Tranquility Tantrum Races

Sunday saw the Pyscowpath trail running and mountain bike races.  The races were originally scheduled for Saturday, but postponed due to weather and trail conditions.

Trail runners from GOATZ (Greater Omaha Area Trail Runnerz) took to the 9+ mile singletrack at Tranquility Park.  "Photo Finish" here as two runners sprint to the finish line to claim first and second places.

At Noon, the bicycles took to the trail.  First in the starting line were riders for the Marathon category.  These folks were making as many laps they can withing the 4 hours race time limit.  The second wave were the the Category 3 mountain bikers.  Finally, the Junior field were in the singletrack for a shortened lap.  The Junior field included a team from the Vikings of Omaha North High School.

Riders for the second group of starting times were scheduled for 2pm.  First of the starting line were the Category 1 rides.  Following were the Cat 2 riders. It heard there was a kids race, but I had enough fun for the time and left the park about 2:30PM.

Photos I took during the races are posted on my race and events web site:  http://win-photo.photoreflect.com

Bring Your Own Kid Mountain Biking Day

The annual Trails Have Our Respect (THOR) event was held at Omaha's Tranquility Park on Sunday, October 13^th. The function was originally scheduled for Saturday, October 5^th, in conjunction with the International Mountain Bike Association (IMBA) Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day.

THOR's trail leaders rescheduled the event because of poor trail conditions (soft, muddy trails). This worked well, because the weather was perfect for fun on bicycles.

THOR's President Roxzanne Feagan reported there were 28 kids, ranging 3 to 10 years of age that participated. An estimated 20 adults were there for the function.

There was a little of everything to keep everyone busy. There were groups rides on the Tranquility Park trails. THOR's “Grill-master” David Packard and his crew fed the hungry kids. It was back for another group ride followed with riding skills events. The event was topped off with smor's.

All of my photos from the event can be viewed at:  http://win-photo.photoreflect.com.  Please note - for any orders, i will start from the camera RAW and reprocess the files (doing touch-up) before sending the file.

A great time was had by all.

Tranquility Tire Tantrum

Saturday was (twice rescheduled) Tranquility Tire Tantrum mountain bike race.  The race is a part of the Psycowpath Mountain Bike Series and was held in Tranquility Park in Omaha, Nebraska. Was a beautiful day for a bike race, though the wind could have dialed down a bit.

The photo shows some of the participants checking out the all-important race results.

Photos taken during Tranquility Tire Tantrum are posted. Think I only missed 2 riders in the first race. Did not stay for the end of the second race as it was about all my body could handle.

As usual, these are proofs for viewing and ordering purposes. If you wish to order a file, I will reprocess the file from the camera raw and e-mail the file to you.

Photos are located at: http://win-photo.photoreflect.com/

Bring Your Own Kid Mountain Biking

Saturday was a blustery day for THOR's Bring Your Own Kid Mountain Biking day. This was held in conjunction IMBA's annual function. Temperatures hovered in the 40s with gusty winds from the NW. THOR's party was held in Tranquility Park, Omaha.

The photo is the kids on their bikes and ready to ride some singletrack.

The group headed out for a ride on the Tranquility Park trail. Then it was time for food. Dave, the THOR Grill Master, had grub ready.

After lunch, the kids tested their bike handling abilities with an obstacle course. The adults were ready to help learn techniques and offer some encouragement. The day ending with a pinata filled with candy.

There were plans for "smores" but folks were ready to call it a day, getting out if the cold. All-in-all, a good time was had by all.

Tranquility Tire Tantrum

Tranquility Tire Tantrum was run yesterday at Lewis & Clark Monument (Council Bluffs) and Tranquility Park (Omaha). This was a 2-stage race. The morning race was a time trial at L&C. The afternoon race was cross country race. Times were combined for the overall winner.

Two races in one day, was a little too much my my body. Besides, the TT was a 8am start!. So, I just shop photos during the XC race.

Photos I took during the race can be seen at: http://win-photo.photoreflect.com

The photos posted on the web site are proofs. If a file is ordered, I will reconvert the file from the original camera RAW, do any touch-ups needed, and send the file to the customer.

Photos are divided into: Misc - general photos
Devo - Devo organization race (kids race).
Awards - Podium shots
Race - Race line-up, start, and race action shots.

Enjoy.

Tranquility Tire Tantrum XC Race

This afternoon was the Psycowpath race at Tranquility Park. In today's photo, Omaha Devo racers start out on the Tranquility race course.

It was brutally hot and humid during the race. I did not stay through the whole race - just too much for me. By the time I was home, weather.com was showing a temperature of 93 with a heat index of 117.

I hope that I caught a photo of each racer on the course. As the Cat 1 racers finished their second of 3 laps on the 9 mile race course, I called it a day. My photos of the race can be found on my Photo Race Web Site.

BTW, I have been advised that I did not miss a race yesterday. Two races were combined. I hate it when I think I am wrong, only to find I was correct anyway. :)

Race Photos Posted

I really am still out and about. Busy with other stuff - riding, working on photos, creating a calendar, doing trail work, etc.

Anyway, at Tranquility Tire Tantrum, I took over 500 shots. They are posted on my web site.

http://www.tomwinfield.com/bike/mtn-bike/mtb_races/psy16au08.html

Enjoy

Trail work -- Friday evening 8/22 5:45pm. Saturday morning 8/23 8:30am.

This and That

For those of you that are looking for my race photos, your wait is over. Last night I got them posted on the NaugaBike web site. Here's the link to the Maskenthine Race.

Sunday, it was trail day at Tranquility Park. Some 17 or so THOR members turned out. Order of the day was erosion control. In addition, the new trail markers were installed.

Thanks to everyone helped put. Great to see you up and about, Doug.

Monday I got my first true dirt ride. Rode the green & blues at Lake Manawa. Sure was great to be back playing in the woods! By the time I finished my loop, I was really feeling good. Everything seemed to click again.

I came across one dead fall in Woodchopper. Also, one spot in Woodchopper had some brush hanging over the trail - cleared that. Another THOR member says there's another one over the trail. Later today I will be calling our TrailLeader. Make sure he knows about the problem and discuss plans for the Lake Manawa Clean-up Day.

Wednesday, would have liked to ride in the dirt, but the trails looked just to soft from the rain Tuesday. I headed out from Xtreme Wheels, over to Manawa, checkedout the singletrack, then rode around the lake. Turned out to be a pretty good ride. My log topped over 400 miles for the year so far.

Spend some time reviewing specs on trail bikes. I had been planning to buy a full suspension 69er. But, I am not sure Trek has the bike dialed in quite right. And it does not yet have the EVO and ABP. That leaves me the Fuel EX. Several times (couple models of) I have ridden the Fuel EX7. It is a sweet ride. Would like to ride it now with the new EVO and ABP refinements. I could also ride (check out) the specialized Stumpjumper. That was a good ride last year at Black Hills FTF. Lastly, I could just tide my Trek 4300 for another year (but what is the fun in that).

Two rides in one day!

This morning the weather was saying HOT and humid today. Decided to ride early at Manawa. Got in over an hour of riding - part of my singletrack fix.

Started getting used to Zack's bike - still noticed that it is "skittish", tending to over steer. I have been told that it is in the geometry and will be different next year. Still good ride

The usual spots are slick/wet/muddy. Some dead falls will need to be cleared before the Metro Challenge.

It cooled off at the house, taking the opportunity to process and post the photos from yesterday's "Remembering Tony" ride. Check out the T.H.O.R. web site.

After a nap, it seems that my battery was recharged. I had wanted to ride at Tranquility to check out Zack's bike with climbing. So, I trundle over to the Bike Master's Cycling Club ride.

Climbing at Tranquility was where I noticed the most "skittish" handling. I had to work at staying in the track at the very slow speeds. After an hour of riding, I had enough riding for one day. Mostly my mind was getting tired. I was making more mistakes. Time to call it a day.

Tranquility Park

Needed to get out of the house this afternoon. Decided to check out the Bike Masters Monday mountain bike ride. Was my first time riding the Tranquility Trails. I forgot the heart monitor so felt better to fore go the big hill - the other hills were getting my heart rate up.

Good weather (not too hot, nice breeze). Just what I needed. Not happy to have forgotten the monitor. Also forgot my camera and armor. :(

After the first hour, I was starting to get tired. Part of it was my legs, most of the head. Riding a unfamiliar trail look a lot out of me - though I was doing going. End of the ride I could tell my riding was suffering.

Still a good ride. Thanks Dale, Dan & Robert for the ride.