Cycle City KC

BC 4 and States Championships!

2011-12-03T05:58:00.001-06:00

It's raining at home...let's see if it's raining at the track too.
Boss Cross 4 is today at Raytown BMX, and tomorrow is the Missouri State CX championships!
See you out there!

Boss Cross #1 in the books!

2011-10-01T22:22:00.003-05:00

Today was the first race in the 2011 Boss Cross series. Beautiful weather, super fast course and racing, and we are excited to do it again tomorrow. If you are around, come to Barry Platte Park and check out the action! More details at www.bosscross.blogspot.com
Until next time (which will be soon)

Dirty Kanza (pre-race)

2011-06-02T21:47:00.002-05:00

Dirty Kanza is in 2 days.
http://www.facebook.com/#!/dirtykanza200
For those that don't know, it's pretty much my favorite day of the year! One long, tough, rocky, windy, terrible, fun day on the bike. I'm not sure if I can improve up on last year's 3rd place, but I thought that after my 4th place from 2009. We'll see. Good luck to everyone that is out there racing. Stay strong, and stay tough.
See you saturday evening!

IMFL quick facts

2010-11-07T08:34:00.003-06:00

39 degrees at the start. Choppy waters, strong right to left currents, but fairly fast swim. Glad I changed into dry clothes in T1. WINDY bike course. Cross/head wind for most of the first 80 miles. Fast final 25. Started a little (lot) fast on the run, but was feeling good. Totally fell apart the last 13. Peed 7 times during the race, so I was plenty hydrated.

Nutrition information posted later...

Swim: 69:49

T1: 10:46

Bike: 5:21.27

T2: 7:19

Run: 4:08.53

10:58.14.

Tarah rocked out with a 11:58.27. Pretty good day for all!

#250

2010-10-26T17:36:00.002-05:00

IMFL is 10 days away. Today they posted bib #s for the race. #250. Seems like a good # to me, hopefully it's a fast one!
This Saturday is Boss Cross # 3! Barry Platte Park (Platte Purchase Rd.) in KCMO. Racing starts at 11:00. Come check it out. Then off to Florida on Wednesday.
Projected time for Florida...
10:40-10:45.
Swim: 75 minutes
T1: 7.5 minutes
Bike: 5 hrs 25 minutes
T2: 7.5 minutes
Run 3 hours 55 minutes
5 minutes for margin of error and 5 minute buffer.
Wish me Luck!

Busy times or lazy times?

2010-10-19T12:07:00.002-05:00

It's been quite some time since my last post. A lot has happened and a lot is going to happen soon.
Right now I'm 2.5 weeks away from my Ironman in Florida. It's be 3.5 years since my last one, and I've gotta say I'm pretty nervous. I've been swimming a little bit the last few weeks, building up my runs, riding my bike. But, putting all three of those together has always been a bit of a mystery for me. I've had some great triathlons in the past, won some local events, been to worlds in '06, but I still feel like I haven't had that break out race. I don't expect Florida to be that race for me, but I've already registered for Ironman Wisconsin for September of next year. So I'll have plenty of time to dwell on things over the next 10 months.
We've been busy at the shop. This 80 degree October weather has kept repairs and sales strong. I'm already excited for 2011. We've got a couple new offerings and some updated bikes from our current bike lines.
I'm excited for my 2011 racing season as well. My first official race of the season will be the New Orleans Marathon on Feb 13. 5 years ago I qualified for Boston. Not that I plan to at NO, but I'd like to get within 10-15 minutes of BQ. After that it's Quachita, Transiowa (I will go back until I can finish this one), and DK. I'd like to get into Laramie again as I had a great time at that event this year. Maybe I can crack 6 hrs in 2011.
Cross season is in full swing. I've only done 1 race, but I put on the two Boss Cross events with grand success. Great course, good turn out, perfect weather. Our next race is October 30th at Barry Platte Park.
Until next time...

New Site

2010-08-19T22:03:00.002-05:00

Our website is back up and running under a new name. www.gocyclecity.com. Check it out!

Lots of stuff going on around the shop lately. Parkville Days 5k Run/Walk is this Saturday, Jackson County Triathlon on Sunday, and Midwest Meltdown Triathlon next Sunday. Much more to come!

website and such

2010-07-15T07:50:00.002-05:00

Our server has been acting up lately for our website (cyclecitykc.com). And since I know very little about computers it has taken me longer than I hoped to get it up again. It will be up asap.

In the meantime I wanted to thank everyone for their continued support. We were recently published in Bicycling Magazine, in a feature called 'Shop We Love'. This was possible because of you, our customers and friends. Thanks again, and come by and pick up your copy of the magazine (autograph may cost a little extra!).

Joe

Dirty Kanza 200. 3rd place 2010!

2010-06-09T22:01:00.012-05:00

Well this years race is over and once again it was a great one! I absolutely love this event... the course, the terrain, the heat, the wind, the company, and the loneliness.

The weekend started out smoothly. I left the shop w/ my family and headed down to the home of John Mathias (11th place finisher). Kathy dropped me off there, and I rode down with the Mathias' while Kathy and the boys stayed home. It was way too hot to be chasing around a 2 year old and a 6 week old all weekend. We got down to Emporia at 5:00pm Friday, just in time to check in. It felt a little like a high school reunion walking in the door, so many familiar faces and people to chat with. We got our packets and race numbers (I received #4 for my 4th place finish in 2009), and headed to the hotel to check in. Back a couple hours later for dinner and the pre-race meeting. The place was packed. Racers, friends, family all in one room to hear what Jim and Joel had to say about this year's event. Saturday was gonna be a hot one, so on everyones mind was nutrition and hydration. That always plays a key part in this event. Meeting wrapped up, and everyone quickly shuffled off to their hotel rooms to get some much needed rest. I was fortunate enough to have my own bed for the first time this year, and got to share a room with Jim and his wife...Thanks again guys!

Got up early, got bottles filled, and threw some stuff in my bag for the check points. This was my first time not having to fend for myself at DK and it was a little weird. I had John Mathias' wife Celeste to make sure my drop bag was where it needed to be though, so all is well.

It was a 4 mile ride down to the race start. I was joined by John Mathias, Mike Marchand (last year's winner), and a couple other guys. As we rolled onto the main drag in Emporia the crowd started to swell. It sounds like 165-170 started the race, so it made for a fun group.

the buzz before the start

As 6:00 drew near, I inched closer to the front. I knew I wanted to stay toward the front as the pace picked up, and with this many people around I couldn't take any chances.

neutral roll out w/ Lance Andre and Troy Krause

The pace was actually pretty mellow for the first several miles, even on the gravel. The pace didn't pick up until the first rollers started about 15 miles in. I looked around a couple times to make sure I was where I need to be and found a bunch of strong riders around me (Godfrey, Krause, Ek, Meiser, Goetzleman, Andre, Gersib, Neidinger, Grelk, Marchand and several others). Guys that I knew would keep the pace high and ride strong all day. Maybe I didn't belong in this group, but once again, I found myself here.

sitting beside David Neidinger, and behind Lance Andre

Once again as the pace quickened the group got smaller. I could tell this year was going to be a lot like last year in that sense. But many things would be different and that all started about 20 miles in. Troy Krause (rockstar on a bike) was taking his turn toward the front on a rather rutted out and nasty down hill section when his front wheel seemed to have a mind of its own. Whether he crossed wheels, or just got caught in the rut, the resulting crash was a doozey. He went down hard and a few of us followed suit. Dennis Grelk was right on his wheel and went right over his bars onto his chin, elbow and knee. Myself and Steve Goetzelman (winner from 2007) got caught up in it, but were on the fortunate side of things. The only major thing that really happened was I lost the lead group. I got the bike rolling again and took off. I hated to see those guys suffering that early in the race, but I had to keep moving. Troy was my pick for the winner. I think he would've rode away from us at mile 140, never looking back...next year.

sitting in the pack shortly before the wreck

I put down a hard effort for about 10 minutes, trying to latch back on. The rollers can be deceiving. A couple times I felt like I was gaining on the lead group of 8 or so, and over the next hill they would be 1/2 mile down the road. I caught up w/ David Neidinger about mile 30 and we put down a nice pace. Not too hard, but strong enough that no one else caught us. David and I rode together briefly last year too, and as a fellow Jayhawk, and a genuinely nice guy we had plenty to talk about. That's one of my favorite things about the DK. You meet plenty of fun people. And if you are patient, and ride at relatively the same pace, you can learn a lot about a person in that long hot day.

quick stop at cp1 for water and a new map

David and I thought we would roll out together and keep each others company to midway. As we left town he made a quick stop to relieve himself and I rode slowly up the long paved climb out of Cottonwood falls and down toward Elmwood. As I approached our next turn, getting ready to cross the tracks I noticed a train headed my way. I figured I'm in top 10, I could see 4 riders 1/2 mile back, so I didn't wait and kept on. The next stretch has been one of my favorites the last couple years. The wind is favorable, it's not too hot yet and it's a beautiful part of the course. I kept a good pace on the windy road, across a couple creeks, but always keeping a keen eye over my shoulder. Along the way I met up with Steve Goetzleman from 30th century bikes in Iowa City. Our pace was consistent and he was good company. Both of us had survived un-scathed from the previous wreck, and neither of us had it in us to chase down the lead group. So we just rode along to the midway together, meeting up with Tim Mohn and Mike Wise along the way.

When I got to midway my group was 9-12th. So I felt good about it, but my body didn't feel that good. I stopped for long but much needed rest. Re-fueled, changed socks (which feels great!), draped a cold wet towel over me and tried to regain myself. John Mathias rolled in 5 minutes after me, so w/ some coercing on both our parts, we took off toward the next town. Alma was only 40 miles away, but I knew it would be a long stretch.

John and I rode along nicely together. He and I have put in some miles together the last couple years, and he's a super nice and super strong guy, so I couldn't ask for better company. We caught a couple riders along the way so we figured we were still sitting in about 10th place. Then like clockwork, shortly after turning on the infamous "Little Egypt" road, I got a flat. I think it was my bike and my bodies way of telling me I needed a quick break. I changed the flat (twice), found a nice slice in my rear tire, booted it and got going again. We got passed by 2 riders, but overtook them quickly on the steepest parts of Little Egypt. I was able to ride the whole thing smoothly, with no walking. I think the flat helped me a bit and kept me honest.

About halfway between checkpoints I noticed John's pace slowing a bit. I kept my regulator on and rode along side him, chatting away and enjoying the scenery. This is the stretch where Skip "endurosnob" Cronin and I imploded on last year's DK...still not sure how I made it out alive.

I put about 90 seconds on John as we hit the last few rollers before Alma, with plans of leaving the checkpoint together.

CP3 was relatively uneventful. I refueled. Ate some pbj, turkey sandwich, chips, beef jerkey, root beer, grapes, and anything else that sounded good. My mom and step dad made the quick drive from Manhattan to help me re-fuel at cp2 and cp3. It was nice to just sit down and eat and drink. I dragged John out for the final leg after about a 15 minute stop. I think we were in 9th and 10th when we left, and my plan was to crack the top 5 again at this point. John was hurting, and there wasn't much I could do, so I kept to my own pace. I knew that mile 142-165 was the hardest part of the course, so I had to do my thing. I passed a couple riders on the steepest climbs, but there were still sections I had to walk; for better or for worse. Walking at this point in time is almost a welcome relief. Yeah it hurts, but it hurts differently.

At mile 155, when I turned on Moby Road, I came across the 2 Salsa Riders, Tim Ek and Joe Meiser. I never thought I would see these two guys again today, but they were suffering just like the rest of us. They had their bikes on the ground, jerseys off, and were hosing themselves down in the front yard of a local farmhouse. The water pumped was hooked up to a 85 foot deep, 28,000 gallon well, and we got to hear all about it from the farmer. I was happy to cool off a bit and have some more company. I had encountered what I thought was the hottest section, and was glad for a cool shower in the shade. I know the farmer thought we were insane for doing what we do, and sometimes I feel the same way, but it sure is rewarding.

I took off after a brief shower, leaving the shade, but knowing others were bearing down on me. This had put me into 5th place and I wasn't about to slow up if I could help it. I knew Eskeridge was 8 miles away and this was my final stop for food and water. Shortly after I left the hose, I got hot again. Then I stopped sweating briefly and got cold. Not good. Luckily I had drank a good half gallon back there and it went through me quickly. I started sweating again, and instantly felt better. I was looking forward to the c-store in Eskeridge. Last year I rolled in 2 hours later, just as the lady was getting ready to shut shop and enjoyed some good food as the weather cooled.

This year, it was still hot, but I was on a mission. As I approached the c-store, an F-350 was pulling away from the pump, and it took me a minute to realize that he didn't see me. Apparently he had pulled into the wrong side of the pump, and he thought making a U-turn on main street to turn around would be the fix. As he broad sided me from the left, the slow motion thought of 'man this is going to hurt' strolled through my mind. It caught me off guard more than anything. This is not what I had in mind...more like Lays' original and a chocolate milk. He stopped instantly, rolled down his window to see if I was alright. "I'm sorry man, I didn't see you!" My response probably wasn't too polite, but I wasn't in the mood. I walked over to the bench, only to see Mike Marchand. A couple local teenagers were around, asking if I was alright. It turned out to be quite comical. To ride 163 miles in remote isolation, only to pull into a town of 400 to be struck by a car. Once again, not what I was expecting. But DK is tricky like that. I refueled (2 snickers, more chips, 3 liters of water, a gatorade, more beef jerky, and a twix). The guy in the truck came in (after he filled up his truck) to see if I needed anything. All was good, I was ready to get on my way.

I headed outside to join Mike, to find out he was pulling the plug. I sat down, ate and drank and chatted incoherently with Steve again. Time to keep moving. 40 miles to go before dark.

I headed out, pulled out my ipod (thank you NOFX for 'the decline'). I had snuck my way up to 3rd place, but by the time I left Eskeridge, there were 7 others that had pulled in behind me. I had some work to do.

The next 40 were much harder this year than last. The wind wasn't being kind yet, and my legs were hurtin'. I like this section a lot though. A super cool double track, a long climb full of dog legs that makes you feel like your on a bluff at the top, and the feeling that you are almost done. I knew Corey was going to take the win, and I knew second place had left mile 163 over 30 minutes before me, but I didn't know how strong the riders behind me were. So as I rode, I once again kept an uneasy eye behind me. I stopped a couple times to relieve myself, and once to eject everything I had from my back pockets as my lower back was on fire. At exactly 7:53 I had exactly 18 miles to go. The wind was beginning to change directions, and I thought I could make it in an hour, putting me 2 hours ahead of last year. If anything I could make it before 9:00 and break 15 hours. As I was having this thought I looked back to see two riders about 3/4 of a mile back, only 2 rollers behind me. They had to of seen me, and their pace would surely represent that. For a moment I thought 5th place is almost as good as 3rd place. But I wanted 3rd. I took off, in the drops, and headed for Emporia. As the town approached, and the ghost riders never caught me, I was pleased to find that I was closer than I thought. I rolled though ESU campus, caught wind of a few cheers along the way, and headed toward the finish, looking back every 30 seconds or so. I wasn't sure exactly what time it was, or exactly how far I'd gone, but I was done. I never even had to turn my lights on this year. I crossed the line all smiles. 3rd place. 14:45. 203 miles.

Just after I crossed the line I saw someone familiar...Kathy! Kathy and the boys had come down to see me finish. It was a great feeling. Quite possibly my greatest day on the bike and I got to share the end of it with my family.

rolling into the finish line!

I can't wait for next year's DK. Maybe I have a 2nd place up my sleeve. Who knows.

on the podium...missing Lance Andre (in the hospital)

2010 podium: 4th Place Mark Walker, Salida CO. 3rd Place Joe Fox, Parkville MO. 2nd Place Lance Andre, Dubuque, IA. 1st Place Corey Godfrey, Lincoln NE. No one more deserving than Corey...Congratulations on a fantastic ride!

DK coming up soon

2010-05-25T20:52:00.003-05:00

It's been too long once again.

I've been very busy lately. Kathy and I had our baby boy, Max Lawrence Fox on April 14th. The family is growing very quickly.

I've been able to ride quite a bit lately though. I got in 36 straight days from April 17th - May 22nd, capping it off w/ a 145 mile training ride for DK200. I feel good, fit and fairly strong. I hope it goes as well as last year.

I'll be riding my Ira Ryan again this year. Same set up as last year w/ a new tubeless front wheel. Good reliable set up for this potentially very long ride. I hope to finish in under 15 hours this year. But with the speed and strength of the field this year, that will probably not even crack the top 15. But if I'm faster than last year I'll be pleased.

Pics, reports and other updates to follow.

Updated 2010 Schedule

2010-02-17T12:55:00.002-06:00

2/27 Cirrem
3/28 Ouachita Challenge
4/11 Brew to Brew
4/24-25 Transiowa
5/8 Rock Creek 1/2 marathon
6/5 Dirty Kanza 200
7/10 Psycho Psummer 50k
7/25 Rock Creek night 20 mile race
8/8 Ironman Boulder 70.3
11/6 Ironman Florida

gravelly goodness

2010-02-02T12:11:00.004-06:00

2010 looks to be another banner year for gravel ridin'. With DK, TI, GLGA, Farmhouse, CIRREM, and others on the schedule I'd better start ramping the miles.
A lovely pic from a couple years ago with Pete and my good buddy Matt from Lincoln.

Many more good times to come!

a few updates

2010-01-29T19:52:00.003-06:00

It's been a long and crazy few weeks.

On the 6th of Jan, I flew down to Florida with my buddy Josh Winkler (winklerslawncare). We spent three days riding across the lovely and flat state of Florida from Ft. Myers to Miami Beach.

It just so happened that we flew down there during the coldest weather that Florida has seen since the 1920s. Geckos were falling out of trees, manatees were dying in numbers and we were pedaling our sorry butts and freezing right along with them all.

We rode with my dad and our good friend Rick Heiniger. We put in 96 miles the first day, 72 miles the second day and 49 miles on the third day as we rode straight onto the pier of Miami Port and boarded our Cruise ship for a 8 day cruise through the caribbean. Our lovely wives met us at the ship and the 4 of us had a great vacation.

Here's some pics from the ride. (in reverse order)

The four of us after the end of the third and final day.

Josh and I before crossing the final causeway to our ship

My plastic bag shoe covers that filled with water. (day two was 40 and raining all day)

Purchasing rain suits at Ace hardware. Best $10 I spent.

Leaving Ft. Myers. Notice how two of us were carrying everything.

Boss Cross #4

2009-12-08T17:24:00.002-06:00

Our series finale was this past Saturday and things went great. The course was absolutely perfect, and I was fortunate enough to hear that from dozens of racers throughout the day. Final series points are posted up on the blog, as are a few notes about the races and next season. I want to give a big shout out to Josh Stamper, Andrew Slater, and Zach Dubas for their hard work in tearing the course down. Josh is putting on a guaranteed great event this coming weekend in Manhattan, and asked to use our equipment for his event. Our agreement was that the bad goat team would be in charge of course tear down in exchange for all of our stakes and cones. It's a bummer that only 3 of them showed up. Jeremy and I both told our beautiful ladies that we would actually be home at a decent hour instead of breaking down the course for 3+ hours. So, after our things were gathered and our strings were tied we took off. Sorry to leave you guys hanging, but that's part of putting on a bike race. Hopefully you can go out and support their team and club at their race next weekend!
More good things to come.

TI version 6! I'm in!

2009-11-19T15:57:00.003-06:00

April 24-25 2010. Hopefully things go better than last year!

2010 Schedule (tentative)

2009-11-08T12:38:00.004-06:00

So I am officially registered for Ironman Florida 2010!
As I said earlier, this would be the deciding race in my 2010 schedule. So at this point in time my 2010 race schedule is as follows:

12/31 and 1/3 Series 60 cross races
2/13 Psycho Wyco 50k trail run
3/28 Ouachita Challenge
4/11 Brew to Brew solo 44 mile run
4/24-25 Transiowa
5/8 Rock Creek 1/2 marathon
6/5 Dirty Kanza 200
7/10 Psycho Psummer 50k
7/25 Rock Creek night 20 mile race
8/8 Ironman Boulder 70.3
8/14 Leadville 100 mtb (upon accepted application)
11/6 Ironman Florida

That's the plan at this point in time. I'll be doing as many road races and local mtb races as I can between now and then. Somehow in between the races I have to run 2 shops and come April manage 2 kids! It looks to be a fun year!

HPT Cross and Moots

2009-11-08T10:06:00.002-06:00

I finally got my Moots cross bike built up yesterday just in time for the Heartland Park Topeka Race. I got a late start out to the race, which was once again top notch, and got changed and registered. I've come to realize that I'm not nearly as fit as I was this time last year. I know that I would be battling out for a win in the cat 3 field, but since I upgraded to a 2, I have to battle it out for last place in the 1/2 field. It's not much fun watching 15 guys ride away from me, and despite my efforts I can't hang on. On a happier note, the new bike rode great! Everything felt really smooth on it, and the handling was spot on. I need to make a couple minor adjustments today, but it will be ready to go for the next race. I'll get some pictures up very soon.

So...Ironman Florida was yesterday. That means that registration opens today at noon for the 2010 race. It sold out in 6 minutes online last year. I'm gonna throw my hat in the ring for it and see what happens. My entire 2010 race schedule will be dependent on if I get in or not. I'll get my tentative race schedule up here very soon, but it will be guaranteed to include dk200 a little bit of road racing, and some ultra runs.

72 and Sunny!

2009-11-04T09:45:00.002-06:00

So, it's been a very busy few days. Saturday's Boss Cross #3 went very well. The weather was perfect, the crowds were good. The whole race went off without a hitch. I can't wait to race this Saturday night in Topeka at Heartland Park. I raced very well there last year to a strong 2nd place, but I expect things will be a little different in the 1/2 field.

I've spent the last 2 days in beautiful San Diego, Ca at the Haro Bikes Dealer Summit, a hands on intimate sales meeting with everyone at Haro. It's been really cool to see what goes on inside a small company like this. I flew out here Monday morning along with 5 other dealers from across the country (Florida, Phoenix, Cincinnati, Seattle, and small town Tennessee). There's only about 12 employees on the inside of Haro, including marketing, design, and sales, so the 1 on 1 personal touch that they were able to give us was great.

Basically, we were wined and dined, then drilled on how they can improve their company, bikes, and vision. They are looking to the dealers on ways to improve their 2011 and beyond bikes, and what they need to do to get their bikes in the hands of the consumers.

We stayed in a nice little beach front hotel in Carlsbad where Haro is headquartered, and we were within walking distance to all the restaurants, and about 100 meters from the water...life is rough.

I'm very excited to get back to my family and the shop though. Spinning at the Parkville store starts thursday evening, so I've got to get some workouts in order. Apparently my fork came in for my Moots cross bike, so I'll have plenty of fun stuff to do when I get back to the shop.

rainy day

2009-10-29T22:54:00.002-05:00

It rained most of the day today, much like it has the better part of October. I had some time to for final preparations for this Saturday's Boss Cross #3, get some stuff done at the Liberty store, and hang out with Levi while Kathy ran some evening errands. This weekend's race looks like it could be a muddy one, but I doubt it will anything as bad as last years race. Barring another 3+ inches of rain tomorrow the entire course will be ridable.

I'm working on an excel spreadsheet to get full results posted for the Boss Cross series so we can let people know where they stand. I'll have results from the first two races and series points posted at the race on Saturday.

If you've never been to a cross race, A: wake up, and B: Come check it out.
Platte Ridge Park is a gem of a park developed and maintained by Platte County. The race is easy to get to, it's supposed to be 55 and sunny, and I can guarantee good times and mediocre food.

I hope to see all of you out there supporting the sport.

Rock Creek 15 mile trail run

2009-10-28T15:57:00.002-05:00

So apparently I've got the running bug again. I put in over 70 miles in less than two weeks (in only 4 runs!). I've been trying not to neglect my many bikes, but it's so easy just to go for a run. This past weekend I did the Rock Creek heavy half marathon at Lake Perry. It was somewhere between 14 and 15 miles, but I like to round up!
It was a really cool event. Super relaxed, kind of reminded me of a cross race. I started out at a pace that I thought I could maintain for 2+ hours. There was a 50k running at the same time, so I knew they would be pacing themselves, so I fell in w/ a couple pretty good groups. There were 3 aid stations spaced at mile 4.2, 8.8, and 11.3. Nice volunteers and some good snacks. I hadn't been running on the trails in 5 years since I did a trail half marathon in Florida some time back. It did a number on my ankles, calves and knees, but I recovered pretty quickly. I ran right at a 2:30 flat. Not a screaming fast pace, but w/ nearly 1500 feet of climbing and a heavy bed of wet leaves on the ground, I was pleased.
There will be some more running races in my near future. First the Gobbler grind (I'm leaning toward the half at this point in time), then this little beauty out a WY CO park. I don't know if I'll be ready for a 50k trail run by February, but I figure I can at least knock out a 20 miler.
I've got a few cross races between now and then to do, and maybe even a trip up to Lincoln on the Saturday before the half.
This weekend is Boss Cross #3. I'll get some more info on here in the next couple days. Soon I will post my 2010 racing Calendar (barring any major catastrophes).
Until next time.

Kansas City Marathon

2009-10-20T11:46:00.002-05:00

So it's been a good 2 1/2 years since my last marathon, but I thought I'd give it a try anyways. In all these years I hadn't done the KC marathon. So after 5 solid weeks of training (I managed two 15 mile runs), I showed up ready to run. I knew it would hurt, but I didn't know it would be that bad. As always, the first few miles felt fine, not too fast, and I had a nice group to chat with. I realized it was a little quicker than I could maintain at around mile 6 so I backed it off. I ran with another group until about mile 13 then had to back it off even more for fear of a dnf. By mile 19 my run had become a very painful amble. At one point in time I was actually on pace for a 3:20 (albeit 10 minutes slower than my pr), but by this time I was barely limping along at 9:00 minute miles. I saw my dad out on the course on his new Moots (check em out!) around mile 22 for a nice pick-me-up. Then I saw Kathy and Levi about a mile later. Kathy ran with me for a mile and it was everything I had just to try to keep up with her while she was pushing Levi.
The last few miles hurt like no run ever has. I've done 10 marathons in 7 different states and this was by far my worst; 3.47:57. Nothing a little training can't help for the next one.
Tonight I'm gonna go spin my legs out at a little local cross race...we'll see how that goes.
Until next time (which won't be so long, I promise!)

Cross is the new Black!

2009-09-28T16:42:00.003-05:00

Hey,
I've pretty much been inactive over the last couple months, but that is about to change. Cross season is upon us, and I'll have a lot to talk about here in the next couple months, as everyone knows Cross is the new Black!
This weekend is the first and second Boss Cross Races of the year. Killer venue down at English Landing Park in downtown Parkville.
here is the link for pre-registration. Starting position will be based upon registration order...so sign up early if you wanna win!
BC Schedule
Boss Cross #1 - 10/3/09 - English Landing Park, Parkville, MO
Boss Cross #2 - 10/4/09 - English Landing Park, Parkville, MO
Boss Cross #3 - 10/31/09 - Platte Ridge Park, Platte City, MO
Boss Cross #4 - 12/5/09 - Barry-Platte Park, Kansas City, MO

Race Schedule:

10:00 A.M. Men 35+, 45+, 55+ 45 min
10:00 A.M. Women Open (1-4) 45 min
11:00 A.M. Women Cat 4 30 min
11:00 A.M. Junior 30 min
11:00 A.M. Single Speed (M &W) 30 min
12:00 P.M. Men Cat 4 30 min
1:00 P.M. Men Cat 3/4 45 min
2:00 P.M. Men Cat 1/2/3 60 min

See you Saturday. More to come!

Farmhouse Classic recap

2009-07-28T21:44:00.002-05:00

We ended up with perfect weather for the Farmhouse Classic on Saturday July 18th. What a great way to spend my Birthday! 30 of us toed the line at the start of the ride. Everyone would go on to finish, 15 did the 105ish miler, and 15 did the 62 miler. The roads were tougher than most people imagined...hopefully I didn't scare anyone away from next years event. I rode the first half of the 62 miler at the tail end of the lead group (Peter, Gersib, Cornbread, Waller, Troy and Matt T) and rode back in with mike fox, KC local Chris Thomas and the great Alison Stamper.

Peter Krause pulled out first place with a sprint finish. The remaining podium spots went to Troy Krause, Corey Godfrey, Matt Tillinghast, and John Waller. I want to thank everyone who came out and enjoyed this fine ride. Here's some links to some great blogs from our fellow gravel cyclists.

Stamper, Cornbread, Gersib, Troy. These guys should keep you plenty entertained. Until I get pics off my camera...safe riding.

Katy Trail ride

2009-06-12T22:22:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow I will be attempting to ride the Katy Trail in one day. 225 miles in one day will be a new long for me. Should be interesting. Relatively flat, but fighting a steady E wind all day. The plan is to leave the house around 4:45am, be to the trail head in Clinton shortly after 6:00 and be on the trail by 6:15. I'm not exactly sure how long it will take me, but I have a loaded bike, with plenty of food, water, tools, parts, and music. 225 miles is a long time to think...hopefully I'll have some good stories when I finish.

Farmhouse Classic Saturday July 18th

2009-06-11T11:54:00.002-05:00

July 18th is my 26th Birthday. For the past several years I have taken the day off work and ridden a century. It's been a great way to spend my day. This year I've decided to invite my friends along and take the century to the gravel roads in northwest Missouri.

I'll be hosting the first annual Farmhouse Classic from our farm in Lathrop MO (nw corner of 248th and Mule Barn Rd). It will be a fun and free 100 mile gravel ride with two well supported aid stations stocked with various goodies.

The ride will start around 9:00am (exact start time to be posted soon). Breakfast will be served around 7:30, with the grill starting up in the afternoon. There will be camping available both Friday and Saturday night. Bring your friends, bring you bike and plan on having a good time.

Keep and eye on www.farmhouseclassic.blogspot.com for further details.

Dirty Kanza Race Report

2009-06-08T21:47:00.005-05:00

Dirty Kanza has been done for over a week, and I almost feel fully recovered, although I still have no interest in doing a long ride. But here goes a long race report.

Friday 4:30: leave the Parkville shop with Peter (eventual 5th place finisher and 19 year old bad ass), to go pick up Folendore at his lakeside cabin in Lone Star. 6:30: arrive in Emporia in time for the pre-race meeting, get some swag, talk to old friends, and realize there are a lot of new faces this year. Got a decent nights sleep, and actually had a bed to myself.

Race started at 6:00am Saturday with a mass start neutral roll out to the edge of Emporia. The gravel started like it has every year, fast and furious. I told myself to stay near the front as not to encounter any shady riders like I did at Trans Iowa. However, I found myself in the middle of the pack, but surrounded by guys I had was used to riding with. The pace continued to rise as the group got smaller and smaller. Before long it was down to 5. Myself, Mike Marchand, Troy Krause, Corey Godfrey (top 4 finishers) and Dan Hughes who would've been right up there had a nasty crash around mile 125 not taken him out of the race. We rode away from the rest of the group around mile 25 and really laid the hammer down, rolling at 30+ until we turned into the headwind. It was soon apparent that this group was not going to get caught. We even took time to wrangle some loose cattle that were in the road. A few of us were running various tubeless set ups that did not like the flint rock, so we stopped a couple times to re-seal tires and such. At about mile 35 I had a major flat. I put a 1 inch slice in the sidewall of my rear tire. The others rode on as I tried to fix it. I put a tire boot in it, along with a powerbar wrapper, turned the tire around and put it back on the rim with a new tube. As I was pumping up the tube I broke the old corroded valve stem in half, so I had to throw another tube in. By the time this was all over, I had lost about 20 places. I spent the next 25 miles riding my own pace, but slowly reeling in riders in front of me. I could tell guys were already starting to suffer in the heat and wind, but I was feeling really good. I rolled into the first check, mile 61 in 15th or so place. Took a quick stop, refueled, chatted with some guys I had met along the way, and kept going.

I passed probably 5 people at the check point just by making it a quickie. I rolled out of town and up a long paved climb that felt like it was going forever. I took this chance to call Kathy and Levi to see how they were doing back in KC. They were laying by the pool at Grandma and Grandpa's house! I came down the hill and through the little ghost town of Elmwood. Towns like this amaze me. No sign of people, no dogs, just a few random houses and some vacant old buildings. As I was rolling out of Elmwood and toward the next stretch of gravel I came across Skip Cronin, he too had been distracted by a phone call and was ready to attack the next stretch of course. We hooked up and rode together for quite a while. He was riding a single speed, so his pace kept me in check and from burning myself up too early. We started riding together at about mile 70 and rode strong until about mile 130. The pace was solid and the company was good...I don't care what anyone says about you, you're an alright guy Skip!

We came into the midway checkpoint at mile 103 in 6th and 7th place, still feeling strong. We hung out for about 25-30 minutes. Ate some solid foods, drumsticks, and refilled water bottles. We took off before anyone else could pass us. The next 38 miles were terribly rough. The temps continued to climb to the mid 90's, and the hills continued in front of us. We encountered a stretch of road called Little Egypt. It was the nastiest section of rock and "road" known to man. It featured 3 gnarly descents followed by 3 super steep climbs. Halfway down the first decent there was a washed out section with a rut that decided it was going to eat my front wheel. I'm not sure how I stayed on the bike, nor how Skip and I didn't crash into each other, but I made it out alive with only a flat tire. We stopped under a shade tree and took a breather as I fixed the flat. Once we got rolling we encountered about 10 miles of rollers that didn't seem to let up. Skip was really starting to suffer and pay the toll of little sleep and dehydration. We stopped once just to get out of the sun. About mile 130 we came across a beautiful old stone barn along with an old stone farm house at the bend in the road. It didn't appear as if anyone was home so we strolled to the back of the house and found a water spigot. It was in the shade, and the cool water and slightly cooler temps made it feel like an oasis! Skip was hurting big time, and not very responsive. We took in as much water as we could hold, and I flagged down a car that just happened to drive by. It turns out the lady was here with a couple other racers and was just driving around checking out he scenery that the Flint Hills has to offer. She said she would wait for Skip to snap out of it and would drive him to the next check point in Alma at mile 142. I continued on, as we had already been resting for over 30 minutes. It amazed me that no other riders passed us in that whole time. I know that everyone was suffering that day.

The next 12 miles I felt great, I was able to get up out of the saddle on the climbs and keep my legs moving. I think that long break got me refreshed for what was to come.

About 7 miles outside of Alma we cut across ks18. I looked at the map and saw we were a short couple miles way, but then cut back northwest to hit some sweet gravel rollers. I was coming up over a roller when I heard a car coming toward me. I've always been known to stray to the middle or even left side on gravel roads, so I scooted over the the right pretty quick...this car sounded like it was approaching me fast. Right as I crested the hill the car came zipping past me. It had a roof rack on top and from the looks of the driver, I believe they were off to rescue an abandoned rider. On closer inspection it appeared that it was Mrs. Mathias. Off to the rescue of either her son or husband, both very strong riders who had been beaten by the heat of the day.

I rolled into Alma around 5-5:30. Already over 11 hours on the bike with 64 miles left. There wasn't much going on in Alma. Peter's dad was there, along with Skip (cars are faster than bikes), and the volunteer at check in. I had moved my way up to 4th place by this point in the day and I wasn't going to lose it. I cruised into the convenience store and bought more ice cream, some Slim Jims, Lays potato chips, some Gatorade, and a couple of Snickers bars. Filled up my water bottles then went back outside to enjoy the company of the others. After about 15 minutes race co-promoter Joel Dyke and David Neidinger rolled up. They had opted for the shorter paved stretch into town and called it a day. I relaxed for a few more minutes then was getting ready to roll out when Peter pulled up. He looked terrible, but I know this kid and he is tough. When I finally hit Eskeridge 2+ hours later at mile 164 I wasn't surprised to see Peter's dad and brother there telling me that Peter was still out there on his bike.

The stretch from Alma to Eskeridge was brutal. I put the ipod on and cranked out some kings of leon, mars volta, j5 and the roads still got the best of me. I hit an all time low midway between the two towns and really suffered. 25 miles in 2 hours 10 minutes is not good!

Eskeridge was not an official checkpoint but they had a general store with a very sweet lady who was bound to take care of me. 5 half liter bottles of water, 1 pint of chocolate milk, a twix, banana, more lays chips, a cookie or two and whatever food sounded good at the time. maybe 8 bucks. There was a table and chairs inside with a/c and Peter's dad and brother to keep me company. I pulled in at 7:35 and the store was closing at 8:00. I pulled out at 8:10 and there was no sign of anyone else when I left. I later learned that Peter and 2 others pulled in about 5 minutes after I left and the lady was kind enough to open the doors for them too. They bought some extra water and a couple of bananas and left it on the steps with a note for other DK riders. Hopefully it saved someones life!

I was ready for the final 41 miles and I felt good. I was never so happy to see darkness. But when you have been outside and on the bike for this long, the darkness can play tricks on your eyes and mind. Rocks were looking like rabid rabbits. Flowers were looking like goats. And each firefly I saw was the ghost light of a rider that wasn't there. I did see some neat things in these final 40 miles. 2 bobcats that looked at me as if I wasn't there. A couple really big snappers. 3 frogs. Endless # of cows, deer, and even a couple foxes. I covered the final 40 miles in about 2 hours 50 minutes. I felt good and smooth, and even had some power at a couple times. But as I got closer and closer to Emporia the miles seemed to stretch on and on. About 25 miles out there was a monstrous anvil shaped cloud that looked like it was going to descend upon Emporia and swallow up all that lived there. It hovered, threw down some wicked bolts of lightning, but was more of a facade than a threat. It disappeared into the darkness and I kept riding on. I finally hit the pavement of Emporia, and I knew from years past that there were only 2 miles left. Man I felt great, I was ready for a bunch sprint; but I took my sweet time and enjoyed my final few minutes. I pulled into the hotel parking lot, turned my lights off, because I it was time for my photo shoot. 16:53. 205.56 miles. 4th place. All feats to be proud of...but not good enough. I can't wait for next year!

Dirty Kanza 200 (205.56) 4th Place!

2009-06-01T09:14:00.003-05:00

Quick update from a very exhausting weekend. 4th Place at DK200. Total mileage was 205.56, I stayed right on course and finished strong. 96 degree weather, 25+ mph winds, and a lot of hills. 16:53 was 2 hours longer than I expected, but I am very pleased to even finish. More updates to come.

spring time musings

2009-04-26T14:03:00.004-05:00

A lot has been going on the last couple months, and I've fallen way behind on my blogging "duties". With a lot on my mind it's time for a little catch up and a few predictions for the future.
Cycle City Bike & Running Company is up and in full force. Things have been going remarkably well, but extremely busy. The addition of running shoes, apparel, and accessories adds a whole new dynamic to the shop, but we now set ourselves completely apart from any shop in the city.
I've been able to ride quite a bit. Not a ton of miles, but enough to maintain some fitness, and hope for the best for the coming weeks. This coming weekend is Trans-Iowa. This has really been taking up the majority of my cycling related thoughts. It will be the hardest event I have ever done by far. A finish at TI is very respectable, and my 30 hour goal will make me extremely happy. I've got a beautiful new bike that rides as good as it looks. I'll get some pictures up soon.
Besides work and cycling, the element of my life that consumes me the most (in a good way!) is my family. Kathy and I are so proud of our little Levi. He is growing up so fast. Last weekend he turned 1, it's hard to believe sometimes. Kathy and I are taking a 3 day trip to Chicago in a few weeks. Just the two of us...no kid, no work, just us. I can't wait!
I'll get some pics of TI, the new bike, and the new shop on here soon, but for the time being here's some pics of Levi for you entertainment.

Best of '08 (a little late)

2009-02-16T17:16:00.009-06:00

I'm going to get on a regular schedule one of these days.
I wanted to write a best-of recap for 2008, so here goes...

#5 on my list is a simple little part that can make all the difference in the world. SRAM 11-28 10 speed cassette. This gear ratio offers a sprinters gear for those cross races, and the utmost bail out gear for those 200 mile gravel grinders. The ratio is pretty solid too, with the most noticeable jump going from the 25 to 28 tooth. The cassette is SRAM compatible, but I've had good luck running it on with Shimano drive trains, even with a short cage rear derailleur. It is available as a Rival/Force version, and for the weight weinies, a SRAM Red version.

#4 on my list is an item that is often times overlooked, but without one your ride may not happen. Lights. I had two favorite new lights this year, so here there are. The Niterider MiNewt Mini-USB, packs a powerful punch in a very practical way. It is based off their rock-solid MiNewt series, but charges with a very simple USB cord. So if you run out the door in the morning and forgot to charge you light the night before you can charge it at work while checking up on Velonews.com. It is reasonably light weight, has a good run time, is inexpensive, and it's a niterider so it will continue to work. My other favorite light this year was the Blackburn Flea. When I first saw the Flea I was a little skeptical, but after testing it and using it all winter long I am totally convinced. This light is incredibly bright, front and rear. It has a very unique charging system, that charges off any standard 1.5v battery. It's one of the smallest lights out there, but puts out light brighter than many recharable lights. Lights are very important to me on my commute during the winter months, and I am 100% confident in these lights as I ride home to my family.

#3 on my list is also multiple items, but all of them are from the formidable Chris King. First off is their classic cross hubs. These beauties are new twist on their classics. Slightly taller and equal hub flanges, paired with a 19.5mm axle that runs the length of the hubs give these bad boys the ultimate in strength, stiffness and style that cyclocross demands. Next is their new Sotto Voce headsets. Muted logos add a new modern style to a reigning classic. Finally is their long-awaited Bottom Bracket. This has been in the rumor mill for years, and it's finally here! The company that has been making the best headsets and hubs for longer than I've been alive is taking that knowledge to the next most important part of the bike. Thanks!

#2 on my list is a one of my many new rides for '08, but definitely the coolest of them all... The Gary Fisher Superfly. This bike rocks! Light, stiff, responsive, reasonably comfortable. It is my first 29er, and I've gotten a good taste of the sweet kool-aid. Although I'm still more comfortable on a full suspension, especially for the longer rides, it's fun to rocket around on a 22lb mountain bike.

#1 on my list was an easy decision. 2008 was a great year for bikes, for my shops, but more importantly for my family. In April we welcomed little Levi into our lives, and as I've heard a thousand times, things will never be the same...but I couldn't be happier!

Levi's First Bike Race!
Levi With Liquigas!
6 Months!
Crawling!

Hello 2009!

2009-01-07T12:40:00.002-06:00

I haven't posted in a good 6 weeks, so I am going to do a recap, then get ready for 2009.
We finished our Boss Cross Series, and look forward to 8 short track MTB races, and 3 more cross races in 2009. Cross Nationals went off without any major glitches. I think racers really liked the course for the most part. The professionalism and staff was awesome. My race went poorly. But after 5 days of set-up, I was happy to finish on the same lap as the leaders.
I didn't touch a bike for almost 3 full weeks after that, and took a much needed rest. It didn't come without it's repercussions. I felt extremely weak my first two races back (even though I pulled out a 2nd on New Years), and I managed to get to my heaviest I've been since before I started riding a bike. I know it's the "off-season", but my body wants to take more time off than I can allow. With one more cross race left, and only a couple months until the first major races of 2009, I need to get back with it.
My 2008 top 5 list will come shortly.
Followed by my 2009 races and goals.
Happy New Year!

Boss Cross #2 Sunday!

2008-11-25T12:14:00.003-06:00

Folks,
It's that time again. Boss Cross #2 is this Sunday at Platte Ridge Park in Platte City. Racing starts at 10:15 with Juniors and Women. A special thanks to the KCA for helping us reduce Women's 4 entries to $10. Maps and more info are up at www.bosscross.blogspot.com.

It's about that time!

2008-11-25T11:57:00.006-06:00

No racing today.

2008-11-23T16:32:00.003-06:00

I've raced 13 times over the last 10 weeks. I was very happy not racing this weekend. Part of me missed not pinning on a number (rather Kathy pinning it on for me), and lining up at the start line with the same 35 ugly dudes. The other part of me was very happy to sleep in, rake leaves, work around the house, and ride 50 miles of fixed gear. Today's ride was perfect. The kind of weather you dream about. 50 and sunny. Bibs, baselayers, ss jersey and vest. Paired with some mild embrocation. My absolute favorite attire.
It's hard to take racing too seriously. It's something I absolutely love to do, I know I'll never be that good, but it's one of the things that keeps me going each week. Not that my job is a tough one, but it's good to have something to look forward to. I love seeing hundreds of people lining up week after week, paying for 45 minutes of pain. I feel it's my job to get people to the races. Make sure they are dressed properly, their bikes are dialed in, and they know what they're doing. Each week, I have more and more customers that express interest in racing. Whether it's the local sprint triathlon, or a 'cross race. But, more than the aspiring racer, I like the new rider. The customer that pulled their '93 Huffy out of their parent's basement to ride with friends. Or the middle age parent that wants to ride with their kids. These are the people that keep me going. It's not the carbon fiber, shaved legged roadie. They know, or should know, what they're doing. I'm here to put more people on bikes, whether I sold them the bike or not. The more people that ride bikes, the more paths and trails we have, and the more racers that show up at races. It's a beautiful cycle. And I'm at the heart of it.

Trans Iowa

2008-11-18T07:54:00.003-06:00

I'm in! Registration opened up yesterday to first-timers...and closed by the end of the day. I made my way in. It's nice to see a few familiar faces on the list. Now I only need to get my new ride!

Kansas State CX

2008-11-17T13:06:00.003-06:00

Another new venue for this fine cross season. This one at St. Mary's University in Leavenworth. My legs felt heavy during my warm-up laps and the first lap or two of the race, but they soon worked their way into a pedal-pushin frenzy. The course had a nice uphill brick start followed by a treed section into a flowy hammering downhill into a fast barrier section. I was really railing the down hill section and trying to hit the barriers with speed. My brakes had their finest sounding "freight train" day yet. The section after the barries sent us through another treed section then another uphill brick followed by a very well built spriral. I felt pretty good most of the race, but never had the energy to keep track of the riders around me. I knew I had a chance to win the series, but my main focus was just finishing this race. I rode most of it with David White who was racing in the 30+ masters category. With a 5th place finish and a mental error on the part of another rider I was able to win the 3/4 De Stad Series. It'll be nice to race for free next year. I decided to test my legs and double up and race the 1/2/3 race as well. I felt alright for the first 7 laps and then my legs just stopped working. The last 3 laps were really painful, and the small hills felt like mountains. I know what kind of work I need to do in the off season to be ready to race with these guys next year.

Trans Iowa Registration

2008-11-14T14:34:00.005-06:00

I sent in my Trans Iowa Registration. It is a post card style registration that fills up at 75 participants. I sent in a post card from two different post offices to make sure they would get there. The race opened to past participants on Tuesday, and opens to new comers this coming Monday. My post cards should be there on Monday, then it's really time to commit. It's going to be a long winter of soggy centuries and early mornings. After doing the Dirty Kanza the last two years, I'm ready to make the jump to Trans Iowa. The event will be extremely difficult, and the field is already incredibly stacked. Here's a shot of slater and I early in this years DK200.
Hopefully the weather will be cooperative. Iowa in the Spring can be unpredictable.

Vets Cross

2008-11-10T16:51:00.003-06:00

Yesterday was Veteran's Cross at Leavenworth High School. This was my very first cross race 4 years ago. It's sad that the field used for the race will be a parking lot next year, but it's time for some new courses as well. This was definitely not my best race. I felt surprisingly good after Saturday's flogging, but I just could not get in the groove. After a strong start, and a good first lap, there was a wreck on a off-camber downhill turn. First, Second, and myself in 3rd or 4th went down. This put me in about 10th and trying to play catch-up. I went down on my own taking another turn too hot. That really knocked the wind out of my sails. I put my head down again and then tried to break though a taped section. Like I said, not my day. I just set into a tempo pace and motored on through the race. I ended up in 11th, and it probably knocked me out of series contention. I look forward to racing this weekend at St. Mary's. I think I'm going to double up and race the 1/2/3s as well. If you see me Sunday...hold me to this!

Rock Jayhawk Gravel

2008-11-10T11:06:00.003-06:00

Saturday was the first Gravel road race of the year in Lawrence. Man it hurt. Cold and very windy with 25 others to share the pain with. The course consisted of a 5 mile neutral roll-out from town to the base of the "stair-step", then three 9 mile loops of gravel, each one up the stair step, with the finish at the top. I've always loved the fine roads of Douglas County, but fresh gravel up that steep climb really made things interesting. Brian Jensen attacked on the first of four times up the hill and really split things up, Adam Mills was really the only one who could follow. I pulled into 3rd shortly after the climb, and started my bridge up to Mills. I caught him about halfway through the first lap, feeling gassed, I was relieved to hear that he was good sharing a hard enough pace to keep the 3 chasers off our backs. We took turns pulling throughout the day with him putting time into me each time up the stair. I felt like I did my part to earn third. The whole field rode very strong with team mates John Giles finishing 4th and Josh Patterson finishing couple spots later. In the field we had 6 of us, which would've been more had promoting and volunteering not taken 3 more. I'm very proud to race with these guys on a weekly basis. The race was followed by lunch at Free State. Good times shared around a 10-top...and the Pumpkin Spice is truly on form this year!

Flyer

2008-10-30T18:36:00.002-05:00

Boss Cross #1 Saturday!

2008-10-30T18:28:00.003-05:00

It's almost here, this weekend is Boss Cross #1. The race is at Tiffany Springs Park and will be the Nationals Preview Course! Registration begins at 9:00 and racing starts at 10:15! See you there.

Consistency Counts

2008-10-27T11:00:00.004-05:00

I've been very pleased with my racing so far this cross season. No wins yet, but I have been very consistent. Last weekend was the Boulevard Cup at Wyandotte County Park. Absolutely beautiful fall day with a good wind and a good course. There were some soft spots in the course that turned muddy as the laps went on, but for the most part it had some nice fast sections. This was another large field, so getting 6th out of 40+ I was pleased. I had a better start, but can't seem to hang with the lead group on the first couple laps. But, I continue to race stronger and pick riders off as the race goes on.
I've been sick going on 16 days now. Today was the first day that I actually felt good. I'm still not sure if I'll race Sunday after our first Boss Cross race or not.
This past weekend was another new 2-day race up at Smithville. After a very wet week, and cooler temps I expected it to be a mud fest, but the ground soaked up the rain quite well. Props to Mr. Locke for a very solid course. I didn't feel strong in the soft sections by the barriers, but the rest of the course was cool. Once again another slow start, followed by a lap of pinning it to make the lead break. I was able to use my strength in the corners to pass riders then accelerate on the straights. We had a strong 5 man group off the front and then came the attack by Matt Baugher. He pulled away so quickly that the rest of us just sat there. He held strong for a couple laps then his teammate Jason Knight bridged up to him. I tried to take Jason's wheel, but couldn't. But this got me into 3rd securely. I fought hard for the last 2 laps to keep 4-5 off my wheel and managed to pull away toward the end. Very happy with 3rd, but the 1-2 punch hurt.
Sunday was much of the same. I had a little better start and once again a break of about 8 was established toward the end of the first lap. There was a first lap prime, so there was no messing around. The course had been slightly modified and it took me a couple laps at race pace to get comfortable with the changes. Overall, I liked the second day's course better. I think it flowed better, and took out some of the monotony of the climbing. By the end of the second lap there was a 2 man break and I was leading the chase group. Each lap I continued to ride guys off the back of the group and before long there was just 3 of us chasing. As the race wore on I slowly pulled away from my group...not any closer to the leaders, but enough to establish 3rd place again. The last lap I turned myself inside out trying to maintain my position and possibly gain time on 2nd place. Overall I was happy with back-to-back third places. Consistency does count.
Time to get ready for our race. There is a beautiful wooded section that the likes of Bart, Sven, Niels, and Erwin (and any other Belgium) would be proud of.
See you all Saturday. Check out www.bosscross.blogspot.com for further details.

Early season cross

2008-10-23T17:06:00.003-05:00

The first few weekends of cross have been pretty good. I've been getting acceptable results, and even pulled home some cash one night. I've been sick for two straight weeks and not riding during the week, but racing hard on the weekends...and I don't seem to be getting any better. Imagine that!
The first weekend of local cross was in Lenexa at the sar-ko park. New venue, new course, and new racers. All of the field sizes have increased this year, and so has the speed of a lot of the dudes. It's an brawl to get the hole-shot, and I'm having to fight the whole race to get a top-10 finish. I love it! I got 8th at Lenexa, and felt like that's where I belonged. After a terrible start, and even worse first lap, I put in a hard effort to break into 10th and pick a few guys off during the middle part of the race. The last 2 laps I just held my position. I wasn't going to move up, and I sure wan't going to let the 2 guys behind me catch me. I actually had control of my spot in the race for the last 2 laps...if only that spot was 1st place instead of 8th.
The next local race was another new venue out in Topeka. This will be the race that all other races are compared to all year (until Boss Cross 1). It was a night race out at Hearltand Park race track, a groomed dirt track. Great venue, with a very fun a fast course. This was the first race where a 1x10 almost didn't cut it for me. Once again I got a slow start and had to play catch up the whole race. Fortunately, I had the power to pull away from the majority of the field. The dirt track was extremely fast, and I was nearly spun out in my 11t on every lap. The last lap I buried myself trying to catch first place and ended up in 2nd by about :06 seconds. Still made $50, so the drive to Topeka was worth it. The only bad part is after racing at 7:30pm and hanging around for a while, then driving home, I still hadn't recoverd for the 10:30 race the next morning in Lawrence.
The next day was Chris Cross out at Clinton Lake. Good sized field, and I had a much better start. Going into the second lap I was in 4-5 pulling away with the lead group. 20 meters after the pit I hit a huge hole in the course and my front brake seized up. My wheel wouldn't spin at all, and it took me til after the race to figure out what happened. I ran the 500 meters to the pit grabbed my pit bike and it was time to play catch up again. I managed to reel in 15 or so riders to pull of 16th place...not pleased. It turns out that my left brake/shift hood had moved and it pulled the brake cable tight. I guarantee that every bike I worked on that week was working flawless, but my own bikes never get the attention they deserve.
Until next time.

Levi's first ride!

2008-10-17T11:39:00.004-05:00

Last weekend was the famed Octoginta ride in Lawrence.
Kathy and Levi and I spent the weekend in Lawrence enjoying the cycling and the local grub. After a sub-par result in the TT we cruised the streets, had a couple meals and sold some stuff at the swap-meet. Made enough money to make the weekend worthwhile. Saturday night I bolted a rod-like contraption into the Burley trailer and hooked Levi's car-seat into it. The extra 60 pounds behind the bike makes a big difference. Should make for some good training though. The FWC (future world champion) did great on his first ride. We pulled into the first sag right as he was getting hungry. Found Mom, ate a little breakfast and then headed back down the road. He got a little fussy one other time but for the most part he really seemed to enjoy the ride.

Interbike and Cross Vegas

2008-09-30T13:01:00.003-05:00

Apparently there's guys in the industry that get sick of going to interbike year after year. I'm glad I'm not that bikes haven't become that stale for me yet. I look forward to interbike...it's my one excuse to go to Vegas each year. This trip was an adventure for sure. Hershey and I went out early Wednesday morning and came back late Thursday night. We both brought cross bikes as I raced Wednesday evening. We also decided to camp and save a little money on hotel. The show was really fun. Not an extremely innovative year for the industry (besides the new electronic Dura Ace), but all the bikes looked really good and the attention to detail was there. Cross Vegas was awesome. The course was a rolling field with a nasty run-up and a couple other short steep climbs. One of those climbs became a run up for me on one lap as I somehow managed to come unclipped when I stood up. At 110 racers it was the biggest cross field I had ever done. There were call-ups for the first 25 or so riders and I managed to get in the 5th row. My start was solid and I had already moved up a couple spots when we looped back through the start/finish area. At one point going during the 2nd lap I was top 15 and moving up...when I came unclipped on that aforementioned hill. I lost about 7 spots and was struggling to catch back onto the chase group. I was riding really well in the long straights and running well, but another bobble going into the final turn cost me another spot or 2. I finished top 25, but not sure of my final place. I felt good, but the dry dusty air did a number on my throat and lungs.
The Pro race was a blast to watch. We had a perfect spot in between 3 sections where we could run from side to side to catch all the action. Mr. Armstrong showed up and it was fun watching him suffer. I'm not sure he knew what to thing about world class cross racing. The only other time I've watched all the top riders race was at nationals last year, and those conditions weren't favorable for speed. It was amazing to see how fast they go on grass courses. Trebon pulled off an impressive win against a pretty stacked field. It was cool to be up close and personal with the riders after the race. Maybe next year I'll hang around and race the industry cup crit also.

Busy September.

2008-09-29T18:42:00.002-05:00

This has been an extremely busy month. First a quick wrap-up on The Tour of Missouri. Man what a blast! I got to drive the team RV for Health-Net for the first 5 days of the TOM. These guys are extremely nice and down to earth. It's cool to see how a small budget/big time team does it. Everything is such well organized chaos. Basically, I drove the team to the start, hung out, made sure they were comfortable. Then when the race started I drove to the finish, found an awesome parking spot, went for a ride then got to work on preparing for their arrival. When they finished each stage it was my job to corral them back to the team area and get them to the hotel. Then off to a predictable meal of steamed veggies, pasta, soft chicken and salad. At least we had the option of 10 different desserts each night. The team didn't have the best of weeks racing, but they did have a few things go their way. Rory Sutherland captured his second consecutive NRC title, the team captured it's 5th consecutive NRC title, and they signed Floyd Landis for next season. Things are looking up for the team.
I came home to a week of catch-up before heading to Lincoln for the Pirate Cycling League Good Life Gravel Adventure. This race deserved a long name. You could tell that the guys that put on this event had a fun time. No race entry, no support, but guaranteed good times. Those of us that came up from the KC/Lawrence area were fortunate to stay at Dave Mcleod's in-laws house. It's nice to stay in a house instead of a hotel at any race. The 135 mile gravel race started at 6:00 am with a 2.5 mile neutral start. Then it was on. It was like a full blown dk200 sprint start, but in the dark. Those with decent lighting (like myself) had a distint advantage. Before I knew it the lead group was 8, then 6, and then 3. I was suprised to be in the top 3 at the first of 4 checkpoints. Which involved a casey's general store and purchasing a Nebraska Lotto ticket (which would all be pooled together at the end of the race and we were going to split our millions!). The chase group of 5 was pulling in as we were leaving the first check. The next check 15 miles later, we got out before the chase group pulled in: Out of sight; out of mind!
I knew that Matt Gersib was the strongest rider I was with (sorry Peter), so I attacked at about mile 55. I went hard for 30 mile until the 3rd check and got out before 2nd place saw me. I really started to hurt about mile 105 and had to hang out at the 4th and final check for a good 15 minutes. 2nd place pulled in as I was putting my shoes back on (damned hot spots). I knew he would catch me soon, as he looked much fresher than I felt. Then at mile 110 after being off the front for 55 miles by myself he caught me. I tried to attack a couple times to see if he had blown his load bridging up but it a futile effort and ended up hurting me more in the long run.
He put a lot of time on me in the last 20 miles and I really learned what hot spots felt like. I've never felt so helpless in my life.
I pulled in at mile 135.something in 9 hours 16 minutes. My feet hurting worst of all! The ride felt good for the most part, but a win would've felt even better.
A big thanks to the PCL crew for a great event, Dave for his hospitality and Peter for being Peter. Interbike wrap-up to come soon!
It's Cross Season!!!

57 and rainy

2008-09-04T10:18:00.002-05:00

It sure feels like cross season out there.
With a very successful and fun short track series behind us, we now look to cross season. It's going to be a very exciting year for cross in KC. 16 races, 2 gravel races, and of course the National Championships! There look to be some very exciting new venues as well. We will be using Tiffany Springs Park for our first Boss Cross on 11/1, Platte Ridge Park in Platte City on 11/30 and English Landing Park in Parkville on 12/28. There's only 3 short weeks until the very first cross race of the season, at a new venue in Lenexa on the 28th.
This coming monday is the start of the Tour of Missouri. It's going to be a very fun week. Sunday we have 2 events planned at the Prairie View store. 10:30am ride with Health-Net professional team. Then at 5:00pm Liquigas will be there for an autograph signing. Great chance to meet and ride with the best professional cyclists in the world.
Monday morning I head off on a great adventure, driving the Health-Net team RV for the week. I'll spend my week going from city to city and hanging out with the team.

8/14 and 8/21 short track results

2008-08-28T13:48:00.001-05:00

8/14

B Race

1 Craig Harding 9 30:09 15 15
2 Wes Robertson 9 30:15 12 12
3 Tyler Tate 9 30:58 10 17
4 Chuong Doan 9 32:25 8 8
5 David Matthews 8 32:52 7 7
6 Darin Crisman 8 33:00 6 6
7 Michael Gier 7 31:50 5 9
8 Julie Funk 7 31:58 4 4
9 Eric Pacheco 6 30:34 3 3
10 Jeremy Haynes DNF 0 10

A Race

1 Jim Cummings 16 46:40 15 30
2 Joe Fox 16 48:56 12 12
3 Larry Jones 15 47:38 10 10
4 Dan Robinson 9 50:32 8 8
5 Mike Folendore DNF

8/21

B Race

1 Dave McLeod 10 30:30 15
2 Wes Robertson 10 30:40 12
3 Andrew Slater 10 31:00 10
4 Jeremy Haynes 10 31:55 8
5 Rich Bowman 10 32:45 7
6 Tyler Tate 10 32:58 6
7 Chuong Doan 10 33:31 5
8 Ted Smith 9 30:51 4
9 Mark Kern 9 32:30 3
10 Darin Crisman 8 31:25 2
11 Chuck Fredericks 8 32:27 1
12 Carter Jones 7 30:00 1
13 Eric Pacheco 7 32:01 1
14 Chris Thomas 7 32:44 1

A Race

1 Graham Aldridge 17 46:18 15
2 Jim Cummings 16 46:17 12
3 Chris Hershey 15 45:40 10
4 John Harter 15 45:45 8
5 Larry Jones 15 47:22 7
6 Andrew Slater 14 47:50 6
7 Tyler Schumaker 13 45:50 5
8 Dan Robinson 10 45:05 4

Boss Cross Short Track results

2008-08-11T10:20:00.003-05:00

8/7 B Race
PLACE NAME # LAPS TIME POINTS SERIES POINTS
1 JOHN HARTER 10 31:30 15 15
2 LARRY JONES 10 31:43 12 12
3 JEREMY HAYNES 10 33:50 10 10
4 PETER KRAUSE 10 34:23 8 8
5 TYLER TATE 9 32:47 7 7
6 BRIAN CHASM 8 32:26 6 6
7 DANIEL JARMAN 8 35:16 5 5
8 MICHAEL GIER 7 32:43 4 4
9 ROBBIE PLOWMAN 7 34:52 3 3
10 CHRIS THOMAS 7 36:20 2 2

A Race

1 Jim Cummings 15 46:04 15 15
2 Doug Long 15 46:44 12 12
3 Chris Hershey 13 40:38 10 10
4 Peter Krause 9 29:59 8 8

Colorado

2008-08-07T12:04:00.003-05:00

This past weekend we went out to Vail, CO to ride for a few days. I took both the road and mountain bike so I could ride anything and everything. Friday morning my Dad, Larry and I went out for a 2 1/2 hour mtb ride. It's great to be able to ride straight from your front door to super buff single-track. That afternoon Larry, Kathy, Tarah and I went out for a short road ride to loosen the legs up before Copper Triangle. 15 miles toward Vail Pass and downhill all the way home. That night was the first of many dinners in Vail and we enjoyed all the fine food and drink that Vail has to offer. Saturday morning we got up bright and early to start on the Copper Triangle. 78 miles over 3 mountains (Fremont Pass, Tennessee Pass, and Vail Pass). Tarah, Kathy, and I rode most of it together back to Vail, then they called it a day at the house. After 60 miles Kathy needed to feed Levi and Tarah's body was falling apart. When we got to Vail Village, I was told that my dad had 45 minutes on me with 18 miles left. I took off up Vail Pass, legs feeling fresh. It was by far the fastest I'd ever climbed Vail Pass. When I finally finished in Copper after the descent my dad was 2 minutes ahead of me. It was all I had, but it wasn't enough. After a couple beers and a quick talk by Davis Phinney we headed back to the house for more food.
Sunday morning my dad and I got in 15 to spin the legs out. The rest of the day we just relaxed and strolled around the farmers market. I bought some Ski's from Pepe's. Some Volkl Tiger Sharks that I demo'd in February. Super stiff skis that remind me of my System6. It'll give me an excuse to get out to Vail more now that I own some killer skis.
Monday We got up and rode Vail Pass again. This one didn't hurt as bad as Saturday, but it's still a tough climb. Tarah, Kathy, Levi and I then packed up and headed home. We stopped by Trifecta Multisport in Littleton to see Todd and Christian. Very cool shop with a great layout.
This week I've been playing catch-up and trying to get ready for BOSS CROSS SHORT TRACK! See you out there.

Short Track!

2008-07-29T10:13:00.004-05:00

The first annual Boss Cross Short Track is only 9 days away! We have been working with the City of Kansas City for over 6 months just to get permission and permits.
The event will be the next 4 thursdays (8/7, 8/14, 8/21, and 8/28) at Tiffany Springs park in the Northland. Riders of all abilities and bikes of all kinds are welcome. There will be two races, a B race and A race, with series champs being crowned in each category after the final race.
Hopefully, after an awesome cross season last year we won't disappoint. This will just be the start to an even better cross season with new venues and tougher courses.

Here's all the info you need.

Boss Cross Short Track!

Get ready for Cross Season without having to put away the mountain bike! Races will be cross style with a fast 1 mile loop. Mountain bikes and cross bikes are allowed.

Tiffany Springs Park @ 152 and Hampton Rd. (Rock Quarry).

Four Thursdays in August, 8/7, 8/14, 8/21, 8/28.

Two race categories. B Race 6:30: 30 minutes A Race 7:15: 45 minutes.

Races are $15 per event (1 day license included) or $50 for whole series.

Directions: From the south/west take I-435 North to 152 east. Exit at Hampton Rd. and turn left (north). Go 1 mile to entrance to Tiffany Springs park. Parking will be at back of park.

From the east take 152 west to Hampton Rd. and turn right (north).

Cannondale and Shawnee

2008-07-29T08:22:00.003-05:00

It's been a couple weeks since I've posted anything and a lot has happened. The Cannondale dealer meeting was a blast. I really enjoyed spending time with other dealers and I learned a lot. Some of these shops have been around 80+ years and they have a lot of knowledge to share. I got to ride a lot while I was out there. The first day we went out for a 40 mile road ride on the new Six carbon. Incredibly smooth riding bike and very responsive. Totally different ride from my current System6. Thursday we went out for another 40 miles. The first 20 we were in the company of Ivan Basso. Very nice guy, uber-euro, and obviously incredibly strong. I then met up with a couple local guys and followed them around the mountains for another 20 miles. Friday morning was a quick ride around town, then that afternoon I went out on the mountain bikes for about 3 hours. I chose to ride Cannondale's new Moto carbon. 160mm of travel (way too much for around here) but in the mountains it was a blast. It climbs fairly well, but when you point it downhill it's faaast! I came back with a few new scars and bruises, but it was a blast.
Hershey and I registered for 24 hours of Landahl as a 2 man team, only to find out last week that it was canceled. In prep for it we each did Shawnee Mission 6 hour solo. Very tough race. Rocky course, 100 degree weather, and I lost a bottle on my first lap. My hydration level got too depleted and I just couldn't recover. I was taking a lot of time b/t laps and trying to re-fuel, but the race got the best of me. 7 laps in all, I was a little disappointed. Next year I hope it doesn't fall the day after my birthday either since that was my yearly birthday century. RIM 12 hour is only a few weeks away and I have a lot of work to do.

4th of July

2008-07-08T14:57:00.002-05:00

Had a great weekend of riding and tons of time with family and friends over the long weekend. Thursday I went into work late and got in a good 50 mile ride in the morning with Jeremy, Peter, and my dad. We decided to use that route for our 4th of July ride from the shop as well. I was stoked when I showed up to the shop the next morning for the ride to see 32 people there ready to go ride. We rode the 40 mile loop, and while we were gone my brother-in-laws grilled out for us. Great ride and great weather all weekend long. Saturday morning I rode down to my cousins farm in Butler, MO. 85ish miles straight south into a constant headwind. It was a nice ride though, very scenic and I had never ridden those parts. Kathy drove down to meet me and spend some time with that side of the family. Saturday evening we went to our farm in lathrop with Levi and the dogs. It was the first time the dogs had been up there with decent weather where they could just run around. We stayed the night, shot some fireworks, had a big fire, ate a big breakfast then came home. The dogs slept all day on Sunday.
I leave tomorrow for Park City, Utah for the Cannondale dealer trade show. 4 days of riding and playing on all the new toys. Apparently, Ivan Basso is leading a group ride on Thursday, so that should be interesting. I'll be back Saturday with a full report.

Bikes and Family

2008-06-30T12:32:00.003-05:00

It's been a busy couple weeks and I figured it was time to drop a few lines. No races the past couple weeks for myself, but our team had a great showing yesterday at Baldwin City.
I've been riding a lot, mostly commuting, but the miles have been feeling good. I didn't ride much Saturday or Sunday, but instead slept in and spent extra time with the family. We got a group together Friday and rode to the farmhouse in Lathrop. It was Kathy's second ride back since Levi, and she did great. We rolled in about 8:30, just beating one of the most amazing storms I've ever seen. We sat on the porch eating BBQ and enjoying the company of friends and family. Saturday I worked on the fence with my dad and Derek, and went down to Power Plant that evening to hang out with the team, and take some pictures. We had a lot of guys out of town so we didn't have the whole team, but those who came down are the ones that have been doing all of the racing. The team is really strong, and I think the next couple years will be exciting.
Tarah and Tristan got engaged last weekend, and they are planning a wedding for next June. The family is growing all the time!
I've got big plans for riding this weekend, and hope to get in a lot of miles. Next week I'm going to Park City Utah for the Cannondale show. 4 days of riding in the mountains on some sweet bikes...should be a good time.

Ironman Kansas 70.3

2008-06-17T14:11:00.002-05:00

I'm glad this race is over.
It's been a busy few months with the new store and new baby, and my training has taken a major hit. I got in one swim prior to the race, and when I saw Kathy at the halfway mark of the run I realized that that was my longest run of the year. It's nice to know that I have the fitness to finish, but my speed is not even close to what it once was.
Tarah, Carter, and I spent the night at Bundy's house to get an extra hour of sleep, which was definitely nice, but 4:45 is still early.
The swim went exactly as planned...slow. 36:30-37:00, somewhere in there. I felt alright though and I took my sweet time at the first transition to make sure I was ready for a tough bike course. It only took about 15 miles to realize that I had not completely recovered from the Dirty Kanza and my legs were still pretty useless. The was a nasty section of headwind from about mile 34-42 and it made everyone suffer. It was blowing in a nasty storm that would affect the rest of the race. I came off the bike at 2:46.37 with a 20.2 average. Not too bad, but it was time to see if I had anything left to run 13 miles.
The first couple of miles felt surprisingly good. I was stopping and walking the aid stations, and drinking as much as I could. I didn't feel like eating anything solid, so I took in a bunch of Gatorade, water and a few power gels. The run course was great. Rolling terrain, that wound through Bloomington Park at Clinton Lake. A good mix of pavement, and gravel and great crowd support. Next year I will be camping out there for sure. There were markers every mile, but I didn't see the 8 mile mark. So when I got to mile 9 I was pleasantly surprised. I then only had 4 more miles and I tried to pick it up a bit. That only last a mile until my legs really started to hurt. I was afraid of cramping so I backed it off a bit. Mile 12-13 was pretty easy and it's always nice to see my family out there cheering me on!
Thanks to Kali, Derek, Beth, my Dad, Kathy and Levi for all of your support! And a huge congrats to Tarah, Larry, Carter, Todd and Diego for awesome races. It was nice to see all of my customers out there on their bikes!
Final time was 5:26.50-something. 34 minutes off my pr, but all things considered I was pretty pleased with my effort.
Now I can focus on my riding and whatever adventures await me!

Dirty Kanza

2008-06-03T13:14:00.000-05:00

Well I've had a few days to recover and take in the whole experience, and finally have a few minutes to write about it...so here goes.
Friday, extremely busy day at work. I worked at the old store and was able to cut out at 4:30. Picked up Slater and Kristen, and rolled into Emporia at about 7:00. Picked up packets, met up with the others, and piled 5 of us, 5 bikes and enough perpetuem for a lifetime into one small hotel room.
Rider meeting was at 5:45 and the race started promptly at 6:00, despite a slight threat of tennis ball sized hail.
Rolled out in neutral start until the gravel and then it was on. Mr. Hughes was not messing around, and spent much of the first 10 miles or so about 25 meters off the front. Once the pace picked up it was decision time. Last year I went too hard the first 100 and was not able to finish. This year I decided to back off and pace myself a little better. Our team held together pretty well for the first 40 or so. Bundy had mechanicals, Waller flatted, so Slater and I rolled into Madison together. Kristen was not far behind, so when we pulled out of Madison, we slowed the pace to keep the team together. At about mile 60, after a couple deep water creek crossings, we go head to head with Texaco Hill. Some awesomely nasty hills filled with oil rigs, cows, and wind. By the end of the big hill it was Brandon, Waller and myself, and Brandon was still having major mechanicals. We had to stop and work on his bike for a while, and Kristen rolled past us.
We caught up to her at about 95 and the 4 of us rolled into Cottonwood Falls together.
Waller and Slater had enough at this point and opted to call it a day. I refueled, rehydrated and rolled out with Chris Berger from Lawrence. The next 10 miles or so were pretty tough. Not too hilly, but just mentally tough with a nice headwind. Berger and I flatted at mile 115, which was actually a much needed rest. We then rolled through a really pretty section in the trees with some nice clear creek crossings. We took a little splash bath to cool of and kept on moving. Met up with Lelan from Emporia who was having flat troubles, and him, Kristen and I rode the next 30 miles together at a nice "easy" pace.
The three of us took off at mile 154 together and I was feeling great. I cranked it on the first hill and had a 1/2 mile before I knew it. I decided just to push it to see if I could hold this pace over the next 40 miles. I felt great until about mile 190 when I made a right hand turn onto some dirt road that had been rutted out by 4x4 after the last rain fall. The next 8 miles were very slow moving, but I could see Emporia in the distance, so all was good.
I called Kathy with about 2 miles to go to let her know I had made it. I then really bonked. I actually had to eat a powerbar with less than 2 miles, I thought my legs were going to fall off.
I finished at 15:15.15. 201.82 miles. Very long day, and it's going to be a long year preparing for next year. And Trans-Iowa is only 11 months away...

5 more days

2008-05-27T21:28:00.000-05:00

DK is in 5 days and I think the bike is ready, hopefully I am.
This past weekend I got in 3 nice rides and spent a lot of time with my family. I had 3 days off work and it was fantastic. Saturday was nasty in the morning, but I got in 2 hours of single speed gravel up north late afternoon. Kathy's family was in town for Levi's Baptism on Sunday. I got in an hour before church on the single speed again. After the Baptism, we had a luncheon at my Dad's house, and for the first time since our wedding all of the family was in one room at one time. It was a lot less akward than I thought it would be.
Monday we got in about 55 miles of road with a very fun group. We rode the Weston loop counter-clockwise. The Waldron gravel was in perfect shape and it got my excited for this weekend.
I'm leaving KC at 4:00 Friday afternoon, picking up the Lawrence kids and should be to Emporia around 7:00. Plenty of time to pack 5 of us into a hotel room, get a few hours of sleep, and go play on our bikes for 15-17 hours.
Full report to come on Sunday. Until then...

Bike week is finally over

2008-05-19T07:30:00.000-05:00

After a very long week of riding (395 miles of road/gravel and singletrack), my legs are shot. It was a great week for riding with nice weather, good group rides at both shops, and even a MTB race up in St. Joe. In prep for the Dirty Kanza I thought it would be a good idea to ride to St. Joe on my cross bike and then race. I left at 8:30, which was supposed to be 8:15 and rolled up to registration at 11:25. Almost 50 miles with about 25% on gravel and a N headwind the whole way. I never thought it could be 85* in mid May and we could still have a N wind. The roads were in great shape and I got to ride a lot of new ones once I passed Deerborn.
It was my first XC race in a couple years and I forgot how fast those are from the gun. I got the hole shot in the sport class, but that didn't last long. At the end of the first lap I was in second with 3rd and 4th not too far behind, and I could feel my legs wearing out already. I ended up getting 4th in sport coming home with a medal, t-shirt and a beanie. Heartland puts on a great event and the trails were really nice and twisty.
My new wheels for the Superfly will be done this week, so the next race will be on that.
This will be a mellow week for riding with on 12 more days til the DK, it's pretty much all that's on my mind.

Grrrravel

2008-05-12T10:55:00.000-05:00

Good riding Saturday. Left my place at 7:00 rode some backroads to Leavenworth, met up with Puskas, then headed south to Lawrence to meet the others. Brandon, Kristen, John, Andrew and Cody (on a single speed), showed up at mile 40 and we rolled on to Oskaloosa. Casey's was a life saver and I enjoyed a couple Snickers and some honey bbq Fritos. The pace had slowed but we pushed on to Perry and then west toward Topeka. I finally had to take the road home to Lawrence and meet Kathy and my family for a Mother's Day dinner at Free State. 104 miles, a little over half on gravel. Hopefully after a long week of commuting and a couple more long rides I'll be ready for the Dirty Kanza.
It was nice to have the whole weekend off. Lots of riding Saturday and lots of time with Levi and Kathy on Sunday. Two weeks until his Baptism and Kathy and mine 1 year anniversary! Good times to come.

Tuesday night smackdown

2008-05-07T10:13:00.000-05:00

Last night I rolled up to the Tuesday night ride to see a swarm of Wheel jerseys. 4 from the wheel and 4 from the wheel/chamois butt'r. I knew I was in for a treat. The ride went good, I held on with dear life as Ryan, Fred and Dan continually attacked. It was all I had toward the end just to keep a wheel. After 45 miles of throw-downs, Elliot was cross-eyed and I didn't know if I would make it back home. The ride home afterward was nice and easy until the last hill. It's been a long time since I've considered walking a hill. It's always nice coming home to Levi and Kathy...they make everything better.
Saturday we have a gravel ride planned. The route looks to be about 110-115 miles of random gravel b/t here and Lawrence, followed by some lunch and relaxing at Free State.

Superfly is just that...

2008-04-29T10:47:00.000-05:00

First ride this morning on the new Superfly...and it is just that. It's light, responsive, handles surprisingly well. The trails were a little soft and sloppy in sections, but for the most part were in great shape. Not sure about the handlebars yet, but I'll give it a couple more rides.
This past Saturday I signed up to do a 300k ride that started here in Liberty. Probably not the smartest thing to do having a week old baby at home and going off very little sleep. I got in 85 miles and called it a day. The ride started at 6:00, and I was home with the family by noon, so that was nice. The 186 would have been some nice training for Dirty Kanza, but my body just wasn't having it.
Heres a picture of Levi from last week. I'll post some current pictures soon.

Baby and Bikes

2008-04-24T12:45:00.000-05:00

Levi is one week old. It's amazing how much he changes and grows on a daily basis. He is a great eater, and learning to be a good sleeper. He's only up twice a night to get fed and changed. I do my part in changing him, but I'm yet to adapt to feeding.
I've got to build two of the coolest bikes in the last 24 hours! My Fisher Superfly came it...23.0 lbs with pedals. Should be under 22 lbs after a while. I look forward to a season of racing on it!
My dad also ordered a Look 586. This bike has graced the cover of every major cycling publication in the last couple of months, but the pictures don't do it justice.
It is hands down the coolest bike I've ever worked on. Full Campy Record, Fulcrum Racing Zero wheels w/ Easton cockpit.
Baby Pics to come soon!

Baby Fox!

2008-04-18T16:42:00.000-05:00

Levi Joseph Fox was born on Thursday April 17th at 9:01 am. He was a large little guy at 8lbs 15oz and measuring 21 inches long. Mother and Baby are both doing great!

Kathy and I are very happy and blessed to have such a beautiful little boy, and have such a caring family.

Pictures to come...be careful he's pretty cute!

The loss of a Friend

2008-04-15T12:59:00.000-05:00

All of us at one time or another have experienced the loss of a friend or loved one.
Here at Cycle City, we have just suffered the loss of one of our own employees. Scott Allen passed away this morning, around 6:00.
Friday evening, after experiencing pains in his chest and neck he decided to go to the ER. He suffered a heart attack on his way to the ER which caused him to flip his Jeep. Things did not look good from the start, but he is a strong man and everyone was willing him to pull through. He was on life support through the weekend, and passed this morning.

Our thoughts and prayers are with his family. He and his wife, Jen, have a 5 1/2 year old and she is due with their second in June.

There will be a benefit ride for Scott and his family soon.

New Store!

2008-04-12T09:08:00.000-05:00

New store has been open a month now and everything is going great! Bikes are coming in and going out the door, and we've been busy with repairs. The new bikes are really solid (I've added 3 more to my wish list).
The roads over here are great, and there's a lot of undiscovered routes. I haven't been able to get in a ton of riding, mostly just commuting and weekend rides. Hopefully we'll be done with this nasty weather soon.

Baby Update:
Kathy was due yesterday, but no action from the little guy yet! Doctors Appt. Monday, so hopefully he'll be ready to come out soon!