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Yeah, fair enough, I just figured since I wasn't going to be chasing any sort of significant placing, I'd rather get my money's worth out of the race and keep riding!
this. And me n Munqe-Chick have both loaned pit bikes to racers without spares who've had a mechanical - in her case despite the bike being way too small it was quicker than him running and carrying for half a lap (snapped Di2 Mech 😯 ) and he actually managed to maintain his placing and was sufficiently chuffed to get a finish line pic with MC and her tiny pit bike 😆 In fact thinking about it MC has also finished a race on a borrowed bike when we didn't take spares.
Spare wheels are a cheaper option, but spare bikes seem to be more abundant in pits than 'just' wheels.
I've had 1 puncture in 2 seasons on clinchers - a front pinch flat from insensitive riding - and (Sods law no pit bike that week) I managed to finish on it as it as on the last lap, and with a reasonable placing.
I've entered the last 4 Swindon floodlit races so equally nervous and excited for those...
Got the Wessex and a few westerns on the work calendar but haven't entered those as yet, sounds like I should be OK on the day if needed.
While I am here can anyone recommend a mech mount chainguide (cheaper the better!) To fit a TCX advanced? Thanks!
I got my first puncture in 3 years on Saturday. Along with another rider we'd got half a lap on the main field and were engaged in a private battle for the win. I attacked on a long drag and as I rolled the corner at the top nearly rolled the tyre off. As it was the last lap I shouldered and ran in losing one place.
Any earlier and I would have abandoned as I'm not interested in minor places as the league is best 5 from 9 races. Back when I first started I left gas and tubes in the pit so I could carry on racing. Was never going to trouble the winners so it was all about getting in as much racing for my money. It is still fun trying to work your way back up the field.
Never had a spare bike.
In a complete change of subject - anywhere doing good pro race coverage. I miss Svenness and there doesn't seem anything to fill the void. Don't speak Dutch or Flemish!
There is a guy who videos the belgium cx coverage and does a french commentary if you can speak french.. but its not the worlds greatest commentary. Better than listening to a language you don't understnad though... not that I fully understnad the french either!
Just wondering what peoples standard warm ups for cx are in terms of pre laps and pre-race?
I typically get there early enough so I can do 2/3 pre-laps before the vets race, which gives me time to clean bike if mucky, have an energy bar and soemthing to drink. Thne about half an hour before race I do 20 minutes: 5 mins easy spin, 5 mins threshold, then alternate between eas spinning and all out efforts for 10 minutes. That gives me ten mins to have another glug of water and get to the line. It seems to work well but it means a 1hr race ends up being a whole day out and with a young baby I'm more time constrained, especially if they are coming for the outing. I'm also wondering if doing less pre race might mean I'm less likely to fade toward the end of the race (which I tend to do). Thinking I might just do a warm up lap as my warm up then a couple of efforts. Should be fine so long as race not muddy, or just could use pit bike for practise so no cleaning necessary (pit bike only for emergencies as dont have a pit crew!)
My routine -
If the weather is bad have extra kit so I don't start the race cold and wet.
Normally 3 laps or 1 lap + the equivalent else where if restricted access.
First lap easy, look at the course and get the legs moving. Done from behind the barriers on foot if needed. One flying lap, probably about 75% mid race pace. Get the heart pumping and see if my line choices were good. 3rd lap, steady. Maybe hit a few sections hard that I got wrong on the previous lap.I like to have a few sharp efforts. That way the start is less of a shock to the system.
Then just gentle pedaling until the start. For the NECCL it isn't gridded officially. These days people just move over and let me on the front row but in the past it usually meant standing around for about 5 minutes or ending up at the back.
Food wise our races start at 1.30 and normally involve a drive or ride out.
Normal Breakfast. Light carb based lunch before i set off. Banana or bar on the way upto about 1 hour before. Sips of water or hot flask if cold. Gel on the start line (not sure it helps physically but it is part of my race routine for CX/HC/RR/TT and helps me mentally prepare if nothing else).
This is an ideal case. Last year as one of the organisers my race routine at more than half the events involved getting up at dawn, wondering around in the cold putting out tape and hammering pegs. Not eating or drinking then doing sign on before running over to the line last minute.
I'd been eyeing up some cheap rollers, I could bring my slick tyre commuter along and just piss about on rollers for 15 minutes to warm up (that's about as seriously as I'm taking this...).
Wondered if and when there was an opportunity for practice laps, the timetable for the SCXs looks quite tight, not sure if there's space between races for practice laps, will need to check.
Take3Tri have posted some prelim details on floodlight night race.
21st October - 7-10pm.
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link[/url]
I also used to send them to Pete Burgin for fixing when he was still around
Same but now I use Caffe Latex sealant for small punctures. Big rips and the tub gets junked.
mooman - Member£18 entry though ...
And the results are slower to arrive with chips than when it was a clipboard 😥 Very frustrating as I'm sure someone in WC just has to click 'upload.' Don't they realise how important it is that I know exactly where in the mid-pack mediocracy I'm sitting?? 😆
And the results are slower to arrive with chips than when it was a clipboard Very frustrating as I'm sure someone in WC just has to click 'upload.' Don't they realise how important it is that I know exactly where in the mid-pack mediocracy I'm sitting??
I'm assuming that they still record manually and compare the results. If not it's pathetic - I often used to lap score years ago and could get the results done within 30 minutes of the race. Less people were racing (around 50 for the senior race normally) but it really shouldn't take two days to get the results, especially if you are being charged for the technology.
I removed the rack, mudguards and road tyres from my trusty V-braked Crosslight 5T commuter, fitted a set of cyclocross tyres that had been lying in my shed for the past 13 years and headed to Hoghton Tower for a first attempt at cyclocross on Saturday.
The Vets race was well-subscribed.
It was [b]great[/b].
Ok, disc brakes would be better, lower gears for the climbs might help and tubs might give more traction, but the actual bike wasn't the limiting factor.
...my rear wheel came out of the dropouts (QR not tight enough) half-way through the race and pedalling/pushing became "difficult" -I thought that the axle might have snapped and carried on, discovering at the end that the wheel had been retained in place by the V-brakes 🙂
It is a pity that XC racing through the summer isn't as popular as CX seems to be nowadays.
It is a pity that XC racing through the summer isn't as popular as CX seems to be nowadays.
3 times the price here. makes a difference to a lot of people.
thomthumb - Member
3 times the price here. makes a difference to a lot of people.
It would make a difference. The shorter lap/smaller footprint of CX courses possibly helps keep the price down.
Midweek Madness XC entry wasn't much different price-wise to NWCCA races, if I recall.
thomthumb - Member3 times the price here. makes a difference to a lot of people.
Most Welsh League cx races are £18 on day, and thats if you have BC membership and race licence ... how much is it for somebody to pay on day without BC membership? £28??
Will it price itself out of popularity like DH and xc??
I often used to lap score years ago and could get the results done within 30 minutes of the race. Less people were racing (around 50 for the senior race normally) but it really shouldn't take two days to get the results, especially if you are being charged for the technology.
CXNE have the results from all races available on the day, sometimes within 30 mins of the last race, online, using chips.
Less people were racing (around 50 for the senior race normally)
I think there were only about 30 in senior on sunday... keep increasing the prices and we can go back to everyon starting at once 😆
Will it price itself out of popularity like DH and xc??
off topic but did anyone else do the XC series questionnaire from BC when they were sugesting tey were going to increase the price of xc raceing even more??
CXNE have the results from all races available on the day, sometimes within 30 mins of the last race, online, using chips.
Who is doing the chip timing? It seems to me when a third party company do the timing, times get put up promptly because its their livilihood to do a good service.
For the welsh league its welsh cycling chip timing so I don't think they care in the same way about providing a service as its such a minor part of their remit. We rarely get individual lap times (even for the xc series when there are a lower and pre-defined nubmer of laps ffs), there is no consitency about where the results are put, or their format.
Smartiming do the NDCXL, NE, Yorks and Trophy chip timing and as said above get the results out online almost instantly (Not necessarily at Trophies as the UCI cat results have to go to the UCI first).
how much is it for somebody to pay on day without BC membership?
A day licence is £3.
3 times the price here. makes a difference to a lot of people.
I'm literlally arguing with my self on the internet but it's not 3 times. it's 2 times.
CX £15
XC £30.
I think there were only about 30 in senior on sunday... keep increasing the prices and we can go back to everyon starting at once
Splitting the fields was a mistake. Most of us who have raced for years like having to someone to actually race against, which means having a bit of aggro on the start line. 30 riders feels like riding a muddy time trial. Splitting the field seemed to be demanded by new riders who couldn't cope with so many other bikes around them.
Chip timing? Completely irrelevant for cross because it's not a time-based discipline. All I need to know is my position and the position of other riders I'm competing with. Paying for a club to use chips because it makes their day easier isn't something I want to do.
Paying a surcharge to enter online also annoys me. I'm a BC member - why am I being charged extra to use the frankly appalling BC website?
Not at all surprised that entries are dropping. These things add cost and complexity that isn't needed.
Anyway, I feel like I've got tonsillitis today. I'm off work lying on the sofa and have nothing better to do than be grumpy! 😆
The problem with XC racing (for me) is that there isn't the density of races, there are only a handful over the year. That and they are short. You drive and get ready to only race for an hour or 2. This is fine in autumn when the weather is bad but in the middle of summer I'd rather be out all day.
Our local NECCL league runs at the same time as the CXNE. We support 2 leagues up here with more than 20 races in the season. The NECCL charges £7 for members to race (£12 for annual membership of the TLI).
I thught CXNE did their own chip timing. Could be wrong. It helps get the results out fast. When you are trying to work out prizes it can be a bit slow doing it by lap counting. Normally when a fast vet or junior takes an overall prize and you have to figure out how the prizes roll down.
I know it's not strictly the point, but what else can you do for an exciting hour that costs <£20 ?? I'd rather the promoting club was able to pay the volunteers some fuel money and put on a class event than scrimp around.
I don't think any races should take place without chips in this day and age, the ease of use and speedy results (in theory) are worth a couple of quid. Then you can give out cool stuff like a table of lap times etc which all adds interest. Especially as Garmin autolap normally gives you about 7000 laps on a cross course 😆
I'd rather the promoting club was able to pay the volunteers some fuel money and put on a class event than scrimp around.
How many do this? Certainly not one of the club events I ever helped with. Have things changed that much in the fifteen years since I last helped out?
I'm pretty certain the GR events only manage to break even due to the proceeds from the cake stall. The moral of the story - eat more cake!
I don't mind the £14 personally, [b]if[/b] we got provisional results posted on the sunday and a set of lap times not just an overall time
30 riders feels like riding a muddy time trial
And inevitably when that happens I get bored, slow down and suddenly find I'm being overtaken in the last lap as I've totally lost concentration on what I'm supposed to be doing 😳
I don't mind the £14 personally,
£14 is ok. It's when it creeps closer to £20 that I have a problem. My race is only 40 minutes. I can enter a 24 hour race for just over £40!
Valid point!! And you get free camping with a 24hr race (I think?)
After doing a grand total of 0 cx races last season I'm intending on hitting a few central league races this winter. Will be riding V40 with the sole aim of not being lapped....
As an organiser (and racer) in the ever growing London League, I'm flipping glad that we have chip results.
As an organiser (and racer) in the ever growing London League, I'm flipping glad that we have chip results.
Don't get me wrong - if I was still helping organise then I'd love it. As I've said though, I've got a problem with it when we get charged for it because of the supposed added value but the results still take as long as second class post.
Love cx racing. All the joy and good spirits of the 90s xc racing with none of the expense, ego or soullessness of modern xc.
Appears the Central league is ahead of the game, has live lap times.
Anyone raced an Arkrose?
Uh-oh, my last two 'training' rides have identified the running as a *massive* weakness of mine.
I actually thought I'd be OK, I've always found the legs to run up and down short sections when I've been hillwalking, but it seems when I've been maxing out on the pedals beforehand I'm reduced to an undignified trudge up the several sets of wooden steps on my wee lap.
My only consolation is that two of the sets are quite long and steep (circa 100 steps each on a steep gradient) and also slippy awkward wood, so hopefully harder than anything I'd encounter on a CX course.
Anyway, focus on training for the run-ups, or just keep mashing round my 1hr lap every other day, decisions decisions...
My running is awful.. running up steps/banks even moreso. However, as a consolation prize it seems most average cyclocrossers are equally bad so after the first couple of laps everyone is trudging 😆
Finally saw results from last w/e, 9th in senior which I'm happy enough with. Its a good result for me (equalling my best ever placing) but a few people were missing which would have knocked me down I'm sure.
Anyone at Wessex (Newbury) this weekend? I'm doing novice on the basis I haven't raced anything but to the chip shop for around 15 years, and it's closer to the U10s (have two sons with me in that).
Bottle cages off, Michelin Muds on, bargain Boardman SPDs on and the tripster is a racing machine. Shame it's not that easy to do me 😀
As I've said though, I've got a problem with it when we get charged for it because of the supposed added value but the results still take as long as second class post.
Fair point but if I were to charge for my time in sorting out paper results it would cost a lot more than a pound or so a rider!
My running is awful.. running up steps/banks even moreso. However, as a consolation prize it seems most average cyclocrossers are equally bad so after the first couple of laps everyone is trudging
Ha, excellent, not too fussed about results on paper, so long as I'm not visibly the slowest guy by miles trudging up a hill that everyone else is galloping up 8)
Brass neck, how did you get on?
I saw a tripster laying down and it reminded me of this thread...couldn't remember the user name and didnt want to ask random people of they were from STW...!
Took the kids (2&5 years) for nearly 2 hours including a little picnic, 5 year old wants to race which is good but 2 year old was doing her best to get knobbly tyre prints on her....!
London X league at Herne Hill today was super fun. Brief rain shower just before the off made everything slippery and the Vets field was packed full of fast guys. 90 starters in the V40 I heard!
Crashed 3 times in one lap. Toned it down a bit after that.
Round 2 of the Welsh league was at Llanishen school today, the last couple of years have been dry but this year there had been plenty of rain. It's been one of my favourite courses so far and being muddy only made it better. It did mean I was wishing I had a bike in the pits by the last few laps but had family with me so no space. Can't believe I didn't lose a mech as it was properly clogged at the end.
Gridded on the front row but had an atrocious start, missed my pedal, then couldn't clip in second time either, by that time the next three rows had streamed past. Had to expend a lot of energy getting past a few people but then had a great race battling with two other guys was cut and thrust for the entire race till I messed up a hairpin with quarter of a lap to go and lost them. ended up 11th out of 47 which I'm still not quite pleased with, if I'd had a good start think I could have had another top ten.
Wa quite surprised to see a couple of people going off course on one section where there was a break in the tape at the start of a long muddy slog next to some hard pack gravel court, riding along the hard pack and then nipping back under the tape. Happened on a couple of laps. Can't really see the point, at the level we are at your only cheating yourself!
Good pub lunch with shedbrewed et al afterwards too.
Rd 3 of CXNE, at Kirkley cycles. given the rain this week, the course was very dry, really good condition. relentless lap, absolutely full on all the way round. had to swallow some sick on the 4th lap...
Gridded around 20th, and got 16th V40, lost a place on the last corner, trying to get 14th, slid out...
5 place improvement on Rd 1, my last race, so happy with that!
bring on Whitby next week 🙂
Took the kids (2&5 years)
If you were near the finish during the seniors they were probably playing with our 2 & 5 yo.
Really enjoyed the first round, despite arriving late and having to ride with no warm up or sighting lap.
Nice video up here: [url]
I had a good weekend in the NECCL. Attacked on the first lap to open up a small gap. Built on it over the next 50 minutes to take the win. Course suited me - 50 minutes of short sharp intervals as it was lumpy with a slow going slightly boggy grass surface.
Not going to make it to a CXNE for a while as I'm still focussing on the hill climbs which always clash. Took 2nd at Allen Valey Velo's double header so a good weekend of racing!
Great to see they had over 100 kids at the CXNE!
I never expected Llanishen to be the fast easy course some were saying beforehand; wet grass and mud made it tough.
Not the best start for me. Gridded right at back because of my DNF last week, and I stupidly positioned myself right in the middle of the row .. guaranteeing I was swamped with slower riders for practically half a lap.
Managed to get 10th, so hopefully be in a better start position next week.
Was amazed to see my HR averaged 180-185bpm the whole 45min race ... usually I am burned out within 5-10 mins running it so high on a chaingang ... not sure if it is a good or bad thing!
Fantastic course and racing for NDCXL rd2 at Markeaton Park in Derby. Markeaton is a past Trophy venue and has everything, it's also one of those rare courses that works when dry (like Saturday) and also as a mudbath (we go back there in mid-Nov).
Was nice to be riding yesterday at Llanishen. If you'd have told me that I'd be out there 4 months ago as I was lying in a hospital bed with two broken vertebrae I wouldn't have believed you. I started from the back, not expecting much and sure enough I was pretty much last place for the first couple of laps then began picking people off. Had a massive bonk around halfway which I'm putting down to 1) being unfit and 2) being massively tired due to lack of sleep from my little lad being ill/hospital trips in the last week. Finished 34/48* which I'll take. I even had to run the last sprint to the line as my chain had shipped. Was really nice to catch up with people as well, some new faces and some old.
*ferrals one of our riders was somehow chipped in juniors, so 48 racing, not 47.