When serving in any branch of the U.S. Military, trust and loyalty are vital to accomplish every mission. You must trust your command to make the right decision and your fellow soldiers to have your back when you are put in harms way and everyone has to do their part so that no one is injured or killed. You must also be loyal to your command and fellow soldiers or this could erode trust. In the civilian world it is not generally a life or death situation. But trust and loyalty are extremely important.

I open with this because it is Veterans Day and KCBC racing did a group ride on Saturday and I got to witness some of the same comradery I enjoyed while serving in the Army. These are a bunch of guys that love to ride and support their fellow rider. Below is a picture of Mark Horn, I would say that Mark is the General and he takes on the leadership of the team. I have always had great respect for Mark since I got to know him as I coached his son in soccer (in my opinion his son is the best HS keeper in KC). Mark does a great job in rallying the troops and he truly gets excited for you when you share your ride or race stories with him. Mark also will light you up like a drill sergeant if you do something that he feels is dangerous while racing or riding in a group. He will also bust your chops if you are on another team and you make a tactical mistake. I got to see this first hand and it almost resulted in a fight. I knew at that moment, when I got off my bike to stand by Mark and go to battle, that this was the team I needed to be on. For all I know, he may have been the one in the wrong. That didn’t matter, I was still ready to have his back. That is what a good leader instills in his troops.

The General giving direction.

Sunday, The Keen Wealth Classic. This race is the KS CX State Championship for age group. So, the goal was to stay upright and finish in the top 30%. So, that didn’t exactly work out because of a flat in the final lap. Although, I did finish 6th out of 14 and 3rd in my age group. I also gave the single speed race a shot and ended up placing 3rd and really enjoying the single speed. Below are the pictures of the the podiums and race pics.

I got to hang out with so many friends on Sunday. It was a great time. That seems to happen when you are at the race at 9am and leave at 5pm. It’s a full day of work:) The picture above is of Kyle and I. Kyle is on the team that I race road with. KCBC had several racers at this event. It was great to see everyone they are all is so helpful. Mark was encouraging me to power up a hill and sprint out of the corner as he let up a little to slow the person that was trying to catch me. Shawn was in the pit telling me to go go go and catch a wheel. Kenny was my rabbit and my goal was to catch him. 

So, last week I mentioned Clymer (aka Lantern Rouge). Above is a photo of him and I after the race with Jesse Miguel taking the selfie. Clymer is new to the area and I can tell he will be a strong rider once he gets his race legs back. Not to mention he seems to be an all around nice guy. Jesse is takes so many great photos. If you get a chance, visit his Flicker page. 

General Horn giving the troops a pep talk after the race:)

Miss Haley taking 1st yet again!

Thanks for reading that race report. Do what you love and meet as many strangers as you can along the way.