Mountain Bike Monday - A Monster Ride

Yesterday Dynamo geared up for the half Monster Cross Race at Poco!



A little chilly first thing, but things warmed up and it really turned out to be a lovely day! The parking area was packed with over 500 riders and their fan clubs!



The race started in waves.



They flew up the hill at the start!



And, here comes Dynamo...



Here he is at the start!



(Do you see him?)



Go Dynamo go!!





Our friends Jim and Missy came to cheer him on! Here's Jim at the start ready to cheer!



After the start we hopped in the car and headed to the front of the park for some pics! We watched and waited for Dynamo to come around the corner.



While we waited I just started snapping pics of everyone! We saw some people we knew!



Some riders were good sports like this guy waving!



Or this guy making a silly face...



Here's a closeup...



Or this guy with the blowup dummy on his back!



We got to see Dynamo twice at the front, mile 12 ish...







And mile 18 ish. While we waited we took a group shot!



Here he comes!







He looked good and was making good time!



Smile...



We were yelling and cheering for him!



He was so fast that we missed him crossing the finish line! When we got there he was chatting with a friend!



Here's Jim checking in...



My parents came to cheer him on too!



Missy was giving Charlie some love!



Group shot!



Great finish! I was so proud of him! He works so hard and he's such a star...my star!!



Charlie enjoyed his first race! He was proud of his Dad! 22.5 miles done! Results to be posted today!

Thanks so much to Jim, Missy, Mom, and Dad for coming out to cheer Dynamo on! All the riders appreciated the encouragement, especially Dynamo!

Saturday Road Ride

On Saturday we decided to go for a little road ride at the Petersburg National Battlefield. It was National Park Week so the fees were waived. This we didn't know until we pulled up to the entrance and the lady waved us on. What a nice surprise!

The morning air was chilly, but of course I quickly warmed up.

I took out the Soma Smoothie cross bike for a spin. Dynamo rode Kermit. I was so excited to get to ride Smoothie since he had only ever been ridden inside on the trainer. We did well together. I like him much better than the Jamis cross bike we had. The reason is because the Smoothie has flat bars instead of "horns." Yes, that's my technical term for drop bars!

The Park road is so nice. Not many cars and a really big lane for bikers, runners, and walkers! It's a safe place to road ride. The speed limit is slow and it's one way for cars.

We saw quite a few horseback riders!

Lots of road and hills.

And, if you got so ambitious you could stop and read all of the signs about the history. I'd really like to do that sometime.

It's really nice to have this park closeby. Even though it's not a long road (a little over 3 miles out/6 ish miles out and back) it is still good for training.

We did about 18 miles. Dynamo said I was getting soft on him. Only 18 he said?! I guess I better step it up huh?!

The park has other off road trails that we checked out before, but we were road focused on this ride. We'll be back to check out the other trails another day.

Anyways...it was a lovely ride. We went and ate lunch at Demolition Coffee in Petersburg afterwards, which is a favorite of mine.