Two Kinds of Leg Pain

On Saturday I competed in the Missoula Taekwondo Championships. I won forms 5-0 and 4-1. In sparring, I got a decent lead going into the third round and waited out the clock. Although the other kid got a few points, I was able to hold on and win. The second match had questionable scoring, although I was beaten fair and square. I lost 11-7, and settled for second place (and a slightly pulled hamstring).

Sunday was the second day of Rolling Thunder, probably the biggest CX event in the state. To use the word "race" would be wrong. "Superfestival of Muddy Bikes and Crazy Fast Riders" would be a better definition. The night before, the Men's Cat 1 was led by a guy on a single speed for the majority of the race. He was beaten out in the sprint, but had and amazing race non the less. On I raced on Sunday, and despite a crash going into a rather sketchy corner, finished fourth. I really was third, although the kid who would've gotten second had a crazy crash and didn't finish, bumping a friend of mine up to second and me up to third. He would have beaten me though, so for all general purposes, I was fourth. And had road rash on my leg. And my arm.

Deer Hunt

The two days before general deer season are reserved for kids ages 12-15 to hunt. We booked a cabin in the Crazy Mountains for those two days. We set our at about 7:20 on the first day of the youth hunts. As you can see from the bottom right photo, it was a beautiful landscape. The first twenty minutes were packed with deer, all of which were either out of range or saw us first. We proceeded on the hunt for a while, until my dad spotted a doe the top of the drainage above us. I had just gotten set up to shoot when she moved off into the brush and off onto private land. We continued for about an hour, when I spotted two more mule deer does about five yards from the above photo. I was getting set up to shoot the closer one when a smaller but easier-to-get third deer emerged from the brush. I shot her through both lungs and the heart, causing her to run about three steps, jump over a log, and fall as she landed.  After taking a moment to thank her, we gutted the doe and carried it back to the cabin (thanks to my dad for the hauling). I have a Deer B-tag and a General Elk Tag left in terms of big game hunting, and can take up to three grouse a day, so there could be many more to come!

First grouse! (KickCarveCrank...Kaboom!)

On Sunday I finally got my first grouse after going out two other times! We were coming up into an open meadow when a grouse went up behind my dad. He swiveled around but couldn't get a shot off. We saw the grouse fly down into a tree. We followed it down and eventually spotted the grouse. I shot and killed it. We ate that one plus another my dad had shot earlier in the season for dinner that night. Deer season starts next week, and grouse continue until December 15th, so there's many more to come!

Moose Cross 2011

Last weekend I went to Victor, Idaho for Moose Cross. It was a great event with an awesome course, including stairs, barriers, berms, woopdy-doos, and single track. On the first day I was second in Juniors, and on the second day I raced in Cat 4 for the first time. The course was reversed and modified on Sunday, making it slightly harder. I somehow manged to hit my knee on the spoke of my back wheel twice when dismounting for the same infamous set of barriers. I think I finished dead last in Cat 4 but it was a good experience nonetheless.

I'm getting bored of including 'cyclocross' in the title

On Saturday, a good friend of mine began his season, which I had mixed feels about. Based on last season's experiences I preparing to be dropped, lapped, and then smeared in the sand pit by his rear tire. I was luckily able to stay with him for the entire race, which was this time in Bozeman. The course included two sand sections, a set of barriers, and numerous twisty, winding areas. I was within thirty seconds of hopefully sprinting out from behind and taking the victory when I crashed on the second sand section, a 250-300 foot beach. My friend managed to get away, and I settled for 2nd.

On the second day of the race, the course was reversed and a fly over with stairs up and a steep ramp down was added. I wasn't as close to my friend/now rival, but still finished 33 seconds back for another 2nd.

KickCarveCrank 60 Second Gear Review: Rossi Trifecta

   

The Rossi Trifecta is a great gun for younger hunters. It combines three guns into one with .22, 20 gauge and .243 barrels, all interchangeable within thirty seconds. It works great for hunters who have a tendency to flinch, because you can hone your rifle skills with the .22, a gun with an unnoticeable recoil. Then go hunting with the .243, and because of the considerable adrenaline from the hunt, you won't notice at all!

There is of course the single-shot drawback, but the break action makes it fairly easy to reload. The iron sights on the .22 and .243 are not at all what you'd want for hunting, and so I recommend mounting a scope. The shell ejector for the shot gun can be problematic, but I've only experienced it once, and the issue was resolved without a trip to the gun smith. The break action on the shot gun can also jam up. One trick I've learned is to put downward pressure on the barrel and then break it, although this doesn't excuse the problem. I'm shown at left and below with the 20 gauge barrel.
At a reasonable price of around $300.00, the Rossi Trifecta is a great gun for beginner and young hunters. http://www.rossiusa.com/