SC in Turks and Caicos

Today is Tuesday November 25 2025 and yesterday i rode a bicycle in Turks and Caicos.

It was pretty great. 

The ride didn't turn out as i wanted but hey, i rode a bicycle in frikin Turks and Caicos! How awesome is that!

X and i went for 4 nights. Specifically we were on Providenciales, which appears to be the main tourist island in Turks and Caicos. It was a true vacation (the little man stayed home with the grandmas).

For the last two days we rented electric bikes. There isn't much riding to do down there but i had scouted out some remote spots on the western most point of the island that i wanted to try and reach, so early yesterday i saddled up solo and headed out for what i hoped would be a true adventure. 45 minutes later i got a rear flat tire. Luckily i was able to ride it back to the hotel where i then jumped on the second electric bike for round 2. But this time i rode in a nicer area on nicer roads because we had a flight to catch later that day and i couldn't risk getting stranded on the other side of the island. So i never came close to making it to the remote areas i had scouted out.

The electric bike was sweet. It had pedal assist and full throttle mode. It had big tires which were perfect for the less than perfect Turks roads. It had a rear rack to hold all my crap. 

This is a real "what could have been" ride because i got a flat right when the adventure was really starting. The roads were about to get sketchy but the rewards were about to get higher. However getting a flat and then riding that all the way back to the hotel was an adventure itself. The tire was completely flat but since it was an electric bike i could still go about 13 miles an hour. But it was obnoxiously loud. i got a lot of funny looks from the locals who were out and about.

Did i mention they drive on the wrong side of the road down there... that took some getting used to.

So it was an awesome ride that could have been awesome'r.

Bicycles!

Weekend Bike Rides

Today is Monday November 17 2025 and i rode my bike on Saturday and Sunday.

It was pretty great.

i did not do either of the cross races. After my poor performance at the cross weekend last weekend i decided that i'm done racing for the year... but i am not done riding my bike.

Far from it.

The weather this weekend was amazing and between Saturday and Sunday i racked up 60 miles. 25 on the Mountain bike on Saturday and 35 on Sunday on the loaner Road bike.

Saturday was so warm i was in shorts and short sleeves mid ride. 

Sunday was a bit cooler but still shorts weather. 

The Saturday mountain biking was a little challenging due to the specific weather conditions. The dew point was high enough so that everything was sweating. Including rocks and roots. It got in my head and i rode the single-track pretty conservatively.

Sunday was another Chiefs game special, meaning i rode during the game so the roads were dead. i did the Rocky Route. North thru downtown then east past Knuckleheads then thru Cliff Drive and then home. i absolutely love that route. Although at one point i did get chased by a very intimidating looking dog. 

i think i need to purchase the loaner road bike. Now that i've got a taste i cant go back.

So racing is done for the year, all total i did six races.

• Muleskinner Gravel
• Gravel Worlds
• Pony Express Gravel Dash
• Little Sugar Mountain Bike Race
• Boulevard Cup CX
• Vandoit Cup CX

My best performance was easily the Pony Express Gravel Dash. The rest of the races were somewhere between shi**t and fine. 

Right now i'm very motivated for next year so hopefully i can hold onto that. What i need is consistency, which is not my specialty, which means what i need is consistency simplified. 

But the year isn't over yet. i never did do a second 20 minute power test so maybe i'll try that again. Plus i'll probably give the Old Leawood North Loop another go and see if i can set a PR. 

Bicycles!

Saturday...

Sunday...

Night Ride

Today is Wednesday November 12 2025 and last night i rode my Cyclo Cross bike for about an hour.

It was very enjoyable.

During the ride i did a lot of fiddling with my saddle and also tilted the handlebars down quite a bit and by the end everything felt pretty great. Tilting the handlebars forward seemingly made a huge difference in the feel. Prior to that i felt constricted. Between the saddle and the handlebars it was like i was being shoved into a funnel.

So hopefully this position change translates to a more comfortable race next weekend. 

But honestly my body probably needs a lot more work than my riding position. i could use about 3 solid months of strength work and yoga. i'll mark my calendar for January, February, and March. 

Riding at night in the suburbs kind of sucks. It's so dark. When i lived by the Plaza i would ride at night all the time and it was great because there were so many more street lights. Plus there's activity when you live in the city. Cars, pedestrians, stores... things to stimulate the mind.

The suburbs at night are dark and boring.

But from my house i can ride to the plaza and back in about an hour. So that's a nice carrot and that's what i last night.

Vandoit CX Cup

Today is Monday November 10 2025 and yesterday i did the Vandoit CX Cup race in Lawrence, KS. 

It did not go well.

i did the masters race at 10am. It was absolutely freezing. i sucked. 

The Whistle blew and i immediately started sinking like a stone. A minute later i was thinking to myself "you are not riding efficiently". Shortly after that, on a section of course that doubled back on itself, i marked where the leaders were to see if i could keep the gap relatively close. On the next lap i realized that was insane because just about everybody was going way faster than me. At some point i think i was battling with a 70 year old man. i cant be sure but it seemed like the announcer was talking about the guy close to me. And no offense to 70 year old men but this didn't do much for my confidence. Whoever it was he ended up beating me. It didn't help that i almost ate it on the final pass over the barriers. My front wheel clipped the first barrier (i run them, fyi) and i almost fell. 

I didn't get lapped, and maybe towards the end there was a brief spell where things seemed to be clicking. My lines were good, corners were ridden smooth and fast, momentum was kept. But that lasted for maybe two minutes. Plus my seat post kept sliding down which quickly cancelled out any good sensations i stumbled upon. I never got a headache but i could feel the extreme cold draining my body of every last drop of moisture. 

Fun was not had.

As soon as the race was over i got in my car, blasted the heat, and drank all the water i could find. 

Cyclocross is hard! 

Hopefully i can race it next weekend.

 

Weekend Bike Rides

Today is Monday November 3 2025 and i did a bike ride last Saturday and Sunday.

i still have the loaner road bike so that's what i rode.

It's am amazing piece of machinery and one that's conducive to burying yourself effort wise so that's kind of what i did. 

i think November can be the best month for bike riding in KC and Saturday and Sunday were perfect examples. Honestly it was kind of a magical weekend. Halloween was on Friday (we had a blast - such a fun holiday) so the city was pretty sleepy on Saturday which made for great road bike riding. Then throw in all the Halloween decorations that were still up and you get a great ride vibe. On Sunday the Chiefs played at 3:25 so again the streets were empty and riding was primo. On top of all that the fall foliage is really popping right now.

So i went out and kind of buried myself each day. 

i plan to do that thru the end of the year.

This weekend there is a Cyclo-Cross race i hope to go. That would be my 6th race of the year!

Did i mention that i lost my Garmin in Arkansas? Well somebody found it, tracked me down with some internet investigating, and mailed it back!

Good Samaritan!

Bicycles!

Saturday ride:

Sunday ride:

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