The Baloney Pony & My Homies

This weekend market my eighth year at Homie Fall Fest, and one of the best ones yet.  Although defining HFF to the layperson alludes most of us, I think you can start with... single speed mtn bikes, personal style (or costume), beer, flasks, feats of strength, derby, more beer, ride, beer, final stop with more feats of strength, bonfire, and more beer....

With my MUSS, "The Baloney Pony", and my hubby, it was set to become another awesome day.  And along the way, we had some fun and make some memories... some of which we only remember once we turn the camera back on and we find out what we did.

Riding along hidden trains in the Minneapolis, challenging ourselves to do something stupid (or let the rest of the Homies tell you not to), we congregate with our friends we see often in our community, plus the ones that come from caves far far away to enjoy yet another year of drunked debauchery.

 This year took us along the river for miles, exploring areas I'd never seen before, hanging out under bridges drinking beer as the warm October sun tried to keep the chill at bay.

Somewhere under a bridge, down by the river, someone came up with a peculiar way to drink beer with a stocking over our heads.  Though the creep-factor was awesomely bad, Stevil proved the difficulties of drinking through the (hopefully clean) stocking.

So we improved and ripped mouth holes into them!  And then we drank some more..

The turn out was incredible and we took a moment for a very sweet and innocent family picture...

With one more stop to go, we got back on our bikes and followed the leader down the trail.  Hwood, me and a handful of others missed the final turn into the woods and didn't catch it till we'd made it some 20 yds down the path.  

When we decided to turn around and go back, I was caught completely off-guard when I saw a black figure barreling down on me mid-turn at a speed I couldn't beat.  The impact was fierce as we collided and slammed onto the ground.  Hwood and the guys rushed to my side to make sure I was okay.  I got up and took inventory, I couldn't find any injuries, even after the extra check to compensate for the booziness that may mask something.  He, on the other hand, had a bloody lip and this handlebars wedge within my front wheel.  It had bent one of my spokes and threw my wheel out of true, but it still got me to where I needed to go.

Once we got to the final camp, we settled in, cracked another beer and enjoyed the ride.  I got in on the relay with Hwood and Murph from Swobo, raging round and round the fire as we laughed and tried to take it to Geno and his dream team. I don't even remember who won... but I do remember that it was even harder to pull off the 2-person race with Jay on the pedals and me on the handlebars.  The booze definitely made the falls easier to take.

When darkness fell and we realized that the lights I intelligently grabbed for our ride home were dead, we decided to hit the trail and head home.  Leaving from Eagan with a cold headwind, we started to think of better ways to get back fast... When we got to Bloomington, we decided to hop on the light rail at the airport and get as close as we could to home.  The ride was slick, smooth, and we were soon back at the house and chowin' on some hot food.

After eight years, it's still awesome, and I love the tradition Jay and I have of bailing for pizza and laughing about the antics before we fell asleep (aka passed out).  My first Homie Fall Fest lead to my first kiss with my future hubby, my first mountain bike and a healthy bike new addiction.  I look forward to what more is yet to come...

Bruised, Boozed, and Smilin',
Kristy Kreme

Bike Therapy

Last week I got my ass kicked by the latest strain of flu bug.  Luckily, I'm married to the boss man, so it didn't take much to convince him that I needed to go home when the body aches and chills started to set in.  Straight to the couch in my jammies and robe, I waited for him to get done with work as my fever climbed.

By the time he got home, I was frozen solid, curled up in my comforter on the couch with the puppy and a strong fever of 101.  Food made me nauseous, so I survived the next couple days and a fever that maxed out at 102.4 by sipping ginger ale and sleeping with a copious hours of the day.  In an effort to keep my hubby healthy, I slept on the couch so not to breathe my germs on him all night... but something in that quarantine was just so lonely.

I felt like hell.. and all I wanted was to be held..  Yeah, I'm a baby when I'm sick, so what!  But I didn't want my hubby sick, and neither did he, so the puppy had to play the part of nurse & cuddler.  But somewhere in the lack of food, isolation, and body aches, I just got depressed.  Although the fever broke after 2 days, I was still weak and fatigued by my flu-hangover and lack of nutrition.

The cold air set in my bones when I went outside, and all I wanted to do was get back into bed.  With Green Acres CX taking up the weekend, I tried with all my might to rest and eat and get back on the bike, but I battled between motivation and healing constantly, going back and forth with myself on whether or not I was ready to ride.

Mother Nature decided for me, keeping the races cold and rainy.  So I stayed bundled up and had to watch it all from the sidelines.  Lucky for me, though, I had a few Girl Fiends to cheer on and help lighten my glum mood.  It was awesome cheering for Dana & Sarah as they took on the mud and the rain!  And Morgan came out just to cheer and drink beer which is always great for good belly laughs and silliness.... though I'm always leery the next morning about what I may have agreed to do...hmmm.

Finally this Monday, I got back on my bike.  It was only for a 2 mile jaunt to work and I was probably wearing more layers than I needed, but it felt fabulous!  My mind wandered about as I pedaled down the bike path and the fall colors were stunning.  It was so awesome, I did it again on Tuesday and joyfully, with all the same side effects.

Jay and Chucker took me out on mtn bikes last night to get in a longer and little more interesting ride.  We started by Lake Calhoun and hit up some barely traveled singletrack all the way to the new Theo Wirth flow trails.  There were some wrong turns, a creepy "Blair Witch" moment, some nefarious goings-on by nude men in the woods, but most of all it was lots and lots of singletrack on a beautiful fall night.  It was quiet and beautiful as we stopped at the top of one of the trails and enjoyed how pretty Minneapolis looks at night.

With happy legs beneath us, we returned to the lake to fill our bellies with some tasty Burger Jones treats.  Bikes, laughter, high-fives, and friends... it was a perfect night.  And it was a great week of coming back from darkness...

Sometimes it's can get heavy under the load of bills, family hardships, car troubles, whatever... then knock yourself out with illness and loneliness...  it's not something I like to write about.  But in the end, its my puppy, Jay, my friends and loved ones and my lil 2-wheeled contraption that makes it all go away.  And I'm grateful for every last one of 'em!  You know who you are - I love you!

Enjoying the sunlight,
Kristy Kreme

...A different kind of buzz...

Back in Winona last month, something in me changed.  I've loved riding my mountain bike since Jay started teaching me, but it never really clicked 100%... like there were barriers I couldn't figure out that kept me from taking my riding further.  But somewhere along the trails and bluffs of Holzinger & Cherrybomb, I think I found it.

Single Speed USA still courses through my veins and fuels my desire to hit the single track whenever we can.  The best part, though, was the amazing skills I found in myself while taking it all on.  I rode as if I never questioned myself.  I BELIEVED in myself, and that's something, admittedly, I rarely do.  I even keep a fortune cookie fortune on my bathroom mirror that says "Believe in yourself and others will believe in you too"... I'm starting to wonder if there's something to it.

To keep the flames roaring, we took that energy into 4 weeks of events, travel, racing and fun.  The week after SSUSA was my sister's wedding down in Reno, NV.  It was a whirlwind 4 days/3 nights of traveling & celebrating and everything turned out perfect, including meeting my new bro-in-law for the very first time.  I've never seen my sister so comfortable and at ease, like she truly found her other half.. I'm so happy for them and feel so blessed to have been part of the celebration!

Then, the next weekend we were off to Maplelag Resort for yet ANOTHER bitchin' year at the best Mtn bike stage race around!  I missed the racing last year due to injury, but was so happy to have some of my best finishes ever at the races - so much fun.  And, ss always, the races were awesome, the dinners were savory and every day was full of great time spent with friends... I love coming up here each year :)  And to spend our time with our THC/Girl Fiend family all weekend was perfect!  I'm so happy to have taken the leap with these teams - it's been endless fun all year.

To keep the momentum going, Hwood and I went up to Hayward, WI to watch the Cheq 40 race.  We'd both ridden it multiple times, and we discovered last year that heckling and giving soda hand-ups atop Fire Tower Hill was WAY MORE FUN than the pain of racing it.  And this year, we were extra lucky to have Teresa, Rusty, Barry, and Mitch join us for the antics!  With backpacks full of beer, scotch, lemonade, Red Bull, and dixie cups, we were prepped to cheer & support our teammates and friends as they crested the hill.

It was a friggin' blast and I think this 'bout sums it all up...

 Take a break?  Nah... This last weekend we took on the final Mtn Bike Race of the MN Series, the St. Cloud Jail Trail.  After all the fun-riding lately, the tight, twisty single-track with rocks and roots was exactly what this girl was craving.  I was so excited to see that my Girl Fiends Alye and Pip were there and we knew exactly what we needed to do - get Pip the win and fill the podium with Girl Fiends.

When the race began, we quickly took position at the front with me and Alye pulling for Pip to get her into the single track first and effortlessly.  We gapped Pip just a bit, so I pulled Alye into the single track first, jumping on her wheel as we began to weave between the trees.  Pip got back on fast, so I let her by to take a lead position.  Much to my surprise, rather than dropping me, the three of us rode together for the entire pro-lap and into Lap1.  Pip rode away from Alye and I in a rocky section of the lap, but I was able to keep on Alye into Lap2... something I've NEVER done... Alye usually puts 10-20+ min. into me during a race, but not today.

I was riding out of my mind, scrubbing speed in the corners and never thinking twice about an obstacle as I cleared it.  The light-switch was definitely on!  With half a lap to go, our competition was nowhere in sight and we were lined up to sweep the podium, Girl Fiend style!  Alye had begun to pull away from me and I was riding hard to close the gap when my left grip clipped a tree, turning my bars completely to the left, cartwheeling me over the bars and onto my back.  My feet were still clipped in as I laid upside down, trying to figure out how to get out of my pedals and back on the bike before I lost too much time.  Heck, I never even looked for injuries as I put my bike back onto the trail and hopped on.

But it was over... my crash had broken the seal on my tubeless front wheels, spilling the Stan's No Tubes all over the trail.  I tried riding it for a moment, but the protests from my brand new HED. Belgium+ were excruciating to listen to.  It's what, 3 miles to the finish?  I can do this.  I HAD to do this... last time I'd raced St Cloud, I was sitting in third when I head-butted my handlebars in the rock garden, breaking my nose and ending my race.  This was payback... I wasn't going to quit.

So, my mtn bike race turning into a duathlon.  I ran the final three miles of tight single track to the finish.. and as I did, one-by-one, my competition caught me and left me in the dust.  Third to sixth in the final miles, but I wasn't going to quit.  I had my fist raised high in the air as I ran my bike across the finish line.  Thank heavens for my Northwave Vega's - they were so comfortable to run in and the heel support kept me from rolling my ankles in the rocks & off camber sections.

It had been one of my best races and I wavered back n' forth all night between happy and pissed.  But when the dust finally settled, I was so proud of myself.  Maybe it's the new LaMere 29'er... either way, the light switch is on and I can see things in a much different light.  And I love it and now can't seem to get enough.

Maybe that's why every time I hear "Royals" by Lorde, I think of raging on my bike... it's my kind of buzz..

And we'll never be royals
It don't run in our blood
That kind of luxe just ain't for us.
We crave a different kind of buzz
Let me be your ruler,
You can call me queen Bee
And baby I'll rule, I'll rule, I'll rule, I'll rule.
Let me live that fantasy.


Buzzin',
Kristy Kreme