Cyclocross Nationals has been going on all week.  I haven’t been there, but from the photos and videos I’ve seen of the previous races, the course is ever changing and technical.  Mud that has turned to snow is now the course.  Right now it is 8 degrees in Hartford, with a high at 3 o’clock of 22.  So, the course is going to stay mostly frozen, depending on how sunny it is.  There might be a certain amount of thin, wet mud where it gets direct sunlight.  Not good for the cleats if this is on a south facing runup.

The schedule today is as follows –

9 a.m. – Junior men 17-18
10 a.m. – U23 women
11:30 a.m. – U23 men
1:15 p.m. – Elite women
3 p.m. – Elite men

I don’t really have any for sure predictions for the results of the Elite races today, since I haven’t been there and seen the course.  I’m sure it is going to be the usual suspects fighting for the jerseys.

I don’t see Katie Compton not winning her 13th straight Nationals Championship, but 13 isn’t a very lucky number.  Even with that, I think she will win.

I’m hoping the best for Amanda Miller. She had put a lot of effort into this season and her results show that.  If the course is right, and the stars were aligned just right, she has a chance to add to her Fatbike National jersey from a couple years ago.  This would be special.

The men’s race, well, depends too.  Of course J-Pow and Stephen Hyde.  They will both be riding at the front if things go good for them.  It is hard imaging a different result than one of them, but it is cross and the course might dictate a different result. Should be a great race to watch. (Thanks to a comment from my friend, Bill Elliston, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Jonathan Page as a contender for the win.  When it is tricky, he excels.)

The live streaming begins a tad before 9 am, east coast time.  I’ll post the video here as soon as they start streaming.    It’s an all day affair.   If you want to watch some of the other Nationals in Europe, click here for the links.   Enjoy.

Kansas has pretty great winter weather, usually.  Of course it can be what a person thinks as winter.  Lots of snow and freezing temperatures.  But also there are days that are spring-like.

Today is one of those days.  It is supposed to be 61 degrees this afternoon.  The average high temperatures in January is nearly 38 degrees, so it really isn’t like North Dakota here, normally. And the summers aren’t like Texas or Arizona either.

Anyway, 61 degrees is enough to get me out on my bike.  I’ve been taking it pretty gingerly the past couple weeks.  I’m not going to do anything that gives me a headache.  Like in the real sense of a headache.  That being said, it is going to be 3 months in a few days, since I fractured my skull, and when I exercise, I feel the best, so that is what I’m going to do.

Yesterday I did some auto repair.  Auto repair is more challenging than riding, as of now.  I put on new leaf spring bushings on the AWD minivan.   The first one took an hour.  The second about 15 minutes.  That is how it goes fixing cars.  Once you know how to do it correctly, it is a lot easier.

Okay, spring is here for one day.  Then the temperatures are going to plummet 40 degrees or so.  That is normal for Kansas too.  That means back to the trainer.

I’ve already ridden the trainer more the past month that I would normally in a five year period. And more to come I suppose.    Not such a bad thing, just a thing.  I say that, but I am really looking forward to some wind and scenic views.

Sunset last night. It was pretty great.