The Robidoux Roundup Report

 

Team Horizon Cycling Team put on the Robidoux Roundup CX race Sunday.  The course featured a nice flowing course with some sweet single track thrown in that connected the two fields to made up the 1.1 mile course.

The event was very popular up in Saint Joseph.  It even made the News Press Now - CX Report

Results can be found on Kansas Cycling - Robidoux Roundup CX Results

The climb of the day was even harder with the recent rains which lefte the course soft in areas. Many thought this course was the best designed so far this year.  Hats off to the Jason Douglas, Randy Tracy and the rest of Team Horizon Cycling for having the event and putting so much work into the course.  It really showed.

Tire Pressure was on everyones mind.  With the single track sections, a few roots and some slick mud finding the balance was key to success. 

The Single Track sections were enjoyed by most riders.  A pleasant change from the normal venues and lets hope we get more in the future.

Riders with some mountain bike background did very well.  Micah Gordon showed he has some roots off-road and took the win in the Men's Cat 1/2 class.

JP Brocket who is no stranger to off-road racing had a strong showing taking 2nd place over Shadd Smith.

The worlds tallest barriers were build especially for this event.  Even taller riders had trouble.  I could not imagine what shorter riders thought of them.

Mark Smelser took his second win of the season over home town boy Christopher Farney.   Mark is peaking for next weeks Kansas State Cyclocross Championships.  Look for Mark to move up to the Men's Cat 1/2 class soon (at least lets hope so :-))

Good times to be had out on course.  Many riders were looking forward to the fun Robidoux course.  What they were not looking forward to was those hills during the final laps.  Course was fun but the climbing added up quickly. 

Midweek rains left the course a little slick in areas especially on the off camber downhills.  Hit the right line and they are a joy.  Wrong line and you are in for a wild ride.  Christopher Locke demonstrates how to take the fast line.

Carolynn Locke was out on course taking some fine photos along with Roger Harrison. Several of Rogers photos can be found in this report along side of Carolynn's.  These two take hundreds of photos each week and we thank them for that.

Action was fierce during the opening laps of many racers.   Here David Wathen chases Galen Hansen of Epic Cycling.

Julie Higgins raced to a 3rd place in the Women's Cat 1/2/3 class.  Look for Julie and her Women's Free State Racing Team at next weekends Joules Cross event in Lawrence, KS

Tige Lamb in route to a win the Masters 40+ class.  Not bad for his first cross race of the season. 

Doug Long in route to another Master's 60+ win.  He caught many of the Masters 40+ and 50+ riders on his way to the top of the podium. The only trouble out on course for Doug was those super tall barriers.

Speaking of air.  Some riders just use normal air from a floor pump, but Eric Burch uses helium in his tires to help float over the barriers.

Tom Price ran away from the masters field winning the 50+ division and was the overall fastest master.

John Williams and Chris Locke battle during the first few laps of the Master's class.  John would earn 5th place on the day.

Cow Towns Tige Lamb earned his first cyclocross win of the season in the Men's Masters 40+ class.  Paul Aldeguer of Big D Cycling worked his way up to 2nd place.  Terry Higgins of 360 Racing was on the final step of the box.

Ethos Racing's child prodigy Victoria Brocket won the Women's Junior class.  Victoria was one of those riders who excelled in the single track.

Finn Smith of the KCOI U20 team and son of the one and only Shadd Smith earned 2nd place in the Junior class today.  Finn has taken to cross just like his dad and even beat his result on this day.

Trans Iowa...Where Dragons are Slayed

Congratulations to John Williams for not only finishing his first attempt at Trans Iowa, but also breaking into the top 10 with a 7th place finish. Awesome job!

John joins Rich Barrett and goes into the Cow Town Cycling Hall of Fame as Trans Iowa finishers

"In the end I felt elated, I felt proud, and mostly I felt like A dragon slayer who had just killed the baddest beast in the land" - John Williams. Read his recount at The Seated Climb

Cyclocross Season Recap

The 2010 cyclocross season has been very fun and successful here locally in KC. Each event has been well attended and the competition has been strong. As the season nears an end (check http://kscycling.org for the remaining local events) and the National Cyclocross Championships take place this weekend we look back....

John Williams had a great first year in Cyclocross. "Mr. Pot Pie" turned in some great performances and reached the podium which showed his hard work ethic.
Tim Greene, another first year crosser, put in some solid performances. Tim above is ripping the beach section at Smithville.
Our "Single Speed Demon" John Wagner traded in his normal SS MTB rig for a full on cross bike. John had a great season with several podium spots and a win.
Mr. Guru's season started early and ended that way with an injury. Hopefully a recovery will allow a late season charge at the end of year events. Bring on the snow and ice...

Mr "Styling" Damian Almanza put in some solid rides including a podium spot at Smithville.


Tige Lamb came out of retirement for one race this year before heading back....

Jeff Arnaud also went full on cross with a new rig. He is working it hard at Smithville on his new ride.
Bob Tarne looking good at the De Stad Cross Cup.
Ashley Blum flowing through the University of Saint Mary course on his SS.
Rick Barrett came out of retirement with some good rides sporting the Cow Town colors.

Brent Gowin working his new rig at USM. Brent rode strong in the events he was able to attend.
Christopher took the year off from racing, but helped out with course preparation.

Gravel Worlds - 150 Miles of Pain and Pleasure

Gravel Worlds Recap by John Williams (aka Mr. Pot Pie)

Some pictures stolen from Pirate Cycling League.

I left Kansas City Friday night with hopes of getting to the start (were I would sleep in the back of the truck ) in time to get a reasonable amount of sleep. I got to Lincoln no problems, with the exception of a driving rain storm that washed all the lube off my chain. When I got to the start I was glad to see I wasn't going to be the only one sleeping out there. I would share the lot with Dennis from Iowa and another random I never met. The night was beautiful and I thought a good night of sleep wasn't going to be a problem, at least until the mosquitoes feasting upon my flesh. I ended up having to roll up all the windows which kept the bugs off me, but it turned the truck into a sauna.

Start of the race was at 6 A.M, and somehow I was late (how are you late when you sleep at the start?). I rolled out just shy of dead last. At this hour of the morning it was still pretty dark all I could see is blinky lights way up the road. As it got lighter the fog rising from the corn fields provided some of the most beautiful scenes of sunrise. At one point the road ahead completely disappeared as it dropped into a particularly foggy cloud. By the time the sun had completely risen I had made my up to what I think was the first or maybe the second chase group, about 15 riders. In the pace line the guy in front of me, who wasn't wearing a helmet, touched wheels with guy in front of him and went down. I was able to swerve and keep myself upright as well as keep my crank from hitting his head. Missing literally by two or three inches. It scared the hell out of me!! I was subsequently dropped by this group about five miles from the first check point. At the checkpoint I refilled my water bottles, bought my power ball ticket (proof you had been there). I rode out of checkpoint one with Matt Gersib, who had suffered a nasty crash himself, and another Lincolnite. They kept a brisk pace and within a few miles they had rode off from me. From check point one to two was mostly hilly B roads through some beautiful country. I managed to catch a rider who was part of the group that dropped me earlier on. We rode together for awhile he told me he had just move to Lincoln and had only heard of the race the night before. I rode off from him and spent the rest of the stage alone. Walking into the second checkpoint I managed to grab the last two frozen White Castle burgers, as well as some ice water and a power ball ticket. Standing outside the general store I gloated about having just scored the last two WC burgers, surprisingly no one seemed too care. I yucked it up with a few riders then headed out with a guy from Lincoln who's name I never caught, even though we were riding matching Salsa La Cruzes. We kept a decent pace the next ten miles to the fist oasis, which were optional stops to refill and cool off. Our stop was relatively quick and we rode off with another Lincoln rider, Janna Vavra the eventual women's SS winner. The three of us road together from a while with Janna doing most of the pulling. By the time we reached checkpoint three it was just Janna and myself, we would go on to finish the race together. As we left checkpoint three we continued to keep a decent pace by keeping our spirits up and minds distracted with light conversation. Soon we were coming across riders that were starting to break down, One guy from Lawrence looking for the short way back to Lincoln, another who was off his bike layed out on his back in the middle of the road. Then a few guys from the group that dropped me back before checkpoint one. After picking off a few more riders we caught Gersib, who had dropped me about a hundred miles earlier. Morale was high at this point, but energy was dropping. Janna dragged me to the last oasis just ten miles from the finish. There I was able to cool off and rest enough to feel able to muster up the energy to ride ten more miles to the finish. Leaving the oasis we picked up another Lincoln rider, Malcolm Tassi who I had met at the farmhouse classic. I was truly impressed by this guy, he was seven beers and a hundred plus miles into the day and was packing two cold bottles of beer in his jersey pocket (I think he was worried there wouldn't be any at the finish). We pulled into the finish with a time of 11:56. It was a good day of gravel riding with a lot of good people, now the challenge of driving three hours home without falling asleep at the wheel.

Complete Gravel Worlds Results

Crocodile Rock Mountain Bike Race

A hot day, but a very cool course greeted all the riders at the annual Crocodile Rock MTB race. Lyle Riedy did a fantastic job with the event and everything ran smoothly. Plenty of shade to keep you cool along with some cold beer to quench your thirst.

Cow Town was out in force today with some great results. Tim Greene stepped up on the podium for the first time in the Marathon class, John Wagner took another win in the Single Speed class, Jeff Arnaud and Craig Myers-Areth battled it out in the Sport 30-39 division, Chris Locke and Mike Classen represented the team in the Expert classes.

Pictures from Sunday's Crocodile Rock MTB Race are up (Thank you Carolynn):

Crocodile Rock MTB

Results coming when then come....

The Mullet Ride

The Mullet Ride has gained popularity over the years and due to this a winter version of her was dreamed up by out ride leader Gerard Arantowicz. We added this years Mullet Ride to our little Gravel Grinder series.

Thank you to everyone who came out to ride with us today and enjoy a very fine winter day. The forecasted rain/snow stayed away and fun was had by all.

Pictures from out little Mullet Ride are below.

God's Country Race Report

Saturday turned out to be a great day for racing. Expected high temps were masked by an overcast sky and a nice breeze. Chris and his small posse of volunteers got the event set-up and things ready to roll just as the mass of athletes started to arrive. There were two races today; the God's Country Duathlon and the God's Country Mountain Bike Race. Both events were held at the Lawrence River Trails in Lawrence, Kansas. The trails were in perfect condition and the course was super fast. The weather held out for both events allowing for a great day outdoors.

For the Duathlon it was a mass start on the gravel levee. This allowed space to be made and the fastest were in the front as they entered the single track dirt loop. After the run part of the race participants grabbed their bikes and headed back out for another lap of the trail. The leaders were way ahead of the remaining racers. Everyone seemed to be having a great time as they ran or peddled past the start/finish.

The MTB event was two laps of the classic LRT plus some grass and gravel levee action tossed in for good measure. The start on the levee allowed the group to space a bit and the fastest riders were on the single track first. The course was so fast that there was a huge train of riders, all going as fast as they could for the two laps. There were a few wrecks and a few flats, but for the most part everyone was really just cooking along on the perfect dirt trail. A few Cross bikes even showed to race and actually pulled through very well. It was a great day for racing and a great event!

As usual for a local race, we had a great turn-out of Cow Town team members. Here is a brief run down of how we did:

Chris Locke 2nd Male 40 - 49 Duathlon

Sean Burns 6th SS MTB

Craig Myers Arenth 1st 40+ MTB

Mike Classen 1st Male 50+ and 3rd 40+ MTB

Jame Forrestal DFL in the Sport Male :-)

Jeff Arnaud 3rd SS MTB

Damian Almanza 6th Expert MTB

Gerard Arantowicz (Jessica Hill) 1st Coed Duathlon

Robert Tarne 5th Male 40 - 49 Duathlon

This was a great event. Thanks to all who helped make this event a success!