Steve Tilford

There is a house across the street from my high school that has been under construction/renovation since I went to high school. That was a long time ago.

It is a super cool house and deserves the attention the owner gives it. But the problem is that it is a never ending project and it is going backwards. The repairs are coming faster than the renovations.

I feel for the guy. He sets up scaffolding and does one section, but his speed isn’t fast enough to off set the weather, etc.

This is sort of the way with life. We all have these things we need/want to accomplish. And then we have these other things that are mandatory for life. And we juggle between the two.

And sometimes things get overwhelming and we can’t keep up with the weather.

I think the key is to recognize the situation before the “roof starts leaking”. I think it takes a few drops of experience to become familiar with the situation, but after that, try to address the issues before it gets to tipping point.

Many decisions made under duress aren’t the best decisions.

We all think that life gets more complicated, but in reality we somewhat control how complicated it is personally.

Declutter if the edge is near. Life is too short to be worried about how the weather is going to ruin your day.

I found out that the Kansas State Cyclocross Championships is today in Lawrence. I really hadn’t been searching for a race, thinking that this wasn’t a weekend for that. But, I like racing races for titles and it is close, plus most all my friends from around here will be there, so other than being iffy for racing cross, I don’t have many reasons not to go. You know things aren’t exactly right when you’re looking for reasons not to go race.

Anyway, I put together a 2nd cross bike yesterday, so I was standing most of the day. Sometimes that is bad, but other times I feel fine, so I guess it is what it is.

I put the old Ultegra Di2 on the bike. It is externally routed cable, so it looks a little jerry-rigged. I took the sprinter shifters off my road bike, but they wouldn’t plug into the old Ultegra shifters. Shit. These would be so good for cross, especially at the start.

I only glued on two tires, so that didn’t take that long. It surprises me how much glue and rim tape it takes to glue on one tire. But, gluing cross tires onto carbon rims is not something to be stingy with.

So, I have two bikes even though I have no intention and hopefully only have use for one. Keith Walberg’s team 360 is putting on the race and he was over at the course all day yesterday to help set. He said the course is super long, nearly 2 miles and there is only one dismount, which is good for me right now.

I’m heading over to Lawrence pretty soon, even though the Elite race isn’t until 3pm. I need to ride a bunch on the bike to see how it handles. Plus, I haven’t really been just hanging out at a cross race recently, so it seems like a nice way to spend Sunday.

Alright, I’ll let you know how it goes.