God's Country Dates for 2013

Save the date(s):
God's Country Off-Road Duathlon - 3/23/13
God's Country Mountain Bike Classic - 3/24/13

Cross News Shorts - 12/25/12

December has been a very busy month for any cyclo-cross enthusiast.  Iowa, Missouri and Kansas all crowned their 2012 state cyclo-cross champions earlier in the month.

Iowa Championship Results
Missouri Championship Results
Kansas Championship Results

Congrats to Christopher Locke of Cow Town for earning a silver medal in the Missouri State Championships.  Dave Wathen earned at 9th  in the Men's 40 -44 division.

Racing continued last weekend with the Lost Trail Cyclocross race.  A new event held at the Louisburg Cider Mill.  An interesting venue and fun race.  It brought back old memories of past cyclocross races with a very MTB friendly course.  Complete Lost Trail results

Congrats to Chris Locke for taking his first CX win in many, many, many years. 

Tige Lamb came out of cross retirement to earn 2nd place in the Masters 40+ class.

Interested in trying out some cyclocross races yourself?  Well right here in KC we have 3 events to pick from over the next week.

Boxing Day Cross - 12/26/12
Grote Prijs - 12/30/12
Cross off the New Year - 12/31/12

Possum Scramble Success

The rescheduled Possum Scramble Mountain Bike race was moved into December.  It is not often that Mountain Bike races are held this late into the season due to cold weather. This did not deter the Whiteman Adventure Group from hosting a fun event at the Knob Koster State Park and they were rewarded with a perfect 68 degree day.  Proceeds from this event went to help continue to build the trail system there and groom their trails.  Hopefully this will encourage more riders to visit this beautiful park just East of Warrensburg, MO

The top rider on the day was none other than the climbing god Garet Steinmetz who navigated the hilly 8 mile course in under 30 min with a total winning time of 1:00:27.  Top women on the day was Amy Pych with a winning time of 1:53:02.

Special thanks to Andy Schuette for officiating and the Whiteman Adventure Group for hosting a fine event on a perfect fall day.  It is great to see more events held during the fall.  A trend that looks like it will continue into 2013 with more UFD Series events being planned.  Look for the 2013 MTB calendar to be out soon.

Class winners on the day:

Arturo Sotelo - 1st Marathon Men
Brian Prosser - 1st Cat 1 Men 40-49
Robert Loffler - 1st Cat 1 Men 50+
Marc Thierry - 1st Single Speed
Dylan Bartlett - 1st Cat 2 Men 19-29
Brad Crain - 1st Cat 2 Men 30-39
Michael McGaha - 1st Cat 2 Men 40-49
Rich Kiser - 1st Cat 2 Men 50+
Andrew Rau - 1st Cat 3 Men 19-29
Bryce Werner - 1st Cat 3 Men 30-39
Mark McBride - 1st Cat 3 Men 40-49
Mike Jacobs - 1st Cat 3 Men 50+
Tyler Mattoon - 1st Junior 13-18
Joe Vorce - 1st Kids 12-Under

Complete Results: 2012 Possum Scramble Mountain Bike Results

Possum Scramble MTB Race

Possum Scramble has been rescheduled for December 2nd 2012. Event flyer below:

Berryman Epic - A Great Time!

Another edition of the Berryman Epic is in the books.   Each year this event grows (249 starters this year)  and has become a "must do" event for anyone who calls themselves and endurance mountain racer.  The promoters and Bass River Resorts put on "overall a great race" said endurance racer Tim Greene who enjoyed the day despite some mechanical issues to finish in the top 10 in the Male 50 - 59 division. After the race participants of the BT Epic enjoyed 2 kegs of beer and a bonfire and some great BBQ to replenish the fuel used for the race.   Great time.....

Cow Town Team Results:

 84th overall - Keith Baker
127th overall - Tim Greene
135th overall - Brent Gowin
139th overall - Jeff Arnaud

Complete results are up - 2012 BT Epic Results

BE on film:

Ritchey BreakAway TI Cross

Cow Town would not exist without the support of our many generous sponsors.  As a thanks, we are going to start posting reviews of some of the products we use to get the word out and help consumers make educated decisions when making their next purchase.

I finally got my Ritchey BreakAway TI Cross frame built up the way it should have been in the first place and I thought it was time to post a thorough review.  Anybody who knows me, knows I am a Titanium freak and I love cyclocross.  So when I considered getting a travel bike to take with me when I fly, I knew I was getting a Ritchey BreakAway from my team sponsor Ritchey and I knew it was going to be the TI Cross model. 

I have had this bike for a few years now and have put quite a few miles on it.  It has flown to Rapid City, SD and St. Louis, MO several times with no issues or oversize baggage charges.  Tom Ritchey really outdid himself with the BreakAway design.  It is so simple that it is genius.  The seatpost is the connecting rod for the first joint and a special fitting with flared ends is joined by a clamp on the downtube for the second split in the frame.  You can check out the Ritchey site for a more detailed explanation and a great video of how to pack/unpack and assemble the bike.  The frame just has that classic look and appeal that I would expect from Ritchey.  With my build kit of Campagnolo Record 10-speed, custom carbon tubular CX wheels, Crank Brothers 3TI Eggbeaters and a full complement of Ritchey WCS componentry;  the bike came in at 16 pounds.  

I was very skeptical about how much rigidity the frame would have, given that it splits into 2 halves.  I knew from the first time I rode it, that I was wrong.  I did not notice any flexing around the BB area when climbing out of the saddle or any twist when putting it through a technical CX course.  I wasn’t really surprised at how smooth it was, but the lack of flex was a huge shock.  So, this bike is comfortable, yet stiff and splits in two so you can take it with you in your travels.  The rear triangle has rack mounts, so you could easily set it up for touring or add some fenders. What more could you ask for?  I am not sure; as my only complaint is that they do not offer a hard travel case for it yet.  The soft case is still going strong, but I am always nervous when I fly with it.  The baggage handlers aren’t known for their respect of passenger luggage. I have been waiting for Ritchey to release a hard case, but I may just end up buying an S&S hard case before I travel next time.  

 

Some of you might ask if this could be your “A” race bike. I am here to tell you that I have raced the bike in some local cyclocross races and it rocks! The bike handles awesome. It has never once gotten sketchy on me; whether the course was rough, soft, muddy or even when misjudging a corner. There is plenty of mud clearance, as well. With a race weight of 16 pounds, it is easy to shoulder up the most demanding run-ups. I have never had to tighten any of the fittings after any race. The list of benefits just goes on and on. Wow, I am impressed.

Not only does Ritchey produce some of the best components on the market, they also make an unbelievable cyclocross bike that just happens to double as an airline size travel bike!

 

 

 

Wyco's Revenge - Beware of the Goblins

Final Updates for Saturday’s Wyco’s Revenge Mountain Bike Race.....

First, thank you to all our sponsors and supporters:

·         The Wheel Cyclery

·         Lanterne Rouge Kansas

·         Bike Source

·         Trail Masons Association

·         Midwest Mountain Bike Patrol

·         Santa Fe Trails Bikes

·         Epic Bike and Sport

·         Earth Riders

·         United Federation of Dirt

-Course maps and event updates are posted at http://wycosrevenge.blogspot.com

-Shelter #3 at Wyandotte County Lake Park is the Start/Finish/Registration area.  Limited parking is available at shelter #3 with overflow parking along the road leading to shelter #5 & #7. 

-Online registration is open through 11:59pm, Thursday, October 18, 2012.  Register at www.usacycling.org.  Help us and yourself – register by tonight.

-Raceday registration is available and opens at 3:00 pm.   Registration closes at 4:30 pm. 

-The Wyco’s Sprint event has been reduced to 1 lap (8 miles).  No lights are required for the Wyco’s Sprint distance event.

-Complete the full Wyco’s Revenge and earn your finishing shirt.  Awards will be presented to the top 3 in the Wyco’s Revenge and Wyco’s Sprint in the following classes: Male, Female, Male Junior, & Female Junior. 

-Piping hot chili, hot dogs, soft drinks and coffee will be available.  Please feel free to bring your favorite dessert or side dish to share.

-Charge those lights!   The full distance Wyco’s Revenge will require lights.  Two light sources are required – primary and secondary.   It is advised to begin the event with both light sources.  No rider will be allowed to begin the second lap without a light source.

-Weather forecast, 68 degree highs with temps reducing to low 50’s quickly once the sun sets.  It gets cold at night so be prepared and dress with the proper gear.

Wyco’s Revenge Mountain Bike Race

October 20, 2012 – 5:00 pm Start Time

Wyandotte Country Lake Park

Kansas City, Kansas

See you Saturday Night and beware of the Goblins of Wyco!

Cow Town Cycling Team

Cow Town Conqueres Georgia Mountains.

Congrats to our Florida based Cow Town division for successfully completing the Six Gap Century and Three Gap Fifty events.  These rides boasts many of the same roads and mountain climbs as the elite Tour de Georgia race with more that 11,200 feet of climbing.   Joey Locke en-route above during the Three Gap.

 Phil Hart in action above descends one of the many climbs and finishes strong.

Phil Carter makes his return to cycling with a strong showing during the Three Gap. 

Boss Cross #1

Rick Barrett and I did our best to represent Cow Town in the CAT3’s at Boss Cross #1.  I haven’t seen the results posted online, but I think they had about 34 starters.  I, unfortunately, was the last to line up.  Rick had a great starting position and was off with the leaders.  The course was pretty narrow on the first corner and if you weren’t in the front group, you had to almost come to a complete stop.  So, I ended up chasing the whole day.  Since the course was not very technical, but fast, it looked like to me, that where you lined up is about where you finished.  Rick trashed his rear derailleur and was not able to finish and I managed to make my way up to 27^th.  Not a great showing, but it was my first CAT3 race since I upgraded back in 2009.  It’s great to be back racing and hope to get a better starting position and finish tomorrow.   

I didn’t see all of the race, because I was warming up, but I think Tim Greene pulled out a 12^th place finish in his Master’s race.

 

 

Fall is a Great Time for Fat Tires

Fall just may be the best time to ride your mountain bikes and we are very lucky that in the Midwest we have plenty of events to attend.  The Fat Tire fun starts this weekend with the Double Ogg Dare followed up on Sunday with UFD's East/West showdown - Rhett's Run MTB Race.  The first weekend of October gives us an opportunity to Take a Kid Mountain Biking and head down to the lake for another Warsaw Mountain Bike Madness event.  Next up is the longest running endurance event in Missouri as the ever popular Burning at the Bluffs races into the night.   Speaking of racing into the night, we have a new exiting event that is taking place on Saturday, October 20, 2012.  The Wyco's Revenge Mountain Bike Race is set to challenge us all and provide a fun filled day of riding.  The Wyco's Sprint event finishes up before nightfall, but the Full Wyco will go into the night so charge up those lights.  Our busy MTB month concludes with the Berryman Trail Epic. 

The busy Fat Tire calendar....

9/29/12 - Double Ogg Dare - http://www.doubleoggdare.com
9/30/12 - Rhett's Run - http://www.unitedindirt.com
10/6/12 - Take a Kid Mountain Biking - http://www.imba.com/tkmbd
10/7/12 - Warsaw Mountain Bike Madness - http://welcometowarsaw.com
10/13/12- Burning at the Bluffs- http://burninatthebluff.blogspot.com
10/20/12 - Wyco's Revenge MTB Race - http://wycosrevenge.blogspot.com
10/27/12 - Berryman Trail Epic - http://www.btepic.com