailing out. If you have been reading this blog for awhile, you know that’s typically not my style – bailing out that is.

I made it to the point where I could turn and head home or keep going. I was feeling pretty good and you guessed it, I kept going. I got to the point in the image below with rolling hills that went up for three hills in a row. By the time I made it to the last hill, I was feeling pretty tired. The heat was getting to me, but I was feeling OK and made it to Kahola Lake. It would only be around 18 miles to get home. I would have to pedal into the wind and was looking forward to the wind cooling me down.

Pedaling by Kahola Lake, I was stopped by a couple that asked me how to get to the lake. They met there years ago and wanted to visit it again. I had to break the news to them that the lake had been privatized and only people that owned the cabins could go there. They were bummed by that. But then they asked me how far I had been riding. I told them I started out in Emporia and had ridden 70-some miles so far. They were impressed. I guess I am a pretty simple man, because that boosted my ego enough to energize me for quite awhile.

I rode hard until I turned directly into the wind to head south to get home. I realized I had a few miles of hills plus winds to contend with before things leveled out. I was feeling pretty toasty at this point, but OK. It felt like I was riding in an oven. The heat and humidity were zapping all my superpowers away. I began to feel like Superman with the necklace of Kryptonite around his neck. I kept pedaling and made it up the first couple of hills.

I had been riding for quite a few hours by this point and I didn’t bring any food. Yes the heat was zapping the energy, but not having food wasn’t helping either. It was supposed to be a quick 80 mile ride. I didn’t hink I would need food, but by this time, the Perpetuem was hot and I couldn’t bear to drink any more of the warm, sweet paste. Yes, I know, I should have learned my lesson from this ride, but I tend to underestimate the ride over and over. That’s the thing about the Flint Hills, sometimes it’s an easy, relaxed ride and other times the heat, wind and hills will brutalize you. I should never think an 80 mile ride is going to be easy, but I ride it so often, I tend to get a little over confident.

I had to get off the bike and push up the last hill. I think my body could have kept pedaling, but my mind was beaten up by the heat. I think I could have used a sandwich and a Coke too. I was in the middle of a full-on bonk and the edge of heat stroke. Luckily, I had a full water bottle of clean water. I poured it on my head to keep me cool. It felt nice. I began to look for shade. Even though the hills were behind me and I was on a nice flat road, the heat had ravaged my body and I needed to stop. Whatever mental toughness I had was gone. I needed to stop and rest. I finally found a spot of shade and stopped in a heap. I pulled off my helmet, backpack and gloves and sat on the road as a farmer drove by in a big tractor.

That picture is me, completely worn out. I felt bad. If you see me and I look like that, make me get in the car and take me somewhere cool. Don’t ask me if I am OK. Because I will always say yes. I hate to give up on a ride. Just shoot my tires out and physically make me get in the car. If I cry, just ignore it and make me get in the car. OK, that said…

…as I was sitting there under the tree a few feet away from heat stroke I was saved, almost. Jen called to see if I wanted to go swimming with the family. Swimming? I was so hot, it sounded like heaven, but I was about 10 or so miles away from home. Yes, I do realize I should have asked for a ride home, but I don’t know how, er um, I just can’t. I was hoping I sounded pitiful enough on the phone that she may have mercy on my soul and offer to pick me up. No dice. I sat there under that tree for a few more minutes before I took off again for home. I wanted AC and a sandwich, bad.

Hungry and hot, I pedaled on. I must have looked pitiful. It had to be in the 100′s with the heat index. It was hot. I kept pouring water on my head until I ran out of clean water. I made myself continue to take gulps of nuun enhanced water because I didn’t want to die. My stomach was in knots. I couldn’t drink any more Perpetuem, just couldn’t bear it anymore, so I was no longer able to consume any calories. Was I still sweating? I don’t think I was. My body was feeling a little weird. I stopped in some more shade a couple of more times before I got home. On the last 5 miles home, I didn’t know if I was going to make it. I had lost all mental toughness. I wanted this to be over, but I also wanted the achievement of making it home feeling like this. Then I saw this hill. I didn’t think I could make it up that thing. I was toast, but I slowly pedaled up that hill and crested it.

So close, yet so far. I couldn’t believe I could feel so strong last week and so weak on this ride. I could do nothing but pedal. Hard to do with no strength.

I finally saw pavement and was so close now, but didn’t feel like I could make it the two more miles home. Luckily that little piece of flint never made it through the tire to puncture the tube. I hadn’t felt this bad for quite awhile. Mentally in the Dirty Kanza I was able to tough it out for 205 miles, but on this day, I was done. Cycling is such a mental thing, it’s crazy. I had nothing left for a big finish. I pedaled with my head down with no energy until I finally made it to my driveway, completely relieved to be done. I went inside and I can’t even verbalize how good the AC felt. I made a turkey sandwich with all the fixin’s and laid on the floor. I woke up an hour later still on the living room floor, covered in dirt, monkey fed.

Feed Your Monkey!
Eric

Share this: