Wouldnt mind knowing if wessex cx Basingstoke on the 27th is a flat field or a bit more interesting like Reading? ill be doing a rain dance as i seem to do much better at reading last week in all that rain and mud.

Im tempted to enter this to give CX racing a go but does any one know if I would be allowed to enter on my 29er with Barends? They’re not metal ones, but those rubber ones that have half sticking up and half sticking down???
(These ones:)

Sure i read in rules “no bar ends” and “no fixed wheel”

Be down to the BC com on the day most likely, and the status of the race. From watching lots of videos of UK racing from this year, they have appeared on bikes….

Pick a race to try and contact the people in charge, or take some bar end plugs in case they have to come off.

dobo, Basingstoke is largely but not totally flat. There are also some woods, a BMX track and some tricky off-camber bits in a addition to the fields.

Unless it’s a UCI race (i.e., Nat Champs or National Trophy, you can ride anything. No restrictions about fixed (although the timing of mounting and dismounting would be, let’s say, tricky) and bar ends must be securely plugged.

Ok, the BC rules say ‘open to any bike without exception’ so I reckon I’d be fine.

So what to expect? Likely to be lots of obstacles? Do you get to pre-ride a lap?

thanks crispycross, damn dreaded fields, i always do a lot worse on flat courses, i bet theres a strong headwind too.. bmx course sounds interesting

crosshair what cx series are you going to enter? you can usually preride the courses just before your race, i try to do a warmup lap if im not late.. not encountered many obstacles in the wessex cx series, the odd steep hill you got carry up or sand trap to get over.

Dobo, was going to rock up at Basingstoke. What cat should I enter? (Age 30, done a couple of xc races)

im in vets but at 30 id go in seniors, 1hr hour of pain, it will no doubt be a fast bunch but just enjoy yourself. it will be short laps and its not uncommon to be lapped by the fast guys. the field will soon spreadout and you blend right in 🙂

Cool- I’m intrigued by it I must say. All being well, I’ll be there!

There isn’t any categories in a cross race usually it’s all age related. The vets race isn’t any slower than the seniors usually. Either way enjoy an hour of hell, and then smile once you get to the flag. Be warned it’s very addictive.

No cats yet Benji but it maybe on the cards in future there has been talks on the YCCA fb page recently I think.

It would be nice if they did do cats, they have them in the states but the participation numbers at their events is massive in comparison to the uk. The YCCA are doing a few races with a novice class but it’s the riders choice as to which they chose to ride. Be nice to see it the same as road racing with 4/3/2/1/E.

Be nice to see it the same as road racing with 4/3/2/1/E.

Now that would be awesome. hard turning up to a race full of elite level roadies and the odd pro (simon richardson and Oli beckingsale)

Basingstoke track is ok.
Basically skirts some football pitches near the tennis club so reasonable flat, but does have some ups and downs, some bits in the trees and a couple of sets of barriers.
Vets and Seniors are similar really, fast boys off the front and pretty spread out after half a lap. At least with the Vets racing with the juniors and ladies there’s usually a huge field and someone to have a battle with.

No as tough or varied as Reading, but race it hard and it’ll still be fun.

MK lower course, super bumpy, endless climbs and wind. I could lick some smooth tarmac right now.

5th place today in the south of Sweden’s double header.

Super wet heavy grass for 90% of the lap, one very long very steep run up, one short, some stairs, and plenty of off camber turns. Love it, bring on tomorrow.

So just to check, is the course open to pre-ride all morning (like a Gorrick xc for example) or is it closed when an earlier cat is in session?

How high are the barriers? I’ve watched the couple of 2011 vids on YouTube and they only seem about 12″ high. I never got around to practicing (anything!) my dismounts today so wondering whether to just hop over them….

Anyone racing Western League, Netham Park, on the 27th? I’ve not ridden the venue before, is it any good?

Just found out it’s been cancelled. 🙁 They’ve been trying to get this venue for 2 years now. Don’t want a repeat of crossgate last year

To confirm the Netham Cross is OFF due to the poor conditions and over night rain. Can’t take the risk of carving up the grass on our first event here with the council stance on letting us use it with a £2500 bond if we do any damage.

Tricky- sounds like well earnd rest day to me misses just found out how much it is per race lmao
Will it be rebooked for another date and the series extended or just skipped all together?

We’ll folks, it’s bright and breezy with the odd flicker of rain here trackside at Basingstoke. Just been out and warmed up alongside the vets etc. That class looks epic, with the combined races the field takes up literally the whole circuit. The other seniors are currently in the carpark on their rollers which doesn’t bode well. I feel ever so over-biked on the full susser and Maxxis Ardent 2.4’s are pants at shedding mud so wish I hadn’t been lazy as I nearly put the Rocket Ron back on.
I wish I’d left my bottle cage on or brought one for my pocket too as it’s pleasantly warm.
The bank is catching a lot of people out but I rode it a couple of times on different lines and with a bit if grunt on the run up it’s no bother. Will see how I fare at 2:40 when I’m half dead 😉

I don’t want to like it because I really can’t afford any more machinery but initial impressions are that it’s great fun. Practiced a few proper dismounts and apart from finding my pedals again as I bounce back on I reckon I’ll be ok. The boards look like proper 14″ spec ones so no chance of hopping them I feel 😉

I fancy a light cx bike but with flat bars- still can’t see a need for drops.

Right, quick glug of squash and I’m off into the fray 🙂

Is crosshairs full dead?

I fancy a light cx bike but with flat bars- still can’t see a need for drops.

I had a nice light cross bike for about half a lap at Brecon today. Then it got heavier and heavier as I got more and more tired. Finished just in time, one more lap and the whole thing would have ground to a halt ❗ Must have weighed 30lbs by the end.

anyone go to AllyPally to the Raphael Supercross?

I was going to head that way to ride but it’s windy on the coast, and windsurfing won.

as crosshair is MIA ill give a short review on Basingstoke today 😉
I was in vets with seemingly half the population of basingstoke… busy..
In contrast to Reading the week before this race was rain free but substituted with wind… but not so bad. There were some tight bends to negotiate that caught a few people out and sending a few through the course tape which was in permenant repair.
The mud was the sticky type which my mud 2s wernt clearing very well making the corners hard to negotiate but took it steady as seen a few offs. BMX track and berms was fun and one of the easier obstacles.
I managed to make up a few places on the barriers section which was unexpected.
The biggest problem seemed to be the short steep slope which looked easy enough but turned out to be difficult due to the ruts, i saw people go over the bars and also off the back and one guy doing a fantastic backwards roll back to the bottom..
first 2 laps were carnage and run ups and only on my final lap did i get to the top without a comedy fail.

great course, great fun.

No, all’s good 🙂 I stopped at Newbury for a car wash then been feeding/walking 8 dogs and pressure washing mud out me treads 🙂

Well, that was great fun! I felt really nervous before the start prob because of my conspicuous machinery. I had already decided not to start off the front as the Senior warmup had shown me how fast these guys are. But the gridding meant I didn’t get a choice anyway 😉

I put a big wide maxxis on the front as I was supposed to be xc racing last weekend but didn’t go so this was its debut outing and I hate it! Way too wide and needs real commitment to get it onto the edge. However, to be fair, by the last lap I’d adjusted and was flinging it in without too many worries.

So what’s this CX racing like from a newbies perspective then?
The course was really good fun and had enough different sections to keep it interesting. Obviously none of it is worse than the car park at an xc race but that really didn’t matter. Away from the start and a quick down-wind sprint was the fastest bit of the course. Then was a twisty turny bit around some little garden things and a huge bottleneck meant I was able to get a breather and take in the surroundings. Then we took an upwind sprint into a tight bend which took me until the last lap to realise wasn’t as slippery as it looked and could be took flat out. Uphill drag across the playing field and into the first off camber section. I felt obliged to make this look easy on my Mtb and I gained ground on various people every lap here. Up towards the car park and a couple of tight sloppy bends around the trees. Again, I was overly cautious up until the last lap when I was looking for ways TO die to relieve me from my pain 😉
Quick downhill, downwind blat across the grass and then out the back into the BMX track. Again this suited me and a quick click into ‘traction mode’ meant I could be creative with my line and avoid the target fixation on the telegraph pole that everyone else was getting 😉
Through the trees and into the wet ruts of ‘soggy bottom’ this was genuinely tricky and rewarded light hands- just let the bike do what it likes. Next was an uphill drag through the peripheral trees of the playing field and every lap it was balancing the fact that this gradient suited me against the knowledge that I needed a few spare bpm for the fast approaching ‘bank’.
I I can happily say I rode up it every lap and gained a couple of places there on each of the first three 🙂

By this point, the relentless climb from soggy bottom and the epic headwind meant most of my compatriots treated this as a bit of a slog. Then was a cool off camber bit which I loved and even experimented with a few different lines to see which felt quicker. Finally a slalom around the cricket pitch before the two full-height barriers at the start/finish line.
I pretty much nailed this every lap and certainly never gave away ground- my quick practice had paid off.

Lap one was a bit of a sort out, lap two I had a few battles and made up places. Lap three and four were spent too’ing and fro’ing with a couple of guys and after that I honestly can’t remember much. I was knackered! Anyhow, there was a guy on a Kona hard tail I’d been back and forth with but I just didn’t have the legs on the last lap which turned into a bit of a lonely slog.
One funny thing was a guy called ‘Tom’ (apparently) who I battled with during a couple of laps. We passed his dad about three times a lap who was shouting various words of encouragement- especially at the bank. Then I heard him say about me ‘go on! Get past the big lad!!!’ Of course, this spurred me on and I did him back on the downwind fast bit and fended him off to my favourite drag from soggy bottom. Anyway, that pretty much finished him off and he must have blown up because he was soon out of sight.

Next lap his dad looked a little miffed when ‘the big lad’ appeared without Tom in tow 😀
I nearly shouted ‘Sorry mate, he got owned by a fatty on a Mtb’ but thought better of it 😉

Anyway, I have no idea where I finished but it was really good fun and great training.

taxi25 – Member

I had a nice light cross bike for about half a lap at Brecon today. Then it got heavier and heavier as I got more and more tired. Finished just in time, one more lap and the whole thing would have ground to a halt Must have weighed 30lbs by the end.

Tell me about it. I knew mine was gathering mud but when I finished and was scooping handfuls out of the frame gaps…

Brecon was flipping ace today! Clocks back, filthy ‘cross, loving winter!

3rd place today, first podium in the national cup.

Rounding up a frantic weekend away, 600km of driving, the whole family in the car plus bike and spare wheels, rushing to the cinema yesterday after the race and a birthday party today.

Still, took home a load of gels and some MuckOff brushes and liquids yesterday and a nice winter training top today, and more importantly loads of cup points 8)

In action:

Podium:

Worst result of the year so far for me 9th place. A bit of a balls up on the start line, despite laying 3rd overall I wasn’t gridded and had to start right at the back.

Cross debut today, was lying about mid field until I got a puncture on the penultimate lap. Finished the race on the rim. 34×17 was about right. Need to fiddle with my cantis and go down to 32c tyres, had a few clogging issues.

I’m shit at remounting.

Saturday I was properly ****ed and I look it.

42/54 so not horrendous 🙂 only 1 lap down too. Plenty of room for tangible progress 😉

Does anyone know anything about the Striking Bikes cx at Stroud this Subday??

Does anyone know anything about the Striking Bikes cx at Stroud this Subday??

its probably the western league

Im well gutted that theres a cx race at southampton this weekend but its the national series so i cant race it 🙁
no races for me this weekend…

That’s it Dobo but the link from BS didn’t work and even a quick google doesn’t turn anything up. I thought I was xc’ing this Sunday but had my dates muddled up. So I then had a quick look for other events within an hours drive and found that one.

https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/events/details/93182/Team-Striking-Bikes-Cyclo-Cross/Western-League-Round-6

There’s not a lot more to know than above really – entry is on the line and seniors race is at 11:45. Should be £11 to enter (plus a day licence if you don’t have a race licence).

dobo, you could just pop down and watch for a bit? It can be entertaining, instructive and maybe a little awe-inspiring to see the top racers in action.

Saturdays looking bloody dreadful 😀