With the Ascent Cycling Mountain Bike Series only a month away, we thought it would be good to catch up with the guys at one of the coolest bike shops in town. Patrick Cross, who with business partner Clay Allison owns Ascent Cycling, took some time to answer a few questions.

Ascent Cycling recently celebrated its six-year anniversary, how has cycling in the Pikes Peak Region changed in that time?
Technology has changed so much in bikes in the past six years!  The fact that carbon fiber components and bicycles are more and more prevalent has made bikes lighter, stiffer and faster. And 29’rs have exploded on the scene doing for mountain bikes what snowboards and shaped skis have done for alpine winter sports. Speaking of alpine winter sports, we have seen a significant growth in ski area trail riding, downhill and park riding. Nowhere else in the country have these changes seen more growth than here in Colorado!

You’ve changed your business structure to focus on mountain biking and family biking, what’s your thinking there?
We live in the best area for trail access and family adventures. Santa Fe trail to Captain Jacks, Mt. Herman to Buffalo Creek there is something for everyone so close and fun that it made sense to put more focus on that side of cycling. Besides it’s what we are most excited about as cyclists and there is the old adage: Do what you love and do it well, the rest will take care of itself! We love riding with our families and we love mountain biking, now we are following that sage advice too.

You’re big into kids cycling. Why is that important to you?
My Mom and Dad always spent time with us growing up, and I know that’s why I’m still active and healthy. Clay grew up in New Mexico at a ski area with his family, so it’s a natural fit for him, too! There is little more rewarding than spending adventure time with the people you love the most in one of the prettiest places in the world. A life-long appreciation of nature, fitness, and fun is a great gift to pass on to our families.

Sand Creek Sports Bike Races
2012 Ascent Series Registration Form
2012 Release Form
Check the Sand Creek Sports website for more information

You’ve been a longtime sponsor of the Sand Creek Sports bike races and you're beginning your third year as title sponsor of the Ascent Cycling Series. What’s the attraction of sponsoring Andy’s mountain bike races?
Sand Creek has a good reputation of putting together fun, well organized races and when Andy approached us about bringing the series back it made sense to support his efforts. Front range racing had disappeared and we felt that the community could really benefit from getting that opportunity back locally. We are so excited that it has grown each year, the energy at each race is infectious, courses are fun and challenging, and the fan support at each event is inspiring with families and friends screaming for all the racers!

Word on the street is the 24 Hours of Colorado Springs originated with you guys. Tell us that story?
Tim Scott is the motor behind the 24 Hours of Colorado Springs, make no mistake about that!  We did, however, have an inside track on planting the seed that germinated into 24-hour racing here in the Colorado Springs. Clay is a longtime 24-hour racer, with roots all the way back to the 24 Hours of Canaan, and he shares that passion with anyone he can. Clay is a persuasive visionary who tugged on the right ear in Tim Scott and viola! 24 Hours of Colorado Springs became a reality!

You have your feet on the ground in the cycling community. What are your favorite projects and why?
We love cycling and are happy to contribute to the cycling community in as many ways as we can. We are actively supporting racing, we get involved with trail building efforts as often as we can and look forward to getting more involved with that as we move forward. This year we are really trying to get more kids on bikes to fight the growing issue of childhood obesity.

It sounds as if Ascent Cycling is evolving into something more than a bike shop. What do you see it becoming?
The great thing about being a local small business is that we can adapt and evolve quickly to meet the needs of our community. As we grow we anticipate getting more and more involved with trail advocacy and development, working with builders in considering bike path and access in new communities, growing the competitive race scene and just being the very best ambassadors of this great sport as we can!