O-Sports Stuff

Start of the MR340. These folks are in a heap o hurtin.

Ok, seems like it is time to start chronicling the training stuff, for anyone who is interested. Now is the time of year that the blog takes on the culture of the outdoors and the achievement process thereof. I am not in the state of mind to write and have found an empty well of profundity, so this is what you get for the next few months. I suppose inspiration comes in many ways, we shall see what this stuff brings.

Chris Ploch and I completed our first 30 mile Missouri River float and it was pretty easy. I had never been in the hobie on the Big River, I found it to be faster than the Meramec, much different. The strange "bubbling" of the current. The strangest thing. I need to find out what that is about. At one point it bubbled up right in front without warning and it was like riding over a small geyser (not geezer). If anyone has a clue as to what those things are, or how they come about, please share.

Meanwhile, our numbers were, for the 28 or so miles, 8.5 miles an hour. We started at Klondike in Augusta and took out at the finish of the MR340, the Lewis and Clarke Boathouse. I think that is pretty good, but it took me a while to get the legs loose and Chris was hammering for a while. There was a decent headwind too, lots of water over the bow passing by the casinos, those lovely friggin casinos. The biggest pain in the butt is to get the cars set up for pick up etc. Takes a good two hours to get in the water.

Tuesday is hookie. We will put in at Washington and come down the Missouri again to see what our average is. Seems 8.5 is a bit fast for the three days. We are doing a 30 and a 50 this week, a 50 and a 120 coming soon, in the same week. This will get the jelly rolling. My goal is a sub 60 hours.

I am training on the bike as well. The new Van Dessel is a groove. Very fast, much faster response than my Salsa. The subtleties are still coming, but I like it very much. I find that the hobie encourages the use of big ring on the bike, a good thing. I think it will be a good year on the mountain bike scene if I get the endurance to chime in. Looking better each week.