Boss Cross #'s 1 & 2

I kicked of my '11-'12 cyclocross season this past weekend with a short drive up to Kansas City North to Barry-Platte Park for Boss Cross #'s 1 & 2.

With a few exceptions, the course was pretty much the same as last year's race. A very dry summer here in KC left the park bone dry, and some construction in the park - asphalt walking paths being replaced - left lots of gravel. The dirt and the gravel made for some sketchy corners, but for fast racing.

On Saturday there were 3 or 4 dismounts, depending on your speed and skill - two long sand pits, one set of barriers on a hill, and a short, sharp uphill that some ran and some rode. Sunday was the pretty much reverse of Saturday's course with the two runs thru the sand, but the sharp uphill was removed, and the barriers were moved to a long straight stretch which made them super fast, and I think really fun.

I would up with mixed results. On Saturday, I finished 11th out of 16 in the single speed race, but I didn't get lapped! Sunday, I DNF'ed with a broken pedal that happened right after the start. I was really disappointed - the course was really fast and I was really looking forward to the race.

Despite my poor showing, I did get to try out some of the new MWI goodies

• I love the new Pactimo kit. The Ascent Pro Bib shorts are really comfortable and I really like the lycra compression leg gripper - hands down better than elastic grippers. The Ascent Jersey is very nice too, with nice comfortable arm openings and a rubberized gripper on the bottom to keep it in place.


• My new Corsa Concepts 1.2ACR's were awesome. Greg built the rear up with a White Industries Eccentric ENO hub and a 19t White Industries Freewheel. I finished them off with Challenge Fango 32's and ran them at 30 to 32 psi, and they felt great in the dust, gravel and sketchy corners. My combination of 38t Chainring and 19t Freewheel was just about perfect for the up and down course.


• The new MWI Oakley Jawbones were perfect for the hard bumpy course. The rubber nose pads held them in place great (my Minute 2.0's, which have been discontinued, are great, but have hard plastic nose pads.) Thanks to Rob for the super color selections, and thanks to my eye doctor for getting the prescription lenses.

So, that about wraps week 1. Next week I'll make the short drive to Shawnee Mission Park for Cross out Caner.