57 and rainy

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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.