Pushing North

I was breezing though Prolly Is Not Probably this morning while I wait for Jones and came across this little vid.
I've really only done a minor amount of touring in my life. Mostly consisting of the RAGBRAI. I've always enjoyed it but its always the same time of year with predictable weather.
A tour like the one in the video would be a whole different experience.
This new film entitled Pushing North covers Marcus Johannes and Dirk Badenhorst's trip from Key West, Florida to Fairbanks, Alaska. A journey that took the two cyclists over 6000 miles and 89 days to complete.
Something like this is one of those things I've always wanted to do.
This clip makes the movie and doing such a trip really appealing.

..pushing north (Extended Trailer) from Marcus Johannes on Vimeo.

KC Sprints @ The Replay Lounge for the Octoginta

Fall is in the air and its time again for the Octoginta.

What is this Octoginta you ask?
Well, its the annual end of the season road ride in Lawrence, KS and this is its 41st year.
Its a big weekend in the old L-town and this year its only gotten bigger.
Not only is there the actual Octoginta ride, a 40 or 80 mile ride through the beautiful northeast Kansas country side, on Sunday the 10th.
There is also a Time Trial (@7AM), Tour de County (@9:30AM), a Gravel Grinder (also @ 9:30AM), & a swap meet (@ 2PM) all on Saturday the 9th.

But the absolute best part...
as the opening act for the weekend....
yours truly...
KC Sprints!

So, where do you need to be on Friday October 8th?
At the Replay Lounge in Lawrence, KS of course!
The Replay will once again play host to KC Sprints.
This time around the race is a benefit for the lovely ladies of the Women's Free State Racing Team !

So come on out. Cheer your friends, race your enemies, drink some beers and have a good ol' time.

The fine print:
Registration is at 7 p.m. and racing begins at 8. Register for the tournament ($5), grudge matches ($2), or both. Proceeds go to Women's Free State Racing Team. Ages 21 and over.

Tour de BBQ this weekend

LIVESTRONG Day! Get out and join the ride, the cause the community, 10/2/10.


Whether you are a racer, a rider or you like to volunteer, we can use you. There is a 15, a 30 and a 60 mile option. Don’t have a bike? Borrow one. Need a good excuse to buy a new bike? Can’t think of a better one! Concerned that you don’t “race”? No worries, this is a ride from BBQ stop to BBQ stop. You know how to ride, right? You know how to eat, right? Then you can participate! Don’t ride? Volunteer and eat BBQ.

Details:
http://tourdebbq.com/

DATE & TIME:
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Day of Registration: 6:00 AM (*If you register the day of you are not guaranteed a t-shirt)
Ride Start Time: 7:30 AM (Staggered start, everyone must arrive no later than 7:30 am)
Concert by Smash Mouth: 3:00 PM
Register today!

LOCATION:

Kansas City’s Power & Light District
1100 Walnut Street
Kansas City, MO 64106

*Riders will line up on Grand Street to start the ride.

LIVESTRONG Pavilion: Walnut Street will house the LIVESTRONG Pavilion with barbecue, Boulevard beer and a concert (in the KC Power & Light Living Room) sponsored by GEN X Radio 99.7 FM. Stay tuned for more details on barbecue restaurants featured and a special concert announcement later this summer.

Goody Goody Gum Drops

Local trails ala cx from Andy Wardman on Vimeo.

I found this a while back via AHTBM and love it so much I had to post it again.

Gent's Race route released

The route for the 2010 MWI Gentlemen's Race March 20th has been released.
I've captaining a 6 person team to compete (if you wanna call it that).
Its a pretty good crew
Considering getting together a support team to hand us up beers on the road and take photos.

The route is shorter than I expected but thats OK.
This early in the season I don't know if I have any legs for the 54 mile route.
Guess I better find some. I would hate to be the only holding up the team.



The Evil KC squad is:
B-man Poo
N8
T-Garv
PZ
CVO
One Eyed z

Should be an interesting day.
Winning isn't as important as having fun.
Fun will be had

KC Sprints video

Check out this slick KC Sprints video that Lucas made us or our Lincoln race.



Pretty rad
Thanks Lucas!

Next KC Sprints race is February 20th at Swagger in Waldo.
Come out and race!

Dig it.

Stupor Bowl 13
Saturday.

The joys of working in a bike shop...

Some days we get to work on some pretty slick looking rigs here at the shop.
The latest is a long time customer's new anniversary edition Moots MootoX YBB 29er:

Moots MootoX YBB anniversary edition 29er frame
SRAM XX drive train
Industry Nine wheels
Edge Composites stem and bar
Pretty sexy!
More photos of it here along with other fine looking rides we see on a regular basis here at BikeSource of Kansas City

Saturdays "poor excuse for a ride report" Report

Saturday's ride happened
2 riders
late afternoon start
after dark finish
18+ miles
3 "warm up" stops
Between 10 to 6 degrees Fahrenheit
Streets were great in some places terrible in others
The route ...I think
Finished out the route in the dark
Got home with a frosty beard

Good fun

Sunday Fun day

I spent about 3 hours riding Landhal Sunday
3 dudes 3 single speeds
Only a few people about
The only noise was the sound of our tires on the dirt, the crunch of the leaves, and the buzz of our freewheels
Well that and the sounds of the shooting range










It was a fantastic day

KCSprints season opener photos

Some photos are going up from the KCSprints season opener Saturday night.
Capt'n Coco took some shots for us.
Check'em out here

"I'm not part of your race"

I stright up stole this jem from I Bike MPLS



Thanks Mark!
What a fantastic prank idea.

Halloween weekend... its here

Well Halloween weekend is upon us.
Which means all over the place there are "crazy & spooky "things happening in the next couple of days.
Supposedly... I wouldn't know for sure. I don't get invited to those kinda things.
However, I do know about at least one.
The annual Homie Fall Fest in MPLS

If you have the means and time to be there I suggest being there.
If you ride bikes, drink beer, and enjoy fun you won't be disappointed.
Believe me.
I won't be there again this year. I had planned to go but the whole new bike thing kinda got in the way of it.
Ah well. I'm sure I can make my own kind of fun here...granted it might be locking all the doors, turning off the lights and hiding under a blanket.
But hey... I'll have fun. And thats all that matters.
Right?

Have a good weekend. I'm gonna go ride my bike.

Did I mention that Wednesday was new bike day?

Cause it was. At least for me.


2010 Giant TCX frame set
FSA headset
FSA Gossmer Cranks with Mega XO external BB
40t Surly chain ring
Salsa Chain guard
N-Gear Jump Stop chain guide
Ultegra 9 speed STI levers (set up 1x9)
Ultegra RD
Ultegra 12-27 cassette
SRAM chain
Shimano 105 rear hub laced to Mavic Open Pro rim w/DT Swiss spokes
Hutchison Bulldog tires
Specialized 30.9 seat post
Specialized Phenom saddle 143 CroMo rails
Paul touring canti rear Neo Retro canti front w/Salsa cable hangers
3T stem 110 31.8
Ritchey WCS bar 31.8
Specialized S-Wrap bar tape
Specialized Stout front hub laced to Salsa Delgado Cross rim w/DT Swiss spokes
Shimano cables
Jagwire housing

I had to modify the N-Gear a bit. The bike came with a pulley so you could run a bottom pull FD.
The bolt hole for the pulley was right were I needed to put the chain guide.
Nothing a little bit of grinding couldn't fix


Done and done.
Now its time to put some miles on it.
Don't know if I'll actually race it CX or not.
When I talked about it at the last race I got told I "wasn't allowed" by the buddies I race with. I guess they don't want me on gears since I normally run single speed in the CAT 4.
Maybe if I feel entergetic enough for two races I can use it for some Master's B 35+ races.
I doubt that but we'll see.
I'm just excited to have a new rig.
And its purdy too!

One of the best beer commercials ever?

YouTube Skol Beer

I've never heard of Skol Beer (apparently its Brazilian or maybe Austrian)
Although I do enjoy some of their ads...
Like this one, this one, and this one(Thank you Internet!)

However with this ad we've got some of the best items for this time of year.
Cyclocross? Check
Beer? Check
Binge drinking? Check
Good times? Check

Yep. Along with this classic Miller High Life commercial its one of the best.

Specialized Demo Friday the 11th @ BikeSource!

**Warning the following message is shop propaganda**

Wanna ride some of the best bikes on the market?
Specialized' s Central State Demo duo will be at BikeSource Friday the 11th for your oogling and riding pleasure
Both the men's and women's demo fleets will be on hand from 1 to 6
Come prepared to ride!
We'll be setting out for a group road ride after the demo
See you Friday!
www.bikesourceKC. com

Kansas City Cup Challenge

09.02.2009

KANSAS CITY, MO.

Dirt Lovin Good Times presented by The North Face

Kansas City Cup Challenge

http://www.heartlandrace.com



Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls:

Heartland Sports Promotions [HSP] is pleased to announce the inaugural cycling and trail running event at Camp Lake of the Woods in Swope Park.
Last winter the Earth Riders Trails Association [ERTA] and their board members, architects and builders of the trail Scott Capstack and Craig Stoeltzing, opened 1.5 miles of singletrack to the public, since then the trail has expanded to 3.5 miles.

The Kansas City Cup Challenge is fast approaching. This cycling event is the first of what many hope will be a continuing tradition of great trail building and showcasing through races in the Kansas City Metro area. Races will include the cyclo-cross season opener, a trail running race, kid’s race, and a traditional cross-country mountain bike race.

Saturday’s festivities begin with the trail run registration at 7:00 a.m. and the trail run start at 8:00 a.m. There will be a 5k and 10k option. Many runners have been using the trail for training and this will be an outstanding time to compare times with fellow runners.

Before the cyclo-cross race start, kids of all ages are welcome to come race their bicycles! The kids’ race will loop around the cyclo-cross course, completing their allotted number of half loops or a loop.

The cyclo-cross race will be a 1.5-mile loop with racers competing on modified road bikes that have bigger, knobby tires for the dirt. Racers will complete as many laps as possible in the allotted time for each category. Cyclo-cross registration will begin at 9:00 a.m. and continue throughout the day so racers may register for their different categories. The race flyer can be found on our website.

The traditional cross-country mountain bike race will take off on Sunday. The beginner, sport, and expert classes will be taking off at different times to accommodate the tight trail. The mountain bike course at Swope is (so far) 3.5 miles of pristine dirt. The trail has technical sections made more so by the exertion of climbing to one of the highest peaks in Swope Park.

To aid in the further completion of singletrack at Swope, many items will be raffled on Saturday and Sunday [proceeds go to ERTA and HSP trail building efforts].

Entry fees and classes can be found on our website.

Saturday Chipotle burritos will be available and Sunday ERTA will provide concessions [proceeds go to ERTA and HSP trail building efforts].

JET Chiropractic will be on hand for any adjustments.



See you on the trail September 19-20!



Heartland Sports Promotions [HSP]

Tour de Shawnee

The 20th annual Tour de Shawnee was over the weekend and I was there.
There's even proof too.
Here I am in the Kansas City Star:



The Star says:
"Zeke of BikeSource adjusted a bike Sunday prior to the 20th Annual Tour de Shawnee. Close to 600 cyclists participated in the event which benefited the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation."

More KC Star photos of the event are here


Good times

A Little Shop Propaganda…

The best of the cycling season lies ahead and BikeSource wants to help you get into the right gear with our Summer Clearance Sale.
Don’t miss out on this great opportunity to save on bikes, clothing and accessories.
We're making room for the new 2010 bikes by slashing prices on our current inventory.
We've got a huge selection of Road, Mountain, Tri, Comfort and Cross bikes on sale.
Save hundreds.
Specialized, Giant, Cervelo and Electra.
This is your chance to ride away on your dream bike at a dream price.
Plus huge markdowns on select spring and summer clothing – shirts, jerseys, shoes and more!
Plus you can count on the BikeSource service team to get your bike ready for going back to school.
BikeSource has the bikes, clothing, accessories and expertise you need to experience the ride of your life.
The BikeSource Summer Clearance Sale ends soon so hurry in for the best selection.
Visit us today at the northeast corner of 135th and Quivera in Overland Park next to Price Chopper.
Check us out online at bikesourcekc.com.

BikeSource
For the ride of your life.

Welcome to another busy week...

Another week begins and its another event fill week for BikeSource!
Wednesday June 10th is ladies day with the Specialized Designs for Women bike demo out at Shawnee Mission Park, Noon to 6.
I'll be out at the park with Amy K all day getting some ladies out on some of the best bikes on the market (and hopefully turning a few dirt laps myself)



Then June 12-14 I'll be in L-town with the BikeSource expo set up for theIronMan 70.3 Kansas Expo and Race in Lawrence, Kansas at Clinton Lake. We'll be selling Tri guy/gal essentials for two days and then being neutral mechanical support on race day.



Come out and see us at both events and don't forget June is also BikeFest!