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I managed to complete only 4 CX races, much less than expected but children, work and general life responsibilities kept me away from doing more.
I'v never ridden a drop bar bike before purchasing my semi CX On-One Bish Bash Bosh last summer, ready to join the gravel fad masses and attempt some CX over the winter.
The Bish Bash Bosh is an amazing bike for what I have put it through this last 8 months. Bombproof, looks great, value and spec. (although I upgraded the stock wheels within a month)
The serious guys are machines with fitness levels what beyond I could ever imagine. They are on another level!
Sliding down an off camber, muddy, rooty bank with 33mm tyres and drop bars is insane, followed by multiple get off and run up steps and over barriers.
Its a good test of bike handling skills and overall fitness. Great fun.
I see quite a few CX related posts on here, anyone from the Eastern (east anglia) CX League around? You probably passed me. Sorry if I cut you up or hampered your progress in any way.!
Deffo signing up for some more races next year.
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My introductory season finished before christmas, three excellent but muddy rounds of the Scottish series.
Like you I'm hooked! Loved the courses, lots of cornering, singletrack and mud, and loved the elbows out racing, even battling for some demeaning place at the back of the back I would still be strategising about each overtake.
Looking forward to next year, I'll still be using my 29er MTB, but have spotted some opportunities for big, easy weight savings (swapping to rigid forks, removing redundant dinner plate sprockets, posh tyres).
Also have learned from my mistakes and will be warming up properly! No more 2nd lap near-asthma attacks...
Neat.
Fun! Great sport and good pictures!
Cheers
Yep warm up a must. I need to work on that.
Sadly the eastern league Sunday schedule is rammed so you rarely get a chance to do a sighting/warm up lap after the previous race and before the whistle call to the grid.
I was surprised at the overall fitness level of the group, I reckon I'm in the bottom 25% for my age bracket and I'd consider myself reasonably fit. It was a big shock during my 1st race!
The lead guys are another world away.!
Ohh and the top guys doing bike swaps each lap with a pit crew, it's good to watch.
My first introduction to a cross race lasted all of 30 seconds after sprinting into a massive pile up at the first bottle neck after the start sending me and bike several feet in the air. I came out alright but the bike suffered a snapped fork so that was that. It got me hooked instantly. 😀
I also raced the Eastern League (Rds 1, 2 and 16 at Milton) after buying a Pickenflick last summer. I had been booked in to race more, but missed 3 or 4 rounds for various reasons.
Have to say its a lot of fun, cant wait until next season.
After the shock of the first race, I have made a conscious effort to improve my fitness since September, and finished in an improved place on sunday, so I hope to be able be a bit more competitive next year.
<div>13thfloormonk
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My introductory season finished before christmas, three excellent but muddy rounds of the Scottish series.
I would highly recommend the Super Quaichs for next season too! Ok the course was a swamp, but the format seemed to make the racing tighter.
This is my first season too. Borrowed a bike for SCX rnd 1 which coincided with the first storm of the winter - brilliant day out 🙂 Kept the bike for rnd 2 at Irvine Beach, much more of a power course but great fun being in a battle with a lad for the last 4 laps as he kept powering away only for me to catch in the technical/sand sections - bastard got me in the end though!
Bike purchased after that, will have ticked off 7 or 8 races by the end of the winter. Might now consider summer to be off-season 🙂 Massively jealous of people with a second bike!
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: 12.8px;">I was surprised at the overall fitness level of the group, I reckon I’m in the bottom 25% for my age bracket and I’d consider myself reasonably fit. It was a big shock during my 1st race!
Oh yeah, I got exactly the same sort of shock! Someone pointed out in the other CX megathread that CX racing is quite selective and tends to attract the fitter guys and girls, unlike say MTB races or Sportives which are less daunting. Plus for me most of my 'fitness' is over longer steadier rides.
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: 12.8px;">Sadly the eastern league Sunday schedule is rammed so you rarely get a chance to do a sighting/warm up lap after the previous race and before the whistle call to the grid.
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I don't stress about warming up on the course, the difference between a half empty course during warm up and a crowded course during the race means I'm frankly flattering myself if I think I'll be able to stick to any of my carefully chosen lines! The last round of the Scottish series that I entered (Lochore Meadows) I only managed about a third of a lap practice and genuinely don't think it made a difference. Probably more important if you're racing at the sharp end...
They don’t seem to know about mud in America but I like the skills some of these USA nationals riders are exhibiting:
Wouldn't be too bothered about racing a course blind - you'll always figure it out. It just might take you a couple of laps, though, so if you want to do well it's good to get a look at things. Agree it can be a bit of a rush - my kids race earlier so getting everything organised on the day felt hectic until I figured it out.
Find it's decision-making on technical stuff that's really important in cross - either run it, or ride it - do not change your mind half way through! That's when five blokes ride past you.
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: 12.8px; background-color: #eeeeee;">I would highly recommend the Super Quaichs for next season too! Ok the course was a swamp, but the format seemed to make the racing tighter.</span>
Just practicing my quoting, but also yeah, I was planning one or two SQs but had exhausted my wife's patience, plus wanted to prioritise my long distance training (which ironically resulted in a buggered knee...).
Next year perhaps!
Goddamit, I even previewed that post and it looked OK! Try again...
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: 12.8px; background-color: #eeeeee;">I would highly recommend the Super Quaichs for next season too! Ok the course was a swamp, but the format seemed to make the racing tighter.</span>
Had some steps like that at Newbury - I reckoned I could hop them, but bottled it when it came to it 🙂
The lead fellas always amaze me - just makes you think how fast do you have to be to go pro, as I can't imagine how you step up from there.
Yes good point about racing the course 'blind'.
I'm always stuck in the pack on the first 2 laps so I can hardly choose my favorite/tested lines anyway as I'm usually avoiding crashes.
Yes although CX is generally marketed as a genre for all levels it is quite obvious that the majority of the field are seasoned CX racers, coming from a summer of club riding and road racing etc. I've never considered myself to be fast but it was quiet an eye opener to how slow I actually am!
I was equally surprised at how friendly the other racers were, being lapped generally included a few encouraging words from the passing rider. Inspiring.