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Results up! 13th I can live with that 🙂
Will I need an airshot to get them on?
probably not (esp if you use a bit of watery soap)
I’d like to race a couple but hard to put in any training at the moment, especially being unsure if there will be any races relatively local.
I’d like to race a couple but hard to put in any training at the moment, especially being unsure if there will be any races relatively local.
To be honest most of the training during the season occurs during the races! Best bet is get entered and see if you like it 🙂 Where's relatively local?
Yeah up until the 19/20 season I was a pretty avid cross racer but obvisouyl last year didnt happen at all. Local is welsh league but not much on the calendar.
Also in the 19/20 season, i pretty much raced every welsh race and then traveled when no local race so had a super full season from Sept to Feb, whihc on reflection sacrifed too much family time, so I'd kind of decided I wouldnt race every race and try to stick to an hours drive radius unless could make a family weekend of it. Sure I'll find th oppurtunity to get between the tapes at some point!
Was nice to get out and see everyone again, shame I couldn't race due to going over on my ankle on Saturday - but it should be good for the next round.
My entire tribe were out on the U10 and U8 races, first up was No.2 & 3 sons in the U8 with No.2 taking the win, he just needs to stop looking down / behind as the amount of times he nearly crashed were ridiculous and No.3 in his first race ever not coming last!
It was then the turn of No.1 son at his bogey venue, he got off to an absolute flyer, 10 seconds up after the first lap and working his way into the U12 field and then the nerves got the better of him, puked up in the pits and pulled out!
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Honestly, you can ride whatever you want bar fixed wheel. No one will notice or care.
But...... take off the bar bag, seat pack, reflectors, clown horn. And make sure you don't lap other riders if your bike has those. People will hate you. 😀
Local is welsh league but not much on the calendar.
Still just Tredegar and Singleton, I think? Singleton is brilliant for me, just a 2 minute roll down the hill.
Anyone race in the Lincolnshire league? I've never raced before but as I'm moving abroad in the new year I feel I should do a race before I go. I've got my eye on the Woodhall Spa round, as it looks a bit woody/mtbish.
Only got WTB Nanos, which are a bit big?
The nanos will be ok whilst it's dryish - nothing to worry about if you're just giving it a whirl. They'd be bad in the mud to the extent of failing to proceed, so an earlier race a better bet.
OK, bought the tyres and an Airshot, it was all going well, until I tried to get my wheel back in the frame....
Planet X XLA won't take 38mm.
Any options for 35mm tyres?
Anyone want to buy a 38mm Vittoria Wet
https://www.wiggle.co.uk/vittoria-terreno-wet-g20-cx-tyre
Anyone at the National Trophy this weekend?
100 starters in vet!
With late season XC races I've barely been on the CX bike so not exactly expecting much other than getting my ass handed to me but looking forward to it.
Well, I've entered WMCCL Round 4 (Shrewsbury).
Managed to fit Vittoria Terreno Mixed 33mm, so will see how I get on with them. Long term plan is to get some wet ones on another set of wheels.
Any tips? This will be my first race!
Go as hard as you can off the start, maintain that effort and don't crash
I had an entry to Derby @2tyred but have had to bail with a cold unfortunately - immune system powerless in the face of the kid's going back to school.
Have a good one - was looking forward to racing that venue.
Entered tomorrow in the vets. Free for all on the start line. Looking forward to the 2 hour drive at 6am! 🙂
Come on then, what tyre pressure?
Tubeless Vittoria Terreno All-round 33mm and I'm just under 80kg.
I normally go rock hard but I guess this is the wrong strategy for this kind of race!
Start at 40psi and go down from there.
I'm running low 20s, but 15kg lighter than you.
In the mud, as low as 18PSi but i weigh 62kg. Never had to really think about not being in the mud, even the idea of not having to run mud tyres is alien to me!
Start 25psi geomickb and see how it feels on the course. You could lower this to around 20 if it was heavy mud, and for a dry smooth course you could raise it as you feel.
If you absolutely must be a roadie about it then 50psi is bad but you can prob get away with it early season. It's only when the weather comes in that this will put you on your aris.
A good starting point @geomickb is body weight in pounds, divide by 10 and add 10.
So 80kg x 2.2 = 176
176/10 = 17.6
17.6 + 10 = 27.6psi and take it from there
One thing I found about tyre pressure set up, is if using a track pump, the gauges are not that accurate, as they are designed for higher road bike pressures. I have two track pumps and they read very different, over 5psi different at low pressures and well over 10psi at higher pressure. So you may think you are putting the right pressure in, but it can be a good way out and effect your grip.
So for checking accuracy one of those handheld digital gauges is useful, Or alternatively get one of the battery powered compressors with the digital set point. I found these much more accurate and can get desired pressure time and time again.
Great, thanks all.
Yes, my track pump gauge belongs in a joke shop. I have ordered a separate gauge (hence the question!).
I think I'm going to put 40 in and ride round a field a bit, then decrease and see how I go.
I guess this is a bit like doing running races, you don't know what shoes you will need until you see the course and conditions.
Is it Ok to just turn up for my race or do people normally get there early and watch them all? I'm planning on taking the family and not sure if they will get bored?
NT at Derby was brilliant, so good to be in a big race again!
Didn't quite make the top half of the results, but as my lovely wife pointed out I'm very much at the older end of the v40 field now so shouldn't be too downbeat about it! My first lap is always terrible, I'm too slow off the line and someone walloped into the back of me early on, spinning me round 90 degrees. Shipped loads of places then felt like I took ages to get up to speed, wasn't really passing people until later in the race. Smashing course, I love scaffy bridges, makes it feel like you're in Belgium.
Tyre pressure? Too complex to put a number on! Depends on the tread you're using, what the course is like, what the weather's like etc etc. I'm about 80kg and use tubeless clinchers with around 20psi sometimes. Low pressures give you more grip on slippy surfaces but tread also plays a big part in that. That's what course practice is good for - when I've got the time, I'll take a guess at a reasonable starting pressure, then head out to get an idea and make an adjustment if it needs it. 2nd practice lap will be a hot lap (time permitting) where if I'm needing grip I take the approach of wanting to feel the rim 2 or 3 times on the lap. Less than that and I can let out some air, more than 3 and I probably need more.
Turn up whenever you like, just don't be late to sign on. Unless you know the course well, a practice lap or two is worthwhile, if only for getting an idea of tyre pressure. Factor in time for chatting, CX racing is very social!
Hopefully this fixes my chain drop issues 🙂
I did actually plan the cable run / cable stops in case I ever ran this hub. Just didn't consider this shifter location (the bar end shifter smacks my knee).
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I did actually plan the cable run / cable stops in case I ever ran this hub. Just didn’t consider this shifter location (the bar end shifter smacks my knee).
The question is what hurts more? Smacking your knee or tearing your balls off on the shifter? 🤣
Neither was an issue - completely out of the way - it is fairly flat against the top tubes and far enough forward to be away from knees. And that position is just temporary to see if I liked it.
Turns out you only need a handful of changes per lap and was super reliable. Felt like it was sucking a little power when maxed out uphill in low ratio on the first lap, but still ended up racing the usual people at usual pace. Even a sprint finish. Flat bars and thumbshifter would be very effective for punching out of corners. Handy being able to shift whilst pushing up embankments ready for remount.
Sealing isn't jetwash friendly, but as the frame and drivetrain never clog, it never needs jetwashing!
Well, I didn't fall off but did come last.
I'm amazed how much skill is involved.
Riding cambers was terrifying but my tyres did hold OK.
At least now I have a goal: not last. 🙂
Did you actually come in last place? There were a couple of DNFs in the seniors/vets so if you finished you beat them.
I love racing in the west mids league, I am definitely placing towards the back each time but always racing someone.
well done for finishing @geomickb - you'll soon find yourself in races "towards" the back.
Talking of skillz, I need to brush up my starts - I get gridded mid-pack, which is where I end up but always lose out in the 1st lap. In 2 races I've made up 22 places and then 12 places after the end of lap 1 - I wonder how much better I could do if I wasn't so shit off the line. I think maybe I need to get off the side and just smash it as I'm obviously not enough of a bastard in the mix
Yeah but surely being the last person who didn't DNF is last? I was last off the line and didn't overtake anyone so I'm pretty sure we can't dress it up. I was last. 😀
Yeah but surely being the last person who didn’t DNF is last
It depends how you tell it, and who you're telling it to. If you were on the podium but there were only three in the race you were still on the podium! (I once came fourth in the British MTB Hillclimb Champs.....)
I would tend to count the DNFs - if they started but couldn't finish that's their problem and they were still in the race.
I am considering giving cx racing a go, seen a few races up in Scotland, starting with round 3 of the national series in Falkirk in a few weeks time
I have a cx bike, but other than that I have zero experience of cx racing, or for that matter any racing other than tt’ing and a few endurance mtb events. I’ve done zero specific training for Cx races, however I have a reasonable level of fitness but I think my strengths would be wholly unsuitable for cx racing, ie I’m light, good at climbing, and have zero top end
Am I destined to make a tit out of myself/come dead last if I enter, or are these races filled with loads of beginners? I appreciate the beauty of cx racing is that no one really knows where you come in the field l, but I still don’t really fancy coming dead last!
Am I destined to make a tit out of myself/come dead last if I enter, or are these races filled with loads of beginners? I appreciate the beauty of cx racing is that no one really knows where you come in the field l, but I still don’t really fancy coming dead last!
Just go for it, although entering a National Trophy event is probably not the best way to get started. Try something in a smaller league first would be my reccomendation. Thye're usually filled with various abilities, beginners or not. You'll get experience just from having a go, don't get hung up on positions on your first race, get there early to get some practice in between races, watch other riders during the other races, even the youngsters as a lot of them may be undergoing training so they're learning to ride well. Don't ride your first race with 40 PSI in your tyres!
I would say just go for it.
Lack of skill/bravery was the reason I came last. Get the right tyres/pressures and practise riding cambers and really (really) tight turns.
I was talking to the guy who works in the local shop who is a bit of a cyclist. He told me that he tried a CX race once and he found it so hard that he let his tyre down and pretended that he had a puncture, so that he could bail! At least I finished! 🙂
Yikes, CX got real, have just entered Fife College, Camperdown (Scottish Champs) and Rouken Glen.
After a great summer I had to take two or three weeks 'off' as in very few hours riding etc. Also need to devote a fair amount of time to strength and physio work at the moment. So with those excuses out the way I've got three weeks of maybe 5-6 hours a week to get the engine revving again before Fife College (usually a mud-fest so maybe I should keep my twice weekly run going!).
Am thinking 1 turbo session mid-week, a 'thrashing round a field' CX session on a Friday, and a 3hr gravelly/CX ride on Sunday. Just wondering what best outdoor session might be, should I focus on the 6 x sprint-then-2 minute efforts to replicate starts, or just do multiple laps sprinting out of corners and trying to hold threshold for 10 minutes at a time?
Frustratingly I still haven't found 'muddy-off-camber-gold' for practising my skills on, almost tempted to take the CX bike down some local enduro trails but don't fancy smashing roots with my 33mm tyres!
Well done @geomickb Here’s a pic of me at my first cyclocross race
I just overtook the rider in front of me at the end but we were last across the line.
The next cyclocross outing was nearer home in the Welsh league at Hereford.
Behold the gurn! 😄 Had the pleasure of making @IdleJon and @ferrals acquaintances over the years although I no longer bring a flask of chowder to races for apres threshold consumption (eh Jon 😉 ) Bringing it up to date I raced over in the western league a couple of weeks back down in Frome. Took a shoeing but came 16th in the end. Looking forward to either Welsh or western races hopefully. I love cyclocross. It’s very friendly, fun and gets under your skin.
Anyone at Westmorland National Trophy this weekend? We'll be on marshall / crossing point duty tomorrow. For the first time might actually not be standing in the rain all day....
I'm marshalling as well mick_r - Sunday though.
See there's a race in the calendar at Stonyhurst college - I do not know this seat of learning but a new venue is always good.
"Just wondering what best outdoor session might be, should I focus on the 6 x sprint-then-2 minute efforts to replicate starts, or just do multiple laps sprinting out of corners and trying to hold threshold for 10 minutes at a time?"
Which one are you least good at? 😉
I'm not doing Westmorland as I royally cocked up with my bookings, somewhow managed to book Towneley Park twice instead of Westmorland, no idea how that happened. Anyway we'll be training with the club
on Moor Park tomorrow instead!
Stonyhurst (large private school where some of Harry Potter was filmed) should be good, it's just round the corner from me. Tim Lawson is organising and he's pretty excited about the venue so it should be a welcome change. There's another NWCCA race just round the corner from me for the Longridge Rotary Cross being organised by my club (Red Rose Olympic) although I'm not at liberty to say exactly where it is yet!
Thanks for the tip-off, hadn't seen Stonyhurst. My first thought was it would be Longridge Rotary organising but looks like it is Tim who is fairly local to there. Should be interesting.
Don't yet know where the Longridge one will be - I really enjoyed their Brock riding stables one.
Edit: cross post with Benji. Give us a clue for Longridge 🙂
Which one are you least good at?
Haha. Not to worry, had fun scoping out a lap of the local football pitches taking in all gravel/sand traps, some slidey looking embankments and every square inch of off-camber embankment.
Strava reckons 3 minutes a lap so will do 4 laps hard, rest, repeat etc.
Unless I get spotted and laughed at by dog walkers or god forbid school kids, in which case I'll go find somewhere less conspicuous to plod about 😂
@13thfloormonk - Dirty 30's are as good as anything. Football pitch, Ride 30 secs hard, dismount & 30 secs run, remount & ride 30 secs easy, Repeat 10 times. BC have linked to some CX training on Training Peaks
https://www.trainingpeaks.com/blog/top-cyclocross-workouts-for-fall
Unless I get spotted and laughed at by dog walkers or god forbid school kids, in which case I’ll go find somewhere less conspicuous to plod about 😂
I know the perfect park for cross interval training. Football pitch and gentle banks at one end to do repeated sprints, dismounts, etc, and steep banks up the other end to get used to that unholy feeling of trying to get up a slippery Mt Everest with 30lb of mud-clogged bike on your back.
Unfortunately it’s the park in the area where I grew up. Kids used to congregate there to smoke and drink when I was young - I doubt it’s any better these days. I’m not sure how they’d react to my stumbling past in full Lycra, red faced and panting, bike on shoulder for no apparent reason. Repeat 2 minutes later for an hour or until the kids start shouting abusive words at me and throwing bottles…
Maybe in the dark? Very late?