And just like that...BAM!...a few leaves popped here in Boulder in early September. Right during our 90 deg swelter. An indication that even the leaves just can't wait for their favorite time of year. The time they get to be their truest selves in all their yellow, orange and red glory. Yes, cross season is back...

The summer was a great one with lots of epic rides. The Butter ride, the Rapha Gentleman's Race and tons of great MTB exploration in our beautiful state. But of all the experiences, riding with our Boulder Junior Cycling kids and getting them re-convened in late August/early September to re-orient themselves with their cross machines....all 83 of them this season (below is just one subset of the team)...has been yet again the highlight of my sporting experience. We're changing the bike driving skills of legions of kids. So proud...

September also meant some awesome new changes with the Boulder Cycle Sport Ambassador team...mainly around our equipment. After 5 years on Ridley frames, we were excited to get our bodies on top of these fine machines from Focus. The Mares 0.0...complete with dual thru-axles, complete SRAM/Zipp drivetrain and cockpit and naturally back again with Clement rubber. Absolutely incredible machines...

Wheels, wheels wheels. Always the toughest part to nail down but the team was able to get everything dialed: Zipp 303 rims, Sapim spokes and DT 240 thru-axle hubs. But the most important part is the build and we trusted that to no one other than Zach Edwards of BCS who personally built more that 30 wheels for the Ambassador and BCS/Yoga Glo professional team. Crazy dedication and we are indebted...

Before the season got underway in earnest in September, I was honored to play the role of coach along with Jeremy Powers and John Verheul at Frank Overton's FasCat annual cross camp. We held it at Oskar Blue's Hops and Heifers Farm which was an awesome venue to teach folks the beautiful sport. We even conjured up our own mud to work on bike driving skills in various elements....

Finally the season got underway with the Kick It cross in Castle Rock. Super hard slap in the face but I felt I performed well with a 9th in a decent field. No training done in September at all...save for fun miles done in August. No intervals...just blissful dirt roads and miles. 

The well known Boulder Cup weekend came WAY early this year with rumors that a certain Sven Nys would show up given his 'proximity' to the venue being in Vegas and all for Cross Vegas. But alas, we were not blessed with his presence but had a great time on yet another insanely hard course set up by Chris Grealish and Joe DePaemelaere. Here I am bombing the stairs with Shawn Hadley, MTB stud and what I'm finding to be as another good guy master. We're having great fun this season slaying each other. 

Some days you feel great and put your best foot forward to race, others you just train through. The Xilinx race was just that...slipped pedal at the start, some bad tactical decisions and then the mind said: this is dumb, just train and go shred. And alas, that's what happened. In this shot I actually yelled to the great Mr. Shawn Curry to 'get ready!' and I hucked that roller every lap. Schoolboy fun. Finished the race with some fun training. 

The rest of September played out super fun. Felling better with a podium appearance at the Green Mountain Sports cross in Littleton....and in each race, having fun by pulling wheelies across the line....

So, back in to the thick of it. Zero training, only racing thus far, having IMMENSE fun and enjoying this community we have. Let's hope October brings some good weather and start to make those dirt parking lot criterium heroes second guess why they are doing cross 'this late in the season.'

Bring it, October. 

Purging things from our basement, I uncovered a goldmine of old pictures from 'the day'. Many were from when we'd just moved to Colorado from San Francisco in October of 2004. It made me reflect upon the amazing community we have here, great times and memories of great races....and more recently, the dream of seeing my son's do the same. We're all still learning, even after 18 years of putting numbers on my back for this sport. I can't stop. Won't stop (tm - Michael Cody). 

2004

October at the CU Research Park...a.k.a: The worlds crappiest cross course. Opperman and me slaying each other. I think he won that day. I think I passed out as this was my first race at altitude. 

2005

Racing for and managing Bobby's Rocky Mounts cross team. We were a crappy squadra but well loved. This was States, Cat 3s I think. I won some races but not this revered one at Xilinx. It still is one of my favorite courses. 

2006

States again at Xilinx, this time I move up to the fast old guys, the 35s. Great weather that year. Jon C motored all of us. Couldn't catch that guy as I remember each time on the pavement he was a blur scooting away from us, then each time in the mud/technical we'd accordion that machine back. 

2007

35's States, Lyons, CO, 17 degrees. I had frost nip for 4 months after this race. 

2008

Cross Vegas UCI race. It was like racing in an oven. When Frischy caught me at minute 50, that was that...but it was a dream come true. 

2009

Cross Vegas UCI race again...more oven. 

2010

35's, States, the first year of the BCS Ambassador squad. That's Pete throwing hup at me. 

This was Aiden's first 'season' - he did a few races and fell in love. 

2011

Xilinx, men's open, hotter than Hades. 

Aiden getting some at States at Castle Rock. 

2012

USGP, 35s, massive field, great day and most perfect conditions. 

Aiden bos-rijden at Xilinx, Blue Sky Cup. 

Seamus in his first year of racing the beautiful sport with three to go. States, Castle Rock. 

2013

Blue Sky Cup, 35's, slipped pedal at the start - literally put me DFL, and had to fight back all day. Anvil material. 

Aiden pushing hard at Primal Palooza in Golden at a horse farm. We got poop on us all day. 

Seamus showing fine Boulder Junior Cycling form at Primal Palooza in Golden. 

On to 2014. More memories to be had as this whole story evolves. Proud to be part of this community and fabric of characters who call themselves Colorado crossers. Lots more photos collected over the years found here in my Flickr repository. You may see yourself in there! SO many great photographers out on the race course every weekend it's incredible. Dejan Smaic, Shawn Lortie, Terri Irsik-Smith, John Flora, Mountainmoon Photography, Daniel Dunn, Yann Ropers, Bo Bickerstaff, Green Curry Photography, and many many more. Thanks for being out there and making memories.