Weather for State CX

Mo State CX is shaping up to be interesting. Low to be around 19 degrees. Which is warmer than last year, but should be a muddy, snowy mess. Since all my races this CX season have been dry & mostly warm will make for an interesting time. The real kicker is I go off @ 9am, the first race of the day. No good lines will be made, but hopefully the ground will still be some what solid or it could be a runners course. Damn I knew I should have run more.

Word has it Wells will be @ the race this weekend. Wonder if he'll race Sat or just do the UCI race Sun?


THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PLEASANT HILL HAS ISSUED A HEAVY SNOW WARNING...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 12 PM THURSDAY TO 6 AM CST FRIDAY. THE ICE STORM WARNING HAS BEEN CANCELED.
THE NEXT WINTER STORM SYSTEM WILL MOVE INTO EAST CENTRAL KANSAS AND WEST CENTRAL MISSOURI BY THURSDAY AFTERNOON. ACCUMULATING SNOW IS EXPECTED TO START FIRST OVER SOUTHWESTERN SECTIONS OF THE GREATER KANSAS CITY AREA AROUND THE NOON HOUR AND THEN SPREAD EASTWARD ACROSS THE REST OF THE METRO BY MID AFTERNOON. THE SNOW IS EXPECTED TO BECOME QUITE HEAVY DURING THE EVENING HOURS WITH SNOWFALL RATES OF UP TO 2 INCHES PER HOUR POSSIBLE WITH THUNDER SNOW. THE SNOW IS EXPECTED TO END DURING THE PRE- DAWN HOURS OF FRIDAY MORNING WITH TOTAL SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS RANGING FROM AROUND 6 INCHES FROM PLATTE CITY TO EXCELSIOR SPRINGS TO A FOOT OF SNOW SOUTH OF THE MISSOURI RIVER.
A HEAVY SNOW WARNING MEANS SEVERE WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SNOW ARE FORECAST THAT WILL MAKE TRAVEL DANGEROUS. ONLY TRAVEL IN AN EMERGENCY. IF YOU MUST...KEEP AN EXTRA FLASHLIGHT...FOOD...AND WATER IN YOUR VEHICLE IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY.

Thanksgiving part 1 & the Turkey Trot

Thanksgiving once again was in 2 parts this year. Part one was @ my house since it would be the staging area for the Turkey Trot. Part 2 in Aurora, more on that later unless you read it first. My Sister's family & My parents came up Wednesday night to have some bird. Amber did a great job cooking her first bird with fixing's.

Decorations courtesy of Nina & Ashton

Chocolate pie courtesy of my Sister Serena

Me getting my carve on

Nina & my Dad

Mom & Dad

Amber's done cooking & working on some stress reduction.

After dinner Zuma Fest 06 took place.

Mia all bundled up ready to sleep I mean be pushed in the jogger.

The Trot has quickly become a family tradition. I'm up to 5 years in a row. Amber 3x , Mia(once in utero), my mom & dad have done it twice now. This year we were joined by my sister Serena & her family, Eric, Nina, & Ashton, plus Amber's Dad Rick & her Sister Danielle each for their first go. Next year we're shooting for more family members to join us.

Rat in a coat.

How many people does it take to get a 6 month old in a stroller?

Mia in the bubble. Plus for everyone else a nice shot of my butt.

Off to the start

Total this year 3209 people! This is the view beshind our start spot. It took us 5 min to get to the start after the gun. You had to cross under a wire that started your official time which would subtract your "wait".
Our placings. Amber once again beat me. Mia didn't have a #, besides she slept the whole way anyway.

1810			Amber Dunsmuir	25	F	Springfield	MO		35:47	11:31
1811			Scott Dunsmuir	34	M	Springfield	MO		35:48	11:32

2145

2145

Linda Dunsmuir

51

F

Pontiac

MO

44:58

14:29

2343			Ashton Smith	9	F	Camdenton	MO		49:43	16:01
2344			Eric Smith	33	M	Camdenton	MO		49:45	16:01
2345			Nina Smith	9	F	Camdenton	MO		49:44	16:01

2501			Brian Dunsmuir	53	M	Pontiac	MO		49:15	15:52
2502			Rick Ussery	45	M	Republic	MO		49:15	15:51

2886

Danielle Ussery

18

F

Republic

MO

56:26

18:10

2889

Serena Smith

32

F

Camdenton

MO

56:26

18:10

Mom cut the course but her place was her bib #.

Ready for a nap & some more pie.

Turkey Trot Results

Thanksgiving Part Deux

Part Deux of our Eating extravaganza was @ the Parsons in Aurora. That'd be Amber's mom's side of the family. We had to bring pies to dinner, so Amber & I each made one.

This is Amber's a Pecan Pie.

This is mine a Pumpkin Pie, & yes I made it decorations & all.

Amber's Aunt Reba & Cousin Justin from Tulsa getting their grub on.

The tall & short of the family. Amber & her Aunt Michelle

Mia & me

Grandpa Parsons after eating way to much.

Mia's favorite toy is now a cup.

After dinner the pong started. Sister death match.

Sister death match youth division.

Happy Thanksgiving from the Dunsmuir's

Lawyers suck all the fun out of things

One of the funniest blogs on the web got shot down. I Hate Todd Wells.

"Cease and desist
I have been legally asked to end this blog.Bye"

That Sucks.

Wonder when Huff is going to sue Butthead for his lover site?

11,640 chickens?

That's a lot of damn birds. Listening to all that noise is how my mom, sister, & twin nieces spent their weekend. Not exactly my piece of cake but my mom likes it. Here's her take on it. Be sure to click on some of the pics, some are questionable to me if they are really chickens.

Chicken extravaganza

This goes out to Gunga

Over a few beers Friday night with Jimmy, it came to light he didn't know who Davis Phinney is. Come on Davis Phinney? Farasy claims to be a sprinter. Davis was THE sprinter in his day. So to educate the unwashed here's a little biography just for Jimmy.

Davis Phinney (born 1959 Boulder, Colorado)

Davis began competing in 1976 and continued until 1993. He competed with the USCF National Team from 1978-1984. During that time he won the National Team Time Trial Championship in 1982 and 1983. He was also the National Criterium Champion in 1983. In 1991 as a professional he won the USPRO National Road Championship in Philadelphia. He was a World Championship Team member from 1982-88 and again in 1991. In 1983 he won a gold medal in the Pan American Games in the 100K Time Trial. In 1984 he won an Olympic bronze in the 100K Time Trial and took 5th place in the Olympic Road Race.

He was credited by Velo News as the Winningest Cyclist in US History with over 300 National and International Category 1 and Professional victories. These victories include: 1979-88 all time record holder in Red Zinger/Coors International Bicycle Classic with 22 individual stage wins; 1981-87 seven time sprint points competition winner in Coors International; 1986 first American to win a road stage in the Tour de France; 1987 Tour de France stage winner; 1988 Coors International Bicycle Classic overall winner; 1988 Tour of the Americas overall winner and sprint points winner including three stage wins; 1988 Tour de France 2nd place in green jersey points competition; 1989 Tour de Trump two stage wins; 1991 Tour du Pont stage winner and overall sprint points competition winner. Davis is married to Connie Carpenter (1984 Olympic Gold Medalist Road Race). They have two children.

When Davis retired from competition he continued his involvement in the sport as a television commentator for ESPN, ABC, NBC and CBS announcing such events as Tour de Pont, the Extreme Games, 1994 World Mountain Bike Championships, 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, Tour of Italy, USPRO Championships and the Tour of America series. He has co-authored a book about cycling training, co-directs Carpenter/Phinney Bike Camps, writes for both Winning Magazine and Bicycling Magazine, was a member of the
USPRO Board of Directors from 1997-2000, was a sports marketing director for Pearl Izumi Technical Wear from 1997-98, and does charitable work for the Jimmie Heuga Center for MS and the Leukemia Society's Team in training cycling prom rams.

There is a picture out there some where of a horrific crash Davis had in the 1988 Liege Bastogne Liege race. Chasing back on he crashed into the back of Team Isoglass' car. Ironic since the sponspor produced safety glass. Anyway the crash was very bloody requiring lots of stitches. Sad thing is no where can I find it. There is the short on Davis Phinney just for Farasy.

Happy BDAY Mia!

That's right yesterday Mia turned 6 months old. Time sure has flown. Today she gets to celebrate by getting her 6 months shots. Not much of a BDay present unfortunately. Mia is working on crawling. She rolls over @ does a frog scoot but can't quite figure out locomotion. I'm excited & nervous all @ once. We enter a whole new ball game once Mia is mobile.

No CX this weekend or next(though Bubba Cross next Sunday is tempting). Couldn't bring myself to drive to Nebraska this weekend. So I'll fill the weekend catching up on overdue projects. Top on the list is the gutters, followed by scrubbing 3 bikes that have gotten way past dirty. Then I have some home energy conservation projects to take care off. If I have time I may even clean the garage & put brakes on the Scooby. Some where in there I'm going to get in a couple rides. Plus I hear Patton Alley calling my name as well "Bellhaven, Bellhaven".

Got out yesterday for my first cold, dark, winter ride. Broke out the cold gear & the headlight. Only 15-20 min under the lights so just a taste. That reminds me I need to order a new bulb for my Jet light, add that to the list.

All for now time to go get some shots!

UPDATE:
Shots are over. Not too much screaming. After a nap & lunch Mia's playing in the Einstein talking away. So hopefully with a steady flow of Tylenol she'll be alright.

Get this our Giant weighs 17 lbs 10 oz & has grown 3"! Shes now 27" tall. No wonder we had to break out the 12 month old clothes. I guess we can give her hand me downs to Gunga, Skip, & Emro they should fit them perfectly.

HMMM?

Cale
900 inches tall
Rides freakishly large bike that barely meets UCI standards
Love of gay skinsuits
Disappeared last week to go “Out East”Won UCI race last week “out East”
Exhibit A the pic

Treefarm

900 inches tall
Rides freakishly large bike that barely meets UCI standards
Love of gay skinsuits
Won UCI race last week “out East”
Exhibit B the pic

Is Cale really Treefarm? You decide.

Get your Race on

Amber & I finally worked up enough nerve to leave Mia for the weekend. Saturday AM we loaded up most of the house & took it over to Mia's Nanna & Papa Top's house. Saying good bye was hard but off we went to have some time together in guise of a weekend of racing.

Sunflower Cross Lawrence , KS Saturday 11, 2006

Another good sized field in the 3/4's

I had to attack the barriers to stay with this guy who was bunny hopping them.

A group of 5 got away Which crashes whittled down to 2 being chased by 3.

Cross is fun when its a dogfight.

Chasing after being in no man's land for a couple of laps.

Finally running the barriers half way descent. I had to haul butt to not loose time to the hopper. Was good for the moral. 3 up sprint ended up 4th overall, but in the $$$.

Next year the Tufos are gone & I'm racing on Dugast. I'm tired of resting in the grass during races.

After the race we drove up to our 1/2 way staging area to get a hotel room, clean up & head out to eat. 4.5 hours later & about 100 miles of wrong turns we make it back to the hotel room. Amber wanted to eat @ the over rated, over priced, too long a wait restruant known as the Cheese Cake Factory. We finally found it after a lovely tour through one of KC's not so nicer neighborhood's. Then we got to wait for an hour to be seated, followed by almost another hour to get our food which had sat under a heat lamp for 50 minutes of said wait. It doesn't take a genius to figure out the long wait is their way of gettting you to buy into the herd menatality. Very little seating, slow service, & put the cheese cake outlet right by the door, people will line up without thinking twice. I know we did it, though from the bar buying $6.50 beers! RAPE!RAPE! RAPE! Best part of the Cheese Cake Factory was the one liner in the bad neighborhood: "what does this light stay red till we get robbed?" followed by: "lock the door, lock the door, lock the door." Very amusing to us in our low blood sugar states.

Veterans Cross Leavenworth, KS Sun Nov 12, 06

After finally having a good race over the barriers Vet cross was barrier less with 3 run ups, 2 of which were ridable. This made the course a power rider's dream. Being a notorious non power rider some how I manged to ride away for the win.

A group of 3 became 2 of us. Then I went solo for the last 4 laps.

Stairs suck in case you didn't know.

Me being tactical & riding smart? Surely not.

I'm off solo. You know the rest. Skipped the 3's race to get home to see Mia. We sure missed her.

This wknd

Nip the rumors in the bud now

No this is not a picture of me & Mia.

Election day

OK I'll admit I was a little on the defensive when I went to the polls yesterday. A lot was @ stake, I'd done a LOT of reading on the issues. I'd read the link to be aware of voter irregularities that Mertz had sent me. I was on edge, ready for anything, ready to get out there & make my opinion heard.

Amber, Mia, & I headed to our polling place to do our civic duty & vote. I had my camera phone with me just like I had read was a good idea to carry. So going in to Willard Central Elementary I immediately notice all the Democratic candidate’s signs are furthest from the door while the Republican candidates have prime real estate next to the door. OK I let that one slide with just a slight comment to Amber.

Once inside & signed in with KIDCO security we find our alphabetical line. Amber immediately notices the Dunsmuir's are the youngest voting by about 30 years. Which I find amusing. While waiting in line Amber & I read the instructions on how to use the Arrow ballot since we have used the "hanging chad" version @ our previous polling place. No problem connect the line with a #2 pencil(remember this), black or blue ink, but no red ink. OK no problem.

Once issued our ballots we find a place to vote on the bookshelves(very limited space), go to the stack of #2's & choose a sharp pencil & not the crayons that where next to them since the instructions didn't say we could use crayons just pencils. Cool now we're voting.

Then out of the blue some 100 y/o Alzheimer suffering polling official comes over & grabs the pencil out of Amber's hand. Time kind of froze there for a second. The look on Amber's face was indescribable, somewhere between shock & pure confusion. I was grabbing for my camera phone. The old lady was spouting something about "Hun you can't vote with a pencil we'll have to invalidate your ballot." We both start pointing to the instructions telling the old bat it says use a #2 pencil! I was ready to take pics of everything, the ballot, the old bat, the instructions, the KIDCO security, the signs, you name it. I was going to be damn sure our votes counted. I guess one of the middle age election officials saw I was about to burst a vessel & stepped in & said yes it was ok.

The old bat's reply: "I guess I was asleep when he told us that." Now several hours later I came up with the ultimate response which I won't share here for fear of offending most. But to make a long story short we continued to vote & we "think" our ballots counted. At least we think they did since even though in the minority in our county we were in the majority state wide.

I'm not going to preach but I'm glad the people stood up & voted for change. Now let's hope some change can be enacted.

GO VOTE!

They sure do take a lot of pictures @ KC CX races. Here's some from the Cowtown site. I do this why?
Oh the agony
I got one of these.
MMMM Sand!
I said go vote!