One of the forces that is helping to keep local racing alive: In a very meaningful way. Recently the Natural Grocers Team became a sponsor of the Kansas Track Championship. We asked spokesperson Dan Messina to give us some background on their community involvement: “The Natural Grocers Cycling Team (est 1987) has a long history… Continue reading Natural Grocers Team: Community
Author: Local Cycling
A Tire for Two Trails
The Kansas City metro has lots and lots of great singletrack. A good resource for local trail conditions and maps can be found here, at Urban Trail Co. Over the years I’ve ridden most of our area trails (yes, there are some newer pieces I still need to sample). But because of time and nearness,… Continue reading A Tire for Two Trails
WYCO Meltdown Fundraiser
Saturday June 18th is gonna be hot. There’s no false advertising regarding the The Meltdown at WyCo mountain bike race. Promoter (and accomplished racer) Roger Williams is hosting this event as a fund raiser for the Trail Masons that create and maintain the awesome single track of Wyandotte County Lake Park. The Kansas City metro… Continue reading WYCO Meltdown Fundraiser
Unbound 2022
No argument that the Unbound Gravel is the flagship cycling event for our region. We’ve watched the ride grow from a small group of friends to International status with thousands of participants. Multiple distances, thousands of participants, expo, and live coverage make this the top tier of the gravel scene. Unbound Gravel Official website with… Continue reading Unbound 2022
Road Hungry?
We’re not quite half-way through 2022. So far, there have been 10 road cycling events in the region near the Kansas City metro. The Kansas Cycling Association Results page is here. The summer months are looking thin, but not empty. We expect a return of “A Very Peculiar Criterium” (in Peculiar, MO of course) mid-July.… Continue reading Road Hungry?
Club Champions
The Jesse Blancarte Time Trial is a long running essential event. For 2022 the race will return to the classic course at Gardner Airport, the straight out and back track, used for many years as a monthly test against the clock. The event has deep roots. Early versions were held on a disused stretch of… Continue reading Club Champions
Thursday’s Child
The Donderdag! Youth Cyclo-Cross Clinics were founded in 2010. While helping out with his son’s local junior team, D. Jonas Jr (known as “Jonas”) began building a course in his suburban yard to help Jandle Johnson coach the kids in Cyclocross skills. Here’s a quick history and status of the program for 2022 from the director: “From… Continue reading Thursday’s Child
Tiffany Burris: Building Confidence
We asked Tiffany Burris, founder of the Dirt Road Debutante Gravel Academy /Dark Early Coaching to give us her background story. “I am an endurance coach and athlete. I come from a running background, turned triathlete. Cycling was my weak link, so to get stronger I went to my local bike shop, Santa Fe Trails… Continue reading Tiffany Burris: Building Confidence
Velodrome(s) History Lesson
The “World Famous” Lawrence Grass Velodrome – Keeping the Tradition Alive! by Pat “Coach Pat” Schlager Track cycling was immensely popular in the United States during the final decades of the 19th century and the early decades of the 20th century with its peak in the 1920s. In fact, during the 1920s, track cycling (primarily… Continue reading Velodrome(s) History Lesson
Stay Fired Up
Sunday April 24th, 2022 “The Stay Fired Up Gravel Grinder” will roll out from downtown Leavenworth. Kansas is a true heartland of gravel cycling and this event is a classic. We asked organizer Brendan Sheehan of Sante Fe Trails Bicycle and Coffee Shop to give us some of the background: “About 8 years ago we… Continue reading Stay Fired Up