Viroqua Cross

2012 Viroqua Cross!!!

2011-09-03T08:19:00.001-07:00

Hello all!

Every Thursday in Sept and Oct at 5:45 at Washington Park in Viroqua there will be a 45min-1hr practice race.

Free. All welcome, we have beginners to the IA state champ from years back. Just show up and have fun.

Thanks!

Chris

Early Base

2011-04-26T20:31:00.000-07:00

Starting to put in some work towards next season... silly I know to get going so early, but you know, I'm silly. Meeting some great shop guys for an early ride out of pewaukee at 6am tomorrow. All in all, the spring has felt sluggish and I have had a hard time getting time on the bike, work has been pretty intense.

That being said, there are always ways to get ready for a season. Instead of riding off weight this Spring I have revamped the diet and really had way more discipline around food. Lost some lbs and weigh in less than any point last year. Feels good to improve power/weight with minimal training and I do feel it on the bike. Power numbers make the creep back up quicker than I would think, going to do some crits this summer... the kids are older and sleep is better. I don't overtrain anymore. I get something from every workout and don't get overly mental. Maybe things get better with age? Certainly I tend to flog myself with less frequency. Lee would(does) make fun of my powermeter, but that has helped as I bail out on fewer LT workouts, work the Vo systems better.

So this is going to be a great season! Going to see a local allergist and Will Beaty is going to run the kids series of Viroqua Cross! The WCA season is going to be looong and I'm doing Nats.

Badger Prairie

2010-10-17T18:45:00.000-07:00

A pretty good showing for Viroqua-Crossers out in Verona. Jay and Dick had good showings in the 45+, Jay getting 7th and Dick 8th in age grouping. Bob C. rocked his second race, looking good out there on a tough Course. Newlin was thought to be 7th, 10th in the results, managed to finish a race. Watershed moment!

The course had a few minor improvements that added up to a pretty interesting and flowing course. The RR ties on the backside certainly made it more interesting, and the front of the course was way more flowing... lots of rest, but every other part that wasn't rest was crazy talk for 30sec at a time, uphill! Fun!

See you Guys at 5:45 on Thrusday night at Washington!

10/14/10

2010-10-14T19:41:00.000-07:00

Hey-yo! Very fun practice again tonight. Dick, Lee, Jay, Bob, Thom and I all came out for the throw-down, and throw down we did! The new cheater sections of the course have made the racing pretty rugged. If you get a gap on somebody, you turn around and there they are again! This tactic was employed freely, and Dick claimed to have a two lap lead at the finish... Maybe he did!

Thanks to all who showed up and had fun. We are starting the races at 5:45 now to squeeze a couple more weeks out of the fading daylight.

Thanks to Donna for hanging out and running the clock, even giving splits! Whoa! It was pretty awesome, accept for when she said that we were pulling too slow a lap. 35 min still seems like plenty of practice.

See you next week, and look for the ViroquaCrossers in Verona this weekend. Jay and Dick in 35+, Bob in the 4s and Chris in the 3s. Good luck to all!

Cross is Fun

2010-10-08T05:58:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the infrequent posts!

Last night we only had a few guys, but I think e might have had the most fun. We made the course longer with more features than weeks past and also had some spots where dropped guys could cut the feature and catch back on, still race wheel-to-wheel. Nothing better than attacking on a stretch of pavement to get a gap, turn around and see a rested dude who is about to throttle you! It was great!

Thanks to Jay for the 'Team Car'. Gotta get some photos up. Harder this week with one race. Also, note to Lee V. We added a few longer stretches for all of our roadie type dudes, making the laps both longer and a little harder. Super fun!

See you out there next week!

Chris

Week 3 Coming up, USGP Report...

2010-09-27T20:18:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, looks like the season has started, ready or not. The Madison USGPs have come and gone and we are heading into week three of Viroqua Cross. Thursday will have some new folks coming to to race; local MTBers will be hitting it as well as the usual cast of characters. Looks like a 35min format, dropped riders welcome to pit and catch back as needed. Have fun, race as hard as you can. That's the point, right?

A bunch of us did the USGPs this weekend. Jay and Dick hit the 4s on Saturday and had some fun. The consensus was that a 6th row start and a few crashes out of the gun pretty much seal the deal... Yep, that will do it! The start is important, but it's tough to battle through that many dudes and get in the winning break. The first race is to registration!

I had a 5th row start but battled forward, was in the top 10-15 guys and felt pretty good. It was fast but doable. On the second lap I totally crashed at the barriers... guess I was due! Pretty aggravating but I battled back, kept calm. Lungs locked up again, did some weird coughing-barfing. Thought about dropping out but instead sucked it up and pedaled around and felt okay. Kicked off the brakes, bobbled a few more times... it happens man! My first season, everything was usually smooth. Now, maybe not so much.

Whatever is going on for me health-wise is a bummer, but man I had fun racing in that big a group. Moving up during the first lap was a blast, getting chopped in the corners and bumping is somehow super-fun. It'll come around and I will be healthy, all isn't lost. It's nice to not get a result but remember that racing is fun and should be considered process driven. I train a bunch and can get all mental regarding results, but if I have trained and have put the time in it is nice to race and be present. Maybe that is what guys say as the get older and slower... but even though I have coughed up a lung in the last two races, I am relaxing away from the 'what-if' type thinking. I did throw up after the race, but I also did finish. Maybe I put myself out and dug a hole health wise, but I doubt it.

First Thursday and other notes...

2010-09-18T20:10:00.000-07:00

Hello ViroquaCrossers, Connie Hawkins aka Chocolate Thunder, or lone follower of ViroquaCross. This last Thursday we had our first Race, or practice race and we had a blast. Slightly greasey out there, we had a full showing of the Local Cross guys, Lee and Andrea from IA and first-timer Eric from LaCrosse! It was fun and we did 2 20min mini-races. Fun. Next week will be missing some, so Jay will be running the show. Please let him know how much you appreciate what a pain it is. He is already watching my chickens...

Also, a few Western WI guys were at the No Good Double Cross today. I saw Eric anyway and he looked great. Really fun conditions, sloppy, just the way you like it. I imploded with lung-mung that doesn't seem to want to clear this season. Paul from MWInc suggested allergy shots and I am gonna look into it.

Each year I suffer like a dog until Fall is cold and Summer is hot. Since I am only fit for 3 weeks a year, it would be nice to be able to race as I only race during my allergy season. If anyone else has a suggestion I'll take it. I already don't do gluten and that has helped other symptoms, but I am all ears at this point.

No matter how much I hated coughing up a lung and puking from the lunging, it was fun to ask a spectator to move so I wouldn't barf on him.

See you the week after next for some fun at 6pm.

Chris

2010...

2010-09-11T19:20:00.000-07:00

Okay, here we go. Next Thursday we will have adult races at Washington Park starting at 6pm. It will be fun, one race.

The Series will begin in October and will be run by Vernon Trails... and I am very, very glad for some help. After a few years of plugging away at this thing I am glad to hand over the reigns to VT.

I will still use this blog to update the schedule and the happenings of our series.

Thanks for reading, and again: Thursday at Washington Park in Viroqua, 6pm.

See you there!

Chris

WCA Schedule 2010

2010-05-31T10:18:00.000-07:00

2010 WCA Cyclocross Schedule

Saturday, Sept. 26-27: USGP Sun Prairie

Saturday, Oct. 2 Cross at the Domes of Mitchell Park (my wife inc)

Sunday, Oct. 3 Lapham Peak (Lake Country Endurance)

Saturday, Oct. 9 Grafton Pumpkincross (BVC Nomad)

Saturday, Oct. 16 Badger Prairie (5-9s)

Sunday, Oct. 17 Cam Rock

Saturday, Oct. 23 Kletzsch Park (Pegasus)

Sunday, Oct. 24 Whitewater (UW-Whitewater)

Saturday, Oct. 30 Halloween Cross (Velo Trocadero)

Saturday, Nov. 6 Estabrook (Hampshire Cycle Club)

Sunday, Nov. 7 Team Magnus Madison Cross Race Warner Park (Magnus)

Saturday, Nov. 13 Sun Prairie (Brazen Dropouts)

Sunday, Nov. 21 State Cyclocross Championships: Hales Corners (Hampshire Cycle Club)

This looks great, Excited to get to some new courses! Wonder what the My Wife Inc. guys have up their sleeves?

2010, Plans?

2010-05-30T18:09:00.000-07:00

It's now getting to June. The weather is hot and I'm actually getting out on the bike now. In seasons past I have had a hard peak in the end of June and early July and dragged myself through the fall. I like being fast in May, but not as much as I love being fast in Sept-Oct.

Intentionally or not, this year I have stayed off the bike and am coming into June super fresh. Still hitting the same numbers on the Powertap as last Fall, but now I'm lighter and way more motivated to hit a hard peak in September. The goals are the same, to get fast and be a player in the Bs, or 3s race. Seems like every year we have more and more guys focusing on cross, so I am going to step it up this season! I might say that every year... but I am headed that way.

For the local races we are doing a Thursday night practice race still, but there will be one of them. ViroquaCross will continue with a few weekend events and Marty is going to run one down in PDC as well. So the series is still on, but more informal. Does this mean less prizes? Yes during the weekend, no during the week. The Weekend prizes are going to be nuts! Fancy stuff...

So if you would like to come out and get some this fall, please do. It's always fun to have folks from out of town come up and experience how great Viroqua is!

10/9 Expert

2009-10-10T15:52:00.001-07:00

DSC_0053

Pic from Marty's flkr pages, shot by Roger

Look at those bikes! 2 years ago we had MTBs only, now dudes are rocking tubies here in Viroqua. And while Lee V. will yell at you if you have them, folks in the USA can now get Challenge and Dugast tyres, not tires(?), all over the place. Even here in Viroqua!

The racing began with a LeMans start, mostly because Lee and Chris thought it was funny. The strategy quickly backfired as Jay and Dick took the holshot and gapped the field slightly out of the first turn.

This gap led to nought as Chris and Lee caught at the middle of the first lap and countered off of Jay after the barriers and built a small lead. Jay and Lee rode together until the 3rd lap where Lee attacked to bridge to Chris and spent a lap doing so. Jay rode alone for the rest of the race, chasing and closing until lap 7.

Lee caught Chris on the 6th last and the two settled into a rhythm. Meanwhile Dick and Marty were battling it out behind Jay. Chris attacked on the last run up...

and Lee stayed on him! Note the Blur of speed in the photo... Once Lee caught, he countered on the rise on the backside and kept a small gap into the descent where Chris caught. Lee attacked again out of the following turn and got another gap... Chris caught Lee at the final run-up, but couldn't close the last three feet and Lee took an exciting W.

10/9 Racin, Beginner Adults

2009-10-10T14:20:00.000-07:00

Once again we had a thrilling beginners race. While Chris Stuckmam staked a huge lead from the gun, followed by a small t chase of Will B. and Aaron Schmidt, aka "Ha Ha". MIss Kerry from Pleasant Ridge and Meg Newlin followed behind. If every beginner women came on the same night we would have a field of 10. Perfect for our course and those riders looking to race in a mellow setting with a good field. Sigh...

With Chris S. wallering away on the field Haha and Will truly dueled every lap. I should get the video posted, but Aaron, who rides once a week, is really improving and will be a force to reckon with as he continues to ride and develop. His post race quotes truly embody what the sport is. We'll get some live reflections next week.

Anyway, Miss Kerry slowly built her gap over Meg Newlin and rode in for a solid 4th, while Will was able to hold off Aaron with a tough attack before the switchbacks on the back of the course. Aaron chased to the run up, but the gap would not come down. Nice work Will!

10/9 Racin, Girls Race

2009-10-10T14:14:00.000-07:00

In the Luna Organics Girls open we had three fast young ladies who were gunning for some great prizes!

Hannah, Alice and Teresa gathered at the start, smiling innocently at each other, then the gun when off. Being a single lap race, the start was important, and Hannah got the holeshot and rode it in from the gun.

Some days you can suffer and other days you cannot. Alice didn't dig as hard as usual, so Teresa put some hurt down and Alice rode a bit more mellow than usual.

10/9 Racin, 11-15

2009-10-10T09:33:00.000-07:00

There is a quick video from the 11-15 race. And Alice eating goo, 2x Caf... But boy did she ring the bell after that!

The racing was pretty exciting, some of the guys who raced 2 years ago were back with some other new guys too. Fun was had by all, and the racing was great!

At the start of the race we had all Faulters, Arlo, Luca, Will and Alice and Paul. At the Barriers Luca and Will had gotten a small gap over Paul who was dangling in no-mans land. Dominic and Arlo were locked in a battle for fourth behind them. Following were Hannah and Teresa Faulter as Alice had a Minor mechanical and pulled the chord on that one to save some gas for the girls race. She also started eating goo...

Luca and Will dueled to the line, Will taking it by a bike length. Paul rode in next, followed by Arlo who was taking it easy and was almost reeled in by Dominic, who will never, ever quit. Very awesome resolve by the youngest guy out there. He was followed in by his sisters, who finished Hannah then Teresa.

10/9 Racin, 7-9

2009-10-10T09:27:00.000-07:00

Wow! Last night had several Throwdowns that came down to the final run-up. It's a pretty brutal way to finish a race, but fun as a spectator!

In the First kids Race, 7-10, we had three fast and small dudes rocking the chicannery. Macy, Isaac and the Baby Condor were all moving Quickly, but Macy has the eye of the Tiger as well as a Space Alien on his helmet. When you don't have that kinda mojo it makes competing tough. So Macy took it and garnered some great Conti stickers.

See you guys next week!

10/2 Race Report and Results

2009-10-03T20:10:00.000-07:00

We're back in action! This Friday saw the return of Fall like conditions with temps in the 40s and 50s and rain falling intermittently. The course in Viroqua was perfect, hooking up in places as well as providing plenty of bike handling practice. Those who remembered to Pam their pedals and shoes were rewarded!

In the kids races it was the Faulters racing the Will/Alice family... a family battle that pitted brother and sister against brother and sister. Will powered to the front and took a commanding holeshot all the way to the finish. The real battle was for second place. Dominic and Hannah Faulter battled hard, followed by Teresa and Alice. Teresa looked like she had Dominic's number this week, setting up dinner table smack talk and bragging rights for another week. Alas, it was not to be, as Dominic brought her back after a bobble, additional crash and mechanical saw Teresa running up the switchbacks and into the finish. Meanwhile Alice had gone through similar trials on the course and struggled to get her chain back onto her bike after a tough slide on the backside of the course. Alice is a tough cookie and raced hard to the finish despite being gapped with a mechanical.

In the Intermediate race we saw some new blood from Madison. Unfortunately at this time I cannot find my notes from the race! Bummer... The two Madisonites were equipped with Cross bikes and a thirst for Coffee and Margaritas, that was certain.

Tom Faulter was back on the bike with Cameron and Will B. and Will filling out the roster. The dude from Madison was fast and consistent, laying down 5:30 laps, 4 of 'em to take home some Kickapoo Coffee, winners of Coffee.com's Micro Roaster of the Year! Tom was holding his wheel tough, but his converted Roadster's grass and mud friction brakes made staying with him difficult. Tom did hold off a hard charging Cameron who didn't have the same dominating form that saw him win consecutive weeks earlier in the season. Thanks for making the trip Cam! Behind them, the Wills were battling with the other Madisonite, who seemed to be enjoying her first Cross Race. Meg and Emma would have enjoyed another female beginner to ride and race with. Unfortunately, this left only the two boys named Will. The first of did a lap and came off the course... "This hurts!" he said. Once he was reminded that everyone was hurting, he proceeded to immediately caught Will B and said Madisonian.

The three of them continued to battle with Willy B taking it, Followed by our wonderful visitor with forgotten name. So it was pretty cool!

1. Guy from Madison

2. Tom Faulter, Vernon Trails

3. Cameron, Team Waukon Dentistry

4. Will B., VT

5. Woman From Madison

6. Will

Expert Race

With the course all broken in, the Expert race was expected to be quick, and it was. I think anyway, I was hurting!

In the first lap Chris N. and Lee V. opened a small gap on Dick, Jay, Tom and DFM (Dude from Madison) in the first Chicane and it grew at the barriers and through the second Chicane and descent. When Lee spilled in a greasy corner, Chris got another gap and it grew each of the 8 laps of the race until a last lap flat made it a bit more interesting. Riding in on a flat, Chris managed to hold off a hard charging Jay Skrede!

Behind Chris, Jay overtook Lee on the crash and chased hard for the rest of the race. Dick and DFM were chasing Lee hard, DFM attacked Dick, got a gap and Bridged to Lee and passed him on the switchbacks to the run-up, but Lee wasn't done. Surging to the barrier to the run, Lee caught and passed 10ft. in front of the finish! It was a thrilling race to watch as Lee, covered in Mud and snot galloped up the run up to finish in the money.

With the course wet, the race was exciting and technical to the finish.

Thanks to all who came out and helped take down the course in the rain!

1. Chris N., Wheaton

2. Jay Skrede, Vernon Trails

3. Lee V., Bikes To You

4. DFM

5. Dick, Vernon Trails

6. Tom F., Vernon Trails

Interbike and some scattered Race Results...

2009-10-03T19:50:00.001-07:00

Hey Folks, sorry for last weeks' cancelation. Missed a bunch of fun stuff, including Sidie Fest, the Vernon Trails Trail building event. Bummer, since year one I have missed it for a bunch of reasons... Now it will be after Vegas every year. Hopefully next year the travel will be less nutty and I won't get sick. Anywho, enough boo-hooing! Vegas had many Cross goodies. Most Notably the Colnago Cross Prestige. This build was around 14lbs.

Also, some race reports...

The week of 9/18 Saw Jay Skrede win his first Fast Guy race! John Sherwin and Aaron Schmidt have come out to spice up the beginner and Intermediate field. John chased around a very friendly(off the bike) guy from Madison. He actually came back and doubled up...

So sorry for the lack of posts and updates. The racing has been fast a furious and we are getting into the heart of the season. Enjoy the pics!

Stuckman took second behind Cameron and Andrea V followed them in. Will B. put in a good effort and chase hard. Good times!

Last Weeks Racing!

2009-09-09T22:02:00.000-07:00

Howdy race fans, sorry for the lack of updates and reports! Big weekend of travel and some make up for the missed Monday.

Kids Races!

We had some new talent out on the course with Corin Humphries out here racing fixed! Made for an exciting race as he and Jacob duked it out for a bit before settling into 15sec intervals. Out-of-towner from MN, Conner Slonvinski came in behind the two locals. With Jacob gone for the rest of the fall it will be interesting to see how these races shake out.

We also had an open race that was pretty exciting. Will and Corin raced eachother pretty tough for second following in after Jacob...

In the Adult Races...

Beginner/Intermediate will be posted later when I get my notes together, but they were great races.

In the Expert/Produde race, Lee V. and Jay Skrede pulled a fast one on the rest of the field and attacked/blocked from the gun, distancing Chris N., Tom Faulter, Dick and the rest making for an exciting race.

Lee was able to bridge a substantial gap with 3 to go and attack Jay in the final lap. While Lee did win again, Jay rode an outstanding Race and looks to break up the Newlin/Venticher strangle hold on the 1/2 places. Who knows what nuttiness will ensue with Jay's increased fitness and pluck!

When Coffee is on the line...

2009-08-29T08:46:00.000-07:00

Coffee is just about the only legal performance enhancing supplement on the market... it might as well be an amazing one from Kickapoo Coffee!

Dick is getting fast:

This video is old, but you can see that Dick is quick... He was even faster this week!

Intermediate Race

1. Dick, VT

2. Chris S.

3. Andrea Venticher

5. Thom Falter, VT, old school jersey

6. Bryn Hawklove, Blue Dog

7. Meg Newlin, Rp Activesports/Craft Factory Team

Thom would have put the smack-down upon Dick if his stem hadn't crapped out on him, maybe next week?

Tune in for the exciting details, or better yet, come out and test your mettle against Waukon IA's finest and a few Viroqua Locals!

Jay, Lee and Chris are getting loney in the Expert Cat. Come out and show those guys what's up.

Hard to Stop a rolling Train

2009-08-29T08:08:00.000-07:00

Well another week has gone buy and Cross Fever is spreading... Alice and her brother Will are back from vacation and things are now officially rocking! We doubled the amount of racers we had last week in the kids races and had many more local MTBers who eventually may give it a shot in attendance.

In the Kids Race, 5-7

We had Macy Kuppersmith and Connor Vatland duking it out. Seriously! They were really going for it. While that race usually is kids who have just learned how to ride, these guys were racing, overcooking turns, running the hills. Very neat.

in the 8-11 Catagory we had

Will and Alice, Jakob, Rilah V. and Liam K., Connor doubled up and rode with the big guys as well. These guys did two laps of the full course and were very impressive. While Will and Jacob held back initially, soon they were off the front, with Jacob losing Will in the barriers. See above video! Jacob looks pretty good out there on a bike!

The Falters rolled in a bit late so we did a second round of races and they were awesome. The kids we glad to not just be wailing on eachother.

So it looks like the word is spreading, thanks Pete for twisting some arms out there!

Steeper than it Looks!

2009-08-22T11:39:00.000-07:00

Here they Go! Wish I wasn't yelling so loud, but I guess it is better to be enthusiastic than blase.

Week 3 Already?

2009-08-22T08:07:00.000-07:00

Well another week has come and gone... this week instead of super-hot temps we had another couple inches of rain! Yuck... the clay was like an ice-rink and the boys from Iowa killed it by choosing to run 29er MTBs this week...

A race or Expert/Pro Dude

1. Lee V. Bikestoyou.com

2. Chris Newlin, Team Wheaton/Vernon Trails

3. Jay Skrede "Biscuit Man", Vernon Trails

B race

1. Chris S

2. Bryn "the wyn" Hawglove, Veron Trails/BlueDog

3. Donna Skrede, Vernon Trails

C Race

1. Meg Newlin

2. Becs Hawglove, Vernon Trails

3. Tyler Hamilton, Rock Racing

Kids Races

Every Catagory was won by a Falter... they dominated!

1. Dominic

1. Hannah

1. Teresa

Will anyone come out and challenge

First Video

2009-08-17T20:30:00.000-07:00

This is from the first week. I have some more from last week but they aren't on the computer yet. Wish I wasn't so loud!

New Flyer? This thing on?

2009-08-11T22:33:00.000-07:00

Girls Racin'

2009-08-07T20:20:00.000-07:00

Here is Alice, winner of the girls race. Alice got her bike 4 days ago and is very excited about riding it! She has been dragging folks to the trails to ride everyday. She's a natural on the bike and I look forward to watching her grow into the sport.

Trial Run

2009-08-07T19:35:00.000-07:00

Everyone likes Prizes. Alice showing off her first Place Gloves, Giro Xena, in pristine white. Not for long!
Here is the Registration Tent without the tables and coolers and such.

Okay, here is the left on the end of South Street... To get here, turn at the corn of South Street and Main towards the DQ, across the street from Sponsors BlueDog Cycles. Note the Dead end Sign and Balloons. Left here!
Continue until you hit this crazy looking driveway. All kinds of minivans made it up the road. You can too!

Thanks to the folks who braved the weather to come out to the first race of the season. I have included some pictures of Alice, our Jr. race participant and future Worlds Medalist, as well as pictures of the major landmarks.

Congrats to Shane Kubo who rallied the course besting older and wiser men... Great Job Bryn, Meg and Ryan as well. Hope you enjoy your Margaritas at Chilito Lindo!

Times and Directions

2009-08-05T19:21:00.000-07:00

•Kids Races

•5-7, 2 short laps. 3:45 Start

•8-11, 2 Full Laps, 4:00 Start

•Girls Open, 2 Full Laps, 4:20

•12-15, 20min or 4 Laps, 4:40

•Adult Races

•Beginner/Townie, 20min, 5pm

•Beginner with cross bike/Intermediate, 25min, 5:25

•Expert/Pro dude, 40min, 6pm

•Location

•Once in Viroqua, head West on South St. buy the DQ, opposite BlueDog Cycles. Follow South until

• the Road Dead-ends and continue left untill you see the signs on the left hand side of the Road. Look for the signs and Balloons.

•Thanks to our many great sponsors who have provided prizes and fun to this fantastic event. If you have questions please contact chris@rpactivesports.com

Flyer

2009-08-03T14:11:00.000-07:00

More Bling...

2009-08-02T09:17:00.001-07:00

Getting the Tubies on these guys was way harder than the EA70xs... Rather have it be too hard than too easy though.

All Show, No Go!

2009-08-02T08:53:00.001-07:00

Lake 401mx, note the bling! Kangaroo leather and Boa...
Got some new gear... Look Carbon Quartz's and Lake 401MX. Dropped about 2 pounds from the 10 year-old shimano pedal and shoe combo. Shoes are thermo-modling, super comfortable. The Boa things was new, but so far it is very light and comfy. I use the power zones on the top and have zero slop.

The pedals were one of those instant upgrades. Put on the cleats, got the shim chart off the look

site and was up and running. Check out the review in this month's VeloNews, feel like Times, but are lighter and handle mud better. I am sold.

Flyer Time, The Hubbard Trail

2009-06-25T08:24:00.000-07:00

Meg and I have begun work on the flyer for this seasons racing... wish us luck. The time-table is the end of the week. Maybe this Mac computer thingy has some sort of poster application? iPoster? Anyway, we are getting fired up and Meg is starting to work on her cross skills. Having a baby makes for some significant de-training, but Meg is a beast and loves to work out.

Pete Taylor continues to amaze me in how he has time to run a shop with 40 repair tickets at all times and still get excited about something that ultimately is more work. Namely, the Hubbard Trails of Maple St. Fame here in Viroqua.

Cindy Hubbard has donated a large chunk of land here in town for us to build trails on. And when I say us, I mean Pete and some vols. Pete now builds more trail than he does ride, something I cannot believe. We both have two kids, so his riding time is pretty precious. Every week he uses the tiny bits of spare time raking and swinging a pilowski(sp). Even cooler than that, Pete has made the youth of Viroqua the principal trail builders! The kids have put the most time into the trail, and that makes a great project even cooler.

So we here at Viroquacross are standing on the shoulders of giants once again. We are going to have our races at the Hubbard trails that Pete and others have scraped together. The good news is that any dollars made in profit will go towards the Vernon Trails not-for-profit group.

This means that if you are a beginner crosser or mtber you are going to have a pretty fun little course on your hands. Swoopy double and singletrack, barriers and a run-up all in a setting that is right in Viroqua but feels like the Backcountry. The course will ride like Gibbs Lake with a little less climbing and not as long. Not bad for a little guy! So again, if you are nearby and consider yourself a cyclist, come out and have some fun! Support young trail builders and trail systems and cycling in rural areas!

Trails in Viroqua

2009-06-09T21:08:00.000-07:00

Went to the Hubbard Trail system at the end of Maple St. today in Viroqua on the Cross bike. Wow, we are going to have and awesome series this year. The potential is huge for this system to have a course that flows, is tough, and requires the ability to turn and stuff. While I like courses that are straight ahead affairs, there is something awesome about a course where you might have a bobble if you aren't on your game. That's why this is a practice series, so you can get a workout in while sliding around and running barriers.

So I went with Shane and Jacob and followed Jacob's line downhill. I had to remind myself that I was not a 60lb kid on 2.4 tires, but a 185lbs. dude on super-bald 32s, easy to remember when going sideways. It was fun and I think he was surprised to see me on his wheel. Easy to understand that, he is going to be a baller! Our time together ended when I thought we were going right but was wrong and rode off by myself... met them back at the shop afterwards.

The trails are all in and just need to be ridden to smooth out some, but the skeleton of a great system is in place. The kinda joint where you could go for a ride with the kids before dinner and get a good thrashing in and ride home. It's right in town but I felt like I was out in the backcountry. If you are in the area and want to get some MTB time in on fun and flowing fast trail, come on out and ask Pete at BlueDog Cycles where it is.

Just awesome, Pete Taylor is making Viroqua into a little Boulder or something. Only better because it isn't Boulder, it's Wisconsin! If anyone from Boulder takes umbrage, just come out and do our races and check out the town! You'll love it till February...

Add for Kickapoo Free Press

2009-05-17T21:50:00.001-07:00

So here is the first add for this Summer/Fall's cross series here in Viroqua.

New WCA and ViroquaCross Schedule

2009-05-10T14:05:00.000-07:00

Hello Western WI Cyclocrossers,

Looks like I am not the only nutter getting excited for the season. The WCA has posted the Schedule for next season on the www.wicycling.org website. Looks like another fun season is coming down the bend. I hope I can make it to the JP Cup. The MadCross.orgers do a great job with WIs only UCI race.

Our Schedule is hopefully going to be a little more friendly to the working men and women of WI. Maybe this will enhance our starting line-ups? We have another new course and a new title sponsor. The VMH Wellness Center is still going to be involved, but they also have many other cool things going on that they are trying to get off the ground, like their Triathlon.

We are also going to go earlier in the season as we are trying to get new folks into the sport. So the Series will Kick off in August and run through Oct. Should be fun! Look for more details in the coming weeks!

Specs for The Cross Rover

2009-01-08T13:27:00.000-08:00

See comment section for Specs! Cutting and pasting on the Mac is putting all text below the actual post, then not publishing it.

BlueDog Custom Cross Rover for Sale

2009-01-08T13:24:00.001-08:00

Brian Matter in BEL

2009-01-01T12:46:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone, hope your New Year is going well so far. No real news from Viroqua on our cross front. The season is long over and I'm starting to get excited for next year, but that's neither here nor somewhere else.

What is exciting is that right now Brian Matter of Wisconsin is tearing apart the Cross scene in Belgium! Check him out at www.b-matter.blogspot.com and check out the scene.

If you are new to cross, Belgium is where the sport is most popular. Imagine 20,000 Packers fans rooting for dudes in spandex and mud racing around the town of Viroqua including the park-bowl, screaming, drinking and eating french-fries. The spectators that is, not the racers. Those guys are like Bret Farv-re over there, they have people whose job it is to rub their legs with stinky oils and wash their bikes. It's awesome, and right now the season is at it's peak, while ours is done for the year.

What is also interesting to me, maybe to you, is how people talk about how crappy the weather is over there. Maybe compared to the Mediterranean it is bad, but compared with Viroqua it's bliss. Low temps are just around 20... That's bikini weather here!

So I guess it's fitting that a Wisconsinite is doing great over there. And by doing great I mean top 25 great. So go Brian!

Hank's New Bike

2008-12-27T18:19:00.000-08:00

Green Grass

2008-12-19T08:38:00.000-08:00

Jrs.

2008-12-19T08:19:00.000-08:00

Photos from Fall

2008-12-19T08:07:00.000-08:00

Hank, thanks for the Pub!

2008-11-16T16:12:00.000-08:00

We're famous in WI!? Check out Hank D's write-up of the series in this month's Silent Sports. Thanks Hank!

Soon folks will be flocking to the cyclocross hotbed of Viroqua to get their game on!

Final Tally and the End of the Season!

2008-11-16T14:13:00.001-08:00

Hello fans of the Viroqua Cross Series!

We had a great second year of cross racing out here in Viroqua. Lots of new things came about this season that I really hope we can build on for next season.

The most notable was the girls race! Each week we had 2 new girls come out to give cross a try and the result was some exciting races and new category that looks to be our most competitive for next season. LuSa organics really made the races fun with really incredible prizes! While I'm not sure that every girl goes to bed dreaming of soap, the handmade lotions and soaps these guys put into their beautiful prize bags made a the entire podium pretty stoked when they opened their prizes! If it rains more next year they will be even more coveted. Thanks again to all the girls who came out to race and gave it such a hard push!

Another great change this season was having the course at the Viroqua Elementary School. Thanks Bob Knadle for letting this happen and being so supportive of the series. I'm really excited to get more and more of those kids out and racing their bikes. More outreach is necessary... Scheming needs to take place on how to trick the kids into realizing that hurting on a bike is awesome. Regardless, having a steep hill, trees and pines to work with made the courses more challenging and fun to design. Last year it was figuring out how to make the course long enough, this year it was how to make it hard but not ridiculous.

Lastly, thanks to Dan Marko, Nora and Heidi from the Vernon Memorial Wellness Center! This year I was all over the place and you guys made the series go with promotion and execution on race days. Heidi even rode a pretty rough race on day in a t-shirt and nearly froze to death. Next year Nora, you too will rock the barriers!

Thanks to Blue Dog for providing great prizes and course support, as well as counting laps so I could race on gameday. While I often wanted to stop, you guys would always yell encouragement and the number of laps. Having guys on BlueDog Customs is pretty cool, soon more dudes around the state will be on sweat custom steel...

To all of the other sponsors and racers thanks! Sibby's Ice Cream made the first set of Barriers and the run-up creamier and tastier. Ice cream goes well with Lactic acid.

Kickapoo Coffee! These guys came out to race and watch. The coffee was great and all the adult beginners went a little harder for a pound of the good stuff. These guys are constantly winning accolades for their excellent roasts and were in the finals for roaster of the year on coffee.com. Not sure if they took away the grad prize, but I know that they were in the running with with three others.

Cyclocross Magazine sent out some banners, magazines and bells that the kids snapped right up! I wish I had saved some of the mags for me! Maybe I'll get one if they are on board for next season?

Thanks to Borah who w/Nora is putting together a champions jersey for the winners of each category on the year.

Smallish Dudes Rocking the Barriers!

2008-10-10T16:33:00.000-07:00

Looking good guys. Ishta and Anders, fast and smooth...

Saturdays Final Flyer!

2008-10-08T19:25:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, look forward to seeing you this weekend. Should be tough, but fun for Marty and I.
Chris

Photo Dump, Race 2

2008-10-07T17:58:00.001-07:00

Race Report!

2008-10-05T18:42:00.000-07:00

Welcome back racefans! We had an exciting first week of races at the Viroqua Schools this last Monday. While we had some folks thinking that the races were still at the old location, those who did make it raced hard and fast!

The first race was the 5-7 year olds and those guys were cruising. Liam and Macy Kueppersmith, Luke Bjorkland, Emery Deutsch and Tucker Hughes rolled out fast and stayed fast. While they all were concered with how they finished, they also appeared to really love riding their bikes fast in a circle! Good stuff.

Next up was the first race to carry Points of the Series Jersey... Last years largest race with the most promising riders for Viroqua's cycling future was a bit depleted by a field trip... but we did have a few guys out there who are die-hard crossers. Giddeon Hooper-Schmit, Will Beaty, Harry Hughes who just upgraded, Anders, and Dominic Falter all lined up determined to get ahead in the points and secure the championship jersey!

Anders and Giddeon took the holeshot as Will's chain snapped and took him out of the running. Bummer for Will who later said philosophically that, "It felt like somebody just didn't want me to race today..." Hopefully Will's bike is in better shape for tomorrow. As Anders and Giddy sped away, Harry and Dominic, both on the younger side of the category began a heated duel for the last step on the podium. Anders won the ice-cream prime and kept his lead to the finish, Giddeon seemed satisfied with 2nd and enjoyed the ride. Again, behind him was the fierce battle between Harry and Dominic, fighting like to small dogs over a large bone. It wasn't until the last 10 ft that Harry knew he could relax. Dominic sprinted for the line, but it was too late, Harry took 3rd. Dominic showed some serious Moxie and looks like he is having fun out there, it was a lot of fun to watch. Next week we'll see the return of Jacob Kaman and Ephy Sutherland among others. Should be a whole new ballgame, but for now here are the standings:

Anders: 5 points
Giddeon: 4 points
Harry: 3 points
Dominic: 2 points
Will B.: 1 point

The next race was the first of the Girls Open races that are sure to enhance the ViroquaCross races. Lining up were Emma Hughes, Theresa and Hannah Falter, and Mikayla Brown. The Falters come from a biking Family, as does Emma, and with newcomer Mikayla it promised to be an explosive event.

From the Gun it was Emma Hughes, exploding out of the gate for the ice cream prime, but in the last barrier she was passed by Hannah in a fine display of barrier grace. Hannah pushed her 5 second gap and grew it to 20 seconds by the end of the lap. Emma held off the other Falter, Theresa, and sped to the line to collect second prize. Theresa embodies the grit and gumption of Falters everywhere and hung in for 3rd place while Mikayla Brown rode it in for 4th. All of these young ladies rode tough and made the crowd excited for the future of women's cycling in Viroqua. Who knows? Maybe the next Katie Compton will come out of western Wisconsin.
Standings:
Hannah: 5
Emma: 4
Theresa: 3
Mikayla:2

In the Main Event we saw a strange sight... a single MTBike. With the adults looking at last season's flyer and going to Washington Park, we combined the small field of 9 into one race. First timers Scott Leum, Dick, and Bryn Hawklove on a beautiful BlueDog Customs Cross Rover looked great on cross bikes and showed Moxie riding them as well. Lining up were returnees Lee V., Joe Horvath, Jay Skrede, Thom Falter, Hank D., and Frosty Crosser who wore my shoes at the event, Matt Kuennen and finally . How would Matt do with 'normal' shoes? This and other questions would only be answered on the course.

The Racers were reluctant to take the first row as first time jitters were prevalent. Once the line was toed, the racers were off. Jay took the holeshot all the way to a free ice cream. Not bad! The newcomers were lead by Thom who was still getting the finer points dialed in and took a few spills. Well, if you're not flying, you're not trying as they say. Look for Thom to be duking in it out at the front as it come together. Dick showed that he has an inner crosser and moved up through the remainder of the field, but it's hard to know who will be where next week. Bryn ran into some chain problems and Scott was getting acclimated to the suffering inherent to a 45min race.

Meanwhile at the front Jay was holding a scant lead over Lee and Joe. Lee continued to whittle it down until they were riding together. Lee attacked hard, but Jay responded and countered. It was awesome to watch the mild mannered Jay Skrede take it and dish it out up there. The pace sent Joe H. back to chasing where he remained for the rest of the race, coming in third. Lee finally put in a hard dig with three laps to go and got a gap on Jay. Jay tried but couldn't close. Back in the field Thom and Dick were battling until Thom took a spectacular header, the kind of crash that justifies a video-camera, and Dick pulled ahead. Scott was riding solid behind them for 6th and Bryn and Matt were racing. Great to see those guys go at it. No single spot in the race was conceded. Bryn got the best of the duel, but it should be fun to watch them go at it this season.

Lastly, Hank Deutsch, in his 70s blew all of us win the stands away. He rode the run-up, he rode hard and his speed is coming up... He told me the course was harder than last season, but it was hard to believe watching him race. All of the Spin classes with Nora have brought up his speed. He made all of us proud out there!

Adult Standings
Expert:
Lee: 5
Jay: 4
Joe: 3

Intermediate
Dick: 5
Thom: 4
Scott: 3

Beginner (for now!)
Bryn: 5
Matt: 4

Senior
Hank: 5

Thanks for reading, see you Monday at the Viroqua Elementary Schools!

Race Times!

2008-09-28T17:41:00.000-07:00

Viroqua Cross 1 Tomorrow

2008-09-28T16:10:00.000-07:00

Everything is ready to go, see you tomorrow!

One Week Away...

2008-09-20T17:35:00.000-07:00

Here comes Cross season! We're only a few days away from the first WCA race and the first of the Viroqua races. Should be a great season! The locals are fired up and getting on cross bikes. Marty and some of the Southern folk are gearing up as well. Lee V. has filled his tires with goop... Darrel Anders is leading Brin his handmade BlueDog customs rig! Pete is gluing tires, others are mad because he isn't making me do it. Dan's ordered numbers and tape. The barriers are clean and stacked, ready to go. Jay is getting his wheel situation taken care off. TJ, are you ready? Some folks are acting like this isn't the biggest Monday of their year, who are they kidding. Some Lax dudes might come down, Devon from Smith's is ready to go. Willy B. is reminding all of his friends that cross is fun! Mary Lake is bracing herself for the rush of registrants...

Basically the town is ready to rock. Here comes ViroquaCross, thanks to everyone who is excited to race, has put time and effort into making this a go for the second year. Thanks to the sponsors who are dishing out cool stuff to all the racers.

Hats in CA

2008-09-02T19:38:00.000-07:00

One of my oldest friends, Lee from Kindergarden, has bought a Hat. This makes CA the furthest west a Viroqua Cross Hat has traveled. Thanks for supporting the series Lee! Good to see that Lee is still such a Handsome devil. He was a track star in High School and I remember him running a 2:04 800m in 8th grade. Lee would make a great Crosser', hope this hat helps him become a cyclist!

Bikes of Viroquacross

2008-08-29T07:53:00.000-07:00

Here is Jay S. new bike for this years season. Jay is a 35+ who is a great rider and a super-nice guy. He upgraded his ride for this season to a Trek X2 with Race-Lite Tubies and Sram Rival. It is about 19lbs and looks very nice. Check the Photos.

Anyway, as folks out here are starting to get bikes together for the season I start to worry about the state of my bike! Still in some pieces...

Refurbished Barriers

2008-08-23T19:10:00.000-07:00

So here are some shots of the barriers coming together for another season. My brother in law cruised up here and knocked out some serious work around the house. While we were at it, we got rid of some old paint by painting the barriers. Two birds with one stone.

Yeah, so about the peach color... Well, we thought the paint was orange, and as it turns out it was more peachy-colored. Oh well, we have plenty of white barriers so the peach one will be for the primes. Some are white others more peachy. Tomorrow we're going to put some stencils on 'em. Maybe make them more, tough? Not that there's anything wrong with peach...

Sweet Hats

2008-08-20T18:16:00.000-07:00

Alright, they finally have arrived . The Viroquacross Trucker Hats are in and for sale. $15 gets you a hat, $18 gets it mailed to your home.

On the side of the blog I have mounted a Google Checkout button that should get you a hat ASAP. Buy one!

I will also have the hats at the races, so if you are coming up here we should have one for you at the first couple of races. Because of cost, I only ordered a modest amount of hats, so get in out it now!

I you are local and want to 'reserve' a hat, send me an email and we can meet-up in town at some point. Email to viroquacross@gmail.com

Enjoy this fine piece of art! My friend Nora spent her nights off toiling over it's awesomeness and it totally shows!

Mt Borah Sponsorship!

2008-08-05T13:10:00.001-07:00

Mt. Borah is coming on as a sponsor and is going to provide series championship jerseys as well as the Atta-Borah best effort award. This should certainly spice up the series!
Here is how the points for the series is going to go:

Points 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th

Sept 29th 5 4 3 2 1
Oct 6th 5 4 3 2 1
Oct 11th 8 7 6 5 4
Oct 12th 8 7 6 5 4
Oct 13th 5 4 3 2 1
Oct 20th 5 4 3 2 1
Oct 27th 5 4 3 2 1

So please note that the weekend races will be worth more points. This is to encourage those who have to miss a couple of the races to still come out race and go for it!

Thanks Borah for making it happen!

Race Flyer is ready to go

2008-07-30T19:31:00.000-07:00

Here it is, the Fall schedule/flyer. Things to note... Girls only race, open to all girls under 15. No mention of the Mt. Borah Overall series jersey or Atta-Borah effort/aggression award. Also, there will be Cyclocross Magazine Primes and Sibby's Ice Cream Primes!

It is going to be great!

Sponsor For Girls Race on Board, LuSa Organics!

2008-07-26T10:48:00.000-07:00

Great News, LuSa organics is coming on board as the sponsor of the Girls Race in the VMH ViroquaCross Series.

This race is open to all girls and the prizes for the top three girls will come from LuSa Organics! Very cool as they are a local business that makes a fantastic bar of soap as well as some other very cool organic product. They can be found at there site, click on the logo, as well as the Viroqua Co-Op and I think at the WholeFoods in Madison. Check 'em out as they make great products! I've used the lotion bars for a while and they are great for the dry winter months.

Thanks to Rachel for sponsoring the event! I'm really hoping that the girls specific race really takes off!

2008-07-01T13:58:00.000-07:00

Early Promotion!

2008-06-26T12:41:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Nora and our Title Sponsor, The VMH Wellness Center for putting this together! She is super!

Promotional Flyer

2008-06-26T10:58:00.001-07:00

I'm having a hard time getting the flyer up! Nora has made an amazing flyer and I am trying to make it go. This should be up by the end of the day!

Another New Sponsor! Link Fixed!

2008-06-04T03:33:00.000-07:00

So as of yesterday, these guys are now on board! Really feels pretty cool to have a cyclocross specific sponsor for the series. Look for subscription primes and Magazines at the races. The coolest part of this is that the kids who have only ever done our race will see how big cross is and maybe feel a part of the larger culture. That is a good thing as this is a healthy and fun lifelong sport/addiction. And while they may grow up with a strange hankering for chips and abbey, they'll offset it with a thirst for barriers and mud.

Now The link works so click on it!

New Sponsor!

2008-05-31T14:13:00.000-07:00

Sibby's Ice Cream has become the newest Sponsor for this year's Viroqua Cyclocross Practice Series! Very cool sponsor, they have the first all-organic soft serve ice cream in the United States.

So look forward to ice-cream primes this fall on the barriers and hills at the new course! And check out the Sibby's Site and Store. They are sold in 14 states and have an amazing product, they make Ben and Jerry's taste like skim... We love it in my house, and if you come out to the series chances are you'll get your hands on some!

Casing the Joint...

2008-05-22T09:59:00.000-07:00

This might be one of those posts where it makes no sense to anyone but the poster. Anyway, here are some shots of the new course for the Viroqua Series.
Okay, here are some shots of the new course area. Unfortunately, they are not the greatest pictures ever, but hopefully they will illustrate the course okay. The two shots above and below here show the very top of the hill. Above shows the softball field on the top of the hill where the course lies and one of the mounds that will have to be overcome by racers.

Below here is another shot of the top of the hill. The photog was trying to illustrate the grandeur of scale here, but it gets lost in translation. Note The Pines on the right... more later on those, but it is going to be cool in there.

Mostly, this course is just going to be bigger with more features than last year. There will be some wooded riding as well as some hills, descents and barriers. Very awesome...

Note the drain... This grass is going to be fast. It is think dandelion type stuff and is tough as heck. Also note the perfect spacing for a few riders and even some barriers? Looking good.

Again, the pictures on this post are doing what they want, so here are some shots of the trees. Neat.

Here is another shot, maybe to illustrate the size of the course and distance. With some twists put in it should be a much longer and more exciting course. you can kinda see how big the hill is in the right hand corner. It is big... But it doesn't look that big in the pictures. The course will be about the size of... maybe Estabrook? Little smaller than that I guess. Maybe a bit longer than Whitewater, certainly better terrian, features and faster grass. Should be a great cross course!

Well, these pictures are coming up backwards, so here is the Hill. As you can see the hill has some step ups on it that will make for some cool off-camber stuff and a natural run/ride up. Hard to see from the picture, but it has some little ramps on it.

Above is a grove of Pine trees that is about 75 yards long, 35 yards wide. The course will snake through there and do some twisting and turning. Should be fun...

Thanks Bob Knadle!

2008-05-21T13:11:00.000-07:00

So, two posts in two days! Whoa, not too bad. Good news is that the meeting w/Bob went very well, and it looks like the Viroqua Cyclocross Series is going to have Bob and the Viroqua Schools fully behind it.

This is amazing as the school grounds immediately quadruple the length of the course and add some great elements like a grassy run-up and a grove of pine trees. A wonderful development, this is really going to be a boost for the series as there will be enough race to make things a bit more exciting!

So pictures will hopefully be posted before the weekend... Looks like the course is going to have the potential to be much bigger and have more fun natural elements to contend with.

Thanks again Bob for helping the series grow. Now we just need to get the word out and flood the races with 90 kids from the public school! This thing is only going to get better with the support of guys like Bob, Hank D., Wes Mack, Dan Marko, Pete and Alycann Taylor, all the parents and businesses that are putting time and money into this thing, racers who make the drive and even people who read this blog and think our series is cool. Cross is fun, and I think that's why people can rally around it without a great deal of static. So thanks everyone, and get ready... We are going to need volunteers and sponsors to make this thing go where I think it is going to go...

Long Time No Post!

2008-05-17T09:19:00.000-07:00

Well it has been a while, and as a blog reader I can't believe how long it has taken me to finally get something back up on here. So there is news!

New Site for cross races?
This week I emailed Bob Knadle, the head guy over at the schools to see if we could do the series over there with the hope of attracting more kids to the races. He has responded and I am going to set up a meeting next week! Very exciting as Bob is a biker and I have been told by good sources, Wes Mack and Hanky D., that he is a cool guy. Very much looking forward to check out what we could do over there. It looks like the course has the potential to be really neat with some dense trees that are navigable for 2 bikes and long as well a few natural run-ups. Should be awesome!

Vernon Trails Club
In other news, we had a meeting at the BlueDog where Pete Taylor went through the summer schedule and the ground rules for the club. Looks like Mt. Borah has also offered the kids great discounts on kit, very nice this year too, Thom did a great job!

So if you missed the meeting and still want to be involved with the club, just swing by the shop and give Pete your information. Roll up your sleeves and get ready to work on some Trails!

New Trail in Town!
Steve Lawless and 5th grade class at Pleasant Ridge are going to start working on a new trail at the end of Maple St. in Viroqua. This is amazing news, as the dream of miles of connecting trail to Sidie Hollow is quickly becoming reality. Pete is stoked, and has done so much to make riding trail in the county even possible. It really is a big blank slate that is quickly filling in with cool little nooks. Good work Steve and Kids! Giddeon Hooper-Schmidt, member of the 5th grade, just got a new bike and will be tearing it up out there soon. The kids are going to have ownership over both the trails and the local race series, good for the health of cycling in Viroqua and promising for a great future. Again, Pete has really made it happen so far. Hope I can help out with the Time Trials this summer.

Pete has copies of the schedule on the BlueDog link, but here it is again if you missed it: BlueDog
I think you can just click on it... So click on it! Good calendar that is color coded and stuff. Again, a great deal of work has gone into making trail and now making events that use the trail. Great work Pete and Alycann!

Plans for 2008

2008-03-28T11:11:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! It has been a bit of a break around here with vacation followed by some dental surgery. Some fun followed by some pain. The good thing about being stuck in bed is that it allows for some time to think, and for me that always ends up thinking about biking and cross.

So, the big plan for next season is a Juniors Team. I have been thinking about this a bunch, and the best way to fund the squad, outside of sponsorship, is to use the race to create funds for the team and it's travels to races all over the state. The idea is to get any kid the funds to go to any race he/she wants to get to, without having to worry about the costs of travel and registration. While not every racer from our series will want to travel to races, at least they will have the opportunity to do so without incurring the huge cost of travel etc.

Now what I need to do is put together a meeting to see who is interested in being on the team, volunteering to help run the races and squad, and secure the fantastic sponsors of the race series! My goal is to have a community sponsored team and event that lets kids delve into cycling as deeply as they want to, without too much of what tends to ruin youth athletics in other sports. We have a good thing going here in Viroqua and I think it is only going to get better, but we are going to need all corners of the community to get involved.

Look for a team meeting in the coming weeks, as well as sponsor profiles and schedule updates.
Thanks for reading!

On Vacation?

2008-03-11T19:43:00.001-07:00

So not much has been happening around here... The sun is out, daylight savings has come and gone, and people are starting to go outside. I know that I am at least grateful for the change in temps and the addition of sunlight and warmth to the menu. Lee V. of Viroqua Cross fame came up one day and I went down another to do some riding. It was a blast to get out on the road and ride with someone who could drop me at any moment, but chose not to. Fun, and Lee likes to do stuff like ride 50 miles of pave and gravel for four hours or so. My legs hurt enough that I couldn't really sleep. It was intense!

Daryl at BlueDog(one word), put together my new bike, and it is pretty. It is also a lot of bike, very stiff and awesome. Thanks Daryl! He is a great mechanic and cool guy. His custom frames are going to be flying out of the shop soon. He is one of those guys who is just super cool and super talented. I'm looking forward to getting some shots of his new bike on the blog.

Other than all that, not much happening round here. First group ride on Wednesday at the shop, 5pm. Will Beaty came in today to do some intervals on the bike, another reminder about the Jrs. team... When I get back from vacation I'll talk to the fellas about it. Should get something hammered out before the end of the school year.

Thanks for taking the Quiz!

2008-03-06T13:11:00.000-08:00

The people have spoken! Thanks for all of your responses to the quiz. Looks like most folks have a hard time with the series because it doesn't fit their time-frame. To those of you who are too far to make it on the regular, it would be great on those odd off-days to get you to check it out. For the locals who have conflicts, stay tuned...

In other news, my boss, the wonderful Dan Marco, suggested doing several clinics locally to get those who consider the idea of jumping off a moving bike and then back on again dangerous into the fold. A good idea! So, look for the schedule of summer clinics soon. They will be fun and full of action, not too many words. So again, look for dates and times in the coming months!

Thanks to Will Beatty for continuing to ask about the Jrs. team! I am working on it! Things are moving slowly in that direction, but thanks to Will and the his enthusiasm I will work a bit harder to get it rolling, no pun intended.

Otherwise, Spring is coming or not? Get here already. That or I need to get some embrocation...

What to look for this week on Viroqua Cross

2008-03-04T10:48:00.000-08:00

In the next few weeks we are going to profile our sponsors with pictures and interviews, as well as get a bead on the Cross bikes of Viroqua. Should be very cool.

The first Business that will be on is Kickapoo coffee. TJ and Caleb are fantastic supporters and TJ recently started doing a bit of racing, namely Frosty Cross. I think he might be one of those guys who trains for a week and becomes a Cat1 in his first season. Should be a good read.

In the meantime keep checking back for more pics and posts concerning cycling in and around Viroqua!

More VMH Frostyness

2008-03-03T08:45:00.000-08:00

Okay, so Spring hasn't yet sprung or even really come close. Sunday felt different, like the wind was more into being friendly. Now things are looking more frozen. Good thing I have some more pictures of the Frosty Cross to post.

If you didn't make it, these give a decent view of the nasty nature of the tree run-up. Snow is tough. The picture of Dominic Faulter having a go is awesome! He always wants to go again and again. One week I think he did 3 races. A very tough guy... When I am forty and he is kicking me in the face on a weekly basis I hope I still appreciate him!

Remember when?

2008-03-01T12:55:00.001-08:00

Ah Fall! Crisp air with just a touch of bite, seems like it was pretty long ago. Today feels hot and it is about 25. I am about to go enjoy some sun and steal a quick ride.

Here are a few shots of last years Halloween race. Meg, Shelia, Paula and Missy all Hammin' it up in the Townie Division. Very goods costumes, this race was actually on Halloween, kinda threw me for the race in Minn. we did the next weekend where everyone was dressed up. We had a pretty good group in Viroqua!

This also gives a decent view of one of our barrier sections, that week was a four-banger. Very fun... You can also see Meg's super-cool cross check in the last photo with the leaf bars and tail. Paula's cheese head was pretty awesome as well. I think she was a Packer fan? Shelia had the bling and bling while Missy... had a wig? Very big wig, so big it was enough to be a costume!

I think Shelia stomped everyone that week. If we can get her on a cross bike next season she could really have a blast at the WCA races. Fast genes she is passing on to the kids! She also would enjoy race that are less than 5 hours in length, she is super fast and super humble. I wonder how she would do against the Madison ladies?

Ran into Adam from the Shop, he is looking great and working for Mt. Borah. Hope he can get to the series next year. He is fast and a super nice guy.

Jacob, Shane, Dan and Will

2008-02-29T12:26:00.000-08:00

Kids at VMH Wellness Center Frosty Cross...

2008-02-29T12:14:00.001-08:00

VMH Wellness Center Frosty Cross!

2008-02-29T09:22:00.000-08:00

Ok, here it is at long last! Pictures from the Frosty Cross Event

Fun Event! I have to get the hang of this Blog stuff as not all of the Pictures made it on. Another Post will be coming soon.

Just a quick word of thanks to the first round of racers who came out and made it a go. It sounded like everyone had a blast. We had some first-time racers who really were great and Parks and Rec made it possible to have a very cool course. They even packed the snow down with a giant tractor the morning of the event! It was very cool.

Got to give some shout outs: First to TJ Sememanchin(sp?) Not only did he provide coffee for the event, both beans for competitors and liquid for everyone, he delivered it on a cold day via Burly. Very Cool, Second he got second in the beginners race! TJ has gobbs of natural ability and I think is going to be a big part of the crossing around these parts for a long time. Thanks for your help and I look forward to seeing you race in the Fall!

All the volunteers get a big shoutout! Josh, April, Lori Kleppe and Mary who ran registration, Candy, Jen, and Dan and Jill who made everything else happen.

Mt. Borah for the beautiful hats that were great gift bag type stuff. We look forward to seeing you guys in the fall. Maybe Raven will even get to come out as a part of the Sponsorship package?

Matt Kuennen who raced his first cross race in the snow! After the race he was just all fired up, you could see that he really loved him some cross. He also did the event in my shoes, so I sort of got to compete. Hope to see you in the Fall Matt, great ride!

All of the non-hockey-playing Viroqua Kids! Effi, Joquin, the Kuboz Boys, Noah who has turned his Dad Ken into a racer, Will B., the Faulter kids who all ride as great as their hammer father Thom.

To the Iowa folks Lee and Andrea Venteicher who make the drive up for this and the rest of our races. Hope the prize $ covered gas!

To all the folks who were first timers and did so in the snow, hope it was fun, thanks for the support!

Thanks again to the Madcross site for posting the results and announcements for this and all other races! People have made the drive simple because it was on the Madcross site that I check daily.

To all the people forgotten!

Catch you all later, only a few more months until fall. Look for a bare boned schedule later next week, and maybe some pictures of the potential course sites.

First Entry

2008-02-29T08:06:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone... or no one. Welcome to the Viroqua Cross site, where I will attempt to keep the world abreast of the cross goings on in Viroqua and promote our series, solicit sponsors and interest for the sport of 'cross in the tiny berg of Viroqua WI.

So as of now things are looking very promising for next years' series. Sponsors have actually contacted us to see if they can be involved, and my Boss Dan Marco is allowing me to put time at work into making it great. Things are looking up like they are going to be great for next season.

So far for next year all of our exisiting sponsors want back on and Mt. Borah has also thrown their hat into the ring. While particulars haven't been hammered out, I am thankful for the confidnece and support of the local cycling giant!

Ideas that are popping around for next season are as follows: A new site at the school for a bit of a longer course that has some woods and a run-up, girls races, some new volunteers to help last seasons awesome vols, and a big push from the VMH marketting dept!

Vernon Memorial Healthcare, the title sponsor, continues to throw time and money at cool local events. The last one was the Frosty Cross, I have some pictures that I'll get up later today, and the Frosty 5 Winter Fest. Both were great successes that I haven't spammed any bike-lists with the results yet. Yeah, I would say it is because I am busy, but mostly it is because I am lame and finished with winter.

Another big deal locally is the push for a Jrs. team for next season. The plans are starting to flesh out a bit as again, Blue Dog Cycles and Pete Taylor are coming forward with time and energy towards making it happen. I have offered running a practice and driving to the WCA races. I guess it isn't completely selfless as I look forward to making something healthy for my daughter and her buddies in the future. Plus I would maybe get to do all the races on the calender! That would be neat to say the very least.

So, that is pretty much what is happening in my world out here. I just can't say enough about how cool everyone has been about making the series happen. From the Sponsors like Kickapoo Coffee (TJ and Caleb), The Local General, VMH, and BlueDog who gave prizes and mech. support for every race, amazing thanks again Pete, Alycann, and Daryl! Next year will bring a few more sponsors, but we'll always remember these charter sponsors who got this wheel rolling!

Viroqua Cross

2012 Viroqua Cross!!!

Early Base

Badger Prairie

10/14/10

Cross is Fun

Week 3 Coming up, USGP Report...

First Thursday and other notes...

2010...

WCA Schedule 2010

2010, Plans?

10/9 Expert

DSC_0053

DSC_0053

10/9 Racin, Beginner Adults

10/9 Racin, Girls Race

10/9 Racin, 11-15

10/9 Racin, 7-9

10/2 Race Report and Results

Interbike and some scattered Race Results...

Last Weeks Racing!

More Video

When Coffee is on the line...

Hard to Stop a rolling Train

Steeper than it Looks!

Week 3 Already?

First Video

New Flyer? This thing on?

Girls Racin'

Trial Run

Times and Directions

Flyer

More Bling...

All Show, No Go!

Flyer Time, The Hubbard Trail

Trails in Viroqua

Add for Kickapoo Free Press

New WCA and ViroquaCross Schedule

Specs for The Cross Rover

BlueDog Custom Cross Rover for Sale

Brian Matter in BEL

Hank's New Bike

Green Grass

Jrs.

Photos from Fall

Hank, thanks for the Pub!

Final Tally and the End of the Season!

Smallish Dudes Rocking the Barriers!

Saturdays Final Flyer!

Photo Dump, Race 2

Race Report!

Race Times!

Viroqua Cross 1 Tomorrow

One Week Away...

Hats in CA

Bikes of Viroquacross

Refurbished Barriers

Sweet Hats

Mt Borah Sponsorship!

Race Flyer is ready to go

Sponsor For Girls Race on Board, LuSa Organics!

Early Promotion!

Promotional Flyer

Another New Sponsor! Link Fixed!

New Sponsor!

Casing the Joint...

Thanks Bob Knadle!

Long Time No Post!

Plans for 2008

On Vacation?

Thanks for taking the Quiz!

What to look for this week on Viroqua Cross

More VMH Frostyness

Remember when?

Jacob, Shane, Dan and Will

Kids at VMH Wellness Center Frosty Cross...

VMH Wellness Center Frosty Cross!

First Entry