@legend You should see my shed of tyres! All flavours accounted for. A couple of years ago it was all mud but the last few years have been drier.

Also….. file treads?! You guys live in a different world!

We have a few races in Pembrey, right on the coast. very well draining sandy soil, ground is either loose sand, compacted loamy soil or shot grass. Even in rain there is plenty of grip. It reminds me of some of the belgian courses you see on TV.  Should have a NT there I think.

This weekend we’ll be slogging round a flat low lying agricultural showground after three days of heavy rain. We’ll have our fill of mud!

I put a terreno wet on the back recently – meant to be the mythical fast rolling mud tyre. Certainly seems to roll well, but the tread seems very modest for a mud tyre. Not raced it in bad conditions yet so we shall see. Effortless set up like other vittoria TNT tyres I’ve used.

I’ve got Terreno Wets front and back, and had them for half of last season too. I really like them, shed well and do dig in well too ime. I run them tubeless so no puncture issues so far, been used in everything from moist right through to horrible thick (why dont I have a 2nd bike?) sludge

Welsh league race in Carmarthen cancelled due to amber weather warning from Storm Callum. Sensible but a real shame. Typically we normally race on sundays, this race is on sat and sunday is looking glorious.

I’d made this an A-race and tapered for it and everything!

I’ve got Terreno Wets front and back, and had them for half of last season too. I really like them, shed well and do dig in well too ime. I run them tubeless so no puncture issues so far, been used in everything from moist right through to horrible thick (why dont I have a 2nd bike?) sludge

Had a pretty slick, muddy race at the weekend in Manchester and the Terreno seemed really good. Plenty of folk swapping ends, skidding out of turns etc but it kept me upright all the way round.

Heaton Park much better with the mud but a tough course IMHO – v little respite on it and a lot of concentration needed in the conditions. Had exactly the same experience as last year where I was in no-man’s land after lap 2 and that was it, so didn’t get much in the way of actual racing but managed to keep the lap times quite steady.

Heaton Park was tougher than I thought it would be, but reasonably happy with my finish time. Kind of miffed I didn’t push myself hard enough on the steep climb and off camber section on the first 6 laps as I had no problem when I thought bugger it I’m gonna ride it on the last lap. I could “probably” have made up a minute or 2 if I had. Anyway looking forward to the new venue tomorrow!

With Storm Callum cancelling the Welsh league weekend before last, yesterday’s being too far for me to go at the moment and next weekend being a scheduled break in the racing, it feels like I’ve not raced in a long time.

Still, my clubs race is on the Bonfire Night weekend so we’ve had a bit of fun putting a course preview video together. Hope you like it, and anyone who fancies a trip over the border will be sure of a warm reception!

YouTube Vid Here

With Storm Callum cancelling the Welsh league weekend before last, yesterday’s being too far for me to go at the moment and next weekend being a scheduled break in the racing, it feels like I’ve not raced in a long time.

Do any of the N Wales ones work for you Ferrals? I’m doing the one next week near Wrexham as there has been a cancellation in the NW series that day.

Good racing yesterday at Blakemere. Great venue just below Delamere forest, but actual course not my cup of tea tbh, grass roadie cross, but it did make for some hard battling. Type of race where you’d pass/get passed back 3 times before one of you would come out on top.

Managed to ride the boards this time without faceplanting – quite effective around my midpack level. Most of us aren’t that smooth on the remounts so accelerating off the second board is an easy gap every lap.

Horrible race at the weekend, course was actually pretty nice, a little bit of slidey mud for shits and giggles, but no horrible deep stuff so relatively clean at the end!

Problem is, it was a flat course and rolling (relatively) quickly, so my lack of fitness from a summer of no riding was horribly exposed, despite trying to start at a sensible pace by lap 3 or 4 I was back to wheezing along just trying to get the air in my lungs whilst keeping the pedals turning, even had to stop on the next lap just to get some decent lungfuls. After that it was pretty much just a time trial whilst ignoring everything that was going on around me. 63rd out of 82, a new low 🙁

It really spoils the fun as it feels like I’m not riding at my true potential, the legs feel fine I just can’t breath properly! Would be really tempted to see a doctor about exercise induced asthma, but A)getting an appointment locally is a real pain in the arse, and B) Was talking to someone after the race who said it was something you could train to overcome, i.e. by incorporating more high intensity in my training (d’uh…).

Given that it pretty much ruins the racing for me I might just do the one more race I’ve entered, and then scratch the rest of the season and just build up the volume, then for next season do a lot more focussed training. Or just start at the back of the pack and pootle round, trying to ignore everyone else on the course and hope I get some magical second wind in the latter 4 or 5 laps!

@garry_lager No, I’m Swansea-based. Half thinking or racing a western league next weekend but to be honest:

a) It’s too dry at the moment so think I’ll save my non-welsh-league racing for the new year (Wlesh lague finishes in December).

b) am pretty short of cash presently and not travelling/paying entry to race means I can afford to replace some perilously worn brake pads! And maybe replace my worn out file tread rear with a terreno dry (still got at least two races where a file tread (on rear at least) will be a benefit)

Problem is, it was a flat course and rolling (relatively) quickly, so my lack of fitness from a summer of no riding was horribly exposed, despite trying to start at a sensible pace by lap 3 or 4 I was back to wheezing along just trying to get the air in my lungs whilst keeping the pedals turning, even had to stop on the next lap just to get some decent lungfuls. After that it was pretty much just a time trial whilst ignoring everything that was going on around me. 63rd out of 82, a new low

Is this a recent thing with your breathing? It’s years since I rode with you but you always seemed very strong – stopping in a CX race just to breathe sounds a bit concerning tbh, that is not a normal state of affairs.

When we rode last? That was a herniated disc, a broken collarbone, a marriage, mortgage and baby ago! 😉

In truth I didn’t HAVE to stop, I chose to, to try and regain some composure! I  just think CX is higher intensity than anything I’ve done in the last 6 or 7 years, all my riding has been with a view to long distance rather than balls-out!

What are the grid placings at the start policy in the UK cross races? Over here if you aren’t pre-registred (ie you don’t fill in an online form three weeks before the event and pay) you don’t get gridded. The race last week I had the number 99 on my back so had to start at the very back on a course  with not many passing places even though I finished 8th in the race the week before and again yesterday I was second to last row. Last week I managed to get up to 13th place but behind people I usually beat so effectively my start position cost me 6 or 7 places. Not sure how I did yesterday but the course was a real beut. The area was used for the German Championships three years ago and it was absolutely bone dry with lots of roost in the corners and lots of steep ups and downs. Everybody finished the race looking like they had been living in a desert for months on end.

TrainerRoad has a rather special CX training plan that’s perfect for this kind of thing 😉

Where were you? You got gridded by the way, missed out on your 15 seconds 😉

I got gridded? I never even entered 😀

Didnt fancy it as it’s so flat it just felt like a 1hr grassy TT last year. Also being picky due to terribly aged children issues!

I really enjoyed yesterdays race 22nd (only 2 seconds from 21st!) lots of back and forth, it was like an interval session. First time I’ve managed to do the same number of laps as the front runners too, so not that far behind! By the time we started the rain had set in and it made for a slippery course, and those steps, last lap was a killer! Really good venue too.

https://www.strava.com/activities/1919234436

My little girl managed to finish the U8’s this time (first outing was at Chipping last year) and really enjoyed it, the sunshine and Haribo at the end helped though!

Scottish round 3 at Lochore in Fife yesterday with the much-loved/loathed Spiral of Doom, which left this pretty pattern on the ground:

Not my best result but didn’t expect anything that much better on a course that really doesn’t suit me in conditions that were too pleasant to be a factor. Spent most of the race in a close battle with three of my own team mates, which must have looked a bit curious to those watching! A rare sprint-and-bike-throw at the line saw me stay in the top 10 at the expense of my team-mate but there’s no teamwork in cross, right?

National Trophy at Irvine next weekend, racing both days before the calendar goes quiet for a month. Anyone else making the trip to, err, lovely Ayrshire?

Racing at Leighton buzzard on Sunday. It’s only my second race . Thankfully I’ll be gridded this time. Really loved my first race and so did my 13yo son. I can see how people look forward to the season. Although technically I fared pretty well, my mounts and dismounts were dreadful. I’ve been practicing those. I’d love to improve my bunny hopping. Do any mortals actually do this in a race?

First race this year in yorks league last sunday. Been training hard & managed to drop some weight. First lap, third corner, everyone bunches up at a hairpin & some bumhole runs into me & snaps my rear mech off at the hanger. Brilliant.

Oh, and why the Eff can planet-x sell multi-tools for a fiver but a crappy monkey metal derailleur hanger is £25?

first ever race on Sunday for me !

Haven’t been practising any skillz so it’s lucky that I’m entering on the gate and will be starting last

My awesome natural pow should see me podiuming at the end though, right ?

For the sake of your testicles, at least practice remounts a couple of times!

Oh, and why the Eff can planet-x sell multi-tools for a fiver but a crappy monkey metal derailleur hanger is £25?

Try gearmechhanger.com, they may have a cheaper compatible one.

hoping to start my first cx race for oooh…., about 25 years , next weekend at a round of the Scottish Cycling North series. Should be “interesting”!    Just fitted some Clement MXP 650×33 tyres to my gravel bike, went up tubeless no problem. Will be practising mounts/dismounts etc this weekend, and getting used to skinny tyres again.

Ferrals or indeed anyone else; I’ve got a couple of file tread tubs to go. Tufo dry 34c and grifo xs 32c. Could do them for £17.50 each posted

For the sake of your testicles, at least practice remounts a couple of times!

🙂

Funnily enough I thought much the same and had a quick go in the garden.  I can get off no bother (when not doing my max heart rate anyway) and getting on, well, I’m safe but about as quick as yer gran getting back onto her shopper after a trip down to the SPAR.  Don’t think that’s going to be what determines my overall result though

I found remounts quite easy actually, just start by keeping your legs slightly together (oo-er missus etc. etc.) so that you land on your thighs. Once you realise you’re not going to come down on anything delicate you get more confident. Only took a few goes in the local park for me to be race confident.

Well, fingers crossed I don’t really need it – haven’t time for more playing

(watched a vid of last year’s course on youtube :blush: and the rider didn’t appear to get off at any point anyway)

Tough race but mighty good fun – may even do another, though I’d have to buy some grippier tyres (today was very much the last chance for a crossboss I suspect)

Greasy rather than mudbath but there were 2 pinch-points that resulted in walking on lap 1 (note to self; next time you’re wondering whether to fit the studs to your shoes: YES)

Started at the back and made steady progress upwards.  Nobody passed me, other than after a comedy fail on “the greasy bank of death with the sun in your eyes” and then I found myself on the wrong side of the bike to remount #hadntthoughtofthat.  Lost about 4 places and 100 yards getting unclipped, staggering up the bank and then getting back on like a city gent outside the train station.  Got ’em all back before the end though so not too bad.

Liked the fact you can recover when stuck behind on the twisty bits and then batter it when you come out the other end.  Could’ve gone harder overall though, I think.  I reckon I’ll be back.

Was only my second race, so the first time I was gridded. Was pretty hard off the start.  I decided I’d go hard and then try and defend places. Was sunny and windy (Leighton buzzard ccxl race) so the course dried loads. Later laps were quicker. Will certainly be back!

did your tactics work out then Adam ?

(my mate’s just sent me a video of the start.  I thought I’d gone steady and stayed lower mid-pack, turns out I was 3 from the back after 100 yards 🙄 )

Tactics kinda worked. I was gridded 44 from 99 and was probably in 20th by the end of the first few corners by going crazy off the line.  I finished the first lap in 24th. It was good not to be slowed too much by traffic on the busy first lap. From there I slipped to 31st gradually over the remaining 6 laps but made people work to get by me and tried to stick with them. I preferred this approach Vs trying to ride through the field. In my last race I started 97 from 97 due to entry on the day and it was tough to get through the field.

Is British Cycling as anal as BDR (German Cycling Federation)? I’m just in the process of getting a German racing license mainly for racing cross. A lot of my riding friends refuse to get one because of all the politics surrounding it. Firstly you have to belong to a club ( with the resulting subs to pay etc) then you get your license through your club. Now on the club front they have to register their club jerseys complete with what logos, size and position for each category and age group at a cost of something like 170 euros for each registered cat. For the rider they are only allowed to race in certified races approved by the state federation. For example there was a cross eliminator organized a few weeks ago ( a kind of BMX style event where the riders ride one lap of a course and the first four go through to the next round) . Now this was organized by the competition series to the state series and so didn’t get certification. Any licensed rider that took part was given a hefty fine as well as their club! This is also the case if you race in another series out of your state when there is a race in your state at the same time. And apparently there is someone (and this is typical German) who spends their free time sifting through online results sheets looking for people who shouldn’t be there and reporting them to their state federations. This is a hobby for 99.9% of the people involved and in my case I live in Lepzig which is near the border to two other Federal States and so for me I would prefer to race somewhere within a one hour car journey in a different state as opposed to a 2.5 hour car journey in the same state.

44 from 99

‘kinell – 99 !

mine had 50 and lap1 was still carnage

I’m riding in the V40 category of the central CX League. The only 2 races I’ve done were about 100 in that category. The German situation up there /\ sounds dreadful. I think for ccxl you need to be affiliated if you want to be considered for League placing, but otherwise just turn up.  I found the whole scene really inclusive and easy to get into. Really great atmosphere and great for kids too. (Probably everyone on this thread knows this! 👍 )

Raced the N Wales event in Wrexham today – another aerobic evisceration, quite short laps of a grassy banked park that was running fast, one adult race for all categories. Defo one where you needed to measure it a bit as smashing fast laps out for 1hr+ would have most cracking by the end. Some nice features, a fast descent with a bit of a drop that you could launch off [a few iffy landings for me with the tyres squirming], some boards, plus a split in the course where you could run a steep bank or ride a steadier climb [ran it lap one – no mate].

Had a good battle with a guy with just a couple of metres between us for 10 laps. Came to an abrupt end when I was passing a lapped rider and we had a ‘coming together’ [me and the lapped rider] that put me through the tape! Got it wrapped around my mech so was fearing a last lap leg it but managed to rip it out and get rolling. Retrieved a couple of places and I think came in just behind the lad I was racing with. So not the best conclusion but great racing in the main – legs are smashed.

Well, my season is over. Racing Saturday, not my normal league, and went over on a fast downhill off camber. Broken collarbone.

On the plus side, Tramadol is good!

‘kinell – 99 !

mine had 50 and lap1 was still carnage

I actively avoid the races that I think will have a smaller field! Over 70 riders ftw! Super Quaichs are 100+ on the line – it’s awesome!

Germany sounds a nightmare.

UK league racing has just about the correct level of officialdom.

You can enter any league race with a just a small day licence surcharge (so no BC membership needed).

Next step up is fairly basic BC membership for insurance and a free provisional licence. You can also be a private member so no need for a club. That then lets you join the local league if you want to score some points and make sign-on quicker and cheaper (think you need a full £ race licence to do Nationals).

NW league now grids top 20 – 30 on average points, plus option for out of area hotshots to ask for inclusion in gridding if they feel the need.

As a private member think I’m supposed to ride in plain kit, but I’ve never had any issues with”branded” kit from my Italian mate’s company (complete with fake sponsor logos doctored in local Italian slang….).

‘kinell – 99 !

mine had 50 and lap1 was still carnage

We ran the non-points, YCCA race at Pateley Bridge on Sunday and had 99 riders in the afternoon senior race, split on three whistles to avoid carnage. We also had about the same number of riders again in the youth and U12 races in the morning, which is about a typical showing for a non-points race around here. Clean starts and race, and it was great to be involved in the execution of it, even though I was bloody knackered by the end of the weekend!

Not sure if anyone here races in the YCCA series, but hello to all of you and I hope you enjoyed our course! 🙂