December Kids

Julia's 17th Birthday

With her strikingly beautiful new smile. She got her braces off just in time!

December in Bike Photos

Family Photos

DECA Duo

Grassroots Gravel

Grassroots down in Pueblo was a blast. I decided to do the shorter course, since the medium would have meant four hours on the bike, and it didn't disappoint. Everything about the day was great. The weather was warm, the atmosphere was fun, and I ended up winning first place overall. I've won my age group and my category before, but this was the first time that I won the overall in a mass start gravel race. I don't really count Rampart Rager since that was a small, local event. This race had almost 300 people and there were almost 800 singed up across all of the distances today.

This race was going to be on the shorter side and the climb at the start was one of the few places you could make a move. We rolled out of downtown with a police escort at a pretty good speed for a neutral. Justin, Mateo and I got to the front quickly and we all hit the start of the gravel and timing mat together right behind the leaders. I ended up in the lead group of four but the top of the hill and paved descent on the highway. I've ridden these roads a handful of times before, so everything was pretty familiar. Eventually we dropped one guy, so it was me and two other guys in the lead group for most of the ride to the turnaround.

Coming back we hit a small roller, and I got a good several foot gap, so I decided to try a breakaway move with the wind at my back to see if it would stick. I ended up putting down my 3 best all-time 10 minute power, my second best all-time 60 minute heart rate, and my 3 best all-time 90 minute heart rate. My breakaway ended up lasting about 30 minutes in which I averaged 25.3 mph to the finish line.

For a gravel race the production value was great. They had podiums 5 deep and by age group, and the trophies were amazing. They were solid steel sections of railroad track, welded, and made into a trophy. The trophy felt like it weighed 40 pounds. After the podium ceremony I was asked by one of the hired photographers if I'd be willing to do an interview. Mind you, this is all amateur stuff, but it felt like I was a professional bike racer for a few short hours. The interview  ended up being featured as part of their race recap video on You Tube.

A lot of the team was at the race, so we all grabbed a bite to eat together and the food stop with our meal ticket. It might be hard to beat this day. I knew I was in peak fitness, knew I had a shot at winning the race and delivered, and on the last race of the season too. A great way for me personally to go out on top this year and claim my 10th age group or category win since I started racing. It was just a great day on the bike and with good people all around. 

Cabin Colors

We drove up to the cabin this morning to see Grandpa and Grandma and the fall colors. I think we timed the trip just right, as many leaves were already on the ground and the weather turned the following week. Bailey definitely enjoyed the fresh air too. I had a really good time with my parents and this day trip and wished I could have stayed longer.

The Rad

I had another race down in Trinidad, and it went pretty well. This was the second time doing this race, and each time it has been eventful. The Rad was the longest race I was signed up for this fall, but I was trained for it unlike some races of this length in the past. 

The start was all out for the first 30 minutes or so, as we left the start line and climbed the hills around town before we got into the gravel sections. The lead group of 4 of us got away early and stayed away. I almost crashed once, then ended up crashing when I got a little squirrelly coming down a hill and a guy on an e-bike clipped me as I swung into his path. I wouldn't have probably beaten any of the other three guys I was with, so I didn't lose any spots as a result of going down. Second in age group.

After the race one of the guys mentioned to me that the first two finishers were former road pros. I didn't have any idea at the time, but I was riding with Scott Moninger, one of the most successful domestic professionals in U.S. history with over 275 career wins. That itself was a win in my book. 

Homecoming 2024

Check out these great pictures of Julia and Miles from Homecoming!

Miles won Homecoming King for the Junior class and was presented at the football game on Friday night. Friday/Saturday morning Julia finished up making her own boutonniere and corsage and then went over to Noel's house to get ready for the big night. Prior to dinner Miles' picked Julia up and we took a picture of them with Bailey.

Dinner turned out to be at Chipotle since there was an issue with their reservation at BJ's. They stayed for the entire dance and then a group went over to Miles' house to hang out for a while afterwards. Stacey stayed up really late and went and picked Julia up about 2:30 a.m. Party animals!