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Nah, would have liked to, course sounds fun and the pics on the SCX FB page look cool, but can only take so much time away from the wee man, told my wife that CX racing would be ideal as they're all central belt and I'd only be away for 3 hours per race... 😀
I’ve got a wife and month old as travelling support by the look of it this weekend 🙂 I see at least one of them regretting the decision
IdleJon - MemberTake it easy Ferrals. Nothing worse than losing months of riding due to sickness because you weren't sensible enough to take a break.
Cheers Jon. Taken friday as holiday to sleep and will decide on Carmathen on the day, I'd skip it for sure but i love the mud there so might just head over to watch the vets and pootle round.
to late to edit. got a pit crew for sat so am definately racing 😆
few weeks off racing then though and to be honest can't wait.
Yes it's nearly the weekend who is racing where? Central League Round 3 for us at Leighton which was a good course last year although loos like they've extended it around the playing fields.. so we shall see how it rides. Looking like another fast dry race though so one for the roadies 😉
Should be venturing out to Longridge near Preston in the NW series - new course. Few turns in it like:
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Been injured for a month so done nowt, so prob be gasping at the back, but looking forward to getting back on the saddle.
Ferrals, you can lap me at Abergavenny if you want?
As I'm out of action for the near future, I thought I'd give an update on son No.1.Racing in the U8's in the NWCCA (he's 5) he rode his way to 11th overall and 8th boy, in a field of 23, oly 3 1/2 mins down on the winner, well chuffed.
Well done to him! My son has started racing this season and is loving every minute of it, even though a couple of crashes have cost him decent finishes. I would encourage any parent who is a keen cyclist to get their kids to give it a go as it really is great fun, and excellent conditioning for future riding. It doesn't even need to cost a lot - my son rides a £70 battered bike, which seems to take more maintenance to keep it rolling than the rest of the garage combined - and he's keen as mustard every week.
Wessex at Basingstoke for me on Sunday. Anyone here doing the night endurance CX at Abingdon in a couple of weeks?
Trophy at Derby for me tomorrow. In line to get a total spanking from messrs Jebb, Craig, Taylor and Lapere.
Somehow made it to #1 in the national rankings this week but they count for nothing once the big boys and girls come out to play 😆
That longridge course looks like it would make me dizzy!
Carmarthen tomorrow for me. I'm expecting/hoping for mud.
shedbrewed - Member
Ferrals, you can lap me at Abergavenny if you want?
😆 feeling much more positive now, took a day off today and feel alive again 🙂
Ferrals I felt dizzy long at the Longridge map!!!!
PDW yes me and crashtestmonkey are doing a mixed pair. We are racing Central League in the afternoon home for some food then out to do the night race! should be a laugh, we may race on MTB's though but shall see what the weather is like.
Fantastic race at Carmarthen yesterday, any disillusionment with racing well and truly gone 😆 best fun I've had racing in ages. Proper tooth and nail stuff.
Course was good, even with a spiral of doom in it. Muddy but not totally ridiculous. Proper cross course, long tarmac start finish straight lots of flat twisty stuff across the fields, a few gravel/track sections and three technical sections on steep banking with offcamber, run-ups and steep drops. By the time seniors raced it was pretty cut up though and I was relieved to have a pit crew for the first time ever, took a clean bike several times. Quite an interesting experiment as could really tell the difference between the muds (pdx's) on my main bike and the intermediates (mxp) on pit bike in terms of grip but didn't notice any change in rolling estistance.
After last week I took it pretty cautious at the start and then wound up the pace to pass people, getting to where I wanted to be by mid-lap, helped by some first lap chaos slowing people down. For the first half of the race, I was In a group of three having a decent battle but I made a mistake, couldn't close the gap and the same time another group closed up to me. Was sitting in the front three of that group with great elbows out rubbing is racing action, didn't realise the group had swelled to about 7 of us. With about two laps to go I drifted off line on one drop off and picked up a solid clump of mud that totally blocked my front wheel. By the time I'd stopped to get that cleared I was off the back of the group and stayed that way till the finish. Results wise won't be good as I lost so many places, but had such fun racing I don't care. Also means my initial goal of a top 10 in the series is out the window so I can take my personal pressure off and enjoy the racing
Basingstoke today....wanted to do the night CX but can't get it off work...!
Irvine done - ooft! After the muddy but twisty more technical track last weekend, that was just pure power! Only place I really had much of an advantage was in the sand, but it wasn’t enough to really get involved. Another mid-pack finish (which I imagine will stay standard until the end of time) 44th out of 100 starters in Open Senior
First round of the National Trophy at Derby for me yesterday in the Vet40 class.
Exciting racing and managed 21st which I was well chuffed with.
Bit sad that there's absolutely no mention of us oldies on the BC website. All the other cats got a write up or at least a mention, but nothing about the v40 and v50 which happened on the Saturday. 🙁
Good work guys....48th at Basingstoke for me. I like cross, it doesn't seem to like me!!
Really enjoyed Longridge - heavy, rainy conditions meant it was a constant battle to choose the best line so great racing from start to finish.
The hairpin festival on the map didn't materialise - first lap I was thinking wow, these corners really flow once you're on it, you barely notice them. Slowly dawned on me that they'd had a rethink and laid the course out differently 🙂
Congrats on the Nat Trophy placing.
Central League was pan flat, fast and relentless at Leighton Buzzard, a real power circuit with lots of long straights which really isn't my forte. As is the norm for this year the winner vanished like he was on a motorbike, I managed to get into the front 'chasing' group and had a race long battle with frequent position changes (Munqe Chick was so enthralled she sacked her warm-up and watched the whole race). After a brief and obviously futile and energy-burning stint in 2nd (done mainly for my ego 😉 ) , I bagged another (but still surprising) 4th in V40. I've no idea where this form came from and I just hope it sticks around 😆
MC had a race-long 2-way fight with a younger roadie who successfully attacked her and held a gap on the last lap, so MC again took the second step of the podium.
This Sunday is Hemel, hillier (usually my thing, but who knows) and the forecast is pretty much dry between now and then, and 17C on the day. Might get to dust off the file treads!
Rolling donut good result sadly this seems to be the BC norm and you've heard the nightmare the Vet women have had, there are some seriously disillusioned Vet women out there sadly as the BC dinosaurs continue to rule the roost in some ancient manner. Looked a fun course though.
MC - what has been the problem for the vet women? Alison only does the CX National Champs (where they usually get their own race) so haven't heard about what has been going on at the other National races. I know BC got a lot of hassle and had to backtrack when they weren't going to recognise the V60 womens MTB cat.
The Youth races also got ignored in the write-up, and they didn't exactly shout about the mega achievement of Hattie (1st year Junior) getting 2nd overall. All results finally on BC (but not linked to the review).
Oh and don't forget the Boxing Day Cross in Coventry which is just awesome! CYCLO-CROSS BIKES ONLY ... only time in the year you can ride on Kenilworth Common and it's like an MTB course.
Rolling donut good result sadly this seems to be the BC norm and you've heard the nightmare the Vet women have had, there are some seriously disillusioned Vet women out there sadly as the BC dinosaurs continue to rule the roost in some ancient manner. Looked a fun course though.
I'm as happy as anyone to give BC a kicking when they deserve it but the situation on Sunday was down to the chief comm on the day (Belgian UCI comm) implementing 80%, nothing to do with BC.
I'm thoroughly sympathetic as my OH is in the VW race but it's partly due to the new UCI rule saying that the UCI cats have to have their own separate races, at least when the junior men were in with the EW/VW it made 80%ing impossible. Bringing the rule in in July for immediate effect screws all the races that are already in the calendar as it's not always possible to make changes and give everyone a completely separate race.
Rds 4,5, and 6 will have a real dilemma on their hands.
Mick R, bear in mind I wasn't there and I'm not a Vet women but I somehow got added to a very large FB messenger thread about change and the way forward within CX for women (of all categories).
From what I can glean.. the Vet women started 2 minutes after the Elite/Junior/U23 women, then BC invoked the 80% rule and pretty much most of the Vet women got pulled some within 2 laps. When the width of the course, the regs (rule doesn't have to be invoked I believe) and the numbers racing meant that they could have carried on the race. The Vet men didn't have the 80% rule invoked so you had many Vet women coming back to racing, having travelled a long way to race for 2 laps.
And the fact that the Junior or U23 don't get a leaders jersey .. but that's another ball game.
I get the feeling misapplication of the 80% rule is becoming a real issue in the States (purely based on what i read on cxmagazine.com). It seems like it just needs better clarifiaction/guidance? Not a good way to start the national series. Did think the BC coverage was poor, always like to have a read and look at results of all cats to see how people are doing.... better than the mtb coverage though!!
The rule itself is dead easy to follow but like you say it comes down to when and how well it's applied. It's not obligatory until you get to World Cup level and above so all comes down to the chief comm on the day.
On Sunday it wasn't communicated well and the vet women have a legitimate grievance about it being applied to them when the time is taken from the Elite leader.
Rds 2 and 3 are having separate VW races so it won't happen there but like I say it's tricky for 4,5, and 6.
Last weekend was a UCI race which was why the Commissaire could call it and apply the 80% rule. I guess the issue is why wasn't it invoked in the men's race? Some simple maths (not by me so if wrong don't shoot me) means any man after 42nd should have been pulled in the Vets race.
4,5,6 struggling to have seperate race however 4 and 6 have indicated that they will run as last year which was WITHOUT 80% rule. This in itself makes it ridiculously complicated and doesn't encourage women to race. Imagine you'd travelled all the way to Derby to be pulled after 2 laps due to some inequality rule? I wouldn't bother going back, a very similar reason I won't race the Welsh Champs again until I'm a Vet.
Now we just need to get the lead female Junior a leaders jersey... as the boys already get. 🙄
It was invoked in the men's race, but only the UCI cat men's races (so MJ and ME), not MV as they aren't a UCI cat. That's why it's a legitimate grievance, as WV isn't a UCI cat but is lumped in with WE.
4+6 (prob 5 too) will put all the women back in with MJ which itself led to all the protests in the first place (and rightly) so it's still a mess.
The only way to solve it is for completely separate races for each separate category but that's a huge undertaking logistics wise and can't be done overnight. Based on numbers and development then you'd expect the Youth cats to be split completely first, esp. as youth boys has 130+ riders all on course at once.
The other option is to pull the whole series from the UCI calendar but that spanners development potential for a lot of the younger riders, male and female.
Agree 100% on the jerseys!
OK thanks for the explanation - I'll report back to the Mrs as we weren't aware what happened (think would have been OK time wise looking at the people she normally races with). Undecided if we'll bother with any Nationals this year - I hate the whole jetwash arms race they seem to have become.
Looks like a fair chunk of Juniors & Seniors also got pulled - with a total of 63 riders on the course it really wouldn't have been an issue to let everyone stay on. I wondered why so many finish times were missing, and as they don't show laps completed it is impossible to work out who got pulled when. Also unclear if the times for the vet women are taken from when they started or when the first wave set off.
Discussing the 80% rule on the Crosscast podcast!
SO who is racing where this weekend? We have Hemel... but this isn't cross it'll be a grass crit again with the weather forecast sun and 20 degrees I mean WTF!? With the leagues finishing before Christmas at this rate we won't have any mud.
Plenty of mud in Wales! Spent yesterday eve finalising/fine-tuning the Singleton course for the 5th November; subject to approval/risk assesment. Its going to be a cracker if I say so myself, less long climbs and more twisty bits than the champs.
No racing for me this w/e. Have a good one all who are. Looks like very small pre-entry for the Welsh league round so part of me thinks I'm missing out on a potential good placing, but then again never feels satisfying when you get a good position in a diminished field
Ferrals it seems EVERY Welsh League race so far has been muddy jealous! I raced Llanishen which was awesome then back to Central where it's bone dry and like summer. Any news on where the Welsh Champs are being held this year? Seems every other regional race is up except Welsh champs?
All racing Manchester. Every NW race has been muddy and don't expect this to be any different.....
Myself and youngest have been off bikes for 3 weeks with colds, so both expecting to get a battering.
Ferrals it seems EVERY Welsh League race so far has been muddy jealous!
Not really, Builth was bone dry despite there having been plenty of rain, Foxley was like a desert with no water in the stream crossings, Pembrey was Pembrey. Its only Llanishen and Carmarthen where theres been mud so far... I'm sure we've plenty more coming though 😀
On the FB page they said welsh champs venue should be announced by end of month.
Oh wow all the pics I had seen was off muddy welsh buddy CX bikes! Clearly they found all the puddles which you avoided 😉
Yorkshire Series at Huddersfield on Sunday. I expect last weeks 7th in V50 to be in jeopardy as the fieled will be back up to full strength after National Trophy absentees from Holmfirth last weekend. Things are definitely getting slipperier!
I was wrong - hardly any mud at Huddersfield! Just a bit greasy on the grass. It can't last - mud tyres arriving this week.
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Anyone got any thoughts on WTB Cross Bosses? Looking ropey for mud (especially for traction) but hoping for good news!
Manchester was also amazingly dry and mild. So much grip that Alison peeled a tub on the off-camber grass. It was always a gamble with tape, so time to start the gluing ritual tonight to be ready in time for next weekend.
V40-49 was 122 starters, so rather crowded again but always someone to race for us mortals back in mid-field.
Boys both happy with their races.
Enjoyed Heaton park, although did the senior race and was just trundling around on my own for most of it. Leaders were extremely rapid.mick_r - MemberManchester was also amazingly dry and mild. So much grip that Alison peeled a tub on the off-camber grass. It was always a gamble with tape, so time to start the gluing ritual tonight to be ready in time for next weekend.
I was glueing up last night and used some tufo 25mm tape for the first time - really nice and wide, be too wide for a lot of rims, but on a planet X 38 it's a perfect fit.
I'd better not mention it was Tufo (22mm) she rolled.... Freshly and very carefully applied 3 weeks ago. It is multi thickness and I think the thinner edges allow it to start peeling and then roll (never had an issue with the effetto tape).
In fairness she was running soft Limus tyres which probably generated an awful lot of grip on the steep camber.
I'm now 1 day into the hateful pot of glue ritual....
OOO Crashtestmonkey has disappeared from the thread probably as he is maybe on day 3 of gluing his tub.. and it's his first time.. I daren't ask!
Tonight is the point of no return - final coat of tacky glue and tyre meets rim......
In hindsight, eldest son's tubeless Schwalbe bites seem like a better solution.
I just glue (and tape) in one hit now - according to this guy:
Takes about an hour all in. I realise not letting the glue cure is unorthodox, but I did this last season and the tyres were fine, so I'm sticking with the method for now.