Barnyard Brewing in the news

One of our sponsors (the one that keeps us hydrated and ornery) Barnyard Brewing was recently included in an article about the growing trend toward "nanobrewing." Nanobrewing refers to brewing operations larger than homebrewing but not yet on the scale of a microbrewery.

You can read more here.

Lets get ready to race!

 This just in from the United Federation of Dirt. Please help spread the word!

KANSAS CITY, MO:  We are thrilled to announce the 2010 United Federation of Dirt [UFD] race calendar. The UFD consists of a
collective group of promoters, trail builders and racers unified in the goal of bringing dirt lovin’ good times to the Missouri and
Kansas region. 

For 2010, we are promoting 17 traditional cross country mountain bike races divided into two leagues.  The Eastern League is
comprised of 8 races and the Western League will be hosting 9 races.  The Endurance League brings together 4 races focused on
long distance and the ability for the human spirit to suffer. The events will take place on some the best singletrack that the
region has to offer, including the ever popular Castlewood State Park, Spanish Lake, Wilson Lake, KS and newly minted Swope
Park.  

In addition to the 17 cross country races and 4 endurance races, we are pleased to announce the return of the Short Track Dirt
Crit Series to the St. Louis area and the Kansas City region.  These weekly training races will be the perfect way to keep the legs
a moving and the body acclimated to racing on dirt.

And lastly, the UFD is proud to announce that these events will be under the sanctioning of USA Cycling. This is just the
beginning of many exciting things to come for the 2010 season.  We are still in the early planning stages and working to get all
the pieces in place to bring you the best racing experience around.  Look for more announcements soon…fun in the dirt is what
it is all about.

2010 United Federation of Dirt Race Calendar

Eastern League XC races

• March 14:    Leadbelt XC. St. Joe Park (Mark Grumke)
• March 28:    Mesa Lost Valley Luau (Matt James)
• May 8:          *Greensfelder ( (DRJ Racing)
• June 12:        *Missouri State Championship.  Castlewood (Big Shark/Pfoodman)
• June 27:      St.Charles County Parks (Ghisallo Sports)
• Aug 8:      Trailblazer Blitz.  Spanish Lake.  (Trailblazer Bikes)
• Aug 22:      Cyclewerx Crankfest. Cape Girardeau, MO (Cyclewerx) 
• Sept 25:      *Council Bluffs (ICCC)

• Alpine Shop Short Track Dirt Crit Series– 7/1, 7/8, 7/15, 7/22, 7/29.  Dirt Crit Final Blowout XC race - 8/1

Western League XC races 

• March 28:   Lawrence River Trails. Lawrence, KS (Curtis Martell/Free State Racing)
• May 1/2:     Wilson Lake Fat Tire Festival.  Wilson Lake, KS.  (Doug Chambers/Golden Belt)
• May 8:         Robidoux Roundup. Krug Park.  St. Joseph, MO.  (Randy Tracy/Craig Hoppe)
• June 6:         The Down and Dirty.  Warsaw, MO (Mac Vorce)
• June 20:       Cramp Alexander.  Emporia. KS.  (Matt Brown/High Gear)
• June 27:       Crocodile Rock.  Perry Lake State Park.  Perry, KS.   (Lyle Reidy/HSP/Bad Goat Racing)  
• July 25:         Sunflower State Games (Curtis Martell/Free State Racing)
• Sept 12:      Tour De Lizard.  Arkansas City, KS (Bobby Smith)
• Sept 19:        Kansas City Cup (Federation Championship).  Swope Park.  Kansas City, MO.  (Ron Acklin/HSP) 
• Short Track Dirt Crit Training Series –Thursday Nite Throwdown: June-August Timeframe

 Endurance League (Dirt Lovin Good Times style format)

• April 18:   Bone Bender 3/6 MTB Odyssey.  Smithville Lake.  Smithville, MO (Chris Locke/Cow Town Cycling) 
• June 5:      Dirty Kanza 200 [DK200].  Emporia, KS (Jim Cummins/HSP) 
• Aug 14:    Rapture In Misery [RIM] 6/12.  Crowder State Park. Trenton, MO (Doug Long/HSP)
• Oct 9:       Burning at the Bluff  (Mesa Cycles) 

For more information check out UFD online:

Web:  www.unitedindirt.com
Facebook:  United Federation of Dirt
Twitter:  www.twitter.com/unitedindirt

Barnyard Cross

It's coming soon!

If you're not going to be making the trip to Bend for Nationals, make the trip to Manhattan, Kan. Saturday, December 12 for Barnyard Cross. 

Here's the skinny:

• We will be offering equal payouts for Women's and Men's Open races. (Equal pay for equal play...what a novel idea!)
• The course will offer technical challenges and lots of speed. 
• We will start racing at 11 am so the crowds from Kansas City and Nebraska can make it without getting up too early.
• Refreshments provided by Barnyard Beer and Devil Dog Coffee. 
• This is a nonprofit race: The proceeds will go to developing the outdoor classrooms at the Manhattan Area Technical College and the KSU Cycling Team.
  

We've got some great prizes and and some big payouts lined up. Hope to see you there!

Check Facebook to see who your competition will be: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=193404762620&ref=mf

For more info check: http://barnyardcx.blogspot.com/


Also, don't forget this Sunday is the last Boss Cross race of the season. Get out there and race!

Something's brewing in the Midwest

From the United Federation of Dirt

NEW MOUNTAIN BIKE SERIES PROMISES BIG THINGS TO COME!

COLUMBIA, MO: A newly formed group of seasoned mountain bike promoters
is proud to announce its intentions to promote a down and dirty
mountain bike series in 2010. The groups will be named United
Federation of Dirt. Included in this impressive group are some of the
region’s most experienced race promoters dedicated to delivering
racers a series that is all about fun and grassroots racing. This
collaboration will deliver a true Regional series that will include
races from Cape Girardeau, MO all the way to Perry, KS. Full Details
will be available shortly but expect great things and great locations
across Missouri and Kansas. We are finalizing the details shortly but
one thing can be guaranteed – fun in the dirt is what it is all about!

                                               ###

Whatever it is, we're looking forward to it!

It only takes 20 dollars to make me hollar!

So two of our fearless heros made the journey up to Lincoln for some CX action.
Dubas and Stamper lined up for the 3/4's race, and managed to duke it out on a beautiful fall afternoon.

Pictures via Michael Dixon's Public gallery
I got a good start about 5th with zack right behind me as we got through the first half lap.
Schumaker was in front of me, until I slipped around him on the screaming descent down hooligan hill (yes it is as awesome as it sounds ......... bacon handups) After a lap or two I realized that zack was not gonna be with me as he had taken a couple of diggers.

I managed to get up to Gilhousen and said "lets go" as we started the flat wide open paved section. I pulled for a couple laps, and then Matt came around. About this time I realized that the great white Cornbread was upon us, crushing it on his SS after starting 15 seconds after us........he is not human.
Gilhousen got a 3 second gap on me after a bit, but took a nasty fall after overcooking a corner and getting caught in the tape and stakes.

I managed to keep it upright for the rest of the race to finish in the money!
20 dollars to make me hollar!
I was talking to zack after the race about his wrecks, and turns out hes was running like 60 psi in his tires! Something about pinch flats..........we are gonna work on incorporating finesse into his cycling repertoire. with clinchers I can safety run 35 psi without things getting to squirrely.
Lord knows, Zack puts out alot more watts than I do!
Thanks to Troy, Craig, Matt, Monkey Wrench, Lincoln Industries, , and all of the hooligans on the hill for making it a great race.
Results are here
Corey had a good video of the 1/2/3 race and the antics on hooligan hill

Lincoln Cyclocross 2009 from Cornbread on Vimeo.

In other, less glorious news I only have another few weeks of torture with Himmler

Deep in the pain cave I can hear Dwight Yokum!

The lab technicians get pretty pissed when I (try to) sing along to classic country music through the flow tube when my HR is at 170. Nothing gets me to that 400 watt mark like Waylon Jennings!

De Stad Cup Mudfest

Sunday's De Stad Cup was the first "real" cyclocross race of the season, in that there was mud, rain and frigid temperatures.

While surveying the course I thought, "this could be a race where one could launch an attack off the line and hold it for the remainder of the race."

The 3/4 men raced last. By then, the course was thoroughly churned and rutted. Patches of grass lined the edges, but deep, slimy, mud ruled the day. If you could get some distance between you and the field, you could put some serious time on the field while fellow racers jockeyed for position through the first slippery turns.

As we were lining up Cycle City racer, Chris Hershey looked at me and said, "this is the guy that's going to win it today." I assume he thought my background as a mountain biker would play a pivotal role in the muddy onslaught that was about to begin. 

Not only did I prove him wrong, I made him eat his words.

I managed to get my first solid start of the season, came off the line in first place and appeared able to get the hole shot. If I could ride clean through the first few turns, I might have a chance at staying away. Then reality set in — as I reached the apex of cobblestone section my legs and lungs were done. 

 Fellow Bad Goats John Waller, Aaron Apel and myself spent the race slipsliding across the course, finishing low in the standings but in high spirits.

Results can be found here.
Series standings can be found here.

Thanks again to Miss Jaime Atkinson for shooting video in the cold and wet!

Hershey, on the other hand, had the audacity to surge through the field and stay off the front for the remainder of the race, winning by a healthy margin over rest of the mud-covered 3/4 men. In the process Chris picked up his second win of the season. Well done sir.